Legoland

Blue Lakes has alway been filled with meh little boulders and meh little zones that aren't quite worth the visit unless you are a local...

I put up a sweet line out there called "Blue Life" which is arguably the best climb out there at V7. It's maybe 2 stars.

So I was dubious when local developer Harrison Eberlin posted a pic on the local Tahoe Bouldering FB page. Sure the one bloc looked big and rad, but much of the quality of stone out at Blue Lakes is meh, as I mentioned.


Harrison's Lego bloc.

Always down for adventure, I rallied a crew to join the very sharing and psyched Harrison on a tour of Legoland. Dave Hatchett, Jon Thompson, Dave Schwisow, Wes Christensen and I hiked for 2 hours along side Harrison to this utopian bouldering spot way up above Meadow Lake, past Blue Lakes proper.



What did we find, you ask? Heaven. Amazing high quality blocs with numerous 3 and 4 star projects. Wow. WORTH THE HIKE!!! (Also, now that the lake level is so low, we have the hike down to about 1.5 hours mostly uphill going in and 1.2 hours out.)


"Pure" V9 - This is just one of many amazing problems opened by the crew. Everywhere we looked was something amazing. Harrison had already picked some plums, but so many remained! This pure line is crazy. Totally vert, perfect starting crimps, decent feet, long move to a dime sized crimp, mantle-press through a massive move to a crazy sloper at the lip. No other way. Pure. Here's a vid:

"Crazy Feather" V10. WTF! 4 stars. Hands down one of the best lines I've ever opened. Jon Thompson and I worked the beta out a few weeks ago, but we couldn't quite link. This climb is beautiful. Gymnastic pulls on good holds. Big throws and steep. It's a rare and amazing gem of a climb. A must do. This rig starts a full 7 feet lower down and left and offers a lot of steep climbing with incredible grips. Fun personified.

I wish I had pics of all the amazing lines. If I get pics, ill def update this post.

Dave Hatchett also opened an amazing 4 star line at V8 up a steep wall of diorite holds followed by a techy mantle that shut me down! ...I need to go back for this prize. Amazing Dave! Name TBD.

Last but not least, Harrison added a 4 star line to cap the day! At V7, the dead vertical techy crack with dramatic finish (name also TBD,) is mega. I need to do this one too.

We will all be going out on Tuesday and hopefully add some harder lines; I spied a few worthy candidates on this last mission.

Sure it's far, but that's part of the game and the beauty of the Sierras is an incredible reward!

Here is the funny part (you knew this was coming:) By the parking for Meadow lake lies a small group of meh boulders and meh problems. We ran into some older locals who told us about the bouldering they had been doing there for years and the 40+ problems that they had established. The rock is mostly junk, and the climbing is dull and uninspiring to the point that I had checked out the boulders years ago and written them off as "not worth it." Suffice it to say, we were asked to keep their boulders a local secret. I WILL HAPPILY OBLIGE. Legoland is the real deal. The goods. Epic. Like area A at Evans in Colorado.

Harrison Eberlin showed remarkable character sharing his find with the world. Without a massive ego to protect, Harrison chose fun and new friendships over prideful greed and secrecy.

I now extend his gift and example by sharing Legoland with you (with Harrison's blessing.) Please let Hatchett know the FA's you do: name, grade, description and GPS, as Legoland is on the map and will be included in Volume 3 of the Tahoe Bouldering Guides.

To get there simply follow carins around the North side of Meadow lake (you need 4WD to get to Meadow lake and high clearance,) to the dam almost, then up a saddle past two meadows then up a hill and south 1/4 way thru the big second meadow. Best to google earth it and prob get a tour. It's out there.

By the way, it's worth mentioning that there is another area out past the damn on the far side of Meadow Lake called "Far Away Land," but it's crap.

UPDATE: WE ARE GOING BACK TO LEGOLAND WITH A HUGE CREW TOMORROW (Tues. Oct. 8th) TO DO MEGA LINES AND GET THE PADS OUT!

Now go and crush!

Most photo and video credit: Dave Schwisow

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

UPCOMING POSTS:

Burst Rock Revisit
Crossfire Hurricane
Midget Tricks
Benwood Meadows
Leaving Tahoe

Mitch Underhill

Mitch Underhill was a pure soul. (above, right (legend Tahoe Todd left.))

I knew Mitch from work initially. He was an EMS provider, and I an ER doc, so he would bring me patients at Barton frequently. We would talk about medicine and the cases we shared frequently, but we would always digress into "so, man, what have you been climbing?"


It wasn't long before we combined energies and discovered that we were on the same wavelength in climbing as well as medicine. The years went by and we would infrequently hook up to climb; Mitch had many many friends and floated easily through the Sierra climbing circles: Bigwall, trad, sport, bouldering, Mitch was adept at them all.


Mitch taking an active spot of Travis Junkin on "Fat Man in a Little Coat" V9 at Burnside Lake.

What really brought Mitch and I closer together was having our sons. Over the last two years as Mason and Zun grew from wee little grubs into talking, fighting toddlers, Mitch and I would climb and talk fatherhood and the wonders of life. We put up hard boulders together including the very cool roadside Woodford's climb: "Deadbeat Dads," which we named, half-jokingly after the fact that our boys were being watched while we went out and selfishly climbed.

But we had to. We talked about that too. Medicine and work are stressful and climbing is the perfect way to sublimate; to blow off steam.

Recently, while out bouldering at Burnside lake he told me of the crazy call he took to rescue a half frozen women who got stuck with her beau during a freak fall snowstorm that trapped the couple in their car 6 miles up Burnside lake rd. The man had tried to walk out, post-holing and slogging through miles until he took off his clothes and succumbed to hypothermia... Mitch rode a snowmobile up sloshy melting snow until he got to the woman and saved her life. He was an unsung hero.

Mitch was the nicest guy I ever met. His son, Mason, was several months ahead of my son, Zun, in age, and Mitch was always giving me (asked for) perfect beta on fathering. Perfect advice on raising my little man.

Watching Mitch play with Mason always made me wonder if I was that good of a father and always made me strive to be better.

My memories of Mitch will not fade. He was a main character in my life. He is one of the men I truly respect and admire. His sons will grow up without him, but they will hear stories and know that their father was no ordinary man.

Mitch Underhill was my friend. His wife Sarah and his boys were lucky to have him, and his loss is devastating to their family in a way no one should ever truly be able to comprehend.

I was personally shaken to my core when I heard of his death. I want the world to know that Mitch was the best kind of teacher; the kind that taught by example. He was a good man and will forever be a part of Lake Tahoe lore.

Tears are in my eyes as I write this. It was too early to go, Mitch. You had so much left to teach your boys. I will tell them about you from my perspective someday. I will tell them how much you loved them and Sarah and life!

Goodbye, Mitch! We love you, buddy!

Arrowhead V8

This is likely a new first ascent at Caple's Lake that we did yesterday. It is very thuggy and is much harder than it appears in this video starting off of a bad left-hand side pull and decent right-hand crimp. Probably V8 or 9.

I asked Jesse, and he doesn't remember doing it, but it did look clean and someone could have bagged this line, but then again, probably not. Let me know if you know...

We also did some fun new FA's including the 3-star "Thanks Travis" V8 (Hat tip to Travis Junkin and his lady Mallory.) this rad new steep tall line is gorgeous! It is the line 4 feet right of the amazing Caple's test piece: Excalibur V9 (10?)

We also did some tall 3 star lines in the same zone on the boulder just adjacent to the Caple's Crack (v3) (Excalibur boulder.)

"Plan A" takes the direct line up a thin face with a radical finishing dyno off bad crimps at V5 and "Plan B" V3 is the escape from the dyno over a much bolder finish using the right arête.

Then there is the "Happy Fat Kid" V6. What a sick line! Wide compression much like "Integrity" V8/10 at the Mtn. Beavers!

The best part of the day though may have been Dave Hatchett's score of an amazing 9-grade arrowhead seen in the video above! Wow!

It's amazing how whenever we go back to these old areas, new gems pop up! We are working hard on the south shore and satellite area guides which are coming along. All the new FAs are slowing us down, lol!

In other news, I am training hard for my mega proj... I now weigh 173! For context; I weighed 193 for American Ninja Warrior and 178 was always my fighting weight... I weighed 171.6 this am, a record. I'm pretty cut.

It used to be that losing weight for me was unhealthy, but since I've switched my diet from meatitarian to plant-based, I've lost weight in a healthy, non-injury yielding way. Wow. Hard lines are going down and are feeling easy.

Also, I find myself constantly leaping from boulder to boulder and from tree to tree, constantly training for American Ninja Warrior 6!

I'll stop climbing hard and start routes and specific Ninja training in January, by for now, my life is all about hard lines in tahoe!

Bring the temps!!! The season is almost here, gents and ladies!!! PSYCHED!

Train and play hard!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Hurcules

A Peak Day

I began my struggles with Hercules many years ago. To be exact--well, I can't be exact--it was fall of 2009 or 2010.







The usual suspects were all gathered at Sugarpine on the West shore of Lake Tahoe: Jimmy Haden, Dave Hatchett, David Outcalt, D-Griff and Warren Digness to name a few. We were deep deep in the pine, developing a satellite of Sugar 2 called the Hercules Cluster. Many a fine BP exist there including several 3 & 4 star lines on perfect granite. This is rare for anywhere to have a condensed cluster of such high quality (except maybe Yosemite, of course.)

Fortress V6, Butterfly Effect V8, Sissyfis V8; all amazing 3-4 stars...

It was my first day there. The crew had only been a couple times and they showed me a really cool hard project. A face. A beautiful and improbable yet simple and profoundly aesthetic line! I was instantly enamoured. "Is this the Hercules proj?" I asked? "No name on that rig" Dave replies. "Any lines here called Hercules yet? (no) So this is the Hercules project!" I was psyched.

I instantly recognized the line as being pure and very difficult as well as being morpho and a fat kid's dream. Long Spans and compression on a face are unusual.

Jimmy Haden and I set to work. The first day went well. I found a sequence to the crux that worked if you were tall. David O. found a sequence that worked if you were even taller.

That said, I can't recall if I stuck the crux that day. The beta is tricky and great shoes help as the first crux revolves around power toeing onto a slopey jib divot. I'm climbing in La Sportiva Muira VSs that are the best shoe I have ever worn. Better than anything Mad Rock for technical granite and even a bit better than my evolvs that I loved and wore for years (disclaimer: I am not sponsored by La Sportiva or any shoe company any longer. All Tahoe climbers have fallen in love with theses shoes: they are almost perfect!)

Over the next 2-3 sezuans I worked the line with various friends and we were all convinced that it was techy, beautiful and quite hard.

The temps were cold and I was in good shape having recently returned from Rocklands. I had several V11s and 12s under my belt, so I began to wonder if Hercules was a bit harder than I had initially suspected. I didn't do the line that year. Or the next, or even the next.

Fast forward several years. Summer 2013 I decided it was time to put Hercules down. this project had been in the back of my mind for many years as you can tell. I actually thought it would be near impossible in the heat of summer, but after three days of effort (mostly solo missions,) I did it!



Hercules is an amazing and techy problem at sugar 2. Tom Fern, in fine fashion, was the first to send in one sesh for the second ascent. It was totally different beta than I used, but really cool and still very difficult; most importantly, it paves a beta-path for shorter climbers. Tom had to Try Hard to get'er done. Kyle O just sent the problem as well recently (2nd day on the rig) and Jon Thompson is climbing quite strong these days and is also very close.

You won't be surprised to hear that we found/were shown another amazing area down near Echo Summit... All the bees are busy plucking plums once again.



Siemay and I are taking a break and going to the Playa. Burning Man is ironically happening this year while the Rim Fire has Yosemite shut down and Tahoe under a filthy veil of dense stinky smoke. Also, the next line I want to do is also a multiple-year project that is likely in the V13 range. I have done the moves, and I did the stand start crux several times, but I simply need cooler temps since the problem has claimed numerous split tips and wobble-fingers.

Once it's 45 degrees out though, it'll be game on!


Tahoe development continues on the West, East, North and South Shores, and it seems that somehow we have actually accelerated in zone-discovery.


The amazing new and aptly named V9, "Smokey Treat." Yes you sit start on the lowest hard-to-see white holds. This line is one of the Tahoe greats.


Siemay working out the moves on a yet undone V10 compression proj (which Jon or Fern will likely do very very soon. This is the sit to an established V4 stand (probably. Sketchy history on this one, but I scrubbed the obvious starting jug...))

Wish us a good burn! This final fall in Tahoe should be amazing and I'll ramp up the blog to bring the play by play. Then in December we move to Fort Collins, CO and I will likely start training more specifically for next season's American Ninja Warrior...

)'(

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

PS. if you have any interest, I will be on NBC's American Ninja Warrior on Monday night Sept. 2nd. It should be a good show! Tune in to find out what happens!

N

Jesse Bonin Lake Aloha

Kudos to Jesse Bonin for putting together a great vid detailing his rad solo trip back up to Lake Aloha. Jesse has been super motivated to get after it, and is one of the most psyched guys I know. Here is his video which I very much enjoyed.




Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Noah's Ark video

Just to get a better feel for this line; this was before the FA:



The slopers at the top are brutal! The stand is a great V7 from the right hand crimp (where I was slapping my pants,) and left hand on a cool pinch.

If you ever find yourself at Bliss, you should try this satisfying line!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Happy Hour V9

Dave, Siemay, Kyle and I went out to the new East Shore spot, the Far Side, to send a super cool 3 star line that was heretofore a project. (See video below.) Thanks so much to Larry for the tour!




Special thanks to Larry, J Sell, and the rest of the East Shore developers for establishing such a rad zone!

This problem has stellar movement on really good rock in an unbeatable position with a flat landing. It's pretty much a 4 star rig. There are other great lines at this zone including the spectacular "Prime Rib" V6.

Here's a video of "Happy Hour" V9. I did it 3 times an a row since it was so good! Kyle figured out the best beta, and we sent quickly back-to-back.

Check it:



Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Siemay is Killing It

Siemay is on fire! Killing it! I haven't seen her this strong since before we made baby Z.

Check it:



Yeah yeah, you wanna see a cool new Tahoe BP? Okay, here's a rad FA from Siemay called "Zun Zun" V7:



You like? This line is just right of one of Tahoe's most epic new lines: "The Amazing Gift" V8 & 4 stars... Must do at Wood's Lake near Kirkwood.

#tahoelove

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Venice American Ninja Warrior Run

American Ninja Warrior

Well, I decided to do American Ninja Warrior. My close friends, Brian Arnold and Isaac Caldiero, are also competing. I'm not allowed to discuss what transpired during the competition or the filming, but let's just say it will be worth your while to watch the show's premiere on Monday, July 1st on NBC!

(The show also debuts with alternate edits on G4 (rebranded as Esquire) on Sunday June 30th.) The show continues on Sundays (G4) and Mondays (NBC) for the duration of the season.

Here are some still image pictures from some commercials that are currently airing on NBC:









Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Rainy Rest Day Recon

Here's a photo summary of today's rainy day recon of upper North Woodford's boulders. While there was some great potential, it was a 45 min uphill slog (in the rain, no less.) Thanks to Zun for simulating pad/gear weight.

Check it:

































Back to regularly scheduled training mañana! Couple projects that need to go down, ya heard?

I also have to keep training for American Ninja Warrior.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Kill Worthy V8

Documenting for the new Tahoe trifecta of guidebooks is a labor of love. Ironically, there are many new FAs that come out of the woodwork during our documentation. Here the team gives some love to an overlooked bloc near "He Man" across from Hope Valley Cafe (which incidentally has amazing homemade pies and Magic Hat beer on tap. Such a sick little cafe/sandwich shop. Tell Lisa that Noah sent you!)

This short but powerful 8 banger has some super nifty grips and movements! Here Jon Thompson pulls a joint FA for a sick new little number. Worth the stop and less than a minute up the road from the Local's Area (home to Siemay's Arête and the intimidating highball Noah's Arête.)

Get some & Try Hard!


Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Fernando

My friend Fernando died.

Fernando had that rare zeal; that ability to pour himself into adventure and excitement, to laugh at just about everything, including himself.


Fernando spent a bunch of time in Tahoe bouldering with us locals and repeating some of the harder lines around the south shore. You see, Fernando was great at just about everything he did. His infectious smile and happiness made everyone want to be his friend. He was kind to everyone and had no malice in him.

One day, Fernando was climbing at Eratica and he was keen on getting the second ascent of a slightly obscure and very difficult line that I had done called the Bunny Grinder. He told me he loved the name and that the line looked impossible; much harder than the grade we gave it. That's why Fernando wanted to try it: it looked impossible.

Fernando spent 3 days on this climb falling at the same spot near the top. I never once saw him get frustrated. He would take the awkward fall over and over and laugh madly about it. Finally, Fernando did the Bunny Grinder and he was so psyched. He even did it in sub-optimal conditions (I also spent 3 days on the rig in perfect conditions to get it done.)

No one even tries the Bunny Grinder and it is very intimidating. Fernando walked up to intimidating obstacles, and he laughed them into submission.

He lived his life like this and was respected and loved by many, including me.

I am honored to have known you, Fernando.

I will miss you brother! We will all miss you.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

A Leaf on the River...

Sorry that there haven't been any posts for a while; I've been sucked into the vortex!

Here are some pics of what has been going on. I leave it to you to decode the stories and messages here.
















































Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Force of Nature V14

SICK!

My good friend and lifer Isaac Caldiero just sent one of his hardest lines to date.  After close to 60 days of effort, the "FORCE OF NATURE" just went down.  His partner in crime, Laura, was there with Siemay, Zun and I to film and lend support.  Walker Kearney and his awesome sweetheart of a daughter, Hammy were there as well.

I got psyched.  In fact, in this awesome video you can hear me going nuts.  I would love to think I added that 0.1% of energy that helped Isaac try a little harder and send, but I think that is just fanciful thinking and unlikely since Isaac is such a world class climber.  Talk about vicarious psych though!  Isaac and I have climbed quite a bit together and his attitude and philosophy of our sport are very impressive.  He and Laura are also like family to us and baby Z.

Here is the vid:

Force of Nature V14 from Shibidaang on Vimeo.

It was a gift to show up and see this rig go down.  Anyhow, our time in St. George was awesome and I will get into some detail in a future post.   I was in fairly good shape, albeit a bit heavy.  I was able to do some V9-11 climbs, but of note, I could only do a couple moves on Isaac's line!  Normally, even on V13 or 14 I can hold positions and moves "seem" doable.  This line is legit.  Hard as balls.

We also spent some good time with our old friend and lifer Walker Kearney (author of the Kearney Journy blog: http://kearneyjourney.blogspot.com) and he has detailed some of the new spots we were developing on is awesome blog.  He has many photos of the amazing sandstone in the region.  He also was climbing very strong and actually ran laps on Isaac's "Atlas" V12.  Rad.

Check it out!

Tahoe is socked in, so we have mostly been doing classics in Bishop with Wills and Lisa and also developing some new areas down south of Bishop.

Seek perfection of character, respect others and Try Hard. Noah as usual

A "Little" climbing in Moe's

Zun has started his training...



More to come.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Sierra Buttes - Paul Bunyan, V13 FA

My good friends Joel & Kyle spent a good bit of time working an amazing new line out at the Buttes called Paul Bunyan. They teamed up for the same day FA/SA after more than a week of work each.

I first worked this line with Joel several years ago, and although I could do all the moves, it is all V8-10 climbing with no rest and it is a long ass problem. The end problem is a stand start V10 that is really aggressive. Add a long V10 roof to the beginning, and you get a face full of hard.

This is a video that Joel edited of the Buttes and of the FA and several other mega classics up there. If you haven't been, you need to go. There will be a section in the guide devoted to the Buttes.

Check it:



Congrats to Joel on an Epic world class V13 First Ascent, and to Kyle O for a same day Second!

Kudos, Bawse!

PS. Jesse Bonin did a lower sit start on the right arête at V12, but if you added this lower sit, I bet Paul Bunyan would easily clock in at V14. Yes, it's classic (ie. not a star destroyer.) Anyone?

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

My Woody

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2013!!!

Well, now that Tahoe is under water, and all the skiers/boarders are all psyched, it's time for us climbers to go on road trips to the desert and... TIME TO TRAIN!


This is the time of the year when we get the strongest, by far. Campusing, working problems, finger work, peter-pans, resistance... Taking it back to the boulders is one of the best feelings around if you do it right and don't get injured. Which is easy to do, by the way. Especially for us old codgers. Warming up and stretching are absolutely critical to getting stronger and having fun. Anatomy breaks when it is not lubricated and prepared properly.


Here is my wall; the third I've built:




Needless to say, I am super psyched on this wall. It's like my garden. Sometimes I warm up on it for projects outdoors. There is a 5.10 jug haul warm up around the perimeter. As you can see, there is a system/campus stair-case on the right side. Although I built most of it alone, my close friend Brian Arnold deserves a major hat tip for helping slog lumbar, design brainstorming and helping with initial framing. As one of my carpenter buddies told me "Damn, son! You overbuilt the $#!+ out of this thing!"

And... NO TAPE CLUTTER!

When I was living in Japan, I learned this handy problem recording method:



I drew this out by hand over a couple of 1 hour sessions. Obviously, I don't change the holds. Ever. That being said, I do add holds where I can, and the movement possibilities are close to endless. It is truly a kinesthetic library... I position each hold with great care.

We have over 100 sweet problems recorded (in a binder with xerox copies in plastic sheaths. Also with markers, a laser pointer, etc. it's legit.) We don't record the warm ups or the crappy/tweaky problems normally. We name and grade the lines and give them quality stars...

Siemay gripping tightly on my woody...


But, here's the best part by far: about 50% of the wall is REAL ROCK HOLDS.



I have spent years and years collecting holds of all kinds. I love screw-ons the most, and have made real rock screw-ons from 4-star holds that I have collected from all over the world. (4-star = flat back (this is the only star you can "create,") ergonomic shape, unique shape generally holdable in a only a few exact best ways, and high rock quality (We have a couple volcanics from the Happy's that have exploded on us! Fun and exciting, but not what ya want.))

I have holds from Yosemite, Joe's, Moab, The Dirty South, St. George, Japan, Bishop, Tahoe, Hueco, Flagstaff, Mallorca, Rocklands, Canada, Mexico (Portrero...). Seriously! ...I tried to get a few from Font, but they were no good and broke quickly.



Of course there are heaters (This is my garage,) bright energy saving flood lights and a killer sound system hooked up to our iThings.

One final consideration: we removed the old garage door with the center bar and bought a side reeling silent door opener. It's a really nice insulated garage door.

Well there you have it! Together with a strong will, some close friends and some dedication, those double digit projects will go down a whole lot easier.

Try Hard, Climbers!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard.

Noah as usual.