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..