2007 August

We know that the Friday night before the Labor Day weekend is not the ideal time to go looking for a campsite in Vedauwoo, but we figure we know the options well enough by now to pull it off. That turns out to be true, but what I don’t have is a feel for just how much bigger the camper makes our vehicle. When our first couple of site choices are predictably occupied, we go exploring some less familiar roads. We’re looking for trees to shade the camper during the day for T-Rex. These same trees, it turns out, often make the roads impassable for us. I break a lightcover and put two good gouges in the sides of the camper proving that just because you can get past a tree doesn’t mean you should, nor does it mean you’ll be able to avoid more damage on the return trip. Our camper is definitely ours now!

A plot-driven film about a character-driven novelist whose story comes to life. It’s amusing, but neither the plot or the characters were very compelling to me. There’s plenty of room for parody and playfulness that just floats by unused, and no background for the characters’ idiosyncrasies is hinted at.

Referred by a review on NPR.

All the stories I like have some kind of subconscious element, and in cases like this I don’t mind at all when they are allowed to run free in the “real world” of the story. This movie is bursting at the seams with creative energy and wonderful metaphors. I laughed uncontrollably during parts at the ridiculous accuracy of the dream parodies. It’s a marvelous trip through the complexities of overcoming the myriad insecurities that can plague our relationships.

Referred by NPR

We’re infatuated with the Blair area these days. The wind is coming back to Vedauwoo, but it’s still cool and seductive, and the crags are often sheltered. Sun shines most of the time, interrupted by brief bouts of rain. Life feels full when all this change is going on around you, but also comfortable and welcoming. And there are many great routes to discover, even if the names are not exciting:

“Approach 4.0″ 5.8 - two short pitches to the top of The Heap, each with an interesting offwidth crux. The first is harder and has more variety, with some interesting features by a dike near the top. The second begins in a chimney that exits into a tricky gap at the top. Both are satisfying when done.

“Real Men Don’t Spread Their Legs” 5.11b - I think I’ve rigged a toprope on “My Clone Sleeps Alone” 5.10a. Ann lowers me, and it looks discouragingly hard. I manage to reach a bush in the crack, right where the only good jams are. I shove my face in the bush, scratching it, and try desperately to sink a jam above it, but fall off every time. It turns out to require some delicate stemming, followed by even more delicate stemming without the benefit of hand jams. I feel my resolve to ever lead 5.10 at Vedauwoo draining away, along with the blood in my groin. I don’t figure out the route I’ve actually climbed until we’re back at camp and I’m losing the ability to walk.

“Becker” 5.7 - A very fun set of parallel cracks slowly morph into flared seams. It took some will power to trust my feet on this! As always, Vedauwoo has some lessons to offer.

“Slab Route 2?” 5.6 - We almost pass this route up because there is a party on it, but they appear to be packing up so we decide to go for it. They tell us there is no bolted rappel station at the top, an error in the book, but they’ve left a gear anchor there. Ann proceeds to lead the route, feeling challenged and thrilled by her success. It even offers a raspberry growing from a horizontal crack on the way as a reward! We’re thankful for the nice anchor to descend from.

We’ve always wondered how our cat T-Rex would handle coming along on our camping trips instead of staying behind in the fifth wheel. Now that we have the camper, it seems like time to find out. As practice, we spend a night in our RV park right next to home, so he’ll get used to the new rig. That poses no problem for him, so the next day he gets packed up along with our climbing gear to head to Vedauwoo. Well, next to our climbing gear, in his carrier. He’s chill there for a while, but then starts to yowl, so we pull off at the border fireworks store and throw him in the camper with his litter box. He seems fine riding back there the rest of the way.

The first night we don’t let him out, and he doesn’t complain too much. In the morning he gets his freedom, under a close eye. He’s literally wide-eyed and bushy tailed, super-alert, like I would be if you packed me in a space capsule and flung to me onto some unknown planet. He makes several widening periphery checks, then a few trips back into the camper to scan the area from behind a window. All very rational behavior. The only part I don’t understand is that he still insists on using his litter box, but even that reservation is relinquished the following day. We have ourselves a camp-savvy kitty.

I’m automatically skeptical of Adam Sandler, but was pleasantly surprised by this performance. Probably because I relate well to socially inept, repressed characters, even if I don’t fly into uncontrollable rages (yet;). The picture of love as a situation where two people can accept and welcome the impulses that society prohibits is a nice change. My only disappointment is that we don’t get much insight into Emily Watson’s character, despite clear hints that she has her own issues to deal with.

Sean and Rogan join us in our rush to escape to Vedauwoo for a weekend of re-energizing. Last weekend’s discoveries at the Lower Blair area were inspiring, so this time we decide to continue to Upper Blair. A campsite presents itself right by “The Eight Ball”, a giant round boulder perched atop a block with an old “89″ (or eighty-something) somehow engraved in it. Probably done by people I went to high school with!

It’s colder and windier than it has been, which is kind of refreshing at this point. It’s been hot and muggy in town. The moon is new and the sky is abuzz with stars.

Still cool in the morning, we’re slow to start. Then we’re slow to choose a climb. Finally we settle on Baobob Tree 5.8. Pitch one is entertaining face and fat flake climbing with assists from mondo crystals. I consider doing the whole climb at once, but decide to do both pitches to keep rope drag down. Pitch two is simply the best, cleanest hand crack I’ve yet climbed. It’s steep, and tests my confidence, but just the right amount. I top out feeling triumphant. Ann and Sean both find it strenuous but educational. We all fart around on the downclimb, trying to find the easiest, then the most fun way down.

A slow lunch is followed by rain, which soon swallows up the afternoon. None of us are too upset. After dinner we attempt to surprise Sean with a birthday cake, then Ann and I take a hike. Just as we are salivating over some climbs for the morning, Ann slips and rips off half a toenail. She limps back to camp on a foot sticky with blood, giving up on climbing ambitions for the moment. Even a one-climb weekend at Vedauwoo is well worth the effort.

I start fascinated and confused by a glimpse into the everyday lives of a family in Taipei. I can’t really follow all of the characters and relationships, but my attention is locked in anyway. Eventually I realize the movie is very skillfully building a story that is meaningful and as real as if I had watched it through a neighbor’s window.

Recommended by Jeanette

Happy with our experience in the Lower Blair area yesterday, we return to try some climbs on another formation. Again it’s all very pleasant, so much so that I forget about my camera until I see this frog on our hike out.

Three Roofs 5.7 A nice long route involves friction slab and chimney moves, but is a little too rich in moss and lichen.

Le Petit Arbre Pitch 1 5.6 Mark and Kate put a toprope on this, surely some of the most perfect handjams in Vedauwoo.

Our small party ventures to a new area of Vedauwoo today! The Northwest face of Blair III is quite the blissful spot on a hot day. We tackle some cracks in a leisurely way, most on toprope:

Sweet Variation 5.7- My only lead of the day, but a fun one.

Random Crystals? 5.8 - a great crux move that used to have an optional sidepull, until Sean pulled it right off!

Unremembered 5.9 - this time the crux is wide, and Ann shows us all the elegant way to do it with some chimney-style backsteppin’.

Intimidation 5.9+ - a great, long handcrack leads you into an offwidth at the top. Really good climb, schooled me in some handjammin’.