Brown Point Climbing

The Difference Between Climbers and Peak Baggers

2012-03-05T17:30:00.001-05:00

I spend a lot of time traveling around the High Peaks of the Adirondacks and I have had the chance to observe peak baggers in their natural environment. I have even been to the Peak Bagger Palace (Adirondack Loj). What is the difference between climbers and peak-baggers?

PEAK-BAGGERS

In short a peak bagger is someone who is trying to “bag” a specific peak. By “bag” of course I mean stand on the summit for at least 1 second. The important thing is that it is not an arbitrary mountain they are climbing. Each and every peak bagger has a list of mountains they are trying to check off. In virtually every situation, they did not create this list based on mountains they really want to climb. Instead there is a set of fixed parameters.

Examples: Adirondack 46ers, Seven Summits, 50 High Points

The problem I have with the peak bagging is that the baggers don’t really care about the route, they only care about summiting. Hence they will always take the easiest route to the top. On nice days there are trains of people coming up Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks. There are actually people waiting in line for hours in the death zone on Everest. You get the idea.

In some extreme cases there are governing bodies with rules and awards for peak bagging. The worst one I have found so far are the Adirondack 46ers. Apparently if you climb all 46 of the High Peaks between Dec. 21 – Mar. 21 you get honored as a winter 46er. Then you pay them money for a patch! It doesn’t actually matter if the conditions were winter-like.

What I really don’t understand is why someone would drive to Florida to stand on top of some mound of dirt.

CLIMBERS

Climbers may or may not have a list of climbs they want to do. However, in most cases they created this list based on what climbs look like would be fun.

As a climber I like to climb routes which are challenging and interesting. I’m not always looking for easiest summit, and often I don’t even bother going for the summit if I have finished the climb. Sometimes I climb a route more than once if I liked it. Sometimes I climb a peak even if it’s not the highest one in the area.

Sometimes I don’t even keep records of what I’ve climbed.

Winter Seneca 2012

2012-01-15T22:31:00.002-05:00

Every January the ECP Mountaineering School heads down to West Virginia for the Alpine Rock outing. The outing consists of waking up at 1AM to hike 14 miles on a freezing cold, windy ridge to Seneca Rocks. We then climb to the summit. All while wearing 30-40 pound packs and mountaineering boots. If that is not enough, we then bivy on the summit before rappelling down the next morning.
This year I was teamed up with Chris Ciesa, a first year mountaineering school student. We hiked extremely fast on the approach through 10F temps and 20-30mph wind gusts and were one of the first teams to make it to the rocks. We arrived at around 6:30AM or dawn. Our route was Gunsight Direct 5.5 and our bivy spot was the summit block of the south peak.

Kristen and Chris take a “jacket on” break on the North Fork Trail. The temps were frigid with blowing wind and snow.

Kristen walking the natural gas pipeline to the rocks. A herd of horses is in the background.

Chris descends the rocky east face trail.

Scrambling up to lower Broadway ledge.

Sam leads Gunsight to South Peak.

Sam climbing with boots, pack, and gloves.

Hanging out in the notch. Left to right: Chris M., Rich, and Chris C.

Self portrait midway up crux pitch of Gunsight Direct.

Chris about to start summit ridge traverse.

Shane and Chris successfully and safely on the summit.

Felix and Kristen hanging out on the summit.

A tent on the summit block? Who knew!

On the summit with plenty of daylight to spare.

Felix and Kristen enjoy some freeze dry.

Winter Seneca with the mountaineering school, wouldn’t miss it for anything!

The Trap Dike

2011-12-29T21:45:00.001-05:00

We are starting our 1 week tour of the Adirondacks with a trip to Avalanche Lake. We drove up Tuesday morning arriving at the Peak bagger Palace at 6:30. It was pouring rain, the temperature was about 37 degrees. Not the best start, but we are getting the bad weather out of the way early. After suiting up in all our fine waterproof suits and stuffing most of our gear in plastic bags, we were off to hike the 3 miles (seems much longer) to the Marcy Brook Shelter.

We arrived at the shelter at 10pm. When we got to the shelter it was occupied with 2 tents, one person in each tent, set up inside the shelter! We were in no shape to spend the night in the open in the pouring rain. We all had bivy sacks but with hopes of climbing the next day, we needed to set up somewhere dry. There were 2 tents in the shelter and I decided to kick them over to make room for us. On the side of the shelter the rules plainly state: 8 people per shelter, and no tents. I woke these people up and we set up inside. After getting dinner cooked we all hit the sack feeling fairly wet and wondering what the next day would bring.

We woke up fairly late to light snowfall and increasing air pressure. Feeling optimistic with some hot coffee in our mugs we set out for the short hike into the Trap Dike.

Arriving at Avalanche Lake none of us was brave/stupid enough to walk across yet. We ended up walking most of the way around on a system of ladders and walkways built into the rocky shore.

When we were directly across from the Trap Dike we decided to hell with it! We roped up and crossed one by one with no incident. It was scary!

From afar it looked great!

I led off with Matt seconding. Dave and Justin were following closely behind.

The ice was too slushy and soft to accept screws. We ended up running it out a lot in the gully and we used natural anchors for the belays.

There was very little snow in general, it was amazing how different the climb can be at different times.

After the second ice bulge we decided to unrope to speed things up.

There was some decent ice higher up! I don’t remember any of this from my previous two ascents of the Trap Dike. It’s amazing how much hurricane Irene has changed things.

We found a nice exit out of the gully through a break down in the cliff.

We found really enjoyable and fun climbing on the slide. The snow was crunchy. The ice was thick enough for tools and crampons. I loved the exposure and we were getting blasted with some serious mountain weather. I was really having a great time!

We measured a temperature of –10F on the summit of Mount Colden. We guessed the wind speed was gusting around 50 mph. It was definitely enough to knock you down! I was climbing in my belay jacket at that point and dealing with trying to keep my fingers and nose warm.

The slog down from the mountain went on and on and on… Not really that far, unless you’re tired and ready for dinner!

That night the temperatures reached 5F and we were sleeping cozily in our bags pretty late. We decided to take a semi-rest day on Thursday.

When Dave finally took off his socks he found out that he had some frostbite on all his toes!

The slog out was what it was (of course the signs were wrong, it was way longer than that!).

From Dave:

I looked at conditions and they said rain and snow. I was not expecting total rain, I was expecting more of a rain and snow mix. When we get to the route I was committed to climbing the route. At no point during the whole day did I feel water in my boots and at no point did my feet feel cold during entire ascent and descent. I can see that I wouldn’t have cold feet on the ascent since I was generating a lot of heat. Even when I got to camp I still didn’t feel like my feet were cold at all.

When I pulled my boots off my socks were frozen and stuck inside the boots however my liner socks were not. Since I had never experienced this before I did not check my feet right away. It was not until 3 and a half hours later that I experienced screaming barfies in my right foot. I was hoping it was boot bash since I had experienced that before. Back in my head I knew it wasn’t the case. It wasn’t until I had to get up and pee that I could feel like there was skin sticking together on my right foot. In the morning I thawed my boots.

Right before we left I decided to look at the foot. I called Shane over and saw that the liner sock had moisture stains and blood on it. I am still wondering why the left foot still didn’t feel anything. We hiked out 3 miles and it wasn’t until after we started driving out that the left foot started to give me major pain for the next hour or two.

Lessons learned: don’t underestimate conditions. Beware that you may not even notice you are getting frostbite.

I had a pair of extremely warm boots but I didn’t want to bring them since the temperature was only 35 degrees the first day and the boots are big and bulky. From now on for the rest of my life my toes will probably be more sensitive to cold and I will have to take special care with my feet.

Climbing With Double Ropes

2011-11-30T11:19:00.001-05:00

Ropes can be divided into two broad categories:

1. Static low stretch ropes

2. Dynamic ropes, which are designed to stretch to absorb the impact of a fall.

Dynamic ropes are further divided into 3 categories:

1. Single ropes. These are thicker ropes (9.1-11mm) used individually to protect a climber in case of a fall. They are the most common for top-roping, sport climbing, and North American trad climbing.

2. Twin ropes. These are the thinnest ropes (7.9-8.1mm) used in pairs to protect a climber in case of a fall. Although there are two ropes, they are treated as a single rope. Both ropes are clipped into every piece of protection and the leader is belayed with both ropes. These are often used in ice climbing.

3. Half ropes (also called double ropes!!!). These are slightly thicker than single ropes (8.1-8.7mm). Each rope is clipped into alternating pieces of protection and the belayer must sometimes be able to give slack/take on one rope, but not the other. These are great for ice, trad, or alpine climbing.

This article of course is covering double ropes, and why you would ever want to use this system. There are quite a few advantages of using doubles.

1. First and foremost is you have two ropes for rappelling which will definitely save you time descending on those multi-pitch climbs.

2. Second you have two ropes for belaying two seconds simultaneously, once again saving time on those multi-pitch climbs.

3. Third you can reduce rope drag by selectively clipping a rope to the left or right of a climb.

4. Fourth you can reduce a potential swing by a second on a traverse. This works on climbs with a traverse and then a vertical climb. You can do this by clipping one of the ropes into all the pro in the traverse. The other rope will now be able to hang down from the anchor to the second.

5. Double ropes often have lower impact forces for those marginal pieces of protection.

6. Double ropes are more redundant than single ropes in case the rope is cut.

7. If you fall while pulling up slack on a double rope, the fall won’t necessarily be any longer since the other rope can stay tight.

There are quite a few disadvantages of climbing with doubles.

1. Belaying and rope management is quite a bit more complex than with singles, requiring a more experienced climber.

2. A pair of doubles certainly weighs more and is bulkier to carry than a single rope.

3. A pair of doubles costs more than a single rope.

4. The additional stretch of a double rope does mean that you will fall further.

Doubles and twin ropes.

A twin rope system gives you the ability to rappel just as far, belay two seconds, and is more redundant than a single rope. It is also lighter than a double rope system. However you have no ability to reduce rope drag, and often the impact forces are the highest with twin ropes.

Thicknesses of double rope systems.

I see two common diameters of ropes used in a doubles system. 8.1mm I see as an ice rope where abrasion is minimal. For rock climbing I would recommend an 8.6 which would provide greater durability when dragged across rocks. There are also ropes like the 9.1mm Beal Joker which is certified as both a single and a double.

Climbing with singles or twins as doubles.

I don’t see any technical problem with using singles in a doubles system. However, I can’t see any reason why you would want to do it. Using 2 singles in a doubles system would be an incredibly heavy system. Never use twins as doubles, the ropes are not designed to be used individually. Never use doubles as twins, this would result in tremendous impact forces.

Clipping technique

1. It is best to always alternate which rope you are clipping. This way you have greater protection in case one of the ropes is severed.

2. On wandering climbs minimize drag by clipping one rope to one side, and the other to the other side.

3. Don’t clip both ropes into the first piece. This would result in very high impact forces on that piece as well as a potential point for the rope to burn (as the ropes move at different speeds).

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

So much to be thankful for. Each moment once passed, is never to be experienced again.

I have been working alot on my rope soloing systems. The device I have been using is the Silent Partner. The recommended system is fairly safe but too slow. I have been working on a new system which I hope to test out this weekend. I plan to drive out to Seneca Saturday morning and see how many pitches I can do in 24 hours. Can't wait to get out there!

Two new videos!

2011-11-14T13:57:00.001-05:00

Shane making it look easy on Faints Roof 5.10, Annapolis Rocks Maryland

Ana crushing it on Unrelenting Verticality 5.9+, Seneca Rocks West Virginia

BONUS VIDEO!!!

Exkursion Outfitters new website

2011-11-14T00:47:00.001-05:00

Exkursion, the awesome gear store where I spent many years shopping before I wised up and got a job there, is launching a new website! The new site will allow you to make purchases and sign up for classes online. Check it out!

www.exkursion.com

Chili Cook-off 2011

2011-10-24T13:11:00.001-04:00

Patty enjoys breakfast at the Ground Up coffee shop

All agree the chili cook off this year was one of the best ever! Every year there is a huge party down at Seneca Rocks to celebrate the close of the climbing season. Plenty of free beer, food, and gear giveaways as well as entertainment make it an event you don’t want to miss.

Joe climbing Neck Press in approach shoes

Day 1

My climbing partner for the weekend couldn’t make it but luckily Joe Calcek was looking for a partner as well. Unfortunately someone who won’t be named forgot their climbing shoes. Not the end of the world though, we climbed the whole day in approach shoes. I lead all 3 pitches of Neck Press, a 5.7+, in them. After that Joe had the guts to lead Candy Corner in his approach shoes.

Peter and Patty on Roy Gap Chimneys

Wow! It was seriously crowded this weekend. Not totally unexpected. This weekend is more about having fun than getting lots of climbing in.

Clipping anchors on the first pitch of Totem

Chili chow down time at the Gendarme

After a late start and an early finish, we decided it was time to get to the party. Justin Low had brought 4 kegs of homemade beer! I have no idea how many I had as I was just refilling all night. I do know that at some point I ate a ton of chili.

Open mike night at the mountain guides

Day 2

Hiking up to the north peak with Naz, Kurt, and Bill

Joe had to head out in the morning so I found myself teamed up with a group from DC. We decided to head towards the north peak east face so we could climb in the warm sun.

Unrelenting Verticality 5.9

We were far from the first people there and many of the routes were busy. The one that was open was Unrelenting Verticality. It is a very stout 5.9, with an incredibly bouldery run out start. It has been one of my long time goals to lead it clean and I have had a couple of epic attempts. So here I was trying it as my “warm up” climb since it was the only one open! To make a long story short, I did not get it cleanly but I was dam close! Just one hang and one itty bitty fall near the top when I was getting really pumped. I am positive it will go next time.

Bill on Lichen Or Leave It

Next Kurt led Lichen or Leave It. It’s the classic finger crack at Seneca and it’s a lot of fun!

Bill leads Bandito with Kurt belaying

Now it was time for the real professional to get his turn. Bill had some unfinished business on Bandito. He must be a much stronger climber than 5 years ago when he tried it before. He did it clean, no falls or hangs. I followed him up it and was thoroughly impressed. Holy cow! It was hard! It was a 5.9! It must be the hardest 5.9 I have ever been on.

Climber on the south peak ridge

I really felt this was one of most fun weekends I’ve had at Seneca. I got lots of hard climbing in as well as having a great time with old and new friends.

The Thais face in the late afternoon

Hidden Treasures Half Marathon

2011-09-29T01:19:00.000-04:00

I just ran a half marathon on Sunday with little to no serious training in the past 3 months! I don't know if I should be happy or feel lazy. I have a good excuse though, I have been climbing! What I do feel good about is I ran the whole thing under 10 minute pace. I actually placed 89th overall and 7th in my age group. I am not sure a whole marathon would have gone so well for me this weekend. I have about a month to get ready for Harrisburg, but if I want to finish I had better work harder.

Finish Line Picture - actual chip time was 2:08:37. For reference with my fitness last year, I ran the first half of the Baltimore Marathon in about 1:45 and still had enough left to do it again.

Hidden Treasures Half Marathon

Enduring Patagonia review

2011-09-08T22:59:00.001-04:00

This is a short review of a book which I believe every aspiring alpinist should read. Well it’s not really a review, more of a recommendation with a really great passage from the book.

“Why climb, especially in Patagonia, given such failure? As I said in the opening chapter, there is no sentence, no paragraph that will explain why. Why refuses distillation. Consider those two classic alpine saws: “Because it’s there" and “If you’ve got to ask you ain’t ever gonna know.” Both strike me as true, but inadequate. And then my favorite, courtesy of Donini: “Because it’s the only thing I’ve ever been any good at.” Great sound bites, yes, but whole truth does not jump out of a sound bite. Such quips are also dismissals.

Perhaps the best answer is: because I love it. I love it even as I am freezing my ass on this cold, dark bivy high on the walls of Aguja Saint-Exupéry. I love everything about it without qualification. I love to coil ropes and to carry heavy loads. I love the sky and I love the storm, the ice, and the stone. I love to succeed and I love to try. I love to wait and I love to act; I love to shiver and I love to sweat. I love the freedom and I love the discipline. I love Patagonia, and I love to climb.”

Crouch, Gregory (2002-03-05). Enduring Patagonia (Kindle Locations 2471-2479). Random House. Kindle Edition.

Red River Trad

2011-09-05T23:07:00.004-04:00

I just got back from my first trip to the Red in 3 years! Some stuff has changed since then. There’s a new guidebook and Miguel’s has more than one bathroom. One thing remains constant, if you are looking for the best high friction single pitch sandstone climbing ANYWHERE, head no further than the Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Erin, Chris, Jamie, and Colleen watch Ben on Laceration

This was a crazy weekend. I don’t know if it was the heat (Saturday) or rain (Monday) but there was hardly anybody there – on a holiday weekend. Or maybe nobody does trad anymore?? In fact, at the trad crags we hit we were alone almost the whole time. This trip ended up being about quality, not quantity. I basically spent the entire trip leading 5.9 trad. All 4 and 5 star climbs, no waiting in lines!

Mariba Fork, go there, now.

Sunday we made the drive to Mariba Fork. It is 16 miles from the rest area in Slade. This was, maybe, the most awesome cliff I have ever seen. I’m talking multiple amphitheaters. I didn’t even have time to see the whole thing. The guidebook only lists ten routes here.

Other areas we visited were Long Wall, Dip Wall, and Fortress.

Autumn 5.9 and Cruise Control 5.9+ at the Long Wall

Megan Blanchard on Green Eggs 5.7. Ham 5.7 is on the right.

Chris Ciesa on the Grinch 5.4. Does that look 5.4 to you?

This is Laceration 5.4. This is the highest rated 5.4 at the Red. Good luck.

Ben McMillen gets some on Laceration.

Colleen Anderson feels the pump on Reach the Beach 5.9. Incredible, long, sustained route.

When can I go back?

Goodbye 21146, Hello 15120

2011-08-01T22:36:00.001-04:00

I’m moving back to the burgh! First I’m taking a long vacation. I’m going to a Steelers preseason game. I’m going to kick my running into overdrive with all this free time. Last but not least, I’m going to go climbing. Anybody need a partner for ANYTHING ANYTIME let me know.

Independence Day at Seneca

2011-07-05T21:43:00.002-04:00

Another great long weekend at Seneca Rocks! This 4th of July was the ECP and PMC mixer. As a member of both clubs there was no way I could miss this fun event. Just for good measure there was a large group from Earth Treks as well.

We camped at Seneca Shadows campground. I got there somewhat late, but some nice hang gliders in another group campsite let me have a spot with them. It was really generous of them, and they even brewed coffee for us in the morning. I tried to get them to trade hang gliding for rock climbing but they wouldn’t go for it. Apparently, climbing is too dangerous!

I was climbing all day Sunday with Kelley from DC. We got started on the mega-classic Skyline Traverse. We were stuck behind a team from Columbus Ohio and played with gear while we waited. Later on that day we were stuck behind the same team on Old Ladies. And then we were stuck behind them on the Traffic Jam rappel route. What a long day with lots of waiting! But at the end I was very tired in that good way, where you know you’ll sleep good at night and the front porch’s frozen pizza dough tastes like Vace.
We also did Le Gourmet direct. Was it 5.6 or 5.8?

This is one of the first summit picture of the Potomac Mountain Club at Seneca, with the fabled flag which has been to so many mountains. Behind Kelley is the president of PMC, Court and Christina.

The next day I was lucky to tag along with Michael and Toni. We did Old Man’s route, but a slight variation to the start where we stayed out to the left on a face with hand crack at the top.

The pitch went at about 5.6 I estimate, but I could not find it in the guide book.

While we were up there Team XX came up Old Man’s route behind us.

The Front Porch was busy all weekend, I took this shot from the summit.

Finally, the best thing to happen all weekend was I got myself a hound. A couple from DC found 3 puppies by the side of the road Sunday night. Monday morning at Tom’s I decided that I wanted one and named him Seneca.

And don’t worry, I won’t let him run around at the bottom of the crag.

May Update

2011-06-01T06:23:00.001-04:00

2 months down, 6 months to go until the Harrisburg Marathon. May did not go as well as I had hoped. It seemed every time I wanted to go for a run it was raining and I was stuck inside on the treadmill. Can’t let it affect the future though. Yesterday was 97 degrees here. Looks like it might be a hot summer. That’s ok though, the heat I can deal with.

Total miles run in May: 107.41

First trip to Seneca this year

2011-05-31T20:28:00.003-04:00

Finally got out on my first trip to Seneca this year! It was 2 months and 10 days since I had touched rock, pretty long time. I was definitely anxious to get out. The extreme heat, large crowds, and rusty climbing skills weren’t enough to keep me from having a great time.

Seneca is the first place I really started climbing, it’s where I learned my chops and have so many fun and/or painful memories.

I picked up Derrick and Patrick and drove down late Saturday night. We arrived at Princess Snowbird campground at 2:30am! Nonetheless we were up at 7:30 and headed over to the rocks. We started our first climb around 9am.

I have always wanted to climb Tomato 5.8 and it is one of the few 5.8’s I have not done at Seneca. Our initial plan was to warm up on something easier but you’ve got to be pretty flexible – especially on crowded weekends.

The climb was super fun especially the second pitch. I wimped out though and took a rest. I was only 2 short moves from the end of the hard part! But I seriously think I only had the energy for one. Next time I’m climbing something and I want to take, tell me NO!

We went up to the summit. It was Patrick’s first time! I’m sure it will be the first of many.

Next up Derrick wanted to lead Madmen Only 5.10a. Definitely have to give him credit, he had lots of confidence and was climbing strong this weekend. This is the first 5.10 at Seneca. He led it pretty smooth. The climb is super hard (Seneca 5.10?) and we were climbing in the direct sunlight. It was not so smooth for Patrick and I. Let’s just end it at that.

Next up we search for some shade on the east face, south peak. Conn’s East Direct 5.8 is another climb I have not been on before.

So far this trip I am doing all new climbs! I lead it ok, although I am somewhat slow at cruxes. I manage to pull it off and I am feeling good about it.

Well by the time Patrick and Derrick climb up it’s time for some pizza at the Front Porch restaurant.
Bonus – Zen was playing Saturday night!

Next morning I meet Sam from Pittsburgh and we run 14 miles on the North Fork trail before 11am! It was a great run definitely burning some calories there. After I run I break down camp and meet Patrick and crew over at Seneca.
The plan was to climb at the Southern Pillar. That place is an oasis of cool temperatures. We were lucky to find very few people there and our choice of routes.

Derrick, Brian, and Raphael were on Slipstream.

I ended up leading the first pitch of Roy Gap chimneys 5.6. The rope is already up there so we top-roped the first pitch of Climbing Punishment 5.7. Patrick is feeling good so he decides to give it a shot on lead. Very nice job, it was a smooth lead.

Then we each get 3 sandwiches at Yokum’s deli and drive back. I’m ready for the next trip!

North Fork Trail Run

2011-05-31T20:23:00.003-04:00

I just got back from Seneca last night. I took some time with Sam on Monday morning to do a trail run on the North Fork Trail. This is one of the best trails in West Virginia with inspiring views from most of the ridge. We ended up running 14 miles at 12:05/mile. Not a bad run to bang out before climbing.

10 miles on the North Fork Trail

4 miles down a natural gas pipeline, on the North peak trail, and to the campground.

April Update

2011-05-01T15:11:00.001-04:00

One month of marathon training down, 7 to go. My running is going great so far. To compare with last year, I believe I have quite a head start. I have retained much of the fitness from training for last year’s marathon, and have been able to start out pretty strong. I have 8 months to train this year as opposed to 5 months last year. I am running some more miles/week this year.

total miles run in April: 117

*I also biked 121 miles

New job at LA Fitness

2011-04-21T21:53:00.001-04:00

This week I became a trainer at LA Fitness.

This is a brand new facility that just opened on Tuesday. All the equipment is fresh out of the box. The place is huge, they’ve got a great selection of machines, cardio equipment, and pretty much anything else you can think of. They also have a power rack!

My hours are so incredibly flexible. I essentially make my own hours, can change them at will, and don’t have to tell anybody if I want to take a day off. I’m not kidding! Obviously this is only if I have no appointments, I would probably be in trouble if I ditched a client.

The downside to the place is that it is definitely a big, corporate, chain gym. The trainers don’t get paid very well compared to other gyms. You do get plenty of clients though. So it’s a great place to get some experience under your belt.

There is no way I could work here and not get in great shape. I have way too much time to work out! Somebody stop me before I get over training syndrome!

Randonneuring

2011-04-12T22:34:00.000-04:00

What, you may ask, is Randonneuring? Well honestly it is summed up here quite nicely. And there is also an old picture of me. Wow, shortest post ever.

Frederick Fifty

2011-04-10T22:01:00.001-04:00

Went on another fantastic ride today. I was originally planning on taking my first trip to Seneca Rocks of the year but I got sidetracked when LA Fitness called me for a job interview on Sunday. Well I guess that might have been a little (tiny bit) more important than going climbing. The good thing was that the interview was in the morning, leaving most of the rest of the day free. And I got the job :)

I have ridden close to 2,000 miles on my ‘06 Specialized Allez Comp without changing any parts of the drive train. I decided I didn’t want to have a chain break in the middle of a ride (99% of the time leads to total wipeout) and bought one from online. It is always cheaper to buy parts online as shops have a 500% markup. However since I couldn’t be bothered to change it myself (total PITA) I took it to Bike Doctor Crofton. Of course they told me yeah your old chain was done 500 miles ago and so is your cassette. I actually stopped there on the way to my bike ride! So with a new cassette and chain I headed over to Frederick. The new cassette cost me $90 at the shop. When I checked online tonight I found several places that have it for $59.

I love my new Garmin. It may be the best thing I bought in the past 4-5 years. I just plug into the website: Frederick Maryland, 40-60 miles, bike ride. And like magic I got a perfect ride in my GPS for an area that I have never been to.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54291894

The actual distance was a hair under 50 miles. It started with some serious hills in the first half. I know what goes up must come down. But for some reason there didn’t seem to be any down. Until I hit Catoctin Park. Then it seemed like I was flying.

I love the 50 mile distance. A nice half century. You can bust it out and still make it home in time for dinner. And you don’t even have to wake up early.

Training for a marathon

2011-04-09T09:54:00.008-04:00

I am training for my second marathon. I have changed what I am doing this year from what I did last year. Looking back, my training last year was very unstructured. I think that was fine for last year because my goal was simply to finish the marathon. However this year I have created a detailed week by week training plan. Much of the running that I did last year could be called junk miles in the new program. Junk miles is a common term for miles that are run just for the sake of getting in more miles. This year, every mile has a purpose and fits into “the big picture”. Every minute spent training is time spent towards achieving my goal.

An indispensable part of my training is my Garmin 310XT. The heart rate monitor allows me to precisely pace myself on all my runs. It has a GPS which accurately measures distance. But more than that it easily allows me to keep detailed records of all the runs that I do. This is very helpful to look over a week or month at a glance and get an idea of how the training is going.

There are essentially 5 types of runs that I am doing.

1. Warm up

Probably speaks for itself. But last year I did little if any warming up. As a general rule of thumb, the shorter and more intense the workout is the longer the warm up should be.

2. Distance

I do a long distance workout once a week only. It is probably my most damaging workout, and leaves me fairly sore. It essentially trains my aerobic systems to use energy more efficiently.

3. Tempo

A tempo run is a fast paced run which is run near your anaerobic threshold. They are designed to increase anaerobic threshold (otherwise known as lactic acid threshold).

4. Interval

High intensity interval training can create large gains in cardiorespiratory fitness in a short amount of time. Simplified, it’s the ability of my lungs to take in oxygen, and the ability of my body to deliver the oxygen to my cells.

5. Recovery

A common misconception is that a recovery run lets you recover faster. In fact, recovery runs are training runs during your recovery period. They force you to exercise in a pre-fatigued state. Your muscles must adapt in new ways (recruitment of more fibers).

Another thing that I am doing is to schedule a series of smaller races leading up to the marathon. The most significant of these is the Hidden Treasures Half Marathon in September. However there are a few more local races that I am doing as well.

Note on stretching:

Most of the recent evidence suggests that stretching is of no use to runners, and could actually decrease running efficiency. http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2009/08/stretching-is-it-useless.html

Pennsylvania Dutch 55 miles

2011-04-05T06:23:00.003-04:00

I went on a nice medium length bike ride through Amish country. Eastern Pennsylvania may be the best kept secret in road biking. It may be what Yosemite is to climbers. There are just endless miles of winding country roads. Hilly enough to keep it interesting but not ridiculous.
The ride was 55 miles and gained 3400 feet elevation. There were a hundred small hills, and 2 very long big ones. My max speed was 46.2 mph this time, but I’ve topped 50 coming down from that same hill before.
I managed to take some shots and some footage while riding and not totally wipe out.

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel

Running and Homo Sapiens

2011-03-31T21:30:00.001-04:00

There are two things which are absolutely primal. We human beings have been doing them for thousands of years. We could not have survived without doing these things. The first is running. I’m sure you can guess what the second thing is. But you need a partner for that. You can run alone.

I am always surprised at people who say they can’t run. Everyone can run with some practice. All children run. At what point did you grow up and stop? If it has been a long time since you have been running, the key is to start out slow. As soon as our early ancestors could stand on two legs they began running. They ran for hunting, to escape danger, and to travel long distances. It’s hard to believe that sometime in our recent history, we got to the point where people avoid running at all costs. Even today, running is absolutely vital. Whether trying to make it to class on time or escaping danger. You will not ride an elliptical machine away from someone attacking you!

Today I went for my first training run for the marathon and wrote out a training plan. Usually the more detailed the plan is, the less likely it is to be followed. I will let you all know in a few weeks how it is going.

Time to dust off the bike

2011-03-28T20:38:00.001-04:00

Today I finally went for a bike ride. I have been waiting for a nice warm day with plenty of sunshine. It never came so I just went out today. It was 23 miles to downtown Annapolis and back. The cold wind in my face felt great, the cold wind blowing through my shorts not so great. I can’t wait to get a nice long ride in… maybe this weekend?

What's on my rock climbing rack now?

2011-03-22T23:48:00.001-04:00

A rack is an ever evolving thing. If your rack is not moving forward, then it’s standing still. Pieces get lost, stuck, and dropped. New gear comes out in all it’s shiny goodness. It must adapt to the climbs of the day. It must be organized for maximum efficiency. This is my rack, there are many like it, but this one is mine.

I welcome questions, comments, and criticisms.

One set of Black Diamond Micros, one set of Black Diamond Stoppers, several booty nuts, and one set of Wild Country Rockcentrics. Racked on Wild Country Astros or Omega Pacific Dovals.

Black, green, and grey CCH Aliens. Blue and Yellow Metolius Master Cams. Racked on Wild Country Astros.

Black Diamond C4 from .5-3 racked on Wild Country Astros.

Omega Pacific Link Cams full set racked on Wild Country Astros.

Camp Tricams from .25-2 and a Black Diamond C4 #4. Racked on an Omega Pacific Doval and a Wild Country Astro.

One dozen Wild Country Helium quick draws.

8 single length “trad draws” made with a 24 inch Black Diamond nylon runner and 2 Wild Country helium's. 2 double length draws made with a 48 inch Black Diamond nylon runner and 2 Wild Country Helium's.

First experience with the Silent Partner

2011-03-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

I read this somewhere…

“Roped soloing is twice as dangerous, three times the work, and four times as scary...”

This Sunday I was planning to head out to Buzzard Rocks for a day of slab climbing. I was supposed to meet people at 6am, which meant waking up at 4:30 since I was almost an hour drive away. In hindsight, it’s not a good idea to stay up until 1am watching Star Trek: TNG when you have to wake up early. I missed the alarm and in a moment of spontaneity I went out to Annapolis Rocks and played around with some roped soloing systems.

I bought a Rock Exotica Silent Partner a few weeks ago and never got an opportunity to try it out. I bought it because I am planning to move to somewhere with some close climbing, and I want to be able to get out on the rock anytime without looking for a partner.

I ended up leading 3 pitches with Silent Partner. I also top-rope-soloed 4 pitches with a Trango Cinch.

Note: Although the Silent Partner is designed for roped soloing, the Cinch is in no way shape or form recommended for roped soloing by Trango.

My thoughts:

It works. It feeds great, it will catch you if you fall, it does everything that it’s advertised to do. Generally you can’t feel the difference (vs. a belayer) while climbing.
It’s peaceful. There is nobody to talk to, no sounds but the ones you make. You go at your own pace whether fast or slow. You climb when you want for as long as you want.
Properly backing yourself up is a royal pain in the a**. If you do it by the manual, you spend close to half the time messing around with backups. Pretty soon I realized that I’d rather not be climbing than climbing with these annoying backups. I guess it depends on your personal sphere of risk.
It is very difficult to clip the rope to pro above your waist. This is probably something I shouldn’t be doing too much anyway. But getting extra slack is difficult.
It’s slow. Everything takes longer. Just making sure it’s all rigged up correctly eats up time. In addition you have to make a bombproof anchor at the bottom as well as the top. You have to do everything yourself without a partner to help out – including carrying the gear in yourself. You have to climb every pitch twice, and rap every pitch twice. However – much like everything – practice will get you faster and better.
You definitely can’t climb as hard as normal. It takes extra time to clip the rope when leading. Also the confidence wasn't there to "go for it". This may improve with practice.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if you f*** up you’re on your own.

The Silent Partner is a great tool, but is one of many. It is not to replace climbing with partners. I plan to continue exploring the many different realms of solo climbing.

What's the rush?

2011-03-22T22:28:00.002-04:00

This is an awesome post from Will Gadd.

http://gravsports.blogspot.com/2011/03/ice-climbing-is-not-rock-climbing.html

It seems I have been hearing about lots of falls on ice lately. I hear a lot of stories from people who came within an inch of falling but managed to pull through. Alternatively, I hear about people falling and coming away without a scratch. This negative reinforcement is a very dangerous thing. Lead climbing on ice is a serious activity and should be undertaken only by those with solid bodies, minds, and technique. Two out of three won't cut it. With luck, you could be climbing for the rest of your life. Why rush it? There is simply no good reason to jump on lead your first ice season.

Harrisburg Marathon, 238 days and counting

2011-03-19T20:26:00.001-04:00

Just registered for the Harrisburg Marathon!!!

I'm doing a marathon in a different city every year. I'm going to train harder, longer, and better this year. I am not going to have a chest cold 2 weeks before race day. I am not getting leg cramps at mile 15. 238 days til the race.... its on now!!

What motivates YOU to climb?

2011-03-15T22:34:00.001-04:00

If you knew you would never climb any harder than you do now, would you keep climbing?

Is it the journey or the destination? I hate to get all philosophical, but I have to wonder. I met a man once who had been really into climbing and then he completely quit. If you ever go on eBay and look up climbing gear you know what I'm talking about. It's the people selling off a whole rack at once. He told me that he realized he would never climb 5.10, so he took up cycling instead.

Ask yourself:

Do you have just as much fulfillment from climbing something easy versus pushing yourself?
Do you train for climbing with non-climbing workouts?
Do you prefer to climb with people who will climb at a certain difficulty level?
Do you ever feel like you should be better at climbing considering the amount of effort you put into it?
Did you jump into lead climbing and trying to do climbs much more difficult than what you're ready for?

I'm not trying to "diss" anybody! We all climb because it's fun! But why is it fun for you?

Annapolis Rocks

2011-03-14T07:24:00.002-04:00

I had a short but fun day at Annapolis Rocks. If there's one word that sums the place up is ROOFS. Plenty of big and small roofs for everyone's enjoyment. It's near Frederick Maryland. Enjoy the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JQCl4U4CZ8

Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail bit by bit

2011-03-05T10:41:00.001-05:00

The Appalachian Trail is a 2,181 mile continuous footpath extending from Springer Mountain Georgia to Mt. Katahdin Maine. The AT is a popular trail for hikers all year long, but every year a select group of people decide to thru-hike it - walk the entire trail. This can be a life changing experience. They spend 5-6 months on the trail, spending time alone with their own thoughts or hanging out with other hikers. Many people also hike the trail in sections, they are called section-hikers. These people either have no wish to spend 6 months hiking or can't because of other committments. In either case, it is no easy task to walk 2,181 miles.

Ever since I knew what the AT was, I wanted to hike the whole thing. One day I will thru-hike the trail, but for the moment I am section hiking it. To date I have hiked 260 miles - I have a long way to go! Actually the total number of miles I have actually walked might be double that. I usually do out and back hikes, where I hike the same section on the return trip. I have also repeated several sections that I liked.

trail running on the AT

On the trail people bring camping gear, and can generally stop and camp at any point (although sometimes not legally). It is far easier to stay at the shelters though. These are located 5-15 miles apart and provide a nice place to camp, without having to set up a tent. There are downsides to staying at the shelters though. For one thing there are mice, and you must protect your food from them. For another, it can be noisy if there are other hikers there.

Typical shelter

I am always amazed at the people I meet on the trail, they are from all walks of life. However, when they are on the trail - they assume another identity. Thru-hikers have trail names and will introduce themselves with their trail names on the trail. In fact, many thru-hikers don't know their hiking friends real names.

Turtle and Trailbug

My own hike of the trail has been a mixture of traditonal overnight backpacking, day hiking, and trail running. I can usually get the most miles in trail running, often doing 20+ miles in a day. However there is just something nice about staying overnight on the trail. Relaxing by a campfire after a hard day on the trail, that is what backpacking is all about.

The AT is blazed with rectangular white blazes. If you want to hike the entire trail, just follow them and don't stop until you get to Maine!

If you would like to do a hike on the AT I suggest you get a guidebook. The one I recommend is called The AT Guide. It has all the logistical information on the trail that you need. And remember, hike your own hike!

A great day at the Reflector Oven, Old Rag Virginia

2011-03-03T22:35:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday I got out on rock for the first time this season. For the record it had been 3 months 20 days since I last went rock climbing. I did not get out on plastic, or bouldering, or any kind of rock climbing. Actually I did go ice climbing 2 times for a total of 6 pitches. I joined up with a group from the Potomac Mountain Club and we loaded up my car with 5 people and headed for Old Rag Mountain.

Old Rag is part of Shenandoah National Park and is near the town of Sperryville Va. To get there you want to park at the Berry Hollow trailhead. Then you take the dirt road uphill. There will eventually be a turn on the right onto a proper trail. You continue up the trail - steeply uphill - until you get to the summit of Old Rag. You will pass two day shelters on the way. Once you get to the sign pointing out the summit, you have to keep going on a meandering trail through, over, and under boulders. Eventually you start heading downhill again and you will find yourself among the forest once more. Then you look for a trail heading downhill to the right, which is near a 3 trunked tree. All this takes just under 2 hours.... if you know where you are going.

Strawberry Fields 5.9

Once you get to the base of the cliff, you should immediately stand back in awe of Strawberry Fields. It is an awesome looking hand crack that stretches on straight up through a very blank wall. This might be the best hand crack in the states of Virginia and West Virginia combined (yes including the New River Gorge). The grade is 5.9, but it's more of a super sustained 5.8.

Report to Sickbay 5.10c

Our group was quite large and there were many leaders among us. I can tell you that I'm probably the dumbest of them all because nobody else decided to get on Report to Sickbay for their first climb of the season. It goes at 5.10c, and was wet, awkward, and difficult. I had quite a time at the crux which was to exit the chimney and get out on the crack above. However once again I did prove that with a good belayer I can pretty much get to the top of anything.

Later that day I decided to re-climb it again on top-rope to at least prove to myself that I could do the moves in sequence. I made short work of it the second time. When will I learn to not warm-up on the hardest climb of the day?

One last thing, if you go to Old Rag to do some crack climbing, please tape up.

Nylon slings, why did I go back?

2011-03-01T18:51:00.004-05:00

This year I've decided to go with nylon slings for trad climbing. I bought some Black Diamond nylon runners which are cheap and will do the job fine. What I had been using previously were the "shoestring" Mammut 8mm slings. These are the ones that everyone has, and there's a good reason, they are very light, compact, and strong. I had 16 of them which I wanted to see if I could sell. I tried asking around and nobody wanted them. It turns out people don't like to buy used climbing gear. So I put them on ebay and sold them all in one day.

Nylon Pros:
1. cheap as hell
2. much better elastic properties
3. the ability to tie knots and connect slings with hitches
4. can substitute for cord when making friction knots (kleimheist and autoblock)

Nylon Cons:
1. weight
2. bulk

In my mind the pros far outweigh the cons. For most trad climbs I only carry 4-8 slings so it was a pretty minimal weight gain.

Here is what DMM says about Nylon vs Spectra.

Rock Climbing: 2010 Year in review

2011-01-28T10:51:00.000-05:00

I want to try to document, very loosely, the climbing that I've done. One thing that I've been doing is marking my guidebook with either a "/" or an "X". A "/" means that I climbed the route and got to the top, but it wasn't a clean lead. It could be a top-rope, second, or a lead with a hang or fall, but it wasn't a clean lead. An "X" means that it was a clean lead, and there is nothing more that I could do with it. If I attempted the climb and wasn't able to finish it at all it gets nothing. As you can see I put alot of emphasis on leading, and don't consider a climb fully climbed unless lead.

2010 was a pretty bad year for me. It was the year that I had to work Saturdays. Hence I was excluded from many weekend trips. Much of the climbing I did do was on Sundays. On the other hand, 2010 was the year that I was in the best physical shape of my life. I was not able to climb much, but I certainly was able to work out alot. I found that as long as I stay in shape I can pretty much tie in to a rope and pick up right where I left off. What follows is a quantitative summary of 2010.

2010

Total Days Rock Climbing: 18

Gunks: 7

Seneca Rocks: 6

Great Falls: 3

Annapolis Rocks: 1

Old Rag: 1

Indoor Climbing: 0

Sport Climbing: 0

5.11b -- hardest top-rope

5.9 -- 1 flash, 3 redpoint, 1 hangdog

Not bad considering I went on a trip about once every 3 weeks at most during the season.

Leashless tool conversion

2011-01-26T21:46:00.000-05:00

I resisted the leashless movement for years. Now I may have moved over to the dark side.

Pros:
1. Easy to shake out a pumped forearm
2. Faster to place screws and other protection whatever they might be
3. Easy to traverse since you can match on a tool
4. You can switch hands on a tool

Cons:

1. If your feet slip and you can't hold on then you fall

2. *Can't "rest" on your leashes

*The truth is I have never gotten any rest on a leash. I've only gotten an increased pump to my forearm, and decreased blood supply to my hands. Your weight should be on your feet anyway. So get off the leash and get on your feet.

Grivel Alp Wings baby!

My tool for 5 years has been the Grivel Alp Wing. A great tool. They don't make it anymore. With just a few small changes it turns into a great leashless tool. Steve House used a pair of these on the first alpine style ascent of the Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat - leashless. I figure I can claw my way up a local waterfall with them.

The first step in going leashless is to remove the leashes - duh. In my case they are the Grivel Easy-G leash. As far as leashes are concerned they are really excellent, and I recommend this style over the ridiculous clipper leashes. The first thing that goes when you're pumped is your fine motor control, and you really don't want to be messing around with tiny little clips on lead.

Next I wrapped the entire shaft up with some F4 tape. I would highly recommend this stuff. It's cheap, grippy, waterproof, and pretty long lasting. It literally fuses to itself with no adhesive. It's impossible to unwrap it after it has had a chance to fuse, which is about 1 day. If you want to remove it just cut it off, and it comes off clean no goop. The Petzl grip tape is the same thing but is $10 for 1 meter. The F4 tape is $17 for 36 feet. You do the math.

That's it for now.

Other future changes I would make:
-add some sort of additional hand support higher up, similar to the new Petzl Quark
-perhaps some sort of tether to prevent dropping them from high up

http://www.f4tape.com/

And I also put on some new picks ;)

Ice climbing at the Narrows

2011-01-18T23:19:00.000-05:00

After spending a few years ice climbing at every available opportunity, I've found myself fortunate to climb ice twice in the past two years! Well it turns out once you learn to ride a bike...

I had heard rumors about an ice cliff in Pennsylvania that would make you think you were in the Adirondacks, but I had put off going there for years. Mostly this was because I was actually going to the Adirondacks. But partly it was my disbelief that such a thing could exist. Well it does exist. And it is awesome!

gearing up

So I hooked up with Chaoqing who I had never met before but had heard good things about. He's done some alpine climbs in his native country of China, and has only been in the USA for a few months. Like myself, it had been awhile since he was on ice.

Main Gully

To start off with we decided to free solo up the Main gully. Nothing like a good solo to get your lead head in order! It was WI 2, super fun, and pretty long. If we had pitched it out, it may have been 2 rope stretchers.

After you climb the gully you reach a huge ampitheater. This probably has a dozen lines in good conditions, ranging from WI3 - WI 4+. There was a roped soloist there who was going down the line leading each one!

roped soloist Bill, using a Rock Exotica soloist

Each of us led a pitch. I was definitely feeling shaky placing those screws and climbing over the bulges, but I was ok. Then it goes from nice weather to full blizzard. We pretty much high-tailed it out of there and was sliding all over the road on the way home (in my 4x4).

Well I was hungry for more, but over the years I've gotten over my "Ice! Go! Now!" attitude. I waited til some ripe conditions were in place. I was properly awarded!

Ana

I headed back in 2 weeks with Ana and Steve. Ana is a very good rock climber who is just beginning to learn ice. However I had no doubt she would excel as usually people make the rock-ice transition in no time. Steve is an experienced high altitude climber who has been to the high point of every state except Hawaii!

Steve

To start I led up the Main Flow, which is 3 pitches and goes at WI 3+, WI 4, WI 3+. I made good work of P1 feeling myself "warm up" more and more.

Then I set up a top rope and we had an Ice Climbing 101 lesson for Ana. As expected it didn't take long for her to get the basics down. The only problem was that her crampon wasn't really compatible with her boot. We rigged something up, and she managed for the rest of the day.

Ana's crampon

After awhile Mark Elton joined us at the bottom of the cliff. He is an alpine climber who gave a slideshow about some of his climbs in Peru at the Seneca Rocks chili cook off last year. Mark had spent the morning soloing in the Main Gully and partnered up with us for the rest of the day.

Mark

We ended up heading over to Dead Deer Gully which we climbed in 2 pitches. That was honestly a bit spooky climbing over patches of frozen dirt and rocks, and some very thin slabby ice. But once we reached the top, it was definitely worth it! Lots of cool curtains, pillars, mixed climbing, all kinds of stuff. Mark headed off left with Steve and I went right with Ana. On my 3rd lead of the season I felt great. Definitely felt like I shook the rust off. After I lead it Ana seconds it easily, then I top-rope a much harder variation where I climb a delicate curtain with no feet. I essentially use my arm muscles to get myself up a few moves and then do a really wide stem to some small icicles on either side. Intense climbing, but I felt good, didn't fall, and didn't destroy the ice.

All in all a really fun time and a good start to the ice season.

Futureal

2010-12-07T10:32:00.000-05:00

Back in 2004 on my first trip to Seneca Rocks.

As climbers we often ask "if you could live anywhere, where would you live?". I hear people say Colorado, Utah, Washington, etc. What about the Gunks? It's one of the three original premier crags (including Yosemite and El Dorado). If I could have the Gunks in my backyard, have the Catskills an hour away, and the Dacks 3 hours away - I would be a very happy camper. Now I just have to figure out how to make it happen.