As our pilgrimage to Yosemite was getting closer to an end, we got less humble and more psyched about trying The Nose on El Cap. The decision was made while chilling in El Cap meadow on a Friday morning and we rushed to buy food, organize gear, poop tube, strategy and etc. Loading the haulbag made us realise that a multi-day sufferfest is waiting for us. Also, the suffering aspect became even more unavoidable after listening to funny big wall stories from our friends Phillip and Thomas who climbed The Nose a few days before us.

We after El Cap

Martynas: Finally! After 9 years of climbing and rambling, the dream came true - I’m going to visit Yosemite Valley - the Mecca of Climbing, the Center of the Universe, the Capital of Climbing, etc, you name it. It’s difficult to count how many movies I’ve watched, books I’ve read, dreams I’ve had about this place.

Laura: A couple of weeks left until our wedding we were still considering the options for the honeymoon. One was to go to New Zealand and have unusual holidays with no climbing, just nature, hiking and stuff. To be honest, I was stoked. But you know, how can you “waste” three weeks of your precious PTO and not climb at all? The decision was made to go to Yosemite. A slightly different look at the honeymooning. I was very skeptical (as I often am) about our chances to climb there. We don’t climb granite, we’re both shit at trad, we don’t know how to haul the bags, we’ve never done a big wall, etc.

Yosemite Valley

In the wedding frenzy of July (we attended three!), we squeezed in one climbing weekend. It was a return to the Dolomites - a place in which we’ve left many sentiments. In addition to drinking lots of coffee and eating lots of gelati and pasta, we went to Tre Cime and climbed Comici-Dimai route on Cima Grande.

Tre Cime

This Easter me and Laura decided to take a few days off without hesitation and drive to Verdon for the third time. It seems that this place will never stop to fascinate us (and others).

Good morning on the way to Verdon

This year during Christmas we paid just a couple days visit to Lithuania. Barely enough to collect the presents from beneath the Christmas trees. A day in Kaunas, a day in Vilnius and off we fly again! This time to Barcelona for a week long rock trip. A rental car and almost no planning in advance worked out remarkably well.

Oliana

The past three years me and Laura didn’t have any longer climbing trips which would last more than a week. An official reason for this was a hectic schedule: work, studies, work, studies, etc. However, most likely, it was due to the wrong prioritization.

One week long trips were kind of frustrating (at least for me), because you get used to rock just before you are on the way back home. However, this autumn we finally managed to fix the misunderstanding by exploring Sicily’s infamous rock for two weeks. Despite relatively long holidays, we did not climb as much as expected in the beginning.

View from the campsite's beach

It’s been 8 months since I moved to London and I’m still learning big city life. I’m not a very keen learner I should admit though. The more I learn, the more I understand that for me personally living in a city is only possible if I find a way to escape it from time to time.

Martynas on Pichenibule

It all started when Martynas forwarded me an email from Lithuanian Alpine Association with an invitation to apply for BMC International Summer Meet in North Wales. Martynas’ email looked something like this: “wanna go? you’d get sick experience”. Quite laconic but straight to the point.

And so I applied. Not really thinking about how many days off I can take or seriously planning anything ahead. But then I got accepted. And then after a couple days of UK trad practice in Pembroke that I managed to squeeze in on weekends, I got on a train to Manchester.

Last Tango in Paris in Slate

Living in London started to seem more and more possible. Usually, a big city life includes meeting friends, going out and occasionally getting drunk. But considering the fact that both of us cannot stand such lifestyle for a long, there is always a recently discovered escape plan - 3 hours train ride to a rocky wilderness.

During my latest visit in London we managed to properly exploit a bank holiday by visiting Anna and Tadas who live in Swansea - a coastal city in Wales. Before our visit, I heard a lot of rumors from my dear local Gedas about what a mellow life they live. Laura has recently approved that. Anyway, I can admit that - sea, a cat, a fireplace, a kitchen and a cozy neighborhood was really the blast!

Pembroke

Last Friday I rushed from work straight to Euston station to catch a train to Swansea. After a >3h trip I was met by Tadas who currently lives there with his girlfriend Anna. Both of them are doing their PhD’s in geography, enjoying Wales and living a life that I am totally jealous about.

Me on Deranged, E2 5b