Four problems from the highway boulders in this one. Kaiya, 4 of the diehard team kids and myself went up to the highway boulders this sunday for a great day of bouldering, making fun of the Pupface, scrubbing off new stuff and breaking feet. What?? yeah, I broke my foot. Kaiya and I were rebuilding/making a landing bigger, safer and better (like The Masterpiece) when a big rock rolled onto my foot and mooshed it. I broke my 3rd metatarsal just before the first toe knuckle. I have 4 weeks in crutches, then probably 2 more in a walking cast. I am going to take that time to work on my one arms, drink a shitload of gin and tonic and in general get bitter, more opinionated and rude about my stance on rock climbing.
Anyways….here is the vid from the highway, pre-break, of some problems from that area. There continue to be gems uncovered the further we walk up into the Ewok forest, so stay tuned. Kaiya has a couple projects up there and is super psyched! I have a ton of photos from Joe’s and other areas and will post them as soon as I have some time to edit and put them up!
In the next 6 months or so, and hopefully before the fall season begins, I am working on writing a full color guidebook to more that 6 local bouldering areas that would be a great resource for any local climber. It will include essays from local legends such as Chris Parker, Tedd Thompson, Mike McClure, Jamey Sproull and Matt Fultz. For now, here is the vid, and stay tuned for photos and guidebook updates!!
Yesterday we had a fun outing to the 88 Boulders, approximately 10 – 15 minutes north of Banks. From what I know, Jeff Smith established the first few problems up there and the Bockino’s and others continued to put up climbs there last year. It’s a great and relatively short trip to escape the heat and climb in higher elevation on pretty-good granite. We met up with Adam and Nicole and climbed until dark…Adam had an epic send in the dark “Thundercats” FA. I climbed a fun line on the Wave boulder that involved a cool slab dyno move, and Mike made quick work of a Font-esque mantle problem on the same boulder called RipCurl. A great day quickly turned sour when I hit a deer. Three deer were literally running into the road and I slammed on my brakes and tried to dodge the closest one but it hit my side fender. Pretty scary as Dahlia went flying forward from the back and ended up in Mike’s arms. The deer ran off into the woods and I hope the poor guy doesn’t suffer too much. Our car got a pretty good dent and we are without a side-view mirror at the moment. Pretty lucky though, in the grand scheme of things. Here’s a vid I put together trying the problem “RipTide” Enjoy.
Both awesome Weiser and Weezer. Yes the boulders and that band, remember Weezer?!?
But this Weiser, you get to drive past a zeebra! And have the whole land of boulders ALL to yourself! Really, when do you get them all to yourself? Even at Swan Falls you see fellow “recreators” fishin’, campin’ paintballin’ whatever. Even on your way to Braxon you pass hikers & campers on the trails. These Weiser boulders – just you & your crew.
Now Mister Randall a.k.a. pharaoh wolfblood discovered these pretty boulders when visiting mom. Well thanks Randy for leaving us some lines! While there are boulders aplenty, they are relatively blank lending to harder problems. They look like delicious sandstone but, what you say? Granite? It’s actually granite! Bring a little TECHNIQUE with your packed lunch dear. There aint too much steep stuff to tote any gym-climbin’ egos here.
It’s getting warm (87 degrees on Sunday!) so we probably won’t see these boulders ’til fall time.
Here are some fun photos & a vid I assembled. Enjoy!
A couple of weeks ago I was able to get out for a WHOLE DAY to go to Twin Springs and check out the new (new) area that was rediscovered (read: Endovalley) by Mike and Tammy McClure earlier this year on a day trip that I was also able to accompany them on. Since then, a crew from Boise with the likes of Nick Brown, James Sproull, Nate Coffman and Conrad Piper-Ruth have been frequenting a slightly closer area than the original visit that was actually found when Conrad got lost on the way out there!
Nicole Brown and her mister-ess Adam Bradley, Nick Brown, Kaiya, the two pups-one who was apparently covered in something that smelled oddly like death-and myself went out to battle the sweltering heat and redneck advances for a day. We repeated most of the lines that were already there are and added a few. I managed to get video of a couple, although the coolest line and still a project that needs a little cleaning was sadly not sent or filmed. It is a gently overhanging crimp problem on very good rock, with a good landing and fun movement. The nature of the rock out there is sandy, with a high amount of fine green lichen on it that turns to marbles as soon as its touched. Unable to clean the middle section Kaiya and I were denied a send, but if the weather stays cool enough I would like to head out and climb that line, as well as the last one in the video that I broke the hold off of.
Enough chatter, enjoy the video. I am also putting together a video from our recent trip to Joe’s Valley with Adam and Nicole and will hopefully have that up tonight or tomorrow as well!
France? Font? Time has flown since Mike and I landed in back Boise, Idaho, exhausted from our flight from Paris. But that’s what happens when you leave the country for two weeks, you have to catch up on work! Speaking of exhausted, boy, leading up to our departure to France was quite epic! We hosted one of our busiest weekends, 2-day Valentine’s Weekend craziness at the winery both Saturday & Sunday before departing for our trip 5 AM Monday morning, oh, but one of our most favorite evArrR bands, Yacht, happened to be playing in Boise Sunday night…..so of course we went! What a whirlwind before we left!
So, back to Font. Oh, how I miss thee. Since Mike and I have THE WORST luck with climbing trips and weather, we traveled ~ 20 hours to hopefully HOPEFULLY (OH PLEASE God!) get at least 3 out of 14 days of decent weather. We went a bit early for “the season” in Font thinking it would be less rainy and colder and better for our off-time. Well, our arriving forecast looked pretty wet. Of course it would be raining when we arrive…that’s our theme.
While it wasn’t raining hard when we arrived to our gorgeous Gite o’ Neil, we didn’t realize how much rain had dumped on Font the previous few days. So we patiently waited for the rock to dry for a day or so and took many mind-blowing “forest walks” as Canadian Gite-mate Marshal, Mike and I had dubbed. All this beautiful, amazing WET rock! Patient we were and Mike had beaucoup de practice on driving from Amazing Font Climbing Area 1 to Amazing Font Climbing Area 44 in our tiny 2-door “going to pee my pants on the freeway while motorbikes zip by 4 inches from my face” zippy car. So within a few days we were ROCK CLIMBING on the most amazing spectaculor rock I have touched!
To briefly describe the climbing at Font for ME:
1. climbing here is quite different (unless you’re from the south)
2. you’ll soon realize you don’t care about grades (unless you’re super-star pro-sponsored-insert-super-sick-gnar-crusher here)
3. technique is key and you’ll learn some here
4. the rock is FUN & mind-blowing!
5. The circuits! Do a circuit!
I have to admit, on previous climbing trips I’ve been guilty of number chasing and letting that mentality control my mood at times. I’ve also seen the negative side of grade-chasing, competitive environments and I realized I wanted this trip to be purely fun and a learning experience. I barely looked at a guide book while there and just got on climbs that looked awesome. I have no clue of what I sent & climbed on but I climbed a LOT and learned some technique!
I suck at slabs so I made a point to get in a healthy dose of brilliant slabs Font has to offer. Isatis was our favorite area…so many perfect boulders in such a condensed area!
I really hope everyone gets a chance to climb at Font. So much history, climbing, perfect rock and pretty forests. Oh, and wine (Marshal must think Mike and I are such lushes!), fromage (cheese) saucisse (sausage), pain chocolat, croissants (delish pastries to buy anytime you get a chance!).
We ended up with good weather and got a ton of climbing in. One day we just devoted ourselves to a blue circuit (if you’re not familiar, Font has small arrows with different colored paint number from 1 up to….? 60? 45? of different level climbing circuits you can go run around on). The blue circuit was awesome! A great way to get a lot of climbing in and perhaps train for long routes? Font offers SO many different areas, the massive amount of boulders is unfathomable. One of their newly developed “okay” areas would be equivalent to one of our best local areas. Oh, and on the rainy days rest day activities include visiting one of many local historic castles (you can’t quite do that in the South!), check out the many wine caves & vineyards, test out which local village makes the absolute best pain chocolat (no “pain” which means “bread”…only good!) or simply wander the beautiful forests.
Here is an update on an upcoming event, looks to be no less than AMAZING!
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SAVE THE DATE: NEW CLIMBING FESTIVAL IN IDAHO
It may be 7 months until the Idaho Mountain Festival ‐ Powered by Asana, but it isn’t too early to save the date for the newest climbing festival to hit Idaho on September 27‐ 30, 2012 at Castle Rock State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve.
The Idaho Mountain Festival will be joining similar festivals, such as the International Climbers Festival, Red Rock Rendezvous, and New River Rendezvous, to offer a four‐day event where climbers, as well as trail‐runners, can gather to enjoy endless climbing, trail races, activities, giveaways, music, meals, and workshops. Visit www.IdahoMountainFest.com for complete details.
The festival will be held near Almo, ID in Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve, home of the grand collection of granite domes for multi and single‐ pitch climbing, trad‐climbing, sport‐climbing, and bouldering. With the location being no more than a 3.5 hour drive from Boise, ID and Salt Lake City, UT, The Idaho Mountain Festival is the perfect convenient climbing event for friends and families to gather as a closing social for the 2012 climbing season.
On September 27‐30, 2012, festival attendees will enjoy a slew of free amenities including tent‐camping, dinners and breakfasts, and entertainment. Festival tickets will go on sale starting in March. Ticket options include an all‐inclusive ticket for $45 that includes almost everything and a daily‐pass ticket for $25 that excludes the free tent‐ camping.
The Idaho Mountain Festival has teamed up with Asana (www.asanaclimbing.com) to make this event possible. Asana is an Idaho based company that specializes in bouldering specific climbing gear. With much excitement, Jamey Sproull (the founder of Asana) said, “Asana Climbing is proud to present the 1st Idaho Mountain Festival. What a great opportunity to lure climbers from all over to see the beauty and grandeur of the granite in Castle Rocks and the famed City of Rocks! With Asana being based in Boise, we feel like we are welcoming the community into our backyard for a 4‐day party of climbing, clinics, music, and fun. We look forward to this being the first in a long tradition of a yearly event that highlights what Idaho has to offer our ever‐growing climbing family.”
As of now, the Access Fund and Solid Rock – Climbers for Christ have also jumped on the bandwagon as sponsors for the festival. The Access Fund will be sending their new Conservation Team to manage an Adopt‐a‐Crag day that will allow the climbers to give back to the parks and nature by cleaning up climbing areas and trails. Solid Rock – Climbers for Christ will be providing a Sunday Morning Breakfast as well as sending one of their athletes to host a bouldering clinic.
The Idaho Parks and Rec have been great supporters of the Idaho Mountain Festival. They have welcomed the event with open arms and are anxiously waiting to welcome and assist all the gathering climbers.
Park Superintendent, Wallace Keck, made the following statement when asked to share his excitement about the festival, “As one of the countrys premier granite face‐climbing destinations Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks create the ideal location to host the Idaho Mountain Festival. Park staff is excited to showcase the facilities, exceptional climbing resources, and grand scenery to this years attendees. We strive to offer exceptional recreational opportunities and experiences, and providing a home here for the Idaho Mountain Festival is sure to accomplish this and more.”
Start making plans to attend the Idaho Mountain Festival with your family and friends. More announcements and information will be provided in the future.
Please direct all questions and inquires to Ben Eaton at off.grid.productions@gmail.com.
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Here are a couple Idaho climbing vids that have come out in the last month or so. The first is from Boise local Conrad Piper-Ruth, he came out to the TwinSprings sandstone with us last month but apparently forgot how to get out there. So in an attempt to show others the super secret Twin Springs boulders, he got lost. On the bright side he found another sick sandstone boulder field in the area! Looks to be a few quality problems. The second video I’ve been hesitant to post. It is a profile of the climbing at Dierkes Lake in Twin Falls. While seemingly professionally shot, high quality and failing to fall into the typical mold of “Checkmeoutsendingmysuper sickprojbro“, I have a major issue with any video that glamorizes free soloing, especially the way this vid does…just my opinion, sweet GoPro shots at 7:59 though.
