Drink Water?

This is rad:
http://www.wedrinkwater.com/

Getting in the mood for the season: herbal cold remedies

Not even a week after returning from Moab I caught the latest crud going around... 'Tis the season to feel like a germ magnet, I guess, maybe I should start wearing a surgical mask everywhere. While searching around for my own benefit I found this site, which seems to be useful enough to share with anyone interested in avoiding the typical cocktails of pharmaceutical gnar during illness:
http://www.learningherbs.com/cold_home_remedies.html

Freya Fennwood Photography!

While I'm taking a break from cleaning the kitchen, here's a link to my friend Freya's recently updated site:

http://fennwoodphotography.com/outdoor-sport-photographer/7.html

She is a radiant, adventurous soul, and her passion for photography and the outdoors can be seen in all she does. I just wish she would move to Tahoe sometime soon! ;)

Road Trip Part 2: The Rock

   Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for!  An in-depth description of our SE Utah/SW Colorado climbing adventures!!  As a warning: lots of climbing terminology gets thrown about within, therefore if you have little to no knowledge of the sport but still want to read on, THIS may come in handy for you.

   Still grinning from the epic ride on Porcupine Rim, we headed south on Thursday to Indian Creek to show our Tahoe friends the abundance of crack climbing on their last few days in Utah. We climbed some popular routes on Friday including the Incredible Hand Crack and the 130' tall 3AM Crack, which was almost my undoing on lead as I lacked any endurance to climb something that tall (average climbs are 70-90ft). Somehow I stuck it out, happy that it was a corner dihedral with good rests and mostly great hand jams.   On Saturday the crowds descended and we wound up doing a couple of obscure off-width and wide hand cracks, neither of which are my strong point. Kit wrestled up the off-width on lead and ended up with some giant gobies (sandstone abrasions) on hands and ankles...ouch! Somehow I escaped unscathed, likely from not desperately scrabbling for friction while run out above a piece of gear. Climbing certain things on top rope is quite nice.  I remember an analogy overheard my last time at the Creek: climbing wide cracks is like flossing, isn't always the most fun but at least it's good for you!  Despite that wisdom, the newer climbers in our group opted to take photos and enjoy the scenery while the more seasoned individuals took turns on both cracks, climbing into dusk to finish the last route.  They drove back to Tahoe the next day with images of splitter sandstone burned into memory and a vow to return again.

5.9 warmup at 16z

  While hanging out in Durango, a friend of a friend of a friend (seriously) we were introduced to over beers suggested instead of going back to Indian Creek for the overly crowded "Creeksgiving" weekend, we should check out a newer sandstone crag in western Colorado.  Carpenter Ridge was originally suggested, with its beautiful Wingate fractures identical to those in the Creek, but most climbs required two ropes (!) to get off of, and we had only brought a single 70 meter cord.  His roommate was heading to 16Z, another area with some bolted sport climbs in addition to cracks, so we decided to tag along for an exploratory mission. The climbing did not disappoint, with a 5.11 sport climb that looked more in-your-face than it actually was--even I managed to lead it with some minor pondering and improvisation at the crux. Kit and I split off to find some nearby crack climbs, locating a fun 5.9, a progressively harder towards the top 5.10, and a 5.11 fingertip lieback that could be toproped from the same anchor. After climbing the polished rock at Indian Creek, the grip of the relatively unclimbed rock was impressive--one could actually smear a foot on un-featured rock and it would stick like glue! Both of us agreed that the .11 was the best line of the day, with a tricky changing dihedrals crux in the middle and an exhausting off-fingers section just after. The company was not quite as good as the rock climbing, however, and Kit suggested we head back to Utah before he got too fed up with our new acquaintance, so back to Moab the next day, via Paradox Valley to scope out Carpenter Ridge for future adventures.

Kit on the chossy 5.10 above camp

  Once in Moab we took a "rest" day that entailed trying a random bolted climb above our campsite on the west side of the Colorado River.  It was a little loose and chossy in places, and the actual climbing was somewhat sketchy feeling with hollow sounding blocks and flakes everywhere.  Kit had no trouble leading it, along with cleaning off some loose stuff that came flying past, making me wish I had worn a helmet to belay.  I cleaned the gear on toprope marveling at how easy he made it look. I found it rather terrifying, though the climbing was not too hard; just a mental trip wondering if my next handhold was going to pull off the wall or foot would skate off a sandy edge.  The next day we climbed at Wall Street, revisiting some classics that I had climbed on my last Moab trip. Surprisingly I must have gotten stronger, because I put away a couple of 5.10s on lead without much ado.  Kit got on a 5.11a he had his eye on the previous week, and sent that quite solidly. I cleaned on toprope again, cruising most of the climb but getting temporarily stumped by the final high-step/lieback move to reach the anchors. It was a tough move physically after completing the rest of the climb, and looked highly improbable, but just required commitment in the attempt. Sound like downhilling at all?

   We headed back down to Indian Creek that evening to prepare for a final round of jamming, pulling into the Cottonwoods camp just before dark. When morning came we let Pork Chop out of the van to do his usual business, and he returned with our neighbors in tow, a couple of guys from Washington no less. We hung out and chatted for a while, waiting for the sun to hit the Pistol Whipped wall above camp to the south, listening to stories about some cool climbs in the Cascades that should be done on our next trip up to the Northwest.  The Washingtonians took off for Moab, all climbed out and ready for a rest day, while we hiked up to the wall wondering if anybody else would be up there.  Nobody came up, so we had it all to ourselves the entire time!  Starting with the shortest, easiest 5.9, we worked our way through several .10 and 10+ climbs, all of the thin finger lieback sort and the last two were kind of burly for their rating.  Finally we came to Coyne Crack Simulator, a 5.11- that resembles another more popular climb in the Creek.  Kit's goal was to send that, and he proceeded to do so, despite the awkward .75 big fingers section to start. I found that the .75 size was not that terrible for me, having slightly smaller hands I could actually squish them into the crack a little, so Kit told me to shut up about it and lead the climb already... Ok, fine! I tried to jam the whole first part but started slipping after placing my second piece of gear,  got scared, and ended up liebacking through until it widened enough to get a hand in. I almost came out once, so the beginning was not all that graceful, but once I could stuff a whole hand into the crack it went much more smoothly.  The rest of the climb was cake, with good thin to wide hand jams all the way to the anchors.  That's the hardest trad climb I've led yet, without much climbing all summer and on only 4 days of climbing for the whole trip.  I've still got a long ways to go before I'm a solid 5.11 leader, but it's encouraging to see myself progress on this trip in such a short time!

My first 5.11 trad lead!

   Kit thought that since we had both done the Simulator that he should get on the original Coyne Crack the next day, a 5.11+/12a on the much more popular Supercrack Buttress.  We sat in the parking lot for a while trying to motivate, talking with a Canadian couple about climbs they recommend, but I personally felt like a lazy sack of potatoes and didn't want to do diddly squat for the day.  3 straight days of climbing sorta hard will do that!  Kit wanted to make an attempt on Coyne Crack, so I agreed to belay.  His attempt was short-lived, as the previous few days of climbing hard had worn us both out, and the route was greasy from Thanksgiving weekend traffic, so we bailed and headed back to Moab with the last day of Utah climbing in the bag and time for one more bike ride before driving back to Tahoe.

   There really wasn't much trouble deciding whether to ride or climb on this trip, fortunately going with the flow just seemed to work out for the best and the right balance was struck between both.  The most conflicted I felt was definitely about coming back to Tahoe and cold rainy winter weather after spending nearly a month in the desert; it was easy to get used to the sunny days.  The long, cold nights not so much, especially when camping out.  Our bedtimes crept toward 7-8 PM by the end of the trip, or whenever we ran out of firewood.  Heated floors and indoor plumbing sure are nice to come back to!  Unfortunately I also came down with a cold, so no skiing yet; just knitting and blog updating.  Still figuring out winter employment at Alpine, hoping they can work with letting me go race at Bootleg over busy President's weekend.  I have no option but to work in ski school again so that I can take the PSIA Level 2 teaching segment, and complete my Level 2 certification this season.  Then I can become a sidecountry guide at Alpine and shred the gnar pow all day long. Hahahahaha, seriously!

Moab Road Trip Part 1: The Wheels...

   Wow, what a trip! Moab is so similar to Tahoe in the wide array of outdoor pursuits close at hand, yet so different in the stark desert landscape of sculpted sandstone and sagebrush, but it almost feels like home away from home.  Following my first short visit 3 years ago I had been conspiring a return trip, and Kit had not been back in 6 or 7 years! Finally we had the opportunity to do it in style, spending 3 weeks in the decked-out van, with a crew of Tahoe folks for the first week and then just Kit and I for the remainder, going with the flow of climbing, bike riding, and relaxing on rest days. For whatever reason I've decided to split the story up into bike riding and climbing sections, so this part covers the pedaling adventures.

Finally getting to sandstone canyon country!

   The trip began a little wobbly on a Thursday, with us almost getting stuck in snow at our camp in eastern Nevada on the way over, and me with a weird bug that lasted for several days, followed by a severe neck cramp that rendered me unable to do much for a couple more days. All the madness subsided by the following Wednesday and a group of 6 of us (me and 5 dudes) headed out to ride the Porcupine Rim trail.  That wound up being the best ride of the trip (in my opinion), even now after doing a couple of other Moab classics.  Filled to the brim with rocks, drops, and heady technical sections, it felt like a giant mountain bike playground on the longest downhill of my life! It crossed a variety of terrain including dirt singletrack, fast rocky 4x4 trail, and back onto a winding technical singletrack with a few cliffhanging bits, dropping down to the Colorado River. An added bonus was our friend Ben Meester bringing his camera gear along and shooting some sweet photos along the way.

Colorado Trail

  The Tahoe crew headed back home that Sunday after a couple more days of climbing so we decided to make a trip out to Durango to see Kit's family and hang out for a while longer with his climbing buddy Harvey.  At Harvey's suggestion we took a side trip into Mesa Verde National Park, which we probably would never have done otherwise, except that it coincided with a good rest day activity.  We ogled at the ancient cliff dwellings and marveled at the climbing skills possessed by the ancient Anasazi. Once in Durango we inquired about bike trails at a local shop; the Colorado Trail was spoken of highly so we set out to pedal the loop shown to us on a map. It started with a grind of a singletrack climb, filled with switchbacks, and as Kit powered away on his single front chainring I struggled and spun the granny gear feeling very much like a hippopotamus stuck in quicksand.  Out of shape much? At 20 miles this was the longest ride of the trip, and after turning onto a short but very fun descent it climbed yet again to loop back to the Colorado Trail and left us wondering when the trail would finally cross and we could start descending again. As far as trails go, this one had scenery aplenty but was lacking in the fun terrain features and swoopy berms that elevate the fun to a rating of epic in my book. So picky, aren't we? It was still a good ride however with some options to connect with other trails.

   The next day we took a short ride on the Horse Gulch trails behind Fort Lewis College, much more fun in terms of flow and short techy bits, and filled with loops and options galore.  Topping off the Colorado trail experience, we stopped in Cortez the following day for a ride at Phil's World, a relatively new trail system that had been mentioned to us a number of times in context with "must ride!"  Kit and I both concurred on that note--flowy trails, numerous loop options, one-way trails to avoid collisions, and some fast hard-packed clay sections (the Rib Cage, shown in the video) that rode like a giant pump track. So fun!! 

Kit on Slickrock

   After a day of desert sandstone climbing at a new area in western CO, we headed back to Moab, arriving with just enough time to take a lap on the famed Slickrock Trail. Luck and timing were with us on this Black Friday since the crowds seemed relatively thin; our 2 PM start left us with a couple hours of good sunlight and not a lot of traffic on the trail. Not the longest ride of the trip, but we both agreed that it was the toughest, since taking the climbs easy was not usually an option and the descending was too short for much recovery. The scenery was incredible in the late afternoon light and I spent a lot of time stopping for photos. The riding was equally off the hook, living up to expectations for gravity-defying traction and exploratory options. I wouldn't rate it quite as high as Porcupine or Phil's World on the grin-o-meter at this point, but with more familiarity of the trail and surrounding terrain, it could certainly get a lot more fun.  Following a couple more days of climbing, we decided on Amasa Back as our final Moab bike ride before heading home. The climbing was technical and somewhat brutal in places (or maybe it was just me), but on the whole a lot more fun than a boring fire road climb. We explored the slickrock at the end of the trail for a few minutes, and headed back down for the highlight of the ride: coming back down what we rode up! A majority of the ride was blindly mobbing down bumpy rock trying to keep up with Kit on his 7" Yeti, with a handful of more challenging sections where I hoped to remember lines I'd checked out on the way up. Mission accomplished, including not flying off the 4 foot drop to flat at the bottom. On the short climb back up to the trailhead we stopped at a smaller drop with a bit more landing to take some photos, since the light was just at the right angle. With our final Moab trail ride in the bag, we were on the road back to Tahoe by early afternoon.

Amasa Back fun