Sandstone & Limestone Pt. 1

Tis' the winter season...

Israil Direct PC: Kim E.

Habitat for Humanity PC: Kim E.

Device Ignitor Left

Hobo Habitat PC: Kim E./Shelli W.

Hobo Habitat PC: Kim E./Shelli W.

Alien Baby 

Unknown Crimp Line 

Moe's Valley

I just got back from a week-long trip to Moe's Valley in St. George, Utah, which is, according to my memory, the longest trip I've ever been on. The only other one that I can recall in recent memory is my trip to Joe's Valley for Thanksgiving last year, where I spent 4 days climbing with my friend, Justin, from Colorado. 

In order to prepare for the trip, I planned on getting my skin ready for some sandstone so I planned on doing some climbing on the sandstone at the Anvils in the weeks coming up to the trip. Unfortunately, I was only able to get one session in, seeing that as I took a bad landing off of the Alien Baby boulder and managed to bruise my buttcheek, which was a real pain in the ass *ba dum tss* for the next two weeks. 

As for the one session at the anvils, it wasn't all too bad. I went there with Anthony, Chris, and Will, a local from flagstaff, and we played around on the classics in the area. I managed to finish off some goals I had for the area, Alien Baby Left, and some weird crimp line next to Mars Attacks. I also played around with the foot-first beta on Alien Baby Right. 

Fortunately by the time I was driving to Moe's, my injury had healed up pretty nicely. I was staying at a place with my friends Kim and Shelli, who both had been to the area before. I didn't have too many expectations but I did know that Moe's did have a few sandstone roofs, so I was interested in trying those. I haven't climbed roofs or anything steep in a while so I was going to mostly treat it as a vacation to get back into shape and assess how I felt about the area in comparison to the climbing in Arizona. Shelli was injured, so she was a very supportive member while Kim and I toured around the area while meeting other familiar (and other friends who we haven't seen in years). Although I did go into the trip with the intention to not do any roof climbing, the trip ended up being a roof tour of sorts around the sandbox with both of us putting down some of the area classics. A video of the spray-fest is shown below. 

Low-tier climbing, high-tier spray

My opinion of Moe's is quite mixed, but then again, I'm also more of a forest guy, anyway. 

On the positives:

• The variety of climbing is much higher in Moe's at an accessible grade (V5-V8), so there are plentiful amounts of crimp-fests, compression blocks, dynos, etc... It is very easy to go from one boulder to another, so there's always something to do. 
• The approach and access to the climbing is quite easy to get to. The guidebook is available and there are plenty of online resources and documentation about the area. 
• (Not exactly a positive in my eyes)- the climbing is quite straightforward. None of the lines I ended up trying took more than a few goes, including how to figure out moves. Most holds and grips on the boulders we tried did not leave much to the imagination. 
• Landings are much better than what we have in Arizona

Downsides:

• The climbing, although straightforward, was very awkward and didn't feel like it flowed as much. 
• The movement felt a bit uninspired and uncreative. I felt like I definitely didn't have to use my brain as much to do sequences as I would have at home.
• Most classics seemed to be morphology classics.
• The sandstone here could be quite abrasive and would shred the skin quite quickly. I'm mostly referring to some of the boulders in Mario land. 
• Too much sand. "It's coarse and get's everywhere- Anakin Skywalker". I enjoy the forests a bit more.

Overall, would I go again? Probably! There were a few problems I would like to give more efforts on that I wasn't able to this time around like Gription and Israil Direct. I do enjoy driving and taking in the sights of the massive American desert. The sight and vastness of it truly never ceases to amaze. It's always nice spending time out in a different area and seeing what else is out there, though it's also hard to beat the feeling of having good rock close to home and quieter sessions with close friends. There's plenty of good rock and company here (if you know where to look 😉)

On the way home

Cemetery Wandering

Went wandering around the cemetery a week or two ago, scoping out some lines I would like to try this winter. Some yard work might need to be done for the approach...

The Helmet 

The Orb

Final Cut 

Crystal Ball

Fallen Angel

Desert Choss

Stayed a bit local in November to grab some low-hanging fruit. I'm not super stoked about doing these, but it's something new. As for actual things of interest, the window of opportunity is closing, but as long as the forest roads are still open, I'm going to try. 

On the upside, I'm going to Moe's in about 2 weeks, so I'm looking forward to some nice sandstone after this fiasco of a fall season and semester. 

Two heartbreakers from the fall

When I lived in Boston, I went out every April to watch an event with my friends called the Boston Marathon. Funnily enough, I happened to live close enough to a section of this race called "heartbreak hill", which although is not a very large hill, is often at the point of the marathon distance where the glycogen stores will be depleted, or as the wikipedia article has so eloquently put it, a phenomenon in which marathoners refer to as "hitting the wall". Funnily enough, I was thinking about this on my drives home from the gym, and thus, I'm inspired to write something. 

Although I'm not much of a runner, I'm experiencing the same phenomenon with two of my fall projects. The past Saturday, I went to Truffle Shuffle, and I wasn't able to get it done as quickly as I hoped to within a day. All in all, I shouldn't be as disappointed as I felt, as I accomplished the goals for the session (doing all the moves, linking portions, doing overlapping links, and topping out), but punting, no matter what, still sucks. The real disappointment, however, was that I ended up getting a bleeding and gushing flapper the size of my pad on my right pinky the third time I pulled off the ground. This said flapper hindered the crux toss and I fell there, or right at the very ending for almost a total of 6-7 times. The said flapper is now on the mend, but I have doubts that it'll heal in time before the forest roads closed, but my fingers are crossed. Additionally, this flapper means that I'll more than likely be sitting on the sidelines while the rest of my friends are busy enjoying the good temperatures by climbing, which makes this a double whammy for both personal and social aspects. At least I can focus more on school and work, which also have their own projects. It's just a fact of life that even if you're not projecting rock climbs, you're projecting one thing or another. 

On my way to punt off the gaston jug on Truffle Shuffle

The other project that's been giving me some trouble is GWP. In a similar vein, it is also a skin issue, and I have not been able to get back since having that unfortunate foot pop a month ago. Hopefully I can also get another shot at it. 

On my way to have a foot pop off on the last huck on GWP

For a while, I avoided my usual process of taking on projects i.e. writing down the beta, and visualizing it. I've been writing them off as maybe too easy to require the written paper, but perhaps I was just too afraid to admit that these two would probably require more mental and physical effort than I was hoping (or willing) to give.  I've now begrudgingly admitted that my ego did not like the fact that the effort for these climbs is more involved than I initially anticipated, and now a new problem has arisen. I suspect that my process for doing climbs isn't working, and I have no idea how to tackle it. I'll probably find a solution at some point but for now, while my skin is on the mend, I wrote down the beta for these two climbs, so I guess I'm taking these seriously now. I hope I have the chance to get back to these two and give them an honest chance before the roads close. At least, at that point, I don't have to wonder about any "what-ifs" while waiting for the rock to dry.  

Fall + Winter Goals

It's been a while since I set up a goal list. For the last two or three years, I've been pretty focused on limestone roofs, so I'm in the mood to experience a new style. That being said, I compiled a list of some climbs that I would like to do to keep me accountable to this goal. For a while, I've been avoiding it due to physical weaknesses, but I finally have my eyes set on learning the sandstone that Sedona offers. I have doubts that I would be able to take off everything in the list, but I am most interested in cleaning up the GWP, Truffle Shuffle, Cocaine Nosejob, Berlin, and Beast from the east since, with Cocaine Nosejob as the exception, those are lines I've tried in the past and failed to complete. As for new climbs, I would be very interested in the lines at Grasshopper Point. 

Fall

Truffle Shuffle - Cherry Canyon, Flagstaff

Sectumsempra (George Weasley Project)

Cocaine Nosejob - Howard Draw, Flagstaff

Lolita - Priest Draw, Flagstaff

Winter

Alien Baby Left - Anvils, Sedona

Compression - Anvils, Sedona

Berlin - Bikini Wall, Sedona

Beast from the east - Bikini Wall, Sedona

Happy Puppy - Grasshopper Point, Sedona

Stuff Shootin' - Grasshopper Point, Sedona

DiHedArete - Grasshopper Point, Sedona

Roof Arete - Grasshopper Point, Sedona 

Facelift - Groom Creek, Prescott 

Mainline - Groom Creek, Prescott

Mini Slashface - South Mountain, Phoenix

Misadventures of Captain Stabbums - Superstitions, Superior

The Orb - Superstitions, Superior

Other climbs in Diablo Canyon, Hueco, RR, Joes and Moes

4 Weeks of Fall

It's still a bit hot. I've been circuiting the draw once a week, sometimes doing some new things, but most of the times running laps. The current routine is to warm up on whatever strikes the fancy, and then do the two mandatory things:

1. Do the mandatory rodeo jump move on Carnivore Direct. The way I exit afterwards is arbitrary.
2. Climb The Receptionist/The Girl.

Mostly, I've been topping out The Receptionist, since the climb forces a more physical style, but I may end up switching over to The Girl. I've finally did R God is Neither, but the video quality is quite poor. I've been trying Lolita and BK Broiler, but I don't have too high expectations for either. I'm more psyched to work on things that aren't roofs, but with school in the midst, I think it's important to get to things that are logistically easy. 

In other news, I helped establish a roof boulder! Bobby found a nice one a few weeks ago out near Snakebait, and we (the roof hunter Bobby, the strongman Josh, the legend Matt Hoch, the designer of most of the beta at the draw, and I, your resident punter-in-chief) went out to put some work on it. Within a few hours we cleaned the holds, built the landing, established the various methods, made it go, and now it is dubbed The Pod Racer. It is fun being able to apply the skills we learned climbing on established roofs on new territory. Fall is now settling in, but for some reason, temperatures are still high, and skin is thin. We might go to the Burrow next week. I hope my body and brain is ready. 

Anyways, here's the picture and video dump:

Learning the style on Lolita

Sharing the style on The Receptionist

Bicycles on Lolita 

Emily enjoying the style on Badass

Bobby cleaning up The Pod Racer

Alternative method on The Pod Racer. Josh and Hoch on the spot.

Bobby developing the first method on The Pod Racer

GWP

New things:

Laps:

The siege of GWP

Progress on the GWP continues. 

I managed to make it all the way to the end of the roof. In true fashion, I managed to punt the last toss to the jug. Although unfortunate, it's partly a good sign since that's how most of my projects go. I was also able to figure out some better beta and sequencing for the climb. Despite being a roof boulder, the climbing is unlike that of the roofs at the draw. The roofs at the draw usually allow for decent opposition, as you can twist and maneuver your way around the pockets. Additionally, the climbs usually have features that allow the usage of your thumbs, which means the grip types can vary a lot more. On this roof, the pockets are better, but requires more dangling and straight-forward, brute methods. I did not find many opportunities to engage my thumbs on this climb, and it feels more of just simply open-handing 3-finger and 2-finger pockets. Therefore, skin often will wear quite deep in the same spot. My fingers are quite sore and I'm focused on healing them. The tactics to climb this roof are also akin to what I've done on Mars Roof. I believe I will need to use more developed route tactics to eventually extend the lines. 

I think my work on the GWP has carried over to some of my easier projects. The past Saturday, I climbed with Noah, Paul and Nora. At Anorexic Roof, I was able to do the Meateater and Anorexic Sacrifice exits from the Carnivore Direct jump. This is nice, as all that's left is the line leading out the BK Broiler exit. At Puzzle Box Roof, Paul led the way with a quick send of The Hermit, and Noah was also finally able to put it to rest. For the first time, I was able to take link R God is Neither through the crux to the last move. I think the reason I was able to do the crux on this line is due to the similarities it shares with a portion of the GWP. Unfortunately, I ran out of juice after doing the lines on the Anorexic roof, so I was not able to get it done.  Temperatures are finally falling, so I hope to take advantage of it soon.

#cantevendoit

Here are some other pictures from weekday night sessions in Superior. 

The GWP and Carnivore Direct

The weather finally took mercy on us and gave us cooler temperatures. I climbed at Oak Flat a week or two ago and did a thing. Over the past weekend, Bobby and I went to scope out a new sector. Bobby began working on one of the established lines, which climbs straight out from a roof into a nicely sized headwall while I was intrigued by what seemed to be an obvious, but undone exit. Due to the naming theme of the roof, I dub this new challenge the George Weasley Project (GWP for short). This one is, from my estimation, about 20 moves long with 13 increasingly-difficult and sharper and smaller roof pockets into a heartbreaker throw, to a tricky exit onto the headwall, and a topout on hero jugs. Progress was good, as we did all the moves and were making links. We also went looking for some fresh rock. We found generally featured aretes and prows, but not much in the cantilevered limestone sheets. We did stumble across a few nicely sized roofs, but did not find many holds underneath them. Onto the next, I guess. 

On Sunday, my arms suddenly grew 3 inches and I finally gave it to myself and sent Carnivore Direct, albeit not in the most efficient manner. Hooray. I can't wait to do all the exits from CD now. Thank you to Will and Ben for the support. I also went to do some sick sport climbing at the Peaks with Evan and friends. Although my bouldering legs are not suited for the approach, I enjoyed the rock and movement there. 

Starting the GWP. PC: Bobby

Carnivore Direct, PC: Will M.

Crimping down on one of the Blissium variants

Bobby working the topout

Circuits and projects in the works

My prediction ended up being correct and I ended up repeating The Receptionist again the past weekend. Afterwards, I decided to go for it and try my first attempt at a circuit based off of Rampage. The circuit has most definitely been done before, and consists of the following climbs: Anorexic Sacrifice, Stinky Ass, The Receptionist, Carnivore, Wifebeater (Big Slaps), Drop Zone Left, The Egyptian. However, I learned that Drop Zone Left has now broken, and so I'm ambivalent on whether to try the left-variant or the direct version, Drop Zone Center. I feel like they would require about the same amount of work. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do the full circuit, since 1)I haven't done the last three lines, and 2) there wasn't enough daylight. Nevertheless, the circuit is still fun in its incomplete form and is a personal upgrade in whatever circuiting I did prior. I can't wait to do it in its entirety. 

Here's a video. 

Speaking of things I can't do (yet), I also pulled on the Puma Prey, a relatively new roof in the Lake Mary area. It is unlike some of the Priest Draw roofs, since 1) the line only has 5 punchy moves, and 2) it definitely has some teeth, gave my right middle finger a nice flapper. 

I'm ready to eat some dirt so I'm probably going to focus on Carnivore Direct (again) and Lolita. 

Oh, here's a video of Rampage (the interesting part starts at 26:47 😉) 

The Three Exits

Priest Draw is cool in that the skills you learn from the easiest climbs build upon each other as you try harder and harder climbs. At the end of it is Anorexic Sacrifice, which takes a bit of power, pain tolerance, and general roof finesse. After that, it feels like you have the majority of the skills required to work on any boulder problem at the draw. The Anorexic Roof is great for testing fundamentals. 

I haven't climbed at Anorexic Roof in a month or so, so I went back the past Saturday to circuit the lines to build up fitness as temperatures drop. I was able to up my record last year and do a pure ascent (no falls) of the 3 exits (Anorexic Sacrifice, Meateater, Carnivore). I was also able to spend some time at Mars Roof the past weekend and worked out new beta to make The Receptionist higher percentage, and made good progress on Lolita. It turns out that having the front 3 fingers in the teacup hold makes the toss to the phone on The Receptionist much more feasible. I think it may be time for a repeat. My left ring finger still has a blood blister from Saltine Crackwhore. Here's a video of the 3 exits, and a little extra. 

Rain & Shine 2023

The only constant thing in life is change. But the funny thing, as much as we like to attribute changes up to luck, we still have to throw ourselves in a direction first. Or as Jean Paul Satre elegantly puts it, "People are like dice. We throw ourselves in a direction of our choosing."

It's a strangely fitting quote that summarizes the summer thus far. In keeping with my promise of taking it easy, I threw myself into 3 directions.  

1. I started reading again (it's been a while)
2. Started listening to music I didn't think I would enjoy (and finding out that I do) 
3. No trying hard boulders (this rule might have been broken a few times)

I'm enjoying the feeling of being tossed around by the winds of change, or at least, some parts of it. I went to Vegas for a wedding (fun!) and spent time on the strip (cursed, air in the forest is so much fresher). But I won $24 (not cursed). Did some limestone bouldering (Cursed and not cursed. I climbed, but holds were seeping and I was on a time crunch). 

Reading has been going great. I've gotten some great recommendations from friends and it rekindled something I thought was gone. Thanks, education system.

I've discovered that good music just comes out of nowhere. Sometimes, you just got to stop looking and open your ears.

As for climbing, not bashing my head against limit projects is refreshing, but I'm getting the itch to tackle something harder. I did a few new "harder" climbs over the past 2-3 weeks but, but it hasn't been satisfying as they went down more quickly than expected, as they weren't climbs that I initially had my eyes on, but rather were just something in the area with relatively straight-forward powerful beta and low complexity regarding the method and nuances.

It's obvious in hindsight, but sometimes you just have to f what the group thinks and go to what you want. The past weekend at the draw with Joe Durling, I pulled on what is probably the best named boulder in the draw, Saltine Crackwhore, an old project of mine. I first pulled on last summer, before I sent The Receptionist, and never touched it after dry-firing from slick holds.  It's a greasy lowball that has powerful and interesting beta with a difficult first move. I wasn't able to do the first move last summer, but I could in a few goes this season, and the possibility of it going has made me feel much more alert than I have been this whole summer. It even bruised my finger, which is a good sign. All my favorite boulders have been ones that physically thrash me. I hope this trend of finding some burly and beta-intensive climbs continues. 

And anyways, pictures and videos. Keep an eye out for a new NAZ bouldering video coming to you soon ;) Credits to Joe Durling for some sports photos of Saltine Crackwhore

Saltine Crackwhore 

Clamp-Hockety Victory Swing

Futzing around on The Egyptian (Action Deluxe)

Three Weeks in July

Making due on my promise of not trying all that hard. Occasional sendage and mostly puntage. The heat wave is dying slowly. 

Clampdown

Going to the tufa on Clampdown

Bird in da hood

Evan on Truffle Shuffle

Summertime Suffering on Sufferfish

East Clear Creek DWS day

Hot, hot, hot.

Surprise, surprise, Arizona is hot during the summer, even if you're not in the valley. The valley is currently about to reach a disgusting high of 117 degree Fahrenheit, and Flagstaff is supposed to hit up to 95 degrees F. To no one's surprise, numerous forests around the state are on fire, and the firefighters are out trying to fight it. I'm not educated nor am I well-versed at all in this topic, but I think that this year seems a bit better than last summer. Around this time last year, I remember news of an idiot burning toilet paper instead of packing it out near Hobo Jungle, and the result was an extremely massive fire very close to Flagstaff, which also made the flooding effects of monsoons in the area that much more drastic last summer. It also had the unfortunate side effect of delaying a lot of climbing related plans, but that's a minor concern. Anyways, it seems to me that no one is in a hurry to create an incident of similar magnitude this year *fingers crossed* so I guess that's a positive. You can check AZ's emergency bulletin here.

Anyways, more on a topic that I'm more familiar with: Climbing. It's only been about a week since I last updated, but it feels like a lot has happened. Various friends have been taking down their projects, and it's been fun just to be along for the ride, so here comes all the words:

The day before the fourth of July, I spent the night (and subsequent day) at the draw with Kim W. and Colton L, where I gave them the tour around the area. They both got their first taste of the draw on The Fin, and I decided to lap Meateater. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that flipping my feet position for the bicycle, as shown in the picture below, ended up making the problem feel so much easier than it ever did. Climbs are worth repeating. I think we spend too much time figuring out the dance on rock, to only do it once. I then flailed on Carnivore Direct, and then we went back to camp, had ramen, and that was that. The next day, we wandered around the draw, climbing some of the vertical boulder problems, and then endured a character-building session at Mars Roof with Evan S.

Yours truly taking a lap on Meateater. Photo by Colton L.

There was a decent amount of rampaging on Saturday. On Friday night, I ended up camping with Evan and Noah W. at the draw, and upon Saturday morning, Evan and I trudged out to Mars Roof, where I was able to finish my vanity project, which is to climb a line on Mars Roof with all 3 of my roof climbing shoes. I was able to cinch a repeat of The Girl on my 3rd attempt of the day. Now I know that if I ever can't do something, it's most definitely me, and not the shoe. We then hurried over to Purple Sage Rd. to meet Bobby, who wanted to head out to Tony's Roof. The roof is best described as Priest Draw like movement on Cherry Canyon like stone. The line has some front lever-ish like movements, and then eases up to a finish on hero jugs. Here's a video:

Bobby was able to cruise the line, getting it done on his first go from the bottom, nice work Bobby! I was able to repeat shortly thereafter, and Evan, who was suffering from a finger-related injury, was able to figure out the sequence. We then examined a few other lines on the roof: 1) a possible right exit on the right side of the roof via a crack that starts at the back, 2) A right entrance into Tony's Roof using a Floorpie-esque pod and a very cool foot-first move, and 3) Tony's Roof Direct heading into the right exit. If you fell exiting at the right, it would be a big fall, but it should be protectable. I'm personally more psyched on the right entrance and the direct line, while Bobby seemed more excited by the roof crack. 

Bobby cruising Tony's Roof

Taking another lap. All photos of me from a video by Evan S.

New beta, going open hips instead of closed. Much better.

A skull (near the roof)

Shows the way

The rest of the day was spent working projects and supporting friends. We found that 1) The Salton Sea could be treated as a (sharp) spray-wall of sorts for roof climbing. There are so many exits and variations on the boulder, that it could be used as good training if we were not feeling up for the bigger/taller/harder roofs. There are so many possible lines. 2) Josh was able to take out Clampdown, the king line of the Underhill. I figured out a possible method on End to End. 

Video from Bobby

Although I had done what felt like very little climbing on Saturday, I was basically on my feet for 18 hours. Nevertheless, I did a small solo session at Mars Roof the next morning, where I made progress on one of my projects, The Girl from Ipanema, but I was too tired to give any solid efforts in the suffocating heat (not to mention, a lack of pads). In order to not have it feel like a waste of a day, I did some fitness laps on the Anorexic Roof and Badass Roof with Kim E., Shelli, Sav, and Kevin F, and that was that. 

I'm still quite sore. With how difficult temperatures are making sessions right now, I'm thinking of taking it easy for the next month or so. Time will tell how well this works out. 

Woods Wandering

Went out to the Underhill with the crew and took down Hockety Pockety. It's a beautiful climb that requires a variety of techniques and requires decent precision and timing. We ended up needing a ladder to brush off the top, as it was quite mossy. Give your kudos to your spotters and developers, for without their efforts, the ascent more than likely would not happen. Afterwards, Bobby, Evan and I went out and wandered around the forest looking for roofs. Nothing very notable, but it is a very pretty hike. We then finished the day off at the draw with some laps on She Lives, quite possibly the best V6 in the area. 

I've been on a lookout for some long roof lines, other than some of the more notable ones (End to End, I'm looking at you). Bobby has found some that look quite fresh, and I would like to get out there to dig it out a bit, build out a landing, and start making it a reality. 

Holds. 

Unfortunately low, but the landing can be dug out.

Salton Sea in the Fernow Draw

Would be nice to climb it out from the left all the way out to the right on the crack exit. I estimate at minimum 60 feet of roof climbing. The Fernow Draw is quite possibly my favorite place to walk around and take in the sights. 

Bobby examining a slight possibility, but it is a dud. We spotted a potential compression line, but probably not worth the approach. 

Limestone everywhere. 

Will probably be out at the draw tonight and tomorrow. More training. It's hot.