Leavenworth Bouldering

This weekend Laura Micah and I made the drive out to Leavenworth to check out the bouldering there. The new bouldering guide (which is excellent) just came out this summer which really opens the areas up, so there was no more excuses for not checking it out. I'd heard from different sources that Leavenworth had the best bouldering in the north-west, even better than Squamish, but I'm a big fan of Squamish bouldering so I was skeptical.

The Pimpsqueek Boulder

We hit icicle canyon on Friday night with about 15 minutes of daylight left, so we jumped on the first boulder we saw from the road. It was the fridge boulder, one of the best in the canyon in my opinion. Micah coolly flashed the fridge center (V4) and soon after dispatched the fridge right, a sandbag at V4. I flashed Jumping Spiders, a one move V4, and in the dark Micah sent the Lizard V5. Not bad for a half-hour session. We met Tony and Adam at the campsite, who were in Leavenworth doing trad, and got psyched for the next days bouldering.

Micah on Crimpsqueek V7

On Saturday we started out at mad meadows, with some moderates, we all did a cool V2 called The Scoop which has some of the best holds I've seen on granite. Micah flashed The Crimp V5, without using the crimp he just locked off from the starting hold to the arête, I sent it a bit later using the crimp. We both flashed The Ampitheater V4 negotiating the tricky mantle. Then went over to the Pimpsqueek boulder which is one of the most obvious lines I've ever seen. Unfortunately Pimpsqueek (V9) was a little to high and hard for us to try seriously, but Micah came agonizingly close on Crimpsqueek (V7) which we'll have to go back to. We did a few more problems, The Hueco Problem (V1) which has amazing huge granite huecos. And Laura made her first ever V3 flash, Drugstore Cowboy, a really cool steep pumpfest.

Laura Flashing Drugstore Cowboy V3

We had lunch and hit up a different area called Forestlands. This area has perfect boulders with even better landings. We did The Real Thing (V4) and a few other crimpy classics. Then got on The Sheild, an amazing 6ft? dyno. After finding the right feet, Micah latched the hold and topped it out for his first ever V7. To say he was pleased would be an understatement. I slapped the hold so many times, but never held it, ahh well theres always next time. Micah also sent a V6 on the other side of the boulder, and Laura flashed a stout V2 called Sunny and Steep. Fearing a lack of daylight, we quickly moved on to a new area Twisted tree where Micah and I worked Mr Leftist, a hard V6. After working out the cruxy mantle Micah sent it, but I fell off the last hold twice. I gues it just wasn't my day.

Dom and Laura having lunch on the beach

Sunday we went to Tumwater Canyon and checked out a few of the areas there but we were were a lot more selective in what we tried due to our lack of skin and sore muscles. We did a few fontainebleu-esque slabs and technical problems on the smooth granite of swiftwater north the best being Un-obvious (V3). And Micah pulled another hard climb out of the bag, with a quick send of the steep and powerful Raging Bull (V7). We took a leisurely lunch and siesta in the sun on the beach. Then did a few more climbs, I flashed The Fin a classic V2, but by this point in the trip it took a lot more effort than I normally need on a V2. And Micah made a very bold deep water solo of the beach arête V2. Good job Micah, I'm glad it was you and not me. We finished up the beach area with a problem called Dyno 101 (V3). The name says it all really. I got a nasty flapper latching the jug, but it was worth it.

Micah on Beach Arete V2

So how does the bouldering in Leavenworth compare to Squamish? In my opinion Leavenworth has more and better problems in the grades V1-V7. But I don't think it will ever attract people from overseas to camp out here for the whole summer like Squamish does. The bouldering in Leavenworth is not as concentrated and you need a car to visit all the different areas. But if you don't mind driving between areas, Leavenworth has more quality bouldering than you could ever hope to do. Micah thinks the grades here might be a soft, but I don't think so, I think the climbing is just more powerful and dynamic which is his style.

Micah latches the jug on Dyno 101 V3

This trip taught me a few things. One, that even though I've got more points on my scorecard than Micah, doesn't mean I'm a better boulderer than him. That doing routes 2 or 3 times a week is not enough to get strong, I need to train as well (I bought a 3 month pass to the warehouse yesterday). And best of all, we don't have to drive all the way to Squamish for world class bouldering!

The end of a good weekend

SDS Holmboy Video

Here's a video Micah took of me repeating the Sit Down Start to Holmboy a V6 at Squamish in September. It might take a while to load.

Squamish!

Laura and I had spent a lot of time up at Squamish earlier this summer, but we hadn't been back up in 6 weeks or so, probably because last time we were up there our car broke down, not a fun experience. But with breakdown coverage bought the day before we were prepared this time. I got off work early so Tony, Laura and I headed on up the road. We got in about 6.30 enough time for an evening bouldering session so we dumped our stuff at the campsite and headed for the forest. There were still some familiar faces kicking around from earlier in the summer which was good to see, the last of the Scottish crew were still around for their last week.
We were greeted at Animal Magnetism boulder by Micah and Liz who had headed up earlier in the day. Micah was buzzing from having sent Lounge Act (V6) second go this trip, and was now working the sit-down start to Holmboy the best V6 in the forest. I got my shoes on and made a cool repeat showing Micah my beta. Micah proceeded to ignore my beta and made it through the crux doing it his own way, he got to the good hold at the top of the rail, but then was too pumped to reach the jug and came off, heartbreaker! We decided to save some skin for the rest of the weekend so went back to the campsite for some campground burritos Mmm tasty.

A view of the Stawamus Chief from the campsite

The next morning we headed over to the Smoke Bluffs for some trad action. My last time in Squamish I cruised The Exasperator a classic 10c finger crack on the base of the Grand Wall, so was feeling confident. I decided to try some easier classics like Penny Lane (5.9) and Octopus Garden (5.8) this time, which was fun, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my moments on them. I definitely need to work on my jamming skills, I think I plugged in something like 5 pieces of gear in a 15ft section on Octopus Garden. All this sport climbing has turned me into a wuss! I ended the morning on a high note though by cruising a 10b finger crack, which I felt a lot more confident on, I reckon it would get E2 5c back in the UK.

Dom bearing down on Its About Time V6

After lunch Micah and I hit the boulders while Tony and Laura headed back for more trad action, I think they managed to climb the whole day on only 5 star (out of 5) routes! Micah and I started out with a quick send of the hard V4 Timeless, then over to It's About Time one of the best boulder problems in the forest in my opinion. I had done the V5 start of It's About Time before, but was still working on the V6 hanging start. Micah dispatched the V5 second go, then we worked on the V6 start. Micah did the V6 start pretty quickly afterward with a lot of me shouting in his ear to stay on. And he returned the favor shortly afterwards, shouting encouragement at me when I sent it. We were feeling good at sending a V4, V5 then V6, so decided to up it a notch and try some V7's. First was Anubis a steep 2 move power problem, we could do the first move, but gave up on the second move slapping to a cheese grater sloper, we decided that it wasn't worth the pain. We moved on to a slightly less painful V7 Airtight Garage. This problem had been my nemesis this summer, I had gotten close so many times. I don't even like the problem, its just that I'm so close I feel obliged to finish it off. But after an hour or repetedly falling off we decided it wasn't very fun and moved on with much less skin than we started with. Eating fries that night was a bit painful on our tender tips.

Micah flashing the classic lowball The Mantis (V4)

The next morning micah and I bouldered again while Laura and Tony tradded it up. Micah was low on power and couldn't finish of Holmboy, I guess it'll have to wait til next time. WE then got on a V7 I had been recommended called Immunity Challege in the Survivor area. It is such a sweet line, it take a line of micro basalt crimps on a steep boulder. Its long for a squamish problem as well, 12 hard moves with little rest. At first I didn't think I could hang the crimps, but I fought through the pain and within an hour I had all the moves sussed I just had to link them all. We were low on time and I knew my skin could only take one more good attempt, I screamed my way through the opening crimps with micah shouting at me to stay on. I latched the lip of the boulder, made the crux throw up to the good crimp, but just couldn't hold on for the cross-through to the jug, just one move off! I knew that was it for me I guess it'll have to wait til next trip, maybe next year. But at least I have something to look forward to eh? Definitely an inspiring line.

Dom sticks the sloper on Airtight Garage V7

We got some lunch then we all headed out for a group boulder session, just doing some easier stuff V2's and 3's, and Micah got a couple more V5's to top off the weekend. We made the obligatory stop off at the Wigan Pier for the best Fish and Chips this side of the Atlantic before we headed home. We were back in Olympia by 2am. All in all a good weekend!

Also Congrats to Nick who finally sent his long term project Chain Reation 12c (7b+) this weekend down at Smith!

Bobs Area

I made the most of my Labour Day off from work by checking out Bob's Area on Mt Washington at Exit 38. Micah had been once before, but Laura and I hadn't been so were keen to check it out. It's a grueling walk-in, 1 hour up a steep trail to the first crag. It would be a nice walk if you were into that kind of thing, but we're just lazy climbers so it was tough for us.

Laura onsighting Posthumous Joy and Elation 10c (6b)

Laura really climbed well, she onsighted a couple of tricky routes, a 10c (6b) and 10d (6b+) which equals her hardest onsight previously. I tried to onsight a couple harder routes, an 11d and a 12a (7a and 7a+) but I got spanked on both of them. I don't know if these routes were hard for the grade, or if my onsighting skills have gone down the pan. Probably a bit of both. It was nice trying some easier routes as well though, Micah and I did do a cool 11b (6c+). The rock quality up here is far superior to other areas at 38 like Nevermind and Amazonia, and I'm sure would be a lot more popular if they were as close to the parking lot as those areas. We finished off the day as the sun was setting with a couple of routes at Valley View West.

Laura hanging out on Stairway to Heavin' 10a (6a)

It was nice to have a laid back day as a contrast to the intense Little Si sessions we've been having lately. I would definitely return again soon if it wasn't for the walk-in.

Gold Bar Bouldering

On Sunday, I checked out the bouldering at Gold Bar about an hour northeast of Seattle. I went up with the Olympia crew, Me, Laura, Micah, Nick, Jimmy, and Whitey. It was my first visit to Gold Bar, and I'll definitely be back for more.

Whitey on a slopey V6 highball

First we went to the Five Star Boulder which is described in the guidebook as 'one of the best boulders in America, hands down' and having climbed on it I can say its probably the best boulder I've ever been on. Its got high clean independent lines on pristine granite on all sides. The only negatives are the landings on some of the highballs, even with 3 mats and good spotters it was quite scary.

Micah on the steep Five Star Arete V6

I sent a great V6 lowball called Sobriosity, along with Jimmy, Nick and Micah. And Jimmy who was on fire, sent the V7 Red Rover straight afterward. We also took some big falls off of the highballs. Fall of the day went to Jimmy who came off the top jug of the Five Star Arete (V6), missed the mats completely and landed right on Nick. Good spotting Nick! I'm glad it wasn't me, at least we got it on camera though.

Nick on Sobriosity V6

We also checked out the Camp Serene boulder a little bit down the road. This boulder is even taller but with better landings. We tried the two best lines on the boulder a V4 and a V6. But the topouts were wet and dirty so nobody tried to top out on this boulder which was a wise decision in my opinion considering the lack of a descent off the boulder.

Jimmy high on a V6 at the Camp Serene boulder

I was very impressed with the quality of bouldering at gold bar, we only checked out two boulders so there is plenty more to return for. Its cool to have quality bouldering close enough for a day trip, we don't have to drive all the way up to Squamish now. As Micah put it Gold Bar is a goldmine!

Psychosomatic

I sent my first 7c this weekend! A route called Psychosomatic at Little Si.

Photo: Dom on the lower section of Psychosomatic 12d/7c. ©Micah Humphrey

On Saturday, Micah, Laura and I headed out there and Micah and I got on the route, by now I had tried it so many times that I had all the moves wired. I was climbing well I got up to the crux without too much of a pump, but just couldn't stick the crux. I could do it every time with just one hang, I couldn't be closer, I gave it 3 good attempts on Saturday, Micah and I were both so close but still had to wait to link it all. I decided to move on and try some other routes. We all did a cool 10c/6b on the far left side of the wall. Then we went down to the woods to try a route there.

Photo: Laura sending a 10c/6b on the left hand side of World Wall I. ©Micah Humphrey

I tried to onsight a 12b/7b route called Digitalis, a little girl and her dad even came over to watch the rock climbers. I gave them a good show, I took a whipper at the crux. I managed to clip the chains with a couple of hangs, then sent it second go, Micah also got it second go. It's a sweet climb, 12 bolts of vertical climbing with a committing crimpy crux. It was a good morale booster to send something hard so quickly, I could definitely feel all my goes on psychosomatic had helped my stamina.

Photo: Dom on Digitalis 12b/7b, at The Woods, Little Si. ©Micah Humphrey

The next day our plans to check out a different area to climb fell through when we woke up to find heavy rain. We knew there was only one option – back to the overhung wall of World Wall I and Psychosomatic. The temps were good, and I was feeling good. I got up to the crux really smoothly, barely feeling a pump, went for the move, hit the slopey crimp crux but the same old story, I got spat off again. I felt calm going for it but I think I was too calm, I needed to really commit.

On my next go, I felt good, I got up to the chains of Psycho-Wussy the 11b/6c+ route it starts up, took a good shake out psyched myself up then went for it. I cruised through the next few clips and got set up for the crux throw. I stared down the hold and went for it. A second later and my fingers were still on it, I stuck the move!

I could hear Micah and Laura cheering from below, but I was way too scared to make any noise, don't mess up now I kept thinking to myself. I got my feet up, bumped my left hand up to the next sidepull, then one last move to the jug. YESS! I screamed when I latched the jug, I knew I was good from here, I skipped the last bolt there was no way I was going to fall now, I traversed over to the chains clipped them, and slumped into my harness. The excitement the relief and the accomplishment, this is why I climb!

I sent it on my 12th redpoint attempt, its the longest I've ever spent on a single route, but the payoff was well worth it. I couldn't have done it without Micah working it with me! It won't be long before he sends it too, at least I hope so, he's on redpoint number 18!

Photo: Laura working Psycho-Wussy 11b/6c+ on toprope. ©Micah Humphrey

First Blog

I decided to get one of these blogs because I couldn’t contain my excitement for climbing anymore. I’m an avid reader of climbing blogs, from professional climbers to people I’ve met along the way to random people who I’ve never met, but still get psyched from reading their blogs.

Who am I? In the words of my girlfriend, I’m probably the most psyched climber she knows, with the possible exception of Dave MacLeod after watching E11. And as the title of my blog suggests I’m obsessed with grades, but in a good way if that’s possible.

I’m originally from Aberdeen, Scotland. I started climbing in 2001 on the sea cliffs of Aberdeen and the Pass of Ballater, and bouldering at Portlethen and the Luath Stones where I even have a boulder problem named after me, its given 4b but I still maintain its at least 4c. In 2002 I went to Stirling Uni where I studied Wolfcrag crimping, and also went to a few classes. I did my harderst boulder problems at Wolfcrag that probably weigh in at about Font 7A (V6), and got into hard (for me) trad. During this phase I headpointed a couple of E5s, Nijinski at Auchinstarry a classic protectionless arete which I soloed, and The Purr-Blind Doomster at Cambusbarron a bold E5, that probably weighs in a F7a (5.11+) climbing with whipper potential. Ironically at the time I probably climbed harder trad routes than I’d sport climbed. But the options for mid-level sport climbing in Scotland are limited. It took me over 3 years to tick my first F6c so I’ve by no means been tearing through the grades. In 2005 I met my girlfriend at university, an american named Laura, then the next year when I graduated I emigrated to Olympia, Washington to live with her.

Living in the States has been awesome for my climbing. I believe strongly that your climbing environment defines who you are as a climber. And living here in the Pacific Northwest there is an abundance of sport climbing. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some great climbers here who are equally as psyched as me. In particular Micah, Jimmy Nick and I have been pushing each other to climb harder each time we go out. And a testament to that is that we’ve all got our hardest redpoints in the last few months. This year I climbed my first 7b (5.12b) route at Smith Rock in Oregon, which was a landmark moment for me. I felt like I had finally broken into hard climbing, it only took me 6 years! Since then I’ve done a few more 7b’s and a couple of 7b+’s. And my girlfriend Laura is on fire this year as well, she’s climbed her first 5.11a (F6c) and V4 (Font 6B), after climbing less than 2 years which is amazing, I’m pretty jealous, if only I had a pushy boyfriend when I started out climbing ;)

Although I’ve gotten into sport climbing big time, I still love bouldering and try to get up to Squamish as much as I can during the summer and still do the occasional trad route, although the days of scary headpointing are behind me. I feel that for someone with a full-time job I’m doing pretty well at getting out as much as possible and pushing the grades. So how close am I to sending my first 8a? Well I’m working on my first 7c at the moment, but what once seemed like a pipe dream, now feels within reach. So watch this space!

-dom

Photo: Me on Latest Rage at Smith Rock, a sweet 12b arete which i have to go back to redpoint.