Bishop Continued.

Our 4th day in Bishop was a rest day. The 5 of us drove up to try to find the hot springs to relax in but all we found was one of them that was already occupied. Did get to see some nice views however:



The next day we were back out to the Buttermilks. We started the day working on Get Carter - a classic V7. Pretty cool looking problem with a very hard start involving either a huge drop knee or a wide spread and powerful move. I worked out the top moves pretty easily but got completely shut down on the bottom. Eric did pretty well on it and was able to do all the moves and could probably do it all with more work.


After that we headed back to the main Buttermilks area and I ended up doing a really fun V5 called Go Granny Go



The following day we started by getting on the Ironman Traverse (V4). Super classic line that I tried a few times a year ago and didn't have the endurance to do. I was able to do it this year fortunately (barely though), in addition to Eric and Kris who also did it.


After this we briefly tried the Leary/Bard Arete (V5) but none of us had the strength/skin at this point to do it:

And after that we hiked up to the Checkerboard V7/8 to check it out. We tried a few moves but it's way too crimpy for me at this point in the trip. A truly inspiring line though -- perhaps the best I've ever seen. Something I'd love to do on a future trip.


Today I didn't do much climbing -- felt pretty much worthless. Started the day trying Pain Grain (V5) - but it lived up to its name and I gave up after 2 tries.

I also briefly tried the Cave Problem but gave up on that too after ripping off the holds and tearing yet another hole in my fingers. Kris got it though. We also went over to work the crimpy Yayoi (V7) but I decided not to try it to protect my fingers. Kris got this one as well after about 30 minutes of work. I finished the day by doing Green Wall Essential (V2) along with Eric. Nice line on a beautiful face.

Tomorrow we'll climb for a few hours and then head back to Vegas and on home. I'll try to put a slideshow up when I get home. My fingers are completely shredded (worst they've ever been - holes in most my fingers it seems) but I'm really psyched to get them healed and pulling again in Hueco in 2 weeks!

High Plains Drifter

Edited: Much higher quality video:

Bishop

I've been in Bishop for the past 3 days and am absolutely loving it. Eric Johnson and I rolled into town on Christmas Eve at about 3 in the afternoon and drove straight out to the Happies to warm up for the trip. We figured there wasn't enough daylight to make the Buttermilks worth it. We started by doing a V4 called Sucker Punch and a V3 called Carrot Top that were both pretty fun and nice warm-ups.
Eric on Sucker Punch:


We then headed over to Serengetti (V5) - a classic problem that shut me down and ripped a hole in my finger last year. I did it this time in 2 tries and Eric quickly repeated it as well.
Eric on Serengetti:


We ended the day by working on The Hulk (V6) -- which felt doable if we go back to the Happies -- and by doing a high and committing V1 called Heavenly Path.

On the following day - Christmas - we met up with Kris and Lynn Johnson and Dillon Doyle and headed up to the Buttermilks. The Buttermilks are one of the most scenic bouldering spots in the country if not the world. We warmed up on the Sunshine Boulder and then quickly went up to work on Saigon - a classic V6 I worked on but couldn't do last January. This time was a different story and I did it on my 3rd try. A truly spectacular line. Here's me sticking the crux move:


Kris worked on Saigon Direct (V9) for awhile and he really seems close. It's pretty tall and committing and he was taking some big falls down to the pads:


After this we worked on High Plains Drifter (V7) for a little while and Lynn came very close on Pope's Prow and then headed down and Kris and myself worked on Soul Slinger (V9) and Eric and Lynn worked on the Cave Problem (V6) before calling it a day.
Eric on High Plains Drifter:


Me trying Soul Slinger:


Today we headed back up with High Plains Drifter as my primary goal. It felt close enough yesterday that I was completely certain I was going to do the problem today -- never really had that feeling before -- at least not that strong. It took about 5 or 6 tries and a key bit of beta from Kris (who sent it earlier this week) and I did it -- so psyched! I got video of it but will have to wait until I have faster internet before uploading it. Eric is super close on it too and I have no doubt that after a rest day he'll do it. It was very cold up there today and everyone was pretty much ready to go by this point but I made them come spot me on Soul Slinger for a few goes. Unfortunately I tore a hold in my finger on my 2nd go but it did feel a bit better than yesterday. The hole isn't bad so after a rest day tomorrow it should be fine..

5 Days Away

Rest.

I've been climbing with a tweaked finger tendon for the last 6 weeks or so and I've come to realize it's gotten bad enough that I have to take a break.. The plan is 3 weeks of no climbing and then the following 3 weeks of slowly escalating to the Hueco trip. Hueco is 6 weeks away and counting and even though taking a few weeks off now will be frustrating -- it will be far more frustrating to be in Hueco not at 100%. It's just as well I take a break now -- the MN season looks to be officially over -- we're getting 6+ inches of snow dumped on us right now and more to come tonight and tomorrow. So all I'll be missing is plastic climbing. I will be focusing on core workouts in the meantime and antagonist muscle training.

Here's some random pictures to brighten up the post:
Me about to fall off Kahuna Roof at Carter Lake -- over and over again:


Chad Johnson on The Angler/The Rail in Joe's Valley:


Josh on Boogie Nights in Triassic:


Eric Johnson sending Serengetti in Bishop:


Jim Merli on Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground at Swede's Forest (there's the same Tetanus Kettle in the background from my previous post, 2 years earlier):


Me trying Germ Free Adolescence in Eldorado Canyon 2 years ago: