Mountain Home

With the Leavenworth leg of our trip winding down we decided to escape the canyons and hit the high road. A four mile uphill dirt road led us to some very different looking granite reminiscent of the Sierras with an inspiring backdrop.

We spent the evening at the Star Wars boulder (is there a crag or boulder field in the country without a Star Wars themed area/route/boulder/obsession?) where I managed to reach the top of the powerful one-mover Yoda V9 and the super stiff (at least at the end of June) Emperor's Lightning V7.

The opening cross of Emperor's Lightning.
Stretching out on the exit moves.

As the sky darkened the small orange dots of streetlights flicked on and headlights wound along the bends of Highway 2 as Leavenworth slowly fell asleep below us. We decided to chance the 10% chance of rain and sleep under the patches of clouds and stars, our backs on a cool slab of granite.


Morning view from our boulder bed.

We woke early to the sun flashing over the ridge and decided to make the most of the cool morning temperatures. Lib made a second try send of Fairly Desperate V4 and tried the very slopey Andy's Arete V5 while I got my early morning cardio workout attempting a silly run n' jump problem. The heat wasted no time in settling in on the exposed hillside and we were sweating well before noon as we packed up and sought shade elsewhere.



-BLOCHEAD

Home Sweet Home

One week left in Leavenworth!

-BLOCHEAD

Gold Bar

We headed to Gold Bar yesterday in hopes of cooler temps and new problems to get psyched on. What we thought would be a four day camping trip turned out to be a long day trip with a short session on the Five Star boulder. The boulder is amazing. Certainly able to hold it's own not only in the PNW, but would surely also be a classic anywhere in the country. The disappointment for us was the heat and humidity. The blocky sloping ledges were slimy from baking in the sun all day and it was all I could do to pull off an ascent of Sobriosity. I gave a few burns on it's big brother Ebriosity, however the slopers were just not cooperating. The line looks is beautiful, but unfortunately I think I missed my window. Lib also made some great linkage on Sobriosity, stringing together nearly every move.

We chalked the day up to satisfying our curiosity, and decided to head back to Leavenworth with plans to shoot a little more footage and try a few more lines before heading to Tahoe in a couple weeks.

-BLOCHEAD

God is in the Details - SENT!

Last night the 20 move wrestling match with my super project came to an end. After seven days of attempting the line from the beginning I finally wound up at the top of the boulder last night around 9:30. I had already tried twice that night, which was usually my cut off point per day of projecting, however the temps were perfect and we set up the headlamps in the dark cave for one more burn. Watching the dark grainy footage afterwards I was surprised at how quickly I was climbing. Time has a strange way of unfolding when you're climbing in that perfect zone. Everything feels slow and controlled. I could feel every cool granite pebble biting into my skin and taste the sharp air with every breath. And when time finally catches up it's over.

This line is by far the hardest thing I have ever climbed. From start holds to the finish it weighs in at a massive 19 hand movements. That's not counting the crux tension move to get a heel up at around move 11. I highly recommend this line not only because I love steep bouldering, but because it is the full value line in the cave, climbing out the steepest part of the roof to a very powerful, yet subtle exit sequence.

With the project done we are beginning to look toward the Tahoe area as it begins to slowly heat up here in Leavenworth. There are a few lines I would still like to do while here, notably Pretty Hate Machine, though I can't seem to find it...

Meanwhile it's time for some rest and maybe a celebratory dinner that doesn't consist of a bagel or pasta, but not before a little training on a budget!





-BLOCHEAD

We've Been Shooting, I Swear!

It's no excuse for the lack of photos, but it can be hard to focus on both. Here is some proof!

Shooting some footage of a giant knight. Seriously, this thing is probably 20 feet tall.
Leveling tripods on wet rocks can be tricky.

Other updates:

Lib sent Gatorade Bowling Balls V4, and has made big progress on Twisted Tree V4.

I fell off the second to last move on the project. Progress is motivation!

The Pretty Boulders are hard to find.

-BLOCHEAD

Return of the Mudslide!

I'm afraid it's not a joke. The areas past Twisted Tree are currently closed due to a recent mudslide in Icicle Canyon. We drove up to take some photos yesterday and were met with a Ranger and a lot of neon orange. Apparently since the slide is still settling they are not allowing the public near it. Luckily the Forest Service is moving faster to clean this one up due to a small number of people trapped on the other side.

Here is the official release from the USFS:

June 10, 2011

Leavenworth, WA — A series of mudslides occurred mid-morning, Friday, closing the upper Icicle Road (FS Rd #76) approximately 10 miles west of Leavenworth. The first slide is about 40-feet wide and 5-feet deep; the status of the other slides is unknown due to continued flow of water, mud and debris still occurring.

The slides occurred near Fourth of July Trail. Fourth of July Creek is flowing through the slide and has split into several channels.

Chelan County Sheriffs Office of Emergency Management and Forest Service personnel are working together to ascertain the damage that has occurred. Neither personnel nor equipment can currently access the area due to the continued landslide flows.

“We estimate that 30 people are stranded in the upper Icicle drainage above the slides,” said Wenatchee River District Ranger Jeff Rivera. “Luckily, no one is injured or in distress. A Medivac helicopter is on alert in case a medical emergency occurs.” said Sheriff Brian Burnett.

-BLOCHEAD

Rest Day Activities

Because unfortunately not everyday can be a climbing day.
Hidden Lake.

Windy!

Lake Wenatchee.

All photos by Liberty Herring.

-BLOCHEAD

Progress!

We headed up to Mad Meadows yesterday evening to shoot some photos and work on the project. After reacquainting myself with the transition sequence I had only enough juice for three attempts from the start. Here is a video of my high point on the line, which boils down to V10 into V10 with a serious amount of non-breathing. Psyched to get back out tomorrow!



-BLOCHEAD

Fashionably Late Photos

A few shots from Leavenworth so far...

The mudslide got paved!

Topping out Scrambled Eggs V8

Plotting on Twisted Rock V3

The Sword V3.

-BLOCHEAD

Late Nights & Early Mornings

Yesterday we slowly made our way to the boulders as the sun fell over the ridge. All season the mudslide had blocked off areas further up Icicle Canyon so we were excited to check out some "new" blocs.

We warmed up at the Twisted Tree area then hiked down the road to the Scrambled Eggs boulder. By the time the pads were unpacked we had fired up both the lantern and our headlamps. Lib tried valiantly on Twisted Stone V3, slapping blindly into the darkness, but opted to try another time (read: daytime).

I managed a headlamp ascent of Scrambled Eggs V8 after a long an stubborn battle with some bad beta. It's funny how one subtlety can change everything. With the new beta I reached the top in a few tries and called it a night.

This morning we took advantage of the cooler temps and headed out to The Sword boulders. Lib made impressive flashes of Briefs V3 and Bowled Over V3 and I unlocked the goofy body position of The Hourglass V7. After tryng a few more things to no avail we headed over to Resurrection V8, a burly compression line with a heady top out. Although I am psyched to have sent quickly, the footage is not very flattering... Be sure to watch and laugh later this summer when we at least put it in the blooper reel.

The next few days look promising here and now that we're back in the swing of things here on real rock I'm more psyched than ever to try God is in the Details!

Also I have some photos to post, but the internet won't cooperate. Stay tuned!

And We're Off!

After a great last night in Portland with a few of our good friends we woke up Saturday and packed our lives into the car. We stopped a few times on our drive up to Leavenworth to shoot some footage and snap a couple photos. The weather here looks like it might be warm during the day, however when we pulled in last night around 10:00 PM the conditions were great. Definitely psyched for some lantern sessions in the near future!

Packing up the shoes. This box smells great.

The Gorge.

Mt. Adams. A semi almost plowed us down while trying to take this photo.

-BLOCHEAD

$200 in 20's

For the bed. Gas and food money! I wonder if there will be a point in the future when I look back and wonder if selling a bed to climb is a little...Ah, to hell with it. The road is calling!

The digs for a few more days...

-BLOCHEAD