Dark Waters

Quick video from Ivo @ www.lovechclimbing.com

Dark Waters Stand V10 - Clear Creek Canyon, CO from Ivo Penchev on Vimeo.

Back to the SOUTHEAST on Friday for 2.5 weeks!

Winter in CO: Eldo Canyon / JWU

Since getting back from a quick trip back to the Southeast, weather here in Denver and on the Front Range has been amazing. Colds temps with little snow (except for Poudre Canyon, so I hear.)

ELDO CANYON

Last weekend I headed up to Eldorado Canyon to climb on some boulders WAY back in the woods with buddy Sam Johnson. After a long hike into the Lost area we met up with some Front Range OGs and got to climbing.

Sam and Silven got extremely close to repeating an old Dave Graham line. Still needing early ascents, both provided very good efforts but were thwarted by the long deadpoint at the top of the climb. Props to Dave for the vision and motivation to get out there and open so many hard climbs.

JOHNSON AND WALES

If not at the boulders, I am usually at school here in Denver. Graduating this year with a degree in culinary arts! SYKED. Possibly further study into nutrition after...

Thought I would throw up a few pictures of what I do there on the daily.

All for now. Later.

Voges climbing The Whole Shebang

Dayton -- The Whole Shebang from John Gass on Vimeo.

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FIVE TEN DEMO @ DBC / Newlin Creek Update

will be showing off their new line of high performance shoes at

DENVER BOULDERING CLUB

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9

starting @ 5.30PM

!!!!GET SYKED!!!!

Ronnie Jenkins, 5.10 rep, will be running a demo at the DBC on Tuesday, November 9th. The demo will include the new line of shoes coming out soon!! Swing by and try on a pair and climb at the DBC!! directions...


Been climbing a fair amount lately. Finishing up some classes at school which is taking its tole. Staying motivated. Been climbing with buddy Ivo lately. Got up to Boulder Canyon once last week and climbed on the Cage Free boulder for a while. Ivo snapped some awesome pictures.

picture by Ivo Penchev

Check out his site here ....

Got out to Newlin yesterday to finish up a boulder...

The Nickness.... from John Gass on Vimeo.

All for now. More on the way.

Boulder Canyon

Yesterday I was able to get out for a nice session in Boulder Canyon. The temps cooled down earlier this week and I had put in a good amount of effort linking the compression moves on Replacement Killers.

The day began at the Cage Free boulder, waiting for the proper temps and watching Ivo get crazy close to climbing Cage Free. Next time for sure. I tried the sit to this for a bit and was able to almost climb into the stand from the start! Could not hold the toe hook move, cutting the heel. Very syked for cooolder temps on this one.

An hour before dark we hiked up to the Hard Boiled / Replacement Killers boulder. Sent first go of the day. This is one of the more difficult boulders I have climbed in a while and it felt great to be at the top.

Short video of my effort to climb Replacement Killers...

Replacement Killers from John Gass on Vimeo.

BIG shout out to Five Ten for keeping the Anasazi Velcro around for so long! One of my first pairs of shoes 10 years ago. Although they might not be the most performance oriented shoe, the stiff soles and flawless heel were the only thing that kept me from falling off the top... without a doubt!

ON TO THE NEXT ONE >>>>

Newlin Video

Newlin Creek Bouldering from John Gass on Vimeo.

Newlin Creek

Got out to Newlin Creek today for the first time.

Really good bouldering area.

Set in a small canyon 30 miles south of Colorado Springs, this area is home to some of the best rock I have climbed on in Colorado (Gneiss!!)

Video on the way.

Megalodon

Bear Trap


The Nickness

Joe's Video II

Another short clip from a long weekend trip to Joe's Valley.

Nerve Extension and Kelly's Arete from John Gass on Vimeo.

Joe's Valley Recap

Back in Denver now.

The weekend in Utah was awesome.

Weekend @ JOES from John Gass on Vimeo.

Pt II
on the way...

Five Ten Demo

YO

About to walk out the door. Where am I going?

JOE'S VALLEY - SYKED !!!!!

I will be residing in the hills outside Orangeville, UT for the next few days. The goal is to climb as many sandstone boulders as possible.

Be on the lookout for a video recap!!

Also,

FIVE TEN DEMO

NOVEMBER 9

DENVER BOULDERING CLUB ( D B C )

BE THERE
- come check out Five Ten's new line of high performance shoes coming to stores soon!!
- try them before anyone else gets the chance to !!
----- more details on the way

THE LOST FILES ... VID 1

Not long after I started climbing (1999..ughhh) I got a video camera. I shot video religiously for 7 YEARS before taking a break from climbing.

None of that footage has ever been seen.

Hound Ears & HP40 Mortal Combat comps before the Triple Crown existed.
Hueco (springs of '04 & '05)
Rocktown
Red River Gorge
Little River Canyon
Little Rock City
Boone, NC

I am going to begin the long task of editing through the good stuff. What I come up with will show up here.

Installment # 1:

Dunky Doobie v10 from John Gass on Vimeo.

MORE ON THE WAY.

Fall in CO.

Back in Colorado.

Few pics from the drive across country.

After a busy, busy summer things have finally slowed down somewhat. Trip back to Chattanooga and ATL was nice, but only reminded me how much I enjoy the lifestyle I live here in Colorado.


The fall is an amazing time to be in the mountains. Such obvious changes in the surroundings beg to be noticed. The long grass at Lincoln Lake has started to change to a deep red, creating an almost otherworldly experience while hiking into or out of the boulders. The mobs of tourists in Estes Park are winding down meaning the SEASON is here NOW with around a month remaining to boulder in the alpine areas!

Unfortunately, the road to Lincoln Lake will close at the beginning of October. This new alpine area got CRAZY attention this summer (probably because of the wolverines). It will be interesting to see how much traffic the area gets in the following years.


Couple of possible weekend trips coming up!!

P.S..... DBC is having a setting night this Friday (Sept 24th). Come check out the gym and throw up some problems to test out those skiiiiiiiiiilllllls!!

More on the way...

At Home on the Road.

I tried going bouldering a few days ago. It was hot, but there was a relatively cool breeze blowing through the trees at Little Rock City (Stone Fort).

The Toothfairy 7b from John Gass on Vimeo.

Been in the Southeast for a few weeks now and the days are counting down till I make the long drive back out to Colorado. Can not wait!! I am going to catch the last few weeks of Alpine bouldering before school starts.

More on the way...

Inside Out or Outside In

Just got done with the long haul from Denver to Atlanta, 1300 miles in 2 days.

Area D.

Today I woke up early and headed up to Mt. Evans with Voges. The plan was to walk down to Area D and try a few problems before any bad weather set in. We got a little over an hour of climbing in.

(trying Slander v11)


(trying Equitas v9)

More on the way...

Deep Puddle

Here is a quick video of me climbing a classic in Lower Chaos:

Deep Puddle Dynamics, RMNP from John Gass on Vimeo.

More on the way...

RMNP & Mt. Evans

The past few days have been spent walking around the mountains. Tuesday I headed up to RMNP with Brion despite the possibility of bad weather. After a quick warm-up I was able to finish off an old project, Deep Puddle Dynamics. The rest of the day was spent climbing on wet holds on the Bush Pilot boulder.





Yesterday we headed to Mt. Evans to climb at Lincoln Lake. I was able to repeat an established boulder called Chalk on Rock. Cool climb. Sharp holds. Voges went to battle on The Great War for Civilisation.


On the way out we decided to check out Laying in Wait, an awesome slab climb. Brion was able to make quick work.

Two from Mt. Evans from John Gass on Vimeo.

Summer heat!

another rest day. from John Gass on Vimeo.

Things have been a bit slow around here lately. Getting out to the boulders as often as possible, but for now the heat has kept me inside. Was able to do a few climbs at Lincoln the other day.

Hidden Gem (7b+) and The Fin Thing (7c).

That's all for now.

new boulders...

Today the crew headed up to THE new area called Lincoln Lake. After walking straight down from the road to the Lake (descending steep terrain for around 900ft -- ending up at 13,000 feet above sea level) we set our stuff down in front of an insane looking roof called Unshackled.

Unshackled the boulder problem from John Gass on Vimeo.

The boulder problem was recently found by Dave Graham and climbed by Kevin Jorgeson. The boulder is a pure edge line that ends in a hard move to the lip. 4 out of 5 stars for me. The boulder has seen several repeats already and a sit start has been added clocking in at v11.

New boulders seem to be popping up left and right this summer. I would not be surprised to see many more go up this season.

MORE ON THE WAY.

RMNP Video Update

Lately I have been getting up to the RMNP quite a bit. Climbing has been good despite not topping out a new boulder in almost a month. Most of all I am syked on shooting footage with my new(ish) HD video camera.
CHECK IT!

BVoges in RMNP from John Gass on Vimeo.

Another day...in the PARK. from John Gass on Vimeo.

Chaos Update

Spent the last few days trudging through snow in Lower, Middle, and Upper Chaos Canyon. Despite there being up to 20 feet of snow at places, many of the boulders are climbable now. Other boulders could be ready to climb with only a bit of shoveling.

Chaos Update from John Gass on Vimeo.

Hope this brings some SYKE heading into the park season!!

Emerald Lake early tomorrow to finish up Whispers and Kind Traverse. Then up to Green 45 to start trying Wildcat.

With the amount of effort put into climbing the last few weeks I have decided to create a more detailed list for the summer. Check it.

Whispers of Wisdom
The Kind Traverse
Tommy's Other Arete
Deep Puddle Dynamics
Sunspot
Wildcat
Gobot
Marble Direct
Eternia
Riddles in the Dark
Seurat
Super Gui
Clear Blue Skies
Gorillas in the Mist
Hume Problem

Stay Tuned. More on the way.

ALPINE BLOCS

Things have been rolling along here in Denver. My first year of culinary school is over and another summer of rock climbing begins! The last few weeks have been spent mostly at Emerald Lake in RMNP. Place is sick!!!!

Here is a quick video I threw up of buddy Nate Drolet and myself climbing the stand start to Storm Shadow.

storm shadow 7c+ from John Gass on Vimeo.

About to walk out the door to head to MT. EVANS!!! Then next week we will start doing battle in the infamous CHAOS CANYON.

Stay tuned.

Rain.

Bad weather is setting in on Denver for the week / weekend. Hopefully there will be some dry rock somewhere on the Front Range.

Things have been rolling along in Denver lately. Lots of schoolwork and lots of training. A good amount of my climbing time has been spent in Eldorado Canyon. Weather is warming up and this seems to be the place to go for a nice day in the mountains.

A few weekends ago I was able to go up there and climb a problem called 606(v10). First climbed by Will Lemaire, this problem is hard crimping at its finest. The crux move revolves around moving off a small right hand edge (maybe 1/8 of a pad) to another quarter pad gaston then standing up on a bad foot to a few balance moves. Another classic in the Canyon.

This one did not take too much time and made me feel good about my finger strength as summer and the PARK SEASON are right around the corner. Next on the agenda is a new arete on the Resonated bloc (courtesy of Chris Schulte) and possibly a few taller climbs!!

Until then more time in the gym and finishing up school. Hopefully I can get out this weekend and get some new videos up.

p.s. I was also able to head up and try Gabor's new line Botslayer at Flagstaff Mtn. This climb is definitely a very worthy addition to the area. I was a bit hesitant on the small right hand edge that surrounds the crux, hopefully I will get back up there and finish this new line off.

Joe's recap

Just got back from a long weekend at Joe's Valley. This place is SICK!! Will be spending a lot more time there in the next few years. Last time I was there I was able to do a few climbs...

joes valley 1 from John Gass on Vimeo

...but this trip was much more productive. I had by far my strongest day of climbing in my 10 years in the game. Of course just being in the Valley is nice enough, but doing some difficult problems makes the trip seem more worth while. Here is the short ticked list.

Wed - Scary Monsters
Thurs- Feels Like Grit, Worst Case Scenario, G2-07
Fri- Killed by Numbers (flash)
Sat- Smokin' Joe, Water Painting, Scrawny and Brawny, Fingerhut, The Wind Below (flash), Moby Dick

There was a bunch of cool people in the Valley making for a good time. I focused more on climbing this trip rather than filming, but here is a short clip of the weekend...

Joe's Valley moderates from John Gass on Vimeo.

lately...

Weekend was cool... went to the Spot in Boulder on Saturday. Place is really sick, but it AINT got nothing on the DBC!! Fact: No trip to Boulder is complete without a 14" Half Fast sub...

New Turkey: Grilled Shaved Turkey, Roasted Red Peppers, Sauteed Onions, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Spicy Chipotle Mayo

Then headed up to Arthur's Rock on Sunday...

Childbirth... from John Gass on Vimeo.

This weekend I am planning on rolling WEST to JOES!! There is a good group of Colorado climbers heading that way so why not join the group. Heading out Thursday after class (6pm) then getting back into Denver on Monday night. I have a lot to do at Joe's so I figured I would make my list for the long weekend...

Scary Monsters-v6
Nerve Damage-v7
The Wind Below-v8
They Call Him Jordan-v8
Worst Case Scenario-v9
Smokin' Joe-v9
Groundation-v9
Jitterbug Perfume-v10
Prince of Thieves-v11
Gentleman Jack-v11

Not too bad. Maybe some lesser known problems also...

Weekend Update

Weather was warm yesterday at Eldo Canyon. Warmed up flashing a cool boulder in the creek, Eastern Priest v4.

Eastern Priest, v4

After that the group headed to The Heist v12 where Thomas Betterton got insanely close to sending. I have now been up to the slot four times and I have done all the moves on this climb. Next season I WILL climb this problem. Here's some pictures...

Thomas B. getting close

Then Qwigon v10. This problem is ok. Small holds out a cool bulge. Unfortunately we got to the boulder in the evening and the rock had been sitting in the sun all day. No dice. Next time!! Majority of the day was spent sharing laughs with friends at the boulders.

On another note I have turned most of my attention and effort to the Park season. I want to climb hard this summer so training is in full effect for the next few months. A few Chattown fellas might roll in around May and as always the summer will consist of a lot of driving and walking. Hopefully some sending in between.

Busy school week ahead. Might head up to RMNP to check out snow level this weekend. I heard rumors that Whispers of Wisdom is climbable!!

Later.

Back in the 303.

Just got back to Denver from a 10-day break from school. Had the chance to stay around the midwest and hit up Joe's or Hueco even possibly head west to California, but in the end decided to head back to the Southeast. It was a good trip.

Hungout with the parents in ATL for the weekend and ate some good food at SoHo in Vinings

... then bolted North on i-75 to Chattanooga. It is always nice to go back home and drive over Missionary Ridge and see Lookout Mountain. Good times. And not to mention all of the rock climbing to be done!!

I had been back to the south over Christmas and done away with quite a few of my old projects...

southeast 1 from John Gass on Vimeo.

...and as I headed up to Little Rock City after driving into town I still did not know exactly what I wanted to put effort into. Somehow the day ended with an ascent of Biggie Shorty in the Back Nine Area. Phew!! That one was a long time coming. I figured out good beta for the match on the crimps and after a few fumbles on the first move SENT. My climbing has progressed lately and I am syked to see what happens in the next few months!

The rest of the trip was nice. Spent most of the time in Suck Creek. One of the small satellite areas around Chattanooga. Here is a small clip I put together of my efforts in the creek (I believe the first two climbs to be first ascents... tell me if I am wrong)

Chattanooga 1 from John Gass on Vimeo.

That's all for now. Poudre Canyon this weekend!!! SYKED!!

Just Bloggin'

I like to eat Nutter Butters... maybe too much. Which makes improving my climbing difficult at times.

I decided to start throwing some of my thoughts up on this blog. Most will be about climbing, some about cooking, and others mindless rambling.

- John