Fall is on its way, the trees are starting to change color. This morning was the first morning I had to ride into work with tights, full finger gloves and a light hat to stay warm, so what does this mean…SENDING TEMPS!!! When the rock is nice and cool/cold you get much more friction with your hands and feet pressed/pulling against it. Many of the hardest routes require these types of conditions just to keep from falling off, a very delicate balance.

Unfortunately Boulder, CO has had a fair amount of flooding and all trails and open space are closed (road into Boulder Canyon could be closed for as long as a month) and much too dangerous with rock fall daily so we’ve been in the gym…a lot…we are definitely into the grind of training. 2 months in and Jill and I are both starting to feel very strong, we’ve been keeping healthy, eating very well, training hard and getting great rest. Before the floods Jill practically sent (i.e. climbing to the top of a route on lead with zero falls) a hard 5.11c slab that she’s been eye’ing for awhile.

2 months into my goal of climbing 5.13a and I still haven’t been on or even picked a route to project (you don’t train for a marathon by running marathons…well most people don’t anyway). I’ve been working on building up my endurance for pulling hard move after hard move, otherwise I would never get more then one burn or lap at a time because I just wouldn’t be fit enough and my fingers couldn’t take the pressure. However I think I am getting very close!!! Our last outside climbing day Jill and I BOTH did 8 pretty hard pitches (4X 5.11c, 2X 5.11d, 2X 5.12a) and once the soil is stable enough for the trails and open space to open I will put a toprope on some short 5.13 routes at Frisky Cliff in Boulder Canyon…if it ever opens and start trashing myself silly..we will see how it goes, if the weather holds up and my strength holds up.