Back in Canada

We are finally back in Canada after 6 month of doing "The Circuit" in the US. Much had happened since our last little post.

The big news is that Krissy finally sent her first 5.13a - Sprout, in Maple Canyon, UT. It took about 18 days and 40 tries for the send! (see Krissy's Flashed blog for more!)

After Krissy's project was finished up we headed back to Rifle, CO so I could finish off one last route. After a few more days effort and some beta tweaks I was finally able to send Simply Read 5.13d (hardest 13d on the planet I think!).

We have just spent the last couple days in Squamish, BC doing a little bouldering. The conditions have not been the greatest (either hot or rainy), but it has still been fun to check the area out. We managed to do a few of the classic problems and are now headed to Calgary, AB for some limestone sport climbing!

Mike and Rebecca

Ben sending T-Rex 5.14b - 33 bolts of cave climbing!

The start of T-Rex

Krissy looking cute as ever

Krissy's hand made sun catchers

Shoulder stretching

Another view of T-Rex

Ben sending No Troublems V10. This was the first V10 in Squamish.

The unique granite holds on the very steep No Troublems

Jessa

The start of No Troublems in the dark Grand Wall forest

The view from the climber campground in Squamish

Breakfast at the base of "The Chief"

Ben went caving for a lost water bottle and found a brand new Solution

The world's hottest spotter?

Krissy on the Stinger V6

The scenery during our 24hr drive from Colorado to BC

Must see coffee shop in WA

Ben on Worm World Cave V9

Krissy sending Trad Killer V4

The forest filled with great boulders

Trad Killer V4

Try hard face

Scott providing sun blockage for Stinger Low V8/10?

Vancouver

Forest Fires, Heat, and Hard Sends

So, what is required for hard sending: harness, shoes, rope, knee pads, duct tape, pre-spray, finger tape, liquid chalk, chalk, stick-clip, gri-gri, gloves, working draw, and the list goes on...

Our flat tire that we encountered while trying to run from the heat of Rifle, CO.

Unloading the entire care to access the dummy tire...

The view of Rifle Gap Reservoir.

Cleaning the battle wounds and knee pad glue off after a rough day in Rifle (3 one-hangs of my project).

Forest fires near our current home of Maple Canyon, UT. We drove back here to escape the heat in Rifle and also so Krissy could attempt to finish off her project: Sprout 5.13a.

Hank hanging out at the Pipe Dream Cave.

Ben lowering off Eulogy (5.14a/b) after sending. It took about 3 days of work. The actual red-point took about 40-45 minutes!!! Over 100 feet of near horizontal climbing!

Blake sending Deliverance (5.12c).

A rattle snake that is missing its rattle - we think....

Another view of the forest fires.

Blake working on Millenium (5.14a).

Another view of Millenium and the Pipe Dream Cave.

Rifle - A Quick Update

Krissy just before sending Ruckus - 5.12b. Video soon...

Ben and Misty hanging at the Project Wall

Ben working on his current project - Simply Read - 5.13d. Video soon...

Simply Read (5.13d) - starts with a V8 boulder problem, to a section of 5.13a, to another V8 boulder problem to 5.12+...rough!!!

The Project Wall - full of 5.13's

Rifle rock

Krissy and Sammy - a totally deaf dog

The drive from our campsite to the climbing

Rifle reservoir

Rifle. CO: Home of the Hardest Sport Climbing on Earth?

Krissy: the Prana model

Ben pre-hair cut

Ben post hair cut

One of our few forced rest days: loads of hail

Our new home in Rifle, CO

Rest day

Warming up in the morning sun next to the creek

Home

Krissy's collection of home-made jewellery - rest day hobby...

The hardest climbing on earth? Probably not, but is sure has been hard to get used to the climbing in Rifle. It is a tricky style to describe...The rock is blocky, pocketed, tufa'ed, crimpy, polished limestone. The routes here are very beta intensive (knee-bars, toe-hooks, etc). The first time up most routes they feel impossible, until you unlock the trick to climbing them. We have slowly been getting used to the climbing over the last few days and might be finally ready to try and climb something hard. It is definitely not an area you travel to so you can onsight a bunch of routes - you have to work hard for each and every send here.

The Scream - Video

We just finished watching the Boulder World Cup here in Vail, CO. After a couple days off from climbing, we are making our next stop Rifle, CO for more sport climbing. Our last couple days in Maple Canyon went quite well - Krissy nearly sent her project, Sprout 5.13a and I was able to send Millennium 5.13d/14a on our last day.

VIDEOS!

We finally got an internet connection fast enough to upload a couple of videos...So here they are. One is Krissy sending Wills of Fire (V6) in Joe's Valley, Utah. The other the the morning after a very windy/cold night in Hueco Tanks, Texas.

We are currently still in Maple Canyon, Utah trying to get in sport climbing shape. Both of us are very close to sending our main objectives for this area. Krissy has managed to link large pieces of Sprout (5.13a) and the send could come at any time. I have managed to one-hang Millenium (5.14a) twice in the last two days...I'm hopefully it will go down soon! These two climbs are both LONG and STEEP - they take alot of energy each red-point attempt, therefore we only get to try them two, maybe, three times per day.

Maple Canyon - The Pipe Dream

Our first week in Maple Canyon has been pretty awesome! It has been pretty rough getting in shape for the pure endurance routes here (see photos!). Our fitness has started to get to the point where we can actually start trying things in the Pipe Dream Cave - you must be in "Pipe Dream Shape" according to the guide. The guide states that Dream Pipe will "reward the fit and punish the flabby". The Dream Pipe is home to numerous STEEP 5.13 and 5.14s ranging from 20 to 30 bolts long - 100 feet or so of upside down climbing....Getting ridiculously pumped is the name of the game here.

no hands rest on Sprout 5.13a

"full on double knee bar"

the entrance to Box Canyon

resting after massive amounts of steep climbing

Sprout 5.13a (photo: John Cooper)

Pipe Dream head wall - yup, still steep....(photo: John Cooper)

Prepped for battle