Being a climber in NorCal in the summer is much better than being in SoCal, and this is because we have easier access to alpine climbing in the Sierra. The long days mean lots of daylight in which to climb and it’s great to get out in the cooler, high-elevation air of the Sierra during [...]
I’ve been in this situation before; I’m nervous and don’t really want to go through with it. The nagging of potential failure is pulling me down. I don’t know why I care so much. They say it is more important to try and fail then to never have tried at all (see Alfred Lord Tennyson). [...]
Lizzy covered most of the details of our recent trip to Squamish in an earlier post. I wanted to add some photos since Lizzy was awesome and took a lot of good shots! During our trip to Squamish I was still a bit tired from my trip up Half Dome, the weekend before, but was [...]
For me just about everything starts with a plan. I like figuring out logistics and taking all the steps to prepare for a big climb. Maybe it helps calm me down, which is really useful when thinking about climbing something as large as Half Dome. My goal was to free climb the Regular Northwest Face, with Roberto [...]
First of all, if you don’t recognize the “Squamish is…” reference, then watch this classic Timmy O’Neill video. Or if it’s been too long since you last watched it, watch it again: Although I spent my whole life before college in the Pacific Northwest, including my formative climbing years when I found my love of [...]
“Dude, turn around!” yells Chris from the belay. Looking back, a thick wall of mist obscures the other side of the valley. A flurry of snow blows past and I keep going, anxious to get to the next belay. Tucked under a tree, I stare out a the sheets of rain coming down. It’s not [...]
In my mind a good backpack carries well, is easily filled with gear, and is durable enough to stand up to abuse. In recent years I have seen many climbers bring small haul bags or haul packs as a substitute for a crag pack. These packs are usually spacious and quite durable. However, most haul [...]
When planning our Spring Break climbing trip to Trout Creek and Smith Rock in Oregon, we didn’t anticipate becoming Team Gimp + Lizzy. We also didn’t plan on repeatedly epic-ing on the ~48 hours surrounding our planned departure and initial climbing day in Oregon. But what climbing trip really goes exactly as it’s planned? So [...]
Friday morning I rolled out of bed and wandered over to the window. Streaks of rain glided down the glass like tears. Somehow it seems every weekend in 2010 has been filled with rain. I can remember some pretty days of bouldering back in January and February surrounded by weeks of fog, wind, and weather. [...]
[This is a long overdue trip report from December 2009.] At 4am the alarm started blaring and I stumbled out of bed. Where was I? The unfamiliar dark room didn’t seem like home as I pulled on clothes, grabbed food and made my way out the door. In the car I started blankly at the [...]
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