Surf Slade

At 4:02pm, I set my cruise at 82 mph. It’s strategic. Traffic on I-64 out of Lexington was lighter than usual. Fayette County spring break is a needed respite. I was pleasantly surprised to find the access road gate open at North Fork. I pulled up on the reins and took the shot.

That’s where all the traffic ended up. I avoided Stanton and Slade both with my little exit maneuver but ended up passing half a dozen cars coming out of the western realm on North Fork. And more heading out later. GPS mapping is ruining my outdoor experiences. 

My goal was to improve and possible attempt the marquee line on the Samurai Boulder. Mainly it needed the remainder of loose detritus and dead leaves swiped off the upper slab. That went pretty quickly. Then I threw my old worn out pad under the line and shoved my gnarled old feet into brand new shoes. Old wine in new wineskins and all…

I surprised myself on my first attempt of Blue Eye Samurai by getting all the way to the move that transitions from overhanging to the upper slab.  I wanted a second crash pad or a spotter. I’m sure I can do the move. 

It’s going to be a classic moderate highball boulder problem. I foresee it being the common starting point when people start visiting Boulder City. 

I FAed three other easy problems. One was the obvious line in the uphill side of the Outskirts Boulder. It’s the first (and large) boulder on the center approach. Just below Broken Window Boulder. Called it Tourist Traffic. Wonder why?

I did two problems on Samurai after attempting Blue Eye. I did the obvious easy scramble on the left side of the south face. I called it Electric Balalaika in reference to the movie “Six String Samurai.” And to wrap up a good quick session I sent the slab problem to the left of the southwest arete. I called it Surfing in Siberia. It’s hard V0 or maybe V1. The moves are fun and once I clean it up it should be a pretty good problem. 

I’ve slipped back into the life I’ve pined for all these years. I’m living the life I want. At least in the kind of balance I can accept. I’d rather have more free time, but I’m stealing as much as I can and maintaining equilibrium. 

Saul Goodman Boulder from the top of Samurai Boulder

I’m feeling the same kind of drive and motivation and excitement as I did when I was full-on developing Lower Small Wall, Area 51, and Muscle Beach. It’s satisfying to identify, clean, develop, and tick off line after line after line. And not only for the climbs but also for the trails and top outs and bases. I have considerably more experience trail building and doing rock work. I envision a fully developed area that will draw people to boulder there. 

I know I’ve said this before, but I've realized bouldering is my creative urge and creative outlet. It's looking at a piece of rock and envisioning how I can move over it. It’s crafting a line, naming it, creating some kind of history to go with it. The documentation through photos and writing about the experiences enhances it even more. Maybe I’ll be the only person who ever enjoys my art, but it is my art.