Bouldering bash

Third week of the bouldering league at TRC, good work session with Guillaume and Eric tonight. Nice vibe, plenty of excellent climbers hitting the hard problems, and we all ticked off a few things on our list. And free burgers and beers!

Eric checked off most of the climbs on his red list, and even knocked off a few yellows - in rental shoes! Guillaume, who may or may not have learned the value of patience, started slowly and finished ferociously with a few ridiculous sends - his piece de resistance was a just off-vertical black circuit slab route with a high step start and a *big* dynamic step-up crux on a tiny chip. Big crowd watching that one...

G and I both spent time on a blue in the back with cross-over moves, underclings, high feet and a burly finish off a tiny crimp. After numerous tries, including a frustrating almost-send where I grabbed the finish with one hand but couldn't latch the second before peeling, we both managed it (I told you the burger would help). My current project is an aggressive blue in the cave with tiny holds, giant moves, drop-knees, cross-body reaches - sounds like fun, no?

Eric, since you're still looking for shoes, check out the 5.10 Galileo for a more advanced shoe with a wide toebox. Reviews at rc.com here (my favorite totally inappropriate quote: "the Onyx is stickier than a retarded kid eating honey"). Apparently good for wide feet, more structured than the Moccasym, you'll just have to pay for it...

Tony Lamiche on The Mandala (V13) in Bishop, Ca