Notes from the sideline

Hey look, a bluebird!  Always pretty, and an especially nice consolation prize as I sit here in week five of not climbing.

The whole thing would be much less annoying if I actually knew how I hurt my shoulder, but I guess that's just how it goes sometimes.  At least the rest is paying off now, and it now only hurts through certain ranges of motion.  I can evan hang on it without any discomfort, which means finger training is now an option. Combined with all the cardio and core work I've been doing, I almost feel like I'll come back to climbing as strong as I left it.  And with recent injury-themed posts from Ben and Dustin, at least I don't feel alone!

As I've mentioned before, I tend to approach rest days and injury time as opportunities to do all the things I usually don't have time to do.  In this case, it's meant plenty of time extra time for taking walks to the lake, fitting since this is probably my favorite birdwatching time of the year.  The bluebirds have been the most striking against the relatively colorless backdrop, but I've also been excited to see the water birds that are coming through, including a large group of mergansers out in the middle of the lake and a gorgeous pair of canvasbacks near the dock.

Add in a handfull of the regulars...

and every walk has something to offer.  I've already seen one of the pileated woodpeckers awkwardly flopping past, along with several of the more graceful downies and red-bellies.  The terns will be passing through soon as well, exemplifying the shock and awe style of fishing as they careen toward the water.  An odd thing to get excited about maybe, but it's reassuring to know that natural cycles still exist in my otherwise man-made home.

Fortunately not everyone has been injured, and I've still had plenty of eye candy to give me a vicarious climbing fix.  The crew from Adventures in Pebble Wrestling recently returned from Hueco, and I find myself wanting to go there more than ever after seeing Art's fantastic pics and the video teasers that Paul threw together from the trip.  Can't wait to see the full video!

I've also been excited to see that the cold temps have led to a recent surge in ice climbing activity, which generally isn't something we get a lot of south of the Mason Dixon.  Perhaps my favorite has been this video that Steve posted on Facebook the other day, not of dramatic multipitch waterfalls, but of a tree in his backyard that he turned into an improvised ice spire.  Do it while you can I guess!

Have a great weekend, and stay warm out there!

Snow day distractions

I've taken the last week off climbing due to some shoulder soreness that I'm pretty sure is a result of having slept on it wrong last weekend.  Combined with the sudden onset of snowy weather, I've found myself spending significantly more time on my couch, which isn't always a bad thing.  As I've noted before, I tend to appreciate rest periods as opportunities to do many of the other things I always want to do but never manage to fit in.  In this case, it's meant a lot of reading, a good bit of solitaire, and a few evenings of fine dining with good friends as I take advantage of the local restaurant week deals.

Still, I can't help thinking about climbing, and I've been fortunate to have several great videos to keep my psych high.  Some I've come across on DPM, but the ones I've enjoyed the most are those that a few friends have been sharing from their recent excursions.

Perhaps my favorite has been this one from Max, chronicling the Adventures in Pebble Wrestling trip to Bishop.  I love seeing longer videos like this that stay focused on problems that are approachable for the "average" climber.  Even more than that, I liked Max's decision to retain all of the group's random comments, which almost made me feel like I was on the trip with them.

The fun continues in this somewhat shorter video, focusing on the beautiful problem Jedi Mind Tricks.  Check out APW's trip report for a more detailed account and some great pics, and for a bit of local action, be sure to read about their recent sending spree at Bushwhack and the Acre.

I've also had fun checking out the photos and videos from the Earth Treks team's recent Hueco trip, including this one of Ben sending Full Monty.  Read more about his trip over on The Ordinary Climbers.

Moving back to more local rock, Smitty recently shared this video of a few problems from Woodstock. The footage of the cave was especially well done, showing what an underappreciated spot it is even by local standards.  I love the silhouette shots!

And in local plastic news, here's a fun mix of movement and philosophizing from Dustin Glasner, whose blog To Defy Gravity I've also enjoyed reading recently.  I especially love his tag line of "there is no path to happiness; happiness is the path."  Well said!

Finally, I was excited to see a couple photos from my friend Luke's recent visit back to MD, including these two he took of me working on problems at Northwest Branch.  Check out more of his photography, including some great shots of our 2011 Yosemite trip, here on his Flickr account.

    Crack Line Boulder       Photo: Lucas Anderson

              Curtain Call          Photo: Lucas Anderson

Looks like the ice has stopped and my 2 hour delay is coming to an end.  Time to get this week started!

Jumping into the deep end

In the past few weeks I've experienced an oddly shifting balance of success and failure, progress and setbacks, but all in all I'm having a fantastic time.  Most of my climbing has been centered around Northwest Branch, and I find that most of my memories revolve more around the people I was with than the rock we climbed.  With friends experiencing NWB for the first time, revisiting it after months or years away, or making final attempts at sending projects before transitioning to life in other states and countries, it's shaping up to be a really memorable winter.

Jeff Coen on Doom, Northwest Branch

As for the actual climbing, as I've repeated old favorites or sent others for the first time, I've found that what comes easily one day feels impossible the next, or vice-versa.  River Dyno in particular seems to defy logic, serving as a warmup for some sessions, and completely shutting me down during others.  Likewise, I managed to send Genetic thanks to some trick beta from Smitty that made it feel several grades earlier, only to be unable to repeat that same sequence on my next two visits.

I was also unable to start Tuesday Trivia when I stopped by Eden Brook recently, while Crimps at NWB gets easier every time I try it, and I now find myself hitting the crux move almost every time.

It felt especially easy today after I had just failed miserably at Slingsby's Arete, a problem I was sure I'd send within a few tries.

I wish I was able to figure out what the difference was from one day to the next.  Could be weight, energy level, motivation, humidity, or any number of other factors, but overall I believe I'm progressing and walk away from each session with something to feel happy about.

With conditions arguably at their best, I've found myself focusing on projecting more than usual, and have set my sights a little higher than anticipated.  Having knocked off most of my intended winter projects rather quickly, I decided it was time to throw myself in the deep end, projecting problems that are well outside what I can reasonably achieve in a few sessions.  If I end up sending them this winter, awesome.  If not, I'll still be stronger from the effort.

The main ones I've been working on are Curtain Call and Prelude to Crimps at Northwest Branch, and   Buckets of Blood at Carderock.  I've only worked on the latter once so far, but have been enthralled by it ever since doing the arete version a couple weeks ago as part of Jeff's farewell tour.  Tall and committing, with good holds the whole way.  Not sure how it's taken me this long to check it out, but I'd absolutely recommend it to anyone!  Can't wait to play on the face some more...

Getting ready to head off to Ohio this weekend, so local climbing isn't in the cards for me, but get out there and enjoy this great weather!

Discounted membership to Access Fund and Mid Atlantic Climbers 12/17 and 12/18 only!

For any of you considering joining the Access Fund for the upcoming year, now is the perfect time to do it.  Today and tomorrow only (12/17/12-12/18/12), the Access Fund is offering memberships at a 20% discounted rate.  To make the deal even sweeter, join through this page and the Access Fund will automatically donate a portion of your membership money directly to the Mid Atlantic Climbers.  That's right, you have the opportunity to simultaneously support both a national climbing access organization, and the local group that helps keep our favorite climbing areas clean and open, all at an even lower price than usual.  What are you waiting for?

Thanksgiving in Vegas

It's been a while since I've posted, but fortunately not due to lack of climbing.  While I haven't been to Bushwhack or anywhere further out for a while, I've been getting in a lot of good sessions at Northwest Branch recently, repeating old favorites and trying a few things for the first time.  One of the more memorable recent moments was sending Crimps right as a downpour started, making the descent almost as exciting as the trip up.  This came only minutes after Vince decided that the right variation of Crimptastic was too easy, and summoned his bear strength to rip away the final hold.  Keep this man away from your projects...

A few weeks ago I took my yearly Thanksgiving trip out to Vegas.  Mostly an exercise in people watching as we eat and drink our way through the strip for three days, weather permitting we always try to start our trip with a visit to Red Rocks.  With a beautiful 70 degree day ahead of us, we drove from the airport to Desert Rock Sports to take advantage of their crashpad rental program, which is way cheaper than airline baggage fees and perfect for short stops through town.

Arriving at the Kraft Boulders, we walked down to the Monkey Bar boulder for a little warmup on the fun juggy traverse.  I started to work on Monkey Bar Direct, and although I could make all the moves, my decision to wear brand new shoes left my feet in too much pain to string it all together.  My attempts at Slopey Traverse were equally painful, so I headed to The Pearl in one final effort to regain my dignity.  I had gone to check it out once before, but had immediately walked away after deciding that the starting left pocket would probably blow my fingers.  This time I decided to change my approach a bit, reinforcing my index and ring fingers with my middle and finding a good thumb catch, effectively turning the two finger pocket into a four finger pinch that I could hang on all day.  A few attempts later I was at the top, happy to have at least taken down one of the classic moderates on my list.  After a painful downclimb, I joined Emily around the corner to enjoy a few of the other lines the boulder had to offer, then called it a day and headed off to meet her dad on the Strip for dinner and a few celebratory drinks.

I somehow got through three nights in Vegas without blowing too much money, preferring instead to come home and drop a huge chunk of it on a new laptop and a copy of Final Cut Pro.  It'll be a while before I've learned everything there is to know about it, but have had a great time so far playing with it and seeing what can be done.  Here's my first experiment with it, pulled together from some of the Red Rocks footage. Looking forward to playing with some local clips soon!