Weather Update

A week of wonderful weather goes by and I have yet to hear a positive report back on bouldering in the forest or in the talus. However, I did get a report that the smoke bluffs are dry enough to climb. The weather network shows sunny skies for the rest of the week. Lets hope this fog eats up all the snow and precipitation by the weekend!

UPDATE:  According to a secondary source, Mike Chapman has reported that the boulders are 'mostly dry' and ready to climb.   Get ready for the weekend.  Should be awesome!

Sean McColl

Recently, Sonnie Trotter was writing about those climbers who are blessed with the biology to be strong climbers at a very young age. My opinion on this subject is that biology can only take you so far with factors such as an early introduction into climbing, strict training regimes, and self-motivation playing a vital role in the success of these young climbers.

One of the climbers mentioned Trotter's blog was Sean McColl. Sean is a local Vancouver climber who began climbing at the age of 10 and completed his first 14a at the age of 12. Last week, Matt Lucas brought to my attention a YouTube video featuring Sean climbing at the North American Climbing Championships in Montreal two weeks ago. It is clear in the video that Sean's climbing abilities continue to be a step above the rest. I think Sean is more than capable of dreaming big. Perhaps the second accent of Dreamcatcher? or Singularity? Maybe another trip to Europe? Buy a van, make a list, and show us what you can do!

Weather Update

For those of you who thought the sun we had this week would bring us back to the boulders this weekend, you will be sadly dissappointed. Reports for Mike Chapman indicate that the forest boulders are completely soaked and the talus is covered in snow. Don't give up hope, perhaps February will bring back a week or two of sunny weather like last year. To keep up your psych, here is a picture of Brent Mickelson on an unknown boulder in Hope, BC.

Kevin Jorgenson

Since there is absolutely nothing going on in Squamish due to the inclement weather we are having, I thought I would write about a new line scoped out by Kevin Jorgenson in the Buttermilks. During my last trip to Bishop, I was walking around the boulders with Georg, looking at some of the new super highballs that had yet to be completed. Georg led me to the south face of the Grandpa Peobody boulder where Kevin had hung a top rope to work the moves on what I would call a 'climb of death'. When looking at the route itself, the holds make sense but it certainly doesn't make sense to climb up them. This thing is a monster.

I was just checking the Momentum VM website http://www.momentumvm.com/ and Kevin just recently completed this line. This is absolutely nuts! In the write up, Kevin stated that he wanted as many pads as possible but no spotters. One, who is crazy enough to spot on this kind of thing, and two, I think a human falling from 45 feet would pretty much break you arms off. If you get a chance, also check out Kevins website http://www.kevinjorgenson.com/. I have never met Kevin nor have I ever seen him climb but climbing huge lines like this are pretty inspiring in a 'I am still going to stay ten feet off the ground' kind of way. Here is a picture of the climb I took looking way way up.

Skateboarding Cross Over

Not too many people know this, but back before I got into climbing I was heavy into skateboarding. Every once in a while I still get on my board and try to rip it up whcih ussually ends with me falling on my ass but I can still pull off a kickflip or two and have a lot of fun crusing around.

Recently, a series of videos from the shoe company DVS have surfaced on YouTube showing professional skateboarders battle it out in a game of SKATE or what is commonly referred to as HORSE. Featured in one of these battles was an old professional skater that I used to be psyched on named Steve Berra. He was one of the original members of the Birdhosue Projects team (led by Tony Hawk) and also tried to break into the movie scene around the same time Jason Lee was doing the Mallrat movies. He ended up starring in two episodes of Felicity until his acting career came to a sudden halt when his character was hit by a bus.

I couldnt get this one to embed so here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk_JA0cBJrY

The Search

Like surfing, those who are on the cutting edge of climbing are always looking for the next best boulder or the next best line to catch their very own first ascent. I would have to say that I am the worst searcher of new boulders around. Sometimes I think it would be awesome to find a rad new line, but after looking at two or three boulders that are blank, I just feel like going back to the car.

On my last day in Bishop, however, I decided to check out this new boulder that I had heard about through gibberish and here say. It is situated upstream where Pleasant Valley Dam road meets Chalk Bluff road and I would have to say that it is one of the best boulders I have seen in the tablelands. According to some website, it is between V7 and V9 but the moves and sequence are classic with one of the best natural holds I have felt in a long time. I will definitely come back for this one.

Here are a couple pictures to keep you going (Thanks Doug and Matt). The first is a picture of the boulder I described above, the second is a photo of myself doing the first move of Acid Wash, and the last photo is a shot of a new area in the tablelands called County Line.

New Beginnings

My trip to Bishop is coming to an end tomorrow night where I will venture back to the snowy streets of Vancouver with visions of California sun dancing in my head. This is the shortest trip I have done to Bishop and I have to say one week is never enough. Prior to getting here, I was severely unmotivated and had just come off the bench from a number of injuries. The first couple of nights in the truck were uncomfortablely cold and I missed the luxuries of home living. However, mid-week my outlook changed dramatically. The sun came out from its clouds, old problems were revisted with fresh eyes, and my fingers began to enjoy the rock again.

Ussually on last days, I try to go around and repeat problems that I have already done to avoid failure on the last day. However, this year I have decided to go for it on a problem that has been haunting me for years. I am excited for the challenge. I may not do the problem tomorrow but nonetheless, I am looking forward to the process rather than the send. Either way, this trip has left me hungry for climbing again and I am excited to get back to training for the next trip in March.

As for local climbing news, Tim Clifford sent The Swarm today on the last day of his trip after dodging the flu all week. I will leave you with a picture of George Jost, Tim Clifford, and Matt Birch eyeing a new line next to Evilution. As old projects finish, new ones are always waiting around the corner.