Southern Adk Rock Climbing Festival

On Saturday we made our way up to the SAdkRF for a little bouldering comp. When I say little, I mean LITTLE. Four competitors came up with me and there were probably no more than 6-8 others from various areas. As soon as we put our shoes on, it started raining. It rained and rained and rained some more.
Luke and I tried to beat the precip first thing in the morning and got on top of a tall boulder via a V1 arete and then the skies openned. We scrambled around up there for 5-10 minutes looking for a safe way down. After that we hide/climbed in an amazing cave for the next few hours. Ben and Luke worked an open project that was a crimpfest on a 45 degree wall. They made great progress, getting about 3/4 of the moves worked out and linked. The next move from their high point will probably be the crux of this V10/11 project. It is a jump to two decent slot holds off of a sidepull, a bad crimp and low/no feet. Really great work by Ben linking up to the high point.
When the rain subsided for about an hour, we walked the circuit and found some 'drier' V0s, V1s and V2s. We then returned to the cave to show some other folks the progress that has been made and finally worked a wet, sloppy V3 but to no avail.
At the end of the day, I ended up with the most points, winning the competition with a V2 high problem. Ben took second place.
Really it was a funny comp day, due to the rain. I can't imagine what would have gone down if it were dry. My previous disdain for Crane Mtn has been lifted though, due to a wet day that inspired me to come back and finish climbs when they are dry.

I'll be back for you Leviathan.

Beautiful Days at GB and PKill

This weekend was absolutely incredible for climbing. On Friday afternoon, Luke, Evan and Pinto and I rolled out to Great Barrington after Greg's funeral. A somber day for sure, but in honor of Greg, we had to climb. It was a quick 3 hour workout, but some great progress was made on the Bump (V8) for both Evan and I. Pinto sent after a number of tries and gave us the foot beta for next time we try it fresh. We then hopped on the Platform V6, Pistol Grip V6/7 (sent by myself and Luke) and Pinto worked Fatwa V9.

On the Monday holiday, we rolled down to New Paltz for a full day at PKill. No one sent anything huge. Ben got the Classic One (V5) and I made tons of progress on two fun V7s Village Idiot (consistantly getting to the final pop for the top.) and Delicate Soul. The weather was perfect for climbing, cloudy and about 65 degrees. We all got pretty burnt out by about 3pm after working really hard on our projects.

Miss ya Greg

The NY climbing community has lost a great friend in the passing of Greg Beaudet last week. It has been a few years since he was living in the area, but his family and friends are still here and he would visit occasionally and, I'm sure, make the trip to the Gunks. If you are a boulderer at the Gunks, I'm guessing you'd recongnize him. In his senior year of high school, we spent quite a few days together down at the Gunks. He taught me how to boulder, and I introduced him to trad climbing.

Greg was ALWAYS a joy to be around. His energy was infectious; he was care-free, and he never had a bad attitude about anyone or anything. When he came to the competitions, everyone was excited. He was a high flyer, an encourager, and always climbed for himself, never to prove that he was better than anyone. His forearms were gigantic, dwarfed only by his heart and smile. His style was dynamic and powerful and although he was only about 5'6", I have NEVER seen him beaten in a dyno comp. I have set problems for every E-City competition and if we were concluding with a dyno showdown, we set knowing that only Greg could get the final one.

After he graduated high school, he went off to the Navy and became one of the best rescue swimmers they had. I'm sure he showed no fear jumping out of helicopters into the water. He had probably fallen from greater heights onto just 4 inches of foam and carpet. After entering the Navy, I didn't hear from him much. He was stationed in San Diego and Florida and spent time in the Persian Gulf too. We'd talk one or twice a year. His brother and father I would still see around, but not much was discussed besides "How's Greg doing? When's he coming home next?"

He had been a part of the Shiloh's Edge program; joining us on Saturday mornings for the indoor climbing league and on our trips out to Joshua Tree for spring break as well. I really wish I could keep up with all the kids who have ever been on a Shiloh's Edge trip, but unfortunately, life just doesn't afford that. I hadn't seen him in quite a while, but now that he's gone, I'm really kinda missin' him.