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It’s been a few busy weeks since my last post from China. Lots of travel, I went straight from China to Mexico, had a week in Boulder before then Miami for a few days. Now I’m back in Boulder for 2 weeks before I head to Hueco Tanks then Hawaii… Is it ever gonna stop? Probably not… No complaints from my end!

Here’s a few photos from our last few days in China. We tried to relax as much as possible and got some Tai Chi lessons as well as traditional Chinese messages (aka cupping and not so relaxing).

Ouch! I think people on the beach thought I had been tortured…

Lost in translation? Or not…

After China I had less then 10 hours home before I flew to Mexico for the 2011 North Face Athlete Summit, just enough time to have some good ol’ American food and sleep in my bed for a few hours.

The North Face athlete team!

Mexico!

After Mexico I was super happy to be in Boulder for week. I made it to Vail for some fun winter climbing but mostly got psyched on training in the gym. For some reason after a big trip I really just want to climb inside…

J-Star Showin be how its done at the BRC!

Jesse Huey getting all mixed up ni Vail.

The fang is coming…

After a week in Boulder I headed down to Miami for some family time filled with good food, cute kids and sunny Florida weather.

Back to the cold…

“Food, it puts be in a good mood, it keeps me going. When under strains, ain’t nothin worse than hunger pains. Right there start with life, fair if need be. Snacks with an X whatever just feed me, Some Food! It puts me in a good mood, it keeps me going… I’m Hungry!” (Buck 65; Square)

The team has been slowly withering away in a horrible protein deficit accident. John, Will, Lauren and I are simply not getting the sustenance we need to sustain all the physical activity we’ve been doing… Every day we feel weaker but continue to hike and climb in hopes of establishing more new lines.

Village food just isn’t cutting it, no matter how much we eat at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, we’re still hungry. The food is tasty but is compiled mostly of vegetables and rice, which is not enough for the active life style we’ve been living. 

Morale is low and our departure is around the corner. We have 3 more days to wrap up the few projects we have on the go, which is somewhat daunting considering the group’s physical condition, and then we begin the long journey home. We’ve had an amazing time in Liming, but the team is looking forward to some “good ol” American food… Steak and potatoes… or maybe even a burger and fries!! Or hell, at this point a nasty protein bar would seriously do the trick.

I truly miss Whole Foods.

Here’s a quick look at life in Liming…

My dirty face after hand drilling a bolt…

So… John, Lauren and I have been in China for almost one week! We arrived in Kunming in the middle of night then had a full day before we caught the night train to Lijiang. Kunming seemed like your standard Chinese city: lots and lots of people.  At breakfast, we all were pretty psyched to have our last “western meal” before heading to rural China. The night train was a wild experience, they pack people into bunk beds like sardines. We arrived in Lijiang tired and very jet lagged but fortunately Zhoulie, a local climber, had volunteered to pick us up and drive us to Liming.

Liming is a tiny village surrounded by these huge sandstone walls. It’s situated in one of China’s national parks and thrives on eco-tourism, but November is clearly the off season since I think we’re the only tourists here…the local villagers are getting used to our faces and have been very hospitable. Fortunately Lauren speaks Mandarin, which is extremely helpful, especially when it comes to ordering food! Who knows what John and I would be eating without her…

We’ve spent the last three days running around trying to figure out what this place as to offer. As it turns out there’s tons of potential! The sandstone is very similar to that of Indian Creek and Zion. So far we’ve just been focusing on establishing new single pitch routes but the 300-500 foot walls are looming above… Stay tuned for more… I’ll be posting updates as much as the slow internet allows me to…

I finally did it… Chopped all my hair off, reason/story to come soon. BUT here’s some photo’s…

BEFORE!

AFTER!

I finally made it to the Black Canyon in CO… Wow! That place is amazing, I feel kinda dumb for never venturing out there… Jesse and I climbed a route called Tague yer Time which was one of the best long routes in CO I’ve climbed…

Jesse and I on the Rim getting ready to head down…

Jesse rapping in with our little piglet and the view of the Hallucinogen Wall… So sick! Gotta go back for that one…

We decided to climb the route in “gentlemen’s” style… meaning we spent one really fun night on the wall with all the necessary provisions: beer, food and a water mellon!

Morning on the Astro Dog ledge… Coffee and water melon, doesn’t get much better then that!

Questing…

The last 2 weeks have been packed with adventure and travel. Here’s a few photos…

Lauren following the first pitch of Rosy Crucifixion.

Bouldering session in Rocky Mountain National park with John Dickey and Josh Warton… Super fun!

Post training session with JW & JD at a top secret training facility… Sometimes referred as Movement North!

The Crack of Fear!!! Josh and I attempted to climb this gnarly Off Width… Hardest 5.10 ever!!

I put another day in on Matt Wilder’s route Cheating Reality on the Devils Thumb above Boulder! Such a rad line… Gotta go back for the lead… Not as hard as I thought it was gonna be, BUT it’s gonna be a scary lead…

Some air time en route to DC!

Was a short trip to DC… But had the chance to see some sites…

Little World Cup action in Boulder CO! Crazy!!

Gotta love Indian Creek in the Fall! Good times with good friends… Always nice to get a little dirty, climb some cracks and place some cams… AND I’m not sure that anyone  loves a number 2 camalot as much as Jesse!

I took these images on helicopter flights in and out of the Ak Su. It was insane, felt like a massive bus in the air… more to come… and just so everyone knows, the film is coming right along! Psyched!

Wow! I’ve been out of the mountains and back in the US for almost three weeks now. Crazy! It’s been really nice to “attempt” to settle back into life in Boulder, but actually being settled is still a bit distant. I love traveling to new countries and spending time in the mountains but I also appreciate being in the bubble.

Night time from the notch bivy on the Russian Tower.

It’s been a pretty hectic few weeks and I’ve been staying a little too busy, hence the late blog post, and the still not feeling settled…last week was the Reel Rock Tour, which was super fun to watch; I love dorking out on climbing movies and would recommend seeing it if it comes to your town. You can see the schedule at http://www.reelrocktour.com

AND speaking of movies…I’ve been spending a lot of time working on the film I’m producing from our trip to Kyrgyzstan. It’s the first time I’ve stepped into the role of producer and has been a super fun creative process. Stay tuned for the trailer that will be released within the next month.

Besides all this film stuff I’ve been making some time for myself to go climbing…it’s been great, and in the last few weeks I’ve trained in the gym, gone trad climbing, bouldering, sport climbing and even a little alpine climbing…gotta love Boulder in the fall; it’s almost too good…

Lauren learning to trad climb in Eldo W/ Dickey solo coaching and me getting all ninja!

Zack scoping the rad new line?

Getting it done on the walls above Summit Lake at Mount Evans…

Kyrgyzstan…

I’m not sure where to begin…our trip was amazing. The Ak Su is an beautiful valley with tons of potential, and I feel extremely fortunate to have spent a month there.

Our trip began with your standard expedition turmoil: lost bags, stomach sickness and bad weather. Before we knew it we were more than halfway through our time at base camp and hadn’t climbed anything. That’s just how it goes sometimes—there is so much about climbing in the mountains that is completely out of your control. You can spend months training for a route and not even get the chance to attempt it. This is a major fear for expeditioners, throwing time, money, relationships, and even life on the line for a climb that can get shut down by any number of factors. Our dreams of free climbing were starting to slip away, but fortunately John, Eric and I have a powerful dynamic and were able to keep the spirits high regardless.

Eventually everyone was healthy and we quested up the Russian Tower via Perestroika, one of the most amazing routes I have ever climbed. It was one of the first routes established on the Russian Tower and were hoping to scope other potential new free lines from the wall.

At around 2:00am we finally summited the the Russian Tower after almost 20 hours of climbing. It was pretty amazing! The team was super psyched to have reached the summit but was a little too tired to begin the 20 plus rappel descent. We opted to sleep on the summit but with minimal water and no bivy gear, there weren’t many zzz’s happening, just a lot of shivering.

I have so many more story’s to share from this trip and I’ll slowly tell them via this blog as well as the film. So stay tuned for more…

AND I want to give a big thanks to Evolv, Sterling Rope, Mountain Gear, Ideal Market (Whole Foods) and The North Face for all the support they gave me on this expedition.