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Bear Valley Back Country Ski/Snowboard Trip

2010-06-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

The 2009/2010 ski season came finally to an end late May with the last trip to Bear Valley. We started the weekend by getting the equipments (snow shoes, beacons...) to MAS at Bear Valley Village.

On Sunday not so early morning, we hiked up Super Cub, Spring Gap to the top of Porridge bowl, where the kids warmed up on the cornice.

We then, dropped Cliff Run to reach Mickey's meadow.

Since the snow was getting too wet on that side of the mountain, we made some fun runs from the top of Snoopy Dog hill.

The video was shot with an iPod nano and edited with Final Cup Pro. Enjoy.

Music from The National, Song England.

Santa Cruz Breakers U9 Soccer Tournament

2010-06-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

Lucas played 4 games 8v8 with his team from the Breakers during the weekend. It was only the second time that they played 8v8. They won one game and lost 3 (2 of them by only one goal).

The dream team

By the end of the game, all the players come to thanks the referees.

Santa Cruz French Bakery

2010-06-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

A few treats that I baked for the Breakers soccer tournament. The brioche Vendeenne is a specialty of the French west coast.

Brioche Vendeenne, Madeleines and walnut bread.

Bear Valley Back Country Trip - May 2010

2010-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

For the last trip at Bear Valley, we hiked up to the top of the ski resort with snow shoes. It took us about 1 hour. Benoit and Lucas warmed up by jumping the cornice. We finished up the day by a few runs of Snoopy hill.

Lucas is getting ready. The snow shoe ended up too large for him, so he hiked up with his ski boots. Not a problem, since the snow was icy enough.

View to the Bear Valley lodge

Lucas off the cornice. They did not jump from the highest point because of the risk that the cornice will collapse!

Benoit "Flying" off the cornice.

Benoit can be seen on the top of the hill.

Full Rainbow Santa Cruz Bay

2010-05-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

First time that I have ever seen a full rainbow over the Santa Cruz bay.

Sun rise over Cowell beach.

Santa Cruz Board Walk

2010-05-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

Digital photography has been increasingly popular in the last decade or so. Nevertheless, the time has come, for me, to remove the dust from my 40 years old mom's camera and go shooting. It was quite an experience!

Possibly one of my best picture in a long time.

Lucas, Claire and Benoit posing in front of an old building.

Bay View Santa Cruz School

2010-05-15T16:52:00.001-07:00

School Play ground

Santa Cruz West Side Sunrise Sunset

2010-05-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

A few photos from the west side of Santa Cruz during the sunrise and sunset. Enjoy.

Who knows who got the best pictures? I bet I did :)

Santa Cruz In Hotel

2010-05-01T07:19:00.001-07:00

Bear Valley Sledding

2010-04-07T17:02:00.001-07:00

Bear Valley Village in background

Benoit Snowboarding at Bear Valley

2010-03-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

Benoit has been snowboarding for a long time now. Check out those 2 videos, the first was shot during the nightwings events and the second by Austin Jones.

Check Benoit talking to the camera near the end of the movie.

Mikeys Meadow - Bear Valley Celebration

2010-02-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Bear Valley honored and celebrated Mike Young (Bear Valley sport director), who passed away just before the start of the season.

The celebration started with a mini park session with snowboard and ski instructors. Check Tyler Skivington under flip as well as Chris Johnson front flip.

Benoit decided to ski instead of snowboard and since he has skied at most a hand full of time in his life, it was epic.

The second part of the video shows the torchlight parade where skiers and snowboarder created a river of fire on Bear Valley slopes.
Finally, Sam Nilsen unveiled the Mikey's Meadow where all the instructors meet before the class.

Music is from MGMT, album Oracular Spectacular, song Kids.

Arnold Sunset

2010-01-11T20:41:00.001-08:00

After a nice day at the slope at Bear Valley, we stopped at Arnold to get some foods. Just as we exited the market, I noticed the amazing colors and was thinking, "I wish I had my camera" but I did have my camera with me. So, I just rushed to the car, grabbed my camera and set the ND filter and adjust a few settings. Since the Arnold market is not the most sexy place on earth, I underexposed the picture so we could just barely see the car, and not overexposed the sky.

Check the double rainbow.

Bear Valley Back Flip Session

2009-12-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

Matt Geenlee, Corey Sciotto, James Young and Shamus have step up their game with this back flip session on Blue Jay (Bear Valley). A fairly steep kicker was built the day before that video was shot. You'll see Matt, Corey, James and Shamus (snowboard) landing their first ever back flip (barrel roll).
The video also feature a "Bail" sequence with the 1 and 1/2 flip from Corey, the not quite a flip by James, 360 attempt by Lucas (7 years) and Benoit big air crash...

Bear Valley Opening Day 2009/2010

2009-12-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

4 feet of powder for the opening day of the 2009/2010 season at Bear Valley. Jake Casey, Benoit Rouchy, Lucas Rouchy, Tyler Doyle, Lance Doyle, Matt Greenlee, Corey Sciotto, Travis Jeitz and others show their skills on natural and man made features. Not to be miss is the front flip tentative by Matt Greenlee during his warm up run.

Red Fireballs Santa Cruz Soccer

2009-11-22T14:06:00.000-08:00

Lucas has been playing with the Red Fireballs team for a few months now. They play the division 4, less than 8 years old.

Check what Ronen, their coach, had to say about the players.

Aidan: Our fearless goalie of many quarters, you stopped almost every attempt to score against us. I enjoyed your good sense of humor in our practice and games. Your goal earlier in the season set the standard for what the other kids termed a giant kick.

Adrien: If any opponent underestimated you, they got a nasty surprise. You really understand the tactical nature of the game, one of the first to get why clearing the ball will best stop a dangerous breakaway. And those kicks, wow. You have a dangerous leg.

Anthony: A fast player with a good understanding of the flow of the game. I'm grateful for your positive influence on the other guys. You were always very focused and dedicated in practice, and upbeat during the games.

Colby: When you got the ball there was no taking it away from you. Your energy and ability to dribble fast helped the team switch rapidly from defense to offense. Many times you dribbled up, pressed against the line by the other team, but still kept our attack in play.

Dalvin: A hard working player, I could depend on you to fill a position with little notice and know that you'd be focused when you stepped on the field. As a goalie you stood tall through waves of attacks, and as a defensive player you never lost your cool, heading off attackers and slowing down breakaways.

Ethan: Serious, dependable, and skilled, I often used you at the tip of our offense. I could trust you to cut your way through our opponents, easing up pressure on our defense even in hard fought games. And after a while we discovered that under all that seriousness there's a very funny guy, too.

Garrett: A strong, fast player with an ability to draw a mass of defenders to you, clearing up spaces for your teammates to operate in. You assisted several goals in just that way. In practice you helped keep our time light-hearted without ever holding back on effort.

Hamish: When we started you seemed a bit timid fighting other kids for a ball, but you've turned into a model of tenacity. I knew that if I needed a tough fullback you where my guy. As your coach it was a pleasure to see how much you improved from one game to the next.

Kienan: A good dribbler with a great awareness of his surrounding, you cooked up some of the nicest passes we had in our games. In good games and in hard ones, you were always a great guy and supportive member of the team.

Lucas: A great midfielder, I could count on you to bring together our attacks, and to take dangerous kicks at our opponents' goal. Your skill and perseverance helped set a good example to the rest of the team of how to keep pressing ahead no matter the score.

Teilo: An energetic player, willing to invest any amount of effort needed to protect your goalie, then quickly turn the direction of the attack in our favor. Your ability to coordinate the forwards during attacks was excellent. You helped turn us into an actual team, with good words and support for your teammates.

Zach: What a noticeable change you had. You started out unfocused and ended up fighting for each ball, kicking well, executing good passes and sending great throw-ins from the sides. I'm very impressed with the effort you put into becoming a better soccer player.

2009-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

Surfing photos from the O'Neill competition and more here.

Wild Boar Hunting

2009-11-06T06:14:00.000-08:00

On a Sunday morning, a wild boar tracks were found a mile or so from my village. 10 or so hunters got together to hunt him.

After 4 hours of a paint full track in the thick bushes, the boar was found by the dogs and ran out of the deep forest but was missed by the hunters. Good for him :)

Wild boar bath tub

4 of those amazing dogs started the hunt. Notice the RF transmitter which becomes handy if the dog get lost.

The track is on. It lasted for 4 hours.

The dogs lost the track on that meadow, since the smart boar, went back and forth in the middle of the cows, so his scent get mixed up with other animals.

Wharf Halloween

2009-11-02T20:03:00.001-08:00

During the Halloween's afternoon, all the wharf restaurants and shops opened their doors and offered candies for the kids.

Benoit, with Isabelle's help, created and sew his costume, the pig cowboy fairy.

Estelle Jordan.

Dylan Dunn.

That must be Claire.

Halloween Trick or Treat

2009-11-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Benoit and Lucas visited the neighborhood for the traditional Halloween Trick or Treat.

Our Halloween decoration, pretty good, not like the lawn.

Lucas disguise was a classic among the classic; Scooby-doo.

Nice carving.

Bishop Road Trip Summer 2009

2009-10-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

Bishop is one of the favorite destination for climbers with top notch bouldering, sport and trade climb.

We camped a few night during the summer and checked out the natural hot springs.

Lucas climbing that nice slaby 5.8 route.

Beautiful scenery can be seen off the high way 395.

Benoit and Lucas posing in front of old furniture that can be seen at the Train museum Bishop.

Natural hot spring with warn but not too warm water. Life is good.

Some more hot spring to warm to take a bath.

France Vacation Fall 2009

2009-10-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

For a change, I spend my vacation in France during Fall and the hunting season.

Poorly maintain!

Instant classic!

Nice view from my Dad's home.

The president of the local hunting group and his son looking for jack rabbit.

Wow, that is an amazing picture that I shot here on my way to my grandma, near Super Besse.

Bort-les Orgues.

Fontanges where most of my family leaves must be one of the most beautiful village in France.

Les monts du Cantal.

La Bastide where I spend a few summers.

Bort-les-Orgue dam, one of the largest in France.

My friend Jean-lou's chicken running for his live.

The house is named "La Caroline" since the first owner, who spent a few years in North/South Carolina in US, decided to built it, modeled from the colonial houses.

Benoit Soccer 4-1

2009-10-31T06:31:00.001-07:00

Benoit's soccer team had not won a single game this season but that was before this game.

They played at night on a very large field which somehow suited their style. Benoit played quite amazing like his all team who defended like never before.

Time to pick up the shirt.

Benoit could not be stopped. Don't even try, it is hopeless.

Larger field is good since it stretches the lines and creates space.

They play for fun but winning adds to it.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-31T06:24:00.001-07:00

Halloween is just around the corner. Lucas and Benoit visited, north of Santa Cruz, this nice pumpkin patch and choose a few of them.

Lucas selected the smallest and the least expensive so he could get many of them. Make sense, indeed.

The biggest one were a bit too expensive for the kids.

Santa Cruz Fire

2009-08-16T07:21:00.001-07:00

A huge fire has been burning for the last few days just miles away from Santa Cruz. The fire is still not contain and will probably burn for one more week. Helicopters, planes have been flying around.

The pictures were taken at Davenport and Swanton areas.

Bear Valley Paint Ball at Chris Johnson Cabin

2009-08-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

Bear Valley DEVO Santa Cruz Camp

2009-07-23T21:34:00.001-07:00

Check up the video here:

A few pictures taken during the Bear Valley DEVO Santa Cruz Camp.

Devo Santa Cruz Camp

Santa Cruz Garden Harvest

2009-07-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Benoit, posing, proudly in front of Claire's garden.

Natural Bridges Sunset July 2009

2009-07-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yet, another Natural Bridges sunset photos that were taken a couple a days ago.

Waddell Creek Double Sunset

2009-06-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

Another spectacular sunset at Waddell Creek, where the sun was cut in half by the cloud.

Only one brave surfer was surfing the sharky Waddell creek waves.

Surfer magazine picks Santa Cruz as top spot to surf

2009-06-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, Santa Cruz is the top US spot to surf. Not a surprise, with the variety of beaches and point breaks that can be found. Tonight, the wind was dead and the waves glassy. I was too late for the surf but just in time to take that nice sunset at Waddell creek a few miles north of Santa Cruz.

The blue whale skeleton can be found at the Marine center just a few miles from our house. The weather patterns have been really strange lately. A large storm with thunder light strike us. I am pretty stoked that I could snap that picture which is a bit dramatic with those dark clouds.

Bodie State Historic Park

2009-05-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

Bodie is a gold mining ghost town. In 1880, the town grew from 1 person to 10 thousands in less than one year. The last person left Bodie around 1940.

The dream team.

The car needs a bit of work...

Tenaya Lake

2009-05-26T21:35:00.001-07:00

Just before the Tioga pass, Tenaya lake can be seen from the road 120. We were out of luck because of the ice which prevented us from fishing.

Lucas posing for the photo at about 10,000 feet or 3000 meters.

Benoit fishing the trouts.

Oakdale Cowboy Town

2009-05-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

On our way to Mammoth, we spent the night to Oakdale, a cowboy town. Not much to do there, but we wanted to have a rest before crossing the Yosemite.

Natural Bridges Sunset

2009-05-26T20:53:00.001-07:00

Taking a good sunset photo at Santa Cruz is harder than it look. First of all, the fog blocks the sun about 2/3 of the time and second of all, when the fog is not in sight, the sky does not have any clouds!

Marina Festival of the Winds

2009-05-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

We ended up by accident at the 10th Festival of the Winds, since the Marina skate park was closed and it was on our way back home. The kids loved it, they could play with those gigantic kites.

Lucas looks like an ant compare to the size of the gecko.

The kids tried to catch his tail.

The gymnasts played some tricks on Lucas.

Santa Cruz Backyard

2009-05-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the summer and the tomatoes.

Lucas and Benoit at the Beach

2009-05-01T22:32:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since we have not spent a weekend at Santa Cruz. The ski season came to an end by mid April. We headed north to visit Scotts creek beach.

The beach just for Lucas.

Working on those 360, 180...

That what a call a big air, the lack of snow was not going to slow them down.

Bear Valley DEVO Pizza

2009-03-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Photo by Martin

For the last DEVO meeting of the year, the DEVO team snowboarded down the home run to Bear Valley village for a Pizza, drink and games.

From left to right: April, Benoit, Jessica, Austin, Jake, Tyler and in the background, you can guess, Jamie, Riley, Corey and Travis.

From left to right, Ziggy (former DEVO), Jake, Jeff, Ashley and Jessica.

Corey, Riley, Tyler and Jamie.

Katie, Lance, Tyler and Martin.

Tim, Vicky, Olivier, Tricia.

Cyd, Claire and Tim.

Jones family.

John, Martin and Charlotte.

Estelle, Charlotte and John Skiing at Bear Valley

2009-03-24T20:37:00.001-07:00

John and Charlotte on the magic carpet.

Estelle working on her French fries.

Torres Del Paine

2009-03-23T20:01:00.001-07:00

Amazing picture taken by Francois somewhere in south America.

Bear Valley Jump Session

2009-03-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

Benoit, Lucas and I built a jump in the backside of Bear Valley. Benoit and Lucas tried a few 180 FS and BS.
Check the back flip tentative by Lucas :)

Benoit Birthday

2009-02-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

Benoit had a few friends over to celebrate is 9th birthday. They spend a few hours at the climbing gym, drew a few pictures with Colette and biked in the backyard.

Benoit is Turning 9

2009-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

Francois prepared that fancy cake for Benoit.

Christmas at Arnold (Bear Valley)

2009-01-17T17:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, Christmas has happened already a month ago. Better late than never, here are the pictures.

Lucas is warming up before Christmas.

iPods have been in fashion lately.

iPods can play musics, games and movies. Live is good.

Lego, Indiana Jones and Star Wars (classic).

Lucas at Bear Valley with Cody

2009-01-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the ski season, Lucas was part of Cody's group. The photo were taken by Sandy.

Lucas on Super Cub

Lucas on Tiger back side?

Bear Valley Devo Team

2009-01-14T08:42:00.000-08:00

Benoit switch jump over the log.

Check out the new pictures from last weekend at Bear Valley here.

Bear Valley Ski Trip

2008-12-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

Check out the new snowboarding pictures from our Bear Valley trip here.

Joe on Coz Mama Roof - Castle Rock Bouldering

2008-12-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

Joe giving us some beta for the low start of Coz Mama Roof (V9).

Joe Bouldering at Castle Rock

2008-12-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

It felt great to be back bouldering at Castle Rock, never mind, if the highway 17 was a parking lot after someone destroyed a poll and pull down the telephone line.

Rob and I warmed up at the Magoos and we quickly moved to check the A** arete. This compression problem can be done using the left and right arete, while with the direct variation, the right arete is off limit.

Just right after, we climbed with Joe, a super strong climber. He gave me a ton of new betas that just work. He quickly sent Hueco wall and Hueco wall traverse.

Joe crushing the Hueco wall traverse (V8).

Joe working on a variation of deforestation, skipping the nasty crimps.

Birds Hunting

2008-12-07T08:33:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning, Lucas and I biked to Natural Bridges to hunt (photo) birds.

No idea why those planes were getting so close!

Snow Is Overrated

2008-11-30T21:09:00.001-08:00

After we drove back from Arnold, we went for a bike ride near Natural Bridges. The surf conditions could not get any better with a huge swell and glassy waves.

Camel bags do not only provide water but also a natural place for Benoit and Lucas' mascots.

Natural Bridges and the Marine lab offer some of the best waves, with large and long barrels and stellar view points with killer sunsets. Who needs to go to Key west to see trap tourists sunset?

Tamarack Bouldering

2008-11-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

Tamarack bouldering can be found a few miles before Bear Valley village. A few weeks ago, I noticed that nice horizontal crack which was a bit high (15 feet). We came back prepared with a rope and a few slings, so we could set up an anchor.
The anchor was flaky but the kids managed to climb half of the route and the anchor did not blew off.

Rope and bouldering do not match too well! Trying to remember the anchor class 101.

Natural rest!

View from Bear Valley resort. The snow is on its way!

Hair Cut with Barbara

2008-11-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

Benoit is getting his air done by Barbara. The winter is approaching so we decided that it was the perfect timing for the family to get shorter hair.

Bicycle Trip Scooter - Fun Spot Santa Cruz

2008-11-22T14:02:00.001-08:00

Matt was supposed to show us his new scooter tricks at the Bicycle Trip park but he did not show up. Never mind, Lucas and Benoit put up the show!

Benoit BS air.

Benoit boneless gap.

Lucas dropping in the 6 foot ramp.

Pacific Edge Bouldering Video

2008-11-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

Pumpkins' Carving

2008-11-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

Rebecca and Emily helped Benoit and Lucas carving the pumpkins for Halloween.

Benoit Watching Lego's Movie on Youtube

2008-11-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

Benoit & Lucas School Portraits

2008-11-13T20:53:00.001-08:00

Lucas & Benoit

2008-11-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

Lucas has no longer his cast but who knows, winter and its snow is just around the corner.

Santa Cruz Mural

2008-11-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

This nice mural can be found in Santa Cruz near Telopa's old studio.

Santa Cruz Wharf By Night

2008-11-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

Castle Rock has been wet for the last 2 to 3 weeks now, so the climbing has been done mainly at the gym. Clouds and rains do not match with climbers but do with photography. What could be more boring that a blue sky. Those white spots are not dust on the sensor but stars...

Santa Cruz Wharf

Bouldering Bas Cuvier France

2008-11-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

About 1 year and half ago, we met at Fontainebleau Bas Cuvier, Telopa's family.

Lucas doing what he does best: Clown.

Checking a 7a which was way too hard.

Benoit was with his grand parents.

Halloween at School

2008-11-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Bay View school had a party for Halloween. Lucas dressed as a clown and Benoit as a bunny.

Natural Bridges

2008-10-30T21:38:00.001-07:00

Natural Bridges is only a few blocs from our home. We come there so often that it is like our back yard.

Looks like Mars soil.

Pelleloup - France

2008-10-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Pelleloup - # of inhabitant 1, # of dogs 2

Ravel

Sermentizon Church

2008-10-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

I went to school like at Sermentizon for the 4 and 5th grades. They have restored the church and the square. Note: The sky is spooky which is a perfect timing with Halloween only a few weeks away.

Fall Colors

2008-10-25T21:32:00.001-07:00

It has been almost 6 months that it has not rained in California. Rain is good, especially that the ski season is about to start.

Not enough room for the slugs!

So green, it cannot be in California. Indeed, it was France (Ravel) this summer!

Cantal

Bear Valley Bouldering

2008-10-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

Bear Valley winter season is approaching fast. We meet at Bear Valley to discuss about the Devo Team. If the snow is on time, we will be on the slope for the first weekend of December.

On Saturday night, we spend the night at Murphys in. They must have taken that frog from Angel camp.

We are standing in front of our cabin in Arnold that we rent for the winter season.

Benoit and Lucas are ready :)

After the meeting, Robert and the kids had a fun bouldering session at Bear Valley. The weather was perfect with a temperature around 60 degree.

Benoit has a great crack climbing technique.

Lucas with his new hat.

Le Puy Mary - France Summer 2008

2008-10-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

My dad and my uncle (left) are trying to see groundhogs. It was our lucky day since we managed to spot few.

Boudou

Super Besse

The Roof Problem - Castle Rock Bouldering

2008-10-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Joel working the roof problem at Indian Rock.

Point Reyes Dramatic Sunset

2008-10-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

On my way back from Fort Ross, I snapped shot that picture from the road.

Benoit & Lucas Trendy Portrait

2008-10-16T21:49:00.001-07:00

Benoit and Lucas In France

2008-10-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

It's probably time to stop watching those youtube parcours videos, they have a bad impact on Benoit.

Goat Rock Cave

2008-10-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

Castle Rock was so cold and windy this morning that we decided to pay a visit to Goat Rock, which has some nice and easy top rope climbs. From the top of the rock, a nice cave can be found. We fooled around on the 540 problem for a while and moved to a much quieter area Klinghoffer.

Magoos Castle Rock Bouldering

2008-10-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

The conditions have been near perfect at Castle Rock with super sticky rocks and no bugs. Rob, Joel, Brian and I climbed at the Magoos and worked some contrived sloppy problems.

Rob putting to rest the unnamed and most sandbag V3.

Brian working the end of the long traverse.

Joel

Tree in The Wall - Castle Rock Bouldering - Morning Session

2008-10-02T22:21:00.001-07:00

Yet, another bouldering morning session at Castle Rock - Tree in the Wall with Brian, Joel and Rob.

Rob warming up on Crustacean.

Joel crimping his way out Tree problem.

Brian opening moves on Tree problem.

Joel "cruzing" the corridor arete.

Brian checking his options on the Corridor arete.

Benoit's Guitar Recital

2008-10-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

Benoit played the May song for South Bay Recital. He won the award for most improved rhythm, way to go.

About to get started.

Lucas' Teck Deck Ollie Master

2008-09-28T14:27:00.001-07:00

Benoit is practicing his ollie in preparation of next Eron's skateboarding class at Fair Oak skate park but Lucas stole the show with his infamous teck-deck ollie.

Benoit working on his ollie. Thanks for Eron for teaching him.

Woo, nice pop!

Benoit borrowed Tevo's scooter.

Ollie to back side board slide left handed!

Tevo's bunny hop.

Barbecue with Thomas' family

2008-09-28T13:52:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Fall with a nice barbecue in our back yard. Thomas, Jordan's families, Francois and Isabelle made it.

Marshmallow craze, Lucas, Benoit and Estelle.

Adrian Sky Walker.

Helena.

Estelle.

Corridor Arete - Castle Rock Bouldering

2008-09-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Joel and I went back to the Tree in the Wall boulders. We got to climb a new line that I spotted a few days back but could not complete because of the poor landing. The name of the climb is The corridor arete (V2).

Extension to the Crustacean Transformation route. Traverse right to the large hueco. Scary because the climb cannot be protected with crash pad, but not too hard.

New route that Ryan put a few weeks back. Start left hand in the crack side pull crimp and right hand sloppy hold, reach nob and dyno to large hueco. I do not have the name of the climb or the grade yet.

The nice (!!) crack is called Benoit's route (V0). On the right of the crack, unnamed route starts from a large hold and go up on fragile flake (V0).

Corridor arete (V2) starts right hand on tiny side pull crimp (chest high) and good left hold (over head). Match starting hold, go to the nice flake and fire to a large hueco.

Turtle Rock Bouldering - San Francisco

2008-09-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Turtle Rock has great bouldering with an awesome vista to San Francisco and Marin County. Benoit sent his first V1, very powerful, overhanging, on good holds. Meantime, I almost (2 inches) put my hand on a snake on the top of the rock. I wonder what was that snake doing there but it did scare the shit out of me.

Benoit working the sit down start .

Nice work!

Sending the V4 low traverse.

V1 slab, a bit worry about lose rock.

The dream team.

Fort Ross Bouldering - Point Reyes

2008-09-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Fort Ross boulder is a huge piece of sandstone, way north Bodega bay. From Point Reyes campground, it took me a hour and half to get there. I got my ass kick and could only do the opening moves of the routes. I got too scared since I had not spotter. Next time, hopefully, Rob and Brian (the big guys) will join the party.

The view from the road is impressive, but do not get distracted because there is no room for mistakes, beside, cows are roaming the road freely.

Drunk As a Skunk - Castle Rock Bouldering

2008-09-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

A few yards from Tree In the Wall main boulders, more routes can be found. Drunk as a Skunk is a great line, overhanging with not so big holds. Worth a try.

Route 1: Drunk as a Skunk V6

Route 2: Scalawag Traverse V3,
Route 3: Hornswaggle Mantle V4

Route 4: Poop-shoot Pirate V4,
Route 5: Pirate's Lookout V1,
Route 6: Ruperts Ride V2

Routes 7 and 8: Warm up slab

Route 9: Easy traverse

Tree in The Wall - Castle Rock Bouldering

2008-09-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Mike and Ryan have discovered a new bouldering area at Castle Rock. The parking lot is about 2 miles from CR parking lot, south on the 35. The routes descriptions can be found on rockclimbing.

Route 1: Trailblazer Arete V0 and route 2: Crustacean Transformation V3

Route 3: Tree Trouble V5

Route 4: Gym Rat Mantle V3

Route 5: Barbed Wire V4

Route 8: Shit Stain V3

Route 6: Unnamed V0, Route 7: Bee's Nest V6

Big Sur's Molera State Park

2008-09-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

We decided to head south to Garrapata Creek in a bouldering hunting trip. The road does not have many access to the coast since most of them are private properties. Driving about 10 miles south, we stopped at the Rocky point restaurant but found only loose rocks and fishermen.

After Rocky point, the road never gets close to the beach anymore for many miles. The access to the sea is limited since it is getting really steep.

The next time the road reaches the beach, we could not access it either because it belongs to the Naval Army. What a bummer, stretch of pristine beaches left to military!
Further south, we stopped at the Molera state park and walked to the beach. Plenty of rock could be found there, but the sandstone rock is too fragile for climbing.
Nevertheless, the kids had fun making and fixing their house beach.

Nice Fire Place.

Lucas Broke His Arm

2008-09-03T21:36:00.001-07:00

Lucas broke his arm falling off the fence on Saturday. At the emergency, the doctor fixed his arm very well , and after a few days with a temporary cast, he got his final one in red.

His arm should be back, fully operational in 8 weeks, just on time for the ski season.

Red Cast, Red Shirt.

Next time, Benoit will spot Lucas...

Claire

Lucas Gardening

2008-09-03T21:01:00.001-07:00

Lucas is preparing new plants for the garden.

Big Sur Garrapata Bouldering

2008-09-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Garrapata Creek has some decent granite and sandstone bouldering. It can be found about 9 miles south the Rio road cross light.

Carmel Bouldering

2008-08-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

Since Castle Rock is too warm, we headed down to Carmel for some kick ass beach bouldering on decent sandstone.
We spotted that overhanging line which freaked us out since it was probably about 18 feet tall.

Crab Town Bouldering

2008-08-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Near Garrapata state beach, we stopped at Crab Town for some great bouldering on solid rock.

Nice warmup route. Benoit cruzed it as well, which was not to Rob taste!

Shouldery and powerful moves.

Nice easy arete.

WOW! So much better than the gym.

High ball quality problem.

John showing the slab technique.

Carmel Meadows Bouldering

2008-08-12T21:44:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, Rob, Brian, John, Benoit and Estelle went to Carmel for a fun bouldering session. We first stop at Carmel Meadows for some exciting sandy bouldering.

Estelle and Benoit cruzing.

Nice slab. We were not bold enough to do the direct line right in the middle. Next time.

Too few boulders on the beach, but that one was great! Ask Rob, he took home a large chunk.

Brian posing.

Estelle art of work.

Mechanic Time

2008-08-12T21:22:00.001-07:00

My motorcycle has not been working too well lately. Benoit and I decided to check the carburetor. We got the ramp out of the frame and were wondering what to do next!

It is a bit messy.

Apple Tree

2008-08-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Lucas is hiding somewhere in the garden. Try to find him!

Bath time.

Benoit and Lucas Scooting Derby Park

2008-08-04T21:43:00.001-07:00

We are spending more and more time at Derby park since it is just a few blocks from our house.

Benoit & Lucas Visiting Rebecca & Emily

2008-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

This video was taken by Keith probably 2 years ago. Check Benoit taking control of the water toy.

Benoit and Lucas Going Down the Snake

2008-07-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

De Young Museum

2008-07-17T22:27:00.001-07:00

Claire and I went to the city to visit the De Young museum. We had a great time until the fire alarm ringed causing an evacuation.
We will be back with the kids.

Golden Gate Bridge

New Guinea Artifact

Turkish carpet (1800)

Cowell Sunrise

2008-07-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Cowell is the perfect place to learn to surf, especially at low tide.

Bear Valley Summer Time

2008-07-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Claire and I spend the 4 of July at Bear Valley . We visited Bear Valley Resort and Mosquito lake.

Nice stream north Mosquito lake.

A patch of snow left from the winter.

Mokelumne from Bear Valley.

Claire posing near Alpine Lake.