venga

Squamish 2010 Part 1

2010-07-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Monica is proud of her sister Sylvia's newest wine label featured at Trader Joe's.

Emi's dad showing off his raspberry vines in their backyard in Seattle.

The view from the campground... This is where the kite boarders play in the afternoons when the winds pick up.

Fresh pastries from Sunflower Bakery Cafe.

Chris, what is this?

Monica cruising up Nadia's Slab.

This is the view of Mt. Garibaldi from the Howe Sound Brewery in Squamish.

Monica and I have been in Squamish now for a few days and so far we've had a great time climbing and hanging out. On the way up we stayed with friends Jeff and Emi in Seattle. Thanks for the hospitality guys! We finished the drive the following day and got in a good half day of bouldering. We checked out an area north of Squamish proper by about 15 mins called Paradise Valley. Its a fairly secluded area with a stream meandering its way about the boulders. Quality granite and fun problems make this an awesome area to check out! The next day we spent at the grand wall boulders where I managed to climb Mantra, which I am very proud of being that I'm out of shape currently. Monica also got on her nemesis Sloppy Poppy and remembered some of her beta and managed to repeat several of the harder moves. Yesterday was a rest day... boooorrring! Today we were back at it, this time at the north walls and the Powerline boulders. I got on Ride the Waves and Squealing Hog and Monica climbed Hydrogen and Nadia's Slab. At the Powerline Boulders we got on a really cool problem, which i cant remember the name of. Today was a bit warm so we're hoping for cooler temps in the following days. So far its been a great trip and we're looking forward to our friend Jeff's arrival on thursday. Stay tuned for our next post and we hope you enjoy our photos.

PS- We are taking some video but because of slow upload speeds at the brewery we will not be posting any until we return home.

PSS- If you find yourself at a Trader Joe's, be sure to check out Monica's sister's wine label... "Winifred" Chardonnay.

Joe's Valley 09' Part 1

2009-03-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Scott on Team Effort

Liane flashes Self Service

Scott on Jitterbug Perfume

Two Finger Variation [v9] from scott chandler on Vimeo.

Contact [v6] from scott chandler on Vimeo.

We've been at Joe's for a few days now and have already had some great climbing. We've joined forces with Justin, Becky, and Alan, and our good friend Liane also flew out to climb with us. The weather has been cold and windy, which has been great for the few moments we're actually exerting ourselves on the rock, but not too comfy for the remaining 99% of the time. But hey, thats why we have down jackets and long underwear... so here are some videos and pics that we've thus far captured. Enjoy!

Yoemite: Late Fall

2008-12-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

Tim on Bridge To Nowhere [v9?]

Courtney on Barrel of Laughs [v6]. If only there were more spotters!

Thanksgiving!!!

Just another crazy french guy with a ciggarette behind his ear.

Lyn gets ill on Montezumas Revenge [v9].

Yosemite: 11-6/8-08

2008-11-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

Justin on the FA of Villain [v4].

Paul sending Leroy [v10].

Warm and Fun

2008-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

So far the temperatures this fall have been pretty warm (except one weekend, which felt like winter) but despite it all, the bouldering continues to happen and somehow people manage to send anyway.

Fall Pre-gaming: Yosemite, Rock Creek, Way Lake

2008-09-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Leavenworth

2008-08-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

It started to rain five days before we were supposed to leave Squamish and the forecast called for rain for the whole time. What a bummer! I had heard of some good bouldering in Leavenworth, WA but had never been there before and was hesitant to leave Squamish so early. So we went to the Howe Sound Brewery to think about it over some Yammer Jammers and beer. The next morning we packed things up and it was back to States.

Leavenworth is a quaint little town on the eastern side of the cascades and at about the same latitude as Seattle. The town itself is Bavaria themed and the whole downtown actually looks like an old Bavarian village. Anyway, the bouldering there is amazing with quality granite and many 5 star lines. We didn't take too many pics but here are a few...

Monica roping up on a fun 5.7.

Icicle creek is beautiful and a great place to take a bath or have a picnic.

Monica climbing The real thing [v4].

The Shield [v7] is a great problem with a fun dyno.

Nate climbing the uber-fun The Pocket [v4].

Getting some ice cream in town with friends Nate and Sarah.

Cheers!
-scott

Squamish '08 (Part 2)

2008-07-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Monica projecting Sloppy Poppy (v4)

Scott sending This Monkey's Gone to Heaven (v7).

Scott sending Tatonka (v8).

Squamish '08 (Part 1)

2008-07-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

I'm driving and navigating...What's up with that Monica?????

Monica climbing Crackhead [v3]
p.s. Patti, you're going to love this problem.

The Squamish Banana Slug.

An awesome v2 that we cant remember the name of, we will look it up later.

Scott trying The Rookie Low [v9]

Scott sending Backseat [v10]

silvertooth from the south

2008-05-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Me climbing silvertooth from the south [v8].

This problem is located at the El Cap boulder and although being height dependent, it is a great line all in all. Great rock, fun moves, committing, tall, and a great landing make this a must do.

Joe's Valley March 08

2008-03-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

A great trip to Joe's this year. The weather complied for the most part with good temps and everybody sent hard. Last year it was just Monica and I...this year Paul and Lyn, Andrew, Patti, and Noah and Siemay joined in the fun. On the way out we stopped by Ibex. Monica and I, who had never been there before, were blown away by the quality of rock and the boulder problems. Anyway, here are a few photos (we didn't take enough). Enjoy!

Also, for more photos and videos check out Paul and Lyn's travel blog here.

The shoe tree is a must see if you take highway 50: the loneliest highway in the states.

Andrew on Caveman v4

Alba came with us this year and had quite a good time. At the riverside boulders she immediately jumped into the freezing water and started biting bits of ice while swimming around happily.

Patti on Self Service v5

Monica on Pimpin Jeans v4

Lyn on Wills A Fire v6

Scott on They call him Jordan v7

Andrew on Desparate v2.

Paul on Fila Void v5

Joshua Tree Jan 08

2008-01-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

Monica on Lunge for it [v3]

Monica on Attractive Brunette [v2]

Alba managed to develop a very strange growth on top of her head...we had to amputate.

Me on K.D. Supreme Sit [v6]

Me on Chili Sauce [v7]

There's something about Josh that really kicks my ass. I'm not sure if its the large crystals that never take mercy on the skin, or if its the lack of positive holds. Regardless, Monica and Alba and I had a lot of fun and managed to find some really good rock.

Squamish_Summer_2007_3

2007-07-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Monica and I in front of the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park.

If Alba were a whale she would be a Balooga.

If Monica were a fish she would look like this!

Monica sending Superfly(v4)!!!

Me on The Fuzz(v7). This problem is sweet!

Some pretty flowers for my mom.

Me flashing Fixing the Car(v8).

Ben Pope flashing Loose Change(v7).

Me sending Sharma's Arete(v8).

Ben Pope sending The Bulb(v8).

Squamish_Summer_2007_2

2007-07-11T18:19:00.001-07:00

Monica working out the moves on ATD(v7)

Monica sending Trad Killer(v4)

Me on Worm World Cave(v9...soft)

Ben Pope trying Worm World Cave Low(v10)

Ben Pope flew off the top of ATD moments after this photo was taken and scraped himself up...he sent the problem a few minutes later.

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It continues to be warm so early morning sessions and the aquatic center are our friends. Despite the heat, we are having a great time and have managed to climb pretty well. Stay tuned for more!

Squamish_Summer_2007_1

2007-07-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Where the hell are we? Monica thinks I have a bad sense of direction but I beg to differ.

Monica's new project Sloppy Poppy(v4)

A good sign on the way to Squamish... Be like the power monkey!

Me on Viper(v5)

Monica abusing the locals.

Me on Babba Hari Dass(v7). This is a great problem.

Monica warming up on some easy classics.

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So far our trip has been great...Eh! The mosquitos are half as bad as Yosemite's, but the squirrels are worse. The weather has been nice, although we have not had what you would call great sending temps. Keep an eye out for more photos as we will be posting more in a few days.

Joe's Valley April 07

2007-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Me sending Maxi Pad (v6).

Monica and I exploring on a rest day.

Me working on As the worm turns (v11).

Monica sending Better than coffee (v4).

Monica on the classic Angler (v2).

The drive sucked but had its moments.

I recommend visiting the Prehistoric Museum of Price on a rest day or on the way home. There are a number of complete dinosaur skeletons that are very impressive.

Me on No substance (v8). Definately one of my favorites.

Monica sending Scuzlocks (not graded). This thing is a hoot; be prepared to grunt a little.

Monica and I took a week off and went to Joe's Valley. This was the first time bouldering in Utah for both of us and we were pleasantly surprised with both the quality of the problems as well as rock. Although slightly warm for ideal sending conditions, we both enjoyed the moderate spring temperatures and the sunny sky.

yosemite 03/10-11/07

2007-03-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

brett on the sanguinator at curry village east.

near happy isles.

me on the first move of hookahs not bazookas v7.

brett doing the stand start for hookahs not bazookas v4.

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this was an interesting weekend in the valley...it turned out that my uncle and his family were there and staying in the Ahwahnee. so i, being the lucky person that i am, got invited to not only crash on their floor, but also have dinner with them. i definately was not a dirtbag that night.

onto more interesting things, i finally finished cleaning a line at curry village east that i have wanted to get on for a while now. the stand start turned out to be a lot easier than expected but very fun. there is also a really cool sit start that basically adds a huge throw to a sloper while your body is in tension. the problem is named "hookahs not bazookas" and its probably a V4/7 for the stand/sit starts respectively.

J-Tree 02/24-26/07

2007-03-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

me on slashface: one of josh's many highballs.

andrew soakin up the sun while havin some fun at ryan campground.

me on pinched loaf (v6).

monica doing the camp whore.
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It was a long drive for such a short stay but we had an awesome time nonetheless. The weather could not have been more beautiful and we all three climbed well to boot.

Bishop 11-22-06

2006-11-29T22:39:00.000-08:00

I got greedy and decided to take a day trip to bishop while the pass was still open. The day started out amazingly with great weather and good climbing. I stopped at Rock Creek on the way down and sent the "Campground Arete", a beautiful line that I had previously tried and had since thought about a lot. I also sent "Soul Slinger", which I was very happy about since it had previously given me much trouble. It was attempting "Evilution" that changed the day from good to bad. I've never had a finger injury before now, but i knew that the loud popping noise could not be good. it was definately a bad way to end a day that started out so good. but i suppose its a learning experience. and so i rest for a while...

yosemite 11/18-19/06

2006-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

Monica Aranda on the dihedral at the Candylands

Matt Keebler on Crossroads Moe

Courtney Hemphill on Thriller

This was truly a great weekend. Monica sent cocaine corner, which had been her project for quite a while. It was really great to see her send after working so hard on it. Courtney Hemphill and I both sent Thriller. I had wanted to send the amazing line for a while now and i had had more than one dream about climbing it. Courtney is the third female to have climbed Thriller and she styled it to boot.

donner 10/14-15/06

2006-10-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

yosemite 09/30-10/01

2006-10-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hammerhead (v5 R). This fun but somewhat scary problem lies on the uphill side of two large boulders that are directly across the trail from the wine boulder. bring your pads.

Z sending Hammerhead (v5 R).

me trying...and unfortunately getting shut down on super sonic wave (a lower start to sonic wave). this problem is sick!

brett ashton trying a variation to team effort. we had the idea of kinda going straight up bearing a little to the left instead of finishing lower and right. we didn't get but a third of the way up. this thing is gonna be really hard. ahhh, slabs!

tahoe 09/23-24/06

2006-09-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

not sure what kind of rattlesnake this was but it was really big.

brett ashton flashes its awl dat (V5) at the secrets.

this is me doing the lower moves on a very fun V8 at the deli slicer. unfortunately the topout (which is very slopey) was in the direct sun and so i did not get the pleasure of completing this cool line.

matt keebler on a really frustrating but awesome arete/dyno that he found at the deli slicer. we gave this thing sooo many tries but none of us were actually able to do this thing.

tuolumne 07/01-03/06

2006-07-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

this is brett doing some highballing

brett in project mode on his own so erect (V8)

me on unknown arete

me on my own sscyt (V6)

donner/rainbow 06/04/06

2006-06-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

develyn sending white lines (V8)

me on ishmael (V7)

zack on unknown moderate

zack and i cruized up to donner, had the bomb breakfast and coffee at wild cherries then drove up the hill where i made some good progress on white lines. a guy named develyn sent it while we were there. what a great line! then we drove down the hill to rainbow, where we let alba play around (she almost died getting swept down a waterfall) in the river. we finished up the day by going up to the powerhouse boulders and i sent ishmael. sweet problem!

yosemite 05/27/06

2006-06-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

raza working out the moves of a new highball

frank ocasio trying the low start to a sweet new problem

crazy weather day in the valley...sun, clouds, hail, wind. no mosquitos though!

yosemite 05/20/06

2006-05-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lyn high on pinball wizard (V7)

Me on prowess (V7)

Courtney on torque (V7)

this was unfortunately probably the last day in the valley of the season for me since the weather is getting really warm, the mosquitos are becoming unbearable, and the fact that i effed my knee up pretty bad. other than that we had a great day and i managed to send "prowess", which is a great new problem that randy puro found at housekeeping.

yosemite 05/06-08/06

2006-05-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

brett on tree snake strap on (V4)

me on bruce lee (V8)

me on the victim (V4) at the woodyard

matt on athletes die young (V6)

brett on team effort (V4/5)

Team happy ending was at large once again in the valley!

yosemite 04/29-30/06

2006-05-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

brett on the octogon (V7)

me on behave (V9)

me reaching my high point on the farce (V9)

chels on uncle joe (V3?)

brett moving staticly through the crux on athletes die young (V6)

good times in the greatest valley on planet earth!

bishop 04/20-24-06

2006-05-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

monica, casey and i headed over to the east side for a few days and met up with matt and brett. fun times were had, an ankle was sprained (casey's), and problems were sent.

yosemite 04/15/06

2006-04-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

matt and i cruised out to the valley for the day and met up with paul and lyn. matt ended up sending cocaine corner, which he had been working on for quite a while. nice send dude! we also went over to the crystals and did this cool mantle to slab problem that matt had found on a prior trip. on the way back to camp 4 we stopped at this really cool boulder that has this great problem on it. crimps and then a ballistic throw to the lip. probably about V8 but not sure. what a great day!

bishop and j tree 04/08-11/06

2006-04-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

chelsea and i climbed in bishop for the weekend and then met up with my mom and her friend down in palm desert, which was cool cause i got to climb in j tree for the first time. chelsea still hasn't fully warmed up to climbing outdoors but i'm hopeful. notables were seven spanish angels, which i've been working on for quite a while, high plains drifter, and mr witty. chelsea did this highball V1 that she had sprained her ankle on last year and almost got solarium and joseph. i also got on some really cool problems in j tree. unfortunately my skin by that point was fairly non-existent but i still managed to have a great time and send a few cool problems. there are two classic V7/8's that i must do upon return: pumping monzonite and chili sauce.

bishop 03/24-25/06

2006-03-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

went to the east side friday and saturday. the weather was good both days and i was able to complete a longtime project of mine: enter the dragon. i found this cool unnamed problem (the above photo) slightly west of the serengeti boulder; it goes at around V6 and is pretty fun and hard to pull off the ground. i also sent cholos (V9) at the happys, which i was very excited about because i had only tried it a couple of times on a prior trip and was not expecting to send it so soon.

Yosemite 02/24-26/06

2006-02-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

I got to the valley early Friday afternoon and conditions were ideal. i got on the sit down start for honor among thieves right away and after two decent attempts i sent it on the third try. what a great problem.

Saturday i met up with matt and laura and we went over to the crystals to check out this really cool problem that matt is in the process of cleaning. i was wandering around and found two new problems. one is an easy but fun rail traverse that goes up and left; the other problem ("fold your pad") is on the blunt arete of the same boulder. it starts fairly high on the arete and a crappy crimp. it goes at around V5/6 and i think there is potential for a hard sit start. I met up with ben pope in the early afternoon in camp 4 and he showed me bachar cracker (the hardest V3 i've ever done). Ben almost got the sds of honor among thieves and did manage to repeat king cobra. We then met up with tim and scott up at some new problems up above bear hug mantle. I managed to snag the FA of a really cool overhanging prow that tim and scott had cleaned. it is called Sonic Wave (aka Fuck My Right Bicep) (V7/8). Ben got the second accent.

Sunday matt and laura and i hiked to top of vernal falls via the CLOSED mist trail and descended via the long way around. that is such a great hike but it kills my legs.

Fun was had by all and it was one of those weekends which is hard to top.

yosemite 02/10-12/06

2006-02-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

this was a great weekend. the weather was perfect although the friction could have benefited from cooler temps. friday i went over to curry village and got on "root canal" (V7)... great problem and very difficult to pull off the ground. saturday i went from camp 4 to the sentinel boulders then back to camp 4 and met up with lin, tim, courtney, and scott who showed me a sweet eliminate of "donini problem". we went up to "honor among theives" and got shut down on the low start but scott cruized the stand up. we finished up the day with a fun moderate up above the bear hug mantle. My skin was so raw by sunday that i couldn't do a lot but i stopped by the MSG boulder at the woodyard on the way out of the valley and after many attempts i mangaged to send "Rudolph Was Adopted" (V5). This is a great problem and very crimpy.

Bishop 01/28-29/06

2006-01-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

I got on Enter the Dragon again and came pretty close to sending it...maybe next time. Matt made some good progress with both Molly and Hot Pants. We also went 4-wheeling in the Jetta and checked out some really great petroglyphs on the tablelands.

Happy in January- 01/6-8/06

2006-01-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

this was a great weekend but the conditions limited our climbing. the very snowy top-outs were melting and so a lot of the rock was just too wet to climb. Lin and i both sent Atari (V6) and i got Acid Wash (V10)

Yosemite- 12/3-4/05

2005-12-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

matt and i had a great weekend in the valley. saturday we went to the 140 boulders in the morning and i did a tricky and fun unknown arete (V5?). after that we went over to crossroads moe and matt came oh so close to bagging it. we spent the rest of the day at the ahwahnees. i managed to get rubiks revenge, denominator, and silly roof all of which were fun, especially rubiks revenge. matt got munchkin lunge (V6) as well as the super icky (i mean tricky) t-rex. sunday morning we walked down to the crystals and got spanked on an unknown. spent the rest of the day in camp 4. matt got one move wonder (a V8 dyno), which he had been working on for a while. props! i worked out most of the moves on indian rocker, repeated cocaine corner, and managed not to get my ass kicked on dont make me kick your ass (V7).

first bishop trip of the season

2005-10-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

10/26-28/05- i was lucky enough to have a few days off during the week and being that the weather locally was a bit wet, i decided to head over to the east side. i was worried it would be too warm but i was lucky and the conditions were decent. some of the highlights were therapy, every color you are, and morning dove white. i was also able to work out some beta for seven spanish angels (aka: the ruckus and the knobs). good times!

2005-10-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

10/23-24/05- matt and i had a great weekend in the valley. we got in fairly late in the morning saturday and spent the day in camp4. matt worked on cocaine corner and one move wonder and nearly sent both of them. he will undoubtedly send them on a future trip. i got titanic and battle of the bulge, the latter being great fun. later in the afternoon we met up with paul and lin, who showed us honor among theives: a very nice (and hard) line somewhat near king cobra. i wasn't able to get it but i'm happy to have a new project.

sunday we joined paul and lin at the cathedrals. the temperature was very mild and on the cooler side, which made for some good sending conditions. both matt and i climbed the hexentrix (V6) for the first time. what a great problem and matt's hardest to date. nice work matt! i tried blunt arete (supposed V4) and got shut down: another project, but more annoying than inspiring. i pretended to work on "X" for a while with paul. thats one nutty problem. next we went up to the king boulder and i managed to get the king on my second try. paul and i both did behave (V9), which is a direct jumpstart variation to the king; good fun. we ended off the day with the fun and high crippler.

what a great weekend!

2005-10-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

10/02/05- me on "evil arete" (V5?) at rainbow. this thing is a lot of fun.

2005-10-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

10/02/05- liane on unknown arete at rainbow. we found these boulders on the side of old donner pass road about a mile and a half north of the pull-off for the ishmael/jawbone boulders. there is this boulder, which has 2+ quality problems and another smaller boulder closer to the road, which has a mantle problem that looks pretty hard.

2005-10-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

09/25/05- unknown highball (V4R) at the ahwahnees. uhhmm, spot please?

2005-09-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

09/24/05- liane working out the moves on "cocaine corner". you gotta love this problem!

2005-09-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

09/25/05- jeff sending "munchkin lunge" (V6) at the ahwahnee boulders.

2005-09-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

09/17/05- this is me on the FA of "moonshadow" at the secrets. matt and i found this boulder while wandering around; the boulder doesn't look like much but there's a great bulge on the downslope side that houses this fun problem. later that night matt and i were trying to come up with an appropriate name for it. it came to me as we were admiring the full moon and making our moonshadows jump up and down. (proposed grade: V5)

2005-09-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

09/03/05- cade at the ishmael boulders.

2005-09-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

09/17/05- this is me on the second ascent of "flesh wound" at the secrets. very fun dyno to interesting topout. FA by matt keebler. (proposed grade: V4).

2005-09-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

09/17/05- this is me working on "clandestino" (V7) at the secrets. very fun powerful problem with hard top out. i 'm hoping to get this one next time!