Paul Robinson

Paul Robinson has really been pushing his bouldering capabilities. This is a great display of his incredible talent.

BD athlete Paul Robinson bouldering 8B+ and 8C first ascents near Cape Town, South Africa from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Purchase

A great purchase produces wonderful results....

 The Producer-T2I

 Blacks

Dylan

Simon

Nick

The Gudauskas Brothers: New York

solo

Soloing, is a form of free climbing where the climber (the free soloist) forgoes ropes, harnesses and other protective gear while ascending and relies only on his or her physical strength, climbing ability, and psychological fortitude to avoid a fatal fall. Free solo climbing should not be confused with general free climbing, in which gear is typically used for safety in case of a fall, but not to assist the climb.

Soloing is the purest form of climbing and puts you in a sense of heightened awareness. You never climb better then when your soloing!  

Climbing a tower is worth three walls! -Steph Davis

New Shoes!!

Super Psyched... on the new Five Ten Arrowhead climbing shoes!

A good looking shoe.

Sending in the new shoes.

Another Day at The Gorge

Mouth, Kevin, Cameron, Jason, Lauren and I spent Sunday climbing at Mission Gorge. We spent a little while repeating some climbs and the other time was spent on new lines. I was stoked to push some of the harder grades around 5.10c or 5.10d. In addition, I got a great gear lead in too. Everyone was climbing well and have to give Cameron a high-five for his 5.10a onsight, It was pretty impressive.

Kevin working on Mighty Monger 5.10d

Riverside Rock Quarry

What a gnarly place. It's not the prettiest climbing destination in southern California, but it does boast some incredible climbing. Here are a few pictures of Violator 5.11c that I projected a few days ago!

 So stoked to see my wife back on the rock.

 Feeling the pump just before the crux overhanging crimps.

 A few more moves to go!

I've Created A Monster

Cameron Carlson's balls have officially dropped! After a solid session at Lake Dixon yesterday, I'm sold. Cameron started out the day with a gear lead of the Y-crack 5.7 offwidth. Next on the list was a near miss of a redpoint on the Roof, 5.11a. After hanging for bit and finding the right jams, he got the beta and pulled over the top. I'm sure he'll get the redpoint first try during his next visit. The last climb of the day was a project I've been working on, Double-D. It comes in at 5.10d and has very balency feet with little for the hands to hold onto.He got it pretty easy on his second attempt with a little beta. If this was all done in one day, imagine what a week of climbing looks like. The late nights training at Vital have paid off. He's been climbing for under a year and is already sending my project. Pretty wild to think about. Keep an eye out for this kid from the coastline crags of Malibu Creek, to the desert crags of New Jack City. Happy Birthday Kid!! Keep sending....

The ominous Dixon roof crack!

Cameron working the crux of Brian's Song 5.10c, Keller Peak, Big Bear

Boulder Problems

Last summer I spent a few afternoons a week going up to a secret bouldering location. There are tons of cool projects out there to work on. I've sent a few of them, with most being under the V4 rating. It's killing me to be sitting at home looking through the pics. I pray everyday that my sprained ankle will  heal soon so I can make the 20 minute uphill hike. Here are some sent and others waiting to he freed!

 

Dynomite V3 on the Dynomite boulder. Mantle on a mini ledge, then match and stand.

 Cougar Claw V3+ Dynomite boulder.

 Finger Rip unrated. Blood, broken holds and unfinished.

 View from arete.

 The wave, project.

Peace Pipe V0, Arrowhead boulder

 Tiptoe V1+ on the Brain

Sidewinder V2 on the Egg

Leave a Message

The message was left with a few thousand folks at the premiere. My hat is off to Aaron Lieber for all of his sleepless nights and hours of jet-lag. The 6.0 girls are really raising the bar for women's surfing. The night was well documented!

A photo from surfermag.com with me front row at the bar with wife and friends.

 Aaron and girls, stoked!

 Laura Enever ready to party. photo Blake

 A classic shot of Transworld's Chris Cote with the one and only soon to be world champ! photo Blake

A great crowd for an awesome premiere. photo Blake

Check out more pics from my buddy Blake Kueny

www.ginger-vision.com

 and

on surfermag.com

Russell's Film Project

When I need a photographer or cinematographer Russell Spencer is my go-to guy. He's extremely creative and has an eye for the perfect shot. Whether I'm hanging 60ft. up on a rock wall or deep in the tube at Blacks, he's right there capturing the moment. About 6 months ago he went back to the basics by shooting film. It's an almost unheard of thing these days. The image explains my lifestyle. LIVING ON THE EDGE

Check out other pics and videos at http://russellandrew.blogspot.com/

Hangman's Onsight.

In April, I watched a video of Adam Ondra onsightintg Mind Control a 5.14c! This is just a few letter grades under the hardest climb in the world, 5.15c. This was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It's very hard to walk up to a route and climb it flawlessly with having no prior beta (information). A few weeks after watching this inspiring video I met up with my buddy Todd Quinn. We drove down to Mission Gorge and warmed up on some 5.8s. Now that the blood was pumping, it was time to really push my limit. I found a climb called Hangman's rated 5.10a. The start was pretty challenging, but softened up after a few hard moves. It was an awesome climb that really pushed me to get it on my first try. I will be honest and say I got pretty gassed and considered letting go, but deep down I knew letting go wasn't an option! Here we are with a beautiful and successful onsight. Thanks Todd for your encouragement and support.

Todd setting up. The V3, overhanging, bouldery start is just to the left in the shade.

                           

Pretty psyched on the send!

                                                         
 Now for that inspirational video!!!

BD athlete Adam Ondra onsights Mind Control (8c+), Oliana, Spain from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

What Happened?

This is the question I've been hearing over and over again. I figure now everyone will get there chance to hear the complete story.

Last Wednesday around 6:00pm I decided to climb just down the road at Cougar Crag. I then called my buddies Cameron and Jon to see if they wanted to join me. Cameron said that he was pretty worn out and couldn't make it. Jon just didn't respond so, I sent him a text of where I was climbing just in case he wanted to join. I broke the #1 rule, "don't go into the wilderness alone!"

Around 7:08pm I reached a project that I wanted to try. This is where I broke rule #2,"don't try a hard climb with a dangerous landing without a spotter and plenty of crash pads." I climbed for for 30 minutes trying to reach a upper crimp. I got really close in the end and my last try I decided to dyno for it. I dove into the hold and held it for a second, then came unglued, overshot my pad and landed with my left foot on flat ground and my right on a rock. The pain was excruciating. I thought I broke my ankle and didn't want to look at it. Once I saw that it wasn't broken, I took off my climbing shoe, put on my sock and running shoe, and packed up my gear. I grabbed a few sticks for stability and hobbled my way to the bottom.

The next day I had x-rays taken and had it looked at with the results coming out in my favor. It was a bad sprain and I have to take a few weeks off from any physical activity. It's been a good week and I can now bear full body weight on my ankle. I just need it to heal a bit more to work on flexibility.

Thank you all for your support and hope to see ya in the water soon!

breathe...

Growing up around the ocean has afforded me the opportunity to explore the underwater world. It's a beautiful place, but at the same time can be very deadly. Our bodies are only made to withstand a few minutes with out oxygen. There is one man that has been pushing the envelope. Here is a video of the half fish/half man!!!

J-Tree: The Full Experience

Exhausting Night:
The spring break crowd in J-Tree was in full effect. We left the house around 7:30 pm and got there around 9:30 pm. Every campsite was overflowing with people. We drove around for two hours and to at least three different campgrounds with no luck. We finally found a spot that was paid for, but was not occupied at the time. I looked at my watch and saw that it was closing in on midnight. I had to make the decision to camp here. Cameron, Jenny, and I threw our bags down on a tarp, snuggled in, and crashed.

Real Hidden Valley boulders

Awesome morning:
I awoke to a beautiful sunrise and crawled out of my bag to get a better look. I spent twenty minutes sitting on top of a huge rock like an eagle, watching the sun and people rise around the campground. It was an amazing sight. Soon after the sun came up we sat down for breakfast. Jenny and I each had a granola bar and a banana. Cameron on the other hand decided to take down 8 slices of Angel food cake. It was a priceless sight. Don't worry it didn't end there. The next victim was a bag of jalapeno chips and nacho cheese. That didn't last long. Cameron decided it was too early for the chips and cheese and gave up.

Day 1 Climbing:
Our first day was filled with adventure. We went to Hall of Horrors where Cameron put up the first climb. It was a tricky friction climb on small holds. House Of The Homeless 5.9. Once I got up there on TR to inspect, I was astonished with what Cameron climbed. I had to take a minute to look around for holds, it was slim pickings up there. Jenny did a great job following and then decided to pack up and try some Trad climbing. We all needed to practice our placements before we took on the bong 5.5 at the end of the day. Quail Springs was our training ground. We tackled a fun 5.4 called Eschar.

Cameron flashing House Of The Homeless 5.9.
My beautiful wife getting a tan while looking for decent holds.
Building up the courage to make the move.
First Trad lead of the trip on Eschar 5.4 at Quail Springs.

The Scare:
By this time, we had been out in the 85 Degree heat for a while. My wife was really starting to feel it. I had her drink Gatorade and water fast. We decided to go back to camp and rest. Jenny's symptoms worsened and she began to vomit. I was now getting a bit worried. I once was also a victim of heat exhaustion. I knew the symptoms first hand and how bad the situation could get if not treated . Cameron and I put a sleeping pad for her in the shade and watched over her, having her drink occasionally. A nice long nap was much needed. Jenny woke-up feeling much better.
We decided to head over to Hidden Valley Campground to try the Bong. I got all racked up and went for it. Cameron and Jenny both followed flawlessly. It was an amazing ending to the day. The Bong 5.5 was finished!

Racked and Ready for the Bong.
Full jams.
Cameron finishing the crux move over the roof.

Wild Night:
We left HVC and went back to camp beat. We started a fire, relaxed, hydrated and told stories for a few hours. Before you knew it the rest of the crew was pouring in. I fired up the dogs on the grill and welcomed Taylor, Jessica, Jon L., Jon N., Garrett, and Chance. We were all having a blast with full belly's and smiling faces. Around midnight we had to call it a night. There were climbs to crush in the morning.

Taylor loves hot dogs!
Jon, Jon, Garrett and Chance mesmerized by the fire.
Creepy light show...

Go Time, Day Two:
The morning came fast and some were definitely wishing they got to bed a bit earlier last night. Breakfast burritos were next on the agenda. Todd and Lynn showed up during breakfast. While everyone was eating, Taylor and I planned out the day. First stop was bouldering at the Real Hidden Valley. Every one put in good work there. It was the strongest I had seen Cameron climb! All of his late nights at Vital finally paid off. We worked; Turnbuckle Slab V-Easy, Turnbuckle V1, Block Party V3, So High V5R. Next on the list was a climb around the corner or Atlantis Wall. Both were packed. Our next plan of attack was Echo Cove.

The Crew minus my talented wife behind the camera.
Todd getting the first onsight ascent of the turnbuckle slab V-easy.
Jenny warming up on the Turnbuckle.

Crushing the cove:
This was the chance for me to push my Trad skills on a steeper face. I felt my Trad limit was in the 5.6-5.7 range, but Taylor thought I could pull off Fun Stuff 5.8. The climb was a bit intimidating at first. It had a rough start. I had to climb really small holds and almost no feet over a bulge about 12ft off the ground. It really wasn't too bad. I went into this climb thinking this was the crux move and later found it wasn't. I had good placements and jugs 80 percent of the way up. The very top was a bit runout for the move I had to make. I felt around for a minute and found a bad seam for my right hand. I knew this was it and had to commit. I did look down to see where my last piece of PRO was and it was 6-8 ft. away. If I came unstuck I would be fine, but it was a 12-16ft. ride I didn't want to take. I felt strong and confident and went for it. SUCCESS! I was super psyched to finish the climb. It was right at my level and tons of fun. Cameron, Jenny, and Todd just flew right up it. Lynn and Jon N. also made it look way too easy.

Placing gear in the crack on Fun Stuff 5.8.

Lynn meeting up with the crux.

Bring the Heat:
From the moment we arrived on Thursday night I knew something big was coming. Everyone on the trip was having a blast pushing their limits. When Taylor shows up, you know its on! I've seen him pour out his heart and soul into pushing hard climbs. He's accomplished climbing feats that most only dream of. This was the time and place for him to shine. There was a beautiful overhanging sport climb calling his name. Ground up or Shut up 5.11b was the challenge. I was praying for him to get an onsight. When he left the ground and powered through the bouldery start, I knew it was going to be close to his limit. He looked strong, clipping a few bolts low and putting a few pieces of PRO in the middle section. The next part looked ridiculous, slightly overhanging with really tiny holds. If you make it past two bolts, its a crimp fest which leads to a dyno to the top. Taylor made a few moves and ran out of holds missing his onsight. I was bummed for him, but the climb was not over by any means. He backed down and found the missing hold. Now its full-steam-ahead, clipping and crimping . At the last bolt it was liftoff, I held on tight to the rope waiting for the tension from his fall. There was no fall. I looked up and saw him holding on with one hand. He nailed it and pulled himself over the top. I was amazed. I jumped on the route on TR, made 3/4 of it clean. I was stopped and puzzled by the middle section. I had to go off route and back on to the right. I then threw for the top and couldn't stick the dyno. I was gassed and had to give up. I never give up. I just sat there in amazement at what Taylor had accomplished.

Taylor cleaning his gear after the ascent. A good look at the steep face!
Thinking about the send of Ground up or shut up 5.11b.
Traversing right back onto the face for more pain....

THANKS
Jenny, Cameron, Jon L., Jon N., Lynn, Todd, Taylor and Jessica!
What an awesome trip!!....

You can find more park and route info at: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/california/joshua_tree_national_park/105720495