Thoughts on 2014…which is already here way too soon...

It's a bit overdue I guess to talk about goals for the coming year; it is nearly the end of January.  But better late than never I guess.

Welcome to 2014!  The year so far has been a blur of travel and craziness.  I'm still not sure where the month of January went or what time zone I'm in.  I finished up 2013 in Vermont with Leah and some of my family.  My sister Kathy and I traveled up to Stowe to visit our sister Carrie and her two girls, Nadia and Abi.  Leah joined us a few days in when she flew to Boston from Chicago and I picked her up at the airport.  It was a good, cold time in the snowy Green Mountains.  Actually, I was out skiing in conditions that were colder than anything I'd ever experienced…and that's saying something.  It was -7 deg F the day before we left and there I was breaking trail and trying out my new Voile Switchback bindings with my old Karhu 10th Mtn skis.  A few days earlier all of us were out in Wiessner Woods where both Carrie's and Leah's eyelashes and hair became frosted and frozen.  Thankfully it wasn't painful.

After returning from that trip I had about a week to get ready for the trip I'm on right now for work.  Being in Malaysia for a month is not as wonderful as it might sound, even if the weather back home is a far cry from the sunny and balmy conditions here.  For someone who loves and craves the outdoors, having to live in a hotel is not exactly my idea of fun.  And of course I miss friends and family.  But enough complaining for now.

I find myself with a rare day off and some time to write a blog post.  This one is a little bit deep into my psyche but it's me and that's what I try to share through this blog.  So without further adieu, some thoughts on the coming year (in no particular order):

1. Create a real plan for owning a home and figure out where this is going to happen.  There are pros and cons for living in the DC area (I will stay in Virginia though) as well as anywhere else where it might be feasible for me to move, such as Charlottesville.  I have a good job, co-workers and friends in the DC area.  That said, I want some space…a yard or maybe some real land to work with.  I'd really like to be out of my current place by the end of the year.

2. Continue to grow as an outdoorsman and help spread this love to others.  I recently took over as Chairman of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club-Mountaineering Section.  That carries a lot of responsibilities and commitment.  It also brings to me a greater sense of purpose.  I love teaching and I love climbing and all the related aspects involved in the sport especially access issues and trail-building.  I know that I derive a lot of joy in life from working with people in the outdoors.  I'd really like to continue to spread this love to others.  A line from Scouting comes to mind here: Seek to Serve.

3. Work hard to develop the new crag…aka The Worksite.  I won't say much about it because it's location is rather secret, but this is due to legal access issues and the need for trails where access is permitted.  It would be fantastic to see this place developed for climbing.  It would be an absolutely fantastic location for teaching and growing the climbing community in a very positive way.  Hopefully it can be opened up by the end of the year.

4. Try to remember this line and pray/meditate on it often (as part of praying/meditating daily): "To my eyes, I was born with nothing, I was going to leave with nothing; riches are found in experiences and not in material wealth." - Jules Lines, Tears of the Dawn

It's a powerful line I read in Lines' book and it really resonated with me.  I know that I can get caught up in the "possessions game".  Things like "shopping therapy" are incredibly short-lived and leave one feeling very lonely and empty.  As I sit here in Malaysia, I'm surrounded by materialism in the innumerable malls in the Kuala Lumpur area.  It actually sickens me and I pray I get some time outside the city for a bit.

I would add to Jules' thought above by saying that friendships can be an integral part of these experiences.  While I oftentimes like to do things solo, there's probably just as many times when I want someone else to share in the experience with me.  That doesn't always have to be a significant other, but someone that is a true friend and whose company you greatly appreciate and enjoy.

5. Keep my ego in check and stop comparisons to other people.  This is such a toxic thing I know I sometimes do.  Everyone is different.  We move at different paces through life and we have different skills and talents.  It is up to each of us to accept where we are, value who we are and recognize the difference between wanting to create a positive change in our life in some way instead of looking to others with jealousy, resentment, fear, etc.  When we allow this kind of negativity into our lives it keeps us from growing.

6. Remember that growth is typically a painful process.  It isn't easy, else everyone would be doing it.  I know I've sometimes shied away from situations where I might grow because of a fear of the pain…whatever form that might take.  So a definite goal of mine is to really examine my reasons for doing or not doing something.  Is it because there is a sound reason for or against it or am I finding "reasons" because I'm afraid of the pain of growth?

7. Don't forget to thank and love the friends in my life for being there and being a part of the experience of life.  It's pretty easy to forget about the people that really matter to you and keep you going.

8. Slow down.  Everything.  Just as I try to do in climbing, I would like to aim to do in life.  Slow my thoughts down and therefore my speech.  Slow down and listen more and with greater attention.  Breathe.  Take it all in and relax.

Some climbing specific goals that I know some great people will join me in accomplishing:

-Visit the Red River Gorge and at least one other major cliff in the US outside my normal range of Seneca Rocks, the Gunks and the New River Gorge (e.g. Yosemite, Red Rocks, J-Tree, the Sawtooths, etc).

-Seriously consider another climbing trip abroad.  No clue where at this time.

-Climb a few more hard routes at Seneca that I've wanted to do for awhile.  I'll share these as the year goes on. Overall though, I want to climb for the pure enjoyment of a route, its beautiful and thoughtful moves.  I want to continue to work on not being focused on grades and the negative side of egotism that can result when you only focus on the grade.

-Grow the trail-building knowledge base in our climbing club.  I've found this work to be nearly as rewarding to me as actually climbing.  The shared toils and hard work on these projects can be an unforgettable and amazing bonding experience with friends.

Finally, a prayer.  This is one that I try to pray every day very deliberately and contemplatively.  It definitely helps center me and remember what really matters in life…the people with whom we share this time on earth.

A Simple Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is error, truth.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
(my own addition…And where there is anxiety, patience and peace).

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console.
To be understood as to understand.
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Stuff That Works

I got an email from Patagonia the other day titled "Celebrate the stuff you already own."  Most times I delete emails like this as I really don't need to buy more stuff right now.  But for some reason, I opened the email and realized it was promoting a short movie called Worn Wear that they recently made.  Promoted as, 

"...an antidote to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, Worn Wear is an invitation to celebrate the stuff you already own."  

 

It's just under 30 min long.  Carve out the time and watch this.  Hell, watch it with some friends and family.  I plan on watching it again with Leah real soon.  This is a great "non-promotional" promotional video for Patagonia.  While the people in it are using Patagonia gear, it's about more than that.  We live in a day and age of such disposable "stuff" that we seem to have forgotten how to get the most out of a piece of clothing or gear.  Instead of fixing stuff that rips, tears or breaks we just throw it out and buy a new item.  This happens in all sorts of things we own.  I've seen it a lot in the auto industry...so many parts out there now are just "pull and replace" instead of fixing or rebuilding the minor parts that are broken.  You a guy in a shop who's a "Parts Technician" and not a true "Mechanic".  And instead of handing down clothes we just buy new and throw out the old.  All that old stuff more often than not ends up in a landfill.

On our trip to Scotland, Alan and I had a discussion along these lines.  I have a Patagonia Nano Puff jacket and there's a small section on the left shoulder where the stitching has pulled.  I've had this jacket probably close to 2 years.  Alan has worked in the retail outdoor gear industry for years now so I brought up the issue saying that I wasn't sure what to do about it.  Alan laid out options when something like this happens: keep it or take it back.  I remember the discussion well.  Though it may seem insignificant, it's a choice that matters. Patagonia (and most other companies) will take it back and give you something new.  But it likely won't be the exact same style because they change stuff every year.  They won't fix it because it's just easier to recycle the materials and hand you a new item.  BUT...handing you that new item has a resource cost attached it that is much higher than the alternative course you could take here: FIX IT YOURSELF.  Fixing it yourself costs very little to you but you stand gain a helluva lot more.  That piece of gear gets to extend its history with you.  I haven't had that Nano Puff that long, but it's been a lot of places and already has some interesting stories to tell.  I was hesitant to drop the money on it at first but now it's a piece that goes with me on nearly every trip.  Fixing it myself will just add to the history of the piece and that's pretty darn cool if you ask me.

So, in the same way as I try to do on my car when stuff breaks, I'm going to increase my skills and figure out the best way to sew up the stitching that pulled out.  I might need to buy some new tools to do it, but that's part of the investment and I'll end up putting the tools and skills to use on other things as well.  I have 2 pairs of Patagonia Capilene boxers that have a stretched out waistband.  I had thought of dropping them off at Patagonia to be recycled but now I'm curious if I can figure out a way to just rework the waistband and continue using them. 

For what it's worth, I own plenty of outdoor gear from a number of companies that I have beat the crap out of over the years and it's still running strong.  I thought about listing them out but there's really no need to...most of y'all know what really good gear typically is...it's stuff that works and doesn't let you down (I really dig that song by Guy Clark and was glad to see they used it in the movie).

Oh and I grew up with hand-me-downs too...I like that idea.  But now I tend to hand-it-up...my dad gets most of my used gear these days. :-)

For the heck of it...

Alive and still blogging!

I know it's been awhile, but yes I am still alive and still do intend to keep blogging.  I've been hesitant to post shorter articles because I really need to finish up the trip report on Scotland.  It is forthcoming.  It was an amazing time.  I will leave it at that for now.

Moving on...

A bouldering observation leads to a great teachable moment...for all of us.

I noticed something the other night while bouldering at the gym.  In the midst of an excellent inverted-pyramid workout (2 V2s, 3 V3s, 4 V4s - 4 V4s, 3 V3s, 2 V2s - gym ratings) I came across a really cool V4 with a tough dyno.  I actually worked through the dyno sequence first and stuck it on the first try...to my great surprise.  For me, it's a complete dyno with all points of contact off the wall for a split second.  I have to completely launch myself up and right towards the hold and stick it.  It requires complete commitment to the move and familiarity with performing dynos.

After completing the dyno portion I stepped back to rest and analyze the lower portion of the problem and think about how it would fit together with the upper portion.  As I was doing this, another climber came over and jumped on the problem.  I had already pretty much worked it out in my head but I was curious to see his approach.  He worked through the lower moves off the ground but moved somewhat awkwardly to the large jug for both hands (point 1).  The right foothold was obvious but he was missing the left...fellow climbers pointed this out and he got his left foot situated (point 2).  It was only then that he started looking around for the next hold (point 3).  Upon realizing he had to do a huge dyno, his body language told me what was coming next: a half-hearted attempt at the hold and a quick landing on the crash-pad.

I noted three points in the above story.  The first point concerns the awkward movements to the large jug.  It was a traversing movement to the right; body position was key to making this smooth.  The awkward transition wasted precious energy to stabilize the body and push through in "herky-jerky" movements instead of a couple fluid motions.

The second point was that he completely missed a foothold.  He didn't even see it...didn't even know it was there (this is part of a larger point I'll explain in a sec).  Again, wasting precious time and energy.

Finally, the third point: he looks about for the last hold and is completely deflated upon realizing he has a large dyno to stick in order to complete the problem.  Instead of welcoming the challenge and figuring out how to overcome it, he lets it overwhelm him.

Overall, the climber was defeated by lack of planning, observation and analysis.  It's not that he wasn't physically capable of doing it and it's not that he didn't start the problem with the intent of wanting to finish it.  It's that he was utterly unfamiliar with any of the territory from move to move...not just physically but mentally.  He hadn't stopped to really analyze the options and possibilities; to physically point to each hold he could see and could tell would be useful and then think about how to best use them.  He knew he couldn't do the moves, at least in part because he no longer had the strength to make a good effort.

I continue to promote bouldering to my friends as a great way (for some, the best way) to learn how to read rock...but you must put in the time and effort and do it right.  You get out what you put in.  So if you just go pull on plastic and follow the colored holds you will climb and you will get stronger...but you won't really get smarter.  That's where bouldering can really help your climbing game.  To climb harder and longer you have to climb smarter.

What do I mean by that?  The faster you can read the rock and interpret the moves you need to make, the quicker and more efficiently you will climb, placing gear with speed and then moving back to climbing efficiently.  Integrating bouldering into your routine will help but only if you structure your workout and focus on every problem as a set piece.

As an avid (predominantly) trad climber, bouldering allows me to practice movements and quickly work through sequences, repeating them over and over and over until they are drilled into my head so much that movements will just happen.  Sometimes my body seemingly takes over as if I subconsciously know how to do a sequence saying, "yup...I've been here before".

To maximize this practice, approach every problem, no matter how easy it might appear, as a set piece or long sequence of moves.

• Take your time to just look over the holds and the wall.  Are the holds the only things you can use?  What about the wall itself?  Gym climbers sometimes get so focused on the pretty colored holds that they forget about the wall (i.e. the rock face) itself.  Most gyms have textured walls...use them!
• Pick the problem apart.  Break it down into smaller chunks.
• Point to each hold and call it out to yourself, making a mental note of how you think it fits into the overall solution.
• Think about how each "chunk" links into the next one.
• Go climbing.  Breathe into each motion and commit 100%.

Again, do this for every problem.  Work out the likely solution before you start!  Even if you are repeating a problem you did two days ago.  The more you do it, the faster it will work.  And it will translate to the rest of your climbing as long as you continue to use it there.  So that means after you rope up for a climb - indoors or outdoors - stop.  Before you start climbing, observe everything you can.  Don't just blindly charge up the rock, hoping that the holds will appear when and where you'd like them.  Read the rock as far up as you can see.  Think about the movements in exactly the same way you do when bouldering.  Commit to climbing and put your plan into action.  Once you start climbing, the process continues, just in a longer session.  If you're trad or sport climbing you should be pausing after every bolt or placement to observe the path ahead, shake out for a second, maybe get some chalk (blow the excess off your hands!) and think about the moves ahead.

Over time, you will see improvement.  You will quite likely start to see climbs as linked bouldering sequences in many respects.  And at times, you'll look up and say, "hey, this is just a V2 boulder problem...200 ft off the ground.  I've got this!" :-)

Climb smarter and you will climb harder.

Scotland bound

First, a quick update from my last post.  Turns out Alan ended up having a pretty much brand-new version of my old nut tool at the shop (Mountain Trails) in Winchester, VA.  When he offered it to me there was no way I was turning it down.  So I now have a new version of my old nut tool.  What did I do with the old one I got from Seth?  Well, I was nice and ended up selling it to Seth's girlfriend, Simone, who had wanted it when I bought it from Seth.  So that's that.

Right now, I'm sitting here banging away on the keys the night before I leave for this Scotland trip.  I'm packed about as well as I could be at this point.  Fairly light when you really consider I'll be there for 3 weeks.  I have one large duffel, my BD Speed 30 pack and my laptop bag...which won't actually have my laptop in it, just guidebooks, road maps, etc.  I'll have to make do with the iPhone and Wi-Fi wherever we find it or internet cafes.

Our "plans", such as they are, are still very open, but I did make one small change to the beginning.  I was able to shift our camping reservation back one day so we could check out Stirling.  I'm due to pick-up Alan at the central bus station in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon.  It's actually right at St. Andrews Square for those of you looking for a landmark on a map.  And yes, I'm driving there to pick him up...driving a stick-shift on the other side of the road...hopefully I won't be too jet-lagged.  After I safely pick him up (knocks on wood :-) we'll find a grocery store and stock up with some stuff, picking up a cooler (or a cool box as they're called there) along the way too.  I'd like to swing by the Tiso shop (outdoor chain in the UK) just south of Edinburgh airport at a place called Ratho.  The shop is attached to the largest indoor climbing facility in Europe (http://www.eica-ratho.co.uk/facilities).  After that we'll head north to the city of Stirling where we'll camp the first night.  Saturday and Sunday it's quite likely to rain so I thought it'd be a good opportunity for Alan to see Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.

After Stirling we'll head further north to a campsite near Comrie, Scotland.  We'll have a couple of days there and there is plenty of climbing nearby at Weem and Dunkeld or a bit further north near Dalwhinnie (also a couple distilleries and some great history in the region plus a really good pub in the village of Moulin).  At that point, the schedule just starts to go with the flow.  I have lists of climbs on different crags and their locations as well as a listing I made of campgrounds near those crags.  But in the end, we'll just see how it shakes out!

Just a few last minute things to get tomorrow and I'll be out the door.  It's pretty amazing to realize it's finally here.  In thinking back on the months leading up to this I honestly don't really even remember how we decided to do another trip.  But that's how things seem to work out sometimes for me.  I just suggest something at some point and roll with it.  Not that every trip isn't special, but this one hold a very significant importance.  Alan's moving to Finland after this trip.  Who knows when I might see him again, much less be able to pull off a trip like this.  We've had some really good times over the years, going back to our first big trip together in 2007 to Philmont in New Mexico when I was the Scoutmaster of Troop 45 and Alan was still considered a youth.  A lot has transpired since then and I find it pretty awesome that we are doing this trip.  A pretty sweet way to say goodbye for now.

I hope I cherish every moment of it.  I know lots of my friends who would kill to be on a trip like this and they've told me how amazing it sounds.  But for some reason, to me anyway, it's normal.  This is kinda what I really like to do.  I live for trips like this.  Amazing times in fantastic places with great friends.  Half the fun in it has been the planning...the other half will be the execution.

So with all that, I will say that I will post when I can, I will take zillions of pictures, hopefully get some good video footage and I'll see all you guys on the flipside...we're doin it live!

ps...in case you're wondering where our saying, "we'll do it live" comes from, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1M6EYA14eU
and this one too...Stewie does it great :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGZtaoWT96E

A New Nut Tool

Well, I finally realized that it was time to break down and get a new nut tool.  For those that don't know, a nut tool is small pick/crowbar like device used to extract rock climbing protection from the rock by prying, hammering, levering, grabbing the cam trigger bar, etc.  It is a standard piece of equipment for any trad climber, especially someone who is following or "seconding".  However, the leader should also be carrying one in case you try to place a piece of pro and it doesn't seat right but won't come out easily.

The first "nut tool" I ever used was some kind of thing fashioned from some heavy gauge wire that my friend Dan had made.  He needed someone to follow him at Seneca and I had never been there.  I vaguely remember the conversation but he knew that I was competent enough to belay him and not get us killed.  I somehow used this thing to great effect when following him up West Pole, Triple S and Ecstasy on my first visit to Seneca in 1997.

Shortly after that trip in 1997 I was hooked on trad climbing.  So I picked up my own Grivel nut tool from Mountain Trails in Winchester, VA.  Yup, it's been about 16 years.  That Grivel has been through countless adventures, hammered on zillions of pieces and reached the trigger bar on numerous cams to somehow help get them out.  It has cleaned out tons of gunk from small cracks, worked as a crowbar to lever off loose rocks large and small on new routes, hacked off small limbs on trees (it was all I had!) and opened its fair share of beers after long days of climbing.   Its most recent awesome achievement was late last year when I used it to finally work out a pretty darn near new #3 BD cam after at least 30 min of work.  The piece was left by some other party and is probably the best piece of booty-gear I have managed to get out.  I take pride in being able to get out stuck gear and the Grivel tool has been my companion throughout.  But it has finally come to a point where it is just worn out and the hook on the end has finally worn down to a nub.  This is probably due to my using it as a "garden weasel" a bit too much lately. I thought about trying to sharpen it but I just don't think there's enough material there to make it work.  Sigh.  It's definitely a bummer, but such is life sometimes.  Here's a few pics of the ol' Grivel, complete with the Mountain Trails key-chain biner that is still alive and kickin' 16 years later (the penny is there for scale).

You can see that the tip is just a nub now :-(

Keeper cord and biner to clip it to the harness...you're an idiot if you don't have one!

So I needed a new nut tool.  It was Sunday this past weekend and after it finally stopped pouring down rain, my friend Katie and I left the Cave area at Seneca Rocks and headed back to the Gendarme (the climbing shop) in town.  I looked over a number of nut tool options: Black Diamond, Metolius and Mad Rock.  There was one Metolius design in particular that I liked.  The back end of it was enlarged so that you could more easily (and comfortably) slam your hand against it.  Up until now I've typically put a hex nut over the end of mine and slammed my hand on the hex when I really needed to hammer.  This thing would give me a couple more options.

As I was looking at the tool, in walked my good friend and Gendarme climbing guide Seth.  We started talking and it turned out that he wanted this same tool too...and there was only one left.  So then Seth suggested I take a look at his Metolius nut tool which he was willing to sell for $10 (instead of about $20 for the new tool).  Behind the counter is Seth's girlfriend Simone.  Turns out she was really hoping to get Seth's old Metolius nut tool when he picked up a new one.  I thought to myself, "Uhhhmmm...am I really possibly getting in a fight over a nut tool? No...Seth and Simone can deal with it later."  A few minutes, $10 and a sad Simone later I'm the proud owner of this guy:

It hasn't been beat up too badly and it comes to me with a cool story already attached.  Having the built-in biner will be a difference but I'll figure it out.  I transferred my keeper cord to it and will hopefully try it out soon.  It's definitely going to get used and abused next month in Scotland!  Anyway, I just thought this was a cool little story that I'd share with y'all.  Onward to more adventures with the new nut tool!

A first-timer's visit to Seneca and learning by falling...and falling...and falling...

A recent trip to Seneca Rocks in West Virginia provided some really cool experiences.  First, I got to deal with a small piece of chain stuck in the tire of my Subaru.  There we were, 1230AM at the Sheetz in Petersburg, WV trying to figure out what to do.  We ended up driving on the spare and getting back up there to Petersburg to get it fixed early the next morning...and it was incredibly cheap too!

Second, I got to take my buddy Adam to Seneca for his first visit.  To say he was blown away would be an understatement.  He was incredibly psyched as we left the parking lot and started the approach.  He was much less enthusiastic about half-way up the stairmaster on the West Face.  Now, Adam sport climbs pretty hard at the New River Gorge and other places.  He's even done some pretty tough trad climbs at the New as well.  In the week prior to this trip he kept telling me he wanted to climb some hard stuff.  I said to him, "Let's just see how you feel on a couple moderates first."  This is Seneca.  And as anyone who's been there knows, it's just different.  You can call it "sandbagged" if you want, but really, you're just scared...and perhaps with good reason!  It's steep, exposed, sometimes very intimidating and always hard climbing.  It's what you come to Seneca to do.  There is no move on Prune, for example, harder than 5.7.  But the position may make it "feel" harder than 5.7.  The same goes for the route I put Adam on, West Pole.  This was the same route that I first followed on my very first trip to Seneca waaaay back in 1997.

Adam cruised the first two pitches (we did the direct start straight up the face to the two bolt anchor at the base of the original first pitch) and set up a great belay below the roof pitch.  Now I had a front row seat to watch the fun.  He pulled the first roof without much trouble, though I could tell the positioning was in his head a bit.  At the stance below the first roof though, he just couldn't find the good rest position.  He placed a good piece and tried to relax.  He must have made at least 5 moves up and down trying to figure out how to pull the second roof.  At one point he backed down again and I heard him mutter to himself, "come on man...there ain't no tape on these holds."  I cracked up laughing...it was hysterically funny to hear that and think back on my own first experience on this route.  And to think that back then I was just following!  He finally did pull it off and then had a quick romp up to the big ledge above.  He was blown away by the experience.  We finished up with me upping the anty a bit and doing Casual In The Mind's Eye, a line I'd been meaning to get back on since I sorta "put it up" a couple years back.

On Sunday, I further reminded Adam that he is not in great cardio shape by dragging him up the East Face to Upper Broadway Ledge.  We arrived there and found one guy rope soloing Castor...and no one else around.  Kinda nuts for such a beautiful day.  Since Adam kept his cool and did so well on West Pole, I figured I'd throw him another good challenge and sent him up Soler, using the original flake start of course.  I did let him use my #5 BD Cam however, so that made the flake somewhat more protectable.  He cruised the first pitch and then had a few "issues" on the 2nd pitch but nothing major.  He clipped a few pieces short instead of extending runners...he paid the price with rope-drag.  I think he learned the lesson.

Last, but definitely not least...after summiting we rapped off the East Face to the Alcoa Ledge.  I then sat for a few minutes pondering a route I'd been wanting to get on but that I felt was near my limit...Orangeaid.  I decided I needed to give it a go.  It's a beautiful line, but it definitely has a very well-defined crux.  The gear placements throughout are fantastic and the climbing is increasingly difficult.  The crux is on a few weird holds, consisting of some pinches, sidepulls and a crimp to get you up to a small crack you can hand-jam in.  As I neared this section, I knew it was the crux.  I managed to place a piece and got it clipped.  I was getting gassed, but I decided to push on, knowing that I could pull off the moves if I focused and relaxed.  Well, in retrospect I took the first fall not necessarily because I was completely pumped (that would come on the third fall).  I fell because I kept expecting or hoping for a bomber hold just up ahead.  Instead of focusing on what was immediately in front of me and maintaining good footwork, I blindly forged ahead, mostly on my arms/hands.  When a big hold didn't appear, I again tried to push through.  At some point, falling was inevitable.  Adam was stoked to catch a lead fall.  I was stoked my #0 (purple) Mastercam held a 10' fall...that little bugger is only rated to 5kN...glad I'm a relative lightweight.

The second fall I don't remember so well.  I know I tried a similar sequence with my hands, which was pretty spot on.  I got the handjam, but just couldn't hold it.  I think that I was too focused on getting that jam instead of getting my feet up into bigger and better holds...I seem to remember my left foot being on a dime edge, which is totally unnecessary on this climb.  My footwork was off and I knew it...I knew that was causing me to be out of position, wasting energy.

Prior to the third fall, I placed a #2 BD Cam in the lower part of the hand-crack.  I wasn't totally sold on that #0 Mastercam taking my falls, even though I'd now come down on it twice before.  On the third attempt I was much smarter.  I used my feet.  I got myself up into a much better position.  I was gassed from the two prior attempts and from placing that #2 Cam, but I wasn't going to "take".  This time, I actually got my hand on the final hold, the "Thank God hold" that's always up there somewhere on a climb.  Only this time I experienced something that happens every now and then...I was so pumped I couldn't do anything with the hold.  I could barely even close my hand on it, let alone pull up on it.  My legs were spent too.  The moment of realization hit me and I knew I couldn't go up...I could only go down.  "Well, here we go for another ride!", I told myself.  I yelled down to Adam that I was falling and then just let go. Weeeeeee....

Ok...fourth attempt.  As I'm shaking out my arms and hands I'm thinking to myself, "...what have I been doing and what can be improved?  Feet.  I'm missing feet somewhere.  Up until and at the hand-jam.  You know how to jam...that will come automatically.  The feet will not because you can't easily see them with the bulging rock.  Focus on your feet."  I did exactly what I set out to do and blasted through the crux.  I brought my feet up quickly and got them into good positions.  As soon as I had a foot above the bulge, I knew I was going to get through it. I was definitely pumped, but not to the point of failure like before.  The easy roof above provided a bomber hold I could chill out on and relax while I placed some gear.  A few more moves and I was at the belay.  Wow.  What a great ride and what a great lesson.  I learned so much more from falling (repeatedly) on that line than I would have if I'd have simply on-sighted it.  I actually climbed the crux four times I just couldn't finish it until the last attempt (talk about a glutton for punishment).  But I'm incredibly grateful for the experience.  Sometimes you just need to push yourself hard enough to get out of the comfort zone.  And the harder you climb the harder you have to push.  This was a good, hard push that made me focus on technique and form above all else.  I could blame a lot of things for the falls...I wasn't using my personal rack, I was tired, it was humid, I borrowed a friend's chalkbag, the color of the sky wasn't blue, etc...but none of those matter once you start climbing.  I actually did think about those things (except for the sky:-), but I felt it just upped the challenge level a bit.  It was some extra mental stuff I had to push aside and just work with what I had.  I knew that the climb would really be a technical challenge more than anything.  I got smacked around a bit, but I persevered and got it in the end.  I didn't "take" and I didn't hangdog...two things I usually can't stand.  It was a great ride the whole way.

I recently read an old story from Jesse Morehouse (an old Seneca FA'er) about his first time on Orangeaid.  I love what Arthur told him, "...if you want to convince yourself you can climb 5.10 go climb Orangeaid."  Indeed. And I'm sure sometime soon I'll find myself on the Alcoa Ledge again and look up at the line and say, "Alright...time to go rock climbing and get this clean." :-)

Chalk

I had a good discussion about chalk a little while back with my friend and fellow climbing buddy Edwin. It  got me thinking I should write up an entry on the use of chalk.  Yup, that good ol' magnesium carbonate or MgCO3.  So, we'll take a look at it and the issues around it and see if maybe you can't learn a little something that makes you think a bit more about when to use it and especially when not to use it.

In the relatively short history of climbing, the use of chalk is even shorter.  It started to show up more and more in the 80s and climbers starting coming from the realm of gymnastics.  Climbs started getting steeper, more overhung and just generally harder.  The use of chalk had a big role in this.  As the gymnasts and weightlifters already knew, chalk helped keep your hands dry thus enabling you to maintain your grip on the bars, rings and weights.  The transition to rock climbing was inevitable.

Fast-forward to today and a chalk bag is on the list for every newbie climber buying gear.  You see all types of chalk bags from every major climbing gear company.  Hell I've even sent off some unique cloth that I've picked up to be made into chalk bags by Misty Mountain in North Carolina (seriously, they'll do it for like $25...custom chalk bag...pretty sweet and makes a great gift. Misty is such a cool company!).  Chalk balls have also become commonplace.  As opposed to loose chalk sitting in the chalk bag (which can easily spill), chalk balls are essentially a small sock or cheesecloth filled with chalk.  Most gyms require people to use chalk balls instead of loose chalk to help limit the amount of chalk in the air and their ventilation systems (and your lungs).

How much chalk a climber uses varies widely from person to person (especially climber type), region to region and even seasonally.  Some people's hands just sweat more for one reason or another and so they probably end up chalking up more.  Climbers at a crag in the middle of a humid Southeast US summer will quite likely use more chalk than those in Yosemite or Joshua Tree.  But those same Southeast US climbers might not use quite as much come October or November when the temps and humidity come down.  I mentioned climber type because I'd venture a guess that boulderers probably use the most, followed by sport climbers and finally trad climbers.  This really has more to do with the amount of traffic a route sees and proximity to chalk than anything else.  I do all three of these and I use chalk as needed.  When I'm bouldering, I know I'm using more chalk because I have a good bit of down-time between routes.  Putting your hand in your chalk bag just becomes a rather thoughtless action when waiting to hit the next boulder problem.  Whereas when I'm trad climbing I'm typically more concerned with placing gear and moving to the next stance.  Chalking up is something I do when I have a stance and can relax for a moment.  Sport climbing tends to fall in between.


Sadly, chalk gets used waaaaaay too much by climbers, sometimes to the point of actually making the route harder and the holds more difficult to grip.  Just go climb something like Exoduster at the New River Gorge.  It's a great route, but the crux is obviously more difficult because chalk is caked on the holds so thickly that it actually makes the sequence more difficult.  I'm sure there are plenty of other examples out there.  Actually, all you have to do is go to your local gym and over a couple of weeks pay attention to a particularly popular, but difficult bouldering route.  Assuming the holds are generally clean from the beginning, you'll see the changes from when it's first set and then over the next few weeks as more and more people chalk up the holds and hardly anyone brushes them.

But then of course you have places that just don't allow chalk.  Probably the most well-known "no-chalk" area is Elbsandsteingebierge on the Germany-Czech Republic border (another good link is here).  My buddy Alan visited there a few years ago and he said what climbing they were able to do (it rained a good bit) was fantastic.  There is also the rule there of no metallic protection, so you place knots in the rock.  Just before he left for that trip we climbed Ecstasy at Seneca Rocks in WV.  It was a warm, sunny, early summer day and he did the route without chalk.  Good on ya Al!

One last thing.  Take some time and use a few different types of chalk to see what works best for you.  Different chalks work for different people.  I used to use Metolius Super Chalk (who also makes an Eco friendly, non-marking chalk) and before that it was Bison.  Then I had to get a chalk ball of SoIll because I was out of chalk and it's what my gym has available for sale.  For some reason, SoIll just works for me like nothing else.  Black Diamond also makes a very popular chalk, White Gold.  I haven't used it so I can't really comment on it. 

So in the end, what's the conclusion here?  Chalk is going to be used by climbers.  But it's up to us to try to use it sparingly, and rely more on our skills as climbers not something as minor as chalk.  Blaming a lack of chalk for your inability to climb something is just a cheap, sad excuse for your lack of skills...don't use that as a way out.  Lots of hard routes were put up and climbed repeatedly by climbers without chalk.  Want an example?  Here's a great one: Cemetery Gates. This route is E1 5b (about 5.9+/5.10a) and was put up in 1951.  This video is of the FA crew repeating the route 33 years later.  Note the shoes and the protection they're using.  Listen to what he's saying about 'wet holds'...and then realize that neither one of them has a chalkbag...f'n badass man!  Oh and if anyone wants to get on some nasty, chalk-caked route and clean it up with a big ol' metal wire grill brush (or maybe a powerwasher!) you'll be doing the community a great service and I doubt if you'll get any hecklers. If you do, send 'em my way! :-)