free beer...

Here in Bristol...went downstairs today on my way to the library and saw that they were holding a package for me at the post. I walked over there and a huge box was waiting for me inside which i had no idea what lay.

I was excited to see the sender as BrewDog Beers!

I sent the brewer and email a couple weeks ago saying how much i enjoyed their beers and how they were one of the only Breweries in the UK brewing good, big beers.

Apparently, he was pretty happy with this as the package was full of different beers!!!!

a couple IPAs an expirimental ale, a Stone/Brewdog compilation and another stout.

I'm especially excited about the Stone/Brewdog compilation one pictured here.


A very pleasant surprise!

Spain climbing update - Margalef and Siurana

Had an absolutely incredible week in Spain. I can't believe it was only 6 days...ordinarily it would have been longer, but I get given a bunch of crap if I skip any seminars - this is grad school after all, we're supposed to be serious!

Anyway, arrived in Reus via cheap ass Ryanair (£30 each return!), and after being given the runaround went in and got our rental car to find out that we were going to be charged 66 Euros for petrol regardless of weather we used the whole tank (hard to do on a 50MPG car!)...a minor setback but no matter!

We raced up to Cornudella de Montsant in time to catch some quick tapas and a VollDamm (nice spanish dark lager). Then cruised (in second gear, trying to rally the little ford fiesta and burn as much gas as we could!) up to Siurana in time to climb one 6b (in my tshirt, surprisingly warm amazing weather) before it got totally dark.

We pretty much kicked ass the next couple of days...trying to climb as much as we could and getting totally humbled by 30-35 meter long, intense Siurana climbs (stiff grades too - yikes!)



I did an amazing 35 meter long 7b (5.12b) on our second day but had to sit twice - too freaking long and sustained! Krista TR'd a long hard 6b and was going to lead it, but got sketched out because of a run out section. Day 3 we walked around, did some long 6a/6bs and I did a very techy and tricky 6c+ in yet another sector.

The sun and weather was beautiful, warm enough to be comfy shirtless but not so hot that you couldn't climb. At night, we ate great roast chicken dinners and drank 4 Euro/bottle wine in the camping bar.

Day 4 Krista led her first 6a after which we packed up and headed to the city of Tarragona for a little beach and a change from the monotonous food at the camping bar.

Day 5 we got up early and had one of the best climbing days i have EVER had, we made the trek out to the legendary Margalef, just drove into the little village and found the Refugio and bought the topo and talked to a nice German couple that gave us some advice on what sectors to go to (there are about 100 of them in Margalef!). Krista and I warmed up in the hot sun on some 5+ (5.9s) before moving into the shade and into more amazingness. Margalef is conglomerate limestone and is full of these crazy pockets and cobbles - amazing rock!





Then Krista led (almost onsight) an awesome pocketed 6a, then I onsighted a 6c+ (5.11c) that was very fun and cool and also full of rad pockets. Krista tried leading the 6c+ and got to the 4th bolt - good effort!

We then moved on to Can Verdures (vegetable sector?) - which is an awesome wall, I onsighted a long, technical 7a+ (5.12a), which I was psyched on, the hardest part was at the top! I needed plenty of "VENGA!" We then moved onto another sector and Krista led a very scary, kind of run out 5+...and then I was going to go work on an 8a (5.13b) that some other climbers wanted me to get on...but instead we got distracted by running into CHRIS SHARMA and Daila Ojeda, Chris was working on his 9b (5.15b) project "1st round 1st minute" which looks absolutelly ridiculous! (SEE BELOW)


Instead of working on the 8a, I decided to try to onsight a bouldery 7b (5.12b), which I narrowly failed to do but had a fun time climbing it anyway right as the sun was setting.

The sun set, and I can't WAIT to come back to Margalef! Sick climbing, no people (there were about 8 other people in the whole place 2 of which were Chris and Daila!).

The next morning we woke up and I did a long, classic 7a+ I wanted to do in Siurana 1st go (yeah!) and

Krista did her first redpoint ever on an awesome 6a (5.10a). I was very proud to welcome her to the great world of lead climbing on this trip!



We raced back to the airport that afternoon right after Krista's redpoint just in time to check in, catch our flight and see this view!
A great trip indeed!

bristol so far...

Been in England 4 days now, 4 long, long days and so far been working our asses off to find a flat and have so far come up unsuccessful. 

In the mean time we've had some great pints of bitter, some amazing curry and thai food, and walked, a whole lot. Probably walking about 6-8 miles a day on average we figure, definitely enough to work off all of the Cornish pastys, curry and rice and all the large imperial pints of proper british beers and ciders. 

At the moment, I'm sitting in the second floor of a bowling alley that doubles as a hostel listening to ear splittingly loud music pumping from the oversized speakers and woofers of the makeshift club held downstairs on the weekends. I still don't know if i'll get any sleep tonight. The private rooms were booked tonight, so were stuck in an 8 bed dorm, praying I'm not next to a snorer. 

Flatmate Dating:

We've gone to see 5 flats and their occupants so far, and have figured its a bit like blind dating: you text or email someone to arrange a meeting time and place, then put on your best behavior and game face and try to pace as best as you can to keep rapport with them. Then, if you like them and the flat the rapport turns into almost desperate attempts to impress upon the would-be flatmate how cool, responsible, and fun you are...only to get after 15 minutes of this a "well, i have about 5 other people that are coming to look at the flat so I'll let you know what I decide, it was really great meeting you!" then, the waiting game. The flat we liked the best (an amazing 19th century 2 bedroom top floor flat in the center of clifton beauty), all we got was an email say how nice it was meeting us and how much she fancied us, but sorry she gave the flat to someone else. Fuck. not what we wanted to hear, so alas we are still staying in our loud, shitty hostel, paying double or triple what we would be paying in the nicest of flats to have a dirty shower and listen to disco beats and snoring. GRRRRR, hopefully we wont have to do this for long. 

120 Minute IPA

Alas the cave route is still a project, probably because my attempts were in the dark with 2 headlamps on my knees and one on my forehead...very strange. 

After, i caught dinner at orchids and shared a Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA with Shad. This is such a crazy beer, nearly impossible to get your hands on one of these anywhere on the west coast - (i found just one of these bottles at aloha liquor in carson city). 

This beer is 21% ABV and 130 IBU (hop bitterness). The biggest thing we noticed was how incredibly sweet it was despite the high hop content, this is not a hoppy beer in the slightest, because of how much malt/alcohol is in it. It also doesn't really taste like alcohol, it reminded us both way more of a desert wine than a beer, paired very well with dark chocolate - hop wine is a better description than beer for this interesting and unique brew. 

Review - I'd give this an A- as its incredibly unique and pretty smooth, but not something to drink very often. 

The Cave Project

I'm going down this evening for the 4th time over the last month or so to a super chossy cave known as Hangman's Cave near Markleeville to try, once again a route I've been projecting. 

Why? 

The cave is volcanic, about 40 feet high, extremely steep with super featured rock - one problem though: the rock is such bad quality half of the holds are glued on! But, alas there is a derth of steep route climbing in Tahoe (with the closure of Cave Rock)...so back to the cave I go. 

Most of the cave is not worth touching, but there is one line (to the right of an undone 5.14 project) that goes up the most obvious part of the cave and has beautiful climbing with the V6/7 ish crux coming off the ground to the 2nd bolt. 

There is no guide for the area, but after asking around, the route goes at 5.12c/d or 7c 

I finally did the bottom crux last time i was there a few weeks ago, but fell at the last draw yelling profanities...hopefully tonight's the night and I wont have to go down to the chosspile again! 

Here are some point and click pics of the route and me working it. 

I

3 weeks...

Leaving for Bristol in 3 weeks - I can't believe the summer has passed by so quickly. It seems like the other day I was tirelessly applying for grad school after grad school, obsessing about my purpose statement and spending shitloads of cash on postage. 

Soon, another relocation - back across the pond once again, leaving the california sun behind for the wet, gray, charming, curry and pub loving United Kingdom. 

Krista and I still don't have a place to live yet, but I trust something will turn up...If not, we could always buy a VW.