Giving Thanks for Bishop

Well the Bishop trip was a success, Micah and I made it back safely to Olympia on Saturday after seven awesome days of climbing. It was really fun to hang out with the Brits George, Dave and Ben again. We joked around the whole week, they said they saw a different side of me with Laura absent, maybe they were referring to my flatulence issues (note to self, cans of corned beef and raisins doesn’t make a balanced diet), but we certainly had some good guy time.
We made it to Bishop!


The trip almost started with disaster after Micah and I almost spun off the road driving over the snowy mountain passes in Oregon, we arrived a bit later than we hoped on Saturday afternoon and the rampage began. George showed us the beta on the V6 classic Seven Spanish Angels and we promptly crushed. Micah should have flashed it, but wimped out on the committing last move and had to settle for a 2nd go send, and I sent it soon afterwards. I also managed a quick send of the Cave Route a burly V6. That afternoon we met another Brit out there Alan, a small guy of 49 who had just arrived from Yosemite where he had been onsighting 5.13 trad! It was awesome to climb with him, he had a great attitude and is one of the most technical climbers I have ever witnessed. He would find different beta on every boulder problem we tried, it usually involved a heel hook behind his ear or some other contortion.

The giant boulders at the Buttermilks


On Sunday we got on a few harder things like Checkerboard and Solitaire, I didn’t push myself too hard on things that I didn’t think I could do quickly since I knew I’d have to save my skin for the rest of the week. We cut the day short and headed into town where the guys found a church that was serving free thanksgiving dinner, and we were more than happy to take advantage of their generosity.
The jumbled Happy Boulders


The next day we headed to the Happy Boulders to get on a few things we had our eye on. We did a team ascent of The Clapper, a V6 George said was really easy, it may be easy if your 6ft+ but Micah and I had to work it for a while before we topped out. Next up was Rene, a highball V5, I managed to flash it which was lucky cause the holds were razor sharp pockets that would rip your skin with repeated attempts, Allan and the rest of them thought it was pretty hard for V5, but like I told them its hard to tell how difficult the problems are when you flash everything. My other projects in the Happy's such as Rave and The Hulk didn't feel doable though, but Micah finished off Acid Wash Right for his first Bishop V7! We celebrated that night with half price dinner at Whiskey Creek.

Dave topping out The Clapper

Tuesday we decided to check out the sport climbing in nearby Owens River Gorge. I was impressed with how large an area it is. We only visited one small part of it, but there were enough routes there to keep you busy for a long time. After a quick warm up I got on a really cool 12b called Enterprise, it climbed through a roof for a few clips on pretty good holds, then had a crux turning the lip of the roof before a tricky headwall. I came pretty close to onsighting it, but fell off at the crux, I was able to send it second go though, along with Alan although he used crazy beta and did it a completely different way to me.

Me on the start of Enterprise (12b)

Micah on a less steep route at Owens River Gorge

The next day I felt surprisingly good and was psyched to get on more boulders, we made the long hike up to the Druid Stones Area, which was tough but so worth it. The boulders at the Druid Stones are simply amazing, like the Buttermilks but more featured, and on a scenic plateau overlooking bishop. We warmed up on the Thunder Wall where I flashed a tough V3 and V4 that climbed up immaculate overhanging patina, before we moved on to the amazing Skye Dance Boulder. We all worked a V6 called Skye Dance which may be the best boulder problem I've ever tried. It starts out on an undercut boulder on slopey huecos, you get a heel up in the hueco then make a burly move out to a undercling, match it, reach up to some good crimps then bust a hard move up right to some juggy patina, and top out. We all worked it for about an hour before Micah got the first send followed by George, Me, and Allan. I really wanted this problem and was really psyched to finally get it. We played around on a few other things up there before we headed back down and got a roaring camp fire going.

The immaculate patina of Thunder Wall at the Druid Stones


On Thursday we set about getting on some of the classics at the Buttermilks that we really wanted to try. First up was Jedi Mind Tricks, a super classic highball V4. I managed to flash it, it felt pretty steady if you are good on crimps and don't worry about the height. We then tried a V7 Cindy Swank on the Honey Boulder. I got on it and realized it could be doable. It starts standing with a couple of powerful moves on good incut holds on an overhang to reach a jug on the lip, to here its probably only V5, then comes the crux, you have to bone down on a small grainy crimp over the lip while highstepping to reach a bad sloper, get a high foot perched on the jug, then snatch high up right to hit a victory jug. It took me a few goes to figure out the beta, but once I got to the last move I fully committed and latch the jug! It was awesome to do a V7 relatively fast, it definitely suited my style. Micah sent as well a few goes later.
Dave trying The Beekeper at The Buttermilks


Later that day we headed to the High Plains Drifter, we knew it was our last day at the Buttermilks so we sacrificed our remaining skin. We didn't manage to send it but Micah couldn't have been closer, he fell off the last hard move after fondling the finish jug. We also did a really fun V1 to finish off the day called A Birthing Experience, its a trick problem that starts lying down in a giant hueco and you have to use a shoulder jam to reach a jug. Once the sun went down we headed back to town where we treated ourselves to a motel and a lot of beers.
Me on my highpoint of High Plains Drifter


George showing us how its done on A Birthing Experience


Friday morning we were all feeling a bit worse for ware, but we wanted to get a bit more climbing in before we headed back up the road. We headed up to the Rock Creek area, which is a small area with fine-grain granite blocks at about 8,600ft. It was pretty chilly up there and our skin was absolutely trashed at this point so everything felt hard, but I did manage to get up a V2 and V3, they felt really hard though. Before we left we made some additions to their van (see photo below) and said our goodbye's. George and Dave are headed down to Baja California for some R&R in the sun, then who knows where next. I'm kinda jealous, although I think one week with them was about all I could handle. Now I'm back home catching up with all my schoolwork, I think its going to be a long winter before I'll get back climbing outside again, but at least I'll have the memories of Bishop to hang on to.

The Crew

The Van