New pad review- Pro Spotter at The Acre

Coming off some great weekend bouldering at Coopers, my week got off to an even better start when I came home Monday night to find a new crashpad waiting at my door.

One of the new Pro Spotter pads from Asana, I've been looking forward to getting one ever since hearing about them back in July.  While it's not something I'd take huge falls onto by itself, as a part of a multi-pad system it's easily the most versatile pad I've ever seen.  At 36x22x3, it's roughly the same size as the Shorty piece of my Sir Lands-A-Lot pad, making it great for sit starts or narrow corridors.  While I've also used the Shorty as a spotting shield, keeping a good grip was often difficult, and the handles of the Pro Spotter really make it ideal for that purpose.  As if that weren't enough, the solid foam core has been replaced with a foldable 74x44x3/4 mat.  Fully deployed, it can cover two standard crashpads, safely sealing the gap to create a single landing surface.  Folded in half, it makes a comfortable sleeping pad.  And that's not all... Used in shield mode, the Pro Spotter is the ultimate in personal protection during chalk bag duels, perfect for all of those climbing partners who are also closet LARPers!

                                                                                                                                                                   Photo: Jon Alexander

Yesterday Dan and I drove out to The Acre to put my new pad to the test, meeting up with friend and photographer extraordinaire Jon Alexander for his first visit to our new favorite boulders.  After putting in a bit of work clearing out a couple of sharp stumps, we spread out the mat over my other pads while Dan made a run up Beehad.  Although he never ended up falling, we did conduct a thorough jump test, finding that the mat sealed the gaps tightly enough to have withstood a fall from the top.

                                                                                                                                                                             Photo: Jon Alexander

Next I moved around the corner to a new line I'd been looking at, starting off by laying back the left arete of Beehad to a good pinch, then turning the corner to traverse a rising crack across a tall slab.

                                                                                                     Photo: Jon Alexander

                                                                                                      Photo: Jon Alexander

Although Dan was ready with the Pro Spotter to deflect me away from the rocks behind if I fell off the upper portion of Heffalump, the pad instead got its first official use when the intended start hold blew off, sending me careening backward directly into my stunned spotter.  I can't really say how it felt on the spotting end, but as the falling body I can honestly say I've never been so comfortably redirected onto a crashpad!

As the sun continued down and we realized none of us had flashlights, Jon wanted to get a couple shots of Dan on the nearby roof, which he had originally climbed with the sharp stumps below the slopey topout fully intact.  Even though the landing was significantly safer this time, and he still didn't fall, I at least got to take a turn with the spotting shield.  While I had initially thought that the handles seemed a little high, I realized as soon as I was spotting that their position allowed the pad to naturally lay down along my body, and the dual handles allowed full control of the pad while still keeping a free hand if I needed it.

                                                                                                                                                                             Photo: Jon Alexander

Realizing we could barely see our scattered belongings to pack up, and knowing we had a mile between us and the cars, we decided to call it a night slowly make our way back out of the forest.  As we picked our way though the trees, I enjoyed the lights of Frederick twinkling below us, a sight I'd never seen before in any of my trips out there.  While we didn't get as much climbing in as usual, it was probably my most memorable visit to The Acre to date, and I'm more excited than ever to get back out there.  More to come soon...

Hot weather, cool shorts

After a winter that felt like spring, our spring is starting to feel like summer.  And not to drag out the heat vs. humidity cliche, but with the Baltimore area's climate being officially listed as humid subtropical, I can only imagine what summer has in store.  As it is, even my usual khaki shorts are starting to feel hot, which is funny considering how cool they felt when I finally switched over from my classy denim shorts.  Good thing for me there are other options!

A couple weeks ago I picked up a few pairs of Asana's new Flow shorts, and think it's safe to say the summer will be a lot more bearable as a result.  Although I was taking a couple weeks off climbing to rest an injury when they arrived, I could at least confirm that they were perfect for mid-afternoon hammocking and an early morning hang gliding session.

I did get back to climbing this weekend though, and the Flow shorts are probably the most comfortable I've ever worn on the rocks.  In addition to the light fabric keeping me cool and evaporating moisture quickly, the cut of the shorts allowed complete freedom of movement.  The surprisingly deep pockets also erased any worry about things falling out while climbing, and later at the bar I noticed that I was able to comfortably carry keys, camera, wallet, and cellphone without any annoying bulging.  I also liked the combination of elastic waist and metal snap, which not only allowed a comfortable fit, but more importantly prevented them from slipping down as I climbed.  Yes, drooping shorts do affect climbing performance, but they're also one of the prime causes of ruined photos.  Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but few things are worse than someone getting that perfect photo of you, or even worse a video of your latest FA, only to notice later that your bright yellow smiley face boxers are creeping out of the top.  While longer shirts, darker boxers, or suspenders are all equally viable options, it's nice to have one less thing to worry about.

                    Apex at Governor Stable, PA                       Photo: Jon Alexander

                   Fisticuffs at Governor Stable, PA                     Photo: Emily Close

The Flow shorts come in five great colors, all chosen for maximum visibility.  For everyday wear, I love the teal and the forest green.  For the densly wooded boulderfields of Maryland and its neighboring states, I highly recommend the orange... just a long as you don't mind getting a few stares when you stop for gas along the way.  But if you're looking for something visible even in dimly lit caves, these are it.

                     Cave Cracks at Governor Stable, PA            Photo: Emily Close

No artificial lighting or editing were used in that photo by the way.  They're really that bright.  They'll also be perfect for that week of warm weather we usually get in January, when it's actually nice enough to wear shorts during deer hunting season.

The only caution I would give is that the thin material, while being incredibly comfortable and perfect for our weather, also makes these shorts a little easier to damage in areas with overly sharp rock.  In most areas it probably wouldn't be an issue, but I did put a little gash in them on my first climb at Governor Stable yesterday.  Hooray for high friction diabase!  Still, it was just on that one climb, and afterward the shorts definitely held up way better than my skin did.  Not something I'd really worry about too much.

Overall, another fantastic product from one of my favorite companies!

Bushwhack fully padded

After almost eight months of waiting, I was psyched to finally make it back out to Bushwhack Rocks near Frederick, MD!  Although I had been going there almost every weekend in the early spring for the awesome short trad routes, I discovered from my first visit that Bushwhack had some of the best boulders around, and excitedly awaited an opportunity to return there with bouldering as the main objective.  One of the only things holding me back was my difficulty rounding up enough pads and spotters to safely check out some of the boulders I was interested in.  This weekend that all changed though, as I not only found a strong crew to make the trip out, but had in my possession a ridiculous monstrosity of a crash pad.

The Pad

The folks at Asana have done it again... I had been thinking for a while about getting a highball pad, especially with some of the taller boulders at Bushwhack in mind, and decided in October that I was ready to take the plunge.  Made with a color scheme and patch matching my Sir Lands-A-Lot pad and chalk bags, the new pad measures a gargantuan 60 x 44 x 5 inches, with closed cell foam on both the bottom and top to stiffen the landing and provide extra protection from pointy rocks lurking beneath.  For super uneven landing areas, the pad also features "pit protector" straps, which fasten across the hinge to keep the pad from folding shut when absorbing a fall to the center.  The padded shoulder straps made carrying extremely comfortable, even with the weight of my other pad attached to the back.  All around, a phenomenal pad!  Special thanks once again to Adam Healy for helping turn thought into reality, and to Erin O'Brian for the incredible patch design.

Funny how small the Sir Lands-A-Lot looks behind it!

Carrying straps and pit protectors

                                                Piggyback pads                Photo: Vincent Faires

The Bouldering
Making the return out to Bushwhack with me were Vince, Dan, Todd, and his son Drew, while Gerrit Spieker and the newly local Brian Spiering came out for their first taste.  The morning got off to a bit of a slow start when Vince didn't show up at my house at 9:00 as planned.  Not thinking much of it at first, I started to get concerned after about 20 minutes had passed, then became even more concerned when he didn't answer my text.  Figuring he had just overslept, I went into the kitchen to fill up my water bottle and saw what I initially thought was a homeless man walking past the window.  Nope, just Vince stumbling to the door after getting a whole three hours of sleep in my parking lot.

Eventually making out to Frederick, we had a surprisingly easy approach to the rocks considering the lack of a trail and my having not been there since April.  After a quick tour, we took a few slabby runs up That's Not a Woodpecker before moving around the corner to clean off two new problems on the downhill face of the boulder.  A Vision moves through a short bulge to finish straight up, while Visions starts the same and makes a lowball traverse left to finish up a shallow diagonal crack.

Gerrit looks for anything to grab on That's Not a Woodpecker

While we were warming up on those, Todd went off to put his surveying background to use, generating the beginnings of a topo for the area...

And Drew worked a really sweet low overhang with a pretty heinous topout...

From there we headed up the hill to a small roof that I'd never really looked at too closely, which Brian discovered had just enough terrible little crimps on it go.  After a few tries he nailed it, and Golden Era Sunrise was born.

Vince stoically ignoring the weeping of his tendons

We then went up to check out the Switch Boulder, a slightly overhung face split by several diagonal cracks, with a nasty talus pit below.  After moving a few of the more dangerous rocks and throwing down enough pads to make the area into an outdoor gym, we played on the boulder's three vertical lines: The Path on the left, The Elephant in the center, and The Ride on the right.

Dan finding The Path

Brian heading up The Elephant

And now testing the crash pad

The Elephant makes me look fat           Photo: Todd Hill

Vince setting off on The Ride

Reaching for the end     Photo: Brian Spiering

Deciding the day hadn't yet included enough contortion for everyone's taste, the group began working The Ride from a low start.

Brian trying one way

Dan trying another

                    Setting it up          Photo: Brian Spiering

So close...

(Edit 12/12/11:  Brian went back a week later and crushed the low start, calling it "Flipping the Switch." Way to go Brian!)

With daylight fading fast, we finished up on the Tourette's Boulder, the first boulder I ever climbed at Bushwhack and possibly still my favorite.  With what skin we had left, we each took a few shots at Tourette's Razor and Tourette's Tantrum, and Vince used his trademark combo of height and berserker rage to pimp-slap Skip the Razor.

With that the day was ended, and Vince and I made our way back for some recovery BBQ at Kloby's.  A short day, but it felt so good to get back out to Bushwhack again with such a fun group, and especially with such a sweet new pad.  Looking forward to plenty more to come... bouldering season is here!

New chalk bags too!

Another rainy weekend, but made it down to Northwest Branch for a couple hours yesterday after work.  Maybe it was the cooler temperatures, or maybe all the system board training I've been doing, but it went MUCH better than my last visit!  Although I didn't work on any projects as originally planned, it felt good to finish three of my favorites (Snowflake Traverse Variation, Mikey Likes It, and The Traverse) in a single try each.  I also had an awesome time hanging out with a couple that were bouldering on the Floating Pyramid when I got there, and joined me when I crossed the river to play on The Tick.  ***And if you two are reading this, the email you sent me unfortunately didn't come through, so here's the address if you want to try again***

The day was also exciting because it was my first opportunity to get out and dirty up my new chalk bags, which until then had been relegated to gym duty.  Made by the crew at Asana Climbing to match my awesome crash pad, they feature miniature versions of the patch designed by the talented Erin O'Brien and embroidered by the good folks at Custom Patches.

The Community Bucket features a huge interior with a comfortable fleece lining, a water resistant bottom, brush holder, and durable carry loop.  The roomy zipper pocket on the side was perfect for storing my keys, as I've recently been reminded that falling with objects in my pocket (especially keys and cameras) rarely ends well.  All of this topped off with a brilliant dual-closure system, utilizing both a drawstring and a zipper to prevent spillage.

The Biggie bag, while at first glance too bulky to be comfortably worn while climbing, has turned out to be the best chalk bag I've ever used.  No more fumbling to get my hand through a narrow opening, just an effortless entry into fleece-lined happiness.  I'd actually never realized how much energy I'd expended just in the simple act of chalking up, but even one less moment spent hanging off terrible holds can make all the difference.  Maybe it's all psychological, but I honestly feel like I've been climbing harder since I've been using it.

A huge thanks once again to Erin, to Adam Healy and everyone else at Asana, and to Custom Patches.  I love my new toys!

New crash pad!

Photo: Jonathan Alexander

Went out to Mt. Ephraim near Sugarloaf Mountain yesterday for a bit of bouldering with Jon Alexander and Rob Brockett.  Not sure what the problems were that we found ourselves on, but it was a nice afternoon of good rock, perfect weather, and breaking in my new crash pad.

That's right!  After a few eager months of working out the details, what started as an awkwardly hungover Wednesday was suddenly redeemed by the sight of a FedEx truck out the window, and the driver carrying my new Asana Sir Lands-A-Lot pad to my door.  I loved it!  I know I've told a bunch of people about the pad over the past couple months, but as a proud new "parent" I feel compelled to repeat it again here...

The Pad


Having used the Sir Lands-A-Lot pads a few times on trips to NV and CA, I had been wanting to buy one of my own for a while.  Earlier this spring, I decided it was time for a new pad, and went to the Asana website to see what the color options were... and then saw that they also had a customizable pad called the Disturbed.  Now I faced a bit of a dilemma: do I get an awesome pad that I already know I like, or a different style that I can customize?  Or can I do both?

I emailed Asana to find out whether the pad concepts could be combined, and soon had a reply from Adam Healy basically saying "we don't really do that, but yeah we'll do it."  I knew I liked these guys!  And sure, maybe that willingness to work with customers is true of climbing companies in general, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten that same consideration if I'd called Nike asking for a customized shoe.  At least not until my NFL career takes off!  In any case the pad I wanted was a possibility, and after a few weeks of Adam helping me shape thought into reality, here's what we came up with...

The main pad measures 48" x 36" x 3", and the attached "Shorty" pad measuring 36" x 24" can either be stacked on top or deployed to the side to cover pointy rocks and nasty roots.  The interior is bright red for better visibility in photos, while the dark and light green exterior allows me to minimize my visual impact on other user groups while making our heavily forested approaches.  Depending on my need, the Shorty pad can also be flipped over to show either the red or the green side while walking:  green if I want to blend in a bit during summer, or red as a big "please don't shoot me" sign for bouldering during hunting season.  In use, the pad is light and comfortable to carry, as well as comfortable to fall on.  On a past trip to California, I found that the comfort of these pads extended indoors as well.  With both pads laid end to end and fitted with a single sheet, it makes for a wonderful night of sleep.

The Patch

Of all the bouldering I've done, some of my favorite problems haven't been the hardest.  Rather I've frequently been drawn to technically easier lines where the results of falling would be a bit more drastic.  So far it's worked out for me, but a couple months back one of my siblings helpfully reminded me of the saying that there are old climbers and bold climbers, but there are no (or few) old bold climbers.  At first I joked that I should have it embroidered on a crash pad as a "don't be a dumbass" warning.  After thinking about it a bit though, I decided that some sort of symbol representing the phrase might actually be a good idea.

Thinking about the old/bold contrast, my mind immediately went to a yin-yang design, with an old man to represent the old, and some sort of animal representing boldness.  So I looked up Chinese zodiac animals, going along with the yin-yang theme, and found that boldness is represented by the tiger.  And suddenly felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach.  For me, the tiger already had a meaning.  It represented my friend Jonny, the boldest climber I ever knew, who had died while climbing in China a couple years before.  And here I was with a Chinese symbol that could basically be interpreted as "tigers don't grow old."  For a couple weeks the design stalled.  As perfect as it initially seemed, was it somehow insensitive in light of this new connection?  Or was it all the better a reminder of the message?

After a good deal of meditation on the concept, I decided to go for it.  Knowing I wasn't nearly talented enough to pull it off, I searched ever more widely before realizing that the artist had been in front of me all along.  In case of great timing, Earth Treks had a poster design contest for an upcoming competition, and the winning submission came from my friend Erin O'Brien.  Impressed with her work, I explained the design I was trying to create, and was thrilled when she agreed to do it.  Now, Erin will tell you that she works best when given a deadline, but I'm not sure I agree.  Yes, she took longer to do it than she said she would... but after every delay she came back with an even more amazing design, and I can't thank her enough for all the time and energy she put into it.

After that, I sent Erin's design off to Custom Patches, and it was just a matter of waiting.  Again, the wait was longer than I'd anticipated, but the final result even better than I had expected.  When the patches were complete, I had one sent directly to Asana, and they finished up the pad and had it out to me just in time for my return from Yosemite (more about that later).

I still blown away by how much I love this pad.  A huge thanks to everyone involved, but especially to Erin for the patch design, and to Adam and the rest of Asana for making it happen.  You guys are amazing!