Giving Back

As rock climbers the core of what we do is extremely selfish.  To spend do much time, energy, and money just to go climb some rocks for our own enjoyment is about as selfish as it gets.  But one of the things I do to help justify this to myself is to volunteer with the Arkansas Climbers Coalition.  The ARCC is a nonprofit that is dedicated to taking care of the climbing areas is Arkansas.  And one of the biggest  projects lately has been bolt and anchor replacement.  This past week we organized a day bringing together over 20 people to replace 150 bolts.

We met at Sam's Throne and divided into teams with specific job assignments on our routes to fix.  I went out with a David, another experienced bolter, and Judith, who was new to this and eager to learn.  We quickly found our first route and formulated a plan to get the work done while we trained Judith on drilling, glueing, and removing bolts.

Getting the work done is always the main goal, but hanging out with friends and getting a little climbing in is a great bonus.  But knowing that we were doing work that will contribute to the climbing community as a whole is a good feeling.  And being able to train the next generation to take over makes the experience even more worthwhile.

Confessions of a climbing gym route setter

I really do enjoy watching you suffer.  They way you struggle to pull on that tiny little crimp makes me giggle.  When you grease off of that nasty sloper, I smile.  I like to see you strain and grunt and groan as you try to get the sit-start that I can barely do myself.  I like to see you lying there staring at my latest problem, my little momentary work of art, trying desperately to decipher the beta and finish the problem.  I stand back and silently coach you through the crux from across the gym.  I am pleased when it makes you work harder.  I am sad if everyone flashes the new problem, and sadder yet if no one climbs it at all.  I like watching you progress as a climber over time, from the first day you roll into the climbing gym and rent a pair of shoes, to the day you send your first V4 and come tell me about it excitedly.  I like to watch you grow stronger and leaner and become a better climber.  I feel a part of your success, and I feel partly responsible for your failures.  I enjoy witnessing the joy when you send your project and seeing the tiredness in your eyes when you leave at the end of the night.  Most of all, I like to watch you climb.

Dynamic Earth Rocktrip

This weekend I had the opportunity to take part in a very cool event at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch.  Dynamic Earth, the outdoor store from Springfield Mo was hosting their annual Rocktrip.  For a small fee participants got entry to HCR, camping for the weekend, guided climbing, dinner, beer, and a stainless steel pint glass.  I was there to help out and represent the Arkansas Climbers Coalition, the Access Fund, American Alpine Club, and Leave No Trace.

After a chilly start to the morning, and donuts and coffee provided by St. George's barbecue, the climbers headed out to enjoy a day on the rocks with perfect weather.  It was a good day off climbing seeing old and new friends having a good time.  But the real magic happened later.

The kegs were tapped late in the day as St. George's BBQ went to work on the dinner.  Climber rolled back to the pavilion and lined up for beer then opened their wallets for the ARCC raffle.

By the end of the night,  almost everyone went home with something from the raffle, and the ARCC had gathered more than $1500 in support of our efforts.  This is cash from climbers that will go right back into the rocks that they love to climb.  A huge thanks to Matt Lyons and the staff at a Dynamic Earth for putting together such a great event and raising so much money for the ARCC.  I can't wait for next year!

An Easy 36

For the past 8 years I've competed in 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch.  Every year, I've tried to up the ante by doing more routes, getting more points, or just improving my score.  But this year caught me an my partner David Carpenter in a tough spot.  David and his wife had just had their second baby in early September, I had had just closed on a new house and moved the weekend before Hell.  So needless to say, we were not as prepared as we would normally be.  So we put any plans for big numbers, and multiple routes on the back burner and set our sights on another goal that had never been done.  Our mission was to climb at least one route in every section of the ranch, at the same time not repeating any routes as is allowed in the rules.  And since we didn't really care about how we did, we dubbed ourselves "Team Honey Badger."

But being the glutton for punishment that I am, I also decided to compete in the 12 hour competition the day before 24 HHH.  And since David Carpenter had to work that day, I hooked up with David Harrison who was in need of partner as well.  Harrison and I talked strategy on the drive to HCR and quickly agreed on one that worked for both of us.  He wanted to go for 100 routes in 12 hours, and I just wanted to be there climbing.  So I spent the day catching Harrison on 105 routes and slipping 14 pitches of my own while he rested.  It was a great low stress day with very little crowd and a good chill vibe.  A great warm-up for the main event 24HHH.

Friday dawned bright and sunny and I was still feeling fresh from the previous days climbing.  We geared up and got started with the shot gun blast.  It was fun to not be in such a rush and head to new areas that we don't usually see during 24.  We started off at Magoo Rock and the quickly made our way to Orange Crush picking up a few open routes along the way.  Orange Crush is the tallest pitch at HCR clocking in at 90 feet and 14 bolts.  After knocking off this end of the horseshoe, we headed north and picked up a climb at every section all the way to the Goat Cave.  This was a fun part of the day because we spent several hours climbing by ourselves in the areas that seldom see much traffic during the competition.

We made it to the Goat Cave just in time to enjoy the hottest part of the day with little to no shade.  It was my first time to visit the Goat Cave which is home to a large roof and several intimidating climbs.  So after watching David string up a good 5.10c, I soaked up all of the beta I could I flashed it in the blazing sun, and was glad to be done with half of the horseshoe.

From the Goat Cave at the top of the horseshoe, we continued southwestward toward the Land Beyond, the North 40, and most of the competitors.  Much as we expected, the North 40 was pretty busy already, so we breezed through quickly and continued on our grand tour.  We accomplished our goal of visiting every area by 10 p.m., only 12 hours into the comp. We tagged 21 different areas, logged over fifty climbs each, and hiked countless miles!  But along the way we got see lots of old and new friends, drink some beer, and have plenty of fun.  I can't wait to see what the 9th annual 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell has to offer next year!