Here is a quick video of Jarrad Wycoff and Brad Perry getting some laps in on some great South Lake Tahoe moderates. I'm off to Toulumne Meadows to hook up with Matt Arnold and see some awesome stuff he's been doing in the park.

Summertime

                                                        Swiss Chocolate v5, photo Jason Hogan

                                                      Smoothe Boy Slim v9, photo Brad Perry

                                                     my new home

                                                        chillin' by the fire


August is here once again. The temps have been warm and the mosquitoes have been plentiful. As usual there have been massive developements all over Tahoe. Sugar Pine continues to keep producing dope line, North Shore has turned up a great area near Boreal that is supposed to be really good too. I have been stuck in massive work mode. Typical full time work can be draining on the motivation and the body. Thus, I've not had too many opportunities for travel lately. It's all a sacrafice for my next road trip in November. I plan to tour the U.s. for 5 months and then head back to South Africa.
    In the meantime I've been trying to stay in shape during the week with quick training sessions after work. In one of these sessions at the Toltek boulder I did the 3 classics and then sent the Golden Eagle project. Then almost did the Flying Silver project( climbing Flyan Mayan into Silver Bullet). I've also been doing some lines at Jarrad's area. We've been getting lots of footage of the new problems. I'm working on a video edit that showcases the classic FA's done at this place. Being that I don't have much time to venture too far from my house, this area has become my new favorite. Special thanks goes to Jarrad for wondering in the middle of nowhere and finding some new stuff.  In the meantime, I've finished a short edit of Jarrad Wycoff and Brad Perry doing some random mega classics at different South Lake Tahoe areas. The video will be uploaded soon.
    Despite the long hours of work I've been putting in, it is awesome that I still get to climb when I can. Staying fit is all about staying psyched. I'm staying psyched!

a few pics

                                                 Mike Njoten on Sacred Heart

                                                      David O getting freaky

                                                            4 th of July @ Stateline

                                               The Tahoe Fireworks Show

Is the Rain finally Over?

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.

It has begun

In between training and working 40 hrs a week, I managed to get out and do a little filming with some friends. Luckily I was able to capture some really cool sends on video. For those of you wondering, the season in Tahoe is on. We've broken in most of the early season area and this weekend we are headed to the higher country. Kirkwood saw a lot of snow this season. On Saturday we are headed up to Erratica to find out just how much. Tarps, snowshoes, shovels, crash pads, and hot drinks will be in our arsenal for this bouldering weekend. I am excited as usual. I have some new projects that are high on the list for this season and I can't wait to try them. But anyways the season is ON!!! So get psyched. And if you're not perhaps this will get you on your feet.

Video by Jason Hogan

My friend Jason Hogan posted this rad video of me climbing in Tahoe. The footage is from last winter and has some problems from Erratica and Pie Shop Area. It is a really great edit with good problems. Enjoy.

Bishop: Great Times

Bishop!!!! Despite the fact that the conditions here are all over the board, I've been extremely focused on having a blast. This trip the partying seems to be just as enjoyable as the climbing. I've been going to a lot of different areas. Zack and I even went alpine style on the hottest day. We climbed and shoveled out the Hartley Springs area. I was really impressed with the climbing here. It was fully quality over quantity. The problems were really fun and not very sharp. I'm looking forward to going here a few more times. I am really excited to try Charlie Barrett's line called The End of the Road. This climb is exactly the perfect problems I look for. I have yet to try it but it has already sucked me in. I can't wait. Other than that, I've been doing lots of moderates and trying lots of things that don't fit me very well. I did do a cool 2nd ascent of another brilliant Matt Arnold problem in the Tablelands. A hard roof called Glass Slipper v10. I had to fight for this one. My beta is kind of wacked because of my lack of reach but it was fun anyways. Great rock and steep. Other than climbing, I've been really excited about filming and taking pictures. I got footage of Thomasina Pidgeon doing the FFA of Beautiful Gecko v12 which was awesome to witness. When I return to the civilized world I'll probably do an edit of this. One interesting rest day, we awoke to find that it was cold, raining hard, and very windy. We were hudled under a small overhang trying to stay warm and dry. Then Matt found this crazy cave above our site that had a dwelling like set up for a fire. We then turned misery into bliss. The cave was a warm, dry sanctuary on one of the worst days for camping I've seen. We spent seven hours warm, listening to music, and getting completely blitzed. It was perhaps the coolest rest day I've ever had in Bishop. The experience of being out here and constantly hanging out with cool people is unforgettable. I'm really going to enjoy these last two weeks here on the road. Then I'll return home for some work. It will be nice to spend a full season in Tahoe once again. The rock climbing never stops there. And, I'm sure this year will be no different. Thomasina on Beautiful Gecko v12

Shadow on the FA of THX 1138 v7

Nick and Matt staying warm in our "dwelling"