Steps on the path

In the past couple weeks I've come to the conclusion that I don't have bad days, only good days and very good days.  No matter how many things go wrong, there always seems to be something redeeming, if nothing more than the fact that I go to bed still breathing.  Yesterday was a very good day, starting off with finally getting a pumpkin donut from Dunkin Donuts after weeks of craving one, and concluding with an awesome four hours of watching Emily's band perform while hanging out with good friends.  It was a day worth every bit of the tiredness that I now feel!

It was also the day that I finally sent my project for the last week, or at least the stand start to it.

Last week while trying to decide what to climb at Bushwhack over the weekend, I came across an old email that I had sent a friend after my first visit there, with photos attached of the three boulders that I was most excited about climbing.  One of them was the Switch boulder, home to Brian's brilliant Flipping the Switch that I climbed a couple weeks back.  Looking at the photo, I realized that when I took it the lines that had attracted me the most were the two prominent seams rising up and left across the slightly overhung face.  Although they're admittedly eliminates by nature, I also can't resist seam traverses, and decided that the lower one would be the perfect project for a Friday session with Vince.

Despite my original intention to start the problem in the seam itself, I had enjoyed Flipping the Switch so much that I decided to use the same start to move into the crimps, and then branch off left from there.  The crux would remain the first move of the stand, but the sit would add in the fun kneebar sequence and give an extra couple moves to an already great looking line.

After making sure I could stick the crux and working out the beta for the rest of the problem, I set to work from the beginning.  With daylight fading fast, it soon became clear that it wasn't happening in one session, but I packed up confident that I would send the line quickly the next day.

Morning came, and Emily and I headed out to meet up with the Adventures in Pebble Wrestling crew on their first Bushwhack trip.  As I wrote last week, they had a day full of good sends, while I walked away disappointed in my lack of success.  After hours of throwing myself at the initial sequence, each attempt only compounding the scratches and bruises on my legs, my thoughts as I sat down each time became less "this is going to be awesome" and more "do I really have to do this again?"  In my obsession with doing the line from the start, it had ceased to be fun.  Trying to salvage something from the day, I decided too late to just do it from the stand as I had originally intended, and took fall after fall as I threw ever more desperately off the crimps.  At times like that, it's good to have a wife to save me from myself!

Thursday I went back out with Dan to knock out the stand, fully anticipating a quick send, but once again excited just to work on it.  Sometimes people think it's crazy that I'm willing to drive an hour after work for just two hours of climbing, especially with a twenty minute approach thrown in.  When the leaves are turning and the last sun is falling on cool rock though, the trip is absolutely worth it.  Somehow it even seemed worth the trip after setting up our crash pads only to discover that I had left my shoes back at the gym.  Sadly, despite my initial hope, Dan's shoes weren't a viable option.

So yesterday with morning temps in the 30s, my mom and I fortified ourselves with donuts and coffee and made our way back out to Bushwhack.  Arriving to find a couple friends already on the rocks, we went to Diagon Alley and warmed up on Butterbeer, a problem my mom had put up last April on one of our early trips there.

We also played on the thin line in the center of the slab that had been an unfinished project that day, which had evidence of recent traffic.  I'd love to know if someone sent it!

Finally we went over to the Switch boulder, where I ran a few laps on the middle section of the seam, trying to warm up a sore middle finger in anticipation of the initial moves.

After sticking the crux on my first attempt only to chicken out and drop off the finish, I eventually managed to make the move again and hang on for the send.  Trying to think of a good name to fit with Flipping the Switch, the returning pain in my middle finger made Flipping the Bird seem like the obvious choice.

Topping out was a great feeling, and in hindsight I think those initial experiences of walking away empty handed made the eventual success all the better.  It was a lesson I needed, and one I hope I won't forget anytime soon.  The best part is that the sit is still there waiting, and it's going to make a great problem even better.  And with yesterdays send taking the mental pressure off a bit, I have a feeling it will go quickly.  But if not, at least I'll have fun along the way.

Here's the video of yesterdays sends.  Enjoy!

Prioritizing obsession

Walking hurts today.  Not just the stretching of the muscles, but even the gentle flap of my shorts against scrapes and bruises, bringing fresh pain with each step.  The shorts that, incidentally, have a rip in the back from a poorly predicted fall into the talus.  The same fall that sent my hip bone directly into a sharp rock, a fall from which I walked away lucky to be no worse than bruised.  Usually all of these would be signs that it's been a great weekend.

Yesterday as we were driving away from Bushwhack to meet some friends for dinner, my wife asked me if I had fun climbing.  The answer was obviously yes, but what scared me was how long I had to think about it. Why was there any question?  In short, I think it's because my priorities have started to change, and not in a way I like.

Years ago, I remember saying that Bitch Slap Arete at Coopers Rock was the perfect boulder problem, because it was one that I could happily work on every time even if I never managed to finish it.  I'm sure it would go quickly now, and it's been three years since I've even tried it, but I've been content just remembering the enjoyment that the motion brought me and knowing it's still out there.

After several weeks of knocking out projects in a single session's work, this weekend I finally found myself shut down again.  Not physically, since I can make all of the moves on this particular problem.  Instead the difficulty seemed to be believing that I could make the moves when I needed to, and expecting to hit them rather than easing off in anticipation of a fall.  At the time it bothered me because I interpreted it as giving up on myself.  Really it just means I've gotten on something that's an appropriate level of challenge... within my capability, but not guaranteed.  My mistake was walking into the day having already finished the problem in my head, and then having to reconcile that with the reality that I walked away empty handed.  That I had all of those bruises and scrapes, ripped my shorts, and had nearly broken my hip, but had no send to show for it.

Yet somehow I still managed to answer yes to Emily's question, slow though that answer was in coming. What I remembered, and should never have let myself forget, was the fact that when I think back to days out on the rocks I usually think about the people I was with more than any particular climbs I did.  Aside from the obvious advantage to actually having spotters, the beauty of going out with others lies in the bonds formed and the community created.  In the shared food and occasionally drink, which in this case included homemade dulce de leche cookies that were one of the most addictive things I've ever tasted.  It lies in the satisfaction of watching others succeed even if I fall short.  And this weekend there were many successes.

Less than a week after I worked through it, Vince managed to send Flipping the Switch, flying through the same sequence that had puzzled him less than a year ago.

Max, fresh off dispatching Stank, Stunk with Esten, climbed Mr. Miyagi and Drunken Hamster Style before sending the harder roof between them and then thrilling the group with the committing final throw on The Elephant.

Meanwhile, others breezed through various lines on Rattleflake Roof and the Bird Boulder, and Ben put together this video of Jeff's run up Stunk.

Combined with the cool sunny afternoon that materialized despite an early threat of rain, and a spectacular flyover by a pair of hawks, it really was a perfect day of climbing.

So what should I take from all of this?  Is the lesson here that I shouldn't let myself become obsessed with climbs?  Perhaps, but I think the better answer is simply to prioritize.  In itself, intense focus on a single climb can be productive.  The trouble comes when the focus on success replaces enjoyment of the process, ironically leaving the eventual send feeling empty, not so much a feeling of elation as of relief that the climb is over.

The answer then (for me at least) is this...  Set high goals, but enjoy the road to reaching them.  Accept that failure is not absolute, but a sign that goals are appropriately challenging.  Enjoy those who I find on the road with me, both new friends and old.  Celebrate their success as fully as my own.  Remember that if I'm going to risk harm to myself, I'd better be having fun in the process.

People often ask me if I'm going to be a teacher for the rest of my life.  I tell them that I'm going to do it for as long as I can wake up and be excited about it.  If that's the rest of my life, awesome.  And if not, I hope I'll have the courage to leave what's familiar and seek what excites me again.  Climbing should be no different.

Time to get back on track.

A hint of orange at Bushwhack

Yesterday with a free afternoon and only a 10% forecast of rain, the question was not so much whether I would climb after work, but where.  Initially considering Northwest Branch or Murray Hill,  I decided to save those for the shorter days coming all too soon, and instead took the opportunity to get in a couple hours at Bushwhack.  The walk in was beautiful, with newly yellow ferns carpeting the forest in many sections. Arriving at the rocks, I found many more leaves down than had been there less than a week beforehand, and was simultaneously enjoying the added color and cautious about the less than adequate footing in places.

After looking around for a few minutes, I settled on Flipping the Switch as my project for the day.  About ten months ago I had tried the original stand start, The Rider, but even with several pads and spotters didn't quite have the confidence to make the committing final move.  A few days later, Brian went out and sent the full line, and right away it went on my list of things to do this year.

I did a quick warmup on the nearby Crystal Odds, named for the fragile seeming holds leading out of the difficult to protect pit.  Not very hard, but delicate and enjoyable.  Then I went over to finally send The Rider, and I won't deny that it took me at least ten attempts to suck it up and make the last move.  Even with 2.5 pads on the ground, and the hold obviously within reach, it definitely got to my head!

After eventually sticking it I set to work on the sit-start, a beautiful kneebar sequence leading to crimps in a seam, and a big throw up to a jug to join the main problem.  Somehow despite the greater physical difficulty, it went much more quickly.  In fact, I cruised through the crux on my first full attempt and would have sent it right then had my hand not slipped off the final move just enough to shake me up.  Two tries later I finished it, just in time for the sound of raindrops to send me back to my car.  With a month left before the time changes again, I'm excited to know there will be more afternoons like this!

September Bouldering Videos

It's been a great week of climbing, starting with a good trip to The Acre on Sunday.  I didn't get much climbing in myself since I was still coming off a rest week, but had fun watching Ben and Vince work on a hard crimpy line in the lowest pit, with a huge press off a two finger crimp to a high sidepull and razor crimp on a questionable flake.  Vince managed the first and only send of the line, pulling hard enough on the flake to detach it another 4-5 inches, making it unsafe for further climbing.  The flake later came off with minimal pressure, and although the line still seems doable, it'll be even harder than before.  Meanwhile, Emily and my mom chose to forgo the overhang in favor of more delicate climbing on the slab nearby.

Yesterday my mom and I went back out to The Acre, thinking it would probably be too wet to climb, but planning at least to get some decent photos of the boulders to start putting together a mini-guide.  With over 70 problems there now, put up by at least 17 different people, things are getting confusing!

Arriving to find most of the rock pleasantly dry, we grabbed the photos we needed and headed to the corridor area to get a couple climbs in.  My mom made a couple attempts at Woozle, then got frustrated and climbed the arete to the left of it, which was slightly easier but way scarier!  I also got on Jon's Intro to Bellydancing to see if I could find a prettier way to work through the slopey topout that had earned the problem its name.  No luck making it look any better, but still a fun problem.

Content with our daily highball fix, we walked over to Bushwhack so I could try Stink, Stank, Stunk!, another of my intended winter projects.  After working on it for a while, and watching a stink bug (appropriately enough) mocking me by effortlessly walking up and down the left arete, I figured out two key bits of beta and was able to send shortly after.  From there, we walked back to the car by way of the After School Special boulders where the trail crosses the ridgeline.  I climbed the beautiful slab problem Bitterness & Shadows, and my mom also tried it and thought it would be a good winter project for her.  Since we were already there, I also decided to try the overhanging arete on the left side of the slab, which I had been curious about for a while.  After figuring out a good starting position, I sent it on the first actual try, calling it Atonement.  I'd still like to get back and try adding another move or two to the start, just to make the fun last longer, but for now here's a video of the day's climbs...

A couple weeks ago I also had the pleasure of climbing with the Adventures in Pebble Wrestling crew at both Coopers and The Acre, where they've recently been busy repeating problems and putting up some great new ones of their own.  Here's a video I put together featuring some of their work...

And one from Tenni...

And another from Max with problems from The Acre, Coopers, and Grayson Highlands...

Finally, I was happy to see that there's also been some recent traffic at the Murray Hill boulders, with Brian putting out this video of a new line there...

Gonna be an exciting Fall!

***Just a reminder that you can check out the Maryland Bouldering Videos Page for links to over 80 videos from Maryland, and a few more from locals on the road.

Bushwhack Revisited

I've had a great few days of bouldering this week out in the Frederick area, mostly on new stuff, but yesterday started itching for a visit to Bushwhack Rocks.  Even with a humid temperature of 90+ degrees providing less than optimal sending conditions, it turned out to be one of the best climbing days I've had all summer.  Whether it was the relative solitude or the feel of familiar rock under my hands, it felt great to be back.  I only say "relative" solitude because, to be totally fair, there were others out enjoying the rock too...

After a quick walk around, I decided to warm up on the beautiful compression lines of the Stunk! Boulder, going from the stand start a few times before moving on to the crouch.  While I haven't really worked on the full sit start to the boulder yet, it's high on my list of winter projects.

I then went over to start working out the sequence for Constructive Winter, which I had intended to be another winter project.  Conditions couldn't have been more different than when Brian established it back in February, but I was surprised at how quickly I went through it.  After figuring out the individual moves, I was able to send it on the third full attempt.

Still having a good bit of energy left, I went up for a nostalgic run up Tourette's Razor, the first problem  I ever did at Bushwhack and still one of my favorites.  I then headed back to work on Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, which I had failed to send on a previous visit with Brian, during which we had later put up Westermarck Effect.  This time seemed equally hopeless until I applied the same technique that has gotten me through so many other bouldering problems in the last several months: climb it like a crack.  Realizing that the bump I was pressing my toe against had a slight protrusion above, I switched to smearing and torquing the edge of my shoe into the angle, and suddenly had a secure platform from which to make the move.  From there it was just a matter of controlling the slopers to move through the topout, which was far easier than the initial move.

It felt great to already send two of the problems I had intended to get on a few months from now, and it really left me with awesome feeling about this coming winter.  In the meantime, here's a bit of video from yesterday's fun...

Bushwhack Rocks 1/29/12 video

Well after two weeks I finally managed to edit together the video footage from my January 29th trip to Bushwhack.  Not a masterpiece by any means, but it was fun to play around with.  Enjoy!

February Flakes at Bushwhack

So I've come to the conclusion that the best way to ensure snowfall on a bouldering trip is to bring Vincent Faires along.  Our last time bouldering together was back in December, when the forecast of 44 and sunny somehow changed to three hours of snow, which admittedly worked out since we ended up climbing Sulfur Cave in our attempt to stay warm and dry.  Yesterday we again went out to Bushwhack expecting sunny mid-40s weather, only to be hit with large swirling flakes by early afternoon.  Joined by Vince's friend Myqe and fellow Bushwhack veteran Brian, we had a strong crew for a short but fun session.

After warming up on That's not a Woodpecker and the neighboring slab problems, we decided to try our luck on the adjacent small roof that had injured both Colin and me last March.  We did two problems there: one moving from low ledges to pinches, then following the lip up and left to a slabby topout...

                                                             Photo: Brian Spiering

                                                                                             Photo: Brian Spiering

                                                                  Photo: Brian Spiering 

                                                            Photo: Brian Spiering

                                                            Photo: Brian Spiering

                                                            Photo: Brian Spiering

And a problem on the opposite side making a long move from low pinches to amazingly fun slopers on top.

                                                            Photo: Brian Spiering

Next we moved to a boulder directly across the alley, where Brian channelled his inner monkey to clean the holds.

And a few minutes later another problem was sent.

And that's when the snow hit.  We went over to work on the sit start to Stank, Stunk! and to have Vince try Westermarck Effect, but the snowflakes had made everything too wet to climb.  Going into the Sulfur Cave for one last ditch effort at dry climbing, I made a single attempt at repeating Firecracker before deciding I should stop abusing my already bleeding hands.

                                                           Photo: Brian Spiering

Oh well, a short day is better than none at all!

Bushwhack 1/29/12

Last Sunday I ended up getting another unexpected day at Bushwhack, complete with unexpected friends.  Convinced that it was going to be a gym day due to low temps, I was happy to find myself instead out on the rocks with my mom, soon to be joined by Todd Hill and his son Drew.  They also brought our friend Kerri Isenstadt, who brought her shoes along in case someone talked her into her first outdoor bouldering experience.  And we did!

Kerri spent most of her time, however, putting her considerable photography skills to work, and it's my great pleasure to share some of the photos here.  All photos that follow are hers unless noted otherwise.

The group started the day on the Bird boulder, taking the usual slabby laps up That's not a Woodpecker on the right side.  We then followed my mom up Knights who Say "Knee!" on the left side, taking care to avoid the crystals that bit her on her first ascent.  Some of us also went up Lark Ascending, starting at the same spot on the left and following the sloper rail up to a right topout.

Wanting something a bit more overhung, we walked up toward the Main Wall, first climbing the Rattleflake Roof...

And then moving to a short overhung boulder that became Drew's project for the day, soon to be finished as Le Petit Drew...

That project complete, we all played around on several variations of the long low roof a few feet away...

Drew found some more lowball action...

Meanwhile my mom decided it was time for something a bit taller...

I made a stop at the Tourette's boulder for Rise and Shine and Tourette's Tantrum...

Then after another quick visit to the slab, where Kerri finally shoed up, I stopped on the way out to blow the last of my energy on Stank, Stunk! and Westermarck Effect before we lost what light remained.

I still have a bunch of video that I need to edit together, and will get that posted as soon as I figure out what to do with it.  Thanks to Kerri for all the great photos, and to everyone else for a fun day of climbing!

                                                                            Photo: Todd Hill