Author: D. Scott Clark

Kloeberdeath/Lipsync

Today’s post is pretty simple; photos of Matt Lloyd climbing on Kloeberdeath/Lipsync  (5.12b) in Eldorado Canyon. The original ascent using knotted webbing as protection is INSANE. I followed the route and it was scary enough (Matt, ever the gentleman, made me clean it). I’m glad there was bolted protection. 
Shooting on a bright sunny day in a roof area can be very difficult. I used a studio strobe light at full power, probably 60 feet from the climber to fill in the dark shadows. 

Ice in Officer’s Gulch

Admittedly I was not great about adding posts from this past winter. I’m still trying to catch up, and there’s a lot to catch up on. 

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Matt Lloyd swinging into Three Tiers at Officer’s Gulch 
Matt Lloyd calls me quite often at 6:30 in the morning with a ludicrous amount of energy and enthusiasm. “Let’s go climbing today!” Sometimes it’s Eldorado Canyon, sometimes it’s Clear Creek or Table Mountain. Wherever it is it doesn’t matter, it’s just good to get out and climb. And honestly, I’m incredibly thankful that he does call me, even though I do value my sleep and I’m usually less than enthused when I answer the phone. I’ve gotten to explore so much of Colorado in the last fifteen months because of those 6:30am calls. 
Late last November the moral in the snow sports community was low. We’d gotten some good early snows but then remained dry for most of November and December. But this meant that many of the ice climbing areas that normally have a very high avalanche danger were clear for climbing. 
Matt calls and says we’re going to do our first bit of ice this year at Officer’s Gulch with our friend Colin. “Awesome, I’m in. But I don’t have my ice tools yet.” Matt tells me, “It’s fine, I’ll pick you up a pair.” 
I call him on my way to the carpool lot, “Matt, in my excitement to leave I forgot my helmet.” This is not unusual. I’m pretty good at forgetting important items. “Well, the good news is,” Matt tells me, “I have an extra helmet. The bad news is I forgot to grab you tools. We’ll figure it out. We’ll make it work.” 
Officer’s Gulch, otherwise called Tenmile Canyon, has some great ice climbing that is reasonably accessible, but most of the winter it can be dangerous to climb because of the avalanche danger. Some of the classics, however, are The Shroud (WI 3-4) and Round the Corner (WI 4-5). But we wanted to get a warm up for the season on Three Tiers, 500 vertical feet of WI 2-3 and low angle ice walking up – you might have guessed already – tiers of good climbing. Good thing we chose this, having 2 sets of tools for three people is precarious. 
The first pitch is the crux of it. Easily solo-able but without tools for everyone, thankfully, we rope up. It’s good to be swinging into ice again. I started last season at the Ouray Ice Fest and kind of fell in love. I’ve been rock climbing most of my life, but there’s something about ice that’s addicting in a different way. 
After the first pitch I get left with a trailing rope and and no tools. For the low angle ice it’s not a problem, but when I reach the vertical sections I start employing my rock climbing skills. I crimp on ice scars from my friends’ tools and pull on columns to get myself up. It’s a great exercise in footwork. Thankfully, and maybe surprisingly, I didn’t fall. 
We bushwhack and scramble to descend most of the way down the mountain, setting up a rope and rappelling the last fifty meters or so. 
I’m excited for the rest of the season, but it will make a big difference with my own set of tools. 
Colin descending the route

Colin racking for the climb

Snowbird and Brighton Shoot

Nick Rothenbush clearing a cliff at Snowbird
At the beginning of this year I had a ton of Southwest Airlines Frequent Flyer Miles from my Southwest Airlines credit card. I found that I could take trips to Salt Lake City for almost nothing so I started planning to go back and shoot some skiing. After a failed attempt to set up photo shoots in Utah in February, I rescheduled my trip for mid-March with much better success. 
I have to give props to Southwest Airlines here. I cancelled my flight in February less than 24 hours before departure and my phone conversation went like this: 
Me: “I need to cancel my flight to Salt Lake City for tomorrow.” 
Customer Service: “Ok, I will add your points back to your account. Have a great day.”
Easiest interaction with customer service ever. Try doing that with United….
Anyway.

I met up with my buddy, Nick Rothenbush, at Snowbird and went out exploring for the day. The snow conditions were not great, but we founds some nice cliff lines. Pretty much in general the snow was not great. The week before the Wasatch had been hit with a pretty good storm, but the week I decided to come out the highs were in the 60’s everyday. So instead of getting killer pow shots I concentrated on getting some big airs.

Brighton connected me with Treyson Allen, a snowboarder based in SLC. He immediately takes me on a hike to a bowl below Pioneer Ridge, which has endless possibilities on a powder day. But we found some really esthetic lines. 

Treyson Allen dropping in. 

The beautiful view from Preston Peak

  

Trying to get a good slash.

Two high school shredders, Walter Shearon & PJ Baymiller, meet me after they get out of school early. They take me all over the mountains, trying to find any hidden stashes. It’s amazing how much young guys can bounce on terrible snow. It makes me feel old that my knees can’t take it anymore. They would get some big air and land on the cruddiest crud like it was 2 feet of pow.

Walter Shearon

PJ Baymiller
There were a few stashes of fresh

Kyle Sul is a freeskier and ski base jumper. He spends his summers base jumping in Norway. He agreed to come out and see what we could get at Snowbird. Despite a subpar morning, the afternoon thaw made the snow soft enough for some great shots.

We meet up with Chris Crane and Niels Omana, friends of Treyson Allen. They are psyched to get some big air.

Chris Crane getting it clean

Niels Omana getting the grab

Kyle Sul taking off

I had a great week in Salt Lake City, but it makes me wish that Snowbird and Brighton were in my back yard. I’m loving living in Boulder, but…the access to skiing is not the greatest and the skiing is not the best. I found out first hand recently that the snowpack in the Colorado backcountry is unstable. 
It was great working with all the athletes. They really put it on the line for me. I’m psyched to shoot a lot more skiing and snowboarding next season. ANNDD hopefully we have a much better snow year next season. 

Featured Artist in the Access Fund’s Vertical Times

This month has really flown by, and a lot has happened since my last post. I spent a week in Salt Lake City photographing with skiers and snowboarders at Snowbird and Brighton, and I got some images I’m psyched on: just what I needed. I had a bit of an accident on Sunday that I’ll get into later, but I’m healing well.

BUT the big news is I’m the Access Fund’s Featured Artist in their quarterly magazine Vertical Times! You can see the full PDF By Clicking This Link!

Jamie Gatchalian swinging on Head Like a Hole (5.13a) Clear Creek Canyon, CO

Matilda Soderlünd Bouldering

A few months ago I got a call from Tiffany Hensley asking if I wanted to get out and shoot with Swedish climber Matilda Soderlünd. Who am I to say no to an invitation like that. We tried to go to Guanella Pass but we got rained out. On the way home we decided to stop in Clear Creek Canyon to at least get some climbing in.

Matilda is not as much of a boulderer as she is a sport climber, but she definitely can hold her own.

We found this friendly guy blocking our path out, but he allowed us to pass eventually.

I invited Matilda to come back to Clear Creek later and show me her sport climbing skills. And she is impressive.

Finally Some Snow!

Last week it finally snowed in the Front Range. We’ve been looking at bare mountains for most of the winter, sourly remembering last year’s terrible snow cover. We keep doing the snow dance and praying to the snow gods, but mostly to know avail. We hear about Utah, Washington, and even Southern Colorado getting pounded by beautifully large storms, but nothing seems to come our way. But Wednesday and Thursday brought a decent amount of snow.

My buddy Leigh is out visiting to snowboard, so thursday I decided to snowboard with him and Thomas Moore. I usually ski, and I didn’t really pay attention to the snow report, so I was very unprepared for the amount of powder at Keystone. I actually hadn’t been on a snowboard in over 5 years, but it came back quite easily, though I had never been in powder before. Leigh, Tom and I stuck mainly to the woods, trying to make the most of the fresh.

Thomas Moore 

I really want to do more skiing and snowboarding photography, but I always dread bringing my full camera set up with me, mostly because of the weight. I shot all of these with my point and shoot, Canon Powershot G10. I really want to find a nice mirrorless camera to fill in the gap, something that is super light weight and can easily sit inside my jacket, but has high enough quality that people want to buy the photos. AND usability. The G10 shoots painfully slow. On burst mode it takes 1 photo every 1.5 seconds. The new Sony Alpha NEX-7 I’m looking at shoots 10 frames per second and has a shutter lag of only .02 seconds (not even mentioning the list of other great features it has). Sorry, I got distracted.

Late in the day the weather toyed with being Bluebird, but it continued to snow all morning long. Over the previous 24 hours there was maybe 8″ of fresh snow which was awesome in the trees. Tom and I decide to hike over to the South Bowl, where apparently a ton of snow from elsewhere on the mountain was getting blown. I got stuck.

Tom sitting waist deep in fresh powder. 

I got really stuck. So stuck on my snowboard that I could not move without removing the snowboard and crawling inch by inch through the powder till I got to a slope that was steep enough that gravity could overcome the resistance of the snow. I was kicking myself for not bringing my skis. Maneuvering into place to get a shot was more difficult. Enjoying the abundance of snow was more difficult. I was exhausted at the end of the day.  

But we got to enjoy the new snow.

 

View from my usual position….on my back. 

The Grim Reaper 5.13rx Trad in Eldorado Canyon

Happy new year! I have a really great feeling about 2013! Enjoy a post I should have posted a LONG time ago. And congratulations to my friend Matt Lloyd who just got accepted to the Evolv National Climbing Team!

Back in October, Matt Lloyd told me about a project in Eldorado Canyon that he wanted to work on. “It’s short, hard, and dangerous” he said. “The only other guy to do it took a pretty bad ground fall while working on it. It’s 5.13RX trad…” For some reason he likes climbs that have the potential of a bad ground fall.

It was cold. And a hell of a hike to get to the top of Redgarden wall. We warm up on a “Eldo” stout 5.11 crack. 
Matt works through the crux and after a couple of attempts, goes for the send. 5.13 is hard. 5.13 rx Trad is harder. and Eldo 5.13 rx Trad is even harder.  

Matt trying hard.

The route is short, and it’s over quickly. Once over the ledge, it’s a jug haul to the top.

The end of the year was crazy and I’ve had a lot of awesome adventures. A lot more are to come for 2013! 

Gear Review: Oakley Canopy

Wearing glasses has always made wearing ski goggles uncomfortable for me. I have lots of problems with fogging and my face hurts from having the my glasses squeezed against my temples all day. When I was looking for goggles this year I looked at several different OTG (Over The Glasses) models, but most of them look like they haven’t been updated since the late 1970’s. When I found out that the Oakley Canopy, while extremely stylish, also were made to be OTG I was psyched. I wouldn’t have to look like a grandpa this year. The Canopy is a new addition to Oakley’s line of great goggles this year. 
Oakley Canopy
I do have to say that I never really imagined myself wearing Oakleys; I’ve always associated the brand with a certain type of person, one that I would like to think I am not. But maybe that applies more to the sunglasses than ski goggles. I still can’t really imagine spending $160 on a pair of sunglasses that I would lose or sit on. 
But these goggles are by far the most comfortable goggles I’ve ever worn, but perhaps that’s not saying a whole lot. I’ve never really invested good money in goggles, usually going for the cheapest I could find. For years I wore a kids goggle I found for $15 at a ski resort. I have no clue how I got my glasses in side them. And I thought fogging was just something you had to live with. Funny how technology solves a multitude of problems. 
The Oakley Canopy goggle is full of great technologies designed to enhance the user’s experience. The oversized goggle’s frame is light, comfortable, and low profile maximizing the space for the lens. It fits great around the nose, and the triple layer foam and fleece lining that keep contact with the face is comfortable all day long. Hidden spaces in the plastic of lens allow your prescription glasses to fit in the goggle without putting pressure on your temples. I’m loving being comfortable in them. The shape of the goggle and the articulating outriggers fit easily with most helmets as well (Oakley says their ventilation works better with Smith brand helmets than Smith’s own goggles).
The real technologies are in the lens. The dual lens keeps the cold air on the outside and the warm air on the inside which reduces the chance for condensation and fog. In the chance that there is fogging, the “F3 Anti-Fog” coating absorbs the moisture on the lens. Really the only problems I had with fogging were on my own glasses and as soon as I got moving the goggles brought in enough cool air to eliminate it. I should figure out a fix to my glasses fogging…
Oakley’s HD Optics keep the picture extra sharp and keeping the thickest point of the lens in the center eliminates any distortions you’d normally get with a lens this big. Oh yeah…this lens is BIG. You won’t miss any tree or mogul unless you are blinking. 
I’m psyched to be wearing these Oakleys this year.

Gear Review: Smith Variant Brim

They’ve been recommended for a while, but I didn’t really want to buy in. And every year they become more pervasive; now helmets are everywhere on the slopes. After a bad accident last year where I found myself flying through the air, screaming to myself, “PROTECT THE HEAD!” I thought maybe this is the year I should join the masses. 
What should a helmet be other than a bucket that holds your brain in when you smack something harder than your head? It should be light so you don’t think about that fact that you’re wearing a brain bucket. It should be comfortable and fit well in variable conditions, and it should keep you warm. But the Smith Variant Brim also wins on style; it doesn’t hurt that you look pretty good wearing it. 

Smith Variant Brim
Smith Variant Brim & Oakley Canopy Goggle
The Variant Brim has channels on the brim that pass air through it keeping heat from getting trapped and sending fog into your goggles. It gets its name from the vents on the top that can be opened and closed depending on how much air you want passing through the helmet. So far on days that are around 10ºF I’ve kept them closed, but I imagine it will be useful in late season. The Boa® fit system keeps the helmet fitting tight on your head, and you can change the size if you want to include a beanie underneath on extra cold days. If you’re really into your music on the slopes you can get Skullcandy ear pads to replace the standard ones.  

Overall I’m happy to wearing a helmet this year and glad to have the Smith Variant Brim protecting my noggin. 

Running at Marshall Mesa

I always enjoy shooting running. It always tests my limits and, well, my equipment’s too. It’s not slow and precise like climbing where I can pick my shots carefully. With running it’s all about timing. It also reminds me of why I want to replace my 5DMkII….autofocus. 
When coming up with ideas for shoots, a lot of times the most difficult part is deciding on a location. I’d driven past Marshall Mesa several times and always found the landscape intriguing. Since I didn’t really want to go too far for this shoot, it seemed like the ideal place. Plus I got in a climbing session at nearby Eldo immediately afterwards.

Patagonia Men’s Advocate Lace Plaid Shoe Review

I love this shoe. And that’s saying a lot; I have a lot of shoes. 
Patagonia Men’s Advocate Lace Plaid Shoe
Photo from Patagonia’s website

I have many shoes for many different purposes, but when I need to grab just one for most things this is it. The Patagonia Men’s Advocate Lace Plaid Shoe is meant to be a an aprés climb (or pretty much an aprés anything) shoe. It’s super super lightweight, foldable, packable and very surprisingly durable.

I’ve worn the hell out of this shoes since January, and I love it. I use it for everything from my everyday around the town shoe and some light running. But as an approach shoe is where this shoe excels. The sole is incredibly thin and I even took out the minimal footbed, so my foot is protected just by the flexible rubber sole. In the trend of minimalist shoes, this is about as minimal as you can get without going barefoot. I love how my feet feels the trail, and the rubber sole grips to rock impressively well. And being so light weight and flexible you can easily clip the shoe to your harness for multipitch climbs or stuff them in your pack and never notice they are there.

I’ve bouldered V4 in them, and in them I’ve dragged myself through waist deep snow at the top of Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon in February (Not the best idea). I have been incredibly impressed by their durability: when I first bought them I didn’t know how well it would hold up, but after 8 months of extremely heavy use they are still kicking it strong. The Patagonia Men’s Advocate Lace Plaid Shoe gets a strong recommendation.

2012 Summer Teva Mountain Games

I know I am quite a bit late in posting this, but better late than never, right?

The last weekend in May I went to the Teva Mountain Games in Vail. The town of Vail transforms into a sports mecca with events held all over the streets (and rivers);  stupidly fit (or beautifully fit) people are everywhere. Athletes from all over the country come to compete in strenuous competitions for little more than recognition and well, competition.

It takes me a bit to get situated, the layout of the games is pretty spread out. To get from the climbing to the Kayaking areas is quite a hike.

The cross country mountain bike races take off and I wonder up the mountain to find a great vantage to shoot. The riders do a few laps around the course gaining and losing thousands of feet of vertical.

One of the difficult things about the Mountain games is that multiple events are going at the same time. It is impossible to be at all of them. I leave the cross country mountain bike race and wonder through town to find these bikers practicing for their race through the streets. Moments after this shot the sky let loose, drowning out many of the events for a couple of hours.

Alex Puccio

The climbing area is under a protected stage and so the semi-finals continue. Here, Alex Puccio sends her problem that gets her to the finals.

The 10k trail run at 9,000ft somehow went an extra mile. Runners were exhausted and understandably so. I was exhausted from hiking up the mountain to stand in one place for an hour photographing the crazy people as they ran past me. Doing anything at elevation is harder, and it was impressive seeing so many people push themselves to their limits. But the course was harder than many expected.

This year the water was so low in the creek that they had to “create” rapids and try to control the flow of the creek. But people still had fun. In this sport called Kayak Cross, which is a kayak race mixed with American Gladiators, competitors race each other down the river and battle with “8 Ball” kayakers ro reach the finish. Even without quality rapids, this is a lot of fun to watch. I’d imagine it would be a lot of fun to participate in until you get a bow of a kayak in your teeth.

This guy showed the crowd the proper way to float down a river if you ever left your boat.

The two-man rafts had to race both the clock and another team, going around obstacles to reach the end.

One of the many highlights of the Teva Mountain Games was the Gibbon Games, a slackline trick competition. Competitors bounced, flipped, stalled and twisted their way to pleasing the judges and the cheering crowd. It’s quite impressive to see people do flips on a two inch slackline that us normal ones can’t do on solid ground. One of the best tricksters in the world is 14 yr old Alex Mason from California. He might be a little small for his age, but knows how to command a crowd. And a slackline.

You might recognize this bunch of curly hair, especially if you imagine the dude in a Toga. This is Andy Lewis, aka Sketchy Andy, who performed alongside Madonna in the Superbowl. 

Mike Payton, from Colorado, is ranked #4 in the world and has won several world championships.

FiveTen is a huge supporter of the sport and makes shoes specifically for it.

The Games were a blast. Plenty of parties, plenty of music and entertainment, and plenty of shwag. And I got to see a lot of my friends compete and can’t wait to go back to the Winter Games in February.

I’m trying to catch up on posts…I am WAAAYY behind. I have a lot of content to share. Till then.