Jeff finished putting together the footage from our highlining session. He put a movie up on youtube, and it is pretty good. Make sure you turn up the volume a little bit for added drama. Enjoy!
High Boltage Gap
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
HIGH-adrena-LINE
Let me tell you about the most amazing experience I have ever had.
So you know that I have been slacklining for several years now. Yesterday, however, some friends and I decided to go rig and walk our first outdoor highline. I have walked an indoor highline before, as you can see from this link: The Spot Highline Comp (I'm the last person to go in this movie).
An indoor highline has no comparison to the rigors and intensity of an outdoor highline.
At 8:00 am on 5/27 Jeff, Said and I left from my house to go to Castlewood Canyon. Our original intent was to set up a line at the dungeon area. We arrived at the parking lot at about 9:15 and started the hike up the hill. It is about a mile of class 3 scrambling to get to the Dungeon area, and it took us a good 20 minutes with 50 pounds of gear on our backs. The original spot we decided to set up the line turned out to be a lot shorter than we remembered (I hadn't been there in several years, and what I thought would be a 30 foot gap was actually only 15). After a little searching, we found our ideal spot.
We decided on a 65 foot span which was about 50 feet off the deck. I set all of the anchor points with my gear and anchoring expertise, and in most cases, everything was triple redundant. On the south side we anchored to two trees, two bolts and two cams. On the north side we anchored to three bolts, two rock slings, one cam and one hex. After I was satisfied in all of the placements, we equalized the points, and set the line.
Above is a picture of the equalized anchors leading to the line.
Next we tensioned the line with Jeff's pulleys. After about 6 tensioning sets we were satisfied with the tension and then removed the pulleys from the system and replaced them with 10,000 lb shackles. (The pulley system was only rated to 2,000 lb, so by removing the weakest link we were able to make the line safer).
We were actually walking on two lines, one of which was threaded with a third line. We did this so that if one line failed, we would still have two others to catch our fall, hence the redundancy. After the lines were tensioned, we taped the two together and then were ready to go. Jeff had the first attempt, but wasn't able to go more than 5 steps or so. The line was really loose even though we had tensioned it a lot. After more analysis of the system I concluded that this was due to the fact that the anchor systems were so complex and large, that they themselves had a very consequential spring constant which was allowing the line to move so violently. In order to walk you had to have extremely tight control of your body. It ended up that I was the only one of the three of us who was able to walk it. I bet with a more controlled and static anchor setup, Jeff and Said would easily be able to walk it. After all, Said is one of the best trickliners in the world.
Above is a picture of me with the first walk of this highline, and the first walk of any highline in Castlewood Canyon.
We spent about three and a half hours rigging the line, and about three hours attempting to walk it.
The exposure is a big part of the mental game you have to play. Each of us could easily walk this long of a line two feet off the ground, but up high, the adrenaline is the master. The line calls the shots. If it wants to throw you off, then you fall. To prevent injury, we wear helmets and a harness with a leash attached to the line. I managed to catch the line every time I fell, which was only a few times, but in the event that you can't catch the line, the leash is there to save the day. Even so, there is little you can do to subdue the feelings of dread, nausea, excitement and unavoidable elation as you walk.
With other high risk sports such as bungee jumping and skydiving, there is the same sort of rush. However with Highlining this is much different. For rope and bungee jumping, there is little work required, you simply plunge into the void and hope there's enough tension to keep you from hitting the ground. In skydiving, there is a bit more work involved, mainly keeping yourself oriented in the right direction, and steering your canopy, etc. Highlining isn't even in the same ballpark, at least at first. You can't just plunge into the void and expect to get across. Every step requires so much concentration and control. You have to control your feelings and your breathing and your heart rate, and you have to subdue your surroundings and focus all you've got on the one goal of making the next step. I can honestly say that this was the most mentally, physically and emotionally taxing thing I have ever done. And I loved it.
After all was said and done, it was a thunderstorm that persuaded us to pack up and go. I am really glad that we decided to set this line, and am excited that I was lucky enough to control my feelings for that long, even though it is the hardest thing I have ever done. In comparison, this is a pretty mild setup as well. People have walked lines as long as 180 feet and as high as 1200 meters. I have plans for higher and longer lines than this one in the next couple of weeks.
It is hard to explain to people how and why highlining is appealing. I imagine the biggest reason is that so few people actually encounter situations where their fear dictates their every move. To me, being able to control the fear and emotion is an incredible feat. I can now more easily understand myself and my limits, and I will continue to grow to be hopefully a better person. Once you have found peace with your feelings and emotions, and can still walk the line, I think this is the most spiritual experience you can ever have.
(Nobody has ever been severely injured or killed while highlining)
So you know that I have been slacklining for several years now. Yesterday, however, some friends and I decided to go rig and walk our first outdoor highline. I have walked an indoor highline before, as you can see from this link: The Spot Highline Comp (I'm the last person to go in this movie).
An indoor highline has no comparison to the rigors and intensity of an outdoor highline.
At 8:00 am on 5/27 Jeff, Said and I left from my house to go to Castlewood Canyon. Our original intent was to set up a line at the dungeon area. We arrived at the parking lot at about 9:15 and started the hike up the hill. It is about a mile of class 3 scrambling to get to the Dungeon area, and it took us a good 20 minutes with 50 pounds of gear on our backs. The original spot we decided to set up the line turned out to be a lot shorter than we remembered (I hadn't been there in several years, and what I thought would be a 30 foot gap was actually only 15). After a little searching, we found our ideal spot.
We decided on a 65 foot span which was about 50 feet off the deck. I set all of the anchor points with my gear and anchoring expertise, and in most cases, everything was triple redundant. On the south side we anchored to two trees, two bolts and two cams. On the north side we anchored to three bolts, two rock slings, one cam and one hex. After I was satisfied in all of the placements, we equalized the points, and set the line.
Above is a picture of the equalized anchors leading to the line.
Next we tensioned the line with Jeff's pulleys. After about 6 tensioning sets we were satisfied with the tension and then removed the pulleys from the system and replaced them with 10,000 lb shackles. (The pulley system was only rated to 2,000 lb, so by removing the weakest link we were able to make the line safer).
We were actually walking on two lines, one of which was threaded with a third line. We did this so that if one line failed, we would still have two others to catch our fall, hence the redundancy. After the lines were tensioned, we taped the two together and then were ready to go. Jeff had the first attempt, but wasn't able to go more than 5 steps or so. The line was really loose even though we had tensioned it a lot. After more analysis of the system I concluded that this was due to the fact that the anchor systems were so complex and large, that they themselves had a very consequential spring constant which was allowing the line to move so violently. In order to walk you had to have extremely tight control of your body. It ended up that I was the only one of the three of us who was able to walk it. I bet with a more controlled and static anchor setup, Jeff and Said would easily be able to walk it. After all, Said is one of the best trickliners in the world.
Above is a picture of me with the first walk of this highline, and the first walk of any highline in Castlewood Canyon.We spent about three and a half hours rigging the line, and about three hours attempting to walk it.
The exposure is a big part of the mental game you have to play. Each of us could easily walk this long of a line two feet off the ground, but up high, the adrenaline is the master. The line calls the shots. If it wants to throw you off, then you fall. To prevent injury, we wear helmets and a harness with a leash attached to the line. I managed to catch the line every time I fell, which was only a few times, but in the event that you can't catch the line, the leash is there to save the day. Even so, there is little you can do to subdue the feelings of dread, nausea, excitement and unavoidable elation as you walk.
With other high risk sports such as bungee jumping and skydiving, there is the same sort of rush. However with Highlining this is much different. For rope and bungee jumping, there is little work required, you simply plunge into the void and hope there's enough tension to keep you from hitting the ground. In skydiving, there is a bit more work involved, mainly keeping yourself oriented in the right direction, and steering your canopy, etc. Highlining isn't even in the same ballpark, at least at first. You can't just plunge into the void and expect to get across. Every step requires so much concentration and control. You have to control your feelings and your breathing and your heart rate, and you have to subdue your surroundings and focus all you've got on the one goal of making the next step. I can honestly say that this was the most mentally, physically and emotionally taxing thing I have ever done. And I loved it.
After all was said and done, it was a thunderstorm that persuaded us to pack up and go. I am really glad that we decided to set this line, and am excited that I was lucky enough to control my feelings for that long, even though it is the hardest thing I have ever done. In comparison, this is a pretty mild setup as well. People have walked lines as long as 180 feet and as high as 1200 meters. I have plans for higher and longer lines than this one in the next couple of weeks.It is hard to explain to people how and why highlining is appealing. I imagine the biggest reason is that so few people actually encounter situations where their fear dictates their every move. To me, being able to control the fear and emotion is an incredible feat. I can now more easily understand myself and my limits, and I will continue to grow to be hopefully a better person. Once you have found peace with your feelings and emotions, and can still walk the line, I think this is the most spiritual experience you can ever have.
(Nobody has ever been severely injured or killed while highlining)
Picture Perfect Penitente
It sure has been a while since the last post. I've been really busy! Finals ended up going very well, and the summer is finally here! Last weekend I got back from Penitente Canyon in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. It was a really fun trip. I planned the whole thing singlehandedly, and I gained a lot of experience that I will need and use for future trips that I take. There were 10 of us guys from CU and New Mexico Tech who were in the group. We stayed for 5 days, so it wasn't terribly long, but it was really fun. We got a lot of climbing in, including several 5.10's and 5.11's and a few 5.12's. The most memorable route was a really fun crack climb up this really shear face. It was rated at 5.11c, and certainly felt like it!
It started out on a really reachy undercling move and then got really crimpy at the top. Once you reached the roof you had a "thank God" undercling, and then you finished up the finger-crack to the left. It was a very great and aesthetic climb.
Another really fun climb was this 5.10 hand crack that I led on trad. Trad is short for traditional climbing whereas you place your own protection into the wall as you climb rather than clip into the pre-existing bolts in the wall. This was a great climb! Over the five days we ventured to different areas and climbed different routes. In total I think we climbed 30 routes that week. Most of the other guys were only climbing 5.10 max, so we taught them how to lead climb, and then James Sloan and I often went off on our own to pursue some harder routes.
Another great aspect of the climb was the food. I bought many luxurious meals for us to cook, such as peanut butter and jelly, and s'mores. Seriously though, we had steak, baked potatoes, burgers, beef stew, breakfast burritos, anything and everything that sounds good while camping, we ate. The camping was quite spectacular as well. I slept outside under the stars every single night. The view of the milky way was amazing, as the moon was out of phase. The site that we were camping at was spectacular in its own right, as it was right across the valley from the Great Sand Dunes, and above that were the prominent Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak that we all had climbed just this last summer, which was an epic itself.
Overall it was a very enjoyable trip, and I am looking forward to returning again next year. We scoped out several great spots for a highline, and will definitely be setting one up next year. Also, we got on several routes that severely kicked our butts, so we'll get stronger to pull harder. After the week was over we each parted ways. It was a nice transition point between the school year and the summer. We got to blow off some steam from the crazy year, and got a taste of the awesome adventures that 2007 will hold.
It started out on a really reachy undercling move and then got really crimpy at the top. Once you reached the roof you had a "thank God" undercling, and then you finished up the finger-crack to the left. It was a very great and aesthetic climb.
Another really fun climb was this 5.10 hand crack that I led on trad. Trad is short for traditional climbing whereas you place your own protection into the wall as you climb rather than clip into the pre-existing bolts in the wall. This was a great climb! Over the five days we ventured to different areas and climbed different routes. In total I think we climbed 30 routes that week. Most of the other guys were only climbing 5.10 max, so we taught them how to lead climb, and then James Sloan and I often went off on our own to pursue some harder routes.
Another great aspect of the climb was the food. I bought many luxurious meals for us to cook, such as peanut butter and jelly, and s'mores. Seriously though, we had steak, baked potatoes, burgers, beef stew, breakfast burritos, anything and everything that sounds good while camping, we ate. The camping was quite spectacular as well. I slept outside under the stars every single night. The view of the milky way was amazing, as the moon was out of phase. The site that we were camping at was spectacular in its own right, as it was right across the valley from the Great Sand Dunes, and above that were the prominent Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak that we all had climbed just this last summer, which was an epic itself.
Overall it was a very enjoyable trip, and I am looking forward to returning again next year. We scoped out several great spots for a highline, and will definitely be setting one up next year. Also, we got on several routes that severely kicked our butts, so we'll get stronger to pull harder. After the week was over we each parted ways. It was a nice transition point between the school year and the summer. We got to blow off some steam from the crazy year, and got a taste of the awesome adventures that 2007 will hold.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Final Stretch
I've been bearing down for finals during the last week. I had my first final yesterday, and have 3 more this week. It really brings the whole year into perspective when you sum up an entire semester into 2 hours of testing. So far it has gone without a hitch. Soon I'll be climbing for a week up at Penitente Canyon. I'm really stoaked about Penitente, last year we climbed for a few days, but now we're staying 3 times longer.
Also I wanted to mention that last Sunday James and did a morning ascent of the first flatiron. We started at about 7 am, and were off the top at 10. It was a really great morning, and was a great capstone to the end of a good schoolyear.
My next post will likely be in two weeks time, after I get back from Penitente. We will definitely take loads of pictures, and there is the possibility of maybe setting up a highline. I'm really looking forward to that!
Also I wanted to mention that last Sunday James and did a morning ascent of the first flatiron. We started at about 7 am, and were off the top at 10. It was a really great morning, and was a great capstone to the end of a good schoolyear.
My next post will likely be in two weeks time, after I get back from Penitente. We will definitely take loads of pictures, and there is the possibility of maybe setting up a highline. I'm really looking forward to that!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Fun in the Sun
These last few days have been great! The weather here in Boulder has been amazing, and so has the climbing. Yesterday after class James and I went to the Sport Park in upper Boulder canyon and had some fun with some of the better sport climbs on "Suprising Crag". We got on some really fun 9's, some really slabby and blank 11s, and a 12. It was really great too, while we were up there, some of my buddies, Said and Gabe showed up. It was entirely unplanned, but it was pretty cool to climb with them as well. I'll put up some pictures soon. The 12 we got on was "Furius Howard Brown". It started out will a really steep overhang, and then transitioned into a really hard, slabby crack climb with all kinds of water seeping out. It ate chalk like a gila monster.
(Sending the Aerogel traverse)
Today we went to the Satellite Boulders and I sent four different V1's on the sputnik boulder, two v5's on the aerogel boulder, worked the turning point and captain hook, and then sent some v4 called original grapple. It was a fun day. Tomorrow morning I'll be climbing the first flatiron with James, then its time to bear down for finals!!! I'll have to put climbing on hold for a week or so, as there's lots of stuff I need to do before school gets out. Then we'll be going to Penitente for a week. I'm really excited for that.
(Sending the Aerogel traverse)Today we went to the Satellite Boulders and I sent four different V1's on the sputnik boulder, two v5's on the aerogel boulder, worked the turning point and captain hook, and then sent some v4 called original grapple. It was a fun day. Tomorrow morning I'll be climbing the first flatiron with James, then its time to bear down for finals!!! I'll have to put climbing on hold for a week or so, as there's lots of stuff I need to do before school gets out. Then we'll be going to Penitente for a week. I'm really excited for that.
Friday, April 20, 2007
CU Student Arrested
So last night in Kitt West Hall, 2 halls down from mine, there was this kid arrested for having a shotgun, a handgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Pretty scary ordeal considering the 8 year anniversary of Columbine today, and the VT shooting earlier this week. Fortunately police got wind of what he was packing, and he got expelled from the school. I can't even imagine what might have happened, or what he may have been planning, but I am very thankful that everyone is alright, and there were no attacks.
All this violence/potential for violence makes you think so much differently. It isn't really normal to be sitting in a class and be thinking how you could barracade the door, or where you could hide, or what you could use as a weapon against an attacker, but that's what everyone has been thinking about lately. We should be able to think of the college campus as a safe place, where you can learn without dealing with the terrors of the world, but unfortunately, this isn't the case. With people having guns in the dorms, you really don't know who to trust. This is especially scary for us RA's as we could be involved in an incident, and that incident could potentially get out of control to the point where the RA is attacked. I know this has happened before, it even happened at VT earlier this week. I don't think that will be an issue this weekend though, because of the 4/20 festivites in Boulder, everyone will be too baked to even move. That makes the RA job a lot easier. I'll just continue to have a positive outlook on life, and everything should turn out ok.
All this violence/potential for violence makes you think so much differently. It isn't really normal to be sitting in a class and be thinking how you could barracade the door, or where you could hide, or what you could use as a weapon against an attacker, but that's what everyone has been thinking about lately. We should be able to think of the college campus as a safe place, where you can learn without dealing with the terrors of the world, but unfortunately, this isn't the case. With people having guns in the dorms, you really don't know who to trust. This is especially scary for us RA's as we could be involved in an incident, and that incident could potentially get out of control to the point where the RA is attacked. I know this has happened before, it even happened at VT earlier this week. I don't think that will be an issue this weekend though, because of the 4/20 festivites in Boulder, everyone will be too baked to even move. That makes the RA job a lot easier. I'll just continue to have a positive outlook on life, and everything should turn out ok.
Climbing
I went bouldering yesterday after class, and then went to the Primo Wall in Clear Creek Canyon today. I finally linked the v4 monkey traverse in flagstaff, and sent the "Gill Swing", another classic v4. Today James Sloan and I went to the Primo Wall for a few hours and did a nice 5.10c, a 5.12a and a 5.12b. It was good to get out in the summer sun that is finally here! There's a 12c at Primo that I have been working on, but didn't get it this time. Maybe next. There's always time for climbing when the sun is always shining!
Finals are coming up soon, so I'll have to slow down this sudden spree of climbing, but the yearly Penitente Canyon trip is coming up, and we have a nice crew this time. I'm pretty stoaked for that! I am slowly getting better, the more gear I buy...
Finals are coming up soon, so I'll have to slow down this sudden spree of climbing, but the yearly Penitente Canyon trip is coming up, and we have a nice crew this time. I'm pretty stoaked for that! I am slowly getting better, the more gear I buy...
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Slacklining
So I just found out today that my buddy Said and I appeared on Boulder TV 54 for our slacklining skills. The links are below:
My moves
Said's moves
Apparently we are going to be doing a lot of highlining soon. We had a nice session today, I'll post the pictures when I get them.
It kind of aggrivates me when the weather models call for 1.5 feet of snow, and boulder gets absolutely none and is sunny all day today and yesterday. I cancelled a lot of climbing plans due to the snow, but I'm glad I got to slackline for a bit, that adds a little light to the situation.
My moves
Said's moves
Apparently we are going to be doing a lot of highlining soon. We had a nice session today, I'll post the pictures when I get them.
It kind of aggrivates me when the weather models call for 1.5 feet of snow, and boulder gets absolutely none and is sunny all day today and yesterday. I cancelled a lot of climbing plans due to the snow, but I'm glad I got to slackline for a bit, that adds a little light to the situation.
Chilling at the Cabin
Over the last part of Spring Break I got to hang out at the Cabin with Grandma and Grandpa. It was great, and I had a great time. I did a little skiing, but mostly just talked with Grandma and Grandpa, and slept a lot. On the way back I had a fun 5 hour drive though, because it snowed and all the roads were closed.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Red Rock Rendezvous
Over the last weekend in March, my friends James, Caitlin, Ashlee and I went to the Red Rock Rendezvous in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first part of our spring break. It was a very fun trip, filled with fun and adventure. The best part of the trip was that it went from bad, to worse, to amazing in a really short amount of time.
We left Boulder on March 23rd at 10:30 am. The inital part of the drive went pretty quickly, stopping for gas in Glenwood Springs, and again somewhere in southern Utah. I drove for most of the way out there, except for about an hour where James decided to drive. But he got a little carsick, and I took over. The weird thing about Vegas is that it has this aura about it that lets you know when you are getting close. You could see the light pollution of Vegas, and you could see it from about 130 miles out. It was kind of amazing that there is that much electricity in such a small place, but I guess Hoover dam it pretty dam big. We got to Vegas at about 9:45pm or so, and got to Spring Mountain Ranch at about 10:30 (20 miles west of Vegas on Charleston Blv.), and set up camp and hit the hay.
I got up at 7:00 the next morning to an awesome sight. The sun was just rising up over the bluffs to the east, and huge cliffs were looming over us to the west. Although it was only March, it was sure to be a beautiful weekend. We had some breakfast, and did a little slacklining, and then all piled into the truck to head out to the sport climbing area. I was the only one who had ever done any lead climbing before, and I was the driver, and I was the planner for the trip in general, so it really was a stressful time overall with all that feeling of responsibility, but I managed.
There are three main sport climbing areas in Red Rock Canyon, and the other numerous areas are all mostly either bouldering or multipitch trad bigwalls. (Class III-V all day routes). We mostly climbed at the second pullout in the scenic loop, and did a bunch of easier 5.8-5.10c routes. These were at the "Magic Bus" wall. It was really cool getting to this area because the entrance was in this shaded slot canyon full of really interesting geological features and technical obstacles. The wall itself was really exposed. It was a giant boulder about 70 feet tall and 150 feet wide that was just sitting on this 15 degree slope of rock, which eventually dropped another 200 feet to the canyon floor. This added a really neat aspect to the climbing as the fear factor while leading was essentially doubled due to the overall height of the rock.
We climbed a few routes the first day, and then came back to camp for dinner. While at dinner, there was a dyno comp happening at the portable wall that mountaingear brought, and I got to meet big climbers such as Lisa Rands, Chris Linder, Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, and Chris Sharma. It was cool to be able to hang out with these bigshots. There also was a really cool bluegrass band or rather "newgrass" band, as grandma calls them. We went to bed rather early as we wanted to climb a lot the next day.
The second day we got to the second pullout again, and went to "the gallery" climbing area, and hung out a little while waiting for a turn, but there were way too many people there, so we went back to the "magic bus" area for the rest of the day. We climbed the other routes we didn't have time to climb the previous day, hung out a little bit, and then headed back when we got tired. It was a pretty fun day. After a quick nap at camp, we decided to go to the Vegas Strip to walk around and take in the sights. It was pretty fun, and we went to "Ceasar's Palace" and the "Bellagio" as well as the Coke superstore and "Fatburger". After a few hours of walking around though, we decided to head back. On the way back to the car there was a really neat fountain/water/light show at the lake in front of the "Bellagio" that we watched for a little while.
(The above picture is me slacklining with some pro athlete and the owner of Asana)
The next day we drove back to Colorado after a fun but short trip. We were thinking about going out to Disney Land, but decided against it as we were all plain tuckered out. On the drive back we stopped in Fruita, CO for some gas and James pulled a fast one on me and locked the keys in the car while I was getting some food. I freaked out for a few minutes but it turned out that he actually had the real key in his pocket so we were all good.
It was good to get back and sleep. Overall though it was a really exceptional trip, and I will definitely go back, but hopefully next time I'll be able to stay longer.
We left Boulder on March 23rd at 10:30 am. The inital part of the drive went pretty quickly, stopping for gas in Glenwood Springs, and again somewhere in southern Utah. I drove for most of the way out there, except for about an hour where James decided to drive. But he got a little carsick, and I took over. The weird thing about Vegas is that it has this aura about it that lets you know when you are getting close. You could see the light pollution of Vegas, and you could see it from about 130 miles out. It was kind of amazing that there is that much electricity in such a small place, but I guess Hoover dam it pretty dam big. We got to Vegas at about 9:45pm or so, and got to Spring Mountain Ranch at about 10:30 (20 miles west of Vegas on Charleston Blv.), and set up camp and hit the hay.
I got up at 7:00 the next morning to an awesome sight. The sun was just rising up over the bluffs to the east, and huge cliffs were looming over us to the west. Although it was only March, it was sure to be a beautiful weekend. We had some breakfast, and did a little slacklining, and then all piled into the truck to head out to the sport climbing area. I was the only one who had ever done any lead climbing before, and I was the driver, and I was the planner for the trip in general, so it really was a stressful time overall with all that feeling of responsibility, but I managed.
There are three main sport climbing areas in Red Rock Canyon, and the other numerous areas are all mostly either bouldering or multipitch trad bigwalls. (Class III-V all day routes). We mostly climbed at the second pullout in the scenic loop, and did a bunch of easier 5.8-5.10c routes. These were at the "Magic Bus" wall. It was really cool getting to this area because the entrance was in this shaded slot canyon full of really interesting geological features and technical obstacles. The wall itself was really exposed. It was a giant boulder about 70 feet tall and 150 feet wide that was just sitting on this 15 degree slope of rock, which eventually dropped another 200 feet to the canyon floor. This added a really neat aspect to the climbing as the fear factor while leading was essentially doubled due to the overall height of the rock.
We climbed a few routes the first day, and then came back to camp for dinner. While at dinner, there was a dyno comp happening at the portable wall that mountaingear brought, and I got to meet big climbers such as Lisa Rands, Chris Linder, Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, and Chris Sharma. It was cool to be able to hang out with these bigshots. There also was a really cool bluegrass band or rather "newgrass" band, as grandma calls them. We went to bed rather early as we wanted to climb a lot the next day.
The second day we got to the second pullout again, and went to "the gallery" climbing area, and hung out a little while waiting for a turn, but there were way too many people there, so we went back to the "magic bus" area for the rest of the day. We climbed the other routes we didn't have time to climb the previous day, hung out a little bit, and then headed back when we got tired. It was a pretty fun day. After a quick nap at camp, we decided to go to the Vegas Strip to walk around and take in the sights. It was pretty fun, and we went to "Ceasar's Palace" and the "Bellagio" as well as the Coke superstore and "Fatburger". After a few hours of walking around though, we decided to head back. On the way back to the car there was a really neat fountain/water/light show at the lake in front of the "Bellagio" that we watched for a little while.
(The above picture is me slacklining with some pro athlete and the owner of Asana)The next day we drove back to Colorado after a fun but short trip. We were thinking about going out to Disney Land, but decided against it as we were all plain tuckered out. On the drive back we stopped in Fruita, CO for some gas and James pulled a fast one on me and locked the keys in the car while I was getting some food. I freaked out for a few minutes but it turned out that he actually had the real key in his pocket so we were all good.
It was good to get back and sleep. Overall though it was a really exceptional trip, and I will definitely go back, but hopefully next time I'll be able to stay longer.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Insomnia
I have been having trouble sleeping lately, it is probably either because I am sick, or because I am not happy with the state of affairs my life is in right now. Either way I decided to post about my recent adventures. Last friday, James and I went climbing in boulder canyon and did the classic 5.7 "The Owl" on "The Dome". I really love this route because it forces me to use many different techniques in one fun trad climb. There are a few sketchy slab moves, a hard hand crack, and a huge mantle on the second pitch. It was a really good time on a wonderful day. Unfortunately since then I haven't gotten out due to being sick.
Last night, or should I say Saturday night was St. Patricks day, and boy was it crazy. I must have written up 70 residents for alcohol abuse, and the night's event escalated to some drunk moron lighting a bonfire next to the pond. The fire department showed up and everything, but he managed to run away before we got there. That was fun.
On friday I will be leaving for Nevada to go to the Red Rock Rendezvous for a fun climbing time. James, Caitlin, Ashlee and I will be going over in the big red truck, and hanging out there for the weekend. I'm pretty stoked, Las Vegas has some killer limestone that will be really fun to pull down on.
Alright, time to try and sleep, peace out cruel world...
Last night, or should I say Saturday night was St. Patricks day, and boy was it crazy. I must have written up 70 residents for alcohol abuse, and the night's event escalated to some drunk moron lighting a bonfire next to the pond. The fire department showed up and everything, but he managed to run away before we got there. That was fun.
On friday I will be leaving for Nevada to go to the Red Rock Rendezvous for a fun climbing time. James, Caitlin, Ashlee and I will be going over in the big red truck, and hanging out there for the weekend. I'm pretty stoked, Las Vegas has some killer limestone that will be really fun to pull down on.
Alright, time to try and sleep, peace out cruel world...
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Mt. Elbert, 14,434'
As planned, this weekend I went to go climb Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado, and the second highest in the lower 48 states. I went on this trip with the great people at 14ers.com and there was a group of about 30 who went. I left at 6:00 pm on Friday the 2nd with my buddy James Sloan, and we took off for the trailhead. It was a really sketchy drive up 1-70 due to the snow and the rear-wheel drive Tacoma that James had borrowed from his mom (not to mention the fact that James is a crazy driver anyway). After we got through the tunnel and down to Silverthorne, though, the roads cleared up. We made it through Leadville and to the Twin Lakes trailhead at about 10:00, and then proceeded to sleep in the back of his truck.
After setting the alarm for 5:30, we got in our bags. Unfortunately, I was the least prepared for this portion of the trip. My 15 degree REI sleeping bag did little to fend off the -20 degree temperatures that night, and I was quite cold. I had to keep moving around in the bag all night to stay warm, and got very little sleep. Fortunately, the night went by quickly and we got up to get ready to go promptly at 5:30. At 6:00 it was still about -11 outside, but my LaSportiva K4S boots kept my toes toasty warm. James and I were going to brew up some water for tea, but the extra gallon of water I brought had frozen solid. We tried using some other water, but my stove just wouldn't work in the cold. I figured it was the lack of outside air pressure due to the cold. The stove works by sucking the fuel out of the canister using a pressure differential, because the outside air, when above freezing, provides enough pressure to do this. Unfortunately, it was about 40 degrees below freezing so we were out of luck. At this point, we just strapped on our snowshoes and were on our way.
We started hiking at 6:30, and reached the 4-wheel-drive trailhead in about an hour (road is closed in winter due to snow conditions). It was looking to be an amazing day so far. The skies were bluebird, without any traces of clouds. Though it was cold, we were moving fast enough to bear it, and had enough equipment to survive. We took a quick break, and then continued. James and I had left the cars behind everyone else by about 10 minutes or so because of the stove problems, but had caught up to the leader after about 30 minutes. After the break, we continued for another mile through the trees to get to treeline. This was probably the most strenuous part of the climb due to the deep snow in the trees. Thanks to my routefinding skills, however, we were able to stay on the trail for almost the entire way to treeline. At treeline, there was a fairly steep section which had some clearly unstable snow. We could hear it collapse with big "thwumps" as we walked by. We avoided this section by switchbacking across a less agressive slope on the southernly aspect of the ridge. After passing this section, the following view awaited us.
The image here shows one of the false summits of the mountain, but it shows a clear view of the ridge we climbed. From this point is was still another 2,500 feet of elevation gain to the top. The gently sloping ridge sections are where I am the strongest, as I am able to pace myself to go for more than 30 minutes at a time without stopping. I quickly passed everyone else in the group, and gained a good 15-20 minute lead on all the other climbers. I took a quick rest and continued onto the steep section of the ridge. At this point, it became rocky, and I removed my snowshoes for the rest of the climb. Another climber (Dan, I think) caught up to me and we continued to push towards the summit. We stayed on the sections of the slope with the least snow, as the slope aspects to the south of us possessed considerable avalanche danger. This section of the climb was not too amazing, just kick-stepping into the soft snow and going up and up. I reached the summit at about 1:15. It was amazing to have the top of Colorado all to myself, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and there was no wind whatsoever (I measured the temperature to be hovering around 2 degrees). I could see all the way to Pikes Peak, and the entire Sawatch range, as well as Capitol Peak and Mount of the Holy Cross. It was amazing. James followed about 15 minutes after, and we both soaked up the view.
As I mentioned earlier, we were blessed from the start with an incredible day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the wind didn't pick up until we were on the descent. We left the top at about 1:45, and then made the long haul down back to the car. On the descent the wind picked up to about 30 or 40 miles per hour, bringing the wind chill down to -30 degrees or so. We just kept moving and once we were down in the trees, the wind died down and we were able to hike in peace. When passing through treeline, we again heard the undeniable "thwump" sound of collapsing snow, and it was reported that a small portion of this section actually did slide as one of the heavier climbers descended after James and I. It wasn't anything to be worried about though.
James and I made it back to the car at 5:30 pm, and we were thoroughly exhausted. Overall, the trip was about 13 miles, with just under 5000 feet of elevation gain. I summited first, in 6 hours and 45 minutes, and we descended in 3 hours and 45 minutes, with a break of 25 minutes at the top, totaling 11 hours for the day. It was a really good time, and a good exposure for myself in questionable avalanche terrain, and good training on how to avoid potential avalanche terrain in order to have a safer, and clearly successful climb.
After setting the alarm for 5:30, we got in our bags. Unfortunately, I was the least prepared for this portion of the trip. My 15 degree REI sleeping bag did little to fend off the -20 degree temperatures that night, and I was quite cold. I had to keep moving around in the bag all night to stay warm, and got very little sleep. Fortunately, the night went by quickly and we got up to get ready to go promptly at 5:30. At 6:00 it was still about -11 outside, but my LaSportiva K4S boots kept my toes toasty warm. James and I were going to brew up some water for tea, but the extra gallon of water I brought had frozen solid. We tried using some other water, but my stove just wouldn't work in the cold. I figured it was the lack of outside air pressure due to the cold. The stove works by sucking the fuel out of the canister using a pressure differential, because the outside air, when above freezing, provides enough pressure to do this. Unfortunately, it was about 40 degrees below freezing so we were out of luck. At this point, we just strapped on our snowshoes and were on our way.
We started hiking at 6:30, and reached the 4-wheel-drive trailhead in about an hour (road is closed in winter due to snow conditions). It was looking to be an amazing day so far. The skies were bluebird, without any traces of clouds. Though it was cold, we were moving fast enough to bear it, and had enough equipment to survive. We took a quick break, and then continued. James and I had left the cars behind everyone else by about 10 minutes or so because of the stove problems, but had caught up to the leader after about 30 minutes. After the break, we continued for another mile through the trees to get to treeline. This was probably the most strenuous part of the climb due to the deep snow in the trees. Thanks to my routefinding skills, however, we were able to stay on the trail for almost the entire way to treeline. At treeline, there was a fairly steep section which had some clearly unstable snow. We could hear it collapse with big "thwumps" as we walked by. We avoided this section by switchbacking across a less agressive slope on the southernly aspect of the ridge. After passing this section, the following view awaited us.
The image here shows one of the false summits of the mountain, but it shows a clear view of the ridge we climbed. From this point is was still another 2,500 feet of elevation gain to the top. The gently sloping ridge sections are where I am the strongest, as I am able to pace myself to go for more than 30 minutes at a time without stopping. I quickly passed everyone else in the group, and gained a good 15-20 minute lead on all the other climbers. I took a quick rest and continued onto the steep section of the ridge. At this point, it became rocky, and I removed my snowshoes for the rest of the climb. Another climber (Dan, I think) caught up to me and we continued to push towards the summit. We stayed on the sections of the slope with the least snow, as the slope aspects to the south of us possessed considerable avalanche danger. This section of the climb was not too amazing, just kick-stepping into the soft snow and going up and up. I reached the summit at about 1:15. It was amazing to have the top of Colorado all to myself, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and there was no wind whatsoever (I measured the temperature to be hovering around 2 degrees). I could see all the way to Pikes Peak, and the entire Sawatch range, as well as Capitol Peak and Mount of the Holy Cross. It was amazing. James followed about 15 minutes after, and we both soaked up the view.
As I mentioned earlier, we were blessed from the start with an incredible day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the wind didn't pick up until we were on the descent. We left the top at about 1:45, and then made the long haul down back to the car. On the descent the wind picked up to about 30 or 40 miles per hour, bringing the wind chill down to -30 degrees or so. We just kept moving and once we were down in the trees, the wind died down and we were able to hike in peace. When passing through treeline, we again heard the undeniable "thwump" sound of collapsing snow, and it was reported that a small portion of this section actually did slide as one of the heavier climbers descended after James and I. It wasn't anything to be worried about though.
James and I made it back to the car at 5:30 pm, and we were thoroughly exhausted. Overall, the trip was about 13 miles, with just under 5000 feet of elevation gain. I summited first, in 6 hours and 45 minutes, and we descended in 3 hours and 45 minutes, with a break of 25 minutes at the top, totaling 11 hours for the day. It was a really good time, and a good exposure for myself in questionable avalanche terrain, and good training on how to avoid potential avalanche terrain in order to have a safer, and clearly successful climb.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Summer 2007 Climbing Itinerary
I posted this on another site, but I'll just archive it here:
"So the summer is rapidly approaching, and I am itching to get on some good alpine rock. I have plenty of items on my ticklist, and probably won't get to all of them this year, but I'd like to keep my options open. I also need partners to go with. If you are interested, and feel competent with the grades and exposures of these climbs, let me know. I will be available almost every weekend starting from May until September. These are the routes I am looking at:
Longs Peak - Alexanders Chimney (5.5)
Mount Ypsilon - Blitzen Ridge (5.5ish)
Blanca Peak - Ormes Buttress (5.6)
Quandary Peak - Inwood Arete (5.4-5.7 depending)
Crestone Needle - Ellingwood Ledges/Arete (5.7)
Lone Eagle Peak - North Face (5.7)
Vestal Peak - Wham Ridge (5.4)
Mount Sneffels - North Buttress (5.6)
Sharkstooth - Northeast Ridge (5.6)
Spearhead - North Ridge (5.6)
Longs Peak - Keyhole Ridge (5.5)
Hallett Peak - Great Dihedral (5.7)
Apache Peak - Kasparov Traverse (5.7)
Mt. Alice - Central Ramp (5.8)
Lizzard Head - Southwest Chimney (5.8)
Storm King Peak - North Face (5.8)
Petit Grepon - South Face (5.8)
Long's Peak - Keiners Route (5.3)
Long's Peak Diamond - Casual Route (5.10)
Information about these routes can be found on www.mountainproject.com and www.summitpost.com
I am also planning on doing a 10 day trip to the San Juan range where I will attempt to climb all fourteen 14ers in that area of colorado. If you are interested in that trip, again just let me know.
If I forgot to tag you, I'm sorry, just let me know and I'll include you. And again, just send me a message or comment here if you are interested in any of these routes for this summer. Peace."
Hopefully some of the above mentioned routes will be a part of my mild adventures within the next year.
"So the summer is rapidly approaching, and I am itching to get on some good alpine rock. I have plenty of items on my ticklist, and probably won't get to all of them this year, but I'd like to keep my options open. I also need partners to go with. If you are interested, and feel competent with the grades and exposures of these climbs, let me know. I will be available almost every weekend starting from May until September. These are the routes I am looking at:
Longs Peak - Alexanders Chimney (5.5)
Mount Ypsilon - Blitzen Ridge (5.5ish)
Blanca Peak - Ormes Buttress (5.6)
Quandary Peak - Inwood Arete (5.4-5.7 depending)
Crestone Needle - Ellingwood Ledges/Arete (5.7)
Lone Eagle Peak - North Face (5.7)
Vestal Peak - Wham Ridge (5.4)
Mount Sneffels - North Buttress (5.6)
Sharkstooth - Northeast Ridge (5.6)
Spearhead - North Ridge (5.6)
Longs Peak - Keyhole Ridge (5.5)
Hallett Peak - Great Dihedral (5.7)
Apache Peak - Kasparov Traverse (5.7)
Mt. Alice - Central Ramp (5.8)
Lizzard Head - Southwest Chimney (5.8)
Storm King Peak - North Face (5.8)
Petit Grepon - South Face (5.8)
Long's Peak - Keiners Route (5.3)
Long's Peak Diamond - Casual Route (5.10)
Information about these routes can be found on www.mountainproject.com and www.summitpost.com
I am also planning on doing a 10 day trip to the San Juan range where I will attempt to climb all fourteen 14ers in that area of colorado. If you are interested in that trip, again just let me know.
If I forgot to tag you, I'm sorry, just let me know and I'll include you. And again, just send me a message or comment here if you are interested in any of these routes for this summer. Peace."
Hopefully some of the above mentioned routes will be a part of my mild adventures within the next year.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Spot Bouldering Series Finals
Last night was the Spot Boulder Series Finals here in Boulder, CO and boy was it awesome. It started off with a rocking citizens comp, with plenty of problems to go around. The setters did a great job creating a variety of different routes, but many of the elite problems seemed a little on the hard side. I flashed the top 6 "hard" problems, but only was able to send elite 2. This summer will be a good time to put my new plastic strength to work outside in the real world. Said and I did some serious slacklining and Said came really really close to landing the backflip. He ended up landing it with two feet on the line, but his angular momentum threw him off and he ended up doing some sort of frontflip dismount. It was cool, but he still has to stick it!!
I met a bunch of the other top slackliners in Boulder last night, and we will have a really great crew to set up some highlines this summer. I am getting really excited about this. With the incredible skill around here, and the leadership of myself, we will be able to get a regular highlining crew together this summer, and this will be a big accomplishment not only for myself, but for the sport of slacklining in colorado.
I am hoping to get a digital camera soon to document these adventures, but for now, you will just have you use your imagination, or come find me and see for yourself. Next weekend is the Elbert trip, and it is a definite "go". I'll post a trip report after the climb next weekend. Peace
I met a bunch of the other top slackliners in Boulder last night, and we will have a really great crew to set up some highlines this summer. I am getting really excited about this. With the incredible skill around here, and the leadership of myself, we will be able to get a regular highlining crew together this summer, and this will be a big accomplishment not only for myself, but for the sport of slacklining in colorado.
I am hoping to get a digital camera soon to document these adventures, but for now, you will just have you use your imagination, or come find me and see for yourself. Next weekend is the Elbert trip, and it is a definite "go". I'll post a trip report after the climb next weekend. Peace
Friday, February 23, 2007
No recent adventures
So it was my new years resolution to go on some sort of adventure every weekend this year. Inevitably, I did not live up to this resolution, just like every other resolution I have ever made. During the recent weeks I have been busy with my aerospace labs, which take up almost all of my life these days. We just finished a lab mapping the absolute gravity of the earth at different latitudes. Did you know that the solid part of the earth has tide fluctuations in addition to the oceans? The ground actually moves about 10-15 cm outward (from the center of the earth) every day.
Anyway, I have had many plans to go on different adventures in the last month, including a few 14ers and such, but these fell through due to the fact that none of my friends are hardcore enough to drive up to the mountains. I've been blown off too many times, so it's time to find some new mountaineering partners. After I get a truck this summer, this will all change as I won't have to depend on anyone for a ride.
I do have some fun plans coming up though. Today and tomorrow I am judging at the final climbing competition of the season, as well as competing. The following weekend, if everything goes to plan, I'll be climbing Mt. Elbert. I know, this isn't that incredible of a peak, but regardless, it will be good to finally get out into the cold and do some climbing. During the last weekend in March I will be in Nevada at the Red Rock Rendezvous, doing some serious highlining and lowlining, as well as some sport climbing. I will also be meeting up with a friend in Salt Lake, so that will be great.
I'll keep everyone posted as my mild adventures of 2007 unfold, and hopefully I'll see you all out at the crags!
Anyway, I have had many plans to go on different adventures in the last month, including a few 14ers and such, but these fell through due to the fact that none of my friends are hardcore enough to drive up to the mountains. I've been blown off too many times, so it's time to find some new mountaineering partners. After I get a truck this summer, this will all change as I won't have to depend on anyone for a ride.
I do have some fun plans coming up though. Today and tomorrow I am judging at the final climbing competition of the season, as well as competing. The following weekend, if everything goes to plan, I'll be climbing Mt. Elbert. I know, this isn't that incredible of a peak, but regardless, it will be good to finally get out into the cold and do some climbing. During the last weekend in March I will be in Nevada at the Red Rock Rendezvous, doing some serious highlining and lowlining, as well as some sport climbing. I will also be meeting up with a friend in Salt Lake, so that will be great.
I'll keep everyone posted as my mild adventures of 2007 unfold, and hopefully I'll see you all out at the crags!
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