Static Cling

Spring has already arrived to the Bay Area; the cherry trees are blooming; our winter lasted all of two weeks.  I'm not complaining, but I do wish I had had more time to take advantage of the greatest California climbing season in decades.  They finally closed Tioga Pass on January 17th, breaking the historical record for latest closure.

One person who did take full advantage of his first season in California is Kyle O'Meara.  As per his usual style, he has been going around making tall scary climbs look like casual warmups, and flashing nearly everything in his path.  I met up with him yesterday at Castle Rock State Park for a tour of the dog-friendly side of the road, and the weather was once again perfect.  Here's a short low-def video of Kyle running a lap on the "super low" start to Static Reach which I think Charlie B called "Reach Around".  The boulder is almost laughably small, but packs a lot of great moves into 5 vertical feet of climbing.  Ha.  We climbed a bunch of tall proud stuff too (well, Kyle did) but I thought people would appreciate the butt-dragging lowball video more.  Cheers!

texas drive-by

frozen lakes

This is Roo.  She's keeping my sleeping bag safe and secure.  And that is the BLM pit, lucky site #14, sheltered from the wind by ancient gravel burial mounds and wood pallet reinforcements.

My winter break from school included 4 days in Bishop, although it was unrecognizable without all the  ice and snow.  Really it was odd to have wished I brought shorts and sandals to the Buttermilks.  Every other time I've been there it was "double puffy" weather, water bottles freezing solid, escaping to Keough for survival and keeping your chili cheeze bread thawed in the foot of your sleeping bag.  This time around I was comfortable.  There were no epics, I climbed all day in great weather, had a nice dinner each night and drank a beer by the fire, before retiring to my -20F Marmot 800 fill-power furnace bag at 9pm sharp to sweat my way through another starry 30F night.  I felt like an old guy.

My favorite climb of the trip was Funky Tut V3, which took me more attempts than I'd like to admit.  It was like an old guy version of Soul Slinger in a way.

On the way home through Yosemite on 120 I ran over a small boulder that wasn't as small as it looked. It tore through every sensitive part of the undercarriage of my Saab, resulting in a repair bill upwards of $7k.  I may be in the market for a new car, if anyone wants to recommend a wagon (Jetta vs. Volvo XC vs. Outback).  At least I caught a few pictures of folks playing ice hockey at 9,000 ft:

grit

I feel like I work too much, and that my job is more stressful than it ‘should’ be. Not the best time to be complaining about a job, and there are many reasons that I feel fortunate to have this job. One of those reasons is that I have spent the last ten days in Sheffield, and I managed to slip out for a couple afternoons to go and check out some peak district bouldering. The weather was typical i think, with heavy winds and some rain, but Stanage plantation provided plenty of dry rock climbs. This peak district bouldering mecca is closer to the city than I would have guessed, and only wish Leavenworth or Gold Bar were as close to Seattle.

The local climbing shop sits in an charming village called Hathersage about 10 minutes from the climbing parking lots. I picked up a guidebook and headed for the rocks. After a quick walkabout and inspection of the texture and quality of the grit stone, I was immediately impressed. I don’t know why my expectations were lower but I was anticipating larger grained, sharp and unpleasant rock. The texture is very fine, and the holds and moves reminiscent of sandstone blocs.

After cruising through the guidebook and looking around the area, I feel like Stanage is to Peak District as Forest Lands is to Leavenworth, only the very tip of the iceberg.

Some shitty photos and a link to a marvelous slab-dyno video by someone else…

Deliverance from Matthew Gaddes on Vimeo.

Paul Nadler

My friend Paul was in Leavenworth for a short stay recently, in between the destinations of his life on the road. Living in his Toyota Camry with his husky, Karma, cooking with a lightweight stove, and pretty much wearing the same clothes everyday, Paul reminds me more of an alpine climber than a full-time boulderer. Last weekend Paul got it done on one of the few remaining obvious projects at a main destination in the Icicle Canyon- the "moon project" at Lower Forestland. Autopilot V11 starts on Cruise Control and veers left up the steep face, it was the last day of his trip... classic!

Yosemite Spam

Living in California has its perks.  In-N-Out Burger, ten lane freeways and a strong nurses union being a few of them.  Yosemite National Park is okay too.  Since starting med school down here a few months ago, I have climbed outside a total of zero times, so my expectations for a fall climbing trip involved reconnecting with friends in a beautiful place and climbing some pebbles, rather than projecting hard boulders.

Luke, Anya and Jason flew in for a four day dash to the valley of giant walls and highballs, a place where bouldering feels somewhat ridiculous until you realize that it's perfect.  Yosemite is also home to the biggest sandbags I've ever tried, which is awesome because it forces you to forget about grades and focus on the rock you're barely holding on to.  We had epics on V0 just as much as on V9, saw fewer groups bouldering than you'd see in Leavenworth, drank Maker's by a roaring fire each night, wallowed in the freedom of having zero obligations for a few days.

If it weren't for the dog restrictions, I'd be in the Valley at every opportunity.  The setting is unmatched in beauty and highly spiritual despite the hordes of tourists.  After all, we were tourists too.  But almost nobody strays beyond the paved walkways and popular hikes.  I know there is a great deal of bouldering development taking place here, but it seems the potential for even more is overwhelming.  The classics though are enough to keep most of us occupied for many years.

Consolation Prize

Well, once again I didn't send my project, Beautification... but it "feels" like I'm getting closer to holding the swing. I did clean up a few Forestland boulders that I'd been meaning to try for awhile though. I climbed alone (my friend Paul and his husky kept me company part of the day), and only saw a few other climbers at lower Forestland, I'm surprised more weren't out for a fall-conditions weekend. Since I've started school in Ellensburg I haven't done much socially (hence all the blog posts?)- just work, hang out with my girlfriend, and climb- I'm not complaining!

Hard work pays off!

Natalie slayed her nemesis this morning- so satisfying for both of us!
It might be time for a new camera tho :)
enjoy:

All I want is perfect granite

The temps are starting to get good in Leavenworth, and we're making progress on our projects!

The Icicle

Beautification

101 Ways to Fling Poo

See ya'll in the canyons!

Swiftwater