Holy Guacamole It's been a while

Once again I've fallen behind on my posts and again, I refuse to apologize for it as I've been distracted by living the dream.

For the past month and a half I've been working on my weaknesses as a climber, DIYer and driver. I've also been getting back to my roots, gaming my face off whenever possible and having boat loads of fun doing all of this.

The view from the base of the new climb.

After kicking off my unemployment I got talked into bolting and projecting a new route with a couple friends outside of Carbondale, CO. While that act in and of itself is fairly unremarkable, the fact that the route is by leaps and bounds the hardest route I've ever bolted and tried to climb. This oddity has forced my to learn how to project, trying and failing over and over and over with minimal or no noticeable progress while trying to change that and keep motivation high. Prior to this experience I'd never tried a route more than 10-12 times and the hardest route I've done was in fewer than that. I suspect that this route has seen over the last month close to 30-35 tries and while I can now climb into the crux sequence there were a few show stopper moves that were rather disheartening. So I decided to hit the pause button, train this winter (also a new concept for me) and head to the desert to hopefully heal the ego and get fit and tan!

While it might not be waterproof, it's got a sweet clock!

Before heading to the desert I realized that with the resources available to me in the Roaring Fork Valley I ought to seal up the Dolphin's roof for any rain storms that I might happen upon while in the desert. Needless to say that I'm no expert roofer (is that a word?) and working on the Dolphin's roof has given me a huge appreciate for what those guys do! Unfortunately the RV roof has turned into another project with several goes already invested and a leak or two still persisting much to my frustration. As I sit here writing it continues to rain, as it has for the past few days...luckily I've invested in a 20x30' tarp that is keeping the rain out while I come up with another way to fix the roof once and for all!

Driving the Dolphin has been quite the adventure as the transition from a mini van to a 22' RV hasn't been rocky but has involved a little close contact with a rock or two and a picnic bench. Luckily, neither the RV or the stationary objects were harmed. One day I'll get the parallel parking dialed in that thing...until then be wary while I'm reversing! Despite the unwieldy nature of this beast the trade off is sooo much living space. Which of course means guests and games! I'm happy to say that dozens of hours have been spent cooking with friends, drinking beer and playing all manner of games late in to the night or early morning. The fact that it's so easy to have people over and comfortably hang out was one of the main reasons that I switched from being a lowly van dweller in to a real person living in a dilapidated RV.

It's felt so good to get back to the desert and the long haul mindset of staying there, working on new and old mini projects, reequiping old routes, cleaning, bolting and sending new ones, catching up with old friends and making new ones. I've gone on and on about the climbing community, particularly the dirtbag climbing community and again, I have had my weeks made by these fantastic people!

Well until next time faithful readers!

Canyoneering the the desert can be pretty neat!

It's time for a new home and new projects

About three weeks ago I purchased a Toyota Dolphin; I felt that it was time to upgrade my living quarters as over the past year I have grown tired of living full time in the shoe box of a Previa that I currently have. Yes I suppose I will be changing the name of the blog for all that have already asked.

I happened upon the Dolphin while walking down the sidewalk in Newcastle, CO and noticed it sitting amidst a bunch of other vehicles at a mechanic's shop. The next day I got this fellow's number and asked if it was for sale, luckily it was. I gave it a quick tour asked what he wanted for it, waited a few weeks and put up with some shenanigans, gave it a test drive and just before the 4th of July I bought that sucker.

It was hard in the time period before buying it to not think too much of what needed to be done and what I wanted to do to it, in the event that the sale fell through. But, when the title was in hand the demolition began with big dreams and high energy.

That was three weeks ago, granted I went on one last road trip in the Previa to the midwest in the middle, but now I sit here having just finished the new flooring and painting the walls, slightly exhausted. Last I'd checked the work tally was up to about 37 hours of work and several hundreds of dollars of materials.

Stay tuned for the final pictures but here are some before and during renovation pictures.

Also, if you or anyone you know would like to buy a Toyota Previa with a full living setup, give me a shout!

All ready for game night!

So excited to have a sweet cooking setup and a fridge!

The above are pre-remodel and the following are during.

Fresh Paint!

Ripped out this ceiling panel because of rot and water damage.

New floor!

Part of the bathroom removal

Most of the bathroom

All of the bathroom

Climbers unite!

Check and check, American Death Triangle, retired leeper hangers,
 hardware store wedge bolt, star dryvin, a modern 3/8" 5 piece
 that's hanging ~1/2" out of the wall, lots and lots of faded tat and
4 extremely heavily worn leaver carabiners
 and all of it is...kind of equalized.

This past climbing season one of my big missions out in the desert has been working with a few other folks to replace and update as many anchors as possible. Bolting has been something that I've done on and off for the past couple years, though rather intermittently particularly when not doing first ascents. I prioritized rebolting and equiping old routes with new hardware which was kind of awesome, I got on routes that I had never done before, routes that I'd done years ago and not touched since, I worked on routes that I regularly lap and felt good about doing all of them. It was sweet to be able to structure my climbing day around routes that needed a little love, there were entire climbing days of doing only routes on the list which completely eliminated the "well we could do that one, but this one looks good, but that one is kinda long/short/wide/thin etc" hmmming and hawwing conversation. Instead it was easy to point my rope gun at the route and then ride a top rope up to the anchors.

I learned over the course of the season that fixed gear is far too often blindly trusted, and I'm certainly guilty of this as well, however there were so many anchors composed or sun rotted webbing, outdated bolts, poorly placed bolts, single bolts, fixed nuts...well the list goes on, that have been used for years and it is a minor miracle that more people have not died by ripping anchors in the desert. The alarming ease of removing some of the hardware that I did has certainly been an eye opener and solidified the need for a growth in the community of anchor updaters!

Close up of a poorly placed modern bolt.

If you're getting in to doing or have been establishing new routes please for the love of god spend the little bit of extra money and get hardware that is going to last! Buy the steel (not aluminium) rap rings and the 3/8 chain and quicklinks rather than 3/16" crap that I've seen hanging of new routes in the desert. If you've been using good stuff then many thanks for the hard work and investment in the future safety of others!

Check out some of these...sub par anchors for a good laugh and what not to do as well as these:

http://dumbanchors.blogspot.com/

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/569713/Good-Anchors-Bad-Anchors

Two bolts, two hangers and an faded tat. None to be trusted.

If you're feeling pscyhed on doing some of the same check out some of these groups and resources:

Here's a whole library on basically everything you could ever want to know on tech specs, how to rebolt, bolt identification etc.
http://www.safeclimbing.org/education.htm

Here are some of the places that have been at least partially updated.
http://www.safeclimbing.org/replacement.htm

http://www.climbing.com/ari/

Also feel free to use me as a resource if you're psyched, if I can't help directly I know some people that know some stuff that I can put you in contact with!

Edit: Here is a write up on some of these pictures.

Modern anchors and drilled angles with some
 heavily worn carabiners and cross threaded quicklink

Lots of keychain carabiners!

More crappy hardware.

One pile of bleached tat and cordalette.

Another pile o' tattered webbing and cordage!

Customizing a Van

For van dwellers or aspiring van dwellers I should say; there is a decision to be made regarding the interior of the van/vehicle you will be living in. The decision being whether you will buy a van that has been pre built to live in or one that is a blank slate, chock full of potential. There are certainly pros and cons to both and circumstances may force us one way or the other.

The pros of getting a van pre-built up include: convenience, cost and time factors. It's obviously convenient as you will not have to build out the interior yourself, overcome the inevitable hiccups that are associated with such a project as there are a plethora of obstacles you might run into, like tapering van bodies that mess with your bed setup, the curvature of the walls, insulation taking up more space than anticipated, incorrect measurements etc. Cost also is a perk as in my experience pre customized vans typically have a lower cost relative to the amount of work put into them as I am guessing that the sellers focus more on the worth of the vehicle itself rather than the living functionality, and so what may have been hundreds of dollars in materials and time may only be reflected in a $50-100 price increase. Time in addition to what's already been mentioned is still a factor to consider when purchasing an instantly livable vehicle as you can simply hop in and hit the open road with out any further fuss. And obviously I should mention if you lack the cash to take it to specialists that customize vans like Outside van or Sportsmobile and are not a DIYer then a prebuilt up van might be just the choice for you.

The benefits of customizing your own vehicle might however include some or all of the following: maximized storage potential, increased livability, street cred., pride, easily modified creation, personalization and just a fun experience. Some decked out vehicles when purchased may have only been intended for use as a part time camp/get away vehicle and as a result may lack the maximized storage space a full time van dweller may require, leaving you cluttered and aesthetically less pleasing.

Note how the shelves accommodate each of the
largest items, coincidence...not quite.

By creating your own interior you can create spaces specific to items that will be a permanent fixture, like water, food and cooking appliances, so as to make the most of your limited space. Since you're the one to be spending the most time in your vehicle, build it up in such a manner that you will find it a comfortable and convenient place to retire/hang out in. Street cred. and pride often go hand-in-hand when you receive complements on your creation you can stand behind it with your head held high and share what you learned and how you did it. Ease of modification and personalization are huge benefits as the first set up you create is unlikely to be perfect and so you can tweak it as necessary. And because you built it you know how it all fits together. Along those same lines you can take other's designs and modify them for your benefit, notching shelves to accommodate skis or fly rods, mounting a bike rack on the bed just so, blacking out the windows for stealth bivys or late morning lie ins, etc. Lastly, creating your own living space is a great way to reflect on what you need in your home, how it fits with your van/tiny house lifestyle, and getting to create something you can use and by psyched on.

This is pretty much the way the van came, which was perfect
to leave from the previous owner's house
straight to the desert for a climbing trip!

It is possible, I should mention to combine both of these options by modifying an existing custom interior to suit your needs as the author has done on his previous two vehicles. One of the best parts of living in your vehicle is that there are no wrongs or rights and it's certainly not too difficult to create what will suit you best.

Nifty stowaway bedside table took about 5 minutes
 to install and has been totally worth it.

For any and all van lifers reading this I'd be psyched to see pictures of your rigs!