Tuesday Trifle

So I went up to the Monolith Bouldering Area at DL to start to sort some things out on MP because it was an unsorted mess. I ended up splitting what used to be titled Monolith Rocks into two areas East and West. While I was up there I ended up finding a bunch of problems that weren't on the site already - although I'm sure at least some of them have been done in the past.

So I added the following to the site:
Awkward Mushroom (V1)
Deep Doodoo Left (V0)
Deep Doodoo Right (V0)
Just Another Sick Old New Rig Left (V1)
Just Another Sick Old New Rig Right (V1)

The Just Another Sick Old New Rig problems might be new, might not, ultimately who cares? They're short fun and meaningless. I did shoot some video of them though:

Enjoy them if you get there!

Coming Full-Circle on a Magical Night at Devil's Lake

It has been about twelve years since I have gotten paid to go climbing (which in my case usually means getting paid to build anchors and belay - not pull down). I loved guiding when I was in college - it provided me with a great avenue for sharing the skills and knowledge I had acquired, put me in generally amazing work environments, allowed me to meet a bunch of cool people (my wife included) and gave me the opportunity to really build my skills by having to know them so well that I could teach them to a variety of people in a variety of circumstances.

About six months ago Nick Wilkes, owner of Devil's Lake Climbing Guides, and I were introduced through mutual friends. Nick and I began a conversation that led to him hiring me on as a part-time guide. I helped him out for the first time on the night of Wednesday, May 6th - it was a blast working with clients again, and I look forward to more of the same as the season goes on. As fun as guiding was, the highlight of the night came after I said goodbye to everyone in the parking lot. With gorgeous temps (and 0 pitches to my name for the evening) I grabbed my shoes, chalkbag and headlamp and ran back up the Balanced Rock Trail for a few quick solos.
The night was amazing, perfect temps, a light breeze, the stars, the moon. I did five quick "pitches":

• Basswood Chimney (5.2)
• Jam Crack (5.6 or V-easy)
• Balanced Rock (V-easy)
• New Box (5.4)
• Red Pulpit (5.6)

Balanced Rock Wall is the perfect place for this kind of thing, if one is so inclined. Fun climbing, low cruxes, and easy access.

Heading back down the trail on a perfect spring evening.

Walking down the trail in the dark, the climbing behind me, the talus still radiating the now-faded sun's heat and the warm breeze on my skin...all of  it, lit only by the small cone of light from my headlamp...I felt a deep a peace, a sense of place, and reverence for all that surrounded me. I felt in sync, if only for the briefest of moments, with the world pulsing around me. In that moment, life was not a struggle, or a race, but perfectly-natural, and easy - the whole universe was properly ordered, everything, including me, was in its place. The stars twinkled in the vast, unending sky and I touched eternity.

Balanced Rock on an Autumn Evening

I walked out of work this afternoon and encountered perfect weather. I drove straight to the Lake so I could spend the perfect autumn evening doing a little climbing, here is a snippet of that perfect night.

I Sent!

I can finally put a check in this box!

Rest day, and last week!

Wow, it has been 10 days since my last post. I am sorry, I have been working on some longer posts that will be coming out when I have time, and on top of that, I have been climbing/ training a lot, so I have been too busy with that to devote an appropriate amount of time, again, I apologize.

Since the last update I have been pretty busy, starting out on Saturday, June 7th.

Wifey, getting it done in the shed

Chasing Fitness Part 1 - Overview

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, or any other kind of expert so this is not professional advice - it is merely a record of what I did to lose some weight and gain a modicum of fitness. It worked for me, it might or might not work for you. Be safe, and check with a qualified professional before starting any diet or fitness program.

Back in January my friend Jay started suggesting that I join him on a climbing trip this spring. I was hesitant because Jay is an exceptionally strong climber, and even twelve years ago when I was at my fittest I could not keep up with him. In the time between, Jay has become stronger while I have lost some ground.

In February, Jay finally convinced me to pull the trigger on tickets to Palm Springs, California - Joshua Tree National Park would be the destination for our trip. I suddenly found myself with two months to prepare. A winter of cross-country skiing and coaching peewee hockey had left me with a reasonable cardiovascular base, but standing 6'3" and tipping the scale at 206# my body mass index (BMI) was still on the wrong side of twenty-five. BMI is not perfect, but it was pretty clear I was overweight. I needed to drop weight and get stronger and I needed to do both of them fast.

Joshua Tree 2014

I thought about writing a big, long article for this, but instead I think I will let the pictures do the talking, enjoy my first YouTube video:

I will follow this up with a posting of some of my favorite stills from the trip, and possibly a written trip report as well.

Wednesday Night in the Rain and the Coming Weekend

Wednesday:

I had the good fortune of getting a few hours of climbing in last night at the Lake with Jon and Liz. The weather was subpar, but not bad enough to turn us away. We headed to Many Pines and set up a few top ropes, but the rain kept us off the sharp end and the hard stuff. We had a good time and made it back to the cars in fading light around 8:00pm. And yes, I climbed Peter's...again - although I spiced up the rainy TR with a pair of flip-flops.

Wiedman Memorial Park, Rock Springs, WI

Check out the new boulder problems I have been working on a few minutes from my house.

Happy Birthday Big Tom (V2)

Photo by Christina Schroeder

Wednesday Weather

The weather forecast for Baraboo this weekend is looking a little sketchy:

The weekend forecast from www.intellicast.com is calling for a 60% chance of rain on Saturday, and a 70% chance of rain on Sunday. Based on that there is still a 58% chance of having one rain-free day this weekend. So it is still a better bet than a coin-flip that you will get a good day of climbing in for the weekend if you plan on being at the Lake for the whole weekend! Ozark, IL looks much better, so some extra windshield time to Jackson Falls might be worth it. Regardless I will not be out this weekend, I have bigger fish to fry - have fun and be safe!

 

Today looks pretty stellar here in Baraboo, so I will probably end up at the park this afternoon for a bouldering session if anyone is interested. I plan on lugging a pad up to the Little Flatiron and giving it another go.

 

EDIT: I will not be heading up to the Little Flatiron today - have fun if you go.

My Tips Don't Lie

After-work bouldering on April 2nd.

Can you beat this weather for April 2nd?

Of course I had to get out for a Wednesday night bouldering session with sunny 50's called for. I split from work shortly after 4pm and headed for the park. For some reason the CCC trail had a slightly malevolent feel to it. Maybe it was the lack of snow, or the huge tree that had fallen across the base of the trail since Saturday; regardless of the cause it had an odd feeling to it.

Wednesday Night Bouldering Club of One

One of my projects for the next few weeks (hopefully, months maybe) is to send the Little Flatiron. I began that process tonight with an hour or so after work playing around in the overcast, windy and cold conditions that were not forecast yesterday. Anyway, the sun came out as I was wrapping up and I think I got a decent pic of the route:

The Little Flatiron (V4)



Wednesday and the Weekend to be!

The forecast for this afternoon is looking great, and I'm grabbing my shoes, chalkbag and pad to head up to the Lake for an after work bouldering session. Today's big goal is the Little Flatiron and perhaps Martini Madness - but I am going to see how the afternoon is going before hopping on that.

As for the upcoming weekend, I am psyched! The weather looks genuinely good for the weekend, and it cannot come soon enough.

Saturday has a predicted high of 46 with a 10% chance of rain, and Sunday's high is called at 62 with a 10% chance of rain. That means a 99% of a good day this weekend, see you up there!