Summer Has Arrived!

I got out to The Quarry (aka, Hercules #2 Quarry in Tenino) yesterday for the first dry Wednesday evening session at the Quarry this year. It can only mean one thing: Summer Has Arrived! It is a later start to the Quarry season than normal because of persistent rain, and bad timing. But last night was prime Quarry conditions, all the routes on the right hand side were completely dry, the wet streaks by The Bolted Flake and Dead Low Tide are still soaking, but apart from that everything else was pretty much dry and the friction was good. It had been a while since my last visit to the quarry, about 16 months, since last year we spent pretty much the whole summer on our Europe Trip. But it was great to be back with all the regulars there; Ed, Duke, Jimmy, Lisa, Doug and Off stopped by. There was even one newbie, Sierra who got in a few routes at the end of the night, for her first visit, I think she was impressed.

Duke belays while Ed gets spat off of Virgins (11b)

For those of you who don't know, The Quarry is Olympia's best and only local crag, a mere 25 minutes drive from downtown, there's about 30 or so bolted routes between 5.9 - 12c, most are hard 10's and 11's. The crag is on private property, but luckily for us its owned by a fellow climber Off White who invites local climbers to come climb every Wednesday and other times by appointment. If you want to climb there you'll have to contact Off and sign a waiver first. The routes there are a ton of fun, but require a lot of technique and mental strength, (aka they're sandbagged) so don't expect to climb your hardest on your first visits.

Jimmy working his project Legends (12c), he's going for the lead next week

Last night I got a lot of routes done, 10 pitches in just a few hours by my count. I mostly climbed with Doug, it was great to reconnect with him. Doug first introduced me to the Quarry when I first arrived here in 06 and took me and Laura out to a lot of the crags in the area. I haven't managed to get out with him much recently, but hopefully that'll change this summer. We got on all the crag classics like Hercules, The Governor, Calvin and Hobbes, and The Manly Wham. I did one new route that I hadn't led before; Rubber Boa which goes at 11c. It was crimpy, smeary, balancy and pumpy all at the same time, so pretty much like every other route here. Jimmy sprayed me down with move by move beta which made it a whole lot easier. All in all it was a great night to be back at the Quarry, the weather is looking good this week, so hopefully next Wednesday we'll all be back again.

North Bend Weekend

We spent this past weekend up in Seattle it was a lot of fun and we made the most of our proximity to North Bend by getting out to Exit 38 on Friday and Exit 32 (Little Si) on Monday. On Friday we went back to Interstate Park on the Far Side since there was still a lot there we wanted to do. Micah met us out there and we got quite a few routes done, despite spending half the day getting lost trying to find Winter Block. We did check out some of the smaller crags like Off-Ramp and Squishy Bell, which were surprisingly fun. In total I think I led 9 new routes from 5.8 to 10c so it was a pretty good day.

Micah trying hard on the 5.8 at Squishy Bell

On Monday Laura and I met Micah again this time at Little Si. There were hoards of people on the trail to Little Si since it was Memorial Day, but luckily for us the crag wasn't too busy. I was surprised to see a Ryan a friend from Portland out there, he kept telling us how lucky we are to have such a great crag close by, so I think he liked it. I got in quite a few routes including some I haven't done in a while like Voodoo Guru (not as good as I remembered) and Megatherion and End of the World (better than I remembered). I got on Slug Lover a 12c I'd never tried before. There was a bail biner at the 4th (?) clip so I figured even if I couldn't complete it I wouldn't have to leave a biner. I got past the bail biner with ease since the start is surprisingly easy, only to get shut down on a very bouldery section a couple of bolts up. It didn't look too hard after that though, so I'll probably get back on it sometime soon and hopefully work out some kind of sequence for the crux. We left around 6ish, after getting in 7 long pitches of 11b and up, I was feeling pretty worked, but it can only improve my route fitness for later in the summer when I start work on some of my 5.12 and 13 projects here.

A ride to the Far Side

Yesterday we got out climbing at Exit 38. Laura and I had wanted to get out to the Far Side area at 38 for a while, so we put out the word to see if anyone wanted to join us. Our friend Sarah took us up on our offer so the three of us headed out there. We had wanted to check out the far side of the far side for a while. Usually we don't make it past Gritscone or the Gun Show. On one trip 2 years ago I took a sick day off of work in January in the hopes of getting some routes in, we managed one route 'Tunnel of Love' even though there was actual ice on the holds. We bailed before we got hypothermia and haven't been since.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the 70s. Unfortunately for us there were a ton of other climbers at the same area. We still managed to get on a bunch of routes though and despite climbing in a three-some we got 24 pitches done in total between the three of us. It was the first time climbing outdoors in Washington for Sarah, and I think she really enjoyed herself, and Laura comfortably onsighted a couple of mid-1o's, so everyone had a good day. I think one of my favorite aspects of climbing is getting on routes I've never done before and figuring it out as I go, it was really great to be onsighting new stuff. My favorite route of the day was Ellie's Sweet Kiss a long juggy 10a. Here is a photo of laura on a 5.9 I think at Headlight point.

San Francisco and Castle Rock

Last Thursday Laura and I flew down to San Francisco to visit Laura's sister Erin and her boyfriend Ben. We had a great trip and even managed to fit some climbing in. On Friday while they were at work we borrowed their car and drove to Castle Rock a bouldering area about 45 minutes south of them (at least thats how long it should have taken us if we didn't get lost). I had heard about this place from the classic bouldering movie Rampage, and I had also seen lots of photos and video clips online of the bouldering there. When we eventually arrived we were blown away by the beauty of the place and the cool looking boulders. It was very reminiscent of Fontainebleau, with its weather sculpted sandstone boulders and shaded forest. To my surprise it was really busy with other climbers, I guess a lot of climbers in the Bay Area call this their home crag. I kept thinking how cool it would be to have an area like this so close to where I lived, although it isn't a huge climbing area, it would still keep me busy for a long time.

Spotting another climber on a tall V1

We got shown some problems by some friendly locals and soon got a feel for the rock. Laura did well flashing a bunch of V1's and 2's and managed to redpoint a slopey V3 called The Swim. Once I warmed up some boulderers there showed me Bates Problem, a fairly basic crimpy problem, I pulled on and surprised myself by flashing it. I then did Bates Eliminate, a V7 just to the right in a few goes. I was really pleased to have done these problems so quick, they didn't feel too hard, but I guess pulling hard off little crimps is my specialty and I am climbing well at the moment. For the rest of the afternoon Laura and I just took our time exploring the area, and had a nice lunch under a boulder. I would definitely recommend this area to climbers visiting the Bay Area, although its just a small area, there are lots of top class problems to do, I know there's still plenty there for me to go back to.

The cool features in the big cave at Castle Rock

After climbing we picked up Erin and Ben and had an awesome dinner out at Half Moon Bay. The rest of the weekend we kept pretty busy with activities like squash, lawn bowling, museum, going to the beach, cinema, games and a bit of sightseeing. It was a really good break, thanks a lot Ben and Erin for such a good time! Below are some more photos of the weekend.

Laura and I at the Golden Gate Bridge

Erin demonstrating her lawn bowling skills

Ben having fun at the beach

Breakthrough

Yesterday I had one of those days when everything seems to go just right, the projects fall and you wonder why it had taken you so long to do them in the first place. I sent my two longest-term bouldering projects The Sheild and Busted at Leavenworth.

We headed out to Leavenworth with the car packed full of mats and camping stuff, ready for a two day climbing trip, I was looking forward to a chill trip and maybe getting on some routes at Leavenworth for a change. Things were going well, the free camping was open so we set up our tent next to where Whitey and his buddies were already set up. We then headed to Forestlands where we met up with one of Micah's friends from Evergreen, Greg. We warmed up on some easy stuff and I did some laps on the excellent Arested Development. I was feeling pretty good, so decided to slide the mats over to try The Shield (V7). If you've been following my Leavenworth blogs you'll know that The Shield is something I get on every time we're there and every time I throw myself at it only to get shut down time after time. I've probably tried it close to 100 times, no exaggeration, the first move is the crux so its easy to try it over and over. I've stuck the crux move once before, only to fall off on the big move to the lip, so I know I can do it, the problem for me was 90% mental. For some reason yesterday I felt a lot more confident trying it. On my first attempt I pulled on and got my hand fully on the hold. Pulling off the starting crimp with my left hand was a bit sore because of a lingering finger injury so I knew I shouldn't give it too many attempts. I knew on my next attempt I could stick it, so I went for it latched the hold perfectly and held the swing! This was it, I tried to keep my composure, but I couldn't remember exactly what to do next, but luckily I managed to stay on and grovel my way over. I had done it, I stood on top and thought to myself why had it taken me so long? It didn't even feel that hard.

Micah on Arrested Development

I was glad to be done with that project and I was riding on a wave of confidence, so I hopped on The Drill Sergeant a V8 to the right. I was climbing pretty strong on it, but I didn't quite have the reach for it. I wasn't too into doing that problem, besides I really had my eye on Busted. The saga of Busted is a long one so bear with me. On one of my early trips to Leavenworth I did The Rubb' Dyno (my first V8) then did Busted. It turns out after seeing videos of the problem and talking to others I didn't do it from the proper start, I started crouched on the flake rather than sitting on the holds below which adds considerable difficulty, so I took it off my scorecard. To make matters more complicated a few months later the loose flake busted off leaving small crimps making it even harder, it was still climbable though and V9 was suggested by other climbers on 8a. I had been trying it before and after the break, and it certainly feels harder, but certainly not V9 hard. I would say it is now solid V8 (Font 7B not 7B+, but thats a whole other can of worms) neither hard nor soft for the grade. I managed to refine my sequence, and just last week got really close to finishing it off, coming off the last hard move. So yesterday I worked on it methodically making sure I had the last move and the top out dialed, then went for the sit. After about half an hour of attempts I made it through the opening moves, set up for the big throw and SLAP! stuck the hold perfectly, I topped it out and ended a 18 month long project!

Me trying The Drill Sergeant

I was back climbing V8 a year and half after doing my last one, I was so happy I didn't care what happened during the rest of the trip. Luckily for me I finished off these project pretty quickly, cause soon afterward the sky's opened and it started pouring. It became apparent pretty quickly that everything was getting soaked and there was no point in hanging around, so we took down our tents and headed back. We stopped off at the Schist cave at Swiftwater on the way back, because it is so steep it stays dry even in a downpour. It was pretty fun monkeying around on the big holds in the steep cave, and I managed to link together all the moves on the right hand line in the cave, to below the lip, I couldn't top it out since its was soaking wet. It felt about V6 to here, but would probably add another grade to top out. Here is a video of the climb, its 2:45 in to the video.

All in all I can imagine the trip must have been a bit of a disappointment to Laura and Micah. But I don't think I would have changed a thing about it. These sends come at an important time for my psyche, I was starting to think I might be resigned to being a V6 climber. But now I know with a bit of confidence anything can happen.

Eatonville Adventure

On Thursday Micah, Laura and I made the drive out to Eatonville to check out the crag there. I heard about it when Jim Yoder came and gave a talk at the WRG, him and Marlene Ford bolted it a few years ago. A couple of friends from Olympia had checked it out and said some good things about it, so we thought why not? It is about a 50 minutes drive from Olympia, so not exactly local, but it was a beautiful drive with great views of Mount Rainier. The directions were good, but after we parked we walked down the wrong trail, and ended up at a chossy cliff under a bridge. It was obvious we were not in the right place since it was nothing like what we had heard it described as. We searched around for a bit, Laura and Micah wanted to go home, but I could sense we were close. We headed down another path and found the cliff basking in the sun.

It was pretty much what I imagined, a short slabby basalt cliff with lots of bolts. Its about 30m long and 5m high, with 13 little routes packed in. The routes are about 3-5 bolts long which makes this cliff one of the most densely bolted pieces of rock I've ever climbed on. They looked like a lot of fun to climb though, so we got started. We started on the left and worked our way right, we got 9 routes over before we stopped cause the base of the furthest right routes were in the river. After much discussion we reached a consensus on the grades of the routes we did, they varied from 5.7 – 5.10b. Although the ones on the right that we didn’t do looked like they could be a little trickier. It was a pretty fun day for all of us, it was nice to get a bunch of routes done and trying all new stuff. This crag is definitely never going to be a huge destination by any stretch of the imagination, but its great for beginners since the bolting is so friendly and the grades are easy. I'd definitely recommend it to climbers in the South Sound area, who are looking for an chill day out in a great setting. I'm pretty sure I'll be back later this summer to finish off those last routes on the right when the river is lower, and when its warm enough to take a dip in the river too!

Little Si-ne Die Weekend

I know, lame blog title, I was trying to come up with a witty way of combining Little Si and Sine Die (last day of legislative session).
Anyway, I just had a pretty awesome weekend. The weekend started with my last day of work at the House of Representatives on Friday. I was sad to be leaving cause I had such a fun time working there, and learned a lot. Working on an appropriations committee really gave me an insight into how the budget process works. I would have blogged more about my work, but my position was non-partisan and I was privy to confidential information, so I thought I'd better not. One thing that impressed me a lot with was just how hard working the legislators and staff are, I would often arrive into work at 8am to find fiscal staff asleep in their offices after working all-nighters. I think they get a bad reputation in the media, but in reality they are some of the hardest working people I've come across. Saying my goodbyes on Friday was sad, but I also felt excited to be moving on. On Friday, I also submitted my Masters in Teaching application to Evergreen. I am hopeful that I will be accepted starting this fall, and I'm really excited to go back to school and look forward to being a teacher. Thank you very much to those of you who have helped me with the application and support.

Friday night we went out and celebrated Arts Walk in downtown Olympia. It was a really good vibe and the weather was beautiful. We saw lots of different performances and exhibitions. Even the lobby of our apartment complex was an art gallery for the night, which was really cool. Nights like these I really love living in downtown Olympia. The highlight of the night was definitely dancing at The Loft with friends to Laura's old time music band 'The Grizzle Grazzle Tune Snugglers', they were awesome.

On Saturday I got an early start and went climbing with Micah and Mika at Little Si. The crag was really dry and cool (maybe a little too cool). Micah made amends for his actions earlier this week and returned some draws. Read here to get the full story. I felt good to be doing longer routes, I managed to repeat a lot of classics from 11b-12a without too much effort which is promissing for the summer ahead, my endurance can only improve from here. Micah and I got on Dairy Freeze, an overlooked 12b on the left hand side. I had tried it a couple of years ago, but didn't remember much other than it felt really hard at the time and that I had really weird beta. It took me a couple of goes to remember my beta for the crux, which is hard, so now I think I can get it if I go back again. Micah finished it off which was a good morale boost for him. We returned to Oly in high spirits and met up with friends at a Mead tasting party.

Sunday I woke up with a nasty Mead hangover. Nevertheless it was a beautiful day outside, BBQ weather. I went over to Jeremy's BBQ first and had some awesome ribs, then Ian's BBQ and filled up on steak, mmm. Then as the evening approached I walked up to the Capitol Campus in search of some Sine Die parties. The mood at the Capitol wasn't good though, they had managed to negotiate a compromise on the Budget which many thought would need a special session, but some other important bills like the renewable energy bill and budget bond bill were stalling cause they didn't have the votes. Governor Gregoire is holding a press conference today to announce if there will be a special session, it looks likely since these are important bills. Its really too bad after seeing all the hard work the fiscal staff put in to be able to finish in time, they deserve a break more than anyone. I'm glad to be done now though, I have a lot more free time now and the weather looks good, which can only mean one thing, lots of climbing, so watch this space!