Easter and Christmas

We've gotten busy lately. Dylan started soccer on Wednesday evenings to go along with karate 2 days a week after school.

 Linda did not get injured like myself and is in her "peak" for climbing. After finishing off the route at Socorro she moved on to Straight on Till Morning which she sent 2 weekends ago. It is just her second 5.12c ever, her first coming when we were on a 2 month road trip, so not bad results for one training cycle. She has since moved on to this route, Rubber Mission.

 I've been bolting a few things down at the tower as well. Most still need a bit more cleaning, though one is finished and I lead another on one bolt and a couple of sketchy cams, just to get it done, it could use about 4 more bolts.

So since Easter rolled around we decided it would be a good time to take down...

 Christmas decorations.

Linda dressed Dylan up for the day and was quite pleased with results.

 I took Dylan to the aquarium so Linda could have some quiet time to work on taxes. They were feeding the animals in the shark tank while wearing rabbit ears.

 Later on Sunday we had a nice dinner with the Eckstein family. Dylan loves all of them and the dogs.

Trinity, their daughter set up an Easter egg hunt for him and they repeated the hiding and finding several times.

On another note, this past weekend was Open Nationals for route climbing in Boulder, CO. Our local hard woman, Page Brown headed out and made finals.

Weekend at Datil

This weekend we headed to Datil for some climbing and camping. Linda is still going strong with her training program while I'm taking some time off in the hopes that I can start over again with a happy finger in another week or two and Dylan loves to camp. Saturday was beautiful, Linda climbed with several other people that we had planned on meeting down there. Her main goal was to see where she was as far as finishing up a route that she had put a couple of days into a year ago. She did pretty well, especially for the first trip to the Tower of the year.

 I on the other hand mostly hung around after setting up camp on Saturday. On Sunday I headed out for a bike ride that I typically do when in Datil and not too focused on climbing. Heading West on Hwy 60 over the,

 Past the NM windmill farm,

 To,

 Stopping at the,

 Taking a peak at the fresh made pies,

 and enjoying a snack before the ride back.

More about them HERE

Even though it was windy on the ride back it was worth it, ride to eat.

Climbing and more Climbing

In the last month we've been getting out to Socorro a fair bit. Linda started working on a really good route there called Bat out of Hell that is quite sandbagged at 5.11d. With all the trips out there I found myself a little project in a new route to the right of the Demon. It even fit in with where I was in training, an easy start up to a hard boulder problem with holds that are all decent size but oriented the wrong way or far apart and topped with a romp to the finish.

It took me 2 sessions on TR, though the first was on self belay, to figure out how to do the boulder problem. Then on a third day I went back, bolted and climbed the route in a couple of tries, I decided to name it Devil's Plaything. Good thing too because it is starting to get too hot out there. We made one more trip out to Major Wall and Linda wrapped up Bat out of Hell, here is Linda finishing out here successful ascent.

At some point in this whole time Mark (aka: Monomaniac) and Kate came out and I headed to the Enchanted Tower for a day with them and their 1 year old. Mark and I got on Child of Light which has really cool movement but exploits all my weaknesses as a climber (shallow pockets and high overhead shoulder moves). While Kate got to run several climbs and get used to climbing outside more. More about it HERE in their blog. 

We managed to get in a trip to Hueco this past weekend. We had made reservations for volunteer tours only to find out that most of the guides left at the end of the week and no volunteer tours were going out leaving us waiting at the gate to get in. We got lucky the first day and some friend that were in line ahead of us knew a guide that was already in the park and was able to come out and get us on his tour. On the second day we checked to see if there was a guide for the tour we had signed up for then headed to the Rock Ranch to set up a commercial tour which is expensive ($20 per person vs. $4). We managed to get on one of their tours and it happened that another group from Albuquerque was with us. Here is a shot of Dylan doing some "V-5" bouldering, as one person on the tour described this wall.

 And Richard, from ABQ bearing down on the start of D.I.G. which is a fun but painful problem that I flashed years ago and Richard flashed on this day. I highly recommend taping your tips if you get on this problem.

Anyway, dealing with Hueco as always turned into a big hassle. 

On the other hand Today I made it back out to Socorro with Dylan and a friend, Karl to put up another new route. Yes, it is now too hot to climb, at least anything hard in the sun there, but this was an easier and friendlier route than the last. The end result is HERE I have not decided on a name yet or know if there was a previous one for the line, but it is another nice option to warm up on for future visits. 

Dylan with Buzz and a Weekend of Climbing

Here is a video of Dylan playing with his Buzzlight Year toy.

On Saturday we headed to Datil which should be too cold to climb at by this point, but instead it was too warm to climb in the sun. It seems as though it is going to be a warm and dry winter. Linda got back on "Straight on till Morning" which is 5.12c she had tried once a couple of years ago. She nearly did it on her second try this time around. It would only be her second route of the grade that she had done. Hopefully it will stay warm enough for us to make another trip out this year so she can get it done.

On Sunday I headed up to the Sandias with John Kear to try and climb a new route that was put up earlier this year called Daisy, named after the first ascentionists dog, that is reportedly 5.13. John had gotten on the route on Friday and worked out the moves but not been able to link it without falling because it was too hot, how can it be too hot at 10,000 feet in November? We warmed up by climbing a couple of pitches up a neighboring route since the hard pitch was the first off the ground. John then gave a great fight, squeezing for all he was worth and nearly puking and managed to send the route for the second? ascent and after watching him on it I was able to do the route first try as well. It probably is low end 5.13 and not mid range but still a great route. The second pitch is really fun and quite a bit easier on good hold up a steep red wall. Sadly the last pitch leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth as the rock quality deteriorates dramatically and it seems as though the first ascent party did not put much effort into cleaning it, though they may have put more time into cleaning it than the other pitches it could still use some more. All in all a pretty good day out in the mountains for John and I, and a really good route if you can look past the final pitch.

Another Attempt at Camping

Well last weekend we headed to Datil to try camping with Dylan again. The first try resulted in several hours of crying and me sleeping in the front seat of the car with no sleeping bag. The second attempt ended with about 45 minutes of crying at 2 AM when Dylan got cold because he will not sleep with a blanket on and he was in his pack and play. This time was maybe more successful, Dylan slept in the tent with Linda and while he did not get to sleep at his usual time, he spent about an hour looking at the stars and playing with a headlamp, he did eventually fall asleep. Through out the night he kept kicking the sleepingbag off and would wake up unhappy but never out right crying and Linda would quickly bundle him and warm him back up.

We had a whole crew out to climb with and for Dylan to play with. Chris, Jo(anna) and Trinity got to try out their new tent, Betty and Eric came out but wisely took a different camp spot down the canyon. On Sunday Jodie and her daughter Livia came out to climb as well. We also ran into Debi Evens and Mark Ondrias from the gym. Linda climbed we and managed to send Technowitch 5.12-, which for her is more of a mental break through. She has tried the route off and on over several years and always proclaimed it too hard or too reachy. Finally on that weekend and the previous one she commited to just getting it done and in the end it only took her a handful of tries to figure out the moves and send, though on Saturday she fell from 1 move before the anchors because she could not find the hold that you clip from.

Since I'm still nursing the sprained thumb I did just a few routes on Saturday, then on Sunday morning Joanna and I rode our bikes from the entrance to Datil to Pie Town and back. Upon returning we broke down camp and I headed up to do a couple of routes, just taking it easy but hopefully doing enough to maintain some amount of fitness.

Here is a shot of Dylan passed out in the tent in the morning.

And a shot of him waking up.

Finally hanging at the crag with Livia and Trinity on Sunday.

Chris and Joe's Playground and Datil

Here is some video of Dylan enjoying the play equipment in Chris and Joanna's backyard.

Our backyard on the other hand is a weed infested mess, well except for the patio. We'll get around to finishing up the backyard eventually. Probably after we build a garage back there so that there is less to maintain and we don't need to destroy something that we put in when we do the garage.

This weekend we headed to Datil on Saturday with Kyle and Emily. Emily is an intern at the gym and was working the kids camps, she finally admitted that she was happy to see the kids walk out the door for the last ime after dealing with them for 2 1/2 months straight. Sadly they are headed back to Idaho for school later this week. Anyway, Kyle sent Technowitch 5.12a and both Emily and Linda gave it a good try as well. I climed 2 routes, one with a thumb brace on which I was constantly pushing against, BAD (see below), and one with nothing on so I held the thumb back which put some stress on the joint, also BAD. So I'll be taking another week off and try again next weekend.

This morning I tried out riding to see how my thumb would put up with it. I sprained my thumb a week and a half ago holding a swing in the Crystal Cave, so I have not been able to climb since then and went for a run while in Datil which was not very good. My right knee is still giving me troubles, felt like someone was stabing an ice pick into the side of my knee if I did not land just right on my stride. Anyway, riding went well as I can keep weight off the joint that hurts and drink with the other hand. I just need to be careful that I don't run into any rough patches without being aware. So I headed up S14 from Tijeras since the pavement is really smooth up there and not so nice on Route 66. Then at teh top since the thumb was feeling pretty good I headed around the race loop out Oak Flat to NM 217. Loads of cyclists out and pretty great weather.

Happy 4th

So, naturally it has been awhile since I last posted.

On Wednesday the 24th Dylan and I went back to the Sandias to climb with John Kear and Carolyn. We all had a good time and miraculously the weather held out and we did not get rained on, just a little spit. I made the probable second ascent of John's route, Insane Clown Posse 5.12+ and John and Carolyn did two routes for the first time, that I bolted with the help of Rip and Pletta a few years ago.

Then over the weekend Linda and I rode to the crest from town and back while Chris and Joanna watched Dylan who had a blast in their yard playing with Triny (Trinity) their 5 year old daughter.

Last week Dylan and I made it out to Big Block on Monday with Richard of Team Mojo and Jeff Leads of Prana and had a good time. On Wednesday we headed out to the Crystal Cave with Doug and 3 kids from Team Mojo, Richard, Liam and Rachel. Richard managed to send Dope 5.13b, not bad for a 14 year old, maybe he's 13. I came very close to doing the full version of Faith 5.13c but will have to live with the short version a couple of times as a workout.

Dylan, seeing all the climbing is starting to trian his open hand strength on the edge of the table as well as his core by holding L-sits. Well at least he is having fun swinging around.

The flowers have been out in force lately at the higher elevations. We saw some great ones up in the Sandias the past couple of weeks and blooming cactus at the Crystal Cave in the Jemez foothills.

On the 3rd we went up to Chris and Joanna's to hang out and celebrate the 4th and Chris' Bday a little early for both. Dylan again had fun with Triny and would follow her everywhere even when she went to brush her teeth.

Today we went to Datil for the day and met up with Carolyn and Anna B. along with Mick and Kari Shien. Mick being the author of the Sandia Rock guide book. It seemed as though everyone had a good time. Linda did The Raven 5.11d on her first try on TR and proptly lead it, which is quite good for her. Carolyn also managed The Raven on TR and plans to try leading it tomorrow, so hopefully all goes well for her.

Well Happy 4th.

Weekend in Datil

W headed to Datil this past weekend to try camping with Dylan again. Last time was a disaster with Dylan crying for several hours at night and keeping both of us up. He did not fall asleep untill I left the tent and slept in the front seat of the car so he had more space in the sleeping bags.

This time went a bit better. We brought the Pack and Play and set it up in the tent which made it easier for Dylan to fall asleep sinnce it is something he is used to sleeping in. However he then woke up at about 1:30am and started to cry, probably because he was cold. Linda was in the tent with him and tried to sooth him and have him sleep in the sleeping bag with her but he would not have it. So eventually I took him and calmed him in the back of the truck where I was sleeping. I took quite a while but after moving about a bit and sitting up a few times he finally fell asleep again which was a relief. He was probably awake for an hour or a little more so at least he got a good amount of sleep.
Here is Dylan looking pretty excited to be in the tent with his Pack and Play.

Here is a shot of Dylan drinking Auntie Betty's water in the evening.Linda and I had a good time climbing. Linda finally lead Once upon a Time 5.11D with the direct start, clean. I just ran laps on stuff at one point doing 3 routes in a row on the tower. We ran into the Austin TX climbing team who were out on a road trip with their coach, Johnny Myrick who is from Albuquerque. They were out there with some kids from our climbing team and a couple of the kids from the Huston climbing team as well.

Here is some video of what Dylan did to occupy himself in the camp site. He was cleaning it up so there was nothing to trip over...or not.

Climbing, Riding and Critters

So on Thursday Dylan and I made it out to the Crystal Cave in the Jemez in the afternoon with a couple of guys that work at the gym. Dylan had fun playing in the dirt and sitting in Jeff's chair. While I played on the short but very steep routes with Jeff and Doug. Maybe I'll get some shots of it next time I'm there, it's hard to explain, but the lip of the cave is only about 20 feet high and the routes are up to 60 feet long or so, really steep and pretty hard.

Over the weekend I did the Bill McClain Memorial Crest Race, and naturally got killed since most of the guys riding have put in probably 4 times the miles on the bike this year as I have. Though I was only about 2 minutes slower than I was 5 years ago, the last time I did the race and actually trained for it.

On Sunday we headed to Datil with a bunch of folks from the gym. In a true rarity for climbing, women out numbered men in the group, even if you counted Dylan. We all had fun climbing on the tower and walls to the left.

This morning Dylan and I headed to the Bio Park and spent some time wandering through the aquarium. After our trip to Hawaii he is totally fascinated with fish and turtles. Then we checked out the butterfly pavilion which I'd never been to before. I was a little disappointed as I thought there would be more or larger butterflies, maybe they will grow, but there was enough for Dylan to have a good time trying to chase them around. On our way out there was a booth set up with some critters, a small tarantula, a small scorpion, a couple of squeaking roaches, then these guys....

These are the small ones that you can find in NM apparently.

Then the big ones that are from Africa....
They also had a centipede, which have a pretty bad bite and are nearly impossible to kill, think hammer repeatedly though they are already flat to begin with. I though I'd killed one once at the gym only to find it crawling back out of the garbage can a few minutes later.

On our way out the model trains were up and running so Dylan watched the big train then spent some time "push"ing the "button" to make the "small" "train" go in circles, it was fitted with a car that spewed "bubbles" as it went, needless to say he was thrilled.

For folks that say that the newspaper industry is going to die, I beg to differ. I posted my truck on-line and in a couple of locations and received not a single call. We put it in the paper and on the first day I got about 10-12 calls and sold it. The classifieds are the way to go.

Long Time No Write

OK, so here is the shot of Linda's lip. This was about 3 days after it happened.

So on Saturday the 2nd I rode with Chris and Joanna from town to the Sandia Crest at 10,600 feet, good climb and with the intention of riding back into town. Only problem is is was snowing on us for the last 2-3 miles going up and pouring on us on the way down. Chris put it best,"I was trying to brake and peddle at the same time to stay warm". We called Linda to come and pick us up once we were down off the Crest Rd at the first gas station. Later that afternoon Linda headed out for a ride on the Look 585 Elle that she had been testing out. It is set up with standard 700c wheels instead of the 650c wheels she has on her bike. She forgot the extra spare tube and turned around pretty early and on her way back turning onto a side street her front wheel just skated out from under her. I was not there so I have no idea what happened but it looks as though she caught her upper lip on the stem clamp at the steerer tube or something to get the nice puncture. Needless to say, when she got home her ride was done.

On Sunday the weather looked bad up at El Rito and since Linda did not feel all that gunho we went to the Enchanted Tower instead. Linda climbed really well, getting up Straight on till Morning 5.12c with one hang on her first try but did not get back on it.

On Monday I ordered the camper shell for the truck, a Leer 180, which has the 4 inch or so rise above the cab, better for camping and transporting bikes.

On Tuesday evening my parents drove into town to help watch Dylan while I set for the Jr Regional competiton at the gym. it kind of sucks that when my parents come to town I generally have to work some pretty long hours so I don't get to spend as much time with them as I'd like. Though I know they really come out to see Dylan anyway. My parents got some riding in while I took breaks during the middle of the day when the gym is busy with menbers. My mom test rode the Look and the 48 cm Cervelo R3 at Fat Tire and ended up getting the Look, the same one that Linda crashed on. On Saturday it seemed as though the comp went OK, I left after the morning session and have not had a chance to ask about how the afternoon went.

On Saturday morning Mom, Linda and Joanna rode from Tijeras to the crest and back which is about 40 miles. Then in the afternoon after they were done, Dad, Chris and I did the same ride. We had a nice family dinner out tha evening and may parents left on Sunday morning.

On Sunday we pretty much just hung out and rested, at least that is what I did. Other than finally getting the swam cooler hooked up and some weeds picked up that had been pulled and tearing somemore ivy off of the house, though I did manage to stay in bed till 10:30 which was nice.

Oh to have no shame,

And here is the truck that we are trying to sell, if you know anyone that is looking $6500 OBO