Here in Tahoe it has been cold but a bit rainy for the last 3 weeks. I've been spending most of my time training indoors, going on adventurous hikes in the rain, and working my ass of to earn my finances for the next roadtrip. For me personally it has been a pretty uneventful month. However, others have been going out and making it happen despite the rain. I have heard of new bouldering developments at zones such as Doyle, South Bliss, and the Ronin. Bliss especially has been seeing lots of attention this month from the Gardnerville/West Shore climbers. I have not yet been but I've heard good things. From what I hear these new zones are definitely worth checking out.
I'm spending most of my time training at the High Altitude Fitness center. Frequent visits to this place do great things for your bouldering power and endurance. So, due to the amount of heavy rain, I'm using this as an opportunity to prepare for my season climbing goals. High on the list is the direct sit start project into Smooth Boy Slim at Burnside; the full Freak Show link up at the Freaks;and Charlie Barret's stellar roof The End of the Road at Hartley Springs; More currently,I sent Noah Kaufman's awesome gymnastic classic Avoid the Wart at the Beavers. This is an amazing line. A first mellow move to a decent sidepull leads to a big jump move/deadpoint to a sloper that has to be stuck with the serious accuracy and commitment. This line is especially hard if you're short like me. I welcomed my disadvantage on this line as sticking the move felt equivalent to moving an object with my mind. I was very stoked. In addition, I recently repeated my lines Welcome to the Future and Freak Show. Repeating these lines felt like doing them the first time. I am stoked to stay in shape to try my three main projects near the fall when the weather becomes prime. I'm sure I'll get a bit distracted by the great new stuff that is sure to turn up this year as well.
I have been continuing to get footage around here. I'm planning to do a longer video part by the end of the summer here documenting the new developments in South Lake Tahoe this season. I'm sure the great classics are going to reveal themselves pretty soon. I will most likely do a few short segments throughout the season and eventually put out the longer video some time in fall.
For those of you interested in some current local news, here are some bullet points worth mentioning for early season.
* David Outcalt sent Secret Weapon at the Ronin after putting in an estimated 10+ days of effort. Great job to David on his vast progression this year.
* Dave Hatchett and Noah Kaufman are hard at work on a comprehensive Tahoe bouldering guide. The guide will feature tahoe's best, previously undocumented areas such as Barb Wire, Hate Handles, Sugar Pine, South Bliss, The Ronin, Erratica, Camoflage Forest, Lake Audraine, The Beavers, Prison Hill , Job's Peak and probably many many more.
* A Meyer's Climber Festival/ bouldering comp may be in the works for Sept.
Yes sir, another exciting year for Tahoe bouldering. Now that the rain appears to have taken a break, maybe I can actually start to work my way back into the rocks. I think I'll start tomorrow.
