Well I just returned from another 8 days in Arkansas and although it didn't go quite as well as I planned I still had an incredible time.  This go around I was there with good friends Dave Wetmore, Nate Draughn, Rami Annab and Mike Durenleau.

Main objective of the trip was Witness the Fitness and surprisingly on my first day back on the boulder I fell transitioning into the v7 stand.  At this point I KNEW that I was going to climb the boulder.  I chilled out for a while and decided to give it one more go for the day.  Unfortunately what happened next was not me sending the bloc.  Instead it involved me ripping off the crux hold completely leaving the problem no longer possible...

This was definitely the most devastating moment in my climbing career.  Witness is the most incredible thing i've ever seen and for it to no longer be available for myself or anyone else to enjoy is saddening.  I have the hold sitting here with me at my house and though I know it's very probable to just glue the hold back on I do not want to be the person to do so.  This roof was freak, and it was natural! Sandstone caves like this just do not exist..  It's just not possible.  So for myself to be the one to turn it into something less would just feel, wrong.  Now on the other hand if someone out there was looking to put humpty dumpty back together, I wouldn't argue with em'.

On a brighter note I did manage to make a couple rare ascents of some cool climbs.  I managed the 3rd ascent of 'Welcome to Fight Club' & the 3rd ascent of Chris Sharma's 'Full Package'.

Full Package V13

Welcome to Fight Club V13

I shot a ton of footage of the trip so keep your eyes out for a video coming in the next few weeks!

Also, I am working on a couple shorts.  First involves Nate Draughn chatting about a new company he is working with called GIDDY, and the second including both Nate and Rami as they establish some really nice new boulders in Dayton, TN.

Rami just chattin

Rami on his masterpiece 'Down by the River' V9

Nate on the FA of 'Jumby' V10

On thursday i'll be making my way out to Hueco Tanks to compete in my very first Rock Rodeo!  I'm pretty stoked to be involved in it all this year and can't wait to try some of the new problems put up there as of recent.  My main objective though is to just have a good time and not push it.  I'm leaving for Switzerland next tuesday and I want to make sure i'm 100% healthy and not injured.  I know the guys over at Lt11 will be on the scene and we'll be shooting a nice little piece for Prana.  It's gonna involve Paul Robinson, Fred Nicole and I as we climb around on some of the boulders Fred FA'd so long ago.  It should be a neat vid and i'm excited to be a part of it. 

For now enjoi some screen shots and stay tuned for what is coming next!

Glass Bowl V10

Nate on 'Color of Fire' V10

Shadow Jumper V11

I have the toughest skin these days..

Dave on 'Fred's Roof' V10

Anti-Hero V12

The man.

JW

The Recent

So lots is happening these days.  Just finished a 9 day trip to Arkansas where I tried one of the most amazing boulder problems in the world, Witness the Fitness.  This thing is truly incredible and I will be heading back that way at the end of the month to try and finish it up!  I went out there with friends Daniel Woods and Paul Robinson a.k.a Gucci.  Daniel was able to take down Witness for the FA after break and it was incredible to watch.  We got it on video as well so keep your eye out for that in the coming weeks!

Other than that we got to establish some lines of our own.

Daniel of the FA of Child's Play, V13

My skin took a turn for the worst

The Wall project

King Lion, V11

We had incredible weather for the majority of our trip yet on our last few days the rain set in..

Our last day

So for now I'm back here in Chattanooga training in the gym.  Tomorrow Kasia and I will be heading out to Boston for the Darkhorse finale!  Competition is looking stacked so we will see how that goes... Click here for the last comps highlights.

Also, just in case you missed it I spent a few days in the Northeast last month and had a pretty good trip.  Check the video!

Enjoi

The past & the future

Wow, it's been a while..  Sorry for the lack of posting but not too much has been going on until just recently.  After my gnarly incident with my arm I was just back here in Chattanooga on the mend.  I got healed up and starting training with the fury.  TBA sessions are where it's at!  Shortly after I returned I was back on the plane heading to Bellevue Washington for the UBC pro competition.  In short the trip was amazing and very eye opening.  I took 2nd place in the comp and got one day to climb outside.  I visited the 5 star bloc at Gold Bar and then spent the rest of the day at Index.

Crazy formations on the river

Index

Upon my return from Seattle it was back on the grind.  Just training hard and getting ready for the Triple Crown Bouldering Series!  I was able to do well at the first two events and took 1st.  HP40 is this weekend so i'm getting psyched. 

I did recently get to spend 9 days in the RRG.  I hadn't been climbing on ropes or training endurance at all before I left but I was excited to use these 9 days as time to get back in shape.  To my surprise though my endurance wasn't complete trash and on my 2nd day I was able to climb the classic 14a Transworld Depravity.  After that I started focusing my efforts on mileage.  I finished up some nice madness cave routes and did a couple rad lines at the chocolate factory, Death by Chocolate 13b & Eternal Fire 13c.  Then towards the end of my trip I thought it would be fun to try a harder line.  I chose to try 50 Words for Pump a 14b at Bob Marley.  At first I was surprised on how difficult some of the movements were but then again I have little to no experience on how hard these routes should feel.  I sussed out some good beta on my 1st and 2nd goes and on my 3rd go I managed to make it through the bottom and punted off pretty high up.  I didn't get a chance to try the route again as this was our last day and I was completely wrecked.  But no worries, i'm heading back to the RRG on monday and this time it will be for almost a month!  The tic list for the trip goes on and on but i'm mostly just excited to better myself as a sport climber and see what I can manage.  I know Adam Ondra just completely murdered the area but he's not real so I don't care.  I will be rolling up with my good buddy Tyler Wilcutt and we are going to have a field day punting off some routes and hopefully bolting a few of our own!  

For now here are some pics courtesy of Forest Woodward

Transworld Depravity

50 Words for Pump

Ashima down there hiking 14c

ENJOI

Unfortunate events in CO

Well as some of you may already know i'm back from CO early.  The trip definitely did not go as planned and I had a few unfortunate set backs.  First off was the weather and then on my 3rd day of climbing I manage a pretty nasty gash down my left forearm.

The only upside that I can think of is the fact that I got to climb 2 AMAZING V13's,  Clan of the Cave Bears and The Mote in God's Eye, both at Lincoln Lake.

Check out the video below to see these 2 problems as well as a little glimpse into my ER experience..



ENJOI

Back to CO!

Tuesday I am off again and it's back to the Front Range for me!  I'm going to be spending 10 days there checking out a new area high in Mt. Evans as well as some cool projects at the Wild Basin.  Expect some cool media upon my return!!

Here are some shots of the new(ish) area in Mt. Evans! Photos courtesy of Jon Glassberg.

ENJOI

Colorado Video

Well, our summer vacation here in Colorado is unfortunately slowing down.  We have a couple more days here in Estes Park before we make the transition to Rifle.  Recently we've been keeping it pretty mellow.  The rain and crazy weather here has definitely made it a bit tougher to get a full days climbing in.  No worries though.. we've been sport climbing a little bit trying to get back in endurance shape.  It's looking like we'll be in Rifle around 15 days before making the trek out to the annual trade show in Salt Lake City.  That should be a fun time and hopefully on our journey home to the south we'll be able to get in a few more climbing days!

For now here is a quick video i've thrown together of our time thus far



Enjoi

Upper Upper Chaos Canyon

Yesterday I decided to go exploring high up in Chaos Canyon/ Upper Upper ChaOs. I was lucky enough to run into a very motivated crew including Jamie Emerson, Collin Horvat, Rylan Marshall, and Jason Pinto.  It had been almost three years since I had set off into Upper Upper so I was super psyched to see this area with fresh eyes.  Jamie has been exploring this area for years now and knew of a few very sick projects that he was psyched to share with me.  

Lower Chaos is at the lake 

The first project I saw was a very sick rail boulder that Jamie found and cleaned.  He had put a good amount of time and energy into the boulder and asked me nicely to not climb it.  I have a huge amount of respect for people who devote their time trying to make amazing boulders like this a reality so I had no problem just hanging out and taking photos. This problem is truly amazing and will most definitely be one of the best boulders in the RMNP.

Jamie eying down the crux on the "Death Row Project"

Jamie made some good efforts on the boulder but didn't manage a send. Instead he took me on a hike further up the talus and showed me one of the best projects in the park, the "Ice Cave Project".  

 

The boulder is an almost horizontal roof and the climbing is all about tension on slopey holds.

                                     

Crux move

 I was able to put this amazing boulder problem together in a couple hours and called it The Shining, V13. 

The view from Death Row

Upper Upper Chaos seems to be becoming a destination in itself.  Sure the hike is long but that in no way steals from its quality.  The rock is as good or better then the rest of Chaos and there are more boulders than I can even handle.  During the day Jamie, Jason, and I found a few more projects that looks absolutely incredible.  One line that is around 30 foot long, another cave project 8bish? and a new  8b+ project. HUGE thanks to Jamie and crew for showing me around! The amount of new lines up there is massive and I hope more people get psyched to come contribute to this amazing place..