Leaving Bishop

Well I officially will be heading out of Bishop CA tomorrow December 1st.  I have found a spot that I feel could be home, however it is one, which I will really have to figure out what I will do for work.  I have met so many great people and for the week of thanksgiving I had some good friends from CO come out on a last minute trip.  It was great to climb with Noe and Zach and just hang out with familiar people.
We went to a church, which was hosting a climber's thanksgiving dinner.  We were all wondering if we would have to listen to a little preaching...figured there would be some sort of catch.  However, the family hosting it were genuine and kind, no preaching they were just happy to share stories and the meal with the climbing community.  This was the first year they hosted this dinner and were not sure if people would even show up.  I would say there were a total of 25 or so climbers throughout the night who stopped in.  If I am ever back here for thanksgiving I will totally join them again and bring a dish to share.  It was very kind and gave a nice family feeling to the evening.

I had a blast climbing with Noe and Zach as both are very motivating climbers.  I finally sent Son of Claudius Rufus V5 and will get Serengeti V5 (we did an evening session on it, but I just need a little rest) the next time I come to Bishop.  I also sent the Fang V4 on my 3rd try and thankfully Noe was there and in a very mellow and clam voice reminded me to breath as it was a long overhung problem.  I also figured out my girl beta for Erotic Terrorist V6 and I will send that the next time I am here too!

I will be meeting up with Denise for one more quick bouldering session before I head out.  It has been so great to meet some locals and some people who are living here.  I met another group of guys (climbed with them at crystal ridge and am heading to climb with them this afternoon) who live here so when I come back I will already know people to climb with.  

My body is tired and worked, but it feels great!  I am excited to make a short stop back in CO and visit with some awesome people and then head east for family time.  I still plan to climb at minimum 4 days a week while home so I am ready for Hueco, but I sure will feel spoiled staying in a house with a bed and a shower! HAHA.  Life is so sweet when you realize how little you need to be happy.  

Bishop week 2

I have now been in Bishop for two weeks and I love it here.  I am forced to take a rest day today due to rain/snow, but it should clear up and become nice again this weekend. On Monday I got to go climb at the Druids, which is a bouldering area frequented by fewer people due to the longer approach.  It was awesome granite with large huecos in many of the boulders.  I climbed with a Bishop local named Denise.  She grew up in PA as well and moved here in 2000.  We had met the week before at the Buttermilks (another climbing area).  I was super stoked to climb with her as she is my height, super strong and just a rad lady.  It is a first that I can use someone else's beta!  We are planning to go back this up coming Monday as well.  It was funny I was talking about my time here in Bishop and she said "you sound like you might want to move here" I would in a heart beat if I could find a quality job.

(The scenery here is just beautiful!)

I have met several other climbers to climb and hang out with.  Some have headed home and some are here for another month or more.  The greatest part is that it doesn't matter, sure i'm always a little sad when someone moves on with their trip and I no longer get to climb with them, but I also know i'll meet others just as easily as I had met them.  I also have new connections all over the country.  

I still find it hard to believe how quickly I have been able to form strong bonds with people and yet while being a climber in CO it took me a long time before really meeting climbers I could connect with.  I wonder if it is just because i'm such a happier person and therefore subconsciously more open to communication with others? I'm not sure, and not complaining! 

(Sunset)

 I went to Owens River Gorge over the weekend.  It is a pretty sweet place, but it will take me a few days to get comfortable with the style of the climbs.  I led a few 5.7s 5.8s and 5.9s while there, but wouldn't lead anything harder.  I need to climb harder so I fall naturally and realize its okay!  Then the mental head game will be much easier to manage.  I made so much progress at Smith Rock, but then haven't been on ropes for two months so the nerves and fears returned.  However, I really just want to boulder the rest of my time here so I am strong when I head down to Hueco Tanks, TX.  

Buttermilk Stem sit start V4

I have a week and a half left here in Bishop then I will make my way back to CO.  While there I will catch up with friends, climb, maybe snowboard for a day, and then fly back to the east coast for a month in a house and lots of family time...including getting to meet my nephew Iggy!  I'm stoked for some down time, but I suspect after a month i'll be ready to head out on my own again.  

Bishop!!!!

After Joe's Valley I began heading to Bishop CA.  This is a well known climbing mecca.  It is great for Bouldering, Owen's River Gorge has great sport climbing, and there are tons of areas to get on some gear and crack climb.  I headed here by myself knowing that I had some friends that would be dropping in for a few days throughout my stay.  I have been camping at the Pit campground for $2 a night I can find free camping, but this works just fine.  

View when I woke the first morning 

I went into town the first day to pick up a bouldering guidebook and found out they have run out everywhere even the publisher is out! Luckily a climber was in the shop and told me another shop down the street still had a couple of copies.  I headed over there to make sure one of those became mine.  I then headed to an area called the happies.  I found a boulder that had easy problems and was relatively low, so I wasn't afraid to climb without a spotter.  While climbing I met Danny who was taking a rest day and just hanging out with his friends.  He offered a spot which I gladly accepted and then climbed with him and his friends the rest of the afternoon.  He will also be here for the rest of the month. While climbing with them I met two other climbers and one happened to be the guy (another Danny) who told me about the guidebook.  It was a great way to start my stay here in Bishop.

The next day I was going to meet up with Benny a friend I met at Joe's Valley in the spring as well as Robert who I also met in Joe's and a bunch of their friends.  I had a great weekend getting to know the rock out here and getting worked super fast.  I was kind of getting frustrated because I was not making progress on grades I know I should be able to send and grades I know I have to work for were very difficult for me.  I also felt as though my hands were wearing out quickly.  On Monday, which was day four or five of climbing I joined two friends from the Pit Matt and Brandon and climbed at the Buttermilks.  We had a great day working V0 slabs, V2 high balls, which I was scared of the first time I came to Bishop, and V4 classics.  It was a great day and confirmed how much I really enjoy it here.

My hands after three days of climbing

The Prow V2 Highball (well Highball for me)

On Tuesday I said I was just going to climb easy and that I can totally control myself...haha yea right I think I climbed the hardest this day.  

Monkey Hang V3

I got Monkey hang V3 which, I could not climb the first time I came to Bishop.  Also climbed several other V3s and almost sent a V5.

Matt working Son of Claudius Rufus V5

I will be going back to get that V5! Such a fun problem.

Today is a rest day for me.  Enjoying a coffee, some internet time, and phone time.  Later I think I will be joining my friend Danny for a relaxing soak in the hot springs.  More to come as I will spend the rest of November here in Bishop CA.