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jstar @ 28

August 29, 2013, 2:48 pm
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New routing is definitely my favorite part of climbing, and one of my most inspiring outlets in life, period. Rapping over virgin terrain - uncertain what you may find - connecting the dots, touching holds. I feel myself holding in my breath, gitty with excitement and anticipation... what could be there? what's not there? It doesn't always pan out, but when it does, it can be magic. Finding the line, brushing holds, imagining the sequence, the feet, the holds. Chalking, ticking, scrubbing - then sometimes only days or even hours later, climbing through this terrain - and perhaps even clipping chains.




On Tuesday I turned 28 years old. Hard to believe that I'm actually in my late 20's. When I was a teenager I thought I would be an old fart by now. Settling down perhaps. If I've learned anything from the climbing community it's that my definition of 'old' is consistently being re-envisioned. It's almost like you're only as old as you believe you are - or more so - you turn old the day you really believe that you're old. That could be 28, or it could be 54, or... maybe we'll never be.. 'old'. The point is that in many ways I feel more freedom, opportunity and inspiration than I ever have.. and that's how I would define youth. I got so many sweet birthday wishes on the 27th - here's me saying thank you, and toasting to another lap around the sun. Thanks everyone!

The other side to that story is that I finished an incredible route on my birthday. A route that, to me, epitomizes that feeling I was just writing about. The discovery, the process, the magic. I called the route 'Vesper' and it's another incredible 5.14 at one of my favorite zones - The Fins. I've got a bunch more lined up, so I'm really hopeful that this will be a fruitful trip. Wish me luck!



As far as the last couple weeks is concerned... it was a quick trip to Colorado. I spent most of my time catching my breath (hardly), hiking up to the Diamond with Tommy and actually (believe it or not) doing some bouldering the Park. It was rad climbing and enjoying the park, but in the end both of my goals were just barely cut short because I was preparing for this trip I'm on now. Tommy and another good buddy Joe Mills sent the incredible Diamond project - hell yeah guys!! A route that I'll most definitely be returning to. I got to spend time with some good friends and my family, and catch up briefly before hitting the road. Now I'm on a full hearted mission to make some stuff happen at the Fins and over in Wyoming before heading back to the Valley for the Dawn Wall Project. Onward!

look closely.. 
Hope everyone is enjoying the last few days of August and prepared for Sendtember!!! I'll let you guys know how progress is going out here...

Oh and lastly, I want to give a huge thankyou to everyone that pitched in for my birthday campaign with the AccessFund. We raised over a thousand dollars! I really appreciate everyone's help and I know that it will go to good use!!!

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Off from the Fins

September 9, 2013, 2:35 pm
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My trip back to the Fins is all but wrapped up. As expected, Idaho, and it's lovely inhabitants showed me an incredible time. I was really not sure exactly what I would find on this return trip to the area. I had spied a handful of potential new lines on my previous trip, but I hadn't rapped anything - and knowing this zone - blank areas of featureless stone are commonplace. Excitingly, the last 2 weeks were super fruitful. I tried my best to be productive and stay on task, to either climb or bolt something almost everyday I was out there.

Hard work paid off, but also *I got lucky* and moreover, this is just such an exceptional crag that it's hard to go wrong. Basically, as long as you do a decent job cleaning you're bound to end up with a worth while route. Last night as I packed up camp and descended the steep road out, I felt sadness leaving another rad session at this crag, but I was stoked with what all had come together... 

Lindsay Gasch taking down Son of Discovery
good friends.
One way or another I got 7 new routes in at the Fins this year. Marc Hanselman opened up his incredible Bushido extension to me, the 'Bare Knuckle Boxer' which turned out really cool. Pumpy, excellent pocket pulling to finish either Bushido or Mothership. Tom Smart bolted a really kick ass yellow streak that I had spied last year  - he freed the first half at 13a calling it 'Hapacholo' and I finished the job taking it to the top with 'La Cabanita Especial' 13c. I bolted an ultra thin extension to 'Skeletor' 12+ that remains undone and open. I also bolted and finished the incredible 'Vesper' 14a and its equally kick ass neighbor, 'The Manhattan Project' 14a - a journey through dynamic movement, pocket pulling and unique grips. Up the hill I finished a barely there edging and thin face climbing test-piece that I bolted last week. Complicated movement, extremely difficult footwork and creative thinking is what it takes to get through 'Better Living Through Chemistry' ... a one of a kind route that, I'm not gonna lie, is kinda hateful - but also strangely enjoyable and definitely bad ass. My gut reaction was 14c for this rig, but I can imagine the crux being slightly easier for a tall climber. Hopefully someone out there is as sick (read: messed up, not 'cool') as I am and stoked to repeat this gnarly route someday! My last day was yesterday and I impulsively bolted and cleaned another route that I had peered at. It wound up being pretty sick climbing and, as always, much harder than I thought. 'Yellow Brick Road' 13d was born and my trip was over.



Leif Gasch taking dumps on Son of Discovery - one of the best 5.13s at the crag.



Turns out Seth Lytton can climb the vertical. Bare Knuckle Boxer 5.13
Better Living Through Chemistry
Better Living... see Deadpointmag.com for a bunch more photos. 
Much like my trip there last year, I had such a warm reception from the Idaho community - it was really cool to see how supportive everyone is and how much excitement there is over the Fins. It's not the biggest, or most extensive crag in the country but if face climbing is your stoke then honestly this area can not be missed. The discovery wall alone hosts nearly a dozen 5.13s and 5 5.14s, with a slew of 12's to fill in the gaps. I doubt that it will ever develop into a uber popular crag - it's in the middle of nowhere, it's generally hard, the road to the camping is super burly and the hard routes are quite sporting. But for those of us that love this place - here's to another rad season and hopefully I'll see you out there again!

for those interested. I recently added an updated topo for the Discovery Wall to Mountain Project... 
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Stalk and Ambush

September 23, 2013, 12:20 pm
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Suddenly... it's cooler. The sun is lower in the sky, nights are longer and the breeze chills your skin as it brushes past you. Maybe autumn is soon, or here... or perhaps it's finally just not hot. It's pretty damn nice for rock climbing though, and I'm stoked to be where I am. Back in Lander.

The first week I returned to Wyoming, climbing was mostly shut down because of severe storms. Meanwhile Boulder and much of the Front Range in Colorado was under water, and I selfishly complained about missing climbing days... Several friends and family have suffered extreme damage to their homes and communities. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you all. It was clear from mid week that the area was getting an intense storm, but no one could have predicted the degree of tragedy. Glad to hear that people are lending a hand and also drying out. Best wishes to everyone recovering from the floods.



As things dried out here we hit the crag. Wolf Point. We busted ass and laid a lot of ground work in the early summer there and now the temps and psych are all lining up. I've been out at the crag 6 of the last 7 days. A touch more cleaning, rehearsing and even some welcome sending. First objective was a forgotten Steve Bechtel project that I revitalized back in June. I moved several bolts, extended it and thoroughly cleaned this impressive route. It begins with a savage 4 bolt boulder problem through tough pocket pulling, monos and deadpoints - a solid V12 boulder problem itself. From here, without rest, 9 more bolts of resistant ~.14a on two and three finger pockets takes you to an exciting finish at over 100 ft. The bottom was so difficult that I worked the route in sections - aware that if I made it through the opening boulder problems that I would want a good shot at the send. So I wired the upper section, and then tried the bottom until I made it through, and thankfully nailed the ending. I'm calling the route 'Stalk and Ambush'after a number of run-ins with Mountain Lions on the hike... and as for the grade it's been a topic of much consideration. If there was one more hard move on the route I would not hesitate to call it .14d, but somehow .14c also seems too shy of an estimate. I've got no 8a scorecard to report to, so I'm not afraid of vague grading. I'll suggest 5.14c/d and we'll see what its repeaters have to say. BJ, you're up next dude...

so much hard climbing here.... 

Also well worth noting is a brilliant Tom Rangitsch rig that I had the pleasure of opening yesterday. It extends his killer 13b, 'Remus', to the very top of the cave. Barely climbable with an 80meter rope, this .13c is officially the first route to the top and the longest sport pitch in Wyoming. Come and get it...

On to the next project... another towering .14+ that ends beyond the 40m mark. Ultra resistant, run-out and huge, It's called 'Spitting Venom' and I'm giving it everything I've got. I'm in much need of a rest today but we're heading back out tomorrow and wednesday before another storm hits, and then I'm off to Idaho for the Mountain Fest! 

A throw-back ANDY MANN photo of me climbing 'The Heretic' at City of Rocks, circa 2009. A great trip we did together. Can't wait to revisit this amazing place. 
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Wyo -> IMF -> Utah

September 30, 2013, 11:47 am
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Sitting here at the Ibis Cafe in Logan, Utah. Yesterday morning I felt semi-lost, kinda confused, but mostly I felt a pretty incredible sense of freedom. The Idaho Mountain Fest had just wrapped up (I'll get to more of that soon), the weather was beginning to turn again and with a few nice sends in the bag at the City and Castles, I looked onward. Idling outside of Rock City for a while... Back to Lander? Back to Colorado? Maybe Rifle, or maybe Maple? My Weather App was getting quite the work out. I could kinda go anywhere. I had everything I needed right there in the truck, and for the first time in a long while I had no certain, immediate plans. It was a cool feeling, one that I'm fortunate to experience often. 

Ian Cavanaugh photo of myself on the first repeat of his route 'Straight Out of the Ghetto' .12+ R at the City. 
It goes without saying but I chose to link up with my good buddy Pawel in Logan. I drove through Logan Canyon on my way down from Wyoming and I was shocked by how incredible the fall colors were. Super Tweak is a roped bouldering test-piece originally established by the powerful Boone Speed in 1994; it was America's first 8c by an American. Being something of a history buff, and having done 'Scarface', 'Necessary Evil' and 'Kryptonite' - I knew I needed to check this thing out and hopefully fill in the gap. I'll be hanging here for a few days to hopefully take the beast down. 


Now to backtrack... Pretty incredible times finishing up at Wolf Point last week. After finishing off my new route 'Stalk and Ambush' .14+, I moved on to a massive route that (coupled with heinous heat) thwarted my efforts back in July. It's called 'Spitting Venom' and it's over 40meters of climbing with very little fluff. The crux is super high on the route, after 90 feet of solid .14- resistant intro, you hit a reachy and powerful crux pulling onto near vertical terrain. From here it's an airy and engagingly run-out section to the very tip top of the cave. I really wanted to finish off what I started this summer and leave Wolf Point with a few more, new, proud routes done.

After a day rehearsing the movement and getting back into the mental game on this rig I was ready for redpoint burns. The first few tries ended predictably - on a huge, accurate right hand move late in the crux - where I had been falling in July. Last light in the day I ripped up the intro, eager to get another good go on the route before the sky totally blackened. BJ was on the belay and my good friend and photographer Caroline Treadway was there cheering me on. I stuck the move, and with a good amount of effort I made it through the finishing, ultra thin boulder problem to clip the chains in twilight. A huge sense of relief and stoke. 'Spitting Venom' .14c was born and my 2013 mission at Wolf Point was complete. 

The next day we shot guns and shot some photos at the Cave with Caroline as BJ took down 'Reemed Out' 13+ and I cleaned some of my draws. The following morning I was off to the Idaho Mountain Fest at Castle Rocks.... 

A new route I did - bolted a few years back by Mike Spaulding and mostly forgotten. He called it 'Chumming' and I'll give it .13a. A killer route on the Sharks Fin. 
The event was awesome. Well organized, a great venue, a great group of people and not to mention some kick ass climbing right behind us. My clinic and slide-show both went well and I was really stoked all around on meeting new climbers, sharing stories and enjoying some kick ass pitches at the City of Rocks and Castle Rocks. I was mostly keen to try a controversial and historically intriguing route called 'Red Rum' .13+ on the comp wall. This was the Men's final route, created (literally) for an outdoor competition in the late 80's. It was a topic of much conversation and criticism over the years, but remains one of the areas hardest routes and as far as I can tell is seldom climbed. Well, it's true-- the route is heavily manufactured, down to the perfectly 'placed' feet. Regardless, the movement is actually exceptional, and the position is radical and thrilling. For an almost entirely created route, I really enjoyed climbing it. 

The opening 5.12 slab on RedRum

And that pretty much leads me back to the beginning of the post.... happy Monday everyone!


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Super Tweak

October 7, 2013, 10:08 am
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I've never thrived from the pressure scenario one is likely to find in a comp setting, but sometimes a little environmental or circumstantial pressure has helped me put down projects. There are so many variables in climbing outdoors that it sometimes amazes me that they do occasionally line up. Especially when you're traveling alone, and decisions are made on the fly. Uncertainly is definitely incredible, thrilling and in a big way I search for it - but it can also make for some unanticipated stress.

upper logan canyon colors... 
Last week when I decided to quickly swing through Logan I felt the pressure. I had my beta for Super Tweak mostly honed in, but I was looking ahead at the weather and it was clear that Thursday was the beginning to a pretty substantial storm. Last Monday night inner dialogue - 'should I go 5th day on tomorrow after the Idaho Mountain Fest and two sessions on Super Tweak? or should I rest and then give it a hail mary burn on Wednesday before the storm hits?' Secondly, I had a for sure partner for Tuesday but Wednesday Pawel had to bail by 3 at the very latest - giving me 2? hours of shade? I chose to rest, and thankfully I felt recovered and ready to send on Wednesday morning. Okay. It was overcast too so I got lucky with early shade. The finishing crux of Super Tweak was giving me some trouble. I had climbed up to the last big move on Monday from the ground, but warming up on Wednesday I couldn't even seem to stick the upper crux in isolation. Shit. 

I threw myself at the upper section, trying out various methods. 'Who's bleeding anyways?' - 'oh, I am'. I ripped a sizable flapper messing with sharp holds trying to find a way. In the background the storm was brewing. I didn't have a few more days to waste - I needed to leave today - send or no send. So here I was bleeding, not confident in my beta with only a few hours before I needed to hit the road. When would I ever be back in Logan for good temps? Damnit. Pressure. But somehow it worked out. I tried hard, blood oozing through my tape, feet cutting as I pulled off the make-shift beta for the upper crux. 

Pretty stoked after sending - nearly 20 years after the FA... 
The man, Chris Sharma getting stoked just before his 1996 repeat of Boone Speed's 'Super Tweak' 2 years after the first ascent.
It's not as though Super Tweak is the hardest, or the raddest, or the most beautiful (okay, I'll stop here) route I've ever done, but it has significant historical meaning, and really it was the process - the stress - the desire - that made it so relieving to send. I was very, very stoked. Thanks for an incredible addition Boone! and thanks for the awesome Logan tour Pawel.. 

I finished the day with a flash of SlugFest .13d and another random .13a link up that I've forgotten the name of. That night I made it to Colorado and began planning for the next trip... 



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Change of Plans

October 22, 2013, 9:27 am
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After a few days at Logan Canyon early in the month I was headed to Colorado. The plan was to pack, temporarily say goodbye to Zeke dog and make a sharp turn back westward to Yosemite. Plenty of times my climbing plans have changed over the years due to weather, maybe skin or injury, lack of partners, sudden shift in psyche - but I can safely say that this was the first time that federal government indecision has effected my plans. In-fact, I think this in some ways is the first time in my life that a change in the federal government has had a direct effect on me at all.



Well regardless of the details I was antsy. My October was ticking by (with a trip to Asia coming up on November 7) and as I tirelessly checked the news it seemed like a resolution to the government shutdown wasn't at all close at hand. So, rather than waiting around I rolled with the punches and headed eastward to seize the closing window on my autumn season.

I've been wanting to visit the New River Gorge for several years but I always got sucked into the Red, and realistically, it's just so damn far away from the West. Well I finally made it, and just as I expected, I'm blown away. Naturally I'm bummed that I'll be missing the Dawn Wall push this season, but I have confidence in my friends out there and I'll be following along just like the rest of the world. Ironically I was actually in Washington DC on the very day that Yosemite reopened, I planned to stand in front of the Capital with a cardboard sign reading 'Free the Dawn Wall!' but I guess just my presence was enough.

Definitely saddened to be absent for the mission on El Cap, but it would be a lie to say that I'm not stoked to be here also - it's not that often anymore that I get to see entirely-new-to-me zones with this much quality. The NRG is truly world class.

Bullet hard textured sandstone featuring edges and ledges, slopey crimps and the occasional pocket. Beautiful streaks, striking aretes and features in a rad setting just outside of a pretty rad little town. There is an enormous list of classic routes, gear and sport, for almost everyone's ability level. Nice people, good scene. I can see why people love it here.


On my way to victory against a gaggle of gnarly spiders, mid-redpoint, up 'Ride the Lightning' 13b. Please note the Spider Wand - a tool of the trade in the New. Reynvaan photo
Bridge Day at the New. Hundreds of BASE Jumpers let it rip off the bridge while tens of thousands eat various hot dog dishes and devour funnel cake. 
The first week or so that I arrived was still every ounce of summer in my opinion although locals were diligent in telling me that, 'dude, it gets MUCH worse'. Well hats off to you people, seriously, because those were some of the worst conditions I've ever climbed in. Locals here climb at their limit in the summer months.... I am convinced that these people have some kind of genetic mutation because they are also drawn to wear puffy coats when the temperatures dip below a baltic 71ºF, meanwhile I am still bathing in my own sweat and rattling off complaints faster than my partners can even respond. 



Needless to say, I took it down a notch for my first several climbing days here. Which was something of a blessing in disguise because I got to sample some of the area classics that I may have skipped over otherwise. 'Travisty' 13b/c, the mega steep 'Apollo Reed' 13a, 'Dial 911' 13a, the world class 'Quinsasa Plus' 13a and stunning arete climb 'Satanic Verses' 13c, 'Pocket Route' 13a, the start to 'Trebuchet' 13b and the underrated 'Xanth' 13b, 'New World Order' 12a, 'Bullet the New Sky' 12b and 'Add Lib' 12d all stood out to me. But it was still muggy and hot, so I left. Visited DC, saw some rad stuff, and came back to shockingly better temps. 

Air and Space Museum. So rad.

Another kind of Astronaut -- Scott Franklin. Every ounce as American as walking on the moon.

In the new New River Gorge I was amazed at what was possible. Beloved friction had returned! I did a Mike Williams classic, 'Picket Fence' 14a/b that was amazing and checked out his also mega 'Coal Train' 14a - stoked to get back to that one. The best day yet was at the Meadow where I managed the 1988 All American Classic, 'Mango Tango' - one of the first 5.14s in the country thanks to Scott Franklin and remains one of the best. The neighboring 'Fruity Pants' 12d is without question one of the best sport routes in the nation, and 'Puppy Chow' 12c is... well... just do it.



Over the last 2 days I belayed Mikey as he continued his new routing mission at the New, with 3 new trad routes - the raddest being his new .13a R, 'Color Blind' which I did as well. A really cool vision on his part and a cool addition to the Central Endless.

Lastly, I just posted a new Gear Review on the ripper MSR Reactor Stove and there's a really cool new Five Questions with my buddy Steve Bechtel. Enjoy!

Hopefully much more rad stuff to come in my remaining 2 weeks here! For now, it's rainy and crappy again.
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The New

November 4, 2013, 11:01 am
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West Virginia showed me a good time. I was just about as blown away as I expected by the New. The rock there is nothing short of incredible. The people are great, the scene is fun and certainly more 'livable' than the Red in my opinion. It gets a little rough spending months in the Red in my experience but I imagine being much more content in the cozy town of Fayetteville. As with most crags out east - if only we could give them Boulder's weather - they would be some of the best areas on the planet... but the weather out there sucks. No need to sugar coat it - even locals know the truth.


That's why I wound up in Colorado a few days early... it was going to be a gamble to stay into the weekend and I risked a few more rainy, humid, warm, no climbing days. So I cashed out after a few last great days of climbing and one last great trail run through dense forests and low lying clouds. Good trip, very excited to head back. 

As soon as it really felt like Fall had arrived we got into some great climbing and a few days conditions were near perfection. I spent a number of sessions at the amazing Cirque - the crowning hard cliff at the New. 'Trebuchet' 14b was a must do, and is a really cool roof and headwall extension to it's lower half of the same name. A few powerful and creative moves through a big roof give way to some easier deadpointing and pumpy, crimpy finish. 'Freedom Tree' 13d celebrates some fun jug hauling to a thuggy dihedral finish that's very reminiscent of Rifle. This one in particular had an enormous move out of an undercling that required yoga-like spine stretching out of me for success. The boulder problem entering the dihedral was the sure crux for me, although a taller climber would disagree. A killer route. Over at Beauty, 'Ruchert Motion' is a rad overlooked 13a, and around the corner 'Coal Train' 14a is one of the best in the East. Truly immaculate stone with incut edges and mind bendingly awesome movement. Pumpy throughout with some fun crux climbing. As my trip was nearing its end Mikey suggested we take a chance in some potentially warm conditions for me to have a go at Proper Soul before a formidable storm came in. He was absolutely right. The day was not perfect but the storm that sent me westward would have shut down my attempts. I had wanted to give a good flash go at 'Proper Soul' 14a for the last few years, and after a proper spray down from Mike I gave er hell. Unintentionally smashing hordes of ladybugs and battling some pretty serious heat I nearly let it rip using some on-the-fly beta exiting the crux dihedral but managed to stay on and take it to the top. This was, in some senses, the goal of my trip - so naturally I was super stoked. I finished the day on the neighboring 'Lord Voldemort' 14a and unknowingly packed up my final day in the New. 

if you can see past the awesome Star Wars characters that Tara added to this masterpiece - you'll see me on one of the New's best routes, 'Coal Train' 
It's funny how much the conditions, your height, and your strengths really affect the way you climb at the New. In the beginning of the trip I was confused and frustrated, but as I moved through the days at the crag - finding routes that suited me better or worse, climbing in crisp 50 degree, dry, breezy awesomeness as well as muggy, drink-out-of-the-sky humid 70+ degree days - I eventually gave up on grades or difficulty associated with them. More than any crag I've ever visited, the grades are straight messed up here. Several '5.12's took me as many or more tries than '14b'. I was only somewhat kidding when I proclaimed that sending Freedom Tree 13d was the hardest I'd tried all year and there was a single, super reachy move on Coal Train 14a that keep me coming back 3 days through a variety of conditions, trying hard to finally send. Moral of the story? Toss out the idea of functioning linear grades, especially if you're under 5'6, and just climb what looks awesome - they're all good and they're pretty much all hard - even the 5.11s!!

community at work -- NRAC on the grind
A few BASE jumpers off the Bridge ...

Well, so now I'm back in Boulder hanging out with family and friends. This past Halloween weekend I easily made up for the sleepy life of Lander, Idaho and Fayetteville throughout my summer - and I'm still recovering from a collage of late nights. 

In a few days I'm heading back to Asia for the first time in several years. This time, however, no climbing shoes in my bag. Yup. Climbing is a huge part of my world, but it's not everything. This will be the first non climbing trip - and the longest stretch of rest - that I've had in 7 years! Wish me luck... 

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a brief escape

November 21, 2013, 6:54 pm
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Climbing means so much to me. It's my world - it's my passion, it's largely who I am, it's what I do, it's what I dream of and in the last few years it's even become my career. I could write countless blog posts about why and how much I love this pursuit (and I suppose that's what jstarinorbit is all about anyways). But it's also not quite everything to me, and recently I felt like I needed a little reminder. It had been a long time since I really took a break. 

I'm so thankful that I have the resources and support to enjoy this life - even a life without climbing. So what do I do without it? I would travel. I would listen to music. And I would be around friends. Take away climbing and thankfully I still feel driven by other passions, and despite how easy it can be to forget this - there's much much more to living. Climbing just makes it all better. 




It was exactly what I had hoped for. A brilliant escape. Not the most restful vacation, but we made a list of great memories - every late night and early morning was damn well worth it.

Now I'm back in Colorado where I'll be picking up a rigorous training schedule and looking ahead to the winter climbing season. I've got bigger goals on my horizon than ever before and it's going to take some growth on my part to make them happen. A muerte!
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America's Best 5.14

December 12, 2013, 6:02 pm
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Not sure exactly why but I'm kind of obsessed with lists. Especially 'best of' type lists and, naturally, the banter surrounding the creation of said lists. What could be a better way to end the climbing day than a table slamming, opinion tossing, beer fueled discussion (read: fierce argument) about the impossibly definitive best?

During a myriad of rainy rest days in West Virginia, me and my good buddy Mike Williams got into the task of scribing our thoughts on what could be the very best 5.14s in the country. A conversation that is easily rousted by the level of quality one finds nestled in the depths of the New River Gorge. What does it take to be a true classic? Is classic merely a creation of consensus? Can time only tell? Is there a possible formula - a list of characteristics required to be deemed a classic - or is it simply a feeling that you have while climbing, something visceral but not quantifiable?

I tried to approach this dire question with logic (not usually my method of choice). Okay, so. A classic must be aesthetic, entirely natural, mentally and physically challenging, consistent, inspiring and perhaps even have an interesting history. Well, pretty much immediately I realized these were not gonna work for me. There were routes on my lifetime top ten that certainly did not satisfy every characteristic, but I couldn't bare to erase them from my list. They were just too damn meaningful or bad ass or amazing. So here's where I started wondering about what other people thought. What would happen if I asked a handful of the country's best climbers what they thought could be the most classic 5.14s in the nation? Would there be clear winners or would everyone's list be different - just as everyone's experience is unique - ??


Joey Kinder states that to him, a classic is defined by, "the style and character of the climbing and the personal connection or story that follows." He goes on to say that every route on his list represents, "lessons, challenges, enjoyment and processes that have fulfilled my life as a climber and shaped my climber's brain."

Mike Williams makes his list based on 7 distinct characteristics. A classic for him must have impeccable rock quality, be totally natural, sustained, have a beautiful or exciting position, good movement, be of a substantial height and ideally have historical significance.

Beth Rodden mentioned that, "I like a striking line, something that is inspiring, sustained and in a beautiful location. Climbing hard is like the cherry on top."


Alright let's get into the meat of this sandwich. I asked a bunch of my friends what they thought. I got the opinion of women, men, trad climbers, sport climbers, old schoolers and new schoolers. I asked first ascensionists. I asked many of the very best route climbers in the country. The only criteria was that you had to have at least tried the route, but not necessarily redpointed it.

Without further ado, here it is. According to 18 pros, these are the very best 5.14s in the country. The absolute mega classics....

Paige Claassen on 'To Bolt' 14a.

Joe Kinder exiting the crux on 'Golden' 14b
UPDATED: TWO MORE CONTRIBUTORS
1st Place
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, The Dihedrals, Smith Rock, Oregon

Remaining Top 5
Golden 14b, Welcome Springs - Cathedral, Utah
China Beach 14b, Waimea Wall, Rumney, New Hampshire
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Vestibule, Monastery, Colorado
Bleeding 14b, Wicked Crag, Mill Creek, Utah

Runner's Up / Top 10
Golden Ticket 14c/d, Chocolate Factory, Red, Kentucky
Transworld Depravity 14a, Madness Cave, Motherlode, Kentucky
Sarchasm 14a, Ship's Prow, Long's Peak, Colorado
Mango Tango 14a, Lower Meadow, New, West Virginia
Necessary Evil 14c, Blasphemy Wall, VRG, Arizona

Sonnie Trotter on 'Necessary Evil' 14c


States with some of the nation's best 5.14s, in order of volume (according to all votes):
COLORADO -- 15 
California - 8
Utah - 8
Kentucky - 6
Wyoming - 6
Arizona - 5 (VRG... )
West Virginia - 4
Oregon - 4
New Hampshire - 4
Nevada - 2
New York - 2
Idaho - 2
Vermont - 1
Washington -1

Best Rock Type for 5.14 of all votes cast:
LIMESTONE -- 21
Granite - 10
Gneiss - 7
Corbin Sandstone - 6
Volcanic - 6
Dolomite - 5
Nuttall Sandstone- 4
Conglomerate - 3
Schist - 3
Mill Creek Sandstone - 1
Fountain Sandstone - 1
Quartzite - 1

Myself on the exceptional 'Grand Ol Opry' 14b - which in my opinion, is the single best 5.14 in the country.
Well people, there you have it, the maybe-not-super-definitive-but-pretty-rad-anyways list of the very best 5.14s on American soil. Among the top ten voted routes there's a nice mix of old school and new school with routes as new as 2009 and of course as old as they get around here with 'To Bolt' (1986). Length was not an issue for everyone with climbs as short as 40 feet and as long as 120. Almost every rock type is represented in the top ten and basically every angle of steepness, save a horizontal roof. If you can climb up to 14b you'll find all but two of these gems accessible, but the majority (62%) of all the voted routes are only 14a.

My hypothesis was that very few people would actually end up voting for the same routes, because not only is enjoyment quite subjective but also the way that I remember routes has so much to do with my experience with them. All of the variables matter-- what was going on in my life at that time? How was the weather? Was it a struggle or did things come together for me in that moment? Well as it turns out this hypothesis was only partially correct. It seems pretty loud and clear that regardless of all the personal subjectivity some routes really do produce a better experience than others. It's cool to imagine that myself, many of the people listed here, and many more, have all had such a memorable experience on the exact same chunks of stone.

I hope at least a few of you guys enjoyed this nerdy post half as much as I liked putting it together. Thanks so much to everyone who got back to me so quickly and helped me put together this list. Below is the raw data from the 16 different climbers I asked...

Bill Ramsey 
Direct Hit 14a, Mt Charleston, Nevada
Zulu 14a, Rifle, Colorado
Badman 14a, Smith, Oregon
Transworld Depravity 14a, The Red, Kentucky (Personal FA)
Planet Earth 14a, VRG, Arizona
Hold Your Fire 14b, Potosi, Nevada
Supertweak 14b, Logan Canyon, Utah
Golden 14b, Cathedral, Utah

Joey Kinder
Flight of the Concords 14c, Huricave, Utah (Personal FA)
Tiger Blood 14b, Sunset Alley, Utah (Personal FA)
Southern Smoke 14b, Bob Marley, Kentucky (Personal FA)
Center Fold 14b, VRG, Arizona (Personal FA)
Kryptonite 14d, Fortress, Colorado
Stockboys Revenge 14b, Rifle, Colorado
China Beach 14b, Rumney, New Hampshire
Livin Astro 14c, Rumney, New Hampshire
Super Nova 14b, Rumney, New Hampshire
Golden 14b, Cathedral, Utah (Personal FA)
Waka Flocka 14b, Rifle, Colorado (Personal FA)

Ben Spannuth
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Monastery, Colorado
The Bleeding 14b, Mill Creek, Utah
Golden Ticket 14+, Red, Kentucky
Golden 14b, Cathedral, Utah
Necessary Evil 14c, VRG, Arizona
Doubloons 14b, Mt Evans, Colorado (Personal FA)
Power Bait 14a, New, West Virginia (Personal FA)

Tommy Caldwell
Magic Mushroom 14a, Yosemite, California (Personal FA)
The Nose 14, Yosemite, California
The Dihedral Wall 14a, Yosemite, California (Personal FA)
Sarcasm 14a, Ship's Prow, Colorado (Personal FA)
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon
Dunn Westby Direct 14a, Diamond, Colorado (Personal FA)

Chris Weidner
F-Dude 14a, VRG, Arizona
Zulu 14a, Rifle, Colorado
Scarface 14a, Smith Rock, Oregon
Vogue 14b, Industrial Wall, Colorado
China Doll 14a, Dream Canyon, Colorado
Golden 14b, Cathedral, Utah
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon

Peter Kamitsas 
China Beach 14b, Rumney, New Hampshire
The Hardway 14a, Marshfield, Vermont (Personal FA)
Oppositional Defiance Disorder 14a, Silver Lake, New York (Personal FA)
Highline Direct Project, Moss Cliff, New York
Transworld Depravity 14a, The Red, Kentucky
Coal Train 14a, New, West Virginia
Golden Ticket 14+, Red, Kentucky


Beth Rodden
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon
Changing Corners 14, Yosemite, California
Sarchasm 14a, Ship's Prow, Colorado
Meltdown 14c, Yosemite, California (Personal FA)
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Monastery, Colorado


Mike Williams
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon
Mango Tango 14a, New, West Virginia
Coal Train 14a, New, West Virginia (Personal FA)
Galactic Emperor 14a, Tensleep, Wyoming
Trebuchet 14b, New, West Virginia (Personal FA)

Alex Honnold
Necessary Evil 14c, VRG, Arizona
Just Do It 14c, Smith Rock, Oregon
The Green Mile 14b, Jailhouse, California
The Leaning Tower Project, Yosemite, California

Ethan Pringle
All Around Routine 14b, Ibex, Utah
The Bleeding 14b, Mill Creek, Utah
Golden Ticket 14+, Red, Kentucky
China Beach 14b, Rumney, New Hampshire
Transworld Depravity 14a, The Red, Kentucky
Kryptonite 14d, Fortress, Colorado
The Iron Monkey 14b, Eldo, Colorado
Just Do It 14c, Smith Rock, Oregon
U-Haul 14a, Jailhouse, California


Sasha Digilian 
Transworld Depravity 14a, Red, Kentucky
Golden 14b, Cathedral, Utah
Still Life 14b, New, West Virginia
Atonement 14b, VRG, Arizona
Millennium 14a, Maple, Utah


Nick Duttle
Sarcasm 14a, Ship's Prow, Colorado
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Monastery, Colorado
Third Millennium 14a, Monastery, Colorado
The Bleeding 14b, Mill Creek, Utah
The Tube 14b, Red, Kentucky
Golden Ticket 14+, Red, Kentucky
Mango Tango 14a, New, West Virginia
China Beach 14b, Rumney, New Hampshire

B.J. Tilden
Golden 14b, Cathedral, Utah
Lungfish 14b, Rifle, Colorado
Orange for Anguish 14c, Baldwin Creek, Wyoming (Personal FA)
Moonshine 14d, Wild Iris, Wyoming (Personal FA)
Genetic Drifter 14c, Wild Iris, Wyoming
Kill Em All 14b, Wolf Point, Wyoming (Personal FA)

Paige Claassen
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Monastery, Colorado
The Bleeding 14b, Mill Creek, Utah
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon


Matt Wilder
Cheating Reality 14a, Devil's Thumb, Colorado (Personal FA)
China Beach 14b, Rumney, New Hampshire
The Fly 14d, Rumney, New Hampshire
The Bleeding 14b, Mill Creek, Utah
South Face of Washington Column 14a, Yosemite, California (Personal FA)


Jonathan Siegrist
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Monastery, Colorado
Almighty 14b, Teton Canyon, Wyoming
Mango Tango 14a, New, West Virginia
All Around Routine 14b, Ibex, Utah
Necessary Evil 14c, VRG, Arizona
24 Karats 14c, Red, Kentucky (Personal FA)
Sarcasm 14a, Ship's Prow, Colorado
Enter the Dragon 14a, Fins, Idaho (Personal FA)
Dunn Westby Direct 14a, Diamond, Colorado

Drew Ruana 
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon
Scarface 14a, Smith, Oregon
Lost Horizons, Little Si, Washington

Jon Cardwell
Grand Ol Opry 14b, Monastery, Colorado
To Bolt or Not to Be 14a, Smith, Oregon
7pm Show 14a, Rifle, Colorado
The Present 14a, Gorilla Cliffs, Utah
24 Karats 14c, Red, Kentucky
All Around Routine 14b, Ibex, Utah
Necessary Evil 14c, VRG, Arizona
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2014

January 5, 2014, 1:25 pm
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2014. Damn. 

2013 ended well. Surrounded with great friends, many opportunities opening up and exciting things in my future. One thing that I've always worked towards in my life is having something rad on the horizon, something inspiring to look forward to and something challenging coming up to motivate growth.

Since I returned from Bali in late November I've been steadily looking ahead. For the first time in my climbing I've been working with a trainer, trying new things and changing my habits. My goals have evolved and in an effort to really improve I wanted to finally check out what I could have been missing. It has of course been difficult but also awesome and very inspirational for me. I truly feel like I'm improving which is an amazing feeling.



In December I met new friends, and I spent invaluable time with some of my oldest friends. I honed my discipline into a radically different training program. I set routes in New York, I set routes at the Boulder Rock Club and I even set routes at a brand new gym at CU Boulder. I started shaping a line of my own holds - a vision that I've had for many years - with master shaper Ian Powell and Kilter Holds. I've been writing a piece for the American Alpine Journal, and working on several other editorial pieces. It's been a very successful, stressful and also an exciting month.

As soon as the year wrapped up, I packed my truck again. Said goodbye to lovely Boulder, Co and drove westward. This is my 4th year in Las Vegas. I'm sure it's evident by now, but I really love this place - the climbing, the landscape, the people, the experience, the lifestyle. In the last several years I've spent more time in Vegas than anywhere else, including my home state Colorado. It really is starting to feel more and more like 'home'. Although the truck, and wherever Zeke dog sleeps remains my most reliable place of rest.



Yesterday I was back in Arrow Canyon. Starring at the same wall as I did last year, and the year before that. I left empty handed after my battle last year but I'm ambitious and hopeful that I can make it happen this time around. Le Rêve's neighbor, 'La Lune' is my hardest project yet and one that I've been dreaming about all year. Wish me luck... and a very happy 2014 to everyone! Thanks for another year of support. Hope to see you guys out there...



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La Lune

January 13, 2014, 10:17 pm
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Early last March I wrote this blog post. At the time of writing I didn't know it, but I was close to giving up. The heat soon became overwhelming and it was not long at all before my efforts were futile. I got a late start trying the route, I had a rough time finding a solid partner, and my stoke gradually declined as I found myself driving northbound on I-15 again and again, making the same hike, returning by headlamp and doing the same warm ups in escalating heat. Projecting can be mentally exhausting, and this (last year) was my second year returning again and again to Arrow Canyon.

I love the place. I've certainly spent a fair amount of time there. I've dragged so many friends in there to show off its unique beauty, mind bending potential and its amazing climbing. I trained pretty hard through this past December anticipating my return to Arrow along with my remaining list of goals for 2014. Maybe it was a renewed psych, much better temperatures or maybe it was the hours spent on the hangboard and countless laps in the gym -- but something worked. The route felt considerably easier from the beginning. I made some great links on day 1, by day 3 I had two back-to-back 1 hangs and last Friday I finally ended my journey with this climb. La Lune was born, and my multi-season campaign in Arrow Canyon, on 2 neighboring and absolutely stunning routes, came to a beautiful close. 


Obviously I feel elated. I invested so much in this route and spent so many hours in 2013 dreaming about it. It was very difficult for me to walk away without success last year. It feels strange to have it done now, especially considering how damn hard I thought it was after last season. Could I have improved this much? Maybe I was completely destroyed mentally and physically last season and all I needed was a fresh start? I'm really not sure to be honest, and after being prepared for war against this seemingly undefeatable opponent, to claim victory after such a short battle almost seems unfair; it's almost as though I wanted the process to last longer. 

Climbing is such an interesting and varied pursuit, and likewise my experience with every major project has been as unique as the routes themselves. La Lune [9a] is free now, and my time in Arrow canyon will become mostly a memory - which is both exciting and saddening. I'm very proud of this route, and stoked to share it with the community. It really is one of the best out there.

Thanks so much to everyone - all the amazing friends - that gave me support and belays over the years in Arrow, it's been an amazing pursuit! I really, really appreciate it. 

Plenty more to do around here... on to the next project! 

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next up

January 25, 2014, 12:22 pm
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I often feel like momentum can be one of our greatest assets as climbers. It's easy to let go after a big win. We all want to celebrate, and enjoy the feeling of success and accomplishment - especially after hard work - it's important to enjoy it. It's these moments that give our months of training, our hours in the gym and our determination purpose. But I try to keep it brief. I've noticed over the years that this feeling is also a very powerful motivator. You just sent. You're confident, you're strong, and your inspired. Use this energy and put it forward!
smarvs books some air miles on the classic 'Gift'
good people
I took my stoke from La Lune and aimed it directly towards another incredible project. It's at a seldom visited, but truly special limestone crag outside of Red Rocks called The Promised Land. Several amazing projects were left behind at this stunning, remote crag developed in the 90's. I've visited this crag over the last few years and always had it floating in the back of my mind to one day revisit and get stoked on. It seemed like a good time and I'm so, so glad to be back up there. I'm very excited about the climbing up there. 

Seth Lytton reviving and projecting another forgotten PL rig. 
A few days back I finally got all of the moves done on this amazing golden, blue, bullet rock, super thin, bouldery and puzzling project. Yesterday I made such promising links that I decided to rest today and go hard for a redpoint tomorrow and monday. YES!
Neely Quinn riding the radical stoke train on 'Day One' 13b
Hope everyone has a great weekend out there.

also, check out a fresh gear review on the Metolius Bravo Quickdraw... 
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spectrum and beyond

February 3, 2014, 4:41 pm
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'Spectrum' 14c. This was an incredible project at a crag just outside of Las Vegas called the Promised Land. The day of I warmed up on the bottom as I had been on days before -- a unique slab on drippy, cake white and smooth limestone into a pumpy series of movement through better holds which lands you at the routes main rest just below the crux. Previously my best link was from the ground and falling off exiting the first major crux -- a very tension intensive sequence on bad edges and small tufa pinches (rad!), maybe in the V11 range. On my first try this day I fell here again, but made an inspiring link from below this crux to essentially the last hard move way up high. It was an exciting feeling but I was also thinking to myself that a redpoint could be still several days away. It felt hard. The last 4 bolts are power endurance crimping with a couple pockets thrown in. No rests up there. In-fact, there are barely clipping holds. The finish is certainly solid 13d and maybe even 14a in itself.


Seth Lytton Photos
I let myself rest and tried again. Getting through the crux I sucked air at this high elevation crag and prepared for the long, pumpy crimp finish. I let my skin have it, crying out as I grabbed holds and sacrificing my tips; lunging upward again and again. I was nearly off a few times, even in the easier terrain near the very top, but kept screaming as I narrowed in on a win. It was surprising, and also very fun. I love this feeling - trying at your limit, surprising yourself with each additional movement. Nearing victory, with every next move testing you. With a few more sessions I think I could have made the route feel easier - working out subtle beta and simply getting more fit and efficient for links - but I'm so glad that I had this experience of trying hard and pushing forward. I love this kind of thing. This feeling is largely what I climb for. Sure, numbers and styles and holds and all these things may get us stoked and motivate us, but this feeling - of pouring all your body's energy, your heart and your soul into a few moments - this is what projecting is all about for me. I will remember that feeling far more clearly than I will remember a crux hold or a certain difficulty or even a route's name.

Seth, narrowing in on another project..
Since this day I've been exploring a few other options and staying busy as the temperatures have plummeted around Vegas - we even saw some rain! Shooting some photos with my good friend Jorge Visser in Arrow Canyon, training indoors and shooting some catalogue stuff with Brian Goldstone of Arc'Teryx. Now the temps are starting to rise and we're going to head back to the Promised Land and give it a shot tomorrow.

I feel like I can't say enough how fortunate I feel for my life, for the support I receive from my sponsors and also of course from the community. Just wanted to take a quick moment and say thanks to everyone for all the continued support over the years - your stoke and enthusiasm for my passion and what I'm doing makes my life possible and for this I feel so, so grateful!

Lastly, mark your calendars and keep a look out on my events page for a Slide-Show in the Vegas area on March 12 and also for the upcoming Red Rock Rendezvous....
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Sacred and Profane

February 14, 2014, 1:19 pm
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The variety of weather conditions out here in the winter still amazes me. Just last week we made the arduous hour hike to the Promised Land - filled with somewhat hopeless optimism - only to find that what we feared was true. It was freezing, pretty brutal actually. Then yesterday, only days later, without breeze and full on Nevada desert sun - it was gnarly hot - too hot to climb until quite late in the day. In contrast to most of the nation, the winter out in Vegas has been crazy warm. Warmest I've experienced in my four months here. It's been perfect for our most recent objectives though, and I'm pumped to say that those objectives are now mostly finished. 


Last week my good friend Seth Lytton opened up a sick addition to the crag - an extension to a rad, existing 13b called 'Day One'. From here the route follows a series of huge moves through mostly good grips. Underclings, some amazing tufa pinching and interesting movement get you to the summit on this power endurance masterpiece he called 'Crown of Thorns' 13d. 

Andy Mann photo of Seth on the take down. 'Crown of Thorns'
I also had some success up there. Yesterday I finished off the last remaining project at the crag. A proud line that takes the middle of the cave to the very top. This was a cool process in that myself, homeboy Joe Kinder and Seth all put in effort cleaning and sussing moves on this forgotten project - a cool group effort. The first half of the route is sustained tension climbing through edges and pinches to a breaking point half way with a not-so-awesome knee scum rest. To here the route is somewhere around .13d and then you fire into the crux (around v10/11 itself) on a line of arching pockets, finishing with an enormous move off a terrible undercling into beautiful rock. The last 2 bolts are mellow, fun climbing on near perfect stone to the tip-top. It's a rad route. I'm calling it 'The Sacred and Profane' and as for the grade I'm going to just suggest mid 5.14. All of the hard climbing that I've done so far this year has been on projects - without grades - and thus it's tricky to make suggestions without a recent confirmed route to use as a standard. I'll get back to this one after I wander into the Utah Hills and elsewhere over the next few weeks... but I suspect at the very least it is upper end 8c. 

Another Mann photo. This time Seth is working out beta for what yesterday became 'The Sacred and Profane'
I also spent a day at the crag last week shooting a short promo piece for my sponsor Smith Optics with 3 Strings Productions. This turned out to be a really cool piece, something very different and I think it really represents a new level of quality from 3 Strings and Andy Mann. Look forward to the release soon! 

okay... onward! 


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update

February 25, 2014, 1:01 pm
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Alright, I'm just going to get right into it. It's been a pretty rad week or so since I last updated. Several years back when I was passing through Smith Rock, climbing 'Just Do It', I met a dude named Brian Mosbaugh. While we were hiking back to the Monkey for the enormous routes he was hiking back there for the high-line potential. He's since moved to Moab and linked up with the Moab Monkeys and furthermore gotten into all the gnarly stuff they get into - BASE, etc.

Anyways, he and the Monkeys were here last week and they were cooking up some next level shit. I was lucky enough to tag along when Andy Lewis (better known as Sketchy Andy) made a world's first - thrilling BASE-Line traverse between two hot air balloons above 3,000 feet as Jona-Marie Price hung upside down from the neighboring balloon and then shortly after a gaggle of wingsuiters made a within-a-few-feet fly by. I really had no idea what I was getting into but it was a really unique and bad ass experience. I think this photo basically sums it up.


Andy is a rad guy. Surprisingly cool headed for how gnarly he gets, and a strong leader for such a stoked emerging community. I think for me the coolest part of the day was just feeling how stoked these people were and momentarily peering into their world. Cool stuff.

Anyways. After the adrenaline dissolved from my veins I was back on the program. Part of my aim right now is of course to climb routes and enjoy the sun, but I'm also trying to think ahead and keep my eyes on the prize. I started training in late November and despite all the temptation to get outside every day in beautiful weather I'm really trying to stick to my program and continue my efforts inside, in anticipation of an extended stay in France - I leave in just under 2 months.

I did manage to get a coupe days outside however. I went to check out the Black and Tan. A stout little (very little) crag in the Utah Hills. I had spent a brief afternoon there a few years back but was lacking motivation for the tiny crag. This time around I was stoked - thinking of the routes as simply boulders and psyched to change up the style a little bit. The rock here is nothing short of fantastic, and several routes are easily reminiscent of Verdon or Ceuse quality - just hundreds of feet shorter... The main goal was to do 'Breakin' The Law' 14b and 'Old World Lullaby' 14a/b. BTL is a very short power climb. With a difficult section exiting a dihedral and gaining a slab above it. It definitely boils down to an extended reach around a corner, difficult feet and then a strange press up off a poor right hand undercling crimp / pinch. It has become something of a test piece for the passing climbers, especially in the sense that it's very low commitment and also caters to the boulderer quite well. I did this one on the first day and saved OWL for day two. Old World is slightly longer, and the crux is primarily a powerful, crimpy leftward traverse. It's a perfect power endurance route, that climbs stunning rock. I really liked this one. After doing OWL, I finished the day with Sniffing Glue .13d and Talking Smack .13c, both of which were awesome although certainly quite easy for their respective grades.




Yesterday I went to check out another Utah Hills short climbing mecca - the Gorilla Cliffs. Here the main objective is to try and do Dave Grahams 'Psychedelic' 14+. It's essentially a really hard boulder problem at the 15 foot mark to a 13a finish. Not at all the type of route I would usually seek out. But this one is stunningly beautiful - near perfect rock - and I figured it would be a great trainer for me. After one try yesterday I'm pretty concerned that I might not fit the specifications well enough to send (too short for conventional beta), but I'm going to give it another try this week and see if I make any progress. I did the crag classics 'Nintendo' 13c and 'Gorilla' 13b instead, both outstanding, albeit very short lived.

Revisiting my ascent of 'The Sacred and Profane' a few weeks back... As I mentioned before I've spent most of the year so far climbing on my own projects, with little room for comparison to established grades. While I don't necessarily feel like Breakin The Law or Old World are gold standards for their grade (both probably in the very hard 14a realm I'd say), it was good perspective to climb on them. This experience, along with my good friend Seth (who has been trying S&P) recently trying the Cathedral test piece 'Golden' 14b and offering his insight, leads me to believe that The Sacred and Profane is probably better suited at .14c. So yeah... that's my official suggestion for now!

Okay lastly, here's some other rad stuff going on. My very good friend and current room-mate Neely Quinn sat down and did an interview with me for my 5 Questions Page, and she got into some details about her new endeavor - TrainingBeta.com - which is a rad new way to get specific training plans from a variety of kick ass climbing specific trainers, all in one place. Plus it's got podcasts, videos, and all that jazz so read Neely's interview and check out Training Beta!

And also... I'm doing a slide-show here in Las Vegas (technically in Blue Diamond) to help benefit the Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council and if last year was any indication this should be a rad community night! Please come out and heckle me, donate some money, drink free beer and eat free pizza and hang with the crew. It'll be a blast!



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march so far

March 10, 2014, 3:27 pm
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3 weeks left in Las Vegas. It's been an incredible winter for me out here. The weather has held up beautifully, I've had a plethora of psyched and awesome partners, and I nabbed a handful of incredible new and old routes. As you may have gleaned from this blog, I'm something of a list fanatic. I always make a list - of only in my head - before a long climbing trip or season. A few goals, ambitions and otherwise, to keep me stoked. It usually helps motivate me to set intentions or make plans for what's to come. It offers me training stoke and just inspires me to look ahead. Another interesting experience relating to said lists is that I get to reflect on my expectations for a trip as that event is winding down or after it's passed. It's rare - if ever - that I complete the list, but it's still fun to see how I anticipated the trip and how it actually happened.

Shooting Horse at the Black and Tan on a terribly windy day. Great route. James Lucas Photo 


It'll be a busy few weeks left here between my slide-show with LVCLC this wednesday, a few days in Utah's West Desert, a cool film piece that I'm doing for Outside TV and of course the Rendezvous - not to mention friends and maybe I'll even get one or two more things wiped off my list. Oh and then there's training. Got plenty going on.

Speaking of which..  The last few weeks have been busy and great. I revisited the Gorilla Cliffs to have another go at Dave Grahams bouldery test-piece 'Psychedelic'. My first try on it was after a hard training day so I wanted to give it a fresh effort. I did feel much stronger on the holds but I still had a really hard time finding the length (no feet high enough) I needed to properly reach the crux hold. I found an alternate sequence that could work, but by then my motivation was waining. Darn. However, just around the corner my spirits were lifted. 'The Present' 14a was exceptional! Super fun to finally do such a classic route. I finished the day on 'The Realm' AKA 'Connect the F*cking Dots' 13c to the right of the Present.


The short and powerful - and amazing - Present. Misty Murphy Photo

Next up was to check out a crag that I'd heard a lot about over the years but never quite made it out to. The Grail - in Lime Kiln Canyon - is a massive limestone wall just a short drive outside of Mesquite, NV. It's always been really hard to find accurate info about this zone but I pieced together what I could and despite some confusion finding the place and the exact routes I had a killer day. The hang is amazing, the stone is unbelievably high quality and the density of routes is great. The main objective was a Todd Perkins classic, 'Magnum Opus' 14a, that is tall and wicked thin through edges, tough footwork and a few very small pockets. Next I did an amazing and quite hard 13b called 'Horse Platitudes' with a rowdy thin finish and lastly, 'Homofaber' 13a which, although a touch soft, was nothing short of amazing. The 12's we did there we incredible as well. Cool crag. Highly recommended if you don't mind climbing on your feet and grabbing bad holds.

The Grail. Much bigger than it looks. The blue rock on the left side is featured and incredible. 
Last week I journeyed back to The Cathedral in the Utah Hills to see if a couple of notoriously wet routes had finally dried out. Even after a pretty intense rain storm the previous weekend I was pleased to find them both dry. On day one I took down the massive cave route 'The Incredible Huck' 14b, featuring a powerful and tensiony finish. Day two I tried my luck at Andy Raether's 'Slaughterhouse 5' 14b/c, essentially a tough bouldery ending to the classic 'Treebeard' 13c. It took me a little while to suss out beta for this powerful route and unfortunately by the time I had it figured out I was quite pooped. Not sure how awesome my beta is but man, there's a few super hard moves up there! Something to get back to.

Hope to see some of you at my slide-show this week! Cheers.

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a show, a wall and whatnot

March 21, 2014, 10:47 am
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Last week for my slideshow in Vegas I presented something a little different than I usually do. Typically my slide-shows are trip focused, or just a slew of geographically focused climbing porn to get people stoked and show off some rad images. On a few occasions I have also done the 'here's how I got into the whole climbing thing' show, which I really like presenting. But after a conversation over drinks and a game a pool with my roommates here in Vegas a month back, they convinced me to try something a little more meaningful. At the time I was expressing to them my nervous / excited energy about my goals, and about preparing and also looking back at failures and successes. Maybe it was the hard cider but they thought that this could become an interesting topic for my upcoming presentation and after several hours of deliberation and collecting images, collecting my thoughts I came up with a slide-show about failure, accomplishment and ambition. I presented it to an awesome crowd last wednesday.



I'm really happy with the way that the show turned out and with the feedback I've received. We raised nearly $2,000 for the Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council to help fund rebolting among other efforts. My sponsors came through in a great way as they always do. Maxim Ropes, Smith Optics, La Sportiva and Metolius all made sizable contributions to the event and the LVCLC had beer and pizza on the house. My always rad friends at the Access Fund helped promote the event and sent some give-aways as well. It was cool to raise money and try to inspire the community but the main win for me is just to see over a hundred climbers in one place - a rare occasion in Vegas - and share a beer with a passionate group. I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that attended and donated and heckled and everything. Thanks. Photos are here. 

Brilliant Andrew Burr photo of an effort I had with Tommy a few years back. 
Otherwise I've been training and climbing and preparing. I went back out to the Cathedral and finished up 'Slaughterhouse Five' 14b/c, I got back out to a rad little spot called the Grail (Lime Kiln) and started bolting an enormous pitch out there. I also got fired up on this incredible wall in Red Rocks - the route is called Crystal Dawn and it's a truly amazing free route on the Buffalo Wall. I tried the route one day a few years back with Tommy Caldwell and loved the experience. It had been in the back of my mind for the last couple years and I'm so happy that I revisited it. All three of the hardest pitches have super reachy sections so it ended up being actually something of a battle to figure out. I spent a day sussing on mini-trax and then came back yesterday with the help of my good friend Seth Lytton to finish the route up. On paper the route breaks down to pitches of 12a, 13a, 13c, 12c, 13a, 11 R, 11, 10 R but I would not hesitate to bump all 3 of the 5.13 pitches in difficulty for my size, most notably the crux, which felt like it could have been 14a honestly. I had such a rad day up there yesterday finally taking this thing down. Thanks so much to Seth for the support and also to homeboy Nik Berry for sharing beta and large cams and whatnot! - Nik did the route a few days back as well. I really love getting into long routes and walls from time to time... always such a cool change and just dealing with logistics and all day fatigue offers such a unique and interesting challenge.

Andrew Burr photo


Seth Lytton turns the corner on the first 5.13 pitch. Sick. 
what rope?


Alright, now I'm off to Ibex! See you in the west desert...
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leaving las vegas

April 3, 2014, 4:36 pm
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Last couple weeks were pretty burly. After success on the Buffalo Wall, I remained pretty fired up for a while. It reminded me of my experience in years past - the bigger the objective, the longer the red point buzz lasts. Walls are so cool because they force you to adopt a strategy for not only climbing so many pitches in a day and avoiding fatigue but also for things like gear, water, approaching and descending. I think in part it's this extra stress that makes an accomplishment more rewarding.

A throw back from the first time I tried Crystal Dawn, a day with Tommy a few years back - Andrew Burr photo of the crux pitch. 
My legs were blown out from the long day but I had plenty left for climbing so I spent the next 2 days training hard - which was likely a mistake in retrospect. Sunday I followed my good friends Seth and Neely up to the Promised Land to finally get a chance at Seth's rad new route, 'Crown of Thorns' 13d. It's seriously an amazing pitch - certainly one of the best of its grade in the Vegas area.

Seth on his route, 'Crown of Thorns'
Monday and Tuesday I was back to Lime Kiln Canyon outside of Mesquite. I hooked up with a good friend and talented photographer / videographer Celin Serbo and worked with him and Dan Gambino, alongside a hovering drone to put together a short piece for Outside TV. I'll let you know when more details emerge. They got clips of me bolting what would become a stunning pitch - a 165 foot mega route that I called 'Voyager One' 13a/b.

On day one, Seth and I climbed the hyper-classic 2 pitch 'Vesper' 5.12 and as we were lowering off I spotted a line of barely there rounded pockets and Verdon-esque edges on the clean wall below. It's moments like this that we route developers straight freak out. We were all set to wrap the day and jet as the sun was low in the sky, but suddenly my mission was to get a static line back up there. I was so shocked by its exceptional quality and the fact that it had not yet been bolted that I seriously think some part of me was worried that someone would come and bolt it that night in the dark. How could people have missed this!?

Seth ran back up Vesper and hung a line for the next day. Tuesday we went out and finished up shooting and afterward I hurriedly jumared up the line and sunk the metal, easily cleaning the entire route with just a brush in under an hour. In a state of extreme fatigue from 6 days on, I threw myself at this beautiful route. It gradually gets thinner and harder as you approach the shared finish with Vesper - and on my first two tries I couldn't quite keep it together til the end. Thin, sloppy and slippery pockets pepper the otherwise blank face. Absolutely bullet stone. I puled the rope knowing that I probably hard energy for just one last try (not that I had energy for the first try) and that with just 5 busy more days left in Vegas I may not get back here.

Keith Ladzinski shot of Whitney Boland crushing 'Vesper' - my route 'Air France' ascends the dotted line below here to share the same finish. 
Somehow I put it together and 'Air France' 14a was born. It's truly one of the highest quality pieces of stone I've ever touched and certainly ever put bolted in. So excited to get it done!

The rest of the week I trained and packed up before doing 2 full days of clinics at the Annual Red Rock Rendezvous, which went very well as usual. I had stoked people in my clinics and despite some other-than-ideal weather we got a bunch of climbing in. Big thanks to Metolius for bringing me out there!

The morning after the event I hit the road. With Vegas once again in my rearview, I was especially saddened to be saying goodbye. It was a particularly great year for me, no doubt thanks to my training efforts beginning in November and also thanks to a great crew of motivated people out there. Every year I return to the desert I find a hundred new rad things to sink my teeth into and I love the place that much more. I'll sincerely miss you Las Vegas! Until next time.

One quick note. If you're in the market for a training resource - this is the single best book out there, and it's just about to be available. Mark and Mike have their science and methods nailed down - and both have seen the process work very well for them. Have a look here. 
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TBPodcast

April 14, 2014, 10:08 am
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As I mentioned in a past blog, some of my very good friends have been working hard, putting together a really cool new online resource for climbers, called Training Beta. As part of the site, they are doing a podcast series - basically sitting down with a slew of random people (pros and trainers and more) and asking training questions and also life questions and all that. I did one with Neely a few weeks back before I left Vegas and she just recently put it up. If you've got an hour to kill have a listen... and let me know what you think!


Here's a link to the site and this podcast, or,


It's also available in the iTunes Store. 

And while I'm at it... have a little peek into a new web series from Smith Optics on Great Days. I did a really cool and unique short piece with Andy Mann / 3 Strings back in Vegas and it should launch on this series any day now. I'll keep you posted..

Enjoy! 

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a few days left

April 17, 2014, 11:22 am
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Well, I'm off to France in under a week. I've already been checking the weather there, corresponding with friends in the area and making a packing list. Needless to say, I'm really stoked. My trip to Southern France 2 years ago was such a magical and eye opening experience I really can not wait to return. That trip was by all means a success and radical but now I feel much, much more prepared and even more inspired. I'm hopeful that the past several months of training and climbing will pay off, but I know that regardless of my sending, I'll be drinking wine, sharing laughs with many different great friends and waking up to the sound of goat bells in no time!

Plan B. Super good. 
Like I mentioned I've primarily been on the training program but I did get out this week to a new (to me) crag in Boulder Canyon. I had essentially written off the whole canyon, after several pretty crappy climbing experiences there over the years (there are a few good routes.. I think I'm just spoiled) but I was very surprised and stoked to get out there. I did a pretty damn fun little climb that Peter Beal established 13 years ago and has somehow remained unrepeated since. It's called 'Agony and Ecstasy' and it's a little 3 bolt boulder problem direct start to a fantastic 12d granite arete. It was rumored to be 14a - I'd say it's like v9 to 12d so maybe 13+ is a better fit but who knows? It was fun! And the crag classics 'Plab B' 12b, 'The Juice' 12d and 'Hot Wire' 12c are all pretty damn fun too. It was a good day out. But I think at least to some extent I was just stoked to get outside and climb rocks instead of hang on hang boards and lift weights for once!

Okay.. more training and packing.
Wish me luck over there...

And in the meantime - have a look at this new video from Smith, produced by my good friends at 3 Strings. It's a unique piece and one that we're all pretty stoked on. Hope you guys enjoy it!

GREAT DAYS 2: Jonathan Siegrist's Spectrum from smith optics on Vimeo.
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