Stages.

Getting off the road seems to generate a lot of sloth on my part. If it were not for the fact that I have a goal to work toward, I would likely spend every waking moment watching re-runs of Curb or Seinfeld whilst refreshing my facebook.

Fortunately my decision to pursue a guiding certification has given me a bit more impetus to prevail over the incumbent habitual laziness. This coupled with a few opportunities to take Christie out climbing while we are here has been really rewarding. So far we have all climbed at Mission Gorge together twice but the pictures have been fairly sparse, as you will see, because we have been more focused on fun than documentation...

Christie on Knob Job, 5.8, learning the ways of the frictionless rock of Mission Gorge


I was able to talk Stef into leading a sandbagged 5.4 called Blocks, her first trad lead!




Mission Gorge isn't a total loss in that it is close to the house here (about 15 min away) but the routes are short and the stone is like soap. Very polished and not at all aesthetic.

In hopes of getting to do some better climbing, I decided to take a solo trip up to Bishop, the home of tall boulders and breathtaking scenery. I had a project to work on from last year called Jedi Mind Tricks.

This problem goes up the right side of this block on thin edges and requires a lot of delicate balance. The fact that it is close to 30 feet tall adds some spice to it...

All told, I made some progress on it but have yet to wrap it up.

Being in Bishop alone was pretty lonely but it did afford me a bit of time to take pictures of the scenery and do some exploring. On the way up, I checked out Alabama Hills which is about 50 miles south of Bishop and is similar to the rock of the Buttermilks. There is more sport climbing in the Alabama Hills so I was anxious to scope that out. It looks like a great deal of good rock with a breathtaking backdrop of the Sierras, so it will be hard to go wrong there.

Lone Pine Peak


Lone Pine Peak with the Alabama Hills in the foreground


Whitney Portal


This is (one of) the Inyo Face. For those of you who don't get the wordplay, this bit of artwork is found in the Inyo National Forest, which gives rise to such local business names as "Inyo Cup" and so on...


Owens River Valley from the Buttermilks (Bishop)





Sierras from the Buttermilks








A few night photos




Mt Tom


I forget the name of this ridge








Before I left I took a few shots of the Peabody boulders














After a couple days in Bishop I am now back in San Diego since my guide course begins on Monday and I need some time to relax and prepare for it mentally...Might get out and do a bit of bouldering at Santee which is close to here as well as a few more outings to Mission.