Brad Weaver

Hueco

2012-01-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

The past month has been kind of a blur. I haven't been keeping up with the blog because of lack motivation and because of a lack of material in which to update with. I finished school for good in December and I now have more time to concentrate on climbing. This is a long awaited moment for me because I've focused on school for the past couple years and have neglected climbing in some ways. I'm excited to be able to focus on climbing and am excited for it to be my main priority once again.

I'm in Hueco now with a great crew and I couldn't be more psyched. I am enjoying a break from climbing in the gym constantly and am happy to be out of Atlanta for a minute. I don't feel like I'm in the greatest shape ever and I certainly don't feel that prepared to climb on hard boulders but I'm making it my goal to try as many hard boulders as I can on this trip. One of my biggest weaknesses in climbing is my lack of confidence on hard climbs and I feel like gaining experience on difficult boulders will help me in the long run.

After three climbing days I feel like I'm starting to get into my groove and I finally managed to do a problem yesterday in the East Spur called Coeur de Leon, V12. Below are some pics that John Gass snapped...

Coeur de Leon V12 - John Gass photo

We are resting again today and are going to get up early tomorrow so we can try to get onto North. Four more climbing days! Gotta try and make them count!

Update

2011-10-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I last posted. Mostly because not much has been happening on the climbing front. After returning from Colorado in June I was busy resetting the gym after youth nationals and studying hard for my last semester. Since then I've been climbing in the gym a bunch and focusing on getting the semester over with.

This last weekend was the first leg of the Triple Crown bouldering series in Boone, NC. Last year I swore it'd be my last year competing but I somehow managed to talk myself into competing again this year. Lucky for me my friends Brion and Jimmy both decided to sit out of the Hound Ears comp which made things a little easier.

Competitors awoke Saturday morning to terrible conditions. The roads were wet, rain was intermitent, and it was cold. The judges decided to call the event and wait until Sunday in hopes of better conditions. A group of us decided it was best to go into town and grab breakfast and then try to head somewhere other than Hound Ears to climb. We settled on going to Lost Cove and when we arrived at the parking spot we were greeted by sunny skies and a crisp breeze. It was amazing to find such great conditions only 15 minutes away from Hound Ears and we had a pleasant day climbing in the hills of North Carolina.

Sunday was the perfect day for a Hound Ears comp. Temps were cold and the wind was blowing. The day was really enjoyable. I was able to climb with my friend Nate Draughn the entire day which was quite nice considering we don't get to climb together all that much. After it was all said and done I managed to win my first Triple Crown event and Nate ended up taking 2nd. It seemed like everybody was climbing strong and having a great time. Check out Brion Voges' video below for some climbing in Boone...

Last Saturday was the Stone Fort portion of Triple Crown. It was a little odd competing in two events on back to back weekends but it turned out to be great. The conditions were completely opposite from Hound Ears the weekend before. It was sunny and humid with temps in the mid 70s. Again, I was able to climb the entire day with my buddy Nate Draughn and we were able to come out in 1st and 2nd place again at this comp. For now its back to the gym and back to school work. I have 2 months left before I graduate and I am looking forward to never picking up a textbook again. This weekend is going to be low key but I'm hoping to get out to Boone before the end of October. I'm psyched on a bunch of problems in the south right now and can't wait until December to make it back to Hueco!

Back to the South

2011-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Well our time here in Colorado is coming to a close. On Sunday John, Preston, and I went back down to Lincoln Lake for a final session in the area. It was quite warm but I managed to make a flash ascent of the INCREDIBLE Honey Badger V10 and I was also able to hook up Unshackled Sit V10 with the quickness. I have to say that Honey Badger is amazing and if you are ever at Lincoln Lake you need to at least look at this problem.

Unshackled Sit V10 - Photo: Allen Chaney

Honey Badger V10 - Photo: Preston Alexander

Our last climbing day was Monday and we went back out to Area A to try and finish up some unfinished business. Long story short, none of us were able to pull anything off! Oh well! NEXT YEAR! Although I would have liked to finish off Ode, failing to do it gives me the the extra drive to get back to the gym to train harder in order to accomplish future goals. I am psyched to get back into Stone Summit and train for the remainder of the summer with goals and projects in mind for the fall and winter season. I've seen huge gains from our training sessions at the gym and I truly believe that this is the best gym I've ever been to!

Today we will be spending our time packing, sitting by the pool, and eating more ice cream. Tomorrow we make the long 23 hour journey back to Atlanta. Thanks to everybody for the encouragement while I've been out here. Much appreciated! That means YOU, Jonathan Brandt!

Ladies and gentlemen, Jonathan Brandt.

Area A

2011-06-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

After 2 days of rest we decided to head out to Area A in Mt. Evans. The snow situation in the park is keeping us from heading up there and a break was needed from Lincoln Lake.

My goal for the day was to try and do No More Greener Grasses V12 on the Dali boulder. After a quick warmup I scoped the holds and laid pads down underneath NMGG. I knew if I made it through the hard second move that I had a really good chance at flashing the boulder. After the hard second move there are only a few more crimp moves and a committing jump to the lip before you top out. I pulled off the ground, got the right hand just right and was able to snag the good left hand edge. Once I hit the next good right hand edge I prepared to give 100% on the big move to the lip. Luckily, I was able to snag the lip and was able to top out first try! SO psyched to be able to do this boulder quickly. I've wanted to try it for the longest time and flashing it was a dream come true.

No More Greener Grasses V12 - Photo: Nathan Drolet

Another goal of mine for the day was to try and work out the moves on Ode to the Modern Man V14. I surprised myself by falling off the jump move to the sloper on my third try. This happened a couple more times before I put a hole in my finger and was forced to tape up. Things didn't go quite so well after the tape went on and I only made the difficult match move a couple more times before calling it a day. I'm really psyched to get back out to this one and hopefully we can catch some cooler temps in the morning sometime next week.

Ode to the Modern Man V14 - Photo: Nathan Drolet

Lincoln Lake Update #2

2011-06-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday was another great day at Lincoln Lake in Mt Evans. After a quick warmup Preston, Nate Draughn, and I went over to The Great War for Civilisation V13 to try and finish it off. It was Nate's first day on the problem and he was able to make some nice links and work out some good beta. I'm sure he'll be back for this one!

On Preston's second go of the day he managed to do the boulder! So sick. He fell off the last move again on his first go and absolutely killed it on his second try. Impressive! It took me a while but I also managed to put the boulder together and topped out with a cheer.

I spent the next couple hours hanging out spotting and enjoying the scenery of Lincoln Lake. Near the end of the day I met up with Brion at Little House on the Prairie V12. After figuring out some nice beta I was able to do this one as well! I really enjoyed Little House and I don't think I could find a boulder problem that suited me better.

Little House on the Prairie V12 - Photo: Nate Drolet

Friday John Gass, Preston, Voges, and I went out to Lincoln again. We had the craziest weather I've ever seen. Sun, wind, rain, sun, snow, sun, wind, rainbows, sun, more snow, etc. It made it quite a challenge to climb because by the time the holds had dried out and you had pads down and your shoes on it would start to rain or snow again. We had one or two goes each between storms so we had to make every effort count.

Rainbow over Lincoln Lake

Storm moving in

Terrible conditions

Voges and I were psyched to try the slopey, technical The Mote in God's Eye V13. We arrived with shovels and were prepared to dig out the boulder. Luckily it didn't take too long to uncover this gem and within about an hour pads were down and we starting working. We were able to figure out a good method and we both topped out relatively quickly.

Voges digging out The Mote in God's Eye

The Mote in God's Eye V13 - Photo: Brion Voges

We hiked out to encounter a crazy wind storm at the top of the hill and we decided that we deserved some delicious Beau Jo's pizza and Little Man ice cream for our efforts...

Little Man Ice Cream

Beau Jo's!

Unfortunately, I went back to John's spot that night and watched the video of Dave Graham doing the first ascent and realized that we had started with our left hand on the wrong start hold. We were planning on resting yesterday but when we woke up in the morning and looked at the weather we saw it was going to be kinda sketchy the next couple of days so we made the quick decision to head back out to repeat the boulder with the original start method. We were both able to repeat it with the original start and Voges was also able to make a quick ascent of Stuntin' Season V12.

The Mote in God's Eye V13 - Photo: Brion Voges

Since the weather is going to be bad for the next couple of days we will be resting, playing Mario, and eating ice cream. On Tuesday the plan is to head up to RMNP to see what conditions are like and hopefully do some climbing on the green 45. PSYCHED!

Lincoln Lake update and Sportiva LIVE article

2011-06-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

First off, check out this Sportiva LIVE article for 10 tips to keep yourself psyched through the summer months! I was stuck in HOTlanta last summer and I wrote a little writeup on some ways that I was able to keep myself motivated throughout the grueling summer months, so I figured I'd share it with everybody. If you are stuck somewhere hot this summer I hope it helps!

Fortunately, this year I'm in Colorado for my first alpine bouldering season. I have three weeks here and its not even close to enough time to try all the boulder problems on my list. My buddy John Gass picked me up from the airport on Sunday afternoon and a bunch of us from the south spent Monday and Tuesday at Lincoln Lake in Mt. Evans.

Lincoln Lake

Lincoln Lake's elevation is around 11,000 ft, close to 10,000 feet higher than what I'm used to. Needless to say a bit of acclimation was necessary. The approach to the boulders is a steep downhill 15 minute hike and the hike out is around 45 minutes straight uphill. I don't think my legs have ever been this sore and I am happy to be sitting on the couch today.

Lincoln Lake

On Monday my goal was to just try and get used to the altitude and to do some moves on some harder boulder problems. After a long warm up some of us decided to try Phobos V10. The forced moves on this boulder are really fun and it was awesome to finally try it after seeing it in several videos. Nate Draughn and I were able to piece it together with some effort and I think it was a nice introduction to alpine bouldering.


Phobos V10 - Photo: Brion Voges

Afterwards my buddy Preston and I moved over to Evil Backwards V13 with the goal of trying to do all the moves. At first it felt difficult but after a while I worked out some nice beta and had done all but the big crux move out left. I felt tired but really wanted to do all the moves that day so I rested for a while before giving it another attempt. The sun had started to go down and the temps dropped significantly, so I figured it was a good time to give it one last go. I pulled on and made my way to the crux move and somehow managed to stick the good left hand edge. From there my body kind of took over and before I knew what had happened I was topping out the boulder! Evil Backwards was my number one goal for the trip and I am super psyched to have done it on the first day.

Yesterday we went back out so we could try The Great War for Civilsation V13. Once again, the goal was to try and work out all the moves and to come up with some good beta. Preston and I both worked out our own methods due to our difference in height and even though our methods are quite different, it's pretty interesting that it still boils down to the same breakdown in difficulty for the two sections of the problem. It's around V7 or so to get to a good left hand sidepull and then it comes down to three hard moves in a row before you are topping out. For me, I grab a bad right hand pinch (one of the worst holds I've ever had to move off of), get a high left foot, make a hard bump move up with my left hand to a crimp, and then do a hard lurpy move up to a good rail.

Bad right hand pinch method on The Great War for Civilisation V13 - Photo: Brion Voges

Preston has to do a large, difficult move out right to a sloper, do the same high left foot and bump move with his left hand, then do another large, difficult move to a bad sloper with his right before reaching the good rail.

Preston on the last hard move of The Great War for Civilisation V13 - Photo: Brion Voges

We were both close yesterday, falling off the last move. This is one of the best boulder problems that I've ever seen and I feel fortunate to be able to climb on it. The holds are amazing, the moves are unique, and I can't wait to get back tomorrow to try and finish it off!

10 Videos...again

2011-05-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'll be in Colorado in less than 4 weeks and I am SO psyched! I've been watching climbing videos non-stop and have been in the gym at least 5 days a week in preparation for the summer. Last year I wrote a post about the 10 climbing videos that had kept me psyched throughout the grueling summer months. The one complaint I received was that I didn't put it out soon enough so this year I figured I'd put out a list before the heat set in. Below is a list of 10 videos (in no particular order) that have kept me psyched recently.

1.) Phil Schaal : Two from the High Country
http://www.dpmclimbing.com/climbing-videos/watch/phillip-schaal-two-high-country?page=16

2.) Daniel Woods Best Day Ever
http://www.iclimb.com/products/Daniel-Woods-Best-Day-Ever.html

3.) Ty Landman on Nothing but Sunshine
http://www.momentumvm2.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53%3Anothing-but-sunshine&catid=13%3Avideo&Itemid=3

4.) Daniel Woods on American Gangster
http://www.dpmclimbing.com/climbing-videos/watch/daniel-woods-american-gangster?page=11

5.) Nalle and Jon Cardwell in Wolverineland
http://vimeo.com/15271569

6.) Jon Cardwell on Top Notch
http://www.vimeo.com/13536392

7.) Enter the WOLVO
http://www.vimeo.com/16291191

8.) The Exfoliator
http://vimeo.com/14993382

9.) Jamie Emerson on Evil Backwards
http://vimeo.com/14720904

10.) Daniel Woods on Hypnotized Minds
http://vimeo.com/17447512

La Sportiva Python

2011-05-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Not much has been happening lately. After returning from Colorado in late March I've been spending the majority of my time at the gym trying to get in really good shape for Colorado's alpine season. A crew from the southeast will be making its way to the Denver/Boulder area from early June to early July. Motivation is at an all time high. I've yet to touch a single boulder in Colorado's alpine spots and I couldn't be more psyched. There are so many problems to try and my list is already ridiculously long. 34 more days!

On another note, I just received a pair of La Sportiva's newest shoe, the Python. I've been looking forward to getting my hands on a pair of these shoes for a while and I can say that I am extremely impressed.

First impressions...they are a pretty soft shoe, very sensitive, GREAT at smearing, and very good at toeing in on overhung terrain.

The Python doesn't look all that downturned while it's sitting on your coffee table but as soon as you slip them onto your foot the band takes your foot and pretty dramatically turns it down into a more aggressive position. When you slip your foot into these shoes it feels like it suctions to your foot. The single elastic velcro strap adds to the snug feel of the shoe, creating a perfectly snug fit. One of the great things about these shoes is that they are soft enough that when you want to smear or press out on a foothold, they will flex enough to allow your toe to really conform to the foothold you are on and allows your foot to stay in place.

They are also very precise. I like to play the 'quiet feet' game when I'm warming up and for some reason it is really easy in this shoe to put your foot exactly where you want it. If I put my foot on something, even if its not on the foothold quite right, they will not move. They are definitely a little bit more sensitive than the Speedster or the Testorossa and comparable to the Cobra, the old Venom, and the old Mantra in that regard.

The sensitivity and precision of the Python is something that I've never experienced in a climbing shoe before. I'm super psyched on these shoes and am looking forward to climbing in them more to really learn how to use them to their maximum potential. After climbing in them for the last couple of days it's safe to say that I'd downsize a full size from my Solutions. I wear size 36.5 in Solutions and decided to order the Pythons in the same size. They fit perfectly out of the box but they stretch quite a bit with a little bit of use. I like my shoes pretty snug so I'll go with a full size down next time, however, if you like a don't like your toes to be crammed into your shoe, then perhaps a 1/2 size down would suffice. If you are looking for a shoe that you can trust to keep your feet on the wall, then check the new Pythons out. You won't be disappointed.

Colorado Vid

2011-03-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

YES! The video from our Denver trip is finished. It was great hanging out with Voges and John for the last couple of weeks and I can't wait to get back in early June for the alpine season! Check out the video below!

Voges, Weaver & Gass: 10 Days on the Front Range from John Gass on Vimeo.

10 Days on the Front Range

2011-03-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

Our time in Denver is up and tomorrow Brion and I are flying back the heat and humidity that frequents the southeast. We had a great time and we were able to climb many great boulder problems on Colorado's front range. This has definitely been one of my more productive trips and I am really happy with how things went. I had no expectations coming out here and I think it helped my climbing. Here's my list from the trip:

Right Graham Arete V9
Cage Free V10
Bambi V11
Elegant Universe V11
Left Graham Arete V11
Dark Waters V12
Circadian Rhythm V13
Fantasia V13

We had a couple cameras shooting video the whole trip and John, Brion, and I have managed to put together a nice little video of our time here. The video should be done and ready for your viewing pleasure in a couple of days. In the meantime, here are some screen shots from '10 days on the Front Range'.

Elegant Universe V11

Elegant Infinite V10

Lower section of Dark Waters V12

Bambi V11

Topout of Bambi/Fantasia

Circadian Rhythm V13

Brion on Suspension of Disbelief V13

John on Hardboiled V11

Colorado Update

2011-03-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've been in Colorado since last Wednesday night and I am loving it here. It's been great hanging out with friends, cracking jokes, and going bouldering on some of the best boulders in the country.

On Thursday we drove up to Boulder Canyon to try Cage Free V10 and Free Range V13. After a bit of effort I was able to hook up Cage Free, which revolves around a big windmill move to a slopey lip. Voges and I played around on Free Range a little bit before deciding to head to Clear Creek Canyon to try Dark Waters V12.

Our intention was to figure out the moves on Dark Waters because we were pretty tired from traveling the day before and from climbing on the Cage Free boulder. However, we were able to work out our beta rather quickly and started trying it from the bottom. We both got close and I ended up falling on the last move 2 or 3 times before calling it a day.

We rested the next morning and drove back out to Clear Creek in the afternoon. After a quick warmup I started trying it from the bottom and fell on the last move again on my first attempt. NO! I rested for a while and was able to finish it off on my next attempt! Voges came agonizingly close before deciding to call it a day.

Saturday was a rest day for Brion and I, but we headed back out to Boulder Canyon so our buddy and host, John Gass, could try Hardboiled V11. After working out the moves John killed it! Nice one!

Sunday was quite the day. We woke up early and drove out to Clear Creek so Voges could finish off Dark Waters. After a cold warm up he dispatched first go of the day! Afterwards we piled back into the car and made the 2.5 hour drive to Poudre Canyon. My goal for the trip was to climb a boulder called Circadian Rhythm, a nice V13 that Dave Graham established years ago. We arrived at the boulders and went straight to Circadian so I could check it out before warming up. Unfortunately, the topout was covered in snow and the slopey jug that you throw to was completely soaked from the melting snow. What a heartbreaker! However, I forgot that we were in Colorado and there is NO humidity. We (John and Brion mostly) brushed off the topout hoping for it to dry off in a couple of hours. Thankfully, the cold, dry, and windy conditions did work and it was good to go after about an hour and a half!

It took a while for me to work out all the moves. It felt really difficult and I thought I had no chance of doing the boulder. After about an hour of trying the boulder and flailing all over the thing, attempts were getting better and better. On one attempt I struggled to get through the bottom and fell on the big last move to the lip. I was feeling really tired but rested before giving it one more go. My last go, I pulled on and everything felt so much better than it had the whole day. Everything seemed to click and before I knew it I was standing on top of the boulder! SO PSYCHED! Like I said previously, this was my goal for the trip and I'm really psyched to have it done.

On Monday we went to check out the Bambi Roof. The climbing on the roof is amazing and it really reminds me of Hueco. Voges and I were both able to hook up Bambi V11 and Voges also killed Fantasia V13. I got really close to Fantasia as well, falling on the last move. We are about to walk out the door to go back up to the roof and I'm hoping I can finish this one off.

We've been shooting some amazing video as well so keep a look out for that in the near future.

Mini Update

2011-03-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been switching gears on the climbing front. Its been about a year and a half since I've put serious time into rope climbing, but recently I've been working my way back into it.

This year I decided to go a little bit different route with my climbing than I usually do. I usually like to spend my winters bouldering in order to get strong for route climbing season in the spring, summer, and fall. This past year, however, I decided that I wanted to spend the majority of my time bouldering in order to work my weaknesses with hopes that it would ultimately help my route climbing. Rope climbing has always been my forte and endurance is usually fairly easy to obtain, at least when compared to power. I started sport climbing again at Stone Summit last week and I definitely have a long way to go to get back to where I used to be. I basically have no ability to recover on holds in relatively steep terrain at the moment but I can slowly feel it coming back. I'm excited to apply the bouldering strength I've developed to routes in the near future and can't wait to get back to the Red.

I'm heading to Colorado next Wednesday for 10 days to boulder on the Front Range and am pretty psyched about it. I haven't had the chance to check out any of CO's bouldering so I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm hoping that the weather at the Red won't be outrageously warm when I get back and if everything works out I'm hoping to make it up there a couple of times before the summer heat and humidity sets in.

Whoa

2011-02-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

What a crazy trip. Earlier I posted that we went to Arkansas knowing that there was snow on the ground. However, I didn't know there was going to be THAT much snow on the ground. We arrived to see a good foot and a half of powder covering EVERYTHING. Luckily, we came prepared. As soon as we arrived at the ranch on Friday afternoon we set to work cleaning boulders and landings hoping that it would help speed up the drying process for Saturday. You might have noticed that we left Thursday morning and didn't arrive until Friday afternoon....I'm sure you're thinking, "Surely it didn't take you 20 hours to make a 10 hour trip". Well sure enough, that's exactly what happened.

Everything was going great, the roads were dry and the psych was high. Then tragedy struck. My friend Brion was a couple hours ahead of us and I received a call saying that the entire interstate was at a stand still. I was kinda bummed knowing that we were coming up on traffic but I figured it couldn't be that bad.... damn was I wrong! It took us 8 hours to get from Memphis to Little Rock....that's just over 100 miles. The roads were a sheet of ice, cars were in the ditch everywhere you looked, and I'm pretty sure that walking would have been faster than the flow of traffic. 6 p.m. turned into 2 a.m. and we were still stuck on the interstate. We decided to throw in the towel and just get a hotel room. But it wasn't that simple. Every hotel we went to was booked solid. Places were just throwing up signs on their doors saying "No Vacancy", "No Room", while others just locked their doors altogether. We were still a good 25 miles away from Little Rock at this point but we had no other option but to just get back on the highway and carefully make our way on the death ice to Little Rock. Thankfully, we arrived safely and were able to find an open room. I don't think any of us have been so happy to be out of the car in our lives. I have NEVER in my life seen anything like that before. Parked trucks on both sides of the interstate for miles.

We woke up the next morning to find the roads in much better shape and we quickly made our way to the ranch to start work on cleaning off boulders.

Shoveling Snow - Brion Voges Photo

After a productive day of boulder brushing, we awoke the next morning hoping that we were going to be able to climb. Luckily, the boulders we brushed were dry and we set to work to make it happen. Holly got things going by quickly doing Fraziac, a nice V6 on the Dig Dug boulder. After, we made the hike out to Southern Lean V11, a really nice boulder with awesome holds and rad movement. Brion, Nate, Preston, and I were all able to put it together. It was a really nice, relaxed session and it was rad seeing everybody do it the same day.

We ran over to Typhoon so Preston, Brion, and Holly could play on it while we waited for Shadow Jumper to get out of the sun. Brion was able to do the eliminate method quickly and Holly got super close on the actual non-contrived method before calling it a day. No worries though...she was able to put it together on our final day! Sick!

We cruised over to Shadow Jumper V11 when the sun started to go down. Shadow Jumper is a really unique, slopey arete that looks incredibly easy upon first viewing but climbs very subtly. It takes a while to figure out how to move on it but after you do, it comes together quickly. After rewarming up Voges and I were able to put it together! Nate was super close but it was getting dark quickly so we had to bail. It will go quickly next time for sure!

The next day we made the decision to check out Fred's Cave. This was probably one of the dumber decisions we made on the trip because the dirt road leading down to Fountaine Red was rough! After committing to getting to the actual climbing area, Voges and I hopped in his ride and split off from the rest of the crew to go check out Dub's Cave to see if it was dry. Dub's cave is about a mile back up the dirt hill that leads to Fred's Cave and we quickly realized that getting out was going to be much more of an issue than we initially thought it was going to be. After getting stuck on the way out we decided it was best to just dig out as much of the road as we could so it wouldn't be an issue later getting out of the woods. We made pretty quick work of the road and made it up to Dub's cave to find it completely soaked. Big bummer! Back down the road we went. It was already in much better shape than it was when we went up it just 30 minutes prior so we figured we were good to go. After making it back to Fontaine Red for a quick warm up, Nate and Preston made their way over to Fred's Cave to try One Inch Pinch V12. Brion and I were pretty psyched to make our way back to the ranch to go try Welcome to Fight Club V13 so we took off hoping to get back before it was dark. As it turns out, Preston was able to hook up the one day ascent of One Inch!

Preston on One Inch Pinch V12 - http://p-alexander.blogspot.com photo

On the way out we were almost to the main road when we came to the last little hill that would give us trouble. This was probably the worst part of the dirt road because of the ice and snow. The truck in front of us couldn't make it up the hill and after some debate we decided we were going to have to dig out that section of the road so the rest of our crew wouldn't get stuck on the way out. Again, after 30 minutes of digging, the road was clear and we were on our way to the ranch.

Voges and I hustled to Welcome to Fight Club and quickly started working out all the moves. We both figured it out and realized that, even though it is a traverse, it is really fun. The moves are great and the edges are small. I think this boulder comes down to pain tolerance and if you have good skin you are set. Voges and I managed to make a few good links before dark and I had plans to come back the next day to try again.

The next day was our last day and I decided to rest until the evening to try and give Fight Club some good efforts. Unfortunately, my skin was killing me from the previous day's efforts and I was unable to make any progress. I would be SO psyched to get back to AR but the weather is heating up fast and I have a feeling that I'm going to have to wait until next season to give it another effort.

The drive back was much less epic and I'm now sitting here writing a blogpost instead of doing homework. Procrastination is the best. I'm hoping to make it to Boone here soon but until then it will be trips to Chatty and the gym. It might be time to get back to my routes for a little bit (get it...back to my roots! awww man!)...its been a while and it wouldn't hurt to mix it up a bit! I guess we will see...

Time for an Adventure

2011-02-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Not much has been happening the past week or so. The majority of my time is spent on school work. Its kinda funny to imagine what professors think when they assign work. I really don't think they understand that students take more than one class a semester. In all 5 of my classes I have at least a chapter of reading assigned every week, and in some cases two. I spent 8 hours reading the other day for one class and wasn't even able to finish the four assigned chapters. Add to that discussion questions, assignments, projects, quizzes, and studying for exams for all your classes and its easy to find yourself with NO time. The extra work is a major disadvantage to online classes, however, it allows me to free up time to climb during the week.

On a climbing-related note I managed to get out a couple times over the last week or so and managed to do some problems on my list for this year including BERT V11, Mega Man V11, and JH V10. I have video of a couple problems from the Chattanooga area but I haven't had time to touch the footage, so keep an eye out for that here soon.

Nate on a Hustle and Flow

A large crew is heading to Arkansas tomorrow. It snowed 12-18 inches in Jasper today so we are going in expecting the worst and hoping for the best. The snow shovel and brushes are packed. Friday is looking like a day full of boulder brushing. The weather is looking good for the rest of the week so we are optimistic! A couple of us are psyched to get back to boulders we left unfinished from our previous visit so hopefully we can make something happen!

Lately Happenings and Arkansas Vid

2011-01-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

Not much has been happening the last few weeks. Since my return from Arkansas I've been climbing in the gym and heading out to some local spots when I have a break from school.

One thing I've noticed lately is that its hard climbing in the same areas after you've done the climbs that fit you well...all that's left are climbs that are really hard for you or climbs that just aren't that appealing. I've been trying to stay psyched but its difficult to do when you get your ass kicked everyday you go out.

I've been trying the uber classic Biggie Shorty Extension Reverse Traverse a.k.a. BERT for the last few LRC sessions. Its climbs exactly how it sounds. Start on Biggie Shorty and climb left into where the extension starts. It might not be a proud, independent line but it is actually really fun and it climbs well.

BERT V11 - Hayley Watts photo

Today I decided to switch it up and head to Cumberland, which is an area I hadn't had the chance to visit before. I was super psyched to try a few of Chattanooga's classic roof problems that are located out there. Temps were in the low 60's so it wasn't the best climbing weather, but it was really nice to not freeze while resting. I had a pretty productive day and ended up completing Gross's Roof V11, Big Gulp V10, Slurpee V9, and Seven Eleven V9 before the day was over. I felt like I was in a slump for a while there so I'm hoping that this means I've made my way out of it.

Below is a video I threw together of our trip to Arkansas a few weeks ago as well as some photos from the last few days. Enjoy!

Cold in Arkansas from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Nate Draughn on Innovation V9

Nate on Innovation V9

Nate on Dragon Slayer V12

Rami Annab on Dragon Slayer V12

Brian Antheunisse - Nagual V13

2011-01-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

While I was in Hueco I had the opportunity to climb with Texas native Brian Antheunisse. Not only is he one of the nicest, most down to earth people I've met, he's also super motivated and gives it his all 100% of the time. I was lucky enough to have the camera rolling on some of his attempts on Nagual V13 and was able to get his send go on film. Check it out...

Nagual V13 from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

AR Trip

2011-01-18T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, winter break is over and the spring semester has started. I had a great break from school and decided to finish it right with a little trip to Arkansas last week. Nate Draughn, Rami, Jimmy, and I left for our 8 day trip last Saturday. The beginning of the week was FREEZING. Highs in the lower 20s made for slow mornings and climbing required a small fire in order to keep warm.

Nate on Chunk - Rami Annab Photo

My main goal for the trip was Chunk up the Deuce V12 and after a few days of work Nate and I were able to piece it together. Super psyched to have this one done...it is the epitome of what a hard problem represents to me and the fact that it is not in my style made it even more fulfilling to complete. Other than that I was able to do a few classics in the area including Buddy V10 flash, Kneeling Before Power V10, Tang V10, Typhoon V10, 52 to 1 Cardeck V9, Moondye V9, Fat Boy Deluxe V8, and Orbital Mechanics V8.

I have a little bit of video from the trip that I haven't had a chance to mess with but as soon as I get to it I'll be sure to post it. Until then, here's a video Jimmy put together of our 8 day stay in Arkansas...

8 days in the AR from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

I'm hoping to make it back to AR sometime in February as well! Unfinished boulders to complete before it gets warm again!

Hueco Video

2010-12-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

I put together a video from my trip to Hueco and have posted it below. I was pretty lazy with the camera during our trip but still managed to get footage of three problems. Hope you enjoy!

Hueco Trip from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Back Home

2010-12-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

After a long 26 hour drive we have arrived safely back in Atlanta. Hueco was awesome and I can't wait to get back next year. I'm taking a few days off from climbing for the holidays and the rest is much welcomed. I feel like I've been on the go constantly since February and it will be nice to have some down time to recover physically and mentally from the last few months of training and school work. I had enough time today to throw together a little video of a problem I did a while back in Laurel Falls, Tennesee called Stankins V11, which I've posted below. I'm in the process of going through what little footage I have from Hueco as well. I'll be sure to post it on here when its finished. Happy holidays everyone!

Stankins V11 from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Hueco Update #4

2010-12-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

We have two days left in Hueco. Over the last few days I've been fortunate enough to be able to climb Full Monty V12, Barefoot on Sacred Ground V11, The Flame V11, and Full Service V10. I had a nice blog piece written but blogger decided it was best to just delete it. SUPER psyched. I don't remember exactly what I wrote and I don't have the patience to rewrite it so I'll just post some photos for you to enjoy....ridiculous.

Hayley on Baby Martini V6

Brian Hedrick on Right Martini V12

Hueco Update #3

2010-12-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Another couple of days have passed here in Hueco. Time seems to be flying by and even though we have a week left, it seems that things are winding down. I find myself having to be somewhat selective on problems I try now so I don't end up getting in over my head with several projects.

Voges and Jimmy got into town on Friday, and on Saturday Voges and I went up to Bleeding Brothers V12 to see if we could do anything on the problem. I ended up flailing but Voges sent in quick fashion. Nice!

Voges on Bleeding Brothers V12

Afterwards we met up with Jimmy in the Martini Cave to try Esperanza. I've tried the problem a couple times already and I feel like if I had two weeks to dedicate to the boulder than I might be able to piece it together. Its pretty cool trying Esperanza because it feels like how The Womb at Rocktown felt to me 3 years ago. I would love to do the problem one day and its awesome to even be able to try it.

Trying Esperanza - Hayley's Photo

Yesterday we went to East where Voges nearly did Slashface. He will send soon for sure. We made our way to Full Service V10 and Full Throttle V13 at the end of the day. I was psyched to be able to do Full Service quickly and Jimmy, Brian Antheunisse, and I put in work on Full Throttle. We are heading back at the end of the week and I'm sure there will be a take down.

Tomorrow we are heading to the Spur again to try Nagual V13. Brian Antheunisse was SUPER close the last time we were out there, falling going to the jug at the lip. Voges and I have yet to try it so we are PSYCHED! My fingers are sweating just thinking about it.

Brian Antheunisse on Nagual V13 - Hayley's Photo

Hueco Update #2

2010-12-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

I love this place. The climbing just gets better and better. Its awesome hanging out with cool people at night and climbing boulders during the day. Today and tomorrow are rest days for Hayley and I. In the last couple of days I have managed to climb a couple more cool problems including a flash of Tequila Sunrise V12, a flash of Power of Landjager V11, as well as a send of Crown of Aragorn V13 in just over an hour! SO HAPPY! I have hardly any video from my trip so far, but here are a few photos Hayley and Adam Johnson snapped.

Power of Landjager V11 - Hayley's photo

Tequila Sunrise V12 - Adam Johnson photo

Hueco Update #1

2010-12-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe it has been a week since Hayley and I arrived in Hueco. The climbing here is simply amazing. There are so many boulder problems here and our three week stay doesn't even begin to allow us to see everything Hueco has to offer. We've climbed 6 out of 8 days so far and I've been able to knock a few problems off of my to-do list.

On our first day we did a lot of exploring on North. While searching out boulders I was able to flash two classic problems, Power of Silence V10 and Chablanke V11. Power of Silence is one of my favorite problems so far and it was nice to be able to cross a problem off of my lifetime ticklist. We made our way to the Martini Cave at the end of the day and I was able to figure out the beta for the classic endurance oriented Right Martini V12 fairly quickly. We decided to call it a day there in order to save some energy for the following two days.

Time zones are on our side here in Hueco. With a two hour difference in our favor, it is nice to be able to wake up without much struggle at around 6:30 every morning (8:30 our time). The jump start we get in the morning helps me feel productive and we usually get into the park right around the time they open, which helps keep stress levels down and keeps us from rushing to get everything in order.

The next day we woke up early and made our way into the park. The fatigue from driving for two days set in and I felt pretty tired, but I was psyched to try El Techo de los Tres B, a nice V11 at the bottom of North. After trying it for a while I found out I had to figure out some different beta from the usual bump method that everybody seems to use. After figuring out a nice heel hook method I was able to piece it together, which is nice. The conditions were pretty terrible that day with the wind causing it to be extremely cold and miserable, so we called it early.

The next day was much more enjoyable and the wind had calmed down. We hadn't been to the boulders on top of North mountain yet and decided it would be cool to check them out. After warming up I did the classic Daily Dick Dose V7 and started working on Alma Blanca V12/13. I thought I was getting close, but have since decided that it is close to impossible for me to do. I have spent two seperate sessions on it now and the big move to the lip is insanely difficult for me. I decided to cut my losses and move on to another problem.

The next day was a rest day and on Thursday we had reservations on North again. One of my goals for the trip was to put in good flash burns on Diaphanous Sea V11 and Free Willy V10. I decided that I felt decent enough after a rest day to try both. After a quick warm up we walked uphill to Diaphanous and I was able to do it on my first attempt! Perfectly my style! One down, one to go! We made our way to Free Willy and I was able to dispatch on my first attempt again! A good day for sure! Next, we made our way over to the Martini Cave again so I could try Right Martini. I made a couple good links from the start but wasn't able to piece it together.

I was feeling tired the next day but wanted to try and finish Right Martini. On my first go I fell making the big move into the hueco. Not a good sign. On my next attempt I was able to make it past the hueco and fell on the traverse section toward the end of the climb. PUMPED! 26 moves seems like a lot considering I've been climbing on 10 move boulder problems for the last 6 months. I rested for a while and gave it another attempt, making it through the lower crux section and the traverse section I managed to pump myself off of on the previous attempt. I shook out for a second and moved toward the V3 outro section, only to pump off the LAST move getting onto the headwall. Devestation! I rested again and gave what would be my last attempt for the day. I was completely wrecked and my forearms felt like jello. I barely managed to make it into the hueco in the middle of the problem and eventually found my way to the top of the boulder! So happy I didn't fall on the end again! I'm really psyched to have done such a classic problem, and one that I've wanted to do since I saw it in Sessions about 6 years ago.

The last two days have been nice as well. The temps are a bit warm in the afternoon, however, the caves here are cool and dry. Over the last couple of days I've been able to do a couple other problems, including Anal Intruder #10 V11, as well as make progress on some harder lines that I would love to be able to do in the next two weeks. Tomorrow we are heading back to North, where I'm going to TRY and take it easy because we have a tour set for Tuesday in the East Spur. I have yet to go into the back country and there are several problems I have my sights set on. SO PSYCHED!!!

Flagyl Vid

2010-11-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

I was cruising through my usual climbing sites, blogs, etc. and stumbled upon a little video of Flagyl in Boone, NC. Thanks Dalen!

Hueco bound in 2 days!!! So PSYCHED!

Brad Weaver Flashing Flagyl v10 from Dalen Gray on Vimeo.

6 Days

2010-11-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

The long wait for our departure to Hueco is coming to a close. Its crazy to think about how the anticipation for this trip began in February, some 37 weeks ago, and now we are within a week away from leaving!

The last week or two have been non stop as I try to finish up the semester before leaving next Friday morning. Technically the semester isn't finished for another 2 and a half weeks, but there is no way I'm doing school work while I'm in Texas, so I'm having to bust out a serious amount of work. Having to put so much effort and energy into school a week or two before leaving has definitely left me a bit mentally drained. At the moment my focus isn't really on climbing, but on school. However, as I start to knock out assignments and as my to-do list dwindles, I can feel the anticipation start to build back up.

It seems like there are going to be quite a few people from the southeast in Hueco between now and Christmas, so it'll be cool to know people while we are out there. Its always nice to have a strong southeast presence when you are on a climbing trip.

6 DAYS!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!

Horse Pens 40 Wrap Up

2010-11-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

The Horse Pens 40 comp was a success and I ended up taking 3rd place in open! I had my best climbing day I've ever had at HP and even managed to do a few new boulder problems...something that doesn't happen often for me on a comp day. Although I had a good day, my friends Jimmy and Brion had even better ones, who took 1st and 2nd respectively. It was extremely impressive to watch them both on what had to be the record for best climbing day at Horse Pens.

My ticklist for the day:

Pegmato V9
Five-O V9
Cadillac Thrills V9
Skeletor V10
Super Slider V10
Hot n Tot V10
Balrog V10
Great Dane V10
The Process V10
God Module V11

It was a really fun day hanging out in great weather at one of the best bouldering areas in the country. Every time I go back I remember there are still problems that I haven't done yet and I get the itch to head back. The weather is a bit warm at the moment but I'm hoping to get back before I leave for Hueco in 2 weeks!

HP 40

2010-11-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Long time since I've updated, I know. Last week I was able to get out to Dayton for the day and was able to finish off Stankins V11, first go of the season. It felt really good to do this line so quickly this year because it felt really hard for me last year. I got close on a few other problems and I can't wait to get back. There are some pics below. Right now I'm in the process of getting the truck together so I can head out to Horse Pens 40 for the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series. Temps look AMAZING this year with highs in the mid 50's. This is a much welcomed change from past years where the highs were in the 70's. It will be a fun weekend and I can't wait to get back on some of the more classic problems in the south. Slope it UP!!!

Nate Draughn working out Lord of the Dance, V11

Stankins, V11 - Hayley Watts Photo

3 Days in Boone

2010-10-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night I made the solo drive up to Boone to hang out for a long weekend to hang out with the best crew around. Instead of boring you all with a written recap I'll let you watch the video below! This edit was my first using the new Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects CS5 so its somewhat of a test run for me. Hope you enjoy!

3 Days in Boone from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Hound Ear's Complete

2010-10-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

The first event of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series at Hound Ears, NC was a blast! The weather cooperated and it was a great day to be out and about. After a not so restful nights sleep (I get anxious) we were off to the boulders where the crowds dispersed throughout the field.

After a quick warmup Jimmy, Voges, Daniel Beall, and myself walked over to Mr. Thick V9 and we were all able to do it quickly. Next on the list was Pitbull V9, a problem I hadn't done in the past. I was able to do this one quickly as well and topped out on my second attempt of the day. It was then on to the backside of the same boulder to Nudging It V10/11. I had figured out a good sequence on the short, tricky boulder last year and was able to repeat first go this year.

Next on the list was Random Man V11. Random Man was my main goal for the trip. I had gotten shut down last year and was really excited to come back and see how things went. I was able to do this one second attempt too, which is fortunate because it is quite sharp and spending a lot of time on it could have been treacherous for my skin.

Fuc Yo V9 was next on the list. After a couple failed attempts at the sit, The Crusher V10, I decided to cut my losses and just do the stand. Temperatures were starting to rise at that point and the edges were feeling worse with every attempt.

Matt Paden - frixtion.blogspot.com

The next problem, Rapid Fire V9, was also a new problem for me. Again, I was able to do this one fairly quickly, but I could definitely feel the fatigue starting to set in. Unfortunately, I was only five problems in and had another five left before I could call it quits.

The next two problems, Brady Problem V9 and Pimp Trick Gangsta Click V10, were also new to me. I was able to do Brady Problem quickly and was also able to make a flash of P.T.G.C. At this point I was completely wrecked. I have never had my muscles cramp up like they did after these two problems. Not only were my arms and body completely shot, but my legs started to cramp up with every step I took up the steep hill that houses the boulders. Heinous.

Jimmy and I took off toward Oral Resume V10 next. I had tried the problem briefly the previous year but was unsuccessful. After watching Jimmy cruise through the problem I really tried to focus in and just get the problem over with. Halfway through the problem my hand dry fired off a hold as I was reaching for one of the last good edges. NEGATIVE. My next attempt I found myself at the big outro move to a flat rail.

I set up, tried as hard as I could, and came up SHORT. I rebated back to the two edges I was on and tried again. This time I briefly paused with two fingers on the rail and tried to transfer my weight over to that side, only to have everything fail. I had reached the point of failure and my body was done. No more. Game over.

I had two more spots on my scorecard to fill in and I was way too tired to try Oral Resume again. I figured the best thing to do is to do two problems I knew I could do. I had done The Tourist V9 and Jaws 2 Direct V8 last year and ended up finishing off my card with them. It was an awesome feeling knowing I had filled my card and that I didn't need to climb another rock the rest of the day.

It was a great day of rock climbing and it was awesome to climb with so many people that were excited to just be out trying hard. My friends Jimmy Webb and Brion Voges ended up taking 1st and 3rd places, respectively, and I managed to come in 2nd.

I had one of the best days of rock climbing I think I've ever had this past weekend. Its nice to see that all the hard work over the last 8 months or so is paying off. The weather here in the southeast is dropping everyday I can't wait to start trying all the problems I have on my list for the season! Plans for a few trips are in the making and I'll be in HUECO in 53 DAYS!!!

Triple Crown!!!

2010-10-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

The first leg of the Triple Crown Bouldering series kicks off this weekend in Boone, NC at Hound Ear's. I am SUPER psyched for it! Climbing, hanging out with friends, food...can't get much better.

My little 'strategy' for this weekend was a little different from what I normally do. I usually climb hard during the week before a comp and then take two days off in hopes of feeling really good on comp day. This either works well or completely backfires...I'll usually feel good or feel completely wrecked from the previous week. I've decided to switch it up a bit and I hope it works out for me. Instead of pushing myself this past week, I've been taking it a little easy leading up to the comp in hopes of being completely fresh and at the top of my game by Saturday.

Rami on Sunday Service V11

I'm hoping all the bouldering and training I've been doing for the past 8 months will pay off as well. This is the longest time I've ever spent bouldering exclusively, and is a major switch up from all the route climbing I've done in the past. I feel much better prepared going into bouldering season this year than I have in the past and I am excited to see the gains from all the dedicated gym sessions this summer.

Temps are looking PRIME for this weekend too. High of 65 tomorrow and sunny! Can't wait! I'm OUT!

First of the Season!

2010-09-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

The past week or so has been pretty busy for Hayley and me. Saturday I attended the ABS season opener at Stone Summit here in Atlanta. I was expecting it to be pretty busy but I definitely wasn't prepared for the huge number of people that came out to take part in the fun. It was fun competing and climbing with friends. I wound up taking 2nd place behind Jimmy and I even ended up taking home a little cash.

Right after the comp Hayley and I hopped in the car and took off for North Carolina for our friends' wedding. After driving through rain and fog we arrived safely at our destination. The wedding on Sunday was a great time and I couldn't be happier for our friends Natasha and Peter. Congrats! It was a fun filled couple of days and it was great seeing old friends again.

After the festivities on Sunday came to an end, we once again hopped in the car and made the short drive to Boone, NC to meet up with our friends for a couple days of climbing. I had only spent one day climbing in North Carolina prior to this weekend at last years Triple Crown comp and was super psyched to get back to check out some of the other areas Boone has to offer.

Our large crew consisting of Hayley, Devin, Nate Draughn, Rami, BClev, Tilley, Doug, Taylor and a few others cruised to Grandmother, Lost Cove, and Blowing Rock over the course of two days. The climbing around Boone is amazing and I am super psyched to get back ASAP. I managed to do a few problems including:

Shinister V6
Chapter 13 V7
Two Pop V9
Portobello V9
Full Throttle V11
Sunday Service V11

I threw together a little video of the trip. Check it out...

First of the Season from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Throwback

2010-09-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Old Joe Kinder video from when I climbed rocks that were more than 15 feet tall...

Southern Smoke with Joe Kinder & Brad Weaver from Joey Kinder on Vimeo.

Top 10 Movies To Get Me Through The Summer

2010-08-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

So I finally got outside for the first time since March! OHHH BOY! It might not be prime yet but getting out was a much needed break from climbing indoors for 5 or 6 months. Hayley and I heard that a couple friends were putting on a Slope n' Slide (think giant slip n' slide) event at HP40 and we were psyched to be in attendance. Although I didn't participate in the slippery portion of the event I did have a great time running around trying to repeat problems in the heat! Things went better than expected and it makes me even more psyched for the good fall conditions to roll in.

Photo: Hayley Watts

Right now we are back in Illinois visiting family. We leave Sunday to go back to GA for a few days then we are off to North Carolina for our friends' wedding. On the way back we are planning on sampling some of the climbing in Boone. Definitely looking forward to it!

This summer was pretty crazy with school and work and I never really had the chance to get outside (or wanted to for that matter due to the heat). In between the gym sessions, school work, and work I kept myself busy searching the internet for climbing videos as well as watching videos I own on DVD.

Below is a list of MY TOP 10 FAVORITE CLIMBING VIDEOS that held my interest throughout the summer.

1.) Between the Trees - my all time favorite climbing film

2.) Progression - South Africa segment

3.) Dosage V - Arkansas and Alpine bouldering segments

4.) Dosage IV - Hueco segment

5.) Nalle Hukkataival in the bouldering short Could Be Worse

http://vimeo.com/8382230

6.) Angie Payne on No More Greener Grasses -

7.) Brion Voges in Colorado

http://www.deadpointmag.com/videos/watch/brion-voges-dont-get-too-greedy-v13

8.) Hueco Rock Rodeo Clips

http://www.deadpointmag.com/videos/watch/2010-hueco-rock-rodeo

9.) Phil Schaal in Hueco

http://vimeo.com/2910129

10.) Daniel Woods in Colorado

http://www.iclimb.com/products/Altitude-Sickness-by-Chuck-Fryberger.html

Obviously there are other videos out that are more than worthy...these just happen to be in my top ten. Check them out if you get a chance. Maybe they'll give you that extra little bit of motivation to get through the final warm weather months.

Fall is Approaching!

2010-08-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

This is by far the most amount of time I've spent climbing indoors. Even when I lived in Illinois I would brave the heat and humidity and take day trips to Southern Illinois for a day of bouldering. School took up the majority of my time this summer and I have to say that I'm glad its over. I had a two week break after my last final and classes start back up today. UGH! It never ends! All is good though. Fall is upon us here in the south and psych is high. Everyday the temperature and humidity seem to drop a little bit more. The cool temps and crisp conditions will be here before we know it.

I've had my ticklist prepared for about a month now and it always seems to be growing. I'll randomly think of another problem that I want to do this season and it'll get added right underneath the last one. Right now I think I have 42 problems on the list.

I've been in the gym climbing and preparing for the winter season a lot lately and I feel like I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. I've really been working my weaknesses and I hope it pays off. Pinches, big moves, and power problems have been the name of the game for me.

I signed up for the first two events of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series and can't wait to see how things play out this year. I won't be attending the last event at Stone Fort because I'll be in HUECO! So psyched! Can't wait!

Like I said, conditions are getting a little better everyday and it seems that fall is around the corner. Motivation is high and I'm really looking forward to stepping outside one morning to cool, crisp temps. BOOM!

Stone Summit

2010-05-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of buzz in the southeast lately about an amazing new gym called Stone Summit . I had seen pictures online and the place looked sick. I got in contact with the owners and they were nice enough to invite me down to check it out.

Let me start off by saying that pictures do NOT do this place justice. I was in awe as soon as I stepped foot into the building. The walls built by Walltopia offer a wide variety of angles to climb on and they are TALL! It is almost overwhelming. This is the first place that I've been to where you can take actual whippers inside...a definite advantage to having walls that are 60 feet tall. I had the best time I've had climbing indoors in a long time and got pumped out of my mind. The sick walls, new holds, and great route setting make for the best indoor sport climbing I've seen anywhere. If you are in the Atlanta area you need to check this place out.

The Motherload in Atlanta

The bouldering at Stone Summit is also amazing. Once again the wide variety of angles, sick holds, and huge pads make for an indoor bouldering paradise.

Stone Summit is changing the gym climbing game in the southeast. It is the first that I've seen to offer the full package....amazing bouldering, sick sport climbing, yoga studio, weight room, etc.

I'm also extremely psyched to say that I am the first Stone Summit sponsored athlete! Like I said...this place is AMAZING and I know that it is going to be key with helping me get in the best shape of my life. I can't wait to start training harder than ever...projects are on the mind!!!

The gym is in the final stages of construction and opening day is Saturday, June 12th! Go to ssclimbing.com for directions and hours. Come check it out and see what all the hype is about!

Quick Update

2010-05-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

I've been super busy lately so updates have been few and far between. I finished up the spring semester and have moved on to my summer classes. Between school and work I've had a hard time finding time to climb and I think it will be that way for the next month. Fortunately, the guys at So Ill sent me one of the new Iron Palm hangboards. I had been looking into getting a new hangboard for a few weeks and decided to drop them a line to see if I could get my hands on an Iron Palm and they were nice enough to hook it up.

I've had two sessions on it so far and I gotta say that it is a sick piece of training equipment. My focus has been on building contact strength and the big slopers and comfortable edges are helping me do just that. Jason Kehl really went above and beyond on this fingerboard and hopefully I'll be seeing some gains from using it here soon.

I think it is safe to say that summer has arrived in the southeast. The heat and humidity are a real deterrent from climbing outside. However, as soon as it stops raining for more than a couple of days I'm going to try and make it out to Rocktown to have an endurance session on the hot boulders. The plan is to go out and see how many boulder problems we can do in the heat...should be interesting!

Help Restore Access To Draper's Bluff!

2010-05-05T05:28:00.000-07:00

From the Illinois Climber's Association:

If you want to see Draper's reopened and access secured at privately owned area's including the Holy Boulders, please visit: http://www.ilclimbers.org/2010/04/21/drapers-bluff-access/ to find out how you can help.

Please contact your representative or take the time to write a letter to help secure access for the future of Southern Illinois climbing.

Anyone can write a letter and if they are from out of state, it really says something.

Catchin' Up

2010-04-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Whoa! Once again I apologize for the lack of updates. The past couple of weeks have been very busy for me as far as school goes. The semester is winding down and there have been a lot of deadlines that needed to be met.

A while back I started seriously training for climbing. When I lived in Illinois there were times when I'd get into a little training cycle, but it'd usually only last for a couple weeks. I've been motivated enough lately to actually stick with my little training program and I can already see the gains from the long hours in the gym! Before I actually started physically doing anything I made an effort to understand the basics of training for rock climbing. The biggest source of information has easily been Ben Moon's moonclimbing.com. The site has tons of information about training and if you are looking for a source that is full of insight and experience then I would recommend checking it out for yourself.

One of the best pieces of advice I have gotten off of the site is to write out a list of goals. These goals are meant to help you stay motivated and to give you a way to measure progress. Another thing that I have found to be really helpful is to keep a training log...nothing super in depth but it is enough to allow you to look back and see where you were a week ago, a month ago, two months ago, etc.

I took it upon myself to keep a little training log and I find it to be really useful in identifying my weaknesses and helping me target areas that I need to work on. Also, it is a good way to ensure that you keep mixing things up. I feel like getting stuck into a single routine is something that is all too easy to do and that mixing things up will keep your mind and your body on point.

When I started my little training log I didn't intend to share it with anybody, let alone post it on the blog here. However, since I haven't posted anything in about a month I thought I'd share it to let people see what I've been up to. Again, its not that in depth, but it'll give you a basic idea of what I've been spending my time doing. Like I said, I wasn't planning on sharing this with anybody so a lot of what is written down is only going to make sense to me...sorry for the confusion in advance.

Senya

TRAINING LOG

Short Term Goal

1-5-9 on campus board

2 one arm pullups

stronger lockoffs-deep lockoffs-lock off further

do the hard taped boulders in the gym

Mid Term Goals

Qualify for Finals at Mammut in SLC

Do SoCo and SoCo right

Flash v11

Climb v13 or v14 in hueco

Long Term Goals

Climb v14

Climb 9a sport route

Flash v12

Training Log Key

Slight wall =15-20 degree??

Steep wall=nearly horizontal

First Week or so

Core workout every other day

· On bar 20 reps L hangs- 1set

o Moved onto 25 reps

· On bar 20 reps knees to chest-1 set

· On bar 10 leg kicks hanging straight, almost 90, 90, full lock off, reverse-1 set

· On bar 20 reps windshield wipers, knees bent-1 set

o Moved onto 10 reps knees bent, 5 reps straight legs

· On bar 10 leg kicks hanging straight, almost 90, 90, full lock off, lower-20 windshield wipers, knees bent-pull up and reverse leg kicks

Bouldering 3 days on, 1 day off, 1 day on, the canyon

2/21 – warm up for an hour, go to campus board, cool down

2/22 – slow warm up, 30 min or so then onto slightly harder problems on slightly overhung wall. Feeling quite tired. Then onto the steep. Senya and I taped several hard problems before we even warmed up so we could have something to work on. They ended up being quite hard, or at least they felt difficult today. Could be easy when fresh. Goal was to try and do all the moves on all the problems. It was successful minus one tensiony move. Basically went to failure on the steep. Couldn’t hold on any longer. I feel like I can climb harder, more days on than I could a week ago. Core feels stronger. Cooled down for 10-15 minutes and went to do core.

· Core on Bar

o 20 reps L Hangs-1 set

o 20 reps knees to chest-1set

o 1 set 10 lockoff,leg kick cycle

o 20 reps windshield wipers, knees bent 1 set

o 10 reps windshield wipers, straight legs 1 set

o 10 lockoff, leg kick cycle-15 windshield wipers knees bent-5 straight leg-pull up and reverse leg kicks

o 10 reps L Hangs -½ set

· Core off Bar

o Legs elevated 6 inches, back off ground-30 seconds

o Planks- 20 seconds toes hooked, 10 seconds unhooked, 20 seconds hooked.

· 3 One arm pullups each arm, slow lower

2/24 – felt really good today! Slow warm up, steadily increasing in difficulty. After warming up for about an hour and spending some time on the sightly overhung wall (did a few crimpy problems to keep fingers strong) I went to the campus board. Did the whole routine

· ladder 1,3,5,7,9 twice

· ladder 1,4,6,9 twice leading with each arm (4 in total)

· ladder maximum 1,5,8 (trying for 1,5,9) 3 tries leading with each arm (6 in total)

· touches 1,4,1,4,1,4,1,4,1 3 times

· touches 1,5,4,5,4 5,4,5 2 times leading with each arm (4 in total)

Really focused on going slow and controlled. Felt it in the shoulders on the touches and felt kinda fatigued after the whole workout. Continued to boulder on the steep trying hard taped problems for a while. Did the stand of the black. Felt around v10 from the stand. Sit will be a little harder. Got close on the another problem. Played a little game where we would set a boulder that we thought we could do in 6 min and tried it until time ran out. Rested 5 min, repeat. Felt like a good workout and it was fun. Afterwards I cooled down and was done. Pretty hard session. Felt good though. Need to work on jumpy moves on the overhung with body tension.

2/25 – felt really really bad today. Warmed up for a long time and never really got warmed up. Wasn’t sore though..just foggy headed and felt weak. Didn’t do much climbing at all. Tweaked my right middle finger a bit as well when doing a slightly harder warmup problem. Actually tweaked it on a pinch when I moved off it kinda hard. Climbed on it a bit more and figured I should probably stay off it for the rest of the day. I figured I’d salvage the day and do a core workout. Didn’t have much excitement for that either. Ended up kinda forcing myself to do some core stuff. Don’t think I’ll be sore tomorrow but I worked on my lower core doing low L hangs and doing pullups. Did one arms (5 sets…1 one arm = a set) and lowered slowly. Felt good in the first couple sets and then got really tired. Hoping my finger is gonna feel good tomorrow. Scary! Easy session.

2/26 – Felt alright today. Better than yesterday at least. Warmed up and made one harder problem on the slightly overhung wall, which Senya and I both finished. We moved onto the steep where Senya made a problem that was really hard for me. I dunno if I was just tired or if it is not my style or what. I did it in two sections and am going to try and go back and do it on Monday. I also tried the full black taped problem. I did the stand a couple days ago and now I have to do the whole thing. Even though the beginning is only a couple of moves on good holds it really takes the energy out of me for the ending roof moves. I think it would be v12 or harder outside. Compared to vapor lock it is much, much harder. After that we tried a dumb crimpy line and then I cooled down. Tired! Medium session.

2/28 – Climbed at the Alabama boulders. Felt pretty good. Still need to work on big moves and pull throughs. Flashed v8, did two v9’s, and a v10. All felt pretty chill…starting to feel good?? Maybe??

3/1 – Went into the gym and warmed up. I felt really tired and didn’t have any motivation. We tore down the box on the 45 and set some boulders. We have a 45 degree wall again!!! Sooo psyched!

3/2 – Set some more boulders on the 45 and climbed on it ALL night. Basically climbed till failure. Felt good today. Had some really good problems. One project to go back to with a big move to a pinch. Trying to work on thuggy problems. Did some core excercises before leaving.

3/4 – Climbed fairly hard today. I decided to go to the HPRocks comp this weekend so I didn’t want to take it too hard. Felt good today though!

3/6 – Did the HPRocks Comp today. Felt really, really good! Did 24 problems v7 or harder. God Module felt easy! Locked down all the holds! Got so worked…failure for sure.

3/9 – Felt terrible today. Basically warmed up and went home. Need more rest.

3/10- climbed more today but still felt tired. Did a campus board workout though, and climbed for quite a while afterwards. TIRED! Need to rest! The endurance comp killed me! Still worked!

3/12 – After another day of rest I finally felt good! Really slow warm up, which is key! Today was a really long gym session. Did another campus board exercise and felt really strong. climbed for a long, long time afterwards on the 45. We’ve been spending all of our time on that wall. Dunno how good that is. We should probably switch it up but we’ve just spent so much time on the other walls previously that its hard to do it. Still working hard at pinches and big moves. Starting to see results…kinda! After climbing till basically failure we did a small core workout. Need to keep doing core!

3/14 – took a rest day and planned on campusing today but ended up just climbing on the 45. Did some of the harder problems we were working on the previous day. Mostly pinches again. Felt alright but things didn’t seem to be clicking. Medium/hard day

3/16 – took a rest day yesterday even though I wanted to climb because my finger is sore. It needed time off so I did just that. felt really bad at the beginning of the session but after about an hour of warming up and 45 minutes of rest I felt good! I’m thinking that I didn’t feel good to start because I didn’t cool down very well on the last day I climbed. During the 45 minutes of rest today we threw a bunch of screw on edges on the 45. We climbed a bunch and taped some hard problems. The new problems use a lot of edges but still have some pinches and some big moves. Really good problems that I hope I can do. We need to set more power problems…hard individual moves. Climbed for 3 or so hours and then did some core workout. Some on the bar and some on the ground. I don’t think I’ll be sore from the core tomorrow but I can already feel the rest of my body getting sore. Hopefully campus tomorrow. Medium-Hard

3/17 – Felt pretty terrible warming up. Pretty much hit the campus board and did core after a bad warm up. Climbed a little bit afterwards and did an endurance circuit. Need to start doing a few of those more often. Got PUMPED! Medium session

3/19 – Had to rest because I had to start a new job. Went in today and wasn’t very motivated because nobody else was in the gym to climb with. I warmed up and played on some harder problems and did one that was probably in the v9 range. Almost did Gucci Gucci V11? problem (bad left hand black pinch to green right pinch). So close! I think I’m beginning to feel better on bigger moves/jumps…maybe. Wasn’t all that psyched but ended up doing an alright campus session solo. Also did the whole one arm pullup routine..3 on each arm…slow on the way down and some core exercises. Medium session

Some Day??? - felt incredible…did Gucci Gucci v11? really quick and was super solid on it. Felt really good. At some point did 1-5-8 every attempt during campus workout. Forgot to update for a while there…did two days of enduro workouts

3-27 – Soco 2^nd go today! PSYCHED to have that one done!

3/30 – felt alright today. Rested yesterday. Did Southern Comfort a few days ago. With the warm weather approaching and after doing a route I feel like route climbing. Did some bouldering and then did some enduro workouts again. Climbed on the slightly overhung wall and in the steep for a bit this evening and felt pretty weak on the angle. Did some core then left. Medium day

3/31 - felt tired and a bit sore from yesterday’s session. Warmed up and started working on problems on the slightly overhung wall. Did some problems that didn’t suite me that well…some slopers and some shouldery stuff. Felt alright on them. Feeling good on this angle again. Gotta keep switching it up. Bouldered in the steep afterwards and made some good harder problems…nothing too heinous though…maybe v9/10. Tried to do some campusing and my skin was hurting so bad that I had to stop. Did some core on the floor and left. Medium/hard day.

4/2 – first solo day at the gym during senya’s spring break. Motivation wasn’t that high because of this and the fact that it was HOT! Did all the easy problems (under 100 points) in the gym to warm up then did a problem on the slightly overhung wall that was good to warm up the fingers. Went to try my big move crimp problem that I did a while back in the 45 and couldn’t do it cause I would slip off or my hands would blow off on the bigger moves. Did it in two sections though. Then did a campus workout on the bigger rungs and then did some 1,3,5,7,9 on smallest rungs. I felt much better on the smaller rungs than I thought I would. Did some lockoffs (one and two arms) on the jugs, did a bunch of core on the ground, tried senya’s circuit in the steep (got to 60 something I think??) then cooled down and left. Hard day. Skin hurts.

4/3 – was kinda sore today…abs are tired. motivation was once again pretty low. The thought of hueco and the red are pushing me though. Wasn’t as hot as yesterday but it was still warm. Warmed up and felt pretty heavy but then jumped on some harder problems that this guy steve showed me and kinda jumpstarted my body. Did a couple problems on the slight and then a couple on the 45. Then I campused…half the exercise was on the big rungs and half were on the smaller. Big rungs were 1-5-8 (felt good on this today) and 1-5-4-5. Small rungs were 1-3-5-7-9, 1-4-6-9, 1-4-1 - Skin hurts still. Did a circuit plus 40 moves (100 moves in total) in the 45 and cooled down. Medium day.

4/6 - Rested for two days and back at it again today with the solo sesh. Still HOT…we skipped spring. Felt good warming up today and it carried over throughout the day. Did a couple of harder problems on the slight and then moved on to the steep where I did one hard problem. Did a campus workout again. Half of it was on the smallest rungs and the other half was on the bigger ones. Felt really good campusing today. Did 1-5-8 all 3 tries with both arms. Felt like I could almost do 1-5-9. Almost. Hopefully soon. The bigger rungs feel so big compared to the smallest ones. Skin is still acting up. Started to hurt after the campus sesh. Randy showed up and we tried another problem in the steep but skin hurt too bad so we went to 45. Did his crimpy problem and felt like I could just lock holds down. Good feeling. Then tried the problem Steve showed me with the big move to the fun ball. Did the move and worked different sequence for the bottom with big moves. Really tried to do big moves today. Did one arm routine-3 with each arm- and cooled down. Medium hard day.

4/7 – warmed up pretty quickly today. Felt pretty tired but it wasn’t as hot as yesterday so it was all good. Did some problems on the slight, moved on and tried to do some big move/dyno problems in the 45 before my skin was too wrecked to keep going. Did some core and called it a day. Easy day.

4-9 – warmed up quickly today and felt good. Did my mini project on the slight quickly and moved onto the 45. Did two or three projects in there today and felt strong. Motiviation is much higher with others around and today I was alone. Left feeling hungry and slightly tired. Medium-hard day.

4-12 – I don’t really remember this day…I am logging an entry a couple days later. i think it was the first day back with Senya and we did some problems in the 45. Felt okay. Medium day

4-14 – Warmed up and did some problems with Senya on the slight then campus sesh. Did some problems in the 45 again. Skin started hurting later. medium-hard day

4-15 – Warmed up and felt heavy. Did some easier problems on the slight, did one of my problems in the steep, then back to 45. Did the project from last night first go then did a hard problem with the left hand white crimp to the good big blue sloper thing. Felt v10/11. Then did another crimpy problem that was probably in the same range. Felt CRIMPY! Tried some other problems but was definitely tired. Did some core then called it a day. Hard Day.

4-16 – felt tired today but wanted to try and climb anyways. Need to stay strong more days on. Did some boulders and then did some core. Did two enduro routes (100 moves each) then left. Easy day. Feel tired

4-19 – felt good today and was able to warm up quickly. Did some easier problems on the slight and then went to the steep and did a hard boulder in there weighing in around 9 or so. Went to the 45 and came up with some hard boulders problems and a project. Did a bunch of fingery stuff. Started to feel hungry and tired so I bailed. Medium hard day. I’m 22 today…old man status.

4-20 – felt alright today. Woke up really late/noon. Warmed up pretty quickly and started trying a problem in the steep. Did the stand and then got bored and went to the campus boards and did the routine. Things are starting to get easier on the campus boards and I can do 1-5-8 everytime. Got really close to 1-5-9 today. Just a little bit more work and it’ll be done. Bouldered in the 45 with Avery and did some cool problems…nothing too heinous. Tried my mini proj a little bit again…sustained power endurance. Linked from in the middle to near the top. Close. Did some core then left. Medium hard day.

4-21 – felt tired today for sure but was still able to warm up rather quickly. Made up a hard problem in the steep and worked on it for a little while until I did it. Climbed in the 45 the rest of the day. Tried to just do a lot of problems because I was tired and my fingers were a little sore. Climbed for like 4 or 5 hours. Haven’t climbed this hard 3 days on in a while...mental battle with hurting skin. Hard day.

4-22 – I woke up sore from yesterday’s session but was pretty determined to head in to the gym today anyways. Solo session today so I worked on endurance and did core exercises. My goal was to do 1000 moves in sets of 100 moves. Started on the vertical wall, moved to the slight, then did 3 sets in the 45 before my skin was hurting too bad to continue. Endurance needs some work but there’s no rush...its not the focus at the moment…it’d just be nice to have a decent endurance base for when I need it. Medium day. Two rest days starting tomorrow.

SoCo Part II.

2010-03-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Saturday's trip to the Concave was a success! I was able to make the 3rd ascent of Southern Comfort 5.14a on my second go of the day (5th go overall). It was a little bit chillier out than our last visit, which made for nearly perfect conditions.

After warming up I jumped on SoCo to try to finish it up. I had been thinking about the climb for the past two days I was nervous starting out. I knew I was overgripping everything but couldn't stop myself from doing so. I felt pretty good up until the 3/4 mark but then the dreaded pump started to creep up on me. I tried hard but ended up falling at the last stopper move AGAIN! I ended up doing the move a couple times on the hang to get it a little more dialed. I sat for about an hour before giving it another go.

My first go jitters were gone and I was much more relaxed this time around. I cruised through the bottom part of the route and found myself staring at the last move. Almost on autopilot I crimped hard with my left hand, pulled hard with my toe, and focused hard on the last move. This time everything clicked and I found myself at the anchors.

SoCo

To be honest, I'm pretty psyched to have this one done with. I really didn't want to make it a habit to fall on that last move over, and over, and over again.

Usually I'm really psyched about sport climbing after a winter of bouldering and this time around it isn't any different. After the initial shock my body went through after not doing anything endurance oriented for a while, it felt good to route climb again. I really enjoy the challenge of route climbing. Instead of just throwing myself at a few moves until I (hopefully) do a problem, I really like the route climbing process... pacing myself, learning a route, and eventually keeping it all together to link the entire route. This one route climbing experience has taught me that I am a MUCH better route climber than I am boulderer. It just suites me better I guess. Bouldering has always been hard for me and I think it will always be that way. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up just yet! Nope!

Actually, I don't really have any more plans to route climb until next year. I really just plan on bouldering until Hueco. Part of the decision to focus on bouldering is because of my Hueco trip. It always takes me a long time to get into good bouldering shape so I figured that instead of route climbing, losing my bouldering game, and then trying to get back in shape right before Hueco, that I'd just stick with it and see how it plays out later this year. Another reason for my new focus is that I really want to come back into route climbing next year stronger than I have been in the past. There are a few routes I am really looking forward to trying and pure endurance isn't going to cut it. Hopefully the strength from bouldering will transfer over nicely to the routes I want to climb in the near future.

Some RaNdOm shots of the pups...

SoCo

2010-03-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

There has definitely been a lack of updates on my part, mostly because there hasn't been a whole lot happening. I've been busy training indoors for some time now but yesterday Hayley and I drove up to Little River Canyon to do some sport climbing. We were out at the Concave a few weeks ago so I could try my hand at Southern Comfort 5.14a and things didn't go too well. I hadn't sport climbed since the early fall and my lead head definitely wasn't with me. I ended up bailing around the fourth bolt after sketching myself out about the chossy/sketchy bottom of the route. This time around things went much better.

The Gal

After warming up I decided to hop on Hooligans 5.13a to test out my endurance. The tests came back negative! No endurance! Even though I was pumped out of my mind I managed to make my way to the chains, resting every opportunity that I got.

(Click On Pics to Enlarge)

Chaz on Showboaters 5.13b

Next up was SoCo. After depumping I decided to give it a go. I had a good idea of what to do for the first four bolts but the rest of the route was a complete mystery. Luckily Jimmy Webb had arrived and I was able to get the spraydown on the whole route, which made my little adventure a little less stressful.

Chit Chat

As I made my way through the first four bolts I was much calmer than on my previous attempt and I easily made my way to a big jug rest at the fourth bolt. With the sketchy part of the route over with I was able to chill out enough to get my mind into sport climbing mode. I relaxed myself and went over Jimmy's beta before embarking on the rest of the route. As I left the rest I felt pretty good...just a mild pump. I quickly made it through the next bouldery section to another decent rest. The pump was beginning to set in but I tried to relax enough to get a little bit back before the next section. I sat there for a minute and knew that with my lack of endurance and my inability to recover that I was better off just leaving the rest and climbing.

JWeb-SoCo

I left the rest pretty pumped but tried really hard through the next couple of bolts. I was pumping out quick and I only had one more bolt and then the chains. I tried as hard as I could but my hands were opening up. I fell going through the last hard section, pulled back up to the bolt, rested for a minute, and quickly finished it up from there. Not bad for my second time on the route! It was a nice test to see how I felt on routes after not climbing anything over 12 feet since last fall.

JWeb-SoCo

I was really impressed with how good the route climbed after the fourth bolt. The movement is really unique and if it weren't for the choss and glue in the first part of the route I think it would be one of my favorites.

JWeb-SoCo

I rested for quite a while and wasn't sure if I wanted to give it another go. I figured that if I didn't do well on my second go that at least I would be learning the route better and it would pay off the next time I came out. This time the route felt better than the previous attempt and I fell two moves higher than before. This move is quite hard, even in isolation. The breakdown of the route goes something like this...

-V6 section to a rest
-V6/7 section to a decent rest/shake spot
-V7 section
-V7/8 section

The last section alone is quite difficult and the last move is a heartbreaker. Basically you take two good edges, get your right foot high, and make a huge deadpoint into a horizontal slot that is maybe 2 pads deep.

This is the move I fell on during my second go of the day and I really hope it doesn't become a habit. After this last stopper move the route is over.

Jimmy had some really good burns on the route yesterday as well, falling in the last section of the climb. We are heading out on Saturday and I'm predicting that the route will see its 3rd and 4th ascents! PSYCHED!

Rad Video!

2010-03-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

While cruising around Red River Climbing I stumbled upon this video of James Zanoni on the classic Paradise Lost 5.13b. Anybody who's been to the Red, or has even sport climbed for that matter, knows there's a routine when trying a route near your limit. I thought the video was a great insight to what we all go through when we are forced to drive a couple hours on the weekend to project a route. Check it out!

Just Do It from James Zanoni on Vimeo.

New Designs!

2010-03-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

While cruising through the Metolius site I stumbled over their rad new t-shirt and chalk bag designs. I'm a big fan of super bright colors on clothing and such so I figured I'd post some pics to share. Check 'em out!

Preparation

2010-03-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

For the last couple weeks the majority of my climbing time has been spent in the gym. After making reservations for Hueco in November all my focus has gone to ensuring that I am in top form when I finally arrive...in 9 months. That's only 37 weeks! HA. If I've run into you in the past month I've certainly let you know how excited I am to get there.

Fred Nicole-Esperanza

Photo:Mary Gabrieli via Wolverine Publishing

Climbing for me has never really been about training. I generally just find that climbing is enough. However, I've decided to actually put some effort into training for once and see how it pays off. Now, I'm not saying that all my efforts are going into training. I'm just kind of adding some training programs into my climbing sessions. I've always been interested in training and have read a lot of material on techniques/programs/exercises in the past but it all seemed very complex and not that much fun. Everybody seems to have a different method as well, which makes things even more confusing. I've taken information from two main sources, Moon Climbing and Metolius Climbing and it has helped tremendously. The majority of the exercises I do come straight from Moon's articles on campus boards. With their terrible weather in England they had time to hone their programs pretty well!

One thing I have to say is that the hardest part of the training so far has been deciding to actually start and having motivation to stick with it. A big motivator for me is having someone else to push me and to keep me amped, and my buddy Senya Iaryguine helps me do just that. It's really nice to have somebody else who's psyched on getting strong and who's psyched to actually make the effort to do so. On top of that, we both have completely different styles climbing wise, which is convenient for working your weaknesses.

Along with the campus boards I've been doing quite a bit of core training. This part is not so fun but I have already seen huge gains in core strength and it's only been a couple of weeks.

What I've found to work really well (for now at least) is to do two campus sessions a week (only on days right after a rest day) on top of all the bouldering in the gym as well as 3 or 4 core workouts a week. When reading about training, the only thing that sounds appealing is the getting stronger part. In all reality, it is actually quite fun and I really enjoy the discipline aspect of it all. Yesterday was a rest day so today I'm heading back into the gym....lame as it sounds I'm actually pretty psyched...plus its been raining for three days and there looks to be another day of it on the way.

On a side note...Jimmy Webb and Brion Voges are killing it in Bishop during their one-week stay! Check out their blogs for the lowdown...impressive to say the least!

HP Rocks Comp

2010-03-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I competed in the HP Rocks comp at Horse Pens 40 in Alabama. The weather was a touch on the warm side for the famous HP40 slopers but it was a perfect day to be outside. The format for this comp was a little bit different from the Triple Crown format and it ended up suiting me quite nicely. Instead of taking the top 10 scores from your scorecard for the total score, yesterday's format was endurance based. In the open division only problems rated V7 and up were tallied together for the day's total score but you were allowed to complete as many problems as you could. It was a really fun challenge and a nice change from the usual comp format at these outdoor events. I ended up with a total of 24 problems, all repeats except for one, and I was extremely worked after it was all said and done.

My 24 for the day...

-Thugs and Bitches V8
-Hugs and Kisses V8
-Ghetto Superstar V8
-The Thief V7
-Chattanooga Plow V7
-PegmatoV8/9
-The Flow V7
-Odd JobV8
-Squeeze Play Low V7
-Five-0 V9
-Cadillac Thrills V9
-Waterloo V8
-God Module V11
-Slider V9
-Litz Pocket Problem V7
-Lawdog V8
-Suspicion V8
-Landslide V8
-Slushpuppy Low V7
-Consumption V7
-Stepchild V7
-Kiss V7
-Don't Rock the Boat V7
-Its a Natural V7

I ended up taking first in open and brought home some extra cash, which is awesome! I didn't even think about climbing today and am very much looking forward to a couple of rest days.

A big thanks to all those who helped put on this event. It was a blast and I look forward to coming back next year!

New Pad!

2010-03-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up to a brand new So Ill pad waiting at the door! Lime green and black...sick. The boys at So Ill hooked it up and threw on a custom logo for me as well!

Psyched!

This weekend I'm heading to HP40 to compete in their HP40 Rocks comp. Horse Pens is always a good time and an even better one with the crowd that gathers for their comps. Wish me luck!

A Day in the South

2010-03-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday Hayley and I met up with our buddy Nathan Drolet in Alabama. We had decided to visit an area I hadn't been to yet that had a number of classics that I was psyched to try. The weather was perfect...the air was cold and crisp, it was sunny, and the high was 55. Nice.

First on the list was Big Poppa, a super classic V8. The climb consists of gymnastic sloper moves up a nice tall face. I was able to flash and Nate ended up doing it very quickly. From there we played on The Boss V11 and The Main Event V12. I couldn't pull either one of them off but I am psyched to return.

After that we made our way to Ninja Camp Low V9 and Bread Loaf Factory Low V10. I was able to do them both pretty quickly. Nathan looked solid on both but was wrecked from the previous day or two. The kid is getting strong and I'm sure he will be back to do them both. On the hike out I decided to stop at one more problem called Innovation V9 that Jimmy Webb put up a couple months ago. The climb comes down to tension and after figuring out some foot beta I was able to do this one as well! Props to Jimmy on the 1st ascent. Innovation is truly an amazing boulder problem. Hayley and Nathan were nice enough to break out the camera to get some footage of the day so I threw together a little video. Enjoy.

A Day In The South from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Southern Slang Video

2010-02-27T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a video JWeb put together a little while ago of Southern Slang V11 in Tennessee. Enjoy!

Creek Project from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

Motivation

2010-02-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

Check out the highlights from this years bouldering nationals here . Motivation in video form. I'm off to the gym...

A Southern Sampler

2010-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

So I've been working on putting together a little video for a little while now. Its nothing special but I know its nice to have a little bit longer video to watch, so I started working on one. Well it turns out it is harder to do than I thought. Trying to gather enough footage is fairly difficult, especially when you are impatient like I am. Instead of waiting for another month and trying to gather more footage I figured I'd just show what I have....

A Southern Sampler from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

I have been pretty busy with school recently and haven't really had a chance to get out much. I've been crazy busy in the gym though. Motivation is high and I have started to train a little bit. Mostly just bouldering a lot and doing some core stuff. Most of the motivation is coming from plans that we are making for the end of the year. Hayley and I have made Hueco reservations for late November through late December and I couldn't be more psyched! Hueco has been at the top of my destination list for a while now and I want to make sure I am in top shape when I finally get there, even if it is still a long way off.

Temperatures are starting to warm up in the southeast now and it seems like winter is leaving us. Yesterday was my first day back route climbing in a few months and it was painful! I have no endurance or lead head right now but I am sure it will come back quickly.

DeadpointMag Video

2010-02-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

The video Brion, Jimmy, and I shot with Projekt Media a few weeks ago is up and live on Deadpointmag.com. Click HERE to check it out. Enjoy!

Chain Slaannnggg!

2010-02-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

The 10 Most Ridiculous Rapper Chains

I found the most ridiculous thing today...check it out by clicking the link above!!!

Solutions are KEY!

2010-02-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Joe Kinder passed along this video of Daniel Woods in France this past fall. From Joe...

"This content was shot in the Gorges Du Loup, which is in the South of France. It is a great summer spot with the beach near, a beautiful gorge, and some test-pieces that kept us busy for a month and a half.

Daniel impressed all of us, including the locals with his fanaticism and efforts he put in each day. He would try one 9a and immediately after run over to jump on an 8c+, and then 20 minutes after that he would attempt to onsight an 8b! It was one of my favorite times in Europe this year and mainly due to hanging out and climbing with Daniel.

He stands by his statements in the video and believes that the Solution is the best shoe ever made and he uses it for everything."

Check out what DW has to say about the Solution...WORD!

Daniel Woods Loves the Solution from La Sportiva on Vimeo.

Projects Completed

2010-02-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

First of all...sorry for the lack of pictures...I've been taking the video camera out with me instead of the photo camera. Stay tuned for some video...I'm working on a little bit longer video at the moment that I'm hoping to have done soon. Nothing special...just a collaboration of some climbs in the south.

Anyways...after waiting out the rain early this weekend I headed back to Rocktown on Sunday to try and finish up Fire in the Mountians...or to at least do the crux move. Before heading to the back area to work on Fire we stopped at a boulder that I've never really spent much time on called Digital Scales V9. Digital Scales is a shoulder wrecker of a problem...a.k.a. hard for me...so I was really psyched when I did the low crux section on my second go. After figuring out some beta for the top section I was able to piece it together for the send. I was happy to start the day off right and I soon made my way to Fire in the Mountains for my third round of attempts.

I tried Fire from the start a few times with no success and figured it would be good to try and just do the crux move...especially since I hadn't done it before. I pulled on, everything felt just right, and I did the move! It was time to try it from the start. After one failed attempt I brushed the holds and tried again. This time everything felt right. I stuck the crux move and somehow scraped my way to the top of the boulder. I don't really remember anything after doing the crux. It was one of those autopilot situations. Looking back on it it was probably a good thing I didn't start thinking, otherwise I probably would have sketched myself out and fallen! HA.

Afterwards Nate Drolet, Senya, and I went to a boulder that I'd never tried before called Iron Claw Sit V10. We were all psyched to try it and Nathan dispatched the stand V7 for the flash. After some work and a couple of 'one more tries' I barely managed to top the boulder out. All in all it was a really fun day and I am happy to have done my project as well as a couple other amazing boulders. Next on my list of destinations is Dayton! Hopefully it dries up so I can make it up there later this week...

Projects, Projects

2010-02-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened over the last week or so. I've spent the majority of my time at Rocktown and have been busy with school and such. I've managed to spend quite a bit of time at Rocktown over the last few years and I still love hanging out on top of the mountain in the quiet, chill atmosphere. My focus has been set on a problem called Fire in the Mountains V12 that was put up by Jimmy about a month ago. The line climbs really well and follows a series of powerful pinch and edge moves to the top. I feel like this problem is REALLY hard! I have spent two days on the problem exclusively and have yet to do the crux move. Usually I would have gotten bored and moved on to something else but for some reason I keep wanting to go back. I can tell you that the attraction of this boulder isn't the comfy holds...the thing is kinda painful! BUT...it is worth it! Still psyched!

video still...bad quality

And now I am resting...again...because the weather looks like this...again...

It looks like conditions might be alright on Sunday. Hopefully things work out so I can make my way back to Rocktown for round 3 of attempts...

Biggie Shorty Extension

2010-01-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick video I threw together of Senya Iaryguine doing the Biggie Shorty Extension V12 at Little Rock City. Enjoy!

Biggie Shorty Extension V12 from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Southern Slang...

2010-01-29T15:24:00.000-08:00

Over the last week I have been working with Jimmy Webb, Brion Voges and Brant Hawkins from Projekt Media on a little video about bouldering in the southeast. Not only was I fortunate enough to spend the majority of my week climbing outside, I was able to visit a new area and do a couple of new problems. First up was a brilliant problem called Lord of the Dance V11 on the Riverdance boulder. Lord of the Dance is a low start to the well known Riverdance V8/9 and climbs out a roof on amazing pinches and edges into Riverdance. I was able to do this quickly and Brant was there to get some footage. Jimmy also put on quite the show by quickly dispatching Power Patch Low V11 and repeating Western Gold V11 first go! Ridiculous really...

The next day we went to an area I hadn't been to yet just outside of Chattanooga. The setting was amazing and the boulders were sick! I managed to do Babe V8, Voges and I did the classic Damn Yankees V9, and I was able to do the f.a. of Southern Slang V11 with Jimmy and Brion doing it right afterwards for the 2nd and 3rd.

Damn Yankees V9

Photo: Brion Voges

Kevin Todd on Southern Slang last year

Right now I'm hanging out in GA waiting for the weather to turn good again. Who knows how long this snow and rain is going to last for...

Jonny Copp & Micah Dash Inspire Award

2010-01-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

Jonny Copp & Micah Dash Inspire Award

Jonny Copp & Micah Dash were two of America’s leading alpine climbers, adventuring to the farthest corners of the world in search of first ascents in the purest of style. Jonny & Micah believed the summit meant something, but style was everything.

Sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, La Sportiva, Mountain Hardware & Patagonia, the Copp-Dash Inspire Award has been formed, to support climbers who choose to follow a similar path, both in life and in the mountains.
The fund’s goal is to assist climbers before, during & after expeditions with financial grants & multimedia instruction to help empower them to share their current & future adventures with a wider audience.

https://www.americanalpineclub.org/grant/coppdashinspireaward

Alabama Bouldering

2010-01-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

Rain. Rain. Rain. I'm contemplating building an arc because I'm pretty sure the southeast is about to flood. From So Ill to Chatty, wet boulders have been the theme lately. I drove up to Chatty Friday morning to meet up with some folks and to see if anything in the area would be dry. A bunch of us met up at Dayton only to find the river raging and the roof (our best bet for dry rock) to be dripping. We sat underneath the roof for a good 15 minutes wishing that our blank stares would dry out the rock. Unfortunately we aren't magicians so we bailed, drove back to Chatt, and had a nice gym sesh. Due to a minor cold, I hadn't climbed since our So Ill trip on the previous weekend, so it was good to just be out of the house moving around.

The plan for the next day was to head to Alabama in search of some dry boulders. Nathan Drolet and I met up with Nate Draughn, Jimmy Webb, and Brian Clevenger in the A.M. We loaded pads, piled in the car, and were on the way. Conditions were getting clearer and things looked more and more promising the further away from Chatty we got. We still weren't quite sure how great it was going to be when we parked the car but as we started hiking to the boulders the attitude shifted and Jimmy (who's basically a walking guidebook) chimed in "Oh man...its dry. Its gonna be dry. Its totally gonna be dry." And he was right! I think we were all really relieved as soon as we saw that things were good to go and we quickly got to warming up.

The day went well for everybody. Jimmy put up an amazing compression start to an existing V5 and called it 50 Words for Crazy V8. Really cool moves on some rad holds. Nate Draughn, Nate Drolet

(who flashed!), and myself repeated the problem for its first handful of ascents. Brian Clevenger, whom I hadn't climbed with before yesterday, did a couple V9's and made them look EASY....basically just levitated. I felt good yesterday as well and managed to do three fantastic problems; Underworld V10, Dog Laudnam V10, and Hustle and Flow V10. Jimmy threw together a little video from yesterday's trip. Check it out below and don't forget to check out his blog... http://jimmywebb.blogspot.com/ .

Jimmy just recently joined La Sportiva's climbing team and I think he is a great addition to an amazing company. La Sportiva is making the best shoes out there and I am a true believer in their products. I know that I wouldn't be nearly as confident in my foot placements without them and I can guarantee that I wouldn't have done half the boulder problems and routes I've done if I hadn't been wearing Sportivas. That's the TRUTH! Their shoes are on a different level and if you haven't checked them out I think you owe it to yourself to do so. You'll be happy you did! Go to Sportiva.com and don't forget to check out the La Sportiva Live section of their website to see what's up!

La Sportiva athlete Brad Weaver from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

Back from So Ill

2010-01-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

So our So Ill trip wasn't all that grand. On Saturday morning we woke up to a heavy fog looming over Jackson Falls. Hayley and I quickly made breakfast and hopped in the car to meet up with the rest of the crew at the Holy Boulders. Things weren't looking that great as we pulled into the parking lot...the ground was wet and it was quite humid. We figured we'd make the best of it though and went to see just how bad things were going to be. Our fears had come true. We had driven 6+ hours to climb on wet rocks. NEGATIVE! After a soggy warmup session on the classic Mollusc we headed up to the rest of the boulders to find everything else in the same condition. We figured wet rock is better than no rock and we proceeded to throw ourselves at the slippery boulders, much to no avail. Jimmy was able to do Trillium V9 after some effort though so our efforts weren't a complete waste.

The next day was much better, though still a bit damp. The crew couldn't complain though because conditions were incredible compared to the previous day. Brion was able to hook up Trillium V9 in a couple of goes, I failed, Jimmy killed Michael Jordan V11, Brion got agonizingly close and fell off the top out, and that's pretty much how the weekend went.

I made some progress on a couple of boulder problems and I am really excited to make my way back when the conditions aren't so damp.

On a side note I am looking forward to spending some time at Jackson Falls this spring. The Falls is like home to me...I basically learned how to climb there. While walking around The Falls on Sunday morning I forgot how awesome the routes are and how much potential still exists. There are a few unbolted lines that I've had my eye on for a couple of years now and I am excited to get back with a drill in hand. Yeaaahhh.

So ILL!!!

2010-01-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a nice day out at LRC. Senya finished up Biggie Shorty Extension V12, I finished up Power of Amida V10, and Jimmy was able to hook up BERT V11 in a few tries.

Tomorrow we are rollin up to So Ill with an amped crew so it should be an awesome weekend. I haven't been back to Illinois to climb since I lived there almost 2 years ago so I am excited to see how my old projects feel. Yup...

Kinda Uneventful

2010-01-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Not too much happening since I last checked in. I've made a couple of trips to LRC since my last post but nothing major has been happening. I've tried the infamous Barndoor 2000 project on two different days now and it is something I am quite psyched on. The boulder problem really boils down to two moves. One involves a high foot with a strange right hand gastone that you have to lock down in order to gain a decent slopey edge. From there you have to match hands and make a HUGE toss to a terrible slot/edge. I have fallen touching the bottom of that hold twice now. I really need to get better at jumping...I am in no way close to doing the problem but it is something cool to work on.

The other problem I have tried a little bit is a nice, tall V10 called Power of Amida. I got close to doing it last trip but we ran out of time. I'm hoping to make something happen tomorrow when I head up for the day.

There is some talk about a So Ill trip this weekend so I am really excited about that possibility...we will see.

The Shield

2010-01-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made the trip back to LRC so I could try and finish up The Shield V12. It was a cold one...a high of 33. The temperature combined with the low humidity created perfect conditions.

The day started off on a good foot with Hayley unexpectedly sending her project...the classic Jerry's Kids V7! Unfortunately I don't have video or photos of the problem because I was busy shuffling pads, but its all good...very proud of her for finishing it off so quickly! NICE.

We then made our way to the back where we threw down pads so Sarah could put in some work on Deception V7. She got agonizingly close, yet again, and will do it soon.

We shuffled the pads underneath The Shield so I could give a go at it. My first go felt terrible. I had been sitting just a little bit too long and my fingers were frozen. After shaking off the failed attempt and brushing the holds, I pulled on and made my way through the problem's "crux"....a shouldery gaston move to a slopey runnel. This move wasn't really an issue for me like I thought it would. However, the last move to the positive exit hold had stopped me cold on the previous round of attempts. I worked my way up to the last move, made the move to the good hold and was topping out before I knew what had happened.

This boulder problem is a step up for my personal climbing. A year ago I couldn't touch this boulder problem and this year I managed to do it fairly quickly. I feel as though I have progressed...not just physically but mentally as well. The Shield has always been intimidating to me and I honestly thought it would be years before I'd be able to pull this one off. PSYCHED!

Afterwards we walked around the corner so Senya could try and finish off Biggie Shorty Extension V12. He couldn't have gotten closer, falling off the LAST move. It will go next time for sure!

Here is a video I threw together of The Shield...the lighting is quite poor but it is better than nothing.

The Shield from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

2010!

2010-01-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

So our trip to Rocktown to celebrate New Years was cancelled due to terrible weather. Hayley and I woke up early on Thursday to make the drive and decided about halfway there that there was no way things were going to be dry...it had rained all night and it was very foggy. So we bailed.

Yesterday, however, we decided to start the year off right and went climbing at LRC for the day. I hadn't been back to the area since the last Triple Crown Comp and I was excited to try some of my old projects as well as try my hand at some new ones.

The Chattanoogan V12 is the line that has received most of my attention this season. I'd tried it for three or four days prior to yesterday to no avail. The thing was basically shutting me down...until yesterday anyways.

My first go I felt really good and fell after latching the hold exiting the crux...a crux in itself really... My next go I did the same. I rested for five minutes and gave it another go...this time I hit the hold perfectly and was able to finish it up! I am very happy to have this one done and it was a great way to start off the year.

The Chattanoogan from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

Afterwards we headed over to The Law so Senya could try and finish it up. He got close but didn't quite manage to put it together. Next time! We then headed over to Dragonslayer V12, where I once again got taught a lesson. Hayley then went on to do Mother Thrutch Low V5 with the quickness and Sarah got SUPER close to doing Deception! Nice one gals!

Next on my list was to try The Shield V12 again. I had tried it very little in the past and have always been kind of intimidated by it. Yesterday though, I ended up falling going to the good hold post crux on three out of my four tries...but then I split a tip. Needless to say I'm psyched to get back to try and finish it off tomorrow!

Weekend Happenings

2009-12-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

This weekend I made my first trip to the Obed to climb at the Lilly Boulders.

Sarah on O.P.P.

The main goal for the trip was to climb an old Litz line called Testify V12. After driving for 4ish hours and warming up, my buddy Senya and I laid down pads and got to work. After dialing in some key foot beta I was able to dispatch!

I called it a day there and waited to try the next problem on my list, The Hume Problem V10, the next day. Again, after a nice warmup and some beta sussing I was able to send the rig!

The Hume Problem

The rest of the day was a little more low key and we were able to climb some amazing problems in the woods of Tennessee.

Senya at the Lilly Boulders

We decided to roll out of the Lilly Boulders that evening and we made the drive to Rocktown, GA. I have spent a lot of time at this boulder field over the past few years but one problem on my lifetime list has always eluded me...Golden Harvest V10.

Golden Harvest climbs a beautiful orange, slightly overhung face on slopey sidepulls and it has always managed to shut me down. This weekend, however, I was able to snag an ascent with the quickness! Very pleased with this one...a progression of sorts for myself.

Golden Harvest

Afterwards we made our way to Bionic Rats V8/9 so Senya could try his hand at it. I was able to repeat and Senya was able to send after figuring out some beta.

Senya dispatching Bionic Rats

On Thursday Hayley and I have plans to head back to Rocktown to join in on the New Years festivities. I have a couple of problems that I would like to do so hopefully I can make something happen.

Oh...I also just received my Canon HG20 that I ordered a little while ago! You can guarantee that I'll put it to good use too...ha!

Triple Crown Write Up on Sportiva LIVE!

2009-12-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

Check out the write Triple Crown write up I did for La Sportiva Live by clicking here. I hope you all have a great holiday season! Enjoy!

Ar-kansas

2009-12-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

First off...sorry for the lack of photos...psych was high and breaking out the camera wasn't in my thought process.

For the past week or so I've been chillin and climbing in Arkansas. The bouldering scene in the videos Dosage 3 and 5 looked superb and I had to check it out for myself. Hayley and I met up with an amazing crew consisting of Nathan Drolet, Jimmy Webb, Brion Voges, Kasia Pietres, and Isabelle Faus. We ended up renting "The Barn" for our stay, which was quite nice. Beds, showers, heat, and a kitchen are nice to come home to after a day of bouldering in the cold.

Our first climbing day we had frigid conditions...too cold to climb in actually. We ended up only being out for a couple of hours but I managed to climb a really nice V10 called Flash Gordon. I also played around on the low start called The Anti-Hero, which was given V13.

The next day was much better as far as conditions go. We made our way to Fontaine Red where we warmed up on classics like Le Beak V4. From there we made the 10 minute hike over to Fred's Cave. I had my sites set on Fred's Roof, a really cool V10 that follows good holds through big moves, and I was able to send in a few goes. Afterwards I dabbled on Chunk Up the Deuce and bailed after realizing it was my anti-style and ventured to its neighbor One Inch Pinch V12. This one suited me much better...good edges that led to a decent right hand pinch. From there you have to make a precise stab into a slot. After sorting out my beta and dialing in the moves I was able to dispatch! Very psyched about this one. I was lucky enough to have Jimmy filming throughout the day as well so I was able to throw together a little video of the climb.

One Inch Pinch V12 from Brad Weaver on Vimeo.

The next day a bunch of us decided to stay and climb at the ranch. Voges and I had our sites set on Glass Bowl V10, which we both did quickly. We also managed to do a bunch of amazing moderates in the area and Voges was able to snag Bloody Knuckles V11 in a couple of goes...strong work for sure. I was really psyched to get back to The Anti-Hero to try to make some progress on it, so we made our way over there towards the end of the day. On my first go of the day I surprised myself by climbing all the way into the last move of Flash Gordon. This move is the crux of FG and revolves around a long lockoff/deadpoint to a slopey edge. I was super stoked about the progress, especially when considering the fact that I had basically flailed all over the problem a couple days prior. On my next go the same thing happened. I made my way through the lower section and fell on the big deadpoint move. I was pretty shot at this point, gave it one more poor attempt, and decided to just dial in the middle section as well as I could.

Voges, Nathan, and I walked around the boulder to another classic problem called Jeff's Prow V9. We had tried it a little bit our first day but quickly gave up when we numbed out 3 moves in on several attempts. This time conditions were much more enjoyable and we were able to unlock the beta with some effort. I decided to give it one more go and topped out as it was getting dark.

It rained the next day and the majority of us took a much needed rest. After grabbing some more groceries Nathan, Hayley and I snagged some pizza from the local pizza shop in Jasper and headed back to The Barn to watch movies for the rest of the day.

We awoke psyched to climb the next morning but a heavy fog loomed over the entire area, ruining everything. Everybody but Hayley and I had plans to go to Hueco the next day so they all decided to bounce a day early in order to get a jump start on their long drive. One thing about being on a trip with a bunch of people is that when people start to leave, things don't feel the same...the vibe is just different. Hayley and I decided to make the best of the day and went looking for boulders. I really wanted to find Dirty 30 V12, Southern Lean V12, and Pangae V12 and we had rough directions to get there. We hiked through a creek bed for a couple of hours and I was able to find Pangae but no Dirty 30 or Southern Lean. Not that productive of a journey but it was fun nonetheless. If anybody has directions to either of these boulders and would like to share it'd be much appreciated!

As we were hiking back to The Barn, contemplating what to do with the rest of our day, the sun broke through the clouds and began drying up the boulders. We figured we'd get some lunch and head up to the boulders to see if they were dry enough to climb.

I was psyched to head back up to The Anti-Hero V12 and Hayley wanted to try a classic V6 arete called Africa Arete so we headed that way. Hayley figured out some good beta for her problem before we headed over to mine. I was psyched to find the holds dry and set out to work. I pulled on and made my way through the bottom boulder problem and found myself at the move I was falling at on my previous round of attempts. This time I really focused on keeping everything tight and close to the wall. I snagged the slopey edge and my feet swung out from the wall. I kicked them back on, grabbed the jug at the lip of the boulder, and topped out. So PSYCHED! The Anti-Hero was originally given V13, however, with new(ish) beta I don't feel that this is accurate. Also, a few weeks ago a key undercling to the problem was broken off and there was some talk about whether or not it was going to make the problem harder. I didn't use the broken/new hold in my sequence so it definitely doesn't make the problem any more difficult (or easier for that matter).

The Anti-Hero V12

I am back in Illinois for a week to celebrate the holidays. I'll be climbing in the gym and am hoping to make it to So Ill for a few days as well before we head back to GA for Christmas day. There was some talk about heading back to Arkansas the 28th or so with a big crew so I'm hoping that those plans pan out.

Some shots:

Hayley

Triple Crown Write Up

2009-12-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well the Triple Crown is over. It was a blast this year and I am looking forward to it again next year. I did a write up for La Sportiva about the TC series that should be put up in a day or two in their La Sportiva Live section. Keep an eye out for it!

Right now I am drinking some coffee and packing up the truck. Hayley and I leave today for Arkansas to meet up with Jimmy Webb, Brion Voges, Kasia Pietres, and Nathan Drolet. SOOO PSYCHED! I've never been to Arkansas but I have been hearing good things for years. Tomorrow will be our first climbing day of the trip and it is going to be a frigid one. High of 31! Ahh...winter is finally here!

Slope It Up...Do It..Eh.......Do It

2009-11-30T18:12:00.000-08:00

HP40 this last weekend was a blast. There were a bunch of people around which made it all the more enjoyable. The three things that I wanted to try this weekend were Hot n Tot V10, Skeletor V10, and The Matchmaker Project.

Friday morning Nathan and I drove to Horse Pens and arrived around noon. After warming up we went over so Nathan could try and finish off Law Dog V8, which he succeeded in doing quickly. After this I went over to Hot n Tot. I was able to work out my beta but was unable to pull it off. I decided to wait until the next day to try any more in order to save my skin. After watching Nathan kill Litz Pocket V8 I met up with Jimmy to try The Matchmaker project. I had tried this problem a little bit after the HP comp and couldn't figure it out. Well within 10 minutes of lacing up Jimmy decided to just do the problem... seemingly effortless. Very inspiring to say the least. I proceeded to throw myself at the problem for the next 15 minutes to no avail. SHUTDOWN!

After failing, I went over to Skeletor V10 and got close to doing it but couldn't pull it off. Not a good day for me. However, Nathan went on to send Supa Coola V6 and Squeeze Play V7/8. Good day for the little homie for sure! I called it a day there and figured I might have better luck the next day.

Nathan Topping Out

Saturday was a bit warmer than Friday but it was really nice out. Senya arrived that morning and was psyched on finishing up Cadillac Thrills V9 and I was psyched on Hot n Tot so that's where we found outselves after warming up. I was able to dispatch quickly and Senya followed in suit.

Senya on Cadillac Thrills V9

I chilled the rest of the day and watched everybody else climb while I waited for Skeletor to go in the shade. The time arrived and I was able to hook it up first go of the day. Psyched! I love slopers!

Nathan Sloping It Up

This weekend is the last competition of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series so I'm looking forward to that. After that Hayley and I are heading to Arkansas to boulder for a couple of weeks. I'm super psyched for this trip....a new area and new boulders! Psyched!

UPDATE: After the girlfriend read this last post she noticed that I hadn't mentioned her presence this weekend. So I just wanted to let you all know that Hayley was indeed at Horse Pens during this time.

Some Progress and Some Inspiration!

2009-11-22T09:10:00.000-08:00

Today was another LRC sesh for Hayley and I. The rock was rather wet feeling and it was humid but we made the best of it. I tried The Chattanoogan a bit and was able to do 'the move' a few times, which I was super psyched about! No go from the start but it is PROGRESS! I'm going to end up making a super project out of this rig.

Tomorrow and Thursday I am resting and on Friday Hayley, Nathan, and myself are heading down to Horse Pens for the weekend. There is going to be quite a crew down there so it'll be interesting to see what goes down.

In the meantime check out this old video of french strongman, Tony Lamiche, KILLING it here in the southeast. Enjoy!

UPDATE: For some reason the video was playing automatically everytime somebody visited this site so for now I posted the link to the video.

http://www.eider.tv/home.asp?l=2&idCat=0&idVideo=0#61-221-ESCALADE-Sand-Stone-&-Cookies

Chatty Round 3

2009-11-21T18:51:00.000-08:00

Today Hayley and I woke up early, printed off passes for LRC, met up with Senya and Sarah, and made our way to Chatty.

After warming up we met up with our buddy Nathan and proceeded towards the back of the boulder field. One of my main goals for the day was to try and do all the moves on a classic V11 called The Law. I briefly tried the problem for the first time on Wednesday with local strongman Jimmy Webb. I was completely wrecked at that point and couldn't give it more than three tries due to the condition of my skin.

I came back today super psyched to try it some more. The starting crimp rail was somewhat wet (as usual) and I tried my best to dry it out. After messing around with the first move a little bit and feeling out the rest of the climb I decided to take a rest before trying it from the start.

After about five minutes I felt good enough to give it another go. I chalked the holds, brushed them, and pulled on. The starting holds felt a little bit wetter than usual but I decided to just ignore it and try anyways. As soon as the thought of wet holds entered my head my right hand exploded from the starting hold, sending me tumbling.

Sarah Bain Photo: The Law V11

As I was heading toward the pads my shin bashed into a rock in front of me, and it somehow managed to scrape its way down my leg.

NEGATIVE!

I'm not gonna lie...I was NOT psyched at this point. Super painful...kinda like hitting your shins on your bike pedals when you were a kid...just a little bit worse.

I ended up stuffing some tissue into the starting holds to dry them out, rested for 15 minutes, and decided to give it another go. This time the holds were dry. I pulled on, made the long lockoff for the first hold, and managed my way to the top. Quickness! SUPER psyched!

After this we all headed to the very back of the boulder field to play on the Cyclops/Blacksmith boulder. Senya hooked up the Blacksmith V9 fast...third go from the start or something. Good effort for sure! Hayley, Nathan, and Sarah played around a bit as well before we decided to move on.

Sarah mean muggin'

Nathan...never not psyched

Senya-Blacksmith V9

On our way back toward the front of the field we stopped at the Deception Boulder so we could try Deception V7 and The Brotherhood V8. I was able to hookup The Brotherhood with some serious effort and the rest of the crew got really close as well.

Sarah Bain Photo: Senya on The Brotherhood V8

I also got to try the Chattanoogan again at the end of the day. I wasn't able to stick 'the move' and got super frustrated. This problem is going to test my patience and attention span for sure. I made some poor attempts at the problem but I am still psyched to go back and try again next time around.

Thanksgiving is next week...I was planning on heading home for the holiday but plans have changed. Instead we are having a low key turkey day in GA and then we are heading to Horse Pens for a long weekend. There are several problems that I tried at the Triple Crown comp that I would like to try and finish up, so hopefully I can make something happen. Super psyched for sure! Keep ya posted....

Chatty Round 2

2009-11-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I headed up to Chattanooga to stay with my buddy Nathan. I left Tuesday morning, drove through some rain, and met up with him at his place. It had rained the previous night, as well as some that morning so we decided that the steep Dayton roof would be our best bet for dry rock. We piled in his van and made our way to Dayton hoping for the best. Psych was high and we were amped to find the roof dry enough to climb on.

After warming up we jumped on a cool problem called Honeycomb V10. I was able to hook it up in a few goes and Nathan was SUPER close as well. Keep at it man! It will go!

Next on my list was a problem called Vapor Lock V11. I tried this problem a little bit last year on one of my visits to the area and got shut down pretty quickly. It felt much more doable this time around and I was able to hook it up after a little bit of work.

It was dark by this point so we called it a day and headed back to Chatty. We awoke the next morning and quickly made our way up to LRC. The temps were good but it was still pretty humid and many of the holds felt sweaty but we made a good day out of it nonetheless.

Some shots:

Nathan Drolet Photo

Hayley and I are heading back up there tomorrow bright and early. I'm psyched to put some more work in on The Chattanoogan as well as The Law. Wish me luck!

Chattanooooga

2009-11-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Bouldering season is here but the cold weather that usually accompanies it hasn't shown up yet. Nonetheless, the weather has been beautiful and we've been making the best of it. On Thursday Hayley and I daytripped up to Chatty to go bouldering at Little Rock City. I woke up in the morning, checked the weather, and I knew it was going to be an awesome day when the forecast said 'Plentiful Sun, High 64F'. Perfect weather for a chill day of rock climbing.

After warming up I went to try Cleopatra-Cinderella Traverse V9. This particular boulder problem has been shutting me down since last season. Instead of being able to do the jump move at the end of the boulder problem, I have to do a series of crimp moves that I feel uses up a lot of energy. Thursday, however, I was able to get through the crimpy-outro section first go...very psyched to have this one done...not the best boulder problem ever but definitely worth doing.

Afterwards I decided to check out a problem I've looked at since last season, Electric Boogaloo V10, a blank looking face climb. From underneath the boulder you can see faint slopey pinches, a crimp rail, and a jug near the top of the wall.

The boulder problem is very simple. Squeeze slopey pinches, hit the crimp rail, make a move to a jug. On my first go I got sketched out on the move to the jug and dropped off. On my second go I pulled on, hit a slopey right hand pinch, hit the crimp rail, and made the move to the jug. The climb is basically over after this...all that is left if a dirty topout, which I once again wigged out on. I was super psyched to do this problem so quickly. The problem was quite intimidating at first and I'm glad I decided to try it.

Sarah Bain Photo: Electric Boogaloo

The rest of the day was pretty chill and I ended up doing another facey V9 called I think I Can. The problem is a super eliminate, but it is still enjoyable.

Today Hayley and I met up with Senya Iaryguine and Sarah Bain and we all left early to go to LRC for the day. Today was a much warmer than it was on Thursday. 10 degrees warmer, in fact.

Senya...wishin he was a Powerade athlete...ha

Avery on Behind the Barndoor V7

After warming up Senya and I went over to check out Interplanetary Escape, a somewhat newly developed, soon to be classic, V9. The crux move is right off the ground and revolves around a big sideways move to a jug. The crux is actually ninja kicking your feet after sticking the jug to avoid the barndoor. A super unique move for sure. After testing out the move a few times I was able to commit. I stuck the move, kicked my feet over, and made my way up the rest of the tall slab to top out.

Hayley and Sarah got psyched on some problems as well. They played on A Face in the Crowd V7, they dabbled on a V6 near Interplanetary Escape, they both killed Line of Scrimmage V4/5, and got close on a few others. WORD!! Keep it up gals!!

Hayley Reachin'

When it comes to bouldering, I have a hard time sticking with a project. My mentality has usually been, "If I can't do a move in a few goes, I'll wait till I get stronger to do it". That has changed as of recently and I have been making an effort to work some harder boulder problems. On Thursday I tried The Chattanoogan V12 very briefly. Today I went back with the goal of doing all the moves and maybe linking a couple different sections.

There is one move in particular that is really hard for me. Basically you start out the problem, do a few moves, set up on two alright crimps, and do a kinda toss move to a flat 3 or 4 pad edge. The span needed for this move is ridiculous and it shut me down when I tried it last year and again on Thursday. Today I managed to do the move once. I just kinda floated to the good edge/jug thing, grabbed it with one hand, and managed to hold the swing. I was super psyched to finally do the move but unfortunately I wasn't able to do it again. No matter though...I am psyched to get back to continue working on the problem. If I can do the move once I can surely do it again. I have a feeling that when temps drop the crimps will feel a little better and the move will be a little bit more doable.

Sarah Bain Photo: The Move on The Chattanoogan

Senya and I finished up the day by doing Blind Spot V8, Diesel Power V6, and Robbing the Toothfairy V9...all super fun problems. It was a great day to be outside doing what we love...climbing on some rocks.

HP 40

2009-11-10T10:00:00.001-08:00

Last weekend the second comp of the Triple Crown series was held at Horse Pens 40 in Alabama. I've spent a lot of time at HP over the years so I felt pretty good going into it. The forecast for Saturday called for a high of 75 with no clouds....quite warm for the temperature dependent slopers that HP is known for. Walking around the boulder field Friday night I tried to come up with a plan for the next day but quickly decided to just wing it and see what happened.

On Saturday morning the crowds quickly dispersed throughout the boulders and people got to work. Everybody knew that it was going to get hot fast and you could sense the urgency to warm up quickly and get to the day's projects. After climbing on some jugs and doing the classic V4 The Lowdown, I banged out Thugs and Bitches V8, Hugs and Kisses V8, and Ghetto Superstar V9. I felt good on these climbs and decided my fingers were warmed up enough to head over to God Module V11. I knocked this one out in a few tries, which felt good considering I had completed the problem for the first time (with some effort) last December. After that the day went as follows...

SuperSlider V10
Cadillac Thrills V9
Pegmodo V9
Five-O V9
Lawdog V8
Waterloo V8
Suspicions V8
Stepchild Low V8
Landslide V8
Tried Stingray and failed
Comp was over and I was wrecked

Overall I felt like the day was a success. I think I placed 6th place with a score of 10, 607....only about 500 points behind third place. Needless to say everybody had a good day and there were a few of us that were quite close. Congrats to everybody that competed on Saturday! Temps weren't ideal but people were psyched and everybody climbed hard!

Later this week I'm going to try and make it to LRC or Dayton to do some bouldering. There are a bunch of problems that I'd like to try at both areas that are going to be really hard for me, so I'm psyched to start working on them.

100 Ounces of Amazing

2009-11-03T14:21:00.001-08:00

Its been a while since I've updated the blogpiece here. After doing Lucifer a few weeks ago I caught whatever everybody else had at the Red and had to take some time off. I didn't think that I'd be taking a week and a half off during some of the best weeks the fall has to offer but it turned out to be alright. After recovering at home for a few days Hayley and I headed to Chicago to visit my grandma and to see the sights. It was an awesome time

We headed back down to Bloomington, IL to hang out for a few more days and I did some climbing in the gym. I felt a little off climbing-wise after the time off but I quickly felt good again. On Friday we made the trip back to the Red where fall conditions are at their prime. I had my sights set on a route called 100 Ounces of Gold, formerly 5.13c. The crux hold broke a few years and it has sat unrepeated since then. My first go I took my time finding holds and figuring out a sequence. I arrived at the crux...a half pad, two finger pocket for the left, to another half pad, two finger pocket for the right. I have always been good on pockets and the two crux pockets felt quite nice...but that's probably because I have small girly fingers. The move between the pockets is quite large, but I was able to find a high foot that enabled me to lock off hard to the right hand hold. My second go was similar and on my third I was able to make it into the crux but I was too worked to pull it off.

The Gold Coast

The next day Hayley and I arrived at Solar Collector to warm up and we were greeted with perfect conditions. I quickly warmed up and made my way over to the shaded Gold Coast. I started out and I felt really good and made my way to the shake spot just before the crux. I moved into the crux, hit the left hand pocket, adjusted, then hit the right hand pocket. From there you have to reel in the right hand and do a deadpoint move to a good slopey edge. I stuck the move and made my way to the chains. Super psyched for sure!! 100 Ounces is one of my new all-time favorite routes. Sooo Good!!! As for the grade...its hard to tell. The route fit me REALLY well. A couple of others that have been on it say they feel as though it is harder than the other routes on the wall, which range up to 5.13d/14a. Like I said, my fingers fit into the pockets very well. The route would definitely be harder for those who have bigger digits. So for now, I'm calling it 5.13d/5.14a...it needs a consensus. For those of you looking for an amazing route, consider checking this one out. I highly recommend it!!

Lucifer

2009-10-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have been chillin' at the Red for the past week or so and times have been good. Last weekends Roctoberfest was a blast and the weather had been good up until a few days ago. Almost exactly like last year, the cold and rain swept over Kentucky leaving the crew down here wishing for sun and unnumb digits. All the cold and rain has also given the majority of the Red's residents with a nasty cold, which i was unfortunate enough to catch a few days ago.

I have had my sights set on ticking a line called Lucifer 5.14c, a line that I first tried in the spring of '08. I tried the line a bunch that spring, too much in fact, because I ended up injuring myself on it. I came back last fall, dealing with some mental battles concerning reinjuring myself, and actually came really close to doing it. Then the cold and rain hit and the season was done.

I came back this fall with Lucifer as my number one goal. I put in a good three days of work on it last week. The process of relearning the beta and getting the muscle memory came quicker than I thought it would, especially since I have been primarily bouldering since August. I took two rest days with the intention of going back out yesterday to try the route again.

However, yesterday I woke up feeling like death and it was raining. I laid in bed and finally convinced myself to get up...the thought of cough syrup in the cab of the truck was the driving force for sure. I swore off climbing for the day, but after the medicine kicked in I decided to roll out to Purgatory to try my luck.

I felt good climbing-wise as I was warming up. We had an awesome crew with us yesterday and my friend Stephen Woodward came out on his rest day just to take photos. I ended up hanging the line on a nearby line...for the more thorough warmup and so we could get some shots. I rested while I belayed and then did the whole cold weather re-warmup routine to try to fend off the numbing of the digits. I pulled on the wall and quickly found myself at the first crux...a powerful deadpoint move off a bad left hand pinch and a shallow two finger right hand pocket.

Photos from the send: Stephen Woodward

entering the crux

the crux deadpoint move

The move was the easiest I've felt it in all my attempts and I sat at the rest and got psyched for the redpoint crux (which I've fallen off of numerous times). You are pretty pumped at this point and you must lock off of a bad left hand edge, to another good right hand slot. This move is quite hard because at this point the angle starts to wear on you, and your power has been depreciated. I had gotten to this point and fallen on a bunch of occasions, only to be able to pull back on and link it to the top. This time I hit the left hand edge perfectly, crimped hard, and hit the right hand slot...a moment I had been waiting for for a long time. From there it was all autopilot and before I knew it I was clipping chains and letting out a little victory yell.

the redpoint crux

I am extremely happy to have this route done. The time I spent working on Lucifer was the most that I've spent on a route. It is a huge relief and I couldn't be happier. A huge personal epic is done for me!!! I just want to give a big thank you to all of you that I've drug out to Purgatory over the past two years...you know who you are.

Some shots from yesterday...

Cory working on Dracula 5.13b

Danny working on Paradise Lost 5.13a

a good ol' KY box fire

To The RED!!

2009-10-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

First off let me say that the Hound's Ears comp was amazing. Although the rock is incredibly sharp, the lines are superb...some of the best I've seen in the south. I started the day off on a good foot by flashing The Crusher, a classic V10 I've been wanting to do since I saw it in Dosage 1 over 5 years ago. I went on to do several other stellar lines like Mr. Thick V9, Nudging It V10, The Jerk V8, etc. I barely managed to fill out 10 problems on my scorecard and definitely didn't have the highest score but I chalked the day up as a win in my book.

Right now I am trying to get ahead on as much homework as possible because I leave for the Red on Friday. Conditions look good, minus a few thunderstorms, and I am psyched to try to put my new bouldering strength to work on Lucifer 5.14c. I came desperately close on this line last year and had to leave it for the season when the weather turned too cold and wet. I feel much stronger than I did last year so I'm hoping things will go well!

To BOONE!!

2009-10-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

First off, sorry for the lack of updates. Not a whole lot has been going on for the last two weeks. We've been posted up just outside of Atlanta GA for the past few weeks in preparation for Hayley's sister's wedding. The wedding was a blast and I even got all fancied up.

Striking

On Tuesday Hayley and I drove up to Chattanooga to go bouldering at LRC. The conditions were so much better than the last time we were there and we had an enjoyable beginning to our fall.

Pics: Nathan Drolet

Right now we are in the process of getting ourselves into gear so we can make the drive to BOONE, NC! The first leg of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series is this Saturday at Hound's Ears. I'm particularly stoked on this comp because I've wanted to check out Boone for a long time and I'm finally doing it! YEEEAAHH! The field is stacked this year with folks such as Jimmy Webb, Phil Schaal, Brion Voges, etc. I'm just hoping to fill out my scorecard with some classics.

Wish me luck! I'm gonna need it!

La Sportiva's mytriplecrown Contest!!!!

2009-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

La Sportiva is putting on a contest for this year's Triple Crown Bouldering series. This is an awesome chance to try to win some shoes from THE BEST climbing shoe company around. GET ON IT!

La Sportiva’s mytriplecrown contest!

Spill the beans... Tell us your Triple Crown experience.

Share your story and get a free La Sportiva T-shirt!

And the best submission will win 4 pairs of La Sportiva rock shoes!

How to Enter:

Attend Hound Ears Triple Crown

Get a Climbing Log Books at registration

But don’t wait, there’s only 300!

Jot down your climbing experiences from any of the three events

You must fill out the Log Book at least 1/2 way to qualify

We highly encourage you to add fun or interesting adventures that you encounter. We encourage creativity, photos and other additions!

Drop off, or mail us your Climbing Log Book

There will be drop off boxes at the La Sportiva Tent at all 3 events, and at Rock/Creek (North Shore) location

Or you can mail it directly back to La Sportiva N.A.

La Sportiva N.A. Inc.

Attn: MyTripleCrown Contest

3850 Frontier Ave, Suite 100

Boulder, CO 80301

A FREE T-shirt and a chance to WIN 4 pairs of rock shoes!

What are you waiting for?

More info: http://www.rockcreek.com/mytriplecrown/

Kentucky Son!

2009-09-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Goddamn right! It's been almost a year since I've been to the great state of Kentucky to do some rock climbing, and I gotta say, I've missed it! The amount and quality of rock is the best I've seen but its the PEOPLE that I've missed the most. Looking back on it I took the people here for granted. After being out west where the majority of people (I'm not saying everyone) won't even give you the time of day (you wave as you drive by and you just get blank stares...bullshit!) I now truly appreciate the good attitudes, supportiveness, and friendliness of the south. That's the truth!

Anyways...

We rolled into Miguel's campground late on Monday night and slept in a humid cloud of fog. We woke up the next morning, chatted with friends, then drove to Military Wall so Hayley could try one of the 12's on the main wall. Things were a bit damp from all the rain that has been in the area but we had a blast none-the-less. Afterwards we drove across the gorge to The Motherload. Things were a bit dryer there but it was still a bit moist. We did a few pitches and called it good.

The next day we cruised up to Drive By so I could try a fairly new route called Supercharger 5.13d. It begins with a V7 or so to a huge sit down ledge. From there it is on. You do a few chill moves off the ledge and then it is power endurance at its finest...big moves between big holds for a few bolts to a kneebar shake spot. From there you move directly into the crux, which also weighs in at around V7. This section turned out to be a bit harder than I expected and will be an awesome challenge on point. After you do the little crux boulder problem you reach a good rail where you can shake out and then embark on the last little bouldery section before the chains...nothing too serious. I'm super psyched to get back up the the Red to finish this one off.

The next day we went back to the lode and I did a really nice 12c called Heart Shaped Box. It climbs a line of pockets and crimps up awesome rock...this one stays with you till the end! I recommend it to anybody that goes to the lode looking for a badass, technical, crimpy line! Go do it!

Some photos from the week...

Nancy on Chainsaw

Danny on Convicted

KENTUCKY!

Random shot of a pie I made last week

Early Season LRC Action

2009-09-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hayley and I made the drive up to Chattanooga today to do a little climbing at LRC. The forecast called for temps in the upper 80's. It goes without saying that conditions weren't prime for projects (TN in the summer...go figure), but we were psyched to get out of the house and move around. I ended up repeating a few problems like The Wave V5 and did a couple of new problems like Sternum V5 and the LRC classic The Pinch V7. All in all it was a nice day to hang out in the woods and climb on some boulders (until the rain came).

Some eye candy...

The Pinch

Hayley on Ribcage

Yay humidity!

The Gal being studious

Nature Brah

Dirty South

2009-09-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

In the past month or so Hayley and I have gone from Salt Lake, to Rifle CO, to Illinois, and now we are posted up in Georgia. Needless to say...we are OVER all the driving.

Our Journey

The weather was extremely mild for the two weeks that we were in Illinois and I'm hoping that it carries over into the fall. It would be awesome if the fall temps/conditions would stick around longer than two weeks like they did last year. I am starting to get amped for the journey to the Red River Gorge this fall. I'm really looking forward to all the good routes, great friends, and fun times that will be had.

Good Times!

On another note, I am officially registered for the 2009 Triple Crown Bouldering Series! Super psyched! I competed in a couple of the Horse Pens comps back in the day and they were a blast. I've wanted to visit Boone and climb at the notorious Hound's Ears boulderfield for some time now, so it is super exciting to have that in the near future.

HP40

As for now we are layin' low and doing the school thing. I'm trying to stay in shape for when the weather gets good and I am hoping to make it to the Red and LRC for at least a weekend here soon. Can't wait to get ahold of some of those slimy summer grips!

Some shots from Illinois...

Perfection

Oh My Lots of Corn

2009-08-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hayley and I are now back in the flatlands of Illinois. We decided to bail from Rifle early for a few reasons...we both started school about a week ago (kinda hard to do school while camping), we had minor injuries/little tweaks, but most of all we were ready for some down time. It is awesome being on the road traveling, seeing new places, and climbing as much as possible. BUT, all the driving, running around, packing, etc. gets tiring...We are both appreciating being able to chill out in a house and are happy to not be on the go constantly. Relaxation! We are both going into the local gym, Upper Limits, to start getting in shape for the Red in October. Bouldering is the name of the game right now...gotta keep that power. I'm just hoping that I can keep some of the endurance I gained earlier this season while we climb on these short gym routes and boulder problems. We will see...

Some shots...

Climbing Hands

Reservoir

Damaged Goods

Early morning fog in Iowa

The flatlands of Illinios

It all looks the same...

I did it for Ammmerrrica

2009-08-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well shit...its been a while since I've updated and there has been a fever of climbing going on. Hayley and I have been in Rifle, CO climbing and kicking it for the past week.

Our plan is to stay here through August before making our way back east. Things started off slowly, we were both trying to get back into the route game after taking a few weeks off from it. After getting used to the slick limestone again I quickly got psyched on Kuru 5.14c. The route is a link up of the Crew 5.14c and Zulu 5.14a. You begin by doing a bouldery section that registers in at around 5.13c/d to a kneebar rest. After this you do a little V7 or so boulder problem to join in with Zulu. From there it is a sprint against a deep pump to the chains. I one hung the route my second attempt and decided to wait a day to give it a good go. My third attempt I made it through the boulder problem and fell in Zulu's redpoint crux section. I rested for a few hours before giving it another go. There was a nice breeze blowing through the Wicked Cave at this point and I felt good....so good in fact that I found myself just below the

kneebar rest before realizing that I had forgot my kneepad on the ground. NO GOOD!

It totally threw me out of my zone and thoughts of failing ran through my head...I actually contemplating just lowering to the ground because I thought that it would be pointless to keep going. Fortunately I was able to pull out some try hard and had one of those experiences where everything just clicks and you find yourself at the chains. Its crazy how when you don't expect things to go well, they sometimes do. The next day I still couldn't believe that I had done the route. It went very quickly for me and I don't think I'll ever do another route at that difficulty that quickly. 5.14c 4th go! PSYCHED!!! But...its probably soft...

After a rest day my friend Hayden Kennedy and I decided to start working on The Crew 5.14c. This route is notorious for being extremely difficult, especially after a key undercling broke on it sometime last year. We were both able to do all the moves quickly and we are psyched to make some progress on it later this week.

Hayden on the bottom crux of The Crew 5.14c

Check It! So Funny!

2009-07-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a good reason why you should never give your kids video games. The first one will give you an idea of how nuts this kid is but to get a real sense how crazy this dude is you gotta check out the second one. Enjoy!

OR is Done!

2009-07-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

So somehow I managed to qualify in 14th place this year at the Mammut Bouldering Championships, which definitely exceeded my placement expectations. I managed to top out three out of the five problems in qualifiers and I missed making finals by two people. I'm really stoked on how I climbed during the comp and had a blast! I had so much fun in fact, that I'm actually considering competing more...CRAZY!

Ryan Olsen on Problem #4

Jon Glassberg on Problem #2

Anywho...Tuesday night the finals comp was held on top of the Shilo Inn in downtown Salt Lake. Anybody who hasn't been is missing out because it is a hell of a good time! Hanging out, partying with friends, and watching the best climbers compete for a spot on the podium is rad!

Dario and Ginley kickin' it

Hayley and I have a week left here in Salt Lake before we head to Rifle for the entire month of August! Needless to say we are psyched. Before we leave I am taking a much needed break from climbing...my body and mind are worked. It is hard to climb all the time without getting a little burnt out, especially when you have to drive all the time. The rest will be good for recovery and motivation. There is so much I want to do in Rifle and I have a whole month to do it! After Rifle we will be busy visiting family for the majority of September and then...its off to the Red for October and November!!! Sooo stoked!!! Hayley and I are both stoked on seeing friends and we both have unfinished business there....

Photo: Nathan Drolet

We are definitely looking forward to it...

Qualifiers

2009-07-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Photo: Tim Kemple via boulderingcomps.com

Tomorrow I am competing in the qualifiers for the Mammut Bouldering Championships here in Salt Lake. The competition is STACKED and I'm excited to see where I'll place. I have no expectations really since I'm not that great at competing in comps and because I've been primarily route climbing since May. Who knows though...maybe my endurance will help me out. All I hope is that I climb as well as can. My goal is 38th or better in order to beat my placement last year. HA! We'll see what happens...

Zulu

2009-07-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates...there is a LOT going on right now.

Hayley and I have spent most of the past week in Rifle, CO climbing and hanging out. After our first weekend trip we felt like we had the style a little bit more figured out and we were both more confident, and as most of you know, confidence is key.

On our first trip I had tried Zulu, a classic 5.14a put up by Chris Sharma back in the day. The bottom of the route is really bouldery with big moves on big holds. The middle section is all endurance climbing which takes you to a little bit of crimpy, techy climbing up high. At the beginning of last week some of the holds were seeping due to the ridiculous amount of rain that we've been getting, and I couldn't get through the crux on point because of it.

I stayed away from Zulu for a few days and focused on some easier climbs. My friend Peewee, who I met last year in Maple, was there and he was psyched to give me beta so I could try to flash a few routes. First up was a route in the Arsenal called the Path 5.13c. I ended up falling three moves from the chains but ended up doing it next go. Kind of a bummer but I'm still psyched. The next day he gave me beta on another 5.13c called Fluff Boy. This time I managed to do the route first go! It is definitely a good feeling knowing you can flash a hard route. It gives me an extra confidence boost for sure...

Our next climbing day was perfect. We woke up to blue skies and crisp temps in the morning. After slowly warming up I wanted to try Zulu. I felt close on my previous attempts but was thwarted by wet holds. On this attempt I felt terrible in the bottom half of the route...I felt heavy, I was hitting holds wrong, and I was tired. I arrived at a rest and I was able to relax myself enough to focus on the route and make it to the chains! Just goes to show you that you still have to try even when you don't feel your best.

Victory Beer for Me!

Right now Hayley and I are making plans for the next few months...big things are gonna happen! SOOO PSYCHED! Keep ya posted...