Leavenworth 5/8/10

More video and pics coming once Devo posts them up. Felt good to plug gear and climb slab for the first time in about 10 months. Should help a lot with the head game and of course, the footwork.

-Josh

May Day comp at Stoneworks

While waiting for scores some people had fun drawing on the parking lot with chalk.

One problem solved...

End of an Era

The Sentra is dead. Blogging will have to be put on hold until I can get a new vehicle. I will get the comp stuff up from this last weekend when I have some time.

-Josh

Rain, rain, go away...

A long week... with a good end

So my week started out with an ok day at work, can't complain, but the night ended with me eating something that I apparently shouldn't have. Of course I didn't know this until 4am when I woke up sweating and with stomach pains. I new what it was right away, food poisoning. I'd had it before, so I figured I just go chill in the bathroom until my body took care of the problem then I'd get back to sleep. But no, it took until 6 for the nastiness to get started and the first wave didn't stop for half an hour. Yes, I said first wave. I managed to pass back out after this, but when I woke up a few hours later my body decided it hadn't quite got it all. It also decided that the other direction was the best way to go this time. So after all this, I can barely get any water down, no food whatsoever, and I'm starting to get really light headed. So I phoned in some help and got myself to a hospital.

After they initially check me out the get me hooked up to an IV to get me re-hydrated. They proceed to pump 3 bags of fluid (each about 2 liters) into me over about 2 hours! The older nurse told me that was only the second time she's ever seen someone need that much fluid. I started feeling better right away, but it was another 8 hours until I could start to eat any food again. And by any food I mean a single bagel, barely. The next day food started to go down a little better, but I didn't start eating normally again until friday. My stomach is still giving me some trouble today. Hopefully this doesn't last much longer.

So in an attempt to help my stomach, and my sanity, I headed out to Little Si with Fritz and B-Hops today.

It felt good to be pulling down on some rock and I felt good considering what I had been through this week. I felt super solid after a warm-up run on Aborigine and decided the next step was to go straight after my mini-project, Hang Out to Dry. I say mini-project, because this was going to be my third day on it, but was also only going to be my third try. The lower, technical half went much smoother than the previous week. After chilling at the midway rest for a good bit, I headed into the upper, power section. Today I had some pull left over and made the crux move just fine to almost sketch off two moves later on a biggish move to a jug, but I managed to just latch it with two and a half fingers. Thank you +4! Glad to put this one down, super fun route, will definitely get on it again.

Feeling good about the send, I chilled out for a while and watched/belayed for B-Hops and Alex on some climbs. I also started to think about what was next. I was thinking longer. So after a good while I got on Technorigine. This was a climb I tried once back in august, but was unable to do at the time because of my shoulder. With my shoulder back in shape, I was at least able to hang through the upper moves to get the beta sorted out. Psyched to get back on it and I've got the plan to train for the distance... but I have not forgotten about the boulder project in Gold Bar! So much climbing to get done!

See you on the rocks.

-Josh

Oops!

So I've reverted to my lazy ways and haven't been posting. On the other hand I've been doing a fair bit of climbing. Two days bouldering at Leavenworth, one at Gold Bar, and another at Little Si doing the first real rope climbing I've done in about 6 months. Long story short, I've gotten most of my power back, but my endurance/power endurance still has a long way to go to get back to where I was. Fortunately I know how to fix this, and it just involves climbing more and for longer. Also, I haven't forgotten about that shoe review. I got them to be mainly an indoor pair and haven't be climbing in the gym much, but that is about to change, so it should be coming up soon.

See you on the rocks!

-Josh

This makes 9 pairs on rotation, I think...

New shoes showed up today! Look for a review sometime next week after I get a chance to really break them in.

-Josh

Making cool cooler

Filling in the gaps

So I went on a binge, and I'm watching a nice retro-pair on eBay too. Shoes are the one part of my wardrobe that I've more or less ignored over the last several years. However with the people I hang around with now, I need to step my game up a little.

-Josh

Four years later...

And they're still showing me love! It may be a hole in the wall, but this is the gym that gave me my start, so it will always feel like home. Plus you can see some of the first routes I ever set in this shot.

-Josh

Facelift

Thanks to Izzy for my new banner. It's the dopeness!

-Josh

Sunday Session

In case you didn't hear...

Finally got the banner at the gym. So psyched on how well the kids did and how much effort they put in to bring this thing home. Almost feels like there's no time to celebrate; We're head down into rope season now. Fortunately the kids are ready and willing to carry over their hard work and success to the next challenge. Look out, VW is looking for a two-for!

-Josh

Play, Dance, Repeat.

So BT's new album, These Hopeful Machines, came out this week. These hopeful Machines is the follow up to his modern classical masterpiece, This Binary Universe. This album sees him return to the dance roots that has made him one of the top producers in the industry, while keeping much of the more mature sound he'd built over the last several years. The result, an almost 2 hour journey through electronic soundscapes that should go down as one of the best dance albums ever made. Here's a track by track breakdown:

Suddenly - He hits you straight out of the gate with the albums big single (although it was the third to be released). And why not? It's a massive pop-rock anthem. With sweet synths and catchy guitar hooks, including a simple but strong bridge, how can you not want to throw this song on repeat? But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

The Emergency - This track is a call back to his old trance style, but is laced with veins of his newer work. It would have fit in well on one of his older albums, and would probably have been a single. But on this album it comes across as filler. That is not meant as an insult to this song, but a testament to how strong this album is.

Every Other Way - Next he slows things down with the albums second single. The songs starts out with a beautiful acoustic part, then slowly builds up a smooth electronic base that gives it a solid groove that still makes you want to move. I would be seriously surprised if this song doesn't find its way into soundtracks. It takes a strange, but welcome, turn at the end into glitch heaven which leads it perfectly into the next track. Take a listen below (sans outro, couldn't find one with it).

The Light in Things - This has got to be the catchiest song on the whole album! You know, the kind of song where even though you don't know the words you can still hear the singer in your head. This is partly due to BT making a track that has the best of what turn of the century trance had to offer and mixed it with a modern sound, and partly due to the fantastic vocals of JES. Take a listen, I dare you not to move.

Rose of Jericho - This, the first single off the album, was released over the summer and was used in BT's iPhone app Sonifi. This is a flat out trance anthem. Songs don't get much more fun than this. It takes a very simple melody then lets it play in chaos. Come on, bust out those glow sticks, you know you want to!

Forget Me - Yet another single worthy track. This may be my favorite off the album. A fantastic pop-rock powerhouse. Plus the part where his 6 year old daughter sings the final chorus fits perfectly with the feel of song without burying it with cuteness.

A Million Stars - To start out the second disc, BT gets straight back to his trance roots again. Simple, but sweet is the m.o. of this track. It should be making the rounds at the clubs this year.

Love Can Kill You - I'd never thought I'd say this, but in this case, a pop-rock track that's only 5 minutes long is too short. But on an album where the average song length is about 9 1/2 minutes, that is exactly the case. An extremely well crafted song that is just at home on the dance floor as the radio.

Always - When I first heard this song I thought I was listening to a new David Bowie song. If that's not enough to make you want to listen to it then I just don't know what is.

Le Nocturne de Lumière - A fantastic, semi-ambient, glitch number. It evokes some of the same feelings that This Binary Universe did. This is the kind of song that is perfect for driving through the city a night.

The Unbreakable - It starts out sounding like a classic, end-of-movie song from the 80's, but build to a classic lighter trance song. Yet another song that should find it's way into some soundtracks.

The Ghost in You - Last, but not least, is a cover of a song originally done by The Psychedelic Furs. A mostly acoustic track that is highlighted by soft synth textures that gain more prominence in the later minutes of the song. A perfect and fitting end to a dance floor dominating album.

All in all, this is one of the best albums of any genre that I've heard in the last decade. I seriously recommend adding this album to you collection if you are a fan of good music, regardless of style. If you love electronica, then this is a can't miss album. I'll definitely have this on repeat for weeks to come.

-Josh

Why yes! I am a raging dork!

So I recently started playing Magic: The Gathering after over a decade away from the game. Not even remotely regretting this decision. The new expansion set, Worldwake, came out today, so I went and blew my monthly budget for cards on the fancy Fat Pack shown above. Plus, I competed in the pre-release tournament for the set last weekend. Got totally owned, but still felt like it was a decent showing for being out of it so long. Kind of like climbing 5.10 after not climbing for over a decade... ok, it's nothing like that... I'm just going to go hide in the corner and play with my cards now.

-Josh

Coming Soon!

So I'm at least a week out (read as: probably 2-3 weeks) from having the videos of the coaching side of my job put together. In the meantime enjoy this little vid of Syd, the reigning female youth-d champion, crushing a 5.11d out our 60' roof. She did this for fun after finishing her drills early.

Post-birthday Thoughts

So, as a little birthday present to myself, I've decided to open up my blog to non-climbing related topics. I know this is a radical idea for a blog titled "The Adventures of That Climber Guy", but then again, not all my adventures are climbing related. To get things rolling I'm going to start by talking about that life long adventure that is known as family.

Most of you know that I lost my mother to cancer back in 1997. What most of you don't know is that I, more or less, lost contact with my mother's side of the family afterwards. I was fortunate enough on my cross country move to stay with my aunt Mary and uncle Greg, with a surprise visit from my cousin Emily. Then, they day before my birthday, my uncle John sends me a friend request on Facebook. Through him I've been able to find most of the family members I have seen or heard from in over a decade. As someone who has had trouble in the past with keeping up long distance relationships, this is a positive trend I'd like to keep going.

-Josh

The Job, Part 1: Route Setting

Thanks to oldguy.com for the idea of using videos instead of that junk I stoop to calling prose.

So I lied...

Ok, it's been a month since I said it would be two weeks until I made the first post on my new job. The post will be coming in the near future. I've been distracted by other things. One of which is my newly regained ability to climb. I'm horribly out of shape, at least compared to how I was climbing before, but it's coming back bit by bit. I'm hoping that once the Tacoma gym opens up I'll be able to train like I did back home. The picture above really does no justice to the size of these walls. I'm pretty sure I can't touch the lip of that red roof from the ground, maybe after the padding is put in. So soon, get psyched!

See you on the rocks.

-Josh