Back in My Hole

Day 5 on my project.



The ending broke, previously seen here, resulting in a significantly easier climb. I'm suggesting V5. I climbed it from the more logical sit down, starting on the rock immediately behind.

The sit down start (from the ground) was wet, dripping wet.
I can't complain, since I'm climbing outside in January with my shirt off!!

Shrinkage Penalty

Performance/Training: 1) Technique

2) Onsights

3) Campus

4) Prehab/Core

Does your climbing gym have valet parking?
Movement does!

Notes: Headed to Movement (along half of the Front Range). Too crowded for a significant training session. Choose an indoor performance day.

#1 Long warm-up on the high quality moderates. #2 Too crowded to get a lead rope. Onsighted (on TR) lots of 12-. On a relative intensity scale from 1-10, the routes felt like a 6. #3 Wanted a stronger dose than routes could provide. I only keep benchmarks on 1 board so this was for fun. Focused on contact strength and pulling through (separately). #4 Quick & standard - front levers and external rotation. Overall a medium session. The worst of both worlds, performance and training.

Ideology of the Cancer Cell

Performance:

1) Project only

Training:

1) Hike 45 minutes

rest 3 hours

2) Technique

3) Flash Ladder

4) Campus

5) Repeat/Technique

6) Prehab



Notes: Back on the Front Range. Just in time for a perfect winter session.

#1 No send day. Day 3 on my "uber project". Still making progress. It will go (soon).

#1 Found ~8 problems not published anywhere. Good enough for me. #2 Focused on relaxing my core. I hold too much unnecessary tension there. #3 Continued to focus on using minimal amount of core tension as I attempted to flash new problems. Mediocre performance - lacked syke, exposed my limiters, skin was thin. Only went up in grades. #4 Medium Rungs. Set new benchmarks - 1-2-5, 1-3-6. My new system is working. THE SYSTEM IS THE SOLUTION. #5 Repeated the same problems from #3. Use less tension. Let the problems teach me. #6 Went back to old system. Forgot new system on computer.

Nongaussian Errors in the Residuals

Performance:

1) Work Project

Training:

1) Campus

2) Repeats

3) Hangboard

4) Prehab

I'm a big fan of tactics.
The space heater made all the difference for this session.

Notes: Last day outside in CO before CA holiday break. High of 36. Warmed-up on home wall.

#1 - Did all the moves on my project. Some small links. Definitely V10 for me. A V8 (4 moves) into a V7 (6 moves) then topout (2 easy moves).

Short training session. No time for technique. Rewarmed-up by climbing a circuit which included most of the comp problems I did and some harder stuff. Interesting!

#1 1st Medium Rung microcycle session. Did 1-5. Not too bad #2 Repeats went really well. #3 Open hand switches. Skin was tired.

Lecturing Birds On How to Fly

Performance: 1) "Unkown", aka Random Arete, V5

2) Alternative stand start into #1, V7

3) Work sds to #2

4) "Better Luck in the Next Life", V8/9

Training: 1) Technique, 2 blocks

Notes: My last Front Range outside day for a little while. Simply Beautiful. #3 should be a V10. I keep breaking holds, evidence of a potential FA.

#1 1st block - Foot hover/Quiet Feet. That is the best technique drill I know. It directly translates to me sending. In addition, I enjoy climbing more with quiet feet. 2nd block. - Relax/Recover. I can get by climbing hardish routes with my ability to recover on route since very few Front Range routes are continuous. There is limited transference training continuous power endurance. I'm developing my ability to microrest on every hold.

Solastalgia

Performance: 1) Too busy climbing ..., V0/2 (Stand/Sit)

2) Zombie Land, V5/6

3) I can't fight your war ... , V7

Training: 1) Yoga, 2 blocks

2) Technique

3) Campus

4) Random Repeats

The "hourglass" shape in the rock were the original holds

Sometimes Destruction comes before Creation

Notes: Great day at Red Feather! Knocked down some reasonable projects. Lots of unreasonable projects left.

#1 2nd Yoga session of this cycle, getting more in the groove. Yes, I even periodize my yoga. #2 I was not in the mood for technique but did it anyways. Typically, I use time prioritized training for technique, e.g. 10 minutes focusing on crossing moves. Today I borrowed a page from CrossFit and used task prioritized training. I did 100 cross moves. ~50% were easy, ~40% were hard, and ~10% were project level. (Not for time because that would be silly and counterproductive for skill work) #3 2nd Campus session of this cycle, getting more in the groove. I always forget how skill based campusing is. Still Big Run microcycle. I worked up to 1-2-6. Failed on 1-3-7. #4 Today was a Medium Day so the repeats were easier.

GC & C Tour, Stop 6 : Santa Maria, CA

The last lag of The Green Chili and Pockets Tour was Mr. Lee's of Santa Maria, CA. First off, Highway 166 is fucking scary. I don't know how Phil drives it weekly. I would have to be sedated.

Crankenstein on Buddhist Palm

Mr. Project Projecting

St. Maria climbers is an odd tribe. The men, Phil and Elijah, were on Buddhist Palm, 13d. The boys, Justin and Micah, were on Hard Boiled, 13b. That left Andre and I on Sea of Love, 12b. It was fun commiserating/exchanging beta with her, a change of pace from working stuff out by myself.

I feel like Sport Climbing Brian 2.0, lighter, smarter, and a better state of mind. However, this route is bad for me. Easy(ish) climbing leads to a 5 move boulder problem. The crux is a scary slightly awkward clip in the middle of the problem. Micah likened it to posing down in the middle of a lock-off on a highball. If the crux of a route is a clip, the route probably sucks. I should either skip the route or skip the clip.

It comes down to the basic elements of life, Love and Fear. Right now, I enter a state of joy and focus when moving over stone. The fear of missing clips pulls me out of that state. Some days, I feel The Fear all the time. Today it was just during the one clip.

Dedication

Hard Boiled, 13b

Approved Rehab for an Exploded Ankle

Getting After It

The Crew Approves

Sharing Footholds and Syke

Another highlight was a syked local crew from SLO came by. I ran into them at Mr. Lee's and Owl Tor. I love The Tor more. It is steep and unrelenting, a physically menacing cliff. It makes climbers stick together to fight it. Mr. Lee's is more open. Climbers spread out and find their own roost.

It always an adventure. Lucky me, I got to see a rattlesnake! Earlier in the day, people were trap shooting into the crag. SERIOUSLY! I was happy to pass on the oral knowledge of the area.

Beer, Bugs, & Friends

Phil,

Still Getting After IT

Bonus: A circuit of moderate bouldering in SLO and dinner on the beach.

Routes sent:
?, 9, Onsight (First Santa Maria onsight, scary mantle)

Tried:
11b, 1 hang
Sea of Love, 12b, 4 tries (BTB, 3 one hangs)

GC & C Tour, Stop 6 : Lake Tahoe

I simply love Tahoe. There is so much high quality rock. Posting up in a cabin is always rad. There was snow everywhere forcing us to climb at the Donner Lake State Park on the first day, not ideal but acceptable. The second day we stayed closer to home and developed a boulder about 100ft from the cabin.

Warming up a solid line

Surfing the Arete

The Peloton

One of My All-Time Favorite Slabs

Playing with Fat Boy

V11, but kinda lame

Open

Closed

Alex on The Prancing Lion

A Leo Prancing

Day 1
Location: State Park

Sent:
Unnamed, V5, redpoint (split rock far half #16, 1st try today)
Unnamed, V1, flash (split rock near half, #8)
Bear Hug, V4, redpoint (1st go once I know where the holds where)
Bear Hug, V7, sds, redpoint (2nd try from the sit)

Location: Memorial Boulder
Tried:
Fat Boy, V11 (contrived but worked it for training proposes)
V10 (no clue?)

Day 2

Location: Classified

The Lion Boulder

Left to Right
Lion Cub, VB (downclimb arete)
Declawed, V1 (arete, contrived)
Mane Attraction, V1/2 (short but engaging heel hook)
The Prancing Lion, V0 (arete right to left)
Wrestling with a Lion, V1 (blunt arete)
Little Paw, V3 (sds to slopers)

GC & C Tour, Stop 5 : Red Rocks

The Road Goes On.

Beautiful, As Always

Day 1

757 2X4, 7, onsight

Bonaire, 9, onsight

Lewd, Crude, and Misconstrued, 9+, onsight

Need to Rest, 10b, onsight

Glitter Gluch, 11a, 2nd go (first go 1 year ago)

Rebel without a Pause, 11b, 2nd go (first go 8 years ago)

Crude Control, 12a, 3 tries (contrived but really fun)

Lee Press On, 12b, 2 tries (BTB, 1 hang)

Day 2

Crazy Eights, 8, Onsight (really good & long)

Mother's Milk, 8, Onsight (thinner than Crazy Eights)

Chrome Dome, 10a/b, Onsight (good stuff)

Sister Pain, 11b, Onsight (piss easy)

Sweet Pain, 11d, 2nd go (first go 1 year ago, didn't get even get pumped today - thanks to The Sessions and JS's training)

Lee Press On, 12b, 2 tries (2 X 1 fall, took a nice 20fter postcrux, still much to learn about sport climbing)

GC & P Tour, Stop 2 : Jemez, NM

The next stop is a was a new-to-me area call The Pond near Jemez, NM. The volcanic rock in an higher altitude forest made for a wonderful afternoon out. There was no one on the rocks or in the campground, simply shocking for the quality of the place. I guess it's not trendy to climb there.

Cleaning up a project that didn't go.
Life of a roadtrippin' climber.

30ft Chimney Traverse = Interesting

Pottery Shard
Rad Litter

Climbing Tape
Lame Litter

Problems Sent:

20 minute Boulder, V2, V4, V1, V5, V4, V4, V2, V3,

King for Day Boulder, V2, Flash

Reservoir Dogs, V4, Flash

Dot Dot Space, V5, Flash

Problems Tried:

King for a Day, V6, epic fail

Triple Mullet Blowjob, V10, 2 tries (endro traverse with horrible ending)

Pulp Friction, V10, 3 tries (1 move V10 dynos are HARD)

Evergreen

After a work day in Denver, I made a triumphal return to 3 Sisters Park in Evergreen. (I gave Morrison the finger as I drove past). It was a beautiful cool day in the forest.

The "Hidden Fawn Trial" Never Disappoints

The sometimes sharp and lichen-covered granite of 3 Sisters Park

Another Classic Day on the Front Range

Problems Sent:
Spread, V1 (felt hard)
Brain Storm, V1, Flash (good)
Flow Stream, V2/3, Flash (contrived)
Hot Wax, V3, Flash (thanks for the glue)
Corner Service, V4, Flash (getting warmer as it cools off)
Texture This, V4, Flash (stacked pad start)
Pac Man, V7 (less than 30 min, full value)
The Pearl, V8 (3/4 tries, too sharp to be classic)

Durango, Day 3, Nails in the Coffin

I rarely circuit, but Durango provided the perfect place, closely packed quality problems. The added bonus was nice landings and good descriptions. Maximal climbing within minimal shredding. I pushed myself by climbing everything, aretes, traverses, from 1 move to 10 move problems. The day came to a point on Midnight Rider, a v3 slab. It was a perfect blend of mental (tired but in a flow), technical (trusting myself but uncertain), and physical (tired but engaged). The reason why I climb - for beautiful moments. No better time to leave Durango.

The Dakota Sandstone of Durango

So Featured

Location: Turtle Rocks

Problems Sent:

All Flashed -

Penny Candy, V1

Nickel & Dime, V1

My 2 Cents, V1

Cents Short of a Dime, V1

Golden Year, V1 (hard)

Unnamed, V1 (Northern Block, #2)

Unnamed, V1 (Northern Block, #3)

Couch Potato, V1 (interesting traverse)

Unnamed, V1 (West Block, HIGHBALL, dirty, deserves more love)

Afternoon Delight, V2

The Cave, V2 (steep, just make the moves)

Unnamed, V2 (Big East Block, highball in the wind)

Micro Huge, V2 (another traverse)

Unnamed, V2 (Eastern Block, interesting)

Unnamed, V3 (West Block, big pull > sharp pocket)

Dalla Bills, V3 (a little contrived)

Terrapin Traverse, V3 (great for traverse link-up)

Broadway Traverse, V3 (a must do)

Midnight Rider, V3 (OMG, hurt my hand on the slab)

The Wonder, V4 (i'm a one move climber)

Unnamed, V4 (Eastern Block, traverse on underclings!)

Fade Way, V4 (skipped holds by accident)

There's a Lesson Here, V4 (i flashed an arete!!!)

Total Points: 50

Durango, Day 2, Saddle Sore

I checked out the local's favorite, Sailing Hawks, on the the second day. It is an open space area inside the city limits with 100+ high quality problems. Simply incredible. My back was jacked up from the yesterday so I mostly took pictures of a local Marlin and his dog -


Location: Sailing Hawks

Problems Sent:

Unnamed, V2, Flash (Warmup Boulder, fun for a traverse linkup)

Left of Legacy, V2, Flash (good movement, topout is chill)

Molder, V3, 2nd go (not great)

Skully Direct, V3, Flash (brilliant)

Laser, V4, Flash (50% smooth sloper, 50% pebble poop)

Wave, V5, 2nd go (play my game = crimp and go)

Bleeding Lip Direct, V5, 2nd go (fun, would've flashed if it was in the guidebook)

Something Wicked Comes This Way, V6, 3rd go (2nd day on = UGH)

Total Points: 30

Problem Tried:

Petrified Prow, V5 (super rad, super steep, i climbed stupid)

El Diablo, V6 (i now know the super secret foot beta)

Bleeding Lip Traverse, V6 (the more I tried it, the more contrived I realized it was)

Durango, Day 1, A Young Gunslinger with Something to Prove

I felt the call of road and rode out to the two horse town of Durango. One factor in my decision was a the presence of a quality bouldering guidebook, a rarity in CO. The climbs were sweeter than soiled dove on a Saturday night, and the grades softer than my ass after two days in the saddle.

I ran into a couple of inspiring local green horns.

They were climbing higballs at their limits.

The easy access was tempered by the oscillating snow storms.

Location: Turtle Rocks

Problems Sent:

Tie Dihedral, V1, Flash (good, snow has stopped)

#5, V2, Flash (Road Boulder, loose slots like vegas)

Yellow Jacket, V2, Flash (great)

Pocket Pool, V3, 2nd go (HIDDEN POCKET)

Pimp Slap, V3, Flash (RAD)

Bird Hole Right, V3, Flash (slab>dyno)

The Low Traverse, V3, Flash (Big East Block, i did a "fall in" move!)

A Brief History ..., V3, Flash (RAAAAD, almost sketched the topout)

Center El Turtle, V6, Flashish (A couple of mulligans on the wrong start holds, once I pulled on went to top)

The Bear, V7/8, Flash (so fun did it twice)

Beckoning the Call, V8, Flash (my butt was on the ground)

Total Points: 41.5

Problem Tried:

The Fin, V6/7, A couple (first move is tricky, super sandy up high)

Compression Session, V7, 30 minutes (1 move=sds to lip, no clue)

Boulder Canyon, Castle Rock Bouldering

I continued my after-work session theme with Boulder Canyon. It would've been a good day to bring the ice tools and a balaclava. The very cool temperatures, with a brisk wind and far bit of moisture in the air, made the rock was stickier than Willie Nelson's tour bus.

Good mixed conditions on "Nintendo"

I focused and dispatched all the moderates with quickness. The Citadel taught me that I need to climb outside ALOT more to translate my strength and technique to real rock. My strength base enables me to give rapid fire attempts. Rapid fire attempts enables me to quickly learn the appropriate technique and send the problem. Strength is FOUNDATION of all physical pursuits. Don't let anyone tell you different. I finished the day with the Colorado Burl 2 sideshow at Neptune's Mountaineering and pints at Southern Sun. The Front Range cannot be beat for sustainable climbing lifestyle.

Route Sent:
SouthWest Arete, V0- (fun)
North Slab, V0, Flash
South Face, V3, Flash (?)
Nintendo, V4, Flash (mixed conditions, shoulda brought my ice tools)
Standard Bulge, V5, 3rd go (couldn't figure out where to go, i traversed way right)
The Citadel, V8, redpoint (<20 min, 1st go with reasonable beta)

Poudre Canyon, As Bad As It Gets

I set out after a solid 1/2 day of work to explore Poudre Canyon. The canyon is different every time (maybe its me). The river is rising rapidly now. I was unable to access lower canyon projects. Fall will offer redemption or more precisely, an opportunity for redemption. That is best I can hope for. Plenty of time to dream and train.

So long until Fall

I made my way far up the canyon to the more established areas. I forced something that wasn't there. Most things were wet. Foolishly thought my steel cable tendons were more important than dry shoes. I was wrong. By the time I found dry problems, I had no confidence. Most of my "game" comes from confidence. I couldn't play my game and lost.

Signs of Spring

Wildlife

I guess ribs were on the lunch menu.

Today was as bad as it gets but it's still pretty fucking good.

Problems Sent: Warm Up Crack, V1, Flash (felt hard, ominous omen)
Downclimb, V1, Flash (Merlin, redemption)
Slopey Mantle, V2, Flash (micro crimp > technique)

Problems Tried: Almost everything on "Warm Up Wall"
Harder They Come, V9, all the moves (figured out two methods -sloper vs jump, exposed weaknesses)
Don't Name This Boulder Problem, V10, all but 1 move (still suck on toe hooks)
Merlin, V7, all the moves (a little rad and a little sharp)