Updated P-wall topo

Dan and Brian getting out while the getting was still good. We went to climb at the P-wall and in the morning, the clouds left and gave us a beautiful day. But by lunch time, our luck was up and it was time to get out!

Brian and I still able to see each other in the thick cloud that covered Mt Evans.

Me, just hanging around on my latest new route, A Vacation from Your Problems.

Taylor came out to check out the P-wall and liked what he climbed on. Here he is at the top of Rocky Mountain High.

The latest topo of the P-wall. There are two new climbs at the base of the wall. The new routes are both mixed with crack gear and a couple of bolts where the wall was blank. The left of the two new climbs is called Baby Steps (5.11-/pumpy) and the right line is called Tenacious P 5.12/technical). I just want to thank J-Star for coming out and rock climbing with me on the routes and for helping unlock the sequences on the two new first pitches to the wall. Now this place is starting to look and feel like a crag!

So a quick summary of the routes and their estimated grades:

Back to the Earth 5.13 c/d (mixed gear to 1 inch and bolts)

A Vacation from your problems 5.13b (all bolts)

Open Arete Project (V12/V13 bouldery 2 bolt route) (all bolts)

Hopeless AKA High Hopes Closed Project 5.14ish (all bolts)

Rocky Mountain High 5.12+/13- (mixed gear to 3 inches and bolts)

Aqualung 5.13- (mixed gear to 2 inches and bolts)

It's a Homonym 5.12b (mixed gear to 4inches and bolts)

Tenacious P 5.12c (mixed gear to .75 inches and bolts)

Baby Steps 5.11- (mixed gear to 1 inch and bolts)

Get out and have fun, I hope to see you there!

piz : )

A Vacation From Your Problems 5.13

Dan Gambino took another round of photos the other day.
They really let you see the wall and where the heck we are climbing on the P-wall.
Enjoy them and if you like contact Dan and buy one up!

http://www.dangpix.com/pwall%20traverse%202/index.html

piz : )

Rifle USA - home of the kneebar?

Rifle Mountain Park, Colorado USA. Where the strong come to send (eventually) and the weak come to weep.

First impressions? Way more beautiful than I expected. Rifle is a long canyon with 60-80m high limestone walls on either side (which means there's always shade, even in summer) and a rushing alpine stream running through the middle. The stream is conveniently filled with brown trout so you'll share the campsite with fisherman and camping families. Bring your fishing gear or buy a complete setup for $16 at Wal-Mart like I did.

The camping in Rifle costs $7 a night, plus $5 per car, or buy an annual car pass for $40, which makes sense if you're staying for more than eight nights. Amenities include toilets and firepits. That's about it. The nearest showers and food are in at the town of Rifle which is about 20 minutes away by car, or (better) Glenwood Springs (45 minutes away).

Easy routes? Pfft! Good luck! There's maybe one or two sectors which have a handful of routes in the 5.8 - 5.10 range (17 - 19 or 5c - 6a+). If you're climbing under 7a / 23 / 5.11c I wouldn't bother. Just go elsewhere. But for this grade and upwards (especially the 7c / 27 / 5.12d grades) the place offers some serious quality. To me, the routes all seem hard for their grades. Who cares though when the quality is so good?

Walk-in's vary in length from zero minutes to about 1 minute. Great for lazy sport climbers.

I've found the climbing to be less steep than I'd imagined. With far fewer kneebars damn it. Maybe I'm just not finding them? There's lots of just gently overhanging sectors (which I love) and the routes demand a ton of endurance. There's a lot of polish, so you have to learn to trust those "buttery footholds".

Nearly all the routes have clip and lower anchors which is nice. And nearly all the classics have permadraws like these. These are also nice, although the wear on the biners means that your rope will turn black (from the aluminium oxide) and you should wear gloves when belaying.

So we're one week in and those are my initial ramblings. As for routes, I really enjoyed Beer Run 5.13a and Easy Skankin' 5.12b - both rated as the best of their grade in the wider Crankinverse. And I've fallen in love with The Anti-Phil 5.13b, so I'll see if I can get that sent before we leave.

Enjoy some pics...

New Route at the P-Wall

I have not named the line yet, but it traverses on bolts from Back to the Earth out to the the finish of my mega project named Hopeless (aka High Hopes).
The wall is steep and the traverse is really pumpy. Getting to the finishing moves is a real bear that is for sure and I have taken some fun whippers at the end of the route.
It feels like its 12+ or 13- for sure and I am really excited to have this quality addition to the wall.
I am currently taking ideas for route names. Keep them appropriate please.

There are some Dan Gambino photos of Brian Young and I trying the route and some other wall photos from the P-Wall.
http://www.dangpix.com/pwall%20traverse/index.html

piz : )

Albufeira Crag

New Crag in Albufeira its not big but well worth a look.
Big thanks to Nuno for showing John and i around,
This crag gets the sun all day and is very Hot so skip it mid summer
but autumn winter and spring will be great and the sea is a stone throw
away.
The access is an easy 50mtwalk from the road and the view
from the top of the routes is amazing.The Grades start at 6a
to 8b and are not for the novice climbers,but what a place.

Bishops Castle

Just southwest of Pueblo, CO one man has built his own castle. Jane and I went there to check it out. It is 40 years work of only one man and his wish to build something for everyone to enjoy. Here I am on the rickety cat walk up to his metal globe. Jane and I are nearly 50 feet up enjoying the scenery and swaying metal structure.

Jane at the base of the giant home made castle.

Jane and I some where up high in the castle.

Some of the stained glass windows from inside. The interior was left open with big rooms and beautiful stone work. An amazing place to wander around for a little while and in a beautiful forest in the San Isabel National Forest.

The only place where you can get an entire photo of the castle. The tower on the left has to climb to about a hundred feet up. There is a catwalk around most of the castle, spiraling staircases, huge rooms and it's always a bit windy here so being up high can be a bit nervous. I was sketching as I went to the top of the tower. The wind was picking up and its just a swaying spiral staircase making you dizzy as you head out of the safety of the rock and into space. What a place!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

piz : )

THE MIRROR

If you ever find your self in the Algarve and your up for it!
check out the Mirror,one of the best routes you will find.
There are 3 sport routes,Silent running 6b goes straight up the
middle.Small swell,sunny day and the tide was low.Why not!
60mtr abseil to a small ledge with belay point.
West facing so takes some serious beating from the sea,
Some of the bolts are rusty and the route does not see much
traffic,so climb this with Caution!!..
But well worth the risk,just ask John.
Great day,so what you waiting for???.....