Southern Stoke

What up?

So much is going on right now in the mecca that is Yosemite, it's hard to adequately brag about all the sick 5.Dawnwallminus2 clip-ups that are going down. Ya know, if I add together my warm ups, my project burns, the vertical gain from the heinous double digit (in minutes) approaches I do every time I go out, I'm pretty sure that number comes close to the 3000 feet of choss or whatever that temperamental Czech is climbing.

Sure it's pretty, but a 15 minute approach...that's twice
as far to walk as it is to my project here in the South...
AND I have to carry a rack?!

Let's not forget the Dawn Wall of bouldering that Nalle has established. The Lappnor Project, now dubbed Burden of Dreams at V17, ushers in a new era of pebble-pulling. An overhanging face so devoid of holds, I bet Nalle didn't even have to brush any dirt or spiders off, as it was too blank for even their efforts.

Behold, a single boulder with more holds than the entire Dawn Wall combined.

In any case, you've all probably heard the hypest hype: V17, Dawn Wall, Zodiac Free, Dihedral Wall 2nd Ascent, Skwamas, Sprinter Vans, Global Warming (aka worldwide perpetually bad conditions), etc. Let's move into some more, er, "local" hype.

Having put down the long term project, Unshackled, I've been switching things up for a little bit recently, and starting hunting for some new new. I've tried some new lines - some involving bolts, some involving pads, some involving gear. Here is a list of short-ish term goals I've laid down that I can really get it up for:

Edge of Might 12+ R (Sunset Park)
This one is a trad line that wishes it was a sport climb. Steep, bouldery, dynamic, powerful. About 60/70ft of unreal movement with an element of spice right at the crux due to some very small, tricky gear. Much psych for this one, though it may be getting too cold soon (north facing, very windy).

Roughin' Up the Suspect 13c (Obed)
This is fun, plain and simple. A 12b/c intro takes you straight into a crux v7/8 boulder problem, involving huge campus-ish moves on surprisingly good holds. Much MUCH psych for this one. Killer 11a from the end of the crux to the anchors as a cherry on top.

Bionic Rats V8 (Rocktown)
Whereas the previous one was fun, plain and simple, this line is BEAUTIFUL, plain and simple. I've done all but one move, and then linking may take some effort. But nonetheless, this guy alone is worth the drive to Rocktown.

Less talk, more walk - I know.

So here's what's been going down. I possibly get more psyched talking about climbing and feeding psych to my friends than I do actually climbing. It's been rad getting out with good people recently and seeing them push themselves and succeed, because I know their success is in part due to my own psych and experience that I share. Shoutout to my buds Will and Chris for their first 5.12 flash of the incredible Ripple (12a). As soon as I did this I knew I wanted them to flash it. That day, my partner John and I went up a few times and made sure we had the best beta possible (in case I had missed something as I did it first go). We brushed some things and made some mental ticks. Essentially a v4 boulder off the ground, into 40 feet of 5.10 jugs, finishing with a tricky v3 sequence, all with perfect feet and a gorgeous setting. Will and Chris cruised, but not without making me break a sweat squirming over the final ledge to clip chains...props guys!

Chris on his flash of Ripple (12a).

Am I boring you with numbers? Alright back to goofing off. Some elements of southern style that have occurred recently:

• Trying to find a new crag, getting lost, and finding an old moonshine still instead.
• Becoming a little too excited about learning to take our shirts off while on a jug. 
• Falling on the easy sections of a project because you ripped off a honkin' jug.
• Relocating where you watch from because it's raining honkin' jugs...
• Watching some core Chattanooga developers crush your project while carrying on a conversation with you about differential equations and vector analysis.

Gotta love it here. 

Pretty sure the above is what Patagonia looked like when it started?

 The semester is winding down for me, and I am excited to be picking up an old friend from the airport and roll on up to the New River Gorge for big things. Top of my list is to revisit The Greatest Show on Earth (13a), which I spent 3 hours or so cleaning and whacking down spiders from on my last visit. Hopefully the cold has kept them at bay, because I feel like this route will serve as a huge milestone for me. It's perfect. Face climb to the roof, do some hard horizontal bouldering, then crank out the most beautiful and slippery 12- dihedral you've ever laid your eyes on.

Half climbing, half swinging my
draw at the endless spiders

Anyway, I'll leave you guys with one last bit of spray. I was thrilled to put down a canyon classic recently, Caliban (13b), involving one of the coolest sequences I've done here, and certainly the most exposed crux I've pulled in the area. I wish more people would try these obscure classics. In case you're hesitant - it is fully hung with draws, it's only 12b/c to the 2nd to last bolt, the crux boulder problem is on great holds (just really far between), and you can simply pull past on the draw if you need! Go try this 5 star line. Freshly chalked and brushed.

Cruxin! I wish I was taller...

Setting up for the final 2 moves on Caliban.

Also in case you've made it this far in the post without just leaving to visit 8a, I do want to make it clear - I don't believe Adam Ondra is a temperamental Czech, I know Nalle put in an unfathomable amount of work, and Patagonia has a very dignified origin. I'm always poking fun, and have nothing but respect for them all. Psych psych psych!! Happy craggin'.