Another climbing gym in Boulder?
April 9, 2008
The ClimbingNarc reports that a new climbing gym is coming to Boulder.
Why is this news? There’s already three good sized gyms in Boulder already. But as I found out in my trip to Boulder a couple weeks ago, everyone you meet there is a climber. I’d love to see actual numbers on what percentage of the population in Boulder actually considers themselves a climber though.
It’s a safe bet that the founders of this new gym did their research and the demand is there. On a personal note, now that I’m moving out there, I welcome more indoor climbing gym opportunities!
To be honest, I’m having a hard time going to my local climbing gym with the prospect of having bigger and better gyms available in the very near future. Ahh, a tough problem to have, right?
Popularity: 13% [?]
Cleaning new bouldering problems in Virginia
March 29, 2008
I just returned from a great bouldering session today at a new, yet to be named, area in Virginia. It’s hard to believe that these boulders have not been developed yet due to their proximity to the Appalachian Trail; but the dirt, shrubbery, heavy lichen, and lack of chalk say otherwise.
There are a few local climbers cleaning problems and developing this mini-area so as I get more info I’ll post it. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera today so no pictures yet. I hope to get out there later this week and take some shots and clean some more nice problems.
Popularity: 15% [?]
New Hampshire’s Whitehorse Slabs skied
January 12, 2008
Anne Skidmore posts some amazing pictures of Jim Surette and Dan Corn skiing Whitehorse Slabs in New Hampshire.
The fact that they skied down a route I climbed up in the past (Standard Route, 5.5) blows my mind.
Climbing.com has additional coverage.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Fall bouldering in New England - Lincoln Woods and Pawtuckaway
December 7, 2007
B3bouldering.com has two great posts up on bouldering in Lincoln Woods, Rhode Island and Pawtuckaway, New Hampshire.
I’ve climbed several times at Rumney a few years back, but never had the chance to go bouldering at Pawtuckaway. From the pics, it looks like I need to get back up there sometime.
For more bouldering info on these areas, check out Lincoln Woods Bouldering and New England Bouldering.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Pictures of a Sloper Problem at Bozoo
November 18, 2007
Last weekend I managed to take some decent shots of an unnamed (I think) sloper problem at Bozoo, WV. The problem is roughly V2/V3 and is located in front of the warm up boulders at Bozoo (on the left side as one heads up to the Iceberg and the cliff line).
Popularity: 6% [?]
How to stop climbers from using bolt holes as mono pockets
November 14, 2007
Routesetter.com teaches how to stop climbers from using the bolt hole as a mono in the gym. At first I thought this was humorous, then I remembered how many times I’ve seen climbers try using them as pockets (especially those with tiny fingers).
1. Take a two-foot (or so) long piece of standard issue setting tape.
2. Loosely bundle the piece of tape into a cylinder-shaped ball that is longer than it is wide.
3. Stuff it. Shove that ball of tape into the offending bolthole. Be careful not to pack it in unless you never plan on moving the hold again.You may have to put more tape in the hole to fill it up. But using one single long piece will make it much easier when its time to get it out. Try to make the tape flush to the holds as best you can.
Check out the article for pictures on their steps. There’s also a nice follow-up discussion in the comments.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Bouldering at Bozoo
October 22, 2007
The weather is finally turning and we saw some cooler temps this past weekend. It was a great opportunity to get the bouldering season underway at a local crag called Bozoo Rocks in southern West Virginia.
At about only 45 minutes away, Bozoo has been the local crag for Virginia Tech students and Blacksburg residents for years. Offering both routes and boulders, the rock is the same sandstone as the New River Gorge. During their time in Blacksburg, many climbers including Kenny Parker and Swiss Andy, left their mark on the crag.
The following are some pictures of Jon attempting a dyno on a V5/6 (French Tit?) across the stream near Savory Wall. The problem traverses left to right from the small flake/corner in the left of the picture to set up the dyno.
Setting up
Going for the dyno
Missing!
Here’s a shot of me on the classic Pocket Problem, V4
The entire set of pictures from our bouldering session at Bozoo can be found here.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Coopers Rock bouldering guide
October 3, 2007
Dan Brayack recently released his bouldering guide to Coopers Rock, WV. Published by Falcon Guides, the guide contains over 400 problems concentrated in 3 major areas.
As I’m originally from Western PA, I’ve climbed at Coopers numerous times over the years and can tell you that this guide was sorely needed. Using beta from fellow boulderers and hand-drawn guides on the web, I managed to enjoy myself on the nice gritstone. But a guide is a must for the maze-like array of boulders at Coopers.
Make the trip and pick up a guide before you go. It’s about 3-3.5 hours from the DC area and unfortunately 4 hours for me down here in Blacksburg.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Interviewed at local climbing gym by BigLickU
June 30, 2007
To get free climbing at my bouldering gym, I volunteer twice a month. The last evening I worked, two students visited for the first time while writing a story for a regional college web site called BigLickU.
A few of my comments were taken out of context (the gym does set routes and I most definitely did not call it “choose your own adventure”), but it’s an overall good article.
They took two short videos as well. Here is one of them. Feel the frustration of the first time climber:
Check out the full article here.
Popularity: 8% [?]
New Rumbling Bald Bouldering Guidebook Available This Fall
June 8, 2007
The Carolina Climbers Coalition reports that a new Rumbling Bald Bouldering guidebook will be available this fall at Southeast retailers.
Features include an full color format, nearly 900 boulder problems described, topos and photos of problems, and general area-specific information.
More info can be found here (PDF).
Popularity: 10% [?]
Scandinavian Mountaineering site
May 27, 2007
A new, very polished site was pointed out to me that covers Scandinavian mountains over 2000 meters. The site contains detailed information including climbing and walking routes, high quality photos, and a lot of info on the area.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Build your own climbing gym padding
May 26, 2007
The Bouldering Guide blog has a useful post on building your own padding for indoor climbing walls.
Popularity: 10% [?]
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