Nomadic Wanderings of a gZ.

Beta on the healing process

2012-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

The Purpose of this post is to provide some beta on my healing process so that others might be able to also have fast and positive recovery processes when they find themselves in the unfortunate situation of taking a beating from the life.

To be clear, most of this is not necessarily doctor recommended (or unrecommended for that matter), it's only Graham recommended.

My situation was maybe unique but so are all injuries. I had an undisplaced fracture of my right fibula and a right shoulder blade which was crushed into 6 pieces and small change. Not that sweet, but as it turned out I DID NOT need surgery.

My recovery involved ALOT of physical therapy. I was in Seattle and went to see Gene at Stretch. He was amazing as is the rest of the team there (who have done wonders for a good buddy of mine Roj). I can honestly say that I would not be functioning at the level that I am now without having gone to see Gene at least once a week (often times more) for a 4 month period. No PT is not cheap but it is worth it.

As a side note, if your in NZ, I saw YewJin Tan a lot while I was down there. He is another miracle worker. And you guys have ACC (socialized accident coverage) down there and therefor no excuses!

I also had some chiropractic work done by my man Niall Dillan who works in West Seattle at the. As can be imagined, having pretty uneven bodily breakage meant that I was quite out of balance. Getting all my joints back in the right orientation was important.

Both of these practitioners had a slew of recommended exercises and stretches. I really feel that not slacking on these, in fact sometimes taking them a little too far was clutch. Since I was not able to work during this time (my work being very physical) I had a lot of down time, I spent a minimum of 3 hours a day doing my PT work, yup, clutch.

Not working also meant that I had a lot of time to sleep. It is while we are sleeping that our bodies do the most recovery (this can also be translated to sports recovery) and while broken it's very important. TO be honest, in my normal life getting enough sleep is something that often time does not happen and that I oftentimes rue. So having an excuse that "I need to get at leaste 10 hour of sleep per night" was pretty rad.

After the first couple of weeks (traveling around NZ) of being hurt I didn't take any pain killers. But I did take other supplements. At the recommendation of my bouldering buddy Ander Rockstand (note: I always call my bouldering buddies, esp Ander, when I have white tissue damage as these folks spend a ton of time focused on keeping the're tendons and bones healthy for pulling on tiny grips) I took Wobenzym, a supplementary systemic enzyme designed in Germany and ate an 80% raw diet. The idea behind this was to LOAD my body with enzymes which are fantastic for healing non-vascular tissue. I'll let you do the research on raw food, but it made me feel GREAT. I am continuing to focus on eating mostly raw since it makes my body feel really powerful.

I also took 'Womans once a day' Vitamins which I at least thought was very funny. The idea was though that these have an extra load of Iron and Calcium, two things I needed a lot of for rebuilding bone.

Lastly I ate and took a lot of supplementary Ginger as well as turmeric, these are amazing anti inflammatory agents. Helping to clear the blood and reduce swelling.

In terms of mental training and recovery... I was dealing with some pretty nasty PTSD when I first got back stateside. Reoccurring dreams of being crushed by ice and looking back on other past climbing situations and feeling really uncomfortable about them, no fun. I started meditating the mornings and doing what I would refer to as creative visualization. I had done a lot of reading about injured athletes (specifically javelin throwers) who while injured used creative visualization to maintain the synaptic pathways used for the motions they preform and come back to speed very quickly due to a lack of loss in technique. I worked to apply this to climbing. The process went something like this...

In the morning I would get up, drink a strong coffee, and sit and preform what could be considered classic meditation for about 20 minutes. Passively watching the thoughts of the morning and night before pass, recognizing them and letting them pass. Once agains something I will not go into depth with here, BUT I reckon that watching these thoughts of fear pass by was very important in realizing them to be folly and to move on from them. Then I would spend 45 minutes visualizing myself climbing. I would work on things like making a hard move to a poor hold, upon touching the hold which was not very good perusing a feeling of "I can make that work out" rather than "that sucks!". This was a combination of simple positive reenforcement and continuing to work with climbing even if only mentally. I would also put myself into stressful situations, such as spending 45 minutes of being on a vertical pillar of ice, maintaining composure and moving efficiently. Lastly I would put myself in past situations, big runouts, heady alpine routes, whatever was stressing me out at the time and deal with them knowing that I am safe and in control. I think that a lot of this was really effective in not only remembering that I am strong climber who makes good decisions, but also in turning the event of getting squashed by lots ice from a really negative event into a good learning experience.

Importantly.. when I was getting close to recovered, where I am now, the phase of regaining strength and getting back to it. I have been very diligent about NOT being hurt. I really hate having excuses in my life for not doing things that I would like to. Being hurt is a hell of an excuse, one that I did not want. I have worked to shed this. Part of this can be not sharing it with folks as part of my story as well as not limiting myself with it. Rather limiting myself with the fact that I am pretty damn unfit and have progress to make. I find that this gives me more reason to get out and get after it and to train hard, which is what I need to do.

Lastly, I made my reentry into climbing slow and calculated. Staring with things that were in my box and things I could do safely. For me this involved a trip to Bishop CA for bouldering. I knew that bouldering would allow to make great gains in terms of technique and strength, while also allowing me to be very picky about what types of moves I could and could not do. Then when getting started climbing with ropes, I did a lot of top roping to make sure that everything felt in order. I have seen no reason to blow 6 months of recovery by getting to psyched about leading something heads up. There will be plenty of time for that a month from now.

Alright folks. I think that's enough words on that subject.
Know that I would love to hear from you with questions.
grahamzimmerman@gmail.com

Disaster and Recovery: The reality of getting hurt in the mountains

2011-12-05T17:06:00.001-08:00

Accepting The CMC Mountaineer of the Year Award
Photo by Troy Mattingly

At the end of July I was in New Zealand to receive the Canterbury Mountaineering Club's Mountaineer of the Year award. A huge honor, and something that I was super stoked about. The plan was simple, I was to head down to NZ, back to my birthplace and alma mater, do a slideshow tour, catch up with old friends, train for the rock climbing back stateside and do a spot of alpine climbing if the winter conditions permitted. It was going to simple, fun and relaxed.

Best laid plans of mice and men, right?

On July 27th I found myself spending the first of three days in the Timaru hospital with my right Scapula (shoulder blade) in 6 pieces and an undisplaced fracture of my right Fibula (lower leg).

A simple trip into the mountains with my good friends Paul and Shelly Hersey ended with me getting plowed by 200kg of ice when a pillar above us collapsed. The 3 hour walk back to the hut was not the most pleasant of my times in the life, there we had some drugs, making things much easier, and Paul is my personal hero for walking out to the car, finding some hunters with a 4wd rig and getting them come pick me up.

Shelly Hersey on the very moderate ice route that I got squashed on...
These guys went back and finished it a few weeks later.
Photo by Paul Hersey

The signs of the mountains being unsafe were not there: it was cold, the snow was stable, there was no solar heating on the ice. But as it turns out when anything tumbles down, it tumbles down the gully... wrong place, wrong time, lessoned learned = climbing buttresses is safer.

Over the next few weeks those two continued to be the definition of truly rad friends, letting me crash at they're place, looking after my super broken self and dealing with me trying to get to and from the airport (I stuck around in NZ to finish most of the slideshows... surgery was going to have to wait and I was psyched to get around and see the old crew).

It was comical to say the least presenting to NZAC sections hobbling like Quasi Modo and all slinged up. The docs had decided that I did not need a cast for the leg, "You walked out of the mountains without displacing it, just take it easy and it should be fine." Awesome, (really, the docs in Timaru were rad). And well, the trip went great, saw many old friends which was wonderful and I made it back to the States without more than the expected dramas.

And so began the healing process...

I ended up seeing two shoulder specialists in the Seattle area. They gathered a total of 12 opinions on the break. Unusual as it turns out. My scapula had broken into a bunch of pieces but they were all generally in the right places. The decision was made not to operate and rather see if the bones healed together correctly. Something I had very mixed feelings about as I was not that stoked to be cut open but I also wanted it back in just the right places for a full recovery. As it turns out Dr Kirby (Swedish Medical Center) and Dr Trumble (Bellevue Bone and Joint Clinic) made a great call as the bones are mending perfectly, although the inevitably of a full recovery was uncertain at the time. These guys and their staff are thorough and professional (as a note, Trumble operated on my lower arm when I was 17 plating a broken Radius, since 6 weeks after the operation I have never had another problem with it). Huge thanks goes to them and they're expertise.

Not my Scapula but a similar mess...

You might be wondering, what about that broken leg? Turns out there is not a lot that can be done about an undisplaced leg break other than just letting it heal. The hobbel continued.

Hangin' with my sister Greer in Portland!
Photo by Jon Leoffler

Hanging with my Grandpa John in Salina Kansas, being off the road provided the wonderful
opportunity to get out there and visit the extended fam.

And with that decision started what has been a saga of healing that has so far lasted more than 4 months. With all my summer plans derailed I was left with gaping amounts of time. It has been an interesting process, filled with frustration and pain, lots and lots of physical therapy, the love of family and friends, a lot of Battle Star Galactica, some great music and a bunch of time with a very pretty lady who likes to ride bikes.

Presenting at the OR office with Mark Allen
Photo by Nick Neiman

I found Gene at Stretch PT though my man Roger Strong, who is making an amazing recovery from a terrible ski accident last season. I have spent many hours working with Gene, he has been supportive of both my dedication towards healing and my attitude that there was not a chance that I was not going to have a full recovery. He deserves so much credit for my shoulder and leg making as much progress as they have. Twice a week he would put me through the terrible pain of reengaging the joint while rapping with me about music, Star Trek (notice a SciFi nerd trend) and how complex the shoulder joint really is.

A significant part of my recovery has been mental. For the first month after the injury I had reoccurring dreams of being crushed by ice. I looked back on past spicy climbing situations and had a terrible time dealing with them. I addressed these hauntings with a regiment of creative visualization and meditation. I now find myself once again comfortable entering back to the climbing world.

So here we are, December 6th, Christmas will mark 5 months since the accident. It is interesting to look back on the longest time since High School that I have not climbed. Seattle has been good to me. I managed to catch some brilliant shows including seeing the Polyrythmics slay the Nectar, Joshua Redmond and James Farm soothe Jazz Alley, Splatinum and Skrillex break it down and Amon Tobin boggle the minds of the Paramount with his Isam Live show.

Beautiful Seattle by night from Kerry Park

Amon Tobin's Isam Live, Amazing.
Photo - Amontobin.com

It wasn't all bad... With Nick Nieman at the Evo Winter Party
Turns out broken shoulders still provide good beer holder, thank goodness.

The late summer was beautiful, with many sunny days. It has been a long time since I have been one place long enough to see it pass through seasons. The shorter wetter and colder days of winter have been welcome and refreshing. With them has come the snow and fortunately, shoulders are not needed for skiing and I have been able to get out and make early season turns on the volcanoes. The mountain air tasting fresh and clean. These days have been a great sign that the leg is fully healed and ready for action.

Skiing up on Baker with Peter Drake and the Espinosas
Photo by Eddie Espinosa

Yesterday it was time to really see what kind of shape the shoulder was in.

For the past few weeks I have been attending the Seattle Bouldering Project, testing out climbing, never pushing it too hard but relishing in the feeling of upward movement. It has continued to feel better and better.

So I made plans to head up to Snoqualmie Pass, maybe something easier would have been better but the N Face of Snoqualmie is something that I have wanted to climb for a long time. As I freed the crux, feeling confident in the gear and my shoulder feeling painful but stable, I felt as though I was back and ready to start climbing the way I wanted to again. Last night, ice on my shoulder, my body feeling like I had been run over by a bus, I crashed early feeling satisfied and psyched to be getting back to it.

The North Face of Mt Snoqualmie from Chair Peak
Taken Dec 6th 2011

Tomorrow I head to Bozeman for the ice fest. It is going to be amazing to reconnect with the climbing community and return to one of my favorite places to get sendy during the cold months of winter and ice climbing. With some hard work and a little luck I might even be able to get something worthwhile done. But returning to the game is all that matters right now. The joy of vertical movement and the strong partnerships that ensue.

Very psyched to be getting back.

HUGE thanks and so much love to all those who have provided support during this healing process. From the folks who are here in Seattle to those who rolled through town and those who called from far away. You know who you are, I know you are the raddest.

AK 2011 pt II - Exploring and Sending in the Lacuna

2011-06-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Below is a series of posts that were relayed from the glacier onto our team blog. They tell the story of our adventure back in the Lacuna Glacier. It was an amazing trip with some really wild exploration and some fantastic climbing.

Huge Thanks to Jay Allen for being our man on the ground!

DISPATCH 1: 5/13 PIRATES OF RAD HQ, KAHILTNA GLACIER

Our one week update on our expedition 2011 on the Kahiltna Glacier…when we first got here we dug in our camp at the Kahiltna landing strip and immediately set out on a six day trip to the rarely or never visited West Fork of the Lacuna Glacier. This entailed over twenty miles of glacier travel and it took us four days to recon the route out from the base of the peak which we intended to climb. We put ourselves below the unclimbed South face of an unnamed numbered peak on the Lacuna Glacier system and made it up 2,500 feet of a new route. We were turned around due to bad snow conditions and an impending storm. We ended up descending after one and a half days on route…returning to our camp. We used the remaining time for the 20 mile of glacier travel back to base camp. It was…an odyssey into extremely remote Alaska Range terrain into a zone that neither of us had ever seen with the naked eye and possibly hadn’t been visited by a human being. So it was a pretty wild adventure.

Everything is going well, right now we’re focusing on acclimatization. We’re going to spend the next four days climbing the West ridge of Mt. Hunter, with the intent of climbing most of the route tomorrow, and bivying as high as we can to spend as much time as can above 10,000ft to start acclimatizing for bigger objects.

DISPATCH 2: 5/18 WEST RIDGE OF MT HUNTER

On the morning of the 12th Mark and I left Kahiltna Base Camp for the West Ridge of Mt. Hunter. This route is a super aesthetic feature that gains about 8,000 feet of elevation in 3 miles. It is an absolute classic of the Range and is included in the reveredFifty Classic Climbs of North America. Without a doubt, it lives up to its reputation. The night of the 12th found us halfway up the route just above the crux, a mixed section. We had climbed up miles of beautiful corniced ridge through a series of steep rock towers. We were joined at the bivy by our buddies and local Alaskans, Clint and Boon. We spent the evening hootin’ and holerin’ between our tents and to Kahiltna Base camp over the radio.

The next morning saw us moving on to the ice face, four pitches of traversing steep ice on the side of the knife edge ridge. Above this, we rallied up the broadening ridge to the summit plateau where we found the one of the most spectacular bivys either one of us had ever experienced. A wave of ice and snow inside a crevasse allowed us to escape the developing winds and spin drift while watching the purples and pinks of alpenglow wash over Mt. Foraker. The next morning it was obvious that our weather window was coming to an end so we ran to the summit, avoiding the summit ridge cornice via a natural Chutes-and-Ladders tube. On the summit, we were graced with gorgeous views of the AK range around us including Denali, Foraker, Huntington and peaks of the Ruth, where we spent time last season. We then proceeded to race back down to the Ramen Couloir just below the ice face and down-climbed that feature. As we reached the glacier, we were encompassed in pea soup. With zero visibility we attempted to navigate our way around the heinous ice fall that we knew was somewhere out there in the fog in front of us. But after a few hours of fruitless wandering we bivyed once more and finished our food. The next morning dawned clear and we found our way to the other side of the ice fall and by the afternoon we were back in the comforts of base camp.

Now a storm is bearing down on the Range and we are resting -perfect timing. The West Ridge allowed us to gain a period of acclimatization and knowledge of the conditions up high in the mountains. When our bodies are ready and the weather is clear, we will begin to attack the steeper terrain this range has to offer and we’re psyched about it. Best wishes to everyone at home. We will check in again soon.

DISPACH 3: FIRST ASCENT OF PEAK 12,213 AND THREE ROUTES OPENED

After 4 rest days and a several feet of new snow, our focus and thoughts of climbing the North Buttress of Hunter via the Moon Flower had been derailed. Rather we used the days the mountains needed to shed, to return to the Lacuna project. With high pressure predicted we hoped this would be perfect timing for an ascent and it was.

We returned to the NW fork of the Lacuna glacier after confirming with the park that our trips there were the first visits to the area. Two days of glacier travel and retracing our tracks put us back at our previous Advanced Base Camp, below the south face of the unclimbed Peak 12,213.

Returning to the peak a second time and having a previous attempt (see post one) gave us integral knowledge of the south face and a quicker route down with a previously installed descent. This encouraged us to change strategies and take a much more aggressive approach by not taking any bivi equipment and committing to a single push. Our sights became set on a central buttress right of center, this being the most technical direct line on the south face not threatened by seracs capping the left flank of the mountain. The 2500ft granite buttress climbs several hundred feet of dihedrals and flakes finally narrowing to a thin exposed technical ridge and transitioning into a 1000ft couloir. The couloir ends on the summit ridge with 1000ft corniced knife ridge climbing to the summit cap.

On May 23rd at 8:30pm we left our tent and skis at 7500ft on the NW fork of the Lacuna for the summit of unclimbed peak 12,214. The climbing on the lower buttress was several pitches of excellent steep mixed climbing with M6 cruxes on good rock but faceted snow. The ridge narrowed to a technical gendarme laden and rather narrow ridge with unstable and precariously balanced snow mushrooms. The exposure, position and good rock provided some epic climbing. It took us 12 hours to reach the couloir and finish the main buttress cruxes. Unforecasted clouds began to build and covered up the sun not allowing us to rest and dry out during a brew up as planned and instead we had to push on. We reached the summit ridge and then caught a glimpse of the dark grey clouds on Foraker next door and began to descend. We connected with our high point from the first attempt and began a familiar descent down the SE buttress (the first attempt route). 26hours round trip.

After waking in the tent, Graham and I calculated the remaining food and decide to go for one last attempt. Due to remaining energy, time, and resources we focused on the most direct line via a central couloir that trails into the upper snow headwall climbing nearly a plum line to the summit; the most obvious weakness. We had to commit to using our “return” food for the ascent (still only a couple of bars) leaving only 4 oatmeal packets for the 25km ski back to Kahiltna Base Camp. We nervously rested in perfect weather and watched the first hot day start the spring shed cycle, making massive avalanches come off the peak. We rested and got stoked to fire.

On May 26th at 10:30pm we headed up the Central Couloir. We found perfect neve and ice and blasted the face averaging 20-25ft/min and 1200ft/hr We reached the old high point on the summit ridge in less than 5 hours and summited in 3 simul-climbing pitches; 5hrs:45min at 4:15am opening the new line To the Center (4500ft AK4 AI2, Cornices). The descent was a long and blue collar involving technical down climbing and rappelling on the SE ridge to the SE buttress decent. We arrived at the old bivi on the SE Buttress and waited 4 hours for the snow to cool and descended back to our camp arriving at 7:15pm totaling 20:15 hours return.

This ascent felt good and validated all of our previous attempts and incomplete lines with a summit line that connected our two previous high points. This established three lines now that can be climbed to the summit.

We coined the peak Voyager Peak. Named after the satellite that launched in 1977 by NASA which is pushing further and further into outer space sending back information about deep space and carrying a payload of information about earth in case anyone else picks it up. This reflects the fact that while in the NW fork of the Lacuna we felt as though we might as well be on the moon.

We pushed the 25km ski back to Kahiltna Base Camp in 13 hours running on fumes and returned to congrats and smiles from the park staff and friends keeping tabs on our project. This was the most adventurous Alaskan odyssey that either of us had been on. Our persistence to succeed rewarded us with a beautiful summit of a remote unclimbed peak in Alaska’s great range. We thank everyone for the support and we hope you will join us next year for our nomadic wanderings in to the vertical world we are choosing to roam

This info and more photos can be found on OR's Verticulture Blog

Kahiltna Basecamp

West Ridge of Mt Hunter

Approaching the Lacuna

Voyager Peak (12,213)

Bivy on the Lunar Arete

A crux on the Nebula Arete

Another crux on the Nebula Arete

Scary Cornice Climbing

2011 AK Part I - Getting Worked in the Ruth Gorge

2011-05-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Below is a segment of a write up by my close homeboy Joe with whom I was in the Ruth Gorge. It was his first time in the greater ranges and as has happened to many of us on our first trip he (and I!) got skunked. But we did make it out alive, having made some really responsible decisions. I really enjoyed his words and am psyched to share them here:

"Late in the afternoon, nearing the summit ridge on the Northeast Face of Dickey, Graham reaches an impasse out of my view from the belay. After a short discussion, we proceed to bail and make 7 raps on a series of pitons, nuts, flakes and snow bollards. GZ never felt so good about the decision he made – no other thoughts got in his way.

On our attempt of Barrill, another snow storm, avalanche, and above-freezing temps send us back to the safety of basecamp. With an inversion over our heads and a forecast of unsettled weather, we retrieve our fixed line the next day and take the next weather window to fly out 3 days early. Graham was comfortable about the decision; I was sad to leave. Yet, on my shuttle back to Anchorage, Graham called to tell me about the serac that slid into the Root Canal basecamp from Mooses Tooth and killed an unfortunate climber from Texas. “Those mountains were the most dangerous I’ve ever seen them,” said Graham.

I was beginning to understand. Chris’s copy of The Rock Warrior’s Way frayed at the edges as I flipped through its pages at camp and Ilgner’s words of wisdom filtered through to my subconscious. The lessons learned here will carry forward to my projects back home. “Joy Ride” will be just that, not a nemesis. After ten years of climbing, the lessons and learning are just as vivid and real as my first scramble or first trad lead. It’s the journey, not the summit or the redpoint, that we need to embrace.

Alaska was an incredible experience. Our trip was a success. Graham and I climbed some amazing, high quality pitches of ice, mixed, and snow. We took calculated risks and acted out our decisions confidently and efficiently. We climbed strong and threaded together some mentally and physically challenging pitches. We chowed down on “deancakes” and burritos while listening to solar-powered ipods. We shared quality bro time together. And I learned just how small we are compared to the expansive Ruth Glacier and its 3,000 to 5,000 foot faces. Graham and I started our adventures together over ten years ago and we have both grown and come back together as stronger people and climbers."

The Mooses Tooth

Our attempt on the NE Face of Dickey

JS looking down on some super fun terrain

GZ backstepping up a narrow v-slot

JS topping out the v-slot below

Our attempt on the NE face of Barril, later in the season Ben Gilmore and a Hans Johnston sent the line in better conditions, psyched!

JS inching up the narrow squeeze chimney

The chimney ate up so much time that we opted to fix a line and come back the next morning, GZ jugging the fixed line.

The beautiful crux of the climbing we completed on Barril, brilliant steep ice climbing, very 'New England-esc'.

The business, I was hit by a rather large avy at the top of the pillar, the first sign that things were not going our way. I was psyched to have hung on but not psyched to be up there anymore...

JS on the next pitch of snow and ice

JS getting ready to bail

Workin' on the horn of Africa.

2011-04-15T23:15:00.001-07:00

Dust storm over the desert

Three trucks fly in echelon across the river flats in the light of the rising sun, they kick up dust clouds that are blown away by the wind as the soldiers in the back look out to the mountains ahead that represent the start of the work site. Local Tigrinyan music blazes at 11. We are on our way with escorts and workers to once again, as we do everyday, use geophysics to look for minerals buried beneath this plot of land in the Eastern Sahara Desert of Eritrea. As the day progresses we, followed by our trusty local workers, hike up and down mountains and thrash through bushes with the largest thorns I have ever had the privilege to experience. Work is tough, the sun keeps the temps well into the triple digits and the sweat runs heavy all day. Social Distortion, BRMC and Smashing Pumpkins pump through my headphones keeping my psyched and pushing hard.

The Mountains

In the evening, after another meal of rice and pasta we jump into a truck and head to the local town of Hykota. Two Yankees, two Mongolians and a Eritrean rallying across the desert listening to the "po-po-po-poker face" of Lady Gaga, unique to say the least. Upon arrival at the local dive we are greeted by Rota the beautiful bar maid who happily provides us with what we have found to be the coldest beer and cola in town. Of course the local music jams loader than ever.

Graham Togi and Zalu chillin' in Hycota

Another day is ended back home in our cinderblock shacks, roasting in the heat, dealing with the interim between the shutting down of the generator and the coming of the cold air of late night and early morning.

I'd call it a dream job.

Home Sweet Home

A combination of heavy training, demanding conditions and bouts of dysentery ensure that everyday I am stronger tougher and leaner. Cutting away the excess and getting psyched for a spring in the Alaska range with close friends in big mountains pursuing limits.

Helicopter working the arial survey

Nepal Wrap Up

2011-01-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

All is wrapped up in the Khumbu, we didn't do much climbing but much was learned. Below are a series of posts that tell the story...

Alone, walking through the Khumbu twilight; Cho Oyo ahead, Chalotse Behind. The sun is long gone from the valley but the fresh snow on the high peaks reflects it down around me.

My day has been spent attempting a push on the SE face of Phari Lapcha. Hayden came down sick on the last attempt requiring a run of antibiotics and a drop in elevation. So while he recovers in Namche I am left to climb alone.

The attempt had started in the early morning walking from basecamp in Gokyo down to the village of Machermo and up a valley above town. The attempt had been thwarted by a broken glacier covered in the same fresh snow now shining light on my evening path. It was terrain that would have been appropriate for a climber with a partner and a rope but not for a soloist.

So I was turned around… Well before the technical terrain that would have brought comfort, speed and the joy of physical exertion.

A few hours later in the darkness I reach Gokyo once again. The stars are exploding above; before heading into the teahouse I sit and look upon them. Happy to be safe and finished walking.

Inside I sit by the fire, the matriarch of the teahouse brings me milktea and is very happy to see me back safe and sound. I am eternally grateful for her friendship and motherly instincts towards me, the lone climber living in the tent outside.

Tomorrow is another day.

I lay on the teahouse bed admiring the beautiful and well varnished carpentry that composes so many of these amazing mountain structures. I am back in Lukla the location of the predominate airstrip in the Khumbu. Bathing and chores completed, I left to hang about in another tea house.

I ponder the last couple of weeks. In the past I have been on expeditions which have come out unsuccessful but this is different. For days I sat in my tent looking upon beautiful skies but was withheld from soloing by dangerous snow conditions over crevasses (not good terrain for a soloist) and the lack of a partner.

Hayden is very strong and motivated, but this time the developing world got the best of him. Even after a retreat to Namche he was still not in shape to climb. So after 2 solo attempts I packed our gear and went trekking. While wandering I saw many beautiful mountains and devised many plans for future attempts. But alas the trip in the Gokyo has come to an end.

But! The main event is yet to come! A recovered Hayden and Mr. Cory Richards arrive today in and we will head back into the mountains. With all of our combined strength, psyche and knowledge regarding conditions in these mountains I feel excellent about the coming weeks.

But for now I am left to hang out and ponder.

I sit in a rooftop hukka bar in the Thamel district of Kathmandu. Honking horns and pop music blend with a techno remix of the Tibetan Buddhist mantra "Omani Ped Me hom". I savor the flavor of blackberry tobacco and watch yet another

chaotic night unfold in a place whose name is synonymous with the edge of the map.

I have spent two months in the mountains of the Khumbu sub-range of the Himalaya, attempting to climb some of the most beautiful mountains upon which I have ever laid my eyes. I began the trip riding a string of successful climbs and expeditions, my ego was strong, and failure felt remote. However, despite looking at mountain faces which I felt myself and my teammates capable of climbing, they successfully eluded us.

When designing an expedition into the big mountains I make all sorts of contingency plans. Med kits, antibiotics, whiskey, and ipods cover potential eventualities. But when the planning is done for the day, while sitting back thinking about the expedition at hand, I visualize climbing high on beautiful technical terrain, of pushing through fear and exhaustion, and of SENDING.

Nevertheless, sickness, heavy snowfall, high winds, and melting ice conspired to break down our psyches and keep us off the flanks of the mountains. Despite changes in objective, group psyche meetings, runs of antibiotics, and finally a

day of drinking whiskey and smoking cheap Nepali cigarettes, we found ourselves defeated in a realm that we felt ourselves savvy.

Now alone, my partners having left a couple of days ago for the hills, crags, and loved ones of home, I hang in Kathmandu waiting for an Indian visa to be approved. My days and evenings are spent walking the streets plugged into my headphones and sitting in restaurants writing. Heavy beats, loud guitars, and poignant lyrics carry me around the cars and motorcycles weaving down the narrow streets and past peddlers selling fake antiques, illicit substances, and tiger balm. With nothing to do, I am left to wander and digest the experiences of the past months.

Why do I live a migrant, intentional, and extremely frugal lifestyle in order to pursue steep unknown terrain in wild places?

The answer is simple, I climb and attempt new routes on demanding terrain to taste what is not easily attained, to step close to the edge and come back to share. Along with pushing personal limits comes the discovery of personal boundaries; the edge of the envelope.

I love to push my limits and I love to climb. In the Khumbu we made decisions that kept us mentally healthy, alive, and ready to push again another day as stronger more humble and confident alpinists.

In the evening, the streets of Kathmandu, lit by bare light bulbs in open-air shops, have taken on a more ominous quality, and I walk back to my guesthouse. I have just finalized plans to return to the greater ranges in the spring, this time to

Alaska. I consider with a humble attitude, the recognition that failure on the mountain is a real possibility, with real learning opportunities. I rejoice in being drawn to the flanks of these mountains that I find so beautiful. With excitement and anticipation I think of climbing high on beautiful technical terrain, of pushing through fear and exhaustion and of SENDING.

Nepal 2010 - Post #2 - Flying to Lukla

2010-10-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

From Outdoor Research Verticulture:

Post #2 - Flying to Lukla

It seems the the climatic changes that have been taking place the world over have also been affecting the Nepali Himal... During this time of season the Monsoon would normally be long gone but it is still hanging around by bits and pieces. This has meant that we have had to hang in Kathmandu for 2 days more than expected waiting for a flight to Lukla. Most of this time has been spent hanging out in the airport trying to get out, goofing around listening to music and being mellow. In the evenings we have been hanging with our man Jiban from Sherpa ShangriLa, eating good food and generally causing a ruckus.

But it seems that at long last we are getting out of here and into the mountains. Psyched!

Below are links where our general weather forecast can be checked:

http://www.meteoexploration.com/mountain/peaksHimalayas.html?CHO
http://www.yr.no/place/Nepal/Other/Peak_XV/

Keep track as we are in there trying to send on the beautiful Kyajo Ri and PhariLapcha.

Nepal Departure

2010-10-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

From The Outdoor Research Verticulture Blog...

As Summer turns to Fall, Mark Allenand myself once again prepare for departure into the greater ranges. The warm months have been spent in the mountains and crags of the Western US, training, sending and working. We find ourselves with strength and psyche to burn, ready to head into the big mountains.

Mark is headed to Ama Dablam (6812m). Considered one of the most beautiful peaks on the planet and the ‘Gem of the Khumbu’ it is a striking series of ridges and faces culminating in a steep icy summit. Mark will be guiding the SouthWest Ridge, a route that requires technical climbing skills on rock, ice and snow.

Mark has just joined the elite ranks of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association, a process requiring years of dedication and work towards courses, exams and personal and professional progression. The SW ridge will be an excellent arena in which Mark can show these skill as a mountain guide. The route will require his endurance and technical abilities to a level far exceeding what it would take to get himself safely up the route. While on the mountain he will be responsible for the safety and comfort of his clients as well; a challenge that Mark is well suited for both in his personal climbing and guiding abilities.

I will be joined by Hayden Kennedy in the Gokyo Valley where we will be pushing our limits on the surrounding ‘trekking peaks’. Opened to climbing in 2003 Kyajo Ri (6186m) and Phari Lapcha (6017m) both offer a plethora of new route potential. Phari’s kilometer long NorthEast face is a series of steep couloirs and spines many of which are unclimbed. Those that have been climbed have presented consistent highly technical climbing and as we venture onto others, the challenges are expected to increase significantly. The massive Northern and Eastern aspects of Kyajo Ri hold a series of large unclimbed features including steep ice and an extremely aesthetic rock buttress. Hayden and I are prepared for technical ice, mixed and rock terrain any of which may be encountered depending on the conditions found upon arrival.

Follow Mark and me here on VertiCulture as we go to Nepal on these parallel trips to test out limits in the Khumbu Himalaya. We will be updating from locations along the approach and from basecamp, reporting in on our cultural experiences, thoughts on expeditions and of course climbing.

POST 1: Seattle
By Graham

Mark flies out tomorrow. I have another week. He wanders around the living room of a house that neither of us own, making last minute arrangements. Climbing gear is EVERYWHERE.

The madness of planning seems to be nearly dealt with, but it might also just be beginning. We won’t be in the mountains until we are there, all of our energy is focused on reducing pit falls and excuses and making sure that nothing is forgotten.

Bags nearly packed

Constant transition is a theme in our lives. Moving to where the work and goals take us. Prioritizing these goals over a more ’stable’ lifestyle. Skiers gravitate to the Chugach, Surfers to Indo, we are headed to the Himalaya.

Training ended last week and now we eat. Trying to bulk up on the energy reserves that will get us through the exertion of the next few months in the mountains.

The plane rides will be the calm before the storm. Then we will be on the ground headed for the hills, getting acclimatized our bodies to the altitude and our minds to the relief.

We are psyched to get underway.

Beautiful Day in the PNW

Commentary on COMMITMENT in the mountains

2010-10-08T19:29:00.001-07:00

Commentary on Commitment from Graham ZImmerman on Vimeo.

SENDING back in the WA

2010-10-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Note: It was originally thought that Ian and I had made the FFA of the Kearney-Thomas route on Big Kangaroo but this has been corrected based on beta provided from the NWMJ.

The Liberty Bell Group above the Hairpin in the evening light (Photo-Graham Zimmerman)

Back in the PNW.

Roger and I had a great road trip out here, climbing the Diamond, the Grand and another new route on the River Crag (Magic Carpet Ride, 700ft, 5.10), excellent fun. Finishing up the alti training, and getting psyched!

Mark and I also threw down the Fall Mountain Festival in Mazama which went wonderfully. The bad weather in the mountains meant the showing from the West side was a little weak but Mazama was accounted for with lots of families which was super cool. Thanks to everyone for coming out!

But over the last few days I have been back on the home court with Ian Nicholson having a grand old time helping him finish his SuperTopo Guide to the area and climbing a couple of great routes.

When Ian called a few days before hand all it took was me saying, 'Man don't you still need to climb the Passenger for your book? We should climb THAT" to get him psyched on climbing the classic hard route. I was super stoked, my first alpine rock climb was on the South Arete of South Early winters spire, just around the corner from the South face that holds The Passenger (IV 5.12-). I remember being 16 and looking over at the wall in awe, having no conception that I might one day be strong enough to climb on its golden steep corners and roofs.

But progression had taken its course and there we were, and the route was wonderful, bite sized pitches of hard climbing on immaculate stone. A true classic. I did take a fall on the crux pitches and will need to go back for the proper send, but a fantastic day was had regardless.

On the first crux pitch of the Passenger (Photo-Ian Nicholson)

Second crux pitch of the Passenger (Photo-Ian Nicholson)

The next day it was off to the South Face of Big Kangaroo, an amazing face hidden away from the highway. If it were closer to the road it would be as popular and famous as any wall in the area. But due to it's "remoteness" it is rarely visited.

With the beta that the Kearney-Thomas route had not been climbed free Ian and headed back there to make the FFA. I was stunned at the first view of the wall, it is gorgeous, steep and shear. Quite unique for the area in it's continues clean features.

Approaching the S Face of Big Kangaroo, The Kearney-Thomas Route takes

the obvious L facing corner (Photo-Ian Nicholson)

The K-T route takes the right hand side of the wall via a series of corners and was originally rated 5.10 A1. Kearney stated that he had freed most of it on top rope during the FA, we found out after the climb that it had been freed at 5.11 in 2007. Regardless the psyche of making what was at least a rare free climb of this route was very enjoyable.

{This had originally stated that we got the FFA but has been corrected}

The route started with a traverse into 3 pitches of chimneys and off width cracks. At the start they were quite loose but higher became amazing physical 5.10 Yosemite style splitters, taking the whole bag of tricks.

Wide Climbing on Pitch 3 of the K-T (Photo-Ian Nicholson)

Pitch 4 reared up as the first of the aid pitches and presented itself as an amazing 150 ft splitter finger crack. SO PSYCHED. It went down as one of the best 5.11 splitters I have climbed in WA, powerful locks, steep rattley sections and all on super clean rock. Pitch 5 was the other aid pitch, an 11a section of a bouldery overhanging flakes to a chockstone dangle. Ian dispatched with little stress.

SPLITTER on the 5th pitch of the K-T (Photo-Ian Nicholson)

Ian sending the 6th pitch of the K-T (Photo-Graham Zimmerman)

From there it was mellow terrain to the top. All that was left was and hour and a half of arduous scree skiing down to the car and a rally back to Seattle drinking more coffee and listening to SPLATINUM.

Good times in the WA.

Look out for Ian's book hitting the shelves at some point here, it's going to be GREAT!

Now it is final prep time for Nepal. Packing bags, dotting i's and crossing t's. Getting ready to go ballistic with the HK, Mark Allen and Sr. Dick Richards.

Cross Training - The Imogene Pass Run

2010-09-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

"The greatest mania of all is passion: and I am a natural slave to passion: the balance between my brain and my soul and my body"

— Hunter S. Thompson , From THE CURSE OF LONO, a Novel about HST reporting on the Hawaii Marathon.

I was doing it. Running a race. First time for everything. Conveniently I had the excuse that it was an excellent intermediate training goal for climbing at altitude in Nepal.

The night before, preparation time. As we sat around eating dinner some talked about strategy, others talked about training, Brendan and I talked about anything other than running. The next morning were all lining up to run the Imogene Pass race. Seventeen miles with 5,000ft of elevation gain starting in Ouray and ending in Telluride, running over Imogene Pass (13,114 ft).

With my complete lack of experience in the racing game I had no conception of how well I would do but was psyched to be going for it. I loaded up on Yoli and when the starting gun fired, I took to an easy pace not wanting to peak early. I had the goal of four hours in mind but was trying not to hold too much emotion around it, after all it sounded kinda fast, and I am not a runner.

Six miles out, at Camp Bird, the grade kicked up and folks around me who had been running were now walking. Funnily, it turns out that I am much better steep walker than shallow runner so I started passing folks to the summit, taking long strides, charging uphill. I was psyched on my time to the summit, 2 hours and 30 minutes on the dot. So what the hell I thought, why not shoot for 3.5 hours?

After pounding a few Vitimin I's I started the 7 mile pound down hill. Heading down at an increasing speed, my final mile was my fastest, clocking in around six and a half minutes for a finishing time of 3 hours 30 minutes and 36 seconds, super stoked. Fast enough for a 4th place finish in my division. Who would have thought!

My training has been paying off, my body is getting more and more ready for the next expedition as is my mind. Bringing it all into alignment for climbing hard and fast in the Himal, reducing the excuses to the absolute minimum, boosting the psyche to the max, excellent.

Details on the race can be found HERE

GREAT photo of an older fella high on the pass (off the IPR site),

check out that purple track jacket!

New route near Durango

2010-09-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video displaying some goods from a new crag around Durango.

The crux of the beautiful pitch that is highlighted is 11+ and offered really excellent climbing. We all sent the pitch and almost managed to get back in time for dinner.

Thanks to Roger for putting the video together!

Beta is pending....

The REBIRTH of Kiwi Alpinism

2010-09-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

East Face of the Pope's Nose (Allen Uren)

I just wanted to bring some further attention to what I think a is an important issue pertaining to New Zealand Alpinism. I am going to display a few parts of the story here, some of which are article by myself and some by others, along with some photos of the "LAST GREAT PROBLEMS" in the Southern Alps (from the last issue of the climber) and a short story at the end to drive my point home.

My first exposure to the discussion was on MojoZone.com where a press release by Pat Deavoll titled "The Softening of Kiwi Alpinism" asked the question of whether Kiwi alpinism was dying and presented evidence that it might be. Or at least that there is less hard alpinism going on within and coming out of NZ. Which unfortunately is true...

This was also supported by an article "State of the Nation" by Glenn Pennycook on his site MoutainZ.co.nz (about a third of the way down the page). Which also brought up some potential reasons for this decline. Which was further discussed in forums in Christchurch and online (also on MountainZ).

I am not going to use this space in order to discuss WHY New Zealand alpinism has been dying (even if I might agree with some decline) or why the NZ Alps are so poor for climbing and learning how to climb (which I DO NOT agree with). But rather to further add some positive light to this discussion so that we Kiwis might be able rekindle the torch and continue on the alpine send train.

Below is an article that I wrote for the New Zealand Alpine Climb "Climber" (Issue 71, Autumn 2010) about the supposed death of Kiwi Alpinism, and how we might be able to rectify.

SW Face of Percy Smith (Simon Middlemass)

The STOKE

It has been declared that Kiwi alpinism is dead, that it has lost its glory. That as a nation of alpinists, we have become soft. From the forums—both in auditoriums and online—it seems that folks are in agreement with these statements. I am writing to argue why this does not have to be the case, or rather, why it does not have to continue to be.

Much evidence has been presented for the fall of Kiwi alpinism, so I will not go over it all in detail here. If you would like to examine this evidence further, go searching online for yourself. But to summarise: it seems that the consensus is it that the modern age has softened the Kiwi hard-men and women; that they prefer to drink orange mocha frappachinnos until ten in the morning and go for a bouldering session in the sun rather than risk their neck climbing in the mountains, where things like open bivvys, bone chilling cold and worse are all on the potential menu.

I am not going to be one to say that this is not true. I am not even going to state that I do not agree with it. The amount of new alpine routes being opened in New Zealand is way down, as is the amount of new route activity outside of the country by New Zealanders. There are reasons for this—of course— and if we as Kiwis are alright with this then, well, so be it. Bouldering and sport climbing are cool, they are beautiful ways for us as homo-sapien-sapiens to progress our climbing abilities in terms of the difficulties of individual moves and sequences. But there are still some of us out there who stoke on pushing our limits in the high mountains and engage in those activities which are ‘like fun but different’. So I am going to state why it is that I think Kiwi alpinism can rise from the ashes as a proverbial phoenix and regain some of its former glory—so that we can honor the fact that we have a great alpinist on our five-dollar note and we can continue a lineage of strong Kiwi alpinists.

North Face of Mt Sefton (Colin Monteath)

Firstly, yes, the Southern Alps have difficult access and they have bad weather. These are two qualities that they share with many other ranges in the world. These are the two reasons that these mountains were an excellent training ground for the first ascent of Mt Everest and why they are still an excellent training ground for climbing in the greater ranges. Even climbing established routes in New Zealand is hard work, it takes a strong knowledge of alpine terrain and hazards just to reach the base of the many routes, let alone to climb them!

Alpine routes in New Zealand generally involve steep ice and bad rock, and while this may not always be as appealing as climbing gorgeous rock in the sunshine (like you would on a typical day at Castle Hill), it is an excellent step in the progression towards climbing big routes in the greater ranges. Why? Well, remember that in Scotland—where modern mixed climbing was arguably born and where a host of radical alpinists have come from—the weather is bad, the rock is average and the approaches can be arduous. And for God’s sake they are not even real mountains! So there is no reason that the mountains of New Zealand can’t be an amazing training ground to aspiring and experienced alpinists alike. And really, they have been in the past. Climbers such as Bill Denz and Nick Cradock, who put up real-deal climbs from Alaska to Yosemite to the Himalaya, cut their teeth in the New Zealand mountains.

‘But’, you say, ‘those bloody Scots! They have the Alps right there, where they can climb good stone, and learn the ways of granite and such’. Well, it is a well-documented phenomenon that Kiwis do not stay in New Zealand. We travel and explore the globe. It does not seem to be a big deal to head away on a Contiki tour of Europe, or spend a season working in Whistler, partying and recreating to our hearts delight, or to go to Yosemite, a place where a young alpinist can learn many of the skills unattainable in New Zealand, such as walling and crack climbing, or the Canadian Rockies, where there is so much steep ice that climbing WI6 in a season seems pretty reasonable. These skill sets are attainable and even more so with the travelling mentality held by the New Zealand culture.

With the combination of these skill-sets and a bit of imagination (for climbing big peaks in remote places always takes a bit if imagination) we have the perfect recipe for a climber who is very efficient on both steep rock and ice, can deal with bad weather, and knows how to slog through long approaches. Does that not seem to be a recipe for success for climbing elite routes in the greater ranges?

So now that I have made my argument for why New Zealand is a fine place to learn to climb and to be from while learning in other places, we must ask why it is that our focus has changed? I think that a large part of it is a product of the media. For the same reason that bouldering and sport climbing are easy to do (requiring less equipment and offering less danger) in the first place, they are also easy to shoot and film. So for magazines and advertisers in the industry it is much easier for them to focus on these more accessible parts of the climbing family. This seems reasonable, but it is up to us (the climbing community) to determine what degree and type of influence we want the media and the industry to have on us. For many of us, it is the idea of climbing big radical mountains that drew us to climbing in the first place. So how can we help to perpetuate that dream for others? This is the real question.

Why not supply the media (i.e. The Climber) with more articles and better photography of mountains and rad things happening in them? This is really a responsibility of those who are pushing things in the mountains. This needn’t be done to gain sponsors, or boost egos, but to inspire others, to raise the stoke of those around us in the community. Without ‘the stoke of the community’ it is hard to get anything done, especially in alpinism, because it is hard work, and sometimes we come down from routes feeling beaten up and it is much easier to rally when there is material and conversation around about the glory that alpinism can bring.

This stoke can come from mags or rad slideshows or experienced folks who can be asked questions about how to deal and to send. Fertile nurturing grounds for the next generation are really what are needed in order to pick Kiwi alpinism up out of the ashes and restore it to what it can be.

So far my discussion has been focused on the use of the Southern Alps as a training ground. The Southern Alps is a range that has been declared ‘climbed out’, and it’s true—there is very little new route activity taking Southern Alps place within it. It just needs to be said that, yes, there are new lines to be climbed in the Southern Alps, and many of them will be hard and technical.

A comment made by Glenn Pennycook on his website (mountainz.co.nz) is one that I think holds very true, and that is that something New Zealand currently lacks is a ‘Last Great Problem’, our own Latok I if you will. Is there anything that sets Latok I apart from other outstanding unclimbed objectives in the Himalaya? Not particularly. Sure it is huge, hard and beautiful, but talk to anyone who’s been there, they’ll tell you there are plenty of peaks like it, all one really needs to do is look at Tamotsu Nakamura’s images from his latest expedition through Tibet to see that this is true.But the North Ridge of Latok I has captured the imagination of the alpine climbing community—being cause for more than 30 expeditions made to its base to try to climb it.—much like the South Face of Mt Hicks did 40 years ago, before Graeme Dingle and Murray Jones made the first ascent in 1970. We need someone to declare what New Zealand’s last great problem shall be. Possibilities have been mooted: the South Face of Marian Peak in winter, the West Face of Mt Tutoko, the Cyclops Project (left of Hotel Carribbean and Heart of Gold in Cirque Creek), the East Face of Popes Nose into the North West Face of Mt Aspiring in winter link-up to name a few. We should go out and try to climb these objectives. Or climb other things in order to train for them. We should give the next generation objectives to strive for, and modern ascents which can serve as examples for how they can get it done.

We can say all that we want to about our society moving towards a more risk-adverse attitude, one that does not promote things like fast and light alpinism. But we all know the feeling of doing—or wanting to do—something rowdy and maybe a little bit dangerous, like climbing a new ice route on a remote face or spending 15 days on an alpine big wall. All that is really needed is a reservoir of stoke that can be shared with those around us and especially the next generation so that strong alpinists can continue to come out of New Zealand and perpetuate our country’s glory in the high mountains of the world and within our own amazing alps.

I will finish by saying that there is a difference between talk and action. We all know that T-A=0. So take the initiative. If you are an old, hardened alpinist, take a young gun under your wing and show them how to spread their own. And if you are young and keen and yearning to crush in the mountains, remember this:

‘Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back– Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’

–Goethe

South Face of La Perouse (Tony Rac)

While I was not in NZ when this came out I am under the impression that it did cause somewhat of a stir and an article was written by my good friend Paul Hersey in defense of my article and myself. It can be found on his Blog and I thank him for his kind and supportive words.

And lastly a little bit of inspiration... this is a short memoir I wrote a while back regarding personal progression and moving away from the cultural norm towards an atypical lifestyle based on alpinism. Enjoy!

The Cyclops (Allen Uren)

As I opened them my eyes they felt particularly heavy. I looked up from the mattress, lying on the floor, above unfolded a sea of plastic and wood. ‘Well thank goodness’, I thought, ‘I did make it home last night’, it had by no means been certain. The night before had been a celebration, a blowout, if you will. Exams were over, school was done. Now, there I was, lying on the mattress which lay under the climbing wall in the living room, head aching from a final night out in good old Duners.

Over the next few hours I finished my packing and sold off my last few things that were not coming with me. It was a time for transition, away from the norm, towards a dream. This dream held high hopes of tall mountains and steep crags but also a fear of failure. Was I cut out to follow my dream full time? Would I be able to get tough when the going got rough? Would I ever be satisfied if I did not?

The last 3 years had been spent in a wild haze of studying hard, going on wild benders with the boys out on the town and even wilder ones in the mountains. I had learned how to deal, how to ascend, how to fight through fear and pain in order to obtain goals that had not long before felt unattainable. Hicks, Cook and Vampire all now held a special meaning in my heart, body and mind. I now truly knew the meaning of “like fun but different”. In the Southern Alps I had learned how to climb and had cut my proverbial teeth.

While most of my friends who were finishing Uni were headed off to jobs and success in the real world, all I had was a plane ticket, a wad of cash and my ideas as to where I was to begin. I was off to Australia to hone my skills climbing stone before my returned to America where I would chase the illusive dream of climbing as a job. I did not know how I was going to do it, only that it was what I must do and that morning, as I drank my coffee black and strong, I prepared myself for the journey that had no foreseeable end I pondered my past and my future.

I looked back on my progression from a twelve year old child reading National Geographic, pondering glaciers and being sure that those fantastic things were far to dangerous for the likes of me. But something had struck a cord. By the time I was in high school climbing mountains had become a serious interest, before long I was working in a climbing shop for the sole purpose of obtaining more and more of the equipment that I needed to pursue my dreams of ascending stones and icicles. As I learned to climb rocks and frozen waterfalls I always told myself that it was training for something far greater. For the high and wild mountains of the world. I looked upon pictures of the great peaks with wonder and awe, not understanding how it was that they had been or could be climbed, but yearning to learn.

Summers and winters took me from the Cascades of Washington to the Southern Alps where I saw the mountains that I had longed for, steep, covered in ice and clad in dark clouds and strong winds. Things of legend. I threw myself at them with a motivation and confidence that only a young man could have mustered. The deep end I liked to think of it, sometimes I was not sure how deep it was but I always ended up on the shore, unscathed and wanting more.

But now there I was, all packed up stepping on a plane, headed to the land of the Kangaroos and Arapiles. It was a land I had visited before but this time it was different, it was not just a break, there was no school at the end of 3 months. There was no end in sight. The foreseeable future held a life of sleeping by the stars and climbing by the sun. Living a life of poverty, by choice, so that I could bathe in the beauty of my dreams every day. So that climbing could be more than a recreation, so that it could be a lifestyle

Three months I spent in the dirt there in Arapiles. Covered in grime, my glasses broken and crooked. I was happy, strong and well fed. Surrounding me were others of the tribe. We woke to the sun and consumed caffeine until our weary bodies were ready for another day of reckoning. When the weariness had bored to deep we would sit in our nylon chairs and fill our minds with works of literary art. From Steinbeck to Tolstoy we pushed our minds to further understand our world and out place within it. The dream was ours.

Soon though the heat from the red center had crept closer and we were forced to flee our home there amongst the pine trees. I escaped back to America, it was time to really test the feasibility of the dream. And unfortunately this dream, like most, required money. So I worked and worked hard, for a few allotted months I held three and sometimes even four jobs, working and saving. In my spare time I trained, never loosing sight.

This time the dream materialized in the form of the great white North. I was headed to the final frontier of Alaska, to the real mountains, the greater ranges. With the storms we sat in our tents holding onto our sanity by mere threads, when weather cleared we climbed as hard and as fast as our bodies would allow, pushing through unknown terrain on steep granite peaks, trying to obtain the dream. But when we flew back to town and had summited nothing I was left to ponder whether I had really achieved anything, if it was worth it? What I learned was the age old lesson that the journey is what is important, not the finish. The summit is merely a small part of the puzzle and while an important one, it is not always available. And so I learned to appreciate the climb and the journey in their own right, as part of the lesson.

In the days since my trip to Alaska I have learned many things, both from journeys and summits. Today, the road is my home, I still follow the dream. The call of the mountains is stronger than ever and every day I work to heed their call, to delve deeper into myself and create a stronger and harder human being out of this body I have been gifted. The dreams of steep ice covered stone persist and have prompted trips from the Himalaya to Patagonia. Places where I had once only heard and dreamt of have become my playgrounds. In my rest I learn from Rand and Castoneda. The end is not in sight and I do not look for it, for I know that the journey is where the treasure is, a treasure with which I share with those in the tribe willing to forego the norm and chase the illusive.

But as I find myself waking up on a mattress the floor, mouth dry from scotch the night before this time next to the stove in a house in Bozeman Montana, I realize that little has really changed. The planet still turns and I am still here, chasing the dream and making it happen. Next I am off the Alaska again and then Nepal, to more peaks that strike fear into my heart and make me ponder the possibilities rather than the limits. For in this world all I have is potential, and while I do not know how tomorrow will unfold, I do know that I will be there to embrace it for all it has to offer and to continue the progression which was started what now seems like so long ago.

Fall Mountain Festival, Come Hither!

2010-08-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Join Mark Allen and Graham Zimmerman for a Multimedia experience to celebrate the worlds undiscovered Mountains. This year the two climbers engaged in exploratory alpinism in Alaska's Ruth Gorge on the First ascent of the South Buttress of Mount Bradley.

The two will be hosting a party of slide shows and short films, socializing, and music at the North Cascades Heli Ski Barn located in Mazama of the Methow Valley. The environment is family friendly and all are welcome. Last years celebration was a huge hit and this years show is even better. DJ Travis Smith is going to spin records as well as appearances of local music. This has rocked in the past and it will continue to keep rocking. Don't miss out, I always hear about it when you do. Don't cry in your beer later when you can drink with us! ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE DOOR go to THE KUMBU CLIMBING SCHOOL

Host: Mark Allen, Graham Zimmerman

Price: $10 MEMBERSHIP FEE
Start Time: Friday 24th 6:30pm-12:00am

Location:
MAZAMA -FREESTONE INN-NORTH CASCADES HELI BARN
ADDRESS: Early Winters Drive, Hyw 20, Mazama WA

NW Face of the Chiefshead, 'The Flight of the Kiwi' III 5.10+, First Ascent

2010-07-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Blake Herrington and I...

Ground Up, Onsight, No Bolts...

The First Ascent of Flight of The Kiwi!

First Ascent of 'Flight of the Kiwi' on the Chiefshead, RMNP, CO from Graham ZImmerman on Vimeo.

Music By Massive Attack and RJD2

Graham sending the crux pitch 3, the piece to my left is a

tipped out small beak, spicy! (Photo by Blake Herrington)

Graham slab climbing higher on the route, the mists rolled in and

made the climbing feel rather WA-esc (photo by Blake Herrington)

Topo showing The Flight of the Kiwi with other

routes on wall marked (by Blake Herrington)

Journey to the 'Rado!

2010-07-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

Years in the planning phase and I have finally made it to Colorado. As a Northwestern Climber I have all sorts of deeply ingrained disdain for this state (big talk, no glaciers, ect.), but with many a good friend here who tell me otherwise I had to come check it out. So I rallied from Seattle, popped into Bozeman (climbed some AMAZING local stuff there) and jammed on down to the land of the beautiful people, Boulder.

The goal was to find work and with that I was moderately successful, but really what I wanted was to sample the delicacies of the climbing here, which has been wonderful, and see just how small these glaciers were... Around town Scotty gave me a great tour of Eldo, wild traditional climbing on amazing stone, we climbing some pitches and went on the solo circuit, super fun. Up in Boulder Canyon Joe and I worked on his Proj, getting pumped in the cool canyon (I should note that it has been HOT in town...). But where it has really been at has been the Rocky Mountain National Park.

THE DIAMOND, CHIEFSHEAD, BLACK WALL...

I had heard whisperings of these features for years, big pieces of beautiful stone, with approaches that by WA standards were 'no big deal' all above 10,000 ft.

Sickness.

It all started with running up D7 (IV 5.11+) on the Diamond with the HK, finger locking madness, amazing climbing, a wonderful day.

Looking up at The Diamond

Then off to the Black Wall (III 5.10+) on Mt Evans with the Blake Harrington, a cool alpine crag with some beautiful climbing on it.

While up in Estes our friend Kelly had told Hayden and I that "Man the Diamond is cool but I gotta say I have been OBSESSED with the Chiefshead...". So I grabbed Joe and we headed up and tried Birds of Fire (IV 5.11aR) only to be hailed of (HEAVY hail, full on Rocky Mountain Thunderstorm) above the crux. But the climbing we did was rad, big run outs, delicate wild climbing, great fun.

So when I got a call from Blake telling me I should skip out on work to go open a new route with him on the same wall it was a no brainer... more on this later though (see next post)...

Later when asking my mateJason, 'what is a good moderate to bring a friend up who hasn't climbed much?' Hallet Peak was the obvious choice. But when Adley and I were walking up there (Ad had only been climbing a few days) the 1000ft dark gneiss wall was looking pretty real deal. But to hell with it we went for it and sent, not that splitter, super cool face climbing, we got lost near the top and took a harder variation, Adley learned about things like exposure, cold windy belays and 'type 2 fun'. It was great.

But a few days ago the painting work dried up when my contractor had to move away. With free time and a schedule to rally out of town it was time to get on one more, something classic, so Becky and I headed back to the Diamond to Pervertical Sanctuary (IV 5.10c).

OH man.

Walking in, the fog was heavy but as we crested the final ridge to drop into the basin below the face, the golden granite shown through the fog, bathing in sun above us. And the climb, immaculate, physical crack climbing from fingers to full on OW up at 13000ft. Not a boring pitch to be had. I was able to lead and onsight all the pitches (thanks Becky!), quite a wonderful day, a great way to wrap up a few weeks in the front range.

Graham Cruising about lower on the route (Photo by Becky Selling)

Becky getting after the O-Dub!

I have come to the conclusion that maybe climbing in Colorado is alright and the people are alright too! But the glaciers = permanent snow patches and the approaches are chill. And really it's all just a bunch of alpine "cragging".

;)

But now the life is taking me off to Durango, to stay with the wonderful Hirst family, do some work and sport climb. Take a break from the long routes and chill my bones for a minute and get some SLEEP! Shall be most excellent.

Jolly Roger AK Expedition 2010 (Video Posts)

2010-05-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Post #1 - Packing in Seattle for Madness in the Mountains

A liter of coffee leads to fast motion packing in Seattle.

Post #2 - Onto The Glacier and Into the Fold

Graham and Mark arrive in Talkeetna, AK only to have a change of plans and a mandatory bit of down time while waiting for good weather before being flown into the beautiful Ruth Gorge.

Post #3 - Committing to the Unknown

Graham and Mark venture into the unknown on the SE face of Mt Bradley to find more than they could have ever hoped for.

Post #4 - Getting Down and Out

Out of food on top of an Alaskan mountain, the only way to go is down. But what if the normal descent route is out of shape?

Music Credits:

DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Incubus, Cat Power, Black Angels, Radiohead, AmpLive, M.I.A. and Gabriel Rios.

Vitalogy Topo

2010-05-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

This beautiful topo was a collaboration between Mark and his Dad Lee.

Jolly Roger AK Expedition 2010

2010-05-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

[This is an article written by Mr. Allen about our trip to the Ruth. It's long. But it captures the trip beautifully. Thanks to Mark for writing it. The original can be found on the Black Diamond site in their Journal, along with many other wonderful tales of mountains and rocks.]

“To achieve vigorous manhood at least five qualities are necessary; muscular strength, endurance, energy, courage, and will power…There are numerous examples of vigorous men in recent history and present day in American life…By faithful adherence to the five requirements previously mentions, one develops a high degree of bodily resistance”
~ E. H. Ruddock, M. D., Vitalogy 1899

Mt. Bradley SE Face this April in the condition the SE Buttress was noticed during the late March reconnaissance. ~Photo Graham Zimmerman
Walking up after a third bivy on the wall was not the plan. We only had resources for one night on the buttress and with little padding. We anticipated a second night during the descent, but not the third—and certainly not a fourth. We agreed to not have enough fuel for breakfast brews. We shared an energy bar and a beef stick to kick-start our metabolisms. We peered out the door of the Firstlight tent having a strange aerial vista. This vantage of the North Wall of Mount Wake reminded us of our position; Twenty-five pitches up a 4600-foot buttress in undiscovered country on a tiny bivy ledge just big enough for our two-person tent.

Zimmerman on the summit morning, the third day of the climb, taking in the view from the Tower~Photo Mark Allen

We were in mid-swing of the second major crux network of the route. We had fixed the lines the night before and rappelled down to the exposed ledge after the climbing became a game of diminishing return. A near-perfect bivy blessed us part way up the 800-foot granite tower that stood like a bouncer guarding the summit. One corner of the tent that was draped over the ledge collected gear like a sinkhole. Ropes ran out of our sleeping bags, to the door, and up to the anchor. Gear hung clipped under the visor of granite that protected our bivy from what loomed above.
This morning marked the last day of steep mixed terrain before the buttress broke down and we could count on the summit. We couldn’t afford to have another night out on the wall.Graham indecipherable words came over a mouth full of Turtle Bar combined with gestures indicated his appreciation for the view. I couldn’t help but share the excitement for what we had done already. We were having the time of our lives and we were the only lives in the Alaska Range.

Seven years ago, Graham Zimmerman and I met in Washington on an alpine course through the American Alpine Institute. I was a young North Cascades guide and he was one of my youngest clients at 17. He absorbed everything I had to offer. He was, and still is, one of the most positive and motivated people I have ever shared the rope with.

Paul Roderick landed us in the Great Ruth Gorge. According to the National Park Service we were going to be all alone; have the entire range to ourselves. Storms shut down any more traffic to ensure this. This was a rare opportunity for our climbing team and provided a new element of remoteness to the range. The Alaska Range is funny that way. On a sunny day one could easily flag down one of the many passing planes. On a no-fly-day you might as well be in the Hymal. Now we were on our own. No climbers. No planes. It was just the ravens, the mountains, and us.

Mt. Wake NE Buttress after a snowstorm ~Photo Mark Allen

Great Gorge ski tours during route recon. ~Photo Mark Allen
Upon first arrival the range was freshly loaded by recent storms. This put most of the climbing on hold until safer conditions. We narrowed our alpine climbing faire down to what would not predictably kill us. Mount Bradley. Initially it was the 1000-foot ribbon of ice that sucked Graham’s binoculars. Our eyes connected what looked enticing, possible, and had a hint of full-on. Weather was good, so we went for it.
We retreated after seven pitches. Our timing was all off, a schoolboy mistake. We didn’t get high enough to gain the upper snow bench and we scratched around below. We were under a giant solar collector. The warming snow grinded on my psyche. Graham picked up on my stress. Our mortality felt like a coin toss. I slammed in two knifeblades and we bailed. Rappelling from our high point I could foresee the rope becoming stuck. We now had more time. We took sanctuary in a cave when the avalanches came. Snow poured over the cave. We resorted to alpine trickery to get the ropes back then hung out cracking jokes for an additional hour. The stressed molted away like dead skin and without remorse. The sun faded, the wall cooled, and we descended to camp.
It was exactly what we needed. A warm-up. We received a freeze thaw and mileage on ice tools. We were going to return to the wall smarter, with less weight, and with beta. We needed a different strategy. Climb through the cold of the day and through the night, bivy in the heat of the day. We'll get about nine hours of climbing, bivy in the sunshine, and then come off the next day. That was the plan. It was simple.

Approaching the “Lighting Bolt Coulior,” the entrance to the SE Buttress during the second attempt in colder temps. ~photo Mark Allen
At 6pm we simul climbed up the 500-foot Lightning Bolt Couloir. We set Graham up for the first crux, a 5.9 A1 offwidth in the cave. I watched him squirm through a hole in the ceiling just wider than his hips and haul our packs. Before night fell Graham swiftly took us through two more pitches of runout mixed cruxes and belayed off our bail pitons from the day before.
The next block of rock and mixed climbing were key to our progress. We get through this and we are onto the “fun climbing.” The approach to the uncharted territory was to climb out off the snow ledge, change into rock shoes, and send. This was a time-consuming arduous process. After the transitions I had so much shit on my harness. The ice tools, double boots, crampons, and rock rack all created a hoop dress effect. It was a blue-collar pitch. A chicken-wing and hooked tool behind a frozen block while stemming in rock shoes. I found the next belay and watched Graham’s headlamp progress up from the abyss. After some scraping about we agreed I would tension off the anchor into the void. I made it to a small stance and was able kick a perch with rock shoes in the snow. The long arch of slack back to Graham’s anchor terrified me. A fall here would be radical. I excavated some frozen dirt moss near my waist and pounded in the pick of my Cobra ice tool and clipped off my waist. It was a tenuous 30 minutes to return back to boots and crampons while tethered to the tool. A thousand feet of exposure hidden by the darkness. My world had the radius of my LED beam and I was glad. With my feet in crampons again, I began work up the mixed pitch. Deliberation was forced by lack of gear found in the compact headwall. Necessity is the mother of invention; I forcibly drilled a 19cm ice screw into a patch of frozen dirt moss, my only good piece. It was like a bolt… crazy-solid. I laugh reflecting on what brings us peace in the chaos.

Graham coming into the Prow after a spice 140m unprotected snow wallow. Steep terrain above reminds us of our low position on the route. ~Photo Mark Allen

It was several more hours of easy mixed and steep snow climbing pitches to the first bivy on The Prow. We positioned the bivy safe from any avalanches on a spine abscessing from the buttress. Graham and I had one of the most astounding views of the long Ruth Valley Glacier. We sunk into the bivy basking in the sun, letting the stress of the mountain shed away.

The Prow Bivy about 1500ft up the route after pitch 7 of new climbing. North Face of Mt. Wake in the background. This was a 6 hour mid-day bivy to wait for snowslopes to refreeze and ice conditions in the coulior to improve. ~Photo Mark Allen

After the bivy we headed out in the cooler temps of the afternoon as the slopes came into the shade and cast off into the headwall couloir looking for ice~Photo Graham Zimmerman

We packed up in cooler temps. The blue shade pushed out alpine yellow glow. That was the cue. We headed up to explore the Ice Ribbon. A thousand-feet of moderate gully ice protected by an entrance fee of M5+ and thin eggshell WI 5. Graham led off the belay without hesitation. It was a burly pitch and one of the route’s headiest points. Watching at the belay I fumbled with the video camera trying not to give a bad belay. Each gear placement was like a small triumph. Graham’s persistence was admirable and right then he was my personal hero. Off belay. We were in!
We jammed out the next five pitches like it was routine. It was the first time on the route that the climbing was straightforward and predicable. We gained the momentum we needed, swinging into fat, sticker blue ice in a chimney just wider than our shoulders. The climbing rivaled the world-class gully climbs of the Moose’s Tooth on the horizon just over my right shoulder. We were in our element. The formidable objective was far from our minds.

Photo of the Second Snow Bench, the Prow Bivy (bottom left), and the Ribbon a 1000ft of ice that on the second night took us to the second Bivy on the ridge just left of the couloirs exit. This was the prize of the route and the most memorable climbing. We then had to wait until first light to navigate the complex blocky ridge. This was our reward for climbing the six pitches of ice quickly. ~Photo Mark Allen

We topped the Ribbon and gained the buttress crest. The terrain above us was supposed to be easy and fun ridge climbing. Graham and I looked up into the darkness at a complex fortress of rock. We needed sunlight to navigate such a gauntlet. Unwilling to deal with the physiological stress, we pretended the mountain was not there and bivied until light.

We woke to the eerie shapes of lenticular clouds on the horizon. They were right on time. Large spindrift avalanches began to pour off the slopes above. We dared not leave the spine of the buttress. I was taken away from this predicament by Graham’s positive demeanor and conversation about cute Yosemite girls that slackline. We never had a conversation about committing, but this would have been the time.
Out of the fog came the ominous Tower. We planned on skirting the feature on exposed snowslopes but the triple-x death conditions omitted any further discussion of the option. We squared up to the 800 feet of granite. In most cases I would have felt in over my head. But instead Graham and I were overriding dread with laughter and fist bumps. “Yeah, get some”became the mantra to stoke the other on. Our humor was driven by the gravity of the situation. Above us were hundreds of feet of steep technical mixed climbing tattered with fresh spindrift, below were thousands of feet of frozen alpine big wall. Our spirits were the protective shell against all that would attempt to impede our progress.

Graham racking for the final pitch to the summit. Graham is preparing to leave the Tower bivy and jug up to the high point from the night before ~Photo mark Allen

Graham Zimmerman climbing the last mixed pitches of the tower~photo Mark Allen

Graham Zimmerman at the last belay (28) while transitioning to simul climbing the last spines of the buttress. ~Photo Mark Allen

Graham and I were revitalized after the exposed six-hour bivy on the Tower. Our minds told us this was the end of the climb; we couldn’t have been further from the truth. We finished the tower and the terrain broke down. We could feel the reality of the top for the first time. Its as if dreaming of food and getting the first realization of its aroma as it becomes near to ready. My fear, my fatigue, my hunger all faded away for the moment as we sauntered towards the highest point of this giant. While walking I pointed out the two ravens that circled the summit just tens of feet above. There presence felt as if they knew the significance of our arrival. This was a climax of our climb…a very special moment in our friendship, the partnership, and our lives.
We gazed at our descent. It was still going to take us 33 hours before we would finally be done. We finished the last of our food and began heading the only way we could, down.
Mark Allen and Graham Zimmerman on the summit of Mt Bradley.

On April 5th at 4pm Mark Allen and Graham Zimmerman summited Mt. Bradley via a new route on the SE buttress. This 4600-foot buttress of sustained mixed climbing required 29 pitches, 19 of which are M5 or WI 4 or harder. After sixty-six and a half hours including three on-route bivies, Vitalogy (Alaska grade V, M6+ WI5 5.9R A1) was opened. After summiting the climbers began to descend but the descent was not in condition when a second storm began to present. With the remaining time the two were forced to rappel 1500 feet down a headwall to an alpine glacier and then descend 1000 feet of active icefall to the Backside Valley Glacier to escape avalanche terrain were the two found a “safe bivy” (under an overhang of rock tucked close to the massif base) while spindrift avalanches began to run down the wall. This storm brought 15 inches of new snow, pinning the two down for a day without food and little fuel. A clearing 12 hours later allowed the climbers to start wading seven kilometers through new snow on Backside Valley Glacier, back around though 747 Pass, and then down into the Ruth Glacier to regain their camp. A third storm hit, requiring them to navigate in a whiteout, in the dark. After 99 hours they removed their packs for the last time.

Chalten 2010

2010-02-25T08:36:00.001-08:00

For my three weeks in Chalten the weather was rough. Having not had any good weather earlier in the season the mountains were still encrusted in ice despite is almost being March. We sat in town, ate empenadas and facturas and talked trash.

I was staying at the Ralincho but as a crew we hung out mostly at some trailers that were occupied by friends. We were holding it down as the ‘Basura Blanca’.

Eventually though, a blip of good weather appeared on the forecast. Everyone set into sending mode, make plans, concocting assumptions about what would be in and good. Jon, Ben and I headed for the classic Willans Route on Cerro Poincenot, a route with lots of beautiful moderate mixed climbing on one of the most aesthetic peaks in the range.

We rallied to Paso Superior and found a snow cave to occupy. The next day we started walking around three in the am. It felt wonderful to be moving over the glaciated terrain. As we moved up onto the ramp that marks the beginning of the real climbing on Poincenot we moved together through the 300m of 60 degree ice to the base of the crux mixed chimney. Good squeaky ice interspersed with beautiful granite took us to a traverse to the South Face and more pitches of beautiful mixed and rock climbing. With a few harder detours we made it to the summit for a gorgeous cloud free view of the range, but of course… the winds were high.

Rapping turned into a minor epic when we got a rope stuck. We hung out while the fellas we were rapping with went to free the line. Sun going down, wind picking up, it was bitterly cold. The rest of the descent went without incident and we made it back to out cave safe and sound.

It was an unfortunate matter when I removed my boot though to find that my toe was a strange hue of purple. It has been nipped while waiting at the rap station. Huge bummer.

We headed down. After few days of waiting and watching I realized that the best way to heal was to head back stateside early. A disappointing option due to good weather being on its way but the rational one in the interest of preserving my body. So while my mates headed back to the hills I went to a lake and cast my rod for a few days before returning stateside a few weeks early. And while disappointment was present in heading out, I knew that I would be back.

Now it is time to prep for Alaska, get the body ready to step back into high gear and continue living the dream. Thanks to everyone who helped me make it happen and who helped me to make the right decision regarding the toe. It is now nearly better, ready for crushing in the Alaska Range.

Torres Del Paine "Living the Dream Expedition 2010"

2010-02-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

Patagonia: the land of the large footed natives; the land of terrible weather and beautiful splitter granite spires. Ian Nicholson and I embarked on the 'Living the Dream Expedition 2010,' heading to the French Valley of the Torres Del Paine National Park in Southern Chile. Our intention was to crush new routes on those beautiful towers, specifically the Espada and the Hoja. Simple right? Of course not...

Seattle to LAX to Lima to Buenos Aires... 18 hours in Buenos Aires, running about with Ros, then off to Califate. A bus to Puerto Natales and we're there. The boys at Erratic Rock hooked it up with a sick place to stay. We bought more food and headed into the mountains. With loads in and out of the 15km approach, we gained some serious walking fitness and before we settled in the French Valley at Campo Britanico.

Then, sitting... in the rain...

The mountains were encrusted in ice. The wind was howling. We festered.

The Russians were stoked on their wine supply. Mason and the Brits were up in the boulders. We read and chilled. Atlas Shrugged was thought provoking and satisfyingly long.

Small bits of good weather passed though and we ran to the mountains only to be shut down by closing in weather or ice filled cracks. We barley even broke out the rope for weeks. Remaining stoked to send, we stayed honed and ready.

Food was running low, so we decided a run to town was in order. We cruised to the boat only to find a weather forecast showing a potential window for the following day. We were there to send, not to head to town in good weather, so we ran back to camp (read 30km roundtrip) to huck ourselves again. Alas no love... we headed back to town and bought all the food we had been yearning for, no more hunger.

Morning of the 25th, it poured till 10am. The sun came out. We ran to the mountains. Hoja and Espada were still encrusted in ice so we ran to the other side of the valley to Los Gemelos; a peak to the North of the massive Catedral. It was first climbed last year by our mate Dave Turner via it's NE ridge and had seen one subsequent ascent via the same route. We aimed for the S ridge. Reaching the base we got started immediately, at the early hour of 2pm. A ramp system led us across the East face, icy pitches up flakes led to some beautiful cracks which led us to the col between the two peaks of Los Gemelos. Up the ridge! The weather was coming along with the darkness. The climbing stayed rowdy. We had to aid, hooking through flakes and cruising through more cracks.

Graham Seconding Low on 'The Slash"

Graham getting into the aid higher on "The Slash"

Night fell, the wind howled. Above us an unprotectable 5.12 slab bloked our path. It started to rain. A mossy crack lead us out the right, around the corner. I aided out into another system. On the east face there was less wind. Finally, I could think unencumbered by its barage. Up another dihedral and back to the ridgeline and the wind. With the summit in sight, one more pitch took us through a beautiful 5.10 OW to the cumbre. It was wicked. We were stoked.

Graham aidding out the horizontal crack in full conditions.

El Cumbre!

Down we went into the winds. The rope pulling was a fearful affair, but all went well to the col. Ropes took flight into the dark emptiness as we reeled them in. Then down we went into the coulior. With manky rock ice and snow anchors, a bollard failed (before we loaded it). We downclimbed, more raps, before reaching the bottom safe and sound.

Los Gemelos with "The Slash" marked in green and Audios Ayer

(IV 5.10 Turner-Matthews Jan 2009) in blue.

As we walked back the sun was coming up.

21 hours of pushing resulted in ¨The Slash¨on Los Gemelos, IV+ 5.10b A2, Stokage.

One more marginal weather window appeared before we rallied.

It was my 24th Birthday.

It had just dumped snow... rime ice was everywhere. After wallowing in deep snow we made it to the col between Hoja and Espada, intent upon making the FA of Hoja´s N Ridge. Snow covered mixed slabby made climbing hard and scary. It led to a pitch that I threw myself at... aidding, tooling, freeing, nothing would do. Agro... I called down to Ian that it was time to go down. Ian brought the stoke back...

It was time for Ian to leave. His expedtion was over and I was done with the Paine. All in all we'd had an amazing time in a beautiful valley. Life is SO RAD.

We sat in Puerto Natales and savored the experiences we have had and dreamt of the future... pitches, mountains, girls, beers, jobs... we were back to the real world for a minute. Before I know it, Ian is gone and I am on my way to Chalten for another 6 weeks in the Andes.

Now I am chilling here in another promised land. The worst weather that anyone can seem to remember in Patagonia is still raging over the peaks. But a weather window is on the cusp, we are primed, stoked and ready to send.

This trip would not have been possible without the amazing support that we received from the New Zealand Alpine Club, Petzl and Second Ascent. Huge thanks to those guys!

ZION

2009-11-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

Line up of Brass...

Bounce testing a piece, again… As the cam lobes of the offset alien try to work their way out of the placement sand showers my helmet. Aidding on sandstone, what can you say, it’s not granite, but its awesome in its own rowdy kinda way. The alien blows, again and I am left once again to slot in a small piece of brass into the blown out old pin scar.

Lorna is below me, pondering something, the beautiful valley we are in, the sandstone in front of her, the exposure below her hanging belay 800ft off the deck, the life. We have been here for about a week and walling has been the name of the game. A grand time has been had.

Like all rocks, the walls of Navaho sandstone hold stories. These show theirs in truly beautiful ways. The petrified sand dunes, 170 million years old, layered on top of each other in a tangle of disconformities. The dark patina, a product of years of weathering from the wind. Not to mention the valley between the walls, cut out by thousands of years of rains, flash flood and erosion.

The climbing was never to desperate but almost always engaging. Routes like The Desert Shield and Swoop Gimp, Or be Dust kept us mentally alert and physically tuned. After months in the valley we were dialed and ready to just have a good ol’ rowdy time on the smaller walls. Which is exactly what we did.

It was a truly amazing spot and I cannot wait to return.

For now though, Montana is the new joint. The snow is deep and still falling heavily. My snow boots and gloves are out and its time to do some work, make some coin. It feels good to be off the road for a minute, sitting at a counter in a warmly lit room.

Ice is dripping and growing, soon to become the infamous routes of Hylite and Cody, fun to be had. Until then though a rest for the body is feeling good but soon, as always… it will be time to burn the proverbial couch that beacons and get back to business.

Lorna on the Desert Sheild

Yosemite wrap up.

2009-11-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

The wild ride of Yosemite 2009 is over. Hands and bodies are strong, strung out, beaten and battered. The journey has taken us from the walls of the valley, to the slabs of Tuolumne, up into the peaks of the high Sierra and the back down to the ditch for more walls. All has brought serious joy and learning from the blue collar walls to the scary run-out faces.

The SAR work has been grand. A last call to head into the Whitney region had us flying across the amazing domes of Sequoia/Kings including the Angels Wings. These were more than enough to revitalize the stoke for another season. We were in for some helihiking looking for a fella, someone else found him though and we just headed back to Yosemite, real easy like...

The climbing season was capped off by Colin and I making a 12.5 hour ascent of Lurking Fear on the Captain. Beautiful efficient climbing. Wonderful stuff.

Now the show has moved to Zion, at least for a few of us. The weather is beautiful and the stone is a gorgeous red. A last bit of sunny warmth before the winter sets in... most excellent

The Zodiac

2009-10-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Back to the Captain! Wahoo!

Wandering through huge beautiful features such as "The Great White Circle", "The Nipple" and "The Devil's Brow" on the right hand side of the Captain is the classic route, Zodiac. The climbing is mostly moderate with a few pitches of kinda rowdy clean aid (not banging pitons). Lorna and I spent 3 days on the route short days meant that we got lots of sleep and warm temps meant that we were always comfortable.

On the route we listened to heaps of Mason Jennings which captured the attitude we took towards the route perfectly. Just happily jamming along having a good old time with the occasional moment of frustration/scariness. (Refering to the face that very Mason album seems to have an angstful song... "This is a Bullet from a gun called WTF...").

Out here the days are getting shorter and the storms becoming more frequent. Despite the fact that we are all feeling strong and stoked on the valley it is getting close to time to move on to warmer and colder climes. Time to end this YOSAR game for the season and move onto other objectives in the desert and in the mountains. The fresh flavor will be good but I will very much look forward to returning to this rock climbing wonderland.

Not quite yet though! We have another couple weeks and a few more weather windows in which to execute on a few last objectives. hmmm. Lets see what Aces we can pull out of sleeve.

Amazing Photo from Mr Tom Evans

2009-10-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Tom, the man at the bridge and in the cafe, always taking photos of folk on the captain.

He took a spectacular picture of Ian and I on our NIAD, I think that it speaks for itself...

Scratching Up Our Gears...

2009-10-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's rocktober, were psyched!

Brother man Ian is in town, while right now he is not feeling so good... super lame... it is grand to have him about regardless. And before he got sick (blah sick), we sent the Nose of El Cap (VI 5.10 C2) in a day, sick (rad sick!)!

It was a super fun day, we started at 3:30am and ended at 9pm for a 17.5 hour time. The route is really classic and splitter. More so than I thought that it would be. It was an onsight for both of us. Most excellent!

Today master Sam and I did Skull Queen on the Washington Column (V 5.8 C2+) in 6 hours. Another way fun day on a great route. Sams last day in the valley for the season, were all sad to see him go. I'll be popping through SLC to yell at/with him for a minute this winter though.

Now the rain is coming... mandatory rest... drinking Cobra and making plans.

Life is groovy

The Heart of The Stone

2009-09-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

In Tuolumne the days are getting cold, snow is starting to fall, the campsite is closed, as is the store. It is time to move on from this beautiful place ... time to take care of packing the stuff back into the car and take care of yet unfinished business up here. Kev has been talking about a route for a long time by the name of 'Heart of Stone' on Fairview Dome. So we went and got after it.

The route starts with four pitches of runout 5.10 face and slab climbing then moves into the beautiful 5.12 dihedral (that stands out impressively on the right side of the face). Above that it backs back off to the runouts on the 5.10s, beautiful climbing. A specific pitch of runout mantels kept us on our toes, really wonderful climbing. The last real pitch though took the cake though, 11c runout straight off the belay (read belay/spot...), Kevin cruised the onsight, my man!

What a great way to end the season up here. Now its off to the valley to work on the team down there and crag and wall in some of the best cliffs around.

A recount of climbs in the recent past...

2009-09-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Camper!

As has been the way with the world of late, climbing has taken a heavy priority, while days like today are spent jamming on the world and how I may be interacting with it in coming days many of the days in the life are spent on the stones that surround us here in the high sierra.

Sam and I headed out to the wonderful Temple Crag for another bout of alpine clamboring, this time to the classic SunRibbon Arete, while not as long and not as hard as the Dark Star it is all time classic and involves a Tyrollean Traverse, as we tried to Lasso the other side of the traverse and eventually execute on the slide across we were in absolute stitches as the videos below most excellently show...

Lasso!

Sam sliding about...

Other adventures have ensued, mostly with my BrotherMan Joe who has been in town for the past few weeks, climbing on the stones, drinking coffee and eating delicious morsels of food. As well as drinking beer (oh man!). The sending spree insued when he came in, we headed back to HalfDome and rallied it in a day 21 hours Tuolumne to Tuolumne (11 hours on route...). The amazing third pillar of Dana (Splitter 5.9 alpine granite!). Some runout slab on Pywiak (Joe yelling at me "WTF man! I haven't climbed slabs since high school!" while 20ft out from the bolt on 10a slab, hehehe). And since we were in the valley and it was hot, The Rostrum! The classic 11c route was as good as it gets, steep fingers hands and OWs, bold, sustained, clean and amazing.

Joe has now been down in the valley for the past few weeks working with the Friends of Yosemite "Face Lift". He's representing for the Access Fund (Check the link on the right side...). Working to keep this place clean and clear of the garbage to copiously generated by our "modern" society. Keep up the good work guys!

Preparing for movement

2009-09-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

Were jamming in the cache, nursing hang overs from a wild night and sore muscles from days of climbing on beautiful stone. We have minimal days left before it is time to leave this place, when the snow begins to fall, the road closes and the high Sierra once again makes its annual change into wintertime. In turn we take our pilgrimage to the lowland and the desert. I will be spending the month of October working in the valley, continuing the SAR work and traveling the wonderful vertical terrain that Yosemite offers in such abundance. Then a stint of work will place me on a plane headed for South America and the mountains of Patagonia.

Sierra sending

2009-09-08T22:59:00.001-07:00

The sending has been on but the posting has been poor, a matter of unfortunate nature in some respects but in others it is grand, for time spent on the computer is generally far less excellent then time spent on SARs and on the stones...

Still in Tuolumne, still climbing rocks still working SAR, groovy.

In past days I have been on such wonderful climbs as FreeStone with Steve in the valley, an attempt on the N Ridge of Half Dome with Libby, a rad send on the OZ to the Gram Traverse with Andrew, the Cathedral Traverse with Scott and many other rowdy and fabulous climbs. The SAR work has taken me all over for all sorts of wild rides from technical rescues to medical check ups.

But there are really two recent climbs that are fresh in my mind enough to spray about on the here and now. As it may seem life is currently a vortex, absorbing any sense of time and space, a truly beautiful thing.

A few days back Mr Andrew Larson was in town. In honor of this it seemed time to try what I had been pondering for more than a little while, the beautiful, loose and super long Palisades Traverse (IV 5.9)... The only of the traverses in the Sierra that Master Croft has not done in a push, which speaks loudly that it is a pretty intensive outing.

Drew man at the second bivy

It all started at South Fork Pass, and it stopped just before the "Palisade Crest", we made it about a third of the way before it was time to call it a trip (not a day since it took us two bivys from the car too make it that far...). The climbing was all that it was meant to be, wild steep loose and heaps of fun, I very much look forward to going back and sending it.

Drew on the Traverse

A few days later with the area still in mind Sam and I decided to have our way with 'one of the largest none traverse routes in the Sierra', the central buttress of Temple Crag via the ultra classy route 'Dark Star' (V 5.10b). Sitting down at the Third Lake looking up it looked dark and huge (ie scary and intimidating) but regardless the next day we got up early, ignored the clouds in the sky and got after it. Moving though the cruxes quickly and crushing the ridge traversing. The climbing was solid and interesting, hollow but not chossy, run out but not X and altogether granioso!

The Dark Star Buttress!

Yelling for Joy!

We sped up the huge thing in great time (6.5 hours) and thank goodness too, one long stretch of 5.6 from the top the thunder started and we 'retreated upward' at an ever quickening pace. Rowdy rowdy!

Once on top the storm stated to dissipate...

The descent was mellow and we were at the bar in Bishop for happy hour, hell yeah.

Now it is back in the meadow, climbing stones and loving life. The folks were in town for a little bit which was wonderful. But soon it will be time to move on to other things, with a little luck heading back down to NZ to work more SAR and once again become one with some of my favorite mountains on the planet. Fingers crossed!

Back to the Sentinel!

2009-08-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

After the wonderful send on the Steck a few weeks ago, I was most eager to get back. On the route you are given glimpses out to the left of on the face that holds the Chouinard-Herbert (IV 5.11c). It was this reason that we (Lorna and I) returned...

She had already been on the route and the approach is pretty much the same as the Steck so we motored to the base and after a bit of dilly dallying about trying to sort through the first few 4th class to 5.7 pitches we were on route and having fun.

The route wanders up 5.10 and 5.11 crack systems that climb wonderfully and stay interesting. Few pitches are straight in cracks and all are thoughtful. The two cruxes are beautiful the first being a lyeback boulder problem and the second (which we botched...) being the "Afro Cuban Flakes" named for the sounds they make... which we super cool, with steep moves through a roof to a gnarly finger crack.

All in all I think the route to be easier than the Steck, at least in terms of caloric requirements... It was a lot of fun, highly recommended!

Adventures and learning in Montana

2009-08-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

"Man, out here in Montana you can do what you want to do and most of the people who live here do so for that reason. I love it out there man."

This statement was made to me by a guy who'd been living out in Gallatin Canyon, South of Bozeman for the past 15 years. I must say that as we passed through the canyon with it's roaring river and steep sides covered in trees, peppered with outcroppings of beautiful Gneiss and Limestone that I pretty happily agreed with him.

I was hitching from the Bozeman Airport in Belgrade to Big Sky where I attended a Conference on wilderness medicine. It was a wonderful journey involving some fantastic learning, a bunch of wonderful folks, a lot of doctors and some beautiful rock strewn landscapes. I had met the fella who was running the conference a few months prior, his name is Eric, and when he invited me to come along I jumped at the chance. What better excuse to rally back up to the beautiful Montana and engage in some mind expansion on my new favorite subject of helping hurt people in the back country.

During my mornings and evenings I spent my time filling my head with the latest on everything from high altitude acclimatization to ticks and mosquitos (mainly as disease vectors) to opinions on the application of traction splitting on a broken femur. In the afternoons I would hitch the 30 miles down to the Gneiss cliffs in the canyon to explore and climb. Then in the evenings head to the local pub to dance to bluegrass till well past 2am... Sleep was the only thing in lacking quantities (thank goodness for coffee...).

The highlight of the climbing was a solo of the classic 2 pitch 5.8 Spare Rib. Beautiful splitters with a crux involving a 4" roof crack which took a moment of contemplation but upon action felt comfortable (I think thanks to those wonderful wide cracks of the valley).

Splitters on Spare Rib (not my photo)

If you would like to hear more about the conference let me know and I will happily share. I look forward to attending more in the future as well as spending more time climbing in Bozeman. Montana truly is an amazing spot and land of wide space, deep thought and amazing freedom.

Wilderness Medicine Website

The HULK

2009-07-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

The infamous Incredible Hulk. A feature that I have heard about for a long time and have long been interested in. A mass of beautiful granite in the Sierras. Whispered of for years until it was supertopoed a few years ago leading the masses to it's base and it's three predominate routes The Red Dihedral (5.10a), Positive Thinking (5.11a) and The Sunspot Dihedral (5.11b). So it was no surprise when we (Kevin, Lorna, Ben and I) rolled in and there were a bunch of people about. All good though because they were all mates! So we joined the send train.

It all stated on Sunspot which Ben and I got on, sending all the pitches onsight and loving the stems and fingerlocks that dominated the route.

The route starts out with the first pitch and a half of Positive Vibrations before heading out left into pitch of wild 5.10 laybacking and jamming. Then into an amazing 5.11 corner, full of beautiful fingerlocks and solid stems, sustained awesomeness. This is followed by a technical crux involving powerful stems steep laybacks and locked down gastons, super sick. Then up another 5.11 pitch followed by rambles to the top.

What a route!

The next day Ben and I got started on Positive Vibes but turned around due to crowds. At the "bivy ledge" we met up with Justin and Scott. Justin was worked from many days on the stone and was keen to head down so Scott and I headed back up to send Astro Hulk (5.11b/c). After 2 pitches of easier climbing (5.8 and 5.10c) we were greeted by a devious pitch of stemming through a shallow groove followed by a stellar lyback corner, both checking in at 5.11, beautiful! And once again onsight. Oh man!

We wondered out the next morning and headed back to the meadows.

Now I am on my way to Montana, headed to a Wilderness Medicine Conference at Big Sky. Expanding my mind on the subject of helping hurt folks in the back country. Good times.

Below are some of the harder to find topos for the hulk that I dug up...

TradeWinds

AstroHulk

The Venturi Effect

Airstream

And lastly a link to information on another route up there The Eye of the Storm

Photos of the Lovely Tuolumne Life...

2009-07-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

A few photos

of an evening

Spending time with beautiful people

On top of Lembert Dome

Enjoying the friendships created

And the natural beauty that surrounds us up here in the Sierras

The wide the steep and the thoughtful with some rad ladies

2009-07-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

The stint in the valley has ended. I am back to Tuolumne climbing steep knobs and swimming in cold streams. Living the dream.

The valley was also part of that dream. The girls at the site were rearing to send and we got after it while the fellas recovered from adventures on walls and in the big mountains. And since there was little to no work for the majority of my stay we were able to get after it lots.

Lorna and I spent some excellent time sending on the North Side of the valley at the Killer Pillar, some of the best sports climbing I've ever had the pleasure of indulging in. By the time we got onto the pillar proper (after a few warms ups in the 10-11 range in the vicinity which were rad) it was sunny leaving me to slip around on the bucket brigade (11d) before running away to the cool Merced. Wonderful things there to return too.

Later we headed to Overdrive (11a) a super wild route with a 10ft roof that hangs beyond horizontal. Pretty wicked stuff! Add that too a 10a Offwidth and some 5.10 face climbing and you have quite the route. Much fun.

Lorna on Overdrive

Then it was time to learn to climb wide stuff, so Stacy, Libby and I rallied to the NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral, a classic old school line touted as "one of the best grade IVs in the valley". It was radical, flares, chimneys and a few moves transitioning between cracks (specifically on the 5th pitch) that were so fun!

Stacy loving the squeeze!

Graham on the stellar transfer pitch

But then it was time to suck it up and head up to the classic wide test piece of the valley, the Steck-Salathe on the Sentinel. Oh man. I remember first hearing of the route when I was a wee 17yo kid working at TNF in Seattle and a fella walking out of the store with 3 #5 Camalots (the real big ones...) muttering something about climbing the Steck. On my first trip to the valley last year I looked up at it in fear, having heard talk of the infamous pitches such as "The Narrows" where the chimney slims down leaving your legs dangling free in space while you wiggle into the squeeze above and the horrendously flared "Wilson Overhang". All this with the infamous old school grade of 5.9... But it had been upgraded to 10b? uhh... Who know what could be up there!

This said I had been told by a few folks that I would have no worries with it. So the reputation was a little tamed and when Libby expressed interest in furthering our knowledge in the long and the wide I knew it was time.

The Sentinel (Not my photo...)

As it turned out I loved the route. The 10a and 10b cruxes were a breeze. The Narrows pitches were rad. And the continuous 5.8 offwidthing meant that while we were not climbing super fast we were pretty comfortable. Libby kicked some ass leading the narrows, slamming a knee into the #4 Camalot crack to the left and heaving into the squeeze with little trouble. The Wilson Overhang was an enjoyable cruise through a steep flare followed by more of that 5.8 OW.

The part that did live up to the reputation was the descent which we kinda botched near the bottom meaning that we did have to use the headlamps... but only once we were on the main trail. For anyone going up that way the beta is, go LEFT down the gully at the back of the Sentinel and if you think your going to have to bivy do it on top, it is by far the best site on the whole thing. But really... just don't take so long that you have to bivy, then there will be no worries!

Now I am back in Tuolumne. Kev and I have been getting on some of the harder routes up here and having a good old time. I am loving the feeling of getting stronger and breaking further into the 5.12, a land where the moves are strenuous and wild and the position is awesome.

Life is wonderful. I am loving the journey.

Graham on a 10d at Sentinel Creek

Kevin on High Heels Roof (12a)

Kevin belayed by Sam on Electric Africa (12c)

Freedom on the NW Face of Half Dome

2009-07-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Currently I am recovering from a rowdy 4th of July on the SAR site down here. The Cobras (Malt Liquor) were out in force and we had a great time eating good food and being jolly. The crew down here is composed of a fabulous group of folks and we've been having a great time.

On the 3rd though the memo was fully different. Scott and I decided it would be a good idea to go and see how we fared against the free version of the Regular Route on the NW Face of Half Dome. An infamous 22 pitch wall with 4 pitches of 5.12 and a few more of 11 sprinkled among lots of 5.8 to easy 5.10. Scott has been on a speed climbing spree so there was confidence that we would be able to rally through if time became short since he had recently sent the route in 6.5 hours.

We walked up the night before and crashed, got up at 6:00am to start our rally for the top without pulling on the gears. Simulclimbing took us through the first three pitches (up to 10c) and then began the first of the free variations. It took us through a cool runout face to a 11b offwidth layback sequence on which I enjoyed myself as well as whipped... then it was onto the "Higbee 'hedral" a gnarly 12a stemming boulder problem to 11c crack climbing that I flashed on toprope (with the pack...). Then more rambling and simuling through moderate and kinda loose rock to the free variation above the "Robbins Traverse". This traverse pitch was exciting due to some hard 5.9 down climbing that it involved but we were through it in no time and onto the chimneys!

So the first of the chimneys is meant to be a gnarly 5.9 squeeze. But a little exploration led us through a hole and out onto a splitter on the face that wend at about 10a, way better! Then we simuled through the rest of them, staying on the outside where the stems were good and the air was ample, really fabulous climbing. A short 5.8 stellar bit of splitter then took us to Big Sandy Ledge and the base do the infamous Zig Zags.

Scott had prepared us well by making some of the most power filled burritos that I have ever had, egg salad, bacon, salami and Avo all combined to give us the sending power, yahoo!

The first of the Zig Zag's three pitches was wild steep fingers to a tenuous layback move, super cool. #2 took us into a short squeeze to a desperate undercling and up into SPLITTER overhung hand cracks, sick! #3 took us rallying out an amazing (and even more desperate) undercling which took much power, to crappy fingers in a corner above, technical bliss! Needless to say we fell a bunch but did make all the moves.

Then Thank God Ledge gave us much enjoyment and then the final 11d/12a slab crux, super duper cool and way hard, but we made it though and then it was a 5.7 ramble to the top, yeah!

In total we took 14 hours and while we did not redpoint we did make all the moves which was way cool. With a little more power I think that sending the route will be a managible proposition. Way stoked.

Now more waiting for my pager to go off so I can make a few coins to put in my pocket.

Over and out.

Back to the ditch

2009-07-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

Back down in the valley... Shenanigans went down leaving the valley team in need of help so I am down for the next two weeks for just that. Living the pleasures of having a tent cabin in the back of Camp 4 and being surrounded by some of the best alpine training grounds in the world, quite stoked. In two weeks it will be getting even more hot down here (read 3 digits hot...) and at that point heading back up to the Tuolumne wonderland will be grand.

So now Stacy and I are hanging out down here with the valley team waiting for rescues and climbing rocks in the mean time. Time has been spent at the Public Sanitation Wall and the Sentinel Creek Wall. Both of which had some wonderful routes. Specifically Manana (10c) on the SC Wall and Afterburner (11c) on the PS Wall. If feels great to be off the soloing memo I was on up Tuolumne and be back to trying to pull hard.

Also there are some fires going on around here turning the valley into a full on smoke zone. Luckily the floor is not too badly effected. Here is a cool photo of it that I pulled off the supertopo website.

Arrival on the SAR site

2009-06-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

The residence in the SAR site of Tuolumne Meadows has begun and the life is good. My oriental rug is really tying the tent together and the mini prayer flags are maintaining the harmonious positive energy. The crew out here is a motivated, kind and positive, I am way psyched about it.

Since the last check in I have been training SAR team and doing some wonderful climbing. The Harding Route (aka “the books”) (II 5.6) on Lambert Dome is right next time camp and has become the solo of choice in the evenings, nothing but pleasantries.

Ben and I headed back down to the ditch to do a link up of the Moratorium (III 5.11c) and The East Buttress of El Cap (IV 5.10b). An excellent day was had. The cruxes of The Moratorium were hard, the slick valley granite is still working my brain and the 11c stemming crux was one such work out. The climbing on the route though is really incredible, as good as granite gets. Then, the Buttress… rather reminiscent of NE Buttress of Slesse (read… great alpine-esk climbing on a beautiful ridge). It was wonderfully complimented by the right side of the Captain to the left and some very cool unique pitches. It would highly recommend either of these routes to anyone looking for an adventure. Also of note, the East Ledges descent is WAY easier without a pig.

Out here in Tuolumne Mauricio and I linked up Cathedral Peak (II 5.6) and the Regular Route on Fairview (III 5.9) for a nice little day in the mountains. My tired head acquired from a SAR call at 1am kept me calm and happy to be cruising at a sane pace as we moved over beautiful granite with wonderful jams, locks jugs and crystal crimps. It was fantastic to see the alpine wonderland that is just above the meadows and right at my fingertips. These mountains have a very friendly feel that I think comes from the mild weather, good stone, beautiful views and thin forests. I feel blessed to be up here for the next few months to push my limits, cleanse my soul and fall in love with a new range of stoney peaks.

Now our training is over, I am bouncing between being on call and being free to send where ever I please. Life is groovy. Today is laundry day as well… speaking of cleansing… excellent!

Romantic Warrior and The Salathe Wall

2009-06-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

Yours truly enjoying dutch oven made bread during bad weather in the Needles

The Needles

2009-06-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

As will happen the large amount of residence surrounding the bear boxes attracted some "Ranger Danger" (in other words we were asked... "so where are you staying here in the park" and we responseded with "hmmms" and "ahhhs" and "the system is flawed!"). So while not directly asked to leave it was obvious that disbanding even if for a short while would result in less pressure from the man so since the weather was not great for getting on the Captain we headed to the fabled Needles. The trip started out as Scott and I rallying down in my rig and other Scott, Adam and Greg all cruising in their own units. Greg was lost to the cause after a mere 40 miles or so, deciding that Squamish was a better option, and we were sad to see him go, but we were headed to the Needles! So all was right in the world!

Scott and I arrived with little hindrance other than some wandering around in Fresno in search of cheap groceries and burgers. We got in late and passed out on the ground, still feeling sick from the windy road which took us from 500ft in the central valley to 7000ft up in the Sierras. In the morning other Scott and Adams showed up and we found ourselves some prime camping just up the road from the regular campsite which was rather packed out (and devoid of firewood...).

So at a late hour we rallied into the Needles proper. Two and a half miles took us to the fire lookout above them and after a stop off to say high to Margee who lives up there we were heading to the stone, which was fabulous!

For starters we warmed up on a combination of the beautiful Igor Unchained (10b) and the classic Airy Interlude (10a). Soaring corners, splitter cracks and solid gritty stone took us to the top of the Witch. The climbing was all that we had heard about and we were way stoked.

But alas the next morning we woke up to heavy fog and rain, thank goodness for the abundance of firewood... We had big fires and ate lots of good food, this lasted for two days during which time Scott E and Adam became weary and bailed to the city leaving Scott B and I to fester, continue to eat build larger and larger fires and read Dharma Bums to each other. And while we would rather have been climbing we held good company and made it through in style, learning how to make bread, brownies and a multitude of other things in a dutch oven. The simple fact that we were able to set up a tent to live in made it seem luxurious compared to the pirate camping in the valley (a rather hard dig...).

And the weather did turn good and we got after it! Cruising in to our gear cash we got on the classic Atlantis (11c). Once again the rock proved to be fabulous (at least on the last two pitches...) and the climbing intricate and powerful. The 11c layback on p3 gave us faith in the beautiful friction that the rock had to offer followed by a 11b huck to a sloper covered in crystals that bit into our hands giving us confidence to pull through to better holds. More 5.11 laybacking on p4 led to a beautiful thin 11a crack in a corner with helpful features on the arete to help when the crack became to thin... spectacular.

Scott then got to work on Sirocco (12a), while the start was crimpy sport climbing the top became more run out with a beautiful arete being the defining feature, Scott took multiple 30'+ falls off the upper section before reaching the chains, I at this point had turned into an absolute popsicle in the chilly wind and decide to forgo having a shot at the climb and we rally back to camp.

The next day we decide that maybe we are 5.12 climbers and should try the mega classic of the area, Romantic Warrior (IV 12b).

I will expand upon the route with more details in a short while, needless to say we got a spanking laid upon us, the stacked 12 and hard 11 pitches took it too us, but we did make it up. It will for sure be one to head back to, full of beautiful corners only climbable by use of very powerful stemming and crimping on the edges of incipient seams.

More info on the climbing in the Needles can be found here (The source of the wonderful topos above).

But now it is time to head to the Salathe to test once again test our meddle against the captain via one of its most free route (at the easier grades anyway...). We'll be back down in about 3 days and then it will be time to head up to Tuolumne to learn how to Search and to Rescue, which should be most excellent.

As a final note, and a sad one... Some of the most motivated and inspirational climbers to come out of the states in current years have passed away in China. While I did not know Johnny Copp, Micah Dash or Wade Johnson personally, their ascents and commitment to a pure style of alpinism have long been a major inspiration to my own efforts in the mountains. My heart goes out to thier families and friends, may all strive to keep ourselves safe while pushing our limits in the hills.

Arrival in the promised land! (AKA Yosemite)

2009-06-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have made it to California, where the sun in warm and the rocks are big, the stoke it mighty high.

I made the the journey down from Seattle with brother James, a good mate from the days of the NZed, we rallied down through the great Red Wood trees, quite a sight, then after much discussion sharing and music listening it we arrived in Yosemite and it was time for James to continue his journey around the States that are United and for me to begin my exploration of the Valley and of the mind.

After a day of hanging around the bear boxes at Curry Village and becoming acquainted with some wonderful folks for Colorado it was off to the Leaning Tower by myself to learn to ways of big wall aid soloing and to cleans my body and mind, all was achieved with minimal set back. The rain gods blessed my with storms to watch from the steepest wall in the valley where I stayed nice and dry, that is until after 2 and a half days I finished climbing and got slammed by rain on my descent, of course... The climbing on the tower was steep but straight forward and the ledges were all fabulous. A wonderful reintroduction to the valley.

A few days were then spent living out of a bear box and free climbing at Cookie and on the base of El Cap. Some work on a beautiful splitter by the name of Red Zinger (11d fingers) proved fruitful and I think a Redpoint will be in order on the next time at that cliff. The base of the Captain was a slightly different story, getting used to the slick glacially polished stone was difficult... But the climbing is fabulous. On an almost comical note I made an onsight attempt on Ahab, a notorious 10b flaring offwidth crack, I have not been that shut down in a long time... I did though figure out how to make the moves once I was on top rope, chicken wing/gastone/knee camming/hip jamming... physical to say the least.

Then it was off to the Needles but thats another post...

Visit to Seattle

2009-05-20T00:33:00.000-07:00

Back to the rattle in Seattle for a little bit before journeying to Cali for a season with YOSAR. I am psyched to report that all seems to be well in this fine city. Caught Soulive for an awesome show that had me dancing hard from start to finish. Caught up with some good mates and managed a spot of climbing. Ian and I headed out to have a shot at Cutthroat Peak via East Face Coulior (III WI4-5), after getting hit by a sizable wet slide it was time to rally which we did, unfortunate, the ice in the coulior looked great (we were standing at the base of the steep section...).

I also took Robin for a wonder up the GNS at Index, where I am happy to report progress is being made towards preservation of the stone and access to that stone. Much sadness would be incurred if this were not the case.

Some problems with the truck have also absorbed much time, much lameness, I may soon be rallying in a new vehicle though... But onto happier things...

Last weekend I had the cool opportunity to hang out for the "Cold Water Classic" in Westport. It is a surf comp put on by the Surfrider Foundation, a group who works towards cleaner waters for surfers and marine ecosystems, conservation with a recreation spin, quite nice... If you are into the oceans and sliding down the steep waters that they provide on the coasts than check out Surfrider, it is to surfing what the Access Fund is to climbing.

Lastly, here are some photos (at long last) from the rally around in Lander where much fun and learning were had. Most are from Sinks Canyon, beautiful spot with some immaculate Limestone.

Graham on Bloodline (11d)

Graham on 10d

Ben on an 11a

Keegan on a 5.10

The Oh so sifty Mr Ben (this wonderful fellow and I will be working on YOSAR together this summer.

Gary and Scott Looking out over central Wyoming.

Will Graham and Jon in the Buik in Walla Walla, yeah guys!

The Smooth Path, Ryan's journey to improve the world

2009-04-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

While residing, study, festering and loving life here in Lander I have had the pleasure of spending time with a number of remarkable individuals, all of whom really do deserve their own posting regarding their high levels of radicalness.

One in particular though is on an amazing path to improve the lives of peoples in a world very separated and different from ours here in the opportunity filled and consumerism saturated world of the developed west. Ryan has spent the last 6 years living in the mountains of North Eastern India working within remote communities to create sustainable and affordable answers to the problems of education transportation and medicine.

He and his wife have done this without the support of governmental organizations meaning that they have been able to ensure that their ideals will not be compromised. These ideals involve the creation solutions that will last long after they have moved from that area by making them affordable and integrated into the community. Amazing.

I will not go much farther in explaining his work, rather I will refer folks to his website (smoothpath.org). If your going to be in India and/or are interested with working with an extremely positive, loving and dedicated individual (and his family whom I have not met but have wonderful impressions of) get ahold of him. They are headed back soon to start work in a new location and with a new group of people.

I am hoping to be over there to help them soon. Until then they will be receiving the positive vibrations and any other support that I can provide to help them on their mission.

Ranting about the weather and dealing with exams

2009-04-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Still in Lander, exams all this week for my WEMT, the stress level is high, brains are feeling full and the bags under the eyes are getting heavy. On top of all that is just snowed five inches and it is nearly May, really!? I am unsure if this is normal out here but I think it is crazy and it is seriously limiting my ability to climb on rocks which is frustrating. I do know that the weather is Seattle has been very unusual...

No need for global warming spray here but we should all keep in mind that our actions affect the world around us and these crazy weather patterns very well may be part of that, be intentional and deliberate with your actions, think about their effects on the world around you and the world of your children.

When it comes down to it all is right in the word, the snow is keeping me indoors meaning that I am studying more than I would be otherwise, ensuring good marks about which I am most stoked... In a few short days though it will be time to get back to the crag for a minute before continuing the journey... most excellent.

Subsiding in Lander WY and Index TW in trouble!

2009-04-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Currently I am finding myself in Lander Wyoming, a rad spot out in the middle of a desolate and beautiful state. I am partaking in a WEMT course learning how to save lives, something I am most stoked on. The course is radical and intense one month of information overload subjects medical.

While out here I have been doing some rad climbing as well, Sinks canyon is a most excellent spot just outside of town, I'll tell more of it later when more time is had... managed to redpoint an 11d today though which was rad, on overhanging limestone none the less which is totally not my steez, stoked.

OF MAJOR ISSUE though is the current situation going down at Index Town Wall back in Washington state. It is in jeporody, folks, we gotta be concerned about this and do what we can to keep this amazing resource open... details can be found here...

Zero Waste in Seattle

2009-04-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

Being from Seattle I found this super cool... This article from Yes! Magazine is an interview with the President on the Seattle City Council, Richard Conlin, regarding the councils plans to reduce waste in the city. If your from Seattle you should be aware and if your from elsewhere you will potentially still find it interesting and informative.

As for me I am currently in Bozeman catching up on life before I head off to Lander in a few days to take my Wilderness EMT course... most stoked about it.

FitClimb

2009-03-31T11:11:00.001-07:00

A good mate of mine by the name of Ali has started a new website by the name of FitClimb. It's intention is to give those who are getting into the alpine game a place to find folks to climb with and to gain knowledge about how to move through the mountains more effectively and safely. Whether you are such a greenhorn looking for beta and partners or an experienced individual who has things you would like to share, go get involved.

www.fitclimb.com

Making my way South

2009-03-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

I am in the basement packing my things, Andy is upstairs jamming on his guitar, were sing together...

"Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

I've been around for a long long year

stole many a mans soul and faith..."

Somehow Sympathy for the Devil by the Stones has become a theme song for these past weeks, he yells "that one was for you man!" when it's all done. What a trip to the Rockies this has been.

After climbing with Mike in the Ghost Ms. Robin came into town and I got some recoup time from ice climbing while we went to BC to make turns, jamming hard to Panic the whole way.

"...We've got a party going on, many spirits strong

Ain't no preacher, just happy to meet ya..."

We checked out Kicking Horse and Revelstoke both of which were radical. While at Reve' we got a personal tour from our man Andy (another one...), it's a truly amazing mountain designed for the adventurous snow slider. We skied super hard all day and I had my fair share of total yardsales as I tried to keep up. Steep deep turns with not many folks around other than the good mates, oh la!

Then it was back to ice. Robin got her first taste on the classy wee Grotto Falls before she rallied back west. I then hooked up with my man Brent and we headed back to Stanley Headwall to take care of unfinished business... French Reality.

We got it done, it was steep and I was thanking the goodness that there were hooks on the crux pitch, it's real 6+ climbing. Every pitch offered some spice whether it was steep ice with funky features or run out mixed climbing. A real pleasure of a climb.

A few days later we decided to step up the ante and go alpine climbing.

The three hour approach into the Andromeda Strain was very cold, we were fighting to keep the feeling in our fingers the whole way. Once on route we thrashed through snow and up runout mixed terrain to the crux 'nasty chimney'. I sat on belay for almost two hours while Brent excavated and pulled hard through the pitch, a brilliant lead. Unfortunately, the whole time he was up there the amount of spindrift coming over the route was increasing exponentially. By the time that I made it too the belay it was nearly constant and it was time to get down, fast. Which we did, it was a relief to hit the ground, walking down in the 100kph gusts was less than fun but knew we would have no more worries and that we would make it back to the car in one piece, which we did. And while neither of us have regained full feeling into our fingers and toes, none nipped and were stoked.

So after a day of mixed cragging at the playground it was time for me to rally...

Now I am in missoula, doing the coffee shop circuit studying my brains out for my coming EMT course in Lander, WY that starts in a few days. If all goes well I'll be working in Tuolumne this summer on the SAR team which I am very stoked about. Learning the intricacies of Search and Rescue technique in the warm california air sounds like a dream come true... yeah spring!

Incredible Update on Ander's Blog

2009-03-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

For many this will not matter but Mr Ander Rockstad is currently in Indian Creek learning how to climb cracks... As reported on his blog anyway...

I won't believe that he has even come close to changing his pebble wrestling ways until I see it with my own eyes! The last time we were spending serious time together I was told that he would "Never Handjam". Maybe he's just climbing Offwidth?

If it does turn out to be true, it may mean that he and I are more likely to end up in the same place, which is good news. This world can be full of all sorts of surprises.

Solo in Shawville

2009-03-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

The departure of Tom has left me with time to contemplate life. My brother Andy from Arapiles whom I am staying with is out on the job leaving me in Exshaw to hang out by myself (other than the ghosts... and they're friendly). Huge thanks to that guy, his generosity has allowed me to perpetuate my existence as a dirtbag climber, which in the Canadian Rockies is not as easy as it might be elsewhere... it's kinda cold here.

If you've ever wondered what a room occupied by an individual such as myself looks like, look no further. Blue walls a wood floor and HST, Cash and the Stones to keep me company. Solid.

I did get some sending in yesterday. With a fellow by the name of Mike I headed into the Ghost and we climbed Wicked Wanda (WI4+ going on 5+) and Malignant Mushroom (WI5). Wanada was wild and brittle with huge mushrooms and lots of wile climbing MM on the other hand did not have any mushrooms and was wet from baking in the sun... bad screws good sticks, kinda like soloing grade 5... hmmm.

Life is rad, I love all those around me, and the mountains here are blowing my mind. The stoke is high and the stirring is perpetual...

Images from Canada.

2009-03-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Curtain Call

Graham halfway up Polar Circus, rope is still on the back...
Graham on Nemesis
The Stanley Headwall, Suffer Machine is on the right.
Whiteman Falls

The Departure of Mr Lanagan

2009-03-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

Driving down the Trans Canadian Highway, Zach De La Rocha is screaming "Freedom!" and we're contemplating the past weeks of pushing our limits in these beautiful snow and ice filled mountains of central Canada and the plastered cliffs of New England. I'm taking Tom to the airport, it's time for him to get back to finishing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. The winter feels to be ending, I am in a cotton t shirt and flip flops, never mind that behind us the mountains are getting nuked with snow... maybe there is some time for some shenanigans yet. In any case the idea of rock climbing in the sun sounds like magic, my bruised and battered hands will relish in jamming, locking and crimping versus bashing. Soon enough it will be time.

The last two days have been spent attempting to get rad but getting shut down for one reason or another. After nearly getting stuck on our way into the Ghost we backed off of Hydrophobia (IV WI5+) before even seeing it. Deep wet snow, high warm winds and a late hour all contributed as well as a bit of lack of motivation... Time spent in the Ghost is always good time though and it was wonderful to get Tom back there so that he could see one of the most beautiful spots on the planet.

The next day we headed back to Stanley, French Reality (IV WI6+ 5.8) was the objective. It was dumping, we hung out in a cave and got ready after the slog up to the wall. Wandering over to the route we couldn't see anything around us just the white of the storm and the snow. Finding the route we got all set to rally up, Tom got onto the first pitch and we promptly good pounded by a class 1 avy, oi! But it was clear then, so we kept going. The first pitch was thin, spicy and mixed especially covered in fresh snow. It was getting late in the day so we bailed. The route looks to be fabulous though! Steep ice, cool mixed climbing, everything we want, we will be back!

Now I am back in the basement, making plans to continue the ice binge for a few more days before Robin rallies into town and we head out to enjoy all the snow that has been falling (by sliding on it). Shall be wonderful. Making turns is real fun versus this "Like fun but different" business, looking forward too it.

Bending of the Mind in the search of the infamous WI6...

2009-03-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I had a week to recover from New England, this was spent on the North end of Seattle eating good food and listening to good music before me and the wonderful and wild Robin rallied down to Mt Hood for some snow sliding adventures, another wonderful departure from the 'real world'. I guess I have been doing a pretty effective job at avoiding this world, Grahamtime is what I am living on and I'm going to see if I can keep it that way...

But before I knew it Tom was landing in Seattle and it was time to head to the Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. After a grand last meal we loaded the truck and rallied North... We had grand plans to start the trip off with a bang, sending on Stanley Headwall but after taking a day and a half to get to the trailhead (wrong turn, too little sleep, blah blah blah) it was storming as we awoke in the back of the truck, shit. SO we motored off to Canmore where we spent the afternoon cragging in the Grotto, pulling down all of the routes that were in, always good fun.

That evening we hooked up with some brethren Roger and Jon from Durango and SLC respectively, they were on the RV memo traveling the Rockies in style. We were more than happy to join the party. After a night of warmth we headed to Whiteman Falls (WI6), those guys took it first while we sent Redman Soars (5.10 WI4+), a wonderful route with lots of marginal protection, some loose rock but heaps of awesome exposure. Then it was our turn on Whitemans which we motored in fine style, more like WI5...

It was then time for those guys to rally home so we headed to Exshaw where we met up with my man Andy. Andy and I had spent significant time living in the pines of Arapiles together and getting to catch up with him has been really fabulous. The ability to crash in his basement and not sleep in the truck has made life livable, especially with the huge cold front that brought -32C temps through, that's really cold.

After a few days of screwing around trying to deal with the cold Tom and I headed back to the Stanley. Our objective was the classic Nemesis (IV WI6) and it was GooD! Steep ice, big mushrooms and hanging belays kept us on our toes. Still we were unsure if it really constituted real grade 6, maybe 5++? There was lots of overhanging ice but some good stems too... and the mushrooms weren't that bad (ie we were able to get around them...).

After another horrendously cold day in which we bailed on the T Wall 15 minutes into the approach we were on the Icefields Parkway. We got stated on the central weeping wall (III WI5+) with the intention of sending the radical weeping pillar (IV WI6) above but one pitch in we were once again toooo cold so we rapped back to the car. After getting our appendages back we decided starting Polar Circus (V WI5) at noon would be a cool idea, and it was. We fired through the pitches completing the classic route in 4 1/2 hours. Included in that time was also taking a variation on the final pitch that added a + to the grade and then retrieving some tools left by another party and lowering them too them. Needless to say we were pretty stoked.

Now to yesterday... The route was called Curtain Call once again graded WI6. This time we got the full meal deal. Our minds got bent, and then bent again. Over hanging mushrooms that had to be attacked directly, involving knee bars and hard pulling, very brittle ice that took lots of swings to achieve good sticks and lots of verticalness, super wild. At every belay the leader from the last pitch was near bailing but we pulled through and made the send happen. Very very stoked.

Tom now has two days left in town, today we needed a break, our hands are battered, our minds are recovering. Tomorrow we'll get back at it and keep searching for the limits... goodness gracious what a ride.

New England Wrap up.

2009-03-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Much has occurred since my last post a month ago.

Another two weeks were spent in the winter wonderland of New England.

Ryan and I headed to Smugglers Notch where he made a wild lead on a way 'out of shape' Grand Illusion. It was to be Ryan's first lead on a WI4+... he ended up throwing down serious mixed moves where the crux curtain was meant to be, all 25' over a stubby screw. That boy has a good head on his shoulders. I then got on the next door Scream Queen (WI4+ M5R) which I think was also a little leaner and meaner than usual... a radical and very bold route. The normal belay in a corner was no longer present (pin removed?) so the belay ended up an arete which was the most exposed part of the climb. Most excellent!

In the 'Daks Tom, Teddy Ryan and I ganged up on the classic Positive Thinking (NEI 5) on Poko-Moonshine, later that day Tom and I got after Power Plays (NEI 5+) at Chapel Pond. Radical routes both! The next day we checked out the exit 30 crag where we climbed the first pitch of Catatonic Immobility (M8+) before heading back over Lake Champlain to Vermont.

Later Tom and I headed back to Canon Cliff where we made a winter ascent of the Whitney Gillman Ridge, way fun climbing snowy run out 5.7 in boots and gloves with full packs in a stiff very cold wind... quite 'alpine-esque'.

Then it was off to Canada! No, not the Rockies! To the land of the separatist french speaking Quebequa. We were off to climb the infamous La Pomme D'or (V NEI 5+), a very steep 1300ft route 30km from the road. Our (Tom and my) partners in crime were Graham McDowell (East Coast) and Nik Maclean, both wonderful fellows whom are living in Montreal. We picked them up and embarked on the epic journey north.

I won't get into the grueling details of the approach or walk out... no, we didn't send. Snow conditions meant we were moving too slow and I had to make a plane ride back to Seattle. We did get to swing into the bottom of the first pitch... ah! Needless to say my man Ian would state that I have a new Unicorn (an unattainable desire, at least for now!). Guess that I will have to go back to the Northeast.

In the end I had a lovely time in New England, the ice was steep, the folks I met and caught up with were wonderful. The pot was stirred more than once and for very good reason. Much peace and love to all whom helped me make it happen.

Images from New England

2009-03-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Power Plays at Chapel Pond

Tom on the Promenade

Mr Lanagan

Tom on Diedre
Tom on Remission

Weathering the Warmth

2009-02-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

It seems a novel experience being in Vermont in February and being able to wear a t-shirt outside. For those of us who journey onto vertical frozen mediums though the warmth can spell disaster, or does it? We're hoping not... Warm temps mean that the ice is melting but colder nights mean it is also freezing, allowing it to fill in and allowing for the thin smears of ice to which we focus so much energy to form, it is just a waiting game.

Yesterday we were at the fabled lake Willoughby. When big steep ice happens in this part of the world it happens there. But alas the ice is thin. After backing off of three other routes due to thin delimitating 'slash' no ice, we got on the classic 'Promenade' (NEI 5+). And it was... excellent! Steep ice pillars and mushrooms for three pitches had us in the zone and quite pumped, just what we were looking for.

Today we have off, work hasn't made itself available so I am on the sift for beta and old friends. Saw my man Peter who is jamming at the local crusty hippie skier climber gear shop, a haven for folks like us who prioritize the steep over the shower. I am super stoked to report that he is doing great, making turns and lovin' life.

Tomorrow it should be back to the clambouring, and this weekend we should be off to New York... steep ice abounds in the 'Daks, we're going to go see what it is all about.

Media coming soon...

Journey to the Northeast

2009-02-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

For the past days I have been running around New England climbing ice and digging on the wonderful vibrations that this spot has to offer.

The journey really started with an early flight from Seattle and an afternoon arrival in Beloit Wisconsin where I spent a few days checking out my sisters digs at school which I must say are rather excellent. I had some great opportunities to meet her rad friends out there as well as meet with some of her professors. I gained some most excellent insight into how to continue to pursue my goals in creating a environmentally sustainable lifestyle for myself and having a positive influence on those around me by trying to perpetuate that love of our natural world. The digestion process on those thoughts and words is not quite complete, I'll report back when it is.

But for now I am in the North east climbing the frozen fantasies with which this part of the world is so blessed. Mr. Tom Lanagan has been my partner/tour guide. He is a brother of the rad pot stirring nature and we have been having much fun pushing our limits on the frozen mediums and catching up on the life in which we have relished since our last meeting nearly a year and half ago. I am happy to report that all has been full of learning love and radicalness for us both.

The climbing has taken us over to Cannon Cliff where we froze on the super classic Black Dike which we danced up in good quick fashion and then to North Conway for a link up with Repentance on Cathedral ledge. A fabulous piece of ice which makes it's way through a series of tight chimneys and chockstones, really what ice climbing is all about, good sticks with mich thoughtfulness and nothing but enjoyment. The following day after an accidental sleep in we got on Remission, steeper and wilder than the route the day before and just as awesome. Once again we made good time and were back in town with plenty of time to indulge in beverages before attending a very cool slideshow by local hard man Kevin Mahoney. His story of climbing a new route on a large North face in Nepal did nothing but raise our stoke, which has been sitting at a very high level.

The next day, with this high stoke achieved, we rallied back to Cathedral the next morning and taught our mate Teddy to climb ice before dropping her back in town and climbing a super cool mixed climb by the name of Diedre. SO sick, Tom has the second pitch and made a stellar lead through a steep dihedral with some very thin ice, it was rad to be there watching him expand his understanding of what he is capable of. The party put on that evening as part of the North Conway Ice Fest was an appropriately wild celebration, we drank our share and danced till the band was done, and then a little longer.

Now the temps have shot up. The ice is in the melt and refreeze process. Tomorrow I search for a spot of work. The next day we should be back to it, expanding our mind and sharpening our focus. Wicked.

Intentional Living

2008-12-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a wonderful article, once again from Yes! Magazine, based on Bainbridge Island.

It's all about a woman making the idea of intentional and environmentally sustainable living happen and loving it. If your inspired think about how you might be able to include elements of it into your own life. We all talk a lot about change, the only real change can begin with us... Actions speak louder than words.

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=3044

November in the Northwest

2008-12-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

I will start this with a very important message to y'all, especially those who are inclined towards sliding on frozen agua....

Pray for Snow!

Ullr needs the respect he deserves so that he will deliver the snow that we yearn for.

November has been a strange time in Seattle, the weather has been, well, pleasant. The norm for the 11th month is the coming of winter, front after front bringing precipitation, whether it is be falling as snow or rain it's generally a deep dark month. Prime time for working to pay for the play time that is the rest of the year. Hence, I have been working lots.

But as always, some madness has been had. Took my pops out to catch the Jake Shaw Trio, a few hombres who are currently attending Cornish College for the arts whom are killing it with their funk soul grooves. Later I saw Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet, labeled as jazz/funk/punk, these guys delivered a horn driven night of wildness, as always I had my dancing shoes on.

Even some climbing has been happening! Ian and I spent a few days out in Leavenworth establishing a couple three routes near the Tree Route, all named after Bond films. A pretty average 5.6 (On Her Majesties Secret Service, the worst of the films...), a stellar overhanging 10b fist crack (Thunderball) and a thin crack that looked to be hard but turned out mellow at 5.7 (The Spy That Loved Me). While putting up these routes we learned what a chore it is establishing routes in the Northwest, or anywhere wet for that matter (think moss and lichen, lots of it). Those who are doing the climbing community the favor of open these route deserve serious props, thanks goes out to all of you. Exit 32 has also been dry and the posse has been having a good time out there.

The focus of the brain though is that ice climbing season is on it's way. The folks out East and in the Rockies are already getting their swing on and I'm counting the days till I am able to join them. All will become reality in mid January when I finish selling wine and rejoin the migration of folks heading up steep terrain. It shall be a beautiful thing.

Until then the work continues,

Over and out.

Media from RR and Yos

2008-10-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

The Captain
Graham aiding on the NA Wall
Ian following on the NA Wall
Ian climbing Wholesome Fullback in RR
Beautiful clouds over Red Rocks
Mark on Intuitana
Red Rocks with Rainbow Wall at back

The NW face of Half Dome

11/4 is coming...

2008-10-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

"Rajendra Pachauri, who accepted the Nobel Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year, said recently that we have until 2012 to begin making substantial changes in energy policy, or the window to do something about global warming will close. Let’s see, 2012, that’s, hmmm – kinda close. The next president after this one will take office in 2013.

I guess this election counts."

-Bill Mckibben

Alright folks, let's make this happen. If your in the states, the 4th is the day of reckoning. It's either going to a beautiful day or terribly sad one... it's time to take control of our democratic process and continue our work towards creating a more sustainable and environmental loving human race.

If you want to read the rest of the article go to:

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?assetid=34668

Red Rocks and Yos wrap up

2008-10-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

The decision not to bring my laptop on the trip proved rather detrimental to the blogging...

I'm back in Seattle now preparing for the rainy season, time to work and train hard so that more playing can be had when it get cold enough or the icicle to form. It's great to be back with the family for a minute and a small amount of structure (i.e. a job) to my schedule could prove to be kinda nice.

Highlights from the second half of the trip go something like this.

Ian started his exam so I was left to go pursue my own goals amongst the rocks that are red. I climbed Intuatana (IV 10b) with Mark and Eric which was much fun. The next day was cragging over at the beautiful Calico Hills. After that I headed out with Caroline to the Cloud Tower (III 11d), oh man. Splitter cracks from chimneys down to tips and all supreme! I would recommend it to anyone who feels up to the challenge. Then we headed over to the Rainbow Wall (V12a). Needless to say we got whooped, but we did onsight a few of the pitches. We had to bail before the final Red Dihedral which contains some of the real goodness of the route. But what we climbed was incredible, Ian declared that the line may be my 'Unicorn', in other words, I'll be back to score the redpoint.

Then it was off to Yos. I'll keep it short since the successes were few and the excuses many. It was super cold... Ian, Ryan and I headed up to climb the Regular Route on Half Dome (VI 5.11 c1 ish...) in a day but parties in front of us had us starting late and when they all stacked up on pitch 3 it was obvious that if we hopped on we wouldn't be making it to the top in any descent time.

So! We motored back to the valley floor packed the pigs and headed to the base of The North America Wall (VI 5.8 A3) on El Capitan. The next day we were off the ground and feeling good, but a dropped aider at the end of the day meant we had to head to the ground. So the next morning we headed down to retrieve it. But Ryan was now going to be home late if he stayed along so he bailed and we picked up our hombre Jason Broman. After a night on the ground we headed back up and climbed more pitches, the next morning it was wayyyy cold and we got a forecast of snow flurries, so after much waffling it was decided to get out of there. We were stoked we did because the snow flurries did come through and it stayed wicked cold. I guess it's appropriate not to send the Captain on your first try, I'll be back in the spring when its warmer, shall be wonderful.

After a rest day we hung out in the morning to watch Yeji and Hans smoke the Nose record, setting it at just above 2:30. Super wild! We then sent the Regular Route on Higher Cathedral Spire (III 5.9), the only thing we saw in the sun.

The next day it was back off for the journey home.

It was an excellent trip, while Yos was less than successful it was supremely inspiring. I cannot wait to return. And Red Rocks was radical full of wonderful moderates and a few very fine difficult lines.

Now it's time for winter and I am super stoked!

Red Rocks and Yosemite Part III

2008-09-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Still here in Red Rocks, still stokin.

On the last post I fully spaced a climb, oi! Ian, Liz and I headed in and did Dream of Wild Turkeys (IV 10a) which was super cool. Lots of good patina pulling (patina is a varnish over the sandstone which erodes and forms these stellar little handholds). We had a great time in there.

Two days ago it was back into the black velvet to link up Triassic Sands (III 10c) and Wholesome Fullback (10a, 2p). It was once again Ian and I with hombre Mark along. Triassic was sick crack climbing for bunches of pitches. The crux is accurately described in the guidebook as "athletic" and was super cool pulling through a steep finger crack. Wholesome was super cool as well, good tips locks led to a crimpy traverse to stellar fingers in an funky corner. Honestly, a bit of a sandbagged 10a...

Yesterday we got after it on Unimpeachable Groping (III 10c), sustained, varied and way fun climbing. Wonderful stuff. We were going to link up another route but a party on it in combination with the heat kept us from doing so.

So... THE HEAT. It is kinda the early season for climbing down here and man we are getting worked over by it. This morning both Ian and I were ready to give in and head to the A/C of the city (where we are now) but Adam got us motivated to get out and we headed out to do the Community Pillar (III+ 5.8+), another of the possible exam routes. It was adventursome... lots of crazy chimneys.

Tomorrow will be back to it. Working towards the exam. Ian starts in a few days and I'll continue climbing about, quite psyched.