Climbing

Anybody remember this post from August 2006? I enjoyed rock climbing then, but it didn't quite stick. Last weekend I spent 3 days climbing in Joshua Tree National Park & I am hooked. Check out some of the photos:

King Dome--just one spot in an 800,000 acre park filled with cool rocks & funky plants.

Climbing Buckets to Burbank, a 5.8 rated climb.

Sunset over the San Andreas fault line.

Cool cloud formations rolling in at the end of a full day of climbing.

Justin soloing Flies on the Wound, a 5.7 climb.

Justin up top, cleaning up the route.

Me.

Learning how to climb using a crack.

Ten year-old Tipton giving it a go.

Me on Morituri te Salutamus, my first 5.9 climb.

After learning a lot from Justin in Joshua, I came home & promptly bought a book on rock climbing & spent this afternoon at Stone Gardens, the climbing gym down by the locks. I am excited to have that gym so close to my work, as I can go there & boulder on my own & they have self-belaying devices so I can even climb on my own. Climbing seems to be a very good stress reliever for me & I am really in need of that these days. I'm hoping to find more people who want to climb (they are all too far away--Justin in CA & Whitney in Oak Harbor) so let me know if you're interested!
For the rest of our neglected blog update...we've been road biking often & Levi went on the first mountain ride of the year up at St. Ed's this week & found the trails to be in great condition. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll be riding the Chilly Hilly, the year's first organized ride of about 35 miles on Bainbridge Island. And we're looking forward to fresh snow in the mountains & night skiing on Thursday. We're having fun with old sports & new alike. :)
We hope you are doing well!