USA Trip 2024 - Conception

Around late 2023, early 2024, I had a real hankering to go somewhere new and really push the envelope (as far as a boulderer who works full time is concerned), and having a few internet friends based in the US, I figured it would be the obvious choice. It also helped that by this point our wedding was more or less saved for, so I had a little extra cash to facilitate the trip.

The goal was to go somewhere world-class, with a generally reliable climate. So, the desert it is! I’d never been to a desert before, and having never ventured outside of soggy Europe it promised to be exciting. Two months before this trip I went to Lanzarote with my wife, the climate of which I am now learning is classified as a “hot desert”, so I can’t claim the Mojave was my first. Nonetheless, I was buzzing at the thought.

I’d known about Bishop for years, the classic Lucid Dreaming being one of the first I laid my eyes upon. It’s a hard steep line, with a massive slab leading up to the summit of a colossal egg-shaped lump of granite. And there are massive mountains in the background! Surely world-class in setting, with enough boulders to keep anyone happy. Definitely on the list as the primary destination for the trip.

I had also known about Red Rocks for a while, particularly in recent years as some interesting top-end lines have been ascended - Sleepwalker and the historic sit-start to boot. Being a couple hours drive away with a cheeky detour to Death Valley, it felt like a solid destination to stick on the end of the trip, just in case we got sick of all those massive granite eggs. Also, we could finally see what all the fuss is with that “Las Vegas” place…

Now all I had to do was convince someone to join me. This wasn’t a necessity, but splitting car hire and fuel would be a way to reduce costs a bit, and having a bit of company for all the hours on the road would be appreciated.

I got chatting. My regular climbing partners, who I often plan day trips with and bump into at the wall most weeks, were interested but non-committal, for the most part. I spoke to some friends in the US who seemed keen to meet me out there, and one had actually planned on joining - though in the end something came up and he couldn’t. One winter evening I had a session up at The Terrace with Alec, who agreed to go. He said it was good timing, as things were moving around in his life and he had a real “yeah, fuck it, go on then” outlook. Things were pencilled in. Over the next few months we researched, planned, booked, and applied for our ESTAs…

It was on.