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Wagon Wheel
Had a nice bouldering session with Ted near the Big Loaf today. Did some long, slow traverses to warm up. The temperature was perfect, a little windy, but good. I felt good for a while, then as I landed a few times my ankle started to hurt again. Soon I realized it wasn’t ready for…
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Mt. Sill Swiss Arete Trip Report
I’ll start with some facts about the trip with comments to follow. In my planning I came across Romain Wacziarg’s June 2002 trip report, which is not too far short of a full guide to the route. If you want pictures and other practical information that I don’t have :cry:, check it out. Location: The…
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Beaten
I’ve sustained my first climbing injury since I started more than a year ago. Thankfully it’s just a minor ankle sprain, and will probably heal fast. It happened at the notoriously pumpy Owen’s River Gorge, on the notoriously pumpy route Show Us Your Tits (10b). I thought I had become strong enough to take on…
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Domelands
Ann and I spent three days and two nights backpacking and climbing in the domelands this weekend. We encountered many things: A young rattlesnake right under our feet, endless stands and varieties of flowers, a wade through a swampy beaver pond, a thrilling rock climb up Moon Dome (posted in Climbing), an accidental dunk in…
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Surpise Symphony (5.8 ) on Moon Dome
Ann and I did our (and my) most adventurous route yet this weekend: The route is highlighted with a dot between each pitch. The trees are so big that you don’t get a correct sense of scale – the end of the first pitch is about 180 feet up! Because of the 10 mile approach…
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Have I become a flower freak?
I can’t help it, the desert flowers are blowing my mind. This is a prickly pear at my friend’s house in Joshua Tree. When we left to go climbing there were only buds, and upon return a bee was already hard at work in the blossom. There were also lillies blooming all over the place…
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Bruce Lee on Bouldering
‘I’m moving and not moving at all. I’m like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, “I am doing this,” but rahter, an inner realization that “this is happening through me,” or “it is doing this for me.” The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to…
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Alabama Hills
The flowers are starting to fade in the desert around Ridgecrest, but higher up the Owen’s Valley in the Alabama Hills they are going strong. Saturday was a day of good climbing, napping, soaking up sun and amazing views. It won’t be long before it’s time to venture up into the snowy peaks.
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didn’t want to stop
Of course Ann & I didn’t go to Tahquitz as we planned (it was snowing there I’m sure), but Ann was eager Sunday morning to climb something. So we headed to Big Rock again in drizzling rain, hoping for the best. It turned out to be perfect there, cool with brief spots of warm bright…
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Walter’s Crack
The day I started bouldering, a little over a year ago now, I squared off against this problem. It’s a slightly overhanging crack that is wide and flaring near the bottom, then narrows at shoulder height so there are only a few key spots my fingers will fit in. That first day I couldn’t get…