Endurance Bouldering

It was a slow start to the day yesterday, but I had the urge to do the western bouldering circuit at Munson Lake, NB.  Though it was very hot (over 30º), the humidity was below 80%, so even though climbing hard was out of the question, I thought it might be possible to climb a lot.

I arrived at lunch time, and found a patch of shade suitable for a picnic.  Afterwords, I grabbed my gear, and started the clock...

I chose a sequence that would distribute the shade breaks, and tried to time the attempts at the slabs and slopers when they were not in direct sun, or immediately after a break.  Since the circuit was first completed, a few new problems have gone up that are appropriate to be included, so those were added.

Starting off along Roadside (I Think I Tore My Sack, I Skinned My Knee..., Charyotte, R-U-N-N-O-F-T, and Sugar Ditch), I worked my way to and through Cornerstones (Roy Toy, Gutterball, Rubberman, Sideshow Bobbed, Cheese Grater Accident, Munson Burner, Le Pro, Curvy Trunk Cedar, HandSOME, HandLESS, Tongue Exercises, Rails Direct) in the first 80 or 90 minutes.  Due to effects of heat on rubber, my shoes did not stick well to the smears and crystals of Sideshow Bobbed, which took me quite a few attempts.  This was also when the heat started to affect me.

In need of shade, I went to Sue Boy (Big Foot, Ghoti, Ghoti, Banane, Multiple Choice, Oral, Junior High, Elementary, Edgecation, Rash, Headache, Mocking Bird, Eye Burst.  High School, which was done in the original version, has been removed from the circuit since it can't be safely protected with only a single pad.) where I tried to relax between climbs and allow some body heat to dissipate, with only marginal results.

Next I went to the Slab Area (Flail, Mace, Pepper Spray, Nutmeg, Husk Musk, Dalle Inversée, Stop That, I'm Brian and So's My Wife, Slab Mois Ça, That Stinks) where the deer flies destroyed any hopes of repose in the tiny patches of shade.

The long walk back to the car was accompanied by a welcome breeze, and some shade provided by the crash pad.

Time for another picnic at Hidden Wall, this time in full shade and with the occasional gust of wind. It was at this point that I realized my skin was holding up quite well, despite feeling like it was thin.  Upon closer inspection, I saw what the problem was:  Blisters!  I've had flappers, slices, punctures, abrasions, peeling tips... But blisters?  The chalk should keep the skin too dry for that, but it wasn't doing a very good job and three fingertips were blistering.  I decided to carry on (Pinch Overhang, Red Belly, Vlad You Are There, Rock Hog, Unnamed) and peeled off part the sole off of my right shoe, in the process.  Due to heat and constant wear, the rubber was delaminating from the leather.  And warm soft rubber doesn't smear well, yet the occasional sharp crystal can bite deep.  It was bound to happen.

The home stretch was in full sun (Use Your Mussels, The Clam, Four Peckered Bull, Taurus, Dunce Cap and finally, Secular Undercourse) which brought skin and rubber limitations to the forefront.  I made my way to the water, dunked, then stayed to cool off and relax.  Total time was 4 hours and 19 minutes, in which I completed 51 boulder problems.  That's just over 5 minutes per boulder problem.  The bar has been raised!

4:18.43

New Brunswick Bouldering at it's Finest!

I just climbed forty-eight boulder problems today.  I must have been making up for lost time, as the weather has not co-operated with my work schedule for the past month.  After a couple hot sunny days the boulders were pretty dry at Munson Lake and the friction was good though –and I took full advantage!

It all started innocently enough.  I turned the car radio off after the 11:30 news update, and parked shortly thereafter, then climbed atop Kingpin.  There, in the sun, I did some calisthenics to get limbered up and decide what problems to get on.  I figured I'd start in the Slab Area and Cornerstones, then depending on the friction and my psyche, work one of my really hard projects.

For speed and ease of travel, I brought just one pad along to Small Slab, then Inversée and Mace.  Very quickly, I got into a groove, sending problem after problem.  I decided to hit up every problem at Cornerstones that could be safely protected with a single pad and no spotter.  Then decided to do the same at Sue Boy and maybe work the project(s) later in the day.

Boulder in the Brook was given a good scrub in the rain a few weeks ago.  This face, and the aretes are now home to 3 beautiful boulder problems.

By 3:00 I was back at the car for some food. Thirty-four problems in less than two-and-a-half hours works out to about 6 minutes a problem.  How much longer could I keep this up? There was no way I was going to stop and rest so I could work some hard stuff. The circuit is too much fun!  I decided to keep going.

I hit every West problem that's fairly close to the roads can be easily protected without a spotter and with one pad.  The only thing I didn't send was Compre(hen)sive.  It may have been slightly damp, but not enough to make it any harder.  Maybe I was beginning to fatigue by then.  In any case, At V7, it's out of place in this circuit, so I felt it was fine to move on.

I'm not really sure if I did keep the pace or not. It probably slowed a bit.  When I realized that there was plenty of daylight and no need to hurry, I did some minor trail work, (foolishly) took a break thinking I could then work the start to a very hard project since I was in the area, and scrubbed what I decided would be the final problem of the circuit.  It's a short, steep problem; all your weight is on your hands.  The holds are very good, but they are SHARP!

Secular Undercourse V1,  the latest addition and final problem in the circuit.

So after drawing blood (and getting the FA), I went down to the river for a quick soak.  The water is high, but not that cold considering it's October.  Once air dried, I walked back up, doing some more trail work along the way and got back to the car at 6:00.

The standard has been set: Six hours and thirty minutes to complete the circuit of 48 boulder problems.  This works out to just over 8 minutes per problem.  In reality it was probably under 7 minutes each, but without a watch it's only a guess, so I counted all the minutes spent doing other things before and after the circuit as well.  This leaves plenty of room for you (and me) to up the ante.

Here is the circuit:
Though listed in the order I chose, you can complete the problems in any order, provided Secular Undercourse is the final (48th) problem.
You must travel between problems on foot. You cannot ride a horse, bike or take a car.
In some cases, an option has been provided for alternate problems in the circuit.  This is because some problems favour a particular body-type or meteorological conditions that may be rare.  Be prepared to give up something in the exchange!
The clock starts when you first leave the road for one of the trails.
If you choose to stash supplies along the way, the clock will start at this time if you leave the road.
The clock stops when you are fully submerged in the Lepreau River.

The problems:

Slab Area

• I'm Brian And So's My Wife (V1)
• Slab Moi Ça (V0)
• That Stinks (V0)
• Stop That (V1)
• Dalle Inversée (V0)
• Husk Musk (V2)
• Pepper Spray (V2)
• Mace (V2)
• Flail (V2)
• Nutmeg (V0)

Cornerstones

• Rails Direct (V0)
• Tongue Exercises(V0)
• Curvy Trunk Cedar (V2)
• Le Pro (V0)
• Munson Burner (V3)
• Cheese Grater Accident (V3) or Enter The Dragon
• Sideshow Bobbed (V3)
• Rubberman (V0)
• Roy Toy (V0)
• Gutterball (V0)

Sue Boy

• Eye Burst (V1)
• Headache (V2)
• Rash (V3)
• Mockingbird (V1)
• Edgecation (V3)
• Elementary (V0)
• High School (V1)
• Junior High (V2)
• Multiple Choice  (V0-V2)
• Oral (V0)
• Big Foot (V2)
• Banane (V0)
• Ghoti (V2)
• Ghoti (V1)

Roadside

• Sugar Ditch (V1)
• R-U-N-N-O-F-T (V0)
• I Think I Tore My Sack (V0)
• Unnamed (V0) on the middle boulder of Hidden Wall
• Vlad You Are There (V1)
• Red Belly (V1) or Emma's Exit
• Pinch Overhang (V3)
• Cow Birther (V1) or Rock Hog
• The Clam (V0)
• Use Your Mussels (V4) or Double Misnomer and El Coucaracha and Rock Hog/Cow Birhter and Red Belly/Emma's Exit

Megacrystals

• Taurus (V0)
• Four-Peckerd Bull (V2)
• Dunce Cap (V0)
• Secular Undercourse (V1)

48 problems have now been completed, but you're not finished until you completely dunk yourself in the lake. No matter how cold it is, you must get fully under!