That's So Gneiss

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Thursday, March 15, 2007

It is generally assumed that anything worth climbing within 30 minutes of Boulder has already been climbed, or is really, really hard. Therefore, I was surprised to find that one beautiful line was passed over by strong climbers for several years. The Walker Ranch area, originally explored by Greg Loomis, contains a few scattered granite boulders. The setting is unique because of a forest fire that burned 400 acres during the summer of 2000. Rock quality and lines tend to be decent, but there is one boulder that stands out from the rest.

The "Shipwreck" boulder sits in a creek bed at the bottom of an 60 foot cliff. There are several established lines on the boulder, but the feature that makes it unique is the prow/arete on the east side.

I was first shown this boulder by Jamie Emerson. He had been there with Greg, Brian Capps, and Dave Hume several years before. They had collectively done most of the moves that day, but there was a stopper move in the middle. Various Boulder climbers came and tried the project, but they soon got distracted by other problems, and the line fell into obscurity. When I first saw the boulder, it was a hot day in August. I knew, however, that I would be back once temps cooled down a bit.

Throughout the fall, I bugged Jamie to go back to the project. He however, was distracted by other problems. I spent a day there by myself, but I really needed a group of people to spot and help work out the beta. I convinced Lee Payne (who had tried it before) and Brian Solano to spend a Saturday at the Shipwreck. We were able to figure out the mid section, but were confused by the start and the finish. Soon after, several feet of snow fell on boulder making climbing outside a nearly impossible endeavor.

Then, on Tuesday March 6, Jamie and I finally got back to the boulder. We were able to figure out all of the moves and I did the stand start, "Shipwreck," which is a V7 or V8. Jamie seemed close to linking it all together, but darkness came and we decided to come back the next day.

After I warmed up by doing the stand several times, I started to try it from the sit. Soon, I had a really good attempt and I climbed through the crux but fell on the top section. I rested about an hour before I got back on and climbed through the crux again. This time, I fought my way through the last moves to reach the topout jugs. While cutting my feet towards the end, I kicked Jamie (who was spotting) right in the mouth. At first I thought I had broken his nose, but after finding out that he was ok, I continued to the top. I went back on Friday March 16 and did a clean repeat of the problem.

Burnout is the sit start to the Shipwreck. I named it after the burnt setting and the power-endurance nature of the problem. It starts on an obvious right hand pinch and a bad left hand sidepull with a thumb catch. The first move is a slap out to the arete. From here, the problem climbs both sides of the arete through gymnastic slapping moves. Burnout is about six moves into Shipwreck. The difficulty seems to be similar to Dark Waters, but it is probably slightly easier. If I had to give it a grade, I would call it V12, but I am open to the idea that it could be a V11. I personally couldn't ask for much more from the problem. It is close to home, a good difficulty level for me, a nice line, fun moves, and a first ascent. It is one of the harder problems I have done, and I will remember it for a long time.

Monday, March 12, 2007

The 8a Yearbook 2006: A Refreshing Change

On Saturday, I got my 8a Yearbook 2006 in the mail from Sweden. It was slightly smaller than I had expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by what was inside. Tons of full color photos with very few ads were complemented by information on today's top climbers. It was nice to see a climbing publication go in depth on grades and rankings without calling it "heinous spray."The book also has an international flavor that you don't get from U.S. magazines. It includes articles on Patxi Usobiaga, David Lama, and other very strong climbers that we hear little about. While it isn't perfect, it blows the last issue of Rock and Ice out of the water! It would be nice to see the U.S. mags go more in this direction, getting away from 5.10 trad lines that nobody cares about or stories focused on some new sport climbing knot. BORING!!!!

A side note: This was the second publication in which my photos were published. I had 3 photos and one falsely credited to me (it was taken b y Jason Pinto) featured in this magazine. As an amateur photographer, I was really excited that they used my pictures.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Desert Air

Comp Killaz

Two weeks ago I flew out to Baltimore, MD for the 2007 ABS Nationals. The comp was great and it renewed my interest in onsight competition climbing. I ended up getting 11th in qualifiers and 12th in finals. The following weekend was the SBS Mamut Finals. I got 8th in finals, but was less satisfied with the way I climbed. Daniel and Paul killed both comps, with Daniel winning Nationals and Paul winning the SBS comp. This weekend, Paul took another victory at the Mamut comp in New Jersey. It looks like Daniel is going to need to step it up. We'll see what happens at the TEVA games in June...

Friday, January 05, 2007

Dreams of Hueco

As I sit here writing this, all I can think of is when my next trip to Hueco will be. Jason Pinto and I left Boulder not so early on December 26 and set our sights on Hueco. 24 hours later, we were climbing on some of the best rocks the U.S. has to offer. Our trip was filled with lots of bouldering, lots of falling, a little bit of sending, rain, snow, sunshine, friends, rock-stars, air-soft guns, safety meetings, and a crazy New Years Eve party. Lots of things didn't go the way we planned them to, but in the end, that's what makes it all so interesting. Hueco Tanks is one place where I am truly happy, and I can't wait to go back!

Chalk. Blood. Tape.

The Tanks at Night

Brian. Shake and Bake.

Johnny. Mojo.

The Nomad. Mojo

Johnny. Mojo

Johnny Sending

On the Eve of the New Year

For the second year in a row, I celebrated the new year in Hueco. We had a huge bonfire and partied the night away. It was a good time for all. Here are a few photos:

Monday, November 27, 2006

Crisp Air

I couldn't have asked for a better weather on Sunday. It was so gneiss to return to cool, crisp air after spending a week in hot, humid Florida. Camper, Kelly, and I had a great day at Lumpy Ridge. I even got to do a problem that I had been dreaming about for awhile, the Melancholy Whale. It is probably the most appropriately named boulder problem I've ever done. Here are a few photos:

Trying Sap (V9/12) - Photo by Kelly

Pop A Loose Nut - Photo by Kelly

Kelly On Left Angry Man

Camper Sending Right Angry Man

Thursday, November 16, 2006

A Very New Boulder

We stumbled upon this boulder while hiking in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The boulder appeared to have come down within the past week!

Monday, November 06, 2006

Through the Night

After climbing at Vedauwoo proper all day Saturday, we got in the car and drove to Coyote rocks for a night session. It was dark, so we needed to light the lantern, but we didn't have any matches or a lighter. After about 45 minutes, we successfully used the car's cigarette lighter to light a napkin, to light the propane stove, to light the napkin again, to light the lantern. It was a very complicated process. Then we spent another 15 minutes trying to find the area in the dark.

We finally located some pretty decent boulder problems. Angamie flashed the Heart Stone, and then Angie did the Rose while Jamie did the Thorn. I saw a few cool looking lines at this area and I'm psyched to go back some time. We finished off at a good little Mexican restaurant in Laramie and made the long drive back to Boulder.