Been Ballin' Since The Womb

I mean HighBallin..... My mother gave birth to me on a very tall table. Today we re-enacted the event by climbing a couple highballs at LRC. We began by climbing Kaya, a beautiful highball that climbs a clean white face. There are a few tenuous moves high, for maximum drama. We then moved on to Deception, which is deceivingly hard, and slightly tall. The movement is sustained and 4 star.


Cody on Deception.


Matt on Deception.


Matt on Kaya.

Cody on Kaya.

I got a bad case of Wrenchitis

To say I've been setting a lot recently is an understatement. I donated my services to the Vol Wall for their annual semester comp. I think the name of this comp was crankfest or some derivation of that. UTOP hired a young gun named Grady who stayed with my roommate and I for the week, and showed us the true meaning of setting. It was refreshing to watch an 18 year old take something so seriously. Despite our best efforts we did not get Grady to go crazy until all the "work" was done. The comp turned out to be a huge success. Roses were thrown from the stands, and we were considered Heroes. Well not so much, but I have recently played Contra, so I feel as if I have saved the universe.
I also got outdoors recently, went to a new area called Horse Pens 40. I don't believe it needs an introduction since it is probably the most infamous bouldering area in the Southeast.



Sam on some v4 at Rocktown.

Rob and Grady getting their NBA Jam on.

Me on the First Natural.

Chris on Landslide.

Mondays @ LRC

Man do I love my class schedule. I finish at 11:00 am, my friends finish around noon, and then we climb until dark or when our fingers bleed. It was a beautiful day, blue bird skies. We've truly been blessed with great weather recently. Of course as I write this the temps outside have dropped from 35 to 30 degrees F, and it looks as though it may actually snow.

We warmed up, and got on one of the cooler moderates I've been on at LRC called Mystery Groove, then tried a crazy dynamic problem called Spyro Gyro. Here are some pics from that day:


Santi on Spyro Gyro


Jon on Mystery Groooooove.

My Birthday Bash

Saturday was my birthday, and I spent it the best way I could think of...on some rocks. The day was full of psyche, hard laughs, and it was return to my roots, climbing hard with the boys. I believe heaven is similar to days like this past Saturday. Collectively, I don't think we sent anything besides warm ups, but that is also what made it so great and laid back. Good Friends and good fun. I treated myself to a new digital Camera, hence the increased activity on my blog recently. I hope you enjoy.


Classic Southern top outs.


Some Strong guy on the Orb.

Spyro Gyro at LRC


Santi on Fatigue Syndrome.

Nostalgia

I miss my friends in Colorado.

Contemptible Confusion

What is it that we seek in this life anyway? For some the answers seem to pop into mind immediately. Mine is often overwhelmed with a million desires leading to utter confusion. I don't understand how life can be so complex, and so simple at the same time. It is all dependent upon what the desire of the moment is. Life is fleeting moments, moments that can not be captured except in the memory, and even then, we skew and change them to what our perception craves. I suppose that is why I am so enthralled with activities that force you to live the moment. Climbing, mathematics, and slacklining transform my thoughts into simplicity. But there is a dire side effect : it has turned me into an insomniac. I spend late nights lying in bed wishing I could fall into dream land worrying about my next move, how to fulfill my next temporary desire. It leaves me angry and sleepy.

And now some old pictures for your reminiscing/viewing pleasure:


Bicky and Jake

The Mathemagician (it didn't go over well as a Halloween costume)

How I feel.

Glamour Shots at LRC

Another Beautiful Saturday, with a beautiful bunch of people. There were good times had by all. Some of us sent, some of us battled with the sandstone. But in the end we all came a little stronger and a little closer. I just received my new digital camera in the mail. I am super psyched on taking more photos with this camera, however there are so many function on it, I'm afraid my quality of photos will diminish for some time until I master all the gadgets on it. It is the classic Cannon Rebel Xti. Here are the first batch of photos, with some of my favorite climbing partners.


Lindsey on Sternum

Mitch workin Scarecrow

The Glamour Shot

Matt on The Crescent. Possibly the best climb in LRC.