When travel to Cuba was opened up early last year I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity. I know there were workarounds, but I hadn’t had the draw to take me to our neighboring island yet. I took off at the end of November, my only plan to do a portrait series around Havana and the small, western city of Viñales. I tend to jump around when I travel, and I really wanted to concentrate on fewer areas this time. It didn’t hurt that Viñales has stellar climbing.
People want to know about your experiences in Cuba. The thing I tell everyone that asks, the Cuban people are amazing. They made my trip incredible.
Rodney, a tattoo artist who lives near the skate park, acts as an older
brother to a lot of the young kids that skate at the park.
One of the things that surprised me about Cuba was the diversity – there were people of every color of the spectrum, from Caucasian with blue eyes to very dark African. It was pretty amazing seeing no discernible difference in how they treated each other.
Raul is a climbing guide in Viñales, and he not only showed me the best climbing but also brought me into his tight-knit group of friends. Traveling alone can be…lonely, but the people you meet along the way always make it worth it.
I might get into more details about my trip later, but overall it was an awesome trip. It was easy to get to and easy to get around; the people are so welcoming, hospitable and friendly; and the country is incredibly beautiful. I definitely want to make it back as soon as possible!
Finally getting some time to get to my backlog of edits. Last November I shot my badass roommate, Kathy Karlo of For the Love of Climbing, climbing the Indian Creek route Way Rambo (5.12a). It’s a stunning and jagged crack with a couple no-feet traverses. The crux is keeping the pump away through a long .75 ringlock section. It was awesome watching Kathy send and her friend, Devin Horgan, work the climb. It was also exciting to figure out how to do ringlocks for the first time! I topped roped, but in editing this post I’m getting more and more psyched to go back and try on lead.
Saturday I was proud to march alongside an estimated 200,000 people, mostly women, protesting the election and publicly stating we are not ok with the direction Drumpf is trying to take this country. Now, my hope is that we can continue to organize is such numbers to take back control of our government, keeping our elected officials accountable to the people. We cannot stop at merely marching and holding signs, we must continue to take action.
Boy was angrily singing “Jingle Bells” and his parents couldn’t stop laughing.
I met Michelle and Sylvan in Bend, OR this summer and shot them highlining in Smith Rock. Michelle is from Colorado and was excited to come back and visit. She hit me up and wanted to do some acro yoga shots. I had been wanting to shoot in the Boulder Bandstand for a while and thought it a perfect opportunity.
City of Boulder workers were working on the lights when we got there and were super gracious, even changing the color of the lights to what I thought looked best. I had two shots in mind, so I didn’t really vary too much from my vision. Pretty happy with the results!
I’m from the Midwest, and I don’t particularly like leaving Colorado to go back, but I regularly have Red River Gorge, KY on mind. My girlfriend can attest that I compare pretty much every climbing experience to ‘the Red.’ Basically, most complaints fall under “it’s not overhung enough.” I was psyched when she said she needed to use 5 vacation days and wanted to see what climbing in Kentucky was all about.
Melissa getting a sit-down rest on EGBG (5.10a) before 60 feet of overhanging jugs at the Chocolate Factory
She loved it! I love it. And I can’t wait to go back.
I got to explore some new areas and go back to some of my favorites. The first day I accidentally took her to Bruise Brothers at Muir Valley (was aiming for Tectonic Wall, but I went on autopilot and walked almost all the way to BB before I realized it). Rat Stew and The Return of Manimal are superfun routes to really get you in the RRG mood. We then explored Bibliothek, an area I’d somehow never gone to before. Incredibly aesthetic, overhanging jug hauls, a less steep Motherlode. I jumped on a Josh Thurston original with a tag at the base that says 5.12a, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I was psyched to get the onsight but felt it was easier than 12a. Turns out most everyone agrees that it’s 5.11c. I then tried The Fury, which is a beautiful arching overhang that you see from across the amphitheater. My leftover pump from Unbearable was too much, and I ended up taking 2 or 3 times.
Day two we drove down to the Motherlode area by PMRP. I’d spent a lot of time at the PMRP but never stopped at the Motherlode. Cars were parked all over the road leading to the big hill down to the parking lot, which I thought was odd. In the past, this was frowned upon. As I make the turn to go down the hill, spray painted signs warn entrants, “4×4 only!!! Do not drive 2WD Down.” Typically the low flats areas are the problem, mud pits that I used to rally my Mazda Protege5 down with mostly no problem. So in my dad’s 2wd Toyota Tacoma I thought it would be fine. The hill was the worst I’ve ever seen it, enough I worried about getting stuck at the Motherlode parking lot.
“We can deal with that later.” I wanted to check out The Chocolate Factory since it had several highly rated moderates. Wonkaholic 5.10a felt quite a bit harder than the previous day’s Rat Stew. We then did EGBG, which is new and not in the book. Fantastic! Way better than Wonk.
Melissa after finishing EGBG
I tried the fun Hip to the Jive (11b), which starts with a superfun handcrack at the bottom and moves into shallow pockets in an overhang. I missed a hold at the top while above a clip and took a 30-some foot whip, sending Melissa far into the air. My thought while falling, “Man, I hope I don’t hit that face to the left!”
We climbed the classic 10’s, just to the left of the incredible looking 5.14c, Pure Imagination. The Glass Elevator, Oompa, and Loompa. All felt hard for their grades but are fun routes.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the best part of going to Red River Gorge the first week of November was being in the magical sub-tropical forest with all the beautiful changing leaves.
We met up with an old friend and her boyfriend, and climbed at the Gallery on day 3. I forgot how awesome this place is. The classic five star warmup, 27 Years of Climbing, had a line, so I put up A Brief History of Climb (5.10b). So so very good, and incredibly beautiful arching overhang. I quickly ran up a second time with my camera so I could shoot Melissa on her Onsight attempt.
Johnny B. Good, Guernica, and Preacher’s Daughter rounded out the climbs in the main area. Preacher’s Daughter is soo soo good! (this is a continuous theme in the Red. Even 2 star routes here would be 4 star classics in most climbing areas)
Another climber on A Brief History of Climb
I tried Gold Rush with our friends, a stellar 5.11d with a stout, overhanging crimpy crux to a dyno finish. It’s exciting! Then after I was pumped out I tried Random Precision and felt rather shut down. I put up the draws again on Johnny B. Good and Melissa one hung her first 5.11a!
Thursday it was supposed to rain, so we went to the area near our cabin, Military Wall. Always a classic with climbs like Fuzzy Undercling and Tissue Tiger, it’s a safe place to climb it does start raining. The start of Fuzzy has been eroded down, and so the climb has been upgraded to 5.11b, purely because of the very powerful, hard boulder problem start, getting to the second bolt. Day four on and my skin was finally tired after pulling on the crimp undercling too many times. once to the second clip you get to enjoy overhung plate goodness to a no-hands knee bar rest and fun jugs to the finish. Our friends put up Tissue Tiger (5.12b), so I gave it a try. I was very surprised how easy the bottom 3/4’s of the climb felt, just good-enough jugs to a couple of rests. But then you hit a series of big moves through powerful crimps and side-pulls. It’s going to take me a few more times of sussing out the crux before I’m able to clip those chains.
My goal for the trip was to send one of my two 5.12a projects, so after 3 climbs on day 4 decided to take it easy, especially after the rain came. Melissa and I went to discover what Natural Bridge State Park had to offer.
Awesome views on a moody late afternoon.
We woke up on Friday surrounded by a deep fog. I wanted to get on my project early so we could get back to Bloomington at a decent hour to see old friends. Driving to The Zoo I couldn’t help but stop and photograph this scene before sunrise.
But even after sunrise I couldn’t help but shoot some more.
Finally, we get to the Zoo and I warm up on my project, Hippocrite (5.12a). I thought I might send, putting up the draws, but messed up what has been my crux, clipping bolt 3. I’ve tried this climb for years, and I was ready to put it to bed.
Melissa wanted to record my attempts, which I’m happy she did. I’ve never had a video of me climbing before.
I love Red River Gorge. No matter where in the world I’m climbing, I don’t think I’ll find a place I love more. I can’t wait to come back!
This year I got connected with Bicycling Magazine, and they have been assigning me editorial portraits around Colorado. Here are the ones I’ve worked on so far this year.
Pro Tour Cyclist, Kiel Reijnen started making his own BBQ. They wanted to feature him at an interesting BBQ location and picked Yum Yum BBQ in Larkspur, CO.
Megan Hottman is a lawyer in Golden, CO that focuses on cyclists, and just happens to be the 2015 Gravel World Singlespeed Champion. I shot her on North Table Mountain in Golden.
Nick Basalyga rode across the country, mostly solo, for his non-profit, In the Saddle. Follow the link to find out more about him. I shot him north of Fort Collins, CO.
My girlfriend had never been to the desert near Moab, a mecca of crack climbing. So, along with Vincent, we make the 7 hour drive on a Friday night to get to Indian Creek. We drive in under a clear night sky filled with an almost full moon and a multitude of crisp, bright stars, arriving just before 1am. We find our campsite, and get some sleep. I’m excited to get up early to get as much climbing as we can in.
I wake up to see the alpenglow on the Bridger Jacks and the Six Shooters. Sometimes, it’s hard to get out of my tent early enough to catch these things, but when I do I’m always glad that I did.
We go to check out Pistol Whipped, an area I’d never been to, down Beef Basin Road. A pretty quick approach gets us to the base of the climbs with only a few other climbers at the crag. We “warm up” on the 5.10 Cowgirls Like ’em Big. One hell of a warm up! I forgot that #5’s are perfect butterflies and teacups, and I wished that I’d had two #6’s for the top.
Melissa channeling her inner Pippy Longstocking
We then climbed Wounded Knee (5.10+) and Coyne Crack Simulator (5.11-). I forgot to use the left crack and fell in the .75 size crux of Wounded Knee. After you find #1’s and #2’s, you find yourself in a super weird wide pod that’s best protected with a #5 (which I didn’t have). I don’t know that there is a smooth way to do that section, but I definitely understand why it’s named Wounded Knee.
Vincent sending Wounded Knee the hard way, without the left crack.
Coyne Crack Simulator starts with a .5 and .75 lieback to progressively bigger, perfect hands, with a short finish. I was excited to on-sight this one, and it was the only thing I sent all day.
Vincent making the lieback look easy
The fall colors were on point that weekend. The desert is always beautiful, but this is extra special
Vincent really wanted to climb a tower while we were out there. I was resistant, I wanted more crack cragging, but time-wise it made sense. We drove in the morning into Moab, got breakfast and slowly made our way to Fisher Towers. After a 4×4 detour down Onion Creek, we made it to the parking lot, left the crowds behind, and found ourselves at the base of Ancient Art (5.10)
View of Ancient Art, the corkscrew tower on the right.
There was only one party ahead of us, which I think is rare. Another party arrived a few minutes after we did. Since Vincent had led all the pitches on another trip, I led pitch 1-3. Pitch one starts with an easy scramble to a 4 bolt bolt-ladder that goes free at 5.10 (hard). It’s incredibly balancy and tenious and requires good footwork.
Melissa climbing the crux of pitch 1
Melissa belaying Vincent up with the Titan in the background
Pitch two was an incredibly fun section with several roofs and decent gear up to a chimney. I probably could have protected the chimney, but by the time I realized I was pretty far above my last piece the options were pretty slim. I ran it out till just before the anchor ledge.
Pitch 3 is a super short, stout 5.10 (or 3 bolt bolt-ladder) that you climb pinching tiny pebbles. The exposure starts to get to you here.
Melissa and Vincent preparing to climb the money pitch!
I made Vincent lead the money pitch again because I wanted a photo of him on it. Definitely worth it.
Vincent attempting to show how windy it was…it was windy!
The run across the spine is pretty intimidating, with a several hundred foot drop on either side. You have to jump across one section before coming to the awkward diving board.
A 30+ stitched image panorama of Vincent topping out. This image is HUGE!
Vincent missed my jump, but got the awkward, manditory hump of the diving board.
Now watch Vincent Whip…right before he Nay Nays.
Melissa takes in the view on our double rope simul-rap from the top of pitch 2
What she’s looking at
The whole time we were on the route there was a team climbing the Titan. Was pretty cool watching their progress. When we got down, I realized that in the confusion of trying to get Melissa onto the simul-rap and sharing an anchor with another team, I left all of my cams attached to the anchor. So, we got to wait. It wasn’t all bad, though. We got to watch an incredible sunset.
Melissa finds a boulder to play on
The view of Castle Valley at twilight from the Fishers Tower parking lot.
The desert will always hold a part of my heart. It is such an incredibly beautiful place! I just wish it wasn’t a six or seven hour drive. Can’t wait to go back!
A couple weekends ago I woke up well before sunrise and drove my friend Vincent into the mountains. We were supposed to meet up with some other friends in Crested Butte, but when we got to Buena Vista, the other side of the mountains looked completely socked in. We checked the weather and CB was supposed to have rain and snow all day. BV had a better outlook so we looked for some mountain bike trails nearby. We found the Monarch Crest Trail was the highest rated ride in the area so we decided to check it out. We met the Valley High Shuttle in Poncha Springs and were delivered to Monarch Pass. The pass was covered in an inch or so of snow, with no breaks in the clouds in sight. We started up the trail, leap frogging with most of the group from the shuttle all the way to Marshall Pass, 8 miles of uphill. Once the downhill starts the group fans out and we’re mostly on our own. The snow definitely added a bit to the riding, making me stay on my disk brakes a little too much.
But, it was beyond beautiful.
Once we dropped into the trees, the snow went away and the leaves littered the trail.
The trail continues for 30 miles, joining the Colorado Trail for portions of it. You climb for close to 2,000 feet for 8 miles from the pass, then get to descend 6,000 feet over the next 22 miles. The trail varies quite a bit, from flowing single track to incredible rock gardens. There are several cut offs if you need to bail, they take you down forest service roads back to the highway. We stuck it out and took the last bit of trail, Rainbow Trail, my favorite part. Most of the people turned off before this section, but it’s not to be missed. After you descend the steep last 1/2 mile down to the road you get to cruise 5 miles down US285, which brings you right back to your car.
Beautiful spot on the Arkansas River next to our campsite north of Buena Vista
I just started mountain biking last summer. It’s been fun learning a new sport, but it also a steep learning curve. The Monarch Crest Trail is definitely my favorite trail that I’ve done. Can’t wait to explore more of the trails around the central Colorado mountains.
I often get stuck in a mental state with my photography where I rarely capture the place that I live. It’s been a bit different with Boulder, because beauty is all around me, but I still haven’t looked at Boulder like a tourist might. I recently received a prompt to shoot Boulder for a higher end travel magazine. It was interesting trying to see it in a different light. Where are your favorite places in Boulder?
Over Labor Day weekend, I went with a group of friends to climb limestone pockets in Wild Iris, Wyoming. It was great fun…and I didn’t take any photos of climbing. But I did shoot the Landscapes leading to and surrounding the climbing area. Needless to say, it was beautiful!
The sunset outside of Frederick, CO was pretty awesome
I took this with a $30 lens. I’m continually impressed by the Fotasy 35mm f1.7. (If you have a sony, you should probably buy it)
These two were also shot with the Fotasy 35mm F1.7. This was our campsite in Wild Iris, with the Wind River Range in the background.
Danielle not modeling, just doing Danielle things.
Danielle and Tyler had the better tent spot for photos. My tent had a more treed backdrop.
That night had one of the brightest Milky Ways I’ve ever seen. And there were some meteors that night too. Much better show than during the “climax” of the Perseid Meteor Shower.
I found another solo tree that I love.
Can you guess what this canyon is called? It’s Red Canyon. Because it’s red.
As you probably gathered from my previous posts, I took a road trip around the Pacific Northwest last month. It was awesome to get into an area of the country I absolutely love.
I landed at 12:40am in Seattle. I didn’t want to pay for a hotel and the first shuttle to Whidbey Island wasn’t till 6:50am, so I found a “quiet” corner, blew up my Klymit Ozone sleeping pad, donned my sleeping mask, and tried to get a few hours of sleep between the security announcements over the speakers. My uncle graciously let me borrow his Ford Taurus to drive for my two-week trip – not exactly the adventure mobile, but it worked. I crossed from Whidbey to Port Townsend and drove US101 to Forks, WA, stopping at Lake Crescent along the way.
From Forks, I drove to the coast, to La Push, home to the Quileute Tribe and beautiful beaches. I walked around Beach 1 for a bit before searching for a place to camp.
I was told by a young girl working at the RV park that I could car camp at Beach 2, where I found a relatively flat spot, made dinner, then walked the 3/4 mile to the beach through the rainforest just after sunset. The colors were going off when I got there.
In the morning, I kept driving down US101 towards Astoria, Oregon, and got sidetracked by a sign that simply said, “Big Tree”. It was a short easy hike through the rainforest, then there it was, a really big tree.
There really wasn’t anything else there.
I drove through Astoria and searched for waterfalls nearby. Youngs Creek Falls came up, near the Lewis and Clark Historical Fort Clatsop. Another short, easy hike down to the river revealed this falls.
I planned my road trip completely separately from the knowledge that my family was going to be in Portland for a conference. I met up with my mom, dad, sister and two nephews for dinner, then my sister and I went climbing the next day at Broughton Bluff, near the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge. We first stopped at the Wahkeena Falls and Multnomah Falls. Definitely a beautiful place, even with the hundreds of tourists. The climbing at Broughton was short, but fun and stout (I only climbed trad, but I took a pretty awkward fall on 5.9, watched a strong climber struggle on 5.8, and took a knee shaking fall on two lobes of a .2 on a 5.10a I’d watched an old timer climber aid up).
After a few days in Portland, I made my way to Bend, a city many compare to Boulder, CO. The access to adventure is great, but I wasn’t swept off my feet by the city. Boulder still is the only place I’ve ever felt at home.
I met up with my longtime friend, Allison Osantowske, and she took her visiting mother and me up to the Cascade Lakes, past Mount Bachelor. This is Sparks Lake, a beautiful spot.
I drove to Pacific City with Allison and crew to try surfing for the first time, incredibly hard. I made my way back to Bend to try and find someone to climb with in Smith Rock. I got to Smith just at sunset as it was pouring down rain. I waited it out and the rain cleared. The almost full moon came out, and I took this 12-minute exposure well after dark.
I woke up in the morning to more rain, so I skipped Smith and went back into Bend to shoot some acro yoga with Dani Whitehead. I met Michelle and Sylvan who invited me to shoot Highlining in Smith the next day. I had planned on driving roughly half way to Index, WA that night to find climbing partners in the morning. But I elected to stay and shoot highlining, then drive 7 hours straight to Everette, WA. Thankfully, Mark came with us and I was able to climb one, very hard, 11d route at Easy’s Playhouse.
I ran back to my car from the top of the Red Wall in (I think) an impressive 15 minutes, trying not to push gaping tourists off the trail. I had started climbing past my planned leaving time, so I was getting on the road later than I wanted. I drove up US 97 through northern Oregon to Yakima. I was stopped twice for extended periods because of construction, but only stopped and got out of the car once in the 7 hrs to take photos of this derelict gas station.
The landscape of eastern Washington was so far different than what everyone thinks of the PNW.
I wish I could have spent more time in Eastern Washington, but my trip was winding to a close. Leavenworth seemed like a really interesting place surrounded by extremely beautiful mountains, lakes, and awesome climbing. Stevens Pass definitely made me want to come back and ski.
I spent a couple days in Seattle then headed back to Whidbey Island to spend time with two sets of aunts and uncles and return the car. I always love traveling, and I haven’t done a trip like this around the US before. Would love to do more.
Allison put the idea in my head to try surfing on the Oregon coast during my trip, but with the weather it wasn’t worth it for them to make the four-hour drive the first weekend I was out. I’d never surfed despite traveling through amazing surfing locations in South East Asia, so I was pretty disappointed. When I got to Bend the next weekend, though, I was pretty set on trying downhill mountain biking at Mount Bachelor, but Allison decided to make the trip out to the coast at about 2pm Friday. So flipping my psych from mountain biking to surfing, I made the four-hour drive through west central Oregon to Pacific City.
My first time surfing, I stood up and rode a wave all the way in for the first time after an hour. I think I spent a total of six hours in the water the first day, not coming in for a stretch of 3 hours before I realized how exhausted I was. Holy hell, surfing (and the waves) beats you up. Every part of my body hurt, my climbing injury in my shoulder sprang back to life, and the board torpedoed my hip which made me hobble for a week. But I kept going. I was determined to be proficient. I tried again on Sunday and had to relearn how to stand up, tried a short board (easier to maneuver in the waves, fun to ride on your knees, but seemingly impossible to stand up on), and figured out bigger waves. I enjoyed myself, tried hard, and was exhausted. I didn’t catch the “Oh my God! I need to do this every day!” bug, which I’m fine with. I don’t live next to any surfing. I didn’t really take the time to shoot anyone surfing, but I shot the crew I was with getting ready, Max, Jonny, and Allison, on a beautifully foggy morning.
After the first day of surfing, Jonny was determined to get on his skateboard in the impressive Lincoln City Skateboard Park at Kirtsis Park. Definitely the coolest skateboard park I’ve seen.
This only shows a small section of the complex
Jonny Sischo riding the wave
I don’t know who this kid was, but damn he could rip. One of the most impressive riders I’ve seen in person.
On my trip through the Pacific Northwest I stayed in Portland for several days. I got to see some family that was traveling through and climb with my sister in the Columbia Gorge. I also got to hang out with my friend and fellow photographer Amy Rollo (check out her work www.amyrollo.com) that I met in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We got to do a quick yoga shoot in the International Rose Test Garden right before I left for Bend. Always fun shooting with other photographers.
As we were leaving I saw these stairs and wanted to shoot Whitney on them. This guy, Mathew, ran up the stairs past us and stopped at the top to take a breather. I asked him to join the shot, and thankfully he obliged! Awesome to have the perfect model just run into your shoot.
I was set on leaving Bend Monday night for Washington, but some friends convinced me to stay and go explore Smith Rock with them Tuesday morning. We hiked to the top and Sylvan and Michelle got to work setting up the slackline on established bolts.
Sylvan set up the line on the far side and trollied back to our side, taping the main line and the backup together every few feet. He then took his first steps out into space.
Slacklining 3 feet off of the ground is hard enough. Throw in the mindf$%k of walking on a one-inch piece of webbing 400 feet above the ground, and inconsistencies like wind causing the line act in unpredictable ways, and I don’t know how they do it. It takes an incredible amount of skill, concentration, and core strength. I’ve had several opportunities to get out on highlines, but I’ve always politely declined the invitations. When Sylvan and Michelle said I couldn’t leave till I got out on the line, I finally gave in. I felt surprisingly comfortable just sitting on the line, but when I got set to stand up, I couldn’t make my body do it. One barrier at a time, I guess.
This was my first time to Smith Rock, and I was leaving disappointed that I hadn’t gotten to climb any routes because of weather and timing. But right as I was about to leave to start my 7 hour drive to Everett, WA, two other highliners top out from climbing the Red Wall and said they’d give me a catch on this fun looking 5.11d on Easy’s Playhouse. I knew it was going to be hard because 40 foot 11d’s are usually harder than a lot of 5.12a’s. I was not wrong; stout but very fun overhanging climbing. I’d love to get back to Smith and get some solid climbing in.
I just got back Saturday from a two week trip around the Pacific Northwest. It was great to get away, but I was also meeting up with athletes and interesting people to shoot. Megan contacted me and wanted to shoot handstands at the Jim Ellis Freeway Park. It was a very cool setting, besides getting the cops called on me because someone thought my light stand was a rifle.
Raul is a climbing guide in Viñales, and he not only showed me the best climbing but also brought me into his tight-knit group of friends. Traveling alone can be…lonely, but the people you meet along the way always make it worth it. 
Arcana 
Alpine Modern
Salt
Old Chicago
Dushanbe Tea House
Rayback Collective
