Summer Lovin'

Now that summer school is over, and I am still "funemployed," I have had a lot of time to climb lately. I have recently started picking up bouldering, as I finally feel I have enough strength to enjoy working problems. After a week, I was able to finish my first V4, the Monkey Traverse in Flagstaff, and it felt pretty easy once I figured out the beta and took my time on the two no-hands rests. I spent a session on The Consideration V4, and I feel it will go during the next session. I think after that, I will start working on V5s at Three of a Kind and the Red Wall as well.

          After getting my ass kicked in Yosemite Valley, I have decided to build my traditional "pyramid" by climbing all of the sub-5.10 routes in Eldo that Levin gives 3 or 4 stars in his guidebook. After excluding the routes I had already ticked, that left about 60 routes total. The first couple sessions, my roommate Mike and I ticked off about three routes on Wind Tower a day. We were able to climb Pseudo Sidetrack with the direct finish (5.5R) and Recon 5.6 (11 pitches total linked down to 6) in just under 4 hours, car to car. Recently, I summited Shirt Tail Peak, the highest point in Eldorado, with my future roommate Nick on the route Gambit 5.8.  Though this is easy goings for now, I am a bit apprehensive about the 5.9+R/X cimbs I will have to do in the near future, like Highway of Diamonds, The Flaw, and Jack the Ripper. I plan on ticking these after feeling comfortable on the 10s in Eldo. 

          After 2 failed attempts in RMNP, my buddy Colin convinced me to go and climb the Diamond on Monday with him on Ariana 5.12a. Colin is training for his Alpine Mentorship tryouts in October and is climbing up in the park at least once a week. We woke up in the parking lot at 3:30, and after a power breakfast of Pop-Tarts and chai tea, we headed out on the 6 mile approach. We soloed up the North Chimney soon after sunup, and started on the first 11a pitch. I was originally going to lead all 3 5.9 pitches, but after I lead the 70’ 5.9 second pitch, we decided that under this time crunch, Colin would lead the rest for time’s sake. The sun was hidden behind the smoke from the fires all day, and it was definitely chillier than I had expected; it even snowed on us on the fifth and sixth pitches. As Colin started up the 4^th pitch crux, I was surprised to see just how much he was sewing it up. We did bring triples from blue Metolius to .4 Camalot, and Colin used up almost every piece. He did end up falling once and taking twice, but he seems convinced now that he knows the beta, he can send it in a good weather day (when it’s warm enough to feel your fingers). I now know that climbing at 13.5 thousand feet is a completely different story, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. We made it back to the car at about 8, for a total time of 16 hours car to car.

           Gil Weiss’ memorial was today in Boulder, and unfortunately, I could not make it. I had only briefly met and climbed with him in Devil’s Tower and Yosemite, but his zeal for climbing and life was infectious. I had always been told that if you climb long enough, a friend will be lost to the mountain sometime. I had accepted this to be true, but I had not expected this to happen to me after only 2 years of climbing. I ask those that read this to be careful and safe, and remind everyone that your actions affect more people than you know.

          This is my first blog, but you will definitely hear more from me in the near future.

Intro to the New River Gorge

By: Urs Moosmuller

The weekend after Governor Stables we got a group together from Earth Treks to head out to the New River Gorge in West Virginia. The drive was longer than we expected and we ended up getting lost trying to find our friends who were camped at a free camping area somewhere deep in the middle of the countryside. We gave up around 1am looking for them and found a spot to crash for the night. The next morning our friends found us and we headed to The Coliseum at Summerville Lake. Let me start by saying Summerville Lake is one of my favorite climbing areas in the country. The Coliseum is a huge tsunami style wall with powerful climbing on perfect crimps and pockets. The routes are all really unique and each pitch is varied with a wide range of moves. The crag is located right next to the river with perfect diving spots and some illegal deep water soloing. With swimming right of the base of the routes and an amphitheater of 5.13’s and 14’s, this place blew my mind! I warmed up and sent The Pod 5.13b and played around on the other 13’s and checked out the area test piece: Still Life 5.14b. Still Life is one of the hardest routes I have attempted and the crux was baffling. After a few attempts I was starting to understand how to climb through the crux, but it would take a lot of work to even come close to sending. The rest of the day was spent swimming and hanging out with a very energetic crowd of climbers of all levels. The next day we headed to Beauty Hill and hiked down to check out The Travisty 13c and some of the super classic moderate routes on the cliff line. I started on Mensa 12a and had a lot of fun with the famous New River lock offs. After a quick break I jumped on Chunky Monkey 12b and barely pulled off the onsight. Coming down I definitely thought it was more in the 12c range and one of the best routes of the grade. Next up was The Travisty. For the rest of the day I worked the moves and sequences out but in the end I just didn’t have it in me to send. The day ended and we spent the night by the river hanging out. On day three we headed over to check out The Greatest Show On Earth 5.13a. Before coming to the east coast I had seen pictures and videos of this route and I was blown away by how stunning and perfect the line was. Sitting at the base and gazing up at it in real life was sobering. It is the most stunning trad line I have seen. We weren’t planning on doing any trad climbing so we headed over to do the classic Toxic Hueco 5.11d. The route turned out to be really amazing on huge huecos and powerful moves to big holds. It was a really good warm-up and I headed over to Cock Diesel 5.13b. This route tackles a 5 ft dead horizontal roof with a super long and powerful move to the lip that was probably in the v7 range. After several attempts I was able to pull the crux but fell off right after the crux move when my foot surprisingly slipped right off. My friend Will fired it next try as the last route of the day. Our friends left after that and for the rest of the day we climbed some moderates. Day four was our last day and we decided to head back to Beauty Mountain to see if I had the energy to finish off The Travisty. After warming up, I got passed the main crux were I was falling earlier but was stopped cold at the top slab due to wet holds...I lowered off and we called it a day. The rain from the previous night had soaked most of the rock and it was hopeless to climb anymore. We packed everything up and headed back to Maryland anxious to come back. 

Governor Dodge Stables Bouldering

By: Urs Moosmuller

After a week of training in the gym, we headed out to a small bouldering area in Pennsylvania. Governor Dodge is quite the hidden little spot. Finding the area took a lot of back tracking and walking around, but after 20 minutes of searching we finally found the entrance.  The hike in is pretty cool, because there are no signs of rock anywhere and suddenly you enter this little gorge and find some pretty decent sized boulders all over the hill side. We ticked off the most obvious lines like: Bread Loaf Arete V4, Juggernaut V5, and Karmic Power V5. I got the chance to get on an unknown line that looked really cool and  it turned out to be Lock N’ Load V10. I worked it until past dark and we headed back to find a place to crash for the night. The next day we woke up and hiked back in to the first set of boulders and warmed up on some really good moderates. Clouds were starting to move in so we hiked over to Slap Me V7 and with 100 percent humidity the sloper crux seemed impossible. Fifteen minutes later a down pour hit and for a while the boulder stayed dry. We played around on it until the trees above the boulder started shedding water on us. We packed up and sprinted back to the car and made the decision to head back to Maryland. It was a short but fun trip. First time outdoor climbing in the east coast!!

The Journey Begins

By: Urs Moosmuller

I left Boulder, Colorado at 6:45 A.M and began my long two day drive to the east coast. The sun was just barely peeking out over the horizon and already it was in the 80’s. As I drove farther into the flat plains I managed one last glance at the Rocky Mountains before disappearing into the endless flat plains of eastern Colorado. The rest of Colorado went pretty quickly and I entered Kansas on an empty tank. I fueled up at the closest gas station and pulled out of the gas station ready to knock off 300 miles before stopping again. Five minutes into the drive my car starts acting weird. I look down to see my car overheating, the service engine light is on, and I was starting to loose steering. Immediately I coasted to the nearest rest stop and pulled over to see the damage. After waiting for ten minutes to let the car cool off, I popped open the hood and started looking for anything serious. My belt was completely off, but it didn’t seem to be damaged. I looked closer and found that my water pump was broken and there was nothing I could do. I called AAA and got a tow truck to take me to the nearest hotel and a mechanic. It was sunday and there were no shops open so I had to get a room at the cheapest hotel. I got a chance to check the weather forecast and realized it was going to be a hundred degrees for the next few days and without air conditioning it would be brutal. The next morning I talked to the mechanic and they didn’t have any water pumps in the town so I had to wait another day. Day two was extremely boring and I did nothing but watch T.V and hope the internet would work for more than 5 minutes. I went to bed early and the next morning my car was fixed and running like a champ. I left Goodland, Kansas and started on the extremely boring drive through the rest of Kansas. By noon it was already in the hundreds and with the added humidity it felt like I was in a constant sauna. The sweat became unbearable and I found myself pouring water over my head every hundred miles. I finally made it into the evening where it cooled off nicely and I was able to cruise late into the night. The next day I only had 600 miles to drive and I left in the morning and arrived in Rockville, Maryland around 7pm east coast time. This marks the beginning of a nine month long climbing trip that I have been planning for the past year. My friend Daniel Clarke agreed to join me on this adventure and I am now beginning the training phase with him. For one month we are training in the countries largest indoor gym. Then its off to the New River Gorge, Red River Gorge, Horse Pens 40, Hueco Tanks, Flagstaff, J-Tree, Red Rocks, Yosemite, Bishop, and Smith Rocks. We will be spending roughly a month in each area. I am super excited and cant wait to be on the road and climbing in some of the countries best climbing areas!