Pages

Thursday, June 23, 2011

New Website

I finally did it. I started a website. www.eddiegianelloni.com. I will be updating on this site from now. Hope you keep following. I have several projects that I am working on so stay tuned!!!

Sunny at Mitake

White Fox V2+


Kani V10


Green Contrast


Gavin and I took advantage of the sun yesterday and went bouldering. It was actually sunny for two days straight, so that meant Mitake would be dry. Even cool in the shade this time of the year.

We set up shop at the Ninja Boulder. A slow day, only one other Japanese climber. I climbed a few problems that I like to warm up on. Then played on Ninja and Kodomo Gaeshi. At one point during a rest Dai Koyamada walked up with a coffee in hand. He was filming some commentary for a new climbing movie that he is working on. A rather large production too I might add.

It was a short session, but it was a nice break from the city. We are planning on going to Mizugaki this weekend for some highball bouldering. Hopefully the weather will hold up.



Go Climb Something!!!!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Question Answered

Eddie,

I wanted to go take look at this area (Tennoiwa)since it is so close. Is it pretty easy to find? I have biked in that area, so I know how to get there. Is the climbing area easy to find? I would really appreciate any info you could give me, I would love to find a close place to climb.

Thanks,

Rob Poole


Rob,


Yes I think it is very easy to find. You are a member of MP so I am assuming that you have gone to my Japan page there. I added a Tennoiwa section there with an easy to follow description. There are many places to climb near by instead of Tenno. Tenno area is generally used guided trips. What I mean by this is that there are usually a boat load of folks that are there. The other reason I would steer clear is due to the parking situation. The fishing club down the street owns the parking areas near by. If you do choose to climb there I would recommend parking at the farthest parking area to minimize climber-fishing club conflict. Many Japanese climbers choose not to climb here because of this issue. Like I said though, there are many places to climb close to Yokota base, id est within 30 to 40 mins. I am always going to many of these areas, so let me know if you need more information than this. I am writing the only English guide right now to a few of these areas. I can let you know when I have it finished. Until then let me know of anything else you want to know and see you at the crag!!


Thanks,

Eddie

This is a photo of one section of the lower wall. I have more information up on the Japan Mountain Project page.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Stone Brewery's Ruination IPA




Stone Brewery's Ruination IPA, what a beer! This beer measures in at 7.7% ABV and more than 100 IBU's. The Ruination has a very interesting taste and color. Unlike most IPA's that I have enjoyed in the past, this IPA has a very hefei feel to it from start to finish. The color is very golden, with no visible sediment. This is not abnormal for an IPA, but what followed was very different to me.

The smell is very aromatic, with a floral and hint of citrus added to it. I felt like one of Pavlov's dogs right away. Once this beer hits your palette your mouth screams satisfaction!!! The powerful hoppy punch to the smooth, surprisingly tasty citrus finish is delectable. I had this beer with a nice, light summer meal and the IPA fit in very nicely. This beer is said to be very overwhelming to your palette. I do not disagree with this, but I do like it. It did change the taste of my dinner but in an unusual way. I was more attentive to the flavors of my BBQ'ed veggies and burger. I was expecting a total ruination but received a total reevaluation instead.

I think this is a great year round brew, but I will prefer to drink this one on warm summer days and nights due to the Ruination's refreshing overall experience. This IPA is one of my Favorites and goes to the top of the list. I give this IPA a 1 on the EGS.


Go Drink an IPA!!!!
Monday, June 20, 2011

Black Tea Cafe




















Yesterday for Father's Day, Team G met up with Jack and his wife to check out a few bouldering areas. The weather was OK, but it is the rainy season so all of the boulders under trees or overhanging were wet. We were not able to climb anything but it was sure nice to see these boulders for the first time.

The first area is home to the Cabin boulder. A tall, steep block that sits very secluded next to a beautiful river making this boulder a great alternative to the Mitake Gorge. There are about seven problems here ranging from v1 to v-hard. The boulders here are the same as Mitake, chert, but much less frequently visited. I will be making my way back when the weather changes for the better.

The next area was near the Black Tea Cafe. On the water, below the cafe sit about six or seven boulders in a variety of sizes and difficulties. The nicest of these boulders is the Black Tea boulder. There are seven problems on this boulder from what I could see. A nice clean corner and a blocky overhang make this boulder a gem in my eyes. I had seen this boulder in the past and wanted to climb it but, it was August and too humid. I will visit this one again in September.

The name sake to this area, Black Tea Cafe, is amazing. The cafe is a traditional Japanese restaurant offering a large variety of foods. Luckily for us we had Jack and his wife with us to order for us. We started with a small sampler of tofu, pickled veggies, apricot, and river shrimp. Next was the main course of table grilled chicken, veggies, and river trout. All of the food is cooked on the table on fresh coals. The fish is served whole. We were told that it was OK to eat the guts due to the fishes diet of algae. We tried everything. Then there was the tempura, sea weed rice, and dessert. Dessert was a sweet tomato in a "soda" water. This was surprisingly good. All I can say is thanks to Jack for spending the day with us and ordering great food. You rock!!!

This past weekend was spent at the climbing gym. The weather here is very hit or miss and the best way to get a nice workout in is to go to a gym and really push it. It will rain for days then be sunny for an afternoon, then start raining again at 5pm. Not enough time for the rock here to dry. But it is OK, Caramba and Base Camp are very close. I spent most of my weekend on routes at Base Camp. And it looks like I will be headed to BC tomorrow too.

Enjoy the photos from my first Father's Day. I thought black and white was appropriate since were went to the Black Tea Cafe.


Go Climb Something!!!!!
Thursday, June 16, 2011

Midnight Sun Sockeye Red IPA


The Midnight Sun's Sockeye Red IPA is a very nice, well rounded IPA. The Sockeye is a bit daintier IPA than the Melt Down DIPA. When first cracked open the beer has a sweet smell, opening your senses to the soon to be experienced flavors of this IPA. This IPA weighs in at 5.7 ABV and 70 IBU's. These are weaker numbers than I usually enjoy, but the Sockeye makes up for it in the overall experience.

Like most IPAs the start of this beer is very floral and ends with a smooth, residual bitter taste to finish. The main reason that I like this beer is because the bitter taste does not overwhelm what you are eating. I had this IPA twice in my visit to Anchorage and once back here in Japan. I enjoyed this beer with a soup and sandwich first, a burger second, and with fish the last meal. Not once did I take a sip of the Sockeye, then a bite and have the bitterness from the beer dominate.

Most of the beers that I love wind up being a fuller, heavier IPA. This one is lighter than some, but should not be taken lightly. I give the Sockeye Red IPA a 2 on the EGS. Midnight Sun Brewery has a good thing going here. Keep this one as a year-round!



Go Drink an IPA!!!!
Saturday, June 11, 2011

Nankasi IPA's


Over a couple of nights last week I polished off the fantastic Ninkasi DIPA and IPA.

The Total Domination IPA is my favorite of the two, it has more of a traditional northwestern IPA taste, which is my style. It being called TD I was not sure if it was going to be a total let down, but Ninkasi came through. At 6.7% ABV and 65 IBU's the TD has a nice floral start with a smooth hoppy finish. The TD combines three taste hops Summit, Amarillo and Crystal with a pair of malts that don't distract from the aromatic hoppiness. I have had this beer with both a spicy coconut curry and a burger and I give this one a 2 on the EGS.

The Tricerahops Double IPA is a more full, robust IPA. Not in terms of hoppiness but more of a stout or heavier bodied DIPA. This seems to be attributable to its three different malts. This beer has an ABV of 8.8% and 100 IBU's. On their website Ninkasi says this beer is earthy, I will totally agree with this and then some. This is a heavier DIPA than I'm accustomed to. I give it a 3 on the EGS. My buddy who favors Belgian beers loved this one and says he will drink it again should he find another.


In my time drinking IPAs I generally categorize them as 1,2, or 3 on the EGS (Eddie Gianelloni Scale). This is in terms of their repurchase-ability. 1 meaning that I go straight in and look to buy at least one on my next trip to the store. 2 meaning that I will forgo it on the next trip unless there are no number 1's and no new IPAs to sample in stock. 3 is left for the IPAs that I have sampled and will leave for someone else to enjoy.


Go Drink an IPA!!!!
Thursday, June 9, 2011

Question Answered

From time to time I receive emails for people asking for beta due to it's scarce nature in English. I have decided that I will post some of them here, maybe one will answer your question too. Hope this helps.

Hi Eddie,
How are you doing? Sorry this message is a bit out of the blue but I stumbled across your blogspot (very good by the way!) and thought I'd try to tap you up for a bit of info if you don't mind.
I'm currently in Japan with my fiance, we're based in Ashigakubo in Chichibu and also at Tokorozawa with her parents and were hoping to get some bouldering in while we're here.
Scouring the Net has brought up Mitake & Ogawayama as decent locations but could you recommend any others? Do you know of any in the Chichibu area at all?
We're looking for stuff up to about v5 really (not sure on grades to be honest so that might be an overestimate!)

Any info you could provide would be massively appreciated.

Anyway, hope all is well with you & yours.
Keep on keeping on,

Rich



Hello Rich

First, are you driving or using the trains? If you are driving there are MANY areas with in a couple of hours. If you are using the trains then it will take about three hours and a bit of walking to visit some of those areas. There are several published and non published areas around you in Chichibu. If you are just bouldering, then you can spend several weeks at Mitsumine and have many projects. If you go to any Outdoor shop in Chichibu you can find the Japan 100 series guides books, there are four of them and they are blue. The areas that you are looking at will be in the number 2 guide. Do you have pads? If not let me know, I will see what I can arrange.

Mitake is the most popular bouldering area in Honshu. This is primarily due to it's close proximity to Tokyo. There are several nice, large boulders at Mitake. I am actually writing the first English guide book to this area right now.

Ogawayama is a MUCH better place to climb in my opinion. Several sweet boulders with tons of problems in your grade range. Speaking of grades in Japan. I think the grades in Japan are very stiff. First off the Japanese do not use the V-scale or French bouldering grades. The kyu or Sho Dan scale is used. Check out my Mountain Project page on Japan for more info on this.

My favorite place to boulder in Japan so far is the Mizugaki area. This area has MANY, MANY untapped sectors and hundreds of boulders to be cleaned and climbed. There are tons of highballs to make me salivate every time I see them.

I am not sure if you climb routes but Japan has copious wonderful areas VERY close to you most notably Futago. Again some of the areas are open to the public and some are not. This is mainly because they are still being bolted and cleaned. Let me know and I can tell you more about them if you are interested.

I hope this helps. How long are you here? Where are you from? Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Eddie

Chichibu Climbing Areas








Battleship Rock







I finally made my way to Chichibu to see some of the areas there. Jack took me to the impressive Battleship Area and several other areas that I can not remember the names of now. All of these areas are places that Jack has developed/ing or discovered. These areas have many bolted lines, including a 30 foot roof in a cave boosting two 13+/14- lines that need ascents.

The Battleship crag is very visible from the town below and is very nice limestone. This area in particular has seen several ascents, notably Yuji's send of the most obvious line that I can not remember the name of, but goes at 5.13+. We were on a scouting mission this trip and we climbed a rather unusual line for Japan that moves through slopers below to a long tufa up top, then to a pumpy crux finish that if botched, the leader will take a long, fun fall. But totally safe due to the steepness of the head wall.

Next we traveled down several more roads and visited more areas, but the area that sticks out the most was Osutaka no One. This is named after the deadliest plane crash in history that happened in the area. This is the area with the large cave that I mentioned before. The main wall has about 10 routes with about 5 more on a wall near by. We climbed a very beautiful and dirty 10d, that was the first line Jack bolted here. Very nice and technical line that works its way up the middle of the wall.

I was not able to take many photos, but Jack snapped a few of me climbing. I included them to show some of the rock quality. Enjoy the photos and I will have another post tomorrow.



Go Climb Something.
Sunday, June 5, 2011

Rock and Snow Summer Issue








I made it into another Rock and Snow!!! The write up is about the new area that I helped develop. The route that I am climbing is my 11a. I am about to make the crux move in the photo. Cool stuff.

Thanks Nobu!!