The plan worked. And how! I'll say! Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Five crash pads are better than one! Three voices of encouragement are better than one voice of stubborn motivation! Waking up at 4am to climb is better than waking up later if it gets hotter the later it gets! As a sidenote, waking up at 4am is better if you don't drink and party with friends until 2am. OOPS! But a nice morning drive through some BBQ'd and sauteed towns leads us to a really deep-fried area, and then to the bouldering, which feels like a raw island of its own, untethered and overrun with nature.
No OOPSies on the climbs, though! Let's see, what should the three of us warm up on? Hmm...Oh - I know! Let's go try Sobriosity and then see what Five Star Arete (both V6's) can give us for warming up! Then we can go just to the left of the Five Star Arete, on Ross Bongo (V10) for the camera and see if Sammy Boy Johnson and Gabe Cisneros can work it out!
And see we did! Gabe got all of the moves down! Annoyingly and awesome enough, Gabe's crux is the first big move. Getting it out of the way quickly, he sets up so as to glide up the rest of the otherwise difficult moves. Can someone pass him a tall glass of lemonade to sip from for the rest of the climb? Or is that aiding? Go for it, Gabe! Holler if you want a drink or a napkin to dab your forehead since you're climbing hard in the sun!
And Sam, who claims to have never done a V6 outside came dangerously close to making me call him a liar today. And why shouldn't I? I just saw him nearly send two classic, amazingly spread out V6's on the largest boulder in the northwestern US I've seen! I'm trying to remember if he took a well-deserved nap at that point or if he took his shirt off and started smashing the first handful of moves on R.B.... Oh yeah - He smashed 'em!
Needless to say I consider myself quite lucky to have finally climbed with both of these guys on Team Inspiration and witnessed some extremely aggressive and hearty efforts on wonderful routes that can't help but be loved by all. By all except for the birds who drop present-bombs from the tree on top of the boulder, that is! LOOK OUT BELOW!
It was nice to see Sam creek-crossing in style and Gabe rushing to get back to his family and a birthday party, packing the pads away to end the climbing day from 5am-2pm. That's what I call a good old Rally Climbin' day!
Later on I hope to receive the video footage Gabe took of me sending the problem (although this time it's cut from pieces) as well as pictures! For now, stay tuned and enjoy your sun. And then your sunburn! And then you can check out the pictures Gabe posted of us for the online guidebook, Mountain Project by clicking this: THANKS, GABE!
-Your Rally Landescaper, N8
Go Time!
Return to R.B.
4am is early. Even if you know you're going to do something you love doing after a half-hour drive to pick up two crash pads that Johnny Thank-You-G left at Stone Gardens and gas-up stop and a hike through a raging creek, inevitably soaking one foot, 4am is early.
Even if during your drive there the sun pokes you in your Achilles' heel - your eyes - to keep you awake and sometimes sifts through mass quantities of cirrus, cumulus and a few contrails - which means dry air: a good sign for climbing! - you know that 4am is early.
Even if your favorite band's CD is in the player blasting for half the drive and your hands are half on the steering wheel, half going through the motions of the problem you're about to hop on, and you're thinking about how excited you are to climb, when you realize that it's almost the case that your hands are the ones most excited about climbing, not you; even when you know that your hardest climb lies just a few feet in front of you, and you have enough time to climb it; even when there are no ORV's buzzing around but only oriole-wannabes gossiping about how they've had the idea for years pertaining to digital cameras that know your geographical position and can wirelessly submit photos to your storage device,
4am is early.
But you know what? Returning to R.B. is worth it. My P.R. is R.B., or as referred to before this post, Ross Bongo. Even though I didn't top it out, I consider myself to have climbed it because the reason that I didn't top it out was this: by the time I got to the slabby-er topout and entered the point of no-easy-return, I looked down and saw that if I slipped on this uncleaned, mossy top, the three crash pads were not beneath me any longer! They had only protected the V10 part of the climb. So it is that I left without getting on top of the Five-Star Boulder via R.B. but rather via the reverse walk-off instead. But if I want to, I can complete the "V0+ topout" as KellyHowesSheridan puts it, on Saturday when I return to the Five-Star Boulder with Sam Johnson and Gabe Cisneros... If I want! Again, leaving at 5am! Didn't I learn?
Boy am I tired! But alas. For me, there is nothing more calming and simultaneously invigorating as a hard send.
More to come, certainly,
-Your calm and invigorated Landescaper, N8
Dinner with Dave & Co.!
Dave Thompson invited me to dinner. Correction: Dave Thompson graciously invited Alisa and me to dinner. As it turned out, it was even nicer than expected, which is to say that it was very nice. Not only did Dave do a great job cooking and hosting, but it was nice to see Aaron and Jeanna and Drew as well!
Oh yeah, and Aspen! Good 'ole Aspen! I think Aspen occupied a good 28% of all conversations! Way to go, Aspen! NEW RECORD!
In the meantime, catching up and talking about the future and finding out just how much in common you have with friends that until now was undiscovered leaves you with a feeling that your tree trunk just gained a ring of wisdom and security. Time to drop some leaves and move trunk stump to Patagonia! If I were a tree, I'd try and be the first to jump ship! Inspiring is hearing stories such as those engulfing Jeanna and Drew regarding there recent forages into Indian Creek and Yosemite or Dave's three 12's in a day stories! Thus, the dinner was successful, because inspiration is success.
In fact, the dinner was so successfully that at least Dave and I found ourselves eating leftovers for a good one meal afterwards, and I tried to weasel my way into another dinner with Dave!
On the most positive side of it all, I feel quite safe in saying that we'll all meet up again sometime soon; if not in Patagonia or somewhere in South America, then maybe in a farmer's market or local crag east of flatlands, World!
'Til then, Rock the Power, Crew!
-Your well-dinnered Landescaper, N8
Ross Bongo!
Ross Bongo. I drive to Gold Bar. My eyelids keep stretching in the wrong directions. So I eat a blueberry muffin for my second breakfast. I'm not going to park in the usual place for Gold Bar climbing. I'm going to park in a place I've never seen, and hope it's the right place, across from a creek. I'm tromping through the woods and the path I was told I would find soon peters out at a campfire now just burnt logs and wet newspapers. This is where my shoes start getting soaked through to the socks and my pants turn from a tan to a dark brown. I don't know how my arms are not more scratched. Just because I don't know doesn' t mean I'd rather have them scratched and know! I don't question good miracles, no matter how small if it means not reversing them! Just like I don't question the need I have to go try
Ross Bongo. I find the path again. It's huge. It's a dirt road, not a path like I was following in the woods. I move onward. I'm anxious to find this boulder, this five-star boulder, The Five Star Boulder. It's huge. It's unmissable. I come around a corner and I find the unmistakable boulder in question. All that separates me is some brush. Ten more trail steps finds me another trail that leads me to the boulder and the image that I've been told is, "Totally your style; You'll love it!"
Ross Bongo. Click! I take a picture. It's awe-inspiring. It's overhung, big moves, decent holds, feet are, feet are, feet are... find 'em! Use 'em how you can! They're there somewhere: on the arete, on the tiny edges, on your hands! They're good. I waste no time. I have no time to waste. It's 11:00am. I have to leave at 1:30pm to be back in Seattle in time for a 3:00pm Climbing 101 class I have to teach. That leaves me 2 1/2 hours to try
Ross Bongo. Try and try hard! It's a V10! My would-be first V10. It's just right for me. I get started. Good climbing conditions are slightly cold and definitely dry. It's cool and drizzling. Close enough! I chalk any hold I can reach that may be damp. I try and brush the moss on top but it's too far to reach. I don't think it'll matter. Time is passing! Set up the crash pad. I try and problem-solve the moves of the route and examine the holds to see which ones I'll use and how. It seems by looking that I can skip some holds that others have used and use some that others have skipped. It looks like my beta for the route'll be different. That makes me happy!
It's 11:32am and Ross Bongo has already allowed me to do each and every move on it some in groups, crux and all, just not all together yet! The first times of doing the moves, my feet cut sometimes, and I'm strong enough to let them and and pull some moves I wouldn't ordinarily. Click! You can see this in the self-portrait below. Thank you Mr. Funky Fresh! You allow me to climb so much harder! I take a break, grab some Sir Strawberry, a favorite juice of mine, drink some and snack a little, too.
After regaining my breathing and working the route from the start a bunch of times, I come really close to sending. I keep falling at the crux before it gets easy for me. My right thumb is starting to throb thanks to keeping half my weight on a sharp thumb hold pinch for the time span it takes me to make three moves. For today, for the first 2 1/2 hours of working the route, I don't get closer than doing the route in two parts, complete with all of the moves.
But hey, tomorrow's Monday. Maybe my thumb'll be strong. Maybe I'll be fresh. Maybe it won't be drizzling or raining. Maybe it'll be cold. Maybe I'll give Ross Bongo V10 a run for it's money!!!
In the meantime, I can think of a great and short day I had working a really fun and challenging route on the most classic boulder I've come across to date. I need to get back! Who wants to come with me and bring a crash pad so I'll feel more OK with taking those big moves over the moat of piranha rocks below!
This 2 1/2 hour session was well worth the 1 hour drive each way! I don't mind teaching a 101 class dreary-eyed, saggy-armed, soppy-socked, dirty-shirted! The inspiration shines through thus. The love-of-it is wrapped in packaging just like this. More to come, maybe Monday!
-Your love-of-it Landescaper, N8
I'm drunk off of chocolate milk!
And this is what I do when I'm drunk off of chocolate milk!
Before:
During:
After:
And now Alisa is ecstatic. And I feel much lighter. And through the phase where I want to grow a beard. And ready to move on to the phase where I want to climb all over the world!
Stay tuned for the next epiphase!
-Your Beardless Landescaper, N8
A No-Work Tuesday!
How should Alisa and I spend a no-work Tuesday? Should we get lots of errands done such as getting vaccinations, eyeglasses, money transfers, and so on? Or should we go have lots of fun watching movies, climbing, hiking, cooking and eating?
How about both? Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too? Not me! Not Alisa! So we did. It was great. We did the above errands, not in record time, but they were done. And then we drove to the first climbing destination as a Seattleite: Exit 32 (off of I-90E) in North Bend, WA. It's been a long time since either of us rope-climbed outdoors. Alisa's been too busy to go outdoor climbing and I've been doing bouldering trips! Not now, though! It's a no-work Tuesday! Let's go climbing!!!
It was nice. But wait! Why didn't Alisa climb more? Why aren't there more pictures of Alisa climbing? Well, I'll tell you why! Alisa's doctor's appointment included getting a shot. Right in the arm! So, with that shot in the arm, it was impressive that she even led a four-star must-climb 5.9 route at Exit 32. It was funny that the name of this route was Reptiles and Amphetamines. Below is Alisa, with hurt arm, leading the climb.
With that said, it was nice to come home, buy vegetables and fake-meat, and make food! Good food! Now, to update our blogs. Wait! Do we both have blogs?
Here's the thing: I have a blog. I wanted it to be ours, but it seems that I've made it my own. So...Alisa is making her own! We will have links to one another's blogs on our blogs. Of course! Below is a quick peek at what might be on the top of Alisa's blog! And if it's not there -- we're in the process of working on the sneak peek preview on this blog! It should be up SOON! Check back!
Be sure to keep up-to-date and let us know if you have any questions, suggestions, or what-have-yous, be they about life or our trip or other!
Happy travels,
-Your No-Work Tuesday Landescaper, N8
Father's Day
"Mom, when's dad coming home?" I can remember asking. I was anxious and impatient about dad's return. This is my first memory of dad and myself. This is in our house on the hill in Dover-Foxcroft Maine. Dad came home from work. It was rather late, and I was tired. Dad probably was, too. I remember mumbling a request for a piggy-back ride up the stairs to bed. My request was willingly granted. That's my dad. Tired and carrying this heavy four-year-old, whose arms now wrap around his neck and barely connect again, up the stairs to sleep.
More recently, I recall climbing with dad all over California and visits he paid in Seattle. I can't help but look forward to each and every next visit I get, when dad will return. "When's dad coming?"
Last Weekend Hoorah!
I just got back from Squamish. I just got back from Dr. Seussesque forests and boulders with chalk marks. The weather was superb. A cool wind and sun maintained. Wet from a Squamish temper tantrum, my tent is now dry and Squamish has come to its senses again. And how!
The climbing this trip was excellent. I sent barely anything but enjoyed pushing myself on problems I might not ever have the chance of trying again! Gabe Cisneros and Sam Johnson were unable to make the trip due to Father's Day events, eye problems, graduation parties, BBQ's and the like. What else is like those things? Huh... Back to climbing: I love Black Hole!
The problems were spectacular, as per usual. And it was nice meeting some acquaintances from recent trips and climbing with them a bit. It was also nice to get some alone time to reflect and take climbing at my own pace, with my own motivation.
This trip has me feeling good. But what do I mean by 'good'? 'Good' can be not doing a bad thing, or choosing the better of two bad options... This trip has me feeling excited about adventuring, taking a step back from the congestion that life can become. Also, I'm glad to be back home to rest and give my fingers some recovery time!
More to come!
-N8, Weekend Landescaper
Question # 1
Why are we leaving Seattle?
The No. 1 question on everyone's lips when we tell them we're moving to Patagonia, Chile is, believe it or not, "Why are you leaving Seattle?" Runner-ups are questions pertaining to how long we're going to stay in Patagonia or what we're going to do for work. The answers to all non-No. 1 questions will come in due time. The following is an attempt to explain why we are leaving wonderful Seattle and all that is great about its people, its whereabouts, and its whatabouts.
First of all, we arrived in Seattle on July 4th, 2007. Never have I had such a welcome to a city as Seattle gave us. Who gives you fireworks? And as great as Seattle has been at its high points, we have approached it from the beginning as a place to live and work for at least a year, at which point we will reconsider our options.
It has been a year, and I have come to know a bit of Seattle and beyond. I love the people I've met. And plan to keep in touch! I have enjoyed the opportunities Seattle has presented with respect to the job market. Who expects to work for a Chinese Television station and a climbing gym straight out of college? And of course, I thoroughly adore the lifestyle of a climbing junkie that Washington state, in particular Seattle, allows for (SEE next post re: Last weekend Hoorah at Squamish Getaway!).
But it has been a year. And this image I have of Patagonia continues to expand in my mindscape. So, as the time for reconsideration approached, I thought, 'Why not move to Patagonia?' Being the world-traveler of the two of us, Alisa took this proposal very seriously, even adding an entire dream-trip that you now see on our blog, that includes over six countries and fifteen states! We get to see friends and see and climb the world! I think everyone wins.
So there you have it!
We'll keep you posted on how long we're going to stay and where, and let you know what we get for jobs. Right now we only have postulates not proofs for such things.
-Your Landescaper, N8
Alien Landing!
It didn't occur at the space needle, but there was an alien landing last night in Seattle. Coincidentally enough, it occurred at Comet Tavern. Friends of ours from "Oberlin College" (or is it Pluto?) landed there for a concert and revelry, including a performance by none other than Capillary Action (http://www.myspace.com/capillaryaction). Lead vocals, musical direction and guitar by Jonathan "Drippy" Pfeffer, pictured here with Lauren Doodle Day and her father. Sam Krulewitch, whose brother is in one of the pictures although he himself is not, reigns over the keyboard and also vocals for the group.
Now, back to errands and planning for a weekend trip to Squamish. Which reminds me, Drippy and Doodle are having a couple's getaway in Vancouver. If you're in a couple and haven't had a getaway recently - go! Get away! At least for 2.2 minutes!
Back to the show! More to come!
-Your landescaper, N8
Getting Ready to Leave Seattle
We are getting ready to leave Seattle. Alisa gave her two-weeks notice to the Pacific Science Center a week ago. For about a month now, my last day at Stone Gardens has been June 27th. Furthermore, we have been selling, cleaning and packing. With all of the exact planning we've been doing, I feel as though we're prisoners at this point, plotting our escape with our lives on the line of each detail. We've been quietly scraping a hole from our cell and carrying the dirt outside to drop it when noone is looking. Of course, this is not so.
It isn't until you have to sell everything and pack into a small car such as a Honda Accord that you realize just how many belongings you have acquired. We have given away Alisa's old hampster cage, where Scampers the hampster used to climb upside-down on the roof's wires. We have given away all of our pots and plants, including our dead basil plant that served us oh-so-well. We have sold a picture of the NY Chrysler building, a large work desk, and are currently negotiating on a large couch, futon, two chairs, two matching lamps, a fan, and a coffee table. My, how many things we have and can no longer use! P.S., if you would like any of the remaining pieces, please contact us A.S.A.P.!
At least cleaning is straightforward!
Planning, on the other hand, can be a nightmare! There are so many options and it can be difficult to decide where to stop and where to stay and what to eat, especially when considering more than one person's tastes. Luckily, Alisa and I have decided to use the savvy tactics of divide and conquer in order to ensure happiness on both sides of the round table. That is, I have North America and Alisa has South America.
Our North American portion of The Big Trip consists of friends, family, small towns, and big climbs. I have tried to keep the driving done during any one day below 10 hours and if possible, less than 8. Before we leave I will write down directions for each day of travel, the time it will take to get from one point B to another (Once you leave, you are gone from point A), and where we will tent up! As a general note, if you are in, on, or nearby any of our destinations, or have important or interesting information about, of, or pertaining to any of our destinations, please contact us and let us know!
Our South American portion of The Big Trip consists of small towns, big cities, fresh fruits and vegetables, indigenous tribes, mountains and lakes. An added dimension to our travels and planning stems from our methods of movement being via ferries, buses, foot, and so on. We not only have to plan what places we're going to, but how we're getting from one place to the next. If you have any sites to see or recommendations of any sort for places anywhere from Panama City to Patagonia, please contact us and we will look into it!
There are a few more things to do before we leave Seattle besides trip planning and preparation. There is fun to be had! A few good trips, fun with friends, last eat out, and goodbyes.
Why, just yesterday I went out to Gold Bar with Sam "Sammy Boy" Johnson where we thought we put up a FA of "I'm Your Lucky Charm" V5 after hiking a week's worth of hiking. Really, though, a friend of a friend of mine put the problem up a long time ago! I think we hiked about 6 miles that day, with huge crash pads, water, food, and 50lb weights strapped to our ankles. I can't believe Sam had to both practice for the Olympics that night and perform open heart microsurgery without a team for an audience of world-renowned surgeons and students at Seattle Clinic. I hope it all went well! I know I'm tired!
Next weekend is another trip to Squamish! And then...
Just two more weeks!
Psyched on Squamish
Psyched on Squamish, that's what I am! This past weekend I made the trip to meet Johnny G - is for Gorilla - in Squamish. We had a plan to boulder our hearts out and work up to try Dreamcatcher. It rained after our first day. We didn't mind too much sleeping in wet tents or chatting it up in the rain. We didn't mind too much hiking to find the dry boulders or saying goodbye to friends who opted for another dry location or another dry day. But, needless to say, our plan for Dreamcatcher had been out-swamped.
Luckily, the bouldering held us up. After Johnny's first day of sending Sharma's Campus V11, and a highball V6, he was sniffing out Frontside V11 and a Spaghetti, al dente variation on Black Hole V11. During day one, I had hopped on Wormworld Cave V9 and couldn't quite get the crux first move, even though I had managed to snag it briefly without my feet cutting just by singing myself the "Twist and suck your hip in!" lullabye that we all know so well, or should! This was sweet because I had never tried any move or problem harder than V8 outdoors before this! So you can imagine how geared up I was for Black Hole V11 (not the Spaghetti al dente variation, or in layman's terms, the hard and twisty way), which I had tried the day before, working and getting all but one move.
And so it goes, that after Johnny teased the audience for awhile on Frontside, nearly sending on his first go alone, we headed back again to Gibb's Cave and the Black Hole(s). We hit these hard, and honed our techniques down for each of the moves, feeling more technical yet slightly weaker each consecutive attempt. Although there were no full-goes for either of us, I'm pretty sure we're both superbly psyched on Squamish.
That's our Squamish trip in an Egg-shell. Sorry, no pics this time! The revolution will not be photographed!
-Your Landescaper, N8
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