I have a tendency to forget how awesome a year I’ve had by the time December comes around. I’ve always been one to shoot for the stars with my goals, which often means I fall a little short. I also live with Luke, who, as you may have been reading, has been doing a lot [...]
If you have followed the blog for a while you might know that I have been through two shoulder dislocations. Luckily I have been able to find good methods to regain strength and continue climbing. So I just wanted to pass along the current workout that I have been doing. This was written by Steve [...]
Every trip I’ve taken to Indian Creek has been so different, but each is an incredible learning experience for me. There’s something about that place – it’s never quite what I expected, and adjusting my expectations in the face of reality is always a challenging exercise. Instead of writing a play-by-play of the entire trip, [...]
I spent a lot of the winter getting psyched on climbing again and running (and dealing with IT band issues – no fun). I recently signed up for a Long Course Tri in San Jose in June. This means 1mi swim, 56mi bike, 9mi run. This is long. Long enough that it would genuinely suck [...]
Since winter returned to the Bay Area in mid February, we’ve been logging a lot of time in the gym, and as a result I’m climbing harder on plastic than I ever have before. Planet Granite has a series of route climbing competitions (free for members, which is cool) during the winter, so we decided [...]
I’m a climber with a running problem. Quickly flying along a trail through trees and bombing down hills makes me smile. This past spring was spent in the pursuit of speed and endurance. Mile after mile made me realize that climbing has similar mental and physical demands. Pacing, knowing when to try (pull) hard, and [...]
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m super psyched for our spring break trip to Indian Creek. Not only do I LOVE crack climbing, especially beautiful Creek splitters, but I’ve also learned from experience that I need to put in the work and training to prepare myself for a successful trip. So training is what I’ve been [...]
The shoulder is an often overlooked but very important part of a climber’s anatomy. Many people will focus on finger or forearm strength and forget about this crucial joint. Others are all too aware of their shoulders, having suffered injures, dislocations and even surgery. Taking care of your shoulders will help you avoid sitting on [...]
I slip on the ice for the third time in as many feet. I can see my breath and there is snow everywhere. The valley floor, in Yosemite, is covered in a foot of frozen water (snow). Why am I here? At the end of 2009, I left the land of eternal sunshine (San Diego) [...]
Winter here means two things: training and skiing. Storms come through and dump tons of snow in the mountains, which means a lot of granite areas are covered in snow (or snow melt), but the ski slopes are also fantastic. Skiing turns a negative (storms –> no climbing) into a positive (great skiing!). But all [...]
2010 has been an interesting year. It hasn’t been at all what I expected (especially climbing-wise, particularly when compared with 2009), but there have still been many great experiences and anyways, I think having “off” years makes me appreciate the “on” years that much more. Rather than rehash what adventures have or have not gone [...]
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