Joe's Valley

I'm back in Flag after a week long trip to Joe's Valley. It was a much needed vacation from nursing school. It was nice to get a change of pace and climb on sandstone, as well as take a break from training for the Rocklands. I got to test out my new tent. It is a huge four person Big Agnes car camping tent, with an additional vestibule that forms a convenient kitchen with seating space.

I repeated many classics including Kill by Numbers, Stand-up Comedian, Planet of the Apes, Low Tide, and the Angler. I did some new classics including Maxipad and the Riverside traverse. The Riverside Traverse is fun and exciting as half of the traverse is above the river. It is an excellent warm up spot.

I finished off a few old projects on my trip. I managed a first try ascent of Resident Evil that I tried a few years back. I climbed on a full value boulder problem called Beyond Life. I surprised myself and sent second try in good style by keeping my feet on for the entire problem. Beyond Life climbs a beautiful overhanging face with a variety of holds including jugs, slopers, sidepulls, crimps, and even a mono pocket.

I continued trying a new climb called Strongbad. It is a roof located at the six mile marker in the left fork. At the mile marker there is a pull out to park in. Turn around so you are facing down canyon and scramble up to a boulder that forms a triangular point up on a hillside on the left side of the road. The climb is down in a cave. Strongbad climbs the roof to a crux move spanning a prow, followed by climbing on the lip to a jagged arete. It is an intense technical climb that uses a variety of techniques including toe hooks, heel hooks, heel toe cams, knee scums, and precise foot work. The crux revolves around a heel smear that forms a heel toe cam for the right foot, and a left foot posted on a small foothold in the roof. The crux move is a long huck for a bad sloper. It was first done by Rocco Bocchicchio a few years back. I was able to send the problem on one of my last attempts before returning to Flag. This may have been the second ascent. I captured video of Resident Evil and Strongbad. The Strongbad video is spliced together with 3 sections to give a better idea of the climb. This deviates away from my norm of one cut videos, but it provides a better viewing experience as well as beta for anyone wanting to try the climb.

Strongbad from John Cooper on Vimeo.

Resident Evil from John Cooper on Vimeo.