countdown to CO

With only a week left here in Sin City, it's hard to imagine packing in half of what I'm hopeful to get done. While firing off a few more quality climbs is high on that laundry list, so is saying goodbye to the brilliant nightlife and all of my newly made friends in the area. It's been a wicked trip - and one that I foresee myself repeating for years to come when the winters get harsh in Colorado. Next time I'll bring a drill....

Arrow Canyon - an amazing place..

The last week I had to fight some crappy weather that came with a major storm system. I took a little extra rest and even made my way into the gym for a session (first time grabbing plastic in a WHILE). I did, however, get to have a look at the incredible Arrow Canyon. A truly interesting place, packed with some high quality stone. You approach through a limestone slot canyon, with petroglyph inscribed, water polished stone walls towering hundreds of feet above you. You follow a series of bends to find a rad little cave, lined with nice long routes. Some of the more moderate climbs feature amazing quality of stone - like blasphemy wall but with more texture. The cave routes are on much worse stone, but still offer up a fun, steep challenge. I liked the thuggy 'Swamp Thing' 13c, 'Brown Sugar' 12d, the technical 'Heart of Glass' 13a and the super cool 'Tangled Up in Blue' 12a. It was a rad day, and nice to check out a new spot - I can imagine some seriously bad ass, hard, technical routes going up in this canyon..

Swamp Thing - Hayden Eatchel photo

Pawel on Tangled up in Blue

I made my way back to the Cathedral for a couple days as well, eager to check out some of the steep routes on the right side of the wailing wall and fire off a few classics I'd yet to have a go at. I managed the powerful 'Treebeard' 13c, but was uninspired by Joey's 'Unforgivable' 14 b/c and unfortunately Andy Raether's 'Slaughterhouse Five' 14 b/c is still pretty dang wet... hmm bummer. Instead, I made my way up the interesting and unique 'Half Baked Half Broken' 13d, and fired the bouldery and tricky 'Pucker' 13c. I finished the day checking out 'Sonic Boom' 13d, a monster line that goes out the Cathedral adjacent 'Golden'. I sussed my beta and ticked a few holds, eager to return the following day.

Melissa Kelly puts down her first 5.13.. 'Holbytla'

I warmed up and decided to jump on an alternative start to Sonic Boom - a bouldery and dynamic 13b called 'Latter Day Sinners'. After managing a flash, I decided to just continue into Sonic Boom (technically a link up called 'Trunk Monkey') and surprised myself by making the summit on this towering and super cool 14a. I finished the day flashing a seeping 'Space Shuttle to Kolob' 13a and a powerful, hard 13b on the right side called 'Indulgence'.

drinks at the Mandarin Bar.. Andy Mann image

No better way to cap a climbing day like this than to return to Vegas and hit the strip - we had a truly killer night and now, with under 3 hours of sleep behind me, I'm busy resting and getting psyched to check out a multi-pitch route deep in Red Rock Canyon tomorrow!

I've seen the final cut for a wicked video short that Andy Mann and I made about climbing at the VRG and my time here in Vegas.. It should be out soon.. stay tuned!!

My summer plans are solidifying, and I'm already getting excited about the next trip.. soon after I clock some hours route setting, training, hanging with family and relaxing in Boulder for a little while. Recognizing my desire for freedom, my taste for adventure and my future goals, I'm convinced that it's time for me to fully commit - and in such a spirit I'm planning on moving out of my place and into a truck.. no fixed address...hitting the road - FOREVER!

GOLD!

I've been making my way up north frequently to continue my efforts at the Cathedral / Wailing Wall zone - a very cool hang above an inspiring landscape. My efforts have been focused on a Joe Kinder route he called 'Golden Direct' 14d.

Golden Direct takes the dramatic center line out of the Cathedral. It begins with a pleasant 11+ and a decent shake before firing immediately into a bouldery and run-out 13b, which meets with 'Golden' at a poor rest. From here the route enters a long power endurance section, highlighted by big, sequential moves and another thrilling run-out. This section finishes with a difficult seeping undercling clip and another poor rest. From here the rock quality improves to near perfection as you enter a stout boulder problem on tufas and bullet grey limestone featuring small pitches and pockets - ending with a desperate slap to a awkward ledge. Another crappy rest here before a final boulder problem finishing with an awesome and dramatic lunge for the summit of the cave. The route is truly incredible! It's exhausting to climb and brilliant to look at.

a mammoth of a pitch

My first couple days on Golden Direct were barely linking bolt to bolt - sussing beta but also enduring serious fatigue on this mega steep pitch. This past weekend, in crap conditions, I could barely grab draws as I crawled my way up the route to figure out the tricky finishing boulder problems. With zero expectation I surprised myself on Tuesday by falling off a tufa pinch move close to the end of the route, and finishing the day with a solid one hang. Yesterday I returned ambitious but again without expectation.. in some nearly perfect conditions I made my way to the finishing boulder problems, muscling my way through a dicey clip off a seeping undercling. With beta countlessly recited in my head I entered the crux prepared to use full effort and move after move later I was jumping for the lip of the cave and clipping chains.. pumped and psyched! The route took me 9 or 10 tries total. I finished the day with a flash on 'The Cross' 13c, a killer climb on the Wailing Wall.

My experience on this route could not differ more from my recent experience on 'Necessary Evil'. Necessary was a complete mind game for me that never felt remotely guaranteed. The fickle conditions, precise and subtle movement made redpointing mentally exhausting and at times super frustrating... eventually I had to abandon all expectation and accept the fact that I would (hopefully) send at some point so I just needed to keep trying until I did. As for Golden Direct, my success came before I ever had an opportunity to get stressed or anxious about it. It was more physically exhausting, but mentally it came as something of a gift... and I'll happily take it after how hard I worked to succeed at the VRG. It's a golden truth (no pun intended) that sometimes victory is almost handed to us, and other times we have battle for it... ahhhh don't you just LOVE rock climbing!? (seriously though, it's freaking awesome isn't it?!) I fought hard on my redpoint for this beast but I'd still have to say that in my limited experience, it definitely sits at the soft side of 9a. Huge thanks to Joey Kinder for all his hard work establishing routes out here. Much respect!! I'm SUPER excited about this send and stoked to make the best of my remaining time in Vegas!

mega.post

Somebody once told me that this city was hot... and at 92 degrees on the first of April, I believe 'em. Luckily I'm on a rest day and comfortably leaning back in the far corner of the air conditioned Sahara West Library. I need a little break from the sun after an eventful week of climbing and exploring..

Before this intensive heat set in, I thankfully managed to get a little more low elevation climbing finished. End of last week I finally got a chance to get a taste of the Trophy Wall at Red Rock. In some unpleasant wind, we got out for a good day and I went home smiling after polishing off the wall. It features some area classics like the namesake and super steep 'Trophy' 5.12, the RRG reminiscent 'Pet Shop Boys' 12d, 'Twilight of a Champion' 13a and the wicked hard three move 'Shark Walk' 13a, among others. I also got to finish off the Secret 13 with 'Where is My Mind' 13c - this varied, bouldery and beautiful line takes the cake as my favorite route at Red Rock.

Joel Love enjoys a 'sandwich eating ledge' rest on Trophy

brilliant 12a on Trophy. MANN PHOTO

Rad climbing on Bill Ramsy's 'Where is My Mind' MANN PHOTO

Last weekend I finally got back to the VRG to revisit the incredible 'Horse Latitudes' 14a. This was the final route that I set out to climb at the VRG, and much like the rest of my experience climbing there, it was not easy. Sunday I put this Randy Leavitt test-piece to rest, and followed with the obscure, but awesome 'Deliverance' 13a and lapped 'Joe's Six Pack' 13a and 'F-Dude' 14a one more time for good measure... saying my goodbyes to the VRG.

Horse Latitudes. Awesome. MANN PHOTO

...Above all it was a challenge for me to climb there, and I felt like every route required effort, in a way that I hadn't encountered at any other cliff. Nothing was given to me: every flash or onsight attempt ended just feet from the anchors, every redpoint required more attempts than I would normally expect and nearly every climbing day was highlighted with some degree of frustration. I LOVE the VRG.. seriously... it's one of my favorite crags, and likely some of the best limestone in America - but I will always remember my time there as something of a struggle - something that every climber encounters from time to time. It's times like this that we grow as not only athletes, but as people. Stoked to be done!

This week I made my way to the Mesquite area, ambitious to get into some higher altitude and climb on new cliffs. I revisited the Cathedral / Wailing wall for the first time in 3 years - still taken aback by it's quality. I hung my draws on the massive 'Golden Direct' 14+ and started sussing beta and making some good links. The line takes the center of the Cathedral, and climbs through thuggy, powerful terrain for it's entirety. It'll be a good challenge for me and I'm psyched to get back! I've got my fingers crossed that a seeping key hold dries out soon...

the MAN. the RIG.

I was joined by fellow Arcteryx athlete and climbing legend Scott Milton for the last couple days to try and capture some video clips around the area. We made the mistake of trekking out to the magnificent Phalanx of Will in some heinous heat - it's not in the shade if you were wondering. I had always wanted to have a look at this unique and remote feature though, and I was stoked to get a few pitches in. Highlights were a stellar 5.11 crack on it's South-East face, and the thrilling 'Fossil of a Man' 13c arete. It's a really cool feature that's worth a day - but I would highly recommend going with a friend who knows the way.

Phalanx

We also had a look at the Blank Wall, or Sunset Alley - home to Joe Kinder's brand new 'Tiger Blood'. I enjoyed some long 5.12 warm ups, and thoroughly enjoyed onsighting the amazing 'Movin On Up' 5.13c - featuring a super bizarre overhanging chert ladder. I onsighted a rad 13b called 'Pig Face' on some rifle-esc white limestone, and finished the day epicing on a short and heinous little 13a.. name unknown? I also jumped on 'Tiger Blood' to get a taste. It begins with a tough little 12a, to a mega rest, and then fires abruptly into a savage boulder problem on gnarly little holds.. there is a shake in the middle, and the top exhibits more bullet rock and a few more burly moves. It'll be worth some effort if I have time to get back to it. Nice job Joey!!

Good luck to everyone in SCS Nationals today! I would not want to be competing with the women's field.. some crazy strong ladies are psyched and fit to dominate.

rendezvous

The Red River Rendezvous went off well despite some kinda heinous conditions. I taught a Redpointing 101 clinic on Saturday and had a blast with a killer group of motivated climbers. We ran ropes up the entire crag, endured some gnarly wind and straight up had a great time hanging out. I was thoroughly impressed with how psyched everyone was and it seemed like everyone made tremendous strides in just a day. Stoked!

the BEST group!

LaSportiva was there demoing a fleet of great shoes as always and there was a healthy crew of ambassadors representing! Big thank you to Sportiva for bringing me out to this event and getting me involved. We raised money for the accessfund and got hundreds of stoked climbers out for a couple days of great clinics. Hope everyone had a killer time!

putting a cleaning on 'em

regal Zeke

Last week I got out to one of the newest Red Rock additions, the Secret 13 wall. This beautiful wall exhibits the highest concentration of hard sport routes, including the two hardest, in the Park. It's a rad hang, far from crowds and road noise, and the routes are super enjoyable. It's about 50-70 feet of generally very consistently bouldery climbing on aesthetic albeit fragile sandstone. I warmed up on a bouldery little 13a called 'DNA', before checking out the wicked and sustained 'You Are What You Is' 13b, 'Ambushed' 13a and finishing the day on my favorite of the group, the compression problem 'Go 100' 13b. It was great day of onsighting at a seriously cool new crag.

BEAU is in the house

big crew in town

A bunch of great friends made their way out here for the festival and monday night we had an awesome night out on the strip, celebrating a successful Rendezvous before everyone took off for home. This week I'm hopeful to finish up some business and then I'm potentially headed out to Bishop and Owen's for a couple days with my homeboy Kevin Jorgeson and Andy Mann... we'll see!

view from the XS...

A passing storm left a blanket of snow on the foothills and was responsible for the adverse weather over the weekend, but now we're emerging and the forecast is looking perfect. I've spent the last couple of cold and windy days out trying to make the best of it, and somehow managed to put down 'Yoshimi Battles' 13d at Red Rock yesterday whilst suffering from a hangover and a severe lack of sleep... geezzz Vegas. This route put up quite a fight though - a wicked long move, nice edges, bouldery and brutal.. I even broke a key hold on one burn.. I was stoked to send.

RRR!

Exactly three years back I made the spring break pilgrimage to the St George area for my first time. It was on this short trip that I first met an up and coming photographer, Andy Mann. We hit it off immediately as friends and shortly thereafter as industry partners.

'Hope' 13a, circa 2008, Mann photo

Andy and I shot together nearly everyday on that trip, capturing some great images of the Utah hills and surrounding areas. He experimented with off camera lighting, new photo techniques and jugging a line, meanwhile I had one of my first breakthrough climbing trips. Over the course of the week, I climbed 8 5.13s (mostly 13a's), which was at the time above and beyond the best performance I'd ever had. I remember the trip fondly.. late nights around the fire, long mornings beneath the blazing desert sun and tiresome climbing on impressive limestone.

radical movement on 'Planet Earth', Mann photo circa last week

Now, in a bustling Las Vegas coffee shop, I'm sharing a table with Andy and looking back at how far we've both come. My climbing has developed dramatically with every year and Andy's photos and video have taken amazing strides to stand out as some of the best work in the industry. Through the years we've worked side by side on countless projects and grown to become great friends. I'm stoked that he's hanging around Vegas for a while and in only a few days hard work we've already captured a variety of rad footage and images.. stay tuned!

high on the Planet Earth wall.. Andy Mann photo

In-between heinously hot days, I did manage to put down Randy Leavitt breathtaking classic, 'Planet Earth' 14a, one of the first 5.14s in the area and a hard one at that. The crew and I spent another long and amazing night on the town enjoying the unparalleled nightlife - can't be beat. I even did some bouldering (!) and put down the Red Rock classic sport climbs 'Sunsplash' 13b and 'Monster Skank' 13b - wicked, HARD, rock climbs. It felt like an eventful couple of days.

fun

Speaking of events.... RED ROCK RENDEZVOUS is THIS WEEKEND!

Already the number of visitors is crazy.. it's easy to imagine this being the largest climbing festival in the country. I'll be teaching a Redpointing 101 clinic on both Saturday and Sunday. I'm stoked to get out at the crag, enjoy the sun and meet some new people. The weather looks great as well.. should be a rad weekend!

stoke train

There are so many variables in rock climbing that when you do it full time there will inevitably be ups and downs. Weather, partners, conditions, skin, psych, etc. are constantly changing.. making for sometimes narrow windows of opportunity and frequently resulting in last minute plan shifting. As hard as it is to see your project or favorite wall running with water, have a series of partners bail on you, or tear a mega flapper on the stupid warm up, it's all part of the game. It's easy to let pessimism reign.. but psych always returns if you give it time.

Kenny Barker remains psyched.. putting down his first 5.14, F-Dude. Visser Photo

Jorge Visser captures myself on 'Don't Call Me Coach'

After a gnarly wet season, quite a bit of the stone around here is damp (or soaking) to some degree unfortunately. After finishing off the Blasphemy wall with heartbreakingly close flash attempts on both the overlooked crimpy masterpiece 'Don't Call Me Coach' 13d and the long, footwork intensive 'Erotic Jesus' 13b, I was ambitious to turn the corner and check out the Planet Earth wall. Unfortunately it has been running with water and for a couple days I found myself back at the Blasphemy wall waiting for the unprecedented water level to drain. I even checked out a rarely done 12c called 'Sins of the Flesh' on the left side (which actually turned out to be pretty good!) in between repeat laps on F-Dude, Dude and Dark Boy. I spent an afternoon at the Black and Tan wall as well, which turned out to be seriously underwhelming albeit in a great setting. I did a short and powerful 13a, and sampled some of the harder routes, leaving without too much desire to return.. except for this wicked route.

Zeke and Chris Weidner: always psyched.

Marisa Ware on 'High Flames Drifter' 12+. Visser Photo

My short period of low psych came to a screaming halt yesterday when I decided to give an 'oh-what-the-hell-why-not' try on the still dripping Planet Earth wall classic 'Captain Fantastic' 13c. The entry 12+ pitch was damp to say the least, and the top required some fresh chalk, but it was totally manageable. I surprised myself with a second go send on this sandbagged, amazing test-piece. Inspired, I made my way up the neighboring 'Planet Earth' 14a and cleaned off some grime, revealing an incredible Randy Leavitt route that is just dry enough to warrant some effort. Psyched to get back!

Speaking of psyched, the Red Rock Rendezvous is rapidly approaching and I'm super excited to check out this huge get together. I'll be leading a clinic on the behalf of Sportiva for the event - I'll post details soon. If you're not familiar with this event you should definitely check out more here. As far as I know it's the largest rock climbing festival in the country - come check it out!

I-15

Having the pressure of Necessary off my back has allowed for FUN to once again saturate my climbing day... and the quality of climbs at the VRG makes this an easy target. I was egger to check out the other 5.14 on the wall - 'F-Dude' 14a - which opens with a challenging boulder problem, and continues through the cruxes of two 13b's to finish some 40 meters above the deck. It's an awesome pitch, and I was psyched to get it done.. but not before making the mistake of fumbling some 5.11 on the upper section of 'Fall of Man' 13b.. (rookie mistake!).. gotta laugh - we all make em from time to time. Yesterday I did a nice, albeit short little boulder problem route called 'Swear to God' 13b, and cleaned up 'Dark Boy' 13b, finishing the long day with a headlamp ascent of 'Dude' 13c. Awesome. The Planet Earth wall seems to be quite wet after this seasons rain, but I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, heading back to the Gorge tomorrow!

killer view of Red Rocks from the summit of Turtlehead Mtn

I finally broke down and ordered a little HD video camera - I'll try and put together a few little handheld videos, but I'll leave the quality film making for the likes of Andy Mann.. who, it just so happens, arrives in Vegas next week. Quality videos to come!

rite of passage

One thing about rock climbing that I've always admired is how easily and universally we as climbers can share our experience. No matter what number or letter grade you happen to climb, all of the emotions involved are the same. Climbing brings us to confront our ego, create goals, feel reward, thrive on success and of course, suffer from failure. We all experience whirlwind victories from time to time, just as we all inevitably experience weakness and defeat. As much as we'd like to turn away from these moments of discomfort, this is when a real opportunity for growth is laid before us.

beneath I-15

This past Thursday, my battle with 'Necessary Evil' finally came to a close when I clipped the chains on this masterpiece. In the end, this savage pitch required more effort from me than any other climb in over two and a half years. I fought with frustration, terribly fickle conditions, and some severely height dependent cruxes.. but all excuses aside, the reality is that it offered a unique challenge (mentally and physically) that required both dedication and persistence... More than the victory itself, I'm just proud that I stuck with it.

Caroline Treadway Photo. Follow her radical stories and images HERE

and of course... the What Matters? blog HERE

To me, Necessary Evil represents a rite of passage in American sport climbing and it has long been a goal of mine.. since magazine pages of heroes like Chris Sharma and Tommy Caldwell adorned my walls years ago. Nearly every one of it's few ascentionists have been major roll models to me throughout my life as a climber. I'm stoked to have my name on that list.

Kenny works it out on F-Dude

Crawling under I-15 without the pressure of Necessary on my mind is highly refreshing, and I'm psyched to continue climbing on some of the best stone in the states despite having spent many days there. Yesterday I checked out another Blasphemy Wall classic, F-Dude 14a and managed a one-hang on this epically long pitch.. I'm stoked to get back after this rainy weekend.

we're all tired after a long day at the VRG

In the meantime I'll enjoy another brilliant night out in Sin City with a hefty weight off my shoulders and a smile ear to ear. Psyched!

LV daily

After an eventful week in Sin City, I'm confident that relocating here for the season was the right decision.. and it may very well become an annual visit. Between the (mostly) reliable weather, vast and diverse climbing potential, psyched community and an unrivaled night life, Vegas is nothing short of awesome.

the VRG

I returned to Vegas with a short list of clear goals, the top priority being a devious route that bouted my attempts during a visit to the area early last year. 'Necessary Evil' 14c was established by a young and ambitious Chris Sharma during the spring of 1997. It begins with a savage two bolt V11 boulder problem and continues into an existing Boone Speed 5.14 called 'Route of all Evil'. Since Chris opened this groundbreaking route (the first of it's grade in America), it has seen a series of repeats by the likes of Tommy Caldwell, Sonnie Trotter, James Litz, Dave Graham, Jason Campbell, Ethan Pringle and Daniel Woods among others (?).

Jorge Visser photo!

Jorge Visser photo!

Jorge Visser photo!

After investing a number of days on the route, I can confidently say that this gnarly test-piece is one of the most difficult routes I've ever tried.. and as much as I'd love to list a handful of excuses as to why it feels so hard, personally, I really couldn't care less. At this point the only thing that matters to me is climbing the route.. it'll be an important accomplishment for me and I'm going to just keep trying until I clip chains. After two days of one-hanging the route I'm hopeful and psyched that that day will come soon.

Bill Ramsey knows all about the Vegas scene.. and how hard the VRG is..

Don't forget your pre-party stretches.. dancing is dangerous.

Unfortunately the passing of a few major storm systems has made the weather a little less reliable around here so I've been trading some days up at Potosi and at Red Rocks in between driving out to the VRG. Another thing that has kept me busy is the righteously famed Vegas night life. As many of my friends know well, I'm an electronic music fanatic and I love to get out and see performances. Lucky for me, this town is included on almost every DJs U.S. tour and the music venues are absolutely amazing. There's no better way to end a hard week of rock climbing than with a great crew of friends and a long night of dancing.. Vegas at it's best!

I'm something of a self proclaimed gear head, but rarely do I get so excited about a new product that I actually want to write about it.. The new Arc'Teryx S-220 is however, reason enough to be psyched. Arc'Teryx completely redid their entire WARP harness line for 2011, adding a few new models and perfecting the older ones. The new S-220 is their ultra-light sport climbing harness and is based on the previous generation S-240. With noticeably wider (and more comfortable) leg loops, improved elastic and reinforced tie in points the only thing it's lacking is 20 grams.. (it actually got lighter too). The new colors all across the line are rad as well. I'm super stoked on this new harness! have a closer look here.

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Back to LV

Winters are rough. In past years I've managed to get out from time to time (weather depending) for the occasional pitch in between months of plastic climbing, but unfortunately my options in the front range are running thin, as is my motivation to climb indoors or freeze my ass off. Now that I have the freedom and an increasing amount of resources I'm adamant to resist the winter lull and get out. I realized that If I really want to go after this rock climbing thing I'm going to have to chase the sun (or the shade - season depending) and stay climbing on new terrain year round. Thankfully, I'm very passionate about traveling and always ready for an adventure.

goodbye winter...

hello desert..

And so begins this one... I'm on my way back to Las Vegas for an extended stay. I'll be hanging around and checking out everything the area has to offer until it gets too hot. As I wrote last month during my visit, the community and lifestyle out here are rad. I'm super psyched!

the essentials

Before taking off early this morning I was filling my days continuing to fight this brutal cold, set some quality routes at the BRC and get some solid training in. As a result I'm finally well, have a few more dollars in my pocket and I'm fit and ready for some burl.. just right. I also did a radio interview last week along with Adam Scheer of climbinghouse.com, which is posted below.. have a listen if you've got some time to kill.

good ol' Sport Climbing!!

I put together a short essay highlighting a (very) brief history of Sport Climbing in America to accompany a really nice series of Andy Mann images featured on the Climbing.com website that can be found here. While I'm in the Vegas area, I'll be holding it down for LaSportiva and preparing for a clinic and / or slide-show at the upcoming Red Rock Rendezvous next month, which is rumored to be a rad event - super excited to check it out. Otherwise I'll be cragging like an animal, and hopefully getting some hard rock climbing done. Stay tuned!