ABS

Posted on October 31, 2011 by mdawg

I.am.wrecked.

Climbing outside multiple days during the week and every day of the weekend made me believe that I was actually in decent climbing shape. The thought of an indoor competition made me laugh fearlessly. How dare thee holds compare to the rugged foot smears and razor crimps of Grandmother, BRB, 221, Lost Cove, or elsewhere? Little did I know…

The comp was at a brand new gym created in record time for the ABS comp. These guys worked hard to get the gym up and ready as well as focusing on putting up some killer new problems. The first thing I saw when walking into the gym was a roof wall with awesome holds and a severely steep angle. Pssyyyched! The gym was packed and I was unsure how everyone was going to get the chance to climb everything they needed in the short amount of time. But our group of friends had fun and got on a variety of sick problems. We paced ourselves and each other, supported each other on our harder climbs, and towards the end didn’t want to stop when the comp ended, so kept climbing. Brennen won first in mens overall after I harrassed him to do it in the first place (you’re welcome!!) and I got first in womens. It was so cool to see some really strong youth girls too who look like they are headed for great things.

The next day we got a late start for climbing at Rumbling Bald, but the weather was absolutely gorgeous and the area was nothing like the high country. The trees were lush with a variety of colors and a perfect amount of sun shined throughout the afternoon. We took our time warming up and having Pratt get used to his new Evolv predators. (They are an awesome shoe, we now both have them!!) We ran some laps on the unknown V3 pictures below and headed down the trail to try some harder things. It’s a funny feeling when you forget or don’t comprehend how truly wrecked you are, so some fightin’ words escaped our lips as we couldn’t understand why we weren’t sending. With limited daylight left, we decided to play around and have fun with the last bit of light, and admired the views and trees the entire hike down to the car. Stopped at a vegetarian restaurant in Asheville before heading back (DELICIOUS) and prepared ourselves for the week. Was an awesome trip and I couldn’t be more grateful for the awesome friends and climbing crew I have this year!

Rumbling Bald after the comp, can you say wrecked?!

Gratitude

Posted on October 30, 2011 by mdawg

I cringed at the thought of walking home from my job at the climbing wall with two crash pads tied together on my back. I was hungry, tired and knew that a half hour walk with that much weight on my shoulders was going to be the worst case scenario for a wrecked back.

So I thought very hard as I tied my pads together about the relationship between the things I do and my values or reasons for doing them. I pushed open the door and took my first step outside into the cold, inhaling that familiar chilly air I had loved earlier on in the day while climbing. I slowed my pace as I slowed my thoughts and continued through town and up the long hill towards my apartment. Would I rather drive this route or own a car at all? Would I rather not lug around two pads for half an hour and get to my destinations with 1/8 of the work? I thought about how much I love exercise, how I love challenges, and how good it feels to work hard, even if it be dragging extra weight up a hill. With so many people feeling it necessary to have and drive a car around, would I really want to contribute another car to this small town where really kind friends get out to boulder fields daily and walks are no longer than an hour to most places? No, not at all. I would rather carpool and contribute gas money, alcohol, or food to good friends who drive than add another car to the community. I continued up the hill, stopping to say hi to a friend who just happened to see an enormous box-shaped figure underneath the streetlamp. Would I rather be home more quickly? Is this an issue of time? From the middle of a barely lit street, I looked up and saw an incredible view of the stars, cheesy as it may sound, and felt an overwhelming glow of gratitude. I would never give up an opportunity to slow down and notice that, not for all 30 minutes of saved time especially. The time to walk and reflect allowed me to reach a new depth of gratitude for not having to rush from place to place or from one thing to the next, which sadly has become so much the norm in our lives. I turned the corner and made the walk up the final hill. What of uncertainty and security? Feeling sore, hungry, tired..are these not things I would rather trade for fullness, reserved energy, and rest? And I chuckled as I thought of how much I despise the latter. Feeling beat and worked after a day of learning and climbing, having the body used deliberately and completely for the day releases no greater feeling that I know of. After a day of dissatisfaction with my climbing and complaining after many boulder attempts, I would like to say that I am truly grateful for every part of the day. My complaints are insincere; I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chugga Chugga woo woo!

Posted on October 26, 2011 by mdawg

Send train today on Novacaine led by Kelley Burns himself! This climb has been labeled “worst boulder problem ever” by me and a few others, but truth be told, 75% of that resentment came from an inability to do the problem, the other 25% came from the fact that a dyno was smack dab in the middle of the long problem and it had shut me down multiple days. Kelley and I were determined, and stuck the dyno two days ago at the end of a session. We went back today and both sent second go. Thank freakin buddha, because as much as I love getting pumped out and punting off dynos, I was glad to check this off my list. Drexel got super close on Raw Meat and could definitely do that thing next go. Zack also cruised the sit to Raw Meat and did Raw Teeth, traversing left which makes it a nine or ten. Awesome!! We had a good crew and I love how encouraging and helpful everyone is. I later tried Eye Candy again and the moves that felt like a piece of cake last time didn’t go so well at first. I got a little sad, but got some killer beta and help/spotting from Zack, who quickly sent and I almost made the big move out to the pocket. Where once was sadness is now replaced by psyche. Little by little improvement is hard to notice at first, but looking back to where we all were last year and seeing the things on our ”to do list” this year shows that little steps definitely do add up.

lower section of novacaine

big move

Raw Meat

Zack kills Raw Teeth

Supposed to snow this weekend, so we are headed down the mountain to try and do a comp. Really dislike the feeling of rushing while climbing, but know it will be a ton of fun with CP and maybe climbing the next day too. Woo woo!

game face!

Puppies and Punts

Posted on October 23, 2011 by mdawg

As I sit looking through the weekly collection of weekend/weekday/every other day climbing photos, reminiscing almost immediately about the past two days of climbing, I can only think of one reason I did not get to the top of more boulder problems: there need to be more puppies in my life.

Puppies are perhaps most definitely the single greatest cause of positive attitudes. One minute you can be completely overwhelmed by how many people are at a crag or bouldering area, or nervous with so many eyes watching you try a boulder problem you know is difficult and at your limit, heartbroken because a move or section that was once a piece of cake is now another crux, or what have you. Though these things are silly, they can easily be removed from one’s mind with the addition of one secret ingredient: a puppy. That puppy sees only the greatness in your love and affection and ignores all insecurities and past negativity. As long as one hand is placed behind his/her ears and the other on his/her belly, all is forgiven and loved unconditionally. It’s like a miniature buddha, all covered in hair. But in all seriousness, friends and I have been talking about having a puppy, fireplace, and personal climbing gym in a house next year. I can only imagine what kind of spoiled rotten college kids we would be then!

The past two days we made it out to Grandmother boulders, one of my favorite areas. I had really, really high hopes of doing French Crack Direct, Zen, and a few other very pretty climbs yesterday. After many failed attempts of one, I began to get nervous and find myself unable to look at things from any other point of view than : I haz failed?! It took getting on a brand new climb, Eye Candy, and getting out of my comfort zone (and PUPPIES) to forget about one stupid boulder problem out of the hundreds present and keep that open, forgiving mentality. Being gentle with yourself and having an open mind can sometimes be the best way to say “This one isn’t go so well, and that’s really okay. There might be something better nearby that I haven’t even seen before.” Which is exactly what happened. Then I played with puppies…..and psyche levels increased by 82%.

Eye Candy

Then today was by far one of the funnest days of climbing. The weather was a little warmer than before, providing comfortable temps for half-heartedly trying boulder problems when your fingers are raw. The warmup wall presented a slight challenge for us, as I literally cheese grated off one of the start holds, so we decided it was best to go onto a try-hard problem which consisted of a dynamic move to a sharp crimp. Smart thinking.

Brennen ended up sending, while the rest of us gave small efforts followed by large whining sessions. In all seriousness though this is a climb I can’t wait to do on my journey towards static-elimination. We went to a boulder I had never been to before and hopped on some moderate climbs, followed by sitting in the sun munching on carrots. Afterwards, we played around on a waist-height boulder trying to send….we actually got really into it and sneaker-sended the sh*t out of this boulder. I’m telling you, I’ve never tried so hard on a boulder so low to the ground.

Afterwards we found two new climbs to look at. We tried/did all the moves and decided when we actually cared about climbing and had skin, we would go back and send. Brennen headed up the mountain to try and do his first V10, and we parted to continue on with the nonsense college life of homework and readings. Was a hilarious day of enjoying climbs, punting, sneaker sends, and not caring so much about sending so much as being goofy and having fun in an awesome boulderfield. Definitely a success in my book.

Happy climbing,

Day 2 of Weekend Fun, and a send!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by mdawg

Weeeooooooo! Today is surely a cause for celebration, because I actually made it to the top of a boulder problem. Psyche levels are high. This climb was another that I had put on my list as a “year-long project” (year long = my estimation of how long it would take me to do it…) and on my second day of working out the beta it got done! We warmed up today really nice even though much of the rock was wet. A good friend excitedly told me all the holds were dry, and they were, but a crucial foot I had used when working the problem before was wet. I cringed a little bit, but since I had already eaten my super special ice cream, banana, peanut butter, soy milk, and honey milkshake for lunch, I figured it was worth a stab. (Note: ice cream for any main meal of the day is definitely positively correlated with sending. Another graph coming soon.) I did a repeat of a climb I had never repeated before, then headed down the trail to try the climb. First go I did all of the moves, but felt jumping to the finish jug. My fingers were raw from the day before and I wasn’t sure if improvement would come from the second go or if the gos would just get progressively worse. Sure enough, after a long rest I got back on and stuck the move. It’s funny how that happens in climbing–how an open attitude can make all the difference between sending and getting frustrated. I still find myself getting too into that ”MUST..SEND..” hulk attitude and having it be such a negative impact on not only the climbing, but the good vibes coming from everyone being outside and just having a good time. When you relax and look at things from a logical perspective, it not only becomes more enjoyable, but you are able to do so much better! I love taking things seriously and being passionate about wherever the attention lies, but not to the point where I make things miserable for myself or others, or turn something fun into a ”job.” Not coo.

As our tips began literally peeling away, we still managed to climb at the lower area and friends got sweet sends/ made really, really amazing progress on their climbs of choice. I love watching people climb and learning tiny details that make a big difference on the rock, so seeing some people get on some crazy lines was basically psyche-tastic. But really. We ended the day with sandwiches, homemade vegan carrot cake made my myself and home brewed pumpkin ale by none other than Pratt. Watching climbing videos with such goodies and the shenanigans that followed was a great end to the day. Looking forward to climbing tomorrow and resuming schoolwork. I am ready to read up on my research papers and begin work, but as always, only to have that balance and look forward to the next big break and next climbing goals.

send shot!

photo property of CP Photography

Day 1 of Weekend Fun

Posted on October 16, 2011 by mdawg

Finally the rain let up and we got a full night in of climbing at the spot quickest to dry: Lost Cove. Boulder problems aren’t high in number, but are most certainly high in quality. It’s an area that never seems to be too crowded (maybe because we choose to go at weird hours of the evening/night…) and is surrounded by a gorgeous melange of gold, red, brown, and green vegetation. Goldenrods marked the edges of each trail creating an interesting parallel with the yellow hues from various birch, beech, and sassafrass tree leaves. Beautiful. Days like these make me feel as if I am already in my older years looking back on the moment from an utterly grateful perspective. I already know these are the best moments of my youth: exploring, hiking, climbing in nature and observing all of our surroundings. Friends spotted a red salamander between the patio arrete boulder and appropriately named him Frank as well–a great find.

We ran the usual warm-up, skipping out on a few climbs with too-epic top outs, and everyone sent some really cool climbs. I did a problem I had never done before using some shawty-beta. You see, I climb with some extremely talented and extremely tall fellas, so when they break down a climb and figure out that the beta is “just a throw,” I immediately begin calculating how the hell I am going to take their wack dyno beta and transform it into something do-able. This is exactly what went down, as I ended up locking off a one/two finger pocket, hitting a non-chalked crimp, and making a static move to the finish hold. It’s always a neat experience climbing with people who have such different strengths and styles than you do. Sometimes the beta really IS to jump or dyno, and it’s refreshing to be pushed to try big moves which are usually harder for us stubborn shawties. Sometimes though, you just need to know when big moves are dumb and work out your own beta that suits your style. It’s science.

Later we headed to my year-long proj (3rd time working it, expecting it to take a year or more, probably seven if I’m lucky.) It starts on two low pockets and goes through a series of excellent crimps to a dyno. The bottom part gave me no trouble at all, but the dyno was a hard mental battle. I ended up actual commiting to jumping, a rarity in my climbing, and hit the rail each time but unable to stick the swing. It is a gorgeous climb and I’m in no rush to do it. I like to really ”know” a climb, take time to figure out the moves, and maybe not punt of the top or dab before sending, but that too is a rarity.

new climb to work, aka ''year long proj''

Dyno move

my only send of the night, neat problem though!

All photos taken by/copyright of CP photography

Bake and Break Plans

Posted on October 12, 2011 by mdawg

Fall break has come upon us just in time, as 79% of students admit to coming just short of pleading mental insanity. Studious pupils crawled out of classrooms barely alive in order to jump in their cars and head home, head to the beach, or do some other wild and crazy thing for all 3 days of break. Our crew of climbing nerds decided that there are entirely too many projects in Boone to see friends and family or enjoy ourselves by the ocean. Too risky. With that said, it was a gorgeous fall day and though I was present in each class, I was surely not present in mind, as notes for each class consisted of detailed ”project lists” for each area in Boone. Later on I returned home to make vegan brownies (recipe under recipe page) and continued to make graphs on how brownies and happiness have a healthy relationship:

Relationship Between Brownies Consumed and Happiness. Since Happiness is already known to correlate positively with sending, we can infer that brownies = sending. Science.

Monday we headed to Blowing Rock Boulders and a climb I originally thought would take me all year to work ended up getting worked out pretty quick. I did the lower section, fell at the crux, hopped right back to where I fell, and did the end. Other friends did so awesome on other climbs that seemed impossible for me, but are still inspiring to watch and learn from. I s’pose everything seems impossible at one point or another in your climbing, so it’s best not to rule anything out or put limitations on yourself quite yet. A favorite french proverb reads “Il ne savait pas qu’il etait impossible, alors il l’a fait.” (He didn’t know it was impossible, so he did it.) Here are some photos taken by Drexel and Christopher “Prattlesnake”

next time…

Drex has been getting closer and closer!

Prattycakes close too!

Charlie repeats this and one other hard climb. nice!

Kelley just sat in the corner and cried the whole time. We’ll see how many times this guy gets invited to climb..

If rain comes down upon us, Pratt and I still have plans to go on a rainy day hike and ID plants and anything else that comes along our path. Definitely baking honey wheat bread, banana bread, and cooking up a storm too! Good gurhd I lurv fall. I’ll post recipes up soon enough, hope everyone has great climbing weather and if not, finds something beautiful to look at or do elsewhere. Au revoir!

Short & Sweet

Posted on October 10, 2011 by mdawg

Climbing > using 15 minutes to study for my next exam. With that said, I’ll do a quick recap of the last couple weeks of climbing.

Hound Ears: After a gloomy Saturday in Boone filled with epic weather (vacillating between hail, snow, rain repeatedly throughout the day..) it turned out to be a gorgeous Sunday with a slightly chilly beginning. Boone climbers owned and everyone did great. I ended up hurting a finger on the climb below, but after a week of rest and lots of tape it is back to beautiful fall climbing!

221 and Backyard: Had a gorgeous day this past weekend of climbing, hitting up more problems in a day than I usually do all week. Got shown around some gorgeous areas and have a few climbs that restored the psyche. More later, but for now, CP photos!