Cancer Slayer: No Shoes In The House

Cancer Slayer: No Shoes In The House

'Now, it grosses me out to think of what I may be bringing home, something many before me must’ve considered before banning footwear in their houses, too — people like my sometimes employer, domestic goddess Martha Stewart (not to mention the millions of folks who live in parts of East Asia). I’m a little late to the game, I know. But now I get it.

And I’m going to make Martha proud. Near my front door, I plan to set up a boot tray for shoes. And next to it will be a pretty swing-handle basket filled with fresh slippers for all my guests.'

Egyptian Gods

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Following the post 'Elegantly Barefoot,' we must not forget that the gods of ancient Egypt were always portrayed barefoot.

The ancient Egyptians were so enlightened that they saw nothing odd about Pharaohs, queens or noblemen being shoeless in public. Contrary to any movies you might have seen, even if they did star Charlton Heston.

Daily Telegraph: Homeowner's victory in compensation fight over 'cowboy' builder accident

Daily Telegraph: Homeowner's victory in compensation fight over 'cowboy' builder accident

I am glad the lady won this case. An Englishman's home is his castle and we have the right to refuse access to our homes if we want. Still, if she wanted to protect her carpet she could have asked him to remove his boots while walking through the house. Shame they did not reach that compromise for whatever reason.

Elegantly Barefoot

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I want to challenge the notion that being bare foot should be associated with informality, poverty, tackiness or 'rednecks.'

The great artists of the past loved to paint the human form and they welcomed the challenge of painting the naked human foot. They have left us with many images of people who are barefoot, yet still possessing grace and elegance.

This blog's header image, The Golden Stairs, by Edward Burne Jones is a good example of this, but here are some more:

Back on the grind!

The past week I have been back to my full time schedule of work. 4 tens, mon-thurs. It has allowed me to: A. Become rich beyond my wildest imaginations of wealth! B. Struggle to stay awake past 9:30pm. C. Struggle to get up at 6:30am. D. Maintain a stellar training regiment at the local gym! E. Start setting routes and boulder problems.

It has officially been over a week and a half since I last touched real rock and I have to say that I am extremely rock starved! In fact, I have even been fondling small rocks that I stole from the banks of the Wenatchee just to get my fix! I hope, pray, dream, and even believe that I will one day be able to get back to Little si before the 2010 year is over with, but, who knows? The last second hand report I heard was that World Wall was soaking wet, sheesh. But the outdoor rope climbing adventures of Micah are looking up. I may be able to get out to Vantage this weekend, if only for one day. It’s hard to determine exactly what to spend that precious amount of time doing/projecting? Do I go for volume, or step it up and try out the awesome looking .12c at the Sanctuary? Guess it depends on who my climbing partners are.

In any event the recent moratorium on dry rock has led me into the dusty, chalk filled, plastic world of the gym. More importantly I have entered this world and begun to look at it through the lens of a route setter. It has been far too long since I have wielded a wrench so reuniting with my route setting roots this past weekend was a blast. The last project we tackled was stripping and setting new routes in the cave area of the Warehouse. A very good time was had as Jimmy, Laura, and I stripped off tape and holds and started creating a new world. It’s always inspiring to have a blank canvass to work with and a spectrum of grades to choose from. When I was consistently setting at the Warehouse (before the regular climbing season began) I was mainly focused on setting routes; due in large part to a heinous pulley injury I suffered in late December early January. However, this latest installment of route setting for me was all boulder problems and I had a great time setting them. I think I have an even better time naming problems, but setting problems from a movement driven vision is like trying to create great works of art. Some people can just throw holds on the wall and voila! You’ve got a 3 star classic for sure, but others (me) take a little longer. I like to start by creating the skeleton of a route or a problem and then trying the moves in my head. Once I have a seemingly cohesive line, I start to try it for real and de-bug all of the awkward or reachy sequences as they come up. This is also the time period when you can adjust for the grade. Remove a jug and replace it with a crimp, remove a terrible sloper and replace it with a jug, you know the drill.

When the dust settled and the problems were all named, I had set three problems in all: a V.4, a V.6, and V.7/8. I’m most proud of the V.6, as one dimensional as it may seem. A cool roof problem on incut crimps and finger jugs with drop knees, body tension, and great lock off’s. I’ve only completed about 2/3’s of the moves but I already know it will make a really good circuit problem, might just need a bit more tweaking near the end.

I’ve also been really driven to stick to a regimented training schedule. So far I’ve completed three days of this particular circuit which is a combination of a work out that I did with Lisa before she left for college and bits and pieces of what has worked for me in the past and what other’s have suggested; as well as whatever I can glean out of E. Horsts latest training guide. On a typical training day the only climbing I allow myself to do is warming up-lap the gym twice (around 300 moves) and practice shaking out and resting during this time; cave laps-which consist of running laps on the cave route which is a V.2/3 boulder problem that starts at the bottom of the cave and can be linked into the traverse and back into itself, so it makes for a good power circuit (I try to at least do 6 laps and link it as many times as possible, so far I’ve only been able to do 2.5 laps on link) ; then it’s on to the meat of the training day, campus board w/feet-the ‘with feet’ part is because I’m still recovering from a finger injury, basically the campus board circuit I go through consists of 5 stages, 1) up and downs using every rung and going up and down until failure (I do this with two of the three levels of rungs 4 times). 2) skipping rungs and going up and down until failure (on two of the three levels of rungs 3 times), 3) skipping one rung and then skipping two rungs, switching arms each time until failure, then mixing it up and skipping two rungs and then one rung and going till failure (4 times), 4) rung dyno, starting with a rung at a comfortable level of height and dynoing two rungs up to the next rung with both hands and then dropping back to the starting rung, repeating until failure (3times), 5) campus board warm down, up and downs skipping every other rung, on all levels of rungs until failure. A very important part of this work out is in between sets you have to do 50 crunches, so basically when you are not on the campus board you should be doing crunches, I think in total it comes to 750 crunches. After this I go in to weighted dead hangs, I use a weight belt that weighs 12 pounds and I either use a fingerboard and hang for 5+ seconds on pockets, crimpers, and slopers, or I find holds around the gym to hang from that are challenging enough to provide a good pump. Each hang is 5+ seconds and I hang from each set of holds three times. Last but not least is the warm down, for this particular circuit I have three stations, push up rungs, bicep curl bar (40 pounds), and a round tube with grip tape on it to do dead hangs from. I start by doing 20 push-ups, go into 20 second dead hangs, and then 30 bicep curls, this constitutes one set and I do 3 -4 sets depending on how gassed I am by this time, trying to minimize rests between sets. The entire work out has taken me 2 and a half hours. Between each circuit within the entire circuit I take at least 10-15 minute rests, which are much needed, so overall the total resting time is 35-40 minutes, so overall you should be working hard for almost two hours!

I still have a lot to learn about training techniques and I’m very eager to start learning the ‘ring work outs’ that Jimmy has been doing lately. On the non-training days I just climb. I try to do 4X4’s where I repeat problems 4 times or do pyramids where I do a V.2, V.3, V.4, V.4 set and then try to link all the problems into each other without getting off the wall and down-climbing on any hold. Plus I have become a huge fan of down climbing routes for endurance/power endurance.

On my rest days I have been running 3-4 miles, with a goal of running at least 15 miles a week. This was a lot easier to maintain when I was working part time, believe me!

I’ve never really had an actual ‘training’ regiment before, so I hope I can stick to this and be as consistent about doing the work outs as possible (without getting injured). My main motives for undertaking a workout program of this kind is to get stronger, become a fitter individual, increase the level of difficulty at which I climb (and subsequently break free of the plateau I find myself in), become a more confident climber, and last but not least PREVENT INJURIES!

I hope this post has at the very least been interesting and if anyone who is reading this has any tips or pointers about training for climbing and what they do please feel free to share. The 4^th annual South Sound Pull Down is right around the corner and I hope that this training pays off and I will finally be able to beat Dom this year! Mwahahaha!

Paper or Plastic?

Well, one more year has finally creeped by. Slowly, indubitably, the months fell away and revealed yet one more candle on the old birthday cake (or pie, some people prefer pie for their birthday). Yes, the rumors are true, I have turned 29 this month. My twenties have been a very odd time in my life. I don’t think there has been a span of time in which my years spent on this planet have been filled with more change, hesitation, commitment, more change, no commitment, bending, breaking, moving, paying, learning, or loving. And with that, I found myself at a climbing competition in Tacoma on Saturday. Surrounded by people who were, for the most part younger than me, but I was not competing against them, so I wasn’t very nervous. I clambered in the side door to the Vertical Wolrd gym in Tacoma shoveling spoonfuls of delicious fresh fruit, vanilla almond granola, and organic yogurt into my mouth and staring wide eyed as some of Washington State’s strongest climbers made some of the most impressively gymnastic maneuvers up and around the steep and bulging walls. I was mid-shovel before Johnny Goicochea made one of the most heinous looking one arm catches from a wide bear-hugging embrace off a blunt arête to a jug on a roof, before locking off with that same arm to another incut in the roof; and it was after witnessing this that I knew this was going to be a great show.

Alex Fritz crossing through on a stout 900+ point problem

We caught up with Jimmy who was competing in Men’s Open, as well as Kevin from Oly’ who was in Men’s Advanced and Andrew, also from Oly’ who was holding it down in Men’s Intermediate (I know, where are all the Oly’ women?!! Whose representing for the females in our town!!!!??? Besides Laura who was not participating in the comp that day, just taking up space, like me…)

Brian on the start of a crimpy one!

Jimmy was climbing very strong and flashed a 900+ point problem as soon as we got there! Nice! I finally stopped filling my big mouth with food and did a little filming. I’ll post a vid soon, but I’m afraid I didn’t get some of the more entertaining and athletic problems the comp had to offer.

This was definitely a very fun and exhilarating experience. I haven’t really been to a comp, or at least been a spectator, for probably more than 16 years! I had a blast watching all of the effort, encouragement, and jocularity that seemed to fill the entire gym. To sum it up, SHIKADANG! (or ding depending on who you ask).

Ryan Olson sticking a dynamic move.

I was totally motivated to start training in the gym just by watching all of these little crushers around me. The atmosphere in there was really inspiring and ‘psych-filled’. I had a great time and wish I could have stayed to watch the entire 5 hour circuit. In the end Johnny G won a hefty $500 purse, followed by Jesse (I think this is correct) from Stone Gardens who walked with $350! No wonder everyone was crushing like their life(rent) depended on it!!

Jesse crimping his way to second place.

I’ll certainly start coming up to the Vertical World gym in Tacoma and am extremely happy to have discovered yet another great resource in which to train, socialize, and learn more about the art of crushing. Big props to the sponsors and organizers as usual and I hope this is a regular occurrence AND that next year I’m strong enough to compete in it!

Getting away.

The infamous Coffee Cup!

Well, since the sky has opened up and God has decided to take a two week long piss all over the Northwest my friends and I headed out to Leavenworth! We had a nice three day trip planned and many a boulder to crush. Well, many a boulder to repeat crushing on anyway. Jimmy and I headed out together on Friday and Dom and Laura met us that night. The free camping was OVERRUN! People were everywhere; but you know what? I kind of like the little community that is born, dies, and is re-born every time I go there. For example, one time we were staying there at the beginning of the summer and out of nowhere this group of climbers comes up with the idea to play a game of whiffle ball. We had a blast and needless to say my team won. Or, this last time we stayed there we ended up sharing our fire with some really nice dudes from Seattle who were there trad climbing and had some great stories to share. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the comforts and exclusivity provided by the occasional stay at 8 mile (I’ll always love good ole campsite 21), but the free camping is a really great place to cool your dogs and enjoy some good company after a day of granite groping; and it’s FREE!!

Alright folks, I've got some great spirit animals here and they're going like hot cakes!

Who wants to be the 'Praying Mantis'?

Or, the 'Fuzzy Bear'?

Okay, back to my stale story that is now a week and half old. Everyone has no doubt seen the video and it says it all. With the exception of a few noteworthy ‘almost’ sends. You know, you can never judge a trip by a scorecard. Sometimes the almost sends are more impressive than the actual sends (right? Maybe? No? Well, you know what I mean…)

Me making sure the jug on Yoda is still there...

Laura has some definite projects to come back to and finish up. Maybe getting into the gym will give her the power to come back for One Summer, Claim Jumper, and The Lobster? And Dom had a great flash attempt on The Jib falling at the ‘real?’ crux. The first move is hard, but is it really the crux? Anyway, maybe this trip has lit the fire for them to start bouldering again? So many questions.

Laura reaching for the flat jug (which is now gone!) on Claim Jumper (V.4)

Me on the other hand, well, I just couldn’t get off my recent success on the ropes. Instead of spotting I was day dreaming of all the lines at Little si that I finally feel strong enough to do. Instead of getting psyched to try all the gnar boulder problems I have on my tick(wish) list I was pantomiming the moves to Californication. But, in the end I didn’t send anything, nor was I very motivated to try hard on the problems I did get on. However, with that being said I did really enjoy a cool V.4 at the Torture Chamber called the Lobster. The Torture Chamber BTW, is a very odd place. Does someone live there seasonally?

Dom on the Jib (V.8)

Just barely sticking the first hold on the flash!

Working the top out.

In the end, Jimmy was victorious over the Practitioner his first ever 8a, and I was glad to see him send in just two sessions working the rig plus get the whole process on film. I really look forward to filming some more this Fall and hopefully finding my bouldering stride once more. I have many, many, many more problems to complete in Leavenworth and I need to get with it!

Jimmy staring the final move on The Practitioner(V.11)

Lead

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You might think that with cars having catalytic converters, lead on the ground would not be much of a risk. However, cars had been belting out leaded petrol for years.

Lead does not biodegrage, decay or dissipate. Furthermore it gets absorbed by soil. It is not just cars that have introduced lead into our environment, lead paint, debris from demolished buildings and various industrial activities have deposited lead onto the ground in urban locations.

Lead can be introduced into homes on peoples' shoes through soil and dust. This creates a serious risk of exposure, particularly for children. Potential risks of lead exposure include brain damage, behaviour changes, slowed growth, poor mental and educational development and hearing problems and seizures.

Having a shoe-free home can considerably reduce the risk of lead exposure.

Sole Truth About Those Soles

Leavenworth 9.11

Recipricocity

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You may not have a baby at crawling age
But if you ask visitors to your home to remove their shoes, you send a message that it is acceptable to keep your home shoe-free. That makes life easier for those who do have crawling babies.

You may not have a new carpet
You may have an old carpet that needs replacing or a wooden
floor that is covered in scratch marks. But if you have a shoes-off policy, it will make it easier for those who do have a new carpet to do the same.

You may not live in an area where there is pesticide on the ground
But if you have a no-shoes rule in your house, it will send a signal that it is okay for those who do.

"It's Better With Your Shoes Off" by Anne Cleveland (1955)

In 1955, Anne Cleveland wrote a classic comic book about life in Japan from an American perspective. The books illustrates the life of an expatriate couple, Mr and Mrs West who are in semi-permanent residence in Japan. An amusingly satirical work, this book introduced Japanese culture to many who knew nothing of the country.

Foreign or Exotic?

Shappi Khorsandi, a female British-Iranian stand-up comic says that "Exotic means the same thing as foreign, except you don't dislike it."

Exotic conjures up images of the far east or the New World. It is exciting colourful, sensuous and maybe a bit sexy. Foreign means something from another culture, but the word somehow lacks the exciting emotive power of the other word.

I am convinced that the English pronounce the word 'foreign' with a certain acidity. When we say the word 'foreign', there is a slight tightening of the mouth and a subtle narrowing of the eyes.

I have mentioned before about the different reactions of British and Americans to shoe removal in Scandinavia and the Far East. Expatriates in Japan and other Asian countries usually love removing their shoes and often bring the custom back, while many expatriates in Scandinavian countries find it really irritating. I suspect that the exotic/ foreign distinction at work.



When a tourist in Thailand has to go barefoot in restaurants and guest houses in Thailand, it is exotic. It is a taste of the colourful and sensuous east. On the other hand, when the same person is on a business trip to Norway and his Norwegian business partner makes him walk about the house in socks, it is foreign. Just like all the other foreign things he hates like undercooked steaks in French restaurants, bossy German policemen, overpriced everything in tourist areas and disdainful Italian waitresses.



Foreign is different, but it has a familiarity to it. Shoes-off in Japan reflects the beautiful alienness of that whole culture, shoes-off in Sweden just reminds you of those irritating fussy people back home (like me) who make you take your shoes-off to protect their carpets.

Nevertheless, we have to challenge our prejudices. We may find that steaks served very rare can be pleasently different. We may find that Germans do have a sense of humour and those Italian waitresses are quite pretty even if they think you don't deserve to be in their restaurant. And you may find that even if Nordic people are fussy about their floors, it actually makes a lot of sense taking shoes off.

Some Serious Theology: Are you a Tramplian or an Offalist?

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If you are an Evangelical Christian, you may be sick of the Calvinist/ Arminian debate, so let me introduce you to some new theological terms; Tramplian and Offalist.

Tramplians like to trample the carpets or flooring of their homes with their shoes on. They find it rather objectionable to be asked to remove their shoes when visiting somebody else's home.

The central principle in Tramplian theology is the freedom of the will. They believe that they should be the ones to decide whether they take their shoes off at a dinner party. Their attitude is "I decided what outfit to wear. I decided what shoes to wear. I should be able to keep them on if I like". They do not believe that a hostess should impose shoelessness on them.

Tramplians have a strong belief in the goodness of hosts. They consider that a hostess should be above all concerned for her guests wishes and convenience above keeping her home clean. They believe that if a hostess likes them enougth to invite them into her home, she will accept them with their shoes on.

Tramplians believe in the power of their own ability to keep their shoes clean. They consider themselves to be grown-up and to be careful about what they tread on. They do acknowledge that their shoes can be tainted by the corruption of dirty streets, however they hold that this can easily be dealt with by wiping their feet on their hostess' doormat. Their shoes can be restored to cleanliness by the exercise of their will.

Offalists in contrast, always remove their shoes at the door. Offalists believe in the Total Depravity of the soles of their shoes. The corruption of city streets has completely ruined the condition of their shoes, they argue, and the only hope is a change of nature for their feet, namely into slippers or clean socks. The Offalist pays heed to warnings about the health risks of pesticide, lead paint and animal excrement.

The Offalist upholds the sovereignty of the host. The hostess has been very generous in inviting her guests, however, she is sovereign over her own home and has the authority to set the rules. She will not allow anything corrupt to defile her home. Those who would enter her home must not come in their own shoes, but must meet her condition of a change into slippers or stocking feet.

The Offalist holds that the root problem of the Tramplian's theology is human pride. The Tramplian is proud of her ability to make decisions about her outfit. She is proud of her Manolos, her Prada heels or her Jimmy Choo boots. She is too proud to combine her outfit with stocking feet. She resents the idea that her hostess would not accept her in her own shoes.

The Offalist argues that if the Tramplian would only forsake her pride, she would actually find that she was far more comfortable in slippers, socks or bare feet. Her determination to remain in her stilettos will in the end hurt her feet and drag her to destruction. She may well remain outside the dinner party in the outer darkness.

Forever...

What a weekend!
I just returned from a short stay in Seattle where I was able to get out climbing on two separate occasions. If you follow this blog then you know I'm pretty much addicted to World Wall One. I'm not the best sport climber, in fact, I'm still chasing the dream of climbing 5.13, but the World Wall is a great place to train for rope climbing. Soaring gray/white/tan/and even black streaked walls make up this behemoth of rock sticking straight out of the side of Little Mt. Si.
I've been climbing at Little si for almost 4 seasons now and I have managed to tick almost every single route in the 5.12 range, barring some exceptions like Sweet Tooth, Totally Spent, and Propaganda. For the past two months I have been putting in a lot of effort, frustratingly so at times, on a route called Californicator. I had this thing absolutely wired but would always get to this one spot and fall. The move that was constantly shutting me down required some weird foot work and body positioning, and is not power dependent at all. You have to do this particularly technical crux coming right off of doing the majority of the hard climbing of the route as well, but you do have a somewhat decent rest just before you engage in the move so it shouldn't be that hard, right?
Well, not if you're a basket case like me!!
It took me only 6 or 7 burns to get the route down to a manageable one hang. Then the re-occurring nightmare scenario set in. 15 consecutive redpoint attempts yielded the same result:
I would climb the bottom section flawlessly, even using my own slightly harder beta at the third bolt crux, and growl my way through the powerful move at the sixth bolt crux; move left and start resting at the 'typewriter' hold (a long rail with two good incut parts to it), then the anxiety of failure and the pressure of success would come barreling down on me mentally and physically as I reached out left to grab a flat crimp, shuffle my feet over and try to fall into a small but incut sidepull at chest height. This is where I have been falling for the past 21 attempts!
But not on Saturday, September 4, 2010!!
The weather was perfect, sunny and cold. I made plans to meet my two good friends and climbing partners Dom and Laura at World Wall. I hadn't climbed with them in ages and it was really nice to see their enthusiastic faces once again. We caught up on the social comings and goings of Olympia's vast and diverse climbing community, talked shop about new jobs, student teaching, and family and eventually got to climbing. I made the obligatory and somewhat traditional warm up of Aborigine while Dom and Laura did a hand ful of routes. I watched as Laura went for the lead of her project Rainy Day Woman, which will soon become her first ever 5.12a. Then it was my turn. The mood was very light, and as I started climbing I noticed the constant chatter below me and felt good that the spotlight wasn't being blasted too brightly on my attempt. I felt very light and confident on the bottom part, sailing through sidepulls, big lock-offs, and double sets of underclings; before I knew it I was at the typewriter feeling surprisingly good. I've been trying a different style of shaking out when it comes to rests called 'G-tox'. You basically shake each arm out but instead of dangling them by your side you make a conscious effort to shake each arm out above your head for some allotted amount of time (5 secs.) or however long you can manage as well as dangling it by your side. Not only is it scientifically proven but it also focuses your attention on something other than the outcomes of failure or success, hell, it may just work like a placebo!!
In any event, I was really milking the rest and felt better than I ever have and launched into the last crux. To my surprise I stuck the move, it really threw me off a little bit at first but I moved quickly and got my foot up to a good black chip, reached high for a nice crimp, and then made a huge lock-off to the victory jug!! I was absolutely dumb-struck to have made it this far. Now I just needed to shake out and keep it together for the last little crux section, which is no harder then .11b/c, but can feel very precarious when pumped. I finally felt as recovered as I was going to get and made a big lock off to a back-handed undercling, got my foot on a small jib and pulled myself in with a crimp switching the back hand undercling to a regular undercling and stood up grabbing a very friendly finger jug. It was over, a wrap on a sloper, some ticky tack moves over a bulge on crimps and I was clipping the chains.
Dom suggested I write a poem about my experience with the route, but I think I'll just post some pictures of all my friends climbing it:


Third bolt crux!


Lisa clipping off of a set of double underclings.


Antonio heads into the 6th bolt crux!


Dom sticks the finger jug out of the 6th bolt crux, just before you start to head left.


Nick hangs out at the victory jug. It's almost OVER!

I was thrilled to send this route and I feel like it definitely marks a major point of progression for me in my climbing. It is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done on a rope.
If you have stayed with this post this far then you might as well keep reading.
I know my account of 'the epic redpoint of a 5.12d' isn't as engaging, exciting, or eloquent as perhaps Jamie Emerson's recent blog post about his fight with Evil Backwards(V.14) or even Sean Mc.Coll's re-telling of his battle with Punt-X(5.14d) in the Gorge Du Loup, but hey, it's all I got, and in my mind my battle is no less epic or important.
As a follow up to my success on Saturday I returned to World Wall on Monday, yesterday, with Dom, Jimmy, and Andrew. I had the strongest day out climbing that I have ever had. I'm still chasing that elusive 5.13 benchmark, but I managed some really strong repeats:
I warmed up on Technorigine(5.12c), then stepped left and repeated Psychosmatic(5.12d), then stepped back right and repeated Californicator(5.12d), I even made it through the first crux of the Californication(5.13a, californicator into techno) extension before falling going to the mail slot. I'm very stoked on this line at the moment and really hope that I can make this my first 5.13a, a very proud .13a in my case. I even managed a lap on Rainy Day for good measure, after taking a 25 footer off of a second lap of Techno almost ripping my arm out of my socket (yikes!).
All in all, it was an amazing two days of climbing for me and I hope I can keep getting stronger and eventually climb Californication and Chronic this year.
Stay tuned...

Summer Comes to an End

Hmmm, seems so close...

Jimmy and I had such a great time in Squamish we decided to head back the following weekend. Despite the rain on the very first day at the very first stop, we packed up our shiz and decided to check out a new area called Paradise Valley which was miraculously dry, sunny, and amazing! Great problems on friendly holds and flat landings, what a gem of an area!! The rest of the trip was spent between the Grand Walls, theNorth Walls, and Paradise Valley (which was affectionately referred to as PV for the remainder of the trip).
Since I took my sweet time to finally make this post I'll just talk about some of the highlights of the trip.
Jimmy crushed as usual, but the stand out send for him was one of his hardest ascents yet: Worm World Cave Low. I watched him suss out beta and go from falling at the very first move to falling at the very last move before I was able to pick my camera up and immortalize the ascent on video (unfortunately I wasn't quick enough and he dispatched the first crux before I could press play, but I got the rest on film which I will post soon, I know I keep saying that but I promise I will!!)
He also put down impressive V.7 and V.8 flashes of the Fridge and the Rookie, as well as dispatching the Rookie Low, very nice trip for him!!
I had a great time falling off some classic boulder problems, but I also managed a V.8 which was very fun called Storm Troopers at PV, as well as sending Styx at the North Walls on my second go, due only to the impressively staggering amount of pads that the Hsu and Wolff families were carrying around. Styx is probably soft for V.7 but is such a fun problem on a sweet slightly overhung face. Definitely worth doing (if you have like 8 or 9 pads like we did). However my favorite problem of the whole trip had to have been The Tugger(V.4), one of my all time favorite problems anywhere!! Great movement, great rock, perfect landing, what more do you want??
So, until next year Squamish!!!


Rookie Low(V.10)


Worm World Cave Low(V.10)


I just thought this was a weird photo.


Trad Killers (V.4)


Heart Break Hotel (V.2)

Adios Antonio!

Antonio on Aborigine(5.11b)

This summer I met a great climber from Ojaca(spelling?) Mexico. Antonio is a really mellow guy who climbs like he was born to do so. He works as a climbing guide back in his hometown in Mexico and has been a beast on the rock for a while now. He stayed in Olympia for the majority of the summer and it was really fun to climb with him and get to know him. He moves very intuitively up the rock and watching him figure out sequences and climb 'lightly' on steep terrain was very inspiring as well as thought provoking. I'm really glad I was able to climb with him as much as I did, and we even got to project Californicator together. These are a few pics of our last trip to World Wall with Antonio, where he made some really significant progress on Californicator. We'll miss you Antonio, and I might just take you up on that invitation to Ojaca someday.


Antonio on Aborigine.


Antonio enters the crux of Californicator(5.12d)


Antonio working out the next few moves on a rest.


Jimmy nearing the top of Technorigine(5.12c)