Another Telluride Bouldering Beta Video- The Mine Boulders

Winter is back. And that means back to the snow for me. I'm currently at Copper Mountain, coaching at some race camps, as per usual. It's been a mild fall/winter so far and part of me hopes that will continue so that the climbing will be dry and warm!

Anyhow, I took advantage of being back in Telluride for a few weeks and spent a lot of time climbing at Ilium and The Mine. Here's a video I made of some of the best problems at The Mine. Another video of problems from Ilium will be coming soon. Enjoy!

Telluride Bouldering Beta Part 2- The Mine Boulders from Christian Prellwitz on Vimeo.

Three Days In Blair Woods

Three Days In Blair Woods from Christian Prellwitz on Vimeo.

My last three days in New Hampshire before heading back home to Telluride. I spent it enjoying the crisp conditions (in between bouts of rain) at Pawtuckaway, specifically Blair Woods. Problems shown: 'Fuck The Method' (v6/7), Damn The Man (v7/8), Jeremy's Sick Crimps (v9??), Ball Doctor (v5 ), Pimp Juice (v5) and Pinkerton (v4). Enjoy!

rain, rain, go away...

Well, that's depressing...

some progress...

Well, I was able to resume climbing a week ago. It has been a little frustrating because I am not strong enough yet post surgery to be able to climb all of the things that I want. Instead, it's been a process of building the muscle back up through yoga, some training in the gym and some days outside.

Looking for some mellower, high volume days, Erika and I got on a rope at Rumney the other day. Erika crushed it on Lonesome Dove, which is an amazingly good slabby arete climb. And I managed to redpoint some 5.12's, so I guess I'm not a complete climbing mess right now. I'm looking forward to getting back on a rope again, and if I'm feeling up to it strength wise, giving Bottom Feeder some goes. It's a 5.13 that's made for boulderers like me. Basically, a v7 on a rope.

Getting on a rope has been fun. I still suck at clipping and have zero endurance. But, I'm a lot stronger than the last time I was on one (even in my current state) and that's always an enjoyable revelation.

days are years...

I'm currently recovering from semi-emergency surgery to have my gall bladder removed due to an infection. I've got lots of holes in me and my body is pretty banged up. So, no climbing or adventures for me anytime soon. Hopefully in another 2 to 3 weeks or so I'll be out exploring again. Until then, it'll be a slow road...

Hope things are better for all of you! 

The good temps are coming!

The Virgin Gorda

Virgin Gorda from Christian Prellwitz on Vimeo.


Erika and I just got back from an 11 day trip to the Virgin Islands. We spent a few days on St. Thomas and St. John, and the rest of our time on the Virgin Gorda- exploring, making a day trip to Anegada and climbing in the evenings when the temperatures got somewhat reasonable (and by reasonable I mean high 80's).

The Virgin Gorda is undeniably a beautiful island with some of the best beaches I've ever seen and a fascinating landscape filled with enormous piles of granite boulders, rainforest, towering bluffs and spectacular flora. Not to mention the superb diving/snorkeling to be found on the many reefs of the Virgin Islands.

As for the climbing, here's my serious take. Some of it is really good. Definitely some of the most interesting features I've seen on granite- crazy pockets and huecos galore. But, a lot of it is really blank and/or uninteresting slabby less than vertical climbing on somewhat friable crimps and edges. I love slab climbing more than most people but it's hard to embrace in a place where it's constantly in the high 80's (shoe rubber melting off holds, fingers dripping with moisture). I'm probably a little more sensitive to heat than most people since I spend most of my year at higher elevations in cooler temperatures and I basically wilt in any sort of heat. That being said, I would generally only climb each day from about 4:30 to 7:30, preferably in the shade. All the problems that I did climb (many of which are featured in this video) were excellent and highly recommended.

If you're planning a trip to the Virgin Gorda, by all means bring a crashpad and shoes, but be sure to have a lot of other things on your agenda than just climbing- sailing, exploring other islands, snorkeling/diving, eating local cuisine. Climbing is like the perfect cap to the day, when everybody else is off at Happy Hour, you'll have the beach mostly to yourself, the sun low in the sky and a sea of granite to choose from.

Pawtuckaway from Christian Prellwitz on Vimeo.


Footage of some solo sessions after work throughout the month of June. Problems include: 'Burt Gives Blowjobs' (v6), a flash of 'Maxim' (v7), 'Atlas' (v6 ), 'Provia' (v6) and 'Bulletproof' (v6 and extra fun when it's 85 degrees).

'Up Into The Green Silence' (v4-ish)- Rumney, NH

a forgotten line that I recently re-cleaned and climbed- quite good!

Rumney Bouldering from Christian Prellwitz on Vimeo.


Erika and I are living and working in New Hampshire for parts of the summer. Here's some footage from a few days spent bouldering in Rumney this month (June 2012). We tried to document a few of the lesser known/shown problems of the area. The rock is unique and phenomenal and the lush forest surrounding (and often on top) of the boulders creates a beautiful backdrop. 

Spring Climbing Trip 2012 Video

Here's the video from our spring trip. Enjoy!

Spring Climbing Trip 2012- Part 2

 

'Choice Of Weapons' (v4)-- Rock Creek, CA

 

'Rusty Nails' (v2)-- South Bliss, CA

 

'The Elevator' (v9)-- Middle Bliss, CA

photos by Christian Prellwitz & Erika Curry-Elrod

Spring Climbing Trip 2012- Part 1

 'Little Mermaid' (v7)-- Joe's Valley, UT

 'Streetcar Named Desire' (v6/7)-- Joshua Tree, CA

photos by Christian Prellwitz & Erika Curry-Elrod

On the road...

Erika and I are currently in Lake Tahoe. We've been in Joe's Valley, Las Vegas, Joshua Tree and Bishop over the last twelve days. I know that sounds like a lot of places but that was mostly due to running from bad weather on our way to Bishop. Bishop was getting too hot, so we shifted to Tahoe for a few days. We're heading to Yosemite tomorrow where we'll be meeting my parents to show them around and spend some time in San Francisco. I'll have a video up at some point, but in the meantime here's a little stripped down version of one of my current favorite songs...Enjoy!

Telluride Bouldering Beta- Ilium Boulders Video

Here's some footage that I've shot over the last few weeks (a warm & dry March created some stellar climbing conditions) of some of the best problems in Ilium. There are certainly plenty of great problems that I didn't have the time to climb/film, but I tried to choose some testpieces, as well as some more obscure problems in order to entice people to check them out! My hope is to eventually do a movie like this for the Mine Boulders and the Tree House as well. We'll see.

The grades of several problems are different from the guidebook. These grades are just my thoughts after having the last five or so years to refine the grades a bit. Any comments/thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

A few notes on the last two problems:

-'Frogger Dyno' has been done by Scotty Michels and probably a few other people. It's actually the way the problem was originally done. Though it is somewhat contrived not to exit right towards the top, it is a great mental and physical challenge to attempt the direct dyno. The day I filmed this was actually the first day I ever tried it this way. It's exciting! There is a bolt on top (that you might want to back up) for working it out on top rope, if desired.

-'White Wizard Right' I started trying this when I went up to film 'White Wizard' because it seemed hard but plausible. It is somewhat forced as one of the hardest parts is avoiding the boulder behind you, but the moves climb beautifully. The moves aren't super hard (maybe v6?) but I needed to figure out a little more beta to avoid having my feet cut. Jim Hurst informed me the other day that Paul Pierce had come up with an exit similar to this recently, apparently using a heel/toe cam of some sort, though I think his exit took a different path since the exit holds I brushed were covered in dirt and lichen. If I find out more about this, I'll update this post...

Another One From Moab

'Frankenspank' (v7)

a few photos from a recent trip...

A Day At Big Bend

A little video from a recent trip to Big Bend...

A Few From Bishop-- February 2012

As has become a bit of an annual ritual, I escaped the snowy clutch of Telluride and headed to Bishop for a bit of midwinter climbing. On this particular trip, my housemate Malin came along. We enjoyed some fantastic weather (some days it was almost too hot to climb in the sun). The climbing was phenomenal, as always, and I enjoyed some good personal success. Here is a video of some of the climbs that I did while I was there as well as some of the scenery. It's also my first real attempt at making a video with my 5D. Hopefully there will be many more to come. Enjoy and make sure to watch the video in HD (the HD in the bottom right should be highlighted)!

One Of The Best

'Itsy Bitsy Spider' (v7/8)

It's been a warm and dry winter here in Telluride so far, which has allowed for plenty of opportunity to climb locally. Here are some shots of one of my favorite lines in Telluride. Perfect crimps on a slightly overhanging wall to an exciting finish. If only it was a little taller...

New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade