Often the best climbing is that which comes unexpectedly. With Friday's rain arriving just as I had met Vincent Faires for some much-needed bouldering, and Saturday forecast to be more of the same, I had resigned myself a full day of couch sitting. Then as morning passed, the rain stopped and clouds lifted, leaving the warm afternoon sun free to work. Realizing things might be dry, Vince and I headed down to Northwest Branch to check it out.
It turned out that although the river was full and muddy, the rocks were completely climbable. Wanting to play on another variation of the low traverses I had done on Tuesday, we made our way down to the Tick boulder. I've almost come to think of The Tick as my outdoor system board, with its slight overhang and perfect assortment of holds, all above a comfortably flat landing. Exploring my Maryland roots by finding every possible eliminate on a small piece of rock, I told Vince that I was hoping to begin on the left arete and follow the first couple moves of The Traverse before dropping down to the central sidepull jug and continuing the previous traverses. I envisioned a series of small precise movements bringing me within range of the jug. Vince, deciding I shouldn't be the only one exploring roots, went big in true Texas fashion to hit the jug directly from the initial crimp and slot. Great, now we were playing a game of take-away. The Tick had officially become a gym.
Photo: Vincent Faires
Photo: Vincent Faires
Photo: Vincent Faires
Photo: Vincent Faires
Photo: Vincent Faires
Vince managed to send after a few attempts, and I followed not too long after.
As with the other traverses I mentioned, this was fun and challenging, but I'd still recommend doing The Traverse first. This was just another way to change things up a bit, to keep enjoying a fun boulder in a good setting after the "official" lines have all been repeated to exhaustion. If anyone gets out and comes up with anything else fun to play on, I'd love to hear about it!
Sometimes it's fun to climb the classics. Other times it's fun to climb outside the box.
On Tuesday afternoon I went down for a quick session at Northwest Branch, not particularly psyched on any problem that came to mind, but still wanting to get out and enjoy the warm weather. Making my way downriver, I reached Chaos Roof without any further inspiration, and looked across the river to see someone on the Tick boulder. Feeling social, I rock-hopped over to join him.
For his first time bouldering outdoors, local student Chris Gregory certainly seemed comfortable on the rock as he worked to link the beginning section of The Traverse. After warming up, I attempted to show him my sequence, only to find myself unable to stick the cross move after several attempts. Frustrated at failing on a problem I usually have wired, I decided to switch to something else I've been playing on, a low eliminate on the left side of the boulder that Chris quickly joined me in working. Sit-starting on the central sidepull jug, it moves left through two sidepulls and a long undercling, avoiding any holds above. One variation goes up to a jug for an early topout, while the other stays below the rail for the full length of the boulder.
Ironically, although I usually fail a few moves into these problems even when I nail The Traverse, my luck went the opposite direction for once and I ended up sending both variations before darkness finally fell.
Both were fun and a good challenge, and I'm sure I'll be getting on them again. Are they as good as The Traverse? I think not, but they're certainly worth doing if you've done everything else on the boulder. I guess all that really matters is that they were enjoyable at the time and helped me in some way to get stronger. A change of pace is always good, right?
With another bout of snow and ice looming yesterday, I took advantage of the remaining mild weather to run through one of my favorite circuits down at Northwest Branch. I've always loved traverses, and Northwest Branch has several of my favorites, providing a perfect blend of slopers, crimps, and diagonal cracks, all with relatively clean landings that are ideal for a solo bouldering session. The video below shows what I feel to be five of the best traverses, as well as being five of the best moderates at Northwest Branch:
The Tick at Northwest Branch is another good area for the solo boulderer. The landings are flat, and all of the problems are low enough that falls aren't bad in any case.
From the parking lot, walk down the trail until you've passed Chaos Roof and the Trailside boulder, then go down to the river. Look for a place to cross just above the falls and make your way to the flat rock at the base of the Tick (map). Can't miss it right now with the spraypaint!
