On a little pull off where everyone obivously takes pictures...so I did as well:
On the top with Longs Peak in the background:
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I hiked today...without rock climbing as a goal...
Crazy as it may seem, and I definitely don't understand what has gotten into me, but I went hiking today with Drew up a hill called Twin Sisters. This is actually the first time that I think I have hiked this summer with out having rock climbing as a end goal of the hike and it actually felt really nice. The hike round trip was 3.7 miles with 2000 ft. of elevation gain and we managed it in just under one hour. We were hauling. During relatively flat portions of the hike we actually decided to run so we could get the best exercise possible. Thank goodness for that though because now I'm exhausted. I think I'll be climbing tomorrow so no more of this discordia. Here are some pictures from today!
On a little pull off where everyone obivously takes pictures...so I did as well:
On the top with Longs Peak in the background:
On a little pull off where everyone obivously takes pictures...so I did as well:
On the top with Longs Peak in the background:
Saturday, June 28, 2008
New Purchase...
I found an amazing deal on a down jacket here in Estes today so I had to pick it up! It's regular price close to about $170, but I got it for $110. I'm pretty psyched about the find and I sort of can't wait for winter time to roll around now! No more getting cold on my bicycle rides to class!
Today was a day off too for me so I've been hanging out at the coffee shop here in Estes with Drew and doing some reading. I'm finishing up book 7 of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It's a pretty awesome read and I think that I'm going to try and pick up a few pieces of classic literature after I get done with this one. I'm really excited with the amount of reading that I've been able to do already this summer. Only a little more than a month left though...crap.
Last night a lot of people from the Y went down to the Rock Inn to watch the band The Great American Taxi play and we had a ton of fun! The band was awesome and so was the company. We ended up camping out afterwards as well which is cool, and oddly enough is only the second time that I've slept outside since I've been here. haha
I hope that everyone is doing well back home and I'll be seeing everyone soon!
Here is a picture of the jacket I got:
Today was a day off too for me so I've been hanging out at the coffee shop here in Estes with Drew and doing some reading. I'm finishing up book 7 of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It's a pretty awesome read and I think that I'm going to try and pick up a few pieces of classic literature after I get done with this one. I'm really excited with the amount of reading that I've been able to do already this summer. Only a little more than a month left though...crap.
Last night a lot of people from the Y went down to the Rock Inn to watch the band The Great American Taxi play and we had a ton of fun! The band was awesome and so was the company. We ended up camping out afterwards as well which is cool, and oddly enough is only the second time that I've slept outside since I've been here. haha
I hope that everyone is doing well back home and I'll be seeing everyone soon!
Here is a picture of the jacket I got:
Friday, June 27, 2008
Big Elk Meadows
Went to Big Elk Meadows, which is in between Estes and Lyons yesterday for a day of bouldering since it was my day off, and I was really happy with the decision. The rock at BEM is phenomenal and the problems are all very cool and moderate and right at my level it seemed. I actually was able to flash a V3, which worked up a awesome arete and was really hard for me! There were also several other cool problems, in a really cool concentrated area called The Sanctuary which is consequently where we spent the most of our time! Here are some pictures and some video as well.
Some video of a cool V3 problem that Wayne and I were both able to get a send on:
Looking at the V3 Arete:
The view to the left of the arete:
The view from around the far corner of the first picture:
Working the V3 dyno problem:
We also worked a lot of really cool other problems and I managed to flash a V2 at the end of the day when I was pretty tired and then send another V2 when I was totally exhausted! It was definitely one of my stronger days since I've been out here!
Some video of a cool V3 problem that Wayne and I were both able to get a send on:
Looking at the V3 Arete:
The view to the left of the arete:
The view from around the far corner of the first picture:
Working the V3 dyno problem:
We also worked a lot of really cool other problems and I managed to flash a V2 at the end of the day when I was pretty tired and then send another V2 when I was totally exhausted! It was definitely one of my stronger days since I've been out here!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Since Last Update...
Well, not a lot has really been going on out here since the last update. Mainly I've been working a lot so that I can make my full salary, and in the off time I'm doing some climbing. Made some new friends this week too. A girl named Sarah who worked here at the Y last year and her friend Ashley are in for a few days so we climbed with them last night at Lumpy and then today at Prospect and in the evening we went and bouldered at Marble.
Lumpy was all right yesterday. Sent a cool little V1, although I felt a little rough the entire night climbing. We also worked on a problem that was a little bit harder, but no one was able to put it together.
Today we all slept in and then Drew, Jordan, Sarah, Will, Stephanie, Ashley and I all headed out to Prospect for an afternoon climbing session. It went well thankfully, and I was able to send my 5.11b project on the second go! It really feels good to climb something that is really hard for me and to feel myself gradually getting better!
After Prospect we all came back and grabbed some dinner and headed to the Marble boulder where I ran a few circuits on some of the problems and gave a few other lines a try. Amongst the others was a really cool direct start for the V3 that is on the boulder. It's going to be really cool when it goes!
Here are the obligatory pictures from the weekend!
Me on the V1:
After topping out:
Chilling while some people looked at a ridiculously hard problem:
Drew, Sarah, Joey, and I posing for a pic:
Hanging out by the fire at the Rock Inn after climbing. The smoke was terrible which accounts for all of the weird faces:
Lumpy was all right yesterday. Sent a cool little V1, although I felt a little rough the entire night climbing. We also worked on a problem that was a little bit harder, but no one was able to put it together.
Today we all slept in and then Drew, Jordan, Sarah, Will, Stephanie, Ashley and I all headed out to Prospect for an afternoon climbing session. It went well thankfully, and I was able to send my 5.11b project on the second go! It really feels good to climb something that is really hard for me and to feel myself gradually getting better!
After Prospect we all came back and grabbed some dinner and headed to the Marble boulder where I ran a few circuits on some of the problems and gave a few other lines a try. Amongst the others was a really cool direct start for the V3 that is on the boulder. It's going to be really cool when it goes!
Here are the obligatory pictures from the weekend!
Me on the V1:
After topping out:
Chilling while some people looked at a ridiculously hard problem:
Drew, Sarah, Joey, and I posing for a pic:
Hanging out by the fire at the Rock Inn after climbing. The smoke was terrible which accounts for all of the weird faces:
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Prospect...again.
We went to Prospect again yesterday, and Drew and Rob were both able to get the send on the 5.11d version of Momentary Lapse of Ethics. I was pretty psyched to see them go and then I was finally able to make it to the top of Damamge Done 5.11b. I didn't however make it without a fall or sitting on the rope though so it's hopefully just a matter of me getting back out there on Thursday and sending it all together!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Climbing Dictionary
Just thought I might post a link to a climbing dictionary so if I ever say something that I don't explain well you can just reference the dictionary to see what I'm babbling about!
http://www.rockclimbing.com/Articles/Introduction_to_Climbing/Climbing_Dictionary_528.html
http://www.rockclimbing.com/Articles/Introduction_to_Climbing/Climbing_Dictionary_528.html
Prospect Session
Here are some pictures from the 5.11b that I've been working at Prospect Mountain. We went up today after dinner and I flailed around out it for a while and finally figured out a sequence through the crux, but just couldn't pull the lip and ended up taking a couple of 20 ft. falls. Fun times. You can kind of see the hard part in the picture with Wayne. You have to pull up and over this overhang on small holds then to a nice big one and then make the clip and finish on some slabby climbing. I haven't made it all of the way through without falling yet, but hopefully after a few days rest I'll be able to put it all together!
Working through the lower portion of the route which is really awkward and balance dependent (what climbers call "balancy"):
Made the second clip now just resting the hands for the third clip and hard part (crux) of the route:
Moving up to the holds toward the third clip which is out of view. I'm really not moving that fast, the camera exposure was just pretty long.
Here is the picture of Wayne on the nice big hold (jug) by the third clip and he's about to move left through the small holds (crimps) and try to pull up and over the overhang:
I'm trying to really define everything I say now so maybe I won't sound like a rambling loser for the rest of this blog's existence. I hope everyone is doing fine back home!
Working through the lower portion of the route which is really awkward and balance dependent (what climbers call "balancy"):
Made the second clip now just resting the hands for the third clip and hard part (crux) of the route:
Moving up to the holds toward the third clip which is out of view. I'm really not moving that fast, the camera exposure was just pretty long.
Here is the picture of Wayne on the nice big hold (jug) by the third clip and he's about to move left through the small holds (crimps) and try to pull up and over the overhang:
I'm trying to really define everything I say now so maybe I won't sound like a rambling loser for the rest of this blog's existence. I hope everyone is doing fine back home!
Monastery Pictures
The new shoes:
Me on Liquid Crystal Disply 5.11c:
Me not making it to the top of LCD:
Hanging out waiting for everyone to finish with B-fast:
The beautiful but brutal hike in:
Hanging out by the fire:
The guys; Tim, Will, John, Me, then Drew:
Me on Liquid Crystal Disply 5.11c:
Me not making it to the top of LCD:
Hanging out waiting for everyone to finish with B-fast:
The beautiful but brutal hike in:
Hanging out by the fire:
The guys; Tim, Will, John, Me, then Drew:
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Monastery
Well today we climbed at the Monastery outside of the town of Drake. It was pretty amazing. We warmed up on a really cool 10.b that I lead called Inner Peace. I flashed it which was pretty exciting for me. Next, we turned directly around and worked on a super sweet 11.c, Liquid Crystal Display, that I sucked it up at... I don't need to say more and that is actually where I scored the nice bloody pinky. Lastly, we worked an amazing 11.c called Natural Born Driller at which I also sucked it up on. The grades are freaking stout out here.
The view of Longs Peak from out campsite:
Ugh...
The Monastery is made primarily of freestanding pinnacles:
LCD got a little piece of me:
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sporting and a New Boulder
So Sunday was a day off for me so a few of us from the Y headed up to Prospect Mountain to do some sport climbing. It was really a pretty nice day. We warmed up on the same 10.c, named Suburban Hangover. That route is pretty scary, and since we don't have a stick clip the first person to lead has to risk a 15 foot drop onto less than desirable terrain on the 10.c crux of the route. I've yet to lead this route but I definitely plan to next time out to Prospect if we can figure out a way to clip that first bolt before hand. I don't feel like decking.
Next, we worked on a really cool 11.b, The Damage Done, that I think I should be able to lead up pretty easily next time. The main crux of the problem is pulling a pretty big roof on small crimps and thin feet. After there you have a moderate 5.10 crux on a slabby wall section to the anchors. It's a beautiful line and I'm pretty psyched to get back on it the next time out.
Lastly, we worked an amazing 11.d variation of a route called Momentary Lapse of Ethics 11.a. This line is everything you could ask for in a sport route. Scary, bolted well, and good sustained areas of climbing. The 11.d crux starts in on this tricky lie back section on decent holds then moves up into some small and very sharp crimps then you throw with a dead point to a moderate rail, match, then head out to the anchors on more small crips and in my opinion bad feet. I've kind of decided for this route to be my project for the summer and I would love to get a send by August the 8th.
Yesterday though I decided was a rest day...until some of the guys got excited about a new boulder on the Y's property that has an amazing dyno problem, so needless to say, I climbed. The problem is awesome though. You start out on an okay left crimp and a right hand rail then you can either throw big for a jug or what I do is heel up, lock off, bump to a small crimp then up to a larger crimpy side pull. From there I don't have any clue how to get up. haha.
I hope that everyone is doing fine back home and I'll try to get some pictures of all of said climbing up some time here in the very near future!
Next, we worked on a really cool 11.b, The Damage Done, that I think I should be able to lead up pretty easily next time. The main crux of the problem is pulling a pretty big roof on small crimps and thin feet. After there you have a moderate 5.10 crux on a slabby wall section to the anchors. It's a beautiful line and I'm pretty psyched to get back on it the next time out.
Lastly, we worked an amazing 11.d variation of a route called Momentary Lapse of Ethics 11.a. This line is everything you could ask for in a sport route. Scary, bolted well, and good sustained areas of climbing. The 11.d crux starts in on this tricky lie back section on decent holds then moves up into some small and very sharp crimps then you throw with a dead point to a moderate rail, match, then head out to the anchors on more small crips and in my opinion bad feet. I've kind of decided for this route to be my project for the summer and I would love to get a send by August the 8th.
Yesterday though I decided was a rest day...until some of the guys got excited about a new boulder on the Y's property that has an amazing dyno problem, so needless to say, I climbed. The problem is awesome though. You start out on an okay left crimp and a right hand rail then you can either throw big for a jug or what I do is heel up, lock off, bump to a small crimp then up to a larger crimpy side pull. From there I don't have any clue how to get up. haha.
I hope that everyone is doing fine back home and I'll try to get some pictures of all of said climbing up some time here in the very near future!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Its been a while...
Well, I'm talking to Lauren right now and realized that I haven't updated my blog here lately and thought that I might just try and update and let everyone know what is going on.
The weather has been kind of junky here lately. It is actually snowing right now, and I'm supposed to go climbing today with Drew, Jordan, and Rob, but we'll see how that's going to go with the weather.
I've really just been working a lot here lately and not a lot else has honestly been going on. I wish I had some pertinent information to pass along but I don't so I guess that I might just post a few new pictures and be done with it!
I hope everyone is doing well and I'll talk to you all soon I'm sure!
The weather has been kind of junky here lately. It is actually snowing right now, and I'm supposed to go climbing today with Drew, Jordan, and Rob, but we'll see how that's going to go with the weather.
I've really just been working a lot here lately and not a lot else has honestly been going on. I wish I had some pertinent information to pass along but I don't so I guess that I might just post a few new pictures and be done with it!
I hope everyone is doing well and I'll talk to you all soon I'm sure!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Friendship Boulder and the Park
Today I got to see the other good boulder that is on the Y property, the Friendship Boulder. It's pretty cool I suppose. All of the boulder problems are pretty short though which sort of detracts from the fun a tad. Anywhoo, Marty and I put up a cool new problem called Footloose and I was able to get it today. Here is some video of the climb!
It's a pretty cool problem and you can see why it is named Footloose.
After dinner a huge crew up us headed up into The Park and climbed on the Suzuki Boulder again. It was a ton of fun and although I didn't get to climb anything new I have came close to climbing a cool V4 which would complete my goal for the summer. I might have to set some new goals. We also found a new problem that is going to be a pretty high problem but it really seems like it's going to be pretty awesome! I'll try to get some pictures of the evening in the park up when some people post up some pictures.
To the family, I hope all is well and I plan to soon include a glossary of what things I say mean so you all can maybe enjoy reading my blog. haha! I hope everyone is well though, and Grandma and Papaw, I plan to call you very soon!
It's a pretty cool problem and you can see why it is named Footloose.
After dinner a huge crew up us headed up into The Park and climbed on the Suzuki Boulder again. It was a ton of fun and although I didn't get to climb anything new I have came close to climbing a cool V4 which would complete my goal for the summer. I might have to set some new goals. We also found a new problem that is going to be a pretty high problem but it really seems like it's going to be pretty awesome! I'll try to get some pictures of the evening in the park up when some people post up some pictures.
To the family, I hope all is well and I plan to soon include a glossary of what things I say mean so you all can maybe enjoy reading my blog. haha! I hope everyone is well though, and Grandma and Papaw, I plan to call you very soon!
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