Stoked for my Big Trip

I leave on my New Zealand/Fiji trip in a couple of hours, and I so excited!

In the last few weeks I haven't done too much climbing. I've been getting in to other things, preparing for this trip and making the most of the nice weather. I went scuba diving with Tony in the Sound, mountain biking with Chas and Tyler, fishing with a bunch of guys for Chas' bachelor party. Anthony a good friend from Scotland visited recently which was a lot of fun. I've even started running regularly, I feel in great shape, and its helped me shed 9 pounds in the last two months. Here are some photo's of what I've been up to recently.

I got out climbing at Nevermind with Chas and Tyler, I repeated a bunch of stuff.

Tyler and Chas cruised the classic Steep Street, and the both came close on Culture Shock.

Getting ready to go spearfishing!

No cabezon or crab, but it was still a fun dive.

It took some goading to do this jump, but it was worth it.

Salmon fishing off the coast on a charter boat.

Fishing for rockfish at the Westport jetty.

In New Zealand I'm visting Anthony who lives there now. We're adventuring around the North Island, skiing, surfing and mountain biking before flying down to the South Island for more skiing and partying. I'm hoping to boulder at the awesome Castle Hill, its somewhere I've wanted to climb at for a while, and the friction should be awesome right now. I'm also looking forward to seeing my friend Melody who is on the North Island. After a couple of weeks there, I'm flying up to Fiji for a week. I think I'm the most excited for this part of the trip. I booked a week at this dive resort including 10 dives. The area is world famous for diving, there's tons of different dive sites, from wrecks to shark dives, and soft coral, all with 100ft+ visibility this time of year! I'm really excited just to be around the traveller/backpacker scene, its been too long since I've done a trip like this. Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog mid-trip through my iPhone, I'll definitely be taking lots of photos. Well I better get on my way to the airport.

Deep Water Soloing at Banks Lake

I had a great time climbing with a bunch of friends at Banks Lake over the weekend, we headed out there to check out the deep water soloing. I had been out there a couple of years ago, and was impressed with the climbing but hadn't checked out the climbing out of the lake. Tony and I made the fun drive out there and met the rest of the group at a cabin we were renting for the weekend. It was a pretty big group there were 14 of us in total, we had enough canoes, kayaks and inflatables for all of us plus 3 dogs. We used the Washington Weekend Rock to find a couple of cliffs that looked good. The first place we climbed was on The Bunker a small rocky island near Roadside rock. We warmed up on a fun 15ft cliff that most people were able to top out. It was probably a V1 or so. Next I scoped out a sweet line close by on the Roadside Rock side of the Lake that started up a hand crack and topped out at around 30ft to a popular jumping spot. It was really fun, a little scary, but a fall anywhere on the route would be totally safe. Its hard to say how hard it was, everyone else got spat off by the tricky crack down low, probably 5.10-ish. Next we paddled out to the Tent and Awning Rock to do the 2 bolted routes there, you could climb them with a rope straight out of a canoe, or deep water solo them safely. I opted to rope up for the 10b, it was a pretty cool experience to be belayed out of a canoe. A bunch of people got up this one either on a rope or solo, it was really fun.  After that we canoed back to shore and headed back to the cabin for the usual climbing trip antics. On Sunday we were feeling like getting on some longer terrestrial routes, so I took the group up to the beautiful Northrup Canyon. Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially Rachel who couldn’t stop raving about Dr. Ceuse, one of the most picturesque 5.10’s I’ve done. This was the perfect trip for the summer. I’m definitely interested in heading back to check out more potential for deep water soloing there, it is a big lake and there is lots of rock! Here are some of my friends photos that I stole that will give you a better idea of the climbing.

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Jumping off the little cliff on The Bunker that we bouldered up.

Justin bouldering around

Starting up a sweet line. It may be an FA, we broke off a good amount of rock down low. Its really good though.

Good holds mid way lead to a balancey top out.

I was really hoping I wouldn't fall here. The scariest part was probably jumping off from the top.

Sara soloing ground-up (or should that be water-up) on After the Gold Rush a fun bolted 10b.

Rachel at her high point.

I opted to have Tony belay me up it, it felt much safer.

The cabin we stayed at, it was pretty nice.

Me climbing a longer route at Northrup Canyon. Next time I'm bringing a spare chalk bag.

Rachel reaching the top of Dr. Ceuse an amazing 10b.

The whole group at Northrup Canyon.

Day Tripping

I've been climbing a lot in the last week. I haven't gone on any big trips, rather I've been getting out on day trips with different partners who could make it out. I finally checked out a much talked about new crag South of Olympia. I was very impressed, it is a unique crag in that it is unlike any other rock type in the area. The closest thing I can equate it to is Elwah Wall up by Port Angeles. It is a 100ft tall sandstone crag with crazy water sculpted features like huge huecos, pockets and tufa's on a continuously overhanging wall. I went up there with two young psyched guys Nathan and Tom, who I look forward to climbing with again. The photos make it look pretty incredible and it is, but it also suffers from some very sandy holds, questionable bolting, and soft rock in places. Hopefully it will clean up nicely. I'm not sure about access, that's why I haven't included its name or location. The crag is still a work in progress, there is still a good amount of bolting and cleaning to do here. I heard Nathan bolted a sweet looking line the following day.

The Crag is the light colored rock behind me, the approach isn't too bad.

Phew! Its steep and long!

Lots of jugs and rests.

One of the better routes on the wall. A long pumpy 11c.

Fun tufa climbing, the one on the right is a 10c and the one on the left is 11a, but they felt about the same to me.

On Monday I hooked up with Chas and we climbed at a well known crag North of Seattle. This is another crag that has access issues, so I wont publish its name. I was very impressed with the crag, it had similar climbing to Little Si, but the rock had more texture, and was more consistent. I managed to onsight a classic 12a, but got worked on some harder 12's. I really wish this crag was closer to Olympia. Its probably still worth the 3 hour drive a few times more this summer.

Chas working the 12a.

The rock is as good as it looks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I stayed over at Chas' new place in Issaquah which is really nice. What is even nicer was the 20 minute drive from his place to the parking at Exit 38. If I had that commute I would be there every day. We climbed on the Far Side. Did some classics I'd done before, climbed some new routes not in the guide, I think only one was new to me, its so hard to keep track of climbs that I got on years ago.

The next day Austin and Chris were going back up there, so I joined them. We did some new routes, but spent most of the day flailing on an offwidth roof 12a. I had been on it years ago, and had vague recollections of thinking I should never get on it again. Chris seemed to like it though.

Austin climbing, Chris belaying. Can you name the climb?

Austin hanging on a cool (but hard) roof 12a at the Far Side of exit 38.

The following day was Chris' birthday so we got an early start and ticked off a bunch of routes in the Deception Wall area. I redpointed Stick Boy, which is probably the worst 12a I've ever done. Then we checked out the new(ish) Shakespeare Wall further up the hill which was pretty fun. We celebrated his birthday and his 100th route of the year with a few cold beers in the sun. It was a great day out.

I'm finally taking a much needed rest day after six days on. But I'm headed out this evening for a weekend trip to Banks Lake, I'm hoping I don't get burned too badly (by the routes and the sun). I'll leave you with a video of Chris throwing an Ondra-style hissy fit after falling off the 12a roof. (Warning: foul language).

Another Tieton Adventure

I spent the weekend back at Tieton with some good friends. It seems the more time I spend there the more I fall in love with that place. On Saturday I climbed some of the longer routes at Astral Wall, they are simply amazing, it feels like you are climbing forever. Starting out a route with 20 draws on your harness is a bizarre feeling, good thing the cruxes aren't low! I sent the classic of the crag - Whitewashed second go. It felt a good deal harder than the 11's, and on the onsight attempt I missed the good holds at the crux. Once I figured out the right beta it felt much easier. I gave Nick the beta and he managed the flash. We had the crag to ourselves, which was a good thing because there ended up being a dozen or so of us up there from Olympia. Everyone was blown away by the crag.

After a good bonfire that night we parted ways the next morning. Nick, Jeremy, Chris and I headed to The Chunkyard. I was a little weary of introducing them to this crag since it isn't the most aesthetic. But once they were on the routes, they were raving about it! Jeremy managed to take a 20 footer fall and flipped on the warm up, so he ended up just toproping the rest of the day. But Chris and I worked our way down the crag, and ticked all 11 routes in a day, we had so much fun. We laughed and joked the whole drive back to Olympia, it was one of the best trip I've had in a while. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Here's some photos I stole off of my friends' facebook pages.

Nick onsighting the awesome Mars Bar (11c)

On the way to The Chunkyard

Me climbing another great route at The Chunkyard

Jeremy, Nick, Me and Chris at the end of an awesome weekend!

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.