Hi! Thanks for visiting!
We have moved to a new website. Please check us out here:
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Sunday, April 23, 2017
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 |
Friday, April 14, 2017
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!’?
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 |
Friday, April 7, 2017
Southern Utah Sandstone
The first park on our list was Zion, which we visited with
my parents at the end of March. The weather was a bit dodgy but it made for
beautiful skies, and we did a couple short hikes to enjoy the views.
 |
| Short hike to the Emerald Pools |
Then, in early April, we set off to Bryce Canyon for the
first time. We arrived in the evening and hiked through the hoodoos in the last
light of the day. The air was cool and there was snow on the hills, which was
added to the following morning.
 |
| Evening sunlight on the hoodoos |
 |
| Sunshine and snow |
 |
| Wildlife along the Queens/Navajo Combination Loop |
 |
| Hmmmmmmmmm |
 |
| We awoke to morning snow! For camping tips: https://freecampsites.net/ |
Next up was Arches National Park just outside of Moab, in
southeastern Utah. One of the things we really wanted to do while in the Moab
area was climb some desert towers, so we decided that climbing is how we would
experience the park. As we had never climbed a desert tower before, and we
hadn’t climbed on gear in sandstone in over three years, we picked an
entry-level tower as our first. The one-pitch 5.8 crack on the west side of Owl
Rock was perfect.
 |
| Graham getting set to lead |
 |
| Summit selfie :D |
 |
| Owl Rock: Our first desert tower <3 |
 |
| One of Arches' arches |
While pondering what to do next our friend Michael Pang
invited us out to join his campsite in Indian Creek. We hadn’t planned on
driving down to the Creek but in the end we changed our minds. We are so glad
we did.
 |
| Sun rising in Creek Pasture campground, Indian Creek |
The following morning we climbed the South Face (5.6) of the
South Six Shooter – a big step up from Owl Rock in terms of adventure and a
much more impressive feature. The North and South Six Shooters are just outside
of Canyonlands National Park. They are huge, stand-alone towers in the middle
of an expansive landscape. The one hour hike to the base of the climb was one
of the most beautiful approaches we have ever done. The climbing itself on the
South Face was mediocre at best, but the position and summit were amazing. We
also took the opportunity to swap leads on the route, making it the first time
we teamed up together for a multipitch on gear.
 |
| The South (left) and North (right) Six Shooter towers |
 |
| Views along the approach. You can JUST see our tiny van |
 |
| We're gonna climb that thing!!!!!!! |
 |
| Summit selfies again |
In the afternoon we hiked up to meet Michael, Nina, and some
of their friends at Cat Wall. We didn’t bring our rack, rather opting for the
opportunity to spectate and be inspired. It worked – we are inspired, and can’t
wait to come back and learn.
 |
| Washing dishes instead of climbing.... Cat Wall in the background |
 |
| Is Michael Pang teaching us to ring lock or showing us how to make shadow puppets? |
 |
| Nina Caprez on her onsight of Cattle Call (5.12-) |
 |
| hehehe |
Finally, we wrapped up our sandstone tour with a drive and small walk
through the southeast corner of Canyonlands.
 |
| Quick jaunt around Canyonlands NP |
Now we are back in St George to continue to pull down on
those tiny limestone edges with renewed psyche for our projects.
 |
| Just before sunset in Indian Creek |
Monday, March 13, 2017
Bishop 2017
We love this place. Bishop, California:
land of snow-peaked Sierra mountains, rich-smelling desert sage, local donuts,
baked breads, cheesy bagels and frozen yogurt. And beautiful,
beautiful boulders.
We drove four long days from Mexico to
California, to spend the first 10 days of March in Bishop. We were rushing to
make it in time for the 2nd Annual Flash Foxy Women’s Climbing
Festival. We met Shelma Jun, founder of Flash Foxy, last season. After volunteering in
the successful, inaugural year we knew we had to make it back for round two.
The event this year was a blast yet again, with more than two hundred women
descending upon the small mountain town. Thinking you may want to attend next
year? Click here for a quick recap that captures the vibe of the festival.
We traveled to Bishop with Chris, and met
up with several friends including Paul and Janelle, Lea and Katie, and Rich and
Senja, in addition to many new and old friends in town.
 |
| Lea and Katie - girls trip! |
 |
| Some goofballs we hang out with :p |
In climbing, we immediately felt the burn in our bodies that comes from a lack of power when one returns to bouldering following a hiatus, but that burn was a welcome change.
 |
| Hard moves are harrrrrrrrd |
By the end of our seven climbing days we were putting down classics and wishlist items. It was a fantastic short stint, and we (as always) can’t wait for our next visit.
 |
| Kim cranking over the bulge on Erotic Terrorist (V6) |
 |
| Graham finessing his way up Hands-Off Slab (V0) |
 |
| Graham = captain of the toe hooks on Captain Hook (V5) |
 |
| Katie cranking moves over a sea of pads on Mr Happy (V5) |
 |
| Kim tests some precarious heel hook beta on The Clapper (V6) |
 |
| Graham climbing up from the depths on his send of Los Locos (V7) |
 |
| Photo shoot of a photo shoot? Making moves on Paper Crane (V8) |
Now we are off to Utah for the next two and a half months for a mixture of sport climbing, bouldering, trad climbing, and desert towers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)