2002 Roadtrip
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2002 Roadtrip Click on photos to enlarge. |
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On Aug 1, I took a two month leave of absence in order to complete a killer road trip. After a couple of weeks of training, drove down to Lake Tahoe for some additional training at Lover's Leap. Robin competed in "The 24 hours of Tahoe" bike race, where a team of 4 does as many 16 mile laps in a 24 hour period - pretty rough. I also met up with some friends and hiked to the top of Mount Tallac, the tallest surrounding mountain at Tahoe, affording me some breathtaking views.
After Tahoe, we went to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and after pitching our tents in the rain, were informed by the ranger that there would be another 4 days of rain. Frustrated, we made a decision to drive to Bishop, CA for some sport climbing in Owen's river Gorge. Turned out to be the best decision of the trip! For two straight days we climbed in the Gorge with ideal weather, except for a twister that hit our campsite on the second night and tore apart our camp. The third day we drove to Cardinal Pinnacle and sent Cucumbers 5.10a, followed by some bouldering at the Buttermilks.
After Bishop, we returned to Tuolumne and better weather. We hit the climbs with gusto, and spent a week climbing the spectacular granite. Noteable climbs were Hobbit Book 5.7, Cathedral Peak and Eichorn Pinnacle, and American Wet Dream 5.10b
We didn't want to leave Tuolumne, but finally drove down to Yosemite Valley for some big ass climbs. We did a few small climbs like Jamcrack 5.9 and Just Do it 5.10a in preparation for our big day. In a single day we hiked 8.2 miles to Snake Dike, a 9 pitch climb, then hiked 8.2 miles back to Camp 4. After the 11.5 hour marathon we devoured a large pizza and a pint of beer each. Since the steps up to Half Dome were closed, Robin and I were the only two people on the top of half dome!
Next off was Smith Rock, Oregon! This was the most intensive climbing spree of the trip, I was out for a day with a injured left hand and Robin was out for two days with a sprained finger. We both sent our first 5.11b climb ever, The John Galt Line, and numerous 5.10 and 5.11 climbs. My buddy Matt came down from Seattle, and along with Scott, a guy we met from Mammoth, CA, the four of us did a flurry of climbs.
We also had an epic day climbing Monkey Face, an awesome pillar-like structure that looks like a monkey's head. We chose to ascend using the West Face Variation 5.8 A1.
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