Black Mtn aka the land of sharp crimptastic climbing

This past weekend was a Black Mtn crimptastic trip. Brand new crew to the boulders = brand new energy. It's also pretty much the first time this season that I've gone up there to boulder. I also feel like a brand new me since I've been injured - must be the time off + the biking that I do (woo hoo! torture and self-torment on the Torrey Pines Hill is paying off!).

It was Dan, Johnnie, Lyra, Noel and myself out there in a 2 Subaru Outback caravan up the 6 miles of gnarly dirt roads. First off, let me just say that I've NEVER seen the roads so bad as they were this past weekend and that I LOVE my car. AWD baby - hells yeah! There were parts of the road that little sedans like Camrys and the Prius (Toyota only maybe? hmm...) had to turn around b/c they'd just produce huge potholes in the road from spinning their tires in the dirt. It was a Subaru commercial in the making - I wish Subaru reps were there to smile in pride.

Although initially skeptical of the camping situation (it was 4th of July weekend afterall), there were TONS of camping all over. We found a perfect spot in the middle of all the bouldering and took the crew on a quick tour of the problems before setting down to eat lunch and then to work! Projects awaited! Sick onsights by the crew!

Started off warming up on some Black Mtn "easy" problems. For those of you who have never been to Black Mtn, there is no such thing as "easy" - everything is either small sharp and crimpy, overhanging, or both. Beginners beware!!! Despite this, we were off to a good start. People were having fun playing on the warm up rock before we moved on to some harder problems.












One of the main focuses of the day was the problem "Emperor's New Clothes" - a fantastic problem that starts on a thin flake to a open handed crimp hold, then a wind up to a series of bumps on slopey nothingness. It was an immediate project for Lyra and Dan.

Showed the group some of the Black Mtn classics like 4 wheel drive, front wheel drive, pink crack, etc. It was only about 3 hours of bouldering and people were losing skin fast - Black Mtn is sharp!!!

We toured some more boulders around Boulder Basin. I was able to redo Emperor's New Clothes, the "Obi problem" (unnamed problem near Bellyflop), various V0's and V1's, and a smooth ascent of 4 wheel drive.

That night I considered where I was in my climbing - Black Mtn has always been a place that was SERIOUS climbing. The problems can be tall and that makes things serious for most people, but there's this quiet aggressive energy that I need to find deep inside and bring out in order to climb. Black Mtn basically has taught me to come face to face with my inner determination, power and focus. The problems I sent that day felt "easy" despite a long hiatus from climbing. I was looking forward to testing myself on some projects the following day despite warnings from my friend Eitetsu about making sure my "eyes weren't bigger than my muscles" - basically telling me to keep it easy so I don't injure myself again.

The next morning we packed up camp and drove out to OK Corral - a mile drive down the road to a series of HARD boulder problems. I introduced the crew to DVD worthy problems (Dark Horse, OK Arete, Cosmos), warmed up on the only V0 there and then played on a series of problems near the parking lot.

By noon, I felt ready. It was warm - but I kept telling myself that the heat of the midday would be good to warm up my muscles. The energy of the group was intense in its sense of frustration but excited and I used it to my advantage to keep me motivated. I wanted a test of my climbing abilities. I immediately jumped on the Stanage problem, a V4 standing mantle problem.

A few tries on it would shut me down. A slight tweak in my shoulder as I tried to rotate my hand to set it up for the push sent a sharp pain deep in my shoulder. It was a little disheartening.

After some time, I would try again, this time on another project of mine around the corner. I don't know why but I felt compelled to push myself to my absolute limit. I felt like Black Mtn was about to re-teach me something. Stacking a couple of pads and asking Noel to help spot me on the problem, I grabbed the starting holds, cleared my head, took a deep breath and started the problem. The problem was simple. Good sidepull holds on an overhanging arete to a large throw out left with bad feet, and then bump and work my way up subtle incuts to a jug and then a dynamic mantle. I've never gotten past securing the throw.

Four attempts later, I would throw to a the large sidepull, securely place a heel hook and grunted my way up with every bump. It was awesome - after nearly a 6 month hiatus from climbing sub-limit ability, I had sent a several year project of mine!!! I'm back, baby!

It's been 2 days now, and I still feel no pain or aches in my joints - I think I'm out of the woods for any further injuries. The project I sent (which incidentally is unnamed - a pity...) probably sounds so dramatic, but those memories are etched in my mind right now. Black Mtn is my tough-love Kung Fu master - and my master has shown me the way to clear my mind and climb. I am not broken like I feared for 6 months... I just need to find the right kinds of problems/routes and I can still project at my limit. I can't describe how paralyzing this joy is - it's wonderful.

I'm planning on going to black mtn with Dan again this Saturday. It's time for me to play again.