Great day at Gunks before the big snow

Monday I was able to get out randomly (usually I'm home with Nora on Mondays) with Evan, Kyle and Billy Joel. It was a decently warm day for February, about 35 degrees and we began the day in the pass with Lorax and Jackson Pollock. Usually it is too windy to stop here in the morning, and we never get to try Jackson until the end of the day when we are tired.
Everyone made quick work of the Lorax (new sends for Kyle and Evan) then we worked Jackson. Evan completed in just a few goes, while the rest of us are still stuck controlling that swing.
Next we stopped at Winters Agony where Evan flashed and Billy gave it just one try. Then all the way down to Boxcar for Kyle to work that and Evan to work Bizmark V10. I also gave a few goes at Bizmark. No one sent but it feels like progress can be made so I'll be back when the snow melts.
With just about an hour left in the day, I hopped on a longtime project, Merrakesh Express V6. I enjoyed my visit to the city of Merrakesh in 2007 and since then have always wanted to do this crimpy traverse on the Nameless Boulder. After a few quick tries figuring out the foot beta, I was able to dispense with this cool line.
Finally, with 30 minutes left, Evan was getting frustrated with Enlightened Buddha, so I figured I'd give a go at the Gunks ultra-classic V7, The Buddha. With the guys spraying great beta and encouragement, I was finally able to send this project and complete a very fun day.

AHHHH! Why does it have to dump snow like this every time the climbing gets good?

Edelrid Mantle pad review

Gotta give a shout out to Edelrid for the new Mantle pad. Just one day on my new Mantle and I'm sold. The foam is similar to the stiffness of the Organic pads. The accessories are awesome: carpet emblem for clean shoes, zippers two ways for 4'x4' or 2'x8', closure is bomber with pulling straps spreading force over a large surface and metal buckles. The sit pad that comes with it is great 2'x3' and carpet emblem again.
I was a bit nervous about fitting my backpack in the hinged pad. Would there be enough room with the sit pad as well. YES there is. Foam flexes nicely to carry it all (but I wouldn't leave it packed like that at home or it may kill the foam over time).
The ability to switch between traverse and normal pad seems like it may be gimmicky, but in the first day I had it I used it twice in traverse mode and three times normally.
All said...highly recommend.

Gunks Sending Spree

The last two Saturdays we have made our way down to The Road to work out our projects. Day One saw lots of progress, but no sends whatsoever. Day Two, however, was a much different story.

February can be an amazing month for climbing or a despicable one. Because we are nearing Spring, it is possible to see the beginnings of warmer temps. By this I mean still below freezing but not the bone-chilling teens of January.

On the 6th, it was chilly in the low 20s with a constant breeze that made it feel like the low teens. The guys knew my project was Boxcar Arete, so we headed there first to warm up on the nearby moderates and give me some goes. I dialed in all of the moves to the sloping lip pretty quickly, but just could not manage to send. I even did just the top out moves in isolation, but the next go, didn't have the gas to finish.

From there JP and Kyle went on to work The Following. This usually chilly problem down in a hole was actually the nicest place to be that day, as it was sheltered from the unusual NE wind. Again, Kyle and JP did all of the moves to the problem but just couldn't manage to put the sequence together.

Ben and Aaron made great progress on Venus and Scorpio (V11) and Aaron also had some cool goes at Andrew's Roof, an insane looking V9.

But as I said, on the 6th, no sends.

Exactly one week later, JP, Kyle and I met Michael and Sandra down on the Road and again headed straight to Boxcar. This day was actually pleasant, despite the overcast sky. The wind out of the NW was blocked by the Trapps and after warming up, I never looked for my gloves again.

On my first go at Boxcar, I made it to the lip and about 4 inches from the jug finish hold, but I fell and cracked Kyle in the nose on my way down. (Deepest apologies again, bro). The gang was patient with me. Kyle continued to work the lower sequence and I took long rests between goes. On my third attempt, I finally completed the route, which is a nice V8 for me. It took three good days of work, but I was content to do anything people wanted for the rest of the day.

We then went down the hill to Bismark (V10) and spotted Michael as he got his first send on that gem. The Following and Merrakesh were both wet, so no work could be done on those. As we made our way back, we stopped at The Buddha where Michael completed his V8, 9, 10 day, topping out Illustrious and Enlightened.

For the final stop, we wandered all the way over to the Near Trapps for JP to send his project, The Pearl (V8). After some very quick work, both he and Kyle got the send.

The projects have begun to fall. As the weather warms to comfortable, I'm sure the sending will increase dramatically.

Beautiful Spring? Day on the Road

Every January there happens to be that one day that just warms up to like 50+ degrees and melts all the snow...well, that wasn't the day we climbed...that came two days later. However, Saturday the 23rd was a pretty warm day for January in the Gunks.

The greatness of the day began as we pulled into the parking lot, parking next to two friends already out climbing, we caught up to them quickly. And before leaving our car, we met some other friends (Murph and Mira) and some friends of friends (Sarah and Dan). The crew was ready to roll.

We slid up the icy path to warm up in the Gill Egg area. There are three classic John Gill V4 problems there, two of which I hadn't done yet. The Gill Egg is the pronounced Egg shaped boulder that nearly leans over the Carriage Path. I had never even come close on it but had to give it a go anyway. After one weak attempt, Murph showed me his beta for the jump problem (we are about the same height). Two goes later, I latched the jug ledge nearly statically and finally cracked the egg.

Next down the line is the Gill Crack which involves a big reach up from a solid hand jam. If you don't catch the jug, it is a frightening withdrawl of your hand as you fall. Sarah, who is shorter than I, floated up the problem and revealed the critical foot beta. I learned the lesson and quickly got the send. Murph and Dan put it away as well.

Around the corner is the third V4, Gill Pinch Roof. I had done this a few years ago, but JP had been projecting it for quite a while. This was his day for the send as he has gotten much stronger since his last go on it and walked it pretty easily. Many of us also worked the V7 variation called Ricans and White Boys. Good goes were had, but only Murph was able to hold the slopy pinch and finish the problem. A nice repeat for sure.

Moving on down the Road, JP got frustrated on Black Boulder AGAIN. But was super psyched to work Lynn Hill Traverse V8, a project for another day definitely. Next we passed Kyle at the Buddha and left him with some more pads and some beta. He later sent the ultra-classic V7. Great show.

I had my heart set on The Boxcar Arete, a Gunks testpiece V8. I had one day on it before with some decent work, but I felt the send was within reach today. On the second go of the day, I got through the heinous crimps to the slopy lip. The end was within site, but not within reach as I fell going for the jug, bouncing off the pad and into an icy puddle. Fun, Fun. I took about 5-6 more goes on it with sufficient rests in between, but never reached the lip again. It remains a project for another day.
On the way out we took a few burns on Jackson Pollock V8, but were out of time and energy for this crazy toe hook problem.

January trips to Lincoln Woods

Despite the January snow, we have made two consecutive trips to Lincoln Woods in Rhode Island. The first was on the 9th and we hit up the Try Again boulder and the Pond Cave boulder on a rather chilly day. The day was decent for a while as we worked Try Again and Straight Again, but by the time we made it to the northern end of the park, the chill had set in. We did the Pond Cave traverse and the Buddhist and worked the V8 prize for a while, but to no avail.

When we returned a week later on the 16th, we were met with a beautiful sunny day and about 40 degree temps. We began the day at the best moderate in the park, Heart of Glass, V4. After working it a while, another crew rolled over to give some goes on it and they had the actual beta. They told us we were starting halfway through the V8 section and could begin the V4 up higher. Hummmm. Soon after, every one of our crew sent the fun problem and we rolled on up to the Pond Cave for more goes on the dynamic Who Needs Hueco V8 and Leap Frog V7. Our group worked the V8 for a while, I gave some goes on the V7, getting to the jump move, but never sticking. Kyle and Luke had the best work for the V8 and after a number of goes, Kyle stuck the jump and continued on up the face. At the end he reached into a sopping wet hold and slipped off, but I think we are all giving him the send on that. He made it past all the hard moves and with a dry hold it would have easily been completed. NICE SEND KYLE. Video enclosed...

This weekend looks to be nice at the Gunks. See you on the Road.

New Feature added to blog

I have added a new gadget on the sidebar. It is a "Tough to Find Bouldering Topos" link list. With the disbanding of Dr. Topo guides, it may be increasingly difficult to find free topos. Here are the few that I have on my computer that are no longer available on Dr. Topo (or never were). Horse Pens 40 (hp40), Rocktown, and Little Rock City.

LRC isn't a free for all, so don't just show up and climb. You must respect what has been put in place for climbing there. Remember to check out www.seclimbers.org for info on how to register for the day there. There are a few steps to take, but it isn't too much of a hassle.

Have at 'em.

Christmas Break outings

Just a few little trips went down over the school break. Twas dampened a bit by CONTINUOUS snow that week.
On the 28th, Aaron, JP and I ventured north to the Adirondacks on a snowy morning to scope out a new area that JP had suspicions of greatness for. The day started out well when the business owner that we asked to allow us to park was very amicable and said, "Sure, lots of people hike back there." Good sign for future access :-)
Not ten steps into the woods, we caught a glimpse of our first decent sized boulder, from it we saw another, from that a 70 foot high wall and MANY more boulders. As we checked each boulder, we saw at least one line up it and sometimes several. The gem of the day was a 30 degree overhanging face that has a line on its left arete, one on its right and possibly a double digit line up the middle. We didn't even bring pads or shoes along, because of the snowy conditions, but we are VERY excited to return in the spring and clean the beautiful lines.
As we hopped in the car for the return trip, we were quickly engulfed in whiteout conditions, making the day that much more surreal and exciting.

On the 2nd, JP and I said, "we got lots of snow up here but lets go to the Gunks anyway." The weather forecast was for 30-40 mph winds and 25-26 degree temps, translating into about 8-9 degree wind chill factor. Ah, what the hey!
Getting out of the car was a bit breezy. The walk through the pass at the Steel Bridge was down right frigid, but by the time we got to Black Boulder, the sun was out and it was actually warm. We cleaned the top and did some warming up. We then moved on to The Following, which was very easy to brush clean and dried instantly. We played a bit but weren't psyched about the number of pads we had for such a jumbled and awkward landing. So no real committing attempts.
Next I hopped on Merrakesh and was able to go through the crux for the first time. So progress there.
Finally we walked all the way back over to the Near Trapps and JP worked The Pearl for a bit. He has dialed in the bottom section and just needs to stick the jump net time the rock is a bit warmer.

All in all, it was a decent day of playing on cold rock. It would have been nice to get some new sends, but hey, that's the game we play. And in the cold weather, I don't feel so bad about not hanging on long enough to top out. THAT ROCK IS NOT PLEASANT TO THE TOUCH.