Since we talked last

It has been a while since I have written anything so here is a little update. I have climbed 10 of the last 11 days outside at Castle Rocks in Idaho, Boulder Canyon, Ute Pass, Chaos Canyon, and Area A, B, C, and D of Mt Evans. Its been nice to be back on rock so frequently and while my tips are owned I feel like I am getting the feeling for movement on rock again, something I think is as important as strength. Speaking of though, my strength is lacking right now and I plan on climbing in the gym a bit to try to improve that. Here are a few of my recent realizations;

1) The roof at Castle Rocks in Idaho is the best one I have ever climbed on and produces cooler roof holds than anywhere I have seen.
2) Seurat is the hardest line I have tried at Mt. Evans, irrespective of grade.
3) It took Max and I a while to find where we recognized Justin's shaved poodle Kai from, but we realized Kai played a supporting role in the recent Will Smith flick I Am Legend as an zombie dog.
4) Area C is the best one at Mt Evans, if only because no one is ever there.
5) Compared to Washington, I am still caught off guard by random people in Colorado knowing what this goofy futon type thing that I am carrying around on my back is.
6) Compared to Washington, I am still blown away that you would possibly see one other climber (or try 25 at Area D last Saturday) at a bouldering area with more than a 5 minute approach.
7) Having my own car is the best thing that has happened to my ability to climb since coming to Colorado College, but possibly the worst thing for my pocket book.
8) The following lines beckon me to try them: City Walls of Dying Dreams, Eye for an Eye, and Johnny G's Area C Roof (name anyone?).

Loudon III's Stand Start

Name that Climb Part Two...

Name that Climb Part One...

Chaos + Longs + Climbing out of holes = Classic Rocky Bouldering

Last Ditch at the River Boulders

I wanted to try and finish off the arete I have been working on at the River Boulders before heading back to Colorado this Tuesday so on Friday we headed there despite the temps well into the 90s. It turned out to be really just a bit too hot to climb and we ended up climbing a bunch of fun slabs and swimming in the very refreshing river. I flashed a climb called B-Mellow but with my height I was able to use a good foot to reach the same holds that Johnny had to stand on a very bad smear for. I worked Kid Hops for a while but was not able to get the last couple inches needed to stick the good rail. Here are a few photos of me trying Kid Hops courtesy of Bryan Boyko:

Why not to be afraid or get hosed by the media... and other things I learned in Salt Lake City

I went to the OR Trade Show in Salt Lake City for the first time this year. Despite having touched plastic cumulatively for less than an hour since the end of school, I decided to compete at the comp. Overall, both the show and the comp were a good time but the best part of it all was getting to connect with a lot of friends that I have not seen for a while.
Despite it having a very different vision from mine, I have to give Jason Danforth and Pete Ward big props for creating and executing these comps. I have heard criticism from a number of people concerning the details of the event but developing something on this scale takes a few tries and I have no doubt that in a few more years they will be pulling this off even better.
I will say I was a little taken aback by the scale of the OR show and despite the temps I felt much more comfortable out in Little Cottonwood Canyon than at the Convention Center. Bret and I spent some time working Bully and I already have plans to return at the end of October for five days when it is a bit cooler.

I was not going to post any comp shots but I really liked the shadow that Carlo is making on the wall in the background. Well done Mr. Stack.

Index: River Arete

The end of my massive media dump. Big props to Bryan Boyko for all the shots he took throughout the weekend. His photographic skills are on the rise.

Photos: Bryan Boyko

Beautification

One of the moves that Leavenworth's rock produces often is the fly by catch. Here is a hard version of it that must be done more static than shown below.

Photos: Bryan Boyko

Kobe Ty

Photos: Bryan Boyko

The Practioner

Photos: Bryan Boyko

Cattlegaurd Arete

Photos: Bryan Boyko

WAS

Pretty Hate Machine

For those of you who have seen the cover of the Central Washington Bouldering guide then you have seen a much better photo of this climb but here is me finally sticking the lip for the second time after 20 or so near catches.

Photo: Bryan Boyko

Dropping the Kirshbaum

Photos: Bryan Boyko

The Coffee Cup

The Sail

Chris and Owen working the classic, suspended, compression bloc at Mad Meadows.

Leavenworth Weekend

Owen and I planned on heading to Squamish this weekend but a huge rockslide has blocked the road for the last five days so we changed our plans to Leavenworth. Bryan, who hurt his finger at his canary job in Alaska, decided to come along anyway, and Chris Sintra joined us from Bend, Oregon. Saturday morning we worked Dropping the Kirshbaum, Beautification, and The Lonely Fish. Despite some good goes on things, there were no sends. Next, we headed to Pretty Hate Machine. I had been told to get on this line many times and after nagging all morning got the crew to rally and head up the hill. On my 4th go I stuck the lip of the bloc and while moving my foot feel. After another 25 or so attempts and watching Chris and Owen hike the problem, I was able to finish it off. We got Chris on WAS, and The Sail, and I tried Cloaca but none got sent. Due to the high traffic in Icicle Canyon, we headed up to Mountain Home to camp. After dinner we went down to the boulders and I did the Cattlegaurd Arete and on my second go did Darth Vader. Chris also flashed the line heading left from the start hold of the Darth Maul traverse. The next day we tried Kobe Ty, The Practioner and the Coffee Cup with no success. After saying farewells to Chris, we headed back to Seattle via Highway 2 and stopped at the Index River Boulders. Owen finished up the line we worked last week and I attempted my arete project but could not link the moves. Check back for lots of photos to come.