WARNING: this will be a blog post in progress for a lil while
(Addendum--- I added some pictures below + here's my ticklist from the trip: Lambda 5.12b (2nd attempt), Yowsah 5.12b (2nd attempt), Narcissus 5.12a (2nd attempt), Pockets of Resistence 5.12a (3rd attempt), Control 5.12a (2nd attempt), Bourban Sauce 5.11d (flash), Scenic Adult 5.11c (flash), Cross-Eyed & Blind 5.11a (flash), and some 10's, 9's, and 8's (all flash or onsight); I met Chris Sharma (got autographed poster), Lynn Hill, Kurt Smith, Joe Kinder, Chris Lindner, Nick Duttle, Brittany Griffith, Peter Kamitses, and the list goes on... SO many strong climbers, which is really important for me to see. More significant for me than my ticklist or the superstar climbers, were the people I got to hang with...shoutouts to Van, Hunter, Suradetch, Lilly, Jacquelyn, Laura, Megan, Shane, Andrew, Rachel, Mark, Christa, Nick, Greg, Jeff, and, of course! Roger! Oh, I got to projecting a really cool .13a called Trapped in Paradise; this route is seldom done and I really enjoyed the process of cleaning it, leaving draws on it, and sussing out the moves- there was one sequence which proved stopper for me, but I clipped the chains twice and definitely can climb at this level, it's just a matter of time and having the proper conditions. I will be purchasing a 3 month summer pass to Earthtreks Climbing Gym and can hopefully be in top condition to send Chronic, Crawling from the Wreckage, Californication, or Propaganda later in the summer, when I plan to hang out in Olywa for awhile...miss all the crew out there!)
(Addendum--- I added some pictures below + here's my ticklist from the trip: Lambda 5.12b (2nd attempt), Yowsah 5.12b (2nd attempt), Narcissus 5.12a (2nd attempt), Pockets of Resistence 5.12a (3rd attempt), Control 5.12a (2nd attempt), Bourban Sauce 5.11d (flash), Scenic Adult 5.11c (flash), Cross-Eyed & Blind 5.11a (flash), and some 10's, 9's, and 8's (all flash or onsight); I met Chris Sharma (got autographed poster), Lynn Hill, Kurt Smith, Joe Kinder, Chris Lindner, Nick Duttle, Brittany Griffith, Peter Kamitses, and the list goes on... SO many strong climbers, which is really important for me to see. More significant for me than my ticklist or the superstar climbers, were the people I got to hang with...shoutouts to Van, Hunter, Suradetch, Lilly, Jacquelyn, Laura, Megan, Shane, Andrew, Rachel, Mark, Christa, Nick, Greg, Jeff, and, of course! Roger! Oh, I got to projecting a really cool .13a called Trapped in Paradise; this route is seldom done and I really enjoyed the process of cleaning it, leaving draws on it, and sussing out the moves- there was one sequence which proved stopper for me, but I clipped the chains twice and definitely can climb at this level, it's just a matter of time and having the proper conditions. I will be purchasing a 3 month summer pass to Earthtreks Climbing Gym and can hopefully be in top condition to send Chronic, Crawling from the Wreckage, Californication, or Propaganda later in the summer, when I plan to hang out in Olywa for awhile...miss all the crew out there!)
I have just returned from my 10 day trip to West Virginia's New River Gorge for the eighth annual (my first) New River Rendezvous festival. I had looked forward to this for sometime now and I am happy to say it surpassed my imagination in terms of awesomeness! Great company (e.g. hanging out with TONS of my climbing heroes face to face), partying, good beer, and sampling some of the choice sandstone rock climbing was so much fun! It was definitely an experience to remember... I've never been around so many climbers at once lol!!
As I get more settled both physically and in my recollection of the past week and a half I'll post more, but for now check out my photos below and Joe Kinder's good blog post (http://www.joekindkid.com/?p=3899)(click to enLARGE)
photo: Suradetch JOver 1000 people showed up!
photo: Suradetch JJust one more walk...
The legendary Lynn Hill
Lynn making it look easy on a .12a
Watch out for snakes!
Brad... local badass.
Group photo... great day out all together.
photo: Suradetch JThe deepwater soloing is as good as it looks guys!
Me on toprope (I led some great stuff too lol!)
Photo: Joe Kinder' BlogCan you spot me!?
photo: Suradetch JOne of our rental cars got broken into : ( ...praise God for insurance!
One of the New's many impressive bridges
photo: Lilly & HunterMe cruxing on the first bouldery section of Lambda .12b
Me and one of my heroes Lynn
Photo: AndrewCruxing during my flash ascent of Scenic Adult .11c (best one I've ever been on)
Photo: AndrewCleaning draws off Scenic Adult .11c
P.S. Huge congratulations to my friend Laura for her milestone redpoint at Little Si !!!!!! : )
