Cathedral Ledge

I almost died on Wednesday. I was climbing with friend on a classic multi-pitch (Recompense 5.9) route at a place called Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, New Hampshire. I was leading the third pitch with two double ropes and had clipped the bottom rope securely into a fixed anchor. I then stuck a cam in a small crack and clipped the top rope and sat back to rest a second before the crux moves (it

Red Rocks - Gloucester

Went to Red Rocks the other day with a bunch of friends. We all had a good time climbing and a few friends had their first outdoor leads. I was impressed with everyone wanting to lead. They all sport led it, but that is OK. No one needs to do a trad lead their first time out. I was proud of all of them. Below are some pics...

Crappy Climbing Day

Had one of my worst technical days in a long time. I got a real workout, but really struggled on some pumpy 5.9+, 5.10- and 5.10 routes that I should have been able to nail. Just didn't have the strength after taking a week off. Grrr...

National Junior Climbing Championships

What - National Junior Climbing ChampionshipsWhen - July 1-4, 2005Where - MetroRock Climbing Gym in Everett, MAWho - Ages 9-19 years old qualifiers. The winners represent the USA at the World Cup in China in August.My Role - Judge - my name is actually on there twice!Check out the results and follow the kids as they go on to the World Cup Competition In Beijing!Here are just a few photos of the

Fitness

Been reading about climbing fitness lately as I have been attempting to find ways to improve my grade. Honestly, the first problem that I have is my weight (180 lbs at 5'8"). I need to be around 170 lbs to be effective (anything lower than that just does not feel right. I am not convinced that 165 lbs is a good weight for me. I feel too weak at that weight). But I want to lose weight the proper

National Climbing Competition

So I have decided to finally try and enter to climbing community world beyond my little circle of friends. I noticed on Wednesday that Metrorock is going to be hosting the National Adult and Junior Difficulty and Speed climbing competitions over the July 4th weekend. Apparently, the winners will be going to Beijing in August for the World Cup of Climbing competition. Anyway, the sign stated that

This Spring

Well, my goal of climbing 5.11 by this spring has faltered. I am struggling to get up them, and can haul myself move by move if need be, but I am really struggling to maintain the finger strength throughout a route. Still, it is a process and I am climbing better than I was this past fall.Went to Austin Texas recently for a conference and ended up flying in a day early to do some climbing in the

Frustrating Past Couple of Weeks

For some reason I have really taken a step backward the past few weeks. I was climbing steadily at 5.10 and working toward 5.11, but now it seems that I struggling to get up pumpy 5.9s and fall often on easy 5.10s. My forearms are really suffering on these days. I know that warming up is crucial to my performance, as is strength and endurance building, but I should not be feeling as weak as I am.