The Land of Gnar-Nhia

The land of Leavenworth.

Monday was a great day for sport climbing. My friend Nic and I both made it out to World Wall One where Nic was eager to wrap up his project Viagrophobia(5.12d). A great line that climbs up two bulges and is a good 30 meters long. He got on it first thing and a few minutes later, and a good amount of effort, he clipped the chains bagging his second .12d. I was pretty amazed that he was able to ‘warm up’ on and send his project all in the same swoop, but Nic was not done yet. We moved over to Techno and Psychosomatic and he repeated both first go, not to mention making good progress on his new project Californicator and warming down on Deluge. It was quite the day for him and very impressive to witness 5 hard pitches being climbed in a single session. I just had a lot of fun monkeying around on some of the classics and was just glad to get out and up some great climbs.

The next day we decided to head out to Leavenworth. The weather was pretty sleepy around North Bend but Leavenworth, which is usually hot enough to melt your skin to the rock at this time of the year, was actually boasting highs of 72 degrees. I leapt at the chance to get out to one of my favorite bouldering spots and Nic was happy to come along. The last time we climbed at Leavenworth was supposed to be the last time for the summer, and the last time for Nic period since he is leaving for D.C. in a few weeks, but what the hell, cool temps in late July don’t come around very often. Our friend Jimmy was unable to make it which bummed us out, but he had just returned from a trip to Leavenworth so no harm done. We threw all of my pads in the car and kicked rocks. 2 hours and 40 minutes later we pulled into the pull out for the Fridge boulder and took a deep breath of the fine air Leavenworth has to offer. We were at this particular boulder so Nic could clean up what was left in the fridge, The Fridge Left(V.8). A super, mega, timeless, all around classic problem that involves some serious thug hugging up a fat granite prow. One of my personal favorites in Leavenworth, or anywhere for that matter. We went through the motions of warming up on the other problems on the boulder which are stellar in their own right and were greeted by a local named Dale who joined us in a little early morning session. Nic soon got to work on his project as I lay on top of the boulder trying to get some footage. Here is a video of Nic coming so close to latching the ever elusive victory crimp.

Nic gave it a good effort but eventually had to let this one get away. His forearm was getting pretty chewed up from the constant slapping and groveling on the grainy texture of the prow. I managed to repeat it, with a nice lack of style, and was psyched to start the day on a good note, although breathing quite heavily. We were both pretty warm after spending some time in the Fridge and moved on to our arch nemesis The Millennium Traverse. Last time we were here we both got worked on this problem and came agonizingly close multiple times to sending it. The boulder that the problem is located on is a beauty, and can be found in a sparsely populated forest that eventually leads to the shores of Icicle Creek. The setting is awesome and there are a lot of good problems on the boulder that are worth doing.

Millennium Traverse revisited.

I was feeling a little intimidated by the problem after our experiences with it last time but I managed to send it after only a few tries. The last move of the problem that had shut me down last time felt a lot easier and I was glad to have this in the bag early. The texture of the rock can really eat up your skin dollars. Nic was psyched for me and we both felt a little sense of revenge as I jumped down from the top. Nic was climbing the beginning of the problem really well but had some trouble with the cruxy campus moves in the middle. He started to get a little frustrated so we went around the corner to a sweet V.4 called 2001 to release a little sending angst.

2001(V.4)

After doing 2001 Nic assessed what kind of day he was having and decided to just go with it. We were both just happy to be outside in this beautiful place one last time before he left. We packed up our things and headed across the road to a truly awesome boulder called the Lonely Fish. This boulder is home to a few V.9’s, a V.10, and super hard project. It stands about 20-25 feet tall and is HUGE and overhung. There are some really sweet features on this boulder and all the problems on it are stout and worthy of anyone’s time. We had tried the Lonely Fish last time and had some good progress but I was staring down a problem called Dirty Dude that I had seen a video of and was interested in doing. It starts on a low sharp crimp and high gaston crimp. It’s overhung and powerful. You pull on with one foot hold and make a savage lock off and lunge to a high crimp rail above. Part of the crux is just pulling on to the starting holds and then the real crux is the lunge. I wanted to try it so we spread our pads out and gave it a whirl. At first I couldn’t even pull up off the ground. A bit discouraging for sure, but we kept at it. Nic and I both started to begin to understand the kind of body tension required for the first pull off the ground and we got thus far. I finally pulled off and held it together, relaxed and shot up towards the rail slapping just beneath it. That was all the encouragement I needed to keep going. I got closer and closer and more excited. I started to pace back and forth underneath the problem mumbling to myself and looking like a complete loon, but I was simply trying to convince myself to commit. Finally, I pulled on and hit the rail! It wasn’t over yet, I had to get both hands on the rail which required some sketchy foot maneuvering, but once I did I hit a good jug on the corner and shakily slapped up the arête until I was able to stand up and scramble on to the top of the boulder.

Pulling on to Dirty Dude(V.10).

Going for the lunge.

Well, to say I was pleased would be an understatement. I think I remember screeching like a girl but you’ll have to ask Nic. I can’t imagine what the nearby tradsters thought of my victory display(‘Goddamn pebble wrestlers!’). I eventually came down from the boulder, and my sending high enough to complete a full sentence. Nic was proud and we both declared it the send of the day. After that we made our way to a problem that I had never seen before called the Cotton Pony. I was really impressed by the quality of the line and the moves were savage. Two big lunges, the first to a pinch and the second to a notch in the lip, very powerful. Nic managed to latch the pinch from the start while I just flung myself at the ending dyno not really getting anywhere. It’s BIG!

Nick latches the 'star trek' pinch on the Cotton Pony(V.11)

This little guy would not budge, and he was right on a hold we needed.

We both did a great problem right next to it called the Pony Ride and then Nic cleaned up on another problem around the corner called Tampax Arete. If you see Nic in the near future ask him about the mystery substance on the jug.

After gawking some more at the Cotton Pony and low start to it, we walked a little ways down the road and found WAS. A large and looming boulder that has a huge hueco in the center of it’s face that either leads you out right to crimps or up the center of the face pinching an arête to the lip. Nic chose to do IS the problem that goes out right on crimps and involves making a shouldery lunge to a good crimp rail. I watched and had some lunch and after a little while he sent. Nice job Nic!

Nick sending IS(V.7)

I finally put my shoes on and we both started to work WAS. A killer problem that starts by leaping to the huge hueco in the center of the face and then reaching way out left to the arête and then up to the lip. After only a few goes I latched a sloper just beneath the juggy lip but dropped off!! Aaaahhhhh! I guess I’m a little more intimidated by the problem than I thought. I didn’t manage to get back to that spot again but I am really looking forward to coming back this Fall to work it.

From there we walked back up the road to make a quick stop at another crazy good problem called Batman. I managed to snap a couple of cool photos of Nic doing the first move.

Batman(V.8)

It was getting late and we were only here for the day so as a last ditch effort we drove to the Sword boulders to try a couple of problems we thought would go quickly. While it was good to be surrounded by the friendly giants of the Sword the two problems we came to do, Zorro and the Tree Problem, decided to stomp our good intentions into the crash pads. We fiddled about on a few other problems and then hit the road, but not before stopping at the Hiedleburger for a victory milkshake and a damn good cheeseburger. Thanks for getting out here with me one last time Nic, can’t wait for next summer. Gnar-Nhia!!!!!

Looking at Jerry Garcia through a Prism

Nic wins the No Skin Left award of the month. Nice job!

Aaaaahhhhhhhh...graduation. Well, it's finally over. Four short years of my life spent at the Evergeen State College and for what? Two degrees and a hell of a lot of stories to tell. Oh yeah, and I managed to pick up this pesky climbing habbit, sheesh. But let me back up here a bit. My friend Nic and I decided to get a little pre graduation climbing trip in to Little si but as we arrived to the crag we discovered the late spring showers we had been experiencing had left our precious crag seeping uncontrolably. This was probably the worst I had seen it all year, even Rainy Day was seeping and wet in places at the top. But fuck it, we drove all the way out here, hiked all the way back here and we weren't leaving without getting a few pitches of climbing done. I bravely tried to make a warm up ascent of Abo but got to the toilet bowl and was denied access to the upper crux by a downpour of H20. After that we both did some laps on Rainy Day taking some awesome falls at the very top due to a super wet crimp. All in all we worked out the remaining kinks in our sequence and headed home. Because of our frustration with the wet weather we decided to do a farewell two day trip to our favorite bouldering spot Leavenworth.

Nic on Fridge Left(V.8)

I picked up Nic on Monday and we made good time arriving at the Fridge boulder around 10:30 in the morning. We warmed up on some of the best V.4's around and then Nic, who was seeking revenge on the Fridge Left, gave it a few goes. The heat started to get to us and after being unsuccessful on a few attempts we called it quits and headed to a sweet problem called the Millenium Traverse. I had tried this before sending it from the black depression on my second go but I had not linked it from the start yet. The millenium boulder is an awesome white/grey/black granite boulder that has some nice little lines up and across it. We threw our pads down and got to work. Polishing off the first move every time with a crafty heel hook Nic almost sent but got shut down at the last move. The problem is pretty sustained right off the bat. A huge slap to a sloping/crimpy lip jump starts you into a series of matches along a depression and into a good crimp rail. From there you grab a sharp, but huge side pull, paste your foot onto a small rampy foot hold and rock over to a jug four feet away. Classic! I know. I made great progress as well getting to the side pull via several hard campus moves but got shut down literally inches away from grabbing the victory jug. Aaarrgh! We had two days we told ourselves so we packed up and headed across the street to the Lonely Fish.

The Lonely Fish(V.9)

Such a sweet boulder, huge and overhanging makes it a little intimidating at first until you try the initial moves and then it still feels hard. We focused on the boulders name sake problem The Lonely Fish, wich starts on a crimpy rail nine feet or so on the boulders overhanging side. Pulling on and sticking your foot in a shallow hueco you lunge out right to a good side pull, then you have to swing your feet over to good footholds, bring your left hand closer to a sloper on the lip and then rock over to more slopers in a dihedral, this is the crux. We both managed to stare down the slopers in the dihedral but neither of us committed and we both left feeling a little bit in awe of the problem. I can't wait to get back on it.

Meditation

So far, we were goose egg for sends but we had tried some hard problems and made good progress in a short amount of time so there was nothing to be upset about. Plus we still had the rest fo the day and tomorrow. Seeking out some shade we headed straight to the Sword boulders. Next on the menu was a classic problem that I had not yet had the chance to really sink my teeth into, The Prism. I knew it would suit Nic and his amazing wing span as well so I was eager to get him on it. We arrived and went straight into working the problem. At first I was trying the 'normal' beta wich was a bit reachy and scary for me, seeing as how there is a fin shaped rock right at your back as you make some tenuous moves on slopers. After that I went into my own sequence trying a one handed dyno to the good part of the lip. I latched it several times but my momentum ripped me off sending me sprialing towards the mats. After taking a bad fall I decided to give up that crazy dyno beta and stick to the normal way. Nic was making great progress as well and almost hit the victory jug several times. It was only a matter of time and animal grunts before he found himself pulling over the top of his second ever V.9. Good job Nic, that was impressive.

Nic shows off his impressie wing span on the Prism(V.9)

Nic tops out the Prism in style!

I was inspired by Nic's send and tried the problem a few more times but wussed out, so we moved on. Next was Egg Rock. We could either throw ourselves at an area classic Musashi, or try a cool looking problem that was, until recently, a project. We picked the former project, Jerry Garcia, wich was finally dispatched by the Leavenworth master Kelly Sheridan 7 or 8 months ago. In the guidebook, which Kelly also wrote, he says about Jerry Garcia: "Technical and hard, but probably 'only' around V.10." I was psyched and I started to plan a sequence up the tall granite face that had 'I heart Jerry Garcia' painted across it in yellow, red, blue, and green letters. The two starting holds were glowing white with chalk but after that not much else could be seen on any other hold, especially near the top of this monster wich stands at about 18 feet at the lip. I had seen the youtube video of Kelly sending the beast and I thought it looked like such a stellar line at the time. Coming face to face with it now I had no incling of really trying to send it, I just wanted to play around and see how far I could get. The starting holds are two tiny little crimpers that you have to pull hard on in order to get to a good foot hold, then a catch yourself move to a slopey bad gaston. Bring the foot up high and use a small intermediate crimper to pull and lunge your way to a slanted crimp rail, which feels like a jug in comparison to the starting holds. Position your feet and catch yourself again, avoiding a barn door, on a high slopey crimp, then jump to the flat lip and press over. Fucking sweet!! As I worked it I felt like it would go quickly if I could just get to the slanting crimp rail, wich I finally did. After that it was just a few more goes before I leaped to the lip and mantled over. I was speechless at the top but really psyched to have this in the bag. Here are a few photos.

The send! Me on Jerry Garcia(V.10)

Me attempting to repeat Jerry Garcia.

I haven't gotten in touch with Kelly about the grade yet but hopefully the V.10 grade is valid because this would be my first one. Either way it was such a pleasure to climb this problem, it was super classic. We headed on back down the canyon stopping at the Straightaways to play around on IS, WAS, and Answer Man, plus we stared in awe at the unclimbed(?) Ladder Project. We finally gave up around 9:00 p.m. before heading into town for a meal. We were both exhausted but excited for the next day.

The view from the Sleeping Lady

We woke up early and got out to the boulders around 10:00. I had come down with some sort of crazy chest cold, plus my allergies were kicking my ass, not to mention Nic's tips looked like swiss cheese, no joke! We were both kind of falling apart but we said fuck it and headed over to Mad Meadows. Today would be a good day to clean up on some moderates. We warmed up no a bunch of V.2's,3's,4's, and 5's before heading back to Pimpsqueek.

Nic warms up on Square Pusher(V.3)

There was a V.7 that I had really wanted to do ever since I first came to Leavenworth and got close on it, so I thought today would be the day. Well, maybe not, I got soooo close yet again latching the victory side pull for crying out loud but just not able to find the inner strength to pull over and top out. Oh well, next time. We had fun cruising the moderates and checking out The Peephole, The Ram, Hanta Man, and Superman.

We were trying to avoid the sun while this guy was trying to avoid the shade

We left mad meadows and went and took some photos on the two problems we sent yesterday, I came close to repeating Jerry while Nic actually did repeat the Prism, even with his hands in the state they were in. It was probably the coolest repeat I've ever seen. After that we decided to hone what energy we had left into one last hard problem, The Millenium Traverse.

The Millenium Traverse(V.8)

So close yet so far...

We had the beta, and we felt ready to give it everything. Nic, with bandaged mummy hands and all almost sent it first try slapping the finishing jug. I got the same result next as I campused my way to the end only to fall off inches from victory. FUCK! We felt defeated but gave it a few more tries. I walked around back to take a break and ended up sending a cool V.4 called 2001. Here is a video.

This turned out to be the last problem of the trip, and we licked our wounds over a double cheeseburger from the Heidleburger. This is probably going to be the last time Nic and I come out here, Nic is leaving for two years to attend nursing school at Howard University in Washington D.C. this August. I had an awesome time as usual and maybe when Nic returns from the east coast we will be ready to take on the uber hard problems. Our next climbing endeavor will either be focused towards cleaning up some things at Little si, or getting out to Goldbar or Squamish.

The update from our friends Dom and Laura on their Euro climbing adventure goes like this: Dom finished up in Kalymnos with a flash of a .12c, an onsight of a .12d, and he finally sent his project Neska Polita wich is his first .13a! Laura cleaned house with several .11a flashes, prior to this trip she had only sent one .11a, way to step up Laura! The climbing couple now find themselves in Antalya, Turkey where, just the other day Dom onsighted yet another hard .12, Paradise Lost .12c! They are stepping up their games in every way as they continue their rampage across Europe. Can't wait to see what they get done next.