Guadalupe Mountains Bouldering

A motley crew of road and trail weary friends found out first hand the climbing potential in the Guadalupe Mountains the first weekend of March. Although we only got to climb for about an hour or so, we found a number of good lines on what I'm calling the Dragon Boulder: Stage Left (FA Colter Lane), Exit Cactus Left (FA Alex Wann), and La Buena Vista (FA Wann), all probably around V0 (although I really have no concept of the "V" rating system). Then we found and sent another problem Martyr's Ladder (FA Lane) on the same boulder, which might go as a V1 or V2.

I've perused the internet quite a bit for any mention of rock climbing in the Guadalupe area and nothing has revealed itself. Some sources (namely the NPS) cite the poor quality of the rock dissuading people from establishing much of a climbing destination. Looking at the cliffs around, I don't know if I entirely believe that, but it would be beyond my ability to tackle some of the huge walls found on the side of Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan. From what I've seen though it has a lot of potential for being a good bouldering alternative to the more crowded and more regulated Hueco Tanks, especially if you were willing to hike into the Devil's Hall area. There is just something about being in a wilderness setting away from a load of people, climbing without pressure, not trying to prove yourself, just scaling the rock because you feel compelled to reach the top by the most difficult means your body can handle.

I would stress Leave No Trace Principles for anyone else trying to establish new climbing routes. The land is a National Park and the desert environment is reasonably fragile. Be smart, use your head, think of the people who will tread the land after you, and leave the beauty of the wilderness intact. Scrub your tick marks, don't stash your pads...you know the drill.

Me standing next to Martyr's Ladder, which moves from the nasty bush bottom center through the darker water mark and tops out in the "book" between chossy bulges.

Nathan looking strong as Baret looks on with awe.

Me climbing Exit Cactus Left, Nathan with the spot.

Adopt-A-Crag

This weekend is the Lake Brownwood Adopt-A-Crag. Things will get rolling at 8am on Friday, and continue till Saturday evening. Free camping on the bluffs is provided by the fine folks at Kirkland Docks.

Bring work clothes, and gloves. If you have a trailer, or truck, bring that as well. Hopefully we will get the work knocked out quickly, and get on with the climbing.

There will be prizes and other awesome stuff/people there. There will also be loads of top-ropes, and gear for beginners provided.

This is going to be greatness. I will be there. You should be too.

All Knuckles and Elbows

Check out this picture of Colter's nasty toes...right above his new route All Knuckles and Elbows. Click on the image to enlarge, and you'll get a sense of how small those holds are, and how gross Colter's toes are.



In all seriousness, take a look at Colter's new blog: www.mmm-lanec.blogspot.com for his commentary on Saturday's climbing, and coverage of his many outdoor pursuits.

Remember, the Adopt-A-Crag is coming....

Photos and Adopt-A-Crag

Here's some photos from Saturday on Colter's camera.



Colter on All Knuckes and Elbows.




Jarrod trying Smooth Sailing.



Me on Smooth Sailing.

Remember the Access Fund Adopt-A-Crag at the Lake is coming up soon. Its going to be a blast. Check out the original post: http://abileneclimbers.blogspot.com/2010/01/march-adopt-cragits-gonna-be-huge.html

Days we live for

Today was one of those climbing days we wait the whole season for. The weather was perfect, the group was great, three first ascents went down. And I don't even think i got any poison ivy. Could it get any better?



Colter and I drove to Brownwood this morning and met up with Ben and Mary, and their son Zachary. Shortly after, Jarrod and John showed up from Abilene as well (we should have car-pooled). We climbed The Mangler--the crack that we added top-rope anchors to a few weeks ago. I think we've come to a concensus that move-for-move, its the best climb at the lake. Not the hardest thing out there, but not a give-me. Its a great climb.

We then climbed on a new route Ben and Jarrod put up a few weeks ago, that i believe they names A Painful Day. Its in the same corridor where The Mangler is located. We were able to add a direct start to A Painful Day that was....well, painful.



Almost a year ago, I lowered down into a gap between two of the bluffs and found a 15 degree overhanging face with small crimps (see the Original Post) I cleaned the holds and knew it would be brilliant climbing then, but the rock behind you is so close that it was hard to imagine climbing it without hitting the wall behind you. So I never actually tried it, and the climb drifted out of my mind.

Well today Colter was pumped to try it out, and after several burns he put up All Knuckles and Elbows. Its definitely a tough bit of climbing, on some small slopey crimps. Well done Colter. Of the two possible lines on the wall, All Knuckles and Elbows is the one on the right. The left remains a project.



After watching Mary come heart-breakingly close to a send of The Mangler (she is falling off the very last move!!), Colter and Jarrod put in some effort on Burlfest. Burlfest has still seen only two ascents, though it is one of the most sought after climbs at the lake. Colter is looking prime for the third ascent here soon, and Jarrod made some impressive links on his first day of effort.

While they worked Burlfest, I rigged up a top rope on another climb that i cleaned almost a year and a half ago. Again, this is one that i never got around to climbing on, but not for lack of aesthetics or quality. The climb is on the Jagged Edge boulder, and heads left on some devious slopers before a risky top-out over the worst landing at the lake. The landing has been the deterrent.



But I figured out a way to rig a top-rope that protects the top-out, set it up and we started to give it some burns. The rope doesn't do anything for you until you are actually going for the top-out. A fall before that is guaranteed to hit the rocks below anyways. So we left the rope slack until the climber actually went for the top, and were essentially bouldering the lower moves.

We all gave it a few efforts but were getting shut down until Colter had a beta breakthrough. Not long after, I was able to pull it together for the first top-rope ascent. Now, it needs to be bouldered. I think, with enough pads, we could make it relatively safe...at least i hope. I believe I'm going to call it Smooth Sailing. Its a great new problem for the lake.

Finally, we went and checked in on Ben who had spent his time prepping a tall new overhanging face near The Mangler. After cleaning some rotten rock he was able to put up a great new climb and settled on the name 37 Stitches.

So three new climbs went up today. Who says the Lake is climbed out?

Pictures: (in order) Colter on Ben's new climb 37 Stitches, Colter working Burlfest, The face hosting All Knuckes and Elbows, and Jarrod on the opening moves of Smooth Sailing.

Vertical Plains 2010

If I'm not careful, I'm going to build a reputation for being "the guy with the majorly delayed blog entries." But I have hope for the future, I plan on joining Procrastinators Anonymous...tomorrow.

A month ago, February 13th and 14th to be exact, a group of students traveled to the Vertical Plains Climbing Festival at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Seven of us headed out on Friday afternoon with plans to see the Telluride Mountain Film Festival showing that night. i wasn't as impressed with the films this year compared to last year, but overall it was very entertaining and a good pump-up precursor to the climbing events of the next day. Check out all the films shown this year in Telluride:
http://www.mountainfilm.org/festival/2009/weekend/films.asp

They're not nearly as prestigious as an Oscar but here's a list of Colter Awards I give to some of the ones shown at Tech: "The Red Helmet" (Best Action Sequences), "Samsara" (Best Climbing & Best Overall), "Look to the Ground" (Most Inspirational), "The Hidden Life of the Burrowing Owl" (Most Comical), and "The Great White Shark Song" (Most Likely-to-Get-Stuck-in-Your-Head-for-the-Next-Month).

After sleeping at the home of a mutual friend (thank you very much Holts!), we found our way into the climbing area the next morning ready pull on some plastic. The whole day was a blast! A competitive atmosphere is both relaxing and stressful at the same time, but everyone is always really friendly and helpful. Scores were given for each pre-established climb and judges would give you credit if the climb was completed successfully from the bottom to the top. Bonus points were added for a "Flash," climbing the route on the first attempt. Included within the climbing competition was a rope climb and a dyno competition. I don't think any of us climbed the rope but Jarrod, Asa, and I qualified for entrance into the dyno comp which was held later that evening. I failed to hit the first problem, but Jarrod held strong and represented ACU well by impressively making it past the first two.
Then the awards ceremony rounded out the evening. Much to our disappointment, none of the ACU group won any door prizes! Oh well, it was fun cheering for everyone else (I have to confess I may have coveted my neighbor that night...). Then Jarrod surprised us all by winning his category! Well done, sir, display that trophy cup with pride.

With tight forearms, slack shoulders, but full hearts we left the campus for a hole in the wall Thai restaurant, then headed home rocking to the sound of the Shins.

This is guest post-er Colter Lane, signing off.

San Angelo Shreddin'

Guest blog by abilene climber and all around good guy, Jarrod:

This is an account on the adventure to San Angelo, Texas. Alex, Asa, John, and I set out for Angelo at 9 on Saturday morning, for some good ole limestone bouldering. The weather was amazing and the vibe was great!

We started out on a V2 traverse. The consists of around 25 moves and you're completely parallel with the ground the entire time. Asa quickly nagged the first ascent and proudly named it "Asa Spades." Alex, John, and I gave it our all, but the rock proved to be to much for us. We then moved to a nice little dyno that Alex and I quickly tagged, but not without a loss of some prescious skin. By this time we'd all got a top out, so the mood was bumpin. We all tacked on a few V0's and took a rest for some lunch.

After lunch we worked on a slopey climb that I got the first ascent on. With the help of John, we named it "Under and Over." We rated it at a V2. It consisted of 4 moves but they were very awkward. Alex gave his all on this one, but was slipped on the last hold. Next time it's yours Alex! The rest of the time we dedicated to establishing new climbs and jumping on anything that looked climbable. There's at least 12 climbs that we set up, but there's a lot more to be had. Eric, this is your job.

My blogging skills are bad, so I'll leave the adventure to that. Good climbing everyone!