Another Sweet Send

It was a little chilly on Saturday October 8th but we decided to go out to Grassi Lakes anyway! We had a fun time with frozen appendages (fingers, hands, toes) and managed to climb some stuff too! My gf and my friend Claire and I went out and climbed. We warmed up on a 5.9 at the White Imperialist Right wall called Lawyers, Guns and Money. It was alright. Then Claire hopped on her new project Meathooks 5.11a. She looked good on it. I think it's only a matter of time before she gets that one. I continued my warmup by cleaning Meathooks for Claire. We then headed over to the Gardener's wall where Claire climbed another 5.9. After that it was still sunny up at White Imperialist Right again so we headed back there.

There is a 5.12a up there that is a direct start into a 5.11a. I figured that would be a good candidate for an onsight since the the 12 crux is at the bottom. I had never onsighted a 12 before but definitely felt like it was in the realm of my possibilities. After a long time studying the bottom boulder problem I some how slapped my way through it. The rest of the route was a slightly overhanging 5.11a pumpfest. I was pretty pumped by the time I was near the top but I was not about to let go. It's a few days later now and I'm still excited about having onsighted that route and happy with my current physical shape. I have definitely pumped off of stuff easier than that in the past so it felt good to affirm that I have been progressing! Cool stuff. Climbing is so much fun. I should get some pics from this excursion from my friend to post on here soon.

Update: Some pictures,

Keeping the fingers warm.

Claire on Meathooks 5.11a

Me at the top of A Bold New Plan Direct 5.12a

The thumbs up from the anchor.

A Send

I went out climbing on saturday to a place I don't usually go to during the warmer months of the year and I redpointed my project there! Yay! I was pretty excited about it. Actually during the send the second crux(top part) felt almost easy. It felt sweet. Anyway, I made a video of me climbing it a little while ago. You can see the edit in the video where I fell (I edited the fall out so it just looks like I climbed it). Anyway, I thought now that I actually did it I would share the video. There is also a part included at the end where I break a hold and fall (that was a surprise to me!). Without further adiu, here it is:

Dharmakaya 5.12b at White Buddha from MikeG on Vimeo.

Skaha Trip

Wow, so when I started this blog I planned on posting stuff on it way more often than I have. I guess I've been getting lazy about it. Anyway, I recently went on a stellar trip to Skaha (climbing near Penticton BC). I got a bunch of climbing footage and I have made a video. I didn't get video of the coolest routes that we did unfortunately. Some of the ones that we did that I wish we got video of are Dr. Megatrip (5.11d), Bladerunner (5.12a), Assholes of August (5.9 trad crack), and some 11s at the great white wall. I did get a few things in the video though. I didn't really send anything super hard but I wasn't really trying that hard to anyway. I was more interested in just hoping on as many routes as I could. It was a blast despite the height. Here's the video:

Skaha Climbing Trip 2011 from MikeG on Vimeo.

Summer Time

So last week I wrote this big huge post about all the climbing I've done receently and for some reason when I published it the only thing that was saved was the title. I'm too lazy to rewrite the whole thing. I have been doing a bunch of climbing in a lot of different places, mostly around Canmore. I've climbed at Bataan, Yamnuska, Hear Creek, Grassi Lakes, and I've been bouldering at the Big Rock near Okotoks. It's been a blast.


This week is supposed to have awesome weather but I'm gonna be inside like the whole time route setting at the wall I work at. Renovations just finished so we're re-setting the entire thing. Today was the first day and I'm really tired from setting. We'll see how well I last for the rest of the week.

Nice Weather?!?!

It's been a while since my last post! It looks like climbing season is starting to get into full swing in Alberta now. Yay! Yesterday I went to Bataan (near Canmore) with my Buddy Robin and his friend Sheena. It was awesome. We had a blast.

We warmed up on Near Miss (5.10a). It's a good "warm up" (that's in quotes because it's more of a cool down from the hike).

Sheena on Near Miss (Not a bum shot)

We then hopped on one of my new projects Solar Power (5.12b). Robin is also projecting the route and he went up first and put up the draws. I gave it a go. There were some important parts that I didn't remember from before. Hopefully it won't take me too long to send this one but we'll see. Some photos:

Robin Keeping it real on Solar Power

Robin's arm after a close encounter with the trees.

Me on Solar Power

More of the same.

Sheena rockin it on Solar Power

Sheena "placing"? a draw

After Solar Power we headed up to The Slab sector. Sheena and Robin hopped on a route called Exit Planet Dust Pt 1. (11b). It looked like an awesome route and I really wanted to give it a whirl but by the time Sheena finished the whole route was in the shade and the rock was cold - I have been freezing my fingers all trying to climb outside since March and decided I would try something else on a wall that was still in the sun. So we backtracked to The Sweet Hereafter wall. I decided to try my hand at a route called Fresco. I didn't think I was gonna make it while I was going through the crux but somehow I was able to pull an onsight out of my butt. Luckily there were some good rests higher up. After the crux it was pretty much a victory lap. :)

Overall it was an awesome fun day. The weather was really good and the three of us had a good time. It was good to refine my beta on my proj and it was a blast having a good fight for an onsight to cap off the day.

Mike

The Summer of Send and Onsight Climbing

Last year (and this year) I made a list of routes that I want to do. I think I ended up doing about half of the routes that I had on my list last year. I didn't get them all done for a few reasons:
1)Time constraints
2)I saw other routes that I wanted to climb instead
3) I changed my mind.

I'm sure this summer will still have those 3 things happening. That being said, I believe that this is going to be The Summer of Send. Not only do I think I'll do most (if not all) of the routes on my list, I'm planning on doing a whole lot more. I am changing my approach slightly from last year. Last year I would have some route in mind that I really wanted to do and that would be my main focus of the day. I would do like one warm up climb (usually a 5.10 or 5.9) and then hop on whatever the project was that I really wanted to do. After completing my project (if that was case) I would pretty much be done for the day - maybe I would do like one cool down climb and that was it.

During the summer of send I'm looking to do a lot more "easy" routes along with my projects. My plan is to do more like 3-6 warm up climbs. My plan is also to do all of my warm-ups onsight (if possible). I have noticed large gains in technique and mental prowess from trying things onsight. Not only am I going to try to onsight all of my warm-ups I'm also going to try to onsight all of my potential  projects as well (I say potential because after trying the route I may decide not to project it).

I've also been trying to expand my pool of potential belayers. How can you climb anything without your trustee belayer? (other than free soloing or practice climbing - ie: bouldering)

It's Warming UP!!

My last post I wrote about how I was going climbing outside and I was worried about how cold it was going to be. It ended up being a pretty fun day of bouldering. I went back to that same spot on the weekend (March 12th to be exact) and it was even awesomer. It was sunny and warm and most of the snow that was on the ground when we got there was gone by the time we left. I redpoointed an unfinished route from last year on my second go of the day (Sunyata 5.12a). It was a pretty cool route. I kind of wonder how other people do the last little part. I somehow doubt they do it the same way that I do it - I think I may have done it a little weird, oh well that's climbing!


It has been warming up and it has just been getting me more and more excited to go climbing outside. I have lost pretty much all desire to climb at the gym. I've had another taste of outdoor climbing and I LOVE IT. Indoor climbing will never compare to the fresh air, sunshine, and real rock. I am super psyched to get some more outdoor climbing done this year. This is supposed to be warm all week. I'm hoping it stays that way for the weekend. We'll see....

Chillin... hopefully not literally

There is a place. A place I discovered last year that can be warm when everywhere else is cold. The White Buddha. It's pretty close to Calgary and it's primarily a bouldering area. It does have a few sport climbs as well. I'm actually not much of a boulderer but I like to mix it up everyonce and a while. I think it's gonna be pretty cold tomorrow (Sat Feb26) but a buddy and I are gonna head up there and see what happens. I figure worst case scenario we'll have a hike and then hang out for a bit by a little band of rock and eat some food before hiking back. Best case scenario will have a bunch of fun screwing around with different boulder problems. I just can't wait till it warms up. I GOTTA CLIMB OUTSIDE!

The 2011 Hit List and a Link

Alright as promised here is my (current) list of routes to do for 2011:

Route                                                       Crag              Grade
1) The Mighty Expectation of Relief      Prairie Creek       5.12a
This is a route that I should have gotten last year. As soon as it's warm enough this jug haul is going down.

2)Sisyphus Summits                              Ha Ling Peak      5.10d
This route a super long multi-pitch... I think it's like 500m? I've just always wanted to do it. Hopefully this summer will be the time.

3)Outer Limits                                     Cougar Canyon    5.12a
This is a route at a crag that I have yet to get around to visiting. I was planning on checking it out last season but had other projects other places. I'll definitely make it there this summer. This is a route that looks good from what I've seen in the guide book and online. I may change my mind on it when I see it though.

4)Dutch Boy Magic                             Heart Creek         5.12d
This is a route that I would like to do to step up my game a little bit. I have yet to redpoint something this hard (although I was close on my trip to Red Rocks recently -see video in previous post). So, this will be one of those longer term projects I think.

5)The Convincer                                  Heart Creek            5.12a/b
This route is in a really cool looking spot up on the amphitheatre cliff. The guide says 12a but it seems that there are some who think it may be harder (see picture in link to follow the list).

6)This Week in Bible Prophecy            Prairie Creek           5.12b
The word on the street is that some holds may have broken on this route since it received its grade and it may be a little harder. A buddy of mine I has been working on it for quite some time. Looks like a good route.

7) Massive Attack                                Grassi Lakes              5.12c
This route looks pretty good although there are a bunch at Grassi that look good.

8) Altius                                                Acephale                  5.12c
This looks like a pretty classic route. I've never climbed at Acephale before because there isn't a lot there below 5.12 and most of my climbing buddies haven't been climbing that hard. However, I think this year is going to be a time of change and exploring. I look forward to it.

9) The Silver Rocket                             Prairie Creek            5.13a
I'm always trying to push myself with new goals and harder challenges and one of my goals for 2011 is to do a 13a. I think it's a realistic goal.

10) ????                                                 ?????                         ????
There always has to be room to try something that looks awesome or something that someone recommends or whatever!


On another note:

I recently found this page. It's a bunch of pictures from routes in my local area. Some of the routes shown are actually on my list! This page also seems to be announcing a new guidebook for the area. I'm curious how it will compare to the current Canadian Rockies sport climbing staple - Sport Climbing in the Canadian Rockies 6th ed. Updated bt John Martin and Jon Jones.

2010 in Retrospect

2010 was a good year for me and my climbing. I was able to climb outside a lot more than I did in 2009. I had some good projects that I enjoyed working. While I did enjoy working projects I must say sometimes projects can be really annoying! Annoying because all I think about during the week are the moves and clipping positions on my project and then when I'm all psyched up for the weekend - it rains :(. For a while I just had one project at one crag. I think that was a bad idea because I think some of my climbing partners may have gotten sick of that crag and they may have had projects at other crags and then the beginning of the day is all about who gets to go work on their project. With a little thought on my part that didn't last too long. I started finding projects at different crags so no matter where we went there was something that I was working on. I plan to continue this into 2011 except I'm hoping to expand on it a little more. My plan is to have around 2 projects at all of the crags that we go to. I am a little worried that I'll have a bunch of projects on the go and that I won't send any of them but I think with some planning things will go well.

At the beginning of last year I posted a list of routes that I wanted to climb for the year. I climbed a bunch of them and some of them I didn't even come close to attempting for various reasons. Following is the list and then the play-by-play of what happend with them in 2010.



    Route           Grade          Crag

1. Gravity Boy 5.11d White Buddha

2. Dharmakaya 5.12b White Buddha

3. Wicked Gravity 5.11a Lake Louise

4. Masterbretter 5.11b Heart Creek

5. Beat Farmer 5.12a Heart Creek

6. Paint it Black 5.11a Heart Creek

7. Heart of Darkness 5.11b Heart Creek

8. Hecubus 5.13a Heart Creek

9. Sisyphus Summits 5.10d Ha Ling Peak

10. Blank of the map 5.11a Barrier Mountain

11. Pull Fat Boy Pull 5.11c Barrier Mountain


1)Gravity Boy - I think this was the first on the list that I did. I personally think that it is the best route at White Buddha. At the time this was the hardest route that I had done outdoors. The odd thing was that I didn't try anything else at this grade for quite some time.
2)Dharmakaya- I never got around to attempting this one. Probably because I decided I wanted to do every 5.12 at White Buddha and so this one got pushed aside for other ones.
3)Wicked Gravity - I never even went to Lake Louise in 2010 :(
4)Masterbretter - There were other lines nearby that called my name and I answered. I'll probably do this one at some point in 2011 but it won't make it back onto the list.
5)Beat Farmer - I fell from the top of this route like 30 times probably. Mostly because I couldn't find the hold to clip the chains from. So, I probably put more work into this route than I probably would have needed to if I had known where that hold was. Good route though. Short.
6)Paint it Black - I did this one earlier in the year. Loved it. I think the way this route felt to me will stay with me for a long time I will/have been using this route to compare what 5.11a should feel like.
7)Heart of Darkness - I onsighted this one and it felt good. I really liked the crux move that I did. I recommend this one.
8)Hecubus - I was gonna do this one as my big hard 5.13a project but everytime I was there I just wasn't feeling it so I never did it and I will probably take it off the list for 2011
9)Sisyphus Summits - This is one of those "ultimate" routes. It's like 21 pitches(?) or something. It's on a cliff overlooking the town of Canmore. I never got around to it in 2010. But this is definitely gonna stay on the list for 2011.
10)Blank on the Map - Did this one second go. It's a one move wonder and I didn't really think it was anything special.
11)Pull Fat Boy Pull - This one took me way longer to send than it should have. Rain, tiredness, and figuring out the crux made this route take quite a while for me. Once I figured it out though it was great to complete.

In making a list for the year of routes that I would like to do sometimes I choose routes based on what I've heard from friends. Sometimes I decide because I really like the look of the line and I think it looks like it will be really cool. I occasionally pick routes based on what the guidebook says although that is usually how I do it if I'm going to a crag that I've never been to - and then I reserve the right to change my mind once I get there and see it. I often climb routes that are not on my list as well. I don't think it's a good idea to restrict yourself like that. You can miss out on some pretty awesome opportunities that way.  

Red Rocks Trip

I got back from my trip to Red Rocks (near Vegas) a little over a week ago now. It was a pretty fun trip although some unfortunate things did happen. The weather was pretty cold. It even snowed in Vegas while we were there. There was also a lot of wind and rain. I brought my new video camera along to document the trip but ended up not filming a lot of the climbing that we did do (mostly because I was concerned about the effects of wind and rain on my new camera). I did get some climbing on video however including: Me working Wonderstuff 5.12d, a really bad onsight attempt of Man Eater 5.12a, My onsight/flash of Caustic, and an interesting sped up version of my buddy Robin working Baseboy Direct 5.11a. I call the send of Caustic an onsight/flash because three of the four draws were in when I did it. Robin had worked the route before but I didn't watch him because I really wanted to onsight it. Not caught on tape was my onsight of Michael Angelo 5.11b and my flash of Range of Motion 5.11d. All the video taken was at the Canibal Craig in the Calico Basin. Enjoy! I included a bunch of the drive down to illustrate how long of a drive it was (feel free to skip it if you get bored). I also put a shot of some of the weather we dealt with after the credits.

I started getting some kind of overuse injury on my left ring finger from working Wonderstuff so I guess I'll be climbing without that finger for the next little while. We'll see how it goes tonight at the wall.

Last year on my old blog (on my 8a.nu page) I posted a list of routes that I wanted to climb for the year. My next post here will be a little review of those routes and some thoughts for 2010. My post after that I will reveal my list of routes for 2011.

Here's the video:

Vegas Trip 2010/11 from MikeG on Vimeo.

Short Note

So, I haven't written anything on here in a while because I've been on a road trip to Red Rocks! I'll be postings some video and a summary of the trip within the next couple of days.