Straight into yer face lam: Lake Tahoe: Final Installment

The rock quality in Tahoe is, overall, very good. Of course there are areas where things are chossy and other things are bullet. Most of the areas are comparable to red cliff or guanella pass. Granite, but a little larger grain.

I cannot stress enough the lack of footholds on most boulders. It was a very different style to get used to at first and definitely not comfortable to climb on in the shoes that I brought. Most of the local yokels climb in Anasazis or Katanas. The aggressive downturn was only nice on a couple of the boulders we encountered. The norm was smeary feet and a paste as much rubber as possible type of situation. But... without further ado, on to the rest of the pictures.

This problem barely qualifies at V0 or VB (V-Basic) but was just so pretty a picture, we could not pass it up. Plus we had the pleasure of enjoying the swimming pool just below the falls on one of the warmest days of our trip.

Honestly, as long as you stayed off the wet spots, the hardest part was actually establishing yourself on the boulder. Way fun though and worth doing.

I made Marcelo do this 3 times and kept telling him I didn't have the camera on, or missed the shot. Sometimes its a LOT of fun to mess with the Delo.

After wading in behind the waterfall and letting yourself be washed out, you encounter this very slippery rock. Since the water is so cold, your only thought is to get your ass out of it ASAP. Don't I look silly groping for holds?

Speaking of looking silly, I found a "motor boating" trophy in the diggs parent's house. This was just too good to pass up. After all, I am a motorboatin sumbish.

This is the Toltecca boulder. It is eerily similar to Morrison's black hole. Not that it is a contrivance factory, just that the holds are pretty smooth, the angle is fairly steep and the rock color is similar.

This problem went in very short order for the Delo (Flash) and quickly (second go) for me. Mostly due to the sudden re-introduction of foot holds and heel hook possibilities. Trust me kids, footholds are a commodity to be treasured.

I know the pictures don't convey the drop, but the Bob Boulder is TALL. It also has some of the most enjoyable moderates I have ever climbed up its lanky faces. This is Kristen getting it done on the shorter corner.

This area made me laugh. It is called Echo View Estates. It is literally a backyard to several houses in the area. The homeowners do not have a problem with the climbers being around so long as they park in certain areas. I wish we had such good relations with landowners here in Colorado! Kristen a little way off the deck on a nice V4.

The rock quality here was interesting. The climb Marcelo is on is called "Made in the Shade" and it is absolutely solid. However, the boulder behind him is so soft that if you brush it with a pant leg on the way by, pieces come off looking like kitty litter. How does that happen?

This problem was my gem of the trip. It is called the 19th Hole. It sits in the trees about 20 yards from a golf course green. We had an enjoyable session heckling the golfers while trying an interesting problem. It took some try hard, but I had the good fortune of knocking it off.

I don't think this was the most enjoyable problem of Marcelo's trip, but it was certainly impressive. It's a V10 dyno called "Hate Handles". Marcelo managed the 3rd ascent (as confirmed by the locals) and the only ascent that has gone in one day of effort. Marcelo's ability to huck his meat skyward is second to none.

Our trip finished up watching the 4th of July fireworks display that the casino's put on every year. They launch the display from a barge out on the lake and it is all choreographed to music on a local radio station. Watching the fireworks in the air and the reflections on the lake was very very cool.