The Infinite Loop

And now for something a little bit different... Our little glimpse into the world of multi-million dollar businesses in the Silicon Valley - starting with one of the worlds finest breakfasts at 'Cafe Mac's' at the Apple Inc HQ.

To gain access into the inner sanctum, Anna had to sign us in and print us special passes. It's all top secret inside the 'Infinite Loop' (the name of the campus building), so no photos allowed. Once we'd got through security we walked though a beautiful lobby, (complete with huge real trees inside!), then outside into a grassy courtyard. Essentially, Cafe Mac's is a staff canteen, but in reality, it's an amazing restaurant. Anything you could ever imagine wanting for breakfast is there! All cooked fresh and to order! After a few mouthwatering laps of all the counters and cooking stations, I went for some strawberry and banana pancakes. And just to clarify, we are talking about me specifying my required toppings (from the many many options) and a guy making it freshly in front of my eyes! Fresh coffee and fresh fruits accompanied it and everything was delicious!

Much as I'd have liked to have stayed there all day eating my way through muffins, pastries, omelettes, bacon and cereals, Anna had to actually go and do some work, so we checked back out through security and went off to start our day.

After all the excitement, we actually went and sat in the sun for an hour at nearby 'Peets' coffee shop to soak up and review what we'd just seen. Then we lost another few hours in 'Wholefoods' - the greatest supermarket ever! Everything is organic, fresh and made in-store. Mouth watering stuff at every turn...

Eventually, we made it back out into the sunshine, and drove south to the Pinnacles National Park. Following a tip off from Anna, we'd decided to go and check out the rock climbing there. It was mid-afternoon by the time we arrived, which turned out to be just in time to get the last spot at the campground. The temperature was really hot and we were pretty tired after all the excitement of Yosemite and San Fran, so having been given a shady spot, were happy to just chill for a few hours.

By now, we didn't really have the energy to climb anything, but went for a walk before sunset to scope out where the climbing was and what it looked like. The rock is volcanic conglomerate. It looks weird, with pebbles and rocks all stuck together and has a reputation for being 'unreliabile' in terms of its solidness!

After making a plan for tomorrow, we retired to camp, where big raptors were circling above our heads as the moon came up.

The Ascent of Slackers Hill

Having had a week in the Yosemite Valley, today was a real change of scene as we became full on tourists! It started off with a splendid brunch in the funky little town of Mountain View. There didn't seem to be much of a mountain view, but to be honest we were more interested in the mountain of eggs, bacon, syrup and hash browns that we were presented  with! It was both delicious and well recieved after a week of camp life in the valley. Then to wash it down, stopped off for a frappachino on the way to the next stop on our Silicon Valley/San Fran tour. 

We were heading to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but first we stopped off to check out the Google offices. There were loads of Google bikes on every corner (brightly coloured and free to borrow) and the offices looked super modern. We span past Pinterest, then joined the traffic on the way to San Francisco and eventually 'the bridge'.

We parked up underneath to get a view of the city and the bridges. It really is pretty impressively big. 

Then to get a better view, Jonathon suggested that we hike a trail up one of the nearby hills. Having been active all week, we were in 'rest day' tourist mode, so though it appropriate that we should only hike the shortest possible trail up the aptly name 'Slacker's Hill'! This turned out to be a great idea. Near the bridge there were hundreds of tourists all crowding to get photos - we drove half a mile further, parked up, then walked about 20 minutes to the top of Slacker's Hill. Here there were only a couple of other walkers and the most fantastic and far reaching views of the bay and all the way down the coast.

The viewpoint was unique in that there were so many contrasting views. In one direction you had the city skyscraper skyline; then the island of Alcatraz; then the bridge; then behind us was the coast with undeveloped rolling green hills with an almost wilderness feel.

Later that afternoon, we drive down the coast to Pacifica to see Anna's new 'beach house'. It's got amazing views and is one bay north of the famous 'Mavericks' surf spot. Before heading home, we also got to test out their new local surf spot cafe, which is only a minute drive from the beach house and serves up good burgers!

Hanging out on El Capitan

We got a taste of big wall climbing today, by climbing on the giant wall that is El Capitan.

But not before an early morning adventure on the vast slabs of Glacier Apron Point. With a big day ahead of us, we were up early and starting up the first pitch of 'Monday Morning Slab' (5.5) as the sun burst into the valley.

On the other side of the valley, the morning sun was creating a full spectrum rainbow on the mist from Yosemite Falls. The phenomena lasted about half an hour as the sun crept up into the blue sky and made the early start really worthwhile. 

We followed a big corner system up for a few pitches to the spacious ledge at the top of the slabs. We wished it could have gone on for longer.

A few abseils (and a temporarily stuck rope) later and we were scampering back  to camp. 

We packed up camp pretty quickly and drove out to the base of El Capitan, where we planned to climb a route on an area called 'The Footstool' (5.4). It's only a 50m route, but it gets you up onto the side of the big wall, with amazing views across to 'The Nose' so it feels really high! Just standing at the base of the cliff feels incredible. Looking up, it's 900m to the top and dizzying just to try and comprehend the size.

The route, was actually really fun climbing, with decent holds and just enough protection to keep you concentrating. But the situation was everything! Just knowing that we were starting up a route on El Capitan was a buzz!

The route ended at a good sized shelf that is possibly one of the greatest belay ledges in the world in terms of comfort and views. 

To our right was 'The Nose' route of El Cap, to the left, the Yosemite valley and above us lay hundreds of meters of vertical granite. Below us the base of the cliff slopes away, giving us the impression of being much higher than we actually were.

We spent a while sitting, looking and laughing. What a great last route in the valley. Above us, an aid route followed a line of bolts and pegs precariously upwards into the unknown. We opted to descend!

A final abseil led us back to terra firma. There is an alarming amount of freshly broken granite littering the base of the cliff. Huge granite worktops that looked freshly deposited are scattered everywhere, warning that it's no place to be hanging around. The freshly broken rocks revealed all kinds of amazing looking crystals and formations, but we hurried off before a new delivery arrived.

We did stop briefly to check out what 'The Nose' route looks like. How someone has climbed it solo or in under three hours is mind boggling!

It was nearly 3pm by the time we were back at the van, fed and psyched up for some time on the road. Our next stop was Cupertino, (just south of San Francisco). The drive was pretty slow getting out of the park, but certainly picturesque. There was a detour at one point where a considerable landslide had completely wiped out the road - it was such an unbelievable scene of destruction that I nearly drove off the otherside of the road while looking at it! Concentrate Martin!

After a few hours, the scenery changed to more agricultral land. A quick coffee break in Merced (not recommended as a tourist destination) then a few more hours on the road and we arrived at Anna and Jonathon's house, where we were greeted with open arms, fine wines and delicious home cooked food! A long, but well filled day that ended well into the early hours...

After Seven (5.8)**** and how to be awesome...

This is what great days are made of...

Luck was on our side today, as we climbed one of the best routes of the trip.  The good feelings began at camp this morning though. Most of the 'generator club' had moved out of camp last night, so we slept peacefully until the birds woke us at 9am. (Well peacefully apart from being woken up at 2am by a bear in camp - which turned out to be a late arrival trying to put their tent up!). 

Anyway, the sun had reached camp by this point so we ate breakfast at our table while watching a woodpecker at work making home next to us! This was his progress so far: 

Then it was off to the cliffs to find another classic rock climb. As we arrived at the base of our chosen cliff, there were teams gearing up at the base of all the routes. So imagine our relief and surprise when the couple at the base of the route we wanted to do, said that they'd probably be slow, so we could go first!  

We were already racked up, so before thy could change their minds, got the ropes uncoiled and set off, hand jamming my way upwards as fast as I could.

And we were just in time, because a few minutes later, two other teams turned up and had to sit and wait!

The first pitch was brilliant, with great protection as well. Clare soon shot past me and up the second pitch, the top of which converged with another busy route.

Sensing a massive bottleneck of traffic up ahead, we slipped into alpine mode, employed a few Italian tactics and moved swiftly past a slow looking team of three! At the next belay, the top most team, sensing our Jedi speed, let us past and from there on we cruised upwards, leaving the chaos of hot crowded stances behind! Phew! What a lucky escape! We literally saved ourselves hours of waiting around!

The higher pitches continued to be of great quality and the views just kept getting better and better.

By now, we were a whole pitch ahead of the next team, so basically had the whole crag to ourselves. We both buzzed our way upwards on the efficiency, smoothness and speed of our ascent. 

Then, at last the top came. A perfect plateau of granite with breathtaking views   In every direction. Knowing that now one would be joining us soon, we enjoyed a long lunch/sunbath on top, before descending by foot back to the van for an even bigger feed. 

Two hours later, we left our sunny lunch spot, and as we did, saw the team we over took walking down! Talk about a lucky escape! Our next stop was Yosemite Falls, where we climbed the 'Regular Route' (5.4) on a cliff called Sunnyside Bench'. The climbing was much easier, but as with most climbs in the valley, the views are fantastic.

We climbed the four pitches of the route in just over an hour, then scrambled up to the top of Lower Yosemite Falls for a cool view down over the edge. It's possible to scramble even higher to some swimming pools under the main (upper) falls, but fading light and energy levels warded us off continuing too high. 

Above us the shadows were working their way up the cliffs towards the iconic Lost Arrow Spire.

So instead we traversed the cliff tops then walked down through a forest then tricky scree slopes. Somewhat exhausted, we eventually found ourselves back on the joyous flat ground of the path. 

It was only a short walk back to Yosemite  Lodge, where we went direct to the bar and thirstly devoured beers and chips in celebration of our achievements! What a day - it felt great top both be on top form!

A 'fifteen star points' day of climbing

This mornings objective was a route called 'Sloth Wall' (5.7)****. Clare got us started up the route with a few initial tricky moves.

Then somehow, I got to do the next pitch which, like yesterday, involved running out great lengths of rope between placing protection. 

It was good to get a different view of the valley as well, looking west.

Our next route involved climbing the crack in the photo below (known now as the crack of pain). I was actually not too bad, and Clare managed to layback the whole thing after I'd thug my way up inside it with painful fist-jams. As reward for my efforts, near the top I found a cam and krab that marked the high point of the previous teams ascent. (The climbers equivilant of finding a fifty pound note stuffed in the crack!).

The top pitch was much more civilised, but the temperatures were now reaching the eighties, so we descended to the valley and had lunch in the meadow, with El Capitan on one side of us and Bridal Veil Falls on the other.

Once again, we've been super lucky with the weather. In fact, it was so hot after lunch that we decided to go and get ice creams at Yosemite Lodge. After such a refreshing break, the sun had left the crag of nearby 'Swan Slabs' so we went over and climbed three more routes in the cool of the evening. It was the perfect temperature for climbing; without the glare of the sun but with the rock still hot to touch. At the top of our third (and best) route we had a fantastic view of Half Dome. The sun was low, and the rock was glowing orange in the evening light. The camera couldn't take in all the contrasts of light and dark, so I took one pic of Clare, one pick of Half Dome, then we just sat and soaked it all up.

Another fine day in the valley. 

Sloth Wall (5.7)****

False Ego (5.7)***

Swan Crag Crack (5.6)**

Oak Tree Slab (5.6)***

Bay Tree Slab (5.6)*** (but we'd give it 4*)

The Grack (5.6)***** - Climbing Glacier Point Apron

Another fine day of climbing giant rock faces in Yosemite! This time, we climbed a couple of routes on the huge cliff next to our campsite, called 'Glacier Point Apron'. We also upped the star ratings by doing a 'five star route' called The Grack, which according to the guidebook is "the best moderate grade crack climb in Yosemite". To give you an idea of scale, you can just spot Clare on the photo below.

It's amazing to be here so 'off season' yet with great weather. We had expected there to be a bit of snow about, but today was a full on summer scorcher!

The day started in the cold shade of camp, where the dawn chorus was replaced again by a choir of revving generators (what would John Muir say?!). This time, we were prepared a) for the noise of the generators and b) for the cold, by having a breakfast in bed under the warmth of the duvet. 

It was only a twenty minute walk from the tent to the base of our route and we couldn't believe that we had the entire rock face to ourselves! The climbing really was first class, with every pitch providing good sport; absorbing, but never terrifying. 

The pitches were long (almost too long for our ropes) and the second involved following a perfect crack. It was perfect for hand-jams, but fatiguing for our feet, which had to be twisted into the crack for purchase.

At the top, we spent a while sitting on a ledge, admiring the views and grinning a lot, feeling suitably pleased.

A few long abseils got us back to the ground, via a smooth sweep of granite, which was reflecting the heat of the sun with some force. But at least there was nothing for the ropes to get stuck on.

Once back on the ground, we decided to move along the base of the crag to another route called 'The Cow'. This route was actually a bit easier, but involved a very run out section, high up. Somehow, it turned out to be my turn to lead, so I set off carefully, placing a lot of trust in the friction of my feet. Although the angle was relatively low, there were no handholds, footholds, or protection for about 15 - 20m. All these factors helped to crystallise the concentration and dry the mouth somewhat as I made upward progress.

The line of shadow dropped down over us as I reached the safety of the belay ledge, and the temperatures returned to a less frazzling degree.

Another series of abseils down a blank section of rock had us conveniently back on the ground again before too long.

Back at camp, we devoured a few breakfast burritos (fried egg and avocado), the went to 'Curry Village' where there is a swimming pool and (but more importantly for us) showers. After enjoying a bit of a spruce up, we then went to Yosemite Lodge for an evening drink before dinner. Because of the high sided valley, the sun sets early, so it was good to be in the warmth of the lodge, even if the coffee was poor and the hit chocolate undrinkable!

Back at camp, we cooked dinner and jumped in the van. Partly for warmth and partly to be out of the smog that forms around camp when each pitch sparks up their own individual campfire. We're currently reading 'The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'.