June-uary

Hi folks! Remember me? I guess it has been almost a month since my last blog post, but who's counting? Get ready for a lot of photos, climbing talk, thoughts on life, and if you're lucky a window into the sould of god himself. Aww, just kiddin'.

Steven on Sunshine Slab.

Oh…my…god.  Ai dios mio.  People have come and gone over the last two months like I knew they would.  Some of them have been very special people.  Jon, Josh and Mary, Kevin, Jimmy, Justin, Rob, Ian, Glen, Aimee, Lydia, Greg and of course Steven.  None have had such an impact on my climbing time here as Steven has had though.  We met through a mutual friend of ours Kevin Erickson, underneath the Therapy Roof.  For the next two weeks or so I climbed alone or with Kevin up until he left and then started to have small sessions with Steven.  I don’t even remember what problem it was that we ended up projecting first, but it turned into this heinously unstoppable snowball effect. Starting a little before Christmas and finally ending at the beginning of January was nothing short of a whimsically old fashioned good time.  Steven being eight years my junior is equally as strong as I am and slightly more intelligent when it comes to the rock (and maybe even when it comes to real life, the dude is on a serious career path as a plastics engineer for Entreprise!).  Anyway, our personalities clicked immediately and our climbing styles could not be more similar.  He has been a truly awesome climbing partner and we have taken down rig after rig together.  We have both been pscyhed on the same climbs, and we have both approached them with the same tactics, AND we have both been on a serious sending spree since we met.  I wish him all the luck in the world as he starts his new life in Bend Oregon.

Steven on the warm up, Sads 2013.

We had some serious weather blow through near the end of December and the beginning of January leaving the Happys, Sads, and Milks covered in snow.

It’s the year 2013 and we are all still alive.  I know, amazing.  It’s a thought that doesn’t escape my mind and a fact that I feel very lucky about and ponder as I walk in the sun and the dust up a steep hill.  Why re-hash 2012 when I can just say this about it: movement.  Here in Bishop movement is key.  Hemmingway compared Paris in the late twenties to a ‘moving feast’.  An analogy that could be aptly applied to the current state of mind I find myself engaging in on a daily basis; and one that I would genuinely use to describe observing someone climbing on the natural works of art that populate the sandy slopes and canyons here.  Bishop is like a revolving door to a lot of people.  There are plenty of superficial reasons I could parade out and brag about why I moved here but the truth of the matter is that I wanted to be surrounded by this ‘feast’.  Immersed, submerged, choked-if you will-by beauty and sunshine, climbers (of all types), dogs, friends, visitors, snow, orange boulders, neon lichens, mountains, and movement. 

I did it!  Hooray!  Finally sending Aqautic Hitchhiker. 

Lawnmower Man, so epic.

Steven putting down one of the finest problems on the planet, Morning Dove White.

Warming up on PowPow in a very cold and snowy corridor.

Had to get real old skool for this one and bust out the Kemp jersey on Kung Fu Grip.  I don't think I can say it enough, this IS the BEST problem in the world.

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to live in a place like this and actually enjoy the natural wonders it has to offer.  I feel even luckier to have been able to share this place with so many good people that have been drifting through; some staying for quite a while, others here and then gone offering small windows into other worlds and lives filled with adventure, beauty, and movement of their own.  Every single one of them responsible for a crucial piece of inspiration that has been incremental to piecing together movement inside of a game I like to play called bouldering. 

Holly on the heinous rock-over of Kung Fu Left.

Lololololoooooola!

Ty trys out his martial arts skills on Kung Fu Grip (did I mention already that this is the best problem in the world?)

Ty casually flashing Anti Hero.

Daniel stares down the last hold of Los Locos.  I was lucky enough to put this behemoth down in two sessions last week.  What an amazing climb.  It kind of transcends numbers, names, and any kind of objectification or quantification we can put on it.  Put the grade out of your mind and just climb this thing!!

Ty just crushed this rig!  Acid Wash Right Stand.

Taking a repeat burn on Acid Wash Right.

Holly on Son of Claudius Rufus.  So close!  Last day and this girl just brought it!  It was awesome hanging out with Ty and Holly.  Super genuine, good hearted, and funny people.  Can't wait to see them again. 

Next time for sure Holly.

The Gleaner.  One of the coolest features out of an overhang to a sinker pcoket jug.  Toe hook for the realness!

Go Granny Go Right, yes, its that good. 

Is that He-Man??  Steven puts down a true legend of a boulder problem, Moonraker.  For a boulder that doesn't have a top, this is one of the absolute most underrated and fantastic hard lines in the milks.  SUPER PROUD! 

Steph and I have been living here in California now for almost three months. Steph has really found her niche at Mammoth Mountain as a full time ski instructor. She’s actually gotten really good at skiing, something she just recently picked up before Christmas. Very impressive. I just accepted a job at the mountain operating ski lifts, setting up out of bounds fences, making sure people and small children are safe, pretty remedial stuff but better than the current job I have now as a grocery stalker at Vons.

The weather has been hot lately. It’s the dead of Winter and we are experiencing blue skies and high’s in the mid 60’s almost every day for the past two weeks now. It’s very nice to warm up in this kind of weather but extremely hard to project anything that relies on friction which is basically everything I would like to try. But we press on. I know, it’s a hard life down here getting a full %1,000 of the daily value of vitamin D where the hardest decision I have to make on a daily basis is whether or not to go climbing or skiing, or just stay in bed and re-grow my skin.

Today it was nice and cold and windy.  Perfect sending temps.  I made HUGE progress on my current project Toxic Avenger by sticking the dyno!!  I almost linked it from the proper start but I was freezing cold having left my puffy at home and had to vaminos a la casa before I turned into a popsicle.  Stay psyched!!  Love to all of you who stay true and keep it REAL!  Hope you all have had a wonderful first month of 2013 and look forward to more visits here in the land of endless sunshine and boulders.