ANOTHER TRIP TO BOULDER

Adam, K.J. and I were in Boulder this last week attending the CWA (Climbing Wall Association) Summit. The primary purpose of the trip was to attend the conference, but other non-conference activities crept into our agenda including a trip up to Golden to get a day of climbing in at Clear Creek Cliffs. This is not an area known for its ethics and quality of routes but we had a good time any way. I was a bit shocked when I saw crack climbs that were bolted up with a clip every four feet. Very odd. You would think that Colorado would hold to the traditional side a bit, but we were wrong. We had a good time any way. We topped the day off checking out Golden and taking in a visit at the American Alpine Club museum and library. For those not familiar with the AAC, their primary function is the stewardship of the heritage of climbing. No other organization preserves the history of climbing as does the AAC.

The next day we climbed in Boulder Canyon. That was classic Colorado climbing, with beautiful granite and great views. It was a perfect day for cragging. (Take a look at the pictures below.) That night we fell into debauchery with a prolonged episode of bar hopping looking for that next great shot of tequila. The next day attended the conference, trying to shake off $300.00 worth of top shelf misery.

That night Dave Chancellor, of SoIll Holds, gave a very entertaining slide show. After that we went over to Neptune Mountaineering to see a slide show by Layton Kor. Think about that for a bit. Talk about opposite ends of the climbing spectrum. Layton Kor is a legend from the early 60’s, putting up first ascents with hemp rope and webbing wrapped around his waist. Then here come the SoIll guys with the latest in trends in the climbing scene. I don’t think I ever had a night like that. More on this later.

We did get a good bouldering session in at the Spot before we took on the cliffs. That was an eye opener for me. I was the only person in that building with silver hair. I didn’t do too bad. I actually held my own after I figured out how the rating system worked. K.J and Adam tore it up that night. They repped the Seattle crowd proudly.

The conference was brought to a close with a raucous beer night at a private party in a beer joint in Boulder. Fortunately we had a private room that contained our beer induced antics. I had to be reminded that you are not suppose to throw darts at a big screen T.V. Not good. Moments of that night were caught on my Flip by Dave Chancellor and some of that footage will never see the light of day.

It was a crazy week, and Adam, K.J. and I are ready for next years boondoggle. On a side note, we actually did get down to business and learn something. I know that is hard to believe, but it did happen.

Keep Pulling

Rich

Adam leading a route in Boulder Canyon

Adam getting amped up for the next climb

The Bear eats

FINE WINE IN THE DESERT

This last week I spent some time in South Utah soaking up the desert and hiking in slot canyons. Of All the places that I have traveled, nothing compares to the splendors of the landscape in the Colorado Plateau. I am constantly amazed at what beauty can be formed from millions of years of erosion and wind. Ever since I got turned on to hiking in Utah I haven’t set foot on many trails in the Cascades.

The first day we spent wondering around in Arches National Park and Goblin Valley. Goblin valley is the strangest landscape you will ever see. It was like walking on another planet. We wandered around for hours, being mesmerized by exotic shapes of rock. That day was just a warm up for the next day at Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon in the lower San Rafael Swell. That first night camping in the desert involved a well-cooked pasta dish and some good Shiraz wine, or so I thought. I opened the bottle of wine and started pouring the libation into generous shares. I sat down next to the campfire and took a sip. When the wine hit the back of my throat I winced in surprise and a little disgust. That was the worst Shiraz that I have ever tasted. I asked our wine selector for an opinion. Thumbs up from the expert. Wow. I thought to myself, I must be choking down too much campfire smoke. I was thinking to myself –“this stuff is awful”. It was the only thing available to drink that night, so I thought I would tough it out.

A few minutes later Bob strolled back to the site and picked up his cup for a sip. He reacted with a “what the heck is this? Where is my whiskey-sour?” I looked at him, and then I looked at my cup. Oh boy. Guess who poured his wine into someone else’s cup of whiskey and lemon juice. Well that explained it. No wonder that Shiraz tasted like some cheesy wine spritzer from 7-11. Everyone got a good chuckle out of that mix up. I am into trying new drinks and new foods, but that was horrible.

The next day we had a great day doing a slot canyon. It was only a 9-mile journey and the weather was perfect. On the second half of the day we ran into some lost teenage kids that got separated from their parents. They had been wandering around for hours trying to figure out how to get back. The parents were out all day looking for them. We guided the lost souls back to the trailhead and hung out with them until the parents showed up. The look on their parent’s faces was a bit intense. Not quite the Leave It To Beaver scene and not much happy chatter going on with that family as they departed for their camp site. We were glad we could help.

We finished up our trip with some hikes in the Black Dragon area. We explored a beautiful box canyon and then checked out some pictographs in another canyon. Check out the pictures below and enjoy. Keep pulling.

Rich

Goblin Valley

Goblin Valley Reprieve

Sea of Goblins

Little Wild Horse Slot

Little Wild Horse Slot

Little Wild Horse Slot

Box Canyon Near Black Dragon

Checking out Box Canyon near Black Dragon

Pictograph in Black Dragon Canyon

THE POWER IN NUMBERS

In the summer of 1994 we decided it was time to retire the old Vertical Club on Elliot Ave. and move up in the world. We built the new gym in Fremont and opened in the fall of 1994. As I have noted before the Fremont gym has been and always will be my favorite Vertical World gym. Unfortunately, Adobe Software made a deal with Quadrant that could not be refused. With much anguish and foot dragging I agreed to a buy out on our lease. I really didn’t have a choice in the matter. I didn’t want to end up like the little old lady by the Ballard bridge with L.A. Fitness and Trader Joe’s wrapped around it. The pain that Quadrant would have inflicted on me would not be worth the fight, plus they were very fair with a buy out.

The problem with the whole deal was finding a building in our market on a limited time frame. We were pressed against the wall to get a new space, design the gym, pull the team together to build the gym and hopefully open without any down time. I could write a book about that process, but I’m going to jump ahead to the fiasco that almost dealt us a deathblow. We finally got the gym built in the spring of 1996. (It is still difficult to realize that the Fremont gym was only open for a year and a half - aargh!!) We were set to have a grand opening and mop up all the stress that overwhelmed us during that three-month period. Then the news came down from the Department of Construction and Land Use of Seattle. They would not give us a permit to open the gym because our parking calculations were not up to snuff.

That was a shock to us since we were not located in a retail area and there was plenty of parking in the area after 5:00 pm. What they came back with us was that the parking lot that we had on the permit was not allowed because it was not laid out to the specs that they required. I am talking about the parking lot that is on the other side of Atlas construction, which has been used for the past 15 years by Icicle Seafood. They would not grandfather it in even though it is technically a parking lot. That really put us in a bind. We spent a lot of time and money going back and forth with the city for about a month. They would not budge.

Finally the day of reckoning hit. We had to close the Fremont gym. That was it. We were without a gym, and we were bleeding cash by buckets every day. This went on for a few weeks and we tried everything including groveling and begging, but the city would not give an inch. Finally I had to face reality and call the Board of Directors and tell them that we were bankrupt. The white flag had to go up. I was exhausted, broke and didn’t have any more fight in me. I called Don Staugbauer, the Vice President at the time, and told him to start the process of dismantling the business. He told me he had one more trick up his sleeve. He called a friend of his who is an attorney and had worked on political issues with the city in the past. He presented an idea to me that I could not have dreamed up. Don and his friend designed a scheme to get political on the city’s ass and make them squeal. I was doubtful but I told him to run with it.

Don drafted a letter to be sent out to the membership explaining what the city was doing to the Vertical World. He mailed it out with the DCLU department head’s phone number and Jan Drago’s phone number. Jan Drago is a Seattle City Councilmember. When that letter hit the streets it created a volume of phone calls that locked down the phones in both offices. Drago’s office called my office and asked me to call off the dogs. I had one simple question for them. Do I have my permit? They were desperate to get this off their desk so they worked out a deal with the DCLU to get my file to the top of the pile and figure out what to do quickly. They were going nuts with the pissed off climbers who did not have their gym to climb in. It didn’t take but a couple of days for the City to buckle and issue a temporary permit until we could figure out how to get the calculations worked out.

We had the gym open in a few days after that letter did a smack down on the city and the reception was great. I never felt so much relief. To all those who think you can’t make a difference in city hall, think again. When enough people get torked you can make a big difference. People just need to get involved. I think this story is very fitting for these times. If you don’t like what the politicians are doing, then give them hell. On top pf that I will always have great gratitude to my members. They saved their gym. They stepped up to the plate and did the job. Thank-you.

I am off to Southern Utah for some desert time and slot canyon exploring. I will bring some pictures and stories back. Keep pulling.

Rich

NOT QUITE A CENTERFOLD

I have to say that I did not expect the snow-boarding season to shape up like it did. The past few times boarding have been exceptional, with blue skies and new snow. I have the good fortune of playing during the week so lift lines are not an issue. This is turning out to be one of the best boarding seasons that I have ever had. I encourage you take get up there and take advantage of the late, but good, snow season.

I have to give a plug to this great breakfast place that I found the other day. It is called La Casa Azul, (The Blue House) named after Frida Kahlo’s home. The restaurant has Kahlo and Diego Rivera prints hanging everywhere. The owners are obvious fans of the great Mexican artists. What was really interesting is that the menu had a copy of Kahlo’s Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, one her most famous paintings. When we were in El Paso we spent some time in the Museum of Art, and they happened to have that painting on exhibit. Its home is the University of Texas at Austin and it was there for a few weeks as a temporary exhibit. What are the chances of that? So now I have an affinity for La Casa Azul. Besides, they have a great menu and an excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner, at really good prices. If you like good Oaxacan food this is the place to go. It is located at 145th and Greenwood. Check it out, you will like it.

Now, on to the main topic. When the Vertical Club was founded I promoted it as Seattle’s first climbing gym. Somehow the story of the funky little climbing gym started spreading around on the wire and the next thing I knew I was spending more time in interviews than running the gym. There was this big run on the story about America’s First Climbing Gym. I didn’t come up with that tag line. That started showing up in articles everywhere. We were featured in periodicals like Time, Newsweek, GQ, Esquire, Sunset, U.S. News, People (the first color issue), and many more that I can’t remember. We even got airtime on World News Tonight, with Tom Brokaw, although Tom didn’t do the story. I have this sizable library of magazines and tapes featuring the VC over the years. This shows how hard up the media is for a story. It was difficult for me to appreciate all the media attention at the time since I was so busy trying to figure out how to make the business survive.

I have to admit that the pinnacle of media exposure for me was being featured in Playboy three times. Wow, that was a kick. We got a spot in the February 1989 issue, both the German addition and the U.S. edition, then later on in the February 1995 addition. I guess that counts as only two spots, since the U.S. and German issues were the same article, but I like to say three. I’ll take what I can get.

The two early articles were about the new concept of indoor climbing, and the 1995 article was by John Krakauer. This was a one page feature on indoor climbing at the Vertical Club with an interview with me, but mainly about his experience using indoor climbing as a fitness alternative.

So there it is. I made it into Playboy three times. Not quite as cool as getting on the cover of the Rolling Stone, but not too shabby. It is interesting to note that no one ever mention that they saw the articles in Playboy. Of course not. There are two reasons for this. One, people will not admit to thumbing through a peeler magazine, and two, they were too busy checking out Miss February to even notice that we were featured. Darn, I got trumped by Miss February. I on the other hand would never bypass the stimulating articles for a peek at the goods. Although I did notice that Miss February 1989 did have gorgeous brown hair.

Keep pulling

Rich

BORN AGAIN IN HUECO TANKS

Yesterday was one of the best snowboarding days that I have had in several years. I went to Stevens Pass and spent the day boarding my brains out on new snow with a crystal clear sunny day. Considering the season we have had, it was pure joy. Any way, on to the topic of this blog. One day when we were down in Hueco we all went up to the North Mountain to an area where Bret was working on a V12. We were hanging out enjoying the scene, so Bruce and I decided to climb an easy route next to Bret’s project. We were in a cave area that had an assortment of rock formations piled on top of each other. I did the route quickly but did not take the time to ask how to down climb it once I was on top.

Once I topped out, I looked around and noticed a narrow slot leading back down to where

Bret and K.J were standing. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. I started to slither through the tight slot on my butt so I could see what was ahead of me. It was really dark and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I got to the end of the channel and all of a sudden my legs and feet were flopping around in mid air. It was so tight in there I couldn’t look down to see how far I was off the deck.

I looked at the option of clambering my way back up the slot but that turned out fruitless. The rock was really slick at that point and all of a sudden I felt my body sliding quickly on the rock. Suddenly I was flying through the air into darkness. I hit the floor of the cave with a big thump, right on my ass. It felt like Jonah getting spit out of the whale.

K.J. and Bret looked around the corner and saw me sprawled in the Hueco dust, on my ass, looking a bit embarrassed. K.J. said “what the heck are you doing?’ with a look of disbelief. “The down climb is the other way.” Great, now I get the down climb beta as I’m dusting off the dust, and nursing a big bruise on my butt. Everyone got a big laugh out that little mishap. They informed me that I had just got my self shot out of a climb called the Birth Canal, and it was not meant to be down climbed. Wow, so that’s what it feels like to be born again, Hueco style.

In a way everyone was not that surprised that I would choose to take that approach on the down climb considering my reputation of making things harder than they really are. It was good for a laugh.

Check out some more photos and Keep pulling.

Rich

Posted on - 28 Feb 09 | A FEW FOR THE ROAD | View/Leave comments | Read on

HANGING IN HUECO TANKS

I just got back from a fantastic week of bouldering in Hueco Tanks. Bret, K.J., Bruce, the manager of Stone Gardens, Candice and I flew down to El Paso and spent the week at the Hueco Rock Ranch, the winter mecca for boulderers around the world. If it was not for Hueco Tanks there would be no other reason to spend any time in that part of Texas. El Paso could barely pass as a city in a first world country. If you are into junkyards and dollar stores that is the place to be. The trip to the grocery store reminded me of how good we have it in Seattle. I have never seen so many brands of funky white bread in my life – the kind that you can roll up into spongy balls and dip in your Folgers coffee.

Hueco Rock Ranch is a five-acre piece of Texas dirt that accommodates campers for five bucks a night. Fortunately we got a room in the main house, which is a brand of a bed and breakfast that is suited for the climbing genre. Just imagine a kitchen that is a communal hang out for hungry young climbers, and their dogs. I got a kick out of watching the whole scene, especially when dreary eyed boulderers lumbered into the kitchen in the morning, desperately trying to hook up with their fruit loops and rocket fuel strength coffee. I won’t get into the details of the daily antics in this blog. That will come later.

The bouldering was amazing. I am not much of a boulderer, but I had a blast. It took a few days to get into the groove, and get a grip on the layout of the place, but just hanging out and hiking was fantastic. Considering that the park is only 500 acres, it encompasses everything from climbing, prehistoric rock art, geological mysteries; some of the most amazing rock formations, and cultural history that spans back thousands of years.

Bret and K.J. really tore it up. Bret worked on his usual V12’s and K.J. threw all he had at some V5’s. Bruce, Candice and I made sure the easier routes were taken care of. This will definitely be an annual trip for us. Check out the photo gallery.

For now I will just post some pictures of the trip and I hope you enjoy them.

Keep pulling

Rich

The Gang

Rich Bouldering

Unique Hueco Spot

Candice Bouldering

Bret working a V12

Rich Bouldering in upper valley on North Mountain

Rich on first day

Rock wall painting

Nothing like a smashed up peanut butter & banana sandwich

Bret on high ball

Bret with Cactus

Beautiful tank on top of North Mountain

Posted on - 26 Feb 09 | A FEW FOR THE ROAD | View/Leave comments | Read on

TAKING IT IN THE TEETH

Finally, a great day of snowboarding. Yesterday offered one of the best days for boarding in a long time. Stevens pass was clear and the snow was crisp and fast. This has been a tough year for conditions, and it felt good to blast away on good snow on a beautiful day. On top of it all, it was a weekday and there were no lines. My legs definitely felt the burn at the end of the day.

My last blog touched on the subject matter of losing body parts, so I thought I might continue on this subject with another quirky tale of climbing mishaps. One day a member was eager to try leading in the gym, so she brought her rope in and set up on a moderate route in the Seattle gym. She started the route with ease and made her way up half way when she went for a clip that was above her head. To get the rope length right she pulled some slack up and held it in her teeth, while reaching down for more slack. At that moment when she was clinching down on the rope with her incisors, she popped of the wall.

Now imagine waterskiing and holding on to the towrope handle with you teeth while the boat yanks you out of the water. Get the idea? When she hit the end of the rope she obviously tightened up, which is natural, and she clinched down hard on the rope. Of course when she hit the end of the rope she ventured into a new world of dental care. Her front teeth popped out. Ouch, in a big way. As with the other incident involving missing digits, those were the days of gravel landing. I never got the report on whether the pearly whites were ever retrieved. One good thing about our new landing surface is that it is easier to find body parts.

That is not the last we heard from this unfortunate member. One day she was at the Redmond gym top-roping. The staff at the front counter heard a big thud and looked over and there she was sprawled out on the ground and in a lot of pain. Long story short, she tied the rope into her gear loop, and when she leaned back on the rope the loop broke and she decked hard, resulting in a broken hip.

Please lady, take up knitting, or something. Then again, knitting does involve using pointy objects. Perhaps backgammon.

By the way, the boulder routes in the gyms are great lately. I have been trying to get into bouldering shape since a group of us are going down to Hueco Tanks this month. Big kudos to Tyson and the gang. Keep up the good work. Of course, getting slapped around on a Tyson V1 is to be expected, but they are still fun. Keep pulling.

Rich

Posted on - 01 Feb 09 | A FEW FOR THE ROAD | View/Leave comments | Read on

GIVING THE FINGER

This last weekend we had our annual staff Christmas party that was cancelled back in December due to the snowstorm. Of course we changed the name to the delayed New Years party. In any event it turned out to be a great gathering of staff and friends. This time we held it at the Everett gym. We hired a casino set up and a barbecue gig. It was a blast. It is a yearly high point to be able to hang out with friends and employees for an evening, while gambling and eating good eats. I am always surprised at how intense certain folks will get when the chips are on the line. Even though it wasn’t real money, they all new that there was an ipod to be won at the end of the evening. That got the juices going.

Congratulations Sarah. Hope you enjoy the ipod. That will give you something to do while you tackle that knee re-hab.

For some reason the party reminded me of another event that took place a few years back. Will Gadd held a slide show in town and he asked us if he could do an after hours session at the Seattle gym. He got the ok, but we limited it to him and a few of our staff. Of course that didn’t stick very well and there was a hanger-on climber who got in on the deal. As the story was told to me, this particular non-staff groupie decided to take a few wild whippers off the long lead wall, while not clipping the last draws. I don’t know what he was thinking at the time. If you want to impress someone tell a good joke or something. Don’t go whipping off one of my walls just for show. Damn it.

In any event, during one of these show dog falls, and in mid flight, he grabbed for the rope, which is a natural reaction when getting ready to hit the end. In this case, as he went for the grab, there was a loop in the rope. When the rope snapped tight two of his fingers got caught in the loop and what do you know! One finger, down to the first knuckle, and a partial section of the next finger popped off like a champagne cork. Those puppies were gone like greased lightning, and they were nowhere to be found. Those were the days of dirty gravel for the landing surface. It would be hard to find any body part in that stuff.

Off to the emergency room he went and I got a call sometime early the next morning about the incident. At first I thought they were just messing with me. Of all the wacky stuff that has happened in the gyms over the years, this one was difficult to believe. What confirmed it for me was when an employee named Phoebe opened the gym the next day. She was unaware of the incident the night before when she did her usual clean up routine before opening. Well guess what she found while doing the rounds? I wish I could have been there just to hear the squeal come out of her when she found that partial finger with that overnight grayish hue. It probably looked like something you buy at Archie Mcphee’s on Halloween.

I don’t know if the finger got returned to its rightful owner, but from what I hear, it didn’t get put back to use. It is probably sitting in a formaldehyde filled jar somewhere. I guess there is a lesson learned. Don’t be grabbing for the rope during a long whipper fall. In fact, don’t take any long whipper falls unless all else fails. Keep pulling.

Rich

Posted on - 27 Jan 09 | A FEW FOR THE ROAD | View/Leave comments | Read on

HELLO TO 2009

A couple of weeks ago I went from putting chains on my tires, desperately trying to avoid Seattle drivers who have not a clue about driving in bad weather, to sitting on a beach in 85 degree weather on a Zhihuatanejo beach watching fireworks over the bay. Not a bad way to bring in the New Year. The contrast in Mexico is always intriguing, if you can avoid the drunken Americans making fools out of themselves. As I was watching the fireworks lighting up the sky I also noticed the police force and military strolling the beaches to protect the tourists from suspecting kidnappers and thieves. I have been to Mexico several times but I was not accustomed to seeing tanks guarding entrances to beaches. On one hand I appreciated the protection, but on the other hand, the fact that I needed it bothered me. Ah, but did it interfere with my margarita routine? No way. If I were to sum up the differences in culture I can point to the American tourists who carted her dog down to Mexico, for what reason I cannot explain. She was standing on the street side with the dog on a leash and a poop bag. The dog looked like it hadn’t missed a meal in its entire life, with a grooming that I couldn’t even afford. I glanced around and noticed some locals looking at her with total dismay. If I could read their minds I could only imagine what they were thinking. Why is that crazy gringo picking up that dog’s poop?

You must understand that in the first place Mexicans don’t emotionalize their pets into a something they are not. If you would put that woman’s dog aside a Mexican dog you would get a striking difference between a dog that gets treated better than most third world kids in terms of food and grooming, and probably education, and the Mexican dog with ribs showing and trying to avoid the next swift kick in the head to shew it away from the local kitchen. A Mexican dog will never have the cozy feeling of a $40.00 leash latched onto a special collar with its master walking behind picking up its poop. Nor will it have the luxury of its master throwing baby talk its way as if it was an only child with a silver spoon in its mouth. Just an observation on cultural differences.

I am sure that many of you, along with myself, wonder what is in store for us in 2009. There is a lot of uncertainty and concerns about our jobs and the health of our nation. When ever I catch myself worrying about such things I take myself back to Kenya and our time with the villagers who had little to their names besides a mud hut and some home made toys for the kids to play with. I remember the big bright smiles of the kids as they romped around the countryside in their bare feet. They had nothing yet they seemed so alive and cheerful. Those people didn’t have 401(k)s and mortgages to worry about. Maybe that is why they live their lives in the moment so much better than we can. I wouldn’t trade my life for that life style but it just helps me put things in perspective. We pretty much have it better than most in the world no matter what the situation is.

Remember, whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can’t, you are correct. Keep pulling.

Rich

Posted on - 11 Jan 09 | A FEW FOR THE ROAD | View/Leave comments | Read on

GOOD BYE TO 2008

So this is Christmas, and a Happy New Year, as sung by my favorite Beatle, John Lennon. Christmas to me brings back those family memories from my child hood. I remember when I was 5 years old, desperately trying to stay up late on Christmas so I could get a peek at Santa sorting out all the excellent gifts that I was going to get. I would position myself in my Mom’s big chair with a direct view of the Christmas tree, primed and determined to stay awake for Santa’s delivery. Of course I would fade quickly into a somber snooze giving my Mom amble time to put the gifts under the tree. I would feel this tapping on my shoulder and it would be my Mom waking me up to go to bed. I would jolt up and look around and to my utter dismay and disappointment I realized I fell asleep on the job. I missed Santa.

The thing I like about Christmas is the gathering of the family and friends and expressing my gratitude through gifts, sharing and some good stories. I really do get into the art of giving a gift that takes some thought and has some meaning behind it. Gift cards and a few bucks from Grandma has its place but some effort should be put into that gift that really connects to the person that you are giving it to. Any way, I enjoy the season and the gathering of friends and family.

I am off to Mexico for a few days and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa. And since I will get back after the 1st of January, I wish you all a Happy New Year. Keep Pulling.

Rich

Posted on - 26 Dec 08 | A FEW FOR THE ROAD | View/Leave comments | Read on

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