Cragmama

Nov 09 2016

Sometimes on a climbing trip, you have a “day of reckoning,” where you try hard and it pays off with a send. Other times, you flail your way through a weekend and come out without any new notches on your sending belt. This past weekend for me was one of those weird in between weekends. I was either flashing…or thrashing. There was no middle ground.

The Honeymooner Ladders at Central Endless

Being that it was November and we FINALLY got those crisp, cool, fall conditions we’ve been waiting for all year, the only destination for us this weekend was Endless Wall. Since I’d sent my project on our last trip (finally!), I had absolutely zero agenda for this trip, and went wherever the CragDaddy wanted to climb. He and our third man Caleb wanted to try Harlequin 12b (ironically on the same wall as my nemesis-no-more J&T), so off we went down to the Honeymooner’s Ladders once again. Both kids actually REALLY like going down these ladders, so despite the longer approach hike, Central Endless is one of their favorite destinations as well.

On Day 1 we strayed from our usual Endless Wall warm-up options and started out on Bonemaster Gear Fling 11c, which is also right next to the ladder. I’d tackled this one only one other time when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Little Z, and I’d remembered it feeling insanely hard for the grade. I figured it was probably due to my belly getting in the way of all those high steps…which I’m sure didn’t help. However, this time around it STILL felt super hard. Lots of frustratingly long reaches that were non-moves for my taller climbing partners, who touted it soft for the grade. I was psyched to pull out a first go send though, and my weekend was off to a great start…

Girl beta…

Then I got on Harlequin and my confidence got torn to shreds. I’d been told there was a big move at the 1st bolt that can give shorter people fits…but heck yeah, all that “try hard” bouldering I’d been doing in the gym meant I had no trouble with it! However…that bouldery sequence at the next bolt? Ugh. Hard in a completely not fun way for me. The good feet were so low that I could get no umph from my legs to power up, and the next available feet were ridiculously high compared to the rest of my body position. I eventually figured out the move. But after trying the sequence 25+ times, I only managed to latch the ending hold twice. The rest of the route went fairly well for me, but my odds down low were do dismal that I was less than inspired to keep working the line.

But as I said, it was CragDaddy’s weekend to choose, so we found ourselves back at the Ladders on Sunday morning. Our warm-up strategy had worked out pretty well the previous day, so this time we hopped on the NEXT route over from the ladders, Double Feature 11d, whom my tall friends had warned felt a number grade harder than Bonemaster. There were some hard moves for sure (and one of the coolest slab cruxes I’ve ever done!), but all in all, the difficulty seemed on a par with Bonemaster for me, minus the heinous reach issues. I mean, it wouldn’t be the New without some long moves on it, but I was able to use crux beta that was almost exactly the same as everyone else, so it seems like the playing field for this line was more level than it’s next door neighbor. That said, another flash made me psyched to see what else the day had in store.

Guy beta…and congrats on the send CragDaddy!!!

Then I hopped on Harlequin again, just to see if maybe my crazy beta for the 2nd bolt would feel more doable fresh…wrong. This time I couldn’t even pull the move. So I decided to get on Sacrilege, denoted in the guidebook as 5.11 climbing to “the hardest 12b move you will ever encounter.” I didn’t hold out much chance of doing “the move,” but was cautiously optimistic after having talked to a girl about my size the day before who had figured out a sequence that worked for her. Besides, there was nothing else on the wall I really wanted to try, so I figured I had nothing to lose…

Nothing but a shiny bail biner at the crux, that is. (So if you’re up there this weekend, it’s all yours if you can unlock that sequence!) I bailed only after punishing myself on the face far longer than I’d anticipated. Apparently neither Harlequin OR Sacrilege are in the cards for me right now. But for all the thrashing I did, I’m still happy to walk away with some good flashes (well…technically one flash and a 2nd go send that felt like a flash since I’d forgotten pretty much everything about it from my preggo toprope episode.)

Tomorrow we are bound for the Red! It will be interesting to see if our inconsistent performances at the New this fall can add up to anything noteworthy in the land of pump. The forecast looks great, and we can’t wait!!!

Happy kiddos!

M.A.P. Footwear Review

Gear Reviews.

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Oct 24 2016

This one caught trying to sneak away with big brothers shoes…

A few months ago our family got the chance to try out some children’s shoes from M.A.P footwear. Each kiddo got to choose a pair (Troy for Big C, and Lillith Toddler for Little Z.) Both pairs are similar in style to outdoorsy children’s shoes from other brands. Cute, yet very functional, ie Mary Janes with a very thick sole.

Prior to this review, I’d never heard of M.A.P before, but after realizing their name stands for “Motion, Adventure, and Play,” it was a match made in heaven, because those 3 words are a few of our favorite things!

What first caught my attention was the price…while most other outdoor brands charge anywhere from $50-$100 for their offerings, most M.A.P. shoes are available for $30 or less at places like Target and Amazon! I’ll be honest, at first I was a little skeptical about the durability of these shoes. A lot of times, especially in the world of outdoor gear, you get what you pay for. But both kiddos have been rocking their new kicks all summer and into fall. And so far, both shoes are showing surprisingly little wear. They’ve worn these shoes on the trail, on the rocks, in the creeks, and of course, in the mud. The materials have held up well, and a “pressure wash” from the garden hose has been plenty good enough to keep the colors looking good enough to wear to other, “less adventurous” places (church, school, etc.)

Cool features worth mentioning for the Troy (boy’s shoe) are the slingshot lace system, complete with velcro across the toes to prevent the laces from flopping around. Little Z’s favorite part about her Lillith’s are the sparkles, go figure. 😉

Big C’s Troy shoes

The traction on both shoes is really good, and is great for hiking, scrambling, and rock hopping across a stream. Since my kids sometimes (ie, ALWAYS) end up in the water during said rock hops, it’s nice to also note that both pairs of shoes dried really quickly, and didn’t rub any hot spots on tender tootsies, even when worn without socks. (However, like with most shoes worn without socks, beware the smell factor after a long day playing outside!)

…this time with the correct shoes 😉

After adventuring with these shoes for several months, I would definitely consider purchasing a pair another time, and would for sure recommend these to a friend. The jury is still out as to whether they will stand the ultimate test of time (handing down to another sibling or friend), but so far so good! We sized generously so hopefully we won’t be ready to pass them on for a while yet. But at this price point, the ability to go for another round seems like a bonus rather than an absolute necessity.

So if you’re kiddos need some new footwear for fall, check out M.A.P. here, or at a retail store near you!

Jesus and Tequila = SENT!!!

New River Gorge. Climbing.

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Oct 19 2016

“…I’m not sure when, but one of these days I will pull the crux on Jesus and Tequila and not take the swinging whipper. I’ll stay clean through the dihedral and nail the deadpoint move. I’ll teeter out across the roof and plant my foot exactly where it needs to be, and execute the final sequence. I’ll stand at the top and savor the magnificent view of the river below…”

Iphone sending shot, courtesy of Rebekah MacNair

I wrote that exactly 6 months ago in a blog post…And guess what you guys – Saturday was the day!!! I am absolutely giddy with excitement!!! Back in January I’d told the CragDaddy that I’d count the entire year as a success if I could just send Jesus and Tequila. Why?

First off, it’s on the short list of best 5.12’s at the New River Gorge. And considering the world class quality climbing at the New, that’s saying A LOT. The guidebook sums it up rather nicely – “...getting pummeled on Jesus and Tequila is a rite of passage for every New River climber…“

But for me it’s more personal than just that. It started when I took a casual toprope burn on it at the tail end of the fall season last year. I instantly fell in love with the unique movement and fantastic position this route offers. So much so that we completely rearranged our schedule the following week so that I could go back and try to send it. After botching multiple sequences but somehow still hanging on for ALMOST the entire climb, my luck ran out at the final roof sequence just 10 feet below the chains. I tried a couple more times that day, but could never make it past the crux on point again, and I was haunted by my almost-send the rest of the winter.

Once spring rolled around we had a hard time finding partners to go back out there with us (probably the hardest part about climbing with kiddos in tow!), but I did manage to spend another day on it back in April. I felt a lot stronger and more confident on the route, and even figured out much better beta for the roof move I’d previously fallen on. However, I was ironically unable to get back up there on point. I made it past the crux once, only to fall on a random move that I’d never had trouble with before.

These two ragamuffins had a great day!

One of the things that makes Jesus and Tequila unique is that it’s so “involved.” There are a LOT of hard moves, and the beta is intricate, so it’s a lot to put together all at once. It’s tall, and each attempt takes a lot out of the tank – not the kind of route you can try over and over again in the same day. My previous “best go’s” had all come on my 2nd attempt of the day…with subsequent attempts getting progressively worse, until I eventually had all I could do to get to the top of it to get my draws back.

All that said, I knew my window of opportunity this fall might be small, so when I got the chance to go down there on Saturday I jumped at it. Better yet, a friend of mine wanted to try for the onsight, which meant I didn’t even have to rap in and hang my own draws.

I stepped off the starting boulder and onto the route, and was pleasantly surprised at how well the opening moves went. Soon enough I found myself shaking out at the 4th bolt, and preparing to head into the crux. I felt good, but wasn’t sure about my odds at the crux. I’ve fallen on that move more times than I’ve actually made it, but it still feels scary to me, and I usually hem and haw for several seconds before committing to it. But this time I just powered right through without hesitation.

At this point I panicked a little on the inside. All of a sudden realized that this was the “time to send.” I wasn’t ready for this to be “the time.” I’d assumed that my first go of the day would be more of a beta-confirming mission than an actual redpoint attempt! I’d wanted to rehearse that move at the roof like 5 times in a row first before it was “time to send.” But this was only the third time I’d ever made it through the crux without falling, and there was no guarantee it would happen again later that day, so like it or not, this was it.

Little Z and her new friend R.

The next move has a reputation for a redpoint spoiler… it’s not THAT hard, but it’s a big ask when your post-crux forearms are still tingling. But I got through it as well as the deadpoint move, which was my high point this past spring. (Thanks to the CragDaddy for shouting out the move for move beta I’d written down for that section!)

All that was left was redemption at the roof. I executed the new beta I’d figured out in the spring, and it worked like a charm. I had ZERO trouble getting my foot up (why was it so hard before?!?!?), and before I knew it I was clipping the chains and taking in the view of the river down below with a perma-grin on my face.

Sending smiles…one of us may be more excited than the other.

Sure, it would have been pretty sweet to send it by the skin of my teeth last fall. Had my story with Jesus and Tequila ended then, my memories of it would have been those of fighting hard and desperation, which is not at all a bad thing. A send is a send, right? But, after having been given the opportunity to invest more into this route, I can definitely say that the delayed send is a prouder one for me. The best routes are the ones that push you to train harder. There is no comparison to the way I climbed this route a year ago and the way I climbed it this past weekend. It was still hard. Really hard. And it wasn’t a sure thing until I clipped the anchors. But I climbed it really, really well. The way a classic route deserves to be climbed. Jesus and Tequila has always been a worthy opponent. But it wasn’t until this past weekend that I was able to step up and prove that I was too.

Kid’s Geology Activities that Rock!

Homeschooling.

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Oct 12 2016

To me one of the biggest blessings of homeschooling is that our family can do things when it works best for US, and we can slow down/speed up whenever we feel the need. For example, the curriculum we’ve been using this year for science (106 Days of Creation) had included 2 short and very basic lessons about “rocks” before plunging straight into plants and trees. As I looked at our calendar, I realized a lot of the projects I wanted to do in the Plants/Trees unit would work better once the leaves had started to change color. For us, that often doesn’t happen until the middle of October, so the obvious solution was to dig deeper into our Geology studies.

Starburst Rock Cycle

My son has always been pretty into science, in particular anything to do with animals, but I had no idea how much he would enjoy learning about rocks. Our little Geology unit has ended up being one of the best learning experiences we’ve had since we began homeschooling almost a year ago! Our family has had so much fun that I just had to share some of the activities we did. (And as a side note, it probably goes without saying, but you certainly don’t have to be “officially” homeschooling to do any of these!)

AT HOME ACTIVITIES:

STARBURST ROCK CYCLE: I so wish I could take credit for this idea, but the idea came from here. Who knew that Starburst candies and a microwave could yield such a memorable (and tasty!) picture of the three main types of rocks?

DIY BORAX CRYSTALS: There are about a million DIY crystal “recipes” out there, using a wide variety of materials, but we settled with the how-to found here. We were so blown away by how amazing they turned out, that we immediately made another batch to pass around to family and friends.

Borax crystals!!!

HOMEMADE ROCK CANDY: The chemistry behind rock candy is basically the same as our borax crystals, but the results are far tastier! Well, presumably. While the borax crystals formed overnight, our colorful sugar crystals have been slowly but surely building up on our wooden sticks for the past several days. We will probably pull them out of the solution and let them dry off in a couple more days when we hit the one week mark.

MAKE ROCK ART: The perfect thing to do with all those random stones that your kids will probably start collecting once you begin learning about rocks. Paint them. Put googly eyes on them. Glue them together to make funny shapes. Rocks are perfect for “odd job” decorating. Paperweights, doorstops, or even just looking festive on a shelf.

Yummy rock candy.

FIELD TRIPS:

Who doesn’t love a good field trip? I was really excited to find some really great options in our area.

JEWELRY STORE: After flipping through our field guide on rocks and minerals, we took a visit to one of our local jewelry stores. We found the birthstones of everyone in our family, and oohed and ahh’d at what the gemstones looked like in their natural state as compared to the final product in a piece of jewelry.

REED GOLD MINE: Did you know that the first gold in the United States was found by a 12 year old boy in North Carolina? He saw a cool yellow rock in the little creek on his family farm – it turned out to be a 17 pound solid gold nugget! One of the many fun facts we learned on this trip. The mine has been closed for several decades, but has been preserved as an NC historic site. This thankfully allows for (free!) self-guided tours of the property, including a functioning Stamp Mill and some underground sections of the old mine! We tried our hand at panning, we unfortunately weren’t so lucky. (Apparently only about 15% of visitors ever find anything, and it’s never more than a couple of flecks here and there.)

Reed Gold Mine

EMERALD HOLLOW MINE: This was by far the highlight of the unit – and for yet another fun fact, did you know you know the largest emerald on record was found in Hiddenite, NC? I’d remembered taking a field trip there as a child, and I remember loving it, so it was a must-do for the kids and I during this unit! And it did not disappoint. Both kids had fun sifting through the grit and mud on the sluiceway, although Little Zu eventually got frustrated that I wouldn’t let her go down the “water slide.” The real fun, however, came next in the creek. We spent nearly 2 hours exploring a half-mile section of creek, combing the ankle-deep waters with watchful eyes, snatching up stone after stone. I was absolutely amazed at what we found – obsidian, adventurine, sodolite, red jasper, and quartz crystals that ranged from clear, to pink, to purple! The day culminated with a visit to the onsite Lapidary to talk about our finds, and what (if anything) could be done with them (cheaply, of course.) We ended up deciding on a basic wire-wrap pendant for each kiddo – a beautiful deep blue sodolite for Big C, and a delicate rose quartz crystal for Little Zu. Both stones were cleaned, but uncut and unpolished (mostly just because I didn’t want to spend a fortune!), and delivered to our door in about a week. A perfect way to remember our trip!

Emerald Hollow Mine

We of course used loads and loads of books (mostly from our public library) to supplement all of our hands on activities. Because reading is obviously important…and also because my prior knowledge of rocks and minerals was rather limited. (And while I certainly can call myself an expert now, I definitely learned a lot right alongside the kiddos – yet another one of the many benefits of homeschooling for our family!) Any other families out there got rocks on the brain? I’d love to hear of other ideas we can try the next time we circle back around to Earth Science. Or, if you decide to try out any of the ideas listed above, I’d love to hear how they worked out for you!

The pendants for the kiddos turned out great!

The 2016 Craggin’ Classic

New River Gorge. Climbing.

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Sep 21 2016

It’s the middle of September, and that means it’s time for two things – migrating north for the Craggin’ Classic at the New River Gorge…and my kids getting sick. Last year, it was a mysterious fever for Little Zu. This year, it was a tummy bug that left its mark on several family members before heading elsewhere…but that’s probably all you need to know about that.

Mutiny 11d

Anyway, by the time the event was underway, everyone was (mostly) okay, and our logistical plans (always the crux when climbing with kids) went off without a hitch. The kids and I had headed up on Thursday afternoon, and managed to squeeze in a hike at Beauty Mountain before heading over to the Sponsor’s Dinner. The first 10 minutes went well. Then Little Zu took a digger to the face on the blacktop, leaving her with a giant fat lip and bloodied-up face as a souvenir. The rest of the night pretty much went downhill from there, but by the next morning everyone was psyched and ready for a day of climbing and photos at the Lake with the rest of the Trango gang.

Yay climbing!

Our resident photog, Dan Brayack, had his eye on Mutiny 11d, a gorgeous arete that is easily recognizable even from the highway. The only “catch” was the water level, since the first 10 feet of this route are submerged during high water. Usually by mid-October the water is low enough to be climbable, so we were a little bit early. As it turns out, however, the water was juuuuust low enough for us to sneak in and get some amazing pictures. A foot higher and we would have been soaked.

My belayer and I rolled our capris up as high as we could, I clipped my climbing shoes to my sports bra, and we waded out across the thigh-high water to the arete. Conveniently enough, one of the boulders at the base was sticking out of the water enough for us to drape the rope across. We pre-clipped the first bolt, I put my climbing shoes on while dangling over the water, and away I went! Climbing out over the water like that was a surreal experience, and the route itself was amazing. Big moves to big holds down low, then a thin face crux heading to the anchors.

Somehow, despite my best efforts, my shoes had still gotten a little bit wet. That combined with the flash-pump that comes from not warming up properly meant I pretty much went bolt to bolt first time up. Luckily though, Dan wanted to shoot the route again from a different angle, and I was able to send fairly easily second go. A BIG thank you goes out to Everett from La Sportiva for keeping the kids corralled back on the beach while I was climbing. By the time I waded back across, Big C was “fishing” with a pole Everett had helped him procure using a stick and some string, and Little Zu was sitting contentedly in his lap with some gummy bears. Three cheers for the village it takes to climb with kids!

Upper sequence on Hot n Bothered 11d (aka Six Dollars)

We then moved down to Long Wall at the main area, where I got a chance to tick another classic 5.11 I’d been wanting to get on – Hot and Bothered 11d (aka 6 Dollars.) This one took two goes as well. Pretty sustained crimping, with some finishing moves that could easily botch a redpoint attempt.

A sweet little girl with her Daddy

By this point it was time to head back down to set up our booth for the event. The CragDaddy rolled into town shortly after we got back, so I tagged out of kid duty and put my “athlete hat” on for the rest of the evening. It’s always fun having conversation after conversation with other like-minded folks. In fact, talking to random people is one of my favorite parts about doing events like these. Catching the Reel Rock Film Tour was also a bonus.

SUP fun!

Saturday brought even more heat and humidity than the day before (seriously, where is fall?!?) My crew headed back to the lake. The CragDaddy and I hopped on a few routes in the Coliseum, but our performances were far from noteworthy. One highlight was an impromptu hangout with a SUP family from Ontario (the dad was competing in a whitewater SUP competition the following day.) Big C scored multiple rides, and if he and I wanted a family SUP before…we sure as heck do now! (#gearjunkies)

We attempted to get out Sunday morning, but got rained out after just a couple of pitches at Bridge Buttress. As far as the weekend as a whole, I might not have gotten in as much climbing as I’d wanted, but what I did get on was classic. And, I won’t lie, it felt good to get back into town at a reasonable hour on Sunday! Thanks again to Dan for taking some awesome pics, and the rest of the team for a great event!

Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

NRG: Flashin’ or Thrashin’

M.A.P. Footwear Review

Jesus and Tequila = SENT!!!

Kid’s Geology Activities that Rock!

AT HOME ACTIVITIES:

FIELD TRIPS:

The 2016 Craggin’ Classic