Saturday, December 23, 2017

Rock the Blocs 2017!

The Boulderfields, high in the hills above Kelowna, is rapidly becoming one of Canada's most important bouldering areas.  The Boulderfields basin, a square kilometer of densely scattered gneiss blocks and conifer trees, now provides boulderers from across the continent with problems of all angles, heights, and styles.  For the third year in a row, I decided to make a springtime pilgrimage from Lethbridge to Kelowna to sample the gneiss blocs that provide some of the finest bouldering in the country.  The Boulderfields is the perfect destination for a bouldering trip in that time of the year when spring gives way to summer; the area is warm enough to climb shirtless in midday heat, yet cool enough that the rock is a great temperature.  Once those factors are combined with flowering fruit trees, swimming in the lake, and sampling the coffee shops and art galleries of a 'pre-tourist-season' Kelowna, it is a springtime destination that is hard to beat - especially if you time your trip to coincide with the Rock the Blocs Bouldering Festival!

This year, Kyle and I once again made the trip out to the boulderfields, though we had to limit our trip to only a week as Kyle wasn't able to get a longer period of time off work.  The weather in western Canada has been weird this spring, contributing to both flooding in Kelowna and cool weather in Frank Slide.  Even though the weather forecast looked continually unsettled in the weeks leading up to the trip, the weather projections finally settled down to a week of consistent "sunny with cloudy periods" for the week of our planned trip.  We took this as a good omen, and stuffing the van full of pads, camping gear, and climbing shoes, weheaded west.

We wouldn't be climbing alone this year, though, as Frank Slide ex-pat and all-round amusing road-tripper Ryan F. was driving out from Edmonton to join us for the week. When Kyle and I finally arrived at the Boulderfields (after two deer near-misses, two coffees, hamburgers, and a cinnamon bagel from Big Bang Bagels in Fernie) we set up our tents, and gathered some wood for the communal bonfire.  Eventually we were joined by Ryan, and we sat around the fire discussing plans and projects for the upcoming week.  Justin and Alissa, climbing friends from Lethbridge, eventually arrived as well, and we were set for a week of climbing.

The fire pit at the Boulderfields is a fixed point in the Canadian Bouldering universe.  Years come and go, climbers visit and leave, and projects are worked, sent, and eventually forgotten, but the fire pit at the Boulderfields remains.  I've met some incredible climbers from across Canada and the USA while sitting around that fire in the cool mountain evenings, and this trip was no exception.  As we whiled away the evenings by the fire, we hung out with (and became quick friends with) two of the funnest (and funniest!) climbers around, Peter C. and Chelsea P.  We ended up climbing with them for a few days, wandering around the area, having a blast projecting some of the best problems in western Canada.  Another amazing climber that Kyle and I met and climbed with for several days was Alex C., an adventurer and photographer from Edmonton (Alex is an amazingly talented guy, but after a few beers is when Alex really starts to shine...).

 Kyle taking home some memories on the AMAZING highball Memento (V0/1). 

One of my big goals this year in the Boulderfields was to get back to two tall problems I had previously cleaned - but not climbed - during my 2016 trip to the area.  The first was a tall right-trending seam-to-arete line I had cleaned on the Serenity boulder, and the second was a line that I wasn't completely convinced I should seriously try; the tall center face of the Nerf Boulder.

The first of the two lines I had cleaned on toprope and worked enough that I knew I could sent it safely; I had planned to climb it in 2016 but had been rained out the last two days of my trip.  This year, with a enough climbers to ensure that that pad pit would be deep, we headed into the basin to try the line.  After a brief session in which Peter, Kyle, and I all managed to get fairly high on the line (it is probably close to 20 feet tall), I dialed in the sequence (which I had somewhat forgotten) and send the problem.  I climbed it really well, thank goodness; I hate sending things badly.  Sunny Side Up (V5ish) is an absolutely amazing line, with great holds (and fantastic movement) up an overhanging gneiss wave.

The stare down.  Peter Chiba hoping to get a full serving of Sunny Side Up (V5).

After succeeding on Sunny Side Up, we headed over to try the burly roof problem Pumping Iron (V7), which is very similar to (though shorter than) Leavenworth's Pimpsqueak (V9).  Despite a lot of energy, and collaborative beta (which is usually the best kind!), we all left empty-handed.  (*Note: I have no idea how shorter (less tall?) climbers do this thing... Staci? Braden? Seems so reachy...)

Psyched, I turned my attention to the unclimbed line of holds that lead directly up the tallest face of the Nerf Boulder.  I had looked at the line extensively in 2016, and spent some time cleaning it on toprope, but left without trying the line, for two reasons. First, there were two sections that I couldn't quite decipher a clearly-defined sequence for.  Secondly, the line is tall (really tall!).  In fact, it is higher than any other hard(ish) highball I've done (Squamish's Desire (V1) and Wendy's (V1) were tall but definitely not as committing, and The Doctor's Office (V6) at Bear Mt. isn't as tall).  After another toprope cleaning session (and trying some of the sequences), I was able to find smooth sequences for the two tricky sections of the problem.  The first became more straightforward when I found that a small slot was more positive than it had first appeared, and the final exit crux became manageable when I decided that I should simply trust and move quickly through a series of small sloping footholds high on the problem (not ideal when the footholds are more than 20 feet off the deck).

Get the guns out! Ryan Frecka hunting Ogopogo (V5).

Working the problem from the ground, I was able to make fairly quick progress to a big slot about two-thirds of the way up.  Chalking up, I tried to casually climb the last 8 feet to the sloping lip of the boulder, but I screwed my feet up, and got spooked.  Now nervous, I downclimbed to the slot and dropped wayyy to the mats below.

The next day, I returned to the line.  I took another good look at the tiny footholds that defined the final moves of the problem, and then pulled on my shoes.  I pulled through the first series of jugs to the first crux; a long move to an angled edge.  From there, more big moves on small incut slots led to the high, huge slot-jug.  Taking a breath, I chalked up and pulled through the slopers above, and in a few seconds was pulling onto the final high-step-rockover.  Feeling elated, I stepped on to the top of the boulder.  I hadn't really thought about what to name the line, but after a great deal of thought I decided to call it Ogopogo (V5ish). (*Note: the line was quickly repeated a few days after by the seemingly invincible Miles Adamson, in an impressive ground-up send. You can check out video of my send HERE).

Another line I was keen to get on was Out Of The Shadows (V7), a great line in the Serenity sector that climbs crimpy rails out of a deep cave.  I had tried it during the 2016 RtB, but had to walk away empty-handed when I couldn't hang onto the crimps long enough to do the big move out of the cave.  This year, with fresh fingers and after a fun session on the line with Peter, Alex, and Ryan, I sent the line.  Part of the reason I sent the line quickly, though, was because I used a knee-pad to knee-bar my way though the crux (Hueco-style!); as I walked off the problem it seemed that everyone was a little bummed with my kneebar beta.  Invigorated, and wanting to use the 'original' beta that most people had used, I put my shoes back on and managed to climb it again without the pad (definitely a bit harder!).  Vive la difference!

Who says what happens in Hueco stays in Hueco?  Me putting a pad to good use on Out Of The Shadows (V7).  *I did it without the pad too, but really, the kneebar was amazing with a little rubber.

I'm always excited for the climbing on the day of Rock the Blocs.  In a way, Rock the Blocs is like a boulderer's Christmas; the one day of the year when instead of carrying a stack of strapped pads around to your projects, you can cruise about the forest with one pad and a pair of shoes, climb with your friends and meet new people, and everywhere you go there is a stack of pads waiting underneath the boulders (well, at least on the popular lines).

The morning of the 2017 RtB, I awoke to the thrumming energy of hundreds of boulderers; all chatting, meeting new new people, sharing advice, and swapping stories while waiting for the event to begin.  Eventually, the indefatigable Andy White stepped to the front of the crowd, and introduced the event, defined the categories, and explained the rules that govern it.  I was entering the Masters (40+ years) category again this year; it seems that my years of entering the Open category might be gone (a fact which I am somewhat thankful for; I think you have to be able to crank out double-digit lines all day long to have a real shot at the Open).  The weather looked amazing for the event, and with the formalities completed, Andy blew the horn, setting off a mass migration of boulderers down into the Boulderfields basin.

Peter Chiba feeling the power on the crux of famous Surf Arete (V7/8).

After all the climbers had flocked down the drop-in trail to the boulders, I wandered about the now nearly-empty parking lot, eating a bowl of cereal.  I chatted with all the folks at the registration desk, and tried on a pair of the new Drone shoes generously provided by MadRock Canada.  Finally, I packed up my pad and headed down the stairs.  Waving to several climbers I knew, and briefly pausing to watch some I didn't, I headed over to the Surf Boulder to warm up.  I stretched, and did The Chipper (V1) several times (my standard warmup), before ambling over to watch a small crowd of people trying Shark Biscuit (V7).  I was motivated enough to try it once, but wanting to find something a bit easier to warm up on I headed down to do Dark Prince (V5) with my good friends Terry and Selena and their friend Jeff.

Eventually, Terry and Selena headed off to check out another sector, and Jeff and I decided to head down to the Serenity Sector (where I hoped to repeat Out Of The Shadows for my RtB scorecard).  Before we got there, though, we were decided to stop off and try FlowMotion (V4/5), a tall line nestled in an alcove beside the trail.  We both did it quickly, then headed down to Serenity where we did Firefly (V5), then headed over to do Out of the Shadows.

I had a blast climbing with Jeff; not only is he a great guy with a good sense of humor, but he's a fantastically smooth and technical climber.  He wanted to try some of the other lines in the Serenity sector, so we headed over to do Blue Pill (V5, which Kyle, Peter, Alex, and I had sent a few days earlier).  We ran into Mark Derksen, Frank Slide local and all-round strong climber, who was in the area for the RtB.  Quickly sending, we turned our attention to the funky and technical Jay's Pinch (V6), a line I had heard was really good, but apparently had only been repeated a few times.  Jeff and I spent a few minutes cleaning up a bit of moss, then set about deciphering the problem. It took a little time to figure out the movement, but after several attempts we both sent the line.  Although it doesn't look amazing, Jay's Pinch has fantastic movement and a thought-provoking sequence.  Definitely worth doing!

Kyle coming to grips with reality, amidst the endless patterns of lichen, on Red Pill (V6).

Eventually, we ran out of time (and energy), and hearing the horn blow we packed up and began to head up the hill.  On the way out, we met Ryan, who had managed to finally send his nemesis/project, the powerful and steep Full Chub Morning Weezer (V6).  Climbing out of the basin, we joined the throngs of climbers who were by now in full celebration mode as the (highly successful!) 2017 RtB came to a close.

I managed to win the Men's Master's category, which made me happy. ;) The real winner of the day, however, was Andy White and the rest of the RtB organizers.  They had managed (once again), to pull off a fantastic event, which is not only arguably the best event of its kind in Canada, but is a free event run entirely by volunteers.  Congratulations to them, and thanks a heap for an amazing time!

Alex gettin' swole on the brutally steep Pumping Iron (V7).

Kyle and I stayed to climb another day or two, but eventually it was time to head home.  As always, we had lots to talk about on the long drive to Alberta, discussing all the lines we had tried, and the people we had met.  We'll definitely be back again!  I've already compiled a list of projects to try, and I'm looking forward to the 2018 RtB! 

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