high on a shelf [road]

i drove out to shelf road on saturday afternoon to meet my friends erik and todd for a bit of camping and climbing. the weather was quite amazing the entire three days i was there. mid 70s during the day, mid 50s at night with a full moon. i didn't feel my climbing was all that spectacular. after climbing so much indoors the last few months, i don't feel like i'm connecting as well as i should with the outdoor experience. the two worlds, i feel, are completely different. inside you have clear routes, seemingly safer setups. outside, you aren't exactly sure which way to go and there's an underlying sense of more risk. i have to get over that. it didn't help that as i approached the top of a climb there was a a 12" piece of rock that was completely loose. ah!

the trip was fun though. i cleaned a trad 5.8 - first trad interaction - and attempted a 5.10a. i'll post a photo or two soon.

boulderin'

is it just me, or do i look a bit tense? :)

"climb it because you think it's beautiful, not because no one's done it"

A nice read on crack climbing in the l.a. times:

"true grit and grip"

three weeks of climbing and no blogging?

an image from a recent trip to eldorado canyon just outside of boulder.

my. how time goes by. i'll be the first to admit it. ive been a bad blogger. i just logged in and realized that i haven't posted in almost three weeks. sometimes we forget about our commitments. so goes life, so goes blogging.

since my last post, i've bouldered once outdoors and then a few times in the gym. bouldering is a great social activity. you put on your climbing shoes, grab a chalk bag and crash pad and work on bouldering problems that are usually no more than 15 feet off the ground. it's also a great way to build some localized strength.

at the gym, i've been working on a few 5.10s and 5.11s. i read somewhere that in order to build strong fingers it is best to do a three week run where you climb no more than 2 or 3 times a week and focus on routes that are above your level. routes that will force you to fail in about a minute or 10-12 moves. it's definitely helped me. my fingers feel stronger and i can attempt the harder climbs that i've mostly ignored in the past.

i've also been doing some climbing photography for the colorado mountain school. the school puts on some world-class climbing courses and outings that are definitely worth checking out. ive been able to hang out with some of their staff and instructors and can say with confidence that they'll teach you to climb.