Friday, July 29, 2011

Southern Adirondack Climbing Festival: 2011

Only 6 weeks away...bring the ruckus'!!!  This year, Jay Harrison is bringing his annual southern adirondack climbing festival to Caroga Lake.  As a local to the area, I am in the process of getting some of the less travelled crags back in climbing shape while trying to organize the first ever outdoor bouldering comp within the Adirondack State Park.  So far, SoIll Climbing Holds and Organic have made some donations for the event.  PSYCHED for the venue, let's hope for a stellar festival!!!

http://www.mtnsideview.com/sadkrock.html

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Where is this Little Fellow?


Pretty psyched to get some climbing sessions in with this little fellow in the near future.  Murph and I plan on cleaning up a few stout routes at the Lost Hunters Crag in the next few weeks in preparation for the 4th Annual Southern Adirondack Climbing Festival which will be held in Caroga Lake this year, if anyone is interested just let me know.  Bring your "A" game, as a majority of the routes were FA'd by the illusive Fred Abbuhl back in the mid 90's and haven't seen many repeats...

A Few Words from Chris Sharma...

I read an interview with Chris Sharma in Rock and Ice issue # 196 and thought I should share his introductory passage on the blog:

"My purest moments of climbing were at Panther Beach in Santa Cruz-making up eliminates, climbing barefoot.  You're trying the hardest moves you can-you're not trying to get anything out of it.  No recognition, no redpoint, just unencumbered movement.  That's the essence of climbing.  Pure playfulness."

-Chris Omprakash Sharma

It's amazing to see one of the world's best rock climbers being honest and humble about a sport that has made them who they are today...GOOD ON YA MATE!  Many props to you.

On an unrelated note, I have realized that many people that read the blog do not realize that I have posted up a series of southern adirondack climbing guidebooks that I have generated over the years.  The old Nine Corners Lake Bouldering guidebook, the Pinnacle Pull-Off Bouldering Guidebook, Green Lake Cliffs Guidebook, and Otter Lake Cliffs guidebook are all available for free download on the right hand side of my blog under "Pages" - "Southern Adirondack Climbing Guidebooks".  I hope everyone can get some good use out of them.

This Sunday I will be heading back into Otter Lake Cliffs with a group of guys yet again to get some lead climbing in, install some fixed gear on a few new routes, and clean some recently scouted routes.  If anyone is interested in making the trek in, get ahold of me.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Saturday July 23, 2011...Otter Lake Update

Everyone once and awhile, everything works out and a quality session gets squeezed into a typical upstate New York summer day.  For some odd reason, today's sun and humidity stayed at bay on an early morning assault of the Otter Lake cliff.  Two members of today's crew had never seen the crag, so Brad and Sully brought their hype on seeing and climbing on new rock.  Picture highball (40 foot) boulder problems with fixed gear just off of a secluded lake in the southern Adirondacks.

I figured the best way to cover today's session would be to follow weekend bouldering's lead and upload a series of action photos.  Enjoy!

 Banta getting REAL on the crux of "Harvest Moon"
 Brad flashing "Harvest Moon"
 Sully: Mean Muggin' on the crux of "Harvest Moon"
 Higher up on "Harvest Moon"
 Higher up on "Harvest Moon"
 Pooler styling on the intro moves of "Harvest Moon"
 Brad:  Onsight lead of "Independence Pass"

 Banta on a long lock off:  "Harvest Moon"
 Low pinch on the "White Arete"
Leading "White Arete"


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Otter Lake Cliffs: July 17, 2011

Here is a quick weekend update:  I got held up on Saturday doing landscaping around the house so I was not able to meet up with a sizeable group of friends who were bouldering at Nine Cornered Lake in Caroga.  Rumor has it that despite the warm/humid conditions; they were able to get a good climbing session in. 

Sunday I headed into Otter Lake Cliffs to get on some of the routes that I developed last year with Murph to see how my rope endurance was holding up.  Early in the morning it became clear that my fitness is nowhere near where it should be to get on the sharp end of the rope!  My strength was good because of all of the bouldering I have been doing lately, but I frequently found myself pumped halfway through routes or even climbing bolt to bolt because the mental game was not sharp and ready enough for full on committment while leading some of the routes.  Lession learned, time to tie into the sharp end at least twice a week for the next month or two to work on some of those flaws.

Banta and Skyler had a good day on the cliff.  Both guys are relatively new to the rope game and enjoyed the terrain, varied style of climbing, exposure, and overall atmosphere of the cliff.  Skyler did both climbs he was close on three weeks ago first try!  Banta flashed the last climb we did on Sunday...Psyched for both of them and even more psyched that they both want to go back in there soon!

A new route was worked on and all of the moves were done.  The necessary hardware will be installed soon so it can be led.  This new route tackles some of the severe overlapping sections of roof and makes up one of the more dynamic climbs on the cliff...estimated at the lower 5.12 grade.  Finally a route that goes right after the roofs that initally drew us to this cliff.  Below is a short video clip of a ridiculous 6'-0" dyno we were trying in the middle of the session.  I would love to say that it isn't feasible, but Skyler and I both reached the jug more than once.  Maybe white guys can jump? 

The New Route is the thickest red dashed line.  You climb to the third clip on the roof traverse, then head straight up the overhanging sections of the roofs (Keep in mind, this roof section is only 1/3 of the developed cliff band at Otter Lake...there are numerous climbs to the right of these roofs).

Friday, July 15, 2011

Weekend Plans...

I have swapped out the latest video update from Nine Cornered with a video whose soundtrack uses a royalty free song.  Let me know if there are still issues viewing the video.

We have a crew going into the Otter Lake sport climbing cliff in Caroga Lake on Sunday.  If anyone is interested in checking it out, let me know...we'd love to get a bunch of climbers in there to run laps on the established routes and hopefully develop a few additional climbs.  There is an online guidebook that I created for Otter Lake on my Southern Adirondack Climbing Guidebook page.

Now a few images to keep everyone psyched...



Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Another Session at 9 Cornered

This past Saturday, Sully and I waited until later in the day to hit up the 9 Cornered Lake boulders. This time of year, waiting until the evening to climb so the heat, humidity, and bugs can calm down yields some great results. It was rather enjoyable to walk out of my local bouldering area via headlamp late at night after hours of seclusion in the largest developed boulderfield in the Adirondack Park.

Enjoy the video update...

Sunday, July 3, 2011

After Work session @ Pottersville, NY

This past Thursday June 30, 2011 I met a few friends up north to climb at Pottersville after work.  The conditions were ideal for a June day and we definately took advantage of it.  Some things were discovered in the woods that lead me to think we should not be frequenting this area this time of year.  If we want to avoid any issues with the land owners, it might be best to stay away for the next few months.  Contact me personally if you would like more details...but i HIGHLY recommend avoiding the Hogwart's bouldering area for awhile.

As for the boulder problems in the video...I list the problems as "New Problem" with a number just for reference purposes.  These problems may or may not be first ascents but are new to our best knowledge, as numerous groups of climbers have been frequenting the area and the details between the groups have not be coordinated yet  .  Regardless of the F.A. tag, these problems climb well, are fun, and are worth climbing in you're in the area. 

Nine Cornered Lake...June 26, 2011

A late release to the blog...but here is a photo/video update from last Sunday's climbing session at Nine Cornered Lake. Also, a small crew hit the Pottersville woods up on Thursday evening for an after work session and some serious sending occured. Post to follow.

 The Wave Boulder
 Murph and K.P.
 Kyle unlocking the sit start to "Low Tide" and "Whip Tide"
 Murph on "Whip Tide"
 "Whip Tide's" delicate upper sequence
Murph on "Ice Cold"