Triple Crown!!!!!

Climbers rejoice! Our annual three stop super-social event has begun... and what a hell of a start it was… The weekend began with usual travel crew assembly followed by a long drive full of shit talking. Being an Alabama kid, the Houndears Triple Crown stop represents something bigger to me than the comp itself – it’s the official beginning of Fall. In the past TCB was something I sweeted over. I remember showing up at the campground and trying to size up the competition. I remember being nervous as I ate breakfast at an ungodly hour in that dumb campground. But now…now Triple Crown is a time to kick it with the boys! Time to talk shit to people who are 10 million times stronger than me and watch all the yahoos get all worked up over…well I’m not sure what people get so worked up about…but they do. And that shit is silly.



I guess I can credit my attitude change to the people I’ve been kickin’ it with. For example a few years ago I discovered that if I looked around I could find a ride up the hill so I wouldn’t have to catch the bus at 8am. Huge difference! Then I learned that the only consequence of choosing to eat breakfast and missing the climbers’ meeting because I arrived at 10:30 was nothing. Awesome! Then I learned the best thing yet- if I didn’t fill out a score card I had more fun than if I had! So putting my knowledge to work I woke up late, took a shower, drank some scotch, ate a gas station pastry, and climbed into Mr. Lee’s truck an hour after the busses left. Perfect.






This year’s competitors were a regular who’s who of motivated dirt bags & dirt bag wannabes alike; as well as a few ass holes (namely: Nathan Smith, Dustin Vann, Ben Henson, Joe Ortega, Lee Means & Ronnie Jenkins – I mean Ronnie was nice but I know by the people he surrounds himself with he must be a dick). Anyway, the comp went like this:

Morning – I couldn’t tell you because I wasn’t there.

10:30AM – Get to Houndears after the comp started. Hung out in the Parking lot for a while.

10:45AM – I hear that Willcutt just hiked “Jaws II” a v8 in the very front. At that I decided it
was time to get off my ass.

Noon – I’m drunk and have yet to put on my climbing shoes although I’ve taken hundreds of pictures by now.

Noon & a half – Some kids talk me into trying “The Blade” I flashed it. Then the shoes came back off and more whisky went in my belly.

1PM – I run into chaz and end up following him way down the hill because I could no longer chose a direction for myself. While down there I did the only other problem of the weekend “John Cougar Concentration Camp”

3PM – I arrive back at the top just in time to hear everyone freaking out over someone breaking the crux hold on “Fuk You” I don’t know who did it but I’m sure he’s an ass...Joe.

5PM – I run into all the boys who I hadn’t seen all day. Within 2 minutes my bottle of scotch went from half full to almost empty.

7PM – Soggy sandwich at campsite sucks… Nathan not happy.

9PM – Ben Henson takes the stage. I don’t know what happened after that. It was so awesome I temporally went def & blind. “It was all a dream…”

12AM – The crew (which had grown by 4) checks into a motel so gross that I chose to put on more clothes before lying on top of the covers to avoid diseases.

In the end I rode in a car for 11 hours to climb 2 problems & I couldn’t imagine a better weekend. Thank you to all the people who made it so awesome…and that means you too New Guy.

Quote of the week: “If it wasn’t for Future I’d still just be Nathan.”