Final Post...OMG!

It's hard to believe it's all over?!  I can say that I'm glad I did it, and that I achieved a lot.  I was able to learn so much not only about climbing but myself.  Would I do it again?  I don't know. I have realized the place that climbing has in my life and largely where and what I want my life to be.  I can say that I'm a bit more at peace and definitely more happy.
I think that in a way I have reset my life, mentally.  It's been cool to go thru the process of letting go of so much. Stress, the past, who I am, etc.  I achieved a lot of the goals that I set out to do.  I still can't believe that I climbed El Cap!  I didn't go broke, thank god. France was awesome, and I learned ALOT!
Climbing is still so important to me.  However after doing it so much, I know that there are other things in my life that are also important.  That I have more to focus on, achieve, and be grateful for. I have a better understanding of who I am, what my faults are, what qualities I want to continue to work on.  New goals and aspirations that will breathe new life into my world.  I don't know if this trip was the source of being able to do that, but I know that it provided the opportunity for it.
I did improve as a climber. I learned how to mentally be stronger. I climbed in so many places and did so many routes that I have always wanted to do: Tahquitz, Epinephrine, The Nose, The Sierras, The Buttermilks, Font, Maple Canyon, Serenity Crack and Sons of Yesterday, The Vampire.  The list continues.  I want to thank my awesome partner Kristina; who helped me learn, provided support, and was a great companion.  I wish you well on the rest of your trip.
Where do I go from here....Well school starts Weds, MBA here I come.  i will be doing Team in Training.  I plan to climb a lot again, and hopefully help Matthew tick some of his goals:) I heart you. Learn how to write grants and hopefully make a difference in the world. Continue to improve as a person and a climber.
Thank you to everyone who has read my blog, I appreciate it.  Glad to be home, can't wait to get back in touch with everyone!

Fontainebleau!! and France

So France! I went to the following places: Paris, Font, Champagne, Normandy.  It was amazing, and I have always wanted to come this way.  I was glad to be able to make it work.  After a long ass flight and lay-over I landed in Paris.  The driving was terrifying, the scenery beautiful.  I was burnt from the time change and such, but made it to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower day one.  I had to take a nap in the grass some where and then again in the mini car that I had rented in a parking garage.  I hadn't found a place to stay yet.  Day two I went to the Louvre, Musse D'Orsey, Champs Elise, and Arc D'Triumph. I loved what I did there but I was ready to head out to the country and climb.

Notre Dame

Love locks over the river Seine

Do I really need to say what this is?!

The Louvre, amazing!

Arc de Triumph

Font, interesting.  It took a while to get acquainted to the area aka finding the boulders.  For those of you who have been to Hueco, you drive up and the place is right there.  Not so much in Font.  You drive up to this massive forest, and you can not see the boulders till you drive to the spot you are climbing at and walk in.  I was a bit frustrated and drove around after getting a camp spot.  I found some boulders and they kindly offered for me to join them.  They got me acquainted to the area and told me where some sports were.  I got to climb there for 4 days.  They have the problems on circuits, so the book just gave the list of problems, but not a star rating.  That made it tough, because you may have 50 problems in front of you, but only 10 or12 may be worth climbing.  It rained a lot those 4 days and I was forced to sleep in my mini car, because I had decided not to bring a tent.  At that point my thoughts about Font were undecided.  There were really good problems and then not good.  I decided to make my opinion after I came back.

Chateau de Fontainebleau, home of Napoleon

People that helped me find my way.

Beagle siting!

Off to Champagne, the land of Champagne!  I got to drink real Champagne (it is only real if it comes from this area, everything else is just sparkling wine).  They were very adamant about this as people have started calling non-champagne champagne.  I toured two wineries, walked the uber famous Avenue de Champagne, drove the country-side, and finished in Reims.  After touring the city I finally found Internet!  This had been a long battle, and I needed to take care of some bank things.

My rental, not a good sleeping area...ug.

From there it was off to Normandy and the Mont Saint Michel.  This is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.  It's a monastery set off in the ocean essentially.  I had a great time, despite having some bank issues and almost being stranded there.  My sister saved the day with Western Union, and I didn't have to spend the rest of my trip eating baguette and hating my life. I also toured the battle fields of WWII.  I drove the coast up to Omaha beach and saw the area where D-Day's main assault took place.  I also went to the cemetery, and emotionally lost it when I saw the mass of grave stones.  I cannot believe the bravery that these men had.  The thousands up to 5000 according to counts who were injured, missing, or lost their life.  The courage it took to storm that beach via a water-front assault is extraordinary.  God bless these men.

Mont Saint Michel, almost the end of my trip...

Area around the Mont Saint Michel and jelly-fish that didn't make it thru the tide.

Omaha beach, one of the D-Day landings.

US Omaha beach cemetery, may they rest in piece for the price they paid.

Point du Hoc, one of the craziest assaults made by rangers.

Coast around Point du Hoc. Gives you an idea of what they scaled.

After making a stop off at Versailles and seeing the exorbitant wealth that sent France into guillotine madness, I returned to Font.  This time, the skies were clear, I knew where to go, and the climbing was much better.  I got worked hard-core the first day bouldering and had to muster myself for the next 2 days.  I will say that Font is a special place, and yes my friends there are slopers!  I don't know if I would go back.  I don't think that I would.  I got to spend 7 days total climbing there.  I felt good about that.

Versailles, home to the world famous Marie Antoinette.

Grounds of the palace, even I got tired walking around this place, huge! Also a UNESCO world heritage site.

How they mark the boulder problems in font, circuit one's that is. It provides the number and color of difficulty.

Awesome v1 prob

I got schooled on this boulder!

I got back up to the airport the next day with a 3am start, shoot me.  It was a long trip back with flight delays and waiting on the run-way.  Matthew graciously picked me back up from the airport.  I was thrilled to see him an be home at last.

Utah sporty sport

So after going to Male Canyon, we headed to the Uintas (pronounced Wintas) to do some alpine sport climbing.   If there is such a thing:)  At any rate, it's fairly moderate there, only up to 5.12 and not tons of 12's.  None the less the climbing was beautiful.  The rock is quartzite, and forms these horizontal cracks and ledges.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures there:(
I wouldn't recommend taking a trip there. It was fun and the climbing was cool, but there just isn't enough to really make a trip of it.  The mosquitoes were awful too!  We had to eat in the car to keep from being attacked by the swarms, yes swarms of them.  The other thing is that there are few areas that are really developed.  We went to this one spot in the guidebook that is supposed to be awesome called Stone Garden.  I'm sure it is, but the directions that were given in the book were not correct and we ended up at some crag we didn't know.  As well,  the routes are soft.  Some are true to the grade, but many had to be down graded.  For instance we did an 11c that had been down graded from 12. Fair for 11c, hard, but def not 12.
I got to see a moose there, I miss them from Alaska.  Also went for a really pretty run.  From there we headed to American Fork.  Hard limestone sport climbing.  Also the last destination before I head back to CO.....
American Fork, definitely the land of hard sport climbing.  I got worked man.  I think that the climbing is super fun, overhanging and pretty juggy.  I think it's better than Rifle, and I am prepared to feel the heat for  that comment.  I just think that the routes climb better.  Yes there is still polish and such, but I think that's true for limestone that gets climbed often anywhere. I finally got to see Matt and Chui again.  I missed them both very much.  Matthew kindly drove out to pick me up and return me to CO.  Although I didn't climb my best at AF, I am definitely getting in good sport shape.  Consistently climbing the hardest sport grades that I have climbed.  I am really enjoying it after so much trad climbing. The simplicity of clipping bolts is great.
Although I have one more stop in France, this is the end of my trip in the States.  Hard to believe after so much climbing!

Maple Canyon! Pebble Pulling Paradise!

I am so excited to have made it out to Maple Canyon!  I got in three days of awesome climbing.  For those new to this area, it is a land of cobbles and matrix (the stuff that cements the cobbles and stuff together).  I realized that I have gotten a little weak!  Need to get strong again to pull-down hard!  I got to climb in Box Canyon and also attempted a fair number of 11's while I was there.  I was psyched about that.

Box Canyon

Box Canyon

I also got my wallet stolen!  When we drove in to get gas, I left my wallet on the hood (bad place).  Make a long story short I realized it a day later.  We went back to the gas station as they said it had been found.  Well after watching video footage, it turns out that an employee to it!  I got the wallet back, all cash gone, she got arrested, and had to cancel all credit cards.  Let me tell you that makes it tricky to travel!  At any rate, the manager there was awesome, def a road trip story for the campfire Joe!!

Weather doesn't look good tomorrow, so not sure what the plan is.  Maybe the Uinta's?  Friday I get to meet up with my amazing boyfriend in American Fork.  I'll spend three days there and then head back to Denver.  I'll hang with Matthew for a few days and then fly to FRANCE!!! Heading to Fountainbleau! Going to try to crush some boulders and take in French culture.  Hope everyone is doing great.  Miss you all and can't wait to hang-out again!

Family Visit

I was really glad to get home and see family.  I was able to see both sisters and parents.  We don't get together very much.  The bummer was that this was also an eye opener with news that my Dad had Pancreatic Lymphoma.  I was terribly upset by this since he was diagnosed last year with Hairy Cell Leukemia.  I have decided that I will most certainly race again for Team in Training.  I am very grateful that it is treatable with chemo (sp?) and maybe radiation.  However there are so many who are not in the same boat.  I have great respect for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  They do much to promote research and a search for a cure.  I sure hope that some of the money I will be raising in the Winter/Spring will benefit that mission.  I will pass along information when I get home about how to donate.

It' a bit of an earth shaker when you go from running around in the mountain to making daily visits to the hospital.  It is very hard to see someone you love so much in pain or not at 100%.  My dad was amazingly strong.  I have great respect for him. Life is a roller-coaster.  I was able to stay until my Dad got out of the hospital and then an extra day.  I was thrilled to see the quick recovery that he made after surgery.  I don't know when they will start chemo treatments.

Why do our parents have to get old? Why do people we love and care for have to suffer? Why do things work out the way they do?

This was the only picture that I took while home. That's Truman, the best beagle ever.

More Sierras Adventures, Whitney and Russell

Mount Whitney, Kheeler Needle, and company

On the approach, Whit in the background.

The lake that we got water out of everyday. Sometimes had to use an ice axe to get water in the morning.

Me, the bear vault, and my rations.

 It was great to be out in the mountains again.   Got to get out and get on Western Front, Mount Russell and East Buttress, Mount Whitney.  What a beautiful area it is back there.  Very interesting experience to be out there and see all types of people.  It was four days total in the back-country.  Day one, walk in; day two Mount Russell, day three Mount Whitney, and 4 walk-out.  Each peak taps in at over 14,000.
 Russell was awesome!  It was the hardest alpine route I have done so far at 10c.  The crux pitch was hard for me flaring finger crack, almost on-sighted, but had to take once.  I was still happy with it.  Kristina did great up high on another tough pitch. Said to be the best pitch on Mount Russell.  Here are some photos.

On-top of Russell after Western Front, great day, great route!

Mount Russell

 Mount Whitney was great much easier at 5.7.  It had a lot of lower 5th class with 5.6 or 5.7 sections or moves on it.  Nonetheless it was a fun day with a great view off the summit.  Here are some cool pics.

Loved these flowers, they were everywhere on the mountain.

On the route.

Cool rock on the route.

Mount Whit

Benchmark at summit, one of six.

Yay,  summit.

 Headed to see the family tomorrow.  Really excited about that.  Should be great to see everyone and relax for a bit.

Cardinal Pinnacle and the Real Buttermilks

  We decided to do a double header today.  A 5 star route called West Face, 10a was the first objective.  Once again, the rain was threatening.  We managed to knock the route out fairly quickly.  Really cool and very fun.

Cardinal Pinnacle, the biggest pointy thing.

  After that, we took a break.  Did a little snacking, reading, and napping.  It was pretty nice. Not too often do you get to be in a world-class setting like the Buttermilks, and have the luxury of time to wait out the heat to climb.  The only bummer was that the road was flooded.  Not a problem, we decided to do the last 1.5 ish miles on foot.  For all you pebble wrestlers out there, this is a world class strikingly beautiful area.  I would love to come back here.  The climbing is great (hard), the scenery amazing, and the landings soft for the most part.  It turned into a late night, getting home around 11ish.

The Buttermilkies.

The world-class Ironman Traverse, bad-ass problem. I'm only half an Ironman, couldn't make it all the way.

Last problem of the day, the Hero Roof. Cause everyone needs to be a hero! Probably the best V0 I've done.

   The next day turned into a local sport cragging area, and the following day we went to Patricia Bowel.  Cool cracks to be had there.  Now it's off to try to get a Whitney permit and try to get back into the back-country.ss

Happy Birthday to me!

   Well, I'm 29 now.  I think I'm going to have a mid-life crisis next year....30, holy crap!  I had a fabulous day.  Kristina made me a birthday breakfast that was super sweet.  We then went to I guess what I though was the the Buttermilks.  I don't know what I was thinking.  We were in the Happies, a bouldering area in Bishop.  The stuff is fairly sharp, and let me tell you we were way out of season with the 90+ temps.  Now I'm not a great climber, but when you're finger-tips sweat, it's really not ideal sending temps.  I think I almost passed out once.  Kristina was a trooper and hung in till the bitter end.  Our day entailed looking for shade and easy problems.  It was a humbling experience. 
    Happy hour made everything better though.  Cheers!

Sun Ribbon Arete

Temple Crag, SRA is the arete to the left of the pointy thing on the right.  Make sense?

   
          Well, once again the weather struck and instead of spending a continuous push in the Sierra's we got to do Sun Ribbon Arete and then had to walk out.  There was a 25% or more chance of showers, and after the epic day on SRA it just wasn't worth it.

I love approaching....

 So what made SRA epic....here it goes.  The route is an 18 pitch climb , mostly 4th and low 5th class, to include rappels and a tyrolean traverse.  There is one 10a pitch, but most of the route checks in at about 5.7 to 5.8ish.  The day started at 3am.  No I didn't stutter.  We had walked in the day before and camped, so we would be right by the lake.  Well, according to Supertopo you cross between 2nd and 3rd lake....not so much.  Kristina and I spent the next hour and 1/2 trying to figure out how to cross the lake.  After finally finding the crossing between 2nd and 1st lake, there was even a bridge!  We continued approaching and finally got to the base of the route at 730am.  We got started up the route.  There was a chance of rain that day but the sky was still looking inviting.  The first pitches up to the tyrol went fast. 

Things were still cool at this point. Looks a bit chossy? Wouldn't disagree, lots of block testing before standing/pulling on crap.

I stood there trying to lasso the boulder for about 20 mins.  FYI, this is how you construct your own personal tyrol (picture to follow).  Kristina got it after a few tries.  The skies began looking less inviting and time was not on our side.  We were way behind schedule at this point.  I knocked out the 10a pitch and linked the 5.6 pitch trying to move as fast as I could given the rock conditions.  I made a belay and about 5 mins later it began to rain and sleet.  This continued for the next maybe hour or so.  Instead of getting to simul-climb the easier parts, we had to rope up due to wet rock and pitch it out.  The weather finally subsided and it began to clear.  There was another front off in the distance, so we tried to keep moving, but it was hard to be fast being so off schedule and given the conditions.  After getting to the last bits of 4th class.  We unroped, and started up what had to be at least 500 feet of additional 4th class.  The topo did not indicate this.  We got up to the end of the ridge at about 7-730pm.     
     The summit would take another hour or so to get to.  Given the time, the descent, and the conditions we decided not to run over to the summit.  This was a super hard decision for me.  I kept trying to weigh the fact that I probably wouldn't be back here again and weather I could count the ascent without summiting.  I also was trying not to be neurotic and unsafe.  i decided with much pain that I had done the route but just not summitted.  We headed down and got back to camp well after dark.  I don't know what time it was.  I do know that I was so tired that I ate enough to fight off the hunger pains and then went to bed.  The next day was uneventful with good weather for the walk out.  We decided after driving back into town given the weather for the next few days, that wee would crag and head into Mammoth.  Then head back into the Sierras on Sunday.

End of route, long day.

This was an interesting learning experience for me.  It brought a lot of questions to my head as well.  What is finishing a route, how important is the summit, what is rational and irrational?  It's always easy when the conditions are straight forward, but once you have to start speculating then it becomes a bit less obvious.  It's always hard to figure out what the safe thing is to do.  When to stop and when to keep going. I always wonder if I'm not pushing hard enough or if I'm allowing my pride to dictate a decision.  Being in the mountains is a serious endeavor and I guess there are no real answers.  I wish there were sometimes, I wouldn't have to face my humanity then.  Examine why I am doing things and what the purpose of them was.  But then again, I guess that's why we do this stuff, to challenge ourselves personally, to grow, to learn, and to make decisions that keep us alive. 

Gotta love sunsets!

Third Pillar of Dana

So this was the first of the Sierra's ticks that are on the list.  Can't decide if this was a good route or a great route.  The setting, exposure, and most of the climbing were very cool.  I'll give a quick run-down of the day.  Started with a lovely 430 am wake-up.  Got to the parking lot and assessed that we would need some stiff soled boots for the snow that was still prevalent. The approach took a little longer than expected since there was snow on the trail.  I don't know if we followed a trail? Got up on the plateau and found the start. For this route you actually have to descend 3rd and 4th class, then cross a small snow field in order to get to the base.  Then you climb the route back to your pack.  Pretty cool. For the first pitch I ended up on the 5.8 fist instead of the 5.9 stem.  I was a little disappointed.  Kristina did a great job on the next pitch dealing with a flaring 10a finger crack.  I was up again, and went in search of the 10a variation.  I found it, got about half way up the thing, and realized that there wasn't anymore protection.  At least I tried to put some in to no avail.  The last piece that I had was a bomber nut at about chest height or so.  I had to commit to about 6 feet or so of climbing before I could maybe get a piece in again.  I knew that there was a good crack above that, but was sure about the section above me.  There was a ledge below me and also half of the rope out.  I tried the moves at least twice, maybe three times and I just couldn't commit.  It seemed hard for the grade, and I was sure that I'd fall trying.  That thought wasn't good given the above info.  I decided to down-climb back and do the alternate 5.8 pitch.  I still don't know if I was being a baby or if it was a good decision.  I just know that my gut was saying this is not a good idea, bad fall potential.  Kristina took over again and did a great job on a pitch that I was not at all psyched about leading.  There was a tricky 10b move/section and she did great and on-sighted.  I got the last pitch, which according to many is supposed to be the best pitch in the Sierra's.  There were some hard sections on it.  The first was a 10b move/section that involved a very shallow .4 placement (only thing you could get in) above a ledge with some tricky moves.  After doing some hard finger locks and pulling a roof, I thought I was in the clear.  Not so much, there was also a committing 10a lie-back section that took some concentration as well.  Some cool cracks and mantle moves led to the top.  After on-sighting that pitch I felt redeemed from my previous pitch.
 
Walk-out was wet due to a lot of melting snow. I also got soaked thigh deep wading across what I thought was a shallow spot in the river. Got back to the car and proceeded to stuff my face.  Great day, beautiful day.  I hope that the other Sierra's routes follow suit. Finished packing today for about the next 10 days, where we hope to crush the rest of our Sierra's list.  Happy 4th to everyone and will give an update when I get back in.

View from the plateau.

Kristina following the fist pitch.

Kristina leading the second pitch. How many cool cracks can you count?!

Me leading the last pitch, just after the tricky 10b/roof.

Yay summit!

Me on-top of the route, what an amazing setting!

Walk