Friday, November 25, 2011

Sterling Rope Factory

I could take the easy way out and say that words can't describe my trip to Portland, Maine, but that wouldn't be very good blogging now would it?

I think my flight over the Appalachian Mountains was a symbol of how the rest of my trip would be.  Thirty minutes after take off my connector flight to Charlotte, NC was flying over a vast mountainous landscape, capped with vibrant red and orange trees with a sprinkle of grey and white rock.  "Perfect" I thought, "does anyone know this is out here? There aren't any roads in sight."  I hadn't seen any sign of fall until now.  This serenity had reminded me that there are still wild forest areas left untouched in this country, which was relaxing as our small plane bounced and rolled left and right. 


As much as I was visiting the factory for business, I felt like I was on vacation.  I had never been this far into the northeast.  I was in Portland, Maine for Pete's sake!  My senses were wildly alert as I tried to take everything in.  I couldn't immediately see that I was port side, but I sure could smell it as the industrious port filled the air with it's musky fragrance.  The weather was less than enjoyable the two days I was there.  Rainy and cold.  The majority of my time was spent in the factory learning and giving feedback with 4 of the other Sterling reps.  As a group, we were really lucky to get a chance to here how the company got started and what the mission of Sterling Rope is from the owners Carolyn and Peter.   

 

Day one was off to a great start as we jumped right into the factory tour.  I was totally blown away by the extensive process and precision that goes into every model and type of Sterling Rope.  Coating, twisting, winding, steaming, braiding, cutting, packaging, shipping....damn.  I won't say too much as there are many subtleties in these steps that make Sterling Ropes the best. 

Core fibre
Nylon
The Steamer
Braider = rope!
Eventually the tour led us over to the quality control room, a.k.a. the when will it break room.  Awesome.  See video.

We came in on day two with our heads dizzied from the night before.  A local club was hosting the Reel Rock Film Tour just down the street from our hotel and the whole Sterling Rope rep force, minus Kurt, and in house team were there to watch.  RAD!  Our sales meeting continued and led us into training and testing.  The focus was on the ATS device and F4 Fire Escape System.  It was really cool to see and use these pieces. 

Doug using the ATS 
Mark on the F4
Kiwi Dave on the F4
The crew out for dinner
The dinner spot
Looking back, this trip was crucial in developing my knowledge of what it takes to make the best ropes on the market and why Sterling's combination of durability and performance are unsurpassed.  I left Maine as not only a Sterling Rope rep, I am a Sterling Rope fan.  Their products help me enjoy the sport I love to the highest level and give me confidence when gripped.  I can't wait to use my Sterling Rope again.





Baller sunrise over the Atlantic
Here is a little video I put together of our tour.




Cheddar.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Final Round of TC

That's a wrap folks.  Round three is said and done with marking the end of the 2011 Triple Crown Series.  It was a year marked by the highest and lowest temperatures ever for Stone Fort and Hound Ears.  Big props to the guys and gals behind the scenes making this thing happen year after year.

Results can be seen here:  http://Triplecrownbouldering.com/results.htm

I was fortunate enough to get out and shoot some photos during the event.  Peep it.


Took some warm up photos.  I love this place.  


Then I ran into the big boys doing big boy things.  Nate D. here on Hot n' Tot.


Brad Weaver doing the same. 


Just around the corner my homie David Duez needed a witness.  Got it!


Then I walked around on top of the boulders for a bit and saw this girl on Slush Puppy.


It was really warm.  


Alex and Taylor were still psyched on doing classic HP problems like Odd Job in the sun.  




Amazing formations in the HP Canyon. Moon Arete.


Mid-day grubbin' in the Evolv booth.


Kai going over his scorecard.  Good work Kai!


We held a timed beer chugging contest.....out of the Entre Prises XXL Limestone.


Raising money at the SCC booth.  We buy crags to own forever!






The timing system was relative.  


No, we weren't chugging Good People IPA.  That would be stupid.


I leave for the Great Lakes today for a week and a half long tour.  Wish me luck.  

Cheddar

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Detour

While my path toward hard sport routes and bouldering this fall has a road block in it, I have found a new way to stay active at the crag.  I am thankful for this unfortunate injury event in some ways because I probably would have never "found the time" to exercise the discipline of trad climbing or never have wanted to carry my static rope and gear to the crag to shoot photos.  It's hard to be well balanced when you are healthy.  My mind wants to keep pushing and pushing higher and higher with a tendency to neglect the abundance of recreational opportunities at my doorstep.  I admit that when I am totally committed to a route or boulder I sacrifice a lot and tend to do work exclusively on my target until it gets done.  That's just how I work.

The first day of my realization and recognition of this detour was on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  It was one of those days that you absolutely must be outside to enjoy the gift of nature.  So, the decision was made to rally with camera and static rope to the crag with Nate dog and Mark Williams.  Psyched.

This is what I got.















At the end of the day it was totally worth the effort to ascend an 80 foot line for these shots.  

Sunday was another gorgeous day here in the south, 65 degrees and sunny with colorful leaves surrounding us in every direction.  Well, we got off to a slow start.  After some morning plans that were now taken care of and a nap shortly after that Chandler and I headed to Leeda to put my new trad gear to use.  I was a little nervous as this was my first time leading trad and had only my knowledge from practicing with the gear on the ground.  It's not like it was some uber scary knee knocking lead.  I knew what I was doing, I had just never done it.  So, I picked a splitter 5.8 and pulled off the ground to put in my first piece at about 10 ft.  Psyched!  Then another not too far above that, and another not too far above that one...  So, I'm nearing the top and ummmmm.....ok,  I need to make sure I don't run out of useable gear now. Ok.  Done!  Chandler followed on top rope with a send and said she loved it.  We'll get her placing the gear on that one next time.  The next route was a 5.8+ that was pretty heady off the ground.  A 15 foot overhung section of 5.8 or so, lead to a stance and a nice corner crack.  Cool.  I didn't fall on any of my gear but I'm pretty sure it was all bomber.  Thanks to Metolius' color coded cams and matching FS mini biners finding gear was easy and the range finder made it easy to know if I had chosen the right piece.  Thanks Metolius!  

Please excuse the iphone photos.

Up the splitter and right under the high roof.
Sketchy start behind Chan and up the corner.
On a side note, Kurt and I rep Entre Prises climbing now and we are starting to see the work pay off.  I found some in First Avenue Rocks of Birmingham, AL.  Thanks yall!  Check out the new EP logo on the van the next time you drive by the house too. 



That's all for now. 

Cheddar