Leavenworth 9.11

Big Chicken

Name this problem.

Yowza! Bouldering is hard, no? Well, at least grabbing sharp crystals and bearing down on them with all your might is hard (read: PAINFUL).
It has been two years since I have been in Squamish due to unforeseen border crossing requirements that took place in 2009, but I'm BACK! I mean, I just GOT back from a fabulous trip to the almighty Squaw. And oh how nothing has changed. I mean it, NOTHING has changed, except well, I'm a little fatter, balder, and weaker. But all that aside, it was a really nice three days filled with random social encounters, great weather, sketchy landings, and TONS of finger scraping granite slopers and crimpers.
This is the first time I have been to Squamish without at least 5 or 6 people in tow. Instead it was just me and Jimmy. It kind of felt like a business trip. We were there to 'take care of business', the first of which was a campsite. So far our mission was a failure, so we headed for the boulders instead. Black dyke, sloppy poppy, great for the warming up of forearms and fingers. Next, ATD!! Everything so far felt coated in a nice layer of moist chalk and as I shakily humped myself up the heinous mantle of ATD and walked down from the top out huffing and puffing I knew the next two days were going to be very difficult. So I basically stood back and made sure Jimmy didn't kill himself topping out everything he got on.
Jimmy went on a little Rampage of his own. Over the three days we were there he killed a handful of classics like Squealing Pork, Gibb's Cave, Worm World Cave, ATD, and literally finished the trip by sending Big Chicken. Oh yeah, as a side note we also made a short morning trip out to the Sport Temple where he managed a .13a second go. I would like to forget about my performance on the ropes that morning.
All in all it was a great trip! And, I broke down and bought the shiny new guidebook, which BTW is one of the best purchases I have made. Tons of new problems, updates to old problems, and good general info.
Now, time for some pictures:

Resurrection(V.9)


Resurrection(V.9)


Ride the Lightning(V.8)


The story about the camping goes something like this:
We were about to shell out $30 for ONE night at Klahanie falls when we were approached by a woman who identified us as climbers and offered us a spot at her site where she had her trailer and would be staying for the month. Jen was a climber as well and a very gracious host, down to earth and very fond of Rockband. We ended up paying her $20 for two nights and almost got arrested while enjoying a fire on our second night, completely oblivious to the fact that Squamish was under a very strict burn ban (sorry Canada). But it was a great deal, we enjoyed the toilets, hot water, and the picnic table that cane with the site, and even got to hang out in her trailer one night. Thanks Jen!!


Exactly how fast is this in miles per hour?


Jimmy takes a stroll down Sesame Street(V.9)



Okay, I didn't exactly get any pictures of actual sends but I will be posting a video soon of Jimmy's redpoint of Big Chicken(V.10). Check here soon.
And, we'll be headed back for round two next week. Hope to see you guys out there!

Newhalem for a Day!

Jimmy pulling the roof on OSX(5.13a)

Yesterday a small group of us made it out to a new crag located in the far north east of Washington and right inside of the little (understatement) town of Newhalem. Jimmy and Lisa (my adopted little brother and sister) accompanied me the three and half hour journey. This crag is located literally right off the side of highway 20 and is one of the coolest crags I've been to in a while. Sweeping grey walls of gneiss (which is very similar texturally to granite) striped by brown and black water streaks soared from the ground at our feet. The belay stations are amazing, flat ground, nice big leaf maples providing shade, no sketchy jump off points, and the routes are all protected extremely well. On our warm up of Luna (5.11a) Lisa put up 9 draws on a 45 foot route!!!!

Jimmy sticking the crux on OSX.


'12c for a Day'(5.12b)


'Shoe Phone'(5.12b)

The climbing is typically not very steep, instead trending towards mostly vertical to slabby or slightly overhung. The routes are mostly technical edging, with some dynamic movement, but it's a mixed bag to be honest. While I got shut down on everything except the warm up, Jimmy had another spectacular showing of his new found power endurance ticking a 5.13a second go and onsighting his first and second .12b's. I almost managed a flash and redpoint of 'shoe phone' (5.12b) but got shut down on the slab part (major disappointment) on my last go of the day. Oh well, I'll definitely be back!


Me on the bottom part of OSX.

Lisa had a good day as well but will have to come back for some of the twelves as well. She did have an extremely close flash attempt of '12c for a day' (5.12b) coming off just before the chains.
We climbed from noon till 8 and it never stopped raining all day, but we never got wet, and neither did the routes!

Lisa staring down the crux throw on OSX.


Negotiating the bulge, OSX.

I'll probably never day trip this area again, but there is a nice camp ground less than a mile away from the crag so I'm psyched to get back out here for a couple days next time.
It looks like it is back to the projects at Little si tomorrow and then maybe a break for four or five days. I'm enjoying part time right now, but am accomplishing very little on the rope (read nothing at ALL!!) so it's time to step back, clean out some of the clutter in my apartment, and re-gain some 'spiritual psych'.
I think the next crag we want to hit up is Equinox, so if anybody has a topo or some beta on how to get there drop me a line!!

Time for Some Action!

Jimmy crushing Psychosomatic(5.12d) before redpointing Flatliner(5.13c)
Unfortunately my camera decided to go on the fritz as Jimmy soared up the wall and through the bouldery crux of Flatliner and all my pics of him on this stunning line are trashed!! Jimmy has been on the power endurance ride of his life this last month sending another 5.13b Lizard Prince and crushing his first 5.13c Flatliner. Great work Jimmy!!!!

July has just flown(!!) by. My good friend and climbing partner Nick came back from D.C. to visit and certainly left his mark. It took a couple trips for Nick to get re-acquainted with his once local crag Little si, but once he did it was game time! Making short work of Graven Image(5.12c) he then turned his attention to his long term project and gem of the crag Chronic(5.13b). On his fourth go of the day, on his 3rd work session this year he pulled a send out of the bag in typical Nick fashion screaming from the top of his lungs and depth of his soul to stay on through the crux for his first .13b send!!!


Nick enters the final crux section on Chronic(5.13b)


Latching the last move!!! Nice job Nick! Super proud!


Can you find the climber on Techno?



A wet morning in Seattle.





Keenan TR's Aborigine(5.11b)

Lisa has also put down her first send of the summer with an amazing redpoint of one of the hardest 5.12d's at Little si, Californicator. She had been working this with me for a month now and finally pulled out the send with style! Nice job Lisa, I hope I can join the club soon...

Lisa sticks a move on Californicator(5.12d)


Check out the WRG tank top, REPRESENT!!


Lisa crushes the crux on Cali.

Well, I just returned from another day out at the World Wall. The temps were the worst I have ever climbed in. Warm with a mixture of high humidity. GROSS!! Everything felt nasty and impossibly slick. I did, however, manage almost all the moves on Chronic and am so psyched on this line it's not even funny! I have a pretty good feeling that if my fitness keeps increasing this line will go down this year.
In other news of the day no huge sends went down, but Lisa did manage another one hang attempt of Psychosomatic and is very, very, VERY close to sending yet another giant at the wall. As soon as that and Prop go down it's time for Chronic!!


Lisa sticks the finger jug on Psychosomatic(5.12d)


Grabbing the victory jug!

Tomorrow we are all headed to a new crag, Newhalem. I'm so stoked but have a bad feeling my onsighting skills have severely diminished due to all the projecting I've been doing this last month. But, we'll have to wait and see how the routes play out. I've heard a lot of good things about this crag and I hope something in the mid to high 5.12 range will go down. Jimmy has his eye on a 5.13a called OSX so I'm sure I'll get on that as well. I just hope my camera stops spazzing out on me. Hope everyone is well and having a great summer so far.

The Fire Burns Within

Dom and Jimmy


Laura

One day spent at Little si, and two spent in Tieton. Why not? My weekend was looking jam-packed with climbing. I would share this trip with three great friends and outdoor enthusiasts Dom, Laura, and Jimmy. We drove aimlessly (at least for the first hour) before finally realizing we had missed the exit for highway twelve and had to back track. We wrote down the proper exit number this time so all misguidance’s and wayward run downs could be avoided in future trips. It was near 2:30 in the afternoon when we pitched our tents in the free camping area and sought out the Oasis, our first stop. The shade was a welcome break from the weight of the sun but as you climbed higher it became inescapable. Warm-ups were .10c, .10d, .11a, and then onto the coolest looking .12a around. I forget the name (probably because I didn’t send) but it was an amazing route. The first thirty feet were brilliant! Face climbing on small to medium edges with a multitude of foot options and great movement. Then steeper climbing on good holds with short cruxy sections that had pronounced crimper/slimper sequences. It was all good fun! Dom came close to the OS, I came really close to the flash, and Jimmy bagged the flash but not without the uncovering of a jug that turned the top crux into a not so much crux. It was a great route, I can’t wait to go back.

We ended the day in the shade once again at Dream Wall, a crag we had not been to on previous trips. It was blocky and junky looking but the first climb I got on was a really fun .10a that was long and juggy. Next I tried a .10c that was rather awkward and did not climb so well, and by the time Jimmy got down from his go we were all ready to leave. It was getting late anyway and we needed to collect firewood. Lucky for us the wood was in great abundance a mere 20 yards from our campsite. We stacked the logs high and wide. By the time we were done breaking them down and stacking them we had a pile at least three feet by four feet, it was very comforting. We ended up burning the whole pile, including a mama log and stayed up until one watching the blaze, chattering away, and teaching Dom the finer intricacies of ‘shot-gunning’.

It was a pleasant night’s sleep and we woke to sun and a full day of climbing at The Cave area. There were a lot of highlights! Jimmy started out strong with an onsight of Elixir (5.12a), flashed a few .11b/c/d’s, and polished the crag off by flashing the hardest thing there, a .12c arête!! It was a great weekend for Jimmy, three days on and non-stop climbing the whole time; I might have to start calling him ‘the machine’. Dom also had a strong showing with several .11b/c flashes/OS’s as well as flashing the .12c arête too!! I was surrounded by animals!! I could not manage to attend this power packed party as I flailed on several routes and yielded to the lactic acid and sheer terror that pulsated throughout my body. But, I have this to say: The Cave is definitely one of the best crags in Tieton. It has three very different areas all side by side with three very different styles of climbing, rock quality, and aesthetics. The .12c arête is a total gem with great movement and I am super psyched to come back for the send. We were all beaten up by the end of the day and ready for some QB back in Oly’.

Dom starting the long journey on his flash of Trigger Finger (5.12c)












What a weekend! My friends are amazing!! So psyched for more of these kinds of trips to come over the next three months. I start part time in a couple of weeks and I’m ready for a little R&R and skin shredding!! Now it’s time for the last week of the world cup, a lot of really hot weather, and hopefully a few Exit outings this weekend. Hurry up and get yourself out here Nick!!


The End!!

New Beta

Lisa staring down the barrel of the last move on Hanging Out to Dry (5.12b) at the old World Wall.

Just finished watching Germany stomp Argentina into the ground, 4 to nil (zip, nada, nothing, zero!). Relaxing in front of the glow of my lap top before heading out to Tieton for a couple days. A lot has happened in the last few weeks so here is the short and dirty version.


Mika Peterson, great friend, strong member of the Oly' climbing community, had to say goodbye to all of the people he has had a profound impact on here to go back to his home country Tanzania, Africa. Mika was an intensely positive person with a great outlook on life and I'm really proud to have known him and be able to nurture his climbing ability while he was here. On the various trips to World Wall One Mika went from redpointing .10c to bagging his first .12a! Have a great year Mika and I'm psyched to reunite someday in Africa, maybe a Rocklands trip??





Had a good weekend in Seattle where I said goodbye to more good friends Jenny and Jason who are off to live in Europe for two years. Good luck guys! I think I remember hearing about some good craigs in Europe somewhere??


Most recently, Jimmy has sent a long time nemesis at WW1 Californicator!! Great job Jimmy! And even more recently, as of yesterday Jimmy, Lisa, Kevin and I returned to World Wall where Jimmy had a great day repeating some hard classics, Techno, Psychosomatic, Hanging Out to Dry, polishing the crux on Chronic off, and winding down with Rainy Day. Lisa and I have both made good progress on Californicator. I feel really psyched on this project right now and yesterday I made leaps and bounds in refining my beta and I'm confident it will go this summer. Here are some shots of Lisa on Hanging Out to Dry.

Holes in the Ozone

The 'Crew'.

I don’t have a whole lot to say, and even less time to say it in, so here goes.
The weekend started off great, with a day trip to Little si, and an extra helping of Exit 38 in the same day. I have fallen in love with the bouldery moves of Judgement Day Direct(I’ve decided to call it by it’s real name since I met the creator at Little si), and I had a good re-visiting with the Shocklet link up at Nevermind, which also has very bouldery moves at the crux. Both routes involve making hard moves above the clips which is exhilarating and inspiring at the same time. Greg made leaps and bounds in his climbing confidence and started leading his first routes at 38. Feeling good he also went for the lead of Steep Street but got a little pumped out at the crux. However he managed it clean on TR his second go and I think this will be his first hard lead next time out.
That night was a blur of good and bad karaoke, but always infused with laughter and smiling faces(and some crazy dance moves!)
Sunday was a trip to a new spot, Ozone. This little crag is found skirting the banks of the Columbia River and while the drive felt like it took days, upon arrival the crag was buzzing with people, and even better new routes to feast upon. And feast we did. Jimmy and Dom crushed almost all of the .12a’s(crushed=onisghted or flashed calmly and coolly), while Laura and new friend(to me anyway) Chaz made short work of the long and involved 5.8’s/9’s/and10’s. While I wasn’t thrilled by the rock quality in some spots- the only basalt I’ve really enjoyed climbing on is the stuff at Smith-a lot of the routes were bullet hard basalt and were top notch involving many roofs, crack systems, flat edges and ledges, crimps, slopers, sidepulls, and the whole lot. It was an absolute thrill getting on new routes and I have forgotten what it feels like to visit a new crag and not be totally overwhelmed by volume or felt totally out of place. Ozone is a great crag to hang out, with the exception of the extreme downhill angle found at parts of the trail, and no matter what your skill level, offers several mixed trad/sport routes, strictly sport routes, trad routes, and some kick ass roofs. I can’t wait to go back and get my hands dirty all over again.


Dom tackles a 5.11a with a sweet roof.


The far right side of the Ozone layer.


Laura's silhouette dancing up a 5.9.


Dom flashes The Crumbling(5.12a).


Jimmy at full extension on Stack Face(?)(5.12c).


Jimmy.