A relaxing weekend on the eastside

   Bishop is a neat place, both Kit and I agree. Every time we make the 3 hour drive from Tahoe it seems like a world away, with an expanse of sagebrush desert sandwiched between the ancient White Mountains and the tall, majestic Sierra Nevada jutting dramatically toward the sky for 7,000 feet. In the low elevations of the Owens River Gorge, one can find warm sunshine and downright hot temperatures for climbing rocks in the winter.

Eastern wall of the upper Gorge

   Heading down after work on Friday night, we met up with friends and camped just on the north end of the O.R. Gorge, perfectly stationed for a short drive to the upper gorge parking area the next day. Saturday brought sun and warmth with just enough breeze to keep things from overheating, which was nice because we found a south-facing wall to begin with, jam-packed with fun and rope-stretchingly long climbs. I did 3 climbs there, all 5.10a/b, led two of them without too much difficulty. The one I didn't lead was the first, with a steep and awkwardly balancey start, after watching Kit struggle with it for a few minutes. That nerve-racking start led to an amazing lower angle finger width crack and tested my neglected jamming techniques. We moved back upriver to another wall with some old familiar climbs, took a quick nap in the sun waiting for friends to catch up, and then Kit opted to try an 11b which neither of us had climbed before but looked really neat. I remember eyeing it several years ago while in top climbing shape but for some reason had never tried it.  So much for the onsight, but at least I didn't embarrass myself by flailing horribly on top rope, as I feared might be the case. I kept expecting it to be harder, but just cruised through every move. The crux was a weird chimney that I had to wedge into for a few feet, but didn't get spat out as I had expected...another encouraging moment in my attempt at a climbing comeback!

I'm a pro belayer!

   That evening we went to see the Banff Adventure Film Festival at the fairgrounds in Bishop, a fun time but some of the films stretched on for a little too long. My favorites were both of the ski flicks, but those were only 10 minutes each, kind of disappointing. I'll be looking out for the full version of All I Can, was wishing for more after that one!
   When we woke on Sunday morning it was about 20 degrees colder and a brisk breeze came from the north. Brrrrr...instead of trying to chase the sun in the gorge, our tired fingers voted for a bouldering session in the Happy Boulders, which are much more sheltered from wind. And by "bouldering" I mean mostly laying in the sun, occasionally pulling my shoes on to try a problem and then realizing how much my fingertips hurt, compounded by the rough texture of the volcanic rock. I used to get excited about bouldering back at SNC when class trips frequented the Happies, but for some reason I just can't motivate to put all that effort into conquering a 10ft tall rock any more. Upper body strength is also still lacking, painfully obvious when I tried the Monkey Hang, a classic V2 overhang that I have climbed successfully in the past but couldn't even get my butt off the ground this time...

Crushing the Monkey Hang back in '07 

   In all, no matter what my climbing performance looks like, any trip down to the eastern Sierra is a fun time, especially with good friends and nice weather. I always feel refreshed and ready to get back to real life and whatever obligations lie in wait after spending a little time in this wonderful place...next time though, we're bringing bikes and checking out the Rock Creek Trail, a 5,000 foot descent right in the middle of the valley!