Alex, G, and I spent the last few days in Rifle Mountain Park climbing sport routes. It was the first time I've seriously attempted climbing on a rope in about 3 years. None the less, I had a amazing time and got seriously re-psyched on routes. It was also a great time climbing with Daniel Woods, Dave Graham, Joe Kinder, Emily Harrington, and Colette McInerney. Awesome crew to be climbing with, psych level to the max. Alex ended up climbing her first 12d, in two tries. Super proud. G got really close on a few 13's, and finished off 5 times as many spliffs as the whole crew combined. I fell off the last move of Simply Read 5.13d (hard as all hell 13d), which is probably the coolest thing I tried on the trip. Bummed I got so close and fell, but amped that I've actually got some endurance now. Anyways, I'm psyched to return in the next few weeks to finish off some things as the temps get better. Very psyched on Dave's new climb Girl Talk 5.14c at the Bauhaus. I got the opportunity to try it a bit when it was still a project and it holds some amazing climbing. I also suprised myself by linking the whole bottom half on my second attempt. Someone mentioned that this half could be a 5.14- route on its own. Psyched!
So here's some not-so-quality images from the trip:
Dave taking down The Gayness 5.13d
Daniel in the A.M.
G on the P.M. Wakeup Schedule
And without a days rest, Alex and I headed to Mt. Evans today for some Alpine Bouldering. Alex had her eyes on a few problems and as the day progressed she narrowed her sights on Clear Blue Skies V12. A couple goes in the heat were not looking good, then the cool breeze came by for a visit. In short order, she was falling off the last move from the start on every go until she ripped a nice flapper in her finger. We'll probably end up returning this weekend so she can finish her second V12. Updates will be coming along more regularly.
Peace.
Oh, and stop by The Spot this Friday for the Grand Opening of the New Wall built by Vertical Solutions. We will be setting all this week, so come by and climb on some fresh problems on a fresh new piece of terrain.
Today, Alex Puccio finished off the First Female Ascent of The Marble Sit V12 in RMNP. It was her third day climbing on the problem and she most definitely hiked it. Instead of me rambling on about the send, I'll let her describe the day in her own words:
" I worked on the marble for 2 days, the first days I got it in 2 parts and the second day I fell off matching the lip 5 times in a row...... so frustrating! And then finally on the third day, today, I sent the Marble Sit. Soooooo EXCITED!!! The day I sent the Marble Sit it was about 75 degrees out, and I climbed the day before in the gym so I didn't think it was going to go. After giving it a warm up burn I tried it once more and it felt greasy, I actually just popped off the wall from my hands greasing a few times, but then all the sudden a cool breeze came through and it cooled down for a few minutes. I put on my shoes, chalked my hands and sent the problem!
This is by far the hardest boulder problem I have done yet, and I hope that girls pushing the standards in climbing will motivate and show other girls that it can be done! We are creeping up on the boys and V13 isn't far out of sight!!! =)"
So there you have it. Now we have another girl to add to the Women of V12 club. Not entirely sure how many girls are on the list, but I'm assuming it's under 10. Hopefully we'll see Angie on the list soon with another FFA in the park.
On a side note, I've kinda been taking it easy recently trying to find new psych and a new direction. This time has allowed me to realize the rapid progression in climbing recently. Now we have two V12's by girls completed in the same week, in the same state. We also have V13's being sent weekly by multiple people. I can't even keep up with the number of retardly strong climbers I meet out here in Colorado on a daily basis. I see the bar slowly rising and the only way not to fall off, is to hold on a bit harder.
That being said, the new wall being built at The Spot is absolutely AMAZING. Quite possibly the most well built, well designed cave in the country. I look forward to setting and training on it starting next week.
Also, Alex and I will be heading to Rifle tomorrow to climb some routes with DW and DG through the weekend. I have never climbed a 5.14 and I'd be psyched to add one to my tick list. I know Alex feels the same way. More updates to come...
In the past 24 hours I have managed to do more hiking for climbing with no climbing than ever before. It pretty much rained all day. But I'll start from the beginning. Since I moved to Colorado and was guided around the the Park and Evans, I've always wondered about the potential for bouldering in Colorado. After two years out here I've managed to climb most of the established problems that I am psyched on and recently I've been leaning more towards the entirely separate realm of opening some of my own. Based on experience and knowledge of the areas I immediately set my sights on exploring Mt. Evans and the surrounding canyons/valleys. Before today I had explored both Area A and Area B but nothing more. So I set my sights on a place called Aerials, which I heard hosts the most amount boulders at Mt. Evans and the most unexplored bouldering terrain. A quick look on Google Earth confirmed these rumours. So today I set out on an adventure with friends Connor Griffith and Greg Mionske.
On the drive up to the summit we passed by another potential area. The talus field on the west end of Lincoln Lake. From afar the talus looks very small, but I wasn't convinced so I decided to investigate. According to Google Earth, the hike descends almost 1000 ft. of terrain in about a quarter of a mile. This wasn't enough to deter me and the downhill approach only took us 15-20 minutes if that. What we found at the bottom of the hill was simply stunning. At least 50 boulders the size of a house and many more smaller walls. It is twice as much rock as Lower and Upper Chaos combined. It is easiest to describe it as a maze of walls and roofs everywhere you turn. We hiked around for about and hour admiring the size and and amount of boulders, then headed back up the 1000 ft. hill. Exhausted at the topped we were still more than ready to see what lay ahead at the Aerials.
The parking for Aerials is just before the first switchback towards the summit of Mt. Evans. The hike down follows a moderately declining ridgeline and then descends abruptly through a notch at the end of the ridge into a long steep talus field. It is a descent of almost 2000 ft. into the boulders. When we first spotted the massive amount of boulders from the edge of the ridgeline it was difficult to contain my excitement. Massive looking blocks both in talus fields and in meadows filled pretty much our entire line of sight. When we finally reached the boulders I was even more amazed. Their are more boulders in this particular area than I have ever seen in my entire life. House-sized boulders, normal sized boulders, roofs, slabs, everything you could ever imagine in a bouldering area. Sounds pretty perfect, right? Well here's the catch...
80% of the boulders are completely devoid of holds, features, or anything, both at the Lincoln Lake boulders and at Aerials. I can honestly say that I've never seen more blank rock in my entire life. It was absolutely heart-breaking. Every turn yielded the most beautiful walls I've ever laid eyes on. However, upon closer inspection there was absolutely nothing available to get any form of purchase. I checked everything. We searched Aerials for about 2-3 hours and didn't find anything inspiring to come back for. Sure I could have missed some things, but for the most part, it just wasn't worth the hike, the time, or the effort. And here's the worst part. By the time we were done searching we realized that we were in a 2,000 ft. deep hole. Literally. The hike out was one of the most exhausting hiking experiences of my life (I'm a terrible hiker). We basically spent 2 hours crawling out of hole filled with gorgeous feature-less boulders.
And so for the time being I have lost hope in the future of Colorado bouldering. I will continue to train in the gym and climb on established lines. And I hear the South has got some projects.
But here are some pics from the day if you're interested. I'll have some more detailed ones up in the next day or so...
Lincoln Lake on the left and the boulders (taken from the road)
A Close-Up of the Boulders at Lincoln Lake (The bigger blocks are around 40 ft. tall)
Lincoln Lake from a different angle
Looking out from the pullout for Aerials. The trail follows the ridgeline left of center.
Today I headed out to Mt. Evans with my girlfriend Alex, my brother Giovanni, and Jena Lupia, a friend from New Mexico. The temps turned out to be perfect. Cool with a slight breeze all day. Unfortunately I didn't really get to climb on anything new, but I did get to guide people around, spot, and take some alright photos. G ended the day with sends of Bierstadt V10, The Dali Sit V9, and Seurat V8. Alex also managed to climb Seurat V8, even though it was "not at all her style", and in about three tries was consistently falling off the last move of Clear Blue Skies V12 from the start. An impressive day for all to say the least. Also, Jena almost finished off her fifth V8 with two close last move misses on Seurat. One fall off the last move had her bouncing off the pads and into a small cave beneath the boulder. Crazy business! Overall it was a wonderful day at the boulders and we'll probably be returning on Monday with the same crew and maybe I'll actually climb something new. Tomorrow, however, I might be hiking in to Area D and heading all the way down the canyon searching for new boulder problems. We will see...
Yesterday I made a solo trip to Mt. Evans to do some rock climbing. It was a bit warm for any good burns on Ode, but I did manage to link The Mirrormask SDS Project into the stand. Not sure when I'll be able to send because I fall mainly due to complete fatigue. Could be because of lack of breathing when compressing so hard and lack of oxygen in the air at 12,000 ft. However, I'm very psyched on this boulder and will continue to give it my utmost attention until I send.
Here is a photo of me climbing on it 2 years ago (Courtesy of Steve Woods):
I also got the opportunity to hike around a bit on the cliffs above the boulders and take some nice photos.
Looking Up Canyon Past Area B
Looking Down Canyon
Tomorrow I will head out again to Mt. Evans this time with Alex, Giovanni, and Jena Lupia, a friend of ours from New Mexico. I should have a nice post up in the next day or two complete with media from the day.
It's been almost a month since I have written a blog entry, almost purely because the past month has been quite hectic for me. So, I'll start where I left off in the last entry. I ended up placing 16th in the World Cup in Vail. I bit dissapointing for me after qualifying 13th, but oh well. My goal was just to make it to Semi-finals with such a stacked field. I think it's safe to say that I'm starting to figure out this whole comp thing and it definitely doesn't help to be 5' 6''.
Shortly after Vail, I made my first treks of the season to Chaos Canyon and managed to climb The Automator V13 and Wildcat V11 with suprising ease. I don't have too many more boulders I'm psyched to climb on in the park anymore now that I've finished off those two. However, I am psyched to finish up Jade if I can get some good temps and I'm psyched on re-climbing Nothin' But Sunshine V13 just because I had a lot of fun climbing it the first time around.
The Lake
The Rock
The Hork on Freshly Squeezed V12
By the time mid-June rolled around it was time for a two week trip to Dallas, Texas to visit Alex's family. I must say I really wasn't too psyched to be in Texas for so long (it's hard enough to get me to Hueco, purely because it's in Texas), but I made the trip worthwhile by doing a lot of setting work at various gyms. I also did a lot of "active resting". However, it was nice to visit with Alex's family for an extended period of time.
The Drive Back to Boulder...
But now I'm back in Boulder. And I forgot to mention that my brother Giovanni moved in with us and is now residing on the couch. He is very psyched to begin climbing "full-time" and I'm sure we'll see some impressive sends from him this summer.
I shot some photos of G and Chris Meacham out in Boulder Canyon a few days ago and in a few days I will be headed to Mt. Evans to hop on one of my three summer projects and to look for new boulders. My summer projects are Ode To The Modern Man, The Mirrormask SDS Project, and the City Walls Of Dying Dreams SDS. I am very, very close to the first two and have yet to try City Walls. Needless to say I am very excited and the blog entries will be much more frequent now that I am participating in interesting activities. And also thanks to my new digital SLR, I will be posting some really cool pictures. Peace.
I must say that I'm excited by the fact that I've managed to make it into the semi-final round in 13th Place. The current U.S. males that will be entering the next round (in order of placement) are Paul Robinson (1st Place), Chris Sharma, Daniel Woods, Carlo Traversi, Mark Hobson, and Kyle Owen. Not sure on the placement of the females so far (cause Alex can't seem to remember), but Alex Johnson is currently in 1st Place and Alex Puccio is currently in 5th as the top U.S. females. It looks as if the U.S. is dominating quite well. The problems in my opinion were extremely HARD for both categories. However, they were well set and covered a variety of styles. It was interesting to watch how the majority of the Europeans performed on problem number 4 which was a steep, powerful, body-tension dependent problem on incut edges. Most Euros simply fell apart on this boulder showing that they didn't exactly possess the necessary strengths that Americans find to be an essential part of the bouldering experience. I hope to see more of these types of boulders today. Anyways, send your best wishes to the U.S. team and I sure hope that we can fill as many podium spots as possible.
Tomorrow is the qualifying round for the first bouldering World Cup on U.S. soil. I must say I'm very psyched to be competing and Alex is very psyched as well. I would like to thank my primary sponsor, Five Ten, for all of there support, especially in the days leading up to the competition. I'm up against a very stacked men's field and my goal is to make it to semi-finals which would be the top 20.
I went out and got some photos taken on the new roof problem in Clear Creek Canyon called Paths Of Glory V12. Again I want to emphasize the quality of the climbing and I would be psyched to see more people getting on it.
I awoke yesterday with plans to head back up to Mt. Evans, but quickly realized it just wasn't in the cards for me. I was still recovering from a serious campus session at The Spot the previous afternoon. However, at around 4:00 p.m. my good friend Chris Meacham arrived in Boulder and convinced me to head out to Clear Creek to check out this roof project next to Stanley Kubrick. I remember looking at the problem last year, but for some reason it looked completely impossible. Not so this year. I even discovered a direct (straight out) finish to it so that you can remain completely in the roof for almost the complete extent of the problem. Lots of quality roof climbing. Something you generally don't see out here in Colorado. I put together the end of the problem pretty quickly. I consists of some pretty amazing moves to quality edges. However, the beginning of the problem was alluding us due to the very warm temps and lack of wind. So we decided to sit around and wait. Wade David showed up as the sun was starting to set with a crane and HD quality video. Inspired by the amazing footage we were able to put together, I managed to link the full roof and topout the boulder. Best roof climbing I've done in Colorado. I've decided to call it Paths Of Glory after Stanley Kubricks classic anti-war film. I posted the grade of V12 because I thought it was quite hard. Similar to Dark Waters for me. Maybe a bit easier. However, it was very hot and greasy out and I look forward to hearing more opinions.
I would post photos but my camera fell out of the back of the car on the drive out and it got run over. Shitty! Wade will be posting the footage somewhere soon. More updates on that.
Wade has put together a nice video of our Spring Break trip to Joe's Valley featuring Alex on Smokin' Joe V9, and my brother Giovanni Traversi on the first ascent of Weed, Whiskey, and Women With Wieners V12. It is available in the Premium section of Momentum Video Magazine. It also features G's own musical creation to back the climbing footage. Quality!
I decided to open up (for myself) the alpine bouldering season by heading up to Mt. Evans today. I have heard that the snow levels in the mountains were high this year and I was a bit concerned about whether or not I would get to climb on anything. But I headed out anyways this morning with die-hards Greg Mionske and Connor Griffith. We got a hold of some snow shoes and made the drive into the mountains. Due to the gate being permanently shut, we were forced to hike in from Echo Lake. Surprisingly the upper part of the switchbacks are almost completely free of snow and the rest of the hike to Area A is on hard-packed ice and snow. We finally put our snow shoes on just as we entered the trees just short of the Bierstadt boulder. We made it to the Dali boulder a few minutes later to find it completely free of snow both on the ground and on the boulder. Perfectly dry.
I intended to try No More Greener Grasses V12 and Super Gui V11. I have tried both on previous occasions with no success despite getting extremely close. Especially Super Gui. I have fallen on the last hard move at least 30 times. I began the day by nabbing a 3rd try ascent of No More Greener Grasses V12. It is definitely one of the most inspiring and pure boulder problems I have ever seen and I was very psyched to complete it without epic. It felt extremely easy for me today, but after factoring in my previous experiences on it, I have decided that it is probably the hardest V12 I have ever done. With my skin still fresh I decided to give some attempts on Super Gui V11. It is basically a linkup of The Dali Sit V9 and the top section of Ode To The Modern Man V14 via an amazing slopey rail. It consists of a very hard-for-me crux move that relies on a right-foot heel hook and a left hand stab to an incut crimp. I managed to finish the problem on my 3rd effort from the bottom. Definitely a quality boulder problem.
The hike out was epic due to lack of prior conditioning. Altitude 1, Boulderers O. Now I will sleep for the next 2 days just trying to recover.
Here are some pics from the day courtesy of Greg Mionske:
I spent about 15 minutes in the BRC tonight before I decided that I am completely over gym climbing. I'm going to try and spend as much time as I can outside starting now, even if that means climbing on Flagstaff because it's late and the weather is shit. So that is where I went today. I brought along my friend Greg so he could nab some photos of me on Hollow's Way V8. I tried this problem for about 20 minutes last year around this time, but got rained off before I could complete it. I believe it might be the best boulder problem within a 5 minute radius of town (which pretty much only includes Flagstaff, but whatever). Anyways, I was anxious to finish it off. When we arrived, I was surprised to find the boulder completely dry (the weather has been shit lately in Boulder). I got to the last move on my first attempt, but took about 15 more to finish it up. The last hold is not very good. However, once you accept this and decide to stop fighting that small fact, moving off of it to the "finish jug" is not too bad. I also got the chance to try out Five Ten's newest take on the Anasazi Lace-Up and I must say they performed impeccably well on the slightly overhung terrain. They will be my new trustworthy friends on any vert highballs I might attempt over the summer. As well as on the Diamond.
So...We escaped Flagstaff without epic and now I sit at home dreaming about my weekend plans to snowshoe into Mt. Evans. Psyched!
Here are a few pics from the day courtesy of Greg Mionske:
Saturday, I headed up to the Poudre Canyon with a carload of friends and the intention of climbing on lots of amazing granite boulders. I managed to send Against Humanity V7 in soaking wet conditions. It was fun nonetheless. Very quality rock climbing. We then headed over to check out this new roof boulder caled Critical Mass V?. I'm not sure what the grade is, but it felt to be around the V10 or V11 mark. I came close to flashing, falling off on the last hard move as usual, until the sweat fairy decided to make a visit to my fingertips and all hell broke loose. Very cool boulder problem though, definitely worth checking out. Props to Andre on the FA. Our last stop was the 420 boulders where I was interested in climbing on Circadian Rhythm V13. To keep the epic in more simple terms, I didn't manage to climb the boulder. Last move-itis. I hope it clears up before summer.
So...
Today, I climbed out in Boulder Canyon with my good friend Greg Mionske, so that he could shoot some photos of me on Free Range V13, or I guess Cage Free since I didn't really climb on any of the sit moves. I managed to climb Cage Free V11 at least 15 times in less than 1 hour. I think it might be a personal record.
However, the real news of today is that I managed to pull off Cage Free V11 in my new pair of Five Ten Daescents. The new Mystique rubber held on to the small feet extremely well. I am very impressed with the quality of these shoes. They are extremely comfortable, lightweight, and not to mention good-looking (for now, I haven't had the chance to completely beat the shit out of them).
Here is a photo:
After shooting some photos, we headed up to the boulder that holds Midnight Express v14 and Trainspotting v12. I claimed the second ascent of the latter about a month or so ago, but learned that I had not started with the appropriate left hand start hold. To clear things up, Trainspotting starts awfully low with a right hand on the Midnight Express left hand start hold and your left hand starting on some textured crystals about a foot below a perfectly good edge. I completed the "move" into the left hand that I started with and determined that it is no harder than starting on the perfectly good holds that I originally completed the boulder with. It is also a move that I am completely unmotivated on accomplishing again. And so is the story of how I will never climb Trainspotting from the "real" start.
Photos from the day to come sooner rather than later.
Today I woke up with a nice cup of coffee and the need for a rest day. My back and arms have been very sore and I haven't rested in a couple of weeks. However, the temps were wonderful in Boulder and I was extremely psyched to climb on real rock. So around 5 o'clock I headed to The Spot to meet up with some friends for a nice session out in Boulder Canyon. I arrived at the Cage Free Boulder a bit later with Chris Meacham and Ander Rockstad who is visiting from Colorado Springs. I completed the dyno move with a suprising amount of ease due to my realization that remaining square to the wall allows for an easier deadpoint to the lip. And then with an even more suprising amount of ease I managed to finish Free Range V13 (AKA Cage Free SDS) 1st try of the day. It was an experience that will change how I climb forever. It was robotic climbing. Thoughtless. My future goals now reside in reliving that same experience over and over. It is now the best way I know how to climb. I feel like if I could reach that same mental state when onsighting or climbing difficult highballs, there would be no limits.
And so today I was a successful rock climber and person. Not because I completed a series of moves up a small granite wall that so happens to be named, and so happens to have only been completed by 5 other people. I was successful because I gained a new realization in my life. That the ability to climb rocks is inate in all people, and the difficult part lies in clearing away all the distractions in the mind so that the body can move effortlessly. Climbing Free Range today felt easier than some V0's that I've climbed when I am completely distracted. There's no reason why Free Range shouldn't feel as easy on my first attempt as on my last. All I've learned in between is how to let my body climb instead of my mind.
You may think that I'm thinking to deeply about this, and criticize me for it. But one day you'll share the same experience, and if you don't, I feel sorry for you.
I promised myself that I would never blog about an indoor boulder problem, especially one that I set, but I decided that I had to blog about this one. We just set the Right Side of the Hueco Boulder today at The Spot and I must say that I have fashioned a masterpiece. At least in my mind. Come to the gym and see if you agree. Anyways, I was tired of setting problems that I thought were hard, only to have them trounced upon by half the population of Boulder. So today, I set something that I truly believe will get thoroughly worked on, but will remain unfinished for a while. I would be very impressed if someone managed to climb it within the next week. It consists of 14 moves of intricate sequencing, amazing(ly bad) holds, and ultra-classic moves. Including what is now my favorite indoor move EVER! A dyno to the famous Pusher Boss hold. Classic!
Enough about indoor climbing. Due to the warm temps in Boulder, my motivation for the high country bouldering season is overwhelming, while my motivation for the boulders around Boulder is at an all time low. Hopefully I get enough cold days this season to make an attempt at bouldering Iron Monkey. (I'm only half serious, but I have definitely been entertaining the idea.) And hopefully someday I will have something interesting to blog about. Instead of just ideas, random ponderings, and indoor boulder problems.
Yesterday I fell off sticking the lip on Free Range V13, no less than 7 times in a row. Sad. By the time I left the problem, I had two new holes in my hand that wouldn't stop squirting blood all over my fingers. Sad. The day before, while Alex was working on Trice, I fell off the last move of Epoch-alipse V13 at least 3 times. Sad. Sad that I was even working on the problem and sad that I can't complete anything these days. Speaking of Alex on Trice, she fell off post-crux and ripped open her flapper again. We might both be dealing with the same mental blocks. As far as I know, the only way to get through them is to push forward. Good news better come soon.
While perusing the mass amount of climbing blogs yesterday I saw the news that Kevin Jorgeson managed the 2nd ropeless and 6th ascent of The Fly (5.14d) in Rumney, NH. Word Up! I've known Kevin since I started climbing almost 6 years ago. He was and still is one of the core members of the very small, tight-knit climbing community in Santa Rosa, CA. Watching Kevin's progression over the years has been amazing to watch. While we all were slaves to the plastic for 7 days a week, Kevin seemed to never climb and always seemed stronger whenever he joined a session. Anyways, props to him for balancing a heavy school schedule, assistant managing the local gym, and hard climbing.
Today Alex and I head up to Flagstaff so that she can finish Trice V12. I'll probably mess around on the wall as well. Updates to come.
So, two days ago, out of nowhere, Alex decides that she is psyched to work on Trice V12 up on Flagstaff Mtn. I had no idea what to say to this because her outdoor psych recently has been significantly lagging. However, within the hour we found ourselves at the Cloudshadow Wall. The first thing that came out of her mouth when we got there (because she'd never seen the problem before) was "I can't climb this, those holds suck." 20 minutes later it was a whole different story. She had almost made the crux move static until the right hand pocket fashioned her a nice flapper on her middle finger.
Check it:
Alex plans on finishing up the climb this week. In my opinion this climb could solidify her as one of the strongest boulderers in the world, male or female. I think all it takes is for her to get a little bit psyched and we'll see the first female ascent of a solid V13 boulder.
Now to address my last post and the title of this blog entry. Yesterday Justen Sjong and I headed out to Eldo for our big day. The final number of pitches after about 7 hours of climbing was 13! Let's just say I got my ass handed to me. Sure, the majority of the pitches were in the 5.11 and 5.12 range. But, damn. I don't have that kind of endurance. Overall, it was a great training day for me. I'm sure Justen could have climbed for much longer and I only hope that he got at least a little bit of training out of it, before I fell apart. However, in my favor, the wind and end of the day sleet took a bit out of me.
This week's focus:
Tues./Wed. - Set some ultra-classics at The Spot.
Thurs./Fri. - Back to Eldo to work on Iron Monkey and Back to Flagstaff to get Alex on Trice.
I spent the day out in Eldorado Canyon yesterday putting some work into Iron Monkey 5.14?. It is basically a boulder problem on a rope and it suits my style perfectly. The crux is a large left hand huck off a very good pinch. I spent the day figuring out the gear (thanks to Matt Wilder) and sussing the beta as well as working on the stopper crux move. I got very close to sticking it in just a couple goes as I was latching the edge but ripping off it when my feet came off the wall. If I was only an inch taller I could almost keep both feet on for the move. My guess is that it is about a V10 move. The rest of the route is fairly easy. The only thing that I'm concerned about at this point is my ability to set the nut that protects the crux move while I'm on lead. Due to my small stature it is quite difficult for me to reach the pod where the nut sits, so I'm developing a way to extend my reach with a coat-hanger or something of the sort. We'll see. I'll be out in Eldo again tomorrow with Justen Sjong as we try to finish off 100 pitches of climbing in a day. At least that's the goal. I have no idea how it's going to work out. It'll be good training no matter what, but I've never attempted something so grand in nature. Should be a good time. More to come.
For the meantime, here is a poorly edited video I put together of my little brother Giovanni or "G" demolishing some Joe's Valley classics. Enjoy!
With the exception of possibly finishing off Free Range V13 in Boulder Canyon, I have changed my current focus within climbing. Rope. Specifically rope climbs in Eldorado Canyon. It only took one trip out there a couple of days ago to discover two things that I am excited to work on. Any guesses? I went to the BRC tonight and trained a bit. Brought back some old memories of training for Youth World Championships in my days as a USAC participant.
Got back from Joe's Valley and the Red Rock Rendezvous a couple days ago. Following at least 8 hours of heavy blizzard throughout Utah and Colorado. Red Rocks is surprisingly better than I expected in all aspects. I taught some clinics for Five Ten and had a good time hanging out with friends. It's nice to be back in Boulder though. I was hoping to update with lots of photos and videos of my trip, but I'm having trouble connecting my computer (with all the media) to the Internet (I'm using Alex's computer). Hopefully I'll get them on here soon as well as some news of some sends.
In other news, congratulations to Alex Honnold for his free-solo of Moonlight Buttress in Zion yesterday. I'm sure well hear more about this incredible climbing feat later.
Sitting here at the Food Ranch just outside of Joe's Valley, Utah, I decided to give a little update of our current roadtrip. The biggest news so far has been the spree of sends from my little brother Giovanni. Here's the current tally before today:
-Weed, Whiskey, And Women With Wieners - V12 FA (Smokin Joe then hard right into a 30 foot traverse through a cave and with a final V9 sloperfest topout to a 20 foot slab) -Freak - V10 Flash -Resident Evil - V10 Second Go -Fingerhut - V10 Flash -Nerve Extension - V10 -Smokin Joe - V9 -Two-Finger Variation - V9 -The Wind Below - V8 -Big Boy - V7 Flash
And today he nutted up and in about an hour finished off:
-They Call Him Jordan - V8 -We Call Him Michael - V10 -Beyond Life - V11
Tomorrow we head to Las Vegas for the Red Rock Rendevous and their will be many more videos, pictures and updates to come very soon.
Nonperformance of something due, required, or expected. My life has been full of this as of late. I guess it's just the cycle of things. About a week or so before Nationals I felt a serious lack of motivation and desire towards climbing. It certainly showed when I fell seriously short of my expectations in a comp that I was definitely ready for. Gravity won. I lost. This theme has continued for the last 3 weeks. Throughout an entire roadtrip to Southern California, including a day of bouldering in Joshua Tree and countless energetic gym sessions, I have felt as though their were a lead weight attached to every part of my body. I couldn't shake them.
I am finally inspired to write a blog today because a few days ago I broke through to the other side. I traveled out to Boulder Canyon with my good friend Chris and managed to fall off sticking the lip of Free Range V13. This is big news for me because I have been extremely close to finishing this boulder for quite some time. However, it always manages to allude me in the most devilish of ways. If I get the first half of the boulder on lock down, the second half will feel impossible. Once I figure out the second half, the first half turns into an epic slip-fest. No joke, this has been going on through 4 months of continuous effort. Suprising since I did all the moves in 30 minutes my first time trying the problem. So this is it. I think this problem might be my escape from the vast hole I've been living in the last month. I just need to stick that lip and mantle out.
In other news. I'm leaving for Joe's Valley in a week and a half or so with the intention of finishing up some long-term projects and establishing some stuff of my own. Connor we're crossing the river this year! Maybe I'll find something tall and proud. Updates on that to come.
In the meantime, here's some eye candy from the last month:
Iron Resolution - Photo Courtesy of Susanica Tam
So, finally today, or I guess yesterday since it's past midnight now, I traveled back up to Boulder Canyon with P-Rob and polished off the second ascent (?) of Ty Landman's Trainspotting V12. It's a crack problem just to the left of Midnight Express V14. It consists of a couple setup moves off the start and then a hard stab into a flared opening in the crack. A couple of balancy footholdless moves later and you're standing on top of the boulder. Paul got extremely close to finishing Midnight Express and I'm sure you'll hear about his ascent of the boulder within the next week or so.
Just before leaving the area at the end of the day I decided to give an attempt on Free Range V13. First try I slipped off on the last move dyno. Third try I did the same and ripped a nice flapper on my right hand. As if this boulder hasn't taken enough blood. I think it's safe to say that I have this boulder on complete LOCKDOWN. Today it felt like V0, that is except for the last move which only feels V0 as an individual move. I hope to finish off this boulder by the end of next week. I need a clean slate for Joe's.
An Attempt On Free Range V13
Otherwise my next week will be filled with lots of routesetting as I will be setting for the SBS Finals this weekend. Come on down to The Spot and climb on some amazing plastic boulders.
The results are in for the Qualifying round of the Open category of the ABS Nationals Championships. The Spot was fairly packed for the first round of the comp. With 78 men and 59 women competing and at least a couple hundred spectators, it looks like finals is going to be a packed house. Lots of strong climbers showed up this year, including some international folk that are definitely at the top of their game. As a first time competitor at the Nationals, I was interested to see how things would play out. When I finished climbing on the four qualifiers, I only had two thoughts in my head. Damn those problems were hard. And fuck, I definitely didn't make finals. However, I was pleasantly suprised to find my initial standing in 4th Place. I knew that this would be short lived because there were lots of very strong climbers to go. At the end of the day, I sit in a very suprising 7th Place with possibly the worst day of competition climbing (for me) under my belt. I can only promise that I will be much stronger for Finals. I have a lot left to leave on those fake boulders littered with plastic holds.
Alex climbed extremely well despite feeling dizzy, ill, and weak. She certainly didn't show it as she was the only climber to finish the 3rd and 4th women's qualifiers and flash every boulder problem. She is extremely psyched and can't wait to climb on some more challenging boulder problems in finals.
And definitely drop by the Spot gym for finals which start at 7 o'clock on Sat. night. Their should be lots of amazing climbing going down. Shit's gonna hit the fan!
Connor Griffith has apparently scored a 110 second Expert minesweeper win blowing Alex Puccio's 115 second victory straight out of the water. It seems the showdown has begun for these two youngsters with no lives to speak of. I mean seriously, get a life you two. Hopefully this will be the last time I post about this ridiculous topic.
The qualifying round for the 2008 ABS National Championships commences this Friday with an extremely strong field. Lisa Rands and Chris Sharma will be competing and it will be interesting to see if the next generation of climbers can steal the top spot from the seasoned veterans that know it so well. Not to say that Alex Puccio and Paul Robinson (the top young climbers in the recent Mammut/EMS Series) are not accostomed to winning, but this year we'll get to see the ultimate showdown between young and not-so-old. I'm psyched. And hopefully I'll make finals and get to take part in the youth takeover.
Today was the first day in a long time that I really feel like I accomplished something. Unfortunately that accomplishment was four hours of moving snow off the top of Suspension Of Disbelief in Eldorado Canyon. When Paul and I arrived at the boulder in unusually warm temps, I knew we were in for an epic. The climb was dry, but the top of the boulder had about a foot of snow hiding another inch of ice. So we went to work. Brushing snow, chipping ice, and expediting the slow melting process provided by the cold Colorado winter. When we hiked out a couple hours later I was suprised at how psyched I was to return and try to climb on a boulder that I've now put so much work into. Especially considering the overwhelming lack of psych I have been feeling lately.
For example, I can remember and count on one hand the days that I have been psyched in the last 2 months.
Here was one of the days:
Same day, New Psych:
Am I the only one that finds it funny that I have a highlight video on youtube.
Another day of psych was the last time I was bouldering in Eldo:
And then I did this four times and considering the fifty other times I have messed up this problem on previous days, the psych was lost again. Back to its Winter Hibernation I guess.
Switching to another subject (yes, they will continue to change sporadically), I talked to my little brother Giovanni the other day and he told me about his current exploits in NorCal. We discovered an area a few minutes from our house over the summer and it holds a suprising amount of potential.
Here are some pics:
Apparently G just found a 25' highball in the area and it could be pretty hard. More on that to come.
Another random bit. Alex just finished off her longtime project of beating Connor's (120 seconds on Expert) minesweeper score (somebody needs to convince her to get a job). 115 seconds on Expert is her new record. The world record is 37 seconds by some Australian dude. Crazy youtube video that one.
So the last month has been crazy. At the end of December I was fired from my job at the Italian Restaurant because I got sick and I guess they couldn't handle that. So for Christmas we drove to California to visit my family. We ended up staying for a month. It was a nice visit and it was fun to experience the local sandbagging that occurs at my home gym, Vertex Climbing Center. The head routesetter, Kevin Jorgeson, still manages to set V7's that take me three full days to complete. Nonetheless, it was a good time to train for the upcoming Rope and Bouldering National Championships.
We left California in mid-January and drove back to Boulder then back to Salt Lake City four days later. I hate Wyoming in the winter. We were scheduled to attend both the Outdoor Retailer Show and the SCS Adult National Championships. The Show provided a remarkable amount of drama and its fair share of suprising outcomes. After talking about the business aspects of the climbing industry for days on end I came to a startling number of realizations: 1. The athletes are getting screwed. 2. Companies need to improve their marketing strategies in order to better utilize the athletes within the sport. 3. The industry makes me sick to my stomach. The rope Nationals didn't go any better for me either. After tying for first in the Qualifiers, I completely screwed up the sequence on the finals route to land myself in a dissapointing 9th Place. Oh well, I'm not a rope climber at this point in my life. Despite the negative vibes I was getting in SLC, I had a great time staying at home of the very hospitable Steven Jeffery. I was also very impressed with the quality of the new Momentum Climbing Gym. Especially the boulder problems. They were definitely some of the best indoor problems I've climbed on in quite a while.
I guess this brings me up to date. ABS Nationals is in a couple of days. My brother and my mom are flying out for the comp. I can only hope for the psych to return for the comp. But if it doesn't, I still have a Sunday session on a dry Suspension to look forward to.
Andre climbing Freaks Of The Industry V13
G with Straight Hair...HAHAHA!!!
Lincoln Lake from a different angle
Looking Down Canyon
Chris Meacham and G-Money
Peace.
Alex plans on finishing up the climb this week. In my opinion this climb could solidify her as one of the strongest boulderers in the world, male or female. I think all it takes is for her to get a little bit psyched and we'll see the first female ascent of a solid V13 boulder.
Iron Resolution - Photo Courtesy of Susanica Tam
