Justin Vernon and a Guy Named Tommy

Saturday turned out to be one of the most enjoyable days I've had in a long time. On most off days from work I climb from 10 to 10. That's about as fun as it gets to me. However, a concert was squeezed in on Saturday and memories were made. Around 9am Lauren Vogl and I left for RMNP. We met some friends at Emerald Lake and climbed there for a while before a quick trip up to Lower Chaos. Even though we had to leave at 5pm for the show and not the most climbing got done, it was another wonderful day in the Park. We managed to drive out just as it was beginning to rain. There was a quick rush to clean up, get a drink, and head to the show. Several weeks ago Lauren bought me a ticket...as an early birthday present. Turns out it was a ticket to Bon Iver at the Ogden. What, an amazing show. Almost every night I would sit in my car after sundown on Buttermilk Rd. in Bishop and listen to his 14 recorded songs. Listening to his music alone in the desert at the base of Mt. Tom was so many meaningful things. The melodies and words became the soundtrack to my life for that month and will always have a special place with me. Check him out at http://boniver.org/. After the show the night was not over. We had dinner at Pete's Diner, which can be described with words like hearty, hoppin', and cosy. We called it quits with two episodes from Felicity season 2 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pifm2nBvzKA). Brilliant. A show that was wholesome part of middle school for me.

Photos of Tommy's Other Arete courtesy of Said Parirokh. A masterpiece of a line from Tommy Caldwell, whose father suggested that the would be bouldering in the park over a decade ago.

Well, it's is Monday and I'm off. Instead of going to the Park again today, since rainw as forecast, I'm working on a set of architectural drawings for a friend's parent's new home. It's been a while since I've drawn on the computer, but it's relaxing in a strange way. Like putting on an old pair of jeans for an early fall football game. Good stuff.

RMNP is My Favorite P

Park season has officially started. With almost every problem acessible and the snow melting at mach speed, RMNP will be the place to climb over the next 3 months. Park season is a wonderful time. A time to meet up with people, make new friends, discover remote areas with old ones, work on your tan, and get stronger. I cannot begin to explain my excitement, but rather I will tell you that I am making the drive and hike every other day for the next week, and I would go more if I thought I could handle it. I have dreamed of these three months in the Park since the beginning of the year, and I am hoping to make many fond memories. So, while the time is right and the next 3 months are still the future, visit Rocky Mountain National Park.

COntent Meaning Well Enough Pleased

Have you ever been content? For some people it's a daily occurrence; for others and probably most, it is not so common. The difficulty lies in a small detail. You must be overwhelmingly content to realize this state of being. Well, I am currently residing in that state. I've been before and I am sure to visit again, but it's nice to be here again. There is a quote from a song and I forget who sings it but it goes something like this, "It's not a party if it happens every night." That's not techinically correct, but it almost always holds true. Now that quote has relevance to the subject at hand, because if you have found the recipe for contentment, why would you chose to change it? Why not wash, rinse, and repeat? Maybe people try this. Maybe it works for some period of time. However, like the nightly party, it eventually loses it's luster and the recipe no longer works. So, each person is presented with a daily dilemma. How do you reach contentment each day? Supposing you find the right mix, do you keep with it until it no longer produces or do you change it anticipating the inevitable outcome?

That said, I am planning another road trip. If it works, I will be on the road again around the new year. I enjoy the majority of what I am currently doing, but sometimes I go through the motions with my children and children need more than that even if they're not my own. This trip should be exciting. It'll hopefully be a reward well earned. A chance to regroup, recharge, and rediscover. This one will be well-thought, precise, but most of all in time and just enough.

A pine needle path in Yosemite, which kept me wandering for 15 miles one day. Just enough.

Late Fees are for Overdue Mess

It's been over a month since an update. No internet and a severe change in scenery will do that. The time that has passed since was equivalent to all the daily journal entries, if you will, from the Bishop point in my road trip. We'll skip that and we'll also skip all the details to what has happened in between then. However, I will say that I have internet again thanks to a relatively new job as a nanny. Updating should be a bit easier. Also, a nasty foot/ankle injury several weeks ago is looking quite promising. Another few weeks and I'll be able to sit Indian style and resume praticing my Rex Quando leg sweeps. So the important news...

1. Sunrises and sunsets are a beautiful thing to see alone or to share
2. Outdoor climbing will commence once again with two ankles
3. Michael Jackson died = drastic change in music for the summer
4. I'm going to Bon Iver in Denver

End of the road means new beginnings

Last Wednesday marked the end of a six month traveling and climbing journey around the US.  Needless to say, I was tired physically and emotionally.  The road can be a very rewarding place, but also an unforgiving one.  Even the smallest of hiccups can bring your life to a screeching halt.  Side bar: never lose your keys while crossing a river and hiking in the woods, especially if those are the keys to your whole life.  Those six months were and will always be special to me for the people I met, the places I experienced, and the climbing.  After only a week, a part of me wishes I was already leaving for another adventure again.  The road is everything you need it to be right when you need it.  Example, you can leave for a new setting as soon as the current one stops being what you want or need.  Well, that's not the case anymore for at least a good while.  I'm in Boulder for the time being as I have just taken a job as a live-in nanny for a wonderful family of five.  I hope to have children someday if it's in the works, but that only because I love them so much.  This should be a good trial and a nice way to get the toes wet before diving in head first.

So the bulk of the next, undetermined amount of posts will be from the last month and a half in my journal.  Unfortunately, a journal of daily happenings was not kept throughout the trip; however, the other four months were spent in places I had been previously.  Little exploration done in those places and more settling into routines that once existed.  Also the last 45 days were more or less a solo mission with different supporting cast at each venue.  Enjoy if you are interested; if not, this will be all you receive from this blog each day for a while.

3.25.09 Day 1

I arrived in Bishop late this afternoon.  Had to call Pierre for directions the last 15 miles, but the extra effort was completely worth it.  Clutch, Pierre.  The Buttermilks are amazing!!  The weather was perfect when I arrived around 5:30.  Quite a few people are here for Spring Break and just in general.  Perfect, perfect, setting.  Steep mountains with snow in the near background and quartz monzonite eggs of all sizes litter the hillsides.  Super concentrated boulder field, zero approach, fairly friendly landings, and stone that offers a variety of textures and holds.  So pretty; gorgeous!! I'm parked below the Iron Man Traverse.  I don't have a guidebook, but that seems fine.  There is a small field of this blood red, twiggy ground cover next to my car with random large tufts of waist-high, golden wheat.  The Sierras are only a few miles away and are covered in snow.  This is already a special place to me even though I've only been here for a few hours.  I couldn't sleep much last night at Rob's house in Vegas.  Probably because of all the crazy dreaming or that I wasn't used to sleeping on an air mattress. 

 There is more but not necessary for here.

COming Home

I arrived in Colorado on Saturday night after an exhausting 13hr drive.  Glad to be done with that until I have to drive to Hueco Tanks this weekend.  It's always strange returning to familiar faces and places after being away for an extended period of time.  Like seeing friends on the first day of school after summer break, I was excited to be back home.  Everyone is more or less the same, and it feels like I never really left Colorado at all.  Even the weather is the same, which is perfect.  Somehow over the past three months I managed to forget what it was like to be in Boulder, a place so full of good energy, life, and happiness that it can carry you.  This place has a vibe that makes me want to get out, live, and accomplish things.  I love it.  

Since arriving, there has been almost nothing but climbing.  Sunday, it was Carter Lake with a 12 person super posse.  Great warm weather and a peaceful setting, but terrible rock.  I've never felt or acted like a rock snob until that day; however, the friends were still top notch.  Monday, it was an early breakfast at the dinning halls and then Flagstaff.  I would like to thank Addison Maier for making my dream to eat in the dinning hall come true.  That night it was an overly pschyed session at the Spot.  My boys crushed everything with no regard for difficulty while I made up problems, coached, heckled, and brain-pointed every single problem in the gym.  Yesterday, SOrens and I ran the one-two on Turning Point in the Satellites.  A great problem and a must do if you have the strength and time.  Then it was time for a night session in the gym.  I gave moral support as she climbed all the 3 spots and rebrain-pointed everything in sight.  Today is finally a rest day, but I will get to watch Brob at the Rock Club tonight.  So excited to be back and living this week of my life in Boulder!

Fontaine Red

Two days ago I decided to go for a day-long adventure. I hopped in the camry and drove the 100 miles by myself to Fontaine Red, which is located near Deer, Arkansas. Shortly after leaving Fayetteville it began to rain and I was worried about driving so far and all the rocks being wet. However, I thought of the Hospital boulders in AL, where it never rains even if it's raining everywhere else. Maybe Font will be like this I thought to myself. As luck would have it, it was!

First, the acess to Font would no longer be possible if it were for the people who cleaned it. I was told by Patrick Weldon that he and several others spent a whole day cleaning the road to the main area. Thankyou and awesomeness. So, take you time, clean a bit as you go, and you can still enjoy Arkansas's first bouldering destination. The purpose of the day was for 3 things.

1. Center Splooge: AR's first v10

2. Broken Earth

3. Fred's Roof

I warmed up on Mills Lane v7. This is a great moderate on the Center Splooge boulder and has some super textured sandstone. Finishing this, I moved to Center Splooge. I had worked it twice in the past and was hoping this would be the day. After an hour of solid work and some beta refinement, I managed to finally stick and hold the light, dynamic crux. It was quite satisfying to do a problem that had eluded me and had such history.

Center Splooge follows the huecos with crimps up the middle of the wall.

Next, I tried a roof project which I thought would be a lot easier than what it was. Couldn't even get off the ground. Then it was off to Broken Earth. Jeremy recently got the second ascent of this problem, and I was hoping it would also go for me. The problem features a starting sidepull and undercling jug feature and then 5 crimps of varying terribleness. I quickly figured out my beta, which was almost exactly the same as Jeremy's, but my hips are tighter than White House security so a minor tweak there. About an hour and a half into the problem, I realized I was going to have to bare down extra hard to get a to the top. This resulted in several dry-fires and lots of breathless minutes to follow. One of the last goes that I would've had for the day, I managed to keep everything together just enough to squeak out a send. I have never sent anything so desperate and by what felt like the narrowest of margins in my life. So pleased.

Broken Earth follows crimps up the middle of the picture.

Pre Valetine's Day Massacre

As I mentioned in the previous post, on Friday Jason completed his first v10 and followed it up with a 7 and an 8. Most likely his best outing to date. Earlier that day, I traveled to Area 74 by my lonesome to see if I could do anything new or just get a workout since Jeremy was donating plasma. As it turned ou I had a pretty good day myself. I put up two new moderates on the shortest part of the main wall and a fairly difficult climb across the road next to Jeremy's Messy Bear. I then proceeded to finally complete From Darkness Comes Light v10. This was probably my proudest moment of the day as I have worked it for quite some time over several years, and have fallen on the last move about a dozen too many times.


Messy Bear v8 starts on the low slope on the left side of the picture and moves up the faint crack and then right for a move to topout. High Maintenance v10 start on a pinch to the right of the tree in the picture and traverses left into the feature that is heavily chalked. The problem has quality movement, but is unfortunately north-facing. It is almost always wet, sandy, or dirty in general, but the rock cleans well. The grade may change with more ascents and depending on its evolving condition. If you find yourself running out of problems, wanting to topout, or wanting to clean something to warm-up, this climb is an excellent choice.

Dreams and Realities v6 begins on a right facing sidepull and a left hand crimp just to the left of the rock in the bottom right of the picture. It makes one move left and then backwards to the right facing jug before topping out left of the tree.




Self service begins 15 feet to the left of Dreams and Realities and as around a v7. It begins right hand in the heavily chalked slot and left hand on a crimp. It makes one large move to a jug straight out and then finishes straight over the lip. Both of these moderates previously had chalk on some of the holds, so I am probably not the first to do them. However, they are not in the guide book, so this is what I am calling them. Both are nice problems for their difficulty.

Scott Fitzgerald on From Darkness Comes Light v10 in the fall of '07 courtesy of Matt Hagler.

Little Mexico

VD? "Yep, that's some good stuff" is what you should say.

So, there has been some serious, recent, throw down fistacuffs domination at Lutz Rd. (Springdale). Last Thursday Jeremy and I visited to get some exercise. We both quickly put away an old problem which lies just left of the Muffin and climbs into it. It doesn't have a name, but this one might stick; Squealing for Butter v8. It was a nice little roof climb. Next I tried to complete A Perfect 10 v10, but could only muster a little progress and threw in the towel after a few goes. Jeremy, on the other hand, was trying a direct line out of that problem on small crimps up the face and underclings in the roof. Super cool-looking movement and fairly tough as he was suggesting somwhere in the 12 or 13 range. Last, we both repeated the Dirt Merchant Direct Dyno v10. I had "established" it a year an a half ago and wanted to see what it felt like again. Jeremy clapped it up and I was not too far behind him. The next day Jason came out for a similar workout and followed suit on all those mentioned. He also did Billy Ray Cyrus v7 to finish off the day. Nice work on the first 10 son!

JTW's project starts on the lowest right chalked hold, traverse left several moves and then heads out the blank section. Burly and super technical.

Dirt Merchant Direct starts on a right facing rail, moves to two crimps, and makes a big move to a jug. Holding the swing can take some practice.

Jason making the third move on Squealing for Butter v8.

Jason in the middle of the long twisting lock-offs of Billy Ray Cyrus v7.

Lazy Sunday

It's not actually Sunday, but it sure feels like it. Jeremy and I tried to go climbing earlier today at Area 74 and Split Rocks. Rain was in the forecast, but the air was so warm it caused the rocks to sweat. I guess the rocks knew we were coming. Anyway, today is another rest day. Rest day activities include lifting weights, reading books, posting on blogs, editing pictures, talking smack, watching indoor climbing, or eating cake. Maybe Jeremy won't do anything else crazy to Simon's hair.

Hot garbage:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1397/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-lazy-sunday

I'm an Escalade

The setting was perfect! The rocks were sandy and wet, the ground was mushy soft, and there was the other man. Keep reading; this is still about climbing. On Saturday, Jeremy accomplished what is very likely the second ascent of Justin Wood's Ruthless Arete v11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_qilCR9F0 <-- he ghostrode both of the climbs in this one. He flashed it in the aforementioned setting and proceed to knock it down to nine points. That was the first climb of the day and the highlight. We both came relatively close on Kneeling Before Power but couldn't seem to muster enough skin and will power. I stomped Orbital Mechanics to the right of it, and almost manged the send by doing a 180. Not so, but the the next time I skipped holds and dynoed. It is raining here and everyone is unsure of themselves since we should be climbing today.

Side note #1: Simon received a haircut yesterday. He is either an eight pound lion or wearing tights and a cropped fur coat. Hilarious and spot on. Pictures soon on here or http://jeremytyler.blogspot.com/

Side note #2: I have a handlebar mustache and I operated a chainsaw yesterday. Put two checks for me in the badass column.

The Ranch

Yesterday Jeremy and I decided to take a day trip to Horseshoe Canyon. We were told there were many down trees and lots of brush to impede all sorts of activities. Unfortunately we weren't disappointed. The hiking was laborous to say the least, but the weather was prime so we had a good day. After warming up, we went to look at a possible sit start to an existing problem called Come O Long. I thought it might be possible; however, after some attempts by both of us to get off the ground in a productive fashion...no such thing. We left there for a Daniel Woods problem called Wrong Turn v9. This roof climbs through 6 huecos and is not too bad if your jug calluses are thick. Mine were not and thought I might lose some fingers. Jeremy said "excuse" and whistled his way through the jug haul. Classic.

Next stop for the day was the Knuckles boulder. I wanted to get up any line on it and JTW wanted to be done with Bloddy Knuckles v11. Unfortunately, Jesus Watch Oh Nine blessed the landing with a huge downed tree perfect for breaking backs, ankles, and legs so all the climbs are moving up in the "E" grading. Anyway, Jeremy ran out of gas for the crux move of Bloody, so no send there. Heartbreakingly close. In the mean time I had begun work on Knuckle Sandwich v9. I did all the moves quickly and gave a few goes from the beginning, but seemed to be lacking the endurance. JT came to the rescue with a swift kick in my britches to get me going. I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed beta from all angles, which resulted in a flash for him. He was grateful for my motorboating and I followed suit with a send right after him. Next I practiced my beta spraying skills on Swollen Knuckles v10. This year-old Blakes Strickland problem climbs crimps striaght up the wall. Jeremy pranced it and avoided the potential death fall on the fallen tree.

The Knuckles Boulder

The last hour of the day was spent next door at Ty Landman's Typhoon v11. Jeremy had already done it and I was still working on the stand, coming in around v10 and known as Harricane by Harry Robertson. I finally stuck the single move, but could not do the sit start. Having spent around 125 tries on the stand start over several seasons, I'm excited to have done the move and enjoy the contentment from not feeling a desire to do the sit start.

Doin Work

So as of late, I've finally decided to get back on the proverbial horse. My climbing has been experience a slow decline over the previous two months, but hopefully there will be no more unmotivation. It was brought to my attention that I was not climbing enough to "do work" on meaningful rock climbs. Since returning to Arkansas, I've climbed several times in the gym, done a few sit-ups, and tried to climb at least four times a week.

Monday we went to DeSoto. Jeremy was going to clean a project and attempt some of the higher moves on top-rope, and I was going to try to do anything. Turns out Jeremy's project is a lot harder than he thought; maybe he will find enough in himself to claw to the top of it before he leaves the state. I started the day off by warming up on a classic problem called Zen in a Blender v6. I would strongly reccomend this one to anyone who enjoys climbs at this grade or is trying to do a climb around this grade. After getting warm I proceeded plow through problems. I'm unaware what the names of some of these problems are, but I managed to luck out and do Buddha v10. I was informed recently that this was an old Micah Scott problem. It is a one move problem for the grade on a 40 degree wall with essentially no feet. After several dozen attempts at getting off the ground, I succeeded and realized the climb. Success by way of perserverance is one of the principals reasons why I continue to climb. I love that feeling.

Today, I made a quick trip to Lake Lincoln to take a look at a possible unrepeated Barret Tilley problem known as Superfly v10. I did the problem with several bumps, but it is a two move problem for the most part. After guaging the first long move and trying each move in isolation, I put the whole problem together in a few hours of work. I wish the problem would've gone a bit quicker, but the cold weather made for a nice session.

Jesus Watch Oh Nine

Over the past business week many people in the heartland region of the midwest were led to believe Jesus would be returning soon, very soon, infact this week of all weeks. I was one of these individuals. As it turns out all the hullabaloo (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hullabaloo) was the once-a-decade-ice-storm. Mostly tree damage and some 1.5 million homes and businesses without power. All this killed the climbinng and training that was supposed to happen, but it made for some fun and interesting nights with the few friends in Fayetteville that were lucky enough not to lose power. Days and nights were spent drinking the hours away. More than a few magazines were read and a few books "looked at" in an attempt to ward off alcohol induced retardation since school was cancelled for the week. Amazing! Too bad I'm not in school this semester. If you could imagine the winter wonderland scenes that you can buy during the holiday season for the home, then you would have imagined Fayetteville correctly over the last week. Beautiful in a haunting black and white and unapologetic way.

So now we wait for ice to melt and rocks to dry. In the mean time I've been thinking what I'm going to do with my life after this trip. Who knows, ugh. Possibly the answer is in a long visit up the west coast to Squamish in early spring.

Guidebook Update

Since the freezing weather has not permitted climbing over the past few days, I decided to turn my efforts elsewhere. Because of all the sending as of late, I realized that the Area 74 guidebook could use an update. The guide was originally written by Scott Fitzgerald about 4 years ago and since then over a dozen new problems have been established ranging from v7-v11. While the original guidebook doesn't have all the correct names, the current names are the ones the general public knows, thus no names were changed, only additions made. Even though it is a small area, it has a pretty good range and depth of problems and it's proximity to Fayetteville make it a worth while destination. So, check it out sometime if you find yourself with an afternoon to burn in the area...http://www.drtopo.com/guidebooks/pdf_guides/usa/Arkansas/Area_74.pdf