Frog's Head

I had the day off yesterday, but Matt only had a three hour window between a morning shift and an afternoon shift. So of course we went climbing. We got on Frog's Head (5.6-) which is just one of the coolest climbs. It's normally broken up into two pitches, each 80 feet, but we linked them up. Great idea. Really good, fun, interesting climbing for 160 feet in a row. Perfect rest day climb. We got up and down in less than an hour, which is a good thing, because otherwise we would have gotten rained on!

Bouldering

After our mileage day, Matt and I went out for a day of bouldering. The weather was pretty sketchy -- a morning thunderstorm had already graced us with its presence, but we decided to go for it anyway. Peter's Kill closes in December and doesn't up again until April, so neither of us had been there for a while, and they do have sick bouldering. So we went there. Straight to the Outbreak boulder.

We warmed up on VD which is a fun little V3 dyno problem. Certainly some hero pulling: you can't help but feel like a hero. After that we worked $5 Traverse, which goes at V5. It basically follows a thin horizontal from one side of the boulder to the other. At the crux the seem is tiny, the holds are far away, and you don't really have any feet. Really cool. I think it could go with a few more days of work. Lots of stemming and reaching and coolness. We worked that problem for probably 20 or 30 minutes, and then we went over and did Tree-Bola Direct-Direct which is a V1, which we both onsighted. Super fun moves.

Last year we had noticed a problem called Mentos (V4) that follows this really sharp, overhung arete. It looked like it involved lots of heel hooking, and meat hooking and other various sick hooks. We sat down on it and within half a dozen tries, I sent it! Matt got it the time after I did. I even got the repeat. Definitely a really awesome climb with an opportunity for some sick photos. I liked it so much, I did it twice in a row. Woo-hoo!

And guess what else we did. We went for a run. I probably haven't run in like 3 years. My legs hurt right now, but it felt really good to run again. I guess we are going to try and run like three times a week, which I think is a really good idea. I'm excited to get sick-nasty strong this summer. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

A day at the Nears

A bunch of news to report. First and foremost, I've been promoted at My Hero. No longer am I a lowly peon, for I have been given the rank of Pizza Maker. I start training on Friday, and soon I will have my own shifts. Yay!

In other news, Matt and I have been climbing some more. (Go figure.) I've been working four days a week as of late, and so Tuesday was the beginning of my weekend. The weather was a little iffy, but thankfully it held (for the most part). We went off to the Near Trapps, and did quite a few climbs, actually.

Late last fall when Duncan and I went out and did Gelsa, Ian and Matt did a climb called Inverted Layback (5.9) It's a classic climb, and I had never done it, so Matt recommended we do it -- and he gave me the lead. The beginning of the climb follows a crack that is pretty vertical. The climbing isn't too hard though -- maybe 5.8 or so. Then, you eventually get up to this big roof that is separated from the face. So there is like a foot and a half gap between this roof and the rock. You traverse with some underclings and just smearing with your feet on the wall. Right before that I placed a green C4, a blue C4 and clipped a piton, but it took some serious convincing to actually get up into this thing. Very committing.

After walking off the backside of the cliff and getting back to our bags, we decided a short walk was in order. Two climbs over is another classic called Grand Central (5.9). The first pitch is a coasting pitch, with nothing but fun easy climbing. It follows twin cracks and so I tried to lead it with nothing but nuts. I did place lots of them, but cams sure are friendly. The second Pitch was were the meat was. Matt got on the sharp end and started up the climb. The climb traverses around the nose of an arete and then goes up a steep face. He got around the nose no problem, and then at the crux he had to think about it just for a second. After getting in a few micro nuts (a new purchase right before Morocco -- starting to like them a lot), he pulled the crux no problem. And followed up and led the last pitch, which has two roofs in a row. Upside down at 5.8 -- gotta love the Gunks.

The next climb we did was called Roseland which is another classic 5.9 in the Nears. Matt had lead it before, but I had never climbed it, so he gave me the lead. It follows a beautiful open-book, with a crack in it, and then traverses under a roof, exiting it at the easiest spot. What a wonderful climb. Lots of stemming, lot of palm down moves, high steps and also great protection (even got to place a few more micro-nuts). There are second and third pitches to it, but we only did the first one. Matt followed it cleanly, and we set up a top rope on a 5.10R climb called Shitface. Very cool climb. So cool, I did it twice!

So with the official start of the summer season, Matt and I did 8 pitches of climbing. That's what I'm talkin-bout.

Todra Gorge

Saharan Sands

State-side

I've made my way back to New Paltz after a long journey homeward. (What an outstanding vacation.) New Paltz has exploded into greenery, along with tourists as well. The cliff is as beautiful as ever, and of course, that means time to climb! Charlie, who will be moving in with us in June, came to visit this weekend and on Saturday we got out to do a climb. We were going to do Le Teton, but the cliff was a little crowded so we did Grimace Face (5.9+).

I had done the climb late last fall with Ian and since it's just so fun, I suggested it to Charlie. There are three pitches, 5.8, 5.8+, and 5.9+, which was good for getting warmed up and back in the trad game again. The first pitch has a nice 5.7R section, and some so-so pro with a slung horn and nice face climbing. The second pitch is a bit of a one move wonder, but it's a really fun move through a roof (next time I'll have to remember to save a green c4 for the crux). The last pitch is awesome -- a full body-length roof, with holds that aren't quite jugs. And a legitimate, needed heel hook! Woohoo. This is definitely a three star climb.

It's nice to be back in the gunks.

The long trip is near an end.

I´ve been out of the states now for like three and a half weeks, and we are leaving for home on Monday. The trip is been amazing. Absolutely amazing. I´m planning on doing a big write-up when i get back. Stay tuned for pictures and storries!

El Chorro, Spain

So Kasia and I did a couple of scouting dayins in El Chorro. Siiiiiiiiiick limestone climbs ranging from slab, to vertical, to overhaning tufas, to monsterous caves and roofs. We checked out two crags, and did some good sending. Kasia worked a route for a while, taking a couple of nice falls (in the 10ft range -- first falls ever above a bolt!) There are supposedly over 1000 climbs here, and I wouldn´t doubt it for a second. A definite place to come back to.