Toe Jam 5.7
Bearded Cabbage 5.10c
Pinched Rib 5.10b

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Daniel and Tina on Bearded Cabbage

As we were finishing off, we started to feel the pitter patter of rain and the wind began to pick up. Jim had rigged a huge tarp against the rock, and we huddled in there as the skied opened up. The deluge was upon us, and torrential rain compounded by fierce gusting winds battered us. Neither Tina nor Daniel had brought any wet weather gear, and proceeded to get totally soaked. We cooked a hasty dinner under the tarp, then retreated to the tents. I have never seen a desert storm as intense as this one - huge rivulets of water chewed fresh arroyos in the sand, with rivers 2 feet deep washing over the roads and paths. Many people made the mistake of pitching tents in runoff channels, and ended up completely soaked - I was fortunate to have pitched my tent in an area with good drainage, and so managed to avoid this calamity. Many people got up in the middle of the night and headed for a motel to dry out.

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Sheltering from the storm in the Blue Room

Friday Dec 26 - Echo Rock Pope's Crack 5.9 British Airways 5.11d Raked over the Coles 5.10d Stick to What 5.9 Friday dawned bright and sunny. We picked up from the horror show of the night before, ate a big breakfast, and waited for the temperature to climb to more reasonable levels. When it did, we made for Echo Rocks, where Daniel led us off on Pope's Crack (5.9). A true J-tree classic. We then TRed British Airways (5.11d), which really didn't feel 11d-ish. Though there's a small crack there, it's really a face climb. Definitely a TR problem - protection is thin to none, though there's a bolt 40 feet up. I wanted to try Rule Britannia, which was right next to it, but there was a party on it, so instead I led Raked Over The Coles (5.10d). This problem has a really hard start - I ended up using the crack to the left to make the first few moves, then moved back in. The rest is fairly moderate, but sustained in spots.

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Tina on Pope's Crack and Daniel on British Airways

We still had some daylight left, so we walked around the corner where Daniel led Stick To What (5.9), a rather fun slab climb. I tried following it wearing my Mad Rocks, but to my amazement, found that they had gotten slick as snot in the cold. I couldn't smear worth a damn, and had to position each foot precisely on an edge if I wanted it to stay put. Very odd - those shoes are usually very sticky in warmer weather. We headed back to camp, and cooked up a big tasty dinner of pork loin that had been marinating in something for a while. Jim and Brenda had also made some sushi, which brought back memories of last year when we froze our fingers making sushi for dinner on Christmas day. For a long time, Daniel had been telling me stories of night-time romps through the Chasm, the cave system underneath the boulders in the Real Hidden Valley. Apparently it was a tradition for Jim and his crew to go through it on New Year's Eve, in pitch black with no headlamps. Experienced guides were needed, but Jim had been doing it for 18 year, which is a pretty healthy dose of experience. It was decided to do a test run, so Jim led off with Tina, Daniel, Susie, Linda and I following, and Joel, another old pro, bringing up in the rear. Unfortunately, Jim was trashed, and Joel was totally wasted, so much badness ensued. First they couldn't find the Gateway - Joel was insisting that someone had moved the boulders. Then Jim got lost inside, and one of the girls started freaking out. In the end, for the first time in the history of the Chasm run, we had to turn headlamps on to make a quick exit. Truly a night that will live in infamy. Especially when google indexes this page.... Saturday Dec 27 - The Techulator Spire Route 5.5 Nameless 5.9 Muffin Bandits 5.10b A friend of Tina stopped by for the day, and a group of us went out to the Techulator in the Wonderland of Rocks. We hiked in from the west side, starting at the Key's Corner Parking area, and walked for a couple of miles. The day was bright and sunny, though still on the cold side. Tony set up a TR on the Spire Route (5.5), and the crew played on that for a while. We then set up a TR on a crack system that ran up the face of the Techulator, but isn't in the book. The rock was a bit loose, so we decided against leading it. I went up it, and tried a few variations, figuring it to be about 5.9. Meanwhile, I was waiting for the sun to hit the dihedral where Muffin Bandits (5.10b) was hiding. It took a long time, but finally was exposed. This climb starts off in a squeeze chimney for a few feet, then there are some exposed face moves with your last pro a good bit below. The next good hold is an exposed horn, and I was very dubious of its quality considering how many other bits of the rock had broken off while I was yarding on them. I really didn't want to make a dynamic move to it, as if it were to come off I would deck about 25 feet below. I spent a long time trying to figure out a static sequence until I finally came across one involving a crimpy sidepull and a big high step. The horn was pretty good, so I slung it and kept on going. The dihedral itself was fairly nice, somewhat reminiscent of the Red Dihedral on the Incredible hulk in fact. The route was finished off with a squirming roof move around a big boulder. Fairly fun. Daniel followed, and ripped off a bunch of holds as he was climbing. Finally, Tina's friend (whose name I've forgotten - help please), made an attempt on it. He's a gym climber, and this was his first time on a real crack. We coached him through the jams, but it still took him a huge amount of effort before he finally made it to the top. He said he enjoyed the process though, so maybe we have a new convert here.

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Charles making a scary move on Muffin Bandit

It was getting dark by then, so I walked off the back side to try to round up Tony and Linda who had gone off to try an 11 somewhere around the corner. The descent involved a 15 foot high, fairly wide chimney. I was down on the ground when it came to Daniel's turn, and he had trouble finding the descent - he wouldn't believe that the chimney was the way down. I finally convinced him, and he made short work of it. We made it back to the car just as the temperature really started to plummet. That night, Daniel and Tina announced to the rest of us that they had gotten engaged. Jim got on a large boulder and reported this to the rest of Hidden Valley campground at the top of his voice, and much cheering was heard. Daniel kept on trying to find a romantic time to do so, but bad weather or other circumstances kept on getting in the way. So he did it when they were in their tent. Well, Joshua Tree is a pretty romantic place in general, so no worries. We all wish them the best of luck.

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The happy couple

Sunday Dec 28 - Barker Dam and Echo Rocks More Monkey than Funky 5.11c Heart and Sole 5.10a The Falcon and the Snowman 5.10b Ever since watching Aaron and Matt work on More Monkey Than Funky (5.11c) last year, I had wanted to try it. Who wouldn't be seduced by a downward sloping 20ft roof crack followed by an 11c finger crack? So Daniel, Tina and I headed out there, and I worked it with the standard 2 rope technique. My first attempt on lead was a flail fest, and I took willy nilly. It was a beautiful, sunny day - by far the best weather so far. I was soon climbing without a shirt, risking a nice sunburn on my exposed back. I then set up a TR and Daniel then had a go at it. Despite his enormous strength, he has his mass playing against him. But eventually he made it around and up, loosing only moderate amounts of skin in the process. Tina also had a try, but was unable to stick the roof. I think it's more a matter of core strength for her. I then had another go at it, and did a much better job.

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Charles and Daniel on More Monkey than Funky

Working that route took us quite a while, so instead of heading back into the Barker Dam area as we had originally planned, we returned to Echo Rocks where I sent Daniel up Heart and Sole (5.10a). This starts as slab route for 3 bolts, then moves into a thin finger crack in a right facing dihedral. The crux is definitely the bottom slab section. Daniel was a little sketched and was cursing me, but made it up with only a few bobbles. I followed, and figured out some key beta, so after Tina tried it, I made Daniel go back up so he could work it on TR and work on his technique. This time he was much more confident. Time and daylight was running out, so we did a quick TR on The Falcon and the Snowman (5.10b), just to the left, which spared me the horror of having to lead it. Pure slab all the way, with the odd micro crimp thrown in from time to time. It's well bolted though - or at least all the cruxes are just after a bolt, even if they are widely spaced. Jack showed up at the campground later that afternoon. He had been in LA doing the family thing for a few days, and was eager do shred some skin on the coarse granite crystals of the park. He brought a truly hedonistic device with him - a catalytic propane heater for his tent. We all made fun of him for it, but inside were seething with jealousy. Monday Dec 29 - Hidden Valley Campground Toe Jam 5.7 Bearded Cabbage 5.10c Double Cross 5.7 Unfortunately, when the sun rose, it did so behind many clouds. We kept on hoping for it to clear, but though we could see blue sky at times, it was never between us and the sun. After dicking around the campsite for a while, Daniel and Tina, who had to leave that day, decided to get going early instead of trying to get some climbing in. We bid them, and my car, a sad farewell. Meanwhile, I managed to score a site on the back loop of Hidden Valley, and helped Jack move his tent over there to secure it. We eventually gave up on waiting for the weather to improve, and headed for the Old Woman for a bit of climbing. Since Jack hadn't done them before, I had him lead Toe Jam and Bearded Cabbage. This time around, I had huge problems on Bearded Cabbage, having to be lowered to the ground from the half way point on my first attempt as I couldn't secure myself in the crack. How shameful! Jack declined to have a go at Spider Line, despite my assertions that it was a beautiful line. So we moved around the corner and did Double Cross (5.7). Jack had forgotten to bring his ATC, so we did a gri-gri simul-rap from the top. First time I've tried that - worked fine though. John and Michelle showed up in their VW van later that day, so we stuck them in the site that Jack had set up in. Tuesday Dec 30 - Steve's Canyon Sidewinder 5.10b Jumping Jack Crack 5.11a Decompensator of Lhasa 5.10d Grain Surgery 5.10b Super Monster Killer 5.11a I can't remember now if Matt and Susan (and Bailey the dog) came on the 29th or 30th, but it was somewhere around this time. After unpacking his truck, the amount of food laid out made it look like he had mounted a serious raiding expedition Trader Joe's - haven't seen that many Tasty Bites assembled in one place before. Jack and I headed for Steve's Canyon, where we warmed up on Sidewinder (5.10b). Jack shrieked and moaned with fear on the long dike traverse, but made it to the end without incident. We then moved on to Jumping Jack Crack (5.11a), for which Jack had made me lug the #4.5 cam. He had fun in the chimney (he was wearing a knee pad the bastard), then slowly moved through the crux over the bulge to the thin hands/off fingers crack. I thought he had it, but with an enormous shriek of rage he popped out just before he was able to sink a good hand jam. He screamed so loudly and with such duration, that I was sure that he had left a finger behind in the crack. I think everyone else in the canyon had the same impression.

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Jumping Jack Crack

He got back in, and then finished it off without too much of a problem. Then it was my turn. I had tried this one last march, and had flailed miserably on it. Amazingly enough, I was able to get through it without hanging, though opened up a knuckle and left a nice bit of blood behind. Definitely a very challenging 11a, and a good test piece. I guess it'll be my turn to lead it next time. I then led The Decompensator of Lhasa (5.10d), which I had followed last year. Rather spicy through the slab at the top, especially if you do it the way I did, and not see the easier path to the right of the 2nd bolt. When Jack came up to the top, I managed to convince him that he should lead Grain Surgery (5.10b). He had some serious hesitation at the top, in the run out section above the last bolt, going up and down a few times, before finding a path that pleased him way off to the side. I remembered going straight up after the last bolt, and did it that way again this time - seemed like the more natural solution, but it could be a height dependent thing. We then finished up by setting a TR over Super Monster Killer (5.11a), a really miserable flaring crack/slab. No way in hell would I want to lead that. Late that evening, Dan and Lynsey showed up. Jim and Brenda had had to leave, as Gavin, one of their kids was having bad ear problems, so we snagged the open site and had them park there. That night, as I was going to bed, I heard a loud voice shout out "Do you need a rescue?" Apparently, the rangers had decided to make a midnight foray up Intersection Rock to search for beer kegs - some had been stashed there last year before new year's eve. Someone in the campsite who had a million candlepower spotlight had seen them make their stealthy way up, and pinned them with the beam, then threw out the question to them, for all to hear. The following exchange was then heard: Rangers: "unhhh... no, we're ok. Thanks." Mr. Spotlight: "You know it's really dangerous up there in the dark! You should be very careful!" Rangers: "Yeah, thanks. We're fine." Much laughter ensued. When they finally came down (after not having found any offending kegs), they tried to bust Mr. Spotlight for making too much noise after 10PM. Wednesday Dec 31 - Hidden Valley Campground North Overhang 5.9 Dogleg 5.8 Jeronimo 5.7 Arete 5.9 Wednesday was going to be our rest day. I didn't think that I had been climbing enough to actually merit a rest - but then I'm known for beating myself into the ground. I'm sure my muscles appreciated it. We also had to rest up for the festivities of the evening. It was bright and sunny, though somewhat windy. We started off on Intersection Rock, where Jack led North Overhang (5.9). Old school 5.9, as one moves out of the roof and around the corner. But the jams are good, even if the bolts are of questionable quality. We moved across the way and into the sun, where Jack went up Dogleg (5.8). I had forgotten that the first move is the crux, especially if you're not really tall. But Jack managed it with only a little grumbling, and ran up the rest of the climb. I followed, then went over the top where I saw Jeronimo (5.7). I remember doing that years ago, and was eager to give it the proper treatment. This involves climbing the crack, then hanging upside down over the top from ones knees, and shouting "Jeronimo" at the top of one's voice. I did this, getting applause from the ground, but Jack declined to make a fool of himself like I did. He also grumbled over the rating - claiming that no overhanging fist crack could possibly be 5.7. We rapped down, said hello to Dan and Lynsey who were working on Stem Gem, then tried a new climb on the arete between Double Cross and Orphan. Just bolts, and it felt vaguely 5.9. Fun, but nothing to write home about. Jack and I headed into town for a quick shower - he was complaining about my aroma, but I couldn't detect anything. When we got back, we found the rangers out in full force. They had set up a road block at the entrance to Hidden Valley campground, and were checking each car to see if we were smuggling any illicit contraband or illegal aliens. Well, actually they were just checking to see if we had a legal parking spot. They were obviously expecting some serious misbehavior, and even had a fire truck ready for "crowd control" purposes. We all assembled around the campfire, and cooked up a big communal dinner, then waited for the madness to begin. Said madness failed to appear. I wandered around to other fires from time to time, to check out if anything more exciting was going on, but failed to find anything. There was a large crowd at the Buttery Flake, but it was pretty tame, with lots of little kids. The most excitement I saw was a juggler who had 3 flaming sticks going, and someone set up some flashing Christmas lights on intersection rock. When midnight rolled around, we all cheered then retreated to our tents. I think we're all just getting old. But then again, so it seemed with everyone else. Thursday Jan 1 - Barker Dam Gunsmoke High Noon A Streetcar Named Desire Something else We got up, without hangovers as we were a bunch of lightweights the night before, and had many eggs for breakfast waiting for it to warm up and the clouds to clear. Neither happened. So instead of doing routes, we headed for the Barker Dam area for a little bouldering. We started off on Gunsmoke, then played around on High Noon. Or at least I played around - Matt, Dan and Jack got really into it. None of them managed to stick the sloper, but Matt and Dan got pretty close. I think the jumping down and cold weather we bad for my knee, as it started to ache soon thereafter. Also, one of my fingers was acting up, so I decided to take it easy. We played around on some other boulder problems, namely A Streetcar Named Desire, and something else whose name I don't know not far from Gunsmoke.

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I think they were telling me to back off from their food

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Matt on High Noon and Jack on something else

Eventually we got tired of it all, and headed back to the campground to regroup. There we were treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen. People all around the campsite were cheering wildly at the incredible display of colours.

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After all the screaming settled down, we headed into town for some food. We had a fine dinner at the Crossroads Cafe, and then suddenly decided to go see a movie. Unfortunately we got bad movie beta from the restaurant, and discovered that we were an hour late for the start of "Return of the King." So we headed back to the campsite, with a quick stop at a store to stock up on eggs, donuts, and brownies. The latter two were consumed around the campfire, while the 18 eggs were saved for the next morning. Friday Jan 2 - Barker Dam More Monkey than Funky 5.11c When You're a Jet 5.11c Many eggs this morning. Omelets and eggy-bread. It was sunny, though somewhat windy. So Jack and I bundled up and made for the Monkey. Steve, a local climber who had quit his job, sold his house, and left his girlfriend so he could go climbing, joined us. Jack led it first with a couple of hangs, then set up a TR and came down to worked the corner. I followed it next, and managed a clean ascent. Woo hoo! Steve also had a go, then we all did it again. I believe I have the sequence worked out - now all I have to do is remember it for the next trip, whenever that'll be. Steve suggested trying out When You're a Jet (5.11c), which is located nearby. So we went over there, and Steve set up a TR on it. A bouldery start leads to a reach around an overhanging bulge, into a diagonal rail/finger crack. Then a big move up to a hand crack with a loose boulder thrown in, to finish on a gentle finger crack. What fun! Steve went up first, and after figured out that a figure 4 solved the problem of getting from the rail to the hand crack. Sure looked cool! Jack went up next, and did a series of heel hooks along the rail, and then pretty much dynoed to the crack. I went last, campused the rail, then did the figure 4. Sweet! First time I've ever had to do a non-gratuitous figure 4!

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Jack and Charles on When You're a Jet

I pulled the anchor, then we headed back to camp where we decided to have another attempt at the movie. John, Michelle, Matt and Susan had already packed up and left, but Dan and Lynsey were still staying around for another night, though they had gone ahead of us to get a shower. So back to Crossroads Cafe for us. Just as we were pulling up by the Coyote Corner, Matt came up behind us and tried to further damage his truck by rear ending us. Well, not really, but he looked like he wanted to try. They joined us for dinner, and we all went to the movie - at the correct time this time. After the movie, Matt and Susan decided to start the drive back to Berkeley. They didn't make it very far, and spent the night in a motel. The remaining hard core folks, that is Jack, Dan, Lynsey, Joel, Linda and I, spent one more night at the Tree. We were worried by the weather, as it looked like a huge storm was coming in. But no rain touched down, only strong winds - some people in fact had serious tent problems as a result. Saturday Jan 3 - Various Hobbit Roof 5.10d Gunsmoke Pigpen Cyclops Boulders Damn. Jack just said that he won't send me the pictures until I finish this trip report. Ok, so here's the last day! We had yet another breakfast that involved huge numbers of eggs. I guess you need something filling like that to keep the cold off! It was another bright and sunny day, so after packing up and filling the car with a remarkable amount of crap, Jack and I went to "have a look" at Hobbit Roof (5.10d). It looked very pleasant, so we went back to the car, grabbed some gear, and ran up it. The crux is the slab below the roof, though it's well protected by a bolt. The roof move is fairly trivial - some people claim it 10b, but it didn't really feel that hard to me. I guess my standard for a 5.10 roof is Hoodwink. Dan and Lynsey had gone off to have yet another run at Gunsmoke, as Lynsey felt that she was oh so close to getting it, so we drove back there and joined them. I did a couple of laps, amazed to find that I still had it in me, then went and did that other unknown boulder problem that we had played on two days ago. At that point my finger really started to hurt, so I decided to play it safe and not boulder any more. However, all the rest were still game to go, so we drove back to the campground and played on Pigpen (aka Bachar Cracker of the desert), and the Cyclops Boulders. Much fun was had by all, especially Dan as he attempted time and time again to get a stem/smear problem that all the "chicks" had been able to get. Even Jack managed it! Finally, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, he succeeded. Dusk was starting to fall, and with it the temperature, so we called it a day and a trip. With one more stop at the Crossroads Cafe for dinner, we headed back to civilization (though I use the term loosely). Jack drove the whole way at high speed, with barely a pause for gas, and we were back in Berkeley before 1AM. The rest took a more leisurely approach, and bivvied for the night, arriving on Sunday afternoon. A good trip all in all. While the weather was variable and at times horrendous, we still had fun. Not a huge number of climbs were done, but there were some quality ascents in there. Now I'm torn between going back there in March, or trying out Indian Creek. Arggh!