The Long Way Home....

I spent a couple more days in Tucson. I was going to climb with Chris and his friend, Brent, a little on Thursday, but we got burritos on the way to go climb, and a full stomach, combined with the hot sun made me lethargic and killed my motivation, so I just watched Chris and Brent climb.

Brent on Crow's Nest

Chris on Copperhead #5

Friday, before Chris had to go to work, he and I went to the Desert Museum, which is kind of a desert climate botanical garden, with some live animal exhibits as well. It's a pretty cool place, and a great way to see and learn about a lot of the flora and fauna of the region.

Landscape behind the museum

Ocelot catching some rays

Raccoon in a life or death struggle with his tail

Mountain lion sharpening his claws

Rare "Crested" Saguaro in front of the museum

Saturday, I left Tucson to head toward Llano, Texas to visit my aunt, Cathy, her daughter, Mary, and the family thereof. I broke the 13-14 hour drive up over two days, since I wasn't in any big hurry, and arrived in Llano early Sunday afternoon. I had a very pleasant visit with Cathy and crew. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take pictures.

Monday, I hung out with Cathy until 1PM or so, then drove to Denton, Texas to visit an old, high school friend, Tihleigh. We had a fabulous time hanging out and catching up.

Today, I will drive to Vernon, Texas to visit my step-mom, Carla, and her daughter and son-in-law. That should complete the Texas visiting circuit. :-) From there, I am Arkansas-bound! I can't wait for the Saturday feast. It will be great to see everyone again!

Arizona Part One

After giving up on getting any more climbing in at Indian Creek, I packed up and headed toward Tucson, to visit, and climb with, my friend, Chris Prewitt. On the way, I stopped in Sedona, to catch up with a friend and fellow vagabond I met at Burning Man, Azami. The drive into Sedona was beautiful. I spent the evening hanging out with Azami and her friend, Christopher, then, the next afternoon, headed out to drive the rest of the way to Tucson.

View off the side of the road driving into Sedona. A picture can't do it justice.

Friday evening, I arrived in Tucson, and hung out with Chris. Saturday, Chris, his wife Katherine, their son Elliot, and I went climbing at an area of Mount Lemmon called Jailhouse Rock. I led a few moderate climbs, and Chris led Crime and Punishment (5.11), a great, overhanging crack/face route.

Katherine, Elliot, and Chris at the crag

Katherine in front of Crime and Punishment

Sunday was a rest day. I hung out with Chris and Elliot. We had breakfast a couple times, then went to a friend of Chris's house for mid-morning cocktails. It was a rough day. In the afternoon, Elliot took a nap and I looked after him while Chris went to work...that is to say, I looked after him for the half hour he was awake before Katherine got home. If only taking care of kids were always so easy.

Monday, Chris and I drove out to Cochise Stronghold and climbed "What's My Line?", a classic, 3 pitch 5.6, though I think I did a variation finish that probably goes at 5.8-ish. We also did a short 4th pitch to the top of the summit block of Cochise Dome, which is probably 5.9-ish. Anyway, the majority of the route is 5.fun climbing on massive chickenheads.

Chris following the first pitch of What's My Line?

Looking up the chickenhead highway

Chris at the top of Cochise Dome

Tuesday, Chris and I hiked out to a bouldering area that he has been helping develop at a place called Panther Peak. We didn't do a whole lot there. Chris did some cleaning and worked on a new highball problem, but didn't finish it. I caught up on some sun bathing and general relaxation. I'm not much of a boulderer. :-)

Chris working a new problem at Panther Peak, with Joe spotting

Tuesday night, after dinner, Chris and I drove out to Mount Lemmon for yet another adventure. We did a night ascent of a route called Bender-Axen to Black Quacker. Chris has done this route a lot, and really enjoys doing it at night. I have to say, I was somewhat skeptical, and, when we racked up and got ready to start the hard part of the approach, around 10:30 or so, I was feeling pretty tired and starting to have second thoughts. I decided to go ahead with it, and spent the next 30 minutes of hideous bushwhacking and sliding downhill in my treadless approach shoes regretting my decision. Eventually, we got to the base of the climb, and I let Chris have the first lead, because my head was in no way ready for the 15 feet of unprotected 5.8 slab at the start of the route. About halfway up the first pitch, however, I started to relax into the climbing and began to have fun. One reason we decided to do this climb on Tuesday night, was to catch the peak activity of the Leonid meteor showers, and I did see 2 or 3 meteors at the first belay, and 5 or 6 in the course of the evening. Chris saw more. We topped out after 5 great pitches of climbing to a fabulous view of the city lights of Tucson, and a gorgeous, starry sky, and I was glad I had endured the horrid approach, and that Chris had put up with my bitching. It was worth it. We made our way back to our packs and Chris broke out two pints of Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. Kickass! Did I mention that Chris is one hell of a guy? :-)

Unfortunately, my camera takes crappy night photos, so I don't have any pictures. You'll just have to take my word that it was beautiful.

Today, I slept as much as I could, then got up, went to the store, came home, and made bacon and eggs and pancakes for breakfast (er, lunch, I guess). Then, I got an email asking me to do a phone interview this afternoon. I did the interview, and it went great. I should have a face-to-face interview lined up when I get home. Yep, folks, this is it...the beginning of the end of an era. All too soon, I'll be a working stiff again...but a working stiff with a slightly different perspective on life, and one, who, I'm sure will find time for plenty more adventures down the line.

Route List for 11/14-18:

• Grand Theft Otto (5.9, Trad) (Onsight)
• Mr. Meanor (5.8+, Mixed) (Onsight)
• Mug Shot (5.8+, Mixed) (Onsight)
• Crime And Punishment (5.11, Trad) (TR)
• What's My Line? Variation Finish (3 Pitches, 5.8-ish A0, Trad) (Onsight 1, 3; followed 2 clean)
• Cochise Dome Summit Block (5.9ish) (followed clean)
• Bender-Axen (5.8, Trad) To Black Quacker (4 pitches, 5.7, Trad) (Followed 1, 3; Onsight 2, 4, 5)
  

High on crack at Indian Creek

There is probably no single better destination in the world for pure crack climbing. The place is legendary for its splitter, sandstone cracks.

After climbing Castleton, Jules and I made the hour or so drive from Moab to "the creek", and wandered around in the dark until we managed to find the Beef Basin message board, with a note from Scott telling us where he was camped. We located his campsite, and, famished, cooked dinner and went to bed. Saturday morning we woke up and were stunned at the landscape that greeted us, which we had, unknowingly, made our way into under the cover of night.

View from the campground

Supercrack Buttress, which we passed on the way in

We decided to go to Supercrack Buttress and did 3 climbs: Incredible Hand Crack, Wild Works Of Fire, and 3A.M. Crack. I tried to lead Wild Works of Fire, but bailed after I climbed past the crux then found that I couldn't get any gear in because I had used all of the size cam I needed earlier on the route (I over-protected the bottom). I got super scared and ended up...not exactly falling...not exactly downclimbing...more like sliding...back down to my last piece and last good stance...about 6 or 8 feet. After that I was too pumped from over-gripping and mentally fatigued to even want to try to finish the route, so I lowered off and Jules finished it. I top-roped it clean with little difficulty later. Incredible Hand Crack is, perhaps, one of the most fun routes I have ever climbed. The jams were just so solid, it was...well...Incredible.

Me on Incredible Hand Crack (5.10)

3A.M. Crack on the left, Wild Works Of Fire on the right

Me leading on Wild Works of Fire (5.10b)

Sunday morning, Jules packed up to head back to Moab and do some mountain biking before he had to drive to Las Vegas and fly home to London, and Scott packed up to drive to Las Vegas to meet a friend there. I headed back into Moab to work on preparing for interviews, blogging, etc. and rest up for a couple of days. Tuesday evening, I drove back to the creek for a second dose of crack-climbing fun.

Wednesday morning, I hiked up to Donnelly Canyon to see if I could find someone to partner up with, and, at the base of Generic Crack, ran into 3 of the 4-person group that had been ahead of Jules and I on Castleton a few days prior. Their fourth had had to go home. So, I partnered up with Chris, while Ben and Karen climbed together. I led three 5.9's (probably a third of the routes under 5.10 in all of Indian Creek), including Binou's Crack, a dihedral with a couple of cracks of varying size, and Chocolate Corner, a thin hands crack in a dihedral that felt hard to me, since the crack was a less-than-ideal size for me and Chris led Elephant Man (5.10).

Chris at the top of Binou's Crack

Karen on Chocolate Corner

Unfortunately, Chris and company left that afternoon, so the next day I was looking for partners again. I drove back to Supercrack Buttress, since it is popular, and has an easy approach. I sat in my car for a while, then sat on the hood for a while, trying to get motivated to go look for people to climb with. At this point in my trip, this social aspect of being a traveling climber is starting to wear on me, even though I generally meet great people and have a really fun time. Anyway, while I was sitting there, a guy named Dan wandered by, and I said "hi". He asked if I was climbing and, when I said I was thinking about it, he told me he was with a group of three and invited me to join them. I guess when something just drops in your lap, you shouldn't say no, so I grabbed my stuff and headed up to the crag. Unfortunately, I wasn't motivated to lead, so I just top-roped a few climbs, and called it a day.

Ashley belays Paul on Gorilla Crack

Adam on Keyhole Flakes

Unknown climber on Coyne's Crack

Looking down the valley from Supercrack Buttress

Thursday night, I hung out with Dan, Ashley, Paul, Adam, and the rest of the motley crew I was climbing with that day. They had a nice fire, and it was good to have people to hang out with after dark, so I didn't end up going to bed at 8:00. Friday morning, it was windy and cold. I eventually convinced myself to get up and make breakfast, then went to see what the crew was up to. A couple of people were leaving, and the rest decided to head to Flagstaff for a few days. I was considering taking a rest day, driving into Moab, then coming back and climbing for another day or two, but, with everyone I knew heading out, I decided to say screw it and just head for Tucson. There's lots of stuff I still want to do at the creek, and I had hoped to red-point Incredible Hand Crack before I left, but the cards seemed to be telling me it was time to fold and move on. There's always next time. :-)

Route list for 11/7-12:

• Incredible Hand Crack (5.10, Trad) (TR clean)
• Wild Works of Fire (To First Anchors) (5.10b, Trad) (Attempted lead, TR Clean)
• 3A.M. Crack (5.10, Trad) (TR Clean)
• Binou's Crack (5.9, Trad) (Onsight)
• Unnamed 5.9 around corner right of Chocolate Corner (5.9, Trad) (Onsight)
• Chocolate Corner (5.9, Trad) (Onsight)
• Elephant Man (5.10, Trad) (TR Clean)
• Gorilla Crack (5.10, Trad) (TR Clean)
• Keyhole Flakes (5.10, Trad) (TR Clean)
• Coyne's Crack (5.12-, Trad) (TR Flail)
  

Not Less Ab, but Mo-ab....

The day after Halloween, I left Las Vegas, and drove to Moab, Utah. On the way, I noticed on Facebook that John Richard was there and commented that I would be there that evening. He said I should give him a call when I got in, so I did and he invited me to join him and his friend, Adam, in climbing Fine Jade (5.11a) on The Rectory the next day. I had no plans, and had been expecting to just spend the day in Moab at the library, so, of course, I accepted! Also, on the way into town, I received an email from a guy I had met in Camp 4, Jules, asking what I was up to and saying he was interested in maybe getting out to Utah to climb in the 10 days he had left before returning to England. I told him I was in Moab and would love to climb with him. I love it when things just fall into place. :-)

I met up with John and Adam the next morning, and we headed for The Rectory. The desert towers around Moab are simply astounding. Fine Jade ascends a steep hand crack through an overhanging off-width pod, with a tricky move right via a thin, angling crack to another good hand crack, then, on the second pitch, follows a beautiful finger crack through a bulge, all on beautiful, bullet hard sandstone. After the second pitch, the climbing is easier, and the rock quality not so good (downright poor in places), but exciting traverses on the last two pitches keep things interesting to the very finish. All in all, it was a stellar climb, and I was glad to get to do it, even if I did have to pull on gear through the first pitch crux. After waiting for a slow party ahead of us before we could start the first pitch, we got down in the dark, but it was worth it.

Me, John, and Adam in front of Castleton Tower, with The Rectory above my head

Me and Adam walking across the saddle from Castleton Tower toward The Rectory

Unknown climbers on first pitch of Fine Jade (just above the crux)

Me, getting ready to pull around the roof on the final pitch...

Adam, me, and John, on top of The Rectory

Castleton Tower from the top of The Rectory

John setting up the rappel

Moonrise over the desert

That evening, I stayed at a hostel in Moab with John and Adam, and the next day we got up and drove to Fisher Towers to climb Ancient Art, a tower with one of the coolest summits I've ever seen, and probably the scene of the single most common desert tower summit photo. Generally, the rock quality on Ancient Art seemed better than the standard "crusted mud" of the Fisher Towers, but that's not to say it is good. The climbing was varied and fun, but the protection had to be considered a little suspect in many places, and you definitely wanted to think twice about anything you considered pulling on, especially on the lower pitches. The summit is, without a doubt, worth it though.

There were a lot of us on the route that day, with our party of three, a party of two, who John and Adam knew, Elayna and Nate, and another party of three ahead of them. It was a good thing the belay ledges were large.

The corkscrew summit of Ancient Art (foreground, center)

Elayna on the 5.10 section of the first pitch

John on the 2nd pitch chimney

Party on the belay ledge

Me on lead on the third pitch

On the top. :-)

I spent one more night at the hostel with John and Adam before they headed out to drive to Denver and catch their flights home, then spent Wednesday at the library, working on my job search, blogging, etc. Wednesday night, Jules arrived in town. We decided to go to Wall Street, a roadside (literally) crag just outside of Moab on Thursday, climb Castleton Tower on Friday, then drive to Indian Creek to climb on Saturday. Shortly after we arrived at Wall Street, we met Scott, who is on a mountain biking road trip, but was taking a few days off from biking to climb. He needed a partner, so we invited him to work in with us.

Scott belaying Jules on Top-40 (I think)

The crag was still decorated for Halloween. :-)

Scott and Me walking down Wall Street

Thursday night, Scott drove to Indian Creek, and Jules and I headed out to the base of Castleton Tower, to camp, so we could get a jump on the climb in the morning. Our jump was just a trifle slow, however, as a group of 4 (climbing in two parties of 2) showed up while we were making breakfast, and started the approach ahead of us. We took our time, but, when we made it to the base of the climb, the first party was still leading the first pitch. So, we spent quite a while sitting at the base of the climb, hiding out from the wind (which was unbelievably ferocious that day). After the first pitch, though, the first party ran the 2nd and third pitches together, and, after that, the log jam cleared up and things moved fairly well. The climb, itself, was fun. There was quite a bit of chimneying, and some awkward off-width. Jules did a great job on the third pitch crux, which involved climbing a chimney until it narrows to an offwidth, then stemming out through a couple of insecure, bolt-protected moves until you get to good hands on the left face. Much of the rock was covered with a layer of hard, but slick calcite, which made even the chimneying insecure feeling. Unfortunately, the zipper failed on my camera bag a couple days previous, and Jules had only his SLR, having crushed his compact in a chimney in Yosemite, so we ended up not bringing a camera on the climb, so I only have a handful of pictures from before and after.

Trying not to get blown away on the walk down


Jules in front of Castleton

On the hike down, after Jules had taken a couple of minor spills, I was thinking to myself how cool I was to have never wiped out hiking on any of the approaches or descents on my trip. I think this thought came about 2.5 seconds before my theatrical head-over-heels wipe-out. Jules was amazed that I managed to avoid bashing head open, and got right up and kept walking...well, limping. Fortunately, the only real damage was a bruised knee. A little ice, and some ibuprofen, and I was right as rain.

That night, Jules and I drove to Indian Creek, where we re-united with Scott. The tale of my time at the creek will be told in the next installment. So long for now!

Route List for 11/2-6:

• Fine Jade (5 pitches, 5.11a, Trad) (Followed pitch 1 with aid, pitch 2 with one fall, 3-5 clean)
• Stolen Chimney on Ancient Art (4 pitches, 5.10a, mixed) (Followed pitch 1,2, 4 clean, onsight pitch 3)
• Unknown 5.9-ish Slab at Wall Street (Onsight)
• Lacto-mangulation (5.10b) (TR clean)
• Top-40 (5.8, Trad) (Pink-point)
• 30 Seconds Over Potash (Stout 5.8, Trad) (Led with one take)
• Lucy In the Sky With Potash (5.10a, Trad) (TR clean)
• Nervous in Suburbia (5.10b) (TR clean)
• Kor-Ingalls Route on Castleton Tower (5.9+, Trad) (Followed pitches 1,3 clean, Onsight pitches 2, 4)
  

Vegas, Baby!

My arrival in Las Vegas was greeted with cold and high winds. My car vibrated and swayed at night, like a ship at sea, and it was all I could do to get my stove lit to cook (I set it up inside the metal fire ring for a wind break). I didn't have a partner to climb with, and the weather wasn't inspiring me to climb anyway, so I spent a couple days sitting in the library working on my resume, and responding to calls and emails from recruiters who had contacted me since I put my information up on the web. On my third day there, I woke up to a miracle: sunshine and no wind! Then, as I was finishing up breakfast, Patsy, who I met in Joshua Tree walked up to my campsite. She was there with her friends and Outward Bound co-workers, Ashley and Mary. She said they were going cragging at a place called Panty Wall and I was welcome to join them. I was psyched to have good weather and people to climb with. Awesome!

We got a few climbs in, including a 5.9+/10a trad route called Panty Raid, that Ashley and I both led. It was mostly easier, but slightly pumpy, climbing, with a short crux near the top, then a slightly scary final mantle. I hung at the crux, mainly because I missed the key right foot.

At the crux on Panty Raid, missing the key right foot.

Ashley on Panty Prow

The following day, Patsy and Ashley dropped Mary off at a bus station early in the morning then went to climb Cat In The Hat, and I climbed with a guy named Sunny, who I met through Mountain Project. I had made plans to climb with him before I hooked up with Patsy and Ashley. We climbed Dark Shadows (first 4 pitches), which was a fantastic route, then rappelled down and climbed Cat In The Hat to the 4th belay and finished on a 5.10d bolted arete. Sunny was a good partner, but our personalities didn't really mesh, and when we got down in the dark after a total cluster of rappels with 10 people sharing the same ropes, I was a bit grumpy. Food and a couple beers while hanging out with Patsy and Ashley fixed that, though.

Unknown climber on 2nd pitch of Dark Shadows

The next day was Halloween, and Sunny had plans to go cragging with some friends, so I got off the hook without having to tell him I didn't really want to climb with him again, and went sport cragging with Patsy and Ashley, who were dressed for the occasion. I didn't have a costume, but they let me come along anyway. We went to the Black Corridor and did two climbs, then called it a day.

Ashley belaying on Halloween

Patsy climbing in costume

I went into town and hit up a thrift store for a Halloween costume, then hung out at the library for a little while before meeting up with Patsy and Ashley again. They ended up getting a room at the Tropicana, and I tagged along. We spent the evening wandering around the Strip, people watching. I wish I had pics of some of the great costumes, but I didn't feel like carrying my bulky camera around.

Sunday, Patsy and Ashley headed out for Joshua Tree, and I headed for Moab.

Route List for 10/29-31:

• Brief Encounter (5.8) (Pink-point)
• Panty Raid (5.9+/10a) (Led with a couple hangs)
• Unknown 5.10d (Possibly Totally Clips) (TR)
• Panty Prow (5.6? More like 5.2) (TR clean)
• Dark Shadows to 4th belay (3 pitches, 5.8, Trad) (followed 1 and 3 clean, onsight 2)
• Cat In The Hat to 4th belay (3 pitches, 5.6, Trad) (Onsight 1 and 2, followed 2 clean)
• Unknown 5.10d arete starting from 4th belay of Cat In The Hat (followed with one fall)
• Burros Might Fly (5.10b) (TR clean)
• Bonaire (5.9) (Onsight)
  

Last Day At Tahquitz And Death Valley

Wow, just when I was so proud of myself for keeping this current, I got super busy, and way behind. I've been working on getting my resume up to date, talking to recruiters, etc. So, I'm going to try to catch up a bit in small installments.

After my last post, Brett and I spent one more day climbing at Tahquitz. We decided to do The Long Climb (5.8), with the 5.8 direct start via The Wong Climb Pitch 1. The direct start first pitch was amazing. It was just a beautiful, long, splitter hand crack. I felt so solid on this pitch, it was incredible. I can scarcely remember when I've felt so good climbing a pitch. Brett wasn't feeling like leading, so I led all of the pitches, and I pretty much felt great the whole way...except perhaps for one point when I fumbled and dropped a cam. Then, I felt kind of stupid. Fortunately, it landed in a bush a short way down and I was able to lower down and get it, then finish the pitch. I just got to do a little bonus climbing. Generally, though, I had a "climbing should always feel like this" kind of "in the zone" feeling for the whole climb. In case you hadn't gathered, I enjoyed it. :-)

On the last pitch, instead of taking the standard finish on easy fifth class ramps to the right, I followed a 5.7 angling crack directly up, which was fine until the crack ran out and deposited me on a dirty slab with no protection. I was able to pick my way through it, though, to a small roof where I could get some gear, and then on to the top. Next time, I'll do the standard finish. :-)

Brett following on The Long Climb

Tahquitz from the base

The next day, I left Boojum, and got in touch with Alan Baldwin. He was on a road trip and headed for Death Valley which was more or less in the direction I was planning on heading, so we arranged to meet up. I drove to Red Rock Canyon State Park (in California, not to be confused with Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas) and camped for the night with Alan, then the next day, we continued to Death Valley.

Alan at our campsite

Sunset over Red Rock Canyon State Park

Another Sunset Pic, with a Joshua Tree on the horizon

We arrived at Death Valley in the early afternoon, visited a great overlook and took some great pictures, which I somehow managed to lose, then drove on into the Valley, checked out the visitor center, and got a campsite. We spent the rest of the day checking out the "Devil's Golf Course" (crazy salt formations), Artist's Drive (lots of crazy-colored rock), and Bad Water (the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere).

The Devil's Golf Course - that's some rough!

Looking up at sea level...

Badwater: That's not ice; it's salt.

The following day, we drove out of the park and back in via Titus Canyon road, a long, one-way, dirt road, that's a bit rough in places. They recommend 4-wheel drive and high clearance, but it's really not that bad. The Subaru made it fine. The road passes an abandoned mine at Leadville, then, towards the end of the drive, as you near the valley floor, the canyon narrows to a slot canyon barely wider than the road. It was a nice drive, with some cool scenery.

The Subinator on Titus Canyon Road

The Leadville Mine

I just thought this was cute. :-)

After we got back into the valley, we drove up to "Scotty's Castle", a mansion built by some rich guy a long time ago. Obviously, I didn't pay for the $11 tour. Then, we checked out Ubehebe crater, a big hole in the ground with a great name, formed by explosive force when magma came into contact with underground water. Pretty impressive.

Scotty's Castle

Ubehebe Crater

The next day, I said goodbye to Alan and drove to Las Vegas. I got a campsite outside of town at the Red Rock Canyon campground and spent the next two days working on my resume and talking to recruiters. On the third day, I climbed. :-) More next time....

Route List for 10/23-28:

• The Long Climb Direct (First Pitch of Wong Climb, last pitch via 5.7 crack and dirty slab) (5 pitches, 5.8, Trad) (Onsight)