Mercedes FA

Here's a video of Kyle O'Mera climbing the likely first ascent of 'Mercedes' on the Five Star Boulder, the tall line between Ross Bongo, AKA Trigger Point, and the Five Star Arete.  The line has been tried by many strong climbers on and off with no success that I'm aware of, and people had come to think of it as the Five Star's last great project.

I write that Kyle climbed the "likely" first ascent of the line because I don't want to incite the type of "redevelopment" debates that sweep across Colorado like wildfires every summer, and in Washington, you never know.  The real kudos for this climb go to Bob Buckley, whose recent cleaning efforts on the boulder have given it quite the hi-pro glow...

Nice job Kyle!

Alpental Pt. 2

Cortney, Joel, and I headed back up to Alpental the other weekend to see how the boulders looked at this point in the season.  Much of the snow had melted, and the snow that was left did little to smooth out the rocky landings.  We did a few new climbs, and explored a bit more, but the big flat face that really drew us to the area would require 10+ pads to protect.  The good news is that the approach is a lot easier without snow, but I walked away with the conclusion that the area is really only viable during a short period in July or August depending on the year's snowpack.  I'll probably make one or two more trips up there this fall, but the area's real gems will have to wait until next year... 

Nice Scenery...

Cortney on a New Line

Joel on a Hard Project

A Rare Safe Landing - the Danger Here Comes from Above!

LW Photos

More photos from earlier this summer...

Drewdledee and Drewdledum on Indigenous

Cortney and Keri on Shaniqua

 Yeah!

 V12 Lawyer Jordan Talge Attempting to Climb VB

Me and Drew Attempting Sorrow Bird

(note that Drew is much closer to sticking the hold despite having to fully leap to it...) 

One of these Things is Not Like the Others...

(punctum: goober in corner of mouth)

Jib Skiing Vid

I really try to avoid re-posting other videos/posts relating to climbing and other outdoor sports here, but this jib skiing video was literally so breathtaking that I had to post it.  I know it's almost eight months old, but what better time to post a skiing vid than during the triple-digits heat of mid-August??

I was huge into skiing in high school and the first couple years of college (before climbing took over), but I really miss it, and it's videos like this that make me reconsider me and Cortney's decision not to live in a mountain town for a few years.  I will definitely be doing some skiing this winter!!!  I'm not saying I'll be Shane McConkey (skiing's John Sherman, except talented like Chris Sharma.  There is nobody remotely as cool in climbing today), but I'm motivated to get into the mountains regardless...

I used to watch videos of J.P. doing beautiful 360s and 540s in old Matchstick Productions videos, and it inspired me to try a part of skiing I never had: doing pre-planned tricks off of man-made jumps.  To make a long story short, I broke my thumb and turned my back on the sport: enter the phase of life where I'd rather go to Stoney G's than bust turns in 12" pow at Alpental on the average weekday winter night.  Oh well... This video inspires me to pick it up again.  Enjoy!!!

JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.