Fall? Winter? Bouldering!

It seems as though I am back in winter mode.  When the weather forecast for Saturday projected a daytime high just marginally above freezing, I decided that it meant a day of bouldering was in order.  There was a little snow on the ground, but not enough to make the boulders wet, so off I went on Saturday morning, after a stop to pick up Mark D. and grab some coffee at McDonalds.  It was a beautiful bluebird day, which made for a nice drive out to the Crowsnest Pass.  I love this time of year in southern Alberta, when the sky is bright blue and the landscape is cast in a hundred shades of gold and tan.

View out the windshield.  Next stop, Frank Slide!

I had planned to spend the morning looking at some new projects, and cleaning some tall new problems on toprope (unfortunately, this seems to be the only effective way to determine how solid the holds are on lines over about 15 feet high; these tall faces are too tall to inpect from the ground or by leaning over the edge from atop the boulder).  I hoped to check out the HUGE cave on the east side of the House Boulder, to determine if any of the lines will go as boulder problems, but it was so steep a toprope wasn't of much use.  I'll have to find some other way to get a good look at the face.

Then we headed over to the Railway Boulder; I wanted to check one hold on the arete to the left of Railway (V10); it turned out to be perfectly solid, which means that there is another long (!) arete problem ready to go.  While it looks like a cool line, it is probably about 15 moves long, and pumpy, which isn't really my style.  But the line looks good enough that I'm excited to give it a try!

I then put a TR on a boulder just east of Railway, to clean off the top of a great-looking arete project that many people have looked at over the years.  It orginally had a steep landing or talus and gravel, but a month or so ago I put some work into flattening the landing, and then Mark did some work as well, and now it has a much flatter landing zone.  I brushed off the holds, and since Mark was keen to try it I spotted him as he pieced the moves together.  The line starts on some very nice pinches, then moves up and along a steep arete / fin, and finishes up a prow above a huge roof.  Mark was making good progress, and making the line look incredibly fun, so I put my shoes on to give it a try.  I hadn't really had any opportunity to warm up, but since the holds were mostly big and blunt (except for a few crimps on the prow), I figured that climbing a big roof would warm me up well!

Mark D on the crux prow moves of Marked for Life (V5 or V6).  All kinds of fun!  

It took me a handful of tries to reach the prow, but once there, I was a bit stumped.  Mark and I were making good progress, but the sequence on the prow was proving to be a bit mysterious.  I took a little break, looked at the problem from a couple of different angles, mentally ran through the alternative sequences I could use... then I put on my shoes and sent it next go.  A brilliant new line for Frank Slide; nice and tall, very steep (rare for Frank), with great movement on good rock. I decided to call it Marked For Life (V5, maybe bottom-end V6), in part because of the work Mark put in on the landing.   

Mark D on Marked for Life (reverse angle), squeezing the fin a couple of moves before the crux prow.  Doctor Who (V4ish) essentially turns the lip at this point, and employs some very cool press moves to gain the slab above.

Mark continued to work the problem, getting closer and closer each time.  When cleaning the holds for Marked for Life, I thought there might be another fun line on the boulder, starting on the same problem, but veering directly up the face at the fin hold on the arete.  Getting back on the boulder, it took me two tries to send Doctor Who (V4?), another brilliant new line with a funky rock-over move and two VERY cool press moves.

Meanwhile, Mark was making great progress on Marked For Life, but was getting stumped on the last few prow moves.  Where I had used a small sloping crimp on the prow, Mark was opting to use a similar, but more incut, crimp slightly further left, and taking this hold precisely was giving him some grief.  Digging deep, he pulled it together for the send, slugging it out through the slightly spooky mantle moves. A great effort by Mark!

2:30. In the afternoon. Sundown. Winter. Frank Slide. (Other parts of the slide were still sunny, though.)

By this time, it was 2:30, and the sun had gone down behind Turtle Mountain (!).  We headed to the car and drove to the Cinnamon Bear Cafe for coffee and cinnamon buns.  Mark got a text from Calvin (also in the Pass for the day), so we agreed to meet him at the Healing sector for some more bouldering.  By this time, it was starting to get colder (-4C ?), and I was having a hard time warming up again.  Mark and I did the short and surprisingly tricky Cow Elbow (V2), and then I tried to onsight Healing Arete (V5-), which I failed to do... The top of Healing Arete (including one of the key holds) was dripping wet, so I will have to come back to send it another time.  I had heard Healing Arete was a fun line, and I wasn't disappointed; very interesting movement!

 

The Cinnamon Bear Cafe.  Pastries and coffee make a great midday bouldering snack!  But remember, they're not open on Sunday!  Check them out, and make sure to tell them you're bouldering at the Slide!

Mark and I finished the day by trying a problem on the undercut arete left of Healing Arete.  Mark sent it, but despite making it through the crux moves of the problem I couldn't feel the final holds (COLD hands!), so we decided to pack it in and head back to Lethbridge.  Another fun day in the mountains!

I definitely need to step up my training a bit, though.  I'm feeling relatively strong, but there are many problems I want to do in Frank Slide, and success on these lines will be a challenge unless I can bring my fitness levels up.  Kyle's garage wall is helping; I've definitely noticed an increase in my power since I started climbing there.

Until next time!  Happy Bouldering!

Winners!

Although it still looks like fall outside (in fact, our grass is still green), it is starting to feel more and more wintery outside.  Last weekend Justin and I went to Frank, but because it started to snow we ended up hiking for the day, looking at boulders and crags.  We had a great time, and I got the chance to look at a lot of exciting climbing opportunities that I ordinarily would have ignored as I headed out for another day of bouldering.  Justin and I saw a few potential projects that look like they could be a lot of fun.  We also took a good look at the Goat / Bluff Wall, and saw some nice lines.

- - - - -

But now, without further ado, here's the winners of the 2013 Tour de Frank!  Not many people sent in their scorecards, but here are the results.  Remember, these are the compiled V-grade points of their hardest seven boulder problems from the May long weekend to Thanksgiving Monday.

Mark Derksen (56 points)
Kyle Marco (49 points)
Trent Hoover (48.5 points)
Dan Archambault (41 points, a one day effort!)
Mark Guckert (35 points, though this relies entirely on his memory...)

Congrats to everyone who sent in a score card!  Mark, your trophy is in the mail. ;) 

It was a fun thing to do, and went off without any real issues.  I'm thinking that it would be fun to make it a one- or two-day event (like the Hueco Rock Rodeo), instead, but perhaps that won't happen for a year or two.

Until then, I hope you have a productive winter climbing season, whether you're climbing outside, inside, ice climbing, or whatever inspires you!

Relaxed Day at Frank!

Shelley is away for a few days at a conference, so I decided to take Aya and Rowan to the mountains for a bit of adventuring.  We went for a bit of a hike, explored along the Crowsnest River, and had a little fire.  We found a number of additional (free) campsites immediately adjacent to Frank Slide as well, so if any visiting climbers want info on some brilliant free camping very close to the Slide just let me know.

Mark G pulling hard on the classic Relentless (V6), shortly before he sent it.  Nice work!

After our hike, we went to do a little bouldering.  We tracked down some of the Lethbian boulderers that were in the Slide that day, including Calvin, Mark / Beth, Ryan, and Mark D.  They were at the Relentless Boulder, where Mark G was trying Relentless (V6, which he sent!), and Ryan was trying OFD (V3ish, which he allllmmmost sent).  I did a few of the easy lines on the boulder which I hadn't had the opportunity to do before (including one I think is new, to the right of Krimptonite).  I suggested that Mark try the low start to the V1 face/arete to the left of Relentless, since it looked decent.  We both did it quickly, revealing a really fun V3ish line that Mark wants to call The Incident. 

And Beth lost her toque.  But then she found it again.

 

Aya, Beth, and Lupin the dog at the Foxhole Boulders.  This was before Beth lost her toque.


We headed over to the Albatross Boulder, where I had some things I wanted to try, including a short/ugly problem I had excavated just right of Roadrunner Excavation Company.  I had also shifted a big boulder on the other side of the boulder, opening up a potential new line right of Shutdown (V4).  I quickly jumped on this new problem, finding it to be an extremely fun V2ish steep traverse-to-a tricky vertical move line.  No name yet; I need to find a good name worthy of such a fun line!

Mark D on The Incident (V3ish).  A fun new problem on the Relentless Boulder.

Mark and I worked the short/ugly problem.  It turned out to be somewhat easier than I had thought it might be; I did all the moves pretty quickly, but then tweaked my shoulder a bit so I stopped working it.  Mark kept working it, and sent it eventually, calling it Hoedown.  He speculated it might be a V7, but I think V6 is probably a better estimation of the grade.

CALVIN!!!  Perhaps the last warm and sunny day of the fall season...

Ryan came verrrry close to sending the somewhat spooky Albatross (V4/5), but fell touching the jug after the crux.  SO close!  Maybe next time!

The temperatures were dropping, so we decided to call it a day.  Rowan, Aya, and I headed to Tim Hortons for something to eat... something of a post-Frank tradition, it appears!

The next day, it started to snow, and snow, and snow... hopefully this is not the end of the fall season!  I am hoping that we get another month of fall climbing weather, but we'll have to wait and see!

- - - - -

A Case for Firming up the Grades at Frank Slide

One thing I have noticed in the year I have lived and climbed in the area is that the grades at Frank Slide are wildly inconsistent, especially for the harder problems. I think this trend is not unexpected, especially since the people who have put up problems here are from a number of different areas and have very different levels of experience. However, I think that it is a worthwhile goal to try and arrive at proper consensus grades for the problems here.

Good cases in point are the problems Shutdown and Galactic, two short fun problems at the Albatross and House areas, respectively.  Originally graded V5 and V4, they have both been downgraded a full grade or more, and are now thought to be softish V4 and V3.  I think many of Frank's harder problems suffer from this kind of grade inconsistency, although since most of the hard problems at Frank Slide have seen very ascents, it is difficult to arrive at a consensus on how difficult they are.

Some of the older problems (especially those done by Kyle and Evan in the early days of Frank Slide) tend to be stiffly graded (a founder effect, likely exacerbated by the fact that Kyle and Evan were stronger than they thought they were).  Some of the later problems tend to be a bit soft.  Even I have a hard time grading problems accurately some of the time, mostly because I`m not as strong as I used to be, and Frank Slide is much different from other areas I have climbed a lot at (namely Squamish and Hope).

Accuracy in grading can be made much easier if we are able compare problems to others that are considered to be area-specific benchmarks for each grade. The problems used as benchmarks should be as typical as possible for the area; in the case of Frank Slide, the problems should be vertical or slightly overhanging, neither too short nor too long (i.e. not two moves, but not a dozen moves, either; usually Slide problems are five or six moves long).  The climbs should be relatively straightforward, without obscure trickery that might make it difficult to determine relative difficulty.  They should also be problems that are relatively accessible (i.e. not tucked away in a rarely-visited corner of the area); benchmarks are of no use if no one climbs them!

After giving it a great deal of thought, here are the problems that I consider to be benchmarks for each grade at Frank Slide.

V1: Killer Ss and Snakebite (with the latter in the upper end of the grade range)
V2:  Python and Four Inch Pinch (both good Frank Slide lines)
V3: Expected Surprise and Galactic (although suggested grades for the latter are all over the place)
V4: Apple Shampoo and Shutdown (although the former high, and latter low, in the grade, IMHO)
V5: Aftermath and Healing Arete (haven't done the latter yet, but people seem to think its solid)
V6: Relentless and KBMI30 (both solid problems, I think)
V7: The Communist and The Evangelist (both stellar lines)
V8: The Prism and Roadrunner Excavation Company Left (not many at this grade; these aren't ideal)
V9: Nintendo 69 (very few problems at this grade; Cartel is notoriously reachy, so it's useless)
V10: Railway (really, THE standard for the grade at Frank Slide!)

For example, it took me only a handful of tries to climb Roadrunner Excavation Company Right, which is often cited as being V8.  However, Communist and The Evangelist both seem substantially harder, which suggests to me that RECR is probably a low-end V7 or upper-end V6.  In contrast, REC Left seems very hard to me, somewhere in the (relative) V8 range.

Anyways, that's my take on the issue of grade consistency at Frank Slide.  I think that the grades of some problems will change as more people climb them, so don't hesitate to chime in if you think any published grade is erroneous!  Ordinarily, I don't particularly care about grades, and am usually more interested in climbing problems of high quality regardless of how hard they are.  However, because Kyle and I are currently writing a guide to Frank Slide, trying to nail down appropriate grades for the problems here has become a necessary task!

Hopefully I can get out to Frank a few more times before the winter really sets in to get some problems climbed!

Until next time...



PS> Some of these suggested benchmarks might be replaced as input from other climbers comes in.  If you can suggest better problems that can be used as benchmarks, don't hesitate to tell me.  I'm waffling on a few myself; Healing Arete is considered by some to be V4, for instance.  Check here for an updated list!

Slabs!

We are now deep into the fall bouldering season, and the bouldering continues, unabated.  Yesterday, I headed to Frank Slide with Kyle, Mark G, and Calvin, three of Lethbridge's most stalwart boulderers.  For many people, the appeal of bouldering fluctuates with the temperature and the seasons, but luckily there are those climbers who are eternally keen to head to the mountains for a day of pulling on holds at Frank Slide!

Arriving at the Slide, it was cool (6C or so) and windy, which didn't seem like ideal climbing conditions.  Kyle suggested that we head to the Railway Boulder so I could do Railway Slab, one of the remaining 13 problems on my list of projects.  Warmed up somewhat by the approach, and encouraged by the dying wind and the growing sunlight, we booted up and did Railway Slab, one of the highest moderate (V0) slabs in Frank.  Psyched, we continued to climb another seven easy slabs on the boulder, all between about 15 to 20 feet tall.  Mark G, a slab-climbing machine (!), knocked them off without hesitation, including an especially tall and aesthetic slab on the east face of the Railway boulder.  (No names yet for all these new slabs!)

We then ganged up to try a strange hanging slab problem that started at the lip of a small overhang... with a mono-pocket for a starting handhold (thus combining two of boulderer's favorite things - slabs and monos - in one problem!!! ;) ).  After much shenanigans, beta-swapping, and falling, Kyle finally sent the FA of Mono Slab (V I have no idea, maybe 3 or 4 but it is such an odd problem that it defies grading).  Mark then cruised the second ascent when he realised that he could use his almost-supernatural hip flexibility to stand up onto the slab, and then I finally grunted out the third ascent.  The slab above the pocket was also very satisfyingly good, which was nice!

I added a couple of new easyish vertical problems on the boulder above Railway, before heading down to the steep cave on the downhill side of the Railway boulder.

Kyle and Mark G. briefly worked the classic Railway (V10), without much success.  We then did Gunslinger aka Railway Crack (V3) (which I flashed with a little struggling), and I worked The Approved Beta (V8) briefly without any luck on the cruxy first two moves.  Feeling a little bummed, I moved around the corner and tried a slab-to-bulge-to-slab problem with Calvin.  Finding the prospect of falling onto a slabby apron a little freaky, we recruited Mark, who promptly sent the line, calling it Caboose (V1?).  Another fun and tall line on the Railway Boulder!

I had earlier cleaned a short problem on small holds on the opposite side of the boulder. It looked like it would be a hard dynamic problem, so we shuffled the mats over to try it.  The problem really only consisted of three moves; a tricky move to a very small edge, a powerful (though not terribly huge) dyno to a good lip hold, followed by an easy(ish) mantle.  Kyle initially thought the first move might be impossible, but after only ten or 15 tries were we were sticking the first move.  Though I could link from the start into the dyno, it never really felt that doable to me, and I kept falling inches short of the lip hold.  Kyle, on the other hand, kept getting closer and closer to sticking the crux dyno, and after only 30 or 45 minutes of work he linked the three moves for the first ascent of Blood Brothers (V6? harder? I have no idea how to grade dynos...).  I had punctured a fingertip that was bleeding on the start hold, hence the name.

Calvin and Mark also sent a steepish, juggy, but dynamic problem to the left of Blood Brothers; it didn't look like much, but it climbed REALLY well on fun holds.  A fun moderate addition to the area!  We finished our day in the Railway area by climbing another V0- slab on a nearby boulder.  Kyle, Mark, and Calvin thought it looked easy enough that they could do it in their approach shoes; I bet them an ice cream that they couldn't... needless to say, I didn't buy anyone ice cream. :)

We headed by Kyle's Dyno (V4/5?) on the way back to the car, which Kyle and Mark both sent.  A fun way to finish a lllloooonnnggg day at Frank Slide!  A great day in the mountains, with great weather and good friends - is there a better way spend a fall day?  15 first acents, including some of the best high slabs in Frank and a significant new hard dyno problem.  Epic!

Until next time!

[sorry for the lack of pictures, I couldn't find my camera... next time, I promise]

PS> Don't forget to send me your Tour de Frank score cards!

PPS> Another problem off my current Project List!  only 12 left!  All the rest are much harder, though...

2013 Tour de Frank!

This weekend, the 2013 "summer" season, and the 2013 Tour de Frank, officially came to a close.  The 2013 Tour de Frank spanned the weeks between the May long weekend and Thanksgiving Monday; if you've been keeping track of all of your Frank Slide bouldering sends, send me a list of the seven hardest bouldering ascents at Frank Slide (problem, grade, and approximate date) that you sent between those dates to be entered!

The Tour de Frank is entirely a "for-fun" event, but there are rules, nonetheless.  (1) Be honest. (2) Use consensus grades; this is a tricky issue, since many problems at Frank have had few ascents, and many of the upper-end problems at Frank are notoriously over-graded.  To avoid controversy, use a published grade (either the Norman or Hoover/Marco guides will do, even a Sendage.com grade will do in a pinch), a consensus grade if the problem does not exist in a guide, or your (brutally and soul-searchingly honest) opinion if the problem is a FA and has not had subsequent ascents. (3) Have fun! Remember, the best climber is the one having the most fun!

Send me your virtual scorecards via email or a FB message.  You have a week to get your scorecards to me!  You don't need to be a Frank Slide regular to join in; even if you only bouldered at Frank a few days this summer, you can still send me a list!  It's all in good fun, and I will post results on my blog.  If I feel particularly motivated, I may even scrouge together a few prizes.  I would be especially excited to hear from people who I haven't met or climbed with, so don't hesitate to join the growing ranks of Frank Slide Boulderers! 

- - - - -

Adam Dipinto on the crisp edges of Aftermath (V5); to his right is The Prism (V8?) (see the chalky holds?), and to his left is the perfect highball The Communist (V7?).

In other Frank Slide news, HUGE props to Kyle Marco and Mark Derksen for nailing down two of Frank Slide's most wanted projects.   Kyle walked away with the FA of The Communist (V7?), a beautiful highball on the Aftermath Boulder.  The Communist was the last completely independent line on the boulder, and perhaps the best.  A few meters to the right, Mark managed to finally link all the moves on The Prism (V8?), a powerful line of sloping holds and edges just right of Aftermath (V5).  Two new additions to Frank Slide's growing list of difficult problems!  Congrats to Kyle and Mark!

Kyle Marco  projecting The Communist earlier this spring.  Tall, but not crazy-tall, maybe 15 or 16 feet?  The harder and much scarier Communist Right Project is still up for grabs...

Me on The Prism.  Someday soon, I hope!  I have a new toque, so maybe that'll help. ;)

Until next time!






[For those of you who are curious...

Positive Water (V8)
Road Runner Excavation Company Right (V8)
The Evangelist (V7)
Breathing Underwater (V7)
Submarine (V6)
Trent's Cave (V6)
Invincible (V6/7)

...for a grand total of 48.5 points.  Not the 56 I was hoping for, but given the fact that I lost a month or two because of my elbow injury, I'm pretty happy with it!]

New Problems, and the End of a Century!

On Saturday, I went to Frank Slide for a day of bouldering and relaxing in the mountains with my family.  Aya and Rowan like to explore the boulders of Frank Slide, and they had a great time playing along the river pretending to be a wolf pack.  In order to be close to everyone, I decided to head to the Submarine Boulder by the river; it's really close to the road and the parking area, so it seemed like a fun place to spend some time putting chalk on a rock.

I was also motivated to head to the Submarine boulder because I had been waiting all year for the water to go down enough for me to try the Submarine Project, which is a tall arete.  It starts with three powerful moves coming out from a short cave, then the movement becomes really tenuous and balancy as the arete become vertical.

There was another reason I have been really excited to get to the Submarine Boulder; it was one of the very first boulders I saw my first day at Frank Slide after moving to the area, and it was the first project I tried.  It is an incredibly aesthetic problem.  It is tall, with great holds, and sits right beside the Crowsnest River.  When the river is high, the base of the problem is underwater (hence the name), and even when the river is low there is still a little water at the base, because a spring comes out  right at the base of the boulder.

The view from Submarine (V6).  Such an amazing place to climb!

Arriving at the boulder, I warmed up by doing some of the other obvious, easier-looking lines.  First up was a thin seam on an almost-vertical face.  Though it looked easy, it baffled me for a few tries.  Finally I unlocked a sequence that involved weird smeary highsteps and small edges.  I called it The Drowning Grip (V3/4), following a watery theme for the boulder.  Next up was another similar-looking line to the right; it too proved to be funky and technical (like harder versions of the problems on the Curse Boulder in the House Area).  I called it Our Fathers (V3) after a plaque bearing the same phrase glued to the top of the boulder.  I then added a very nice but easier line called Sink or Swim (V0) around the arete to the right.  That left only two independent lines on the boulder; the Submarine arete project, and a mantle-to-steep-slab problem to its immediate right.

The mantle problem turned out to be very cool.  The mantle was trickier than I thought (I had to ask Shelley for advice), and the blank face above proved to be a riddle. I finally unlocked the final move with a delicate smear and deadpoint for the lip, a slightly spooky line that I called Man Overboard.  It's about V3, but grades are almost irrelevant on height-dependent funky problems like this one!

Me on Submarine, repeating the problem so Shelley could take a few pictures.  Squeeze!

Then, I turned my attention to the Submarine Project.  I had tried it during my first-ever visit to Frank almost a year ago, but had failed on it.  It has a perfect sidepull jug to start, and a powerful first move leads to three good holds in sequence.  Then, a tall smooth arete rears above, with decent left-hand holds, but nothing for your right hand.  Working out the moves, I finally realised that a teetering balancy move would allow me to reach a high right-hand crimp.  Despite having no spotter and being spooked a bit by the height of the problem (14? 15? feet) I sent the problem my next try.  A beautiful problem on great rock, right beside the raging Crowsnest River.  Perfect!  I called it Submarine (V6+).

Me again.  Notice the stream of water coming out from under my mat.  I built a landing up so my mat doesn't get wet.  A cool setting for a problem!

I gathered up my mats, and went to hang out with Shelley, Aya, and Rowan for a bit.  I wanted to wind down my afternoon with a session on Roadrunner Excavation Company (V8), one of the first hard problems at Frank Slide, done more than a decade ago by Lev Pinter and Scott Milton (I think).  I had looked at it before, but couldn't quite see how it was supposed to be done.  I asked Kyle for information on the movement, but standing in front of the boulder, I didn't think that I could actually hang onto holds that bad and do the big dynamic move that Kyle had described.  So I focused my attention on the right variation to Roadrunner; at least I could reach the holds (I thought).  I tried it a couple of times, and completely failed.  Stepping off, I decided I needed to refine my beta, so I felt the holds, and thought about the sequence.  I brushed the holds.  I hung on the holds.  I visualised.  I drank some juice.  I stretched.  I brushed the holds again.  Getting back on the problem, I used a solid heel-toe lock to do a cross-over to a bad crimp, then I bumped my hands up a rail.  Bringing my foot up, I realised I only had one hard move left!  I jumped to the good edge, then grabbed a big sloper.  Done!  So nice when the technique and the power come together (I'm misquoting the visionary Jerry Moffat here, of course).  I'm psyched to have done such a fun, technical, and historic hard problem, though it wasn't quite as hard as I expected.  Perhaps I should try the left variation! 

I spent a fair bit of time excavating a new line to the right of Roadrunner, but couldn't quite make it work.  Something for next time!

- - - - - - - -

My ascent of Submarine is also special to me for another reason; it is the 100th first ascent I have made at Frank Slide!  The first first ascent I made at Frank was Friction Factor (V2), just across the river from Submarine, in January this year.  In the nine months I have climbed at Frank Slide, I have often felt really lucky / blessed, as there are so many new lines waiting to be done.  For me, finding new routes or boulder problems is an incredibly satisfying creative process.  Seeing the potential in a piece of rock, cleaning the line, unlocking the sequence, and climbing it well are all part of a valuable experience to me.  It has very little to do with how hard a problem is (although hard problems are nice to do), but with how good the movement is.  The eternal search for the perfect problem drives me on. I often feel disappointed when a problem I find climbs badly (as did Jigsaw V3), or feels short (like Sofa King V5).  For these reasons, I tend to get fixated on taller, high-quality problems, although I enjoy all types of problems from short caves to tall slabs.  Viva la difference!

Some of my favorite first ascents at Frank Slide are Invincible (V6), a fun highball with a hard crimpy start, Jolly Green Giant (V0), the huge easy but scary slab in the City of Giants, Karst Low (V3), the low start to the amazing Karst, Aftermath (V5), great edges through a bulge, Four Inch Pinch (V2) to the right of Aftermath, and of course Submarine (V6).  Seems, sometimes, that my current project is always my favorite... and there are many new projects on my list of things to do!  I look forward to another amazing year at Frank Slide, and next 100 first ascents!

Slabhunting in the City of Giants on a hot day.  Me on Jolly Green Giant (Kyle Marco photo).

PS> Two more projects off the list! Woohoo! Only 13 left to go!

Projects and Flat Landings!

The summer season is over, and it seems that I haven't really accomplished as much as I would have liked to in the boulderfield of Frank Slide.

"I know," you say to yourself. "But you are injured.  Your elbow is a mess.  Given this, your accomplishments are reasonable, even admirable!"

You're correct, of course.  My elbow injury has taken at least 6-8 weeks out of my season.  It is still painful, and feels incredibly tight until I get it stretched out (which climbing actually does well, I'm finding out).  But still, what about the weeks before the injury?  Why wasn't I getting a lot done then?

Perhaps the answer is that I'm getting old.  However, I suspect the real reason is lack of intensity.  Too much futzing around, not enough training, and certainly a notable lack of simply trying hard to succeed.

Luckily, my last two weekends in Frank have helped remedy this situation.

A week ago, Mark D., Calvin, and I went to Frank Slide for a sunny day of early autumn bouldering.  We headed into the City of Giants / Karst Valley area to see what we could find to climb.  To date, there are only a few dozen problems there, but room for many more.  Unfortunately, the landings in the City are bad, even for Frank, which may explain the small number of established problems.  Arriving, we cleaned up a few warmup problems on a large split boulder not far from the road. Mark climbed a couple of fun moderate-ish mantle problems, while I cleaned and climbed a tallish arete with cool juggy pinches (calling it, somewhat lamely, Pinch Arete (V1)), and a fun slab with angular features (Geometrica (V0)).

Moving around to the back of the boulder, we found a hard steep line of crimps which we tried to no avail.  Beside it, there was also a leaning arete with a perfect starting hold.  It looked like a fun easy problem, but despite our best efforts, we couldn't make ANY progress on it.  It will go, certainly, but how to make progress seemed to be a mystery to us!

We moved over to another boulder, where I spent some time moving rocks to build a landing for what I call the 'Feed The Need' Project (it has a big kneebar, hence the name).  I spent a half-hour trying it, but the first move (the crux) still eluded me.  Perhaps next time!  I did a few moderate lines to the right, though, both first ascents; Peachy Pinch (V1) and Cherry Pit (V4), the latter a great problem with a bad landing (you start half-standing in a narrow pit amongst the blocks).

Calvin ready to pull onto the crux sloping shelf of Ride the River (V0).

Wanting to get on some established problems, we headed over to the Trees Boulder (which features PERFECT landings in a shady forest setting!!!).  Calvin did the high Ride The River (V0), and Mark and I did Broken Tree (height-dependent V4 or V5).  I was excited!  Finally, one of my projects knocked off my list, though not one of the major ones.  Broken Tree has great movement, though the face is covered with a weird crumbly rock that looks like gloppy mortar with too much sand added.

 

Mark D. making short work of Broken Tree (V4/5).

On the way out, we stopped at the Healing Boulder to run up some tall, super-easy slabs.  I did a really easy but high problem with a big crux reach that I called The Grim Reacher (V0-).  A fun day at the Slide!

Yesterday, I was keen to get out to the Slide to get on some new problems. Everyone else in Lethbridge was heading out on Sunday, but I couldn't.  A solo mission was in order!  Truthfully, I miss this kind of experience, which I used to do a fair bit in Squamish and Godman Creek.  I like having the energy of a group when it comes to sending hard problems, but I also like the freedom to work hard and focus on a line that comes with climbing alone.  Plus, I wanted to clean some tall projects on toprope, which isn't particularly compatible with a group of people around.

I headed to the Aftermath Boulder, where I wanted to clean the tall arete above The Pocket Problem (V2-).  The Pocket Problem is a fun problem, but it ends halfway up an arete, on a big pocket (hence the name). There were a few pieces of dangerously loose blocks of rock on the arete above this (which had previously prevented people from climbing above the pocket), which I removed on rappel. I spent a few minutes cleaning the holds and checking out the moves, and then I was ready to try it.  Though high (about 15 or 16 feet) the problem is relatively easy, and features a huge finishing hold.  It went really smoothly, and in a minute I was grinning on top of the boulder. I decided to call the entire problem Evil Eye (V2/3), after the large pocket on the arete (and because my kids and I have this game, where I draw 'evil eyes' on the sidewalk, and it gives me powers to see everything they do, so they try to destroy the 'eyes'...).

The overhanging arete of Evil Eye (V2/3).  A sit start on pockets leads to some cool arete moves and another cluster of pockets; above this, more pulls on blocky holds leads to a huge final jug.  A good highball for the not-so-keen-on-high-problems crowd.

Since I had a rope there, I decided to clean off a line between Ghost Rider (V4) and the arete.  The line looked interesting - a crimpy start led to a line of big sidepulls and a fun mantle.  I was psyched to try something harder, so I cleaned the holds and set to work.   I was stymied for a half-hour by a single move (the third move) off a small edge; I could do the move (from the crimp to a gaston) by itself, but I was having a hard time hanging off the hold long enough to set my feet up to do the move.  Finally, after a rest, I managed to squeak through the move, and I easily pulled through the sidepulls to the easy mantle above.  So happy to send!  Such a great feeling!  I called it Invincible (V6+?) after the crazily endorphin-infused feeling I get after I send a high problem.

I really wanted to try the 'Rumrunner' project across the river, so I packed up and moved over to south side of the slide. Unfortunately, I couldn't cross the river (still too fast and deep!), so I decided to try the problems on the Expected Surprise boulder instead.  I flashed Expected Surprise (V3?V4?), did Expected Surprise Left (V4) in two tries, and spent some time cleaning and sending another new line to the left, which I called Otter Surprise (V4), after an otter that was playing and barking in the river behind me.

It was late afternoon, and I still felt like I had some gas left in my tank, so I headed over to Postive Water (V8) for a session before I left for the day. I had been on it before, so I was looking forward to finessing my sequence and making good linkage.  To my surprise, I sent it on my second try!  Shuffling the mats, I decided to try Triforce (V6).  I tried the moves, and fell.  I refined my beta.  And fell. I tried this, and tried that. I tried with a high heel, then with a low foot scum. All to no avail.  Finally, I micro-refined my beta and squeeeeezed (literally!) out an ascent of this surprisingly intricate compression problem.

Finally, I was spent.  Happy, though!  For the first time in a long time, I had had a decent day, doing two V6s and a V8, and three first ascents, including two significant new highballs.  It was time for a doughut!

Crowsnest Mountain in the evening light, as seen from the Slide.(*Thanks for the correction, Calvin!)

Still, lots of projects left on my list.  As of today, the "Official List of Projects" includes...  The Rumrunner Project (hardish? with a bad landing), Rising Tithes (V8), the Floodwater Project, the Submarine Project (currently underwater... still), Frankenstein (V6 tall hard slab!), Roadrunner Excavation Company (V8), the Feed The Need Project (just one hard move, really, but a very cool line), the Wizard Project (HARD, TALL!), the Mark of the Beast Project (not crazy hard, but a perfect-looking highball with a go-to-the-hospital landing), The Communist Project (powerful and tall, very hard first three moves), the Prism Project (the direct finish is HARD, but I think it'll go with a lot of work), Approved Beta (V8), Paleofit (V7), and the Railway Slab Project (really tall V0ish slab).  14 projects!  Whew!  Time to get serious!

Until next time... cheers!

PS> I've decided to add one more project to the list; I used to refer to it as the Alcove Project, which made no sense because it wasn't in an alcove, at all.  In a self-mocking vein, I am going to refer to it as the Old Man and the Sea Project.  This one is a bit of a long shot; it looks hard and tall, but I'll give it a serious effort! 15 projects in total...