Ross met me in Newport beach at the end of the conference. He’d arrived in LA that morning and picked up a rental car. We had dinner with our friends and colleages, Matt and Audrey, and then skipped town for Santa Ana. We picked up groceries in an entirely Latin American part of town (the only liquor they stocked was tequila; at least 30 varieties of it). These and the piles of jicamas were lovely reminders of this time last year when were in Cozumel, Mexico. We stayed overnight in Santa Ana and then headed out of town in the morning. Wanting to get out of the LA urban sprawl, we didn’t stop until Palm Springs. The entrance to the valley was a forest of wind farm towers. The town itself was as rich in golf courses as it was in expensive trucks. We found a sports store to buy a camping stove (Alaska airlines don’t permit them… not even brand new ones so we picked up a MSR PocketRocket and a couple of butane canisters), loaded the trunk with groceries and headed north to Joshua Tree.

Pretty soon it felt like real desert and we enjoyed the cactus and the dry air. We took pleasure in the warmth from the sun as, when it slipped below the horizon, the temperatures plummeted to around freezing. We camped among some truly awesome boulders, scavenging wood from other fireplaces to keep us warm while we cooked our dinner. In the morning we climbed a hill and then continued north-west through the park stopping where the vegetation (yucca, cactus, joshua trees) or boulders became especially dense and inspiring. We hiked to the fortynine palms oasis and spent the second night at Indian Cove at the north tip for a quick getaway to Death Valley in the morning.

The next day at around lunch time we entered the Death Valley national park from the Southern tip and traveled north through Death Valley itself. We stopped at the salt flats and at Badwater (the lowest point in the Western hemisphere, as one group of particularly loud American’s kept repeating, at 87m below sea level). The sun was low as we drove along artist’s drive. The warm light enhanced the amazing colours at artists palette and we ran though the narrow canyons in awe of the greens and reds and purples in the rock. At camp we diligently collected coals from a dozen cold fire rings, but in a moment of absence a coyote ran off with the bag leaving us with a small fire. Soon after dinner we were cold enough for bed.
The next morning we searched for the pupfish at salt-creek, but they are inactive in winter so we warmed ourselves up playing in the sand-dunes. We visited mosaic canyon, amazingly narrow at first then opening into high, steep walls. Further north we ventured into Titus canyon, formed by a fracture between tectonic plates it runs 26 miles though the entire western mountain range. Apparently there is a ghost town and some petroglyphs six miles in but we only had time to go part way before dark.
The last full day of our holiday was one of extremes. We awoke in the desert and then hiked around the rim of the 600 ft deep Ubehebe volcanic crater. We left Death Valley and drove south-east towards the Nevada state line. We passed a bright pink brothel, a respectful couple of miles outside the limits of a small desert town. We stopped at a ghost town, which in its goldrush heyday had a population of 8000, but now is merely a few rubble remains. We drove endless miles on straighter than straight roads and then hit the limits of Las Vegas, an incredible strip of surburbia-in-the making. I swear there were at least 30 blocks of half built homes. It’s obvious that it is the fastest growing city in the USA.

We drove right though Vegas to the Hoover Dam and then back to our hotel. The Orleans casino and hotel is huge. The rooms were lush and comfortable, especially for $35CA (!!!) and the casino floor was busy and glitzy. We had rib-steaks and classic martinis at one of the restaurants and then headed out to the strip. Our first mistake was thinking we could walk the slighty-less-than-a-mile. Lost in a maze of freeway entrances and huge parking lots we eventually entered the strip by the back-entrance.  Our second mistake was entering Ceasar’s palace without a map. That place is HUGE, and every gambling hall looks the same. I swear there must be a factory churning out old ladies in black shiny pants, sparkly spandex tops and nicotine stained platinum up-dos. We visited NewYork New York, Paris, The Bellagio (the fountain display was truly impressive), Ceasar’s Palace, Excaliber and the Tropicana before deciding that they are all exactly the same inside. We gambled a total of $2 US …with a 3c return… and then took a $8 cab the mile back to the Orleans. At 5am, when we left for the airport, the casino was slightly less busy than when we went to bed at midnight, but not much else had changed. I think every day is the same in Vegas… except maybe Christmas when the machines give double payouts…

Vancouver was in full-on Vancouver rain mode for the whole week. Stuff was hectic but we had great dinners with Megan, Lukas, Anton, Juan, Rachel, Jordan, Matt, Meghan, Nicole and Richard. The packing is done and that is the end of my living in Vancouver. I think I’ll always miss the mountain view from my apartment. Always. Always. Always.

Brrr.

The clouds cleared this morning while I was having breakfast and I saw how much snow there is on the north shore mountains for the first time. Cypress, Grouse and Seymour are all open 9am to 10pm… and if you have a ride and $73 to drop on a one day (8:30 to 3pm-ish; $37 for a single ascent back-country pass) then obviously Whistler-Blackcomb has snow too.

It feels like Christmas at last, though, the pretty tree on Beach Ave, downtown is lit up … I can see it from my window, but it’s obscured by a huge floodlight for yet another movie, or TV episode being filmed in Vanier Park.

I needed a break Friday and so took the day off and ended up spending the afternoon at the Squamish Smoke Bluffs with Lukas, Megan and Jazzy. We climbed the classic crack Penny Lane and then climbed some featureless slabs… Lukas sent a sweet 5.10c (trad) at Ronin’s Corner. Dinner at The Brew in Squamish and back to Vancouver.

Saturday, I met up with Alex, Jeremy, Nikki and Patrick at the Edge and went up to Squamish again. Dave and Nicole  met us there, which was good as I have not seen them for ages and ages. Jackie and Doug were also climbing there. Dinner at The Shady Tree then back to Vancouver  to my place to watch the Celebration of Light finals (Sweden won… with Abba, yay!) and drink Rum and Cokes with Marc and Catherine.

Up early(ish) Sunday to hike up the Lions (1525m) with Alex, Damon and Leah (and a well wrapped left knee!).  Well at least I drove there in the car with them, but they went (WAY) ahead so I went up on my own.  The trail was stupidly busy but the views were really good.

Yesterday Alex and I hiked the Baden Powell Trail from Horseshoe Bay to the top of Black Mountain. Roughly a 900m elevation gain, it was a 5 hour round trip including lunch at the summit.  I have done this hike before – it’s a fabulous hike, especially for being just 30min drive from the city. I think we were quicker than last year.

I also had a very relaxing Sunday night where I played Clue and Scattagories and exchanged Arapiles for Yosemite stories with Megan, Lukas, Eva, Anton, Jazzy and Shire. I’ll  really miss these guys when I’m gone :(

1 Proximity to Squamish
2 Having an 8th floor apartment overlooking English Bay, which, for four nights a year, hosts the Vancouver Celebration of Light tri-nation firework competition
3 Cheap and excellent sushi.

The weekend has been relaxing so far…. Friday night barbecue on Nicole and Richard’s deck in North Van (to celebrate Richard’s 35th (!))… Matt brought a walking frame to the party and Jordan started to shake when it was pointed out that Rich is now closer to 40 than 30… It was SO good to see everyone , including Yoda Matt, “Fuck your shit up, I will”.

Saturday, after contemplating bouldering in Pemberton with Matt and Meghan and deciding we were making too late a start, Alex and I met up with Jeremy, Nikki and Patrick at the Edge and went climbing at the Sport Temple and Pleasure Dome areas north of Squamish where we met up with Terry McColl. Patrick made an epic ascent of ‘Just Glue It’ at the temple (video)before rushng ack to Vancouver to iron a shirt and go to a wedding and Nikki made her first 5.12 red-point in two years. Alex and I climbed  ‘Phantom Menace’ and Alex had an epic and tangled rappel from the top of the second pitch on Patrick’s 80m rope.

After climbing we whizzed back to the city in a hour (plus half an hour to park the cars in the hordes of firework traffic), picked up trays of great sushi from the Kishi Sky place on 1st and Nikki, Jeremy, Alex, Dryw, Marc and myself ate and watched the fireworks in my apartment. The performing nation was Sweden and we listened up the music via the simulcast on Classic Rock FM (8th floor in Kits is bit too far to hear it live from the barge). I didn’t see Canada’s performance on Wednesday, but heard they set their fireworks to jazz and it was excellent. Sweden chose to set theirs to what Marc and I decided must have been the soundtrack to an 80s movie, starring either Rob Lowe or Patrick Swayze (Pat just having the edge). Just when I was thinking it was way too Eurovision, they wove in some of Abba’s greatest hits…

-Wednesday at Cliffhanger with Rachel. So nice to see old friends again.
-Thursday at the Edge with Alex.
-Friday at the Senior Centre (a crag near Deep Cove) at the end of  private road that you have to dodge the residents to get along… Nice vertical climbing and you can see the water at Indian Arm from the road.
-Saturday was Nordic at Whistler with Nikki, Jeremy, Scott and Alex. On the way home we stopped at the Shady Tree in Squamish and, inevitably, bumped into familiar faces: Dale, who has been climbing in Squamish with a bunch of people and then, taking their table after they had left, Mike Doyle and  Audrey who had been hiking in Garabaldi provincial park.

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