Utah-Italy 2001(3)

Bellisima!! The Dolomites absolutely increible! That's spanish, not a typo. Say it with me -in'cray'ee'blay! Good job! Anyway- those Dolomitis! Yikes. So, we set up camp with 350 other campers, at least, in a campsite to cater to the little ones...pool, playground, grassy fields, snack shop, laundry machine, hot showers, nice clean toilettes, etc. I'm not complaining about the crowd, cause everything else is too awesome... plus, the people here are so beautiful and diverse. They are from everywhere on the globe... lots from Holland, Germany, Italy, Austria.. few that speak English, although, as usual, the Britts are out in full force. They are such great travellers.. Who pays for that anyway? So, day one in camp and Tim is jonesin' to get on the rock.. So, I oblige. We headed out blindly into the Dolomitis and hastily marched to the base of this 11-pitch route we were planning to take on at a casual...2pm in the afternoon.. HaHa! So, I know, you won'tbelieve this, just trust me... I opted for the firstlead! Well, ten feet up and in my face is a shiny newgold Metolius BOLT. WHAT THE??? But, I didn'tcomplain. I did look down at Tim and ask if I should clip it. He said 'Naw' jokingly and I moved on. Then he laughed and said, 'you thought I was serious?'. I don't know... I just thought with all the gear and so close to the ground, why bother.... me!! So, I kept climbing for 60 meters, clipping bolts every 20 feet at least... There was no gear to be found and I was looking to find a belay ledge with a dead tree... That ledge never came so I slung a horn and threaded a hole.. (limestone, ya know), and belayed Tim up. He came up, passed me, searched above and found the rock to be shit, and no dead tree... So, we rapped off single bolts to the ground.. yikes! We were...oh...2,000 feet to the left of the right route and now it was too late, so we went back to the unmentioned planB. Recon. Search and figure. We found the route we were meant to be on.. A specfuckintacular arete to a pure face followed by a dihedral, through a small cave to the summit. So, we got back in the car, drove around and found definite trails and starting points for several more climbs as not to goof up and waste another day.. The next day, I watched the chitlins while Tim and Susan did another route.. a 14 pitch beauty up perfect rock on an exposed arete. They hauled ass and did it in time to come down and go to the pool. Tomorrow, Susan and I are going back to that gorgeous route that Tim and I sussed the day before. I can't wait, though a little nerviosa! It's 11 pitches long!

Days with kids. Did I mention that I will never have three!! Today, we got up at 8am, Tim and Susan were already gone climbing. So, I rounded up some lire ($) and headed to the store... bought some bread and cheese, jelly, juice.. they don't have much but it's always quite healthy. So, we had breakfast, then we played kid games and I kept the peace between siblings, then we had lunch, then we went to the pool(which is filled with glacier water... cool?), then we took a nap - not me, just the two wee ones. I got to go back to the pool with Zach and then an hour later,the rents were home. It's exhausting to say the least, being a mom. What a drag too that all the sexyItalian boys think I'm a burdened mamà. ;) Let me tell you too. These people know how to stay in shape. Everyone, of all ages is in great shape. There are noooooooo obese people here! Every day they are hiking, walking, biking, swimming, playing with kids, climbing. NO one seems to run, but they are all in top form. We need to recruit some Americans for activity camp in Europe to learn a piece or too. Well, I'll hopefully have wonderful stories of a route successful. I'm totally amped! Even more so now thatI found the internet place.. It almost seems weird to be in touch all the time, but I'm, again, not complaining. I hope all you SLers were at theMichelle Shocked show with Joe and Emma. Good times! Have 'em for me, and I'll do the same. Ciao amicos.