Friday, November 15, 2013

                           Summer 2011

Some older footage I finally got around to editing. I have about forty older clips I need to put together but for now enjoy some of the best climbs Washington has to offer. Including Beautifucation, the best line in Leavenworth in my opinion. I have been climbing like crazy lately ticking of most of the best hard lines in Washington and Squamish. So lookout for good quality videos I will be putting out when my girl gets back from France (she has the only labtop that can process my camera).  Good Times.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Dave's masterpiece 

The Teacup v13





Dave Thompson made the first ascent of The Teacup. Around these parts it is rare to climb a hard line that was not put up by Johnny G. As it turns out Dave also put up God is in the Details v13 before all the knee bars brought it down to soft v12, 101 Ways to Fling Poo v12 before a hold crumbled and got bigger now v10, Beautification v11 best climb in Leavenworth in my opinion, but his crown jewel is definitely The Teacup v13. I first meet Dave at Stone Gardens. He was the crusher, I was the noob trying to work my way up the ladder. Over time I became good enough to climb on the same lines as him and we became friends. We have very similar styles. I learned learned a lot by watching him climb.
        The Teacup is definitely a classic perfect hard line that everyone knows about and not meany have done. Dave, Johnny, Joel, and Cole have really paved the way for Washington bouldering. I made a goal to repeat there lines and get a good foundation for future first ascents. Last fall I had cleaned up on most of the hard lines so I tried The Teacup and it felt surprisingly doable. Then came the rain. First good day that following spring 2013 I was right back at it. I had a lot of psych after thinking about it all winter. I soon found out that it sits in the sun all day. I opt for a night session. Great temps made the holds fill so crisp. I fired the crux move first go, I knew it was on. After fumbling the first move a couple times (it has a crappy heel hook that doesn't like to stay) I was on top finishing my first v13 and adding my name to the elite list of ascentists. That line is a great mile stone in my climbing, now on to bigger and better objectives.
That following fall  I watched Carlo Traverse also repeat the line with some crazy short guy beta. More impressive was his take down of the infamous Latter proj naming it The Penrose Step v14. I can't wait to try. A couple of weeks later Jimmy Webb made the first flash of The Teacup, very impressive. I am not as big of a fan of flashes as I am limit pushing fa's or repeats. I hope that both of them add more hard perfect lines for me to test myself on.     
Proj by The Teacup



Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Squamish

Right after I first started climbing I moved to Washington. Thinking there wasn't anything to climb on in my new home, at least there was Squamish a mire three and a half hours away. I had watched Sharma tear up Squamish (in Rampage) hundreds of times and The Egg being one of my favorite lines in the movie. My friend Kenny and I decided to make the pilgrimage to check it out, only needing my id to cross the border. At the time I was a v4 climber at best, so after seeing the lines in person I could only fantasize about a time when I was good enough to climb them especially The Egg. Right before I moved to Washington my dad had died unexpectedly. I was in a bad place and I was self medicating. The trip was a disaster. It was a hazy two days of climbing poorly but seeing those lines motivated me to become a better climber. I know its cheesy to say this but climbing gave me something to LIVE for, a reason to get healthy. 
Fast forward five clean years. The rules had changed, you needed a passport to cross the border. I couldn't justify paying for a passport when the climbing in Washington is so good (better then Squamish in my opinion) but this summer I was getting bummed by the heat and was thinking maybe Squamish would be a cooler option. So I shelled out the money for the passport and made my way through the interrogation that is the border crossing.
That first real trip was awesome! I felt like a kid in a candy store running around climbing loads of classics. Myles and I decided to stayed for a week. Finding out quickly that the camping situation in Squamish sucks. The campsites are outrages, eight dollars per person per night and it was full. The other campsite thirty bucks a night. So we decided to stay at the north walls. Are first hole in the wall camp got pounded with dust by the endless supply of construction trucks speeding recklessly down the road. One even peeled out to kick up dirt on us as we stood on the side of the road. So we moved camp way down the road to a lonely site. Camp 2, was eerily silent (no wind), as it got dark we started to hear noises of animals move around camp. Myles's imagination got the best of him with worst case scenarios. So then of course I got nervous. I brushed it off as field mice and went to sleep. That night Myles woke up to a deep breathing sound. Fearing it was a bear and paralyzed by fear, he plotted his escape for the next half hour. Finally realizing the breathing was coming from me in the other tent. Needless to say Myles wanted to move camp the next day. Camp 3, a beautiful spot right by the river were we managed to stay three days. The first day a hiker passively told us that people get kick out of that spot (with a dick undertone).
River next to Camp 3
On the third morning at that camp 3, that snooty hiker past by with a smirk on his face. Ten minutes later the rangers were kicking us out. Camp 4 this time we decided to find a spot so hidden as to not be bothered. This was a harder task then expected. Every spot that looked good we would wander back into the woods there were tents already there. We found small cities hidden everywhere.The last two nights we had to bushwhack deep in to the woods to get to are tent every night and we had neighbors.

Back to the climbing, my favorite send of the week was managing to get my butt up The Egg v11 after a extremely humid night session ended poorly making me doubt myself. The next day was hot as I was warming up but as I made my way to The Egg I got some cloud coverage and a send breeze kicked up. The stars had a lined and after a short session I had ticked it off my life list.
The video has a lot of my favorite sends from the trip but vimeo will only let upload about six minutes of footage. There are about ten more good lines from that first trip. I will put them in a extra video.


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Trespass Boulders, Morpheus, and Five Star 


Morpheus, is one of the many new areas that keep popping up all around Washington. Miles, Jesse, and Pablo are responsible for most of the development of this area. Early last fall Mike May showed Santo, Corey, Kris, and I around. Its about twenty minutes past Index on highway 2. We stopped at the first boulder we came to and warmed up on all the lines on it. I was antsy to try some of the cooler hard lines that I had heard of. The first boulder is not that inspiring. So near by on the river sits another boulder with a good vertical moderate. After I climbed it I looked to the left noticing a perfect slopey rail then some barely there holds, but it looked like it might be climbable. I was surprised this perfect line on one of the first boulders you come across hadn't been climbed. Turns out the water level is to high almost all year. Apparently I came at the perfect time. I started cleaning it up and feeling out the holds. The others caught wind and joined in thinking we might snag the fa of such an awesome line. The climb revolves around a left hand slopey edge with a good thumb catch. At first I was thinking I would gaston the thumb catch because it looks like a decent vertical edge but after trying the first move I decided I needed a down pulling hold. The wall is about 30 degrees overhanging and the rails are extremely slopey. There is a good foot out left taking some of the much needed weight off your hands. After figuring out the first move I was trying to jump off the left hand to a grippy but bad slopey divot near the lip. I could get my hand on it but I couldn't hold it. The rest of the guys were discouraged because they were not able to stick the first move. They decided to move on.  I decided to walk up with them and check out the main area.

Log crossing


Follow the White Rabbit v10ish 
About a ten minute walk with a couple boulders on the trail (including an amazing proj) we crossed a big log over the river then up a steep little hill to get to the talus. I ran off scoping all the boulders and caves. Nothing got me as psyched as the proj by the river. The boulders in the talus were a little underwhelming. They were one and two mover problems. I was told later the good stuff was up the hill and there were pictures to back it up. After running around the talus for a half hour I came back down to see Corey getting close on a pull your butt of the ground one mover v8 that looked ok. So I headed back down to the proj where I had left my things. That time spent running around gave my arms a good rest. I got back to work finding a way to bring my right hand up to a none existent sloper with a one finger microscopic divot then jumping to the better divot. I had just purchased a canon t3i and was happy to get some quality video of the first ascent (at the time I did not realize if you shot vertical it would not fill the screen).  After I set up the camera I started making attempts from the start. After falling on the jump move repeatedly, I finally snagged it perfectly and got the fa of Follow the White Rabbit v10. As I started to mantle over on the topout jug a piece broke off in my hand almost sending me backwards into the river. Feeling good about the fa I walked up stream to try another good looking line Miles had put up called Landjager v9. One solid go later I was on top, flashing the problem and thinking it was more like v8. Grades aside there both great lines worth a trip up to Morpheus to do. Next time I want to see the rest of the area. Pablo has made a topo to the area at expouldering.com
Amazing proj


Lower roof Rebel v8ish 

Trespasser v8ish










I found the Trespass boulders trying to find the Glena boulders. As you drive into Index instead of turning left on the bridge to Index you go straight for a while. You will see a little boulder right off the road on the left side. Right after that you will see the boulders on the hillside in a clear cut past a no trespassers sign. There are two boulders. Both have great roof climbing on granite. The lower roof has three awesome lines. All starting on a blocky hold with two good edges on it. The main line Rebel v8, busting out right to a big rail then up the arete using a perfect three finger pocket edge in the middle of the blank face.  Trespasser v8 exits right out a hole with cool slopers. The second boulder is right above it jutting over the hill side and hosts the awesome problem Rise Against v11 (in the video). It starts on a low left hand jug and a small incut right hand edge. It climbs out the middle of the roof and tops out to the right. Private Property v7 climbs the arete just right of Rise Against. All the climbs are gym style roofs with big moves on incut holds with decent feet. After reading this, I hope more people get out and try these great problems.

Five star is one of the best boulders in the world and, in my opinion, Toebriosity/Ebriosity are the best lines on it. The first time I acknowledged that Toebriosity was a line of its own I was at Five Star, and Dave Thompson was working the line. After trying the line with him I realized how good it was. You do the first couple hard moves on Ebriosity into a much harder ending on slopey holds with crazy tension which all leads up to the crux move for the slopey lip with a hard to snag thumb catch.  In the guide book it says that if you climb the direct its about the same in difficulty. No way! Ebriosity was my first v11 and it took me a long time to get another one. Safe to say its soft for the grade and Toe is solid v12. They felt miles apart to me. I would literally warm up on Ebriosity for Toe. It took me three good sessions to get Toebriosity (named after the first ascentist's funky toe, Joal Campbell). None the less, both are amazing problems not to be missed.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Joe's Valley March 2012


My friend Rachel said that her and her boyfriend Tom were going to Joe's for spring break. I instantly said yes. A ride to Joe's, sign me up. Although the trip was short, I had a blast. I have been to Joe's a couple other times. Over the previous two years I have spent a little over a month there. I feel like I have really gotten to know the area and have slowly ticked off most of my favorite lines.

On this trip I wanted to check out some new areas. The new guide book came out with some cool new lines I didn't know about and some I had over looked.  First we headed to Dairy Canyon.  Going strait to the Lactation Station boulder where Tom and I went to town flashing a tricky Vertical Ice v6 on the boulder below. The wall is awesome, starting as a roof then rounding the bulge to slopey top-out.  The holds mostly consist of friendly pockets and slopers. I worked my way across the boulder climbing most of the lines.  First, I flashed Rabbit Fur v6, Dyno v7, and Baldwin Bash v7. Tom also climbed them. I climbed Cow Bell v8 after some deciphering. Then a cool guy named Jess showed up. Jess his friend and I started to session Lactation Station v10. After some work we climbed it back to back.
Feeling good about the day already we headed down to Stir the Pie v9 thinking it looked flashable. Once again me and him flashed it back to back followed by his friend after a few tries. We were thinking more like v7/8 for the grade. It's days like this I climb for, sweet new lines, beautiful area, and good people.

The last day of the trip turned out to be the best. Feeling like I wasn't living up to my expectations I needed to climb some hard lines before I left. So we headed up to the Raiden boulder. Were we warmed up and I climbed Raiden v6  and a perfect underrated line called Reduced Fat Milk v8 on the back side. I looked at Dunkin Donuts v8/9 (given v10 in the book) and thought it looked flashable. One solid try and I was standing on top. Though it is clearly not v10, the line is still really fun. While Tom and I where climbing Rachel was climbing on a small boulder just east of us. I wondered over there and found a good little line with surprisingly fun moves, so I cleaned and climbed the first ascent of Tom Likes Hairy Men v6/7ish (video of climb after the credits). I named it after a conversation Tom and I had.  We then bickered over where to climb next. I had given them the last two days to do whatever they wanted in exchange for me being able to climb on my projects the last day. So after climbing on the Raiden boulder they had decided that was enough of my time. I had been wanting to get on Beyond Life sit all week and I needed there pads but they were unwilling (They had also left me at a boulder I was trying a couple of days before, luckily a guy I was climbing with gave me a ride so I didn't have to walk the mile back). So I told them just to drop me off at camp so I didn't have to worry about being left behind. That act probably made my trip.

The day before, I was hanging out at camp at the Halloween Town parking lot when Scott Hall and Chad Parkinson showed up and disappeared up hill. I went wandering after them, they were trying this perfect line. They told me Isaac Caldiero had climbed it a week earlier. I was a little bummed because I had spent hours hiking the hillside looking for a line this good coming up empty handed. So I watched them try the first move, the crux (a drop knee big move off good holds to a slot micro crimp, a very precise move which required bearing down on the micro crimp, and then jumping to a sloper). After I got dropped off at camp I figured I could at leased climb this beautiful little line. So I got to work falling repeatedly on the first move but I felt close, I surprised myself by climbing it in about twenty-five minutes. Happy with the fact that it went down so fast, I crossed the hillside hoping I might also bag an ascent of The Scull v11. Such a fun burly three mover. Once you pull your butt off the ground it is on you until you are on top. After about the same amount of work I was sitting on top of the boulder, bagging another sweet line.  Both lines are perfect little overhangs on black rock,  pure lines with great movement. The top sloper on The Scull is perfectly sculpted for your hand. People over look these problems because they are small, but the lines are to good to be missed.  Later, I stumbled in to camp feeling great about my last day best day.

The ride home sucked, they stopped to tour the temple (amen) for two hours. Tom then blew up on me saying that they had been taking care of me the whole trip but when I gave a rebuttal the only thing he could come up with was he bought me a dollar McMuffin. All that for a dollar. It was awkward to say the least. Note to self, don't go on trips with people you barely know.

When I got home I contacted Scott about the name of the line that I had climbed. He informed me that I had actually made the first ascent. I was ecstatic. I had just put up Inception v12 in Little Cottenwood Canyon the birth place of my climbing and now this. A little after that I saw a video of another guy climbing the line about three weeks after me thinking he had gotten the first ascent and calling it Lost and Found v12. I decided to change the name to The Curious Case of Benjamin Herrington to clear up any confusion about the fa. As for the grade, it feels in the same ball park as The Scull but I could see it being v12 so I left it were he graded it. The climb also suited me perfectly so it's hard to say.

All in all it was a fun trip minus the drive home.  Im really excited I left my mark with such a good line. Joe's never lets me down, I always have a good time.


Friday, July 26, 2013

Leavenworth  Spring 2013



Green Lung Sit proj (I can't wait for fall)
 This spring was some of the best weather for climbing in Leavenworth. After I climbed the Teacup I was feeling a little aimless, so I decided to finish up Thunderdome low. It's a perfect line. I had done Thunderdome a year earlier and got close on the low but hadn't tried it since then. So I warmed up and went strait to it. It felt really good this time and I sent it in a couple goes. Then, Myles and I headed down hill so I could show him The Strainer. A sweet v8 prowl on the right of the trail before Yosemite Highball. I climbed it again for fun and took pictures while Myles figured out the moves. I heard Tim Doyle was trying the Green Lung sit proj on the back of the boulder next to it.  I headed back there to check it out. It's sweet. So I got to work on the stand around v10 that Luke put up. I sent it after some work. The climb is technical body positioning and you have to burl down on every move. The true prize is the sit with an obvious starting edge. I figured all the moves out but it is hard. It's only three moves into the stand but it makes it at least v12.  A proj for this fall. I am unsure if Tim has climbed it yet. I would be psyched to climb it either way but getting the fa would be icing on the cake.
Myles on The Strainer v8
Fa of Blood Diamond v9ish
       












 The next day, I remembered a big perfect line that I had scrubbed and tried a year ago, but the landing is a little rocky so I hadn't given it a real try yet. I recruited Paul and Myles to come try it. Its a perfect line, jug start, blank wall, and a sweet dyno to a bucket. After about a half-hour of work I found a way that worked for me with a crucial little right hand pinch that Paul started using. So I committed to the dyno and snagged the first ascent of Blood Diamond. Paul was trying to find a static way around the dyno that might go but not yet.

A fun burly roof at the Airfield 
Afterward we headed down to Turbulence v12. I tried the dyno for a while then started to try the static method. We figured out a way to make it work static that definitely felt better. Soon after Paul fired it. I got close but was to tired. Next time for sure. I can't wait to go back when it cools down and finish both lines.

Before we went down to Blood Diamond, Myles and I made the tedious hike and spent most of the day up at the Airfield climbing a bunch of lines names and grades unknown. Here are some pics.
A fun line on the way to the Airfield

Wednesday, July 24, 2013


Skatebarn (RIP)

                 


Skatebarn, was such a fun and only place to skate all winter. I miss it. I can't believe Washington now has zero indoor skateparks.

Friday, July 12, 2013


In the Beginning 

       I started climbing in Little Cottenwood Canyon (LCC) in 2006. My pot dealer at the time was a pro rock climber, and he gave me two videos (vhs) Rampage and Dosage V1. I watched them religiously every day. I had never thought about climbing in the way those videos portrayed. I think the thing that attracted me most to climbing was the endless mental and physical challenges, plus the beauty. So, I bought a crash pad and shoes and started wandering around LCC climbing anything that looked fun unknowingly climbing a few v4's. A couple weeks later I bumped into a guy out climbing and he showed me a guide book. My mind was blown.  Before climbing I always loved rocky terrain and hiking around in the canyon seeing what crazy location I could get myself into.  Just six months into climbing I moved to Seattle.
      When I first arrived in Seattle I was so pissed. I had just moved from the climbing meca that is Utah where boulders were ten minutes from my house to Washington. At the time, I had never heard of a good climbing area in Washington besides alpine.  So I started that rainy winter with my first experience indoors at Stone Gardens, what a change it was. I would ask people about climbing areas (it's funny looking back at it now they recommended the worst areas), and they told me about Vantage, exit 32-38, and some basalt area down south. I looked them up and was not impressed. By chance I was reading a climbing magazine and there was an obituary of a climber Damian Potts. It said he was the co-author and developer of a granite bouldering area in Leavenworth, Washington. That was enough to convince me to drive out there and buy the first guide book "A Cheesy Guide to Pleasing Rock." It was such a beautiful area with grippy and awesome lines everywhere. That first season I never saw any boulderers except  Kelly Sheridan, Kyle O'meara, and Cole Allen.
          In 2008 I started to make leaps and bounds in my climbing. I met Luke Simmons and Eric (hobbit). Now I had some strong climbers to help push me and I started to get some of the classic lines I had been dreaming about.
                                  This video showcases some of my milestones that season

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Castle Rock ID

This video is of my first trip to Castle Rock with Kenny I have been back every year since. It packs a punch for not being that big of an area. Thanks to Mike McClure for telling us were all the good problems are and for posting a guide to the Taco and Green Wall. These two boulders are alone worth the trip.
  
City of Rocks right next to Castle Rock

Castle Rock ID

Here are a few videos of a beautiful underrated area i always stop by on my way to Utah
 It's a weird area the taco cave is the best boulder i have ever climbed on but literally surrounding it are boulders made of kiddy litter. The area feels very remote, granite free standing towers everywhere. The small town of Almo (100 pl) one restaurant, one grocery store, and no cell service.


                                      Davita on the beautiful walk in we saw wildlife everywhere