Walker Creek Boulders

I went for a hike with my friend Alex in the National Forest outside of Barnardsville a couple of weeks ago. I was totally psyched to find some boulders along the Walker Creek trail, including one pretty large boulder in particular. I've been back 3 or 4 times now to do some cleaning (there's lots of moss and a few loose flakes) and put up some lines. I've been calling the big boulder 'the sanctuary'; it's near a creek, is shady in the afternoon, and is a short hike in. So far, I've put up about 8 lines from V0 to V4/V5. There is a great warm up wall with a few Vo problems and a 25 foot (or so) v1-ish traverse. On the overhanging wall, the best lines so far are Chakra Khan (V3) and Not a Prayer (v4/V5). It's been a long time since I've been climbing well and these climbs were really dirty for the FA; both of those factors are possibly affecting my ratings, so I look forward to getting consensus. I've also begun work on a really hard line that'll probably be V8 or so. I'm having trouble just making the first moves!

Aside form the Sanctuary boulder, there are some more rocks up the trail at about 10 minutes in. I haven't gotten a chance to go back and clean these up yet. My feeling is there are probably more boulders out here if I found all of these right next to the trails.



A few videos (and I've already caught hell from numerous people for wearing the tank top, but feel free to add to the abuse) :

The Path (V2-ish), Sanctuary, Walker's Creek from Frixtion on Vimeo.

A fun problem that would be way harder if it weren't for the HUGE footholds. I almost fall off the top when I grab a bunch of dirt instead of rock.

Chakra Khan (V3), the Sanctuary boulder, Walker's Creek from Frixtion on Vimeo.

This is the first ascent of a new line on the Sanctaury at Walker's Creek boulders, Barnardville, NC. Sorry for the hands getting cut off. This more about showing the new boulder.

Rope Marking?

This is an open question to anyone who thinks they know an answer.

I'm thinking about ordering a New England 10.2 60 meter rope from REI that's only like $140. The only problem with the rope, besides the fact that it's ugly, is it has no middle markings.

Is it safe to use a Sharpie (or something like it) to mark the middle? I'd hate to somehow corrode the sheath and not realize I'd weakened it until I'm belaying you on that project you keep taking whippers on. What do rope makers use to mark the middle?

Thanks for any advice.

**UPDATE:

Here's some info from Stewart Green from his page here:

How do I mark the middle of my rope?

If your rope doesn’t have a middle mark, then you can use a black permanent marker to designate the mid-point. Look for a marker made specifically for your rope by checking the manufacturer’s website. Be aware that the UIAA Safety Commission did tests with felt-tipped permanent marker pens, including those made specifically for marking ropes, and found a decrease in the “energy absorption capacity of the rope.” They therefore warn against marking a rope with any marker or substance not specifically approved by the rope manufacturer. But they also say that the chances of a rope breaking where you marked it as “nearly zero.” So you take your chances.

Marking With Tape or Thread

Some climbers use a piece of tape—duct tape or electrical tape—wrapped around the middle of the rope. This works…for awhile, but after a few pulls through carabiners the tape is gone. An alternative is to use some bright sewing thread and stitch it through the middle of the rope for a dozen or so turns. This works too but if the rope gets dirty, than the thread gets dirty. Using thread or tape won’t harm the rope and both are easy to replace.

And another post from Traditional Mountaineering:

No manufacturer will condone the use of permanent marking ink on the middle mark of a climbing rope. This would require the chemical analysis of the ink (which might be different over time) by the rope manufacturer. Bluewater sells a (non-permanent) marking pen with a Ph only approved for their own ropes.

The option of marking the middle of a climbing rope with tape is also questionable. How does the adhesive in the electrical or athletic tape react over time with the materials of the rope? One climbing rope wholesale representative states that the Ph of athletic tape may not damage the rope but points out that tape can come loose quickly and slide away from the original placement.

So, everything I found is kind of conflicting. Some sites claimed it wasn't a good idea to use a marker and that in some cases it weakened the rope by 50%. Then, in others it noted the weakness but said it wasn't really a problem. And tape can move and the chemicals can possibly harm the rope, too. And thread? Really? Maybe I'm crazy but it seems like the worst idea to actually pass a needle through the actual core of the rope!

The Dump

It's hard to believe that I spent 4 years at ASU and never went to the Dump (AKA Warpin Endorphin wall). I was just way too obsessed with bouldering, I guess. But thanks in large part to my many various and ongoing injuries, I'm not so obsessed with bouldering and have found renewed interest in sport climbing (where there are a lot less repetitious hard moves done in one day). It's crazy that it's been almost a year now since I tweaked my left shoulder and neck and it's still bothering me.

Anyway, Melissa and I went up on Sunday and the weather was perfect, though a little warm since the cliff is south facing. I had no idea that this crag is so popular, either. There was a constant flow of people all day, and I even had to ask some college kids to turn off the country music they were blasting from an iPod while Melissa attempted her first sport lead ever (she did great). It was so loud and they were so obnoxious that she couldn't concentrate.

We only had a few hours to spend at the crag, but it was fun and definitely worth going back to. I stayed on pretty easy terrain--a few 5.10s and 5.9s, but everything felt a few letter grades harder than the rating. There are definitely a few routes at the Dump in the 12+ range worth projecting, and most of them stay in the shade of the big roof a lot of the day, so I may head there a few more times this summer and try to get some strength back. The stiff grades combined with the fact that I haven't climbed in 3 weeks made me realize how freaking weak I'm getting, even though I've been working hard in the gym to counteract muscle imbalances. I guess the strength just doesn't translate. The good news is I have no pain in my shoulder today. Sweet. Hopefully all the non-climbing work is finally paying off.

This Commercial is Kinda F**

Panasonic released this commercial in an effort to appeal to climbers with their rugged waterproof camera. It's kinda funny, but kinda fucked up, too. See if it appeals to you:

Corey Rich Interview

For anyone following this blog for awhile, you know I edited a book last year called Digital Masters: Adventure Photography, by Michal Clark. In the back of the book, we included a great interview with famous adventure sports photographer Corey Rich. We had to cut down the interview in the book for space reasons and we've just now put the entire interview manuscript online, and it's an entertaining read for anyone, not just adventure photogs. Check it out here.

photo copyright Blaine Deutsch / Aurora Photos

Vegas Part II

It's been crazy busy since we got back from vacation in Red Rocks a month ago; I started an exciting new project at work that's been taking up a lot of my mental space. I also just got back from NYC for a few days having meetings about the project. Exciting stuff. Anyway, it's taken me awhile to get pictures up from the second half of the trip to Vegas. This time around, I'm gonna have to make the description short and sweet and let the pics speak for themselves. After we got back from Flagstaff, we spent 3 more days climbing in the park. We met up with a really cool couple from CA and climbed with them for a couple of days. I finally stepped up to a couple of 5.11s, which were really fun, and my shoulder held up well. So that's the short and sweet update. Enjoy the images:

Vegas Part I

You wouldn't think taking a short hop out to Vegas would be too tiring...but strangely it is. I was dragging ass a bit when we got here on Saturday afternoon (musta been the 3:30am alarm to catch a 6am flight). But my whole outlook changed when we got close to Red Rocks for the first on Sunday. When you're down in Vegas you can see mountains off on the distant horizon, but they are pretty much silhouettes most of the day. When you're driving up 215 and you're getting close to the mountains, they still appear as mostly dusty gray peaks, and something about the geography still hides the view of Red Rocks, but as soon as you turn right onto Charleston Blvd...bam! The Canyon is sprawled out panoramic-style in your windshield, and the bright colors create an amazing contrast to the gray landscapes nearby. I pretty much wet myself. There is a lot of damn rock here.

The weather on Sunday was pretty great--warm with a pretty strong wind at times. We climbed in the Calico Hills at an area called the Panty Wall, which had a really great collection of bolted moderates. A perfect way to get introduced to the canyon. There were quite a few people there from all over--Germany, British Columbia, California. I love world-class climbing areas for the opportunity to meet people from all over. I took a lot of pictures of these folks because it seemed every time I turned around, there was another great photo op. There was just so much color and space and geometry, especially after being so used to trying to shoot in the close quarters of the East coast woods.

Our second day in the park, Monday, wasn't nearly as fun. The weather was cold and windy as hell, so we ended up hiking around all afternoon. There was even snow on the ground in some shady parts of the canyon. We left Asheville for this? We spent the day getting wind chapped and reconnoitering for later in the week. That night we also went to the Vegas strip with Melissa's cousin and her husband...both were very cool people. Melissa and I didn't gamble at all when we were there, which seems to upset a lot of people who I tell this fact to. I was happy just to wander around a take pictures. And for anyone wondering, no...we didn't get married, either.

The weather was looking crappy for the next couple of days so we decided to make the drive over to Flagstaff, AZ, about 4 hours away. We spent 2 days there, and the whole town was covered in tons of snow--which figures since the town's elevation is about 7000 feet. There were 15 foot piles plowed into the corner of some parking lots...needless to say, no climbing got done, but we had a god time checking out the city. I did try to go scope out one bouldering area that's only 5 minutes from town--Buffalo Park. While Melissa wisely stayed in the car I hiked a few hundred yards across a barren white landscape only to fall into a chest-deep hole covered by snow between 2 boulders. Luckily, I only tweaked my knee a bit, but it was enough to send me back to the car.

We also did a side trip down to Sedona one evening for dinner and were blown away by the drive and the whole area. Tons of sandstone formations and towers everywhere. We got some crappy pictures b/c it was getting late, but this is a place definitely worth visiting again someday, especially since it was snow-free in February and we heard lots of good things about a local bouldering spot called the Anvil boulders. So on Thursday morning, it was back to Vegas... (Part II to come soon)

Sunrise (V7) at Rumbling Bald

Stuart Turner working Sunrise on the Cereal Boulder.

I went out to Rumbling Bald this past Sunday, and though there was a lot of snow on the ground, the rock was dry and crisp. I spent the first half of the day going easy, wary of overdoing it. But then I got caught up in trying to 2 problems on the Cereal boulder with a fun crew of guys listening to techno music. Ah, the sweet motivation of house / trance / jungle beats. I was actually able to send a sweet V6/V7 called 'Sunrise' on the boulder. I guess the yoga and working out are paying off. Or the techno....

I shot some pictures that day, but this video of Zach climbing Sunrise is the coolest stuff I captured. He totally floats most of the climb and makes it look easy...until the top.

Zach on Sunrise (V7) from Frixtion on Vimeo.

Vegas, baby!

While it's been looking very up in the air whether Melissa and I were going to be able to take our planned Vegas trip next week, the trip is finally coming together. We're flying out on Saturday and will be there all of next week. And depending on conditions, we might make the 5-hour drive to Flagstaff, too! I've only been to Vegas once--and it was weird (live lions and gambling, oh my!)--but I'm psyched to be going back for climbing this time. Red Rocks looks amazingly good. Now we just gotta teach Melissa to rappel so we can hit up some classic multi-pitch (or try to find some walk-offs).

I'll try to post pictures from the road if I can! And thanks in advance to Howie F. and Chris D. for the guidebook loans.

Site Updates

As you can see when you opened this blog, I'm in the process of making some updates / changes to the site. For awhile now, I've been wanting to go with a cleaner look that appeared more like a website, since there were some additional features I wanted to add. By using the links at the top of the page, you can go to the Current Conditions page, which I posted about last week. This is a user-generated forum for sharing beta about the rock conditions. I think I have figured out the issue with why the page was getting spammed. So it should be working fine now. Note to all of you who might have plugged the email address for page the into your phone--the address has changed! Again, I had to do this because of the spammers. Dirty, dirty internet...but check out the page for details on the email change.

Also new is the Climbing Area page. I started a google map of some of the best and well known areas in WNC. I'll be adding some basic beta and images for each of the areas as I have time. Anyone can update the map, so feel free to jump in and share anything on there. It's just another resource for people to check out and use as they see fit. All of the pages--the blog, the Climbing Conditions page, and the map-- are in kind of a Beta stage for now as I tinker around with the new look and feel.

Please let me know what you think! It's still got some rough edges to work out (sadly, you can't build a shadow site in blogger while your working out the kinks), but I'm happy to hear any feedback.

What does $80,000 buy these days?

Well, if you love big rocks, it buys a hell of a lot. If you've ever bouldered at Rumbling Bald even once, chances are pretty much guaranteed that you climbed on one of the boulders in the recent CCC land purchase. Take a look at the map below to see how much area this purchase covers. And now those boulders are protected from development and accessible to climbers forever...to me, that's pretty much priceless. And in reality, you couldn't buy a house in Asheville with 3 walls for that money, even in a recession. So the guys at the CCC got a lot of land and a lot boulders for a great price.

Click to Enlarge

Still, the loan does have to get paid off! If you value the Bald and can make a donation towards this great cause--awesome. (You can do that here.) If you can't work that angle, perhaps you can ante up some good schwag for a raffle instead. There will be a few of them happening to support the cause at local climbing gyms (to be announced). Maybe the company you work for makes something cool and can spare a few? I'm trying to wrangle up some copies of the Adventure Photography book I just edited to give away. Get creative! Like Brad Caldwell in SC, who is selling topos to a local bouldering area to raise funds. Every bit helps! So if it's been awhile since you had a lemonade stand, break out that Country Time and the big pitcher and set up in the parking lot at a local bouldering spot. Contact Zachary Lesch-Huie at the CCC with any ideas for ways to help.

Also, it's tax time people...think tax write off!

One Year Old (+ a month or two)

I just realized that I started this blog just a little over a year ago. Thanks to everyone who keeps checking in--I just looked at the data for the site and it had over 2,000 visits last year. That's not huge by any website standard, but it's cool to know that the stuff posted here isn't just going into the ether. Regardless, 2,000 visits seems like a big number to me. When I first started the blog last year I had a small injury in my right shoulder that got better quickly; I was bouldering V8 again by March of 09 and working on sending my first 5.13 (which i never did cuz I broke a key hold on the route, Purgatory, at Ghost Town, which is now closed sadly). Then I got injured in June in my left shoulder and neck and it's been pretty rocky (pardon the pun) since then. I haven't been as involved in climbing, and hence this blog, as much as I would have liked in the last 7 months. But I keep working out and doing PT, and I like to think I'll be up and climbing stronger again soon. But I had a very cliche realization while I was climbing in the gym this Sunday (to wet out for the Bald). I was stuck climbing problems that wouldn't have been a challenge a year ago, but I wasn't too bummed. In fact, I was still having a great time and I wanted to slap myself for thinking that the best climber is the one having the most fun. But I guess it's true in a lot of ways, cliche as it sounds. So whether I'm climbing V2 or V8 in the next year, I just hope to keep climbing and seeing you all out there (and here).