Archive for November, 2009
Back to Bishop – Week 1
Nov 29th
It was with no small amount of trepidation and excitement that I headed back out east to Bishop with friends for the Thanksgiving week. This would be a one-way trip. My friends would be going back to the Bay Area after the holiday while I’d remain behind.
We were greeted with some really great weather. It was sunny and warm, almost hot during the days. The nights were not too cold and there was plenty of climbing to go around.
Gabe immediately got to work on projecting Seregenti at the Happys.
There were many many other climbers in Bishop over the week with the same idea as well. Seregenti saw a steady stream of climbers looking to make their mark on the area’s V5 testpiece.
Thanksgiving was composed of various pre-made meals from the local Vons. Sliced turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and quick-fried vegetables. I ate enough for three men that night. Urp.
Cozying up to the roaring campfire while passing around the bottle of Grey Goose, naturally.
Camp Sweet Camp. Enjoying the last bits of the fast fading daylight at the Pleasant Valley Pit Camp.
I originally sent Sucker Punch a few years ago, I’d found out recently that the major starting hold on Sucker Punch had broken off within the last month, and the problem had become a bit harder.
So I headed back to the valley to scope out the problem, and after two days of trying out different beta, I finally repeated it for the ages!
On the next morning, after a hearty lunch, and farewells, my friends headed back to the Bay Area. I watched them pull onto Main Street and head towards the highway and I thought to myself, “Here I am… again!”
What’s Behind the Curtain?
Nov 18th
I was poking around Wikipedia the other day, and stumbled across this colorized image of a woodcutting that was done hundreds of years ago.
I can completely put myself into the shoes of that red-robed guy – pulling up a curtain of stars to peer at the celestial machinery that operates the entire universe. Why do it? Simply out of curiosity. OF COURSE. I love it.
Movin’ on. Movin’ on.
Nov 15th
I’ve been kicking it up around in San Francisco for a little over a year. I really love this city warts and all. The weather is one of the best things about the city. Its rarely too hot, or too cold. Its always just nice and mild! Its been an amazing experience living in a city that’s so full of cultural vibrancy, the let be and let be attitude of everyone and meeting to many geniune people.
Yet, it is time to move on. My heart looks out east, back to Bishop.
It was a little less than two years ago, I stood in front of my little rental cottage as I bid my parents farewell as they drove back to Phoenix. They had come up to Bishop for two days to help me pack up my meager posessions into my truck so that I could drive home to Minneapolis.
It was a bittersweet day for me. I was finally wrapping up my stay in Bishop. It was the realization of a dream I’d had for a long time to actually live in Bishop, doing nothing but climb rocks day in and day out. But it was hardly the end of that dream that I’d imagined, taking that nasty spill off Jedi Mind Tricks and blowing up my foot, not even two months into my stay, and a unfinished tick list a mile long??
So as I drove away from Bishop it was that frustration of unfinished business that gnawed on my head. I was unsure if I’d ever return to live here again, but I think in my heart – I knew I would.
In a week. I’ll return to Bishop to make it my home again for the winter. I’ll be joined this time by a friend of mine from NYC, Leo. I’m sure I’ll be blogging about it and sharing more photographs over the days. I am truly excited to return and I invite you to join me once more again, my friends.