Out with winter and in with Spring

Two weekends ago myself, Cam and Markez ushered out Old Man Winter and had one last hurrah by doing the coveted Spearhead Traverse in a day. Cam is a far better writer than myself and clearly has a better memory so if you're interested in reading a trip report, check out his blog The Adventures of Cameron Charles. Thanks for the great and extensive write up Shaft!

When you give winter the boot out the backdoor, you better have something to replace him with. Unfortunately what showed up in Vancouver as the next act has born only a fleeting resemblance to our beloved Mrs. Springtime for the past few weeks. The weather has been less than optimal so far this spring but the days that have been nice have allowed a few great sessions of bouldering and sport climbing. The weekend before doing the Spearhead Traverse, I was lucky to get out to a new (for me) area up in Squamish known as The Hatchery with a good friend who has since returned to the motherland after a sojourn to Ontario where we met. His name is Scott Tasaka and he is a crusher of rocks...don't let him near your project as he'll likely rip off all the holds in unbridled passion. Scott is likely the best technical climber I've known personally and has the deepest bucket of psyche you'll ever dip into so needless to say I jump at the opportunity to get out on rock with him. We also met up with guidebook author extraordinaire, Marc Bourdon and his wife Pam; two more amazing climbers and very genuine people.

Marc spent most of the day shooting photos for his new edition of the Squamish Bouldering guidebook to be released, as I understand, in June of this year, while Scott, Pam and I spent most of the day wrestling pebbles. Marc was kind enough to send along a few cool photos he snapped of me and also let me post them here. Check out Marc's website Quickdraw Publications for the release of the new guidebook and to see what other exciting things he has coming out.

Fighting gravity on G-Force Accelerator, V8 - The Hatchery, Squamish

Flashing the beautiful Phantom Menace, V6 - The Hatchery, Squamish

Ciao for now!

Good news bad news good news...

The Good News...

The weather has been stellar in Vancouver recently which has been welcome change from the crap weather we've been having nearly the whole spring so far. Last year I had been out climbing in Squamish more times by the end of the first weekend in March than I have in total so far this year...AHHH!!?! But, not to worry since this trend is rapidly changing for the better. Last week I was climbing for 4 of the 5 weeknights...ahhhhh, that's better!

So on Wednesday the 14th I made my first midweek trip up to Squamish with my good friend Scott Tasaka who has recently moved back to the Promised Land, where he grew up. We went up with a penchant for an evening of bouldering and since Scott's itinerary was wide open void of any active projects, he graciously let me drive the program. After a speedy and efficient warm-up, we hit my current project Defender of the Faith with the hopes that we would find a few extra pads under the Gibb's Cave boulder. Unfortunately the trusty Squamish locals that seem to store their pads there in teh spring weren't so trustworthy that day as there were no pads in sight. Bummer! I wasn't comfortable really going for it with only 2 pads so we quickly went with the back-up plan of going to try Velcro, V10 since it was another problem I was interested in trying some more as I had spent a few tries on it previously and thought it both looked awesome, and would climb awesome if I could ever unlock the moves.

Long story short, we posted up and the holds felt considerably worse than the previous time I had tried it; prognosis, bad. However, we both kept trying and we warmed up and eventually the holds felt a bit better and we were coming close to pulling onto the problem (har har, I know that sounds funny but it's probably the 2nd most difficult part). After another while of resting and revising foot beta, I completely surprised myself by actually touching the 2nd hold?! I yelped with delight and told Scott who got super excited and promptly announced the I was going to send it tonight and we weren't leaving until I did. Well apparently Scott can tell the future because after a short rest, I yarded on the starting holds and connected with the crimp in a fashion that said "what's the big deal?". It felt soooo good I couldn't believe it! After sketching a little on the topout, I managed to pull over the top with Scott's encouragement ringing loud in my head. Awesome!!! First project of 2010 down and by grade supposedly the hardest one on my list, however I know that Defender is (at least feels) much harder for me.

The Bad News...

Friday April 16th sometime between 7pm and 9:45pm my SX Trail got stolen off of our 3rd floor balcony. I think the most disconcerting thing about it for me is that it was definitely premeditated and the wanker had watched to see that my bike was out there, and then watched for us to leave for dinner. I really really wish we had come home and caught him stealing it...he would have been back on the ground floor very quickly, minus my bike.

The Good News...

The next day I went for an XC ride in Squamish with Martin and afterward we stopped by Corsa Cycles where my friend Adam works. I know Adam from back in Ontario where he distinguished himself as one the stronger climbers in Ontario at the time by putting up and repeating some of the hardest problems at the Niagara Glen. Anyways, I recited my tale to Adam and he was apologetic as any good bike enthusiast would be; however, he shared an interesting bit of information with me. Apparently about an hour before I had walked into the shop, another fellow had traded in his '08 SX TRail 2 for a road bike and Corsa was going to sell the SX as a used bike at a reasonable price. After checking with our insurance company, I called Adam tonight to tell him I'll bring up a deposit to hold the bike until the insurance money comes in. Nothing's set in stone but as of now it looks hopeful that I'll have my beloved SX Trail back very soon! Not the one that I rode with so much excitement as it introduced me to the legendary trails on the Northshore and the Whistler Bike Park, but an SX Trail nonetheless and with good fortune it will take me on many more adventures. The SX Trail saga continues!

So that makes twice as much good news as bad news...I can handle that. This was also a good test for me to not sweat the small stuff in life and I think I passed with flying colours.

Ciao amicos!

Fromme Fever!!

I got out last Thursday and Friday on Mt. Fromme for some good DH riding and it was awesome! I've only been out a handful of times but I already feel as good as when I left off last year I think. I rode Ladies Only which has seen a ton of work done on it (thanks to Digger I heard) and then posted some laps on Bobsled, Floppy Bunny and Natural High as well as a new trail I found which is awesome! It's quite simple but in stark contrast to the more worn in trails it's all dirt and very flowy. It was pretty wet but when things dry out a bit it's going be a sweet-ass speed run to rip down and practice keeping speed through corners...FUN!!! It also has a rad looking drop on it that I'm trying to work up the courage to hit...it's about 6 ft down and you need to clear at least 6 ft of flat to make the tranny; not huge by any means but big enough for this youngster to think twice...ha ha.

Last Saturday I did an epic 5 hr XC ride up in Squamish that ranks among the best I've ever done with Martin. It was so amazing...we rode all new trails (for us) and our cheshire cat grins were still showing clear by the time we hit the car again in the late afternoon. Amazing day!

Sunday I wanted more so I arranged with my friend Scott Tasaka to hook up and do some climbing together since we haven't gotten together since he's moved back to Vancouver after a hiatus from living out here and being in Ontario where we originally met. It was amazing. The conditions, the problems and the atmosphere at the Hatchery were second to none and we thoroughly enjoyed a great day of climbing. I ended up doing a few classics which included Tai-Fighter V4, Phantom Menace V6 and G-Force Accelerator V8...all incredible problems that I would highly recommend!

Last night I got out to so some sport climbing in Lynn Valley wiht Markezzy and it was super fun...we only managed to get 3 routes in each before we had to beat the closing gate that would lock us in but still a great evening pulling on fun routes.

Tomorrow night is SQUAMISH with Scott again and I'm hoping to put in another effort on Defender of the Faith...not too sure what to expect but if everything lines up...I think you know what I'm thinking!

Will post an update Thursday about tomorrow's sesh.

Ciao for now!

Oooooooh H2O!!!

Looks like rain in Vancity this weekend...no climbing for me :(

Last night I rode my commuter bike up to Cypress and checke dout some more of the Godman Creek boulders. It was pretty fun and although some of th elines were a little too high for no spot and no pad, I managed to find enough problems to be sufficiently tired by the time the light started waning around 7:30. It was a fun night that got me excited about heading up to Squamish after work mid-week once some drier weather mosies along...

I'm also starting to get pretty psyched on doing some multi-pitch gear climbing. I've been thinking about how much fun the whole day is when you just climb all day, even if the climbing isn't all that physically demanding. Two years ago I met my bro Cam in Utah for a week-long adventure series and for part of it we ended up in Red Rocks in Nevada and we did an 8 pitch route called Frogland Buttress, 5.8. Hooooooo MAN was it ever fun! It is definitely one of my fondest climbing trip memories so I'm thinking I need to have some more of those this season.

The plans:

1) The Chief, Ultimate Everything, 5.9+
2) The Chief, Angel's Crest, 5.10c
3) Mt. Stuart, Complete North Ridge, 5.8
4) Mt. Slesse, Northeast Buttress, 5.9

Mt. Stuart's North Ridge...awesome.


Mt. Slesse's Northeast Buttress...also awesome!

So there it is...those are my goals for trad climbing for the year. I think these will need to be preceded by a few days of doing some easier single pitch climbs in the Smokies to brush up my non-existent crack climbing technique. Man I wish I wasn't such a brutal slab and crack climber!

I was just thinking about how it's funny my blog is named "Of Bikes and Men" since all I ever blog about is climbing - har har har...oh well, I still think the name's cool.

Ciao

Project Management

This past Saturday I managed to get up to Squamish again for the 3rd time this winter/spring (happy spring 2010 by the way!) and have at some of my objectives for this year. It was awesome as usual and this time I had the treat of meeting up with Tim and Matt and having some climbing partners.

I warmed up listening to some fresh beats on my Ipod and then headed over to try Kingswing with 30 min. left until I was supposed to meet up with Matt. I had tried this problem for the first time 2 weekends prior and it had proven the victor. That was not to be repeated and after about half a dozen tries I finally held the "king swing" and thrutched through the final moves to call it a send. Nice! Incidentally, on our way back past this problem, Tim showed me how to do the low start which feeds into Mindbender Low and Kingswing Low; and although I didn't quite connect it in the two tries I had on it, it definitely feels possible and will be a great problem to tackle when I find myself on a solo mission.

After Tim crushed a V6, four V7's and a V9 as part of his warm up (not bad for a guy recovering from a broken leg and hasn't really been climbing much for a few months eh?), I managed to convince him to spot me on Defender of the Faith, my current project. The funny thing was, out of curiosity Tim asked me where I was starting the problem from and I told him I was doing it as the book described it. He informed me that was in fact incorrect and that I needed to start matched on the lowest hold, which in retrospect makes way more sense since that way you can start with both feet on the ground. At first I was dismayed since the problem was already near my limit and adding a move where you have to campus your foot onto the starting hold and adding another hand move to the start didn't really seem to improve my prospects of sending it!

However, it turns out that the first move didn't prove difficult and I'll be much happier now when I actually send it. My progress resulted in making it to the last move twice and falling short of sticking the final hold on the big throw. Although I didn't manage to send, I was really happy with the progress and it feels like it could go in perhaps another couple sessions with some good conditions. Here's a video clip of some guy sending it from the way I was originally starting it...you can see how it's a bit awkward to get on the problem this way.

We spent the rest of the day mucking around on some other problems Tim wanted to try so I just tagged along and got weaker and weaker as the day progressed...har har har. Tim seems to have the energy of about 10 guys and at the end of the day when everyone expressed that they were finished, Tim remarked "Well! It seems like I'm going to have to train to have less energy!" Har har har...sorry Timbo!

Sunday I got out for a quick road ride with Sizzle and his friend Kavi and unfortunately we got caught in the rain. It still felt great to get out though and spin my legs. My climbing membership runs out in 2 weeks now so I'm actually looking forward to doing some more riding outside, some finger strength specific workouts on my hangboard and maybe a few mid-week climbing sessions up in Squamish...look out!

In Italian lessons I've progressed to Unit 2 now, in which I'll learn to communicate about my house and city...fantastico!

Buona Notte

Espressos and the Epicurean

Stu, KC and I had a great 60 km road ride out to Whytecliff Park taking advantage of the decent weather this morning. The ride finished with Bookie treatign us to a delicious espresso at the small deli near us called the Epicurean...Bene!

Other than that today was pretty cruisey; I studied some more Italian and while listening to an Italio-American trumpeter.

Yesterday KC and I got out for a rip on Fromme but to our surprise the snow line was below the 2nd switchback. That meant we were limited to a few runs down Bobsled, one blast down Floppy Bunny and a swift exit on Natural High. On the way back to the car we both practiced our wheelies which was pretty fun...wheelies look sick and I think being able to do them would just add to your overall bike handling skills so that's on my list of things to learn this season.

Well, as the weekend winds down, enjoy your evening and have a glass of red wine while enjoying dinner with your favourite person and listening to some good music.

Ciao

Lucky 3

Three things were awesome about today...

No. 1

I had an amazing session at the climbing gym after work today. I nailed all the problems I had tried on Wednesday that had shut me down so that was cool. The I set to work on a new V9 on the whale belly wall that Ryan Olson set and this thing is amazing! I typically don't get all that excited about climbing indoors and generally see it as a means to an end given the climate we live in; however, Ryan's genius shines bright with this problem. I unhesitatingly (is that a word?) give it the title of 'The best indoor problem I have ever tried'. Hands down. I have a lot of respect for good route setters because I think that it would be a difficult task to continuously come up with new, interesting material to present to people. This coup de gras starts with no less than a double toe hook and you climb your hands along a fully horizontal roof until your hand foot matched on the starting foot hold. Atthis point you engage in a barbaric sequence that threatens to tear you right shoulder apart, right before smashing your core with a 6 lb sledgehammer. Then it gets hard; you have to lock off a crappy crimp, thrutch up to a better crimp, launch yourself sideways to snatch the final edge, bunch up on the high foot and explode to the lip madly pawing the air and begging to make contact with the finishing hold. Awesome! I fell with 3 moves to go on my final and best burn of the night which was way more than I expected when I first tried the moves so that was cool.

No. 2

I'm getting psyched on doing some road racing again this season...partly because I can feel I have piss poor cradiovascular conditioning, partly because I can feel my legs are super weak, and partly because road racing is an awesome form of bike racing. I realized last year that I enjoy road racing much more than XC mtb racing, mainly due to the higher degree of strategy involved with road racing. Also I've been watching a DVD called Legends of the Tour that highlights the likes of Merckx, Armtsrong, Hinault, Anquetil and so on. Tomorrow morning if it's not raining I'm going to try and get out for an early road ride to kickstart my base miles training...

No. 3

I bought Italian language lessons today by Living Languages from Chapters at lunch and I'm super excited to dig into them. I think Italian is far and away the nicest sounding language and I think the culture is really cool so that has got me inspired to try my hand at learning the language of the champion lovers...sono l'amonte di campione!

Ciao!