The CragBaby

I absolutely love my birthday (August 18!) since it is the only “holiday” I celebrate.  Last year I started the tradition of working on a birthday challenge with 2008 being spent jamming out 28 routes in a day (epic!).

This year I turned 29 and now prefer bouldering, so wanted to search out 29 new (meaning never been sent by me) boulder problems in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

On the “magical day” the temps were fabulous, with a high of perhaps 80. We started at 7:30 am and finished around 6:30pm. I had a couple friends (Guillaume and Camilo) who climbed with me all day with others who popped in and out through out the work day, with a good crew showing up for the last couple problems at the Split Boulders.  (It was really nice of everyone to show up… thank you!)

Trying for the send of Shingles Stand.

The 29 boulder problems weren’t nearly as hard as the routes, mostly because we were focusing on easy problems in order to get in the needed quantity before our tips were too sore and because I still have a lot of boulders to explore in LCC, making “new” problems very accessible.  The 29 ended up being:

1. Easy Arete v1 (Secret Garden)
2. The Bulge v1 (Secret Garden)
3. Go Right v3 (Secret Garden)
4. The Scoop v1 (Secret Garden)
5. Cynthia’s Arete v2/3 (Secret Garden)
6. Space v0 (Secret Garden)
7. The Plane v0 (Secret Garden)
8. Left Arete v1 (Secret Garden)
9. Crystal Move v1 (Secret Garden)
10. Face v0 (Secret Garden)
11. Unnamed v0 (Secret Garden)
12. Jug Haul v3 (Secret Garden)
13. West Face of the Tower v1 (Secret Garden)
14. Tower Crack v1 (Secret Garden)
15. Walkathon v0 (Secret Garden)
16. Jugs v0 (White Pine South)
17. Warm Up Arete V0 (White Pine South)
18. Eastern Ways V1 (White Pine South)
19. Wacko Variation v4 (White Pine South)
20. Wacko v3 (White Pine South)
21. Fang v2 (White Pine South)
22. Ramp Move v1 (White Pine South)
23. Pinch Me v0 (White Pine South)
24. Rooted v3 (White Pine South)
25. Arse v2 (White Pine South)
26. Stacie’s Face V1 (White Pine South)
27. Arete v0 (Split Boulders)
28. Fook Yu v1 (Split Boulders)
29. Big Mouth (AKA Man Eater) v1 (Split Boulders)

I also attempted the following:

1. Rub My Butt v4 (Secret Garden)
2. Shingles Stand v4 (Secret Garden)
3. Drive By v2 (Secret Garden)
4. Over the Top v4 (White Pine South)
5. Hidden Fish v2 (White Pine South)
6. Karate v5 (White Pine South)
7. Full Mindy v5 (White Pine South)
8. Mr Smiley v6 (Split Boulders)

Overall, I hopped on a total of 37 problems and finished up the night drinking wine and beer at the house with friends.  Yet another perfect 8/18. Seriously, thank you to all of you who came out for climbing and drinks. I really appreciate it.

Camilo loving the Lone Star Taqueria.

Next year is the big 30 and I am already brainstorming a new adventure.  If you have any suggestions, please comment as I would love to hear all ideas.

Hanging out in Venice, Italy with Warren and Joe.

For the past six years, I have taken either a foreign vacation or temporarily moved to a new U.S. destination. I have always gone solo, except for the 2007 trip where I met up with one of my dear Irish friends. The line up has included:

• 2002 – Denali Park, Alaska – I moved to Denali for a four month stint in order to earn money for school by waiting tables. However, unlike most folks, I worked only 5 days per week (equaling at least a 50 hour work week) and spent the weekends backpacking through the beautiful park. I saw tons of wildlife (bears, caribou, wolves, moose, mosquitoes of unbelievable size), fished in Valdez (caught my first and only salmon) but most surprisingly somehow caught a glimpse of Denali every weekend. I absolutely love Alaska. Seriously a breathtaking, wonderful place that has a very special place in my heart.
• 2003 – Europe – I backpacked around for six weeks hitting up parts of England, Scottland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Switzerland. It was the typical whirlwind American trip, but real fun and the fist time out of the country on my own. I met a good handful of dear friends, such as this rockstar and a couple of these rockstars.
• 2004 – Chicago – I took a semester off school to go intern on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. What an eye-opening, learning experience! At first I was unsure if I would like the city as I am an avid outdoorsy girl. Yet, it was quickly evident, upon moving there, that Chicago is a fantastic city with a superb arts scene, restaurants and of course sports. Go cubs!
• 2005 – China – I spent a month backpacking through China. Yes, I did this trip alone as well. It was a hard “vacation” due to major cultural differences and being continually sick … but fun none-the-less. I met a couple of very dear friends who I ended up traveling with for about 2.5 of the 4 weeks, plus had the chance to do a little climbing in Yangshuo.
• 2006 – Ireland – The China trip was quite exhausting, so I decided to go to a place in 2006 where I could at least speak the language. I was in the country for 2.5 weeks and had such a superb visit. Ireland is one of the friendliest countries as people continually offered to help me out, chat over a pint, etc. I also met a superb group of climbers, two of which I have become good friends with and who I often reference on this blog as HIP #1 and HIP #2. One of the main highlights was my birthday. As many of you know, my birthday is a BIG DEAL to me. This year I was hanging out with the fantastic crew of climbers, climbing in the Burren over my birthday weekend. I felt so lucky.
• 2007 – Thailand – This trip was the first trip where I met up with and traveled with a friend, HIP #1. We met in Bangkok and immediately traveled to Tonsai, where we spent the majority of our 2.5 week vacation. Tonsai might have been the best vacation yet because I was in a climber’s paradise surrounded by handfuls of beautiful beaches, enjoying all of it with one of my best friends.

This year I am traveling with my friend and current room mate Shaft. We are heading up to Squamish next Friday and will be gone until the 22nd. We are actually driving (gulp) as it is quite a bit cheaper and it will allow us to stop along the way (perhaps to visit some friends of mine in Seattle, stop to check out Rainier or possibly even stop in Oregon to climb…all still up in the air though). I am real excited as I feel in dire need of a vacation.

If you have traveled to Squamish, I would be real interested in chatting with you about your beta on climbs, places to camp, activities for rest days, etc. Feel free to post up in the comments or send an email to wasatchgirl at gmail.com.

Opening gifts with Shaft. CB receiving extra treats. Fresh snow and crisp air. Hilarious Santaland Diaries. Laughing in the car. Efficient security pass working when needed. Surfjan Stevens Christmas album. Crushing a project at work (wahoo). Receiving the coolest Christmas Video. Copy of The Entrepreneur Story. Jamming to music while working. Christmas dinner of sushi, sashimi, crabcakes, etc. Lots of sake, wine and dessert. Dominos. Hanging out with Gunner. Sheer Happiness.