Saturday, April 25, 2009

the week in training

My spring climbing season is going approximately as planned. I’m campusing decently, bouldering sufficiently and have managed to put in a few good days on Strictly. Saturday was my sixth day of the season at Owl Tor and my third day on this year’s redpoint route of focus, for which the campusing and bouldering is supposed to provide adequate power. I burned three attempts on the lower section of Strictly Ballroom and two from the ledge to the top, strategically splitting the route into two obvious sections. I’m still concerned with the difficulty of the mono to the crimp at the first bolt, although this day I made progress, hitting the crimp maybe three times. It’s going to take more than a few more hard days of work before I’m approaching legitimate redpoint burns. On a positive note, my timing has coincided perfectly with Lizard mating season. After making moves on a local lady, this guy dominated my shoe.

From Wednesday’s session at the Shed, 1-4-7 on the mediums:

The campus board at the Shed is built to standard specifications: rungs are spaced 22cm, 15-degrees overhanging. The left rungs are the only set to come from a manufacturer – Metolius mediums. The right two sets are my own creation and are considerably smaller.

And for some Thursday climbing action, Micah and I went to Upper Gibraltar to get on a couple of the most mediocre routes in town. This photo is of Micah leading A Route Runs Through It (5.10c) with his pack on to facilitate a quick exit in fading light.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

the first day of the rest of my life

Saturday was my first day of the season on Strictly Ballroom. She’s still an angry route. So much anger. Things went OK though, I think. I expected it to be hard. My biggest concern at this point is the mono move at the first bolt. The start is about V9 to the second bolt, I would guess. The crux of this section involves a mono to a bad crimp that I’ve never actually done. Beginning a project on which I haven’t done all the moves is a bit ambitious. But that’s alright – I expected this. The rest of the route isn’t so bad. From the second bolt to the chains is probably 13c, so after a good rest I expect it’s manageable. My two-finger strength felt good. There’s two two-finger pockets at the start and three consecutive two-finger pockets higher up that comprise some hard sequences. All five two-finger pockets felt about how I thought they would, which is to say good, considering I usually think moves will feel better than they actually end up feeling. All in all, it’s hard for me to make a prediction for my chances at a redpoint. This is a new level of difficulty for me. The really interesting part is: I know I can redpoint, but I probably won’t. Physically, there’s no doubt I can adapt. Throw in other factors like the stress of pushing back the inside of my performance envelope every training day, while at the same time staving off injury, and I don’t know… maybe.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

commence Operation Don't Suck

I'm back from a one week trip to Henderson, Nevada for my bi-yearly commitment to bettering myself professionally, namely the CCIE written exam, and I'm fully focused now on the coming summer's climbing goals, that is: don't suck. This weekend saw a refreshingly populous crew of Santa Barbara locals for the season's third day at Owl Tor. We included Justin, Andy, Skip, and myself. Micah, Elhanan, and Phil were noticeably absent. They each cited respective excuses - Micah's benched with shoulder issues, Phil was in Vegas, Elhanan is fat - like the Tor cares. The Tor remembers these indiscretions with the intention of jarring our memories in December, as the monsoon season steals any opportunities for progress, so that we may realize why we've failed on our projects. She reminds us we have indeed failed and who we may blame for that. Surprise, Tor: we're already failing and it's only April. I'm too old for this. I'm going to push hard for a redpoint on Strictly Ballroom this spring. One of us is going to lose here. Either I'll clip chains despite Owl Tor's best attempts to maim me, or I'll flail pitifully for 7 months at Central California's answer to Mordor. Whichever the outcome, I'm ramping up for an entertaining go of it, and so is everyone else. Justin redpointed Auto Magic on his second day of work this season, his second season climbing; Andy did 11 laps; and Skip is squeezing blood from mud. I had one good burn on BTL then flailed the rest of the day.

da routes:

  1. Power of Eating (5.11d) - redpoint
  2. When the Sea Doesn't Want You (5.12a) - redpoint
  3. Chips Ahoy (5.12d) - redpoint
  4. Better Than Life (5.13c) - ground to the sidepull after the 3-finger after the fifth bolt
  5. Shatter Hand (5.12d) - fell at the last draw, worked out the top
  6. White Cougar (5.12b) - falls at the top
  7. Auto Magic (5.12a) - redpoint
  8. Anchor Punch (5.12a) - 1 fall
  9. When the Sea Doesn't Want You (5.12a) - 1 fall

Saturday, April 4, 2009

off to a good start

Day 2 of Owl Tor season was also my second day of the year on Better Than Life. I basically did what I wanted to, which was climb from the ground to the hueco at the fifth bolt. I've got my eye on Strictly Ballroom this season and I know no amount of training will be too much. This is the time to push hard on routes selected to prepare me for the work ahead.

da routes:

  1. Power of Eating (5.11d) - redpoint
  2. When the Sea Doesn't Want You (5.12a) - redpoint
  3. Chips Ahoy (5.12d) - redpoint
  4. Better Than Life (5.13c) - 1 fall after clipping the fifth bolt at the hueco
  5. Shatter Hand (5.12d) - fell right after the last clip, then worked out the top moves; not my favorite route
  6. White Cougar (5.12b) - fell at the long move after the last clip, then worked around at the top; this route is not brilliant (I'm sorry, Steve - don't hate me cuz you're beautiful)
  7. Anchor Punch (5.12a) - redpoint
  8. When the Sea Doesn't Want You - redpoint