03/01/2008

Here's the first of our random January roundups from our sponsored climbers around the world, this guys one of the ever strong US team, Justin Edl, and he seems to be tearing down....especially on those hideous offwidths and other crack related nastys...

Here's his 2007 roundup...including catching up with some of the most famous cracks in the USA...

"Hello Lisa. Sorry to be so late with this, this semester of school has been crushing me all the way. I am done now though, completely (degree in Math). Anyway, this year was a good year for me. I climbed with a bunch of different people and had a lot of fun.

I did three crack problems that I really liked: The Vedajuicer, Equilibrium, and Simiantics. I had been trying both Equilibrium as well as The Vedaujuicer off and on for years without much success, but this year I put a bunch of work into them and was able to finally get them. The process, especially on The Vedaujuicer, was very rewarding.

I also redid a bunch of my old hard problems, and I did pretty much everyone of them first try. I was especially proud to just walk up and hike Eight Ounces to Freedom, as at least every other time I go out there I get shut down. When I went back to add a few moves to the start of Simiantics, that thing still took me all afternoon. I really liked the puzzle of Simiantics, and of course the challenge.

I did several other problems at Vedauwoo that I am proud to have done. One is The Red Snapper. Andy Reather originally rated that problem V13, but subsequent repeats have put it more in the stiff V11 range. I did it differently than everyone else though because I crack climbed it using mostly tips and flared hands, where everyone else crimps and pulls on slopers like a rail. I felt it went at about V8 on the vedauwoo crack scale, a solid notch below equilibrium and Vedajuicer. Another problem was Weak Become Heroes, a V10 sloper problem. That problem had eluded me for years. I hadn't been on it in a long time, and this fall I put a couple of days into it and finally did it. A week or so later I did 100% Beef, another V10, in a day, though I felt it was definitely on the soft side of V10.

I did one problem up Poudre canyon that I was psyched about as well. It is the 420/FUDG/Cloudwalker crack. What I did is FUDG crack. I had been wanting to do this crack for a long time, and finally some freinds from Ft. Collins wanted to get on it. All three of us did it that day and my freind Blake, who had hiked it a couple of days earlier, did it from the very first part of the seam which added a couple hard moves (which is on my tick list for next spring). FUDG crack starts a couple moves farther out the seam, making one hard face move before getting to perfect full finger locks with good foot pods out a roof. I had always wanted to go do that crack, so I was psyched we all had such a good day on it. That same day I also did my nemesis, Canopener, past the crux five times straight. Last go I figured out the key beta to not fall off, but after that I was dead. I can't wait to go back. I also managed to get out to Moab over thanksgiving and do The Crackhouse again. That has to be one of my favorite problems ever. Unfortunately, two days later my girlfreind and I woke up to snow and had to bail.

Another crack I did that I had always wanted to get on was Trench Warfare. I was proud to do it in two days of hangdogging, last try I had on it that trip. I went out there with my freind Langston, who I hadn't seen in a long time. It was good to see my old friend again. We hung around on that thing for a couple of days, and somehow I managed to put it together. Langston got it all the way to the end but couldn't get the lip. Next time. The other new roped climb I got this year was Master of Sport.

Like all Vedauwoo 12's I have been on, it felt stiff. Took a couple of days of work. I had never put any real work into it before because it felt hard and not my style. This year I decided to make it happen. I spent the remaining nice days that I could get on a rope begging my partners to go up to this undone crack with me, and I did manage to get up there a couple of days. It is a flared right arching tight hands to tips splitter on a lightly overhanging wall. I got the moves and gear figured out, but I ran out of time. I only got one short afternoon to try and lead it, and I got shut down. I figure it is 11+ climbing into a V8 crux, followed by another V4 section. The V8 part is still low percentage. I'm looking forward to getting on it next spring.

Early in the spring I also repeated a bunch of my favorite moderate to hard routes at Vedauwoo, a proper training ritual by now.

Justin Edl"

See more about the US team...

Want to climb cracks - see our Crack Guide by Lisa Gnade and Steve Petro

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