Strong winds = scary crack climbing

The few days spent camping at Joshua Tree National Park have been crazy windy! The gusts are so strong that even our boulder pads are getting blown away. This makes crack climbing a little daunting, especially as this is not our forte. So due to the wind we spent the first day bouldering, getting a little lost and cursing the poorly drawn maps in the guidebook. Coming from Bishop its hard not to compare the bouldering here compared to there. The rock is ultra grippy granite and has been shredding my fingertips, and topping out on slopers is scary! Ryan's still doing well though and getting a little less frustrated because he can actually get off the ground on a V0 problem!
We spent yesterday doing easy trad routes (5.4-5.8) and it got my confidence up again, somewhat. I tried leading one and got a cam stuck/overcamed. After that I didn't lead anymore, I really need to work on my trad climbing skills...Hopefully we'll have some more nice weather here soon, it's windy again today which is starting to get annoying.
We ran out of water last night because a bird had somehow managed to peck into the container which made it leak. We came back from climbing and all our water was gone. Little rascal, we were not impressed.  

Start of Gun Smoke Traverse (V3) and the infamous Joshua Trees

Higballing it on a 5.6, remember this Nic?

Sand Dunes in Death Valley

Tasting the Salt Flats...yep sure are salty!

J-Tree

After a night spent in Death Valley, tasting the salt flats, and having encountered the lowest place in the USA at -86m below sea level, we've made it to Joshua Tree. The weather is remarkably warm here, as it was in Death Valley. Hopefully I won't have to wear all my layers to bed anymore...
The first impression of Joshua Tree is very different than Bishop. Here there seem to be a lot of snowbirds and inactive Americans. The climbing should be good though and after two days of rest we'll be ready to climb again tomorrow.
 

Heading South

After over a week of climbing our bodies need a rest. We packed up camp today with the intention of making it to Yosemite. The winter only road has been opened thus far, but there's a snowstorm on the way so as a precautionary note they closed it down. We were already headed that way before we found out the road is closed. A coffee stop in Mammoth (at 2400m) reveals no snow in this ski town. They are desperate for snow here so hopefully this storm will bring some precip. Since we don't have our skis we've decided to head south, maybe stop in Death Valley and then on to Joshua Tree. In any case my body is appreciating the rest.

Bishop, CA

After leaving San Francisco a week ago today, we've been staying in a little town called Bishop. Despite the cold temps in the evening and overnight, we're embracing the camping lifestyle. At $2/night camping at the "Pit" is not so bad, although we only lasted 2 nights in the tent, the van is a lot warmer! Last night was the coldest night yet (~ -10 C), everything froze and we gave up trying to make breakfast and headed into town.

Bishop is a climber's paradise, with world-class bouldering and some sweet sport climbing at Owen's River Gorge. We've been climbing every day since we got here. Mostly bouldering with a couple days rope climbing. My fingertips held up pretty well until we went up to the Buttermilks where the granitic rock is a lot rougher on your fingers. At about 1900m this famous area offers some of the best bouldering in the world. After a hard day up there we enjoyed a two hour soak at a local hot springs pool. This is were most climbers go who are also in need of a shower (aka Ryan and Mani).

On one of our mornings this past week we we're barely up and making breakfast when a truck pulled into the campsite beside us. It seemed to us an odd time to show up a the "Pit" and they definitely didn't look like climbers! As they started unpacking it became apparent how prepared these two were. They had everything imaginable for a comfortable camping experience. Turns out Chris and Brian were here to fly fish. At least Chris was the driving force, Brian seemed to be there both to get away from his family for a few days and to sharpen his fishing skills. They told us this trip is a tradition for them, and they always invite their families. Surprisingly they always end up on their own. Thanks to Chris and Brian we enjoyed a few warm nights around their campfire, having drinks and sharing political views.

These are some of the tallest boulders at the Buttermilks, Grandma and Grandpa Peabody, see Ryan for scale. We DID NOT climb these :)

 Well, the sun is beckoning us to hit the rock again for day 7 of climbing. We will stay in Bishop for a bit longer until the rumoured storm hits. There is still sooo much to climb around here!

Sunny San Francisco Days

After arriving in San Francisco last Thursday afternoon, we've been checking out this beautiful city. Mostly it's amazing how warm it is here, although everyone is decked out in coats and scarfs, we've been cruising around in our t-shirts and light sweaters. I guess this is 'winter' here for everyone who hasn't come from rainy, snowy and cold days in the bush, or shoveling snow in the Selkirks.

We arrived exhausted after two long days of driving, looking a little grungy as we searched out Virginia, Ryan's aunt, at a fancy hotel downtown. Apparently there are over a million dollars worth of fancy chairs in this hotel lobby and of course our first thought is: 'How many climbing trips/gear could that buy us?' Feeling a little out of place there we dashed up (very steep hills) to Virginia's apartment on top of Russian Hill.

Day 1 SF:
An early start and a fancy breakfast at the hotel (lots of yummy croissants) got us on our way the first day. Wanting to do something a little cultured we checked out the SF Museum of Modern Art. We had free tickets, probably good since we can't always see the art in a straight black painting, or a black circle on the wall. My favourite exhibit (probably Ryan's too) was the photographs of Francesca Woodman, who took lots of (naked) pictures of herself before she killed herself at the age of 22.

Day 2 SF:
I wake up thinking it's cloudy outside and won't be sunny today, but I'm shortly assured it will be sunny again. The weather has yet to fail us in California. We took a drive over the Golden Gate Bridge and up the mountain side and down to a beach. It was so beautiful and warm. We just walked along and admired the crashing waves.
At night we ventured into North Beach where one Italian restaurant after another fill the streets. Some of the coolest bars are in this area and what better then to go into a 150 year old bar called The Saloon. This tiny bar presents some of the best live music in town. It's a blues bar, with two bartenders that are jokingly; 'as old as the bar itself' according to the musicians. The music was incredible and we had more drinks than were needed. Every gin tonic was stronger than the previous one I ordered, you definitely get your bang for your buck. We managed to find our way home, but not before going up the hill opposite the one we were meant to go up on. Yes there are a lot of hills in San Francisco.

Day 3 SF:
A bit hungover we went for a Sunday stroll to Fisherman's Wharf and the 'pirate ship', renamed so by me. We needed more books so walked to the famous City Lights bookstore. This place has some history with authors getting their start there, including Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouc. I could've spent hours in there but we each picked out a book headed home.

Day 4 SF:
Alcatraz was on the list today. I was sceptical about doing a touristy tour but I loved it! We got boated over to Alcatraz Island, which is now a National Park, and toured the old prison. We walked around with headsets on, listening to the story of the prison life, inmates, escapees, and the community living on the island. The prision cells were fascinating and the stories even better. Since the island is in the bay there was a great view of the city and both the Golden Gate and Bay bridges.

Tomorrow we are off to Bishop to hopefully get on some snow free rock. It seems to be a mild winter this year so fingers crossed. Funniest and stupidest thing heard thus far...'Where is British Columbia, is that a state?' and 'Oh, I thought BC was another name for all of Canada...'

Ryan handled that conversation...