Family Trip

Well things rarely turn out just the way you plan them. I just got back from 8 days in Yanghsuo with the family and we did 'family stuff'. Only got to climb two days: a great day at the Egg and one more bolting a new line with Eben on Birdman. I did send the lower pitch on my new line on Birdman that I bolted last trip with Paul Collis. Still lots of good rock for multi-pitch climbs on the crag.

Let's see, we went bike riding and the weather was warm enough to have a swim in the Yu Long River. We did the Yangti to Xinping hike, floated the Yu Long on bamboo rafts, took a cooking class, spent a few mornings out at the Li River Retreat, played Shithead in Bar 98, even got in an evening of Majhong. That, along with hanging out in and out of town and eating at our favorite restaurants, all added up to a great trip that went by too fast.

On the climbing front, Spiderman Paul, along with Tyson and Ah Dong, put up a beautiful new line on a new crag near the Mountain Retreat an the bank of the Yu Long River. They are very excited about it but couldn't send the 2nd pitch - they're still trying (might be a 5.13), good luck. Eben and I started bolting the diagonal crack to the left of the chimey crack on Birdman. It was slow going and will need at least one more day to complete. We chose this line first because we can put in anchors from the top of the second pitch that can be used to bolt the second pitch on my line in case climbing it on trad proves too difficult for me.

Chris Sharma was slated to arrive in Yanghsuo today for a 20-day stay during which he plans to bolt some signature lines. Ah Ban and Ah Chen have a few things picked out for him at White Mountain. This should attract more international climbers to the area. There is a good crew of climbers in town now and the numbers usually start going up around this time of year till the summer heat chases people to cooler climes. Fun to be involved with such a growing climbing area.