On the left we have a leg weight called: “Jack, I’m flying!”
Then, on the right we have a 110lb Klingon waist/back weight.
Easy assembly guaranteed.
Stay Psyched & Train ON everyone!
–> Natalie Duran
Tag Archives: Bouldering
I’m Thankful for: Bishop Bouldering
On Thursday, November 22nd, I spent a wonderful and quick evening with my family celebrating Thanksgiving. As always, there was a plethora of leftovers. After washing the fine china and wine glasses, I packed up as much mashed potatoes that could fit in a Tupperware. I had a cooler packed with Thanksgiving leftovers and threw it in the car, tetris style, with all my camping and bouldering gear.
I attempted to sleep, but it didn’t happen. It was 4AM and I was ready to leave for Bishop! There is no need for coffee for me, when my adrenal glands are secreting adrenaline by the bucketload.
We had a slow Black Morning start… but eventually we headed out with the Riverside sun shining bright. It’s not a complete camping trip until I forget something important. This time I forgot my precious DSLR Canon T3i. For some reason I had no hesitation to drop by the closest Best Buy on the way to “borrow” *cough*cough* a new DSLR body. Five minutes later I threw $1,000 down (“Shut up and take my money”), and I had a Canon T4i in my hands ready to capture the trip in its entirety.
We arrived at the Milks at noon. Every single campsite we passed by was occupied. Just as we were going to give up and head to the pit, we ran into our guy friends from the gym. Magically they nabbed a great group site in the milks just off the fork of the road. I was so glad we ran into them, personally I prefer to camp out in the Milks way more than the Pit.
–>Day 1: Buttermilks
I didn’t get any pictures, so I guess it didn’t happen.
Climbing on day 1 is always a slow day. After setting up camp, I walked up the trail with my shoes/chalk and moseyed around. The Milks was packed, everyone and their mom was out… literally. Compared to last year, I noticed a larger attendance of families with their toddlers & dogs running around. As long as I don’t crush a fetus or puppy, then i’ll be fine. At the end of the day I managed to knock out a few soft V6. I called it a day once the sun disappeared over the Eastern Sierras, it was beer time.
–> Day 2: Happies
The morning sun resting on my tent instanteously woke me up. I got myself dressed, and when I walked out of the tent I thought I was looking into a mirror. My friend Jackie Trejo was wearing the same exact style outfit as I was. This was 100% coincidence. I don’t know how this is possible. Plaid shirts are excusable, but the black & white geometric leggings? Now thats just weird.
Even though the weather predicted a high of 72F, it still felt really warm come 10 o’clock. We arrived at another busy crag. Our climbing day started late in the morning, and the Happies parking lot was almost completely full. The whole day felt like a hangout day the gym. Each boulder was occupied, there was no need to bring pads from boulder to boulder because the floors were already plastered down like gym mats.
I got on the Serengeti [V5] classic for the first time, using a gaston beta I finished it up. Then I spent my day repeating the classics. Like Solarium [V4]:
- This dog was giving an epic spotting job.
- Heavenly Path boulder warm-ups:
–> Day 3: Seven Spanish Angels [V6]
On Sunday we only climbed at the Seven Spanish Angels boulder out in the Milks. By the third day my finger tips looked and felt completely thrashed. I managed to obtain a few fleshy flappers throughout the weekend. Nonetheless, I jumped on a few problems out on this boulder.
This was my first trip out to Bishop for the season. I know I didn’t push myself at all. No project was started, barley touched anything hard. No stress for this trip. For now…
We left Bishop at noon, and headed through the desert drive all the way home. It was a great trip! Can’t wait for my tips to heal and head back again.
Oh, and shoutout to Schatt’s Bakery for being so amazing every time. It’s not an official trip to Bishop if you have not visited this bakery! The best time is to go in the morning and head to the back of the shop for the discounted day-old bread that is 50-70% off. I obtained a loaf of onion-cheese bread for 75 cents. Nom nom fest.
Get out there, stay psyched & Climb ON everyone!
–> Natalie Duran
Holcomb Sport / Big Bear Lake Bouldering
I spent the past two days in Big Bear Lake, CA. Located in the San Bernadino Mountain range and 6,700 ft in elevation. Garry Dodds was nice enough to show me around Holcomb Valley Pinnacles, and some of the boulders on the North Shore.
Climbers head up to Big Bear mainly for sport climbing in Holcomb Valley. There is also a nice selection of boulders in Holcomb and around Big Bear Lake. There is a great guidebook for roped routes in Big Bear Basin (Hidden Treasures East – Rock Climbing in the San Bernadino Mountains), a selection of routes are also in the Southern California Sport Climbing. Most of the routes established and labeled in the book are easy – moderate, and involve no more than 8 quickdraws. Climbs ranging 5.12+ are sparse.
However (to my knowledge) there is no guidebook for bouldering in in the area. There is a large collection of undeveloped boulders in Holcomb. While walking around, I saw really promising lines covered in lichen. I did boulder for a bit in the North Shore area. A climber trail is clearly established that lead to this large boulder just off the 18 highway.
Climbing up in Big Bear is great during the summer, to escape the blazing heat in the Inland Empire/Desert/LA areas. Besides climbing, Big Bear is plentiful for mountain biking trails, and fun 4-wheel driving roads. During the winter this is a prime spot for skiing and snowboarding in Southern California. Driving up the 330 you hit Snow Valley Mountain Resort, and then further in Big Bear City you have Bear Mountain Ski Resort.
Stay Psyched & Climb ON!