So the last few weeks have been all about makin' money. Since school let out, I've been working to get some funding for a few road trips this summer. I had the chance to get outside this week and make use of some mid-60-degree temps out at Mt. Yonah. This past Monday, Josh Edwards and myself decided to go out and try some projects, as well as continue the ongoing effort of tidying the place up before the topo release. One mutual project of ours, which we had both been working for months, was a line put up by Zack Pitts a few years back. It is a somewhat mysterious climb, as we had no real sound information or opinion on it from the first ascentionist. We have dubbed it Zack's Crack, having not been given a name, and it has been an interesting journey discovering the sheer difficulty/frustration of the problem. I found myself up at Yonah again on Thursday, and despite the humid 75 degree temps, I was able to send the problem for its 2nd ascent! I believe this to be one of the harder problems I've done, and it is a solid step above many V10's I have tried/sent. Mt. Yonah needs to start seeing some more ascents, and I can't wait to see the reaction of the elite climbing community to these epic granite blocs. Enjoy this video, and stay tuned for more!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Well it's been some months now since I last posted a tale from the vault. I've been savoring the cooler weather, and making every bright day count. The Riverside has seen some of its best projects go down, with many more V11-V12 lines begging to be sent. Since the cold season is coming to an end, I've been making regular trips to Blood Mountain. This place has some of the best gneiss roofs I have seen, with rock quality very similar to Hound Ears (for those of you who have been). The hiking here is nasty, so if you hate approaches, look elsewhere!
The past two weekends, I was at Sandrock. So many people disregard this area because of spraypaint, trash, and rednecks wandering around hurting themselves, but let me tell you Sandrock deserves better than it gets. I have seen and climbed on some of the best sandstone boulders here, rivaling anything one would find at Horsepens 40, or Rocktown.
Last weekend, I was planning on hitting Blood on Friday, but it ended up raining. Alabama was the only dry state, and I had plans to meet up with Kelly Dalton on Saturday anyway to check out some boulders. I decided that it would be a good idea to go ahead and drive to Sandrock. When I got there, I threw on my pad, and was about to go off exploring when all of a sudden, a pickup truck races into the lot and pulls up beside me. It was Kelly, arriving early just like myself. He raced back to his campsite to get his pad, and I was immediately off on a quest to some of the coolest sandstone I have ever seen in the south...
We hiked down the mountain, stopping to show each other lines that we knew, with Kelly having a memory bank full of problems from a lost era. When we decended further down the mountain to a new area I had never been to, we stopped for some warmups. While warming up, Kelly told me about this classic line from back in the day called "Jack the Ripper," which he remembered as about a V8. He explained that it had a dyno in it (I hate dynos) but I figured I should try my luck on the testpiece anyway. Before finding Jack the Ripper, we detoured to this crazy 45 roof called the "Future Wall." This was one of the coolest roofs I have ever seen, with some amazing sweeping iron features, pockets, crimps, slopey rails, cracks, you name it. One particulary cool feature was a hold made out of a petrified tree branch. The crimp actually had the texture of wood bark! Probably the most intriguing thing about this wall, was that 6 out of the 8 or so odd lines were projects. Looking at the lines, they are all do-able. One can see all the pieces, yet they still remain projects after seeing some of the area's greatest from an era. After Kelly and I tried our luck on one project, to no avail, we stormed off once again to go attack "Jack the Ripper." Upon arriving to the bloc, Kelly exclaimed, "Aww man! This big undercling has completely broken off!" One of the opening cruxes used to revolve around a big cross from this pinch undercling (which was now broken to nothing) to a sidepull edge. After a few more moves to two huge right facing sidepulls, you must get a swing generated and then dyno about 6 or 7 feet sideways out right to a massive flake jug. I felt so apprehensive and pessimistic about how i would do this thing, with the dyno AND broken hold, but why not try? I pulled on, made a long reach to a small crimp right of the broken hold, then jacked a high foot and made the cross. Phew! A few more crimpy, but solid moves led me to the double side-pulls. Feeling juiced and unsure of my jumping abilities, I started swinging. One.... Two.... Three! I launched, sailed, and slapped the lip of the jug. I continued sailing past it, and landed hard on the pad. Well, at least I had thwarted the broken hold! I decided to just try the dyno, and see if it would ever go on its own. I hoisted up to the sidepulls, started swinging like a child (with different pasted feet this time) and flew right to the jug, sticking it solid with minimal swinging. I felt so surprised that I was able to stick the move, considering the fact that it was a low percentage dynamic move. I rested for a few minutes while Kelly had a few goes on the bottom section, then I pulled on feeling really nervous about ripping skin on that dyno... Once again, I rocked through the big cross move, made it to the sidepulls, and started swinging, all the meanwhile staring down the big shark-fin jug. When the moment felt right, I inhaled, took my last upswing, then launched to the jug, just barely sticking it with my fingertips and holding a wild swing this time. I got to the top feeling psyched yet pumped, and encountered a dirty sloped water groove. Somehow I pulled through the sandy/mossy holds and manteled my way to the top. I couldn't believe that I had done it. As for the grade, I believe it feels similar to some other established V8's I have done recently. I would compare it's difficulty, personally, to both The Tao, and the Helicopter Traverse at Rocktown. Both climbs can feel anywhere from V7-9 depending on heighth, wingspan, and hold type preference of the climber attempting.
After being taken on Kelly's tour, I asked if he wanted to see a few newer boulders myself and Ryan Harris had found a few years back. We entered the backside valley, and began descending into a long clustering of some really cool roofs. We checked out a few projects, then threw the pads down at some Horsepensey/Fontainebleauy slabs. Kelly immediately began eyeing this blank mossy section of the slab wall which had not been done. He remarked, "look at this start foot! This'll go!" After climbing at Boatrock for the better half of his life, Kelly is a slabmaster, able to generate tremendous leverage off of absolutely horrid feet. There seemed to only be slight weaknesses for hands, and Kelly worked out the entire problem, declaring the beta was mostly footwork. He finished cleaning the line, and was getting very close to the top just as the sun was setting. We decided that we should come back to these boulders on Saturday when Sean Reed and his gal, Melissa, arrived. Saturday was already stoked up to be an interesting day, as people were celebrating Johnny Arms' 60th birthday. For those of you who do not know Johnny Arms, he is the king of Sandrock, having bolted most of the lines there, and is still crushing hard 5.12's at age 60.
The next morning, Kelly and I raced down to the parking lot to see the hillarity as Johnny arrived to a cake, birthday wishes, and a commemorative "60th anniversary" pamphlet. After shooting the breeze for a few minutes, Kelly told me we would be trying out some new routes Johnny had bolted to warm up. After warming up with a pump on a really cool and juggy mid-range 5.10, I watched Johnny attempt "Plastic Trees," a hard 5.11 he had bolted ages ago. The route starts with a hard boulder problem, then cruises an easy 5.10 to the anchors. After watching Johnny finesse his way up the thin crimp line, I decided to try and flash the route. Upon pulling on, I realized the beta Johnny was using was a result of more years dedicated to technique and footwork than I have been on this planet. Being the wiry punchy boulderer I am, I quickly realized I had to move quick, or I would juice out very quickly on the small crimpy boulder. I heaved, deadpointed, made a horribly precarious clip on greasy crimps, then made one last desperate throw for the jug which would begin the easy sailing. I caught the jug with three fingertips, and managed not to grease off (no chalking stances+sun=death). I had made it through the crux, but there was still 3/4 of the route to go. The finishinng jug haul was very easy, yet pumpy as crap after the hard beginning. I managed to pull off the flash, and realized how much energy I could save if I begin to study slab footwork, and levitation...
The next route we (Kelly, Sean, Melissa, and myself) went to go try was a route Kelly had put up a few years ago called "Crimps Ahoy." It is a mid-range 5.12, with a slight slab featuring delicate, stretchy moves and a lot of very delicate crimping. The crux, ending the slab and beginning a jug haul, involves either a very long wingspan, or a pasted foot dyno off of a very small crimp/pinch, both methods are done by Sean and Kelly, respectively. After trying both methods, and watching both Kelly and Sean send it, I began getting into a rhythm of trying both methods, to no avail... Although this route is rather short and bouldery, it is in fact one of the first routes that has really grabbed my attention and made me want to return to it. We packed up, and raced over to the classic "Misty" so Sean could crank out a quick onsite. Some guy's draws were randomly hanging on the route.... with no one around... so Sean decided to hike the route quick on the already wired route. Weird.
Anyway, we all ended the day with a crazy sesh on the backside boulders. Kelly, Sean and myself all took our places on this one gnarly roof. We each instantly gravitated to a line, and began a funny little obsessive march on our projects. We all cleaned, configured, and tried with no success, each of our routes. Only after much more brushing and trying, did we all end up switching and trying each others' problems. I had been watching Kelly try his problem; this crazy slopey/pinchy watergroove which started from a high reach up to some okay crimps. After gaining the start holds, you had to jack a high left heel on a tiny edge, to generate a high throw up into the groove. The problem reminded us both of "Bradiation V9" at Horsepens 40. I love heel hooking, and it was the perfect application/opportunity to try out the heel on a new shoe I'm trying, The Diamonds from Rock Pillars. I was able to send the project first try, and dubbed it "Dalteration," for Kelly's good eye on the line, and its similarity to "Bradiation." Next on the roulette was my project. I was getting devastatingly close to the finishing iron jug, but kept falling apart on the lower moves which involved a hard right hand gaston, and some high feet which put your knees in your face. Kelly and Sean both attempted the line, and had different methods than I. We all sort of gave up on that one, in order to save some energy for Sean's beauty! Starting high on a sloped pinch/edge, Seans project traversed out the lip of the roof, finishing with a high cross and a throw to an iron jug. I had looked at this line years ago, and could fathom all the pieces of the stand start, with a very hard lower start under the roof. Kelly took a go on the problem, and I watched his beta carefully on a successful burn all the way to the last move to the jug. I then pulled on, feeling pumped from the other lines, and somehow managed to sketch my way to the top of this one for another flash FA. Due to the past years' politics at Sandrock, and the current events that are contributing to its demise, I named this problem "Season of Change." Ryan's biannual Spring Sandrock trip is next on the radar, and I hope I can get the crew on these lines, as well as finish establishing a few more cool lines in the area.
Check Vimeo for the latest vids.
The past two weekends, I was at Sandrock. So many people disregard this area because of spraypaint, trash, and rednecks wandering around hurting themselves, but let me tell you Sandrock deserves better than it gets. I have seen and climbed on some of the best sandstone boulders here, rivaling anything one would find at Horsepens 40, or Rocktown.
Last weekend, I was planning on hitting Blood on Friday, but it ended up raining. Alabama was the only dry state, and I had plans to meet up with Kelly Dalton on Saturday anyway to check out some boulders. I decided that it would be a good idea to go ahead and drive to Sandrock. When I got there, I threw on my pad, and was about to go off exploring when all of a sudden, a pickup truck races into the lot and pulls up beside me. It was Kelly, arriving early just like myself. He raced back to his campsite to get his pad, and I was immediately off on a quest to some of the coolest sandstone I have ever seen in the south...
We hiked down the mountain, stopping to show each other lines that we knew, with Kelly having a memory bank full of problems from a lost era. When we decended further down the mountain to a new area I had never been to, we stopped for some warmups. While warming up, Kelly told me about this classic line from back in the day called "Jack the Ripper," which he remembered as about a V8. He explained that it had a dyno in it (I hate dynos) but I figured I should try my luck on the testpiece anyway. Before finding Jack the Ripper, we detoured to this crazy 45 roof called the "Future Wall." This was one of the coolest roofs I have ever seen, with some amazing sweeping iron features, pockets, crimps, slopey rails, cracks, you name it. One particulary cool feature was a hold made out of a petrified tree branch. The crimp actually had the texture of wood bark! Probably the most intriguing thing about this wall, was that 6 out of the 8 or so odd lines were projects. Looking at the lines, they are all do-able. One can see all the pieces, yet they still remain projects after seeing some of the area's greatest from an era. After Kelly and I tried our luck on one project, to no avail, we stormed off once again to go attack "Jack the Ripper." Upon arriving to the bloc, Kelly exclaimed, "Aww man! This big undercling has completely broken off!" One of the opening cruxes used to revolve around a big cross from this pinch undercling (which was now broken to nothing) to a sidepull edge. After a few more moves to two huge right facing sidepulls, you must get a swing generated and then dyno about 6 or 7 feet sideways out right to a massive flake jug. I felt so apprehensive and pessimistic about how i would do this thing, with the dyno AND broken hold, but why not try? I pulled on, made a long reach to a small crimp right of the broken hold, then jacked a high foot and made the cross. Phew! A few more crimpy, but solid moves led me to the double side-pulls. Feeling juiced and unsure of my jumping abilities, I started swinging. One.... Two.... Three! I launched, sailed, and slapped the lip of the jug. I continued sailing past it, and landed hard on the pad. Well, at least I had thwarted the broken hold! I decided to just try the dyno, and see if it would ever go on its own. I hoisted up to the sidepulls, started swinging like a child (with different pasted feet this time) and flew right to the jug, sticking it solid with minimal swinging. I felt so surprised that I was able to stick the move, considering the fact that it was a low percentage dynamic move. I rested for a few minutes while Kelly had a few goes on the bottom section, then I pulled on feeling really nervous about ripping skin on that dyno... Once again, I rocked through the big cross move, made it to the sidepulls, and started swinging, all the meanwhile staring down the big shark-fin jug. When the moment felt right, I inhaled, took my last upswing, then launched to the jug, just barely sticking it with my fingertips and holding a wild swing this time. I got to the top feeling psyched yet pumped, and encountered a dirty sloped water groove. Somehow I pulled through the sandy/mossy holds and manteled my way to the top. I couldn't believe that I had done it. As for the grade, I believe it feels similar to some other established V8's I have done recently. I would compare it's difficulty, personally, to both The Tao, and the Helicopter Traverse at Rocktown. Both climbs can feel anywhere from V7-9 depending on heighth, wingspan, and hold type preference of the climber attempting.
After being taken on Kelly's tour, I asked if he wanted to see a few newer boulders myself and Ryan Harris had found a few years back. We entered the backside valley, and began descending into a long clustering of some really cool roofs. We checked out a few projects, then threw the pads down at some Horsepensey/Fontainebleauy slabs. Kelly immediately began eyeing this blank mossy section of the slab wall which had not been done. He remarked, "look at this start foot! This'll go!" After climbing at Boatrock for the better half of his life, Kelly is a slabmaster, able to generate tremendous leverage off of absolutely horrid feet. There seemed to only be slight weaknesses for hands, and Kelly worked out the entire problem, declaring the beta was mostly footwork. He finished cleaning the line, and was getting very close to the top just as the sun was setting. We decided that we should come back to these boulders on Saturday when Sean Reed and his gal, Melissa, arrived. Saturday was already stoked up to be an interesting day, as people were celebrating Johnny Arms' 60th birthday. For those of you who do not know Johnny Arms, he is the king of Sandrock, having bolted most of the lines there, and is still crushing hard 5.12's at age 60.
The next morning, Kelly and I raced down to the parking lot to see the hillarity as Johnny arrived to a cake, birthday wishes, and a commemorative "60th anniversary" pamphlet. After shooting the breeze for a few minutes, Kelly told me we would be trying out some new routes Johnny had bolted to warm up. After warming up with a pump on a really cool and juggy mid-range 5.10, I watched Johnny attempt "Plastic Trees," a hard 5.11 he had bolted ages ago. The route starts with a hard boulder problem, then cruises an easy 5.10 to the anchors. After watching Johnny finesse his way up the thin crimp line, I decided to try and flash the route. Upon pulling on, I realized the beta Johnny was using was a result of more years dedicated to technique and footwork than I have been on this planet. Being the wiry punchy boulderer I am, I quickly realized I had to move quick, or I would juice out very quickly on the small crimpy boulder. I heaved, deadpointed, made a horribly precarious clip on greasy crimps, then made one last desperate throw for the jug which would begin the easy sailing. I caught the jug with three fingertips, and managed not to grease off (no chalking stances+sun=death). I had made it through the crux, but there was still 3/4 of the route to go. The finishinng jug haul was very easy, yet pumpy as crap after the hard beginning. I managed to pull off the flash, and realized how much energy I could save if I begin to study slab footwork, and levitation...
The next route we (Kelly, Sean, Melissa, and myself) went to go try was a route Kelly had put up a few years ago called "Crimps Ahoy." It is a mid-range 5.12, with a slight slab featuring delicate, stretchy moves and a lot of very delicate crimping. The crux, ending the slab and beginning a jug haul, involves either a very long wingspan, or a pasted foot dyno off of a very small crimp/pinch, both methods are done by Sean and Kelly, respectively. After trying both methods, and watching both Kelly and Sean send it, I began getting into a rhythm of trying both methods, to no avail... Although this route is rather short and bouldery, it is in fact one of the first routes that has really grabbed my attention and made me want to return to it. We packed up, and raced over to the classic "Misty" so Sean could crank out a quick onsite. Some guy's draws were randomly hanging on the route.... with no one around... so Sean decided to hike the route quick on the already wired route. Weird.
Anyway, we all ended the day with a crazy sesh on the backside boulders. Kelly, Sean and myself all took our places on this one gnarly roof. We each instantly gravitated to a line, and began a funny little obsessive march on our projects. We all cleaned, configured, and tried with no success, each of our routes. Only after much more brushing and trying, did we all end up switching and trying each others' problems. I had been watching Kelly try his problem; this crazy slopey/pinchy watergroove which started from a high reach up to some okay crimps. After gaining the start holds, you had to jack a high left heel on a tiny edge, to generate a high throw up into the groove. The problem reminded us both of "Bradiation V9" at Horsepens 40. I love heel hooking, and it was the perfect application/opportunity to try out the heel on a new shoe I'm trying, The Diamonds from Rock Pillars. I was able to send the project first try, and dubbed it "Dalteration," for Kelly's good eye on the line, and its similarity to "Bradiation." Next on the roulette was my project. I was getting devastatingly close to the finishing iron jug, but kept falling apart on the lower moves which involved a hard right hand gaston, and some high feet which put your knees in your face. Kelly and Sean both attempted the line, and had different methods than I. We all sort of gave up on that one, in order to save some energy for Sean's beauty! Starting high on a sloped pinch/edge, Seans project traversed out the lip of the roof, finishing with a high cross and a throw to an iron jug. I had looked at this line years ago, and could fathom all the pieces of the stand start, with a very hard lower start under the roof. Kelly took a go on the problem, and I watched his beta carefully on a successful burn all the way to the last move to the jug. I then pulled on, feeling pumped from the other lines, and somehow managed to sketch my way to the top of this one for another flash FA. Due to the past years' politics at Sandrock, and the current events that are contributing to its demise, I named this problem "Season of Change." Ryan's biannual Spring Sandrock trip is next on the radar, and I hope I can get the crew on these lines, as well as finish establishing a few more cool lines in the area.
Check Vimeo for the latest vids.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
So, Triple Crown ended the other weekend with LRC. I had a pretty good day, and ended up in 4th place despite the rainy conditions. Overall, I took 7th, which is pretty good considering I had an absolutely atrocious Hound Ears comp. The Riverside has been seeing more traffic than ever before, and much needed opinions are being established. 2nd ascents are rolling in, and its always fun to hear peoples' feedback on problems. I have a very hard time grading First Ascents usually, as most of the time I use unique beta, so its great to have multiple people send a route, then tell me how hard it is. Just this past week, I put up the lower extension into the crimpy "Silversides" roof problem. Josh Edwards and I first started working this line, which has an obvious start on a low ledge, but could not fathom sticking "the move" from the low. We both worked the eliminate for a few days, and I was sucessfully able to send it, but felt completely dissatisfied with not having done it from the obvious lower start. After sending the eliminate, and figuring a grade of V9, I immediately began working the lower start. The extension adds one long move into the original start, and makes "the move," so much more difficult as every second of fresh skin counts. After a few more days of work, and coming very close to sticking "the move," I had confidence I would send after a rest day or two. Low and behold, all it took was one below-freezing day, and I was able to send the rig on my second try! Here's a video. Stay tuned for the topo release, and in the meantime, check out Southeastcraghunting.blogspot.com
Monday, November 15, 2010
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of brushing, sending, and failing... a lot! Projects are being dispatched quicker than ever, and we now have Mt. Yonah developers Josh Edwards, and Sean Reed on the scene. Josh has an eye for some of the sickest lines i've seen, and lives only minutes away from The Riverside. I have a feeling in the next few months, many double-digit projects will be sent. I am able to catch my breath for now because there is rain in the forecast for the next two days, but as soon as that granite dries, its game on. Also, I'll be getting a break from school soon! Perhaps i'll be able to go exploring and look for more of Georgia's finest (yet to be found). Stay tuned for more updates, and get reared for a very detailed and well-documented topo which will be out soon-ish...
Here's a video of "Rivendell," one of the longer term projects that went down last week.
Here's a video of "Rivendell," one of the longer term projects that went down last week.
Rivendell (FA) from Andrew Minnick on Vimeo.
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Riverside
So myself and a select crew (usually only one or two brush monkeys) have been developing this amazing little spot in the Gwinnett area. The fun all started when I was approached by some kids at school saying they knew of some rocks, and that I was a climber. I followed them to this spot on the Chattahoochee River, and was shocked... I could not believe this sick little crag, hosting hundreds of boulder problems and even a few quality routes, was just minutes away from home. I was sure I would find signs of climber activity, but was continually faced with virgin stone and plenty of bushwhacking. Blocs of every shape, size, and style blew my mind hosting Fontainebleauesque slabs, crimpy blank overhung faces, and powerful dynamics. Lines have been going up like crazy, and it seems like we find a new boulder everyday. The range of difficulty is immense with easy 5.8 slab and crack top-ropes, up to V-sick boulder projects. A topo is in the works, but there is much work to be done! If you live in the Gwinnett area, this crag will soon be on your radar with rock quality shattering the standard of known granite in Georgia. Be prepared to screw your head on tight, as the beta will make you more confused than the SAT with a hangover... think Rocktown, HP40, and Boatrock all spawning one child crag. Here's a few videos to check out.
2 from The Riverside from Andrew Minnick on Vimeo.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wow. It's been a minute since ive posted something. Been busy with classes, and training i guess. Just trying to stay outside as much as possible. The season is looking hot...err, cold? Psyche is high, and I think a lot of people are going to have a really strong year. I sent my first V10, called Gumption at Rocktown; it was the problem's 3rd ascent. I also did Brown Hole (V8), which involves this super gnarly reachy first move, setting you off for failure from the start. Triple Crown kicked off this past weekend at Hound Ears in Boone, North Carolina. I love this boulderfield, and loathe the fact that it is only open one day out of the year. I had business with this burly compression problem called Mr. Thick, and sent it finally after many heartbreaking failures on the desperate credit card crimp move. I highly reccomend this problem, and the competition(s) overall. Im already super psyched for the next comp at Horsepens 40.
Here's a video of Brown Hole.
http://vimeo.com/15089002
Here's a video of Brown Hole.
http://vimeo.com/15089002
Monday, August 23, 2010
Boulder, Colorado. Oh my word. What have you done to me?
My two friends Remi and Alana took me to Boulder this month. It was my first time out west, aside from Vegas, and I'm surprised I came back... Living in Georgia for two years has been quite the experience. Take the night we got back for instance; one hour we're in the crisp and clean mountain air, and the next, we are in an underground MARTA station being haggled by a crackhead who had his 3 dollars eaten by the train ticket machine. Come back to me, West! As far as the climbing goes, need I say anything? I'm calling a massive westward movement. This is our Manifest Destiny...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRJd-yCx7KY
My two friends Remi and Alana took me to Boulder this month. It was my first time out west, aside from Vegas, and I'm surprised I came back... Living in Georgia for two years has been quite the experience. Take the night we got back for instance; one hour we're in the crisp and clean mountain air, and the next, we are in an underground MARTA station being haggled by a crackhead who had his 3 dollars eaten by the train ticket machine. Come back to me, West! As far as the climbing goes, need I say anything? I'm calling a massive westward movement. This is our Manifest Destiny...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRJd-yCx7KY
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