It might be back on...

We got expelled from the Valley and ended up in Las Vegas. After spending a night on the Strip we found ourselves a cheap hotel on the Red Rocks side of town. (All campsites were closed due to the government shutdown and the only free camping dangerously close to a methhead encampment.)

We spent an enjoyable week ticking our way though classics in Black Velvet Canyon. The climbing at Red Rocks is excellent: solid, multipitch sandstone with conviently bolted belays and protection bolts for when everything started to get scary! If you haven't been go there, it's ace.

After our week of extravagance it was back to a Spartan existence in Bishop. We stayed at the very pleasant free camping adjacent to the Buttermilks and visited the Happys, the Sads, the Buttermilks and the Pollengrains. As a mostly non boulderer (I'm just too weak and rubbish) I had a great time doing some of the very easy problems. They certainaly don't give the V grades out with sweeties - infact it is the only place I've climbed that makes the grades at the Indy Wall look soft!

Thankfully the US Government has sorted itself out and we are now on our way back into Yosemite. We've only got twelve days remaining in the states. If we pull our fingers out we should have enough time to climb the Nose and the Regular Route on Half Dome, but we are going to be cuting it fine.

Burrows seconding the crux of Dream of Wild Turkeys.

Ollie on Sourmash.

Black Velvet Canyon - not a shit crag.

Thank God for that...

King 'Ledge.

Burrows crushing at the Happy's.

Maddie crimping for Warrington on Mister Witty - V6.

Howard bellyflopping for Warrington on Pope's Prow.

Maddie on the Northwest Arête of Grandma Peabody.

Melted marshmallows the pudding of heros.

There wasn't much space on the drive to Yosemite.