After a seemingly endless summer it feels as though fall is finally upon us (thank god). I feel like i was so lazy this summer in regards to training for the changing of the seasons, but on a recent trip to Bishop i was proven wrong. Apparently i have gotten a bit stronger since the last time i was on the eastside (Maybe this is a result of setting), although i didn't send very many new problems, i did manage to make repeat sends (1st go) of some classics like Seven Spanish Angels and High Plains Drifter (both AMAZING). As far as new problems and projects go, i was able to do all the moves (including the massive span) on Acid Wash with some revised beta and Beef Cake in 2 parts. Both problems should go pretty fast this coming weekend when i head back down thanksgiving evening with Dex. I didn't even touch Haroun and the Sea of Stories due to conditions (or maybe that's just an excuse).
The always beautiful Buttermilks
What was just another trip to Bishop for most of the crew (Dexter, Mike, Andrew and Myself), this trip was extra special for Lauryn, it was her first time! Needless to say she loved it. Mike had a stellar trip sending a handful of V5's and his first V6 despite a pulled upper butt.
Well, it's been a little over 2 months since I've posted anything so here's an update.
I started route setting for Touchstone in early August and it's been awesome. A lot of hard work and massive amounts of manual labor are involved in the job, which i really enjoy. I've been extremely exhausted pretty regularly since starting but it's starting to get a lot better. The first couple weeks were BRUTAL, i was falling asleep on the couch at 730 or 8 every night, one night i even fell asleep with a slice of pizza in my lap! On a positive note, i feel as tho all the hard labor and extra climbing is getting me a lot stronger, hopefully that will help this fall season!
Speaking of the fall season, the Vallley season followed by the Bishop season are just around the corner and i couldn't be more excited! Keep your fingers crossed for a cold dry fall! Lately it's been all about Tahoe, Dexter, Lauryn, Andrew, Mike, Daniel, John and i headed up there this past weekend and a few of us the couple weekends before. The conditions have been much less then ideal with temps falling between 74 and 85 degrees but the good times have been up there with the best. There's something about going away to climb for the weekend with absolutely no expectations, it kinda frees you from feeling the need to wake up at 7 to get to the blocks early, or waiting till the end of the day to have a beer, or giving a shit when you don't stick that super reachy dead point move over and over and over. When the weather is warm, the setting is beautiful and you're surrounded by good friends all that stress just disappears and you're left enjoying yourself.
the crew getting ready to get tradical (dex, andrew and i free soloed)
In the past month i haven't gone running once, i only climbed routes once, but i have lost a few lbs i managed to gain this spring. Basically i've been failing at the sumer of fitness program but i am feeling a bit stronger so i guess it's ok. i think it's time to try to get back on the program, lose a few more lbs, get some endurance back and be a little more structured about training. On a positive note Trinity Aretes was freaking rad! Although our trip was cut a day short Natasha and i had a good time figuring out some routes and coming close to finishing up some hard lines. Natasha worked all the moves of Spliff 13c and i did all the moves on Smoke Signals also 13c but very different. Spliff is a 80 foot endurance test where Smoke Signals is a 40 foot boulder problem. both very cool routes that fit our very different styles of climbing, Tash can hold on for the long haul and i do much better on short bouldery routes. i was very surprised i enjoyed Smoke Signals so much since it's pretty much solid 12c/d for the first 3 clips then it turns on at a VERY crimpy v8ish crux. Overall this is an amazing crag and i'm psyched to go back there and finish that route.
Summer is here and it's pretty much to hot to climb outside for me, so that leaves me with training in the gym and my new found hobby of trail running. I started out the summer drinking a shit ton of beer and eating a a shit ton of BBQ, that has all changed now, it's time to get fit. in the next 8 weeks i need to shed the 8 pounds of body fat i gained drinking all that beer and eating all that food. my plan; run a bunch, climb a ton of routes and watch my diet very closely (all of this applies to monday - saturday, sunday is the "eat anything you want day") i'm cutting out nearly all beer, dairy and processed foods. 3 by 4's here i come, gotta get that endurance back. Regular 7 to 10 mile trail runs are also in the line up. Summer of Fitness 2010 has begun. On another note i'm going up to Trinity Aretes soon for some fun sport climbing, really psyched on that.
After a pretty discouraging spring session in The Valley and the distraction of sport climbing to heal a nearly busted shoulder i've found the psych again. In the past 10 days i've bouldered on plastic 4 times which just about doubles the total number of boulder sessions since my shoulder started feeling fucked 4 months ago and i have to say i'm pretty surprised at how quickly it's coming back. As long as my shoulder doesn't explode i'm ready to get back at it and train fucking hard this summer. It's gonna take A LOT of hard work and dedication to obtain my goal of climbing V10 by the fall but i'm down to make the effort. PSYCHED!
Dan and i decided to head out to Surf Safari 5.13d/14a this morning thinking that it would be perfect since the weather is so good but we were wrong. The holds were all wet which made clipping a bit nerve wrecking especially in the first couple bolts. We basically ended up doing a couple aid pitches instead of actually sport climbing. Being that it was my first time out there i didn't care that it was wet all that much, i really just wanted to figure out beta and make a few moves which i did so i don't feel like it was a total waste. I'm psyched to get back out there and try it again with drier conditions.
apparently i've become a route climber and my bouldering has gone to complete shit. 6 months ago i could not have imagined myself climbing pretty well on routes but for some strange reason i'm fucking psyched on climbing the longer ones right now. i really wish i could get back into bouldering shape but being that the spring season is looking to be a bit of a wash i might just keep roping up and see if i can attain my goal of climbing 5.14 by the fall. who knows, i'm hella indecisive about shit right now. either way i need to start training hard and STOP eating candy.
Once again i spent the last weekend in Yosemite Valley and with far more success on the blocks. After a quick session late Saturday morning to work out some of the moves, watch Dan send and fall off the infamous mantle, i went back that evening for better temps and sent Midnight Lightning first go. SO FUCKING PSYCHED! I think i'm kinda starting to get the hang of climbing in the Valley, and can't wait to get back out there and try some harder shit.
Dex and i went to the valley this last weekend for some bouldering with little expectations and it reminded me that i am NOT a good rock climber. I got shut the fuck down by every problem i tried including things i flashed in the fall. Basically i spent the weekend blowing off rocks and bleeding all over the place. It appears to be time to train really hard,try to learn some technique and try to find some psyche being that i for some reason have none at the moment.
I spent at least 4 weekends working on this route and kinda beat it down till it felt easy. On saturday i came about as close as possible to sending it until i missed clipping the chains and took the BIGGEST whipper i've ever taken, i fell a good 50 feet before Natasha was slammed into the first draw de-camming the grigri, thank god she's an experienced climber and knew to hold the break end of the rope. After a good nights sleep we went back to the crag on sunday and after 2 warm-up burns i got back on Cell Block and sent it. So psyched! Natasha killed it out there as usual sending the 13a Toe to Toe and the 12d misdemeanor both 2nd go. Over all a super fun and exciting weekend.
It looks like the valley is gonna be dry here real fast and i can't wait to get back to bouldering on that bomber granite.
For now it's a rest "week", my shoulder has been really bothering me and i believe it's time to rest it up and get it back to 100% before the valley season comes and goes.
Wednesday Natasha, Ethan, Ben and i headed up to the house for a little rock climbing. We woke up early, got an early start, and somehow still managed to be hours behind our friends Dan and Vian. Weather wise we couldn't have asked for a much better day, it was cool and cloudy with the sun poking out from time to time. after "warming up" on the usual 11d Natasha and I headed over to a 12b called Whipping Boy (named for the 20 foot run out from the last bolt to the chains), Natasha hiked it as expected and with her complete spray down i managed to flash the route. After a few more routes and getting just the right amount of pump it was time for Natasha to get on her project Assassin 13d which she fucking crushed just after Ethan did. Then it was my turn. I've been working on Cell Block for the past few weekends and have the thing pretty damn wired. I basically walked up the route with no problems, then, with 2 moves to go, i fucking PUNTED, the last 3 moves are fucking easy if you do the sequence in order. But I decided i was gonna forget how it went, move up right hand instead of left and blow off. I PUNTED! Ethan on the other hand put down 8 pitches that day with ease and Ben and Natasha were killing it.
Spent the weekend climbing up at JH (against my chiropractors recommendation... stupid, i know) once again and my shoulder felt surprisingly great, no pain, little sore but over all not bad. I didn't climb at 100% effort, closer to 75%, and still managed to 1 hang my current project Cell Block 13a. The next 2 days will involve resting, core training and shoulder stuff then it's back to JH on Wednesday to hopefully send.
Saturday night a bunch of us stayed with James at his friends house in Chinese Camp, and let's just say things got a little outta control in the best way possible. There was beer, wine, good food, good people AND....a stripper pole! the girls were by far the best at it, James came in a very close second to Natasha and Kim only due to the lack of hair and breast (he's spent a lot of time alone in the shop practicing). The girls impressed us but i must say the guys getting on the pole was far more entertaining.
Today i'm finally going to get my shoulder looked at after 2 months of not being able to dead hang from my left arm. Hopefully this will help end the constant concern of dislocating my shoulder and allow me to get back to training hard for the Valley season. Saturday will be the test run up at jailhouse to see how the spring season will go for me.
Due to the shitty weather it looks like i'll be heading back up to Jailhouse this weekend for more sport climbing. At this point i feel like i have to finish Fugitive 13a, Natasha sent last weekend and now i have to catch up with her. At least it's real rock and it should be mostly dry.
Tonight i'm heading to the city for a bouldering session at PG, tomorrow i rest, Saturday i send! Next week starts more serious regimented training, lots of dungeon sessions, hang board workouts, campus board workouts and a fuck ton of core workouts. Hopefully the valley will dry up in the next week or so and stay that way for march. SO fucking psyched to boulder in Yosemite this spring, i really want to do some trad climbing too.
Tuesday was a good training day. Climbed a little and did a bunch of campus board shit, 1-5-8 is starting to feel pretty easy on both sides which is a big improvement since 2 weeks ago i was struggling pretty hard to get it on only 1 side and couldn't even do it on the other.
Wednesday was also a super good training day. I warmed up at ironworks with santi, met Natasha there and we went to the dungeon for an awesome session. Santi finished the problem he was working on last time, Natasha did super well finding the hard to find foot holds and looked strong, and i made some pretty good progress on some new problems i haven't tried before and hiked the problems that were giving me some trouble at the last session.
Despite my left shoulder feeling FUCKED (can't dead hang from it), i'm feeling really good about this week and can't wait to train more next week before heading out to the Valley to see if any of this shit is worth it.
Jailhouse this weekend, the Valley the next! SO psyched!
Well I can't speak for Jeremy but I'm still pretty stoked on Bishop. My Valentines Day weekend was spent trying new, harder climbs where I wasn't really focused so much on sending, but more on just figuring out how the climbs worked. I tried High Plains Drifter, Saigon and Yayoi Right in the Buttermilks - I tried Every Color You Are, Action Figure and Cholos in the Happys and got completely shut down by Erotic Terrorist and Kung Fu Grip in the Sads (That shit is hard). But regardless, they were all good experiences. I'm delighted to say that I made it farther on these climbs than expected and can't wait for the colder temperatures again next fall to start seriously working on them. I will for sure be making another trip out there though this spring. I also sent my first V6! Mr. Witty in the Happys. What an awesome feeling. Last trip I did V3: Solarium, V4: Mothership Connect, V5: Serengeti, and now this trip sending V6, respectively. It's always good to make progress!! I did hurt my shoulder and will be taking a week or two off, but am definitely looking forward to start working on routes for the spring and can't wait to see Yosemite again: it's been entirely too long since I've set foot in the Valley! I've always gotten shut down on boulder problems there, but am really excited to see what I can do now! Maybe I'll even follow someone up some trad routes!
Bishop was warm and SUPER FUCKING crowded this weekend (i expected the crowds, not the heat). I didn't send anything, fell off a bunch of shit i tried to repeat, basically i had an "off" day all weekend. Not a total failure, it was super nice and sunny which were excellent conditions for relaxing, drinking beer and hanging out with friends. I think after this past weekend i'm over the east side for the rest of the year. Time to head to The Valley.
I went over to the dungeon on sunday to get a good workout in before leaving for bishop on thursday. Over all it was a good session, i felt strong in some areas and not so strong in others but that's ok. Santi came with me for his first Dungeon experience, he was pretty psyched on the place and made some good progress on some of the problems there. Wednesday it's back to the Dungeon for 1 last training session before leaving for the long weekend. I'm fucking PSYCHED to get back to bishop and get some shit done.
Dex and I are heading out to the east side this Thursday for a short 3 day bouldering mission. We're both super psyched to get back to some projects and get some shit done. Our friend Will and his buddies are down there now and his reports lead me to believe the buttermilks should be fairly dry. Tomorrow night it's off to the Dungeon for a heavy training session in hopes of wrecking my hands (in the good way) in preparation for that amazing buttermilk rock. SO fucking psyched!
I've spent the last 2 weekends climbing routes up at Jailhouse. I'm not %100 sure how i feel about it but it has been pretty fun. Being a boulderer i've found the endurance game quite a challenge, i know i can do all the moves on these long ass boulder problems, it's just a matter of linking 60+ feet of over hanging V4. The route Fugitive 5.13a has grabbed my attention and has me pretty psyched to go back and finish, it has a casual start(30 feet of maybe 12a), that turns into a V5ish crux that involves a pretty awesome dyno off some small holds to a bucket followed by another sweet dyno to another bucket and finishes up with another 20 or so feet of sustained tough climbing to the chains. i think what's holding my interest in this place is the fact that it's so bouldery and really steep, also taking 25-30 foot whippers with no worries of breaking yourself is pretty fucking fun. So until Bishop clears up a bit (hope to fucking god it's soon) i'll be spending a few more weekends at Jailhouse trying to build up some endurance and at least climbing on mostly dry rock.
I climbed routes yesterday, yes, i climbed routes and it was heinous. So not only did i have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning and drive 2 1/2 hours but i did it to go climb routes. It feels like a dream. In all seriousness it wasn't that bad. I went with my friends Natasha and Dan and we met up with Natasha's friend Ross who have all spent a lot of time up there so i at least had people that could show me what was what. When we arrived at the crag at about 11 it looked dismal, everything looked wet, there was a waterfall cascading from the top of the crag and the approach was fucking puddles. But, to our surprise it was climbable (well, at least some of it was), after a bit of a soggy "warm up" on Soap on a Rope 5.12d Natasha and Ross moved on to some harder shit. Then it was Dano and my turn to attack the dripping Soap which turned out to be really dry after the first 2 bolts. On my first go i made it a little over half way up the route which was extremely hard for me considering i boulder and i was looking for the top out option after the 3rd bolt, somehow i managed to push on another 30ish feet before my arms were flash pumped and i was ready to rest and eat lunch. Dano on the other hand was ready to go almost as soon as i was on the ground (he climbs routes WAY more than i do) but i was to worked to belay and made him wait a few minutes. After Dan climbed and i ate lunch and way to many cliff bars i gave Soap on a Rope another go, i managed to make it ALL the way to the chains and even clip them with only 2 falls. We left at sunset and walked back in almost darkness (Dan and Ross had headlamps, Natasha and i did not) stopped at Chipotle in Manteca (which i guess is a regular thing for Natasha and Ross), ate way to much food, piled back in the car and i passed out till we arrived back in Oakland where i stumbled into my house tired as fuck and went right back to sleep. Basically the day at the crag taught me 1 thing...my level of cardio fitness SUCKS!
Went to the Dungeon with Jeffery, Will, Alex and Kalin yesterday and had a fucking rad session. I felt super strong on that steep ass wall, finished a couple of the problems and tried some of the hard ones (which are hard as fucking nails). Over all a productive session and I'm definitely feeling it today.
I rolled my ankle yesterday climbing at the gym. It's not that bad i don't think, a little stiff this morning but i can walk on it just fine. This afternoon it's off to the dungeon to train with Will and Jeffery, we'll see how the ankle holds up.
Went up to Mortar yesterday, ended up at Indian rock. Basically i got my ass HANDED to me. I couldn't make the first move on Impossible Wall so i moved on to Jungle Fever where i made slightly more progress, at least the first 2 moves. After about an hour of sucking super hard we moved down to Indian rock so my co-worker Lauryn could get on some problems. She did well for her first outdoor climbing experience. I fucked around a little then watched 2 guys set up the sketchiest top rope system i have ever seen. It was amazing, they were tied into their belay loops via a locking carabiner , their rope was dragging over an extremely sharp edge and they just had no idea what they were doing. I called it a day at that and got the fuck outta there before these 2 idiots killed themselves.
So far 2010 is off to a good start. I've been climbing strong in the gym, feel strong despite a nagging shoulder tweak and i even did some core workouts (which i hate with a passion). Tomorrow it's up to Mortar rock with Jeffery to get a little skin torture and to hopefully send impossible wall and work on jungle fever. All in preparation for going back to Bishop at the end of the month to fire off The Checkerboard V8, Acid Wash V10, make an attempt at Xavier's Roof V10 and make more progress on Haroun and the Sea of Stories V12. Getting psyched!
Hey! So this is pretty exciting... Team Lagmore made the Touchstone blog! We all got shoutouts and photos! Go Check it out: http://touchstoneclimbing.com/news.html
Dex and i have decided to save up money and move to Bishop for a couple months next winter. We're figuring we can live like kings with a grand a month each and no jobs while down there. I'm super psyched to get in shape, loose a couple lbs., and hopefully be able to fire off some good problems this time next year. 2010 is gonna be the year of training.
on dec 27th 6 people, 8 crash pads and all our gear crammed into a ford f250 to head down to bishop for a week of post holiday fun. the crew included myself, kim, my good friends santiago, ben, caydie and alex.
the trip was amazing, 1 of the best i've ever been on with some of the best people. i sent soul slinger finally, ticked a handful of really cool and fun problems, and started to project some shit that's a little outta my league.
it was santi, ben and alex's first time to the east side and i think it's safe to say they are all in love. santi fucking killed it with quick work of the classic Hulk V6 (3rd go), the cave problem V4, monkey hang V3 and a flash of the ultra classic Solarium V3.
Kim, despite getting food poisoning the friday before departing, also had a pretty awesome trip. she sent 3 long time projects: seregeti V5, mothership connect V4 and solarium V3.
Ben drank a bottle of whiskey B9 (B=booze scale).
new years eve was super fun. the girls meet some dude working at jack's and got themselves invited to a party in town. little did the dude know they were gonna show up with about 12 dudes. the party was short lived and we moved on the McMurry's where they wouldn't let all 16 of us in so we ended up back at our hotel drinking champagne and whiskey and playing stupid games till the desk called and told us to shut up.
Over all a fucking Amazing trip!
back to the gym to train for the next trip at the end of the month.
