She’s driving me nuts, but she’s so beautiful…

"all coiled up and hissing"

Some Good for the Hood

Today Sarah and I went out to the Elizabeth Fontaine Primary School to see if we could find an administrator to meet with and see about how to arrange the transfer of the funds we raised for the school. We were met by Mariette, who is the acting principal at the school and she gave us a short tour of the grounds. The school is very well run, and there are awards from all sorts of different competitions, government agencies, and international organizations adorning the walls. Apparently the dance squad at the school is one of the best in the country (continent?) and regularly is asked to perform at important functions in the region.

Mariette explained to us the importance of our donation in meeting their current goal of providing new blankets to all the children who board at the school during the week due to the distance between their homes and the school. By sleeping at the school it reduces the risk of travel and allows the students to be socially active in a safe, supervised environment. We understand that many of the students do not have beds to sleep in at home and this also makes the 'hostel' aspect of the school very appealing.

Long story short, this school is a very worthy charity. 120 rand (about $15) buys a quality blanket that can be put to use for years to keep a young student warm during the cold winter months. If they sleep soundly, they have more energy for learning. It's quite simple.

If you wish to make an additional donation, or if you didn't get a chance to donate the first time around, please use paypal to send me a donation, and we can include it in the funds transfer to the school. All you need to do is go to http://www.paypal.com/ and tell it to send money to movecrafter@hotmail.com.

The bouldering here is still going well. I've completed two V14's, though the second one, called Moistie Maistie may be a little soft... Mine was only the fourth ascent so time will tell. I hope everyone is having luck on their projects back home!

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.

Not a bad way to spend a week in July!  The temps never got above 85 and there was more rock than you could ever hope to climb.

Chaos Canyon was sweet on Friday and Evans was even better on Saturday.  Pictures and posting coming your way soon.

Tahoe Days 3 & 4

Our third day of climbing in Tahoe was an evening session at the Alpine club boulders.

Matt gets a little shaky on the warm up crack.

Climbing at sunset made for great temps and beautiful photo opportunities. Diggs enjoying some slabby smears and a good lip. Doesn't her shadow look like something out of peter pan?

Dello on the route less traveled (as usual). Matt fearing for his life in the background.

A little too much focus for V2. Just saying.

This problem was really cool. Kristen commented it reminded her of 9 lives in C-Wood. I agree except that 9 lives has feet.

Ahh yes. This tall problem was described as classic v4 in the guide. Classic apparently means old school scary as hell bouldering on a large flake that could go at any moment. It held Marcelo though, so I guess I was pretty safe.

We had the fortune of meeting up with some locals on day 4 who took us on a cleaning / recon mission at one of Tahoe's ski areas. It was a lot more hiking than climbing, but we had a great time. This photo is Ahren making the FA of Mistake Flake.

This is Jay Sell. He has been active in Tahoe for quite a while and was our three star tour guide for a later day in the trip. His motivation an enthusiasm are absolutely infectious.

Jay cleaned up this sloping rail traverse on thin crimps with terrible feet. No one managed to send it, but it sure was a lot of fun to try!

Kristen made the FFA of Mistake Flake while we were here. It involves doing a three point match on a VERY flexy flake at about head height. It will certainly blow someday, but it hung around long enough for all of us to send.

This is a crack line that we found and cleaned in another part of the ski area. Not a terribly difficult line, but the beautiful location made it a very enjoyable session.

Plenty more pictures coming. I promise. Thanks for checking them out!

M@

You can't take the Jungle out of the Cat

So it's raining here in Rocklands... we're on day 5 of continous rain. The books have been read, the magazines have been read and burned. Same with the news paper. The local bridges are getting washed out and the roads are full of potholes the size of VW bugs. Sarah and I have found that you dont need a massive workout facility to do your very own version of the hour-of-power Dave Wahl workout. All you need is some crash pads (place them where the roof wont leak onto them) a roaring fire (to provide you with the oxygen deprivation to simulate high altitude) and some creativity. Sarah and I have done the hour of power workout twice now since it started raining, and even though it's really hard to get started, once you're done it feels great. Much better than the alternative of sitting around trying to beat the expert level on minesweeper for the 1000th time.

Here's proof that what I speak is true. Side elbow bridge... posterior deltoid raise omitted for photo.

Lake Tahoe

Layovers are no fun. I know I don't have to tell any of you that, but somehow it makes me feel better. We had a stop in phoenix to make before heading to Sacramento and then on to Lake Tahoe. Long story short, the plane we were to get on was late. This gave the dello and diggs some time to catch sleep. So, after the late flight, the 2 hour drive from Sacramento to Tahoe and such we arrived at Kristen's parents place around 4am Denver time. Definitely were not on the early wagon for climbing the next morning. Luckily there are SICK boulders only 5 minutes drive from the house. Kristen warming up:

The rock in Tahoe is fine grain granite in most areas. However, it is not the bullet granite we are used to in places like RMNP or Evans. It can be chossy. It has very few feet. However, it is still AMAZING. Every feature imaginable has somehow been carved into the rock.

Sometimes the sequences didn't make sense. Sometimes the power and finger strength we are used to relying on didn't cut it. This was my lesson in climbing a new style and not trusting sticky rubber / slopers. Yes, I'm stuck on that bulge.

Day two we visited an area on the ridge overlooking Christmas Valley. These are referred to as the "alpine club boulders". As you can see, no approach hike for these beauties.

Often, the crux is at the top of the line and you are doing all you can to paste your hands to some gritty slopers. Very cool once you get the hang of it, but not so secure on this day when it was very warm and all the boulders were in the sun.

Marcelo was able to find multiple outlets for his madness. Here he can be seen traversing across not one, but TWO boulders. Ahh the shenanigans went on and on.

This particular line does not have a name, but it has some of the strangest granite handholds I have ever seen. VERY fun to climb on.

After a long day of bouldering it was nice to remain in the woods but have the comforts of home. Possibly the coolest swing ever hangs in the tree outside the house. After a few post send brew-dogs, it seemed like a GREAT idea to go swinging.

Basically the beta is to get someone going until they are swinging over your head and then dyno up to their feet and pull them to keep adding momentum.

It feels like you are swinging out and up for DAYS. I was giggling like a little school girl for my entire tenure on the swing. Kristen was totally used to the madness and even managed to enjoy the forced "Spin" portion of the experience.

Marcelo is incapable of doing anything at less than 100%. This picture captures the moment where he is actually blurring the line between solid matter and light speed. Luckily he survived.

Tahoe was amazing kids. I will have more photos of the climbing and more postingness coming soon. In the meantime, who wants to go climbing somewhere with footholds?

Psyched.

-M@

Hey Marcelo

Something about a song that starts off "do you have a first aid kit handy? Do you know how to patch up a wound?" makes me think of you. Alexia said they are like the Spice Girls, only sluttier. Somehow she meant this as an insult. I don’t get it either.