South Central Idaho

Silver Creek Ice Revisited

2011-01-30T20:56:00.001-07:00

I returned to the Silver Creek Ice yesterday with friends Ian and Ralph. I was psyched to get some more mileage in after the Ice Instructor Course and Ian and Ralph were eager to check the area out and test themselves against some steep ice.

I didn't have any intention of leading the pillar until we arrived at it's base. Although taking some heat with the morning sun, the ice looked fat and plastic. I was inspired and soon decided to lead it.

When Drew and I top roped this about 5 weeks prior, I had dry tooled up the rock on the left side which was now completely buried in ice!

I took my time on lead and placed a number of screws where the ice was good. This was my first sustained WI5 lead and for the most part I felt good. I began to get pumped near the top, but continued to shake out and stem my feet which allowed me to stay relaxed and de-pump.

The ice was in good shape except for the top out, which sees more sun throughout the day. I have always been told good ice is cold, clear and dry. The surface of this ice at the top was warm, wet and granular... I was glad to have saved a couple longer screws for the top!

After topping out, I hauled up the drill and place a stainless steel rock anchor. This is above the ice, on the climbers right side and easily accessible from the top (although one might consider a belay if setting up a top rope). This will allow climbers to belay safely without having to build an anchor in marginal ice on top of the flow. My goal is to place a few more anchors in the area to build a local ice venue where folks can come and climb safely.

Ralph and Ian ran several laps on the ice while I checked out the drip left of the belayer. I think there could be two mixed routes here: a steep one that starts right of the drip and an easier, blocky/vertical line to its left. I hope to return this winter and complete these lines!

Ian saying good bye to the ice and hello to a fun filled descent of sun crusts and isothermia!

Although our local ice climbing options are minimal, I feel grateful that we have what we have!

Thanks guys for a great day!

Silversun Pillar WI5 100'+

(proposed name)

AMGA: Ice Instructor Course

2011-01-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from Ouray, Colorado where I completed my AMGA Ice Instructor Course. New to the AMGA curriculum, the IIC will become a mandatory component of the Alpine discipline starting next year. Although not required, I chose to take the IIC before my Alpine Exam in September because out of all the disciplines, ice guiding is what I've done the least of.

We arrived in Ouray to cold temps (highs in the teens) and a lot of picked out ice. The Ouray Ice Festival had just wrapped up the weekend before with success, despite a late start to the season. Generally we had great conditions with warming temps (highs 34* in town) and a skiff of snow later in the week.

Ouray is the perfect venue for such a course with easy access to the Ice Park and lots of backcountry ice to choose from. We spent a couple half days in the park, but other then that we were climbing multi pitch ice within the Ouray/Silverton area. A big thanks goes out the instructors: Keith Garvey, Dale Remsberg, Doug Neidever and Peter Doucet for putting a good curriculum together and pulling off a great course!

The Ice Park.

Gary, totally gripped! They had some issues with the dam and we had high water in the Park throughout the week.

Chilling at the cave belay.

Get some!

The approach to Whorehouse Hoses, which is just visible in the cliffs above the ski pole.

Heres the first pitch of Whorehouse Hoses WI4/5, 70 meters. I lead this pitch with two single ropes and a head cold... Hacking up a lung, I was worked.

Justin on the nice third pitch of Whorehouse.

Just beyond Whorehouse is Stairway to Heaven, a classic long route of Colorado Ice.

Here's some of our team on the last pitch of The Ribbon WI4+, 3 pitches.

And lastly, a wide angle view of The Ribbon (left) and Birdbrain Boulevard. If you zoom in you can see our party on The Ribbon and Vince Anderson and his client on Birdbrain.

Thanks to all the participants and Colorado for having such good ice!

Making Waves

2010-12-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

This photo from several years back really stirred things up.

These guys don't look like they've starred death in the eye...

Silver Creek Ice

2010-12-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Drew and I headed into Silver Creek today to climb some steep ice. Last year we bought a snowmobile together and then Drew promptly blew out his knee. So today was the first time he'd ridden it after purchasing it almost a year ago!

We rode tandem about 3 miles in with Kaya dog surfing the seat between us. It was pretty comical, but we managed to stay on the sled and not get stuck. Next time we'll have to get some helmet cam footage of the approach!

After shutting the sled down, it was still about an hour approach on skis to the ice. I climbed this steep pillar about 10 years ago with the Leidecker brothers, and had always wanted to come back. The ice was in, but was very "chandeliered"... not so good for placing screws! So we scampered around the backside and set up a top rope and gave it a few burns.

Sorry for the crummy photos... it's difficult to belay and take pictures at the same time!

We gotta get Drew to wear something colorful! That "rock" colored jacket isn't cutting it!

Pumped! It's steeper than it looks!

We each gave it a burn, then I tried to dry tool up this steep face to the left. I did pretty good, but when I came winging off near the top I swung under the wettest part of the ice flow. It was as if I was dangling on a rope in a cold shower wearing only soft shells... I was instantly drenched to the bone! Dry tooling? More like wet tooling! Last time I climb ice without a hard shell.

All in all we had a good day. I'd like to get back out there and put some rap anchors in and have another go at the dry tooling! Let's hope the snow keeps coming and the ice keeps building!

Thanks for fun day Drew and thanks for reading.

Dry Tooling in the Big Cave

2010-11-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

Erik and I headed down to the big cave with Cody Doolan the other day for a session of dry tooling. We had been talking about giving this a try for years, but had never committed to it. Cody has spent a number of winters in New England ice and mixed climbing and was keen to give the Big Cave a try. I know that ethically dry tooling on rock routes is frowned upon, but we figured what better place than the lava choss piles of south central Idaho!

Erik, winning the ro-sham-bo, was first up!

The Big Cave in all it's glory!

Cody pointing out some finer techniques of dry tooling.

Yours truly getting the rope up on "Stoner Boy".

Pumped...

Once the rope was up, we each gave multiple TR burns. It didn't take long before the tanks were out of gas!

Thanks Cody for some great pics and both you guys for a fun day dry tooling!

Cascade Climbs Part 3: In Deep on the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart

2010-10-10T10:59:00.003-06:00

With success on Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, Drew and I were eager to keep the send train rollin'. Little did we know that the North Cascades were going to hand us an extra large serving of Humble Pie!

After drying out in the hotel in Bellingham, Drew and I decided to head in to Boston Basin for a brief weather window and climb the Torment - Forbidden Traverse. We got absolutely soaked and muddy on the approach into Boston Basin and it wasn't even raining! If you have done this approach, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We slept through a wet night only to hear rain on the tent as the alarm went off at 4am. After sleeping in, we had a casual breakfast with multiple coffees as the wetness continued. At 11am we changed our objective and decided to try the popular West Ridge of Forbidden. We navigated the glacier approach in full whiteout conditions and standing at the base of the route, staring into the mist we determined that the forecasted weather window wasn't coming and we were tired of being wet!

We bailed, packed up, sketched down the trail and checked in to the hotel in Bellingham!

I was getting tired of the rain. Nothing was drying out. We only had three days left before my Advanced Alpine Guides Course started and we needed another objective. After checking the weather forecast and brainstorming with guide books, Drew and I decided to climb the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart.

Mt. Stuart dominates the southern end of the North Cascades. Being on the southeast side of the range means that it generally gets less precipitation. The North Ridge is a long committing alpine climb a days hike in from any trailhead. We chose to approach from the south, camping at Lake Ingals the night before. The full North Ridge is Grade V, 5.7-5.9 with up to 30 pitches of alpine ridge climbing. The standard descent is down the Cascadian Couloir to the south. No matter how you approach the North Ridge, you're going to have to walk around the mountain either to get home or get on the route.

Lake Ingals and our camp south of Mt. Stuart.

We chose to climb the popular upper North Ridge (grade IV, 5.7-5.9) which crosses the Stuart Glacier and climbs a small couloir to gain the ridge at about half height. Here you can see the upper ridge in profile as we crossed the Stuart Glacier. The approach couloir is visible on the lower left, and the Gendarme is on the skyline at about half height. The Gendarme has two pitches of 5.9 climbing and requires a bigger rack. Our plan was to avoid the Gendarme by climbing around it, moving with a lighter alpine rack and climbing in mountain boots instead of rock shoes. Little did we realize when planning for the climb that all the precipitation we experienced in Boston Basin would translate to a significant amount of snow and ice on the north side of Mt. Stuart.

Some perspective on the scale of things... here I am approaching the "small couloir" which provides access to the upper North Ridge.

Drew and I have done a number of alpine ridge routes and I think we figured this would be a fairly straight forward ascent of one of the 50 Classic Climbs. I was a little surprised when the terrain and conditions dictated that we pull the rope out in the couloir. I had anticipated cruising through this unroped and moving quickly. Was this a sign of things to come???

Once on the ridge we removed our crampons for a stint and enjoyed the sun.

Pitch after pitch fell away as we climbed splitter granite with snow on the ledges and some wet rock here and there. The higher we climbed, the more wet rock we encountered. After several spicy leads it became clear that we were going to have to put crampons back on.

Here I'm leading a wet and snowy crack that would be easy fifth class when dry. The crack widened beyond the size of our gear and I had to run it out another 50' to the next belay. Like much of the wet climbing below, I found this pitch a demanding lead.

The Gendarme looms overhead and our anxiety was building. Due to the conditions we were finding on the ridge, I began to question whether or not we were going to be able to bypass the Gendarme. The route around requires a rappel off the north side of the ridge into a gully, and then several more pitches of easy fifth class rock.

The conditions on the north side of the ridge did not look inviting at all. Occasionally I would sneak a glance over the edge as we continued to climb towards the Gendarme. I pushed all thoughts and fears away in hopes that our route around would be obvious and less intimidating.

Several more pitches landed Drew and I at the base of the great Gendarme... our fears were realized. Here we were 12+ pitches up the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. Climbing along the ridge was blocked by 5.9 climbing on the Gendarme. We had neither the protection nor rock shoes to attempt to the route; not to mention the cracks were visibly iced up. A descent down the ridge would mean essentially loosing our light rack as we would have to build rap anchors the entire way way down. This would take all day and would be, at the very least, complicated. Also, our camp was on the other side of the mountain and a retreat down the north side would mean retracing our approach to the south. The other option was to commit to the snow and ice gully. We had no ice protection, only crampons and a single snow axe each. Up to this point the climbing had been made more difficult by the snow. Looking into the gully and seeing only snow, ice and rock we were reluctant to leave the ridge...

Drew and I discussed our options. We decided that he would lower me into the gully to test the conditions. If they weren't good, I could potentially climb out and we would start our descent down the ridge. If the conditions were good, he would rappel to me and we'd continue up the gully.

Constant sluffing had firmed up the snow so that I was front pointing every step. This was much better than I had imagined. I pictured shallow, weak, unconsolidated snow covering steep rock. I built an anchor and shouted up to Drew that it was a go. He rappelled and pulled the ropes. We were now committed to the gully, with retreat back to the ridge not too feasable.

I lead a run-out traversing pitch, slinging icicles as I went. Although the climbing was not difficult, I only managed three pieces of protection in 160' - two of which were slung icicles and more mental pro than anything else. The thought of a slip rang in my mind as spindrift and ice occasionally showered down from above. I kept telling myself that if I did fall, curl into a ball to try and prevent a crampon from snapping an ankle!

Drew followed the pitch and lead another demanding snow and rock pitch that brought us to easier terrain. We began to feel that the difficulties were behind us, but it was getting late and we still had 400'+ to the summit.

Through out the day I kept hearing what I thought were voices. I would scan the north side and determine we were the only ones on the mountain that day. Initially Drew did not hear them, but as we climbed higher, he too thought he heard something. There are lots of mountaineering tales where climbers talk about hearing voices or feeling a presence of another high on some remote peak. I began to wonder if we had pushed ourselves to the point where the spirits of the mountain had begun talking to us!

As the summit grew near, a clear and distinctive voice rang out: "Holy Sh*t! There are climbers down there!". We looked up to see someone standing on the summit block, silhouetted in the afternoon light. He gave us a wave and watched as we climbed steep snow and ice. Only a few hundred feet separated us, but we were a world apart in the shadow of the mountain.

Drew and I summited at 4pm, 10 hours after leaving camp that morning. Our initial plan was to return to Lake Ingals, pack up and hike out. On the descent, it became apparent that although possible, it would be better to sleep another night at camp and return to the trailhead in the morning. We had some food still and a restful sleep sounded a lot more inviting than hiking 4.5 miles at night just to get to the car.

We began boogying off the summit towards the Cascadian Couloir. Route finding was made easy by the scramblers who had ascended that way earlier. We caught up to them, chatted a bit and learned that there were several parties who had ascended or attempted to ascend the Cascadian Couloir that day. We blasted by several folks in the couloir on the way down, and after 4000'+ we hit the trail and had to hike back up to Lake Ingals and our camp. We arrived at camp just as the light was fading and collapsed in exhaustion. As we took off our boots and rummaged through gear we heard the distinctive sound of a helicopter approaching. We watched as a rescue helicopter hovered around the base of the Cascadian Couloir for about 30 minutes. We could see lights on the hillside signaling to the helicopter, but it soon grew dark and the ship flew away. In the morning, as we hiked out out, the helicopter returned and hopefully were able to complete their rescue.

Drew and I both agreed that our ascent of the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart was one of the more committing climbs we had done. I felt fortunate to have succeeded and humbled by the conditions and terrain we encountered. We have not heard about the rescue that day but my hopes are that everyone is OK.

Thanks Drew for sharing the rope with me (and the great photos), and Thank You Mt. Stuart for the experience and allowing us to summit and return safely!

Cascade Climbs Part 2: The Fisher Chimneys to the South East Ridge of Mt Shuksan

2010-09-20T15:35:00.000-06:00

After returning from Mt Baker, Drew and I drove to the little town of Maple Falls to recharge our batteries, make some phone calls to loved ones and attempt to dry our rope and boots out. We spent the better part of the day in the parking lot of a cafe, leaching off their WiFi and drinking way too much coffee. By afternoon we were ready to for the next adventure, despite a forecast for showers.

We made the approach in to Lake Ann that evening and got there just in time to catch a glimpse of the Curtis Glaciers and Mt Shuksan obscured by a few clouds.

It was Labor Day weekend, and there were several tents at the lake, but we managed to find a nice site and settled in for the night. At 4 am the alarm went off and we began brewing up in the predawn mist.

We were on the trail by 5, figuring that by the time we needed to find the Fisher Chimneys it would just be getting light enough to see. This worked well and we had no trouble finding the start of the chimneys.

Although the weather was not splitter, the sun periodically filtered through and the light was dramatic. We cruised passed several tents at the base of Winnie's Slide and actually got heckled by a local guide for our quick but unconventional rope practices. Our thoughts were to climb the route and familiarize ourselves with the terrain, not to "mock guide" it. We shrugged of the comment and continued to make good time, following the tracks of those ahead of us.

Once we got to the summit pyramid of Shuksan, we had caught up to all the other parties that had camped on the glacier. Our friend Danny had suggested we climb the South East Ridge instead of the standard south gully. When asked what sort of rack to bring, he said that it we weren't "mock guiding" it we could just cruise up the ridge without pro, as it was easy fifth class. One thing we hadn't thought about was the fact that with all the precipitation, there was several inches of new snow on the route, and things might be a bit more interesting than if it was dry. With all the other parties bottlenecked at the base of the standard route, Drew and I blasted up the South East Ridge in crampons.

We summited at about 11 am, had some lunch on top and watched as two guided parties climbed the last couple pitches of the standard route. When they topped out, we recognized them as folks we'd met the previous morning and chatted about the conditions and best way to descend. Concerned about rockfall in the gully we chose to down climb the standard route instead of rappel and risk pulling rocks down on us or the other parties below. After descending the gully, we were surprised not to encounter any other climbers. Turns out they had retreated due to conditions.

We retraced our steps back to Lake Ann, packed up and hiked the 4.5 miles back to the car. Another great day in the Cascades with conditions starting to get a little wet. Interestingly enough, only guides and guided parties summitted Mt Shuksan that day!

A toast to Mt Shuksan!

North Ridge of Mt. Baker POV

2010-09-07T21:02:00.000-06:00

Cascade Climbs Part 1: The North Ridge of Mt Baker

2010-09-07T20:07:00.000-06:00

With my AMGA Advanced Alpine Guides Course and Aspirant Exam coming up, I headed to the North Cascades with fellow SMG guide, Drew Daly, to familiarize myself with the terrain and get some glacier routes under my belt. Drew has had quite a summer full of alpine routes in our home mountains of south central Idaho, and was eager to continue his bender in the Cascades.

First on our agenda was the North Ridge of Mt Baker. We met up with fellow Idahoan and local Cascade guide, Danny Uhlmann, in Bellingham and got some beta on the route. Danny suggested we start our climb with a slightly different approach then the typical Hogback Camp/Coleman Glacier route. Instead, we were to camp lower in the dense Cascade forrest, known as Murkwood, and hop on the toe of the glacier there.

Treeline is basically at the toe of the glacier and the blue skies and wildflowers were spectacular in the evening light. Reluctantly we left the open air and beauty of treeline and headed down into the dark forrest of Murkwood.

We were up early the following morning and stepped on the glacier just as it was light enough to see.

After several hours of navigating low angled terrain through crevasses, we arrived at the toe of the North Ridge. There are basically two options here, the Low Route and the High Route. The High Route looked impassable due to a melted out bergshrund, so we opted for the Low Route. With a little time spent sussing out our best options, we settled on this approach. What you don't see in this photo is gaping abyss below me and the jumbled blocks we used to cross it... frightening indeed!

Drew taking the second pitch of steep snow and ice of the ridge up to lower angled terrain above.

Our early start meant that the snow was well set up and these 35*-40* slopes demanded focus.

Here's the crux of the route with some other guides just finishing the difficulties.

Pitch one of the ice ridge. Drew took the next lead to the top of the "steep" ice, then we did two more pitches of less steep but hard ice. Close to the summit there were a few more cracks to navigate, but the difficulties of the route were over...

On the summit: 6000' vertical and 7 hours later... and the guide book calls it a Grade III+!!!

Descending the Coleman/Deming Glacier route was a non technical slog. The afternoon sun had warmed up the snow and although tired, we had to be mindful of softening bridges over enormous crevasses.

We returned to Murkwood, packed up our overnight kit and hiked out to cold beers stashed in the creek at the trailhead.

Glaciers, crevasses, snow, ice, Murkwood... a perfect introduction to climbing in the North Cascades!

Look for Part 2: Mt Shuksan.

Middle Fork 2010

2010-09-04T10:20:00.005-06:00

My first river trip. The Barron of Leisure a.k.a, 'Alpine Al', showed me how it's done...Alpine Style of course, with no raft support!

Three Routes in Three Days: Alpine Climbing in the Pios

2010-08-16T19:53:00.000-06:00

Last week Wolf and I returned to the Pioneer Mountains to explore some of the alpine potential out Kane Creek. Despite 60% chance of showers and thundershowers we got an early start and set up camp at Kane Lake.

The first route on our agenda was recently climbed by friends Drew Daly and Matt Scrivner. We raced up the Irish Arete as clouds darkened the horizon and showers threatened to turn us around.

We found pretty good rock with nice exposure and climbing up to about 5.6-5.7

We picked a non-technical descent and when returning back into the Kane Creek drainage we discovered this wild tunnel! The first thing to cross my mind was to return in winter and ski through this amazing feature!

That evening the thundershowers set in dumped inches of hail and rain on the range while we sat under a tarp and cooked dinner. We had more rain through the night and when the alarm went off at 6am there was that familiar sound of pattering on the tent. We slept in another hour and had a leisurely morning drinking coffee and eating Aki's famous outmeal-buttermilk pancakes while we waited for the rock to dry out.

By 10am things were still a bit wet, so we decided to hike further up the drainage and get a look at the north face of Goat Peak. On our return to camp, the sun came out and we decided to give Kane Creek Spire a go.

Kane Creek Spire only appears to be a spire when viewed from Kane Lake. Behind the spire is a long ridgeline that connects to the main Pioneer divide. We climbed three pitches up the lookers left side of the spire to gain the ridge, then short roped and short pitched along the ridge to reach the second step. Here we encountered 5.8 climbing and three more pitches to gain the knife edge arete above. Several more pitches got us through the technical terrain and then we transitioned for the descent.

Wolf walking the line on the upper arete!

Up and over a gendarme on the lower ridge.

Finishing up the technical section of the upper arete with the lower section and Kane Lake visible in the distance.

The red is our line of ascent while the green is our descent. We moved carefully over loose, slippery, wet rock on the way down and returned late to pack up our camp and head for home after a great adventure in the alpine.

The next day I headed in to Wildhorse to climb Mustang Peak with friend and client Tom U. I hadn't done this route in 6 or 7 years, and was delighted in it's quality.

It was a big day for Mustang Peak, with three parties of two summiting via the Broken Arrow route. We met Pat and Nick from Boise who started their day early by riding their bikes in from the campground to the trailhead! Then, as Tom and I were topping out we spotted SMG guides Drew and Taylor starting up the lower flanks of the peak. Probably one of the busiest days on Mustang Peak ever!

Thanks for the beers Pat and Nick!

Here's to Wolf and Tom for giving me the chance to take them into the high alpine, and here's to Idaho for blessing us with such amazing country so close to home!

Thank you!

High Anxiety 5.9, Black Buttress, Sawtooth Mountains

2010-08-04T12:23:00.000-06:00

My good friend Toby is in town, and last week we squeezed in a climb of High Anxiety after a half day of guiding in the morning. This is the third time I've climbed this route and it was as good as I had remembered it. The first time was in 1993 when my friend Matt Leidecker and I paddled across Redfish in a canoe, climbed the route and returned home to Ketchum that day. We were 18 and going for it! This time, Toby and I got off the boat at 2pm and were able to return to the lake by 7:30. Not bad, but both of us were slowed by the fact that I had only brought a single set of cams and we kept running out of gear for anchors! Some creative anchor building on both our parts cost us some time...

High Anxiety climbs a left facing corner for 2-3 pitches before moving out onto the face and connecting cracks with fantastic exposure! We topped out with 3 rope stretching pitches plus 2 short 4th class pitches.

Toby cruising through the 5.9 crux of pitch 2.

Splitter Sawtooth granite.

Connecting the dots after the corner ends. This section of the climb has notorious route finding issues... which leads to routes like "Higher Anxiety" and "Highest Anxiety"... it's really not that big a deal with a little bit of beta.

Does 5.8 get any better???

Another Sawtooth obscure classic, the Black Buttress!

Thanks Toby for a great day in the mountains.

Cedar Creek Sesh

2010-07-23T08:48:00.001-06:00

The season at Cedar Creek is in full swing. With hot temps in the valleys, Cedar Creek is the perfect place to beat the heat. The Elephant's Perch (climbing shop) in Ketchum donated some hardware for the area and in turn I gave them a topo for the crag. There have been a few folks visiting the area, sampling some of the best limestone around. There are still a number of routes to establish, especially on the easy to moderate side of things, and I plan on finishing development here before moving on to the next crag.

Conditions at the trailhead have dried out considerably in the last two weeks, with most of the wildflowers having gone to seed. I was fortunate enough on my last two visits to catch the Bitterroot flowers in bloom! These little guys are my favorite and I have coined the name "dirt lotus" to describe their stark beauty.

We had a good session yesterday with three(!) cars in the parking lot and several parties enjoying the quality stone and nice temps at the crag. Here's Conan on one of the warm ups, "Little Dark Cloud". Afterwards we moved to the other end of the crag where angle kicks back to the better side vertical and hopped on my project. I had bolted this line earlier this year and had given it a couple redpoint burns. It's characterized by a steep, bouldery start with really long pulls between descent holds. The last time I had climbed it, things felt a little desperate, and I was having trouble clipping. With that attempt fresh in my memory, I got on it yesterday with no expectations. Before I knew it, I had climbed past my previous high point and was feeling great! Near the top I didn't have my beta totally dialed in, and when trying a long deadpoint to an edge I missed, but managed to snag a sloper instead. Giving out the war cry, I hung on, popped to another sloper and pulled through! What a pleasant surprise - Sending when you least expect it! And, it felt easy, especially compared to my previous attempt. Isn't that how it should feel when you send?

I named the route "Caught on Tape" in reference to a joke I had about placing a surveillance camera on a tree to see who was climbing my projects with out permission. I've never been one to use red tape on the first bolt, and figure at a place like Cedar Creek or the Fins, most people know what's a project and what's not, and whose it is. Because I was leaving draws on the routes, I think folks were hopping on them for the low commitment factor. I really don't mind, and like Dave Bingham, I believe that the route is a product of the person who put the time, money and effort in to bolting and cleaning it, not necessarily the one who gets the first ascent. Well, now the route is fair game and ready for everyone to enjoy! Like the other routes on that wall, it's 5.12, somewhere in the b/c area.

After sending "Caught on Tape", Conan and I sampled one of Lucas's 5.12s, "34/24" and enjoyed steep climbing on juggy holds until the crux: a cryptic sequence on smaller, slopey holds with a slabby finish. Looks like I've got another project to redpoint at the Creek!

With evening rolling in, I said farewell to friends and boogied to the car in record time to begin the drive home. The Lost Rivers deliver once again! Thank You.

Dog is my co-pilot... Kaya keeps an eye on the road while I scope the crags!

Wildhorse Revisited

2010-07-19T10:21:00.000-06:00

Wolf, stoked upon entering the alpine cirque above Wildhorse Mines.

Last week my good friend and neighbor, Wolf Riehle and I returned to the alpine cirque above the Wildhorse Mine for two days of alpine adventures. We got an early start Tuesday morning and hiked in to established camp at lake 9238'. Our agenda for the first day was to climb the impressive stepped ridge of peak 11,108'. I had spotted this dramatic line when Drew and I climbed Sky Pilot the week before and was eager to give it a try.

Peak 11,108' - Step n' Wolf climbs the obvious stepped ridge/arete.

After pitching our tent and dropping our overnight gear Wolf and I headed for the route. The stepped ridge was our main objective, but wanting to climb rather than scramble over scree, we went for lowest point of climbable rock at 9600' and began roped climbing. The rock was well featured, of good quality and took gear reasonably well. I headed for the middle rib, which after 5 pitches took us to the base of the first step.

The summit blocks of the first step looked steep and imposing, but we managed to find a way up the north east arete, pulling a few 5.7 - 5.8 moves. We continued along the ridge crest, short roping and short pitching when things got steep until we reached the third step. From below there is an obvious left facing corner that overlooks the lakes and I was keen to give this a try. A short traverse led into the bottom of the corner and 5.7 moves up relatively good rock for 60' brought us to the top of the third step. A bit more short roping brought us to the actual crux of the route, the forth step - the longest and steepest of them all.

Wolf cruising the corner pitch of the third step.

The rock was well featured but slightly deteriorating in quality. My biggest concern was whether I would be able to get gear or not. I set off again climbing the north east arete of this headwall feature, finding descent pro and easy climbing. About a quarter of the way up the route things began to change: the cracks were either flared or seams and gear became harder and harder to find. In addition the angle steepened and there were a few loose holds. Fifteen feet above my last piece I could see features above that might take gear. I renewed my focus, took a breath and lead out in a sequence of 5.8 moves on questionable rock. Finally reaching a small stance way out from my last piece I placed a marginal cam and took another deep breath. The climbing above looked easier but the rock was more broken. I continued on, gently pulling down on holds rather than out and soon topped out on the forth step. Wolf easily cleaned the pitch and we high fived on the summit. Another first ascent(?) in the Wildhorse Basin, "Step n' Wolf" is grade III, 5.8 R and from our start about 1500' of climbing.

Step n' Wolf III, 5.8 R

After enjoying some food and water on the summit, we descended easily to the southwest and were back in camp in an hour. A quick dip in the lake, an evening meal and a spectacular display of light on the peaks ended a fantastic day.

The next morning we were up at dawn for breakfast and cappuccinos then shouldered our packs for the 5 minute approach to Sky Pilot. Quite a bit of snow had melted since Drew and I climbed it. Wolf and I were able to avoid snow completely on the approach and climb the route in our approach shoes. Knowing the line and having a solid partnership, Wolf and I made great time on this 2000' climb, summiting in 4 1/2 hours. We enjoyed clean rock and great exposure on this alpine ridge at upper elevation.

Mid route on Sky Pilot.

Sky Pilot III, 5.6-5.8

We basked in the sun on top and signed the summit register. This descent is a touch more complicated than Step n' Wolf; not having our alpine boots we avoided firm snow and stuck to the talus and boulders. Having a camp in the adjacent drainage meant that we'd needed to return to retrieve our gear. This task was not so easy, as the entire north face of peak 11,280 (Sky Pilot) is steep rock and snow couloirs. While climbing yesterday's route I spotted a weakness down the ridge where the cliffs gave way to steep trees and vegetation. A long traverse around the east ridge brought us into back in to our intended cirque where we navigated game trails ad-mist steep terrain and short cliffs. Soon we were back at camp and couldn't resist another dip in the lake's icy waters!

Coffee and a ciggy on the summit! So Euro!

After a quick pack, Wolf and I descended to our car at the mine and returned to Ketchum for a feast in town. Thanks for an amazing trip, Wolf!

Sky Pilot, III 5.8 Wildhorse Creek

2010-07-07T08:40:00.000-06:00

Sky Pilot climbs the obvious sun/shade arete to the summit of 11,280'.

With a day off from guding and neglecting duties around the home, Drew and I headed into Wildhorse Creek to do some climbing on a feature I had only seen on a topo and Google Earth. Since taking the Alpine Course this spring, I have been trying to climb as many alpine routes as possible as well as develop strength with sport climbing. Drew had been into the north face of Brietenbach a few days before with our fellow guide Clark and got turned around by poor rock and a lack of protection. Wanting to do something big and alpine, but not wanting to drive all the way to the East Fork of the Pahsimeroi to get shut down, we settled on Wildhorse.

We met in the wee hours and drove into Wildhorse Creek to the Wildhorse Mine. On the drive in we could see what was once the bridge crossing the creek about 100 yards down stream from the mine. There's nothing that will wake you up more than fording icy waters first thing in the morning!

Our intended route climbed above one of the Wildhorse Lakes at 9200'. We made quick time hiking into the upper basin and were in awe of the alpine topography hidden from view of Wildhorse Creek road. We put harnesses and helmets on at the lake, pulled out our axes and booted up a steep snow slope to access the rock. A ledge system cuts through the lower cliff band and brought us to the base of the ridge/arete, where we roped up and began climbing. Our system was a mixture of simul-climbing with Tiblocs and pitching it out when things got steeper. Initially we wrapped around to the right (north) side of the ridge to avoid vertical rock. Then a few short pitches brought us back to the arete, which we climbed for the next 1500' or so to the summit. Like so many other ridge/arete routes in the Pios (Broken Arrow on Mustang Peak, and the North East Ridge of Devils Bedstead West) the climbing was generally easy on good rock with fantastic exposure! The great thing about this route was it's length: basically 2000' feet of technical climbing brings you to the unnamed summit of 11,280'.

The ledge accessing the upper basin and the base of the route.

Gettin' some in alpine boots!

Drew making short work of one of the 5.6 sections high on the route.

Great exposure at 11,000' near the summit!

After some lunch on the summit and hanging out with the Ladybugs, we descended to the southwest into the adjacent basin, below the impressive face of Goat Peak. Fortunately there was still some snow and plunge stepping was much easier than navigating steep scree and cliffs. Once back at treeline we spooked a herd of elk hanging out in the lush alpine meadows getting fat on summer's greenery. We dropped back down into Wildhorse Creek and returned to the mine for another cold creek crossing on sore feet. What a great day in the alpine!

Messaging sore feet with Mustang Peak in the background.

Drew and I decided to name the route Sky Pilot, after the aromatic alpine flower found on ledges and cracks the entire way. We gave the route a grade III for commitment level due to it's length of technical climbing on the ascent. We felt like what we climbed was probably 5.8 based upon a steep but short finger crack pitch I led near the top, but that could easily have been bypassed. There were several short pitches of 5.6 climbing with lots and lots of easy fifth and forth class in between.

Spring to Summer

2010-07-01T15:10:00.000-06:00

As guiding season starts to pick up, I have less time to go cragging. Between trips in to the mountains I've been trying to make the most of what little time I have by spending some half days at Cedar Creek and mountain biking with Aki. We've done couple great rides this spring/summer, the best being Elk Mountain (meadows?) Loop out of Stanley Lake. I haven't been on single track that good in a while! I'm hoping to get a chest harness for the GoPro Cam and post some footage here soon. Thanks Aki for getting me back on a bike!

The cool temperatures this spring have kept some ice around at the base of Cedar Creek, but all routes are climbable and I've managed to tick a few projects that last couple times I've been there. First to go down was "The Town Bike" (as in everyone takes 'er for a ride - a reference to the route seeing lots of traffic prior to being completed). Although it needs consensus, I'd say it's a solid 12, somewhere in the 12b/c range. The route is characterized by sustained climbing on good holds with a crux near the top, right about when the pump clock starts to ring!

Here are a couple bad pics of The Town Bike.

Next was "The Jewel Thief", a 12a just to the left of The Town Bike. The name is a reference to the route being climbed without consent when it was still a project. I can't be too upset though, the strong fellow onsighted it!!! This is a great route up steep rock with good holds and big, pumpy moves. Go for the onsight!

The next project is just left again on the same wall and is most likely the hardest of the three. It's got some big moves but generally climbs smaller holds. To me it feels like 12c, but consensus will determine that. I hope to send next visit.

A wide angle shot of Cedar Creek. It doesn't show much, but the Town Bike and others are on the far left side of the wall.

In between guided trips and cragging, Drew and I managed a climb up the East Ridge of Williams Peak last weekend. We were hoping to find a nice alpine ridge route to the summit, but steep, somewhat loose rock push us into some gullies south of the ridge proper. Drew was kind enough to let me "mock" guide him to the top, and we had some good laughs roped together along the way. It was great short roping and short pitching practice with quite a bit of firm snow in the morning. Thanks Drew! Next time we'll try the ridge direct!

On Tuesday I did a guided Finger of Fate climb and we managed to thread the needle with the weather quite nicely. It sprinkled a bit on the hike in and threatened while we were on the route, but it never cut loose until the drive home. From the summit we could see showers in the Sawtooth Valley and dark clouds to the west, but we felt blessed to not get wet on the climb. There was quite a bit of snow still in the upper basin and even a little bit of ice packed in the corners of the route. My client Rob pretty much hiked the route and we had no problems avoiding the ice and wet rock. A few sprinkles on the hike out kept the temps cool and the mosquitos at bay. Thanks for great day in the Alpine Rob!

Leaving the snow and on to the rock, pitch 1.

The Open Book, pitch 2.

The "ski tracks" on the upper part of the climb. Does it get any better?

Thats about all I have for now. Look for more Cedar Creek sends, reports from guided adventures and hopefully some mountain bike footage soon.

Cheers, Marc

AMGA Alpine Guides Course

2010-06-16T08:43:00.000-06:00

I recently returned from an extended four week road trip through Utah and Colorado. I had some guiding work in Utah for two weeks, then I was off to Rocky Mountain National Park for my American Mountain Guides Association Alpine Guides Course. This course is the first of three courses and two exams in the Alpine discipline. Once all course are completed and the exams have been passed, then one is Alpine Certified. There are essentially three disciplines for mountain guides: Rock, Ski Mountaineering, and Alpine. I am certified in Rock and Ski Mountaineering, and the Alpine is my last discipline on the road to IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) status. Some call IFMGA Certification the PhD of the guiding world due to the time, money, skills and physical challenge that "full certification" requires. A fully certified guide is internationally recognized and can guide in any other IFMGA country; for example most of Europe, Asia and North & South America.

The Alpine Guides Course was taught by Marc Chauvin, Dale Remsberg and John Kear, all of which are top notch instructors and IFMGA guides themselves. Technically the Alpine discipline deals with everything: rock, ice and snow on glaciated terrain. This course, being the first in the discipline, is held in terrain that is non glaciated. So, depending on conditions, the course generally involves snow and rock climbs. The conditions we encountered in Rocky Mountain National Park were exceptionally warm, with overnight lows in the mid 40s. As a result, most of the routes we climbed on the course were rock routes with some snow on the approach.

In all it was a great course taught by some of the best instructors. All twelve of us students got along really well and had some good laughs between serious stints up front at the lead. We all purchased cheap leopard print fleeces at one of the tourist shops in Estes Park before heading into Mt Ypsilon and our Blitzen Ridge climb. We surprised the instructors by showing up for the climb all decked out in the same "uniform", ready to rock and roll! Definitely a good laugh! Here are some images of the course:

Short roping, short pitching the First Flatiron outside of Boulder. We climbed this thing three times that day!

A day of fifth class rock, Carsten leading out on Anthill Direct, 5.9 Eldorado Canyon.

Looking gripped at the belay, Eldo.

Rainbow and Carsten looking like rock stars at the belay, Notchtop Peak, RMNP.

The lower pitches of Notchtop Peak.

Team Leopard in the mist on Blitzen Ridge, Mt Ypsilon, RMNP.

What the? Two teams navigate the complex terrain of Blitzen Ridge.

Andrew keeping his peeps safe on Blitzen Ridge.

Decompressing mid course...

"What it is!"

Our final objective was the Petit Grepon in RMNP. Since my freshman year at CU I've always wanted to climb this route. Here is the Petit (middle left) and the Saber (middle right) as seen from Sky Pond on the approach.

Dale and Dominic catching some ZZZs at the belay.

Dominic racing up P5 on the South West Corner Route, 5.9, Petit Grepon.

The AMGA Alpine Guides Course, 2010!

Thanks to the instructors, the students, and the AMGA for a fantastic course! I'd also like to thank The North Face for making it happen by awarding me a scholarship for this course!

Sunday School: Skiing the North Face of Mt Church

2010-05-17T07:56:00.001-06:00

Aki and I headed over to the Lost Rivers again last weekend. The truck was packed with climbing, biking and ski gear; we were ready for anything! When friends bailed on our planned bolting adventure, I knew it was time to go skiing.

It's not often that the conditions, weather and road openings converge to make skiing the high peaks in the Lost Rivers a possibility.

We began by driving over Pass Creek in route to the Upper Pahsimeroi Valley. Even though this way involved more driving on dirt roads, we were already in the Pass Creek area and I hadn't done the drive in a decade or so. At Pass Creek Summit Aki encouraged me to ski this 200' wind roll. The reward, more than the ski, was the view from the top! To the north vast amounts of alpine terrain covered in snow!

The Little Lost River Valley, Bell Mountain and Butte County.

After hours of dirt roads and rough driving, we arrived at the East Fork of the Upper Pahsimeroi. Aki relaxes in the evening sun while I run around like mad looking at all the alpine terrain!

We could see Mt Church from camp and I began packing my kit for an early morning start. I had been through this area on a 6 day solo backpack trip 12 years ago and it felt great to return. The terrain was even more spectacular then I remembered!

Entering the alpine after navigating several miles of dense trees in the lower valley. We camped at 8200' and after a mile hike I was able to put skis on at 8400'. Not bad for skiing in the middle of May!

The summit of Mt Church: 12,200, the third highest peak in the state. It was 4000' and just under 4 miles from camp. I was fortunate enough to skin to about 11, 600' before booting the rest.

My boot pack along the ridge with Donaldson and Brietenbach in the background.

3, 2, 1... dropping!

I skinned up the large ramp (green) on the left, booted through the "keyhole" near the large rock band, to the summit ridge. I skied the central ramp right off the summit (red) down through the lower rock band. The top was a little wind effected and my first 10 turns were firm, then it was cold, boot top pow to the dogleg, then slight sun effected snow for a bit before turning to perfect corn on the lower portion of the face. From top to bottom it's about a 2400' foot run! Has anyone skied this line before? I'd like to hear what conditions you found.

What a line!

Thanks to the Lost Rivers and Aki for such a fantastic weekend!

Limestone Bouldering?

2010-04-25T22:06:00.000-06:00

Aki and I spent the weekend camping on the property near Mackay and exploring lots of rock.

Here are some boulders we found, which were sharp but pretty bomber! I'd have a hard time committing to some of the high balls without testing the holds first... but maybe a ladder (or a rope), a brush or two and some crash pads?

Limestone cracks? Yeah!

Is that hold below the lip solid? I hope so!

Nearby is a spring with some amazing pictographs on the surrounding cliffs (not the boulders).

The Chutes of Narnia

2010-04-22T11:20:00.000-06:00

Here's a little video from mid winter. The light was terrible but it's worth a quick look. Enjoy.

Springtime in South Central Idaho

2010-04-17T12:06:00.000-06:00

I've guided a few hut trips recently and here are some pics from the Pio Yurt as well as the Bench Hut. Conditions in the Pioneers last week were variable and variable. Did I say they were variable? New snow arrived in early April, then the classic Pio recipe of wind and sun wrecked havoc on what would have been powder skiing. We managed to find a bit of cold, soft snow and the scenery was as spectacular as always!

The trip into the Bench Hut was timed just about perfect. Mid to upper elevation snow was cold and dry on shady aspects when we arrived and the sky was blue bird. Temps continued to rise over the course of the three days and the snow began to take a little heat, but the skiing was still great! Let's hope the heat wave subsides and we move into a cycle of corn skiing!

The new Pio Yurt! So much bigger and better!

A quick transition on top of the wind sculpted Peanut.

The Jewels at the Hyndman/Old Hyndman saddle - check out the size of those cornices!

Olin ripping the first pitch of the Thumbline outside of Bench - one of the most classic ski lines around!

Returning back to the hut, skiing the 5th Lake Bowl below the summit of Heyburn.

Chopper dropping in Defib Couloir. No shock advised, even after all that bacon!

The last of cold snow skiing this year? I hope not... Our tracks from earlier in the day on the Thumbline.

Enjoy your spring!

Steamboat Patrol Exchange

2010-04-02T07:27:00.000-06:00

Last week, friend and fellow patroller Ryan and I did a patrol exchange with Steamboat, Colorado. Ryan had kayaked in nearby Fish Creek, but neither of us had skied there before. We Arrived to 3" of new snow the first day and another 8" the next day. Steamboat has had a similar winter as us, with low snow totals and lots of warming prior to this most recent weather system. We skied hard the first two days, mostly in bounds and in the clouds. Steamboat has some of the finest tree skiing around! They have done a great job thinning the aspens and lodgepole in skiable "lanes".

Once the storm passed and the weather turned blue bird, we began to tour into the canyon. Most of the runs involved a fair amount of traversing and sidestepping to access steep 200-1000' treed and rocky shots. When they learned that we liked to tour, their snow safety supervisor, Kyle, took us on a couple skinning tours where we were able to get beyond the tracks. Steamboat has some cool terrain with an outstanding group of patrollers. It's a neat corner of Colorado that is very different from the rest of the state. Thanks to Ryan, Sun Valley and the Steamboat Ski Patrol for a great week of skiing!

Dumping...

Ripping through the pillowland.

Steamboat is big. They use to do over a million skier days a year. Now down to about 850K, but they still make money.

Steamboat patroller, Ryan, leading us on a tour.

How's your aspen?

Kyle taking in the view of Fish Creek Canyon. Look closely and you can see the ski tracks.

A tour up Hahn's Peak on our last day.

Ryan topping out. I got pretty use to this view, being in the back. I didn't bring my Dynafits, and instead toured in Gotamas, Dukes and alpine boots... talk about slow and heavy!

Our last tracks at the Boat!

Shangri La Ski Mountaineering

2010-03-23T20:38:00.001-06:00

Last weekend my friend and client Carlos and I spent three days ski mountaineering in the Shangri La valley of the Sawtooths. I have been trying to put this trip together now for several years, and Carlos has been committed since day one. For one reason or another, the trips have always fallen through, and this year was almost the same. But after overcoming a few hurdles, Carlos and I found ourselves snowmobiling across Redfish Lake at first light.

Conditions were firm and we saw no instabilities on the ice. In fact the snowmobile overheated due to the lack of loose snow lubricating the track and cooling the engine.

The skin up Redfish Canyon to the turn off to the Elelphant's Perch went fast in the firm conditions and old tracks left by friends weeks before. Soon as we left the old skin track and began touring through the trees up the shady aspect the snow quickly turned to a breakable temperature crust and I began to wonder if the previous warming had foiled our plans to ski cold snow.

Once up in the Shangri La basin, it was apparent that mid to upper elevation conditions were going to be dry and chalky on shady aspects. We found a bit of wind effect, but the sastrugi skied great and windslabs were obvious. After establishing a basecamp we set work picking out and assessing some of the couloirs in the area.

On day two we toured across the lakes and picked out this beautiful line by process of elimination... it was the only one that went all the way that was not rimmed with enormous cornices ready to squash us flat. A 600' skin up the apron brought us to the rock walls and another 600' of booting brought us to the rocky summit.

Camp Life.

On our last day we skied the couloir that's formed between the Goat's Perch and the Eagle's Perch. I've looked at this line for years and in fact you can see it on the banner to this blog. Again we found boot top stale powder in the bowl below the couloir and slightly firmer snow due to the constant sloughing in the couloir itself. We booted until the snow ran out about 15' below the ridge. Above us lay steep rock and the remnants of a cornice I wanted nothing to do with. The couloir averaged about 48*-50* and steepened to 55* for the top third. It was basically a ski width wide at the top, gradually widening and then pinching off again to another ski width near the bottom. Carlos dropped in and skied the first pitch, making it look easy.

Here's Carlos laying some fine tracks below the couloir.

I have a feeling we'll be back... there were just too many lines to ski and not enough time in this special place. Thanks Carlos for making it happen!

Look for more pics and video to come...

Silver Creek Schralpinism

2010-02-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

In the latest issue of Backcountry Magazine, Ben Clark talks about combining technical alpine routes with ski descents. The common term for this style of ascent/descent is ski mountaineering, but Ben distinguishes "Schralpinism" as more than slogging up knee deep snow with a mountain axe in hand. Schralpinism has all the technical elements of an alpine route in addition to the commitment of a ski mountaineering descent. This is something that has really peaked my interest in that last few years and with the ice climbing I've been doing this season, I decided to give it a try yesterday.

James and I shouldered packs full of ice and ski gear and headed into Silver Creek in the Boulder Mountains. A snowmobile dispatched the 3 mile approach across the morains in a matter of minutes instead of an hour. We then toured in to the base of the ice on the south buttress of Lightning Point.

The first pitch of the route was a sustained 200' pitch of WI4, made all the more exciting carrying a pack with skis strapped on to it. Near the top of the pitch I was faced with a 20' curtain of chandelier ice or thin veriglass of rock. Looking for security, I began tunneling behind the curtain through what James called "the rabbit hole". A bit of thrashing with pack and skis and a few expletives on my part brought me to short but committing traverse across rock to reach the ice again.

That was definitely the crux of the route. Although we encountered several more short 30'-40' sections of ice, rest of the climb was bootpacking (read: slogging) up a beautiful tight couloir. We topped out with a 100' pitch of mixed but easy rock and snow and continued along the ridge to the top of our descent line.

With skis on and crampons in our packs we made cautious turns in the top of the descent couloir. Initially, things looks well covered and I thought we might be linking some good turns, but knowing how rocky the Boulders are, I had advised James to bring his rock skis. Good thing too! We did get a few good linked turns in, but there were a lot of rocks mixed in as well. Now, the bottom of our line ended in a 100' WI5 ice fall, and the bottoms turns, though not steep, were with some consequence. Instead of messing with the steep ice, we skirted out left and did an arm wrap/side slip and a final rappel over the last ice fall. Coiling the ropes in increasing darkness I was able to get full cell reception and call our significant others to let then know we were off the route, OK and running a little late.

Another epic day in the mountains... Thanks James!

Red is our line of ascent, green is our ski and blue is the arm wrap and rappel.

Leaving the snowmobile and beginning the ski approach.

A few helmet cam pics of the route.

Nice work James!

Here's a short video from last weekend...

2010-02-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from the last week...

2010-02-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been super busy this month, but here are a few pictures from the last week:

Eric on his first ice climb at Twin. It was pretty warm and the top outs were a little exciting!

Alex skinning up on a misty morning.

Skiing off Cape Horn Peak, near the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Salmon.

Sun crusts? No problem for the Lhasa Pows!

Powder... finally!

2010-01-23T05:57:00.001-07:00

Ullr has smiled upon much of the west this past week, and the mountains of South Central Idaho were thankfully not overlooked. Stability for much of our region is poor and safe skiing remains on slopes less than 30 degrees. Here are a few images from the past week skiing the "woop-D-pie"!

Cold Smoke.

Marsha and Bob with the Boulders coming into view.

Sunlight on the Funnel, Mushroom Ridge.

the highline

2010-01-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

the highline project, near helena, MT

This from Black Diamond's Web Site: Retiring Old Ropes by Kolin Powik

2010-01-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

QC Lab: Retiring Old Ropes
We’ve all seen it at the cliffs, and I’m a major offender myself—climbing on old ratty ropes. Yeah, ropes are expensive and that’s the main reason people push their ropes to the limit—trying to squeeze every last ounce of use out of them until they become a dog leash or door mat. I’m not going to lie—I get sweet deals on cords, but still, I don’t like to be wasteful and usually end up climbing on my ropes a little too long.

Ropes can develop a sentimental value to some people—maybe it’s the cord you sent the “proj” with, or had a great trip up a Valley wall with—so you just don’t want to retire it. I had such a case—a special 9.4mm. I kept climbing and climbing and climbing on it. It was beat. It started out as a 70 m, then after endless days of constant whippers, it became a 65 m, then 60 m, then 55 m. I just didn’t want to see it go.

So one weekend I was taking REPEATED MONSTER whippers off the VERY LAST move of one of the many nemesis routes of mine. I had to skip the last clip because I’m too weak to clip it—and go for a huge chuck to the finishing bucket. I would sail onto the end of my trusty 9.4 mm time and time again. The last 10 ft or so of the cord were absolutely throttled—at the end of that weekend, it was time to say goodbye.

Of course, I brought it into the lab and figured I’d do some testing.

Testing

I decided just to test the ultimate tensile strength of the rope in different areas, and compare it to a brand new rope of the same model and make. We didn’t do anything fancy—just a figure 8 on each end, and pulled to failure in the tensile tester. We were just doing this quick and dirty for comparison's and curiosity's sake.

When tested like this, breakage at the knot is almost always the failure mode—and remember—figure eight knots can reduce the strength of a rope somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30%.

Results

The first test we did was a piece from one of the totally worn-out ends. It broke at around 6 kN—and NOT at the knot.

Yowsa, I had just been whipping all over the place on that cord—and it broke at 6 kN, and NOT at the knot—scary stuff. Though the sporto falls I was taking were super soft (my wife was belaying and is light, and I am fat)—chances are the tension seen in the rope wasn’t anywhere near 6 kN, but if I had gotten slammed hard, low to the ground, etc??? It’s definitely possible to see these kinds of loads in the field.

We decided to do more tests on my cord—on the ends, and in the middle, as well as on a brand new 9.4 mm for comparison purposes. In all subsequent tests, the sample broke at the knot as expected, but we still saw some frighteningly low values.

New 9.4 mm KP’s 9.4 mm middle KP’s 9.4 mm end
15.6 kN 9 kN 6 kN*
13.8 kN 9.8 kN 8 kN
7.7 kN
*broke in the middle of the test sample

We tracked down another beat 9.4 mm from one of the QA guys—and put it through the ringer as well:

New 9.4 mm Used 9.4 mm middle Used 9.4 mm end
12.9 kN 11.9 kN 8 kN
13.6 kN 11.9 kN 9.8 kN
11.6 kN 8.6 kN
Still curious and given the results we’d seen—the boys in the lab and I decided to do the same with some other tattered ropes that were around. We did similar tests with more Beal ropes as well as Sterling, Edelweiss, Mammut, etc. We found very similar results:

The worn out, frayed, end pieces of any rope we tested were consistently significantly weaker than the middle sections of the same cord.
We DID manage to find other samples that broke in the middle (as opposed to at the knot) – and at relatively low loads—less than 7kN.
The end pieces, and middle pieces were consistently weaker than a section of a brand new cord.
Bottom Line

Ropes, like all climbing gear, don’t last forever—the ends of your rope take a beating—be wary of super frayed, worn, puffed out, beat up tattered cords. Yes, ropes aren’t cheap, but they’re also your lifeline—literally—so take care of them.
When the ends of your cord get all beat and tattered from dogging up routes, cut the ends off, or a buy a new rope.
I always cut equal lengths off BOTH ends so the middle mark is always in the middle.
Be sure to mark the new length on BOTH ends so you and your partners know what you’re dealing with.
And while you’re at it—tie a knot in one end—too often you hear of someone being lowered off the end of their rope—definitely not cool.
For me the most important thing… to train harder and get stronger, so I won’t be whipping in the first place.

Be careful out there,

KP

Ice, Ice, Baby!

2009-12-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

My knee has been healing well and I've managed to climb a few ice routes in the last week. With our thin and weak snowpack I've been more inspired to ice climb than to go on a tour. Maybe that will change when I get my new skis! Here are some pictures of Trail Creek ice. Drew brought his helmet cam out for the first time and we got a few photos from that. Look for some videos to come.

James killin' it in Rock Roll Canyon. This was his second day ice climbing ever and he's hooked!

We gotta come up with a good name for this flow. It's short, but really fun and I think there could be a mixed route or two out the cave. How about Mini Me?

A couple helmet cam pics.

Passing

2009-12-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Guy Lacelle passed away late last week while climbing in Hyalite Canyon, Montana. While i am extremely sad with his passing, i can't help but celebrate the many days of ice and mixed climbing we've shared over the years. Guy and I shared a lot of the same beliefs. He did not drink alcohol, despised elitism and secrecy, and believed it's not about what you've got, but what you give. There is no doubt Guy had what it took to be "Guy Lacelle" soloist, mixed climber, ice master, and explorer of new terrain, but his life was about giving. And that is what he did with his time and his talent. To many he will be remembered as one of the best ice climbers in the world, but to those who have known Guy for decades, or for those who knew him for a brief few hours, he will be remembered as someone who loved climbing, loved sharing it with anyone who had passion, and loved the human spirit of compassion, motivation, and wanted to see others succeed.

This weekend many of the best ice climbers in the world gathered at the Bozeman Ice Festival to share our love of winter climbing with others who wanted to learn about it. In the wake of Guy's death and the heavy cloud of sorrow that haunted many of us, we could not disappoint our friend by calling it quits for the weekend. And I'm glad we didn't. I got to share two full days with dozens of people who wanted to learn about ice and mixed climbing. It's not paid guiding. All or most of the athletes who attend the Bozeman Ice Festival donate our time to share skills with those in attendance. Simply for the love of sharing what makes our lives so meaningful.

The highlight of the weekend was sharing some time with my friend Tom Smartt, who had never been ice climbing before. He pretty much owned every piece of ice and mixed route he attempted. It was like watching an artist paint a picture!

Without the opportunity to share what i know, climbing would be selfish and meaningless to me. And whether it's sharing information or climbing skills with others, for me, it's the right thing to do and is what makes my climbing world go around.

The climbing community lost another important and well loved icon. Yet by the end of the weekend, a new ice climbing soul was born. Welcome to the fold young Tom Smartt. Just remember, it's not what you've got, it's what you give...

Two thumbs up from Tom Smartt

-Dean Lords

New Route in the Sawtooths

2009-12-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

I recently received some photos from my friend James Q Martin. Q, (as his friends call him) is writing an article on the Sawtooths for Climbing magazine. He had arrived early in September and spent almost two weeks climbing and shooting photos at the Elephants Perch. I wasn't able to join him until the end of his stay and we ventured up to the Finger of Fate for a couple days. Q wanted to climb the ultra classic "Open Book" on the Finger and "anything else that looked good". I told him I had my eye on a line that my college roommate and I tried years ago. He inquired and I described it as "a finger to hands spitter diagonalling through a short headwall". Q's eyes light up...

We arrived at the upper lakes just as the sun was dropping behind Sevy Peak and the western skyline. If we wanted to get on the route, we'd better hustle! We dropped our loads and boogied up to the line.

I remembered climbing the first pitch years ago; a wide lichen covered crack that gave access to the upper headwall. I also remembered climbing up to a two piece, magic X anchor built with finger sized gear. Mike (my old roommate) had belayed me up to this partially hanging stance. I looked at the anchor, I looked at Mike. I looked at the anchor again. I didn't like the fact that we had only two pieces in, but our meager rack at that time didn't afford us to beef it up and still have plenty of small gear for the route. Uneasy about putting my full weight on the anchor, I set up and belayed Mike as he eased out into the thin line that split orange stone. Mike was a strong climber, but neither of us were in any sort of shape for what we were getting ourselves into. He wrenched his fingers in the first few locks and tried to wiggle in a stopper. After what seemed like forever, legs began to quiver, his forearms rippling, Mike re-racked the stopper and fiddled in a cam. Then he said "take". We looked at each other, then the anchor, then the cam Mike was weighting... the sentiment was mutual. Let's get the hell outta here! We bailed that day, and I hadn't been back... but I hadn't forgotten either.

In fading light with Q snapping photos and Rachel belaying, I climbed the route ground up, cleaning lichen and few loose holds as I went. I rested a few times on gear at the crux: thin tips and next to nothing for feet for 10 feet or so. Then it was into solid finger locks and jams to the top. The route is two pitches. P1 is probably 5.7 and a little dirty. P2 is probably 5.11-; I'd compare it to the 5.11s on the Perch. I'll have to get back next season to clean it up a bit and send!

Thanks to Mike for spying the line and Q and Rachel for making it a reality!!

Photos by James Q Martin

Paddling the south, west, pac. fork of the Salmon

2009-12-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

Nov.2, 2009

KIRKHAM st. :

I drove all the way back to berkeley and got the biggest board that I own and went back out.

This time I used a bit more tact and went to the sand dunes to scope out a riptide to aid in paddling out.

I scored a DOH+(?), macker. I made the drop, bottom turned into a mid face speed pump underneath a hucking lip. I didnt really have a chance to enjoy the view of the lip 5 feet over my head cuz it was only there for a split second (guess i should have stalled instead of pumped). I made an awkward hack off the top to another bottom turn to a speed pump to kick out. I got around to see where i was and saw the small pack of surfers that I started at, they were really far away, like 2-3 hundred yards. I was really amazed at how fast i went, but i did not want to get stuck back inside again.

I looked back out to sea to see a triple overhead steam roller charging towards me, I noodled my arms as fast as possible towards the biggest submarine beating of my life. A visceral tinkling of my worst nightmares spilled into my conscientiousness as i attempted to will my two lactic acid filled appendages into action.

I am five years old again only this time I am not asleep, the monster bering down on me is not a figment of my imagination. Its right there in front of me, rushing towards me frothing its gaping, roaring mouth.
The only way to escape it is to run towards it and go between its legs, only I cant run. No matter how hard I try I just cannot get my arms to move fast enough.

I began to silence the little boy inside of me and prepared to pay for what she gave me.

climbing in sin city

2009-11-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

so yeah, i got ditched by two indian creek crews, dirty bastards, so instead of sitting on my ass, i went to vegas!

the idaho alpine club, based in idaho falls, takes a yearly trip to red rocks, a huge complex of crags near las vegas, nevada. the routes here range from 30 to 2000 feet long. almost seemed to me like a combo of joshua tree and indian creek in a way. lot's of sketchy trad routes, aka my favorite kind of climbing. plus, there was no snow! kinda nice after digging my car out of 2 feet of snow and ice up in montana. plus, with trad climbs, you have to take every route on it's own terms, as 5.8 can be the scariest thing you've ever done, and even though you may cruise 5.10 on a regular basis, you may run into sketchy pro on bad rock and have to bail. the most common accidents tend to be strong 5.12/13 gym climbers fucking up on easy terrain.
(photos courtesy of julie g.)

check out my rad shades! i found these on a rock after crawling through some bushes to the base of the willow springs wall. i kinda got lost... oh, and that's bruce, staring off into the magic that is rock climbing.
there were a pair of sketch fest 5.8 routes here that were really fun. or at least, i thought they were fun. the better of the two is a dead vertical route, with no cracks for the first 30 feet or so. all you get is some big huecos and pods to pull on. i hear you can find a shitty cam placement in these pockets... but the most solid piece i found pulled right away when i tested it... so after thirty feet i found a stopper placement that was pretty bomber, not going anywhere. from here i found 3 more iffy to decent placements to protect the last twenty feet. although the climbing was easy, it was a total mind game dealing with the serious consequences of this route, a game made harder when climbing with a large group watching you. definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but i really enjoy it.

tami-loves belaying at the black corridor. a pretty kick ass little crag in a 8 foot wide corrdor. lots of good easy routes.

julie g. steppin it up and placin' pro! leading a 5.4 at the moderate mecca crag. I hear this route was pretty sketch.
the route directly left was one of the scariest slabs ever, with horrid mank being passed off as bolts (as in a steel bar that had been bent into a hook and riveted to the rock, and there was maybe 3 pieces of protection in 80 feet), loose flakes for footholds, and required creative use of stoppers to add some sense of safety.

dunno what route this is, but the climber is one matt L. who is a total bad ass.
later in the trip, matt and i climbed a route at willow springs called "ragged edges", which is superb. no photos as we were the only two there. i took an alternate start on the first pitch that upped the grade from 5.7 to 5.9+, and it was brilliant, best climbing of the whole extended weekend. anyways, at the top of this pitch, after the finger sized crack died out, is a ridiculously smooth ramp that slants down to the right to join the main crack and the second pitch. not gonna lie, it was pretty tough. matt's limit is somewhere around 5.9 or 5.10, and i was belaying him, standing above on the good holds he was gunning for. he totally pulled it! then he went on to lead the offwidth second pitch, which was really just run out face climbing with a few huge cams plugged in the crack.

jesus, hardest thing ever! i have no idea what this route is called or rated (5.10?), but it was hard. it's an off-hands roof crack, that is, it's too big for solid hand jams, and too small for fist jams, requiring some awkward finagling to find something to pull on. at the lip, you throw a heel over, find a left arm bar, and try to mantle up over until you hit a good hold. pretty burly. the last 70 feet or so is super easy, and due to rope drag created by climbing a roof into a slab, i pretty much soloed the rest of the climb.

but yeah, i also saw the strip for the first time. so outrageous. i've been all over to big cities(mostly in europe), and even with all the pomp and circumstance of those places, nothing is like the strip. crazy taxi drivers that can't do math, huge water cannons in front of the belagio, a courtyard inside the venetian that looks like it's outside... so ridiculous. plus i got to see cirque du soleil preform "LOVE" which is all about the beatles. it was pretty rad, but i think if you were to spend that much on beatles' music from itunes you'd get more enjoyment. still though, it was bad ass. tami-loves even beat vegas on the slots at our hotel, 'the orleans'. she totally won two dollars! WOOT!

some pretty good skiing in the Tetons

2009-11-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

We've been getting some pretty good turns in the last few weeks. North facing aspects above 9,000ft offer 40+ inches of snow with a firm base. Yesterday, me and a crew of friends headed to Steve Baugh's Bowl, east of Grand Targhee Ski Resort. We found winter in all of its glory as well as its fierceness with deep snow, blowing wind and negative digit wind chills.

More snow fell in Eastern Idaho today! I hope you guys in the Sun Valley area picked up a bunch as well.

Heather Lords exiting Scotty's Chute on the east side of Fred's Mountain.

- Dean Lords

Berkeley bouldering

2009-11-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

Heres some footage from Indian Rock, a few minutes up the street, its a long traverse with a short 4th class down climb to link the sections. I had to do a statistical analyses for my last math class. My requirements for the project were to measure or observe something(s) at least 30 times. So far I've done this traverse 28 times. I am measuring lap time, number of laps in a session and whether or not I fall, and if I fall, I record the number of falls and where. The hardest single portion of the traverse is v3, right at the end.

Hope you are recovering well, Marc. So I guess we are not climbing this Thanksgiving weekend? Ill carry everything to the crag if it helps.

Dissonance to Cadence

2009-11-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

“I can believe that I'm a wizard, that I can do everything with my mind, and I'll be strong as all hell... I just need to be confident.” -Dave Graham

At some point things just click. Specific focus isn’t needed; things just happen. Confidence, weakness, focus, whatever, the brain begins to recognize sequences of movement faster and more efficiently, always looking ahead. When to bear down on that razor edge, reel in, and lunge for that next hold. Pace --rhythmic breathing, anticipation-- comes together, speeding up when the moves are difficult, slowing when they let up, always looking ahead. All parts of the body do exactly what they need to be, “PSAAHT!!!” The difficulties are over, the puzzle deciphered. One last move. Then the mind realizes what is going on. Other thoughts begin to drift in, excitement from climbing through this heinous problem, anxiety thinking that this may just be the day that you send, fear from being so high off the ground... all this swirling round and round, killing your focus, disrupting your breathing, and then, a small error leads to a foot popping off, throwing everything out of balance... you try to correct, but a split second later, you crash into the pads, roll down the hill, and lie huddled in the dirt. Defeat.

This failure is all too common in climbing. Falling is part of the process. If you never fall, you aren’t trying hard enough. Like any orchestration, it’s nearly impossible to play the notes right on the first go. The process of projecting a climb, working it over and over to figure it out, can be the most frustrating yet rewarding experience for a climber. You see, when you do figure out the individual pieces, when you figure out the very best way to do something, when you can finally sustain sound focus, strength doesn't seem to matter as much.

The notes are there for all eternity, and the musician has to unlock them perfectly to make music. There is a path in your mind that shows the sequence, the moves, and what to do to adapt to each movement. When things move perfectly in motion there is brilliance to it. Climbing is a strange game of body positions. A game of engrams, of muscle memory. It’s a game of occupying space, keeping everything together, feet, hands, fingers, core, whatever... you need it all together. There is a kind of fluency, and the climbing language develops. With dissonance gone, harmony follows. It takes a strong body to pull the moves, and a stronger mind to ultimately realize success.

The sun falls behind the mountains, the rock cools down, and you’re back, walking the trail you know so very well. That boulder is still there; this time, it’s revenge. The breathing pattern begins, steadying on the inhale, executing on the exhale.You reach for that tiny quartz crystal. Then the physical disappears. You grab the sharp grainy hold, set your feet, move your hips, slap the pinch, bump your hand again, inhale, then “PSAAHT!!! AHHHAAAH!” Keep it together! pull the lip, and bam! you’re sitting on top just as the last light fades and stars appear. The cadence dies down, the number fades. Victory.

Wildhorse Basin Headwalls

2009-11-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

I've been spending too much time looking at photos, topo maps, and geologic maps of the Pioneer mountains. I put this image together to identify several possible ridge routes up the north faces of Hyndman and Old Hyndman Peaks. I know Dean Lords has spent some time climbing these peaks in winter. I also know the north side of Hyndman peak has been climbed by at least two parties. I am curious if anyone reading this knows more about the climbing history of these peaks and or this basin. You can answer here or contact me off-blog at (matt@mattlphoto.com).

The photo was taken from what I am calling Arrowhead Arete, the west facing 1000' ridge climbing out of Arrowhead Lake. It is a fabulous class 3 to 4 route that we did in a 7 mile loop up Wildhorse Cr., up the Arrowhead arete and down onto "Tilly Lake" and out the Left Fork of Wildhorse Creek.

-Matt-

One Third Less

2009-11-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

I had surgery on my knee yesterday, and as it turned out Dr Tony found several tears in my meniscus. Due to the amount of trauma to the meniscus he was unable to repair any of it, and performed a Meniscectomy (removal of the damaged meniscus) instead. Apparently I have one third less meniscus on my right knee now! The problem with meniscectomies is that once the portion of meniscus is removed, it doesn't regenerate and consequently opens the door for arthritis later in life. In my case, I didn't have much choice. Prior to surgery, Dr Tony was uncertain of the extent of damage to the meniscus and thought a repair might have been an option. Once inside the joint it became obvious that removing the damaged tissue was the only thing he could do. If I had chosen not to have the surgery, there most certainly would have been complications and pain associated with the use of that knee.

Today, I lie on the couch, watch Fuel TV, surf the internet and began rehabilitation. I've got a handful of exercises to do and have been keeping that silly mantra "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body" close at hand! I'm also reading "Endurance", Lansing's epic tale of Ernest Shackelton's survival in the antarctic, which seems fitting.

My phone has been steadily ringing. Thanks to all my friends and family for their overwhelming support! It's a great feeling knowing that people care! Now it's up to you to carry the torch on this blog. Let's hear about your mountain adventures. Otherwise, I will continue to post boring entrees about how I road the bike in rehab or how much bend I got in my knee today! Let's hear it!

Highs and Lows

2009-11-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

I had a varied and exciting weekend, filled with highs and lows. Things started off Friday evening with the premier of the new TGR flick. We went to the local burger and brew joint, Grumpy's, where we ran into friend Jason Haase and his American Mammal crew (I'm not sure what that's all about). These folks were participating in Edward Schooner Hands, where they had 32 oz schooners taped to each hand and were required to finish them before removing the tape and schooner.

I did not participate in ESH, but felt like I had the following morning! We got up early (barely) and made the trip to Twin Falls (barely) to have the Subaru serviced and do some shopping. We met Ian and Lindsey in Twin and afterwards drove to Murtaugh to check out the crack climbing. I hadn't climbed in Murtaugh before and was keen to check it out. In the last few years the place has been somewhat rediscovered and several new anchors had been added to crack lines in addition to some bolted face routes. We had fun climbing in the afternoon light. The routes are bit short and somewhat broken, but it's the only crack cragging that we have near home. I'd really like to find some columnar basalt thats a little cleaner and taller, more along the lines of Trout Creek in Oregon.

The Dark Corner.

On Sunday I headed down to the Channel with Ian, Joe and Angry. We were surprised to see a number of cars in the parking lot. Turns out there was a good sized group there from Boise and another from Twin Falls. By far the most people I have ever seen at the Channel! Ted Thompson was there and had just injured his ankle before we arrived. He was hobbling around and giving support to his crew. (Get well Ted!) There was lots of talk of injuries, from ankles to wrists to knees. I felt good and fired the "Angry Inch" second try. Next we moved to the North Shore area and began dutifully cleaning the problems that hadn't seen any action this season. I was pretty fired up to get on a problem I'd tried two years ago before breaking my wrist. It has a cool hand foot match in a pocket that requires you to hold it as a mono to make room for your toes. The problem has a pretty bad landing, but we were able to pad it well. After cleaning the top out, I fired the problem third try and called it "5 to 1", as in 5 toes to 1 finger. I did the problem a second time and then we began focussing on the "Dark Corner", a classic steep, hard finger crack. Like "5 to 1", I had worked this problem two years previously and was pretty close before winter came. (For video footage of the "Dark Corner" and the "Angry Inch" watch The Channel Project!) After sorting out the opening moves I was suprized to find myself high up on the problem groping dirty holds and not sure what to do next. As I bailed off, I was concerned about my left fingers, which were buried in the crack. I focused on getting my fingers clear of the crack and not the landing... the ground was further away then I anticipated, and I came down on a straight right leg and hyperextended my knee. I felt a pop... not good.

I spent yesterday at the Dr's office and on the phone with my insurance company. The good news is that nothings broken and my ligaments are intact. The ACL has been slightly stretched, but the Dr is almost certain that wont be a problem. The bad news is that I have a torn Lateral Meniscus. I've decided to have the surgery and get it taken care of now while there's no snow and no guiding. The Dr thinks I should be on skis in about 3 months... It's a bummer, and not exactly what I had in mind on Sunday, but sh*t happens! I just want to get it taken care of and start the recovery process.

I'd like to thank everybody for their condolences and Ian, Joe, Angry and Nat for their help on Sunday!

Kane Creek Ice

2009-11-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

I headed out yesterday with fellow guide, Drew Daly, to climb ice in the Pioneer Mountains. I had been to Kane Lake in the summer and noticed an impressive waterfall above the lake. Our mission was to hike in and climb this water ice, before returning to Ketchum. I was scheduled to work at the YMCA Climbing Wall at 4PM. We left Ketchum at 5AM, left the trailhead just after 6, and arrived at Kane Lake just after 8. The sun rise in the canyon was spectacular and we saw lots of smaller ice flows on the hike in. When we arrived at the lake, there was absolutely no trace of the waterfall we had seen in summer. My hunch is that the waterfall is a result of snow melt on the slabs above and it eventually dries up before the cold temps arrive. We did climb a short ice pitch of probably WI4- ice as a consolation prize, but I think both of us were a bit disappointed. Next we moved down canyon and Drew lead his first ice climb on one of the many lower angle WI3- flows. After which, we packed it up and headed back to Ketchum for me to arrive at the Y at 3:55PM. Perfect timing and a fun day in the alpine!

Kane Lake and the waterfall in summer.

Drew rapping off the first ice flow climbed.

The impressive Devil's Bedstead West. Earlier this year, Erik Leidecker guided the right ridge to the summit.

Drew, racking up for his first ice lead.

Neglected and Dejected

2009-10-31T08:52:00.000-06:00

Well, the idea that this would become a community blog has pretty much flopped. If it weren't for the Eastern Idaho boys and their posts, it would just be me. Now that the summer guiding season has tapered off and winter has yet to arrive, I have some time. So here are a few pictures from the fall.

Rapping off the Comp Splitter at the Castles. I've climbed this beautiful crack a few times now and it is sooo good! This time we did the second pitch, 5.10, which comes highly recommended. I would suggest a #3 cam, which we didn't have... if you have the gear you might try linking both pitches together into one long SPLITTER! I have yet to do it, but I have linked some of the face pitches together on Shop and Compare to the left.

Cedar Creek... it's interesting that the Lost River Mountains have so many "cedar creeks", but yet no cedars! Really, they are junipers. Regardless, the new crag has really taken shape this past season. At some point I'll do a guide on here, but for now the Elephant's Perch in Ketchum has a hand written explanation of the routes. We've got about 25 routes up so far and room for another 10-15 more. It's a nice 45 minute hike in, with the option of camping near the routes. The grades range from 5.7 - 5.13, with most in the 5.10 -5.11 range. The rock is of very good quality and features jugs, crimps, edges and the occasional pocket. Stay tuned for information on the area.

My great friend, neighbor and client, Wolf, getting some milage in before his trip to Nepal. Wolf is off today to climb Ama Dablam! I'm so jealous! Ama Dablam has always inspired me, from the first time I saw a photo of it as a teenager. Good Luck Wolf and have a fantastic experience! Here is a photo of the peak.

Finally, here a few pictures of the quintessential cragging area, Wallstreet, just outside of Moab, Utah. Aki and I renewed our WFR certifications at the AMGA Annual Meeting. We managed to get a few pitches in after class with our friend Toby, who is living in Moab these days. What fun!!!

Toby, getting around on his "high speed" scooter!

"Flakes of Wrath" ... really, I'm suppose to place and trust a stopper here in this desert sandstone???
Toby, on his project, "Last Tango in Potash" 5.11+. A mixed route with tricky sequences... next time Toby!

Thanks for taking the time to read... please join in and post something. Remember, this is suppose to be a community blog!

Pray for Snow, or at least a little ice in the meantime!

i thought this was impossible!

2009-09-02T23:24:00.001-06:00

read this

ok, i don't know anything really about aid climbing, except that it can be the scariest shit in the universe, but i thought A6 was a theoretical grade. that it can't get worse than A5. that A5 equals imminent death, and here are some dudes claiming A6+!!!!

i once saw an interview that said for some route to truly be A5, someone has to die on the ascent. yeah that's right, die. in comparison to sport climbing, or trad even, there is no redpointing in aid climbing. redpointing is the method used by everyone to climb their hardest. how do you redpoint something where a fall equals certain death to you and your partner?

i am confused as to how this is possible. please enlighten me.

just because it's the City of Rocks and not some east Idaho choss pile

2009-08-31T14:54:00.000-06:00

Heather Lords jammin' on the classic, Fred Rasmussen

Jennilyn's first traditional lead on Heartbreaker 5.10d

Jennilyn makin' easy work of Hearbreaker 5.10d

End of Summer...

2009-08-28T07:40:00.000-06:00

The days are getting shorter and the nights are cooler... I apologize for not posting anything new in the last month or so. Guiding has been extremely busy and I've barely had time to do the laundry and check emails! One of the great things about my work is the places it takes me! I've thrown together a few pictures from the last month of guiding in the Sawtooths. So here is a little compilation that hopefully will inspire a few to get into the high country before the summer is gone:

Warbonnet and the Cirque Lake Group.

Clients (11 year olds!) on the final pitch of Warbonnet - one of the best summit pitches in the Sawtooths!

The "floating block"! I'm always concerned about this thing... you basically walk across it as it spans the gap between the 2 summits of Warbonnet. You can see the contact point on the bottom right - it's about 12 inches that's holding this thing in place. The first time I climbed the route I avoided it all together, doing some 5.9 moves up and around it. This last time I noticed that the contact point had some scars on the right wall... it has moved in recent time! Wonder how long it will be there?

Beautiful Japan Peak (right) and Packrat Peak in the evening light of summer!

The Perch from afar.

Client Robert sending the second pitch (5.8) on the Mountaineers Route, the Elephant's Perch.

symmetry spire, a rafting epic, and the broken finger fiasco

2009-08-19T21:56:00.000-06:00

so with all this business of breaking bones and whatnot, i forgot to describe a few of my latest wild and wacky adventures. yeah, this entry has a lot of text, and no pictures, but it's kinda epic in a way.

last friday, my good friend patty russell and i went and climbed symmetry spire in the tetons. the spire tops out at 10,560 feet, and includes 5 full rope length pitches of technical rock climbing up to 5.7.

now, 5.7 may not seem like a big deal, considering my recent 5.13b/c(?) ascent, but in the mountains the game changes completely.

we started around 5:15 am and drove to catch the 7:00 am ferry at jenny lake to access that area of the tetons. we hiked in 2+ miles, a good portion up steep rocky slopes. as we hit the base, patty thought she spaced her belay device!!! that would have made for some tricky ropework, but thankfully, she did have the thing. whew! patty also said she didn't want to lead any part of the route, which would make this the first time i lead in the tetons.

the first pitches were confusing to lead, mostly just scrambling trying to find certain features outlined on my pocket route topo. and yeah, i got lost a few times. we reached the crux pitch, and it was stunning. a beautiful dihedral, the rock was super polished, and in many places i had only 60-70 year old rusty pitons for protection(the first ascent was in 1938... i assume they put in the pitons). the last three pitches were all stunning, and were so much fun. but, an ominous rain storm was fast approaching and threatening our summit plans. somehow, it hailed and thunderstormed all day in jackson hole, but as the weather hit the grand teton, it was like moses parting the red sea, and we had nice sunshine. it was extremely windy, but no rain. no hail. and luckily, no lighting.

we summited, i ate my sandwich, and we hauled ass to get to the last ferry (7:00 pm). we made the 6:30 one, and were quite pleased. we had dinner with patty's friend, and renowned mountain guide, rob hess, a dude i met earlier this year in city of rocks. then drove home.

definitely took one step higher on the mighty staircase of bad-assery.

then the next day i broke my fingers... but more on that later...

so i decided to go rafting with some friends of mine yesterday. yeah, i was wearing a hand splint thing, i couldn't hold a paddle, and i probably wasn't supposed to get wet. little did i know...

it was generally warm, with mild rapids in the hoback section of the snake river. (i believe)

the rapids weren't really too bad, except one. "kahuna" was very gnarly. it was huge! like, we went into the rapid head on, and next thing we know, the raft flipped, dumping all 7 of us. several of us got caught under the raft, and fought for the surface. my friend bailey was under the longest. it was scary. my bud peter got on top of the flipped over raft and started pullin peeps up, but only four managed to get on the raft before the next rapid. "lunch counter" wasn't particularly big, but after you're all shaken up from bein tossed out, frantically doing a head count, yadda yadda, the story kinda changes. i did not get pulled up, and had to ride the next rapids solo. in the end, we were all ok, shaken up, but ok. i lost a flip flop, and somehow my glasses got caught on my life jacket and i didn't lose em. we were all freezing. and i got my splint wet....

ha! it was such an adrenaline rush, and actually was my favorite part of the day.

and with the fingers... ugh. i probably sound more bitter than i really am. i finally got to see an xray today. i have a fracture at each of the middle knuckles on my right index and middle fingers. tomorrow i get a cast/splint thingy put on, and in 4-6 weeks, it should be mostly healed. so no climbing for a while. but i think that's kinda ok. i've been goin full tilt since january, climbed a bunch of hard and beautiful routes, and most importantly had a blast.

plus, gotta settle in to school, and at least mentally, i kinda needed a break anyway. this year was always supposed to be a rebuilding year of sorts, and what a year it was!

so two parting thoughts:

- do not go to idaho urgent care. they don't have a clue, they were slow, they misread my xray, and frankly, i didn't feel comfortable around their staff, and barely spoke with the "doctor". i don't even remember his name. no clue.

however, the specialist they sent me to has his shit together. thank god.

-also, i turn 20 in like two weeks! woot!

cheers,

tom

crank cave update part two

2009-08-04T23:06:00.000-06:00

YEAH!

today i got the second ascent of a brilliant IF test piece

"wave-police" (5.13c?)

at least that's what i've been calling it, dunno if it has it's own name or not...

i'm super psyched, and felt like sharing.

cheers,

tom

crank cave update

2009-07-30T14:52:00.001-06:00

the mighty crank cave

my plans for workin "900 S" fell through, and johann, neil and i headed down to crank cave. we met up with jerry painter later on, and we had one hell of a good evening climbing...

neil b. on "powder finger" (5.8)

johann workin the no hand rest on "riff raff" (5.12c/d)

the dealie bob found a new project!

painter, fresh off his redpoint of "bride of crankenstein" (5.12b), givin some beta to johann, who came close to gettin through this route.

i wanted a pic of jerry, but no one was around, i was belayin', and he fired it way easy on his first go! total no anticipation send, well done jerry!

and yours truly coming very close to the second ascent of "wave-police" (5.13c).

the route climbs the bulk of a project called "wave of mutilation" then moves right into the ending of "karma police". "wave" may very well be the best route in the area when it's done, and certainly is the best route in crank cave. (dean, if you're reading this, i'm very excited about this route!!!) but since it isn't complete yet, i've been working on the link up, which is super fun. my time in idaho is coming to an end soon, and i've been very lazy about projecting this route... kinda have to re-learn the beta every time i get on it... hmm, time to put it away!! johann found two good routes to work on, neil continued to work through the mental barrier of leading, and jerry painter got his project!

all in all, a good day!

Lost River Limestone

2009-07-24T21:56:00.000-06:00

I spent a few more days at the new crag with good friends and work partners Erik Leidecker and Drew Daly. Temperatures were just about perfect and even though we got a few drops of rain from the rumbling thundershowers, conditions were very climbable. The area is a challenge for photos due to all the trees and lack of vantage points, but here a few:

Erik warming up on "Little Dark Cloud" 5.9/10-

Gunning for the onsight of "Whisper Pine" 5.11, a great long and sustained route.

Erik flashing "Ataya" 5.11+

Another shot of "Ataya".

Seeking out the onsight of "Dirt Lotus" 5.10+/11-

I hope to have some more information about the area on here soon. To date there are 17 routes and 4 projects, with potential for another dozen or so. A big thanks goes out to the Elephants Perch in Ketchum and Ian Jameson for their donations of hardware!

Yankee Fork Crag

2009-07-21T08:43:00.000-06:00

Over the past few years the guides at Sawtooth Mountain Guides have worked on the development of a little crag out the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River. As many of you know, the Sawtooth Mountains have some premier alpine climbs and long trad routes. But, there is almost no cragging in the Stanley area. To date we've established 8 lead routes at the Yankee Fork, with potential for more. The rock is part of the Idaho Batholith and I would describe it as decomposing granite. Although not the highest of quality, the routes climb really well and are all very different. There is some lichen and grit on the newer routes that will clean up over time.

To get there: From Stanley follow the Salmon River downstream on hwy 75 for 15 minutes to the Sunbeam Dam and the Yankee Fork Junction. Turn left and head up the Yankee Fork about a mile to the first large pullout on the right side of the road. Park here and cross the road to the crag.

Routes from left to right:

1) Little Bear Hug 5.9 : Bolts up a pillar feature to anchor.

2) dihedral 5.8 : Corner that takes gear to #3 anchors; needs cleaning.

3) Rusty Knife 5.10- : Cool moves up arete. Bolts wander a bit but stay on arete.

4) Kind Veggie Brother 5.10+ : Bolts up slab and over small roof. Shares anchor with #5.

5) You Be Lichen It 5.10+ : Bolts up arching layback. Tricky moves off the ground.

6) Stone Bruise 5.11- : Shares same starting bolt as #7 then climbs up and left. Beware of scary loose pillar off route on the upper section. You shouldn't have to even touch it!!!

7) Yank On This 5.11+/12- : Bolts through small roof with hard move pulling the lip.

8) New Yankee Workshop 5.10 : This nice crack splits a white face up high and behind a large pine tree. Start 40' right of Yank and carefully climb dirty approach rock to the large tree and the crack behind. Bolted anchors.

These routes have been set up for leading, although it is possible to top rope some of them. Be extra careful on the ledges above; there is lots of loose rock and grit up there!!! Leading is recommended and as always, wear your helmet!

Photos and updates to come...

climbing in the land of the cowboys

2009-07-14T18:40:00.000-06:00

the 16th annual international climber's festival

lander, wyoming

clint showin peeps what's what in the crate stacking comp. yeah, you need climbing shoes and a top rope.

bad ass. the winner this year stacked 22 crates. beating clint this year and his record of 20 set last year.

mmhhmmm.

anyway, i had an eye opening trip.

i set three goals for myself on the trip:

-try a 5.14

-onsight 3 5.12s in a day

-send a 5.13 in one session

basically, i would've been happy with doing just one, and in all actuality, i almost did two of them!

the first day, went to wild iris, i pulled out a pair of 5.11d onsights, and came super close to onsighting a 12b. i missed a foot and well, fell off. then pulled the rope and climbed it pumped(for the non climbers, by pumped, i mean that my arms were full of lactic acid. the route was like 80 feet long, and the crux was the very last move! and i fired it way easy on the 2nd go.

the next day was really chill. i tried the infamous 'killer', the classic 5.12c at sinks canyon... somehow (well, a conscious decision really) i got onto 'mr. majestic', which is in fact, not 'killer', not a 12c, but is 5.13a. yeah... i didn't have a guidebook, nor any motivation, and a 5.13 is kinda rough for a warm up. the combo of those three didn't go over very well. (serious, i tried to warm up on that, i had no idea what else to go for.) ha, what evs.

"rodeo free europe" 5.14a

the third day was strange, but in a good way.

so if you noticed, my main goal was to try a 5.14. well that seems simple on paper, but in reality, is not at all. i was very nervous. the crag was very crowded, and well, i didn't wanna feel or look like a punter, up there way over his head... plus, legitimately attempting something of that difficulty is very intimidating. like climbing in killer cave, trying evilution to the lip(v10) or the mandala( v12) in bishop, climbing indian creek in general, or the first few times i went to the fins. i don't really know the best way to describe that feeling. i guess, well, it feels like such a huge thing, something i have dreamed about for a long time, and all of a sudden, this year, i felt it was time to go for it. a big step.

the night before, i thought a lot about it. i decided to kick my ego and just go for it. fuck that shit, i came here to try an established 5.14. i wanted to know what it takes to climb the grade. one of my biggest goals in climbing has always been to climb 5.14, and it's beginning to feel like that could happen, but how am i gonna know in an area where the hardest established route is 5.13c (karma police, which i climbed in 2007), and where the only things that are harder are projects.

i picked a route at the rodeo wave wall in wild iris called 'rodeo free europe' (5.14a). in an old edition of the guidebook it is called 5.14b, and in the new edition it is called 5.14a. what does that mean? well, it means it's solid at 5.14a, if not hard for the grade. the route doesn't suit me very well either. i believe it would be easier for a shorter person to do the moves, based on the foot holds available, plus it is very power intensive. basically a boulder problem (it's like, 35 feet long), the moves are all way physical, and the holds are all really bad, with monos and desperate pocket stabs in the crux, pretty much scaring the hell out of me. i've had three tendon injuries in the past two years... yeah, what was i thinking.

the setup for the crux. the two moves after this shot shut me down cold....

so having chosen a hard route that doesn't play to my strengths but probably to the polar opposites, aka my weaknesses, here is what i learned:

i tried it 4 times on one day.

i managed to do all of the moves except for 2 or 3. which i came close on! amazing!

i did not link very many moves together, but i did make links.

i could hold every single one of those horrid little pockets, not weighting the rope!!!!!!!

the crux of this route is not mental, but very much physical.

now to apply what i learned:

-my first day on 'rodeo free europe' was much more inspiring than my first days on either 'unagi' or 'the mist project'.

-'ueber unagi' is way harder than 'rodeo free europe', and in similar style.

-'the mist project' is not quite as physical, but almost twice as long, and so it is hard to say which is harder, as they are in different styles, and 'the mist' is more my style(big reaches on small holds). but you know, it could very well be 5.14a, i'm hesitant to say that, and kinda doubt it. one day on 'rodeo free' was not enough for me to tell. we'll just have to see.

-i make an annual trip to lander, and i believe i can do 'rodeo free europe', and that i will do it. no way have i peaked yet. and it allows me to use this route as a yardstick of sorts, to measure my progress every year.

so yeah, a productive trip.

i'm still waiting on a photo, so once i can contact jerry painter, i will get one.

i'm glad to be psyched about wild iris. cause i kinda hated that place, like it's super pretty, mountains, trees, flowers and all, but yeah, i hated it... now i have a reason to go back there! and i actually am starting to like it a lot! (still workin' on liking sinks....)

well, hmm, i only told my highlights for the trip, but i believe every one had a good time, and it was super inspiring to see supy and clint pushin' their limits and trying to onsight every route they climb. i dunno if either has climbed 5.11, but they are both onsighting solid 5.10 pretty frequently. also, the local swimming pool was a lot of fun, as usual, and has a climbing wall above the deep end! not to mention the only place to get a shower for under 5 bucks.

and a parting shot for my buddy peter:

this dude dominated the slackline comp. 360 spins, jumps, yoga poses, and the best of all,

he downed 2 beers while on the line.

The Fins

2009-07-14T10:49:00.001-06:00

Katie Strong redpointing Yellowman on the Discovery Wall

Matt on his Pure Rock Fury proj

Matt on The Mothership

Images from a trip in June 2009. Fun day spent working routes on the spectacular Discovery Wall. Katie cruised Yellowman with ease (next up is Shaken Not Stirred!), Tom worked on his new 990S project (just left of Skeletor) and made major progress and I worked on my Pure Rock Fury project (which I almost sent on the following trip up there).

Kudos to all who put in the time, energy and money to establish such fine routes. The Fins=The Shiz.

being the wizard (warning, it's a ramble)

2009-07-05T20:02:00.000-06:00

(edit: thought i should throw in a photo! this is the infamous "900 S" aka "the mist project" aka "mistalicious" up at the fins. this is the huge -as in full extension on my 6'4" frame and +4/5 inch reach- that guards the crux -v9?-section)

hey so i just got back from palisades... got my ass handed to me by this heinous set of bulges i bolted.... 5.14? 5.14+?? it's called ueber unagi, one of a trifecta of routes really.

ueber unagi-ridiculously/outrageously heinous project

the basilisk- ridiculously heinous project

quart of blood technique- still waiting for matty T. to FA, but it's like 5.13-

anywho, so i have a blog of my own , but i have been thinking of asking peeps about a collective blog, and what do ya know, i open my email and here it is!

so i've got tons of good shit on my page, a 2 for 1 special(2 peaks in a day, and they are 4 hours drive away from each other!!!), discussions of climbing philosophy(seriously!), and much more. so yeah check it out! (i will probably double post most of the stuff!)

ha! so i haven't said much of consequence yet have i?

well here's something i have been cookin up:

being the wizard:

omg check this out http://www.udini.de/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=117&g2_itemId=16849) (oh by the way,he uses french ratings in his discussion. 7C=v9, 9a=5.14d, apparently the crux for realization is only a v8!!!)

a mind that races.

this makes me laugh. yeah, cause i'm totally on his level of climbing, NOT!

no it's funny, cause i feel like i need this wizardry to climb. the two guys i climb with inside, they are fuckin strong as hell. it's ridiculous. me... not so much. i have so much trouble with problems they come up with. POWER!

after a season on rock, i always feel this amazing rhythm with the stone. like, it takes me a while to figure out routes... i'm really bad at onsighting, but projecting... i seem to make shit happen in that stage. at least to my puny climbing abilities.... but eventually reading the rock just comes easily, muscle memory kicks in, and sequences come together. i don't really know how, but they do. magic?

god damn, if i could really figure out what it was that dave graham was talking about(video), maybe i would be sending hard. instead of flailing all over on 5.13. especially the focusing thing... man, i have had so much trouble with that lately. i took 6 months off climbing because of that!

but when you can finally focus again, when you do figure out the fucking moves, when you figure out the BEST way for you to do something, strength doesn't seem to matter as much.

take soul slinger, not a power problem at all. people try to thug through it, and damn, you'd have to be so fucking strong to do that. those holds are terrible. but when you really look at it, you figure something out. OH MY GOD!!! look, a hold that no one ever ever used! and bam, you send.

yeah, you need to be able to hold that tiny little crystal, but the physical dissapears, and the problem is easy. like really easy. i often feel that way after i get on a route a couple times. after 3 or 4 half hour sessions, i figured out soul slinger. it was strange, i wanted to use the conventional beta, i dunno why, i saw the crystal out left on the third day, but it wasn't until someone ticked the hold that i decided it was something to try. then it came together in a matter of three tries.

or take the mist proj(which i think i will end up calling 900 S, after my beloved saab) that felt so fucking hard the first few times, i was like, shit! 5.14! now it's like, hmmm 5.13?? then, is it really harder than bushido??? then you look up at bushido, and you say, yes... it is much much harder. that's why it sat empty until i put some bolts into it, said, "well maybe it goes... there are some holds..." now what, a line! beautiful, hard, and strangely like soul slinger.... but it's more physical, and 20+ feet of v5/6 after that. so it's harder!!(the exit section feels as hard as the crux on tengaio's route, and his route is in the range of 5.13a-5.13c) oh, soul slinger is given v9 in the bishop guidebook, but it could be v8, so i figure that the crux on my route is more solid at v9, cause it is sooo much like soul slinger, but in addition, there is strength involved in this one. but really, i have no idea, so yeah.

then one can get into the grading issue. what to call that???? how does one take three boulder problems, stack em, and turn it into a route rating??? v0/1+v9+v6=5.13+?????? strange! in pure form, closest comparison i can think of, v11=5.14a look at the present, a route in utah. 2 bolts long.

so you know what i'm gonna do! i will not rate it at all! i will say in my official last chance to rate after i do it, that to me it is comfortably harder than bushido. by a lot

yeah, that was my latest post on my site

on wednesday i'm traveling to lander, wyoming for the international climber's festival. time to test my mettle, aka time to try 5.14! ahhh yeeah! beat down in the making!

well hey, thanks for the invite marc!

cheers foo's,

tom

Limestone Paradise

2009-07-04T19:52:00.000-06:00

Heather and I just returned from a month of climbing in the country of Croatia. I'll rehash these images from my blog page, so some of you may have seen these already.

We had an incredible time and climbed in some amazing and exotic locations. The people are friendly, the Adriatic Sea is sublime, and the climbing is incredible. Although we had a dream vacation, we are excited to be back home in Idaho with friends and chossy rock! I'm serious about that. Good stone is too easy to climb! I hope you enjoy the photos.

Thanks for inviting us to contribute to your blog! I sure like motivation and motivating people. I look forward to following stories and adventures from more like minded folks in our neck of the woods.

Dean Lords - East Idaho

Shape Shifter

2009-07-04T10:16:00.000-06:00

In an effort to keep things fresh I thought I'd upload a short clip of skiing from last winter. I know there are a few of you out there with pics of recent trips... what are you waiting for? Post 'em!

This particular day, Drew Daly and I headed up to Lightning Ridge in the Boulder Mountains just north of Ketchum. We had spied this line while returning from skiing the East Couloir of Lorenzo Peak. We encountered lots of steep rock and snow on the climb up, and a bit of variable conditions in the entrance to the couloir. Once in the meat of it though, the protected snow skied great. In the video you can see the tracks of a mountain goat cross the couloir. We never actually saw the guy, but his tracks lead into some incredibly exposed terrain. We called the line "Shape Shifter" because I'm pretty sure he transformed to a cloud and moved on to the next peak! Enjoy.

Channel Bouldering Video

2009-06-30T09:40:00.000-06:00

Here's a video I put together of some Channel bouldering. It's not new, but I thought I'd put it on here. I hope to have some more footage edited soon.

Channel Bouldering

2009-06-29T09:41:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures of our local bouldering: The Channel. It's downstream of Magic Reservior, so when the farmers irrigate in summer, our bouldering becomes a kayak run. This season was particularly short, but we're looking forward to the fall session! Enjoy!

Erik Leidecker on the Tomahawk Traverse. This traverse is full value! Comparable to a 50' 11d/12a route the crux is where it counts, the finish!

Here I am working what I was calling the North Shore Crack in the fall of 2007. I didn't send that season, and it sat until the following year. Jeremy Scherer managed to nab the first ascent (like so many Channel problems) and named it the Dark Corner, in memory of a seat at the the bar Whiskey Jacques in Ketchum, which mysteriously burned down last summer.

Jer getting some hangtime at Lower Barneyville. Chris Linder sent this sick dyno several years ago.

Can't wait for the Channel season to come around this year. Come on down and help us with the fall clean up!