The Weekend - Ryan

Started off the weekend yesterday with a trip out to Grandmother with Taylor, where we were meeting up with our friend Shane to climb. We planned out trying Sunday Service (V11), but due to rain on Friday some of the holds were wet. So, we decided to put some work into Full Throttle (V11). I had never actually tried this problem before and was psyched to try the moves. The problem is on a slightly overhanging arete that is pretty technical, but powerful at the same time. With a little work I was able to pull the start moves and I fell slapping the lip! The move to the lip is big, and I am just slightly too short to reach the hold from the good right foot as most people do. So, I either will have to get a high left foot or jump for the sloping lip...we'll see later this week which way seems more doable. I am psyched on Full Throttle now! After we were done with Full Throttle and Talyor had busted his knee off the rock a few times we drove to blowing rock to try some dryer problems. First stop was Flagyl (V10). I decided to try for a repeat send and after falling off the first move twice I was able to send again! I was super excited that I was able to repeat Flagly so quickly. Shane and Taylor were both making great work on it. Shane looked super strong on it and was able to send it in just a short session! Great work. Next we headed down to Room with a View (V10).

This problem comes out of a roof and goes up a face. The crux is the transition from underneath the roof out onto the face, and the roof moves involve lots of core tension while the transition has a key right heel hook that is hard to get. Taylor had sent this problem last week and repeated it first try! He looked super effortless and it was inspiring. With the mew beta, first go I fell off the hard bump move that transitions you onto the face. I couldn't believe I fell with my hand on the hold. With the beta, Shane made very fast work of the moves and was falling at the crux. After smashing his face into the wall on one attempt he was able to put it together and send! As for me, my heel hook did not seem to want to stay and I fell at the crux move multiple times. Eventually I decided to revert back to the original beta and I sent after a few goes using that beta! I was pumped on the top out and almost blew it! I a super glad to have done Room with a View. For the last stop of the day we headed to Squeeze Job (V10). The three of us quickly figured out the moves, which involve crimps, pinches, meat hooks, heel hooks, and of course squeezing. We were all starting it get tired, but all still felt so close to the send. We spent the larger part of the session falling off the finishing move. Each of us had to have fallen off the move 5-10 times, and I even stuck to hold and held the swing once before falling off. After a while we all decided that we were too tired and it would have to wait for another day. After all, we had already had an awesome day of sending! That night Taylor and I decided we didn't want to wait long to go back and try Squeeze Job because we both thought it would go down fast if we had fresh muscles. So, we planned to beat the noon rain today and go to try and send Squeeze Job. Our friend Doug drove up from Clemson to climb for the day and having his extra energy and psych was great! He had just sent Ominous Roof (V9) on his way here and we all headed down to Squeeze Job. Just as we had thought, both Taylor and I both were able to send Squeeze Job in just a short session! Doug was making awesome work on the problem and did all the moves, although he wasn't able to link them today.
By this time it had started to rain. We took Doug to Room with a View in hopes that it was staying dry and he was close to the send on that too. In the rain we thought it'd be a good idea to head to a boulder problem called Mad Cow (V10) at Cow Pie because Taylor said it would be dry for sure. This 10 is supposed to be the first V10 in Boone, so I was excited to try it. However, upon arrival we found the boulder to be dripping wet and it had started to rain again, but this time harder. We huddled under the roof and tried to dry off the holds and at least climb some of the problem. It was just too wet though and we had to give up. Mad Cow is an awesome problem though and I can't wait to try it when the conditions are good! Squeeze Job:

Send Train - Ryan

So, I went out climbing the past two days after my classes had concluded for the day. Yesterday I was itching to climb outside, but was still pretty fatigued from being up for about 24 hours due to traveling back to the east coast and what not. However, I decided it was too nice of a day not t get outside and play around on some rocks. My last class ended at 4:30 and Leanna and I headed out to Blowing Rock shortly after that. I hadn't been on Room with a View (V10) since last semester and decided I wanted to work that some. We hiked straight to Room with a View and Leanna told me about some beta that she had been trying to use for the crux move. It involved a left heel hook instead of the usual right and made the move feel sooo much easier. I was able to do the crux move and top it out right away! I was feeling psyched that I had found new beta that made the problem feel much easier. However, after trying the problem from the start a few times, and falling at the crux, I began to feel very fatigued and couldn't do moves that had felt easy 30 minutes before. I figured the fatigue was due to lack of sleep and decided to pack it up and come back for the send on a fresh day. I am psyched to get back out and try to put this problem down! By this time it was dark and we made one more stop at Desperate Bitch (V8), which neither of us tried much, before heading out for the night. We made plans to go to the Upper Area at Grandmother today around 3:00. We met my friend Taylor and his friend Nate out there. First stop was Raw Meat sit (V9). The start move wasn't as sharp and painful as I had expected and I was able to flash the crux move into the start jug of Raw Meat (V7). First go I fell on the 7 section and sent the problem a few goes later after figuring out the big move. After that, I tried a variation to Novocain (V6) which does the Raw Meat low move, then goes into Novocain. I was told that it clocked in at 10, but after flashing the problem I didn't think that felt right. The problem did involve some difficult moves on very sharp holds, but V9 seems like a more realistic grade for the variation. I was psyched on having sent two 9's in just a handful of attempts and the rest of the gang was making great progress of Raw Meat sit. Taylor was next to send Raw Meat low! A little bit later a Nate - Leanna send train happened! It was so cool to have everybody send the problem. Next, Leanna and I headed down to try Clamper (V8) while Nate and Taylor hiked out for the day. Clamper is a short slopey/pinchy problem, and it was nice to not be on sharp crimps. At first it felt hard, but then the beta just clicked and I sent in a handful of attempts! It was now getting dark and we made one last stop at Nintendo Thumb (V7/8). This problem is another Boone crimper problem and has two different starts. The higher start (on the Nintendo Thumb crimp) is a 7, while the two move lower start is an 8. For the low start I basically had to lay down to establish and move....that's how low it is. I was not psyched at all on this start and decided the slightly higher start would be a much more fun problem. After giving up on the super low, sharp start I sent it from the V7 start. At this point both Leanna and I were happy with our day's and hiked out of the woods to return another day. It's supposed to rain the next two days in Boone, but luckily I'll be setting for the App State competition! I hope that I will be able to take advantage of Saturday's nice weather and get outside to climb...Room with a View perhaps?

Boone is Beautiful.

Yesterday Dalen, Tilley, Taylor, Kevin, Sam and I rolled over to Blowing Rock to get back on Room with a View. The holds were feeling subpar due to the humidity outside. Kevin managed to do the stand (V8).

The next day (today) Josh, Tilley, and I went out to Lost Cove. The weather was incredible! Perfect temps, breezy, and plenty of psych! Weve been blessed this past week with gorgeous days, go rock climb! After warming up Tilley quickly sent his project Lunatic Arete (V7/8)! They showed me a variant to Patio Arete called Heinous Crimper Sit (V7). The last move was a little bit of a throw but I was able to catch the lip and rock over! With plenty of pads we started working Matt's Prow. Once figuring out the moves and a nice long rest Josh was able to top it out! On my final burns I was able to catch the jug but pumped out. Im stoked to go back! This is one the most fun climbs I've worked in a while

Photo: Jay Tilley

Josh sending Matt's Prow (V8)

Photo: Jay Tilley

Matt's Prow (V8)

Tomorrow is going to be yet another beauty! I'm going to try and grow back some skin, recover, and journey out to Blowing Rock with the dynamic duo for some more pebble wrestling

By the Way...

2 From the Bald from Zack Silberman on Vimeo.

Ryan - ABS National Qualifiers

Yesterday was the start of the ABS 12 Youth National Championships and I was set to climb at 8:48 p.m. Boulder time. This year they changed up the format a little from years past. Now there is a rolling iso and the competition isn't in a climbing gym, it's in a huge warehouse! They had special walls set up in the venue that are designed for elite level climbing and, being in a warehouse, the usual problem of not having enough room for spectators was easily solved. I warmed up at The Spot climbing gym, then headed over to the competition venue to await my time to climb. I was psyched to climb and was feeling strong. I got on the first problem and flashed it! On the next two problems I was also able to flash! After flashing the first 3 problems I figured I was sitting in good standing for semi-finals, but knew I would have to do well on the final problem to be surely in. The final problem looked significantly harder than the previous 3, but first go I got to the final hold before the finish! By the way the crowd reacted I figured I was one of a few to get to that point. I couldn't get my hand to feel good enough on the bad pinch/sloper to make the final jump move to the finish and I had a pretty spectacular fall from a good height onto my side....with my head landing in my chalk bag. Thank god for the huge asana padding! I gave the problem one final attempt and fell two moves earlier than my high point. I was satisfied with my performance and it turned out to be good enough to put me in 3rd place going into semis!!! I climb at 7:30 p.m. tonight and hope I can climb just as well as yesterday...check back for updates! (Sorry, no pics yet. My parents camera was not working properly, so hopefully that will get fixed today)

Just Getting Started

Hey Team, Its Zack. Sorry for being a little behind on the updates. To add on to Friday's Adventure with Ryan heres a video of his sends! Enjoy!

A Drive Down 221 from Zack Silberman on Vimeo.

After an phenomenal day in Boone I decided to ditch the perfect weather and pull on some plastic! I woke up bright and early and met up with the climbing team at the SRC. After following Chris Brookman's GPS for 3 hours we started to get the feeling that we had been lead astray. We were in a reservation...

Gambling and Great Motels!

We ended up here because apparently WCU's Nursing school is located in Cherokee, NC just 30 minutes off course. Luckily we were competing in the second heat which didnt start until 1pm so we had a few hours to kill anyways. After passing on the put-put, casino's, and luxurious motels we made it to Cullowhee!

Finally my heat began and we were able to climb. My fingers were still pretty raw and I was feeling a bit less than optimal. Nevertheless I was able to crank out some problems and place 2nd overall behind a Chatty contender by the name of Kyle. He was a really strong guy who had the same style of climbing as me... as static as can be. I was able to walk out with a set of quick draws so I guess I'm going to have to get over my fear and hop on some ropes soon!

Photo: Christopher Pratt

After a nice Arbys stop on the return back to the high country I crashed in bed. Upon awakening I was quick to cook up some oatmeal, sip on some coffee, and crank out some homework. Around 10am my brother picked me up with some dank signature cookies he made the night before. Hell Yea! They were comprised of coffee, truffle, coconut and a whole lot more. Definitely a good way to start the day.

At the lot of Blowing Rock we ran into Tilley and eventually Dalen, Matt, and Sam down at the main area. After warming up on the 5.10 boulder and a few heady high balls we hopped on Desperate Bitch (V8). The stand to this problem is not that bad but when you add the extra move coming into the start... shit gets real. I couldn't piece it together but watched Dalen crush it! After admitting defeat I decided to give Classic Arrete (V6) a final burn. DONE!

Photo: Rami Annab

Classic Arrete (V6)

Once walking over to the 45 wall we ran into two really strong climbers I had met before at Rumbling Bald, Dan and Eric. They were really psyched on Flagyl (V10) and it began to carry over to me. I got all amped up to do the first move, hopped on the start, pulled up, and... fell. I quickly gave up on that one but was able to crank out Left into Center 45 (V7) for the first time. Thats a really cool problem with some crazy footwork! After Tilley gave me shit for not cutting feet I decided to retest my dynamic ability on Flagyl again. After changing my feet around a bit I was able to stick it! Now all ive got to do is link the movements!

Crunched with time Dalen and I raced over to Jason Lives (V9) at the Dump Area. We were able to quickly figure out all the moves but couldn't piece it. We decided to go out the next day for better luck. Unfortunately, however, 24 hours of rest seems to be asking a lot for skin health...

Before sleep I super glued a massive split in middle finger together in hopes of a miracle for the next day. After an extravagant rice, beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, and avocado meal with Kelen we went to sleep for the big day ahead.

I had thought we agreed on 11am for our departure time so I told Kelen I'd have to ditch her around then to go climb rocks... On Valentine's Day. She was completely okay with the plan until 10am came around and Dalen told me that he was at my dorm... I guess I mixed up the times, Yikes. After rushing Kelen through her deserved relaxing morning Dalen and I headed out. Once we got there I was able to send Black Magic Women (V7) and campus Druid Roof (V7). It was cool to see a lot of improvement since the last time I had tried those a few years back. Dalen and I punted off the top of Jason Lives yet again and we began agreeing on the idea that we were soon to be epicing on this problem. unfortunately.

Photo: Zack Silberman

Dalen on Jason Lives (V9)

On our way out I was able to send Cigerette (V7) and Dalen walked Cinderella (V8). KILLA!

We took a rest day tuesday, which consisted of me doing pull-ups, push-ups, and L-sits, as Dalen ran for 4 miles. These are considered Active Rest Days as Kelen would say. 

So we went back out today for the send but yet again... couldn't send. I got the impression that the send would be speedy after my first day on but for some reason keeping it all together is really difficult. I need some energy for the send, I'm considering trying this...

I'll keep you guys posted on the outcome...

Moving along we went over to Blowing Rock where there was a full on party at the Mushroom Boulder. We made our way eventually to Room With a View (V10) in which I was able to get to the first hold out of the roof 2nd go! 

Photo: Michelle Wilkins

Me on Room With a View (V10)

Dalen, Taylor, and I all came really close but were having trouble with the bump onto the face. Due to it being 3:40pm and my math class at 4:00pm we had to call it a quits and 2 step it out. Hopefully the PimpJuice will help next time around. Dalen dropped me off at Walker with my pad and all and I was able to make it to class only 5 minutes late. After some weird looks and stares I successfully made it to my seat and entered back into the real world... I want to go climbing again. This Friday! Anyways, I need to get back to my studies, Thanks for reading.

Day 3

Ryan: So, my original plans to hit up Rumbling Bald today fell through. Instead, I headed out on a beautiful Boone day to the boulders along 221. I met up with Pat Goodman and Jessa to see some areas and problems I hadn't seen before. We started out at the M1 area, which I had been to once early last semester. After doing some very fun warm ups I started trying Instinct (V8/9). Pat showed me the original beta to the problem, which involved a jump start to the first hold and an awesome lock-off move on a small crimp. The jumpstart definitely added to the problem both in quality and toughness. I fell at the crux move first go and then spent a short session figuring out the move and sending the problem. I was psyched to climb this one, it's such an aesthetic boulder problem! Next we headed up the hill to climb a good many easy/moderate problems. They were all great problems and it was nice to get some milage in. West Texas (V2) was incredible. After we had finished up with the moderates we walked down the road to the Dungeon area. I had never been there before, but I know I'll be going back. I spent most of my time in the Dungeon trying Green Dragon (V9). It's a really interesting problem that is both physical and technical. It involves a pretty intense right heel hook on a small incut edge, along with some pretty small and bad hands. I was so close to sending after working it for a little while, but my heel popped! I was starting to get tired and decided that I would just have to come back with fresh skin and muscles to put this beast down. But before we left I made a very quick ascent of Four Horsemen (V7), which was yet another great problem. I can't wait to get back out to 221 and handle some unfinished business along with try some new lines that Pat pointed out to me. There is so much rock with so many cool looking lines! Unfortunately, today was my last time climbing outside for the next week. I need to let my skin heal up because I am flying out to Boulder, CO on Wednesday! I am headed out there to compete at ABS Youth Nationals and am psyched for the event! They are always lots of fun. I'll be making posts (hopefully) everyday after I have competed to update how I am doing. It's going to be hard not to climb outside this week, but I really need to be in top form for the weekend. As for now, here are just two pics I shot of Instinct. They do not give the problem justice at all, as the picture quality is not the best, but I am working on solving that problem..

Solo Day

Ryan here. I started off my climbing today with a trip out to Grandmother. I really wanted to try Sunday Service (V11) and Teamwork (V10) even if it meant going to them by myself. I went straight to Sunday Service and found an icy wind to be blowing hard down there. Even though it was a little cold I decided to give it a few burns. I never got my fingers fully warmed up and I was starting to get cold. Not to mention the low psych levels when you're climbing by yourself in the cold. All the moves of Sunday Service felt doable, but it's gonna have to wait for a slightly warmer day that isn't my second hard day on the rock. It's a cool problem and I can't wait to work it some more! I ended up hiking over to take a look at Teamwork, but it was covered in ice and snow like most of the ground. I wasn't quite ready to be done climbing for the day yet, so I decided to drive to Blowing Rock in hopes of warmer temperatures and less wind. Plus it was a beautiful day to drive through the mountains. I was right about the warmer temps, Blowing Rock was 7 degrees warmer, but there was still a cold wind, although not as bad as at Grandmother. I hiked to the Mushroom boulder to give Portobello (V9) a few attempts. Again, my fingers couldn't get warm enough to feel good, but I was able to try hard for a few goes. I fell at the crux move a few times and then shortly after that I started to feel the fatigue from yesterday and today set in. I headed back to the dorms empty handed today, but with some new psych and a great day of climbing. I didn't climb a whole lot today, but tomorrow is supposed to be a much warmer day and I plan on going to Rumbling Bald, so the rest will be appreciated tomorrow. I'm super excited to get on some of the problems at Rumbling Bald!!! It's gonna be a beautiful day. 

Portobello: