Back to Bishop!!

That's right! I'm back in one of the places I love the most!

I took about three weeks off from climbing to skip out of the country on a lovely Carribean cruise with my family for Christmas, but immediately after we got home I had the itch to move again.

I had to make a quick tough decision between spending my winter in either Bishop or Hueco, but seeing as Bishop is significantly more dog friendly, the choice was made.

I bought fresh new snow tires for my Subaru, and Fritz and I loaded up and hit the road.

It's been two years since my last trip out here, and my aspiring list is long and stacked. I'm excited to hopefully tie up some of the lose-end projects that I have, but I'm also just as motivated to get on boulders that are new to me.

The first step in broadening my bouldering horizon is to get out of my comfort zone: The Buttermilks. I ventured to the Table Lands for the first time ever, and my to-do list only grew. In proper send train style, my two amigos Cory and Erik and myself were able to punch out Cholos (V9). We had a great time exploring the Happy Boulders!

Along with my first delightful adventure in the Happys, I finally faced my fear of pain and hopped on a problem I've been avoiding like a spider-filled pit: the famously elusive dihedral Stained Glass.

To my grateful surprise it wasn't that sharp after all! And it climbs wonderfully, with fluid technical movement into a low percentage jump. Very fun, indeed!

Looks like I've added another impeccable line to my list.

That seems to be a problem I've been encountering lately.  For me, trying new problems is like opening a can of worms.

Imagine you're at work, sitting at your desk playing on facebook, simply minding your own business... (HA!) Your boss comes in, tosses half a dozen piles of paperwork in front of you and says, "Sort."

You're feeling pretty exasperated right? Like you don't even know where to begin?

That's how I feel in Bishop!! Maybe considerably less stressed with a slightly smaller income, although the overwhelming sensations are similar. Hopefully you get the point. There are so many great boulders I'd like to try I don't even know where to start.

So far I've been having a great time trying fresh climbs, but I have unfinished business constantly lurking in my mind, haunting me to the point of recurring dreams.

There's just so much that I want to do and life is so short!

I heard it explained perfectly today at breakfast.

There was a very old woman sitting in a booth near us, and after she had finished her meal the waitress asked her if she needed anything else. The old woman responded with, "Time." I found the answer to be deeply appropriate. Hearing the old woman's honest wish got my motivation flowing again as we set off for the Buttermilks. One of the climbs I've always been inspired by for its obvious stunning beauty is The Mandala. I had tried it fleetingly two years earlier, and my interest in it has since increased. The Mandala will definitely be one of the priorities of my trip.

A bunch of snow has recently been dumped on the Buttermilks, making almost everything nearly impossible to top out. In the past week, the weather has been incredible, and much of the snow has been melting away.

Fritz has been loving the temperature here, it's quite a change from Wisconsin. I predict that after the warm weekend most of the snow will be gone!

I'm going to be hanging around the Eastern Sierras until the end of February. The climbing here is world class, and with so many friends constantly stopping in and out it's going to be a great couple of months in Bishop! Stay tuned for updates to come!