Dr. Topo

I'm up way too late re-watching old Dr. Topo videos. The Doc closed up shop not too long ago but his vids live on in youtube. By today's standards the footage is crap, but holy shit these little flicks had my palms sweating so many times. I think my personal vision for climbing was largely influenced by these gems. I doubt if many people watch them anymore but its worth your time if you've got it.

Night night.

Splinter

I had to share this. My all-time favorite climbing short.

Splinter from ben pritchard on Vimeo.

TRS 4

Another competition video from Berkeley Ironworks. I arrived about 2 1/2 hours late due to having attended the Giants home opener, which went into extra innings, so I didn't have high expectations of what I could produce. I think under the circumstances it turned out pretty well.

TRS 4 Berkeley Ironworks from Princess on Vimeo.

Spent this past weekend in Yosemite and despite feeling very lethargic all weekend I managed to have a good time. Randy, Scott, and I sessioned on 'Shadow Warrior' Sunday evening and have a renewed psyche for the problem as a result. Randy showed me the beta he used on the second ascent and it worked brilliantly, plus I don't use a knee pad anymore! I also figured out a way to do the first move finally. Now to the business of putting it all together. Hopefully Scott and I will get back to it fresh next weekend, he just needs one good attempt and it'll be in the bag.

The most exciting news of the weekend is courtesy of Mr. Barraza (duh). He managed to send the steep project at the Ahwahnee boulders on Saturday night, TWICE! On the first send he felt that his foot may have skimmed the pads with his foot. I didn't even realize there was an issue until I rounded the corner to see him top out again! The new line is called 'El Ray'. Good job Paul!

Home Again

The last few days in Joe's were a bit disappointing. The weather crapped out on us and I was unable to finish off any more of the problems on my tick list. Before the weather arrived I managed to make an ascent of the mega-classic "Trent's Mom". This problem has a reputation as being one of the best problems in the country and after climbing it I can't argue with that.

On the way home I made a brief stop at one of my favorite places to visit, Ibex. Ibex is a trip, and I always want to spend more time there but for some reason never make it happen.

Here a simple video of the problem "Big Gulp". Turn your volume up and see if you can hear the echos on the two attempts when I yell a little, the sound really emphasises how alone you are out there.

Big Gulp from Princess on Vimeo.

More From Joe's

On Monday, Becky caught a plane in SLC and headed home to Oakland for another semester of school. On Tuesday, Matt and Sandy hoped into the RV and headed east back to Boulder, CO. Today, the last of the devoted (Siemay, Noah, and I) took a rest day and got showers at the Emery county pool center, who knew this gem was here the whole time?

Becky has whipped out the video for the Joe's trip and I have to say she did a great job with all the footage.

I've got a few more things I'd like to climb in the next week with "Trent's Mom" and "Kill List" chief among them, then I'll be back home in time for a little Yosemite climbing before possibly relocating for the late spring and summer months.

Joe's Valley 2010 from Becky Trafecanty on Vimeo.

Utah Update

We're taking another rest day tomorrow, Friday, so we've gotten a hotel room in Price for a shower and night out of the cold.

The trip has been going fantastic. Its been great hanging out with Noah, Matt and Sandy; meeting and getting to know Becky's old friends Chris and Emily and of course spending time with my ladies Becky and Turtle.

On the climbing front, the trip is going well too. I've had the chance to climb on a bunch of beautiful new (at least to me) problems. I've even managed to get to the top of a few boulders. The highlights so far have been "Dance With the Devil" a highball on perfect black rock and "The Ghost King" a challenging problem 'discovered' last year right beside one of Joe's Valley's most popular areas. Becky has also been sending. She climbed "Chips" utilizing a tricky toe hook and over the last two days she climbed "Sunshine Daydream" and "G2-07" in a single session each!

No new media from me of course, but since I forgot to post it before here's Becky's video from Red Rocks.

Red Rocks 2010 from Becky Trafecanty on Vimeo.

Look What Becky Made

We're in Price doing laundry...very exciting. I'm going to clean a project I found later today, it is very pretty. I almost never take pictures or video when Becky is around because she always has her camera out. Here is the result of her efforts with the camera and my efforts at Moe's Valley in St. George, UT.

Moe's Valley 2010 from Becky Trafecanty on Vimeo.