More Squamish Photos

Here are a few of my faves from our recent trip to Squamish BC. If you squint and cross your eyes a little you can almost see the cougar as it strolled past our tent. I have no idea why I was so shaky trying to take the shot...

Another weekend at Smith Rock

Smith Rock is a wonderful place to adventure around. We've been there many times over the years. As we climb both new and old routes, with new and old friends, it keeps the air of magic about it. There's always a climb yet to discover, so we jump at the chance to walk along the walls and try something new. This past weekend was no exception.

Friday, we drove down with Gabriel and set up camp and relaxed with a beer. Saturday we climbed in the morning - some easer routes that everyone could have fun on - until the heat sent us down to visit the river. In the afternoon we met up with Claudine and Anwen, catching up along the way with a few other friends also spotted throughout the park. Then we romped over at the Phoenix area, climbing anything open. Everyone had a nice workout and we headed back before the angry skies opened. One remembers why climbing, anywhere, is such a great sport and past-time.

Hanging 'round the campfire. most of us with pants on...

Saturday evening consisted of a fire, a game of capture the flag (where is that thing?) and some delicious food. We took a short walk to Skull Rock, listened to the coyotes, and told many funny stories. I had to sew and small tear in my jeans from a clumsy fence hop (ever the nimble climber). Parties were all-around; someone (hey Chad!) brought a keg. Scout headed off the bed, the youngest climber in our group at 8 months old.

Zack explains how to climb with a newborn.

Tamar tells a story - Scout beams with pride. Jim sews pants.

Sunset over Skull Hollow Campground

Sunday was more climbing, getting everyone "good value" on a tough and exhilarating route - Smith is like that, being almost an outdoor gymnasium. Hanmi and Tamar had fun on Cinnamon Slab and Cry Baby, while we played on Lion's Jaw, Moonshine and Heinous, Ginger Snap, Easy Reader, Five Gallons and Light on the Path.

Tamar, Hanmi, Scout, Jim, & Gabriel mug for the camera

Alisha and Gabriel both seemed to get crash courses in cleaning and belaying. I'm happy to report that they didn't let anyone down. Great job! Gaby is visiting from Argentina for just two weeks and was especially adventurous in joining us, as well as helpful in helping to carry gear. Thanks for holding me up on that hard route, buddy!

Cinnamon Slab area at Smith Rock

We ate on Sunday night at Terrebonne Station, we were offered the "20-inch brown" - which I declined, not asking exactly what that meant. Hanmi was asked about a drink, the exchange went like this:

"I'll have a ginger ale."
"You say, a ginger ale?"
"Yes, please."
"Ok, you'd like a ginger ale?"
"Yes."
"Ok" [pause while he writes something on his pad]
.."we don't have ginger ale. Would you like something else?"

We all did a silent double-take.

But waiting tables is tough work, so I won't pick on our waiter too much. I am curious about what he wrote in that split second. Maybe something like "ginge..OOPS"

Spring Thing 2008

Almost every year, many of the climbers of the Northwest travel down to Smith Rock State Park in Oregon and perform a full day of trail maintenance. More than a simple litter pickup or tree planting (although we do that too), this is back-breaking work to construct safer trails on the steep slopes of the park.

Given the delicate desert landscape, having trails is a good way to join both the community and the climber crowd together to promote the park. This little park is a jewel of geological history and of course - it has awesome climbing routes.

The work parties started at 8 on Saturday and spread out across the park, each under a lead that directed the action. The supplies are carted or trucked to the edge of the park or area, but the majority of the work is bucket-brigade or simply walking with a heavy rock, putting it in place, then getting another.

But when the day progresses, finally wrapping up in the early afternoon (the hot afternoons shut everything down), the trails look amazingly new. These events are a great way to meet new climbers and catch up with old friends.

Also, the bolts that have gotten notices about being ready for replacement are all checked and replaced. This is especially reassuring, as the rock qualities at Smith are touch on any fixed gear, due to the high thermal expansion cycles of the desert and the rock actually being a "welded tuft", a form of petrified volcanic ash.

These pictures aren't a great way to capture Smith's expansive vista, especially from the top, where the majority of central Oregon's lower Cascade mountains are visible across a green blanket of farms and small towns. I believe Oregon to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, but you'll just have to take my word for it. No picture would suffice.







Smith Rock is located centrally in Oregon, not far from the larger town of Bend. It gained popularity in the 1980's as "this birthplace of American Sport climbing", which is to say, some local climbers cleaned the loose rock , bolted the walls into very tough routes, and invited the world to try the climbing. The entire process was bumpy in a few ways, including getting a community used to a new tourism feed in their area, and getting a climbing world used to a few "new school" techniques of putting a climbing route on a wall without always starting from the ground each time.

Many times, routes were so difficult that they demanded a series of "practice sessions" of small sections until they could all be linked up into a single, highly gymnastic sequence. This was new to the world of climbing, where a more mountaineering atmosphere was the norm ever since "traditional climbing" broke into a sport of its own decades prior. During the 1980's, "sport climbing" sought to create or find routes that didn't achieve a goal height, attain a peak, or adhere to a crack-based, naturally protected route. Instead, stone anchors were drilled into the wall and thus every face, however devoid of features, become yet another "project". When records for difficulty appeared at Smith (5.14b), it finally attained status world-wide as a place to visit on every climber's list.



We climbed later that day, in the shadier areas, then met up again that night for a party of beer and burritos. A slideshow, a few movies of some outrageous climbing from around the world (shown by attendees of the party) and the highlight of the evening, an auction and raffle of some great donated gear. This year, a huge amount of gear seemed to appear from some new sponsors.



We're very happy and thankful to get an opportunity to join in with our friends and help make a park a bit prettier and a lot safer for everyone to enjoy. I recommend anyone who has time to visit that park, and a few others, here in Oregon. And if you can find a way, throw some donated labor into your community. It feels great.

El ruta es zigzagiando

We are back in Santiago. The 3 nights in the deeeluxe apartment (in the sky) of Punta Arenas has passed and now we’re spending some time back with Cristian and Vanesa’s families. This means lots more eating, drinking, and laughing, which is great fun.

Three weeks around the southern areas of Argentina and Chile, combined with 2005’s driving excursion from Santiago to the central Lakes area have left us feeling like we’re seen the majority of Chile and Argentina. The northern countries may have to wait for a few years, since other plans for Europe beckon.

After a long vacation that is stacked nonstop with activity, home becomes a memory that arrives in fleeting seconds each day, but is triggered by everything you see. We took some extra bread outside to throw to/at the feral dogs and we were reminded of our pets at home, waiting for us somberly.

Bathrooms are a hollow comparison for the monstrosity we created this past Fall, but they function well enough and we’re glad to not have to work on them, haha. There are still a few more posts we’ll be doing on that project’s status, since we have some final touches that nobody has seen, including us. Look for that after our trip is complete.

So we head home, ready for it. I have plenty of work lined up for me (I hope!) and Hanmi has several thousand photos to sort as she begins her new fiscal year on the photography. Other than that, we’ll probably lay low for a year or two, with only visits to family as outings. We’ve spoken several times about Cristian and Vanesa coming to visit us next, which would be a huge undertaking on their part, but if they want it badly enough, it’ll happen.

As a small vignette on the differences down here, Cristian and Vanesa both have phones that do so much more than typical phones in the US. Camera, video, MP3, radio, flashlight, internet, etc. It’s a surprising difference to see the US trapped and stumbling over the smallest feature when the rest of the world is so far ahead. The actual features don’t matter to me, since most of the gadgets suffer from the bundling, but for “kids these days” the single device is pretty neat.

Punta Arenas was in the mid 40s and 50s raining on and off with gusty winds. Santiago is 100 with light breezes and bright sun. We’re melting, even 5 minutes after a cold shower. So, we are sitting around looking at the photos from all the devices and lounging.

It is difficult to describe South America in concise terms without sounding crass. I have the utmost respect for almost everyone we’ve met. The standard for everything is just “off” from the Northern Hemisphere. The level of luxury we’ve experienced, even at the higher ends, is somewhat bizarre. Most of our trip was spent in surroundings that are way below typical US standards, and sometimes was even more expensive. But, spending a few days dirt-bagging it in a tent always makes a bed and running water seem worth the cost.

However, if you are planning a trip to the South America, keep a very open mind about the standard of living you’re used to. We’d be happy to answer direct questions, publicly or in private, but overall I’m delighted to share in all this, especially given that Cristian and Vanesa’s familes have been so helpful and welcoming. We are deeply indebted to them. Above all things in a tourist romp, having friends that speak the local language, know the areas, or can de-tangle a strange situation is invaluable. We were lucky to have made friends down here early, and there’s no easy way to describe how to do that, but it seems to happen wherever we go.

-Jim

Photos

Theres so much written that i have yet to post here, but we do have about 3,000 photos. So I'm going to burn a post on just pictures from all over our trip. These are in no particular order, and realize they may not be the best shot, but its what we have sized and ready in this little cafe at the moment. Enjoy!


Guanaco ("won-NOK-oh"), relative to the camel and llama, pacing the truck.



Armadillo. Funny little creatures.


I called and called, but no passengers arrived for this train.


The Moreno Glacier, which movs about 3 feet a day and calves icebergs constantly.


An afternoon crowd gathers at the observatory.


The road winds through some amazing territory.


This is a funny story you'll read about later. Our truck "Molden Oldie" acting up. Molden was abused heavily and yet he managed to get us around.


The colors all around were constantly beautiful.

Feliz Navidad from Argentina

It is the morning of Christmas eve and we’re sitting in camp. The camp is in El Calafate, Agentina and sits across the gravel road from a tiny fairground. Over the holiday season, nights are filled with the sounds of children screaming while going in circles on rusty machines that sound like dying dogs. There are also the typical ‘carnival’ games to win cheap toys made in China. The main difference is that they are all made out of things one might find at the local dump. Kick the soccer ball and knock over the rusty bent cans of paint… Toss the hoop onto the lead filled cigarette box with a stick taped to its side… throw the ping pong ball and knock over the cigarette boxes…


Last night was a beautiful meal of oso buco [which only costs $5 per lb at the local carniceria], one of our favorite dishes, cooked slowly over the smoky “carbon” with some local potatoes and squash on the “paradilla”. Combined with some wine and a trip down the main street of town, the trip is at another high point. It had been getting ever better since we left home, with our stop in Santiago, Chile to pick up friends and then our flight South to Punta Arenas, where we picked up an SUV and began our part-time camping, part-time hosteria jaunt into the Chilean Andes, to Parque Naçional Torres Del Paine and our next stop is Parque Naçional de Los Glaciares to see the Moreno Glacier, Cerro Torre, and the mighty Fitz Roy.




Problem is, our second tire went flat in the night, and as the first tire went flat two days ago we are out of spares… so we are hanging out in the camp hoping the shop down the street can repair our tires. We’ve already packed the tent, having planned on staying at a hotel tonight, but who knows at this point… the word on the street is that it is a tradition to shoot off fireworks to mark the occasion on Christmas Eve, so that should be interesting.


Regardless, we’ll make the most of it. There’s not much to complain about here—the food is fantastic, the beer and wine are great, people are very hospitable, and the exchange rate is great. We have good company, music, electrical outlets, hot showers, sinks for washing clothes and dishes, and we are dry. What more could you ask for, really?

Critters spotted: Eagles, penguins, condors, guanacos, lesser rhea, ibis, rabbits, skunks, and more dogs that we can count...
Peaks bagged: 1
Tires punctured: 2
Countries visited: 2

Gotta run--it's time to start cooking the meat! A very Happy Christmas to everyone!

j&h

Gear Lineup

For those keeping score at home, we thought it’d be cute at the end of a short day to demonstrate the gear. Although Rosie carries quite a bit more, here’s lineup of the day walk-along gear:


Hanmi and I carry about 1.5 standard trad racks when planning to hit an unknown crag. We don’t carry the largest sizes, but in the small hands/large fingers we have a bit of overlap. Also included is a bag of slings, rap slings, a small emergency pack, food (no dog food), guidebooks, 4 liters of water, shoes, helmets, a rope (sometimes two if we want to hit 2 pitches at once) and some rescue gear – which all adds up to maybe 30 lbs per pack. Dogs for scale (they actually just wanted some of Rachel Ray’s yummy Wheat Thins).




















Our tent is a heavier expedition-style 4 season 2-man tent. It has a full fly which we use more often than not. We’ve sometimes broken it down to just 2 poles and the tent for short backpacking trips – which is about 5lbs, a tolerable weight.

The desert camping has typical high winds in the mornings and evenings. Our last tent had the door torn open on such a night, so we beefed up on this tent. It is super calm inside on even the stormiest of nights. The two vestibules get lots of use for shoes, packs and stuff. There are lots of great pockets to hold your pocket junk, headlamps, etc. The doggies fit inside well and we’re all pretty cozy.







We lay down two thermarest-style pads, then some 30-degree sleeping bags with extra silk liners. I also have my woulbie (flannel sheet) which I use more often than zipping up the sleeping bag. We use stuff-sacks filled with clothes as pillows and sometimes covered with a fleece. All of this overnight gear fits in about 1 backpack and weighs about 30 lbs.









The doggies Malo and Ellis have a small sleeping bag to themselves, which they sometimes use. We’ve also gotten them a doggie bed to ride in the car (it helps keep them comfortable atop all the boxes and gear. It also makes a nice loafing pad for me in the morning sun.

Arizona

Camp hosts are a bit touchy here. [Striped-Tail Scorpion]

Well, we're sitting at Oak Flat campground, and it's pretty. Pretty wild too, with almost no road (we were grinding out on the "road" here, passing a Land Rover Discovery that turned back). The sun is just now dipping beneath the horizon, and the cooler air is moving over in small breezes. We've already set up the stove, eaten and packed it away again. The dogs have completely become accustomed to our mixing dogfood with gravy washings from the cans of chili or whatnot. They refuse to eat the (admittedly poor) dry food we bought for them. But, after a long day, they'll give in.

And what a long, great day it's been. Last night, we rolled into Phoenix, AZ from Joshua Tree. We rolled into Arizona and got to chat with an old acquaintance, Gary. He's been a good pal to my friend Cedric (mentioned in a prior post) over the years, and was really helpful on giving us bearings to choice climbing just outside the city. He wasn't kidding - we had a great time. We spent last night in a posh hotel and relaxed all night and morning. There's an Ironman competition going on this weekend (Sunday) and having arrived Friday night, we were greeted everywhere by thin-skinned hairless athletes. The guys especially looked gaunt, with deeply sunken cheeks. That’s a neat sport and I admire the physical capability those folks can build up. The competitive nature of it isn't for me though. I like climbing, where you battle your own capabilities with rock features testing you. Sometimes you're hot with your abilities, sometimes not, but never do I feel ranked in a long list of people.

After breakfast in bed, we drove out here and found it no problem. After a short hike down into a dry creek bed, we walked into a 20ft wide slot canyon, water carved from a canal built upstream by a local mining company.

Great, solid climbs hide in these spires.

The rock faces were full of small ledges and holes, but overall followed a smooth rounded pattern. It was quite sharp and in many ways the face climbing reminded me of Smith Rock. However, this had no nubbins and more cracks (most horizontal) to play on.

Both the chimney and the roofs are bolted and fun

We met some local climbers who were just scouting, and they gave us some starting lines to warm up. They felt good, like mid 8's with a harder move now and then. We had the place to ourselves, which was great for a weekend, and just scoped out a climb and then bargained for lead. I won all the leads, simply because Han didn't have the mojo today. Most of the climbs felt okay, without any being much sustained. Some had great stretches of roof moves, some with tiny hands. My last climb of the day went over this 8 foot curving roof, with a clip under the lip.

We spent most of the day all over this

Both my feet fell out before I was able to regain the lip and throw a foot. Then, as I pulled, a bunch of rock burst under my hand, sending grapefruit-sized nuggets into the canyon. After that one fall, though, I made the anchor and felt great. Hanmi dodged all the big stuff, thankfully!

Parking is a breeze

Hanmi had a fun adventure on a closeby climb. It had "full value" we kept saying, in that it had a bit of face, stemming, body-wide chimneying, and some overhang. All the climbs had something interesting. One had a run-out section where I thought it shouldn't, but then I found an awesome jug just at the top of one's reach at a particularly balancey move. It knocked the whole grade down and made the climb full of laughs. Not knowing any names, we talked of it being named "Faith" for that one move. We may have been influenced by the ridiculous number of Christian evangelical groups singing, babbling and handing shite out in Tempe the night before.

Malo had a good time as well, finding a little stinkbug to chase around. He decided to eat it, and of course it sprayed him full inside the mouth. He spit it out unharmed, then gagged and foamed for a while. I washed his mouth out and told him to lay down. He was a bit less inquisitive after that. Overall though, we're keeping a closer eye on them out here. We found a white scorpion while gathering wood and there's howling animals at night. So, after some extra food and a bit of cojoling, both doggies are snoring away in the tent as I write.

Build fire, play cracking fire MP3