Ta Ta for Now Indian Creek...

The exodus from Indian Creek has begun. Liesel, Siebe and myself all left the creek earlier this past week after a month or so long stay. Liesel and I are in Durango for some rest and a much needed break from the relentless cracks.

Our time in the creek was productive, Liesel sent infinity +3 times the cracks she had "sent" ever! She also got a lot of experience on the sharp end of trad climbing. I had hoped to send harder lines in the creek this trip, after a year and a half break from splitters. All the bouldering and sport climbing did pay off but not as much as I'd hoped, my trip highlights were the three towers in a day with Liesel mentioned in a previous post. I also flashed some 11's and had a great time until injuries started piling up near the end. We're psyched for a return trip this fall!

We had some friends visit while we were in the creek. It was wonderful to have a short visit from Mike/Tom... Congratulations on your first crack experience senders! Sean Moon and his laday Abby made a quick visit:) We got to check out some cool classic cars as they drove by our campsite in Castle Valley. It is always great to see Mooner, I don't know what I'll do when they move to ALASKA!!! in August:(

Siebe Vanhee... Legend. Dude sent AIR SWEDIN on his third go! Mad respect... I can't wait to hear about the down time between the creek and Yosemite. Here he is catching some air over small pieces of gear!

Thanks so much to Siebe Vanhee, Ken Anderson, Brent Clements and Hannah for being such great neighbors in Creek Pasture.

Siebe and Ken simul-sending... Ken on 4X4(5.11) and Siebe on Hydaulic Pump(5.12+)

Yes! we are on our way to Yosemite on the 15th/16th gotta make that money! Stop by Gardenswartz Extravaganza at the La Plata County Fairgrounds if you wanna say hi and pick up some sweet deals... the sale starts May 13th and runs through Sunday.

More Fun Pictures... Because We are Having More Fun Than You

More pictures... Enjoy:)

Rappelling the last route of the day at Sunset:) Bliss!
Siebe Vanhee... Legendary

The confluence of the Green River and the Colorado

Cryptobiotic Soil

Lots of gear in a wall

Indian Creek and Canyonlands!

Yay we're in the Creek!!! Yippee! Yay Horray!

We arrived in the creek on Tuesday the 12th... A week and 2 days ago I guess that is. We have done A LOT since we've been here. Two wonderful hikes, one in Canyonlands National Park and the other to some ruins at the Sparks wall in the Creek, pictured above. We have been cragging a bunch in hopes of remembering how to crack climb... It's going pretty well:)

#1 Thumbalina

#2 Sparkling Touch

"Second tower today... Suckers"

#3 Easter Island

The previous three pictures were taken atop the summit of Liesel's first three desert towers. On April 20th we summitted Thumbalina, Sparkling Touch and Easter Island all on the Bridger Jacks Mesa in Indian Creek! Yay!

Random Photos

We have been trying to keep the photos organized but it is getting hard to keep track of some of our favorites. I'm gonna post some here so they are easy to find and you can enjoy them.

Alex Bridgewater on the Southwest Arete of Grandma Peabody in the Buttermilks. Dave and I are peaking over the edge.

Tom Seymour rockin a serious 80's style on Jedi Mind Tricks.

Siebe Vanhee atop Grandma... Alex and I climbing down... Dave is already on another climb!

The highstep on Jedi... I loved that thing so much I did it twice:)

A beautiful angle of Alex sending Jedi with a setting sun.

Rest, Relax, and Reorganize!

Ahhh Bishop:)

I am blown away by how fast time is flying, it's already April! I suppose that's just how it goes when you are on the road. It's now on to the second part of the trip, using actual ropes and getting

on some walls! What a great time to reflect on the great experiences we have already had.

We found ourselves leaving Bishop and making our way to the front range for a few errands which couldn't be forgotten (i.e. registering the car). On the way we stopped in Salt Lake City to visit with some friends and family which allowed us to climb in Little Cottonwood Canyon for a day, and spend a few days in Joe's Valley.

It's fantastically wild to return to Colorado with wonderful weather when we left it with feet of snow just a few short months ago. Spring is truly here, and I'm loving every day of it. We have had a few days to rest and relax, perhaps do a little climbing as well. Since we have figured out what we really truly need this has also been the perfect opportunity to do a little reorganization and ditch the less essential things.

We are off to Indian Creek... Tomorrow!

This blank wall is Stained Glass (V10) after Kevin sent it... 2 week project!

Working Moon Arete (V9) at Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins, CO.

Beautiful Joe's Valley sandstone!

Little Cottonwood, UT!

Friends are Here!

Admittedly I have been slacking on updating this thinger here, but the climbing has been SO GOOD! We have been very busy climbing here in Bishop during the past month and especially the past 2 weeks or so. We have been lucky enough to enjoy the company of a whole slew of friends both old and new.

The weather has also been somewhat fickle of late and today we are forced to spend the day indoors for a much needed rest day to regrow skin and psych. It's not hard to be psyched when you are surrounded by such a great community of climbers. This week has been somewhat of a reunion of climbers I met during my time abroad last winter in both Spain and Mexico. It is a wonderful thing that people from different places and backgrounds are coming together, motivated by climbing these rocks and sharing intercultural experiences with one another... It's

just neat:) The campsite is crowded with people speaking different dialects of English and many different accents, I think there were 13 of us around the campfire last night! It's wild how small the world seems when I'm running into the same people coincidentally in different countries and on different continents.

The picture above and the two below were expertly taken by our friend Steve Marcil.

If you're bored to death at work or something, check out our friend Christine's Blog.

http://christinebalaz.blogspot.com/

Also David's blog is pretty entertaining sometimes.

http://varmlandsmaskinen.blogspot.com/

One Month on the Road

Yesterday marked one month since we left Durango on our winter trip 2011. We have been hanging out in the Buttermilks of Bishop, CA for the most part.

Bouldering is the name of the game in Bishop, we have yet to rope up in the nearby Owens River Gorge due to the mass amount of high quality boulder problems found in the hills around Bishop.

I guess this is an opportunity to spray about the sends we have each had on the trip:) For me it has been a great chance to push grades in bouldering and get stronger. I am happy with the progress I have made this first month in anticipation for the next 2 months ahead. So far this trip I've sent 3 V8 problems, 4 V7 problems, about 10 each of v6 and v5 problems as well as more in lesser grades. Highlights for me are Strength in Numbers - V5, Saigon - V6, High Plains Drifter - V7 and a flash of Tut Traverse - V8. I also was happy to take the North Face Direct (V2) to the top of Grandma Peabody, it's about 35 feet high! Pictured above is one of my proudest send of the trip, Brian's Project - V8.
Liesel has been crushing as well:) She quickly dispatched all of her left over projects from the spring including classics Solarium - V4 and Hauck a Loogie - V3. Just yesterday she sent her first V5 of the trip Milk the Milks (stand) in good style, the picture above is during the send. She's now got her sights set on Saigon, a beautiful and tall line standing above the Buttermilks 25+ feet and going at V6.

Much love to our friends and family, it was a great vacation from the vacation seeing Jim (Liesel's dad) in Las Vegas... Cirque du Soleil's production of Ka is totally sweet!