Barcelona

Despite two Iphones and five college degrees, we still drove around in circles trying to find our hotel in Barcelona.  Eventually, we parked our cars, and checked into our hotel.

 

I love alleys(you never know what you will find around the corner). Fortunately, Barcelona is full of them!  Here are some of the things I found...  

 

Video of the inside of a huge cathedral.

We also strolled some bigger streets, like the La Rambla.  Apparently, this is the pickpocket capital of Europe.  Despite looking very American and touristy, nobody got ripped off.  Probably because we look so burly and tough!

There is also a very impressive market just off the La Rambla.

One night we hiked to the top of a huge hill to see Gaudi's Parc Guell.  Here's the view. 

On Alan's last night in Spain, we went out for a nice meal.

  

 Ted even got a haircut.  No more Muy Senior.

After a few days, we got restless, 

and felt the familiar tug of climbing.  So we packed up, and headed back to the promise land. 

Goals for 2012

Well, it's a bit pat the holiday season but the present is always a good time to reflect on past accomplishments and dream of future goals.  Usually, I privately make some goals and then quickly fall into an unfocused and comfortable routine.  This year, I thought that if I shared my philosophy on setting goals and posted them on the internet, I would be more likely to stay on track.

Rule # 1- Brainstorm

Decide what you want out of climbing. If you are an all around climber, you will probably have separate goals for sport, traditional, multi-pitch, bouldering, and maybe even the gym. If you are specialized, such as a boulderer, your list may be shorter.

Rule #2- Time Frame

Make short, medium, and long term goals. These goals can range from a day to 10 years or more.

Rule #3- Be Specific, and Realistic

Goals should be measurable and attainable. Such as "I want to climb 12a". If you simply say I want to climb harder, how will you know when you have reached your goal?

Rule #4- Write Your Goals Down and Keep Them Visible

Writing down your goals makes them more concrete and physical.  Put the list somewhere you will see it daily- at work, in the car, by your bed, etc.  This will help you stay mindful of your goals.

 Rule #5- Review, Revise and Be Patient.

Evaluate your goals periodically.  If you achieve a goal too soon, make it a bit harder.  Also don't be afraid to change or eliminate goals that aren't productive, realistic, etc.  Remember to be patient- especially with long term goals.

Rule #6- Have a plan.

Hopefully, each goal builds upon the next to help you reach those long term goals.  However, this approach requires a plan.  For example, if you want to achieve a personal best in bouldering and routes, it makes more sense to focus on the bouldering goal first, and then apply your new power to routes- instead of the other way around.

So, after a short brainstorming session, here are my 2012 goals. Of course, my #1 goal is to have fun. Feel free to give me a hard time if I appear to be slacking off.

Sport Climbing

Short Term

Second Go 13c

Onsight 13a

Medium Term

Redpoint Planet X 14a
Climb three 13d's this year
1. Magnetar 13d (6/3/12)

Long Term
Onsight 13b

Climb 14b

Traditional Climbing

Short Term

Do two 13a traditional routes this year
The Red Dihedral 12d- I am taking 13a 

Medium Term
Climb The Five Year Plan 13c.

Long Term

My climbing manager(Ben Collett) and I need to discuss this...

Bouldering

Short Term

Do a V10
Be able to do V8 in a day. 

Medium Term

Do a V11
Be able to do V9 in a day.(12/23/12)

Long Term

Be able to do V10 in a day.
Do a V12

 

Gym

Short Term

Onsight 12d (1/3/12)

Climb 13b in a day 10/10/12 felt desperate!

Boulder V9 (2/9/12)

Hangboard with 45 pounds 5/15/12

2-4-6-8-10 on A (2/1/12)

20 pullups 5/15/12

Medium Term

Onsight 13a

Climb 13c

Boulder V10 11/11/12- a fight but basically in a day!

Hangboard with 50 pounds10/10/12 out of no where!

2-4-6-8-10 on A with 2.5 pounds- (030212) had to quit campusing because of minor finger injury.  Repeated 5/15/12

20 pullups with 10lbs (5/29/12)
 

Long Term 

Hangboard with 55lbs(10/17/12) easily!
2-4-6-8-10 on A with 5 pounds (11/7/12) with 5lbs then did next set with 7.5lbs- bested my best.  Been trying on and off for over a year.  Totally out of nowhere!!!
20 pullups with 20lbs
Win the world cup!

Travel

Go to at lease 5 new areas such as...
The Frying Pan(5/28/12) 
The Narrows(5/6/12)

Independence Pass (6/24/12)

Newlin Creek
Mill Creek
Ceuse
The Bugaboos (8/5/12)
Red River Gorge(4/9/12)

Community Service

Replace the hardware on Paris Girl.

Establish a new sport route in Rifle.

For fun, I will try to return to this list and highlight the goals I accomplish as the year progresses. 

Terradets- Part 1

Ham is huge in Spain.  We saw this poor javelina being proudly displayed in the town center of La Granadella on our way to Terradets.  

There were lots of people(mostly old men) talking and respectfully investigating the wild pig.

Then there was the American... 

After getting lost in Llieda, and we finally made it to the foothills of the Pyranees.

In Camarasa we stopped for lunch at a small, yet busy restaurant.

In the spirit of adventure, we ordered butter and garlic escargot as an appetizer.

Once the aioli sauce showed up, Ted really got his snail on!  Loose Canon wasn't so excited about snails.

Seth had Rabbit.  I guess it tasted like chicken.

 

 

Doug, inspired by the javelina kill in La Granadella, had pigs feet.

This picture makes me want to puke!

During lunch we looked through the Lleida climbing guidebook and decided to check out Sant Llorenc de Montgai, Camarasa, and Ager on our way to Terradets.

A stray cat was hanging out by the restaurant.

Stuffed with exotic food, we headed to Sant Llorenc de Montgai.  We were surprised to find some great looking caves at the top of a small hill at the mouth of a canyon.

Here's a picture of the canyon.

There were some pretty plants.

And as usual, some poop right off the trail.

With the light fading, we quickly looked around, hopped back into the car and raced towards Camarasa.  The climbing didn't look that great, but the river was amazing.  Sorry, no pictures.

Then we zoomed over to Ager, and figured out where the turn off for the area was but didn't commit to the 6 mile drive from the main road because the it was almost dark and Ted was car sick and afraid that he might puke snails.  Gross!

So, we drove to Cellars, and checked into our hotel.

Ted, pleased with the accommodations.  Anything is better than the hotel in Margalef!

Doug doing a little pre-dinner gambling.

 

Bacalao- salted and dried cod.

Alan "Loose Canon" Bishop happy that he finally found some "normal" food.

The next morning we woke up to a heavy fog over the lake.

There were lots of fish feeding near the shore.

I found this climb on a bridge across the street from the hotel.  It even has anchors!

After breakfast, we drove into the canyon and parked near the dam.

The approach to Terradets starts with a re-bar ladder.

After a few minutes of hiking, we were treated to our first view of this amazing wall.  It's hard to tell from this picture, but the wall is about 100 feet tall and about 400 feet long.

This is the view from the cliff.

At the base, from the left side.

Me on L'Aviant 12a.  I don't usually complaint about slippery limestone, but the first 10 feet of this thing was glass!

Me enjoying some great tufas a bit higher on L'Aviant.

Psyched was very high and since it was Alan's last climbing day, we threw ourselves at route after route until absolute darkness.  In fact, Ted had to leave a few draws on his final route because he couldn't see the feet he needed to get to the anchors.  And Alan gave a great effort on his final route of the trip but pumped off right at the top as the sun completely disappeared.   

With 9 days left, we had found the promise land!  Climbing, however, would have to wait because we had to drive Alan to Barcelona.  It was time to trade dirt, rock and tufas, for museums, architecture, and culture.

Thanksgiving

Before leaving for Spain, Ben and I started joking about me giving him the password to this blog and letting him write my trip update.  That never happened, but the idea stuck and since we had some time over the Thanksgiving weekend we tried it.  So here goes the first guest entry!

Thanksgiving.  My favorite time of year.  We get to eat, eat some more, loosen our belts, eat some more and enjoy the muffin top rolling over our skinny jeans.

Luckily, I am on the Western Slope, at the Collett's new place in Marble.  Here is the view from one of their windows.

Ben whipping up some Mexican French Toast, while enjoying the view of Chair Mountain.

After breakfast, we drove about an hour north and attempted to work off some of the lard at a rather warm sunny locale that the locals call something like poo.

The energizing sound of engine brakes combined with a nagging cold, and the fitness gained from Spain propelled me to the top of my send of the year, The Long Haul 13a.  Lungs burning and barely able to stand when I got back to the ground, I felt like it was truly climbing "a muerte".

Alas, the snow came in before I could flash Gutless Wonder 14b.  I am not sure whether it is even worth coming back for it as the send is a foregone conclusion.

Here are some pictures from the day.  Ben warming up on Traditional Values 5.7, a great bolted slab crack on the Lower Wall.

 Ben on Urban Cowboy 12a.

Ben resting below the final crux of Urban Cowboy.

Warming down on Stay True 11b, a short, technical slab on perfect rock.

A cold, but happy Leah looking forward to a warm car.

The next day was a huge change of pace. We climbed the space between the rocks at a remote, and obscure area called Escalante Canyon.

Captain Smith's Cabins.  Built around 1900.

Turkeys.

Cool dilapidated shack.

We occupied the part of the space time continuum where you properly experience both the earth and the air.  We were the fire.  It was a return to the roots of mankind with an annual trip to the desert.
 
Norie on the brutally sandbagged S Crack 10+.  Watch out for the wideness at the top!

With Thanksgiving over, it was time to start thinking about Christmas!

 Leah on Pumping for Passion 11+.  A perfect 90 foot lieback corner.

Moomin sighting!

What a great Thanksgiving weekend!