Wendy rappelling Tax Man, with the crux moves to her left.
Andy: Another fine day of crack climbing in Joshua Tree. Highlight for me - battling with the Tax Man (a steep & strenuous 5.10a/b fingercrack) - my forearms were so pumped at the top, I could barely pull up the rope! The climb doesn't let up, with no solid rests or stances for the first 60 feet! We climbed three routes we haven't climbed before, which is rare in Joshua Tree because we have a habit of repeating ourselves... have a habit of repeating ourselves.... have a habit of repeating ourselves. Mr. Bunny's Refund Check (5.10a), Feltonian Physics (5.8), and Mr. Bunny vs. Some Unknown Agent (5.8). Detect a theme? The wall is called the IRS wall. Climbers have a twisted sense of humor.
Entertainment for the day: two climbers from Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Their conversation:
Dude #1: Dude, do you want to go find a 5.7 sport route?
Dude #2: Dude, are you high???? There are no 5.7 sport routes in Joshua
Tree!
Dude #1: Dude, that's JUST the point - I want to go get high and then
climb a 5.7 sport route in Joshua Tree.
Remind me to keep my distance from these yahoos, though they were good for their entertainment value.
Bummer of the day. In Joshua Tree, you mark your campsite as occupied by leaving obvious items (tents, water jugs, etc.). Campsites are very, very difficult to get, and the one we had was a primo spot right by a bunch of climbs. After a long day of climbing, we returned to our campsite to find 3 people had moved in with their two HUGE tents. Apparently, the water jugs, yellow wheel chocks, big blue crate, and dish washing material wasn't obvious enough.
Me: And you guys didn't notice ALL the stuff?
Them: All we saw was trash.
Me: Right. And did you notice how carefully stacked all the "trash"
was, and how the yellow chocks were marking the parking spot
Them: We just thought it was trash
Me: Funny how there was only ONE spot left in the campground and it only
had "trash" in it. Very convenient.
And while this conversation was proceeding, foul-mouthed-Wendy was in the background shouting things a nice, sweet little girl shouldn't say! Where did she learn such things? I had to ask her to politely get into the van because I thought she was going to start a fight! Lesson of the day: don't piss off Wendy.
I hope the karma bugs bite them bad.
Wendy: Oooohhh was I pissed! I'm not exactly sure where the porta-potty-mouth appeared from, but it came out in full force! I had to actually walk away from the scene to keep from blowing a gasket. I'm not sure it did any good, but I did go into a whole tirade about karma, and if they are climbers how they should watch out since baloney like stealing a site and not admitting it will bite you in the butt in JTree. I also called them total losers, stupid punks from LA, and boneheads who will get what they pay for, to their faces, without even flinching. Not like me, but good to know I have it in me in case I ever need it again :) Andy, being the level headed guy that he is, bargained with them to move one car and let us set up the van, which they promptly did without question. How he could compromise in the midst of total idiots who lie and steal is beyond me, but that's my sweet generous hubby for you.
Wendy rappelling Tax Man, with the crux moves to her left. |