Dairy Freeze, check!

One of my favorite pictures of World Wall One.
Nick staring down the extension to Aborigine, Technorigine.


Yesterday I took a trip up to Little si, or more accurately World Wall One. The weather was overcast, with brief stints of sunshine but it was only to taunt us and our icy grips. My band consisted of Mika and Dom. The number one priority after arriving to the wall was to get these cursed draws back on Abo. and clear my good name of any damaging associations. WW1 was already alive with climbers and I took no rest and no water and immediately got on Abo. It felt so effortless this time, not that it hasn't in the past but it almost felt like I was climbing it for the first time again, except I knew all the beta. It was a wonderful way to start the day and foreshadowed the kind of day that was to come. After removing the bad karma and having an excellent warm up burn on Abo. we stepped over to a climb I hadn't done in almost two years, Megatherion. Mika gave it a burn hanging the draws for us and then I was up again and absolutely loved getting back on this rig. Lovely sinker flake jugs almost the entire route, with a short crux section in the middle. The route feels exposed and the top is covered in black textured stone that is amazing to climb on. Another excellent pitch was in the bag and I was feeling like climbing today was taking on an almost playful approach, everything just flowed and I was able to really just enjoy each climb for what it was. Dom sent Bust The Move next while Mika TR'd it and then I finally decided to grow some balls and get back on my project Dairy Freeze. I had first tried it two years ago and remembered very little except that the crux involved some serious crimping and trusting of a certain very tiny foot hold. I had re-familiarized myself with the route last week and was ready to send. The temps were cold and the friction was good but my fingers froze up after getting through the first crux move and I fell. I finished the route, came down for a rest as Dom gave it a go, and then fired it directly after. This route has everything, a nice mellow start on good incuts to jugs, a strenuous and technical sequence through the crux, a dyno(but only for me), and one of the coolest slabs with that black textured rock I mentioned earlier on absolutely brilliant little crimpers and smears. It was a joy working and sending this thing and I would nominate it as one of the best 5.12b's at Little si, if not the most diverse. Here is a picture of Dom in the middle of the crux move, his right foot on that tiny little foothold going for the sidepull.


Dairy Freeze, (5.12b)

Dom wasn't able to pull the crux with my beta, but he remembered his own beta from years ago and he will send next time we are out there. After giving the mandatory visit to the loveliest woman in the PAC NW, by the name of Rainy Day, we wandered over to Psychowussy and I hung the draws and pumped out on the extension. Mika gave a nice clean lead of Psychowussy followed by Dom to wrap up the day and we were back in Oly just in time for a hillarious game of Telephone Pictionary and some interesting mead tasting. I'm really psyched on cleaning up some of the other 5.12a's I haven't done at Little si like Sweet Tooth, and State of Perplexity. I'm also really psyched for harder possibilities like Propaganda and Sluglover. Dom and Laura's work have ended now so hopefully this means lot's and lot's of Little si! Or other areas, whatever works...

Eye of the Tornado

Last Tuesday, 4/21/09, I made a short trip out to Little si. There was noone there on this beautiful day and to my surprise someone had left draws up one of the most traveled 5.11b’s of the crag, Aborigine. My first thought was, “What happened?! Why would someone leave all of their draws on a climb like this?” My second thought was, “Sweet! Free gear!” They were nice draws two of which were nice petzl draws and the rest metolius extended draws, 7 draws total but the extended draws had several beaners and slings to each of them. My friends Mika, and Kyle showed up later and I pointed out that there were draws hanging on Aborigine, a route I’ve done 20 times or so. I kept on convincing myself that taking these draws was justice in itself since I’ve been to this crag hundreds of times and have never seen hanging draws on Abo., especially in the middle of the week, no matter what the circumstances are. But, in the end it was a very wrong thing to do. Taking anything that does not belong to you, whether intentional or un-intentional is just plain wrong, and generates some bad karma. I stripped the draws off the climb and we split them up between the three of us with the stipulation that if anyone came up that day we would ask them if the draws belonged to them. No one came up for the rest of the day and we left.
Well, here is where the story gets interesting and I’m not surprised if anyone out there reading this is shaking their heads in disgust at my actions, but tonight, Friday, 4/24/09, I just checked cascadeclimbers.com, a popular climbing forum for the PAC NW, and to my surprise Bret Johnston had left a thread labeled ‘Theft at Little si!’. My heart leapt into my throat and I knew it was about those draws. I had just gotten off the phone with my friend Dom who chastised me and berated me for taking the draws in the first place so I was feeling pretty crappy after seeing this thread. I read all the posts, most of them stating that I was a rotten, immoral, thief and that I should be banned from climbing and life on this planet. I’ve posted a few comments from the site about the incident:

“No disrespect intended ot either the botty hauler or Mr. Johnson.
But we are talking 5 or 6 slings and the accompaning biners. (if they were mine I'd actually know the number missing)
At least two of them were "sponsored draws". In the grand scheme of things not that much money even for a "non-working" climber. For someone that is at least particially sponsored and willing to freeely replace old gear on the wall not much of a ding in the pocket book.
Our shit being ripped from the base of a climb or out of a car is one thing, leaving your gear hanging on MODERATE climbs by sport standards is another.
Just an FYI but if I had seen a half dozen draws hanging on a moderate 5.11, mid week, I might have taken the time myself to hang my way up the thing just for the fun and the free booty.
But I don't score booty these days. Bad Karma, IMO. I've had enough stuff ripped off over the years. Found a bunch as well. With the ability to communicate via the Internet these days everyone seems to think what they "leave" should be returned. I've picked up 3 sets of leashless tools this winter at rap stations. Gave them back when I could. But if someone started bitching about "loosing" them and DEMANDED them back I'd sooner give them away to a good home. You'd have to be kinda a dumb ass to leave them there in the first place.
My guess is the poor bastard that did score your gear had no clue why you left it but I bet he didn't think it intentional. Bitching about it here might seem like an educational opportunity for some. The real lesson for me anyway is, don't be leaving your shit on "easy" climbs. Some climbers (looks like 50% from this thread) seem to think anything not locked up, nailed down and with a Rottweiler guarding it as free for the taking.”

“Whoever took the gear deserves a time out.
And no ice cream after dinner.
And give him his toys back.”

“OMG, so I left my wallet on the sidewalk outside my favorite beer store so that it would be there when I came back in a few days for another sixer and somebody totally stole my shit! WTF? THEFT ON 148th!!! Plus, those cards totally have my name on them. I go shopping all the time -- unless you intend to keep them in your wallet, I will see you!!”

“Exactly. I know at least 10 people who have redpointed extensions to abo. and none of them left draws up over night. Its seems that if you are working the 13d or even the 12c you could just put the draws up on your first trip up for the day and take them down on the way down at the end of the day. In general you don't see fixed draws on anything easier than 5.12 usually not anything easier than 12C. Little Si has routes that have fixed draws on them and abo isn't one of them. Again sucks someone took your draws it just not that surprising I guess.”


“it is stealing and if i caught you with my stuff, i'd kick your ass...end of story...”

“Taking draws off a sport route is bad form and stealing. If you see several draws on a route it is obvious that the person didn't leave them there as a bail bineer.
if the draws have been up all year and becoming worn, by all means take them down and stack them on ground next to the route. I would agree that fixed draws are sort of an eye-sore and should be used sparingly only for routes that is being actively projected at sport crag.
Also, just because you hiked a route with fixed draws doesn't mean you get to steal the draws.”

“Gear left on a climb is trash. Someone was kind enough to, hopefully, recycle your trash for you. Litterbug.”

“I am very disapointed at the level of discourse by many of the people in this discussion but it is CC.com what do you expect. I am a trad and alpine climber so I am well versed in bootying gear. However, when I see fixed draws on a route (overhanging or not, if I sent the route or not) I know to leave them in place. Someone obviously is serious about pushing their ability level. How can something be wrong with this. You would really have no knowledge of modern sport climbing tactics or no morals to believe it's OK to take multiple fixed draws off a route. IMHO It's the same as stealing fixed lines off a project.”

In the end I feel pretty bad, especially after reading what a lot of these guys say and realizing that my actions in this matter are not indicative of the kind of person I am, or want to be. At the time it did not cross my mind that this was considered stealing at all, but now I do and maybe that is the positive light that comes out of this shit storm. If the draws had belonged to some gumby climber who just left them there and didn’t care, me and my friends would be 7 draws richer and I would still think it’s okay to strip a full line of draws off a route, well traveled or not. However, they belonged to a well known climber who was projecting a 5.13d called Pornstar who trusted that noone would take his draws because why would any sane climber do that?! When it comes to the end of the day, it’s wrong to take draws(or anything that doesn’t belong to you) no matter if it’s Sharma, or climber X who can’t even send 5.9 on top rope. I’m putting the draws back, or giving them back in person, whichever comes first, and I’m revoking my membership to the climbing community of moral ethical people. From now on I vow to leave any, and everybody’s stuff alone, lesson learned. My apologies to the climbing community, and to Bret Johnston. I love Little si just as much as the next climber and have never taken draws before and again want to reiterate that I did not mean to cause anyone harm or distress and take full responsibility if I did. Please feel free to leave comments about what an asshole I am, or any other thoughts you have about this situation.

Chipmunks in HEAT!

My god it was a beautiful day in the Northwest today. I managed to skirt out to Little si for a few quick pitches. My friends Mika and Kyle showed up about 20 minutes after I had arrived at the magnificent World Wall One and I was quick to lace up and get on Abo. After my forearms were warm Mika lead Megatherion and Kyle TR'd it. I gave my proj. Dairy Freeze a once over and decided to wait to get back on it this weekend. I hung the draws on Rainy Day for Mika and then they both tried Abo. Time was going by faster than I had hoped so I hopped on Psycho and went for the extension pumping out before the last crux.
It was sooo good to get outside today instead of just laying about my apartment waiting for class to start. Speaking of which I better go now or I'll be late. Hope I can get back out this weekend when the temps go down a little. Even though the high today was somewhere around the mid 70's, WW1 was amazingly cool with no greasy holds and almost everything dry. See you there!

Your Favorite Blog Name Here

Dom contemplates the deeper complexities to the fine art of scampering up boulders, while Rita reads in the background.

I’m watching the 2009 NBA playoffs and I’m pretty sure it will come down to a battle royale between the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. What a game it will be!!
Anyways, just got back from my first trip out to Leavenworth for the 2009 climbing season. I haven’t really been out bouldering since the last time I was there in November of last year and the whole car ride down I had butterflies of anxious energy fluttering about in my brain. I hadn’t grown to fully trust my healing finger so I wasn’t quite sure what the results of this trip would be. My car was packed with pads, food, tents, and two dudes who go by the name of Jimmy and Dom(a.ka. Youngblood and the Dominator). The weather was perfect, of course, and we rolled into Leavenworth on fumes, almost. After filling up my near empty tank and avoiding an embarrassing phone call for someone to bring me gas, we hit Forestland where gobs of boulderers were waiting to meet us. We had around 10 people from Oly alone, not to mention all the other boulderers who were there. It was good to be in such a big crew, but after warming up on some of the usual problems Jimmy and I split for the shade of the upper forestland’s mother boulder. I had gotten really close to sending a cool two move power problem called bananas over the summer and was eager to get back on it. Jimmy was amped as well and we got to work. Jimmy sent in a matter of tries, nice, but my head was swimming about in the murky waters of hesitation. I decided it was not to be and we moved around the corner where a sweet problem called Kobe Tai lay in wait. This problem is on an overhung face with some of the nicest little crimps you could ever imagine.


Lisa attempting Kobe Tai(V.8)

After making some hard moves and a lock off bump to a good flat hold below the lip, a sketchy top out awaits that involves committing to a good pocket/crimp and rolling over on a slab with small edges to help you on your way up. There is a myriad of different ways you can do the moves to the lip, but I found the best way for me, and it ended up working quite nicely for Jimmy, who sent first, as well as me who shakily pulled over the lip and shouted with triumph. My one goal of the trip was to see if I could still send V.8 and doing it on a awesome boulder like Kobe Tai was pure joy.
The rest of the Oly squad eventually made their way up and reports of sends started to poor in. I decided to take a break and check out some of the other boulders in the uppers that were left out of the guide. One of the most inspiring lines I saw was a boulder called Cobra Con. A proud line with chunky crimps and a nasty sloper guarding the top that made its way up a tall off-white boulder stood proudly out of the jumble of boulders. I can’t wait to get back and try this line. I also saw the Tea Cup, super sick!!! I hope I can get strong enough to do that problem some day.
After my wandering was over we packed up our things and made our way to another awesome boulder.


Lonely Fish boulder from the road.

A huge boulder just off the road called the Lonely Fish boulder. Home of my first V.10, the stand start to Dirty Dude. I was really enthusiastic about getting back on the boulder’s namesake problem Lonely Fish, since trying it with my friend Nick over the summer. I knew it was doable but I just hoped I could pull it off and keep it together tot op it out. The landing zone is a bit treacherous with minimal pads, but luckily we had three triples and two doubles at our disposal and we turned the nasty landing into a gym floor. I gave it a few burns getting farther than I ever had slapping the flat jug over the lip but falling each time. I finally got the balls to latch that wonderful shelf and with a concentrated amount of sketchiness I pulled and slapped my way into the slabby dihedral and topped out some 25 feet above. Damn, that felt really good. I had a good victory howl on top of the boulder and then came back down to spot. Lisa, Jimmy, Dom, and myself were all knee deep into the session when before you knew it a sending train started to emerge.


Dom on the first moves of the Lonely Fish(V.9)

I sent first, followed closely by Jimmy, and then out of nowhere Lisa gave a growl of effort and finally latched the victory jug and scampered up the dihedral like a chipmunk on crack.


Lisa on the road to victory, the Lonely Fish(V.9)

Before this problem she had only ever managed to send V.5(?)!!!!! This ascent was probably the most impressive thing I have seen in real lie, Lisa just keeps on impressing me with her stunning sends lately, before this trip we got out to Little si where she man handled Rainy Day Woman for her first 5.12a lead outdoors!!! Needless to say high fives were being handed out like glow sticks at a rave. Dom, who had been lodged in a tree during the send fest came down to try his luck. He had the beta and knew what to do. He pulled through all the moves to the very last throw for the victory jug slapping the flat jug only to rash off and fall. Literally having the flash slip through his fingers. Aaaaahhhhhh!!!! I’m positive that he will get this very quickly next time.


Jimmy testing the waters of Dirty Dude Stand Start(V.10)

Well, the hype died down after Lisa departed back to Oly, and us boys were left to our own devices. We played around on a cool V.7 called Bombs Away that involved a basketball jump to a cool crimp rail and nasty grovel/hump fest up and over a dirty slab at the lip. Jimmy clinched the send and Dom and I came close but didn’t manage this one. Jimmy, I never said the problem sucked, I just hated getting my shirt dirty and coming away with no send; I’ll definitely come back and finish it off(maybe). I also gave Droppin’ tha’ Kirschbaum a look over and realized this one might have to wait for another year or so, yikes! It is an endurance power marathon. We finished off the day at a boulder called Starfox whose salt and pepper face had seen better days.


The Starfox boulder at dusk.


Some pretty little spring flowers.


Most of the holds had broken off leaving nasty razor blade crimps and a huge move with a boulder breathing down your neck. It was good to get this mystery cleared up since I had always wondered about this boulder problem. That night Dom reenacted Dante’s inferno in our fire pit and I just enjoyed being back at a nice Leavenworth campsite under the stars with a hot bowl of chili.


Bridgecreek.

The morning brought clam chowder and the packing up of our camp site. Our first stop, The Pretty Boulders. The hike was steep but I love this area. The rock is grade AAAAAAAAAA, very purty, and home to the sweetest V.3 around, Pretty Girl. I did the usual warm up circuit with minimal pain from yesterday. Jimmy ticked the pretties, and then we loaded up for Pretty Hate Machine. The initial moves are not too hard but I always get shut down at the dyno. It was pretty much the same old story for me, I’m still psyched to come back and send, but Jimmy dispatched in a handful of attempts. Looking really strong he got to the dyno every time and when he finally sent he turned into Inspector Gadget and pulled out the go-go gadget arms. Nice job Jimmy, the only problem he didn’t manage was Pretty Boy but he sent everything else at the area.


Jimmy on Pretty Boy(V.7)

We were going to head to Mad Meadows but ran for Tumwater canyon instead to seek out some shade and cooler temps. After watching my crashpad fly off the top of my car roof nearly killing everyone driving behind us, or should I say luckily not killing anyone behind us, we arrived safely at the Swiftwater picnic area. Dom and I monkeyed around on some of the easier problems at the picnic area and then we all tried a cool V.6 lip traverse on sandstone-like granite. Really cool slopey/grainy holds led straight up to a powerful top out.


Joel's Traverse(V.6)

I came sooo close on this one but eventually gave up due to lactic acid build up, and a severe case of vaginosis(medical term). Jimmy gunned up this one as well and tried a V.8 jump problem that looked cool but climbed kind of awkwardly. It was a nice setting, I just wish some of these boulders had more features; the rock quality for this kind of granite is out of this world!!


Chicken Man(V.8)

We got back to the car and felt the sting of little to no skin and decided to head home with the traditional stop at the Heidleburger and an intense game of name that grade/area/boulder problem/first ascentionist. I’m very pleased with what I got done even though I feel like I could have pushed harder at times. This season looks to be a very promising one, Jimmy is climbing harder than I have ever seen him climb before, Lisa is coming out of her shell and turning into a scary rock crushing monster, and Dom, well, Dom just likes to put things down his trousers, who can blame him?!! Just kidding Dom, in all honestly everyone climbed harder than I have ever seen them climb, even if the sends don’t show up on the scorecard it doesn’t mean a lot of mileage and knowledge wasn’t gained. All I hope for is to have as good a year sending as I did last year and to have twice as much fun in doing so. I’m also psyched for the return of long lost friend and climbing compadre Nick Madness, I can’t wait to see what he gets done this year as well. I’ll see everyone soon. PEACE!