Making The Best

   Thanks to all the cleaning over the past few weeks the boulder fields are looking more dense then ever. It seems as though with every new line that gets cleaned two more appear under the roots, moss and dirt. Lately, the Fred Meyer Boulders have been the area with the most to offer.
   In past summers I have devoted most of my time to developing the boulders at Tee Harbor. Unfortunately, after finishing my long term project, Burden of Hospitality (I will write more about that later), my interest in the area has waned. Don't get me wrong, Tee Harbor is a prime area but a little change in scenery was needed.

Burden Of Hospitality, Juneau's New Hardest Problem

   This summer the bulk of our outdoor excursions have been to either East Glacier, home to our lovely grey, glacial polished, granite erratics or Fred Meyers, home to the best highballs around. It's been rejuvenating to say the least. When you live in an area as isolated as Juneau, it is easy to get bored and feel as though you see the same thing everyday. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself to go somewhere else. Lucky enough, we have several great areas to visit.

Janelle Climbing the Dyke Problem

    East Glacier is home to some of the best rock in town. The granite reminds me of the foot on Midnight Lightning. Most of the texture was rubbed away by the glacier leaving some slick relatively featureless boulders. Where there is texture, it's amazing! Tacky yet satisfying. There are dozens of problems ranging from V1 up to V11 with several projects scattered around. Personally, I have two projects that have received the majority of my attention: the sit starts to Beak & Claw and Crooked Crow.
    The sit start to Beak & Claw has been a project for a few years now. A line that moves up slopey rails to a technical mantel over the lip. I have done all the moves except for one. It's very subtle and condition dependent. Most likely it will have to wait for cool fall conditions. In the rain forest during the summer it is rare to have cool temps and low humidity; especially during a summer that has rained as much as this year.

"The Move"

   Lost Rock is home to the next project. Located in the woods on the right side of Glacier Spur Rd about 1/2-3/4 mile past the intersection with Mendenhall Loop Rd, this boulder is home to several superb problems including the slab dyno Massive Dynamic. The problem that has peaked my interest is the sit start to a problem I established this year called Crooked Crow. While the top moves are fairly straight forward using underclings and heel hooks, the sit is some of the most difficult compression I have ever tried. There is just enough texture to hold each position, but despite my efforts, I don't have either the strength or vision to move between them. Hopefully as my knowledge of training and the efficacy of my efforts increase, so will my understanding of this problem.

There it lies in all it's glory, Crooked Crow

   In the past weeks our efforts have been at Freddy's (Fred Meyer Boulders). After all the cleaning from the past blog post, we were able to take advantage of a break in the weather and establish a few new problems. Polinko in particular is really fun!


   As summer creeps to its end, we're doing our best to take advantage of any and all the climbable weather we get. It's looking like we are going to have a few more climbing days this week, so stay tuned for more news from Juneau. Till then, Train Hard & Climb Harder!