New Problem (sort of) at the Mine Boulders

I made it down to Telluride this past weekend and found the usual crew- Wylder Wilson, Damon Johnston, Jim Hurst and Andy Cook- hard at work: clearing trails, looking for new boulders and giving fresh love to the chossy underbelly of one of the best looking lines in Telluride. We have all touched the holds on this climb at some point but decided the prospect of a seventy pound cobble breaking off on our face was not worth the risk. Well, after their admirable efforts, the line is now climbing beautifully--a 25-30 foot roof climbed on a wonderful assortment of pockets, incuts and cobbles leads to a difficult lip encounter and a satisfying cobble jug. No one has sent the full problem yet, but speculation is that it will fall somewhere in the v10 range. Here are some pics of Wylder working through several of the moves. (for those with a guidebook, this problem is located on the 'Gym Boulder')

Telluride Bouldering Beta- Ilium

I thought it would be fun to share a little info on some of Ilium's classic problems. I have also listed the page number that this problem can be found on in the guidebook. Check out "A Bouldering Guide To The Telluride & West End Areas" by Christian Prellwitz for more information. The guide can be found locally at Between the Covers, Paragon Sports and Jagged Edge. It can also be found online at Bent Gate, as well as many other retailers.

(All pics courtesy of Erika Curry-Elrod)

'Pinch' (v4) p.66

Given v3 in the book, this powerful prow probably falls more in the v4 range (maybe even hard v4?). Start sitting below the obvious prow with your left hand in a good undercling and your right on any one of an assortment of holds. Many people use a pinch (hence the name). I personally prefer a tiny crimp, located right above the pinch. Hard, burly moves ensue. This is one of my favorite problems at Ilium. But, you have to try hard!

'Itsy Bitsy Spider' (v7/8) p.75

The testpiece of the area. Thin crimps on a slightly overhanging face. Beautiful and pure. Start on the two obvious low crimps/edges. Make a hard move right to more crimps. Set your feet for the crux deadpoint to another sloping edge, just below the top. Snag this and then the top. Be ready for a tricky mantle. Pine needles often accumulate on the top of this boulder. Definitely brush the top before attempting. It would suck to fall after all the hard moves are over because of a few pine needles! It's important to note that 'Itsy Bitsy' does not use the good crimp further right. It seems plausible as a variation and is probably quite a bit easier (I haven't tried it yet). This crimp is also part of the 'Itsy Bitsy Arete' (v1+).

Spidey Sense (v4) p.75

Around the corner from 'Itsy Bitsy', this vertical face really boils down to the starting move. From a sit start, match hands on an obvious diagonal edge on the left side of the face. Choose from a selection of small feet. Pull hard and stick the slopey edge at 8.5 feet. Easy moves follow. Beware of the dirty top out.

Joe's Valley Again

Lexi Tuddenham and I were able to sneak out to Joe's Valley for a few days to squeeze in some world class bouldering. For those of you that haven't been to Joe's, the climbing is incredible with some of the craziest features you'll ever see.

It was a successful trip with Lexi knocking out some projects, and I was psyched to send 'Chit' (V4/5), 'Self Service' (V5) and 'Roll The Dice' (V5) in quick order. We encountered some very strong winds on Friday so I decided to keep the camera in the car. Here are some of the pictures we were able to take.

(above) Lexi Tuddenham looking for the goods on 'Peep Show' (v1). (below) 1-Lexi crimping hard on an unnamed v1 at the Boy Size Area. 2-Christian Prellwitz pulling through the opening moves of the mega classic 'Self Service' (v5). 3-Getting ready for the last long pull on 'Self Service' (v5). 4-Lexi cruising the beautiful calcite patina of 'Cherry Coke' (v1). 5-Lexi topping out in the sunshine on a stellar v0 slab at the Boy Size Area.

Sewemup Mesa Bouldering

Friday dawned cold and snowy, but the desert beckoned with the promise of blue skies and warmer temperatures. Lexi Tuddenham and I decided to head somewhere different than the usual Paradox Valley haunts. Instead, we sped past the turnoff for Hwy. 90 and kept going north on Hwy. 141 into the heart of the Dolores River Canyon and the sheer vertical walls of Sewemup Mesa. Numerous boulders lie scattered throughout the whole length of this canyon, but one of the best concentrations is below the Sewemup Mesa buttress, where several dozen problems can be found among the beautiful Wingate Sandstone boulders. This small gem of an area is a great place to visit for the West End climber as well as those who frequent the Unaweep Boulders. This spot is not far from Unaweep and boasts blocks that are far superior in quality.


The pictures: (above) Christian Prellwitz pulling through the juggy middle of 'Survey Marker' (v0), a spectacular highball in a perfect position. (below) 1-Christian getting high on 'Survey Marker' (v0). 2-Lexi Tuddenham finding the friction on 'Autobahn' (v0). 3-Lexi Tuddenham prepping to climb her 'Arch Nemesis' (V2-).

Back To AEC

Another beautiful day of weather. Another trip to the outstanding boulders of the Atomic Energy Crag (AEC), perched high above Paradox Valley, just outside of Naturita in Southwest Colorado.

A sampling: (above) Lexi Tuddenham sticking the tenuous move for the top on 'Juniper Center' (v0+). A bad landing adds to the spice on this outstanding highball. 2-Christian Prellwitz pulling through the middle of 'Action Jackson' (v2).

(below) 1-Christian Prellwitz trying to catch the 'A Train' (v4). 2-Christian on 'Action Jackson' (v2). 3-Lexi Tuddenham bracing for the storm on 'Nor'easter' (v0). 4-Lexi approaching the thin top out of 'Bug Juice' (v1).

Cathedral Ledge

Recently, my friend Jared Vilhauer came out from Telluride to visit me. We spent most of the 11 days he was here exploring the diversity of rock in the Northeast. From the perfect granite slabs of Cathedral Ledge, to the steep schist of Rumney, the alpine environment of Cannon and the juggy roofs of the Gunks, we saw a little bit of it all. Jared has most of the pics on his camera as it's size and weight made it the better choice for the multi pitch climbing we were doing. Here are a few I took on our first day at Cathedral Ledge.

1-Jared about to start up the great second pitch of 'Bombardment' (5.8). 2-Jared starting the second rappel after climbing 'Book of Solemnity' (5.10a).

One From The Tree House

It's been a while since I've posted. I am back on Long Island now and while I have gone climbing several times, I have been alone each time. Consequently, I have no pics. My policy is 'no pics, no post'. However, Damon Johnston just sent me a picture that he took of me climbing at the Tree House Boulders. This fun problem does not have a name yet but it is located just to the right of the problem Damon is climbing in my previous post. For more cool photos, check out Damon's blog.

It will be a while before I post again but when I do I should have plenty of pics. My friend Jared Vilhauer is flying here on Friday from Colorado and we are going to be spending 10 days climbing all throughout the Northeast. Plans include Cathedral Ledge, Whitehorse Ledge, Cannon Cliff, the Gunks, Rumney and several bouldering areas. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we'll have lots of great pics to share!

Reel Rock Comes To Telluride

Last night, the Reel Rock Tour came to Telluride. The Sheridan Opera House was packed with people psyched on seeing the latest and greatest climbing films. The Tour did not disappoint. First, there were some great shorts- 'The Readiness Is All' was my favorite. The Big Up Dosage from Rocklands was amazing. The boulders are super aesthetic, and the climbing was inspiring. The feature film- First Ascent- was shot in beautiful HD and the landscapes were amazing. Props go to local Jim Hurst, who shot some of the best footage of the whole evening, in particular Dean Potter BASE-soloing the north face of the Eiger.

Damon and I did a little book signing before the show, and participated in the giveaway at intermission with tour organizer Peter Mortimer. We gave away some copies of our books, as well as some chalk bags and chalk buckets that Josh from Organic Climbing was nice enough to donate. Local shop Jagged Edge also gave away a number of items. Overall, it was a fun event and everyone left the theater stoked on climbing.

(below) Dasha Zamolodchikov working through the tricky opening moves of 'Frogger' on the Road Boulder at Ilium.

More From The Tree House

Here are a few more photos from the Tree House Boulders, courtesy of Damon Johnston.

New Telluride Bouldering- The South Fork Boulders

Damon, Daiva and I spent yesterday afternoon at the South Fork Boulders cleaning and climbing new problems. This is just one of several new bouldering areas currently being developed in the Telluride area. Damon nabbed some first ascents but was stymied on this short, but powerful sit start on a large boulder that Daiva has nicknamed 'The Whale'.

The South Fork Boulders

The South Fork Boulders are Telluride's newest bouldering area. I discovered these boulders about three weeks ago on an exploratory hike in the Ilium Valley. Since then, Dasha and I have been developing them- clearing and marking trails, scrubbing lichen, and cleaning loose rock. The new area is shaping up nicely.

This spot isn't going to supplant Ilium or the Mine Boulders as the bouldering area of choice for most locals. But hopefully, once it is fully developed, it will provide an alternative to those areas for people looking for something new. I am putting together a topo for the area that I will post for free at some point in the coming weeks. Here's what I can tell you now.

This area is located very close to Ilium. There is convenient parking and easy approaches for all of the boulders. There are three distinct clusters of boulders. The first area- the Eight Week Boulders- has about two dozen problems, mostly in the V0-V3 range, but there will be some harder problems as well. The second area- the Strawberry Patch- contains about a dozen problems in the V0-V2 range. The third area- the Golden Boulders- is the largest, containing about three dozen problems. The rock quality is similar to Ilium. The boulders are generally not as tall as Ilium, but the best ones are in the same range of height. There are going to be some outstanding problems at this new area, particularly at the third set of boulders. I will post more pictures as I get them. Here are a few photos of one of the boulders in the Golden Boulders area. Dasha likes to call this boulder the Fish Boulder.

Exploration

The weather has been pretty poor the last two days. Snow. That's right, snow.

All of this moisture puts a damper on the climbing. Dasha and I decided to try and put a positive spin on the situation and go exploring for some new boulders. We spent a lot of time at Ilium giving it a thorough exploration. We confirmed what we already supposed- there isn't much left to find. However, I did find a couple overhangs up one of the drainages that were pretty high quality and will yield about half a dozen problems. No pictures of those, but perhaps you'll hear more about them in the future.

We also checked out the talus field just down valley of Lawson Hill, along the Galloping Goose trail. It was quite a grovel with the talus being so wet, but we did find some fun boulders and good rock that would yield about a dozen problems. So we might do some development of that in the near future. It should be noted that there is also a small but good boulder located along the Galloping Goose trail about two minutes from the trail head in Lawson Hill. You can see it from the Keystone Hill Overlook. It's got three fun lines on it, all starting from a sit on the obvious low rail.

I hate posting without pictures so here's one of me on a fun problem at Chebucto Head in Nova Scotia. Dasha and I will be heading back there in August to sample some more of the excellent bouldering. Enjoy!