Just wanted to shout out the Bad Ass Roof. This roof is a good training ground for learning how to climb on the pockety roofs of NAZ. Unfortunately, there seems to be a bunch of videos showcasing how to climb it in bad style, so I just wanted to post some beta videos on the the three most classic lines here (Bad Ass, Big Block, and Stinky Ass) for those who might need it. And for reference, no- you do not need to throw heel hooks around the lip, or dyno to pockets. The faster, and more simple looking your beta is on this, the better. For better or worse, style matters here.
Bad Ass (V5)
Bad Ass - Stinky Linkup/ Big Block (V6)
Stinky Ass (V7)
I'll eventually work in the linkup Bad Ass, Stinky, Mother F***** which starts on Stinky, then downclimbs Bad Ass, and then busts out left on the V2 exit.
School has started again, so I haven't been able to update as much. That being said, I made pretty good on my promise to myself to try my projects.
Two weeks ago, I made an early trip with Bobby back up to the draw. We initially went so that Bobby could try out his fisheye lens attachment with his phone, and so that he could give his project (which he sent as of this week), Eatmeater a few goes. I got on Carnivore Direct, and to my surprise, stuck the move to the sloper that I thought was impossible for me once I adjusted the foot positioning. I then continued on and made even more progress, eventually getting into the position for the rodeo jump move. I now have some motivation that this line can actually go.
Improbable sloper move
Bobby sticking the sloper on the other side
Eyeing down the sloper
I also then did an ascent of the Eatmeater problem in the rain, which is quite epic, as the monsoons came in as I was climbing, and there were some moments where thunder synced up with the time that I grabbed the holds. I've attached the video here:
Thor approved of my beta on Eatmeater
The Saturday after that, I came back to Carnivore Direct after showing some Phoenix friends the draw with a resolve to go for the jump move. I got closer, and I found myself yelling in order to get me to try hard.
Trying hard (and eating shit)
Carnivore Direct is a very interesting climb because of this. Usually, most of my climbing is quite tick-tacky, with minimal amounts of sound. However, with this line, the moves are much larger and powerful, so the usual approach doesn't work. Instead, a much more aggressive temperament is required, so a willingness to huck and pray is required. I thought that I wouldn't enjoy the line because of this aspect, but it turns out that I do enjoy the powerful movement and slightly gamble-ly nature of the line. The moves feel so improbable to me that every time you pull on, just linking the moves have a very addictive nature, and the dyno is the cherry on top. It's basically a cheap way to fly, and the freedom you feel from giving it all you have is intoxicatingly fun. I can't wait to get back on it, but for now the Receptionist has my attention.
The Tuesday of this week, I went up north again with Noah, this time with a half day spent at the draw, and a half day spent belaying him on his project, God Walks Among Us. It's nice just going up with a small group, where each person supports the other on their project. On that day, I spent the morning working on Receptionist. I made much better links on this session than I had in the past few months, which is surprising considering how bad the conditions are in August. Receptionist is a power endurance 10-move roof that clocks in around 7C+/V10. None of the moves are particularly hard, but the business comes in linking up all of the moves. Personally, I have three cruxes. The first is move 4, which revolves around having a left hand driving up to the big pocket pinch. The second is move 7, which is a left hand toss to the "phone" sloper. The final crux is move 10, which is a mini-dyno to a right hand huck to a jug from the left hand on the "phone" sloper and a right hand on a three-quarter pad undercling standing on some marginal feet. I've attached the videos of the links below.
Moving through moves 1-6
Moving through moves 3-7
Moving through moves 6-10
The weather looks like it's only going to get better from here on out, so I think I'll keep on trying to get these done before the winter. I've also been eyeing a few more lines I would like to take on this winter in the desert when the forest is snowed in, so it looks like life is about to get a bit more busy now.
About two to three months ago, Adam became Atlas and took on Earth, a 35-foot, V5 vertical highball boulder problem, at Kelly Canyon with the assistance of the support crew of Kevin, Leon, Sophia, and Chris.
Gear used in this ascent include a top rope setup, pads, and lots of confidence.
Good work team! Thank you for letting me create stills from your footage.
I sometimes hate making plans. Time is precious and that means when you commit to one thing, you give up the opportunity to do another. In this specific case, it's another missed opportunity to go up north when it is not raining. The weather forecast has shown inclement weather all week long until this very morning, so I was not expecting an opportunity to get out of Phoenix this morning. That being said, it's not like I was planning on getting out this Saturday. I was planning on catching up with friends later this afternoon so I gave up my day today to go outside. Life happens though, and plans fell through- so here I am again at the coffee shop.
When I woke up this morning, I was scrolling through some old photos of the previous season of climbing in the desert (Superstitions & Oak Flat) and forest (Priest Draw) taken by my good friend Joe Durling of various people, and so I'll share them on here. I may update this page with more photos as I discover more of them, but without further ado, here they are:
Sav starting the send train on the Mother of Invention
Joe continuing the send train of Mother of Invention
Yours truly finishing up the send train of Mother of Invention!
Carlos defying gravity on The Flying Dutchman
Kevin learning how to toe-down on Whiskey Tango
Anthony with his modus operandi of cutting loose on the Subway
Campusing on Whiskey Tango as Connor gives an attentive spot
Topping out another lap on Whiskey Tango
Austin dismounting the tall unnamed 5.7
When the topo doesn't tell you about Arizonian land sharks...
The Rail
Eyeing down the Public Enemy
Hey wait a minute, I've seen this photo somewhere before!
Sloper slapping on the Receptionist
Matt trying to argue that the topout of Bat Cave is scary, and I'm not having it
Matt giving Bat Cave the juice as I give a classic Flagstaff spot
Ever gone backwards on the Bat Cave?
Reverse Bat Cave finisher
Bobby on the Sufferfish
Can't wait to start getting my own captures as we get out to new boulders and areas...
I'm back in the coffee shop (Infusion Coffee and Tea) again after a hiatus of 2 weeks from the shop writing about my most recent trip up north the past Saturday.
Unlike the previous Saturday's, there has been two differences. First, there is a respite from the rain. Second, I was not as psyched as I usually was, which is odd considering my past behavior and relationship with the draw. If I dive deep enough into it, it seems like I can't believe I made it as far as I did. Carnivore already took a decent emotional chunk out of me that I felt pushing my limits further will result in me tempting fate. Furthermore, with how quickly Eatmeater went down, things only seemed too good to be true. There's also something to be also said with the rest of the remaining climbs that I have left at the draw. For a long time, I felt like I've been playing catchup with those who've come before me. But now, it feels like I'm treading into territory that I shouldn't be in since so many strong climbers before me have gotten shut down on it, and that I should stay in my lane. Maybe I'm misguided about this, and I'm actually getting better and stronger, and therefore I'm ready for these new projects.
Anyways, since Flagstaff has been underneath constant rain, I haven't been up as much as I would like. Maybe it's a good thing, the monsoons have made the draw look much prettier again. Maybe it isn't, because I've become lazy with lack of access. Perhaps I should make the trip out here, even in rain.
The draw getting a new makeover
The main reason I came up here was that Bobby finally has his working hours sorted again, and that we were able to session together in the hinterlands on his projects for the first time in two to three months. I don't have any particular projects in the hinterlands, as I feel like they are out of my league, but maybe it's time that I start treating them like a serious option. He, however, was coming up later in the day, so that was how I found myself warming up again on the Bat Cave warming up with two Georgia transplants, Jordan and Katie, and their dog Kolby. I also ran into two Tucson locals, Byron and his wife- who I met previously when climbing with Evan at Pufferfish.
I initially planned on working the Street Fighter traverse, but every time I'm at the draw, I'm not in a particular mood to go and throw down on those pockets, which is funny considering how often I climb Anorexic, Meateater, and Bad Ass. Therefore, I followed Jordan and Katie to my usual haunt at the Anorexic Roof, where I did another lap on Anorexic, with modified beta. I ended up keeping my heel toe cam as I make the big move. Meanwhile, Jordan was working on Carnivore Direct. Carnivore Direct is a very straightforward, powerful climb that involves a contrived sequence of dynoing to the banana hueco hold from a compression position involving an improbable sloper. I've attached a video of local Flagstaff strongman, Joel Unema, climbing the line.
Rodeo jump!
I've initially dismissed Carnivore Direct as a climb that I could do, as I believed the slap to the sloper to be too large for me. That being said, I surprised myself by being able to grab the sloper, but not compress and stick the move, so it is possible that this climb is in my box and wheelhouse. I just need to adjust my left foot beta so that I can stick the sloper. Additionally, having done Carnivore, I only have three moves to stick. The first is the sloper slap. The second is the move from the right hand pocket to the pinch. The third, and final move is the jump to the banana hold. Typing it out now, it seems so easy. I should make a goal to try this line every time I'm underneath this roof, alongside making a visit to the Receptionist whenever I'm back up there.
I then made the journey back to the main parking area, where I met up with Bobby and we traveled to Choss Roof via Woody Mountain Road. Rogers Lake is in full bloom!
Bobby is very stoked on Choss Roof and his projects of Choss Origins and Chosse Posse. For me, Choss Roof still looks very big and I'm not very confident in my sequences on it. That being said, I also don't make too many trips out here since I'm not sure if my vehicle can. If my car actually makes it out to Choss Roof, then maybe I'll start coming here more often. Bobby warmed up on some moves of Choss Origins, and made some good links on Chosse Posse with his new-found beta to stick the bear-claw hold. I made some decent progress as well by sticking the first few moves, but the move to the big pocket still eludes me.
Bobby warming up on the "good" holds on Choss Origins as I give a classic "spot"
Going to the first move on Chosse Posse
Going to the second move
Bobby sticking the first big throw
Bobby getting ready for the left hand to the bear claw
Double toehooks for days!
To the big pocket as I'm ready for the inevitable swing
With some form of success, we decided to call it good on Choss Roof and decided to make the journey to Tony's Roof in the Gray Havens. It turns out that I was right on the money the last time I was out there, and that Tony's Roof was in the picture I posted. Bobby and I ended up getting down there and put some work on the line! Tony's Roof is a good-sized roof, in between the size of Bad Ass and Anorexic, with a single good line. Style wise, it is a Priest Draw roof with the colors of Cherry Canyon, so it ended up being a good fit for me!
An area filled with the sleeping giants
She's beautiful
With slightly thrashed skin, and assistance from a single beta video, I was able to piece together all the moves for this line. When I do this line, I think I will have a better understanding of it, but this has a feeling of the bad ass roof with Anorexic Sacrifice levels of tension without the heel-toe cam. I gave a hail-mary burn at the end of the day, which I ended up punting on, but I think this will go down the next time I'm back out there.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
The dying light
Although it didn't completely fix my motivation problem, Saturday's session might have helped me get going again. Realistically, I know that I won't get instantaneously better, and that getting motivated again will require some time, especially now that I'm aware of my lack of confidence in trying the harder lines. It's so strange knowing that the lines that seemed so far out of reach are actually well within reach and that all I need to do is open the door and take the first step. This realization, combined with some new thoughts about body tension/how to pull on holds (outwards, not downwards!)/how to improve my climbing, I feel much more confident that I'll be regain my fire.
Recent conditions have still been poor for the roofs, so I've been setting, training, and creating stills from my footage, which are shown below. As an update from my last post, my hangboarding routine was not as effective as I wanted it to be, so I'm going to adjust the focus.
I think my sessions will be based off of the following principles:
1) 100 hand move warmups
2) Focus primarily on on 40 degree overhanging boulders to build up finger strength, and especially focus on maintaining tension with the left side of the body (non-dominant) i.e. keeping chest and shoulders close to the the wall when reaching! Roof projects come secondary after overhanging boulders.
3) Limit day (work on projects) or volume day (perfect repeats with good tension)
4) Roof circuit cooldown
That being said, as of right now, the weather is looking dry this weekend, so a trip may be in order. Anyways... to the pictures!
