Itching to get outside climbing since we got to Salt Lake, Kaiya and I managed to get up to Castle Rock to meet Tammy and Mike McClure and their friend from Boise Nate Moody. I had met Nate at Swan Falls a couple of years ago so it was nice to see him again and climb with some good, fun people for the day in one of the coolest most beautiful places I have ever bouldered.
Post-holing through two feet of snow all the way up to the Taco Cave kinda dashed any ideas of making it up to the Green Wall, but turns out everyone was psyched on something in the cave. Start with the Martini Roof, remove the dabbage potential, add way more independent lines and many, much cooler holds (not to mention ALL of the problems top out and don't end on an adjacent pebble) and you have the Taco Cave. Amazing.
Kaiya and I had been here in September at the beginning of the road trip, Kaiya had sent a couple of things, and I had struggled to send anything due to being out of shape from lack of climbing for three months.
Kaiya has had a slight style change in her climbing since the beginning of the trip, here she is on Jared's Roof Stand.
Ever the steep climbing enthusiast, Tammy has Jared's Roof broken into two parts and had four or five really good redpoint goes, sticking the first and hardest move like 8 times. Move three pulled casually here by Tammy McClure.
In his first stop in the Taco Cave, Nate Moody was really psyched, coming oh so close to sending Jared's Roof Stand, and making some really good links on the Smell.
Mike has been working Warpath, the huge linkup, for a few seasons now, and he thinks this spring might be the time. Having been here a lot over the last year and a half, I think he looks stronger on all the moves than ever. Jared's Roof Sit, the second section crux, and the big cross move before the lowest percentage move ever on Out of Africa.
