On Veteran’s Day, Walter, Dennis, & I headed off for some warm Apple Valley climbing. The drive down went smooth, and before we knew it, we were at the parking lot. A very large dirt lot-as the gate into the park was locked.
We climbed 6 routes at the wall, ignoring a wide 5.7 crack. The climbs were all pretty short, but each provided their own special challenge. (more…)
For our last day of climbing, we ventured to American Fork. It was much much closer than Maple, and we were hoping it would be warmer. On the drive down I saw a bank sign that advertised temperature at 38 deg F. So much for warmth. (more…)
Saturday early morning, I woke up to the sound of RAIN. Bummed and a little tentative, I packed my lunch. Met Barry in the parking lot and we jumped in car to escape the drizzle. We drove for about 100 miles and we got to Nephi. The weather down there was clear. Partly cloudy, but we could see blue! (more…)
On Friday morning, very early, I boarded a plane bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. I slept through the short flight and woke up when the plane bumped softly into the terminal. Around 10:15am, I met up with Barry & Frances & co-worker of Frances named Peter. We got in a rental car and drove to our hotel, The Little America . After dropping off our things, Barry & I took off for some climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC).
LCC is very much like the climbing in Tuolumne Meadows. The granite formations offer lots of variety; cracks, chimneys, thin face, and bulges. Since we were arriving so late in the day (around 1pm), we chose to do a 3 pitch climb called Crescent Direct (5.9+). It is the more serious version of Crescent Crack (5.7). The climb was in the sun, and the granite was warm which felt great as the temperature was probably only 63 outside! (more…)
On a mission to put in some time on lead before an upcoming trip to SLC, Walter indulged me on a trip down to NJC. New Jack City is outside of Barstow, and so it is a popular winter destination for many climbers. I like to call it New Choss City since much of the rock is falling apart. (more…)