Excellent Leavenworth Vid by Kelly (NW Granite)

Watch this VIDEO!!!

This is a great vid that I'm sure everyone has already seen by now.
Thanks for wetting the appetite Kelly!

Leavenworth 9.11

"If a little dreaming is dangerous then the cure for it is not to dream less. But to dream more, to dream all the time." (a.ka. 2 out of 3 ain't bad)

Returning home last night never felt so good. Feeling my sunburned shoulders underneath the weight of my shirt and the stinging sensitivity of my finger tips as I flexed my hands will always be a good sign that I'm still alive.
I started my longer (longish) weekend by hanging out with family and friends in Seattle. A good meal at the Wild Mountain Cafe is always a nice start to any vacation coupled with bouncing my now 5 month old 20 pound nephew on my knee. Damn that baby is cute. My bro did good (oh yeah, I guess his wife helped too). Saturday was all rain and overcast malaise battled back by salmon sausage, a second viewing of Avatar, and some time spent battling demon ninja hell-spawn and wiping BBQ sauce out of the corner of my mouth. Sunday morning I bid farewell to my mom and the dog, and hit the road alone for a mission to meet good people out at Leavenworth.
A few lung crushing ballads later and I caught up with Jimmy and Lisa at JY. With hopes of a 'new' problem in our sights I 'warmed up' on Yosemite Highball (not recommended for a warm up) and then worked Right Angles with Jimmy and Lisa.


Lisa gets the "GRRR!" out on 'Right Angles'(V.8)

Jimmy and I eventually wandered over to a short problem and a somewhat new addition to JY called The Strainer. Overhung, slopey, good holds, hard top out. We got to work. Jimmy sent in a few goes and I was face to face with the top out after a few goes as well but excitement got the better of me and I ended up slapping for nothing and sliding backwards into Jimmy's loving embrace (thanks Jimmy, you saved my life!) A few moments of futzing about and another harrowing fall from the top out and I finally zeroed in on the last little knob at the lip and sent. Good thing too, because my skin was taking a beating/scraping!
We then headed to Forestland to find the 'large' group of Oly' heads who had made it up the day before. We got to Sunny and Steep before finding a large mass of bodies entangled amongst crash pad sofa's, I-pod stereo's (I know, I'm so ashamed), and cans of Rainier (can't hate on that!). It was an awesome vortex of 'chillage' and we got sucked in for a few laughs before the vortex packed up and headed out for some good old fashioned mountaineering, er, uh, I mean rope climbing.
Jimmy, Lisa, and I bathed in the sun while trying the stand start to The Teacup and then made for the shade of Mt. Home road. The prow was all we had in mind and after running into Adam at Forestland I finally got the correct name of this rig, Geronimo!
All I have to say about this problem is that it reminded me in one move why climbing is so unique and special. I had struggled on this line for a while and finally all that changed by just getting a heel hook in the right place. A good reminder of how climbing can be a huge struggle until one day everything falls into place and suddenly the veil is lifted and success comes flooding in. A beautiful process to take part in and one that reminds me of the core principles of life itself. This is probably just the euphoric ramblings of a happy climber, definitely one side of the spectrum; the other being absolute failure which holds it's own humbling beauty.
Anyway, long story short, I finally sent and was super psyched!!!!!
Here are some pics:
An action sequence of Lisa on her high point, followed by Jimmy making it look easy. Geronimo!(V.9)













After the prow we looked around for some new boulders that may have been lurking in the forest and the exposed slope. We found some amazing boulders that all contained lines that were just a few holds short of a mega-classic. We looped into the forest and upwards and stumbled upon a boulder no more than 20 yards from the road that had chalk! YeS! Could it be? Was this Filibuster? The boulder was overhung and had a deep crack in the middle of the face and looked as if it had recently lost a hold. There was a right-most line that started on underclings and crimped up the corner. We didn't try anything opting instead to come back, finding another sweet line on the slabby right side of the boulder. After our adventures we made one last stop at the Star Wars boulder where progress was made on Emperors Lightning and I almost sent Yoda (I think it was Yoda, the one mover). I latched the notch perfectly but was so amazed at that I actually hit it that I let go. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad...


Lisa demonstrates 'the move', on Yoda.


Jimmy also demonstrates 'the move' on Yoda.

It was a lonely drive back to Oly', but I blasted some sweet CMA, MOs Def, and G&E to make up for a lack of social interaction.
Thanks Chuliches!!!!!!! Looking forward to next weekend already.

Your Favorite Blog Name Here

Dom contemplates the deeper complexities to the fine art of scampering up boulders, while Rita reads in the background.

I’m watching the 2009 NBA playoffs and I’m pretty sure it will come down to a battle royale between the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. What a game it will be!!
Anyways, just got back from my first trip out to Leavenworth for the 2009 climbing season. I haven’t really been out bouldering since the last time I was there in November of last year and the whole car ride down I had butterflies of anxious energy fluttering about in my brain. I hadn’t grown to fully trust my healing finger so I wasn’t quite sure what the results of this trip would be. My car was packed with pads, food, tents, and two dudes who go by the name of Jimmy and Dom(a.ka. Youngblood and the Dominator). The weather was perfect, of course, and we rolled into Leavenworth on fumes, almost. After filling up my near empty tank and avoiding an embarrassing phone call for someone to bring me gas, we hit Forestland where gobs of boulderers were waiting to meet us. We had around 10 people from Oly alone, not to mention all the other boulderers who were there. It was good to be in such a big crew, but after warming up on some of the usual problems Jimmy and I split for the shade of the upper forestland’s mother boulder. I had gotten really close to sending a cool two move power problem called bananas over the summer and was eager to get back on it. Jimmy was amped as well and we got to work. Jimmy sent in a matter of tries, nice, but my head was swimming about in the murky waters of hesitation. I decided it was not to be and we moved around the corner where a sweet problem called Kobe Tai lay in wait. This problem is on an overhung face with some of the nicest little crimps you could ever imagine.


Lisa attempting Kobe Tai(V.8)

After making some hard moves and a lock off bump to a good flat hold below the lip, a sketchy top out awaits that involves committing to a good pocket/crimp and rolling over on a slab with small edges to help you on your way up. There is a myriad of different ways you can do the moves to the lip, but I found the best way for me, and it ended up working quite nicely for Jimmy, who sent first, as well as me who shakily pulled over the lip and shouted with triumph. My one goal of the trip was to see if I could still send V.8 and doing it on a awesome boulder like Kobe Tai was pure joy.
The rest of the Oly squad eventually made their way up and reports of sends started to poor in. I decided to take a break and check out some of the other boulders in the uppers that were left out of the guide. One of the most inspiring lines I saw was a boulder called Cobra Con. A proud line with chunky crimps and a nasty sloper guarding the top that made its way up a tall off-white boulder stood proudly out of the jumble of boulders. I can’t wait to get back and try this line. I also saw the Tea Cup, super sick!!! I hope I can get strong enough to do that problem some day.
After my wandering was over we packed up our things and made our way to another awesome boulder.


Lonely Fish boulder from the road.

A huge boulder just off the road called the Lonely Fish boulder. Home of my first V.10, the stand start to Dirty Dude. I was really enthusiastic about getting back on the boulder’s namesake problem Lonely Fish, since trying it with my friend Nick over the summer. I knew it was doable but I just hoped I could pull it off and keep it together tot op it out. The landing zone is a bit treacherous with minimal pads, but luckily we had three triples and two doubles at our disposal and we turned the nasty landing into a gym floor. I gave it a few burns getting farther than I ever had slapping the flat jug over the lip but falling each time. I finally got the balls to latch that wonderful shelf and with a concentrated amount of sketchiness I pulled and slapped my way into the slabby dihedral and topped out some 25 feet above. Damn, that felt really good. I had a good victory howl on top of the boulder and then came back down to spot. Lisa, Jimmy, Dom, and myself were all knee deep into the session when before you knew it a sending train started to emerge.


Dom on the first moves of the Lonely Fish(V.9)

I sent first, followed closely by Jimmy, and then out of nowhere Lisa gave a growl of effort and finally latched the victory jug and scampered up the dihedral like a chipmunk on crack.


Lisa on the road to victory, the Lonely Fish(V.9)

Before this problem she had only ever managed to send V.5(?)!!!!! This ascent was probably the most impressive thing I have seen in real lie, Lisa just keeps on impressing me with her stunning sends lately, before this trip we got out to Little si where she man handled Rainy Day Woman for her first 5.12a lead outdoors!!! Needless to say high fives were being handed out like glow sticks at a rave. Dom, who had been lodged in a tree during the send fest came down to try his luck. He had the beta and knew what to do. He pulled through all the moves to the very last throw for the victory jug slapping the flat jug only to rash off and fall. Literally having the flash slip through his fingers. Aaaaahhhhhh!!!! I’m positive that he will get this very quickly next time.


Jimmy testing the waters of Dirty Dude Stand Start(V.10)

Well, the hype died down after Lisa departed back to Oly, and us boys were left to our own devices. We played around on a cool V.7 called Bombs Away that involved a basketball jump to a cool crimp rail and nasty grovel/hump fest up and over a dirty slab at the lip. Jimmy clinched the send and Dom and I came close but didn’t manage this one. Jimmy, I never said the problem sucked, I just hated getting my shirt dirty and coming away with no send; I’ll definitely come back and finish it off(maybe). I also gave Droppin’ tha’ Kirschbaum a look over and realized this one might have to wait for another year or so, yikes! It is an endurance power marathon. We finished off the day at a boulder called Starfox whose salt and pepper face had seen better days.


The Starfox boulder at dusk.


Some pretty little spring flowers.


Most of the holds had broken off leaving nasty razor blade crimps and a huge move with a boulder breathing down your neck. It was good to get this mystery cleared up since I had always wondered about this boulder problem. That night Dom reenacted Dante’s inferno in our fire pit and I just enjoyed being back at a nice Leavenworth campsite under the stars with a hot bowl of chili.


Bridgecreek.

The morning brought clam chowder and the packing up of our camp site. Our first stop, The Pretty Boulders. The hike was steep but I love this area. The rock is grade AAAAAAAAAA, very purty, and home to the sweetest V.3 around, Pretty Girl. I did the usual warm up circuit with minimal pain from yesterday. Jimmy ticked the pretties, and then we loaded up for Pretty Hate Machine. The initial moves are not too hard but I always get shut down at the dyno. It was pretty much the same old story for me, I’m still psyched to come back and send, but Jimmy dispatched in a handful of attempts. Looking really strong he got to the dyno every time and when he finally sent he turned into Inspector Gadget and pulled out the go-go gadget arms. Nice job Jimmy, the only problem he didn’t manage was Pretty Boy but he sent everything else at the area.


Jimmy on Pretty Boy(V.7)

We were going to head to Mad Meadows but ran for Tumwater canyon instead to seek out some shade and cooler temps. After watching my crashpad fly off the top of my car roof nearly killing everyone driving behind us, or should I say luckily not killing anyone behind us, we arrived safely at the Swiftwater picnic area. Dom and I monkeyed around on some of the easier problems at the picnic area and then we all tried a cool V.6 lip traverse on sandstone-like granite. Really cool slopey/grainy holds led straight up to a powerful top out.


Joel's Traverse(V.6)

I came sooo close on this one but eventually gave up due to lactic acid build up, and a severe case of vaginosis(medical term). Jimmy gunned up this one as well and tried a V.8 jump problem that looked cool but climbed kind of awkwardly. It was a nice setting, I just wish some of these boulders had more features; the rock quality for this kind of granite is out of this world!!


Chicken Man(V.8)

We got back to the car and felt the sting of little to no skin and decided to head home with the traditional stop at the Heidleburger and an intense game of name that grade/area/boulder problem/first ascentionist. I’m very pleased with what I got done even though I feel like I could have pushed harder at times. This season looks to be a very promising one, Jimmy is climbing harder than I have ever seen him climb before, Lisa is coming out of her shell and turning into a scary rock crushing monster, and Dom, well, Dom just likes to put things down his trousers, who can blame him?!! Just kidding Dom, in all honestly everyone climbed harder than I have ever seen them climb, even if the sends don’t show up on the scorecard it doesn’t mean a lot of mileage and knowledge wasn’t gained. All I hope for is to have as good a year sending as I did last year and to have twice as much fun in doing so. I’m also psyched for the return of long lost friend and climbing compadre Nick Madness, I can’t wait to see what he gets done this year as well. I’ll see everyone soon. PEACE!

Weez

Well, the rumors are true. I believe that after 15 visits to Leavenworth you become an official card carrying member of the Bavarian culture. I’m already half German and half English so I guess I could make room for a little sausage, beer, and interesting architecture. It’s not really my fault however. I guess you could blame a lot of people. For instance, Kelly Sheridan and his little guide book; or Dom and Laura for instigating such a nasty habit as bouldering. I mean what sane sport climber wants to give up a life on the rope for a terribly unfulfilling, self deprecating, sadistic, and otherwise quick fixing sport such as bouldering? Scrambling around nature with a giant piece of foam strapped to your back only to do like, three moves before standing on top of the boulder you just climbed like a cave man claiming his fresh kill. And there we were; driving down the main street of Leavenworth cautiously dodging tourists left and right and finally turning down Icicle Creek Road in a frantic search for a break from society and the inviting silence and simplicity of ‘tent’ camping.(is there any other kind?!!!). It was Thursday, 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and around 4:00 when we were able to sit back and appreciate the fact that we had gotten our old camp spot, lot number 19 at the Eight Mile camp ground. A wave of nostalgia rushed over me as I remembered being at this very site almost a year ago with the exact same people, my friends Dom and Laura, or Laura and Dom, however you want to order the pair. It wasn’t long before we pulled into the Forestland parking lot and tromped through Summer’s overgrowth to find ourselves face to face with our old friends The Real Thing, One Summer and The Shield. Not really the names of the boulders but rather the names of some of my favorite problems here in this area. I ran around like one of the many chipmunks in heat at this time of year, crimping on holds, flexing my toes on textured granite, and pulling myself up and over a couple of problems I hadn’t quite mastered until today. One problem in particular that I was incredibly psyched to get is a problem affectionately referred to as Backdoor Ass Attack. Aaaahhhhh, the joys of naming a boulder problem. A cool looking boulder, split by a big jug lip at 6 feet. A shallow slopey side pull leads you to another slopey/crimpy lip which forces you to a small crimp above and a hard press to gain victory against gravity and the good fortune to declare to others that you have mastered the Backdoor Ass Attack. Don’t be afraid to shout it from the roof tops! I watched as Dom latched the crimpy dyno on the Shield only to hang by a three fingered latch of death before resolving the matter through a more passive aggressive means of solving things, dropping to the pad and saying you’ll do it later. I like! Laura launched into battle with her arch nemesis The Real Thing, a pretty daunting task to both life and limb, or at least toes and fingers. Techy foot placements and sideways crimps are the only hints of passage up this problem, and Laura decided to give it the ever coveted V.15 grade and wait until she was stronger to finish it off. Now I’m not one for grade inflation but since I have done this problem the new grade will definitely help my scorecard. Feeling a bit crunched, we headed to upper Forestland where we were greeted by more granite and no trace of other boulderers. Laura did battle once again with another problem called Lovage, a valiant effort that paid off in the end. As she slapped and compressed here way up the route Dom and I shouted encouragement and was glad that she held it together for the top out and final jug slap, which she almost missed! Nice one Laura. Dom and I monkeyed around, flexing our muscles and throwing our poo(not literally) and as the sun set we gathered wood for a fire and let the flames massage our bitter souls.

I was greeted in the morning by the warmth of the day to come. In other words it was going to be a hot one. My counterparts were sluggish as well and we rose to the task of climbing somewhat decisively. We found ourselves at a boulder called The Machine Gun, although the resemblance I did not see, however the problems were great and the mood was set. Polishing off the boulder in an hour we set out to find shadier spots and wound up at a The Sword boulders, lazy giants themselves that provided relief from the heat of the day. We did not do much at this spot and soon were back at the campsite feasting on sandwiches, literature, and the brain twisting board game of Scrabble. My friends were gracious enough to wipe the floor with my innocence by utilizing the double and triple word scores and thwarting my every attempts at higher learning. As the afternoon aged appropriately into the late afternoon we headed out onto a journey that would yield no impressive sends, but a respect for not getting lost, and reading poorly translated guidebook maps. The Labyrinth boulders were just that, a confusing maze of salt and pepper granite boulders with terrifying landings and even more terrifying grades. The approach was not long, yet demanded the buns of steel work out ethic and left us feeling quite ashamed of our present athletic builds. No matter, we picked up the pieces and finished the day at one of the best boulders in the world, hahahaha! The Hueco Crimper boulder finds itself perched on the banks of the Winatchee river a mere ten yards off route 2. The landings are sandy and rocky, but mellow nonetheless. I highly recommend the V.2 on this boulder, it is amazing. As well as the V.6, the V.4 and, for those willing the V.9 low start to the V.6. I won’t bother with names, if you feel so inclined as to purchase the guidebook just look for the Hueco Crimper boulder. I set to work on the V.9 and made good progress as well as smashing my back on an unguarded rock, lucky it wasn’t my head piece yo! Dom tackled the V.6 and Laura commanded the V.2 with great skill. We were happy to end the day on this boulder and yet again found great comfofrt in collecting wood for the fire that night, especially Dom who was able to find a nice sized log that I believe burned for quite some time.

It was Saturday, the camp ground found itself filled to capacity with R.V.’s, dog’s, babies, children, teenagers, parents, climbers, hikers, rafters, laughter, and many an excited chipmunk. We rose to the cold of the morning and Laura put together a mean breakfast burrito. I had my lovely little eyes set on a problem known as the Cattle Guard Arete, tucked far away in the land of Mt. Home Road. We made the journey up and over the town of Leavenworth kicking up much dust in the process and passing many an impressive boulder on unfortunately privately owned land. We broke through the trees and burst onto the scene with an attitude that reeked of climbing bliss. The sun baked the hill side of Mt. Home Road littered with boulders that we coveted as small pinnacles of amusement, debauchery, and a brass sense of male chauvinism. This area is unique to Leavenworth, one of my favorite areas yet not particularly home to the best or the most boulder problems. The few areas that have been ‘discovered’ are separated by short down hill romps and the boulders are pretty sharp, salt and pepper granite, and don’t seem to sport many features. I came here for one reason only, to send a problem that I had gotten spanked on almost a year ago. The Cattle Guard Arete, a beautiful problem, only two or three hard moves but probably the best problem in this area. Dom, Laura and I climbed a few V.1’s before I dove head first into what could only be described as my ever changing destiny. I flexed and slapped my way up the short arête before shouting in victory as I stood on top of the boulder. I was happy but the moment was fleeting and I soon found myself in a dark room, deserted and alone, spinning out of control through an endless pit of despair and emptiness. Just kidding. I was psyched and after the send we worked a sweet arête traverse thing with small feet and miserable slopers before we became too defeated to go on and had to leave. We drove back to town stopping for the nights libations at the ever encroaching Safeway, and finding out that the public Library is not so public on the weekends, it was closed. After passing the time at camp over another game of Scrabble (that’s right, weez is not a word) and some more sandwiches we drove head first into some more boulder scaling. Not much of a story unfolded at the Barney’s Rubble boulders and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves back at the Hueco Crimper boulder. I just couldn’t let this beautiful problem get away from me and I was hot on it’s trail. I worked the last move several times and never could stick it before Dom unlocked my frustration with a crafty toe jam and a hold that I had not been using. Dom dispatched the stand start before I finally took center stage. Lights…camera…ACTION! I sent it with the sound of the Winatchee reverberating off the water softened granite boulder and the camera lens steadily focused on my feeble attempts of obtaining digital immortality. I roared like a bear with a bad hernia to celebrate my accomplishment and was pleased enough to celebrate over a pint of Leavenworth IPA. That night we burned a lot of logs and drank too much cheap beer and were rewarded for our efforts by frequent pee breaks interrupting our silent slumber.

It was our last day and we packed up camp much to my dismay masked by silent grumblings of discomfort and not wanting to leave. Our mutual friend Jimmy accompanied by his mother and sister were to meet us at Mad Meadows that morning so we headed on out to one of our last stops of the trip. We walked across the meadow and up into the jumble of boulders that held classic hard problems with names like the Peephole, The Ram, and the Sail. We all warmed up on the Hueco problem, climbing in, on, and around the giant holes eroded into the granite face by the angry winds of the past. We were met shortly by our friends Jimmy, Lisa and their mother Rita. Jimmy flexed his flash bone on a one move power problem called the Jib, a heinous crimpy rail to a jug. It had been his goal to flash a V.8 this year and he did, congratulations. We were all done at this area of the Mad Meadows and headed onwards and upwards to a roof problem called Hanta Man. I managed to do the first two big moves but could not complete this chapter in the book of Micah’s bouldering adventures so I placed a comma next to it and plan upon returning in the future. Dom made an impressive hand jamming display of physical prowess by sending an upside down V.5 hand crack that climbed straight out of the roof. We then headed even farther back to the last area of the Mad Mead’ to one of the coolest looking boulders/features that has come into existence in this state of Washington. The Pimpsqueak boulder is home to a classic V.9, Pimpsqueak and another roof problem called Crimpsqueak. The latter being a longstanding project of mine. Well, today was the day. I grappled with the power of the problem and coped quite well with the top out and stood victoriously unscathed at the end. Done and done! Dom, Laura, and I were all feeling worn down after four days of bouldering but we bravely went to another area, or boulder I should say. A giant boulder stood just off the road and held two problems, IS, which I had sent months ago, and WAS which is what I came to try. Amazingly I felt strong and tamed the beast in only a few tries. I found that matching on the arête and bumping to the lip made the problem much easier than it had previously felt and I was really psyched to have another V.8 under the belt before the end of the trip. We all caravanned out to Swiftwater to wrap it up and sent one last problem, The Footless Traverse.

Now that I’m at home and have had a little time to heal and reflect, all I can think about is returning. There are so many boulders, and so many problems that I want to do and climb on and even though I have marked off a lot of problems on my list, the more I mark off the more I start to add. Most of the time the actual climbing isn’t what I enjoy the most about a trip, but rather the nights spent in conversation around a blazing camp fire, or the silence and reflection that escaping the constant appointments a job, or school can bring. I guess a balance between the two extremes is needed to appreciate, love and hate all that life has to offer. Well, that’s it. Turn your computer off and go do something; outside preferably.