After finishing our undergrad programs and earning some money over the summer, we finally set off on our long-planned adventure around the country to climb and ski as much as we can before we come back to the realities of graduate school and working life. We spent a few days deciding how to pack up the car and what to bring, but once this was decided we set off for Boise, Idaho to spend some time with Chelsea's research advisor Brittany and her fiancé Joaquin. We stopped along the way to meet up with Sylvana, another member of Chelsea's undergrad research team, at her new place in Ellensburg (where she is starting her master's program). We then continued to Boise, where Brittany and Joaquin treated us to a great dinner in Boise's awesome Hyde Park neighborhood. The next day we got up, went for a fairly ass-kicking run through Camelback Park, and spent the rest of the day doing school research and other work. Once evening rolled around we drove out to meet Joaquin at the Black Cliffs, a local climbing area that consists of fairly high quality (by our standards) basalt columns. It isn't a huge area, but the climbing is pretty fun. We (Chelsea, Joaquin, and Seth) all got in a few pitches, and Brittany joined us towards the end of our session for her first outdoor rock climb (awesome!!) before it was dark. Afterwards, we went to another delicious dinner in downtown Boise.
The back of the car (mostly packed) looking trim.
Joaquin leading up a route at the Black Cliffs.
In the City
Originally, we had planned to go from Boise to Grand Teton National Park and do a few of the classic alpine routes there, but the weather looked pretty uncooperative for the week and we didn't want to spend days in Jackson waiting for it to clear (especially because spending lots of time in Jackson can easily involve spending lots of money in Jackson...). Instead, we decided to go to the City of Rocks in southern Idaho. The first afternoon in the City was fairly clear, but that evening the clouds opened up and it rained heavily for 8+ hours. Had we been more observant, we might not have been surprised:
Not one but two thunderheads (Cumulonimbus capillatus incus - and so Chelsea learns that Seth is a terminology nerd) stacked on top of each other.
The aftermath.
Hanging in camp.
We spent the morning studying for the GRE and reading in the rain, but by about 2pm we found some dry rock on Bath Rock (one of the City's most popular crags) and joined another party that had already started climbing. We did a very fun 5.9 with patina jugs and chicken-head features and then moved on to Colossus (5.10c), one of the most popular sport routes in the City. After that Chelsea climbed Gemini (5.12a) and we moved on to Private Idaho (5.9/5.10- variation), a sweet sporty finger crack. Seth cruised the climb, then on Chelsea's lead she got caught in a downpour on the slabby upper section. After rapping in the rain and the dark, Chelsea feels that Private Idaho is her proudest crack ascent to date.
AM - Chelsea searches for something dry.
Seth working through the lower section of Private Idaho.
The next day we climbed the classic Skyline (5.8), an airy face following a thin crack feature that offers a great view of the City (and another proud crack lead for Chelsea - baby steps!). Chelsea then got in a nearby sport route, and Seth climbed Bloody Fingers (10a), a City standard with fewer fingery moves than the name might suggest. Our last morning we blitzed to Thin Slice (yet another classic City 10-), Seth took some whippers, and we packed up the car to start driving to Ten Sleep!
The view from the top of Thin Slice (note the group topping Skyline out in the distance).
Skyline is an awesome route! Glad to hear you are both having a good time.
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