New Top Anchors

Bob, Jan and myself went climbing  Saturday morning.  We did several things at the new face.  We placed a fixed line up the easy line we climbed last time.  This will allow us to just grab an ascender device, clip it on the fixed line and go.  This is apposed to lead climbing it then following. 

 Once on top, we placed 2 sets of top anchors over lines that Jan and I were looking at the last time we were up.  Then we set top ropes over each line.  I had done some cleaning on my line previously, so Bob was eager to try it out while Jan belayed him.

I went over to Jan's line and began cleaning.  The top half was quite clean but about 1/2 way down I ran into a couple of loose blocks that had to come off.  There was one really big one that is definitely hollow but I couldn't budge.  Two of us will have to get at it with crow bars.

  In the last picture, you can see a block that I have just pulled off.  It is about 10 feet below me and picking up speed as it whistles towards Jan (he was actually no where near where it landed).  The next time we're out, we are going to start bolting.  My line is a little stiffer than I thought, probably about 5.9.  Jan's line has a couple of potential routes in the 5.7 range.

Cleaning a Face

There was a loose block on a proposed line.  It had to go!

Route Development: Bolting

Now you have this stellar line. It is clean and it is ready for bolts. SO you take out your hand drill and place a 1/2 inch bolt every 3 feet, measured on a grid...done. Not only will it take you forever to bolt but it won't flow and you just destroyed your line. On top of that, most people will believe that most the routes you put up suck.

Bolting is a very important skill for developers. You can learn a lot off the Internet but choose your sources wisely. One of my favorite site is the American Safe Climbing Association (http://www.safeclimbing.org/). It has very good discussions about the art of bolting safely. Make sure that you buy top quality gear. No one wants to fall onto a bolt out of the local hardware store.

Glue-in bolts are used on sea side cliffs such as Flat Rock. The salt water can significantly increase the corrosion of mechanical bolt. The glue creates a chemical bond between the bolt and the rock so salt water has no effect. These bolts are the strongest and longest lasting hardware available. Unfortunately they are difficult to place. The hole has to be the exact size and depth. You need the right amount of glue and they have to be place without introducing air into the hole. It takes practice and best learned from someone else. You  also have to wait 24 hours for the glue to cure before you can climb on it. That usually means the next time you get out there.

Mechanical bolts are great. Not as strong as glue-ins but still totally solid with 26kN shear force or about 4000 psi.  To put this into perspective, your spine will snap at 2000 psi and the hardest lead fall may approach 1000 psi.  They are fairly simple to place and they can be climbed on immediately.  How they age is dependent on the type of rock they are in and the environment.  Note: the bolts I am talking about are the Hilt KB3 3/8".  These are a beast of a bolt and have a great reputation and well...the only compression bolt currently supplied by MEC.  Chances are that these are the only mechanical bolt you may come across in the Avalon.

If you intend on placing bolts, research them carefully.  Yours and anyone who climbs your route lives will depend on it.  I learned by drilling by hand and placing glue-in in boulders.  It took about an hour per hole.  It didn't take long for me to get a hammer drill to cut that time down to 5 minutes.  I started placing mechanical bolts 3 seasons ago.  Please go with myself or any other person who places bolts to see how it is done first hand.

Now choose where your bolts are going to go.  Gyms keep the spacing about 3 feet apart.  This is very close for outdoors.  On average they are placed every 5 to 10 feet.  Try to keep them uniformly spaced so it predictable when the next bolt is going come.  If there is a place for pro, think of it as another bolt and keep the spacing uniform.  The first bolt should not be higher than what would be safe if you were bouldering (ie less than 10 to 12 feet).  The next bolt should be quite close (3-5 feet) to avoid decking should the second clip be fumbled.  Then get into the regular spacing.  I prefer spacing of about 5 to 7 feet.  10 feet feels runout to me.  I have taken a 25 foot whipper and it wasn't fun. 

Several thing have to be taken into account when placing a bolt.  Try to place the bolt on a flat solid bit of face.  If the surface is irregular, the hanger will not sit flush.  DO NOT place a bolts in hollow sounding rock or in large blocks (they do come down).  DO NOT place a bolt with in 6 inches of a crack/fracture in the face.  Take into account where the biner will hang off the bolt.  It should not be levered over an edge.  Also think of how the draw will hang off the bolt; will it be in the way of a important hold.

Keeping all those things in mind, climb your route with the intent of finding the spots to put your bolts.  Try to place them where there is a good clipping hold.  You should be able to reach the bolt with your elbow to make sure all climber can reach the bolt off the clipping hold.  Mark the spot with chalk from your hand.  Climb to the next spot for a bolt.  Also mark any spots where pro is to be used.  Once this is done,  step back from the face to examine the spacing and the line.  Make changes to get the line straight and uniform.  Once you are happy, it is time to drill and place bolts.  But that is for another day.

Route Development: Cleaning the Face

A clean face is truly under appreciated until you have climbed on loose terrain. Flat Rock is very clean, mostly because of winter wave action. At Manuels, we had to work to get the established lines clean.

We all know that "climbing is inherently dangerous and may cause injury or death!". It is written on any and every piece of gear we get. When your climbing, it is assumed that you are checking for loose rocks and being careful. Despite your vigilance, there may be a block waiting to kill you. People who develop area's and put up FA's are under NO obligation to assure the line is clean or even safe. Just look at the number of 'R' rated and 'X' rated climbs there are at various areas. The FA author deliberately made it dangerous. But it is his right to do so. There are a breed of climber who don't feel alive unless they are risking it all. Regardless, don't assume a line is safe just because it is established.

Every developer has a different style or set of priorities. I want to develop safe moderate climbs so making sure they are clean is important to me. The importance of cleaning struck me very loudly last summer. I had established a short trad line called the Arborist. Several weeks later, Jan was climbing the same route when he pull out a large block. Some how he managed to grab the block in his arms as he was falling onto his cam, which was less than an inch from where the block used to be. He managed to pitch the block away from his belayer, Kim, so she would not be pummelled to death. I was not happy to hear about this close call on a route I had established. Jan went slightly more right up the crack system and got into terrain I had not realized was loose. Never again!

In the previous post, I had mentioned TRing your proposed line. Before doing that, do an initial cleaning. Set up your rappel and make sure you have a prussic back-up on your slack side. This acts as an autoblock while on rappel. Your rope needs to be managed carefully to avoid dropping blocks on it. On your first rappel, bring a small crow bar and/or a hammer and wear a set of safety goggles. Look for loose blocks and rocks. Anything that is loose should be pried off. Use the hammer to check for hollow sounding flakes. If possible, these should also come off. Many ledge are cover in moss and dirt. Rip as much of that stuff off as possible. Anything big needs to come down in this initial pass. Make sure to look to the sides of your line because you may not come directly up your rappel line. And to state the obvious, MAKE SURE NO ONE IS BELOW! I also kick off as muck liken as I can while I descend.

Now comes the TRing. Assure the belayer is not in the fall line and is wearing a helmet. Climb your anticipated line with a wire or nylon brush and a nut tool. The brush is to clean off ledges and moss/liken. The nut tool is to dig out cracks and other features. Wearing safety goggles would be smart. Keep in mind where your belayer is and direct debris away from them. A pebble from 80 feet really hurts. Do this several times taking slightly different lines so a fairly wide area is cleaned. Once the route is decided upon and it is clean, it is time to bolt.

Route Development: Finding the Line

OK so you have found a face you want to develop.  It has great features, it is steep and clean, has a great view of a hot girls backyard.  Now what! 

Generally speaking, you look for that first classic line and then the first easy way up.  Betty (5.3) is a classic line at the Gunks.  It stares at you from a distance.  It is an obvious classic.

Once you have found your classic line, get to the top place an anchor for top rope.  I personally place 2 bolts at the top of the face.  I use these for a TR anchor but once I have bolted the route, they are also used to safely gain the top bolts of the bolted route. 

Begin top roping, climbing several variations of the line until you find one that works the best.  Begin looking for key holds and places for protection unless you want it entirely sport.

Frequently you find features while climbing that you can't see from the ground.  This may alter your intended route.  Be open to these features because they are what makes the route good.

Route Development: Choosing Your Choss

I have done a lot of reading concerning route development, cleaning and bolting.  Some people have asked me how I go about putting up new routes and such.  If you go on line to places such as Rock Climbing.com, you get many opinions and a lot of 'if you have to ask you shouldn't be doing it'.  I personally think that is a load of shit.  There are many things I have taught myself from the pages of a book that would have never happened if I waited for someone to show me.

The first thing is to choose your choss.  Most people put up routes in an area that is already developed.  If you do this, be sure to respect the style of route already existing in the area.  Don't put up a sport route in a trad area but don't feel bad about bolting near a crack if that is an established style for the area.

The Gunks in NY is a hard care trad area.  Only the park rangers are allowed to places bolts and these are usually only rap anchors.  In Europe, everything is bolted, including cracks.  A typical European rack is a set of draws.  

Newfoundland has a pleasant mix.  We have trad routes with just top bolts.  There are sport routes with rap anchors and then there are the mixed routes.  Mixed routes are the obvious combination of sport and trad.  A mixed route is bolted accept when there is a good place for pro.  It can also be a trad route with a couple of bolts in run out or difficult to protect places.  This is classic of Flat Rock.  There are not many spaces left in Flat Rock for new routes unless you want to develop over water.  If so, there is a shit load of potential.

An ideal place for development should have reasonable access to both the top and bottom.  This allow one to set up top anchors easily and you can walk away form the bottom.  Faces over water up the ante significantly.  You can't bail and walk away.  If you get injured, you have to climb out.  If it is multi-pitch over water... have fun!

The ideal face should be fairly clean with no or few ledges.  Vegetation is vary hard to clean off and it can always grow back.  The ledges where it grows can harbor loose rocks and debris. These ledges can also break bones if you land on them.  Liken can be difficult to clean off so the less the better.  If there is liken, wait until it is very dry, then it comes off pretty easy.  Avoid faces that have a run off.  They are always wet or stay wet longer than other faces.  They also tend to be heavily vegetated. 

Faces for sport climbing should be 100 feet or less.  A 60 meter climbing rope is 200 feet long so a route less than 100 feet allows for a direct lower.  Above 100 feet, you need to set up a rappel anchor somewhere in the middle to allow for lowering off.  Many sport route are set on the first 100 feet of huge mountains.  This is common in Red Rock, Nevada.

The face that we have recently found meets all of the above desirable characteristics.  I can't wait to get at it.

Future topics will likely include, picking a route, cleaning the face, choosing bolt placements, types of bolts, how to bolt and FA edicate.  

Sunday

It looks like we will be going out to the new face in Manuels on Sunday afternoon.  We will probably put in a couple of top anchors and top rope a couple lines.  If works well, we might even bolt a line?!?

I was talking with Leo about access to the top.  He suggested leaving a fixed line on the easy route I climbed last week.  This way all you would need is an ascender to safely gain the top.  I think we will also be looking to chop a trail thru woods to improve access to the top and bottom.

Rapping off the top

I was rapping off the top of the new face.  I had just knocked 3 boulders into the trees below.  Both rope ends hit the ground with just a couple of meters of excess.  I can't wait to start developing it.

The Top of the Face

This is me at the top of the new face.  I was just re-racking my gear.  You can see the multiple faces behind me which have not even been touched yet.

The Face

This is the face that we were at on Saturday.  Nice and clean for 80 feet.

A New Face

Jan, Kelly and myself got out climbing yesterday.  We were going to go to the Newbie Squeeze area but we got chatting about the amount of rock we had not checked out in the area yet.  I knew that there were 2 smaller faces that should have been fairly easy to get to.  We found the first after a bit of bush whacking.  It was kinda small, about 20 to 30 feet.  We kept going to the second face.  Eureka...a wall that was about 80 feet high and roughly 100 wide.  There were not many cracks to hold gear but plenty of features on the face.  We found an easy approach to the top by following a ramp and then about 40 feet of technical climbing (5.5ish).  Jan and I figured it would be easiest to climb that ramp to access the top, put in a couple of anchors and then check out the face.  I decided to leave my hiking boots on because the first half was bush and trees.  I got above that area and was starting the technical stuff.  I noticed a large block, about the size of a small microwave oven, perched on several small stones, looking like it was about to slide.  I happened to be just below this widow maker.  After recollecting myself, I climbed below and around it.  This was kinda interesting considering the boots.

I gained the top, all happy about getting a FA (of sorts), not knocking off the block etc, when I noticed the bolts.  That right...the bolts!  There were 2 Fixe Hangers on 3/8 bolts on 

the top of the face.  They looked pretty new,  not far away was some old webbing, maybe two to three seasons old.  I ha

ve no idea who may have placed them or anything.  Everything about the face looked to be untouched, lichen and all.  We set up a couple of rappel lines and began cleaning the face.  Jan knocked off the widow maker block with some pretty cool destruction below.  It was inspiring so I began knocking off some blocks of my own.  100 lb boulders can do some pretty wicked damage fro

m 80 feet.  I began cleaning a different line.  At the bottom, I got to a block that was about 8 feet high, 2 to 3 feet thick and standing on end.  I managed to pull it off.  It only fell about 10 feet.  It sunk about 3 feet into the ground because it landed end on.  The smell of flint 

or gunpowder was pretty impressive as well.

Next time we go out, we will be looking to put bolts on both those routes.  The one we climbed will probably be about a 5.6.  I am not really sure because the widow maker made it feel harder than what it was.  The second line, the one I was cleaning, could be anywhere from a 5.7 to 5.10a.  It has a lot of rail-like features with a couple of blank spots.  I am hoping for a nice 80 foot 5.7 sport line.  I guess we will see!

Climbing Season Soon Upon Us.

Time to get back to blogging.  Climbing season will soon be here.  For some of us it has already began.   Jan and Dottie were climbing on Maggie a couple of weeks ago.  

My priority for this year will be developing and bolting.  Manuel's will be the main focus.

We haven't even begun to look at this face.  It is about 150 to 200 feet high and 500 to 600 long.  I figure it should have a lot of easy trad.  We will see soon.

Combined Rack

Leo and I combined our racks while climbing at the Gunks.  My contribution was a set of Wild Country Chocks, at set of Black Diamond Camolots #0.5 to #2, a set of Black Diamond C3's 000 to 2, set of Camp Tricams  and a  set of trad draws.  The best contribution from my rack was definitely my 2 Metolius Supercams.  These off-set cam have an amazing range and would be bomber when nothing else would do.  A definite addition to a full rack.

Leo had some great additions himself.  He had a set of Metolius off-set nuts that slotted so well in old pin scars.  He also had a full set of cams (Metolius?) that he recently had re-slung with double length webbing.  What a difference it made.  Usually you did not have to use a draw to clip in, the sling was long enough.   This was rounded out with some small cams, a set of draws and various other things.  A very nice set-up for multi-pitch climbing.

Garage Woody

This is a better picture of the Garage Woody.  This is up for 2 reasons.  First is to announce the first annual Cremasteric Challenge (look it up) in honor of the coming cold weather.  The second is to announce that we are going to build a wall in Kim's Basement.

The Cremaster will be held in early December.  We will keep you posted.

Far Right

This picture is further right again.  Note the off-vertical feature from the previous picture.  The face continues to curve away from the camera as you scan right.  Again, lots of terrain in the 200 foot region.  This is not to mention the small face at the bottom.  It is probably 70-80 feet and looks vertical.

I think I have a lot of work ahead of me.  

A Little to the Right

This is the face directly to right of the previous picture, note the small face at the bottom of the picture.  The face appears well featured if not too fractured.  There is an off-vertical crack going from the bottom to the top.  Just to the left of this would appear to be a 150 to 200 foot slab climb.  Definite moderate terrain. 

Manuel's Face at a Distance.

This is a picture of Manuels Face that Bob and I have been working on.  There is a swath of trees coming down the middle of the face.  The actual face we have been working is immediately to the left of the trees.  We have not checked out anything right of the swath.

Back in business

Sorry to all.  My modem was down for a while.  New post to be seen soon.

Noel

High Exposure 5.6

High Exposure is one well known climb.  It was the only time Leo and I had to get in line to get on a route.  It is really known for its last pitch.  The first 2 are pretty standard climbing.  The last pitch starts on the GT Ledge where there is a large belay ledge.  In the first picture, Leo is about to start the third pitch.  He climbed up a slabby block under 'the roof' to the crux.  The crux was using a small crimp to ease your weight out from under the roof to spy the next hand holds above the roof.  The problem is that it is kinda hard to reverse and once you get out there, there is 200 feet under your back. 
The second picture is from the rap anchors to the right of the route.  The unknown climber is setting a belay anchor on the ledge.  Directly above him, about 15-20 feet, is a small ceiling which is the crux.  It is approached from the far side.  Above the crux is about another 80 feet of slightly overhung climbing.  Leo thought this pitch was amazing, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

No climbing today

Couldn't get out this am.  I don't think there are going to be many more potential days before the snow comes in.  I will take them as they come.

This picture was of the lower rap anchor on the Horseman.  There are 4 pitons slung together with various pieces of webbing and cord.  You can't quite see them but there is two rap rings threaded thru it all.

Climbing Sunday

Kim and I are going climbing Sunday morning.  We are going out to Manuels to do some developing and climbing.  We are going to meet at the Majors Path Tim's at 7:00am and we will be back by 11:00am.  Show up if you are interested.

Thee Pines 5.3

This was a very nice route that I lead.  It has three pitches, each marked by a massive pine.  This picture is at the base looking up at the first pitch.  You belay from behind that massive pine.

Dudes Bouldering

Believe it or not, the Gunks has a new hardcore bouldering scene.  At many places along the Carriage Road, huge boulders are just laying around.  It struck me as odd to see people bouldering when you have 1200 multiple pitch trad routes at your disposal.  

I can't remember the name of the problem but these fellas were working on a V7.  Easy access, good landings and a ton of problems.  The Gunks is definitely seeing a bouldering boom.

Long Way Down

This picture was taken on Shockley's Ceiling during the second pitch.  Nice little foot ledge.

Birdland 5.8

A Gunks local dropped by the gym one day.  Leo asked him about a stellar route that was off the usual tract.  Before Leo had the question out of his mouth, he said Birdland.  It had a different quality to it than most Gunks climbs.  It was slabby, a little thin and...a sport route!  Well let me qualify that, a Gunks sport route.  Back in the day, pitons were used freely for protecting routes.  On frequently travelled routes, the pitons were just left in place.  Here there were 6 pitons protecting about 100 feet of climbing.  Leo had certain trust issues with the pitons, he had everyone of them backed up. 

We were just packing up were this older thin wiry guy arrived and began getting ready to climb, but he didn't have a partner.  We started chatting and I asked him what he was going to climb out of curiosity.  He said he was going to free solo Farewell to Arms (5.9) to get to the anchors of two other routes, both mid 5.11's, and do 10 laps on each (top rope solo).  I wished him luck and we left.  Leo and I figured he must have been blowing smoke.

Back at the hotel room, Leo was flipping through my new "Gunks Guide" and there was a page on this fella, Mike Sciacca.  He was a Gunks regular and would frequently do 10 to 20 laps on Gunks test pieces.  He is well known for delivering amazing beta.  He had talked a newbie through a 5.10!

Following on Gelsa

Leo snapped a few pics as I followed him on the second pitch.  This was just after the radical 5.4 crux.  

It is hard to explain to describe how a 5.3 can be so intimidating.  Maybe it is just me BUT when you have an updraft that balloons your shorts, you KNOW there is nothing but air below you.

Gelsa 5.3

Gelsa has been described as the best 5,3 in the North-east.  You can almost see all three pitches in this picture.  Pitch 1 follows a ledgy corner to a belay ledge at the base of the tree (foreground).

Pitch 2 dose some face climbing to the base of the corner.  Pitch 3 is the shit.  A dead vertical corner for about 100 feet.  The exposure was extreme but the climbing was just 5.3 and the pro entirely solid.

Betty 5.3

I tell ya, a 5.3 at the Gunks is unlike any other 5.3 I have been on.  Betty is a 3 star two pitch climb.  It starts by following large discontinuous cracks then some face climbing to a belay ledge.  Leo managed to get some crag booty out a crack at the back of the belay ledge.  He worked hard for a small mangled cam.

The second pitch was great.  It followed a corner/chimney and then onto some more face climbing.  I was getting used to the corners by this point but it was this step that got me.  I was standing on this large ledge where my right foot is and had to step out over the chasm, about 3 feet, to keep on route.  It was really easy climbing but it was the exposure that made it spicy.

It looks as though my last piece is about 10 feet below me but there is another cam at my shoulders.  I am not sure I could have done that move 10 feet above my last piece.

Shockley's Ceiling 5.6

Shockley's Ceiling is one of the classic routes at the Gunks for a number of reasons.  It follows a "bold natural line" and is composed of "an imposing ceiling and exposed corners".

Another reason for its fame is that the climb sits directly above a hairpin corner in the road below.  Frequently tourists stop here to watch climbers so you always have an audience.

Bill Shockley and Doug Kerr did the first ascent in 1953.  Bill Shockley went on to win the Nobel Prize for inventing the transistor (Shocking!!).

Pitch one starts by mounting some large blocks and follows into a chimney to gain a large belay ledge (60 feet, 5.4).

Pitch two traverses up and right below a large right facing corner shaped somewhat like a large  flake. Once on the outside of the flake, take an airy step left to the outside of the corner.  Follow the face to a small alcove to belay (130 feet, 5.5). 

Pitch 3.  Above is the beautiful white ceiling split by a right-leaning crack known as Shockley's Ceiling.  "Climb to the base of the ceiling, tell yourself it is only 5.6 and crank it.".  Climb the corner to a second ceiling above described as small but awkward.  Leo found this ceiling more challenging than the first.  

The other difference about this climb for me was that there was no fixed belays and no rappel stations.  This made it more committing.

Shockley's Ceiling 5.6

This was just before we began climbing Shockley's Ceiling.  This is another popular climb.  3 pitches with the crux ceiling on the last pitch.  More on this later.

Ken's Crack 5.7

Leo noticed this thin crack towards the head of the trail. It had good face holds and was only a single pitch. I climbed it first. My foot slipped just after placing my second piece of gear. When I looked, only two lobes of the cam were engaged. I climbed a bit higher, and the crack opened nicely. I placed another cam which was solid. I kept climbing, slipped and fell a second time. It held no problem. It was my first significant fall on pro and it helped build my confidence. The rest of the climb went clean.

Rhododendron 5.6.

Rhododendron was the first climb we got on at the Gunks.  It was a nice straight forward 5.6 with great gear all the way up.

  This is a picture of Leo at the 2 bolt rap station, roughly 20 meters off the deck.  Many of the tree used to be the rap stations but the webbing around the tree would injure the bark and kill the tree.  This has led to the use of bolts right beside nice big trees.

Sixish 5.4

After seeing what the Horseman was like, I felt I should try a more tame lead.  We were close to Sixish, a 3 star 5.4.  It was called Sixish because it climbs more like a 5.6.  

I was quickly humbled by this '5.4'.  I was not expecting to come up against a small ceiling.  I backed off and Leo took the lead.  I was glad I handed over because it was the stiffest 5.4 I had ever been on.  After that I figured I needed to get on a 5.2 while wearing diapers.

This climb actually enlightened me to a weakness I have, exposure on lead.  I could follow Leo on many of the roofs and corners, but they shook me on lead.  My head is my weakest link.

Horseman 5.5 (Day1 Gunks)

The Horseman was a climb recommended to us by a friend of Dottie's.  He has been a Gunks climber your a long time and he said this was his favorite climb.  He also asked Leo what he lead at home.  Leo replied '5.10'.  this guys response was 'Thats great, you will be able to lead 5.8 here!".

The Horseman is a 30 meter 2 pitch climb.  It starts with some face climbing up to a right facing corner.  Towards the top, it traverses left out onto the face to a ledge for the first belay.  The second pitch was interesting face climbing to the top for a tree rap anchor. 

We know it is a little over 30 meters because we were told that with a 60 meter rope, a rap from the top would get us to a ledge about 2-3 meters off the ground that we could easily down climb.  We simul-repelled and just managed to reach terra firma. 

Enough Bill

Bill has been harassing me about not post any pic from the Gunks yet.

Well here!

Bill has been harassing me about not post any pic from the Gunks yet.

Well here!

It has been a while.

I am back!  Took the summer off from blogging.  I got a little too ambitious with the profile stuff.

Leo and I are going to the Gunks on Sept 20th.  Full on climbing for 5 days at the temple of trad!  This will make up for a pretty crappy summer here in NFLD.  I have not put up many new routes and haven't sent much either.  So much for the tick list!

Funny...the summer is becoming my 'off' season.  I train hard all winter feel strong in the spring and then life happens.  I don't get out as much and slack up on training and before I know it, it is august and I am flailing.  This is like the 3rd season in a row I have noticed this trend.  Role with the punches I guess.

Too Cold

Calling for -3 C tomorrow morning. It seems colder than that right now. We will not be goi8ng out!

Tuesday is calling for rain. Next saturday is the Adult Training Bouldering Program sponcered by Viagra and Geritol.

When will the season start????

Season is Starting!!!

FINALLY!

The outdoor season is finally starting and it is going to be awesome. Leo and Matt have been scouting out a face south of Spanky's. It is not really a face but a huge freakin wall. They have rapped down the majority of the face on a fixed line. The wall is roughly 100 meters and is broken up by 3 ledge systems creating what will likely be a 4 pitch 5.8ish climb. Both Leo and Matt are pretty stoked.

Leo also had mentioned seeing other lines including splitters and offwidths. SO when these lines start going down, Flatrock will be a one stop climbing destination. It has bouldering, easy and moderate trad, hard sport climbing and then to top it off, multipitch climbing.

After that I almost feel embarrassed to mention Cemetery Face. Saturday morning Bob, Kim, Yan (sp?) and myself plan to go out to Cemetery Face and scope out a new face. It is about the same size but slabby. Bob and I checked it out last year but never climbed it. There is a crack that will go down easy but the slabs to either side look kinda featureless. The plan is to set a couple of top ropes and see what we can bolt. We will probably meet at Tim Hortons, Majors Path, at 6:00am Saturday morning.

Profiles-Leo Van Ulden

I asked Leo to send me some info on the junior climbing club. I think it was probably a tall order. If you are interested, send me a photo and a short bio to kindasleepy@rockclimbing.com and I will post in due time.

I met Leo back in 1995 on my first visit to Wallnuts just after it opened. Leo and his brother Phil were the rock gods of the time, knocking on the door of twenty years old. There were number of other good climbers around but Leo took a prominent role because of his connection to the gym. At that time he had been climbing a number of years and was puttering around on a home woody with his brother and another fella, Ivan. Leo and Phil with their mothers backing started Wallnuts.

Fast forward seven years and my re-introduction to Wallnuts in 2002, there was Leo. Since then Leo has been a mentor of sorts, as he has to many of us. I took several course from him, including Rock I and Rock II. I have climbed with him on many occasions and always manage to learn something from him.

Leo has been active in maintaining and upgrading his education with climbing. He currently is the only Newfoundland climber (that I know of) who is ACMG certified.

I can't comment about his hardest sends but I have a bit of a sense what he may consider to be big accomplishments. First would be his work with the Junior Climbing Team. He has seen a group of teens come a long way and looks forward to what they can do...in and out of the gym. Author and FA of Sledgehammer. This was likely the first well bolted moderate (5.10ish) sport climb. It is listed as 5.11a but that is primarily to it very thin start. Once to the first bolt it climbs like a 5.10 minus. Others prior were either runout or very difficult. Leo opened this grade for a number of us.

Another great FA of Leo's is Paging Don Keidik (5.10b). This is a beautiful 25 meter climb that became an instant classic.

I hope I don't have too many of the details messed up.

Profiles

For awhile I have been thinking about posting profiles on some of the local climbers. I figure I should start with myself.

I first started climbing in 1995 when Wallnuts first opened. I climbed indoors for 2 years when I stopped. I left Newfoundland and returned in 2002 when I took it up again. My first season climbing outside was 2003 and that was limited. I slowly increased my climbing and training. I went from slogging up 5.8 in 2002 to my first onsight of a 5.11a earlier this year.

I built a bouldering wall in my garage 2 years ago and it has helped my climbing drastically. It allowed me to climb 3 to 4 times to per week and create a system wall for training.

I took a trad climbing course last year at the Gunks in New York State. I would recommend this to almost anyone. I learned a lot and got good practical experience. The guides I have climbed with have been really solid interesting people. Even for the well seasoned, it may be worth while to just get the lay of the land.

I like to develop routes with my climbing partner, Bob. We have noticed a big lack of moderate routes. Our goal is to safely bolt lines between 5.2 and 5.10?. So far we have put up about 10 routes in that grade. This summer we intend on further developing Manuels Face and climbing as hard as we can at Main Face.

I am hoping to get a little profile on the Junior Climbing Club going to Toronto next month.

Middle Cove Bouldering

Middle Cove Beach has a short wall on the left side as you face the ocean. I boulder here in the summer...early morning before it becomes dirty with people. There is a nice traverse, left to right. It is about 30 feet long and probably goes at V3 or V4. I haven't done it clean yet.

The wall is about 10 to 12 feet high and is about 5 to 10 degrees overhanging. I have done a number of 'straight up' problems ranging from V0 to V3. There are more in the waiting.

To the far left is another face, a little higher but with fewer features. Lots of beach below it at low tide but wet at high tide.

One the right side of the bay there are some other faces, but they are decaying and always wet.

There is another

Study of Form

This image called "Study of Form" was downloaded from rockclimbing.com. They have a huge image gallery which is certainly worth looking at.

I think this picture is great. Powerful and calm.

Check out the route data base as well. Bob and I have been putting our FA's in there and there are a good number of classics already posted.

Just curious!?!

Anyone who has gone out to Prosser's Rock on the South Side Hill must pass this face I am curious about. It is about 100 feet wide and anywhere from 40 to 80 feet. The thing about it is that it is almost dead flat, meager features and overhanging about 25 degrees. There are a couple of diagonal cracks but look shallow.
On closer inspection, there are a few vertical discontinuous cracks and dubious face features. I think you would have to be pretty fit to tackle this face. There are a couple spots where an old fart like me might be able to give it a go. If you know this face or are just curious, have a look for possible lines. If you know someone who has tried to climb it, even better.

Rope Chopping

Someone recently asked me why I cut my rope. The main reason is convenience. Hauling around a 60 meter rope can be a pain, especially when the vast majority of climbs are less than 15 meters. It is also alot easier to bring to the gym.
About 75% of the routes at Flatrock can be top roped with a 30 meter rope. This has come in very handy. I have had ropes set up on Candy and Iron Hand at the same time. The only problem is the other 25% of the routes. I guess I will have to buy a second rope...darn!
Actually I always have 2 ropes. I keep the full rope for two years before I chop it. It doesn't see as much action as the cut ropes. I use the chopped ropes for about two years before I retire them. Usually they need to be retired.

Omega Pacific Linkcam

Well I think the Linkcam will be my next bit of trad gear to buy. Quite honestly I have never been a big fan of Omega Pacific. I have thought of them as being on the "bargin bin" end of climbing gear. Don't trust your life to the bargin bin.

I have talked to a few people who use OP and don't have any major problems.

So...why would I think of buying the Linkcam if I don't like OP. The Linkcam does have a bit of a niche and it is the vast range the cam has. The smaller has a range of 0.83 to 2.10 inches and the larger has a range of 0.96 to 2.51 inches. That is about the same range a about 4 consecutive cams of standard types.

This is good for two situations. First is the sphincter twitcher. When you have a less than ideal grip and you have one quick chance for a placement, you don't want to fumble with the correct size. The other situation is when you are on a long trad route and you have used up most your cams. This one should fit just about anything.

Then there is the most obvious reason...I like new toys. But it that reason enough, the thing cost about 100$ a pop!!!