New Videos Up

New videos of some of the classics at the Rumbling Bald in North Carolina are up now on Youtube. Check it out Here. Also there's a quick video of some of the fun boulder problems in Prescott's boulder spot, Groom Creek.

Hueco Tanks

After a long few days of car trouble we finally made it Hueco. Just driving into the park we could tell we were in for some crazy climbing. One thing I never really realized is that Hueco is pretty much just a big mountain of boulders, there is so much climbing! We have been climbing three days now on north mountain and we have barely scratched the surface of it. One of my favorite climbs so far was most definitely the Asylum Crack, a gnarly climb that goes for about 20 or 30 feet up a nice slanting crack.

This is Andrew pulling up near what we thought of as the crux sequence. The only downfall of the climb is that you have to get past the other boulder under it that threatens to hit your back every time. It's definitely a really fun and unique climb though. Another fun problem we got on was 100 Proof Roof, a horizontal roof that comes around to what looks like 40 feet of slab afterwards.

There are a couple ways to do the roof sequence, either dyno twice, or do the first then make a couple moves that lead out right. I chose the double dyno because it was just too much fun to pass up. Unfortunately the roof part was the easiest and I couple quite pull out from under it yet, so hopefully next week it'll go. Also right nearby this problem is some of the rock art left by the native americans, really cool stuff.

It makes you realize how lucky we are that we can even climb at a place with these important historic paintings on the same rock. Well we are planning a couple more days at Hueco and the camera is charged so there'll be more of Hueco soon.

The Rumbling Bald, NC

So our sixth month trip finally started about two weeks ago. We had planned to climb at the Red for the first week or so, but when we got there it was frigid cold and the weather didn't look good, so North Carolina was next. We climbed at the Rumbling Bald, a place just a little south east of Asheville. It was really cool climbing, the rock was really nice and there were tons of really good problems. I had never done any really necessary campus moves outside, until this place, where it seemed like every other problem has it.

This one is The Leprechaun Roof, a V5 that follows a nice crack way up and then comes out the roof with some sweet campus moves. Definitely a must do if your down there.
This problem above was the Brackish One, a sweet problem right next to some serious hard stuff. It starts with a campus move off some crimps to a nice slopey ledge. The snag a heel hook and get to the ledge, which was the most fun part of the climb I think.

This one was The Dime Crack, a super fun V4 with another campus start. You head left on a nice sloping ledge then head up to a nice ledge, then some sweet loose feeling side pulls. The general consensus on this one was smaller fingers help, cause there is a small crack you can jam your fingers in right before you head up that makes it easier.

This bad boy is The Campus Problem, you start way up on a nice ledge then huck your way up to nice holds then a cakewalk top out. Super fun problem if you can reach the start hold.

This problem eluded a send from us, but it was definitely super cool. The Green Knob starts in a kind of weird position, the you get up to a ledge and do one of the coolest looking mantels you'll ever do.

Overall the Rumbling Bald is a really nice place, tons of easy stuff, and even more hard stuff so there's something for everyone. We stayed for three days but we all could have stayed longer and been happy.

Another Red River Gorge Boulder

Last weekend we had another trip down to the Red. We went back to the boulders we found a few weeks ago and played around on some of the stuff. Most of what we thought was do-able turned out to be really hard, which seems to happen a lot. But we did find some nice ones back there, this one below is a fun little slab climb directly across from the stream at the Bulldog Boulder.

It was pretty easy but the cool arcing seam made it fun. I made a video of this problem and one more that we found, you can find that and all the videos I've made here http://www.youtube.com/user/FindingRock?feature=mhum. That problem would be a good warm up for the couple of problems we found near it. No pictures of those yet because they havn't been sent so far, but we worked all the beta on a problem Brent is calling, The Shield.

The Friction Slab

The Table Top, a V3 right next to the Bulldog on the Friction Slab Boulder, is one really nice problem. It is fairly sustained difficulty throughout the problem, which is what makes it good I think. It also seems like there is only one way to do it, there were five of us climbing it and the beta stayed pretty much the same for all of us.

This is a photo of the second move, which is a fun one. Lock your right arm off on a gaston sidepull and hope your left foot doesn't blow.

The top out is a little scary, it's mossy on top and the sloping angle seems rough when your looking at it up close. But it's actually pretty safe, the only really scary part is finding your way down.

This is the second move on the Bulldog, V8. We were just messing around on it, we got a few of the moves but man, that is one tough problem. Someday.

Boulders at Red River Gorge

We just made a trip down to the red, which was a nice change of pace from the the rock up in the Adirondacks. We even got on some boulders down there, and found a bunch of new potential. The first night we got there we night bouldered at the Bulldog Boulder, which has the nice V8 (Bulldog), and a really sweet V3 right next to it. I can't remember the name of it now, but it was one of my favorite things we got on all weekend. I'll have more on that problem and some nice pictures of it soon. But first off, we found a whole bunch of really big but mossy boulders right across from the stream behind the Bulldog. In total there were about 6 really big, nice boulders back there. All of them were pretty mossy, and the rock looked a little suspect in places, but on every boulder we found at least one or two lines that look really nice.

This Boulder had a nice line starting up the right from two hand jams, then making big moves on big holds. There could also be another one on the left close to the tree.

This one has a pretty nasty landing because of a little slope right there, but with a couple good spotters it would be do-able. But it would be a real hard problem following the sloping seams going up and right to the arete.

And this one was just a big long wall with tons of potential and a sloping top out. These are just three of the nice boulders we scoped out, we are hoping to make a cleaning trip some time soon because these boulders all look really nice.

Video from Nine Corners

A quick little video of one of the more fun problems at Nine Corners, NY. The problem is "Chillin", its at the cave wall way in the back of the area, just a fun roof problem on decent holds. Yesterday I got out there again, and tried out the Yin Yang boulder which has "The Power of Belief" on it. It was a super fun problem too, with two different ways to do it. Out right to a big crack, or straight up the face with some big moves. Surprisingly enough they both felt just about equally hard.

That was my last climb in the Adirondacks for this season though, I'm heading down to ohio now to climb around Kentucky and West Virginia. So there's going to be more than just north stuff on here now, Red River Gorge and Coopers rock are sure to be on here soon.

"Chillin" V4, at Nine Corners Lake, NY

Music is by Bonobo, the song is Something for Windy

off the album Dial 'M' for Monkey

Fun at Nine Corners

A few days ago I finally took the trip down to nine corners lake, and when I first crossed the rock dam and saw all the boulders I was real pumped. I started out on the Lookout Boulder. Even though Andrugen was only a one move problem pretty much, it was still nice. I liked everything else on this side of the boulder too, definitely a good place to warm up.

Next I had to get on some of the stuff at the Wall Boulder. I really liked "Long Live Legos", and Thorazine is an awesome project I hope to get someday. The rock right here on these first few boulders is really nice and solid, I liked it a lot.

After getting owned on thorazine I thought I'd trek back to the cave wall way in the back, and I'm really glad I did. The nice overhang is a fun change of pace from the usual stuff I've been projecting up in mckenzie pond and the likes. I really liked "chillin'", which is right in the middle of the boulder. "Nippin' out" is another good one on the left arete if you don't have to kill yourself to right the third hold like I did. And even though I didn't get it, "psychosomatic" looks and felt like a super nice problem. So far this one is my favorite boulder there. Today I am headed back there for my last adirondack climb of the season before I head south. It's sad to leave this place, but there's always next summer.

Easier Problems at Tahawus

Finally I found some easier problems at Tahawus, there is two boulders ion this small spot, the other is directly left of this one just out of the photo, but that one is really mossy and would take some serious cleaning. The one in the photo has three lines, starting from the right is a nice v0 warm up problem, and they get harder as you go left. The center one I havn't done, because I couldn't reach the middle area to get some moss off of a couple key holds. It looks really easy too though, maybe v1 because the feet are really small to start. Then the third on the left is a really fun problem that starts in the middle, then you hit two sidepulls and make your way up on some ledges to a slopey top out. It wasn't too hard either v1 or 2. In total I've found five nice boulders now, and have cleaned three of them. I like this area.

Gnarnia!

Two days ago I got to adventure down a bit to the Brant Lake area, and even though the new gnarnia area only has maybe 8 or so good boulders, those boulders are really good. The big one that the platform was built for looks especially good, I cant wait to try it once I can get some more people out there with me. I got to work on one of the other boulders, a clean tall beauty that has some amazing lines on it.

The arete in this top picture is a nice thin line with a tough first couple moves. It reminded me a lot of colorful corners down in Coopers, with the one tiny start hold that looks like a joke but actually works nice. After that I get a nice high step on a big ledge, bump my hand to another mystery hold, then up the the slighty bigger ones. It had some chalk on it, so I'm pretty sure someone else has done it, but it was a fun one for sure.

This photo shows a wicked fun slab line that is right next to the arete. It starts on that hanging fin while stemming off to the side. then goes up crimps that get worse and worse the higher you get. It looks like it finishes up the thin diagonal crack in the middle of the boulder. I havn't done it yet, the landing isn't that great, and the slab is scary at the top, so it's another one I am excited to try with some spotters. Not sure if anyone has done this one, there wasn't and chalk that I could see and I cleaned to the top out, but if anyone else knows then let me know.

New Problem at Tahawus

Yesterday was a good day for the Tahawus area I have been playing around in lately. At first I thought there wouldn't be much more than the one gigantic boulder I found, everything else seemed too mossy. But I found another fun problem just a few feet from the big one, it's another really hard one though. I cleaned it off and gave it several attempts, but it started to get late and it was feeling really tough. Everything I have been finding so far seems above v5 at least, and the rock is really sharp, but nonetheless I am having a blast and here is the new boulder.

It is a heel hooking traverse that starts on a good ledge, then gets incredibly hard as it goes left, then has a nice jug finish. It seems fun, I just hope next time i get it. But wait, there is still more good news, I found two more boulders nearby this one, and although I didn't get a good look, they seem to have great potential. Next time I head there I hope to add at least three new problems to the area. For now, it's time to head off to Gnarnia and try and get some FA's.

Mckenzie Wilderness Trail Boulder

We found a great boulder all by it's lonesome on the Mckenzie Pond Wilderness trail, which is about a ten or fifteen minute drive from the actual Mckenzie Pond Bouldering area. It is right off the trail after about a fifteen minute walk. The most impressive feature is the obvious half a foot wide crack going up most of the boulder. The problem starts on the bottom left of the crack, then follows it up to the top. Get ready to have some sore elbows and arms though, cause there are some rough arm jams we used to get up the wide top of the crack. It was definitely a super fun project though, V4 once you find the secret holds way back in the crack. Andrew got the first ascent and we dubbed it, "There's Something In Your Mustache."

The Cave Boulder

We went to Snowy Mountain again last week, I really like the rock there. These first pictures are from the Cave Boulder, the top most boulder in the set. It has some really fun warm ups, Hammerhead and Buzzed, as well as some harder stuff. The top photo is of Andrew making his way over the lip on Buzzed. In the picture you can see the chalk marks for a problem I made up that starts on the arete to the left of it. It wasn't in the book, but it flowed so nice that I'm sure someone has done it before.

The right side of the Cave Boulder has the harder stuff, The sickness V6, The Cure V8, and the The Fin V6. We were focused on the The Cure, which is a super fun jug haul up to a scary top out on a slopes. Switching the last big hold before the top ledge to an undercling was the beta that made it easy to get up there. There is also a sideways crimp on top, and a little crescent heel hook spot. But the top holds are sloping so much that it's definitely still real rough.

Snowy Mountain

Once you find this place, you may never want to leave. Snowy mountain has amazing features on most of the boulders, big huecos, the one on the cave boulder is the size of a room. The rock is much more forgiving than most of the stuff up in the Adirondacks too, much less sharp. The difficulty of the problems here is the only deterrent, if you're climbing atleast V4, then this place is just either going to frustrate, or bore you. There are only about three or four problems below V3, and the ones I tried were not that good. BUT, the hard stuff is amazing! This problem was one of my favorites, Never Been to Hueco V7:

It starts on the low huecos, moves up and out on some fun moves to a decent crimpy ledge with a solid heel cam, then gets super hard. The top out has eluded me so far, but is seems to be a huge swing move left to the apex of the roof, then up on slopey holds.

Some other really fun problems I got on were Coitus V6, a fun pinchy problem. Everything at the cave boulder was really fun. I made a new problem up the far left side of that boulder, I'll be snagging some photos of that next time I'm there. It was a fun problem, maybe v2 or 3, up the left arete and over a ledge. The last one I tried was IHOPP at the Pancake boulder. An insane problem, I think the book said V6 but it felt super hard. All the moves felt really fun though, definitely worth the time if your there.

Mckenzie Pond

This place is great! The rock is super coarse and is pretty sharp, so don't plan on being able to climb hard three or four days in a row, but it's worth it. Some really nice projects I got on were Slobadon V5, a nice crimpy/compressiony start up, slightly using the arete, then a scary top out. Ian's Favorite Problem V5, a short 3 or 4 move problem on terribly small crimps up to a nicer hold, then the feet get bad, then up to the top. Also there were two V4's on the third set of boulders, this is the first one I worked.
Start is huge, up to a good hold, then get a nice side pull. This is where is gets tricky for short people. There is a small sloping crimp you have to make a big move to, I had to get it using the tiny feet scattered on the face of the wall, instead of the huge bottom ledge. So if your a tall person, this problem will probably feel maybe v3 at the hardest, but for the rest of us, v4 is sandbaggin it a little.

The second one I worked is a really nice compression problem.

It is a slapfest up the arete on nice solid holds, with a couple crimps you could snag. The feet get a little small and desperate and you come around the arete, then the top is a little awkard but fun after you figure out the perfect holds. Its a tall one though so be sure to have good pads.

Project Boulder

The exploring has started in the Adirondacks now, and so far I have found this one monster project. It looks about 40ish feet tall, maybe a little more, so it is most definitely a super high ball. I have about the first ten feet or so worked out, but since I only have one pad, and the next part looks to be the crux, I'm holding off for now. The beginning starts to the right of the arete on a sloping ledge, then makes its way left on sharp side-pulls. After that it looks good for going right up the arete, time will tell. There also looks like there could be a couple other lines on the southwest facing side of the boulder if we could clean off the top out.

I've looked around the woods near this colossal boulder with a little success, two or three nearby boulders have some potential. They are also much smaller boulders, truck sized and a little bigger, so it's not only monster high-balls. The spot is by the old Tahawus mining area right in the center region of the adirondacks, about half a mile from the trail heads for Santanoni, Panther, and a couple other mountains. To get to it you get off 28N onto 84 heading east, then turn and follow the signs for Tahawus.