Photos by hangdoggypound

Out on Cholla Mountain you're likely to wonder why you're all alone with choice granite and splendid views of saguaros, great-tailed grackles and - of course - cholla. The mystic poet, Rumi, writes, "Out beyond the ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing there is a field. I'll meet you there." The field surrounding Cholla Mountain is probably the one.

Exposure taken at the end of the day: the light was JUST right and the clouds looked incredible. I know, it's a butt shot, but I couldn't resist the colors that were coming off the rock and the sky. That's my wife up there asking, "Are you belaying or not?" It didn't seem like this had been climbed before as we had plenty of holds break off. Lots of exposure on this route. There's no bolts at this little off-the-beaten-path area and it would be a shame if this route was bolted. (If my opinion matters). Anyway, enjoy the photo. Taken with a Canon EOS, 19mm wide angle lens, plain ol' ISO 200 Fuji.

I managed to escape from work early on a Thursday so my wife and I could hit a few routes on Cactus Flower wall. On the hike back to the car, I noticed that Y-Crack boulder was nicely lit from the sun, so I grabbed this shot. The crack which yeilds the moniker for this formation can be slightly noticed on the right side of the clump-o-rocks. Not only is Pinnacle Peak close enough for an after work climb, but it's a very well run park as well. Thank goodness they saved this place.

In effort to 'suck the marrow of life' - that is, hit some nice climbs after work in the middle of the week - I was also blessed with nice lighting on the various boulder formations at Pinnacle Peak on the hike back to the car. I had to crop quite a bit to get a decent composition, and also to get rid of a horribly out-of-focus ocotillo. The Peak is still not very sharp, though. Ho-hum. The spike-shaped rock downslope from the peak is cleverly named "The Wedge."

Ah, yes. Here's my buddy Russ being a champ and actually falling for the ol' "Ahhh what the hell. You can do this one" routine. I surely didn't feel like leading it - it was his turn anyway. Peer pressure is the best. He came down after clipping the third bolt. Fun climb nonetheless. As for the Promised Land - it ain't easy to find. I guess that's why they call it the Promised Land.

This is a short and easy crack route that I climbed when first started to do traditional climbing. the book gives it no stars, but the protects quite well, so I give it a star. This particular photo was a color shot but looked drab after scanning ---- so I tried the ol' gray scale and I think it looks much better. Oddly, the route's name is Grays First.

My brother is giving me advice while I search for the right piece to slot in the crack - Yes, yes, this was in my pre-helmet days...shame shame. Easy route, short route. This is a shot that was originally in color but looked much better in b&w - note the neat texture of the rock. Kinda cool in my book.

Since I was at it, I turned this one of my buddy Gretchen into a b&w as well. It looks much better this way than in color I think. Whatever the case is, the is one cool route as the end is the good stuff with quite a reach or leap to 'the good hold'.

On her second climbing trip since her arrival from the womb, Samantha gets into hardcore trad climbing. After performing her classic acrobatic arm-swinging, goo-gooing manuever to sling her head, Sam protected the next series of moves by slotting the cam into her mouth. At the end of the day, she kicked back with one jar of peas, a jar of bananas, and 200 cc's of formula. A serious climber's diet. Her current project is a bouldering problem that begins not with a sit start, but with a stomach start to a mantle-like move that brings her knees up to her tummy - the top out is after some sick crawling action to a stuffed bug. A proper repeat of the route will end with a grin and a giggle - sometimes a poopie diaper. It'll clock in around a V5-V6....for those who dare.

This is a view of The Praying Monk from the backyard at my folk's house. I grew up looking at that thing everyday. Naturally, I'd have to climb it at some point in my life. Anyway, I'm posting this sucker to put it into an article for rc.com.

This is my climbing buddy, Ryan. Who cares?? Exactly. This photo is merely for an article on rc.com.
 
He took me to this crag in Idaho when we visited Spokane, WA. Despite only been able to climb 2 routes while there, Q'emlin Park was plenty of fun. Easy to access if I remember correctly.

That's right, mama, we have 10 people on top of the Monk. The summit is about the size of a $200/mo studio apartment. I want to tote up a BBQ and grill some burgers on this sucker some day. If you want to make history with me, let me know. What kind of cheese do you prefer?
 
This is my 4th image for an article on rc.com.