2nd day on our local trip with Roger, we climbed at Black Mountain. Nevermind my raspy voice commentary.. I had once again, gotten sick on this trip.
Kids took a turn at trying the moves on my nemesis of a project, Gypsy's Day Out.
Gypsy's Day Out,v3 @Black Mountain - Emilia
Gypsy's Day Out,v3 @Black Mountain - Liam
Roger finally got it! He was determined and found beta that worked for him. That throw to the top is a hard move to stick. That's where I keep coming off as it's pretty much at my max reach.
And this one is a classic! Tour De France is on Ryan's project list. This boulder is such a sight to see, with clean diagonal lines seemingly there as its decoration. And the sunset and view is super amazing. It was fun for all of us to just hang out there.
Tour de France,v7 @Black Mountain - Ryan's best attempt
Kids once again wiped out on another fun adventure.
We spent 2 days exploring the boulders at Tramway. Roger also once again joined us for climbing shenanigans. Even with a guidebook in hand and GPS coordinates, the boulder areas were hard to find. We spent about half the time hiking around, off the main trail and getting lost. It was exhaustingly fun.
Kids were, for the most part, good sports about it.
After spending hours hiking around, being re-directed by a park ranger, and STILL not finding the boulders we were seeking, the guys dropped the packs for more efficiency, and left the kids and I in this beautiful remote clearing. I laid down for a nap while the kids played around. After a while, the kids became quiet, and the nature around took over. The birds were chirping away in song. There was a light, cooling breeze in the comfortably warm temperature under the shade. I looked up and saw this:
They each were doing their own thing in quiet solitude. It was a very peaceful time and place. At least that's my take on it.. who knows.. maybe they were squishing bugs or drawing circles in the sand. =P
Finally found Shagri-La area, and with it... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,v7*** @Tramway - Ryan's best attempt
He didn't finish it, it was end of the day, but he has the beta to do the 2nd, crux move.
While the big kids were working the boulder, the little kids were busily working away too. They showed great teamwork, carrying massive logs they found and put them together to form their version of a tram.
Liam's got the look of a hard working tram engineering.. dirt smeared face with a giant smile.
Kids tired, but still pretty happy at the end of the day.
Riding the Tram back down to Palm Springs. Crash pads take a bit of room.
The next day...
The boys getting their last minute screen time before heading off to the "no service zone". haha.
2nd day was better as we were getting more oriented with the area. First objective was Frank's Boulder which had various problems to work on.
All of us worked on a classic Frank's Roof,v3***. It is a burly, short power moves kind of problem with a small dyno catch out of the roof. Ryan and Roger both were able to complete this one. (Did not get the video of Roger's send.)
Frank's Roof,v3*** @Tramway - Ryan's Send
(Note Ryan's over-dramatized finish... hahah)
I could not muster the strength nor mental courage to do the Frank's Roof dyno... and I didn't know it at the time, but I was starting to get sick. =P So downgraded to an easier climb...
The Terminator,v2** @ Tramway - Connie's Flash
After Frank's Boulder, we moved on to Gluttony, a potential V8 problem for Ryan. It's a highly, 4-star rated roof problem. Our favorite kind of problems! All of us worked the few starting moves. I am happy to say I was the first to stick the 1st and 2nd move. Though Ryan was the one that made the best progress.
Gluttony,v8**** @Tramway - Ryan's best attempt
Roger working on his core tension.
Gluttony,v8**** @Tramway - Roger's core tension
The Green Hornet,v5*** was the last boulder climb of the day. Mountain Project calls this one "the best at it's grade at Tram". Ryan picked it specifically for Roger.
Tramway has some good stuff there. No doubt we will be back.
Finally! A family photo! In our typical style, this is as good as it gets for getting us all in the same shot.
For Memorial weekend we were invited to join several other climbing families for a weekend climb/camp trip to Black Mountain. Kids made new friends fast and had loads of fun.
There was, of course, climbing things.
Checking out views...
Hiking in search of boulders...
Getting lost and proceeded to bush-whack on steep terrain with a bunch of little kids...
To find, and arrive, at the mothership of boulders... Once Upon A Time, v1X.
(not my photo.. found on Google to show the scale and look of this amazingly formed and placed boulder! Notice the additional pads placed at the bottom, left corner. It covers a crack that drops VERY FAR below.)
This was pretty much as close to climbing it as we got. Okay, several of us did walk up to the climb and feel the first hold. =)
Photo above IS my photo and is the view of the boulder on approach. While it is only a V1 rating, the "X" after the V1 means there is minimal protection for this climb. Aka.. spotters and pads might not be enough to stop a fall. And if you fall, don't fall into the crack cause it can result serious injury.
And to think, Alex Honnold just free soloed El Capitan via Freerider, a 5.12d/5.13a, with some V7 boulder moves in it...that's essentially like 10x harder and 200x longer than this climb that none of us was willing to try.
Break time = Snack time..
Definitely one of the nice things about car camping with lots of other people is that there is no shortage of food or anything that I might have forgotten to bring. I am so accustomed going about it in a minimalist, backpacker style.. my kids automatically knew to rushed over and asked the other parents (the ones cooking pancakes and eggs and bacon) if they could have some breakfast.
I admit, I also went asking around for extra coffee since I typical bring convenient pre-mixed coffee/cream/sugar servings which are just so-so coffee.
The climbing was pretty decent there too. A lot of boulders were relatively close to the campgrounds, so there was no need to drive. One of the climbs that I had picked to project was Gypsy's Day Out, V3. It's a short, but all power moves from start to finish. I came a few centimeters short from being able to reach the last hold. I stubbornly kept attempting a big throw to the end, but in hindsight, I think I need to change up the sequence to find a short person beta for it. So, this will hopefully be a send next time we go out here.
And here's Ryan on Gypsy's Day Out. It did take one try for him to figure out the moves, but he sends it. Liam's first time as camera man.
Ryan also sent another awesome climb, Visor Direct, V6. I kept taking videos of him as he attempted and worked the moves, but, of course, the one time that I was focused on tending to the kids instead of paying attention to Ryan, he completes and sends the problem. It was an amazing send too. Lots of people spotting him from below... he's hanging on the top of problem, feet dangling, figuring out how to get over the lip with people yelling all sorts of beta. "Step left".. "Heel hook right"..etc. He got it and there were cheers all around. It was great.
Ryan also set up a top rope for the kids to climb. This boulder turned out to be just perfect for the kids. There were good holds and feet, but due to the angle and slope of things, it required a bit of figure out body position and movement. All the kids gave it at least one try. There were a few tears, which required parental encouragement, but most kids did reach the top anchor.
Liam surprisingly had the cleanest climbing on this one. He likes to high step a lot of things, and for this climb, it turned out to be the right move to get him to the top.
Liam was the first to climb, and then Emilia next. First part of this video is funny as you hear Liam giving Emilia some advice.
All in all, it was another fun camp/climbing trip. We are starting to refine our gear and process for being more efficient on these trips. Each time, I learn more about things we need versus things we don't need, and how to make packing, food prep, etc more efficient. And the kids, they amaze me. They are becoming accustomed to these trips. They handle being out in various kinds of weather really well. They can hike several miles on rugged terrain with good balance (better than mom).
Day 5 we ventured to a new area called Candyland Boulders. One of the more remote bouldering areas in Yosemite. Kids were excited to go to Candyland...well.. until we got there and there was no candy. Haha!
(photo by Roger)
Kids stopping to have a lesson about cairns, aka trail markers. Also teaching them why they should not knock these rock stacks down.. which Liam wanted to do, of course.
Candyland was hard to find. We followed the directions from the guidebook, as well as GPS indications through Mountain Project (which turned out wrong). It took over an hour to location these set of boulders, hiking off trail. But we found it, and along with it, a highly-rated 4-star, V4 climb called "Once Upon A Time".
I didn't take too many photos here cause this problem worked me. See how Roger is all contorted? It's a stemmy, delicate footwork kind of problem that is a bit of a highball. At 15', it is not that high, but the slope of the mountain and the surroundings make it feel more.
Next we moved on to find a problem that Ryan wanted to check out, The Diamond, V8. Still located somewhere in Candyland, but we needed to find it. So off hunting again...
Gorgeous view of El Cap along the way.
And we find it!
This is an amazing problem that requires strength, technique, body positioning, and solid core strength. So.. of course we all flail. =) Hopefully this is a start for a progression video for Ryan.. but the fact that Yosemite is not easy for us to have access to (hard to get camping reservations, far away, etc)... it will be a TBD for the future.
In the meantime, the kids had a try at their hang time on the crimpy edge of a start.
Emilia's Hang Time
Liam's Hang Time
At this location, the kids also decided to start a moss-carpet installation service. The rocks here have patches of green mossy, shrubbery growing which the kids would peel off and put together and "sell" carpet plus installation services. They created this area where we were hanging out climbing.
Neat looking natural balance rock in the background.
Day 6 --> Curry Boulders
Our last full day at Yosemite, we stuck close by and searched for climbs right by Half Dome (aka formerly Curry) Village, called the Curry Boulders.
We thought it would be easy to find, but the guidebook is outdated and the description to find the boulders are now inaccurate. Mountain Project and GPS failed us once again, so we spent a bit of time looking for climbs and climbing unknown, unnamed things.
In the meantime, the kids found things of their own to climb and play on.
Emilia climbing up a kid-friendly slab.
Good thing I kept the kids rain pants on, even though it was not raining anymore, but nice and warm, and sunny. Both kiddos have put holes in many of their pants by doing exactly this. I'll find the kids rolling and butt sliding on all sorts of things.
Seriously, if anyone knows of pants that are re-enforced with kevlar butt protection.. please let me know.
We finally found the boulders and played on several of the ones around.
Ryan trying the start to The Angler, V3
We also worked on the Unnamed, V3 that connects to Kevin's Traverse, V0. No photos or videos, but the Unnamed V3 had a fun, hard start that took a bit to figure out. Ryan's beta of using a toe cam was the key!
And lastly, to end our Yosemite highlights.. this small waterfall was amazing to look at. It flowed down the mountain like a staircase. Ryan didn't know the name to it, but said it was like a staircase waterfall. That turned out to be the exact name and it doesn't always flow like this at Yosemite. This year the water level is high with all the rains and so we get to see the Staircase Falls.
Day 3 was our family tourist day. That is, Andy and Violet had to leave that morning, and Roger wasn't coming in til later that evening. (Yes, Roger, the 5th member of our family, was able to rearrange his schedule to also come out and join us!)
It had been raining through the previous night, the grounds were wet, and it was still continuing to rain on and off. So tourist time. We took the kids to Yosemite Village to buy souvenirs at the store, browse the Ansel Adams gallery, learn about Yosemite at the Visitors Center, and did an easy, kid-friendly hike to see lower Yosemite Falls.
Tree just outside of the Village store.
The previous day's rains lead us to discover that the kids rain jackets were not so waterproof anymore. They were okay for water-resistance, but not for being out in pouring rains. After all, they have worn those jackets on all our adventures the past 1-2 years, as well as on rainy days to and from school. Luckily the store had kid-sized, bright yellow rain ponchos.
Gotta say... I think the kids look so cute with their bubbly cheeks sticking out of this bright yellow fluff...
Photo of lower Yosemite falls.
It was a meandering kind of day, and fun to do touristy things. Though we were looking forward for the rains to clear, Roger to arrive, and scoping around for some climbing.
Day 4 --> Camp 4
The rains finally cleared and the sun came out on Day 4. Roger arrived in time for dinner the previous day and set up his new pop-up tent, in the rain, in a jiffy. See tent below. It held up pretty well too.
This morning it was still quite chilly, but starting to warm up from the past few days. I was scrambling the week before our trip to make sure we had to right gear to keep the kids warm. Temperatures dropped down to the upper 30s with the winds and rains. A breathable layer system is the way to go to ensure they can still be active and sweat, but retain body heat and keep out winds and rains. REI had sale on winter gear, so I was able to dress up the kids in Patagonia Thermal-weight Capilenes, Patagonia down jackets, and waterproof pant shells. The rain jackets were the only unexpected malfunction.
Today we went to scope out some of the problems around Camp 4. Yosemite has a long and rich history for rock climbing, esp well-known for the multi-pitch wall climbs such as the Dawn Wall on El Capitan or Half Dome. Bouldering became popular too, esp around Camp 4 where many climbers would situation themselves, warm-up, or wait for weather conditions to clear prior to their big wall climbs. So Camp 4 has a lot of established bouldering routes.
As the afternoon progressed, the sun came out and it even started getting hot. With the heat also came the infamous Yosemite mosquitoes!! Anyhow, here's Ryan on some crimpy, slabby V3.
Ryan working some crimpy, slabby ?? V3 problem @ Camp 4
The kids found these cool looking leaves with artsy details etched onto them. They decided to name whatever bug that ate and created these cool looking leaves as "artist bugs".
Like I said before, Yosemite has a long history in climbing. This time of year there were lots of famous, well-established pro climbers in the area. In Bishop we met Bobbi Bensman. At Camp 4, we encountered Nina Williams. Not much interaction, but we did see her partner working on this V4 which caught our attention as well. Ryan bumped into someone he knew from his climbing gym and our two groups hung out to work on Tendon's Give, which has a V4 route and a V7 variation.
Ryan on Tendons Give, not-the-real-V4 @ Camp 4
Roger on Tendons Give, not-the-real-V4 @ Camp 4
So the guide book is not descriptive enough and the interpretation of how the route actually goes was not quite known. What we thought was the V4 route was what we did in the video above. But it really did feel a tad on the easier side to be V4, and Yosemite is known to have hard ratings, not easy ones.
Roger on 2nd upper, half of what we thought was the V7 of Tendons Give.
We think that the lower portion of the 2nd half of the climb, up to the peak completes the V4. (Roger climbed the upper portion) So all in all, we can only say that we did 1/2 of this climb.
I grew up as an only child, and my parents taught me that in my culture, cousins are just like brothers and sisters, and family always is fa...
About
Ryan and Connie officially began our journey in life together (wedded bliss) on August 1, 2009. This blog chronicles our journey through whatever life throws at us.
On February 27, 2010, we welcomed a new addition to the family: Emilia Ying-Zhi. She tipped the scales at 7 lbs 2 oz, and measured in at 19-3/4".
Liam Noboru joined the family on October 20, 2011. His fighting weight is 7 lbs 4 oz with a length of 19-1/2".
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