Chris Brown's Blog » florida

Hurricane (surf) Season

chris_brown — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:07:31 +0000

The waters of the Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic are heating up. How long until the swell is pumping? I dug up a few shots of Anna Maria doing its thing during Hurricane Wilma:

Nice little Caribbean Vid:

Beach Bouldering in Florida?

chris_brown — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:02:47 +0000

If Tiger Woods was a rock climber, his estate on Jupiter Island would be basecamp for the only bouldering in Florida.

80 miles north of Miami lies a pocket of beach-front land saved from development by the hard working people of The Nature Conservancy. This land, Blowing Rocks Preserve, is also home to a great surf break and a small cliff band recently made (in)famous by DeadPoint Magazine with claims of V12 boulder problems. A posse and I recently went down for a little recon mission. What we found was promising, but with the logistics of lining up a mandatory low tide with small surf conditions and the seasonal sand depth changes, catching the place perfect could be as difficult as catching one of the hollow tubes that infrequently break across the offshore reefs.

Below is a small preview. Keep your eyes peeled for more in an upcoming edition of Dead Point Magazine.

Mark Mercer beach bouldering in Florida.

Andi Fidazi beach bouldering in Florida.

An Evening in St.Petersburg

chris_brown — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:09:07 +0000

A cloudy afternoon turns into a stormy evening. Fortunately I was out testing some new equipment and captured some of the show.

One From Memorial Day

chris_brown — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:22:49 +0000

Got out to Egmont Key to shoot a sunset piece over the holiday weekend. Birds were everywhere, and the weather was even nice enough to build a few clouds for the shot.

Tampa Area Buildering Guide

chris_brown — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:48:01 +0000

Are you a rock climber stuck in Florida? Are you in desperate need of vertical terrain to challenge your bluff scaling needs?

Look no further because here’s your holy grail:

Egmont Video

chris_brown — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:03:18 +0000

The crew headed to Egmont to enjoy the first cold front of the season. Video pieced together from over 800 stills.

Tampa Bay Area Online Buildering Guide

chris_brown — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:44:33 +0000

Much thanks to Ard over at buildering.net for pioneering the groundwork necessary for this online guide.

Check it out: Bay Area Buildering Guide.

Paradise

chris_brown — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:49:37 +0000

Egmont Key – Fort Desoto’s hot sister, is home to not only thousands of nesting shore birds, but also some of Florida’s finest bouldering. Battery Bigelow at Fort Dade on Egmont Key was destroyed by hurricanes in 1932 leaving behind gently overhung walls right at the waters edge. While its no Virgin Gorda, the beach front bouldering on Egmont Key never the less provides an idyllic setting for the adventurous flatlander.

Use your preferred mode of water transport to reach Egmont.

Launching from the fishing pier at Fort Desoto, it takes about 2 hours to reach Egmont by kayak or canoe while dodging the huge freighters and cruise ships that run the channel between the islands.

Hand crack at Egmont.

Topo of bouldering at Egmont. Click for larger version.

Storming the fort.

chris_brown — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:13:28 +0000

Climbing is where you find it. Some people have marvelous crags a mere stone’s throw from their homes, while others (namely us Floridians) may not be so fortunate. Those not blessed with the presence of rocks nearby have taken to the streets in search of human creations upon which to feed their hunger. Skyscrapers, freeway overpasses, and municipal buildings all lead second lives as virtual El Caps, Columbia Boulders, and Endless Walls for those with the vision. Here in St. Petersburg, we have Fort Desoto.

Bouldering at Fort Desoto.

Climbing is dangerous!

In 1898 construction began on Fort Desoto. Made from a shell, stone and concrete mixture, the walls of this fort have weathered many storms almost flawlessly. Those few flaws that do exist provide a perfect playground for climbers trapped in Florida. Small crimps and thin cracks have been pieced together by locals to create a handful of surprisingly quality boulder problems.

The Iron Seagull.

The Trash Can Arete.

Fort Desoto has a sibling named Fort Dade, located on Egmont Key.

Urbanity

chris_brown — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:12:57 +0000

Check out the buildering feature titled ‘Urbanity’ in this months Urban Climber magazine.

Urbanity - a buildering photo essay by Chris Brown.