Monday, March 25, 2013
ARP Video - Pawtuckaway, NH
Alex gets some sendage out at P-Way! Short video but nonetheless fun to put together. Really psyched about the amount of footage we're getting. Hope you all enjoy and as always we welcome feedback and requests.
Cheers,
The LTS Crew
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Chalk Bags and Diaper Bags
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my climbing days would be filled with so many Pack 'n Plays, cloth diapers and little hugs. Back in my early twenties they consisted of chalk bags, crash pads, tape and hangover remedies. Now it's all about the juggle and prep. Being a climbing/working Mom means knowing that simple jaunts to the crag or quick sessions in the gym are now replaced with tons of packing, layering, set up and timing. Even when you get a rare opportunity to climb without children you're still always thinking about them and checking in to see how things are going. To some that sounds dreadful, but to share our passion with our children I wouldn't trade it for anything (except maybe some new Sportiva Solutions jk...kind of).
As a young twenty year old, climbing was in and out of my life when I felt like it. Then when I had my daughter, who is now 7, time and passions became different. As soon as she showed interest at the age of 3, I threw her in a harness and got her on the wall. She did great from the get go and from then on it was something we shared. With her it was easy because she was older and loved just being in the gym with all the attention she got (such a ham). My husband and I started taking her climbing outdoors when she was 4 and she had a love/hate relationship with it. She wanted to climb harder grades but was just too little, so you can imagine the frustration for her, but she was feisty! We loved just being able to take her with us making the ascents fun for her and sometimes even turning it into a camping trip. This continued until I got pregnant with my second child. I was determined to keep climbing (safely) as long as my body would allow it and almost made it to my due date (37 weeks prego), when I'm pretty sure my pelvis almost broke in half from my weight. I looked crazy with my big belly sticking through my ever so flattering full-body harness, but I just kept on trucking and it kept my mind and body active while spending the last few moments of peace with my husband and daughter before the chaos that is my son came roaring through! Before we knew it Logan arrived and climbing took a back seat for a bit.
Seven weeks went by and I was ready to get back on the wall. From then on it became a balancing act of kids, home, sleep, work and climbing. Fitting in the time to climb is something we had to just figure out. We took our first outdoor trip to The Red in KY when Logan was four months old and boy was it an adventure! Not as much climbing as we were used to there, but still a beautiful trip none the less. We knew if we didn't start taking those trips then, we would never do it. Ten days filled with long drives, thunderstorms that we thought would wash the tent away, beautiful crags and natural sights with our kids. From then on its just been adapting to this lifestyle and climbing as much as we can as hard as we can. Sometimes we get lucky and get some good sessions in and sometimes Logan makes it impossible so we take what we can get. As a 32 year old mother of two I try to stay as dedicated as possible to all aspects of my life. Whether I am projecting 12s on lead or V4s on boulders, I just have to look around and realize how lucky I am to still be able to do this with my family and friends! My passion will always be there along with the drive to climb harder and better, but there is nothing like finishing a climb and looking down to my husband belaying and my kids hanging out. Passions don't have to end when you have kids, it just adds more flavor to the adventure. So to all you climbing Mommies out there, keep on crushing!
As a young twenty year old, climbing was in and out of my life when I felt like it. Then when I had my daughter, who is now 7, time and passions became different. As soon as she showed interest at the age of 3, I threw her in a harness and got her on the wall. She did great from the get go and from then on it was something we shared. With her it was easy because she was older and loved just being in the gym with all the attention she got (such a ham). My husband and I started taking her climbing outdoors when she was 4 and she had a love/hate relationship with it. She wanted to climb harder grades but was just too little, so you can imagine the frustration for her, but she was feisty! We loved just being able to take her with us making the ascents fun for her and sometimes even turning it into a camping trip. This continued until I got pregnant with my second child. I was determined to keep climbing (safely) as long as my body would allow it and almost made it to my due date (37 weeks prego), when I'm pretty sure my pelvis almost broke in half from my weight. I looked crazy with my big belly sticking through my ever so flattering full-body harness, but I just kept on trucking and it kept my mind and body active while spending the last few moments of peace with my husband and daughter before the chaos that is my son came roaring through! Before we knew it Logan arrived and climbing took a back seat for a bit. |
| 7 Months Pregnant @ Rumney |
Seven weeks went by and I was ready to get back on the wall. From then on it became a balancing act of kids, home, sleep, work and climbing. Fitting in the time to climb is something we had to just figure out. We took our first outdoor trip to The Red in KY when Logan was four months old and boy was it an adventure! Not as much climbing as we were used to there, but still a beautiful trip none the less. We knew if we didn't start taking those trips then, we would never do it. Ten days filled with long drives, thunderstorms that we thought would wash the tent away, beautiful crags and natural sights with our kids. From then on its just been adapting to this lifestyle and climbing as much as we can as hard as we can. Sometimes we get lucky and get some good sessions in and sometimes Logan makes it impossible so we take what we can get. As a 32 year old mother of two I try to stay as dedicated as possible to all aspects of my life. Whether I am projecting 12s on lead or V4s on boulders, I just have to look around and realize how lucky I am to still be able to do this with my family and friends! My passion will always be there along with the drive to climb harder and better, but there is nothing like finishing a climb and looking down to my husband belaying and my kids hanging out. Passions don't have to end when you have kids, it just adds more flavor to the adventure. So to all you climbing Mommies out there, keep on crushing!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Ravenswood - Gloucester, MA
Alex sends an Unknown V6/7 on an obscure boulder out in Gloucester, MA. Sick send by both him and the post-credits FA by Baby Logan (check it out).
Monday, March 4, 2013
Two From Lincoln
This is our first official climbing video released as Less Than Sponsored Productions. Super psyched about this! Even though it's only a short, two-climb video, it was a great experience to work with RAW footage and especially the 3D Text for the title in the beginning. I already know some things that I want to work on so that it's not as choppy but nonetheless we're excited to release it to the world. This is the beginning of what we hope to be a great year full of LTS videos. Hope you enjoy!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
No Big Deal
Who's got the funk?? I'VE GOT THE FUNK!!! No, I am not referring to my awe inspiring dance moves. Seriously America, I've got talent. I am also not referring to the terrible odor which sometimes emanates due to my abundance of testosterone. These pits can get FUNKY! I'm not even talking about how I used to be able to rock out on a Clarinet...what a lady killer I was. What I AM talking about is the Greater than Great Depression I have been cast into after ripping off my damn toe in dodgeball and missing out on a trip to Hueco Tanks. No Big Deal right? FUNK THAT NOISE! HUECO TANKS! THE GOD DAMN QUINTESSENCE OF ALL THAT IS BOULDERING!!! HUECO TANKS!!! HIGHBALLS TO BOGGLE THE EYEBALLS! HUECO GOD DAMN TANKS!!! THE CHUCK NORRIS OF THIS WHOLE CLIMBING GAME!!!! oh funk it all....
"So Boof, what happened? I mean you just ripped off your toe?"
YUP.
While playing dodgeball, yes dodgeball, I was surging forward for a ball and it seems my big toe folded under my foot. We play in socks if you are having trouble with the visualization. Keep in mind this was the semifinals on tournament night and I may have had a couple swigs of JD to help keep me focused. At the time I felt like I stubbed my toe and tore my sock (hint, it wasn't my sock). I shrug it off because its finals night and I had some mofos to slaughter with my dodgeball skills. Just swallow the pain and play on.
I then proceeded to play dodgeball being the only player left against four. I had a surge of the most insane energy and began hurling balls like Dragonball Z and catching like Randy Moss. I was even screaming bloody murder every time I threw. The tide turned and we were moments from victory. Then, a loud whistle blow rose above the ruckus of the action. Turns out I was running on a bit of an adrenaline rush.
The Ref, "DUDE! You can't keep playing like that!"
"WHAT! WHY!" I yell back, like a speed head crashing to reality.
"Look at the ground" he says.
I look at the ground and there is blood EVERYWHERE. We are talking some NC 17 type of gore. That's weird right? So I remove my green skeleton sock (which is now RUINED! DAMMIT!) and it appears that I have ripped my toe off. Whoops. There's even these white blobs of fat hanging out. I know, I know, too much information. But seriously, WHITE FAT BLOBS! hanging out of my toe. Who'd a thunk.
So, 9 stitches later the prognosis is that I ripped my toe open from the force and there seems to be no bone or tendon damage. Gosh o Golly, what a lucky duck right?
WRONG!
DON'T YOU REMEMBER! I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO HUECO GOD DAMMIT!
no big deal, no big deal, no big deal....
Nothing to worry about, I mean its great in New England in the winter and I love the cold, yum yum cocoa and chicken soup and big hugs. No big DEAL! I love it when during February break i get to stay at Metrorock and help all the screaming chittlins who for some damn reason have the whole week off from school!!! No BIG DEAL! I love donating money to the airlines, they are really in need of some charity. NO BIG DEAL!!! I HATE WARMTH AND SUNSHINE AND GOING TO A WORLD CLASS CLIMBING PARADISE!
If you are like me, and many a climber is, than you have found yourself stuck in this funk. You get psyched on an upcoming climbing trip and train your ass off, trying to become a climbing machine with a single purpose mission to seek and destroy all things climbable at your planned destination. Than, SMASH, your body pulls an "et tu Brute" and stabs you in the back, or in my case, rips off your toe. You are now left with no hope but to careen into an emotional well of suffering and anguish.
So what do we do with all this damn funk? James Brown might say we should "Get up off that thang." Personally I would rather grab on tight and crash into this sadness meteor style.
So here's my solution.
Step 1 - Self medicate: Perhaps a slow steady ride down Knob Creek is just what I need...smooooth.
Step 2 - Eat, Santa, eat: Use pity points. "Honey I could really go for some chinese....." (Insert pouty face and point to foot) Soon you will introducing your good friend General Gau will be visiting you on the Creek.
Step 3 - Vegetate: It is high time I Hop aboard the Hogwarts express and watch all 8 Harry Potter movies in a row and than for a hand workout I can murder me some zombies on the Wii.
Step 4 - Recharge: Now time to sleep, A LOT. This immobility is taxing. It's high time I recuperate.
Step 5 - Rinse and Repeat.
Climbers need to take breaks and sometimes getting forced to take one is a fantastic prescription. Right?
Time to smash the lego puzzle that is my body to pieces and rebuild. Yeah! and Hueco, who needs Hueco right? I can just head to local Lincoln Woods, climb to the top of the pond boulder, and plummet into the welcoming watery abyss. No Big Deal. Right?
(paradise lost)
"So Boof, what happened? I mean you just ripped off your toe?"
YUP.
While playing dodgeball, yes dodgeball, I was surging forward for a ball and it seems my big toe folded under my foot. We play in socks if you are having trouble with the visualization. Keep in mind this was the semifinals on tournament night and I may have had a couple swigs of JD to help keep me focused. At the time I felt like I stubbed my toe and tore my sock (hint, it wasn't my sock). I shrug it off because its finals night and I had some mofos to slaughter with my dodgeball skills. Just swallow the pain and play on.
I then proceeded to play dodgeball being the only player left against four. I had a surge of the most insane energy and began hurling balls like Dragonball Z and catching like Randy Moss. I was even screaming bloody murder every time I threw. The tide turned and we were moments from victory. Then, a loud whistle blow rose above the ruckus of the action. Turns out I was running on a bit of an adrenaline rush.
The Ref, "DUDE! You can't keep playing like that!"
"WHAT! WHY!" I yell back, like a speed head crashing to reality.
"Look at the ground" he says.
I look at the ground and there is blood EVERYWHERE. We are talking some NC 17 type of gore. That's weird right? So I remove my green skeleton sock (which is now RUINED! DAMMIT!) and it appears that I have ripped my toe off. Whoops. There's even these white blobs of fat hanging out. I know, I know, too much information. But seriously, WHITE FAT BLOBS! hanging out of my toe. Who'd a thunk.
(bringing sexy back)
So, 9 stitches later the prognosis is that I ripped my toe open from the force and there seems to be no bone or tendon damage. Gosh o Golly, what a lucky duck right?
WRONG!
DON'T YOU REMEMBER! I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO HUECO GOD DAMMIT!
no big deal, no big deal, no big deal....
Nothing to worry about, I mean its great in New England in the winter and I love the cold, yum yum cocoa and chicken soup and big hugs. No big DEAL! I love it when during February break i get to stay at Metrorock and help all the screaming chittlins who for some damn reason have the whole week off from school!!! No BIG DEAL! I love donating money to the airlines, they are really in need of some charity. NO BIG DEAL!!! I HATE WARMTH AND SUNSHINE AND GOING TO A WORLD CLASS CLIMBING PARADISE!
If you are like me, and many a climber is, than you have found yourself stuck in this funk. You get psyched on an upcoming climbing trip and train your ass off, trying to become a climbing machine with a single purpose mission to seek and destroy all things climbable at your planned destination. Than, SMASH, your body pulls an "et tu Brute" and stabs you in the back, or in my case, rips off your toe. You are now left with no hope but to careen into an emotional well of suffering and anguish.
So what do we do with all this damn funk? James Brown might say we should "Get up off that thang." Personally I would rather grab on tight and crash into this sadness meteor style.
So here's my solution.
Step 1 - Self medicate: Perhaps a slow steady ride down Knob Creek is just what I need...smooooth.
Step 2 - Eat, Santa, eat: Use pity points. "Honey I could really go for some chinese....." (Insert pouty face and point to foot) Soon you will introducing your good friend General Gau will be visiting you on the Creek.
(Do you feel lucky?)
Step 4 - Recharge: Now time to sleep, A LOT. This immobility is taxing. It's high time I recuperate.
Step 5 - Rinse and Repeat.
Climbers need to take breaks and sometimes getting forced to take one is a fantastic prescription. Right?
Time to smash the lego puzzle that is my body to pieces and rebuild. Yeah! and Hueco, who needs Hueco right? I can just head to local Lincoln Woods, climb to the top of the pond boulder, and plummet into the welcoming watery abyss. No Big Deal. Right?
(Well, do you...punk?)
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