Week end in Chattanooga

I Think I Can photo Ryan Manning

 With Hueco right around the corner I decided I needed a weekend to just relax and get in as much climbing as I could. Some friends of mine invited me to Chattanooga, TN for the long weekend over the MLK holiday. Four days in Chattanooga sounded great! I left the New Thursday afternoon and drove six hours through a rain storm and white out snow conditions. I made it to my boy’s, Ryan Manning, house safely at around 11:30. A couple more friends, Ron Bartolo and Max Hardier, rolled in two hours later from their 12 hour drive from Virginia Beach, VA. Everyone went to sleep stoked for what the next day would bring. We woke up to ideal conditions; the ground was lightly frosted with cloudy skies and great temps. My goal for the trip was to do classics, V0 to V-whatever, it didn’t matter. Partly because I hadn’t been there other than at the triple crown events, and because I’m researching the grade scale for the guide book I’m working on for the New.

We warmed up on the fire crack boulder and I decided to give Incredarete a try because Ryan said it was one of his favorites. The same area is also home to the classics Two can Sam, The Mane Event and Art of the Vogi. Ryan showed me a line he thought I would like called I Think I Can that is set in a little corridor. He said it was small crimps, and barely overhung so I was in. After three tries I finally stuck the first move, and then crimped and dyno’d my way to the top. Spyro Gyro, a one move wonder was our next stop. I had been on it before at the triple crown where it gets gangbanged by chuffer trying to put a V7 on their score card. The holds always felt greasy. It pretty much boils down to an all points off dyno for me. After what felt like forever I stuck that damn sloper and realized why people this problem. It was pretty fucking fun slapping the sloper jug and fighting the swing. Ryan had recently sent Spyro Gyro and was working on another LRC. Cast Away fit my style really well and I did it second try. Its such a fun move!

Ron on fortune , Photo credit Ryan Manning

We made our way to the back nine and Ryan wanted to get on Fortune. After spraying us down he did it first go.  I quickly followed and then Ron and Max got it, a first V6 for both of them. Beta for this problem is key and its really fun. All of us were pretty tired after that  but on the way out I wanted to check out Biggie Shorty. It looked a little wet and I was pretty beat but I had to give it some effort. After a good once over I shoed up and gave it a burn. On my first try I fell going to the small left hand crimp off the good edge. Realizing this move was gonna take some some thought, I tried about 4 different ways and went right hand on top the good side pull with left foot on the start hold and right foot way out right. I sat back down with the intention of sending, but I couldn’t do the first move again. (Damn it!) I figured out the first move again after about 4 tries and sent the rig from the ground on my fifth try. I’ve never climbed V10 in a day so I was feeling pretty good. Saturday came and it was a different game plan. I wanted to try something harder so we warmed up and went to The Law. I had no expectations on this thing but we padded it and shoe’d up and I got my ass kicked. It felt impossible. I was having trouble with every move. Then from out of nowhere Doug Ianuario came around the corner psyched as ever. He shoe’d up and showed me some beta, slowly I made progress. I never stuck the first move but the rest felt doable. Every burn Doug made we were expecting a send. He crushed every move with tips looking like he’d been crimping cheese graters. He couldn’t snag the move to the lip from the start but he’ll send any try now for sure. After that we headed over to The Sheild. I’ve been wanting to try this thing for years now and never got on it. Evolv and Asana athlete Neal Sipahimalai was on his fourth day working the problem and was damn close. After helping me out with some beta I was getting to the gaston move from the start every time. I decided to work just that move and I never stuck it but feel like some  cold day in 2012 we will meet again. Neal sent after about 6 burns that day, his first V12 send. It was sick to watch.

Ron on The Wave

Max on ShotGun photo Ryan Manning

                Walking away without sending The Shield was fine with me. That boulder deserves a fight and I don’t mind giving it one. It’s probably one of the best looking hard lines in the country for sure. We ended the day with White Trash and Heroin right around the corner. Heroin might be in my top 5 favorite boulders. Its so much fun, no matter your height, it definitely shouldn’t be missed. Sunday was my last day at LRC so I had a list of stuff I wanted to try. Again we warmed up out front. I did The Wave and Manute Bol  for the first time; both are really fun.  We made our way back to Shotgun, another LRC favorite of mine right next to Heroin that Ron and I quickly sent. We also did Elephant Rider, a super fun squeeze arête. After that we went to Grimace and A Face in the Crowd. Both went and I learned where Grimace got its name, an exciting top out.  I ended my LRC trip with Rib Cage and Crack of Dawn that are both really good moderates.
Our last day was spent at cumberland trail. i was able to climb River front and 711 and almost ended my trip with Gross Roof. I had a blast climbing in Chatt and hanging out with some old friends. Leaving for Hueco tomorrow.

711 Photo Ryan Manning

Gross Roof Photo Ryan Manning

Max on River Front Photo Ryan Manning

2011 Wrap Up

So 2011 was a pretty big year for New River Gorge bouldering. This was my first year living at the New and I am still amazed at the amount of potential there is. I'm just going to dive on in. The winter started off with the down fall of the long standing Black Pocket Project. After about 25 days of work I was able to figure out some subtle beta that made this line feel possible. One perfect morning I was able to stick the move to the lip and the Black Pocket Project was no longer a project. I kept the name because it explains this boulder to a "t". Black Pocket is a power packed pocket pulling classic. It remains unrepeated and its arguably one of the hardest lines in the Gorge. The next day I sent another project I'd found at Hawksnest Dam. I called it Brass Knuckles V9 (Unrepeated). I also repeated the only two V10's in the gorge at the time, Joel Brady's Fayetteville's Finest, and the problem formally know as the Squeal project. The Squeal project was first sent by Stephen Meinhold and Matt Ginley a few years prior. They named the line Octagon Control. Before the heat set in for the summer I was able to send one of my longest standing Projects. The Rambo Rabbit Project.  http://www.dpmclimbing.com/search/node/rambo%20rabbit . It was right before the New River Rendezvous. I heard that a few crushers were coming into town so I was feeling the pressure. I gathered every pad I could find in southern WV and I fired the rig on a cool summer day. I called it Beauty Mountain Beat Down. I also sent a high ball project that I was referring to as the V16 project because of its looks, blank and impossible, from the ground. After rappelling off the top to clean it I found a single line up the center of the face. The name stuck and it became V-sixteen. Its only about V7 but who doesn't want to say they have climbed V16 (Unrepeated)? The day of the comp ABS champ Alex David Johnson had the most impressive single day of bouldering the Gorge has seen to date. He made quick work of Beauty Mountain Beat Down; in his opinion its a V11. After warming up on that he claimed the second acsent of John McCauley's test piece, a V10 dyno he named Commitment Issues. Then Alex had his mind set on trying the Cardiac Arrest project. He sent too and it was officially dubbed Heart Breaker V10(unrepeated).

Me on Beauty Mountain Beat Down

Summer sucked as usual but it brought a few cool days. Local climber Micah Klinger and I made our way to check out some projects on the Dries. Micah was able to snag the FA of another  projects on the same boulder  Gone With the Wind V9 (unrepeated). He also showed me a line he had tried in the past. Between the two of us within a day we found some new beta and I sent. I called it  Dark Passenger (V9, unrepeated).

Travis Gault on Spinal Remains

Fall and winter came and the New started to see some welcome outsider traffic. PA strong men Tim Rose, Travis Gault and Ryan Scurfield all left there mark on the New. Tim put up Bubba Hotep V10, Prince Ali V9, Cock Block V9, Vaminos V9(unrepeated) Bitches Get StitchesV8 (unrepeated) and Revelry V9 (unrepeated). Ryan Scurfield  claimed the fa of Master Lock V9(unrepeated) and nabbed the first ascent of Master of Manipulation V11(unrepeated). Travis Gault made a short trip to the New sending one of the most amazing roof problems I've ever seen. It climbs out a huge flake into a horizontal block for about 15 feet. It is called Spinal Remains V10 and is unrepeated. Micah finished out 2011 with the fa of the Fern Creek compression project. He called it F-five and it might be the most aesthetic boulder problem in the gorge.  The movement is just as good as it looks and its an unrepeated V10. 

2011 was a great year for the New. New friends,  New lines, New psych and a New Guide Book in the works. I relized that the New for me isn't a place where I climb, its home. Every new line is bigger and better then the last,  each bringing its own challenge to the table.

Tim on the FA of Bubba Hotep, Photo by Kyle Adams

Ryan Scurfield on Master Of Manipulation .Photo By Kyle Adams

I just wanted to thank everyone who came out and made 2011 what it was.

Micah Klinger 

Matt Stark

Michelle Eckert

Rudy Oppenheimer

Chris Helm
John McCauley

Tim Rose 

Ryan Scurfeild

Travis Gault 

Jason and Rachel Babkirk
and

Big thanks to all my sponsors 

Friksn clothing 

Organic Climbing

Evolv shoes

Me on Revelry

Travis Gault on The Black

Tim Rose on Bitch's Get Stitch's

Me going For the Fa of Black Pocket

the summit of Dark Passenger

CHECK OLDER BLOG POST FOR VIDEOS OF THESE LINES

  

Fresh Start

Jd chilling under Half Moon Tilt

So 2012 started off with an old school classic. Half Moon Tilt, This amazing line sit starts on an overhung  half circle shaped prow that leans up hill . Half Moon Tilt has been on my to do list for along time. Ive tried it few times over the years, i remember it always feeling hard and the holds always feeling terrible. I had pushed it to the back of my mind for awhile and kind of forgot about it. New Years eve an local buddy of mine mention he had been working the line and felt like he had some good beta. I though about it all night thinking what problem i would be most stoked about bringing the new year in with and i didnt really know what i wanted to do as soon as jd mention half moon i  I knew that  was it. With being so focused on all the New lines and developing going up this past year, i felt like a Classic like this is exactly what i needed to change things up for 2012. We got up early sunday morning 1/1/12 drove straight to half moon got about 40 mins of beta dialing in and the sky opened up and it poured for the rest of the day. We decided to call it a day and try again the following day. Monday came and brought great temps, we decided to warm up on a few moderate boulder problems and gave Fingers Malone a shot.After about 10 tries on that i knew that if i didn't walk away i wouldn't be able to give Half moon everything i could. so we walked up the hill to Half moon. The temps dropped and the wind and snow came in fast. i knew i would only get a few good tried. I sat down put my shoes on and took a few deep breaths . My first try i stuck the crux move from the start and my foot slipped off. The second try i pulled threw the crux again only to fall  on the barn door move later that i had forgotten about. I took about a 5 min break sat down and focused. I Knew exactly what i had to do for every move and shorty after pulling past the crux i found my self on top this amazing boulder.  Ill always remember this boulder not because its the hardest lines ive done but because a line like this cant be forgotten.

project to the right of half moon (First headpoint project for me)

Posting 2011 wrap up soon . sorry its taking so long, alot went down