Some of you know that Climbing House isn’t just the name of this blog, it’s the old house many of us (contributors) lived in during college.  I lived there for two years, and next door for one more.  These were good times, but a house full of rowdy college rock climbers can lead to some weird happenings (especially in the flatlands of Nebraksa).  Here, in brief, are a few of my more memorable moments from those times:

The Medium Line- We had a permanent slackline set up in the backyard, it was about 3 feet off the ground.  One day we got the bright idea to set up a high line (a slackline high above the ground).  The only problem was we didn’t have a good place for it, so we set up a “Medium Line” i.e. a slackline about 7 feet off the ground- Just enough to be dangerous.  No serious injuries occurred.

Snowboarding off the Roof- Ah, yes.  Why drive to Colorado when we can build a sick ramp and grind bar in our own backyard.  We built the ramp up to about 3 feet below the roof of our deck.  This took all of a cold afternoon.  The goal was to jump off the roof, slide down the ramp, grind the 20′ pvc pipe, then not hit the tree .  After drinking a bunch of courage, we tried it.  I think we pulled it off once.

Water Balloons.  We got a water balloon launcher in the heat of the summer.  Heading out on the roof again (of course) we started shooting at targets indiscriminately.  We pounded the side of a neighbors house (4 houses away) with a watermelon sized balloon.  Never ones to leave well enough alone, we hit the house again.  A minute later, wearing nothing but tight white underwear, a 6 foot, 200 lb. man charged out of the house carrying a fire axe.  Our eyes lit up as we scrambled back through the window and peaked over the sill.

Pitbulls.  In the alley behind our house, there was a constantly overflowing dumpster.  Adjacent to said dumpster was a broken fence that attempted to hold two vicious pitbulls.    The pitbulls always escaped to scrounge through the dumpster.  We biked through the alley everyday hoping the dogs weren’t around.  My roomy Joe was bit twice, and we called animal control at least 5 times.

One day Justin and I biked by and the dogs started at him.  Since I was 50 yards ahead, a took a moment to watch the situation unfold, laughing a little.  In my arrogance, the dogs noticed me, and came at me hard!  I hopped off my bike, and fought them off with my bike frame.  I think we started riding around the block to get home after that one.

…More to come….

E

The temperature in Boulder reached 101 on Saturday. There were three options for climbers:

1. Go to higher altitude
2. Hit the gym
3. Read Barbra Bush’s memoir

We chose options 1 and 3. Chels was in the neighborhood and looking to get her hands on some rock. In a moment of audacity, we agreed to leave Boulder at 6 am for the towering granite of Lumpy Ridge. Fearing the popular Book area would be overrun, I suggested we get serious about hiking and visit Lumpy’s tallest, most remote formation, the epic Sundance Buttress.

Chels climbing the pitch 5 fingercrack of Sidetrack

The day at Lumpy was a blast. We climbed the 700-foot Sidetrack (5.9), a continuous and varied route with plenty of finger cracks, smearing, offwidths and even an intimidating roof. We also enjoyed reading tidbits by Barbra Bush.
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Remember in January when you would have sat through a Glenn Beck tantrum for a chance to get your hands on a choss pile?  Those days are gone, replaced by the height of summer and its oppressive, lethargy-inducing heat that bakes stone and seems to coat climbing rubber in Chef Boyardee.  This is the point [continue reading]

My second Petzl Corax finally bit the dust.  Overall it was a great harness except: The back elastic parts were poorly designed- always slipping, wore out fast, loop that they attached to broke. The quick adjustable leg loop buckles always slip and wear out quicker than normal buckles.  Legs loops don’t need to be quickly [continue reading]

Do you remember your first climb? I do. I was a 24 year old senior at UNL. Jason Bakewell took me to the climbing wall at the campus rec, tied me in and told me to climb to the top. I started off with vigor, but at 30 feet I was ready to come down. [continue reading]