February has always been one of those “odd” months for me…28 days (why is that I have always wondered?) and on a leap year add one more to 29. Here in Ojai it can’t decide if it’s spring. The plethora of wild flowers and copious amounts of pollen coincide with the downpours of rain, hail and a bit of snow led to us by the warm waters of El Niño. Everywhere else in the is country I am sure is dealing with the cold and plenty of snow.

In Joshua Tree Matt and I were there oh, ’bout a week and enjoyed the spectrum of a February spring. One morning snow, next rain, dried up to sunny, still and very warm, to iceberg winds that were relentless to say the least. Thank gosh for the van, a perfect retreat from the battering winds. This is why I am battling a wee bit of a cold as of today. Surprised constantly the fickleness of February and the direction in which the weather turns. This is a month to have plenty of layers on! You never know what your going to get.

During our trip there I was pleasantly surprised to run into pals climbing…BD aka Bustin’ Dustin, Gordon (brewer extraordinaire), Drew the Ice Man (smooth as ice), and his pal Andy…It’s amazing what a hub the Tree is! Good climbing and great folks! It is also a place to meet new pals…Matt helped jimmy a rental car for a friendly couple, Lynn and Larry from Pennsylvania that locked their car keys inside- what a hoot! I stood around cheered them on as I took photos of the action with my new camera! Classic! What a perfect “odd” February morning! Too my surprise she happened to have the new Patagonia catalog swirling inside her rental car- the Spring 2010, Stonemasters Catalog, and to my surprise Jeff J. stoked me for I had an image in there- No Way! Totally rad, and since I am tinkering around with film (all b&w’s on this post is film!). Dean Fidelmen’s imagery- the black and whites are truly off the hook, so crisp, classic and what an inspiration, he truly rocks as a photographer, and Patagonia- what a fantastic catalog, you keep it fresh for sure!

As I sit here writing Matt and I are off to the Tree again this eve to enjoy the last days of the month, hopefully enjoy perfect temps, great friction, an eased mind, and not too sweaty of palms to go ahead and send our project! That would make this “odd” month even! Life is good!

Photos of a quick trip up north with the Dunn School. Enjoy!

Lots of fog led to beautiful California blue skies!

Randy Judycki (Outdoor Education Director) climbing at Pinnacles National Monument.

Kudos to our friend Jeff for devoting his time to this odyssey so we can learn about the true meaning of conservation. What a way to give back. Of course there was beautiful imagery of the spectacular Patagonian mountains,  incredible surfing, sailing, friendship and pure all around adventure. When you walk away from watching this movie, you know the one simple fact:

Conservation of open and wild spaces is the conservation of life itself.

Let us all see this movie for what it was intended. We hope the youngest of eyes will be inspired to ignite their passion for life and conservation because we are really talking about our future.

Please put this on your list of MUST SEE adventure films and please visit the WoodShed Film Website for more 180 South Tour Dates!!

Oh yes- Jeff when are going to back summit the last 200′ of Cerro Corcovado? Looking forward to seeing and climbing with you again soon!

“As we age, having seen many cycles of birth and death, there is a detachment and a wisdom, that grows within us.” - Jack Kornfield, one of the leading Buddhist teachers in America

Please visit the website below to find out how you can become involved:

Burros are a strange sight in when you actually stumble upon them. They are elusive. I have only seen them once at Red Rocks a long time ago on my first trip there 10 years ago with Tony Consentino. Since then no sighting, and I have been looking. Even on our recent trip there this past weekend, thinking they have to be out roaming since Vegas received as much snow/rain in one day this past week as they did in the entire year of 2009. I was convinced they would be out and about.  I had my new camera on hand just in case that moment came about.

What a fantastic trip!

We headed out of Ojai Thursday and headed for Ventura to pick up Klaus and Woodbridge for a three day weekend at Red Rocks. Realizing that our multi-pitch dreams were abolished due to the extreme moisture we landed ourselves with the rest of the climbers at the solar collector of the Calico Hills for the first two days. Rock a bit humid, it quickly became dry and climbable. Since there are so many sport/mixed routes there, and with the perfect temperatures- I always become overwhelmed, but my trips to Bishop has taught me to focus. For me at Red Rocks the goal was to focus on new and obscure routes that I have not been on. I narrowed in on and climbed a handful of classic 5.12s as did Matt. Even though not roping up in a month or so- I can officially say I really enjoyed climbing every route we got on! Stellar rock, lots of crimps, good friends, steep, pumpy, super classic and what an easy approach! The snow kissed all the large cliffs of the canyons around us it lent to amazing views as we climbed! So simple yet so darn enjoyable! When do we go back?

Sunday we found ourselves committing to the possibility of crack climbing in Pine Creek area…in and ’round the Straight Shooter Cliff, the only area that appeared to possibly be climbable after so much weather. It was indeed a bit more humid than the sport climbing area, but it was the place to be. With more sightings of chuckers and quail and stumbling upon the incredible big horn sheep I was convinced there were would be burros right around the corner. As the afternoon progressed there were more climbers filling in with the same pretense that brough us there- fun, sun and dry rock to climb. Soon the climbers and hikers out numbered the wildlife. I then realized that I would have to wait for another trip on another day with my camera in hand for my “yeti-like” burro sighting. Once again, no burros this time around! Next time!

All b&w’s on this page: Nikon FM10 BW400CN 50mm f/1.4