PAIINN!!!

Ok so after an amazing week last week, I've spent most of this week in the serious dumps. On Saturday we had our first CCS comp of the season and our team crushed beyond all reason. Chatt Nasty came out in huge ways taking 1st through 13th place in mens and 1st and 2nd in women's! The comp was a lot of fun and although we missed our App state homies, we still had a blast throwing down on the plastic. On a personal note, I spent about half the comp working on the last move of one problem which I came painfully close to sending just about every attempt. The ending move was a giant grab for the top rail and at the very end of the comp elliott and I figured out new beta which made the move a little more doable but neither of us was able to send. That problem caused my body so much pain because I was landing on my back from the top bar time after time after time. I wanted to send it so badly because I thought that if I didn't get it then I wouldn't get third. I know it sounds dumb to use so much energy on a problem like that at a comp, but it was a personal goal of mine to make the top 3. Well as it turns out, I got third place without the problem and have spent the past week recovering from all the climbing I did last week. First I was sore, then my back started hurting and now I pulled something in my wrist that's making it go numb whenever I tweak it. So I'm leading a trip out to LRC tomorrow for UTC outdoors but besides that I'll probably be keeping it pretty low key for the next few days in an attempt to get over all this hurting. Oh yeah, and I'm missing the ETSU route comp tomorrow because I can't climb on this wrist. Suckssss!! But I'm not worried cuz I know the team will crush. 

peace out! 

Great start to the season!

So after about 4 trips to LRC in the past week, I'm more psyched than I've ever been!! The projects have been falling one by one. First I sent Redhouse extension which is my first v8, then I got a sweet 5 called Fat Cat, then a really fun 6 called Main area traverse (I did it from left to right), then I got Jerry's Kids!! Not too bad for one week. I'm feeling strong and climbing really well and I can already tell that this is going to be an awesome season. I've had to not climb the past couple days because I needed to save skin for today, which is our FIRST CCS comp of the season!! In about an hour I'll be headed to franklin, TN to compete at the Crag (the place that started it all for me). I can't wait to climb some sweet plastic and kick it with old friends. Anyways, here are some pictures from the past couple times we've been out. There aren't any of me cuz I'm the one that took them. 

The Winter Tick List

So I went out with Sam yesterday and he finally got Super Mario Brothers!! That problem has been giving him trouble for years so it was awesome to see hi slay bowzer (as he said). While I was there I decided to check out the right extension to Red House. From the jug at the end of Red House I was able to piece together all the moves of the extension after only a couple goes. I then tried to link them up but kept getting shut down on one of the early moves of Red House. But either way that problem now goes on the tick list which I've assembled thanks to my handy, dandy Stone Fort (LRC) Guidebook!!! Seriously, the thing is siiiick! Here's the list for the winter as of now. Hopefully I'll be crossing these guys off asap. 

Projects

Jerry's Kids (7)

Red House Extension (8)

Tooth Fairy (7)

Cast Away (7)

The Wave (5)

Cleopatra (8)

A Face in the Crowd (7)

Deception (7)

Diesel Power (5) 

Instinct (7)

Now that I've got the guidebook I'm realizing how few problems I've actually done so now is the time to dedicate some time to ye olde Stone Fort. 

thanks for reading (pictures/videos to come soon) 

-Dubs 

It's been so long!

 I know it's been a crazy long time since I updated this thing so I decided to stop by and drop some info on the plans for the season and recent developments.

The Red
Me and Drew led a trip to the red last week and it was shweet! The trip was led through UTC outdoors so it wasn't all about us trying hard stuff but I still managed to climb some fun stuff and get lots of new climbers leading for the first time. The crew was solid and everyone was killing it and crushing their fears! I did climb one hard route, but only at the request of the guys who wanted to top rope it. It's a 12a called Scar Tissue out at the Zoo. From the ground I imagined myself hangdogging the whole thing and crying out in extreme pumpy pain, but I fared better than expected. I did the route with two rests (couldn't find a good clipping spot, then couldn't figure out the beta at the top). For an onsight attempt of something I thought I'd never be able to do I was pretty psyched, especially since I haven't been training routes AT ALL lately. So maybe this'll be the season where I shatter the barrier between 5.11 and 5.12. But right now is bouldering season!

I have three projects that are close to sending:
Jerry's Kids v7
Nose Candy v6
One % 5.12a

Which means that I NEED PROJECTS!!

That's right, I'm talking to you. If you know of cool boulder problems/routes in the greater Chattanooga area, hit me up!

Pictures from the Red

After a long week of getting our asses handed to us by some sweet Kentucky pocket climbing action, Elliott and I were feeling pretty worn at the end of the week and considering neither of us had climbed in close to 3 months, we were psyched just to have redpointed some 5.9s and hang dogged a couple 5.10s. On the last day of climbing however, we found a sweet slab route called possum lips at the military wall and just couldn't help ourselves. It's a 5.10d which was higher than anything either of us had redpointed all week so neither of us was expecting too much. BUT, elliott hopped on and after about 30 minutes of dancing, chalking, blowing off holds, and some more chalking he got the onsight! In an attempt to have some of his good psych rub off on me, I hit the route next and fell at the crux. But still feeling like I could get the send, I hopped on the next go and got the redpoint. Needless to say, this was the highlight of my trip. Then later on in the day, we decided to hit an 11b in the left flank called aquaduck pockets. The route is tons of fun but tricky because you have to grab the right pockets in order to find the good holds and trust me, there are plenty of pockets to choose from. I hit the route first and was lucky just to hangdog my way through it. I was constantly having to stop and evaluate the beta and try and figure out which pocket to use which way. So after I came down, I gave elliott the secret beta thus denying him the onsight but giving him some serious help with the redpoint. In true elliott fashion, he crushed the route first go and once again I got it on my second. Daniel also hopped on it and got the send as well. The people at the red were awesome and I'm already so psyched to go back. It's a world class climbing spot and the people are fantastic as well. Also as promised, here are some pictures from our trip. Peace! 

                        

Week at the RED!! (and a new blog layout)

Hey there digital world! Sorry it's been a minute since i've posted on here, but since I haven't really climbed for the past couple months I didn't see a need in posting about my climbing. That said, I'm currently writing this post from the downstairs area of Miguel's Pizza at the red river gorge meaning that I'm back! (and it feels so good). So while I'm sitting at my computer, I'll take a quick minute to give some updates on what's been going on lately. Last week my dad surprised me with the gift of a DSLR Minolta camera that was previously used by my grandfather. I'm not sure the exact name of the camera, but I know that it's pretty freakin' sweet. He also gave me 4 lenses for it so I'm real psyched about some climbing photography right now! So after I acquire a cord to hook that camera up to my computer, I'll be able to upload lots of sweet shots from this trip as well as all future climbing adventures. As far as the red goes, here's what's been goin down... 

Me and Elliott got here Monday night late and decided to just kick it around Miguel's for the evening since it was already too late to climb. Then yesterday we spent the day exploring the red (It's my first time and his second) as well as getting our bodies used to feeling rock on our fingers. We hit a 5.7, 5.8, and two 5.9s . We onsighted all the routes with the exception of the 5.8 for me. The last move was kind of big and I completely misread the holds. Either way, it was a good day for both of us considering neither of us had felt rock in a couple months. Then last night we met up with Brea, Daniel, and Matt (a couple of our friends from chattanooga) and we all got together today to hit some sweet stuff in the shire. There was this one beautiful line called K.S.R. (I think those were the initials) and it was a sweet 10d right in the middle of this huge face. I don't exactly know why it was so pretty but it was. It also proved to hold strong to the red's reputation for having freakin' hard routes. Each of us was able to make it to the top with a bit of falling and hanging (basically everyone hang-dogged the route except for elliott). After watching the four of us hang it up, Elliott hit the route with a head full of steam. He did it as a top rope because he was afraid of not being able to get the gear down if he attempted a lead, but he definitely surprised himself when he got the red point (that is, if you can get a red point for a top rope, I'm not really sure). So props to him and hopefully the next couple days will lead to some more get-your-ass-back-in-shape-and-up-that-route climbs for all of us. That's all I got for now. 

Oh! And I got a new blog layout. Do you like it? 

Peace! 

-J dubs 

New Projects. End of School.

So today Joseph, Elliott and myself headed out to leda to hit up some routes for the last time before elliott heads back to nashville (so sad). We warmed up on a 5.7 then hit girls only (5.10). I climbed the first 10 feet of Girls Only which was so freaking sketchy because there's one really reachy move before the first clip. I fell. I thought I hurt my ankle, but luckily I was solid and I hopped back on and got the red point. Elliott and Jo followed suit. We then headed over to the harder area of Leda and worked a route called 1%. None of us have ever really been strong/dedicated sport climbers so we thought we'd set our sights high and see how we turned out. Joseph and Elliott had both gotten up the route before with several falls but it was the first time I'd ever tried a 12. After several falls, I made it to the top of the route. I was reasonably psyched because I feel like on a day where I knew the beta and was fresh, it could potentially go for me. So 1% is a new project for me. I've got all the moves so I think it'll go. That's it. Stay thirsty my friends.

v7 FLASH!!

So a few days ago, Sam, Joseph, Taylor Vice, and myself headed out to the city of little rocks to hit up some sweet boulder problems on a beautiful day. First, we worked a nice v5 called Ghost (while enjoying fat tire in a can). We all put in good work and I (Jordan) was able to get the send. Next we hit up this one really slopy v5 behind ghost that was not too good on an 80 degree day. Needless to say, we didn't send. Next we headed over to the super mario boulder. Now I had planned on trying to get a flash of Red House which is a v7. I don't really know why I wanted to do it, or why I thought it was possible (v7 is the highest grade i've sent). But with some help from my buddy Nate Drolet, I was able to FLASH THE PROBLEM!~ I was so freaking psyched! Then later on I hit up the classic v5 Ghengis Khan and got that on the second go. Joseph put in some work on The Hulk (v6) but wasn't feeling it so he didn't stick the move. So here are some pictures from our day at the boulders taken by the one and only Bonnie Mcdonald. Also, keep checking back here because I've got two new projects that I'll hopefully be able to hit over the next two weeks. They're robbing the tooth fairy (v9) and Fatigue Syndrome (v8). I'm feeling ambitious so we'll see how this goes.

Chatt Town Throw Down!! (it's been a minute)

So I haven't posted in a while, my bad. Things have been really busy for us over the last couple weeks and I've done a really bad job at keeping up with this guy. It also doesn't help that I've been doing tons of work on my other blog (click me) But anyways, enough with the excuses. Last week was our third competition of the season for our UTC team (Chatt Nasty). We did pretty solid pulling in 2nd (Matt Henckle) and 3rd (Joseph Ezell) in men's and 1st (Brea Holland), 2nd (Ashley Hamilton), and 3rd (Rachel Gilson) in women's! In other news, Joseph got eliminator the other day which is sweet. So far we're doing pretty good in the standings and the setting process has more than begun for the Chatt Town Throw Down!

The Chatt Town Throw Down is the 4th CCS competition of the season for the Appalachian region which is what UTC is in. Myself, Drew, Sam, Rachel, and Tommy have been setting for it all week and we're more than a little psyched! We've got some sweet swag lined up and some awesome people coming out to help us throw down! Climbers from Appalachian State University, Bravard College, UTK, Belmont, Chatt State, and several other schools will be coming out to rep it hard for their schools. One thing is for sure, seeing people climb our problems and getting to hang out with climbers all weekend is gonna be sweet. Here's what the poster looks like, if you're a college student, come out!! Here's the link for more information: (for more info, click here)

TBA comp part deux

So last night was the second wave of the three part competition series that TBA is doing. The problems were sick and it was tons of fun as usual. Elliott got 1st in intermediate (although, by our math Jo won) Joseph got 2nd, and I got 3rd. Only one more comp till the cash prizes!!! Also, Spring break is next week and we're planning on getting out to HP40 and Rocktown with Chris, Josh, and other friends. So hopefully next week we'll have some sweet (high quality) pictures and videos to post.

Chronic, Cleopatra, T-Thong

As promised, here's the video from Sunday at LRC. It features Drew Meyer on Tennessee Thong (v7), Jordan White on The Chronic (v7), and Joseph Ezell on Cleopatra (v8).

A Solid Weekend.

So on Friday, in appreciation of beautiful weather, some of us took off for LRC for the day. We were feeling pretty strong and me and Joseph got a lot done. Especially Joseph. First we worked crescent direct and got frustrated so we bailed on that one, then we hit Cast Away (v7 dyno problem) and Jo sent it on his 2nd session of working it! I wasn't too into it at first because I couldn't get the muscle memory down, but after a few goes I started feeling it. On my last attempt I wrapped my fingers around the top but just couldn't stick it. Either way I was stoked because dynos aren't really my thing and I know that problem will go for me. Then we headed to the back 9 to hit deception which is one of the most beautiful boulder problems I've ever seen. We worked it for a while and I got 2 moves from the top on my best go, and once again Jo crushed it. He was feeling it today for sure. I don't have video of him sending because he was really sketched out by the top and Elliott and I had to spot. Elliott also hit some random problem to the right of deception that we had no idea of. We didn't know the beta, if it was a real problem, or anything but it looked sweet so Elliott hopped on and flashed it. We think it's a v5? not too sure but that's what we think the guidebook said. After that we headed on over to the chronic (v7) and worked that for a bit as well. Joseph got it but he's gotten it before. Our buddy Daniel crushed it after a full session of tearing up his hands. I got all the moves dialed in but was just too raw to capitalize. (in the video is a clip of my left hand blowing off the crimp start and shredding my hand) All in all, a great day was had by all. Javier and Rachel also came out with us and we ran into tons of locals so it was good to get to hang with everyone.

Then on Saturday the real stuff went down.

We headed out in the early afternoon and were real bummed when Lacey messed up her ankle on the very first climb of the day. Freakin' crescent boulder and that rock at the bottom of the face proved to be treacherous once again as she fell on it and hurt her ankle. So then I helped her walk/carried her out of the boulder field and took her home. Drew Meyer was also with us on Sunday and he crushed hard when he got T thong (Elliott's nemesis) for the first time. After I got back, I hit The Chronic for the second session and after receiving some crucial beta from Andrew Byrne I was able to get the send, which was an awesome feeling after it tore my hands to bits on Friday. Then we headed over to Cleopatra and to perfectly cap off his weekend of crushing, Jo got the send! It's his first v8 so we're all freaking pumped for him. Videos from Sunday will be soon to come as soon Drew shot the footage on his camera.

As for now, here's some footage of Jo crushing and me getting tore up.

Joseph Ezell climbing Cast Away (v7), the Chronic (v7), and Deception (v7). Jordan White climbing (and failing at) The Chronic.

ETSU route comp

So this weekend was the first in a series of 6 competitions for the CCS comp series. The comp was a route comp at ETSU in Johnson City, TN. All in all, the weekend was sick! The seven of us competing drove out on Friday and spend the night in knoxville and hung with Adam, Brooks, and the UTK friends. After 5 hours of sleep and 2 hours of driving, we competed in all of our first top roping competition. And.. we won! I got 1st place in advanced, Drew got 2nd place in advanced, Jo got 1st place in intermediate, and Rachel got 1st place in women's intermediate. What's better is that we swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the CCS standings for the men's category. All in all, it was a great day for me and for Chatt nasty. Here are some pics of the event.

ETSU's climbing wall

Gotta Brush dem teef!

Our hometown boy Chris Noga did the majority of the awesome setting!

strong!

Huge shout out to Matthew and Kaylin for coming out and supporting us!

TBA comp

A good time was had by all at TBA's first in a 3 part series of competitions tonight. Most places, me and the boys would consider ourselves advanced climbers, but TBA continues to keep us humble by setting freakin sweet and freakin hard problems. We all competed Intermediate (which was accurate seeing as how we couldn't send a single advanced problem). Joseph got 1st, Elliott got 2nd, and I got third. The problems were sweet and I snagged a used pair of 5.10 5xs for only $50. So psyched! Once again, we didn't get pictures or videos (i know i know) but we're gonna try and do better (promise). The good news is that my dad is sending me a camera in the mail that I can use for climbing and we found a flip video camera at the library that we can check out. What we really need to do though is get Chris Adams and Josh Ritchie to live in Chattanooga and document all our worthy sends. I'll have more soon. Peace.

-Jordan

2 more 7's

Thursday was a solid day for the boys out at LRC. We worked a couple fun problems. Elliott worked The Shield (he got the first 3 moves), we all worked T thong, and we hit junkie a little more. Jo was super psyched to send Spyro Gyro (v7) on only his second day of working it. Elliott also sent Junkie (v7) on his first day of working it. I gave it a single attempt and got to the top (again) but didn't feel like risking the fall with too few pads. Unfortunately, we were very neglectful with the camera and didn't get video or pictures of any of our noteworthy sends. We're still in need of a solid camera and with rumors of the school having ones we can rent, we're stoked. Hopefully we'll get out to LRC a couple times this week and crush some new stuff.

Some days, you just gotta eat it.

So me and Joseph went to LRC today to hit up some fun problems we'd heard about. We started out by hitting up junkie which is right next to heroine. Jo got junkie on his second try but he'd also already sent it before. I was not so lucky. I worked it several times and got to the top without much difficulty but could NOT stick the last move. I literally fell from the top time after time because I was inches from reaching the last hold. Looks like the next time we go out, I'll just have to dyno after being fully extended. Oh the difficulties of being a 5'6" climber, but I really can't complain. Either way, here's a highlight reel of some of the stuff we did (I'm the guy who eats it a lot).

Sorry the video quality kind of sucks. Until I can get my hands on a real camera, I'm shooting with my Nikon point and shoot.

First Video!

This is a video from last semester of me (Jordan) sending my first v7. I came really close to flashing the problem, but alas my foot dabbed on the pad right before I sent the problem. So this was my third attempt and although it's sloppy, it works. This is a problem called Midway out at LRC. It starts halfway through The Chattanoogan which is a v12. Enjoy!

Let's get it started

So I recently decided that with all the climbing that me and my housemates have been doing lately, I needed to start a blog to keep track of all our noteworthy sends. I use the term "noteworthy" very loosely knowing full well that I won't be documenting any v13s by myself or my friends anytime soon. That said, this blog is a way for us to motivate ourselves to better document the climbing that we do (that way we can pick up more girls). Just kidding, but really Elliott is single. So for now I thought I'd give a little bio on the boys and what we do.

Jordan White (me)

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 125 lbs

Ape Index: +.25"

High Send: v7

Climbing Since: fall of 2008

Relationship Status: Single

Shoe of Choice: 5.10 5x

Joseph Ezell

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 160 lbs

Ape Index: +.25"

High Send: v8

Climbing Since: 2007

Relationship Status: Taken (by B-rat)

Shoe of Choice: 5.10 Dragon

Elliott Brown

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 140 lbs

Ape Index: +.1"

High Send: v7

Climbing Since: 2007

Relationship Status: Single (and looking)

Shoe of Choice: Moccasym

Sam Halleen

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 135 lbs

Ape Index: +.25"

High Send: v6

Climbing Since: 2007

Relationship Status: Taken

Shoe of Choice: 5x

Gabe Glass

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 205lbs

Ape Index: +1.0"

High Send: v2

Climbing Since: 2009

Relationship Status: Taken

Shoe of Choice: Air Jordan

You can also expect to see guest appearances made by the likes of Drew Meyer, Garret Venable, our dog Grim, and anyone else we see doing something cool. As long as this rain chooses to subside, this blog should be consistently updated with pictures and videos of us climbing cool stuff. So thanks for reading and please check back soon.

-Jordan