Ethan Pringle - Pro Blog 2

News flash! So do you remember that project in the Bardinis I talked about last time? The one I said was one of the tallest, hardest, most beautiful lines I have ever tried? Well it is. I just got off the phone with Kevin Jorgeson and he sent it! What a strong SOB! Kids on fire! I didn't know if he was just joking when he first told me, but he was serious. What a strong Mofo! And it didn't even take him that long either, just a few days of work. I can't pretend I'm not a little frustrated that I didn't go back and try it sooner and get the first ascent, but Kevin doing it just proves its totally possible and actually makes me want to pack my stuff up and go there and try it right now. Anyway, congrats, Kev. 

Meanwhile I have climbed outside only one day and inside very little as well since my last blog.  It has, however, afforded me some time to get out there and surf a bit. Between Christmas and New Years, I went to Baja on a surf/climbing expedition With Chris Lindner and Chris' friend Tyson. We made it about ten hours deep, and needless to say the climbing (especially the good bouldering) down in Baja is still pretty undeveloped. What is known is kept secret, while the surfing opportunities are well known and easily accessible. So, the climbing side of the expedition was mainly just for recon. We did get one good little bouldering session in at an area that was just about a 10 minute drive inland from one of the breaks we were surfing. It was a big canyon with dark red conglomerate/quartzite rock with some quality boulders in the dried-up riverbed, and there was even chalk on a bunch of stuff! 

I think the coolest experience I had in Baja, besides all the glorious waves, happened when I was trying to surf some smaller waves behind this point in a bay on a very windy day. After paddling out about a quarter mile from the point where we were camped to investigate the waves, I realized I had paddled out with the current. So paddling back to the point would be a long, uphill battle. After unsuccessfully trying for some waves, I gave up and started the trudge back to the point. After a few minutes I began to get panicked because I had been steady paddling and had only gone a few feet. It was about that time that I noticed something in the water between me and the shore, which did not help my already panicked state. The thing surfaced about twenty feet away from me and I realized it was a whale and it gave a big spout from its blowhole. I knew I shouldn't have been scared because I knew all whales except orcas are harmless, but I still didn't feel comfortable all the way out there by myself with this ferocious sea monster that I later (after extensive internet research) identified as the docile grey whale from its white markings and lack of a dorsal fin.