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Doglegged Eye
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Dogleg? More like Elvis-leg if I’m being honest. As we arrived at the base and racked up I was feeing a little off. Just kinda trembly, and awfully sweaty. Was I hot or cold? I couldn’t tell, just felt off. Two days later I’d be completely laid out by the…
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Touch and Sole
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When we pulled up to the Echo Cove outer wall and saw two climbers racking up for Horny Corner I couldn’t resist. I had to hop out of the car and go chat them up. Soon we were chopping it up with Luis and his partner. They were on a…
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Cold Conans Corridor
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Sheeps pass in January is a very cold morning, but we had all arrived at the same plan: head to Conan’s Corridor. The west wall and belay ledge would pick up some morning sun and the corridor would also offer some protection from the ever increasing wind. We parked near…
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Axe of Dog & Horny Corner
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Another quick trip to Joshua tree, but this time with a last minute change-up: Luke invited us to stay in the park proper at Sheep Pass with an entire crew of climbers. The only downside was having to meet a bunch of new people and share a campsite with strangers.…
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High Strung
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The next morning was a hard call to make. We’d been super excited to climb High Strung for months, having scoped it out twice so far, but I was hesitant to climb a finger crack with my injury. But desire and excitement won out, and we headed into the Wonderland.…
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Pope’s Crack & Penny Lane
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Another cold day in Joshua Tree. This really is one of the coldest places I’ve ever climbed. But with clear skies, at least the sunny faces were doable. Unfortunately our list primarily featured shaded climbs, so we opted to redo a classic, Pope’s Crack. But this time we’d go for…
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Mental Physics
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We met Jack and Ellen in the Wall Street Mill parking lot back in May, when we got to chatting about all sorts of everything. We talked about hikes, our experience with owning an EV, favorite J-Tree campsites, and Yeti backpacks. Apparently Jack had been lugging coolers into the backcountry…
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Dappled Mare
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This was a hard one to get started on. After a short walk from the car, finding the start wasn’t so easy. I think I misread Blitzo’s topo photo in the glare of the sun, and made a determined attempt up a crack that just wouldn’t go. Not sure if…
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J-Tree Top Ropes
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Today was going to be much less ambitious than yesterday. Just chasing the shade and setting up some top ropes. First up was Sexy Grandma. This seemed perfect for Sammie and Jake, especially the move through the rooflet. Big gymnastic pulls with good hands, with an almost mandatory heel-hook. This…
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Dung Fu choo-choo
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You ever get to the crag to witness some spectacular insanity going up the rock? I once encountered a party of six that sent three leaders up each pitch (entwining all their ropes and gear) before bringing up their three respective followers. Luckily their system took so long that we…