Adam's Favorite Climb EVER!!!!

Adam almost lost his cherry when he saw this line....

Adam has since dubbed this the most fantasmal, orgasmal line he has ever climbed. God bless it, it'll never have anyone as good as Adam on top of it... 

Down a Dark, Back Alley...

Matt Slayton and I spent a good deal of time in this alleyway.

Though it is a good deal back from the shore it still has considerable marks of erosion. Notice the color differences at the base of the right rock. Matt says that the sand used to come up about 3-4' and the top outs were only 12-15' as opposed to 15-20' tall.

Anyways, the cube on the left has a really cool v4/5 on it that has perhaps Lost Rocks' only dangerous crimper/edge. As a matter of fact, the only skin damage I got during our trip was on that edge--I dynoed to it for some odd reason.

Overall, the Cube was really, really cool and the alleyway had some cool stuff in it. 

Is that chalk?

No, as a matter of fact, it is not chalk.

This mammoth rocks sits 50 yards off-shore at Lost Rocks and perhaps has the hardest top-outs of all: pigeon poo mantles.

I was taken aback by the size of some of the off-shore boulders at Lost Rocks. Hell, if the sand keeps receding like it is, this may be beach front property in 5-10 years. 

Riding the Tide...

Bob D. barely escaping a late-breaker by ascending a nice basalt arete at Lost Rocks.

A really nice line that kinda runs into a dicey section of rock. Bob D. was too sketched to climb through the choss so he took a swim in the suds. 

Shapy nearing the 6th clip on Route #1. He made clip #7 in a tight corner before trying a difficult gaston and falling off. 

Judo-Clip!

Matt "Daniel-son" Shapiro leading Male Youth B Route #1.

Matt, or Shapy as he is commonly known, put in a solid weekend's performance on all his routes and earned a trip to Nationals in Portland, OR.

Moreover, though Matt is in the 14-15 age group but still not yet 14, he beat out most of the boys in his age group and earned 3rd place for the West Coast Division! Wow, what a performance!

Congrats Matt! 

Cave-Tastic!

Courtney Lind leading Route #2 at Divisionals in Sacramento, CA.

This route was crazy! This route started on the lower right leg, traversed up and through the cave, crossed the left lower arete, before proceeding up the left face to your first bolt! Wowzers! Several people had trouble negotiating the corner, including Courtney.

But, though this route gave Courtney some trouble, after a stellar performance on Route #1. Courtney's moved on to Day 2 and earned an invite to Nationals in Portland, OR.

Bam Bam goes NUTS!

Wow, Emma Hawley thrilled to be at Divisionals in Sacramento, CA.

After a long season and only 9 months of climbing, Emma Hawley, a.k.a. "Bam-Bam", finds herself at the West Coast Championships awaiting her turn to climb.

Emma stands about 4'4" tall and has had to battle reachy route-setting all year long. Despite this, she surged from behind at the end of the season to earn her invite to Divisionals. Congrats Emma! 

Vader's Helm!

Can't help myself. This boulder looks way too much like Darth Vader's helmet.

Matt and I worked a line that starts underneath on the far right and comes out a thin rail to an awkward corner mantle and lock-off. We had to dodge the tide once or twice but it was no use; we'll have to return later to complete what we started.

PROWzers!

Wow that Prow in the background is impressive! Matt Slayton and I checked it out--him from the ground and I from the top. It appears short from here but that is hardly the case. The jutting prow is about 50' tall, maybe more, with very scant or unnoticable holds along either side of the arete.

Matt snapped this photo at an opportune moment--not only did he catch me climbing rather than sleeping, but he also got a great shot fo the background which defines Lost Rocks.  

Useless pad...

When I started the arete down below me on the left, my beloved pad was well away from me on the right.

Above the pad on the right is a great dynamic problem with a textbook rolling mantle. I recall Matt saying it was about a v5, or at least it felt that way for me--I'm not a good mantler.

Deep Roots!

Wow, those are some deep roots!

This is a recently fallen redwood tree near the Founders Tree.

Just to give some scale, I am standing 10' forward of the tree roots, I have a 6' 3" wingspan, and I stand just a hair under 6' tall.

That makes the girth of these roots, well, it makes them huge! 

Redwoods!

The Forest Moon of Endor. Sigh, there are no Ewoks to be seen.

On my way to Lost Rocks, CA to boulder, I made a brief pit-stop among the many scenic Redwood Groves sprinkled up and down the NoCal Coast.

Here I am bouldering the "Founder's Tree", dedicated to the committee who sought to protect these fabulous California Redwoods. This tree stands about 400' tall! 

Mmmm... Sweet sandy landings.

My friend Matt Slayton introduced me to my new favorite bouldering area--sorry HP40.

Here I am bouldering a basalt block beside the barron Pacific Ocean outside of Arcata, CA. This "little" collection of "boulders" is called Lost Rocks.

Lost Rocks is a collection of weathered and worn basalt blocks surrounded by beautiful beaches seemingly built by nature strictly for boulderers.

The landscape and the landings were all splendid. I will most certainly return there. Anyone want to join me? 

MAXwell EXPOSURE!

Two Maxwells in one shot spells maximum good climbing.

Here, Ben Maxwell battles with Route #4 for Male Youth C as Austin goes to work on Route #4 for Male Youth B.

Though Austin didn't send the route, neither did anyone else! And, he did figure out crucial betta leading to a dramatic 6 way tie for first place!

But the real drama in this photo goes to Ben Maxwell. Ben, if I'm not mistaken, was the only boy who sent this route with two seconds left. Nearing the top, the judge had to start counting down aloud so Ben knew his time was wrapping up. With 2 seconds left, Ben latched the final hold for maximum points. Excellent Ben! With that much drama you could be on cable TV! 

Sushi 4 You!

Daniel "Sushi" Mullee pulling down on Route #2 at Regionals.

Daniel sent this as well as #1 and #3. It was Route #4 that wrecked havoc! And so it was with most everyone in Male Youth B.

Alas, next year will be better Daniel; more sushi will be on the menu. Keep on keepin' on. 

MaxWELLDONE!

Emma Maxwell in action as she cruzes the crux of Route #1 at Regionals in Late May.

Emma, along with several other Clubsport kids, fared well this season despite the odds "stacked" against them. "Stacked" because Emma, Sam, Emma Hawley, and Kira all stand well below the desired height for climbing. But let nothing stand in your way, for as Shakespeare says, "though he may be small, he is fierce!"

A congrats goes out to all those little people out there! You know who you are! 

Leading the way...

Austin Maxwell leading up Youth B Route #3 at Spokane's Regional Championships.

Austin qualified sent this and two other routes quite easily but wrestled with #4. Nonetheless, his performance earned him a tie for 1st place with 5 other boys in his category. Well done! 

Claire Buehler gets to work on the business of Youth C Route # 3 at Spokane's Regional Championships.

After a tricky section 10' off the ground, the route progresses into this roof. Competitors had trouble finding their feet once they grappled the holds above the lip.

Though Claire sent the route, her trouble with Route #4 and seasonal scores shut her out of Difficulty at Divisionals.

But Claire rallied and notched a victory in Speed, which qualified her for Divisionals and then for Nationals. Congrats Claire! 

Got the Gravity Blues...

Bryn Aszman battles Route #4 at Spokane's Regional Championship May 28th.

A radical series of pinches, sidepulls and underclings proved very difficult for the Girls in Youth C. After that cruxy roof sequence, the girls were often stumped by the long reachs to foot chips and slopers.

Bryn was among the few who made it this far but only to be shut down by the difficult sequence. Nice work!

The Stress of Isolation

Kira Aszman fighting gravity at Sacramento Pipeworks' Divisional Championships.

After building her house of cards, a nearby boulderer crashed on the floor sending shockwaves throughout. Lookers-on declared that Kira needed a seismic upgrade.