Hot, hot, heat

Big M and I headed to BKB early yesterday which was great because it meant the place was very quiet as opposed to the evenings. I got there 45 minutes before she did, so I did 1s, 2s, 3s, and a 4 or two while waiting for her (maybe 8 problems in total).

When she arrived we moved in the back and did some 3s, 4s, and 5s. Climbing felt better than last week with K. There were 2 problems where I felt good and climbing OK. Including 1 uber long horizontal V3 that is fun and easy, full of jugs. I also failed on plenty of ones I should have sent that Big M dealt with easily.

We then went in the front steep section. I failed on everything while she sent the end of an abominable V5 (very impressive - super powerful and awkward). We went in the back again and once more I failed on everything while she worked a hard, scary, and bizarre V5 that involves a 2 finger underclinged pocket with high feet: ouch.

It was my first 2.5 hours session in a long while. Not bad.

Full Frontal Mantle

Headed to BKB with Jess and K. There we bumped into Alistair and his girlfriend, Miguele, Tom, Jill, and met with Big M. Alistair, K, Big M and I alternated who picked climbs and all tried to do them.

First we started in the steep section where we did V1, V2, V2.

Then we moved to the section on the right when you enter. We did a black V3 followed by a long yellow V3 that went up and down and then up again.

We slowly moved left toward the section in front of the registers doing a red V4, followed by a white V5. Big M did it first with a static finish involving a cross and high feet. K and I did it with a dynamic finish that skipped the cross and used low feet. She then did it our way, and we did it her way. This was followed by Big M sending two V6s on the skull (and K an I both failing to do anything).

After that we moved further close to the cave area. Big M made me try this bizarre problem that she mantled. I am not sure exactly how I did it but it was strange. We tried a green V6 that peeled some skin from our fingers but we quickly abandoned. We finished with a nice problem (I thought it was a V5 but K says it was a 6). It first moved right and then you needed full extension to grab a so-so piece with your right hand (which Big M grabs with 3 fingers... I needed all 5). From there you bring your left foot up and throw your left hand to a big open piece. That part is all shoulders. You then bring your right foot up, grab the next right hand and you are one move from the end, but its not an easy one. I first dropped knee while Big M just threw for it. Great problem.

Nice climbing by all. Great to see Big M climb, and K feeling better after a tough week of sickness.

A quick session at TRC with Guillaume and Kenway, where insane traffic compelled Miss Pssst to join us for some leading. With less than two hours of climbing available, we all warmed up with a fun 9 (black) that had a surprisingly desperate finish. Guillaume and Meg climbed a fun-looking monster (10, orange/black) that took you all the way under the main arch. I didn't see, but they may have also finished another route when I wasn't looking. Kenway and I sat around waiting for a new 10c to open up, but it never did so we tackled an 11 (green) we had worked on previously. We both managed to unlock the move under and around the roof: a crappy gaston/undercling with your right hand, stepping around the arete with your left foot an rocking waaaay over to a nice pocket. This led to a short, negative section that combined some weird sort of stemming but was relatively easy. We'll see if we can link it all together now.

Now that I think about it, G and M climbed the yellow 10c as well, so either I forgot something or Kenway and I took a lot of rests?

We finished up with some bouldering, and discovered a new lead project (11, red). Tiny holds, weird body positions, and two hand foot matches in the first 5 moves. Fantastic!

Delicately now:

The Hangover

Went climbing at TRC with Eric and Guillaume yesterday. Still feeling the effects of a late night out with the Portuguese-speaking contingent, it was tough going for me. Warmup (8) felt okay, but the minute I stepped it up a bit to a 9+ (black) it went down hill. Tough moves with oddly placed clips, around the column in the front and over the roof. Took a few runs up it but couldn't finish off the moves past the roof, though G sent it in one go. Followed up with a few runs up the roof route with the iron cross (10, black) - eventually used Guillaume's beta to paw blindly around the lip for the move after the cross, but didn't have the energy to get up and past. Eric put in some good work getting back his lead head on a bunch of 8's, with a focus on careful controlled climbing and looking out for feet before moving up. G and Ms. Psst were sending routes all over the gym, think they worked the doubled roof 10 (teal) that B and I hit the last time around, the tricky orange 11 with hard moves off the ground (the crotch belay route), and the orange 11 up the underside of the arch and roof. Pssst made everything look easy as usual...

Also discussed some drawbacks to yoyoing the same routes repeatedly, mostly involving too few of a variety of moves. Am considering mixing it up a bit, maybe one or two project routes a night on different terrains.

We discussed literature on the way back - see what happens when JK and Brian don't show up? Guillaume in particular had this to say (paraphrased just a wee bit):

" I like big books and I cannot lie.
You other brothers can't deny,
When a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist,
and a big tome in her face...."

Dinner time

A brief bouldering session with Chloe, Joana, Eric, Kenway and Guillaume at Coles. Good climbing all around with everyone nearly shitting their pants from the scary topouts. Followed up by meeting with Miss Pssst at Guillaume's swanky pad for some delicious food and fun. Thanks for hosting G!

We should do this more often.

Just Like Lucas

Kenway and I left Manhattan at 6:30 to pick up a tired Miss Pssst in New Rochelle (the reason being that she had seen the Indigo Girls the night before). It was smooth sailing from there to the Gunks (after a quick stop at TRC to get pants... go figure).

It was a beautiful day and there were not too many climbers, which allowed us to warm up on High E (5.6 G, two pitches). Miss Pssst lead the long first pitch, followed by Kenway and I. I then lead the second pitch, and although it wasn't pretty and took forever, I managed to pull through and do it. Miss Pssst lead with the gear in place, but then had to move a few pieces around because their placement was not great. BTW she took a rest with a knee bar somewhere in this pitch, all I have to say is: wow! Kenway followed and then we all rapped down.

Loafin' on the lunch ledge

G heads up the second pitch of High E

Getting to the good stuff
The hold is... right... there...

Got it! Now comes the exposure...

Ms. Pssst styling, pre-kneebar

After eating a bit of trail mix, we headed towards Ants line (5.9 G, 1 pitch 80 feet), something we had discussed in the car and which made Miss Pssst say that I was just like Lucas (a kid who climbs at TRC): a moron. Apparently Lucas, after barely getting to the top of his first 5.11, and just learning to lead, asked if he could lead that 11 he had recently top roped. So Kenway attacked the route first, and with great maestria (or mastery as you would say) lead the first half placing only impeccable pro while fighting the burning calfs (since this route involves heavy stemming). He came down, leaving the gear in place. I went up to the point he had stopped at, replaced his last piece which was the only one that wasn't perfect, and then started climbing, one clip at a time, sitting for long periods on each piece as I tried to fight the pump. Despite the lack of style, I made it to the top. Miss Pssst made a beautiful pink point of the route, making it look easy, and graceful, as usual. Kenway climbed it again, on TR, to clean the gear.

I've gotta put in pro *somewhere*

Nearing the steep stuff

G, past the crux and 4 dropped nuts

Showing the boys how it's done

Ms. Pssst shaking it out before heading up to the crux

By then it was 4 and we started packing our stuff. We dropped off Miss Pssst at TRC at 7, then rolled into town a little before 8. This was followed by the Metrics show at Terminal 5 for me (great sold out show).

Great day for morons, and for others (I think). I'll let Kenway add the pics (if he has time before Vegas) [edit - full set of photos here].

Some memorable quotes:
Friction doesn't need roughness.
How come don't you.
You know the guy is good when he climbs in his PJs.
Your nut is in my way.
Fuck.

"A life Jimmy. It's the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come." -Lester

Then, on Wednesday, we lived, because the moment of great climbing I was waiting for never came!

It was Brain and I. We made it in record time to TRC. We started on lead: 8 first (I think) then a 9. We were already pumped after that. We then tackled the new 12 slab (red) on TR. We both made it to about the middle.

We went for a new pumpy 10 on lead. Unfortunately I couldn't onsight it as I got stuck in the middle (actually there was a hold that I had missed), but I was happy with the fact that I down-climbed and rested a few times without panicking. Brian did it with 2 takes. The end is surprising as it involves two big moves. This was followed by a scary new 10 on lead close to the entrance (I took twice, and Miss Pssst who joined us onsighted it as if it was a piece of cake) -- nice catch Brain.

Then we went back to the 12 slab. I almost did it, falling only once right on the last move! Then miss Pssst gave it a shot, again she made it look better than we did. While she was working it I tried the new black 12 slab with Elle on belay (great belay BTW, especially for a newbie). Ouch, that is one tough start with a heel hook that wont stay in and a terrible handhold for both hands... maybe next time.

While I kept working the black 12 with Miss Pssst, Brian bouldered what looked like an interesting and very difficult problem: extra crimpy!

The Weight of the Atmosphere

Packed the van with Evangeline, Joana, Brian, and Kenway to go to the NJRG. Brian had a hard time keeping the discussion within the PG rating and Joana had a hard time keeping the music selection within the PG rating, but we managed to get there in good time and had quite a few laughs. Miss Pssst joined us there, and it was hard bouldering from then on.

Gravity seemed to be cranked particularly high for me, as I kept on falling on every problem I tried, but everyone else seemed to have regular to light gravity going. After a few warm up problems, we quickly went on to attack V4s and above problems and sustained this until the end 4 hours later.

A few highlights were: the yellow problem with black squiggles going up the arete that Joana liked. The V5 (purple or blue) problem that took Miss Pssst one try and took me a million tries. The super crimpy problem that Miss Pssst almost finished. Then in the room above there was Brian's purple V5 madness that involve pinching the top of this giant hold. Kenway, Miss Pssst and I really liked the the V8 beige problem that none of us could finish but that she almost did. And there was the V0 for Evangeline that finished under the roof. There was also the elephants crack, but I'll let Brian describe that one in the comments...

Joana and Kenway also did a bit of TR but I didn't see any of it.

2 days later I am still tired...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

I picked up miss Pssst in New Rochelle at 7:45. Of course we managed to get lost but we were back "en route" around 8:45. It was rather cool, and the feet were hard to feel, but this didn't stop us, nor did the occasional snow. I started by leading Bunny (5.4), miss Pssst followed and we rapped. Next miss Pssst lead Laurel (5.7) and I followed. She had made a nice lap coil: wow. We rapped down. She then lead Horseman (5.5) in 1 pitch using all the gear. I followed and felt some of the stances she stayed in for long periods to put in pro were rather scary. We walked down that one. After getting scared seconding a 5.5, in my typical logic, I decided to get on a 5.8+: Dirty Gertie. I was totally sketched out and it took me everything I have to finish it clean. Miss Pssst seconded, we rapped, and then she lead it (with a slight variation, but with a lot more style), I seconded, we rapped, and called it a day as we were frozen.

We drove back to TRC (getting lost on the way) and I decided to stay to climb a little. I started by doing a red from the comp where Miss Pssst's yellow is. Then I did the yellow Brian almost broke is neck on. That was followed by a 5.9 on TR with Miss Pssst. Then I did her yellow problem from the comp. We then TR a 5.11 which she onsighted but I took once. We followed by leading a new 10, a new 11, and a new 12. The 12 I had to stop 2 clips before the anchor.

I think its fair to say we pulled hard today!

New Jersey rocks

To shake things up a little, we spent the afternoon bouldering at NJRG, meeting up with Ms. Pssst in the wilds of New Jersey.

More to follow...

A Math Metal Night

In the absence of Joana: Eric, Kenway, Brian and myself discussed rhythmic complexities, idiomatic expressions found in the Bible, and the question of gun control in America given the evidence from comparative studies based on international data and the obvious difficulties such an approach entails. We also got stuck in traffic, but once we got to TRC, it was all climbing, and lots of it in a short amount of time.

Brian and myself warmed up leading a 5.9 in front of the entrance, while Kenway opted for a 10. Eric who hadn't climb in a while top roped a 5.8+. Then Brian and I tried the 10 Kenway had done. Getting over the lip proved too hard for us to flash it, but we were very close. At that point I lost track of K and E. Brian tried an 11 (pink) which is extremely hard in my opinion, and did good progress on it. I tried a new 12 red which starts by big open hands, followed by crimpers/pinches, and then a 2 finger pocket later on: ouch! It was a great route, I only wished I could have finished it. Kenway tried it as well and made it about as far as I did.

After that Brian wanted to boulder so I lead with miss Pssst who is back in action after a long hiatus. She on-sighted the brown 11 that took me forever to get (after saying how week she was...). Then we got on the 12 green. She did it with 1 stop, I needed 2.

To top it off, we did some easy bouldering, all in pairs (I can't remember the grades exactly, but something like): V0/V1, V2/V2, V3. The last one was too much for both of us. Then we reversed the order (although I failed on one of them).

Fallapalooza

Good solid Sunday afternoon of climbing at New Rochelle with Eric and Guillaume. Followed a nice steady progress of routes: 9, 9+, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12. Eric kept up well, climbing one of the 10s with us until peeling off to work on a few other 10s - he's at the point where he can work on all the moves individually, linking 'em up will be coming soon.

Guillaume was a monster as usual, both he and I and the venerable Miss Psst took a number of big falls from the first 12, which involved a veeerry tenuous clipping stance from a big ugly green sloper, far above the last bolt. I decided, after watching both G and M trying to unravel the dicey position, that I would climb past and clip from a theoretically better sidepull above but could not for the life of me pull past the awkward sloper. M really fought through the overhanging headwall above, though.

I feel the strength slowly comin' back, though, and am looking into a more structured climbing plan for the new year, most likely built around a schedule of bouldering and lead climbing with some contact training squeezed in.

His butt is always his problem!

Short bouldering session tonight with Brian, Joana, and a guest, directly from France, Guillaume H. Miss Psst and miss Deejay were there as well as a bunch of regulars and Rory, a friend of miss Deejay who was quite strong. We tackled some 2s, 3s, and 4s with mixed success. I took the major part of the evening trying to finish a camo 4 that everyone but myself seem to finish with ease. Jo worked a nice problem that went straight up at a steep angle and had some difficult moves past the overhang, very burly. Brian worked a super long problem in the far most corner of the gym that required to stay very low. After I tried it miss Psst declared that my butt was always my problem: ouch! Guillaume H. was getting back from climbing after a long hiatus and found that his body couldn't always do what he thought it should be doing... Rory, Angel, and Miss Psst worked on a great problem that looked unfeasible.

After the comment on my butt, and Jo complaining I was heavy (after I fell on her ankle), maybe I should pay more attention to my diet, here's a page which I thought had some interesting info: http://www.alanaragon.com/an-objective-look-at-intermittent-fasting.html (the part on Ramadan is interesting).

Super Dope

This was a long day, 1 hour of driving in the city in the morning, with 1 parking ticket on the way. Then a long drive to TRC with traffic jams at three different places along the way. Followed by a drive to Stone Ridge then back to get something I had forgotten and needed. To make it worst, God must have been angry at me for something as NPR was having a fund drive and every other radio station seemed to have agreed to play the worst music on earth, I had: the Jackson 5, Boy George, Def Leppard, George Michael, etc. But in the end, it was all good, just because of one climb...

The Kenway, Brian, Joana trio was heading out while Miss Psst McDonald and I were getting ready to climb. We started by doing Miss Psst's new traverse which is actually a better warm-up than the other one as it doesn't completely pump you out. This was followed by a nice warm-up lead 9- with some strange clips around the middle.

We then decided to top-rope, starting with an 11(d) right in front of the entrance: ouch! Miss Psst made it to the top with only one break. I on the other hand got stuck on the 3rd move. It might be slightly easier to make that move for someone slightly taller. Then we moved a couple of feet to the left to top-rope a new Heart route (12) which like the other ones was impossible. We both struggled our way to the top, with a couple of moves we couldn't really pull.

I then suggested we should try something different, like an easy lead, to get back in the groove of things. Next thing you know, Miss Psst is leading a 13 that starts under the arch. She worked her way to about 3/4 of the way with a few pauses. At that point she is above the arch, but the route follows the arch from around the corner and involves a lot of hooks and a crazy move she couldn't quite pull. While she was working it, some father told her son to look at her, he had exactly the expression of that boy stuck on his face (for almost 20 seconds). I then tried it, after the first 2 clips, I struggled for the next one which involves doing a move from a finger pocket to another finger pocket. After a while I cheated my way to the next clip, but could only work the next 2-3 moves.

This was followed by a green 12 set by Jason that follows a similar path to the 13. That was, for me, the highlight of the evening, it was hard, but felt feasible. We both worked our way to about the point where she abandoned the 13, above the beginning of the arch. We made the first 4 clips I think, but then both needed to pause before the next moves which are burly. The route involves many heel hooks. The point where we ended was rather scary as when you fall you catch the rope which is almost horizontal and under tension because you fall between two clips. I definitely want to try this one again.

Then we did some bouldering, or rather Miss Psst bouldered while I was falling apart. She sent two V4s and one V5 while I fell clumsily on everything I tried. We also tried an orange V5 in the far most corner of the gym which looks like it could have one nice hook that would need to be done very slowly with super core tension, perfect for Brian.

Also of note, Miss Psst earns a few new names and other stuff:

1. Super Dope: an employee put a sticker on her back that read "My name is Super Dope", and indeed she was.


2. Cutesie Balancy: after she finished the hearts route I said I was surprised as it seemed to be her style, balancy. She said it was not "cutesie balancy", but [insert grunt sound] balancy.


3. Mean Old Lady: She told a bunch of kids who ran through the gym that if they did that again, she would fall on them next time she climbed, and thus became, the Mean Old Lady.


4. Cow udder cream: once again I tried to help someone and instead received strange, slightly confused, looks. Psst, look here.

Happy Birthday Kenway

Everyone was on lead tonight to celebrate Master Louie's birthday. Master Louie and Aikido Eric came for a quick session as Master Louie had to leave early to celebrate his 21st birthday with a few drinks.

After we all warmed up on the traverse, Eric and Brain worked some 9's and 10's (in particular a long 10 that started on one side of the arch and finished on the other side). Master Louie and I sticked to our training plan of alternating easy and hard climbs, with the master giving a solid performance on the green 12, but not implementing his crazy clip-late plan. He followed this by onsighting the long 10.

Then we were joined by Miss Pssst McDonald who had the perfomances of the night, making the crazy pink 12 looking like a piece of cake while taking only one break on the way up and sending that elusive boulder problem from last Wednesday that has a crazy finish. Brain also shined on the blue 11 without falling after the first clip (something neither Master Louie nor I seem capable of doing).

We finished with one more go at the traverse which really finished whatever ounce of energy I had.