Rock Magazine - the article.

I was asked to write a report for Rock Magazine.
I did. They didn't want it, and rightly so, it was a re-hash anyway, so here it is reheated and served up again. How embarrassment.





Style report

Readers of jjobrienclimbing.blogspot.com know that round here style triumphs over substance. Bookmark it, climber flavoured light infotainment. Fewer climbers get their latest hard ticking news from jjobrienclimbing than any other loosely climbing and fashion related excuse for a promo vehicle on the web. But they do get a face full of over-saturated snaps, gauche graphics and the occasional insight into the inner workings of Australia's climbing legends and crag hopefuls.

It's bright and brash and the text can be read from the top of a Chinese multi pitch, but for those who are unfamiliar, or just have no crimping idea what the blog is on about, I'll tell you what's driving it.

It's the desire to recognise the extraordinary in the familiar. To see the hero in everyone, Numpty to Rockgod. Lee Cujes (Rockgod) put it well, it's "The rockstar treatment for the everyman".



My desire to expose every climber to a wider online audience outgrew the reach of my blog and my camera. And so "I Fucking Love Climbing" the bastard Facebook child of the illegitimate blog was born. The jjobrien photo search team have invested inappropriately long and late hours to digging through YOUR online albums. You thought Google was invasive? If you climb, and you don't want to appear on the run-away success page, then tighten your privacy settings, wet down your firewalls or risk becoming the latest unwitting face of IFLC.

So in case you missed, or thought you had avoided, Queenslands' highest rating year in climbing and style here's a little re-chalk for you.



The female of the species, Monica Wormald, was the late surprise hit on IFLC with this leggy panorama from Kenny's secret crag high above the Rural A hinterland elite zone of Mt. Ninderry.

I was falling up neighbouring Zazen 26 when I spotted Mon unfolding some extraordinary limbs on the steep and nasty Funnel Web 25.

It's a must-do route starting on a broken ledge, in a razor sharp cave, half way up a rotten cliff. Still wanna try it? It's got a Funnel Web too.











Well bouldering photography is a lark. You stand on the ground and press the button, answering the question "Why is the web awash with block shots?".

I've never been able to hang on to the things, so the beach-style team at jjobienclimbing got Nate Foster to bounce some golden rays back off the reflector with his abs.







Issy Morgans-Johnson flexed some serious style strength at Coolum Cave for a sponsor shoot. Always a strong performer on jjobrienclimbing, as she is on the steep stuff.







Tracey Hua, sister Red Phoenix Emporium sponsored climber to Monique Forestier, went dark and dangerous for this shoot on Nitro Glycerin 25

She wears "They Only Come Out at Night" accessories from the Skulls and Crosses collection at www.redphoenixemporium.com

Style cast: What will the top styling climbers be wearing on the rock in ? The look will be edgy but feminine, sleek with a hint of darkness. And for the girls - probably Lycra.









The year in review includes climbing, shooting, writing and cooking the Winter away with the Carters as they climb every hard route and document every crag in the corner of SEQ.

Mike Law featured on the blog. In what I expect was an attempt to atone for his ethically bankrupt climbing youth he notched up some honest multi-pitch ticks on two Sunny Coast crags in one talk-drenched day.









And the photographic high point of the year. A few belayers dropped their gri gris when this image hit the screens. Hanging free on a sling from the roof in Cave 5 Tibrogargan, belaying with one hand, shooting with the other as the sun set over Pumicestone Passage. Lee Cujes narrows his focus on the Creationism project.









jjobrienclimbing all started when fellow Queensland cave man and encyclopaedic gear nerd Brad Babel hooked me up with Expedition Equipments' Matt Adams. EE were looking for a Red Chili brand rep, and I knocked together a few posts to shop my wares. Deal. What is less known is the Wild Country link.





So then it happened that on a high friction, low carb, winter day, in the hallowed Cave of Mt. Coolum, Steve Foster(UK)the marketing director of Wild Country, explained to me that Wild Country, Red Chili and DMM were all owned by the parent company Excalibur Wales. Climbers, you know I love to weave a myth. And with these words to Matt, "Get this guy into some Wild Country gear, we can't have him climbing on that French rubbish" Steve Foster brought Excalibur gently to rest my shoulders. I arose a loyal Knight of the Wild Country. And so, as long as I have strength, kneepads, and a willing belayer, I will spend my remaining years gratefully doing battle in the jaws of the most terrible beasts in every cave across the realm.





And of course, bring back the look. Yours, jj







Photo: Matt Schimke

The Bear Run trail run challenge

The welcome sign behind the barn - maps located here

I've lived in Southwestern PA all my life, but have yet to explore the trails of Bear Run Nature Reservein Mill Run. Its located on Route 381 between Normalville and Ohiopyle. I've had no particular reason for not going, I guess there were always other places being explored. Several climbing buddies even told me of some climbing that exists here. I always thought of checking it out as I sped by on the way to one of the normal destinations, but never did. This past spring Laura and I stopped and walked a short section of the trails while birding. I must say the birding was good, Hemlocks amazing, and the forested trails very inviting.





Yesterday I had to work in the morning but my afternoon was free. I wanted to go run and started discussing options with Laura. She brought up the idea of trying Bear Run. At Bear Run none of the individual trails are over 3 miles, but together they add up to about 20 interconnected miles. For the backpackers out there, they also offer a few campsites for overnight trips. Registration is easy right at the parking lot behind the barn. It was time to map an interesting route. I read a little about the trails online while Laura started getting out maps and books with additional information. After studying the options for a while, I settled on running the perimeter of the whole trail system. This run would end up being about 11.5 +/- miles and a great distance for some higher speed running. It looked easy to follow on paper, at each intersection, turn right. I'm not sure about other areas, but locally some trails are blazed and work well most of the year, but summer months can bring on thick vegetation which blocks the view of blazes and chokes out "established" trails turning them into navigational nonsense. I was hoping this wasn't the case at such a popular area.I pulled into Bear Run and parked in the lot at the trail head (TH) behind the main barn building. There are paper maps available right at the parking lot to help guide you on this journey if you feel like giving it a whirl. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the trails, I picked up two just in case one got ruined or lost. I really didn't feel like stumbling out at midnight on a short distance, training run. Especially since I was starting later in the day. The trails are mostly marked with upright posts at the intersections. They display the trail name and direction of travel arrows to make things easier...

Starting point of route, Registration Board at the trail head

Here's the route: Clock starts at the registration board - (TH) kiosk. Start on Arbutus, turning right onto Wintergreen, follow Wintergreen about a mile to the intersection with Warbler. At the end of Warbler, turn right onto Hemlock (a little chin scratching, blaze hunting was done several times on this one), follow Hemlock to a confusing downhill intersection at the campsite. (Hint) From the campsite basically make a quick switchback right onto the logging road (Bear Run trail.) Its blazed red/maroon, although you'll have to travel several hundred yards to find one. Many are hidden behind new growth along this section. Just after the turn you'll encounter some awesome boulders right on the trail (hint, hint to any climbing friends still reading).Follow the (I'm guessing seldom used?) Bear Run trail to the intersection with Tulip Tree trail (freshly blazed red), but unmarked I believe. Turn right and follow this incredible, rocky, freshly revamped trail to the intersection of Laurel Run trail. Follow Laurel Run trail all the way to a crossing at route 381. Cross the hardtop road and continue on Laurel Run to Peninsula trail. This intersection is tricky so pay attention or you'll add an out and back hill climb to your run too. Near the end of Peninsula trail, you'll come to Paradise Overlook (a rock outcropping that offers a view of the Youghiogheny River below. From there follow the trail uphill to a gravel road. Turn left onto the gravel road(Tissue trail)and follow it back to route 381. The entrance to Bear Run (the starting point) is across the road. Finish the run at the same sign where you began.

Paradise Overlook

My first try at this run was 1:47:21. I was off trail several times, referenced my map too much, stopped for a couple photos, yet ran my ass off to set a benchmark for myself and others. My experience was top notch and I highly recommend it to trail runners looking for new places to venture. Seemed like hard work despite its shorter distance. Route finding proved to be a little more difficult than I expected. Now knowing the route I look forward to trying this one again. There's some long moderate hills, short steep hills, high speed technical rocks on (my favorite part) Tulip Tree trail. Thick sections, Stinging Nettles, even an oozing deer carcass that currently requires a surprise long jump! All kinds of trail goodies. I really enjoyed the many types of forest , wildlife and vegetation that you encounter on this run. As I ran I identified birds by call to pass the time. I heard Black-throated Blue warbler, Black-Throated Green warbler, Wood Thrush, Veery, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, American Robin, Indigo Bunting, Field Sparrow, Eastern Wood Pewee, and Red-bellied woodpecker. Others were present I'm sure, these are what I remembered.




If you happen to try this one, please share your experience. I'm sure someone can run this much faster (I'm surely going to try). I hope to get other runners motivated to come give it their all. How fast can this be done? A friendly challenge if you will... Come try it, you won't be sorry! (printable trail map)

Bruce Gordon Was Nice to Me

I spotted him in the shadows, at the back of the exhibition hall. It was unexpected. This was Interbike after all, not NAHBS. But there he was, behind a big beautiful red bike with Bruce Gordon decals, underneath a banner with the mysterious word SOPWAMTOS (which, I soon learn, is the Society of People Who Actually Make Their Own Sh!t). A broad-shoulderd, slightly slouchy, gray-haired man with the face of a Soviet literary dissident circa the 1960s. I would give anything to have the writing skills to describe Bruce Gordon's facial features and expression. But alas, I must struggle. Coyly suspicious? Exuberantly grumpy? Playfully defiant? Something like that.






If you don't already know, Bruce Gordon is a framebuilder out in Petaluma, California. One of the best, they say. One of those guys who has been at it for decades, one of the legends. At a loss for words from the bizarre charm of his physical presence, I blurt out something generic about being pleased to meet him. In reply he laughs with a bitterness that is masterful in its combination of sincerity and theatrics. "If I could go back and do something else with my life, trust me I would!" he snorts. "So... want a bike?" Out of curiosity I ask about the wait list. "I am all caught up," he says, "no wait list. You can go ahead and write that on your blog" (the last word is accompanied by a playfully-scornful - or maybe not so playfully, this is ambiguous by design - roll of the eyes. But who cares. Bruce Gordon has no wait list? Okay, I will write that.)








Next we discuss his famousDangerous Pointy Brakes, which I'd recently tried on one of Pamela Blalock's bikes and discovered to be surprisingly functional (unlike most other cantis I've tried). He was pleased to hear this. For a small fortune the brakes could be mine. Alas I had neither the required sum, nor a bike on which these superior brakes could go. But yes, I would mention them on my "blog."






What can I say. I could have moved along at that point. But I don't know when to quit. And no, that's not even it. In truth, I was a little smitten. I wanted this man to keep talking. I wanted to study his face and figure out what or whom it reminded me of.






So I stuck around, touched the bike, asked questions. He quickly grew suspicious of how much I seemed to know about frame geometry and such. "Oh don't tell me. You're planning to become a framebuilder!" I assured him that I was not, but confessed that I might be building a frame for myself shortly. Nothing serious. Just to give it a try. But becoming a framebuilder, no. I understand the amount of training that requires; I know that earning a living that way is next to impossible. "You're damn right it's impossible." And thus began a speech about the horrors and deceptions of the pipe dream of becoming a framebuilder that claims hopeful innocents of my generation by the dozen. Bruce Gordon's opinion on the matter is basically a more extreme version ofthis. "If I could save just one young person from becoming a framebuilder, I would die happy," he tells me. I believe him, and promise to never become a framebuilder.






He eyes me with sadness and shakes his head. He asks what I used to do for a living before the tragedy of succumbing to bikes. I tell him briefly, and soon we are talking about bikes as one would talk about a disease. He tells me some personal stuff, I reciprocate. We commiserate. Before I know it, the conversation begins to resemble the sort of jaded, weepy, vodka-fueled exchange that takes place at around 3 in the morning. Except this is Interbike, high noon, and I am sober.






The following day, I walked by the booth again and gave Bruce Gordon an uncertain wave. I genuinely did not think he'd remember me; it was as if our conversation the day before had been something I'd imagined. But he did remember. And then he gave me this pin. It's a limited edition. The regular one reads "Bruce Gordon was rude to me."




And that is my story of meeting Bruce Gordon. You should buy one of his bikes. I hear they are good and he's all caught up on his wait list.

More Aspen Leaves

Winter Sunset, Whitecaps Bay

Here's a recent sunset shot from Grand Portage. This was taken a few days ago, one of the best sunsets of this winter so far. Most of our sunsets this winter have been met with very cloudy skies but this one had a few patchy clouds, just enough to really help accent the sunset color. The temperature was relatively mild when I made this shot, but the wind was really strong off the lake, elevating the wind chill and making this shot a bit of a challenge. Even with my gloves on, my fingers had a good chill after shooting this blustery winter sunset.

Winter Moonlight on the Pigeon River

Thanks to unfavorable photography conditions for most of the past week (nothing but gray skies and flat light), I've been searching through my archives once again looking for images that I've wanted to put on my website but hadn't for one reason or another. This shot was taken at 3:17 AM on January 1, 2007 - only a few hours into the new year! The moonlight on that night was spectacular, and I had spent almost the entire night out in the woods with my camera. This photo was made with my old Canon EOS 20D camera with an exposure time of 20 seconds at an aperture of f4.0 and an ISO of 800. I hope to have some nights like this over the coming winter!

More on Shells....

I am likely the last person to test shell garments. I admittedly don't use shell garmentsin my own climbing very often. More likely something I would use skiing on the lifts or in the back country or for intentionally stripped down quick ascents in winter.



The biggest reason I don't use shells climbing generally is I intentionally try to climb in good weather. If that isn't possible I prefer cold weather where the moisture that I do see is snow and not rain.

If nothing else this mostly miserabletrip reminded me of the importance,"stay dry to stay warm".



Doug climbing in the Mountain Hardware DRYSTEIN and a NWAlpine hoody





So as I sat on a picnic table on day one of the "shell shoot out" and the rainconstant and seemingly never endingyou can imagine my excitement to get this demo over with. If it weren't for the amount of planning by all involved andtwo of my climbing partners willing totake the time to help me out it wouldn't have gotten done. A hearty thanks to all!



To do this test and get as much feed back as possible we sorted out base layers and pants so that all of use were using a similar set up.



Top and bottom base Layers were Cabela's E.C.W.C.SThermal Zone Polartec Power Dry built of three different Polartec fabrics.



Next up were the excellent soft shell climbing pants and lwt pile Hoodies from NWAlpine.



We had60g Primaloft andCorelofthoodies along one each fromArcteryx, the Atom Lt,from RAB, the Xenon and from Brooks Range CirroHoody.



Expecting to eventually be high on Rainier we also brought RAB Infinitydown jackets. They were intentionally part of Doug's and my sleeping system as were using the Feathered Friends Vireo. I got a chuckle when we all climbed into the tent the second night. Weand all the gear were wetand the temps were dropping. Lee pulled on his Infinityand snuggled up in a F.F's Swallow.



I'll be doing follow up blogs on all the gear I mentioned above.



For the shells? It became obviouson day one that some of the newestsoft shell technologyI hadwanted to testfor breathability againstthe neweststretch water proofgear wasn't going to happen.



It was simply too wet. Too much rain, with a measured 2" on day one and we had yet to leave the parking lot. Other hard shells I wanted to take didn't show up in time. So we'll have to do the shell test again I suspect. And a serious look at soft shells isobvious one as well.



The soft shell topsstayed in the truck on this one and rightfully so to be fair.







Here are the jackets we did take in:



Outdoor Reasearch's Axiom jacket cut from a stretch water proof breathable version of *Gore-Tex’s Active Shell* 13.7oz Large



Westcomb's APOC jacket cut from Polartec's stretch waterproof breathable *NeoShell* 17.4oz XL



Marmot's HYPER jacket cut from stretch waterproof breathable technology, *MemBrain® Strata 100% Nylon Stretch* 13.4oz XL



Mountain Hardware's DRYSTEIN jacket cut from their stretch, water proof, breathable *Dry Q Elite* 18.7 oz XL



RAB's Neo Stretch Jacket cut from Polartec's stretch waterproof breathable *NeoShell* and 18.6oz XL



Day one. Short day just getting organized and trying to figure out the weather window on Rainier. We finally gave up on that and just decided to test gear and if possible get a little climbing in on a tiny bit of snow and ice on Observation Rock if we could stay dry and motivated through the weekend. All of us just picked out what ever garments we thought appropriate that day for setting up the big "base camp" style tent, and dinner.



Doug and Igravitated to the RAB Infinitydown jackets. Lee had brought his own Goretex down jacket. Even in the rain all three were cozy setting up our "base camp", sorting gear and getting organized. The RAB InfinityisPertex® Quantum 10D ultra lightand was never intended to be a rain jacket.



But in this case it worked much better than expected. From this experience the RAB Infinity Endurance is the next down jacket I'll own.



More here on Pertex:



http://www.pertex.com/



I had thought we all would have jumped on the 60g synthetics right away. I knew better and still went for the down. More on that later.



Doug grabbed the Mountain Hardware DRYSTEIN. Lee theOutdoor Reasearch AXIOM. And me, having first dibs out of the bunch had already grabbed the Marmot HYPER.



As much as I like the Hyper after the first 4 hours in the rain on day two I have to confess it is not in the same league as the other three fabrics we used. With ice water running down my shoulder blades I reluctantly acknowledged my mistake and gave up on the Hyper and switched to mystand, Westcomb's APOC in Neoshell.



The point was clearly made. In these conditions you needed serious rain gear. If you were hunkered down and not having to move, commercial fishing rain gear would have beenmore appropriate



Now it was time to see if I could dry out wearing a garment made of Neoshell. Just how breathable is Neoshell?Remember we were all in soft shell pants.Somy lower body was damp and my upper layer of Cabella's E.C.W.C.S now wet before I changed jackets. By the time I turned in that evening everything was still damp but I was warm and drying out on top. Only my socks and boots were still truly wet...from the water running down my legs.



My soft shell pants had seen a lot of use comparedto the shiny new NWAlpine pants Lee and Doug were using. Because of the new DWR coatings on their pants they stayed drier and it showed.No water in their boots! Water still beaded up on their pants andclearly it did not on mine. Pays to remember you need to re-treat soft shells on a regular basis if you want to maintain the water resistance.

I guess it should be no surprise, but it wasfor me...again.



These are the real players from what I have seen to date.

Reliable shell gear that is stretchy, breathable and truly water proof came down to this:





*Gore-Tex’s Active Shell*





*Polartec's NeoShell*





*Mountain Hardware'sDry Q Elite*







More to come on the subtle differences we could perceive using them.