Mar 21 2012

Sugar, Sleep and Vegan Shortbread Cookies.

Climbing
by Beth

I was born with an unending sweet tooth. I would eat row after row of Oreo's, Mint Milano's and Chips Ahoy. This makes my parents look like they stocked their kids with nothing but sugary garbage, but sadly that is not true. I would have to leave our house and venture to my friends' houses to fill my sugary habit. My sweet tooth has followed me all the way into adulthood like a loyal dog, never leaving my side. However, I am sad and happy to say that I have...

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Mar 15 2012

Collateral Ligament Injuries

Climbing, Injuries
by Beth

Beth, Thanks for the injury related post. It is interesting to hear of all the injuries that pro climbers sustain. It is not limited to us amateur climbers. I saw you mention an injury to your collateral ligament. I was wondering if you could expand on this in a future blog post. I am currently suffering from a collateral ligament injury to my middle finger PIP joint, and I haven't been able to find much information on this injury, related to rehabilitation beyond splinting and buddy taping. How much time...

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Feb 28 2012

Indian Summer

Climbing, Yosemite
by Beth

It seems that every year Yosemite gets a little gift from the weather gods and is graced with a stint of Indian summer. Usually, it's a time when I feel like being a local is cheating. Spring like conditions provide shorts and t-shirt weather, with hardly a soul in sight. Some years it is more welcome than others, but regardless I can't remember a year when I haven't gone down to the Cookie in January or February and cursed myself for overdressing.   Last year I learned my lesson when I met...

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Feb 22 2012

Injuries

Climbing, Injuries
by Beth

I recently did a photo shoot for Outdoor Research along the Northern California coast. I had the pleasure of spending two days with fellow Outdoor Research ambassadors, Shingo Ohkawa and Graham Zimmerman. I had met Shingo several years back in Patagonia, while on a hiking trip with my dad. Yes, you read it correctly, hiking. I flew all the way down to Patagonia and didn't even take my harness. Luckily, I know myself well enough to recognize that I would have been miserable and terrible at climbing there, so I embraced another sort...

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Feb 18 2012

Vegan Potato Leek Soup

Food
by Beth

This the season for soups! Or at least it should be. California has had one of the driest winters on record, creating an excellent climbing season but a terrible season for the water supply. Normally I welcome the few months of winter when the skies are dark and dreary and I can warm up with a hot bowl of homemade soup. So, this winter I've improvised and had a hot bowl of soup under sunny skies.   My csa box has been full of potatoes, leafy greens, and leeks lately, making potato...

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Feb 08 2012

To the beach

Food
by Beth

I've never been a beach person, not even as a kid. Maybe it's because I grew up near the not so inviting Northern California coast, or maybe I'm just a solid ground kind of girl. Regardless, I've never really enjoyed the ocean or the beach. Which makes the fact that I just returned from my first trip ever to Hawaii a rare occurrence. It also happened to be my first ever vacation as an adult. Every other vacation has either involved family gatherings or climbing, so I'm pretty sure I...

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Jan 04 2012

Chicken Salad (or tofu!)

Food, Travel
by Beth

I've grown to love vegetables. It's been a long, arduous road, but finally I actually crave them. I've come a long way from craving a very diverse diet of different shades of white. My old cravings could have been compared to those never ending track home communities, with differing shades of beige stretching on forever. Mint Milanos, Lays potato chips, and sourdough bread were my go to snack foods. Now, my refrigerator commonly looks like the colorful rainbow leading to the pot of gold.   Unfortunately, I've noticed that when traveling it's...

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Jan 01 2012

Mortar Rock Christmas

Climbing
by Beth

I couldn't wait for Christmas as a kid. I wonder if any kid can actually wait for Christmas? No school, presents, the permission to rip, destroy and mangle wrapping papper, endless playtime, and desserts that go on forever, it seems like heaven to any six year old. Without fail, I would be the kid that slept in front of the fire with cookies and milk inches from my nose hoping to see Santa, only to wake up flummoxed that he had come and gone without notice. I think if I...

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The French Laundry

Climbing, Food, Travel
by Beth

As the season for gluttony is in full swing, we thought we'd add one of the most glutinous experiences to our roster of feasts by eating at the coveted French Laundry. It was Theo's graduation trip, which somehow justified the five hours of gorging ourselves on food almost too fancy to eat. Robin's account sums it up perfectly and is head and shoulders above anything I could ever hope to write. Our courses, however, were different, so between the two blogs, you can see almost thirty different courses (minus three of my dessert dishes due to...

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Nov 14 2011

Kauk Slab

Climbing, Yosemite
by Beth

All in all it's been an amazing fall in Yosemite. Yes, we've had some rain and snow in the valley, but it's nothing like last year around this time when we were graced with several feet of snow before Thanksgiving.   Along with cragging, I've been enjoying wrestling the granite boulders of Yosemite Valley. This past weekend I had planned to meet up with friends at iconic Camp 4. Arriving in the jumble of boulders, I was surprised to find that I had accidentally left my cragging shoes in my pack. Normally not...

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