Philip's Climbing Blog

Poudre Canyon

2009-10-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been spending a lot of time up in Poudre Canyon. I really like this area for a lot of reasons: 1. It's a beautiful place with high rock quality. 2. It has a lot of amazing moderates. 3. I haven't spent nearly enough time there. My friend Seth Murphy (from the old school MD days) has been nice enough to show me around to all the cool classics. So far I have done a bunch of climbs in the V5 - V10 range:

Hank's Lunge V5 (2 go)
Perch V6
Scarface V6 (flash)
Simple V6/7 (flash)
Scuba Steve V6/7 (flash)
Short Chubby Demon V7
Tilt V7/8 (2 go)
The Bischer Traverse V8 (flash)
Against Humanity Low V8/9 (flash)
Ice 9 V10

Most of these climbs are really high quality lines, and I would encourage anyone who has never checked out the Poudre to go there and do them! With all the fuss about RMNP and Evans, it is worth noting that neither of these areas are as good for moderates as Poudre. I still have some unfinished business in the Canyon as well, and I hope to get back there soon to finish up some of the harder lines. Here are some pictures that Seth took:

Simple V7

Short Chubby Demon V7

Last month

2009-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ahh ok, so I haven't updated this in way too long. The main reason is that I don't have any really good pictures or videos to upload. I have done some climbing though- sending Green 45 stand v10 and Golden Rows v10 (the 2nd in a day). I also managed Mental Pollution v11 at Evans and Aqua Huck v7 at Clear Creek (which is really cool). My plan right now is training in the gym- and also trying to get out to Joe's Valley ASAP! When I get out there I will be sure to post some cool pictures.

Rocky Mountain National Park

2009-07-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

I have been super psyched on the park lately, and have found that once you get over the tremendous amount of hiking, upper chaos is pretty amazing. There are so many classic climbs to do, and I am fortunate to have sent a lot of them. I also have been looking carefully for a project or two to put some time into:

Gobot is probably the first one that comes to mind. It's a slightly overhung power endurance problem and the crux for me is the third move, so I think I have a good chance at sending it. The main issues right now are the heat and the lack of pads. Apparently lower gets better in a couple of months, so I might have to wait on this one.

Skipper Left is really cool but the second move is giving me a lot of problems. Besides this move, the others aren't so bad though, so I might just have to put some work into it.

Wildcat seems like the best (and easiest?) V12 in the park, but I really hate the hike to Green 45. I think I need to put a solid day into this before deciding.

Whispers of Wisdom is definitely going to go but I need to wait until it's cooler. I have to say I have no idea why this was downgraded from V11.

Handicapps is really really shitty, but I want to do it anyway to put it behind me.

Anyway, I have actually sent a couple of things in the last month. I felt great on Skipper Right V10, doing all the moves in 5 minutes, and then could not repeat the first move to save my life. I came back fresh and managed it first go second day. I also nearly flashed Bierstadt V9/10 and had to settle for 5th go. But both of these sends pale in comparison to my sends of The Ludder's Pinch and Left Left El Jorge. After working all the moves on Ludder's I came back fresh and spent another hour and a half working on the stupid match move. About to give up for the day, I decided to give it one last go and managed to make it to the top! It was the proudest V6 I had ever topped out. Left Left was similarly epic. My complete lack of body tension forced me to do 5 difficult foot moves on the crux sloper. After 3 solid days of effort, I screamed my way through the last couple moves and finally stood on top of the idiotic problem. So psyched to never have to try it again.

Nothing

2009-05-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

I would love to have some climbing news for this update, but five things have gotten in the way of my climbing lately:

1. Rain - The weather here has been... ugh. When it's nice, which is infrequently, I've always been busy with other things.

2. Lack of projects - I know.. I know.. I live in CO now, how could I possibly have no projects? Well, honestly I just don't know what to try. Poudre is really cool, but I don't know my way around well enough yet, and I'm not going to drive 3.5 hrs to finish up Jousting...

3. Go - I generally try to split my time equally between Go and Climbing, but I have a huge tournament coming up on March 30, and I really need to prepare...

4. Work - I have had some interviews so far, but no luck. It would be nice to not burn through ALL of my savings.. so I have been stepping up the effort to find a job.

5. Lack of Psyche - Something is missing... I don't think it's strength. I used to have more determination when I climbed. It got me through a lot of my hardest sends outside, but it's just not here right now.

Joe's Valley

2009-04-05T12:32:00.001-07:00

I have this tendency to either climb horribly or climb great- with almost no middle ground. My first two days in Joe's were, at the very least, disappointing. I couldn't do anything on Fingerhut, I did all the moves on Freak but couldn't link it, and I couldn't do the 2nd move on Resident Evil. Combining this with the 12 or so tries needed to finish 3 Weeks Low (soft V9), I was stuck wondering what was going on.

I rested for a day, and the next day I just felt completely different. I practically warmed up on Resident Evil, and then battled with Freak again, only to find the sun's glare too much to take. I rested for a couple hours and then went over to Fingerhut and sent it quickly. Considering my complete failure on it the previous session, I was pretty happy to put it together.

This summer, RMNP and Mt. Evans await, and my days of climbing V10's will come to an end. I've been training in CATS and at the Spot in preparation for the much harder climbs I will be trying this summer. It's only a matter of time before the snow melts.

Front Range Bouldering

2009-02-21T22:31:00.001-08:00

Being unemployed has it's downsides, but on the upside, I've been getting a lot of outdoor climbing in. First up was Boulder Canyon where I got on Left Graham Arete, with no success. I don't know what it is about the climb, but the feet are so bad and I can't seem to stay on the rock. Next we went over to Clear Creek Canyon where it was seriously too cold to climb. Gabor made some progress on Dark Waters, and I am psyched to go back and try it when it's warmer.

Eldorado Canyon has to be my favorite destination so far. The hiking is annoying, but it seems like the only hike in Colorado that isn't is from my car to the SPOT (and even that depends on how many cars are there). After checking out much of the area, I decided upon two projects- The Elegant Universe and Lost. The Elegant Universe is a short traverse into a difficult dyno, and Lost is an interesting face climb. I will definitely be back to finish them up soon.

Back at Boulder Canyon I sent Freak Brothers II. I really enjoyed this climb, and I am interested in going back to try Freak Accident. Freak Accident is by no means an amazing line, but I think it would be a really good line to work on to build up my crimp strength. Tomorrow I am headed over to Flagstaff to check out Trice. I have heard mixed things about this climb, but one thing no one has denied is its difficulty. My friend Vijay gets into town in a couple of days, so there will certainly be lots more outdoor bouldering to come...

Colorado

2009-02-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

In November 2008, I gave two months notice at my routesetting position in Rockville. When January came, after 18 days in Hueco, I packed up some of my belongings into the smallest U-Haul I've ever seen. Just as the season's biggest storm began sweeping it's way across America's heartland, Kristen, Rory, and I began our drive to Colorado. Three days and eighteen inches of snow later, we arrived in Boulder and went straight to CATS. After visiting with friends (read: bumming at Hanna's house) for a couple of days, we found a nice one bedroom place in Longmont, CO. As I begin my quest for a job, I wanted to put together a list of climbs I am psyched to try this year. (Updated 2.21.09)

Boulder Canyon:

Cage Free V11

Freak Accident V12

Clear Creek Canyon:

Dark Waters V12/13

Eldorado Canyon:

The Infinite V10

Lost V11

Elegant Universe V11

Mt. Evans:

Gorillas in the Mist V10/11

Super GUI V11

Clear Blue Skies V12

No More Greener Grass V12

Flagstaff:

UCT V9

Trice V12

Flatirons:

The Turning Point V8/9

Fleshfest V10

RMNP:

Whispers of Wisdom V10

Sunspot V11

The Centaur V12

Wildcat V12

Hueco 2008/09

2009-01-16T22:02:00.000-08:00

December 28 - January 14

Climbed With:

Ellen Goodall

Kristen Felix

Bob Harlow

Dih-Dih Huang

Vijay Kannan

James O'Connor

Worked On:

Eckstein V10

Dark Age V11

Sent:

Babyface V7

Roughage V7 (flash)

Something Different V8

Ultramega V8 (flash)

Dragonfly Low V9

Kim With a Bathtub V9

Same Difference V9

Full Service V10

Power of Silence V10

Power of Landjager V11

I really don't like projecting climbs that feel out of my league, and maybe I need to push myself to do this a little more. For this trip, however, I focused on building up my base a little bit. On my first trip to Hueco, I sent most of the easier V10's, but I was unable to make it up the two classics.

With no reservations and a cluster-fuck of people at the Ranch, I had to stay away from North for the beginning of the trip. After a warm-up day, I made it over to East feeling fresh. I warmed up on Dragonfly (the best v5 in the country in my opinion), and then decided to give Full Service a go. After falling on the first move, I was surprised to send it second go of the day! We then went over to Something Different, which is one of the best V8's in Hueco. Kristen and I worked on it awhile and I managed to send it.

After a couple days without success, I found myself back on North Mountain. Power of Silence had been my nemesis- absorbing about five or six days of work, and I found the crux move to be no less challenging. With a lot of determination, I managed to finally stick the pocket move from the ground, only to fall going to the finger-lock. I kept trying it, but was unable to get back to the pocket. I rested a day and then made my way back to North on what turned out to be the warmest day of the trip at 75 degrees. I raced over to Power of Silence at 9 AM while it was still cool and after about 30 mins or so, I managed to grab the pocket, stick the finger-lock, and top it out!

With only two days left of climbing, I fired off Landjager and then sent three V9's the next day. Kristen finished up Something Different for her second V8 of the trip. We flew home, both happy about our respective trips.

As for grades... Power of Silence for me was solid V11. In fact, it's harder than all six V11's I have sent and close to the difficulty of Diaphanous. Full Service was graded as the standard for V10. I find it to be very similar in difficulty to Evilution (to the lip) in Bishop. I thought that Power of Landjager was low-end V11, but certainly not V10.

Colorado 2008

2008-08-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

August 12th - August 24th

Climbed with:

Kristen Felix

Ellen Goodall

James O'Connor

Worked on:

Marble Sit / Centaur V12

No More Greener Grass V12

Veritas V11

Super GUI V11

Cage Free V10/11

Riddles in the Park V10

Sent:

Marble Stand V10

Right El Jorge V9

The Dali V9

Seurat V8

Tommy's Arete V7 Flash

The Kind V5 Flash

This was a difficult trip for me, as I had been battling elbow tendonitis and thus climbing sporadically for the months prior to the trip. Still, I had a great time and was psyched to make it up the Marble. I worked on the Centaur a little bit, and I will definitely give it some work when I get back out to CO. I also made good progress on Super GUI, and I think it will go next time as well.