The following are various notes and updates (the word “blog” wasn’t around yet) from previous years and previous versions of the Fusion 47 website. The links may or may not work. Kind of funny to look back at this old stuff.
F47 | Notes and Updates:
2/27/03: Man. I had surgery today. Sucks. I will be laying off climbing for probably 2 weeks. Sucks harder. Looks like I missed a crazy day in the forums today – maybe it was for the best. Some serious smack being talked there – but hey – I guess that’s all part of it. I think all the talk’s only going to make people climb harder. Anyway – keep it clean – and come out climbing!
I’m working on some Flash 6 content for the site – new site look in the works.
2/13/03: Working on some new stuff for the site – layout changes – content changes, etc.
2/11/03: 9:22am – The forum is temporarily down. Problem with the database server – should be up and running again soon.
2/4/03: Chuck K. and I went to Horseshoe Canyon last weekend and took full advantage of the unusually warm February weather – 70s both days! Very nice. He lead this awesome crack line called W.M.A. on the Confederate Cracks Wall – a splitter crack that went from fists to thin hands. He milked it for all it was worth. Chuck’s description of the climb, “It was real.” Great job, Chuck. I jumped on Whole Hog a 90 foot long overhanging power route located on the other side of the fence from Horseshoe – the climb was absolutely stellar – and I got punished! But the beating I took didn’t detract from the quality of the climb or my desire to get on it again. What an awesome line. Can’t wait to get back to Horseshoe and climb some more.
We at New Heights have been setting boulder problems left-and-right in preparation for this Saturday. Should be a great competition. Also – the first ZWAN album is out – I suggest you buy it! I also wanted to mentioned a favorite new site of mine – TriggerStreet.com. Here you can review films and screenplays – if you are interested. Check out the short film Guardian Angel – a climbing film by John Middendorf featuring soloing by Timmy O’Neill.
1/28/03: BOULDERING COMPETITION!!! at New Heights Rock Gym on Saturday, February 8th. Time: 6:30-10:00ish Format: Top 5 boulder problems counted for total score. Flash = 100% of points, Second Attempt = 90%, Third Attempt = 80%, Fourth Attempt & More = 70%. There will be 50+ problems to choose from. Competitors will judge each other. Cost = $10. Raffle to follow the competition. Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, & Advanced. Address: 1140 South 107th East Ave. Tulsa, OK. 74128. Located off Hwy 169 exit at 11th Street. Call New Heights at (918) 439-4400 for additional details.
1/26/03: I resaved the Quarry video featuring Russell Hooper as a Windows Media File to be played in Windows Media Player (installedon most PCs) in order to enhanced the resolution of the video. I think it looks better and I will start saving videos in this format instead of Quicktime.
Uploaded Bishop Bouldering page.
1/20/03: Jeff H. sent me these pictures of a top-secret sandstone bouldering area somewhere in Tulsa. I was sworn to not give any hints on location, names, or any beta which might lead to an unwanted discovery by sneaky problem-swipers. Not like I could even if I wanted to – I have no idea where this place is. To all interested, I say, scour the hillsides!
There will be some new pictures posted on Bishop and Colorado bouldering soon.
**New video posted on the F47 digital video page.**
12/31/02: Last day of the year. I’m working on some new content for the site and possibly a new layout with some flash content and more video footage. Any updates will be posted here. Have a great new year!
12/14/02: The best band in the universe (yes, that’s right, I said it) released a new album in August and somehow I missed it until now!!!! NERF HERDER’s new album AMERICAN CHEESE is out!!! Go to their website and watch their new video for Mr. Spock – it’s so damn funny (and a little cool, too). Man, Nerf Herder is so uncool, you have to love them – and they’ve really taken the coolness of uncool to a new level with this video. Sorry if you just don’t get it…. (no reference to the song “Sorry” from their first album is intended).
In other news – I am back from the south. Which reminds me of something I’ve been wondering about – is Oklahoma considered the south, the west, the southwest, the midwest, the mid-southwest, the west southwest, or the widwest southwest? I hear people talking about the midwest as being Illinois, Ohio, Iowa – Oklahoma really isn’t close to those places, but it’s more centrally located, more mid-west than Illinois, am I right? And we aren’t exactly the south – although we have much of the conservatism and attitudes of the south, but that’s another topic entirely. And technically, we are not far enough west to be considered west, are we? So where the hell are we anyway?
I’m glad to be back home. Now, I’m going climbing.
11/27/02: Went to Horseshoe Canyon in Arkansas (near Jasper) last weekend and it was great! We camped in a field just below the “Cliffs of Insanity.” The climbing was great, I only wish the days were longer. The climbing was generally vertical to slightly overhanging sandstone (of course) and there were tons of bolted lines, though we did find a few very good trad routes. I’m sure we’ll be back.
11/21/02: For those who ordered a t-shirt at the competition but haven’t received it yet – they are in and I am in the process of getting them mailed. Thanks for your patience. Updated: Other stuff page and Links page.
11/10/02: The Norman Bouldering Competition yesterday was awesome! The weather was perfect; high 70s, sunny, breezy. I hope everyone had fun. The results are posted on the NBC5 page. This is a quick update: I’ll post more later. We have some pictures posted and over the course of the next few weeks I will put up some more. If you have any of your own that you would like to submit, feel free to email them to me.
11/06/02: The weather outlook for the competition on Saturday looks great.
11/03/02: Welcome, to all the new people passing through the site! IT’S LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL THE NORMAN BOULDERING COMPETITION>>>> I HOPE YOU ARE CLIMBING STRONG!!!!!!!!
Here’s a new CHALKBAG to compliment your DOM crashpad.
10/25/02: The t-shirt design for the NBC5 is done and I have to say….it looks AWESOME….this is the best one yet. I added driving directions to the NBC page. If you wish you can now reach this website using http://climbinglife.com – Climbing Life and F47 are one and the same.
10/10/02: My email was messed up from Friday 10/4 – Tuesday 10/8. If you registered online for the competition during that time, please resubmit your registration. Everything seems to be working fine now.
10/06/02: Nothing new right now. Sign up for the 2002 Norman Bouldering Competition, so I know what size t-shirts to buy and how many!!!
9/14/02: I feel it. Fall is approaching. And that means sending all those hard projects you’ve been waiting to do all summer. What have you been working on lately? Do you have a climb or boulder problem that you’ve always wanted to get…but maybe you are just waiting for the right time of year to climb it? Tell us about it in the forum.
8/30/02: It is Labor Day weekend and you are reading this. That means one thing…you are not climbing. Why? Get out there and climb, damnit!
8/25/02: It’s not too early to start training for the 2002 Norman Bouldering Competition. We’ve already started organizing this year’s event to be held in November. The exact date has not yet been determined but it will probably be mid-November. This may be the last one, so we hope to see everyone there! This year we are designing and building a massive outdoor bouldering structure specifically for this event! Also new this year, a slackline exhibition and a dyno competition. Visit the NBC V site for all the info. and to pre-register!!!!
Recently added to this site: forum for New Heights Rock Gym, and a forum for “whatever.”
8/15/02: A few of us went climbing at Shepherd’s Springs last weekend and it turned out to be perfect weather. This summer has been really mild, especially compared to last summer where it didn’t rain for weeks and the temps. were in the 100s. We enjoyed climbing in the shade for the morning and then the skies got cloudy the rest of the day so the temp. probably didn’t get over 92. Hot days make a big difference when it comes to climbing in the south…keeping the chalk bag filled gets expensive. As long as we keep having the weather we’ve had this summer, I don’t care if Fall ever comes. By the way, there’s a bunch of people headed to the Wichita Mountains for Labor day weekend. The get-together is being organized on rockclimbing.com (under the events forum), you might check it out.
8/03/02: Added a new video to the F47DV page: Wings Of Steel. Norman Bouldering Competition <5> page started.
7/22/02: I’m back! Lisa and I have been gone for the past 2 weeks on our honeymoon. We went to Jamaica for 8 days and then to Colorado for 5 days. We had such an awesome time. Without going into too much detail I will give you the highlights (in keywords) of our Jamaica trip: crazy driving, nude beach, good rum, too much rum, ocean, beautiful beaches, fish, sailing, scuba diving, markets, piano bars, pool bars, buffets, sunsets, palm trees, and …well, you know. We returned home only to leave again the next morning to drive to Colorado. We went to Fort Collins and then to Rocky Mountain National Park where we climbed the Spearhead via the North Ridge; an awesome line! Three of us (lisa, adam and I) hiked out one afternoon with heavy (too, heavy) packs and camped in the col beneath the mountain. In the morning we woke to elk nosing through the remnants of the previous night’s dinner. We started the climb early and climbed all day. Scenic views of the front wall stretched for hundreds of feet below us as we precariously edged our way to the summit. The final pitch was a masterpiece in exposure, as I turned the corner I realized I was truly on the cusp of vertigo. The last pitch was by far the best: an open dihedral directly into a fun lieback move which required you to lean backwards into space. The descent was your typical Rocky mountain scree-fest. And then the final hike out, we were dead tired. Our knees buckled, our ankles twisted, and your shoulders sagged. The afternoon turned to early evening and then too night and we donned headlamps for the final two miles. We were so happy to be back at the car. Lisa and I spent the next day poking around Breckenridge and riding the Super Slide (like a summertime bobsled) at the ski area; her favorite part of the vacation.
I bought what is probably the best bouldering video ever for my brother’s birthday. It’s called Solutions and if you get a chance to see it or buy it I highly recommend it. It’s 120 minutes: that’s 2 full hours of bouldering! It is very well done and a lot of fun too watch. All of the bouldering takes place in and around Fort Collins and all of the climbers are locals. I bought it at the Mountain Shop in Fort Collins but I will try to find some information on where it can be purchased and post it here. I will also try to find some time to write a full review of it.
6/29/02: It’s Saturday, and less than a week before Lisa and I get married. Yes, you heard right, a climber getting married. But it’s great because Lisa is a climber too. We have all of our family coming in town starting this weekend. Her family is from Alabama so they’ve got a ways to drive. We’re really looking forward to our honeymoon, we’re going to Jamaica. When we get back we’re going to Colorado for a few days to climb. I can’t wait, it should be an awesome time.
6/22/02: Spending the day at home today recovering from having 4 wisdom teeth cut out of my mouth. Fun. Finally…I added a video page…check out the videos added: Springdale Bouldering, featuring climbing in Springdale, Arkansas, and Nic’s Day featuring Nic climbing at Chandler Park.
6/21/02: Is this site getting weirder? (I hope so.)
6/15/02: I like coming home. Coming home from a long climbing trip gives you chance to get all your pictures developed, tell stories to your friends, and gives you a renewed interest in attaining your climbing goals. Of course it’s not fun to go back to work or school after a climbing trip, but still, at least you have memories of your trip to carry you through the day for the next few weeks, at which time you will then be ready to go on another climbing trip. It’s even more fun to come home after traveling for work. Let me tell you, work really has a way of taking the fun out of traveling. However, if you can find some in-between time you can take advantage of visiting places you might otherwise have been unable to. I recently returned from Idaho where I got to see City of Rocks and the Tetons; two places I’ve never been but always wanted to go. Both places were amazing! I’d love to take a trip to the Tetons for about a month and just climb my butt off. I spent a day hiking around Jenny Lake, visiting Hidden Falls, and Inspiration Point – which, by the way, wasn’t that inspiring thanks to the droves of people with camcorders in hand scrambling to capture the scenery at the same time as rescuing their kids from the cliff’s edge. I wandered through the madness, past the small sign denoting, “Inspiration Point,” and onward to a more secluded spot. Which got me to thinking: do people really have to have a sign to tell them where to stop and take in something that is beautiful? I past dozens of points that were inspiring but most people preferred to stop where there was a sign instead.
Anyway, it wasn’t until the end of the day that I found the Gill Boulders (doesn’t every climbing are have a Gill boulder?) on the opposite side of the lake. But I was even more impressed by the rabbit that I saw. He was huge; nearly the size of a medium-sized dog. He had white feet, a gray coat. His head and ears were black. He loll-upped along like a cartoon, his big feet nearly tripping him up. I’d never seen a rabbit so big.
I’m back home now. And glad to be here. I can get back to the climbing gym and Chandler Park. I’m working on the drawings for West Chandler and compiling all the boulder problems for this area. Should have it done soon.
6/8/02: I’ve added some pictures that were missing on certain pages, mainly in the climbing areas pages. So now, Arkansas Pictures Page 2 exists, as well as the ice climbing pages, the Colorado page, Alabama, and a few other random images.
6/6/02: East Chandler route guide added.
6/2/02: The forum/new web-board is active. I wasted way too much time on getting that thing to work. Let me know if you like it. Hopefully, it will become a central hub for everyone to trade info. or just bs with each other. Let me know if you find any problems with it.
5/31/02: I saw on the news about several climbers and rescuers killed on Mt. Hood in Oregon and other climbers killed on Mt. Rainer in Washington. It really sucks when things like that happen. When two mountains that have been climbed hundreds if not thousands of times result in so many deaths within a matter of hours, it reminds me of the power of nature and the seriousness of climbing. It’s a often ignored fact that the more a mountain is climbed the less serious we begin to take it. That’s when climbers and guides tend to let their guard down and underestimate the risk involved. The tragedy on Everest a few years ago is a good example. At that time there were herds of climbers venturing up Everest, then the catastrophic storm hit and killed several climbers. It was an awful reminder of the relentlessness of weather.
Mt. Rainer has always been a serious climb, no matter which route you take. Many climbers die every year on it. Climbers who attempt it know the risks, but they probably don’t think they will die. I’ve wanted to climb Rainer for long time. But when something like this happens it makes me reconsider. There is risk that we can assess based on our experience and there is risk which is impossible to estimate; inherent risk. We see “inherent risk” written in nearly every climbing guidebook but do we really think about what those words mean? It seems to me that we grow accustom to reading those words and begin to take them a little less seriously the longer we climb. I know that climbing is inherently dangerous, I take precautions, I check my knots, double-back my harness, and (sometimes) wear a helmet, but then I focus on the fun of climbing, not the danger. I’m like other climbers, I play it safe, use good-judgment, run it out when I think I can handle it, and approach cravases (when the opportunity arises) with care. But ultimately I don’t focus on the risk, I focus on the climbing. But the risk is always there, either waiting for that one instant where YOU, the climber, make a minor mistake, or nature simply takes its course regardless of what is in its path. As a climber we seldom chastise someone for climbing something known to be dangerous. Instead we marvel at their ability to pull it off. Take Dean Potter’s speed-soloing escapades; he’s revered for his composure, his ability, and his speed, climbing thousands of feet in what it takes most of us to climb in three or four days. All the while carrying a perfectly good rope coiled on his back! Some call him crazy, but he’s too busy setting the standard to be worried about that. He knows the risk of falling. He’s not an idiot. So why does he do it?
Climbing is just one of those sports where, even if we know the odds, we still pursue the adventure because we love it so much. After a big climbing accident like the ones on Hood and Rainer, hits the news, a newscaster inevitably asks: “Why do you climb?” And the climber’s eyes tilt back in his head, as if dreaming about the mountain again, and then look down at his hands, as if shameful, replies something similar to Mallory’s quote, “because it’s there.” It’s difficult to come up with a descent (short) answer on why we climb. To a lay-person, climbing is simply risking your life. But to a climber, climbing is living your life. There’s so much more to it than the act of climbing. But I won’t get into all of that now. My sound-bite answer to, “Why do you climb,” would be, “because it’s me.”
5/30/02: Working on a web forum (web board) from phpBB.com. Should have it up soon. I’ve done a lot of reading over the past three days about screenwriting and DV filmmaking. If you have any suggestions on good books or material related to either, email them to it or post them on the discussion board when I get it going. New links posted.
5/25/02: Welcome to the new site launched at https://fusionfortyseven.com! Lots of stuff still under construction, broken links, etc. so stay tuned.
5/18/02: If you found this site then you realize that the old url fusion47.webclimbing.com is no longer! I emailed the webclimbing staff and asked them what’s up and they said that they could no longer continue to pay the exorbitant fees that their server was requiring them to pay to host all these other sites. SO I got the chop. Oh well…I had a free site running there for 3 years (or more) and they were good to me, I can’t be too upset. The worst of it is that all the search engines had links to that location…the site was getting quite a bit of traffic. I got emails from all over the world, and every search engine brought up fusion47.webclimbing.com if you typed in any keyword remotely related to the site. Anyway…although that address is dead, this site is NOT. It is still up and running and I will continue to update it as much as possible. I will try and make this site more entertaining…more pictures, a better web-board (I put one on the Wichitamountains.org site, I can put that same style here). In the next couple of weeks I will decide if I will begin hosting my own domain name or park the site somewhere for free. Advantages to having my own domain are that the site would be easier to find, more recognizable, and I would have a guaranteed amount of space…plus…I would have more room for videos! I tried several times to put videos on my webclimbing hosted site but was never able to (for those of you who are wondering).
Because I have been out of town for the past 2 weeks I have neglected to update this site for a while. I have intensions of putting more Chandler Park topos on the site. As well as starting to post some information on local mountain biking at Turkey Mountain, and perhaps some info. on training for adventure racing.
The message board is down for now….I will have a new one soon. Other hyperlinks may be injured…I’ll have it all running again soon. Later, for now.
4/20/02: I realize it’s high time for me to update this bitch but it hasn’t been at the top of my priority list. For the past couple of weeks I have been out of town due to work and a family tragedy. Unfortunately, I have to head out of town again this week. My intention is to get some detailed guides posted for Chandler Park in the next few weeks.
3/22/02: Ready for Spring. New section: VideoStills added.
03/05/02: Snowy days halted climbing this past weekend. Updated the Mexico page with some new info. on Rancho Cerro Gordo (now closed).
02/25/02: Check out this new crashpad! The weather the past two weekends have been awesome for climbing!!! Hope everyone has had a chance to get out and do some. I have added a couple of new things to the site, one of them is this page which will routinely have strange, interesting, entertaining, and “meaningful” stuff, most of which will not be linked to climbing.
02/14/02: Went to the Quarry last week and shot some footage. Seems like this video project is actually making progress now. For those of you who have heard of the Quarry but haven’t been there you would be amazed. It’s the cleanest cut granite you will ever see. And for Oklahoma, it’s really a legendary and historic climbing area. The hardest, and I would argue, most extreme routes in the state are there.
This weekend a big group of climbers from Tulsa (and a few from Norman) are heading out to Sam’s Throne and Cave Creek for the weekend. Should be a lot of fun.
**New site for the Tulsa Area Climbers Organization created: http://taco.webclimbing.com Check it out.
02/03/02: One thing you won’t ever hear me say, “ALRIGHT, it’s super-bowl Sunday!” who cares. Too bad it’s not warmer outside, I love to be climbing in Arkansas.
Congratulations to my friend and climbing buddy Clayton who took 1st in last week’s OSU Climbing Competition!
I know I keep saying it, but I should have some video footage up pretty soon. I had some problems but I think I’ve got everything worked out.
01/31/02-Added new page for Film Festivals.
01/28/02-Music? Check out The Strokes. Reinstalled the Steak Dinner Bouldering page.
01/12/02- For those of you who are Poster Children fans (which I’m sure most of you have never heard of them) they have a new DVD out that is pretty cool. Click here to check out their website.
01/06/02- well, here it is. new format and all. most of the old information is still on here…you may have to search around a bit to find it. also, there will eventually be some mpeg videos to watch…but not until I have the time to tinker around and figure out how to get them uploaded and looking good. I will be beefing up the chandler park page in the near future. you will also notice a greater emphasis on film and video over the next few months…ultimately culminating in the release of an oklahoma climbing video (hopefully). in an effort to stick to my goal I will be routinely posting production notes on the film page…if you are interested. for those of you who haven’t experienced a full-time job yet, let me just tell you…work sucks. I look forward to the moment I can quit my day job and write screenplays and make movies. full-time climbing would be nice too.
Lisa and I went to J-Tree and Red Rocks, NV. for our holiday break. We had a great time…but man was J-Tree PACKED! We almost didn’t get a campsite, we ended up having to stay at Indian Cove. We left early because of all the madness and went to Red Rocks. Spent New Year’s Day in Vegas….
Check back later for new stuff.
::old shit::
12/12/01 – I’ve been lazy about writing a new featured climb of the month this month. I’ve been spending more time climbing than writing about climbing on this site…I prefer it that way. It may be January before I get the featured climb of the month for Dec. up.
The past couple of weekends I’ve been climbing at Shepherd’s Spring, Arkansas and it’s been a lot of fun. There are some fun routes there.
I began shooting footage for the OK climbing video last weekend. Shot some footage at Chandler Park: Nic H. on Reef Direct (V9). I hope to shoot the majority of the footage in Spring 2002 and have it all edited and wrapped up after summer.
Trip Plans: Lisa and I are headed to Joshua Tree at end of Dec. & beginning of January. Can’t wait!!
12/05/01 – Went climbing at Sheperd’s Springs last weekend with Woo from New Heights and Lisa. We had an awesome time…unfortunately, we didn’t take many pictures…spent most of the time climbing. Going back out there this Saturday so I’ll try to get more pictures.
Holiday special: 2001 Norman Bouldering Competition t-shirts for \\$5 plus shipping (remaining: 3 mediums, 3 larges, 1 small) Email me if you want one…
11/23/01- Thanks to everyone who showed up for the Norman Bouldering Competition. This year’s was the best one YET! Special thanks to all of our sponsors. For pictures from the Norman Bouldering Competition click here. Adam has more pictures on his website.
11/09/01- More sponsors step forward to support the Norman Bouldering Competition: thanks to Black Diamond Equipment, Franklin Climbing, and Climbing Magazine for their donations. Click here for a map and driving directions to the competition. See you there!
11/05/01- Congratulations to all the winners at the New Heights Bouldering Competition. The competition was great, there were about 70 climbers, lots of prizes were given away, and everyone had a good time.
Thanks to our newest Norman Bouldering Competition sponsor: ROCK & ICE magazine.
Many of the problems at one gym are set. Actually, the biggest “problem” has yet to be resolved: where will all the cars park? Hopefully, the neighbors won’t mind if we park in their yards.
11/02/01 – Saturday (Nov. 3rd) is the New Heights competition. We’ve been setting routes like crazy and by the time it’s all done we hope to have about 65-70 boulder problems ranging from easy to very hard. Next weekend is the Norman Bouldering Competition…it’s becoming a cult classic. I can’t believe how many people have registered! I hope just as many show up.
Adam’s starting a webpage…nothing on it yet but here’s the address if you want to check it out: normanclimbing.webclimbing.com.
10/21/01 – NOVEMBER 3rd is the New Heights Rock Gym climbing competition! Cost: \\$8, Starts at 6:00pm….that leaves plenty of drive time for you guys/girls in OKC and Norman. So get up here and climb! NOVEMBER 11th is the Norman Bouldering Competition — it’s going to be awesome this year — I can’t wait. Pre register today and mail me your entry fee click here for details.
10/12/01 – Here’s the deal, webclimbing has decided they have to start charging for site space so they are limiting me to 12Mb of space otherwise I have to pay \\$12 bucks a month…well, I don’t have \\$12 bucks a month SO, what I will be doing is dividing up the website content between this site and my old Climbing Life site…you shouldn’t notice much change other than the site address will read Geocities instead of webclimbing. Unless someone wants to sponsor this site? No takers? oh well.
10/09/01 – New stories, articles, and area info. coming soon. Featured Climb for Oct. has not been updated yet…still trying to think of one. Check out the climbing video reviews….& submit your own. To everyone that has registered for the Norman Bouldering Comp….I have received your online submission, and I will get an email out to you soon. We’ve got some awesome prizes from VooDoo Holds, Prana, and Backwoods and should have more coming.
9/26/01-Just for the record…there’s some incredible climbing around Tulsa! Within two hours we have a TON of rock. Springdale, Arkansas is about 1.5 hours east on Hwy 412 and has some great bouldering. Also, I’ve started exploring the depths of limestone on Avery Drive. Now that I’m a local Tulsan I have the opportunity to uncover and investigate all those secret spots you here about. I’m telling you…Lost Wall kicks ass! More than likely you haven’t heard of it unless you are one of the few that spent a few years climbing in Tulsa. In any case, I am making it my mission to renovate and upgrade all the climbs there and possibly a few new ones.
Also, I had a chance to check out the Shotgun Boulders, although I haven’t climbed there yet. Another, *secret* spot in Tulsa. If you have beta on this area please email me, I’d love to know some names and ratings.
09/17/01- Went to Sam’s Throne, AR. this weekend and did some awesome routes that I have always passed up before. The Outback area of Sam’s has some incredible lines in the 5.10 range. I’m not an offwidth fanatic but if you like crazy overhanging OW’s you can find a fair share back there. I prefer the mixed lines (part bolts, part gear), tricky, sometimes runout, usually scary, steep face climbs. If you decided to go to the Outback don’t miss the climbs on Karp Wall.
For those who have registered…I’ve added more info. to the NBC4 page.
09/13/01- Considering the events of this week I haven’t been too concerned with climbing. I’m sure everyone understands.
Thanks to everyone who came to the Chandler Park Clean-Up last weekend…it was a lot of fun and everyone pitched in to really make a difference. Additional information for TACO will be posted soon.
09/05/01 – 1st Annual Chandler Park Clean Up and Boulder Bash in Tulsa, Oklahoma! Click below for details…DON’T MISS IT!!
Back from our Labor Day trip to Chatanooga, TN. We got rained on the entire time we were in Chatanooga. Instead of climbing outside we visited TBA bouldering gym (click here for pics). Left Tennessee early and headed back to Sam’s Throne in Arkansas for some AWESOME climbing (click here for pics).
8/30/01- Labor Day Weekend: Headed to Chattanooga, TN for some climbing at Foster’s Falls and Tennessee Wall. Look for new pictures and stories when I get back.
Coming soon: a rock shoe review…more video reviews…gear beta and questions answered….also, a new Featured Climb of the Month!
Also in the near future: A completely new look for the site.
8/11/01 – I am in the process of organizing an Adopt-A-Crag day for Chandler Park to be held on Saturday, September 8th. This will be both a clean-up day and an opportunity for local climbers to get together. Chandler is a great area but it is always filthy! The graffiti, the broken glass, the trash…it all needs to stop. For more info on the Adopt-A-Crag day email me.
08/02/01- Last weekend I took a trip to Shepherd’s Springs in Arkansas. It’s the first time I’ve been there and the place turned out to be pretty cool. Not a huge area, but still, it has a day’s worth of climbing and some projects that will keep you coming back. It’s the kind of place that isn’t too far away for a day-trip. Summer isn’t the best time to visit: poison ivy, bugs, spider webs, and humidity make it difficult to concentrate on climbing…but the way I see it, it beats not climbing at all! The cliff faces east and there are a ton of trees so it is shady for most of the day. The majority of the routes are bolted and range from 5.10-5.11. You will find a handful of 5.12+s and up!
I’m ready for this heat to go away!
07/21/01- What can I say? It’s hot.
07/08/01- Here are a couple of pictures from our trip to Lumpy Ridge in Colorado last weekend. We had a great trip although it was a fast trip (3 days). Sometimes those can be the best ones though because you get right to the climbing and don’t stop until you are completely worn out.
Going to Shepherd Springs, AR next weekend to check it out. If anyone has been there, drop me an email and let me know how it is.
07/01/01- If there are any climbers out there, like me, who has been wondering about climbing areas in Western Arkansas (i.e. closer to Oklahoma), you’ll be happy to know that there are directions to 2 areas on this site: Lincoln Lake and Sheperd’s Springs. Both of these areas are located close to Fayetteville, AR. and both have a decent amount of climbing.
Also, if you are in the area, don’t miss La Casa Pollo, it is one of the most unique and perhaps the most incredible climbing gym I’ve seen.
Headed to Colorado tomorrow for some climbing, possibly Lumpy Ridge? We’ll see.
06/07/01 So far this has been an incredible music year: Radiohead released a new album earlier this week and Weezer’s new album is as classic as their previous two albums. I’m still waiting for the next Crystal Method album…to be released this summer!!
Unfortunately, this moving thing has put a kink in my climbing time. Hopefully, Lisa and I will have some time on Sunday to head out to Arkansas for a day trip.
06/02/01 Dave Graham made the third overall ascent and first American ascent of Wolfgang Gullich’s Action Direct (5.14d/9a). This is an amazing feat considering that it took him only 6 days to send it! If you want to check out a flash photo project on his ascent click here, then go to “free download.” More info is at www.8a.nu.
NEW CLIMBING COMPANIES AND THEIR GEAR: There’s a few new companies out there offering climbing gear, shoes, and ropes. One is called fadersusa.com another is rockpillarsusa.com, and then there is bufo.com You may have seen their advertisements in Rock and Ice or Climbing magazine. Each of these places offers gear or shoes for dirt cheap. Faders has draws for \\$7.95 and cams for \\$26.95! My concern is, is this quality gear? Does anyone out there have gear or shoes from any of these companies and if so, what is it like, how does it compare to other climbing equipment? I’d love to get some if it’s good stuff because the price can’t be beat.
5/28/01 Anyone out there with beta on areas around Tulsa, OK. (other than Chandler Park) will you please email me…I’ve heard about a sandstone bouldering area out there as well as a “steep” limestone wall/cave. Also, I need info. on climbing south of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
5/20/01 Last week turned out to be an incredible week. It’s nice to be recognized for something you’ve put so much creativity and time into…thanks again to Climber Online and to everyone who visits this site. This site is a lot of fun for me and it’s become a great resource for the climbing community.
Last week was also good because, after countless hours sending out resumes, I finally have a new job! I will be working at Liberty OHM, Inc., an occupational and environmental health and safety consulting firm. The job is in Tulsa so Lisa and I will be relocating there within the next few weeks. We are both very excited. My new local area will be Chandler Park. I know many climbers in Tulsa, SW Missouri, and NW Arkansas and I can’t wait to become immersed in their climbing community. One major drawback is that I will now be further from the Wichita’s…but, I will be closer to sandstone climbing in Arkansas!!
5/14/01 Designated as Climber Online’s Site of the Week! Pretty cool….
Just got back from a great trip to Cave Creek, Arkansas. Jerel and I put up a new route called The Energy Crisis.
On top of that we did many other routes, including some of the classics like Gravity Slab, Apostles and Pagans, & Flat Fields.
We planned on climbing on Monday too but were so exhausted that we decided to spend the day relaxing in the Buffalo River instead.
Click here for stove fire pictures.
05/08/01 I visited OKC Rocks for the first time in over a year yesterday and I had a great time. I did a green, a blue, and a black route (that’s beginner, intermediate and advanced for those of you who are not familiar with their rating system) just to get the feel of the grades again. I’ll probably start going more and more, that is, until summer heats the inside of the silos hot as a kiln.
I’m looking forward to going to Arkansas this weekend and climbing my butt off! Arkansas, if you don’t know, is in my top 5 favorite climbing areas…that places rocks! A friend of mine, Eric Forney, gave me directions to Stack Rock, an area close to Cave Creek….so I think we’ll check it out. I’ll bring back pictures to post and some beta on the area. Until then…..
05/06/01 First off, thanks to Matt K., for the suggestion of changing my intro page format…I think these alterations will make my site more useful, easier to navigate, and more fun to view. If you are wondering about the picture above, that’s Russell Hooper on a Quarry classic: Chinaman’s Chance. Don’t even ask what it’s rated…Quarry ratings don’t translate to other rock climbing grades. Let’s just say it’s around mid .12. I had an awesome time at the Baldy Point dedication on Saturday, May 5th. Everyone delivered emotional speeches which really brought out the spirit of the area. I especially liked Lori Boren’s and Tony Mayse’s talks about Margaret and Ted Johnson, they really helped me understand who the Johnson’s were and how much Baldy Point meant to them. They sound like wonderful people, I wish I could have met them.
Headed to Arkansas next weekend for a 4 day mini-vacation to Cave Creek, Sam’s Throne, and Stack Rock (a new area I can’t wait to check out). The “Rock Doctor,” otherwise known as the Hilti Hammer Drill, is going with me. I hope to bolt a couple of new lines while I’m out there.
I’ll post more on this page in the next few days so keep checking back.
4/25/01 Between the hopeless plights of searching for employment and going to the one job I have (at the Omniplex) I have been writing some film reviews and climbing on my home wall. I realized, as I was writing these reviews, that most of the hype you read about climbing videos in the magazines (R&I and Climbing) does little to critique the video and more to sell it. I hope that climbing videos will evolve from raw footage of climbers in a music-video setting to a unique depiction of climbing using a wide variety of camera angles, filters, and point-of-view. What’s in climbing that we haven’t seen before? Nothing really. So why not branch out from the traditional function of a climbing video and into the realm of art? My hope is that this vision I have and my need for a job will in some way combine. Enough about that though…..I think I’ll go to the Quarry this weekend.
4/9/01 Quartz Mountain trail day went awesome. Lisa and I met a lot of new people and everyone was very nice. For as much work as we did and as sore and sunburned as we are, we still had a great time. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Quartz and I was surprised how much I got tossed on boulder problems! I was feeling pretty weak and worthless I couldn’t get up anything. I need to do 2 things: #1 get rid of my slippers (man, they almost killed me in Mexico) and get some new shoes. #2 train on smaller holds on vertical walls instead of medium holds on steep walls.
Here are several corrections & additions for your “Sam’s Throne Area: Arkansas” guide (by Clay Frisbie). All are for Cave Creek.
Page 105: On the map between climbs #11 & # 12 are two climbs in the area labeled on the map as “Large Overhang.” The map is correct, this is definitely a large overhang! The 7 bolt route to the left end of the overhang is called “To See and Believe” and is rated (5.13?). This route is still a project as far as I know. I put the route up several years ago and the closest I’ve come to doing it is with one fall after the last bolt. This route is awesome….yet intimidating, which is why most people avoid it. The route to the right of mine was put up by Kerry Allen (writer of the Mt. Magazine guide) and I can’t remember the name of it or what it is rated….looks like a great route, too. Both of these routes have a short climbing season because the area is a waterfall when it rains. If you catch either of these routes when they are dry, don’t miss them!!
Page 107: Climb #13 is labeled “Raining Fingers” and is actually called “Apostles and Pagans” and should have 3 stars. The description calls this route “terminally wet,” this is inaccurate. This route is usually more dry than any of the other routes in this area. It’s a great route, give it a try. P.S. Just when you think you’ve sent it, get ready to fly. (FA: me)
Page 112: Climb #33 is labeled “unknown” in the guide but is actually called “Grand Master Flash.” This is an awesome route…with a devious crux. (FA: me)
Page 115: To the left of #53 (The Beast) is a climb called “Dancing Queen” (5.9). This route has 5 bolts and a 2 bolt anchor and is arguably the moderate climb at Cave Creek! It’s become a classic, even though most people don’t know what it’s called. (FA: me)
3/7/01: New Route: “Sea Of Trees” (5.11a) 9 bolts & 2, 2-bolt anchors, one below large roof, one on top of climb Located in the Cave Creek backcountry. click here for details.
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