The Rectory, Castle Valley
We left Kentucky a while ago now. A few weeks or more I believe, but as I don't know (or particularly care) what day of the week it is most days I can't be too specific. This is a good sign. Life is all good.
Kentucky started to get a bit too 'british' in the end - mist, rain, cold, etc. Not much point in flying to America for that kind of thing? To counter this turn in the weather we got in the van and laid some serious miles down, back west along Interstate 70. East of the Rockies this is the most boring drive ever: sort of like driving the M1 though Northamptonshire, except it goes on for 3 days.
We stopped off briefly in Colorado to no great end as it is getting seriously cold there, and at one point we ended up driving alongside skiers sliding on the first winter snows. So we kept driving west into Utah and the high deserts.
First port of call was around the town of Moab. The weather was completely different here. We did a spot of bouldering on our arrival, and got slightly sunburned. Afterwards we realised that we had spent our entire time in The Red River Gorge hiding from the sun, in shady groves under a canopy of trees and this had meant we had become pasty and pale. What were we thinking?
The Big Bend boulders, Moab
The bouldering at Big Bend was a good tonic for us. However, the real reason for us turning up in Moab was because I was really keen to climb some of the classic desert sandstone. In fact, I wanted to climb this....
Castleton Tower
Castleton Tower has a route up it called 'Kor-Ingalls Route' which is yet another of the the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Ruth and I have now probably done more routes on this list than your average american climber? The route is about four pitches (400ft?) long and follows a corner system sitting in the shadows on the right of the photo above. Obviously the summit is stunning, and although there were a few other climbers around Ruth and I did manage to get the summit to ourselves. As you can see the weather was perfect, and you'll just have to trust me about the views of the desert being spectacular as well (I took photos so I can bore you with them when I return).
After climbing Castleton Tower we left the Moab area. I know I'm going to come in for some howling criticism from certain quarters for leaving so quickly (its a fair cop, Tom!).
We stayed in Utah for another while though. We went to a place called Joe's Valley, where there is a stack load of good bouldering to be had.
The Angler, Joe's Valley
Joe's was really nice. We had perfect weather for bouldering, and not having to faff around with ropes etc was good fun. It was good to wander around and climb some problems that we had seen photos of previously.
A chuffin' hard traverse ;-)
We spent a total of about a week in total in Joe's. Long enough to need a bit of a rest, and the weather had turned really cold getting down to about minus 7C at night, which is good for climbing but makes van living a wee bit chilly! Joe's is quite high at an altitude of around 6,500 ft so we decided to drop down lower, and drove elsewhere.
We had a brief stop over at some crags near St George in southwest Utah, but moved on. Tried to stop off at Red Rocks, near Las Vegas but the campsite was rammed full with nowhere to stay. With nowhere to stop we were foreced to move on. Maybe we'll return to Red Rocks later.
Anyway, we kept driving a wee bit more and we are now in Bishop. We spent quite a bit of time in Bishop on our last trip, and for good reason - its a brilliant place. Last time we were here it was 37C and we were trying to escape the heat in the High Sierras. Now the temperature is perfect for climbing on the boulders and in the gorge, the sun is shining and the mountians all around are gleaming with fresh snow on them. It's stunning. I think we'll stay here for a while.
The Buttermilks. My definition of a bouldering venue.
Thats all for now. Hope all is well with everyone back home - drop us an email when you can. They are always appreciated!
Best
Innes
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