Leavenworth/Gold Bar Video

Some footage has been posted earlier, but most is new. Enjoy!

Bishop!

Wow, last week was not long enough! On this trip to Bishop, Team Oly comprimised of Me, Kevin, Micah, Derek, Jeremy, Reese, and Olcay! After running into four snow storms on the way down we missed Derek and his crew, so we decided to head to the Buttermilks. After warming up on the Iron Man Traverse V4, the best problem in Bishop, Kevin stepped up to the plate and flashed the testpiece fo his first Bishop Send! After a quick inspection, Fly Boy was icy so we moved over to Soul Slinger where Micah and Kevin made quick work to the crux, but once again the top out was icy. Next we migrated over to Evilution to the Lip V10, and got to work. The first throw to a right hand crimp took awhile to dial in, but two burns later Dan was giving me all the beta and I clawed my way to the lip! This is such a cool wall, steep, incut crimps, and flat landing! Perfect! Next was a quick trip to the happies where we played around on Jug start to acid wash right V7. After a cold night camping by the sads we finally met up with Derek, Jeremy, Reese and Olcay.

Day two was spent at the Happies and after an impresive send of the Hulk V6 by Kevin(with new beta) I began to mess around on Disco Diva V8 with Sam from the Stone Gardens climbing team, Derek and Micah. After watching a super tall dude cruise I borrowed the beta, and with some minor improvisions(dyno) sent this tricky and fun line! After watching some good burns on Morning Dove White we headed around the corner to Every Color you Are V6, a fun powerful line. After a sending I tried Mr. Witty V6, a highly technical V6 that shut me down cold. Shout out to Jeremy for crushing this line! Before leaving the Canyon we swung by Atari V6, a line I've been meaning to do for years. It was well worth the effort(glad to flash too, the fall is a complete miind trip!)

Day three was spent at a new spot for me called the sad Boulders. I instantly fell in love with this sector on some though provoking yet powerful warm ups. First up was Rio's Crack V6, and after a foot slip, sent this crimp line next go! Also, Olcay pulled out a surprised send right before we moved the pads too! Next was Pow Pow V8, another classic that involved compression and it went first go. The problem had such great moves and perfect incuts, Sweet! Then we migrated down into the ice caves. Beefcake V10 was the objective and after blindly(almost) finding the sequence I climbed all the way to the finish jug and snagged it by the tips! After a refresh the line went second go. I would've liked to stay and try the other lines but the sun was heading over the horizon and the mercury was falling.

The last two days were spent in the Milks, I was pretty sore by then and my fingers didn't exactly want to to crimp anymore. Micah and Olcay both dispatched High Plains V7 which was fun to watch. Kevin also flashed Smooth Shrimp V6/5, and Micah sent promptly. I then convinced Kevin to Project Bubba Gump V10/9 with me and I came close but not close enough to the final crimp.

The trip was fun except for the ever present snow on basically every high hill on the drive to and from Bishop. I've also noticed my style of climbing on trips like these have changed. I now prefer to spend all day on one problem, suss out the beta, then send later on that day or trip. I love how every problem in Bishop seems classic, more or less solid, and contains fun movements. Now, I can't wait to come back next winter and try the harder and more classic lines. Hopefully some climbing team kids as well as Lisa could come to and have a blast as well as crush some of these world Class Bouldering lines. Thanks again to Micah for driving down and to the whole Team Oly, it was a fun and hilarious trip, which keeps Bishop special.
Olcay on Morning Dove WhiteOlcay sending Rio's Crack in the Sads
A View from the volcanic tablelandKevin on High Plains Drifter

Not to many pictures this time, but lots of sending/sun bathing, a video of some sends will be posted soon...

Leavenworth: Hit or Miss II

Cotton Pony Pointer(almost) from Jimmy C. on Vimeo.

Well, on Sunday David and I completed our second day trip to Leavenworth. Warming up in forestland and once again seeing Johnny who stayed and said the weather was fine, we deciced to stay next time around. This time around it seemed everyother problem from Friday was dry. Luckily for David Back Door Ass Attack Low V8 was dry. This line had been a long term project of his and after a couple minutes of chalkin' and scrubin' to help dry the little dampness left, he sent!
Next up was another search for dry rock, with both Angolina and Turbulance being soaked it was back to Beautification V11? With some new beta I slipped off the finish rail once again and decided till wait till spring to come back and (hopefully) send this cool looking line. After a quick stop at Pretty Boy V7 (finally), we headed back up Canyon to Twisted Tree V7 where Jeremy made amazing progress, coming so close to sending, but slipping just short of the victory crimp!
The day was winding down and I decided to stop at the Cotton Pony Pointer, a line i had checked out earlier. After a couple 'I can do this burns' I linked the start to the big throw. Next burn my hand slipped of the razor sharp crimp and the onset of pain became everpresent after each successive burn. The best burn was sooo close but the body tension gave out! The vid is of two good burns(filmed on Jeremy's camera) spliced together.
On the way home, kinda cool. Next stop BISHOP!

Leavenworth: Hit or Miss

The plan for Friday was to go to gold bar, but as we aproached the town on highway 2 the rain made it clear we were going to be driving for another hour. Not to worry, but as we drove into the Forestland Parking lot and hiked to the boulders, most were wet! David and I had a fun warm session at Sunny and Steep boulder and than hiked on down into the very crispy shade and watched Johnny on a new project right of Busted V8, which David came close to sending, doing all the moves but not linking. Next up was JY and by the looks of things it hadn't rained here. After we epicced on Right Angles V8 we moved on up to Mad Max V7 and with some good friction I managed to send it! Next was Beautification which happened to dry out by now. This is a really stellar looking line and after some burns, I began comitting to the huge move and came close to sending, slipping off the slanting jug.
With some daylight left we moved over a little bit to the WAS boulder. After a couple good burns, David SENT! I also manged to finish it off as well as Is, which was exciting due to a wet top out.

Was V8

Leavenworth lights as we leave town

Leavenworth: Beating the Rain

Friday with 1/2 a tank of gas leftover from the impromptu Gold Bar trip, I put in the rest and headed on a solo trip to Leavenworth. I left Oly after class and arrived at the Millenium boulder a little after noon. After a warm up in nice, cold temps, I hauled my three pads up to Droppin' the Kirschbaum V10. After a couple warm up goes(and slipping off the lip) I manged to do all the moves on the sloping lip traverse back to the finish, a new high point! Few burns later i was standing in the off-width finish!
Next up I checked out Angelina Jolie V12 and made goo progress up the sloping ramp with just two moves to the finish! I then called it a day and checked out Turbulence V12 which i'm very excited about trying this weekend, The Cotton Pony Pointer V10, which I decided I wanted a spot for to prevent rolling down the embankment to the road. And also the V10 on the Hand boulder, the one move looks BIG.
Saturday night the light tapping of rain on the roof of the Pilot turned into steady rain and I knew Saturday was done for. So after getting up and stopping by Swiftwater(stuff was dry but felt too lazy to get wet) I made a very long trek home over Highway 2. I stopped off at every other Forest service road and re-found some cool blocks. There is some potential off of the trail to Mildred Lake, as well as Smithbrook. Here are the photos from smithbrook! Can't wait till summer!
The Pilot
The second talus field, contained two boulders, the other 50 yards to the left
3 feet from the road. Potential start on flake and up the arete.
The big boulder is 20-25 feet tall, arete!
The whole first Talus field. There is also another Talus field across the stream with potenital for sport climbing, and maybe some more boulders!

Gold Bar: Unfinished Buisness

With class canceled on Wednesday, Derik, David Allwine, Kevin and I were able to leave early than expected and go bouldering. It was a toss up between Upper Gold Bar or Leavenworth and gold bar won. So with the mondo, a double, and two triples we made the moderate hike up to the boulders. Fraggle Rock was the first stop and after a quick warm up, Obesity V7 and Obesity direct V8 went down. I tried Obesity three years ago on my first trip here, we drove a minivan up, and haven't been back to the boulder since. David also sent in a couple burns.
Next up was Doja V7 and Doja low V8 which both went first burn of the day. I've tried these lines previously but never had enough firction/umph. The send train was arriving. First was David, than Derik, and after a dab Kevin!
I then tried Twisted V10 and Equinox V10 but failed, miserably. I'm pretty confident they'll both go when the sun isn't beam'm on the holds and with some fresh guns. And I'm still really psyched to hike back up to them!
Next we took shelter in the Sanctuary and headed to the Samurai Boulder. First up was Samurai V4 and both David and I sent. Than we all projected Hagakuri V8 and after some beta refining, I sent! With some time to kill Kevin and I both flashed Road to Zion V5 and by then the sun was setting fast, but not fast enough to stop David from giving Ross Bongo V8 a couple burns. He has it in two parts and the next sunny day he'll send it for sure.

Edgeworks: Blacklight Bouldering

This past Saturday, the WRG climbing team, Me, and Lisa competed in Edgeworks' annual blacklight bouldering challenge. This year there were cash prizes for open. So I ended up competeing and then realized the likes of Sean McColl and Johnny G ventured on down. Well when the chalk settled I came in third and $10 richer($40 dollar entry fee), I also caught a t-shirt, revolution chalk bag, and a cool frisbee. Thanks to Art for his beta, I completed 750 pointer on burn #5! The problems were really well set and there weren't to many crimps! The climbing team did pretty well too. I'm psyched to try the rest of the problems next Wed after a couple Leavenworth trips.

Media

Here are some pics from Gold Bar, Lisa on 5 Star Arete V6

Gold Bar: Return to the River

It's been awhile since we went due to our comp so here's an overview with pictures coming soon!
On Sunday, Lisa David Allwine, and My Mom all headed out to the Gold Bar. Our first stop was the Index River Boulders. After doing some cool warm ups Lisa and David began sessioning Lego My Ego V7. The plan was to stay only an hour so I could finish off Chutzpah V11 and then head over to the east side for David's and Lisa's projects. Well when the hour was up Lisa and David were still on Lego! So we eventually meandered on down to the river and I sent Chutzpah, which seemed rather easy, first go of the day. Up next was the V8 and after some good attempts sent as well! Next up was Flower V8 and it kicked me but Lisa fell off the finish!
Lisa and Mom hiked back up to the car for Lunch and meanwhile David returned to Lego and sent! Good day, I then followed suit and joined him atop the boulder. We then decided to go to the 5 star since Lisa never been. It was a good descion. Lisa sent the 5 star arete V6 in a couple burns. I then sent Kambucha V7 and Ground Zero V8. Both David and Lisa seshed Ross Bongo V8 and will definitely send next trip. All in all it was another good trip to one of the most scenic bouldering areas of Washington. We also stopped off at Zeke's burger joint, a little pricy, a little greasy, very good!

Now I plan on watching the Leavenworth weather and begin some finger training for BISHOP!

Gold Bar: Weekday Win

Class was cancelled due to the professor being out of town so what better thing to do than go bouldering, right? I was able to find Kevin with an open day in his work Schedule and it was a go. Also, Miles and some of his friends were going to meet us up at the 5-star. After a quick interaction with State Patrol, we made our way to the 5 star boulders which still has an erie silence around due to the lack of ORV/tricked out Jeeps going by. We warmed up on the V2 arete once again taking the whimp low exit due to the ever-present moss encroaching on the full version.
Now it was time for buisness. Kevin and I had previously vistited the boulder over summer, and left two projects unfinished. After a couple warm up burns Kevin dispatched Sobriosity V6 and then I got to work on Ebriosity V11. After falling off the finish move twice, I re-sussed my beta a handful of times and sent next burn! SWEET! Both of our porjects went! Next Miles arivved with Jared and Louis. Miles got to work on Ebriosity and Jared did and did. He sent in a couple burns as well. Meanwhile after a warm up burn on the first move of Ross Bongo V8-, I sent it and it felt extremely easy?!? Kevin said so at least (I guess I was in sport mode last time or the 80 degree heat).

It started to heat up a little and so Miles Suggested the river boulders and so we headed on down. Last time, Meg Kevin and I checked the boulders out and they looked awesome. First up was Hagakure V8 and it is a two mover that is definitely friction dependent, winter? So next we migrated on down to Chutzpa V11. This is a classic water pollished line that requires some serious core. After getting som beta from Miles we managed to get to the top out(crux) quickly and then began sessioning. After a couple good goes I found my sequence and came within 1 wrap of the victory crimp! Now I have tow climbs that I'm one away from doing! And Back at the 5 star, Kevin almost flashed Green Padded Ass V6 but skipped the crucial crimp and sent a few goes later! Here is the UNEDITTED footage of the almost flash and the send of Ebriosity.

(Videos coming, Library too slow)

Leavenworth: Still not Fall...

With sweat starting to form on my back from hiking around in full sun up granite pillows, I realized that Fall has yet to return to Leavenworth. The drive to the end of Icicle Road was surround by the changing leaves though. Friday I made my first solo trip to Leavenworth to get a campsite for the family for the weekend. After setting up camp it was high noon and a good 80 degrees. Not motivated I drove to the end of Icicle and looked for some new rock. Didn't find much besides a handful of V0's but I look forward to the road opening back up in 2011 and for all the underbrush/rattlesnakes to disappear which will make searching easier.

Well I decided I shoudn't waste all day and decided to tie up some more loose ends on the Millennium Boulder. After warming up on the easy climbs I gave 2001, a crimpy V4, a go and managed a quick send. Up next was the Milennium Traverse V8 and after a couple burns sent as well. And since I was parked by the Lonely Fish boulder I meandered on over to Dirty Dude and after many a burn remembered my beta and got so close to the crimp once again yet fell short. So I then decided to trek up the hill to Droppin' the Kirshbaum V10. After trying the start I did the first move! Progress! Then I sussed it out some more and found my super toe hook and worked my way to the cool pinch in the guide book picture. Next I climbed the tree and worked on the final sloper traverse, making it half way. A few tries later I linked everything together falling two moves short of the top out section! I called it good and packed up and headed back to the camp site to make a fire in only two tries(with lots of pine needles)!
Saturday and Sunday were spent mostly messing around on easier stuff. My skin was dead and my muscles were achy so I decided I'll just come back next weekend. Lisa and David Allwine met us up there and David came amazingly close on Back Door Ass Attack Low V8 but couldn't pull the mantel. Lisa and Jack also came close on Pimpsqueak V9 but just needed some better friction. I'm excited for this weekend which has better temps in the forcast but rain for Sunday, we'll see...

Leavenworth: The Practitioner...

Ah, it's nice to be back in Leavenworth, well, for the most part. As the years have passed, so have the amount of new problems in the valley for me and Micah to try. Micah, Dom Luara and myself made the trek over Snoqualmi pass and landed in 70 degree temps! Friday was just Micah and myself and we decided to hit up Forestland. After doing the normal warm up we tried a new V9 called The Crimpy Thing. It seemed hard and neither of us sent but it didn't feel impossible. After this we moved up to the Practitioner V11. After a mess up on the flash attempt I managed to get right below the final crux slap to the lip second go! If I had better beta I have no doubt in my mind this would of went second go. But, due to some soreness from Wed.'s ring workout, it had to wait till day 2.

Saturday was a different story. After a few warm up burns I sussed out some new beta for the finish which involved a heel hook to move my left hand to the good hold, which was my original beta minus the heel hook. Two burns later I was proudly standing on top! This is a really sweet compression problem that is right up my ally and I'm so glad I had enough juice and strength to send it. I knew spending all spring in the gym would have benefits but I never expected anything like this! So, just like the ropes wave, I'm going to ride the boulder wave all the way to Bishop...

Dom and Micah also had some close, but almost, sends as well. One notable attempt was Dom coming out of nowhere almost flashing the jib! After doing the crux, according to me, he fell on the difficult finish moves and afterwards didn't have enough juice to put it together. Also, he took a nasty fall on to me and Micah will have footage posted soon. Micah was an unmotivated Jimmy and repeated some classics but other than that was constantly thinking about Californication 13a. This would be an awesome first 13a for him. It's not the hardest 13a around if you have the proper endurance and Micah is ready to send! Hopefully he'll send this soon so I can get my boulder/spotter back! And, thanks again to Micah and his Subaru because with out them I wouldn't have been able to do over half of the climbs/trips. Thanks bro...

There will be a trailer for Crunked Climbs 20-10 soon!

Updates: Good Bye Summer...

Well, the summer has finally gone away for another year and fall is slowly rolling. Just look out the window and you'll see the ever present rain and gray, gray clouds. After Squamish I went back to Little Si twice and felt really unmotivated and decided to call it quits for 2010 at WW1. It was a fun two month ride and I really enjoyed it and plan on repeating the process next summer. Congrats to Micah on sending his long term project, Cali 5.12d!

With the rain comes plastic and I have been less than motivated for that as well. I plan on finishing the traverse within a month, good goal no? The new climbing team finally came together with a few new faces too. They'll do fine again this year and they'll be fun to watch as well. Also, we now have an after practice ring session and it was brutal and good. I'm planning on this workout to help me get a little more power for bouldering and it is fun, if not historical at times, too. The best way to train and improve is to surround yourself with other climbers who are just as psyched and motivated to do so. They don't have to be pulling 5.12 or V13, but it certainly helps, but just plain PSYCHED! Last night seeing a dozen eager faces all wanting to get as strong as possible has re-amped my psyche and has kept me motivated to stay with the gym, working as well as climbing. I feel the investment is worth it. If the community isn't there, someone has to build it right? Just my thoughts...

Squamish: II

Getting into the Forester I was thinking; why am I leaving, I just want to stay, for the second time this year. The first time this thought occurred was when i was leaving Bishop and felt like an idiot cramming back into the jeep and heading back to the rain city of Olympia, I already miss the real dedicated climbers, the amazing blocs, the relentless routes, and the climber scene.

This weekend Micah and I made the return journey back to Squamish and, unlike last time, found a campsite! Things were looking great already! We threw up our tents and marched out to the boulders. Our first stop was the Rookie V8 and after a couple minutes of debate of where the starting hold was, I flashed my way to the top! Micah gave it a few burns but had problems getting over the scary-factor of some of the moves. Then the rain came and after a slightly drenching sprint to the car, we decided to go and check out this new area called Paradise Valley, 5 miles north of town. So we got our rain gear ready for no reason! The place was bone dry! So we replaced our jackets for pads and checkout the rock lady, a long vertical face boulder. It had some cool probs and some very technical ones too. Micah fell in love and we came back here later.

Up next was the rope day and we visited the Sport Temples sister crag, Pleasure Dome. After a some what intricate onsight of the warm up I set my sights on the classic 13a Ibiza. After a longer than expected hang dog sesh it was time to red point. coming up to the first crux i hit the hold but my fingers screamed pain! and I let go. After pulling this move I took once more to clip and then made to the top. It was hard to let this one slip away but it'll be there next year, and so will my skin. After this it was going tot be a rest day afternoon and we headed back to paradise valley where Micah did some crushing on a V8 called Storm Trooper and flashed a V7! He hit his stride on these problems. Then we moved on to a cool steep problem called the fridge V7. This became a mini epic send for me getting to the last moves and not seeing a way to the slanted jug. So relying on what trad skills I have, I finger jammed with my left hand and then crossed over with my right to the victory jug! I then took the rest of the day off.

Saturday was my project day and it was to focused around Worm World Cave Low V10. I had previously sent worm world last trip and really wanted to do the low start. So we spread out the pads and i go to work. Micah kinda rembered some of the starting beta which wasn't working for me, so i tried it my way. After sticking this move I worked the begginnig in three pieces and then went for it. I got all the way into Worm World proper but din't know what to do after hitting the crimp, I then fell in desperation. After this i hopped right back on here, found the heel hook, and sent next burn, giving every move full effort to stay on. This is a problem that I was really psyched for and glad to have sent for my first solid V10. After this Micah tried a few problems and sent The Rail Thing V7 and then we headed over to the Rookie. Micah got started on this and I began trying the new beta I figured out over night. And after a few burns I was manteling over the lip! Another V1o, soft but whatever. Two in a Day! After this we ran into Sam and Audrey from Vertical World and tried a cool V7 caled styx that Micah sent 2nd go!

The last day I was wasted and didn't get on much besides a V8 dyno and a classic V4, both I was too lazy to put my shoes on for. Micah on the other hand was crushing left and right. After sending a V4 he went on to send V4, V5 and V6! I can't wait to start hitting up Gold Bar and Leavenworth this fall inbetween homework sessions and then the Bishop trip! No footage once again because its being saved for Crunked Climbs 20-10

Squamish: Buisness before Pleasure...

It felt good to be back in Squamish. The land of no holds, body tension, and the heel hook. For 3 days Micah and myself lost a good amount of skin on the cool granitic blocs of Squamish. All in all it was a good trip and a good portion of it was caught on camera for Crunked Climbs 20-10.

Day 1 began with an epic adventure to find camping and we eventually pitched our tents behind a camper and called it good. We started off in the Grand wall boulders so I could finish off the classics Worm World Cave V9, and then Gibs Cave V8. We also spent some time on ATD which we both fired off. Micah had some pretty high ambitions for this trip and I had none. The first two days were rough for him but now he is REALLY psyched on bouldering and it'll be good to see what the new 2010 Micah busts out this fall. The second day we checked out a new area to us, North Walls, and found some cool classics and the place had a very Gold Bar feel and look. We tried some stuff and I managed a send of the classic Squealing Pork V7. Then on our way in to town,to kill some time, we stopped off at the local gear shop and Micah gave in and bought the new guide to the boulders.

The following day was supposed to be ropes but in the end it was another bouldering day. We checked out the sport temple at Chek and it is definitely a cool crag and it has some hard problems. I managed to send the 13a First Blood second go after dogging to the chains. After this Micah couldn't wait any longer so we headed out to the grand wall boulders so he could finish up the V8. After his send we migrated back to the North Walls and he seshed out a V7 and I threw myself at a, very, soft V10 and sent after 15 or so burns.

All in all it was a great trip especially with the rain holding off in the distance the entire time. I'm now psyched on the short stuff but will still hit up chek and then 32 on a regular basis until it is too cold. For now it's back to Squamish, and then a 4-5 day trip to Leavenworth, 32 on Thur back to Leav... Oh yeah, and School...

Newhalem: Granite, almost...

Well, actually Newhalem is gneiss and in my opinion it's highly similar to granite in every way except for the texture, the stuff is smooth! After overgripping every other hold on the warm up I decided to just trust the smearies and, well, it worked well. Saturday, the hard core oly crew of Micah, Lisa and Me all piled into the subi for a longer than excepted drive to the sticks for some non little si sport clippin'. When we eventually arrived at the smallish cliff it blew me away! The climbs looked clean and easy to read plus they were highly over bolted(YES!). We threw Lisa on the warm up, Luna an excellent 5.11a, for the onsight and she did really well deciphering the cray moves all the way to the chains. Next, to keep the trend, we asked/persuaded her to try the 13a OSX first and she put the draws up to the crux. Micah went next and managed the slab but was too scrunched at the crux. I went next and flashed to the jug but only managed to get a pad in and then fell. After a quick sess to the top I sent next go and was happy to go to a new crag and do a 13. It is not really a sport climb, more like a V6, but what ev.

Next up was Lisa's adventure on a 12d which we found out later is a deemed classic, Cinnamon Grove 12c, but after getting shut down in the lower 1/4 part we had to call it quits due to a time frame. I look forward to trying to onsight this beast in the future. After this I was up on a cool 12b called shoe phone. After pulling the very cool first crux, I balanced my way up the top slab and to the chains! My first 12b onsight on probally the most classic(minus the slab) 12b I've ever done! The crux sequence is so cool! Then Lisa gave it a few burns and core shot the rope and had an impromtu lower. Next up was Micah who sussed out the crux but had problems on the slab. I then onsighted the 12b to the left, 12c for a day, and then roped solod(scary) a 10+ to get some draws back. All in all it was a good and fun day for me and I think Micah and Lisa had fun but they seemed to struggle with the lack of footholds and the ocasional power move on the vert/slably walls. I hope to come back here and clean up the rest of the 12s and proj. the 13s.

Also, the dedicated Oly climber crew is always looking for anyone who wants to get out for the purpose of rock climbing let me know, we always love fresh psyches! Come and join the projecting club!

Little Si: Send Train...

Saturday, I think, made Little Si history for the most hard red points in one day. B-Hops Pornstar 5.13d, me Flatliner 13c, Alex Black Ice 13c, me Lizard Prince 13b, Dom Gerbil Killer 13a, Drew and O-town Psychosamtic 12d, and Josh Technorigine 12c! Wow, now thats a lot of Red Points!

Saturday was a good day for me, after an iffy day on thur I was glad to get back on Vanilla Ice 13a and I was getting Mentally prepared for a battle. Well things turned out different. WW1 was semi packed with a good vertical world crew. I wasn't able to do my Pyscho warmup and Bust the Move was occupied so I mixed things up and did Abo and went for a repeat of Chronic. Well, I managed to get to the chains, bust out 5 crimps moves, and hang on while doing 10+ climbing to the chains of Lizzard Prince! Then I gave Vanilla a go and fell due to nerves which is ok, i took the (mini) fall!

Then, well, it got awesome. After watching Dom crush Gerbil I still couldn't get on Vanilla so I said what the hell and hopped on Flatliner 13c. Well i managed to do psycho with less effort than ever and chilled at the changes more for mental reasons than pumpage. After doing the entry moves I shook at the mid route rest and then entered the crux. I stuck the micro crimp and held it together till the finish! I was so glad to have sent and the feeling didn't wear off till the next day. Scott, Nicholas and Micah also made some good progress too. So the current line up is Vanilla Ice 13a, Extended Illness 13c, Black Ice 13b/13c, Porn Star 13d(maybe)...

On a side note, Crunked Climbs 20-10 is in the works and will have a gym preview spring 2011.

Little Si: Another hot one...

Sweating while attempting to shake out half way up ww1 is not high on my to do list. I have to say this is probably the last time I'll go to little si in 80 plus temps. Lake coushman seems more inviting from now on. But regardless of Washington summer heat, it was still a good day. We had a good oly crew compromised of me, Dom, Micah, Nicholas, and Antono. Nicholas sent Graven Image 12c, I sent Bust the Rhythm 12c and Viagro 12b, Dom sent viagrophobia 12d, Antono onsighted abo 11b. All in all an ok day.

Little Si: New Proj.

This was the first time driving solo to north bend. The plan was to pick up Nicholas and then go to either 32 or 38. Well due to some rather hot temps, we decided on a WW1 day. I got back on flatliner and up to the gaston and then let go. I'm just going to have to commit and huck to the micro crimp and see what happens. I also decided to try Vanilla Ice 13a but whimped out at the runout crux. Alex Fritz arrived and after sussing the beta, sent 2nd go! I'm glad that this line shouldn't take to long but I'm not too worried either way. Then I'll have to give black ice a few burns once vanilla ges. So the line up is flatliner, vanilla ice, black ice, oval orfice or something. By the way, one month(or sub 70 temps) and counting till return to the boulders...

Little Si: 8a

chronic finally went yesterday! I'm really glad to have sent this rad line and plan on trying the variations later. Now I really want to start working flatliner and send(hopefully) by end of August.

Meanwhile Lisa and Micah made outstanding progress on Cali. and both one hanged it. As of now, it's to close to call who'll send first but my money is on Micah because it'll be awhile till Lisa returns.
Nicholas and myself are heading up to crawling tomorrow and i'm excited for this line. so the little Si line up is Flatliner, Vanilla Ice, Bust the rythm/dreadlocked But i'm not too picky anymore and I might just end up trying the other 13a's until something comes along I really like...

Little Si: Phobias...

Monday was a surprisingly chilly day and only the trio(Dom, Micah, Myself) were able to make it out to WW1. (We learned 3 people suck when projecting because you get to cold before you have to climb again). After a normal warm up of pyscho-wussy I gave Chronic a burn and finally managed the 1 hang! I fell due to pumpage after the middle crux which isn't to reassuring but I figure I'll find some other stuff to try while upping the enduro. Micah gave Californicator 12d a couple good burns and figured out why he was sucking this year. On a crucial crimp need to access the 'typewriter' hold, he was grabbing the flat part instead of the incut! Now his psyche is reborn and I see a send in the future! Dom wanted to keep his title so he began sessioning Viagrophobia 12d. He gave it to solid burns but got pumped towards the top and couldn't move his feet and fell. Since I've never done this route, I tried the slightly easier version, Hydrophobia 12c, the Rainy Day 12a extension. With some encouraging beta and some taunts I powered my way to the chains of this cool, yet tricky, route. After this successful send I decided to go for the harder version up viagro and after some long rests on the route, clipped the chains as well. So now the current line up is Chronic 13b, Oval Orffice 13a(maybe), Flatliner 13c, Vanilla Ice 13a. We'll see what happens...

So now on 8a.nu, the FRIENDLY Oly competition, I have now taken over Dom's endless #1 spot on routes and unless he dedicates more of his time to hard routes(less quantity) I'll never give it back. I personally feel he slacked off this winter(training wise, the team missed ya) and I also surprised him with some quick sends this summer. I expect to see him at climbing team work outs this fall/spring...

Video: Lisa on Culture Shock

It's been awhile since I made a vid and just recently I started bringing my camera with me. Currently I'm almost done with Micah on Pyschosamtic and Andrew and on Virgins. Enjoy...

Culture Shock-5.12a from Jimmy C. on Vimeo.

Little Si: Gerbil Killer

So this was my fourth day on and I wasn't expecting much after beating myself up at gold bar. Well Nicholas, recent town arrival, and Micah, and I headed out to the normal twice a week destination, WW1. After a rather pumpy warm up on Pyscho-wussy I Decided to give Gerbil Killer a go and see what happens since my draws are on it for the summer(or 'till the Oly crew sends it). This time i listened to the ample recommendations to do the first 3 clips of Psycho-wussy instead of gerbil due to the better 5.11 climbing. I said why not and stripped the first three draws. Then I headed on up psycho with the long draws and began the gerbil experience. I did the underclings fine then blanked out on the last moves of the slab forgetting a key hand hold. After this I did a quick shake on the 'jug' and did the uber lock off and the nthe crimp to the pyschosamtic jug. Now came the hard part. I did all the moves here clean but my forearms were pushed to their limits! I just kept my hands in the crimp position and threw the shoulders to the left and hit the jug! YES! Another climb form the list down! Nicholas had another good day re-sussiing the Chronic 5.13b beta and looking strong. Once he joins the ranks of oly/little si regular he'll be unstoppable and will most certainly finish off some Little Si Classics. Micah had an off day but will send his stuff soon, i think he just needs a mental boost. So, now the list looks like Chronic(3 hanged) 13b, Flatliner 13c and maybe Oval Orffice 13a. Back on Monday...

Gold Bar: Mo' Progress

On Thur, Meg, Kevin and I went to the Upper Gold Bar boulders. After some trail finding difficulties(which involved an improntu trail run) we made the not so bad hike to the top. Our trail beta is to park in the first pull out past the 5 star boulder and the sign 'trail crossing' Then take the first trail on the left to the amazing ORV road bad the 5 star. Continue up this road until a stream/road appear on the left and take this to the switchback and continue up the logging road. Once at the top I did some new warm ups. The rock was feeling a little warm so we headed up the fto the forest and i sessioned out Lighten Up V9. I stuck the dyno in a few goes and then completed the start to the dyno. On my best go I came within inches of the victory crimp on the dyno but my right hand greased off! Next time. I plan on coming back when the temps are lower...

Little Si: Breakthrough...

O.k. Don't fall here, trust the sloping foot, o.k., now left up to hand hold crimp. Right hand gaston, left to jug CHAINS! YES, I just sent the extension to Californicator, Californication 5.13a! Now my year is complete with a 7c+ bouldering and sport climbing! Lisa and I headed out to little si to meet up with some good Friends from the comp scene, Alex Fritz and Sam Wolf. Alex is an amazing sport climber and Sam is a, ah, boulderer. Needless to say, he sent techno with his own(wrong) beta and with messing up every other crux with out resting still crushed. Then Alex wanted to 'train' on Chronic, got to chains And then kept on going. Not to long after he clipped the chains of Lizzard prince 5.13b! First go! I then scooted on over to Gerbil Killer 13a and sussed out the beta taking at each clip to find the dang holds. Armed with some very helpful beat from Tyson I pulled the rope and gave it a good Red point burn. I managed all of the Gerbil parts clean but just couldn't recover on Psycho and fell off the dang crimp feet from the chains! So close to two 13s in a day! Next time. Lisa made good progress basically one hanging Prop. and Cali. I'm really proud and excited at have doing both 7c+ on ropes and boulderingin a year. I'm really really liking my fitness level right now and i'm now in love with little si. A new door into the13s has been open and there are tons of new problems to do and project! Next up is a day at gold bar working some tens and (hopefully) a nine to finish off the scorecard. Then fri. is crawling 13a and little si to follow. So the line up at little si is Gerbil Killer 13a, Chronic 13b, Flat Liner 13c and lizard Prince 13b. We'll see how many get done...

Gold Bar: Progres...

On Sunday Kevin and I decided to go to the 5 Star boulder out at gold bar after a brutal trek in with 5 pads we made to the boulder. after a quick warm up Kevin began projecting the 5 Star Arete V6. With Josh's beta he then sent for his first V6! I then gave Ross Bongo V9 some burns and with more good beta from Josh managed to get past the first move and got to the last hard move! I have some crazy beta for the middle and I sure this line will go in the fall with sub 80 temps. With all the breakages the line is probably easier for those with reach but I feel it's still V9. Next we headed around the corner to Sobriosity V6 and Kevin began working it. I tried a few times before the beta came back to me and then I can say it is a V6(way harder to onsight though). After watching Josh send Ebriosity V11 I got pyshced. Armed with the beta I managed to get half way through the problem! Then after the crux Iron Cross I hopped on here and did all the finish moves! Then I tried to suss out the crux but with the temps increasing my heel wouldn't stay but I managed to do one more move, leaving only one left! I'm really pysched on trying hard stuff now because they appear doable. One more day of bouldering is on the schedule for thur. at the upper area and then it's back to ropes to get Californication 5.13a sent(it feels like a cloud over my head that i need to send quickly before i forget the moves) Then once this is accomplished I think It'll be Chronic, Gerbil Killer, Flat Liner. We'll see...

Little Si: Hot!

So on Friday the Oly crew decided to climb at WW1 on the hottest day of the year so far. Needless to say we had the crag to ourselves and the rock was greasy. Besides that, I tried flat liner, 13c, and managed to work half way up it. I'm looking forward to giving this line some serious effort in the near future.
Also on Wed, two new/retro routes were established on TR, Pete and Ted's True Stories 11d/12a, and Never Give a Shit 12d/13a. I'll have to get Dom to help hound out the final grades of theses new lines that are set to be bolted shortly. The future looks like, gold bar Sun, Crawling on mon, quarry wed, gold thur/fri, Little Si Sun... I (heart) my driving license! I'm looking forward to sending the projects at Little Si now so I'm predicting a fun and pumpy end to summer...

Tieton: No hangs, no snakes

Dom Taking pictures of Micah on Trigger Finger
Micah approaching the chains on Trigger Finger
Micah on Trigger Finger
After the warm up....
Early Picasso...

This was, by far, one of the funnest climbing trips I've been on in a long while. For the Saturday and sunday of the 4th of July weekend, Micah, Dom, Laura, and I all South to try some of the more moderate routes available at Tieton. For Micah and myself, the weekend began a day earlier with some Mo' Little Si Action on Friday. I sussed out the beta for Chronic, 13b, and now have decided and 3 projects in this order, Californication 13a, Gerbil Killer 13a, Chronic 13b, and maybe Flat Liner 13c if enough time. I also lead 12a/b/c/d and Friday for the first time ever too! So after sleeping in on Saturday and scrambling to pack all my things we headed out around 11:00 and set up camp next to a meadow. The first crag encountered was The Oasis and Dom, Micah, and Myself all wanted this 12a onsight. Dom went first and fell at the last hard move, Micah went next and found some better beta but took a hang or two, then it was my turn armed with both Dom and Micah's beta I gave it a flash attempt and sent! It was a cool climb but no stand out. Our next stop was the Dream Wall located next to Lava Point. the sun was starting to set behind the trees so we only squeezed in two pitches apiece on some rather neat 10's.

Sunday's plan was to go to The cave wall. This was a nice crag with shade options all day long. We started off at the Oak Wall, and I did a cool overhanging 10d as well as a 12a onsight. Then began the adventure of ticking and putting the draws up on the 5.12c, trigger finger. To do this I headed up a slightly run out 10c slab and almost barndoored off a hold but kept it together. Then I lower off on the overhanging side and placed the draws checking out the amazing crimps and holds on the arete. After the inspection I got ready and headed up. I managed to do most of the moves how I intended but found some easier beta up high. Then at the last bolt I was on a sloper and an ok jug my right and only foot popped and sent a square 50 cent sized chunk hurtling towards Dom. He took immediately and dodged the bullet while pulling me off. I then began yelling 'I'm still on' and he then gave me some slack and I successfully clipped the chains for the flash. Next up was Dom whom with the running beta and some improvisation flashed as well! Next were some cool 5.11s and out of nowhere Micah pulls off a 5.11d onsight! Way to go! We then piled into the Subaru and headed back to Olympia through the rain and clouds.

One Down...

After Fridays reopener of the Sport Climbing season at Little Si, Micah and I decided to head on out for a return trip. I got dropped off at the base due to lisa's Vollyball match, and headed on up the trail an hour early until Micah arrived. After a quick burn on Psycho for a warm up I hopped on Californicator 5.12d and managed a clean one hang. I then gave it a second burn and one hanged a bolt further. I was decently tired by now and after a 1/2 hour or so of rest I gave it another burn just cause and before I knew it I was at the 'typewriter hold'!! This is the high point from last year. Then I got mentally prepared and busted out left on the smiley face crimp, moved the feet up, hit the sidepull, and then moved my left hand to a gaston just below the actual one, and then hit the hold and crossed the other up and then one last cross to the mid-jug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was my all time high point! I then mentally relaxed and began the 7 minute shake out. After I collected myself I then headed through the upper part that felt easier this year and I managed to stick every hold and honed in the feet and sent!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was happy and surprised but Micah was more surprised.

Season Opener

This past week began the oficial start of the rope season for myself. It started off with a re-season opner at the quarry on wed. with an outstanding 19 participants. Sadly, half the problems were wet. Some notable sends were Luarra's and Sierra's red points of The Manly Wham, 5.11a. Also Victoria from the climbing team ventured out onto the real rock and Tr flashed Calvin and Hobbes and did all the moves on The manly wham! I, cough, finally, cough, sent all the established problems at the quarry. It took a year longer than it should due to my preconceived worries of the 5.11c Riddler. They proved unfounded and after watching Dom cruise it I sent! Now to do them all in a year!
Next was a Friday trip up to little si, my 4th climbing trip with ME driving. With only a minor red light sudden deceleration the trip went flawless and i enjyed the company and catches from the likes of Dom, Luarra, Lisa and Andrew. It was a good first day back with some good burns on Pyschosamtic, Techno' and Californicator. I have a good feeling 'bout Califonicato and hopefully it'll go soon. Andrew managed the send of Abo'. I'm now looking forward to some more clippin' action!

Signs of Summer: L-twon part II

The Tree Problem-Leavenworth from Jimmy C. on Vimeo.

Well last weekend wasn't enough to satisfy our craving for granite blocks so Micah and I headed back out to finish up some business. The first stop were the sword boulders where I messed around on zorro some more then after playing on a few others I steered Micah towards the Tree Problem, V8. After an almost flash, he sent shortly after and I managed to make one of my best vids ever! After this success we packed up and made the hike to the Bond Boulders above the Fridge. We threw the pads down and began hucking off of From Russia with Love, V9. Then Micah remembered the key toe hook and the problem became doable. I was managing the first move pretty well and was hucking top the sun-basking lip, slipping off and landing 2-3 past the pads on the nicely built up landing(Which freaked out Micah every time but I'm over my fear of falling while bouldering). The climax was the desperate two hander that failed. After sticking the lip for a few seconds then falling I called it quits and it was off to Geronimo.
Once here I gave it a good burn and managed the send first go of the day as micah was about to take out the camera, oh well. Then at Yoda The brutal huck-fest began again but this time Micah pointed out a small left foot and, well, a few burns later and I was up on top! Micah came close too a lot of times the sun peaked over the boulder and zapped the phsyche right out of us. We then decided to throw in the towel and a good successful last L-town trip and started planning the Little Si summer. I'll probably be back to Leavenworth with the family but ideally not till October...

Ropes & Boulders...+Video

Geramino V9 from Jimmy C. on Vimeo.

4 years ago form this weekend we pulled into the swiftwater parking lot for my first taste of leavenworth granite(pre-guidebook). Using the free topo from climbingwashington.com we meander around finding some contrived lines and falling in love with the place. I had the same feeling when i reluctantly left late Sat. night. Friday afternoon Lisa and I piled into the Pilot. First stop was supposed to be Poison Ivy Crack, but due to private property dwellings we couldn't find an aproach trail. So option b was attempt the small crag on the eastside of Madesen's Buttress. I gave La cucaracha, 5.10d trad, a go and after a long couple minutes scraped my way to the top for the hetchy-sketchy onsight. I learned for parallel cracks, cams are needed... Next was a bolted line not in the old guidebook that looked 5.9 but is accutally a 5.12a. Lisa went for the onsight and hung down low and I managed a beta flash! Next up was the 5.10 looking mixed climb and lisa gave a burn but downclimbed. I put in my two cams at the start(I needed one size up though) and headed on up the climb, comitted to the move that I thought was a match in a shallow pocket, BUT I chickened out attempted to down climb, fell and one cam popped but the back up held! This now is my second ever trad fall! This ended our rope adventure and we headed to the campground...
The following day we met up with Micah at JY. First, Lisa and I stopped at the Sword Boulders where I messed around on Zoro some more. This line will probslly take a whole day to complete. Once micah arrived we headed over to the Strainer, a powerfull lokking V9. I managed the send in a few goes and deffinately see how taller people could considder it soft. I personally liked it because it was a sustained powere problem to the very top(just ask Micah ;) ). After a couple more goes Micah hit the finish nob and sent his first hard problem of the year!!!!!
Next up was the forestland fiasco then we headed over to Mountain Home Road to try Geramino V9. This is one of the cooler looking aretes around. I'd lost a lot of my psyche by this time but still managed to slap the finish a couple times. I'm looking forward to the send next time I'm here. But micah looking really strong kept it together and sent! his 2nd V9 of the Day! Next we went on an exploritory trip then headed to the star wars boulders and began projecting Yoda. It is surprisingly doable and i was coming an inch within the jug.
All in all it was a good vacation and it was like old times bouldering with Micah in Leavenworth. Once little si dries out it will be rope season but till then more L-town and Gold Bar, and Squamish is just around the corner!

Movie of Micah on Geramino coming soon!

Non-bouldering Leavenworth

The view from the crag of the enchantments
Yeah, that's the road and creek waaaayyyyy down there

Awesome but slightly dirty wall

I finally deiced to check out what all those other people do who go to Leavenworth and wonder why we 'play' on the short stuff. This weekend was dedicated to doing Outer Space on Sun. and trad/rope stuff on sat. with Keenan, a trad junkie from climbing team. Saturday we started at the sword boulders because keenan wanted to try the old school 5.11 the Sword V3. He sent after a few goes and a commitiing move to the top! Meanwhile I walked around the corner and flashed the Tree Problem, V8. A simi-cool short thing by the boulders down climb. Afterwards I played on zorro and found beta that works and I'm looking forward to sessioning this one in the future. So, now time for the ropes. We decided to check out a new crag called Lucky Dog. 1.5 hours and 3 ticks later we arive at the base of the 'alpine' sport crag. This so far was the farthest I've hiked for climbing. 'Hiked' is used liberally since the trail disappeared halfway up so we bush wackked up to the white wall. The first clmbed we did called JBT something and it was a good 5.11b/5.9. Super soft with a small coating of sand on every hold. Besides that though the route was very city of rockish and if roadside would be very popular. after slipping our way to the top we decided to move on to another, more clean area. As it turned out the clean area had a scary runout out the beginning so we called it quits and headed over to the offwidth Carnival Crack 5.10d visible from the boulders.
After some effort to set a Tr Keenan attempted the first moves but got stuck there. Next I tied in and managed to pinch the right side, palm the left side, and scoot my thigh jam(which left some marks) up the crack to the mid level slab. To get to the slab i busted my right heel out onto a ledge and heel hooked up to the last 8 foot section. This i decided to lay back off a good foot, hit a crimp on the face and slap to the top. 1st go! I was almost more surprised than Keenan, who knew?

Day two crux was the second class pitch of the classic Outer Space 5.9. It killed me but I managed to do it with a few falls. When we arrived at the base Snow Creek Wall it seemed smaller than what I imagined. The first two pitches we simuled and Keenan lead us too high. so after an impromptu belay and down climb we arrived at the base of the crux pitch. We broke up into 2 seperate pitches and I took the first. After a slip an' slide layback I reached the mid belay below a roof and built my first ever rad anchor. It consisted of two bomber nuts and a 3/4 lobed #2 Camelot. It held Keenan's slip so I think it passed...
Next I followed the curx and it seemed easier than I was told but the holds were flexin' more than any boulder I've done (Don't know how they're still there). Up next was the 5.6 pitch I lead to the Library ledge with a natural seat!
I (heart) Grigri. Self portrait on library Ledge.
Later Keenan brought up a good point that we were both constantly doing 15-25 foot run outs. The rock is so good up high and placements so bomber it didn't really manner. (Now I know how the Marc guy solod it) The final headwall was awesome sans my untaped hands which got destroyed. I loved the unreal chicken heads and only used the crack a few times (whatever). Keenan had the great idea to summit and we hiked an extra 50 yards to the top and the view was impressive. I could see the Straightaways to Forestland To Madmeadows, the town of Leavenworth, and out towards Pesachtin Pinnacles. Pretty damn awesome!

Now the tricky part was the descent, basically 3rd and 4th class scrambles where slippinig isn't recommended. After a short random rappel we hiked on out and headed on home. It's cool cause now I can point and say, 'yeah, I've been up there' I'm looking forward to doing some more trad and learninig how to properly jam(I would be screwed in Indian Creek). But all in all the past weekend was very fun and adventurous to say the least. It's Tue and I'm still recovering getting ready for either a sport sess. in spokane or (almost better) Weekend in Leavenworth WITH the pads being the main focus (Lisa doesn't know yet but she'll have to belay me on some trad though). I'm getting pretty exited for squamish, boulder and sport then easy trad on the rest days(or swimming weather permitting)

Rain City Send-fest

If you've been climbing long enough you will stumble upon certain people with unbelievable finger/contact strength. Those who can hang on to the smallest of holds and fall solely due to technical errors. Saturday, I was in a car with two prime examples of this phenomenon. Andrew Hou and Kevin. Saturday was the annual UW Rain City Send, a college only comp. It was broken up into two sessions and Andrew and I were in the first. I didn't know what to expect since the comp was set by college setters and I was basing my perception off of Evergreen(no disrespect Micah) so I wasn't prepared for the awesome routes! I only cheated on two of them, doing it with Jimmy Beta. I spent the good part of the Red Point qualifiers sending the hardest problems except for the one, 890(hardest), which probably could go down in a couple days. Meanwhile Andrew was busy crushing all the moderates, thin techy problems on slightly overhanging walls. Next up was Kevin who has only been climbing for two years and this was his first comp. I first met him in the gym when he was crushing my V5s and V6s! So after a little persuasion he decided to help represent SPSCC. He did great for his first comp, getting close on a lot of V7s and running out of time to complete a fourth problem(I placed 2nd to dead last my first comp!).
So when the dust settled I came out on top and was set to go first in finals. The first problem startted with low hands, a high foot, then a super cross-over behind the head. I finally managed the first move on my 2nd go and then got stumped on the third and fourth moves not making it to the bonus hold! ZERO points! I was like 'f***, i just lost the comp in 5 f****n' mins'. (So, finals were Euro style where halfway through the route, there will be a 'bonus' hold worth 1 point and a finish hold worth 2 points) Next up were Brian froom central and Jake from a community college and both managed to get to the bonus hold. Now for final prob#2, I reset mentally and gave it a good go. The problem was my style and after a brutal one arm lock off dyno to an overhanging pinch, iron cross a 5 foot span, and then duke it out heelhooking slopers. Well I came within 2 holds of the finish. OK. now I felt like I stood a chance. 1o antagonizing minutes later no one else stuck the dyno to the pinch. O.K, so now we each have touched one bonus hold, but the second one was worth more! Win! All in all an awesome small comp with just some minor glitches in the final. (final routes should get harder as you go to eliminate people and make for a better show, not ridiculous hard starts). This comp and Darth Vader have re-amped my psych for bouldering so I have no clue as to whether it'll be little si or Leavenworth for future trips. Either way its going to be a fun packed summer with a road trip in the works. Mostly vacation with a little Yosemite hopefully. One last shout out to Community Colleges!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1st and 3rd in open and ex-community college 1st in Intermediate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See ya on the rocks...

Return to Leavenworth

On Sunday, Lisa and I headed back out to leavenworth for another day trip. First stop was Egg Rock, Lisa hasn't been there before. After a short warm up we both gave Jerry Garcia a couple burns from the 'low' start. A nasty upper gaston and lower sidepull. This line will definitely go for lisa from the proper stand if not the low. Its cool, but a Little too balancy for my taste. So I ventured up to Musashi. The first sloper was in the sun so I started projing the stand and managed to do all the move save the first 2. I felt confident that it'll go when the temps are favorable(or summer night sessions!). Next stop was Mad Meadows where Lisa got back on Hanta Man and made some good progress but she still needs to suss out the crux. While she was proj.ing I headed up to the Playground Point Crags and solod a short 5.6 crack. There are a bunch of moderates I plan on doing up here while Lisa is in the process of sending Hanta Man.
Next was a quick stop at Dirty Dude where I made some really good progress. After a few burns I managed to touch the bottom of the crimp rail! This line should go after a few good campus board sessions. All it is is one BIG move.
Finally we finished the day off at Mountain Home Road. This area has the best views out of all of Leavenworth and as mentioned before, one of my dream locations for a house. Lisa got to work on Emperors lightning but she was pretty tired after Hanta Man sess. I began working Darth Vader(v10) and was able to do the burly undercling move on my second go. Then cam the crazy duel heel hook sloper matching up to a micro crimp and, ah, mantel. Lisa caught me a good 4 times, rolling off the top, grating up my right leg, and falling on too the pads. The sloping landing makes the spotter necessary. On my final burn I managed to get to the lip, got a super close heel hook, and pushed and pulled my way over! My right heel stayed put! (don't put your leg down for top out, this is what causes the fall i found out 3 times) YES! Finally a V10 that fit my style. I think boudlering is going to be on pause and its finally time to break out my new rope and see if I can nab a 5.13a in the same year. twenty ten has been a good year bouldering for me and I'm curious to see how it plays out on the sharp end...

(No pics or footage, once again my camera spent the trip in the car...)

Bishop Media

Here are some of my favorite photos, still missing 1/3 from Amanda.

Lunch of champions, red bull and builder bar
The get carter boulder, stood on top 3 times, buttermilks
Jimmy on the cool Charlie Brown, V3, Painted Cave Boulders, Buttermilks
The hike(until we did the druids approach)/scamper to the happies.
Local Cactus.
Justin after the warm up on our last
Lunch after the Druids
Blurry but still a bad ass photo, me projecting Acid Wash, V10
On a hike to locate Solitaire, V8, Now wheres that dang boulder?

Another pic from Acid Wash, next trip...
Iron Man Traverse, duh,
The ride to the Buttermilks from camp, w/ 5 people in the Jeep!
Day 1, Ryan attempting the critic Green Wall Essential, V2, Buttermilks.
Me on a V6, above of Acid Wash, like the photo.

And I forgot, we hiked up to the druids one day which was a minor rest day for me, sending only Cayla, Arch Druid, Arch druid left, and kredluf. All awesome climbs. Also, for the hardest send of the trip Jimmy fired off thunder V3 and Cory did Arch druid minus the top out. Video online now on vimeo and below.

Bishop Spring Break 2010 from Jimmy C. on Vimeo.