Over the next week, I’m going to hit Farley, Gunks, maybe IP, and the big surfing competition in Long Island.  We’ve been doing quite a bit of that lately, by the way…

A nerdy rage comic I made after considering my options.

My good friend, Cliff, had been going on and on like a teenage girl about a climb in LC, Gunks known as Solution. So, a couple weekends ago he showed me the goods, and I was not disappointed. It was the epitome of my favorite boulder problem: a horizontal, compression slapping, heel/toe hooking burl-fest. He had had a couple of sessions prior to this trip and had a few creases to iron out. But by the end of the day, it was clear it would be sent in a session or two!  To this date he had only one v10 under his belt.  It was clear it was going to be a raging struggle, but we saw the glimmer of possibility.

Like a little stubborn badger, Cliff went at this thing! Hiking out in the rain to scrub the holds. Seshing the shit out of it. It wasnt until the following weekend that he sent and, like we so often hear in these epic tales, it was when he least expected it.

It was Saturday. I was in LC with Nick, Buzz, and Alessa. We hiked up to the boulders and met Matt Bosley, who was there to try the unrepeated sit start, Resolve(v14). We were balls deep projecting when Cliff came around the corner. He said he “felt like shit” but would give it one go. Can you guess what occurred?  He ripped it a new asshole.  He cruised the thing.  As you will see in the vid, upon finishing the problem his brain couldnt process what had  occurred.  He was more shocked than excited.  He attributed it to his new pair of climbing pants he had purchased the day before.  And I totally agree.  It had nothing to do with iron will and determination.  Also included is Boz getting ooh so close on Resolve.  Enjoy.

-P.C.

P.S. – I sent the following weekend!

All summer, we’ve been training like men possessed, and hopefully we will reap the benefits of our hard work once cool temperatures set in.  We are also preparing for our respective CLIMBING TRIPS!  Pat and Alessa will be going for a 1-2 week road trip to explore the Southeast, and Nick is going to take some time in the Denver/Boulder area.

Here are some pics from recent outings:

Happy Valley in the summer

We even explored some of the choss in Milford... that little prow can be a good time.

I showed JP some of the rock at Harriman State Park...

... and JP got to play in the Master Bedroom... on his 16th birthday. (JP on Mr. Ed)

Once upon a time, there was a road race.  The organizers, however, wanted to make things interesting, so they added a bit of a twist to the race: the competitors wouldn’t know how long the race would last, nor where the finish line was.  It was the craziest, most bad-ass race ever conceived.  Some even questioned the organizers’ sanity.

The first competitor was named Fatty McFatstein.  He started at a good pace, but soon came upon a pizza bush.  He ate a slice. Then another.  After that, he got tired, and took a nap.  Before long, he had eaten about 46 slices of pizza in-between about 10 naps.  He never really left that pizza bush… after some time, he was attacked and eaten by some ferocious forest animals.

The next competitor was named Mick.  Mick was equally intrigued and confused by the race.  He kept thinking about how much he wanted to see the finish line, what glorious prizes awaited there, and how many boobies he’d see if he won.  Mick made the decision that he would make it to the end no matter what it took.  He ran and ran, so long and fast that soon he had worn his shoes right off.  Still, he continued, without rest or food.  His body gradually lost its ability to properly heal itself, but he just focused on the pain, the road ahead, what lies beyond, and kept going.  Mick even saw a couple women on the sidelines flash their boobies, but he knew the finish line would pay off, so he smiled politely, waved, and pressed on.  Eventually, he was running naked, on bloody stumps of bone and mashed flesh that used to be his feet.  Starving and infected with gangrene, he collapsed.  Soon, he had rotted away into dust.

The last competitor, named Schpat, decided that he didn’t really care about the race all that much.  Shpat trotted along the road, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, stopping as he pleased.  A few times, he even explored some other trails that ventured off the road, and found they were shortcuts.  Along a few of the shortcuts, he met people, ate good food, and felt some boobies.  After a few years of journeying, Schpat had completely forgotten about the race he had begun.  He just kept trodding along, eating food, drinking drinks, and feeling boobies.  He crossed the finish line without ever realizing it.

Saturday morning rolled around, and I got a call from Pat.  I quote Pat: “Ok, are you ready for this?  You may need to grow some balls for this next part.  Not big ones, maybe just little, mediocre balls.  I got out of rehearsal early, dude!  I say we go to [IP] for a night session!”

The preceding week was spent editing video, and learning a new editing program – I had told people I was going to shut myself in all day Saturday to get a certain video complete, which I still wasn’t entirely confident was possible.  I was so committed to this video all week long that everything else, save my climbing training, had fallen to the wayside.  My room was in shambles, and it was literally impossible to get from the door to my bed without stepping into a laundry basket.  Also, my house was out of food.  I couldn’t imagine going to IP for bouldering… especially since I had just woken up and it was 1pm, and it took 2-2.5 hours to get there.  What would this mean for the video?!

I quickly went through possible reasons why I couldn’t go:

• I trained very hard yesterday, and I’m going to Rumney on Sunday.  Won’t work – he trains just as hard as me, and we distinctly agreed to never forgo ACTUAL climbing due to cushy recovery times.
• I have to finish the video.  Might work – use business interests and other hard work to divert attention from the fact that I’m pussing out.

I went with no. 2, to which Pat quickly replied, “Dude!  What the fuck are you talking about?!  Are you a little office jockey computer nerd, or are you a climber?  What is all this lifestyle bullshit you’ve been preaching, then?”

I then tried Plan C, which is only to be used in the most dire circumstances:  ”Dude, I need to do laundry like you wouldn’t believe.”

You can imagine how well that went over with my best friend who wanted to go bouldering with me, due to the fact that he may not get another chance to do so for a few months.  I ended up in my car, in a state comparable to that of Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

The evening comprised of sussing out the moves of an amazing arête V8, and working on Diesel, probably my new favorite boulder problem, in cool nighttime temps.  It was probably my most fun bouldering experience to date.

Nighttime bouldering, Pat looks at Diesel

It was getting late, and we heard a wolf howl.  We decided it was time to pack up, and Taylor was acting weird.  I decided she was just tired and hungry.

On the home stretch of the hike out, both Pat and I were probably thinking about how vulnerable our position was: trodding along a narrow path in the woods, surrounded on both sides by a nice cover of tall brush.  In the pitch dark.  Almost in unison, we saw to our right, not 25 yards away, two beady yellow eyes.  A fucking wolf was following us the entire way.  We immediately started barking and yelling at it, and kept our pace toward the cars, 100 yards up the path.  Our noisy retreat was met with a cold, deadly stare.

This is probably what Harold looks like in the daylight. I named him Harold because it's an ironic Anglo-Saxon name.

Taylor, my dog, ran out ahead to the road, happy as can be, and only then was there an adjustment in the wolf’s position.  It’s target was now apparent.

Pat, with his big, imposing crash pad on, went up the embankment, grabbed Taylor by the collar, and I fished out my keys to unlock the car.  We successfully got the happy-go-lucky mutt into my Forester, and looked down the embankment.  Still staring up at us were the same yellow eyes of the wolf…

So we got in our cars and left, feeling a high that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

I could have finished editing a cool video that night, but instead, a friend came along and reminded me that I was a rock climber.

-NS

So, here’s the first review on my latest gadget, and why I no longer need headphones, an iPod, or wires connecting the two.

The best mp3 player money can buy

Tomorrow, we’re going to road trip it down to Maryland to bring you what you can’t get from a live web broadcast of the entire competition: Not sitting in front of your computer all day when it’s supposed to be really nice on Saturday in the Northeast.

So, if you can’t make it to the competition, EasternClimber is going to bring the experience to you: we’re armed to the teeth with video equipment, and we won’t stop until we make fools of ourselves.

Look for our shenanigans sometime next week.

In related news, NE2C Productions brings you a nice little piece featuring Vasya Vorotnikov, one of my favorite New England climbers.

Also featured is Aimee from NE2C, their token hottie:

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A few weekends ago I was at beautiful Nine Cornered Lake. Its probably one of the most aesthetic places to climb I’ve ever been to. Right next to the main bouldering area is the lake. Complete with a rock precipice and rope swing for a nice post session swim. Hundreds of beautiful problems on awesome granitic gneiss!  Four different areas! Check it out!

Working War Cry (v11). Originally FA’d by Ivan Greene, this climb starts midway out the cave. Matt Bosley came through and found a deeper start off tiny edges to create Nuclear War (v14).

Setting up the drop knee on Pumpernickel (v8). One of the more “delicate” problems in the area. Photo: JC Hernandez

Moving into the crimps…Photo: JC Hernandez

This area offers probably the highest concentration of double digit problems in the north east! Git Some!!

-PC