Joshua Tree - Day 1
after "sleeping in" we, my friend/climbing partner Melinda and I, finally hauled ourselves out of bed sometime around 10am. she had some work to finish up so while she worked away, i went for breakfast for both of us.
wonderful sunny day. warm in the sun, low winds.
by time we got into the park it was a little after noon. we were staying in Twentynine Palms so it was nice, long drive to the climbing areas. eventually found our way to the Hidden Valley Campground day parking. got out and walked around a brief bit. how beautiful this all is. it's not like the crags i've been to before. these are freestanding formations all around, something like REALLY large boulders piled upon each other -- versus a cliffline/buttress.
first route of the day, an intro to the area, intro to this rock type, a classic, something I've been thinking about for weeks... Double Cross (5.7+) at The Old Woman in the Hidden Valley Campground.
such an awesome line. so obvious. so wonderful. the low crux'ish move wasn't nearly as bad as i had feared. i had built this up into a big something in my mind because reading online about all the "injuries and fatalaties" over the years on this route. thankfully, however, i was also able to protect that move with my beloved blue TCU.
next up, we hopped onto the bolted line to the right. looked like fun, and was!
Sexy Grandma (5.8+) at The Old Woman
coming around the corner low felt pretty airy. high step onto friction, and slopers for hands. suck it up and go!
figured that we'd try elsewhere in the park for the last route of the day. i love ending my days on easy slab climbs.
Double Dip (5.6) at Echo Rock
used my #3 Camalot on the large flake, but it was very unnecessary (better safe than sorry, though, right?). the walk-off of this dome was a mini-adventure in itself. sometimes, even seemed harder than the climb itself (at least on the climb i have bolts to help me figure out where to go next).
with very little light left, we went to the Barker Dam area and tried to find Gunsmoke (V3). I've heard of this classic 75'-80' traverse...but couldn't find the thing, even going off of two topos!
drove back to Twentynine Palms and had dinner at Enchada's. what a wonderful way to end the day, filling myself with good Mexican food and drinks. went home and crashed.
wonderful sunny day. warm in the sun, low winds.
by time we got into the park it was a little after noon. we were staying in Twentynine Palms so it was nice, long drive to the climbing areas. eventually found our way to the Hidden Valley Campground day parking. got out and walked around a brief bit. how beautiful this all is. it's not like the crags i've been to before. these are freestanding formations all around, something like REALLY large boulders piled upon each other -- versus a cliffline/buttress.
first route of the day, an intro to the area, intro to this rock type, a classic, something I've been thinking about for weeks... Double Cross (5.7+) at The Old Woman in the Hidden Valley Campground.
such an awesome line. so obvious. so wonderful. the low crux'ish move wasn't nearly as bad as i had feared. i had built this up into a big something in my mind because reading online about all the "injuries and fatalaties" over the years on this route. thankfully, however, i was also able to protect that move with my beloved blue TCU.
next up, we hopped onto the bolted line to the right. looked like fun, and was!
Sexy Grandma (5.8+) at The Old Woman
coming around the corner low felt pretty airy. high step onto friction, and slopers for hands. suck it up and go!
figured that we'd try elsewhere in the park for the last route of the day. i love ending my days on easy slab climbs.
Double Dip (5.6) at Echo Rock
used my #3 Camalot on the large flake, but it was very unnecessary (better safe than sorry, though, right?). the walk-off of this dome was a mini-adventure in itself. sometimes, even seemed harder than the climb itself (at least on the climb i have bolts to help me figure out where to go next).
with very little light left, we went to the Barker Dam area and tried to find Gunsmoke (V3). I've heard of this classic 75'-80' traverse...but couldn't find the thing, even going off of two topos!
drove back to Twentynine Palms and had dinner at Enchada's. what a wonderful way to end the day, filling myself with good Mexican food and drinks. went home and crashed.