Liming, China

After a successful program in Beijing I jumped an early flight and made my way to Liming. Situated in northern Yunnan province, near both Tibet and Burma, Liming has recently become famous as the "Indian Creek of Asia." Development has been rapid, thanks in part to Mike Dobie and a number of Chinese climbers. 

There isn't much in terms of, well anything in Liming, however the Faraway Hotel served as our home base. This place was built with love and creativity. Everything in the joint is some piece of art fashioned from natural materials. On top of that the owners have two dogs, Ding Dong and Jerry, both of which followed us to the crags everyday in search of attention. Recently the Chinese government has deemed Liming a tourist destination, which means tons of Chinese tourists riding around in golf carts for a few hours each day. Evidently when the government decides a place is on the sight seeing list it invests large sums of money into the local area. 

first meal in Liming

views weren't to shabby from the room

the generals noodles were the best in the land

Ding Dong

My initial impressions rolling into the valley were that of a giddy school boy, nervous excitement. Giant walls of red sandstone just towering over everything, and to cap it all off a giant 5000 meter peak in the distance. There were five of us total here to explore and we quickly set out to climb some of the five star lines. Though there are over 10 crags that have been developed to different extents the most popular by far was the Pillars Area, which is easily access via a staircase and short trail hike from the road. We spent a good portion of our time in this area climbing classics like Faraway Corner (5.11a/b) and Scarface 2 (5.10+). With such a easy approach and large concentration of climbs it was hard to leave........until the climbing festival brought with it giant groups of Korean and Chinese climbers. Though the area is compared to Indian Creek it is more like its slightly strange step brother. The climbs are shorter and many are not as clean or aesthetic as the creek, which gives it a personality all its own. 

Add on Faraway Corner 5.11a/b

Gee on an unnamed 5.11 at the Pillars Area

One of the most aesthetic and intimidating lines at the Pillars area was Clamdigger (5.11). Mario and Add saved it for the last day due to rumors of extreme exertion and skin loss...... Watching both of them climb it really gave insight into the depths of human suffering and determination. Fortunately only one of Mario's knees was completely raw after the climb......

Mario  Clamdigging (5.11)

after-math of Clamdigger

Add on The Great Owl 5.9

Locals used to construct wooden ladders to harvest the birds nests on the cliff side, a bit insane but hey if the soup is good it must be worth it. Even the oldest locals don't remember a time when this ladder was in use, which probably means it's bomber right?

We all had to learn quick and adapt to the sandstone cracks. After a few days of getting used to the stone it became easier to chase down projects and beautiful lines. We even explored the Cave Area just above town, which has some extremely classic lines like Soul's Awakening and Wind of the Valley. Just a heads up about the caterpillars in the area, they sting! All the little hairs on their back will get stuck into your skin and cause a reaction, Noah had to learn that the hard way.

like a 5.5 crack / ladder climb

itchy little buggers

Mario working DeDongs Crack

Add cruising up Wind of the Valley

The only other crag we hit up was The Guardian. It took a bit of route finding but the climbs here were pretty awesome. Super clean and tons of long hard climbs in the 5.11+ range. Unfortunately a Spanish climber was bitten by a dog on the approach, so watch out!

Ooan and Gee at the Guardian Crag

Angus and Noah on a dirty 5.8 pitch

early mornings with Jerry and Add

Turns out you can't climb everyday in Liming, primarily because you either have no skin left or explosive diarrhea (or both!). We ended up spending most of our rest days checking out the monthly market and hiking up to 1000 Turtle Mountain. Another great tip: check your beer caps, nearly one in four is a winner, which means if you keep winning you keep getting free beer.

homemade bai jo (aka paint thinner)

1000 Turtle Mountain

Our trip to Liming also coincided with the 3rd Annual Liming Climbing Festival. Tons of people rolled into town, mostly from China and Korea. Black Diamond also sponsored the event so they sent their Zhuhai production team, as well as Jonathan Thesenga and Brittany Griffith. Also in town was Mike Dobie, the local developer which some of us had met a few years ago. Mike was super humble about everything he has been doing for Chinese climbing and tried to stay out of the spot light when possible. The highlight of the night was the free bbq pork intestines (mmm food poisoning) and a "lucky draw,"aka the Chinese name for raffle. The funny thing about Chinese climbers is that they are all middle class, well off dudes. In fact almost everyone we saw was already wearing brand new gear. It makes sense as the Chinese middle class grows in wealth they are obviously going to get into things that formerly were inaccessible, and it is cool to see.

bunch of famous people

One morning we were saved by a British expat named Ruben with fresh coffee and cake at a makeshift street stall (unfortunately every time I talked to him afterward all I could think of was a big reuben sandwich, but I digress). He had been living in Kunming for a few years and had plans to open a hostel in Liming for climbers. Hopefully next time I end up there he will have everything up and running.

Jonathan Thesenga and Brittany Griffith chillin at Ruben's Cafe

last day out......we brought brews

caught a ride on Mike Dobie's sweet trike

The trip went swimmingly well. We all learned how to crack climb in a beautiful remote part of China. Beers were drank, food eaten, skin lost, and joy had. Can't wait for the next round!

Back to the Kingdom

Finally back home in good old CNX! Actually, I have been back for a few weeks, but you know just got busy eating and various other activities.

Earlier this year I led a 1000km bicycle ride through Cambodia, which was the most I have cycled probably since I was 10 years old. Well, for some reason it sparked a fire in me to ride again. Luckily I was able to borrow a mountain bike from a family friend, and rediscovered the freedom of two wheels. Besides riding, my last days in ND were characterized by brewing beer, going to weddings, dancing my heart out, and of course spending time with the family.

Advent Academy trail

too much ND pride?

famous

Funny story about this photo. When Dan, Andy (aka. AK-47), and I were in college we thought it would be funny to put up a photo at our local bar. As most bars, the walls were covered with tons of photos of people that no one knew. So with frame and super glue in hand we stuck this bad boy up. It fell down or was lost a few times, but it ended up securely fastened to the bathroom wall. Evidently the staff didn't realize it didn't belong and made sure that it did.

AK-47 and the big muddy

chilling with the godchildren

In transit back to Chiang Mai I ran into two very special people. P White and I work together at CMRCA, and Mae was my host mother when I arrived in Chiang Mai 3 years ago. We were all coming back from different states. It was great to see some familiar faces after a 20 hour layover in Souel. Kudos to Icheon International Airport for suppling free showers and bed style chairs! Oh, and I got my kimchi on, a few times.

found some friends in Korea

 First purchase after landing (besides phad kaprao moo sap sai kai dao) was a mountain bike. Big props to Jacky Bike off Nimman for hooking me up with a decent bike at a good price. Been raking up 100km+ per week on this bad boy. The access and amount of trails here is mind boggling, something I never realized. With resources like Chiang Mai Mountain Biking it has been a blast exploring the area. I plan on bombing Doi Suthep later this week.......hopefully I won't break anything.....

Doi Suthep

future dinner

deep ruts

Competitions ain't really my jam, but recently I have found myself in a few. Before leaving ND I randomly did the Kybiru Triathlon after overhearing some drunk guys in a bar the night before talking about it. So, when I heard that Singha was going to sponsor a trail run up in Chiang Rai I promptly enlisted a crew. Most of us did the 10 km but one member of the crew opted for the 21 km. The race itself was an amazing insight into Thai event production. The ever present giant sound system with multiple announcers speaking non-stop (how?) for hours was in top form. We all finished alive and tired, then promptly got are free beers from Singha. Cowboy style was the theme of the swaray, with the classic "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Country Roads" on the set list. Unfortunately the party didn't last very long before the skies closed and rain began to fall.

pre race

post race

Old Glory

My procrastination has led to a long overdue recap of our recent North American extravaganza. So..........lets get on with it. As a disclaimer there were many more places and events that took place, below are merely the highlights (or what I can remember from the trip).


Katie and I have never been to the states together, in almost 3 years of being together I guess it seems odd right? Well have no fear because we have officially landed in the US, visited more states and towns than I care to count, met so many people that are important in both our lives, and of course danced our hearts out at every wedding we attended. This trip back also happened to coincide with the most epic of wedding seasons, with a grand total 8 (we only made 3 of them).

Seoul , Korea

For some reason we ended up having a 12 hour lay over in Seoul (I suspect Katie did this on purpose). Our main motivation was to eat Korean cuisine and its ever so present companion, kimchi. Within in an hour of landing our goals were met, so we walked around downtown. Korea was noticeably well off in terms of social economics. Everyone had a smart phone and was dressed super chic, though we did not make it over to Gangnam. Besides Katie getting her phone stolen in a Buddhist temple bathroom and a short emotional and physiological breakdown all went well.

NYC

Now, I have always had this detest of the east coast for some reason, don't ask me why, but there was a point when I wasn't interested in anything east of the Mississippi. Lucky for me times and ideologies have changed. We landed at midnight in New York and proceeded to the Linoleum Palace located on the upper west side. New York ended up being exactly how I imagined it to be in a lot of ways. Maybe this city is so engrained in the American psyche that it felt somehow normal to be there. I mean how many tv series and movies are set in NYC? Doesn't it make sense that we as outsiders have a unique perspective of a city we see and hear about so often? Mind blown. Besides the standard New York sites we went to Once the musical, as well as visiting our friends antique shop in China town. This shop is the oldest family owned shop in Chinatown, and multiple generations have lost their Chinese and picked up a think New Yoker accent, awesome. Our real treat was receiving the H.M.S. Buick Regal LS from Katie's' father, which would serve as our vessel between ports of call.

giant pretzels and friends

Vermont

For some reason we ended up spending a lot of time in the Green Mountain State, not in a consecutive fashion of course, too cliche. The first stop was to visit the Rev. Post, the patriarch of the Post family and a pretty amazing guy (still driving at 90!). I hadn't cut my hair in about a year and off hand mentioned that I should get it cut, at which the Rev. supplied me with the name of his barber and a ride there. Haha I couldn't refuse.

pre haircut 

post hair cut

Our first wedding of attendance took place on the banks of Lake Champlain in Middlebury. It was a nice setting, and of course the open bar and desolate dance floor (until we arrived of course) made it all the more enjoyable.

terrorism

wedding get up

Hey all you people from the NE, whats up with Heady Topper? This beer is all anyone talks about and is worth more than gold. We randomly saw a guy in the super market with an entire cart full of the stuff and decided to buy some, little did we know that this purchase would put us in the good graces of literally everyone.

heady what?

After the wedding we made our way to Burlington, VT. This is where Katie went to college and many of her friends still live in the area. The town sort of has this mountain village feel , but with a large fresh water lake nearby. Definitely a cool place to hang out and be liberal, hippie, free spirited, drunk, or whatever other state you choose. On a side note, there is a new outdoor fashion called SUPing  (stand up paddle boarding) that I missed the boat on.......it sort of looks lame duders, think I will stick to a kayak.

uni-Katie

Little know fact, Katie is a badass unicyclist. She put us all to shame then cracked a beer.

Boston

Massachusetts driving immediately crossed this fine state off of a place to live. Almost had a nervous breakdown when a cop yelled at me point blank after following his instructions, under the speed limit mind you. I had to shake off the Thai sabai sabai and get more serious. We visited Boston to see some friends and just hang out. Much of our time was spent playing Wii tennis and drinking gin and tonics. I was able to get out and boulder on some Roxbury puddingstone. Literally 5 minutes from town behind a shopping mall were some badass conglomerate boulders and rock outcrops. We spent a few days bouldering here but could have spent more.

oh Roxbury puddingstone

high balls

The Freedom Trail self guided tour takes you right past all the old dead celebrities from the late 1700's, including Mother Goose and Samuel Adams. Boston seems like it has always been doing its own thing and the rest of the US sort of just joined the wagon.

overachiever

The beer tour of the Sam Adams factory was insightful and tasty. Our tour guide even told us she was not on bath salts today, great! Little did we know that after these freedom induce celebratory libations that the H.M.S. Buick Regal LS would be found run aground, aka  I left the lights on. Luckily the Sam Adams brewery was near by as we waited for AAA. One new battery and we were back in business.

yes we are

H.M.S.  Buick Regal LS

White Mountains, NH

As we cruised ever steadily into the depths of the north east my heart began to thud harder and harder as the topography changed. Our target destinations were North Conway and then up to a family house near Randolph. Conway is known for its giant granite slabs, but unfortunately we never had time to sample them........oh well, next time. The focus was to get re-certified as wilderness first responders, and we passed with flying colors. We spent almost a week in Randolph taking in the views, playing board games, participating in our own Summer Olympics', and of course jig saw puzzles. Rough life I know, but it really was the first time our "vacation" felt like a vacation.

Other activities involved a day hike up Mt. Jefferson and then on to Mt. Washington, which is notorious for poor weather and high winds. Going up was easy but my knees and ears were hurting coming down, from both the rough terrain and the troops of girl scouts singing Beyonce. 

Every time Katie mentioned her last name someone would say with wide eyes "are you related to Bob Proudman?" Katie's' father is somewhat of a legend in the area, both for his rock climbing prowess in the 60's-70's but also for his dedication to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). He started out on the AMC trail crew and then went on to literally write the book about trail construction and maintenance.  In recent years he has been hired as a consultant for trail projects in China and Mongolia. Anyway, in the 60's Bob built a cabin near Pinkham Notch, which would later be the site of the AMC trail crew cabin. We stopped in one afternoon to check it out, very cool. He even sent me a photo from back in the day, something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

view from the porch

the true summit

this guy and Bill Murray at the summit

AMC trail crew blast from the past

AMC and the Proudman cabin

West Virginia

Our last stop on the East coast was Shepherdstown, WV, which is home to the majority of Katie's' family. The most notable attractions in the area are the Antietam Battlefield and Harpers Ferry, we visited both. We were also able to crash the National Conservation Training Center and its wide assortment of confiscated stuffed animals. As expected the area was beautiful, and as you would expect with lots of trees and rolling green fields. Our stay was brief but eventful as always.

NCTC polar bear attack

bloody lane

Harpers Ferry

North Dakota

Flying into Bismarck Katie remarked on how flat it was and how many gravel roads she saw, to which I replied "oh yah you betcha." Though rarely visited or talked about my home state holds the landscape that made me who I am. Family is close and all interconnected, making the social network and support systems broader, it's nice to be part of. This portion of the trip was mainly to visit family and generally do nothing. The highlight of the first week was getting some wood from a 100 year old barn. Our thought was to reuse and reclaim the wood for our tiny house project (more news on that later). We also found a new love for tennis, though we always forgot the score and never remembered exactly how the rules worked. 

can't beat a backyard like this

Harmon lake trail

Harmon lake

family

angry faces

granny

America bitches

loud and proud

Side note here. A good friend of ours named Max, whom we met in Chiang Mai, was named after his great grandfathers home town, Max, ND. The farm they owned was called the "Lazy S," which Max has tattooed on his arm. Small world right?

monkey tail march?