Clean Holds on the Carpet Boulder

Out yesterday in the heat, we managed to eek out a pretty good session on the Carpet Boulder (situated between the two parking areas and looks like a submarine).

While we didn't clean off everything, there should be enough to get you going with problems from V1 to V8. It also sits under some shade, so that was nice yesterday.

Here are a couple of photos of a V5, Ten Dollar Bread. Crimpy, bulging, slopey: everything you want in a boulder problem at Carver. First up is Josh:

And this one is Dan making progress:

And the crux is getting past that bulge, so good luck and safe climbing.

spencer out

The Drake Boulder Is Clean

Went out yesterday afternoon and cleaned the Drake Boulder.

This boulder is next to the circle turnaround to the right of the Stone Cliff Inn. It is part of the Carpet Boulders Group. The problem this boulder is named after, The Drake, is now partially buried by the parking lot, but three other very fun problems still exist (and The Drake could be unearthed).

The problems are, Brakeman V3, Caboose V4 (recently broken hold), Rail Yard V0, Rail Yard Left V4, The Drake V3 (buried).

The photo of Avery on Brakeman is in this post. Caboose would start to the left of her feet (hold now broken, but still enough to start on) and climb into the arete. The other problems are around the corner to the right and exit up the slab which is now clean enough.

Also went out last week and sawed the fallen tree off the Water Tower Boulder, which is part of the Titlest Boulders near the Pioneer Church.

And the Guidebook has been sent to the printers.

Good Luck.

Spencer out

Cleaning at Carver

Climbing in Portland is dirty business. Each year we endure months of rain only to head outside that first dry week to discover that our favorite problem has been reclaimed by moss and dirt.

You now have three options:

1. Come back in a week or two and hope someone else has cleaned it for you and put enough chalk on the holds to make you feel like your back in the gym.

2. Go ahead and climb it dirty in all its epic goodness until you pitch off just before the send because your foot slipped off that dusty edge or you got moss in your eye.

3. Take one for the team and bust out your brush set.

Hopefully you’ve chosen the noble path of helping out the whole community and decided to do some brushing or gardening if the problem has gone more than two seasons without a cleaning.

Before you begin, here are some tools and some tips:

• No wire brushes – The basalt around Portland is soft enough that wire brushing will remove important texture.
• Nylon bristle brushes – These can be old toothbrushes, scrub brushes from under the kitchen sink or fancy brushes from climbing companies like Revolution, Lapis or Metolius. I recommend trimming the bristles down with a pair of scissors to make them a bit more firm.
• Painter’s pole – Attaching a brush to the end of an extendable pole means cleaning more holds from the ground and less time standing on your girlfriend’s shoulders.
• Start from the top – If possible, clean from the top down so you don’t have to clean off the same hold multiple times.
• Broom - Using a broom head for the final bit of cleaning works best to get more of the fine, loose debris off the holds.

Moss removal – Leave the moss alone if it isn’t covering-up anything important.

That should get you started and remember to watch out for loose rock and slugs.

Spencer out

Carver Bouldering Guide is Very Close

Spent the last few days out at Carver taking new photos for the guidebook. Had to replace one photo that was in the guide because some new age restrictions are in place (sorry Otto). You must be 18 to climb at Carver.

You also need to sign the release form at either the PRG or the Circuit.

Set the flash up two days ago with a grid and dialed the ambient light down to black, to get this shot:

That's me on Kansas Mantle, V4 on the Mantle Boulder. The start is low and scrunched, but the slopers are some of the best in the woods. The texture on this boulder is a little slicker than most at Carver because of someone using a wire brush on it years ago.

My buddy Mark Oronzio snapped the photo above. He is doing really cool underwater stuff at Tiger Shark Productions.