Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Rocktober-fest at the New River Gorge

Climbing. New River Gorge.
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Cragbaby with his favorite lady photographer...

After a small string of crappy weather trips a few weekends back, I was starting to think our rain curse was back…but au contraire!  Despite both nights plummeting to a frosty 35 degrees, the daytime temps went from frigid to an ideal 60 degrees within a couple of hours of the sun rise, much to everyone’s delight.  Although we had a pretty big crew with a wide range of skill levels represented, I think everyone managed to get their fair share of pump and exposure, along with a healthy dose of fall color.

We spent Saturday at Endless Wall, which is probably my favorite place to climb at the New River Gorge.  An even mix of both sport and trad, the nearly five miles of continuous cliffline features mostly technical face climbing (as well as several amazing cracks) on near perfect rock with amazing exposure.  Most of the lines are long, rope-stretching single pitches – ending with a spectacular view of the river (dotted with rafters in the warmer months).

Flash Point....right about when things got hard.

Day 1 Routes –
Stroke Victim (5.8) – This 50 foot trad climb is a short little ditty that climbs Finial Point, a detached spire right off the trail.  I thought the gear was adequate (though certainly not plentiful), and the crux was not protected well, so it wouldn’t be a good one for someone with 5.8 as a limit.
Euronation (5.11c)– A long time favorite that always feels good to send.  Nail the V3 boulder problem down low, then enjoy a reward of 10b face climbing for another 80 feet.
Flash Point (5.11d/12a) – Hmmm, not sure how I felt about this one…Loved it?  Can’t say that.  Hated it?  No, that’s too strong.  Proud of myself for tackling it?  Yes, definitely.  I was forewarned that this was definitely 12a for the sub-6 ft crowd, which I would have to say was quite the understatement.  Not one but two dynos (one of which had horrible feet), along with an insanely long reach (picture one hand pressed out completely to finger tips, then add a little deadpoint).  At least it was really well bolted (12 for 100 feet), so the struggle was all physical.  It took me 45 minutes to hang dog my way up it, and I almost bailed twice, but it felt good to push myself.  Without a doubt the most sustained hard route I’ve ever led.
Leave It To Jesus (5.11c)– After feeling guilty for taking so long on Flash Point, I was happy to clean this outrageous crack line for Sam, who’s been projecting it for a while.  (Note for Non-climbers – “cleaning” a route means going up last and removing all of the gear, not a big deal on bolted routes, but can sometimes be a pain on trad routes.) I’m so glad I did however, since it ended up being my favorite line of the day!  Aside from hanging twice to bang on a few stubborn stoppers that were trying hard to get stuck, I had no trouble with the actual climbing, and felt like the sequences flowed together perfectly.

What's the best way to draw a great day of climbing to a close? Pies n Pints, of course!

Voyeur Variation (5.10a) – What a great way to end the day!  This mixed line is a variation to a rarely done sport route that goes out a gigantic roof.  Face climb past two bolts (the moves are very “sporty” and felt odd doing them with a rack).  Then plug some gear in the roof and continue around left  up a perfect dihedral.  Very good gear stances and straightforward climbing makes this a perfect route for a trad leader breaking into 5.10 territory.

Our group designated Sunday as “Send-day” and opted to bask in the sunshine over at Whippoorwill, where most of the lines there can only be reached on foot when the water is low in the fall and early spring.  This area boasts a lot of bolted moderate lines, as well as a wall filled with intimidating and aesthetic 5.11’s, but the best part about it is the setting – sun-drenched white stone set against a backdrop of a clear lake and autumn in full swing!

Norbert taking in a spectacular fall display of color

Day 2 Routes –
Masuko (5.11a) – Not a typical warm-up for me, but after all, it was Sunday Send-day, right?  I’d been waiting to give this sucker another go since last spring, when a thundershower had thwarted my redpoint dreams.  My redpoint run went textbook how I wanted it to go, and set a great tone for the rest of the day.  This fantastic route is a line I could do over and over again – technical layback crux about halfway up, followed by long moves to good but rounded holds, the kind that are just slopey enough to get your pump clock ticking.  Pretty stout for the grade, but a classic for sure.

Me happy to be climbing in the sun on Masuko 5.11a

Nonamayet (5.11a) – This line felt physically easier than Masuko, but was a little harder to read, especially towards the top.  There was a lot of weird undercling action, and I almost blew the onsight at the top on some intermediate slopers but thankfully gained the flake I needed at the last minute.
Bender (5.11d)– There was a runout at the top of at least 20 feet on terrain that another party informed us was 5.10+.  (Another non-climber note – A “runout” occurs when there is a section of rock on a route that is not protected well, either because the bolts are really far apart or because the nature of the rock in that section doesn’t lend itself well to taking gear placements.  A fall in a runout for a lead climber will therefore be a LOT longer and potentially more serious than the same type of fall on well-protected terrain).  A 5.10+ runout didn’t sound appetizing to me but the route looked like fun, so I toproped it after Bennett put it up – and although I didn’t have any trouble in that section, was very much satisfied with my decision.

April tackling Bongo (5.7) while Steve shakes out on a hand jam on Gimme a Clown (5.9)

Kazuko (5.11b) – This line started on top of a big ledge (its a “tree island” when the water is high) in the corner.  It got two stars in the guidebook so I decided to give it a whirl, although in hindsight I don’t see how it got any stars, and I promise I’m not just saying that because I had a hard time with it!  This would definitely be a challenging onsight – deceptive, beta-intensive sequences, sandy holds, spider webs galore, and oh yeah, a softball sized block crumbled under my feet when I tried to rock onto a bulge, leaving me with a slightly busted up shin and feeling pretty timid for the rest of the route.  (Ironically enough this happened a mere two weeks after my giveaway post about helmets, where there ended up being quite a discussion in the comments thread surrounding rock quality and helmets.)

So we ended up with two stellar days of climbing interspersed with a few tall tales around the campfire, a hearty meal at Pies n Pints, and lots of gorgeous fall scenery.  I wish we could have gotten in a few more routes each day, but what we did squeeze in was definitely quality.  We couldn’t have asked for better climbing conditions (although I’m sure no one would have been complaining about an extra 10 degrees or so at night…)  This was more than likely our last trip to the New until spring of next year, so it was a great way to wrap up a fabulous season where lots of projects were sent and many fun memories were made!  (And oh yeah, our favorite climbing photog, Manuela Eilert was on this trip, so that of course means photo gallery!  Click here to check it out).

 

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How to Use Your Stick Clip (a Collaboration with the Crag-Daddy)

Gear Reviews.
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For those of you that remember my recent post a few weeks ago regarding the DIY stick clip, you may also remember that I promised a subsequent post on how to use your handy dandy new pole.  (Or you may have forgotten all about it since it’s taken us so long to finally take these videos…sorry about that).   Anway, since my hubby prides himself in his mastery of stick clip tricks (and while I have no trouble hanging a draw, compared to Steve my “trick” skills are that of a mere apprentice), an instructional post like this was right up his alley, so he was enthusiastic about helping me.  So here’s the how to’s from Crag-Daddy, aka Stick Clip Jedi (along with some colorful interjections from Cragmama)…

There are several ways to utilize a stick clip.  The following tricks and tips should help you be successful at your next sport climbing adventure.

TRICK #1 – HANGING A QUICKDRAW (w/rope attached)
When it’s Useful: If the first bolt is too high, the landing too sketchy, or the climbing under the 1st bolt seems too difficult, you’ll want to pre-hang your draw, complete with rope running through it.
How to do it:

  • Extend your stick clip to the desired length making sure that all sections are locked / tight
  • Open the clamp on your stick clip and place the bolt hanging biner of the quickdraw into the clamp so that the gate stays open.
  • Clip the rope through the other biner of the quickdraw making sure that when the quickdraw is hung that you aren’t back clipped.  If you happen to mess that up, it’s not a big deal, you can pull the rope through to ensure you aren’t back clipped.
  • Try to hook the biner that’s in the clamp onto the bolt. Sometimes different angles will be required to get the quickdraw hung. This can take a lot of practice in order to do it quickly.
  • Pull hard on the pole so that the clamp is released from the quickdraw.  If you didn’t make all sections of your stick clip locked / tight as in the first step above, this is where your stick clip could fall apart and potentially hit someone.
  • Clear as mud?  Click here for a video.
TRICK #2 – PULLING THE ROPE (w/ first bolt clipped)
When its Useful:  Let’s say someone has already led a route and the rope is already through all of the quickdraws, but the next climber would prefer to lead the route rather than follow – it’s nice to be able to pull the rope in such a way as to keep the 1st bolt clipped in.
How to do it:

  • Using the open side of the clamp as a hook, pull the part of the rope above the quickdraw down to within arms reach
  • Continue pulling the rope on the side that is going through the anchors at the top
  • Once both ends of the rope are on the ground, determine which side to use as the sharp end (so you’re not back clipped)
  • Still don’t get it?  Click here for the video.

 

 
 TRICK #3 – HANGING A ROPE ON AN EXISTING DRAW
When it’s Useful:  Oops, you’re partner pulled the rope for you and didn’t know about Trick #2.  Or, you pulled your rope for use on a different route, then came back later to send your project (still equipped with quickdraws).

  • Create a loop of rope that is bigger than the biner on your quickdraw
  • Clamp one side of this loop and leave the other side free to move but contained inside the clamp opening.  Make sure you steady this side with your hand so the loop stays the correct size as you are raising the pole up in the air
  • Move the loop over the biner on your quickdraw so that the clamp is on the spine side of the biner
  • Gently pull the side of the rope in your hand until it is clipped into the biner
  • Hold both ends of the rope and pull hard on the stick clip
  • Need a visual?  Click here for the video.
  
 TRICK #4 – REMOVING A DRAW
When it’s Useful: You tried pushing your limits and got in over your head.  Now you can’t even get to the second bolt.  You have two choices – use the stick clip to continue clipping your way up the route (aka the Clip of Shame) or you could bail and nurse your injured ego from the safety of the ground.  You could always lower from a leaver ‘biner, but if your last clip is within reach of your pole, you don’t have to leave any gear.

  • Create a loop of rope that is bigger than the biner on your quickdraw just like in trick #3
  • Clamp one side of this loop and leave the other side free to move but contained inside the clamp opening.  Make sure you steady this side with your hand so the loop stays the correct size as you are raising the pole up in the air
  • Move the loop over the bottom biner on your quickdraw and contine to the biner that is hanging on the bolt so that the clamp is on the spine side of the biner
  • Gently pull the side of the rope in your hand until it has opened the gate of the biner enough to attempt to remove it from the bolt hanger.  Make sure you don’t pull it too much so that the gate closes on the biner.  If this happens, hold both ends of the rope and pull hard on the stick clip so it is no longer clamped on the rope.  Pull the rope so it’s not going through the biner any longer and start over.
  • Gently manuver the biner so it is no longer on the bolt hanger.  This may take a lot of practice to get right.
  • Sound too good to be true?  Click here to see the video.
  
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The Green Hour Combo – A Family Affair

Biking.
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Making sure the bikes are in ship-shape!

Last week I wrote about Green Hours and grandparents, and about all of the cross-generational memories that can come from spending time in nature with extended family.  This week however, I wanted to focus a little closer to home – with immediate family.  If you are a frequent visitor to this site, you’ll know that its no secret that the majority of our weekends are spent outside at the crag scaling cliffs.  I’m pretty certain that when Cragbaby looks back at his early nature memories, most of them will involve ropes, helmets, and tents.  To put it mildly, I guess you could say rock climbing is kind of our “thing.”

"Let's go guys! What are we waiting for?!?"

That doesn’t mean that our green hours involve only rocks.  There are plenty of times where our family outdoor time revolves around more “mainstream” activities – like bikes, neighborhood parks, and jogging strollers.  In fact, just a few weekends ago we took a break from climbing to give ourselves a chance to catch up on stuff around the house and to do the things that normal people do on the weekends.  The weather was great, so getting outside and enjoying the sunshine was definitely a priority.  However we had a mile long to-do list…our solution?  The Green Hour Combo.  Here’s two examples of how we made our nature fix a family affair…

I guess we can't go a whole weekend without someone climbing SOMETHING!

RUN/PLAY/RUN
After a morning of errands, Cragbaby crashed without any trouble around lunchtime.  That gave the hubster and I ample time to clean the house, pay bills, etc.  When Cragbaby woke up, we had a couple of hours to kill before commencing dinner plans, so we decided to take action.  We loaded C in the stroller with a homemade smoothie, book, and toy of choice (that day it was a plastic truck), and hit the ground running…literally.  There is a really cool park connected to an elementary school a couple miles away from our house.  We go there a fair amount – you can read about past adventures here.  It was the perfect distance for us to jog there, chase C around the playground apparatus for a while, then jog back.  Workout for mom and dad?  Check.  Green Hour for the kiddo?  Check.  Family quality time?  Check.

Daddy is pretty proud of the fact that C could hold himself on the rings, and only needed a close spot just in case

BIKE/SWING/BIKE
The next day we spent the morning at church, and again caught up on household duties as well as some guidebook writing while C napped.  By the time he arose, we were all ready and raring to go.  In the interest of variety we opted for a different park this time – Davies Park.  Davies Park is a little far for us to go to on foot (clearly we are climbers, not endurance athletes…), but its the perfect biking distance, especially if we meander through the backroads so that we can enjoy the scenery rather than getting bogged down in traffic.  After getting C situated in the bike trailer, we were off to the park.  Steve and I put in some good time in the saddle, and C got to swing to his littler heart’s content.  He must have had a good time, because everytime I looked back at him in the trailer, he had a perma-grin glued to his face.  Mommy and Daddy were in a pretty good mood too.

It's not a trip to the park without the pure ecstasy that is swings...

Had we taken turns watching C so that we could each have individual, regimented workouts at the gym, we would have spent twice the time trying to get some exercise in, and would never have been able to cross off our entire to-do list.  But not only were we able to get things done, the time spent together was rejuvenating for body, mind and soul.  What works for your family – maybe we’re the only ones with a name for it, but our family can’t be the only one that takes advantage of the “Green Hour Combo.”  Feel free to share your go-to “together” activities here!

 

 

 

 

 

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A Day at Dixon

Climbing. North Carolina.
3 Comments.

Cragbaby teaching his new assistant how to brush off holds.

We had a few things to get done this weekend (not the least of which involved taking Cragbaby to a pumpkin patch), but the weather was too good to pass up – so we ended up spending Saturday at our local bouldering area – Dixon School Road Boulders.  We actually had spent a quick evening session there once back in the summer of 2009 – Steve was in Charlotte on business, and since I was teaching at the time and out of school for the summer, I’d gone with him.  (It turns out I was also pregnant with C at the time, but didn’t know it).  Ever since we moved to Charlotte we’d been itching to check it out again, especially since our friend Matt recently published a guidebook to the area, but have been waiting for the weather to cool down a bit, since the area bakes in the sun.

Gus making quick work of Snake Jam

We had a decent sized crowd – but everyone knows that when it comes to pebble wrestling, having more is merrier.  Among the ranks of our crew were Guidebook Matt, the Infamous Gus Glitch (responsible for much of the development at Dixon and Crowder’s, not to mention a host of other crags across the Southeast and parts of Colorado), his lovely and soft-spoken wife Monica, as well as a family from Columbia that we had only officially met that day.

Steve framed by fall colors on Backsplinters

The rock quality at Dixon is good – its a metamorphic rock that feels like a sort of conglomerate limestone.  Its sharp, gritty, and fun to climb on.  Although there are plenty of hard lines to be found (even a few classics in the V8-V10 range), the majority of problems at Dixon are v4 and under.  Most of the topouts are pretty straightforward, which is good because a good percentage of the problems there are highballs (in fact many of the hard lines were originally rehearsed on toprope numerous times).  Toproping is no longer allowed at Dixon, otherwise I’m sure it would be crawling from top to bottom with boy scouts, outing clubs, and the like.

Matt’s whirlwind tour had us on the move all day – I think I racked up a grand total of 16 problems.  Here’s my list…

Welcome to Dixon (V0-) – easy highball slab, probably 5.6-ish.
Jerry Springer SDS (V1) – Threw in the sit down start for an extra move of fun
Final Thoughts (V1) – Long moves to big jugs.
Chode (V2) – Highball, but the business is in the first 10 feet.
Lance Armstrong (V4) – Even though a foot pop getting established ruined my onsight, this line was definitely a highlight.  The start was low on a rail with awkward feet, followed by a core-intensive move up and into a small undercling sidepull.  Then move out right to a jug, followed by another monster-sized move.  I was actually pretty surprised that I was able to commit to the move (thanks spotters!) and even more surprised when I latched onto an even bigger jug than the one I’d been on.  Same easy highball finish as Chode.

Matt working through The Rattler

Power of Attorney (V1) – Fun and casual romp up the left side of the Old Folks Boulder
Depends Var. (V3?) – Turns out we finished wrong, making this route a lot easier than the original line.
Backsplinters (V3) – A very aesthetic line up a beautiful pebbly arete, with a sweet right hand cross to transition onto the face.  I think everyone’s consensus was that V3 seemed kinda soft.
The Rattler (V2) – A right trending traverse with a left heel and a perfectly placed 1/4″ edge
Snake Jam (V4) – Big move off the deck to a key hand jam, top out same as The Rattler…also felt a little soft, maybe would have been harder without the jam?
Unicron (V4) – A few tenuous but very cool moves up a left hand crack and right hand arete with a tall but straightforward finish.
Megatron (V2) – This felt really stout for the grade to me, but was a fun line up the right side of a sharp arete on the Decepticon Boulder.
Galvatron (V3) – In my opinion, the best problem of all that we sampled – the type of vertical face climbing that us roped-climbers wished would go on for 100 feet! Solid V3, with a pretty high crux (but a great landing zone). It might feel a tad easier if you are taller and can reach a couple of key holds without moving your feet up. This one took me a couple of tries to work my feet up at the crux.
2+2=5 (V3) – A powerful crank off of a high right heel was the ticket for me on this one.
Baleen (V2) – A fun 2 move problem ending with a beached whale mantle.
Disinformation (V2) – A couple of committing moves along an arete followed by a high but secure finish on a big horn.

Cragbaby projecting the scramble to the TMI Boulder

Conclusions?  Dixon is a fun tromping ground to have basically in our backyard.  We didn’t delve into anything super tough, but it was still a great day. Many thanks to Matt for putting together a fabulous introduction to the rock at Dixon.  It was exciting to get acquainted with our local bouldering spot, the weather was spectacular, and Cragbaby was especially excited to have a younger “assistant” to help him brush off holds.  What about everyone else – who got outside this past weekend?

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Life Lessons Learned on a Slackline

Climbing. Reflections.
2 Comments.

A slackline is really an interesting idea.  Very popular amongst the climbing community, and more or less unknown to everyone else.  The concept is quite simple in theory – picture a circus with a tightrope walker high above the spectators, hands out to the sides, balancing her way across the rope to the other side.  Now, take out the “tight” part and picture the same person walking across a piece of webbing about an inch wide, as the webbing sags low underneath their weight and wobbles from side to side.  Welcome to the curious world of slacklining.

Invented by a group of climbers in Yosemite in the 1970’s who found themselves in need of something relatively constructive to occupy their time on rest days, a slackline requires minimal setup using gear that most climbers have on hand anyway.  Usually attached to cars, trees, boulders, or any combination thereof, a slackline (usually only 3-5 feet in height) can provide hours of entertainment, while also strengthening the feet and ankles, utilizing core strength, as well as improving balance, coordination, and focus.

Nope, not me or anyone I know...we had a line up at our old house but I couldn't find any good pics. Photo: Allison Pasek

The first time you see someone slacklining, you will probably gaze in wonderment and awe at what appears to be a relatively normal looking person performing feats that seem to approach that of Cirque de Soleil quality.  And, upon your first few frightening tries, you’ll likely still feel the same way.  However, the body is a very adaptable thing.  Once you get over the initial fear and become accustomed to the feel of the line moving underneath your feet, you will realize that if you just relax, your body will start to make ever so subtle adjustments in reaction to the movement of the line.  As you continue to relax and trust your body’s God-given abilities to stay in balance, you will become more and more comfortable on the line, until one day you are able to make it across the line in entirety.  From that point, its up to you how far you go – there are numerous tricks and sequences that can be learned, and I’ve even seen people do yoga poses on the line!  (Or if you’re like me, you are perfectly satisfied with being able to walk across…)  If you’re feeling really daring, you can have a go at a “highline” – a slackline set up across a canyon, river, or gorge – several hundred feet in the air!  (For the record, most highliners are attached to the line with a leash and climbing harness)

Probably the most important aspect of slacklining is not any of the physical components (most people reading this already possess enough physical ability to learn it) – but rather the mental components, specifically FOCUS.  Its much easier to remain balanced if you have a focal point that remains constant.  This is true not only for slackliners, but also for dancers, divers, gymnasts, and the like.  Before we moved to Charlotte we had a line in our backyard, and whenever I hopped on it, my eyes immediately gravitate towards a section of the tree where the bark is missing.  The biggest temptation is to look at your feet the moment the line starts wobbling (which is pretty much the moment you step on it).  But on a slackline, your feet are a moving target that is hard to focus on.

If I want to keep moving and not fall off of the slackline, I have to have a focal point.  I can’t be distracted by everything around me, or else I’ll fall off.  I think that’s kind of how life is sometimes.  If you were to sit down and really think about it, we all have certain priorities that we believe to be the focal point, the real backbone of our lives.  These focal points could revolve around faith, people, goals for the future, ideas or “mantras,” etc.  But lots of times, the other small stuff that is not important tends to slip in between the cracks – all of a sudden we’re looking at a moving target, and we lose focus.  Its when our concentration starts drifting from our main goals and priorities that life starts to get out of balance and out of sync – and if we’re not careful, it can fall apart!

For me personally, as long as my focus stays on God and on trying to follow the path He has laid out for me, my life stays balanced.  It doesn’t mean that life is easy – just like the slackline wobbles back and forth causing me to bend and move in different ways to adjust to it, life sometimes throws wrenches in my plans and forces me to change directions or do things differently.  But so long as my focal point is in the right spot, I very rarely fall down, no matter how much the line wobbles – and if I do, I just get right back on the line again.  What do you focus on to keep life in balance?

 

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN