Maximum Fun

So I read a recent blog post from Greg Kerzhner who made some excellent points about maximizing fun in rock climbing. He created this graph to give a graphic demonstration of what kind of climbing to do and when. So next time you think the "season is done" and its too hot to send your "sicky proj" (which probably is an eliminate chosspile to begin with), why don't you try something else? Tilley is always down to go trad climbing. That is if you can endure sloth-mode on occasion. You can read the full article at www.climbingsucks.com.



My apologies to Tilley, for taking a totally unwarranted shot at you.

Spring Break 2012 Myrtle Beach!!!

This year I went to Oregon for a week to see my buddy Chase. We go way back. This winter he is a cat driver in the park at Mt. Bachelor, right outside Bend, Oregon. I have been to Bend before, about 4 years ago. A few of us (including Chase) drove up from Lake Tahoe for 5 or so day of late season park riding. I haven't skied much since I moved away from Tahoe 2 winters ago so I was ready to get back at it. Climbing is nice but skiing is what I really love to do and this trip reminded me. I was definitely out of form but still managed to hold my own. I got a few powder days, a few sunny spring days, and a few down days because my legs couldn't handle any more.


Deschutes River in downtown Bend with the Sisters in the background. Chase lived very close to downtown and I really enjoyed talking walks in the afternoon around town, mostly wandering aimlessly. There is a nice park along the river. Bend is a great town. I would definitely live there. It has skiing, climbing and great beer.


One beer to rule them all. My last day I took a tour of the Deschutes Brewery which happened to be walking distance from Chase's house. I tried to smuggle 2 beers home with me including this one, Obsidian Stout. This is the grandaddy of them all. One beer broke in my bag on the way home but the other remains intact. I am saving it for a rainy day.



I drank a few of these too.



Hello Smith Rocks. I had originally planned to climb a day or two but I was having way too much fun skiing and couldn't track down a partner so I had to settle for this roadside view of Smith Rocks.



Hello Mt. Hood. Chase had a meeting at Windells one day so I tagged along. He dropped me off at Mt. Hood Meadows for by far the best ski day of the trip. There was about a foot of fresh and it was cold (high of 18 or something), which is atypical for Mt. Hood, which usually has very heavy snow. I skied until I nearly collapsed and then got drunk at the bar waiting for Chase to pick me up. Hood locals don't get after the pow like people do in Tahoe and there was good snow to go around until closing time.



Chase at Timberline (also on Mt. Hood) the day after the picture above. Chase and I went into Portland that night to hang out with some hipsters and I played "not my town". I won't fill you in on all the details but we did manly stuff like drink beer and went to a nearby Gentleman's Club. Big thanks to Brian Mayfield and Dani for letting us stay with them at the epicenter of hipsterness in Portland, Hawthorne Street.


View from Mt. Bachelor looking at the Sisters, (there are three of them) and Broken Top on the Right. Funny enough, I do not have a picture of Mt. Bachelor itself.



The crew grillin' on a nice day at Bachelor. This day was pretty warm and spring-like down at the bottom of the mountain. I rode the park for a while and even did some backflips for old time sake. The jump line was $$$$$ and I could not resist taking a few laps. Later in the day my legs got tired and I rode the Summit Chair, took a short hike and dropped into a north-facing bowl which still held some winter snow. The bowl exited through a gulley which could only have been caused by a volcanic eruption. It is very cool to ski a mountain which was obviously alive. Could it erupt again?



Kona. Paul's dog. She is so cool.



I am not choking Kona in this picture, only petting her.


Spring Break was great. I got to ski and took a much needed rest from climbing and school. Now back to the grind. Only one more year in Chapel Hill and then I can resume my life again.



I almost forgot...
This week's PUNT OF THE WEEK (POTW) goes to Dalen for punting Senderella Sit. Apparently he is not tall enough to climb v12. I wasn't there but I also heard he threw quite the wobbler afterwards. Poor show old boy.

First of all I just want to say... who cares about the 2012 ABS nationals competition? I was more interested to hear that Justin Bieber turned 18 this week. Daniel Woods wins his 100th consecutive national bouldering championship and he is only 22 years old, how does he do it???!???!!

Yesterday was 80 degrees an sunny in Chapel Hill. The local female wildlife looked like this.


Today was about 50 degrees and cloudy. The local female population more closely resembled this. Without the snow and cold weather of course. What a shame. Don't worry folks, it will be warm again soon enough.


Happy Birthday Justin! Only one more year and you are legal to drink in your native Canada.

What not to do with a lambo

Professional Skier extraordinaire attempts to modify his Lamborghini to make it more aerodynamic with a 3 ring binder and some duct tape. Brian Clevenger, eat your heart out.

Read the full article here.









In other news. This week's punt of the week goes to Dalen Gray. He punted Pilfer at Rumbling Bald. Bad show old boy.

Save NC State Parks!

I just got this email from the Carolina Climbers Coalition. I know quite a few of my friends who are Carolina Climbers, but who are not a part of this organization. For Shame!

Carolina Climbers Coalition Update:

You may have heard about the proposed plan to close NC State Parks during the "off season" in order to save money. As I'm sure you're aware, the "off season" is the prime time that climbers access the parks. The specific climbing areas affected by the closure would include: Rumbling Bald, Stone Mountain, Pilot Mountain, Crowder’s Mountain, Dixon School Road boulders, Cook’s Wall, Moore’s Wall, and Two Mile. That's a lot of quality rock! This proposal is in the early stages of the legislative process, which is why now is the time to make your voice heard.
The CCC and the Access Fund have put together a letter writing tool that lets you easily contact the state representatives involved in this decision. Visit the Access Fund Action Center to lend your voice to the growing chorus of folks opposed to this plan. Speak up or you won't be heard!

Another weekend in Boone

So I was planning on going to Asheville last weekend but the weather forecast looked about as good at Whitney Houston's corpse. Strangely, the weather in Boone looked only nearly as bad. I went to Boone instead and guaranteed myself one day of climbing and more friends to see. Both goals accomplished. We went to Grandmother on Saturday, knowing it would be pretty wet and sure enough it was. We climbed what we could and flailed on the rest. Story of my life.

The weather is quite warm in Chapel Hill this week. The high today is about 70 degrees. I have noticed a definite lack of clothing on the local female population. With a forecast of 75 and sunny tomorrow I expect even more scantily clad girls, before temps revert back to the 50s this weekend.

Got Arete?



Matt Pomfrey put on a clinic on how not to finish boulder problems after quitting on the top of Drama Queen and bailing off of Have Choss, Will Travel. For his efforts he earns this week's "Punt of the Week". Technically these weren't punts but still, you have to top it out sometimes! (Note, the top of Have Choss was wet and I bailed off the top myself)


Now I will take a moment to reflect. After a bad performance at Grandmother, my psyche for bouldering is just not there at the moment. I am looking forward to my Spring Break trip to Oregon where I will hopefully wrangle someone to climb with at Smith Rocks for a day or two. This leaves me about 2 weeks to make some feeble attempts to gain endurance before I go. If I can't find a partner, I will just go skiing which I am better at anyway.

Ladies' Julep by Eugene Walter

Today at work my boss had me write this blog post in honor of Mardi Gras. The recipe comes from The Happy Table of Eugene Walter: Southern Spirits in Food and Drink. Eugene Walter originally published this recipe in 1948 but it is timeless, and funny. This one is for all the classy ladies out there.

and I quote...

Ladies' Julep
(Pour le matin apres le bal masque) Whatever that means...

For ladies who are feeling delicate after a carnival ball or wedding party, or horse race, or visits from out of town cousins, the following julep-type freshener, from Monroeville, Alabama, is the perfect medicine.

1 cup rose petals
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 ripe peach
White rum
1 piece crystallized ginger
Champagne sec

Pick petals from old-fashioned, strongly perfumed roses in early morning. Put them into a bowl with a very ripe peach chopped fine, 1 finely chopped piece of crystallized ginger, and a little cane sugar. Pour a cup or so of the very best white rum over this melange. Let sit at least an hour or so. Strain and chill. Dilute with best French Champagne sec and serve in thoroughly chilled champagne glasses. If this is before noon, serve very hot, buttered, coarse-ground grits on a dainty plate after one such julep, then serve several more juleps.