Taking advantage of the Thanksgiving break from school and the comforting feeling of being done with the very last college application, GWPC’s own Teen Team, The East Betas ventured out to Bishop, CA for an extended weekend of bouldering. The list of crushers included some seasoned team veterans (Grace Gibbon, Elise Buser, Thalia Barr-Malec), new-to-climbing up-and-comers (Alia Kabir, Will Hornbeck, Eli Spitulnik), and the “adults” (Ryan Moon, Ari Oppenheimer, Arien Malec).
For most, this trip was a first experience with Bishop and for some it was a first experience on real rock. Knowing that the brutal winds and bitter Winter conditions of California’s Eastern Sierras were an experience far more extreme than what can typically expected from any East Bay season, the teamsters were warned over and again that they should come fully prepared and how important every last down filled item was an absolute must. Unfortunately, there’s no amount of reminders that can guarantee that everyone will follow through. In fact, the very first day in the Happy Boulders only two out of the eight people present brought water, one coach forgot a jacket for the trip altogether, and more than once a coach forgot his headlamp. Not the best start to a trip…
The drive out had some of the teamsters in awe as they had never seen the true glory of the Eastern Sierras up close. The next shock was the sheer number of boulders in some of these canyons. With surprises continuing, some of the teens experienced and humbling climbing session as some of the boulder problems they worked hard to get to the top of were sometimes only half of the V-points they usually climb at GWPC and about twice as high. Although V-point expectations were low psyche was at an all time high. The coaches had never seen the 15-17 year olds try so hard! In addition to the teen “try hard’ that had never before been seen was parent-in-tow, Arien, letting out battle cries here and there not letting the excuse of “I could have given a little more effort” be muttered by anyone. Warming up on ‘Heavenly Path’ (V1) set a good tone for the weekend and a nice reminder of how important it is to stay focused off of the deck. Moving on to some of the more classic, lower to the ground lines the team cleaned shop on ‘Solarium’ (V4) and wrapped up the day on ‘Bleached Bones’ (V4). As the sun was setting and it was clear that there was only time for one more boulder problem, the team took notice to a virtual billboard for tableland rim climbing: ‘Black Magic’ (V4). Elise road the confidence of a “best day ever” by capping the evening with a flash ascent of the classic highball. Just as the light was fading and the day was coming to an end, Eli sent the line on what was believed as his 25th or so try.
After an epic end of the day stuff your face with Mexican food session at Las Palmas in town, the next goal was cruxier than the boulder problems tried that day: finding a campsite. The Pit was completely taken over, Pleasant Valley Campground had just as many people, but the infiniteness of the tableland BLM lands proved perfect for freedom camping. With strict orders from the coaches to gather as much brush as humanly possible for the night’s fire, it wasn’t long before a roaring spectacle of camp fire was in full effect. Smores were devoured as stories circulated of the day’s sends and punts. Last, but not least, the crew headed down to the Sad Boulders for a late night headlamp romp ending in a tennis shoe team slab ascent.
The trip was capped with a day out to one of the best bouldering spots in the country — The Buttermilks. The day opened up by following along with the highball theme set during the previous climbing days by a nice long warm-up session on the Sunshine Slab. The problems hosten on the Green Wall boulder were quick to get attention especially by the folks looking for some a little more technical than what the tablelands had to offer. ‘Green Wall Left’ (V2) presented some serious challenge as it seemed as if somebody had buffed off all the abrasive surface on the rock face leaving nothing but glassy, impossible to use footholds. In true East Betas form, complaining turned to highpoints and highpoints turned to sends. Last on the list was a one-woman show from Elise on the mega-classic ‘High Plains Drifter’ (V7). Although attempts resulted in a highpoint making ‘drifter move’, the summit was still just out of reach.
The combination of impending weather and a long, long drive home brought the day to an early end. The drive back was full of opinions about best/worst boulder problems, Robyn sing alongs, and the fear that maybe the coaches had less snow driving experience than they had stated…
The week after the Bishop trip was special in two ways: there was an obvious difference in the climbing effort put forth by anybody who had attended the trip and ABS Regionals at Dogpatch Boulders was only a few days away. A handful of teamsters had been preparing for Regionals for months with tons of physical and mental training. A nice mix of first time competitors and seasoned veterans gave a unique feel to group. Conveniently all five girls competing were nearly back to back in the roster so one could watch as the entire team almost swept the category. The DJ gods seemed to be smiling upon them that day with a Bishop trip throwback of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” just as a reminder. Fresh from Bishop, Elise Buser seemed in top form flashing five out of six problems (chalking up on nearly every move) and securing her spot as ABS regional champion. In the end, four out of six competitors were invited to Divisionals in Reno, NV!
