Climbing

I’ve written up a slightly more poetic piece for the Five Ten Blog that I would encourage you to check out by clicking on the link: Additionally, I have a very exciting summer coming up. I will be traveling to Alaska to continue my efforts in developing the amazing bouldering at Hatcher Pass this summer, and from there I will head to the Grampians National Park in Australia, to develop boulders everywhere I can find them. I will be in OZ with Daniel Woods, Courtney Sanders, Beau Kahler, Dave Graham, Nalle Hukkataival and others and it looks to be an amazing trip. I am incredibly excited to have the chance to do this and it wouldn’t be possible with out the help of some amazing people and companies, including Jared Lavacque, an Anchorage local, and of course Josh Helke and his incredible company Organic. It’s hard for me to get psyched about two places at the same time, so right now I am simply focusing on Alaska. My motivation for finding and climbing new rock is as strong as ever. There are a number of projects I left unfinished at Hatcher Pass and I hope to climb all of them, in addition to finding some new ones. Much of my efforts will be focused on a talus field that spills down the Fairangel Gulley and some boulders around the lakes above Fairangel Creek. I will also be focusing efforts on several massive talus fields near Reed Lakes, and as well a number of awesome projects near The Diamond, which is basically right off the road. And in case you’ve forgotten how many boulders sit waiting, these photos combined represent about 1/20th of the accessible rock that exists at Hatcher Pass. I can’t wait to share some photos. Video footage will follow! Psyched as always…

Hi Steph I am emailing you from England as have just found your blog and have just done your potato leek soup for supper this evening. I have been looking online for vegan bloggers as my 18 year old daughter is turning vegan (I am a single mum on a very tight budget so she has agreed to eat up what is in the store cupboard that was bought at her request but I have agreed that replacements will all be vegan). I have two questions if you have the time. First I see that most of your recipes are wheat free, is this anything to do with veganism or is this for other health reasons? The other thing is that I have heard that tofu can mess with your hormone levels. Obviously as my daughter is still quite young I am anxious about this. She says that she has heard about some Indonesian soya product which is, apparently better. Do you know anything about this as she is a bit vague. Love your blog. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Libby Hi Libby, I’m glad you like my site and recipes! And congratulations to your daughter for caring about her diet and nutrition. One of my favorite sites is nomeatathlete.com, and he offers recipes, nutrition information and answers to questions about just about everything. A lot of my recipes are wheat free because I make a deliberate effort to avoid processed wheat flour as much as possible. The reason I do this is because it seems like almost everything nowadays is made out of wheat, and I think too much of anything, especially things that aren’t in their whole form, is not healthy. If I make an effort to avoid wheat, and especially white flour as opposed to whole wheat, I think in the end I eat what is probably a reasonable amount. The same philosophy applies to refined sugar, and you’ll notice that most of my recipes say “whatever sweetener you prefer” or list a choice of maple syrup, honey, sugar, etc. I prefer to use maple syrup and fruit for my sweeteners, and I make a strong effort to avoid eating refined sugar. I like Ezekiel bread, as it’s made of sprouted grains, and I like to bake with kamut flour since it’s an older form of wheat which has been less hybridized over the centuries and has more protein. I believe that eating a simple, whole foods diet full of vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains is the secret to good health and nutrition–it’s just unreasonably difficult to eat this way in modern culture unless you change your patterns of shopping and eating and make deliberate choices about how you fuel your body. I’m also not sure what to believe about soy, because if you do an internet search about soy you will get hundreds of articles telling you how healthy or unhealthy it is. My gut feeling is that this is yet another situation of people taking things way too far–soy is added or processed to food products to a ridiculous level right now. Fake meat is a big use of soy, which I find really odd. I don’t eat meat and I don’t like meat: the last thing I want to eat is a food that seems like meat. I really like tofu, and I don’t want it shaped like a turkey. After having read hundreds of these articles myself and looking for any sort of consensus among them, my personal approach is the same as with everything else: moderation and simple common sense. I make sure that the tofu I buy is organic and non-GMO because everyone seems to agree that soy can be made unhealthy by pesticides and genetic modification. I make my own soymilk from organic soybeans. I use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos in my stir fries. And I really don’t eat much other soy, since I avoid processed foods, and that’s where I think people start consuming excessive amounts of soy, along with everything else. I think the Indonesian form your daughter is referring to is tempeh, and most people seem to agree that tempeh is a very healthy form of soy, due to being fermented and made from the whole

Hi Steph Thanks for writing your 2 books, I have enjoyed reading both of them very much. As soon as I got them I finished each of them within a day! It is great to see a female who is living her life as she wants it. I am a New Zealander, climber and vegetarian (by the way I love your carrot cake recipe!) currently travelling the world for a year after quitting my job. I am hoping this time away from work will give me my zest and sense of adventure back as I feel I have lost that over the last few years of working and social peer pressure. I am hoping I will get my sense of direction and self back. Anyway my question is who inspires you and why? Are there any books you would recommend to read who have helped you in times of stress (and at other times as well) as I have a lot of time on my hands now and am looking for inspiration, guidance and just generally some good reading Happy flying and climbing, Annalise Hi Annalise, Thanks for writing I get inspired by people and creatures who do good things, have rock-solid integrity, and live by their principles. And I am very moved by courage. Here are a few books you might like: Light on Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar The Essential Rumi Coleman Barks What I Talk About When I talk About Running Haruki Murakami Illusions Richard Bach Kitchen Banana Yoshimoto anything by Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko Winter World Bernd Heinrich

More reminders if you need them that sport climbing is not to be taken lightly: Exhibit A is the close call experienced by Mike Doyle when the sling on a (fixed) draw broke during a fall. Exhibit B is this bolt pulled removed from a popular route in the Red River Gorge. Exhibit C is…well, the list goes on. Eschewing fixed draws is one thing, but the implicit trust that is placed in fixed hardware like bolts is harder to square and is surely one of the most important issues facing climbers in the next decade. DPM has a nice article laying out some even more recent fixed hardware issues from around the world along with some ideas on what can be done.

On the ARk from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

Read the piece of news on this subject here.

The night before just POURED and there was some serious doubt about climbing prospects. We got a relatively early start though and the morning sky was just great. There was a slight breeze and tons of blue sky. So we decided to "chance it"....(What else were we going to do? Go bass fishing?)Go Cat GoWe headed to the Lower Meadow - which I have historically called the "Old" Meadow as it was mostly concurrently established with the other major areas in the region. We were SUPER stoked to find that the rock was dry - though running in far and few inbetween places. I guess the dry ground really soaked up the rain and the wind managed to dry the rock surface.For me, I spent most of the day shooting images as I had previously climbed most of the sport routes in the 12b and under range (at least the ones worth doing.) I was super psyched to watch Adam onsight and flash both Gato 5.12a and Go Cat Go 5.12b!! Go Cat GoThe meadow typically is steeper than the New River Proper - not necessarily more "roofy", though it does have its fair share, but rather more consistently steep. The Cat wall definitely owns up to this typicality. Both routes feature a gently overhanging face with decent to good hold separated by long moves.I think its fun, that though concurrently developed, these routes tend to be a lot more do-able (though not necessarily easier) than the routes at Endless Wall. Comparing "Go Cat Go!" and "Sacriledge" is almost a joke. Likewise compared "Gato" with "Freekie Stylee" etc. None the less, the climbing is spectacular, varied and unique."Go Cat Go" doesn't really have a "crux" per-say but rather climbs 40 feet of consistent 5.11+ to 5.12- where as "Gato" is maybe 11- climbing with one pretty serious V4 boulder problem in it!Go Cat GoMy big route for the day was "Puppy Chow" 5.12c. I had previously drewled over the line a few years ago when I was climbing with my buddy Pat who was working "The Greatest Show on Earth" though I had never tried it. Local hometown hero Steve Hedgecock had just recently re-equipped all the sketchy mank on Puppy Chow so I was stoked to try it.So here's the deal with "Puppy Chow. " It has a 25+ foot horizontal roof in it!! yeah crazy right! Most roof climbs in the region start with a chossy slab, but the 5.11- 30 foot slab under Puppy Chow is as clean as well...no - not as clean as endless wall, but cleaner than a lot of the face climbs at the new!!I had previously heard that the roof isn't the business, but on my first go, I chuffered off at the lip of the roof. I think the initial roof is probably 12- though on my second attempt, I really smoothed out all the rough edges.After pulling the roof on my second go, which included several foot cuts, a rope-unrapping (I ended up doing a 360 in the roof and had it around), and some furious heel hooks I found myself at a good pedistal with a hand jam....where I rested. Go Cat GoThe headwall on "Puppy Chow" is a 40? foot 20 ish degree overhanging clean face with punctuated resting horizontals separated by some serious boulder problems. Keep in mind that you just did a 30? foot horizontal roof with HUGE moves and several campuses...now you have a V4 boulder problem right off the first rest!!!! Then you get another rest, do maybe a V3 boulder problem to another rest. Do some easy climbing to...guess what? Another rest. Then the FINAL crux is ONE MORE FREAKING HARD MOVE!!! You grab this dicey gaston and have to jump to what is obviously a handle bar jug...and you rest there because you still got one more bolt of maybe mid 5.11 climbing!!I really think that this route is one of the most incredible lines in the region and maybe in the US.I was super stoked to 2nd go the route - essentially onsighting the upper head wall. If mid 5.12 is your grade and you haven't done this one, I highly suggest it!!Go Cat Go

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Nice report over at DPM from the 10th New River Rendezvous: What once started as a grassroots gathering of core climbers has grown over the past decade into one of the most well-executed climber fundraising events in the country. The money raised from the event goes directly back into the Park in the form of new fixed hardware and infrastructure such as trails, improved parking, and access. This year, over 20,000 dollars was raised thanks to attendees and sponsors. One of these years I will actually make it out there to climb at that place!

Video of Daniel's boulder in Elkland, CO. https://vimeo.com/66617219