Climbing Narcissist

When In Doubt Pack It Out

Narc — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:06:43 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I always try my best to climb close to an actual bathroom. In case you don’t, the Access Fund has a nice refresher on what to do when nature calls.

When In Doubt Pack It Out from Climbing Narcissist

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Gravelle Repeats Echale (V14)

Narc — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:06:11 +0000

I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that with training like this that Canadian Yves Gravelle was able to climb his first V14 in Daniel Woods’ Echale in Clear Creek Canyon according to his 8a scorecard.

Gravelle Repeats Echale (V14) from Climbing Narcissist

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El Cap Report Returns For Spring 2012

Narc — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:37:33 +0000

So, listen up Cubicle Pukes!! Put down your work, clear the room, put on some cool tunes, and come with me to the Valley of your dreams, in this, the first of many Reports to follow.

Yep, the El Cap Report is back.

El Cap Report Returns For Spring 2012 from Climbing Narcissist

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2nd Ascent Of Mystic Stylez (V15) By Dave MacLeod

Narc — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:30:08 +0000

Scottish climber Dave MacLeod is well-known for his boldness, having repeated and established several terrifying trad and winter climbs in the UK. And while his bold feats have garnered him many deserved headlines over the years, he is also quite accomplished at sport climbing and bouldering having climbed 5.14 and bouldered up to V14 both at home in the UK as well as abroad in places like Spain.

Most of MacLeod’s success in the bouldering realm until recently, however, had been mostly on problems local to the UK. When a climber has success like that on more local, less well-known terrain it’s not uncommon for others to wonder how a person like MacLeod might do on problems in more well-known areas. Well, after his recent trip to Switzerland I think we have our answer.

MacLeod began his trip with a repeat of Conquistador Direct (V13/14) in Chironico which he followed up with a repeat of New Base Line (V14) in Magic Wood. So far so good, right? But MacLeod was not quite done.

After a prolonged battle that required him to extend his stay in Switzerland and session on the problem at the crack of dawn, MacLeod did the 2nd ascent of Daniel Woods’ sit start to Muttertag (V11), the V15 Mystic Stylez. As usual, MacLeod has a great write-up about his efforts on his blog, and I wanted to highlight the following passage because I think it pertains to any climber that sets their mind to a specific goal:

On one hand, the climb represented a target to focus my efforts. It’s just a bit of rock and it doesn’t matter to anyone whether I climb it or not. But completing it does make a difference in the mind of the climber. If you’ve really set yourself the target, and you’ve done enough work to know it’s possible, then giving in when the ‘extra mile’ to completion is there for the taking makes it difficult to move on with confidence to the next challenge…I knew I might not manage it, but I looked forward and visualised driving home to Scotland without the send. The failure on the climb wouldn’t be worth a second thought (because if you never have failures, you can’t be trying anything that’s actually hard). The only regret I’d have would be failing without first giving everything to the fight.

This juxtaposition of the fact that climbing any piece of rock is ultimately pointless with the reality that this is what drives many of us to continually try to improve ourselves is something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this spring. For a few different reasons I’ve never really projected anything long-term¹, but this spring I decided to focus my efforts on a specific route in the Red River Gorge. I knew that I probably wouldn’t send this spring and I was ok with the fact that I was going to be driving 1,000 miles round trip to fail work on it. I was ready to get invested in the process.

My recent ankle failure ended any opportunity I might have had to continue working on the route this spring, although it was unlikely I would have done the route anyway. In some sense this is better though as the route continues to be, as MacLeod puts it, a target for my efforts and gives me something to work toward as my ankle gets better. In the end that’s what this game is all about, isn’t it?

I think the most days I’ve ever spent on a route or boulder problem that I actually finished is 3 days. I have commitment issues. ↩

2nd Ascent Of Mystic Stylez (V15) By Dave MacLeod from Climbing Narcissist

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Hayden Kennedy Climbing Carbondale Short Bus (5.14-)

Narc — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:10:11 +0000

Back in March Hayden Kennedy did the FA of Carbondale Short Bus (5.14-) in Indian Creek, UT, and now courtesy of sponsor Patagonia we have this excellent video by Austin Siadak and Matt Van Biene of Kennedy climbing the route.

Hayden Kennedy Climbing Carbondale Short Bus (5.14-) from Climbing Narcissist

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Ashima Hits The New York Times

Narc — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:54:14 +0000

Climbing phenom Ashima Hiraishi hits the front page of the New York Times’ Sports Section with an accompanying video featuring her on Crown Of Aragorn (V13).

Ashima Hits The New York Times from Climbing Narcissist

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Video Friday – 5/11/2012

Narc — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:20:11 +0000

The top rated videos from the past week...

Video Friday – 5/11/2012 from Climbing Narcissist

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Keep It Simple

Narc — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:17:14 +0000

Sonnie Trotter provides five tips for getting better at climbing rooted in the following premise:

The worlds most accomplished sport climber and boulderer Adam Ondra has recently completed his first one arm chin up according to Planet Mountain.com. This fact only reinforces what I (and dozens of other climbers and coaches) have said for years, the key to climbing hard is not in the arms at all. It’s mostly in the fingers and core.

Keep It Simple from Climbing Narcissist

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Another Hard 5.14 FA By Daniel Woods In Clear Creek Canyon

Narc — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:54:56 +0000

Back in March Daniel Woods announced his return to sport climbing with the FA of Mourning Glory, a hard 5.14 in Colorado’s Clear Creek Canyon. It was there again where Woods did the FA of the so-called “Mission Impossible Project” the other day dubbing the resulting line Mission Imposible¹ and suggesting a grade of hard 5.14 for the line which features multiple double-digit cruxes. The route was bolted last year by Jay Samuelson who posted this challenge on Mountain Project:

Your mission Mr Phelps, should you choose to accept it, is to ascend the sweeping gray, green, and orange face to the left of Interstellar Overdrive. This mission is wrought with dead-ends, danger, and misery for the few who dare attempt the Impossible. Your entry exam shall be slab climbing that is slightly overhung which will immediately deposit you into the crux; survive the mental and physical torture of the next two bolts and you might just breathe the rarefied air of the upper headwall. Don’t breathe too easy though, as traps and tricks are waiting to spit you back to the realm of mere mortals. Should you fail, we will disavow any knowledge of you and your mission.

In comments to Climbing.com Woods indicates that the route felt like his hardest yet—harder even than Jaws II—and he also commented on the breakdown of the route which is well worth reading if you’re into that sort of thing.

Footage of the send was captured by none other than Paul Robinson so look for that somewhere at some point.

Daniel Woods working what would become Mission Imposible (5.14+)

He initially called it Deathrow but subsequently changed it after CCC locals made their case for keeping a variant of the project name out of respect to the equipper ↩

Another Hard 5.14 FA By Daniel Woods In Clear Creek Canyon from Climbing Narcissist

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News & Notes – 5/9/2012

Narc — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:54:16 +0000

There’s so much happening these days in the world of climbing that even I’m having a hard time keeping up…

News…

Sweden’s Matilda Söderlund went on a tear in Spain where she onsighted a handful of hard 5.13′s in a relatively short time span. Rock & Ice caught up with her to learn more. Subsequent to this she also flashed Kale Borrroka (5.14a) in Siurana according to her 8a scorecard.
In addition to her repeat of Era Vella (5.14d), over the past few weeks Sasha DiGiulian has done the 2nd ascent of Atonement (5.14a) at the Virgin River Gorge and flashed Zona Zero (5.13d) in Siurana.
Andy Raether did the FA of Ancient Chinese Secret (5.14b) at Mt. Potosi, NV commenting on his 8a scorecard that it took him 6 months of work.
Austria’s Johanna Ernst climbs her first 5.14c in Santa Linya
James Pearson and Caroline Ciavaldini teamed up to do the first repeat of Aria, a runout 10 pitch 5.13c on the island of Sardinia.
Nice update from Dave MacLeod on his repeat of New Base Line (V14) in Magic Wood, Switzerland.
Rob Pizem has done the FA of The Frank Zappa Appreciation Society which, at 5.13+, is likely the hardest route in Colorado’s Escalante Canyon.
Silvia Vidal spends 32 consecutive days on the wall to establish a new route in Chile.
God’s Own Stone (5.14a) in the Red River Gorge saw two more ascents this spring from the under-18 crowd when it was repeated by both 12-year-old Drew Ruana and 11-year-old Mirko Caballero.

…And Notes…

Chris Sharma will be appearing at an event in Emeryville, CA on May 18th for a special fundraiser benefiting access threatened Castle Rock State Park. More details on the event as well as how to buy tickets here.

Review of the new Wolverine guide to Maple Canyon
Interview with South African Arjan de Kock who recently did the 3rd ascent of The Big Island (V15) in Fontainebleau.
Interesting discussion at B3Bouldering about women and the development of new climbing areas.
Ely, Nevada looks pretty legit
Speaking of looking legit, Jonathan Siegrist provides an update on his time spent in France’s Verdon Gorge.
Great recap of a trip to the Grit by Michele Caminati

News & Notes – 5/9/2012 from Climbing Narcissist

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