the Frank Slide 666 List!

In the last few years, the number of boulder problems at Frank Slide has continued to grow.  I first estimated that Frank Slide 'probably' held more than 1000 problems (it certainly does!), then later declared that it would 'probably' have a maximum of about 1500 problems.  So far, my 'probablys' have been wrong, as the problem count at The Slide has likely passed 1700 problems, and is headed to a number somewhere around 2000 problems.

With such an overwhelming number of problems to choose from, many visitors to the Slide find themselves a bit overwhelmed.  With the resources available (27crags (which describes nearly all the problems) and a half-dozen mini-guides (that cover about half of the lines, and feature good maps of the areas)) it's not too difficult to find individual problems - if you know what you're looking for.  However, given that (a) the Slide is hard to walk around in, and (b) it's tricky to navigate the maze-like nature of many of the zones of the Slide, it's very problematic hike around and look for new projects to try.

Given these constraints, wouldn't it be great if there was a list of the best problems of a popular 'project' grade?  Inspired by similar lists in Hueco Tanks, I've made a 'challenge' list of the six best V6s in each of the three main areas of the Slide (i.e. 6 + 6 + 6 V6s), the North Slide (including Heart of Frank, House, Frictionary, City of Giants, and surrounding zones), the Central Slide (includes Karst Valley, Spiderweb, The Farm, and Hulkamaniac), and the South Slide (Healing, Albatross, and all the riverside zones on both sides of the river).  

To tick all of the 18 problems in the 666 list would be a fantastic 'lifetime' goal for many climbers; but if you want to up your game, and really explore the Slide, complete the entire 666 List in one season - finishing, of course, before October 31. 

I've avoided including problems that were too morpho (usually, with really long moves), too remote (hence, the lack of problems in areas high on Turtle Mountain, or on isolated boulders deep in the Slide), or highballs (especially those with bad landings).  

I'd like to also include a caveat for those attempting to climb all the 666 problems; primarily because not every problem suits every person.  When trying to complete the 666 List, I suggest that climbers should get a single replacement - where they can swap out any single problem from the List with another unlisted V6 of their choosing (and there are MANY to choose from!).  After all, it would be frustrating (!) to repeatedly fall off the crux of the last problem on the list on your last visit to Frank Slide in late October.

V6 is one of the best grades to climb in Frank Slide, and every problem on this list is amazing!  All types of climbing are represented - steep caves, aretes, hard face climbs on edges, and even a steep slab!  So, without any further ado, here's the Frank Slide 666 List! 

Northern Slide

1) Prodigal Son.  One of the steeper 666 problems, powerful moves on slopers.

2) Closing Remarks (aka The Juliasizer).  A hard traverse, similar to Red Rock's Alexisizer.

3) Nucleus. A great line with two cruxes on the famous Mushroom Boulder.

4) Shining Path.  A great (and long!) lip traverse not far from the Interpretive Center.

5) Trent's Cave.  A steep problem that follows a seam out a cave, low-end V6.

6) Paleofit.  A hard lip traverse on amazing slopers, immediately left of Trent's Cave.

Central Slide

7) The Cure. A very technical problem, with cryptic beta on perfect 'porcelain' stone.   

8) Man of Science, Man of Faith.  A classic Mark D. line, a great steep arete on good holds.

9) Giddy Up.  A great vertical problem on a sunny face, good project for a cold windless day.

10) Windigo.  A funky technical (almost comp-like) problem with a great hanging start, softer V6. 

11) Smack Talk. A powerful, steep line on edges and pinches, not far from the Healing Boulder.

12) Whale Bones.  The only slab!  A dynamic 'hop' start leads to hard moves on bone-like holds.

Southern Slide

13) Relentless.  One of the oldest 666 problems!  Very powerful moves to an easy, tall finish.

14) Killing Frost.  Killing Frost is an easier version of Energitus (V8), great movement.

15) Submarine.  A beautiful arete immediately beside the river; not accessible during high flows. 

16) Smoke Show.  A stellar problem through a bulge on the Tetris Boulder.  

17) Nautilus.  Another riverside problem, this one climbs through a bulge on perfect rails.

18) Graveyard Shift.  A great problem on sandstone-like limestone, fantastic movement.

I don't have great photos of many of the 666 Problems, but here are a few to whet your appetite!

Me on Prodigal Son (V6), a very fun roof/arete in the Heart of Frank sector, from a few years back.  Prodigal Son features beautiful slopers, a bit unusual for Frank Slide.

Two stellar V6s on the Giant Boulder, in the City of Giants.  The top photo is (a relatively young) Mark Derksen on what would become Paleofit (hard V6), and the bottom photo is Kyle Marco on the end of the rail/seam of Trent's Cave (V6), a problem I found (and partially excavated) on one my early forays into the City of Giants.

Kyle Marco on the sloping lip of Windigo (low-end V6).  Many of the problems on this huge block of amazing limestone in the Spiderweb sector have wind-themed names.

Me on the funky and committing arete of Submarine (V6).  There is often water running out from underneath this boulder, and aspiring climbers often lay their mats across bits of driftwood they've set on the rocks, with the water still running underneath.  A great problem on nice stone!

The 2019 Climbing Life in Review!

Even after decades of being immersed in the world of climbing, I am still pleasantly surprised that new adventures and challenges continually crop up.  Lots of exciting things happened in my climbing life this year, and as always, I've written up a "Top Ten Climbing Things That Happened" List for 2019.  So here's a look back at 2019, and a bit of a look forward into the future.

1.  First Ascents!  As always, my drive to climb new problems and routes defines much of my climbing life.  There's something about doing a first ascent that excites me in ways that repeating an existing problem cannot.  I've never been certain about what drives me to hunt through the canyons, forests, and mountains of the world looking for unclimbed lines, but I think that the impetus arises from the fact that - to me - an unknown challenge is infinitely better than a known one.  To climb a rock face, and to know that the difficulty, sequence, and technical challenges are completely unknown, is a such a rewarding experience for me.

  

This year I had over 30 FAs in Alberta, BC, and Montana.  I didn't FA anything particularly hard (I believe the hardest lines were Archimedes Principle (V5) at the Boulderfields and South America Low (V5 or 6) at Homestake Pass, Montana), but I did get the FA of four amazing highballs - some of the best highballs I've ever done.  They include Evil Eye (V1, about 25 feet) at the Boulderfields), Chalky Boy (V0+, 25 feet) and Shirtless Bear Fighter (V3, likely close to 20 feet and really (!) steep), both near Boulder, Montana, and Montana Roulette (V0+, 23ish feet), Whiskey Gulch, Montana.  I'm always grateful to find new things to climb! 

Airing my heels out on the amazing Shirtless Bear Fighter (V3ish), near Boulder, Montana.  A fantastic (and intimidating!) line.

Of course, all of the exciting first ascents aren't mine!  I had a large handful of Frank Slide FAs this year (including the very fun Tick Tock (V4)), but my efforts pale beside the efforts of Frank Slide stalwart Josh Byslma, who has continued to mine the Slide for hard problems.  By my count, Josh has FAed about 90% of the hard problems in the Slide, making him (without a doubt!) the most important developer of hard bouldering in the province.  I wish he'd finally finish the Sunny Corner project, though, so Alberta could have it's first V14 (no, I don't think it's V13... ;) ).

Looking down at Chalky Boy (V0).  One tricky move near the beginning, then its a fun sequence up good holds to the top!  Brayden and I started calling this area Chalky Boy because everywhere we looked (except the highballs) we kept seeing dabs of chalk left by some unknown climber.  We joked that the climber must be pretty chalky, hence the name 'Chalky Boy'. 

2.  Not so much hard climbing (unfortunately).  This year, while I was heavily engaged in exploring new areas and doing FAs, I didn't get any projects wrapped up (at all).  I did (briefly) work a couple of very hard projects (including Chaos Amidst the Serenity (V10) at the Boulderfields), but in reality I didn't put any work into anything hard.  I did a couple of hardish lines (Holiday at Costco (V7) at Dierkes Lake, and Mountain King Right (V7) at the Boulderfields), but I did them both pretty fast.  In retrospect, I could have tried harder on hard things.  Hopefully, next year I'll buckle down and get some projects done!  I did onsight a couple of hard things (including Left of Green Room (V6)), which was nice.  Interestingly, even though I've dropped a V-grade off my redpoint over the last 15 years (I'm actually excited that it's only been one grade!), I've actually gained in terms of my onsight :).  'Old man magic', indeed!

3. New Areas!  Three (or four) of them!  The only thing that excites me more than finding a brilliant new problem is the prospect of finding an entirely new area.  To find a new area - of the magnitude and quality of Leavenworth or The Channel or the Grand Wall Boulders - is a lifetime goal of mine, but a goal that seemingly becomes less likely as the climbers of the world search every nook and cranny of the mountains.  This year, my endless hours of exploring the world on Google Earth finally bore some fruit, as I identified a handful of areas that looked as though they might provide good climbing.  After exploring them in the real world, I was happy to find that some of them actually held a lot of good climbing.  There are two areas in Montana that look really fun; (1) a granite area that Brayden and I hiked through that we called 'Little Foot' (referring to another nearby area (much bigger, but with poor rock) that we called 'Big Foot'), that looks like it holds a decent number of problems (hundreds?), and (2) 'Devil's Kitchen', a really big area (potentially several thousand problems on quite solid pink-and-grey granite) that I explored, where the rock features numerous small chicken heads (I'm still not sure how I feel about rock covered with small knobs, but they look fun to climb on!).  (3) I also checked out another potential area in BC, a great-looking area with schist rock (which, while solid, is unfortunately quite soft), which has a huge concentration of steep faces (but also faces substantial access issues), and (4) a new sport-climbing area in the Crowsnest Pass (dubbed Beggar's Canyon, in part because when trying to climb the crumbling and rotten rock of the Southern Rockies 'beggars can't be choosers'), which has surprisingly good rock (for the Pass, anyways) and room for about 50 sport routes.  Lots to keep me busy in 2020!

Brayden checking out yet another project at yet another new area - The Littlefoot Boulders, Montana.

4. Montana!  Our closest American neighbor continues to be the gift that keeps on giving.  I visited the Big Sky state for three trips this year, and always found new and exciting things to climb.  Much of Montana is very geologically and geomorphologically different from Alberta, so even though it is only a (relatively) short drive away (4H to Helena, 5H to Butte), the climbing areas feel very different.  Much of the bouldering in Montana is granitic, and often consist of exposed and eroded batholith rock (like the Buttermilks, as opposed to talus slope boulder fields, which are generally the case in Canada), so the climbing has a very different feel.  Homestake Pass, Whiskey Gulch, and Chalky Boy are starting to feel like home areas to me, and I'm excited to keep exploring!

The weird and fantastic rock of Devil's Kitchen, Montana.  This area could be huge, though it's a little off the beaten path.

5.  Object Climbing, and life as a Head Setter.  I've been the head setter at Coulee Climbing for about 18 months, and it's been a fantastic experience.  Coulee Climbing is a great gym, and the setting crew is a solid and fun group to work with.  Even more importantly, Randy Prete (the manager and co-owner of the gym) is great to work with; Randy's professionalism and geniality make my life a lot more pleasant!

Object Climbing Inc. (which has the setting contract for Coulee Climbing, and also produces a number of climbing products) continues to grow.  Object has several new products coming out in the new year, which will be exciting!  So far, I haven't made a huge marketing push, but with holds coming out in the next few months that'll change.  With a little luck, there will be Object Holds in a gym near you in the next several months; I've started shaping and mold-making, so once I have an inventory of 200-300 holds, I'll start marketing in a more serious fashion.  I'm hoping to make an impact on the western Canadian market, which is currently served by only a few manufacturers.  You can check out the Object Climbing website HERE.

I'm really happy how the Object Bouldering Brush turned out, and I'm looking forward to getting into the development of several new products in the new year!

6.  The 2019 Bouldering World Cup Series.  In my opinion, the 2019 Bouldering World Cup season was by far the best one so far.  As a setter, it is fascinating to watch setting (and thus climbing) styles change as the sport matures.  Prior to this year, the setting has been a little hit-or-miss, but the consistency of quality and the variety of styles employed made the 2019 Bouldering World Cup a treat to watch.  As a head setter, the World Cup events also hold a wealth of information about what other setters are doing around the world.  Very fun!

Adam Ondra in the final at the Meiringen World Cup, and the hand jam that changed World Cup bouldering forever!  Thanks to all the setters and climbers for a VERY entertaining year!  ...and here's hoping that there's a hand jam in the Olympics! ;)

7. The 2019 Tour de Frank.  This year Alberta's greatest outdoor bouldering festival reached new heights.  With over 150 participants, and a long list of fantastic sponsors, the TdF continues to grow every year.  It is personally gratifying to see an event that I've nurtured over the years evolve into a bona fide bouldering festival.  We've got big plans in 2020 for the TdF; hopefully they come to fruition!  You can read about the 2019 event in detail HERE.  Congrats to the winners of the 2019 TdF, Andrew Funk (Men's Open) and Kaylee Tse (Women's Open)!

150+ people at the 2019 Tour de Frank!  Lots of people, lots of support, and a great interaction with the Frank Slide Historic Site!  

8. SABA.  2019 also ushered in a new era of bouldering in Frank Slide - an era in which the climbing community now liaises directly with the land managers at the Frank Slide Historic Site.  It's a long overdue move (especially with respect to the liability issues that surround the Tour de Frank), and necessitated the creation of an advocacy group whose mandate is to facilitate access to the bouldering areas of Southern Alberta and South-eastern BC.  While this organization - the Southern Alberta Bouldering Society (SABA) - was originally conceived by me, it was driven forward as a legal entity by the efforts of Adam Zelmer.  So huge thanks to everyone who contributed to SABA this year and became members!  If you're interested in supporting SABA, or just want to learn more, check out the website HERE.

9. Training.  This fall, Brayden B. and I have been working to create a training bible for Coulee Climbing.  In the course of this development, I've been training (actually!) in a sustained way for the first time in my life.  I've trained before, but mostly in a 'hours spent on the wall' way; this time I'm also training in a 'weighted dead hangs / campusing / repeaters / etc.' fashion.  Time will tell if it pays off, but so far my hands feel a lot stronger.  It's also made me realize that my biggest weakness is pulling power (which is both good and bad, I guess).  So all the training brings me to number 10 on my list...

One of the problems the Object Climbing setting team put up for the ACA-sanctioned bouldering comp held at Coulee Climbing this fall.  Huge thanks to Randy and all the people at Coulee Climbing for all the great work they're doing for climbing in Lethbridge!

10. New goals!  Despite my chronic over-eating during the holidays, I've been giving a lot of thought to where things are headed in the new year.  I've just turned 49 (my 50th year on the planet), and so it's time I turned up the intensity a bit!  I'd love to climb one (or more... ;) ) double-digit problems this year, but I'm excited to see what I can accomplish.  I'm hopefully headed to Roy, New Mexico in March, where I'm hoping to get on Mochuelo (V9), and back in Frank Slide I'm hoping to get on a few old projects and finish them off, including Dragon Fire (V9), Checkmate (V8), the Hojer Project (V8ish), and Ikigai (originally graded V6 by Mark D, in reality is more like a V8).  I've got a project at the Boulderfields as well (Kaiju, will be V8ish or maybe V9), so I'm hoping to get back there as well!

Mark on his new line, Checkmate (V8, or so he says).  It was an old project of mine (eventually FAed by Mark), and I'm hoping to get back on it this year!

But as much as I am looking forward to climbing some hard projects, I'm really looking forward to another year of exploring the world, looking for new things to climb, swimming in lakes, walking through the sagebrush and pine trees, and not getting eaten by bears or cougars.  So here's to another year of adventures!  See you out there!

Mochuelo (V9) in Roy, New Mexico.  Not me, or my photo, obviously!