Cooper Travels

Pasty Gangsta

2012-02-04T19:48:00.001-07:00

Puzzlebox

2012-01-28T18:59:00.002-07:00

Temps in flag have been great, in addition to a lack of snow. We've been sessioning at PBR and some other roofs at the draw lately. Here's two videos. The first one is Phoenix Sucks #1, and the second video is Huffalufagus. I made some progress on Pink Lightning and pumped out near the end. I hit up the Anvil boulders after my Cottonwood clinical for nursing last Thursday. I climbed Mars Attacks, which is a sick compression problem on a variety of holds. It is a bit short, but the climbing is quality. I don't think I'll be revisiting the Anvils for awhile because I hate that river crossing.

Quad Crown

2012-01-26T21:12:00.002-07:00

The Mars Roof Quad Crown is the best workout in Flagstaff. No falls = pure quad crown.

Send Train and Moe's Valley

2012-01-25T21:22:00.002-07:00

Hueco Tanks

2012-01-21T12:52:00.004-07:00

Serves You Right aka Full Service

I finished my month long road trip with a stop in Hueco Tanks. I've spent a lot of time here in the past, so the focus of stopping here was more so to visit friends than because of the rock climbing. I bounced back and forth between Wagon Wheel and Shindagger during my stay. Shindagger was a bit less crowded and it now has a mini skatepark called the Ollie Pad. I got to climb for 4 days during my time here and I was able to do 2 new climbs. There have been new climbs going up in the park lately such as Cut to the Quick, AKA, and Bush League. I climbed a new roof in the Gunks called Bush League. It climbs through jugs to some slopers and crimps and a compression finish. The movement is awesome, and it is surprising that it was not done sooner. I finished my longest to date project Serves You Right (aka Full Service). I have literally been trying Serves You Right since high school when it was still way above my ability level. The quality of this rock climb is what attracted me to start trying it at such a young age. All of the holds are unique as well as the movement, and it is consistent to the top. Serves You Right may be the highest quality boulder problem that I have ever done.

Starry Eyed Man

White Horned Dancer

ATX

2012-01-21T12:36:00.003-07:00

I spent five days in Austin in early January, and climbed every single day. I drove down from the hellscape of DFW with my brother Robbie. We climbed at a massive limestone cave northwest of Austin. The next evening I climbed at the Greenbelt with my friend Grear. I had never visited this area before. I climbed on the Whipping Post and Hank's Cave. The climbs were cool, but everything was a bit overpolished due to the fact that this area is a local spot in the city. The third day I drove up to Roger's Park with Robbie to climb some easier classics. Roger's Park is one of the first areas I ever climbed at. It is characterized by tall limestone bulges with pockets. The rock quality is good, and the area is on a hill side above lake Belton. I returned to the roof the following day and finished my project Subterranean. SubT starts in a crack and climbs on pockets with the use of heel toe cams and toe hooks to gain an amazing tufa pinch feature and a throw to a massive jug. The next day I met up with Eric and climbed at Reimer's Ranch. It had been approximately 8 years since I last visited Reimer's. The last time I was there it was still owned by Milton Reimer. Today it is a Travis County park. I finished an old high school sport climbing project called Liposuction. Liposuction climbs amazing tufas out a roof to a no hands rest, then up an overhanging wall. The climbing is pumpy, but with the amount of power I have built up over the years it was relatively easy to put this old project to rest.

The South

2011-12-31T08:24:00.005-07:00

I spent the past two and a half weeks climbing in the southeast. I spent the majority of my trip at Rocktown, a sandstone area located in northwest Georgia. Rocktown is a maze of sandstone boulders spread out with many quality moderates. There are a lot of roofs at Rocktown and the camping is free. My goal was to finish a cool roof called Tractor Traylor(turns out I was actually climbing the extension). I came close to doing this climb 3 or 4 years ago, but then the jackass southern rain prevented any further efforts. There was a large bucket at the end of the roof, but when I returned this year it had been broken off. I think that it makes the problem significantly harder and more sustained. Every time it rained on this trip I had nightmare flashbacks that I was not going to be able to finish it, but I sent the day after xmas. I couldn't have got a better xmas present than that. I climbed several moderate classics including Rescue 911, Croc Bloc, Spice, The Tooth Problem, Pythagorean Theorem, Triple Slaps, Golden Showers, and Double Trouble.

After Rocktown, I headed back to the Vapor Lock Roof at Dayton Pocket. This area is more or less a perfect example of my ideal climbing area. It's a short hike to the roof, there is a lack of crowds(I didn't see a single person all day), and the roof is massive with cool holds and pumpy climbing. I tried the crux moves of Honeycomb without high expectations, but I was able to do the moves. Apparently Tractor Traylor extension left me in great shape as I was able to do the climb in a few tries. I also did Torpedo which climbs cool rails out to a jug finish.

Photo of Honeycomb from a few years back.

I spent the last 2 days of my trip in the southeast climbing at some spots I had never been to. I visited LRC and climbed on some classic boulder problems. LRC is conveniently located close to Chattanooga and has a short hike. There is a large amount of sandstone boulders that host inspiring lines. The Wave was an awesome feature that started on jugs and climbed out a long sloper rail. Super Mario was another noteworthy problem that had fun movement, cool holds, and pockets! Tennessee Thong is an amazing boulder that has a somewhat blind throw to a massive jug. When I hit the jug my right hand came off and slapped against a wall to stop the barndoor. I haven't done a move as unique as that throw.

I headed south to Alabama to check out HP40. I drove down there after climbing in the morning at LRC, and visited a small area located outside of HP called Sumatanga. There is a good roof problem there called Melodrama that climbs good edges and pockets out the roof. I did this problem, then camped at HP for the night. In the morning, I woke up to the sound of more southern jackass rain. It wasn't raining hard, but it was my last day before heading to Texas. This rain was odd in the sense that it was more of a fog that soaked the trees, which in turn rained on the boulders. Anything that was out in the open was dry, but boulders under trees were wet. It was the strangest form of wet that I've seen. I did a quick session of some of the steeper climbs including Hammerhead, Mulletino, and Short Long.

Long Time

2011-12-01T14:02:00.008-07:00

It's been a long time since my last update. I had a busy, but unproductive summer for climbing. I started the summer off in Estes Park working on the tree crew again. Winter had left fuck tons of snow in the high country of RMNP even more so than usual. Condtions were not ideal as there was much rain, snow, and/or 80 degree heat. Not being too thrilled on the hiking for a second summer in a row, I ended up doing more skateboarding during my stay in Colorado. I climbed at Emerald Lake a few times, and I climbed on a roof near Denver called Bambi. Bambi climbs through underclings out a sandstone roof on a cool hillside. I climbed at the Golf Wall near Durango during my vacation in Pagosa Springs. The Golf Wall is a limestone sport climbing cliff north of durango.

After a month of working in Colorado I decided to move back to Flagstaff and found a job as landscape foreman. I set to work on the Super BVB project. Two weeks after my return to Flagstaff I was hit by a car at the bottom of Cherry hill while I was on a skateboard. I tried to avoid the impact by jumping up and still got nailed by the car. I flew and flipped 1o feet through the air and landed on my right shoulder and side, in which I skidded along the pavement for 5 feet until I rolled up a curb into a pile of rocks. I suffered a lot of road rash, a limp on my left leg, and an injured right shoulder. I also got some lacerations above my right eye that scarred. I wasn't able to climb for a month after that. In August my body burnt out from working, and September was busy with the start of school.

Super BVB Roof

Result of getting hit by a car.

In rOctober I finally returned to consistent full time climbing. I've been climbing on the Choss Roof lately which is a massive limestone roof that climbs a refrigerator compression block out a 2o foot roof. Winter seems to be descending on Flagstaff at the moment, so it may have to wait until spring. Here's a video of Matt Gentile climbing Choss Roof. Additionally, Matt climbed the first ascent of the Super BVB Roof amongst a host of other hard roofs in Northern Arizona this fall. I'm heading out on a month long road trip to Rocktown and ATX in two weeks.

I took a climbing trip over Thanksgiving. I went to Moe's Valley in southern Utah for the first time. The bouldering sits in a valley littered with sandstone boulders with a variety of problems ranging from roofs to crimps to sloper problems. I did many quality moderates as well as the Lindy Roof.

2011-11-15T20:56:00.002-07:00

In honor of Coop being done with his "Therapeutic Presence" work at the Rehab center, I'd like to post the following image:

super bvb roof

2011-06-21T13:17:00.002-07:00

matt working the project

coop giving it a burn..

super bvb roof project.

2011-06-06T20:26:00.003-07:00

updated the treasure map.. it's color coded by type of stone and most areas have photos, also couple spots are sporting topo directions

2011-05-10T21:51:00.001-07:00

Sam, Matt, and myself went to Cherry Canyon around 9:00 AM Saturday morning. I warmed up slowly, by doing the long traverse on the right side of the Bulge two or three times, and doing the long move at the end of Truffle Shuffle. After my warm up, I rested for a while, and watched Matt work on Dain’s Bulge, which he was getting very close on.

Eventually, I moved the pads under Uptown Vandal, and in a now familiar pattern, brushed all of the holds, set up my camera, and put my climbing shoes on. I felt remarkably calm as I settled under the start holds, and then my mind shut off, everything clicked, and I climbed to the top of the wall. In two minutes, I had concluded the process that began eight months ago.

This is by far the longest I have ever worked a boulder problem, and I am very glad I finally finished it off. I thought I could put Uptown Vandal together in a few weeks, or at least by the end of the Fall season, and it was frustrating when I was unable to do so. My window of opportunity for this Spring was rapidly closing, due to my returning home to Colorado on this coming Friday. Needless to say, I am beyond psyched that Uptown Vandal won’t be looming in the back of my mind all Summer.

Flagstaff Sports Action

2011-04-27T08:11:00.005-07:00

BvB r00f

Robbie killin it

Robbie bombing cherry hill

Cherry Canyon

2011-04-14T15:53:00.005-07:00

Went to Cherry Canyon with Noah and Sam yesterday. I haven’t been there since November, when the Forest Service locked the gates. Noah and I both worked on Uptown Vandal, and it felt just as good as it did back in the Fall. I repeated all of the moves first try, except the strange lock off to the crimp-pocket on the face, which is still elusive. My body positioning must not be correct, as everyone else can do it easily.

The big event of the day, however, was Sam’s final attempt to repeat “Don’t Peace Me Out, Yo Matt Birch”. After doing the first move up to the the left hand crimp, the right hand gaston exploded off of the wall, most likely rendering the problem unclimbable. Upon further inspection, none of us could figure out how the hold had managed to stay on the wall for as long as it had, as there was a layer of dirt and mud left behind. Unfortunately, this effectively renders the low start improbably difficult, and most likely impossible.

Sam Tingey reaching for the now broken hold from the sit start…

I Win!!

2011-04-02T15:23:00.001-07:00

Recent Happenings

2011-03-21T01:31:00.007-07:00

Flailure on Full Service again in 80 degree weather.

Aubrey flashing the Dark Heart Crack.

The winter in Flagstaff has been optimal for rock climbing compared to last winter. There has not been much snow, and when it has snowed it melted quick. I've been climbing at Priest Draw, Buffalo Park, and Grasshopper Point. I have repeated a few new link-ups at the draw on the Puzzle Box roof including Rise of the Phoenix(aka Phoenix Sucks #1), Huffalufafish(aka Phoenix Sucks #2), Cosmic Phoenix(aka Phoenix Sucks #3), and Sufferfish(aka Phoenix Sucks #4). I am astounded that people drive 2 1/2 hrs from Phoenix to climb on link-ups and "revitalize the draw with new boulder problems." Sorry to say, but climbing link-ups does not revitalize the draw Phoenicians. The original classic and uncontrived boulder problems were done decades ago by climbers who are humble and keep their mouths shut. I also did the new low left version to Floor Pie which is an outstanding line that is better than the original with compression style climbing out the roof. A few days ago I did The Beast From The East at Grasshopper Point which has unique moves on sandstone. Here is a video of Noah Rayburn crushing the line:
beast from the east. from Noah Rayburn on Vimeo.

I made a trip down to Hueco near the end of February with a crew from Flagtown. I flailed on my project as usual, but this season's failure has increased my motivation to get stronger for next year. This season was a reminder that climbing should not be taken too seriously, after all I don't get paid to climb. Rock climbing is all about the fun. It was good to see many of my friends who stay the winter there or were passing through. I started working a new project the last day of my trip called Eckagrata, also known as the Wellsite Dyno. Eckagrata starts on two small pockets, then moves up to a good right hand pocket and a poor left hand pocket to a massive crux lunge.

Last week I made a trip to Joe's Valley for some classy sandstone bouldering. I spent my short trip climbing on a few projects in the Left Fork. I worked out the beta to the crux of Strongbad, but did not have enough time to send. I also made it across the river and slogged uphill across an epic muddy and snowy slope to try the Masterpiece. The Masterpiece is an amazing roof climb that follows a seam after a crimpy crux with a strange toe hook to a tall prow finish. Props to James for having the vision to make this line a reality. This climb is badass, big, and proud. I would say that if the BLIMP roof is a 5 on the proud scale, then this climb is a 4, but the difficulty of the two problems is comparable. My trip to Joe's caused me to realize two of my main weaknesses: crimping and big dynamic moves. The style of climbing here does not suit me well, but I am glad that I have come to the realization of my weaknesses which will allow me to improve as a climber.

On a side note I would like to welcome 2 new contributors to the site: Pat Fitts and Sam Tingey, and as always BLIMP4LYFE bitches.

Hueco Tanks... and sNOOOOOOOOOOOw?!

2011-02-23T22:06:00.002-07:00

This past weekend a crew of climbers drove down to Hueco Tanks for the long weekend. There were seven of us staying at the Wagon Wheel campground, which is certainly much more laid back and relaxed than the Rock Ranch. Climbing wise, not much happened. Tyler and Derek sent New Religion and a few other classics on their first trip to the Tanks, and I spent most of the weekend cruising around on moderates. Cooper got close on Full Service. I treated it as a vacation, and just enjoyed the warm weather (mid-60s) and good food (El Pasito & the Vista). As per usual, I chalked up and put tick marks on the "Moonshine Roof Project"... Its up there just WAITING to be climbed... Start on either the right side of the roof, or the standard start, and do some heinous hard compression moves to gain a rad pinch, and then go to the lip a few feet right of "Moonshine Right".

Much to our horror, however, Flagstaff had been buried by a foot of snow while we were enjoying the desert paradise. I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with any until the alpine season… But alas, Noah and I trudged out to Middle Elden and cleaned off the topout of Broken Symmetry today. Just in time for more snow this coming weekend.

Pat

The Dab.

2011-01-22T16:41:00.003-07:00

You Bitches need to stop dabbing. Invalid. Drop Immediately.

Full Service from Phillip Schaal on Vimeo.

Starting one move in and dabbing the spotter= FAIL.

Formula 50, Brad. Formula 500, Dustin from Lostall on Vimeo.

Dab on Formula 500. Don't tell me to shut up, it is invalid bitches.

Drop Force from Justin Bowen on Vimeo.

Dab. Keys on the belt loop Dab. Choss Dab.

Untitled from Ian Dory on Vimeo.

This looks like a dab at the end. We need uncut footage with sound to confirm.

Dab at 0:31. Invalid. No First Ascent.

Hueco

2011-01-12T13:10:00.002-07:00

Photo: Sammy D

Photos: Steve Townshend

Another good trip to Hueco Tanks. I didn't send any of my projects, but I had a good time hanging out in the desert paradise with friends. Maybe Serves You Right will go down next time. It is my longest standing project to date, I've been working on the climb since I was in high school.

BLIMP Roof Project

2010-12-06T14:09:00.006-07:00

B.L.I.M.P Roof FAIL from Sam T on Vimeo.

Lip Encounter from Sam T on Vimeo.

Down in Flames Fail

2010-11-26T12:13:00.004-07:00

Coop on Down in Flames from Sam T on Vimeo.

Here is a video of one of my early attempts on Down in Flames last season. I managed to fall on the end section 15ish times after that. That's exactly what I do best, falling on the end of boulder problems.

I added a video archive on the left side of the site. I linked videos of Reflection Eternal at Roger's Park, Pufferfish at Priest Draw, and bouldering at Petit Jean in the Ozarks.

Cougar Land

2010-11-22T07:28:00.001-07:00

Here is a video of the 5 lines in the Bobcat's Den.

First Ascent of Five Lines on the Bobcat Den Roof by John Cooper. Correction: FA of Hijacked Herd done by Pat Fitts from Justin Bowen on Vimeo.

We developed a new area called the Neighborhood. The Neighborhood is a cluster of freestanding limestone boulders atop a pennisula at a bend in the canyon. There is a concentration of easy moderate problems here, we added 15 last saturday, with potential for many more. Justin got video of a few climbs in the Neighborhood including Suburban Gangfight(FA-Pat Fitts), and Jurassic Terrorist(FA-Justin Bowen).

A Few FAs From The New World from Justin Bowen on Vimeo.

Cougar Land

2010-11-16T20:25:00.002-07:00

Development has continued this fall season at Willow Canyon, aka Cougar Land. Pat and I have been climbing in the Bobcat's Den, and 5 new lines have been added. Pat did the FA of Hijacked Herd on the left side of the roof. Hijacked Herd starts in a large horizontal crack and climbs out jug pockets to a top out on rails. Sam T added an endurance line that traverses the lip of the roof from left to right. It's easily over 60 feet of climbing. I added 3 new lines to the cave: The Elk Graveyard, Remnants of the Herd, and Remnants of the Acid. I started projecting The Elk Graveyard last fall when we discovered the new world. It took numerous days of figuring out the most efficient sequence to link the climb together. Like most of my projects, this turned into an epic of falling at the end for several days before I finished it. A few weeks prior to my ascent of The Elk Graveyard, I did a climb called Remnants of the Herd. Remnants of the Herd starts in a pocket complex and climbs out more pockets and underclings to a feet first finish. The low start is called Remnants of the Acid and consists of one of the longest moves I've ever done on a roof, followed by a bicycle to navigate the next 2 pockets, a difficult swing, and then climbing Remnants of the Herd.

The Elk Graveyard FA filmed by Justin Bowen.

The Elk Graveyard First Ascent by John Cooper from Justin Bowen on Vimeo.

Remnants of the Acid 2nd Ascent by Patrick Fitts.

Remnants of the Acid from Patrick Fitts on Vimeo.

Mars Roof

2010-11-14T12:25:00.001-07:00

Suplexing Navajos, Mars Roof

Mars Roof is a limestone roof with 4 difficult climbs that feature pockets, toe cams, toe hooks, drop knees, etc. There are also 4 lines that start on the right and finish each exit, heinous creations of Sammy D. I managed to finish the Girl from Impanema on my birthday this year, followed by Suplexing Navajo and Lolita during the next week. I made an ascent of the Triple Crown consisting of Lolita, Suplexing Navajos, and the Receptionist during my attempt to do the Quadruple Crown, which is sending all 4 climbs in a session.

RMNP Season 2010

2010-11-08T10:56:00.002-07:00

I moved to Estes Park, CO last May and stayed there until mid-August. I spent my summer climbing on the alpine blocs of Rocky Mountain National Park, mainly in Upper Chaos Canyon. The bouldering in RMNP is a more compact form of granite called gneiss. The boulders lie at an elevation of 10,200-10,600 feet, and require a 2-3 mile hike uphill and through talus.

I spent the summer wielding a chainsaw and picking up sticks for Adam’s Tree Service, also known as the world’s strongest tree crew, as far as bouldering goes. Adam’s Tree Service has seen the likes of many strong climbers including Adam Strong (Owner), Phil Schaal, Nick Duttle, Chris Webb-Parsons, Kevin Cuckovich, Justin Alarcon, and many others.

I climbed on many sick boulder problems in Upper Chaos. I climbed a dream boulder problem of mine called Eternia during my time in the park. Eternia is a 20 foot roof climb that starts on an obvious rail and climbs out the cave on crimps, jugs, and underclings to a feet first toe hook finish. It is reminiscent of a Hueco Tanks and Priest Draw hybrid boulder problem on Gneiss at 10,500 feet.

I did a couple of road trips based out of Colorado this summer to avoid the tourists during the holidays in Estes Park. I visited Joe’s Valley over Memorial day weekend and Tensleep Canyon during the Fourth of July.

While I was in Joe’s Valley I met up with Rocco Bocchicchio who showed me some new climbs and projects at the six mile marker. I climbed on this roof he established called Strongbad, which is reminiscent of Rumble In The Jungle. I did some other climbs including a Yuri Kimball FA called Blue Lambo, right on the side of the road by the river. Blue Lambo climbs a beautiful arete with a strange, but fun first move.

During the Fourth of July I checked out the amazing limestone at Tensleep Canyon in Wyoming with fellow Flashed Athlete Ian Dory. The limestone in Tensleep features good movement on really good rock. I climbed some classics including Beer Bong and School’s Out. I tried this awesome climb called Aunt Jemima’s Bisquick Thunderdome, which climbs 2 bolts of technical slab with small holds, to 3 clips of easy slab, to an overhang with two and three finger pockets. Unfortunately we were rained out my last day there, so I didn’t get a chance to finish this climb.

Joe's Valley April 2010

2010-05-03T19:44:00.006-07:00

Raiden No Substance

The Food Ranch

I visited Joe's Valley 2 weekends ago. I climbed on a lot of classic problems that I had never been on including Kelly's Arete, Raiden, Killed by Numbers, Chips, Self Service, and I'd Rather Be Climbing Her.

After the Hueco Tanks season I decided to take a month off climbing to allow my body to recover from the winter and the past 2 years of constant climbing without a long break. I've been climbing at Mars Roof and a few other areas in Northern Arizona to get my fitness back. I'm moving to Estes Park, CO this weekend to spend the summer climbing in the high country,as well as working a tree trimming job, before I have to return to Flagstaff in the fall for nursing school.

Hueco Tanks Update

2010-02-20T15:45:00.004-07:00

A few days ago, I finished a project that I have been working on for the past four years called Rumble In The Jungle.

Rumble In The Jungle. Photo: Pat Fitts

I’ve been trying another sick roof climb at the Aircraft Carrier called Down in Flames. BJ Tilden did the FA a few years ago, and the climb never saw much action until this season.

Down In Flames. Photo: Isaac Palatt

Unlock This(Low start to the Locksmith). Photo:Isaac Palatt

I did the FA of a boulder problem above the Dark Heart called Uncle Drunkie a few weeks ago. Uncle Drunkie climbs a tall water streak wall on crimps.

New Problem

2010-01-13T15:34:00.004-07:00

I did the first ascent of a new roof climb in the Dragon's Den on Saturday. The roof is located on the backside of the Crimping Christ boulder. The ATX crew I was with suggested the name Cooper's Way, so check it out if you're in the area.

Tis The Season For Hueco

2009-12-24T09:37:00.003-07:00

Full Service

Dry Dock
The Hunger Artist

The Guillotine

Pat on Serious Attitude Problem

Sarah on Moonshine Roof

Chris on Big Dick Jim

Hueco Tanksgiving

2009-11-30T08:05:00.002-07:00

Rumble In The Jungle

I made the trek down to The Hueco Tanks for Tanksgiving this year. I had spent the previous 4 Thanksgivings at Hueco until last year when I decided to do something different and go to Bishop. This year there wasn't a huge turnout in comparison to earlier years. I think this has something to do with the redesigned reservation system, in which a person can reserve spots using a parks pass instead of a credit card. It seems that North Mountain is easy to get into because any unclaimed reservations are given to the general public at 10 AM. I climbed on Rumble In The Jungle this trip. I finally made progress on my high point for the first time since I started working the climb my 4 winters ago. I fell slapping the jug on the lip, so there is a definite possibility of finishing this one off this season. I modified my beta slightly with AO's heel toe cam beta. Pat nearly did Better Eat Your Wheaties on this trip, but had to stop trying it after he tweaked his finger. Sam and I climbed on Shake N Bake on our last day. Shake N Bake climbs a sloper compression roof with foot smears to transfer heel hooks. We were able to fine tune some beta, but I think it needs to get dryer and colder before I attempt to link it. I'll be back down there guiding in 10 days.

Some more from Willow

2009-11-23T23:43:00.005-07:00

First Ascent of Wapiti Cave

Elk Graveyard Project

I climbed at Willow Canyon on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sam did a new highball line called Waterfall on the left side of the Blimp Roof with a heinously sloping landing. I put up a new climb called Revenge of the Holly on the right side of the Blimp Roof. Revenge of the Holly climbs a tall technical face with a flat landing(after 5+ days of effort to level the hillside). I'm getting closer to sticking the throw on the right exit for the roof. The lip exit starting at the throw is a feasible project, but starting all the way under the roof and climbing into the throw may be futuristic. I climbed in a new cave on Saturday. I established a short roof climb in the center called Wapiti Cave. Eric and I started working a new line from the right that climbs out 2 and 3 finger pockets on a horizontal roof called the Elk Graveyard Project. This project has a similar difficulty and style to the climbs on Mars Roof. The climb is sharp, but perhaps it will clean up a bit better with time. I hiked through a few bends in the canyon yesterday searching for new stone. I found plenty of limestone and some sandstone, but I didn't find any spectacular lines. Hueco season is coming up, as well as winter, so development will probably be slow during the next few months.

Cherry Canyon

2009-11-17T19:31:00.004-07:00

My philosophy class this morning was cancelled so I decided to do a mid-day Cherry Canyon session with Sam. We went straight to the bulge and warmed up in the cold. I climbed on Dain's Big Bulge and finally stuck the slot throw move. I'll have to go back to link the moves together.

Here is a link to a video of Sam Tingey Crushing the line:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcBgmxBX8-I

New Limestone

2009-11-15T22:22:00.006-07:00

New RoofLimestone we encountered during our detour.

I headed out to Willow Canyon again with Pat, Sam, and Cody. About 10 miles from our exit in Winslow there was a pileup of semi-trucks on east bound I-40. Apparently there were numerous deaths caused by the wreck. The line of cars and semis was over 4 miles long, and with helicopters in the distance heading towards the scene, we chose to bail and find an alternate route to our destination.

We took some random forest roads to link up with the forest roads near the Mogollon Rim. The forest in Northern Arizona is badass because there are many roads that link up together allowing for many different routes to a single destination. Most forest roads are well maintained, but sometimes out of nowhere they will turn into heinous 4WD roads. Not only that but there is an amazing amount of rock here, particularly limestone. If you drive down many forests roads long enough you are likely to encounter more rock. After 70 miles on dirt roads and an extra hour of driving we finally made it back to the Blimp Roof.

The landing for the Blimp roof has been built up enough to do some of the boulder problems. Pat and I climbed on a sick new roof near the end of the day, but we were too tired from the day's work to put up any rock climbs. The sequence on the right exit of the Blimp Roof is starting to come together. It is one of the hardest climbs that I've ever tried, likely harder than Big Worm at Mt. Evans.

Willow Canyon

2009-11-11T22:45:00.007-07:00

Sam on the FA of the Duck Bill.

2nd Ascent of the Duck Bill. Photo by Sam Tingey.Pat and a massive swing. Photo by Sam Tingey.

Photo by Sam Tingey.Photo by Pat Fitts.
Photo by Sam Tingey.

FA of Lost in the City of Madness. Photo by Pat Fitts.

Sam on the FA of Aliens.

Sam on the FA of Sleeper Hit.

Sam, Pat, and I have been developing a sector of the New World called Willow Canyon. Yesterday we put up some first ascents. Sam did the FA of a short limestone bulge. The bulge starts on a face and pulls a short roof of about 4 feet on jugs. The climb then moves onto some good edges with an awkward finish over the bulge. We walked along the side of the canyon through the trees and found more limestone along the rim. We built up the landing to a project at the Flying Saucer cave. Unfortunately the cave is mostly blank choss, but the left side will lend itself to a couple of scary highballs with a drop off landing. While Sam was trying the project at the Flying Saucer, Pat investigated a sandstone feature in the dried up riverbed of the canyon. The feature turned out to be a lone sandstone prow with a sandy landing by the riverbed. Pat and I did the joint first ascent of Lost in the City of Madness, which climbs the right side of the prow up to a tall flake finish. Sam put up a climb on the left arete called Aliens. I did the second ascent of this one. We built the landing up a bit to make it level for the center line climbing the prow. Sam did the FA of this line, which is called Sleeper Hit. The problems on the sandstone prow are just as good as anything in Kelly Canyon or the Ozarks. Work has continued on the landing for the BLIMP roof. I continued working on a potential exit for the Blimp roof project. I have a sequence leading out the roof to the massive throw to the crimp. I can touch the crimp, but I haven't managed to latch it. This climb could be the hardest unclimbed roof climb in the Flagstaff area. More to come.

Willow Canyon

2009-11-09T18:31:00.005-07:00

Projects at the New World.

Blimp Roof Project

Sam on a Project at the new sector.

Pad Stashing Arizona Style

All Photos: Sam Tingey

More from the New World

2009-11-02T08:46:00.004-07:00

Centex Roof Project
Photo: Andy Klier

Blimp Roof Project

Photo: Sam Tingey

Sam on the Centex Roof Project.

Andy Klier on the Blimp Roof Project. Photo: Sam Tingey

AO on the Centex Roof Project. Photo: Andy Klier

We need way more crash pads!

Joe's Valley

2009-10-13T22:25:00.007-07:00

I visited Joe's Valley last weekend with Pat and Noah. On the way we were stopped on I-70 for 2.5 hours around 1 AM in the morning, Utah time. A double-semi trailer had collided with a single-semi trailer leaving carnage along the highway, meanwhile leaving us to wait, less than 2 hours from our destination. We met a guy that we ended up calling Homeboy. Homeboy was a sketchy character, our determination based on the fact that he was helping to clear the wreck with a shovel as an excuse to not look suspicious. On the first day we climbed on Team Effort, a steep compression prow on a hillside up the right fork. I did Team Effort 2nd try with Noah finishing the climb shortly thereafter. We met this guy James from SLC who was really chill. After that Pat and Noah climbed on the heinously sharp crimps of Jitterbug Perfume. I chose to stand and watch this time. We finished out the day climbing on Worst Case Scenario and They Call Him Jordan, both classics in the Left Fork, which we flailed on. The next day we got on The Wind Below, a classic highball, which is probably one of the best problems I have ever tried. A Ronin, Shogun, and 4 other pads under this climb still didn't seem like enough. The last day Noah and I flailed on the giant tufa that forms The Worm Turns. I'm psyched to get back to Joe's to finish some projects, explore new boulders, and build landings for new and existing problems. I got to see some good friends that I haven't seen in months or years this last weekend, and hopefully I'll get back to Joe's in March.

Worst Case Scenario

Noah on They Call Him Jordan

Noah on Jitterbug Perfume

Pat on Jitterbug Perfume

Jitterbug Perfume attempts- Noah and Pat

Renegade Roof

2009-09-26T18:38:00.006-07:00

PBR Circuit

2009-09-17T00:24:00.003-07:00

Puzzlebox Roof Circuit:
1. Puzzlebox X 5
2. Belly Sidepulls X 5
3. Pufferfish X 5
4. Unknown(Right of Pufferfish) X 5

It's likely that I'll be sore in the morning.

New World

2009-09-12T16:47:00.006-07:00

Snow storm we encountered on the way back to Flag.

Dain's Chalk

I've been climbing at The New World recently. The New World is a sick limestone canyon with a seemingly endless amount of rock and high quality boulder problems. Most of the problems here have tall, pumpy topouts and sloping landings. Limestone roofs and aretes cover the steep hillsides of the canyon. Some of the roofs have the wavy quality of limestone reminiscent of Roger's Park in Central Texas. This area was recently discovered by locals Andy Klier and Sam Tingey, and has seen a recent surge of activity with likely 30+ new problems in the last few weeks, trails being built, and landings constructed. I built a better landing for the Swordfish last Monday with the help of Pat, so that the prow can be climbed to the end. Today I established a potential new boulder problem up the hill from Swordfish. It climbs the left side of a horizontal roof with strange drip holds and pockets starting in a bad undercling. When this area was discovered there was chalk on this climb. We're going to call this climb Dain's Chalk until we found out if this is a first ascent. This area could be the rumored Dain's World. This roof is straight power, and probably holds a difficulty similar to Cosmic Tricycle at Priest Draw. Other contributors to the area include Sam Davis(who has rappelled to clean a majority of the climbs), Ana Burgos, and Joe Morgan. I encountered one of the few monsoons this season on the way back to Flagstaff. We drove through heavy rain, fog, lightning, and even snow on Lake Mary Rd. about 30-40 miles from town.

Draw Circuit

2009-09-12T16:34:00.002-07:00

I've been circuiting the draw once a week lately.

Draw Circuit:
1. Puzzlebox
2. Belly Sidepulls
3. Cosmic Tricycle
4. Pufferfish
5. Unknown(Right of Pufferfish)
6. She Lives
7. Badass
8. Stinkyass
9. Meateater
10. Anorexic
11. Floor Pie
12. Twister
13. Left of SCW

New World

2009-09-07T20:37:00.009-07:00

]

Mt. Evans

2009-07-23T16:29:00.002-07:00

The Dali

Mirror Mask

Big Worm

I finally made it to Mt. Evans. I've been wanting to check this place out for a few years. The high altitude bouldering in Colorado is some of the best in North America. I climbed on a compression roof called Big Worm. This is one of the hardest problems I've ever climbed on, and it is definitely my hardest project. The stand start to Big Worm is called Mirror Mask. I climbed this problem in a few tries. The problem went down much quicker than I thought it would. I've lost less power than I had previously thought. My visit to Mt. Evans and the Park has made me super motivated to get stronger and build more power for next season. Next summer I'm going to try to find work in Colorado so I can climb at the Park and Evans for several months.

Morrison

2009-07-19T18:03:00.002-07:00

I visited the Greatness of Morrison last night. This area is comparable to the Greatness of Nolan River in Texas. The only difference is that Nolan River is more chossy. For the most part Morrison is a greasy pile on the side of the road, but I climbed one decent line called Helicopter. The lack of a topout definitely detracted from the rock climb.

RMNP

2009-07-18T12:59:00.004-07:00

Eternia

Riddles in the Dark

Summer temps are here. I've been climbing at the alpine boulders of RMNP to escape the heat. Chaos Canyon is at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The Granite boulders are some of the best in the country with angles of all kinds from roof to slab. Most of the holds are skin friendly as they are flat and at a 90 degree angle with the wall. I hiked up to Eternia which involves a 3.5 mile hike uphill and through talus at elevation. Eternia is a granite roof that is similar to Hueco and the Draw. I'm psyched to do this climb, but it requires 4+ pads. I've been climbing on Riddles in the Dark. The landing is much better than 2 years ago when I was here, because there is snow to level it out. I made progress by finishing all the moves. I climbed on Whispers of Wisdom at Emerald lake. I figured out the bottom sequence, but I'm still trying to figure out the top section. The photo is of Riddles in the Dark on my first visit to the park 2 years ago.

Sailing Hawks

2009-07-11T14:01:00.005-07:00

Red Cliff

2009-07-10T11:47:00.008-07:00

Rifle

2009-07-10T11:32:00.004-07:00

After an epic 4th of July spent in Lander partying with the locals we went to Rifle to check out some of the best sport climbing in the states. Rifle Mountain Park is a narrow canyon with limestone cliffs lining each side. If it were not for the crowds and near proximity to the Front Range, Rifle would be one of my favorite places to sport climb. By the time Eric and I got to Rifle, our psych for sport climbing was gone. We decided to end our 2 month sport climbing trip with a long, amazing route called Feeline. I barely flashed this route as it is over 100 feet tall with technical foot moves and sidepulls on a relatively vertical wall. The picture was taken from the road. The arrow points to Eric to give an idea of how tall the climb is.

Frankenstein

2009-07-03T13:16:00.007-07:00

Yesterday was my first time bouldering in over 7 weeks. We climbed on this cave problem at Wild Iris called Frankenstein. The boulder stopped seeping enough to make the problem climbable. Frankenstein starts deep in a roof and climbs out on good pockets. A direct and a left finish are possible on small pockets. I sent Frankenstein right before it started pouring rain. I had to use a headlamp to do the start because the cave became too dark to see the footholds. A few recent finger injuries that I had are starting to heal. I'm psyched because after the 4th we're heading to Colorado.

Sinks Canyon

2009-06-30T14:46:00.002-07:00

We visited Sinks Canyon yesterday afternoon. It has been hot in Lander lately, so we had to visit the Sinks in the afternoon after the cliff went into the shade. We climbed in the Killer Cave, which hosts a big collection of hard routes. I climbed on a route called The Urchin, a burly power route. I was able to figure out the sequence, but I was too drained from the heat to try for a redpoint. I feel like I've lost some power on this trip. We have 2 weeks of sport climbing left before it is time to start bouldering in Colorado.

Wild Iris/ Rant

2009-06-21T12:12:00.002-07:00

I fell on the last move of Cow Reggae yesterday with some new beta. Some Mother Fucker put glue in a pocket to force a more difficult sequence on the route. I removed the glue and started using the new(and easier) sequence. The only reason I can think of for the glue would be if the pocket was drilled. I've climbed on drilled pockets before, particularly at the Burn, but also at the Pit, and the chances that this pocket was drilled are very small. If it is drilled the person is a dumbass, didn't know what they were doing, and deserves to be decked in the face. If it's not drilled then the person who glued the pocket deserves to be decked in the face. Hopefully Cow Reggae will go down soon, so that we can visit Sinks Canyon. I also hope that all these dumbasses from Colorado leave so that Wild Iris is quiet again. There were 20 cars in the Wild Iris parking lot this morning. Shit like this makes me want to drive back to Flagstaff immediately.

Lander

2009-06-17T13:37:00.004-07:00

We arrived in Wyoming a few days ago. The weather in Canada turned to shit so we went back to the states. The climbing around Canmore is sick limestone, but the lack of camping takes away from it. We ended up sleeping in random parking lots during our stay, before the rain started. Lander is a small town of 7,000 people. Everyone here is friendly, which is a great change from the U-tards in Maple. The town is also climber-friendly. You can pitch your tent in the city park, and there is free water.

The Limestone at Wild Iris is sick. Wild Iris sits at 9,000 feet elevation. Todd Skinner declared that Wild Iris is the crag that he searched the world for. After checking out the climbing this is a well-justified claim. The routes at Wild Iris are steep, short, and bouldery. Most routes are only 5-6 bolts long. I haven't climbed on routes this powerful anywhere. The limestone is solid, and there is little choss here. We also found a sick boulder. The boulder is a long limestone roof starting in the back of a cave and climbing out on small pockets. There are 3 potential exits for this climb. The recent snow melt and rain have left the boulder seeping, so we haven't been able to climb on it. Hopefully it dries soon so that we can try it. I've climbed a few classic routes since arriving here. Bobcat Logic is a great route with long pulls between big holds. All the climbs on the Rodeo Wave wall ares just as good as anywhere. Wind and Rattlesnakes is another classic that requires good footwork. I've been working on Cow Reggae. I figured out all the moves, hopefully the next climb day I can link them.

Limestone Road Trip

2009-06-12T11:44:00.003-07:00

Eric and I are going on the road for the next month. Eric is going to skip his flight home from Calgary so we can climb for a few more weeks. We decided to check out as many limestone sport climbing areas as possible in the next month. We are going to visit Lake Louise before leaving Canada. We'll be heading to Lander, Wyoming to check out the pocketed limestone of Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris. Then we're going to visit Logan Canyon and American Fork Canyon located in Northern Utah. We'll stop by Maple Canyon on the way to Goblin Valley. Then we'll head to Rifle and the Golf Wall both in Colorado.

Canada

2009-06-12T11:30:00.002-07:00

I arrived in Canada a few days ago to check out the Flashed shop and the climbing in the Bow Valley. Flashed is located in Calgary, Alberta in the back of the Calgary Climbing Center. Flashed is experimenting with some new designs for some of their gear including a re-designed chalk bucket and even more durable pads. There have been a couple changes to the ninja pads including new placement for the small gear pocket and a slightly modified closing system. Check out their website at www.flashed.com/

The climbing in the BowValley near Canmore is amazing. Canmore is a small moutain town located an hour west of Calgary. We climbed at Acephale on Wednesday. The hike to Acephale is reminiscent of the hike to Chaos Canyon in the sense that it is long and steep. The Upper Wall hosts a great concentration of difficult lines with bouldery moves on slightly overhanging limestone. Yesterday we went to Grassi Lakes which is close to town. The drive and hike combined only takes 15 minutes. The climbing at Grassi is on steep overhanging limestone with huge buckets. The area is very scenic with several clear blue lakes near the climbing. We did a line called Meathooks which is 40 feet tall and overhangs 20 feet at a 40 degree angle. None of the moves are difficult and the holds are just amazingly big, definitely a good pump factor.

We're going to check out Lake Louise on Saturday, which hosts Quartzite cliffs in another Canadian Rockies Setting. Depending on the weather, we're going back to Grassi Lakes the day after before heading to Wyoming. The climbing in the Bow Valley is unlimited, the only constraints are how far people are willing to hike to bolt new lines.

Maple Canyon

2009-06-07T12:00:00.002-07:00

My trip to Maple Canyon is finished. I have been hanging out in Salt Lake City for the past 2 days. I am heading up to Calgary in a matter of hours for a few weeks of sport climbing at Acephale if the weather is good. Eric and I may do a limestone road trip starting in Canada and finishing in Utah with a stop in Wyoming along the way.

I feel like this past month in Utah has taught me how to sport climb. Sport Climbing is a much different game than bouldering. Sport Climbing puts much more emphasis on the science part of climbing. Footwork and Technique play a bigger role in sport climbing in comparison with bouldering. Resting and Recovery are especially important for longer routes such as the cave routes in the Pipe Dream.

I was able to knock off a few projects before leaving Maple including Sluggo in Box Canyon, and The Diggler and La Confianza in the Pipe Dream Cave. La Confianza is the hardest route that I've ever done, but I'm aware now that my sport climbing potential is much more than I originally realized.

Summer

2009-05-17T12:15:00.003-07:00

My last few weeks in Flagstaff were spent working on some new projects. I tried Super Vector at the Pit, and was able to do all the moves. I linked through the bottom boulder problem, and fell on the finishing crux of Terminal Vector. I didn't get a chance to go back and finish Super Vector. I have no doubts that Super Vector will go down quickly in the fall. I tried Planet Terror at Kelly Canyon a few more times, and figured out some new beta. I also went back to Cherry Canyon, and made progress on some of my projects there.

I arrived in Maple Canyon a week ago, and I have 3 weeks left for my stay. My endurance has been improving, and I've been climbing nearly everyday. I started seriously sport climbing again for the first time in 4 years a few months ago. Maple Canyon hosts amazing sport climbing on Cobble Conglomerate rock. I'm psyched on the climbs in Box Canyon, the Pipe Dream cave, and the Compound cave.

My current projects are:
Loser, Box Canyon
Sprout, Pipe Dream Cave
Diggler, Pipe Dream Cave
Special Forces, Compound Cave

Some of the notable climbs I have finished in Maple Canyon are:
Bomb Squat, Box Canyon(4th try)
Football, Box Canyon(3rd try)
Gun Tower, Compound Cave(2nd try)
Point Blank, Box Canyon(2nd try)
Lunchables, Minimum Wall(Flash)

I'll be headed to Alberta to check out the limestone sport climbing in the Canadian Rockies for 3 weeks after Maple Canyon. Then I will either head to Squamish, British Columbia to boulder or return to Maple Canyon for a few more weeks of sport climbing. Near the end of the summer I will head to Colorado for 3 weeks to visit some friends and go bouldering and sport climbing across the state.

Circuit Day at the Draw

2009-04-29T19:07:00.003-07:00

I decided to do a circuit day at Priest Draw. My goal was to do 10 rock climbs harder than Puzzlebox. I managed to do the following 10 climbs:
1.Puzzlebox
2.Belly Sidepulls
3.Cosmic Tricycle
4.Pufferfish
5.Climb to the right of Pufferfish
6.Black Roof
7.Floor Pie
8.Twister
9.Climb to the left of Saltine Crack Whore
10.Anorexic

I hope to expand this circuit to approximately 20 climbs, with more difficult rock climbs included.

New Projects

2009-04-27T21:30:00.003-07:00

I've been climbing a lot the past few days in Northern Arizona. I'm almost done with school, and I'm psyched to focus on climbing for the next three months. I picked up five new projects at three different areas in the past three climb days:

Badass Climb, Cherry Canyon

Slot Throw, Cherry Canyon

Pink Lightening, Priest Draw

Chandler Dub All Stars, Priest Draw

Planet Terror, Kelly Canyon

I've also been formulating some goals for the next few years while living in Flagstaff:

1.Mars Roof Quadruple Crown at Priest Draw.

2.Send all the existing routes at the Oven.

3.Send all the legitimate lines at Priest Draw.

4.Establish new boulder problems or routes.

5.Travel to as many places as possible.

Cherry Canyon

2009-04-24T20:16:00.002-07:00

I finally made it back to Cherry Canyon, it only took me 10 months to get around to it. This place is really reminiscent of Roger's Park in Central Texas, with the great exception that everything here is hard. I'm psyched on the Dane's Big Bulge Wall, which has several hard problems and a few projects as good as anywhere. I climbed on 2 different climbs on this wall. One of the climbs starts under a small roof and climbs through a pocket to 2 crimps. From the crimps is a weird accuracy jump into a slot, and then easier moves to the top. The other climb starts under a roof and does a few easy moves to an undercling, hard slapping to crimps, and then a tall, proud finish. There are some videos on the Blurr website of Zach Lerner doing these climbs as well as another from Cherry, and a few climbs from the Draw. http://www.blurrstuff.com/

Back in the Day

2009-04-22T05:58:00.003-07:00

This is a photo of Sign of the Cross from my first winter at the Hueco Tanks taken by Johnny Landry.

Maple Canyon

2009-04-20T13:49:00.002-07:00

I went to Maple Canyon this weekend. The road to the top of the canyon is nearly thawed out, there is very little snow. I climbed in Box Canyon with Shannon. I started working a line out the left side of the Cobble Roof called Loser. I am able to make it 6 bolts up and halfway through the crux section. I did a climb called Griptease 2nd try after falling off the last hard move on my flash attempt. I also did the climb to the left which is a little easier.

Terminal Vector

2009-04-13T22:11:00.002-07:00

I finished Terminal Vector today at the Pit. Terminal Vector is my hardest route to date. The moves on Terminal Vector get increasingly harder and steeper. There are several left hand throws and a long layback crack at the end which involves a blind throw to a sharp jug. I sent the route in the dark, and this was my first time sport climbing in the dark. I'm still working on Resurrection.

Update

2009-04-03T15:40:00.003-07:00

The Girl, Priest Draw. Photo: Jamie Bozicnik

I've been busy with school and work since spring break. I finished the Girl today out at Mars Roof. The above photo is from October 2008. I've been working on the Eyptian out at the Draw. I made a visit to the Glorias last weekend and climbed on Cross-Eyed Nurse. I wasn't able to figure out the first 2 moves of the climb. The fact it was dark, probably wasn't helping the cause. I've also been working on Resurrection out at the Pit. I got a new high point the other day, by getting through the crux and falling on the last hard move. The Flashed team website is up, so check it out:

http://www.flashed.com/athletes/

Maple Canyon

2009-03-22T12:55:00.002-07:00

We went back to Maple Canyon on Saturday so that I could finish my Project. I got up early and headed out with Shannon when he got there. We warmed up in the Corridor again and went to the River Route. We were able to put all the draws up with his Stick Clip. I finished the River Route first try. I talked to a guy afterwards and he told me that it was called Captain Bullet. Captain Bullet is my hardest route to date. After that we headed back to the Pipeline Wall. I was able to do 4 new routes on the wall, including 1 flash. I'm psyched for Maple Canyon this summer. There are so many walls to do projects on. We discovered a big roof further down the Left Fork that I want to do some climbing on. I haven't even got a chance to climb on the Minimum, Pipe Dream Cave, or the Cobble Roof so it should be a good summer.

Joe's Valley

2009-03-22T12:50:00.003-07:00

The Worm Turns

Jitterbug Perfume

We climbed in Joe's Valley on Thursday. We warmed up at the Riverside area and I did the rail again. We drove up the right fork so that Pat and I could try Jitterbug Perfume. Jitterbug Perfume is a beautiful overhanging face with small crimps. It is definitely one of the best crimp problems that I have been on or seen. I was able to do the first two moves as well as Pat. After Jitterbug we drove up canyon to the Hulk. I failed miserably on this climb and went to try The Worm Turns with no better luck. We called it a day and headed to Goblin Valley for a rest day since we were too trashed from climbing the past 5 out of 6 days.

Little Cottonwood Canyon

2009-03-22T12:31:00.003-07:00

Fat Grips

Crystal Pinch Variation

We drove up to SLC on our rest day which was Tuesday. We got a tour of Little Cottonwood Canyon that afternoon since Shannon was out there climbing. We looked at the left side of the main canyon between the Secret Garden and the Standard Overhang. The next morning we headed out early to catch good temps. The high was 58 degrees Fahrenheit but that was still too hot for the granite of LCC. We warmed up in the Secret Garden, and I climbed on Fat Grips with Pat. I tried this climb in early June 2 years ago, and flailed in the warm temps. The climb felt better today, but I was still unable to link the moves, so I tried some new beta. I used a different sequence involving an arete and a very subtle heel hook. I ended up leaving the climb until the evening in the hope for good temps. We drove up the canyon and I climbed on this Squamish-esque lip traverse called Butt Trumpet. I tried the climb consistently for the better part of an hour, and was able to keep enough tension to send on what was supposed to be my last try. Then we headed to the Standard Overhang. I climbed on Superfly with Pat. Superfly is basically a two move boulder problem that starts on a crescent crimp rail, does a move to a right hand crimp, and then throws to a jug over the top of a bulge. I tried this climb 5 times before giving up and climbing on other boulder problems. I flashed the Crystal Pinch and did the variation from the start of Superfly shortly thereafter. The variation has a really badass move that consists of a move to a gaston and then a handfoot match. I also did the Standard Overhang which is probably one of the best boulder problems that I have done in LCC. Later that evening I went back and tried Fat Grips and ripped part of the rubber off my Sportiva Viper heel. I called it a day after that and went back to Shannon's place to recover and get ready for Joe's Valley the next day.

Maple Canyon

2009-03-22T12:08:00.002-07:00

I was in Maple Canyon over the first weekend of spring break with Pat, Sarah, and Stephanie. Shannon drove down on the Saturday we were there. We were probably the first sport climbers out there that season. The road leading up the canyon was snowed in so we had to camp at the base and hike through the snow to get to the climbing. The rock in Maple Canyon is so unique. Maple Canyon consists of cobbles held together by some sort of sedimentary conglomerate. The cobbles are rounded rocks that range from the size of golf balls to watermelon and contains different kinds of holds, which makes onsighting difficult here and endurance a must. We warmed up in the Maple Corridor on a few easy climbs. Raindrops on Lichen was an easy climb that was 5 bolts long. The water streak to the right of it was called Your Little Sister and was the best line on the wall that I did. EIS was a fun pumpy climb to the left of Raindrops on Lichen. Shannon, Pat, and I headed up to the Pipeline Wall located in the Left Fork. The Pipeline Wall is a short steep wall that has boulder problem starts to easier climbing. I climbed on one of the steep lines at the left side of the wall, and was able to figure out the moves with a few falls. The rock temperature was really cold at this time so we had to use handwarmers in our chalk bags to keep our hands from going numb. I got to the crux on my second try but was unable to pull through to finish it. On my third try I was able to finish the climb with different crux beta. I decided to stop at this route right off the road on the way down the canyon. The climb that I dubbed the River Route, since at the time I had no clue as to the name, was a steep 7 bolt climb with a cruxy finish. It sits right above a small snow melt river. I figured out the moves and gave it one try before dark. I was able to link to the 5th bolt. Shannon headed back to SLC that night, and I returned to the River Route in the morning. On my first attempt I was able to get to the sixth bolt and nearly finished the climb. I tried the climb twice more that day, but was unable to get further than a hold below my high point. I found several beta tweaks that made the route flow much better, including a kneebar and some new foot and clipping beta. The next day I was too trashed from the previous two days climbing so I warmed up and headed over to the Pipeline Wall with Pat instead of trying the River Route. I was able to do 3 new climbs and nearly a fourth that I just didn't have the energy to finish. We headed up to SLC the next day to boulder in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

The Pit

2009-03-06T23:45:00.002-07:00

I went to the Pit today with Chris and his friend Pat. We warmed up on Popeye Meets the Burrito Master and Mr. Slate. Today was my the first time that I did Mr. Slate, which is a long, classic, and continous climb on jugs. The temps were really cold, which would have been a good thing if it weren't for the lack of sun and wind. I finished my warm-up circuit with Tugena. I climbed on the Crucifix, and was able to figure out the moves with a lot of effort.

Draw

2009-03-05T00:03:00.002-07:00

I went back to the Draw today. I did my project, Huffalufagus, 1st try. It felt really effortless when I did it. I think that sport climbing has improved my footwork and aerobic capacity. I also added a new one to the PBR circuit:
Cosmic Tricycle
Pufferfish
Unknown right of Pufferfish
Belly Sidepulls
Puzzlebox

The Pit

2009-03-02T23:29:00.002-07:00

I went to the Pit with Pat today. I did Tugena 2nd try. Tugena is a steep 5 bolt route with big moves between awesome pockets. The route reminds me of some of the stuff back in centex. Pat got a new high point on the Energizer. Pictures to come as soon as we get someone else to go out there with us.

The Pit/ Priest Draw

2009-03-01T15:46:00.003-07:00

I went to The Pit on Friday with Pat. We warmed up on Popeye Meets the Burrito Master before heading over to the Abyss. I'm starting to feel like I'm in really good route shape. I skipped a bolt on the Abyss on accident. Pat finished the Abyss. I climbed on the Pulse after that. The Pulse is a 4 bolt roof with a cruxy lip finish. I sent the Pulse on my third try, and now it is my hardest route to date. After that, Pat climbed on the Energizer and nearly sent. I did God Walks Among Us on my second try.

The next night we went to The Draw after I got off work. There is still snow on the turnoff for the forest road, so we hiked in. We climbed at the Twister roof. Steven nearly sent his project called Twister Direct. I worked on the Egyptian and was able to figure out all the moves. The Egyptian is a classic boulder problem featured in Rampage. The Egyptian powers out the roof to double gastons that require shoulder power, and finishes by toe hooking the lip. I also climbed Floor Pie again at the end of the session. Pat worked on Floor Pie some more, and started working Black Hole.

The Pit

2009-02-24T07:00:00.002-07:00

I went to the Pit with Pat yesterday. We warmed up on Popeye Meets The Burrito Master, a classic jug haul, and Secret Agent Man. I finished my hardest route to date, Excalibur, 2nd try. I also did The Energizer 2nd try, another classic to the left of Excalibur. More to come...

Items For Sale

2009-02-13T10:48:00.006-07:00

Contact John Cooper to purchase or for more information at jc536@nau.edu or (817) 343-9037.

North Face Mens Nuptse Down Jacket
Ÿ Retail: $199.00 Price: $75.00
Ÿ 700 Fill Down
Ÿ Size: Large
Ÿ Color: Black
Ÿ This is a used jacket that is for the most part still in good condition. There is a small tear that has been covered with tape near the left wrist.

REI Flyte Tent
Ÿ Retail: $199.00 Price: $30.00
Ÿ 3 Season Tent
Ÿ Includes Footprint
Ÿ Very used, zipper is not working properly.

Boulder Sucks T-shirts $12

Gregory Keller Pack
Ÿ Retail: $169.00 Price: $75.00
Ÿ Great Condition.
Ÿ Weekend Pack.

Payment may be in the form of cash, check, money order, or Paypal. If using Paypal, payment must be received before items ship. Local pick-up or delivery is available.

Red Rocks Video

2009-02-02T21:56:00.003-07:00

Boulder Sucks T-shirts $12

2009-02-02T19:29:00.007-07:00

T-shirts are available for $12 plus shipping. Payment may be in the form of cash, check, money order, or Paypal. If using Paypal, payment must be received before items ship. Local pick-up or delivery is available. Limited quantity. Contact at jc536@nau.edu or (817) 343-9037.

Red Rocks

2009-02-02T13:20:00.004-07:00

Monkey Bars Direct

Pat on The Pearl

Zac on Monkey Bars

Steven on Monkey Bars Traverse

Red Springs Cave

Pat on Red Springs Cave

We were supposed to go to Bishop this past weekend, but instead we ended up going to Red Rocks near Las Vegas, NV. While Red Rocks is known for sport climbing, the bouldering here is good too. There is a lot of red sandstone blocks in the desert west of Vegas. We climbed at the Kraft Boulders at Calico Basin and Red Springs. Some of the notable climbs I did were Monkey Bars Direct, The Pearl, and Red Springs Cave. Monkey Bars Direct is a short powerful roof with some crimpy holds. The Pearl is a slightly overhung fingery problem that climbs up a beautiful boulder right on the trail. Red Springs cave climbs a somewhat arch feature out a cave. The movement uses a lot of underclings and is very reminiscent of Best of the Best at the Hueco Tanks. Video to come.

The Next Chapter

2009-01-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

I started sport climbing today. I went to Vertical Relief with Eric. I'll be sport climbing for the spring and summer, so this should be interesting. More to come......

Rocktown Video

2009-01-23T15:33:00.008-07:00

Since the climbing around Flagtown has been snowed in and the weather has been rainy I've been doing some video editing. Here's a clip from my 2 days at Rocktown a few weeks ago.

The Hueco Tanks Again

2009-01-20T17:26:00.022-07:00

Arch Project

Down In Flames

Patrick on Between The Sheets

Jamie on Max Bedroom

Steven on Star Power Short

Full Service

Scream

The Umbra of Discontent

Anvil Boulders

2009-01-15T08:16:00.003-07:00

Eric, his friend Preston, and I went to the Anvil Boulders last night at 9 pm. We got down there and pretty much all got soaked in the river on the way across the wood balance bridge. We climbed on Free Willy and some other tall slabs around that boulder. We also saw a scorpion on one of the climbs out there, and I think the stars are even brighter down there then in Flagstaff.

Back in the Hueco Tanks Part II

2009-01-11T22:21:00.006-07:00

I climbed 2 more days in Hueco before heading back to Flag. I went to East on the first day, and West the second day. On East I failed miserably on Shake N Bake. I did some new rock climbs at the top of East. I did The Fin and Winged Victory at the Aircraft Carrier. The Fin is a super classic rock climb that climbs an overhanging feature with a sloping landing. Winged Victory is a steep climb with a big move off of a toe hook. I couldn't get the toe hook to stay so I ended up campusing the crux. I typically try to use my feet and technique first but it seems that this wasn't the case on this rock climb. Later we went to a cool boulder that has Lithologic and Bulb of Percussion. Both these climb up a 40 degree overhang with cool moves and nice scenery. On the day I went to West we warmed up at the Round Room, and then went to Adventureland so I could try Best of the Best. I managed to do it second go of the day, although it was definitely a fight to the end. After that we climbed Life Begins At 40 which is cool roof bloc that never gets wet. Then we went to Camel Toe. I repeated Camel Toe since I haven't done it since I was 16, and then started working the extension. I managed to do the extension first try and finished it feet first. We hiked up to Bodysnatcher to end the day. On the heinous hike up there we saw a cool looking arch with a bunch of chalk on it. I definitely want to check it out next time I'm in Hueco.

Back in the Hueco Tanks

2009-01-07T14:43:00.004-07:00

So there is no Rocktown Part II because it doesn't exist. The weather turned to shit when the rains came. It didn't even rain that much, but when it wasn't raining the air was still and this strange fog/mist settled low to the ground so that the rock couldn't dry. I'm psyched for the southeast and saddened that the weather didn't hold up. We formed a plan to drive to the Ozarks for a few days until the weather improved in the Southeast. We arrived in the Ozarks to find that the rock was wet and the condition were hot and humid. So I kept driving west to end up in the Hueco Tanks for the rest of my break. I went climbing the past two days, once on the spur and once on west.

Rocktown Part I

2009-01-01T11:41:00.004-07:00

After climbing in Dayton, Chris and I headed down to Rocktown, GA for the next week. This place is very cool and definitely lived up to the talk that people gave it. Rocktown is a maze of sandstone boulders with everything from roof to slab. There are a lot of quality problems here. On the first day I did the Vagina, Brown Hole, Sherman Photo Roof, Nose Candy, and Idiot Roof. The second day I did another variation out the Idiot Roof and started working Tractor Traylor. This is one of the best problems out here. I'm also working on the Orb and Sherman Roof Traverse.

Dayton Pocket/ Laurel Falls

2009-01-01T11:29:00.003-07:00

Chris Hluchan and I headed out from DFW a few days after Christmas. We drove 800 miles to get to Chattanooga, TN. We tried to camp at Chester Frost State Park, but were turned around because we were too late to register for camping. We stayed at an RV park that night. The next day we went to Dayton Pocket/ Laurel Falls to climb on this massive roof that I've been hearing about. The roof is probably about the size of Mars Roof in Flag and has a lot of similar holds. I started the day off climbing on Reconciliation which starts part way out the roof and does some big moves on jugs. Then I climbed on Sandblasted which climbs from the right side of the roof out to the left side. It's probably 25 moves long. I was able to get through the crux, but failed at the end. I had to do the crux differently than the standard beta because of my tweaked right knee. After that I tried Honeycomb Roof which started in a decent undercling partway back in the cave and climbed out slightly left into the start of Reconciliation. I was able to do most of the moves. At the end of the day we climbed on Torpedo which climbs cool crimps out a long rail. I almost did this climb but was too tired to finish it. I couldn't do the end the obvious way so I ended climbing with toe hooks first. I'll have to get back here in the future because this place is amazing.

Area 57

2008-12-22T18:50:00.002-07:00

photo courtesy of bloodyflapper.com

I went to Area 57 today just north of Austin. Area 57 is this sick limestone cave 30 ft deep and 150 ft across. The weather turned even colder with temps in the 30s and no sun. It was difficult to warmup considering the fact that there is nothing easy here. The warmup called Bitch Tested Slut Approved is probably a litte easier than Anorexic at the Draw. I was able to repeat it in a few tries. I found a few subleties that made it climb a bit smoother. I climbed on Subterranean for a little bit, but didn't make any progress.

Roger's Park

2008-12-21T16:28:00.002-07:00

I went to Roger's Park today in Central Texas. The weather here has been strange as of late. It was 78 degrees yesterday and today the high was in the 40s plus a lot of wind. Needless to say it was miserably cold, but Flag has somewhat desensitized me to it. I climbed on my roof project out there and made a lot of progress. Dry holds and good temps do wonders. I was able to link from the bottom out the tufa section and bumping section to the first crux. The first crux is releasing a toe hook. I have the climb in 3 sections now. The second and hardest crux is the long lock off to the lip. I was able to do this move without a powerspot this time. This climb is sick. Once again I wish I had some more time.

Hueco Tanks Part II

2008-12-21T16:13:00.004-07:00

It rained on Wednesday night so I took an additional rest day after my volunteer tour. I wanted to let the lip hold on Shake N Bake dry out. I knew if I climbed on it right after the rain it would break. I went to it on Friday and made progress. I was able to do the transition foot moves into the crux move from the start. I wish I had more time now that I have the Hueco psych back.

Hueco Tanks Part I

2008-12-17T17:01:00.003-07:00

Best of the Best

So I arrived at the Hueco Tanks Thursday night. I hung out with RickyO the legend, Adam Wood, Kim, Jay and Claire, and a few other friends that I haven’t seen in a while. The next day I went on RickyO’s volunteer tour. We went to Belly of the Beast first. I almost repeated Belly of the Beast first try. I was able to do it next attempt. I started working Burden of the Beast. Jay told me some beta that made the crux easier, it involved dropping the right foot and using just a left heel to do the move. I figured out some beta for the post-crux section. It involved turning around and toe hooking in front of me, climbing feet first. After a couple of tries to link the climb, I stuck the crux move and finished the climb. We went over to Star Power and I was able to repeat it. Star Power climbs out a steep roof that is about 30 feet long. It is probably a 25 move super classic. The next day I took out a tour on East Mountain. My friend Marlon came along as a second guide. We started the day out at Warm-up roof and then moved over to Hardman Rock. I warmed up on the climbs in the corridor behind it, and then repeated Dragonfly. I took the group to the Darkheart and climbed on Shake N Bake. I was able to do all the moves, the crux of which felt impossible at first. We finished the day out over at the Blender Boulder. I still can’t figure out Try Harder, but I climbed Hobbit and the Ostracizer again. The next day I took a group from Tucson out to West Mountain. They were pretty cool people and it made for a great rest day. On Monday I went back to Shake N Bake with Dave, Tash, and Bob. I was able to do the crux move every time, but I found the hardest part to be the foot transition into the crux move. It involves smearing on nothing feet on a roof to get a heel hook. I think it will go on the next day. We climbed all over East and the East Spur that day. Bob and I did Ultramega, which climbs like a limestone sport route. Dave and I did Backdoor Man. Bob did The Tall Cool Red One, an impressive highball. We finished the day out on the Egg and in the Gunks. The next day Dave, Tash, Bob, Andy, and I went to West Mountain. We warmed up at Star Power and then went over to Adventureland. We climbed on Best of the Best. I was able to do all the moves with the beta Yuri gave me last year. My high point was one move into the crux section. Best of the Best climbs up this overhang with unique holds. It has a pretty bad landing. It was put up by John Sherman back in the day. Nobody would go up there with him to spot the gently rising rocky landing. So he did it with pillows stuffed in his clothes and a helmet. It is definitely one of the best problems in the park. After that Andy and I showed them Animal Acts, Between the Sheets, and Bodysnatcher. It feels great to have a break from school and not worry about anything for the next month.

Draw

2008-12-09T18:46:00.003-07:00

Pat and I went to the draw today. It's finally starting to feel like winter in Flagstaff. The high today was 41 degrees and it felt great. We climbed at Anorexic roof. Pat started trying Meateater and came really close to doing it. I worked on BK Broiler for a little bit without making any progress. Before we left I repeated Meateater. I forgot how power-endurancy the problems on this roof can be.

Kelly Canyon

2008-12-06T17:19:00.004-07:00

Pat, Eric, Zac, and I went (or tried to go) to Cherry Canyon Today. I have only been to Cherry once, and that was back in June. We drove around for a while and I couldn't find it so we went to Kelly Canyon. We warmed up in the trailer park area, and I did a new climb. I did the steep overhang 2nd try. It was a pretty good climb. Then we went to Dope Lounge. Dope Lounge is by far one of the best climbs in Northern Arizona. I repeated it, and Eric was super close. Pat and Zac were getting to the crux throw. It was pretty cold down in the canyon so I tried to do it static to stay warm. After a few tries I was able to do the crux throw by locking off. I found new beta for the top too, which is much easier. My feet don't even cut on the climb anymore. Then we went and climbed on a semi-steep wall halfway back to the trailer park area. I worked on this compression problem with a strange toe hook for a bit. I was able to do some of the moves, but it will definitely take some work to figure out the rest.

Commitment

2008-12-04T09:20:00.006-07:00

So last January I decided that my goal for 2008 was to run 1,000 miles. This morning I hit the 1,000th mile. It feels really good to have finished such a long goal that I dedicated myself to nearly a year ago. There were several mornings where I just didn't want to get out of my truck or bed and go running. Sometimes it was too hot (TX mornings), or too cold (Flagstaff mornings), or I just didn't want to get up (Hueco Tanks) but I finally finished.

Here is the mile count:
January-76.95
February-50.50
March-90.05
April-85.50
May-102.15
June-100.60
July-106.00
August-90.95
September-91.80
October-118.15
November-76.2
December-12.15 to date.

I'm formulating a new goal for 2009. I think that it's going to be to visit 15 new climbing areas, local or afar.

Priest Drawing

2008-12-02T20:01:00.002-07:00

Pat and I went to the draw today. I haven't been to the draw in 2 weeks because of my trip to Bishop. It was really enjoyable to climb back home, away from the crowds, number chasers, and beta sprayers. We climbed at Puzzlebox. Pat made significant progress on Pufferfish. I tried Huffalufagus. I was able to get through the knee-bar crux, and I fell on the redpoint crux of the climb on my first attempt. The next two attempts were lame. I had a foot pop, and then on the subsequent attempt my hand dry fired out of the undercling. On my last attempt I got through the kneebar crux but my heel-toe cam blew out a few moves after that. I ran my circuit over there and then went home. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures soon. My computer is in the shop being fixed finally.

Bishop Part III

2008-11-30T12:48:00.002-07:00

It rained on Wednesday, making cause for a rest day. It messed up my schedule a little bit, because I was supposed to climb Wednesday and rest on Thanksgiving. So giving in to the inevitable I took a rest day. On Thanksgiving I climbed at the Buttermilks with Ryan and Andy. There had to be at least 100 cars up there. I don't even want to think about what Friday and Saturday were like up there. We went to the Get Carter boulder, because it is a little further up the road, and out of the main area. There were still 10-15 people there the whole time, as well as about 5 dogs. It was a cold overcast day, so warming up was a bit of a slow process. After warming up we got on Seven Spanish Angels, also known as The Ruckus. Seven Spanish Angels climbs up this slightly overhung wall on cool crimps and slopy pinches, with a throw to a bucket at the top. Andy and Ryan kept getting to the last move, the same spot they had been stuck on for a few days. Somehow I managed to flash the climb. The climb is super classic and got me psyched on the Buttermilks for when I go back to Bishop. I also climbed on Get Carter, which is on the other side of the boulder. It climbs up this short overhang with some slap moves and then a semi-tall head wall with crimps. I was able to do all the moves, but didn't bother linking it up because it didn't seem like all that great of a climb and the people trying it were dabbing like crazy and continuing to climb. I saw more than once gravel and even a pad go flying. When you kick gravel or a pad you're supposed to step off Dumbasses! The last climb we did on the boulder was this tall arete, that was super good except for one awkward move in the middle. We headed back to The Pit to drop Ryan off so that Evangeline and him could go to Thanksgiving dinner at her sister's house. Andy and I went over to the Happy Boulders at that point. I tried Grindite, but got too sketched on the top so I downclimbed. We went up the hill and I tried this line on Therapy Roof which proved to be sharp and cooler looking than it actually is. After that I got shut down on Toxic Avenger after a few goes, so we went to seek out Rio's Secret Arete. It was getting dark and once again I got shut down. Then Andy and I went to Sizzler for Thanksgivning Dinner thanks to his parent's credit card. The next day I went to go check out the Eldorado Roof in Owen's River Gorge. The Gorge is a massive sport climbing crag, but based on Andy's description of this roof I wanted to check it out. The roof is a few hundred feet wide and 30-40 feet deep. The right side is around 4-5 feet off the ground, which makes it a good height for bouldering. I hiked 45 minutes with 2 pads to get to the roof. I warmed up on this super sharp lie back flake in the roof. The roof hadn't really been bouldered on in years. I cleaned up this line that started back another 10-15 feet and climbed into the previous climb. The problem had some crazy moves and took a lot of figuring out. It started with two jug sidepulls and slapped up to a crimp rail under this block. I then did a dropknee to match. That set me up for a slap to an intermediate sloper with the right hand, and then a bump to a good hold. I walked my feet out and then climbed leftward. I bumped my left hand three times along this rail to get into an awkward jug that torqued my wrist. I swung my feet over to the left and put in this heel-toe cam that consisted of a great toe hook and a bad heel scum against the polished back wall. I did a weird back flag into the corner of this block, and matched to do a hard unnerving cross under the flake to a crimp for the right hand and then a jug for the left hand. Then I bump my hand back to the jug that my right hand was just in. I push off this great foothold that feels like it's going to break with my right foot, and reach under the rock to this jug in the seam. I swung my foot down to the other wall and did a slap move to stop the swing, and then climbed the rest of the flake to the jug at the end and dropped off as a bloc problem. This cave is crazy because it has all these weird blocks sticking off the roof. It creates some truly unique climbing that is very hard to describe in words. It is a possible FA, but I seriously doubt it. I'm sure that with guys like John Bachar climbing here back in the day, it had already been done and forgotten. After that I hiked back up the hill to my truck and drove out to the Sad Boulders. I tried the new parking area down the hill on Chalk Bluff road because I was going to the South end of the Sads. I went to Kung Fu Grip and got very unmotivated after two tries, so I went to Anti-hero. It is a really cool cave climb with some unique holds. It would be better if it weren't so dabby. I had to use a headlamp in that cave, because of the fading light. By the time I was done it was dark out, but I still wanted to try Rio's Crack. I was surprised that the beginning moves didn't feel bad. I got up to what I believe is the crux, and peeled off. I didn't really try it after that because I was worried about the rock to the left on the landing. I'll have to go back to that climb with a spotter. The next day I went up to the Druid Stones with Andy, Bob, and Tash. Ryan and Evangeline met us up there. The approach to the Druids is a 30+ minute uphill hike with an elevation gain of over 1,500 feet ending up at over 6,000 feet. Despite this sort of approach the Druids were crowded, and I'm sure the other publicized areas in Bishop were worse. We warmed up on one of the first blocks we came to. On the backside there is this climb called The Sloth. It starts on this good rail and climbs out the roof on small crimps to a tall blank-looking finish. I only gave it a few tries since it was my first time at the Druid Stones. I definitely want to go back to put more work into this climb. I climbed on Arch Drude down the hill. I was able to do the original, and the left start first try. At this point I was pissed off and very cynical, because I was sick of the dogs, crowds, number chasers, and beta sprayers. I stayed and climbed a few more though. I looked at the Thunder Wall, but didn't climb on it because the climbs didn't look very good. I went around the corner and tried All Fired Up, this nice looking arete. That proved to be my only attempt on it however because it is sharp. After that I managed to flash Sky Dance, which climbs out this cool roof to a tall top out with lock-offs between good crimps. At that point my skin and muscles were trashed so I headed back to Flagstaff for exams and crowd free bouldering areas.

Bishop Part II

2008-11-26T11:23:00.002-07:00

I climbed yesterday at Rock Creek with Ryan and Evangeline. There are a couple of cool granite boulders there at 8,500 feet. Needless to say climbing at that elevation at the end of November is cold. I did a couple classic climbs including A Boy Named Sue, Osama, and this arete that I don't remember the name of. On the way back to the pit my Flashed pad flew out the back. It was quite epic attempting to find it at night. We drove all the way back up to Rock Creek Lodge, and then back down with no luck. This morning I went back up to find it, but was turned around by a heinous snow storm. If the pad is still somewhere off the road, it's likely buried by snow now. So I'm in the market for a new pad. I may buy a Flashed Ronin pad off my friend Kody. If that doesn't work I'll likely buy a Flashed, Voodoo, or Revolution pad to replace the other Flashed pad.

Bishop Part I

2008-11-24T15:25:00.002-07:00

I arrived in Bishop on Friday night, and I'll be staying here for the rest of this month. When I got here I went straight to the Sad Boulders. It was after 9 PM when I arrived, and it took me a little while to find the boulders since I was going off my memory from almost 2 years ago. I took several wrong turns, but after a little while I was able to find the parking for the Sads. I warmed up on a little block right outside the Ice Caves, and then went to climb on my old project Beefcake. I was able to do all the moves again really quick. I got past the crux and fell on the last hard move on my next two attempts. I didn't try it again that night. I felt like my body needed sleep, food, and water (I hadn't had enough of these that day, and was tired from the drive). I went to sleep at the K-mart because I was too lazy to go find The Pit campground in the dark. When I woke up in the morning I went straight to the Sads to finish up Beefcake. It was really cold down in the cave when I got there. It was actually dark enough in the cave for a headlamp to be useful. I quickly warmed up and tried the climb. I fell earlier than my attempts the night before. I decided to rest for about a half hour. I sent the climb on my second attempt and when I finished the climb my hands were numb, because the rock was so cold. After that I went over and climbed on Pow Pow, but was unable to figure out and efficient way to do the crux move. I was able to campus the move in isolation, but I don't think that would be the best was to link the climb. I took a break in the middle of the day, then went to the Happy Boulders in the afternoon. I climbed on Morning Dove White, which was taller than I thought. I was able to do most of the moves, but my skin was trashed at that point (thanks Priest Draw). I climbed on Cholos next and could do a couple of moves. I think I could potentially do all the moves if I had good skin. I went back to The Pit after that, and camped out with some old friends from Hueco, Ryan Good and Andy Glover. The next day I went back to the Happies. I warmed up near Slow Dance and climbed on Acid Wash. I was able to do the Jug-start to Acid Wash Right (yes that's actually the name of the climb) in a few tries. I worked on the now start, but just don't have the lock-off strength to do the first move. Then I walked over to a cool little roof called Monkey Hang. I climbed Monkey Hang, and then did a cooler variation that took the climb rightwards through the roof. For the rest of the day I climbed a bunch of tall easy problems in the Slowdance and Jesus Chrysler Boulders until it got dark and I headed back to camp.

An Old Project Dies

2008-11-18T20:35:00.002-07:00

I went to the Draw today to climb on Cosmic Tricycle SD. I invited a bunch of people out like I always do, but everyone ended up coming today. Pat, Bryan, Steven, and I rode out there in my truck, and Eric and his friend met us out there. Pat and I were the only ones to go over to Puzzle Box. I first tried Cosmic Tricycle SD on my first visit to Flagstaff. I was able to do all the moves quickly so I thought that I would finish it fast. This wasn't the case. I didn't do it that trip, nor on my summer trip during School Orientation. I tried it when I got here in the fall, and the kneebar was too painful. On my first attempt today I fell on the last move to the lip bucket. I rested for a half hour and then sent on my second try. I started working the moves to Huffalufagus, the extension that finishes on PuzzleBox. I think it will go, but it definitely feels harder than Cosmic Tricycle SD. Pat made progress on Pufferfish. He did the crux, and still has a few more moves to decipher. Then we headed over to Floorpie. That's such a good rock climb that I hadn't done in a few weeks. Pat started working Floorpie and also Twister. Twister is really cool too, but it has a kind of sharp pocket on it. I was able to repeat that one too. We finished the night out over at Antimatter. I wasn't really serious about trying the climb, but I just wanted to toughen up my tips for Bishop this next week.

The Weekend

2008-11-16T18:01:00.003-07:00

Eric, Bryan, and I spent the night down in Sedona on Friday. We slept in a Bashas parking lot because we couldn't find a place to camp. On Saturday morning we went to the house of a Vedic monk who fed us breakfast. It was a really cool experience seeing the way that he lives his life, his religion, and his beliefs. We then headed over to the Anvil Boulders. I had previously tried to go to the Anvil Boulders, but wasted my time hiking around trying to get to them. The directions from Vertical Relief are complete shit. The real directions take about a quarter of the time. I saw Terry out at the blocks. He showed me around and I climbed on a bunch of really good warm-ups. I tried this crazy problem that involves a hard stem called Stem and Seeds. After that we headed over to Alien Baby. I was able to do it in a few tries. Then Eric did this highball around the corner. We finished the day out on Free Willy, also known as Lip Service. It was almost a waste to try this climb because the sun was on the start holds and the slopey lip. It's definitely a cool feature though. We camped at Groom Creek Saturday night, and climbed there Sunday morning. We didn't climb as much as the previous day, but we just ran around in the boulders climbing whatever looked good. We finished the trip off with a visit to Golden Corral before the drive back.

Priest Draw

2008-11-14T07:51:00.002-07:00

Last night Pat and I went to the Draw. I haven't been to the Draw in 2 weeks, which is kind of weird considering the fact that I live 10 miles away and love climbing there. Pat was able to finish Puzzle Box. It was only his second day on the problem. He did this crazy beta where he basically threw right hand to the lip and swung out. The landing isn't the best considering the fact that there is a drop off right behind the landing that goes down a small hill littered with little boulders. I climbed on Cosmic Tricycle SD and made considerable progress. I was able to pull through the crux once, and I fell a few moves from the end of the climb. This climb will go in one of the next few sessions, hopefully before I head out to Bishop. After that I ran the PBR (which doesn't involve beer)circuit and called it a night. It's amazing that we're still able to climb at night in November. Maybe this winter won't be too cold.

The Hueco Tanks

2008-11-12T13:50:00.004-07:00

Last weekend I went to the Hueco Tanks for an extended weekend. Pat, Eric, and Zach came and we camped out at the HRR. We got there around 1 AM in the morning and set up camp. In the morning we woke up and I took those guys out on tour as well as a few of Fish's friends from Phoenix. I made my first income in months, $30 for going climbing. We went to the Gunks to warm-up and I got on Rumble In The Jungle, a cool cave problem that I've been working for a few years now. I was able to repeat all the moves, but didn't make any progress. After the Gunks we moved down to the Maze where I didn't climb too much but we fooled around on Slim Pickens. After that I repeated Jigsaw Puzzle and had to call it a day. The skin on my fingertips just isn't used to be used anymore from all the climbing at Priest Draw. On day 2 I decided to take a rest day because I can't climb 4 days in a row in Hueco, whether it's because of lack of skin or just getting tired. I took the guys out on an exclusive tour of West Mountain. We hit up the Round Room, Bodysnatcher, and Between The Sheets. Day 3 we had reservations to get on North Mountain. The reservation system changed this year. Reservations can be made with a Texas State Parks Pass instead of a credit card, which helps a lot with the bullshit of refunds. The only downside is the reservations expire at 10 AM instead of noon, so you either have to get over there by 10 or call the park and tell them to hold your reservations. We warmed up at the top of the chains and then hit up Nobody Here Gets Out Alive, and classic juggy roof. Then we headed over to the Terminator area so I could climb on Predator. I met up with an old friend named Vijay that I hadn't seen in a few years. We ended up trying Predator once before determining that it was a chosspile. We got on the Governator, and that climb is amazing. It climbs way different than it looks. It has this huge drop knee that sucks your body into the wall. Zach climbed on Serious Attitude Problem and almost finished it. After that we hit up Ghetto Simulator and hiked out. On our last day we warmed up at the Summit Boulders. We climbed a lot of classic easy warm ups before going back to serious attitude problem. Zach was looking strong and almost did it until he tore a huge flapper on one of his fingers. Then we met Matt over at Martini Roof. He was working on Left Martini and getting pretty close. I climbed on Right Martini for a little bit and did all the moves again, but by then me skin was shot. I was feeling strong through the beginning however. Eric and Pat made good work on Baby Martini but seeing as it was 4th day on for them they were pretty trashed. We hit up T-bone Shuffle with Nikkias, and then Melon Patch before doing the drive back to Flagtown in the dark. We got back and I didn't even end up going to sleep because it was pretty late already and I had a Stats test in the morning. Time to return to reality unfortunately.

Epic

2008-11-05T13:10:00.004-07:00

So yesterday I went down to Sedona to check out the Anvil Boulders. I used some directions from Vertical Reliefs website, and I must say they suck! I hiked around on the trail for about two hours with three crash pads trying to find the small trail which leads to the boulders. I could see the boulders, I just couldn't find a way to them. The directions that Andy Klier told me when I spoke to him on the phone matched up with the directions from Rockclimbing.com. Those directions are much easier than the directions from Vertical Relief. Anyways, it was a cool hike which would have been a lot funner if I could have climbed and/or not hauled around 3 crash pads. Maybe this will just make the boulders seem that much better when I finally do get to go climb on them.