Rumbling Bald 1.9.2010

It was my first day climbing in the New Year, and it was great to see the usual crew all together. Because it was a cold day (though not as cold as was forecasted), we stayed over on the West side of the field to keep in the sun. The highlight of the day was when Ben Newton, seen in the images below, got the first ascent of the Bobby Brown Arete (V8). It just goes to show that this field is far from tapped out--this new line is just to the left of the classic Liza Minnelli Corner (V4). Lots of people had been trying this line this winter, and as far as we know, Ben was the first to send. The best thing about the bulge? it made people have some wack looking expressions while they climbed it. Check it out in the pics below. I'll post a few more from later that day soon.

Clockwork Orange Physical Therapy

For anyone who's been following this blog, you know I've been dealing with a jacked up left shoulder and neck for the last six months. That's part of the reason why this blog has been way less active--I've simply been climbing a lot less, sadly, in the hopes of improving. While it's gotten better, the problem continues to linger at about 80% of my normal capacity, without signs of getting better. Hitching me up to the "Traction" machine seen here is my PTs latest attempt at a solution. It's supposed to stretch out the muscles in my neck. I kept waiting for the metal inserts that would keep my eyes open while forcing me to look at porn, a la clockwork orange. Sadly, no porn...just 15 minutes of neck elongation with more to come next week.

Late Summer Throwback

I was just cleaning up my desktop and found a few photos from a day Melissa and I spent at Hawksbill this past September. It was a beautiful Saturday and we were the only people there all day--it was pretty amazing.

Injury On the Wane

About 2 weeks ago I got some new exercises from my PT for my shoulder and they surprisingly helped almost over nite. I've been hitting the climbing gym once a week since then and got out to Rumbling Bald this weekend with my girlfriend, Melissa, and friends Ben, Alex, and Katie. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy enjoying myself and climbing worry-free for the first time in almost 6 months. I surprised myself by pulling Dime Crack (V4) first go, Rotator Cuff (stiff V5) second try, and Full Contact (V6) after a few goes. I also fell just short of the top of the Happy Ending for Kung Fu Grip (V6). In short, I'm feeling pretty good about things right now. Sure, I've got to log lots of PT time, stretch a lot, ice my shoulder and neck after climbing, and dose up on Ibuprofen, but it's all worth it to be climbing somewhat strong again. We ended the day on Patio Roof (V8), which Ben almost sent, and I floundered on. So I'm not that strong quite yet. :) But it's still early in the season...

Melissa whipped out the camera for a few quick shots of Patio Roof:

Busy, Busy, Busy

Instead of getting to play outside this past Saturday (which as sunny and in the 60s), I go to experience the joy of painting my house. Yes, scraping, priming, breathing in lead paint from the 70s--the whole deal. Interestingly, however, I think that using a roller is good PT for shoulders. I'm going to have to tell my Physical Therapist about that. Maybe he can send some people over to do the rest of the house in the coming weeks.

Since I've been so slammed with work and house stuff, I've been too preoccupied to go back into my images from a few weeks ago and get them all processed and uploaded. So I decided I just post a quick pic from a trip to Knoxville from 2 weeks ago, when we went to go visit Melissa's parents. By searching on rockclimbing.com, I found a lead on a bouldering area called Look Rock just 30 minutes from the house. We went and spent all day there and had a pretty good time. There's a good amount of rock there that's reminiscent of Rock Town; the main problem is that much of it is about 30 feet high or so. Kind of tall for bouldering, and almost not worth the trouble for TR-ing. And since the Obed's not far away, this place doesn't see much traffic. Still, it was a good find when I wasn't expecting much in the first place. I took some nice 15 foot falls off one problem, which made me feel like I got my adrenaline fix out of the place. This picture was taken with a cell phone...i forgot my camera that day.

Last weekend I finally got to climb Sitting Bear in Linville Gorge (near Hawksbill). I had never been up there, and it's worth checking out, even if the climbing is limited. It's a really bizarre 45-50 foot pillar sticking out of the ridge line. The original bolted route was once rated 5.8; it's now known to be 5.10 and it felt like a hard 5.10, too. I topped out right at sunset and the view down the gorge was pretty sweet. Too bad I forgot my camera on that day too. I need to get a smaller camera for these quick snapshot moments so I don't always have to carry a full D-SLR.

Check out this link for a pic: flickr.com/photos/99518199@N00/1375758285

Not Dead

Well, not all is as bad as whined about in my last post from some time ago. I've just been super slammed with work deadlines and some other personal junk too boring to go into. The good news is that the knee is doing very well and my shoulder has been (slowly) on the mend. The bad news is I haven't been climbing nearly as much as usual in the last 2 months and have probably slipped down to a V5 bouldering level on a good day. I got out like twice during all of October...cryin' shame. I do have some pictures to post soon from my 30th b-day bouldering party/outing at the N. Side of Rumbling Bald from the weekend of Oct. 24th. Stay tuned...will try to get pics up soon.

Bad Luck Con't.

Well, if it wasn't bad enough to have been dealing with a jacked up knee, shoulder, and neck over the last few months, I got wicked sick with a bad cold the week before Labor day, and it carried on through the holiday weekend. There have been times in the last few months when I've just been wondering, really, should I even keep doing this? I seem to just keep hurting myself, and getting sick only made my attitude worse. Still, after sleeping all day Saturday and resting on Sunday, Melissa and I decided to at least go to Grandmother for the afternoon. Since I was still recovering I stuck to the easy warm ups, while Melissa pulled of some pretty surprising sends of some tall-ish problems near Throttle. The most exciting part of the day came when I fell off the top of the Chainsaw boulder while manteling a slightly slick top out, missed the pad, and bounced off a big rock, and then landed backwards into a dead tree, tweaking both my wrists in the process. This really helped my morale.

The good news is my mood has improved late this week with the cooler weather and some new PT exercises that are really helping my shoulders, making me feel that perhaps not all is doom and gloom after all and that I may just be able to climb more than 5.8s for the rest of my life. If all goes well, I'm gonna try to head back to Grandmother this weekend. Hopefully both the weather and my mood will be improved over last week.

I find that the problem with being passionate about something like climbing and having it be a main motivator and passion in your life is the havoc in can wreak when it's taken away. And I think that idea, more than anything, was the main driver behind my feelings of doubt about climbing lately. I think there's a voice in the back of my head starting to say, "if you don't have this anymore, what do you have to look forward to, what's next?" And I think it's scary not having any real answer to that.

Rainy Sunday

This has been by far the wettest summer I can remember in the 10 years I've lived in WNC. Great for bringing the water table back up after the droughts, not so good for the climbing. Ah, well. You take the good with the bad. Melissa and I still tried to get out and find some dry rock, and we met up with Zach and Heath at a wee little cliff Zach's been developing that stayed dry for the afternoon, even during a good downpour at one point. That's the thing about climbing in the South--specifically here in WNC-- if you're determined to climb, it's possible almost any day of the year if you work with the geography.

My shoulder's been feeling better so I tried the two brand new lines, a 5.11- and a 5.12- (those grades are estimates at this point), and I got within about 2 feet of flashing the 5.12! So not too bad for having not trained at all for the last 2 months.

Even though it wasn't a balmy day, we had to partake in the sick water slide nearby. It beats any other water slide I've seen in the region for it's length and magical ability to somehow not hurt your arse. Be sure to check out the corny super hero pose we copped in the pool at the bottom.

As for pictures, I'm loving the new Canon Rebel T1i I just started using. It really captures colors well, especially on cloudy days like this one. I got some really killer shots of Heath on the 5.12 by getting up on a nearby boulder. Check out the crazy flag move where he's basically parallel with the ground!

A reminder about the photos: to see them larger in the sideshow, click on the 4 arrows in the bottom corner to see them full screen. And if you like some and want to download em, click on the image and it'll bring you to my flickr page where you can save them to your desktop.

Rangers @ Grandmother

I was at Grandmother boulders climbing this Sunday, and for the first time in 10 years of climbing there, I saw not one but two Forest Service rangers go by on the trail together near Throttle. Whether you think this is a good thing or bad thing, it's simply something to be aware. Whether rangers are there or not, it's always good to be on your best behavior while at Gma (as it is at all climbing spots). I'm for sure not the preachy type so I won't go into details--all climbers should know what's acceptable behavior and how to pick up after themselves. Just thought I'd pass on the news...

Blue Hole, TN

Good news! There is, in fact, rock climbing within a half hour of Johnson City. For anyone who doesn't know, I live in Asheville and my girlfriend, Melissa, lives in Johnson City--a place not exactly known for climbing. So when I'm there visiting, I'm generally planning how we can get to Boone for the day! But at an hour away, it's not always practical. So when we heard rumors from a friend that this swimming hole called Blue Hole had rock, we were more than skeptical. Simply put, non-climbers don't know what climbable rock looks like. For example, we recently drove past a chossy quarry with one guy from JC and he said, "Hey, can you climb that?! You use those steel-toed boots with the nails on 'em, right?" Yes, it's 1945, pal!

Anyway, we drove up to Blue Hole thinking we could at least get some swimming in--and were surprised to find a lot of rock there. It's a strange mix of quartz-like rock and a sandstone conglomerate I'm guessing. There are a few boulders and some low cliffs, some with overhangs and most slabby, but all waaay dirty! The route and bouldering potential is limited, and time investment is probably high thanks to moss, but it's mentally calming somehow to know there is rock near at hand. (I know, I've got a problem!) Even without the rock, Blue Hole is a pretty neat area--kind of a mini, mini gorge with a cool swimming hole and a couple of small waterfalls. I'm sure we''ll be heading back soon, fat toothbrushes in hand. And to watch locals do back flips off the cliff above the falls. Check out this blog for more info and directions.

Melissa's Big Day

The last time Melissa and I climbed at Table Rock was in May. We did Jim Dandy (5.4) and the Cave Route (5.5), two classic beginner climbs. Melissa did well on both of them, but admitted to being freaked out on Cave Route. Well, she got some redemption this Sunday. We went back to the Cave Route and she not only cruised up it easily, but also did her first multi-pitch climb by doing the second pitch of the route as well. And the good news is she wants to do more...so she didn't get scarred for life or anything. We wrapped up the day by going to Beacon Heights, where we were lucky to run into Zach L-H, his mom, and Ron Dawson. Zach just got back from the Cirque of the Unclimbables in Canada and it was great to see him back safe.

Gearing up in the Table Rock parking lot.


Melissa on the first pitch of the Cave Route.

Gearing Up for the Fall Comeback

I've now done two very light climbing outings, one at Blowing Rock boulders a couple of weeks ago and another in the ETSU climbing gym, and the results are pretty encouraging. The shoulder and neck are a bit sore, but my knee is feeling about 95% back to normal. So I'm thinking I'm definitely getting close to be back up to speed (about time!). I'm going to try some easy multi-pitch at Table Rock this weekend with Melissa, and possibly some light bouldering. If all goes well, I hope to be back at it full speed by the end of the month. Fingers crossed, ya'll...