Holy Boulders

Jackson Falls Sport Climbing

Kelly Delgatti

me on "Inner PitBull" 13a

Lauren on "Lost Innocence" 12c

Jeff Frizell on "Bursting Out" 12b

Lauren on the "Farmer" 12a

Jackson Falls Sport Climbing

Brian on "Zen Arcade" 13b

Me on "Cocktail Tribe" 12c

Brad Weaver"Hubba Hubba" 12c

Jackson Falls Sport climbing

Another classic from so Ill, "Here Come The Snakes" 12c

Jackson Falls sport climbing

This is Bryant a good friend that used to live and climb in Carbondale, IL. He now live in Ohio working on his Grad program in engineering, he is climbing one of Jackson falls classic routes DSB 12c

Hogan

This is Hogan another stray that was dumped out near our house the first day of hunting season a few years ago.  Hogan is a beautiful Pitbull that is another abandoned dog from a irresponsible owner, Hogan has many abuse issues but is still a amazing animal that has touched many peoples heart, he is kinda scary looking with his huge head and bulging muscles and unbounding energy found in many dogs of his breed.  Since we have found him he has had a torn ACL that has slowed him down significantly so now we can almost keep up with him.  Despite his burly exterior he is a big softy and is generally scared of most things unknown to him.  He loves food, toys, wrestling, logs, swimming, and his pacifier.

Evil Kinevil

This is Evil Kinevil, he is a wild dog found out in our front field a few years ago, he was the only dog that could live with Nala dog in her own environment ( slept together, ate together, hunted together) so we thought he was a daredevil.  He also has the ability to calm almost any aggressive dog, hence the nick name the pitbull whisper.  He had many problems when we found him including anxiety issues that took months so that he would feel comfortable around us.  Now he is the sweetest dog but a little weird, his black arm band  in the picture is in memory band for his late friend Naladog.

naladog

This is Nala she was a stray found out near Pomona IL. My friend AB and I found her on the side of the road after a day of bouldering out at the Holy Boulders, where she spent many fun days running in the woods, she disappeared a couple years back.  She had anger issues and loved to fight other animals but she was a lover to all who knew her.  She had a amazing energy that let her give 110% on everything, this was very inspiring as a climber, which gave us inspiration to always TRY HARD.  There is a route at Jackson Falls dedicated to her called "Inner Pit Bull" and There is also a route at Kincaid Lake DWS called "Coon Killer" that was also dedicated to her.  She will always be remembered as one crazy bitch!

Fauna

This is Fauna a big really sweet dog, this was Lauren's dog when I first met her.  She loved playing ball, carrying big logs, swimming, and eating fruit.  She used to beg for oranges when you would start peeling them, she would start drooling.  She passed away a few years ago during the same time period as the dog food recall, she is missed and lived a wonderful life.

Rock you like a hurricane!

Lauren and I in our sick new RV dedicated to climbing traveling working, prefer in that order

My short History

I have been climbing for 10 years and it has consumed my whole life, and I still love it everyday. I have chosen a profession that allows me to work less get paid more and climb more. I am a RN working in a hospital and I am leaving in May for a permanent road trip working for a nation wide agency that staffs traveling nurses where ever I want to go ( Climbing). I will be living out of a huge RV with two dog (strays. I am very anti breeders, please find your dogs off the road or from the humane society you will be saving a life) and my wife who is a RN and also devoted to climbing. I have been living in SO ILL now for 10years, developing new bouldering areas, looking for rock, sport climbing, bolting new routes for my own first ascents and other to enjoy, bolting visionary lines for the future strong youth to test them self on, occasional traditional lines, and religiously developing our well know secret DWS area that allows year round climbing on a beautiful lake with excellent overhanging sandstone for the past 4 years, but my time is almost up in this area and I ready to move on. I have been many other places but just for road trips from a week to 4 months at a time.  I am excited to share my experiences that will happen in the future, and reminisce while sharing photos and memories of the past.

The begining

This is the beginning of what will hopefully be a long and informative blog about a life that has been obsessed by rock climbing, I have also called it an addiction (A compulsive and maladaptive dependence on a substance or behavior, this blog deals most specifically with the behavior eg. Rock climbing). Most climbers know this feeling, such as sweaty finger tips while thinking about climbing, replaying rock climbing movements over and over in your head to the point of Obsession, putting other friends and family on hold because your close to sending, driving half way around the US (or flying around the world) to go play on some rocks in a remote or not so remote area. Other climbers dedicate large portions of their lives or entire lifetimes, to this bizarre and completely unique sport that has us most of the time failing and sitting in the dirt, but it is so enjoyable. But simply stated we all love it.