can you hear the song? sweeeeet home .. ala-bama!

ok, so we're not in alabama.

we've arrived in Chattanooga, TN!  we're staying with our friend, Noah.  talk about a great guy!  he has even cleaned out his spare bedroom so that we can move our bed in and have our own space.  noah, you're the best!  we cant thank you enough for your gracious hospitality!

after all the climbing at the New and the Red, i was exhausted.  i.  was.  toast.  i just wanted about 5-7 days of non-climbing rest for the body and mind .. just hang out on the couch, watch movies, and be totally lazy.  and i did, for two straight days - and it was everything i wanted it to be!  haha, i think noah was a bit surprised at how many movies i can watch in a day, and multiple days in a row.  but what can i say?  i was tired!

however, after only two days, the beautiful Chatt weather was too tempting not to climb...

and so begins our SOUTHERN BOULDERING!
little rock city
rocktown
obed/lilly boulders
citadel
horse pens 40

overall, im happy with my bouldering :)  it took a couple days to get used to the bouldering mentality:
- general committment to get to the top.  if i dont make it, i will fall and hit the ground - no rope!
- mantling (which continues to freak me out) and topping out.  get those feet up .. and trust .. and push!
- even the redpointing tactics are a little different - i can work out moves in isolation!
- the resting time inbetween attempts isnt as long as sport climbing, more like just a few minutes rather than 30-45 minutes.  you can take burn after burn after burn.  its fascinating!
- bouldering days are much shorter too.  i cant last more than a few hours of power moves before im way too tired to do anything more :)

im really enjoying the switch to bouldering!

little rock city

LRC is a bouldering spot on a golf course!  its a small, concentrated area of tons boulders.  you dont have to walk very far to get to the next climb.  it costs $3/day, and you have to sign in.  it is quite strange to walk into the golf shop and see climbing supplies right next to golf supplies .. that means chalkbags on the same shelf as golf balls!  insanity!

the climbing is sweet!  the boulders arent too, too tall, but they are tall enough to make them exciting ;)  the landings are mostly flat and safe - score!  it seems to me that more of the hand holds are trusty open-handed slaps that are pretty friction-dependent, but have no fear - the rock friction is awesome!  however, if you miss the hold and slip off .. you lose a layer of skin, each and every time - ow!  but, its all worth it!  the climbs at LRC are more on the facey, vertical side, but there are steep climbs too.  ive even done a couple climbs with knee bars!

this one had a kneebar.  my first send of the South!  

going big to a small hold..

this is NOAH!!  strong guy..

see the chalky outline of fingers?  yes, that is where my hand slapped the boulder and MISSED the good hold to the left.  pretty cool tho, huh?

jason lookin goooood on his warmups!

noahhhh - putzing around on his warmups ;)

steeeeep but awesome holds.. and this isnt the hard part.. ah well :)

really cool, balancy spine that looked like dinosaur scales!

jason working hard on small holds..

and then bailing off using the tree!  nothing wrong with being safe!

rocktown

we've had a rocky relationship with Rocktown that finally ended in the sunshine!  conditions are nearly impossible to predict.  checking online weather sites, you'd think:

sun = good climbing conditions
rain = iffy climbing conditions
clouds = likely still climbable

however, all of that is out the window!  there is this foggy mist that rolls through and condenses on the rock, and mist is not one of the usual online forecasts.  its far worse than rain because there isnt water falling out of the sky - where you can climb under a roof and still get in a good day.  rather, this mist clouds the air, sticks to the stone, and soaks the rock.  its truly no fun at all but i guess its a little fascinating too ;)  in any case, we finally had some stellar conditions for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!

there is no guidebook.  supposedly.. it comes out in the spring (har har, how many times have we heard exactly that on this trip?!), and there will be more problems than at LRC.  i guess we'll find out when the book is released.  we've been using an old Dr. Topo guide to get around.  it can be a little difficult to decipher, but it works well enough.  this bouldering spot feels a little more like "outdoor" climbing since the boulders are a little more spread out, the crowds are a little more dispersed, and there are trees!  the climbing is generally on the steep side, with more smaller crimps and incut holds.  but there are still plenty of the powerful, slappy, sloping holds.  i have grown to love these - oh, so much!

it looks busy, but it cleared out quickly.

this may look like writing, but its actually iron rails in a cave!  isn't that sweet?!

jason and noah .. warming up together.

my turn.

and topping out on nothing.. look at those slopey handholds.  its all friction.

this rock was sweet!  look at the iron swirls all over the place.  here i am trying "boy beta."

that didnt work for me, so i switched it up.

just slightly steep, slopey ledges can be so hard to hold.. so much body tension required..

jason's proj.. in a tshirt!

these are certainly slopey holds.. very friction-dependent..

yay tshirt!

sarah boman sending her project!

i re-used her beta.  slabby, trusty feet.. eek.

searching for anything to hold.. anything..

trust those feet!

noah sending, of course..

trust those feet and mantle over..

wow scary..

i give it a try.. but too scared to top out - sketch!  no thanks!

the photo above is my reach.. and here is jason's reach.  :)

im trying to help out with foot holds, but i realize now.. he totally cant see me pointing ;)  i am of no help at all!

and again.. trusty feet.. and mantle!

the obed and the lilly boulders

we've heard so much about Obed climbing, and we've wanted to visit for the past two years.  we had planned to come to the Obed right after the Red.  however, as i said before, i was so tired, i really needed a break.  so we bouldered at LRC for two weeks before finally heading out to the Obed.

this was definitely the friendliest climbing spot we've hit so far.  on our first day, we decided to hike the canyons instead of climb, just to check things out.  we walked up to the South Clear and was immediately greeted by the one group climbing that beautiful day.  climbers are usually pretty friendly, but this group wasnt just the usual, "hey, how you doing?"  instead, they were engaging in conversation about traveling and giving us ideas of climbs to check out while we hiked the crag :)  a few days later, the owner of the campsite, Del, came over to introduce himself and welcome us to the Obed!  and when we returned a few weeks later, he even remembered us!  i highly recommend this campsite when visiting the Obed.  the community at Del and Marte's is amazing!  and Del himself is a really fun guy.  what a great area and group of people!

and now to the climbing.  the Obed is sport climbing and the Lilly Boulders are, well, bouldering ;)  no matter what climbing you choose:  roofs, roofs, and more roofs!  we spent our first day at South Clear sport climbing.  we got on a couple warmup climbs - very fun!  and then went over to a harder climb closer to our limit.  WOWSA!  it was so difficult!  i could barely make the first moves, and i never actually made it to the roof, BUMMER!  i could beat myself up about it because i didnt want to commit to making moves and clipping bolts.  however, i let it go and laughed it off.  i just have to accept that my sport season is truly done .. and actually, im ok with that!  jason did make it to the roof and it really looked like so much fun!  sweet movement - toe hooks!  ill just have to come back another season to really check out the sport climbing at the Obed.

we spent the next couple days at the Lilly Boulders.  this was great!  the climbs i worked on were roofs, of course.  one traversed the outer lip of the roof with heel hooks and sloping, but good hand holds.  and the second climbed the underside of a roof with more heel hooks and big, tiered ledgey hand holds.  so awesome!  the second climb was difficult because it was really close to the ground so it was just hard to keep your butt off the mat!  i will definitely come back and work on this again :)  i really enjoyed this area.  roof climbing is always fun!

icicles??!

there were chickens at Del and Marte's!

roofs..

roofs..

simul-send!  jason is on the left.  i'm on the right - in the background.. look closer. ;)

just a couple more pics.

the citadel

sweet local spot.  2-car parking lot.  no guide, no topo - basically, you need to know someone or do a lot of online research.  tons and tons of potential!

classic problem of the area

heel hook + toe hook ..

big moves..

another classic .. do you see the snail??

heel hook.. and..

toe hook.. trust it.. trust it.. let go with the left hand..

made it!  however, fell shortly after ;)  so fun!

and of course, noah sending!