Spanish Style!

Out the game now from the French connection, we have found ourselves deep in the heart of Catalunian Spice(a.k.a. Spanish climbing hot spot)  First off was a brief encounter with the notorious Suirana.  A lil Petzl shindig, tis what brought us to Suirana, an amazing collaberation of some of the worlds strongest climbers.  After one week in Suirana, bad weather, and a elephant crumbling sickness.  It was time to depart towards our new home for the next 2 months, Las Avellanes.   

Me punting on a 8a+ onsight attempt in L'olla sector, Suirana
Crux move on a wet Tufa, Rollito Sharma 8b+, Santa Linya

Once arrived in Las Avellanes, we made ourselves comfortable with our new host Albert Gine!!

The coolest lil spanish man ever with some sick dance moves!!  A hop skip and a jump down the road is the massive cuevo of Santa Linya.  This one cave itself has more 5.14+ routes than any other crag in the world that I know off.  Jon and Dave have spent many of days here in Santa Linya, thus it is not our main focus even though its within 5 minutes from our house.  Jon threw together some rapid ascents of 2 8c+ routes and 1 8c within a few days of work, pictured below is Jon racing towards the anchor of Fabela(8c+) just prior to him being engulfed into the darkness of the sunset.As time has past, seasons change, leafs have fallen but still to our dismay the heat just wont go away!!  We now have a new member to the family of Albert and we are all very excited about the new pup Rocco, unfortunately Pichu the cat is not so welcoming to Rocco yet??
There is some laughs to be had with the dynamic duo of cat and dog around the house, constant confrontation at the strangest of times.  All this animal interaction, definitely makes me miss me lil pup Sage back home, so psyched to see her.  

Apart from climbing day in day out, we have been lucky enough to get out and explore the amazing landscape of the Noguera sector of Catalunya, searching for future crags and i tell ya there is no stop to future development of sport climbing in Spain... OH Brrother!!!

The last month has been consumed by chasing the shade and evading the heat which has brought us to gorgeous valley of Margelef.  This place is absolutely stunning, with massive overhangs on conglomerate rock this area reminds a lot of my home crag of Maple Canyon but on steroids hehhe.  Lots of pockets!! Sharp, small, incut pockets.  I like!!!Punting once again at the last move 8a+ onsight attempt

One of these days I hope to get into a route groove, this trip has taught me a lot about my weaknesses in route climbing and climbing with Jon and Dave has totally inspired me to stay strong in both bouldering and sport climbing.  
Dave on entering the heinous pocket stabbing crux of Victima del Passat(8c/8c+)

From afar the rock here in Margelef look like shear limestone walls, but once close the eyes begin to catch glimpses of wee little cobbles and pockets, at first i wasn't so keen due to its resemblance of Maple Canyon, I was like eeehhhh! cobbles are cool but i grew up climbing with cobbles and I more or less want to climb something new and different.  Now I can't contain my excitement for the days we spend climbing in Margelef, and in the end its nothing like Maple Canyon.
Once again a jaw-dropping evening as the sun leaves us in the shadow of the short steep routes of the Labratory.
Cutting my fingers on 24Hour Party People(8c+) Labratory, Margalef

A classic First ascent of Dave G. 2008.

Cote D'Azur

Southern France is where we be, and the Cote D' Azur is where we roam!  By night we get lost in a labyrinth of nightclubs, bars, and ancient design.  By day we search out the most inspiring limestone along with prime temperatures that seem not to exist in the south of France, where it has taken us to next is the wee village of Carros.  Rumored to have an amazing style and natural holds, this new destination has stretched out our stay here in the south.  

Just after Dave's incredibly fast send of Abyss(9a) in the Gorge Du Loup, he quickly set his eyes another amazing gem of the Nice area known as Chocholocco also 9a.  Here he his entering the redpoint crux consisting of huge moves on compression pockets and slopers, rock we all have dreams of, while we lie awake in the eve of night.
The crew headed towards the infamous beach side after a long restful day!
One of my current projects at the Gorge du Loup, the most heinous 8c in the world.  Actually wouldn't be so bad if the skin would just stick for once, I'll get used to it one of these days.  Had a huge break through in beta and psyche, ended my day with a new high point and hopes of sending soon, Bawse!
The Cote D' Azur in the late evening light, beautimus isn't it!!

Flashback!

Fionnay, what a magical place.  A quick flashback from Switzerland, memories we all hang on to tightly, literally.

At the pumpy crux of a 25 move V10, out the underbelly of the sickest single boulder in Swiss
Davide and talented photographer and climber Fred Moix
Seth styling his way through the crux of the Alcholic, Drug Addict and Criminal(v10)
Oh yeah and I got a new haircut for those of you who didn't know, the first time in like 5 years my hair has been off my shoulders and out of my Fache!

Jon crushing the opening moves on Underground Paradise(8b+)

Nice, France and the New crib

Nice, France not a bad place if I say so myself.  Amazing rock, beautiful beaches, and very friendly people.  We are currently staying about 10 min. from downtown Nice in a wee guesthouse aside our gracious friends Fred and Anne Otto.  Their son Enzo is one of the most inspiring up and coming climbers in the world, Im talking he is 14 and climbing 9a(14d).  Kid is ill strong here he is climbing on Abyss(9a) which in my opinion is the best looking route here in the Gorge Du Loup.

Jon also is killing it on the rock coming extremely close to sending Puntx(9a)
Enzo(the beast) and his dad Fred talking climbing at the crag, pretty cool to witness their dynamic together as father son and also climbing partners.
Apart from the climbing we've been spending time at the beach, working on our beauty tans for the ladies, hehe!

Seth going for a lil dip in the Mediterranean 
Where our evening activities reside.  Lots of videos, talking shit, and delicious dinners in our crib.  

Game On!

Oh Boy, after the last couple months of hell weather and conditions, I have a feeling things are starting to change, like the season! yeahah so psyched for the fall temps to come into full affect.

Ceuse was beautiful and amazing but there is other fish to fry, thus we have ventured north into Switzerland to Zurich for a couple days.  Dave had coordinated a presentation of our vid proj. at the swiss youth championships at one of the sickest climbing gyms in the world known as Klettern Zentrum, yah bub.  Massive gym with huge world cup walls and bouldering, not to mention a very hospitable staff and crew of good peeps.  Made some great connections for the film, experienced a wee bit about life in one of the richest cities in the world, good times.

The more distant crew, being Joe, Collette, Daniel and Courtney have been down in the southern region of France at an old historical climbing area just outside of Nice.  Gorge Du Loup is their new stomping terrain and all  we have heard from them is good things.  After a brief stop in one of our favorite little towns Verbia for some relaxing/bouldering time, we busted down south to meet up with good friends.

Chilling in our lil bungalow after driving for 10 hours in the dark, rainy roads of Southern France.  So relieving to finally arrive, mostly due to the change of scenery, rock and temperature.  A couple heinous rainstorms later and we made it to the crag.
Gorge Du Loup, known for its insanely hard resistant climbing, killer tufa pinches oh and a few chipped holds, oh bugger.  regardless of the old school techniques of development the crag itself hosts some amazing challenges on beautiful rock, we are psyched but for know it just needs to dry out a bit.
Little rest day jaunt through the crazy town surrounding the Gorge du Loup
Me getting creative with the photo cam,
Amazing architecture from centuries ago, has always blown me away.  I love all these little towns in Europe, Bawse!! 

One of the cool locals showing us his contortionist skills on the steep power climbing, so good!
Dave on Triptik Tonik, rumored to be the best 8c+ in all of Europe, absolutely stunning
A little healthy meal in the bungalow
Some of the unique tufa features unfortunately they are still a bit wet from the the rainstorms
Thus creating nigh time frustration in the bungalow.  We Leave tomorrow to some old friends of Jon that live in Nice, they have a guest house for us which is according to Jon pretty, pretty sick.  Swimming pool, wifi, and walking distance from the beach. shiiyeahah.  all we need now is good weather and the send train shall be unleashed

When will it End

Sooo Hot here at Ceuse the last couple of weeks, not sure what to do with myself sometimes, Being here at the most amazing climbing area in the world and not being able to try hard sucks!! aahahha!!  The rock is naturally very slippery limestone with no texture, even with the slightest bit of humidity the friction becomes total shizz!  On the other hand the video project is steadily moving on, I can't believe we have been in Europe now for 2 months time has just flown by and we will be soon leaving Ceuse for there is other fish to fry.  I'm talking Gorge de Loup, Gorge De Tarn, Margelef and Oliana in Spain, oh and did I mention Switzerland.  We actually leave for Suisse on the 5th of Sept. Dave has a big event he must perform along with a lecture on the what abouts  of our current video trip we are creating.

The time has also come now to decide whether or not leave back to the states Sept. 18 as opposed to staying till January 10th?? Decisions, decisions.

As far as climbing goes we have all been making do, due to the heat that is.  Jon as always is looking very solid on everything he tickles crushing everything in sight.  Seth is getting in a steady flow of running the camera along with the crew, all the logistics of filming and capturing footage onto the hard drives is a lot more than we bargained for, considering we have been camping for over a month with little or no electricity.

Dave is back in the game with a strong foot, and more psyche than ever, he races to the crag everyday to a new musical mix created the night prior.

As for myself, just waiting for good temps to arrive so the killing spree can begin. I've gone through all the classic routes along with many repeats of the most choice lines but for now I can only wait, wait, wait, oh and maybe drink a lil bit EHEH!

Dave doing a lil pre game warmup on the classic Femme Noir

Ceuse

So I'm here in Ceuse now for two weeks or so?  losing track of the days and hopefully not my mind.  There is a lot going on between all the hiking, climbing, video shizz and partying like rock stars hehe!  So here is a quick slideshow of some good times at Ceuse. I cant believe how amazing this place is everyone must come and experience it here.  

ohohh Scarry
Dave during his happy moments
View of Gap from Ceuse
The crews new toy
Jon on Biographie 
A friendly Tree
All krunked with electricity shooting through my veins just prior to Jon cutting off a grip of my hair with a kitchen knife,
The morning routine at our cooking grounds
A little rest day entertainment!
Hydration is key!!
C'est Falais(the cliff)

Gorge Du Tarn

SOOO HOT!  hard to find balance here between good and bad temps, the rock is some of the best but the temps are NO bueno, cant complain to much cause Im in France yeahaha and soon we will depart to Ceuse where conditions will be amazing although I did here the other day about a climber getting hit by lightning at Ceuse oh well I aint Skkeerered!!

Gorge Du Tarn is one of the most amazing climbing destinations in the world! So much rock I ant believe that only 5% is developed.  Apart from the nuclear heat right now in Southern France things couldn't get any better.  Went climbing with an Austrian legend Gerhard Horhager you might know of him from Masters of Stone 1, super hilarious guy and very cool to chill with, definitely on the bro list! Pictured above is Gerhard making a strong quick ascent of an 8a on the Gullich sector, short and powerful! myesss we like!!
I found a rad piece of metal in the river the other day, took some coo shots with this random leaf that happened upon it.
Here is Jon Cardeck acting like a straight up G in the Gorge Du Tarn swimming hole.  This is where we frolick and play during rest periods between climbing sessions, there is also some great deep water soloing .
Ahh the Tarn !!

Viva la Europe!!

Ah Switzerland! Finally I have made it back to the promise land of Europe.  My bro Seth Giles and I arrived on the 19th of June in Geneva.  Met up with my fellow Salt Lake sista Carleen, who was very hospitable, hooked us up with a sick ass apartment in the old town of Geneva, where all necessities are within walking distance.

We arrived a couple days prior to the rest of the crew, Dave Graham and Jon Cardwell.  While waiting for their arrival me and Seth endulged ourselves in many exciting festivities of Geneva.  We arrived right on que to a huge art/music festival which in turn lead to some intense dance parties and late nights wandering lost and drunk in the streets of Geneva.

Once Dave and Jon arrived we picked up our rental van and departed from the party scene directly towards the fresh mountain air and stunning scenery of Verbia.

Verbia is a small ski town rumored to be one of the richest places in the world and home to many outdoor sports such as Base Jumping, Kayaking, Skiing, Mountaineering and Rock Climbing.  This valley has the most solid granite blocs I have ever laid my hands upon.  

A couple days of kimmin it with our crazy wing-suit flying friend Yves was a mandatory beggining stage of our trip. 

Dave has spent many years prior to this developing an exotic underground bouldering area known as Fionnay.  Massive blocs nestled in the midst of the swiss alps, between ancient stone villages seperated by wee fields of wild flowers mixed with tall, green grass.  Where is Dave, can you see Dave crutching through the field below?

As we parked our baller C8 Citreon minivan fully loaded with climbing gear in a small field near a freshwater river, I could sense the huge blocs of granite lurking in the forest below.  Hhmmm awaiting our presence they are.

The air temperature felt cool but the conditions were not prime due to the prior days of constant rain leaving the boulders covered with moisture in the depths of the trees, like a hot foot in saran wrap.  Thus the wetness never leaves.  None the less we approach the saturated blocs with smiles on our faces to find an enormous overhanging rock all chalked up, this was it.  A 15 meter roof  with numerous variations and exhilerating features, we battled the shit temps by making quick work of the shorter most lines before calling it a day.  We decided, tis not the time for Fionnay and we shall returen later this fall in hopes of supreme conditions.

Now onward to the Petzl Roc Trip in Millau, France where we will have our ways with the notoriously long routes of Gorge Du Tarn.  As we Drove thru for the first time, jaws dropped with sweaty palms, the motivation levels escaladed quickly in a matter of seconds.  After making calculated decision on where to start climbing we found ourselves underneath the towering wall called Tennessee.  

Talk about amazing, never seen anything like this in the states.  Without hesitation we dashed up the warmup route a 7b+ with a bouldery start to a long vertical wall of ice cream scooped sloper pockets, than right on to a 7c and 7c+.  Doesn't sound like much of a climbing day but keep in consideration the length of these routes are up to 50 meters long.  After getting all pumped on few routes and nightime creeping in, the end of the day had neared.  Build stamina we will, tis the beggining, one must learn the differences in technique and style of the French limestone.  

Whats next? we wait for our dank camera to arrive next week, than onto the infamous Ceuse, oooodaaladdy!!

More Clark Mt.

Yet another amazing trip has taken place over the last weekend in the beautimus mountains on the California/Nevada border.  Progression in the endurance game is moving along much quicker than expected,  I went from barely being able to climb bolt to bolt up Jumbo, to making huge links from the ground all the way up to the upper crux in a matter of a couple days.  

Motivation is at a near maximum capacity for Europe in June.  

SO PSYCHED!!

For more rad pics and video check out http://desertratpro.com

Clark Mountain

Oh yes! Tis true, believe it or not, I climbed on a rope for the first time in a long while.  I mean talk about weak shit when it comes to holding on for more than like 10 moves in a row.  I found my weakness and I'm psyched to develop and strengthen it above and beyond a new level in my endurance game. 

 It all began with a massive hike that quickly gained elevation with a full load of camping gear, check!  Climbing gear, check!  Food, check!  WATER, uuhhhh.  

Once up in the mix of the first tier(the crux) hiking began to mellow out.  A couple laps on some fun warm ups, than a quick 15 minute dash to the second tier(base camp).  From here on out the hike was a breeze, no more camping gear etc..  The view from here is absolutely spectacular, makes one want to never leave such a place of peace and solitude.  

With a comfy camp setup, bottle of wine, and some delicious instant grub, dazing off into a dreamlike fantasy realm of existence was almost inevitable.  After a long beautiful night of no sleep due to high levels of excitement and spiders crawling across my face, the fun finally began.

 Pictured below is what I believe to be one of the top 5.14's in the country, Jumbo Pumping Hate.  A few years ago a crucial hold had broken in the midst of the crux, thus increasing the grade of difficulty.  With the crux residing at the top of the route, having mad endurance is a necessity.  Mmyeess, obtain I shall.  I'm extremely psyched to complete this mega-line and who knows maybe I will have a crack at the neighboring KING LINE!! 

The beginning view of my long treacherous journey ahead.

The opening crux section of Jumbo Pumping Hate, 5.14/long as hell!!

Font like rock in the G-spot

Once again I am blown away by recent discovery of a beautiful new zone of boulders, the never ending struggle to finish off the climbing down in southern Utah is far from ending. The rock at the new area is some of the coolest sandstone I've seen in Utah, very similar style of climbing and rock texture to Fontainebleau, believe or not.

Dave attempting a masterpiece

Rock fondling is unbearable

Jarad atop another beauty

A small glimpse of some southern Utah Font rock

Oh and the beautimus view of Zion

Flash Back

Here is a quick flashback from a couple months ago in Joe's valley. I always forget how much there is to do in Joe's as far as first ascents go. Pictured below is one of the most impressive lines in Joe's, definitely a project for the future, but not to far into the future.
It consists of about ten, V11 to V12 MOVES in a row, talk about power endurance. Topping out at around 20 feet or so, makes for an intense highball, I hate to say it bub, but it's not for the faint at heart.
With this beautimus piece of stone being so high and overhanging, it is extremely difficult to work out the moves, everything must be done ground up, that is unless you have a plethora of pads, any takers!!

Just after the trade show in January, a couple good fellows from out of town lingered around for a bit, Jon Cardwell and Andre Defelice. We could only handle battling in the snowy boulders of Little Cottonwood for so long till it was time to head down to dry ground, Joe's Valley! The lads were extremely psyched to toss there carcasses towards an old time classic Black Lung V13. Having perfect temps, streamline beta and high motivation, I thought for sure the lung would indeed get another slap down from the young energetic crew, after all was said in done, the Lung won. Jon and Andre decided to save it for another day. Props to the legend Ben Moon, for having such an outstanding vision and unparalleled amounts of motivation to ascend this wee little piece of magic stone. It has and will, entertain the lights of many generations to come. Cheers Mate!

Jon making a very strong go on the Black Lung

High Ballin!!

So I've been contemplating this idea for a long time, along with many others in regards to climbing one of the most historical routes in Utah called The Present(5.14a) without a rope. First done by the legend Boone Speed in the early 90's.   It had been over 4 years since I had tried this route, but it always seemed awkward clipping, for me.  So I finally found my ca hones, and a spot and decided to go for it, the outcome was such an exhilarating experience, It will be engraved in my head forever.  Shown below is the beginning of the excitement I had the other day up at the gorilla cliffs, Stay tuned for the amazing footage captured at http://www.desertratpro.com 

LCC Is In!

At least for a little while! Than it snowed like a maf$%#er. But here is a lil vid, of a sick new problem on the Bully Boulder in Little Cottonwood. First done but a very strong lad named Harry, enjoy and hopefully all the fresh new snow will melt quickly, for there is some sick new projects that must go down this spring before it is too hot! SCHTTEEEPP!

last days in the Saint George

The last couple of weeks have been jammed pack with first ascents, exploratory adventure hikes, loads of coffee and oh yeah some serious dance parties!!

There has been good and bad things form this previous trip down south.  Some of the good happenings include me sending my suppaa proj. PSCHOORRR!  I dubbed it Mer-maid-er!  after a brilliant song performed by one of the most hardcore death metal bands called Deathklock,  weighing in at V13ish it will be interesting to see how long this amazing problem remains unrepeated considering it is one of the best boulder problems in Utah! 

Other good happenings include non-stop development of new boulders and the most psyche build up Saint George has ever seen.   Between all the recent hype over the last couple years, Saint George is evolving into a world class climbing destination for all shapes and sizes.

I guess nothing that bad happened apart from my favorite water bottle along with a cellphone of Seth's getting completely demolished in a 4 wheeling accident, other than that things cruised by smoothly. 

A wee lil bat hidden on a small overhang, taking a bit of a daytime nap.

It's Coming SOON!!

I know you've all been sitting around getting restless with your panties in a bunch!!  But now the moment you've been waiting for is near.  In exactly 22 days from today, the premier for one of the most inspiring movies of all time is going on tour around the country in part of the Stonemasters tour.  The tour will be launching, well you guessed it! Here in Salt Lake City on March 11, so make sure you get your tickets in advance and locate a theater near you at http://stonemasterstour.com

This is a small glimpse of one of the many spectacular first ascents featured in the upcoming DVD.

A 30ft pebble wrestlers nightmare.  Shown here is a still from the video of myself making a ground-up, flash, first ascent of Kumar(gambler).

Climbing Vids to Get You Psyched!!

Check out these amazing films from director and producer Nathan Cando.  His stunning camera work captures the true beauty and essence of these two unbelievable climbing destinations.  

Joe's Valley is not only an aesthetically pleasing film to watch, but also includes such classics sends as the infamous Black Lung(V13) With detailed video beta for boulder problems, as well as a complete video guide to the logistics of Joe's, its a MUST HAVE! for your DVD collection.

Koh Tao, is a exciting story about four dedicated climbers evading the cold snap of the winter months, to explore and develop an unkown future climbing destination, in the gulf of Thailand known as Koh Tao(turtle island).  With mounds of untouched granite blocs, Koh Tao offers unlimited potential to any boulder fondling, beach lounging adventurer.  Follow along with Lev Pinter, Ally Dorey, Isaac Caldiero, Abby Smith, as we encounter an epic journey of developing new stone in one of Thailands most hidden gems.

For more details or to purchase online go to http://fanaticalfilms.com 

For all of you who have never heard of Raw Revolution, this is all you need to know, GO GET ONE NOW! These bars are absolutely amazing, combining deliciousness, nutrition and energy, it will be the only snack you'll ever need! My favorite is the Cashew Agave, with such few ingredients and the fact that they are raw none the less, it will blow your mind how tasty and how filling one can be, check out the full selection on http://rawindulgence.com

I just uploaded a couple more beautimus photos from none other than the man, the myth, the mystery Tyler Webb. Booyaashakalaka.
Tis like a sea of hueco's, I probably should have used some spotters, it was a bit dodgy at the very top, not the easiest mantle in the world, that's for sure!! I also realized right after I topped out that there was no way down except for a huge jump down onto a boulder below, luckily Twebb was there to rescue me, thanks bub!
This by far one of the coolest projects at the Boomer Boulders, a colorful wall with streaks and brilliant lichen, along with very long pulls between poor holds, this one here is a keeper, I must return to make send for I tore a huge hole in my finger on my last attempt, ohh bugger!!

Check it Out Mang!!

Everyone should definitely check out this years Rock Rodeo, its going to be huge. Great prizes, spectacular after party, cool people and who knows maybe even I will be there whoooopiee!!

New Boulders

Ok, so here the scoop. I've been down in St. George off and on for the last month battling with shi! weather and car problems, however I did manage to get out a bit to explore a new zone outside of Santa Clara, Ut. All I can say is PSCHOORRR, this place is out of control, and the potential for future development is huge. Its a long approach but well worth the endeavour, not to mention the 36o degree view of one of the most beautiful landscapes in the western states.

Most of my days were dedicated to exploring this vast region of rock, along with my good friends Seth, Tyler and others, here Seth is pictured on one of the latest great blocs, first climbed by yours truly. This boulder is fully equipped with every motivating aspect of climbing, that I can imagine, amazing texture, beautiful colors, wild moves, stunning scenery.

Seth (From Concentrate V9)

Seth on (Razor Reef V10)

Making the First Ascent of Razor Reef

Alison Hilomonster (BANG V8)

Making the First ascent of Lord Helmet (V7)

Seth (Prickly Pear V9)

Making the First Ascent of Turtle Sex (V9)

Food Sponsor!!

I am proud to announce my newest sponsor Alpine Aire Foods, which for those of you who don't know, offer the most innovative, healthy, delicious camping food on the market. I mean they have been around forever feeding starving adventurers like myself since the 70's. My empty belly and nose is what led me to their booth at the trade show, and what I found was tantalizingly delicious and nutritious. From Shrimp Alfredo to Curry Chicken, desserts, breakfast, soups, you name it these guys make it all. Check out there amazing selection at http://aa-foods.com/.

Bring In The New Year!!

What better way to bring in the new year than by starting a blog. I figured it would give me something to do as well as for others who are interested, if there is any, to follow along with me in my travels, experiences and epic adventures.

I finished the year of 2008 by traveling to the desert of southern Utah. With loads of new sandstone boulder problems waiting to be gripped upon, I first set my sights on one of the last established problem of the area that I had yet to repeat, an amazing technical power problem first put up by Dave Graham a few years back, right after his massacre in Hueco Tanks. A slightly overhanging wall of madness, consisting of no footholds and large moves between very poor grips, by far one of the most stunning lines in the area of Moe's Valley. I had made previous attempts in the years past, but with no luck, I was forced to return when better temps arrived.

On the eve of the New Year I quickly snatched up the 2ND ascent of Escape Artist. Dave made the first ascent in under 30 minutes, attaching the grade of v12, which seemed somewhat reasonable, considering he had just come from Hueco where he damn near flashed Slashface graded V13/14 a the time. Escape Artist is definitely in contest for the best problem of all time in my book.

After making the 2ND ascent of this amazing problem I soon proceeded towards a plethora of old and new projects, one of which I dubbed the Settlers of Catan(v11), a very aesthetic line going up a gently overhanging grit-like sandstone with bad pockets and wee nubbins.

During our two week stay to St. George, we spent most of our rest days(all three of them) cleaning and developing new lines. On the last day of my bouldering frenzy I put the icing on the cake by making away with the first ascent of an unusually steep and solid overhanging project with a very intense ending on extremely bad slopers. After five powerful moves building up to a difficult ending, keeping it together through to the end was no easy task, after all was said and done Meat Bag(v13) had been born.

Now back in the city of the Great Salty load, I'm doing a bit of work and preparing for the Winter trade show. Good friends arrive soon and will be wanting to climb so I have a couple of areas in mind that are climbable during the winter months like, Caste Rocks, Joe's valley, and the San Raphael Swell. I am definitely psyched to head down to St. George for some more clean up of unfinished business.

Seth Giles on Settlers Of Catan