Even though my elbow is still feeling sore and weak, last weekend was simply too nice to pass up a trip to Frank. Plus, a handful of boulderers from Lethbridge were heading out, so it seemed like a good opportunity to do some bouldering with fun people. We decided to visit the Little Hulkamaniac area, which was fine by me; I had only been there one day previously, and I was keen to see what else the area had to offer.
Arriving at the Slide, we (Kyle, Mark D, Ryan, Amanda, Calvin, Justin, and I) headed across the tracks and up the ramp to Little Hulkamaniac and the surrounding boulders. We decided to warm up at the cluster of boulders where Deep Blue Sea (V2) is located. We ended up climbing several new moderate problems on the boulder next to it as well, including a handful of V0s and V1s, and a new V3 (Mark D.'s Some Like it Hoth). Amanda also did the high V0 arete of Coraline, a great venture into the world of high bouldering!
Soon thereafter we packed up and moved on to Little Hulkamaniac. This tall pyramidal boulder dominates the skyline at the area, and Little Hulkamaniac (V2) is one of the tallest problems at the Slide. Certainly, it is the tallest non-slab problem; at about 22 or 23 feet high, it starts as a steep slab but then slowly becomes vertical, then overhanging right at the end. We arranged the mats, and then everyone chalked up to try it. It soon became apparent that the problem had not only an opening crux (the second and third moves are tricky), but an final end crux as well (the last two moves on the face are committing). After everyone had had a chance to try the moves, Kyle booted up and climbed the line. Watching him, it became apparent to me how serious Little Hulkamaniac is; the last two hard moves involve a long reach to a thin edge, then another long reach to the finishing ledge. Blowing either of those two moves would result in a huge plummet to the mats below.
On my first couple of attempts, I climbed up to the second crux, but then reversed a couple of moves and jumped off. After watching Kyle do the problem, I realised that I needed to man up and commit to a high step and those two reachy moves. I hopped on, and before I knew it I was at the finishing ledge, feeling a bit pumped. I grabbed the lip, and topped out. Such an amazing line, perfect edges and minijugs up an arching face. I have a lot of respect for the guys who worked and sent the line years ago! One of the best problems at Frank, for sure!
Kyle and I then worked a line to the left of Little Hulkamaniac, that reminded me a lot of Connect Four (V8) in Squamish. However, we were stymied by the powerful and technical moves, and moved on. I did a couple of new moderate mini-cave problems close to Little Hulkamaniac, Tooth (V2) and Claw (V2), both fun lines on really amazing rock. Mark D. did a couple of hard lines not far away, including Rise of the Phoenix (V5) and Stairway to Evan (V7). Wrapping things up, we did a handful of moderate lines on a long block near Little Hulkamaniac, including the fun Rail Gun (V2).
I had a fun time, but was a little bummed that my elbow was causing me problems. I still can't lock off with my right arm, and it feels weak. Still, it is slowly improving, so I can't complain! I'm hoping I can get back to regular climbing again soon; I'm looking forward to a long fall of bouldering at Frank.
What's next? Get my elbow healed, get in shape, and get back to my projects! Lots to do!
On a closing note, I would like to extend a heartfelt farewell to Adam and Amanda ('Adamanda'), who are moving to Vancouver soon. Enjoy the ocean, sushi, and Squamish!
[Sorry, no photos this time, I forgot my camera...]
Monday, August 26, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Day of the Frank!
Slowly, my elbow has
begun to improve. It still hurts to
extend my arm or to pinch anything (like a cup), but gradually the pain is
lessening and is being replaced by a uncomfortable tightness. I went bouldering to Frank the last two
weekends (first with Shelley, Aya, and Rowan, then the second weekend with
Kyle), and to my surprise my elbow felt better after a day of climbing! I think it really needs to be stretched as it
heals, so the tendon doesn’t end up scarred and overly tight. I have been stretching and massaging it every
day, so I imagine that has helped as well.
My trip to Frank with
Shelley, Aya, and Rowan was half bouldering trip, half family picnic
outing. Shelley, Aya, and Rowan
bouldered a bit, but mostly clambered over the rocks and played in a pond /
sidechannel of the Crowsnest River. I
was unsure if I would be able to climb, but to my surprise my elbow held up
reasonably well, although it was somewhat uncomfortable. I cleaned and put up a handful of problems
south of Albatross, including the especially fun Jumbo Shrimp (V1) and Nectarine
(V2). I also did Limestone Catastrophe
(V2/3), which is a very interesting problem on a unique nose-like feature. A fun day in the mountains with my family,
capped off by a hot dog roast by the river.
My elbow felt really good that evening, more comfortable than it had for
a while.
Not a great picture of a great problem; Chicken Little Arete (V3).
Encouraged, I made
another trip to Frank the following weekend, with Kyle. It’s always fun to climb with Kyle; he has a
focused approach to bouldering that I always find refreshing. We spent the day climbing problems along the
river, including several new lines. As we headed in to the boulders, we saw a
large garter snake, which watched us calmly as we walked by. Kyle had never seen a snake in the boulders
before, so I gathered it was an unusual sighting. We warmed up on Limestone Catastrophe and a
new tallish arête to the right (which I called Attack of the Pikas (V0), on
account of all the pikas we saw near the boulder).
We then did a new problem (The Bowing Bishop V4ish) to the left of Attack of the Pikas, and then set to work on
repeating Don’t Blow It; it had been V4 until I broke a crucial hold off. Kyle and I found that it could still be
climbed, although it was certainly harder (hard V5?), and the sequence somewhat
different. We tried a few more lines on
that face, then turned our attention to the backside of the boulder. I had cleaned up a problem on that face the previous
week, and I wanted to try it. I fumbled
my first few attempts, then watched as Kyle nearly flashed the problem with
completely different beta! Both Kyle
and I sent it soon thereafter, calling it Day of the Snake (V4ish). I added a much easier direct finish to the
problem as well, calling it The Smarter Garter (V0).
Kyle checking out the first crux hold (the second move) of Day of the Snake (V4ish) (first photo), then grabbing it with authority (second photo). The heel-toe cam is an important technique on many Frank Slide problems, as Kyle demonstrates here.
Continuing our circuit
along the river, we did a handful of new problems, including three problems on
the Hubris Boulder (including a really nice V1 slab), and three new problems on
a new problem boulder right beside the road. We
finished off the day with a send of a new bulge problem by Worm Face (I called
it X Factor (V2ish), great holds on perfect rock), and three easy slabs on the
Worm Face (such amazing features, it’s too bad the problems there are so
easy). We wrapped things up with a trip
to Tim Horton’s for doughnuts. Thanks
to Kyle for a great day of bouldering!
Again, my elbow felt
better after a day of climbing than it had the previous day. Encouraging, certainly.
With a little luck, my
elbow will be healed enough that my fall season isn’t a write-off. Lots of projects that need to get done this
year, including The Communist Project (should be a fun fall project), the Mark
of the Beast Project (I just need to man up and climb that thing), the
Submarine Project (still wet last time I checked), The Prism Project (I think I
need to train my open-hand strength a bit)...
I’ve also added another couple of projects to the list, a V7ish face
problem on sloping but full-pad edges, and a V9ish-looking arête. Whew!
Until next time!
Cheers!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
The legend of Gioia (8C+)
In 2008, Christian Core linked together 14 moves across a giant block of stone in Verazze, Italy. He named this problem Gioia, Italian for 'Joy'. From what I understand, this word describes not only Christian's feelings about finally completing what many consider to be the hardest boulder problem in the world, but also his emotional state when he found the problem after years of searching the boulders of southern Europe for the perfect problem. Christian Core has won bouldering world cup events, and in 2003 was the bouldering world champion, yet despite all the hours he must spend in a climbing gym, it is his outdoor explorations which drive him forward.
Christian Core on the amazing Gioia (8C+). (photo: Roberto Armando)
Late in 2011, Adam Ondra repeated Gioia after many days on the problem, giving it a 'personal grade' (and what we must consider a consensus grade) of 8C+. In 2012, Christian repeated Gioia at night, showing the amazing power and crisp technique for which he is known.
The video of Christian Core climbing Gioia at night can be seen HERE.
Video of Adam Ondra repeating Gioia (video link below) is incredibly interesting, especially with respect to how the two climbers approach the movement.
So why the post-hoc discussion of ascents of Gioia? To me, it is an interesting case of what drives many climbers; the need to explore and find lines which challenge them intellectually, emotionally, and physically. It is, I suppose, this need that drives many climbers to seek out new challenges, regardless of their level of skill, or how hard the route or problem is. Difficulty in climbing is, essentially, scale-free; the amount of effort that Adam and Christian put in to climbing Gioia might be the same effort expended by another climber to send his/her first V7.
Until next time... Cheers!
Late in 2011, Adam Ondra repeated Gioia after many days on the problem, giving it a 'personal grade' (and what we must consider a consensus grade) of 8C+. In 2012, Christian repeated Gioia at night, showing the amazing power and crisp technique for which he is known.
The video of Christian Core climbing Gioia at night can be seen HERE.
Video of Adam Ondra repeating Gioia (video link below) is incredibly interesting, especially with respect to how the two climbers approach the movement.
So why the post-hoc discussion of ascents of Gioia? To me, it is an interesting case of what drives many climbers; the need to explore and find lines which challenge them intellectually, emotionally, and physically. It is, I suppose, this need that drives many climbers to seek out new challenges, regardless of their level of skill, or how hard the route or problem is. Difficulty in climbing is, essentially, scale-free; the amount of effort that Adam and Christian put in to climbing Gioia might be the same effort expended by another climber to send his/her first V7.
Until next time... Cheers!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Marching to Olympus! (guest blogger, Adam Dipinto)
With my elbow injury continuing to force me to the sidelines, I am excited that this week's edition of The Climbing Life will feature the writing and photography of Adam Dipinto. Adam is Frank Slide's pre-eminent photographer, and many of the photos on this blog are the result of Adam's efforts. Last weekend, Adam, Mark D., and Kyle made a trip up the mountain at Frank Slide, and here's what they found! (Note: if anyone wants to send in mini-articles and/or photos that describe and depict bouldering in the Rockies, don't hesitate to contact me!)
With the weather calling for overcast skies and cool temperatures, a small group (Mark D, Kyle and myself) decided to be on the more adventurous side and scramble up the Slide to find some boulders and establish new lines. The approach began on the other side of the river through the forested area. The scramble through the forest was much more aesthetically appealing than the wasteland Frank seems to be at times. Moss covered the rocks and large dead trees towered over making it difficult to see the weather above us. Mark D. lead the small group, as he, Trent and Kyle had been up to this area before in the winter when it was covered in snow. Making it through the forest area after a 20-30 minute hike we approached an opening to the Slide’s face. From here you could see all of Frank. Albatross, Healing, and the House boulders all stood out among the sea of boulders that populated the area. With a bit more scrambling we made it to the first plateau of the Slide named The Olympus Ridge.
Olympus Ridge is a huge area. My guess is that it may need to be divided into sub-sections due to the vast boulders in the area. One section being the left side near and within the forested area and the right side along the slide hovering over the river.
Excited with the vast number of boulders we decided to start at the far back of Olympus Ridge and to the left in the forested area. Within this area we found a number of boulders that were all well shaded and had decent landings. Two boulders that we cleaned up and established some problems on were The Stranger and Flies boulders. The Stranger boulder has six problems on it ranging from V0 to V4/5. There is potential for more lines on the backside.
Kyle sending Stranger in a Strange Land (V4/5).
Orientation (V0) - Starting along the left arete, Orientation has nice edges and positive feet allowing for a direct top out. Orientation is positioned at the best place to down climb the boulder after topping out.
Further Instructions (V1) - To the right of Orientation, Further Instructions uses the right arete and positive edges for a solid climb. A similar feel to Orientation, Further Instructions offers more feet adjustments and a higher right foot due to lower feet at the start being absent.
Catch-22 (V1) - Using the arete and a crimp on the slab as a start, Catch-22 goes directly up with a more powerful move to really positive holds.
Jughead (V1) - Just left of Catch-22, Jughead uses the edges along the bulging out section from the slab as a start. Much like Catch-22 it goes directly up to positive holds then to the lip.
The Cost of Living (V4) - Positioned under the left section of the bulge on the slab, The Cost of Living goes out right to the center and uses the arete of the bulge to a nice jug and a direct finish.
Stranger in a Strange Land (V4/5) - On the farthest corner of the boulder using most of the bulge. Starting under the bulge using the edges where the bulge meets the slab, Stranger in a Strange Land goes up and over the bulge using left hand crimps, right hand wrist wraps and the arete. With a high right foot to position yourself up and onto the bulge, Stranger in a Strange Land offers a mix of out-stretched and very scrunched moves.
The King of Frank squeezing holds on the Stranger Boulder.
After finishing up the problems on The Stranger Boulder we directed our attention to the Flies Boulder about 20 feet away. Mark D. began cleaning a line along the left arete starting low on a bulging out sloper. After giving it a few attempts, the problem seemed harder than he anticipated. Kyle and I soon jumped on the problem and together began piecing together the starting beta. The three of us started linking moves and became more confident on the problem, but it was Kyle that took the first ascent of Lord of the Flies.
Lord of the Flies (V7/8) - Starting underneath a left hand sloper crimp, using a positive right hand in-cut and a technical stiff heel. LotF goes out right to a positive edge then along the left arete to an odd hold with a nice thumb catch. After some foot adjustments the next right hand is to a smaller half pad crimp in-cut and then a large toss to either the peak of the boulder or to the farther right lip. Top out requires body position out right and around the peak.
Kyle brushing holds on the Olympus Area's hardest, Lord of the Flies (V7/8).
After a few honest attempts and not being able to stick the lip properly I decided to call it. There was a lot more exploring left to do and I wanted to save my strength for some of the other problems we might find. We headed out of the shaded forest and venture to more to the central area of Olympus Ridge. Kyle decided to hike up to the second plateau above while Mark D. and I split up and searched for new boulders. After not really finding anything too exciting and sendergy (send and energy combined) running low, Kyle returned to inform us that the second plateau (that I’m deeming Above the Gods) was basically a wasteland with six highballs.
With that news we decided to head down the Slide due to it being late and what looked like a storm approaching.
(Thanks Adam! Until next time... Cheers!)
With the weather calling for overcast skies and cool temperatures, a small group (Mark D, Kyle and myself) decided to be on the more adventurous side and scramble up the Slide to find some boulders and establish new lines. The approach began on the other side of the river through the forested area. The scramble through the forest was much more aesthetically appealing than the wasteland Frank seems to be at times. Moss covered the rocks and large dead trees towered over making it difficult to see the weather above us. Mark D. lead the small group, as he, Trent and Kyle had been up to this area before in the winter when it was covered in snow. Making it through the forest area after a 20-30 minute hike we approached an opening to the Slide’s face. From here you could see all of Frank. Albatross, Healing, and the House boulders all stood out among the sea of boulders that populated the area. With a bit more scrambling we made it to the first plateau of the Slide named The Olympus Ridge.
Olympus Ridge is a huge area. My guess is that it may need to be divided into sub-sections due to the vast boulders in the area. One section being the left side near and within the forested area and the right side along the slide hovering over the river.
Excited with the vast number of boulders we decided to start at the far back of Olympus Ridge and to the left in the forested area. Within this area we found a number of boulders that were all well shaded and had decent landings. Two boulders that we cleaned up and established some problems on were The Stranger and Flies boulders. The Stranger boulder has six problems on it ranging from V0 to V4/5. There is potential for more lines on the backside.
Orientation (V0) - Starting along the left arete, Orientation has nice edges and positive feet allowing for a direct top out. Orientation is positioned at the best place to down climb the boulder after topping out.
Further Instructions (V1) - To the right of Orientation, Further Instructions uses the right arete and positive edges for a solid climb. A similar feel to Orientation, Further Instructions offers more feet adjustments and a higher right foot due to lower feet at the start being absent.
Catch-22 (V1) - Using the arete and a crimp on the slab as a start, Catch-22 goes directly up with a more powerful move to really positive holds.
Jughead (V1) - Just left of Catch-22, Jughead uses the edges along the bulging out section from the slab as a start. Much like Catch-22 it goes directly up to positive holds then to the lip.
The Cost of Living (V4) - Positioned under the left section of the bulge on the slab, The Cost of Living goes out right to the center and uses the arete of the bulge to a nice jug and a direct finish.
Stranger in a Strange Land (V4/5) - On the farthest corner of the boulder using most of the bulge. Starting under the bulge using the edges where the bulge meets the slab, Stranger in a Strange Land goes up and over the bulge using left hand crimps, right hand wrist wraps and the arete. With a high right foot to position yourself up and onto the bulge, Stranger in a Strange Land offers a mix of out-stretched and very scrunched moves.
The King of Frank squeezing holds on the Stranger Boulder.
After finishing up the problems on The Stranger Boulder we directed our attention to the Flies Boulder about 20 feet away. Mark D. began cleaning a line along the left arete starting low on a bulging out sloper. After giving it a few attempts, the problem seemed harder than he anticipated. Kyle and I soon jumped on the problem and together began piecing together the starting beta. The three of us started linking moves and became more confident on the problem, but it was Kyle that took the first ascent of Lord of the Flies.
Lord of the Flies (V7/8) - Starting underneath a left hand sloper crimp, using a positive right hand in-cut and a technical stiff heel. LotF goes out right to a positive edge then along the left arete to an odd hold with a nice thumb catch. After some foot adjustments the next right hand is to a smaller half pad crimp in-cut and then a large toss to either the peak of the boulder or to the farther right lip. Top out requires body position out right and around the peak.
Kyle brushing holds on the Olympus Area's hardest, Lord of the Flies (V7/8).
After a few honest attempts and not being able to stick the lip properly I decided to call it. There was a lot more exploring left to do and I wanted to save my strength for some of the other problems we might find. We headed out of the shaded forest and venture to more to the central area of Olympus Ridge. Kyle decided to hike up to the second plateau above while Mark D. and I split up and searched for new boulders. After not really finding anything too exciting and sendergy (send and energy combined) running low, Kyle returned to inform us that the second plateau (that I’m deeming Above the Gods) was basically a wasteland with six highballs.
With that news we decided to head down the Slide due to it being late and what looked like a storm approaching.
(Thanks Adam! Until next time... Cheers!)
Monday, July 22, 2013
Bluff Wall, New Crags... and Frank Slide
I'm still, officially, on the couch. My elbow improves every day, but it will be some time before I can pull on it hard enough to do any serious bouldering. I'm fairly certain I could do a deadhang, but that's probably about it. Open-hand grips aren't too uncomfortable, but if I try to pinch or engage my thumb, forgetaboutit. I'll give it another two weeks, then try a little easy climbing.
In a way, though, having an elbow injury has benefits; it has allowed me to get to some of the non-bouldering things on my to-do list. This past Sunday I went back to the Crowsnest Pass in order to check out the Bluff Wall (just to the west of Frank Slide) and do a little crag hunting.
From Frank Slide you can see the Bluff Wall clearly, and I have often wondered about a fairly clean looking section of the wall almost in the dead centre of the main cliff. It looks like it is about 5 or 6 pitches high, without any ledges or breaks. I wanted to hike into the base of the wall to take a closer look for a potential route (mostly to see how steep the wall is, and how protectable it is). The Bluff Wall is Livingstone limestone, and while this rock often features faces with nice face holds, I'm not sure how much natural protection it provides.
Arriving in the Pass, I parked and hiked up to the wall with Lupin (my ever-eager dog). I took a couple of pictures of the route from the valley, and many more directly below the route. From the valley, the wall looks pretty sheer, but I was surprised to find that it looked like most of the pitches would go on natural gear!
As far as I could see, it looked like it was about 6 pitches long. P1: low angle ramps with a bit of slab to a small grassy ledge, maybe a few pieces of gear, maybe a few bolts. P2 and P3: a real surprise, 2 pitches of what looks like continuous finger cracks in the back of a dihedral. Looks sweet! P4: Can't really see it well, but I'm hoping that an angling crack will join up to another crack system under another small roof. P5: Unless some magic pro appears up there, this pitch might need bolts. This is where the route heads into the darker grey rock, which usually means coral-reef stone. The good thing is that this rock often has really cool features, so hopefully it is a nice pitch. P6: This was the other big surprise, the last pitch is a looonnng wide crack, an opened up lieback that goes on for pretty much a full pitch (you can see it just left of the left-most huge roof near the top of the wall). Looks exciting!
I scoped out another potential route to the left, it also looks like a great route, although it would likely need more bolts.
Potential route! The line would (as far as I can tell) head up the nose between the huge roofs to either side. It would likely start somewhere between the two conifers growing right at the base; a pitch of slab, then up a couple pitches of protectable dihedral (wall is stained orange), then a tricky pitch to gain another crack system. Above that the rock gets darker (and maybe steeper), but the last pitch is a fat lieback crack that goes on a long ways, pretty much right to the top of the wall!
Another picture of the route, this time from higher and to the right of the route. The dihedral is pretty much invisible, as it faces left.
The view from directly below the route. The orange dihedral is visible, and the exit pitches head up through the obvious notch. Straight up the wall, pretty much!
My second objective of the day was to try to find a sport crag in the Pass. I had a couple of leads (from Google Maps, of course) I wanted to check out. My first foray was into a canyon; I was excited to find lots of steep walls with cool features... but disappointed that they were composed of sandstone. It's possible that they might turn into decent sport routes with a lot of work, but I am fairly certain that a limestone crag would be better received by local climbers.
My second foray was into a little watercourse on Bluff Mountain. Lupin and I did find a nice little wall, nicely overhanging with climbable features. Room for maybe 15 - 20 routes, probably in the 5.10 to .12+ range. Downsides? A 20 minute walk uphill (about 200m of elevation gain), plus it would take a fair bit of work to get the base of the routes in shape (there's a long steep slope of rubble and little cliff bands below the cliff, so landing pads and a bit of trail would have to be made). Lupin and I spent a fair bit of time and energy adventuring up the side of Bluff mountain, and we came down completely knackered with sore knees and hips. We're getting old! A 2 hour bushwhack up a mountain nearly did us in...
Looking up at the crag from below. It would be dangerous / tricky / adventurous to try and climb up to the base of the cliff from below, but luckily it looks much easier to walk along the base of the cliff (I think). Another mission will be needed to find out how good the crag really is! Looks good (and really steep) in this picture, though; it's about 20m high, perfect sport climbing height!
By the time we got back to the van we were pretty beat. But with a little time left on the clock (it was about 5:00), I couldn't resist taking a stroll in the Slide looking for new problems. I was surprised to find a stack of new problems not far from the road in an area I hadn't really explored before, including two hard-looking cave problems. Lots of the problems looked moderate (V0 to V3), and the boulders were fairly close to each other, so it will be a great opportunity to develop another moderate circuit similar to the 'Superheroes' circuit near the House Area parking lot. So much to do in Frank Slide!
By this time, my knees were screaming at me, so Lupin and I drove down to the Crowsnest River, where I sat with my legs in the cool water for a half-hour. A great way to end an exhausting day!
I would to thank Mike Doyle and Mark Guckert for sending me a link to a great website describing elbow injuries due to climbing. It gives me hope that with a little work and a lot of care, I'll manage to get some climbing in this year all!
Stay safe! Cheers!
In a way, though, having an elbow injury has benefits; it has allowed me to get to some of the non-bouldering things on my to-do list. This past Sunday I went back to the Crowsnest Pass in order to check out the Bluff Wall (just to the west of Frank Slide) and do a little crag hunting.
From Frank Slide you can see the Bluff Wall clearly, and I have often wondered about a fairly clean looking section of the wall almost in the dead centre of the main cliff. It looks like it is about 5 or 6 pitches high, without any ledges or breaks. I wanted to hike into the base of the wall to take a closer look for a potential route (mostly to see how steep the wall is, and how protectable it is). The Bluff Wall is Livingstone limestone, and while this rock often features faces with nice face holds, I'm not sure how much natural protection it provides.
Arriving in the Pass, I parked and hiked up to the wall with Lupin (my ever-eager dog). I took a couple of pictures of the route from the valley, and many more directly below the route. From the valley, the wall looks pretty sheer, but I was surprised to find that it looked like most of the pitches would go on natural gear!
As far as I could see, it looked like it was about 6 pitches long. P1: low angle ramps with a bit of slab to a small grassy ledge, maybe a few pieces of gear, maybe a few bolts. P2 and P3: a real surprise, 2 pitches of what looks like continuous finger cracks in the back of a dihedral. Looks sweet! P4: Can't really see it well, but I'm hoping that an angling crack will join up to another crack system under another small roof. P5: Unless some magic pro appears up there, this pitch might need bolts. This is where the route heads into the darker grey rock, which usually means coral-reef stone. The good thing is that this rock often has really cool features, so hopefully it is a nice pitch. P6: This was the other big surprise, the last pitch is a looonnng wide crack, an opened up lieback that goes on for pretty much a full pitch (you can see it just left of the left-most huge roof near the top of the wall). Looks exciting!
I scoped out another potential route to the left, it also looks like a great route, although it would likely need more bolts.
My second objective of the day was to try to find a sport crag in the Pass. I had a couple of leads (from Google Maps, of course) I wanted to check out. My first foray was into a canyon; I was excited to find lots of steep walls with cool features... but disappointed that they were composed of sandstone. It's possible that they might turn into decent sport routes with a lot of work, but I am fairly certain that a limestone crag would be better received by local climbers.
My second foray was into a little watercourse on Bluff Mountain. Lupin and I did find a nice little wall, nicely overhanging with climbable features. Room for maybe 15 - 20 routes, probably in the 5.10 to .12+ range. Downsides? A 20 minute walk uphill (about 200m of elevation gain), plus it would take a fair bit of work to get the base of the routes in shape (there's a long steep slope of rubble and little cliff bands below the cliff, so landing pads and a bit of trail would have to be made). Lupin and I spent a fair bit of time and energy adventuring up the side of Bluff mountain, and we came down completely knackered with sore knees and hips. We're getting old! A 2 hour bushwhack up a mountain nearly did us in...
By the time we got back to the van we were pretty beat. But with a little time left on the clock (it was about 5:00), I couldn't resist taking a stroll in the Slide looking for new problems. I was surprised to find a stack of new problems not far from the road in an area I hadn't really explored before, including two hard-looking cave problems. Lots of the problems looked moderate (V0 to V3), and the boulders were fairly close to each other, so it will be a great opportunity to develop another moderate circuit similar to the 'Superheroes' circuit near the House Area parking lot. So much to do in Frank Slide!
By this time, my knees were screaming at me, so Lupin and I drove down to the Crowsnest River, where I sat with my legs in the cool water for a half-hour. A great way to end an exhausting day!
I would to thank Mike Doyle and Mark Guckert for sending me a link to a great website describing elbow injuries due to climbing. It gives me hope that with a little work and a lot of care, I'll manage to get some climbing in this year all!
Stay safe! Cheers!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Tour de Frank... and an Injury.
Welcome to the Tour de Frank! In the spirit of good-natured competition, a handful of Lethbridge climbers thought it would be fun to have a outdoor bouldering competition / festival event, but given the fact that those types of events are enormous amounts of work, we decided to have the next best thing; The Tour de Frank! Really, it is similar to a stretched-out, super-casual version of the Hueco Rock Rodeo, entirely managed by individual climbers. Intially we had thought it best to have three categories: (1) hardest ascents (where the score would represent the total V-grade sum of each climber's hardest seven ascents of the season), (2) first ascents (total V-grade sum of all first ascents of the season), and (3) total ascents (total V-grade sum of all ascents of the season). However, upon reflection, it seems evident that categories 2 and 3 are problematic for a number of reasons (e.g. it may be difficult to determine what is and isn't an FA, and total ascents would get cumbersome for those who travel to the Slide often), so we decided to radically simplify the Tour de Frank and use only the first category.
So, if you want to play along, simply keep track of your 'V-points' (i.e. 1 point for a V1, 2 for a V2, etc.; 0.5 points are awarded for a V0) for your seven hardest problems climbed from May 18 (the beginning of the Victorial Day long weekend) to October 14 (Thanksgiving). If anyone wants to send me their V-point total periodically (for the fun of it!), I'll post them here. I'm "sure" we'll have lots of "prizes", so keep track of your points and we'll have a grand tally at the end of the season! Remember, this is purely for fun, not to be taken seriously! Maybe if I get off my butt, I'll make Tshirts or something.
Anyone can participate! From anywhere! One visit to Frank Slide, or every weekend, it doesn't matter! Just send in a list of your seven hardest Frank Slide sends to me at the end of the season and we'll see what happens!
The rules (such as they are) are incredibly simple. (1) No cheating, be honest! (2) No bizarre grade inflation (use consensus grades, please). I think that's all.
So far, I'm not doing too badly, with (my seven hardest) ascents of...
Breathing Underwater (V7), Lost (V6), The Evangelist (V7), Giantsbane (V6), Trent's Cave (V6), Ben Kenobi (V6), and Sofa King (V5), for a grand total of 43 points. I'm really hoping to get that number up to 56 points (7 V8s) before the end of the Tour, which brings me to the bad news...
I massively injured my right elbow this week. I think I may have partially torn something doing Breathing Underwater on the weekend (it felt tight afterwards for an hour or so), but then climbing new problems on the 45-degree wall at the gym this week caused it to hurt a lot more (likely medial epicondylitis, lateral surface). By the time I got home it was aching, by the next morning I couldn't pick up a glass of milk. It's going to be a long time before I can boulder again, I suspect. Right now, I couldn't open a jar or pick up a pitcher of juice with my right hand if my life depended on it. I'll have to really re-think how my summer is going to go, probably a lot more hiking and trail running than I had planned, and maybe a little slab climbing. Unless I can ferret out a LOT of V8 slabs at Frank Slide, I don't think my TdF total is going to be that impressive.
At any rate, I won't be posting updates as often as I usually do (because I won't be doing any climbing for a while!). Have a great summer, and stay injury-free!
Mark D. and Mark G. sussing out the moves on The Glass Ballerina on the Whale Bones Boulder, Hulkamania Area.
So, if you want to play along, simply keep track of your 'V-points' (i.e. 1 point for a V1, 2 for a V2, etc.; 0.5 points are awarded for a V0) for your seven hardest problems climbed from May 18 (the beginning of the Victorial Day long weekend) to October 14 (Thanksgiving). If anyone wants to send me their V-point total periodically (for the fun of it!), I'll post them here. I'm "sure" we'll have lots of "prizes", so keep track of your points and we'll have a grand tally at the end of the season! Remember, this is purely for fun, not to be taken seriously! Maybe if I get off my butt, I'll make Tshirts or something.
Anyone can participate! From anywhere! One visit to Frank Slide, or every weekend, it doesn't matter! Just send in a list of your seven hardest Frank Slide sends to me at the end of the season and we'll see what happens!
The rules (such as they are) are incredibly simple. (1) No cheating, be honest! (2) No bizarre grade inflation (use consensus grades, please). I think that's all.
So far, I'm not doing too badly, with (my seven hardest) ascents of...
Breathing Underwater (V7), Lost (V6), The Evangelist (V7), Giantsbane (V6), Trent's Cave (V6), Ben Kenobi (V6), and Sofa King (V5), for a grand total of 43 points. I'm really hoping to get that number up to 56 points (7 V8s) before the end of the Tour, which brings me to the bad news...
I massively injured my right elbow this week. I think I may have partially torn something doing Breathing Underwater on the weekend (it felt tight afterwards for an hour or so), but then climbing new problems on the 45-degree wall at the gym this week caused it to hurt a lot more (likely medial epicondylitis, lateral surface). By the time I got home it was aching, by the next morning I couldn't pick up a glass of milk. It's going to be a long time before I can boulder again, I suspect. Right now, I couldn't open a jar or pick up a pitcher of juice with my right hand if my life depended on it. I'll have to really re-think how my summer is going to go, probably a lot more hiking and trail running than I had planned, and maybe a little slab climbing. Unless I can ferret out a LOT of V8 slabs at Frank Slide, I don't think my TdF total is going to be that impressive.
At any rate, I won't be posting updates as often as I usually do (because I won't be doing any climbing for a while!). Have a great summer, and stay injury-free!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Frankamania!
Summer is in full swing in southern Alberta, and it always seems especially summery at Frank Slide. The weather is usually sunny, and even the summertime thundershowers only seem to last a few minutes at the Slide. Although it seems a little too warm sometimes, in reality temperatures rarely get above 30C, and the long hours of sunlight make late afternoon climbing a joy. This past Sunday, I headed to back to Frank Slide with Mark G. and Mark D. for a day of bouldering and exploration.
Life in the slide. Potentilla growing amidst the scree.
After a protracted discussion en route to Frank, we agreed to cross the train tracks and head toward the Hulkamaniac Area. More accurately, we wanted to explore the area just west of the Hulkamaniac boulder, as it appeared to have a decent concentration of large boulders. Although I had not previously visited that area of the Slide, I knew that it had been intermittently popular in the past, and that there was a handful of established problems scattered throughout the blocks there.
Mark G. moving from the face to the arete of The Glass Ballerina (V3 or V4).
We crossed the tracks and climbed up a grassy ramp to the boulders above. After spending a few minutes checking out the blocks, we started warming up on a decently large boulder near the top of the ramp. Mark D. remembered climbing an obvious easy problem on horizontal rails in the middle of the boulder; I climbed it a few times, a really fun and satisfying easy line. Mark G. and I also climbed a tricky (V3?) line on small crimps to the left, which, in retrospect, may not have been the best way to warm up!
It also looked like there were two unclimbed harder lines to the right, so we fixed the landings below them and set to work. Mark D. climbed the fun right-hand arete from a sit-start first, calling it The Glass Ballerina. Mark G. and I sent it straightaway as well, and then we turned our attention to a much harder line to the left. We lined up to try an obvious and amazing-looking vertical problem that moved between large bone-like features (coral fossils?) jutting from the rock. With no reachable holds, we were forced to jump to the first hold, a half-pad crimp. After 20 minutes or so, we managed to piece the moves together, and my ascent was rapidly followed by sends by Mark G. and Mark D. Whale Bones (V5 or 6) is a great addition to the area; it reminds me a fair bit of the problem Worm World in Squamish.
Mark G. getting serious on Whale Bones (V5 or 6). Tiny holds, big moves!
I had spied another promising-looking block just to the south, so I headed over to clean some more problems for us to try. I cleaned up four promising-looking lines on two faces of the boulder; the first face had prominent horizontal rails, while the other face featured crimps and edges. Starting on a low prominent edge almost directly on the arete between the two faces, I sent Bump Bump (V3?), a line that headed up and slightly right to a techy mantle, while Atlas (V5?) headed up and left using tricky heel-hook beta. Shortly after we also did the two problems on the right face of the boulder, a V2/3ish line with edges, and a great V1ish problem I might call Balance, which was a lot easier (and more fun!) than I anticipated. We finally wrapped up the problems on the boulder by starting on Bump Bump but adding a long lip traverse to make a long-ish pumpy problem that went around V3.
Me on the first bump move of Bump Bump (V3ish). Felt very Squamishy to climb an arete with rails and a slopey lip...
In my earlier foray, I had realised that what looked like a short slabby boulder to the south was, in fact, a fairly large boulder with two tall faces. When I went to clean some problems I saw that some of the problems had previously been cleaned. Looking at the lines, I wasn't suprised; side-by-side on the boulder were two of the best easy problems I have so far seen at Frank, a V0 arete and a strangely-featured V0 steep slab.
Mark G. on the last looong reach to the final jug on the extension to Bump Bump.
Being mid-afternoon, though, we were in the mood for some shade, and the easy arete was in the full sun. I saw that there was a unclimbed (and dirty!) line on the shady side of the boulder, so with a little cleaning (and landing-fixing) we had a new moderate line to try! It turned out to be easier than it looked, although still a lot of fun! One of the nicest V2ish lines I've done at Frank, it starts on the lower of two horizontal rails, then moves up to a very fun high-step-gaston move to reach the lip. I think I'll call it Deep Blue Sea after all the marine fossils in the boulder.
We moved around to the sunny side of the boulder, and were rewarded with another half-dozen vertical problems from V0 to V4ish. Mark G. made a stemming problem just left of the prominent arete look easy, while Mark D. and I found it to be stiffer than Mark G. had made it look!. We finished up the boulder by doing the sit-start to the prominent arete; it looked great, and we weren't disappointed, it is a great problem, a four-star line! The slab to the right was equally good, and it was a pleasure to climb on the crazily-featured face.
Mark G., sendage-style! Posing, at my request, atop the amazing arete on the Deep Blue Sea boulder.
Mark G. and Mark D. wanted to leave the Slide to get ice cream, but I was hoping to get another problem in. I settled on a steep compression problem not far from Deep Blue Sea, which looked both physical and technically-demanding. Initially I thought it would be brutally hard, but I was surprised (and happy) to send it only after about 10 tries or so. It suited my style really well, and I think it is one of the nicest moderately-hard problems I've tried at the Slide. I called it Breathing Underwater (V6, maybe low-end V7).
The crazy features of the V0 slab on the Deep Blue Sea boulder. This photo doesn't really do the features of this face justice!
All-in-all, a great trip to a new area of Frank Slide. The Slide continues to surprise me, and I look forward to my future explorations of what the Slide holds. I need to focus more on difficult projects, though; I think there are a lot of testpieces hidden away in the maze, and I mean to find them! Also, there are lot of classic lines that I haven't tried yet, including Serial Killer (V5) and Healing Arete (V5), that I am hoping to try soon.
Until next time... Cheers!
After a protracted discussion en route to Frank, we agreed to cross the train tracks and head toward the Hulkamaniac Area. More accurately, we wanted to explore the area just west of the Hulkamaniac boulder, as it appeared to have a decent concentration of large boulders. Although I had not previously visited that area of the Slide, I knew that it had been intermittently popular in the past, and that there was a handful of established problems scattered throughout the blocks there.
We crossed the tracks and climbed up a grassy ramp to the boulders above. After spending a few minutes checking out the blocks, we started warming up on a decently large boulder near the top of the ramp. Mark D. remembered climbing an obvious easy problem on horizontal rails in the middle of the boulder; I climbed it a few times, a really fun and satisfying easy line. Mark G. and I also climbed a tricky (V3?) line on small crimps to the left, which, in retrospect, may not have been the best way to warm up!
It also looked like there were two unclimbed harder lines to the right, so we fixed the landings below them and set to work. Mark D. climbed the fun right-hand arete from a sit-start first, calling it The Glass Ballerina. Mark G. and I sent it straightaway as well, and then we turned our attention to a much harder line to the left. We lined up to try an obvious and amazing-looking vertical problem that moved between large bone-like features (coral fossils?) jutting from the rock. With no reachable holds, we were forced to jump to the first hold, a half-pad crimp. After 20 minutes or so, we managed to piece the moves together, and my ascent was rapidly followed by sends by Mark G. and Mark D. Whale Bones (V5 or 6) is a great addition to the area; it reminds me a fair bit of the problem Worm World in Squamish.
I had spied another promising-looking block just to the south, so I headed over to clean some more problems for us to try. I cleaned up four promising-looking lines on two faces of the boulder; the first face had prominent horizontal rails, while the other face featured crimps and edges. Starting on a low prominent edge almost directly on the arete between the two faces, I sent Bump Bump (V3?), a line that headed up and slightly right to a techy mantle, while Atlas (V5?) headed up and left using tricky heel-hook beta. Shortly after we also did the two problems on the right face of the boulder, a V2/3ish line with edges, and a great V1ish problem I might call Balance, which was a lot easier (and more fun!) than I anticipated. We finally wrapped up the problems on the boulder by starting on Bump Bump but adding a long lip traverse to make a long-ish pumpy problem that went around V3.
In my earlier foray, I had realised that what looked like a short slabby boulder to the south was, in fact, a fairly large boulder with two tall faces. When I went to clean some problems I saw that some of the problems had previously been cleaned. Looking at the lines, I wasn't suprised; side-by-side on the boulder were two of the best easy problems I have so far seen at Frank, a V0 arete and a strangely-featured V0 steep slab.
Being mid-afternoon, though, we were in the mood for some shade, and the easy arete was in the full sun. I saw that there was a unclimbed (and dirty!) line on the shady side of the boulder, so with a little cleaning (and landing-fixing) we had a new moderate line to try! It turned out to be easier than it looked, although still a lot of fun! One of the nicest V2ish lines I've done at Frank, it starts on the lower of two horizontal rails, then moves up to a very fun high-step-gaston move to reach the lip. I think I'll call it Deep Blue Sea after all the marine fossils in the boulder.
We moved around to the sunny side of the boulder, and were rewarded with another half-dozen vertical problems from V0 to V4ish. Mark G. made a stemming problem just left of the prominent arete look easy, while Mark D. and I found it to be stiffer than Mark G. had made it look!. We finished up the boulder by doing the sit-start to the prominent arete; it looked great, and we weren't disappointed, it is a great problem, a four-star line! The slab to the right was equally good, and it was a pleasure to climb on the crazily-featured face.
Mark G. and Mark D. wanted to leave the Slide to get ice cream, but I was hoping to get another problem in. I settled on a steep compression problem not far from Deep Blue Sea, which looked both physical and technically-demanding. Initially I thought it would be brutally hard, but I was surprised (and happy) to send it only after about 10 tries or so. It suited my style really well, and I think it is one of the nicest moderately-hard problems I've tried at the Slide. I called it Breathing Underwater (V6, maybe low-end V7).
All-in-all, a great trip to a new area of Frank Slide. The Slide continues to surprise me, and I look forward to my future explorations of what the Slide holds. I need to focus more on difficult projects, though; I think there are a lot of testpieces hidden away in the maze, and I mean to find them! Also, there are lot of classic lines that I haven't tried yet, including Serial Killer (V5) and Healing Arete (V5), that I am hoping to try soon.
Until next time... Cheers!
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