St George Project Mode 2017

It’s almost overwhelming how much climbing the St George area in southwest Utah has to offer.

When we first checked out St George last spring we visited several of the different crags and sampled tons of spectacular routes. We got SO psyched on all the amazing lines and immediately planned a return visit to the awesome limestone crags for this year.

The Canadian van congregation back for more!

The approach we took this year was different than last. We each set our sights on a couple routes that we’d tried in the past but were too hard for us at the time. It is difficult to project on a road trip because time is always a limiting factor. The pressure is so much higher than projecting at your home crag… and there is the looming reality that you just might not send. You have to be ok with that. 

Another challenge with projecting on the road is that you are almost never sending or climbing on new routes. In the one month we spent in St George we both climbed only about a dozen new lines each.

So what did we put our time into instead? Climbing the same warm-ups at the same crags and giving the same attempts on the same projects over and over and over again. 

Graham sunk his energy into one main route: Breakin’ The Law (5.14b) at the Black and Tan crag. He also worked on two “side projects”, All Dressed Up (5.13d) and Super Loaded (5.13c) at the Cathedral in Welcome Springs. 

Graham climbing through the long arch on Super Loaded (5.13c)

I split my time between two routes I had touched last season, Pucker (5.13c) at the Wailing Wall in Welcome Springs, and Sniffing Glue (5.13c) at Black and Tan. 

Working the crux on Sniffing Glue (5.13c). Photo credit: Yannick Neufeld-Cumming

We both had our own unique experiences working these routes. After making quick progress with sorting out the crux sequences on Breakin’ The Law, Graham proceeded to match his high point in the second crux around a dozen times (spread over multiple sessions). Body worn down and sore after several weeks of repeated bearing down on the route, he took 5 days of rest from hard climbing and we went to Moab. A few days after returning he made the decision to forego Super Loaded for another trip, and then proceeded to send All Dressed Up AND Breakin’ The Law on back-to-back climbing days right before we were scheduled to leave! 

Graham moving into the crux on All Dressed Up (5.13d)

Graham on the send of his big project, Breakin' The Law (5.14b)

I surprised myself with a fairly quick send of Pucker on my tenth attempt, less than two weeks after our arrival. I thought I could capitalize on my psych to fuel attempts on Sniffing Glue, but this route put up MUCH more of a fight for me. Then, just three days after finishing Pucker I accidentally hit one of the crux holds on Sniffing Glue as a mono with my left middle finger and proceeded to pull off it anyways. I immediately felt a twang of pain through my finger, hand, and into my wrist. 

I injured a pulley a couple years ago, but this was my first tendon injury. Fortunately it was fairly minor. I took a week off climbing, and then slowly eased back into it. I was basically feeling good to go after two weeks as long as I didn’t use that finger in isolation. 

On our second to last day, I managed to link all 15 moves of the ridiculously hard opening boulder problem on Sniffing Glue and send the route!!! Psyched! It took me nearly three times as many tries as Pucker. 

SUPER psyched to finish off Sniffing Glue (5.13c) before we left!!

It was rad to spend our time in St George with a bunch of our friends who were crushing their projects as well. In photos, a few of these sick ascents…

Nicole busting out the try hard for her send of Bastard Stepchild (5.12d)

Chris looking casual on Infidels (5.13a)

Kye taking down Talking Smack (5.13b)

Dan crushing Solid Gold (5.14c)

Jakob on the send of his first 5.13a, Space Shuttle to Kolob

Kirsten making the most of climbing despite a pulley injury :(

Yannick sent a ton of stuff this trip and we have no photos... but here he is looking cute with Mona!

It was great to hang out with Tim and Kim for a bit too!! Kim on her send of Raising Cain (5.12b)

Jared had to jet back to Canada in late March, but here he is working the moves on Breakin' The Law before leaving

Breakin' the Law!

About a week ago…

I had one goal in mind for our time in St George: A short and bouldery climb at the Black and Tan cliff called Breakin’ the Law. I don’t know what exactly drew me to this climb in particular, but it was all that was on my mind when we discussed our time in southern Utah.

I had tried this climb last year and had been unable to link the first crux sequence, hadn’t done a single move in the second crux, and was struggling to consistently link the ‘easy’ slab crux near the top.

My old beta in the first crux. Photo credit: Yannick Neufeld-Cumming

Exploding off of the first crux. Photo credit: Yannick Neufeld-Cumming

This year, with the help of Jared’s excellent beta, I started to consistently do the first crux. Shortly after that, I figured out a sequence that worked for me for the second crux and slowly began to get that part consistently as well. The slab crux wasn’t proving to be a problem either.

New crux sequence using toe hook beta that Jared found

Perfect, I thought, this should go quickly! This has not been the case. The difficulty for me revolves around getting perched on a glassy smear with my body in just the right spot to take enough weight off my left hand to move it to a good crimp – what I feel is the last hard move in the second crux. In my mind, if I stick this, I should send.

Trying really really really hard on the smear

However, each attempt seems to go as follows:

Climb through the first crux, grab the two holds at the start of the second crux, tell myself ‘I know I can do this’, grab a small undercling, get my right foot on the glassy smear, rock over the foot….and be unable to find the perfect body position. Thrutch for the crimp, miss, fall, rage. Pull back on at the start of the second crux and climb all the way to the top. Rinse; repeat.

Grabbing that last hold in the second crux

I have done this over a dozen times now…one move away from completing the final crux. Each time I feel like I learn something, which is definitely positive. Still, it is hard to stay psyched as I ask myself how much more I need to learn before I can make the move feel like it does in isolation.

Almost every day we have been in St George (about 4 weeks) at least one of my friends has sent a project of theirs. In that same time, I have completed a grand total of 5 new climbs; all of them were used as warm ups. When we got here, I had decided that I wanted to climb this one route, which would be my hardest ever, instead of doing more climbs of lesser difficulty. Completing this climb, of course, would be a huge step forward in my climbing and would complete my goal I had for this year: climb five 5.14s, one of which is 5.14b. 

What I didn’t expect was the frustration and sadness (for lack of better word) that I would feel seeing everyone else successfully redpointing their projects and having done none of my own. Instead of thriving off the psych of everyone else’s successes, I am constantly asking myself ‘why can’t I send as well?’ I find myself wanting to walk away from Breakin’ the Law and climb something else just so I can have that feeling of success. Is that the right decision? Or is that just the selfish thought of me wanting to show my friends ‘hey I can send something too!’?

Would those little successes of climbing something well below my limit equate to the same feeling as sending my hardest climb ever? Unlikely. I need to remember that the relationship I have been forming with this climb is like any other relationship – it takes work. I need to keep focused and devoted during those low times in order to have the high times. I know I can climb this and I know I am getting close. It will just be a matter of time…

April 13 update…

Three days after pouring my thoughts onto this page I had my best go on Breakin’ the Law. I snagged the final hold of the crux, the decent left hand crimp, only to have my right foot pop off the smear resulting in yet another fall. I hit my knee hard on the lip of the roof on the fall and tore off a massive scab I had healing there, resulting in a bloody mess and some anxiety about repeating the same thing over again.

Ouch...

Another three days after that attempt I successfully redpointed Breakin’ the Law (5.14b), my hardest climb to date.

Sending! Pulling the first crux

Sending! Pulling the first crux

The head wall slab

Division Bell

Summer is drawing to a close and it is time to start wrapping up those projects. September is one of our favourite months of the year for climbing, and Graham took it upon himself to usher in the season of Sendtember with style. So now I get to gush a little...

Graham had been projecting Division Bell (5.13d) at Chek on and off for a couple summers. One of Squamish's Top 100 climbs, it climbs the striking diagonal crack from the bottom left to the top right of the 35-40 degree overhanging "Big Show" wall. The route has two cruxes: the "real" crux just before a midway alcove, and an unforgiving redpoint crux at the second to last draw. 

Stoked to have made some great progress on Division Bell (5.13d) as rains hit the #squamish valley this weekend. Can't wait to jump back on this fun line. #climbing #rockclimbing #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #climbonsquamish #justgoclimb #noplacetoofar #e9climbing #e9clothing #liveclimbrepeat #getoutside #climbinglife

A photo posted by Graham McGrenere and Kim House (@kimstagraham.mcg) on Aug 11, 2015 at 8:16am PDT

The redpoint crux is a major mental challenge that has thwarted many a climber, many a time. Graham fell at this point in the route a number of times, and had this to say about the process and the send: 

"My epic with this route is finally over. It was definitely a mental roller coaster for me. Many beta changes, some unconventional beta in the crux, wobblers, and falling 18 times at the redpoint crux culminated in FINALLY sticking the slopey pinch and making my way to the top. A wonderful start to Sendtember. We had a great group out on a rainy Thursday AND Kim is back in town! I wasn't able to make the finger lock in the crux work for me - see Beta section for alternate beta ;)"  Source: Graham's Sendage

Projecting can be very mentally draining. Falling in the same spot over and over can become discouraging. It is important to remember that progress can be measured by more than just a high point. Tonight that rang true for me after falling for the 15th time in the same spot at the end of Division Bell (5.13d)...but this time I am leaving with renewed psych. 📷 @dan.beland of me pulling the crux on one of many goes last year. #climbing #rockclimbing #climbmoja #grippedmagazine #liveclimbrepeat #iloveclimbing #noplacetoofar #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #justgoclimb #squamish #knowyourroutes #iloooveit #squamishisawesome #climbingisbliss #mecstaffer

A photo posted by Graham McGrenere and Kim House (@kimstagraham.mcg) on May 31, 2016 at 9:26pm PDT

So when a grey and drizzly September 1st rolled around and Graham cruised up the route he had been on dozens and dozens of times to clip the chains at last, we were ecstatic! It was a superb day. I know that Graham (and I) are both super thankful for the ongoing support and encouragement from so many wonderful friends over the course of this (fun!) battle. 

Many thanks to Squamish Climbing Magazine and Gripped Magazine for their supportive shout-outs as well:

http://squamishclimbingmagazine.ca/recent-news-graham-mcgrenere%E2%80%8E-sends-division-bell-5-13d/

http://gripped.com/news/graham-mcgrenere-sends-division-bell-big-show/


Aaaaaaand a few more photos from last week, with photo talent credit going to our good friend Dan :) 

We can't wait to see what the rest of Sendtember will bring :D

Operation Megaproject

Projecting is difficult. Taking on a hard project demands extensive physical strength, stamina and mental fortitude, and of course, projecting involves great risk.

Projecting on a timeline can amplify the difficulties of the process and it certainly heightens the risk of not sending. When visiting a climbing destination it can be scary to launch whole-heartedly into something that pushes one’s limits yet provides no guarantee of success, but it can teach us a lot about ourselves as climbers, our ability to be disciplined and focused, our ability to work under pressure, and most of all our ability to celebrate the process rather than the outcome.

On November 12^th of this year, we had just reached the end of six weeks of sport climbing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. We had climbed a LOT of volume, both onsighting and redpointing a wide variety of routes, and we’d both completed several small projects. We were satisfied with our time in the Red and ready to move on, but with the help of a few beers we made a last minute decision to take on a BIG project. We were in great “Red Shape” after a month and a half and there were abundant options for hard routes. What did we have to lose?

With the possibility of extending our stay two more weeks, we came up with a plan:  we would each pick a route that was more difficult than anything we’d climbed, and we would get to the anchors of that route by whatever means possible to assess the moves and feasibility. Then we would launch ourselves at the route, devoting every climbing day to the project. Other plans included no beer (this lasted about 7 days), rest day runs (this lasted one day), rest day core and opposition work-outs (we stayed on track pretty well), and eight or more hours of sleep each night (no problem!).  

A typical "madness cave" belay experience

Kim chose the iconic arête route “Kaleidoscope” (5.13c) for her project. Graham chose the long enduro-testpiece “Omaha Beach” (5.14a), touted as one of the best routes of its grade in the country, for his project. It was exciting to push ourselves to try really hard, and to focus on one goal. We celebrated the small successes, but we also encountered mental blocks and challenges that were emotionally draining. On Kim’s route one low percentage dynamic move halted progress for several days in a row, and she had to overcome the mental challenge of skipping the final draw, which made the run-out to the anchors a third of the route’s length. Graham’s difficulties were different. Omaha Beach is 130 feet long and climbs through the Motherlode’s Madness Cave, a huge overhanging horseshoe-shaped cave. Graham excels at routes with distinct hard or bouldery cruxes, making Omaha Beach his anti-style - extremely steep sustained V4-5 endurance climbing. Another challenge with any of the routes in the Madness Cave is the huge whippers that are inevitable when a climber peels off. We used all sorts of techniques to help with boinking back to the wall – jumars, belayer weights, boinking prussic, etc, but each time a climber chooses to boink it is still a significant undertaking. 

Graham climbing out through the steepness on Omaha Beach

Kim pinches her way up the arete of Kaleidoscope

Graham prepares for yet another epic "boink"

In the end, our limited time caught up with us. Kim came away with a send on her final climbing day (talk about cutting it close!) and Graham and Omaha decided they needed a bit of time apart to settle their differences, knowing they could reunite some day in the future. 

Kim on her send of Kaleidoscope, her first 5.13c

Regardless of the outcomes, we learned several important things that we will take into consideration the next time we decide to initiate an Operation Megaproject:

1. Start with two projects. Keep one as a primary, one as a secondary.
2. Compartmentalize the route. Break it into boulder problems or sections, then focus on little segments at a time
3. Learn the beta as quickly as possible. Write it down, draw it, or memorize it, then visualize often
4. Spend some extra effort learning how to recover as best possible on the rests
5. Know where the biggest mental difficulties are, and focus extra energy and refinement on those parts so they become the easiest (a hard crux, a dynamic move, a skipped clip, etc)
6. If you and your partner’s projects are at different crags, climb on opposite days from each other
7. In the long term schedule, keep time for onsighting/low-key days and ensure there are enough days to get away, regroup, and still come back
8. Stay positive. Focus on progress, no matter how small, and don’t get dragged down into things that go wrong
9. Try to prevent a forced timeline - start as EARLY as possible in the trip to take the pressure off

We are happy with the experience and looking forward to applying what we’ve learned to the next time we initiate an Operation Megaproject :)

Oh, the woes of projecting

#operationmegaprojecteverythingisawesomeallthetimefuckyeah