Climb 11 - Tuesday June 24 - Goober

With the new job, I arrive home in the evenings at right about six every night. Tonight was no different. Mark had pulled up right at this moment, as well, and we quickly got ready to head out climbing. We picked up Crazy then made our way up to Storm Mountain. Upon arrival we discovered that every quickly accessed route was taken. Rather than trying to find others that I have not climbed before, we got back in the car and went down canyon to Dogwood. This is usually an area that is totally packed with goobers in the evenings. However, when we showed up there was no one there. We prepared our gear as a group of two dudes showed up. They knew Mark, but I don't think Mark was terribly excited to know them. I tried to explain the word, "Goober," to Mark several weeks ago, but he was having difficulty understanding it. After I had mentioned that Dogwood was a goober magnet and then these two had shown up, he said he totally gets the word now. With the water as high as it is right now, there really is only one climb that is easily accessibly that is bolted - all the others are just toprope. I led the accessible one then Mark and Crazy climbed it. I then belayed one of the other dudes as he led a climb that was over the water - he just climbed sideways on the wall at first. I then did the same climb as Mark and Crazy were over climbing on the dudes' rope set up on one of the toprope climbs. I am happy to be out climbing again with Crazy. I hope he doesn't forget how much fun it is just because he is now also into cycling. I think Mark totally dug it. I hope we can get out again soon. Until then, On Rock. ps. since mark was able to get a few cool shots of me climbing, and you don't get to see enough photos of me, I have included a few more than normal.

Climb 10 - Friday June 20 - On Top of the World

I was not planning on climbing tonight when I spent my lunch hour bouldering at work. I climbed the most difficult route I have done yet. I have been working on this route for at least a week now, and I was stoked when I finally did it. However, it did manage to wipe me out regarding strength. It was just a few hours later that I heard from Blake that he wanted to climb tonight. I adjusted my schedule so we could go as soon as I got home from work. This was his first time out this year so he did not want to give trad a shot. We went to a place neither of us had been before, the Sport Utility Wall. This wall sits just above Wasatch Blvd around 5400 south, just north of Pete's Rock and the Mt. Olympus trailhead. It is a beautiful view from up there. I was hoping the climbing would be worth going back for. There are really only three routes on this wall with one variation that you can do to make the 5.9 a 5.8. Blake led the first route. The idea was to first climb the 5.8 variation, but when he got to where you turn he simply kept going up the 5.9 because he was confident he could do it. I wanted to lead the climb as well so we pulled the rope and I ascended. I had to keep myself going or I would get tired quickly. The only other two routes on the wall are a 5.10a and a 5.10c. We figured we would give the 10a a shot. I made the first attempt at leading it. The bottom move was much easier than it looked, but I did get stuck up near the final bolt. I just couldn't quite figure it out and then my arms just got super tired. I came down and Blake ascended the route with ease. I then followed on toprope so I could be confident when I come back to lead it. It really wasn't that tricky of a move, I just had to trust my strength. Both climbs were enjoyable and I totally want to go back when I have at least one more person so I can bring my Nikon and take photos. There are tons of opportunities for striking shots. I saw the ultimate shot as we were leaving where I can get downtown SLC, the sunset, and a climber above them all in the same shot. It is going to be sweet. Blake thought he heard a rattlesnake as we were making our way back to the car - this gave us the motivation to move quickly. It was a fun evening and I want to come back soon when I can really power through the climbs. On Rock.

Climb 9 - Saturday June 14 - Welcome to Maple Canyon

Approximately four years ago, my in-laws bought an old pioneer home in Spring City, UT. Since that time they have spent time and money restoring it to its pioneer glory. I doubt that when they bought the home they were thinking, "Perhaps Stacy will marry a fine young man that will like to climb and ski. There are great areas around Spring City to do both." Yeah, I don't think they were thinking that, but I do believe they were inspired because we spent all day today climbing in Maple Canyon (15 min. from Spring City) and we had a great time. Stacy and I left around 6:30 last night, dropped the dogs off at Kristin's house, and grabbed a bite to eat at Iceberg. Around 7:30 we made it to Provo to pick up Scott and Jamie (Stacy's cousins). They piled in to the Civic and we were finally on our way to Spring City. Upon arrival, we played a game or two then went to bed. I had a hard time sleeping. I felt a little like a kid on Christmas Eve. I didn't know what to expect the next morning, but I knew I was going to love it. Stacy finally allowed me to get up at 7:30. I tried to be quiet as I prepared muffins for the rest of the crew. They each woke up in their own time not much later than myself. We all had a few muffins then we made our way to the canyon. It only took a short hike from the parking lot to get to the Schoolroom Wall, where we spent the entirety of our day. The rock in Maple is just fascinating. It is as if it was a giant riverbed that was then all glued together in cliff formations. It is also quite deceiving - You may look above you and think you are going to get a super bomber hold only to find that it just slopes off and you have to keep searching. We started the day with me leading all the climbs. I would lead a climb, set up the toprope, then the others would follow. I brought two ropes so we could be on two routes at once. This was nice since we could all be involved (either climbing or belaying) at the same time. The Schoolroom is filled with climbs from 5.4 to 5.10b. We climbed just about all of them as the day went on. We didn't climb the 5.10b - Big Kahuna - but we did do another climb that was not in the book that seemed about that hard to me (but perhaps that was just the case because I am out of shape and just can't sustain strength for an entire day). As the day went on, Scott started to lead a few climbs, then Jamie and Stacy each led one of their own. This was Stacy's first lead and I was happy for her. It really is just a totally different feeling knowing that if you fall you are actually going to fall a little ways - unlike toproping, where you essentially just hang where you are. I was able to take a few lead falls today building my confidence in gear. I have been wanting to do more of this so I can begin to improve my climbing abilities due to a lower level of fear while doing so. We finished around 3:30, went back and cleaned up the house in Spring City, then had lunch at the Spring City Kitchen. It was wonderful (again). If you are ever in the neighborhood I would highly suggest stopping by and getting the Spring City Bleu with Bacon. It will make your day. Stacy was super nice and offered to drive home. This is always nice for me since I do the majority of the driving and this gives me a chance to relax - I think I even fell asleep for a little while on the drive. I really enjoyed Maple Canyon. I had a great time in Spring City. I can see this as being a regular thing for us. Just call if you want to join us. On Rock.

TRI 1 - Saturday June 7 - The Salem Spring Tri(Bi)athlon

Thus begins another triathlon season. I have been looking forward to this day for months now. I did the Powderkeg in March and then I have waiting to start tri season. Sure, I did that running race in April, but what I really like about triathlons is not the individual sports, but the mixture of all three. I have been swimming a little more lately and I was feeling ready. Certainly, once again, my strong event was going to be the bike. When we awoke this morning it was not to our surprise that it was raining... again. It seems to have been raining for the past month. What is the story with that? I thought they were called APRIL showers. We packed up our gear and picked up Ryan a little after six. In the middle of the rain we arrived in Salem. We checked in and then headed back to get all our gear to set up. It was as we were finishing preparing the bikes that we were told that the bike portion of the race had been canceled and they were currently debating about the swim. This was not good news for me since the run is my worst event. We left our bikes on the car and brought everything else back down to the race site. The swim discussion was a little premature as they hadn't said anything definitive at this point. We were optimistic and we put our wetsuits on. It had been raining throughout the night and all this morning, but there was no lightning. How were we going to be negatively affected on the swim? They had a few people go in and test the water (just a large pond/small lake thing in the middle of a park) and just as we had expected - fine. In fact, it was nicer than the air outside the water. So we continued to get ready for our Biathlon (swim-run). We made a friend with a girl that was there with the support of her mother doing her first tri (the girl, not the mom). Ryan was totally digging on her, but was too chicken to ask for her number. I think he was hoping to see her after the race, but he did not experience such luck. I got in the water around 9:15 to warm up. The race was supposed to begin at 9, but things were a little behind. Things felt pretty good. I knew this was not going to be my best race ever, but it wasn't going to be my worst. I was in the first heat. We swam only about 500 meters in this pond/lake thing. The first third of the swim was typical for me - I was just really trying to keep my composure with all the bodies in the water and getting hammered left and right by other swimmers. The second third I had got out of the thick of the herd, but a little too far as I kept swimming too far left and had to keep correcting myself. This cost me some precious time and I ended up swimming much further than I really had to. The final third was strong. I saw the beach and I went hard for it. I swam straight and I felt good about it. This was actually the fastest swim I have ever had in a race. I swam 100yds in 1 min 12 seconds, whereas my previous race best was 1 min 53 seconds. I came out of the water a little disoriented, but not bad. My transition was not bad considering I was going from swim to run which was totally new for me. It is harder to get my running shoes on when my feet are soaking than it is my biking shoes. Beyond the fact that the bike is my strong point, I also missed this event because it serves as a bit of a buffer for me. I have the ability to go hard while still allowing myself and my body to recover from the swim before I have to run. This was taken from me today (by the way, the road was totally dry by the time we really started running). I had a bit of a sideache when I came out of the water that did not leave me for the entire 5K. I wanted to just go hard and get over it, but it never went away. I believe this slowed me down. My run was a little slower than it has been in the past. I ran 8:40 min/mi. I need to really train and cut that down to below 8 minutes if I want to be competitive - especially in a sprint distance tri. I was passed by a few others, but no one important (namely, Ryan). In fact, I was really surprised to see that I had beat him in the swim. He is a much stronger swimming than I. I suppose it does help that I have been swimming lately while he has been on vacation in South America. I finished with just enough time to have a few orange slices and put my pants back on before Ryan crossed. It wasn't much longer before my dear wife, Stacy, came across as well. She has been battling a knee injury since our run in Eden (paradise), so I was stoked to see that she was able to run the whole way. This is the longest she has been able to run since April. She is in pain this evening, but with a larger sense of pride. I really had a good time today. Triathlons are fun... even when they are only two sports. There were a number of people that bailed after the bike had been canceled and the swim had been shortened. They were mistaken. The rain let up and it was a fun race. I was able to take a few photos before and after the race. Can you tell which ones were taken with the GoPro and which were taken with the Nikon? I am totally looking forward to more of these this summer. I am stoked for the Utah Half! On Tri.