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.

Rain on the Weekends...

This is seriously the crappiest spring ever. Every weekend except for one has been rainy, and that one weekend I spent sick from saturday morning till monday morning when I felt great in time for work.. This weekend is forcast to be cold and rainy, I looked today, it appears they are predicting more rain next weekend. I would also like to mention that every weekday except for today has been beautiful!

/Rant on

I bought a new type of protein bar this morning, because it was $1.50 for 30g of protein, and loaded with other nutritional substances. As I was reading through the ingredients I was surprised to find High Fructose Corn Syrup, on this list! This shit is the devil, and unless it's in Big Red, it makes me stab people! Needless to say theres a gentleman stuffed under my desk bleeding profusely, and soon will be "sleeps in blood". Really though, I don't understand why this artificial sweetener would be found in anything procured from the health food section.

I don't much concern myself with diet, except for making sure I consume as much protein and complex carbohydrates as my budget will allow, but I do my best to avoid artificial sweeteners, especialy HFCS. As far as I understand, your body does not process this properly and will either pass it through or store it indefinately. It also causes extreme physical violence! Note you will find HFCS in just about every beverage you consume on a daily basis(this is why kids are so violent, not video games!).

Heres a list of beverages I enjoy that use natural sweeteners.

-WATER (this shit is fuckin awesome and its free, ask your friends about it)
-Vitamin Water (my fav is XXX, and now in 32oz containers!)
-Fuze (much heartier than most you'll find on this list)
-Snapple flavored water
-Sobe flavored water
-Propel(made by Gatorade)
-Apple Juice (believe it or not almost every other juice found in convenient stores contains HFCS)
-Beer...nuff said

neutra-sweet, equal, and splenda all suck ass too. My favorite combo is using splenda in green or black tea. the tea being full of anti-oxidants(which cleans free radicals from the body) and splenda(which creates free radicals). So it's like drinking nothing!

I challenge you to go into a convenient store and find more than 5 types(counting all flavors of one product as 1) of beverages that do not contain HFCS. you may be surprised! We here in America fill ourselfs with such filth, it's disgusting. The scariest part about it is that everyone knows it but few care to shrug off convenience for health.

If you're worried about being fat, flabby, overweight, obese, tre fabia or any other term you might use. Do yourself a favor, next time you get your coffee from starbucks, pick up a pack of pure cane sugar instead of the pink, blue, or yellow package. It's ussually tan and larger than the rest and go figure, it tastes better! But what about those extra calories Rob?!? Calories = Energy, so if you consume them you must burn them, use this energy! Some people burn calories easier than others. Exercize regularly and eat smaller portions more often, this will increase your metabolism. not to mention make you stronger, more fit, and feel better about yourself. I don't care what you look like, if you feel fit and able. You will enjoy life much more.

/Rant off

Oh come sooner 6pm!

As per Lisa's request, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climbing_glossary, should have just about everything in there.

Am I ready for 6pm to roll around or what! I've fallen asleep in 2 places at work so far after lunch. I'm completely exhausted. After a stressful day in the office yesterday, I ventured over to the gym to clear my head and climb some fake rocks. The weather was nice so I very much enjoyed the 25 minute walk from the bus stop. I climbed for 2 and a half hours straight. I caught a ride afterwards to my friends house and watched MMA fights till 2 am to finally pass out at 3am. Seeing that I had to wake up at 5:30am this was poor planning and I'm certainly deserving of this punishing situation.

Some of the usual tuesday night crowd was at the gym last night(this being the busiest night of the week, was surprisinly sparse in occupancy), and with the smaller crowd, the atmosphere seemed much more intimate than ussual! There was much mingling amonst groups of people who normally keep to their own business. I had a great time working through a couple cruxes with one of the regulars there, who happens to be one of the nicest and enjoyable ladies I know. We didn't finish anything, but progress was made and I got a sense she may have some interest in me! By 9 o-clock all but 2 persons in the gym had collected together to cut the shit and share advise on core exercizes. This is always a good time and a great end to an exhausting night of climbing.

I like to get to know everyone there since I often go up alone due to my addiction to bouldering(I catch a lot of flack from the people I climb often with because I never tie in, ha!). However, because of this I'm rather liked by everyone there, except for one of the employees there. I once strongly imposed my interest in his girlfriend, whom was as forward with me as I was with her, at a party one time. He's erased my name from the members list at the gym twice in the past. Which can cause considerable grief considering you wouldn't be "certified" to climb or belay there without going through a class that costs $35, as well as the $45 monthly cost of membership. What he haden't taken into account is that his boss(who also goes by the name Rob) had warmed up to me rather quickly, and swiftly reentered me into the system with a slight advantage to my membership renewal dates!

Rocksport is the name of the gym. If you are ever in Louisville Ky, I would highly suggest stopping by for a day or more. I very much enjoy the people there and they keep a good amount of solid routes up as well as boulder problems. They are ussually working on a new route every week and a few boulder problems pop up occasionally a few times a month. I enjoy bringing my friends here to climb in hope to have more people to climb with and support this great gym. I try to buy all of my gear here, even if it does cost a few more dollars than it would on the internet. I'm a big advocate of supporting local businesses. Especially those that take good care of their customers, which I feel has been the case for me.

Well I've thoroughly wasted about 2 hours staring at this blog typing and editing my post. So I guess I should wrap this up before I get too lazy. I'm probably not going to do anything tonight except make my way home and crash out! I'm suppost to hang with a great friend of mine, Tilden, tomorrow. We're going to get drunk and shave his head(he lost a bet with his boss, ah march madness!). Friday there will be more climbing!

Sick on the Weekends...BLEH

I awoke Saturday mornin with a catch in my throat and impending illness looming dismally over my morning. I quickly retreated back to my covers after watering my pallet, only to rise around noon flush with a case of the aches. I didn't bother to check the air outside, as I was contented with ignoring the beautiful forecast, wallowing in my misery. All in all it wasn't as bad as I present it to be. I spent many hours resting, which was needed, and the remainder of my time was spent amuzing myself with my online persona Witpickles, whom dwells in the world of Azeroth! Normally i wouldn't waste my time playing WoW, but due to the circumstances, there was little else for me to entertain myself in such a state.

The Mortgage industry reared it's ugly head today. It looks like my first loan that was going so well, is now going down the tubes in a smoldering pyr of suckness. Evidently this guy can't pay his housing payments on time and has ommited to let me know and/or send me the cancelled checks I requested over a week ago. What looked to be a simple refinance, is now a full manilla folder clinging to what little hope it has to avoid the turndown file bin. Yipee! No worries however, I picked up a good lead this morning, and already have a strong file working.

Needless to say, my lack of blogging over the weekend reflects the activities there in. I'm headed out of work now, and look forward to climbing at the gym tomorrow. The truck is progressing towards functioning, and the days are getting warmer. Although, next weekends forcast is looking dreary and cool. A paycheck just landed on my desk! It states a higher dollar amount than expected! tiss a good day for sure. Especially considering it's the last time I get paid without closing a loan for 3 months! Better start producing!

To Nostalgic Revelries

Last night I hung out with a friend of mine, Jon, that I haven't seen much of in years. I've known him since I was born. He was my neighbor untill I was 8 years, as well as a member of my patrol in boy scouts. Since the passing of his older brother, whom was a great insperation to my art and good counsel, we've reconnected and I expect we'll rekindle our great friendship.

We wen't out to Wick's pizza, a local pizza company known for their extremely filling pies. On wednesday night they have an excellent special, $10 all you can eat and drink(yes beer!) from 7 to midnight! Of course the place gets packed full of people and the line for beer or pizza can be kind of long but for the price, there is little to complain about.

After we exausted our desire for beer and pizza we headed back to my place. I had an urge to play some Fight Night, and he was up to the challenge. Having been refused competion by all of my friends recently, I found myself getting crushed at my own game! This reminds me of the old days on Ivanhoe ct. where we grew up. Jon had more nintendo games than I did and always seemed to have the advantage when we matched our talents. I'm sure there willbe a rematch soon and look forward to taking back my title!

As far as climbing goes, I'm still feeling fatigued from Tuesday, which is a feeling I'm getting used too. I enjoy the implications of this state, as it always results in muscle growth and increased appetite(Eating makes Rob happy). I expect to go climbing tomorrow afternoon after I get out of work(ussually 2 hours early on fridays). I've now decided to set goals for my climbing and maintain the list as I complete them on this blog.

Goals

-Surrender 9, 5.9+

This route pumped me out at the crux as I wasn't prepared. Next time will be a clean send for sure.

-Half Brain, 5.9+

this route has 2 crux's the first a high reach to match on a slopey blob. the second a high reach from a side crimp and sloped pinch. the latter shrugged me off last I was on this route.

-Insatiable, 5.9+

I love the boulder problem at the start(they did make it a bit too easy switching out a slopey pinch for a really nice edge to match on) I don't predict much difficulty to send.

-Pearl, 5.10a

fun start, lots of footwork.

-Crinch, 5.10a/b

this route is loaded with crimps and 2 finger pinches. I'm pretty strong in that department. this will come down to developing beta for the crux which I'm near completion.

-Big Momma, 5.10a

Slopey huge holds all the way up the Arete. heal hooks and slaps make the difference. this started as a boulder problem(V2) and ended up having a route added to it.

-Moonshine, 5.10b

real strong boulder problem about 10 feet up, which I've completed twice off rope. I'm sure theres another crux up top.

-Mellow Yellow, 5.10b

Starts overhung, comes around to vertical face. here there is a huge boulder problem with a horizontal lunge that commits you to aswing across the gym if you don't stick the slope with your right hand. above this, it levels off to a 5.9

-Purple Cave 1, V1

this problem has been a thorn in my side for months. Theres on move that requires a lot of core and left arm to combat a nasty barn-door. I've recently made this move and all that remains are 3 easy moves after it.

-Rob's Pink Problem, V2

The owner of the gym, also named Rob, set this problem a few months ago. I've sent it about 5 times but haven't been able to repeat it in over 2 months! WTF!

-Orange Cave 2, V2/3

I'm missing some beta for the last 2-3 moves but I'll knock this out soon. Just need to stick a nasty side slope with my left hand and man up.

-Blue Cave Route, 5.10c

this is accually a lead climb route up to the top of the cave. I've been enjoying working the lower 15 ft. I'm 2 moves from what I would consider the boulder top out.

-Campus Hangrails up and down.

6x 1.5" hang rails slightly overhung. I want to be able to campus up and down these. currently I can go up and down 2 lol.

When it comes to getting bread...

Who needs in the bakery? Anyways I had a good session at the gym last night, of course I didn't get to accomplish or attempt what I was hoping too. It's ok I'm still climbing strong and making good progress. I suppose I'll have to wait for the weekend to top out one of those 5.10's.

On a lighter side I had chinese buffet for lunch today, and I'm miserable! I ate so much food. Nothing like going to a buffet and crushing a few solid plates of everything under the roof. I'm such a glutton. If it weren't for food, the word budget would fall soundly into my vocabulary. Unfortunately, thats no the case and I'm doomed to spend all me expendable income and a bit more on my stomach. Now if I could just gain a few pounds, ha! not likely.

I'm 71 calls in today at work and I've only picked up one lead...I've had shit luck since thursday last week. Not to mention the restrictions on mortgages are only getting more strict by the day. But hey at least I can chill at work and listen to music all day and blog.

A Late Monday

I opted out of work yesterday due to a crummy tummy so today feels like a late monday. The 3 people at work that I go to lunch with regularly either quit or got fired in the last few days, so now I must find new people to indulge my pallet with.

I had a good night at the gym on Sunday. I didn't have anyone to catch me, none the less I made progress on a couple V1-V2 boulder problems, one in particular has been a thorn in my side for over a month, which I'm now 1 move away from topping out. I've had all the beta I need for this particular problem since it wen't up but I believe I've finally developed the power in my core and left arm to pull through the crux. More progress was made on a 5.10b cave route that went up recently and I'll have finished what I can boulder safely tonight.

I'm starting to find myself experienced enough to develop my own boulder problems at the gym. This seems to allow me to focus on specific techniques and muscle groups that i need to get used to using. Right now I'm focusing on balance, mantles, and reaches that require a lot of core. Next, I'd like to add the heel hook to my list of strong techniques.

I've got 3 boulder problems I plan to send tonight, two V1's and a V3. Assuming Brad comes up, I'll be looking to top out a balancy 5.10a/b that's loaded with crimps and 2 finger pinches. This route pumped me out last time i got on it matching on this terrible crimp with a 3 finger and 2 finger ledge. I've since bouldered past it with no issues. Footwork FTW!

The other route I've go my eye on is a 5.10b, thats loaded with boulder problems. It starts overhung and you campus out onto the vertical face around the corner where you encounter the crux; a huge horizontal lunge to a sloped ledge with your right hand. This lunge is entirely committing and requires a massive amount of core strength to stick. I've bouldered through the campus, but the crux is a bit too high for comfort with the swing and commitment required, so I expect I'll bounce off the lunge for a while. As far as I can tell it grades back to a 5.9+ after the crux.

My buddy Mike has come a long way in the month he's been climbing. He just sent a 5.9+ thats been a thorn in his side for weeks. I like seeing my friends progress. It won't be long until he starts pushing through V0-1 boulder problems. Maybe I'll be able to convince him to buy his own damned shoes so we can go climb some real rock! The lady that works at the gym keeps giving him shit about spending 5 bucks a day to rent shoes. To this I remind him he's spent nearly $60 renting vs the $80 a decent pair of shoes can run you.

My truck is now recieving the attention she deserves so I expect her to be back on the street this weekend(I hope!). If thats the case I hope to have some pictures from the gorge or some boulders on here early next week.