Bouldering With EZ Harrison on Flagstaff

I got a late start on Saturday afternoon and headed up to Flagstaff. I spent some time looking again for the shoes and a Marmot hat I lost last week but again no luck. This is the strangest thing--the shoes would be of no use to anyone, are clearly climbing shoes that were lost in a very popular climbing/hiking area, but I have heard nothing and seen nothing about them anywhere. This is particularly bad as I have come to rely on the Dragons quite a lot recently and will have to get a new pair soon if the other shoe does not turn up. On Friday, hearing of my situation, Rob Candelaria at CATS very kindly handed off a pair of old-style V10s for me to take, a pair that never fit him well. This is typical of Rob's generous nature and I greatly appreciate the gesture.

I warmed up on the Consideration and Hagans which felt very easy and then EZ showed up. He warmed up a bit and we tried a problem that Ted Lanzano created near Cloushadow called New Beginnings. This is a short traverse into a steep V7/8 and is very atypical for Flag. My first try I fell off the end but afterwards could not replicate the sequence and kept doing worse. EZ did it after a couple of tries but I never linked it. It's a good problem and could be V9. I will be back. We then headed over to Hollow's Way which is the classic problem on Flag. It is tall and committing with the crux on top, but we had a healthy pile of pads to ease the landing. I tried it a bunch but could not get psyched for the lunge to the top. It's fairly easy to get there and I am sure my main issue was the height of the boulder and ensuing fall. After a handful of tries, EZ stuck the punch to the lip and was very happy to top it out. Massive respect to the padless FA in the 70s by Rob Candelaria. Anyway, I let it alone for a day when I am feeling more motivated and stronger.

On the way out, we found a chalk bag in the vicinity of Nook's Rock, and in the hope of improving the karma and maybe getting my shoes back, I will make sure the owner of the chalk bag gets it back if he or she sends a comment via this blog or by email describing the bag by color and brand. And please if you see anything regarding my shoes, please let me know.