A little fun in the climbing gym…
Too Much Chalk from Climbing House on Vimeo.
I’ve detailed specific exercises I employ while training for climbing (link). This article is about putting it all together, an example of the circuit routines I use while training.
A weight lifting belt should be used to add weight as needed while training. A harness, sling, and dumbell combination is a good substitute for a weight lifting belt.
A local crusher exhausted after working Big Blue (5.13b)
After three weeks somewhere, it begins to feel like home. The faces are familiar, and we have a routine: sun, wake, coffee, friends, walk to crag, climb, walk back, smile, cook, sleep. I’m back in Boulder, in the loving arms of my girlfriend Amy. She asked what I missed when I was in Mexico, and my list was surprisingly small: Amy, couch, good coffee. El Potrero Chico is designed for visiting climbers and has almost everything one would need, without all the excess. Continue reading »
In two days Boulder has gone from months of miserable, snowy cold wetness to blue skies, sunny and pleasant. Work has been busy, but I knew that staying in the office today and pulling on more plastic tonight would have given me a case of cabin fever that even my nightly tablespoon of habañero seeds [continue reading]
While home over the holidays I talked with Chris Rolling about our projects for the coming year. Anytime I’m with a friend and climbing partner, discussion of our aspirations for routes, areas and life is uplifting and motivating. I will never climb the vast majority of the routes brought up in these conversations, but a [continue reading]
We’re linking pitches to cover ground quickly. The sun is strong now; we need to get to the pool as soon as possible. I climb 200′ to Andrew, pause for a moment, and shoot off again, covering 400 vertical feet in a few hot minutes. The black rubber of my shoes is scorching in the [continue reading]
I woke up to that familiar, painful feeling of waiting all night to pee. Water drops lay on the tent fly, visible from the inside. A light rain fell last night, unnoticeable in a deep sleep. The wind is still sleeping as I walk to the bathroom, then the kitchen. I eat dry cereal, drink [continue reading]
We woke up to a thickening layer of low, white clouds. After a bowl of Zucaritas con Tigre Toni (frosted flakes) and some instant coffee, we packed up and headed into the canyon, unsure what we’d find. The clouds lifted, and we climbed 2 separate 2 pitch routes up freestanding limestone spires(1,2).
We simul-rappelled, then hiked [continue reading]
Talk