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! 

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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!]