So, told yall awhile back about our "Alexa" ranking... as of 03/11-129,403. Ranked 29,460 in the U.S. alone. Pat yourselves on the back for this and thanks again for all the support. Keep it up!

Emergence 
"This past December in Yosemite, as the sun’s rays angled low in the sky I headed to the southern hemisphere where the longest days of summer were just beginning. I longed to feel the energy and magic of the wilderness and peaks in the Fitzroy and Cerro Torre Ranges of Patagonia.  I’d spent many seasons before in the little town of El Calten, nooked on the edge of the mountains. Windspeed bellowed and called to me strongly. 

When I arrived, I was overwhelmed with memories and exultant to be among longtime friends who live in the shadows of the "smoking mountains."  Something was unsettled in me though.  I couldn’t focus on the peaks that I was there to be with. 

My head spun with things left undone. During the past few years many things in my life fell away.  My father passed away, my wife left me, our dog Fletcher died and certain friendship dissolved. I hadn’t seen my family for years nor had I felt the comfort of having a home.  Somehow I’d let a lot of things slip while relentlessly focused on my crafts of climbing, flying and walking the line.

Here is a short and sweet teaser from Team Giant/HBG on their test track in San Diego.

Check out the Five Ten® Karvers in action. 

Here is a link to an interesting and thought provoking article from DeadpointMag about the current state of sponsorship, pro athletes, and professional behavior in climbing.

http://www.deadpointmag.com/articles/view/revitalizing-word-pro

Me sending Full Service in my trusty Team 5.10's...this problem is brilliant.


I arrived back home in Salt Lake City early last week, and after 6 wonderful weeks in Hueco I've had a lot of catching up on real life to do.  Work and the wife were beckoning, and the season in the Tanks was winding down.  During my stay I managed to do right around 100 problems that I hadn't done before (most of which were 3 and 4 stars), I added two new classics of my own that had been hidden in plain sight, I pulled off some of my hardest flashes yet (Lately I've been really motivated to challenge myself by setting specific flash goals), and most importantly I made a whole ton of great memories and great new friends.  Being a guide this season turned out to be a fantastic way to meet new people, search for new problems, and provided many opportunities to learn the intricacies of the park and to see and climb classic problems that are a bit off the beaten path.


The Morning Warmup....No fruit shaped like a ball was safe.....Take that Grapefruit!
(photo: Gustavo Moser www.gas-photo.com)


Packing Lunch...Red meat=The secret to all Hueco send power.

The Rodeo actually went pretty well also.  As a volunteer for Five Ten, The Hueco Rock Ranch, and Vline Climbing I stayed pretty busy planning the event and making it happen, all the while supressing my urge to compete and show off the Hueco skills I had developed.  On Rodeo day, I was priveleged enough to guide a wonderful group of folks from Socorro, NM.  They were a pleasure to take out climbing because they didn't really have a competitive agenda, and were just out to have fun.  Overall, I'm ticking the entire season off as a huge success.  Now, I just need to keep my Hueco fitness and Hueco skin until I leave for a month in Switzerland...more on that adventure later.


Mary (my wife and fellow 5.10 athlete) enjoying the ultraclassic Babyface
(photo: Craig Copelin www.nilepoc.com)

Up Close and Personal
 
"When I first heard that the 2010 ABS Nationals were being held in Washington D.C. my initial reaction was, "What the hell did I move to Colorado for if not to be closer to The Spot for Nationals?!" But after spending the weekend in Washington I was telling everyone I met how much I liked the city. This year's Bouldering Nationals at Sportrock Gym were probably the most entertaining, best organized, and all-around most fun Nationals I've ever competed at. My personal high-point was snagging the finish hold of Women's Finals problem #3 with only seconds to spare! Overall, I placed second to my friend and teammate Alex Puccio. I know both of us are itching to see how we match up in the competitions in Europe. A big trip may be coming in the near future."

-Alex Johnson

We got it! Check out the clip of Miles Daisher on Last Call with Carson Daly here.

"[Base Jumping] is kind of like Skydiving on steroids"

Go BASE jumping with Five Ten® athlete Andy Lewis. Get a real perspective of what its like to jump off a cliffside as Andy shares his Moab, Utah BASE jump from his point of view through a mounted helmet cam.

Check it out here

"Out in New England this past week, shooting an indoor climbing video with Big Up Productions, at a cool gym called Central Rock.  I was the routesetter for the shoot and PRob was a main featured climber, along with a few other young strong athletes from the east coast - Dave Wetmore, Vasya Vorotnikov, Josh Larsen, Francesca Metcalf, Sasha Digiulian, and a young phenom, Ashima Shiraishi.

The idea for me was specifically to highlight the climbers’ particular strengths and be able to demonstrate the creative process of routesetting in that context.  I had the opportunity to set with superb holds from e-Grips and Teknik, the two handhold sponsors for the video that are both awesome brands I am proud to work with.  It was a unique production, with similar constraints of a major climbing competition, but I also had some freedom to come up with interesting moves without the pressure of having to make them the “perfect” grade or divide competitors by difficulty. 

Just back from Argentina and had a chance to pick up the latest issue of Gripped Magazine.  Check out Will Stanhope's feature article Black Magic in the Bugaboos.  Read Will's take on the high quality free climbing we did together in the range this past summer.

-J