New Areas, New Adventures

Once again I return to make yet another sparse update to my seldom nurtured travel/climbing/stream of consciousness blog. Since last time, I have moved on from Bishop to the great state of North Carolina that will be home for at least the next couple of years. Leaving Bishop was difficult to swallow, but the prospect was eased by the fact that I had such an amazing time while there.

I got to catch up with several old friends I had not seen in quite some time as well as make a few new ones, enjoy the local life and fare of Bishop and generally just bask in the amazing scenery that is the Eastern Sierra. I suppose I also got to climb on some of the most amazing rock in the world while I was there as well.

In the total span of three weeks of climbing (including rest days both chosen and forced by the infrequent bout of bad weather), I managed to tick off ninety new boulder problems ranging from VB to V8. The philosophy for the trip was simply to climb as much as I could, regardless of the grade, and enjoy every minute of it. Simply go to the area and try to climb whatever piece of rock appeared to be the most appealing. I really benefited from this mindset because it forced me to devote little more than a few tries to any one boulder problem. I think there is something to be said for projecting/epicing on a route/boulder problem that is very difficult for you and will mean a lot to you once you eventually send said section of rock, but I think the necessity of frequency for such action should be fairly minuscule by comparison to the rest of your climbing.

I have definitely done my fair share of epicing that resulted in both great joy at their conclusion and a few benders along the way; but I think they can sometimes cause us to lose scope of things. Rock climbing is fun. I am psyched to go out and try hard and throw myself at things that feel near impossible and hopefully eventually send. And I think we have to be willing to do that in order to push ourselves both physically and mentally in the sport, but I think sometimes it is fun to do a tour de force and just climb. If you happen to be drawn to a line that is hard and amazing, then do it. If you happen to be drawn to a line that is well below your level but also amazing, then do that is well.

For me at least, I would be lying if I said that I do not want to do hard routes/boulder problems, but I also want more than that. Climbs of all grades offer something special and have the potential to house amazing movement, holds and/or pure aesthetics of rock formation. In a situation like mine, where I only had such a short time in such an amazing place like Bishop, then, I just wanted to climb as much of that amazing rock as I could. And so I did.

After my painful departure from Bishop, I made a quick pit-stop in San Diego to recover the rest of my belongings I did not already have with me and proceeded to high tail it across the country to return to the land in which I feel most at home...the Southeast. I stopped for a couple of days in Chattanooga to visit some really good friends of mine. While there, I had the opportunity to make my first trip to HP40 in Alabama.

I have to say that the climbing there is otherworldly and definitely not what I had expected. All of the HP40esque climbing was wild. It was like climbing on slabby, warbly concrete with nothing to hold onto. I was expecting slopers, but I guess I figured they would be more thuggy slapfests rather than delicate balance problems. Either way, the climbs were amazing and definitely atypical from anything else I have ever been on.

The sloper problems were not all that HP40 had to offer though, as I soon discovered. There was also a healthy dose of steep, powerful crimping. I was lucky enough to cross paths with some local guys from Birmingham, Alabama that were nice enough to give me the nickel tour of sorts. The place as a whole is kind of theme parky as it is privately owned and a pay per use location that used to be the site of many a bluegrass festival, but the climbing is so good it definitely warrants swallowing the locale's oddities.

And now, North Carolina. I have been pleasantly surprised with the accessibility to great local climbing. Obviously Boone and Rumbling Bald are amazing hotspots for the bouldering enthusiast, but they are both far enough away from me to only be accessible as weekend trips. Practically right in my backyard, though, is some of the best climbing I have ever been on. I have been exploring the boulders at Pilot Mountain State Park since moving here, and have found some world class lines. The breadth of climbing is admittedly small, but what is there is just as good as any other climbing I have been on anywhere. As far as climbing goes, the area is known for a cliff band that runs below the main hiking trail that houses a good amount of sport/trad/top-rope routes, but the bouldering seems to be an afterthought at present.

So far I have found one good boulder field a good ways down the trail from the top of the mountain, and one area with three main boulders with several good lines on them right on the main hiking trail toward the top of the mountain. I uploaded a video below of one of the lines at the trailside boulders. This particular line starts on good holds at the back of the roof and traverses out and over the roof/bulge with some difficult long pulls. There was unfortunately no topping out that day as it was snowing pretty hard and the top was soaking wet, but the meat of the climb was sheltered and bone dry. I apologize for the grunting in the video, but, alas, I was trying hard and grunting seems to be what I do when trying hard.

The line in the video shares a boulder with two other equally spectacular problems. One of them is a little easier and one of them is quite a bit more difficult. I plan on spending a lot of time climbing here and will hopefully be adding several videos of the climbs I happen to find that are particularly amazing. I am psyched to get people out here to climb on these problems as it seems that they are currently not very well traveled. Make the journey, and I promise you will find yourself happy with your decision to do so.

Come and play!

Bouldering at Pilot Mountain from Bryce Tuggle on Vimeo.

Bishop

Funny thing I just now noticed: Any time a climber finds themselves with fingers pressed to keys busily typing away about their daily exploitations and misadventures, all that they need do in order to remain cheery is look at the type setting menu that says "font." Maybe that is not really all that exciting or intriguing to anyone but me, but I thought it was fun.

Here I am in one of the world's bouldering meccas. After tirelessly setting and tweaking an innumerable amount of boulder problems for an ABS competition we had at the gym I have been setting for in San Diego, Vertical Hold, I have once again parted ways with San Diego and taken to the road. The difference from this stint of living out of my truck and those previous is that I have a specific endgame. I will be traveling for only about a month this time before it will be time to start my new job in North Carolina working as an assistant brewer for Foothills Brewing Co. If ever you find yourself at a bar in the North Carolina/Eastern Tennessee ask for Foothills beer and give it a try. IT IS DELICIOUS!

But, to the matter at had: Bishop. I got in a couple of days ago and have had the distinct pleasure of climbing on some of the most pristine rock in the world. I have come with no expectations, but, yet still, a few problems in mind that I would like to devote some time to doing. I flashed the stand start to one my projects my first day here, but I have yet to try the sit which looks as if it will be infinitely more difficult to summit. Only time will tell, though. I got rained out at the Happys yesterday, but it was at the end of the day and I was pretty much done climbing anyhow. But today the weather is beautiful and conditions seem promising. So, now it is time to go bouldering.

The Return of the King

And so now it is time for the ever popular marathon blog after a dry stint of non-posting. A lot of things have changed...some good, some bad. All in all, life has been life as usual and I have been blessed enough to continue living outside the realm of the supposed real world and persist in exploring all that is climbing.

After leaving Hueco, I returned to San Diego as a sort of home base to recharge my monetary situation and to pursue my next step in life. I have been setting at the gym in San Diego, Vertical Hold, and trying my darnedest to continue to put up great routes. We have gotten a ton of new holds recently, which has helped a lot. We added a top out to our already extensive boulder and have been slowly trying to modernize the facility as it is one of the older gyms in the country. It is kind of difficult to deal with being so entrenched in the gym culture sometimes as I just wish I could say what is really on my mind and how I think things should be done; but as far as gyms go, Vertical Hold is an awesome place to work and climb in between outdoor excursions. Good crew, good holds, and, of course, some pretty darned good setters.

Also, I have started working for a small hold company based out of San Diego called Bomber Holds. Check us out at www.bomberholds.com. The owner/shaper/pourer/sander/manager/boss Jason is a super cool guy and has some pretty awesome shapes. It has been really cool working with him and gaining a whole new understanding of the hold making process from start to finish and seeing the other end of the business of the gym industry. There are other great hold manufacturers out there, of course, but I have been really psyched on being a part of Bomber Holds because the shapes are awesome and range from jugs to miserable, the company values are right on target with what they, in my opinion, should be, and the quality of the holds is, well, bomber.

Other than that, it has been business as usual. Despite being a temporary urbanite with semi-real jobs, I have made a concerted effort to get out and climb as much as possible. I was lucky enough to finally make to Bishop in March; which I was told was unseasonably cold this year. I.e. conditions were amazing...but it sure was cold and windy. The Buttermilks were hands down some of the most aesthetic climbing I have had the pleasure of laying hands to. Big, proud boulders nestled in the foothills of the snow-capped Eastern Sierras with lines on them ranging from easy to impossible and crimpy as hell to atrociously slopey.

Despite their beauty and climbability, this Southern boy still has to say that I much prefer the Happys and Sads to the Buttermilks. The Happys/Sads are all other worldly boulders of volcanic tuft nestled in between ridges in the desert north of Bishop. The rock climbs a lot like sandstone as it harbors mostly pockety/slopey gymnastic climbing between good holds. Additionally, as the Buttermilks generally see much more traffic than they, all but the absolute classic lines there are much less polished than the Milks; which makes for much better purchase on the holds.

Climbing in Bishop was definitely awe inspiring. I have had the good fortune of being able to climb in many good areas throughout the country, but I would place Bishop firmly in my top five. If traveling to Bishop, be sure to take in some time in town too. Going to the movie theatre in town is an awesome post climb activity as it is very cheap and quaint. Be sure to check out the Looney Bean for all of your coffee needs and Wilson's Eastside Sports for all of your climbing gear needs. If you do not already own it, DEFINITELY purchase the bouldering guidebook to Bishop authored by Wills Young and published by Wolverine Press. There is a new edition that just came out, and it is the best guidebook for the area.

Also, it you are going to be there for awhile, be certain to bring a cord and some snap shackles as Owens River Gorge, which is just north of Bishop, offers some of California's best cord climbing.

Other than my time in Bishop, I have also been able to take short trips to climb in Yosemite and the Kraft Boulders in Las Vegas. Because of the impromptu nature of my trip to Yosemite, I was only able to boulder, but the bouldering was amazing nevertheless. The problems I got on were excellent, compressiony granite climbing that made for exciting problems. It also does not hurt that you can hike to some of the most beautiful places on earth on rest days with only moderate exertion. The valley is pretty crowded and touristy in all of the main areas, but once you get out to the climbing or deep on some of the hiking trails, it is much less crowded and very gorgeous.

Inversely, climbing in Las Vegas was all about embracing all that is capitalism. The Kraft boulders are located just short of the majority of roped climbing in Red Rocks Canyon in a open desert field behind a small housing community. The breadth of climbing there is fairly small, but the quality of rock was very high. A lot of the climbing tends to be plate crimps, but there were also several slopey/compressiony climbs and one large boulder simply larded with pockets with lines ranging from v3-v9ish.

Climbing there was a great deal of fun, and it was equally enjoyable to finish climbing for the day and then wander around the Las Vegas strip with excellent company while oscillating between merriment and bitter contempt for the all that is Las Vegas. Overall, it was a great short trip. Ideally, I would like to spend some more time there and check out some of the routes in Red Rocks Canyon, but the spectre of materialism in the city makes me think that perhaps it could be a dangerous venture.

The gate to the top of Black Mountain, located just outside of Idylwild, has been re-opened for the season. I have already taken a couple trips up there this season, and I am psyched to try to put down some projects left undone from last season.

I recently got a bunch of clothes from Moon Climbing and have to say that they are awesome to climb in. The clothes are super comfortable to wear and climb in, seem really durable and just look darned good in general. Their distribution in the United States is still pretty small (they are based out of the UK), so their products can be hard to find in stores, but they have an awesome website that is easy to navigate. Also, they are very easy to deal with and are very helpful in getting you the right sizes and offering any assistance you might need. Their bouldering pads are a dream to land/sleep on, are very well made, and offer innovative technology to keep you and your stuff nice and clean. If you have not already, check them out at www.usa.moonclimbing.com.

On a thoroughly separate note, rapper T.I. is out of prison. I am psyched for his new album to come out so I can listen to it at a comfortable volume in my truck-home while obeying all laws of the road.

There is a lot more news to share, but I fear this post has been long enough already. I have been at the International Climbers Festival in Lander, Wyoming for the last week with Bomber Holds. It was an awesome experience and a really cool event. Be sure to check back soon for more updates on the event and life as it happens.

Adios

Hueco Tanks

I successfully extricated myself from that which is Baltimore to move on to bigger and better things just outside of El Paso, Texas in Hueco Tanks State Park. Aside from the nostalgia borne out of returning to my home state for a stint, despite the fact that I am about ten hours away from where I grew up outside of Austin, I am psyched to be here because of how amazing the climbing is. So far I have had two days on, and have been given the nickel tours of North and East mountains by various friends.

Some of the climbing has proven to be surprisingly technical and crimpy, but I have also managed to find several problems that require my oh so favorite thuggish style of climbing. One day I will have to learn how to crimp and all of that if I want to truly progress within the sport any further, but, for now, I am okay with climbing like a moron with muscles. It is more fun that way I think.

I have been camping with several of my good friends from back in Kentucky. Seeing all of them and getting the chance to hang out before I am relegated to West Coast living for a spell has been awesome. We had some serious rain dump down on us yesterday, but, from the looks of it, that will be the worst weather I encounter while out here.

What is next? Bishop. I will go to Bishop. I will be psyched. I will be ready. I will invariably get shut down. Maybe. I have a small hand full of problems I hope to bag while I am out there, but I am going with no expectations.

A Day Anew

Back in Baltimore.

A lot has happened since my last entry. My couple week sabbatical in Baltimore reconfigured to six, I returned to Kentucky, went on a business trip to San Diego, climbed in J-Tree among other places, had bad times, had great times, had strange times, looked within, looked without and emerged...anew.

Being back in Baltimore was amazing. I got to see old friends, enjoy old hot spots, climb at my old gym and take in an assortment of other things. Somewhere in the midst of it, I thought of making a bit of a run at it and looking into staying semi-permanently. It was certainly less than optimal, but I thought I could exist here in a state of relative contentedness and be alright with the prospect. As a result, Baltimore found itself added to my list of possible semi-permanent homes.

The climbing aspect of being back was awesome because the setting at the gym, Earth Treks Climbing Center, focused mainly on styles different than those that I had come to develop since leaving; so I was able to rework my climbing as a whole and continue to progress. Also, climbing with old friends was awesome because I got to revisit the energy exuded by those who had initially driven me to advance myself through the sport.

Not to mention getting to hang out with my good friends from my days as a trifle academic that were able to help the institution coerce me into subscribing to its worth long enough to attain a swatch of paper validating my time and efforts. Wherever one is, it is important to always bear in mind that it is the people and experiences that make life much more than the surroundings I think. As such, seeing old friends was definitively beneficial and enamoring.

While there, I made trips back to Kentucky and actually climbed some. A novel concept. On one such unsuspecting day, I came painstakingly close to sending the proudest line I have ever laid tips to. Proud not for the grade or any such nonsense, but instead for the meaning behind the route. It was a route that upon my first viewing, three months into my climbing career, I deemed near impossible and certainly improbable for my feeble shell to ever conceivably scamper atop of. Yet, there I was, realistically inches from grasping the perceived ungraspable. I ended up not sending the route that trip as I fell with the rope inches from snapping the deciding clip, but am confident it will go down on the next go. And even if it were not to, coming that close to something I once saw as a never-ever sort of route was, and is, awesome to me.

Then the business trip. Just as life was beginning to boil over in Baltimore as two months of living inside of my head attempting to make sense of it all was bound to ultimately provide the impetus for, I was granted a respite. I was to fly back to San Diego for two weeks in order to set for the first ever ABS (American Bouldering Series) competition in San Diego that was to be held at my gym, Vertical Hold Climbing Center, on December 5th. It was as if I had not missed a beat.

It was decidedly great to be back in San Diego. I had only been a part of my new found community since April when I had begun climbing again, but it was a tightly knit one that had taken me in wholly and grew stronger for me at an exponential rate. As such, it all came in a feverish rush. The setting went well, and the comp went even better. We had tons of sponsors, an amazing turnout of pebble monkeys, music being spun by the incredible, or possibly incredulous, DJ Dorian, and hamburgers. Make no mistake, all events are afforded an extra glint and glimmer if hamburgers are involved. All in all, the event went off without a hitch and the requisite after party was similarly fantastic.

Due to ensuing events, however, it came to be that yet another two week stint was to be extended to something more strikingly resembling that of six. As it turned out, the gym was in dire need of extra help for the holiday season and as I had nothing better to do than catch a plane, they asked if I would be willing to have my stay extended to mid-January. After short consideration, I felt myself inclined to agree for reasons plural.

As it was, the extended time allowed me to spend the holidays with my family, be around my San Diego crew longer, further cement my developing viewpoints and aims for my near future, work to mend and bolster bridges and, of course, climb.

I set, trained and climbed like a fiend. Nothing new on the onset at a glance, I suppose, but there was more now. Finding myself completely dissatisfied with grades and number syndrome, I was climbing only what I wanted to climb with little regard for how it stacked up to conventional measures of difficulty. I finally got to where I want to be with climbing. Do I think it would be amazing to exist on the edge and do the hardest routes in the world causing shock and awe to course freely throughout the veins of gym poseurs and pseudo dirtbags everywhere? Hell, I imagine that would be nice. But would I rather climb routes of varying difficulty, including some pretty damned hard ones, that were fun as hell with absolutely no care as to whether it were V12 or V2? The answer is a defiant yes.

I finally am truly climbing for me. Not chasing numbers. Not chasing notice. Not chasing belonging. Not chasing solace. There is me, there is climbing. Together we exist. Endlessly and, perhaps, pointlessly deep, I know, but true nevertheless. Up until now I have utilized climbing as a tool to better myself, but now find this unnecessary. Now climbing is just climbing. And I effing love it.

So, one step taken. Now, what to do with the rest of things. I have come to a state of calm cool amidst the barrage of synaptic blasts endured in recent past and have resolved to definitively rise above my current state of mediocrity. Before I was unsure as to the path for doing so and, as such, dealt at great theoretical length with the task of endeavoring to decipher the proper trail to trod upon; but I now see that it is simply about stepping somewhere and being something. For better or worse, a lesson will be learned and life will be lived.

In concise conclusion, life is not dissimilar to a geocache. The end result cannot be known until the journey is taken, and it is likely irrelevant. Perhaps, and hopefully, the endgame is a splendid hodgepodge of things of wonder, but it is simply the proverbial icing upon the cake that is the journey itself and those that you chose to share your path with.