Friday, March 26, 2010

pleasant surprise

March 17, 2010: Daniel Woods almost resurrecting what remains of Skip Guerin's Direct Just Right. Formerly V9 and thought to have been repeated by only Ben Moon before breaking, the sit-start to Holloway's classic Just Right has eluded the grasp of some big guns since the mid 1990's when a couple of flakes/edges above the sloper rail broke. A lot of sequences have been tried since then, but Daniel has cracked the code ... doing all the moves and doing the problem in two pieces. All that is left is linking it. As for how hard this newer version of Direct Just Right will be, let's just say I noted that he could not do THE MOVE on command in isolation last week and when probed, Daniel commented it's got to be the hardest problem on Flagstaff Mountain. Since he's done Trice V12 and Epochalypse V13, that gives you an idea what we're talking about. Fresh off recent sends of Hueco Tanks' Terremer V15 and Desperanza V15 (FA) and Boulder Canyon's The Game V16 (FA), DW may be the strongest climber on the planet right now, so one inevitably has to wonder where this one will end up in the grand scheme of things. Daniel is moving into a place in Boulder this week, so Flagstaff Mountain will be ultra-convenient for him. Keep your eyes open on Flag, history may be happening ...

Sunday, March 21, 2010

traverses

January 26, 2010: Ken "Old Man" Gibson on Skunk Rub Traverse, Carter Lake, CO. If you know me, you know that I generally dislike traverses, with lip traverses receiving a special level of disdain. Maybe it was my year away from climbing that has softened my stance on this issue, but I've decided to be open to climbing traverses again - if nothing else - for the fitness benefits. Carter Lake is not known for it's traverses, but the Skunk Rub Traverse along with Sgt. Woody's Traverse and Traverse do Jour are nice ones.

Also, I'm back in CO. I just couldn't stay away for long. It was a long year on the East Coast, with too much working and too little climbing. I'm trying to rectify that, but being in the worst shape of my life is a long process to come back from. Slowly, but surely.