When we got the base, this alaskan malamute was guarding it. Luckily for us, she was friendly as a puppy. I think her name was Moon, and she belonged to another New Jersey transplant that was climbing there. Rahway of all places! He was a Gunks climber too. Go figure.

Hunter S. Thompson dome.

Here I am with Kay, Justin, Sandy, KC, Emily, Bing, and unpictured: Pilar and Doug. We are all on our way to the Hunter S. Thompson dome where everybody would proceed to hike the 5.8s there. Next time 5.9s for these people.

Back in Vegas, at the Rio Casino.

This is a very large and freaky looking floating head with eyeballs that scanned the casino floor. It was part of the "Rio" theme I guess. It felt more like big brother wearing a carnival mask. We went to the Rio to see Penn & Teller with our jersey friends Doug and Kay. Good magic, but we were a little too far away to appreciate it. Next time, I'll bring binoculars.

Maru.

This super dark image is from inside a 2nd fl bar in Korea town that my friend Zachary and I visited. It was surprisingly affordable for a such a seemingly swank place. We had Sapporos and some tuna tataki. We came here after visiting Kitano, some fancy hotel for fancy japanese businessmen. Luckily the bartender there was Z's comrade, so we got pretty good treatment. We didn't have to pay the cover to watch some fat white guy blow his horn. He actually prefaced one song with, "This song is dedicated to me." Who dedicates a song to themselves? The sophisticated crowd didn't know when to clap over his sophisticated riffs. Z's bartender buddy took it upon himself to orchestrate the clapping from behind the bar. All in all, a good time was had by all. Oh yeah, highlight was the bartender relating a story of how he knocked out a tae kwon do blackbelt in a barfight. Granted, the blackbelt was a friend of his who was very drunk. I'd be proud of such a KO meself.

Hyundai and Manhattan architecture.

A view from my 19th floor window of the New Yorker hotel outside of Penn Station. The mural is a Hyundai commercial of a sumo wrestler. I think it's supposed to embody their powertrain warranty or something like that. Which never breaks anyway so it's pretty much BS. But I like the gradated or stepped architecture of the building in the background. There are many buildings with such design here in the garment district.

Puggle.

This is my coworker's puggle (mix between pug and beagle I believe) . Puggle's name is Tucker. Being able to bring dogs into office = pretty cool office.

Slopey Traverse V6.

My 3rd V6 here so far. This is a photo from my first attempt awhile back. No pictures of the send b/c P was spotting me. Much better picture of somebody else doing it here:
http://0friction.com/image.php?image_id=19258

1st time in Red Rocks.

Jodie on the Panty Wall. The route is named "Sacred Undergarment Squeeze Job". It's 60 feet tall and rated 5.8. Not bad for a first time out. She housed it.

Casey's turn to own the Squeeze Job. Fearless.

Emily moves confidently on the SUSJ. J, C, and E were like Charlie's Angels, kickin' ass and taking no prisoners.

Bathtub boulder.

S on the jump start to a V6 on the Bathtub.

S morphs into J after the jumpstart.

J morphs into G. None of us completed the problem. The topout was tricky and probably the crux. It's a slap to a flat nothing.

S on a V5 dyno at sunset.

Rainy day hike.

Andrei enjoys a leisurely stroll through Red Rocks. No climbing because of the rain. We started at the Sandstone Quarry, with a good view of Turtlehead peak. We then went all the way to get a view of Kraft mountain and Las Vegas, circling back by the second pullout. I don't know the distance, but whatever it was, it was at my limit as my knee started its habitual sharp twinge. Fortunately, I didn't have much in my pack save a bottle of water. Andrei eats up the hiking thing. I think he could go for miles with a 50 lb. pack. He's like a 4WD human.

I was feeling taoistic here, but I ruined it by requesting a photo.

Andrei enjoying the view, although perhaps not too happy about the development that increasingly encroaches upon the canyon, like a glacier of neon, cement, and steel sliding towards the fragile desert ecosystem on a sea of asphalt. The only hope is that rising fuel costs and lack of water might halt this juggernaut.

Superbowl Sunday.

We went to S and J's house to watch the Superbowl. They had a projector which enabled us to see how big this guy's head really is. P didn't follow the game too easily because the rules of american football seem to be made up on the spot. There's apparently some rule for every micro-contingency, but nobody seems to know it, so the refs all have to huddle and make something up.

After the Superbowl, we went to grab some sushi. This is at yokosushi by where I live. This is my favorite chef, Rocky. Not sure if the bandana was because it was Superbowl sunday, or if he just felt like the fictional boxer he's named after.

JEWS KICK ASS

First off, sorry about the temporal displacement in these posts. Manhattan, Chinatown, and Queens posts are all from one trip two weeks ago. I'm back in Vegas now. We encountered these Russ Meyerish mannequins in Queens. There was an old man standing in front of the window just staring. He was there before we approached, and remained after we departed. I forced P to take the photo because I didn't want to appear like a pervert.

At my friends A & C's place. They live around the corner from where the mannequins live. I'm drinking out of a converted ox hoof. Note the Brazilian engineering with the eye bolts for unrivaled balanced and equilibrium. Form and function never had such a meeting.

Obviously. Gotta love the juxtaposition of the Fonz with Jesus. Thus, column-wise, you get Savior, Scientist, Musician.

So Italian. So intense.

La Sportiva Solutions evidently do not prevent z-clipping. Shawn shows a 10b who's boss.







Falling on "Pocket Rocket" 11d. Note what Shawn called the "Thriller" action with the shadowplay. I think I may have squished some of the cartiledge in my ankles on the dozen or so falls I took. Ugh.

John got stoned. No, not that kind of stoned, you silly wabbit. Literally stoned. That broken rock by his head is what is left of a ledge that broke off and hit the top of his head in mid pull-up. I know it sounds confusing. Don't ask questions, and just admire the t-shirt.

C-town.

Snapping random passersbys, this guy stuck out his tongue. It looks intentional, but while shooting, I didn't even notice. I was shooting pretty fast, so perhaps it was just a strange manner of yawning.

Chinese chess in the park. The problem with the cylindrical pieces with words inscribed on top is that you can't lean back and gain an understanding of which piece is where. So you have to stand on the bench to see what's going on. This is how they've played chess for thousands of years.

I'll have #25 please!

Working in Manhattan.

View from the my room at the New Yorker in midtown. The architectural abomination is the new New York Times building. I believe this was sunrise.




Friends from the office. The blurry hands were in the process of making the "blood" gang sign.




The mural above the Yokocho bar. Best damn martinis in town. They stir with cold ice, have Plymouth gin, and have bitters. Don't ever go there with more than four people because they will kick you out.