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This is for a general outdoor magazine based in Lake Tahoe, CA...(bot a climbinng magazine)..anyone care to comment?
cheers,
Mick
BOULDERING BISHOP
The Eastern Sierra Winter Climbing Mecca
by Mick Ryan
It's hard being a rock climber during the long winter months. At this time of year in my native England the clouds appear on the western horizon and move across the green hills and towns like rolling bombs. The air becomes cold, and the crags and boulders that provide so much joy in the summer sun become green with algae during the short dark days of winter and damp with an incessant 24/7 drizzle of rain.
Snow-covered rocks in Tahoe, the creeping sea mist in San Francisco, gray clouds pregnant with moisture in Seattle and Boston, blizzards all over Europe, and smog in LA inflicts that psychological ailment Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) upon those who are vertically inclined. At this time of year most climbers retreat indoors to custom-built climbing gyms where they turn pale and hollow-eyed their faces plastered with a permanent winter frown.
Once the climbing gym has turned old, restlessness sets in and it's time to travel. For rock climbers in the lands and regions of rain and snow there is no other alternative but escape and increasingly they are finding there way to what author Mary Austin called "the land of little rain", the Eastern Sierra's Owens Valley and the small town of Bishop, California. The deepest valley (it's 10,000ft deep), walled by the Sierra Crest and the equally tall White Mountain to the east is blessed with jugs full of winter sunshine and a backdrop of blue skies and snowy peaks, but most importantly its hills, drainages and tablelands are full of small rocks.
On any given day between October and May in the cozy Kava café on Main Street you will sip your Kashmir Soy Chai amongst a cosmopolitan crowd of Czechs, Slovaks, Spanish, French, Californians, Australians, Tasmanians, Japanese, Koreans and local Bishoponians, all fueling up before a day at the Buttermilk or Happy Boulders. They have all been drawn here by the world's climbing magazines: Climbing, Rock and Ice, On The Edge, Alp, Rotpunkt, Desnivel and several Asian climbing magazines have all featured flashy-color feature articles about the climbing opportunities around this sleepy eastern California town. Climbing equipment companies feature their sponsored climbers clambering over the boulders of Bishop and display them in magazine advertisements and equipment catalogs. Bishop bouldering is hot in more ways than one.
These small rocks around Bishop are a nirvana for climbers obsessed with bouldering: climbing short freestanding rocks without a rope. Bouldering has experienced a resurgence in the last five years and Bishop has become ground zero for the legions of pad people around the globe. Armed with only a pair of rock shoes, a bag full of gymnastic chalk to dry sweaty fingers and increase grip, and a small mattress or bouldering pad (hennce pad-people) to cushion any fall (usually short), bouldering is to scaling the big walls of Yosemite what snowboarding is to downhill skiing: a hip and fashionable MTV friendly pursuit practiced by the younger set with it's own language, dress and music code.
The Colorado based Climbing magazine declared Bishop, "the premier winter bouldering area in the world." Chris Sharma, a native of Santa Cruz and one of the words best boulderers and sport climbers winters here sometimes and for a while lived in the small mining village of Rovana at the base of the imposing Mount Tom that shadows most of the bouldering areas. James Wilson proprietor of Wilson Eastside Sports, the only climbing shop in town, has seen his winter trade increase exponentially in the last few years.
Compared to scaling big faces with its paraphernalia of ropes, harnesses, karabiners and artificial sleeping ledges, bouldering is attractive because of it's simplicity and freedom, and not least because it is relatively cheap to gear up. Rather than thousands of dollars you'll need to buy the equipment to scale Yosemite's El Cap you'll get change out of two C-notes to buy your bouldering kit: rock shoes, a chalk bag and a bouldering pad.
As well as sharing the boulders with the world's elite climbers who gymnasticaly float up tiny holds across overhanging walls you'll be socializing with every-day climbing Joe's and Josephine's, kids, moms and dads who utilize large grippers as they scramble up more amenable easy-angled faces. Bouldering is a great way to start rock climbing and some of America's great climbers such as Royal Robbins and Yvon Chouinard got their start on short stones before venturing to multi-thousand-foot rock faces and peaks.
The Bishop community has welcomed this large influx of climbers with open arms. From the Bureau Of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service who manage most of the bouldering areas, to the world famous Erik Schat's Dutch Bakery you'll always get a friendly eastern sierra welcome. There are special climber evenings, food and slide shows, at the Kava Café, Spellbinder Books and Wilson's Eastside Sports during the winter. There are now two annual climbing festivals, the nascent MountainFest held in October and the Banf Film Festival held in March The BLM has opened a winter campground especially for climbers and some hotels do special deals for longer stays if you call and book before you visit. You can even do your bit to help the environment by volunteering to help on clean-up and trail building days.
And as well as bouldering there is sport climbing in the nearby Owens River Gorge and if you get tired of climbing why not have a day off? There are hundreds of miles of mountain biking trails and descents, cross-country and back-country skiing is 15 minutes drive away towards the Sierra Crest. Forty miles to the north Mammoth Mountain provides some of California's best downhill skiing and snowboarding terrain and to the south there is even sand skiing and sledding at the nearby Eureka sand dunes in Death Valley. One last word, do not forget the hot springs at Keough, south of Bishop and north by the Green Church off Hwy.395 near Mammoth. I know of nothing better, after a hard day in the hills and on the rocks, than soaking in a hot mineral pool under a cloudless and dark Sierra sky counting shooting stars, the mountains glistening white in the background. It's sure beats frowning under an umberella or shovelling your driveway all winter.
1,039 words
cheers,
Mick
BOULDERING BISHOP
The Eastern Sierra Winter Climbing Mecca
by Mick Ryan
It's hard being a rock climber during the long winter months. At this time of year in my native England the clouds appear on the western horizon and move across the green hills and towns like rolling bombs. The air becomes cold, and the crags and boulders that provide so much joy in the summer sun become green with algae during the short dark days of winter and damp with an incessant 24/7 drizzle of rain.
Snow-covered rocks in Tahoe, the creeping sea mist in San Francisco, gray clouds pregnant with moisture in Seattle and Boston, blizzards all over Europe, and smog in LA inflicts that psychological ailment Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) upon those who are vertically inclined. At this time of year most climbers retreat indoors to custom-built climbing gyms where they turn pale and hollow-eyed their faces plastered with a permanent winter frown.
Once the climbing gym has turned old, restlessness sets in and it's time to travel. For rock climbers in the lands and regions of rain and snow there is no other alternative but escape and increasingly they are finding there way to what author Mary Austin called "the land of little rain", the Eastern Sierra's Owens Valley and the small town of Bishop, California. The deepest valley (it's 10,000ft deep), walled by the Sierra Crest and the equally tall White Mountain to the east is blessed with jugs full of winter sunshine and a backdrop of blue skies and snowy peaks, but most importantly its hills, drainages and tablelands are full of small rocks.
On any given day between October and May in the cozy Kava café on Main Street you will sip your Kashmir Soy Chai amongst a cosmopolitan crowd of Czechs, Slovaks, Spanish, French, Californians, Australians, Tasmanians, Japanese, Koreans and local Bishoponians, all fueling up before a day at the Buttermilk or Happy Boulders. They have all been drawn here by the world's climbing magazines: Climbing, Rock and Ice, On The Edge, Alp, Rotpunkt, Desnivel and several Asian climbing magazines have all featured flashy-color feature articles about the climbing opportunities around this sleepy eastern California town. Climbing equipment companies feature their sponsored climbers clambering over the boulders of Bishop and display them in magazine advertisements and equipment catalogs. Bishop bouldering is hot in more ways than one.
These small rocks around Bishop are a nirvana for climbers obsessed with bouldering: climbing short freestanding rocks without a rope. Bouldering has experienced a resurgence in the last five years and Bishop has become ground zero for the legions of pad people around the globe. Armed with only a pair of rock shoes, a bag full of gymnastic chalk to dry sweaty fingers and increase grip, and a small mattress or bouldering pad (hennce pad-people) to cushion any fall (usually short), bouldering is to scaling the big walls of Yosemite what snowboarding is to downhill skiing: a hip and fashionable MTV friendly pursuit practiced by the younger set with it's own language, dress and music code.
The Colorado based Climbing magazine declared Bishop, "the premier winter bouldering area in the world." Chris Sharma, a native of Santa Cruz and one of the words best boulderers and sport climbers winters here sometimes and for a while lived in the small mining village of Rovana at the base of the imposing Mount Tom that shadows most of the bouldering areas. James Wilson proprietor of Wilson Eastside Sports, the only climbing shop in town, has seen his winter trade increase exponentially in the last few years.
Compared to scaling big faces with its paraphernalia of ropes, harnesses, karabiners and artificial sleeping ledges, bouldering is attractive because of it's simplicity and freedom, and not least because it is relatively cheap to gear up. Rather than thousands of dollars you'll need to buy the equipment to scale Yosemite's El Cap you'll get change out of two C-notes to buy your bouldering kit: rock shoes, a chalk bag and a bouldering pad.
As well as sharing the boulders with the world's elite climbers who gymnasticaly float up tiny holds across overhanging walls you'll be socializing with every-day climbing Joe's and Josephine's, kids, moms and dads who utilize large grippers as they scramble up more amenable easy-angled faces. Bouldering is a great way to start rock climbing and some of America's great climbers such as Royal Robbins and Yvon Chouinard got their start on short stones before venturing to multi-thousand-foot rock faces and peaks.
The Bishop community has welcomed this large influx of climbers with open arms. From the Bureau Of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service who manage most of the bouldering areas, to the world famous Erik Schat's Dutch Bakery you'll always get a friendly eastern sierra welcome. There are special climber evenings, food and slide shows, at the Kava Café, Spellbinder Books and Wilson's Eastside Sports during the winter. There are now two annual climbing festivals, the nascent MountainFest held in October and the Banf Film Festival held in March The BLM has opened a winter campground especially for climbers and some hotels do special deals for longer stays if you call and book before you visit. You can even do your bit to help the environment by volunteering to help on clean-up and trail building days.
And as well as bouldering there is sport climbing in the nearby Owens River Gorge and if you get tired of climbing why not have a day off? There are hundreds of miles of mountain biking trails and descents, cross-country and back-country skiing is 15 minutes drive away towards the Sierra Crest. Forty miles to the north Mammoth Mountain provides some of California's best downhill skiing and snowboarding terrain and to the south there is even sand skiing and sledding at the nearby Eureka sand dunes in Death Valley. One last word, do not forget the hot springs at Keough, south of Bishop and north by the Green Church off Hwy.395 near Mammoth. I know of nothing better, after a hard day in the hills and on the rocks, than soaking in a hot mineral pool under a cloudless and dark Sierra sky counting shooting stars, the mountains glistening white in the background. It's sure beats frowning under an umberella or shovelling your driveway all winter.
1,039 words
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA: Well the first paragraph is a total lie for a start.
"rolling bombs"; what the hell are they? Crap mixed metaphor.
You spelled grey wrong (its not gray)
a semicolon in "hollow-eyed; their faces plastered with a permanent.
"On any given day between October and May in the cozy Kava café on Main Street you will sip your Kashmir Soy Chai amongst a cosmopolitan crowd of"
feels like it needs some punctuation somewhere, not sure where though; comma after May and Main Street?
Also I think cosy isnt spelled with a z, unless thats another Americanism.
Fuelling - double "l"?
"have all featured flashy-color feature articles about"
i think is better as "
have all featured flashy colour-feature articles about"
catalog - catalogue
Hennce pad people - should be hence
end para 5 and middle para 7- its not it's
"a native of Santa Cruz and one of the words best boulderers and sport climbers winters here sometimes and for a while lived in the small mining village of Rovana at the base of the imposing Mount Tom that shadows most of the bouldering areas" - needs punctuating
"every-day climbing Joe's and Josephine's" take out apostrophes - its a plural s not a posession s
Banff has a double f
Last para; can you start a sentence with And? is this acceptable now?
Cross country and back country skiing ARE 15 minutes (not is 15 mins)
"One last word;" not ","
I stand corrected on these and there may be some others I have missed.
Do I get a job offer or payment?
"rolling bombs"; what the hell are they? Crap mixed metaphor.
You spelled grey wrong (its not gray)
a semicolon in "hollow-eyed; their faces plastered with a permanent.
"On any given day between October and May in the cozy Kava café on Main Street you will sip your Kashmir Soy Chai amongst a cosmopolitan crowd of"
feels like it needs some punctuation somewhere, not sure where though; comma after May and Main Street?
Also I think cosy isnt spelled with a z, unless thats another Americanism.
Fuelling - double "l"?
"have all featured flashy-color feature articles about"
i think is better as "
have all featured flashy colour-feature articles about"
catalog - catalogue
Hennce pad people - should be hence
end para 5 and middle para 7- its not it's
"a native of Santa Cruz and one of the words best boulderers and sport climbers winters here sometimes and for a while lived in the small mining village of Rovana at the base of the imposing Mount Tom that shadows most of the bouldering areas" - needs punctuating
"every-day climbing Joe's and Josephine's" take out apostrophes - its a plural s not a posession s
Banff has a double f
Last para; can you start a sentence with And? is this acceptable now?
Cross country and back country skiing ARE 15 minutes (not is 15 mins)
"One last word;" not ","
I stand corrected on these and there may be some others I have missed.
Do I get a job offer or payment?
In reply to Chris Fryer:
Sorry to be a pedant, but both spellings of 'grey/gray' are correct, though gray is more common in the US than UK.
Oh, and it should be a comma after hollow-eyed, not a semi-colon.
I paused at the 'rolling bombs', but decided I rather liked it
Sorry to be a pedant, but both spellings of 'grey/gray' are correct, though gray is more common in the US than UK.
Oh, and it should be a comma after hollow-eyed, not a semi-colon.
I paused at the 'rolling bombs', but decided I rather liked it
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:
Bollox,
I only read the first paragraph, i havent got the attention span for the rest.
those boulders that go green in the winter are awesome now because its cold and the friction is good. Looking forward to a winter on the grit after a summer of lime crimes.
Enty (paypal)
Bollox,
I only read the first paragraph, i havent got the attention span for the rest.
those boulders that go green in the winter are awesome now because its cold and the friction is good. Looking forward to a winter on the grit after a summer of lime crimes.
Enty (paypal)
In reply to Enty:
Do you think Mick is trying to be the equivalent of Jim Perrin in the states? Started to read and found it a bit too descriptive of nothing in the first paragraph.
Does not matter to me, I am not a scholar so some people who are educated might like the flowery language.
Aye, green grit is where it's at.
Do you think Mick is trying to be the equivalent of Jim Perrin in the states? Started to read and found it a bit too descriptive of nothing in the first paragraph.
Does not matter to me, I am not a scholar so some people who are educated might like the flowery language.
Aye, green grit is where it's at.
In reply to Enty:
Yes, I prickled with nationalistic indignation at the accusation of 24/7 rain..........
But now I'm looking out of my window into the gloom....... pissing it down
Yes, I prickled with nationalistic indignation at the accusation of 24/7 rain..........
But now I'm looking out of my window into the gloom....... pissing it down
In reply to Chris Fryer: It always has been acceptable to start a sentence with an 'And' as long as an emphasis was deliberately being created. The fact that Mick's sentence contains a graceless, unpunctuated second 'and' shortly after the first one suggests that he was far from intentionally aiming at an effect.
Can you really buy rock shoes, a chalk bag and a bouldering pad for less than $200? I've always heard that rock shoes are expensive in the States.
Can you really buy rock shoes, a chalk bag and a bouldering pad for less than $200? I've always heard that rock shoes are expensive in the States.
I appreciate the feeback......Thank You..
especially Chris..........
You can get rock shoes for $90 and up, a pad for $120 and up, a chalk bag for $15 and up.....OK change out of $250......
Mick
especially Chris..........
You can get rock shoes for $90 and up, a pad for $120 and up, a chalk bag for $15 and up.....OK change out of $250......
Mick
Compared to Baja california, Bishops way overated, Although
the Buttermilks and Druid stones are world class, The temprement of the "YEE HA'S has to be questioned, Not the local element you recive in Europe, Oh no, sitting in boiling water and having 20 questions fired at you by the surrounding reds, Who are all eye balling the naked forms
of the opposite sex (not many cow girls), And hurling abuse at you as they burn out, sure, yeah,
wellcome to america.
almost a serious issue
the Buttermilks and Druid stones are world class, The temprement of the "YEE HA'S has to be questioned, Not the local element you recive in Europe, Oh no, sitting in boiling water and having 20 questions fired at you by the surrounding reds, Who are all eye balling the naked forms
of the opposite sex (not many cow girls), And hurling abuse at you as they burn out, sure, yeah,
wellcome to america.
almost a serious issue
In reply to patty:
I've been thinking of going on a trip to the states, but I have to say I've been put off by my perception of what the locals might be like
how serious is your almost serious issue?
jaded
I've been thinking of going on a trip to the states, but I have to say I've been put off by my perception of what the locals might be like
how serious is your almost serious issue?
jaded
In reply to Jaded of Mile End and Patty:
Having lived in Bishop for 5 years and frequented the hot springs for over ten I can honestly say...what are you on about?
But seriously...the Keough Ditch 7 miles south does have an interesting clientelle after the pubs close on a Saturday night.....not much different from any Bradford curry house as regards yahoos....excpet we are all naked..........me and CP Smith high on life pretended to be dolphins one night, splashing and carousing, and seranaded by a Hippy and Hippy chick strumming Dylan on their guitars....very memorable.
The Green Church Hot Springs and Creek to the north offer a more wilderness-like experience. Although once when by myself in one....this couple jumped in (they displaced about 10 times more water than me if you get the picture) and started to make out and then enjoy full-blown penetration....I just carried on drinking my beer and enjoying the view.
The locals in Bishop are very very friendly. I've never had any trouble with them unless they happen to be local climbers (only kidding).
Mick
Having lived in Bishop for 5 years and frequented the hot springs for over ten I can honestly say...what are you on about?
But seriously...the Keough Ditch 7 miles south does have an interesting clientelle after the pubs close on a Saturday night.....not much different from any Bradford curry house as regards yahoos....excpet we are all naked..........me and CP Smith high on life pretended to be dolphins one night, splashing and carousing, and seranaded by a Hippy and Hippy chick strumming Dylan on their guitars....very memorable.
The Green Church Hot Springs and Creek to the north offer a more wilderness-like experience. Although once when by myself in one....this couple jumped in (they displaced about 10 times more water than me if you get the picture) and started to make out and then enjoy full-blown penetration....I just carried on drinking my beer and enjoying the view.
The locals in Bishop are very very friendly. I've never had any trouble with them unless they happen to be local climbers (only kidding).
Mick
In reply to Jaded of Mile End:
Jaded,
American people are great, just as UK people are.
Mick
> (In reply to patty)
> how serious is your almost serious issue?
>
> jaded
>
> jaded
Jaded,
American people are great, just as UK people are.
Mick
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:
>>American people are great, just as UK people are.
right I'll stick to my plan ad go to OZ then
>>American people are great, just as UK people are.
right I'll stick to my plan ad go to OZ then
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:
I think it's good, reads well and appropriate for non-climbing people too, with Chris F's corrections. Bounds to be US focussed in a US mag, let people think it rains here all winter, then less people on the grit ;-]
also paused then liked rolling bombs.
any web refs/further 'how to' details to be attached?
I think it's good, reads well and appropriate for non-climbing people too, with Chris F's corrections. Bounds to be US focussed in a US mag, let people think it rains here all winter, then less people on the grit ;-]
also paused then liked rolling bombs.
any web refs/further 'how to' details to be attached?
In reply to Becky:
LOL Jaded.
Yes Becky...and thanks. There's maps and a logistics section....how to get to the boulders, restaurants, camping etc...plus working on a Freee MiniGUIDE to some introducctory bouldering circuits to the area.
Mick
LOL Jaded.
Yes Becky...and thanks. There's maps and a logistics section....how to get to the boulders, restaurants, camping etc...plus working on a Freee MiniGUIDE to some introducctory bouldering circuits to the area.
Mick
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA: To continue about your first sentence; how do you feel about writing something you know is blatantly untrue in order to create "good copy" anyone who lives in this country and is an active climber know that yes, there are drizzle days and some crags do get lichenous (as far as I know algae is only found in water), but there are crags that stay dry all winter and many dry clear days too. I think you are doing a major injustice to UK Climbing and UK Climbers
In reply to Chris Fryer:
I never used to do it then I got corrupted by the editors at R+I and Climbing. How do I feel about it? Bad, frustrated....but I've learnt to write want they want....it's reality.
Anyway Chris I deleted that sentence, it now goes:
"At this time of year in my native England, the clouds appear on the western horizon and move across the green hills and towns like rolling bombs. The air is frigid, and the crags and boulders that provide so much joy in the summer sun become, during the short, dark, drizzly days of winter, damp and green with algae. "
By telling a porky about the weather. I don't think so. I just added...."shivering in the concrete canyons of New York City".......you can't dispute that in the winter.
Mick
> (In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA) To continue about your first sentence; how do you feel about writing something you know is blatantly untrue in order to create "good copy"
I never used to do it then I got corrupted by the editors at R+I and Climbing. How do I feel about it? Bad, frustrated....but I've learnt to write want they want....it's reality.
Anyway Chris I deleted that sentence, it now goes:
"At this time of year in my native England, the clouds appear on the western horizon and move across the green hills and towns like rolling bombs. The air is frigid, and the crags and boulders that provide so much joy in the summer sun become, during the short, dark, drizzly days of winter, damp and green with algae. "
> I think you are doing a major injustice to UK Climbing and UK Climbers
By telling a porky about the weather. I don't think so. I just added...."shivering in the concrete canyons of New York City".......you can't dispute that in the winter.
Mick
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:
Ye Gods, it's even worse! The whole sentence is bitty as well. The commas chop it up too much and it doesn't flow.'damp and green with algae' isn't strong enough to stand up to the weight of the rest of that sentence, which consequently ends with a bit of a plop instead of a bang.
> "At this time of year in my native England, the clouds appear on the western horizon and move across the green hills and towns like rolling bombs. The air is frigid, and the crags and boulders that provide so much joy in the summer sun become, during the short, dark, drizzly days of winter, damp and green with algae. "
Ye Gods, it's even worse! The whole sentence is bitty as well. The commas chop it up too much and it doesn't flow.'damp and green with algae' isn't strong enough to stand up to the weight of the rest of that sentence, which consequently ends with a bit of a plop instead of a bang.
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA: Hi Mick, Just a quickie to say that i'm gonna be traveling to Bishop via Sanfran and lake tahoe in a couple of weeks........Just wandering if i could get your e-mail address + get in touch with you when I'm out there, would be really good to have someone show us the ropes?!
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated,
Cheers lad
Huffy
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated,
Cheers lad
Huffy
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA: Come home Mick, all those Taco Bell burritos and steamy evenings with Russ have turned you soft!
In reply to mike weeks:
Just adapting to the local culture Mike...
I'm still soft like.
R U still with that mad woman?
Mick
Just adapting to the local culture Mike...
I'm still soft like.
R U still with that mad woman?
Mick
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:Nah,enough was enough.We should catch up compadre... my email:x1climbers@hotmail.com
Off to bed now with a newer/younger model, speak soon.
Off to bed now with a newer/younger model, speak soon.
In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA:
In general I quite liked it, couple of pedantic points though.
>they are finding there way to what author Mary Austin called
should be their
>Rather than thousands of dollars you'll need to buy the equipment to scale Yosemite's El Cap
Maybe needs a the between than and thousands
Some of the imagery in the first half was nice.
In general I quite liked it, couple of pedantic points though.
>they are finding there way to what author Mary Austin called
should be their
>Rather than thousands of dollars you'll need to buy the equipment to scale Yosemite's El Cap
Maybe needs a the between than and thousands
Some of the imagery in the first half was nice.
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