sky and stone

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

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!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

rain, rain, go away...

Well, that's depressing...

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

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.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

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!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

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.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

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).

Sunday, July 1, 2012

'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.