Bakin' n Snakin'

Smith Rock continues to impress and inspire us. The landscape is phenomenal, the climbing is fantastic and the locals are simply rad. At Smith Rock the local community is tight- everyone seems to know everyone, and you'll generally find the same smiling faces at the crag throughout the week. We've gotten to know many of them (definitely thanks to the Spring Thing crag clean up event last weekend) and Paige and I agree they are some of the most hospitable locals we've run into.

Paige LOVES snakes

Amid heinous tales of mid-May snow storms and sub-freezing weather back in Boulder, things have been unfortunately heating up here a bit. However, we did manage to get out and have some success since our last rainy rest day. On Tuesday, we sampled a few classic sunny warmups including a mega 2 pitch (single rope length) route called 'Magic Light' 12b- jugs for days followed by some technical crack/face climbing that's sure to warm even the toughest of hardfolk up. After Paige cranked an awesome one-hang effort on 'White Wedding' 13d, we quickly retreated to shade at a crag we had yet to visit, the Christian Brothers-home to the turbo-classic test-piece, 'Scarface' 14a. Our buddy Darren had been working this killer looking line for a few days, and when we arrived he was just tying in. I watched closely as he made a heartbreaking attempt, falling at the end of the business.

'Scarface' 14a takes the left edge of this beautiful wall

With him and local hardman Ian Caldwell both spraying me down, I jumped on this killer route and sussed out the huge lock-offs between pockets and cryptic body position necessities of the first 5.14 established by an American- way back in '87. I barely lowered off this monster pitch with a 70m rope, and couldn't wait to take another crack at it.. I took a quick rest, reviewed my beta and eagerly jumped back on. This route is 50 feet of burl- big moves between pretty good pockets, followed by a tricky exiting move involving a strange hip scum and then a huge finishing tech-slab that seems to never end. The finishing slab may only be 5.11, but until then there are no rests (at least that I could figure out). With beta fresh in my mind and my stoke level high, I managed to finish off Scarface on my 2nd attempt.

Shortly after, Darren jumped on and road the send train.. meanwhile I cranked an onsight of the neighboring classic, 'Rude Boys' 13b/c, a thuggish route with thin pockets, rose moves and dynamics- again finishing with a tech-slab. Awesome.

'Aggro Monkey' 13b

'Bad Man'

The next day we headed straight for the Aggro Gully to catch the best temps for Paige. With no hesitation, she warmed up and took down 'White Wedding'- showcasing her wicked finger strength and fitness. It was super inspiring to watch. We hung around in the heat for a bit before some locals recommended that I check out a bouldery route way up the gully called 'Burl Master' 13c. This shorter grunt fest features big, dynamic movement in and out of good and bad holds, which are unfortunately disappearing rapidly due to breakage. Despite it's down right poor rock quality, this route offers a much different style than most at Smith. I was stoked to succeed at an onsight of this thing- partially because a second effort might have fewer holds!

Paige Crushes. Nuff Said

Next we headed back to the Christian Brothers to check out a recommended Scott Milton (yeah boy!) route, 'Chemical Ali' 14a. This climb ascends a very different rock type than what we were used to at Smith.. few pockets, poor, undefined edges and big features. The climbing would have been unique at any crag, but was especially so at Smith. My first burn proved to be a bit ambitious given the rock still held heat from the early sun, but I was able to figure out beta and get a feel for it. We hung out for a while, looking over the park as the sun fell closer to the horizon (this place kicks ass). After the route had a chance to cool off a little, I fired to the chains! Stoked. Back to the campsite for some box wine, burritos and well deserved sleep.

Ben Moon special edition funny whipper shots!

Yesterday we hauled big packs around to the back side of Smith in anticipation for a warm day. We'd been told that the backside was the place to be in the heat. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of not checking the aspect of the face I was stoked on, and we found it baking in the sun when we arrived early in the morning. Dang. None-the-less, the Monkey Face is seriously impressive- a really special feature. Seeing 'Just Do It' 14b/c for the first time is something of a dream- this mythical route has no doubt fascinated the likes of many for nearly 20 years.. and remains a test-piece to this day. Too stoked to just sit around, I tied in and took to the brutally hot climb with quickdraws in hand, sans warm up (mistake #1 and #2). It was HOT and the bottom is legit (read: difficult). So I made my way up, thrashing my skin but remaining stoked.. until I got too hot and desperately fled back to earth and into shade. After an hour or so the climb finally peeled into the shade and I gave another effort, finding the route considerably nicer, although still quite warm. I did get to the chains and was able to do all the moves. However, I will admit that while it may have been the hot conditions, this route felt super super hard. A lateral span move towards the top is at the limit of my reach and the long lock-offs before and after it require me to use poor foot options. Regardless, I'm stoked, my draws are hanging and I'm adamant to give it some serious effort.. as soon as the temps cool off.

Looking onto the Three Sisters from the summit

Thankfully we've got plenty of time and our new friends Jeanne Young and Steve House have generously offered up their nearby place for us to crash- definitely an upgrade! With some cooler temps in our near future and a plethora of remaining psych, we're both ambitious to get some stuff done in our last week at Smith!

Bring props to BEN MOON for hooking up some sweet photos.

Oregon Rocks

..Enter life on the road.. we left Boulder last Thursday, bright and early, with eyes wide and psych level high. Our goal was to hammer out the long drive all the way to Bend, Oregon in a day. Unfortunately, Idaho proved disturbingly huge and we wore out a few hours short.. Prairie City to be exact, somewhere along the historic Oregon Trail. We poached a random campsite and enjoyed a wholesome country style breakfast with the locals in the morning before polishing off the drive to Smith.

on the road. North West status.

making my contribution to this random tree full of shoes (!?)

Smith Rocks is classic, bold, beautiful and wildly impressive. I've wanted to check out this world class destination for quite some time and despite how much I'd studied guidebooks, videos and photography, I was still blown away when I first caught a glimpse of the State Park.

Smith Rock

We hurriedly tossed shoes and gear in our packs, bought a year pass, and made our way to the climbing. We headed straight for the Dihedrals, a stunning series of massive corners covered in incredible routes. While the frequently climbed areas are all generally in close proximity, the sheer size and amount of rock at Smith is staggering- there is literally towering stone in every direction. Standing beneath the Dihedrals for the first time is a rad experience; they are completely blank- you need only to tilt your head and engage a touch of imagination to picture parking your car on these seemingly featureless mega-slabs.

After sampling one of the few 5.11s, Paige got right down to business, dispatching the entire 120 dead-vertical feet of 'Heinous Cling' 12c onsight. I followed suit and then continued on by managing an onsight on it's next door neighbor and the first 5.13 at Smith Rock, 'Darkness at Noon' 13a- a beautifully challenging route that demands techy footwork for days. Paige immediately followed with an impressive flash. We were both so stoked on the quality of this test-piece that we thought it would only be right to carry on to the next mega-classic 13a, 'Churning in the Wake'. A truly world-class route, Churning climbs an amazing seam that runs between light and dark stone through just about every character of hold you could imagine from crimps, to finger locks, to slopers to pinches, finishing with a dynamic lunge to a finishing jug. I onsighted to the chains and couldn't get enough, so I carried on with Churnings big brother extension, 'Churning in the Ozone' 13b for the full value. Paige followed by falling off the finishing jug on her flash.. wicked effort.

We had been told that 'Kings of Rap' 12d, was a must do by a few worthy sources and after my successes on some 13s I figured it might come easy. Well! I've got news for you (Leif Gasch), this route is BRUTAL! I had to get aggro on this pitch in order to manage the OS- killer route, but come on! 12d? serious? dang dude. Surprisingly (being so run down after the epic on Kings), I managed to onsight 'Taco Chip' 13a, to finish off our first day. We returned to the parking lot beat-up, smiles ear to ear, eager for more. Smith Rock is legit, end of story.

getting to know the locals

The following day we got out early to lend a helping hand for the annual Spring Thing, a climber organized clean up and maintenance day. With sunny weather on our side, a whole bunch of us carried boulders, moved earth, cleaned up and hung out for the betterment of this amazing park. Paige and I were stoked to help out and it gave us a great chance to meet some of the rad local folk and get to know the place better. We even had enough time to squeeze in a few pitches in the afternoon and have our first taste of the Aggro Gully. This deep running cleft offers some relief from the heat of the Dihedrals (which are south-east facing) and also features the highest concentration of burly routes at Smith. We warmed up on the ego-reducing 5.11 'Toxic' and I took a run up 'The Quickening' 12+ before focusing our attention on the business at the Aggro. I missed a super crucial side-pull on the awesome 'Aggro Monkey' 13b and junked my onsight, but managed to hammer off this lock-off fest second try. Despite some creeping sun and a morning of lifting huge rocks, three local dudes nailed their respective projects in the Aggro Gully on Saturday.. super inspirational. So I decided I needed to at least attempt something hard-hard.

J.B. Tribout was once called a bad man for some unapproved first ascents at Smith Rock back in the early 90s. Particularly of his ascent of the route 'Bad Man' 14a, at the Aggro. I'd heard of this notorious route being extremely difficult for short folk, which oddly often seems to grab my attention.. being 5'5, I'm not totally sure why, but I love / hate reachy routes. After taking a sample run on Bad Man I knew right away why it had such a reputation.. two huge undercling dead-points offer some unique and extreme difficulties for the shorter types, but I was inspired by the line and it's history none-the-less. After a good albeit tired second burn, I figured I would toss in the towel and return the next day for a proper effort. That night we shared some delicious food and a killer slide-show by the man himself, Alan Watts, with the other volunteers at the Spring Thing. Rad crew, great vibes.. much thanks people!!

Sunday we went straight to the Aggro and after warming up I jumped back on Bad Man, but unfortunately had a less than inspiring burn.. definitely feeling my third day on and some rising levels of heat. Paige fired The Quickening though and got me all psyched up again.. so I switched to some stiff boots- for an extra half inch of reach!- and managed to clip some chains on Bad Man. Very, very stoked..

Paige took a couple promising burns on 'White Wedding' 13d and offered me some beta on this incredible power endurance route that climbs through unique sequences and holds for its entire length- pockets, pebbles, edges, etc. I took a sample burn and although I was hugely psyched on the route, I was almost certain that my skin was literally speaking aloud to me in pain, something like, 'Dude, are you for real? The thumbs and all eight of us hate you right now!' Knowing that a rest day was on the horizon I convinced myself that another burn was in order.. and thankfully my skin cooperated for a send. Stoked! Absolutely no shortage of high quality routes in Smith, and after just a few days, Paige and I agree that the park is all it's cracked up to be- world class.

shockingly organized..

Now we're in Bend, relaxing at a book store downtown after a sauna and a shower, dreaming about our next day out at Smith.. Despite a well-timed rainy day today, the next week looks rad.

Stay tuned for some killer sports action pics from Ben Moon in the coming days!

Zero seconds to Launch!

... and so it is. Countdown clock is at zero, and despite a long period of excited planning, (of course) the past few hours have felt hurried and even stressful. We're off on a much anticipated adventure around the North-Western U.S. and through Canada, with no set end date. After months of tireless effort, I can proudly say I'm in peak condition and my motivation is at a joyous high.

First stop is beautiful Smith Rocks, a history laden spot I've dreamed of visiting for ages. We've got video and photographic capabilities and we'll be doing our best, along with Sportiva LIVE to bring frequent updates and stories from the road!

During stressful moments before a long trip, I'm always comforted by the far more stressful moments in the past.. Nothing could be more complicated than when we packed this taxi full of crash pads in Cambodia.. at least we had plenty of help! Josh Morris Photo.

The Subaru is packed, our iPhones are charged and our spirits are high.. See you guys n gals out on the open pavement! Cheers..

a little front range love.

First off.. BIG thanks to the community for coming out last night and making 'Colorado Burl Part 2' a huge success. Community events such as these are vital to our culture and an awesome opportunity to share inspiration with one another. Matt Wilder, Andy Mann and I are all super grateful to have had the chance to share some tales of Front Range burl and a taste of our passion with everybody.. and in exchange we shared a sh*t ton of loot and a keg of tasty brew!! (seems like a fair trade) Thanks to Neptunes for hosting such a cool event, our title sponsor ARCTERYX for swag galore, and Avery for enough I.P.A. to go around (a couple times). If you made it out, we hope you had a killer time.. if you missed it, keep your eyes out for an event near you! Colorado Burl might be going on the road.

120+ people!

'Arcteryx packs for $5 raffle.. WHAT?!'

In the spirit of the Front Range, I've been hiking into the Flatirons recently to check out a couple fresh routes I hadn't yet put down. My dad and I got out for a morning early in the week to check out a new addition to Dinosaur Mountain my buddies Matt Samet and Ted Lanzano put up last fall called 'Ultrasaurus'. Directly next to the also new classic 'Milk Bone' 13a, 'Ultrasaurus' 13b is a mega pitch that ascends bomber flatirons sandstone for a full 35meters. Standing at the precarious base of this climb, I racked up a healthy 15 quickdraws and took to this beast expecting a monumental flash pump. I quickly discovered that 15 draws was not enough, and I had to strategically skip 3 bolts to make my onsight- thankfully I'm into that kind of thing. Verdict? This route KILLZ! Super fun climbing for a long time, and a nice compliment to it's neighbor. Big props to Matt and Ted.

'Ultrasaurus' 13b Andy Mann Photo

Andy Mann Photo

Despite an impeding thunder storm, I urged the crew to wander up the hill to a sick little route I had checked out briefly last year. 'The Horn Project', aka 'Spitzelhorn', aka 'Der Horn' is the wildly overhanging, proud arete just a little left of the classic slab route 'Drugs' 11b up towards the top of Dinosaur Mountain. Ted and Matt bolted this crazy little route last year and after some attempts gave me a shot at it. In some depressing heat I managed all but one move, which proved really difficult to even try due to the final bolt position. A few weeks back Matt shot me an email and let me know they had moved the final bolt enough to allow for the sequence to be more properly worked.

The impeding thunder storm arrived with vigor just as we set up at the base of The Horn Project, but I did barely manage pull through and hang some draws before my belayer was soaked and ready to leave (sorry Dad!). A few days later I returned in crisp temps, not expecting much other than to get a sequence worked out. The new bolt position turned out to be perfect for working the crux moves although it would never be clipped on the go- In many ways this is a bolt protected boulder problem. It's not that it could be protected with pads, (not even for K Jorg!) but it's that you climb 30 feet of 5.11, clip, and then fire a 9 move, brutal crux sequence above your final bolt to a finishing jug. Finicky body position, precision dead-points and sharp flatirons crimps characterize this bouldery route. As soon as I got my sequence figured out I decided to lower to the ground and give it a proper effort. Second try I took the slightly terrifying fall from the final, sideways dead-point. Stoked, I lowered and gave it 5 min before roping up and clipping chains. Super stoked! More than anything, it means the world to me to be able to make a contribution to one of my favorite areas that's history has largely defined my pursuit. 'The Horn' is a great new addition, that will suit bouldery rope climbers well. I estimated a 5.13+ grade, although depending on one's preferences and/or abilities it may feel easier, or perhaps harder.. bottom line is that there is a new hard route in the Flatirons and I'm proud to be (partly) responsible! HUGE thanks to Ted and Matt for all the work and money they have invested in the Flatirons over the years, and for handing over such a kick ass route for my efforts. Andy Mann was there on the send taking some footage- stay tuned for a video short on my F.A. of 'The Horn'.

F.A. 'The Horn' 13+ Andy Mann Photo

While Paige fires through her final exams, I'm busy getting all set for our fast approaching and much anticipated road trip. Despite how much I look forward to trips, they always seem to sneak up on me. There comes a pivotal moment when I suddenly realize the imminence of departure, and for a second I'm overwhelmed with stress.. which quickly dissolves to excitement along with a furry of guidebook studying, beta soliciting and Internet image searching.. We've got 7 killer North American spots planned out, and we will likely add a couple along the way. First stop? The mighty Smith Rocks.. an American super-crag with a history unmatched. A number of the countries most transformative routes lie there, and many ancient test-pieces still bought the best of us. I've been dreaming of visiting Smith Rocks since I first started rock climbing, and this area has long captivated my attention despite it's current 'off-radar' position in the limelight.

We'll be there in under a week, and I couldn't be more stoked. After a couple weeks in Smith we are going to make our way north through the Seattle area (a spot I visited last summer and total fell in love with), carrying on up through Canada as the summer temps heat up. LaSportiva will be with us all along the way, posting some rad and unique content on their LIVE site as we *hopefully* crush everything in our path!

Our good friends at Primus generously hooked us up with some killer cooking gear to make the back of my Subaru a little more comfortable. I've completely geeked out over the Primus EtaExpress recently, clocking its lightning fast boil time (fastest on the market) and admiring its pack-ability.. avoiding the use of my range top stove at all costs.

EtaExpress makes it HOT

I'll likely get one more post off before we hit the road and then I'll be reporting from the field. If anyone has got advice, beta or suggestions on Smith or the North-West please feel free to post it up! Cheers!

Colorado Burl VOL 2!

Are you a Front Range Freak, upset by continued wintery conditions, just dying for some quality psych-heightening Colorado love??!!?! Well, have we got just the event for you! Join myself, pro photog Andy Mann and my boy Matt Wilder for an evening of jaw-dropping Colorado imagery, community building, story telling, trivia, ridiculous raffling, hooting and (last but not least) hollering at Neptune Mountaineering- this upcoming Thursday April 29 at 8pm. Andy and I put on a killer slide-show last fall that we have improved and polished for a part 2 showing. This FREE show, titled 'Colorado Burl', is a first hand audio/visual tour of Front Range classic (and brand new) test-pieces that is sure to inspire. If photos aren't your thing, you're sure to get stoked on a wicked raffle ($5) generously sponsored by Arcteryx, Mountain Hardware and Mountain Smith.. plus we have Avery beer!

To wet your appetite for Andy Mann Photo quality- have a look at some wicked images Climbing.com has posted on our road trip through the North-West last fall. See you guys n gals Thursday!!

the Mountain Park...

After an excited and extremely informative beta spray down from my good buddy Nick Martino on one of America's best kept secrets, Mill Creek, Paige and I were Utah bound with turbo vigor, powered by the WRX. We took a weekend trip to this killer area last fall and left with huge smiles and some proud success. Despite the small size of this area, it packs a great number of 'kick in mouth' hard routes and is sure to inspire. Mill Creek stands out to me as perhaps America's prettiest crag- and definitely one of it's hardest as well.

Weather was amazing when we arrived, and with my cryptic beta-map scribbles in hand, I was stoked to attempt some un-repeated burly classics as well as polish off some amazing moderates I hadn't had a chance to sample before... however, despite approaching in short sleeves, we found the deep, tight canyon buried in snow. The warm weather was pushing melt-off from near by hill-sides directly over the sandstone cliffs, turning most of the crag to a raging waterfall. Along with heavy run-off from above, the floor of the canyon was either covered in 2 feet of slush or 5 saturated inches of mud - super unpleasant. Still *kinda* stoked, we warmed up and made the best of it, climbing whatever wasn't soaking. There did happen to be one classic burl route left for me at the Wicked Crag that was bone dry. 'Aesthetics' is appropriately named for it's jaw dropping beauty.

approaching the crux of Aesthetics 5.13. Ben Randolph Photos.

I did it's neighboring route, 'Prosthetics' 13d, last fall, but didn't have a chance to do the straight up version (Aesthetics). This route is laughably called 5.13a by Moab locals, but took me the same amount of effort as it's 'much harder' neighbor. Perhaps I missed something or maybe I could blame it on my height (pretty please!!), but I would be quick to say it felt in the same general ball-park of difficulty as Prosthetics.. dang Moab sandbaggers!!!

lowering into a tree was the dry climbing shoe beta

Paige crushes Bow Spirit 13a. Jstar Photo

After a solid, albeit soaking, day at Mill Creek we had to consider other options.. conveniently between us and home, just a half hour off of I-70 lay a historical Colorado hard man/woman area that I had yet to visit.. an area that I was destined to arrive at sooner or later- and it would take a situation such as this to finally draw me there...

Those who know me (and probably many that don't), know that I had never climbed at the beloved Rifle Mountain Park. For years I resisted the weekend regular, 3.5 hour climbing-sticker-laden Subaru caravan from Boulder to New Castle. For a long time now, I've received shocking stares when I interrupt the, 'you know the kneebar on Pump-O-Rama, how it.. (etc.)', with, 'Dude. Sorry, but... I've never been to Rifle'... Some reply with aggressive shouting and poor language, others with physical abuse, and some just quietly peer into my eyes and turn their heads with disbelief. Kidding. Kind of.

It seems you can't just like Rifle, you have to LOVE it like a stranded kitten, direly in need of a raised arm to escape the height of a tree limb. It's THAT GOOD, people would say. However, I refrained. While many of my friends were logging thousands of miles on I-70, I was hiking 'insane' lengths to access un-repeated front range classics and bush-whacking hours to find gems that Tommy Caldwell and Colin Lantz had left for us many years ago. I had plenty to do close by and I grew to love obscure climbs, and the solitude (which I'd heard Rifle was severely in lack of). However, just like those said Legends did in the 90's, I'm running desperately low on inspiration close by (currently reduced to 1-star climbs, link-ups and repeats). I knew I would eventually make it to Rifle, I guess I just wanted to wait it out as long as possible- mostly to spite Chris Weidner and Tony Yao!! (you win guys.. you win..)

I have never arrived at a climbing area with near as much expectation as I had when I first pulled into Rifle this past weekend- I'd heard everything.. choss, crowds, beauty, Dave Pegg's dogs, spray, kneebars, chipped holds, glue, burl, picnic tables, some crazy high-pitched rhythmic bird noise.. everything. However, I tried to put it all aside, and let my loving girlfriend (who loves Rifle), give me a tour of the historic canyon for a day and half. So, without further ado- here are my first impressions.

super stoked

The climbing is SUPER unique, and immediately I curbed my ego and accepted that it would take me some time to become comfortable with the style. The canyon is much more beautiful than I expected and the routes are much uglier than I expected - it really is, for the most part, choss. Despite the lack of jaw-dropping aesthetics and the existence of standout lines, the movement is fun. The classics are polished to a degree I thought unimaginable, however, as I would eventually find out- if you apply pressure your feet actually do stick (probably the trickiest part of learning to climb here I would say). It's more compact than I thought (whole canyon is ~2 miles)- people really drive between these cliffs.. serious? The river-side hangout is very cool, although I can imagine being not psyched on crowds in the high season. 'Pretty Hate Machine' 12c is not very good, IMO (sorry!). 'I'm not a Philistine' 12c is amazing (yes!!).

Like I mentioned, I lowered my expectations considerably here.. it's well known that flash climbing in Rifle is very difficult and the unique arrangement of poor opposing holds and horrible feet is really hard to pick up on right away. I did, however, manage to onsight a couple 12+ and flash a super fun 13a, 'Poetic Justice'. I also put down the incredible 'Anti-Phil' 13b, which I thought was WICKED good and very hard at the grade (perhaps cause I didn't use the chipped hold and I mistakenly missed the sit-down rest). By the end of our long day and evening there I definitely felt like I was beginning to get the hang of things, but I'm not ready to say I know the style yet by any means.

Like any crag (save the Red), Rifle has it's ups and downs- to me the ups are a copious amount of hard climbing, great history and a beautiful setting. Downs include mostly choss quality rock, high crowds/traffic and generally ugly routes. However, overall, I left stoked. Just to stand in a beautiful canyon full of difficulty that I haven't touched, within 4 hours of my house is MAD inspiring. Not to mention I finally won't have any trouble finding partners. I'll be returning to Rifle for sure, kneepads in hand.

In the spirit of Colorado Burl, I want to announce a WICKED slide-show that Andy Mann, Matt Wilder and I are putting on at Neptunes Mountaineering on the 27th of April at 8pm. Titled 'Colorado Burl: Part 2' we will be highlighting a number of the Front Range's best and hardest climbs, complete with stories, trivia, a generously sponsored raffle by ARCTERYX, Mountain Hardware and MountainSmith and yes.. shhhh.. Avery Beer. I'll remind you next week. See you there!

Numbers and things

At times I can't help but feel that our tools for measuring an individuals worth as a rock climber have become too quantitative. I strongly believe that the talent and ability of a rock climber cannot be judged on paper, or tallied up numerically. I stand by this statement for many reasons, but right now I've focused my rant on why style matters, two fold..

I admire pursuits like skateboarding, freeride mountain biking and surfing because there is a special respect reserved for those who do things really well.. more specifically, athletes are applauded when they execute with impeccable style, even in the case that the accomplishment or trick is perhaps not the hardest ever. Obviously, the title of 'the best' would be reserved for those who command impressive style on feats of cutting edge difficulty.

Honed technique is always inspiring to watch, and every confident climber has a unique style of their own. I'm always captivated when climbers administer true style on a route or a boulder, using empowered movement and smooth connectivity. It's not necessarily that they make everything appear easy, but more that they exhibit their confidence and control in such a way that spells out S-K-I-L-L-S . We all flail from time to time, especially when we try hard- and it would be a lie to say I don't derive inspiration from watching a redline, hail Mary, final effort attempt. However, I will admit that I hold my highest respect for those that make climbing look beautiful- regardless of the number grade, regardless of the specific discipline. It would seem that in today's climbing world athletes have been reduced to a numerical worth, but I still believe there is value in style. Naturally we will all admire those pushing the limits of pure difficulty, but I'll always save some respect for those climbing with fresh technique and style, at any grade.

Lynn Hill executes Doric Dihedral (5.12) with impeccable style.. [ANDY MANNphoto]

Marshal Balick executes the back 9 with impeccable style..

Secondly, everyone has strengths and weaknesses and given the shocking diversity of skills needed for all the many forms of rock climbing, it will likely always be this way. It would seem impossible to hone the strength and skill set necessary to climb all forms of rock at a top level at the same time. Let alone to focus on all the specific abilities such as lock-offs, mono-pulling, off-widths, underclings, footwork, etc (to name a couple). Given that all climbers have strengths and weaknesses (and no two bodies are the exact same size, etc)- it's pretty naive to think that a 5.13x to one will feel exactly 5.13x to another. Grades are merely a suggestion and a guideline. I feel that deep down it's all about how hard we try. Like I've mentioned before, the greater effort we put in, the greater success finally feels. No one but you really knows how hard you're trying- no need to lie to yourself, or others. Sometimes 5.11 (5.14, whatever) will feel easy and sometimes you're gonna have to work your ass off for it. I've flashed 5.14a's and also invested three days in the grade within the same month- one achievement might look way better on paper, but I know which send I value more.. If we all only pursued climbs that catered to our strengths, we might have a more impressive resume, but we'd never progress- and worse yet, we might never have the chance to really put in SERIOUS effort!

'Vogue' 5.14, tested every one of my weaknesses [ANDY MANN photo]

If you're reading this sentence, it means you made it through my rant- congrats! Feel free to leave comments and counter-rants if you're feeling inspired.

Speaking of inspiration, the weather in the Front Range has FINALLY cleared up a bit and everyone seems to be sending. I've been rope-bouldering at the local choice powerhouse, the Primo Wall, a bit, with the intention on building my power-endurance up. This little wall always offers a worthy fatigue, and has been a great training ground for me ever since last spring when I first checked it out (probably because it's the closest thing to bouldering I really ever do). I managed to finish all the choice hard climbing there last year, so my returns this year have been purely for training and getting outside. After repeating the top-notch 5.13s at the Primo, my good buddy Nick Duttle (Primo Wall link-up mastermind) suggested a new challenge that would likely be the hardest at the wall- the line begins with the crux of Primeval (14a) and continues through the midsection of Shine (14a), directly finishing on the brutal crux of Grim Aura (13d). After revisiting the bottom of Primeval and the crux of Grim Aura, I expected the link-up to take me some sincere effort- although knowing that it would be just the kind of training I was after. Surprisingly, I fired this taxing link-up the next day. To me, this definitely felt harder than 'Primetime to Shine' (14b). This rig is a power endurance test-piece that adds a proper challenge and enough unique climbing to make it a worth-while tick. I'm hesitant to name yet another link-up at the Primo, but to simplify things I'm calling it 'Suprimo'.

!tortilla chips!

Paige and I have also been hiking to the Monastery- finding mostly bitter cold (like, HEINOUS cold), although we had a brilliant day of May-like weather up there yesterday. Paige invested a killer burn on the classic 'Third Millennium' 13d, and I cranked some training laps on that and it's bouldery neighbor 'The Quickening' 13c- two amazing, difficult rock climbs. We were joined by a bunch of good friends, climbed in T-shirts and laid out in Rocky Mountain sunshine- brilliant.

Now we're packing up for a trip to the incredible Mill Creek, outside Moab, to grab some of the countries best sandstone- with a 7 week road trip on the horizon. Motivation!

Rock climbing has a uniquely potent capacity to probe, inflate and also crush egos. Everyone, regardless of ability level or investment, has experienced frustration at one point or another-even the world's best. Personally, I've noticed my periods of frustration and low psych have only intensified as I've grown and progressed as a rock climber. The more skilled I've become, the more I've come to expect of myself and the more I notice even the slightest fluctuations in my own specific abilities.

I think many would agree that the very reasons why climbing can cause frustration and anxiety are the same reasons why we love the hell out of this pursuit. The blissful rewards of hard work and dedication give meaning and purpose to our frustration. The hard part is seeing the whole picture when you fall off your project for the umpteenth time- it's difficult to have perspective in those moments (if not simply perspective on climbing, even life itself!). In reality, pushing your own limits as a climber (and in most other life cases) will be heavily saturated with failure- instances of success will be few and far between. Learning to positively deal with and reflect on failure and unmet expectations is much more a part of growth than learning how to spray about a hard send. If you allow yourself to deeply fear failure, you will never truly progress and you'll probably never send your proj.

I had one primary goal for last weeks trip to the Virgin River Gorge- the all-American classic, 'Necessary Evil' 14c. After warming up on our first day, I immediately jumped on this test-piece, and right away I was both shocked by its difficulty and stoked on my progress, doing essentially all but one move on my first attempt. Unfortunately, that one move would plague the rest of my trip and despite a few moments of inspiration (and even lowered expectations/goals), I would eventually leave empty handed. After spending essentially the entire previous month dreaming about this climb and my first trip to the V.R.G., I was for sure bummed when we left. On our final day, when whining to local hard-man and wicked photog Jorge Visser, he promptly replied with, 'Well.. go home, train, and come back'. True. And that's my plan, I'll save my second round of effort for the cold winter months, and I plan to return fully prepared. I'm stoked already!

are there any 5.10b here or what!?

The V.R.G. is hard, but quality exists at nearly every grade (well, really above 11+). The conditions can be a bit brutal given the wind and hot/cold that exists in the desert landscape, not to mention the nearby interstate. However, I think it's worth mentioning that although the road noise, exhaust and general discomfort of I-15 is like, right there, Paige and I both thought that said annoyances were a bit over-hyped.. it's not that bad.. especially considering how focused you will be on bullet rock grabbing and heart pounding run-outs.

the VRG.. be afraid!

In between frustrating burns I did sample some of the slightly easier, ULTRA high quality routes that the V.R.G. has to offer. I onsighted 'Joe's Six Pack' 13a, which is a hell of a ride- half a dozen 5.12 cruxes separated by decent rests carries you endlessly up the Planet Earth wall. This is potentially the best 13a I've ever done (did it 2 more times cause it's that good). I also onsighted all but the bottom (shares a start) of the incredible 'Don't Call me Dude' 13c - a resistance masterpiece with only one rest in 100 feet. The same day I onsighted the hyper classic 'Fall of Man' 13b - a wickedly long, bullet 'slab' which induces a calve pump that will have you limping around the crag for days, and squeezes a terrified whimper from even the boldest of sport climbers- think RUN OUT.

not a bad place to wake up

In addition to some fun, albeit ass kicking, days at the V.R.G. we also got to visit with awesome friends, check out Zion National Park (a world class destination, if only for the views), poach a solid day of tanning poolside at a casino in Mesquite and cruise the strip in St. George for hours (great way to raise confidence!).

When our asses (read: egos) hurt bad enough we took off for a couple days into one of my favorite areas, Utah's San Rafael Swell. This vast area holds some of the most incredible natural formations I've experienced in the world and should be a destination for anyone who is at all fascinated with the desert. We hiked a couple super cool slot canyons and spent some time exploring Goblins Valley, which I've told many people is perhaps the single most unique landscape of natural formations I've ever seen- totally mind blowing. Can't help but be happy when exploring the Goblins, baking in the Utah desert sun.

Little Wild Horse Canyon

Goblin Valley- go there

Now, I'm back in Boulder and I've got a whole new wave of motivation. The weather is clearing up and I'm VERY psyched to rap down some potential new routes I scoped out last year to bolt, get up some old routes left on my to-do list and waste away lengthening daylight hours outside grabbing stone. I'll be headed out to Utah in a couple weeks, as well as up to Wyoming and in less than I month I'm on the road- that's motivation. Cheers!

perfect form

Taste of Spring

Fellow humans, don't fear! That fiery sphere that slowly traverses our sky is our friend.. The Sun. It's been a long time coming (especially in the Front Range), but I do believe we've entered our first taste of the Spring, complete with clock-changing, curious flip-flop wearing and lower thigh exposure. Remember to ease into your vitamin D consumption for the most satisfying bronze, and despite how tempting it may be, don't stare directly at the Sun itself!

Eldo: the sun-chasers dreamland

Oh, and one more thing, don't resist an outside afternoon bouldering session or a weekend at the crags.. we all love the plastic, but it's time to loosen our grasp on training and do some rock climbing for a change. I'm happy to admit I've been getting out a bunch, with an exciting trip beginning in a couple days as well.

trips=psych!

Right after setting for the final BCS and SCS comps at the Boulder Rock Club last Friday, Paige and I hit the road North to one of our favorite hang outs, Lander, Wyoming. Since last spring when I first visited Lander, I've taken at least 6-8 trips back (some significantly shortened due to weather) and (mostly) loved every one. In much the same spirit as last March, we awoke this past Sunday to a considerably snowy camp site, and dooms-day clouds throughout. Luckily the friendly locals at Elemental Training Center hooked us up with some refuge, showers and a short, tired bouldering session.

famous last words, 'oh, we can for SURE make it through that'

After some complications (read: my stupidity) getting my Subaru stuck in two feet of snow we found ourselves blessed with a blue-bird day on Monday, and so began our first spring 2010 tanning / sending session. After many trips to Sinks Canyon I found myself mostly on the repeat-train, on routes in the Killer Cave like 'Samsara' 13b, 'The Throne' 13a/b, 'Successor' 13b, 'Mr Majestic' 13b and of course 'Killer' 12c. I did also fire a brand new extension called 'Exodus' 13c, that is worthy of a ride despite a little filth at the top. Paige had a killer weekend (no pun intended), firing The Throne, Successor and pulling off an epic running-waterfall top out flash of Mr Majestic- WICKED effort.

After a pebble grabbing good time at Flagstaff this morning with my Dad (in prime shape after taking 1st overall at BCS for his age category!!), I think I'm officially hooked on sunshine. I've got a pretty darn enjoyable couple of circuits that I'm really stoked on up at Flag, I've been doing them for years. Despite what you may have heard, Flagstaff actually is super radical and there is a core group of us who still really love bouldering up there. It's basically where I learned to climb, and to this day I feel gratitude and respect for the classic area- it never fails to provide a little ass kicking and V3 ego crushing-good time. Hurts soo good.

I'm hyper-psyched to be off to South-West Utah Friday morning for a proper 10 day climbing trip mostly focused around the limestone monster test-pieces at the Virgin River Gorge. Neither Paige, nor I have ever been, and along with The Red and Smith Rocks, the V.R.G. has been a top priority visit for me for quite some time. I love the kind of challenge that low-angled stone produces and after another session or two at Flag I'm hoping my fingertips will stop screaming and start biting down proper. Stoked. Very stoked.

flag boulder sessions: underrated.

We've got a number of great friends who will be in the area, and the weather forecast, after some depressing periods of wet, looks splitter. Hopefully you've got some spring break / last week in March plans cooking as well- resist the plastic! Enjoy.

-props to ANDY MANN, for all but (guess which one) photos-

I'm kind of a freak about Front Range climbing history. Anyone who caught Andy Mann and I's 'Colorado Burl' slide-show last fall knows that we mean business when it comes to route data, first ascent details and cryptic beta info. The rich history of rock climbing has always fascinated me, and the Front Range is oozing with it. My first hard sends were inspired not by what was hip at that time, but by a news clipping from an ancient Climbing Magazine or a rumor about a wicked late '80s ascent I had heard through one of my Dad's core climber buddies. I was reminded of my infatuation with climbing history this past weekend, when my girlfriend Paige Claassen and I hiked around to the Gym at Shelf Road to catch some vitamin D (top priority) and have a ball on some of Colorado's classic test-pieces.

Paige boots up beneath the classic 'Deeper Shade of Soul'

Immediately upon seeing 'The Example', I had flashbacks of one of my first 5.13 sends a number of years ago. At the time (and still today..) I was super inspired by Colin Lantz's achievements and after repeatedly reading the excerpt from Jeff Achey's, Climb!: A History of Rock Climbing in Colorado, about his hail Mary first ascent just days before the visiting J.B. Tribout would have potentially ripped it off, I knew I had to climb 'The Example'. I even went so far as to use Colin's original, forgotten beta at the top of the climb, adding a letter grade of difficulty. Looking back, I'm surprised I didn't toss on some neon turquoise lycra and a J-Rat headband for the full 1987 experience. It's historic photos like this one (below- Colin on the first ascent of the Example) that lured me to obscure climbs like 'Rock Atrocity' 13c, 'Your Mother' 12d and 'Honemaster Lambada' 13d/14a (all Lantz routes) over the years. I really admired this generation throughout the first few years of my obsession with climbing and to this day I'm still overwhelmed by how wicked the classics are.. and by how amazing said achievements would be in such form fitting attire.

Lantz in his prime

Needless to say, I spent quite of bit of time climbing at Shelf Road back in the day (..circa '06/'07..) and although I've completed nearly everything of interest there, I still love a good day at Shelf every now and then. We ran into a number of friends and enjoyed some much needed sun this past weekend. I did a couple new-to-me routes I enjoyed like 'Blast From the Past' 13-, and 'The French are Here' 12c, as well as cranking numerous laps on some of my all time favorites like 'Deeper Shade of Soul' 13b/c (Lantz route as well) and 'The Hurricane' 12b/c.

life in the back of a Subaru- wicked

I'm finally feeling gains from an intensified training schedule, just in time for a number of lengthy climbing trips on the horizon- Wyoming, Arizona and Utah. I've always found, however, that 'training' can only go so far, and in the end, all of my breakthroughs in climbing have been a product of trying hard on real stone. Inspiration is everything in my experience, and plastic can only inspire me for so long.. It always takes a couple outings in the spring to get re-stoked on the camping/climbing lifestyle. Now that my stove and cooler are dusted off and my insulating jacket reeks of camp fire, I'm motivated and consistently thinking ahead for the next trip- the time for training is coming to an end as the spring moves near and our projects dry out.

plastic makes (almost) perfect

I've also felt the benefits of massage work (thanks to GRIP massage) recently for the first time- I had my first massage work EVER done last week and I was a wreck for days.. if I didn't know better I'd think I was given a sedative and beaten with a sock full of quarters for an hour- but almost as quickly as the soreness came on I was feeling loose and refreshed- pretty awesome really. I'm excited to see how massage effects my climbing ability and recovery time.. so far so good.

Chris Weidner: like a deer in headlights, moments before Batman exacts revenge..

My cross training activities of course would not be complete without an evening of tequila induced, costume roller-skating at the Wagon Wheel Roller Rink. Despite a minor hip injury I had an incredibly good time among over a hundred members of the extended league of random super-heroes and villains out to skate that night. Anyone out to pick a fight with Batman (batman=jstar.. keep it on the down low!) was cruising for a bruising and, trust me, repeat offender Chris Weidner a.k.a. Professor Pink Python got HAD that night.