class•ic bloc

unrelated but ones dope and ones interesting and ones groovy

2009-08-18T23:59:00.001-07:00

LOADED

2009-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ive still been resting a bit from outside climbing lately, really only climbing in the gym. Mainly, its a preemptive plan to ensure I have a lot of psyche for the fall/winter bishop season. It is kind of a weird thing though, because before this summer for the last 2.5 years i can cant the number of weekends on one hand that I have not gone rock climbing outside, i think its three. So im really itching to climb right now, and can't wait for proper temps.

During winter break from school last winter, Matty Schuessler and I headed to Hueco for the first time. My expectations were high, and still were exceeded. I can not wait for this years trip. We met some really cool motivated canadians, and one Jean Marc Grenier shot footage of me on Loaded with Power. It might still be the hardest problem I have done, and I was psyched to have done it after climbing less than two years. Jean Marc just cut the video this past week, and im glad I hadnt watched it until today, for it has really inspired me--it reminds me how hard i used to try! When I got to the top, I was very happy with myself and now remember one of the many reasons i love climbing, i was euphoric!

Loaded With Power, Hueco

Thats all for now, im going to go enjoy my last week of summer until school starts again.

if anyone reads this, check back in a few weeks, black mountain evening sessions, and a much anticipated return to way lake are hopefully in the near future.

Try Hard

bop micromix

2009-07-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Way Lake Cont...

2009-06-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

and heres s'more...

approach

manbeetle

Nic on the crux of the highball 'Hail Mary' V3

straight chillin

Jeff topping the immaculate 'green 15' wall

Nic amongst the talus climbing the steep 'hose monster' v8

Jeff loving every second of the tall and beautiful 'Excite Bike' V0

the coveted glasses that Nic recovered from the death talus

Way Lake

2009-06-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

this weekend, nic and I drove up to mammoth to escape the hot hot heat in socal.

I spent the weekend bouldering in Way Lake. Way Lake is at about 10,000 feet elev-thus yielding some of the more favorable temps California has to offer for bouldering during the summer months. The hike in is a little longer than your average 'approach'. Pretty, very quiet, and very green, and a strong stream of snowmelt flows throughout. (fragment) The rock is a gneissic/schist supposedly comparable to rmnp. the problems are generally powerful, steepish, and consist of a variety of holds. holds that are 1000X friendlier than socal granite-a nice change of pace. The highest concentration of problems at way lake is in the V5-V9 difficulty range, but several very classic harder and easier problems abound (i.e. twin cracks V0, excite bike V1, wave catcher V11, chumscrubber V12). also worth noting that is very cool and unique about the area: there are a substantial number of tall bold classic moderates, and many sds's- if you find yourself at way lake unsure of where the starting holds may be, look for the lowest possible / most obvious holds.. making the boulder problems truly bouldery and full value!

Jeff Sillcox (his blog) was kind enough to give us an exhaustive tour, repeating problems, and sharing alot of beta.
here is a somewhat distorted perspective of him climbing a V5 highball crack called 'Morpheus'

Which is on the same boulder as 'Two Dragons' (V9); here is Andrew Stevens

walking/sliding/descending through snow in style

nic earned employee of the day by a) flashing meadow roof sit (v9) b) getting a quick third ascent of chumscrubber and most importantly c) rescuing my very sentimentally valuable sunglasses that fell -while hiking the talus field- into a cave, in between rocks and a couple feet into black ice cold water. thanks nic.

here is a video i edited of the send... unfortunately this wont be a regular thing (not my camera- thanks to Andrew for the camera work)

Bouldering Chumscrubber (v12) Way Lake. CA on Vimeo.

p.s.
i feel bad that i forgot to add credits to the end of the film. the music is by Cyantific the song is Empty Streets.

dnalsi ylenol

2009-06-19T02:23:00.000-07:00

This post is weak. But i know it wont be at least another week until i actually make a pure climbing related / photo post. When will that be? I want to visit way lake soon! The past weekend, i induced sickness upon myself via red wine on friday night (rookie maneuver) and did/could not climb the next day. Although some later evenings amongst the past two weeks yielded more favorable temps at black, it appears those days are gone for a couple months. I very rarely focus on training and skip climbing outside on the weekends, only because i can't take it and get very bored, but thats what i have been up too/will be up too until i can drag someone up to way lake. I feel, not strong necessarily, but pretty tired. maybe that will turn out to be a good thing later on down the line.

RANDOM

training motiv: you have already seen "perky pinky". but did you know?: i just learned that rich simpson went on to repeat the problem with a weight vest. i think of this when i dont want to go to the gym.

humor: i had seen my D in a B a long time ago, but how did i miss the rest of the skits? hilarious
like a boss
im on a boat
lazy sunday
jizz in my pants
my dick in a box

NEWS
since the last post some notable competition climbing achievements occured
massive shoutouts to Kyle Owen and Julian Bautista, holding it down for socal.

Nalle Hukkataival did Jade REALLY quickly. hes on top of the game.

Jamie Emerson made a bunch of very nice posts in the past couple weeks regarding future potential bouldering in CO.

if you haven't already, check out alex's and ian's recent updates on the idyllwild stone clambering.

and because you care: if you don't you should.. this past sunday was a big one for media being released in my small world. two very VERY much anticipated doses of entertainment finally arrived. the first being, the SICK ALBUM finally dropped. and the second being True Blood season 2 has begun. very psyched. so good.

that will be it for now. promises of massive sends and inspiring photos of gneissic schist soon.

wkend hiatus

2009-06-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

"im NOT climbing..." -tyler landman dos. V

took the weekend off from climbing; it was needed. i rarely rarely do. my skin was in pretty bad shape: from weeks of never being recovered. and last week i felt in ever so slight twinge/weakness in my left hand ring finger pulley (an old injury that has felt 99 percent).

the weekend was spent in las vegas, with good friends phil and ross. i have been to las vegas a few times, but had barely even seen "the strip". i got a tickert... but the bomb italian food from bautistas (complimentary unlimit. wine and cappucino for dessert included with great meal), the pool, and the animal collective show balanced it all out. animal collective quickly and intensely turned into a rave-like-happy-hippy-DANCE-party. everyone was super pumped and friendly and chatty. not the best show i have ever seen, but for sure the most fun i have had at a concert.

back in the 9, one week left of classes / testing.. then summer (summer school and work). feel refreshed and psyched. way lake should should be thawed out soon, and yet again Ian has come through with another amazing find at black mt--apparently one of the most/more inspiring/proud/aesthetic blocs on the mountain. sounds definitely classic. hopefully checking it out this weekend.

Black

2009-05-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Beginning of the day (hot hot hot) in Ok Corral.

Bridget top out

Ian on the beautiful 'Morphic Resonance' longish fingery pulls

Bridget on a new link of lobotomy into Loh's roof. very cool moves

Ian on the one really hard move that is darkhorse

In the evening we went to a rarely climbed area called "The Chappies" which yielded much more favorable temps, top notch rock, and tall inspiring independent boulders.. Regrettably, i didnt bring my camera nor did alex bring his video camera. i was very shocked/impressed. i think i will return.. next time.

heat=utter devastation of the skin

2009-05-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Despite the unfavorable temperatures in socal this weekend, black mountain comprised a solid crew of climbers.. If possible, it seems best to start climbing after 3, and climb until sunset.. One benefit of the summer season is the length of the days.. very nice to be able to climb at 8 by dim sunlight.
Heres two of Ian on the crux of IANimal (a play on the climb "Danimal" at the tram), a hard dynamic squeeze problem he put up last fall.. Cool and hard. I predict the very obvious lower link will be sent by lantern this summer..

Although my eyes were set on "Cosmos", I managed two Black Mt. classics- "OK Arete" and "Cracker Boy". I was psyched to climb these two, as they are classics and standards of their grade at Black.. Video of the ladder coming this way via Alan soon. Thanks to all the homies who hung out and spotted me as I gave attempts by headlamp. Today was a heavy monday at school, and although I'm now at stell coffee, the night isn't over... Psyched to get back at it this weekend.. Stay cool this week,
Dom

It has been hot out.

2009-05-08T02:16:00.000-07:00

black mountain wednesday

Let the beat build.

2009-05-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Good day at Black yesterday. Forecast said rain/clouds. And we hiked 30 minutes uphill. So I opted out on bringing up the camera. Regret it though, as always. There are some photos here at blackmountainbouldering.blogspot that Ian took yesterday at the OK Corral. I climbed in the OK Corral (proper), down lower on morphic resonance, Boulder Basin, and then hiked up to the visor and summit areas. Full day for sure! I had never been to the visor/summit, so it was good to get the tour. We met up with an old friend Ian Cotter-Brown from Bishop, and gave him a tour.. All in all, I got very psyched on Black Mountain yesterday. Had decent attempts on some problems I had never tried before. Good things acoming! I really wish I could get out today, i don't want to have to wait until next friday, but my skin is an absolute disaster! the worst it's been in a long while. (the only bad thing about granite)

a weekend in Camp 4

2009-04-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

Yosemite is quite amazing. Truly beautiful and grand. It was my first visit. I was blown away by the size of the big walls. I nearly pet a deer on accident. And I watched small bears walk through camp 4, 10 feet away from people. Everyone acted like it wasn't a big deal at all. I guess it wasn't--and its only because it was so new to me. The granite is top notch.I didn't accomplish my main goal (midnight lightning [it's hard!]), but climbed a couple nice boulders in the Cathedral area. Met up with some old friends, and was blown away by the setting. Nature at it's finest. And I can't wait to get back.. Anyone from socal who wants to carpool on up-let me know!

Quote of the weekend: a friend who will rename nameless, who's initials start with james and end with lucas, gave me a tour of the camp 4 bouldering, as we wrapped up the hike, we found ourselves off the trail and trudging through an area we shouldn't be. he said "This is YOSAR-feel free to take a shit anywhere you want."

ma-dood.

2009-04-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here is Ian on "Beyond Life" V10/11 at dusk.

*note, the send was pretty impressive...my favorite 5 seconds of media is the footage of James Litz on Crown of Aragon. He catches the left hand crimp open-handedly with only three fingers-- he stares at his hand and slowly puts his pinky on and then curls his fingers into a crimp.. Ian had a comparable moment on the left hand he has in the picture..

Heres one Ian shot of yours truly on "Maxipad" an amazing classic wrong-handed dyno.

Aron on Resident Evil

photo by Ian

Thats all for now.. Im off to perculate some espresso, eat, then school... And then catching a ride (camp 4) Yosemite tonight. 2.5 days. Spontaneous trip, that Im quite excited about (i have never been)..

watch this! amazing

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE "MY GIRLS" HD from KNOWMORE on Vimeo.

Straight Winnin'

2009-04-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

I've been bugging Ian to email me the photo I took of him on beyond life and have been waiting to make this post. Ryan's been bugging me to make a post. So ill do two, one now and one later.. In short, I took very few photos. It's difficult to juggle climbing/photography.. And given the days were very numbered, my plan was to only shoot photos on my rest day.. Well i ended up taking two or three rest days, but they were forced due to snow, hence no one climbed on those days, hence not many pictards... at all..

The trip was amazing. Alot of friends showed up; 'Massive shoutouts' (steve bcee) to Jon, Ian and Bridget, Aron and Bri, Amna, Darryl, Ryan and Kelsey, and of course, Arthur the Gatherer.. For making my experience ever so enjoyable. Campfires were fun, resting was chill... Good times with good people.. By the way- Ian absolutely crushed. And Bridget had the send of the trip, stepping up and sending the scary--no TERRIFYING "Save Yourself" (7C). Unfortunately, Ian had the LA (last ascent) of a really nice problem called the Knocking Room. It was a solid powerful (not my style) crimpy problem. I was really excited about the holds / movement, it would have by far been the most powerful problem I had ever climbed. I worked out all the moves multiple times over 3 sessions (I poured alot of time into it) but never managed to link the 1st move with the 3rd before a friend broke a hold rendering it unclimbable. NEGATIVE! Well thats my sob story.. Lesson learned: bouldering is futile, boulders aren't immortal.. Not to downplay the legitimacy of being passionate about something for the sheer reason to be passionate about something.. I always gain morsels of knowledge from roadtrips.. Whether it be physical or mental. It's one huge reason I like traveling.. I didn't let it get me down, and left satisfied with the numerous hours I spent climbing on the perfect black sandstone, and the super classic moderates that I did send. If you can.. GO TO JOES. you won't regret it. I will be back.. for longer next time. I have vowed it to myself.

This is great... Ian--err--Bruce Banner had to get angry for the send..

Zoom in on it.. crazy! Apple Pie = Rocket Fuel??

Waiting...

Lets play the Eastsidebouldering.blogspot.com game.... which hold is this?

eden.. yes: AGAIN! sorry..

This lady at the Gas station was selling swedish fish.. single serving.. bizarre.

Socal News:

Ian topped out the amazing arete at black mountain discussed below. For the probable FA of "Twilight of The Idols" V10. Nic and Alan have both repeated it, attesting to how classic it is... Apparently Alex is on poon status (due to excessive amounts of sport climbing) and isn't buying into the hype.. ;) Here's a crappy video of Alan's send.

Game Ain't Easy

2009-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Quick update. First. Let me start with: Joes --> AMAZING. I find Bishop to have the best aesthetics (landscape, pure lines, huge independent blocs). I find Hueco to have the best movement (gymnastic/steep). But Joe’s takes the cake on the rock, for sure. The stone is perfect for climbing. For having fun, all day long. “The Black Rock” here, is stellar. Very positive. The rock here is conducive to a lot of variety in holds too. The majority of the blocs here are tallish walls, slightly overhung, with edges spread far apart. I am extremiely excited about this place. Definitely on par with Bishop and Hueco. The next opportunity I have for a longish road trip – I will definitely be in Joe’s. I can’t wait. So…Joe’s is spread out into more than three different zones, and each mini sector within the zones has it’s own parking or approach. On top of this, A LOT of new stuff has been put up in the past couple years (undocumented officially) And it just so happens that the majority of the really good classic stuff is the newer stuff. All this to say, Joe’s is a tricky place to get ‘dialed’, its difficult to get your bearings straight out here. That has been my goal in the past couple days. It feels like I climbed on absolutely everything, from morning until dusk, each day driving to several sectors and trying every problem at least once. Today we are taking a much needed and deserved rest day, and Wednesday begins the countdown to “close” on some boulders. Joes is AMAZING,
heres a couple photos.. nothing special. its been really tough to discipline myself enough to stay off the rock and rest let alone to take out the camera.
Bridget on the beautiful riverbed classic "Angler"

Ian locking it off on the phenomenal "Eden"

Arthur Van Siclen executing perfectly on the classic "Scary Monsters" to seal his employee of the day award

hmmm..
its kind of raining right now, and the next few days look possibly grim.. bummer. we will probably drive down to Triassic tomorrow if the weather indeed does shit on us.. hopefully not though, there is sooo much to do here.

Forthcoming

2009-04-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

So now that the cats outta the bag... heres a couple photos of a truly stunning project at black mountain.. Contender for the best problem in socal?... if not at least top 3.. A bold claim, but significant and a quite fitting discussion given the title/premise of this blog. So why is it so classic? Dramatic setting. Good landing. Proud. Striking feature. Independent. Very obvious start. Cool movement. Unique holds. Full value. Steep. Aesthetically pleasing. The holds are solid, good quality. It still hasn't "gone" yet, but Ian is agonizingly close to topping this gem out. v-hard.

From black mt.

The past week has been somewhat uneventful. I have stayed local and have been A) setting routes at the gym (earning a little bit of money), B) getting schoolwork squared away, and C) training hard, all for..... Joe's Valley! Spring break! Im leaving april 9th and will return april 19th. I am very syked. My only climbing experience on sandstone roots from stoney point and redrocks. I haven't really bouldered at all on quality sandstone yet. And I am very very excited about climbing on rock that isn't sharp and slippery (a good change of pace) (although i LOVE bishop and black mountain). On that note.. Big news: Black mountain proper is open. Yep. Gate is open. With all this plastic training, i made sure to get out yesterday and remind myself how to edge on small feet and maintain some climbing wizardy. Climbed in OK Corral and boulder basin yesterday. Temps were splitter! Enjoy it now, before it gets hot. Massive shoutouts to the homie Ryan Wasell who put down Buzzsaw V10 with the quickness. Hasn't climbed outside in 6 months. Still knows how to stand on his feet. Very impressive. Very cool problem that I am looking forward to putting some more time into soon.

Weather permitting..... Joes Joes Joes! I have a few problems on my list (Wills a fire boulder, The Wind Below, Angler), but for those who may read this and have been to Joes please comment with any all-time classic problems v0-v10. It would be much appreciated. I actually dont have my sights set on any problem of the V9 difficulty, haven't found any info online of any "soulslinger" or "french tickler", or "right el jorge" or "slider" of Joe's..

heres a tree from the majestic san jacinto boulder-littered forest

cheers,
I promise to update at least once while im out there doin' it in Orangeville, UT

New Shiz

2009-03-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Went to Black Mt. again this wednesday.. With Black Mt. proper still 'closed' (to easy access) Ian has been busy developing lower elevation areas. He was nice enough to share syke and a tour of the newest area.. The gem of the area is the bloc shown below.. A stand start has seen a few ascents so far and is called "Forms V9".. Very classic. It starts two rails above where Ian's hands are in the picture below. Longish pulls on flat edges gain an arete (1/2 the climb is out of frame) which leads to negotiating slopers and slopey crimps with a heel to a spice full value topout.. The picture shows the angle of the boulder.. but nowhere near articulates its size.. After a couple days work, Ian put the whole thing together climbing it from a very obvious lower start-- first go on wednesday, looking very solid too.. The low consists of a completely new crux, and the whole problem together consists of 24+ hand moves (not including intermediates!).. The boulder itself along with the surrounding boulders form a cave, and a river (snowmelt) runs through it. Majestic!!! A truly classic bloc, and a fresh new addition two black, and socal's testpieces..

photo by alan

I learned on wednesday that there is something quite enjoyable about personally finding a boulder, conceiving of a line in your head, cleaning holds, and putting chalk on them.. Having the "vision" is something I definitely do not possess, but I admire it and the work and effort people put in to first ascents. Its fun!

Projects abound, we found and cleaned two new VERY classic problems at the end of the day. will be back.. very syked

oversyked

2009-03-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Fiveten (Nic, Kevin, Dave) hooked it up fat this weekend, with a good time at the Red Rock Rendezvous. Friday, was spent at the "New Belgian White" beer truck (amazing).. Saturday was a full day of climbing at the Kraft Boulders in the Calico Basin and in the Black Velvet Canyon. Sunday, the weather became shitty, and was spent hanging out at the event, in gale-force winds. Here are some pictures I snagged from the Black Velvet Canyon
Daniel Woods warming up

Heres two of Jon Cardwell putting down Abodden (steep!)

The beautiful "wetdream" boulder

Compression Project in the sick riverbed

Daniel on the Second Ascent, of Jon's new compression bloc "Atlas Shrugged"

... a very obvious sit to:
"The Fountainhead"; being climbed on by Nic

The boulders were majestic! The rock itself was really fun to climb on...sooo nice on the skin! Photos from the Kraft Boulders coming soon.. first, my sociology homework..
free beer, and it was good beer...

witness the sickness

2009-03-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

ive been plagued by sickness for a solid week now. but it didnt stop me from escaping the IE, and hanging out in the boulderfields this weekend.

i am a retard and didnt carry my camera out to Dale's camp on sunday, to the MAJESTIC bloc that is Xavier's roof...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMKYx1smFqI&feature=channel_page

Mission: Tram Recon

2009-03-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

The last two weekends have been a bit uneventful on the climbing side of life.. Last weekend, I stayed in town to take care of some business: and this weekend's plans for Bishop fell through at the last minute. Bummer.. But, I did get the chance to venture into the San Jacinto Mt.s to play on it's granite during these virgin weeks of the upcoming season. Before class on Wednesday, Ian kindly gave me a 7 a.m. tour of a very lesser known-low traffic area near Black Mt., at lower elevation. The hike took longer than the drive, but the setting was perfect and the boulders blew away my expectations.. I climbed a couple top notch 3 star classics! Here is a video of ian on a cool arete I climbed up there.. There are a multiple lines on this steep boulder ranging from V6ish-V10ish. Notice the hueco and bicycle.. on granite!! Unfortunately, no pictures, but I will hopefully be returning in the next couple days.. I also visited the Tram for the first time in a very long time.. On Sunday, Nic and I showed up to the tram prepared, bearing a shovel and tarp.

too not much avail, we invested some time on these..

How low can you go? A tribute to Ryan W... The problem below is actually pretty damn cool, very interesting/fun moves.. woulda shoulda coulda... I couldnt pull it together.. And Im not sure how Nic didn't flash it. darn close.

the verdict: dry boulders, wet socks, complete solace. negotiating the trails without proper shoes (walking a couple miles in snow with street shoes) is kind of shitty. but the boulders are crisp and clean. good times overall.

Dreary conditions

2009-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Alex on The Mystery

Bridget aceing history class on, the Croft Problem

Alex cruising Saigon

Eric warming up

Bridget Junior's Achievement

A dense white cloud of fog engulfed buttermilk country this weekend, producing moist and gloomy conditions. Not alot\r went down in the sending dept... except Bridget snagged the Croft Problem V8 with some cool beta. Good weekend all in all, regardless of topping blocs, chilling with friends amongst snowcapped mountains and beautiful boulders is always an enjoyable escape from southern california.

Kiss Uranus

2009-02-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

Bishop was cold, wet, and snowy; along with yosemite and red rocks. Staying local was the only rational option this weekend.. I had alot of fun climbing with good friends I hadn't seen in a while. Saturday we enjoyed clear skies and comfortable temps at Joshua Tree. In the early afternoon we took a look at what Bridget wanted to finish up, "Mulligan Variation" V8--and finish it up she did-and with good style I must add.. I was psyched to climb it too, as it is a fun steep prow that is very atypical for Josh. After this we hiked for a good couple hours looking for "Alexandria", but never found it. bummer...

Sunday was the Jupiter Boulders. After warming up we stayed at the main big boulder, a good session was had.. Bridget and Nick were looking strong on Wizard Smoke, I fell 20+ times punting on this move(I have N0 tension!), and Ian put down a new line, a project he has been playing on for a while. It was quite impressive! The climb starts on the lowest crimps of Wizard Smoke, and climbs more directly (instead of traversing into 'suck my venus' as per wizard smoke) up opposing rails. Big powerful moves.. Kiss Uranus? V11? He seemed a bit undecided.. A cool addition to the hard problems in socal.

Choss

2009-02-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

Darryl, Alan, and I drove to Joshua Tree, in hopes that Alan would finish up Dihedron (5.14b R).. Warming up on T.R. he ripped off the only true "hold (crimp)" on the route.. What was a rest / stance is now a new crux. He spent the rest of the day working out a new sequence (no lead yet). I was looking forward to "never hiking out to the wonderland again". ah well..

Heres a picture from our short warm up session at Turtle Rock.

Alan taking a morning stroll up Joshua Tree's classic bloc "So High"

Alan Shot this one of me on the font problem

Most Classic Blocs in Bishop?

2009-02-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

First, this blog is close to up and running.. I got my camera! Most of it at least.. Managed a factory refurbished XTI 10.1 for 1/2 retail price. This bargain enabled me to buy decent glass: I got three lenses, the Canon 50mm f/1.8, an all-in-one Tamron 18-200 zoom, and the one I am most psyched on: the Sigma 10-20. Due to horrible weather, I have been stealing (reading not buying) precious knowledge from Barnes and Nobles via the Photography section. Hopefully this weather will change for the best and I will be able to climb outside/shoot some cool photos very soon! If not for mine, at least for your sake...because if not you will be bored with shots of my Katie girl.

What to talk about while recently being stuck in the gym? How about some Classic Blocs? A few weeks back a conversation was had amongst friends. The question "What are the 3 best (most classic) boulder problems in Bishop?" After dialogue and debate, Charlie's top 3 held strong (i dont have any photos of these, and feel wrong about pasting other's on my blog, so links it is):

High Plains Drifter 7A+

Unique interesting movement that FLOWS so well. This climb has movement that is FUN. It is sustained, and full value: you top out at 60ish feet and end up looking down on the rest of the buttermilks. You climb on hugely incut jug crimps, and do a cool "drifter" move off of a big slopey crimp. finish up jugs and have a victory run up a 5.6 slab which you wish would go on for 100 more feet (if you could rap off). This climb is up in my personal top three of enjoyable climbs with See Spot Run 7A in Hueco and Checkerboard 7B+ in Bishop. picture. video.

This Side of Paradise 7C+

This arete is truly proud and impressive. Some (most) climbs that I see in film look much smaller when you finally stand in front of them. This climb is a rare exception. I have walked up too it three times now on separate occasions. Each time I am extremely surprised about how large/impressive/intimidating it is. Besides its grand size it is a beautiful obvious and striking feature. I can't speak from personal experience but apparently the climbing is top notch. picture.

Haroun and The Sea of Stories 8A/+

Probably the best. This problem is long! It is beautiful. The opening moves are amazingly unique, cool, and interesting. Proud. All of the holds are comfortable, nothing extremely sharp, no tweaky small holds. Even the holds are unique; a perfectly scooped hueco in granite??! A slab follows behind you as you climb keeping it relatively safe--although still scary. If, just if, the slab behind it wasnt there- and the landing was perfectly flat, this might be the most classic problem on the planet (bold claim)...and surely it would see less repeats! picture.

photo courtesy: eastsidebouldering.bogspot.com

close contenders for the list:

Checkerboard

Evilution

Alan's day at Josh was partly successful, and my prediction of dramatic proved accurate. SCARY. scariest bit of climbing I have ever seen actually. As I was spotting near the crashpads I battled with the temptation of looking away every time he was approaching a hard move. He fell beyond both of the physical cruxes after placing 5 pieces. He blew 3 out of the 5, and took quite a whip on a very tiny BD stopper. He took that fall twice.. one TINY stopper, in a Chosshua Tree pin scar. He ended up leading the whole thing in two overlapping sections. He is returning in two days to finish it up.

Hardest Blocs in Southern California

2009-02-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

Here are the 6 hardest boulder problems in Southern California.

Iron Resolution 8B

Joshua Tree

FA: Chris Sharma

repeats: Ethan Pringle, Charlie Barrett

In 2003 a giant block was dislodged near the

Barker Dam, yielding a proud and striking feature!

Powerful moves up thin holds gain this impressive line.

Somewhere In Time 8A+/B

Tramway

FA: Matt Birch

repeats: Daniel Woods, Ty Landman,

Jon Cardwell, Alex Savage

This problem climbs a thin seam on a very

steep piece of rock. Powerful with poor feet

to a spicy topout. Truly beautiful! Originally

proposed at V14, majority seems to be hard V12.

Bang On 8A+/B

Black Mountain

FA: Ben Moon

repeats: Tim Clifford, Dave Struthers, Fred Nicole?,

Ty Landman, Harry Robertson, Alex Savage, Kyle Owen

This problem put Black Mountain and Socal,

for that matter, on the map for hard bouldering.

Short, powerful, and very pure!

Black Mamba 8A+

Tramway

FA: Dan Mills

repeats: Garrett Gregor, Ty Landman,

Jon Cardwell, Harry Robertson, Julian Bautista

This problem starts as per "Black Flame" and finishes

on "Stretch Armstrong". The crux is jumping into the

crimp of stretch armstrong and holding the swing.

Regeneration 8A+

Black Mountain

FA: Dave Struthers

repeats: Dan Mills, Alan Moore

The stand start to this problem "Gimme Some V8",

can be seen in the climbing film "Rampage". Dave

Struthers did the first ascent of the sit in 2001, right

around the same time he made a very early ascent of

The Mandala.

Steep Sharma Sit aka Devil's Dance 8A+

Tramway

FA: Dan Mills

repeats: Ty Landman, Alan Moore

First made known by the climbing film "Rampage", In the film you witness Chris climb the stand and attempt the low (shoeless). The problem starts as low as possible on the prow.

photos courtesy: Urban Climber, Robert Miramontes

Videos

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Friends/Socal:

Nic on Chumscrubber

Alex Savage's Savage Vids

Plastic:
Perky Pinky

Misc:
Climbing Wizardy

more to come if Nic ever brings the HD camera out.

2009-02-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

Galleries

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Picasa

Flickr

About

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I created this blog, because I love climbing, and I love the people and places that climbing brings into my life. I bought a camera because I realized I have failed to record all of the amazing places I have traveled to, people I have met, and experiences had.

Hopefully, this blog will be an outlet for sharing these things in the future; with friends & family.

Classic Bloc?

There is nothing too special about the name. Just wanted something other than my personal name, and relatively simple/generic. One aspect of climbing that I pursue is achieving personal goals. Whether these are physical or mental, my main driving force for pushing through and achieving goals is inspiration/willpower (I have small muscles). And I find myself most inspired by "classic" boulder problems (bloc:french for boulder). Classic problems are characterized by most of the following:aesthetic, obvious (starting hold, line, etc...), not contrived, excellent rock quality, tall, proper landing, interesting and fun movement, not altered by man, setting, history, etc...

If you don't know me and stumbled upon this accidentally, I hope you leave inspired and motivated.

Contact

2009-02-03T00:34:00.000-08:00

Dominic Palermo

palermo.dominic@gmail.com

classicbloc@gmail.com

909.793.3361