July Catchup

It seems like a shame to be scared away from doing something I enjoy.  So I think I'll keep posting.  To keep the impact to a minimum, none of these posts will show up on google+ so just check back periodically if you want updates.  Family and friends seem to for the most part enjoy hearing about what I'm doing.

So a quick recap...

After Alabama we headed to Yosemite National Park.  For the most part summer climbing in Yosemite is better in the higher elevation Tuolumne Meadows area due to its lower temps, and so most of our time was spent in this area.

The approach to "Great White Book" on the Stately Pleasure Dome.

Coiling the ropes at the top.  It started to drizzle a little while after this photo.

Top of "Great White Book," looking down on lake Tenaya.  Athena is a small spot on the right side.

Hiking up to Cathedral Peak.  Most of the routes go up the face you can see from lower left to the top.

From the top of the peak.  At each belay I got to watch a group of Clarks Nutcrackers swoop through the forrest from above.  We climbed one of those two pillars on the left next.

Signing the summit book on top of Eichorn's Pinnacle.

Sweet knot bro.  One of the fixed anchors on-top of Eichorn's Pinnacle.  Must be a new Yosemite finish or something.

Marmota Flaviventris doesn't care. Hanging your packs is supposed to keep these guys away but they seem to know how to climb now.  Marmots are jus a type of large squirrel (family Sciuridae).  

Tuolumne runout.  She's almost at the next belay and hasn't passed a bolt yet. 

Don't trust old bolts and hangars!

After a while a storm system moved over the area, and so we headed north towards Squamish B.C., stopping along the way at a couple climbing  areas and national parks in Oregon and Washington.   Squamish was a bit wet as well, but apparently you can climb in the rain with great success if needed.

Crater Lake National Park

Climbing by the ocean with a seal watching me.  Near Vancouver B.C.

One of the belays on "Skywalker" in Squamish.

Above Shannon Falls in Squamish.  After climbing "Skywalker" we visited the pools above the falls.   If it was warmer this would be an awesome place to swim.  It was not warm, and so my swim was quite short.

Climbing back up my rope after rapping the wrong way like a noob.  Rapping down to the start of "Star Chek" above the Cheakamus River. 

After a week in Squamish, we flew to Taiwan for a while to visit Athena's grandma and family for her grandmas birthday.  We spent a week or so in Taiwan, mostly in Taipei, and then returned to Squamish for some more climbing. Two days ago we returned to San Francisco to visit some family and do some laundry.

Athena's mom rented an amazing place for everyone to stay when we headed south for a couple nights.

Trying to drive safely while your passenger takes selfies with you is difficult on a scooter.

Athena showing off our sweet ride.

A creepy robotic flagger.

That should catch everyone up.  We are in San Mateo right now and will be in the area for a couple days.  We're both enjoying the regular showers and the chance to get a bit of job searching done.  I've picked up Objective-C again and renewed my apple developers license as well, so I should be able to have a bit of fun with that while we rest up in the bay area.