Photos for the new year

Well it is news years eve I am back in hampi after a successful trip to Bodomy and I have 100 pounds of really big fireworks in my room that me and two friends Ben and Chico went and bought in Hospet to light off for the new years. If you have spent any time around me you will know that this is a dream come true for me, I really like explosions. I will post photos and stories of Bodomy and new years soon. Happy new years and with luck I will still have all my fingers for climbing tomorrow!

Vincent on Double Tap V7/8

After a very bad night

Ben on the uber classic Cosmic Crimp V4

Julie on French Traverse V6

Julie on 90 degree arete V6

Christmas Eve

The Dehli Belly and A Merry Christmas

I think it was about 3 in the morning when I completely lost it. The past eight hours of "purging"had taken its toll. I struggled to push my sweat drenched body off the floor of my hut where I had just spent the past 15 minutes doubled up over a bucket. My abs, from over use had unfortunate stopped working properly and cramped up with each heave, prompting my body to contort into positions where my muscles could relax. The severe dehydration and fatigue had finally went to my head, my thoughts were random and didn't make sense. My sickness manifested itself in my mind as a sour old lady who for reasons unbeknownst to me would not leave me alone. it would be another four hours of this before I managed to fall asleep face up on the floor with my feet propped up on the bed the only position I could find that would ease my stomach. The Delhi belly Sharmila calls it and you haven't been to India unless you have gotten it I am told. It is a violent reminder that clean water and food is something I take for granted but is a luxury only few can afford. It would be 4 days until I could eat again and a few more until I gained my strength back to climb. But I managed to get well just in time for Christmas eve after a day of great climbing we were greeted with a hug feast, games and a British Santa that handed out secret Santa gifts. Christmas Day brings climbing, of course, and a cricket game during that day, should be fun.
Tomorrow a group of us are travelling down south to a new sandstone climbing area called Bodomy which is rumored to be amazing. My tendons are continuing to get stronger, before I got sick I managed to send Goan Corner V8 probably the most stunning arete I have ever climbed my friend Ben managed to get the send on film so I will post that when I can. Well I wish everyone back home a very Marry Christmas and until next time...

Photos

Ben and the endless boulder fields.

Me on an unnamed problem. photo-Kaare Iverson

Pete on Indian Summer V9

Duncan on cosmic friction V5

Indian boy showing off for rupees or school pens.

Climbing in Hampi

I have been in hampi for almost 2 weeks now. Unfortunately I am nursing 2 tendon injuries. I injured them while i was in bishop and thought they felt better after taking 3 weeks off before arriving in hami. The first day climbing here I got way to excited and climbed a problem named kingfisher, a classic V6 or so with a small left crimp in the crux. This unfortunately did not make my tendons happy and they started acting up again, so i have been stuck climbing problems with slopers or holds I can open hand with my left, hampi, being the land of crimpers makes this difficult. Even with my injuries I am having an amazing time. I managed to climb a problem called double tap, which is an amazing 7b that climbs a tall double arete, that ranks as one of the best climbs I have ever done (picture of that climb to come). The atmosphere and vibe of hampi is amazing. Life is very simple. I wake up early climb until it got too hot than come back and order breakfast than hang out drinking chi, playing chess, slacklining and reading until it cools down enough to go climbing again. As the darkness encroaches I wonder back to the guest house and enjoy another massive Indian dinner topped off with one of Shamilia's( guest house owner) amazing deserts. All for dirt cheap. Not a bad life.
As for the climbing the amount of rock in hampi is unreal there is rock as far as the eye can see. Ben, an Aussie friend, and I rented mopeds for a day and cruised up to the local lake for a swim and than explored some of the windy dirt roads that run through the fields of boulders connecting small towns. I was amazed at how much room there is for development in hampi. Only a fraction of what could be climbed here has been and the climbing is good. A bit sharp but no sharper than bishop or Joshua Tree. Well that is enough out of me, I wish everyone well enjoy the pictures, and until next time...

Some pics

Monkey at Monkey Temple

Enjoying Some Chia after a motorcycle ride.

Perry Climbing at the Small cave area.

Airplane V6

The Middle Way V11

58 hours of travel later...

It is 300am i am laying in bed in hampi. I laid down and fell asleep 15 hours ago. I hoped to wake up in the evening to get a climbing session in but to no avail. i guess i needed the sleep. I am overwhelmingly happy to have made it to hampi safely. This is the longest journey i have ever made to get to a climbing area. 58 hours straight of travel with roughly only 8 very poor hours of sleep, hense the 15 hours straight of sleep!! the flights were uneventful boise-LAX-Dubia-Mumbia-Goa. I had a 3 hour layover in Dubia were i wandered the enormous and extremely lavish airport. the wealth there was obvious. Giant fountains, waterfalls, gardens and amazing architecture made the 3 hours go by very quickly. I cleared customs in Mumbi. Guards carrying AK'47s remind me that I am no longer in America. I take my bags out of the customs x-ray machines and can't help but smile at the sleeping guard that is running it. guess they do things alittle different here.
The morning of my flight I made a last minute decision to buy a cheap flight to Goa, south of mumbia, and opt out of the 10 hour train ride, good decision. From Goa I take an overpriced taxi to Margoa bus station, a state run bus station. The taxi pulls into the far back corner of the dirt lot next to a giant white sleeper bus. Before I can get out 3 men come up to me.
"were you go?"
"Hospet."
The men converse. "Ok you take this bus to Bangalore than catch another bus to hospet."
I shake my head. "No I want to go to hospet."
They along with the taxi driver assure me there is no bus to hospet. I take a map out of india out and point out hospet and then bangalore to the bus men. Bangalore would be 12 hours out of my way.
"Hospet."
"no Bangalore than hospet"
"how much"
"900 rupees"
I laugh and shake my head. "no no no!"
900 rupees equal about $18 sounds cheap for a 12 hour bus ride but is way over priced for india. I ask the bust driver were the bus station is and to take me there. HE tells me this is it. I have spent time in other countries and have been riped off before so I would think I have a pretty good idea when I am being played. I ask the driver for my pad in the trunk and walk away. 100 yards away I find the ticket counter and buy a ticket to hospet for 220 rupees roughly 5 dollars. I have to wait 6 hours for the bus. I don't particularly feel like walking around Goa with my giant backpack and crash pad so I take my pack off and sit on my pad. I am the only Westerner at the bus station that is swarming with people. Almost everyone who walks by first stares at the giant white boy and then at his giant bright red and black asana crash pad. I smile and more often than not the smile is returned. 2 old Indian women sit down next to me on some steps they look at me then my pad and giggle at each other. I smile at them making them giggle some more. I am covered in sweat not yet used to the humidity. I turn to the women fan my face with my hand and say "hot" they say something in hindi and laugh. one holds out her hand and ask for pasos I shake my head, they soon lose interest and ignore me.
A few hours later a well dressed man sits next to me I smile and say hi he speaks english and we begin to chat. he asks what I do for a living I tell him i am a fireman. He tells me he is an engineer. After a few minutes of small talk he ask me how much money I make. I tell him 13 dollars an hour and also explain hazard pay and over time. He sarcastically replies "thats it?!" I am a bit taken back since he is an engeener, naively thinking he was well off. I ask him how much he makes he laughs and shakes his head I press him alittle harder and he finally tells me. 20,000 ruppees a month. alittle less than $500 a month and he has a university eduction.
THe bus amazingly arrived on time.
"Hublihospethublihospethublihospet!!" was the bus conductors call. he said it so fast I couldn't understand. Finally I went up and ask "hospet?" annoyed he assured me yes it was going to hospet. As I got on the bus a bus official took my ticket looked at my pad and said I could not bring it on the bus. I argued with him all the while trying to cram my pad in an over head rack. It wouldn't fit so I resorted to stuffing it on end next to the window. This made the bus man more angry telling me "you people are becoming as big problem." NOt sure if he meant climbers or westeners, probably both. I told he I would fix it. As more passengers entered he got feed up and stormed off. I sat next to my pad with my backpack at my feet and tried to make myself as small as possible as the bus official kept throwing me nasty looks. The bus was not meant for people my size and I had to lean forward and angle my bent legs up and left to fit. My hope to sleep a few hours on the 12 hour bus ride were quickly dashed as the bus became completely full. The cold stares I received made me uneasy. This was the first time in a while were I felt unsafe. This feeling subsided as the hours pasted along witht the dark stairs. My neighbors warmed up as I tried to converse with them. The 12 hours past in a fatigue produced haze. I badly wanted to sleep but the road was to rough and I was to cramped to sleep more the 10 to 15 minutes at a time. My nerves were wearing thin by the bus drivers amazing feats of reckless driving and the guards that searched the bus for weapons, drugs and bombs. I watched the sun rise from my seat and soon found myself on the last leg of the journey hospet to hampi. a short 15 inute bus ride. The bus drove past boulder after boulder the size of the peabodys in bishop. I was soon welcomed by the sight of gigantic hindu temples and endless mountains of granite boulders. I pushed past the peddlers and beggars and made my way to goan corner. A quiet guesthouse nestled by the a boulders field on hampi island. Exhausted and happy I ate a delicious breakfast of puri banji, chia and orange juice and went to bed.
Picture to come the internet is slow.

Boise to Hampi

Just thought I would quick upload my first post before I start my long journey to Hampi India. Hopefully my future posts will be more exciting. I leave tomorrow from Boise to LA to Dubai to Mumbai than catch a train to Hospet via Goa than a short bus to Hampi... I hope. It will definitely be an experience traveling by myself in a country like india, but I hear the people are friendly the food delicious and the climbing amazing.

Just a quick recap on what I have been up to: after finishing my job with the sawtooth hotshots I went to Joe's Valley, Utah and Bishop, California to get in bouldering shape after not climbing all summer. Unfortunately I tweaked two tendon pulleys in my left hand and had to leave bishop early to let them heal, which they should be by the time I make it to hampi. Joe's and bishop was fun; much climbing was done all around and I had the opportunity to meet and climb with some cool laid back climbers. Hopefully this is a good indication to all the cool people I will meet on my journey to Hampi. Well that is all folk I will leave you with a few pictures from the past few months. look for an update in a week or two.
Conrad

Joe's close to full Moon

Jeff Smith working Maxipad V6

Me on Playmate of the Year V9

Pawel working Worse Case Scenario

Jon on Cindy Swank V7