Yesterday I stopped in Little Cottonwood Canyon, just outside Salt Lake City. I only tried a couple problems before the 30 degree temps without sunshine got to me.

I’m now in Lake Tahoe for the weekend checking out the boulders here before heading to Yosemite on Monday or Tuesday!

I finally left Atlanta a couple weeks ago. The trip to Colorado was a long solo drive but not too bad. I found XM’s comedy channels help make the time pass a bit faster!

Thanks to Wichita for the 1st Chipotle stop of the trip!

I stayed in Colorado for a few days and got a bit of climbing in but nothing too eventful. From there I headed on to Joe’s Valley, Utah. I’ve spent a few weeks here in the past but it’s been three years since my last visit. I’ve only been here for six days but it’s been a great trip so far. Joe’s Valley is a fantastic place to roadtrip! It’s free to camp, the weather is usually great, and there are no restrictions at all. It’s a great place to roam around looking for new boulders and climb the many established classics. There seems to be an abundance of proud lines here which gives me plenty to work on!

This is my Truck House aka the Big Rig. It’s on loan from my biggest sponsor, my dad. I picked up a nice camper top for it and threw a bed in the back. It works great as a road tripping vehicle, except for the gas mileage!

My Truck House

Truck House

After 4 days of climbing I have video of the following problems: Fiery Furnace v10, Poseidon v9, Battletoads v10, Playmate of the Year v9, Trent’s Mom v10, Gentleman’s Project v11, The Wind Below v8, Skeleton Key v11, Moment of Truth v9, Bring the Heat v8, and Worst Case Scenario v9. Most of these will show up in a short I’ll post in a few weeks!

I don’t have too many photos at the moment but I’ll try to grab a few from Axel soon. I’ll be in Joe’s Valley for a few more days before moving on to Yosemite!

Katinka sending her first v8, Bring the Heatwole

From Boone I drove over to Waynesville to hang out with my mom for a few days. She loves to hike so on Monday we went on an epic hike to Shining Rock. It was about ten miles total. It was beautiful and lucky for you I took photos so you can enjoy the scenery without walking 10 miles!

Morning fog at the cabin

Les sending Fake Pamplemousse 8a

Before we embarked on our 6+ month bouldering adventure, Leslie was climbing solid V9 and maybe a few V10s (although he denied that he had climbed V10 before). After the trip Leslie is now climbing solid V11 (at least on the international scale, I don’t know about southern 11s!). He sent a slew of V11s in one or two sessions in Switzerland and South Africa. It was pretty inspring to see the progression happen so fast. He is a very talented individual and also happens to be the most psyched person I’ve ever climbed with. It was good to have the optimist onboard to combat my pessimism throughout the trip!

If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau, maybe it’s time for an extended trip someplace new to get the motivation up and inspire yourself to try harder!

Les sending Rasta Roof 8a