It’s been a heck of a summer. Somehow four months has whipped right past my eyes, a blur of house projects, play dates, teenage social life obligations, gymnastics, gymnastics and more gymnastics and way too much work. Plans to head up to the cool pines of Flagstaff for a day of bouldering kept getting canceled, or postponed. Tired and grumpy seemed to be tainting our usually psyched and happy household. We needed to get out, just the four of us. Needed to wake up in the van, hike out to some good boulders and pull hard, head back to camp and make some simple food, climb into our sleeping bags all sweaty and dirty, wake up and do it again. And if we really wanted to pamper ourselves, throw a big ‘ol epic hike on top of all that. Yes, this is exactly what this family needed.
That’s it. We’re going. And we’re leaving Friday. Or one of us will most definitely spontaneously combust.
Upon returning to Flagstaff with Jen, Brian and family in tow, we soon learned that friends John and Mandy with their four kids were also going to meet us there. 8 kids on a climbing trip! Gah! Silas dubbed the week “Kids Paradise.” Well put, Silas. 🙂
The Boys
Saltine Crack Whore, v10
Paul sending Saltine Crack Whore (and nobody cares, heh heh)
Brian flashing Disco Polly, v6
Jen sending an Unnamed v5 at Gomez Traverse
After getting rained out one afternoon and thinking the day was done we all headed back to camp, only to find the weather all cleared up. Not able to resist the pleasant temps that the rain had brought we decided to get a little wild (wild, that is, for parents with small kiddos that outta be in bed at a reasonable time if we don’t want to pay for it later). We ordered up a stack of take-out pizzas downtown and then drove out to Super Roof for an evening session. Wild, I tell ya. 😉
Jen looking gorgeous
The boys really got obsessed with this one. An Unnamed V2 on Badass Roof. Both Seb and Oren sent!
On one weekend at Priest Draw our friends Cat and Gus joined us. Both are now Protocol enthusiasts too. Climbers plus weightlifting? Don’t knock until you try.
WHICH pocket?! A common scene at Bat Roof, v3
The kids have their own use for all these pockets
Gus slapping his way up Wife Beater, v8
Cat on an adjacent and also slappy unnamed v2 we oh-so-creatively refer to as “Sister Beater”
Paul giving a sending go on Carnibroiler, v12, which he nailed the following weekend
And me on Meateater, v7. DONE! FINALLY! Still can’t believe this thing was so hard for me. I’ve vowed to never attempt a repeat. Ever!
Icing on the cake, I snag Move N Groove Barbie, v7 the following weekend. Woo!
I’m sharing a bit of a backlog with you all. School is now back in session but summer was a blast! We spent the early part of the summer bouldering at Priest Draw up in Flagstaff, which is typical for us. But what’s not typical is the amount of sendage that went down in such a few short trips. Paul took down Pink Lightning v11 the very first weekend we were there! (Which I got neither pics nor video of because I honestly wasn’t thinking he’d actually send it that soon, haha). And I quickly cleaned up my long standing nemesis Meateater v7 without much effort. The kids were little crushers too, with Silas topping out actual legit boulder problems versus the typical “kids climbs” that they make up for themselves on smaller boulders. It’s been a good summer, and a great encore to my own comeback from such lousy health this time last year. I’ll start off with posting some pics. Video to follow…eventually. Heh! We’re busy around here these days! 😉
John warming up
Mandy styling Flip Flop Traverse, v1
Kite flying! I’m embarrassed to say that soon after this photo was taken the kite’s tail got stuck in the top of a tall pine and ripped off, leaving an ugly piece of red plastic litter overhead. All of the kids apologized to Mother Nature profusely. Can’t say as that made any of us feel any better about the blunder. 🙁