Tyrolean traverse

I played hookey yesterday and went climbing at the Avalon wall in Boulder Canyon with Amanda, Jeff and Lukas. The climbing was nice but the walls were pretty dirty. On a hard 10, my feet kept skidding off the lichen on the rock. The best part of the day was the approach.

We parked the car and hiked down the road to a Tyrolean traverse across the river. The river is running fast and high right now so there are two ropes suspended about six feet above the water. We put on our harnesses, clipped ourselves onto the rope, and pulled ourselves (upside-down, facing the sky) across the river (like in Cliffhanger). With a large backpack full of gear, it was hard work. And, stepping onto a boulder on the other side, I pinched the skin on my arm between the carabeaner and the rope. (I now have a black bruise that I can show off in the cafeteria during meals.) We then hiked up a steep talus field to the cliffs.

Its been a lot of fun climbing here. I'm still not in the shape I was last summer (I'm not yet leading 10's but I'm about ready for it). But the weather is beautiful, the cliffs are amazing, and the routes are abundant. On Tuesday, I did some afternoon bouldering with Paul, Lukas, and Jon. We went to Mount Sanitas and tried some tricky problems as a huge thunderstorm rolled in. As we were heading back to the car, the clouds broke and and we were drenched in seconds. By the time we reached the car, we were dripping.

Pictures coming soon!