The North Face

Jan 24 | Mirror Reality: Rocky Mountain Boulder Send by Daniel Woods

By The North Face

On behalf of Daniel Woods

I first got word from Dave Graham in May of 2011 of a potential new project in Rocky Mountain National Park. The climb is located a few hundred feet past the moraine park turnoff, on the right hand side of the road. An obvious landmark to look for is the raging river filled with house sized boulders, running underneath the road bridge. You park in a pull out just past the bridge on the right and run a few hundred feet up the hillside into the woods.

Eager for new boulders, I decided to take a solo mission and check it out. The nature of the rock is glassy with large chunks of crystal seamed together, creating just enough friction to hold on. The beginning is steep (45 degree angle), but as soon as you reach the lip, the angle changes to a bulged out slab. You begin with a 4 move 8A+ which crux revolves around a low percentage first move. The theme of the problem begins (most of the time concludes) at the half way point of the boulder. Here you take a flat full pad edge with your right hand and a flat half pad edge with your left, place your right toe on a needle tip piece of crystal, and jump blindly over the bulge to a glassy sloper with your left hand. This one move in itself is around 8A and is tough to stick from this point, let alone from the beginning. The exit is a 4 move 7C/+ with a hard right foot rock over to the finishing edge. At this point you are relieved and can walk off to the right.

Photo by Cameron Maier, www.BearCamMedia.com.

I tried this project on and off for a couple of weeks in May into June, but the conditions became too warm to succeed. At this point I was disappointed knowing that I was not able to return back until next spring of 2012. My plan was to travel to Europe and boulder for the fall/winter season. The whole time I was in Europe, I thought about this project and if anyone was going to go try it. I heard that a couple of climbers in Boulder were working it on and off, but there was still no success. My departure time in Europe arrived and I flew back to CO in Jan. of 2012. I had speculation if the project would be doable in winter because of snow levels. With a low snow season, the park was in the prime and I repaid the “Bridge Project” another visit.

Photo by Cameron Maier, www.BearCamMedia.com.

It took a few days to remember the moves, but on my 5^th day I executed each move perfectly and grunted my way to the top. Dave Graham and Cameron Maire were there to support me and it felt nice to have friends to share this experience with. There are still more projects to be climbed. I am impressed with how much rock the park has to offer. It seems that gems keep popping up each year, get cleaned, and then become a reality.  

May 01 | USA Climbing 2010

By The North Face

The North Face® is a proud sponsor of USA Climbing, which produces the Sport Climbing Series (SCS) and the American Bouldering Series (ABS).   These competitions, which span the range from local comps to the national level, allow the next generation of greats to demonstrate their climbing skills in a competition forum. The North Face® Athletes Daniel Woods, Emily Harrington, Lisa Rands, and Matt Segal have all gotten their start through USA Climbing. Be sure to track all the action of the season! 

Go to, http://www.usaclimbing.net/home.cfm to check-out the results and rankings pages, then check the schedule for a comp near you!

Apr 16 | FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #4---->live from the field!

By Renan Ozturk

Who is Daniel Woods? Dispatch #4 dives into the unflitered character of one of the world's strongest climbers within the context of the FREE RANGE TURKEY trip. What a classic character!!

FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #4 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

produced by camp4 collective

Apr 10 | FREE RANGE TURKEY

By Emily Harrington

There’s been several new developments since my last post.  Three new members have joined our crew.  Boone Speed arrived a few days ago, Jimmy Chin came two days ago and we picked up Eneko Pou just last night.  Good thing our house is more than large enough to accommodate us all comfortably :)  We celebrated Renan’s birthday with some awesome food and good friends at the Jo Si To restaurant.  Sam and Daniel bolted a new route at the crag called Alabalik,  a nice tufa line that climbs out a roof – 5.12+ they predict. Overall, the trip’s been extraordinary.  However, things never turn out exactly how you expect, and unforeseen events never fail to occur and remind us what’s truly important. 

I had an unfortunate accident at the cliff the other day.  I was climbing a route called Turkish Airways, scrambling up the 5.6 slab approaching the first bolt. I was deep in thought trying to remember the crux moves correctly when my foot slipped before I had clipped the first bolt and I tumbled about 20 feet down the slab, landing in a crumpled heap at the base.  Somehow I did not hit my head, or break any bones.  I have a mildly sprained right ankle, a badly bruised right arm, and a sizeable gouge in my left knee.  Nothing a little ice, Neosporin, and rest won’t heal up in a few days’ time. Needless to say, I am fortunate.  As with everyone who has been in an accident, whether it’s climbing or otherwise, and escaped with only a few minor injuries, I am grateful that I wasn’t more seriously hurt and that I had my close friends there to help me through it.  Climbing is dangerous and although there will always be an element of risk that cannot be removed, it is a reminder to not take safety for granted and to be alert at all times.

I have been forced to rest for a few days in order to heal my ankle.  I am trying to be patient, taking this time to absorb my surroundings, a beautiful place in the mountains of Southern Turkey - not a bad place to chill.  The internet’s broken most of the time, which is a good thing I’ve decided.  I’ve been reading a little, trying to write, and hanging out with some of the locals at the Jo Si To bar.  We’ve made some new friends here and I’ve even learned a little Turkish:  “Merhaba” (Hello), “Tesekkür ederim” (Thank you), and “Tirmaniyorum” (Climbing).

We still have about 3 weeks left to explore this place, and I'm antsy to climb again soon.  There are several exciting things on the horizon: bolting and equiping new routes, different areas to check out, even more team members arriving in the next few weeks, and of course, more of Turkey to see and to learn about.  I can't wait!  Görüşürüz! (See you later). 

Behind the scenes: Boone Speed flying high and Renan Ozturk operating the crane............

Daniel Woods redpointing Turkish Airways

Battle Wounds.................

Resting and Healing

 

Apr 06 | FREE RANGE TURKEY

By Emily Harrington

We have been here for almost one week now and have settled into a nice little routine.  Our set-up is beyond ideal.  Jo Si To guesthouse and camping is located directly in the middle of a limestone paradise.  There is a restaurant here serving up delicious cappuccinos, breakfast crepes, sandwiches, salads, and  traditional Turkish meals all day long.  We are fortunate enough to be staying in a huge spacious house to relax, rest, and recover.  The cliffs are at most a 10 minute walk from the house, some are only about 30 seconds from the back door.  There are hundreds of routes ranging from 5.10 – 5.14 to sample and enjoy. 

On our first rest day, we drove into town to visit the Sunday Market.  It was enormous.  Stand after stand of fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, and traditional Turkish foods covered the entire mainstreet of town.  We had lunch at one of the restaurants nearby: chai, cucumber/tomato salad, and some crepe-like dish called Borek.  We were able to watch the women cook our food right from our table.  They sat in a circle and worked together in an assembly line to make our food.  One woman would cut and roll the dough and pass it along to one who would shape it and put the stuffing inside.  The other two sat by these giant circular stoves and carefully grilled the dough packets until they were done, flipping them every once in a while with extra large wooden spatulas.  We all stood in awe and watched the process for at least 30 minutes.  The women smiled and waved at us, wondering why we were so fascinated with them.  After our meal, we observed more of the locals enjoying their Sunday afternoon: families picnicing and lounging in hammocks, children playing soccer, and old men playing backgammon.  

More climbers will be arriving in the next few days and then we can really get into the swing of things.  Everyone is highly motivated and thrilled to be here.  I can't wait.  Until then......................time for some coffee. 

-Emily

For more photos/recaps of the trip visit Sam Elias' website: http://bookofsamuel.com/journal/

THE HOUSE

Breakfast mmmmmmmmmm...

Sunday market

Fresh Pomegranate juice

cooks in the kitchen

Lunch

Outside the Restaurant

Trebenna - cavernous limestone cliffs

Apr 03 | FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #1----> live from the field!

By Renan Ozturk

FREE RANGE TURKEY_dispatch #1 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

Spinning in space 100ft off the ground with a camera is where we expect to be a lot on this expedition: the "Free Range Turkey" trip, a climbing exploration supported by The North Face to Antalaya in southern Turkey. We will be updating videos live from the field featuring a bad-ass international roster of athletes including: Emily Harrington, Sam Elias, Daniel Woods, Yuji Hiriyama, Eneko Pou, James Person and Renan Ozturk. In this first installment the crew makes the initial journey and gets psyched for the adventure to come. edit: renan ozturk music: robot koch

Feb 25 | Wise Words From Daniel Woods

By The North Face

A couple of weeks ago Daniel Woods finally sent The Game (V16), a much-tried boulder problem that had been eluding him for almost two years. We caught up with Daniel to gain some insight and advice on sticking with it when a boulder problem just shuts you down.   

 

TNF: What advice can you give to climbers who have been shut down by problems, over and over, yet still return day after day to try them?

DW: Getting shut down in climbing is part of the game. You will have a lot more failure than success, but once you achieve success it is the best feeling in the world. I use my failures as motivation to improve. My advice is to expect failure, and use it as motivation to reach success. If all the moves are possible then the climb is possible. I find it is also good to work things then take a break and come back to them. If you try and try without stopping then that is when you are most likely to get discouraged. If you keep it fresh and return back, motivation will stay at an all time high.

TNF: What keeps you motivated?

DW: Finding a climb that challenges me keeps me motivated. I actually love getting shut down because it makes me want to try so much harder. Even discovering subtle differences in a move gets me psyched. I love climbing in that matter. You will always find something exotic that keeps you interested. I love doing new moves and involved rock climbs that require full body power and finger strength. Climbing always has me coming back for more. I am never satisfied with anything. Even now I want to go find a boulder that is harder than The Game.

TNF: What is the longest you have worked on a boulder problem/route?  Which one?

DW: The Game is by far the longest I have projected anything. It took me 17 days over two years. It started out being pretty futuristic in my head, to realizing now that it was possible. Before The Game, the longest I had worked a climb for was seven or eight days.

Feb 16 | Daniel Woods Makes First Ascent of The Game (V16)

By The North Face

The North Face global climbing team athlete sends what may the hardest boulder problem in the world

 

SAN LEANDRO, California — February 16, 2010 — The North Face, the world’s premier supplier of authentic, innovative and technically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear, today announced global team athlete Daniel Woods did the first ascent of a longstanding elusive boulder problem on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. Calling it The Game, and grading it a whopping V16, the first of such grades for the U.S., makes it possibly the world’s hardest boulder problem.

 

Daniel Woods on The Game (V16). ©Rob Frost

For the past two years, Woods has been working on this boulder problem on and off between travels, which has been tried for more than a decade by some of the world’s top climbers including Dave Graham, Tony Lamiche and Paul Robinson, as well as hard-bodied Colorado locals.

 

“Everybody has been trying this boulder problem and no one could send it,” said fellow The North Face global team climber Cedar Wright, and witness to the first ascent. “Then, Daniel comes along and just crushes it! Watching Daniel climb is about as close as I've come to witnessing the defiance of gravity.”

 

Woods, who feels The Game merits a V16 rating because he believes it is another level compared to other climbs he has done. Before tackling the problem, Woods returned from a trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas, where he repeated Terremer (V15), considered one of the hardest boulder problems in the world. Woods felt The Game was a step above Terremer, and slapped it with a V16.

 

“V16 is only a number. The more important thing is the progression it meant to myself in my climbing,” said Woods. “It’s cool to feel like I have established a climb that is pushing the limits for the sport of bouldering. Time will tell how hard it [The Game] actually is, but for now I feel like it is a new level boulder problem.”

 

The Game, which starts in the far back of a cave, is a nearly horizontal roof with extremely glassy, slopey holds. It features huge arm-span moves and involves eight hard movements out of an obvious roof. On the freezing cold day, with snow and ice surrounding the shaded boulder, Woods warmed-up on the middle moves, ripping a key crimp off the roof, resulting in a powerful fall. Now that the crimp had broken, Woods reformulated the sequence, involving a bigger move to a better hold, but a harder swing out. He made the first ascent that same day.

 

“The holds take the same path and the climbing is more physical, so in the end it turned out to be perfect. I feel The Game became an even better climb after the hold broke,” said Woods. “This definitely was a mental and physical war for me. Now I want to find something harder.” 

 

Three days later, Woods won the American Bouldering Series National Championships in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

For more than 40 years The North Face has teamed up with the world's finest mountaineers, alpinists, climbers, skiers, snowboarders and endurance adventurers who have defined the limits of what is humanly possible. The North Face Athlete team works closely with Research, Design & Development, creating innovative designs that push new technologies and inspire cutting-edge products.

 

For more information on The North Face climber Daniel Woods, and The North Face athlete team, check out www.thenorthface.com

 

Want to get involved and start climbing? Check PlanetExplore for events and climbing activities close to home. www.planetexplore.com

 

Interested in the grading of boulder problems? Check our Rockfax at http://www.rockfax.com/publications/bgrades.html

 

 

Feb 14 | "The Game" Daniel Woods Climbs World's Hardest Boulder Problem?!?!

By Cedar Wright

Watch Daniel Woods working what very well may be the hardest boulder problem in the country if not the world! If Daniel's estimation is correct, this is the first V16 in the country and arguably the universe!!!  I shot and edited this piece in collaboration with Big Up Productions and Sender Films  The Full Send will be featured in this years Reel Rock Tour   ...The back story....I first met Daniel Woods about 5 years ago while in Rocklands Africa. Daniel already had a reputation as a steel fingered bouldering phenomena, and watching him crush in the boulders was about as close as I've come to witnessing the defiance of gravity. When Daniel mentioned on a facebook post that he had a new super project up in Bolder Canyon, and felt he might be close to "the hardest moves I've ever tried", I figured it might be a cool moment to film and so I rang him up! For the last two weeks I have been braving the 30 degree temps and shooting Daniel's process and progress. Recently, in spite of a broken hold and a nasty fall, Daniel sucked it up, figured out new beta and SENT!!! "This is definitely harder than Terremer, and Jade, and I think warrants the grade of V16" he said. If Daniel's estimation is right, this puts "The Game" as a competitor for hardest boulder in the world!!! Daniel had this to say, "I called this problem The Game, because for me the climb was a game I had to play, I had to click into game mode, and really train myself for these moves. I had to grow mentally strong and also physically strong to be able to put it together. I call it the game, because I played the game and I ended up winning the game so game over." A little inside information... one of Daniel's favorite rappers is also named "The Game!"

Mar 27 | The North Face 2009 Summit Series Road Trip - a Celebration of Climbing

By The North Face

A Journey of exploration - The North Face are proud to introduce the 2009 Summit Series Road Trip - a unique spring festival of climbing. The first event of it's kind, this 40 day road trip will combine expert performance from the world's best athletes on famous rock climbs throughout Europe with 'approach' days bring climbing into the local communities.

The Summit Series Road Trip will be hosted by The North Face athletes James Pearson and Gaz Parry.  Beginning on 1st April 2009 with a Climbing Festival at the Castle Climbing Wall in London, UK it will then cover a distance of over 11000 km, ending on May 10th in MelloBlocco, Italy.  In each country there will be a mixture of challenging climbing, slideshows, master classes, demonstrations along with press and store appearances; with 20 ‘summit’ days in classic venues climbing 20 of the best Fr8a routes in Europe, and 20 ‘approach’ days talking to young climbers, the public and the press. 

The motivation of the road trip is to inspire and to encourage - to enable people to ‘discover’ climbing through listening to, talking with and learning from some of the best climbers in the world.  Involving local schools and climbing groups the aim is to influence young people in particular - encouraging them to live the philosophy behind The North Face - to ‘never stop exploring’.

This will be a unique opportunity to meet, to listen to and to climb with two outstanding and inspirational athletes.  They will be joined in different locations by some of the world’s most renowned and respected climbers and alpinists including Cedar Wright, Daniel Woods, Matt Segal, Simone Moro, Emilio Previtali and Hervé Barmasse.

For James, “Thinking about the road trip fills me with both joy and dread.  There will be some amazing moments; we will meet incredible people, we will visit stunning places and we will do some challenging climbs.  But there will also be some epic times, in particular the long drives through the night with far too little sleep.  One thing is for sure, it will be an experience I will never forget ….”.

The North Face extends an open invitation to be a part of the journey.  Seize the challenge and join James and his companions at some point along the Summit Series Road Trip; it will be an experience to never forget.