Other News

It's Friday!

First, a few vids, courtesy of a link from the Narc, on what it's like to inadvertently climb the Nose in a Day. Inadvertently, you say? Well, check out the vids. I enjoyed the progression of fitness and energy loss throughout the recordings. Reminded me of how I felt at the end of the 24HHH comp last year. BTW, that's Sept 25-27 weekend this year and registration is very soon.

May 31, 2009 El Capitan from Ben Ingman on Vimeo.

June 1, 2009 The Nose in a Day from Ben Ingman on Vimeo.

June 2, 2009 1:00am, Nose In a Day from Ben Ingman on Vimeo.

The Nose in a Day Summit: Part 2 from Ben Ingman on Vimeo.

The Narc also included a famous rant on Aid Climbing - this one's pretty good in general:



Second, Craig, one of our local climbing dudes is headed out to Yosemite as I type, planning on a 2 week sendfest on the glacier polished granite in the Valley. We wish him lots of fun, luck and await his return. Craig's promised us a guest trip report, so we'll post something on that in a few weeks.

Happy Weekend!

Jackson Falls - July 25, 2009

Climbers - Tony, Calvin, Angie and Craig
Weather - better later, not so good early.

Ah, another trip to the Falls snuck in on an iffy weather day. The forecast was mid-80's with possible afternoon thunderstorms, so of course we left early hoping to get some climbing in before the rain hit. When we arrived, the exact opposite happened. It started raining off and on (of course) and cleared up into a gorgeous day by the afternoon. Did I say of course? Of course.

We headed over to the Rainy Day roof, determined to make a day of it, and started climbing. Craig suited up and put up Sprinkles 5.6 trad, which Angie followed. I think I heard Craig mutter about wet holds a few times.


After Craig put up Sprinkles, he headed over to End of the Cluster 5.8+, another trad route 5 routes to the right at the end of Rainy Day roof. Admirably sent, with Angie following once again (see below).

Meanwhile, Tony put up Lightning .10c and Flash, .10a and Zapped .11b. Lightning was interesting and crimpy, but wet and slopey at the top. Tony held it together nicely and sent. Flash, all 3 of us swear is the hardest route on the wall. Darn thing is weird and hard when the holds are a bit damp! Zapped was the most fun, requiring a heelhook start with dynamic movement on cool holds. Too bad it was so short. Craig and I led all three climbs after Tony put them up. Ropegun O'Connor.

Given the weather, we decided to try Industry, .12a on our way to Hidden Peaks, home of Detox Mountain. Industry is surprisingly fun and bouldery, with the mandatory Jackson topout. It's only 3 bolts long, but it caused some consternation due to the wetness at the top. Here are some vids:

Craig the first time he grabbed a wet hold towards the topout:

Craig on Industry, .12a - Jackson Falls from Calvin Hwang on Vimeo.

Craig working the crux:

Craig on Industry, part II from Calvin Hwang on Vimeo.

Craig figuring out the crux:

Craig on Industry, part III from Calvin Hwang on Vimeo.

I love the way climbing at your limit or on a hard section will bring out your unvarnished innerself. Notice Craig's spontaneous comments in the first clip, and then the demented chuckle on the last clip as he gets to the top... :) I've done that many times myself.

From there, it started drying up, so we headed over to Detox. Angie and I moved down to the Town Square. Angie led Spank You Very Much 5.9 and climbed Monkey Shower 5.9, getting her lead head back together. We also met Michael and Kristy from the gym at this area, climbing Katie Did 5.9 and I think Gully Gee Whiz 5.10b, which I think is a great route.

Craig, feeling his trad oats, launched up Devil's Lake Dreams, a splitter 5.9 handcrack 4 routes to the left of Detox. I wasn't there, but I heard it was epic (off-width, chicken wings, leg jams, etc. involved) and Tony followed with zeal. :) Detox turned out to be wet, so they backed off that climb and Tony led Cranial Implosion, .12a which was apparently damp.

We finished up the day with Craig climbing Cheerio Bowl, .10a, a classic, long climb that crosses an arete on Pricker Peak. Nice day. The rest of the pics are here.

Jackson Falls July 17-18, 2009

Climbers - Sophie, Tony, Craig and Calvin
Weather - Unbelievable.

Hope you've been enjoying the incredibly good, but incredibly weird, cool temps. We took a trip to the Falls to take advantage of Fall temps in July. July!!! Craig noted that perhaps the best way to describe this was 'Global Weirding,' a play on the havoc that global warming may be wreaking. We joked that everyone should start buying large, inefficient diesel trucks and wait for more good temps in the summer. :)

We arrived Friday late afternoon, managing to skirt a roadblock due to asphalt stripping and resurfacing on I-64. Great timing, to do that during rushhour on Friday, I-D(i)OT. After we setup our tents, we hurried down to the Gallery, thinking we'd have to head elsewhere if it was busy. Empty. Hell yeah! Warmed up on Group Therapy .10c as usual, while Soph & Craig ran up Earthbound Misfits .10a. We switched, then Tony & I packed up to head down to Battle Ax Tower, home to Bursting Out, .12b. I've been eyeing this climb for a quite a while, and this was a good chance to get on it.

Bursting Out starts with some moderate, but technical climbing (sandy when unclimbed for a bit), leading you to the beginning of some crimps. You get a good stance and rest a bolt before the crux. The crux is a thin sequence of crimps that requires good balance and creative footwork. Took me several tries to unlock a good sequence. After that, you get a nice 3 foot roof, clip a last bolt, and according to the descr, enjoy an, "Airy run-out above the roof for your accelerating pleasure." It's probably 15 feet to the anchors.

The fall is absolutely clean and nothing to worry about, but this has always been the mental challenge of climbing for me. There I am, on good, if sandy, holds, overgripping the hell out of my holds just because I'm scared to fall. I took a small fall just after the bolt, just because I was too chicken to finish. Got back up, made it to the chains, and probably could have pulverized coal into diamond the way I was gripping the clipping hold. Sheesh.

Craig and Soph finished up on Tons of Fun .10c and The Sophomore 5.9 and watched Tony climb and clean BO. By then, darkness was falling so we headed back to camp.

Saturday found us at the Promised Land, a crag full of awesome climbing. Craig and Soph started warming up by up/down-climbing on Generator X, .11b while Tony and I put up XOXO, .10b. Soph almost made the send of Gen X, falling close to the top. Craign hopped on it and flashed it, just like that. We then worked on 3-Day Impression, .11a which I believe is a John Flunker route 2 routes to the right of Four Bettys. Interesting face climbing to the right of an arete leads to a nice rest, where you cross to the other side of the arete and tackle several classic Jackson-style bulges. Stiff for .11a, I think. Craig also sent that on a flash attempt. Nice job dude.

Craig and Soph then setout to work on Xterminator, .12a, two routes to the right of Gen X. She made strong progress (see pic), and worked the sequence for the crux, but didn't get the send. Craig then flashed Fashionably Late, .11a (anyone see a trend here?) before giving Xterminator a strong burn to finish. If I can figure out the video I took, I'll post it.

Tony and I turned to Balance of Power, .12b/c (but I think is probably .12c/d), a classic, awe-inspiring climb that has 3 distinct cruxes. We'd worked on this over a year ago and never had time to come back. The first crux is right at bolt two, requiring a powerful right arm pullup off of very bad feet to a good pocket.

Moderate, yet pumpy climbing takes you to just before bolt four, where you make a long right-handed slap to a sidepull sloper, hop both feet high and pull hard for a good sloper with your left hand. I've almost linked to that crux 3 times now. Aargh. A bad rest ensues, then more moderate but pumpier climbing traverses left to just at bolt six, where you do another long right-handed slap to the worst sloper yet on the route, decide to clip or keep going, reach for a tough, left-handed crimp, flip your right hand into an undercling, step your feet as high as you can, and slap hard up left to an OK sloper, provided you hit it. One inch short and you go for the ride. A bit more climbing takes you to a good rest and a 5.10 finish. Whew.

Tony'd been close those last few times a year ago, falling at the last crux going for that left-handed slapper. This time, he blew through it with ease. NICE SEND TONY!!!!!
I worked it down to two falls, which is a big improvement for me, but I'm a long ways from sending this mofo. It's a great project to have. I'm psyched to come back for more attempts and to send it. All four of us finished by working on Xterminator, which Tony managed to redpoint (he'd sent this a long while back) again while the rest of us worked on beta.

What a nice trip. The rest of the pics are here.

The Return of Burke...

In other news, Lord Edwards made his long awaited return a few nights ago. In celebration, we headed to Seamus and enjoyed food, drink and good company. I especially admire Woody's gustatory prowess... :) Here's a link to the rest of the pics.

The Red, Day 2

Sorry about the long delay between posts.

Day 2 saw us headed to the Southern Region, an area rich with crags. Not exactly secret. We started out at the Shire (new to us), where Angie led Audie, 5.8, thinking it was a 5.7 and Chad led Miranda Rayne 5.9+, thinking it was a 5.8. Pumpy.

I started on Audie, then got on The G-Man, .10c, thinking it was the 5.9. Ha. Half-way up, I thought, "Man, these are some tough holds for a 5.9." It's a nice climb, with interesting side pull pinches and slopers the whole way, and it's pretty consistent. Yusuf had a slow start, mostly belaying before getting on MR.

We then decided to hit Amarillo Sunset .11b, a five star rated route in the book. Amarillo is the first route as you walk into the North Forty, and it's worth every star. Read the description and some of the comments and you'll see why.

We decided to head over to Bob Marley, where Yusuf was itching to get on Ultra Perm, .13d. I belayed. Bob Marley was one of the sites of the recent Petzl Roc Trip at the RRG. Fifty Words for Pump, Southern Smoke and other notable climbs are here. Not an easy crag; there's one .11a warm-up and it moves up from there.

Yusuf climbed well, getting to the crux and sussing out moves before working the crux about 7-8 times. I think he's reasonably close to figuring it out. If you've seen pictures of UP, you know that it's striking and steep. When he came down, I opted to try, Where's the Beef .12c. It's next to a few different similar climbs, and starts with decent holds on a steep wall, moves into a 10-15 foot horizontal roof with sharp pockets and finishes on "easier holds." I never got to the easier holds, but I almost figured the roof out on my 6th try. Next time, I guess.

It started raining around 4pm, so we wrapped it up for the day. Check out the previous post of Day 2 pics to see some of the stuff we did.

The Red - July 4th Weekend

Climbers - Yusuf, Chad, Angie and Calvin
Weather - Good and bad

July 4th weekend was a weekend of firsts in some respects. We tried new crags and camping locales and of course got rained out. It's summer in the midwest, what can you expect?

Thursday night we arrived around 2am, happy and excited to be at Lago Linda's, a moderate size campground that's about 5 miles past the entry to the Southern Region (on route 489). It's mostly quiet and the facilities are good: lots of space, water and a picnic table at every site, clean bathrooms and showers. But no food if you're wanting to buy (the cafe is apparently sporadic in service). We headed to Miguel's for dinner both nights and the trek back to our campsite took at least 30 minutes. Not a big deal, but not trivial either after a long day of climbing. It's a good alternative to a crazy Miguel's.

Friday we started at Muir Valley and decided on the Great Wall for its variety of routes. This was Chad's first outdoor sportclimbing trip and we wanted to find something for everyone. Chad started with a lead of Glory and Consequence 5.7, and took a nice fall at bolt 5. Way to break himself in. :) Ledgends of Limonite 5.8 next to it and Dynabolt Gold .10a served as warmups for me and Yusuf respectively.



I remember Dynabolt Gold and Touch of Grey .10d from the last time I was at this wall in 2004. It was interesting to climb them again and replay the contrast to see how each climb felt now versus back then. They were way easier this trip... even though back in 2004 I was able to onsight every climb up to the .11's, each climb had been a struggle back in 2004.

Chad did a great job on Touch of Grey, sitting just once past the crux, and Angie TR'd Dynabolt Gold. Yusuf chose Edge a Sketch .11c and continued to the second "pitch", a small extension called Ohio Arts .12b. He was up there long enough that I started to wonder where he was when he finally finished. Apparently it's cryptic and cruxy up there.

From there, we moved to the Hideout, home of such classics like Boltergeist .10a. I quickly hopped on Earth Surfer .11d, an old nemesis from a few years ago that had thoroughly spanked me. ES reminds me of Jackson Falls climbing, with bulges and slopers and blind reaches to a moderately powerful crux that requires using pretty small crimpers. Surfing this then leaves a nice slabby section marked by water grooves. I climbed it clean hanging the draws and realized that my fingers were probably a bit stronger now than the last time I tried this route.

The full web album is here. Day 2 pics here, with details to be posted later (it's a school night). :)

Late Post - Ankle Sprains and Strengthening

It's late on Saturday night, but not too late, around 11:15. I just got back from helping a friend move in Carbondale, and although I'm pretty exhausted, I'm finding it hard to go to sleep.

I just read an article that I've been meaning to read for a while. If you're a boulderer and have sprained your ankle, this article may be for you. Of course, you may consider yourself a person of supreme balance, but try some of the exercises in this article. They're surprisingly difficult, even if you've never sprained your ankles (and by implication have good balance).

If you have sprained your ankles, research correlates that with poor balance. Doing some strengthening exercises for just a minute or two a day may help you significantly.

In other news, the St. Louis crowd is eagerly awaiting the return of His Lordship, Burkian Edwards, MI-6 Extraordinaire.

In additional unrelated news, I recently came back from the Red and will post a trip report shortly when I get my pics organized.

A Legend Passes...

For those of you who follow climbing, you probably already know that John Bachar passed away yesterday in a free-soloing accident. If you don't know who Bachar is (beyond the fact that he owns Acopa), you should take some time to read about his contribution to climbing in the US. He was a bold and pioneering free-soloist and one of the original Stone Masters.

Some links:

A little history from the stonemaster website written by John Long.

From UKclimbing.com

Some tribute links:

rockclimbing.com

and the supertaco.

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! We're headed to the Red for the weekend; very excited. The weather is a bit iffy at 40% rain on Sat/Sun, but we're optimistic as temps show a high in the 70's over the weekend.

Be safe and have a great weekend!