May 31, 2013

Adventure Race Advice

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

I learned a few things about doing adventure races. Please take my advice with a grain of salt, as I only did one. These are in no particular order:
  1. Tie your shoes tight with double knots. (the mud can suck them right off your feet)
  2. Pace yourself on the hills (once you are out of breath, good luck regaining it in the next obstacle)
  3. Get away from the pack (they will bring you down if you are attempting to make your best time)
  4. Don't ever stop moving forward. (it is amazing how fast you will tire and not want to move again)
  5. Wear quick drying long pants and tight shirt (crawling through a concrete pipe in your shorts will destroy the skin on your knees!)
  6. Don't carry anything during the race (they will provide water, so no camel backs needed and don't worry about sunglasses)
  7. Listen to the people at the obstacles and do what they say (I had to go through a pipe twice because I didn't listen (you were supposed to go through feet first and I went head first))
  8. Look for the weakest person at each obstacle. (They won't be doing their job properly and you will be able to get through faster because they are not good at what they are doing)
  9. Avoid the mud at all costs! (by getting into the deep mud you will slow down and use more energy)
  10. Make as few moves as possible when moving through mud whether it is crawling or climbing through mud pits.
  11. You don't need to be polite while you are racing. It is a race after all. Don't wait for someone to go ahead of you through an obstacle, watching them do poorly or get stuck doesn't help you make better time.
  12. Finally, know when the course is about to end, so that you have a little extra energy to run hard to the finish. Lots of people are dead tired at the end and it is an easy place to pass a lot of other racers.

Gaunlet Race Recap

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

I ran an adventure race a little while back. It was called the Gauntlet.

It involved a 5k obstacle course in which you had to crawl, jump ascend and descend hills and other obstacles and even get a little bit dirty.
Waves of competitors left the starting area every 5 minutes and each person wore a timer on their number.

Rowan and Jane and I went to the race on a beautiful morning and I was not sure what to expect. The course was a converted motor cross race track in the rolling clay hills outside of town. It was dry except for the massive water trucks that were dousing the race course and the hills that we had to go up and down.

Since I had never done something like this I wasn't sure how to warm up so I just did my typical climbing workout warm up along with some short running bursts. The group of competitors included cross-fit folks to stay at home moms and everyone in between. About 400 people came out to play and in the end I was able to take 2nd in my age group and 8th overall.

It was a good time and made me feel like I was a teenager again playing in the woods and streams behind my parents house.
 Pre-race time with the boy.
 The 400+ crew of racers.
 Grand Junction style energy foods
 Yeah, do I really have to identify what this is?
 Jane and Rowan at the start.
 Me at the start of my heat. I didn't get the memo about wearing pink.
 Starting up the first hill just a few feet in front of the starting line.
 All alone on the course.
 Near the end of the race and still gaining and all alone.
 Wearing some mud just before the finish.
 Under the fence and into the ditch for some more running.
 At the end of the race and looking for mud.
Rowan and I after changing clothes.

Would I do it again. Sure! Especially with Jane and my two boys!!! I can't wait till they are old enough.

Quickie: The New Baby is Coming and I haven't had Time to Write

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

 Last hike of the year with my outdoor club.
 Jane and Rowan on a hike with dad.
 Throwing rocks in the base of a waterfall.
 Uncle Clay came to visit and play with Rowan.
 I put the boy to work in the fields.
 Found a snake in a crack the other day.
Top of the world with my brother in law Clay!

May 23, 2013

Photographers: What I learn from them. Keith Ladzinski

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

I will talk about my time (way back when) with Keith Ladzinski. I met him through my recent climbing partner at the time, Mike Anderson. Mike and I had met in St. George having both been rained out of climbing big walls in Zion and decided that we should get out and climb sometime. Well, that relationship worked out really well for both of us to climb a lot and do some amazing routes together.

Anyway, since Mike lived in Colorado Springs at the time and happened to know this guy named Keith who shot photos, we ended having him join us quite a bit. Keith was awesome to travel with because he had some incredible stories to tell. He is a genuine storyteller and can weave a tale so perfectly that I always awaited our time together. As for his shooting ability, yeah he was good. really good. I never left a shoot with him wondering if he "got it." It was more of a question of when would I see the magic that he was able to capture.

He did have his learning curve though. The initial shoots would kind of be a junk show. Slow jugging, lots of time spent rigging , poor rope work, and he often had all kinds of gadgets hanging off him, stuffed into his pockets or falling out. It was great though.

What I learned from "dot com," as that became his nickname is that he was there to take care of business. I like that about Keith. It is guaranteed that you will get an amazing photo when I with him. It is also guaranteed that he will stop at no end to get that photo!

It's been a while since we have shot or hung out because he is mega world traveler these days but I would love to grace his camera sometime soon.

Thanks Keith and keep killing it behind the lens!

 Back in the day with Mike Anserson and Dan Dewell
 Penitente
The Dunn Route

May 21, 2013

Something Funny

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme
 This is Joshua Tree Climbing Salve. Thanks SCARPA
 It seems that I am always hiking uphill with a  heavy pack!
 Unaweep and Ben going for the send on Beam Me Down.
I am so glad that this is finally over!!

The Waiting Game

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

The last two weeks I have been getting ready for the coming of my second son. That has meant getting the diapers and clothes and crib ready. That has meant preparing the infant car seat and making sure that we have bottles for feeding and bibs for eating. That has meant that I have been closer to home, too. I have taken care of the swamp cooler on the house, cut the grass, burned lots of brush from the yard and attempted to weed the beds at the front of the house.

Other than my training sessions before work, climbing has been limited to two photo shoots. That is OK, because I have needed a break period to prevent injuries and a general rest for my body. That doesn't mean that I have not been itching to get after it, not all all. I have taken time to sit down and plan some mini adventures over a few long weekends. I will head up into the alpine zone and climb some granite, and as usual, I will attempt to climb new sandstone cracks around the Colorado Plateau. I am also looking forward to a trip to South America next year. (I cross my fingers to make this one happen)

With my school district lengthening the school year and with my growing family, it is beginning to be a bit more challenging to get out. I have invested in a Treadwall, which I plan to use to make sure that I maintain and progress in my climbing. Since I only have a short time to train, this is certainly the best tool in the world to have sitting in my garage. It will be set a little steeper than I would like (due to the height of my ceiling) and I don't own any holds yet, but in the end it will help me to perform when I need to on the real rock outside.

I have always said that I am not a fan of training, but I am fan of how makes me perform. Specific training over time that is directed at specific areas will always prove to be better than just going to the gym and messing around. I have spent the last (nearly) ten years working on figuring it out. Now, I will finally have the final tool to finish understanding the process.

Until then, I will anxiously await my son.

May 15, 2013

Photographers: What I learn from them.

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

So over the last few weeks, I have chipped some time out of my already busy schedule to work with a few photographers. For me I am always trying to learn from them and to find out what they are looking for in a photo, so that I can speed up the process of the shoot. If I know what they are looking for then I can help create that image and story that they are looking to tell.

I have learned over the years that every photographer is attempting to either catch that unique or special moment (be it a first ascent or an emotion) or attempting to tell a story in the image. The best photos are ones that make you think, reflect upon your own life, inspire you to go above and beyond or create emotion.

I love to be in a great photo and have been lucky to have worked with some of the best over the past 10 years.

Below are some from a guy that I just worked with for the first time. His name is Robb Reece. An former Olympic level athlete, now photographer and dad. Other than scaring the heck out of him on a 600ft tall wall, he has been able to capture some great moments in just a short amount of time. I look forward to more shoots with him.

The next photographer is Ken Redding. He has been shooting for over thirty years and it shows. He knows exactly the shot that he is looking for and has the ability to then make that shot happen. I was really impressed with his ideas and images right off the bat.
 
 
In the next few posts, I will share what I have learned from other photographers that I have worked with.
 
 





May 14, 2013

Hikes Around Grand Junction

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme
A hike in Colorado National Monument with my students.
 The first pool.
 Hiking to the first waterfall.
 Sitting on top of the first waterfall and scoping the world.
The first waterfall.

Pizem Slide Show Tonight! May 14 at 7pm Summit Canyon Mountaineering in Grand Junction, CO)

Get outside and have an adventure!
piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

Come for some stories and the dirt on what new routing is all about! I will be featuring desert first free ascents and desert first ascents that I have been apart of of the last few years.

Get some goodies too.
Top of Ottos route on a cold winter day!

May 9, 2013

Maximum Climbing Book Review

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme


Book Review: Maximum Climbing by Eric Horst

When I first read the title Maximum Climbing, it made me want to read it cover to cover as soon as I had it in my hands. Eric Horst, who I consider a climbing guru has been climbing for over thirty years and who has trained many a successful climber, has written yet another reference book for climbing that can take you to the next level.

Initially, I thought that it would be a training book that would focus more on the physical aspects of climbing, but as I dove deeper into the pages, I realized that this text was all about successfully maximizing your brain use throughout the whole process of climbing, training and even life!

Horst breaks the book down into three main parts (I have paraphrased):

1.       Your brain,

2.       How to develop your brain,

3.       Programs of brain training techniques to adopt and adapt for your own life.

Each portion offers tips/strategies for the reader to include in not only their daily lives, but especially into their climbing lives. For me, I was struck with an inner happiness that I was doing what Horst has suggested in order to live a happier life and reach my personal potential as a climber.

There are plenty of technical terms in part 1 which strengthen and detract. I know many climbers who just want the information in layman’s terms rather than the technical jargon. They trust that the author has done their homework. I am one of those guys who appreciates the technical jargon and who will use it later in life as inquiring minds want to know the why behind what we should be doing.

Part 2 is the meat of the text and should be highlighted and reread often. The topics range from self-awareness, to goal setting, to improving your concentration and focus. For many people the managing fear and behavior modification will be sections that you reread and practice over and over.

Part 3 is the chapter that brings it all together. After reading it and reflecting upon the way that I approach my climbing and life, I realized that I can find many parallels in what Horst is saying in my own life. By using goal setting, visualization before and after climbing, and having a positive mental outlook not only about sending a route, but in life you can refocus, eliminate waste and negative feelings and focus all of your mental energy on your chosen route or path.

The message of the book is simple is simple; the challenge is to live and breathe it. Horst mentions those climbers who have accomplished great things including his conversations with Todd Skinner and makes the realization that Todd’s greatness came from the way he approached life, not that he was an extraordinary athlete by birth.

In conclusion, there are three factors that make a great climber. In no particular order, I believe that there is the physical, mental and technical aspect. By not addressing all three, a climber will never reach their personal limit. This book offers the power of understanding how to harness your mental game and take it to a new level.

May 3, 2013

Last Days of Rowan as an Only Child!

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

 We met up with friends putting in the river to float a stretch of the Colorado called Westwater. Rowan enjoyed throwing rocks and chasing dogs.
 Yes he got dirty and muddy as was planned!
 The we went to check out a preschool program called the River Canyon School. That is where we saw our first Maypole and live chicken. We made candles and asteroid toys and paper airplanes.


I even played along and helped string up the Maypole. We finished the day with a picnic in the park and a BBQ.

May 2, 2013

New Route! Maroon 5

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors: Arcteryx, CAMP-USA, SCARPA, Sterling Ropes, the AAC and WIndX-treme

Here is the the first part of my new route.
The first pitch (yes, there are two with a short traverse in between them). It was a little bit dirty and really soft at the bottom, but it cleaned up after the initial attempt. You could say that the belayer needed a helmet on and had to be ready to run from exploding and falling rock! It takes gear to 3 inches and has hand jams with a few finger locks. Nothing spectacular, but it gets you to the money pitch. you rap off a tree and it goes at 5.9.
 Pitch 2 is the money. It starts with tips and sporty climbing that will have you falling below your belayer at about 8ft off the deck. Fortunately there is open space to fall into. The first moves are a bit committing and the gear feels sketchy (one .3 cam) but can be done without worry's. Then it changes into .4, .5, .75, 1 inch finger locking and lie backing. When you get to the roof, it quickly goes from 2 inch gear to baggy 3's. After that it is a easy tromp up the head wall and into the off width.

I really wanted this roof section to be .75's cause they are really hard for me but, it was nice to have cruiser big hands to deal with rather than a 13+ crux of impossible .75 inch jamming.

Thanks to Ben and Mayan for the help and willingness to entertain my new routing fever!
 Heading back at 6am for some sending and photos with Jeremiah and Mayan!
Here Mayan is getting ready to check out the big hands roof.