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The past few years I have spent the majority of my free time climbing in Chaos Canyon. Although having a full time job has severely limited my climbing this summer I try to get out as much as I can. Having done several great problems up in the Park I thought I would turn my attention towards Mt. Evans as the temperatures cool off.

Sunday was a brilliant fall day. The aspen shivered in the brisk temperatures, their golden leaves contrasting beautifully with bright blue sky.

The clouds rolled in and conditions were very nice. Angela and I were both psyched to try Clear Blue Skies, a V12 put up by Harry Robertson on the Dali Wall. This is the ultimate crimp ladder. I had tried it one other day this summer, falling off the last move several times before splitting my tip really badly. It took me a bit to refigure out my beta but I managed to get the send and thankfully didn’t split my tip. Ang. climbed very well for her first day on the problem and did all the moves quickly.

Clear Blue Skies

She even fell off the final jump on a number of attempts. I am sure we will head back in the coming weeks. We also climbed with Flannery Shay-Nemirow. She has been trying Clear Blue Skies as well and is very close, herself falling off the last move. This spring Flan did the first female ascent of Center Route at Morrison, a burly V10 that is considered by John Sherman to be the standard for the grade.

Also, James O’Connor added a new problem at Area A called Useless Tools. The problem starts on two obvious edges to the left of Seaurat in the cave and makes a campus move to a good crimp. James thought it could be as hard as V11 and I suggested V9, although I just did it to the jug and dropped off.

Saturday we went to Ft. Collins to present our slideshow for the Horsetooth Hang. I was looking forward to climbing some of the classic problems at Rotary Park absent from my ticklist. The weather was cool and the sun was hidden in the clouds for a while in the morning. I warmed up and much to my surprise I did the cruz move of the Moon Arete V10. I had sporadically tried this problem ever since I moved to Colorado and it seemed to be impossible. Suddenly the door had opened and I stepped on in, completing it soon afterwards. I think every climber can appreciate the moment when what was once impossible becomes a reality.

The Moon Arete V10

FA Ben Moon

I had one more climbing goal for the day and that was the Holy Grail of Horsetooth Bouldering, The Pinch Overhang. This boulder lies on the Mental Block and was established by John Gill in the winter of 1967-8. The first ascent was flashed on top rope and it has gone on to become one of the most well known problems in America. I was very psyched to climb this superb problem. I felt strong and established both feet on the rock before jumping to the lip. I fell a couple of times matching the lip, but on my third try grabbed the sidepull, got my foot up and rocked over, pressing out the dreamy mantle. Often times problems that have alot of historical significance are climbed only for that reason. However, The Pinch Overhang remains an absolute classic. Perfect Dakota Sandstone, unique holds, movement and a commiting and technical mantel. I highly recommend this problem to aspiring and veteran boulderers alike.

There were a bunch of people at the after party and its really nice to be able to share our amazing Switzerland trip with so many people. I want to thank Cameron for all of his hard work and everyone who came out to support us.

A few years back Chris Sharma put up an absolutely stunning line in the forest of Magic Wood, CH. It climbs out of a large cave on outstanding rock and with slopers and pinches. It has gone unrepeated for several years but now my good buddy Ty Landman has made the second ascent. Ty is suggesting 8C or V15 for this majestic line. I asked Bernd Zangerl if he had tried it when I was in Switzerland in the spring and he told me it was kind of scary and hard to get enough pads. Well done, Tyler!

This Saturday I will be climbing and presenting some of our best slides afterwords from our recent travels at the Horsetooth Hang. It should be a good time for all! For more information check out www.horsetoothhang.net

I just got an email from Jon Linhart, a boulder climber who has climbed in Chaos Canyon for longer than I have. He informed me that the problem Justin and I have been calling A Sinister Secret was actually put up by Paul Otis, probably around 2002 or so. Jon also told me that Paul did the first ascent to the stand start of what I have been calling the Pterodactyle. Here are his words exactly

“jamie just thought id let u know that many of the problem you and jj have been claiming as FAs are ctually problems FAed by Paul Otis and repeated by both me and Jim Belcer (such as sinister secret really called toolshed left FA Paul otis 2nd Jim Belcer 3rd Jon Linhart, and same as the stand to the problem you are calling Pterodactyl) dont really care much but just thought id let you know. Jon”

These are the kinds of emails I always encourage and appreciate. Even though it seemed evident that we had both done first ascents, new information has arisen and I always feel that accuracy is of the utmost importance. Jon is a reputable source and I certainly appreciate his input. In the past, this kind of information would be lost, or written down as a mistake in a guidebook. Now with the internet, fast and accurate updates can be made daily, if necessary.
Speaking of mistakes in guidebooks, despite all of our efforts both Falcon and Bob Horan are moving forward with their guide book, which will be hitting shelves very soon. Again, I recommend saving your money as this book is filled with errors. I did get a chance to look over it thoroughly and, as I suspected, the misinformation is widespread. Please, if you read this website and have a question about anything pertaining to bouldering in the Front Range I will happily guide you in the right direction, either personally or through someone more knowledgeble then myself.

MVM has a new video of Justin Jaeger doing the FA of Sinister Secret V10, which is a sit start to a problem I put a few weeks ago called Secrets or Lies. There is also footage of me getting the second ascent of the Pterodactyle V12. Check it out at www.momentumvm.com. The videos are free, simply register!

Saturday I went up to the Vedauwoo/Organic Bouldering Comp. Vedauwoo has a reputation for poor rock quality and most people feel its worth a visit once a year or so. I felt that way for a long time, however it has been growing on me recently. Amidst the choss there are some real gems, and who could complain about the amount of rock, the scenery or the relative lack of access concerns. Some of the problems that stand out in my mind are Analog, Building Blocks, and the striking Daisy Cutter Arete. In fact recently one ambitious local bouldered out an old Todd Skinner toprope called Skinner’s Reprise. This 35 ft line has got to be one of the more impressive problems in the Front Range.
I had my sights set a bit lower. I warmed up by flashing a lackluster V8 called Mary. Angie split her tip very badly on the send on a sharp crystal and was out of commission for the rest of the day.

Mary V8 photo Justin Jaeger

I escaped any damage and walked around to the other side of the boulder. One of the better problems there was put up by motivated local guidebook author Davin Bagdonas. Davin has a great eye for a line and has done alot for Wyoming bouldering in the last few years. Weak Become Heroes is a great V10 20ft from the parking lot. It took a while to remember the beta but Justin Jaeger and I finished it together in the warmth.

Weak become Heroes V10 photo Jaeger

We headed over to the infamous Bob 69 project. I really wish this didn’t get as much attention as it does. It is very obvious but the rock is sickeningly sharp and after a few goes we moved on. Andre did all the moves but couldn’t stay motivated to finish it up.

I climbed a very nice slab near there called Old Yeller that had a very hard move off the ground.
We walked up the hill and I flashed a couple more V8s including an really nice dyno problem called the Gamlin. Suddenly it was 4pm and time was running out. I thrutched my way up a couple more problems but I could only squeeze two more in, one of which was the crimpy and technical Cracked Sky. I only managed 7 problems from the requisite 10 and I knew I was out of the running. I did have a very nice day however, repeating a V10, flashing 3 8s, a V7, climbing another v7 and that hard slab. Congrats to Justin Jaeger and Ashley Lloyd for their winning performances. All in all good fun and I look forward to returning in colder temps.
I want to thank Josh Helke, Davin Bagdonas, Organic Crashpads and the Cross Country Connection for all of their hard work! It was a great comp!

We all headed back to Laramie and had a nice dinner. My very first slideshow went well and I look forward to doing a more in-depth talk at the Horsetooth Hang, at which I will be presenting this Saturday in Ft. Collins.

Paper Cuts V10 FA

This Saturday I am headed up to Vedauwoo for the bouldering comp. Registration starts at 10AM and afterwords I will be giving a slide show of some of the best bouldering in Switzerland. For more information call the Cross Country Connection at 307-721-2851.

Check out www.momentumvm.com for video of Angie Payne climbing European Human Being V12!

Several weeks ago I was searching for new boulder problems. In Upper Chaos I stumbled upon a majestic dihedral, one worthy of a strong effort. Putting up new problems is hard work and often takes alot of time and effort. The first day I felt like this problem would go I scrubbed and cleaned the lower holds and figured out the sequence. This took up the majority of my climbing day. In preparation for the next day, I got a nice new static line to rappel down and thoroughly cleaned the upper sections of the dihedral and try and clean and figure a sequence for the top out. This again took up a good chunk of my day but by the time I was finished I had a sequence down for the top section. With a good effort in fading light I made it through the lower section of finger-y and tension-y climbing but fell on the upper part. The third day I decided to at least climb the stand start. This starts matched on an obvious flat hold. It climbs some really nice moves on classic Chaos Canyon rock to a heady and commiting, but easy topout. I felt that this problem would be popular in its own right and called it The Pterodactyl V8 or V9.

Pterodactyl

Pterodactyl FA

I tried several times to do the full upward rising traverse into the start but kept falling on the punchy end.

Yesterday, I came back ready to see my vision come to fruition. Andre DeFelice, who was on his way up to Jade, happen to stop by, and with all the beta sussed out did the moves quickly. He fell a few times on the upper section but was determined to do the FA, and with the light fading he fired it, just moments after a near send on my part. I was tired and my final attempt was a lackluster one.
Sunday I came back and after several burns from the start and a key change of beta, I managed the second ascent. I think this problem is one of the best new lines in Colorado and it has been nice to see it come to be. There hasn’t been too much talk of a grade but after talking to several strong climbers my suggestion is V12. The stand start has been repeated several times (Nic Oklubja, Brian Camp, Andre DeFelice and flashed by Tommy Caldwell) and everyone seems very psyched. I got some nice footage from the send. Thanks to everyone who came by, gave encouragement and spotted! The problem lies just before Riddles in the Park in Upper Chaos. Enjoy!

Check out Hayden Miller’s blog www.iclimbrocks.blogspot.com for more nice pictures.