Purp and Yellow

In tribute to the might Lakers vertiCALI has gone purple and gold for the rest of their playoff run, threepeatin on 'em!

Ask vertiCALI: 4 Tips for Beginners

I have been climbing for a year now, and although this amounts to a short career I have learned something new every time I head out to the crags. I thought I would share some tips that have helped me as well as try and rectify some of the bad advice I was given.

1. Go Climb! This one is obvious but the quickest way to advance through the grades is to climb as much as possible. No matter how many pull-ups you can do, if you lack technique you ain't gettin off the ground.
2. Climb Outside! Gym climbing is a great way to build strength and develop technique but 9 times out of ten what you are doing in the gym just does not translate to outdoor climbing; don't believe me? ask a super strong gym climber to go climb a crack or crank a hard mantel and watch the results.
3. Make Friends! That is, make friends that climb. Finding a crew of friends climbing at a similar level helped me stay motivated, push grades, and have more fun.
4. Get Good Shoes! One of the things that frustrates me most when I read about shoes and sizing is that beginners are constantly advised to just get some comfy, cheap shoes as they learn to climb. The people in this camp would argue that since good climbing shoes are expensive and beginners have sloppy footwork and may not fall in love with climbing they should start with something cheap. BULLSHIT! I followed this advice and after a month and a half of regular climbing I had a pair of sloppy, cheap, blown out shoes. If you get serious about climbing you will start to out climb those comfy shoes in a couple months, then you'll just end up buying the shoes you've really wanted all along. So if you are getting started climbing and you feel like this is something you want to pursue, do yourself a favor and buy some decent, tight-fitting shoes (My recommendation, the Five Ten Moccasym. See my earlier post regarding these killer slippers).

Happy thirsty Thursday and keep the mind state Golden!

Can't learn that in the gym. Nick mantels on Carousel Rock.

Bishop Pictures

 There has been a rash of inactivity on this here blog and I aims to rectify that ish. The good thing is I have been out climbing in glorious locations a lot, and I have lots of new material with which to inundate thee. Here are a few pictures from day 1 of a trip to the fabulous boulders of Bishop, California (of course); as usual credit for many of the pictures goes to Chris Ramirez, see more of his fine work at flickr.com/ventures23. A more complete trip report is soon to follow but I figured I ought to whet the appetite of my avid fanbase (thanks mom and dad!).





This is Chris O. warming up on the Green Wall, a rad looking boulder with deceptively small holds.

Chris R. works on Flyboy, a burly V6 from which there is no escape. . .

Here I am on the Prow.

Sunset on the Sierra, sigh. . .

This is our campsite and one epic shot by Chris, enlarge it for full glory.














Rise and shine boys, the mountains are calling. . . Ah yes, but we're bouldering, the sport which makes mountains out of pebbles.














And here is the campsite in it's full morning glory. cozy, eh?