FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #4 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

Things are moving right along now. We have had a couple others join the crew, and contribute to the great dynamic. Jimmy Chin arrived on 4/8/10, and Eneko Pou arrived on 4/9/10. Both are amazingly talented and accomplished individuals. We have climbed many days and rested few. On one of the “rest” days, I bolted a new route. It is the first sport route that I have established. It was a great experience, and one that I look forward to repeating. One of our goals in coming here was to positively contribute to the area. We have brought much climbing hardware to establish and/or permanently equip routes. The local climbers and route developers have been very grateful for our efforts thus far. Yesterday, we permanently equipped 2 routes. On another rest day, we visited the ancient city of Termessos. It was the first rainy day that we have experienced so far, and that was a pleasant change just by itself…slow, dark, dreary. It helped us to rest. After running around the ruins in the rain, we had a nice dinner in downtown Antalya.

Bolting my route

Daniel, Boone, and Jimmy at dinner in Antalya

Eneko…sponsored by Red Bull

Me, Emily, Eneko, and Renan

Renan warming up with some hot chocolate after a day in the rain

We have climbed some rocks…of course. Emily has rapidly progressed from crutches, to limping, to climbing with my climbing shoe on one foot on top rope, to now climbing in her own shoes on lead. It has been a great relief to us all. Daniel is unfortunately leaving tomorrow, but a few days after we gain more crew members. We are so fortunate to be in this place together. Each new day has been a gift getting to know these people and this place.

Tesekkür Ederim (pronounced Te-she-kuur E-der-um)…Turkish for Thank you.

Daniel climbing on the ruins at Termessos

The theatre at Termessos

FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #3 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

4-7-10

I was out climbing at a sector called Anatolia. It was overcast and the wind had a chill, because it was coming from the north. The crag is up high and has a vantage of the entire valley. I did one route and was tying into the rope to try another. I hear The Call to Prayer. It is part of the Muslim life/culture/religion. It is played on loud speakers all over the country 5 times a day. It sounds like a man singing. It is quite beautiful really. It forced me to pause and consider my place. It reminded me to remember the gifts that have been bestowed upon my life. It reminded me that I believe in something greater and deeper than myself. The sun breaks through the clouds and I feel its warmth on my face. I put some chalk on my hands and breathe, and start my route. This was a wonderful start to a day that ended tragically.

Mid way through the day as I was working with Boone and Renan, Daniel was belaying Emily on a magnificent route called Turkish Airways. All that I heard was, “Oh my God!” I looked to my left to see Emily’s body hurling sideways through the air. It didn’t register, because I thought that she was surely clipped into the first bolt. A spilt second later, I realized that it wasn’t so. She had stood up hard into a little cave and hit her head on a tufa. It jarred her body, and her foot slipped off. She basically fell 30 feet bouncing down the slab into Daniel’s arms. He stopped her and prevented them both from going off of another 50 foot ledge. It was nauseating, and as I rushed over, I prepared myself for something gnarly. Much to my relief, there were only bumps, bruises and badly twisted ankle. We packed up and slowly made our way back to ice, compression, and elevation at our house. It could have been so much worse… A small lesson for us to learn…take care, move slow, be sure and safe. We’re trying.

FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #2 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

It is another glorious morning, as well as Renan’s birthday. There are big fluffy clouds in the sky, which is a new addition to the mornings past. I am the first one awake. I have made my coffee and and am enjoying the silence. I know that it won’t last long.

My body is a little sore and the skin on my hands is raw. My finger tips are pink. It hurts just to touch my warm coffee cup. This will be our third day of climbing in a row, and 6th day out of 7. Since this place is a relatively young climbing area, the rock hasn’t seen much travel and is abrasive. It is Limestone and is pretty varied. We have seen classic blue slabs and vertical walls to overhanging orange walls with tufa runnels and stalactites. It is Spring/Early Summer, and it is too hot to climb in the direct sun, so we have been seeking the shade. There is only one sector that gets shade all day long, so that is where we have been spending most of our time. It is called Trebenna. Although… today the clouds are out to play, so they might offer some shade to other zones.

Climbing area overview with our house marked

Trebenna

We are basically in the mountains on the road between Antalya and a small town called Geyikbayiri. We are staying in an amazingly beautiful, open European style house. It is part of a guesthouse/camping/restaurant/bar complex called Jo.Si.To. Another has joined our crew, Uncle Boone or Mr. Speed. That’s Boone Speed. He is another fantastically talented person that I am privileged to have in my life as a friend. He is a climber, a photographer, an artist, and fits right into the crew.

Mr. Speed

Uncle Boone with Trebenna in the distance

Our house

The lot is beginning to stir, and the silence is ending. I suppose that I’ll join them, and we’ll go play with the clouds and the rocks.

We drove down out of the mountains and into a small town to visit the weekend market. It was a beautiful farmers market lining both sides of the streets, and all the restaurants around were open. There were hundreds of people perusing the event; families out, children running around, couples young and old shopping. The local vendors were selling fruit, vegetables, flowers, spices, honey, nuts, beans, and meat.

The market

After we walked around and did some shopping, we went for some lunch. As we walked into the “restaurant,” which was just a tent, we had to walk around a weird scene of women sitting on the ground. When we sat at a table, I observed more closely, and it turned out that it was the “kitchen” of the restaurant. It was fantastic the way that they worked, and how they cooked. There were 4 to 5 women sitting on the ground, and there were 2 wood burning stove type devices, except they had big smooth circular tops. The first woman was the orchestrator. She received the order, cuts an appropriate amount of dough, and began to work it. She passed it off to woman #2 who rolled the dough very thin and flat with a long dowel. She was an artist that worked quickly and efficiently in a confined space. She passed the now large circular piece of dough to woman #3, who folded it a few times, and then added the ingredients. In our case, feta cheese and parsley. There was also a sweet option with honey and brown sugar. Once done, she put it on one of the stoves, where woman #4 tended to it. She watched carefully, and flipped the sandwiches with a long hand-carved wooden stick, until they were golden brown. With her stick, she removed it from the stove, and put it on a plate.  It was a simple and beautiful rhythm that yielded a tasty result. In addition to our sandwich, we had chai, which just means tea, and a tomato and cucumber salad. It was all delicious. The entire experience, market and lunch, was so stimulating. We were all left amazed and satisfied.

Cooks in the kitchen

Feta and parsley sandwiches and chai

The crew at lunch

This is the first morning that I have awoken properly. I think that my body has recovered from the long travel, and is beginning to adapt to the difference in time. This morning is beautiful. The air is cool, but the sun is warming up the world quickly. This is a special place, and there is magic here. Everything that we have seen thus far has amazed us, the people, the food, and the landscape. Last night as I was shoveling my dinner into my face, the chef came and sat next to me with his meal. He is Italian, but lives here as a climber and part time cook. We were eating the food he made, pasta arraibata. It was rich and very tasty, red sauce with fresh Turkish olives. He says, “You know, one of the Turkish ways is, ‘slowly, slowly.’ It can be very important, very special if you think about it for a while” I paused. I could hear the lesson. Slowly, slowwwwwwly, slooooooooooowwwwwwwwly. I told myself, “you don’t have anywhere to be but here. Breathe in, breathe deep. Taste the olives.” They were so tasty.

FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #1 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

We arrived late last night. Our travel took us from Denver to Frankfurt to Istanbul to Antalya. My companions are an amazingly talented trio, Renan Ozturk, Daniel Woods, and Emily Harrington. We all hail, coincidentally, from Boulder at the moment. We had a single rental car reserved, but upon gathering all of our baggage, it became immediately apparent that it was not going to be enough…the four of us have 15 bags. We jammed everything into the cars and embarked into the darkness to find our Turkish abode for the next month. It took longer than it should have… after a meal, and a beer, we all crawled to bed in our jet lagged stupor some time around 3 am. I awoke at 2pm.

Denver airport bathroom self portrait

Frankfurt-er

Istanbul

Istanbul sunset

Antalya, Turkey airport

Antalya, 2 rental cars, 4 people, 15 bags