Rockfest 2013!

It's almost time for Rockfest!  For those of you unfamiliar with it, Rockfest is the biggest event of the year for the Mid Atlantic Climbers, and will be held April 27 at Rocks State Park in Jarrettsville, MD.  Volunteers, including climbers, hikers, and other local outdoor enthusiasts, will meet at 8:30 for sign-in before hearing about the day's projects at 9:00 and deciding how they'd prefer to lend a hand.  Last year projects included trail rerouting, invasive species removal, trash cleanup, and building a new playground entirely from natural and local materials.  Work will run until 12:00, when lunch will be provided for volunteers before they put the finishing touches on their projects, reconvening at 2:00 for a raffle and presentations.  After that, volunteers are free to enjoy the rest of their day at the park.  Unlike previous years, this will be a one-day only event, so you can leave your tent at home.  Just bring water, sturdy shoes, and of course climbing gear if you plan to stay around and check out the parks routes and bouldering in the company of new friends.  To register, or for more information, check out the event page.  Hope to see you out there!

Awakening

It's always good to hear from my friend Jon Alexander, but the text I got from him a few days before Christmas was definitely one of the more memorable.

"I think I struck gold.  When can you make it out to Sugarloaf?"

Long considered a second-rate toprope and trad area, the woods around the mountain are also littered with boulders, most of a high quality quartzite like those in areas like Bushwhack and The Acre.  Many of them have probably been climbed, but so far there has been little documentation or communication between the current generation of climbers and those who have come before.  

For a couple years now, Jon has been walking Sugarloaf and the surrounding area every chance he gets, gradually bringing to light just how much climbing potential there is there.  Even knowing this, I was blown away when I saw this boulder firsthand.

                                                                                              Photo: Jon Alexander

A bit of research showed that it had seen some traffic as early as 2001, when it was known as the Magical Boulder.  We found two photos of climbers on the right side of the overhanging face, though the captions said that the line they were on hadn't been topped out yet, and no further mention was made of it.

A few days after Jon's text, I joined him and a few other friends to try our own luck with the topout.  Getting there and seeing it in person, the line did look awesome, but the one on the left of the overhang was even more intriguing.  Setting to work on it, I found that although the harder overhanging moves went relatively quickly, I was mentally unable to pull through onto the vertical face for the end.  I could have finished it then. I should have finished it then.  Instead, I decided that I was happy with my progress, and was sure I'd be back within a week to finish it up.

                                                                                             Photo: Jon Alexander

                                                                                              Photo: Jon Alexander

Then three months passed.  Partially it was due to snow, partially to injury, but I spent those three months kicking myself for not finishing such an incredible problem when I had the chance.  Saturday, we finally made it back out, and I was determined not to walk away empty handed again.

After Priscilla and Jon climbed the tall slab face and scouted out the best ways not to descend, I made sure I could still stick the overhanging moves, and then looked at the vertical section to figure out a plan.  In doing so, I made a key observation... it isn't as tall as it looks.  Due to a trick of perspective, the top part of the climb looks a few feet taller than it actually is, and I realized that with a good foot anywhere on the vertical, I was tall enough to stand up and reach the top.  I also realized that the perception of height was thrown off by the ground rising along with the beginning traverse, so that even halfway through the climb the pads are only a couple feet below.  From there, it was just a matter of having Jon remind me that I was lower than I felt, and after a slight pause to test a hollow sounding section of the lip I found myself topping out.  Three months late perhaps, but it was good to be there at the top of such a beautiful climb, on such a beautiful boulder.  Even better was the knowledge that I was there not because of any great physical achievement, but because of the absolute trust I had in my three friends down below.

We spent a while more at the boulder while Jon worked on the right side, and I can't wait to get back out there to see him finish it up.  Let's just not wait three months this time!

Here's a video of the send.

Awakening from Robin Close on Vimeo.

Changing season, changing focus

First day of spring!  It's been coming for a while though, and even though the equinox never has the same significance to me as a solstice, this year it comes as a useful reminder to leave winter behind.  Specifically, those climbs that I picked as long-term winter projects that remain unfinished.

It's hard to say whether I would have finished them had I not spent the second half of winter injured, and it doesn't really matter since I know they'll be out there waiting for me when I'm ready.  But right now they're a liability.  In finally getting back outside last weekend, I opted to get right back on my projects instead of going for a more gradual recovery.  The reason was simple... In my head they were winter projects, and winter was running out.

A couple days of that was enough to realize I was putting myself down the road to re-injury, so it's time to put those projects to rest.  As we start a new season, I move forward with the simple goal of recovery, aiming to be strong and healthy for whatever comes my way this summer.  Whether that's on familiar climbs or new ground, more than anything I'm looking forward to making that recovery on good rock with good people.  Maybe I should keep all of my goals that simple!

Back on my feet

With temps in the low 60s and crocus finally blooming in my yard, it's crazy to think I was scraping snow off my car just three days ago!  Combined with the extra hour of afternoon daylight, it was the perfect weekend to make my official return to climbing.

Yesterday after playing five hours of Lego Lord of the Rings as I recovered from a bit of a late Friday night, I hopped in the car and went down to Northwest Branch to enjoy a bit of the sun.  Thinking it would be best to stick to familiar climbs, I decided to warm up on Snowflake Traverse and Mikey Likes It, and on arriving at the downstream slab was shocked to see how much the graffiti had increased in just the last two months.

Whether it's a legit MS13 tag or just a bunch of suburban wannabes trying to scare people, they were definitely thorough in making sure that all of the holds were as covered in paint as possible.  Fortunately both of those traverses were still perfectly climbable, but I have a feeling Seam Nightmares will be a good bit tougher now.

I took a couple shots at Genetic, which was still a bit much for my shoulder, then walked back up the trail to see how Crimps felt after almost two months away from it.  Surprisingly I managed to stick the crux on my second or third try, only to pivot off the next move and scrape my hand and arm really nicely as I grated down the slab behind me.  Wish I had video of that!  Fortunately others were a little better about having their cameras out yesterday, and we have a great video from Dan Michels of his latest sending spree, including the first footage I've seen of Curtain Call and the first known ascent of a right variation to Crimptastic since Vince broke off the awesome hold a couple months ago.  Hope it stays intact for a while!

Today Emily and I went down to Carderock to join Chris Irwin and a few other friends for some sunny slabs and riverside lounging.  As we arrived, Chris was about to lead a route to the right of the nubble face with the crux conveniently located about 15 feet over a microstopper.  

Given the fact that I always freak out on my first roped climb of the year, I'm glad I was on toprope for that one!  After doing that and a flake to the right of it, I grabbed my pads and walked down to work on Buckets of Blood for a bit.  For future reference, attempting the start without my fingernails cut is a terrible idea.  It still feels within reach though, and the middle moves felt much more static as I worked them than they had back in January.  Still a possibility before the hot weather comes back?  Who knows, but it's fun enough to work on that I'd happily put in the time whatever the outcome.

At Chris's suggestion, I put my harness back on and finished the day on Incipient, one of my new favorite routes at Carderock.  Thin and balancy with well polished crystals for feet, it's a perfect example of both Carderock climbing and the classic 5.9+ grade.  It also made me realize how many classic routes there are down there that I haven't gotten around to trying yet.  Will have to fix that soon.

It's good to be back!

Pre-Spring video roundup

The equinox is still a couple weeks away, and a few stray snowflakes are drifting past the window, but Spring is on the way for sure.  Birds singing, trees budding, and I'm especially excited to see my bulbs rising in the yard, knowing they'll soon explode into the vibrant purples, pinks, and yellows that I found my neighbors crowding around on more than one occasion last year.  I'm also excited to know I'll be back to climbing soon. Oddly enough, after over a month of pain and limited motion in my shoulder, I did three sets of dips last weekend and instantly found it restored to full function.  Still taking a couple weeks just to be safe, but traversing and hangboarding both feel great, and I almost feel like I'll come back stronger than I left.

In the meantime, the videos keep rolling in, especially important now that I've run out of Doctor Who to watch on Netflix.  Sykesville local John Brunson is staying busy in Patapsco and Morgan Run, both of which I'm looking forward to revisiting soon.  It was also great to see a new Great Falls video from Brian Spiering, whose creative eye has found so many "hidden in plain sight" problems over the last couple years.

While not actually a climbing video, Indy finally finished the Maryland Nights II project that has consumed so much of his life recently.  Having seen plenty of videos like this from out west, it was refreshing to see how much beauty could still be captured in an area where light pollution is so hard to escape.

The video I was most excited to see was one from Shawn Seifert, whose Virgin Gorda and Hueco videos I credit as being the biggest influences in my wanting to go to those places.  Although Maryland has no shortage of climbing videos, most are in the 3-5 minute range, with only a few reaching even the 10 minute mark.  I've been wanting to see someone take it into "short film" territory for a while now, and with Shawn's travel videos getting better and better, I was thrilled to hear that he was finally turning his attention locally.  In his latest video The LC, Shawn examines the idea of the local crag, especially important in an area like this where many climbers prefer to stick to the gym during the week and escape to bigger destinations on weekends.  He focuses on Rocky Gorge, Northwest Branch, High Ridge, Mount Gretna, and Carderock, where I make a little cameo appearance.  In addition to emphasizing that time on rock is valuable in any setting, he manages to contrast some of our less than picturesque rock with tranquil water shots and gorgeous foliage that remind us just how special these areas really are.

I hope this is the first of many short climbing films our community will put out, and have a couple ideas of my own that I'm so much more psyched about after seeing this.  We have the rock, the climbers, the filming and editing talent.  Time to step it up!