In the Hills

Had to switch things up recently because the heat was too much to deal with. I tried a couple days a while back and found myself falling off moves that were a non-issue in cooler weather. Normally I'm way too obsessed to 'take a break' but I knew deep down it was time to move on, at least momentarily.

We we were off... a big crew rallied up to the Utah Hills and we set up a full on gypsy camp with a dozen climbers and about that many dogs. It was rad to get back into the truck camping and living under the sky all day and night. I love the rhythm and simplicity of living on the road and this was a cool reminder of how much I love just straight climbing. As you can likely tell I get easily distracted here in Las Vegas - there's so much to do aside from climbing - which is rad. It's the distractions in-part that keep bringing me back, but I've about had my fill.

Wake up, breakfast, sunshine... to the crag... climbing, climbing, climbing. Back to camp... food, beers and bullshit with the crew... all over again. Surprisingly satisfying. It's a great existence, and I'm looking ahead to a handful of months on the road, doing just this.

16 creatures deep in the sprinter for the crag party

Another good thing about breaking away from project mode is that it gave me the chance to climb on some new terrain and check in with my climbing. It's easy to get lost in the same movement, the same routes and the same failure when you're project focused. I think you can actually get weaker in this mode. I ran through a handful of new to me routes which was super motivating. The cathedral is a rad cliff. The edgy 'Purple Haze' 12d, bouldery 'Infidels' 13a, super bouldery 'Runnel Vision' 13b, and varied 'Hand Party' 13d all got me stoked and an old Joey Kinder rig, 'Unforgivable' 14b/c was a good challenge over a couple days of effort. It was nice to climb something so bouldery and different than my project. This route basically broke down to getting through literally the first couple moves for me. They are super burly if you're short! The power endurance crimping section above was much easier for me, although still pretty tough on link.

 dog party

The whole crew sent. Good times. 

Well. Now the crew is off again, this time - to Arrow. We've got a cool weather system rolling through the area briefly and I plan to take full advantage. Hopefully taking a week and a half off of my project has not left me dusty! Wish me luck out there, this will likely be one of my last opportunities to take it down this season...

Lastly, I want to give a HUGE thanks to everyone that made it out to Blue Diamond wednesday night to check out a few slides and a showing of Viva La Vie. It was a HUGE success and it was super cool to see a big crew of Las Vegans in one place. It's a rad community but we rarely all get together. Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council did a hell of job promoting and organized, and we raised a bunch of money for the area thanks to sponsors like Maxim Ropes and Arc'Teryx along with Desert Rock Sports and many more. Thanks again everyone! Can't wait for another one. We had nearly 150 people in there!