Trip Report
(TR) Tollhouse Rock Video Trip Report........Now in High Def

by micronut
Tuesday March 3, 2009 11:54am
Here's a little ditty I put together from Saturday morning this weekend. We had to be home for breakfast with the kids(wifey was cookin' bacon eggs, little smokies and choco-chip pancakes)so Adam and I pulled out of Fresno at 3am. Ouch. We were on the approach by 4:00am and racking up at the base by 4:30. First pitch fingie/handcrack by headlamp and a killer sunrise at the first belay. Doesn't get any better.

Shot the footage with my new HD Canon Vixia and mixed it in Final Cut Express. Tried to give it that sleepy, alpine start, coffee high/donut crash feeling. Look out Martin Scorsese.

Music by U.N.C.L.E. and The Notwist

Route: Elephant Walk 5.7 Tollhouse Rock 5 pitches

Enjoy
http://www.vimeo.com/3447948

  Trip Report Views: 1,971
micronut 		About the Author
micronut is a trad climber from fresno, ca.

Comments
tiki-jer

Trad climber
fresno/clovis
  Mar 3, 2009 - 01:07pm PT
Nice Video, Micro!
Thanks for posting that.
TLloyd-Davies

Trad climber
Santa Clara, ca
  Mar 3, 2009 - 01:14pm PT
fantastic video!
makes me wish it wasn't pouring rain outside
Rudder

Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
  Mar 3, 2009 - 01:30pm PT
Yum, bacon! :)
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 3, 2009 - 01:30pm PT
Thanks guys. That Final Cut Program gives things a nice look. And that HD camera makes me never want to go back to Regular Def.
WBraun

climber
  Mar 3, 2009 - 01:45pm PT
Pretty cool.

How long a drive and how far (miles) from Fresno to Tollhouse?
ec

climber
ca
  Mar 3, 2009 - 01:58pm PT
Well done!

'Like a dream...

 ec
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 3, 2009 - 02:13pm PT
Werner, its 50 minutes to the parking spot at the top of the dome from downtown Fresno. We head up Auberry road to Prather, then shoot up the four lane hwy. Its our closest thing really. Fresno Dome, Shuteye, Kings Canyon are all about 90 mins and snowed up this time of year. Tollhouse gets a bit drippy but is an ideal winter spot at about 3600 feet I would say. You ever been there?
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
  Mar 3, 2009 - 02:30pm PT
good stuff, micro.

I'll have to watch the whole thing later at home...faster pc.
blacksun

Sport climber
Bend, OR
  Mar 3, 2009 - 02:47pm PT
Nicely done video! I'd like to put it on my site, climbclips.com,
whaddaya say?
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 3, 2009 - 02:50pm PT
Let me talk to my agent............................











Done. He said its cool but he wants 20% of whatever you're selling on your site.
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 3, 2009 - 02:54pm PT
BlackSun, I just checked out your site. Super cool. I'll check it out in more depth when I get a few minutes. Well done.
nutjob

Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
  Mar 3, 2009 - 03:02pm PT
You did a really nice job of conceiving, filming, and post-production on this. It was truly a pleasure to watch, and makes me want to get into making my own videos more than other stuff I've seen.
blacksun

Sport climber
Bend, OR
  Mar 3, 2009 - 03:05pm PT
Thanks Micronut. Yeah, it's kind of neat. I still don't get a lot of interested people so I have to upload stuff myself... It's worth poking around in though, there's a few cool vids in there.
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 3, 2009 - 03:08pm PT
Nutjob, I'm just a hack and have very litle experience with this stuff. But I think its neat to create different moods with the music and stuff. Most videos are butt shots set to Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.

It'll be fun to look back on these climbs in this format ten years from now rather than shuffling through photos.

Cameras are getting cheaper 250-300....but high def is around 800-1200.

I-movie is EASY and cool and a good place to start. Good luck.
Here's a link to a little ski vid I did with a sony handycam and I-movie in about an hour or two.
http://www.vimeo.com/3279119
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Mar 3, 2009 - 03:57pm PT
Really nice video! Looks pretty pro, with the fades, double images and music. Well done, and thanks for sharing.
mooch

Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
  Mar 3, 2009 - 04:06pm PT
Way to represent MN. T-House is the place where the mooch got his roots wet. Special memories there.
mooser

Trad climber
seattle
  Mar 3, 2009 - 04:17pm PT
Really nice, Micronut! Totally enjoyed it.
JEleazarian

Trad climber
Fresno CA
  Mar 3, 2009 - 05:08pm PT
Great post, micronut. You brightened the middle of my workday, and even brought back a 39-year-old memory. In February of 1970, Larry Fielden and I made the second ascent of the left side of Beginner's Delight, while Mike Brennan and Walter Knapp were making the first ascent of the right side. Most of the first pitch of Elephant Walk coincides with the first pitch of the left side of Beginner's Delight (so named, by the way, because the first part of the route was done as a nail-up.)

Thanks again.

John
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 3, 2009 - 05:18pm PT
John that is so cool. Its an amazing little route. That was actually my first time up the whole thing. I had done the first pitch once a while back but we left when the temps rose over 110 at the base one summer.

That first pitch is super delicious. I even found some of the upper slab stuff a bit thought provoking. I actually got a bit shaky somewhere on some runout dimples on the 3rd pitch and thought I might actually peel. How lame would that have been on a 5.7 slab thats been done thousands of times. Thats what its all about though.

I've climbed all over and still think Tollhouse is kinda magical. Especially with the owls hooting in the night and the Valley sprawling out below.

Much props on your ascent. Glad to share it again.
See you around.
C_S

climber
Clovis
  Mar 3, 2009 - 06:03pm PT
Good stuff.

It's been way too long since I've been up Elephant Walk. I just wish that first pitch was a couple hundred feet longer.
Ropeboy

Trad climber
Fresno CA
  Mar 3, 2009 - 07:46pm PT
So very well woven together. I like the end where the images of the mountain range and the family breakfast say to me "What a great morning to be alive!"
Dave

Mountain climber
the ANTI-fresno
  Mar 3, 2009 - 08:53pm PT
Very cool. Did that route in 2003 while living in the No. Tollhouse was one of the bright spots living there. Thanks for the memory!
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 4, 2009 - 01:55pm PT
Glad you guys liked it. Hope to post more here soon, but we're gettin' rained out at the moment.
LeBob

Gym climber
san francisco
  Mar 4, 2009 - 02:21pm PT
Micronut,

Great stuff . . . I used to hang out with a woman who lived in Tollhouse and we'd run up there below the rocks. Always wanted to get on them (worked up at the VVR) while I had the crash pad (her place) there.

bear valley tele-fest . . . still want to make that one of these days. thanks for the preview. Yeah, next time I see a guy doing needle-point on the lift, I'll know. Quilting! ha!!

Do more videos!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucwhH65ryGw&feature=channel_page

bob
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 4, 2009 - 02:31pm PT
Nice work Bob....thanks for the vid tour.
Are you Bob Burd? The guy who does the Sierra Challenge trips?
Fletcher

Boulder climber
Institute of Better Bouldering-DirtbagDad Division
  Mar 4, 2009 - 02:36pm PT
I enjoyed that. Good stuff. Thank for posting.

Fletch
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Author's Reply  Mar 6, 2009 - 06:11pm PT
Hey John, do you still live in Fresno?
Go
Recent Trip Reports