So I'll just dive right in...
These here are a few photos from my final tour with the Nevada Conservation Corps. This was a tour done in Idaho, near the Sawtooth mountains; truly a beautiful area. The work we did out there was pretty lame but with the scenary and frequent trips to a number of different hot springs, it was quite a smashing tour to sign off on. The NCC has been a blast for the last year but it is time for bigger and better things.
(oOo ominuos ------->)
After the tour finished I had to tie up all the loose ends and say goodbye to my friends. I got to do a bit more climbing around Lake Tahoe and got in one more badass trip to Mecca.
My buddy Greg and I had it in our minds to knock out one more big climb. The climb we picked was the East Buttress of Middle Catherdral (One of the 50 classic climbs of North America). We got into the valley friday evening and were suprised to see almost no one there. We got a site in Camp 4 (a place rich with climbing history) and things seemed to be just falling into place for us. We got up at the buttcrack of dawn to make sure that we were first on the route... of course we got lost on the approach which killed a lot of time but we ended up stumbling upon the route. There was only one party in front of us.
The climb is pretty long (about 1100') and a challenge for my current abilities. It took us all day and right when we topped out it started raining pretty hard (luckily it held off while we were still climbing). The rain passed and we had this spectacular gully all to ourselves (with newly formed waterfalls all over). There were these huge walls surrounding us, literally standing thousands of feet above us. This pic here is me on like the fourth pitch with El Capitan in the background. One day I hope to climb right up the nose of that rock... one day.
So after one spectacular day of climbing I ended my climbing tour in the Sierras but the fun doesnt stop there... the next day my rope access class started. It was so awesome... I have never had so much fun at school. All we did was climb on ropes and learn advanced rock climbing techniques (called Aid climbing). It was a four day crash course and then a final evaluation day. I passed the class and am now a certified rope access technician (people think it is hilarious to call me a certified RAT).
So there it is guys... the next time I put one of these up I suspect most of the pictures will be much whiter. I hope you are all
enjoying your time on this earth as much as I am. Until next time....
These here are a few photos from my final tour with the Nevada Conservation Corps. This was a tour done in Idaho, near the Sawtooth mountains; truly a beautiful area. The work we did out there was pretty lame but with the scenary and frequent trips to a number of different hot springs, it was quite a smashing tour to sign off on. The NCC has been a blast for the last year but it is time for bigger and better things.
After the tour finished I had to tie up all the loose ends and say goodbye to my friends. I got to do a bit more climbing around Lake Tahoe and got in one more badass trip to Mecca.
The climb is pretty long (about 1100') and a challenge for my current abilities. It took us all day and right when we topped out it started raining pretty hard (luckily it held off while we were still climbing). The rain passed and we had this spectacular gully all to ourselves (with newly formed waterfalls all over). There were these huge walls surrounding us, literally standing thousands of feet above us. This pic here is me on like the fourth pitch with El Capitan in the background. One day I hope to climb right up the nose of that rock... one day.
So after one spectacular day of climbing I ended my climbing tour in the Sierras but the fun doesnt stop there... the next day my rope access class started. It was so awesome... I have never had so much fun at school. All we did was climb on ropes and learn advanced rock climbing techniques (called Aid climbing). It was a four day crash course and then a final evaluation day. I passed the class and am now a certified rope access technician (people think it is hilarious to call me a certified RAT).
After my class ended I had one more wild night in Reno. The next day I hit the road and boy oh boy, do I love the open road. I headed south from Reno and drove along the Sierras for about 4 hours. Next stop VEGAS!!! I hung out in Vegas for about 4 days, climbing everyday. I did some more amazingly classic climbs with some stellar weather. Then I flew home and here I am for about another week.
I have been pretty spoiled lately with the good weather and the MN cold has cut me to the soul. I suppose I better get familiar with the cold again. So I fly back to Vegas for a few more days of climbing and then to Crested Butte. The more I learn about it the more excited I get.
So there it is guys... the next time I put one of these up I suspect most of the pictures will be much whiter. I hope you are all
enjoying your time on this earth as much as I am. Until next time....Pirate
Do you hear the sweet song she sings? --->
