March Adopt-a-Crag....its gonna be huge

Here's an update from Ben and Mary about the massive festivities planned for March's Access Fund Adopt-a-Crag/Lake Cleanup/Climbing Festival at Brownwood. Its going to be a blast, be there:

Lake Brownwood Clean – up

The January Rock Addiction Lake Cleanup got rained out by 12:00. But we still got 2 truck loads of brush cut. Thanks to Michelle and her family for coming out in the rain. We didn’t get to climb, but we ended up with 7 people, not bad for a rainy day.

ADOPT – A – CRAG
MARCH 26 & 27

We have dropped Sunday from the lineup.

Things start on Friday (March 26th) around 8:00am. If we can get a few people there Friday with chainsaw’s, weed eaters and a trailer we could wrap the work up on Friday and climb all day Saturday. That would be sweet.

Don’t forget FREE camping on Friday night on the bluff’s. No showers.

Please let us know if you are going to be able to make it. We will need a name and t-shirt size. Not only to make sure you get a t-shirt that fits, but so Kirkland Dock & Tim know how many they are going to feed.
You can call Ben @ 325-998-3109 or email Mary @ mary@gotowillies.com

Hope every one can make it!!

We are now working on sponsors for prizes. If you know of anyone interested – it’s $50.00 and their logo will go on the t-shirts. Prizes will be given away lottery style so everyone that wants to draw for a prize will have a chance.




BIG THANKS
To our sponsors

The Access Fund
PF&E (Brownwood)
R&S Industries (Early)
Climb On (Wimberly) – they now have their products at the Honey Bee in Brownwood.
Insane Ink (Early) – the only award winning shop in the Brownwood area. Go see Reagan and Jerry for all your tattoo and piercing needs.
Pets in Paradise (Brownwood) – Troy and Wendy can take care of all your pet needs and it’s the only real pet store in Brownwood.
Gopal’s Healthfood’s (Sidney) – they have organic energy bars on sale at Sligers and the Honey Bee.
Childress Agricultural (Crossplains) – trees and blackberries, pick your own berries in the spring. Yum
Justin Leifeste, Disciples of Ink (Abilene) – what can we say about Justin, we love this man, his lovely wife Regina and 3 children. His tat on Ben’s lower sleeve tied for tat of the day at the Dallas Tattoo Show. You can contact Justin for your tat @ justin@disciplesofink.com, my space or 325-518-5446.
Willie’s T’s (Brownwood) – Willie’s T’s will be printing our shirts, go to Willie’s T’s for your screenprinting, embroidery, stickers and banners. As of now Willie’s T’s is our biggest sponsor. gotowillies.com
My wife, Mary – with all the expense to do the cleanup’s she let me put up $50.00 to be a sponsor as well.

Thanks for all your help! Don’t forget to buy from and help our sponsors.

Big thanks to all our sponsors for helping us make this the biggest climbing event this part of Texas.

Thanks for everything

Ben, Mary, Team Addiction and everyone that uses Lake Brownwood

Clean-Up this weekend!

The Lake Brownwood Crag Clean-Up is going down this Saturday morning. We have some brush to clear, some trash to collect, and then some climbing to be done. Rumor has it that Ben put some more anchors up on a new route this week...

I'm sure some people will be there earlier, but we plan to be up and running by 9am.

Come help out!

Brownwood's Best?

My computer crashed in the middle of the semester, which has made posting difficult. But i finally have another and here's some exciting news to kick off posting again. I plan to follow up the Hueco Day 1 post, with recaps of the other days. But first news of today's events are in order.

Ben and I spent the day clearing cactus, brush and bolting anchors for the climb that has gone by several names: Angel Flake/Duke's Dome/Lake Flake/Ankle...

If you've been to the lake, you have definitely eyed this climb. Its a crack/flake that looks straight out of Yosemite and climbs just as good.

Here's a little history on the route. On one of my earliest trips to the lake, I ran into a former local who told me the route may or may not have been bouldered before. A top-rope was impossible (highly improbable) because a giant cacus guarded the top of the route. It was this local who had named the route Angel Flake.

Most people who visit the Lake have climbed up the first park of the flake, some have even ventured into the second break in the flake. But when the flake stops you have to make three big and spooky moves over the roof to finish the climb. Most people drop well before the roof.

In August of 2008, a group of us tried bouldering the route ground up. My good friend Duke was the first to brave the roof, and pull over the lip, for the first confirmed ascent. I followed immedietally after, but it was pretty spooky. Tyler took a serious fall right after that from just below the roof, and we decided to call it a day. Duke named the route Duke's Dome.

A few months a later, a friend attempted to boulder the route, dropped from the final moves, and fell awkwardly. His ankle was badly broken and we spent the day at the brownwood hospital. Since then, I know of no one who has attempted to boulder the route in its entirety. Nor would I recommend it. There is a precarious boulder at the base, that makes protecting the fall extremely difficult (evidenced by my friend's leg).

Ben and I have talked about the quality of this route for a long time, but bouldering the route is not safe. Its certainly do-able, but no one is doing it and this great route is getting no traffic. Move-for-move the route is likely the best at the Lake. It isn't terribly difficult but the moves are awesome. So Ben and I talked it out, and decided to add two anchor bolts about 10 feet back from the lip. If you want to boulder it, go for it, but if you'd rather top rope it the anchors are there. Go climb it.

Ben and I finished the day off with some moderate bouldering. A few weeks ago we put up a new boulder problem near Mission Impossible called Anticipation. We had to take out a bunch poisin ivey and brush, so you probably wont miss it.

On a final note, when setting up your anchor for the Lake Flake (insert other names here), I would suggest letting the rope hang slightly right of the roof. The roof has a fracture in it. I dont suspect it would ever break, but climb it with caution.

Look for more updates soon.

Hueco Tanks Trip Day 1

Hey all, it's Tyler again, Eric's cousin. Due to my previous blog post and the stroke of genius it possessed, I got recruited to write about the first day of our trip to Hueco Tanks out in El Paso, Texas. For all who aren’t aware, myself, Eric, and Brian Day all made a 3-day trip to Hueco Tanks this past week. Let me begin by saying that the trip was a major success, full of proud sends and amazing community.

But enough of all that pish posh, it's time to get talking about the freaking climbing, which is going to be a task in itself to describe. We woke up at the break of dawn, and I mean literally the break of dawn (if you’ve ever camped with Eric and Brian you’ll know what I’m talking about), ate a quick breakfast, and made our way into the park. Our first stop took us to the Gymnasium boulders for a quick warm-up, pictured below. Here we all flashed Bad Axe, a 2 star V1 that takes you about 12 feet up on pure huecos, a really fun problem. Following our warm up, Eric and I though we would would try Only the Little People Pay Taxes, a 2 star V3 right next to Bad Axe. We quickly got shut down and decided we wanted to move on to more classic stuff in the park.

We left the Gymnasium boulders and headed to the ultra-classic problem Nobody Gets Out of Here alive, a 4 star V2 that must be done if you’re going to Hueco Tanks, pictured below. I flashed the problem on my first go and Eric followed with a proud send on his second attempt. Brian put in some great burns but had a little trouble with the top out. You’ll have to stay tuned for posts on Day 2 and Day 3 to see if he gets the send.

After our time at Nobody Gets Out of Here Alive, we made a short move to another ultra classic problem, Mexican Chicken, a 3 star V6. Below is Eric working the problem. Out of the three of us, he made the most progress and only lacked a coupled moves to top out. We spent an hour or so here before eventually moving on.

After Mexican Chicken we made our way over to another ultra classic Hueco problem and a definite must-do if you're ever in the park, Lobster Claw, a 3 star V5. We set up camp and ate a quick launch before we started putting in work. Pictured below is Brian getting ready for an attempt at a send. All three of us worked the problem for a good couple of hours before Eric finally grabbed the first V5 send of the trip, congrats Eric on a proud send. Brian and myself had the lower moves dialed in but couldn’t make the top throw to finish up the problem. This pretty much rounded out Day 1 of the trip, give or take a few other minor problems we got on here and there that I forgot to document.

A couple of other interesting things that happened during Day 1; we saw Jason Kehl in the park, me and Eric feasted on instant potatoes and Dak, and we were introduced to a community of climbers where their beer came before their climbing.

Keep your eyes peeled for a post on Day 2 from Eric in the near future.

Hueco Tanks

Bryan, Tyler and I are leaving for Hueco today! Full trip report upon our return...

Brad and Tyler's E-Rock Trip

Hey this is Tyler, Eric's cousin, dropping in for a little guest post on the BlogSpot.

This weekend my buddy Brad Miller and I headed down to Enchanted Rock for a little bouldering expedition. The last time I was down at E-Rock was during the Granite Gripper last October, so I was excited about getting back down there and seeing how I had improved. Of course the conditions were hot, the rock was sharp, and the climbing amazing.

We began the day at the Dairy Farm and Frog Pond boulders, located low and right of the main dome. We warmed up on a couple of beginner problems including Milk Mustache(V1), Cow Tipping(V0), and Longhorn Flake(V1). Both Brad and myself worked through these quickly and moved on to harder stuff. I set my sights on Frogatron Direct, a V5 that I worked for close to an hour but couldn't put together the final moves for an ascent. It is definitely one of my favorite problems in the park despite the fact that I didn't get the ascent. Brad worked Milk Jugs (V1), to the right of Frogatron Direct, and is pictured below during his proud ascent. After a snack break we moved around to the backside of these boulders where I tried the sit start of the Prow, a V8, where I quickly found after not being able to make the first move, that I am by no means V8 status yet. Brad worked and sent Ice Cream Corner, a V0+, to the right of The Prow.

After our time at Dairy Farm and Frog Pond we moved on to the Romb Social Boulders, where I spent a good hour and a half working Rombatron, a V4. I had attempted this problem during the Gripper last year and gotten extremely frustrated when I couldn't even make the beginning moves. This trip however would be a different story. After an hour of work I kept getting to the last move but couldn't commit to the final throw for the top. Below is a picture of me extremely frustrated after not being able to get the final move. I finally got tired of taking 12 foot falls and just went for the final throw. I stuck it initially, then began to slip off. I quickly readjusted and got to the hueco for the top out. It was definitely one of the best feelings I've experienced in my climbing career.

Burnt out at the Romb Social Boulders, we made a final move over to Zanzibar, a highly acclaimed V2 located in the Kingdom of Zilch section at the front of the Little Dome. Brad and I both worked the problem and after multiple tries I finally grabbed the ascent, although my top out over the mantle was extremely sloppy looking. Next time I'll have to clean it up.

Overall, the trip was a major success. It was characterized by great climbing, some proud ascents, and a full on shred. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back there soon.

The Infamous Project

After studying all weekend, I made it out to the lake with Ben and Mary after church today. Lately, the Jagged Edge direct project has been on my mind.

The Jagged Edge direct project is number 2. Allow me to give a little history on this block (all the history I know about it...surely there is more). Three years ago, at the original Access Fund sponsored lake clean-up, Scott and Zack came up from Camp Eagle for the festivities. I had looked at the Jagged Edge boulder before, but the landing is terrible. There are multiple smaller boulders and terraces beneath this face.

The face itself is incredible, with a slight 25-30 degree overhang and some small slopers and crimps. On that day, we hung a toprope over the lip and worked the direct version. Both Scott and Zack made serious progress, but the only clear line requires a 4-5 foot dyno off of a small crimp and a sloper to a pretty good sloping jug. Thus the line went unsent. However, the arete (#4 in the picture) was sent by Scott on top-rope.

About a year later I began to work what would become "Jagged Edge" (#3 in the picture) With quite a few more pads, I worked the line ground-up, taking a number of huge falls. The advantage to Jagged Edge, is that at the highest point of the climb, your falls are usually going to land you on a fairly flat terrace. If you blow it before that you'd be in trouble.

Eric O. rolled into town one weekend at around this same time and promptly sent and named Jagged Edge after a good effort. With quite a few pads there, he ventured onto Jagged Edge direct, looking for any static options, but found none. I followed his ascent of Jagged Edge the next weekend. It is probably still the most aesthetic (and cool) climb at the lake.

Well on the Camp Eagle trip, Scott asked about Jagged Edge direct, which got me to thinking about it again. So today, I threw a top-rope on it, and began to work it. From the small crimp and sloper that were originally used for the dyno, one can reach up and left to an abismal sloping crimp. Off of this i was able to bump for a better sloper at the limit of my reach, but failed to ever lock it in. I also tried the direct dyno beta and though I hit the hold a few times, I was also not able to hold onto it.

When Jagged Edge direct goes...it'll be awesome. Certainly the most impressive climb at the lake.

Here's two pictures of me on it today.

Also, expect a guest post by Tyler or Brad on their trip to Enchanted Rock this weekend. Tyler sent Rombatron...I'm jealous.