Trip Report
My Finest Trip Report (Three Days, Some Cables and a Dome with my Kid)
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Monday November 7, 2011 8:42pm
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I know, TR videos are only cool if you like videos, but in my opinion this past adventure, and the film that came from it, was one of a kind.
Some of you know I kinda dig doing TRs. I've tried to dress up my alpine mediocrity with fun trip reports over the years, from crashing an airplane near Matterhorn Peak http://www.supertopo.com/tr/TR-Climbed-Matterhorn-Pk-Crashed-Cessna-this-weekend/t360n.html, to getting nighted on Royal arches wearing mullets,
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/New-Route-near-Washington-Column-A-Trip-Report/t245n.html
to rednecks on Nutcracker,
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Aint-Skeerd-A-Halloween-TR-on-The-Nutscracker/t11236n.html
to The Grack and Back
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/To-THE-GRACK-AND-BACK-A-Dr-Seusslike-Trip-Report/t11094n.html to Nepal with Love,
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/To-Nepal-and-Back-Again-and-Back-Again-A-Trip-Report/t10520n.html
to Slaying Dragons in Tuolumne
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Above-Average-Trip-Report-The-Meadows-and-Beyond/t361n.html to nearly dying of dehydration on Snake Dike to gettin' Steezy on Da Regula Root in Da Meadowz
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Straight-Thuggin-The-Meadows-A-Regula-Route-Trip-Report/t11237n.html
(prior to this one, I'd say my video of Tuolumne Days and Mobile Nights was my best memory in The High Country)
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Tuolumne-Meadows-Alpine-Days-and-Mobile-nights-A-Vimeo-TR/t10784n.html
But this one is kinda sentimental. My Opus if you will.
I've been climbing for 20 years and have had some fun adventures hither and yon, but this summer's weekend trip up the cables on Half Dome with my now teenage daughter (sniff sniff....they grow up so fast), was an eye opening experience.
I had never truly enjoyed the mountains as much as this. Twenty years of routes, storms, bivys, runouts and great summits with amazing friends paled in comparison to three days, "alone" with my kid on the most travelled trail on the continent.
We bouldered in Camp IV the first day and she asked..."Dad, can you imagine being the first guy to do Midnight Lightning...."
She climbed barefoot in the trees and watched wide eyed as big wall rats prepared for battle in the parking lot. Seeing her pump her own water, pack her own pack, and assist, hand in hand, a woman up the cables who was truly paralyzed with fear (And this was my kid's first time on the dome), brought my entire alpine timeline into focus.
Enjoy.
http://vimeo.com/31711080
If you have kids, you'll know what I mean.
micronut
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About the Author
micronut is a trad climber from fresno, ca. |
Comments
dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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Great vid. Glad you had a great time with your kid. I'm sure many more good times to come.
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Gene
climber
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No reason to think twice or mullet over - absolutely your finest TR! Brings back fond memories. Your kid is a beauty. The stick-cam is a nice touch.
Thanks, MN!
g
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nice! Savor every moment, I lost my son when he was 20.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Really great Micro!!
Yeah man, I've had big adventures in many parts of the world, but certain things with your kids just can't be beat.
Thanks.
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labrat
Trad climber
Erik O. Auburn, CA
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Nice! Thanks for sharing. Great music!
Erik
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Micronut, that was a great video. It is so fun doing things with your kids. Where did you get the killer stick-cam, does REI sell those?
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
On the road.
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Real nice, Scott!
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Very fun. Your TRs are always top-notch!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Loved the trip report; memories you'll never forget and time you'll never regret spending.
I have to admit though that I then felt Jim's simple reply directly in my heart. I can't even imagine what that must have been like.
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tahoe523
Trad climber
Station Wagon, USA
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Didn't think you could outdo the fabulous grack TR, but you did. The best! If not now or even through her adolescent years, I assure you, one day she will truly understand how lucky she is to have such a cool and loving dad like you.
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Dos XX
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Fabulous video! Really well put together. Was this done with a GoPro?
We have a daughter named Sierra, also -- it's a great club to be in :-) Ironically, she's the least inclined of our kids to want to spend time outdoors, though she has dragged her butt up the Half Dome cables, once; there's still hope for her.
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Zander
climber
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Great Stuff! Thanks.
The tallest redwood is, what, 375 feet? That is eight fifty foot pitches right there. Report back when you go.
Z
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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This was just so great. It brought tears to my eyes. She loves her dad and her dad loves her and this film was filled with that love. Thanks for making and posting it.
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Author's Reply
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Nov 7, 2011 - 11:37pm PT
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Donini,
Thank you. I will. I do. I cannot imagine your loss. Thinking about you losing your son, though you and I have never met, brings me deep sorrow and a desire to love and guide and enjoy my children even more than I do now. Thank you for the advice.
Climb On,
Scott
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Hummerchine
Trad climber
East Wenatchee, WA
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That is one of the coolest videos I have ever seen! My baby girl went to college this year; doing awesome, but damn I miss her! What camera did you use for that?
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Fan-TASTIC!! Thanks for the post, Mr. Micro.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Sweet!
thanks...
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Author's Reply
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Nov 8, 2011 - 03:20pm PT
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Thanks yall,
Hummerchine, I use a Canon t3i SLR camera and a GoPro helmet cam...sometimes taped to a stick for hardcore "stick-cam" footage. Glad yall enjoyed it.
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GhoulweJ
Trad climber
El Dorado Hills, CA
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Excellent
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Nice!
Every "remove the cables" thread should point to this TR.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Very nice TR. Children is something that I do not think I will have but after reading does not seem like that bad of an idea. I bet this trip will stay with both of you forever.
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Kupandamingi2
climber
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These are the moments that define us. As Muir said 'oh those mountain days'. With a 5 and 2 year old, this is a good reminder of what is important amidst the seemingly chaos of other demands. I thank you for that.
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Mikemcee
Social climber
Mill Valley, CA
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Awesome Scott, I did the exact same thing with my daughter as her "just turned 13" adventure. I gave her the choice of Climbing Shasta, doing the cables, or the bailout of riding our bikes around Lake Tahoe and then explained how having extraordinary experiences vs ordinary ones would make her life that much richer. Hard sell to a 13 year old but to my surprise she bit and took the HD option.
We left Curry at 4:30am on the dot and made it back to the Pizza deck at 2:30. She went from full on sit down, I'm not going up there to helping people as she descended OUTSIDE the cables. Despite her insistence that she was going to die, her legs were going to fall off, and that she couldn't possibly walk another step, she survived and now (a year later) still says it was one of the coolest things she's ever done.
Funny, I recently ran into Jim Herson on Royal Arches sharing a day on the rock with his 8 year old, like you, passing it on.
Good on you and everyone else that shares the spirit of adventure with their kids.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Uplifting video. Thanks.
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PAUL SOUZA
Trad climber
Central Valley, CA
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Dude, Scott.....seriously......that was an awesome video!! Very touching!
The videography was killer man...very impressive! I wish I had the patience to do all that editing. What resolution setting were you shooting with? I've been looking into getting one.
And LMAO at the part when you were holding the stick cam out the car window!!!
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Aunty Glen
Trad climber
Australia
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Brilliant,
Great concept, great video. I have been doing similar trips with my kids.
GT
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KlimbIn
climber
Sandstonia
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You're not quite right in the head, are you? Thank goodness your daughter's there to keep you out of trouble.
What a wonderful time you two must have had.
Time spent with my kid doing things we both love is joyous, precious, and immeasurable.
Thank you for a beautiful video.
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lele honu
Trad climber
SD
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Way cool TR. Hope I get to spend time like this with my daughter at the right time, she's now 5, loves camping/being outdoors, we're headed in the right direction so far. Question: what program/software are you using for your slideshow? Thanks for posting! Joel
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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So, I resisted clicking cuz your headline was so braggety-brag.
But...I loved it! Great video of such a cool trip.
Just visited my 16 year old daughter, even though it took a 1500-mile roadtrip. Worth every minute!
Here's Kyra a few years ago.
can't wait for someone to chime in and say that stick-camming, like stick-clipping is cheating...
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Prod
Trad climber
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Nice work.
Prod.
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Nov 10, 2011 - 10:36pm PT
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Great TR, Thanks!
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cliffmama
Trad climber
Gunks
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Absolutely loved it! My girls are 14 and 17 now, and I love having adventures with them. They have surpassed me in their climbing ability too, although they don't want to trad lead. Sie really reminds me of my 17 year old - and even looks like her a little... skinny, dark hair in the ponytail, confident, great company, and sometimes has little patience for her mother's silly escapades (like getting around the tree in the trail).
Enjoyed the camera-on-a-stick technique too! I'd love to try that but how did you attach it securely to a stick without putting gooey duct tape or something like that on it.
Just starting up my own blog based on my experience as a climbing mommy and hope to link to your video as a fun example of adventures with the kids.
Cliffmama
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Good times, Scott!!!
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Roxy
Trad climber
CA Central Coast
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that was an awesome TR. absolutely awesome.
what memories!
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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What would be the ratings of the cables route if there were no cables or other man made changes?
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Author's Reply
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Dec 8, 2011 - 07:12pm PT
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I dunno...maybe 5.6. Maybe easier? Maybe way harder. Kinda slick up there. Here's a shot lookin' down after climbing Snake Dike in October. Cables were down and I thought it was pretty darn steep. This was the first time I had laid eyes on the thing, and coming down them was fairly sketchy after a long day in the cold.
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Author's Reply
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Oct 30, 2012 - 08:23pm PT
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Its been a year since I looked at this thing. So I guess this is a bit of a self bump, but seeing Limpingcrab's awesome video of Snake Dike brought me back some memories of my time with my kid last year.
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mctwisted
Trad climber
e.p.
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Oct 30, 2012 - 08:40pm PT
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awesome micro, watched it with mak, she loved it and said your a great photographer/video guy
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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Oct 30, 2012 - 09:27pm PT
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love that shot of the cables- I've come down them 4 times, never seen 'em up!
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Jennie
Trad climber
Elk Creek, Idaho
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Oct 30, 2012 - 09:45pm PT
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Outstanding video Micronut!
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cowpoke
climber
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Oct 31, 2012 - 02:44am PT
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No idea how I missed this one, but really glad it was bumped.
This is my new favorite of your outstanding reports, Micronut. I'm away from home for a couple weeks and this really made me miss my girls = kids rock.
Here's to you, Sierra, and the rest of your gang. A big thanks for sharing the adventure!
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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Scott is my hero!!
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Andy Fielding
Trad climber
UK
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Brilliant. Love the stick especially hanging out of your car at the end.
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