Rockcastle

We were feeling DENSE from Thanksgiving turkey as Andrew, Matt, and I headed down I-75 toward Rockcastle, KY for some bouldering yesterday. The weather was perfect, 50s and sunny, and we were ready to deflower some Kentucky boulders!

We started on Boulder One at Mainside where Andrew flashed two really good v6's and Matt and I were left to struggle. He tried Adam's v10 crimp-crimp-dyno while I tried to link the Seam. Here's a pic of Andrew doing the v8 traverse across the boulder.

We then trekked over to the Otherside to the Credit Crunch area. After stomping off the loose jug-foot on Credit Crunch, Matt got the first post-"break" send, one of his favorite of the day. Andrew brushed and cleaned David's arete project for later and then we tried out some lines on the Gotham City roof.

After some cleaning and beta figuring a SICK line materialized. A huge jump move followed by sagging into double toehooks on one hand! So good. FA of Core Values v7! The low start Full Value v8 will definitely be sent next time!

By the end of working the super core-intensive roof for a couple hours we were pretty shot and climbed a few tall slopey problems before heading back home. All in all a very awesome day!

Triple Crown HP40

Great Success!!

Every conceivable factor contributed to this years HP40 event being an excellent weekend. On Friday Hannah and I loaded up the X-Terra and headed towards Lexington to pick up Matt and Chelsea then trekked south to the sandstone mecca in Steele, Alabama. Psyche was high as I described the intricate subtleties of Horsepens to Matt and Chelsea (neither had been there before). We finally arrived around 11pm Friday night but couldn't help grabbing the pads and rushing into the boulderfield for a late-night session! 2 hours and a little lost skin later we stumbled towards our tents for some much needed sleep before the main event.

The morning dawned bright but cold, with nighttime lows dipping into the high 20s. Competitors moved slowly around the demo booths trying to shake off the frosty air and work out their circuits as they accumulated stickers, t-shirts, coffee, and other SWAG. All of us exploited FiveTen's policy of giving out free t-shirts with their free shoe demos and I excitedly procured one of their new models, the FiveTen Hornet, for the day.

OK before I talk about the comp, let me say these shoes are freaking SWEET! They are a soft downturned shoe with ridiculously sticky rubber, a good heel, and are so comfortable! I can't wait for these things to hit the shelves. (Think FiveTen Project mixed with La Sportive Testerossa)

ANYWAYS... The four of us started off the day together near the Front Slabs on a pretty awesome v2 that deserves a cooler name than "Groove 2". Chelsea, who came really close on it the night before, managed the send on her first attempt and was able to quickly get some points on her Beginner (V0-V2) scorecard. They then graciously followed me to Slag (v5) to give me some inspiration and a careful spot for the dyno. I was able to stick the lip 2nd go and was psyched to start my day off with a quick v5. Chelsea took a video of the send but they're waiting til they purchase a new computer to edit their footage.

Matt then came with me to Permanent Scream (v5) where quite the long queue had developed. I had never tried the problem and am not generally a fan of flailing in front of a bunch of strangers so I sat back absorbing beta for a couple minutes as a pulled on the Hornets. Luckily for me they had excellent toe-cam beta for one of the moves, and I came very close on my first go. After modifying the beta for my body and adding a toehook for the crux lunge I summited the boulder with another v5 in the bag in only 5 or 6 go's.

After Permanent Scream I split with Matt, Chelsea, and Hannah and made my way over to the Slider boulder to try another problem I'd never been on before, Cuts like a Knife (v5). It was PACKED. Nearly 20 people crowded into a tiny corridor left me a bit hesitant to jump in, but I saw Holly and some other Chatty peoples so I sat down and relaxed for a few minutes before hopping into the line for Cuts Like a Knife. After finally getting my turn I pulled onto the jug, pasted a right toe, and started climbing... FLASH! I hardly remember thinking anything while I was climbing, no awareness of all the people, that it was a comp, that I was doing anything other than what I wanted to - just climbing. After getting signatures I joined up with the Chatty group to head over to another v5, Warning Signs.

(Matt trying Cuts Like a Knife after the comp)

After watching 2 people climb Warning Signs I pulled on hoping for another flash, but to no avail. I blew off a Very sharp crimp and was left stomping around cursing the pain in my middle finger for a few minutes before I tried again. 3rd go was money and I topped out with my fourth v5 in only 10 or so total attempts!!

While a few other people in our group tried Warning Signs, I tried a v6 close to there called Old Inspirations. I was able to come decently close on this boulder but decided to leave it for another day when I had more time, energy, and skin to waste. It isn't a particularly beautiful piece of rock but I really like how it climbs!

Next on the agenda was Redneck (v6) back by the lookout boulder. I got a little beta for the problem but my first go was relatively blind. It went well, making the initial iron-cross move with ease then mixing up the flow on the rest of the problem. I was able to piece the moves together quickly and anticipated another quick send. This, however, is the point in my day that Horse Pens 40 bit back. For 2 gruesome hours I fell on the end of Redneck, with many tantrums in between. Finally, after realizing I was ruining my day, I grudgingly trekked back to the front to get eat some trailmix and drink a Gatorade to replenish my body and mind for the remaining 6 spots on my scorecard.

Next was Whiplash (v5), which fell quickly on my 2nd go. Back in business! Then on to Slabalicious (v6)... CRAMP! Holy Mother of hamstring cramping. My body was worn out, and I only had 5 problems.

I knew I only had a little left in the tank so I grabbed Matt and headed to the Centerpede area and quickly tick'd Centerpede (v4), Double Groove (v3), and Horsepower (v3). I gave two attempts on Sideline (v5) but my skin and muscles were rebelling against me and I had to move on.

I then, for reasons only known to me, thought it might be a good idea to take repeated falls from the top of the mega-highball Fun Dip (v5). It is so tall that a climber, walking by me and Matt who were trying the problem with one pad, said "I don't want to climb that, but will you please use my crashpad? I can ask my friends if you can use theirs too, you're scaring me..." I once again failed to manage the send and hobbled away even more exhausted than before. I finished off my scorecard with Bump That (v3) and Grooverider (v3) and slowly made my way up to turn in my scores.

I didn't place. Oh well, my best day at HP40 by far! Hopefully LRC will mean a victory for me!

On the other hand, Chelsea Rupp, in her first ever outdoor bouldering experience, won Beginner Women!!!!! She was grinning for hours as she carried around her Dolomite bouldering bag that contained, among other things, a $150 gift certificate to Five Ten!!

Hannah Gill did awesome as well! Filling out her entire Beginner Women scorecard that even included a highball v2!! Congrats!

Matt, who apparently didn't try hard enough, was insistent that we go back out climbing after the awards party so we lit up the lantern and went to the Lou-ser roof where he was able to do Crisifix (v4) really quickly! Good work man! I tried Lou-ser (v6) some but was pretty thrashed. He then tried Cuts Like a Knife (v5) while I gave a couple tries on Boomslang (v6) and we called it a night. All in all... a fantastic weekend!

("Maybe I am tired...")

Derby Pie Photoshoot

Red River Gorgeous this past weekend! Sunday consisted mostly of shooting a picture for the upcoming Derby Pie calendar, starring Matt Rupp as the stud climber.

Saturday was a mileage day for me at Drive-By-Crag! I tried to get several pitches in and try to build a little endurance for the upcoming fall-tacular season at the Red. In order:

Breakfast Burrito 5.10d (onsight)

Spirit Fingers 5.11c

Spirit Fingers 5.11c

Whip Stocking 5.11a (flash)

Spirit Fingers 5.11c

Yadda Yadda 5.11b

Breakfast Burrito 5.10d

Reel Rock Film Tour

Vote for "Vertical World"! Spencer Victory's production shot at Red River Gorge!

http://www.reelrocktour.com/contest/

Happy Birthday to Me!

So Wednesday was my birthday and I must say, the people that love me have spoiled me this year. Steph got me a Jetboil cooking system and my parents got me a Tokina 12-24 f/4 wide angle lens! I can't wait to make hot spiked cider and shoot epic bouldering pics this fall!

In other news, I really am sick of this heat. My birthday was the hottest day of the year thus far with heat indices of 115 all day, and it shows no sign of breaking. I feel super motivated to climb and take pictures but all my plans are in a holding pattern until the weather breaks, which will be another month probably.

I signed up to take the LSAT in October! In a rare show of initiative I also got a prep book for the exam so I don't fly in completely blind. The first recommendation of the book was to take a practice test, which I did. Scored a 166 (95 percentile), which is pretty decent, but hopefully I can raise it another 5 points or so on the actual exam.

Top 3 Law School Prospects:

UNC Chapel Hill, NC
UC Boulder, CO
Cornell Ithaca, NY

So this Saturday-Wednesday Steph and I are gonna be out at the Red! Hopefully I can tick off some hardish routes despite the heat and put some beta work on some harder routes for the Fall. We're taking road bikes too so should be a good time!

Kevin Jorgeson at Hueco Tanks

Hueco Rock Rodeo ticklist (top 6 problems count)

v11,v13,v12,v12,v12,v12

Updates from the North

Tyler relaxes in the "seat" after the mental Crux of 'First Amendment'

Me Working 'Red Scare' V8 (Photo by Matt Lowber)

Tyler sticks the crux of 'Rock Biter' V7/8
Some Quick Updates from Alaska.

First Tyler Johnson decided Alaska was the place to be, so he drove up here and has been crushing. He's also found a job and is working on a place to stay when it gets chilly.

Bouldering.

Hatcher Pass is the place to be, some sick boulders in the newly established Independence Mine area offer super crimpy hard problems.

Some fun sends:

'Rock Biter' V7/8. Tyler sent this after only a few goes in a single day, I came back three days later and flew up this third go of the day.

Captain Kaboom: V1?

Unknown V3

Unknown V6

I've also worked a sick super crimpy problem sent for the FA later that day by Matt Lowber, it goes V8 and was christened 'Red Scare.'

Wookie Wall:

Tyler, My friends Rachel Silverstein and Aleks Pfaffe, and I made a trip to Wiener Lake to climb at Wookie wall. Tyler tested himself on the goofy climbing of the area on the warmup: 'First Amendment' 5.11a, falling at the difficulty crux, he sent second go. We also worked 'Face the Damage' 5.11b/c, a pumpy route with a hard hand jam crux. Tyler tested his onsight ability on 'Breaking the Chains' falling at the first crux and the upper crux while figuring out crucial beta. Tyler and I also worked a sweet powerful 5.13a called 'Illuminati' which has a dead point and a full dyno crux, this we decided was fairly stout for the grade, probably meriting a 5.13a/b rating.

Hatcher Pass, and Recent Alaska updates.

Alaska climbing has been full of surprises and some good climbing lately.

A few weeks ago Katie Scatena came for a surprise visit. We managed to get some rock climbing in. We did 'Classic Crack' a fun two pitch trad climb which goes a 5.8+, 5.8. The next day we made a trip up to Wookie Wall and did some fun overhanging pumpy granite climbing. I started working 'Catalyst' 5.12c, there is a direct start to this that is quite a bit harder, 13b perhaps. Katie finished up our day leading 'First Amendment'.

Now for the more serious part of the post, perhaps a follow up to Allen's earlier post about the dangers of climbing. On tuesday the 6th (?) of July. I had three friends climbing at the 'Wedge', a high alpine crag with an hour and 45 min. approach, my friend and often my partner Kelsey, and extremely competent and experienced climber was on route when a freak rock fall occurred. A large rock slammed into his chest and throat, ripping him and his belayer off the wall, and into a fifty foot tumble down scree. Kelsey was flown out helicopter with serious although non life threatening injuries, and his partner suffered a broken foot. The moral of this story I suppose is that accidents happen, even to the most experienced climbers, and it's wise to expect them every time you touch the rock. The next day, I went to rescue gear. Accidents and danger are around every corner. On the same tuesday we were heading to climb at 'Pivot Point' A fun short crag with a handful of decent routes from 5.7 to a 5.14 project. We headed up the hill towards the crag concerned about bears. I was about 15 feet in front of my partner, when a big brown shape loomed out of the brush, and started crashing towards me. Before I knew it, this animal was on top of me, and "I'm going to die" flashed through my mind. I fell over and rolled into a small ball trying to protect my head. It was only from the ground that I realized moose hooves were crashing on either side of me. I started screaming "Run Hannah, Run!" Hannah made it to a tree as the moose saw her and went after her, giving me a second or two to regain my feet and dash to the tree. I climbed into the tree as the moose charged us again, and again. The last time I saw her coming from 50 feet away, I had no way to attack back except my voice, which I used. the moose finally backed off. Had I had a firearm or mace, I would have used it.

I've been doing some other climbing. I've had two beautiful days in Hatcher Pass with one overcast one. I've lead some fun trad lines, two pitches of 'Toto' 5.8, 5.7, 'The Slot' 5.7, were two of the best although I did a "sport" 10a that required gear and runouts as well as a 5.7 that required several 30+ foot runouts between bolts. I've also managed to get some bouldering in at the pass. Including some repeat ascents: 'Indian Head Arete' V2, and unknown V5 on the same boulder, and yesterday a FA on a 20 ft V1 we named 'Nuptial Ball'.

Summer at the Red

Red River Gorge in the summertime is not for the faint of heart. The stifling humidity and sweltering heat provide a one-two punch capable of deflating even the most adventurous soul into a sweaty mass of whining and complacency. The bugs bite, the snakes lurk, and bears come lumbering around in an effort to drive the masses back to their backyard barbeques and air conditioned lifestyles. The local flora, even, aides the fauna in their attack upon trespassers. Poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak will leave you itching, stinging nettles will leave you cursing, and at every turn rhododendron fields make movement laborious and claustrophobic. Still around? The indigenous people of the 3rd poorest county in the nation will steal the lint out of your pockets should you turn your head for a second.

For those who choose adventure over comfort, however, the memories of those two low humidity days, the trips into lexington for liquor, and that(those) near death experience(s), are more valuable and enduring than the bugbites, sunburn, or hangovers. The Red in the summertime can be grueling, but the experiences are authentic, lasting, and worth the steep price of admission.

This past weekend, for me, was a reminder of these truths I learned last summer. My Thursday-Sunday trip was rich with stories of sketchy offroading, rainy day crag hunting, a keg of Newcastle with the Miguel’s crew (including the man himself), and excellent climbing. Did I send anything of note? Absolutely not. Didn’t matter at all. A bottle of Ale-8, a good slice of pie, and a group of friends to sharing stories. The good life.

Red River Gorge Bouldering

Part of my last weekend was spent cleaning/poaching boulder problems on Natural Bridge property at the Red. Mark Osbourne, however, informed me that should I get caught by the rangers, its a $250 dollar fine and they will confiscate my gear. Dilemmas...

This boulder problem is on the road easement and is thusly fair game

Table Top v3 from Allen Chaney on Vimeo.

This is Matt Rupp at Friction Slab boulder.

"Black Fly" - Boone, NC

Black Fly from Allen Chaney on Vimeo.

Climbing Is Dangerous

This may seem like an obvious statement, but scaling large rock faces can pose significant health risks to its participants. Somehow, though, this seems to be a point of fact lost on the mass migration of gym rats from plastic to rock. Yes, you can climb v8 problems in your gym, but can you thread a rope through a gri-gri correctly? Can you keep your hand on the brake rope? Can you clean a route then rappel from the anchors? When it comes down to it, there is no substitute for experience outside climbing, but hubris has prevented the new generation of climbers from asking the right questions, and learning from the dirty old veterans. There are reasons they were able to survive the climbing lifestyle.

Dungeon Roof (Hwy 221)

Dungeon Roof (Hwy 221) from Allen Chaney on Vimeo.

February Climbing

Alaska isn't known for it's winter rock climbing, but none the less, with current temps in the high 30's to mid 40's, we decided a climbing trip was in order! We drove about an hour and 45 mins north of Anchorage to Puritan Wall. This wall is close to the road which makes a snowy approach. After a failed attempt at driving off road to a camping spot, which quickly turned into a truck rescue, as we dug out of a snow bank, we got up to the wall. we set up a one bolt belay about 20 feet off the deck, we didn't get climbing until it was dark. Kyle quickly (and intentionally) kicked a large rock of the ledge, as it was threatening anyone on the ground. By headlamp, Kyle led a 5.10a and quickly got off route, finishing on the chains for a 12a next door. he clipped three bolts on the 60 foot route. Kelsey began rope soloing aid climbing the "11b" to our left. about half way up, he discovered that Kyle's Rock had core shot his rope, meaning he had been essentially free solo aid climbing. I quickly polled his rope through and reanchored it.

After we got our fill in, and temps started to drop, we rapped to the ground, and set up camp. we huddled around a fire to keep warm and ate food, and drank some Moose's Tooth brew. Then it was bed time. Over the night, temps dropped to 0 to -5 degrees. In my -20 sleeping bag, I remained toasty.

Day two broke sunny and cold. By 10:30 or 11 it had begun to warm up, so we headed up to the wall. we top roped the climbs which we had put up the day prior, and Kyle led the "11b" which after we had all fallen at the blank slab section called solid 12a. We climbed on a core shot rope all day long. On our way back to town, we drove back a side road to look at the Ravine Lake wall, there we discovered a car that was stuck and frantically being dug out. We threw our weight into pushing and digging, to a successful rescue.

I had a great time climbing finally and am looking forward to better temps and warmer rock!