Return from Rocklands

The Rocklands trip was a great experience. Like all big trips it had its ups and downs. It was complete with strange characters, hard sends, hilarious antics, and even a bit of cabin fever. When you live in the middle of nowhere for a long time you start to go a little bananas, but in a good way. This is an amazing place. The rock is really good and there are so many good problems that it's hard to tell where you want to begin. There are many FA's to develop if you look around enough. The established problems are incredible as well. The hard things here are some of the best and most fun lines I've ever seen. I feel like even just the famous hard problems are enough to keep me busy for quite a while. I can't wait to come back again. I'm already thinking about the next trip out here. To be honest I did not feel like I sent that many problems out here considering how much time I spent. The climbing here is really powerful, and as a result, you rest a lot more than you'd like to. This, however, seems very neccessary for me. Especially if you want to avoid injuries. Despite this the climbing that I did do I was really happy about. I did several problems here that I was really stoked about. One was Leopard Cave, which I've always wanted to do. This is an amazing roof climb that has a very unique crux move. After the second session, I pulled out a hail mary send on my last go and just barely pulled it off at the end of the day. Next was Black Shadow. This is one of the raddest power endurance boulder problems in the Rocklands. It has big, friendly holds and seems to get progressively harder as it goes which makes for an epic link up. The second day I fell at the last move about 2 times. I ended up falling there every single try for a few more days. It got kind of mental but in the end I snagged on day 4. This climb is one of the best I've ever done. Totally worth the epic.
The big one for me of the trip was Derailed. Daniel Woods put up this climb a few years ago when the Americans were first developing the 8 Day Rain Sector. It is a compression problem with slick edges, a crazy swing and a heart-breaking last move. All in all, it climbs this slick, overhanging belly in about 6 moves. It is rated 8B+ (v14) and it was a lifetime goal of mine to reach this level of difficulty in bouldering so I was really pleased. It fit my style really well. No crimping, just squeezing, swinging, and lerping. I'll never forget the feeling I had when I topped that thing out in the dark. I usually don't get too vocal, but I kind of lost it. It was probably pretty funny to watch.
Near the end of the trip I got really commited to sending Steakhouse v12. I love this roof. It has some crazy horizontal moves on good holds and ends with a crux throw off of two rad pinches. The last move alone felt about v10. I dedicated the last 3 weeks of my trip to sending this thing. However, the weather was really hot. After trying it for about 8 days in total over a few weeks and falling at the last move 26 times, I never completed the climb. I guess we all have to leave something behind. This climb will haunt me until I return. I really wanted to do it before I left but sometimes you have to accept defeat. So bravo Steakhouse, you totally kicked my ass.
All in all there is just too many stories and characters to tell about. But I love this place and cant wait to go back. At the same time I am really happy to be home in Tahoe. I missed this place a lot. I am stoked to explore for some new boulders and maybe try some things that I never did last season. There is really just too much to do. Unfortunately I did not get many pictures of this trip. However, Ian Cotter-Brown has made a bad ass video of our climbing there. I'll keep you updated on what he's going to do with it. It is complete with a lot of hard sends, nature shots that are laugh out loud funny, and all the goofy things that come with a good bouldering trip. For now, we'll have to wait but I'll keep everyone posted on the video. I could keep writing forever but I am severly jetlagged and have to sleep. In case anyone's curious. Here is my ticklist for the trip.

White Mazda Clan v10
Lisa's Arete v10
Rasta Roof v11
Cry Baby v10
Tromboli v10
Umbuli v11
Leopard Cave v12
Stretched and Pressed v10
Green Mamba stand start v11
An Amal v9
Question of Balance v7
The Rhino v8
Spider in the Roof v11
Black Shadow v13
In the Middle of the Ass v12 ( 2nd try)
Derailed v14
Day of the Jackal v10 (2nd ascent)