After hearing about the damage and vandalism in Joshua Tree NP during the government shutdown, I was interested in supporting the Friends of Joshua Tree Climb Smart Festival. Ben and I both signed up as soon as tickets were available. It’d be my first time seeing Joshua Tree with the eyes of a climber, so I was really excited to get on some routes. The four-day weekend for me started off with a 5-hour flight delay on a red-eye. Not long afterward, I spilled a bunch of water on my camera. Despite all that, I was grateful to be in Joshua Tree doing what I love most.
It was clear that there's a lifetime of adventure in Joshua Tree. We didn't even scratch the surface. Here’s a window into what those four days were like.
Chillin, but tired from our lack of sleep. Ben arrived at around midnight, and I landed six hours later. We drove the three hours immediately after to arrive to this point.
This was one of the guides running clinics. I disagreed with some of the things he said about dyneema being a pain, but didn't want to be a smart-ass so I kept quiet!
Ben and I bailed on the clinic and led some easy routes nearby. He later came over to us and kept insisting that we should free-solo the routes to experience a different state of mind. I passed on the suggestion, but I know what he's talkin about. Later noted that his IG bio read "Born nekid! Living free! Will die young!"
Fun fact about monzogranite (the rock that makes up most of J-tree). It's quite rough and abrasive. Expect to lose some skin. Popular routes that get climbed on smooth out, but apparently if you were to leave a route untouched for about a year, the sun and wind would end up making it rough again.
This was our second lap at a really fun route: Fote Hog. It was so good that we decided to do it twice (each of us getting a lead). I'd highly recommend trying a route again after finishing it. I had more fun on the second climb than I did on the first. It really gets you out of the 'tick list' mindset and instead focuses you on the joy of the movement.
Lots of Joshua Tree routes have walk-offs over mounds of rocks, which made me nervous. I was worried about getting lost since there's no clear 'trail'. We did get lost, but only for two mintues. I thought about how embarrassing it'd be to activate my rescue beacon only to realize we were 20 feet off trail.
We hung out at the summit for a bit, and I got just enough service for a call (only if I stood at the very top). I Facetime'd Leah so she could check out the scene too.
We weren't planning to do any bouldering, but while waiting for Joe to show up, we found some rocks to play on. I was hesitant to top out because we didn't have a crash pad, so I down-climbed by reversing my moves.
We found two guys from San Diego (Justin and Austin) who were new to climbing but coming out often to try their hand at some J-tree bouldering.
So apparently this is a game. Looks bizarre but it was quite fun. Teams are pairs of two, and ideally you're comfortable touching each other (as you can see from the photo). The first person has to have at least one 'body part' behind the line and at most two body parts in front of it.
The second person 'climbs' over their partner to set a water bottle as far as possible. Afterward, they climb back to their starting position behind the line. At no point can the second partner make contact with the ground. Then, the first partner needs to 'reset' themselves behind the line without fallling.
It's an extremely exciting game to watch. Oftentimes, a team will completely collapse.
Ben and I looking back at the climb we just did to warm up. No matter what the grade, the first pitch of the day is always one that makes me nervous.
Relationship troubles
The right-most diagonal is a 5.3 climb that Ben and I warmed up on the day before. It starts about halfway up on the ledge after some easy scrambling.
From another route, I could see a couple was climbing it; the leader had just gotten to the top, built an anchor and yelled that he was off belay. His follower couldn't hear him well, so that back and forth went on for a few more exchanges. I focused back on the route I had ahead, and my partner Cody said he wanted to head back to the car and grab some climbing tape for his hands.
A half hour later, just before I'm about to start climbing, I hear some more yelling....
Guy: Are you climbing!?
Girl: No I'm on the ground!
The leader had extended himself out quite a ways and was hanging over the lip of the rock, probably to get better audio communication. I looked for his partner on the ledge that she was on earlier. I didn't see her. Then I noticed that she had completely walked off and was on the ground, yelling back up to him.
Guy: What do you mean you're on the ground!?
Girl: I'm on the ground!
Guy: Are you tied into the rope?
Girl: No, I'm on the ground!
Guy: Why are you on the ground? I'm hanging off the edge of a cliff!
Girl: Why are you hanging off the edge of a cliff!?
Guy: ...
Cody and I looked at each other and realized this couple was going to have an awkward ride home.
An hour later I looked over to the route and could see the leader halfway down, rappelling and cleaning gear, about 20 or more feet from the fall line of the rappel.
Joe doing his best impression of a Joshua Tree. He said his goal for this year was to hold a handstand for 10 seconds. This attempt lasted 6 seconds. I was impressed, but he insisted he's usually better.
Joe took us into the Chasm of Doom in Joshua Tree, a tight squeeze cave that cuts through the center of a huge pile of rocks. It was close to sunset when we started, but fortunately he knew the way through.
This was a traverse where we'd shimmy across, while holding our breath to become as 'small' as possible. Underneath our heels there were drops of about 20 feet, but it'd be impossible to fall through. You're more likely to get stuck in place. This wasn't even the smallest cavity that we pushed through. There was another spot called “The Birth Canal”
On the other end of that traverse we popped out onto a comfortable ledge, the kind of ledge where we'd be tethered into if we were climbing.
One of the many squeezes of the evening. Joe told us not to wear anything delicate (e.g., a puffy). I wore a slick windbreaker, which I think may have helped me 'slide' through some of the constrictions better.
This was one of the more impressive views, but only from afar. If you take a few steps forward, like Ben did, you'll be greeted with a parking lot. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
That rock will fall someday. Geologic time includes now. Hopefully it happens when no one's in the cave. Joe mentioned that some of the local guides try to 'hike' through the Chasm of Doom at night without headlamps, relying only on feel and memory.
Sometimes the timing works out perfectly, without prior planning. Any earlier and we would've missed the desert glow. Any later and we would've been caught in the dark (an idea for next time maybe!).
We met Joe at the climbing festival and he offered to drive Ben back to LAX on Sunday night, since he was headed that way. My flight was on Monday, so this meant I could stay an extra day.
Joe had been doing the clinics and after that was all done, he was eager to do some "real climbing" as he called it. We made ourselves a rope team of three and found a route.
The last hour of sunlight in Joshua Tree is my favorite. No one else is around and it seems unreal to have this playground all to yourself.
Ben climbing up Mike's Books. I took advantage of the fact that Joe was there: I asked him to belay so I could wander around and get a better look at the route.
I hadn't climbed with a stranger before, but on Monday I needed a partner and went to the local Facebook group.
Cody was also looking for a partner, and had been to Joshua Tree several times this year. In his post, he claimed to be a 5.9 trad leader.
We paired up and met Monday morning. I would later realize that he couldn't climb any of the 5.7 routes I led without falling several times. I could not at all figure out how he came to the conclusion that he was climbing at 5.9.
When we stepped out of Cody's car, I noticed he was in flip flops. I figured he knew what he was doing, but within five minutes, his flip flop ripped and he had to hike with a mix of climbing shoes and bare feet.
Before we left the car, I asked if he was going to take his helmet, which he left in the back seat. He said no, but I could use it if I wanted to. He later asked me why I climb with a helmet and if I've found it useful.
He didn't seem to know how to coil a rope properly, so he ended up carrying it like a baby, sprawled across his arms. Pair that with a to-go coffee cup that he held in his mouth, and a gallon water jug in his hands and I was starting to realize this dude was a bit of a mess.
To top it off, when we got to the bottom of the first route of the day, I asked him to flake out the rope. After doing so on a precariously placed boulder over a 30ft drop, he accidentally kicked the rope pile over into the gap below us. Fortunately, he was able to crawl down to get it [pictured].
My concerns over whether he could belay started when he didn't understand why I was checking the system before climbing. "I just go for it" he said. He couldn't understand why I asked him to tie into the end of the rope, but did it anyway. Later on in a different route, we noticed that he loaded his belay device incorrectly. This is why we do checks...
Cody took the first photo of me while I was leading up Double Cross (5.7+). The first 20 feet are unprotected. Someone died a few years ago falling off from that unprotected section. I think he didn't have a helmet. I was able to find a clever way to clean and back clean the start (#4 on the big undercling and a #3 in the crack), but it sure did stress me out. Once I got into the crack it was smooth sailing.
I onsighted what was my hardest climbs to date by grade, but it was exactly my style: hand and fist jams. Usually there's a line to get on the route, but we had no wait because we were the only people willing to climb it at high noon with the sun shining directly on us. After coming to a nice rest and placing a piece, I thought it'd be fun to look back and take a photo at what I'd done so far.
When I look out on these rocks, I see playgrounds similar to what I played on as a kid. Endless routes and adventures in the crevices between these boulders.
All the tools needed for a sweet adventure. After returning the car, I laid out everything and tried to figure out the best way to pack my things for the flight. At the climbing festival, I won a pair of shoes, two hats, a shirt, a a backpack, and several other items so I was coming home with more than I started.
So glad I went to the Joshua Tree Climb Smart festival. It was my first climbing festival and my first time immersing myself in a climbing community. We have festivals out in the east coast but they all feel way too crowded. If you’re newer to climbing, you’d get a lot out of the clinics in a festival.