Island Life

I'm not gonna lie; when we arrived in Squamish last week we were less than stoked. Grey skies, intermittent rain, wet crags, and little hope. I was stoked however, to check out the Squamish Mountain Festival - five days of clinics, slide-shows, events, and unfortunately, rain (this year at least). Regardless of the less than desirable conditions, festival go-ers made the best of it... events were sold out and well attended, clinics were packed, and smiles wide. I was impressed. Attendees remained psyched and so did I.

chocolate. always psyched.

We missed the photo shoot out on Thursday night, but were able to catch an evening with Nina Caprez and Cory Richards - both great presentations, but the highlight was 'Cold' an amazing short, dark film on Cory's first winter ascent of Gasherbrum 2. Excellent film. I also helped out with a photo clinic on Saturday with Rich Wheater - we got soaking but it was a killer day regardless! Marisa and I managed a couple pitches at Circus wall but climbing seemed doomed so we eagerly bailed to our next destination - Vancouver Island. I had been excited for a few years now to have a look at Horne Lake after seeing photos of tall drip stone and blue streaked cliffs.

morning view

the last view of my cookset, just hours before our campsite was robbed! NOT COOL.

From the time we boarded the ferry until the time we arrived on the Island the weather seemed to miraculously improve. This, in combination with the incredible scenery and the hillside of limestone crags was enough to prompt a serious mood improvement. The climbing features incredible drip stone - full on collenettes, tufas and texture - in addition to some more blocky terrain like you'd find at Rifle. The hard routes are essentially roofs - very steep, and basically all require knee-bars (many are entirely knee-bar dependent). It's not my style... at all. I knew from the get-go that it would offer a solid challenge.

My goal was the king line, 'A.D.A.T.O.' 14b (another day at the office) established by burlmaster Mike Doyle, this big route is dumb steep - overhanging way over 45 degrees it's entire length. I thought I'd benefit from warming up to the style a little, so I began on 'Driven' 14a/b, a stout boulder problem of a route out an intense roof. The movement was thuggy and explosive. I followed it up with a crag classic, 'Dinosaur Highway' 14a - a very cool line with varied movement, great rests and boulder problems... very Rifle-esque.

sometimes you gotta eat the baby with the bath water

A.D.A.T.O. takes the overhanging prow up the gut

My first two burns on A.D.A.T.O. were borderline pathetic... This type of climbing (or crawling) is super specific and I've typically avoided it in part because it's not my favorite, but also because I've never been able to see movement on this terrain in the same way I can otherwise. It's really difficult to think in 3D and utilize blocks and roofs to your advantage. Some climbers are incredible at this style (Joe Kinder, Justin Sjong, Sam Elias, Alex Honnold, Chris Weidner to name a few) but for most of us, climbing upside down is just downright wrong. Yesterday I returned with a renewed excitement for the route after being shut down on day one. I went through the route bolt by bolt, trying to find the most efficient sequences, and the most beneficial rests. I found my 'beta', but I doubted it's effectiveness, preying that someone who could spray me down would approach the crag. Scott Milton got stable hanging on a rope to shoot video at the top of the crag as I strapped in to give 'er another try. I took my time on rests, tried to climb skillfully and continued up the belly of the cave with zero expectation. Suddenly, I was right beneath Scotty and he was desperately unclipping to get out of my way. I hadn't even rehearsed the top because I had absolutely no intentions of getting there. Thankfully Scott was there to literally point out holds for me on my way to the chains. WHAT?! Seriously, I've had a few unexpected sends in my life, but this takes the cake, especially given that it's my complete anti-style. Super psyched! I finished the day exhausted, barely onsighting the cliff classic 'Jesus Save the Pushers' 13a.

We took a bitter cold plunge in Horne Lake last night, and grabbed the ferry back to the mainland this morning. We'll catch up on laundry, groceries and some socializing here in Squamish before we head eastward towards the Canadian Rockies!

ICF -> SMF

It's hard to believe that we were only in Wyoming for a week - In-fact, I've had to recount the dates a number of times just to make sure. Long climbing days, socializing with old and new friends, clinics, parties, a slide-show, good food, and some sleep when we could find it... it was a killer week, but we're certainly exhausted.

After rolling into Lander Thursday night, my buddy and WY climbing legend B.J. Tilden offered to give us the tour of a new crag he'd helped develop called the Sweatlodge. This totally unique feature is something of a cave - almost as though a piece of the cliff was severed and then tipped backward - creating a super steep wall that remains shaded all day (exactly what Lander locals are fiendin for). It's a small crag (especially with a dozen climbers and 6 dogs) but it has got a variety of climbing styles and grades. I was primarily interested in a 14a that B.J. did called 'Plastic Shaman'. It's a burly little line - a true power endurance test-piece with essentially no place for resting. It's difficulty increases steadily, ending with a series of big moves just below the lip. I was really pleased to put the Shaman down third try - it's a little Wyoming gem for sure. I flashed a really nice 13b called 'Training Wheels' to finish the day.

Lindsay Gasch putting a hurtin on 'Training Wheels' 13b, 'Plastic Shaman' climbs the steep wall to the right

le 'Training Wheels'

crew

We made it back just in time to catch the last half of the Dyno comp and enjoy a beer at the Lander park. Saturday was the first day of my redpointing clinic out at the Iris. I ended up with a rad group of psyched climbers - everyone of them fired up to put in effort and learn something. I stayed out at the crag until the last minute - hurriedly returning to Lander to put some finishing touches on my slide-show presentation that night. Despite suffering a slight and momentary loss of my voice from a long day talking at the crag (nothing a cold beer can't fix), the slide-show went off well and was well attended. It was a pleasure to address this crowd and show off some images and video clips of my last year.

James Pullum photo.. THE IRIS!!

Sunday my redpoint clinic finished up awesome, with a number of the group having breakthrough sends, even after a long weekend. I tied in myself as well, and bang'd out a dozen pitches in preparation for a long day on the road... gotta love the Iris. Short, powerful, fingery... straight up cowboy crag.

Now I'm back in Seattle.. just a few weeks but thousands of miles later. I bought my pickup truck at the end of May, and I've put over 6,000 miles on it already - glad I got a Toyota. We managed to hammer out a few evening pitches at Little Si last night on our way in. I jumped on Ben Gilkison's 2010 'Wide World of Fitness' out of curiosity and surprised myself when I clipped the chains, fighting a pretty severe pump towards the finish. Ben suggested 14c for this line that shares the majority of 'New World Order' but replaces the 14b beginning with a pumpy 13a. This is certainly a worthy, and massive route, but I think in comparison I must respectfully suggest solid 14b. Regardless - great effort Ben, this route is HUGE!

STOKED for the Arcteryx Squamish Mtn Festival, fingers crossed for some good weather as we take off for Canada tomorrow. YES.

WYO Love

Wyoming is bad-ass. Undoubtably my second favorite state (due to my outstanding degree of Colorado pride), this vast and varied place is home to some of the country's greatest climbing and retains a palpable wild west feel that beckons even the squarest of city folk to sport a 10 gallon hat and tip back a red-white-and-blue Budweiser. I love it up here.

awesome

I could think of no better venue to celebrate the birthday of our great U.S. of A. than Tensleep, Wyoming. Joined by a slew of national (read: mostly Colorado) climbers and hundreds of hard working Wyomingans, this quite mountain town lights up for the 4th of July, in a multi-day celebration including a Rodeo, parade, fire-works, music and food. Amongst a majority crowd of blue-jeans, belt buckles and tough attitudes you'll find a handful of chalked hands and worn approach shoes. I'd heard plenty of wild stories about this amazing festival over the years, and maybe it's just the American lager talking, but it's everything they claimed it is.... we had a great time.... Monday proved to be a painful rest day, but thankfully we were back at it on Tuesday, excited to get some climbing in.

Wildflowers in FULL effect

campin'

Quite a bit of development all across the range of difficulty has sprouted up in the last few years at Tensleep, and I was egger to sink my teeth into a few of the fresh, pocketed test-pieces. The Sector D'or et Bleu had caught my eye years before when I first visited this canyon, and thanks to the recent efforts of locals Alli Rainey, Kevin Wilkinson and visiting James Litz and Joey Kinder, this wall is home to a number of new hard routes. After warming up on the incredible 5.12 offerings of the Shinto wall, I shuffled over beneath the business. My buddy Mike Williams had been tearing up the canyon, and fresh after sending 'Doomsday' 14a, he urged me to give it an honest onsight attempt.

I left the ground with a handful of draws and little expectation. It begins with a brutal, shouldery boulder problem before transitioning into some more resistance crimp and pocket pulling. A healthy rest stands between you and the finishing crux on barely-there pockets to the chains. After emerging through the heinous start, I tried to climb with accuracy through the midsection, leaving energy for some harder movement - which eventually came just below the chains. I am very pleased with my onsight to say the least, and although I must admit that Doomsday definitely felt soft for 14a - it still stands as my hardest onsight to date. Next I moved my attention to a new route that Litz established - a gnarly boulder problem through monos and edges.... weary of such small grips I decided to try it's little brother, 'Halfenheimer' 14a, which begins with the awesome boulder problem featured on 'Sky-Pilot' 13+, and exits shortly after for a bunch of new climbing. After rehearsing the bottom and hanging draws, I tied in and fought to the top - fingers exhausted from the day. Very psyched!

Sector D'or Et Bleu, Doomsday is just left of the hanging rope

Wednesday we went to the incredible Superratic wall, which houses some of Tensleep's most impressive, and hardest climbs. I had heard that 'F'd in the A' 14a was one of the best outings in the canyon, and was hoping to give it a solid flash attempt. Thankfully Alli and Kevin were there and no strangers to the route. They sprayed me down thoroughly as I warmed up. The route is generally consistent throughout, highlighted by hard moves between better than average holds. Some movement is balancey, other is simply powerful. This climb suited me best of the three I tried - more power endurance than bouldery - with few rests and not so tweeky holds. I tried to climb skillfully, and combine Kevin's powerful beta with Alli's short person beta. Thankfully I succeeded in flashing this killer route - super excited! Alli took some butt-shot video of my flash that should show up on her awesome blog in the next few days. I finished the day on 'Kyberspace' 13a/b and 'Tatonka' 13a.

Superratic

It was tough to leave behind such a rad crew of folks, and an emerging potential of new routes, but something tells me I'll be back. Now we've made it to Lander, Wy, one of my long time favorite hang-outs. We're tucked into homeboy BJ Tilden's place with some rad friends and psyched for the International Climbers Festival! I'll be doing a slide-show including slides from the last year (the Red, Vegas, Smith and the North-West, etc.) this Saturday, 7pm at the High-school here in Lander. I'll also be teaching a redpoint clinic on Saturday and Sunday up at the amazing Wild Iris. Hopefully somewhere in-between I'll have a chance to get out climbing too!

nothing like a good photo

I did a quick interview with climbing magazine about one of my recent new routes in Washington, and Andy Mann submitted this killer photo of the crux section - had to post it. Enjoy!

'New World Order'

After one more day of frenzied packing, moving and some brutal training on plastic, I'm off to climb with seemingly everyone in Wyoming.. it's gonna be a party I think! can't wait to get back on the road.

Mazama - B.town

This country is freakin' huge... I'm always amazed at how long you can barrel down the highway, zooming through all kinds of landscape and small towns - for hours upon hours - without ever seeing a state line. Driving home from Mazama, WA was probably the longest solo drive I've ever embarked upon, and somewhere around the 11 hour mark I started going a little crazy. I think I listened to country music radio for nearly 2 hours straight through Southern Montana. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a few country tunes when I'm cruising through the wild west, but 2 hours? I was stoked to discover that my stopping point - Billings, MT - was experiencing record levels of tourism due to a fun filled weekend of war reenactments, monster truck rallies and car shows. After searching for an available room after midnight, I paid way too much for a sub-par hotel. Thankfully before too long I was back on the road, polishing off another 9 hours early in the morning... arriving back to Boulder just in time for a quick gym session and an evening at Sherpas Restaurant.

Before my epic drive, I spent a few days hanging out with a few of the Arcteryx crew, capturing some video and stills around Seattle and checking out the Rockfest in Mazama, WA. I did a couple new to me 5.13's at Equinox and at the Fire wall in Mazama... a beautiful spot on the east side of the Cascades.

I contemplated sticking around the NorthWest for another few days, but given that I'm off to Wyoming this coming Saturday, I figured I better visit Boulder - work a couple days, finish moving out of my place and share a few beers with some friends I might not see in a while. I'm planning to pack some training in too, although I might end up poolside considering the back-to-back 90 degree forecasts. Excited to be on the road again.

Voodoo

Just dropped homeboy Andy Mann off at the airport after hanging out and shooting some photos and video over the last few days. We put in a long day dangling off of Little Si yesterday in some pretty dang warm temps, but the footage of 'New World Order' looks amazing. Andy's film making has really grown up over the last couple years as he's focused more and more on video alongside photography projects. I'm psyched to see what he does with the clips we gathered here in Seattle, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying this awesome piece that we did back in March on the Virgin River Gorge - proudly presented by my rope sponsor Maxim Ropes (have a look at their brand new website). I love seeing this fresh look on an American classic, Necessary Evil, along with other VRG test-pieces.

After ten days of hanging out and climbing in Seattle, I was finally fettered by rain and wet conditions this past weekend - I feel quite lucky actually, part of me was expecting to get a few dry climbing days in total. To remain psyched I checked out the brand new, humungous Seattle Bouldering Project and had a rowdy session at the classic Vertical World.

Thankfully, even with a couple wet grips I managed to finish off an incredible project at Equinox - a proud extension to a burly 13a called 'Black Magic'. It features powerful moves on thin holds highlighted by a truly incredible finishing boulder problem, and offers essentially no opportunities for rest. I'm naming the extension 'Voodoo' and suggesting 14b for the grade based on other routes at the cliff - it's a sizable step up. Huge thanks to local hardman and developer Kimmo Nissinen for giving me the green light to take down this pitch... it's a killer line.

Bret learns about Hi Fructose Corn Syrup... the hard way

Andy gets fired up on a rapid paced Banana Slug

Now I'm starting to think ahead about my plans for July and about that 20 hours of driving I've got on the horizon... not super psyched. I'll spend a couple more days hanging around lovely Seattle before heading back to Colorado very briefly to finish moving out of my place, set a few routes at the BRC and get prepared for the International Climbers Festival in Lander!

New World Order

I've been very much enjoying myself here in Seattle. Just as I remembered, it still remains one of my favorite cities in the World - beautiful, clean and dynamic. I admire Seattle's friendly, green neighborhoods just minutes from a bustling downtown and the city has done an excellent job of building and maintaining parks all over. On a *rare* sunny day, Seattle is an amazing place to be. If the weather was better, I could easily see myself living here.

Zeke and his buddy Lupin are a rowdy bunch

Thankfully, the weather has mostly been cooperating - giving me the opportunity to put down my project at Little Si. As I described in my previous post, this humongous pitch extends an old Erik Kubiak test-piece called 'Whore of Babylon' 14b, which has seen only a couple repeats itself. After climbing the majority of WOB, including it's v10 crux, you continue into the meat of 'Lost Horizons' 14a, ending some 45+ meters above the deck. I finished the route this past Tuesday, it was my third day on the route, and my fifth try total. I finished off the day by doing 'Lost Horizons' for reference. Originally I presumed that the route could be 9a, but after finishing the climb so quickly I've settled with solid 14c. I'm calling the route 'New World Order'. An amazing climb and an endurance test-piece to rival most anything at the Red... come and get it!!!!

Andy Mann Image, circa 09.. one of many cruxes on New World Order

On Wednesday we returned to Little Si in some unfortunate rain. I decided to try the shorter (and slightly different) version of a route that I did last year - Extended Evil's little brother 'Dr Evil' 14a. With humidity at a staggering high, I was psyched to manage my way up this brutally crimpy route.

Yesterday I finally got to revisit Equinox, a crag I only got to spend one day at two years ago. I focused on a very cool open project the adds some intense difficulty to the top of 'Black Magic' 13a. I was psyched to find tiny grips the whole way up this 40 foot headwall - with very little opportunity to open your hands or catch any rest. After a few promising burns, we called it a day.... VERY excited to head back after some rest.

Homeboy Andy Mann arrives tomorrow to take stills and capture some video... stay tuned for some sports action! In the meantime have a look at an image gallery from my Vegas trip that just went live on the Climbing Magazine website.

Lastly, get your tickets now for the year's best climbing festival - the International Climbers Festival in Lander, Wy!!! I'll proudly be keynote speaker at this year's ICF - teaching two days of clinics and showing off some killer photos and video from the Red, Smith Rock, Vegas and of course the Northwest! July 6-10, BE THERE.

SEA-TOWN

I've been pretty dang psyched on the Seattle scene since I first visited here 2 years ago. The local climbing is remarkably good, the food is great, the people are awesome and the city is fun. I've loved returning to Sea-Town whenever possible.

Thankfully last fall, my homeboy Bret Johnston kindly reminded me of a long-standing Eric Kubiak project at the choice local cliff, Little Si. This route was originally the primary goal of this trip, but poor weather diverted me to lovely Smith Rock for almost a week - obviously not at all bad thing. Now that the rain has finally quit, I'm up in Seattle, ambitious to get this incredible project done.

beautiful northwest...

beta photo - click to enlarge

It's a massive extension to Erik Kubiak's bouldery 'Whore of Babylon' 14b. After climbing through the majority of this mega line, you break left to join 'Lost Horizons' 14a/b at a decent rest just before it's ~23 move continuous crux, finishing with 35 feet of 12- climbing to the top of this huge wall. I have to lower twice with my 80meter rope. It's pumpy, massive and of super high quality. I'm very stoked on this rig.

Yesterday was my second day on the route and I made some great links, climbing through 'Whore of Babylon' and into the upper crux from the ground. After some beta refinement, I managed to link from the top of the first crux to the summit. I can't wait to piece this epic pitch together!

Just Did It

Smith is a really special place - unquestionably one of the greatest crags in America. Towering walls dramatically rise above the Crooked River, huge raptors zig-zag the sky and sun-bathing snakes line the hillside. The scenery and hang at Smith are amazing. The climbing is honest; old school bolting ethics and an unforgiving technical style characterize this world class crag. Climbing well here takes experience that one can't acquire in a gym - it's bold, perplexing and at times seriously heinous.... It's awesome!!

Needless to say, I'm a Smith Rock fan, so it was only natural that I give myself an opportunity to try one of it's most impressive climbs, 'Just Do It' 14c. I got to try Just Do It once last year when I visited for two weeks in May. Unfortunately my effort was in the direct sun, and proved to be mostly worthless accept for the fact that I did get my draws hanging on this 18 clip masterpiece.

I was thrilled to find that my draws remained when I hiked to the Monkey Face last Thursday. I got one burn in, ticking some feet and learning the sequences - pleased to find that the route felt quite a bit more reasonable in the shade of the late afternoon.

Tyler Roemer Image

Just Do It is a monster of a rock climb. It begins with an in-your-face delicate edging sequence that features some of the most finger taxing crimps I'd experienced at Smith. After 5 bolts the route allows a good shake before passing a strenuous section of blank rock via a powerful undercling, shallow mono and a crucial foot smear - this sequence brings you to the end of the lower section and the first set of anchors. Here you relax in a great rest before entering into the upper purple rock, and the routes crux. A few bolts of pumpy 5.12 climbing lead to a brief rest before a very bouldery crux - a few difficult lock-offs followed by a huge span, and a successive 10 move boulder problem takes you to the top.

A bend local, and impressive photographer, Tyler Roemer came out with me at a moment's notice to capture these rad photos of 'Just Do It' - have a look at some of his other varied and interesting photography on his website.

I was psyched to get this beast down to a one-hang on Sunday, and had high hopes for our next day out. Unfortunately, my dog Zeke had a little too much fun chasing the horses out on the ranch, and he wound up getting kicked pretty good. He seemed to be okay but by Sunday night he was in a bunch of pain so we made an emergency trip to Bend to the 24hr Vet. They hooked him up with some meds and checked out his wounds, but we didn't make it to sleep until 4am - I figured Monday would be little more than a active rest day.

Thankfully, it only took a single scoop of coveted Huckleberry ice cream to convince Marisa into giving me a belay late in the afternoon, and to my surprise, I sent! It was such a rad experience being back on the Monkey and trying this route - on colder days it felt pretty isolated back there. As for the grade: It took me six tries to finish this rig, but given the shear amount of difficult and varied climbing on Just Do It, I'd say it felt 14c to me - albeit a soft one.

feeling especially cowboy, thanks to the hospitality of my homeboy Greg Garretson

Now we've swiftly moved on to the next spot - lovely Seattle... A city I've really fell in love with over the last few years. I'm stoked to be here and can't wait to get out climbing!

Smith.

Somehow I had convinced myself that the drive from Boulder to Bend, OR was 16 hours.. so when we stopped off in SLC to visit with our good friends Leif and Lindsay Gasch, naturally we took our time, had a killer breakfast at the Park Cafe, strolled around Whole Foods and chatted it up - assuming that at 8 hours, we were half way there. Well, unfortunately my recollection was slightly off - by about 4 hours. Needless to say, Wednesday was a surprisingly (*disappointingly) long haul.

I had a ball running in the Bolder Boulder 10k with tens of thousands of

enthusiastic runner types last week. It's pretty fantastic people

watching, and it's always fun to take part in such a huge event.

myself and Zeke.. determined to get there.

flood zone in Burns, central Oregon

country love

We pulled into our buddy Greg Garretson's country home quite a bit later than expected. We made it though - and we were rewarded with minimal crowds and a shockingly cool day for June 1. Marisa got her first delicious taste of the incredible volcanic tuft that is Smith, and I finally got to revisit the Monkey Face, where I pleasantly discovered my draws still danglin'. Hopefully this unseasonably cool weather continues, so I can 'Just Do It'!!