back in santa cruz

we're back in CA and enjoying the redwoods, the beaches, and friends. i'm finally organizing some of our photos from italy. there were way too many photos for the blog, so i uploaded them to a kodak slideshow instead. here's the link:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=pua53jg.6c1hmt10&x=0&y=-vu6wtl&localeid=en_US
enjoy!

back in the US of A

as the title states, we're back. and happy to be here! a seven month vacation takes its toll. we're tired! in milwaukee for a few days and hope to post a lot more pics while i'm here (including climbing pics), but i'm starting small. these are me walking to get some produce in the italian alps and then us at the trevi fountain. should be in santa cruz by the 18th. stay tuned for more.

italy

it is so lovely here. the climbing has been mostly cragging because the weather wasn't allowing us much mountain time, but the warm winds are here now and we hope to go alpine soon. we have been in little villages, the gran sasso, to rome a few times, swam in both seas, and even sport-climbed in the cave of the argonauts. angelo's family has been so generous and it seems like the whole town qualifies as family. still no hope for pictures until we return to the states. we have been eating like royalty and drinking our fair share of vino too. it is exactly a month until we are back in the states for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party and then back to CA. we are excited to have the chomp back soon and see the redwoods. after 7 months of vacation we might even go back to work. until next month...

new slideshows

due to some uploading issues there are two slideshows below. they are basically the same with the upper one being higher quality. pause the one you are not watching for best viewing.
-the mgmt

leaving the creek

we've left the creek for good. what a place! the bugs have been multiplying at frightening rates and the mercury has sailed past 96. we may climb a bit in CO on our way to milwaukee weather permitting. thats all the updates for now. i can't wait to cook in a kitchen and see the chomp.

two more

same climbs different angles.

angelo

angelo leading 'scarface' with me at the belay. we're

currently still in moab deciding if our next step is to stay put til milwaukee or cool off in CO for a few days.

indian creek pic

me leading 'mexican unicorn' at the creek! lost a whole bunch of arm skin on this one but look at the pic!

indian creek

these pics are of indian creek where we are spending most of our time now. the desert towers and mesas are all stunning but the approaches are a bit long for the current temperatures and indian creek's many crags offer a wide variety of shady places. crack climbing heaven. my hands are soooo messed up. have much better pics than these to post in a few weeks, but this is all thats accessible right now. likely heading to CO for a few days before heading to milwaukee for some much needed hot tub and beer.

still hanging out near moab, computer still broke

the desert is treating us well. i love crack climbing. if it wasn't soo hot here we might just stay forever. laptop is still broken so i had to have images put on a disc, took the disc to library, sat in line for an open 'visitor computer' and am very cranky. needless to say, i will not be uploading anything else until i'm at my folks in milwaukee at the end of the month. we have climbed a gorgeous tower, an isolated mesa, and oh so many cracks!

the first pic is me belaying a friend up castleton tower which can be seen in the background of pic two

second pic is of angelo and i atop the mesa seen in the third pic.

third pic is of the side of the mesa we climbed. it was kind of stout, but the view was well worth it.

we actually have a plan!

yes, its true, for once we have a bonified plan. we are hanging out here around moab for a few more weeks, heading to milwaukee to see family and Chomper, flying to Italia for more climbing and angelo's family a few months (we have tickets... its official!), and then finally returning to santa cruz to manage a property in bonny boon for a year starting in september. while based out of CA again we'll see about getting up some big walls in yosemite.
in the mean time, the moab area is fantastic. we have been climbing some more cracks at indian creek and just finished climbing two desert towers. still can't post pics with the laptop out of order, but google 'castleton tower, moab' and you'll see what we were on top of. hope to post buckets of pictures in a few weeks from my parents house. stay tuned fans.

moab rocks!

we are climbing at indian creek now and the splitter cracks are stunning. we love it here. should be staying around the area, possibly climbing some desert towers, etc. bad news now: my laptop is refusing to turn on so i can't upload any pics. i am currently at a timed library computer and this may be the last entry for a while. haven't seen any mac repair shops since we left vegas so it doesn't look good for online communication for a while!

molar the van is... ugh, but red rock nv is superb

well, molar required more work than we could have imagined.  she's back in running order, but we're nervous to take her on the back-country roads we were destined for.  climbed a day near prescott AZ on some short basalt cracks (no pics) and then continued on up back to red rocks  NV where the weather is stable enough for April and the auto shop is always close at hand.  

for easter we climbed the 'eagle dance' on eagle wall in oak creek canyon.  after a treacherous approach the climb is over 1000 feet of mixed trad and bolts on redpink sandstone.  my thighs are so sore from the descent that i may honestly not be able to get out of this chair after posting this message.  when closing time comes i don't know what they'll do with me.  soreness aside, the climb was exciting and the sun felt lovely.  can't think of a better way to spend easter... although i did have some mental images of the annual feast at grandmas while cramming a granola bar down my throat mid-wall.  

the pics are:  angelo on lead about halfway up the wall with orange/black rock and perfect skies, me stemming up a cruxy section, me on top trying to wash my hands in one of the last patches of snow on summit.

road hazards.

we ran away from utah to avoid a series of storms.  made it safely to cochise stronghold in southern AZ where the weather is flawless.  i got seriously sandbagged on some routes the first day.  on day two of cochise we were driving down a dirt 'forest road' toward a 6 pitch dome climb when molar the van died.  AAA covered the tow, but NOT the forest road section.  ouch.  we are now in a military town motel6 while a new fuel pump is installed.  ouch again.  stay tuned for more cochise climbing, then up towards flagstaff for some crack climbing and maybe fundraising!

topping out on moonlight buttress

this is me coming over the top rim of the climb just in time to catch the sunset and other pic is angelo on the descent trail with 'angel's landing' in the background.  

ZION utah, Moonlight Buttress

We've been in zion the last 10 days; angelo dusting off his aid climbing skills, and me trying to grasp the basics.  I have also been trying to overcome my fear of sandstone.  Here it is more sand than stone.  Very creepy.  After some practice days around the park we decided on 'moonlight buttress' for a wall climb.  the climb goes straight up the protrusion in the pic about 300 meters.  The day was a bit cool and windy, but the climbing was spectacular and the already striking views of the park amplified with each pitch.  this is truly an incredible place. the pictures are all of this route. 

Next-

Not sure of our next stop.  Perhaps the moab area.  We need some free climbing now(zion is mostly aid climbing where you use the gear to move up the wall, not just for protections) and maybe some desert towers.  Stay tuned.

'ixtlan'

this is angelo in a post offwidth interview.  he got a bit beat up.  i didn't even try it.  

red rock photo

today we are still resting.  spent a whole dollar on the penny slots of the stratosphere last night.  we are becoming party-poopers.  it might have been more fun if we could've brought the hundreds of pennies accumulating in the cab of the van to the casino but digitalization has ruined the classic slot machine and a gambler's betting options are limited to cash money or tickets.  lame.  due to some rain last night we will have to take it easy for another 24 hrs to let the rock dry and then hope to hit a long (2000+ ft) climb.  the pics are of me climbing 'prince of darkness' and then rapping 'our father' the next day.  both climbs are in the black velvet canyon.

i hurt everywhere.

the pics are old ones from when we stopped in the enchanted tower in new mexico.  there are many new red rock photos but i forgot to upload them onto the laptop before going to the whole foods for wifi.  oops.

as the title indicates- i hurt everywhere.  apparently i cannot handle daily climbing and hiking with heavy packs.  my back muscles hurt, my arms hurt, my neck hurts, my feet cringe at the sight of climbing shoes, my finger tips are void of their original prints, my skin has dried out and cracked everywhere, my eyes burn from the sand, and i'm quite sure that the cracking noises coming from my joints are not appropriate for anyone aged twenty-five.  it was an incredibly difficult decision but... we're taking a break!  and what is there to do in vegas when not climbing?  penny slots!  we stopped at the local climbing gym for showers and the plan is to hit the strip.  but maybe not til tomorrow.  i'm not sure i can even pull the levers today.  i'm pretty sure i'm not even writing well today, but free wifi is hard to come by so i've just got to type when the opportunity presents itself.  current plan is rest, climb a bit more here, head to zion natl park then to indian creek (ut).  if anyone knows of cheap camping near zion please share.  

the description and the pics are switched.  'great red book' is below.

we are in red rocks and its pretty.

angelo on "the great red book" and then on top of "ixtlan", an offwidth roof (scary, i passed).  both pics are from red rocks nevada where we will be for another week or three.  

me.

heres an image friend ben composed of me climbing a route in mexico.  don't worry, i have not multiplied.  

movin' on.

for better or worse we are back in the states.  basically we ran out of pesos and rather than exchange more $, we hit the road.  border crossing went smoothly despite our expectations.  there was a significant line of cars on the border bridge to get to the inspection station, but the mexicans walking back and forth with odd concessions kept us occupied and full (candied pecan discs... mmm!).  the driving was rough but we livened it up with a stop in white sands new mexico and the petrified forest of arizona.  the pics are of angelo climbing in the virgin canyon in mexico (there was actually a shrine of the virgin mary built into the canyon wall complete with teal christmas lights) and of me walking through the white sands. we also stopped at the beautiful but freezing enchanted tower in new mexico for a day of climbing.  a photo of that crag should follow shortly.  we'll be in red rocks nevada for the near future just outside of vegas.  the luxury of the peso/dollar exchange rate is over so we'll be camping now, cooking on a coleman stove and showering in rivers.  however, the weather is still balmy and the rock is stunning.  stay tuned. 

pinnacle photo

angelo climbing up the second pitch of the pinnacle on my b-day.  

still here!

today we went on a nice 11 pitch moderate route and got fried.  its getting hot here!  my northern blood isn't cut out for this.  i'm drinking half my weight in water.  can't wait to get more pics and some videos up on the blog.  that may have to wait for more reliable internet.  sorry.  the climbing is still great, but we're starting to get tired of limestone.  this area has treated us well and the rock whipped us back in shape. now we're getting ready for the next adventure.  time for some new mexico (the state) basalt crack climbing perhaps?  i think we'll see how much longer we can milk this great location and cheap living.  also dissuading us from relocation is the inevitable drive through texas which, for those of you who haven't been fortunate enough to drive it, is similar to pulling small yet irritating cactus thorns out of your skin for 800 miles straight.  oh yeah, WITHOUT cruise control.  the pic is of me at the local market where you can buy anything from stunning produce, pirated movies and cds, live chicks, clothes, fried pork ears, and my personal favorite fresh lime-ade for the walk back up into the potrero.  you can also play some strange local form of bingo which uses bottle caps.  the second photo is of the spires (las agujas) that we will be climbing to celebrate my birthday tomorrow.   we will also be drinking vino brought all the way from CA and eating the last of the vegan dark chocolate supply from mackenzies.  

this is a picture of me in the nearby city of hidalgo, nuevo leon where angelo and i walk to twice a week to buy produce in the open air markets.  and oooooh the mangoes!

angelo at the summit of 'pancho villa rides again' and our current home with the wall of 'el toro' in the background.

el potrero chico!

well, we're here and we love it.  i'm lucky enough to have  a good internet signal right now so i'm not  going to waste it blabbering and just post some photos!

just added a photo link to some old 3/2008 rainbow wall pics.  there is some family pics and castle rock CA photos in there as well.  

a few joshua tree pics posted below!

thanks to friend Al computer is up and running again!  as a result i have posted another link (see bottom of page) to a few joshua tree bouldering photos and a MOVIE!  angelo says its not a great movie.  our current date to head for mexico is feb 2nd.  stay tuned for more details.  

red rocks, november 2008

this post is coming out very late.  we were in red rocks, nv over thanksgiving and encountered a whole bunch of rain.  on one of the nice days we headed into the black velvet canyon and went up 'the gobbler', rather appropriate considering the holiday.  this pic is of me on the first pitch.  a little slabby.  angelo took the lead on all the rest of the pitches and  we should have a movie clip of the last pic up soon.  keep an eye on the links at the bottom of the page.  

2009!

We're just back from our christmas/new years climbs and are hanging out in santa cruz for a few weeks before heading south again.  Joshua tree was frigid and windy.  Weather didn't allow for much climbing but we did mess around on 'pig pen' (pic coming soon).  Opted for red rocks nevada for the rest of the holidays and had better luck there.  We went up 'olive oil' in juniper canyon and encountered a bunch of snow/ice on the descent.  After that we spent the rest of the trip at the plentiful sport crags.