Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Dawning of Summer in the High Country

Summer is almost upon us here in the High Country of North Carolina. To those of you who are fortunate enough to be in the know this brings to mind a few things every year. First of all, Florons begin to clog up every major thoroughfare from now until the time the leaves fall in late October. Secondly, route climbing season begins here, at least for me and my friends. Finally, its the time to hike into the gorge to get the beatdown bouldering on the Linville River. Number one on this list is a necessary evil bringing both commerce and aggravation to the local population. The other two, well those are what this rock climber first thinks of when summer rolls around in Boone. My recently married best friend Josh came to visit this week. Congratulations on the nuptials Shepherds and a big thanks for bringing the psyche needed to cajole Cody and I into an impromptu gorge bouldering and camping expedition. Josh decided that God's Country was the area he was most excited about so we packed up the truck and headed into the gorge. God's Country is located on the Linville River trail located right off of the Babel Towers trail on the west side of the gorge. This time hiking in took us 50 minutes with a 70 minute exit hike. Now, the three of us have quite the history with gorge boulders since Josh and I first visited in 2008 spurred on by vague descriptions on Rockclimbing.com and this enigmatic username "paleolithics." We had to know, was the bouldering any good, and who is this mystery man? The answers were yes, the climbing is unique and varied in a beautiful setting with not only bullet rock but amazing lines. And the second answer was Mike Stam, a name that would become synonymous with Linville gorge bouldering. Mike along with Joey Henson and company has established over 1500 boulder problems in the bottom of the gorge. After we met Mike this area really opened up a new world of climbing possibilities home not only to thousands of blocs, but more importantly an element that I find lacking in the modern day incarnation of our "sport." This element is adventure, and send or no send every trip into the Linville Gorge is an experience. The sometimes brutal hikes and the fact that a lot of things in the gorge have a way of becoming epic make this no mere jaunt to the mushroom boulder. Aside from the fact that insects, giant rats, and raging whitewater are all things to consider this only enriches the entire experience. As skiers so aptly put it, in the gorge you have to "earn your turns." Despite the fact that I have been working the problem in the next video since sometime in 2009, I still have yet to send. At least sixteen miles of hiking, one spring break, and over four years have passed since the beginning of my saga with "Stranger than Friction" and I'm still hooked. I know I'm crazy, maybe this just proves it. So there you have in, in the last several years I don't think I have sent more than a handful of problems down in the big ditch. That's okay by me though, going down there isn't for the faint of heart but it does pay dividends. I really do believe that it is a privilege to climb in relative solitude in a such an amazing boulder field. If one enjoys a good epic adventure check out the gorge this summer for a bit of bouldering and swimming. It may not be for you but at least it's something different. Plus, you'll never know unless you check it out for yourself. If you want a better picture of the climbing in the gorge than my words can do justice look up T.C. Webb's video on Mike Stam. Go to vimeo and look up "Fear of Commitment."
In other news I have been working out a new project at our beloved "Backyard Boulders" that people have been eyeing for years. This obvious arete perched in what we have called "the amphitheater" was and is one of the first lines one sees when approaching this particular area. Despite a few suitors having rappelled the line, no one had decided it was going to go free. That is until last week. Since then I have gone down and cleaned for several days and have sussed out gear and moves. Due to the strange climbing and small gear I did dumb the climb down and have toproped it twice now. However flawed the style of ascent I am super amped to try and lead said line next week. I mean let's be real, Goodman probably soloed the rig back in 04'. Who knows how it will go, but until then I will leave you with a picture of the route and a photo of Cody attempting an undone dyno project. In other news my girlfriend Madeline Irion is graduating from the nursing program at ASU and that is more badass than any rock climb. Congratulations Maddie!