Remo's Bday

It's not news anymore but Remo had one of the more impressive Birthday Challenges in recent history.  It was maybe two weeks ago now but I wanted to write about it a bit.

The day started out with Aaron, Dobbe and I meeting up with Fuzzy, Andrea, Kate and Remo at their campsite.  I hadn't realized that Remo and Fuzzy were doing a double challenge and the previous day had climbed 30 pitches from a number of different spots around the lake.

When I got to the campsite Fuzzy was worked enough from the route day that he had already bowed out of the bouldering day so the crew was down one before it had even started.

We started out on the North Shore doing a handful of the more classic warmups over there.  Remo got in a good bulk of his problems there which was nice and it gave the rest of us a chance to mess around a bit. Aaron and I tried Welcome To The Lake once more and finally proclaimed that it has to be a joke, ala the Secrets of the Dodge Wall.

After a bit of time we started trying Earth Mechanics which neither of us had done previously.  With some good beta from Mike, a number of us were able to do it.  Dobbe, Remo, Aaron and I all finished it up with slightly differing beta.  For anyone looking for a fun V5 with a safe landing, comfy holds and an easy but enjoyable topout, Earth Mechanics is a great choice.

The V5 grade is kind of an enigma at the lake, and while I'm not sure where the grade will settle on this one, it's funny that we may have a good one with such a good landing and such a short approach that's been sitting right under our noses.

After we finished up at the north shore we made our way up to the Greatest Show Bluff, Venus Rising, Sex and Chocolate and Perfect Medium.  Greatest Bluff was fun, as always, but made better by Aaron acting like a dumbass as we filmed for a special "Aaron" piece.  Should be a good one.

Remo uncharacteristically fell off of Venus a couple times before doing it shortly after, same with Sex and Chocolate.  Aaron and Dobbe both came close to doing Sex and Chocolate but eventually had to leave it. With the short move down to Perfect Medium, Dobbe and Andrea left us for the day but shortly after that happened John and Paul came down to join the fun.

Remo repeated it after a handful of tries for his hardest send of the day so far.  I think it was the first time he'd done it in a couple years so he was obviously excited.  Both Aaron and Mike were coming close but were still without a send.  I came down from my perch and told Aaron to try pulling up before he tried to get his foot in the notch and he immediately looked much stronger on it.  Same with Mike but he had to bow out since his elbow was killing him.

Neither of them sent that day but I have very little doubt that it's imminent on the next nice day.  Both looked agonizingly close.

After that we went over to Bulbous so that Remo could finish that off.  In short, Remo was fucking tired by that point of the day.  He came incredibly close after refiguring out the crux but fell on the last move, right before the mantle.

The bright spot for me was seeing Aaron pony up, very late in the session, after everyone had kind of written it off.  I think everyone else was actually packing up when we looked over and saw Aaron throwing to the lip.  He calmly finished it up in very proud fashion.

We all walked over to Tombstone to try and finish things up and you could tell everyone was slowing down a good bit.  Remo in particular looked incredibly tired and just wanted it to be done.  He did a couple problems over there and then finished it all on the walk back to the car at Slope of Dadaism.

In all, it was a phenomenal day and I'm glad I joined in.  After Earth Mechanics I spent the good majority of the day heckling.  Besides a short stint repeating the crux of bulbous I just talked shit the whole time.  Seemed to be a much better way to spend the day.

Hope everyone else is getting out!

Trips

1 - I'm in Minneapolis for the week at a sales meeting. Fun. We ate at a place that has a rotating pope's head on a lazy susan. Even more fun.

2 - Katie's in Colorado at the cwa conference. She's hanging out with Jill Rv and sofie. No popes head but still cool I guess.

Katie's hotel has a couple of boulders for her to train on. Badass.

3 - Remo did his bday challenge which looked super tiring. More on that later when I'm not posting from my phone.

4 - unlike Remo, Aaron actually stepped up and did bulbous. It was fantastic and it happened late in the day which made it even better. Good work.

Aaron, Katie found a shower curtain for you. Not sure if she actually bought it or not.

Also, Aaron is terrible as the bean bag game.

That's all.

Climbers Party

So I hope everyone is getting out this weekend at some point.  As for myself I'll be heading up to follow Remo along during his Birthday Challenge.  I'm not exactly sure what the circuit is but I'm planning on latching on for at least part of the day.

If you want to join, it sounds like it's starting around 9:00 at the North Shore.  Looks like it may be a perfect day out!

Afterwards Mike Lohre is hosting a big party at his house for anyone and everyone that wants to join.  Sounds like he's got a couple kegs and I think it's pretty cool that he's opening up his property(which sounds awesome) to a bunch of people.  There'll be camping space there for anyone that wants to stay over and should be an extremely good time.  Here's some more info:

Camping:   Camping is encouraged (we have plenty of room) and if you feel inclined you could bring a canoe or kayak for some time on the river. An island behind the property would make a quieter and more private place to camp.

Food:  We are asking for a $5.00 per person donation to cover beer and porta-potty cost. Bring your own food and chairs, we will have a grill or two available for cooking. 


Address: 10270 County Road Y, Mazomanie, WI 53560

Shuffleboarding

So I tried to get an injury update from Esser but he never wrote me back.  I hope he's ok.

During my Man Date with Aaron we took the time to practice up on our Shuffleboard and we ended up having an incredibly close, well played game.  It came down to the last throws and could have gone either way.  It seems we may have practiced too well.

On Saturday night Katie and I met up with Chris, Sarah and a handful of other people.  Unfortunately once the Shuffleboard table came available Chris made the poor decision to play against Blake and I.  While the match was close for the first couple of rounds Blake and I quickly pulled away to a commanding, and surely painful lead.

Lacking the general manners to hold back, the game quickly got out of hand.

Yes, you're reading that correctly.  48-10.  In the end, we won in convincing fashion with a final score of 51-10.  While I don't know the extent of Chris's injuries I think it's safe to say that a bruised ego, a shock loaded confidence and a torn sense of self worth are just the beginning.  Get better soon buddy.

KABOOM!!!

On a happier note, I got a new grill last night.  Sadly, it's bling fell off in the packaging.  Josh told me I should make a belt buckle out of it, which I think is a fantastic idea.

Katie and I had to get a new grill after ours was taken from it's winter locale by P-Wall at Boulders.  I actually feel kinda bad for the person that took it since it was in pretty terrible shape.  The lid attachment was tenuous at best and was only held on by a thread or two since the screws it came with were too short.  My  friend Pete said the whole deal would be less funny when the grill was returned to us with a hospital bill.

So thanks to whoever took it!!  I got a way better grill out of the deal!  Aside from the bling that is.........

Man Date

When the women are away, the men will play.

Injury Free In '93

I'd like to take a moment to thank a couple people upon this monumental occasion.  First, I'd like to thank Chri$ for taking one for the team early on this fine April and getting injured on Bulbous.  It was your sacrifice that made me fight so hard to complete this arduous goal of mine.

Second, I'd like to thank Brian Runnells for stepping up to the plate as the final hour rose and the danger level hit its apex.  Knowing that injury was all but inevitable as I passed through the gym doors late last night, his busted up ankle gave me optimal confidence that the Gods of Injury were smiling down on me.

Third, I'd like to thank our dog Moose, for choosing me over Katie when it comes to being the favorite parent.  I know it's tough when 22 of the other 23 pets in the house have already chosen her, but your vote of confidence and undying love meant a lot to me.

Now that I've made it through April injury free I fully expect to get smote down in May.  Bring it.