The Beginning of the End

This week marks the beginning of the end of an era for me. I am entering the last semester of my Masters of Accountancy program. This December I complete my academic career at SUU. This means change is on the horizon.  Cedar City will be left behind for a new destination.  This means a lot of changes in lifestyle but hopefully living near a climbing gym will allow me to build my level of climbing with a smaller time commitment.  This change won't come a moment too soon, as I am running out of climbs to do in the cedar area. I love establishing a new route or boulder problem but it is nice to have an established route at your limit,  already knowing that it is possible helps when you are pushing your limits.
One thing this situation that this has forced me to do is climbing in less trafficked areas.  A rediscovery was made by my good friend Ryan a few weeks ago. A week ago I finally made the hike in and find two abandoned and neglected routes located on a giant boulder.  Both routes stand only about 35 feet tall but both are steeply overhung which is a bit of a novelty for Cedar Canyon.  Upon closer inspection I found that due to flooding their was about a half an inch of mud completely coating the entire bottom ten feet of both routes. Also all the hangers have been removed, the empty bolts and cold shuts at the top are the only indication that this piece of rock ever saw an ascent.
I contacted an former local and he said that back around 2001 it was bolted but only one of them was ever able to get to the top of the routes so they quickly took the hangers and put them up on a route that they deemed more worthy.
Rachel and I hiked in yesterday armed with brushes and brooms to try and clean the routes up. Immediately we found that the mud had dried rock hard and the brushes had a limited effect.  After many failed efforts at trying to ship it away with rocks and sticks we decided to try water. Unfortunately we only brought one Nalgene bottle. Luckily the river was only about 15 feet away, after a bit of effort it started  working and the mud started to quickly slide off revealing solid gray limestone hidden underneath.  After getting very muddy we were able to clear off the bottom of both routes.  A lot of the cleaning is out of reach so rather than hang from a rope hauling buckets were have plans to head back today with homemade "waterzookas" and finish cleaning it up.
I am excited to have a new sport climbing opportunity so close to home.  It is a great setting located only feet from a river and surrounded by tall cliffs.  The routes were never documented to my knowledge and probably haven't seen an ascent since 2001. They appear from the ground to be 12+ but only time will tell.
Here are some pics of the area and the clean up.

Training Journal: Preparing for Cooler Temps

Nothing can be done about the temps but when the temps cool off I want to ensure that I am ready to climb at my peak.  Living in Cedar City makes this difficult due to the lack of a proper climbing gym. I have spent the past year trying to find effective ways to train at home with limited resources. I will be keeping a workout journal on the blog in hopes that it can give ideas to others trying to take their climbing to the next level without a climbing gym.  A disclaimer is necessary, I am not a professional so don't follow any workout I put up as you could injure yourself.  Also I found a system that works for me so no guarantees that you will see any results.

Today it felt good to get back to my workout as I have taken a 15 day break from training to allow a general recovery period for the summer.  I tried a new bike route out today that heads up cedar canyon then goes across most of cedar city. Cycling is a new addition to my workout, in an effort to increase my general fitness level. I have found that I really enjoy it and hope to improve my abilities.

Yoga is also a fairly new addition. Last spring I found that I was unable to do a move on a problem in Moe's valley due to a lack of flexibility in my hips.  I hope to send the problem, Bazooka Tooth v10, quickly this fall with an increased level of flexibility.  You can see my good friend Adam Ryder sending the problem on the video I put up.

A side note, I was reading an article in outside magazine and found out that Paul Robinson can do three one arm pull-ups on each arm. Time for a new workout goal, three one arm pull-ups on each arm. I am up to two on a good day, so I'm close. I will update with a video when I hit three.

Workout: Aug. 22, 2011

Cycling- 7.8 Miles - Time 36:25

Yoga- Forward bends routine  21 min, Hip opener routine 25 min

FINGERBOARD WORKOUT
Minute			Exercises
0:00	-	1:00	6			Pullups	Med. edge
1:00	-	2:00	10 sec		Hang		Flat sloper	4	Pullups	Med. edge
2:00	-	3:00	20 sec		Hang		Small edge	4	Pullups	3 Finger P.
3:00	-	4:00	30 sec.		Hang		Jugs	6	Pullups	Med. edge
4:00	-	5:00	20 sec		Hang		Sloper	6	Pullups	3 Finger P.
5:00	-	6:00	10 sec		Hang		Med. edge	4	Pullups	Small edge
6:00	-	7:00	20 sec		Hang		Jugs	4	Pullups	Sloper
7:00	-	8:00	10		Pullups		Med. edge
8:00	-	9:00	6		Pullups		Large edge
9:00	-	10:00	Max Hang on Round slopers
10:00	-	15:00	REST
At comfortable pace
			6 sec.	1 arm hang				4x each arm Lg. edge
			6 sec.	1 arm hang				4x each arm Med. edge
			6 sec.	hang				4x Med. 2 finger pocket
			6 sec.	hang				4x Lg. 2 finger pocket
			20 sec.	hang				Etch Pinch
			10 sec.	hang				Etch Pinch

                  

Weights

Curls: 30 lbs, 4 sets of 6, Time 3:03

Bench: 30 lbs dumbbells, 4 sets of 12, Time 3:30

Triceps kickback: 10 lbs 4 sets of 12, Time 3:00

Shoulder Press: 30 lbs, 4 sets of 6, Time 3:30

(I have limited weight so I try and do more in less time.)

Leg lifts:

bent leg center, 20 reps

1 min rest

bent leg left , 20 reps

1 min rest

bent leg right, 20 reps

1 min rest

straight leg center, 20 reps

(Total time 7 min)

I time my workouts to ensure the intensity is kept high. 

Lion's Den Project

I have recently been trying to develop a new bouldering area to the west of Cedar city. The Haven is a huge boulder field of solid welded tuft full of potential, from steep roofs to high ball slabs. Several problems V0-V3 have been put up along with one gem I was lucky to FA, Too Legit to Quit V8.

  In searching the area I found an amazing cave that I have dubbed The Lions Den.  It took a lot of cleaning but a hard line has been uncovered. The only problem now is the heat.  In order to work some beta Rachel and I headed out for a night session.  I was able to do all the moves but one on the project.  It seems like it will be a next level climb for me, I'm still not sure how hard its going to be.  All the potential foot holds seem just out of reach for me, the toe hooks required on the roof are very small and the toe box of aggressive shoes won't grab. One trick I have employed is wearing two different shoes.  The very aggressive Red Chili Matador on one foot and the La Sportiva  Muira VS, my go-to shoe, on the other foot.  I'm pretty psyched that things are coming together because the first time I tried it I wasn't sure it was possible.