Vomit, Ice and Hotels

Even though I escaped the misery of Swedish winters it isn't always sunny and warm here in the States.  A recent cold spell that has farmers throughout California fretting over crops has also troubled us and sent us into contingency mode.  Our little family was snowed out of Joshua Tree and then Hammie spent a night projectile vomiting.  Our attempt to escape to warmer conditions in Las Vegas was interrupted with hurried stops so I could spew into the desert and while Vegas was indeed "warmer" it could hardly be described as pleasant.  The combination of freezing temperatures and sickness has sent us scrabbling to discount accommodations and in the last 10 days I've filled my hotel quota for the next year.

While the hotel life isn't cheap by dirtbag standards it has allowed our little family to recover from sickness and kept my girls warm and sane.  We've also braved the cold a few days and are hoping to escape the hotel a few more times before the journey to cold Salt Lake City.

I do realize that I have no reason to complain about weather as my Swedish friend are hunkered down in Scandinavia but I'm still going to shake my fist at the thermometer and wish I was bronzing under the warm sun.  Fortunately the weather is getting warmer and we have a couple nice days in St. George to look forward to.

Here are a few pictures

 Praire pre-snow on Stem-Gem in Joshua Tree

One of the cooler new problems I did in J-Tree.  Frenchie is a little dirty but with a little more traffic it should clean up nice

 Two sickies.  The vomiting was over at this point but we where far from good.  I'm glad Lina never got the sickness

 Desert Rain is an awesome problem in Red Rocks outside Las Vegas

Lina on a cool steep problem in Red Rocks

On the Road Again

Happy New Year!  It may be a couple days late but I hope 2013 brings big things for everyone.

We brought in the New Year with friends and family in Malibu and have spent the last few days hanging on the beach and hitting up local climbing spots.  Our plans have been up in the air but now it looks like we'll be on a route that takes us through Joshua Tree, Vegas, and Moe's Valley on our way to Salt Lake City.  I'll try to be more on top of the blog as I've been busy sorting video footage (always a time consuming task) and I've got some big plans for Kearney Journey in 2013.

For the time being here are a couple older videos from Joshua Tree in case someone near by needs motivation to come meet up this weekend.



Joshua Tree Bouldering: Bittersweet and So High from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.


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Joshua Tree Bouldering from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Joshua Tree's Geology Tour Road

Geology Tour Road was the one area in Joshua Tree I had never managed to check out during my brief stopovers through the years.  It was said to contain a few of J-Trees best problems and provided a reason to spend a day back in the quartz monzonite playground.  Excited to see a new place, I borrowed a bouldering guide and checked out every noteworthy problem listed in Geology Tour Road.

As per usual in J-Tree, you have to sift through lots of choss to find the gems but those that enjoy exploring will certainly appreciate the potential.  Unfortunately I didn't have time to do too much exploring of this mostly underdeveloped sector and spent the day chasing stars from the guide.  It was a good day and I now have a few more problems to recommend to friends heading to J-Tree.

If J-Tree had more problems like Y2K then I'd probably spend more time there

 Prairie just getting started on the classic highball Slashface.

Prairie on Pinched Loaf, which is officially added to my list of J-Tree favorites 

Cacti 

Joshua Tree Video

I still haven't been climbing since returning to Sweden. While the weather has provided windows it has not been conducive to taking out my toddling sidekick. It seems to always be too cold, too windy, or too wet but I hope that soon everything can come together. I manage to keep the shakes at bay with attempts to potty-train my daughter, which will be my hardest send to date.

Here is a short video of a couple problems in Joshua Tree. Bittersweet is a steep crimpy line right behind a campsite in Hidden Valley and So High is a Jtree classic that blurs the line between high-balling and free-soloing. Bittersweet requires strong fingers and So High requires a strong head and both come recommend.

I'm also toying around with my editing program and trying some different things. I'd like to know what folks think of the split screen and would be psyched for feedback.

Hope you enjoy.

J-Tree

The weather improved across the board so we left the restful confines of Malibu for van living and rock gripping. We are now back in Las Vegas after a brief stop in Joshua Tree. Our two days in J-Tree were good for Lina to get reacquainted with real rock and I sent a couple problems I have been meaning to try. Here are a couple pictures

The intimidating So High

Off the deck

Shipwrecked

J-Tree slab climbing

Joshua Tree Bouldering Video

Here's another video from the States. The footage is from last winter and is a collection of a few of the problems in Joshua Tree. There are still lots of Joshua Tree haters out there (I used to be one of them) but the place actually has some decent bouldering. It took me three trip to J-tree before I decided it didn't suck and I'm excited about returning there at some point. With a little guidance and perseverance everyone could like J-Tree.

Enjoy the video.

Joshua Tree Bouldering from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

The Last from J-Tree.....for now

Here are the last couple of pics from J-Tree. I took a little footage and hopefully a little film will be produced. We'll see.

Peter grimaces from a sharp J-Tree crimper

Lina on JBMFP

Peter on a steep problem with a beautiful backdrop

More from J-Tree

We managed to spend 4 full days in Joshua Tree and remain psyched. I'm even excited about returning someday as there are some supposedly sweet problems I didn't make it too. Amongst all the choss there are some gems.

We arrived in Bishop this morning and are happily taking an off day as our tips are wrecked. Bishop received enough snow to scare off most of the climbers but a few stragglers have been brushing off snow in the volcanics and the forecast is splendid once again. Unfortunately the Milks are probably out for awhile and with one week before we leave we are uncertain as to whether we'll get a day on granite or if we will be exiled to the volcanics. You take what you can get.

Here are some more pics from J-Tree. And for those that might wander down there one day, the following list of problems are a few I recommend seeking out. These are problems mostly in the main areas that I reckon give a taste of J-Tree and that will hopefully make you not hate the area (I guess it depends on if you can do some of them or not).

The Chube
JBMFP
Illicit Sweetie
Stem Gem
Scatterbrained
Chili Sauce
Streetcar Named Desire
Tidal Wave
White Rastafarian
Planet X

Lina enjoying the sun

Tidal Wave. One of the best problems I did in J-Tree

Peter on the Meadow Boulder. Atypical J-Tree climb, steep on rounded jugs.

Lina demonstrates the "beached whale" technique on Thin Crack for on uninterested Hammie.

A quality unknown problem

Peter making the Nicole Overhang look easy.

Lina on the fantastic Illicit Sweetie. I wish all rock in J-Tree was this good.

Peter on one of J-Trees best, Scatterbrained.

J-Tree

Yesterday we hunkered for an entire day of rain and snow. We passed the time lurking in a coffee shop, chilling in the Motherload, and bowling (Goldie Locks crushed and Lina bested me in our second round). The two previous days we did managed to climb a few hours in the morning in heinous wind and sub-par stick. Fortunately the worst of weather has passed. Today might provide a window and tomorrow will be our first full day of climbing in over a week. Can't wait.

Here's a few pics from J-Tree thus far.

Peter on The Chube

Peter learns to hate J-Tree on A Street Car Named Desire (awesome boulder problem btw)

Peter on one of J-Tree's best, Chili Sauce. He got painfully close and will go back for the send.

Chili Sauce

Lina braving the wind

Warming up

More J-tree

Here's a few more pictures from Joshua Tree.

Jimmie on JBMFP

Martin taking a well deserved break after the long hike to the Underground

Martin learns firsthand why crack kills

Me at the Underground

Sharp things in the desert

Chosshua......I mean Joshua Tree

After a non-Christmas in Pie Town (we boycotted the holiday) we drove to Joshua Tree. Prairie and myself both had negative views of the area after our previous visits. It's a beautiful place that is enjoyable for that reason but the rock is decomposing choss for the most part. We figured we'd give it a second chance and try to keep our negative attitudes from rubbing off on Martin.
While Martin shared our sentiments on the poor rock quality, we still managed to have a blast. We filled 3 days sampling some classics, seeking the gems, and hiking one and a half hours to the one place in Josh with decent stone, the Underground.

Flying backmeat under the desert sun.

Martin sampling choss.

Stemgem

Prairie on Scatter Brain

Desert landscape