Cross One Off the List!

I love Thoroughfare, and I have loved it since the first time I climbed it on a top-rope close to a decade ago. At that time, if anyone would have asked if I would ever lead it, or any 5.11 trad route for that matter, I would have told them they were crazy! Even my considerably bolder early-twenties self would have thought leading 5.11 on gear was unlikely - I just did not have the mindset, commitment, or process that I do now. Latching the jug you see me holding in the picture below, is the result of over a year-and-a-half of hard work, dedication and commitment to a process. Two years ago this was an impossibility, and last night it became a reality - it won't land me in any of the mags next month and #Thoroughfare won't be trending on Twitter anytime soon, but I accomplished a goal I was not even aware that I had until recently and considered impossible up until a few months ago. There is no secret to doing this, and I really believe anyone can do it...set a goal, create a plan, and work the plan. It will take sacrifices along the way, but that moment, where you blow so far through any prior expectations you could have conceived of for yourself, is worth every bit of sacrifice along the way - the smile on my face speaks for itself.

James Schroeder, hitting the jug at the end of the difficulties on Thoroughfare (5.11a) at Devil's Lake - Jay Knower Photo

I'm on TV!

A few weeks back I helped my boss, Nick, at Devil's Lake Climbing Guides, out, by doing a TV spot for WGN. I have to admit that I look pretty silly in the few cameos I make and the speaking role I have at about 1:24..."I'm never more at home than when I'm right here in this place. [Unless of course I'm being filmed, then I'm not at home at all.]"
When I see myself in the WGN piece I can't help but think of this:

Some of the best days...

People tend to avoid climbing on days with bad forecasts like they tend to avoid hazardous material spills. While the latter of these avoidances is generally a good decision, the former is not...at least not at Devil's Lake. At the Lake, spring, summer and fall storms tend to be short and intense, but clear quickly - some locals have speculated that this is due to the Baraboo Range's tendency to "split" storm systems. I am no meteorologist, but I have witnessed this strange weather pattern firsthand in the past, and have come to believe in it, if nothing more, as a useful heuristic to get me off the couch and out to the bluffs.

A Quick Note From Friday Night

My good friend Eric came met me after work for a few hours of climbing last Friday, we wanted to tick a few pitches off, and here's what we did:

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.

Psyched!

I'm heading out to the Lake today to meet some visiting climbers from CT. Whenever people from out of the area post on MountainProject.com that they're looking for a partner in the area I try to meet up with them and show them around. So far my policy has paid off pretty well and I've met a bunch of cool new folks, and I think those folks have gotten a good look at the Lake and had a good time as well. It's nice to climb with people from outside the DL bubble, and extending some hospitality is usually met with an offer to do the same - building the network I guess.

I'm extra psyched today because it's been a couple of weeks since I've been climbing. I decided I needed a little break after the Live Your Dream (thanks for the grant American Alpine Club and The North Face!) trip, but I'm chomping at the bit to get back on the stone. I'll get a summary and some more photos of that trip up soon, but I want to get my trip report in to the AAC before I post some long-winded account of the trip here. Here's a few photos from the trip to hold you over:

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.

Weekend Report for 4/5/14 - 4/6/14

Saturday

If you read my post from late Saturday night, then you are probably under the correct assumption that I had a good weekend, but A Red Recollection was just a small part of it. I met my friend Justin by the horse-trailer lot at Governor Dodge State Park a little after 10am on Saturday morning. We headed up the Qual Wall for some sandstone sport climbing. We started out on Warm Up 1 and Warm Up 2. We both agreed that Warm Up 2 has gotten easier because a new hold has evolved over the winter - it is definitely the easier of the two warm ups now.

Hatching Weekend Plans

It is spring in Wisconsin, which means, among many other things, that most Wisconsin climbers are feeling a bit lethargic from winter's low-activity levels and compensatory over-indulgences. Which is of course the nice way of saying that a lot of us probably spent too much time on our couches while consuming too much cheese and too many beers. I was lucky enough back in early February to have a good friend talk me into a "spring break" a trip to Joshua Tree National Park and have been working a diet/workout plan hard since. I plan on posting the details of that system along with a trip report from J-Tree when I get back.

For the last six weeks or so I have been working the hangboard, pull-ups, push-ups, core-routine and cardio pretty hard. I have dropped 20 pounds and gotten stronger.

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!

It Snowed Last Night in Sauk County

Man, waking up to an inch of fresh snow on March 25th is no fun, especially when the weekend plans call for rock climbing. The forecast for the weekend still looks great, but that blanket of white and temps in the teens make a bright outlook tough to maintain.

Reuniting with old friends - a day at Devil's Lake.

This post was started in 2009, it's finally finished below:

The compressed snow is solid underfoot - the repetitive cycles of thawing and freezing have left it more like concrete than ice. My pack is heavy, laden with a full rack, a rope, winter clothes and a thermos full of coffee. Like an older brother, the pack scolds me for my winter sloth. As the trail steepens the snow dissipates, no longer strong enough to fight the all-day sunlight on the southern aspect of the bluff. My heart-rate quickens, and every breath burns as the crisp morning air fills my lungs. I consider for a moment that, like the snow, perhaps I too have lost the strength to face my own challenges on this bluff.

The Lake featured in Climbing magazine, check it out.

The March 2011 (#293) issue of Climbing magazine has a feature written by good friend Jay Knower. You should check out his blog A Purposeful Life.