Hey Everyone!
Continuing our trend of stripping/setting all in one colour, this week was all Green Routes!
Hayden’s New Helmet is not WCB approved and features a self-beard trimming chinstrap made of duct tape – **No Hayden’s were injured in the making of this blog… No WCB rules were broken either.
Kyle and I started the week off on Friday night, as we do, with the stripping of old routes – Nothing special happened Friday, 8 routes and 3/4 problems came down in an attempt to round up as many green holds as we could! We worked fast and got out of the gym just before 1am which is a little more reasonable then some other nights… like Saturday.
One thing worth noting before we move on – The night schedule isn’t that bad for us, but the one thing that really sucks is really unfortunate is the number of “dead routes” throughout Saturday. During the regular year, we strip/wash after closing on Sunday, and then begin setting and washing again on Monday morning, which always means no “dead ropes”. Unfortunately that’s not a luxury we have right now, so if you are someone who climbs on Saturday mornings we apologize!
Hayden snuck this photo of me setting on the ABC.
Saturday night was a really great night of setting, one of the most enjoyable nights of setting i’ve had in a while! Hayden, Kyle and I were all in, everyone had a few “Im psyched on that” routes to set which always makes the night a little more enjoyable!
Kyle’s selfie while setting the Green on the Main Event.
Kyle started his night on the Main Event, replacing the green 12b. The new one is with out a doubt MY favourite route in the gym! This climb is a real gem if you ask me, comprised mostly of slightly in-cut edges and mini jugs this new 12b takes a wondering line up the steepest section of the Main Event. This climb features solid, consistent movement the entire way up the wall, no real cruxes, and no points where it “ramps up”. There is a “big” move about half way up between two in-cut holds, but when we moved dynamically we could all easily touch the next hold with our elbows! We have been trying to keep the moves less big and powerful recently – but we still want people to be comfortable doing a wide variety of movements, and sometimes, outside you just have to GO!
Kyle ended his night by setting a sweet 5.7 on the Pillar – “building-block” moves on super solid holds take the climber out a slightly steeper section on this wall, the key is to keep your hips in and your weight on your feet to conserve arm strength!
Hayden tackled two routes last night, a 5.10d on the “Turret” and a new 5.11b in the “Chimney”! The first route he set was the 10d on the Turret using a bunch of “olive” coloured holds from So Ill and Teknik. This climb is technical and crimpy, with sloping footholds and balance-y, lateral movements. As is usual at Base5, efficiency through the bottom sections is key, the wall gets steep at the top, and several tough moves on mediocre holds lead you too a massive jug, and a powerful move guarding the finish chains! This is a great route for warming up if your strong, or if its at your level a really good project to work on your technique!
Hayden’s second route, the 11b in the Chimney is another good one! engaging movement on flat-sloping edges takes you through the steepest section of the wall with a little help from the walls “natural” holds, the crux is navigating the balance-y top-section!
I set 4 new routes on Saturday night, 5.10c in the back, 5.9 on the Turret, 5.9 on the ABC, and 5.11a on the ABC.
I started off by replacing the 10b next to the “crack in the back” with a slightly harder route for all the climbers who are looking to move into the 11a grade. This 10c starts out fairly simple, with some nice cross moves on good holds. The middle section of the route will test how creative your grip positions are, as you work your way through weird “knobby” holds, remembering to use the “natural” feet, until your at the roof. Big holds take you over the lip and interesting movement, requiring more use of the “naturals” for your feet, take you too the top! Up next was the 5.9 on the back side of the Turret, close to the Auto-Belay. This route is a little more technical then the “Blue 5.9” in the back , but it has way better hand holds and generous foot options. the crux sequence is moving through the two “mint green” horns about midway up the route. The key is to find the left foot holds out on the vertical wall, this gets you in the most secure position to move through the next few grips.
Becaaauuuuse…. I am at risk of writing a 1000 word post – the 5.9 is a great little warm-up for the seasoned climbers, or a perfect footwork trainer for the newer climbers, smaller holds teach you to get your weight on your feet! The 11a on the ABC is very sequence dependent, this tick-tacky climb brings a “new feel” to this steep little section of wall. Lots of feet and intermediate holds will make a wide variety of people happy about this route!
Tonight and Monday Matt, Kyle and I will be working on the centre of the Main bouldering wall!
Stay tuned!
Thanks for Reading!