At home in Joshua Tree National Park

It is great to be back on the border of the Mojave and Colorado deserts where the sky is wide, the stars are bright, and the landscape is quiet. Desert solitude is unique, and though foreign to me a year ago, it feels comfortingly familiar to return here now. I look forward to exploring more of the desert landscape and living things, and to climbing it's amazingly abundant, though somewhat haphazard stacks of rocks. The trees in the photo are the park's namesake Joshua Trees.

Red Rocks

Red Rocks was a blast! After being humbled by Yosemite's long trad* routes, it was fun to hop on some sport routes in Red Rocks. Three friends from the gym back home came out to climb with me for 5 days (2 days in JTree and 3 in Red Rocks)! We had a blast camping, climbing, and riding around in their rented red Mustang convertible (go figure- it was the cheapest rental car they could find!)

Highlights included running into other Outward Bound folks, campfires with the Spaniards camping "next door," climbing with Bob (local Solid Rock climber), encouraging all three friends as they gained comfort with leading* and cleaning routes outside, chats with Brian, prayer/worship times with Gretchen, and running the 13-mile Red Rock Canyon scenic loop with Cole.


I look forward to going back to Red Rocks for more sport climbing, and to do some of the stellar multi-pitch* trad routes that I have heard so much about. However, it won't be quite the same without the company of friends from home.


*CLIMBING TERMINOLOGY IN BRIEF:
-The belayer is the person who uses a friction device to hold onto the other end of the rope in case the climber falls.
-The leader starts with the rope at the bottom of the climb and clips it into protection she (or he) places as she climbs. Lead climbing is different from Top-roping in that one does not set up an anchor at the top of the climb before climbing (Like you might see in a gym.)
-Trad is short for traditional climbing which requires equipment (or "pro," short for protection) to place in cracks in the rock and clip a rope into as one climbs up, in order to protect a fall.
-Sport climbing refers to climbs where permanent bolts have been placed in the rock by climbers to clip their rope into for protection. Red Rocks has both sport and Trad routes, but Yosemite is famous for it's long, "sandbagged" trad routes. Sandbagged means that the route is probably harder than its published rating.
-Cleaning a route refers to the process of following the climb to take out the protection that the leader placed and/or clean the anchor at the top of the climb.
-Multi-pitch climbs are more than a single rope length, so they are split in to sections where the leader climbs the first pitch, belays the second (who cleans the gear) up to the anchor, then leads up the next pitch, belays the second up to the next anchor, and so on...

Yosemite Facelift (September)

The 4th annual Yosemite Facelift, sponsored by climbers, was a great success! Thousands of volunteers picked up garbage and assisted with special clean-up projects that the park service does not have the resources to complete without volunteer help. The Yosemite Climbing Association arranged all kinds of sponsors (including Solid Rock), raffles and events throughout the week. I was inspired by presentations/slides/films from Tommy Caldwell and the Huber brothers (famous climbers). For me, it was a unique glimpse into the international climbing community. (Click on title above to find out more about the project.)

Yosemite's Camp 4 (the climbers campground) is a humbling place. Climbers from all over the world gather there to prepare to climb El Capitan and other famous big walls. Many others travel from nearby areas for a weekend of cragging. I got to climb a number of routes there, and was encouraged to meet up with Shirley and Melissa, two other Solid Rock climbers, as well as multiple outdoor educators who ended up at the same campsite! I enjoyed climbing routes, one day with Shirley, and a few days with Mick (an OB friend). The climbing community is strong in Yosemite. It is such an amazing place to meet and hang out with people you don't know. We are all there, packed into sites in a full campground, with a common passion and respect for the rock and the natural beauty around us. Everyone is welcoming, generous, and eager to chat. I look forward to returning for years to come: to be humbled by the rock, to gather with other climbers, and someday to climb a big wall myself.

(1) Photo of Shirley and I on our uplifting day together. We enjoyed picking up trash, sharing our life and faith stories, climbing, and representing Solid Rock to the climbing community.
(2) Photo of Mick and I climbing the "central pillar of frenzy" just across the valley from the famous:
(3) El Capitan (The Nose). Someday...