Skaha

Adrianne and I headed up to Skaha to join Sara and Rebecca in celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving ... climbers style. We headed up mid-day Friday and got to the campsite around 10. It was freezing (literally!!) so after finding Rebecca and Sara and setting up camp, I quickly dove into my -5 degree bag and STILL fell asleep shivering (though I did manage to warm up at some point in the night). We woke up and took our time making breakfast and coffee. Everyone was all bundled up in multiple layers of down and fleece all morning and we didn't get to the wall until around noon ... just in time for the sun to have moved to the other side of the crag.

So -- in the future, when climbing at Skaha when it's cold (lows well below freezing and highs not far above freezing), it's important to know where the sun is. The crag is situated such that almost every crag is in the sun for only 1/2 of the day and we didn't plan well on the first day, so we didn't get much climbing in.

Sunday went a little better. I was even sportting a tank top for a few minutes and climbin in the sun actually felt good. But as soon as the sun moved to the other side of the rock, we packed up and by the time we got to the sunny side again, all the routes we wanted had too much traffic, so we called it a day.

Adrianne and I had to get back for Girls Rock Monday afternoon so we couldn't stay and climb Monday morning. I'll have to look in someone else's book to remember the areas and routes we climbed. We only averaged 3 routes a day, but it was a good trip nonethe less and I look forward to future trips! No pictures, we were all too cold to take out our cameras!!

I was hoping to get down to Smith at least once this fall ... but the weather isn't cooperating this weekend. Here's to hoping for at least one sunny weekend for some Smith climbing!!

Squamish -- Last trip of the Year

It's been a rough couple of weeks ... but I did mention to squeeze in some fun. I've done some climbing (a hot and not all that productive, but fun day at Mt. Erie), did some dancing (west coast swing weekend workshop).

Last weekend Adrianne and I headed up to Squamish. The weather looked (and was!) fantastic, and we had a great time!! I managed to get in a couple hard leads (The Zip - 10a, and Flying Circus - 10a). Not a first time for either, but still an undertaking for me and I was really happy with myself. We also went up to Star-Chek on Sunday and climbed a 4 pitch 5.8 sport route. The climbing wasn't all that exceptional, but it was in a really cool setting and we had a great time. We'd planned on having me leading pitches 1 & 3, and Adrianne taking 2 & 4, but I was feeling kind of freaked getting to the second bolt, so I came down and Adrianne took the first pitch. I had pulled myself together by the top of the first pitch, so I took pitches 2 & 4. It was pretty easy climbing, but a bit more run out than I would have liked. Still, lots of fun and I'm really glad we did it. I think Adrianne might have some pictures that I'll share as soon as I get them from her.

And now it's desert climbing season ... stay tuned for trips to Skaha and Smith! :)

From Tango Magic

Remember back in July when I blogged about the Tango Magic and the performance by Patricia and Matteo that was so beautiful that it literally brought tears to my eyes?  Well, it's finally up on the internet for me to share with you.  It doesn't have quite the impact on video as it did live, but it's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  I don't think I'll ever dance like that, but I do hope to continue to improve.  It is beyond inspiring!  

City of Rocks

I just got back from 3 1/2 days of climbing at City of Rocks. I was hoping for a longer trip, but that was all I could connivence my friends to do. Which probably turned out for the best since I am apparently allergic to the whole City!! I couldn't breath well the whole trip and couldn't sleep well due to being so congested (despite loading up on lots of allergy medication). But it was a great trip nonetheless. 

Christine, Vlad, Craig and I met up around 3:30 to start the long drive.  We arrived at the campground around 4 am and were too tired to pitch tents so we laid our sleeping bags out on the tarp and went straight to sleep.  We were rudely awakened at 8 in the morning by rain, so we hastily set up the tents and crawled in for more sleep.  After that it was 3 1/2 days of climbing, steak, and fun!  I didn't take many pictures with my camera since it was much more fun to play with Vlad's or Craig's awesome cameras. I'll try to share some pictures from their cameras once they get them up. 

I didn't do much leading on this trip -- allergies combined with the fact that I think my head is still pretty messed up from my big fall 2 years ago. But I did get on some great climbs and had a great time! 

Vlad and Craig have their pictures up on facebook.  Here's a great shot Vlad got of me leading Skyline.  You'll have to friend me on facebook if you want to see the rest.  

Here's a list of routes we did:

Saturday: 

Morning Glory Spire

Skyline - 5.8 trad - Vlad, Chris, and I led
Fall Line -10c sport -- Chris and Vlad led
Crack of Doom - 11c trad - Chris led

Sunday: 

Bloody Fingers Corridor 
Bloody Fingers 10a trad- Vlad, Chris, and Craig led
?? - 5.7 trad, Vlad led this, but I can't remember what it was called. Maybe someone else can fill me in on the details?

Flaming Rock

Tribal Boundaries - 5.10b sport -- Vlad and Chris led

Monday: 

Elephant Rock 
Rye Crisp -- 5.8 trad - Chris and Craig led
The Pygmies Got Stoned -- 10a sport (slab) - Chris led

?? - 5.9 sport -- Vlad led, can't remember the name of this one either.  

Buzzard Perch Rock

Terror of Tiny Town -- 11a trad - Chris led

Tuesday: 

Parking Lot Rock
Thin Slice - 10a trad - Vlad and Chris led.

Squamish!

I know, I know, I still haven't posted a trip report about my week in Squamish. It was lovely, I've just been busy! I'll update this soon with a trip report complete with pictures! Hopefully before I get back from my climbing trip to City of Rocks ... but you may have to wait until after. I know, the suspense is killing you right? ;)

Vacation!

Well, summer school is over and as soon as I finish grading and posting grades, I'm off on Vacation. First stop: Leavenworth for some chill camping and then up to Squamish to visit with my parents and hopefully get some fun climbing in and maybe a hike or two as well. I can't wait!

The only downside -- I'll be turning 30 while I'm there ... Getting older sucks! Aimee Mann captures how I feel about this birthday pretty perfectly.

First (safe) lead fall!

I went out to Tieton last weekend with Adrianne and Vlad. It wasn't anyone's first choice, but it was raining in Sqamish and Smith was too long of a drive for a last minute trip, so we ended up in Tieton. And it was actually a really fun trip.

I can't find my guidebook, so I don't remember the names of any of the routes, but I'll try to add them in after I find the guidebook.

We headed down on Saturday morning. We stopped at a fruit stand to get snacks for the trip (peaches, cherries, and other treats), and go to the crag around noon. We went to Royal Columns because I've just never felt comfortable there on lead and I wanted to lead some of the climbs I've bailed on before. So I started on Mush Maker (5.7) and I still think it's a hard 5.7 and the gear placements were tricky in places. But I felt very comfortable the whole way up. After that, Vlad put up Inca Roads (5.9) which I've done several times on top rope and I finally feel like I could lead it. After that Vlad and Adrianne TRd some hard mostly bolted route that I just didn't have the energy for (not enough sleep mixed with nice warm sunshine makes Julia a very lazy girl). After that Vlad led a really fun 10a mixed route that was almost all face climbing. Really fun route! Adrianne and I both TRd and then took the rest of the daylight to hike back to the car.

We tried to camp in the unofficial camp ground, but it was under construction or something, so we decided to bite the bullet and just pay for the real camp ground and just headed out for dinner without setting up camp. Dinner was fabulous -- Mexican Food and margaritas really hits the spot after a day of climbing in the sun. By the time we got to the camp ground, all of us were so tired, we barely got ground tarps laid out and therma-rests blown up before we fell asleep.

We all slept in and got a pretty late start on Sunday. We headed to The Bend and started on a 5.8 that I can't remember the name of. I was leading and getting totally sketched out. I hung on a couple pieces and just wasn't climbing very well. And then, about 1/2 of the way up, I took a lead fall. It was a pretty lame fall and it wasn't very far ... but it was actually just what I needed!! It didn't hurt, it wasn't even that scary, it was over so fast. I screamed a little as I fell, but once that awesome #1 caught me, I felt fine! I checked my heart rate just to see and it wasn't even fast! I felt totally calm! So I took a little rest and then finished the route feeling totally confident. I got the rest of the route clean. :) After that, Vlad put up a really fun 10c finger crack that I really enjoyed!! And then Vlad and I top roped an 11 that shared anchors with a 10c that was equally fun but MUCH harder! I'll try to get the names of the routes we did Sunday and add them here.

Super fun weekend. Tieton still isn't my favorite place, but I enjoyed climbing there.