Indian Creek Crack Climbing

Having mumbled repeatedly about my lack of crack jamming skills, Indian Creek has long been high on my list of top climbing destinations. Despite the repeated tales of being smacked down and humbled by Indian Creek's splitter cracks, I felt a strong pull to lace up my most comfy trad shoes and give desert sandstone crack climbing a try.

Phil and I spent a week throwing ourselves at every classic we could jam our hands and feet into after flying into Grand Junction, Colorado. Despite many gobies, scratches, knicks and cramps, we made our way up classics like 3am Crack, Super Crack, Chocolate Corner and Mr. Peanut.

Hands down, my favorite climb was Deseret Moon, a 140 foot crack that slurped down every number two we shamelessly borrowed from friends and every ounce of gumption we could muster.

We stumbled into Moab for more supplies and a supposed rest day, but we grabbed our gear and headed to Wall Street in the afternoon. While Wall Street pales in comparison to Indian Creek in respects to scenery and quality of routes, it is a fun place to send a few routes, and the bumper belays pacify the most approach-adverse climbers.

Once we were completely spent, we took a spin aroung Arches National Park and headed back to Grand Junction for a true rest day tooling around the Grand Mesa. With one last day to spare, we headed to Rifle to rest the cams and clip some bolts.

It was a week well spent, and one that already has us dreaming about the next climbing trip. Check out Dan's blog for the best pics!

An itsy bitsy teeny weeny carabiner

It is hard not to want to pick up the FS Mini Wiregate Carabiner by Metolius. It's green and shiny, yes, but mostly it is amazing for its sheer lack of size. With a strength of 23 KN, this is not some silly keychain, though it would be perfect for keeping miscellaneous items on your Black Diamond Chaos. I climbed with a friend Sunday at Rumbling Bald who loved using them on each cam on her trad rack- definitely shaves off some unecessary weight.

Heavy gear is so 2001. You will be thanking us when you send your project feeling like a leaner, meaner you!

Available at Looking Glass Outfitters here

Thank you!

A Big Thank You to all who helped us celebrate our 25th anniversary! The beers were gulped, the burgers were devoured and the cupcakes depleted. Steve Longnecker's menagerie of hawks and owls were a big hit and Ron Sanga's Mount Everest Show was wonderful. Thank you to Elaina Smith, Tres Binkley, Sigg, Evolv Footwear, Mammut, Joshua Tree, Mountain Khakis, Mountain Hardwear and Darn Tough for donating time and goodies for the event. The proceeds go to the CCC to protect our Carolina climbing!

Sunday gave way to a perfect climbing day, and we hoofed it to Rumbling Bald for a great day of climbing. See you at the crag!

Looking Glass Outfitters is 25!!!

A Quarter Century and Climbing Strong!

Come help us celebrate Saturday October 24th

2-4:00 Evolv Climbing Shoe Demo with Elaina Arenz-Smith of New River Mountain Guides
Brevard Rock Gym - Brevard, NC

6:00- 9:30
Food, Drinks & Raffle to Benefit the Carolina Climbers Coalition
Raptor Show with Steve Longnecker
Mount Everest Slideshow with Ron Sanga
Looking Glass Outfitters - Pisgah Forest, NC
828.884.5854

Grab your friends and help us celebrate! Call for details!

Want to Minimize Your Carbon Footprint? Go Camping!

There is a lot of advice these days on how to minimize your carbon footprint - from composting kitchen trash to unplugging phone chargers and coffee makers. But one of the most enjoyable ways to minimize your carbon footprint can be backcountry camping. Whether headed into the woods to tick off the Art Loeb Trail, or simply spend the weekend in western NC relaxing, camping can mean a few days off for your gas chugging vehicle and countless other carbon producing habits you may have. Your carbon footprint will be minimal because:

• Less water consumption since the great outdoors does not flush the toilet or run the dishwasher
  
• Less electricity by using the sun to guide your days
• Less fuel consumption running errands & heading to the bar to meet your friends
• Less utility consumption since you can leave the thermostat super low while you are gone and you will be stepping away from the tv
  
• Less trash produced since you will be drinking and dining on reusable cookwear
• Less trips to the therapist, since the great outdoors works countless benefits on your stress level

Here are a few tips for saving even more while camping:

• When compatible with your stove, use a windscreen or aluminum foil-covered cardboard to shield your stove from the wind and help retain heat. You will boil water faster and use less fuel. Any leftover hot water can be used for washing dishes.
  
• Use food containers and grocery bags for your trash instead of a brand new trash bag.
• Filter water or bring water from home instead of purchasing bottled water. It takes fuel and resources to get that water bottle to you!
• Minimize use of lanterns, headlamps, and campfires. Ever seen the smog over Yosemite's campgrounds? Your camp fire does make an impact.
• When you need a fire. cook on it. A little creativity with aluminum foil or twig spears can make a tasty meal, get the most from your fire and avoid using more stove fuel.
  

Snow Peak Stove $50
Bag of Oatmeal with Fruits & Nuts Added $2
Power Bill for LNT Bathroom $0
Hot Rum Chocolate $2.50
Weekend in Mountains $Priceless

Happy Camping!

First Winter Storm

Camping near 215 with Patrick! First snow of the season!

Glossary of Climbing Terms

As a beginner climber, the inherent terminology can be baffling. You are eking your way up some of your first climbs or boulder problems, and your buddies begin yelling in another language "flag your foot!" "there's a gaston on the left!" "press it out!!" Here are a few terms and techniques you will see often when climbing and bouldering to help sort out the beta.

Jug - Everyone learns this word quickly. It is a joyously large, and easy to hang-on-to hold. Chicken Head City is a great example of jug climbing at Rumbling Bald.

Crimp - Crimps require a lot of finger strength, as they are tiny holds which usually require you to bend your first two knuckles extensively. Try Tips A Hoy at Hawks Bill and you will get a good idea of a crimp- ouch!

Heel Hook- Heel Hooking is extremely useful when your are on steep climbs. Tossing your heel onto a jug or ledge can take a lot of weight off your arms, and give you a little more juice to send. A heel hook can be a Godsend on steep routes at the Obed like Solstice .

Mantle - Many bouldering problems end with a mantle onto the top of the boulder. Mantling is when you put one or both arms on the hold and press your body up onto the ledge or holds. It can be daunting on high problems, but it is essential to finish the problem! You will use a lot of mantling to finish boulder problems at Grandfather Boulders.

Lock Off - Locking off requires core and hand strength, and it allows you to reach another hold while keeping your hand firmly fixed on another hold in a calculated, static movement. You will lock off a lot if you start bouldering at Rumbling Bald this winter.

Jam - Jamming is the word of choice when crack climbing. You use your fist and hands in countless contortions to hold yourself on the wall. Jamming your feet in a lace up shoe like the Scarpa Techno often means turning it a bit sidewards to maximize the width and holding power of the jam. A great route for learning to jam in New Yosemite at the Junkyard Wall of the New River Gorge.

Finger Lock - Finger locking is just what it sounds like. You use your fingers in a crack or constriction to hold your hand in place. Often, this includes taking advantage of big knuckles in just the right spot. Try this technique on Shredded Wheat at Rumbling Bald's Cereal Buttress.

Smearing - Smearing is common in western North Carolina, where the slab of Looking Glass mandates this technique. Smearing is when you stand on a relatively featureless part of the wall. Smearing is easier as the angle of the wall lessens. Try Sensemelia Sunset at Looking Glass in some comfortable, sticky shoes to try the calf-burning technique of smearing.




Looking Glass Outfitters is a full service gear shop open 7 Days a week at the entrance to Pisgah National Forest and around the corner from Hendersonville, Brevard & Asheville.
www.lookingglassoutfitters.com

Happy Exploring..........