I thought this was just great. Awesome soundtrack. AMAZING punt on Black Shadow. I usually dislike videos like this but for whatever reason I really liked this one.
Hello world!
8 months ago
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
History Lesson
When I was a younger climber I used to collect guidebooks. I enjoyed the possibility of going to a new area and each time I'd open a new book I'd instinctively flip to the history section.
One of the things that continues to draw me towards climbing is how diverse each area can be. Whether that's a different type of rock or a new set of ethics and style, no one place is the same as the next.
Looking at Devil's Lake in particular, it's incredible the rich history we get to see every time we drive over the last hill or around the next corner and the water comes into view. I'm always struck by the landscape when we bring a person that hasn't been to the area before. Inevitably they're taken aback by how cool of an area it is.
Our climbing history is filled with a similar, awe inspiring nature. Weissner, Zschiesche, Cleveland, Bechler, Groth, Gill. It's amazing when you really start to think about it.
About 5-6 years ago I was working in Fontana and was ringing some dude out. Forgot long ago what he was buying but as I grabbed his card to swipe it I spied the name. Rich Bechler.
I paused for a few seconds before asking him if he was the climber, which he was. We chatted about Huston's recent lead of Acid Rock for a few minutes, before grabbed his bag and walked out the door.
All I remember was being in some sort of awe that I'd actually just met a DL legend.
A year or so later a buddy of mine got a summer job with a t-shirt printing company, I think. A few days into it he went into his bosses office for some reason and saw a climbing picture on the wall that he hadn't noticed before. They struck up a conversation about it and after a few minutes he found out his bosses last name.
Bechler.
A few days ago Katie and I had a nice little night at the gym. It was great. Quiet. Low energy. Good People. We climbed some things, fell off of others. One of the better nights at the gym recently.
About 3/4 of the way through the night a friend of mine walked up and sat down. I hadn't seen him in years and it took me a second to recognize him. We chatted for a while about boulders, hidden areas that he'd long forgotten about and other randomness.
He's a classic, old school dude. Total hippy and it's great. I really enjoyed seeing him again and we made each other promise to climb together next season. I told him we'd show him all the new stuff that's gone up and he seemed psyched.
The whole time we were talking, Pat and Ellen milled around us. Adam, Sam and Blake were all working on various problems. I think Jeremy was at the desk and little Luke may have been around somewhere too. I'm sure none of them knew who I was talking to, nor did anyone realize that he's largely responsible for much of the bouldering at Devil's Lake.
My friend was someone that no one in the gym would have given pause to. I guess that's one of the other reasons I love our history here. It's totally unassuming.
As he got up, said goodbye and got ready to head home for the night Katie looked at me and asked, "Who was that?".
"Oh that was Paul...He found the Reserve."
One of the things that continues to draw me towards climbing is how diverse each area can be. Whether that's a different type of rock or a new set of ethics and style, no one place is the same as the next.
Looking at Devil's Lake in particular, it's incredible the rich history we get to see every time we drive over the last hill or around the next corner and the water comes into view. I'm always struck by the landscape when we bring a person that hasn't been to the area before. Inevitably they're taken aback by how cool of an area it is.
Our climbing history is filled with a similar, awe inspiring nature. Weissner, Zschiesche, Cleveland, Bechler, Groth, Gill. It's amazing when you really start to think about it.
About 5-6 years ago I was working in Fontana and was ringing some dude out. Forgot long ago what he was buying but as I grabbed his card to swipe it I spied the name. Rich Bechler.
I paused for a few seconds before asking him if he was the climber, which he was. We chatted about Huston's recent lead of Acid Rock for a few minutes, before grabbed his bag and walked out the door.
All I remember was being in some sort of awe that I'd actually just met a DL legend.
A year or so later a buddy of mine got a summer job with a t-shirt printing company, I think. A few days into it he went into his bosses office for some reason and saw a climbing picture on the wall that he hadn't noticed before. They struck up a conversation about it and after a few minutes he found out his bosses last name.
Bechler.
A few days ago Katie and I had a nice little night at the gym. It was great. Quiet. Low energy. Good People. We climbed some things, fell off of others. One of the better nights at the gym recently.
About 3/4 of the way through the night a friend of mine walked up and sat down. I hadn't seen him in years and it took me a second to recognize him. We chatted for a while about boulders, hidden areas that he'd long forgotten about and other randomness.
He's a classic, old school dude. Total hippy and it's great. I really enjoyed seeing him again and we made each other promise to climb together next season. I told him we'd show him all the new stuff that's gone up and he seemed psyched.
The whole time we were talking, Pat and Ellen milled around us. Adam, Sam and Blake were all working on various problems. I think Jeremy was at the desk and little Luke may have been around somewhere too. I'm sure none of them knew who I was talking to, nor did anyone realize that he's largely responsible for much of the bouldering at Devil's Lake.
My friend was someone that no one in the gym would have given pause to. I guess that's one of the other reasons I love our history here. It's totally unassuming.
As he got up, said goodbye and got ready to head home for the night Katie looked at me and asked, "Who was that?".
"Oh that was Paul...He found the Reserve."
Monday, December 12, 2011
5
5 Years Ago:
Perfect Medium was a V9 and hadn't been repeated in 7-8 years. It was considered to be classic and a testpiece for the area. One of the best at the lake.
Keymaker was an unrepeated enigma and no one knew where the holds were above the break. It was rated V11 and intimidated anyone and everyone who looked at it.
Alpine Club had been done 4-5 times at most, and the words "Bump" and "Heel Hook" weren't even considered.
The Reserve was still a very secretive area and directions were best given by saying "Just look for the orange dots on the trees".
Nobody knew where Jenga was. Sadly I was lumped into a sorry group that went to the boulder 3 times without ever seeing Super Slab or Moj. We dismissed the area as "Too far out of the way to be worth anything".
Sandstone Violence was still unrepeated and Group Camp B was the sole bouldering area at Governor Dodge, aside from the Godfather Boulder.
Eliminates were seen as a necessity since the Lake was "Climbed Out".
This was posted on Mountain Project when a new boulder went up in 2006: "I think realistically finding a truly new route near all the climbs on the West, let alone a whole boulder, is incredibly unlikely."
Fast forward to today:
Perfect Medium is an 8 now and has been done about 10 times in 2-3 years time. It's considered a mediocre problem at best and an entire area has been discovered below it, holding one of the hardest projects in the park.
Keymaker has been done 4 times now and rests at "V10.1" according to Nic. The holds are continually chalked and the intimidation factor has dropped considerably. Jeff Sillcox called it "World Class" on his first day at the lake.
Alpine Club has now been done 8 times in the last three years. Twice via the traditional method, three times via the bump and three times in the past month and a half with the new found heel hook. On top of that it's been done twice by women.
Secret areas are rarely an issue any longer and information is freely distributed among nearly all of the boulderers at the lake. Mountain Project has become an immense resource for the newer climber and I love that it's turned into something so useful.
Directions seem to be ever evolving and Jenga, in particular, has turned into a premier area at the lake. There seems to be no limit to what people will hike to solely for the prospect of a new boulder and exploration, while a bit slower this year, is still my sole motivation and the driving force of future potential at the lake.
Governor Dodge went from having roughly 50 boulder problems at a couple of areas to having close to 250 problems at a number of areas. Sweaty, Dobbe, Remo, Travis and Eggy were largely responsible for this and none of them get the credit they deserve for this. It was a huge effort and Dodge seems to fall behind Devil's Lake in many respects. We should all feel incredibly lucky to have an area like that so close to home.
Eliminates and variations are currently a thing of the past and pretty much everyone that boulders at the lake looks for the prime lines that abound throughout the park. The sheer amount of rock seems to lend itself to beautiful, solitary lines with obvious moves. Oddly enough, people seem to see the potential for slight variations of classic boulders, but instead of going for it they decide that their time would be better spent looking for a new boulder.
Some things never change I guess. HAH!
In all honesty, I feel privileged to have been a small part of the renaissance that we've experienced over the past 2-3 years. There isn't a single person who's responsible for what's happened around here, but the fact that it's been driven by a core group of excited people has made it so much better.
5 years ago very few people were bouldering at the lake. There were just over 100 problems established, many of which were eliminates. As it stands we have over 400 problems posted on Mountain Project. Granted, there are lots of variations and a handful of eliminates posted but I can guarantee that there are well over 300 high quality boulder problems established at the lake at the moment.
On top of that, much of the East Bluff has yet to be developed and the Fire Road is still one of the few areas at the lake that holds immense potential. As time goes on people will change and faces will come and go. I hope that the one constant is continual development of high quality problems.
I wrote a post back in September that I intended to be my last. I was fed up with a number of things and tired of the drama that seemed to always creep up. I didn't finish it but it was always in the back of my mind. Then, when the drama popped up again last month I finished the post, planning on posting it once the season was done.
I told Katie and had her read it. In turn she told Vera, Chris and Sarah. All of them were visibly mad that I'd stop the blog and it made me feel like some people still care what I write about.
After an anonymous commenter brought up the "clique", I was so happy with the support that came from so many different voices. It was unexpected and made me feel great.
I do want to apologize if I've ever made anyone feel unwelcome here. I started this site a few years ago with the hope of growing the community and creating some excitement for the amazing bouldering at Devil's Lake. I feel like I've succeeded in that.
All that said, I have friends that I enjoy climbing with and there are people that I don't enjoy climbing with. As my climbing days continue to dwindle I feel less and less compelled to climb with anyone but my closest of friends.
I guess I'll leave it up to everyone that reads as to how long I keep the gnar updated and going. Not sure how long it will last but we'll see, right? I'll leave you with the last little bit of that other post. Thanks for another great season at the lake.
Perfect Medium was a V9 and hadn't been repeated in 7-8 years. It was considered to be classic and a testpiece for the area. One of the best at the lake.
Keymaker was an unrepeated enigma and no one knew where the holds were above the break. It was rated V11 and intimidated anyone and everyone who looked at it.
Alpine Club had been done 4-5 times at most, and the words "Bump" and "Heel Hook" weren't even considered.
The Reserve was still a very secretive area and directions were best given by saying "Just look for the orange dots on the trees".
Nobody knew where Jenga was. Sadly I was lumped into a sorry group that went to the boulder 3 times without ever seeing Super Slab or Moj. We dismissed the area as "Too far out of the way to be worth anything".
Sandstone Violence was still unrepeated and Group Camp B was the sole bouldering area at Governor Dodge, aside from the Godfather Boulder.
Eliminates were seen as a necessity since the Lake was "Climbed Out".
This was posted on Mountain Project when a new boulder went up in 2006: "I think realistically finding a truly new route near all the climbs on the West, let alone a whole boulder, is incredibly unlikely."
Fast forward to today:
Perfect Medium is an 8 now and has been done about 10 times in 2-3 years time. It's considered a mediocre problem at best and an entire area has been discovered below it, holding one of the hardest projects in the park.
Keymaker has been done 4 times now and rests at "V10.1" according to Nic. The holds are continually chalked and the intimidation factor has dropped considerably. Jeff Sillcox called it "World Class" on his first day at the lake.
Alpine Club has now been done 8 times in the last three years. Twice via the traditional method, three times via the bump and three times in the past month and a half with the new found heel hook. On top of that it's been done twice by women.
Secret areas are rarely an issue any longer and information is freely distributed among nearly all of the boulderers at the lake. Mountain Project has become an immense resource for the newer climber and I love that it's turned into something so useful.
Directions seem to be ever evolving and Jenga, in particular, has turned into a premier area at the lake. There seems to be no limit to what people will hike to solely for the prospect of a new boulder and exploration, while a bit slower this year, is still my sole motivation and the driving force of future potential at the lake.
Governor Dodge went from having roughly 50 boulder problems at a couple of areas to having close to 250 problems at a number of areas. Sweaty, Dobbe, Remo, Travis and Eggy were largely responsible for this and none of them get the credit they deserve for this. It was a huge effort and Dodge seems to fall behind Devil's Lake in many respects. We should all feel incredibly lucky to have an area like that so close to home.
Eliminates and variations are currently a thing of the past and pretty much everyone that boulders at the lake looks for the prime lines that abound throughout the park. The sheer amount of rock seems to lend itself to beautiful, solitary lines with obvious moves. Oddly enough, people seem to see the potential for slight variations of classic boulders, but instead of going for it they decide that their time would be better spent looking for a new boulder.
Some things never change I guess. HAH!
In all honesty, I feel privileged to have been a small part of the renaissance that we've experienced over the past 2-3 years. There isn't a single person who's responsible for what's happened around here, but the fact that it's been driven by a core group of excited people has made it so much better.
5 years ago very few people were bouldering at the lake. There were just over 100 problems established, many of which were eliminates. As it stands we have over 400 problems posted on Mountain Project. Granted, there are lots of variations and a handful of eliminates posted but I can guarantee that there are well over 300 high quality boulder problems established at the lake at the moment.
On top of that, much of the East Bluff has yet to be developed and the Fire Road is still one of the few areas at the lake that holds immense potential. As time goes on people will change and faces will come and go. I hope that the one constant is continual development of high quality problems.
I wrote a post back in September that I intended to be my last. I was fed up with a number of things and tired of the drama that seemed to always creep up. I didn't finish it but it was always in the back of my mind. Then, when the drama popped up again last month I finished the post, planning on posting it once the season was done.
I told Katie and had her read it. In turn she told Vera, Chris and Sarah. All of them were visibly mad that I'd stop the blog and it made me feel like some people still care what I write about.
After an anonymous commenter brought up the "clique", I was so happy with the support that came from so many different voices. It was unexpected and made me feel great.
I do want to apologize if I've ever made anyone feel unwelcome here. I started this site a few years ago with the hope of growing the community and creating some excitement for the amazing bouldering at Devil's Lake. I feel like I've succeeded in that.
All that said, I have friends that I enjoy climbing with and there are people that I don't enjoy climbing with. As my climbing days continue to dwindle I feel less and less compelled to climb with anyone but my closest of friends.
I guess I'll leave it up to everyone that reads as to how long I keep the gnar updated and going. Not sure how long it will last but we'll see, right? I'll leave you with the last little bit of that other post. Thanks for another great season at the lake.
If I had to leave with one thought for everyone at the lake out there it'd be this.
Don't settle.
There are incredible, amazing lines being found each year. Dog Walk, Muffin Top and Tipping Point are perfect examples. All three were 50 yards from established classics AND trails. Two of those were found by complete accident. Walk around that final corner. Go up the bluff you know in your gut has already been explored. Turn over every rock and find the PRIME lines. Don't settle for something that isn't amazing.
Devil's Lake is host to some incredible, undone boulder problems. It's just a matter of finding them!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
All.I.Can.
So I bought "A Fine Line" the other day. I'd watched it at Nic's and liked it enough to download a copy too. It's a good flick and I can honestly say it's one of the better climbing videos I've seen.
That said, it still left me without something. Don't get me wrong, the cinematography was amazing and the composition of many of the shots was absolutely beautiful. On top of that, my expectations may have been a bit bloated because it's received an incredible amount of press for being a step better than anything else out there, past or present.
At its core though, it's still just a climbing video. It still follows that same script that we all know. Boy finds a friend. Friends climb very hard. Friends go on trip. Friends climb very hard on trip. Friends get homesick and come back home. Friends find new area. Chick climbs for a bit. Friends climb amazing looking, perfect line. Roll credits.
How they ended the movie was PERFECT. Beyond perfect, really. Peter Beal was great and was a perfect voice to lay over everything else. Jimmy and Brion came across on video wonderfully and I absolutely loved the scenery and setting shots.
What I did like about it was that it was more than just another video. There were set shots that were perfectly composed. All of the textures in the film came out amazingly and I really enjoyed the extra clips that made it stand out among its peers.
More than anything, it has "re-watch" value.
At its core though, climbing is years behind other sports in terms of the quality of our videos/movies/films.
I don't like skiing. I don't like to watch it. I don't like to do it. It's just always seemed clunky to me and I haven't been on ski's in 15 years. I've gravitated towards snowboarding ever since I tried it years ago and it's always seemed more "fluid". More natural. I enjoy watching and doing it more than I ever enjoyed skiing Personal preference.
This morning though, Huston posted an absolutely amazing clip from a ski film called All.I.Can.
Words won't come close to giving it the justice it deserves so I won't speak to the clip too much. Click the little HD button. Let it load. Watch it on full screen. In my eyes the Ueli segment from the Eiger is the only thing that even comes remotely close to this in terms of quality, and that one is a long ways off from this.
I hope climbing can produce this type of quality at some point in the future.
Stunning.
That said, it still left me without something. Don't get me wrong, the cinematography was amazing and the composition of many of the shots was absolutely beautiful. On top of that, my expectations may have been a bit bloated because it's received an incredible amount of press for being a step better than anything else out there, past or present.
At its core though, it's still just a climbing video. It still follows that same script that we all know. Boy finds a friend. Friends climb very hard. Friends go on trip. Friends climb very hard on trip. Friends get homesick and come back home. Friends find new area. Chick climbs for a bit. Friends climb amazing looking, perfect line. Roll credits.
How they ended the movie was PERFECT. Beyond perfect, really. Peter Beal was great and was a perfect voice to lay over everything else. Jimmy and Brion came across on video wonderfully and I absolutely loved the scenery and setting shots.
What I did like about it was that it was more than just another video. There were set shots that were perfectly composed. All of the textures in the film came out amazingly and I really enjoyed the extra clips that made it stand out among its peers.
More than anything, it has "re-watch" value.
At its core though, climbing is years behind other sports in terms of the quality of our videos/movies/films.
I don't like skiing. I don't like to watch it. I don't like to do it. It's just always seemed clunky to me and I haven't been on ski's in 15 years. I've gravitated towards snowboarding ever since I tried it years ago and it's always seemed more "fluid". More natural. I enjoy watching and doing it more than I ever enjoyed skiing Personal preference.
This morning though, Huston posted an absolutely amazing clip from a ski film called All.I.Can.
Words won't come close to giving it the justice it deserves so I won't speak to the clip too much. Click the little HD button. Let it load. Watch it on full screen. In my eyes the Ueli segment from the Eiger is the only thing that even comes remotely close to this in terms of quality, and that one is a long ways off from this.
I hope climbing can produce this type of quality at some point in the future.
Stunning.
JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Climb X
For as much as I don't like Mad Rock shoes, this made me happy:
Santa Fe Springs, CA November 29, 2011: To avoid the trouble and costs of a long trial, Nelson Sports and Climb X have reached an agreement. As with any settlement, comprises were made, but prior untrue statements of the Defendants, for the most part have been exposed and the public can now understand that Climb X and its products were never affiliated in any way with Mad Rock or Nelson Sports. To cover the highlights of the agreement, both parties have agreed to the following terms:
- Defendants Garland, Climb X Gear, and Climb X have paid a total sum of $150,000 as a Settlement Payment.
- Defendants are prohibited from using Nelson’s Trade Marks.
- Defendants are prohibited from representing in any manner or by any method
Whatsoever that Climb X products are sponsored, approved, authorized by
Nelson/Mad Rock
- Defendants are prohibited from representing in any manner that Defendants are in any way affiliated, owned, or owned by, Nelson/Mad Rock.
- Defendants shall implement changes in advertisement and future print media regarding product names that have been copied.
- Both parties agree not to disparage the other party.
- Defendants must publish for 6 months, under the heading “About Us” on the Climb X website the following:
A) Garland was never an officer, shareholder or director of Nelson Sports
B) Climb X, a Nevada Corporation, nor Climb X Gear, LLC has never been affiliated in any way to Nelson or Mad Rock
C) Young Chu was the primary designer of the products
D) Garland has never been to the “Mad Rock” factory and has no knowledge of any problems relating to the factory.
E) No “Climb X” branded product won any awards prior to Jan, 2010.
We are still in the process of working with our legal team to update the “About Us” page on the Climb X website. Please be aware that these prohibitions and restrictions are only for products, advertisements, etc. in the United States of America. Be on alert for advertisers and distributors that do not adhere to these restrictions outside the United States.
Santa Fe Springs, CA November 29, 2011: To avoid the trouble and costs of a long trial, Nelson Sports and Climb X have reached an agreement. As with any settlement, comprises were made, but prior untrue statements of the Defendants, for the most part have been exposed and the public can now understand that Climb X and its products were never affiliated in any way with Mad Rock or Nelson Sports. To cover the highlights of the agreement, both parties have agreed to the following terms:
- Defendants Garland, Climb X Gear, and Climb X have paid a total sum of $150,000 as a Settlement Payment.
- Defendants are prohibited from using Nelson’s Trade Marks.
- Defendants are prohibited from representing in any manner or by any method
Whatsoever that Climb X products are sponsored, approved, authorized by
Nelson/Mad Rock
- Defendants are prohibited from representing in any manner that Defendants are in any way affiliated, owned, or owned by, Nelson/Mad Rock.
- Defendants shall implement changes in advertisement and future print media regarding product names that have been copied.
- Both parties agree not to disparage the other party.
- Defendants must publish for 6 months, under the heading “About Us” on the Climb X website the following:
A) Garland was never an officer, shareholder or director of Nelson Sports
B) Climb X, a Nevada Corporation, nor Climb X Gear, LLC has never been affiliated in any way to Nelson or Mad Rock
C) Young Chu was the primary designer of the products
D) Garland has never been to the “Mad Rock” factory and has no knowledge of any problems relating to the factory.
E) No “Climb X” branded product won any awards prior to Jan, 2010.
We are still in the process of working with our legal team to update the “About Us” page on the Climb X website. Please be aware that these prohibitions and restrictions are only for products, advertisements, etc. in the United States of America. Be on alert for advertisers and distributors that do not adhere to these restrictions outside the United States.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Firsts
I enjoy looking back on "firsts" and "lasts", a lot. I like the odd significance of them and find them really interesting. I took my last picture with the D70 yesterday. Here it is:
I thought it was appropriate.
And then today, after getting a couple of memory cards, I took my first picture with the D7000.
The D70 has been with me since 2004 and I'm actually having a tough time giving it up. It took some amazing pictures over the years and opened me up to a whole new world of knowledge and opportunities. Cracks, dents and all.
That said, the D7000 is kind of amazing. I'm planning on having a ton of fun with that thing.
I hope you enjoy some of the last pictures I took with the D70.
I thought it was appropriate.
And then today, after getting a couple of memory cards, I took my first picture with the D7000.
The D70 has been with me since 2004 and I'm actually having a tough time giving it up. It took some amazing pictures over the years and opened me up to a whole new world of knowledge and opportunities. Cracks, dents and all.
That said, the D7000 is kind of amazing. I'm planning on having a ton of fun with that thing.
I hope you enjoy some of the last pictures I took with the D70.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Updates
Couple of nice updates around here.
1 - Sam finally did Anchorpoint. So did Blake. Well done you two, it was only slightly terrifying that you both topped out direct instead of traversing left on jugs at the break. I'm glad we made it up there to see it.
2 - Peter did Beautiful Soup and Soupmaker. While I'm not totally sure why, he did Soupmaker instead of just trying Keymaker and then couldn't do Keymaker. Either way, he'll do it next time I'm sure.
3 - Ian did the Ivory Face and Purple Dragon. For those that don't know, Ivory is a very pretty wall up by Fat Pants. While it's a cool looking face, and obviously hard, it has a striking similarity to the dead vertical crimping nightmare, Ice. Curious to see if this will see any repeats.
Purple Dragon is a midpoint start of the Corner Project and while the true prize still awaits, I think it is absolutely fantastic that Ian is finally working on hard, independent lines. It's something that Nic, Remo and I were hoping for when Ian moved to town and it's nice to see his efforts focused on this.
I remember showing Ian the Corner Project a handful of times and each time he was very unimpressed. I'm not sure what changed but I'm happy he's up there trying it. That's one of the big disappointments for me this year, that I haven't been able to work on that particular wall a bit more.
Aaron and Dobbe - It seems they had a great day up at the lake on Sunday and spent time falling off of nearly everything in the park. Jenga, Moj, Alpine Club and I'm sure many more. I believe numbed out hands may have been responsible for the failure on Super Slab.
Quote of the day: "Our hands were so cold that on the bump move on Jenga, our brains couldn't work fast enough to open our fingers up. We just kept punching the hold!"
Nice work boys.
As for me, Katie and I had a great afternoon up on the East Bluff. It was nice to have a bit of solitude and calm. I always enjoy the days that I get out with Katie and this was no exception. The time we're able to spend together means the world to me and while my job is taking me a bit further from climbing than I'd like, it's nice to know that I can have a nice, quiet day of climbing with my wife.
We went up to Fat Pants on the East Bluff so I could try it out. After a lackluster flash attempt I figured out the moves on my second or third try and then spent the next hour or so puttering around on it. Eventually after a prolonged effort that included stupid beta, machine gun efforts and numb fingers, I was able to finish it up nicely.
I can honestly say that this is among the top three new problems that has gone up this year and it was a good effort to put it together. I can also say that I'm extremely glad that none of the detached blocks are on, as they would have made a surefire classic into something much less.
Fat Pants joins Muffin Top and Tipping Point in the quality over quantity category. I'm glad it's here and people should go do it.
Now, adressing Peter. A couple weeks ago you made a comment about how there haven't been any pictures. You know what happens when you complain here? I hold out even longer. Instead of getting good pictures, you get this:
I'll post pictures when and where I want. Until then:
1 - Sam finally did Anchorpoint. So did Blake. Well done you two, it was only slightly terrifying that you both topped out direct instead of traversing left on jugs at the break. I'm glad we made it up there to see it.
2 - Peter did Beautiful Soup and Soupmaker. While I'm not totally sure why, he did Soupmaker instead of just trying Keymaker and then couldn't do Keymaker. Either way, he'll do it next time I'm sure.
3 - Ian did the Ivory Face and Purple Dragon. For those that don't know, Ivory is a very pretty wall up by Fat Pants. While it's a cool looking face, and obviously hard, it has a striking similarity to the dead vertical crimping nightmare, Ice. Curious to see if this will see any repeats.
Purple Dragon is a midpoint start of the Corner Project and while the true prize still awaits, I think it is absolutely fantastic that Ian is finally working on hard, independent lines. It's something that Nic, Remo and I were hoping for when Ian moved to town and it's nice to see his efforts focused on this.
I remember showing Ian the Corner Project a handful of times and each time he was very unimpressed. I'm not sure what changed but I'm happy he's up there trying it. That's one of the big disappointments for me this year, that I haven't been able to work on that particular wall a bit more.
Aaron and Dobbe - It seems they had a great day up at the lake on Sunday and spent time falling off of nearly everything in the park. Jenga, Moj, Alpine Club and I'm sure many more. I believe numbed out hands may have been responsible for the failure on Super Slab.
Quote of the day: "Our hands were so cold that on the bump move on Jenga, our brains couldn't work fast enough to open our fingers up. We just kept punching the hold!"
Nice work boys.
As for me, Katie and I had a great afternoon up on the East Bluff. It was nice to have a bit of solitude and calm. I always enjoy the days that I get out with Katie and this was no exception. The time we're able to spend together means the world to me and while my job is taking me a bit further from climbing than I'd like, it's nice to know that I can have a nice, quiet day of climbing with my wife.
We went up to Fat Pants on the East Bluff so I could try it out. After a lackluster flash attempt I figured out the moves on my second or third try and then spent the next hour or so puttering around on it. Eventually after a prolonged effort that included stupid beta, machine gun efforts and numb fingers, I was able to finish it up nicely.
I can honestly say that this is among the top three new problems that has gone up this year and it was a good effort to put it together. I can also say that I'm extremely glad that none of the detached blocks are on, as they would have made a surefire classic into something much less.
Fat Pants joins Muffin Top and Tipping Point in the quality over quantity category. I'm glad it's here and people should go do it.
Now, adressing Peter. A couple weeks ago you made a comment about how there haven't been any pictures. You know what happens when you complain here? I hold out even longer. Instead of getting good pictures, you get this:
I'll post pictures when and where I want. Until then:
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Alpine Club
RV
Eggnuts
Remo
Vince Evans
Brian Runnells
Jeremy Hemberger
Steve Day
Kelsen Alexander
Brenden Hefty
Jason Houston
Jeff Sillcox
Chaz Warren
Chris Esser
Aaron Kaetterhenry
John Dobbe
Jamie Emerson
Myself
Countless others
Last night Katie took her name off the list of people that have tried Alpine Club but haven't climbed it.
Nice work Katie!
Eggnuts
Remo
Vince Evans
Brian Runnells
Jeremy Hemberger
Steve Day
Kelsen Alexander
Brenden Hefty
Jason Houston
Jeff Sillcox
Chaz Warren
Chris Esser
Aaron Kaetterhenry
John Dobbe
Jamie Emerson
Myself
Countless others
Last night Katie took her name off the list of people that have tried Alpine Club but haven't climbed it.
Nice work Katie!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Made Up Drama
I'm not going to say much about what's been going on lately other than it makes me, and others I've spoken to, incredibly sad. The main reason for the existence of this site has been to create a community and I feel like up until very recently we had a damn fine one. Everyone was nice, everyone cared about the lake and things were super positive.
It seems something has changed this fall and we now have a fractured and divided community. It's petty, stupid and childish. Honestly, it makes me want to climb with only my closest friends, just to stay out of it all.
I've worked very hard over the years to build up a community like the one we've had in the past and to see it go this way is frustrating, to say the least. At this point I'd love to see everyone leave their personal differences out of it and grow the hell up. I think we'd all like to see that.
It seems something has changed this fall and we now have a fractured and divided community. It's petty, stupid and childish. Honestly, it makes me want to climb with only my closest friends, just to stay out of it all.
I've worked very hard over the years to build up a community like the one we've had in the past and to see it go this way is frustrating, to say the least. At this point I'd love to see everyone leave their personal differences out of it and grow the hell up. I think we'd all like to see that.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Five Ten
Yep, here's my obligatory "five ten just got bought by some German bitches" post. As most of you already know I'm sure, Brian is on the ball with the big news and is letting everyone know that Five Ten was bought by Adidas.
I'm always enamored with news like this. Always. I find this side of the industry super interesting. What I love the most about it is the guaranteed reaction from everyone in the climbing industry:
"lame...no more 5.10s for me"
"Sell outs!!!!"
"Booooo! The 1% strikes again!"
"I love my 5 10s, this is horrendous. I wont wear anything made by Adidas!"
"the consolidation of the industry continues. long live the small independent brands!"
"Before you know it, we'll be seeing 5.10 in Walmart similar to when The North Face was bought by a publicly traded company. It is now all about the bottom line for 5.10, which will most likely (unfortunately) lead to it's downfall. Baaaad move, guys."
"obviously they don't understand the customer. nike will take over lasportiva next then it will be LA sportiva."
All of the above quotes were taken off of deadpoints bookface wall. It happens whenever any company is bought by another, in any industry. It happened to Gregory/BD in the exact same way.
And what's the takeaway from Gregory/BD nearly two years after the fact? All the Gregory reps are still Gregory Reps. The offices moved to Salt Lake. Both companies are posting record growth and are putting out some of their most innovative and useful product in years.
That said, my first thought was similar to the sentiments above. It's always worrysome so see your favorite company go from being small, family owned and independent, to being owned by a multi billion dollar conglomerate.
I hope that in the end things will work out and nothing major will change. I hope that this will allow 5.10 to have better processes and better sourcing abilities. Above all, I hope this allows them to have more innovative product at a wider range of sizes.
And yes Brian, they should bring back the original V10.
I'm always enamored with news like this. Always. I find this side of the industry super interesting. What I love the most about it is the guaranteed reaction from everyone in the climbing industry:
"lame...no more 5.10s for me"
"Sell outs!!!!"
"Booooo! The 1% strikes again!"
"I love my 5 10s, this is horrendous. I wont wear anything made by Adidas!"
"the consolidation of the industry continues. long live the small independent brands!"
"Before you know it, we'll be seeing 5.10 in Walmart similar to when The North Face was bought by a publicly traded company. It is now all about the bottom line for 5.10, which will most likely (unfortunately) lead to it's downfall. Baaaad move, guys."
"obviously they don't understand the customer. nike will take over lasportiva next then it will be LA sportiva."
All of the above quotes were taken off of deadpoints bookface wall. It happens whenever any company is bought by another, in any industry. It happened to Gregory/BD in the exact same way.
And what's the takeaway from Gregory/BD nearly two years after the fact? All the Gregory reps are still Gregory Reps. The offices moved to Salt Lake. Both companies are posting record growth and are putting out some of their most innovative and useful product in years.
That said, my first thought was similar to the sentiments above. It's always worrysome so see your favorite company go from being small, family owned and independent, to being owned by a multi billion dollar conglomerate.
I hope that in the end things will work out and nothing major will change. I hope that this will allow 5.10 to have better processes and better sourcing abilities. Above all, I hope this allows them to have more innovative product at a wider range of sizes.
And yes Brian, they should bring back the original V10.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Oregon
I'm out in Oregon right now on sales meeting day 5 of 8. I'm exhausted at the moment but figure that I haven't put up a new post in a while so thought I'd give everyone a couple updates.
1 - Esser did Tipping Point Stand a week and a half ago now. It's amazing. Go do it.
2 - Peter figured out really good beta for the terrifying bump move and it's much less scary now. Very little chance that you'll circumsize your finger now.
3 - Just as I was really starting to feel decent again I go on an 8 day non climbing binge.
I think that's it really. It's incredibly exciting to be starting a new segment of my life. I don't even care that I haven't been able to climb. New beginnings are an amazing thing and my luck is insane right now. Just crazy.
I hope everyone is getting out. I'll try and post some pictures next week from Tipping Point.
1 - Esser did Tipping Point Stand a week and a half ago now. It's amazing. Go do it.
2 - Peter figured out really good beta for the terrifying bump move and it's much less scary now. Very little chance that you'll circumsize your finger now.
3 - Just as I was really starting to feel decent again I go on an 8 day non climbing binge.
I think that's it really. It's incredibly exciting to be starting a new segment of my life. I don't even care that I haven't been able to climb. New beginnings are an amazing thing and my luck is insane right now. Just crazy.
I hope everyone is getting out. I'll try and post some pictures next week from Tipping Point.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Pemba Serves
All Photos - David Sweeney
For the past 4 years and 8 months I've come to Pemba Serves each day and worked at a job that I love. The people that I've met and the relationships I've been lucky enough to form have changed my life and molded me as a person. It was a job that I sought after for a good 6-8 months before actually getting a real offer.
Many of you don't really know what I do, so maybe I should start there. Pemba Serves is a sales rep agency that specializes in high end outdoor, camping and climbing lines. We represent companies like Petzl, Mountain Hardwear and Atlas Snowshoes, among others. In short, I sell really cool gear to shops like Fontana Sports, Erehwon Mountain Outfitters and Midwest Mountaineering.
I will always count myself as a lucky person to be able to do the things I do to make a living. It's a job I wanted ever since I received my first Marmot clinic 11 years ago from Mark Giacomino. I count myself as incredibly lucky that I met my boss, Brad Werntz, and was given an opportunity that very few actually get. He took a chance on me and it's something I will always be grateful for.
In this industry, with this job, it's so much more about knowing the right person at the right time and having just the right skill set. I was that person in January of 2007. Very lucky.
What's funny is that one of my fondest memories about my first day was when Pete passed me a lime green Hirundos while I was in the middle of learning about our database and completely overwhelmed. I was astounded at how light it was and the simple act of playing with a harness calmed me down and made me feel welcome. I'm 90% sure that Brad had Pete bring that harness up from the warehouse solely for that reason. God knows that Pete doesn't care about harnesses.
It's those types of gestures though that make the outdoor industry so great. It's that type of kindness that makes it incredibly hard to say that today is my last day at Pemba Serves.
What's also great about the outdoor industry is that once you're in, there's a really good chance that you'll get to stay in. Starting tomorrow I'll be the sales rep for Columbia Footwear and Sorel Boots in Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and the Upper Peninsula.
I'll always look back on the years that I've spent at Pemba and think good things. It's a place that I've grown into and I truly enjoyed what I did. The people I've met and the coworkers I've had the pleasure to work with have been incredible. There are so many moments throughout the years that I'll look back on fondly.
In particular I'm going to have a tough time not working with Janice and Pete. Over the course of 4 years the three of us grew a friendship that was completely unexpected, but is something that I'll miss dearly.
Times change though, the opportunity was incredible and the offer I was given was something I simply couldn't turn my back on. It's something that was completely unexpected and is a job description that I couldn't have written better if I tried. Most importantly though, it's going to give me the opportunity to grow once again.
In climbing we constantly look for new challenges. New projects. New boulders. New areas. Having something new is clutch. It's something all of us rely on. I'm incredibly psyched for a whole set of new everything.
Times change though, the opportunity was incredible and the offer I was given was something I simply couldn't turn my back on. It's something that was completely unexpected and is a job description that I couldn't have written better if I tried. Most importantly though, it's going to give me the opportunity to grow once again.
In climbing we constantly look for new challenges. New projects. New boulders. New areas. Having something new is clutch. It's something all of us rely on. I'm incredibly psyched for a whole set of new everything.
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Tipping Point
Yesterday was everything that I love about climbing packed into a one day. I needed yesterday pretty badly and the timing couldn't have been better.
We started things off at North Shore and messed around on a bunch of the warmups over there. It's been forever since we'd climbed there and all of us had a great time and climbed a number of classics in the hour or so we were there.
Shortly after that we headed up to Venus Rising so Katie could give it a few tries. She'd apparently gotten really close the prior day but hadn't quite gotten the sloper.
After a couple tries she got agonizingly close but still ended up on the pads. Resolving to only give it 3 goes, she ponied the hell up on her next try and pulled out the clutch send with confidence. Honestly it was almost anti climactic as she just hiked it and made it look super casual.
This is more than likely the FFA of Venus and a landmark for Katie. Venus is her anti style and she'd made relatively little progress on it until this year when she all of a sudden got psyched for it. Even this spring she wasn't even thinking about doing it so it's great to see a nice little moment of progression.
Personally, it was great to see her finish a project as it's something I've missed this year. I've become accustomed to always being around when she finishes things but my year just hasn't allowed for much time outside so far. I was very happy to be there for this one.
After that Chris and I packed up to go down the hill to the roof and everyone else walked over to Fat Pants.
In short, Chris and I fixed the landing on the roof and figured out all the moves on the stand start project. Most importantly we did so without the aid of the detached boulder it sits on. It's something both of us felt very strongly about and we're very glad the moves go without it.
Towards the end of the day Chris started talking about how absurd it would be to use the boulder and proceeded to get a double no handed kneebar rest without either of his shoes on. I'm ecstatic that the moves go 100% on the roof.
In long form, we had an awesome day and spent a good 2 hours fixing the landing. It's a process that we relish for many reasons and it always makes us proud to know that we spent the time and put out the effort to make future climbing experiences enjoyable. Very few people have the same mindset and it makes me happy to have a friend in Chris that shares the same values as I do in that regard. We truly love the entire process of putting up new boulders and Sunday was an awesome day for both of us as we got to touch on everything we love about establishing new lines.
As for the climbing itself, it's incredible. Once we're done there will be two lines, a stand and a low. The stand is going to start on the undercling crimp for your right and your left hand will be on the main hold on the roof. It's obvious and extremely logical. I was able to do the first move, Chris was able to do the bump move and we were each able to do all the other moves. I think that either Chris or myself will do it next time we go. We'll see.
Now, the low start. Woah. It should start on the far left side of the roof and will go through a couple of incredibly hard moves that eventually links into the stand start position more perfectly than we could have planned. Chris was able to imagine the body positions and hold weight just enough to think it'll go. It will be incredibly hard when it goes but will climb through the entire roof. When done it will be one of the best in the midwest for sure.
I want to take a minute and thank Ian, Peter and Remo. All three of you have said something to us about not trying the roof until both Chris and I have had a chance to play on it a bit. I can't tell you how much it means to both of us and we truly appreciate it. Things like this are what make the Madison community so great. This has never been a closed project and never will be, but the fact that you guys have held off, knowing what it means to Chris and I, is incredibly nice.
That's enough of that.
I'm currently very psyched about pretty much everything. Life. Work. Climbing. Everything is pretty awesome right now. I haven't felt this good, physically and mentally, since I did Moj two years ago. It's a great place to be in and Sunday was a prime example of the best days that we get. Don't take them for granted.
We started things off at North Shore and messed around on a bunch of the warmups over there. It's been forever since we'd climbed there and all of us had a great time and climbed a number of classics in the hour or so we were there.
Shortly after that we headed up to Venus Rising so Katie could give it a few tries. She'd apparently gotten really close the prior day but hadn't quite gotten the sloper.
After a couple tries she got agonizingly close but still ended up on the pads. Resolving to only give it 3 goes, she ponied the hell up on her next try and pulled out the clutch send with confidence. Honestly it was almost anti climactic as she just hiked it and made it look super casual.
This is more than likely the FFA of Venus and a landmark for Katie. Venus is her anti style and she'd made relatively little progress on it until this year when she all of a sudden got psyched for it. Even this spring she wasn't even thinking about doing it so it's great to see a nice little moment of progression.
Personally, it was great to see her finish a project as it's something I've missed this year. I've become accustomed to always being around when she finishes things but my year just hasn't allowed for much time outside so far. I was very happy to be there for this one.
After that Chris and I packed up to go down the hill to the roof and everyone else walked over to Fat Pants.
In short, Chris and I fixed the landing on the roof and figured out all the moves on the stand start project. Most importantly we did so without the aid of the detached boulder it sits on. It's something both of us felt very strongly about and we're very glad the moves go without it.
Towards the end of the day Chris started talking about how absurd it would be to use the boulder and proceeded to get a double no handed kneebar rest without either of his shoes on. I'm ecstatic that the moves go 100% on the roof.
In long form, we had an awesome day and spent a good 2 hours fixing the landing. It's a process that we relish for many reasons and it always makes us proud to know that we spent the time and put out the effort to make future climbing experiences enjoyable. Very few people have the same mindset and it makes me happy to have a friend in Chris that shares the same values as I do in that regard. We truly love the entire process of putting up new boulders and Sunday was an awesome day for both of us as we got to touch on everything we love about establishing new lines.
As for the climbing itself, it's incredible. Once we're done there will be two lines, a stand and a low. The stand is going to start on the undercling crimp for your right and your left hand will be on the main hold on the roof. It's obvious and extremely logical. I was able to do the first move, Chris was able to do the bump move and we were each able to do all the other moves. I think that either Chris or myself will do it next time we go. We'll see.
Now, the low start. Woah. It should start on the far left side of the roof and will go through a couple of incredibly hard moves that eventually links into the stand start position more perfectly than we could have planned. Chris was able to imagine the body positions and hold weight just enough to think it'll go. It will be incredibly hard when it goes but will climb through the entire roof. When done it will be one of the best in the midwest for sure.
I want to take a minute and thank Ian, Peter and Remo. All three of you have said something to us about not trying the roof until both Chris and I have had a chance to play on it a bit. I can't tell you how much it means to both of us and we truly appreciate it. Things like this are what make the Madison community so great. This has never been a closed project and never will be, but the fact that you guys have held off, knowing what it means to Chris and I, is incredibly nice.
That's enough of that.
I'm currently very psyched about pretty much everything. Life. Work. Climbing. Everything is pretty awesome right now. I haven't felt this good, physically and mentally, since I did Moj two years ago. It's a great place to be in and Sunday was a prime example of the best days that we get. Don't take them for granted.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Alpine Club
So not a whole lot to report at the moment. We're set up for a busy weekend once more and there are two weddings happening on Saturday. First off, congrats to Dobbe and Amelia! Gettin hitched. And Kelly and James will also be hitchin it up.
I'm particularly excited cause Kelly and James will be having a Tex Tubbs Teeny Tiny Taco's Burrito Bar and I plan on eating way, way too much food. We had Tex Tubbs at our wedding too and they did a crazy good job.
Climbing wise, Bonamici did Alpine Club last night. Nice work! He used a hand heel match for the first couple moves and then kept the heel for the crux. I know others had done the problem in pieces that way but as far as I know he's the first to link it using that method. Really psyched you did it Peter, as it cleans up the Alpine Club goal. Boom.
Sunday it sounds like we're giving Adam and Peter a tour of the East Bluff so that'll be good. Should be a fun day and I'm psyched to show those guys some of the new stuff.
What's everyone else up to?????
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