i am a silly girl

on one of the few and far between friday's i have off. my main man and i went to city of rocks.
i may have written one or twice my true affection for that tiny valley, amidst the arid desert of idaho.
......i'm getting sidetracked.
so as k packed, organized, and put together every ounce of what we would need. i sat, looking through photos, daydreaming, and doing nothing in particular.
when we arrived at the most beautiful of cracks, all by our very own selves. i searched my climbing bag, and oh me, oh my, i had forgotten my climbing shoes!
a travesty if i've ever seen one.

(lookat all that pink. i am truly not as girlie as my climbing garb seems to indicate.)

so, i belayed.
and watched.
and wished i could climb.
i will chalk it up to karma.
i did not help.
i did not climb.
so, i left my mr. there with our friends, and came home alone. i could not find a partner here either.
and tonight, will be my very first night alone in the new house.
i must admit, i am a little nervous, it's been a very long time since i was all alone.

indian creek birthday

we went back to the desert.
my heart bursts open.

indian creek is heaven.
and better still, we had the place to ourselves.
3am
incredible hand crack

supercrack
need i say more?

these climbs are crack climbs. they are perfect.
i am lost for words.






with sore hands, and the classics behind us
we found an old homestead, or movie set,
we couldn't decide which.
the sign demandith we stay out

we simply had to go in.

the years of rain, wind, and cows have been cruel, but what held up, held up well.
as we explored we knew one thing for certain. there was once a windmill.
some days we are fine detectives.
while the earth dried, and reclaimed what was once there, i was so happy, i couldn't help but pirouette back to the truck.




my birthday. 26. officially. what a concept. what a trip. it seems i was a better climber at 25, i know that one day made a difference. but, after dinner and drinks we felt the urge to do some night climbing.
this was my first time.
climbing by headlamp and feel, very few senses in working order.
seeing only a few feet ahead.




i managed quite well.

on our last, and final day, k decided that a huge off-width in arches was in order. so, we climbed the three penguins. after a massive struggle (as most off-widths are) some frustrated swearing, and a couple of tears, k finally threw me down the rope.
how he managed to climb it, i will never know.


we summitted! and though we were covered in rock-rash (a condition much like road-rash) we were happy.


and of course tree pose was in order

that's right folks, that was us you saw lounging so casually atop that penguin head. while the climb was difficult, there is something special about being on top of something where the only way up, is to climb.

happy birthday to me.

running errands

have i mentioned i love living in the city?
i do.
and i love riding my bicycle to and fro.

yesterday was such a gray day here in northern ut, this seems to be happening more often than not. so, unable to climb, and with little interest in anything, we ran errands.
bank,
lunch,
and the gym.
mundane tasks.


but, following this guy around can brighten any dreary day.


isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?
i agree.

then, the rains came, and i've left my bicyclette parked in the gym.

ogden is under water

literally.

the desert is not designed to hold as much water as is currently falling from the sky. even the gym is leaking.

there are a variety of reasons the rain is problematic.
-i cannot climb.
-i cannot ride my bicycle.
-i generally cannot go outside without returning home in a drowned state.
-and, i cannot climb.

in a completely undramatic, and logical state i say: we will be washed to the ocean.
one drop at a time.

i think i need to start a new blog reel

called: things i see whilst riding my bike.

it's going to be an interesting one.

i never realized there were such unique and interesting characters in ogden. people should ride bikes more often , it really connects you with the world

for instance yesterday,

while crossing the road,

i saw a man.

in a gas mask.

giving me the finger.

i rode by him very quickly....sometimes it's just better to look at the ground and keep peddling.

today i road the river parkway on my way to work. then, i fell off my bike in front of a car. very embarrassing.

sometimes you see the crazy person...sometimes you are the crazy person.

also yesterday, we took this little bear climbing for the first time.

she'll be the next lynn hill. i just know it.

things are getting wild

today is april 8th. it is snowing.

not moderate, kind-of-snowing, will melt in moments, snow.
actual flakes, unending, stick to the ground, hide out in the house, type of snow.

it's kinda depressing.

normally i like the snow, but now it is april, and i hate the snow. i want warm weather, and my face turned toward sunshine.

ranting about the weather will surely change it. .

also, i bought a house.
ok, townhouse. but not a condo, let's just get that straight (renee). and have been cleaning and scrubbing, and readying it to move it.
moving will not happen until the snow stops.

snow. stop.

in other random and interesting thoughts: we are throwing a climbing competition at my gym -The Front- because, again, the snow. we were notified of this on tuesday, and in three days we are putting together a comp, an after-party, and a fun filled gear demo. the pressure is on. however, ogden is the greatest, and we are amazing, and things are happening.

so, you, my faithful fourteen followers (i like the alliteration) come visit me on saturday, meet beth rodden (a real and actual climber) and watch people compete. or, come to the after-party. just get in your cars and drive down.
it's snowing, what else will you be doing?


this is beth rodden. not me. but, i can see the mix up.

note: these images have been stolen from various websites in order to make my blog have images. i did not take the picture of beth rodden

my favorite city

we went back to idaho.
love.
i've decided, officially, that almo is the most beautiful little valley.
also, the almo inn, very romantic. i am a sucker for a jetted tub, every time.




then we climbed.
the city of rocks is a wild place. the rocks are all perfect and they are scattered haphazardly in the bottom of a valley. like a child forgot to put away his toys.


then, i led colombian crack, and chim-chim-chimney-ed my way up the first part.



placed six or seven bad pieces in a row, the first one fell out when i was mere inches above it. not at all invoking confidence in the rest of my pieces.
then i ran out.
so, i ran it out.
it turns out my panic placements are more secure than my thoughtful ones.


it was glorious, and sunny, and completely void of people. except the germans, but they were nice.

we wore flip-flops all day, and decided that we will not put our toes in shoes again until fall.


later it snowed in northern utah.
i stick by my decision.