Keeping the Fans Happy

Okay, here's a bunch of random crap before I leave for Joe's since Andrew and Jeff keep complaining about lack of new stuff...

Eduardo trying Chumscrubber (V12) at Way Lake. This one is still waiting for a 2nd ascent despite several people (including me) falling off the end.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Eric teaching Wes how to kneebar on Sunshine Daydream aka Yo Picasso (V5), Tram.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Wes not kneebaring on same...

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Eric sticking the lip and sending Soul Caliber (V9), Tram.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Eric almost flashing Vanishing Point (V9), Tram... he came back from Greece weak and fat and still sent this thing.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Eric trying Ubiquitous (V9), Black Mountain. Conditions were not good. Quote from Eric's scorecard from that day: "baaaaaadddd conditions... water is supposed to make you buoyant..."

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Eric showing off his fancy new shoes on Cosmos (V9), Black Mountain.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Jeff H. modeling for my flash at Rock Creek.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Andrew trying Life Ain't Easy (V10), Rock Creek.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

These next few are a little dark... they looked great on my computer though. Turn up your brightness if you can't see them.

Cory crushing the Campground Arete (V10), Rock Creek.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Jen Atkin trying Soulslinger (V9), Buttermilks.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Christian Griffith trying Soulslinger (V9), Buttermilks.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Somewhere between Red Rocks and the East Side.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

It's amazing how something so good (like a drive with rainbows everywhere) can turn bad so quickly...

Very flat tire somewhere between Red Rocks and the East Side.


photos - Jeff Sillcox

Unlike the last time this happened, I did have to dump everything out on the side of the road to get to the spare.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

And finally, last Saturday I put up this new line at the Boneyard. It's tall and scary with a weird landing and the hard moves are at the top. It's called Falling Star because I saw a huge shooting star that night. Probably around V7.

photo - Andrew Stevens

Books, Boulders, and ... (wait for next post)

First off, let me just say, "Read this book!"
(...am I allowed to use quotes when quoting myself? Oh well...)

photo - Eric Lang

... and here is the proof (without the pudding...)

a page from the book... and this one is not even funny...
photo - Eric Lang

...And now to climbing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abbie, Wes and myself went to Tram like 3 weeks or so ago and we spent the day climbing some moderate stuff. Abbie sent one of her projects (Don's Dyno v5) and another that was supposed to be a project (Methane Direct v4), in a handful of tries... Also Wes learned (sort of!) how to mantle. It was sort of a remedial class in mantling which will lead up to the class that Jeff is going to teach to prepare us to climb with Andy!



Abbie literally about to stick the first move and send Don's Dyno v5 (yay, no posed shots!)
photo - Eric Lang



Wes also sending Don's Dyno v5... not posing!
photo - Eric Lang

And after I did Emerald City v0 (i didn't flash by the way... stupid smear) several times, i decided to get Abbie to get on it. And she did it, and liked it, first go! Next time, Wes, next time...


Abbie not scared at all on Emerald City v0... sorry for the crappy overexposed skyline...
photo - Wes Dodson

Can you pick out the climbers in the pictures? We're like Waldo only creepier...
photo - set up by Eric Lang, taken by Organic Crashpad!

I also have some bugs and other pictures but i'll save them for their own post just for Andrew! I hope this post doesn't get lost in the pool of Jeff's flurry of posts!

Big Pimpin'

So after playing Guitar Hero until 3am (see Eric's Holga post), we made our way over to Palm Springs and the Tramway for a few days. We stayed at this top secret location with Drew Rollins and spent our days up at the Tram and nights in the pool.

photos - Jeff Sillcox

Eric performing the "happy baby" pose on the bottom of the pool. By the way, I can hold my breath waaaaay longer than him.

photo - Jeff Sillcox

It was 110 degree in Palm Springs and a much more bearable 75 at the top of the mountain. Still pretty warm for the slopers on Flight of Osirus (V6). Drew gives it a go...

photo - Eric Lang

This one might be a new problem. It's on the boulder just uphill from Vanishing Point. I did it from a sit start at some underclings at around V6 or 7 and the stand is V3ish. If it is a new problem, we called it Fromundacling.

photo - Eric Lang

I tried The Elf (V9 from the sit) at the end of the day and got shutdown. I came back to it a couple days later and did the stand (V8) and the sit will be high on my list for next time.

photos - Eric Lang

We checked out Shades of the Old School (V2) and were a little disappointed. It's a proud line, but was pretty dirty and fairly boring climbing.
Drew pretending to be scared...

photo - Eric Lang

I thought White Flight (V3) (pictured below) and Emerald City (V0) were much better highballs.

photo - Drew Rollins

Can't wait to get back when the temps are better and check out Black Mountain.

Tramtastic

Friday afternoon rolled around and I made a very last minute decision to head down to the Tramway to escape the heat in Bishop. Eric is taking two months off to let his hand heal so I thought it would be fun to make him watch me climb all weekend. Despite my best efforts to get him to climb "easy stuff", the only thing he climbed was a tree to take pictures. Don't tell his doctor.

Day one: green shirts

Abbie sending Spirit of the Forest (V4) without bending her arms at all.

photo - Eric Lang

I might have flashed Gluttony (V8) if Eric hadn't given me the leprechaun beta. Instead, it went down third try with my giant beta. (I'm still only one inch taller than him)

photo - Abbie Mood

Abbie working on Green Hornet (V5)

photo - Jeff Sillcox

Me flashing Red Spark (V6)...

photo - Eric Lang

...and Blue Flame (V7)

photo - Eric Lang

Day two: blue shirts

Warming up on Center Crack (V0)

photo - Eric Lang

I flashed these next few and then posed some pictures on them since they were such cool problems. It was fun repeating the moves and it gave Eric some more practice with the camera. Click the photos for the larger version.

Vanishing Point (V9)

photos - Eric Lang

Byron's Roof (V9/10)

photos - Eric Lang

The Wave (V5)

photo - Eric Lang

School's cancelled... for the Tram-ulites

Words fail me at this point...

Watch my icy hot super slide!
Photo by Abbie Mood

Although it may appear that the Tram looks like a rockin' good time, it is really only fun if you enjoy throngs of screaming children that have likely never seen snow before. Most of the very limited amount of Tram we saw was snow covered or wet. Temps were nice and the snow will probably be at a more managable level in a month or so. I am finally starting to get pysched for the spring and summer seasons (since the winter has been so whacky). Here are 2 videos recapping the days events... Abbie was more successful...

After much searching there actually was some sending to be done, but not by me... all I did was cry...

Abbie trying to capture the dream...
Photo by Eric

Abbie on "Unknown" V3/4
Photo by Eric

Photo by Eric

Just another layer to the legend... Abbie is a human onion...
Photo by Eric

Viva la Tram!!!

Tramway & Jupiter

Despite the weather looking crappy for most of the US, I finally made a trip down to Southern CA to check out the Tramway. Saturday was brutal. The temperature never made it into the 30's and it was snowing lightly for a lot of the day. Somehow I managed quick sends of Angus, Soul Caliber, and Left Hand of Darkness (all V9ish) without freezing to death. I think the perfect friction and Eric's beta may have had something to do with it. I had a couple close calls with flashing my first V9: I overshot the finishing crimp on Soul Caliber and then crushed it 2nd try. Then I fell off Left Hand of Darkness with the top in my hand.

Calling dab on myself and then sending Angus (V9)

video - Eric Lang

Left Hand of Darkness (V9)

video - Eric Lang

Sunday we drove back towards San Jacinto and bailed on Tramway because of a bunch of new snow, so we checked out the Jupiter Boulders. The rock is very good polished granite in a weird setting. There is an unofficial urban-redneck firing range a quarter mile from the boulders so there is constant gunfire to go along with the highway noise.

Click the photo for the weekend's gallery of the Tramway and a couple problems from the Jupiter Boulders.

Eric on Soul Caliber (V9)
photos - Jeff Sillcox

Dodging bullets on Air Flash Gordon (V8) @ the Jupiter Boulders (yes, the video says it's Unemployed Black Astronaut and I'm too lazy to fix it)

video - Eric Lang