route development, hanging out and crushing...

We realize that we are a bit overdue in our postings, but the past few days have been filled with many crazy adventures.  We have filled our days with trails maintenance, climbing and we even got to see how the folks down here in Potrero-land develop new routes...

yes, that is a leaf blower that he is wielding there. This was really an eye opening experience; I learned that no one who feels their ethics alarm go off at the mention of manufactured holds should ever climb in the Potrero.  Every route here is manufactured.  Route cleaning is a multi-day process that involves rock hammers, crow bars, gas powered leaf blowers, a half a dozen scrub brushes and more rock fall that one cares to see in a year.  In order to find a "line", one usually has to exfoliate at least one, if not two, layers of rock to determine what rock is strong enough to pull on, let alone what rock can actually have bolts drilled into it. All that being said, I can honestly say I appreciate the hours of work and the tons of rock dust that have gone, and continue to go, into the route development here.  Thanks for making such a sweet playground all you leaf-blower yielding crazies.

We spent this interesting afternoon (Thursday, January 27) with our buddy Pete, as well as some other "local" climbers, Simeon, Bud, Rick and Simeon's dog, Petey who is infamous for being disproportionately aggressive for his size...
But don't worry, we have still been doing some rock climbing.  Here are Pete and I on the best, and most accurately graded, 5.10 I have climbed thus far, "Fresh Baked Daily".