RIP Johnny, Micah, Wade

I only knew Micah, but it sounds like they were all cool dudes. Micah came to give a slideshow here last year and it was a really cool, funny show. I even got to climb with him at Rumney once...he was totally psyched about everything. We're all going to miss them.

Unorthodox Nut Placement

My toaster broke, so that the handle pops up, whether the toast is done or not, so I have come up with an innovative solution involving a #5 BD micro stopper. Now, I wonder if I can do it in reverse...think I can use the toaster as an "aid only" piece? I bet *that's* not covered by the warnings. It just says not to soak it in the bathtub and nothing at all about falling on it as a piece of pro...

Black Diamond

BD, definitely one of my favorite gear companies was recently robbed by an idiot who thought that actually dealt in diamonds:

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/colorado/106460446

Kinda puts your problems in perspective, doesn't it?

Trad, Self-Rescue, Aid, Guiding, and Pouring Rain

I was up in the North Conway area this weekend practicing my trad, self-rescue, and guiding skills with Bayard Russell this weekend. Yesterday, atop the tourist "hello climbers, I'm gawking" lookout atop Cathedral, we basked in unforeseen sun and incredible clouds of pollen while practicing a lot of different skills: racking efficiently, placing gear, belaying and lowering from above, handling two seconds, extending the anchor, escaping belays, counterbalance rappelling, raising systems, etc., etc. I know one hardly ever has to use these skills, but I like to have a full toolkit of procedures to choose from if things ever get complicated. I also feel a lot better when I take out newer people, which seems to happen a lot.

Today we went to Sundown Ledge along the Kanc where it poured incessantly all day. We started by pounding in some pins. I learned that the micro hammer on a BD Cobra is absolutely awful as a hammer and hurt my wrist. Of course, as Bayard points out, I'm a chemist, not a carpenter. Then we practiced a technique called "belayed rappelling" which is a nice technique for situations where you have to belay from above, like Otter Cliffs. I will definitely use this in the future. The idea is to avoid letting the rope run over a sharp edge, which saves it from abrasion damage. You find the middle of the rope, and tie off to the anchor. You then drop down half of the rope (call this strand A). (Alternatively, you could let down one strand of rope until the bottom touches, and maybe give a little extra, and tie off what's left at the anchor. This would prevent rope from getting dunked in the water.) Now then, you have the climber tie into the other end of the rope (strand B). You put them on belay with strand B, while they single-strand rappel on strand A. You can use a redirected ATC or better yet, a Gri-Gri. You probably want to be able to see the climber going down, so it's a good idea to extend the anchor a bit (but not too much, otherwise, belaying will be really annoying). So there you go, a bit of guiding technique.

We also got on Eyeless in Gaza (12b) which actually felt really good to me. I had some trouble with one crux move at the very top, but I worked it a bit and eventually found some good beta. I think I can easily send this thing within a few more tries, especially if I work on my endurance a bit a the gym, which is, thus far, atrocious. However, the bouldering is coming along well, so my power is good. I'm sending a bunch of V5s, and it's not just inflated grades, because I feel stronger, too. I also mock-aid/bouldered for about thirty feet, which was not only my first attempt at aid climbing, but also took an hour and left me begging for mercy. You almost want to have a bandolier plus Santa sack of gear...you have four aiders, a fifi hook, a full rack, slings, plus an assorted gaggle of carabiners, kitchen sinks, and other hangers on. I learned that the scary "top-stepping" manoeuver actually works and greatly increases efficiency, although I certainly have not mastered it. I'm sure Bayard was very bored. But I had a lot of fun placing gear. There's nothing like aid climbing that will teach you how to place gear that well! Every placement gets tested (and welded, so you get the experience of how to place gear that can come out easily, too). I also learned that rotating pieces 180 degrees can often greatly increase their security. It's odd to think that works, but if you look carefully at most trad pieces, they are not C2 symmetric, at least, not under all such rotations. The BD stoppers, for example, of a large radius side and a small radius side, while the C4 cams have the inner lobes on one side while the outer lobes are on the other. Finally, I learned how to jug (I'm awful, but can at least sort of do it now). I thought it was really hard work physically, but I think I'm just not doing it that efficiently. I'd like someone to invent some sort of bicycle type invention where I can just pedal my way up the rope comfortably. Who will invent this for me?

Return to Rumney, Food Gripes

Like NASA's "return to flight," my return to Rumney had its ups and downs. I haven't really sport climbed in some time now, and I wasn't feeling totally psyched this morning when I got out to climb, but I quickly remembered how much fun it was. Who was there? Harvard Forest Dunbar, Astrophysics Claire, Norwegian Henning, Hannah "I like China" Waight, Eric "I am not a time traveller" Engberg, and Zeb "hello, do you like math?" Engberg. It was a blast. I normally like to project outside, and do a relatively small amount of intense climbing, but Dunbar, who was my main partner today, really turned up the fire. I did get on Orangahang (12a/b) and felt really good. Things that felt crazy last year felt totally static and do-able. There's a V4ish section where there are some deadpoints involved, and it felt totally OK to me. I think I can send it if I build up a bit of power endurance. My endurance is always terrible. I tried to "onsight/flash" Sally's Alley (11c) and Millenium Falcon (10c) today and it was kind of embarassing. I've done them before, but I remember basically nothing, so that's why I've used quotation marks. Dunbar, on the other hand, is a motoring Energizer bunny, who insisted we should try and climb dozens and dozens of 10s, declaring, as usual, that "sport climbing is just training for trad, trad is just training for alpine, etc., etc." I'm just happy he doesn't give the hard trad he-man catch I so dread. Zeb climbed hard, although I didn't get any specifics. I overheard something about him being too scared to lead something, but when asked about this, he assured me in no uncertain terms that this was a filthy, filthy lie. Hannah did Prime Climb (11b), I think. Henning led Underdog (10a), and Claire followed up (first 10 at Rumney?), which was awesome for both of them I think.

Anyways, I think fun was had by all. We retired to The Common Man, where the bread, cheese, and crackers flow with famous vigor. I had a cucumber salad (not that good, especially for $7) and some mussles (also meh, for $7). But then the people in lab are always taking me to truly delicious food, so I'm probably somewhat spoiled. The food was good, just not great. Let me assure you, however, in no uncertain terms that, unlike pernicious reports to the contrary, that I am not a monocle-wearing fatcat who will only eat the finest lobsters and steaks. In point of fact, I quite enjoy McDonalds. I don't know why people are always complaining about that. Of course, I stay away from their burgers (which I don't like in general anyways). However, after an unfortunate rest stop on the way to Acadia, I have developed a deep personal loathing for Burger Kings everywhere, which I consider to be only slightly better than eating a filthy, oil soaked rag.