Early Summer

This is Lander at its best. Warm days, cool nights, stunningly beautiful flowers, green earth and blue sky. A hint of snow still caps the Wind Rivers. Enormous hillsides are smothered in brilliant yellow, as purple and reds emerge. While the temperatures dip up and down nearly every crag is in season and the crowds are still quite mellow. Life is great, and there's a lot to be excited about. 

I've been switching my time between Wild Iris and Wolf Point - my two main objectives - as the temps move up and down. My Dad made the quick drive up from Boulder to spend a few days at the Point - we've been climbing partners for years but it had been a while since we got outside together so it was really nice to share a few belays with him and show off the new cliff. I finished an amazing new 5.13 at Wolf Point --- 30 meters, technical, powerful and varied. I'm calling it 'Snake Shot' and I'm super proud of how it turned out. I've got a couple other ones in the process. One is a huge pitch - nearing the 40 meter mark, that climbs a sustained and amazing section of solid 14a before a good rest and a really unique and bouldery finish around 100 feet up, on pockets and mega thin edges. I made some promising links yesterday!

Actually a shot from last year. After my clinic with the ICF, I jumped on the Drifter once to check it out... 

Over at the Iris I had been trying a mega rig that links the entire Rodeo Wave wall. Usually I'm not much for link-ups, but this is the line. It's one of my favorite routes in recent memory and a savage one as well. I'd wanted to try 'Genetic Drifter' .14c for many years, since I first did 'Rodeo Free Europe' (the beginning to Genetic) back in 2009, belayed by my Dad, it was one of my earlier 5.14s. Well unfortunately my Dad was not here to belay me this time, but I did take down the Drifter this last Wednesday! Such a killer route.... 

always windy... 

Thursday it was time to take my draws back to the Erratic and have a look at BJ Tilden's masterpiece - Moonshine 14d. Packing 9a into only 30 feet of climbing is not exactly my style, but it's a spectacular line and I figured it would be good for me to work on a weakness (this is essentially bouldering). I hung my draws on the route, and with BJ's guidance I sampled the movement - a lot of hard climbing condensed into a few bolts. I got away having done all the moves and linking some up, which was my primary objective. I'm super stoked to get back to it, but for now I've got projects out at Wolf Point crowning my priority list. Thankfully I've got until August out here! 

Speaking of which.... get STOKED for the International Climbers Festival, here in Lander, just a month away! I'll be there, teaching a clinic and hanging around with the LaSportiva crew. Get your tickets, make your plans, this event is rad!

Lastly, looks like I'll be checking out the OuterLocal Games in Jackson, Wy too.... see you there! 

Touch on Utah

My eyes crack open. Birds are chirping... the repetition of a sprinkler emerges... I can hear a powerful river meandering somewhere in the background. I sit up to discover manicured, vibrant green grass and towering cottonwoods, the sun cuts through wavering leaves and paints the landscape. Did I poach a golf course? Turns out this is, in-fact, still my truck that I'm sleeping in. It's not a country club bivy, it's the Lander City Park. Seriously this has got to be one of the nicest free bivy spots in the west. Not at all a bad place to wake up...





Last week I woke up in a much different spot. After spending a few days getting settled into the Lander scene, I busted ass south to Moab, Utah to hook up with the Smith Optics team and shoot some photos and video promoting the new ChromoPop lens. Smith is my most recent sponsor, and a brand that I've respected and supported for years - so it was really cool to meet some of the faces behind the shades (no pun intended, but sure, I'll take it). We got out climbing, running, exploring.. enjoying the incredible zone that is Moab. We spent a day and a half in Mill Creek - a truly amazing little crag that I hadn't visited for a few years. Paige Claassen is also a new Smith athlete and she was there working on 'The Bleeding' - getting agonizingly close again and again. I checked out some new-to-me routes at the Wicked Crag, flashing the awesome 'Scavenger' 12+, 'Crush the Skull' 13a and 'Jolly Roger' 13a. I pulled together an onsight of 'Mossy Direct' 13c as well as a few repeat laps on the bouldery 'Tiki Man' 13c and of course a barely accomplished repeat of 'Flaming Groovy' 12c (?) - certainly one of the hardest there. Skeptical? Try it, then we'll talk. I love this little crag. Wish there was miles of it....

Lisa Hathaway's photo of me on Mossy Direct

After polishing off 'Born to Run' on audiobook during my 8 hour return I drove straight to upper Sinks Canyon for a killer run. I'm really getting more and more stoked on this running thing. That book is motivating too! I climbed a day at the Killer Cave, revisiting a total nemesis of mine, 'Organic' 14b. This route bouted my efforts back in 2008? and then eventually injured me. It's really not that bad but I can't seem to make it happen! A powerful entrance leads to a super long, accurate dead point at the very end of my reach. I've fallen here countless times. It'll be a nice distraction when the weather allows for a Sinks session.




Speaking of Sinks, I had no idea how incredible the granite up high in the Canyon was. BJ and I took a day to try and finish off a striking arete he had checked out a few days back. Listed as the 'TS Arete Project' in the guidebook, this was the last route that Todd Skinner bolted before heading out to Yosemite Valley in the fall of 2006, shortly before his untimely demise. Todd has been an inspiration of mine for a very long time. A true pioneer during a time when climbing was emerging from the fringe and getting some of its first tastes of the mainstream. Todd traveled the globe, eager for adventure and thirsting for discovery. I've climbed Skinner routes in Wyoming, Yosemite, Hong Kong and China. He left an incredible legacy and its cool to experience even a tiny piece of his story -- BJ fired the first ascent of the 'TS Arete' and I followed right after. A stunner 5.13 arete on impeccable granite.

We decided to stick to the granite even though our mission was accomplished. I did the awesome, pumpy, 'Full Tilt' 13a and stuck the second ascent of BJ's sick technical masterpiece 'Bad Brains' 13+. We finished the day with 'Broken Heroes' 13a. A rad little tour of The Joint. Head up there soon to take advantage of the fresh chalk and brush work!




Back to Wolf Point over the last 2 days... bolting. Cleaning. Fighting off rattlers. Stoked.

The Point...

The final frontier.... well... maybe not quite, but it sure feels like it. I've always held a special place in my heart for Wyoming, especially the Lander zone, so naturally when I heard about a mythical new crag with featured 40 meter walls, a burly approach and miles of potential, I listened.

Wolf Point. I'd heard the words here and there, but it wasn't until a beer infused conversation at the International Climbers Festival last year that I really got the low down. Anyone who knows pocket-master B.J. Tilden knows that he keeps his vibe regulated at cowboy cool for the most point. Not that he's a downer at all, but when I saw how fired up he was about Wolf Point one warm July evening at the Lander Bar, I knew that this could be a legit crag -- and immediately the gears started grinding about my return.



Then after I saw this photoBJ's review of his test-piece 'Kill em All', I was locked in. I planned to make it out to Wolf Point last fall, but I got sucked into the Fins... well... I finally made it, and I'm in it to win it.

I'll be hanging about Wyoming for the next two months. Getting my fix of the frontier, climbing on burly dolomite pockets, exploring and learning a thing or two from these modern cowboys. I love the scene here. Lander has always felt like a very authentic place, and the community out here is a crew of solid characters. No bull-shit. Just hard ass climbing and plenty more where that came from. It's refreshing.

Okay so Wolf Point... Todd Skinner and others of course checked out this crag back in the day but it was not his preferred style - and with so much more around to develop he decided to focus his efforts elsewhere. It wasn't until the mid 2000's that long time Lander local Steve Bechtel made the demanding trek to Wolf Point and sunk metal, creating the walls first 4 routes - only to be more or less forgotten for nearly 10 years. Others had checked out the crag, but with an intimidating approach and plenty of hard work cleaning and bolting, it stayed quiet at Wolf Point until last year. The crew rallied and started rapidly developing. Kyle Vassilopoulos, Tom Rangitsch, Vance White, Tilden, Bechtel and Zach Rudy really jump started the efforts and within a season the crag had plenty of metal. Now the second season is off to a killer start, with plenty of projects to be finished, new lines going in, and routes to be climbed and cleaned.

The drive in is no joke - 30 minutes on pavement from Lander, followed by 30 minutes on rough roads. The hike in is no joke - on foot you descent 1500 feet to a river crossing before ascending over 1000 feet to the cave. It's a solid 45-60 minutes of serious hiking both ways, off the top of my head I can not think of a more brutal approach for sport climbing in the country. It's mostly south facing so the sun can be brutal. The cave is seemingly a sanctuary for rattle snakes, and one unfortunate climber has already been bit this year. The walls are dirty and tall. New routes take serious cleaning and effort. It's true cowboy country out there.

Okay now, before you turn the page, here's a taste of the brighter side... The crag is immense. It's very reminiscent to the Killer Cave in Sinks Canyon, but 50% taller, 30% broader, and generally more sustained and much more difficult. It's pumpy, pocketed, and burly. On the flanks of the cave is room for literally hundreds of 30 meter routes -- mostly moderate terrain. The sun bakes the crag but late afternoons and evenings are shaded and magical. The rock is very high quality below the filth, and produces amazing movement and holds. The tallest part of the cave likely requires a 90 meter rope to lower - and it overhangs it's entire length. Every route I've climbed there has been, yes, a little dirty, but down right incredible to climb on. There will be a very high concentration of 5.13 and 5.14 pocket pulling test-pieces here. As it cleans up, I predict this could be one of the better crags for hard climbing in the West. Since I arrived last week I've climbed 'Kill em All' 14b, 'Alpha Male' 13d, 'Twice as Loud as Reason' 13a/b, 'The Beholder' 13a, 'Remus' 13b+, and 'King Thing' 14a ... all of these routes are sick, and we're adding more routes every day out.

the sector......

Bottom line is, this crag is sick and despite some clear downsides, we remain stoked. As BJ said 'I'm more motivated with each visit here'. That says something. Crags take tons of work, and this one definitely still needs work, but it's turning out to be something really special. Wolf Point baby... come get some.

 At the moment I'm out in Moab, UT doing a photo shoot with the rad dudes at Smith Optics. We're having a ball playing in the sand, climbing and bronzin'... Check back for updates on the week in the desert!

Setting, Meetings, Running

I've been setting routes for nearly 7 years. It's something that interested me from early on in my climbing. Something about the symphony of mechanical knowledge necessary, physical demands, creativity and logistical considerations makes it a strangely satisfying work. Over the years I've set for a plethora of comps, set for big recreational gyms, for elite climbers and just for fun. I've always felt that it made me a better climber, and helped me to envision sequences and be imaginative with my climbing. 

My favorite form of setting is certainly comps. You slave for days, making the best routes you can and also (more accurately) making the routes as specific as possible to challenge the competitors and create separation in the field. There's so much mystery when the morning of the comp arrives... you've forerun everything countless times, tried to think outside the box, tweak this, tweak that... but you'll never know who exactly will show up, how they will feel and ultimately, what the outcome will be. It's always something of a nerve-racking event to watch, but also super satisfying. 

Last week I set for Youth Regionals over the course of 3 long days. We built some really rad routes, and the turn out was awesome. Seth Lytton is a great friend of mine and he was the head setter for the event. He's done tons of setting for the last decade, and is super skilled at what he does. However, he's also strong well beyond his own beliefs, and I've been called a sandbagger a fair number of times as well -- I think our routes ended up perhaps a touch too hard..(?).. but there were no ties so that's what matters. It was awesome to see the Team BRC take the Regional Champion as well. This is a very burly region, and the kids fought hard to secure this huge victory. Very impressive work kiddos !!!

I am super stoked to be part of the event. Thanks for the invite to set! 

Shortly after finishing up the comp I was off for Vancouver, BC to attend the Arc'Teryx Global Sales Meeting. Over a action packed and rapid two and a half days I watched presentations, hung out with the crew, explored Vancouver and peered into the numbers, into the money, into the business. Athletes rarely see this side of the operation and I think it is important. The backbone of any functioning business is the bottom line, no matter how rad the products are or how cool the vision is - businesses need money to survive - and it was eye opening to see how the sales side of things function. Hats off to the hard working Reps out there... and big thanks to Arc for bringing me out to be part of the program!

I did a couple awesome runs through downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park during my stay -- it really made me reconsider Van.. it's a pretty damn cool place. Overflowing with life.. beauty of the maritime business and harbor.. skyline in reflections on the water.. snow-capped mountains in the background.. maybe I could live here? not while I care this much about climbing though, the weather (although it was briefly acceptable) usually sucks. I'm aware. 

RT Beak Peak Mission.... 

For a few years, running was mostly painful, but I was addicted to cardio activity after racing bikes for so long. I've grown to love trail running now. Behind climbing and music it's becoming one of my favorite things in life. My runs are usual short and brutal, but this last week I took it up a notch and developed a running goal. I've hiked Bear Peak from the convenience of my parents home many times. Mostly at a brisk pace, but also just for fun. I always thought a quick time would be fun to go after. Originally I was stoked to go for a summit time of sub 45 minutes, but after my first attempt last week went quite well, I decided to up the ante considerably. On my first attempt last week I made the summit from my parents house in about 46 minutes, and I hauled ass back-down to make a RT time of under 1:15 from my folks house which is maybe ~.6 miles from the trailhead. On this attempt I stopped on top for a few minutes to drink water and chill. I also stopped lower for a minute or so, and my pace was definitely burly but not max by any means. Whoa! maybe I could make the car-to-car happen in under an hour? 

I started searching on-line and discovered that this time is kinda coveted. For a non-runner I was going to need to push pretty damn hard I thought, but it was a cool challenge and for whatever reason I was really stoked on it. I did a few runs last week, but mostly recovering and saved my legs for my next attempt. I assumed that it would take 2 or 3 more tries. Yesterday, after a solid 3 hour route climbing session in the BRC, I chilled for a few hours and convinced myself to go on a run. My plan was to pace to the Nebel Horn Ridge and see what my time was against ultrarunning bad ass Dave Mackey. I pushed at a reasonable pace to Fern Canyon and kept with the fire as the trail got steep. I told myself that if I made the ridge in under 26 minutes I must try for the summit. There I was, at the ridge around 25:30... shit. This is where the run gets heinous. Burning vertical, no respite from stairs and uphill til the summit. I pushed hard and arrived on top, touching the summit marker at around 38:20 or so. No time for water like last go, I was ripping down. I actually felt okay. As I passed 'The Mentor' 12b just off the trail, suddenly my legs were not happy. Uh oh. 

I kept pushing. I had no idea how demanding the downhill would be. It really took a lot out of me - and I consider myself a very fast downhill runner, but nearly 3k downhill as fast as you can is super burly. Rounding the bottom of the slab I ate SHIT! Getting pretty tired and couldn't quite pick my feet up very well... Not even a flinch... all covered in dirt.. ha!... I knew I needed to keep crushing if I wanted to make it down. With Arty blasting in my headphones I hammered to the car and stopped my watch at 58:20! I was definitely surprised to make it happen, and also pretty stoked. I think I could maybe shave a minute or 2 but anything more than that would take considerable training. Stoked! Thanks to Sportiva for the incredible Vertical K's -- they were perfect for this run, and thanks to Suunto for my new Ambit watch! 

now......   Countdown til I leave for Wyoming.... STOKED STOKED STOKED!

Leaving Las Vegas

Left Las Vegas. On to the next step. Echoing the spirit of my homeboy Joey Kinder -- I'm always on the move. Packing up, looking ahead, unpacking, moving on, hitting the road, etc. It's like the change of seasons to me now-- right when I've had about enough snow, spring seems to emerge. In this same way, typically by about the time a trip wraps up I'm ready for what's next. I think this is one of the greatest motivating factors in my climbing life. When it's time to move on, I can move on. No matter how crappy the conditions, there's always a crag that's in season, there's always something out there waiting, there's always somewhere or someway to move forward. Having the flexibility and support to move freely like this is really incredible -- and I'm thankful for it nearly everyday.





Despite my affinity for change, over the last few years I've developed a special attachment to Las Vegas. If I look back and total up my time spent there, I realize that in a sense Sin City has become my home; I've lived in Vegas substantially more than I've lived anywhere else since 2010. I've made some amazing friends, enjoyed the surplus of wintertime desert sun, climbed on and developed some stunning routes and of course, at times, immersed myself in one of the best nightlife's this planet has to offer. I peered sorrowfully into my rear view as the sight of the Stratosphere escaped my vision... It was an amazing season in Vegas -- one complete with personal growth, good climbing, great people and the seeding grounds for much ambition as I carry on with my climbing life. Onward.

Before I left Vegas I tried to pack it all in, as I usually do. Sometimes the prompt of time running out is all it takes to finally get some things done. Many of the things on my list were social, but climbing was certainly of importance too. I checked out Mt Charleston again - a super classic zone that I had spent very little time at. Usually the season is just starting up there by the time I'm leaving the area. I really like the hang up there, and it really is the Vegas area's saving grace from an otherwise horrendous summer. At over 8,000 feet, the climbing, hiking, running up at Charleston is radically cool even when the Valley below is sweltering.



Charleston is super old school and burly. I would venture to say that the grades and style here feels harder than Smith or even the VRG. Obviously it's very different but, regardless, it's not a vacation grade zone and as I remembered from last year - you've got to battle for any grade. Heading up there with this in mind I was planning to play around and climb on some 14a's or 13d's in an effort to hopefully have some last minute success before leaving town, but I couldn't keep myself from trying 'Hasta La Vista' - an old school test-piece that, despite it's fame, had still only seen a handful of ascents over the 16 years of it's existence. During the 90's this pitch, which was prepared by Tony Yaniro and freed by non other than Chris Sharma himself, was one of the hardest pitches in the country. Along with 'Necessary Evil', 'Just Do It' and 'Super Tweak' this pitch was one of the baddest at the time. It has been on the life list for some time.

Very much to my surprise, it came together really well, and by my 2nd day on the route I was giving it redpoint attempts. The route opens with some strange 5.13 climbing on (you guessed it) pockets - the same beginning as the classic and super hard 14a, 'Closing Down' - from here you do a straight rightwards traverse through awful feet and interesting movement to a few decent holds but downright horrible foot options. Apparently this is the 'rest' but I was never able to fit in here well enough to chill. I stopped briefly, chalked up and exhaled before entering the crux - a long move out of an awkward undercling to a mono stack, then a jump pounce move to another mono stack, before tossing your feet on and powering up to the first anchor - 'Hasta Manana' - which is certainly super hard 8c in and of itself. From here, with only a piss rest, you finish on the extension, culminating with a hard dynamic move off of a crimp to a flat finishing hold. I imagined falling from here repeatedly on link (as I'd heard many have) but thankfully on my fifth try I nailed the crux, and carried on to the top. This was a special send for me, both because I had been seemingly striking out over and over this year but also because this route is historically very significant and that kinda thing is really inspiring to me. I imagined a scrawny, 17 year old Sharma clipping the chains on this beast, and then 3 years later when the incredible Liv Sansoz snagged the (still) only lady ascent of Hasta - which was certainly one of the hardest female ascents ever at the time. As burlmaster Ethan Pringle suggested last year with his repeat, it's hard for me to imagine calling this rig 14b, and while it may not be the hardest 14c in my opinion, I certainly think it warrants the grade. But then again, given how incredibly hard some of the 12b's and c's are at Charleston... maybe this thing is 14a? ha!


I tried the neighboring 'Facile' 14b before taking off but didn't manage to get it done before my departure. Next year..

little stop over in Utah on the way home... 

Little Wild Horse Canyon, UT --- so, so cool. 

Now, for the meantime, it's all Colorado again. I love it here. I'll do some training, some bitchin runs, see all these rad people around here and then soon enough I'll be off -- onto Wyoming living for much of the summer. So many things coming up, so much to do! so damn busy! life is good.

CHECK IT! I'll be at the Idaho Mountain Festival this summer -- you can see some of the other events in my plans on my Events Page... 

All Around

Feel like I've been all over the place the last week or so. Back to the same crags, off to some new ones, projects, repeats.... I'm somewhat directionless because nothing is really luring me in. Which is at least partially informed by the narrowing timeline of my stay in Nevada. I've got about a week left, and in a very familiar fashion -- I'm ready to move on. The next stop, the next adventure... definitely looking ahead at this point.




Since writing last I spent a couple days climbing and hanging with my buddy Cody Roth of New Mexico. He's been keeping the scene alive down there and showing off some ridiculously cool crags! I'm stoked to check it out at some point. After the Rendezvous we got out to the VRG where I onsighted a rad little rig 'Mars' 13b and took down it's big brother 'Mars' 13 b/c first try. I chucked a lap on one of my favorite link ups on the Blasphemy too - I call it F-boy - basically you do the first 2 cruxes of 'F-Dude' 14a and finish on 'Dark Boy' 13b instead of 'Fall of Man' 13b. Locals only link up stuff here people.... ha!

Cody makes a cake. For real.

Speaking of link ups I did return to the Cathedral by popular demand... only to realize that I'm officially over it. Very sick crag, but no matter how sick an area is, sometimes you've had enough. I did 'Super Loaded' 13c, and checked out a new Perkins rig. A few things (what I've got left) remain wet there unfortunately. It's just too easy to find partners for this awesome crag!

On the new crag side of things, I made the 4 hour drive up north to Ely to examine first hand some of the hype. There really is tons of rock in the area, and I imagine that over the next decade or so people will get increasingly stoked on the zone. The Rose Cave area, including the Mondo Cave, is where I hung out. To be downright honest I was underwhelmed - but I also went there with pretty big expectations. There is some potential there, and the Mondo Cave is absolutely enormous, but for now I feel like my time and energy can be better spent elsewhere. The cave has great rock, but it also has a lot of poor rock - logistically it's a little strange. I try to remain somewhat selective with my new-routing,  mostly in the sense that I want to bolt routes that I feel pretty confident will be enjoyed for years to come. I want people to repeat and enjoy my hard work, and the quality of this specific area did not wow me enough to convince that many people will be driving out here anytime soon. Regardless, it's not to say that there isn't good climbing to be had there. And I did bolt a really rad .12c ish rig there to the right of the established .12d and .12b on the sector next to the actual Rose Cave. If you ever find yourself out there definitely do it! It's radical!

SO BIG

The last couple days I checked out an old project that I'd been thinking about since last year's stay in Vegas. It's at a really cool little limestone area above Red Rocks called 'The Promised Land'. The project is basically some fun 5.12 climbing to a beautiful and savage headwall for 30 feet of very bouldery, very hard climbing. Originally I got stoked because I did the majority of the moves and felt like it was possible, but after checking out the route again I'm afraid it's quite a bit harder than I first imagined - which of course is a good thing - but with the little time I have left here (and the encroaching heat), I feel it would be tough to envision finishing this rig, and equally tough to drag belayers up the 45 min slog approach day after day. Anyways, it's a brilliant project and I certainly have it on my short list for next year. I did get to flash the crag classic up there, 'Confrontation' 13b, which is worthy of the hike alone. There are a slew of other 5.13s and 5.12s that are rad too. Don't be afraid of the hike! (really not that bad)

sick

Well, that's it for now. I definitely feel like this has been a rough 2013 for me so far. Been striking out quite frequently -- be it poor conditions, lack of partners, and just falling short of my own expectations in one way or another. I'm aware that things don't always go perfectly, but this has been a longer series of disappointments than perhaps I'm used to. Maybe it's a sign that my life is typically very good, or simply that there will always be ups and downs -- short and long ones. Regardless, I feel so fortunate that I have the mobility and opportunity to just... move on. There's much adventure ahead for me and I'm really looking forward to a long summer on the road. The year is hardly over and I remain very ambitious with the 8 months remaining. Wyoming is covered in snow but it's also calling my name!

Now for the truly interesting stuff: 
Viva La Vie is live - it's a shortened version - but it's still rad and it's free. See below!

Also I did an Enormocast (basically a rad podcast type series by Chris Kalous) and if you have an hour to kill and care to learn more about me, or just be entertained by Chris' humor -- check it out here. 

Viva La Vie from ARC'TERYX on Vimeo.