The Merry Verde Month of May

Baby Roof, Crimps Start V5/6

It's been a while, and we've been busy.  So there's quite a bit to talk about.  This is going to be a long post.

First off, ALL of Wyoming is bright green right now!  Even Sweetwater looks like it could be located in Ireland!  Lately the weather has been wonderful, but the month didn't start out so merry.  Our planned Spring trip to Neverland, that we'd scheduled a couple weeks in advance, had to be cancelled due to an early May snowstorm.  That storm is one of the reasons it's so green now.  The four day climbing weekend we'd set up turned into a long weekend of catching up on school work.  We did get out for one afternoon of climbing during that long weekend at the Dolomite Band.  It was the only area around that was free of snow.  Since I've finished off all the established problems on the main section of the cliff, I explored the seldom visited walls to the right of the main area.  I climbed Baby Roof from the lowest start that I could manage.  It goes at V5/6 and my method requires a knee bar.

Further to the right on the cliff band, minor cleaning was required for this V3 left to right traverse.  It could have been done before.  This photo makes it look better than it is, but it is worth climbing.  It tops out after passing the roof.

The line shown below required more cleaning, so I'm not sure if it's been done before.  It goes at V3 from a SDS, and I'm calling it "Jenga," until I learn of a previous name, because it has a lot of loose blocks on top.

The final weekend of the school year included an absolutely perfect day.  Sunny and 60 degrees with just a slight breeze to keep everything cool.  The Loop road was closed, and the Rock Shop still had snow, so we hiked up to some lines I'd seen on exploratory hikes at the summit of the Granite Buttress.  

It's got a nice view up there!

The Summit Warm Up Wall turned out to climb very well, with five nice up problems V0-V1 and a full wall traverse.

Right at the summit, is this line called "Riversong."  It's a V3/4 with the first crux being getting both feet established on the wall above the low roof, and the second crux being figuring out what to do next.  This line might have a difficult SDS one day, and we wore ourselves out by trying the sit start for about an hour.

One level below the summit is this wall with a sloping landing.  The corner and the right side can be climbed without much difficulty, but connecting the two lines intrigued me.  I did a SDS on the right, and then walked my hands across the high line of small crimps until I could swing my feet over and finish in the corner on the left.

"Walk the Line" V4/5

Walking down, with summit walls in the background.

Closer to the pond on the north side of the Buttress, Ashley got the first ascent of this SDS crack called "Buttercup."  The perched boulder sitting on the top seems really stable despite appearances.  I wasn't able to make it budge while cleaning the line. We ended up needing to use it to top out, but tried not to pull too hard on the giant unstable looking block.  It adds a certain sense of excitement and dread to this short line.

We started working the line below, but were too tired to finish it.  The top still needs a little cleaning and it probably goes at V4.  It will be one of the higher quality lines at the Summit.  This one is actually better, and taller, than it looks in the photo.

Right after the last day of school ended, I got in the car and began exploring the Rock Shop.  I finally found Bryan's problem "Darth" V3.  It's really easy to find, but not where I had been looking last season.

But the Rock Shop was either too rainy or too hot during Memorial Day weekend.  So the next week, I turned my attention to the Roaring Fork.  Alex took a long hike with me through a lot of knee deep snow.   We didn't make it to a zone that looks pretty good on Google Earth, but we made it to this new line that someone built a landing for.

Alex decided to head out to get some dinner, but I felt like a little more exploration.  Right after Alex left, I started discovering great boulders.  I came across a sector developed a couple years ago by Jesse B.  During previous exploratory trips I'd spent my time hiking the valleys, but now I've discovered that the best boulders in the Roaring Fork are perched up on the ridges.

The next day, I took my family back out for a bouldering session up there, and we got started by developing a high quality warm up block.  It has three up problems and a fun traverse.  We've stopped trying to name all the warm ups.

The area has great views too, but they're too wide to photograph easily.  I love the ambiance of climbing on this sunny ridge in the woods, listening to the roar of the Fork, while a cold breeze comes off the snowy Winds that can be seen way off to the west.

Jesse B. met us up there that day and showed us his great line "Behind Closed Doors" V7.  His line "Slip and Slide" which is just to the left, looks even more classic, but requires more pads than we had brought up that day.

After Jesse gave us some great beta, we did all the moves to "Behind Closed Doors."  A couple days ago we both went back and sent the line.  I also spent some time developing lines on a very short block called "Short Stuff."  It has high quality rock and features, but I'm posting no photos of those problems because they look stupid.  And Ashley also did a traverse that moves right from "Behind Closed Doors" called "Too Close for Comfort" V5?.  But the block behind it is so close, only climbers as small as Ashley would probably be interested in repeating the line.

Wow, you're still here!  Well if you've made it this far I'll reward you with a few photos from a four day trip we made to Neverland last week.   It's a pristine, magical place, full of wildflowers and animals, great bouldering, and has an interesting bouldering history.  If it was easier to get to, I probably wouldn't post a thing about it.  But I'm happy that it is so remote, and is such a confusing area to access,  because I already love the place, and I hope that it never changes.

Davin and Bryan didn't tell many people about Neverland for quite a while, but have realized that there are more problems out there than they could ever do on their own, and that few people will ever find this place without getting a tour.  Check out A Place of Legend if you'd like to read more about the area.  I'm grateful to Bryan and Davin for rediscovering and seeing the potential of the area, and putting so much time into exploration out there.  And extra thanks to Davin for sharing the area with us, and taking the time to give me a very comprehensive tour of this sector!  There are about 20 other sectors to see, but I'll be happy to just keep visiting this one for a while.

It's a gorgeous place this time of year.  So green!  The color and wildflowers right now make up for the too warm mid-day temps.  And two out of four evenings we had rainbows.

Davin is working on a difficult crimp project with interesting moves.  If he gets some cool temps, I think he'll send it for sure.

While Davin gave me a the tour.  Ashley and the girls set up camp.  Our home for 4 nights.

During that time we didn't see or hear a single other person except for a short visit from Davin, Josh O., and Brian H. on a day that it almost never stopped raining.

It rained so much that day, that by the afternoon we probably couldn't have left if we'd wanted too.  The 4-wheel drive, high clearance required, maze of two tracks is a bit difficult to manage even on a day that's clear and dry.  We'd planned to climb three of the four days, but due to the rain we only got to climb on two.  We all did a lot of tent bound reading on the day of rain.

So what did we accomplish on the two climbing days?

I added a nice SDS V1 to the left of "Aging Moose" called "Bullwinkle."  It's a good warm-up for the rest of the lines on the Wilford's Reserve boulder.

Ashley warming up on "Bullwinkle."  

Sierra did a couple first ascents and named them "Brandybuck" and "Eastern Hill."  They're both about V1 and nice warm up lines as well.

Ashley did the first ascent of the somewhat contrived, but really fun, "Proudfoot Traverse" V3/4.  It climbs across the roof on the formation above the Black Boulder.  Only features below the lip are on until after you've rounded the corner on the left.  The stone on this formation couldn't be any better!

We might have added a lot more problems.  I saw a plenty that I'd like to do.  But Collin H. did a first ascent that's just perfect called "Wilford's Reserve", and we really wanted to climb it.  Most of our two sessions were spent there.  On our second day of climbing, Ashley was having some trouble, but then she made one slight change to her beta at the beginning.  It worked, and she just kept going and topped out the line!  I figured out every move, but wasn't quite able to link them all together, so I'll need to return.

Wilford's Reserve V7

I could talk a bit more about things we tried or looked at, but this is already more than enough for one post.

In recent months, I've been repeatedly reminded that the world is actually a very big place.  There is a lot of space between the roads that we usually travel.  A lot of layers to this existence as well.  And I'm quite happy that there will always be quite a bit to explore.  None of us can ever see or understand it all.

Oz, The Cabins, and Sweetwater in a Week

Jesse F. arrived in Lander on his road trip from Portland, Oregon via Joes Valley.  We made plans and met at the parking lot in Sinks Canyon for a Sunday afternoon of bouldering, but it was raining.  Skies looked blue to the east, and few minutes later we'd completely changed the plans.  Ashley and the girls went to the gym, while Jesse and I drove out to Oz.

Conditions looked good, and we got on this line thinking that it might be a warm up.  It turned out to be more difficult than expected.  I don't know the line's name, but I think it's a V5.  I was happy to finish it. 

Jesse's wild heel hook beta.  

From there we went up the hill to "A Tribe Called Lander."  It was fun to watch Jesse figure it all out and send the line quickly.  He finished it just before it got too wet up top.

Snow was falling, but I expected it to clear up.  I found another boulder, started cleaning it, and we began working out beta on a strange roof problem.  The snow intensified until we found ourselves in blizzard conditions with lightning and thunder!  This photo was taken before it really got bad.

Worried that we might not be able to drive out easily, we decided we'd better try to leave as quickly as possible. On the hike down, I watched a dark wild horse, silhouetted in snow, run away over small hills with the wind streaming through it's long mane.  What a sight!

Luckily the roads out weren't as bad as I feared, but I was happy that I bought good tires for the truck last summer.

On Thursday, Jesse met me at the Cabin Boulders after school.  I was playing around on "The Camera" but not making much progress, when Jesse mentioned that he had climbed "Honest Joe."  "Honest Joe" has been my most wanted problem at the Cabin Boulders since we moved to Lander.  I put in a few attempts almost every session that I'm out there, but have always been flummoxed as to how the line should be done.  Jesse shared some beta that Kyle V. had shared with him.  The beta worked, and I did "Honest Joe."  It's amazing how cryptic a four move sequence can be.  If you'd like the beta, here's video footage.  But it might be more fun to try to figure it the problem for yourself, and only watch the video once you've given up.



On Friday, I did something that turned out to be really stupid in hindsight.  I arm wrestled one of the biggest students in the 7th grade.  Luckily I won, but unfortunately I gave myself elbow tendonitis in the process.  Winning wasn't worth it.  I couldn't climb on Saturday, and my arm is throbbing right now after a very light session in the gym.  Let this be a warning!  Bouldering friends, don't let bouldering friends arm wrestle!  A piece of advice well worth the time spent reading this post.

Since I couldn't climb on Saturday, I focused on giving Ashley and Jesse a good tour at Sweetwater, and tried to figure out exactly how Jesse climbs so much better than I do.  I observed that, in addition to being light and strong, Jesse reads the rock carefully and does a better job than I do of figuring out optimal body positioning for each move of a problem before he even tries them.  He has a method and style that I'll try to emulate once my elbow is working again.  It was fun to hang out with Jesse, and gain some insight into how double digit bouldering gets done.

Unfortunately, the very dry Wyoming air wreaked havoc on Jesse's moisture accustomed Portland, Oregon skin.  On the last attempt on "War Cry," his fingers split open in four different places!  Jesse decided to end his trip early, rather than wait around for a few days, hoping that his skin would heal before he had to be back in Oregon.

Jesse making an ascent of "Old School" V5.  

It was a fun week!  Despite some bad weather, and skin issues, Jesse sent or made impressive progress on most of the hard problems accessible during springtime in Lander.  And I got out for much more climbing than the weather, my to-do list, or my injury should have allowed.  Thanks for the good sessions Jesse, and I hope we see you again soon!

A Spring Report

It's been too long.  I started posting photos to Instagram as MRDLLOYD.  It's been quick, and easy. And it's fun to see the "likes" accumulate.  But Instagram also feels ephemeral, not quite genuine, and somewhat unsatisfying.  Digital snacking on sweetened tweets. It occurred to me that if my Instagram account was accidentally deleted, it really wouldn't bother me at all.  And if Facebook just disappeared, I'd probably be glad to see it go.  

But blogs are different. And I'd really miss this blog if it was gone.  So it's time to start updating it again.  

Here are a couple shots taken from my Instagram.

Sweetwater, with an oh-so-sweet Instagram filter. 

Ashley sending "Chobra" over Spring Break, V6, the Beach, Sinks Canyon.

It's been a colder Spring than usual.  But the Beach had good conditions over our Spring Break.  Ashley added a new V7, that I haven't repeated yet, called Lioness.  It starts hanging on edges along a sloping rail.

And climbs some of the best sandstone the Beach has to offer.

We've also spent a couple sessions at the Lizard Lab since the last post.

Sierra sent the Whale, V3.

And Ashley and I both did a full traverse of the Lizard Lab boulder.  It's long, but isn't really that difficult. It is pumpy, and really easy to slip off of near the end.  That happened to me a couple times.  Somehow I managed not to scream from frustration.

Up the hill, I climbed a version of Black Cross. I came in from the right instead of the left.  With this start, the line is probably V3, but has small solid holds rather than the fragile flakes leading in from the left like my guidebook shows.  I'd recommend the right start variation and give it a couple stars.  Fun edge climbing on a tall line!

All winter I've been wanting to get back to Sweetwater, and over Easter weekend I got out there twice.

Saturday was spent just covering miles of territory carrying only my camera.  I discovered that the good rock out there doesn't extend forever, but that even the chossy sectors have occasional moments of brilliance.

Roo exploring with me last Saturday.

This is one wall I found that will have some good, tall lines.

And I wonder if it's possible to top this roof problem out?

I also found this solid block with small crystal texture, surrounded in all directions by stone reminiscent of Vedauwoo. How does that even happen?  It's a great example of the strange varieties of rock quality found in the Sweetwater granite.  My stick brush is my height and shown for scale.

And here's another really good rock anomaly.

Late in the day I found a nice sector, sheltered from westerly wind, and close to a road.  I decided that it would be the best place to spend Easter with my family.

Shane came out too, and seemed happy with the place.  Despite the fact that it didn't yet have a single established problem.

Like any bouldering developer who's at a new set of boulders, he warmed up and then started hiking.  

 He found and put up quite a few lines.  We had fun repeating some of his problems near the lines that we were putting up, and calling up to hear what he had found further up the hill.  Bouldering development is more fun when you're not the only one brushing.  Thanks Shane!

One undone line on solid grey stone, with nice textured holds caught my eye.  It ended up going at V6. Ashley nabbed the first ascent.

The Grey, V6 SDS

 Later in the day, we got on the line shown below, thinking that it might be a fun V3.  We thought it would warm us up for another difficult project up the hill.  But slippery holds, and large spans, meant that it was harder than we expected.  Ashley committed to the powerful heal hook first, and got another first ascent.

Tick Tok, V5 SDS

After Tick Tok we were too tired to try the harder project.

 Shane and I walked one more ridge before driving out.  This boulder looks like it will be really good!

 And this face looked really difficult, but might be climbable by someone.

 On the hike back to the truck, we saw a good size horned lizard.  It's the first one I've seen in the last few years.

And that wraps up some of the good days since my last post.

It's been a very busy and productive Spring.  Though I haven't been blogging as frequently, I've been reading about climbing, and organizing my thoughts.  It feels like I've arrived at some clarity about my various bouldering motivations, and what my version of bouldering is really all about.  More posts will be coming soon...

Another Day at The Beach

Sunny, fifty degrees, and a bit of wind.  A perfect day for The Beach, and we had new lines to get on.  Since our last trip, Justin and Matt have gotten some things done at the Beach.  I even heard that Ben helped out with some landing work!

After warming up on "Surfer's Paradise," I walked up the hill and did Justin's new V5 "Soft Like Me."

 Tall, with cool pockets, and an insecure top out that gets your attention.  It's the best line on the Rolling Dune.

 The girls enjoying "Surfer's Paradise."

 We spent the rest of the day on the Chobra boulder.  We both did the SDS line that tops out on the choss jugs.  Then we got to work on the difficult top out to "Chobra" V6.  It's one of the most difficult mantles I've ever done.  I managed to figure out the top out, but I still need to link it from the start.

 Ashley worked out her sequence to the top out, but hasn't quite done the mantle.

 Before we knew it, we were too worked to even try "Terdy Hairy." It traverses in from the right, and looks like a great line.  We're excited to get back to both lines soon.

It's great to have some high quality new problems to work on.  Thanks Justin and Matt!