Gavin and I took advantage of the sun yesterday and went bouldering. It was actually sunny for two days straight, so that meant Mitake would be dry. Even cool in the shade this time of the year.

We set up shop at the Ninja Boulder. A slow day, only one other Japanese climber. I climbed a few problems that I like to warm up on. Then played on Ninja and Kodomo Gaeshi. At one point during a rest Dai Koyamada walked up with a coffee in hand. He was filming some commentary for a new climbing movie that he is working on. A rather large production too I might add.

It was a short session, but it was a nice break from the city. We are planning on going to Mizugaki this weekend for some highball bouldering. Hopefully the weather will hold up.



Go Climb Something!!!!

Eddie,

I wanted to go take look at this area (Tennoiwa)since it is so close. Is it pretty easy to find? I have biked in that area, so I know how to get there. Is the climbing area easy to find? I would really appreciate any info you could give me, I would love to find a close place to climb.

Thanks,

Rob Poole


Rob,

I finally made my way to Chichibu to see some of the areas there. Jack took me to the impressive Battleship Area and several other areas that I can not remember the names of now. All of these areas are places that Jack has developed/ing or discovered. These areas have many bolted lines, including a 30 foot roof in a cave boosting two 13+/14- lines that need ascents.

The Battleship crag is very visible from the town below and is very nice limestone. This area in particular has seen several ascents, notably Yuji's send of the most obvious line that I can not remember the name of, but goes at 5.13+. We were on a scouting mission this trip and we climbed a rather unusual line for Japan that moves through slopers below to a long tufa up top, then to a pumpy crux finish that if botched, the leader will take a long, fun fall. But totally safe due to the steepness of the head wall.

Next we traveled down several more roads and visited more areas, but the area that sticks out the most was Osutaka no One. This is named after the deadliest plane crash in history that happened in the area. This is the area with the large cave that I mentioned before. The main wall has about 10 routes with about 5 more on a wall near by. We climbed a very beautiful and dirty 10d, that was the first line Jack bolted here. Very nice and technical line that works its way up the middle of the wall.

I was not able to take many photos, but Jack snapped a few of me climbing. I included them to show some of the rock quality. Enjoy the photos and I will have another post tomorrow.



Go Climb Something.

I made it into another Rock and Snow!!! The write up is about the new area that I helped develop. The route that I am climbing is my 11a. I am about to make the crux move in the photo. Cool stuff.

Thanks Nobu!!

Yes I am talking about Alaska. We are going to Anchorage on Saturday and will be staying for a week. I have never been to Alaska, so I am looking forward to this trip very much. Star has more training on the military base there and Gavin and I are planning on checking out the surrounding mountains. I am aware that this time of the year there are many hungry bears out, so GnE will not be venturing out too far by ourselves.

That said I have very lose plans to take some photos on the water and in Anchorage. I know of a few climbing areas that are on my list to visit too. Gavin and I are meeting Star's grandparents for the first time next week. Long over due. I have heard so much about them I can not wait to meet them.

This should be a great trip and I hope I am able to take some nice pictures. We will see. Here are some random pics from the last month. Enjoy and My next post should be from Alaska and hopefully drinking an IPA!!!!


Go Climb Something!!!

Joyama today was great. We went to Wild Boar Gorge. WBG is a steep sport climbing area that must be visited by all climbers in Japan that climb in the 11+ to 14a range. A very nice area with some nice history. Jack Nakane, Yuji Hirayama, and Dai Koyamada, to name a few, all have FAs here.

Hiroko and I started with Jack's 12b, Child's Play. The route is very fun and all of the moves require your attention. If you are tall like me(for Japanese standards) the moves are not tough until you reach the last bolt. The small crimp and terrible pinches had our attention for sure. I think I can send it, but I will have to work out the top moves. Hit Chan is in the same boat.

Shuji's project is a 13d through an overhanging face that has it all. One jug, several crimps, and at least seven slopers that are just not enough. Shuji one hung today, and I know he will send soon. He looks very strong on all of the moves.

I climbed another classic, Gigolo 11b/c. This route really reminded me of climbing back home in the Little River Canyon. An overhung line about 70 feet long. The rock is no where near as good, but it is very close to sandstone. There are no jugs on this one. The line is chalked full of sloper ledges and OK sidepulls. Gigolo is well protected and I will redpoint next time I go.

On this trip I set up a couple of flashes for more practice. I think that this round was far better than the last and infinitely better than the time before that. I played around a bit with my f stop and ISO but tried to keep my shutter around 125 due to the action/climbing. I still have several that are a bit blurry, but overall I am very pleased. I hope that as I am posting photos that you can notice improvement in the composition or at least in the picture quality.

I will be taking a couple of days to rest but i think that a new area is in the works for this week. Till next time.....


Go Climb Something!!!!

Golden week has been the most widely celebrated holiday in Japan thus far. I have never seen so many people outside. I do not fully understand what the holiday is for, but it has something to do with the emperor.

Anyway, for a break from the city Gavin and I joined Jack and his wife for some bouldering at Mizugaki. We met up at the new area and decided to try a few new potential problems. Jack also wanted to send his V5/6 that we finished cleaning last week.

The first boulder of the day was one that had been wet on one side in previous trips but to our delight we found it quite dry. The Coffee Can boulder is small on this side, but has three stiff, fun problems. The same boulder on the northern side is the site of the 25+ foot lines that we closed last week. This is where Jacks Ideal Johnson V5/6 is. Jack cleaned it and sent first go. I on the other hand took my time to make it to the last scary dead point. After several tries and copious skin loss, I decided to try and send next week.

The trip was a success though. I played with a borrowed flash and I believe that I took a few nice shots. Jack took a few nice ones too I might add. In total this area now has 2 V2's, 3 V3's, 3 V4's, 2 V5's, 1 V5/6, 1 V 6, and over 25 lines yet to be climbed. And there are too MANY lines for me to ever be able to climb in my life here.

This weekend I am planning on heading to Mitake for some bouldering and shooting. I have lots of work to do with this flash technology. Monday I am going to Joyama with Hiroko and Shuji. Shuji and Hit Chan are working some projects so I hope I can take some sweet shots of them in action!!! We will see. There is a cool looking 12a that Jack put up there that I want to get on. Should be fun.

Enjoy the pictures and remember.....



Go Climb Something!!!!!

Here are some photos from today's visit to the new area. Hiroko and Shuji came out from Tokyo to check this place out. They really like it. What a fun place to climb.

We made it back safely home. It is very nice to be home. I did not realize how much stress I was under until I laid in bed last night. It was such a relief to lay with Gavin and Star. Very peaceful.

On Thursday I drove down to the Lake Amistad area of the Pecos River. What an amazing sight. The 100+ foot limestone walls were beyond impressive. I have to say, I was VERY impressed with the quality and length of the stone here. The Limestone is endless. It was hot in the sun, but all the routes that I'm aware of are on the shady side of the river. It was a bit windy which would have made for fantastic climbing conditions. But as I was with Gavin so there was no climbing that day. I hiked around a bit to check out the lines. Very nice.

On Friday we went to Enchanted Rock north of Fredricksburg. It is worth mentioning that I had the second best burger in my twenty-nine years in this quaint, cozy town. Mahaley's Cafe has an amazing 1/2 lb. cheddar cheese burger with avocado, grilled onions, tomatoes, pickles, mayo and an amazing toasted bun. If you ever go there you MUST eat this burger. Star had the fish tacos, they were tasty too. E-Rock took me by surprise too. I have to say that I was not expecting so many and such large boulders. I was impressed with the quality of the granite here. The temperature was quite hot so we did not stay very long. It would not be the end of the world to live in San Antonio if Star were stationed there. There are some very nice climbing areas within a short drive.

We left for Japan on Saturday. After more than 14 hours of travel we made it to Narita to find Jensen there to take us home. We arrived home just in time to catch the peak of Sakura season. What a beautiful time of year. It sure is nice to be home.