Sends at Smith

I just got back last night from climbing for a few days down at Smith Rock in Oregon. I wasn't psyched on Smith. Squamish was my first choice, then Mazama, but because of weather we headed south. Smith turned out to be really fun and not as hot as I had feared.

Photo Op!

Austin and Little Si

I went down with Austin, who is in fine form right now. I belayed him on his first 12a at Little Si last Thursday. Since it was just the two of us and we both wanted to get on some harder lines I could finally check out Easy's Playhouse a mini-crag at the top of Red Wall with 5 routes 11d-12d. It was a bit of a brutal (by my standards) hike up there, but it was well worth it. We warmed up on a few easy 10's on Red Wall on the way up. I graciously gave Austin the onsight attempt of Boys in the Hood the excellent 11d. He didn't onsight it, it turned into a mini-project for him. He finally got the send on his 6th try that day, after agonizingly falling twice at the last throw. Austin got a video of me flashing it (at the bottom).

Austin scoping out Big Boss Man

Not a bad place to hang out

While Austin was working the 11d, I was checking out the classic 12c there Big Boss Man. I could see all the moves from the ground and thought it looked like a good contender for an onsight attempt. It is steep bouldery and short, my style. In the old guidebook it was given 12a but you had to aid up to the first bolt and start from there. The new guide has it as 12c off the ground. The first moves were powerful but on good holds. Clipping the second bolt was very strenuous on the onsight, but the first bolt was a major spinner and I really didn't want to fall on it. The crux move for me was one of those where I was sure I was coming off, but I fully committed and managed to stick the hold. From there I got a bomber but painful knee-bar for a quick shake. The last few moves were powerful but I managed to keep it together for the onsight!

It was such a good feeling to climb something hard again. My climbing confidence wasn't great and morale was low, so this was exactly what I needed. That night we met up with Tyler and Emma at Skull Hollows and celebrated with a fire.

Tuesday started out with Tyler and Emma on some easy routes, before moving on to try some 11's. Austin finished off Heresy, an old project of his. Then we headed to Phoenix Buttress which was in the shade. I finished off the crag with License to Bolt (11c) a really good route with a really hard move if you're under 5'10", Austin got the send of that one too. I also did a really fun pockety route called When Llama's Bolt (11a). And I did a "10d" thats not worth talking about.

I was pretty spent by the time Wednesday rolled around, so I asked Austin what he wanted to get on. He was psyched for Big Boss Man after feeling out the moves on Monday while cleaning the draws on toprope. So we made the big hike up again. Without a warm up he put the draws up and fell off the last hard move in classic Austin style. He rested up then sent on his second go of the day! It was really inspiring to see him climb this thing, he looked really strong! It capped off a great trip for him, he climbed 4 of his 5 hardest routes on this trip, with the other route being the 12a he did last week! He is on fire right now. Needless to say we drove home with big smiles on our faces. This trip got me re-psyched for trying hard this summer. I'm looking forward to getting on some more hard routes this weekend!

Austin took video on his cell phone of the two routes we did at Easy's Playhouse, they turned out pretty good, the routes are as fun as they look.




Another couple of days in Tieton

I got back out to Tieton with Tyler, Laura, Rachel and Esteban on Sunday and Monday. It was looking like the best bet for weather. We met up with Boon at Lava Point, I've done all the routes on that wall already, but it is such a fun place to climb. There was actually one new route bolted just to the left of Saint of Circumstance which I climbed. It is a really fun addition to the wall, a bit balancy and technical, I thought it felt around 10d or so.

The gang (minus Rachel) at Lava Wall

After Lava Point we stopped for lunch then climbed a few routes at The Oasis. I got on a few routes I hadn't done there before including a couple of fun mixed climbs. The next day we headed straight to South Fork, I had climbed there a couple of years ago, and was really impressed with it. We spent most of the day climbing the routes on the hexagonal satellites, which are really fun and really unique looking.

I did a 150ft (or so) 11a on Astral Wall, that was simply incredible. Overhanging jugs the whole way. I've got to say Astral Wall is in my opinion the best moderate sport crag in the state, and the most under-rated. I will definitely be back there a lot this summer. Here are some photos from my camera, Rachel's and Tyler's.



Rachel enjoying the beautiful views from the crag.

Elbow deep hand jam on the 5.8 trad route at The Hexagonal Satellites.

The rock here is so cool.

It looks like there are tons of holds, but there really aren't.

Laura warming up on a fun 5.8

Rachel keeping her cool on a run out.

 

Getting ready to start a whole lot of climbing.

Its hard to photo the whole of Astral Wall, but this photo gives you a bit of perspective.



The view from below. Tyler is only about half way up.

Let Summer Begin

I finished up teaching for the year last week. What a year it was, I didn't think I would enjoy teaching this much, but part of me is already looking forward to September already. That's not to say I'm not going to have fun this summer. I'm in a pretty good mood right now because I just had my last physical therapy appointment for my injury, and I am cleared to climb. My achilles was in really bad shape just a month ago, to the point where I couldn't put any weight on it without a lot of pain. I was really worried that it was going to prevent me from climbing this summer, but its improved hugely in the last couple of weeks much to my relief. I was out climbing the last two days, and I could barely notice it.


Leading Inca Road. I ran out of draws towards the top and bailed to a nearby bolt on the route to the left.

Tyler and I got out to Tieton, we had a bit of a late start driving out there on Monday morning because I had to watch the England vs France game, which was well worth the wait. We headed straight to Royal Columns, because we both were in the mood for some trad. It was really warm in the blazing sun but we still got a few pitches in. I have to say, I didn't really enjoy myself. The climbing wasn't too difficult, I just didn't trust my gear in the rock, and felt pretty sketched out on lead. I think I might just be a sport climber.

The next day we decided to clip some bolts. My plan was to head up to the Astral Wall at South Fork. But I guess its still too early in the season, because there was still snow blocking the road. We ended up getting stuck in a snow drift, and spent a very uncomfortable hour digging the car out with a trowel and pots and pans. We changed our plan and headed to Dream Wall which was a good choice.



I guess its still too early in the season for South Fork.

I'd done a couple of routes at Dream Wall before and wasn't too impressed, the rock is a little sharp and junky in places. But the routes are long, and give you a nice pump. This time we had more fun as we swapped leads making our way through most of the routes down there. I think we did 8 routes in 5 hours or so, which was pretty good considering they are not the shortest. We both did a cool 11a, Tyler didn't tell me it was his first flash of the grade until he was clipping the chains. It turned out to be a really fun day. The best feeling was being able to climb on my ankle without any pain. Now I'm excited to get as much climbing in as I can. I don't really have any commitments this summer until I go to New Zealand and Fiji in August, so let me know if you want to get out!




Tyler on his first 11a flash.