Sunday, May 24
Lander Part 2
Monday, May 18
prime evil
I've been busy.. In a feel good kind of way- and I'm feeling like its 'bout damn time to update the site. last week I decided to give the Primo wall in Clear Creak another chance and get my roped bouldering on (sometimes referred to as boltering). I had visited this crag once before a long time back and was disenheartened by the length and quality of the routes. But I kind of figured I didn't give it enough of a chance- I knew well that this cliff was rumored to pack a punch and anyone who has seen the topo knows it is STACKED with difficulty and sees hours of afternoon shade- which is really what drew me back. Well here I am 3 days of climbing later and I've got two busted-ass thumbs up.. this wall hits hard. Day 1 my buddy Ben Randolph and I checked out the classic 'Sucking My Will to Live' 12+, and I dispatched the sloper-technical masterpiece 'Public Solitude' 13b along with a more recent Hong-Damboise addition 'Squeeze Play' 13b/c. Both routes were enjoyable, but Public took the cake for jaw-dropedness. The two would warrant a little grade swap in my opinion (I found Public quite a bit harder than Squeeze).
Sunday, May 10
College Grad
It's official. I am a college graduate! Although the thorough impact of this has yet to sink in, I can say that I am very, very excited about the future and proud of my successes as a student. This is a major milestone in my life thus far and I am stoked to celebrate this transition as well as egger to begin my new life. I'd like to offer a big thank you to all my friends and family wishing me well and sending me love right now! But more on that later, lets talk rock scrambling.
Wednesday, May 6
Take Off
Yesterday I happily turned in my final assignment as an undergraduate student at Naropa University. I feel much like I did when I was finishing high school, in that I have many opportunities to look forward to and much to be excited about. In the hopes to pursue a dream of mine (as well as prolong any additional responsibility), I set out to explore some fresh Earth terrain, gather a few more good stories and enjoy the potential that I (with the support of good friends and family) have built underneath me. Rock climbing has been a powerful motivation for this next step in my life and I am greatly thankful to the sport and community for that. Give yourself a high five! Hopefully I will have the chance to do it in person as I am planning travels and adventures near and far. I'm aiming to climb and travel as long as my pockets and my imagination will take me (with the superb aid of my sponsors). I realize that the opportunity before me does not often arise and thus I am intending to really go for it. Enter the stories of J-STAR, IN ORBIT!!!!
side note: J-STAR routes will still exist at the BRC, I'll be working hard on the ladder whenever I'm in town..
Tuesday was a hell of day to kick it all off as well. Seth Lytton (aka LIGHTNING) and I did a killer trifecta in Eldo beginning with the short and powerful Captain Crunch (13 a/b), a highly under-rated climb that demands some grunt and tricky beta. We then headed directly to the burly cave route, the Monument (13a), for a team flash. We finished the day with a run on Your Mother (12d), which I had done a couple times, but the exposure and high quality of this classic deserves plenty of repeats in my opinion. We also had a chance to check out a couple boulder problems that I have been interested in- stay tuned for these..
After crushing Eldo, I headed into my local grocer and crushed that place, stoked to get some real grub in my house after eating peanut butter and pretzels all through finals. Fueled and excited, I finished my first day of freedom with a ride up flagstaff and an amazing dinner with my lovely girl. Life is good!
Photo: Myself taking flight off of Sarchasm.