Local So Ill climbing

Solo in So Ill from 2nd Go Productions on Vimeo.

Secret Garden, Kalymnos Aug/Sept 2013

Breakfast at Cafe Sofranos.

 "You must climb this one. It's a new route. Very nice."

I looked over my shoulder, and noticed a diminutive woman speaking accented English. Karen had bronzed skin, the type of color you only get from a lifetime of outdoor activity. She looked fit and her eyes carried an ocean of climbing knowledge.

"You climb this one." She gestured at the end of the wall.
"It's only 8a+."

8a+. I thought about that, did the conversion to the YDS scale Americans use and came up with... .13c. .13c? No fucking way. Even if people claimed Kalymnian grades were a bit soft, that was several grades above my limit.

"Uh, I think 8a+ is a bit too much for me. Maybe something in the 7b range?"

"Oh." Karen was disappointed. She shrugged, then immediately brightened.
"Here, this one. Wonderful climb. You must climb it. 7b+. Easy." Karen was pointing at another climb. My gaze followed her arm, culminating in an interesting 120 feet of stalactites, a giant 40 foot tufa, and a small roof.

"Yeah, I saw that. Saw some monos... not sure about that."

"Mono? Oh yes." Karen wasn't deterred.
"Easy. Your finger goes up to here." Karen pointed to the first joint on her index finger, as if to say that was plenty deep for a mono.

"Look here. The nachtpunkt. You go like this. Then this." Karen showed me how to do what I thought was the crux.
"After that, finished. Easy."

About 20 minutes later, I was perched at the top of the tufa, frantically shaking my arms. If my arms had the power of speech, epithets would have been ringing in my ears.

Easy. Right. Early climbing led to a tough sloper, crossing into a two finger pocket and pulling hard to a decent crimp. I managed the move, and thought, "Finished. Easy."

Calvin looking at what he thinks is the crux. Sucka.

I'd thought wrong.

Random climber showing how it's done

Later That Day

"Did you see that?" Angie whispered.
"See what?"
"Look over there." Angie nodded discreetly.

I did a double take. A woman was climbing topless. On that 8a+, it looked like. She was bronzed, all over, like she'd been climbing outside all her life. I found myself wondering vaguely if the sunburn had ever been rough. Of course, it was Karen.

Calvin the Pimp

This year, Calvin undertook his most challenging project to date. He began working Shorty the Pimp (5.13a) in the Spring, but after multiple trips to Jackson Falls, the climb continued to thwart him. Over the summer Calvin and Angie went on a climbing trip to Kalymnos and when they returned to the states, he felt lighter and stronger than ever. Upon returning to the project on the first trip of the Fall season, the climb continued to spit him off. This was now the third trip of the Fall season and Calvin was determined to send the project. He studied the crux intently and rehearsed the complicated crux sequence. He told me that he was going to go 'bolt to bolt', while hanging the draws. He started off as graceful as ever, flowing through the opening moves that were now ingrained in his psyche. He reached the first bolt and continued on. I wasn't really paying attention to my belay duties and carried on a conversation with another climber at the base of the wall. Soon, Calvin was passing the second bolt. I looked up at him with a puzzled look on my face as he continued on to the third bolt without taking and paused at the massive undercling flake that marked the beginning of the crux. Surely he would take here. I watched as he chalked up and attempted to shake out on the incredibly overhanging wall. Why wasn't he taking? He's not gonna try and.... oh crap, he's gonna go for it! I was now 100% focussed on the belay. Calvin began moving through the extremely difficult crux section. Could this be it? He continued to execute every move of the crux flawlessly. A few more moves and he was through the crux section, but it wasn't over, he had fallen after the crux on multiple occasions. He paused briefly. Does he have enough left in the tank to finish the route? Calvin headed for the anchors and cruised through the moves that had previously sent him sailing into the air so many times before. Upon reaching the anchors, he looked down at the climb as if to say, "What just happened?". Calvin had just sent his first 5.13a.

Calvin, right after sending Shorty the Pimp (5.13a).

Help Rome

Rome Ali is a fellow climber at Upper Limits Saint Louis. While climbing in Chatty, he fell and was severely injured. Rome's now facing a long road to recovery and our thoughts are with him. Please click on this link to donate if you can. Every dollar helps.

From a website setup by his brother:

While climbing in Chattanooga, Rome fell a little over 50 ft, suffering severe injury to his head and brain. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital, Erlanger, in Chattanooga. Rome has since had several surgeries to relieve the pressure on his brain. He is currently on a very long road to recovery. Because he will have minimal insurance coverage once he is awake and is transferred to rehabilitation, any support from his family, friends and fellow climbers to aid with his rehabilitative care costs would be much appreciated.

You can also sponsor a couple of climbers at this year's 24HHH comp at Horseshoe by offering a set amount per route climbed. Here's the FB link.

The Ongoing Story of Shorty, the Pimp

Shorty's been on my mind for a while now. I climbed it a few times, got close, then the weather got hot. Shorty's short, and the grade, .13a, tells you it's hard for a guy like me. I typically play around on .12s and used to think .13a was something just really, really strong climbers climbed.

Anyway, I walked past this climb for years. It didn't even cross my mind to try it really. I'd worked Red Corvette, another .13a two climbs to the left several times, and I knew how hard that felt. My best try was almost one-hanging Corvette, and that description alone tells you how close I am. Not very. I therefore assumed it was ridiculous to even try Shorty. Logical, right?

The climbing to the start of the crux isn't terribly difficult - some .10 climbing with an interesting move to a decent rest, then some .11-ish climbing (but not alot) directly into the pod. It's enough to get you somewhat tired though, and then Shorty demonstrates why he's the Pimp.

Let's get to Shorty's crux. Begin at a large flake, a bit hard to rest here (I'm shaking out in the vid)... then a big move to a left-hand shallow crimp/gaston. Here, I bring my right foot behind the flake for a nice heel-hook/cam (that nice hook/cam is also why my knee has been tweaked for the last couple of months). I then bump my left hand up to a relatively bad 2-3 finger pocket. Strong climbers (see Christian, Siebert in the following movie and others) dispense with the early heel-hook and bump first. Bumping first is hard. As in, "I can't do it" hard.

After the bump, a heel-hook, whether already in or not, becomes indispensable. I bring my right hand up to the shallow crimp-ston and then it gets interesting. With your right foot locked in, you bring your left foot up into a toe-hook, release the right foot and bicycle the flake. Cool. Stab hard to the left to a good pocket, then bring your right foot in a bit closer so you can clip. Sharp observers will notice that taller climbers (e.g. Siebert, below) can use the pod to do a drop knee instead of doing a toe-hook. It's probably similarly tough either way.

At this point, my arms are a bit rubbery. Reach up to a right-hand bumpy mess, high right foot somewhere (I use the crimp-ston), bring your left hand up to a tough hold, then stab hard to a good ledge. I fell with my right hand on the ledge twice on red-point attempts. You can clip here, or do a couple more moves to a more obvious clipping jug to the right of the chains.

So, to recap: Fun .10 climbing with a V2 move, rest a little, .11 climbing to a V3? move, rest even less, then perhaps a V6? sequence. I don't know if that means .13a, but it's a memorable sequence and feels pretty hard.

Here's a short clip Rick Holloman took of me trying the crux (I'm falling before the clip--obviously):

Calvin on Shorty the Pimp from Rick Holloman on Vimeo.

Here's much better clip of Siebert on the send. Nicely edited:

The Future of Team Saucisson

"Genesis" from Yolanda Chen on Vimeo.

RRG - May 25-27, 2013 Memorial Day Weekend

Climbers: Yoli, Christian, Micah, Dawn, Carine, Jaime, John, Conor, John B(udde) Angie and Calvin

Weather: Pretty darn good, for Memorial Day weekend

Yoli with max extension on Crown of Thorns, .11c @Brightside

Day 1 - Solarium, Muir Valley

Lago Linda's was packed. If you were there, we probably missed you. Tents dotted the landscape, cars blocked the common area and I thought we might have trouble finding a spot. Not to worry, YCR (Yoli/Christian + crew) had found a nice spot in their new Sprinter van and there was open land right next door.

When we got up, mist drifted through and dew covered the grass. Smelled like the fall. We knew we were lucky to get a spell of unseasonably cool weather on Memorial Day weekend and climbers had flocked to the Red. Well, we knew that would happen too.

The Solarium is an old friend. Just a couple groups there when we arrived, even though the parking lot was packed. Mrs. Weber graciously allowed us to park on the driveway by her home and we quickly hiked into the valley.

We threw some draws up on Air Ride Equipped, and started climbing. Carine and John B. headed out to the Great Arch to start warming up.

In case you didn't know, Team YCR now includes Micah:

Micah, Captain of Team YCR

As a result, they have a compressed climbing schedule - climb your project immediately to warm up, then immediately climb it and send the next go. Seems to work well for them. For those of you with kids, someone please explain to me how this phenomenon works: you have a kid, get no sleep, stop climbing, then start climbing again on an occasional weekend - usually outside, and start sending harder than ever. Yoli has now sent .12b, flashed .11d and Christian has sent .13a and flashed at least .12b (c?). Anyone?

Anyway, Yoli followed her usual pattern and hopped on Magnum Opus. Originally rated .12b, now settled at .12a; I think it has a rather difficult crux. Yoli sent it second go, of course.

Jaime Kreft on Magnum Opus

Meanwhile, Angie and I were hoping to get on Banshee, .11c and Abiyoyo, .12b respectively. We missed our opportunity, as the crag soon overflowed with people. I opted to get on Summer Sunshine, .12b  with Christian while Angie and John B worked Manifest Destiny, .11d. SS has moderate climbing similar to Super Best Friends - steep, juggy, fun, with a boulder problem around bolts 4-5 trending right over an arete. Unexceptional climbing, but fun, with the usual .10 climbing to finish it out. It went second go for me, but at the cost of a wasp sting. Glad there weren't more.

As I got to the top of SS, I clipped the chains and looked over the valley. I've missed the Red. Beautiful place. I didn't miss the screams and shouts of hundreds of people echoing around the cliffside, but when you're a weekend warrior it's a small price to pay.

Day 2 - Brightside, PMRP

Day 2 found us at Brightside, a "newer" crag with several stellar looking climbs. Brightside has fairly long routes, although several of the climbs featured no-hands rests, which broke the climbing up nicely.

John B flashed Chica Loca, .11a, while I climbed Pickpocket, .10d to warm up (not recommended). Chica Loca is described as poorly bolted, but I think that's been fixed now - an extra bolt is where you need it to avoid a ledge fall. Angie had fun working CL a few times, but no send. Carine and Team Kreft went to Solar Collector and had fun climbing Super Pinch, .10d down there.

The climb of the day goes to Crown of Thorns, .11c (see top pic). YCR of course tried to warm up/flash this thing (uh, flash pump)... with Christian pumping off in the last few feet off a nasty little crimp rail. Described as a rare RRG five-star route, it has full-value movement and interesting cruxes. Highly recommended. Half-way up it has a sit-down rest in a large hueco, which breaks up the climbing too much in my opinion, but without it would be at least .11d or soft .12a. Several certainly commented on .11d's which felt easier than CoT.

Yoli entering the crux sloper sequence, Crown of Thorns

Christian promptly sent second go, I flashed, and Yoli fell just before the anchors 3 times!! Achtung. John B and Jaime gave it two awesome runs and will be back for more. We finished up the day climbing with our new friends Meghan and Eric, who were climbing Golden Brown, .12a and Brownian Motion, .12b but no sends. With the full sun on the wall, it certainly felt very challenging and my forearms had melted after CoT.

Day 3 - Curbside

Meghan and Eric had suggested Curbside and we were game. Massive props to Jaime, Angie and John B. for flashing  Conscription, .11c and for Yoli's first-try-of-the-day send of the same, a/k/a an old "project." The peanut gallery definitely enjoyed watching each climber 'finagle' the sandy ledge and blast through to the chains.

Christian onsighted Avalanche run, .11d (nice job!), and I sent immediately after. But the biggest congrats goes to Yoli for throwing this thing down first go. To my knowledge, Dr. Chen has now sent .12b and flashed .11d this season, both high points for her. All while climbing the lowest mileage ever (e.g. less than once a week on average). I'm still flabbergasted.

Christian then impressively almost onsighted Wildfire, .12a, and easily sent it second go. Challenging climb, with a premium on finger strength or bouldering power, of which I have neither. Move after move, I watched Christian reach past finger pockets to slightly better holds and resolved to do the same. I should have known better. Wildfire is deceptively overhung, and if you can't go straight to the decent edges, you must tick-tack your way up using two finger pockets and quickly move your feet. I did all of that except move my feet quickly and couldn't make it go.

There are climbs like Wildfire at the Red; e.g. Infectious at Left Flank and Stay the Hand at Roadside. These climbs remind me that without finger strength, the truth of one's climbing ability comes sharply into contrast. More hangboard?

Big Shoutout to Team Saucission! For a Spring Recap - please see YCR's blog here. For more pics, please see here.

We Love the Red!!

Behind the Scenes Video - Midwest Regional Comp, Upper Limits, Saint Louis Nov, 2013

From our friend Dane Iwata...

Possible Shoe Tariff in 2013 Reversed

From the press release:

The eight bills are continuations of existing bills, meaning that the administration’s opposition would have resulted in sudden increased tariffs on specialty footwear products that represent 30 percent of all outdoor specialty sales.

“We set our pricing on a six-month basis, so we would have had to absorb the increased costs,” said Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America. “We would have taken a big hit, which would have limited our plans for hiring, marketing and employee appreciation programs in 2013."

http://www.outdoorindustry.org/news/industry.php?newsId=17559
http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/shoe-tax-might-hit-climbers-hard-2013

Since I favor Sportivas these days, thank goodness. I wasn't relishing a 38% increase in prices and being forced into a different brand.

Stone Fort - Thanksgiving 2012

Climbers: Uncle Ben, Aunt May (aka Bingo Hammer), Peter Parker (aka Spiderman, aka Conorman), John & Jaime Kreft

Weather: VVS-1

We're hopefully headed back for a New Years trip soon, and I promised to post something documenting the fun we had over Turkey Day.... which started well. We went and saw the family in St. Louis and after the obligatory time, said our goodbyes and hit the road. Team Kreft had left a bit earlier and was already situated in Chattanooga on Friday morning. We crashed at a Microtel (hint: don't use the one by Clarksville - cheap but gross) around 2am and got up early to head into the Stone Fort.

The Stone Fort, or Little Rock City, has a special place in my heart. It's the first bouldering trip I took with my boss-to-be Angie and we had a great time. Angie also scared the bejesus out of me on that trip and rarely misses an opportunity to remind me of that... so... I returned the favor this time. :)

Spiderman on the prowl...

Friday

We met Team Kreft by the Slice and Dice boulder and Mystery Machine boulder to warm up.

Incredarete V1 - John must have climbed this at least 6 times

Ruby Roo V2 - weird problem, but interesting

Mystery Machine V3 - thin and sketchy

Two Can Sam V3

V2 variation

The Wave V6 - John worked this thing a few times in relative humidity and put it down quickly.

Spiderman got a little restless to go after the Goblin, so he swung off with Jaime in tow for the day.

John stayed with us; he'd been to LRC several times previously and graciously showed us around again since our last trip was over 5 years ago.

Crack of Doom Area was next:

A Face in the Crowd V7 - crimpy!

Stand Start variation V3 - less crimpy!

Super Mario received a lot of hype, so that was next:

Super Mario V4

Red House V7

Red House Extension V8 - John only

Super Mario V4 starts on jugs, moves straight up into some decent crimps before you trend right to stretch into an undercling, set a critical knee bar to reach the next holds. Angie struggled to find the kneebar and put it aside for another day. John warmed up on it, then styled Red House on his first try.

Peter Parker is pooped. You should see The Goblin.

It was getting late, so we trended back and went to the Jungle Gym Area:

The Big Much V4 - Angie sends!

I tried Jerry's Kids V7, "A Stone Fort Classic" but was thwarted. JK forces a pivot reach while your right arm is locked off and your feet are set sideways - a definite weakness for me.

Saturday

We got up early and headed out. Another clear day! Warmed up in the same area by Slice and Dice:

The Mane Event V4 - Angie crushes!

All of a sudden I couldn't send Ruby Roo V2 and I started to feel a bit weird. Ha.

The Wave V6 - John sprayed me down with beta and it went on my 3rd try. This was definitely on the to-do list from my first trip several years ago. Such a cool looking boulder. You slap up a smooth arete and topping out is the crux. Good thing we had lots of pads.

Feeling good, we headed down to The Hulk Boulder

What you don't see here is a treacherous rock under the pad. John was an inch from the lip and came straight down onto the pad. Which would normally be fine, but his foot caught the edge of the deformation and twisted. Yikes. Immediate swelling commenced, but John gritted his teeth and made it through the rest of the day. I felt terrible and guilty; I should have known better and put another small pad under the main pad to even it out. John was a good guy and didn't complain, but I feared his trip was cut short.

Next up was Deception V7. Stunning. Beautiful. And a vertical poor man's Shield V12. I was itching to climb it after Chad Tenbroek had described it to me. A twisting stab into a slot requires precision and is "deceptively hard." That part actually didn't bother me and with several other climbers there, we had good vibes working the problem. I didn't send though... the second to last hard move thwarted me repeatedly and I had to back away. I felt good about working it though.

Angie and Jaime worked on White Trash V5, which features a low, powerful traverse into a long move and a sketchy layback topout using a slopey rail. Hard though.

After a while, we then moved down to Cyclops V6, one of Jaime's goals for the trip.

Jaime sticking the crux move

John crushed this thing in a couple goals with a bum ankle. Inspiring! Jaime worked the low start, which I think is a bit reach dependent, after sending the stand start very quickly, and made fast progress, but saved the send for another day. Cyclops starts low and requires bumping up some thin crimps before setting up for the throw you see Jaime sticking. After that, a nice rest prepares you for a spicy topout. Not hard, but you're stretched sideways and a heel-hook reminds you it's best not to blow it 18 feet up. I was happy to send it after several aborted attempts.

Meanwhile, Angie eyed the traverse next door on the Monster Boulder and sent Monster Extension, her first V5! Monster Extension requires finishing on Sacrifice V2, which is a bit of a highball slab finish. The finish is committing. Angie worked it several times and backed down each time. Both John and Jaime climbed Sacrifice and worked out beta to show Angie... 

Angie eyeballing the slab finish.

Which she then refined once and promptly sent. Very proud send!

Sunday found us tired but ready to try some unfinished business. We warmed up and moved to Galaxy 5000 V5 - wicked hard! None of us could do the problem, although John pieced together the dyno (of course). Angie was interested in The Dragon Lady V4 so we moved to that corridor.

Dragon Lady is unique; the ladies worked it but it's very height dependent and it was interesting watching them go all out on the moves.

Jaime then flashed Tristar V4 - which I couldn't even start. Amazing. I asked her for her beta and I was still stumped.

Jaime then onsighted Latin for Daggers V5 - John sent soon after. Latin for Daggers is aptly named. Thin climbing takes you just high enough to eye the pads, then requires a strong move to get to the finish. I wasn't able to commit to the final move. I didn't get to see her send, but I tried it several times, always falling at the top. Hard!

Team Kreft then left for home, while Angie and I worked Life is Goodlett V6 with a group of guys before leaving. Angie made great progress in a short period of time and I was able to send after working the crux a couple times. It's low to the ground and not very aesthetic, but it was a satisfying send at the end of the trip.

Big props to John for crushing V6/7 so casually. Props to Jaime for on sighting two bloody hard problems and props to Angie for sending her second and third V4's and first V5 this trip.

For the regular ibuprofen users (pre- and post- exercise)

From the article...

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/for-athletes-risks-from-ibuprofen-use/?src=me&ref=general

Animal studies have also shown that ibuprofen hampers the ability of muscles to rebuild themselves after exercise. So why do so many athletes continue enthusiastically to swallow large and frequent doses of ibuprofen and related anti-inflammatory painkillers, including aspirin, before and during exercise?


“The idea is just entrenched in the athletic community that ibuprofen will help you to train better and harder,” Dr. Nieman said. “But that belief is simply not true. There is no scientifically valid reason to use ibuprofen before exercise and many reasons to avoid it.”


Dr. van Wijck agrees. “We do not yet know what the long-term consequences are” of regularly mixing exercise and ibuprofen, she said. But it is clear that “ibuprofen consumption by athletes is not harmless and should be strongly discouraged.”

Possible new climbing shoe tax - 38% increase

http://www.denverpost.com/boulder/ci_22086527/looming-footwear-tariffs-worry-boulder-outdoor-industry

Better stock up on some shoes...

Chasing Summer Reflections

We've had a great summer/fall season of climbing here in St. Louis. "Summer in St. Louis; Great?" You ask? Yep, summer and in St. Louis.

My earliest climbing memory for this 'Fall Season' stretches back to Jackson Falls June 6, 2012... I had one of those fun, magical days of climbing.

Climbers: Woody, Jaime, Sophie, Fran, Calvin
Weather: Unreal - dry and cool (60's).

You see the weather forecast and you think, "It's June. This is a freak weather pattern. We better get outside pronto." So we did. The summer drought had really scorched the midwest and I'd never seen the Falls this dry. The stream was gone. No waterfall, just a stagnant pool of water that only a mosquito could love marinated at the base of the falls.

We had a fun group and low expectations; it's June after all. If you can climb in June at Jackson, either you're crazy, a glutton for punishment, or you're in that early stage of love affair with climbing and think any climbing is better than none. We figured we'd show up and be lucky to get on some routes. Boy, were we lucky.

Major props to Woody for flashing his first (I believe) .11b, Stand and Deliver. Woody's a former NCAA level gymnast, and I believe he pulled out all he had from his bag of tricks to deliver on this climb. S&D climbs a deep water groove with two blunt aretes for your climbing enjoyment and an interesting crux. It's almost never dry this time of year. Any hint of rain and it seeps for the rest of the season.

Heartbreak of the day goes to Jaime for almost sending .12b, CroMagnon Warrior on her second try, with a minor foot slip after the crux at bolt 4 resulting in a cruel non-send. But she did crush Twist, .11c, Yuppie with a Gun, .11a, as did Sophie, .11c, both in great style.

As I mentioned, it was one of those rare, magical days for me. I just felt super light all day and I've been chasing that feeling ever since. I was able to climb one route from .10a - .11c and Cromagnon as well on my second attempt, after spending some time sussing beta. I didn't try anything super hard, but climbing was supremely enjoyable. I hope for more days like that.

I've been reflecting on our past season of climbing experiences with great friends. Each climbing milestone is, of course, a personal achievement. But our climbing family/group/community that we loosely call "Team Saucisson" elevates and energizes those experiences. I'll always enjoy climbing, whether just with my wife or with a larger group. But Team Saucisson is the best climbing family one could have. They're second to none.

Affordable, Quality Belay Specs:

http://www.belayspecs.com/

Take a look. Pun intended.

Local boy Peter Hill at E-Rocks. Credit to Vishal Dosanjh for film/edit.

Well done video. I enjoyed the historical perspective leading up to the climb.

Zombie Roof from Pearson on Vimeo.

RED ROCK 2012 - SUPER HERO STYLE

Team Saucisson in action, on some "Roche Rouge">
The Ascenders from Sophie Binder on Vimeo.

Kasia Pietra Vid - local boy sighting

I don't normally post these as they're already up all over the place, but I saw local rockstar Peter Hill in the opening scenes... :)

Nose Speed Record - short clip

Got this from the Super Taco - party at the Great Roof filming Honnold & Florine as they race up. Skip to about 1:47 for a closer shot. You can hear Alex casually talking with the guy shooting the video while I think he places one cam in at least 100+ feet of climbing.

Article on Tandem Base Jumping

With an honorable mention to Steph Davis (who is now re-married, congrats). Peripherally related to our sport, I grant.

http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fde0fc08831cf100d532dc12569e84ae