Group Climbing (Organizing?!#$%!)

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Found this article from R&I humorous. It's about attempting the group organizing thing for climbing trips. Even just weekend trips can get clusterfu#@ed... and this article rang all too true. I figure all groups go through this passive-aggressive cycle where people just get tired of organizing climbing trips.

Can't we all just go climb? :P

P.S. - there've been trips to Hueco, the Red, So Ill, Red Rocks... let's see if we can get some posts.

The Season

Yes Fall is here. The season all of us Midwest climbers, plagued by sizzling summers (and this last one was a scorcher) and frigid winters wait for with impatient chalked hands! Another reason to celebrate last week-end (Oct 15-16th) was the birthday of his majesty Captain Burke! Too many reasons not to caravan a crowd of willing climbers to the best local crag, Jackson Falls. Michael and Tony, with a bit more of days than the rest of us that week, went on Thursday to warm up the routes a bit, and pick a mighty good camping site for the coming tribe.
Some of us arrived Friday night. The weather being so magnificent, who would not want to enjoy one more night under the stars around the campfire in the company of great friends.
Happy birthday Burke. The stars were aligned, it was going to be a good one.
By the time we retired to our tents that nights, the site already had its share of colorful shelters.
Michael and Rex, Tony, Burke, Blair, Justin, Frances, Draco and I were already smiling thinking about a certain place called the Promised Land, the next morning destination.

Bound for the Promised Land we were.. Meg and John arriving late into the night, and then the early risers joined us for the day Angie, Calvin, Woody, Carine, Jaime and Topher. And promises we kept, to work or sent projects there or even climb new lines.


Angie had her eyes set on the mega classic Fashionably late, a beautiful 11a line which she sent in style, inspiring Meg to flash it with beautiful composure. Jaime moved on to Team Honda, an awe-inspiring 12a line with a bouldery overhung middle and a horizontal roof.


I have attempted that line a couple of time.There is nothing easy about it.Jaime worked it and made strong progress. In the meanwhile Calvin, with Topher, went back to an old “friend” Zambezi or, as we like to call it, Miso Soup, a powerful 12b line which he will get oh so close to send.I had promised Burke to do a Trad line or 2 with him for his birthday.
I had looked up a couple of lines in this area which had good rep. a 7 and a 9. This was back to leading out trad for the Captain after a bit of a scary fall a year or so ago. Chasing the demons away he did great making it up a not so clean 7 line with a bit of a cryptic route finding. Great job Burke! Inspiring. On my way there I had looked at the 9 line which is in the X-block area. This is one of these climbs that no matter the grade, inspired me. Burke let me lead it out. A great lay-back crack system which looked very protectable. Having not climbed trad in a couple of years, I needed that level of inspiration to get on it. And that climb made my day. Everything about it was great. It reminded me if needed be why I liked Trad so much. The mere creativity of it, the challenge, the attention to details, the precision. Burke who cleaned it after me, Woody who lead it out again, and Carine who did the final clean loved it as well. Then of course there was that nut that would not come out. The nut tool was…in Burke’s car so we had to find a way. Burke and I took turn hanging on a piece trying to work the rebellious metal head out. To no avail… I even tried to use a swiss army knife, and we decided it was not worth the risk. Hanging on a cam with very sharp and pointy object in my hand equals to very probable upcoming disaster. Then when everyone had left the area, Woody went with his Indiana Jones-size knife and in good Woody fashion got it out!
In the meantime Tony went back to find his balance again.
And he did indeed:Balance of Power, a 12c amazing line (very beautiful and intimidating to me) which he had sent a couple of years ago and repeated his feat in style. Rob, and Allan had joined us during the morning. They both crushed Team Honda, and Allan wined his way up the 12a on the corner of the X-Block. It was quite hilarious to hear/see him climb this line realizing quickly the awkwardness of it. Not a memorable experience for him I am sure, probably one for us in the peanut Gallery!
Back to camp, a fire good food, beer, cupcakes (thanks to Carine) and a cake with candles to blow out for our favorite Captain. I even had brought him some 1964 Armagnac in a small bottle on which his sipped late into the night.
Happy Birthday Burke! Your friends were happy to celebrate with you under the stars!
On Sunday, the rose on another beautiful day. My dog Draco who had been alert to every racoon or possum passing by the night before, did not peep that night. The long path to the Promised Land, involving a very uncomfortable railroad walk, had worn him down.

A few pots of coffee for the tribe, peanut butter/Nutella and slices of pear on a bagel for breakfast, and off we went, after a stretch session Frances style
. Spleef Peak/ Lovely Arete/ Snake Roof area would be our day base camp, and an obvious place for our furry friends to rest a bit
I kept telling Frances and Justin about a classic when it comes to slab climbing: Fine Nine. By far the hardest 9 at the Falls (if indeed it is a 9….) and a definite SLAB. This route actually scares some hard core climbers who climb way above that grade! While Justin, Frances, Meg and John went on to climb the Spleef peak lines to warm up, the rest of us (Michael, Blair, Tony, Burke and I) headed to the Lovely Arete. The day was a bit warmer, not the best conditions for that very fine nine. Nevertheless, Burke will grunt his way up the line with sheer determination. This is the kind of climb where one rely on feet to stick on nothing, trusty move after trusty stance, finding balance and accurate angles. Try to do this on a rock that does not have that very much needed friction and you face a whole new grade of climb. Ask Frances who “caught” herself beautifully as she was close to reaching the anchors and almost fell steadying herself out of pure balance. So cool to see. Blair worked on Lovely Arete (one fall from sending it I believe), Tony found himself a new project with Here come the Snakes, a 12c on the Snake’s Roof, which He’ll work down to one fall ( and will send the following Week-End!). I went to check out a line Tony kept telling me about: Umbrella Girl, 11d/12a. He and Michael had to work out the beginning for a while on Friday, before unlocking the sequences. This was going to be a challenge. This is the kind of sequence where it is all about these little details, a toe in a small divet, a flagged foot which will establish that balance you need for a milli-second in order to go through the next move. But ah when you found these, this is the essence of climbing, of the pure joy of learning, solving a puzzle. With some key suggestions from Tony, I found my own beta for the start, and made progress throughout the day, delighted of it. It was not about sending, not even finishing the route if it was not meant to be that day, but about finding out a few things. I would be back (and I did… the following WE, unlocking the route in 2 falls. I WILL be back for more!). Michael will hop on it a couple of times, having all the moves down and will have a “soft” send of it ( ask him what that is).
While we were working on these routes, a bit of a situation was developing nearby:a family, father, mother, girl and boy were about to climb a dihedral, a 10a trad line in the book.The father had set up a top rope which looked like a static line and was about to belay his son ( who looked about 12 and obviously was not comfortable climbing). Beside s the fact his dad had hooked up his son's harness in a very "personal" way, we kept looking out and everything about that "picture" was not right. A line set up on fairly hard climb, the son starting to climb off route way to the left from the anchor point line and yes a tree between the father and the son.... The law of physics were simple. If the son was to fall he would swing into the tree. It is a fine line to say or not to say something: embarrass a father in front of his family, telling him what he is doing is not safe, or... say nothing and observe to make sure something really bad does happen. We chose the latter and after talking at length about it later on swore we never will be silent again. The kid did fall and swing into the tree the rope wrapping around a couple of times. Imagine that.... Luckily the kid was not heard too badly. He could not really walk as he was in pain, but it looked OK. Arggghhh....
Interesting to know as I was relating this story to my brother who teaches climbing to kids in France, there is an actual rule in my country about this kind of situation: if a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation develops in a climbing area and more experience climbers notice it and do not say anything, they could be held responsible if something happens!!!!!!!
As Burke put it so well, one has to understand climbing has to be considered like something more than a casual family outing. It is a sport that can be extremely safe if one is willing to ask for help or advice if one is in doubt.

Lesson learned for us as well. Better to be yelled at by someone who considered we made him or her look bad in front of others, than being witnesses to an accident.

The only note a bit out tune for a Wonderful Week-end with wonderful friends.
Lovely Arete, Fine Nine, Here come the snakes...Umbrella girl, so many routes/projects for all of us! We'll be back soon. TIS THE SEASON!

Fall Disco Fever

Sunday October 2nd: It was a beautiful Fall day at the Falls. No more sizzling heat, no more bugs. A shinning sun in a perfect blue sky and Tony and Calvin enduring a hard case of Disco fever... I'll let the images talk for themselves. But apparently it takes a bit of fashion style to send a a very stout 12c (yes you guessed it: "Disco Fever") at the Falls. Yes Tony did loose his "toupet" going for the first crux move as a passer-by looked bewildered!

Brief Updates - 24HHH and Jackson Falls

Props to all our friends who climbed at the 24HHH comp last weekend!! I heard times were great, although this year I opted not to go. Each year the comp appears to grow bigger, flashier and better. More sponsors, more schwag. I guess my breaking point was knowing I'd have to pay $35 to volunteer. I did that the past 2 years, but with the comp now starting on Friday, and with precious few vacation days, I couldn't swallow the fee and the loss of time.

We're hoping to have a guest post by a couple of our climbers Jaime and Meg, who crushed their first time at 24HHH... 60 and 41 routes, respectively!!

A special Thank You to Sterling Rope for taking old ropes for recycling and giving Good Karma gift certificates towards the purchase of a new Sterling rope for each recycled cord. Thanks Jaime/Meg/Yusuf for taking those down for me!

Now, on to the climbing:

2 and 3 weekends ago, we headed down en masse to Jackson Falls: Jaime, John, Conor, Angie, Meg, Yoli, Christian, Frances, Justin, Colleen, Michael, Topher, Blair, Carine and Calvin.

Major kudos to Jaime, who has upped the ante and took her climbing to a new level. The Reckoning, .11d fell second go. The Farmer, .12a, went second go the next weekend. We're waiting to see what falls next!

Christian,Topher and I worked on Disco Fever, .12c, sometimes noted as the hardest .12c at the Falls. Not sure about that, but it's pretty effing tough, with a shutdown finger-strength dependent move at the 4th bolt. The name is apt: smearing, delicate climbing and dancing on your toes, interspersed with powerful moves off shallow two finger pockets and pinches. The final crux involves an interesting left heel-hook off a right handed bad pinch while rotating your left hand past perpendicular to a 2 o'clock-situated edge. A final throw gains you some required Jackson Falls bulges and finishing moves, but nothing too strenuous. We'll be back for more. Everything else is pretty doable, but the finger pocket is heinous. I've been hitting the finger board specifically for this move. I guess I should thank Wolfgang for inventing it.

In case you're wondering, I don't update nearly as frequently anymore because I've been disconnected from the internet for the last 8+ months (at home).  It's liberating, but not conducive to blogging. It's good that we have multiple authors.

First RRG Trip of the Fall

Climbers: Justin, Frances, Carine, Eric, Dave, Calvin and Angie

Laughter echoed along the cliff-line. It was raining: an intermittent, misting, drizzle, punctuated by bouts of heavy downfall. I felt content. Angie and I were waiting for our friends to finish up a last climb at Purgatory in the Red River Gorge. Our goal was spitting sunflower seed shells for distance (which I handily won) and hitting a small plant (during which I felt the sting of defeat). We'd spent the day climbing in almost pleasant weather. Almost pleasant, if you know the joy of climbing with sweat pouring out of every pore. Still, a welcome change from the day before.

I didn't know it at the time, but that was to be the last climb of our trip. The rain slackened enough as we tidied up to leave, but soon returned and steadily dripped its way through the entire gorge. I hopped behind the wheel and wove the car around a series of puddles and gashes that forms the steep entry road to the Southern Region.

We camped at Lago Linda's and had a great time. This time, with some new faces. Justin joined us from the gym at the last minute - he of the negative ape index when wearing shoes. Eric, who manages the downtown Upper Limits franchise and rebuilt his 70's era VW van engine. Frances, who loves yoga, spouts random TV commercial jingles and joined us this summer as another new climber-friend addition from South Carolina. And Asian Dave, (it's not racist when I say it), who boulders mostly, is uber-strong and shares beer with a smile. These are our newer friends, some a little newer than others, who filled the days with easy companionship and the evenings with laughter and fun.

Some random highlights of our trip included getting to try new climbs, watching Adam Taylor redpoint Lucifer .14c in the heat and meeting some fun peeps from Alabama and Milwaukee. I love big, slobering dogs who love to fetch things.

The weather prematurely sent us back west to St. Louis, where I type this. Our trip was rain-shortened, but the weather is now fantastic. The promise of fall is in the air. Walking outside today heightened my excitement to climb again, climb outside and to dream of new possibilities.

Hopefully we'll have many more stories to share soon.

Day One Crags: Muir Valley, Sunnyside and Great Arch:
Virgin Bolter Tag Team, .10b
Machete, .10b
Kokopeli's Dream, .9
Suppress the Rage, .12a (no send)
Some Humans Ain't Human, .10c
Dingo the Gringo, .10c
Dyn-O-Mite, .9-
Black Powder, 10a
Lip Service, .11c (no send)
Night Moves, .11b

Day Two Crags: Volunteer Wall, Left Field and Purgatory
Darwin Loves You, .9+
Unknown 2, .11b
Family Tradition, .10b
Autograph, .11a
Jet Lag, .9
Thru Space and Time, .10a
Special Boy, .11c (no send)
Gluttony, .12a (no send)
The Gimp, .10a

Calvin
P.S. I saw O'Connor today in the Loop. He's headed to Jackson tomorrow... expecting great things. :)

The new generation

Sending super hero Connor-Man style! Our Team Saucisson Jaime and John's little guy.

Connor's First Ascent from Steven Xu on Vimeo.

And yes this is taking place at our new Saint Louis indoor playground, a beautiful huge new climbing gym: UPPER LIMITS WEST COUNTY (in Maryland Heights).
Check it out, it is SWEEEEEEEET!

http://www.upperlimits.com/west-county

It is going to be the perfect training ground for some great fall outdoor climbing.

The Enchanted Forest

Yoli strikes again with a new video. Here are some members of our favorite Team in the beautiful Squamish.

The Enchanted Forest from Yolanda Chen on Vimeo.

Mr. and Mrs. Aubuchon go to Smith

Tara and I just made it home from a great two weeks in Oregon, and before I pack up and move to DC for a summer internship, I wanted to write and thank all of our amazing climbing friends in St. Louis. Everyone helped make our wedding night such a special experience. During the honeymoon, Tara told me, repeatedly, that hands down the happiest picture I took (besides with her, of course) was with a big group of climbers.

Climbing on your honeymoon is a good, and bad, idea. I couldn't believe how tired I was after the wedding weekend, and on Tuesday morning, the last thing I wanted to do was wake up at 3 am, fly to Portland, and try to go climbing. By the end of the trip though, Tara and I were climbing more confidently as a team (we did at least one multipitch a day) and enjoying the rhythm that is shade chasing and climbing at Smith. The best part of a climbing honeymoon, we agreed, is the metaphor that multipitching can be for a marriage. Teamwork. Trust. Communication. Struggle. And fun. We definitely lived the metaphor and finished our trip on Zion, a four pitch wonder that climbs up the Morning Glory Wall. It was a route at or near both of our limits, a route that we couldn't stop looking at all week long and wondering if we could climb it. The route follows the heavily chalked crack system to the left of Tara's shoulder, then moves up and right to the intersection of the three cracks and light rock. From there, a wonderful and exposed splitter crack tops out with expansive views of Smith Rock and the Crooked River. We had an amazing time on the route. After a long week, the climbing felt easy and light, and the now-ness inherent in any great climbing moment seemed to in all directions.

Once again, thanks to everyone for a host of great memories. We'll post a few more detailed climbing pictures soon, but it is safe to say, we would both support a Team Saucisson trip to test out the Smith crimps soon!

Blue Sky Weekend -May 2011

by Christian R. (guest blogger)

After months of thunderstorms and tornados, Yoli and I began hearing predictions of a blue sky weekend in Arkansas. We had been pent up like a couple of caged animals, due to the horrible weather, and we were itching to get on some boulders. As the week progressed, a plan started to take shape, and we headed down to Arkansas on Thursday afternoon with plans to meet Topher on Friday morning.

We met Topher on Friday morning as planned. It turns out, Topher had been up since sunrise after being attacked by a ranch dog the night before. He was concerned about the possibility of rabies, so he had woken up with the sun to ask the owners if the dog had gotten its rabies shot. Lucky for him, it had.

Psyche was high to get climbing, so we loaded up our crash pads and hiked to the Idaho Boulders to start the day. The rocks were still a little damp, but the temps were good. We warmed up by doing a few laps on a fun jug haul called Quite Time (V1) and then headed over to War Bonnet (V5). This problem is amazing and receives 4 out of 4 well deserved stars in the guidebook. This was the first time Topher had tried War Bonnet and he was able to send it quickly. Yoli had tried it before, but was having trouble toward the top of the boulder. She was unable to reach past the bad, damp, vertical slot and was forced to come up with different beta. Slowly, but surely, her beta was unlocked, but by the time she had figured out a sequence that worked for her, she was unable to link all of the moves together. War Bonnet would have to wait.

We packed the pads and headed over to a boulder problem called Numerical Methods (V8). This 3 star climb starts from a sit on good underclings with a ginormous foot ledge and ascends an overhanging arete with big, powerful moves, to a slopey top out. I hadn't bouldered with Topher before and was pleasantly surprised to find his enthusiasm for solving cruxes was super high. We studied the problem and discussed possible beta and began taking turns, trying to climb this powerful arete. On my fourth go, everything came together and I found myself at the top of the boulder. Topher continued to make serious progress on the line and I have no doubt that he will send this problem on his next trip to HCR.

Having rested for a good 30 minutes or so, Yoli was ready to give War Bonnet another shot. When we arrived at the boulder, we noticed the climb was now in the sun, but this was actually a good thing because the bad vertical slot was now dry. We set up the pads as Yoli laced up her Talons. Yoli made the climb look effortless as she hit every hold perfectly and floated up the climb on her first try.

With Yoli having crushed her project, we headed to Razor's Edge (V5). This line goes up another overhanging arete. Razor's Edge has great movement on difficult holds, which climax at a small undercling, followed by a large move to a sloper at the top. I was able to send this on my first try, but I feel that this climb is solid for the grade. The problem is a little contrived, but the movement is so good that I think it's worth getting on.

Since we were in the area, we decided to head up to the Moondye boulder. This boulder has a few great problems situated on an overhanging face. I wanted to try Moondye Stand (V5) again. On my last trip out to HCR, I had failed miserably on this problem. The crux of the problem is a dyno off of bad holds to a great sloper at the lip. I love dynamic movement, but ironically I suck at dynos and I really wanted to send this problem. Topher was able to crush Moondye Stand inside of five minutes and he shared some really good beta that allowed me to send it as well. I was really impressed by Topher's ability to read boulder problems. This guy really knows his stuff.

After sending Moondye Stand we started working on Chuck Wagon (V4) and Kung Fu (V8). It turns out Chuck Wagon is a pretty unappealing boulder problem and all of our focus soon shifted to the much more interesting Kung Fu. Topher and I worked on Kung Fu with a vengeance. We tried hard to send it for about 30 minutes. On my final attempt, and under extreme body tension mid-crux, I felt pain in three separate areas of my body and I was forced to jump off the problem. Luckily everything was okay, but it was definitely a scary feeling.

After having a close call on Kung Fu, we headed to the less strenuous, yet uber technical Momento (V5). This right leaning arete has a cryptic sequence that Yoli, Topher, and I just couldn't figure out. We worked this climb for at least 30 minutes and although we were all getting about three-quarters of the way up, we were still missing the key to unlock the final move.

I messed around a little on High Five (V4) and Miho (V6) while Yoli sent Udaho (V3) with ease.

Hungry and tired, we headed back to camp to refuel with a very late lunch. After lunch, we headed to the North Forty boulders where we tried Orb Weaver (V7). This awesome line feels stout for the grade. After a handful of failed attempts, we wandered over to Bad Daze (V5), which was situated over three inches of wet goat poop. Falling was not an option and neither was sending, as the fear of falling in deep, wet, goat poop all but consumed us.

From there we headed to Chainsaw (V4), which Yoli flashed, while I struggled on the opening moves. Topher, re-energized by Yoli's flash, managed to flash Chainsaw as well. I ended up settling for the redpoint. As darkness began to fall around us, we packed up our pads and headed back to camp, exhausted, but still hungry for more.

Saturday was supposed to be wet, but it ended up only raining a few drops in the early morning hours. I had read in the guidebook about a boulder that was said to be "flat-out one of the best boulders in the state" and I wanted to check it out. Yoli and Topher were game, so we headed to the Undertow Boulder for some serious bouldering.

On the way to the Undertow Boulder, we warmed up by climbing three problems on the Sloping Joe Boulder. Upon arriving at the Undertow Boulder, my jaw dropped, and then proceeded to just about fall off. Here was an amazing boulder with an ultra steep... hell, horizontal roof, with awesome and interesting holds the whole way. It wasn't just the angle, this roof was long, with a variety of holds. The best line on the boulder, Hang Ten (V7), had a huge loaf start hold, dozens of finger pockets, a huge sloper rail, jug pockets, deep slots, and a monster finishing jug. I don't want to spoil the climb for anyone who might want to seek this thing out by giving specifics, but I will say this: Amazing, gymnastic roof climbing mixed with enough techiness to make an outstanding boulder problem.

Realizing what a great climb was in front of us, Topher and I began to session Hang Ten. Every hold on the roof was examined and discussed and every possible move we could think of was tried. We began to solve each section and after two hours, we began to link large sections together. After two and a half hours had gone by, we were getting to the last hold every time and falling off the top out. Finally, after three hours of sessioning, Topher and I were able to send Hang Ten. This boulder problem is the best that I have climbed at HCR and is one of my favorite boulder problems to date.

Following the epic monster session on Hang Ten, we headed back to the car for cold beer and a much needed lunch. After lunch, Yoli got on a rope and made two strong attempts on Mine, Mine, Mine (5.11d) and about twenty attempts on Fat Hand (5.12a) at the North Forty. Yoli was able to get through the difficult crux of Fat Hand after almost an hour of repeated attempts, but was unable to finish the route. She'll be back to get this one next time, as she is very close to sending it.

We ended the day with Topher's much anticipated “Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese”, which was very tasty, some turkey tetrazzini, and some ramen with eggs. Dessert consisted of Yoli's campfired bananas stuffed with melted chocolate and marshmallows.

By Sunday morning, everyone was starting to feel the fatigue, but that wasn't going to stop us from sending some more problems. We headed back to the Idaho boulders and climbed this overlooked gem called Quagmire (V2) that only gets 2 stars in the guidebook for some odd reason. That climb seriously should have 3 stars in my opinion. Quagmire has perfect crimps the whole way on a slightly overhanging face.

After Quagmire we got on The Crescent (V3), which turned out to be a really fun climb. Topher and I sent The Crescent and we all did a quick lap on Rainshadow (V0), each of us taking in the view of the forest from the top. In the last half hour before leaving, Topher and I sent Dirty Bitch (V3) and everyone made a few tired attempts on Even Dirtier (V5).

After everyone was in agreement that we had finally had our fill of boulders, we packed up our crash pads for the last time and headed back to our cars for the long drive home. As we said our goodbyes, we knew that more thunderstorms and tornados were in our future, but the memories from this blue sky weekend would always be with us.

A short video of CR and Topher on Numerical Methods and Moondye Stand at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, May 2011.

Music: Ronald Jenkees and Metallica

TRY HARD ONCE

Red Rock 2011. Who needs more words. Yoli strikes again. Good memories. Enjoy!

Try Hard Once from Yolanda Chen on Vimeo.

RED ROCKS - APRIL 2011

A lot of people have a certain image in mind when one talks about Vegas, The sin city, the gambling, the shows... the slot machines...the glitter. We think more of Rock. A rock so red, so worked by centuries of erosion, a rock of art.
We are the cliff dancers. At least that is what a sign a the second pullout trail head, in the Red Rocks park, calls us! A strange breed, who, god forbid, would rather play on rock than at a casino table!
We came from the Midwest, some came from the West, some from the Mountains. Team Saucisson and friends!
From Saint Louis:
Yoli, Christian, Michael, Emily, Braden, , Meghan, Sophie, and later on Yusuf, John and Nathalie (from Toronto)
From Colorado:
Tim
From California:
Oky, Brian, Michelle
And then a larger posse from CA who we'll sporadically see during the 5 days. Glenn, Sarah, Mike, .....

DAY 1
Second Pull-out. Black Corridor and Sweet Pain walls.
The rock glows against a cloudless sky. It is going to be warm says Yoli. Oh I'll take the warmth. The Saint Louis winter has dragged on a bit too long, and if that snow storm we had had a few days before was pretty indeed, I was definitely ready to take off a layer or two!
The black corridor is like a gym tell me Christian and Yoli. And they are right. an incredible tight canyon with an amazing amount of routes. It is a good place till it's not! When it gets crowded, yes it is then hard to believe you are in the desert! No more peace. So we'll end up warming up on a series of 10s and a 9 (Burros don't gamble 10c, Nightmare on Crude street, 10d) and head for the next crag, Sweet Pain.
That is a bit of rock I had heard about a few times before the trip. I was already excited about some lines I had never seen.
A beautiful 11a Glitter Gulch, wet my appetite and then we'll all take turn on The Gambler and overhung sweet 11b. A great route Yoli said not to be pumpy. humm we must have a very different definition of the word! :)
Then to the left is Sweet Pain (left on the photo, right, The Gambler), a beautiful angling and steep 11d Yoli had told me so much about. One of her projects. Christian flashed it putting the draws (a mere warm up for him!). I looked at the route and could not help but being a bit intimidated. But since I had hopped on my first line, I was feeling really calm and centered, a good state of mind. A first go pretty much bolt to bolt but, I would be back. Yoli would fall after the crux. so close. Yes we had some unfinished business here. A good first day for everyone. Feeling the rock, breathing in the desert air.

A stop at the legendary IN AND OUT on the way back to the hotel. And then we are, a bunch of very dirty and probably smelly climbers, walking through the ground floor casino of our hotel ( but of course!), meeting the very sad glances of people, cigarette hanging on the corner of their lips, desperately tapping on the buttons of the slot machines.
Argghhh why would you spend your day in such a place? smoke, no window, psychedelic carpet, and the endless ringing of the machine. Insane. This city is insane.