Wednesday, February 25


DAMN!! I love this town.. and I knew the photo game would never be the same when Andy Mann got his hands on a wide angle lens, jyeah! Who ever, ever doubted the quality in the flatirons, get up to The Box and give a run on Discipline (pictured) or the amazing Cornucopia.. 

I'm off to Shelf Road again on friday, who's coming? weather looks $$$. Nuff said. 

Tuesday, February 24

Saturday I packed up and hit I-25 south with a couple long time friends of mine to clip some shiny hangers down at Shelf Road. The day was literally perfect- cool enough that you were reaching for a long sleeve to belay, but climbing in a T-shirt was no problem. We checked out the Cash Wall and we were alone climbing there all day. I managed a pretty bad ass (classic Shelf) slab called 'Cash in the Vault' and a boulder problem route called 'Payment in Pump', along with some okay moderates the wall had to offer (not quite the best wall at Shelf.. but worth a visit). After some bullshit and wine with the gang I slept out in my bivy and enjoyed a crisp night under the stars. This was my first time camping for a while (Ron and Kathy's first time camping in 7 years!!), if the weather keeps looking good I'm hoping to head down again this upcoming weekend. Its amazing how refreshing getting filthy, beat up, worn down and shivering around a camp fire can feel- it must be that human in us all.. Damn its nice though. 
In other news I went back to Trice and shot some rad photos (check back for the shots..) with the man, Andy Mann, yesterday and he showed me a couple interesting projects up there. Andy and I both get a kick out of the whole history aspect and flagstaff has definitely got that going for it. Check out this amazing database of flag problems and history. 

Lastly.. My buddy over at Sharp End Publishing, Fred, has been raving about this documentary that his son has gotten all fired up over called SharkWater. I finally check it out last night and aside from the never-ending speedo shots of Rob Stewart at the end of the film, it was AWESOME. In true documentary style, it inspires that activist in you for at least the few hours following your viewing. This film is raw for sure. Being in that I am a vegetarian I would have avoided sharkfin soup anyways, but after watching this film I am ready to write some politicians about this shit! (and just did).

Friday, February 20

Hittin' the Road


I'm heading down to Shelf Road this weekend and I could not be more excited to get outside on a ROPE, work on my bronze (or lack thereof) and yank pockets. I hear a lot of sh*t talking about Shelf and it all bounces off me. I love the place. The landscape is gorgeous, the routes are a plenty and the sun is hot. I admit it is not the expert's crag and although I have thoroughly enjoyed the 5.13 climbing there- it can be painful. However, for a good time at virtually all ability levels below 12+ it is a blast.

In other, not so current news, I came across this interview I did with Climbing.com last year and I thought I might share it for those who don't know me too well. I thought they asked some interesting questions and this interview stands out to me as one I enjoyed. 

Heading to the 'Pure' movie premier tonight? Make sure not to miss the Rocky Mountain Highball trailer and (*shhhhh!*) the premier date announcement!!! FINALLY! Have a good weekend everybody. (photo- Kathy Lenz climbs the awesome 'I Claudius' 5.11 at Shelf)

Tuesday, February 17

TRICE


Well.. My ~10 day bouldering binge has paid off after all. Yesterday I was able to complete
Trice (V12). This send definitely represents a breakthrough for me mentally. This is my hardest boulder problem to date, and came on my fourth day of attempts. 

When we (my good buddy Ben Randolph and I) arrived at cloud shadow yesterday it was anything but shadowed. The wall was really warm and the sun was blazing. After a few attempts on Trice in total sun and 60 degree warmth I decided to relax for a while and wait for the shade. Once the crux holds entered the shade I began working the route again, and quickly figured out some incremental, but key beta for the crux move. Soon thereafter I found myself feeling relaxed enough to adjust on the crux left hand crimp, and my first ever effort at the last move proved worthy.

It was a super fun process to work this short and sweet boulder problem, finding out unique beta for myself and adjusting it to perfection. Bouldering has been a weakness of mine for a while (and still is in many ways) and it is very inspiring to see what I am capable of after a few days effort and little time strictly bouldering. I will for sure continue bouldering here and there, but as most of you know my real love is for traditional and sport routes. Although the attention to detail and pure movement involved with hard bouldering is really attractive.

I want to express my gratitude for Jim Holloway and his amazing send of this three move problem back in the 70's! (using much more difficult beta as well), and also for Carlo Traversi and Jamie Emerson re-opening this awesome line on the same day in late 2007. (and yes thats a photo of Holloway above, not myself)

Sunday, February 15

ABS weekend wrap-up



Boulder's own boulder climbing competition weekend is officially over! The ABS Citizens Comp at the Boulder Rock Club went off super well on Saturday. Turn out could have been higher, but generally it was a mellow, enjoyable comp and everybody was loving the problems. Again, big shouts to everybody who worked hard on that event and put in the over time friday. We left the problems and the foam out today, and the turn out was killer, perhaps even a little too much so and my sunday night chill session was actually not that chill- the BRC was PACKED. As far as ABS NATIONALS went, I was not there, but I hear it went awesome. My friends did really well, Ethan Pringle taking 4th, Julian Bautista at 5th, Alex Puccio taking 3rd, Lisa Rands at 5th and Emily Harrington at 8th or 13th (?confusing), however you want to look at it but.. but hell yeah Emily!! Matt Segal gave a swing at comp climbing again and finished in a proud 12th, and my boy Matty Hong crushed the youth Nat. for a 3rd place finish. (full results are here). Stoked for all you boulderers gettin rowdy over at the Spot and at the BRC! hell yeah. 

I'm running on a week+ of only bouldering.. This is probably the longest stretch of not tying in I have been on in over a year- seriously. I am stoked on the next couple days of good weather (fingers crossed) to have another opportunity to climb outside and put my gym bouldering spree to the test. I have to admit though, I can not wait to tie in and climb routes again.. its definitely my preferred type of climbing. Working my weakness has been humbling to say the least, but inspiring too because I see the room for growth. I will find a balance for working power here and there and keeping to the route climbing I love.. but for now I am bingeing on boulders!!

If you are in the Boulder area and have not hiked Bear Peak, I highly suggest it. Marisa and I had a awesome time hiking it today in the snow and enjoyed a nearly empty trail the whole way- Fern Canyon is RAD by the way. Routes like Superfresh and the Mentor sit right on the trail and have historic value in addition to enjoyable climbing. Go get it!

Lastly.. Not having TV is a blessing, however, whenever I go to someone's house that has TV I am virtually comatose by the flashing lights and fancy product placement. When I awaken from the trance my profound realization is consistently that TV = horse shit, but once and a while I see something dope- and this is dope. check it- (opps viacom got mad so no more cool video sorry)

Friday, February 13



Huge day today over at the Boulder Rock Club. The route setting crew and I put in WORK today building some fantastic boulder problems for the ABS Citizens Comp going down tomorrow. If you had even thought about checking out this comp, as a competitor or a spectator, you MUST attend. We got copious amounts of foam set up for a high-ball style comp and 50 quality boulder problems in five separate divisions including kids, recreational, intermediate, advanced and open. Difficulties rage from V0- to V12. Don't miss this huge event!!! and BIG props to all that worked their asses off today, especially Seth Lytton putting in crazy hours as the head setter for this well organized event. See you there!

Tuesday, February 10


Do you live in Boulder? Have you noticed a staggering increase in sick strong boulderers as of late? Are they warming up on your long term gym projects - with their skate shoes on? WELL FOLKS.. its that time of year- ABS PRO BOULDERING NATIONALS is this upcoming weekend at The Spot and a freakin bus load of the nations strongest plastic crushin, one arm pull-upin', ten foot dynoin' monsters have arrived, all hungry for victory over the defending season 9 champions Paul Robinson and Alex Puccio. And, after having a quick look over the qualifiers running order, these two have got their work cut out for them. The male and female fields are STACKED with talent. I will be cheering a bunch of friends on Valentines Day, including Emily Harrington (pretend they are short, hard routes!), Ethan Pringle, Alex Puccio, Carlo Traversi and Lisa Rands.

BUT WAIT! Just because you don't flash V10 doesn't mean you need to miss out on the fun. The ABS CITIZENS COMP is going off just down the street (@BRC) and there will be a gym packed full of killer BP's just waiting for your send! Myself, and my route setting crew will be putting in mad hours this week under ABS head setter - the plastic-problem mastermind Seth Lytton, over at the Boulder Rock Club. The event begins early (845am) on Saturday and goes all day. So don't just be another face in the crowd at ABS Pro Nationals, come get a piece of victory for yourself at the Citizens comp! Its all for fun anyways right? Hope to see you there.

Saturday, February 7

Pebble Wrestlin!


In my life experience, virtually all valuable growth has been a product of confronting a weakness or a discomfort head on. And often, the amount of growth is directly proportional to the energy invested, although lots of times it might not seem that way immediately. This is perhaps the single greatest lesson I came across through my youth traveling and a little knowledge cookie that I chew on frequently (yummy). The same rule definitely applies to rock climbing. Everybody has their own weaknesses. My weakness? Bouldering.. and more specifically- power and dynamic movement. BOOM!! there it is.. feels good to get it off my chest. Now here's the hard part- in order to get better at powerful or dynamic moves I am going to have to try them, a lot (Shit!). This is for sure the next step for my personal climbing progression. Improving my bouldering ability would really round out my skill set for hard routes and open up a lot of potential trad and sport climbs around the country that I am stoked to attempt. 

Soooo.. now that I have come to terms with my little problem.. 'Trice'. Word. This is a freakin hard three move boulder problem at Flagstaff Mountain. It is close to town, its lower to the ground (no spotters needed), it is hard and it has interesting history (first done over 30 years ago by Jim Holloway, to be repeated on the same day in late '07 by 2 of Boulders strongest hardmen Jamie Emerson (pictured above on TRICE- oh and its an ANDY MANN photo of course) and Carlo Traversi, with slightly different beta- very likely the first problem of its grade in America). A few months ago I half-ass tried Trice and was like 'psst, yeah f#$%in right!!' and carried on with my 20-some laps on the cloud-shadow traverse all stoked not to try too hard. Not anymore! now I'm stoked to try hard- remember? I went up there today for my second day of serious effort on this thing. Day before yesterday I was able to figure out some minor foot beta and make some mini-progress which got me all fired up (its only three moves). Today, I cemented my beta and began to cement my body memory for the problem. I was able to (shockingly) comfortably stick and hold / adjust the second hold (a poor left hand crimp) and begin to move to the finishing jug before my feet slipped off and I was earth-bound. I was so surprised and excited that I gave a little 'fuck yea!'. Given it is so short and so hard, body position and the slightest little foot and hand changes make it all possible or impossible. I am VERY excited to go back to this problem after a few days of shitty weather ahead- giving my hamstring (pulled it heel hooking on this thing) and my tips (ripped a flapper on this thing) some time to heal up. 

So get out there and try something too hard for you or too bouldery, or too pumpy, or too steep, or too long, etc. etc. etc. and get stoked!! growth is NOT easy, but it can be motivating.  

Wednesday, February 4

BCS 5


Git yer game face on. This friday (the 6th) the Boulder Rock Club is hosting its 5th BCS route climbing comp of the season. If you are in Boulder and looking for a good time I hope you will stop in and spectate or better yet- compete. Myself and the rest of the BRC route setting crew (PM, LK, Tnut, ZL, SL, MW!! holla!!) will be working over time to build some five star routes for the masses. The entry fee is well worth the free Avery beer, free food and swag give aways. This is a super laid back, all ages, all abilities, low pressure comp, so stop with the excuses and freakin crush this thing! (that means YOU too Dad! want to see my Dad send hard at the comp?- vote on the right ---)   details about the comp here.

Tuesday, February 3


Alright. Stop the presses. World famous photographer, international jumaring champion and great friend of mine Andy Mann has just launched a
brand new web site that is amazing! (andymann.com) Simple layout and packed with quality- I highly suggest you take a visit. Andy and I have done a ton of work together and I am always impressed with his amazing camera / jumar skills and laid back, yet GIT R DUN attitude. There are two rad photos of myself featured on the site- one from a freezing midnight shoot in one of my favorite areas, Penitente Canyon and one of me tryin' hard to the grave yard on the lovely 'Vogue'. Andy, dude, lets get out man, your photos got me fiendin!!

Monday, February 2


Here is the article about SCS Nationals that Marisa wrote (right here). It is actually featured on Climbing.com, but I imagine it will eventually be on UrbanClimberMag.com too. She did some cool interviews and touched on the event in more detail than the other recent pieces about it. Keep an eye out for an awesome feature article in Climbing Magazine that Marisa also wrote about culture and climbing in Thailand due out this summer. If you enjoy her writing make sure and grab a business section from the sinking Rocky Mountain News- while supplies last!

Sunday, February 1

FINALS



Sunday was damn lazy. It was definitely strange to be resting so much, but at the same time I knew that doing anything taxing would be a mistake- I wanted to be fresh for finals at around 6pm. We ended up heading over to the trade show and I checked in with my sponsors as well as checked out the new clif bar flavor. We also laid around the hotel and watched 3-4 episodes of Greek (that ABC family shit is just too entertaining to resist). The rain was turning into a snowy-slush, total crap mix at this point and I wish I had the foresight to see that it would be a slow drive to the gym. Instead I arrived just minutes before isolation closed and found the other 16 competitors (8 men and 8 women from ~35 qualifiers) all warming up and getting their game faces on. We went out to preview the route and immediately my eyes were drawn to a blank expanse of wall about half way up. The other climbers (primarily being wicked boulderers) were intimidated by the opening tech slab, but I was straight defeated when I realized the size of the jump required to exit the slab and enter the steep section. I went back into iso and tried to find some dynos to practice, but it became clear that just as I knew all to well- static movement is my strength and dynos are my weakness. I would give it my best though, and I did. The crowd was significantly bigger tonight and the music louder, but again I centered myself the moment I grabbed the start hold. I felt right at home climbing through the opening slab section. I made my final clips and took a deep breath before making my best attempt at the jump...and I'm off. At first I was bummed out, mainly because I was hoping to fall with my forearms throbbing and entire body exhausted, barely able to continue, but, instead I fell almost totally fresh from a huge move that simply shut me down. Later that night though, after a beer and some heavy bullshitting and laughter, I realized how great of an experience this comp was. Such an eye opener for so many reasons. I climbed at Momentum the next day and attempted the route again, still unable to do the dyno after a few more attempts, but I was able to pull through the jump and climb to the high point from the night before on my first try. If I compete again I will come prepared to jump, that's for sure. 
The womens final route was awesome, and I was stoked on the other kick ass routes Momentum had to offer as well- this place is a killer facility and I strongly suggest checkin it out next time you are in Salt Lake. I got such a great response from my peers back in Boulder and everyone was quick to offer their congrats on my 5th place overall. Given the quality of athletes at this event I am stoked that I even made finals. Best of all I got to kick it with some good friends and enjoy the unique scene that is comp climbing. If I am around next year I will for sure be returning to SCS Nationals and I am planning on attending the BCS Invitational in March at the BRC- as should you!!! Like I mentioned before Marisa wrote a really cool article on the SCS Nationals including some interviews and nice photos that should publish tomorrow (monday the 2nd)- I will post a link. But in the mean time here is a brief on climbing.com and a short video on Momentum Video Mag. The photos included are John Evans Photos. Oh and big congrats to Carlo, Dave, Ethan and Julian for a kick ass performance on Sunday night and of course the ladies: Emily, Paige, Sasha, Sydney and Alex.