Yeah. It's where the cool kids hang out. (from left) Todd Berger, Adrian "Sane" Robert, Joe Iurato, Matt Samet and Randy Levansaler take a minute to kick it in the "gallery", aka the Access Fund booth. Photo: Justin Roth
Yeah. It's where the cool kids hang out. (from left) Todd Berger, Adrian "Sane" Robert, Joe Iurato, Matt Samet and Randy Levansaler take a minute to kick it in the "gallery", aka the Access Fund booth. Photo: Justin Roth
Artists for the Access Fund
Climbers don’t just crimp with those fingers. They paint, draw, stitch, sculpt and snap pics with them too. Talk about a talented community…
The Access Fund booth was alive with artistic expression during the Outdoor Retailer Show, displaying original works by Boone Speed, Paul Robinson, Corey Rich, Emilie Lee, Jason Kehl, Kyle George, Jeremy Collins, Joe Iurato, Joe Kinder, Melissa Lacasse, Adrien Robert, Tim Kemple, Keith Ladzinski, Damon Corso, Brian Solano, Todd Berger, Paul Morley, Tim Keenan, Randy Levansaler and John Evans among others. All of the art was generously donated by the artists for a fundraising auction appropriately dubbed “Openings”, with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the Access Fund.
UC Mag curated the three day art extravaganza, with support from Scarpa and the AF, which climaxed with a bidding war at the Scarpa / UC Mag / Access Fund party on Saturday. Hundreds came over to the Scarpa booth for some friendly bidding, gear raffles and tasty brews – hoping to play a small, yet crucial, part in securing our climbing future. In the end cash was raised, gear was won and some very lucky people got to leave with some very special works of art.
Why you gotta look at me like that? Photo: Justin Roth
Why you gotta look at me like that? Photo: Justin Roth
Down Under Dispatch Just a week into a month of climbing in Australia’s reversed seasons (it’s winter going on spring over there), our Editor-at-large, Justin Roth, has learned a few things and developed a few opinions regarding the way they do things in the land down under. Following are five pros and five cons about the only country that is its own continent:
Good on ya:
1. Climbing – All over the country rocks poke up out of the relatively flat landscape. The Grampians, Mt. Arapiles, the Blue Mountains, Nowra, Canberra and many more places known and unknown offer up sweet climbing of all kinds. Enough climbing around here to last a lifetime. Getting sport / bouldering tours from the local strongmos ASAP.
2. Powernapping – The Aussies put little pull-offs all along the side of the road for the weary road tripper’s convenience. If you’re like me (meaning you’re cheap and you don’t mind sleeping in your car) this keeps you from burning dollars at a hotel on the way to the next crag.
3. Wildlife – You know you’re not in Kansas anymore when you unzip your tent to a group of kangaroos, joined by closely-related creatures called wallabies, grazing just a few feet away. One day while belaying at the Taipan Wall, in the Grampians, I heard a sound like a jet plane passing by - immediately followed by a thud. Looking up, I saw a falcon landing in an elevated cave with some little creature in its talons. Inside, the falcon chicks were chirping, ready for their freshly-snagged dinner.
4. People – Like the notoriously friendly Canadians, Australians are very helpful folks. Always ready with a “G’day, mate!” (yes, they really say that), it has been easy getting directions, finding climbing partners, and locating a place to crash (or “doss”, as the Aussies call it) when the tent life has grown tiresome.
5. Coffee – Wolfgang Güllich is rumored to have said: “You don’t go climbing and then have coffee; coffee is a part of climbing.” Australia is a great place for both. Here, they like coffee so much, they created their own names for various coffee drinks. For example, a shot of espresso is a short black. Espresso with water (an Americano, in most places) is a long black. A latte served in a mug is called a flat white. Anyway you slice it, though, the Aussies like their java, and every gas station I’ve hit has had a solid flat white to keep me going.
WTF, mate?: 1. Currency – Over-reliance on metal money, leading to sagging pockets and requiring a belt where it otherwise would not be needed. Plus, It gets easily lost in the bottom of a pack. On the other hand, it can be nice to find ten bucks in change when fishing for a brush to tidy up holds. Point of irrationality: the 50-cent coin is larger than a silver dollar, while the 2-dollar coin is smaller than a penny.
2. Food – Vegemite at the crags. Like many Americans, the desirability of this stuff eludes me. Also notably strange: many Aussies call ketchup “dead horse” because “horse” rhymes with “sauce” and tomato sauce is a common term for ketchup here. Huh?
3. Gear – Some cheap bastard decided that instead of placing a bolt and hanger combo on their sport routes, they’d just put a “carrot,” which is basically a bolt sticking out from the rock a quarter inch. You have to bring your own special hangers to slip on the carrot and then hang the draw.
4. Speed cameras – They clock you from behind a tree and mail you a ticket. I did not realize this until a climber told me as much around the campfire. I’m nervously waiting for the fines to start arriving after making a speedy trip from the Blueys to the Gramps.
5. Traffic rules – Driving on the left side of the road? What are they trying to kill us? To whoever is in charge of these things: please take a cue from Sweden, Nova Scotia, and Canada, and transition to the right-hand standard.
Paul Jung gets a "welcome to the team" handshake from Scarpa's Chris Clark during the Scarpa/UCMag/Access Fund party at the outdoor retailer show. Photo: Justin Roth
Paul Jung gets a "welcome to the team" handshake from Scarpa's Chris Clark during the Scarpa/UCMag/Access Fund party at the outdoor retailer show. Photo: Justin Roth
Paul Jung gets the COTY Award
On Saturday, August 11th, at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, Scarpa welcomed its newest member to the team, Paul Jung.
Paul, a Gunks local who was the featured Unearthed climber in Issue #16, became the first recipient of our Unearthed COTY (Climber of the Year) award. The yearlong contest, sponsored by Scarpa, drew swarms of solid nominations from all over the country, which had to be narrowed down to just six candidates (equaling one Unearthed profile for each issue), and then ultimately down to one winner. This year’s prize? A seat on the Scarpa team roster alongside the likes of Joe Kinder and Chuck Fryberger.
Congratulations, Paul! We’re definitely looking forward to seeing your mug killing it out there.
The COTY Award recognizes an athlete who is as active in their community as they are strong on the rock. It’s about finding someone with natural talent, a passion for climbing and all the qualities of a true role model. To nominate someone you know for Unearthed, and a chance to win the 2008 COTY award, please shoot us an email at unearthed.coty@gmail.com and, well, convince us. Remember, the person cannot hold any sponsorships.
HEADZ - Reality distorted by Jason Kehl - cryptochild.com Filmmaker Josh Lowell proves that sometimes you have to take the heat and stay in the kitchen, but never let go of your dreams.
HEADZ - Reality distorted by Jason Kehl - cryptochild.com Filmmaker Josh Lowell proves that sometimes you have to take the heat and stay in the kitchen, but never let go of your dreams.
Filmmaker of the Year Award
This year’s UCTV Filmmaker of the Year Award, sponsored by The North Face, went to newcomer visual-extraordinaire Frank Volturo, a.k.a. Parlor Trick. Shortly after being chosen the winner by a panel of judges comprised of Urban Climber Magazine and The North Face staff, Frank was flown for all-expense paid trip to the prestigious Telluride Mountain Film Festival, where he was honored as a special guest. We caught up with him for a few minutes on the bounce back.
How old are you, Frank? And where are you calling home? I'm 32 years old. I was raised in dirty Jersey, but have been living in Pa for a few years now.
How long have you been making vids? For about three years, mostly filming during the colder months when it’s bouldering season. It all started when I got a hand me down computer, which shit the bed pretty fast. So, I picked up a new one and started tooling around with Windows Movie Maker. That program would always cut out, and I'd loose all my work. So, I eventually picked up a cheap program at Circuit City and learned how to edit through trial and error. The hardest part for me has always been getting enough footage.
What was it like experiencing Telluride Mountain Film Festival?
The festival was amazing. Everything about it. The people, the town, and of course the films. Urban Climber and The North Face were great to us. We were set up with an awesome room in a beautiful old hotel across from the Ganjala. I felt like the American Idol.
You had the opportunity to enter a short film, too – right?
Yeah. The festival had asked if I could put together a 10-minute compilation of my videos for showing. Instead I put together the "Infinite Pet" video. It would have been pretty tough to put together a compilation with the software I was using at the time. So my friends and I went out and filmed with a specific agenda for the first time. I had a whole hit list of problems I wanted to film. I'm glad it worked out the way it did. Infinite Pet is one of my favorites and seeing it on a big screen in and old opera house was pretty sweet.
Any advice for newbie filmmakers? Just one piece of advice, create your own style. In the words of Stiltskinz: "Create. Don't imitate".
That’s definitely good advice. Anything else you'd like to add? I'd like to again thank Urban Climber magazine and The North Face for bringing me out to the festival. With special thanks to Scott Wilson and Mark Crowther. And I'd like to also thank my "cover boys" Jeff, Phil and Arragorn. And also my "cover girl" Sarah. Finally, if anyone would like to contact me it's parlortrickvids@yahoo.com.
Jonathan (far right) and his crew are ready to take out the trash. Photo courtesy: J. Dobbs
Jonathan (far right) and his crew are ready to take out the trash. Photo courtesy: J. Dobbs
Let the Cleanups Begin!
In the last Issue’s editorial (#18) I asked everyone to consider coordinating some cleanup days at your local crags. After all, a few friends with some garbage bags, soft bristled brushes and water could work miracles. I also told you that I wanted to hear about it – and, man, did I ever. Thanks to everyone who wrote with sincerity about wanting to play a more active role in keeping the environment, and our playground, safe, clean and secure. Thanks to everyone who said they were putting together their own clean up days (and I still want to hear about them). And, of course, thanks to everyone who immediately showed that they practice what they preach and lead by example – such as the case with this story, which began with an email:
Hey Joe,
I am the youth minister for the church of Christ in Ash Flat, AR. One of my goals in working with youth is to teach them life skills through outdoor adventures – especially climbing, rappelling, and caving. There is so much to teach from these sports, and we have seen tremendous interest from the kids in the community. That being said, last March we went to a place known as Sugarloaf near Heber Springs, AR to go play for the day. Basically, this is a hill with a 360-degree cliff band around the top. While we were there, we noticed that a ton of trash had accumulated at the base over the years, and we all vowed to go back sometime to clean up what we could. After reading your challenge in the most recent issue of UC, I decided that now is the time to go. I spoke with the kids about it, and they are stoked. We are planning on going down there on the 25th of this month. The itinerary is to clean up until we can’t stand the heat any longer (it’s been 105+ around here lately). Then we are going to do some rappelling/climbing. I’ll keep you updated.
Sincerely,
Johnathan Dobbs
No more than a few weeks went by and I received a second e-mail from Jonathan. The cleanup had been completed as vowed, and there were pictures to prove it.
Hey Joe,
We left at 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 25th with the threat of thunderstorms looming about. As we drove the 2 hours to the crag, we watched the storms huddle around us, but it merely sprinkled as we drove. The crag is a hill called Sugarloaf just outside the town of Heber Springs, AR. It is a piece of state owned property that has a cliff all the way around the top of the hill. There is a trail and several class IV scrambles to the top. One the east side of the rock the cliff ranges from approximately 50 ft. to 100 ft.
We arrived around 10 a.m. and began the cleanup once we reached the bottom of the cliff. There were 14 teenagers and 3 adults in our group and, in a matter of 2 hours, we had filled 17 trash bags (35 gallon size) with all sorts of debris. We weren’t able to do much for the graffiti, but almost all the groups that were up for the day thanked us for the work we were doing to clean up the area. We did not deposit the bags of trash in the trash barrels at the bottom of the cliff because it’s obvious that, while the state owns the property, they don’t do much to clean it up, so we loaded them in our trailer and hauled them back to Ash Flat.
Over all it was a great day. Everyone worked as a team and did a big job in a short period of time. And the teenagers learned appreciation for the world around us – that it does not belong to us, so we should take care of it.
Thanks for helping people stay stoked about the outdoors - and especially rock climbing.
Sincerely, Johnathan Dobbs
And there you have it, people making a difference. I want to thank Johnathan and his crew of go-getters for heading out to the crag and really “walking the walk.” Look at all those trash bags…nicely done everyone. Nicely done.
The band Demander is composed, like Voltron, of three interlocking musicians, Karen Correa, Sivan Harlap, and Jared P. Scott. And like Voltron, Demander demands respect, though I do not believe they have the laser sword. Instead, they harness the wailing force of Correa’s voice and the throbbing lines of her bass, the crackling drive train of Harlap’s drums, and the bright, gristly reverb of Scott’s guitar to defeat their foes. A Demander concert is a thrilling thing, full of an energetic rock bravado that many bands strive for but few achieve. Their album should be on your iPod, in your CD player (or on your turntable, if you’re into that whole retro thing). We at UCMag took inspiration from their work and wanted to know more, so we asked them a couple questions:
Your new full-length album, The Unkindness of Ravens is coming out this fall. Tell us your favorite anecdote about its creation. (Karen) When Jared was recording the overdub guitar tracks for “Lovelife” he was in the booth one day trying to write the perfect solo to go over the end of the song and couldn't get anything he liked. He tried a bunch of takes and we all kind of stopped paying attention outside. Then, all of a sudden, we all start hearing this crazy, messy, ridiculous J. Mascis-style solo come out of nowhere like a bolt of lightning and when he finished we all just looked at each other for a second and then exploded with cheering. He was so confused when he came out because he was like "You liked that? That was totally ridiculous!" But for some reason (only the little baby Jesus knows) it worked.
You’ve been compared to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Sleater-Kinney, and PJ Harvey, among others, do you agree with these comparisons, or do you place your influences and similarities elsewhere? (Jared) Influences and comparisons are two very different things. I guess it is a good thing not to be compared to your influences because you really don’t want people to know the exact wellspring of inspiration – that is better left for interpretation.
What is the secret to rocking so hard? (Sivan) Staying active, sculpting your guns... namely through rock climbing. And drinking wine, it’s a very powerful antioxidant you know. But mostly rock climbing.
Have you ever rock climbed? If so, tell me more. (Jared) No, but I have spelunked. (Sivan) See above. (Karen) I once held my breath underwater for a minute and a half. Wait, what was the question? Oh, uh... no. Wait, may... no. Rock climbing? No.
Where can we buy your music? (Jared) Ideally if you buy it directly from us at a show, we can say hello and keep Steve Jobs from taking a cut. (Sivan) From us (and our affiliates)! Go to myspace.com/demander (Karen) You can also buy the CD on CDBaby and you can download the songs on Digstation and iTunes.
Anything else you’d like to say? (Karen) Kissing is still one of the best ways to fight fascism.
Eye Candy - SPORT CLIMBING 101 WITH CHRIS LINDNER
Integrity 7 Productions www.integrity7.com Review by Joe Iurato
The latest release from Paul Dusatko of Integrity 7 Productions, Sport Climbing 101 with Chris Lindner, is an instructional video that attempts to teach not only the basics of sport climbing, but its nuances as well. Lindner, a child prodigy turned adult phenom, is a charismatic host and an exceptionally talented climber whose love for, and knowledge of, the sport is most apparent this video. The scope of the video itself is large, covering everything from tying a figure 8 knot to some of the techniques required to make hard redpoints to crag etiquette, which is perhaps the moment when the comedic Lindner shines the brightest. The tutorial feels slightly fast paced at times, but the segments that require serious attention like how to safely thread an anchor, how to retrieve draws while lowering, and how to safely take and catch falls are given an admirably detailed and comprehensive treatment.
Regardless of how fun the production can wind up being at times learning viewers should always keep in mind the video’s main objective: to deliver a message that climbing, whilst being extremely fun and rewarding, has very little tolerance for inattention and poor judgment. SC 101 is suitable for both newbies looking to further their climbing experiences and veterans looking to brush up their skills. Of course there’s no substitution for hands on education and training, but Paul and Chris manage to deliver the next best thing with Sport Climbing 101.
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