another new Priest Draw guide...

If you don't have this version you are missing out! It is the guide that all other Priest Draw guides should be judged by!!! Found it on boldering.com.

Check it out here.

Bouldering videos to get you psyched!

Here are a few recent bouldering videos with footage from Kelly and the Priest Draw, just to keep the psych going... man, we have some good bouldering in Flag-hope your out enjoying it!





Go here if the above video is cut off.

Gregory Commercial Priest Draw, Arizona. from Joey Kinder on Vimeo.

Taquitz Trip Report

Taquitz: by John Doskicz

We’ve read the stories and marveled at the accomplishments of the early climbing pioneers in the United States. Finally we get to climb at the legendary Taquitz Rock, where Royal, Yvon and then the Stonemasters pushed climbing standards to new levels. Pete and I followed our usual method of operations and left Flagstaff at 4 am on a Tuesday morning in late May to make the 7 hour approach to the base of the rock. Six hours later we were in the Idyllwild county campground. Nice campground with lots of practice climbing within it. We quickly set up camp and drove through the small mountain town up to Humber Park where the next part of the approach begins. A steep 50 minute hump up a field of granite talus led us under the North West face of Taquitz to the base of Whodunit, 5.9, 8 pitches. The base still had a small snow field but the line looked dry from the ground. I put on my wind breaker and took off up the first pitch. Marveling at the newness of the granite under my feet I focused on remembering how to climb on smooth rock with incipient cracks. We swapped leads for 6 pitches to top. We encountered fingers to chimney, fun slabs and an easy roof at the top. The Idyllwild Valley opens up to the east to a low valley. The views would have been better if not from all the smog rolling from LA. The summit is above 8,000ft. The easy approach and the alpine environment made it very special place to climb.

(Pete on Pitch 3 of Whodunit)

Day two started with the Open Book. The first climb to be rated 5.9 and the route that began the Yosemite decimal system, a more detailed system for grading the difficulty of rock climbs. The route follows three stellar pitches of 5.9 crack climbing up a giant right facing dihedral and was first climbed free by Royal Robbins in 1952 at age 17. Bring lots of big gear for this climb. From the top of the climb it was a little tricky finding the friction descent off the south side. Next we went after the Vampire which some call the best 11a in the state. Some 4^th and easy 5^th class scrambling lead to a point where a rope was needed. Two more moderate pitches took us to the Vampire Ledge. Wild place to be! The Vampire takes a line up a steep bald bulge high on the west face. Thin flakes and thinner friction climbing for 4 pitches gets you to the summit. Pete took off on the first pitch which required down climbing a hand crack for 15 ft. At the bottom of the crack a big stem and reach right deposits you in a beautiful steep hand crack in a corner that turns incipient and hard towards the end of the pitch. The weather was turning on us at this point. The clouds rolled in, the wind was more energetic and the temps dropped to snow cold. After shivering at the belay while Pete sent the pitch my motivation was waning. When I got to Pete we agreed to bail down. By the time we hit the ground the climb was obscured by clouds and we got some relief from our decision to come down.

(Pete following Pitch 1 of Open Book)

Our last morning we woke up to rain and decided to go to Jtree on our way home instead of checking out Taquitz’s neighbor, Suicide Rock. It was 69 and sunny in Jtree that day and empty too. I guess nobody would make plans to be there in the end of May. Only climbers that lived close enough could take advantage of the unseasonably cool temperatures. It felt great to be in Jtree, a place we have logged many pitches. We explored some walls that were new to us. 2 pitches on the Rock Hudson Wall and then the three Peyote Cracks. It only took two hours to get to Jtree from Idyllwild and then 4 more from 29 Palms to Flag. The detour through Jtree really did not add much time to our return trip.

If you have not been able to climb at Taquitz yet, move it up on your to do list. 6hr drive from flag, great multi-pitch trad climbing of all grades and a cool town to hang out in. I think Taquitz is a lot like Granite Mountain in Prescott. Both places have an ‘old school’ reputation of serious climbing. The routes are stout and you need a full quiver of climbing skills. We were super stoked to finally visit Taquitz and are already planning when we can get back there, and up on the Vampire again.

Petzl Nomad, 9.8mm Rope Review

I just picked up a new rope for the year. I decided to give a Petzl rope a try and got the 9.8 Nomad. One of the cool things about all Petzl ropes is they keep it pretty simple by giving all their ropes all the extras that sometimes can be confusing to sort through with other manufacturers. All Petzl lines are dry treated, have clear middle marks and are butterfly coiled in the factory for use right out of the package. I uncoiled my rope for the first time at the base of a multi-pitch climb in Taquitz, tied in and took off. Over the first two pitches the second had some slight twisting in the rope but it disappeared before we topped out on the climb. You would never be able to climb with rope like that with the standard factory machine coil. Over 3 days we logged 20 pitches with the new rope; multi-pitch, top roping and rappelling. The rope handled awesome. Felt great in the hand and the knots felt good, secure and easy to untie. The thin diameter and thick sheath allowed it to run very smoothly over the rock and through the protection. Over all I was really stoked with the way this rope handled and I highly recommend one.

-John Doskicz

June Women's Clinic: Cleaning Sport Routes

Hello All,

I hope you all are getting to enjoy these magical summer days! I know the sunshine has been making me super happy. I hope that you will find time to come and join me for the monthly Women's Clinic on the 25th of June from 6 to 8 pm. This month we will be working on Cleaning Sport Routes.

Cleaning Sport Routes: why is this important? Well, the number one reason I can think of is to get your gear!

I know that when I first started climbing routes I would just top rope. My climbing partner with all the fancy gear and know how would lead a route, un-clip all the draws on the way down, climb the route again after me, do something magical at the top of the route and walla, he had all his stuff and then we were off to the next one. That is a super sweet set up for the person who always gets to TR and never has to clean anything. Not so sweet for the rope gunner!

Climbing is a partnership. Each partner has roles and responsibilities to carry out. I always like to make sure I am doing my part and I expect the same of my climbing partner. For example, if I hike the rope in and out then they should carry all the draws, if they are getting ready to climb I will flake the rope, and if they lead a route then I am for sure going to clean it.It is a balanced system with each person doing their part to make sure it is fun and rewarding for both people. It also just makes good sense, the leader leads the second cleans.

I also feel that anything that seems like magic is worth looking into. Knowing how to clean a sport route especially the anchors is not super complicated and for sure it is not magic but you do have to untie from the rope while at the top of the route. So, you do have to know what your doing or bad things will happen.

So, in general cleaning is a good skill to have you get your gear back, share the work load and even if you are not the person doing the cleaning you should know if your partner is doing it correctly or not.

If you would like to learn to clean sport routes or if you know how and are just kind of rusty and want to practice your skills come join me for the Women's Clinic June 25th 6-8pm*.

Hope to see you there,

Sam Dauderman

*Clinic is FREE with day pass or membership and for WOMEN ONLY.

Southside construction is in full swing!

Yes, it's true. This Fall the "south side" will look like the "north side" because the City of Flagstaff has begun it's project to beautify the south side.

As I type this they are ripping apart the street in front of Vertical Relief, changing out old pipes in the ground and preparing for new sidewalks, garbage cans, trees, bike racks, lights and more.

Are we open during this mess? Of course! If 5 feet of snow didn't shut us down this winter then a little construction won't either. Our parking lot is still open too so don't be afraid to find a place to park. We are here to serve you with climbing, climbing gear sales, beta and all the other things you expect. Come on by...dropping by to see the construction is fun in itself.

North side beware...our grungy little south side streets are getting a face lift and are going to show you what's up!

For more information about the construction check out the recent article at azdailysun.com here.

The below two photos are what we have to look forward to with our streets (same design as the north side of the tracks)!

Luxury...

Here are some photos of the condition of the street and sidewalks in front of Vertical Relief before my shift this morning...