Yesterday Conor, Tess, Steve and I went out to Kootenai Canyon. I was proud of myself for getting to the top of Venus deMilo, at 5.11d my hardest route attempted on lead ever.
Also, on Saturday I did my first rope solo in Lolo with Conor. Rope-soloing means you are using a rope to protect your falls but no one is belaying you. I think I might be a fan.
We left San Francisco and drove up Highway 1. Eventually we were in Mendocino. A ridiculously quaint town full of artists overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
San Francisco, leaving you can be such a drag. Family vacay in C A ended yesterday.
One morning the ‘rents and I rode cable cars. A charming experience.
3 days outside with my friend Brian and his dog Max. These are from the first day, where we camped at Rainbow Lake.
A little while ago I was in Asheville for a little while. This is what it looked like sometimes.
Finally the weather cleared and we headed out with our German friends Simon and Lawrence, to climb Washington Column.
I got to lead a pitch of 5.10 to skip a bit of a line that had formed at the second pitch. Definitely felt adventurous. I also did my first ever pitch of aid climbing in a pretty epic setting.
It was awesome to be climbing with Cole, who has quite a bit more big wall experience and the patience to teach the rest of us goobers.
The day after climbing Royal Arches was at a relaxed pace. We hung around Camp 4 and then Cole and I climbed the 2-pitch route Harry Daley (5.8), called “One of Yosemite's best 2 pitch climbs” by some dude.
The first pitch is pretty thin and the second is a handcrack. It was fun to climb on Glacier Point Apron.
The next day was my first day of cruddy weather in Yosemite. Every other day had been sunny, but that day it got about 40 degrees colder (saw snow at times) and was cloudy all day. These pictures are all from the cold day.
No climbing was attempted.
