February at the Obed

Since it is time to snap out of our winter/ holiday/ ice climbing stupor, we headed to the Obed the weekend before last to try to jumpstart our fitness for spring rockclimbing. Thanks to its steepness and close proximity to Brevard, this is a great place for us to climb when the winter and spring weather is temperamental. Yet, we headed to the Obed with forecasts in the 50's- unusually nice for one of our trips to the Obed.

We met up with a friend, Parker Kempf and haphazardly added another in the Clear Creek parking area before heading to South Clear. Our new friend casually warmed up on Solstice while we did the tried and true warm ups around the corner, before having fun on Pale Face, Alchemy and some of Rage. Phil did a great job sending The Shining in the Steven King Library, while Scott, a freshman from UTK sent Boo Ya in The Outer Circle.

Sunday held more mild temperatures but overcast conditions, and we headed to Lilly Bluff to do fun routes like Ticks are for Kids, Poison Ivy and Evil Weed. Being an NC trad climber, Phil insisted on grabbing the rack from the car so he could trad climb a bolted crack, which was amusing and made the folks back home proud. It is a really fun route for sure! We headed home sore and hoping to have put a dent in getting climbing fit.


Climb Globally, Shop Locally
Looking Glass Outfitters
69 Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
828.884.5854
www.lookingglassoutfitters.com

It's only Tuesday, and I'm already thinking of a weekend climbing trip. Here's my packing list so far:

Scarpa Zen- These approach shoes are nearly 4 years old and going strong
Montbell Spiral Stretch Down Hugger Sleeping Bag- Pillowy, stretchy, warm, downy goodness
Black Diamond Chaos Harness - Kinetic Core is awfully comfy...
Mountain Hardwear Epic Jacket- because it is spring in the southeast
Prana Moab Pant - Great spring weight for climbing
New Set of Metolius Inferno Wiregate Quickdraws- because we really do sportclimb sometimes
Black Diamond Apollo- a million uses for this lantern when camping
Espresso Lessons by Arno Ilgner- to get my head back in the game

and Clydeabus!!!

Climb Globally, Shop Locally
Looking Glass Outfitters
69 Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
828.884.5854
www.lookingglassoutfitters.com

February NC Bouldering

When the CCC decided to have their quarterly meeting at Crowders State Park, we decided to pack up the crash pad and head to the Dixon School boulders Saturday afternoon. Although the temps were in the low 50's, the day was cold and breezy in the shade, making for great friction. This area has some truly quality boulder problems, and we had a blast checking out a lot of the classics. Ask Donovan Craig for details on this area, as he has excellent details on the boulder problems. Hopefully Zachary will post a few pics on the CCC website that he snapped in between crushing. The CCC crew is hard at work trying to maximize our climbing opportunities in the Carolinas- particularly Ghost Town & Sauratown- so if you aren't already a member, it is high time you joined!!

Sunday we broke a Hoffmann record and went bouldering for the second day in a row. This time, we headed to Rumbling Bald's East Side boulders. This area has plenty to do and tends to be fairly uncrowded. Our crew had a blast on classics like The Carolinian and Slave Driver. Cole walked everything and the famous Tippy performed her world famous doggy yoga peeing handstand! The day was considerably warmer, which meant we started in puffy jackets and ended in flops.

Phil and I came home sore, but pumped for spring climbing adventures, and debating braking down and buying a second crashpad for our household. Enjoy Valentine's Day and see you out climbing this weekend. The NC forecast looks great!



Climb Globally, Shop Locally
Looking Glass Outfitters
69 Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
828.884.5854
www.lookingglassoutfitters.com

February Already!

It has been a while since we posted, so sorry for the gap. January was a blur of trade shows across the country for Jess and Phil made the most of it with frequent B-Movie Guys nights at the Jones' house and trying to stay fit at the Brevard Rock Gym!

Our favorite news is that we got to escape for a vacation in Costa Rica. There is nothing better than getting away mid-winter and lounging away in a tropical paradise! We spent our time hiking around volcanoes, spotting monkeys, sampling mud baths and hot springs, learning to surf with a French girl named Julie, and drooling over sweet turbo diesel Hyundai vans that you can't find in the states.

I think we need a bit more time in CR to say we can surf, but I felt pretty good when Julie pushed me into the waves, effectively combating my lazy paddling skills. At her recommendation, we went to Avellanas one afternoon. Indeed, this is an awesome beach and Lola's is worth spending an afternoon at, but the surf and winds were less than ideal for our abilities that day. Can you say "le Sandbag?"

A big thank you to the Walkers who took care of our sweet pooches and tolerated our random emails and Facebook messages to check on them.

Anyways, our tans are rapidly disintegrating thanks to a lack of waterproof sunscreen and we are already drooling over spring climbing destinations. Come on in the shop and we will get you off the couch and ready for spring adventures.

PURA VIDA!


Climb Globally, Shop Locally
Looking Glass Outfitters
69 Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
828.884.5854
www.lookingglassoutfitters.com