From an article in the Oakland Tribune, July 2008 - Topo is a little bear who dreams of grand adventures. He makes elaborate plans, collects the necessary gear, but never actually embarks on any of these adventures. Topo is a character in Mike Dutton's new comic strip,"One Swoop Fell."

"It's kind of autobiographical," Dutton says.

For the past year, I've been publishing an online comic called One Swoop Fell. Although the main characters are anthropomorphic and the story is slightly fantasy-based, you'll probably recognize locations from around Berkeley, like Marmot Mountain Works, Joshu-Ya, or the Homemade Cafe. And while the story is lighthearted, the themes might hit close to home as well, as I explore restlessness, the ever-present travel bug, and the difference between escapism and the active pursuit of happiness. I hope you'll enjoy these few pages on display along with my other illustrations, and be inspired to take on that adventure you've been daydreaming about, whether it's a weekend trip, tackling the garden, or taking a moment to slow down and just enjoy where you are.

To see Mike's illustrations, visit his website at www.DuttonArt.net. His online comic can be found at www.OneSwoopFell.com. It is updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Labels: Artist of the Month, Mike Dutton, One Swoop Fell

Have a great weekend.

Labels: 4th of July

In honor of the Monty Python's Spamalot's final weekend in San Francisco, here is a little climbing humor from the Flying Circus.

Labels: Monty Python, Spamalot

Wanderlust is a new kind of festival that is being launched this summer at Squaw Valley on July 24-26, 2009 in Lake Tahoe, CA. The three-day event will bring together the world’s leading yoga teachers and the best performers in rock & roll, all in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty. Confirmed artists include Michael Franti & Spearhead, Andrew Bird, Spoon, Gillian Welch and many others. Yoga teachers include John Friend, Shiva Rea, Duncan Wong, Sianna Sherman, Elena Brower, Rusty Wells, Janet Stone, Doug Swenson and many others. More information about the festival (including performers, yoga instructors, ticketing and much more) can be found at www.wanderlustfestival.com.

And as a member of Touchstone Climbing you can win free tickets to the event. Click here for a chance to win free tickets.

Labels: Andrew Bird, Gillian Welch, Spearhead, Squaw Valley, Wunderlust, Yoga

On Friday we told you about a rally out in Walnut Creek to help save California's State Parks. Today we have note from the Access Fund on how you can get further involved in this very important struggle to keep our State Parks open.

Immediate action is needed to help save climbing in California’s State Parks from drastic budget cuts that threaten closure!

Faced with a multi-billion dollar state budget deficit, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing a plan to close 220 of the California’s 279 parks, despite reports that show the park system more than pays for itself by generating tourism dollars. 75 million people visit California state parks each year, spending almost $60 apiece on their trips, both inside and outside the parks. For every dollar that funds the parks, $2.35 is returned to the state's General Fund through economic activities in the communities surrounding the parks. Nonetheless, California’s state parks, including many climbing areas, are on the chopping block.

Threatened climbing areas include Mt. Diablo, Mt. Tamalpais, Castle Rock, Castle Crags, Mt. San Juacinto, Stinson (Mickey's) Beach, Patrick's Point, Mt. St. Helena, Emerald Bay, Point Dune, Malibu Creek, Lake Perris, and Stonewall Creek.

Your help is needed to convince CA legislators that they should prioritize budget funding for valuable State Parks. If California’s State Parks are important to you—especially those that contain climbing areas—then write your state representatives and urge them to support a budget that doesn’t deprive your State Park lands and its users.

It is easier than ever to take action from the Access Fund Action Center. It only takes 30 seconds to submit a letter and have your voice heard!

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Labels: Access Fund, Budget Crisis, California State Parks

As the California budget crisis worsens, budget cuts are starting to have a big impact on many of the programs that we as Californians hold dear. One of these is our State Parks and Andrew Descalso, the manager at Diablo Rock Gym is doing something about it. He and his friends have organized a rally to help focus attention to the very real possibility of us loosing many of our State Parks.


Come on down and wear as little as possible Speedos & Bikini’s...we need to draw some attention to the matter. Body paint or write your favorite park all over yourself. Those fully dressed, come down to support and watch. (Have a bike? Bring it and ride around the block, please follow all the laws and wear a helmet)

"Even if you are not planning to visit a park soon, the governor's short-sighted proposal will impact you and every California resident. It is the very definition of "penny-wise, pound foolish".

Consider the facts:

FACT: The General Fund budget that state parks receive account for less than 1/10 of one percent of the entire state budget.

FACT: Last year alone, there were over 80 million visitors to state parks – and all indications are that this year was going to be even higher.

FACT: For every dollar that funds the parks, $2.35 is returned to the state's General Fund through economic activities in the communities surrounding the parks.

That means eliminating all funding for state parks could actually result in the state losing over $350 million dollars in revenue.

For the financial well-being of our state, we must oppose this reckless plan. We have had the displeasure of notifying you of threats to our parks in the past. But this is the worst threat to park system in its 150 year history."

Please visit http://ga3.org/campaign/budget_may09 to send a letter to the Governor and your local representative, it only takes a minute.

There is also have a facebook invite page.

Labels: Budget Crisis, California State Parks, Diablo Rock Gym, Facebook, Walnut Creek

Lily started making mosaics as a child using the scraps from her mother's stained glass window projects. An entrepreneur at an early age, she turned her passion into a business specializing in mosaic furniture. Lily studied painting at the University of Illinois and graduated with a B.A. in International Studies, with a concentration on Human Rights in Latin America. She has lived abroad in Ecuador and Australia and is inspired by the intricate patterns of indigenous designs. She enjoys making beautifully decorative and brightly colored art, and also doing largescale custom mosaic installation to make unique living spaces. In addition to making mosaics, Lily enjoys rock climbing, yoga, and adventure traveling. Her latest creative venture is learning to be a tattoo artist at Skindalous Tattoo!

Check out more of Lilly's work at www.lilymosaics.com.

Labels: Lilly Russo, Mosaics, Stained Glass

Get out your chalk buckets, the Touchstone Bouldering Series is coming back this summer. The TBS is returning for it's fifth season starting at Mission Cliffs in July and continue through the finale in November at Berkeley Ironworks. You can see all the dates below and you can get more details on the TBS page.

Labels: Competition, T-Shirts, Touchstone Bouldering Series

Look what we found on YouTube. This is a vintage climbing video of one of our members, Dan Goodwin performing some maneuvers out at Mickey's Beach.



Now it is your turn. You can now try to preform your very own Fly Off. Look for the 'White Courage' route in Mission Cliffs and preform your very own Fly Off in the designated spot.

Labels: Dan Goodwin, Fly-Off, Mickey's Beach, White Courage

Check out a special exhibition of aerial photographs of Mount Everest on Saturday, June 27 from 4-6pm and a special walk through and talk by the photographer on Saturday July, 11 @ 5:00pm. These are a really special set of photographs as he is the only photographer to have secured the fly-over rights to the entire range.

Baer Ridgway Exhibitions is pleased to present EVEREST, a selection of Mount Everest aerial photographs taken in late 1983 by William Thompson on assignment for National Geographic Magazine. These photographs represent the first and only complete aerial imagery ever taken of Mount Everest. These images were created in the cauldron of ongoing geopolitical intrigue. To overfly Tibet required a delicate and difficult navigation of the political, social and religious landscapes of China, India, Tibet and Nepal. This was accomplished through ten years of building partnerships and personal ties through the efforts of the Boston Museum of Science and the National Geographic Society.

The sublime beauty of these images illuminates that while this is some of the most perilous terrain on the planet it is also some of the most architecturally beautiful. The peril exists not only for the mountaineer who climbs these peaks but also for the photographer (and pilots) as the process of making these images at extreme altitudes was enormously dangerous.

These images represent a fresh and rare view of the border between emerging superpowers and their often vulnerable smaller neighbors. In this geopolitical scenario, each player has greatly varying perspectives, histories and agendas. It is this composite and comparison of the unflinching beauty, danger and immensity of the natural world within such a politically contested landscape that makes these photographs so compelling.



Thompson holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Oregon, where he wrote his dissertation on Visual Learning and the process of making visual value judgments. He received his BA in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Painting from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Thompson worked as a photographer with National Geographic for 12 years covering such stories as the extinction of the world's elephants, Bhutan's people and geography, the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, and Alaska's powerful unrelenting wilderness.

More information and images can be viewed on our website: www.baerridgway.com

BRX is located at 172 Minna (between 3rd and New Montgomery) in downtown San Francisco, next to the SFMOMA. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00am to 6:00pm.

Labels: aerial imagery, Mount Everest, National Geographic Magazine, Tibet, William Thompson