Looking to Train or Climb Outside in Grand Junction?

If you are looking to increase your fitness level, whether it is for climbing, biking, skiing, hiking or whatever, then you should consider coming to see me at the Grand Junction Climbing Center. I offer drop in training sessions that will increase your strength and conditioning levels, which will in turn allow you to feel better physically and mentally while you are doing what you love.
OR
We can plan a time to head outside and work on your climbing skills or even learn some of the climbing  basics for top roping, lead climbing, trad climbing and even establishing new routes!

Just contact me at the gym on a Tuesday or Thursday from 3:45-6pm or through the blog and we can start a conversation to get your feeling great!

Get Psyched!

piz : )

Red Rock Rendezvous Class Notes

Hope to see you all out in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend.
I will be teaching an Intro to Traditional Climbing Class on Saturday and Sunday.
It's not to late to sign up and get in on the action!

Here is the breakdown of the class that you will be missing with me!

1 Introduction to the Gear and Racking

- Cams vs. Nuts vs. Tricams vs. Ballnuts
- Carabiners and Lockers
- Slings, Harnesses, Helmets and Shoes
- Racking

2 Using the Gear for Lead Climbing
- Placing Nuts
- Placing Cams
- Think of Your Partner Too!

3 Building and Breaking Down Anchors - SRENE/ERNEST
- Building Anchors for Top Roping
- Building Anchors while on a Route
- Breaking Down your Anchor

4 Risks, Stress, and Decision Making
- Bigwall/Multipitch Etiquette
- Preclimb Decisions
- On Route Decisions
- Falling
- Risk Comes in Many Forms (health, rock danger, gear danger, weather, on route hazards (ledges/traverses/other climbers)
- There is Always Tomorrow : )
5 Safety
- Climbing Again Tomorrow is the Number One Priority!
- Commands
- Pay Attention to the Weather
- This Route Sure isn’t What We’d Imagined!

Also a day of climbing with me will be auctioned off on Saturday night as a fundraiser for the American Alpine Club. I will make it a day that you will never forget!

Get out and enjoy the great temperatures and the changing seasons!

piz : )

Grand Junction Climbing Center Bouldering Comp!

Fundraiser for Western Colorado Climbers’ Coalition

Black Light Bouldering Competition

Who:                  Everyone is welcome, come one come all!
Where:              Grand Junction Climbing Center
When:                Saturday April 14th, 2012
Time:                 Comp from 5-8pm
Party?                Yes!!!!!!        After party with band from 8pm-12am

This time I will ask you to get inside and have an adventure!
Other reasons to join the comp and the fun is that CAMP, SCARPA, Arcteryx and Sterling have all donated prizes in addition to other donors. There will be a shoe demo, a circus trick boulder problem catagory and tons of new problems for everyone.

Come and donate and help us make a new parking lot up in Unaweep Canyon! I will see you there.

piz : )

Red Rock Rendezvous 2012

Have you ever wanted to climb with Rob Pizem? Well, here is your chance! Whether it is sport, traditional/crack, bouldering or even bagging desert towers your chance is near! The 2012 Red Rock Rendezvous and the American Alpine Club have decided that I will be auctioned off for a day of climbing. Along with getting out on the stone, you will receive a goodie package from my sponsors! Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA and Sterling Rope will be hooking you up with way more than stickers and t-shirts!
Hope to see you on Saturday night at the festival when the auction occurs. I promise that we will have a safe and great time together and I bet that we can make one of your wishes come true when it comes to rock climbing.

piz : )

More Crack

 Ben getting launched up the crack!

 Lunch in the sun and a person/pillar.

 Me racking up for the big game!

 Lunch with brian and ben. We saught out the shade on this hot one.

 Ben focusing before the first crux. There are two green aliens above him and when I whipped on the gear earlier, I blew one of them out. Why do I always choose climbs that can hurt me?

 John telling us stories.

 Frannie being the best puppy ever!

 Brian loving this crack.

 John and Brian were way too cool for me this day.

Could desert cracks get any better? I think not.
Just a few more days of my spring break 2012.
Almost able to send the project and having fun getting prepared for the endurance and power required to do it.
Get outside and have an adventure.

piz : )

WCCC Bouldering Night a Success

 On March 7th, 2012 we planned a night where anyone and everyone could come out to boulder at Riggs Hill in Grand Junction. The local park hosts a few boulders with problems for beginners and experienced boulderers. The local high school team came outside to join in the fun. For some of them it was their first time outside and away from the the colored tape of the gym. After a little warming up and figuring things out the crew was trying out moves, supporting each other and having a good old time. Pads lined the base of the boulders and folks learned to spot and had a chance to top out some pretty tall problems. Great job everyone and I look forward to seeing you all at the next bouldering night.

Two hours after work, plenty of time to have some fun!
piz : )

Updating gear has never been so EASY!

 CAMP just sent me some new Photon Wire carabiners. It is time to upgrade the rack and make it hyper light and super easy to clip!

 In between working boulder problems, I was kicking it and changing out my old Nano's which I love for the newest and most kick butt light weight full size biners in the world. It was a rough day.

 They come nicely colored to match your rack in 8 packs. Ah yeah!

 Before I switched things out.

Maybe I need to take some more time and start cleaning all that sand out of my camming units. A quad set of cams takes a lot of TLC.

Get outside and have an adventure!
piz : )

News: Climbing festivals that I will be attending

At the end of March is the long awaited Red Rock Rendezvous climbing festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I will be teaching 2 clinics at the festival because SCARPA has generously decided to give me the chance to teach!
I am so happy to be a part of the festival and am looking forward to getting to meet new climbers and enjoy some great routes. My goal is to have everyone in my clinics take away something that they can begin to use immediately to improve their climbing experience.
Also, a day climbing with me will be auctioned off to the highest bidder! The American Alpine Club is sponsoring this and you will get a SUPER swag package including a AAC membership. Should that be YOU, we can do climb a tower, go cragging at a sport or traditional area or even loose some skin bouldering! I would even be excited to establish a new route with YOU! Come to the festival and be my next partner.
See you there.
http://classic.mountaingear.com/events/default.aspx?EventID=30

Later this year in September, City of Rocks is hosting their first Idaho Climbers Festival. I will be teaching and giving a slide show over the long weekend. There is a trail running race, clinics, bouldering and all kinds of climbing to be done in the perfect scene of the giant granite boulders and outcrops at the City!
Be sure to check it out and make a point of joining us for some more great times rock climbing and sitting around the campfire at one of America's coolest crags.
I can't wait to see you there too!
http://www.idahomountainfest.com/2012/03/athlete-spotlight-rob-pizem.html

Get planning you next adventures, so you can fit them all in!!!
piz : )

Hiking or Scouting or Having Fun

 Rowan had a huge grin on his face while hiking with dad yesterday after work!

 We did however find some boulders to chek out!

Maybe this one could have some sweet crimps to play on?
Get outside and have an adventure!
piz : )

Poux

 Searching for new sandstone cracks on a cold day!

 What is that thing on my neck you say? That is a WindXrtreme, It is a neck gator that blocks the wind, harmful UV and can be turned into 7 different pieces and fits in your chest pocket! Super slim and sleek and one of my favorite pieces when the temperatures are cold or when its windy or anytime! Check them out and buy yourself one and ski and hike or whatever with it!

 Old Ben playing at the Poux.

 Limestone climbing on a COLD winter day.

 My blaze orange Arcteryx Atom Jacket keeping me warm on the chilly stone over the Colorado river.

 High stepping to success.

 A cave with a couple of lines that I need to try! They look so fun.

 A nice short approach and a pretty good view too.

 The Fault wall is kick butt and one of the best angled walls that I have ever seen! Just like a training wall at a gym.

 Otto

Mike cruising some moves at the end of the day,

It's never too cold to rock climb so get out after it!

piz : )

The Piz List

The Piz List

This is a collection of Western Slope climbs that will test your abilities in all aspects of climbing. It has a variety of climbs on a variety of rock type is is by no means a list of testpieces. It allows you to go and climb some slab, sport, crack and multipitch routes in and around the Grand Junction area. Some of the routes are my own, but most routes have been here for years and are totally classic.

The point is not so much that you can tick them all off, but more so that you can climb a bunch of diffrent stlyes and have some fun doing it. Some of the climbs are adventures in themselves and a great way to get you out of your comfort zone. For the most part all the climbs are in the 5.10/11 range with a few harder and a few easier. I was attempting to give that level of climber a list of things to go and try and see what they can do.

The most important thing is not so much completing the list, but to build and master the skills needed to complete the list. Then you can go out and climb anywhere and have a good time whether you are clipping bolts or putting in gear. I included boulder problems because there are some great ones around town that allow you to work on some of those skills that I am trying to get you to work on.

Here is a list of the skills that I intend to be focused on while doing all these routes.

-footwork

-crimping

-route finding

-balance
-all kinds of jams
-endurance
-power
-relaxing on route
-core tension
-adventure
-fear
-heights/getting off the deck
-rope work
-clipping bolts
-placing gear
-wide stuff
-and a few more

Most or all of the climbs are located on Mountainproject.com and are close to town. Just ask for some beta and I can help you out too. Have fun and let me know how things go. I hope to bump into you as you are chasing down these climbs!

Slab

1 Bullet Hole Rock Slab problems/TR’s

2 Menudo on We at Dynamite Shacks

3 Circle Square and Triangle Colorado National Monument

4 Simple mind at Sunday Wall/Unaweep

5 Optical illusion at Sunday Wall/Unaweep

6 Catch a Wave at Sunday Wall/Unaweep

7 Cro-Magnons from Space at Mothers/Unaweep

8 High Noon/upper Mighty Mouse Wall Unaweep

9 Evergreen/Upper Mighty Mouse Wall Unaweep

10 Private Idaho/ Upper Mighty Mouse Wall Unaweep

Crack

1NeverCry Wolf Liberty Cap

2 Cool Breeze Liberty Cap

3 F/S Liberty Cap

4 Steppin On it Liberty Cap

5 Osiris Liberty Cap

6 100ft of Hands Tiara

7Flapper Tiara

8 Soren Roof Tiara

9 S Crack Escalante

10 Reddnek Justice Escalante

Sport

1 80 Feet of Meat Rifle

2 Choss Family Rifle

3 Fire Arms Rifle

4 Rumor Has It Rifle

5 Liquid Charcoal Bangs Canyon

6 Left most sport route Spaceballs Wall (Soon to be posted on Mt Project)

7 Jesses Slab (about 5 routes to teh right of the left most route) Spaceballs Wall

8 Rowans Arete Cave Buttress Mothers

9 Cromagnons from Space  Cave Buttress

10 Pumporama Rifle

Multipitch

1 Medicine Man Colorado National Monument

2 Kissing Couple Colorado National Monument

3 Scenic Cruise Black Canyon

4 Doppleganger Unaweep Lower Mothers

5 Echoes Sunday Wall Unaweep

6 In Search of Suds Canyonlands Washer Woman

7 Spec One Defecating Monk Colorado National Monument (Ask me for Beta)

8 Ribbed Buttress Colorado National Monument

9 That’s All I’m Asking for  Unaweep Wall

10 Sweet Sunday Serenade Sunday Wall Unaweep

Get outside and have some fun!

piz : )