Hey all...

So its been the better part of a year since I updated this blog. I slowly let it die last spring for a couple of reasons. The main one being that it stopped being fun to blog and instead felt like a chore. I have had a lot of friends express frustration that they missed being able to follow my climbing adventures. So in response I have shifted my online presence into two different venues that I am excited about. The first is Sendage. I left 8a in 2008 because that site stopped being fun. Sendage is the first alternative that was intriguing enough to make me want to try it out. It is essentially an 8a style logbook that links through your Facebook network. The second is Tumblr. My Tumblr started out as an outlet for my non-climbing photography. However, after leaving Blogger I realized I still wanted to post climbing images without feeling a need to write any accompanying text. So please feel free to follow me on those two sites, I will hopefully be updating them regularly.

I WENT CLIMBING!

So after 77 days of not climbing outside, I made my return to real rock! While no particular climbing moment marked it as particularly triumphant, it was everything I needed it to be. The day provided a much needed break from the intensity of my busy daily life and was filled with the comedic, serious, debaucherous, thrilling, and satirical moments, both on and off the rock, that I have only experienced with good friends while climbing.

Update

The weather in Boston continues to be less than ideal for rock scaling. I am going to try and get out on Saturday even if I have to put some work in cleaning off stuff. The snow is still coming down hard, looking like we will get a least a foot of the white stuff today. In other news, my good friend Max Krimmer just started up a blog of his own. He has been crushing it recently both in Southern Colorado and Bishop. Check it out.

2011

New year so I guess the thing to do is a new post. 2010 was an awesome year, although with probably the least climbing in it of the last four years. I finished my senior thesis, graduated from college, got a job, and moved across the country. My plans for post summer 2011 are still up in the air. Maybe Denver, maybe Seattle, maybe somewhere else. We'll see. For now, the goal is to increase my fitness in the gym while the weather is bad. There are still a handful of climbs I would like to do in New England. Until then.

WASHINGTON

Well, guess what... its been raining in the Pacific Northwest. You know its a bad climbing destination when the weather is worse then New England. I got home last Thursday and Bret and I decided to go for it on Friday. It was the only day of sun in the forecast. It turned out to not be enough sun to dry things out and we struggled with damp rock all day. We both fell off grabbing the lip of Midnite. We also put some good work into the Archtitect but the top (crux) of the problem was moist. We checked out a few other blocks and things were either wet or landings had been washed away by flooding conditions along the Skynomish the week prior.

Snowy Mt Index

Pacific Northwest Rainforest

View from the quiet town of Index

Train tracks to approach Biult to Last. To access this block you have to cross a narrow train bridge. Just before venturing back across it a train came. Real glad we were not in the center when that happened.

"Trail" to get to Hagakure. This used to be a single track trail before flooding conditions last week washed the entire hillside out of any small plant life.

Biult to Last. One of the better boulder problems in the NW but the landing had yet to be biult to last. Once again too much rain foils our climbing plans.

Pawtuckaway

Brayton, Chris, Sam and I headed up to P-Way today. Luckily it was warmer then its been recently and we were able to climb without freezing today. The main objective was Stand and Deliver. I was able to do the first move and came really close to the second. Thing is hard feeling. I also climbed The Rose (V7) and flashed The Font Problem (V4/9). Despite the rock being less then ideal in some spots, I will likely return before it warms up to try Stand and Deliver again.

The Font Problem

Child of the Storm

bRADley

Sunday was a big ol session at Bradley. Max, Natasha, Jeremy, Brayton, Sam, Kieffer and I all headed down south to pull on the fine rock of central Connecticut. It turned out that 35 degrees is too cold for Bradley and the few sends that took place all ended in completely numb and desperate top outs. I was able to finish up the Prow (V10), and also do Homefront Arete (V7) and Underground Vibezzzzz (V8). In addition, Noah uploaded another nice peak into life at 1127 last year...

Update

So climbing in Washington was a failure. I ended up spending the night with good friend Ander Rockstad in Salt Lake City due to snow in Seattle. Great weather in Boston, snow in Seattle. In November. It remained wet and cold for most of my trip home. Maybe my trip home in December will be luckier. Maybe. In other news, MZ put together a nice video of three climbs I have done recently and one I should have done:

1127 Reasons to Climb

For those who know, I post this in remembrance of all the good times we had in 1127. For those who don't, I hope you enjoy all the out of context moments recorded here. Just to have one thing straight, my underwear are wet because I got hit by a water balloon. HD on Vimeo.

Bradley

Today I got to check out an area I have been wanting to go to for a long time: Bradley. I have to say that I was very impressed. Excellent rock, good lines, and plenty to work on. I climbed some classics up to V8 before setting my sights on The Prow. I made progress each burn until I was able to unlock the trickery of this climb. However, I totally punted and fell off the easy climbing with numb tips. Too bad, cause my skin was wrecked after that and I could not finish it up. Tomorrow I head to Seattle for Thanksgiving. The forecast is looking surprisingly good for the Northwest in November so hopefully I will be able to get out and scale some rocks.

Max projecting the sit start to the Book of Bitter Aspects

Rumney

Max and I planned Sunday as a different sort of day. Instead of meeting for brunch at 11, we were on the road at 8. After warming up in the Blackjacks, we headed up to Waimea. Despite being PERFECT weather for sport climbing, the crag was deserted. Not one person! Max put some effort into The Fly. A couple showed up for a second. Neil came by and flew through a warm up. Max convinced Neil to give me a belay on Riviera so he could shoot. I failed. Neil had to leave. Max hung on the rope for 45 minutes. I napped. Max came down. I did Riviera. Max tried The Fly more. Joey belayed me so we could finish filming. Max tried The Fly more. We left.

Farley

On Saturday Max and I got a very late start to Farley. Max just wanted to get some moves in on the rock to get warmed up for more serious climbing on Sunday. I had the goal of finishing up Prince Paul. I had gotten my beta dialed on Thursday only to be thwarted by wet finger locks at the top. Well, it turned out that getting the final finger lock was hard and it took some solid effort to get to the top of this rig. Dave Wetmore, who had a great day of his own, was there to grab the ascent on tape. With 15ish moves over 24 feet, this guy climbs a bit like route and sending definitely came down to feeling fresh enough at the top to still try hard.

Farley - Sunday

I recently had a little scare recently with my shoulder. Got it checked out by the doc though and was able to return to climbing after a week of rest. Had work off on Thursday for the vets and went out to Farley with Alex, Nate, and Grady. I worked out more moves on Prince Paul but the finger locks at the top were wet and I was not able to finish it off. We made a bit of progress on War on Terror. I also was able to climb Pterodactyl Sit. This is the first hardish crimp line I have climbed in a while, so that was nice marker of fitness. We finished the day off on the seldom climbed Monkey Butt Love. Its a cool sloping arete with a rad dyno to the lip.

Grady on War on Terror

Grady on Monkey Butt Love using his tall man beta

Alex using the standard dyno beta on Monkey Butt Love

New Five Ten Shoes

Metrorock held a shoe demo the other week and Dana was there showing off Five Ten's new shoe lineup. While I have tried many of Five Ten's new shoes over the last couple years, I have consistently gone back to the Moc, 5X, and Dragons. All these shoes have been around for a few years now (and in the case of the Moc, much more then that) and I have been happy none have fallen to Five Ten's different approach to shoe production and marketing (in with the new, out with the old). However, I have to say that this year was a bit different. I think Five Ten has really created a diverse set of climbing shoes with some of their best models ever.

Five Ten Supermoc:
This is essentially a trimmed down version of the classic Moc. I use my Moc for two things: thin cracks and gym climbing. The super Moc is better suited for bouldering and sport climbing. It has a very thin sole (think the old school Mantra S) and a nice fitting heel cup. The main complaint I have heard from people about the Moc is that it cannot heel hook. I tried heel hooking on many different type holds and was only able to pull it off once (on a move that also nearly pulled my Dragon off). This shoe is also extremely comfortable but remember to size down if you want to maintain a performance fit since it is unlined leather.


Five Ten Hornet:
When I asked Dana about this shoe he said it was designed for "steep limestone with small pockets and tufas." Wow, well that is pretty specific. But luckily this shoe performed amazingly well on a variety of terrains. I am a big fan of soft shoes and this shoe is essentially a cross of the Dragon and the new Super Moc; its a soft, thin, downturned shoe with an excellent heel cup. People always talk about pulling with your toes in downturned shoes but I have never be able to do that like I did with this shoe. I was able to keep my feet on the wall while using very small footholds on a roof that I was not able to do with any other shoe. Furthermore, the innovative lacing system aligns the natural arc of your foot into the shoe. No more torquing on your foot once you pull the shoe on to get your shoe to sit comfortably.

Five Ten Quantum
I was also impressed by this new shoe. It is a nice mix of the Anasazi Velcro and Dragon. A stiffer, lace-up shoe with a slight downturn and an excellent heel cup. Not to mention the purple makes it one of the best looking shoes I have ever seen.

Unfortenatly I did not get to try on the new Dean Potter shoe but it looks sick for offwidthing!

Farley - Sunday

Despite possibly inclement weather and a much smaller crew, Brayton and I met up with Matt and Josh for a short Farley session today. After warming up and coming close to War on Terror, a hard slab/mantle climb heading left from Speed of Life, we all got excited about Prince Paul. Using only a few pads (and some conveniently placed natural vines to anchor one), we were able to safely protect all but the very top of this stunning line. We had a great session working out the moves on this and everyone tried it in great ground up style. I think this climb has only seen one ascent, after heavy top rope rehearsal, and I think it would be very cool to do the second ascent ground up. After a bit of rain, we finished up on Scarab and Pterodactyl but with tired bodies and worn down skin, today proved to not be quite the day of sending that Saturday was.

Entering the crux of Prince Paul

Mid crux of Prince Paul

Farley - Saturday

Despite a few reluctant members, another large crew rallied to Farley from Boston on Saturday. Everyone psych was high and it proved to be a great day of sending. In addition to Dave Wetmore's list of sends, I also managed to climb Appetite for Destruction, Babies with Rabies, and The Wave. I have to admit that Appetite felt a step harder than the three double digit problems I have now completed at Farley but that might just be me. We also had a big session on Speed of Life and needless to say I am excited to try it more.

Brayton on Stereogram

Matt on Babies with Rabies

Farley

On Sunday a full Boston crew got out to Farley. In total there were probably around 10 people I knew at the crag with dozens more scattered throughout the forrest. Turns out everyone else had the same idea when they saw 60 degrees, sunny, and breezy as the forecast. I was able to quickly finish off Pipe Dreams today. This marks my second double digit problem in the last week. I did not climb since last Sunday and its nice to come off a short rest and still feel strong. Next up was Party Wolf. This climb is definitely a level up from the other hard compression problems at Farley. Max put in a proud effort on it and was able to send last second before he had to go. Both of us tried it from the ground up every time and it was cool to see someone climb something hard in such a good style. I will be back for this rig. At the end of the day I was able to get up Big, a cool V8 with one distinct crux. Overall a great day!

Alex on Pipe Dreams

Chris on Pipe Dreams

Back in New England

The last two days have yielded beautiful fall New England conditions. Chilly but comfortable and dry! The trees have begun turning and the colors are amazing. On Saturday, Max, Gavin, and I headed to Farley. It was my first time there and I was very excited. First of all, Speed of Life is amazing. I did not get on it since we did not have a ton of pads and I was not feeling my best. After warming up, I figured the moves to Pipe Dreams out but it was in the sun and I could not link it together. Next up was Stereogram. Both Gavin and I were able to put this one together. This was my first double digit boulder problem of 2010 and it was nice to realize I was in pretty good shape despite having not been climbing too much. Max and I worked on a compression project for a bit called Midsize Man. This rig is one of the most physical boulder problems I have ever seen. The beta is never the same and it comes down to trying really, really, really hard and refusing to let go. I also came close to Appetite for Destruction but by the end of the day was feeling pretty tired. Today, Max and I headed out to Great Barrington. We met up with some other people and set to work on the Speed boulder. Mark, an old friend of Max's, came as close as possible to Roses and Bluejays, falling off after matching the lip of the boulder. Next time man! I made some good progress on Something from Nothing and am excited to return.

Veterans with Vertigo

Before heading back to Boston, I knew that I needed to go and climb something bigger since I would be mostly sport climbing and bouldering in New England. I headed for the Black Canyon last Friday and roped up with my friend John Schaffer. John is one of the most bad ass climbers I know, having done over 50 Black Canyon routes. He was interested in doing a climb called Veterans with Vertigo, a Grade IV 5.11+ down the SOB Gully. John started us off with the plan of me taking the crux pitch and him taking the first (and harder) or the two R rated pitches. Pitch 2 was my first lead and there was very little information on the topo about it. Near the top was a long, unprotected traverse on less than ideal rock. The pitch felt like it deserved an R rating and knowing we had a couple pitches that actually got R higher up, both of us were curious to what would follow. Route finding was difficult and we moved slower then we were hoping to. By the time we reached the crux 6th pitch, the sun was baking the wall. I took the lead and got to the crux section before reading the movement totally wrong and falling. After a few attempts at working the beta out, I was able to fight my way to the belay ledge. John managed to follow the pitch cleanly in an even more powerful way then I did it. Very impressive! The two R rated pitches that followed turned out to not be so scary and we soon found ourselves on the rim. We considered bombing back down a gully and doing a second route but ended up deciding to call it a day. The Black Canyon remains my favorite place to climb in Colorado and I hope to get back there next spring.

Newlin Creek Adopt-a-Crag Day

So I just received the good news that an Access Fund Adopt-a-Crag day has been organized for Newlin Creek. As some of you know, I have gone back and forth about my feelings with Newlin and crowds, conservation, access, information and the like. Helping develop Newlin has been one of the defining climbing related aspects of my life. Regardless of the outcome of past events, Newlin is now part of the Front Range climbing circuit and the best thing we can do as a climbing community is do our best to treat it with the most respect and care we can. Whether you have lost track of how many times you have visited Newlin or have just swung by for a visit a few times, please come down and help out. We will primarily be reconstructing some trails along with removing any lingering trash. The Forrest Service will be meeting us at 9 AM on September 18th with tools and guidance at the trailhead. More info at Tojo Risen. See ya'll there!