France |
France was a thrilling experience. Moving throughout the city using its intricate railway systems was interesting. After arriving, one will probably be inclined to sight see the various monuments and museums in the heart of the city. Moving on, Fontainebleau was also a destination on the journey. The journey to Font was killa, but short-lived. From the main city one must travel by taxi, or rent a car to visit Fontainebleau’s main area Bas Cuvier. It’s about a 10 to 15 min journey from the railway station. Bas Cuvier was a reminder of the beauty of Sandstone. The texture here was smooth, not grainy, or to sandy. Pristine shapes, and spacy rock formations. The atypical brain looking textures can be seen throughout the park. The only disappointing thing was the amount of polished feet, and poof damage that tended to be common throughout the park. There were many types of people at Bas Cuvier. People were everywhere!! The climbing there could be of any fashion, overhanging to some of the hardest slab problems. To wrap it up , lifetime of quality climbing in Font. Too many areas, never enough time. |
Colorado |
| The rock in Colorado is pretty good in certain places. Density was not very common and sometime the texture undesirable, but in the end we found some good problems in some outstanding areas. Initially we bouldered at ritual Flagstaff, which is basically right above the town of Boulder amongst the Flat Irons. The Following day we ventured to Carter lake to climb on some granite. Carter Lake was beautiful, and the water was bitter cold. Bouldering there was much more aggressive, overhanging, and somewhat highball. Ha ha, Peace--(5/30/06) |
Alabama |
| Bouldering in Alabama is growing at an exponential rate, and the realization of the stone quality and amount of great sandstone present only make this a Mecca for bouldering. With the influx of heavier traffic now to super classic areas like Horse Pens 40, the word has began to travel and the heads are starting to turn. Other than the stone and the rock quality, AL has some of the most classic people you will ever meet, and an at home hospitality that is to be admired. Anyway before I go on and on, I will finish by saying here are a few shots from 3/18/06 at HP 40. The shots are mostly taken in the main area; these pictures are a small glimpse of what Horse Pens 40 is characterized by, water groves, runnels, and oodles and oodles of slopers. Enjoy~ |
California |
| California is amazing, and it is probably my favorite state that I have visited so far. The climbing there is endless, and the stone quality is just as good as the worlds best. Unfortunatley, I was not able to see any of the most superb areas in California like Yosimite and Bishop and others, but in the week or so that i was there I saw a bunch of places. I traveled from San Fransisco to L.A with Coop. We stopped at a couple of places on the way to L.A.: Santa Cruz, Castle Rock, Mountain View, Big Sur area, Phiffer beach, Panther Beach. After a few days we checked out a couple more: Stony Point, Hollywood, Santa Monica (surfing!!!!), Skoffield Park, Venice Beach. We travled on highway One; the most scenic road I have ever been on. I suggest anyone who ever enters the state of California, make some part of this costal drive a possibility. It spans most of the coast line. There are secret vacant beaches, sea lions, dolphins, whales that you can see from the freakin car. The overlying view of the Pacific only being yards away is sick. I do not feel like getting too involved in this road trip cause I can go on for ever, but many of the pictures speak for themselves. I guess as time goes on I might add more when I feel the time is appropriate. Oh and I almost forgot.....the women, are amazing!!! Anyway click the images on the left to view any of the albums. Peace~(3/2/06) |
Utah |
| Utah is definitely a prime state to visit for some good bouldering. You have Ibex, Moab, Joe's Valley, Little Cottonwood, and more. I was fortunate to have visited three of these four, because they are all completely different styles of rock, not to mention the climbing. Little Cottonwood is similar to Squamish in that its granite is coarse but not too course because many of your holds are slopers of some sort. The stone is beautiful and the boulders blocky. It was warm when I went, so maybe its wise for me to suggest people to go prior to May. Anyway the surroundings there are amazing, truly a beautiful place. Moab was how do I put this "like Mars", I just wish it did not rain 30 minutes after my arrival. The rock was really cool, and the problems extremely futuristic. I will have to dig a few photos up of Moab for the website. Anyway so when the weather fell through me and my friend punched it to Joe's. Joe's Valley is located in Utah, and it is one amongst many fantastic areas in that state. The hillsides are covered with boulders. During the course of that one day, I was fortunate to see all three main areas; I forget their names. When I arrived, it turned out that the rock was wet, so I explored across the river while I waited for about four hours or so, till it was dry. It was totally worth it. I got to see some test pieces and try some as well. The rock quality was really good, abundant, and the lines were awesome. Sometimes the sandyness would get to me, but that occurs with most sandstone areas anyway. Overall its a fantastic area, and some of the shots in this album are pretty tight. Adios~(3/21/06) |
Squamish |
| Squamish, man -O- man Squamish. He he..........it was good. I spent a good bit of time in Squamish, which is located in Canada, or better known by its location in British Columbia. The climbing there was amazing; it’s like visiting a boulderfield engulfed in the coolest forest I have seen thus far. Currently I have an album that has some good shots of the Chief. The Chief is the large cliff, in many of the pictures. It’s much bigger than it would seem. The boulderfield is located directly under the chief. Soon I will have some classic climbing shots; I need to dig a little bit to find them though. The other album is hiking to the top of the chief, its definitely a half day endeavor. I will add more soon………Peace~ enjoy the beauty of Squamish |