The Underworld

Welcome to the Underworld!

Andrew Miller took me out to a new crag that he and Ben Sachs have been developing this past year and it is amazing! The routes are steep with unique movement and all fixed draws, so you can whip all over the place. Not to mention the setting is incredible, with an amazing view of the entire Linville Gorge. I highly recommend it if you like steep sport climbing.

The crag was first discovered by Doug Reed who put up a stellar line on an exposed arete but the crag was left by the wayside when he discovered some place called the New River Gorge. The approach is the only downside, it is quite brutal, in a way that only the Linville Gorge can be. But it is absolutely worth it.

Here is a short teaser with some footage I took last time I went down there. More will come soon with better camera angles and footage of more of the ridiculous routes that cover the cave. Andrew kills it in the video, getting the second ascent of the project that he bolted, The Dark Angel 5.12b (aka Jessica Alba).

For more information:
http://mountainproject.com/v/north_carolina/linville_gorge/gold_coast_cliffs/106786474

Welcome to the Underworld: A teaser from John McCauley on Vimeo.

It comes to this...

There is this one project that I have been working on for weeks now. It is glorious, perfect movement, intense precision and some serious power are necessary in order to send. I have come as close as I can get to sending this project and it is by far the hardest and most time consuming climbing experience I have had.

And it all leads to this...

It comes to this... from John McCauley on Vimeo.

Coming soon: A teaser video for a new crag in the Linville Gorge, with the steepest sport climbing in the High Country!

A New Season

It's been about 4 months since I got back from Dubai and I am loving the High Country. I graduated and am now no longer in school, the first time in 18 years. For now I am enjoying life which for me means climbing, a lot.

A semester of rest and a weight training routine has really readied me to progress. I came back and problems that once felt impossible now go down in a few tries. So for at least this summer I will be keeping up this blog to help myself keep track of my progress, keep some perspective and hopefully entertain. I have a camera that I am excited about using and I will put up some of my writings.

So here is the first installment, a day from a couple months ago, the first time I had been back to Grandmother for almost a year. I sent three problems that had been lingering on my tick list for no good reason.

A Day Bouldering at Grandmother Mountain, Boone NC from John McCauley on Vimeo.

Yella!

Back to It

Climbing has been somewhat on the back burner this last semester. There just wasn't much climbing in Dubai. In the weeks to come I will try to post some anecdotes about the little bit of climbing I did there which to say the least was unique.

Highball V1

Right now my focus is on training and getting back that endurance that I lack. I actually feel stronger then when I left perhaps as a result of the weight lifting and serious amount of rest. Regardless V10 in 2010.

A Curious V4

On MLK day Katie and I went to Rumbling Bald and it was fantastic. Thanks CCC for you hard work the new parking lot is amazing, I didn't even recognize it. We randomly met up with Dalton, Amy and Rachel and headed over to the East side. There I dispatched Big Bully V6 second go and dalton finished it soon thereafter. Right around the corner with a few others from Boone worked Brackish Waters V8. I got the crux move second go and worked the rest of the moves but couldn't quite piece it together. It will go next time for sure! These are good omens for the months to come.

YELLA!