Sacred Geometry 5.13c - Second Ascent

Here is a short video of my ascent of Sacred Geometry in the Red River Gorge. The video was shot on an iphone without a tripod so its a little shaky.

http://vimeo.com/53984663

Bishop Trip 2-1 By Lucas Larson

Over the weekend I was able to take my first trip to Bishop this season. New season means new climbs and new struggles along the way. I got to take my girlfriend, Cat Carpenter down there for her first time climbing down there. She grew up in Mammoth and has been to Bishop before but not for climbing. I have a lot of goals this year on what I want to send and try my hardest at. Since it was only the first trip of the season and many more to come soon, I knew this  trip wasn't going to be a big send trip. The first trip never usually is anyways. Driving down 395, looking out the window into the cold, crisp clean air and realizing that I am home yet again. I look at Bishop more of my home than I do any where else. We drove down after I got off work Friday night and met Dustin down there.

Waking up after listening it lightly rain outside the tent, we woke up in a circle of clouds hugging the mountains around the little town. We headed toward the Happy Boulders to do some nice climbs and show the girl why is it  we climbers come here. After warming up and having to head to the rim due to Panda Bear (Dustin's dog) being a b*tch, we decided to head over to Cholos. (v9) I have never done it before and I have never really looked at the climb at all, just pictures of Dustin climbing it. After laying down the pads and trying to figure out where I needed to go, I started the climb and made it pretty far for never being on it. Realizing that I was pretty damn close just made me more determinded to climb the sucker. After figureing out some moves and linking the moves together on the try before my send made me realize that I am going to send it this next try. Watching Dustin almost send it again made me feel inspired and gave it my all on the next try.

Lucas Larson zoning in on the pocket

Lucas Larson starting Cholos v9

Lucas Larson sending Cholos v9 in Bishop California 

 After sending Cholos, we decided to go and check out He Got Game. I was so stoked from sending Cholos that I was down for anything. Cholos is a stout climb and many who have done it will agree. I was just excited that I did it in a day and on my first day in Bishop of the first trip of the season. We were looking at He Got Game and realized that our skin hurt just a little too much, we headed back to the cars and went to do our own thing. Dustin went into town and Cat and I went to go see my family that was down there as well. We hung out and chatted for a bit and left to go back to camp. Waking up the next morning and having a rough morning, we headed for the Buttermilks to try The Transporter Room. Getting up there on a rope and freaking out a bit trying to figure out the sequence, we left to head home after a long weekend. We shall be back soon and I will be crushing it out there and sending hard this season. I hope to see you all down there as well. Keep crushing!

Lucas Larson checking out The Transport Room

Ultra Perm 5.13d - Video

By: Urs Moosmuller

Here is a video of my ascent of Ultra Perm 5.13d in the Red River Gorge. While trying it I met a few climbers who were visiting from Germany and I was lucky enough to get a short video of the send. The quality isn't all that great, but it was shot off a hand held phone and at the spur of the moment. Also to the lighting was horrible due to the overcast rainy weather that we have been experiencing here. Thank you Peter Hirschkorn for shooting the video and editing it together!

The video has been banned in the United States so you have to go through a proxy through the UK. Here is the link with the aproxy.

http://www.finchroute.co.uk/browse.php?u=xKUNZ%2FqahpBgaDcGtKzjH613ch9bPUMYoeCxl15Z41xJvLSZ0ieED1Fmbxlt9rKpwyAA2aKmEqLGJ%2Ff54CEQ&b=5&f=norefer

If that doesn't work go to http://www.finchroute.co.uk/index.php   and copy https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0o0BRDjWdRk into the search box and click enter. It should direct you to the viewable video.

The Red River Gorge

By: Urs Moosmuller

For the past month I have been hanging out in the Red River Gorge in central Kentucky.  The climbing here is unbelievable and the concentration of steep high quality 5.13’s and 5.14’s is mind blowing. I arrived in the Red with my whole focus on building up a strong base in 13+’s and to work on getting stronger on steep climbing. My first two days I felt extremely strong and was able to do: The Legend 5.13b, White Man’s Overbite 5.13c, and Bohica 5.13b. This was the first time I did a 13c and a 13b in the same day! My psyche was really high and the next few days I started to check out Last of the Bohicans 13d, Kaleidoscope 5.13c, Ultra Perm 5.13d, The Nothing 5.14a, and Gods Own Stone 5.14a. After getting on all of those routes I was really psyched on Ultra Perm and I focused on getting in shape to do the route. After several set backs from over fatigued muscles, injuring my knee, and catching a nasty cold I finally sent on my 9th try with out being tired or pumped. I lowered off feeling as if nothing happened and my psyche for sending was minute. I was happy for doing the route, but it just wasn’t motivating me at all to jump into another project. So I turned my focuses on trad climbing. I started out focusing on some of the classic trad routes like Jungle Beat 5.9, Rock Wars 5.10a, The Quest 5.10c, Inhibitor 5.11a, Next Day Air 5.11b, B3 5.11b, and Mental health 5.11b. After onsighting all of them (offwidths, hand cracks, finger cracks, and thin dihedrals) I started looking for something hard. My friend John briefly mentioned to me an unrepeated 5.13c trad line on Long Wall during my 5 day sick period and I didn’t think much of it. After finishing off Ultra Perm, I questioned John more about the line and the next day he took me up to try the beast. After doing a cool approach pitch at 5.8, you reach a very comfy ledge to hang out on and gaze up at the intimidating seam that starts on a sharp arete then punches out a headwall where the crack opens up to provide just enough holds to make it through. I warmed up on the 5.11 dihedral next to it and lowered off stopping to chalk up the holds and get an idea of what I was getting into. I lowered off and started up it on top rope. I pulled through the lower 5.12 climbing and started into the crux sequence and surprised myself by flashing it. Lowering off I was super psyched to give it a burn, but I didn’t have small enough TCU’s. I bought them that night and took a rest day. I came back two days later to attempt it ground up on lead. My first burn was really nerve wracking and I over gripped every hold and fell off the last move of the crux onto a bomber nut and took a clean fall. Relieved that none of my pieces blew out of the wall I waited for about an hour then came back to go for the send burn. Starting up I already knew I was going to send. I hit the crux and cruised it to the top. My friend Alex shot a video of the send and I will be posting it soon! I now have a month left here and I am planning on putting the rest of my time into trying to do Southern Smoke. Based off of my progress on Ultra Perm, I am confidant I can do it before I leave and I'm psyched to really put all my effort into a grade that I thought would never be possible for me.

Photos by Ben Kunz and Lindsey Kunz.

No Redemption 5.13b 

My friend Ryan crushing Toker 11a. 

Proper Soul 5.14a

By: Urs Moosmuller

The first time I heard about Proper Soul was about a year ago while living in Reno, Nevada. I was bored surfing mountainproject and found a video of Chris Sharma onsighting this amazing overhanging endurance test piece. At the time I was no where near sending 5.14 so I dismissed it as a route that I would love to do, but had no expectations of doing. It wasn’t until I was in Maryland and getting together goals for the trip that I found that same video again. This time in the hopes that I could pull off a send of the route. I started studying the beta that Sharma used and in the process I found another video of Brent Perkins climbing the route on gear. This gave me an even more extensive look at the route and I immediately marked it as my main goal for the trip. Heading to the New I was anxious to immediately get on it, but from past experiences I knew to try some of the easier classics first and get used to the rock before throwing myself at one of the hardest routes in the New. For the first few days I focused on two 13c’s: The Travisty and Leap of Faith. The Travisty is marked in the guidebook as one of the must dos for technicians. With my previous attempt on the route I was getting shut down at the first crux. This time I came back with a siege attitude. I quickly got through the crux within a few tries only to get stopped at the next crux. I had worked out the moves previously, but didn’t think I would have any problems with it. I was wrong. My second day on the route I kept falling on the second crux over and over again but doing the move in the next try. Frustration built and finally on the first try of the third day I stuck everything perfectly and sent the route with ease. Its funny how some routes will spit you off over and over again, but then suddenly it all clicks and you send the route as if it was one of your warm-ups. The next 13c I had never heard of, but after the Travisty it was the next closest 13c. Leap of Faith as it is named is quite literally a leap from a boulder 6ft up to a flat hold for the start. This was quite exciting! After the leap the route follows perfect pockets and crimps up a beautiful slightly overhanging white wall. The crux hits you low with a super tesiony v8/9 move on tiny crimps to some sick buckets before the final roof. A crazy sequence gets you established into the underside of the roof and forces you to palm up against the roof to stay on. A final hard pull over leads to the anchors. All the moves went extremely fast and on my second go I fired the crux and fell on the last move before the anchors. This was the fastest I had ever come to completing a 13c and I ended up sending two tries later. With this previous send I felt pretty confident that I was ready for the big goal. The next day we headed over to check out the Cirque for the first time. After hiking for ten minutes through a dense forest you emerge at the top of The Cirque and are immediately stunned by the view of the whole New River Gorge. One of the most beautiful sights I have seen, was on a rainy day where we watched the clouds build underneath us. You then descend several ladders to the base of the cliff and hike around the corner and see the whole cirque in all its glory. The whole crag stretches for several hundred yards and is a hundred feet tall with a consistent overhang the whole way. Proper Soul tackles the steepest and longest natural line on the whole wall and is in my opinion the most visually stunning. The route can be summed up in the next few lines. The route starts out with slopey jugs with giant spiders to the base of a dihedral crack. Make a long lock off to a flat crimp to begin the first crux. A hard sequence entering the dihedral leads to a quick shake and the second crux exiting the dihedral. Hard moves lead to an all out dyno over a bulge. Mantle up on top the bulge and rest in a really awkward place on slopey holds. Then get ready for the third crux. A really hard traverse on tiny crimps using a mandatory head height heel hook with the last bolt 6ft below you. If you blow the crux traverse, you end up taking a 30ft fall into space. Finally you reach a jug where you can clip. Then 20 ft of juggy climbing leads to the final crux on the headwall. A powerful v5 move on micro crimps leads to the chains. My first few tries on the route I knew this was the exact route I was looking for. My progress on the route started out slowly and then I started making bigger and bigger leaps. My first few attempts I was falling halfway through the dihedral. Then I pushed myself through the dihedral and for four more tries I was falling at the end of the second crux traverse. One of the bolts was missing midway through the traverse so every time I would fall, I would dangle by my arms until I couldn't hang on and take the 30ft fall into space. Finally I pulled through the traverse and ended up falling on the soaking wet crux bulge. This was a huge break through, but for the next few days the weather forecast consisted of all rain. After waiting through the bad weather and hoping it will clear up just for one day, it finally did. On my 14th burn I sent on the first try of the day just barely pulling off the final crux bulge. Lowering off I felt extremely happy and glad that I put the time and effort to send the route. We have a few more days in the New before heading to the Red and I think I will try another 14a called Lord Voldemort or focus on some of the 5.13 classics. 

Malcolm sit v10

The new gate that is now blocking the entrance  to the boulders 

As I drive around the corner to head towards the Saddle boulders, I was stopped by as large obstacle. I  fresh new gate that blocked the way to the boulders. Sitting in my car at 7am for the perfect conditions to finally send the Malcolm sit to Nietzsche Girls, I was not going to turn around now. I parked the car and walk four miles to the Saddle boulders, complaining the whole time due to the gate never being there for the four years I have been going out there. I walked to the boulders and started to warm up and then headed down the the saddle boulder and boy I was in for a surprise.  

Lucas Larson about to send the Malcolm start

As I set up my camera for some footage, that will later be used for Fresh 2, I started to relax and think positive. I did the stand about a week ago and now all I have to do is do two more moves and then it would be over. I just needed to stay positive. 

Lucas looking to stick the slopper. Photo taken last year

As I pull up onto the rail, I knew there was something new going on with my body, it felt stronger and lighter than ever. As I pull into the crux, I almost lost all of my body tension to keep my feet on the wall (as you will see in the video) I kept my cool even though my wrist felt like it was going to pop. I wanted to let go but when I got my foot matched and hit the pinch I told myself not to let go. I got my foot up and hit the slopper and realized that it was over. Now that four mile walk wasn't completely worthless. Now that I have done that climb it is time to move onto Boys in the Hood v12, which is in secret spot. ;) I shall be leaving for San Diego soon to visit some family, If anyone in the area knows me and if I know you let me know and we can go climbing together while I'm down there. Till then, keep on crushing like you guys should! 

Nietzsche Girls

Raw footage of my send

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!

Flagstaff Arizona

By: Lucas Larson

 This past week I was down in the hot desert of Flagstaff, Arizona. I went down there with my friend Bobby, who lives down there and showed me around. Driving down there was not as bad as I was expecting but still, 12 hours is 12 hours. Finally making it into town, I was wanting to climb to help get rid of the lazy car ride down there. Bobby took me to the NAU campus climbing wall. The next day we headed out to PBR Roof. This was a pretty classic roof full of something I was not expecting at all. It was all roof climbing. I have hardly ever climbed on roofs, except for a little bit at Comm Row, but never really on real rock. Trying to warm up on this v5 called The Hermit. I then got on Missionary Position (v6) and Puffer Fish (v7 ( it was more like a v5)).  I then tried this v9 named Our God is Neither. It was pretty cool on these pockets and a lot of maneuvering around. I left to drop Bobby off at work and headed back out to climb with Tyler Wade. He is a local bone crusher that knows how to climb roofs fast and easily. He is good at two things, rock climbing and making milkshakes. He took me over to Bat Roof, which was this really cool v3 with really big pockets. 

Bobby Enzenberger on Missionary Position

Tyler Wade on Our God

Lucas Larson on Our God

The next day we headed out to this sport crag called The Pit. It still is limestone climbing but not a lot of roof climbing. I got on this really easy warm up and then headed over to this 13a climbing called Pulse Roof. This climb is more roof climbing but still really good. I was able to send it second go and made quick work of the crux and a scary clip and was able to gun it to the top. Thanks to Bobby, for putting up the draws, and Tyler for helping me with the beta for the crux. It was really cool and fun but the cleaning of the draws, well lets just say that I wanted to kill someone because of it.

Rest day the day after and on Saturday we headed over to Choss Roof. This roof is beautiful! Its big and steep, its everything you can ever think about when it comes to roof climbing. I got on this climb that was pretty freaking sweet. It has a big throw to this jug that just makes you feel like a bad ass when you stick it.

Choss Roof

Feeling like a bad ass

Just trying this was a lot of fun! The top half felt like I was refrigerator wrestling on a roof so it felt really hard. As the day was narrowing down I did another climb which was cool but scary due to it being kind of high off the ground. I learned a lot about climbing in Flagstaff, like don't go during rainy season. Just rains a lot, but I also learned a lot about using my feet which I hope will help me in my next climbing goal. until next time guys, keep on climbing!

Tyler Wade sticking the throw.