Training Day

World Wall One, the best sport crag this side of the Mississippi? Well, maybe the best sport crag within driving distance of Olympia. Nic, Technorigine(5.12c)


The weatherman is such a liar. I guess that’s why I get my weather from a woman. In any event they were both wrong this time but regardless of the weather forecast we were not to be deterred. Leavenworth had been tickling our fancies for far to long and it was time to reclaim our rightful place at Little si. We got a late start to the day but in the end it was quite helpful. Arriving at the crag around noon, we found the wall bathing in sunlight but only for the next hour, and for the rest of the day we were cloaked in a comfortable shade. You couldn’t tell by the swarms of cars that had congregated in and around the Little si trail parking lot but we were actually only one of 3 other groups at World Wall One so we had our pick of routes. The day started well, warming up on Aborigine, trying to get the feel for being on a rope again and dusting off the sequence to a pretty classic .11b. It felt good to rope gun the first route of the day and the beginning crux felt like a V.0 as I dispatched it with style, remembering where everything was and went. I did almost take a fall halfway through by committing to a hold that I thought was good only to find my hand ripping off of a bad sloper. I clutched the flakey jug I had been holding onto in desperation only to finish the route way more pumped than I should have been, and with the addition of a nice little flapper on my hand between the pointer and thumb. Not bad for a warm up eh? Next Jimmy had a go and looked solid the whole way up clipping the chains in warm up style victory. Nic had been eager to get back on Technorigine and there was no time like the present so on his warm up go he made it all the way through the first crux only to fall at the second, a grueling swing to a big one handed jug.

Nic lunges his way through the first crux of Technorigine(5.12c)

We were all psyched as we moved over to work Psychosomatic(5.12d) a former project of mine. Jimmy rope gunned this one and made good progress getting to the last bolt before coming down. I tried to flex my knowledge on the route but only had enough gusto to make it to the second to last clip before lactating out. Nic made an impressive go by linking it all the way to the crux but completely forgot the sequence and came off. I gave him some beta that had worked for me and after a couple of hangs he had sent it and was attached to the victory rail only to take a nice little whipper before getting to the chains. He is so close to sending that rig, and I hope we can get out there soon so he can get it.
After that we moved our camp over to the main corner where Rainy Day Woman is and Nic, fresh off of Psychosomatic, volunteered to rope gun it. I wasn’t going to stand in his way but I think he was trying to waste himself at this point because he wasn’t so successful, falling a few times before clipping the chains. Jimmy had the same result and they both looked at me to redeem our crews name, so I stepped to the plate. The last time I had been on this route it was on top rope and I had an extremely poor performance. This time I sailed it, it was nice to send such a classic with ease and I even improved my beta and confidence. I’m excited to get on the extension Hydrophobia. After I came down Nic flew up it on top rope just to make sure it hadn’t got the best of him. Nice recovery Nic.
I was feeling jazzed at this point and after a little lunch I managed to get to the chains on Technorigine with an all time low of hangs, 6. The important part was that I was able to fire both cruxes with only one hang each, and I really feel close but yet so far to sending. Jimmy repeated Aborigine but didn’t feel the endurance or the need to continue on the extension, either way this was really good training for the upcoming sport climbing comp for him. Next Nic was ready to send, and he climbed well, making it through the first crux of Techno yet again but just couldn’t muster the strength to pull the second crux, A Meurte Nic!! We shouted.

Jimmy grabs the lip of the Psychowussy boulder problem(5.11b/V.1+)

Jimmy at the first clip of Psychosomatic(5.12d)

Last but not least we all took a lap on Psychosomatic trying to push as far as we could for a nice warm down burn. The training day had ended and we were all pumped and psyched to get back on a rope. The weather and the crowds had been perfect all day and as we left, the rain finally came. Classic Little si sesh. Have fun in Hawaii Nic, and I hope I can do Oly’ justice in the upcoming second annual South Sound Pull Down!

Breaking out of the forest, a nice little surprise.

Well Laid Plans

April showers bring May flowers, of death!

I promised I would get out somewhere other than Leavenworth last week and I actually did! Nic and I made it out to our old stomping grounds Little si. It was soaking wet, even the problems that stay dry during a torrential down pour, and we were heart broken but Nic managed a very impressive warm up lead of Rainy Day Women and I floundered behind on top rope failing miserably at every crux. Oh well, we finished that trip off with a session at Stone Gardens where I got handled by a 12 year old who sent a V.6 that took every ounce of strength I had left in my body to send. It was a throw away day for me, but hey at least I didn’t cop out and go to Leavenworth.

Nic warms up on Cubicle Gangster(V.0) at the Sowrd.

This week I did cop out and go to Leavenworth but only because Nic wanted to go and that guy cracks me up. Plus, perfect weather, granite boulders, and Bavarian architecture never get old! We had a well laid plan that included Nic sending his first V.8 so we headed straight to The Sword boulders so Nic could get back on a proud boulder problem called Ressurrection. I wrote about it in my last blog, but for a quick run down it’s an old school compression problem that climbs a fat bulge to a slab and then up a shady dihedral topping out somewhere in the 25 foot region of space. A scary and tough problem, this rig is the best in Leavenworth and Nic dispatched it calmly, coolly, and collectively.

Nic gets spread out on slopers on Ressurrection(V.8)

Nic enjoys the slab before the top out. Nice one Nic!

Celebrating in the descent tree.

As Nic pulled over the lip we both gave a victory cry that alerted some nearby male stellar jays that subsequently flew over to where we were and tried mating with us. We weren't interested in there displays of spring fever though, and paid them no mind. Nic was stoked on his first ever V.8, and being that he got it on such a stellar and full value boulder problem made it even prouder. While he was down climbing the descent tree I thought it would be fun to check out another V.8 called The Tree Problem, so named because it is right behind the descent tree.

Me grabbing the 'side ways credit card' on The Tree Problem

We chalked holds and thought it looked way soft, two perfect crimps to a bad pinch with a good thumb catch, and then swing over to a huge jug. Climb up a little bit more to an insecure rail and then grab the tree and down climb. We both sent in a matter of minutes but the celebration was kept to a minimum since we both thought the problem could have easily been V.7 or even V.6, but who wants to argue with the guidebook? I have to admit, despite the sharmin softness of the problem it was a rather good one mover on really smooth granite crimps.

Nic on The Classic(V.2)

Nic was on a roll, as he dispatched the classic highball The Sword(V.3), The Classic(V.2) another highball, and The Hourglass(V.7) a one move jump problem that is really fun. I almost flashed The Sword but got to the top and decided to work on my down climbing skills instead of my scary roll over on a dirty slab top out skills. Good job on The Sword Nic, that is a super bad ass proud line, you get the highball top out award of the month.

Nic high above on the top out of The Sword(V.3)

After cleaning up at the Sword boulders we made a beeline for another super classic area, or rather singular boulder, called The Fridge. A place where men are forged from wimpering boys in the shadow of this large rectangular shaped lump of granite. This was the first stop I had made on my first ever trip to Leavenworth and I had sent some of the best V.4’s here, Fridge Center and Fridge Right(sand bag). Now I was returning to exhume my wrath on a mega classic V.8 with an overly original name, the Fridge Left. This fat arête is blank for the most part, except for a cool pore-like sloper and a high crimp near the lip. Basically you slap and hump your way up the arête using the sloper and heel hooks to pull and press yourself closer and closer to the crimp near the lip until you can reach, or lunge, towards the crimp and top out. Fun right? Hell yeah! Jimmy and I worked this problem a few weeks ago and while Jimmy managed the send I was left feeling used and abused. This time it was different.

The first move of The Fridge Left(V.8)

Dawning an old school Sonics jersey(Kemp of course!) I styled it on my fourth go! What a great boulder problem and a great boulder. Super psyched I gave Nic my beta and watched as he tackled the challenge.

Nic feeling victory slip through his fingers.

He came soooooo close to sending; by latching the victory crimp but not leaving enough room to match and pull up towards the lip he was spat off only to come close again on several attempts. He did however manage to flash the Fridge Center(V.4) and the Fridge Right(V.4/5), and I know when he comes back he'll finish off the entire boulder. Feeling a bit worked he decided to come back for this one and we packed up and had lunch.

The Winatchee on high tide.

Our well laid plans led us to Tumwater Canyon where I desperately wanted to try the Hueco Crimper low start. Unfortunately a heat wave had made its way across the Northwest the past few days melting all the snow that had been leftover from our unusually long Winter causing the Wenatchee to swell to an amazing height and girth.

Me trying to be artsy. You aint artsier than me!

My hopes for the Hueco Crimper were literally washed out. No worries, we turned around and headed for the beach parking lot where, unbeknownst to us, we were about to start on a journey that would forever change our very souls. Or, at least get our feet wet. What I mean is that the trail to the Beach Forest boulders was abruptly split in half by a fast moving stream of melted snow.

I think Nic's in this picture somewhere.

We had to hike up into the forest alongside the 'creek on steroids' for a good 5-10 minutes before finding a skinny, water soaked log to teeter across to get to the other side before continuing on our bouldering mission. Here’s a video:

You can tell by the video that it is was a harrowing adventure and we were finally glad to arrive at our destination. The Bech Forest boulders are a unique cluster of boulders that have a good concentration of V.0-V.3 problems as well as some tough V.9’s and a really sweet V.7 called the Terrible. When we arrived we checked out Aggressive Rejects(V.9) that has fingernail bending crimpers to start but an easy finish. Not feeling up to the challenge we headed back to the main boulder that has The Terrible and one of Leavenworths coolest V.9’s Goicochea, named after the author Johnny Goicochea himself. We found another boulderer already trying The Terrible and it turned out that Nic new him from Stone Gardens, a gym in Seattle. He was a really cool dude named Takeshi and we watched as he tried The Terrible.

Takeshi on The Terrible(V.7)

Nic and I both sent the problem in a couple of goes and then went straight to Goicochea to try our luck and our finger strength. The problem sits on top of the main boulder and is somewhat of a low ball, incredibly overhung, and climbs a crimpy seam with half pad crimpers. A bit cramped if your taller than 5’7’’ but ends on a big throw to the lip so if your tall the crux is just getting off the ground and into the seam. I managed to stick the first move on command but couldn’t get my heel to stay on that stupid rail and popped off every time. Nic couldn’t do the first move but almost stuck the last move so together we almost sent the whole problem! Unfortunately we couldn’t combine like voltron to turn into a problem killing machine with a cool theme song so we eventually gave up and headed back to the car. This time we just walked straight across the gushing stream like real men not afraid of getting our shoes wet. Take that stream! Hahaha!

Uhh Nic, do you want me to carry one of those?

When we arrived at the parking lot we tried a boulder problem on the obvious boulder right at the parking lot called Yeti(V.6). More of a lesson in mantling than anything else, Nic was successful but I got spanked not being able to press it out. Damn you Yeti! I’m thinking of projecting it in the future.

Damn you Yeti!

Our last stop was Swiftwater! Not really a great place to go, but is home to some classics like Sleeve Ace(V.3), Royal Flush(V.2), Big Booty Bitch Slap(V.10), Raging Bull(V.7), and the gem of the area Premium Coffee(V.7). Oh yeah, and the Footless Traverse(V.5). I guess it’s not too bad for a couple of trips. We didn’t even bother with the picnic area and the large grained granite of Hate Rock, and instead went straight to Premium Coffee, literally the first problem you come to when you cross the road. Sloper gropin’ is the name of the game on this beautiful problem, and while the temps weren’t exactly in our favor I still managed to come agonizingly close to sending it which was a victory in itself because the first time I tried this problem I couldn’t even pull off the ground!

look ma', no crimps!

Nic made huge progress as well but we were both sacked after an hour of attempts and we headed back to the other boulders where Nick sent Sleeve Ace and I watched. We let time get away from us on Premium Coffee and didn’t have enough to check out the rest of the problems but it had been a great day and we were more than happy to head back to Oly’.

While the temps were great for the day, in the upper 60’s, I fear this may be the last trip to Leavenworth for a while, seeing as how the temps can get up into the 100’s during the summer, but who knows. Memorial day weekend approaches and I feel it’s finally time to get back on a rope for good, or maybe check out Gold Bar since I have never had the pleasure. Plus gasoline is really getting ridiculous, $4.15/gallon!!!!!!! Either I need to start bringing five or six dudes out here with me or relocate to the rocky hillsides of Icicle canyon and become one of those crazy mountain gurus with no hair and a long white beard who scares children and talks to trees. I’ll let you know what I decide. In the meantime I guess I’ll focus on my upcoming finals and graduating, oh yeah, and getting a job. Aaaaaahhhhhh! Thanks again Nic for the conversation( I laughed so hard I almost drove us off the road) and the awesome bouldering, good times all around.

Nic after a day of bouldering in Leavenworth

Jimmy, Nic, Micah 1. Coffee Cup 0.

My Gato prepares to stomp on the unsuspecting invader, the house spider! He can also climb V.futon, but he cheats and uses his claws.

All right, I’m sure by now anyone and everyone who reads this blog is getting sick and tired of hearing about my day trips to Leavenworth; but just endure this one last blog about my latest trip and I promise to go somewhere else next week. Hopefully.
Anyhow, last week my friend Nic and I set off to Leavenworth with out the slightest idea of what awaited us; our hardest send the Coffee Cup(V.9). This week I took my friend Jimmy back out to Leavenworth to show him this beautiful problem and see what damage he could do. After arriving at the lower Forestland area and going through the motions of warming up; One Summer, The Real Thing, Breadline, Breadline Dyno, The Shield, and taking a good crack at Backdoor Ass Attack(soooo close yet again), we shuffled up the steep hillside to the upper Forestland area and headed straight for the Coffee Cup. Relieved to find some shade and shedding the heavy loads of our crashpads, I gave Jimmy the skinny on the problem pointing out what Nic and I had done to get to the top. About an hour later and several close attempts and many brushings of holds Jimmy launched himself from the middle crimp to the top with a triumphant growl and topped out the problem for his first ever V.9! Great job Jimmy! I managed to get it on video tape but he fell on the top out, subsequently sending it while I was spotting him the next go. Check out the video on youtube.com under Redpoint films. The day was already off to a great start as we headed back to the car. On a side note, the Forestland was crawling with avid boulderers that day, and just about everyone of them had a copy of Kelly Sheridan’s new guidebook Central Washington Bouldering. That guide has really taken off, and so far I have met two different groups from Vancouver, B.C. which means the word is spreading and Leavenworth will soon be as polished as Squamish! I can’t be mad though, if it weren’t for that guide I would have never known Leavenworth was the bouldering paradise that it is. Plus everyone I have met so far has been really cool and has nothing but good things to say about the problems and the rock quality.
It was a pretty overcast day, but the temps were warm so we sought shade at the Sword and I was eager to get back on a sweet problem called Ressurrection. As we approached the first boulder at the Sword we were greeted by a couple trying the Prism, but I’m not sure they spoke English because in response to my cheery ‘Hello’ they just gave me a strange look. We kept walking on back to the Towering Sword boulder itself, which is home to the problem I wanted to try and low and behold ran into a group of boulderers one of which I had climbed with before. A really nice guy from Seattle named Ryan who I met a while ago, I think in November, with my friends Dom, Laura, and Tony, who at the time was all by himself so we kind of absorbed him into our little group. He was there with three other people who were all students at the UW. Ryan was trying a problem just left of Ressurrection called Go Baby!(V.6) and he was coming agonizingly close to sticking the first move. He was anxious to send it because it would have been his second ever V.6.
We shared our mats as Ryan tried Go Baby! and I tried Ressurrection. As I explained in my previous blog Ressurrection is a great slopey compression problem that starts on a fat prow with both arms spread out between a good sidepull and a terrible sloper. Getting a high left foot and launching to a good sidepull/sloper and then slapping up the other side on more slopers you finally come face to face with pulling over the bulge of the prow arms spread between two slopey sidepulls. And this is where I found myself time and time again until finally I put my foot high on a smear and trusted it enough to stand up and snag the victory crimp just in sight. Oh what a glorious moment that was, but I wasn’t celebrating yet. The top out loomed overhead and with the lip at 25 feet and guarded by a mossy, lichen encrusted dihedral that was chalk free I had to do some serious soul searching. At that moment I asked myself, ‘what would Dom do?’. Just kidding, I actually don’t think I was thinking at all as I felt my way to the top almost teetering off and snagging a jug before pressing out over the lip somewhat shakily. In the end I stood on top of the Sword boulder for the first time still faced with a tree down climb. I grabbed the trunk of the tree and felt it sway under my weight and realized half the branches were skinnier than my arms. I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt because it had been so warm and my pale white skin was exposed to the bark and sap of the tree I was so desperately depending on to get me down safely. I must have looked like a polar bearing climbing a tree. My feet finally touched solid ground and I was able to continue breathing and tried to play it off as if I hadn’t been phased at all but my climbing mates were already reminding me of how my legs looked like they were about to shake off my body as I hauled myself over the lip. I was extremely proud both of the ascent and of the top out and I decided that Ressurrection would go down, at least in my mind, as one of the best problems I have done in Leavenworth so far.
After that I worked on Go Baby! with Ryan and Jimmy finally sending it after four or five tries, it was a tough little problem. We talked to Ryan about where they were headed next and we both agreed on Egg Rock. So packed up and said we would see them there.


A friend of Ryan's trying on the Egg Rock classic Weather Report(V.3)

Egg Rock is a cool little spot right off the road with some stellar boulders. Home to the infamous Jerry Garcia project that is no longer a project thanks toKelley Sheridan, and Musashi(V.9) which was a big part of the reason I wanted to go there. It also has some great moderates like Smoke Stack Lightin’(V.2), a really challenging slab called China Cat(V.2), and a sweet V.3 called Weather Report that has an interesting fin like feature. It had been raining off and on since we had arrived at the Sword and while we ate some lunch in the car a few other people showed up. As the rain stopped we dragged our pads up to the boulders and immediately checked out Musashi.


Me on the 'easier' part of Musashi(V.9)

It was a lot harder and harsher than we wanted at that point and after a couple of goes decided to come back when we were stronger. In the meantime we went down to the other boulders and did some fun problems with Ryan and his friends, and a few other people I had climbed with before but had not met formerly. It was a great little group we had going and the problems were fun and we laughed and just hung out.


Another one of Ryan's friends topping out Weather Report(V.3) Sorry, I'm terrible with names.

We finished up at Egg Rock and headed straight to a place I had never been to before, the last spot on my hit list in Icicle, all the way down the canyon called Tin Man. A sweet bloc of granite located on top of a short steep scramble that literally plateaus onto a meadow. The area is named after the one problem we came to do, Tin Man(V.6) with the low start clocking in at V.7. The weather had been the worst I had ever seen in Leavenworth so far and as we started in on Tin Man a light rain began to fall. Not being deterred we both sent the V.6 version and then started working on the low start. Jimmy gave up after a few goes but I finally stuck the crux move and had enough power to send the second crux move. Excited to have sent this classic problem in both forms the only problem I was faced with now was how to get down. The rain had drenched my previously safe down climb-a narrow dihedral-and I ended up wading through bushes and smaller rocks to safer ground. We packed up and headed on down the canyon to try another V.7 called IS, which is on the same boulder as an area classic called WAS. I had tried the problem several months ago and was not able to top it out, but it was a different story this time. In a few tries I had sent the huge throw and reached around the corner to perfectly placed crimps for the top out. So far I was cleaning up, 2 V.6’s, 2 V.7’s, and a V.8! A spectacular day for me. On top of Jimmy’s send of the Coffee Cup this was starting to become one of the best days of bouldering I had ever had. Jimmy gave IS a try but the crux move proved to be a little out of reach for him. Here is a picture of the impressive boulder:


Jimmy on the crux lunge of IS(V.7).

The rain kept coming but we were not to be deterred. Except for the fact that our skin was running low, as well as our energy and time. We finished the day at Barney’s Rubble, getting on The Rubb’ Dyno(V.8), sooo close! And sending a couple of other good problems, and running into more people I had climbed with before. Jimmy made me an official ‘regular’ of Leavenworth and I had to agree. We were both psyched on the days sends and we couldn’t help but stare off into space dreaming of the awesome granite we were lucky enough to climb on, over a Heidleburger burger. Much thanks to Jimmy for providing all of the pads, as well as a huge congratulations on the V.9 send. I just can’t get enough of this place!!

Nicholas Madness

Micah trys out the first move of The Coffee Cup(V.9)

Taking advantage of an unusual day off from school, due to a conference my professor had to attend, I decided to try to turn fate on it’s ear and get one of my good friends out to Leavenworth who had never been there before. Nicholas Mathis, besides being a good friend of mine, is also a super strong climber whose down to earth attitude coupled with a strong will to climb his hardest at all times, always makes for a great climbing partner. Not only is Nic a gangster, urban poet, squeezer of rocks, and a serious supporter of 80’s style climbing pants, he’s also one of the funniest dudes I know and we laughed pretty much all the way to Leavenworth.
Since Nic had never been here before I decided to show him the areas most premium of spots, Forestland. With perfect landings, beautiful blocs of light brown to dark grey granite, and a staggering concentration of 3 star boulder problems from V.0-V.12 I felt this would be an appropriate intro to the Leavenworth bouldering scene. We arrived around 10:30 to another perfect day of weather and after warming up on a great V.0+ called Breadline I gave Nic the beta to one of the best V.4’s in Washington, The Real Thing, and watched as he gave it a try.

Nic cruises up The Real Thing(V.4).

Technical foot smears and a right facing crimpy seam slithers its way up the wall leading you to a reach out right for a crimpy rail, and then a solid slap for a good sloper and jug at the lip. My definition of a classic. Nic had some trouble with getting the feet just right, but in no time he topped it out for his first true boulder problem in Leavenworth, a proud line. After that we got on another classic line that was right next to the Real Thing, a V.5/6(depending on the start) called One Summer. A line of scattered crimps leads to a 3 foot blank patch of rock and then a nice grainy shelf. A beautiful line that is crimpy and technical with a big move thrown in. Nic sent the V.6 version in a few goes and was really pleased with the problems so far.

Nic fully extends on One Summer(V.6)

While Nic was trying One Summer a couple of guys showed up and we eventually combined pads for a group effort on The Shield(V.7). One of the best-I’m going to get tired of writing that after introducing every problem-truly one of the greats of the area involving a huge move on overhanging crimps to a good finger jug. It’s just the right height and the holds are good enough to keep you coming back for more(I’ve repeated this problem 5 times, just about every time I come to Forestland I get on it and it gets better every time). I showed Nic how it was done trying to send it as gracefully as possible and after 3 tries he sent it for his second ever solid V.7.

Nick latches the big first move of The Shield(V.7)

At this point we were both psyched and really feeling a good energy so I decided to show him the Upper Forestland, and more importantly a super classic problem called The Coffee Cup. Now, neither one of us has climbed harder than V.8, and The Coffee Cup clocks in around V.9(V.10 depending on who you talk to) so when I suggested that we try it I was kind of half joking, suspecting that we would give it a couple of goes before realizing it was completely over our heads. We arrived at the boulder, an overhung wall spotted with only 4 obvious holds that comprised the Coffee Cup. We threw our pads down and started working out a sequence. The problem goes like this, you start on a high sloping rail, pulling on you kick your foot out horizontally and almost in line with the sloping rail you start on to a small foot hold that is more of a smear. Reaching up with your right hand to a semi-good slanting crimp, hold it, then move up with your left to a pretty good slopey crimp. Keep it together and bump from the slopey crimp to a really good gaston crimp. Now get the feet right and hit the lip, still not over because you have to earn the problem through a heady and difficult top out. Such a pure line that apparently is one of the oldest and ‘proudest’ lines in Leavenworth, according to the guide book, and I would have to agree. Anyway, Nic and I tried the beginning moves a few times before feeling really confident. And after eight or nine tries Nic had powered his way smoothly through the sequence and found himself attached to the lip. I was shouting with enthusiasm not realizing that it wasn’t over. I saw his eyes dart from one side to the other looking for a juggy way out, and decided I needed to give him some support. Yelling at him not to give up he squirmed his way over the lip and topped it out. Super proud moment!

Nic calmly repeats The Coffee Cup(V.9) for the cameras. Nice job Nic, keep it tight!

This was Nic’s first V.9, he hadn’t even sent V.8 yet, so it was a send worth much celebrating. We did so by causing quite the ruckus and once we calmed down I snapped a few shots of him repeating it directly afterwards. Now the pressure was on, and up to this moment I hadn’t really made much progress or felt solid on the moves at all. I was really close to calling it quits and moving on but something kept me going(maybe it was the orange Gatorade?) On one attempt I almost snagged the good gaston crimp before falling and that is when I knew it was possible. 10 minutes later I found myself face to face with the top out. Palming, pressing, scraping, scratching, biting, gnawing, clawing, and kicking myself up and over the lip of my first V.9! I yelled so hard that I lost part of my voice but who cares? I was so fulfilled at that moment, I laid down on the top of the boulder and a light snow began to fall. After coming down from the high of our sends we finished up with Nic flashing a classic V.4 called the Physical. It was still really early in the day but we were already feeling as if nothing could top this, and decided that anything else would just be a bonus.
I didn’t really have a clear idea of where I wanted to take Nic next so we thumbed through the guide book and found a sweet looking V.8 called Batman, that was just off the road. Nic really wanted to send a V.8 since he had never sent one before and had already sent V.9 so we checked this cool problem out. Literally right off the road, this problem is two pieces of granite overlapping and sandwiching each other creating a horizontal seam with small crevices that you can jam your hands in. Starting with a high heel on a sloping shelf and one hand locked in the seam and another on a low sloping hold, you pull on and make powerful moves to slopey crimps on the lip traversing left until you make a wild throw for a huge depression and rock over. A super aesthetic line, that’s also kind of sharp. I didn’t have much luck at all, not even being able to hit the lip, but Nic was able to snag the holds on the lip and almost make it to a couple of good crimps before the slap to the depression. Here is a photo:

Nic in need of a grappling hook on Batman(V.8).

After that, there was a V.7 called Twister that I really wanted to do so we headed on over and once we got there became extremely intimidated by the steep and rocky landing. Twister is definitely a Leavenworth classic but it will have to wait for more spotters. While we loaded up the car I told Nic about another great area called the Sword that I had just been to last Saturday and that seemed to wet his appetite enough to want to check it out. We arrived at the Sword and I gave him a quick tour of some of the classic lines there that I had done, and then we headed straight to a problem called Resurrection(V.8). Our friend Jimmy had sent this problem a while ago and we thought it would be just what we were looking for. Resurrection starts on a big bulge as you approach the Sword boulder, and is composed of big spread out slopers that you have to slap to before reaching a difficult pull over the lip of the bulge. After that your faced with a heady top out up a dirty dihedral coated in moss and lichen, plus your about 25 feet high. Nic struggled with the first move but was able to get all the other moves after that wired. I managed to send all of the moves to the pull over the bulge, but just couldn’t find a good sequence to pull myself over the lip. I was kind of relieved because I knew if I had been able to pull the lip I would be expected to top it out and I was not looking forward to that. Still, I really want to come back and send this problem, it feels really close to going and the movement is excellent.
Time was running short so we packed up and headed down the canyon, stopping to check out a couple of problems before finally deciding to do one more before we headed home. Unfortunately the problem we decided on doing was stashed away on a steep and rocky hillside and once we adventured hiked our way to it, we discovered it was a two move problem that wasn’t worth our time at all. But, we were there, so we sent it and headed home.

The ride home was filled with plans for returning and good sends to come, as well as reminiscing on the sends of the day, especially The Coffee Cup. Thanks for the good vibes, conversation, and inspiration Nic, the trip was awesome!! I can’t wait to get back out there with you.

The Art of the Leavenworth Day Trip

Micah displays the double pad technique on the way back from the Sword boulders

Okay, here's the deal. I live in Olympia, where there are no rocks and it rains pretty much 80% of the time. Leavenworth is about 3 hours away, where there are multitudes of granite boulders, and sunny blue skies for days, hell even months! I started going to Leavenworth with my friends Dom and Laura as a weekend trip dismissing the notion of a Leavenworth day trip as silly and too expensive, but as time has gone on and my school work load has increased exponentially I find that I only have about a day out of my week to spare for climbing. Thus, the Leavenworth day trip was born! For the past month I have made about four trips up to Leavenworth for bouldering, three of which were day trips. My first trip of the year was a send off trip for Dom and Laura where we spent two days bouldering on perfect granite soaking up the sun which we had not seen in months. After Dom and Laura set out on there Euro-climbing adventure I made a couple more trips back out to Leavenworth, one with my friend Jimmy, and one solo trip on a particularly hot day. All of the trips were amazing and I managed to send my first, second, and thrid V.8's! My last trip was yesterday, which is what this entry is all about...

So far I have been unsuccessful in getting my two climbing partners, Jimmy and Nick, out to Leavenworth on consecutive trips, due to their work and school schedules, so I have been forced to look elsewhere for real-rock starved climbing enthusiats. Luckily I work in my college's climbing gym and there are willing spotters everywhere. After my last trip to Leavenworth, which was by myself, I decided having some company was a lot better for the morale. Al is a guy who comes into the gym on a pretty regular basis and is a true boulderer. Growing up in North Carolina he regailed me with tails of boulders right in his backyard, and being three hours away from Hound Ears one of the best bouldering spots on the East coast. However he had not managed to go on a bouldering trip here in the northwest yet, and I was happy to introduce him to Washington's finest. With three pads and a tank full of gas we arrived at the pull out for the Sword boulders area around 10:30 in the morning, greeted by the sound of Icicle creek and the warmth of the sun. I was totally psyched because I had been to the Sword boulders once before and came agonizingly close to sending two V.7's and this time I knew they were ripe for the picking. Plus I wanted to check out the other classics like Ressurection(V.8), The Prism(V.9), and The Classic(V.2). We took a quick look around inspecting future projects, and then warmed up on I Heart Jugs, a great V.2 with a tenuous top out. Around the corner from that we did The Wizard, a crappy reachy V.3 and then headed over to The Classic. A sheer face disrupted by a vertical rail that leads right to a jug beneath the lip, about 18 feet high. A cool line that I had to do, getting to the jug was kind of strenuous and the top out definitely made my heart beat a little faster, but I was happy to be on top. Al opted out of this one, he is a strong climber in the gym but lacks a little confidence on the real rock, especially for this being his frist time outside in a while. We moved on to a cool slabby problem called Played Like A Poop Butt(V.0+) which was a cool quartz vein that ran up the left side of this tall boulder. Sweet crimps and sidepulls lead to the top and while Al and I ran laps on this problem our first visitors of the day arrived. I was kind of surprised that anyone would be here this early but it turned out the Sword was the hot spot of the day because more and more people kept showing up.

After our initial warm up I was really keen on getting back to a problem called Off The Couch(V.7). It starts on a neat sloping rail, pulling on with spread out good feet you go left to a nice gaston, rearrange the feet and then slap to another gaston, hit a small crimp, bump to another small crimp, and then yell to get to the victory jug, which is more like a bigger version of the crimps below. I managed to get it my second go, and desperately hung on through the dirty, lichen-encrusted ledges to top out. Very pleased with the first hard send of the day we headed over to a one move problem called The Hourglass, another V.7 that I had tried a long time ago but could not complete. The problem starts by walking up a small ramp to get to the overhang, you can see why it's called the hourglass, in the overhang you grab this slopey crimp that is really no good at all, past your feet high on the ramp and then blindly lunge over the lip to grab a good knob/crimp and then good ledges to the top. Below is a photo of my friend Al trying the lunge.

Al lunges for the knob on the Horglass(V.7)

This problem doesn't really tire you out from working it so much as it just makes you annoyed. After the first 9 or 10 goes it starts to get in your head, planting that seed of doubt of wether you will ever be able to latch that stupid knob! After 25-30 tries you just start to expect to jump, slap, and then hit the pads and it is at this moment that you can't give up. I can't really tell you what went through my head when I finally latched the knob because a part of me had already dropped back to the mats, when I finally caught back up with myself I managed to pull over the lip and top out with a look of stunned enthusiasm. I fianlly gave a victory shout that signalled to the other climbers that something had gone down. As I walked back around to the front of the boulder I got a high five from Al and I was finally ready to take my shoes off and let the mosquitos feast on my blood. Al tried the lunge a couple of more times and then I decided that before we leave I should give the Prism a go. The first moves aren't really that bad at all and before I knew it I was reaching for the lip, which was terrible and slopey. I gave a glance back down at the pointy rock that was waiting to snap me in half if I fell at this point and decided to jump down and wait until I had a lot of spotters.

The view from the Labyrinth boulders.

After the sword we drove back down to Icicle junction and headed up Tumwater canyon to check out a new spot that I had never been to called the Labyrinth. The book made it sound like a 5 mile adventure hike, but it really wasn't that bad at all time wise, just steep and demanding, especially when you've got two crash pads on your back. We arrived at the lower area wich was home to a couple of good V.2's and a few harder problems with terrible landings. We were pretty spent after the trudge up the hillside and after inspecting the landings I tried out a V.7 called Beckeys Problem. Making descent progress but scared of falling I gave up and we spent the rest of the time doing two V.2's on a cool boulder. The rock is grainy and sharp, salt and pepper granite, and the problems have not really seen a lot of traffic. The two problems we did do were good, not great, and provided some entertainment after our power hike.

Al looking for the top out on Sarah aka Jennifer Connoloy(V.2)

Instead of wasting more time and energy on exploring unknown possibilities we headed back down and decided to go to a cool riverside boulder called the Hucoe Crimper boulder. I had checked this boulder out the last time I was here but didn't bother putting my shoes on becuase of the rocky landing. Now that I had enough pads to make a menstruating elephant happy, plus a spotter, I was really psyched to try the boulders namesake problem that went at V.6. As I was putting on my shoes a couple other boulderers arrived and started working the problems around the corner. I figured out my beta and pulled on, I couldn't quite get my heel in the starting hold slot so I toe hooked and the first move felt solid, a good wrap on a slopy pinch. The next move was a bump from the slopey pinch to solid sloper. I matched on the sloper and kept myself on with a sharp crimp. Getting my feet up I rocked over to a side pull, one more slap to a sloper near the victory jug and voila!

Me repeating the Hueco Crimper(V.6) after the flash.

I was standing at the top, I had just flashed the Hueco Crimper! That really provided me with some good energy after the Labyrinth disaster, and Al and I moved around the corner to join the other guys trying a V.2 and V.4. I flashed both problems which were excellent and then spotted some chalked up holds near the end of the boulder that didn't seem to go anywhere. The starting holds were good flat edges but the boulder formed a rounded undercut near the bottom and there was almost no feet. One of the other guys at the boulder came over and started trying to plan a sequence with me. After uncovering a tiny crimpy undercling near the lip we threw ourselves at the problem hoping for first ascent fame. The move was pretty powerful and the feet were tiny, but I made good progress getting close a couple of times before becoming too tired to try anymore. I will definitely revisit this project wich I named The Watership Down project, it felt like it could be solid V.8.

Me getting the heel high to make the hard press for the tiny undercling.

I wanted to show Al a couple more spots so we packed up and headed for Swiftwater. This turned out to be a huge bust because of the problem selection. We tried two incredibly contrived and craptastic problems called Chicken Man(V.8) and Goat Boy(V.7), both one move problems on sandy granite. After failing to be inspired by the two previous problems we wandered around Swiftwater for a little bit and fearing that our time was running low we checked out one more spot called the Backseat which was another bust beacuse of the terrible landings. We called it quits, loaded up on overpriced petroleum, and headed back to Olympia. The day was really hit or miss, but the good areas were really good and made up for the ones that were less than fun. Driving back home I felt like I always do after a day of bouldering, tired, hungry, and ready to get back on a rope! Of course I always say that and then the next chance I get I'm right back out there lugging my crash pads around. Thanks again Al for coming out there with me and spotting my fat ass, hope you had a good time. Also thanks to Jimmy for letting me borrow your triple, and a big thanks to Laura for entrusting me with her new crash pad. All I have to say is that it's not new anymore.

Al sending Missin' Nugget(V.2) on the Hueco Crimper boulder.

Allow Me to Re-introduce Myself

Cedar Canyon, Mile Marker 17

Well hello to anyone and everyone who happens to be reading my blog. I started this online journal for the soul purpose of keeping track of my outdoor adventures. As such, most of them will revolve around the neverending quest for perfect boulders, and beautiful lines on pristine rock, but I'll settle for the local crag and the occasional trip to Leavenworth. Yes, you guessed it, this is a climbing blog! And as the name of my blog suggests I am determined to climb until I have no skin left. I love climbing, but if you ask me why I climb I probably won't be able to come up with a mind blowing answer that will leave you in a state of serenity, at least not on the spot. I guess, like most people who enjoy clinging to a rock face, I climb because I enjoy it and I feel that it gives me a sense of purpose. Plus I like being outside, hanging out with my friends, who also happen to be climbers, and I like the challenge and the rush you get when you feel as if your life is in danger. Who doesn't? But in all reality my life has probably never been in danger; I'm mostly a sport climber and a boulderer. Don't get me wrong though, I have great respect for people who plug their own gear, I'm just not that gutsy or experienced. Anyways, your probably wondering why I started climbing. Well, I guess it started when my family moved to Colorado, Boulder Colorado. Oh yeah, the mecca of climbing. I was 11, it was 1992, and the Boulder Rock Club was in full effect. I started climbing indoors, with the occasional trip to a top-roping spot called the Amphitheatre that was home to several easy lines that could be top roped or lead traditionally. I really started getting into climbing when I was 12 and would spend all day at the Boulder Rock Club bouldering or hanging from a rope. I met a lot of climbers whose fame I had no idea about, Jim Karn, Mia Axon, Katie Brown, Robyn Erbesfield, the list would be longer but it was a long time ago and I didn't really care at the time. I started getting into climbing competitions heavily around this time and I found myself addicted. I never really made the transition to climbing on real rock, the times I went were mainly to Flagstaff for bouldering, Eldorado and Boulder canyon, and a few trips to southern Utah to Snow Canyon. What I liked was the constant challenge, and I started climbing indoors a lot, mainly for preparation for the next comp. As time went on I started to develope a heinous pain in my middle fingers, and by the time I was 14 I could barely hold onto a jug without a sharp pain shooting through my hand. I found out I had tendonitis and the only thing I could do was stop climbing. Subsequently my family was in the middle of another move and I ended up leaving Boulder to go to Seattle, Washington. I climbed for a few months when I first arrived at the Stone Gardens gym but something was different and my addiction had turned into a chore, and then I just stopped climbing. My climbing shoes thrown in the closet to gather dust, and my rope and quickdraws scattered to the wind I forgot about climbing alltogether. Until...one day...when I arrived at the Evergreen State College. The year was 2005, I was 23, it had been almost 9 years since I had last set hand or foot on a climbing wall. Going to college here in Olympia at Evergreen had completely rekindled my interest and love for climbing. The college's climbing wall, an old raquetball court converted into a plywood piece of heaven, had sparked my interest and I was back in my old climbing shoes yacking it up with the locals. I would drop in occasionally to climb and see what new routes had been set, until a couple years had passed and I was a full blown junky again, plus I started working there which made it even worse. After meeting a couple of people who would turn into my friends as well as my partners in climb, I started climbing outside and found a whole new way to appreciate climbing. Now I climb regularly, spending way too much on gas money each week to get my fix of granite and draw clipping not too mention the evil which is 8a.nu. All of this combined has set me into a whirl wind of pushing myself to get stronger so I can climb harder, as well as finding the purity behind climbing. Some days I want to go out and send the hardest thing I can, and other days I just want to go out and enjoy being outside and enjoy climbing. The rock, the movement, the scenery, and the feeling of being in the moment. The picture at the top of my first blog here is of a trip that I took to southern Utah, to a place called Cedar City. The climb that I am looking at with my dad in the picture we had no clue to its name or its difficulty but I got on it and managed to climb to the top. It was one of my break throughs in climbing and I will always look back on that day as being the day that I fell back in love with climbing. No guide book, no grade, no ego, just the climb and myself. That day had to be one of the happiest days I ever had because I proved to myself that I could do it. Now I live in Olympia, finishing up my degree at Evergreen, still working in the little rock gym that used to be a raquetball court and loving every minute that I'm able to get out to Exit 32/38, Leavenworth, Squamish, or Smith. I want to thank the people who inspired me to want to climb again, Travis, Daniel, and Eligh. And of course the people who have kept me climbing and kept pushing me and challenging me to climb my hardest, Dom, Laura, Jimmy, Nick, and Tony. And to the new generation of Evergreen climbers, Jesse, Kyle, Mika, Adam, Andrew, Al, Riley, and Emily. This blog is for you, and I hope that I can do you justice, as well as a little entertaining. Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, lets go climbing.