Jason Lancaster

On Saturday I went bouldering at the Gunpowder with Em. This was my first time ever really bouldering outdoors: meaning the first time I’ve ever taken a crash pad along with some climbing shoes and given something my all without regard (or much regard) to falling. It was exciting.

I don’t think the Gunpowder is really considered much of a hot spot for bouldering and I’ll admit from other videos of places like Bishop on YouTube this doesn’t really compare. Gunpowder is just a small 20ft cave with a 45 degree roof that is about 12 or so feet high. Still, it’s really fun and I can see myself going there a little more once the weather gets cooler. It was super hot and humid — 88F with 90% humidity.

Since the area isn’t all that popular, I actually can’t find any information on what climbs are there. That means whatever we do there we’re just making up. That part was actually quite fun. I found what I thought the easiest route would be and figured it out in a couple tries. It’s not that serious of a route and would probably rate something along the lines of a v3. My parents came along, which meant extra spotters so one of us could videotape.

One of the trickiest things was the first time I got to the top I realized it was entirely covered in leaves. My parents threw up a brush and I cleaned it off, but it was a little dicey hanging on to the top and cleaning everything.

After losing interest on the first route I made up, I moved on to one that starts at the back of the cave. Hopefully I’ll work that out and get a video on that one.

Videos: The first is Emily trying the route with a few little modifications of her own since she’s shorter than me. The second is me doing the route for the 4th or 5th time.

My mother convinced my father to start climbing with us, so last week was the first time I’ve seen him climb. Pretty cool if you ask me! It was his second time climbing and he did a couple 5.7′s. So now the group is even bigger. I don’t think I’ll be able to convince them to climb outdoors anytime soon but perhaps after some more time they’ll begin to open to the idea.

I worked on my hardest top route to date that day, a 5.11c/d. I don’t normally work on really hard top rope climbs (I prefer to boulder hard) but I think I was a little inspired by seeing both my mom and dad as well as having Chris there with us. After 3 tries I was clean up until the second to last hold. After the fall, I’d perform the last 2 holds clean but I just couldn’t get a good rest in between. I’ll work on this again, probably next week. If I can start pulling 5.11c’s off consistently, I’d be really happy to begin doing projects on 5.12′s.

I’m still stuck on v6 boulder problems. I’ve done one v7 but for the most part the 6′s really take some work to complete. Emily and I went down to Rockville’s Earth Treks to visit a friend of hers and climb down there a couple weekends ago. There was this slick v4 with a dyno into a 2 finger pocket that I really don’t think was a v4. It was just totally insane when I stuck it. I love that flying-then-catching-a-super-tiny-flake-with-nothing-on-it feeling.

The inevitable meeting between myself and Emily’s family happened as well. Not a bad inevitable, just inevitable as in it had to happen at some point or another and I wasn’t about to go in dragging my nails, kicking and screaming. In fact, I can honestly say I was pretty excited to meet them. I had met her mother before but it wasn’t a, “Hi, we’re together” thing it was more of a, “Yea, we dated once” thing and then I danced with her. So I’m sure I was on her good side for at least dancing with her. And well, mothers aren’t really scary to begin with. Fathers on the other hand can be, and although Emily’s father has a few inches on me, I think I could take him. Not that I tried, you know… but of course I sized him up just on the chance that he took me by suprise. Hah! Little would he have known I was prepared!

I had dinner with her mother and sister Thursday night at the “other” tapas place near Emily’s apartment while we sat outside in the cold. Then we got crepes, which I have to say are awesome with caramel and I got my own which meant no compromising with Emily on whether or not we can have caramel. Then on Saturday, I took her family on the gunpowder hike east from Bel Air Road to Pot rocks, where we had fun trying not to fall in the water and then after we did fall in, just walking through the water and goofing around. Dinner Saturday night was with her entire family, including her father’s parents, her aunt, Alan, and Anne Charlotte over at Rocco’s Capriccio in Little Italy. We had a few bottles of Clos du Bois Merlot, which has been one of the tops on my “wines I like” list for quite a while.

Sunday morning Heather and I had breakfast over at Claddagh’s pub with some great stuffed french toast, sausage, pancakes, and scrapple. Yes, we both love scrapple and yes, we both know how gross it really is. Then we walked around Canton a bit and spoke of our dreams of owning a house here and conveniently went into two open houses. The views were incredible and I lost track of time when I realized I was supposed to be over at Emily’s for a round of disc golf in Druid Hill Park with her family. Luckily, they were late as well and I met them over at the course just after they finished the second hole. They had to leave before we finished the game, and I left to spend my typical Sunday evening with my family.

So meeting her parents was good. I really wasn’t too nervous. I think the only bad thing is that they all saw the inside of my house, which was very unexpected and not nearly in presentable fashion. I wasn’t about to deny them of the use of my bathroom though, which luckily wasn’t in all that bad shape. Shew! Hopefully next time I spend time with Emily’s family, we’ll have electricity 90% of the time and my house will be clean.