New Rock Here, New Rock There, New Rock is Everywhere

Last week was spring break here in Wyoming. Despite not actually having a spring break at my newish job, I took the time off anyway and made the most of it. Hard training has been motivating the climbing community here for some weeks now and using the break as an actual break was a first for me. My goal was to get a good rest in and be ready for the good conditions that are suggesting a few old projects will get done soon. Little climbing took place.Spent some time looking at new rock and doing a few easier things to stay limber.
 First in Wyoming in the ever expanding "Neverland" Bryan Vansickle and myself walked a new sector of stone and steep walls. Yet another pile of steep rock has been found and another life time is now needed. With all the rock in Wyoming my needed lifetime count is in the double digits now. The snow was still deep in the sector we walked, but other areas are completely void of snow. Assurance that spring is stumbling from the blocks and getting it's usual rocky mountain start.

Bryan was ready to climb even with soaked feet and wet pants from hours of post hole struggles. We stopped at a previously found sector and put up a couple of new lines. A simple warm up in the V1 range and a V5/6 that included a very nice floating dyno to a big sloping lip. I don't know what Bryan named either one.

B Vansick as he is now called when he wears his "to fit in" hipster shades on his V5/6 dyno problem.

Bryan left town to go back to work and my wife, dog, and I drove south to the Moab, Utah area for some warmer weather and sun. We had three goals in mind for the short road trip. Avoid the tourist hell traps of the area while finding new rock for bouldering, and getting our water addicted dog some solid swim time. Years ago when I climbed trad and only trad I would see huge boulder fields in the Utah back country and had always dreamed of going back without a rope. Now firmly out of the trad community, thus void of the criticism that lay upon pebble wrestling , I carried only a single pad and didn't even look up at the old cracks. The red sandstone of the area, when in the correct geological formation is very good quality. Better put together than Joe's Valley and maybe better friction. The rock has fewer holds for the most part, but smearing on blank walls was a nice change from the precision feet of the local granite/gneiss. two days of reconnaissance yeilded several extensive areas and a few problems up to about V7. In conclusion, there is a huge amount of good rock in the area for bouldering and I'm not talking the Big Bend Boulders. I'm talking about all the other piles of stone, some blocky and square like the Big Bend, some weather worn and featured, all worth a trip and closer than Joe's Valley.

Amiee Dog heaven is a lazy bend on a muddy river where sticks have been washed ashore for many years, and an arm to throw them is always near.

One that got away