Projects!

Here we are again... Summer.

Or at least that's what my computer calender tells me. Looks like freaking December with all this rain we've been having. I had a funny phone call today where a friend of mine talked about how he thought we could climb this coming Sunday because the forecast called for only 3mm of rain. Then in the next breath also reminded me of the thousand or so millimeters called for before Sunday.

So instead I'm stuck daydreaming and contemplating climbing in the gym this week.

As many of you know I love new problems. To the point where I get a little excited and desperately try and do the first ascent. Whether it's a link up through six old problems. I love new stuff and I like doing first ascents so I can give them clever or interesting names.

Since we last spoke I finally got up the go to try this project I've been blabbing about for the last four years.

Tyson, Chappy and myself went and checked it out. I gave it a bit of a brush and we got to work trying it. Right away I learned one thing. Its hard but has good holds. I got next to no where with Tyson putting the first move together but hitting a stopper move. We all left the first day disappointed but psyched to come back and keep working on it. A couple days later I rounded up some pads and went to work on it again by myself. I was hoping some magic beta would appear and I would unlock this puzzle. Sadly I got spanked again. I saw Tyson again and told him all my new failures and convinced him that though they didn't work for me they would certainly work for him...

I think all my new beta did was wear him out instead of helping him succeed. We both left again defeated. The next day up there my friend TD showed up and I told him all about the project and he seemed interested. We gathered the up pads and also picked up Tim Clifford.

I now knew that my dreams of putting up an amazing new problem were over. Two monsters were going to session this project into submission while I stood around and suggested beta that no one wanted to try.

TD quickly fired the crux only to be stopped on the next move by a huge dyno with frightening consequences. He tried a few more times and put the problem to bed for the night. Conditions were bad and no one wants to jump to a sloppy hold with wet skin.

The next day I met up with TD and we gathered up ten pads and made the safest landing we could.He showed up and I told him that no matter what I was going to catch him if he missed the dyno. He got on and fired the first four moves then loaded up for the dyno while I shouted that I had him and it was all good.

He fired while I realized in a split second that if he missed the dyno he was going to fly over my head even though I jumped in a volleyball style block. Not to toot my own horn but I can dunk a basketball from standing under the rim and he was well over my hands.

But he stuck and quickly climbed to the top. He was psyched as was I, though probably for different reasons. I was convinced he was going to sail over my head and hit a huge boulder behind me and I think he was happy that he stuck the dyno and fired a new amazing problem.

TD said he didn't care what it was named and said I could come up with a name. Well I just said the first thing out of my mouth as I always do. Which was "The Black Council" it was reference from a book I just read and was stuck in my head. Though I like the sound of it.

Mike took some photos of the problem, though if you guys don't know Mike broke his arm the next day while walking a slack line on his birthday. So he's been nursing his arm rather then photoshopping me out of the photos. I took a couple of photos as well but I'm still rocking a film camera and well I can't find a way to stick my camera roll into this computer without making a mess.

So photos of The Black Council will have to be put up on a later date.

My goal this summer is to climb my new big three as well and scope out a new project I might get before all you monsters find it first.



Update! After I posted Chappy dragged himself to his computer and uploaded this to flicker with his teeth.

The Black Council

Peace!