The 20 Second Front Lever

Several people have asked me how I trained to do a 20 second front lever. It certainly wasn’t easier being 6’3”, a +3” ape index, and weighing 175 lbs. I’ve always loved trying to figure out “strength tricks” like front levers and one-arm pull-ups. The most interesting part to me is the part that other people seem to find the most challenging: the fact that when you can’t do the exercise, it’s not clear how to even start. This is much more true of front levers than one-arms.

Lame

We've been developing a new cliff, about halfway between the Owl Tor and Mr. Lee's. Since it's a 15 minute hike and about 95+ degrees everyday, we've been stashing out ropes nearby. A black static line (almost new) and a green/white dynamic rope (definitely not new) were stolen. Lame.

Owltoberfest 2017

Saturday, October 7th: Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong

Sunday, October 8th: Owl Tor

Hope to see you there!

Owltoberfest 2016

"The Chopin International Piano Competition is every five years and they didn't award gold medalists in 1990 and 1995. Brutal - same way it should be at the Tor."

-- Antonio Labaro               

With this in mind, the concensus is to not award a Lord of the Forest this year. Again, as I wrote in my last post, 2016 sucks.

Owltoberfest 2015 & 2016 and other stuff

Sorry for the delay in writing this up, my excuse: 2016 sucks...

Owltoberfest 2015 almost didn't happen.The night before, rains made the road impassable. I notified everyone I could about the situation; but, undeterred, I drove up Saturday morning, as planned, and by the time I got there, the river was significantly reduced. There's no cell service at the Owl Tor, but I learned that if you drive east on highway 166 past the usual turnout about 3 miles, there is a spot with very good cell reception. So I went there and notified everyone I could that the event was back on. Still, this significantly affected turnout.

Moderates for Owltoberfest!

Santa Maria is not known for its moderate climbs. There is one 5.11a at the Owl Tor (the left-most route), but then the climbing jumps to stiff 5.11d. What most people do not know is that about 20 years ago we did put moderates up at the back area, a.k.a. Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong. These routes were never given the love and attention that routes in the area need and thus fell into obscurity. But thanks to some elbow grease and a little teamwork, they have been revitalized and are better than ever. There are 14 routes (and counting) between 5.8 and 5.11d and here is your guide to them.