September, 03

 

Camping with Good Friends

and Climbing on the Super Slabs.

 

 

 

     Before Koren and I  left Idaho, Guillaume, Jenny, Jason, and Pina came to visit us.  We spent a few days together, camping 
and climbing near the Elephant's Perch.  It was wonderful to see them again.  I have really missed their friendships since moving 
to Logan.  More than that, Guillaume and Jenny were on their final road trip through the US before they moved back to Europe.  
OUCH!   

     Though rain prevented us from climbing as much as we wanted,  we did get a sunny day on the Slabs.  It was fun to have all six 
of us climbing side by side on the same formation.  This marked a first for Jason and Pina, who got sandbagged onto something 
harder and climbed their first, onsight, 5-pitch route together. 

     Guillaume and Jennifer, of course, went straight to the hardest, least-protected routes.  I suppose they were getting amped 
up for the rest of their roadtrip, which was basically a whirlwind, dream tour of western climbing areas! Click Here to check it out.

     For my part, I climbed two spicy pitches, with protection every 40 feet, only to have Koren tell me that the climbing was 
too easy.  :)   We switched routes on the third pitch to a well bolted 10+ that was one move beyond us that day.  A quick pull on 
a draw solved the problem though and soon we met Jason and Pina on top.

     We ended our day with a good meal and a glass of wine.  :)

     The Next day, Guillaume and I climbed Astro-Elephant.
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Taking the Redfish Lake shuttle boat and saving ourselves 5 miles of hiking.

Crossing a stream to get to our campsite.

Hanging out in our rainy camp with the dogs.

This was Dose's last trip to the mountains. He was suffering from spondolosis and left us a few months later. His is missed every day.

Jenny, finding something to laugh about in our rainy camp.

When the rain cleared, we all headed down to the Super Slabs to do some climbing. Guillaume and Jenny were the first to start (as usual) and are visible on the second pitch of their route.

Here is a shot Guilluame took. (actually, he took most of these shots) It shows all three of our climbing parties. This was a big step for Jason who climbed his first 5-pitch route as the leader in charge.

I am feeling good about myself after leading, what I thought was a spooky pitch. Then, Koren arrives at the belay and informs me that this climbing is too easy.

The female mind is a complex and mysterious thing. I'm still trying to get the hang of it... :)

We finished with a harder variation called Catwoman 10+ on which we were both happier. Koren because it was harder and me because there were 10 bolts in the pitch instead of TWO!

Jason and Pina topped out with Koren and I and we all hiked down together. We still had a Nalgene of wine to drink mind you. :)

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