Since

Oh climbing blog, how I miss you nearly as much as I do climbing. Here's to more income and less shoulder pain FTW!

Life is Wild

Many things have happened to me since my last entry. I suppose i will start with the miscellany and move on to my recent climbing acomplishments.

Yesterday was a shitty day. Woke up to find out that my ride to work fell through. This resulted in by bus trip starting 10 minutes before my normal start time ><. I got to work two hours late. Work sucked, this is not a surprise. Eddie took me home from work, but on the way, we ended up being in the middle of a 5 car accident on Hurstbourne pkwy. A few people went to the hospital for whiplash, I have a mild headache and eddie hit his head on the stearing wheel. For the most part, everyone was ok. Thankfully headrests really do save from major injury, I know mine did, and those who where injured didn't. After that my plans to accompany a friend of mine to a party fell through and I spent the rest of the night in front of my computer, instead of the other plans that I had turned down previously.

The truck starts now, but it doesn't rev. I believe the cam is off a few ticks on the belts. I'm hoping to get this finished tonight, so that I will have it for the weekend.

Last weekend was awesome, Saturday turned out to be a beautifull day contrary to weather forcasts. Cory and I headed out to The Red River Gorge to meet up with some other climbers. We ended up not getting to the crag until about 5pm due to some delays in Louisville and some wrong turnsat the gorge but we still had about three and a half hours of daylight to get some climbing in.

We headed up to Sunnyside in Muir Valley, hoping to catch our friends after they finished at the Bruise Brothers crag. When we got there, we found an empty crag. In our excitement we started prepping to lead a 5.9 slab, Kokopeli's Dream. I soon realized that neither of us had cleaned(removed personal gear from) a route before and are rather inexperienced in leading routes. I know how, just never have myself. With this realization we opted to pack up and head to practice wall, a crag loaded with 20-30 ft low rated climbs that are as their name suggests, perfect for practicing lead basics and cleaning.

On our way from the crag another group is making their approach and we hear through the trees "I guess Cory's never gonna show up!". To which we made our presence known and laughter ensued. We headed back up to Sunnyside and with the new addition of more experienced leaders, we all sent Kokopeli's Dream with the exception of 2 that opted for the 5.5 chimney Velveteen. Here is an image of the slab and you can see the chimney behind it.

At 40 ft. this slab left me wanting more. Would be a perfect climb if your limit was 5.9

I found a sit start on the far left of this crag that makes for an interesting sit start to a route I believe to be known as Virgin Bolter Tag Team, a 5.10b. I prefer bouldering to sport any day so I stole my pad from the rest of them and got to work. I conpleted every move except for the last throw to what I would consider the official sat of the route. I would say it was a V2 problem until that point, maybe V3 because of the awkward hang on the sit start. that last move probably made the problem a V5 based on the lock off required on a 2 finger pocket(likely 1 for most, I have thing fingers) and the huge span to the next crimpy hold. I was rather proud of myself for working the beta and was able to replicate the problem with very low effort to work the last move. I'll get a few pictures of me working each move this weekend if we end up at sunnyside.

Sunday was very interesting, Cory and I started leading in the gym. I've since done a lot of research and feel silly for starting to lead before knowing as much as I do now but isn't that always the case. I'm sure 2 weeks from now, i'll feel the same way and even as far as 2 years down the road I'll still look back and think of how ignorant I was the week before. Experience is the best teacher.

We both lead a 5.9 with reasonable ease. Fumbling with the rope and biners the whole way up of course lol. Our second ascent was a lot smoother. We clipped propperly but where not aware of some of the other risks in clipping that are less commonly heard. The crazy thing is that some saftey precautions accually increase the risk of other incidents. So you have to assess each situation with a clear mind and good knowledge. This can be the hardest challenge in leading a route as you often find yourself 5-8 feet above the last place the rope is attached to the wall, with an excess of slack pulled out to clip. The potential fall is twice the distance from your hip to the last protection(bolt you've clipped into) plus the slack you've pulled out and rope stretch. This can be a sobering figure. The fall doesn't scare me but the wall does.

I know at least one person that reads this is probably worried sick right now, but you know me well and should realize I would not put myself in this situation without proper equipment and knowledge to be safer than 98% of the climbers out there. This sport wouldn't be fun without risk and I feel I have a better chance being injured in lets say a 5 car accident...

Tuesday at the gym was great. I feel like I've finally pushed my way into 5.10b territory. I can now run laps on a 5.10a sloper arete and have topped another 5.10a thats real beta intensive cleanly. I'm also flashing any 5.9+ or lower that they put up with reasonable ease. I'm headed off to the gym here this afternoon. I guess I'm going to have to start working some new routes since I've completed my previous goals. I know my brother has a new route on his list.

Until next time. I'm Rob Prince and this is We Dwell In Forever.

Tuesday Night At Rocksport

Yesterday was a great day at the gym. My brother and I went up there after I got off of work and climbed for a solid three hours. Tuesday is probably my favorite day to climb at the gym. It’s rarely very busy, and a majority of the regular climbers make it a point to show up. The gym ends up being filled with a myriad of persons whom are willing to catch for each other and share beta. Because of this, Tuesday always has an air of intimacy that is typically not there when the gym is busy with groups or parties.

My brother and I hadn’t been climbing much more than fifteen minutes when Mike came in. I climbed with his son often throughout the winter, but his son has since been sparse at the gym. Mike is an enjoyable personality and a great climber. We usually trade catches with him as he often comes in alone (which I can relate too) and he’s around our skill level. I really enjoy watching him climb, due to his slow meticulous style. We traded catches for about an hour and a half till we started mixing up a bit more. He started working on a favorite route of mine, a good 5.10a. After 1 try on the start, he got to the first crux and spent the rest of his night working this route. He had worked to the second crux before I had stepped away to climb myself.

About halfway through the evening Fehy(sp), our favorite employee, came over and belayed for us a few times and cut the shit with us. My brother and I where doing some endurance runs, and after my brother’s first two runs up a route, she jokingly challenged Dan to five more consecutive runs, which Dan obliged with a surprising ease. We where giving him a lot of shit because he kept stepping off the route not paying attention. So Fehy and I kept a tally of how many routes he’d have to climb past 5 due to cheating, this he did not oblige. Fehy went on to top out a very crimpy 5.10b/c which is quite a rough route to stick. This particular route has caused me some tendon troubles, thus I stay away from it, even though I enjoyed the challenges it presented.

I topped out a slopey 5.10a for the first time yesterday. This was originally a boulder problem up an mildly overhung arête, which has had a route added to it. Most of the climbers stray away from this route because of the slopes and balance oriented moves that riddle this route from start to finish. I personally love slapping slopes and working my upper core. I had not attempted this route beyond the boulder problem, and I was hoping to flash it. Unfortunately I peeled off twice because I miss read two holds and missed the sweet spots, which is ever so important on slopers, how frustrating. Needless to say I’m glad I topped it out, and felt strong through the finish.

I struggled my way up a couple 5.10b’s for the first time as well. The first, I came down just before the top out, as I was having trouble hanging long enough to figure out the footing above what I can boulder. I plan to work this route diligently until I’m topping it regularly. The second, I came off just above the boulder problem at the crux. This particular problem starts about twenty degrees (relative to the floor) overhung and wraps around the arête to the pitch above the overhang. This particular section is the crux and can often end up a nasty campus boulder problem if you don’t keep your core tight and feet on the roof. I have bouldered this many times, yet the crux is too committing at fifteen feet to attempt without roping in at the gym. I wouldn’t want to give the owner a heart attack, and or lose my membership for disregarding his bouldering policies. The word on the street is that once you hit this once it’s easy but it takes some work to build the muscle group required to stick it. I can’t wait! The last move of the crux is a huge slap on a mild slope!

All in all I would say between my brother and I we climbed at least 25 routes in 3 hours. I believe this is exceptional, considering we’ve only been working endurance for 2 weeks, one of which I was on hiatus due to my knee. My brother is climbing extremely strong for the three weeks he’s been climbing. Being six foot five with a reach that’s only rivaled by Shaq may help a bit I suppose. He bought his first pair of shoes last Friday and is going through the pains of breaking in a fresh pair of 5.10 Anasazi Verde’s. This particular shoe has a real deep heel cup and I hear causes exceptional discomfort while softening the heel as well as it’s small toe box, the latter being a common source of pain in most new climbing shoes.

We’ll be heading back to the gym on Friday. I’m pretty sure Mike will be there, and I know Josh, Angela and a few others that are involved in a fitness program that meets at Rocksport every Friday will come as well. They where both at the gym last night sans the rest of the Friday crew. Josh is a real strong climber and a great guy. He seems to be very active and virtuous in his generosity. Angela started climbing a few months ago and is progressing rapidly, she’s rather fun to climb with and has some cute friends, whom I hope will show up on Friday. We’ll see how the weather goes this week but it looks like we are going to be climbing in the gym this Sunday. The forecast is thunderstorms till Monday.

Oh Neglected Blog...

Pardon my rhetoric, but did you miss me? I know you did, and thats why it's rhetorical. After 2 weeks of neglecting this fine blog of mine. I feel it necessary to detail the time past with a brief summary.

Ride bus, work, climb at gym, lazy weekends, hurt knee at gym, take week break from climbing, Shiela comes into town, breakfast with Shiela at Barbara Lee's, put trucks engine back together, truck won't start, mechanic leaves country for 2 weeks, disgruntled Rob, 3 day weekend, lazy Friday and Saturday, Return to climbing Sunday at Muscatatuk St. Park.

Exciting yes? maybe not all of it but some of it is noteworthy enough to write about.

Yes you read correctly, my truck is still out of commission, and my mechanic is out of the country, just my luck! We where up until 2:30AM last tuesday putting it back together. After rebuilding the top half of the engine, the truck seemed to be acting normal. However, after a few attempts to start it, oil started shooting out everywhere. This was easily remedied with a bolt we had forgotten entirely. After overcoming that, we soon realized we had a problem with the timing or firing order, and lacked the time and energy to diagnose and troubleshoot the issue. Thus, I'm without truck for another week and a half.

I had a minor knee injury at the gym about a week and a half ago. After consulting Shiela, my personal physical science major at WVU, we had come to the conclusion that I had most likely bruised my patellar tendon. This particular tendon connects the patella(kneecap) to your tibia(shin) and is used when your quads are conracted at full leg extension. This particular injury wasn't very painfull except when I would push off of my right leg or use it to flag(extending it outward to balance the body). I decided to take a break for a week so that I did not cause further harm to myself as well as give my tendons in my hands a well deserved break. I'm feeling better now and am excited to be back climbing.

Ah, the feeling of cool limestone, gritty and inviting to my fingers, enticing me to get higher! Sunday was a great day! After spending about 30 minutes in seneca park wasting our time trying to boulder a worthless muddy crag, we decided to take the show on the road. An hour north of Louisville, is Muscatatuk State Park. Here they allow bouldering, trad and top rope climbing. I do not believe that they have any bolts set, sorry sport climbers give up your harness or buy a real rack =).

I had read online about this place searching around for great bouldering locations near the Louisville that where within an hours drive. I had not been up there yet and this was our maiden voyage. Dan(my brother), Cory(a friend), and myself crammed my crash pad into Dans trunk and headed off to North Vernon Indiana(WTF!? who goes to IN?). We stopped in Seymour at exit 50a, confusing the Muscatatuk National Wildlife Reserve as our destination. We drove about 12 more miles down hwy 50 and found the park. Now we had to find the crags and boulders. I had pictured a field with boulders around the road on one side based on the maps I had seen. This was not so. What I thought was a road turned out to be a creek and a river, and what I thought was fields, turned out to be hilly forests. After trying to retrieve a map at the visitors center, where we only found a trail map, I pulled up the bouldering map on my Blackberry. We soon realized how much harder we where making it for ourselves. After walking down a set of stone steps, we turned to our left and found at least 200 ft. of crag from 10 ft. in height on the far side, to near 30 ft. on the near side.

This wall was was mostly unrated climbs, great for endurance runs. The landing is perfect, soft sandy clay and no anklebreakers. You could traverse nearly the entire length of the crag with little trouble. I'm sure there are a few sections(especially the slabbier tall section) where you might find something worth rating. After about 45 minutes here we set off on a hike to spot some more difficult terrain.

Along side the river we found another crag that was at least 30 ft. in height at it's lowest, with a great overhang. Along side where 2 boulders. The first we worked on had a problem cleaned already. Coming from a overhung lie-down start it progressed along side the short arete with about 6 moves to top out. I'd rate this at least a V4, none of the three of us could make the first move due to the crimpy nature of this problem. I started working the beta and was able to complete the last 2 moves whooptydoo!

The second boulder, we hadn't taken much notice to as it wasn't any taller than 5 ft. Cory hopped on it and started traversing it's top edge that started in the ground and sloped slowly over about 9 feet to the pinnacle of the rock. We quickly started to work out the beta on the top out and within about 15 minutes we had our first ascent! After topping this out myself, I'd say it's a mid V1, only due to 2 commiting moves before the mantle that require a good heel hook and a strong right core. I'm not sure if this is the true first ascent, but I'll hold to it until proven otherwise. We have aptly named it Dangleberry, which soon after evolved into just Dingleberry.

Shortly after, we moved to a much more shaded crag that gained some light from the restrooms by the parking lot(it was getting late). here I found a really nice project that we started cleaning and working. Cory nailed the first move, I stuck the 2nd and 3rd after about 20 minutes. No more progress was made, but we plan to work it for a while next Sunday. For now I will refer to this as the Easter Island Project, because of a rock formation above the start that looks similar to one of the Easter Island monoliths.

We soon decided to move on to a problem that Dan was working a bit down the crag. This problem, which I would say is a high V0, was rather fun to work. It started along side an open book which you worked into on the first few moves. Crossing to a high right hand, repositioning your feet and getting your left hand in a crack. Now you are in the open book and just need to get you feet high on limited footing to slap one of 3 large ledges about 2.5 ft. above either hand. The 3rd ledge is just out of reach and full of mud, this was quite a surprise, but did not result in anyone coming off the wall. after there the top out was fairly easy with a hold that you could live in at the finish. Dan named this problem Skanky Ho, inspired by the nasty patch of mud at the top and it's general ease. I can see we are going to have some very colorful project names.

We finished the trip with some local fair at a nearby family mexican restaraunt which I cannot remember the name of. They did make some mean quacamole, and Dan's order of fried ice cream weighed at least a pound. All in all I'd say it was a successful journey and I look forward to next sunday, when we will be going up earlier to get at least 6 hours of climbing and hiking.

My Mind Lives Elsewhere...

While at work I have a hard time focusing on anything but rock climbing. I often find myself plotting out bouldering routes, watching climbers on you tube, or reading various climber's blogs. Oh this addiction! Maybe one day I'll show the problems I create to someone who sets routes at the gym. I think some of them, I would believe to be rather difficult but enjoyable!

One problem in particular I've manifested from my twisted brain that I've called Equilibrium. The first few moves will involve you dropping your left hand to a mantle near the floor, hand/foot match heel hooking the start hold and moving your right hand to an edge, thats a bit higher than the start, on the opposite side of the mantle. This will not only get you horizontal but also mantling below yourself to make the move to the edge! Some Spiderman shit! Here it is.

The start jug and foot chip will likely move to the right some to force the funky mantle.

woohoo boss sent me home early so It's time to go enjoy some sun!

Strong Days

Friday was a great day at the gym! I met a few new people who climb there regularly, including one sexy climbing chick, oh yeah! I knocked out the Purple Cave V1 on my goal sheet, as well as knocked out the bouldering parts of 3 5.10b routes, which I will be adding to my goal sheet to top out. I climbed 3 hours strait with few breaks.



Two new boulder problems have been added to the cave. one I would suggest a V2 rating and the other a V3. The first of which I have worked out all the beta and have nearly sent it, I was too pumped after working out the beta to complete it. A friend of mine, came in later and after I explained it to him, he was able to send on his 3rd try. Heres what the problem looks like.


On the start you're leaning way back to your left, both hands on the sharktooth. Your right foot will be fully extended to a low foot disk on the right side, left foot flagged along side it.


1st move, pull your chest up to sharktooth, and reach out with right hand to edgy knob while smearing under sharktooth with left foot. Balance over onto right hand and foot.


2nd move, mantle slightly off left hand and match left foot to sharktooth.


3rd move, Drop left knee, balance on right to slowly move left hand up to big slopey disc. match right hand and reposition right foot to second right foot.


4th move, pull up move left hand to edge.


Finish, step right foot up and cross over with right.

I love this problem! It has a real strong start and matching on the disc can prove quite difficult if you're not controled.

Sunday was not very successful. I was still worn out from such a strong session on friday. I got on some routes but wasn't able to top anything. I did get my brother to come out and climb. He did very well for his first time back in many years. Unlike most of my friends, he didn't pump out on his first send. He managed to top out 4 routes! Evidently the little time he spends on his workouts is well spent. Hopefully I can get him to come up weekly. I miss hanging with my brother a lot. We hung out every day just about for most of our lives and just recently we've hardly seen each other.