The CragBaby

Shaft, the Cb-gbers and I took a two and half week climbing vacation in Squamish, Canada. British Columbia receives a fair bit of rain during the month of June, but we luckily encountered cooperative weather allowing us to climb everyday.

Driving through beautiful Oregon. At this rest stop we happened to meet a trucker who also owned a chihuahua.

The coastal views on the way to Squamish. In this area, scuba divers congregate to explore two sunken ships.

View of The Chief. While taking this picture a car stopped and the driver warned us of an approaching bear.

The Pemberton landscape.

Squamish and the outlying areas house thousands of routes and boulder problems. Shaft and I alternated between bouldering, trad and sport lines, taking one rest day to hike to the top of the Chief.

Me working ‘In Your Face’ in Pemberton.  This extremely fun v3 was on the Yosemite boulder that sits adjacent the railroad tracks.  The guidebook states to hide if a train is coming due to access concerns.

Shaft warming up at the SuperFly boulder in Squamish.

Shaft sending ‘Sloppy Poppy’, known to be one of the most popular v4’s in Squamish.

Me warming up on the Warm Up Traverse.

Me working ‘Bo Jo Jones’.  This problem consisted of numerous heel hooks. =)

Shaft roping up for routes at the Smoke Bluffs.

Me on Ancient Heart. This climb alone was worth the 15 hour drive to Canada. The 9 bolt 11c showcased numerous heel hooks, a boulder-y slopey crux and a crimpy top out. Pure magic!

Shaft on the third pitch of Deidre, our final climb in Squamish.  We had wanted to run it the day prior but were rained out, ending up bouldering instead.  We thankfully waited one more day, finishing up our trip beautifully with this classic line on The Chief.

Besides numerous days of setting up ropes and throwing out bouldering pads ….

Shaft continually munched on wild raspberries.

I made a new best friend.

We happen-stanced many bear sitings, two of which included dog-bear chases. For the record, the bear surprisingly ran away on both occasions.

We spotted logger truck collision signs.

And saw the biggest, ugliest slugs!

By the time we arrived home, the sweater-clad Cb-gbers was tuckered out, a sure sign of a successful trip.

I recently posted about Lauren Yant’s startup, Ruthie Pearl . This year she has a booth at the Farmer’s Market and due to her presence there was picked up by the Daily Style on Dooce.com . Superb! And now she is all sold out on bags and quickly sewing more. Ha ha… congrats!

If you haven’t yet, you should check out her site and try to secure an order before she sells out again. =)

Every once in awhile my tiny little feet are advantageous. I might not ever be able to find shoes for work, but on occasion I find climbing shoes on sale. Prior to my trip, I picked up a pair of Anasazis and Methos for $90 total, when they usually retail for $120 per pair. Oh yeah… thank you little feet.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I am on vacation with my friend Shaft and the CB-gbers in Squamish, British Columbia. It is so beautiful here, the climbing is superb, the temps have been good, and the surroundings remind me of Valdez, Alaska. Plus, we have seen MANY bears. I might post a couple posts while here, but perhaps not. It just isn’t a priority right now as I am focusing on relaxing in the sun and enjoying the view of The Chief.

In response to my previous post, thank you all for your support on the loss of my car. This past Wednesday it was found half a mile from my house with only the stereo gone and the glove box shuffled through. Can you believe that?! My good friend Mark went and identified it for me and lined up the towing (it is in drive-able condition but I took the key with me to Canada…doh! … and though I had mailed it to Mark, the car was found before the key arrived). It is now just waiting for me at his parent’s house. Thank you all for your support and for offering up your vehicles. And thank you Mark for taking car of all the details while I am away. I am truly lucky to have so many great people in my life.

Ok, I am off to go climb. =)

Sigh.

Once again I was the victim of theft.

I thought I handled it so well this time, but as I write this I am quite bummed. I have lived in Salt Lake City for six and a half years, in many different locations, and out of those six years I have lost six big items. Yep, that means I am batting approximately one big loss per year. Today’s theft was the worst as the item lost was my car.

Sigh.

To date I have lost the following items, none of which were returned.

• mountain bike - I used to have a real nice bike that was stolen from my backyard. This was a painful loss, leaving me to feel so violated.
• car stereo - this one wasn’t a big deal. I actually was going out to the car to uninstall the stereo in order to give it to a friend. Yet, someone had beat me to the process.
• cruiser bike - this one wasn’t painful at all. In fact, I didn’t know it was missing until months later. It was a beater bike that needed some tuning and I found it missing when Spring arrived and I went to do the necessary work. It was given to me and was a quirky bike.
• wallet / phone - this one was truly painful, causing months of identity and credit worry. The items were stolen from my car while I was bouldering at Cabbage Patch in LCC. The Cabbage Patch boulders are seriously right off the road, maybe a 20 foot walk. Yet somehow the perpetrators broke a window and took the items unbeknownest to me. The person was found and prosecuted, but who knows where my credit cards ended up.
• scooter - I cried for days on this one. I bought a scooter, similar to a Vespa. and truly loved the thing. It was part of my identity and at the time scooters were rare in SLC, which made me like it even more. I truly loved this thing. One day it had some problems as I was driving home from the gym and I had to park it in the parking lot of an antique shop. When I went to retrieve it the next day, it was just gone. The story is long and convaluted, but in essence the lady of this store had given it to her friend who was then wanting a ransom for it … blah, blah, blah. It truly is a real weird and long story that ended in me never getting my scooter back in one piece. Funnily, the antique store went out of business about a year later and I believed it was karma.
• car - today the good old faithful Honda Civic was gone. She wasn’t real pretty with her huge dent, but I adored her. She ran so well, even in her old age.

The faithful civic with H.I.P. #1 on the Salt Flats.

The worst detail of the car situation was my car insurance. Please read: ALWAYS HAVE COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE. My little Honda was a 1991 and pretty banged up, so I figured I would only get liability coverage. In my mind I thought comprehensive would be real expensive and not worth the investment for an old car. I WAS WRONG!!!! I found out from co-workers that the premium insurance is usually only dollars more as the main expense lies in the collision insurance. I was so shocked at learning this fact that I called my insurance company back to learn the cost difference, the total being… get ready for it… $30. By paying $30 more per year I could have recoupped the cost of my vehicle whereas now I have nothing.

Sigh.

This fact really is bothersome as I research out all areas of my life, analyzing the best deals and thoughtfully planning how I spend my money. Somehow it had never crossed my mind to see the cost difference between the two insurance plans. Why the insurance agent didn’t tell me about my options when I bought my policy? I don’t know. It actually makes me angry because isn’t their job to be… "my agent"? However, the main fault is mine as I didn’t do my damn research. How in the world did it slip my mind to ask when I am usually so diligent?!

Sigh.

Ok … enough of the pity party…. I’m back to the giggly self with a newfound insurance lesson.

A fellow SLC climber and friend, Lauren Yant, has started her own business, Ruthie Pearl , selling fashionable, earth-friendly shopping bags and gift bags. Lauren is highly earth conscience and taken her activism to the next level by creating quality products with low impact, while offsetting all business energy consumption through wind power credits, reducing and recycling wastes, and educating others on global impact and how they can have a positive influence.

She was recently quoted:

"A lot of people think that environmentalism is a political movement, but it really isn’t -climate change is something that affects us all. People in my generation look at our grandparents who thought nothing was wrong with smoking and think they were crazy. I think that’s the same way that our grandchildren will look at us."

"They’ll wonder, ‘What were they thinking?’ If there’s anything that I hope people learn from what I’m doing, it’s that anyone can make small changes to help the world become a better place - and you can even look cute doing it. I simply hope that people start taking small steps to make smarter decisions for a better tomorrow."

The current selection of bags can be seen on the site and at the upcoming Farmer’s Market . Lauren has offered a 20% discount for any of the CragBaby readers. Just enter CRAGBABY as the discount code at the time of checkout. And then of course let me know which bag you purchased, as I am still trying to decide…. =)

I truly love Salt Lake City. It is a fantastic place housing numerous top notch outdoor recreation possibilities, a handful of great theaters, an excellent symphony (plus opera and ballet, though I don’t frequent those nearly as often), a good number of great restaurants … while still maintaining the small city feel. Living here truly is superb. Summer, though, is my favorite season as the city comes alive with the following events.

The Gallery Stroll , actually occurs all year round on every third Friday of the month, but I participate only in the summer as it is by far more enjoyable (in my mind) to check out The ArtSpace, Broadway, Pierpont Strip and individual galleries in the summer evenings.

The last Gallery Stroll in May showcased plates (a square sheet with two hole punches near the top) at the ArtSpace.

Farmer’s Market is held every Saturday morn starting on June 14th and and goes until completion in October. Over 70 Farmers, non-profits, and artists house booths to sell products and/or inform the public. A friend of mine will be there this year selling her Ruthie Pearl bags . Must see booths include KCPW where you can opine on local debates, the Salsa King (yum!) and all farmer booths were fresh local produce can be purchased. Or, if not wanting to show up weekly at the Farmer’s Market, the Community Supported Agriculture program is a fantastic alternative.

Every year the Farmer’s Market has a fantastic posters, which I proudly hang in my home.

Gallivan Concert Series is held every Thursday from July 10 - August 28th. It is amazing the line-up of artists the city brings in and provides to the public for free. Last years highlights included Michael Franti (who always puts on the best shows), Peter Bjorn and John and Yo La Tengo. The 2008 line-up includes Andrew Bird (yayayayayayay!), Josh Ritter and The Roots.

The audience at one of the Michael Franti shows. Franti came both in 2006 and 2007, but unfortunately (truly unfortunately) will not be in the 2008 lineup .

Sundance Outdoor Film Festival can be enjoyed in Sundance, Park City or Salt Lake City. In years past it seemed to show more actual Sundance films from the annual film festival, where now the mix seems to be more broad highlighting a variety of independents and classics. The 2008 schedule includes 2008 Sundance film Adventures of Power, classic Raising Arizona and a handful that I have yet to see. I have to date only viewed films at the SLC Gallivan Center where movies can be enjoyed while kicked back on the lawn, munching on any food or drink carried in.

Shot from the film Adventures in Power.

For more event listings, visit the Downtown Alliance , the City Weekly or even the Visitor’s Guide .

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.

I rarely post the same information, let alone the same post, on both the Wasatch Girl and the Crag Baby. I like to keep the sites distinctly different, but make an exception on certain occasions. I consider this to be one of those occasions. Here is the last post from the Wasatch Girl .

As many of you local readers and twitter-ers already know, one of the fellow technologist in the area, Phil Burns , learned this past week that his 22-month-old daughter, Serenity, has leukemia. Incredibly heart breaking news, but with the upside that she has immediately started chemotherapy and should be able to survive. His previous business partner, Jesse Stay , has created the Chip In Widget where donations are directly deposited into the Burns’ paypal account. The goal has been increased to raise $1,000 by June 23 and Jeff Barr has committed to donate an extra 15% to the final amount. I have integrated the Chip In Widget on both of my blogs on the right hand column.

I have gotten to know Phil through a handful of his startups and by following his online presence. He is a good guy willing to take the continual risk of being an entrepreneur in order to provide innovation to many. I would urge you to help him out in this time of need.

For the past couple climbing seasons I have strived to travel out of the Salt Lake area frequently to explore the dozen+ other crags within a 5 hour driving radius. This year is quite different. I realized that I am in my 5th year of climbing and have yet to explore numerous lines right here in Salt Lake City. I will definitely get out of town on occasion, but am pretty psyched on checking out all that the local crags have to offer.

A couple weeks back Shaft and I headed up to the S-Curves with the sole goal of hitting up a handful of the lines we had never tried. The S-Curves are in Big Cottonwood Canyon located, unsurprisingly, at the huge curve in the road that resembles an S. The crags in this area include the Pile, New Cliche and the Lower and Upper S-Curves.

The above pic shows the view of the lower S-Curves from the road. The big roof houses three lines, none of which I have ever done: Dog Eat Dog (three star 5.13d that is the front picture of the Wasatch Guide), S-Curve Overhang (two star 5.11c) and High Life (two star 5.12c). The first pitch to all three of these climbs is a 5.4 trad line. Hmmm… I didn’t realize this until writing this post. I should definitely go check out the 11c.

The S-Curves can be quite deceiving. For instance, Ionic Binding is a 5.9+ on the lower wall that I often use as a warm-up yet have never climbed without getting a flash pump. There is the poorly bolted 5.11a, Megalopolis, that I have only hopped on once and never returned, noting in my book “pretty burly!” And then there is Madison Avenue, 5.10d, that I have ran twice and still described in my book “weird holds.” Basically, you just never know what you are going to get.

Shaft at the top of Geronimo, hanging out on a fantastic belay ledge. Across canyon snow still lingered with the Millstone being completely covered.

This particular day Shaft and I only had a couple hours so did a lap on Clean Underwear (5.9) and Geronimo (5.8) and then did a couple laps each on the upper pitch of Geronimo named High Dive (5.11b). High Dive was extremely fun, resembling a Black Monday, but with more traverse rather than vertical moves. Most of the holds were huge jugs with a cruxy and crimpy little top out finish. Fun, fun, fun! The book gave this climb one star, but I would up that to at least two.

Me real smiley at the top of Geronimo.