More pictures, less words

Checking in from Index, Washington on this toasty Sunday morning.  We pulled in here Thursday night and spent the past two days climbing some awesome routes (on granite too!) The camping is scenic, the scene is funky (to put it gently), and the river is refreshingly cold.  We will probably be here for a couple more days before we head up North to Squamish!

Last week we wrapped up climbing in Smith as the weather was about to heat up.  Our friend Tegan, who Greg introduced us to, let us stay at her place right by Smith the last couple days we were there and it was amazing!  She grew up climbing at Smith and it was awesome to hang out with someone so familiar with the area.  Plus she is a great cook- we were spoiled to say the least.  Oh, and she has dogs!!  I miss Buddy and Mia a lot (everyone who sees them, send me pictures!!!), so it was also really nice to hang out with some dogs.

Here are some pictures from Tegan's house:

Our last day climbing in Smith, Greg onsighted two 5.12s!  One of them was Dreamin (5.12a R) and I was able to get some cool pictures of him on it.

We also spent a half day at a place called Trout Creek, a small area packed with classic splitter crack climbs before we left Oregon.  I haven't crack climbed in a long time so it was definitely an adjustment, but I am glad we checked it out.  There was no one else climbing so we had the place to ourselves and got to sample some of the classic lines.  After, we took a dip in the Deschutes then hit the road for Index.  Here are some pictures from Trout Creek, and Alix on JR Token that Drew took.

Yesterday we partied up some classic Index moderates with Drew and Alix and had a blast.

As for what's up next, we will be heading to Squamish and staying there for July and August.  Mark and I have never been, but we have only heard good things.

Until next time,
xoxo Lauren and Mark

My first 5.12!!!

Most of you have probably gathered this much so far from Facebook, but on Saturday, I sent my first 5.12!  The climb, Latin Lover (12a), is awesome and Greg took some sick footage that I have some snapshots from to share.

One of the holds at the crux on Latin Lover : Greg Horvath

Greg Horvath

Greg Horvath

Greg Horvath

Saturday was my fourth day on the route and the whole crew was nice enough to come over and support me.  My first go felt really good.  It was the best I felt on it the entire time, but I botched a sequence up high and got my third one hang.  On my second go, I felt tired and got another one hang.  I thought about calling it, but Mark said he would stay with me so I could take a longer rest and give it another go.  I was not too hopeful given it was my third go that morning but I pulled it off!  I really wanted to climb 5.12 on this trip so it was pretty cool to climb 12a three weeks in, and at Smith.  That night we went out to Diego's Spirited Kitchen in Redmond and got some surprisingly good Mexican food.  Mark and I split a Negra Modelo (on tap!) to celebrate the send.

There are a few climbs I would be interested get on, but for now I am pretty dang content (and psyched) to support Mark, Greg, and Alix.  All three have projects that they are close to sending.  Projecting is awesome!  On a somewhat similar note, Alix onsighted (sent the route first try with no beta) Pure Palm (11a) in the Lower Gorge.  Pretty awesome!  I also took some pictures of her freshly painted purple nails.

Alex on her onsight of Pure Palm

Other than that, the weather has been less than ideal.  It is funny to think that just a couple weeks ago Mark and I were sweating as we floated down the river, and now we are working around some significant precipitation.  However, the route that Greg and Mark are projecting is overhung, so it stayed dry this morning.  We were the only ones climbing, so it was pretty cool to feel like we had the place to ourselves.  Mark one hung the climb twice, so we are going to rest tomorrow, and he will get back on it Wednesday, weather permitting.

Rain at Smith

The forecast is calling for some high temps at Smith after Wednesday so we will most likely be heading up to Index, WA pretty soon here.  Supposedly Index has some of the best granite crack climbing in Washington, but I have also heard a rumor about some good bouldering.  After all this time on a rope I am getting excited to boulder and get some power back!

Bite size update

Nothing too terribly exciting to update, but I have some more pictures!  The weather was gorgeous yesterday and Smith looked particularly pretty.

Yesterday we got a full day; we were there from 8am-9pm.  Woah!  Needless to say, we are pretty worked and are taking at least this morning off to recover a bit.

Mark two-hung his project, and got a new high point yesterday.  Super exciting!  And I one-hung my project twice!!!  Getting the first one hang was the first time I really believed that I could send it, so that was pretty cool.

Really nothing else too exciting to report, but here are some pictures from yesterday.

Smith Rock Group

Mark on Magic Light (11a)

Lauren on her project, Latin Lover (12a)

Lauren and the Smith Rock Group

xoxo MK and LMo

Funny stories, friends, and a lot of pictures

We're now two weeks into our stint at Smith Rock and things are going awesome! We've got friends in town, an awesome place to stay, and some sweet projects. But before I get to that, a quick story from our first night at the Smith campground. So, Mark and I pulled into the campground around 5:30 pm after 11 hours of driving, ready for some food and sleep.  In the shuffle of getting gear out of the truck and getting everything set up, I set my iphone down on the tailgate of the truck.  Once we had made dinner, and felt more or less settled in, I realized that I could not find my phone.  Thus, we tore apart the car, and the tent, but still couldn't it.  So, as a last ditch effort (at this point I was convinced somebody had swiped it) I called up my Mom and asked her to use the Find My iPhone app.  (Which if you are unfamiliar with, can track your phone, and make it play a sound even if it is on silent.)  So my Mom played the sound for a good fifteen minutes, but still no luck.  Just as we were about to give up, Mark noticed some guy looking at the nearest trashcan very inquisitively.  He said he heard some electronic noise. A glimmer of hope! We started searching the trashcan; sure enough, my phone was sitting inside the Vons bag we had used as our trash-bag for the evening. It must have gotten knocked in during the shuffle of cleaning up. Sort of a high stress start to the trip, but it all worked out for the best in the end.


On a similar note, Mark and I drained the truck battery the other day.  We were parked in an awkward corner spot, so it took quite a bit of effort to get a jump; but we finally made it happen with the help of some generous strangers.  We moved on and vowed to not charge electronics when the car was not running.  Fast forward less than 24 hours.  Mark and I decided to hang out in Bend for the day to wait for our friends Greg and Alix to show up.  We grabbed some dollar ice cream cones from McDonald's and sat in the parking lot using their wifi.  We figured this was a good time to charge the iPhone, iPad, another cell phone, listen to the radio, run the AC, and keep the headlights on.  About 45 minutes into this I had an "oh crap" moment and big surprise, the battery was dead, again.  Luckily Greg and Alix were almost to Bend, so they gave us a jump with the added ambience of thunder, lightning, and hail raging in the background.  #welearnthehardway

Other than those mishaps, everything has been going really smoothly. The biggest event to happen in the last week was definitely our departure from the bivy, and our arrival at Greg's Mom's house in Bend.  We are beyond thankful to be staying here.  The house is gorgeous, the view is awesome, and we are just really psyched to be here.  Plus we got a home cooked meal tonight from Greg's mom!  I should also mention that we are on a golf course and Greg and Mark have already started getting in some holes after climbing.  Check out their golf attire!

On Monday, the four of us went out to Smith, warmed up in the sun, then proceeded to get worked!  Let me back up first though.  Greg is a longtime friend of both Mark and I, and is going to be climbing in more or less the same places as we are until the end of summer.  Greg is awesome, he crushes, and we are excited he is finally up here.  This summer, Greg is travelling with Alix, who he met last summer in Squamish.  Alix crushes, especially in Yosemite where she has done several big walls this season!  That is by no means the only type of climbing she does, but I am more or less hung up on it because it is awesome.  Climbing El Cap is a dream of mine, so the fact that she has done El Cap twice, and in great style, is super impressive.  It is also awesome to have another girl along to climb with and project climbs with.  

Okay, so back to climbing.  After we warmed up in the sun, we moved onto the Dihedrals and I got on my project.  Right now I am working on Latin Lover (12a).  The climbing is thin and technical, and everything I wanted in a Smith face climb.  So far I have all the moves figured out and I two-hung it yesterday!  I am not sure if I will get it clean before we leave but it would be awesome if I do.  If not, the climbing is fun and it is the first 12 I have ever tried to lead, so I feel pretty accomplished just having made it to the anchors by myself.  I think it is inherently pretty hard not to get hung up on a project so I am trying to not get too tunnel visioned on it, but I still want to give it some full hearted goes. Mark and Greg both sent Latin Lover that day (Greg flashed!) and Alix took it to the anchor on TR her first day at Smith!  All three of them got me even more motivated to try hard on it.

We also got on Heinous Cling which is an ultra-classic 12a in the Dihedrals (we only climbed to the first set of anchors, which is 12a, whereas the full line goes at 12c).  I got on it on top rope and got pretty shut down.  That said, it is a really cool climb, but I don't think I am going to project it.  Mark sent it second go!  Two 12's in one day!  (Have I mentioned that Mark is crushing?!)  He has some exciting projects but I will leave that up to him to fill you in on.

Here is Mark on Heinous Cling, sorry about the less than stellar phone pictures, but at least I was finally able to get some pictures of him climbing!

We left Smith that day pretty dang worked, and it was obvious that we were all pretty tired when there was absolute silence when we finally sat down to eat dinner.

Today, we headed out despite an iffy forecast and still got some great climbing in.  Alix led Chicken McNuggets (10b), onsight!  I think the climb is really hard down low and I was super impressed.   After that, Alix and I got on Vomit Launch (11b).  There was a stick clip left at the base which was really convenient since the first clip on Vomit Launch is pretty scary.  Smith is pretty notorious for high first bolts and stick clipping the first bolt is a pretty common practice to prevent hitting the ground if you  fall before clipping the first bolt.

I know I talked about Vomit Launch a lot in the last post so I will just say that the climbing is still amazing.  Here are some pictures of Alix on Chicken McNuggets, me struggling with the stick clip, and some pictures of me on Vomit Launch.  There are a lot but since we finally have other people to climb with and are able to get some climbing pictures I just couldn't narrow it down!

I'll try to post more regularly, so the posts won't be so long in the future.  Also, I think I have made the album with all of the pictures set up so you don't have to sign up.  Or at least I think so...let me know if this new link is any different than what I tried last time. https://plus.google.com/photos/101111521267452402944/albums/5886093434377638865?authkey=CPv0zMDLs9WTFA

Until next time,
xoxo Lauren and Mark

Bird Watching and Sending Projects

As I mentioned before, there is a bald eagle nesting with her two babies near our campground.  Although part of the camping area is closed you can sit on the rim of the canyon and look at the nest, perched high up in a big Ponderosa Pine tree.  The other night Mark and I went out to watch the mama Eagle hunt and give her babies food.  We were out there for a couple hours but it was totally worth it.  The eagle babies (albeit very big babies) were cute, and the mama Eagle was so majestic.  But as you will see later, even the most beautiful and majestic of creatures have to poop.  In the first picture you can see the mama eagle flying with a snow covered volcano in the back.

And as I alluded to earlier, Mark was able to capture the bald eagle pooping.  Mind you, we had company.  And by company I mean the serious photographer with the giant telephoto lens taking pictures in earnest.  I don't think he found it quite as funny as we did, but I think it is a story and photo worthy of sharing.

Other than birding, we floated the Deschutes River on Sunday and have been sending our respective projects as the temps finally cool down.  

On Monday, Mark sent Chain Reaction (5.12c)!!!  Chain Reaction is one of the most iconic sport climbs at Smith Rock; its first ascent in 1984 helped usher in the sport climbing revolution in the United States. It was Mark's main objective coming into Smith. Chain Reaction climbs a striking, steep arete capped by a large roof; the climbing is both delicate and dynamic.  Mark sent it on his fourth go and executed it perfectly!  More or less, he made quick work of a classic Smith climb, and that got both of us really psyched for the rest of our time here at Smith.  I tried to get video, and pictures, but if you know Mark, you know that he isn't too fond of that.  Instead I will have to direct you to mountain project to look at the climb http://www.mountainproject.com/v/chain-reaction/105789917.  

After Mark's inspiring send, I got back on my project, Vomit Launch (5.11b), a classic 5.11 pump-a-thon, as Mountain Project calls it.  While Mark came to Smith knowing he wanted to climb Chain Reaction, I had no real set goals.  So when we got on Vomit Launch last week, I decided that I liked it enough and wanted to redpoint it.  Monday was the first day I got on it on lead and it went surprisingly well.  Like, really surprisingly.  Lead climbing is scary (for me) but I found myself moving confidently above bolts, and even taking a couple of falls, casually.  The next day (Tuesday) I came back hoping to send, and was psyched to find that somebody had left draws (especially for one tricky clip).  My first go I fell off at the top, literally less that two feet from the anchor due to some nauseating pump and a botched sequence.  After an hour break, I worked up the gumption and psych to get back on.  Before I knew it, I found myself at the same jug before the final moves, trying to shake out the pump and gain back some strength.  But this time I actually remembered my beta and made it to the anchor.  I couldn't stop smiling when Mark lowered me to the ground.  

After two days of getting on hard climbs, our fingertips and feet were pretty worthless.  Despite tempting good temps (finally!), we took today off and instead hiked up Misery Ridge to check out the Monkey.  The view was gorgeous and we can't wait to do some climbing on it.

Well, I guess we should vacate the comfy chairs at Starbucks.   Back to the ditch!

xoxo Lauren and Mark

This is _____ awesome!

Checking in from Starbucks in Bend, Oregon.  Air conditioning is feeling real nice!  We woke up this morning at 5:30, extreme alpine start for us, and did the classic 3 (or 4) pitch route Zebra Zion.  Temps are still high so we wanted to be first on the route and finish before any sun hit the route.  The first pitch was kind of awkward but the next two pitches were awesome.  Especially the standout last pitch.  Awesome exposure and location, glory liebacking, and in general, just a lot of fun.  Plus the descent went past my project so I got to look at it again and I am definitely psyched to get on it soon.

Here are some pictures from Zebra Zion:

On top of Zebra Zion.  Check out our new helmets!

Looking down at the last pitch.

So that was our morning.  We are going to take the rest of today and tomorrow off, hopefully find a good spot by the Deschutes river, and hopefully recover from this lingering sickness that I can't seem to kick.  Aside from Zebra Zion we have just been cragging (doing single pitch routes as opposed to multipitch), Mark got on his project yesterday afternoon and did really well.  The send in imminent!  I am going to try and get some video of it because it is the kind of climb that is fun to watch.  The same day I onsighted my hardest lead route at Smith yet, and found a project that I think will be really good for me.    The moves are fun, no one move is that much harder than the rest, and it will come down to keeping it together and fighting the pump, and oh, remembering my beta! 

In other news, the hippie/ carnie/ semi-dirtbag commune has disbanded in the campground.  It was an odd group and all the sudden there would be weird circus trick items.  And they would usually listen to weird 90's electronic music (for everyone to enjoy of course).    

Before I get into too much detail, I will stop myself and leave you with a picture of sunset a couple nights ago at the campground.  

xoxo Lauren and Mark

All of the pictures are being uploaded to the same link from the last post.  I think you have to sign up for google plus.  If I figure out something better (and equally convenient) I will do so, but for now, this is the easiest way to share and backup all of the photos.  I just want Picasa back!

Jeff tosses them, they're awesome. So is Smith.

Mark and I are hanging out in Redpoint Climbers Supply in Terrebonne, Oregon since they have free wi-fi.  We are taking a rest day to let ourselves recover, and I have some sort of cold with some pretty intense congestion, so hopefully that will clear up soon.  Other than that, the trip is going great.  The drive was smooth, the truck is a champ (26 mpg!), and we are having fun.  Here is a little update on what we have been up to since we left San Diego on Friday.

We stopped first in Ridgecrest, CA where Jeff treated us to some of his homemade pizza.  Although Pizza Factory may claim that they have awesome pizza, Jeff definitely has them beat.

After that we headed up to Pine Creek for some sport climbing.  But, we had to make an obligatory stop at Great Basin.  If you are going through Bishop I strongly urge you to stop there.  It is our favorite place to get food in Bishop.

The drive up the 395 into Oregon was long, but really pretty.  It was a nice change of scenery from the 5.  So now we are three days in at Smith, and the climbing is awesome!  Temps are a little high but we climb in the morning, go back to camp, then back late afternoon.  Because the sunrises about 5:30 and sets about 8:45, we can still get a full days worth of climbing in.  So far we are trying to get mileage in and get used to the climbing style here.  I was mostly climbing in the gym before we left, and up until then, climbing almost exclusively on granite outside.  The rock at Smith is welded tuff and it is an adjustment.

Aside from climbing, the camping here is pretty plush.  Well, compared to Camp 4.  For the same price as Camp 4 ($5/ person/ night), they have showers, soap in the bathrooms, soap on the dishwashing sink (that you are allowed to wash dishes in), and it is a pretty mellow, quiet spot.  Don't get me wrong, I love Camp 4, but the accommodations here are a pleasant surprise.  And thank you to Mom and Dad, we are living large in the Coleman 4-person tent.

I decided to save the best for last- we saw a bald eagle! Smith seems like it would be an awesome place to go birding.  My favorite bird sightings are the families of geese.  Mom and Dad with their little goslings, swimming up the river.

Smith!

Missing everyone!  xoxo Lauren and Mark

https://plus.google.com/photos/101111521267452402944/albums/5886093434377638865
Let me know if the link to all of the pictures above works.  Google switched from Picasa to something (I don't even know what it is) and I am not really sure how to use it.