Climbing

On the ARk from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

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

This half-hour online yoga practice, appropriate for any level of yoga experience, focuses on stretching the areas that tighten as we swim. prAna Ambassador Sage Rountree offers clear demonstration and cues to bring you through an easy series of asanas and a breath exercise. Work your focus, notice your breathing, and improve your stroke by enjoying these longer holds of simple yoga poses designed for those of you who spend lots of time in the water… Learn more about Sage at http://www.prana.com/life/ambassadors/ Looking for the best online yoga classes? Look no further! YogaVibes partners with the world’s best teachers and studios to bring their classes to you, on-demand. With a multitude of classes and styles to choose from, you’ll never be bored. From sweaty Core Fusion and Vinyasa classes to Kundalini and meditation practices, you’ll find the yoga you need today. Confused about a pose? Browse our library of free yoga videos for insight and inspiration. YogaVibes brings the world of yoga to you, wherever you are, whatever your need. Get started now at http://www.yogavibes.com/

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!

Island.io: "Part One of the Island Trilogy. 4 years in the making, totally worth it! Available for download from our very own Films button! [island.io/films] on May 20th 2013. Featuring Dave Graham, Jon Cardwell, Daniel Woods, Isaac Caldiero Joe Kinder, Colette Mcinierney and Enzo Oddo. Shot on location by the crew in Ceuse and Nice in France and in Verbier and Zurich in Switzerland.

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

Hello Steph I really liked your book a lot! (its the first time i even considered writing to an author about his book) Your story really grabbed my attention and one can tell that you put a lot of heart in it! I also liked the way you discribed switzerland and the swiss (as im swiss ) Hopefully I will travel to Moab one day! It would be amazing to see you and Mario! All the best wishes from Switzerland!! Matt Thanks Matt, I really appreciate your writing, and I’m really glad you liked Learning to Fly. You are so lucky to live in Switzerland! Steph

For several years I’ve been most excited about the creativity of combining climbing with base jumping. It started for me in 2008 when I free soloed the North Face of Castleton and made a base jump descent. With my husband Mario, I started to look for other towers that could be interesting combinations of climbing and jumping, and in 2010 we made the Perfect Circle film with our good friends 3 Strings Productions. Last year, I mixed it up a little with a base jump descent into Mineral Canyon, to climb a beautiful Hong route there. Mario and I have done more, some even wilder, tower base climbs since then around Moab, and we just keep finding more, so the desert base climbs are really an endless adventure. But I’ve been wanting to add wingsuit base into the mix, which presents a bit of a logistical challenge. The cliffs around Moab are on BLM land, which means that all users are treated equally, and recreation is valued and respected. These cliffs are low, generally about 400 feet tall. To base jump with a wingsuit, you need cliffs that are at least 2000 feet tall (to really be worth it). Annoyingly, in the States the most accessible, appropriate tall cliffs are locked inside National Park boundaries where base jumping, a non-impactful, non-motorized activity, is discriminated against. The NPS persecutes base jumpers by manipulating a law against aerial delivery into national parks–base jumpers are “aerially delivering themselves”(don’t play Scrabble with these guys, you will lose). Where it gets even more weird is the fact that hang gliding is allowed in Yosemite, and airplanes are allowed to land at Lake Powell… anyway, a lot of court time and money has been spent trying to keep people from parachuting off cliffs in National Parks, and I could think of a lot better ways to use those resources. The NPS has gone so far as to taser people for making a base jump, and actually incarcerated jumpers into the federal prison system as recently as last year. People have made climbs in National Parks followed by base jumps, but it hasn’t been possible to share these adventures for fear of self-incrimination. Obviously it would be amazing to climb Moonlight Buttress and fly off of Angels Landing, or follow a free climb of the NW Route of Half Dome with a wingsuit jump. The materials left on the climbs (chalk, slings, bolts, pitons) stay there permanently, but that is accepted. The elements left in the air by a base jump (wind currents) are invisible and impermanent, but that is illegal. We can only hope that someday the NPS will pull its head out of its a$$ and join us in the 21st century. But as they say, there are no problems, only puzzles to be solved. I’d been on the lookout for a way to make a wingsuit base climb for some time when I went to Notch Peak, a remote giant dolomitic limestone massif in the Utah west desert, in 2009. Notch Peak is the second tallest vertical drop in the States, just after El Cap, and no one knows about it. And it’s on BLM land, which means that you are allowed to climb, camp, base jump and walk around with your dog. There are a few, very adventurous limestone routes up it, and it is a very three-dimensional, serious wingsuit jump site. This jump is not like Lauterbrunnen or El Cap. It’s a place you need to be on your game, very experienced, and ready for anything. The climbing is no walk in the park either, characterized by looseness, runouts and a LOT of hiking. Notch is in the middle of nowhere. Cell phones don’t work, there’s no water, and there aren’t even many flat places to camp. 4WD is mandatory. It’s a big, intimidating place, which switches from boiling hot to freezing cold sometimes in minutes. The first time I went there to check out the wingsuit jump, I looked at the mountain and the terrain and decided I would not go back until I was a much more experienced jumper and wingsui

Yoga teacher, waterman and prAna Ambassador Michael Fukumura shares his insights and a quick movement flow for preparing the mind & body for water sports. [yt] Learn more about Michael at http://www.prana.com/life/ambassadors/

The prAna Swaddle Becoming a parent is an adventure of a lifetime—the terrain is like nothing you’ve seen; the journey tests you and builds your strength, and it provides an ineffable joy you can’t believe until you’ve been there. Like many adventures into the unknown, the beginning is a period of growth with a steep learning curve. As we busily prepared for our baby’s arrival, we’d amassed many things they say new parents will need—the swing, the clothes, the bath toys, the whole nine. We had no idea that prAna goods would be essential to our survival in those early days as parents. Our beautiful baby girl was born peacefully in water on a late winter morning. Since we had an out-of-hospital birth, we were back home just six hours after Maia was born, exhausted but elated. We were assured that upon arriving home, we’d settle in for a much-needed 6 to 8 hour nap with our babe. Little Maia was not informed of this. She was awake and ready to meet the journey of new-personhood head-on. But this world is a big place to a new little being, so she needed all the comforts we could give her. They had swaddled her at the birth center and suggested we do the same when we got home. Thing was, swaddles were not among the many goods we’d amassed for this journey. We had a single thin blanket to wrap her in, but it would come loose soon after we got it secure. Three A.M. came and my husband and I were not sure what to do with an inconsolable baby and this jenky blanky. In a moment of desperation—and sheer genius—after trying everything we could think of, my husband Billy sits up in the bed, throws off his shirt, and begins to use it as a swaddle. The shirt he was wearing was a long-sleeved jersey style prAna tee, a staple in his wardrobe. Once bundled, Maia stopped crying instantly. It wasn’t long before we were enjoying our promised and well-deserved nap. The swaddled held for the rest of the night and Maia was content in her little prAna shirt cocoon. The prAna swaddle worked so well we continued to swaddle Maia in these shirts in the days to come. We were lucky enough to have five of these shirts in rotation (because, as all new parents know, spit happens). They were perfect—just the right thickness, soft, breathable, just the right amount of stretch, and the ideal size to make a baby burrito. Wrapping the sleeves kept her in nice and snug and surely she appreciated that her first clothes smelled like mom and dad. At one point, perhaps with Daddy eager to get his comfy shirts back, we purchased some actual swaddles. They didn’t hold a candle to the prAna shirts! The prAna swaddle was all she wore for the first two to three weeks of her life. I imagine she is one of the youngest adventurers to sport prAna ana wear! While we had always favored our prAna gear for yoga, climbing, and our pre-baby travel adventures around the world, we had no idea prAna would be a vital element in our early days with Maia. And more than discovering an invaluable new use for our clothes, we were reminded of a simple truth: With a little creativity and an open mind, you discover you already have everything you need for the journey ahead. ~Jaime and Billy Mizejewski, Proud Parents