chapter 20: The end is the beginning.

For any road trip to begin, another one must end.

After two months of pulling hard, my body is used and abused. As much as I want to keep squeezing, my muscles are disagreeing.

This is the last post before I head up North somewhere along the end of the coming weekend. Looking forward to enjoy shushi and BEvERageS with all of you.

Chapter 19: Super hot Tony!

Tony, you rock!


This is Tony sending High Brow(V8) on the very last try of the very last day of the 'Bishop 2008 take over' tour. By the way, there is no hands spotting not because we are too lazy or don't like Tony, nop, it's because he is way above all of them. Ya, it's that high! This line gets two flying hearts in the guidebook.

What can't be seen on the video is Eric, Seonaid, Jeff and myself all sweating bullets with every attempts and failures. Tony, I have to brake it to you: You were soo happy to send but we were more happy then you.

It was good to have you around guys. I really hope that you are already planning the 'Bishop 2009 take over' tour.

Chapter 18: fire bombs and poi poi.

Finaly, ladies and gentlemens, I was able to do some uploading.

Presenting to you the lovely kerie - see chapter 14 - spinning Poi Poi for you.




This is one video to look at. I told you about fire bombs, well, here it is.

Very simple to do: You need cooking oil, a burning fire, water and someone crazy. With Dom around - see chapter 14 -, the list was complete.

As soon as little Louis-Felix went to bed, J.T. couldn’t helped it and triggered the process with the now famous through town: "Let's blow some shit up". With Jessie as are resident expert in the field, the plan got executed to perfection. The result was quite entertaining.

Stay tuned, Tony sending High Brow is scheduled for the next post.

Chapter 17: Burning...

This is a view from the Pit of the Table Lands with the pasture in front of it burning.

During the weekend, it was the Bishop trout fishing derbie. Some wise fisherman, lover of nature and the great outdoors decided to 'dispose' of his nicotine distributing device. It all burned, all of it: 150 acres.




Despite laws, signs, warnings and fires, millions are still throwing the cigarette but. Next time you see a smoker being stupid at you crag, say something. Remember, it could be your climbing/hunting/biking/running spot that gets closed down or burned out as a result of irresponsible behaviors.

Chapter 16: Once again...it will snow.

Due to very cold temperatures, we’ve been forced to the Table lands for the last few days. Yesterday, some dude got blown off Evilution while his spotters were running after the pads. Not good. Walking around in the Buttermilks was kind of fun: For a starter, going against the wind was a great workout. Second, you could see pads flying like kites in the sky - literally - on a regular basis. The chase that follows is also entertaining.

Been working hard lately, just no send. In the Buttermilks, I am slowly making my way up Mistery(12) and really want to get on Micheal Cain(12) - Get Carter boulder - as soon as the weather allows.

Today, we had a stellar but cold day in the Happies. I fell off the last move of Dirty boulevard(11) and still making progress on Mandance(11). I also had a walk to Bubba but buster(11). Very nice line starting on Toxic avenger. It should go down soon.

Hey Simon, I went back to Swordfish T. With some locals. The hold of the opening move has broken off making the thing much harder. You should get down here to help me figure it out.
I have tons of good video to show you guys, specially the one of Tony B. sending High Brow on the last try of the trip. Nice work Tony! I just can’t make the upload to Blogger. Something is wrong with the upload mechanism. Just stick around, the situation will hopefully be resolved soon.

I receive lot’s of emails about my traveling plans. Indeed, they changed a bit. Instead of heading to Europe right after leaving Bishop, I want to hit Rockland for the May-July time frame, then, Europe. Anybody interested?

Time to go find fire wood for tonight. It will be cold, water will freeze.

P.s. Queen of the highballs, good send on The Pursuit of Wow. I was on the line again today. You end up really high up. Kudos for you, Wow!

Chapter 15: Evilution, the send.

Hi all.

I sent Evilution to the lip two days ago. Sorry for the late post and the very bad image quality. The internet link is just not cutting it around here.

I sent on a very hot and humid day. On this, I grabbed the first hold of three on the jug rail. That was high enough for me as my hands started to slip. You can call me sissy, I wont mind.

Have lot's of other videos to show but it will have to wait. I will try to post more tomorrow. No guaranties there.

I am now resting for 4-5 days.

Enjoy.

Chapter 14: Life at the Pleasant valley Pit campground

Rest days are soo hard to take when you are on the road mainly because there is nothing to do. When you finally give in to your body's screaming complaints and decide to rest, the day usualy starts with sleeping in and a slow breakfast. From the camp site, you watch the cars as they leave one by one. The show is not too bad till they are all gone. Then, boredom sets in really fast.

Well that can't be said for this year in Bishop. The life in the Pit is like when you go see a play: Actors are telling you a story where something cool and unusual will happen. The various actors living in the Pit are so funny, colorful, filled with ideas - not always good - and energetic that you actually look forward to rest days. Read on to find out who makes my life soo interesting and why:

Riko and April:
Riko is our very eccentric camp host. Host of the Riko show - featuring himself -, this guy will make you gasp for air from laughing too much. Tuning in is simple, speak the magic words: " Hey Riko, how you'd doin ". Then, hang on. He jumps from one subject to another without really connecting the dots. All that can stop him is April bringing back the ball for another throw. By the way, don't ever start the fetch game with her. She'll give you tendanitist in elbows and shoulders.

J.T. and Bobo:

Two kids from Wisconsin and Kentucky with a raging desire to....read. Go figure. Their 10 person tent is half filled with bins of books. In itself, it is worth mentioning but one epic Saturday night is the reason they made it to this blog. To celebrate J.T's admission to grad school, they went on a drinking spree that ended up with J.T. face planting and passing out in the desert. Words are just not enough to describe the morning vision of a guy walking around with half the face covered with dirt.

ps: We call him Bobo cause he hates it.

Skip:
Are very own police officer - ex-security guard -. Skip's is perfect for practicing straight face as one just can't burst up in tears and spoil the seriousness of the moment when he talks about is ''meeting'' with the Bishop mafia and the ''drink and think day''. He is also known to provide wake-up calls in the early morning by shaking tents: "Good morning gentlemen". And if you happen to go to town, don't forget to bring his favorite King Cobra -1L bottle of beer, 2$.

Jessie:
Very quiet and always gone. Well, She goes to bed with sunset and gets up at 4am. She works at the local bakery and brings us day olds.

Clay and Greg:
Two ultra motivated 19 year old punks from Wisconsin. After watching all the good videos about Bishop bouldering on YouTube, they could'nt help it but to pack their bags, buy Greyhound tickets and get down here for as long as a few hundred dollars will last. On rest days, they both study the ancient art of mohawk - see pictures - and experiment with the various levels of hypothermia. The word in the Pit is that they tried to find wild hot springs in Mammoth for 3 hours in up to the waist fresh snow.

John and Keri:
From Washington, they will sadly be leaving soon. Carry is are poie poie specialist and yoga master. John is a bystander, just like me. Smart enough not to go along with Dom's epic ideas - see next comedian - but always ready to watch the show.

Dominic:
20 year old kid from Redland, California. He is know as the 'Man' of the Pit. For some odd reasons, every one new to the campground will end up crashing on his campsite. Dom is the master of epic ideas - read completely absurd - that reeks trouble right from the get go. We named him the nuclear detonator. On his own, all is perfectly safe but when Nick is around...

Nick and Static:
Nick and his dog, Static, are from Moab. The dog and the owner are alike: Time bombs waiting for a tick. Dom's has the ideas, Nick execute. Be on the look out for fire bombs, epic bouldering days and rally racing in a pickup truck with a camper on the top. One last details: Nick believes is 'liquid meals' and never miss the opportunity to quote Skip on the subject: "Beer contains all the proteins and nutrients that you need. 'It has hops and barley, and wheat, and oats... there's a porkchop in every can"

Ben, Claudia and Buddha:
My new found friends from Quebec. Claudia is the Queen of French toasts and Ben B.B.Q.'s like no one else. Let's not forget about Buddha the dog and his obsession with his ball.

With all those different personalities and the dynamic that they create, there is never a doll moment in the Pit. Wether you want to kill the day or looking for entertainment before going climbing, you wont have to look too far. Someone is always pulling a goofye trick, playing riddles, planning the next prank or simply broadcasting Dom's latest epic.

Got to go, Keri is spinning fire.

Chapter 13: Braking the grade.

Hi all!

Not much to say. I rested for the last few days. Kind of afflicted with a cold. Hard to find the motivation to crank it when you are coughing and have a head ache.

Weather is nice and the Buttermilks are finally drying. Folks been going up there but you kind of needed the ‘kit’. The kit is a tarp for the mud puddles, a shovel for clearing the path from the descent back to the shoes and extra towels cause you will inevitably step in snow. Not for me thank you. Soo much nice stuff to do in the Table lands.

Yesterday, I did my first V11. It was the natural progression. I was working the grade for a while but somehow problems that I’ve chosen either screwed up my fingers (mandance) or had broken holds (exit the dragon). A bit soar today.

Stay tune for highlights of the life at the Pit. Rest days are soo easy to take this year....