tooty and leading

on january 15th, i led my hardest sport route outdoors - 5.9 - in clear creek canyon, just outside of golden, co. it felt pretty darn good. i then went on to lose my wallet. funny how life sorta balances itself out. it all reminds me of the theme song to that old sitcom of yore. the facts of life. "you take the good, you take the bad, you take 'em both and there you have, the facts of life." i'll admit it. i miss tooty ... and my wallet too.

canvasing, campasing, and, then, campusing

is the third time a charmer? i can't help but laugh (again). at first i thought it was canvasing, then campasing. but alas, it's campusing.

"'campusing'", or using just your arms and upper body to climb, originated in training guru, wolfgang gullich's campus gym in which he built many variations of the now known campus board. he formed the campusing idea to train his fingers and arms for the power required for his project, action directe. the contact (finger) strength and power that he gained from training on his campus boards helped him greatly in acheiving his goal, which is one of the hardest, most known climbs still today (5.14b) and is very seldom repeated.

although the word campus, in climbing, originated from wolfgang's training devices, it has also become the name for which we call any type of climbing in which no feet are used." -- excerpt from pawnclimbing.com

partner matters

i think i've discovered the key to becoming a better climber.

it's all about your partner and his or her experience relative to yours. in just three climbing sessions with my new friend jared, my climbing ability has improved dramatically. jared has been climbing for four years and is a great motivator/teacher. his simple "this is so easy. you got this" and "obviously leading a 5.10- is too easy for you, you need something more challenging" has a powerful impact - at least psychologically. with him, and in just two climbing days, i passed my indoor lead test and also red-pointed two 5.10-s on lead. i also worked on leading a 5.10+ that felt great.

good/experienced partner = awesome results.

the challenge of course becomes: how do you keep them around?

Photo: David Boulders by Jared

bouldering in eldo canyon

did a little bouldering today with some new climbers. jared, dan, and a few other folks. here's a photo of rob:

it's campassing, not canvasing

re: yesterday's post. i think it's funny in hindsight. happy 2006!