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10.30.2012

Open Books (27-28 Oct 2012)

Ticklist:
Munginella (5.6) - crowded, but great fun! 3 pitches, linked to 2
Hanging Teeth (5.8) - Fun lay backing with a sustained and runout 2nd pitch. 3rd pitch wasn't terrible, but the loose, overhanging blocks up top do require some care.
Highway Star (5.10a+) - variations offer several very fun options. great for toprope laps, look forward to going back on lead

Trip Highlight: camping in Tommy Caldwell's site while he slept in his van

Once again upon returning from China, I decided to push my luck against jetlag and head for a Yosemite climbing weekend.  This trip went a bit better than last time around, but still "the mind is primary, and today the mind was weak." But I'm getting ahead of myself, and being negative: there was good climbing this weekend!

Kat, Nina, and I all climbed Munginella (in the Five Open Books area to the west of Yosemite Falls). I led the first pitch, Nina took the second, and Kat floated the whole climb.  We came down and had a leisurely lunch. At 3:30, Nina and I hurried back for a second Book.  We were aiming for the Caverns. After making it up two pitches, and looking at the time, we determined we didn't have enough time to make it to the top of the climb by sunset. Nina had stopped at the first tree (our topo said the pitch ended after two), and there were still two pitches to go.  Too far! But wait...something wasn't sitting right. It should've been easy to make it to the second tree before running out of rope.  Another look at the topo revealed that we were actually two pitches up Hanging Teeth.  On the plus side, only one pitch to go! Unfortunately it was labeled "loose, dirty, overhanging 5.8 blocks" of "rapidly decreasing quality." Tempted as we were to back off, I was happy that I made the decision to take the rack and head up.  Some good steps of liebacking, and a finish of the promised poor quality, and we were at the top and heading down the by now familiar descent in the twilight.

Sunday morning we determined we wanted some good crack practice, and so we headed over to Highway Star. On toprope, we each got in several good runs on each of the many variations of 5.9 hands and off-hands, and 10a and 10b fingers.  Really fun climbing and definitely recommended for what it is!
Kat heading up .10a fingers. A tough intro to liebacking!
Alltogether not a bad weekend for climbing (I was able to step up and lead some relatively easy trad pitches), I guess I'm disappointed that I didn't push harder. Why not go for it and get moving from camp earlier in the morning? Try to do 3 Books instead of just two? Couldn't I have tried to lead Highway Star? Or we could've climbed in an area with more options? Like I said, not a bad weekend (really, no weekend in the Valley is bad), but excellence is a habit and serious jetlag or not, I wasn't practicing that this weekend.

9.18.2012

Tenaya Peak, Northwest Buttress (15 Sept 2012)


Spark Notes: Northwest Buttress, Tenaya Peak (Guide: Tuolumne Free Climbs by SuperTopo)

Song of the Weekend:  Tribute - Tenacious D (Spotify)

I don't often make daytrips to Tuolumne, but Bennet was looking to extend a daytrip of his, and so I was lured up for a trip up Tenaya Peak. Both of us were afraid the day would be long and that we might take too long on the route. Turns out the pitches go fast when you simul-climb.

The day went something like this:
21:04 - burrito, 1st half
12:03 - arrive porcupine flat
12:15 - fall asleep
6:45 - open eyes
7:15 - get out of the sleeping bag
8:45 - begin hiking
10:00 - begin climbing
14:00 - top out
14:05 - burrito, 2nd half
14:50 - leave summit
16:30 - back at the lake
17:00 - swimming in the lake
18:00 - on the road
22:30 - back in the city
02:00 - burrito in the Mission

(check it out fullscreen)

Overall, I thought the route was a ton of fun.  Bennet led the whole day, while I practiced simul-climbing as a follower.  We started a bit higher than the SuperTopo-described start, and finished on something that felt like a 5.8 variation that finished about 150 feet left of the summit.  Except for the very finish, and a short slab section with thin cracks, the climbing was all easier than 5.4, and I found myself managing large loops of slack. The approach and descent weren't that bad at all (somehow we got lucky), with the notable exception that I had to hike in Wallabees, which proved to be better than the alternative: flip flops).  The other highlight of the day: an ice cold swim and relaxing by the beach of Tenaya Lake.  It seemed every other party on the peak had the same idea, too.

Ticklist:
Northwest Buttress (5.5) - long, easy grade, spectacular position, great intro to trad leading - 14 guidebook pitches, climbed in 3 simul-pitches (highly recommended) + 2 ropelengths (would've simuled if we didn't climb into a bottleneck)

9.13.2012

Mt St. Helena, The Far Side (9 Sept 2012)


Spark Notes:
Sunday: cragging at the Bubble and the Far Side, Mt St Helena (Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, Calistoga CA

Song of the Weekend: Beautiful Day - U2 (Spotify)

Not much to write here...just a day out cragging with friends.  Campo just got to town, and Eddie was in town for work.  Galina also came out, as did Bennett, Maia, Dan and a few others that I was meeting for the first time.  I think Mt. St Helena's a great place to climb, but the funky pockets, occasionally sharp rock, and sometimes difficult to solve sequences make the place a little harder on beginners.  This is offset by the fact that it's a beautiful setting in the hills above wine country.

So, make your own choice, definitely better to climb than just sit around for a day right? The lower toproping area also might be more friendly.

The only actually useful beta from the day:
- if you're a hang glider, this is apparently a popular launch spot (driving up the fire road)
- watch out for poison oak on the trail from the Bubble to the Far Side
- there are several routes not mentioned in the SuperTopo at the Far Side, they were somewhere between 5.9 and 5.10b and were fun.

We'll see if I can stay current on my posts, and maybe even work back to posting a bit about the (surprisingly active) summer trips.

Ticklist:

Guidebook: Bay Area Topropes (Supertopo)
Shute-Mills (5.9) - very fun
New Tradition (5.7) - okay, little cruxy at the 2nd or 3rd move
Mystery Hole (5.9R) - manageable runout, on easy ground
Feelin' Your Oats (5.10aR) - manageable runout, not too bad
...and 2 5.9-10b routes not identified in my guidebook

7.13.2012

Luther Spires, 90 Foot Wall (7-8 July 2012)

I kept my streak of climbing weekends alive by heading up to South Lake last weekend.  Saturday was spent at Luther Spires.  I led every route I climbed, including a .10a mixed route which led to my only fall of the day, and my first fall on gear ever.  The gear held, which was a relief.  I'll head back and try to lead it clean another time, but the way B and I climbed it definitely felt strenuous.  I thought this crack was the crux, not the bolted section at the top.

Rattly fingers in the shadow.
For what it's worth, the SuperTopo seems to have some confusion in the Mixed Emotions area.  The .8 OW is easy to find, as is Mixed Emotions.  The bolts for Ringlock are nowhere to be found, though it's possible they're actually right of the OW. I wonder if a ring lock is the key to Mixed Emotions...

Day 2 was a day of top roping at the 90 Foot Wall.  Slippery rock, but some of the harder climbing I've done in a while (.10c I think). Worth a visit, especially for the nice lake views, but avoid the sun. I'm looking forward to getting a little stronger and trying Mayhem Cove in the same area.

Ticklist:
Dog and Gri Gri, Two Bucks (5.9)
Beer and a Hot Dog, Two Bucks (5.8)
Unknown, 2 bolts (5.9?)
Just Jerry (5.9)
Jacko (5.10b)
Jane Spy (5.7)
Mixed Emotions (5.10a)
Many topropes 5.8-10c

Royal Arches and Starr King (16-17 June 2012)

Spark Notes:
Saturday: Royal Arches
Sunday: Star King

Song of the Weekend: Peaches - The Presidents of the United States of America (Spotify)

Maybe there are more fans of the Presidents of the United States of America than I think, but those seem to be the unifying songs this year. I've belted out verses about the little boll weevil while winding over Carson Pass and sang along to Peaches (which I guess everyone knows) while swerving past Hardin Flat towards the valley.  I guess those will be some of my memories this year.

I once again managed to get myself along on a trip with Luke, Chris and Manit.  This time they were three and Luke was trying to figure out the most efficient way to get them up the long Royal Arches route.  I offered that maybe two teams of two would work well, which I guess everyone was okay with, so I was in.

We headed out of camp very early, parked at the Ahwahnee, and were the first folks on the route.  In fact, the only people we saw all day were hauling bags up the 5th pitch at 3pm. I have absolutely no idea what they were doing. Luke grabbed the rack and headed up the first pitch, a very slippery chimney.  After that, he let me lead the way and he followed as we simul-climbed.  Every gear exchange or two, we waited for Chris and Manit to catch up.  Overall, it was really quite a relaxing experience.  I felt pretty good climbing the whole day, except that I wasn't sure where to find the beginning of the rap route and stopped a bit early.

Luke enjoying the valley view before the sun hit.
The climb was pretty uneventful, just good fun.  Highly recommended, especially with an early start to beat the crowds and as much sun as possible.

Luke had plans for a long run on Sunday, Chris was in the valley with his in-laws, wife and little girl (chillest family ever, by the way, but they're Hawaiian so not exactly a surprise), and Manit wasn't psyched on climbing. So, after checking out Hans and Honnold in the meadow, I took another trip to Mt. Starr King (though I haven't written about the first one yet...oops).

While this I had my head together a bit better, I still wasn't really interested in soloing the slab without really knowing where to go.  So, I down climbed after climbing half the first pitch.  It's funny, with a belayer, even without pro, I would have been fine, but there's a time and place for soloing, and that wasn't for me that day.  Was I disappointed in myself? Yes, but it was still the right choice. Another time perhaps, or maybe not, time will tell.  In any case, still a great hike to a beautiful part of Yosemite with plenty of wildlife (7 deer and plenty of birds and marmots).

Ticklist:
Royal Arches (5.7 A0) - 17 guidebook pitches, climbed in a short chimney pitch and 5 simul-ed pitches

Matthes Crest (1 July 2012)

Song of the Weekend: The Presidents Of The United States Of America – Kick Out the Jams (Spotify)

Wooohoooo! That's really all I have to say about that....but I guess I'll go on anyway.

Traverse the skyline from right to left, rappel from the highpoint
After a day of hanging out with friends (E and G were passing through on the PCT), and actually climbing the last few weeks, I was actually excited about climbing and about leading.  Bennet was psyched too, though, so I let him take the first pitch.  I led off from there, taking one of the "many options" in the SuperTopo to get around other parties on the route. I climbed quickly, I climbed well, I placed little gear.  I was psyched, all was well.

B strolling along the Crest.
The day was sunny, the temps were great, and I was having a good day.  The exposure was enough to keep me on my toes mentally, but in most places the climbing was mellow and fun (with a step or two to think about here and there).  We were one of five parties on the ridge, but never really ran into them once we got on the ridge.

We descended from the south summit and debated hitting the north summit. We were tight on time, but figured  we'd go anyway...might as well, right?  Just climb fast so that Kat wouldn't worry. I wanted to lead the last pitch, but I saw that Bennett kind of did but wasn't going to without a push.  There are no friends on a powder day, but this wasn't a powder day.  Pushing him to lead, and seeing him push and crush it was great.

Cathedral Peak...next time...
For some reason, the only time I was gripped all day was while following on top rope.  I guess there's something about seeing that loop of slack in front of me that makes me nervous (even though I know I'm facing a much, much bigger fall after not placing gear for 20 feet.  Something to work on I guess.

Anyway, after following B as fast as I could, and barely stopping for a breath on the north summit, I started setting up rappels.  We hiked fast back from the base, then at the lake a couple miles from the trailhead B stopped for a refreshing swim and I started running (in case Kat hadn't gotten my text).  Turns out, she had and I ended up getting a good work out and bruised toes from running in approach shoes for a few miles.  At least the extra speed got me car to car in in under 12 hours (including the 1.5 hour wait to start the route).

Ticklist:
Matthes Crest (5.7) - small rack, as many or as few pitches as you want, we roped up for the first 3, the crux in the middle and the last pitch.

6.28.2012

Skyline to the Sea (23 June 2012)

Spark Notes: ~27 miles, 2400 ft up, 5000 ft down, 5.5 hours

Depending on where exactly you start and what source you read, the Skyline to the Sea trail is somewhere between 27 and 30 miles long, and runs from Saratoga Gap down to the Pacific Ocean at Waddell Beach. There are more eloquent trail descriptions out there, but here's the short story: 8 or 9 miles winding back and forth across the highway, another 10-15 miles through the spectacular redwoods of Big Basin State Park, then 6-7 miles of relatively unremarkable multi-use trail to get to the beach.

I had plans to visit Monterey and Santa Cruz on Sunday, so the goal was to pack in a full Saturday, and keep it close to home.  I've been planning on taking Kat backpacking down the trail over a two or three day weekend.  Naturally after thinking about it for a little while, doing the trail in the day seemed like a good way to get an idea of its difficulty before taking Kat out. A little Googling, and the fact that the Western States 100 was going on at the same time, made me think that a bit of running could be fun. (No, I don't really run at all.)

Thanks to Kat, I started at 7:30.  I had no expectation of running the trail when I started, but a half mile in or so, running just seemed like a good idea. So I did. Despite the proximity to the highway, the first several miles were really quite fun.  Actually the whole trail was great: winding single track in an ever more aesthetic setting (except for the last 6 miles, which were bearable only because they finished the trail). The miles disappeared underfoot and time flowed by...it was just great to move! And so, about 5.5 hours later, I found myself making change to use a pay phone to let Kat know that I had arrived a bit early (having predicted 8-10 hours on the trail).  The world has a way of working out though...in this case, for a trio of girls who had just finished the trail over 4 days and needed a lift back to San Jose.

The hardest part was the pounding on my ankles.  I wasn't exactly moving fast, so cardiovascular fitness wasn't an issue, but the constant pounding definitely took its toll.  I wanted to stop for a few minutes at Big Basin HQ (~15 miles in), but my ankles/lower legs hurt more and more the longer I stopped.  So, after stuffing down a Clif bar, I kept on my way.  That bar, a sleeve of Shot Blocks, and 2L of water was enough to get me through.  Of course I carried a nice big lunch all the way that I got to enjoy at the beach. Oops.

Would I do it again? Sure, though I would take less water (plenty of fill up stops) and might get a new pair of shoes first instead of using a 2 year old pair that I wear only occasionally. It would also be nice to go faster, or maybe do the loop that makes it a 50k. In any case, it's kind of nice running a marathon without the hassle of training or an organized race (apparently the previous two weekends had seen events on the trail that I was fortunate to avoid)...Forest Gump might be proud.

6.21.2012

Snake Dike (21 April 2012)

Spark Notes: Snake Dike (Guide: Yosemite Valley Free Climbs by SuperTopo)

Song of the Weekend: Easy - Deer Tick (Spotify)

Whoops, this one's been sitting in drafts for a while.  Anyway...when the chance to climb Snake Dike with a strong crew came up (gotta do something when the skiing isn't great and Tioga's still closed!) I really couldn't say no.   Two of Luke and Lizzy's friends were training to do a long day on the Eastside, and Snake Dike would be a good chance to put in plenty of miles and climb some moderate pitches.  Originally, I was to be one of four, which then evolved to five so I was on the chopping block.  Fortunately, one more joined us, so we became a party of six (three rope teams) heading up the Mist trail at 5am.

The day went smoothly, we were the first party on the route and only saw a couple other folks all day.  My partner led most of the pitches, but I did take the first dike pitch.  Despite having only a single bolt in the whole rope length, I felt more comfortable leading than following the other pitches.  That might have had something to do with the large loops of slack I was getting (teaches me to be more vocal next time).
Runout (more like fun-out!)
Awesome day, and Lizzy posted a great report with more photos on Dream in Vertical here.



Ticklist:
Snake Dike (5.7R) - few bolts and less gear - 8 pitches, linked to 6

4.20.2012

Slackcountry Daytrip (14 April 2012)


Spark Notes:
Saturday: Kirkwood and slackcountry to Emigrant Lake

Song of the Trip: Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (Spotify)

Usually I pick a "Song of the Trip" because it was something that I particularly liked while on the road, or have been really enjoying that week.  This week, however, I'm dispensing some advice: spring skiing means harsher sun and longer hours, and I have a goggle tan burn to prove it.  I really ought to remember that lesson year to year.  So, yeah, wear sunscreen.

Despite the burn, I'd say the day was still worth it.  I got to Adam's at 1:00 on Friday night/Saturday morning and crashed on the couch.  We were up at 7 and out the door early to try to catch first tracks.  Why bother in April?  Believe it or not, fresh snow in April!  Kirkwood had been blessed with over 2 feet of snow in the previous 3 days and no terrible thawing temperatures.

Rusty shredding inbounds.
We rode lifts and hiked inbounds all morning to get as many fresh turns as we could.  By the time the afternoon rolled around, most of the resort was tracked out, so we skinned along the ridge to the south of the top of Sunrise (Chair 10, I think).  Completely untracked slopes led down to Emigrant Lake just below Melissa Coray Peak.  I ended up skiing with two new folks (friends of a friend) and had an awesome time.  Definitely a highly recommended slackcountry destination on days with good snow stability, especially since the tour back to the lifts is pretty mellow, too.

We'll see if there's more skiing this year, hopefully the freeze/thaw cycles will line up for some good corn snow.  I may just get too excited for climbing though...

4.09.2012

Mostly work, a little climbing (1 and 7 April 2012)

Spark Notes:
Sunday (a week ago) - Handley Rock Park, lower tier
Saturday (two days ago) - Castle Rock State Park, Waterfall Cliff
Guidebook: Rock Climbing Guide to the Castle Rock Area  (but Bay Area Top Ropes has some information on the areas, too)

Song of the Weekend(s): Little More Time - Zox (Spotify)

The past couple weekends have mostly been spent working (with a trip over to Merced for a day to pick oranges at my grandma's and do income taxes...hardcore, I know.)  Even on working days, though, I've been happy to get out for at least a couple hours on real rocks.

On the plus side, I did manage to climb at least a little bit at a couple local areas and Handley Rock Park and Castle Rock State Park.

Handley is relatively close, has zero approach, and top rope setup is super easy.  From the top (an easy scramble), the views of the valley and bay are pretty nice, too.  Having previously climbed on the left side of the top tier (5.8-5.9s and a 5.11), we headed down to the lower tier (5.7-5.9 depending on the line you choose).  The sandstone definitely makes you trust your feet and balance.  Good practice.

Handley Rock (Credit: Access Fund)
As for this weekend, I had been hoping to climb all day Sunday, but work wasn't going to let that happen.  My prospective partner was coming down from SF, and that commute just wasn't worth the couple hours that I could commit.  Fortunately, Kat and I climbed at the Waterfall Cliff (sorry no photos) for a couple hours yesterday.  The area is about a mile hike in, and has a nice view over the top of the (namesake) waterfall.  The waterfall dries up in the summer, but it was flowing pretty well this weekend.  We were also watched over by some circling turkey vultures...slightly ominous.

Despite being a wuss, and worrying about my forgotten chalk bag, I did keep working on my major goal for this year: becoming a better leader (trad leader, even better).  We climbed on the far right side of the cliff: Degeneration (5.10a) and Leading to Death (5.9).  Both were "mixed" climbs (gear and bolts, not rock and ice).  The gear sections were 5.6-5.8 and good practice for placing both nuts and cams. Again, the nature of the climbing meant mostly footwork with only a little bit of pulling. I was happy to climb without falling, but getting comfortable falling (when it's safe) is definitely something I need to work on as well.

Tick List:
Handley: Lower Left Routes (5.7-5.9)
Castle Rock: Degeneration (5.10a on bolts, 5.6 on gear) and Leading to Death (5.9, 5.8 on gear)

4.08.2012

168 Hours Later: Trimmer Peak (24 March 2012)

Spark Notes:
Saturday: Trimmer Peak, somewhere between 7 and 8 miles and about 4k feet
Sunday: Heavenly, trees, rocks, and parks


A week after the only real dumping of the '11-12 season in Tahoe, and you could barely tell that it had snowed.  Eric was feeling a bit under the weather, so we got a bit of a late start on Saturday morning.  Nonetheless, we were at the trailhead by 9:30 or so and walking our way in.  Yup, skis on our backs.  In March.  (After about a half a mile, we were able to start skiing.)
Route Map
Eric and I weren't really on the same page all day.  That'll happen when energy, stoke, and health levels aren't lining up.  I had my eyes on Freel Peak, and for sure that's on the tick list for next season (take a look off the back of Heavenly and you'll see the inviting upper snowfield and couloirs).  After Eric called a lunchtime nap, we changed tack and climbed Trimmer Peak instead.  We took a few turns down junk snow on the east side of trimmer, then skinned back up and headed down the north face.  According to the book, the parallel avalanche slides down the face are known as "The Elevens."  We figured it would make more sense to call them "the ones" or "the eleven" but maybe we read the book wrong.  Not important anyway.
Elevens (Trimmer Peak, North Face)
The skiing was mediocre, and it was a bit of a slog, but the day was more about getting out than shredding turns, and that was just fine.  I'm looking forward to getting back to Freel next year.  Other highlights of the weekend including running into a high school friend on a lift at Heavenly, getting into the terrain park for a bit, and seeing possibly the coolest rainbow I've ever seen.

Tahoe from Trimmer
Booting up

No leprechauns in sight.


3.23.2012

Powder Weekend (17-18 March 2012)

Spark Notes:

100" of powder at Kirkwood throughout the storm
Saturday - skied Heavenly
Sunday - backountry, 3 laps and 5k vert at Waterhouse Peak

Song Of The Weekend: The Boondock Saints (YouTube) It was St Patrick's Day, after all.


It's been a dry winter for Tahoe, and while that meant climbing last weekend was excellent, it's been rough for skiing this season.  Fortunately, it snowed in the Sierra all of last week, and the biggest dump was saved for Friday night through Saturday night: perfect for everyone from the Bay Area who might have skis, a snowboard, or a sled to make the drive up to Tahoe.
I left work late on Friday and arrived very late of Friday night, technically Saturday morning. This led to a late-ish (9:30am) start, so Eric and I opted to ski Heavenly. One false start later (Eric forgot his boots) and we were on the slopes by 10.  Despite last season's spectacular ski conditions, I think this was my first for-real powder day.   What a way to celebrate St. Patricks day.  I, fortunately, plan my year around the holiday and proudly wore my green soft shell, boots, and skis. (Yeah, right.)
Heavenly...good skiing and great lake views.
A few runs in and I was finally getting the technique and loving the feel of bottomless snow.  Mott Canyon proved packed, but the Palisades gave us lap after lap of untracked runs, so we didn't see any need to really explore for the rest of the day.
Eric, shredding the Heavenly Palisades.
On another note...skiing The Face (double diamond) last year, felt like a real accomplishment after a couple days at Heavenly.  It was my first run this time around, with no hesitation.  I was pretty happy with that.

I got a bit of work in on Saturday night, but mostly relaxed and watched G.N.A.R.  Sunday, we checked out the avalanche forecast (moderate on all aspects above and below treeline on slopes 35 degrees and greater) and opted to head to Kirkwood.  On the way, though, both Eric and I were feeling the call of the backcountry. After driving past, I had to pull a U-turn to park at Luther Pass.  We recalled that Waterhouse Peak was pretty low angle, and would be anchored very well by trees, plus neither of us had skied it before, so the choice was pretty much made.
Waterhouse topo. Credit: www.aboutlaketahoe.com
Great decision on our part...the skin track was laid reasonably well, and we had spectacular, untracked conditions from top to bottom.  We were even safer than at the resort, where there was an in-bounds avalanche.
Eric skinning up among heavily loaded trees.
I've never had quite that feeling of weightlessness and pure joy while skiing before.  I finally understand all the hype about "blower pow" that all the ski movies talk about.  The trees were just spaced out enough, with plenty of snow to let us go off of rocks and trees for a little added fun.  The storm kept on all day, filling in our skin tracks a little between each lap.  That was fine with us though, I don't think anything could have crushed the mood.  Three laps later dark was falling, so we headed back to pick up the girls and begin the slog back home.
Sometimes low angle, but always awesome.

3.15.2012

Tahoe Two-Sport Weekend (10-11 March 2012)


Spark Notes:
Saturday - Sugar Loaf, West Buttress (Guide: South Lake Tahoe Climbing by SuperTopo)
Sunday - skied at Kirkwood

Song of the trip: RJD2 – Ghostwriter (Spotify)


Waking up at a civilized 7am, I headed north to pick Bennett up in the city.  After loading more skis and cams than necessary, I pointed the Subaru north and east to Tahoe.  Bennett worked the iPod like a pro and the miles flew by.  On the drive we mixed bad singing with discussion about our goals for the day: with the consensus being moderate leading, and definitely some practice placing gear.  We debated the merits of the Leap and Cosumnes River Gorge, but eventually settled on Sugar Loaf.

We followed the SuperTopo directions to park along the side of 50.  We were met by gorgeous, sunny, t-shirt climbing weather (yay for March in California).  At the West Buttress area, we found both sticky granite and a class from the Lake Tahoe Community College.  Fortunately, the guides/students were friendly, and by situating ourselves to the far left, we climbed without interference all day.

Sacroiliac Joint (5.7)
Bennett started climbing first and led the way all day (he brought the psyche for sure) and I followed-up with my best impression.  We climbed the four routes at the far left of the crag, two friction sport climbs (5.8 and 5.9) to get a sense of things, followed by a couple top ropes to practice placing gear (10b with small gear + 2 bolts and an awkward, left leaning trad 5.7).  We supplemented the training by climbing up and then down-climbing, placing and removing gear on the 5.7.  Sufficiently psyched, we ended the climbing by leading the .7 and then the .10b in succession.  I was particularly happy with the last lead as I had greased off the 10b crux on TR before finding an easier path with some crucial nubs on the otherwise blank face.  We took the last half hour before sunset to walk around the base of the Sugar Loaf to get our bearings (and fill our heads with inspiration for another trip).  We retreated to the car in darkness: a good day indeed.
Sunset from Sugar Loaf
We arrived at the cabin expecting a relatively quite night, but found 7 new friends enjoying a feast, with food to spare.  You never know what you'll find when at Adam's place!  Glad for the company, we ditched our pizza in the fridge and joined the meal, adding some roasted veggies o the table.
Empty slopes going up The Wall at Kirkwood.
An extended hot tub session left our hands stinging but our legs refreshed for a day at Kirkwood.  We got a leisurely start after Bennett gave me a lesson in how to hot wax my skis.  Very therapeutic.  Because of the late start, we ate leftover pizza on the lift between runs: more time for skiing!  Wind, swirling snow, temperature, and low-hanging cloud cover kept the mountain relatively deserted meaning that Bennett and I were able to find plenty of drifts of soft snow among the icy patches.  A few premature binding releases on the Wall reminded me that I needed to adjust my bindings after having lent the skis to Doug last weekend.  Once snugged down, everything felt better, and we bounced back and forth from the Wall to Solitude threading between steep moguls and powder filled trees with a few little kickers in the gullies and small terrain parks.  All told, we could have barely asked for a better day, and were treated to gorgeous scenery on the drive home thanks to the additional hour of daylight.
Snow's in the forecast for this weekend so I guess I may be headed back...

Tick List:

Long Toe (5.8) - sport - lead
Middle Toe (5.9) - sport - lead
Sacroiliac Joint (5.7) - trad - mock lead, then lead
Short Toe (5.10b) - mixed - mock lead (hung), then lead