Turtle's Birthday

It's Turtle's birthday today. She's six years old, but still a puppy in my eyes. We went swimming at Lake Berryessa to celebrate and she got a new dog bed as her present. I'm gonna miss her like hell when I'm in Africa.

Loon Lake

Becky and I headed up the Loonies this weekend. It had been a while since I'd been there and Becky had never been. It was really nice as far as the weather was concerned, the mosquitoes were a bit much but that's par for the course in the Sierras this time of year. I forgot my camera (unbelievable right?) so you'll have to settle for old pictures from about two years ago.

Peter on 'Flight Plan'

On Sunday some of the Bay crew showed up as well as Wick and his girlfriend Kristen. It was kind of like a mini preview of the Rocklands crew because everyone there except Daniel (and the dogs) will be in Africa this summer, SICK! We decided to come home a day early in an effort to beat the heinous traffic on Monday, and because Becky had a test to take today, AND because my bicep has been bothering me a bit. I aggravated it on 'Greener Pastures' in the Valley maybe two weeks ago and it flared up a bit yesterday. I'm anxious about it because I really want to train and be in top form for Africa, but of course I don't want it to turn into a serious injury that will limit what I can do while I'm there. Argh!

In other news I'm finally moving out of Peter's house in Davis. Its gonna be a bit of a pain in the ass but I gotta get it done sooner rather than later. On a related subject... Anyone interested in having a ornery but very sweet dog for about five weeks this summer?

Spring Rolls

I made this for dinner from scratch and I lost the recipe before I started throwing things together. It turned out pretty well I think. In the future I'll make a few subtle changes but I'm psyched about my first ever spring rolls (with collard greens instead of rice paper wrapping). The sauce is peanut based with some rice vinegar among other things. I think it was too heavy on the rice vinegar but otherwise pretty good.

Spring Sucks

Not Yosemite, but still good

Not entirely, but there is a lot not to like about Spring. First and foremost, it means that hot temperatures are on the way (or are already here). Second, it means no more bouldering in Yosemite for me. If I was working there it would be different because I'd be up late all the time and climbing at night wouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately I'm not there working, which means driving a ton (lame!) and climbing during the day when its hot and muggy and buggy and LAME!!!

So now I gotta go climb somewhere else, or go climb routes. I'm not sure which is the better option.

Kevin leaves for Rocklands today, which is exciting because it means I'm just that much closer to leaving myself!

I Want to do One of These

The crimp.se warm up for bouldering from crimp.se on Vimeo.

Impressive one-arm lever at the end. Not quite as pretty as Mr. Gill's but impressive nonetheless. Also impressive are the ridiculous campus boards in that gym.

More of the Same

The weather was a little uncooperative this past weekend. What was supposed to be a five day "weekend" in Yosemite was cut short by rain into a two day trip. Saturday was salvaged by going to a Giants game with Becky, John, and Shannon, so that was cool.

When we finally made it to the Valley, the weather was pretty accommodating. On Monday, Becky, Beth, and Randy all climbed 'Barrel O' Laughs,' Randy and I tried a new super-project, and Beth managed to keep her nerves intact and send the 'Woodyard Arete'. On Tuesday, Becky and I returned to the Woodyard so that she could finish up the same problem, which she'd nearly done the night before. Afterward, we wandered down the road a bit so I could try 'MSG,' which is surely one of the most overlooked problems in the Valley. We also made it over to Curry so I could finally climb on a problem I'd cleaned but never tried last fall. The problem is now called 'Fluffy White Clouds'.

A short video.

MSG and Fluffy White Clouds from Princess on Vimeo.

New in the Valley

Becky's pic of me trying for the first ascent of "Snowball Fight"

There are always projects, both first ascents and personal projects. This past weekend people seemed keen to work primarily on FA's. Those of us smart enough to be in the Valley were rewarded with unseasonably cool temps. Those of you (Kevin and John) that were at home have to live with your poor decision making. Suckers.

Several new problems were established this weekend. Medina put up a gem called "Something French." Actually, I don't know what its called but he said he wanted to name it in recognition of the new French friends he made on a recent trip to Fontainebleau. I was fortunate enough to do "Snowball Fight" and "The Tea Room". Scott put up another problem near "Something French," but I didn't catch the name. Scott, Tim, and Raza were all trying a cool overhanging arete the last time I saw them but I'm not sure if it was completed.

There is a video of two of the new problems, but in the interest of keeping some things on the DL for a while longer you'll need to wait to see it. Unless you're super special, of course.

I'm flying to Seattle tomorrow morning to help my sister move back home to California. I'll be back on Thursday and I might head out for a long weekend of climbing soon after.

Oh I'm also very excited for baseball this year. I'm 2-1 at the Giants games I've attended so far, which includes the Giants victory over the Dodgers last night!

Go Giants!