Leaving Las Vegas

To say that we were spoiled in Las Vegas is a gross understatement. Things about Las Vegas that we could get use to: world class climbing, unbelievably nice weather, unprecedented entertainment, and family. It is really the latter that kept us around for two months though. Juliet's aunt, uncle, and cousins made us feel at home. So much so that leaving was nearly painful. So we tried to pick a date, keep the goodbyes short, and leave quickly. We had spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them. We had climbed and slacklined with them. Juliet and her younger cousin got into Bikram Yoga (literally yoga in a sauna (perhaps my literal definition of hell, but she loves it)). We fixed our truck with the help of her uncle and learned how to make homemade summer sausage. Her aunt showed us around the strip and humored me by coming along to watch Wild hockey games at whatever random bar I could persuade to play the game. It was fortuitous that my brother was coming to visit us on January 10^th and needed to be picked up in Palm Springs or we may have never left. But as circumstances rendered, we left at the last minute on January 9^th (our leave date had been pushed back about a dozen times). It was a wonder that we got any climbing in at all.

But we did, and it was awesome. Red Rocks challenged us beyond our wildest dreams and pushed us to be better climbers individually, and most importantly, to climb as a better team. Not having climbed any multipitch together before Red Rocks, we gradually became more comfortable and efficient. It has been almost a month since we climbed our last climb in Red Rocks and it is still all I dream about.

We finished with the climb Triassic Sands. It is an absolutely beautiful climb that sung to Juliet and I. The first crux was perfect for me. Bouldery and reachy moves following up a lie back finger crack. The second crux was hands and fist splitter crack that reminded us of Indian Creek. It was perfect for Juliet. Linking the cruxes was a few hundred feet of moderate hand crack that challenged you to place your gold and blue cams wisely or face running out of them by the end. After six pitches of perfect climbing we were on top of Whiskey Peak (for the third time), Epinephrine looming high above in the background to remind us of how far we had really come in our climbing abilities.

But the most amazing thing about Red Rocks, and many of the premier climbing areas, are their histories. It reminds me of who the real heroes of rock climbing are- those who established these crags.

What stands out about Red Rocks is the commitment of the individuals that developed the thousands of meandering routes that are now cataloged. Jorge and Joanne Urioste, two of the early pioneers climbing in the 70's, faced uncertainty, loose blocks, and even killer insects. While developing Epinephrine, Jorge was stung by a bee and had an allergic reaction. After hastily (as was possible) descending the fixed lines they had been using to put up the route, they ran out to the access road, hopped in their car, and sped into town some 20 miles away. A shot of Epinephrine saved Jorge's life at the last minute- hence the name.

All climbers are forever in debt to these pioneers who made the guidebooks possible- those that went first and told us what to expect: what gear to bring, how long it might take, and what the hardest part might be. They worked with land management agencies and personnel to protect the climbing privileges in these areas. They bolted anchors to make these climbs more accessible to everyone and so we didn't have to down climb an entire route to get down like they often did. Every year, thousands of climbers find a part of themselves within these these rocks.

To steal an old adage from Isaac Newton, we are walking on the shoulders of giants.

Our temporary back yard

Guided tour by the great photographer and local: Antie Cheryl

Hand blown glass, you have to ask yourself- who dusts those?

Summer (winter) scene captured

Toriann walking the slackline

Is it possible for someone to never take a bad picture? Yes.

Nicolette using advanced technique

Antie Cheryl being awesome

The Black Corridor, sport climb central

The first crux on Triassic Sands

The second crux

On the top of Triassic Sands...our last climb in Red Rocks...with Epinephrine in the background

Visitors Welcome

We're running a new incentive program that may very well be the most exciting thing since Willy Wonka hid five golden tickets among his tasty chocolate bars. Even though I didn't find one of those golden tickets, good 'ol Willy called me up and invited me on the tour anyway because he knew having a celebrity like me at his factory would be good for business. You would have seen me in the movies but I was busy on a personal tour guided by the Umpalumpas of their chocolate making process (clue: the secret ingredient shares its name with an Eric Clapton song and rhymes with lo mien).

But you don't need to find any tickets to be a winner in our contest. All you need to do is come find us; by plane, train or automobile. You will be awarded by being given the opportunity to bask in our radiant awesomeness and if we really think you're hot stuff, we might even award you with the ultimate prize: the opportunity to buy us drinks and dinner. I've already hired a team of young communications interns to staff our phone and email address as I suspect the interest in this opportunity will be overwhelming. I pre-emptively called Verizon and Gmail and told them that they better beef up their bandwidth and storage capacities or else risk a complete infrastructure meltdown.

If you're still reading these self-absorbed stylings, despite all the other things you could be doing on the internet (seriously, there's way more productive things you could be doing), then I guess it's okay to tell you that there is no contest, but that we would love to have friends and family come visit us anyway. You might as well do it soon because our trip can't last forever.

We were extremely excited when we got a text message from Clint who told us that he and Veronica were 24 hours out from Las Vegas. We spent a couple nights meeting them down on the Las Vegas strip as they were staying at the Hard Rock Casino. We explored several of the casinos in the area, went to the Ghost Bar at the Palms, and Veronica and Juliet even got to pet a baby lion at the MGM Grand.

Veronica and Clint then moved out to the Red Rocks campground and we spent several night sleeping out under the stars with them. During the days we would go explore the Calico Basin and Kraft Mountain areas. We gave them a quick lesson in anchor building and trad climbing. Veronica and I climbed the 3 pitch sport route, “Big Bad Wolf,” and Clint and Juliet climbed the neighboring 2 pitch trad route, “Physical Graffiti.” We rendezvoused at the top and soaked up the sun before beginning our decent. We then visited the aggressive sport crag of Sunny and Steep. Veronica led up a challenging chimney route and Clint led up a low-angle (read: don't fall), but thin arete.

Dinners at camp were consistently awesome and always cooked over the fire. Entertainment was never far away and our downtime consisted of going to the Red Rocks Casino, only about five miles away, which offers great dining, pool, bowling, and a movie theater. The intersection of Charleston Blvd and Desert Foothills Rd is truly a collision of two very different worlds.

Cheers Clint and Veronica, you've been blogged about and are therefore basically famous! Thanks for finding us and sharing a great week in Vegas!

At the top of Physical Graffiti/Big Bad Wolf

Slacklining in the park

Veronica + Lilly

Veronica on "The Sport Chimney"

A Holiday at the Lind's

Season's greetings everyone!

As I sit here in Las Vegas and reflect on the happenings of the holiday season, I can't help but wonder why we didn't seek out warmer winters sooner. Juliet and I were both born and raised in Minnesota and so developed a certain tolerance to cold weather. The snow, cold, and limited daylight hours have all been an integral part of our winter experience.

Not anymore.

The weather forecast for this week in Las Vegas would be steep competition for the best of Duluth's August weather. I now believe that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years were all created to help alleviate Seasonal Depressive Disorder for those folks living in the North. Thanksgiving preps you for a month that only gets colder and darker. From Thanksgiving until Christmas you can focus on all of the nice things about the holidays. It's like playing with a stuffed animal in front of a baby right before you give it a shot.

By the time New Year's rolls around we have become acclimated to the environmental changes. We think about all the things we could do in the snow. Yes, this is definitely the year I pick up (circle all that apply) cross country skiing, curling, hockey, skijoring (whatever the heck that is), winter camping, or other ____________ (please specify). So every year, right about January 2^nd, I find myself standing in Play It Again Sports trying to convince myself that this will be the year I get into some new past time to take my mind off of the season while giving me an excuse to get outdoors and away from runny-nosed, germ-ridden kids, coworkers, and friends who can't seem to get the hang of covering their mouths as they hack up slimy green phlegm.

Unfortunately for those in Minnesota, winter is longer and colder than in most other parts of the country and it's a long haul from New Year's until the snow starts melting in April. That's why if I'm elected president, I will create a holiday half way in between this otherwise barren stretch of winter (no, Valentine's day doesn't count. If you have a significant other it is extremely stressful, and if you don't have a significant other it is extremely depressing.  A class action lawsuit against Hallmark may be in order). This new holiday will be sometime in the middle of February. Say February 13^th, which (by random chance), happens to be my birthday. Yep, I'll make my birthday a national holiday which will still be one of the least selfish acts coming from Washington recently.

But being away from home for the holidays can be tough. It is generally the one or two times per year where you hustle around and get to say hi to everyone. Sure, it's stressful to make all the rounds at the time, but when I look back on holidays past I really only recall the good things about everyone being together in one place.

A Minnesota winter also gives you the excuse to curl up next to a fire and spent an entire day just reading a book. It slows down life a little and makes you plan ahead for the spring. It gives you an opportunity to explore the world through an entirely different and beautiful lens- one in which faint rabbit tracks meander in and out of snow covered pines and sinking knee-deep into a snow drift sparks memories of childhood.

So, while we sit here in t-shirts and apply sunscreen frequently, remember that those long and harsh Minnesota winters are truly special and offer unique opportunities. Hey, maybe this is the year you can pick up one of those really fat-tired bikes that can be ridden on ski trails, or get into ice fishing, or go winter scuba diving in Lake Superior, or do the polar bear plunge, or....  Happy Holidays!!!

A camera upgrade - Oh Happy Day!

Antie Cheryl gets a dust buster

The new camera being put to use

The ol' holiday football watching

Making sasage with Uncle Kurt

I was very excited to get to help