Badami Round II

As time began to run short for me in India my friend Otso suggested one more trip to Badami. I felt I had a very successful trip in Hampi, sending all but a few projects, so I agreed to go. Our crew was smaller this time comprised of Otso, Camilla, Kaare, Autumn, Dean, Tom and I. We said our goodbyes in Hampi and made our way to the local bus station to catch our bus, which we opted to take instead of the taxi. Tom, Dean and I were on top of the bus trying to secure our crash pads as the bus started to leave the station. The last thing I heard was Dean yell "This isn't safe!" as they bail off the top and climb aboard. Knowing the road conditions and the way these buses drive I knew our crash pads were as good as lost if I didn't tie them down, so i hunkered down and tried to speed up the process while yelling at the bus to stop. Not wanted to endure a couple hours on top of the roof, I quickly finished, jumped off and hopped aboard the moving bus. My knots lucky held and we arrive in Badami just as it got dark with all the crashpads still aboard. We celebrated our safe journey with delicious Indian Thali's, a common Indian meal with three different curries, rice, curd and roti bread with a dessert all for a little over a dollar, and of course Kingfisher beer.

Having spent more time in India since my last Badami trip I was able to relax and enjoy this trip more than the first one, despite the noise, filth and general chaotic vibe of India. I was also prepared for the kids, this trip. At the first sound of "school pen" I would turn and with wide eyes and a big goofy grin and go chasing after the kids yelling "school pen!" in my best witches voice. This usually did the trick either making them laugh or shocked them enough to not ask for anything else. The climbing was amazing, hopefully these pictures do this place justice.

Its funny, being in India I got to experience so many new things and my trip is full of little moments which I think back to and are so grateful to have been apart of. One of those moments happened during our last day in Badami. Otso and I had been climbing at an area bordering a small dirt path. We were told by the many kids that walked by with there cricket bats that it was a holiday and there was no school. Soon we found ourselves surrounded by close to twenty boys. I pulled the whole school pen routine chases them, tugging at there shirts, which they found very funny and the begging stopped. They watched us climb, helped spot and cheered when we sent. During our breaks they would climb atop the boulders and dare each other to jump off onto the crash pad. Otso showed them how it was done and soon the boys were taking turns jumping onto my pad as I took pictures. The heat was setting in so we started to pack up. The kids saw this and told us to come play cricket with them. We agreed and followed them to a flat sandy field where fifty some boys where playing a couple games of cricket. As I sat my pad down I was swarmed by kids all fighting over a place to sit on it. Otso and I would take turns bowling for the kids, all of which wanted a turn to hit a ball bowled from a westerner. Some of the older boys would stand next to me critiquing my bowling technique yelling, "wide, wide!" or "Good bowling!" when I managed to hit a wicket. I was soon offered a turn at bat and the kids took turns bowling for me, laughing when I missed and cheering when I made a good hit. The cricket soon turned to play fighting and typical boy shenanigans. I sat down and watched as the boys practiced there long jumping in the sand and laughed as one boy would drag his frightened friends up to me and tell me to wrestle or kick-box them. Rarely have I found anyone to be this friendly and open to strangers, but my time in India was filled with encounter like this, which I feel very fortunate to have experienced.

Otso on Badami Two Tap

Me on a unnamed 5.12ish climb. Photo Kaare Iverson


Camilla on an unnamed Classic


Otso on possibly the second ascent of Marble Rye.


More boys of Badami.


Official Asana pad testers. Apparently jumping down is more fun than climbing up.

The Badami round two crew enjoying a kingfisher.

Badami round one

Well folks I am back in the states trying to get over a post India sickness. I will continue to post stories, pictures and hopefully a few videos of my India trip in the next few weeks. Enjoy.

I first heard of Badami while climbing in Hampi. I was told it was home to amazing sandstone cliffs and boulders, so when my friend Chris Welden, a Canadian squamite, told me he was planning a trip there I was very keen to join. Badami, the erstwhile capital of the Chalukya empire, located in northern part of the India state of Karnataka lies between 100 and 200 kilometers from hampi. One of our faithful taxi drivers named "Funky" told us it was a 3 to 4 hour drive. This 3 hour drive slowly turned into a 6 hour drive, which was expected because driving anywhere in India is an extremely time consuming task. The tiny pot hole ridden roads make travel slow, massive traffic jams common and reckless driving apparently necessary. We were a two taxi van convoy each pack to the brim with three Indian drivers and eight climbers. I was seated in one of the vans, back up against the drivers seat looking out the back window. I would judge the level of danger I was in by the looks on Oyvind, Eirik and Jakobs faces, who were unlucky enough to see the oncoming traffic. There faces would go from nervous to anxious to scared to terrified, they would than close there eyes and flinch just as the taxi would swerve out of the passing lane narrowly missing one of the many oncoming giant buses or trucks, with there unbelievable loud horns. Each town we would go through the drivers would yell something and as our taxis would inevitably stop at a traffic jam curious Indian onlookers would swarm the van yelling "Your country!?" "Your name!?" "Schoolpen!?" "Rupee!?" "Biscuit!?". As the taxi would finally start driving again the children would chase after it yelling and screaming.

As dusk encroached we were welcomed to the site of sandstone cliffs and the dirty, noisy city of Badami. Just as the idea of dinner, beer and bed started to creep into my mind our chief negotiator Chico, a fluent Hindi speaker, Chris and Kevin or Beefcake came back from their hotel search and told us there were no rooms due to a Holiday. Since bed was no longer viable we opted for the dinner and beer. Over a cold kingfisher our luck changed. Chris had gone back to one hotel with a single empty room to see if it would be possible to fit all 16 of us into it for a night. While at the hotel the manager offered up their vacant group hall, used for weddings and parties, and the one empty room. We took it.

After a morning of chai and Masala Dosa, a potato and curry filled crape, we headed for the rocks. The rock in Badami is not as extensive as hampi, nothing is, but it is sandstone and it produces amazing, steep, thuggy climbs. The beautiful red swirled, marble rye breadsque rock, was a welcomed change from hampi and we spent the first day wondering the sandstone corridors and cliffs searching for boulders and the climbing gems of the area.

I quickly began to realize what an oasis Hampi and Goan's Corner was. Badami was much more like the real India I had heard of. Every day we would walk through slums and pass wild pig infested open sewers, trash piles and the occasional drunk passed out Indian man face down in the dirt on the side of the road. The biggest challenge was the kids. One morning on the way to the rocks we past through a Muslim slum. We were swarmed upon by 20 to 30 kids at first asking us our name and country. Then they started tugging at my hands asking for school pens, rupees, chocolate and biscuits; this was quite the experience. As we reached the edge of the town and started to walk up into the hills a few of the kids, obviously angry that they did not get anything from us, began throwing rocks. Before we could do much a parent appeared and the kids scattered. This was not the last of our experiences with the badami kids. Every day at least a few of them would find us hiding in the rocks and spend a few hours with us watching our every move. They started off begging, which worked at first. Hoping they would stop someone in our group would eventually give them a biscuit or empty water bottle or a bit of climbing tape. It quickly became apparent that this made the begging worse. Although this was frustrating I couldn't help but be sympathetic to them, for if I was in there situation I would do the same thing. After the kids realized they had gotten all they could out of us they began to act like kids. It was fun to watch them roughhouse with each other on our crashpads or try their hand at climbing with our over sized climbing shoes and chalk. We spent three nights in badami and then took the taxis back to Hampi where we spent new years, but I would return right before I left India. Badami round two soon to come.

Kids of Badami with Beefcake


Chris on an unnamed ungraded roof problem

The Monkeys showing us how it was done.

Otso on an unnamed ungraded roof problem


Colorful schoolgirls at the caves of Badami. Amazing temples carved out of the cliff face.


Otso on another unnamed ungraded gem


Beefcake enjoying the cramped six hour taxi ride back to Hampi.

Behind the lens with Kaare Iverson

Hey folks my time is running out in Hampi so I thought I better post some more photos. I have become friends with a Canadian climber/ photographer named Kaare Iverson and we went out one morning and shot some photos in the hot morning light. Note the colorful red shirt (Mike). Kaare was generous enough to let me post some of his beautifully composed pictures which depict the climbing in hampi very well. check out his blog on climbing.com- Kaare Iverson

I have one more week in hampi and than back to badami for some sandstone climbing before I have to head home I am in project mood right now and have managed to tick all but three of my projects hopefully the next four days will bring many sends. Lots more pictures and stories to come soon. Enjoy.

Unnamed problem V9/10
Copyright Kaare Iverson 2010

Space Baba V7/8
Copyright Kaare Iverson 2010

Slappin' the Baba V8
Copyright Kaare Iverson 2010

Ben Chico Pete and I bringing in the new years in style with many explosives.
Copyright Kaare Iverson 2010

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...