A beautiful morning climbing at Donner Summit
Since moving to California at the end of August, I've spent only a handful of days climbing outside. I knew that moving to the Bay Area would be a significant sacrifice in terms of access to quality climbing, but it's hard for any place to compete with the bounty of climbing that Colorado houses. There certainly are some incredible climbing areas here, but my days of driving 15 minutes to a local crag are over for now.
Hazy sunset climbing at Mickey's Beach
I've made a few forays to explore what the area has to offer, so far making it to Mickey's Beach, Jailhouse, and Donner Summit. I've also been spending a lot of time in the gym, working on my nearly non-existent bouldering skills. Most of the climbers I've met out here are primarily boulderers, and they've lauded the assets of (relatively) near-by bouldering areas such as Yosemite, Bishop, and Joshua Tree. The community here has been super welcoming, so I decided to stop resisting the bouldering pull. I've already noticed an increase in my strength and power- which should come in useful in a few days when I arrive in Kentucky to climb at the Red River Gorge for the first time...
