Samy and I went to the desert for the holidays.
Joshua Tree was wonderful and we got to play on a bunch of lovely new rocks.
Day 1, new for me were Bird on a Wire and Anacram
BOAW!
We also got to run up the vacant North Overhang at sunset.
After another sunny pullout breakfast, Samy alpine-styled the 5.9 next to Blackjack.
Coarse and Buggy was occupied so we went over to Rock Hudson. Hot Rocks looked a little tricky to protect down low, so we went up the cool chimney on the left (Looney Tunes) and set up a top-rope (never saw another soul out there...)
Then we snagged a tent spot in Hidden Valley, and some more alpine style up The Flake earned us another great sunset.
A warmup on some BS .10 "**" roadside route in Miramontes turned into peeling patina off of a face climb.
Then we got to be first on Coarse and Buggy. Dreamy and beautiful!
Bye for now, Tree
Then we went to Tucson to see my mom for Christmas.
Then off to Sedona for a half-day and some climbing on naturally pre-chalked red petrified humming mud formations!
Everybody was getting their desert stoke on!
Lacking any of the larger cams recommended for most of the classic routes there, we sniffed out Vortex in a Can. It was pretty good! But not very long.
There was a cool-looking set of dihedral cracks next to it ("Freedom") that we probably should have climbed in the fading light.
We spent our last day hiking down into the Grand Canyon, which was cool and good and frozen.
stokey stoke stoke
