Crack Climbing - Instruction #2

Another great lesson with Tino! For today's lesson I climbed the vertical crack using both hand and foot jams! Warmed up by climbing a couple of easy routes and practicing "locking off" on each hold and climbing squarely. At first it was awkward but once I got onto the crack, it made sense. As for my feet, it felt insecure. I want to trust my feet like I do ice/rock climbing. But I'm such a newbie crack climber that I'm still trying to figure out the feel of a correct foot jam. Today's lesson reminded me of what it felt like when I first started learning to rock/ice climb. I guess with more time and practice I'll get the hang of it! :) Woot! Woot! Love crack climbing!

Sore but happy feet

RR Cut Keene - Ice Climbing

Usually, I would have been out on the ice climbing by this time of the season. But this winter season I've been busy traveling and yesterday finally got out onto some ice. It felt good! I joined the AMC-NH Mountaineering group today for some top rope climbing. It also felt good to get back to "The Cut" and reconnect with old friends as well as make new ones. Ice conditions were perfect! Enjoy some photos of our day.

Top row left to right: Jenifer, Jennifer
Bottom row left to right: Darrell, Finn

Ben Greene

Left: Tom Sintros
Right: George Adams on Solo

With Tom Sintros

With Jen

What's ice climbing without Hawaiian chocolate?

Crack Climbing Skills Seminar

Salt Pump Climbing Gym in Scarborough, Maine has several climbing seminars that are held each month. I signed up for their crack climbing seminar which is limited to 6 climbers. Janet Wilkerson taught the seminar and we learned hand jamming and finger locking. We met upstairs and introduced ourselves, then climbed and down-climbed 5 bouldering routes for warm up. There are 3 floor-to-ceiling crack routes and each is a different size, offering practice for jams, from fingers to fist, depending on hand size. We moved downstairs to the crack routes and broke up into two groups. Janet offered beta to everyone and we got to practice hand, foot and finger locking jamming techniques. In addition to the instruction, I really enjoyed the opportunity to practice techniques with other climbers who are motivated to climb crack! If you want to give crack climbing a try, sign up for the 2-hour seminar. You'll learn essential techniques to get you started, and have fun climbing crack routes! 

**Janet Wilkerson is the Marketing Director of Salt Pump Climbing. She is also an AMGA guide with Cathedral Mountain Guides.

Janet Wilkerson teaching us how to tape up

Lone Mountain - Solo Hike

Shaka from Lone Mountain, Las Vegas, Nevada

Lone Mountain 
Elevation 3,342 ft
Trail: Regular Route
Elevation Gain: 542 ft
Distance: 1.3 miles

Billed as the "locals hike" I finally got to hike Lone Mountain. We had a view of this hill from our room when my husband and I were here in Las Vegas last month. You can read about our visit here. Today I had a bit of time to check it out. It's super fun and if you don't have a whole lotta time, you can get this hike in. The views are phenomenal, well worth the burn on the steep ascent. To access the Regular Route, I parked at the trailhead on Vegas Vista Trail. The parking lot isn't paved and it's across the street from the entrance of a gated community. 

Lone Mountain is a hill that is detached from the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It's an isolated, rocky butte just northwest of central Las Vegas. The unincorporated community surrounding the hill, is named after it. The Perimeter Loop trail can also be accessed from the East Trailhead at the Lone Mountain Discovery Park on Jensen Street. 

Enjoy some photos taken of my hike!

Along the trail

Summit Marker

Summit Pano

Las Vegas in the distance

Looking down the South Ridge Trail

Sterling Hollow Block - Rappel Backup

So thankful that Alexa told me about the Sterling Hollow Block (shown below) during my private ice lead lesson in 2016. After my lesson at Cathedral Ledge I went straight over to IME and bought one. It's just $12 but this "$12 piece of gear" saved my ass when rappelling off the Eaglet Spire in Franconia Notch, NH! 

When going over the edge both my feet slipped out from under me and I let go of my brake. It was instant and I didn't even realize that I had let go until I was stopped by the face of the cliff. I looked down and there was my Sterling Hollow Block - it had caught me like it was supposed to! I sent Sterling an email explaining how their Hollow Block saved my life and they in turn sent me a bunch of cool swag. 

I personally set this up with the Sterling Hollow Block tied in an autoblock to my belay loop via locking biner, and with my rappel extended on a sling. The Sterling Hollow Block is always on my harness. Always back up your rappels! Sterling Rope of Biddeford, Maine, USA.

Crack Climbing - Instruction #1

While out at Joshua Tree National Park last month I did some hiking and worked on goals on learning to crack climb. Hired Seth Pettit of Mojave Guides to teach me basic crack climbing skills. Climbed for 2 full days (Day 1 and Day 2) and got on 15 pitches! Now I'm hooked. I come back to the east coast and of course it's cold and all my climbing buddies are salivating for ice to climb on. Meanwhile I'm like, "dudes, I'm still in rock mode here!" So I started looking for a climbing gym in my area that has vertical crack climbing routes plus instruction. Found one 77 miles north of me at Salt Pump Climbing in Scarborough, Maine with Tino Fiumara. Tino is the Head Routesetter and Assistant Program Director at Salt Pump. I spoke to Tino about my vertical crack climbing goals before I left for Las Vegas and scheduled my first lesson with him for when I return from my Las Vegas golfing/climbing trip.

Fast forward to today.....
I had my first lesson with Tino today and it was fantastic! Where I mostly worked on low-angled crack routes in Joshua Tree, the route I worked on today is a 30 foot vertical hand crack with the last 15 feet slightly overhung. It is the easiest of 3 crack routes at Salt Pump Climbing. My lesson was for 2 hours and it started off with warming up and assessment on 3 types of easy routes. This was so that Tino could see my movement, route reading, balance, strategy and strength skills. Then we moved over to the crack route. Before I climbed we covered jams, locks, rattly/insecure jams, lateral pressure and body positions. I climbed the vertical crack using hand jams in the crack while using my feet on the holds up the sides of the crack. It was fun, challenging and scary all rolled into one and I got to the top on my second try. And not gonna lie....it was work, but the constant body tension of crack climbing is addicting! Can't wait for my next lesson for feet jamming, but for now, I need to practice what I just learned!

Ocun Crack Climbing Gloves

Convenient, easy and fast on/off

Red Rock Canyon - Rock Climbing

Shaka selfie from the top of

"Sweets To The Sweet" - Hamlet Wall

Spent a couple of hours this morning climbing with Marissa and Tammy at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Park! Got a few climbs in on the Hamlet Wall off of the first pullout on Scenic Loop - Sweets To The Sweet (5.7), Frailty Thy Name Is Sandstone (5.7), and To Grunt & Sweat (5.8). Being in Red Rock Canyon was surreal...the rock is so red and has a gritty feel to it. I was so stoked to be finally climbing me some red rock! What an amazing day - I sure will miss  Marissa and Tammy, but hope to be back to climb with them soon. Enjoy some photos taken of our day.

On 'Frailty, Thy Name is Sandstone' with Tammy (in blue) on my belay

Tammy leading 'Frailty, Thy Name is Sandstone'

Marissa leading 'To Grunt to Sweat'

Climbing some red rock! 'To Grunt To Sweat'

Pano from the anchor of 'Sweets To The Sweet'

Got a nice crowd of climbers even on a weekday

This trip to Las Vegas was part of a week vacation with my husband. We got a great deal on a Stay-and-Play (hotel/golf) package! Accommodations at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino plus a round of golf (including cart) for the both of us at Highland Falls (my personal fave!), Eagle Crest and Palm Valley golf courses in Summerlin. We also played a twilight round at the Mountain Course of Angel Park Golf Course, which our hotel overlooks.

Pano view from our hotel room

Staying in Summerlin put us 5 & 10 minutes to the golf courses, and 20 minutes to Red Rock Canyon. Desert golfing with a bit of desert rock climbing - a fantastic week gone by way too quickly. 

Pano - 14th hole at 3070 feet - Highland Falls Golf Course 

There are a lot of places to choose from to eat out in Las Vegas. A few spots we ate at; Kona Grill, Mimi's Cafe (breakfast), Aloha Kitchen (twice!). And at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino we ate at The Game, St. Tropez Buffet, Peng Zu, and Du-par's (breakfast). And I don't have a photo of it, but Aloha Kitchen does have Spam Musubi! I ordered one to-go so I can have one to snack on while golfing.

In case you didn't know, Las Vegas, Nevada is considered the "9th Island". One of the reason it's referenced as the 9th Island is because there are many "Hawaiian transplants" to the desert city. Many have transferred from the islands and now live and work in Vegas. While there we met a lot of former Hawaii residents. As you can see from my photos above, there are several places to eat Hawaiian food and foods local to the island. But you can also purchase Hawaii snacks, foods, and souvenirs at CVS. We were lucky that the CVS closest to our hotel was the one that has a "Hawaiian aisle" as not all CVS carry products from Hawaii. In addition to da rubbah slippahs, chocolate macadamia nuts, Aloha Shoyu, Jade crack seed, mochi crunch, Kona coffee and Hawaiian Sun drinks, they also have a frozen section with Laulau!

CVS #8791

8580 West Charleston Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89117

Joshua Tree National Park 2017, California - Food & Shopping

Joshua Tree National Park is amazing! So glad that I had the opportunity to visit this very special place. It was such an experience climbing and hiking in the desert. I met a lot of very nice folks here as well. While here I also got to do some shopping and lots of eating out! Prior to my trip I researched places to eat and found some pretty awesome places to eat here in the towns of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms. Here's some of my favorite places:

Fuji  Restaurant
http://www.fujitwentyninepalms.com/
Twentynine Palms, CA

Just 2 miles from the Best Western, this was my favorite place to grab take-out! From the outside, the place doesn't look like much, but don't let that stop you from ordering. I've eaten their Shrimp Tempura, spicy Tuna sushi roll and Beef Bul-Go-Ki. But I was beyond ecstatic when I saw Spam Musubi on their menu! 

Joshua Tree & Oasis Visitor Centers
These are the two visitor centers that I visited the most. Public rest rooms are available as well as a bookstore with maps, books, stuff toys, hats, clothing and souvenirs. I made sure to get myself a "Joshua Tree NP" T-shirt.


Park Rock Cafe
http://jtparkrockcafe.com/
Joshua Tree, CA
Didn't get any photos of their foods but I ordered their "Box Lunch" whenever I was going to spend an entire day in the park. The store is conveniently located right next to the Joshua Tree NP West Entrance Visitor Center in the town of Joshua Tree. The cafe's manager, Oana, is a sweetheart and is ever so helpful in making sure customers are helped. I'm lactose intolerant and they made all my sandwiches "dry" - cheese and mayo free! **I personally found their sandwiches to be big. Since they're cut in half, I ate the first half for lunch and saved the second half for dinner.

Crossroads Cafe & Tavern
http://crossroadscafejtree.com/
Joshua Tree, CA

I just dined here once, but their Organic Mixed Green salad with Seared Ahi Tuna hits the spot! The waitstaff is helpful and friendly.

Nomad Ventures
http://nomadventures.com/
Joshua Tree, CA
Picked up climbing supplies here! Grabbed a roll of tape for my crack climbing lessons. A wide-brimmed hat for my hike. And a copy of "The Trad Guide to Joshua Tree" by the Wingers. Here you can also get climbing, hiking, camping gear, guidebooks, maps....and more!

Coyote Corner
http://www.joshuatreeoutfitters.com/
Joshua Tree, CA
Love this shop! Picked up some Cactus Candy for the grandkids. You can get all sorts of JTree souvenirs here, including handmade soaps, maps, camping supplies and a lot more!

Joshua Tree Outfitters
http://www.joshuatreeoutfitters.com/
Joshua Tree, CA
These folks rent out all kinds of camping gear as well as Bouldering pads. And you can purchase guidebooks, clothing and even used climbing gear!

Aki Sushi
http://akisushi.site.mobi/
Yucca Valley, CA
Delicious Japanese food! Reasonably priced and the waitstaff is friendly and attentive!





I lodged at the Best Western in Twentynine Palms. They had complimentary breakfast daily with a complimentary dinner one day during the week. There was a lot to choose from the breakfast menu! Tater tots, egg omelet, pork links, bacon, turkey bacon, pancakes with fruit toppings, cold cereal, hot oatmeal, english muffin, toast, mini chocolate donuts, danish, yogurt (flavored and greek), boiled eggs, fresh fruit (bananas, apples, oranges), coffee (regular and decaf), hot water, fruit juices (orange, apple, white cranberry), and made-to-order fruit smoothies and iced coffee.

Joshua Tree National Park 2017, California - Day 8

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

I spent the last day in California riding the rotating Aerial Tramway in Palm Springs. It ascends nearly 2.5 miles to the Mt. San Jacinto State Park and wilderness. The floor of the tram rotates so you can see all views without moving. The ride starts at the Valley Station at 2,643 feet and ends at the Mountain Station at 8,516 feet. At the top you'll find a bar, a cafe, a gift shop and many lookout points for viewing. The Mountain Station is the entrance to the Mt. San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness. There is also a Natural Exhibit that features animals and plants native to Mt. San Jacinto State Park. I watched two films while at the Mountain Station; "Mt. San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness" shown in the San Jacinto Theater. And "Building A Dream" in the Santa Rosa Theater. Enjoy a few photos I took of my visit.

The tram ascends/descends along cables that

 are supported by 5 towers (aerial lift pylons).

Counterweight Pit - keeps cable tension

under exact tension at all times.

The entrance to the Mt. San Jacinto State Park

and Wilderness from the Mountain Station

Joshua Tree National Park 2017, California - Day 7

Rappelling off the top of The Bong

Another amazing day with Seth Pettit of Mojave Guides at Joshua Tree National Park. I spent the day climbing 8 pitches using the crack climbing techniques I learned during my first day with Seth. I was pretty stoked to climb crack so I can practice jamming. Like my first day with Seth, I took every opportunity I could to jam my hands, fingers or feet! Enjoy some photos taken of our day.

Our first stop was the Reggie Dome West Face. We parked in the (Wonderland North) parking lot of the Boy Scout trailhead and followed the climbers trail to Reggie Dome. I'm really impressed with the climber's trail signs throughout the JTree park!

This climber's trail was once a road used to access Keys Ranch many years ago.

Reggie Dome West Face

Right: The Chief

I followed Seth up the The Chief (5.5), 

then top roped the fun slab climbs 

Speed Bump (5.6) and Fender Bender (5.8).
We were the only climbers here at
the Reggie Dome West Face.

We headed over to Bear Island for lunch and more climbing.

Like the Reggie Dome, we were the only ones at Bear Island.

I followed Seth on Shardik (5.3)

Just look at that crack! 

Then top roped 3 routes on the northwest side;

Kodiak (5.3) - super fun start with crack near the top

Polar Bears in Bondage (5.7) - fun layback crack at start with reachy mid section

Ursa Major (5.7) - my fave! 

Left: Polar Bears in Bondage (5.7)

Right: Ursa Major (5.7) The crux is right at the start but 

that crack was a super relief! It was sweet to slot my fingers

in the crack for a solid rest right off the cruxy start! #fingercracklove

For my last climb we headed over to The Blob

and I followed Seth up The Bong. But not after

we watched two solo climbers go up it first.

The Bong (5.4) - jam time! Now this is a super fun route

with lots of places to jam. The crux is a small roof but beyond

that the angle lessened and I got to practice "shuffling" my jammed

hands while smearing the sides of the crack with my feet.

Seth and I at the top of The Bong

Pano from the top of The Bong

Another beautiful day for climbing in Joshua Tree NP! 

It was a bit windy (at the tops) but still a great day for practicing newly learned skill sets. 

I never thought I'd learn how to crack climb, or if I would even like it. Learning the 

basics was fun and I'm totally in love with it! I love the technicality and the mental

aspect of this style of climbing. There is a lot of satisfaction of being able to obtain a 

good hold when you have your fingers, hands, toes and/or feet jammed into a crack.

Thanks so much Seth and Mojave Guides for a memorable time learning in JTree!