2003 - REAL Comeback

I started my workout for climbing Mt. Rainier this June. You can check it out here. Until the mountain climbing trek is past, I will be doing less rock climbing and more aerobic excercising. I want to have my body completely prepared for the summit!

Larry and I went out to Sugarloaf mountain last weekend and we hiked up with loaded packs. My pack weighed around 65 lbs. and Larry's was around 50 lbs. We hiked from the lower parking lot to the summit which is just under 1 mile and an altitude change of about 475 feet. Once on top of the puny East Coast mountain, we setup a top-rope climb (5.5 +/-) and I also did a 5.3 traditional lead. Not only was this our first climb of the season, but it was my very first lead climb. I cannot wait to continue doing more leads in the near future.

Joe, Larry, Lydia (Larry's girlfriend), and I went to Carderock on Sunday and dropped two climbs there. The weather was perfect (65° and sunny) for climbing. We dropped Trudie's Terror (5.4) and Triple A (5.6). I am planning to greenpoint (basically a top-rope redpoint) Black Crack (5.9+) in Annapolis Rocks, MD by the end of this Summer. Hopefully, we are also going to get out to the Gunks and Seneca Rocks along with our normal (nearby) climbing areas.

We (Joe, Larry, Lydia, and I) went to Rocks State Park on Saturday and dropped Vertical (5.6). Will we were setting up the top-rope anchors, we stumbled upon an Eagle's nest. Obviously, we did not disturb it in anyway, but we did get a couple of snapshots of the big bird flying around checking us out.


Vertical is a classic climb at "Rocks" and it is about 65 feet tall. It has nice sized holds that help to pump you a little by the top.

These are pics of me (Vaughn) on Vertical. For the most part, this climb lives up to it's name. But, there is a little bit that is less than vertical. It is a fairly forgiving climb with lots of handholds, cracks and footholds all over the quartzite face.

This is Larry making his way up the face.

Finally, here is Joe (on the right) and me hanging out at the Vertical base.

Larry and I went out to Sugarloaf mountain yesterday. We decided to climb in the "Middle Earth area." We setup a top-rope climb (5.5 +/-) named "A Flake Called Lee." While we were there, Mark "Indy" Kochte (who is the author of: Climb Maryland) showed up with some friends and climbed with us. This was a real treat since he is someone we have looked-up to for years.

This is a pic of Indy (on the left), standing beside me (Vaughn).

Indy talked us through climbing a 5.8 variation of Bloodguard (5.9+), which is a classic at Sugarloaf.

BTW - While climbing at Sugarloaf, I injured my ankle. With our Mt. Rainier ascent attempt only one week away, I am not sure if I will be able to do it... We shall see.