2003 August

In the morning we took Dana to The Eye (1), thinking it would be a great beginner’s route. It turned out to be a sandbag, I thought, and she didn’t make it up. We promised to take her to a climb she can do someday.

In the afternoon we went out with Matt and Sophie, a couple from Sheffield, England. In the Rock Garden valley we found shade and a variety of entertaining routes. I made my first ever true onsight lead, a new bolted route that wasn’t in the book. I was impressed by how different the climbing was not knowing the rating. I started up slabby knobs to a pair of seams that ran over a bulge. Every move was mysterious, I had no idea whether after the next bolt I would hit terrain far beyond my ability. In the end I think it was probably only 5.8 by Joshua Tree standards, but a very memorable 5.8. Matt led it also, then we TR’d two of the nearby cracks: Bolivian Freeze Job (9) and Barn Door Right (10a). Good liebacking (laybacking?) on both. The climbing was fun, but I felt sorry that I couldn’t get Matt & Sophie on a more classic JTree route. We shared dinner and beers afterward, and decided to remedy the situation by climbing Double Cross (7+) in the morning.

For me, returning to Joshua Tree on the labor day weekend brought back echoes of my trip with Ted a year ago. That trip felt like my coming-of-age as a climber, with my first onsight 5.10 slab lead, and schooling on some of JT’s classic cracks. This year I came feeling stronger but less ambitious, returning with my wife to the site of our marriage a month ago. I didn’t shoot for the high numbers this time, but settled some scores that left me very satisfied. First on my list was White Lightning (7+), a crack that harrowed me mercilessly last year. This time I started it with determination, still got nervous and over-protected it a bit, but made my redpoint. As a reward I TR’ed Poodles Are People Too (10b) next to it, which spit me off a couple of times but was an absolute blast with all sorts of tricky, balancy moves, fingerlocks, even a little roof. Ann made it up to the crux, and continually amazes me with her innovative footwork. Our friend Dana also tried White Lightning as her first ever climb, and chimneyed her way right up to the crux! It was great to watch.

Tom and Annette DeMay gave us their set of pictures, including the first of the ceremony. Nathan posted the first gallery of his color photos also, which will soon be duplicated along with many more on our wedding page.

Ann, Ted, and I met near the Big Loaf for some bouldering last night. There are lots of high problems around there. I did some of the easier ones, including a couple I hadn’t tried before. It felt good. Ted played on a couple of the evil little overhanging crimp problems that he likes, and flew up this arete problem once he figured out the thin, scrunchy moves at the bottom.

The definitive movie about addiction in modern life. Very artfully done, so much so that it’s almost as hard to face this movie as it is to face our own addictions. Ann & I found some recovery time necessary afterwards, with some quiet time outside and soothing music (all but the men in white coats).

It’s too bad this movie goes overboard with the melodrama, because it’s a worthy story. I’m glad to have watched it, mostly because it helps bring home the fact that racial killings, nationalization (or state-sponsored theft) of private property, and closed borders have been (and are) realities in other countries that destroy people and thier families, not just abstract ideas. The country in this case is Stalinist Hungary, and there are some good historical sequences and scenes of Budapest to take in.

We had a relaxing weekend, meeting Ann’s parents in Bishop on Friday night, camping at the Pinons, and climbing at Iris Slab on Saturday. I started there by leading Welcome to Iris Slab (5.7), a nice finger crack with a few moves that demand attention. Then we indulged in a few topropes. Get Up, Stand Up (5.7) is another good finger crack, and Exodus (5.9) a fun slab face route. Ann tried a mock lead of sorts on Easy Skankin (5.4), placing pretty good gear on TR. Finally we played on Crazy Baldhead (5.10b), and once again I wondered how slab harder than 10b can be possible to climb? It seemed like right at the limit, but as usual it’s probably just my limit.

Some people turned up at Wagonwheel last night! Greg, Mike, Barry, Ted, Ann, & I all decided to climb the same boulder at once. Greg won.

Bouldering is not always about succeeding on hard problems. Sometimes it’s just about being where you want to be.

Nathan sent me the pictures he took with his digital camera, which can now be seen on the wedding page.