Bishop

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We hope everyone had a great holiday. We are still roaming around the west coast and were able to spend the first three weeks of November climbing in the beautiful and majestic Bishop, CA! Holy smokes does Bishop have some fabulous climbing. It has so much great climbing, we're planning to head back there for a couple weeks in December! In addition to the great climbing, the entire Sierra Nevada region is just stunning. When we left Yosemite in late October, the Tioga Pass was closed due to an earlier storm, so we had to approach Bishop via the Sonora Pass, which is just north of the Tioga Pass. I finally appreciate the full meaning of the term "pass" as used by my west coast friends--I never quite understood why people were so hesitant and intimidated by driving through a "pass" in the winter. And now I get it. Driving through the mountains is no joke and is very different than driving through the snow in New England (though the latter should also not be underestimated and is an acquired skill gained after years of living through New England winters!). The drive through the Sonora Pass was incredibly beautiful, but also a bit treacherous. The roads are windy and unbelievable steep (I think the highest grade we hit was 26%!), and you're in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone service and hardly any other motorists passing by. We happened to drive through the pass while there was relatively little snow and ice on the ground and it was nonetheless intimidating.

Marco admiring the view during our drive through the Sonora Pass, the second highest pass in the Sierra Nevada range at 9,623 feet.

More views from the drive.

Bishop, known for its amazing bouldering, is a small town located east of the Sierra Nevada range and about 45 minutes south of Mammoth, CA. It is a great town--plenty of restaurants and locally owned stores as well as the mouth-watering and delicious Erick Schat's Bakery. Surrounded by the mountains, the views in Bishop are gorgeous. We camped out at the Pit, a climber-friendly campground that is only a few miles from the Happys, one of the popular bouldering areas. At $2/night, we couldn't complain much about the camping--"much" being the keyword, because we definitely had some minor complaints. Though our stay at the Pit was without incident and pretty pleasant, we definitely overheard our fair share of climbers who had an incident with the campground host. Unfortunately, it seems as though the campground host has a very short temper and just about anything triggers his anger, particularly a climber rolling into the dirt road campground at 15 MPH as opposed to the posted 10 MPH speed limit. On more than one occasion, our evening by the campfire was interrupted by a slew of vulgarities being tossed around between the campground host and some unfortunate climber. In the campground host's defense, I'm sure he has had to deal with his fair share of obnoxious and rude campers, so he likely has a short fuse; but, on the other hand, there is a way to approach a problem and it doesn't seem like the host ever chose the best method. Based on what we witnessed, it appears he always went with the "What the f**k is your problem, you stupid-a*s dirtbag! Don't ever f**king drive through here at that speed unless it's a medical emergency. Are you a f**king idiot!" method. I'm not exaggerating. And yes, it was not very effective. It doesn't make the recipient very willing to listen to your request and acquiesce. On a weekly basis, we would hear the campground host just unleash on some poor, likely-undeserving camper. So, while the campground was dirt cheap and in a beautiful location (see below picture), I will admit that I was very nervous that we would wake up one night to a crazy campground host who had gone postal on the entire campground. I made sure to double-check that our van doors were locked every night!

Our campsite at the Pit, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. And only $2/night!

In addition to the slightly unstable campground host, we also had a colorful neighbor that kept things pretty interesting. Turns out, at $2/night (which is reduced by 50% for senior citizens, so $1/night for those lucky old folks), the Pit is also a very popular campground for retired persons who live out of their campers. Our neighbor was one of those people. He rolled in a couple days after we had arrived and set-up camp just a few spots away from us. As soon as he arrived, he plopped down in his chair, which overlooked the lower portion of the campground rather than the beautiful mountains behind him (odd), and he started yacking away on his cell phone. Every morning we woke up to "Duuuuuuuuuude! I'm up at the Pit man! Come have a few beers. Let's hang out. Dude!" And then two minutes later, presumably on the phone with another friend, "Duuuuuuuuuude! What's going on. Come to the Pit dude!" Yup, we were camped next to the Big Lebowski. We nicknamed him "The Dude." After talking to a local, we found out (or rumor has it) that the Dude lives off of social security, drinks a ton of beer, was previously the campground host of the Pit (but was asked to step down due to his inability to properly manage), and bounces around from cheap campground to cheap campground, often getting chased out of each campground by the rangers due to staying past the limit of days that one is permitted to camp. After two weeks at the Pit, we woke up one morning to find the Dude mysteriously gone! But, our fears were quelled when we drove to the Buttermilks to climb and found that he had moved camp to the Buttermilks for a change of scenery. The Dude lives on!

The Dude (white hat) and a friend (red hat).

The Dude on the phone one morning...like every other morning.

And now, onto the climbing. My personal favorite area in Bishop is the Druids. It is a pretty killer approach up switchbacks to the top of a small mountain (the book says 20-45 minutes depending on your fitness level, but we consistently found it takes closer to an hour...guess we're not fit!). But the approach is completely worth it. Not only are the views killer, but it is never crowded, so it's a great place to go on busy weekends, and the granite feels like it's hardly been touched. If you time it right and hike out during the sunset, you will be utterly amazed at all the colors the sky turns. DO IT! We loved the Druids and highly recommend it for anyone visiting Bishop! In particular, don't miss Thunder, V3, and Skye Dance, V6!

View of Bishop from the Druids.

Getting ready for the hike out, just as the sun is starting to set.

The sky turned so many colors during the sunset!

Thunder, V3. Tricky, slopey top-out!

The downclimb...the boulders are just so big!

We spent the rest of our time climbing at the Happys and the Buttermilks. The Happys is made up of volcanic tuff that is much friendlier on the skin than the granite found at the Druids or the Buttermilks. Based on the climbs we tried, the problems tend to feature jug-like holds and/or pockets and there are some great overhanging problems. I loved the Happys! 

Pirate Booty, V3, on Slap Happy Boulder in the Happys.

Our friend Danielle on Pirate Booty.

Marco with a great send of Every Color You Are, V6, at the Happys.

View from the boulders.

Sunsetting on a great day of climbing. That's our little white van way down at the bottom of the hill!

Danielle and Drew's dog Nanda, keeping watch as usual. She is an excellent guard dog! Always on duty : )

Danielle and Nanda.

Marco attempting Atari, V6, at the Happys. He'll tackle it again when we're back in December!

Hiking out after a long day of climbing! Couldn't ask for a better view.

And now for the Buttermilks--also full of high quality boulder problems and stunning views. 

Cave Route, V6. Yet another reason we are returning in December. He was so close!

Hiking around the Buttermilks.

Iron Man Traverse, V4.

High Plains Drifter, V7. The main reason we are returning in December. Marco has this one!

Edge of Reason, V3.

That's about it for our time in Bishop! We loved the climbing, we loved the people we met, and we look forward to going back for a couple weeks before the holidays! Lots of love to everyone.