Early Retirement

I love my free time!  Yesterday I did some tubing down the river for my bro's birthday, and today we went mountain biking at the somewhat new Rocky Knob.  It was killer fun.  This was my first mountain biking experience, and I had a really good time.  The beginner loop is the only one open right now, but it is super fun, and I'm not in any shape to be doing anything more advanced.  Even though it's a pretty short loop, it has some pretty techy spots and a super fun downhill at the end!  I definitely recommend it to anyone who has any interest in biking.  My bro got a GoPro Hero for his bday, so we took some vids and it looks pretty sick!  I'll post it up as soon as he gets it online.  Until then, here is a video of Perspective, as promised.   Thanks to Zack for putting this together so quickly.   And Josh's name is spelled Shepherd.



A New Problem in Boone from Zack Silberman on Vimeo.

Re-updatin

So, I know I said that I would take the send of the Power of Silence proj despite the dab, but I couldn't.  It bothered me.  A lot.  So, we headed out there again today with the slate wiped clean.  Still a project, still no name, etc.  Zack and Josh were nice enough to let me have first go, and I was able to put it together clean this time!  It helped to take a couple rest days.  This time, we got footage (even though it's pretty ghetto), so that should be up soon.  Anyways, Zack took next go and also fired it!  Then Josh was up and he cruised all of the opening moves and almost fired it first go.  Pretty sick improvement over last time.  He'll def get it soon!  Josh suggested the name Perspective, and I really like it.  Simple and appropriate, so it's finally over.  Perspective (v9) is born.  Get out and try this thing, lemme know what you think!

Then we hiked around and looked at / climbed some of the classics.  Our goal was to make it down to the Concave Proj, but of course we got too wrecked.  David put up a right exit to P0wned and I went over to try this little steep project that usually seems to be wet.  It looked soaked, but was quite dry.  We messed with some holds, found a good way to start the problem and after some efforts and very little remaining skin, I sent the rig.  David came in and did it a couple goes later after punting off the topout.  This thing will eat your skin if you aren't careful (or maybe even if you are) but it is still super fun movement, and pretty tough.  I figured it to be a hard 7, but seems harder if yer short.  As 3 new lines went up today, and I'm not one of the young guns any more, I called it Geriatric Hat Trick (7b (to compromise)).  I'm psyched to let my skin heal and get out there again soon.  There really is a lot of fun to be had in the neighborhood!

Sorry no photos, vid will come soon maybe.

Updatin (much needed)

With the recent heat and rainfall, I haven't really been able to commit a lot of time to climbing.  Golf Season!  love it.  Too bad golf is way too expensive.  I went out to Mountain Aire Golf Club to play a round with my dad the other day.  We haven't played there in years, even though it is beautiful and really well-maintained.   The price is just a bit out of my range.  Peak season rates just kicked in and it was $37 on a weekday.  I know it could be worse, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't afford it.  I played really well considering I only get out 2-3 times per year.  83 on a par 72 course.  Gotta work on my putting game! 

And since the only people that read this are climbers, I guess I'll throw in a bit about my recent climbing exploits.  First, I went down into Linville Gorge with Leif, Josh, and Bill a few weeks back.  I had been down there a couple times before, but never did much climbing.  I'm not gonna lie, I never cared for the slick nature of the rock, not knowing names or grades, and climbing in 90 degree heat.  Even so, this latest adventure was different.  It was a fun crew, and I was able adapt to the rock pretty quickly.  With a little change in mindset, I was able to have a hella good time.  I got on some really great lines that I don't know the name of.  I did a fair amount of climbs, but the only one I know the name of was Helter Skelter (full marks for fun and aesthetics).  I even got on some highball that may be a project.  It didn't seem like it could be harder than v4, but it is very committing at the top (so I bailed (multiple times)).  Apparently Joey Henson and Mike Stam have been spending a fair bit of time recently searching and developing new boulders, so I can't wait to get back down there and see what they've found!

Matt Pomfrey Photo

Matt Pomfrey Photo

Matt Pomfrey Photo

Then I trained in the gym for a while.  Went route climbing once (i suck).  Played another round of golf (80 (thank you putter)).  Played at Willow Valley and sucked (but made a hole in one).  Bit of tennis.



Dalen Gray Photo



Dalen Gray Photo

Boom!  Now we're up to date.  While I'm not too interested in going out and doing repeats in 85+ degree weather, I can get psyched on new stuff.  Josh Sheperd and I went out a few days ago and showed the Power of Silence project to Zack Silberman.  We were both pretty worried that he would just walk it, but it turned out that the foot-cut crux was just as challenging for him.  We all got shut down on that move and called it a day.  Yesterday, I was going to the Dump to boulder with my buddy Dylan, but we got rained out and went to the gym to do routes instead.  We met Zack there and learned that he got super stoked and went out that morning for a pre-rain session to try the proj some more.  And he found the beta to get through the crux.  After seeing a video of this, I started to freak a bit and toyed with the idea of an afternoon session.  After a fair amount of consideration, we decided to give it a go.  The new beta is sick!  We were both able to put in some really good efforts, falling just short of the final move.  My skin was getting torn up and my elbow was about to explode, so we called it a day with the knowledge that either one of us may do it first go next session.  After talking to Josh, we all decided to try again the next morning around 8am.  I loaded up on ibuprofen, threw some chapstick on my tips, iced the elbow, and finally managed to fall asleep after visions of sending danced through my mind.  This morning seemed to come too soon, but fotunately it hadn't rained through the night.  I was feeling quite stiff and sluggish at first, and I had a hard time warming up.  We all stopped at Katilfafish for a while and Drexel, David, Zack and Josh all got on it.  It looked awesome, but I knew it would kill my elbow so I resisted.  One more quick warmup and we went over and sprayed Josh down with the beta.  His feet were giving him problems, so after some effort, he told me and Zack to go ahead and have a go.  Zack and I decided to do a coin toss to decide who would climb first, just in case one of us sent first go.  I won the toss and ended up flailing around, desperately trying to get my feet on.  Fail.  Zack's go was better, but still no send.  My next go, I made sure to get every hold as perfect as possible and made it through the crux, made the final move, and barely snagged the jug out of sheer desperation.  After a little hesitation on the topout, it was done.  (note:  there was a spotter wristwatch dab.  it didn't affect the send, so after a group consensus, im allowing it.)  I don't really have a lot to compare this problem to in terms of difficulty.  It has been a while since I've climbed anything at that level outdoors.  I'm tentatively saying V9, and after toying with a handful of names, I think that Delirium's Edge is appropriate.  Oh, and I didn't really bother getting pictures because there was a video camera running.  Until the send when it ran out of memory and wasn't running any more.  So, maybe we'll get some footage when Zack and Josh do this thing.  It's a killer line, very desperate to the very end, loved it!  

Kora doin her thang

The Power of Silence Project aka Delirium's Edge

The first crux

Classic Evil Monkey

More Evil Monkey

Josh's mangled foot

What makes a classic?

The Goal:
3 guys
5 areas
30 V5's
1 day

The Reality:
2 guys
3 areas
10 hours
100 miles
1 ego kept in check (maybe 2, I can't speak for Zack)

I'm sure it's an idea that many people have toyed with, but I have never heard of anyone actually following through (with good reason, as I would find out).  The Idea:  I heard from Dalen Gray and Zack Silberman about a plan to drive around the Boone area and do all of the classic V5 boulder problems (in a day)!  So, I set about compiling a list of all of the V5's in the area and came up with a list of 31.  While maybe not all of these were considered "classic," I liked the idea of 30 problems in a day.  In typical fashion, I whimiscally decided on a Friday and got in touch with Zack and Josh Shepherd.  Of course, it was the only day that Josh couldn't go climbing.  So, with a 30% chance of rain all day, Zack and I set out.  We got a slightly later start than we planned, due to a bank stop, Wal-Mart stop, 2 gas station stops (had to look for a deal on Monster engery drinks), and a dog on a roof. 

Dog on a roof

We finally reached Blowing Rock around 10:00am and started our day at the Mushroom Boulder.  We finished it off quickly and headed down to the lower area.  I had picked Blowing Rock as the first stop because of Roof of Death.  I had only done it once before and felt like I could have died.  I really wanted to knock this one out while fresh.  Fortunately, we both did it first go and moved on.  The plan was to be out of Blowing Rock by 11:30am, but that was wishful thinking.  Even though we did every problem in one or two goes, the hiking, unpacking, and packing took much longer than expected.  So, we set out to The Dump and a couple other random spots on 221. 

Zack on Low Boy.  It was moist.

Zack finishing up Stonehouse.

At the Blowing Rock trail-head.  Come on guys, how does this happen?

We thought we were moving quickly, but apparently not, as we reached Granmother around 4:00pm.  We also thought we were making good progress on our list, but apparently not, as we had only done 11 problems.  Up to this point, Zack had been filming our ventures, but his camera ran out of memory after a couple climbs at G-mom.  This was about the time when desperation set in and we had to change up our plans.  We had planned on going to Lost Cove and the Backyard Boulders, but we didn't really know our way around the Backyard, and it is still a rather obscure spot.  Unfortunately, it has about 7 V5's that we had planned on doing.  Lost Cove only has 2, so we decided to just do as many as possible at Grandmother and go to Lost Cove if time allowed.  Still, I wanted to do a full 30 problems, so I decided to add in a few more climbs to the list.  I obviously wasn't thinking clearly at this point, as most of them were harder than V5.  My body started shutting down at a more rapid pace as we made our way from the top to bottom of G-mom.  A day like this takes its toll both physically and mentally.  I felt sick and hungry and tired and wanted to quit climbing very badly by the end.  Finally, it got too dark to climb any more and we called it a day at about 8:30pm.  It felt so good to be done and driving back home!  In the end, I only did 24 climbs, but they were all so damn good!  That was the most that I've ever been beaten down by climbing, but when it was all done, we were pretty amazed at the day that just taken place.  Totally worth it!

Delays WILL happen.  Plan on it.

Zack on Doug Reed Roof at The Dump.

Me firing 6 Pac For Shur after a foot dab ruined my first go.

Zack wasted his energy campusing through most of Biggie Smalls. 

And a super punt off the last move of Undertoe to cap off the day.  It was wet.

If you'd like to plan a similar adventure, I would recommend the following:

• Pick a grade that you are comfortable climbing within 1 or 2 tries
• Compile a list of all the climbs of that grade at major areas using rockclimbing.com and 8a.nu
• Convince a couple of people that climb at the same level as you to go with you (I wouldn't go on this adventure with more than 2 other people or it will simply take too much time)
• Plan on an early start!  Or bring a lantern.  You will want more time than you think.
• Bring a lot of food and water.  Snack food will not cut it for a day like this.
• Pack light and move quickly.  You will want more time than you think.
• Have a super fun time experiencing as many of Boone's boulder problems as physically possible!

So, what makes a classic?  Is it the history of the climb, the highball factor, the fun factor, the aesthetics, the level of sandbagging?  Probably.  The best way to find out is to go and climb it yourself.

The Final List:
(*=classic to me)

1. *Low Boy V5
2. The Fin SDS V5
3. *Stems and Caps V5
4. *Roof of Death V5
5. *Raw Terror V5/6
6. *Right Maddox V5
7. Left 45 V5
8. *Stonehouse V5
9. *Doug Reed Roof V5
10. *Undercling Undercling V5
11. Sign of the Times V5
12. *Darkman V5
13. *Have Guns, Will Travel V7
14. *Mighty Mouse V5
15. 6 Pac For Shur V6
16. Biggie Smalls V3
17. *Throttle V5
18. *Nitrous Oxide V5
19. Big Guns V5
20. Scottish Arete V5
21. *Shinister V6
22. *Zen Master V8
23. *Crimping Nickels V5
24. *Joey's Arete V5

If we forgot any 5's or simply weren't able to get to them, lemme know!

Boulderin the backyard

Boone was back in prime condition yesterday, so I couldn't resist getting out to play.  I went out to the Backyard Boulders to climb a little bit with Purpur, Leif, and Shepherd.   I've been to their boulders a few times but never actually got to climb.  Most things were dry, so I got on a couple classics: Evil Monkey (V6) and Quagmire Arete (V4).  There was also a new one: Do The Damn Thing (V4).  I was able to flash all of them, but they all felt about the same difficulty: hard.   Then I convinced Josh to check out Comfort Arete with me.  He gave me the rundown on beta for how Nate and Jimmy did it, then showed me how he had been working it.  I didn't much care for the Jimmy beta due to the tweaky tendon, so Josh and I set to work on his method.  After trying a lot of different ideas, it started to come together.  Finally, we figured out some crazy shiz that ended up working with a nice flow.  It went first go after figuring it out, so I'm not really sure of the grade.  I took V9, but I could agree with V8, especially for the Backyard.  Purp, Tilley, and Josh all have to do that thing and come to a consensus grade.  And congrats to Tilley for doing AHR, that thing is impossible.  And Taylor, massive punt.  He did Black Crack.  And then fell.  Next time for real. 

Promise to have some photos next post.

Boone Party

I got back into Boone a few days back in order to work as much as possible and rebuild my bank account.  And of course climb some rocks.  I went out to Blowing Rock yesterday to try some moderates that I had never done before.  It was really warm, and difficult to find the motivation to get started.  I warmed up a bit at 5.10 wall and then headed down to Roof of Death with Ben Newton and Zack Silberman.  We gave it a few efforts and then started the send train.  Zack did it, then me, then Ben.  We all got pretty epic on the top, but I think I was the most sketchy.  It felt so greasy!  Then everyone else in Boone showed up, including Sam Dospoy, Nate & Holly, and Charlie Long.  We had enough pads to cover from Roof of Death to Harvester of Sorrows.  We hopped on Raw Terror, and after figuring out some topout beta, ran another train on it.  I feel like both climbs were hard V5's, but I'm sure they feel better in colder weather.  It was seriously hot and we all went through our water very quickly.  Still, that's no reason to stop climbing.  I went ahead and did a repeat of Desperate Bitch and Harvester as well.  All of the lines on this boulder are so good!  Sam styled through Raw Terror after finally committing to the first crux.  Charlie did Bitch (V6), cruising the first section multiple times before finally figuring out the top.  Also, Holly made quick work of Harvester of Sorrows (V4), using the OG beta.  From there, we went over to the 45 wall.  After seeing Zack's beta for Left Start Center 45 (V7), I was able to do it in a go.  Zack was playing on Flagyl, but it was just way too hot to get serious.  Charlie also laid down some crushing on Stonehouse (V5).  We thought he was going to come off the top, but Holly rushed some chalk to him and he was fine.  Seriously hot and greasy yesterday.  Finally, I tried my old nemesis, AHR.  I didn't do it.  I'm as close today as I was four years ago!  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to finish that problem.  Oh well.  It was a good crew and really fun to just hang out with so many people.  We even saw Travis Mathews and Jay Tilley on their way in for the evening temps (still probably 70 degrees).  But, back to work now.  I've gotta make as much money as possible if I'm going to make it to Colorado!

party

Just a thought

Happy St. Patty's Day.

I was thinking, and 'sexy' is a strange word.  I don't really understand it.  It seems to stems from 'sex' which is synonymous with 'coitus,' but, one couldn't very well say, "Damn, girl, you lookin coitusy tonight!"  Right?

Oh, and fresh V5 update:  Erich Purpur has really stepped up his game this week to try and finish off Jay Tilley.  He did 5 in a day a few days ago, and did 5 yesterday, and 2 more today!  Tilley, you may have to do some sneaking around to fire off a few more in the next couple days (and congrats on y-crack!). 
EP: 97  JT: 91