Back to climbing on La Barrosa: Part 2

Gaby having a seat and Analia belaying in the Autodromo

Like I've said before, La Barrosa is awesome for bouldering but kind of mediocre for routes. For roped climbing, you're much better off going to the nearby Sierra La Vigilancia or Sierra de los Difuntos. However, there are more than 50 established climbs on La Barrosa and it's not a bad place to go, if it's within walking distance from your home. The routes are very short (two bolts to four bolts in length with a few short gear routes mixed in) but tend to have hard moves for their grade and be suprisingly continuous and pumpy. .

There are three main areas for roped climbing. El Autodromo, on the west slope of La Barrosa above the Juan Manuel Fangio Racetrack has a total of 16 routes: 13 bolted and 3 short gear routes. El Bosque, in the tree covered area further south on the west slope also has 16 routes (five of which require some gear). The Matrix, on the south end of La Barrosa, has 27 routes, and handful of which require gear (some of my original routes have been retrobolted, which is fine by me).

Getting the clip on an 11a in the Autodromo

It may be short, but it's a five star route

Even after you do the crux, you still have to get to the top

In difficulty, the routes range from about 5.8 to around 12a, with one other bolted route that is much harder (some kind of bouldery 5.13, I suppose). My hardest send since the surgeries was an 11d in the Bosque called "North American Invasion", that I did last Friday, on my third go. This is the hardest sport climb I've been able to do in around a decade.

Local guy, Cristian "Segu" Segura, getting the clip on North American Invasion in 2012

Climbing an 11b face in the Bosque

So far this year I've managed 10 out of 16 of the routes in the Autodromo, 12 out of 15 in thr Bosque and 13 out of 27 in the Matrix (the weather hasn't been very conducive to climbing in the Matrix up to this point) for a total of 35 out of 58.

Martín on a short 10a face in the Autodromo

There's a tricky move here

I'm hoping I can climb 50 routes on La Barrosa this year (that will involve climbing some new ones that are kind of hard for me) and at least 150 different total pitches (so far, including the routes in Red Rocks and Prescott I've managed 69). We'll see how that goes.

Mica

Sunset from the Autodromo

Paragliding above the Autodromo on La Barrosa

Buster the dog

Hi Buster

Close up

Descending from the Autodromo with the last light

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Back to climbing on La Barrosa: Part 1

High stepping with the resurfaced hip

So I've been climbing a lot recently. Well, a lot, I suppose, considering that I'm a 57-year-old math professor, father, husband and home-owner who really needs to do some yard work. I guess I'm just lucky enough to be able to take some free time at this point in my life. The new hips help, too.

The weather has been almost continually dry and warm, although, perhaps, with a bit too much humidity to achieve absolute climbing perfection. The farmers aren't too happy about the lack of rain, but I've been able to average at least three days a week climbing outdoors since returning from the USA. Except for a couple of times in my gym, all of my climbing has been on La Barrosa. .

When there's no one else to climb with, I go out bouldering alone. This suits me fine. Gaby is climbing with me on the weekends, but she hasn't hardly climbed for years and she's a little too wigged, right now, even for easier bouldering. She's mostly interested in doing moderate climbs on top rope. However, she did go to the boulders with me a couple of times and take some pictures. For example, she took this sequence of  me on an old V2 problem at the Middle-earth, that involves a couple of steep finger jams in a short crack.

First shot of a sequence on a problem at the Middle-earth with Mica looking the other way

Jam the fingers on the left

Jam the fingers on the right and set up for a big move. The chalk bag shows how steep things are

Mica's watching now, but the rest is a cakewalk

Gaby managed to send a long V1 traverse across the main face in the Middle-earth. Although it used to be easy for her, she had to work it some before completion and this was her first time across in many years. 

Gaby does the right to left version of a long V1 traverse.  

Me doing the left to right version of a V2 traverse in the Middle-earth

V2 traverse shot 1

V2 traverse shot 2

Shot 3

Shot 4

Just before the end of the V2 traverse, there is a is a beautiful and classic V2 problem, called Bilbo, that goes up to the right of the triangular roof seen above. 

A beautiful and classic V2 problem called Bilbo

This reach to a jug is followed by a big move to the horizontal crack above

Finishing up Bilbo

To left of Bilbo is a semi-highball V3 that goes up and over the left side of that triangular roof. On this V3 problem, the big jug on Bilbo is too far to the right to be any help. The problem was first done by Mariano Maceri and Diego de la Torre some years back and I managed to do it for the first time in my life, just recently (no pictures, though). It's really not so bad: one just has to commit to an intimidating, off-balance move out right in order to get up and reach a solid side pull in the triangular roof. That intimidating move out right is pretty much all there is to it.

Buster at the Usual Boulders 

About 100 meters northwest of the Middle-earth is the area we call the Usual Boulders, where Gaby snapped some photos of me on a long traverse. Done in its complete form, this traverse probably weighs in at V4.

Heel hooking on a long traverse problem

With all this climbing, my back is starting to get ripped again. 

Still a few moves left on this V4 traverse

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What I did on my summer vacation

My sister Pam, Ceci and Gaby on a walk around Starvation lake

I went to high school in a small town near Spokane, Washington and my parents spent their last decades living in and around the same area, so even though I moved to Salt Lake City to work and study at University of Utah for a seven year stretch before I left to Argentina in 1994, I still think of Spokane as a home to go back to. It's where I went to visit my folks when they were still alive and my sister continues to live in the forested hills up to the north. I hadn't been back since Mom died in 2011 and I hadn't seen my sister since she came to visit during my surgery in Ghent, in 2012, so I knew it was time to make a trip back to my origins.

Gaby, Ceci and I were able to take almost an entire month off, to make our summer vacation trip back to the USA.

During the first eight days of the trip we stayed a few nights in Spokane and for the rest of that time we stayed at my sister's house near Starvation Lake, in northeastern Washington.

Starvation Lake in northeast Washington

There was no climbing during this period, but we did go on some walks in the snow.

Gaby, Pam and Ceci on a hike around the lake

Then we flew down to Las Vegas to spend the next eight days at Red Rocks.

Is it any wonder this place is called Red Rocks?

We camped out

Our campsite at Red Rocks

and met up with some old, long-lost friends.

Mike, Joe, Ceci and Gaby together for some climbing and good times at Red Rocks

Of course we climbed

Climbing a 5.10 in the Black Corridor

Ceci top-ropes a steep 5.8

Starting up a 5.9

Higher up the same route

Gaby top-roping the 5.9

The end of a beautiful day

Joe styling a 5.9

Relaxed on a 5.10a

After eight days in Red Rocks we drove down to Prescott where my niece lives. There we met up with my sister, my great niece and my great nephew (both children of my sister's son). We spent six days in Prescott, where I managed to get out and climb two days with Gaby in the Granite Dells

Hiking in to climb at the Granite Dells

Gaby slab climbing in the Granite Dells

Gaby higher up on the same slab

Hiking between climbing sectors in the Granite Dells

Butt shot of Gaby climbing on a nice slab in the Granite Dells

I also managed to escape by myself and check out some boulders at Groom Creek one afternoon. All and all, over the whole summer vacation, I was able to climb 34 routes (32 onsights and two redpoints), of which 13 routes were 5.10a or harder. I also backed off a couple of other routes that wigged me out too much. In addition, I also climbed about six boulders (no crash pads, so I felt limited) at Groom Creek.

After our time at Prescott, we headed back to my sister's house to spend some time together as a family before finally making the long trip back to Argentina. 

Tim, Gaby, Ceci, Pam's husband Curt and my sister Pam out to dinner in Colville, Washington