National Sovereignty Day

Objective: Climbing Strength

Warm-up: Flash new problems (Int X 4, Adv X7)

Training: System board, 4-6 moves
mono, big
slopers, lower left, wide
crimps, #1

I came back from my roadtrip to find this.
Seriously WHACK!
I'm glad I'm not in a Power Cycle.

Notes: I drove 12+ hours and slept 6- hours yesterday. I was eager to move my body, but wasn't going to crank hard. I opted for simple training. Move from weakest to strongest grip. I realized during my road trip I need to be stronger at full extension. I'm addressing that limiter by skipping one panel laterally as I move up.

During my session, a couple of girls sat under the session board to put on their shoes. I thought no problem. I can wait a minute before continuing to train. They start talking, still not a problem. Then one of the girls starts crying. WTF!!! I can handle Frat boys campusing the Recreation problems. I can handle the posses of Bros and Bras projecting everything to death. I cannot handle a girl crying under the system board. You can only cry under the session board if you pulled a tendon. Maybe.

New Training Cycle & A Birthday Challenge

I'm back in CO and ready to start to a new training cycle. My previous Power/Strength cycle went well. I sent like a mad man bouldering and could easily pull all the moves during onsights (if I read them correctly). I know I should take some time off, but I'm very psyched. The focus of the new cycle is Power Endurance for some upcoming adventures.

I'm home for week and then off to Lander, WY for the International Climber's Festival. In addition to onsighting some rad limestone, I will be attending Climb Strong!

Then it's Birthday Challenge time. It is my big 3-0. After my CrossFit-centric Challenge last year, it is a climbing only Challenge this year. I'm onsighting 30 routes in a day. There was a suggestion, by Elijah, that I do off-widths only. I know B-day Challenges are about suffering, but I'm sticking to clip-ups. The tentative date is August 6 in Lander, WY. Mark your calenders.

This cycle will last 4 weeks. Given the focus is Power Endurance for onsighting, the session breakdown is: 3 strength (no power), 6 power endurance, 4 endurance, 5 performance, and 13 rest days. This is just guideline. It is usually thrown out the window the first week. The paucity of performance days is due to the following facts: it is hot, I don't want to drive 45+ minutes to climb, and I need to show up to work every once in a while.

One more thing, I'm competing in the State of America Games in Olympic Weightlifting on August 1. I'll be training Oly Lifting 3x a week. It is much easier to program and prepare for Olympic Weightlifting meet than climbing or a Birthday Challenge (That is odd because in the traditional sport conditioning world Oly lifting is one of the most difficult things in training and program design.)

As always, feedback is welcome.

Tuolumne Meadows, Too Many Mosquitoes and A Fair Share of Egos

Objective: Performance

Day 1

Location: Low Profile Dome & Puppy Dome

Routes: Golfer's Route, 7, onsight (TR)
Darth Varders Revenge, 10a, onsight (TR)
Orange Face (?), 10c, flash (TR)
Memo from Lloyd, 11a/b, flash (TR)

Some bouldering including Bachar Mantle, V3

Day 2

Tenaya Peak

Dan K. attempted a "free ariel" on the Bachar Ladder

Dan and Evan being dumb on a slippery rock in the middle of river.
At least Evan is on YOSAR, he could rescue himself.

Great Granite Bouldering

Tenaya Summit

I was very tired and dehydrated on the descent.
Remember, the summit is only the halfway mark.

Notes: Alex and I joined Dan and Evan for two days in Tuolumne Meadows. I love the high Sierras, a great adult outdoor playground. Two drawbacks, mosquitoes and egos (at least there is bug spray for the mosquitoes). By egos, I mean the people that developed the area decided to make most routes scary. It is just plain stupid to bolt routes that can hurt people. I guess it would ruin the aesthetics to have one more piece of metal in the rock or I'm not really a climber because I don't want to cheese grater for 20+ft. Whatever. I'll enjoy my day by being a Toprope Tough Guy.

While I'm ranting, trad climbers are weak. A crew of us got on "Memo from Lloyd", 11a/b. The two sport climbers, Dan and I, flashed it easily. I jammed my way up it, and Dan pinch/liebacked it. Either way, we sent. The "trad" climbers were strugglin'. If you want to get good at trad, clip some (closely spaced) bolts for a couple of months. Your proj will be easy. Don't just take my advice, ask Ethan Pringle, Sonnie Trotter, or Matt Segal.

We finished the day with some "bouldering." I flashed "Machine World" V3, "Puppy Crack" 5.7, and bunch of other problems (I don't know the names). The highlight was Bachar Mantle, 3rd try. It is a jump start to mantle over talus, then 20+ft of slab. I was glad to have pads, spotters, and Alex yelling, "You have strong legs". I may not be the strongest monkey in the jungle, but I feel like my strength, technique, and mental game are well balanced.

The next day Alex and I climbed Tenaya Peak. It was my second time, but Alex's first. Alex stepped up her game by leading the bottom 2/3s. I simo-climbed behind her. We pitched out the end. Fun day but the heat and mosquitoes sucked. Any form of alpinism is suffering.

Lake Tahoe, Day 8, Gettin' Some

Objective: Performance

Routes Sent:Warpath, 9, onsight (super super rad, long, steep, great warm-up)
Mohawk, 10a/b, onsight
Undercooked, 11b, onsight (rad, big move crux, didn't get pumped)
Eat the worm, 11c, redpoint (4th try, should've been 2nd)

Total Points: 18.5

Routes Tried: Overcooked, 11d, 1 try (extension to Undercooked)
Raindance, 12a, 4 tries (still suck at redpointing)

Freaky space alien plant near Big Chief

I was a little afraid of this plant, also.

Alex flashing one of the best 5.9s in the world

Goodbye to Great Cragging Views

Notes: Spent the last climbing day in Lake Tahoe at Big Chief. Played the game right by getting the crag early before it went into the sun. Warpath is so goooood. Undercooked went so well, I tried to onsight the Overcooked extension. It is harder and lower quality. I fell between the last bolt and the chains, AGAIN. NEGATIVE!!!

I tried to flash Raindance but didn't receive the best beta. I couldn't get the suboptimal beta out of my head on subsequent attempts. By the time I figured out my way, I was too tired to send. I tried to onsight Eat the Worm but it was in the sun. Then I didn't rest long enough between the next couple of tries. I need to settle down and get things done.

Lake Tahoe, Day 5-7, Slip Slidin' Away

Day 5

Location: Grouse Slab

Routes:
Rocco's Demise, 10b, 2nd go (soloed a gully to set TR, short, hard, pure friction slab)
Insidious Crack 6, follow (fun, kinda hard)
Cream Puff, 10b, 1st try (TR, friction slab)
Caifura, 9+, onsight, trad (like the The Grack, fun, forget small nuts and didn't place gear until 30ft)

Day 6

Location: Big Chief

Routes:
War Paint, 9, onsight (long and rad)
Witch Doctor, 10c/d, onsight (short, steep, and burly)
Pow Wow, 11a, onsight (the steepest 11a I've been on, super rad)
Peace Pipe, 11d, 1 try (fell between last bolt and chains, NEGATIVE)

Cliff went into the sun.

Random Bouldering in Tahoe Donner (pretty rad, but semi-Private Property)

Day 7

Location: Black Wall, aka the hell approach

Routes:
Cannibal Gully, 7, follow (would be a little scary to lead)
Primer, 9+, onsight, trad (super rad)
Lubrication, 9, onsight, trad (a little wide, but I like that)
Rhythm Killer, 12a/b, epic fail (I was not warm and was shredding)

Alex getttin' some steep goodness at Big Chief

Drop it like it's hot

Big Chief and Little Princess

Bouldering 5 minutes from the cabin

Looking in vain for a topout jug

Distractions from climbing

Notes: Falling into the road trip trap with a series of mediocre days. Medium amount of climbing at medium levels.

Big Chief is a super rad crag. It is steep, well-featured volcanic rock, very much my style. It is disappointing to find out about the cliff near the end of the trip.

I'm taking a rest day and will rage against the dying of the light.

Video Evidence

Lake Tahoe, Day 4, Bouldering is Easy

Objective: Performance

Boulders Flashed: V2 X 6
V3 X 3
V4 X 2
V5 X 1
(Most problems in Tahoe don't have names.)

Flash Points: 34

Boulders Sent: V4 X 1 (2nd go)
V6 X 1
V7 X 3 (2nd go, 3rd go, < hour)

Redpoint Points: 31

Total Points: 65

Boulders Tried: V5 (did all the moves, couldn't put it together)

Zero Approach - Check
Flat landing - Check
Staircase descent - Check
Grades from VB-V11 - Check

In bodybuilding, they call this "back double biceps pose".
In bouldering, they call this "wedge yourself in the dihedral."

Big Move

Aesthetics

Beta = Sending

Notes: Went a minor bouldering rampage today. Thanks to my record keeping I'm able to see progress from a similar trip to Lake Tahoe last fall. Last fall, it took me 7-10 tries to send a V7. Today, I was able to send in 2-5 tries. Very close to my 2009 goal of flashing V7. I didn't feel very tired at the end of the day and my skin was still in reasonable shape. All the training helps.