Last Saturday I went up to Upper Chaos with Brian Capps. I was psyched on Eternia V11. There are only a couple problems V12 or harder that I haven’t done yet in Upper Chaos. One of which is Leviathan Style, which has gone unrepeated since a hold broke. The other is Jade, Daniel’s new V15. There are a couple other easier hard problems in Upper that I haven’t done, including Blake Rutherford’s Cessation of Cardiac Palpatitain V11, Barbed Wire Beard V11, Kawa V11, and Yamma Momma V10/11. Blake’s problem looks interesting although I haven’t tried it yet, and Yamma Momma looks really very good as well.
Anyways, I tried Eternia on Sat. and it took me awhile to figure out my beta. I finally started trying from the start but I was too tired to finish it. It is very long problem, maybe 14 roof moves with my beta.
I was very sore on Sunday from the phsyical climbing and hoped that maybe I would get three solid burns from the start. I got warmed up and on my first try I fell walking my feet out to the lip of the roof. I fell in the same spot on my second try and was starting to wonder if I had it in me to finish. With one final effort I got psyched up and held on. I think this problem is unique to Chaos with its big holds and hard undercling moves. I was certainly glad the end didn’t turn into an epic as I have seen so many times. Wade David got the send on video so I am sure that will pop up soon enough. In regards to the grade, it seems that when compared to a similar style problem (Right Martini) it doesn’t seem to be of similar difficulty. That wraps up last week of climbing and I am ready to head back up to the Park this weekend. I have scoped several new projects and now that I have done almost everything in Upper Chaos I am psyched on establishing some new hard classics of my own. There are two problems on my mind for Lower Chaos, Freshly Squeezed V12/13 and the Automater V13. I am just waiting unitl September and cooler temps to put some effort into these classics.
Here is some footage of Irish Si sending Reternia, which climbs the line to the right of Eternia via some wild toe hooks and tension. Daniel Woods did the FA last year and it was repeated by Jon Cardwell, Tyler Landman, Carlo Traversi, Matt Tschol, Ryan Olson, Seth Allred and myself last year.
Here is some video from Chad Greedy. Angela had done the Hydrotwist a few days earlier and was trying to make the repeat. It also has my ascent of the Dead Racoon V11. If you haven’t seen it on Chad’s blog already, check it out here.
Last weekend Angela traveled to Maryland to compete in the invite only ASCI climbing competition. Ang. finished 2nd and Lizzy Asher won first for the Women. Sean McColl edged out Daniel Woods for first in the mens. Check out www.e-grips.com for a short write up and some pics.
The theme this week is Upper Chaos. Here is some video of Tyler Landman, in the socks, putting the hurt on Left El Jorge V11, in a few goes. Well done!
Last week, I climbed 6 out of 9 days. Conditions were generally good, and I sent a bunch of great problems. After I did Riddles in the Park, Andre DeFelice showed me a new problem called The Aristocrat. Jeff Landman had done the first ascent a few days earlier and I thought it looked pretty cool. Andre showed me the beta and I did it quicky.
The problem has very nice, polished holds. The movement is unique, not awkwardly so but really technically interesting. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the boulder. It felt to be about V10, but if someone figured out some new beta, the grade could certainly change. Very nice job Jeff. Another great new problem in RMNP. Here is the video of my ascent.
The Aristocrat V9
Update: I went up to Upper Chaos last night and ran another lap on The Aristocrat, seems to be more V9 than V10. Either way, a nice problem. More importantly, I have several new projects in the work that will be very good when completed.
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Last year I discovered an amazing unclimbed roof in upper Chaos. I put chalk all over the holds while Lee Payne and Ryan Olson mocked me. A few days later I had established a 7 move roof problem which I named Riddles in the Dark V10. The problem is named for the chapter in “The Hobbit” in which Bilbo wins the ring from Gollum. It starts on an obvious triangular shaped jug. I thought I had done the full problem, but the snow melted in the next few weeks and Paul Robinson established the lowest start which he renamed Riddles in the Park V12. It has gone on to become a very classic problem, yet it has only been done a few times. Last Sunday I hiked up and worked the moves on the stand start. I returned on Wed. to dig it out and send it from the low. The snow was still high. I quickly linked it from two moves in and realized that the only thing that was stoping me now was the snow. I dug out furiously, set the crashpads down and sent it on my fourth go from the start. I never expected to do the problem so quickly, but very psyched to finish it off. I have filmed several problems over the past few days and I should have a new one up every day this week. Enjoy!
Update: The last hold before the jug broke at the end of last year making the Riddles in the Dark a little bit easier. I think the sit is still probably V12. More ascents will confirm both grades.
Here’s some video of a popular problem from Chaos Canyon, Gang Bang Arete V8. It’s usually one of the first problems people try when they go up to the Park. Put up by Dave Graham in 2000, it has a reputation for being hard and tricky. Its been flashed by a few, campused by many, and now a new take on an old classic.
I’m sorry for the lack of updates. We are in the process of purchasing a new computer. I have been getting out a lot and I have a bunch of videos and pictures. Look for them Monday morning.
I don’t have many thoughts from today. I had a good time with some fun people in the mountains of Colorado. I tried hard, I got scared and I laughed. This is what the alpine climbing experiance is all about.
Nic on the amazing Timeline V0, one of the best problems at Mt. Evans
