Memorial Day Weekend route development out at the Village

Finally! A new post! It hasnt stopped raining since I got back from California! My outings have been numerous but unproductive, un-blog-worthy. This is also the time of year to get your garden in so every spare minute I have had has been occupied by my garden. But last weekend I got to hang out in the Village for 4 nights, 3 days and got some new routing done. Saturday I got some chain anchors installed on Cube Crack Left, cleaned it and added 3 bolts. By the time I retrieved my gear cache and moved it to the Morning Glove, it started to sprinkle. It wasnt bad enough to stop drilling so I scrambled to the top of the Morning Glove and low and behold I found some old anchors! This is my 5th season out there and I have never seen another human being let alone evidence of old climbs but alas, all my first ascent trad lines pretty much became second ascents. Im not one to claim something that isnt mine. First ascents can be a touchy subject and I would rather just avoid the hoopla and climb on. The anchors, I estimate, are between 5 and 10 years old. I backed each set up with one of my big anchor bolts just to be safe. The old anchors are situated right on top of two beautiful trad lines that Im sure were the original parties objectives. Slightly disheartened and with the sprinkle becoming a torrent, I started the walk out. A couple of buddies said they would come out and find me but I hadnt heard a thing from them so I assumed they bailed due to the rain. About a minute into my walk out I heard and saw them crawling around on top of Ol Two Tier. I walked over and we checked out some other formations. We even found some (black capped?) Morel mushrooms which I had never seen out there. Sunday was all rain all day so I took the trooper for a drive all the way through to Roots and hit the highway just North of Virginia City! I spent a lot of my day at the Gravel Bar and Willies Distillery with a soak at Norris to cap it off. Monday I got the sunshine I had been waiting for and got to work. In between the two cracks that had the old anchors is a huge face that needed bolts, 17 of them to be exact with 3 pieces of supplemental gear. The Raven Memorial (it was Memorial day after all and my hero Dean Potter had just died) route goes at 5.8 55m. I added 4 more sets of anchors on top and started another route, JP Memorial but only got the bottom 1/3rd done.

One set (of two) of old anchors. 5 piece bolts with Metolius hangers and caulk.

That dog can sleep anywhere through anything! That doesnt look comfy at all!

Zero fear of heights.

These guys....

Ol Two Tier in the rain.

Would have picked 'em but the bugs had already eaten a whole in them.

A lil different brand than normal.

The Raven Memorial is left of the rope. Most of the bolts are on that upper face. JP Memorial is around the corner to the left and closer to 30m. 

Coachella 2015 Weekend 2

I made it to my first REAL music festival, Coachella 2015 Weekend 2 in southern California. Biggest, most fun, craziest and every other adjective you can think of thing I have ever done. Im going to let the pics do all the talking. I will throw out a call to action though: GO TO COACHELLA!

The Sahra Dome where I spent most of my time (EDM)

Thats a Polo filed the rest of the year.

I didnt know some of these lights and lasers even existed!

A Boominator: Solar powered boombox (with 4 10' subs!) that can charge your phone = big hit.

We definitely had the party tent. If it wasnt a huge flip-cup train, it was pong. Brought me back to my college days. 

PLUR: Peace Love Unity Respect. A traditional EDM decoration.

I met Ryan down there. In fact, the only one I knew heading down there was my friend Brad who invited me. Turns out he has some cool friends. Ryan came down from AK.

Walking in to the venue. 

Rocking the bolo tie. Cuties loved it! This was pre Yellow Claw mosh pit. 

Post Yellow Claw mosh pit. I landed on my face so hard!

Some of the crew. We left our phones at camp for the most part so I didnt take many photos. Not my proudest photo but heck, we were having fun. 

A couple first ascents out at the Village: Tower Pitch and Cube Crack

Sam showed up after my big scout day so I had a climbing partner. We went right to Tower Pitch which I bolted last summer and climbed it on TR a few times to clean it up a bit. I lead it without much problem and we gave it a 5.9 rating; medium cam to 5 bolts and chain anchors. After that we went to a crack that Travis and I spied early in the year and I installed some chain anchors so we could TR (top rope). A fun 5.9 lieback puts you on an easy 5.5 facey cracky thing to the anchors, Cube Crack 5.9. It was a wee bit chilly so that was all we got done that day.

Tower Pitch 5.9 starts with a cam in that undercling pocket.

A bad photo of Cube Crack, the lieback is barely visible lower right. 

Village (of Rocks) Scout day: Found Rocks and Native American artifacts

There was a section of the Village that nobody had been to yet so I packed lightly and took Manfred for an all day hike. I found so many unclimbed trad, mixed and sport lines that I quit taking photos. Not to mention all the boulders I found nooked in the trees! I was lucky enough to stumble upon some Native American artifacts that was totally unexpected. Now I know where to move the cache!

Ever since I got a black and yellow pack, I have been noticing all kinds of black and yellow things that match (mys sisters cat, a bruised banana and something else I dont remember so far). 

I dubbed these the Road Ramps.

Found an old lean-to.

A nice boulder waiting for climbers.

Another nice boulder; this one scared me away, Im pretty sure thats a bear's den underneath it!

A no-hands friction slab.

A nice crack.

Some face climbing.

More face climbing.

And more...

A highball boulder.

This face is called Proud Face. 

This unnamed rock is down and to the right of the Morning Glove.

The most underrated hiking dogs ever. That lil guy is a machine!

The atleast 60m Morning Glove. One of the first trips out there for me was to this rock.

Or maybe this was the rock down and to the right of the Morning Glove.. ahhh! More rocks more problems!

Lucas climbed that shaded chimney in a down jacket one day and it rained feathers!

A perfect hands crack we climbed years ago called FAF1 with FAF2 crack to the right. (First ascent fever)

We TR'd that perfect tips crack.

A look at Ol' Two Tier from the hike out.

Schwabby's Acces and Up and Adam are on the ramps to the left of the low angle ramp.

The Native American area.

Terraces for ?

A platform with a grinding bowl placed centrally.

I twisted the rock to orient it the way it was used to grind. The grinding stone is about softball size and the dish is atleast a pair of basketballs.

Bison skulls bleaching on the boulder above.

If you ever see this set-up, dont be shy. Always got cold beer (and OJ).