Outdoor Junky

 Oh my.  The last few weeks have passed like milliseconds.  I remember falling asleep in Sitka and waking up in Seattle.  Then I fell asleep in Seattle and woke up in Bishop.  Then there was a bunch of stuff that happened in between dreaming but it was so spontaneous and surreal I wasn't exactly sure it actually happened. 
Well, I guess during the last remaining days I spent in Alaska I did a lot of climbing and a lot of bolting.  I finished up the crag by adding two more lines, Ivans Roof (5.11a) and Chill Haze (5.10a), and the big news is that I sent my long term project Beers in Heaven and decided to grade it 5.12c. 

Jed on the cruxy face of Chill Haze (5.10a)

 
Me just hanging out on the victory jug on Klingit Haircut (5.11d)

 
 The classic crotch shot.  Beers in Heaven.

I have no idea what the grade actually is; all I know is that it took me a long time to just figure out the sequence and then a long time to send it.  It's beautiful, it climbs extremely well (bouldery, power endurance route) and the setting is stunning.  I was very pleased to have it done before I left.  All in all the little crag in Sitka boasts ten routes from 5.10a to 5.12+. 

After shedding tears, unwanted belongings, and saying our goodbyes to all of the invigorating people we met in Alaska we boarded a ferry to Bellingham.
 

 

We were on the ferry for almost three whole days and it was well a deserved rest.  We slept outside in the solarium and had our good friends JD and Mark (I believe his first name was Makers) to keep us warm.  We arrived in Washington and holed up with our respective families until it was time to depart to our final destination.
Arriving in Bishop was very odd.  I wasn't sure if it was really happening at the time, but now that we have been here for a week, moved into our tiny apartment, and started working here it has begun to partially sink in.  We live in Bishop!!  Holy shit, how did that happen?!!

Steph tops out a V.0 in the Happy's
Well, its certainly not a glamorous lifestyle but it pays dividends in the outdoor type activities that you wouldn't believe.  The past week I have been bouldering countless times, I've been up to Mammoth Mt. twice to go snowboarding, and yesterday Steph and I went to the Owens River Gorge to break in our trad rack and new rope.  It was a perfect day, with a little bit of everything thrown in.  











Steph handles the thin finger crack of Bonus Features (5.7) in the gorge. 


Yeah, that's me trying to act like a trad climber.  This is the best route I've ever done.  A very holistic-type experience.  Who knew trad was so fun?  I guess trad climbers...

Everything has been going great here.  i'm slowly recovering from my vitamin D deficiency, I'm finding out how weak I am, and I'm really in love with this place.  It's so much different being here and knowing that I don't have to leave in a few days.  I hope to see you all down here soon...