2 Weeks in Yosemite..

It has been 2 weeks in Yosemite and since we touched down in LAX it has been a wild time. This time Kelly and I both quitted our jobs and planned a year’s trip to climbing mainly in US and Europe. First stop is US in California and we are stopping by Yosemite again and trip to climb a little more than the last trip we had in 2011. So this will be a exciting year ahead with loads of traveling and climbing in many different parts of the world!

Touched down in LAX and had 2 day rest in a motel in Inglewood which is pretty near to the airport. The whole idea was to buy a used car so we spend less on car rental this trip. So we ended up with this! A used 2003 Honda Odyssey 3.5l EX-L model which is large enough to put my family in it and still have my whole storeroom traveling with me! It will be our room for next 3 months during days which we do not have a tent with us or when we go wild camping!

Slowly drove our way up to Yosemite and met up with Chad in Flying Spur. He has moved to a new place from his old bivy HQ in Foresta and this place is much larger with his friend Jason staying in there. As usual, we stay in a tent in his garden enjoying the great outdoors and the privilege of staying in Yosemite for the trip.

Climbing has been up to a slow start and this time we really wanted to work on our jamming techniques and climb various sizes of cracks and get Kelly to lead a bit more in this granite environment. So we started on our fav warm up on After 7,5.8 and swapping leads on the climb. I get my fav first pitch with the nice run out and long climb to the ledge to belay.

We also started cragging quite a bit just to get into shape and climb different kind of cracks like Generator crack 10C off width which made me want to puke after climbing it. The crack is strenuous & wide and you can’t fit a hand or a feet in there, neither can you fit your body in it. Its weird and hard and you are constantly slipping and ripping skin of your body. The top of Generator crack is also a nice squeeze chimney for us to practice our squeezing skills. Well.. of course the day ended with bleeding, backaches(still having it now) and loads of bruises. If you stop by the road and hear Kelly screaming, you would think a murder is taking place at the back of the rock.

We are now moving into endurance phase of our training and climbing long days on route which either have long approach like the Higher Cathedral Spire or a long climbing day like the East Buttress of El Cap. It’s a different experience, reading the guide book and knowing the history of the climb and getting to the real peak like the Higher Cathedral Spire. The view is great and after you climbed it , you understand why it was a test piece back then.

All in all we are having a blast in the Valley and we are hoping to get on a big climb either a big wall or something hard next week. See how the body is feeling and will just go with the flow.

Also looking forward to those who are coming for their Yosemite Adventure really soon! I hope all the climbing training has paid off and the body is really to enjoy the splitter cracks and catch some really stunning views soon!