South Lake Tahoe

Inertia

This morning Jen and I will pull our growing anchor and cut ourselves loose of the embrace of South Lake.  A month goes by pretty quickly and before you know it, the comforts of living under a roof start to soften you up a little.  Climbing, swimming, hiking and a nightly hot tub start to sound a little more enticing than ten hours a day in the saddle.  But our journey is not over and if we wait a whole lot longer the nipping chill of winter will be chasing us south.  I have a feeling that we will be back here before too long and it is with a bit of regret that we pack our bikes and say goodbye to family in the great Tahoe Valley.

Progress

South Lake Tahoe is a bike town...kind of.  Plenty of folks kitted out riding expensive road bikes and this is undoubtedly one the best mountain biking destinations in the United States.  There is however a pronounced absence of folks just using their bikes to get around.  Lack of infrastructure can partly explain this phenomenon; freshly constructed bike paths lead to nowhere and rural bike lanes vanish into four lane arterials as one approaches the center of commerce...WTF!?!?  The strong culture of the automobile however, is the larger culprit.  The bicycle does not seem to be accepted as a viable transportation option here in the great Tahoe Basin despite a relatively low volume of traffic and reasonable distances between residential areas and urban amenities.  

The slogan of this great city is Keep Tahoe Blue , an ethos and effort to preserve the clarity of Lake Tahoe.  It seems a little ironic to me that the most common place I see this catchphrase is stuck to the bumper of a car.  I wonder what impact  just 10% of all local transportation occurring on bicycle would have on water quality over ten years?  

Progress is coming to this town, but like most places change comes slowly and is stymied by powerful individuals.  Despite the overwhelming evidence that bicycles are good for the physical and economic health of communities,  there are those who resist the advancement of the bicycle to equal status as the automobile as a transportation tool.

Front Door Adventures

South Lake Tahoe is an amazing place.  Set smack in the middle of the Sierra Mountains on the shore of the largest alpine lake in the United States, access to a pluthera of outdoor activities is second to none. World class climbing, skiing, hiking, bouldering, fishing, mountain biking, road riding, paddle boarding and much more are all readily available to the enthused participant, and to a large extent approachable without the use of a car.  This place is ripe for the Front Door Adventure and Jen and I have done more than a little exploring by bike while in town.  I hope to be back here on two wheels before long.     

The Amazing Guy

As we prepare to leave this morning I am dragging me heels just a little.  Our layover here has provided both of us some much needed rest and the opportunity to do many fun things other than ride our bikes.  But more than that, our stay here has allowed me the opportunity to become closer to Jen's side of the family and hang out with the most amazing guy I know.  There is something magical about  a four-year-old who approach the world with a joy, optimism and sense of adventure that adulthood seems to strip from most of us.  The highlight of my day is most definitely waking up in the morning to an adorable smiling face and recycled jokes about who found the easter egg.

Man, I really love the Amazing Guy and miss him already.  

Kloshe Konaway

Kloshe Nanitch

Matt

Fear

J. Hurst slaying some fear demons on the crux roof crack of the Haystack, Lover's Leap.  

Do one thing every day that scares you.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation causes your worst fear to come true.
~Bohdi (Point Break 1991)


Rock climbing.

It really is a silly hobby, and when you think about it, one of the dumbest and most maladaptive pursuits one can engage in.  I mean honestly, who in their right mind would voluntarily leave terra firma, bury the deepest of survival instincts from the conscious mind and trust that dime sized edges of fractured rock will not fail when loaded under body weight.  Not very smart.

Why is it then that I find this act so fundamentally satisfying?  Maybe it is because I live in a modern world so saturated with stimulus, distractions and mental clutter that my brain is seldom allowed the opportunity to center.  Maybe it is because stepping out high above gear and smearing on the tiniest of granite crystals removes the omnipresent insulation from risk that is wildly pervasive in our society.  Or maybe it is because the sharp end of a rope forces an assumption of responsibility for my own well-being that is largely vacant from the sue-happy culture of which I am a part.  

While I suspect that Mrs. Roosevelt likely never tied in for a day in the vertical, she clearly understood that fear has the power to intently focus our entire being on the task at hand, take us out of our little bubbles of comfort, and grow just a little.
Rock climbing or public speaking, a little fear likely good for us.  

I have climbed more in the last three weeks than I have in the previous three years and as much as my  philosophical meanderings attempt to justify a completely self-serving and pointless pursuit, all I really have to say is that climbing is a hell of a lot of fun and I do it because it makes me happy.

I probably like it because it scares me a little as well.

Kloshe Konaway
Kloshe Nanitch

Matt

J. Hurst crushing the 5.6 crux of Deception Crack.  The Hogsback, Lover's Leap.

Jenny loves sharing cramped belay ledges with me.

Beautiful wife and the beautiful East Wall of Lover's Leap

The stellar pitch 1 of The Line, Lover's Leap.  The Line throws a 5.9 crux at you just 20 feet off the ground on thin gear.  Ground falls are common, but completely avoidable.

Steep view of pitch 1 of  The Line.  

I am really fortunate to have a talented athlete as a Brother in Law.    Christian is a natural climber and cruises 5.9 cracks off the couch.  

The Pony Express delivered mail by horseback from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, CA from April 1860 to October 1861.  The historic trail runs along the the base of the walls of Lover's Leap.

Jenny approaching her nemesis, The Haystack on the East Wall of Lover's Leap.  Haystack is just left of the apex of the wall and is distinguished by the right facing corner and large roof  at 2/3 height.  

My new climbing partner BOB.

Looking up the intimidating, but easily protectable crux roof the Haystack.

All climbers have their epics and Jen had a decent one on the Haystack last time she was in Tahoe.  Despite some serious anxiety, she hopped back on the horse and slayed some personal dragons in good style.