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February 21, 2006
Vitamix Fondue
Had some friends over tonight and tried making fondue with our Vitamix 5000. It worked out pretty good. We'll just have to run about 10 miles tomorrow to burn this meal off...
Posted by Paul at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)
Shoveling Fix
I don't know how many days it has been since we've seen a real rain. Matt do you know? You mentioned it the other day. I know Phoenix is counting about 126 days straight. I don't think it's that crazy because...uh...we live in a desert!
So, to get my fix for the "winter" of shoveling snow April and I ordered 2 tons of rocks. I can't say exactly what we did with them because we are keeping every house modification a surprise since my parents are coming to visit soon. But, I will mention that I spent 4 hours continuously shoveling last night. It felt just like a Pittsburgh winter minus the cold, clouds, humidity, gloves, snowpants, heavy coat, and hat. And minus the neighbor who tries to park his car in the spot that you just shoveled snow out of (which is why you put a chair in your spot on the street once you're done).
Posted by Paul at 08:30 AM | Comments (2)
February 17, 2006
New do
How do you like the new banner?
Posted by Paul at 09:53 AM | Comments (2)
February 12, 2006
No Climbing Weekend
Finally we decided that it was time to take a little break from Hueco and hang out at home in Tucson. We spent the weekend relaxing at home. Relaxing for us means non-stop stuff going on from the moment we wake up to the point at which we can't keep our eyes open in the night. Friday night we climbed on our woody, Saturday we worked on the house and spent the evening out with our friend Gina. She recommended a really classy, super cool hangout called 58 Degrees and Holding. Today we finished up some projects (secret projects because my parents are coming in a few weeks) and are spending the evening really relaxing. I have to go...the hot tub is probably just right.
Posted by Paul at 08:24 PM | Comments (3)
February 08, 2006
Recent News
I have been the biggest climbing news junkie ever, the past few weeks. I figured I'd share some of my news sources so others can see how the sport of bouldering is getting pushed beyond the current limits, right now!
Cool Sites:
1. Ben Moon's site
2. 8a
3. Jason Kehl's site (Rules of Chaos is SICK!!!)
4. Hueco Rock Ranch
At Hueco, some of the best climbers in the world are currently attacking the classics and developing new lines. From my perspective it is amazing to be a part of the sport and be so close to the development of boulder problems that are pushing the limits of the existing rating scale! Fred Nicole claimed V15 on his stand-up problem Terre de Sienne next to Diaphanous Sea, V12. He then linked it from Diaphanous Sea! So, ovbiously it must be rated higher? Right? I thought I read V16 somewhere. Recently Dave Graham repeated the climb (just Terre de Sienne) and disagreed. I think he suggests V13/14 for Terre de Sienne. Unreal! It's hard to dispute his claims since he recently did Fred's other V15 testpiece (downgrading it too) and sent Esperanza, V14, in a day!!!
So is "From Dirt Grows The Flowers" the real V15 out there? (Dave Graham developed that one and says it's the hardest he has done) Or when is Hueco going to get a real V15. We might see it soon when someone repeats the link from Diaphanous Sea into Terre de Sienne.
Posted by Paul at 12:40 PM | Comments (3)
February 05, 2006
Sending Ingredients
As climbers we are always looking for the perfect combination of events that make us succeed. You know, after a day of success you look back on the things you did right before like, getting a good nights sleep, eating the right meal, warming up, stretching, drinking DECAF coffee because the caffeine kind will give you "sewing machine" or "Elvis" legs, and stepping just perfectly on the trail to your boulder problem avoiding the tree root BECAUSE LAST WEEK WHEN YOU STEPPED ON THE TREE ROOT YOU DIDN'T SEND!!! Yeah, that might seem extreme but after you've physically mastered a climb there is always your mind that plays trick after trick, making you crazy, making the send that much more rewarding.
The combination of events that worked for April started on Friday morning. First, we decided to sleep in. We never did get a good nights sleep since the tequila drinking binge last weekend. After sleeping we ate! Cracker Barrel in Las Cruces suited our need for sending fuel. April and I combined ate 4 pieces of French toast, a stack of pancakes, a side ball of butter, loads of maple syrup, bacon, eggs, orange juice, water, and coffee with sugar and cream.
When we threw down our crashpads at Warm Up Boulder I said, "Man I'm feeling kinda lethargic from that breakfast." (It was about 2:00PM). April said, "Yeah, me too. I can't tell if it's the sunscreen or the grease and butter that I feel seeping out of my pores?"
Shortly after that conversation April sent the problem, "The Butterdish," V2! A classic line with a slippery right-hand hold. When you grab the hold a timer in your mind starts ticking. 3...starting to slip...2...better grab something quick...1...opps too late, my right hand slipped...0...I'm on the ground, crap! Oh well, looks like breakfast paid off. It's better to fight butter with butter.
Realizing we wanted to hit up about 5 more areas and we only had a few hours to go before the park closed, we started moving quick. April made fast work of "Donkey Head," V4, sending on her first go. We hurried up "the chains" to the 100 proof roof and set up the camera on a tripod. Good thing we got it set up and in place because it only took 2 tries today...April SENT "Mexican Chicken," V6, 2nd go! It was RAD.
Saturday started out somewhat slow for April making minimal progress on problems like "New Religion, V7" and "Jigsaw Puzzle, V5." But, by the end of the day she had 7 points...3 from "All the Idiots" and 4 from....MOONSHINE ROOF, V4! Yeah. I was pretty surprised she had the energy. In fact, I took out the video camera, turned it on and filmed her send (2nd go). A mega classic ticked off!
After typing out some of April's tick list I've realized it's hard to convey the magnitude of her accomplishments. Recently she's made amazing links, progress on problems she ruled out as possible for herself. Most of her attempts ended falling on the last few moves, sooooo close but lacking the sending ingredient necessary to overcome the mental/physical barrier. After this weekend we both thought back. Hmmm, what was the sending ingredient? What did we do differently? I know...it was the 4 pieces French toast with butter smeared evenly between each slice and half a bottle of maple syrup poured evenly around the exterior of the plate at Cracker Barrel! Nah...it was hard projecting paying off and April proving she is climbing STRONG!
"So how's the finger?"
It's been 7 weeks since I blew out my ring finger but finally I'm starting to increase the difficulty in boulder problems that I try. I'm currently trying a bunch of V4s. I managed to do a few this weekend. I've ticked a lot of N. Mt. V4s so the remainder of problems are uh...unique? Here are a few of my sends from the weekend:
1. The Slash (V4): Didin't send. Fell and bottomed-out on April's horrible, napkin-thin crashpad (I'm buying her a new one tomorrow).
2. Pseudo Left (V4): Lowball. Kinda cool but really just one hard move getting into a slopy undercling.
3. The Pseudo-Feather (V4): Very lowball. Awesome slopers until you pull an easy roof.
4. Epilady (V1): Highball over a hole. Good to a weird top.
5. Shaved Pits (V2): This might be better than Seka's Speciality (V2). Bad landing for a big move but awesome jugs to the top.
6. Mushroom Tea (V4): Overhanging wall with good edges. One of my favorite styles of climbing.
7. Thingfish (V4): Very crimpy. Not that great.
Posted by Paul at 10:16 PM | Comments (3)