2012 - Year of the Sweater

With the arrival of the new year, you can't help but think about what the previous year brought. Nobody can, it's just what happens. For me, looking back over the last year I feel a sense of satisfaction knowing that I accomplished so much. Let's recap:

Awesomeness in 2011

1. Got Married
2. Had a baby
3. Trained my ass off (making me realize what is possible and more importantly what is not)
4. Became addicted to photography
5. SLTS is going big!

I feel as if with all of these amazing things, 2011 was the year that I truly invested in myself. I am always the type to go minute to minute, day to day without giving much thought of what will happen in the future. This past year I not only started thinking about what was to come, I also became driven and motivated to make the most of it. Getting married and having a beautiful baby boy, Logan, is by far the highlight of my life. Everyday I am blown away by how amazing he is, and it is incredible to think that my wife and I created such an amazing baby. Even when he's crying and throwing up all over me, the thought of bringing him out to the crag, buying him his first pair of shoes, and watching him crush all of my projects with ease is so exciting!

I still plan on training whenever I can, however, with a new baby to take care of it makes it hard to stick to a regiment. With a disappointing finale on Pipe Dreams in October (I may have flailed and cried), I'm excited to get back on the horse, train hard and not only send my nemesis but also get on a lot of other amazing climbs that I've never even touched. There's so much rock out there and I want it all...

With photography I recently invested in myself a bit more by upgrading to a Canon EOS 7D! I am very excited about pushing forward with my photography and how it's going to open up opportunities for me. It's truly become an obsession! I find myself eager to learn much like a junkie in a dark back alley looking for his next fix. It's incredible to look at things with brand new eyes, imagining what it would look like through a lens. Even the most minuscule insignificant pillow can look amazing with the right lighting and perspective.

Finally, Slightly Less Than Sponsored chose to go big! Me and the crew have set our goals for the year which includes video, photos, interviews, travelling and much much more. Our sights are set on production, we're going to interview some of today's rising stars, travel to some of the sickest climbing spots in the country and document everything. We want to make SLTS a hub for the side of climbing that is lost in the wake of all of the madness. With today's elite flashing V15's and putting up grades that 5 years ago were thought to be impossible, our goal is to remind everyone of where we all started...less than sponsored. We hope you all enjoy what we have and we look forward to a great 2012!! Happy new year from the SLTS crew!

Oh and as for the post title, I recently fell back in love with sweaters. Throw one over a tank top and you're ready...for anything...

The Call of the Dirtbag

The Call of the Dirtbag

The climbing trip; That beacon of light at the end of every part time climbers tunnel. The holy grail many long to drink from, thirsting for an escape from modern life’s complexity. This ray of hope guides the thrill seeking adventurer though whatever mundane means of monetary compensation they spend their week slaving away at. Grinding the day away whilst the mind wanders to the warmth of the El Paso sun. Basking in that urge to plummet into the primal passion to push physical limits and heed the call of the wild that lingers in the soul.

In my travels, a couple weeks in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge is always preceded by 6 months of drooling anticipation. The purchase of pretty new ropes, sexy new draws, shoes to painstakingly break in, cams big enough to keep a gators mouth from closing on your head, and of course, a Thule rack to cram it all in. The email blasts that go ON and ON and ON clogging your inbox and distracting you from any actual work you probably should be doing. The creation of road trip mix to help you through the 30 hours of combined drive time to this middle of nowhere refuge of rock ecstasy. Let us not forget the chart mapping out the various pizza topping combinations you plan on sampling at Miguel’s this year and the cooler ready to be packed with AL8 ONE ginger ale and Kentucky Bourbon.

I have gone on the extended excursion to the Red River Gorge. Every trip reveling the days away through the endless overhanging sandstone the Red is renowned for. Every time returning with my mind stuck in an uncomfortable place that is the mut of woe and ecstasy. The trip always a success, but never nearly long enough to satiate my needs. The longing for more time climbing filling me with each passing mile on the long road back to Boston.

I recently flew to Salt Lake City to spend a long weekend in Utah’s gorgeous bouldering mecca, Joe’s Valley. I spent 4 days scrambling around sampling an array of boulders that I could spend a lifetime climbing. A LIFETIME!!! and I was there for 4 DAYS!!!! Such a measly fraction of what could truly be. At Joe’s camping is extremely simple and also extremely free. To top it off you can wake up, walk out of your tent, and get on the plethora of boulders that cover the entire valley. Also, did I mention camping was free? Like, as in, you pay zero monies for it. Zilch, nada, a big wonderful goose egg. Music to a dirtbags ears. On a serious note, always remember to adhere to leave no trace and not blow free camping for broke jokers like myself. Oh sweet climbing trip, how i dote on thee.

The problem for me seems that with the passing of each climbing trip the louder the call of dirt bag echoes through my soul.

“Come to me Boof” the Californian Buttermilk boulders whisper to me as I lie in bed staring at the ceiling. “Leave it all behind and I will sooth you with my embrace.”

I whisper back something about how I can’t, lying to myself, but losing my resolve with each reply.

The open road continues to call my name louder and louder through the monotony of each passing day. The simplicity of completely immersing myself in the world of climbing beckons to me like the flashing white stick figure of the crosswalk lamp. How can I resist the allure of temporarily freeing myself from the inevitable shackles of rent, utilities, traffic, work, and the other rigamarole that many of us pass each day slogging through. It’s like saying no to Buffalo Wings. I can resist at first but inevitably those delicious bits of spicy chicken are going to enter my mouth.

Don’t get me wrong, I live a good life and am happy with who and where I am. Life has treated me well and blessed me on so may levels. This does not stop that savage howl from piercing my soul, pleading with me to leave it all behind, hop in my car and dedicate my time and money to the perpetual search for the perfect climb. Spending each day concentrating on becoming the best that I can be in this discipline which I have come to cherish.

It’s hard to truly develop to my potential as a climber without taking this leap. If I truly wish to achieve reaching the pinnacle of my climbing ability. I MUST become totally immersed. The main focus of the day can only be on my development and this can not happen without first escaping from anything that may hinder this progress. The only logical outcome of this conundrum is to cease any useless resistance and allow the road to carry me away.

Picture this. It’s the crack of dawn as the sun breaks through the bug net of your tent. You roll off your crash pad, (as it does make for the greatest mattress one can find on the road) toss on your warm wonderful camp clothes, and pop out into the welcoming glow of the morning sun breaking over the horizon. First and foremost you get the water going for the coffee. You drink said coffee as the cresting suns warmth increases. Then you get the calories in for the thrashing that shall ensue, this morning we will crush some eggs and homefries (I LOVE to cook, especially camp stove style). Hop into your car and zip to the closely awaiting crag of your choosing (they all are so nice but you have ample time to try everything so you may as well throw a dart at a map of the area. You warm up slow, making sure to avoid injury (the demon that lurks and waits to strike the most devout dirtbag). You have no agenda. You climb every inspiring line you find and when the sun goes down you head home to OBLITERATE the 2000 calorie burrito you intend to make. Wash it all down with whichever spirit tickles your fancy (I’m a whiskey or beer man personally) and spend the remaining hours of post sleep reading, writing, or twiddling your damn thumbs, while huddled by the warmth of a fire.

That is the dream of every person who truly loves climbing. It gets NO better than that and my ability to resist this is waning away to nothing. I have a car. I have money saved up for a rainy day. I have other warriors who I am sure would tackle this adventure with the ferocity of a bengal tiger. Whats stopping me? What’s stopping us? The fear of change and the unknown can only hold me back for so long. I must follow intuition and overcome this fear, taking to the open road as the newly hatched turtle takes to the sea.

My life is really not as boring or awful as the above may suggest. However, when I compare my life to the perpetual dream of life as a climbing vagabond; it’s a no contest. One day I will transform into the road warrior on an epic quest to slay boulders and vanquish sport lines (hell i may even try out this trad climbing that all the true baddasses throw down on); living the dream of climbers of all ages. I will go to the Red for the whole fall or to Joe's for weeks on end, throwing myself around like a voracious and possessed rag doll. Each day the call grows louder and much like the protagonist pup in Jack London’s Call of the Wild, it’s only a matter of time before my innate impulses overrule all that keeps me from who I truly am at my core ( at this point I ask that you imagine the savage howl of a hungry wolf). See you on the road.

- BooF

Tales of an MC - Dark Horse 2

Another Dark Horse Competition is in the books. Last Saturday, November 5th was a new experience for me in a lot of ways. I've been MC'ing and setting for the Dark Horse Series since we started in 2009 but this was the first comp that we held in the new expansion in Everett. So sick!!!! It's like the area was built for big bouldering finals. With a ton of new volumes from Motivation, a new area to set in and a head full of ideas, the crew and I went to work. We got the foundations up quickly for almost all 8 finals problems. Within the next couple of days we had run and tweaked them down to some amazing boulders. All very unique, all unbelievably awesome. We had mono switches, very technical sloper moves, a crazy bat hang bicycle and a whole lot of big move mayhem...all on the most aesthetic set ups I have seen!

A look at the finals area (Photo by Pat Bagley)

The whole week leading up to the comp was filled with hard work, drama, laughter and an amazing amount of climbing. I feel like we came through in fine form with only one blowout among the crew (I think a record for a Dark Horse comp). With all of the madness leading up to a big competition like this one, there is always the anxiety of hoping everything will run smoothly. It plays a huge toll on your body physically and mentally. By Saturday we are all ready to crawl into a corner somewhere and sleep, but the show must go on.

We had over 120 competitors show up to throw down, we tried a new format for the citizen's portion where we staggered starting times for the pros and amateurs. This way the open competitors have an extra hour and a half in the bouldering area without huge crowds to narrow it down to the final six males and six females. It made for a little mini finals during that time, it even gathered a crowd watching some of the hardest qualifiers go down. After the citizen's round we again had the Young Guns Finals, these kids continue to amaze me and it's easy to see the future of climbing watching these kids throw down.

When the pro finals rolled around, everyone herded into the expansion and awaited the action. The feeling in the air was full of energy fueled by an amped up crowd.

The crowd from the view of the MC

When the microphone crapped out I thought the night would be a bust. All this anticipation leading up to the new expansion with tons of new volumes and some sick climbers. But I would not go silently into the night, I threw the mic down with a thud and continued to scream for an hour keeping the crowd pumped up and loud as hell. They did not disappoint and neither did the climbers. The finals did their job, spitting off some and provided moments of greatness throughout. Definitely a success, and regardless of a few set backs, it's hard to believe that the rapid growth of the Dark Horse Series will not continue. We'll continue to go bigger and better and provide a sick show for all. Thanks to everyone that came out to crush and support, without the fans, this would not be what it is...awesome!!!

Here is a video provided by the Louder Than 11 crew...

A Day Off @ Boston

How much fun can I have on a day off?

I asked myself this question late Sunday night after a grueling weekend of back to back double shifts totaling in 32 hrs of work in two days. Tomorrow was Monday, Columbus Day, I had the day off and I desperately needed a distraction to get my mind away from my last two double-shifts. 

I lay in bed trying to suss out my plan for tomorrow. I decided to try to cram in three of my favorite Boston activities: climbing, sailing and music. When I woke up around 1130a I was still groggy from some accumulative sleep debt and need to take a slow morning. I popped in a movie about the history of climbing in Yosemite, it passed the time while I snargled some breakfast and planned my day. First it would be to Hammond Pond (a local climbing area about a 20 minute bike ride away in Newton) with my Brother and friends, Ingy, Peggy, Addison, and Tom. From there I would bike to Charlestown for some sailing in The Harbor with MoWo and Gracy. 

Video: A Boston Climber's Journal: A Day Off @ Boston pt.1

From there I planned on trying to see some music. What ended up happening was Taco night @ MoWos. This was the bomb and such a nice way to relax after so much outside-ness. After Dinner I could not find a music option that I was super stoked on so I gave my buddy "All the Nicolaides" a call, if there was good music in Boston he would know where it was going down. Instead of music he invited me to the climbing gym, with him and Flan (one of my roommates and friend). We did some mellow topdogging linking up easy climbs just to get some movement in. Then we settle on attempting the brand spanking new obstacle course. This was fantastic and many of the obstacles were a fun challenge. Next we did some fun campusing shenanigans that got us giggling and having fun. The night ended at around 230a with some car packing Tetris(R) followed by some chinese food. Most of the events, I attempted to document with my new GoPro camera and "Thunder Gun" into a video.

Video:* A Boston Climber's Journal: A Day Off @ Boston pt.2

-Jeb, out-

*Note the footage from pt. 2 is filmed at a much later date.

The Grampians Part II

Well, its been a while since I dabbled the keys on the computer and put down some thoughts here... and a lot has happened since then. Mainly an awesome 3 month climbing trip covering West to East of the good ol' U.S. of A.

However this little entry is getting into the loving and wonderful area know as the Grampians. The Last time I was there was well over a year ago, with the always amazing Bryan Rafferty, and the good quality Jamie Dreads. My ultimate goal is to get myself inspired again by climbing as it has been lacking of late. the Plan came about a little over 2 weeks ago when one of the boys I work with and I were chatting about how we have some climbs that we want to crush. Anyway, the trip was planned, and those few climbs have now turned into an Epic list of awesome bouldering problems, ranging from v4 to v7 for myself anyway. All of the climbs that we have selected are some of the classics in the Grampians, all getting at least a one star rating, pushing all the way through to 4 star v4s and 5s.

In total there are around 11 climbs that I would love to 'tick' if you like, realistically if I can get half of these I am going to one happy little Aussie. If anything this trip will calm my itchy little feet from the travel bug for a short while, and hopefully get me in the mood again for some Climbing.

Stay tuned for the follow up to Grampians part II, and who knows... I may just be seeing you soon. Did anyone say Dark Horse Finals???