Sunday, February 21, 2010
Climbing outside again!
I got outside climbing yesterday for the first time since November. The weather in Olympia has been beautiful for the past few days and Little Si was no different. It was sunny and the temps got up to the mid 50s, we were climbing in t-shirts, Micah even went shirtless. It felt really good being back on rock and getting some long routes done. We managed to warm up on Rainy Day Women, I was pleased that I didn't get too pumped, but my movement and footwork was very rusty. It was pretty busy at the crag, so we decided to hop on Graven Image, instead of queuing for one of the more popular climbs. There's a reason Graven Image doesn't get climbed much, cause its a big choss pile and not very fun to climb, but it is 12c and I hadn't done it before so we got on it and tried to climb it without knocking too many holds off. Micah had done this climb last year, so he worked on linking the start of Jealous God (12a) into Graven Image. After a couple of go's figuring out the crux he managed to send it, followed by me sending Graven Image. It was a good confidence booster knowing we could still send 12c pretty quick. I just wished we had called it a day then. We finished up with some of the worst displays of climbing we had ever done on Psycho-Wussy and Aborigine, I don't know why we struggled so much on them, but it felt like we were climbing them for the first time, except I think the first time I did them I found it easier. Hopefully the weather will stay good, and we will make it outside more and get more comfortable on the rock, but regardless of our performance it was still a great day out climbing.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
New Year, New Goals
I've putting off writing a blog post about my goals for the year, partly because I haven't had the time, but mostly because I'm not sure about what to say.
2009 was a great climbing year for me, although I didn't break any new personal barriers I still maintained a high level of in both sport and bouldering and got a lot of volume in. I didn't boulder much throughout the year, but I started and finished the year strongly. In March I managed to finish off Busted (V8) a long term project of mine at Leavenworth, as well as doing a few 6's and 7's. But I didn't boulder again much until November when I took a trip down to Bishop and to my surprise was still able to get up a V7 and a few V6's. Most of the year was spent sport climbing. I got out to a few crags in Washington that I hadn't visited before, such as, Fossil, Index, Ozone, as well as the usual spots namely Little Si and Exit 38 and longer trips to Smith and Squamish. Highlights for me were Crawling from the Wreckage a sweet 5.13a, a couple of 12d's at Little Si, as well as a 12b onsight at Ozone. And an 11a trad onsight and a 23 pitch climb up at Squamish which was my longest to date. According to my scorecard I climbed 207 new routes in 09 from 5.5-5.13a, which doesn't beat my 2008 tally when I went to Europe, but I think that's pretty good for just sticking around the northwest.
For the past couple of years my goal has been to redpoint an 8a route, but it hasn't happened yet. So maybe if I don't make that my goal this year it'll happen? Who knows, but to be honest I'd be happy if I achieved the same level as I did in 09. I hope to get out to more new crags throughout the state and beyond. We are already planning our spring break trip which should be good wherever we go. My masters program has taken a lot of my time away from climbing, which is ok now that its terrible weather out, but I'm sure it'll be a lot more difficult when its sunny outside and I'm stuck inside working on a paper. How much I get out this year and how hard I climb really depends on what I end up doing over the summer. If I get a job that takes up a lot of time, it'll be hard to keep up my level of climbing. But if I just climb over the summer I'll be able to really push myself and check out other crags. So its really too early to tell. But I'm sure whatever happens it'll still be a great year.
2009 was a great climbing year for me, although I didn't break any new personal barriers I still maintained a high level of in both sport and bouldering and got a lot of volume in. I didn't boulder much throughout the year, but I started and finished the year strongly. In March I managed to finish off Busted (V8) a long term project of mine at Leavenworth, as well as doing a few 6's and 7's. But I didn't boulder again much until November when I took a trip down to Bishop and to my surprise was still able to get up a V7 and a few V6's. Most of the year was spent sport climbing. I got out to a few crags in Washington that I hadn't visited before, such as, Fossil, Index, Ozone, as well as the usual spots namely Little Si and Exit 38 and longer trips to Smith and Squamish. Highlights for me were Crawling from the Wreckage a sweet 5.13a, a couple of 12d's at Little Si, as well as a 12b onsight at Ozone. And an 11a trad onsight and a 23 pitch climb up at Squamish which was my longest to date. According to my scorecard I climbed 207 new routes in 09 from 5.5-5.13a, which doesn't beat my 2008 tally when I went to Europe, but I think that's pretty good for just sticking around the northwest.
For the past couple of years my goal has been to redpoint an 8a route, but it hasn't happened yet. So maybe if I don't make that my goal this year it'll happen? Who knows, but to be honest I'd be happy if I achieved the same level as I did in 09. I hope to get out to more new crags throughout the state and beyond. We are already planning our spring break trip which should be good wherever we go. My masters program has taken a lot of my time away from climbing, which is ok now that its terrible weather out, but I'm sure it'll be a lot more difficult when its sunny outside and I'm stuck inside working on a paper. How much I get out this year and how hard I climb really depends on what I end up doing over the summer. If I get a job that takes up a lot of time, it'll be hard to keep up my level of climbing. But if I just climb over the summer I'll be able to really push myself and check out other crags. So its really too early to tell. But I'm sure whatever happens it'll still be a great year.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Colombia Video
I was looking through my Colombia photos and couldn't help but laugh when I watched this video clip. Its a little video I took of me, my brother, my sister and my little cousin Nicholas playing about in the pool in Colombia. One of those priceless moments where I was glad I had my camera out!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Christmas in Colombia
Happy 2010 everyone! I'm back in Olympia after spending 2 weeks on a family holiday in Colombia. I would have written a blog earlier or while I was there, but my USB cable for my camera along with a few other things were stolen from our house there. It was a minor setback on what was otherwise a very fun trip. My parents and my sister are there for 3 months and my brother and I flew down from opposite ends of the US so we could all spend Christmas together. It was the first time we've all been together in Colombia, and I think the longest in almost 20 years, since my brother left Scotland, that we've all been together. Here are some photos with captions that will give you an idea of what I got up to down there.
Me walking back from the new swimming pool that was built 5 minutes up the road. It was in the 90's (35 Celsius) everyday, so it was nice to jump in the pool or go to the beach to cool down.
On one of the first days there we met all the kids in the village during their Christmas party, my mum volunteers at the school teaching English, she's behind all the kids.
Me at Taganga beach, its a smaller beach just north of town where my dad and I went diving. For some reason all the American and European tourists come here, but you wont see them anywhere else.
Me and my brother would go up to the village at nights and play pool. We played this weird form of billiards where you use the 3 ball as the cue ball, and the balls were set up along the cushion on the outside of the table. Rickie would always beat me.
Nicholas and I would play in the river, but there had been a 4 month drought so the river was way lower than it was last year. It finally rained about a week into my stay there.
My brother and sister and I on Christmas Eve, here they celebrate it on the night of the 24th.
There wasn't much Christmas decorations compared to in the states, but I saw this Santa Claus near the mall.
One of our neighbors is rearing pigs, they are the cutest. Don't get fooled by my clothing its still really hot, I just had to wear jeans cause in the movie theatre where we were heading they blast the air conditioning.
Rickie, Nicholas and I at Rodadero beach, a very popular beach.
The old folks relaxing in the shade at the beach.
An underwater photo of Rickie Luisa and Me.
We tried to take a photo of everyone on a timer, but Troucou wouldn't stay still. In this photo is another new cousin of mine Nelson in orange and my uncle Moises next to him.
A nice family photo. Thanks Mum, Dad, Luisa, and Rickie for such a great Christmas!Monday, November 30, 2009
Bishop Videos
Here's a few videos that I took on my little camera, they're not the best quality but they give you a flavor of some of the problems we tried.
Me on Seven Spanish Angels a V6 that I did on my first day. Its a really cool problem climbing up an overhanging wall on slopers and crimps with a dyno or jump to a huge jug on the lip.
Micah getting really close on Cayla (V7) at the Druid Stones. This problem was absolutely beautiful, he makes the moves look a lot easier than they actually are.
Some guy on Checkerboard (V8), we tried it but kept falling off at the same point, its really crimpy.
Some other guy on Solitaire (V8) a two move power problem, Micah also got pretty close on this one.
George repeating Rene (V5) a cool thin overhanging wall on small sharp pockets. I got lucky on this one and managed to flash it.
Callum sending The Beekeeper (hard V6), a really long and high climb, he topped it out but he spent about 3 minutes on the top part so I didn't film it all. Micah got a good video of it too.
Beer can crushing (V8?), harder than it looks. I didn't manage the flash.
Giving Thanks for Bishop
Well the Bishop trip was a success, Micah and I made it back safely to Olympia on Saturday after seven awesome days of climbing. It was really fun to hang out with the Brits George, Dave and Ben again. We joked around the whole week, they said they saw a different side of me with Laura absent, maybe they were referring to my flatulence issues (note to self, cans of corned beef and raisins doesn’t make a balanced diet), but we certainly had some good guy time. 
We made it to Bishop!
The trip almost started with disaster after Micah and I almost spun off the road driving over the snowy mountain passes in Oregon, we arrived a bit later than we hoped on Saturday afternoon and the rampage began. George showed us the beta on the V6 classic Seven Spanish Angels and we promptly crushed. Micah should have flashed it, but wimped out on the committing last move and had to settle for a 2nd go send, and I sent it soon afterwards. I also managed a quick send of the Cave Route a burly V6. That afternoon we met another Brit out there Alan, a small guy of 49 who had just arrived from Yosemite where he had been onsighting 5.13 trad! It was awesome to climb with him, he had a great attitude and is one of the most technical climbers I have ever witnessed. He would find different beta on every boulder problem we tried, it usually involved a heel hook behind his ear or some other contortion.
The giant boulders at the Buttermilks
On Sunday we got on a few harder things like Checkerboard and Solitaire, I didn’t push myself too hard on things that I didn’t think I could do quickly since I knew I’d have to save my skin for the rest of the week. We cut the day short and headed into town where the guys found a church that was serving free thanksgiving dinner, and we were more than happy to take advantage of their generosity.
The jumbled Happy Boulders
The next day we headed to the Happy Boulders to get on a few things we had our eye on. We did a team ascent of The Clapper, a V6 George said was really easy, it may be easy if your 6ft+ but Micah and I had to work it for a while before we topped out. Next up was Rene, a highball V5, I managed to flash it which was lucky cause the holds were razor sharp pockets that would rip your skin with repeated attempts, Allan and the rest of them thought it was pretty hard for V5, but like I told them its hard to tell how difficult the problems are when you flash everything. My other projects in the Happy's such as Rave and The Hulk didn't feel doable though, but Micah finished off Acid Wash Right for his first Bishop V7! We celebrated that night with half price dinner at Whiskey Creek.
The immaculate patina of Thunder Wall at the Druid Stones
On Thursday we set about getting on some of the classics at the Buttermilks that we really wanted to try. First up was Jedi Mind Tricks, a super classic highball V4. I managed to flash it, it felt pretty steady if you are good on crimps and don't worry about the height. We then tried a V7 Cindy Swank on the Honey Boulder. I got on it and realized it could be doable. It starts standing with a couple of powerful moves on good incut holds on an overhang to reach a jug on the lip, to here its probably only V5, then comes the crux, you have to bone down on a small grainy crimp over the lip while highstepping to reach a bad sloper, get a high foot perched on the jug, then snatch high up right to hit a victory jug. It took me a few goes to figure out the beta, but once I got to the last move I fully committed and latch the jug! It was awesome to do a V7 relatively fast, it definitely suited my style. Micah sent as well a few goes later.
Dave trying The Beekeper at The Buttermilks
Later that day we headed to the High Plains Drifter, we knew it was our last day at the Buttermilks so we sacrificed our remaining skin. We didn't manage to send it but Micah couldn't have been closer, he fell off the last hard move after fondling the finish jug. We also did a really fun V1 to finish off the day called A Birthing Experience, its a trick problem that starts lying down in a giant hueco and you have to use a shoulder jam to reach a jug. Once the sun went down we headed back to town where we treated ourselves to a motel and a lot of beers.
Me on my highpoint of High Plains Drifter
George showing us how its done on A Birthing Experience
Friday morning we were all feeling a bit worse for ware, but we wanted to get a bit more climbing in before we headed back up the road. We headed up to the Rock Creek area, which is a small area with fine-grain granite blocks at about 8,600ft. It was pretty chilly up there and our skin was absolutely trashed at this point so everything felt hard, but I did manage to get up a V2 and V3, they felt really hard though. Before we left we made some additions to their van (see photo below) and said our goodbye's. George and Dave are headed down to Baja California for some R&R in the sun, then who knows where next. I'm kinda jealous, although I think one week with them was about all I could handle. Now I'm back home catching up with all my schoolwork, I think its going to be a long winter before I'll get back climbing outside again, but at least I'll have the memories of Bishop to hang on to.
The Crew
The Van
We made it to Bishop!
The trip almost started with disaster after Micah and I almost spun off the road driving over the snowy mountain passes in Oregon, we arrived a bit later than we hoped on Saturday afternoon and the rampage began. George showed us the beta on the V6 classic Seven Spanish Angels and we promptly crushed. Micah should have flashed it, but wimped out on the committing last move and had to settle for a 2nd go send, and I sent it soon afterwards. I also managed a quick send of the Cave Route a burly V6. That afternoon we met another Brit out there Alan, a small guy of 49 who had just arrived from Yosemite where he had been onsighting 5.13 trad! It was awesome to climb with him, he had a great attitude and is one of the most technical climbers I have ever witnessed. He would find different beta on every boulder problem we tried, it usually involved a heel hook behind his ear or some other contortion.
The giant boulders at the Buttermilks
On Sunday we got on a few harder things like Checkerboard and Solitaire, I didn’t push myself too hard on things that I didn’t think I could do quickly since I knew I’d have to save my skin for the rest of the week. We cut the day short and headed into town where the guys found a church that was serving free thanksgiving dinner, and we were more than happy to take advantage of their generosity.
The jumbled Happy Boulders
The next day we headed to the Happy Boulders to get on a few things we had our eye on. We did a team ascent of The Clapper, a V6 George said was really easy, it may be easy if your 6ft+ but Micah and I had to work it for a while before we topped out. Next up was Rene, a highball V5, I managed to flash it which was lucky cause the holds were razor sharp pockets that would rip your skin with repeated attempts, Allan and the rest of them thought it was pretty hard for V5, but like I told them its hard to tell how difficult the problems are when you flash everything. My other projects in the Happy's such as Rave and The Hulk didn't feel doable though, but Micah finished off Acid Wash Right for his first Bishop V7! We celebrated that night with half price dinner at Whiskey Creek.
Dave topping out The Clapper
Tuesday we decided to check out the sport climbing in nearby Owens River Gorge. I was impressed with how large an area it is. We only visited one small part of it, but there were enough routes there to keep you busy for a long time. After a quick warm up I got on a really cool 12b called Enterprise, it climbed through a roof for a few clips on pretty good holds, then had a crux turning the lip of the roof before a tricky headwall. I came pretty close to onsighting it, but fell off at the crux, I was able to send it second go though, along with Alan although he used crazy beta and did it a completely different way to me.
Me on the start of Enterprise (12b)
Micah on a less steep route at Owens River Gorge
The next day I felt surprisingly good and was psyched to get on more boulders, we made the long hike up to the Druid Stones Area, which was tough but so worth it. The boulders at the Druid Stones are simply amazing, like the Buttermilks but more featured, and on a scenic plateau overlooking bishop. We warmed up on the Thunder Wall where I flashed a tough V3 and V4 that climbed up immaculate overhanging patina, before we moved on to the amazing Skye Dance Boulder. We all worked a V6 called Skye Dance which may be the best boulder problem I've ever tried. It starts out on an undercut boulder on slopey huecos, you get a heel up in the hueco then make a burly move out to a undercling, match it, reach up to some good crimps then bust a hard move up right to some juggy patina, and top out. We all worked it for about an hour before Micah got the first send followed by George, Me, and Allan. I really wanted this problem and was really psyched to finally get it. We played around on a few other things up there before we headed back down and got a roaring camp fire going.
The immaculate patina of Thunder Wall at the Druid Stones
On Thursday we set about getting on some of the classics at the Buttermilks that we really wanted to try. First up was Jedi Mind Tricks, a super classic highball V4. I managed to flash it, it felt pretty steady if you are good on crimps and don't worry about the height. We then tried a V7 Cindy Swank on the Honey Boulder. I got on it and realized it could be doable. It starts standing with a couple of powerful moves on good incut holds on an overhang to reach a jug on the lip, to here its probably only V5, then comes the crux, you have to bone down on a small grainy crimp over the lip while highstepping to reach a bad sloper, get a high foot perched on the jug, then snatch high up right to hit a victory jug. It took me a few goes to figure out the beta, but once I got to the last move I fully committed and latch the jug! It was awesome to do a V7 relatively fast, it definitely suited my style. Micah sent as well a few goes later.
Dave trying The Beekeper at The Buttermilks
Later that day we headed to the High Plains Drifter, we knew it was our last day at the Buttermilks so we sacrificed our remaining skin. We didn't manage to send it but Micah couldn't have been closer, he fell off the last hard move after fondling the finish jug. We also did a really fun V1 to finish off the day called A Birthing Experience, its a trick problem that starts lying down in a giant hueco and you have to use a shoulder jam to reach a jug. Once the sun went down we headed back to town where we treated ourselves to a motel and a lot of beers.
Me on my highpoint of High Plains Drifter
George showing us how its done on A Birthing Experience
Friday morning we were all feeling a bit worse for ware, but we wanted to get a bit more climbing in before we headed back up the road. We headed up to the Rock Creek area, which is a small area with fine-grain granite blocks at about 8,600ft. It was pretty chilly up there and our skin was absolutely trashed at this point so everything felt hard, but I did manage to get up a V2 and V3, they felt really hard though. Before we left we made some additions to their van (see photo below) and said our goodbye's. George and Dave are headed down to Baja California for some R&R in the sun, then who knows where next. I'm kinda jealous, although I think one week with them was about all I could handle. Now I'm back home catching up with all my schoolwork, I think its going to be a long winter before I'll get back climbing outside again, but at least I'll have the memories of Bishop to hang on to.
The CrewThe Van
Friday, November 20, 2009
Countdown to Bishop
There's only 3 hours of class standing between me and the road down to Bishop. Micah is picking me up from Evergreen at 4pm today. Right now I'm trying to think of all the things I might have forgotten, but I think it might be to late for that. I'm really psyched for this trip, but part of me is going to miss my classes, sad I know.
I haven't been preparing at all for this trip. The last month I've spent far too much time sitting on my ass studying and drinking beer (not at the same time usually). I've only been going to the gym once a week, and havn't climbed outdoors since Smith. I feel really out of shape, and have probably put on 10 pounds since my peak in late summer. So basicly what I'm saying is I'm praying for a miracle to be able to climb anything hard in Bishop.
I haven't been preparing at all for this trip. The last month I've spent far too much time sitting on my ass studying and drinking beer (not at the same time usually). I've only been going to the gym once a week, and havn't climbed outdoors since Smith. I feel really out of shape, and have probably put on 10 pounds since my peak in late summer. So basicly what I'm saying is I'm praying for a miracle to be able to climb anything hard in Bishop.
Nevertheless I'm going to try hard, and maybe with a bit of luck I'll get up a few things. Two years ago when I was there I climbed a V7 and flashed two V6's, I'd love to repeat that performance. I really want to climb 5 problems V6 or harder since my top ten bouldering score on 8a.nu is pretty weak. I have 5 hard problems on it that I did in Spring of this year at Leavenworth and Castle Rock. But since then I haven't really bouldered at all.
Here's my ticklist:
V6
Cave Route
Shelter from the Storm
Pope's Prow
Saigon
The Hulk
Seven Spanish Angels
Fly Boy
V7
High Plains Drifter
Rave
V8
Disco Diva
Gleaming the Cube
Fly Boy Sit Start
I have some reason for optimism, George who's been down there for a few weeks now, texted me saying he's done Cave Route, a V6 on my tick list, and says its piss and I should flash it. That sounds good, but then again George is climbing strong right now. Micah has a pretty ambitious tick list, he's been training a lot more than me, so hopefully that'll translate to some hards boulder problems down there for him. I also want to check out some other places like the Druid Stones, so maybe I'll find some stuff worth projecting there. And I'm also quite keen to get on some routes at Owen's River Gorge, hopefully I'll get up some 5.12's. I might have the chance to update the blog while I'm there. If not expect long blog here in about a week and a half.