Kevinstagram's Blog

No it's absolutely not summer anymore - this trip report is about a climbing trip I did down to the States from October to November this year. It felt like an extra bit of bonus summer because it was sunny almost every day and because it was an extension to the summer that I'd already taken off work. I wish I could include the adventures and fun of that summer here too, but I think it would be just way too long so will have to be a story for another time.

Chapter 1 - The Drive to Yosemite

Downtown on a very rainy Monday morning I met up with a couple of Chielean amigos, Felipe and Martin, who posted on Facebook about looking for a ride down to Yosemite. They threw all their camping and climbing gear, musical instruments, mate making supplies, and themselves in the car and we embarked on our very very long drive down to the Valley together. They were really cool and fun to get to know and we were all super excited to get out of the rain and down to some sunshine and warm weather. The main issue with travelling to a different country with random strangers that you met on the internet from a different country is the boarder is really tricky, but we did eventually make it through thankfully after the friendly border agent ransacked all our stuff and musical instruments in my trusty Subaru and asked tons of questions. We decided that was a little stressful so we'd de-stress by making a stop at Smith Rock in Oregon on the way down to check out what the climbing is like down there. It turned out that the climbing was excellent and I was happy to have company and get to share the diving (and gas) with some cool folks. They also let me practice my Spanish on them which was very kind of them.

After our climbing day we got back in the car and continued on down to Yosemite. In total we spent three days on route and I liked being able to split up the almost 2000km of driving a bit.

• Day 1: Vancouver to Smith Rocks.
• Day 2: Climb in Smith and continue driving to California.
• Day 3: More driving, get groceries and supplies, and arrive in Yosemite.

Chapter 2 - Yosemite

My entire goal of this trip was to meet up with my friend Reinhold and then after a week or so of climbing in the Valley drive to Indian Creek together to keep the summer vibes going for a couple more weeks after that. We originally met over the summer in Squamish and then went on an epic Bugaboos trip together and spent most of the summer climbing. He and his friend Dommie had the goal of climbing Freerider on El Cap and were just wrapping up their 5 days up on the wall as me and my amigos rolled into the Valley.

Fun fact: They're actually in the background of our selfe somewhere near the top of El Cap probably hauling the last pitch of the day and getting ready to set up camp for the night.

There were also other old friends from the summer staying at Camp 4 so we had a great time chatting, making dinners together, telling stories around the campfire, and generally having a great time! I was unfortunately still getting over being sick so I wasn't really climbing much but camping in Yosemite is not the worst place to be sick in. It seemed like at least half the people in the Valley were sick so I'm not sure what the deal with that was but I hope I didn't infect everyone.

We got pretty well straight to business with a bit of sport climbing, crack climbing, shady climbing, and sunny climbing as well as checked out a recently put up route called Yosemite University which was fun to check out with a party of 3 (but not my favourite route.)

A small storm came through which meant rain down in the valley for us and snow up high. I was nervous that the next storm would close the Tioga pass meaning we'd have extra driving to get to Utah, so with that Reini (who was also sick by the way...) and my time in the Valley was up.

We decided to do one last climb the next morning after the rains and then embark on our 12-hour drive to Southeastern Utah. I didn't get any photos of the climb, but we did an old classic Nutcracker and simulclimbed the whole thing. It was a weekend so super duper busy, but Reini rolled a natural 20 on his charisma check and convinced all the parties ahead of us on the wall to let us pass so we finished in like an hour, made lunch, and hit the road. This was such a super duper fun day out climbing and because it was great to get one last climb in together in the Valley.

The drive was also really scenic but quite long. Next time I think I'll make a stop at Bishop on the way to split it up a bit and check out the climbing there too.

Chapter 3 - Indian Creek

This was the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most (and my favourire.) We met up with some other friends Leon and Magda who we initially met in Squamish, and then Reini's friend Carlo joined us a little bit later. Utah in late October/November is amazing - it was sunny and warm for us pretty much every day (except for the cold snap on the drive over and first couple days,) but quite cold at night as soon as the sun goes down. The only downside is that the days are quite short so the nights are very long.

I think what really contributed to our thriving in the desert environment was having a routine. Every day we'd get up around 8:30 when the sun hit the tents/trusty Honda Odyssey, make a slow and relaxed breakfast, and head to the crag. Then we'd climb till dusk at around 5:30, head back to camp, make a big delicious dinner and a camp fire and head to bed for 10+ hours of sleep. We'd do this for around two days then take a rest day to get internet at the Canyonlands Visitor Centre and chill all day or go into town to restock supplies and groceries, then get back to climbing.

By now we'd been climbing for just about two weeks in the desert and I was starting to get a bit worn down by the harsh conditions, rough rock, and general rugged nature of living and climbing in the desert. Leon and Magda went back to the city for an extra rest day (spent doing a big run,) and we decided to climb a tower. The North Six Shooter stood out and the climbing quality was supposed to be very high and it's an absolutely iconic tower with lots of climbing history that you can see from many parts of the Creek. We woke up the next day, drove over, did the two hour approach (getting lost on the way,) and hummed and hawed about if we'd have enough time to climb it and get down before dark or not. We did end up going for it and made it up and back down the tower in three climbing pitches and two rappels with a bit of stress but also some extra time. After our proud summit we hiked back down along the sandy approach road in the dark, loaded up my trusty Subaru, and drove out of the Creek to the nearby town of Montecello to get pizza and reflect on the adventure and last couple days climbing.

This was my first ever sandstone tower and it was such a fun and memorable experience. It was calm on the summit and the sun was just starting to think about setting so we took our time to soak in the sights as the shadows got longer down in the valley, then rapped down and hiked back along the proper approach trail. We were buzzing with excitement and happy to be down by dark and to have shared such a cool and unique experience.

By now I knew my time in the Creek was almost over after already extending my stay and travel health insurance by a week, so we did one last climbing block checking out the Fringe, Way Rambo, and then heading back to Scarface so that Carlo could send it and Reini could try an offwidth line he'd scoped out and was really keen to get on called The Big Guy.

After the Creek we met up again in Moab and said our goodbyes. I started on the mega but uneventful 19-or-so hour drive back home and the rest of the gang headed for Red Rocks and Las Vegas to climb some non-cracks and try to sell their car.

Overall I'm so happy with this trip and am grateful for getting the opportunity to go on it and spend this sunny time outdoors with some super cool friends. This is one of those trips which makes me think about setting my life up in a way so that I can do this kind of thing every year till the end of time.