Spring in Frank

The second of the three mantles on The Sickening (V3 or 4ish).  The problem starts in the small cave at the base of the face.  A fall from here would be spooky.  An easy move, thankfully!

 

After bouldering in relatively warm and sunny conditions all winter long, the weather last weekend felt ironic; unseasonally cold and snowy as a storm blew in on Saturday.  Nevertheless, the weather forecast for Good Friday promised a day of dry weather before the snowstorm arrived, and so a handful of Lethbian boulderers headed out to the Slide to get in a day of springtime bouldering.  

 

After a stop for coffee and a typically uneventful drive, Kyle, Jonas, Mark, and I arrived at Slide, and since it felt a bit cold we hiked around the Spiderweb area looking for new problems.  Walking though the blocks, I ran into Josh, who had just sent his new steep sloper problem The Renaissance (V9).  He was nice enough to do it again so I could see how the line went.  It's very unusual for Frank Slide in that it is (a) quite overhanging and (b) almost all the holds are slopers.  Maybe I'll get around to trying it this summer!

 

We then drove over to the Healing Sector, where Dave T. and a handful of other climbers from Lethbridge were climbing on the Healing Boulder itself.  Mark and I climbed a handful of the highball slabs on the backside of the boulder (Mark also did a lap on Sage (V5) and Jahealey (V3)), and I took a look at the classic Healing Arete (V4) which I STILL haven't done.  Instead of trying Healing Arete, I dragged a mat around the corner and climbed a line I had tried last year; it starts by traversing up and left out of the small cave on the SW corner of the boulder, and then climbs the easy (but very tall) arete above.  It is a fun and sequential line, though cramped where the line traverses left out of the cave.  It may have been done before (though I'm not aware of any ascents), but such a fun line deserves a name so I called it The Sickening (V4ish).

Chatting with my spotters on the last move of The Sickening.  The problem starts in the small cave (just visible between the spotters), traverses left, then climbs the face and arete up to the obvious ledge, where I mantled on to the ledge and climbed the short slab to the top.  Lots of moves, mostly very easy, though.

Josh and Mark wanted to try something a little harder, so we packed up and headed over to Tomb Raider (V6), which is the steepest problem at the Slide (probably a 7-foot horizontal lip/roof problem).  Mark and Josh both did it quite quickly; I found the beginning fun and not too hard, but couldn't manage to get a heel-hook on the roof to stick and as a result I kept falling off.  Mark added a direct mantle finish to the start, calling it Cradle of Life (V4 or maybe V3), and I cleaned up a short roof problem just downhill that we did and called The Shiv (V3).  

 

Since it was getting a bit late in the day, we packed up and went for pastries at The Cinnamon Bear (delicious!), then headed back to the slide for more bouldering.  My tips were thrashed, so I didn't actually climb anything, but Mark and Josh tried the Triangle Pinch Project (Vhard) while Kyle and Jonas did some moderate problems on the Super Heroes Circuit. 

 

I climbed a lot more than I usually do, which was nice, and we headed back to Lethbridge with throbbing fingers.  After a year of teaching at the University, I'm not in very good climbing shape, but hopefully with the warming weather I'll get my fitness back up and get some climbing in this summer.

 The start of Tomb Raider (V6), before disappearing under the huge roof.

 

I've been thinking a lot of projects, lately; readers of this blog will already know that I tend to be a lot more motivated when I'm working something new and exciting.  I've been thinking of goals for the summer, and after some rumination on the subject, here is my 2015 Summer Project List (as of now, anyways).  I've limited it to 10 problems, to keep it within the realm of possibility...

 

1) The Prism (V9), on the Aftermath Boulder.  This line is a bit contrived, but has both exciting movement and great holds.  Last year, I did all the moves but one (which has never been done by anyone under 6 feet tall), but I think with some dedicated effort it will go.

2) The Communist (V7), also on the Aftermath Boulder.  Tall and aesthetic, The Communist is a great problem.

3) Paleofit (V7), on the Giant.  I almost did this problem a couple of times, but never went back with any dedication to finish it off.  Its a rising lip traverse on absolutely perfect rock, and a fun line to work.

4) Evan's Seven (V7), City of Giants.  Great movement, but on flat edges with bad feet, which isn't really my strength.  It'll be good for me!

5) Rising Tithes (V8).  One of the most sought-after hard lines in the Slide, Rising Tithes is across the river, and a little hard to get to.

6) The Rum-Runner Project (V6?). Will be fun to finally get to this thing!

7) The Smoke Ridge Project (V5?).  Not sure how hard this line will be, somewhere between V2 and V6. Looks fun, though!

8) The Hang 'Em High Project (V8?).  This looks long and hard.  It will be a miracle if I do it!

9) Mark of the Beast (V6?).  Another project!  Not so hard, but tall!  And with a terrible landing zone... I'd better get fit to stay safe.

10) Tomb Raider (V6).  My anti-style, but a great steep line.  I'd like to include Nintendo 69 (V9) on this list, but I find that problem brutally hard!

There it is! Ten problems for Summer 2015!

Spring at Frank Slide!

Rainy Day in the Pass

In Lethbridge, Saturday morning dawned warm and sunny.  The forecast was for cloudy but warm weather, and Aya and Rowan were excited to get out to the mountains, so we loaded everyone up and headed out to the Crowsnest Pass.  Our plan was to do a little bouldering and a little hiking, so we were a little disappointed when it started to rain on the drive out.  It wasn't raining very hard, though, so we continued out to the Pass for a day of adventure.

When we arrived at the Pass, it was raining very lightly, but not enough to stop us from climbing - luckily! We hiked around the boulders for a bit, then I suggested that we go check out a boulder in the trees that I had seen the previous year; it had a slightly overhanging and nicely featured face, but unfortunately someone (decades ago) had used it as a place to dump rubbish, so there were many rusty metal scraps buried beneath leaves at the base of the boulder.

New project I found in the slide the other week.  Spent quite a long time cleaning the lip and shuffling rocks for a landing.  Need to move that one more block leaning against the face, though.

We walked into the boulder (just a few meters from the road), and I spent a half-hour dragging rusty metal and deadfall away from the boulder.  What was left, though, looked fantastic - a nice steep boulder with a perfect landing, out of the wind.  I cleaned and climbed the two most obvious lines in the middle of the face, both starting on a low R-hand block and a good L-hand sidepull.  The first climbed up and then sharply left to finish on a nice arete/compression feature, and the other climbed up and right to finish on nice edges.  Both are in the V2 or V3 range, and both are very good!

Somewhat warmed up, I tackled a harder-looking line to the right, which started low on a good incut edge (R) and a good incut gaston edge (L) near the right edge of the boulder.  It looked like it would climb leftward and up on good - but very angled - edges.  The sequence ended up being quite cryptic, but focusing on my footwork I managed to squeak though for the send.  I think I will call it Not Me (V5 or V6).  Since the boulder isn't too far from the old Lime Kilns, I'll likely name the other two problems something to do with those ruins.

There is one more independent line remaining on the boulder, but it's a hard lurch-and-squeeze problem - not really my style - on the left side of the face.  After spending an hour or so at the boulder, the drizzling rain was getting everything wet, so we packed up our mats and headed to the Cinnamon Bear for some of their excellent (!) cinnamon buns.

After pastries, we drove a few minutes to check out the new crag I'm thinking of developing.  It's not amazing, but it is (a) steep, (b) large enough for about 20 routes, (c) VERY close to a parking lot, and (d) nice and tall (about 25-30 m at the tallest point).  It is a bit loose, though, so it would take a bit of work to develop it (i.e. lots of cleaning).  Something to consider for this summer, though!  I took some pictures so people could take a look.

It was getting late, so we started the long drive back to Lethbridge. When we arrived back in the city, we found that it had been warm and sunny all day in L/A.  Hopefully the next day of bouldering will be drier!

Take Care!

Photos of the "new" potential sport crag in the Crowsnest Pass.  Some of it looks amazing, some fairly chossy.  If it cleaned up, though, it would hold about 20 routes from 10+ to 13-.

New Year, New Problems!

The ridiculously warm bout of winter weather continues here in Southern Alberta.  In the past couple of weeks a handful of climbers made the commute to Frank Slide to take advantage of the weather.  I've managed to get out twice in the last couple of weeks, though if I had more time I could have climbed a lot more!

 

The iterant Josh Bylsma made it down several times from central Alberta, once with a handful of Calgarians in tow (including Josh M., Mark, and Zak).  He's been spending a lot of time in the House/Railway area, getting increasing close to sending Frank Slide's hardest problem, Chain Gang (V11).  This week he finally linked all the moves, and sent the second ascent of the problem!  Congrats to him, it's been a long time since the first ascent!

 

He then promptly went on a tear through the Railway Area, sending the first ascents of Once Upon a Time in the West (V9), and Into the Sunset (V10+).  What's next for Josh B.? 

 

In my last two trips to Frank Slide I dedicated a few hours to hunting for new lines in the City of Giants.  I brought a rope along, and found and cleaned two highballs in the CoG, a tough-looking V10ish line right beside a fun V1.  Other than these two problems, I unearthed a few more great lines and a few more projects as well.  In my last trip I sent a handful of moderate lines, including the tallish (and spooky) steep slab Casper (V2), the technical The Opposite of Walking (V3), and the punchy Crankin' Time (V3).  There's not a huge amount of potential in the west part of the City of Giants, but I managed to find a few cool lines nonetheless.

 

Jonas G. has also been fairly active at the Slide, and added a fun new warmup high in the City of Giants called Laps on Laps (V0+).  He also sent The Opposite of Walking (V3), which is a nice send given that it is a slightly heady problem and he has only been bouldering for four months or so.

 

The other usual suspects at the Slide are either injured or recovering from injuries; Kyle is recovering from an injured wrist, Morgan is almost recovered from his leg injury, and Mark has acquired a tweaked finger (not before he sent Nintendo 69 (V9) and The Approved Beta (V8) though, congrats to him on the huge back-to-back sends!).

 

We have been enjoying trip to the Cinnamon Bear in Crowsnest while on climbing trips to Frank Slide; they bake one of the best cinnamon buns I have ever had, and that's saying a lot!  If you have a chance, stop in and enjoy their great hospitality and cinnamon buns, and make sure you tell them you are climbing in the area!

 

On a final note, I have finally compiled a descriptive guide to all 26 sectors of problems at Frank Slide!  It's long overdue, so I finally took an evening, sat down at my computer, and worked through all the individual areas.  I have delineated each of the original sectors based on Kyle's original descriptions, and have delineated the new sectors that have arisen.  So if you are reporting your first ascents on various online websites or social media, try to use the correct nomenclature so we can find your new problems and climb them!  It is hoped that this new guide will cut down on the confusion when it comes to finding boulders in the vast sprawl of Frank Slide.  You can see the new Sector Guide HERE.

 

Take care, and happy climbing!

 

PS> Sorry for the lack of photos, I forgot my camera...

2014: The Year in Review

Another great year of climbing - mostly of the ropeless variety - has come and gone! Bouldering was heavily featured on my climbing menu this past year; unless I am mistaken, the only times I put on a rope were to clean tall boulder problems.  Most of my climbing days were spent at Frank Slide, but I did manage a couple of trips, one to Leavenworth, Washington and one to Priest Lake, Idaho.  I began my new ‘real’ full-time job in August (I am now a Professor at the University of Lethbridge), but managed to keep on climbing through the fall, though not as frequently as I would have otherwise liked.  Given that I am 43 (turning 44 in January!), I was pleasantly surprised that I climbed so well this year.  I climbed a number of hard(ish) problems this year, though I have no illusions that I am as physically strong as I once was (erp!).  Hopefully with a little effort I'll get in proper shape again in 2015.

Regardless of my level of fitness and my state of employment, I had a lot of fun climbing this year.  So, in no particular order, the top seven things that went down in “Trent Hoover’s Bouldering Universe” in the last 12 months!

Evan E. on the stellar almost-highball The Communist (V7), Aftermath Boulder, House Sector, Frank Slide.

1) My trip to Leavenworth, Washington.  For years, I have listened to and read about trips my friends made to Leavenworth.  Though I lived in Vancouver for years, it was always so much easier to go to Squamish or to the Fraser Valley instead of crossing the border and driving to Leavenworth.  This past year, though, I had to opportunity to go on a 10-day trip to Leavenworth with two great boulderers, Kyle M. (Frank Slide’s reigning king of bouldering) and Colin D. (one of my oldest friends, and perpetually excited to climb).  We went to Leavenworth in mid-May, and had a great time; perfect weather, lots of fun, good people, and a chance to sample the bouldering of one of America’s best bouldering areas.  For me, the trip culminated with a send of one of the west’s most celebrated problems, Was (V8).  Another highlight of the trip was watching Kyle almost do The Amphitheatre Dyno (VHard) at Mad Meadows, a truly giant jump.  Needless to say, I didn’t try it (those of you who have ever seen me dyno will appreciate that).

 

Caitlin D. on The Hueco Route (V1), Mad Meadows, Leavenworth.  The foot in the hueco is Colin's, who managed to climb entirely into a huge hueco... 

2. Keep The Faith (V8), Priest Lake.  Some people think boulderers have no sense of adventure.  While that may be the case for some people, it certainly doesn’t apply to me (or so I like to think ;) ).  The search for new boulder problems (and new areas!) has kept me prowling about the mountains of western North America for many years.  This year was no exception, and in August Kyle and I headed off to Northern Idaho on a hunch; that we might find new boulders in the Lion’s Creek watershed near Priest Lake.  After a long drive, we finally arrived.  We DID find lots of boulders in the forest there, but most of them were unfortunately blank.  Still, we did clean one of the coolest new problems I’ve seen in a long time.  We spent two days working the moves, and I sent it on the last day of the trip, naming it Keep The Faith (V8).  A series of underclings lead to a big cube-shaped block underneath a roof, followed by a very cool lip move and one of the most unique top-outs I’ve ever seen.  Immediately to the left of the problem is Black Robe (V4), a very cool highball with a fantastically continuous rail that zigs and zags from the base of the problem almost to the lip.  Two world-class problems, side by side!

Me on the huge roof block of Keep The Faith (V8), Priest Lake, Idaho.

 

3. 71 First Ascents!  I am always thankful that I live close to a bouldering area with interesting problems.  I am even more thankful that Frank Slide has interesting problems still waiting to be done.  Graveyard Shift (V6), Helping Hands (V1), the fantastic bulge problem The Blessing (V7), and the fun prow Black Peter (V4) were all great new problems we found in The Slide this year.  I am looking forward to another year of new problems at The Slide and beyond.  I have my eye on more lines, so I’m excited to get back to training this winter in hope of doing a few more hard FAs come spring.

4. The Karage, Lethbridge.  Kyle’s garage (aka The Karage) has been a great place to train.  A TV, a couch, and lots of holds; what else does one need? It’s pretty much a three-season facility, though, since it can be too cold to climb at in winter unless temperatures are unseasonally warm (which does happen periodically, given that we live in Lethbridge).  I need to be a little more regimented with my training in 2015, though, if I am going to reach some of the goals I have set for myself.  The Karage has a new DVD player, and in 2015 it might get a new TV. 

Kyle M. starting up the fantastic highball Overtime (V2ish), City of Giants, Frank Slide.

5. The 2014 Tour de Frank.  This autumn we hosted the inaugural Tour de Frank, an outdoor bouldering competition / festival.  We kept it pretty casual, with minimal advertising, and still had about 30 people show up.  We’re not certain of the TdF’s future, because there are many logistic hurdles to overcome, but we’re hoping that next year we can elevate the TdF to make it a fun regional event.  This year, the TdF was won by Andrew Funk and Josh Bylsma (tie) for the men, and Shelley Hoover for the women.  

 

Andrew Funk on the seldom-repeated and intricate Fender (somewhere between V6 and V8) during the 2014 Tour de Frank, Frank Slide.

6. The Right Right (V8).  I was excited (and pleasantly surprised) to send The Right Right, which is the right-hand version of the Split Right Project (which is still undone).  The so-called ‘Split Projects’ were long-standing projects on the backside of the Split Boulder in the City of Giants, and I was glad to send one of them. The Right Right is a heel-hook dependent problem (which is cool), but on small edges and pinches (not my strength).  Regardless, I managed to send it in a handful of tries on my second session on the problem.  On the same day, I sent the FA of The Blessing (V7) and also sent The Cure (V6/7), a Kyle Marco technical arête line on the Porcelain Boulder.  A fantastic day in the Slide!

 

Josh B. on Morgan Dunnet's testpiece Cognitive Dissonance (V10).  Hard!

7. All the hard lines in the Slide that went down (though not by me) this year!  Several lines were done that are not only brutally hard, but inspiring; Morgan Dunnet’s powerful Cognitive Dissonance (V10) (check out the video HERE) and Josh Bylsma’s testpieces March of Time (V10?, a very hard (!) lip traverse), and The Shield (V10ish, harder as you get shorter).  These problems are now among the hardest problems at the Slide; the other hard lines being Terry Paholek’s Shelley Was A Doctor First (V10), and Adam Currie’s  now-broken Chain Gang (V11?).  Another huge send was Morgan’s Split Left (V9), one of the most technically demanding and powerful problems in the slide.  Another key ascent this year as Kyle's send of the absolutely stellar The Communist (V7), which is one of best (if not THE best) problem at the Slide.  The number of hard problems exploded in The Slide this year, and there are still hard projects remaining; Josh is making the Sunny Corner Project look feasible…

 

Jonas G. on Calvin's Arete (V0/1), one of the lines in the Karst Valley Sector; dozens of lines went up in Karst Valley and the City of Giants this year. 

So what does the New Year hold?  The future is always a mystery, but there are a few things I am looking forward to in 2015.  I have a half-dozen lines in The Slide I would really love to climb; most (but not all) of them are currently unclimbed.  It will take some dedication on my part, however, to get in good enough shape to climb them.  Most of the hard problems in the slide are on flat edges / crimps, which isn’t my strength.  However, it is easier to make gains if you work your weaknesses rather than your strengths, so that is what I hope to do in my quest to knock off a few more hard problems in the next twelve months.

I would also like to go on another spring trip, either to Joe’s Valley (which is number one on my list of places to visit) or to Hope / Okanagan.  The bouldering at The Boulder Fields by Kelowna looks fantastic, but is primarily on crimps, which doesn’t make me that excited.  However, it IS really steep, which would be a nice change from Frank Slide.

Finally, I am looking forward to climbing more with my family in 2015.  My kids are old enough now they don’t immediately hurt themselves in the boulders, and it would be great to climb with Shelley at Frank Slide.  So, with a little luck, bouldering will be more of a family affair in the next year.

And finally, as always, I would love to climb with you!  If you'd like to climb at The Slide, and have a tolerance for bad landings, let me know; I'm always up to show people around!

So Merry Christmas and a Happy New (Bouldering) Year, everyone!

Jonas G. on the fun new slab Salted Earth (V0), high in the City of Giants.

(The Other) Limestone Bouldering Area!

I couldn't help but repost this video of the bouldering in the Gran Sasso of central Italy.  Limestone doesn't usually produce boulders big enough for bouldering on (the rock tends to fracture instead of forming blocks).  I was excited to see this trailer for a film about limestone bouldering in Italy, especially as several of the problems look very (!) Frank Slide-like.



The film is entitled Magia di Calcare (The Magic of Limestone).  Click here to enjoy the short film!

PS> Let me know if the link doesn't work for you, or if the photo doesn't appear...

2014 Tour de Frank Recap

The 2014 Tour de Frank was a success!  Perfect weather and a great group of climbers was a winning combination for the first annual Tour de Frank.  We had intentionally tried to keep the event low-key, with minimal advertising, as this was our first attempt at running an 'outdoor bouldering festival' event at Frank Slide.  Despite the limited advertising, we were excited to see about 25 people come out to the Tour de Frank, including handfuls of climbers from Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge, the Crowsnest Pass, and Lethbridge. 

Orientation started at about 11:15 (with free coffee and muffins available), and by 11:45 climbers were heading out into the Healing and Snakebite Sectors of Frank Slide for five hours of bouldering.  Everyone was provided with a guide to the area and a scorecard (which listed the 70+ problems that were included in the TdF this year, including four previously unclimbed projects).

After orientation, I stuck around the 'front desk' for an hour or so, in case any stragglers showed up.  Luckily, there were fun problems close at hand, and I warmed up by climbing Cottonwood Road (V1) a handful of times with Jonas Gagnon, who recently moved to Lethbridge.  I also managed to repeat the tricky Two for a Dollar (V3) before moving on.  I was happy when my wife Shelley (as well as my children Aya and Rowan) showed up to climb as well - we rarely get to climb together!  I was also excited to see my friend Geoff Mintenko, who I hadn't seen (or climbed with) in over a decade. The Tour de Frank is a great way to meet people, apparently!

 Boulderers around and on the notoriously reachy Snakebite (V2).

We headed over to the Snakebite Boulder where we climbed with a handful of boulderers from Lethbridge and Cranbrook, as well as Jonathan (and his two amazing girls Ruby and Sadie) from Beaver Mines.  Shelley warmed up by doing the reachy Snakebite (V2) fairly easily, with Jonas coming very close on the line as well.  We packed up and headed over to the Relentless Area to climb some of the slabs on the Foxhole Boulder, where we climbed briefly with Kyle and a few people from the Crowsnest Pass area.  I tried to repeat the powerful Relentless (V6) with Dan and Geoff, but none of us could quite make the huge cruxy reach at mid-height. I then turned my attention to Redonculous (V5) to the right of Relentless (which I had never tried before), coming very close but falling off the last hard move.

Boulderers from Lethbridge and Cranbook sending the powerful Apple Shampoo (V4/5).

Packing up to head over to the Healing Boulder, we met up with Dan Archambault, Andrew Funk, Josh Bylsma, and Mark Derksen (from Edmonton, Red Deer, and Lethbridge).  They were steaming through the hard problems on the scorecard, even though it was a bit too warm at that point for truly hard climbing.  I chatted for a bit, but then quickly dashed over to the Killer Boulder to do a lap on Killer Bees (V4) before I ran out of time.  I did manage to send Killer Bees, but I was too slow on the walk over to the boulder and didn't get it done before the time ran out.  I wished I had had the opportunity to climb a bit more, but being one of the organisers it was a great experience just to be able to hang out with so many climbers. The social experience was as rewarding as the climbing, certainly!

With sore tips, I headed back to the 'front desk'.  Kyle was already there, gathering the score cards.  Andrew and Josh had tied for the top overall spot, with Dan Archambault close behind.  Seeing what they had accomplished in five hours made me think I need to devote a little more time to training! Not everyone turned in a scorecard, which was fine with us; not everyone is as interested in the competitive aspect of the TdF, and we were excited to see that people were interested in coming out just to enjoy a day of bouldering.  

When all the points were tallied, the winners were:

Top Junior Male: Will Kwan
Top Junior Female: Ciara Meadows

Top Beginner Female: Danica Jensen
Top Beginner Male: Jonas Gagnon

Top Master' Male (40+): Dan Anhorn

Top Open Female: Shelley Hoover
Top Open Male: Andrew Funk and Josh Bylsma (TIE)
 
All things considered, it was a very successful TdF, especially since we hadn't advertised the event widely and hadn't expected too many people.  The only small disappointment was the rather small number of climbers from Lethbridge.  The Lethbians that did attend were definitlely psyched (!), which was awesome to see, but it would have been nicer to see more climbers from the closest city to the Slide.

I also wish I had had more time just to be able to connect with the climbers.  In particular, I wish I had been able to spend more time climbing with people from the Crowsnest Pass (if Crowsnest Pass climbers are reading this, I'm hoping to get the chance to climb with you again!).

We're already planning next year!  Huge thanks to my co-organisers Kyle and Alyssa; Kyle spent a lot of time distributing pencils and signs to all the areas, and Alyssa took some amazing pictures despite having her foot in a brace (all the photos above are by Alyssa).

Until next time...

PS> I'll try to get names attached to the captions in the photos, I don't have them here at my desk...