Category: climbing

Skiing the Last Weekend of August

I missed skiing in July, otherwise I would have skied every month this year. I have a friend that has skied 24 straight months, very impressive. But in the depths of summer you really have to earn your turns.

I love that Eric is always trying to get me out, but when Eric hit me up to hike to Isabelle Glacier in the Indian Peaks I tried to find something else to do. A full day of hiking with my skis on my back is not my favorite activity. But when I didn’t have anything else to do I said what the hell.

Eric Poore and his roommate Steve picked me up at 6am to head to the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, and by the time we get to the trailhead the parking lot is overflowing. We finally find a spot an additional mile away from the trailhead and start booting it past Lost Lake and towards the Isabelle Glacier.

Steve and Eric greet the sun with skis. Note Eric’s broken wrist. 

Lake Isabelle looking pretty low

Steve and I took the riverbed instead of the meandering trail. I have a condition where I hate meandering trails and try to go in the straightest line possible. 

Eric and Steve try to decide what they want to ski and how many times. We ended up skiing the small ribbon between the two glaciers.

A small alpine lake, Eric debated “pond skimming” it.

Higher alpine pond. If it were a few feet fuller I think it would be a pretty incredible infinite pond.

Shoshoni Peak’s South Buttress over Isabelle Glacier. There are several 5.10 trad routes up there that would be cool to do 

 It was a long 4.5 mile hike in. There’s a lot of almost flat walking interrupted by steep shelves that gain you elevation. Once we reached the boulder field it was scrambling over surprisingly loose boulders that kept attempting to dump you into dark pits and crush you.

Eric and Steve pull out glacier crampons from their packs…I didn’t even consider that as an option. So instead of try to toe point in my ski boots, I elected to keep my approach shoes on and climb the granite slab to the top of the couloir.

Eric climbing with only one functioning hand.

The couloir kept going up and to the right pretty far beyond what I could see from here. 

After shooting Eric from a perch where I thought would be a great vantage to see them skiing down, Eric informed me that there was a lot more couloir and I should get higher. I climbed further up the slab until it cliffed out. I had a few different options for how to climb the cliff, but only one looked doable with skis on my back. The rock on the slab had been bomber granite, but the cliff disintegrated into a band of molting rock. Every move I did I pulled off several loose rocks before committing to it. I climbed up the constriction a couple different ways and kept down climbing because I didn’t feel good about the moves and the prospect of falling. Finally, after again trying to downclimb another way I figured out a stemming move that allowed my skis to fit under the roof and put me in a good position to pull up a flake to top out. At the time this crux felt like alpine 5.7/5.8 to me, but it was probably enhanced by the fact that I couldn’t do a lot of movement with the skis on my back. I was psyched to be out of that constriction and to the top of the couloir where I could see Steve and Eric getting ready to ski.

Steve skiing in style

Eric running it out with Lake Isabelle in the background. The mountains were incredibly hazy, filled with smoke from all of the wildfires around the west that week. 

 I downclimbed a loose band of the cliff to get down to the snow, put my boots and skis on, made several glorious turns in the sun softened snow which might have taken me 60 seconds to descend, pulled up next to Eric and Steve to celebrate the awesomeness we just partook, and quickly took my boots off. I think I might have been in my ski boots for a total of 120 seconds, probably my quickest record yet! We then ‘skied’ down the scree field in our approach shoes and made the 4.5 mile hike out, our A-Frame skies hitting the back of our calves the entire way out (seriously, there’s got to be a better way!).

Eric descends through a field of alpine tundra flora

As always with these kinds of trips, mostly type 2 fun, we were psyched to get back to the car. But also, as always, we can’t wait until our next adventure. It will probably be to ski the glacier behind Eric in the above photo. 

Vedauwoo – My New Weekend Destination

When it’s too hot in Boulder to climb outside, head to Vedauwoo, WY. It’s a little over 2hrs away, and it’s a great escape from the overcrowded crags in the Front Range. And you leave feeling like you’ve accomplished something – or just with sore muscles and tattered clothes.

I went back this weekend with Alex & Vincent. We attacked some great lines on Saturday:
~Middle Parallels Space – a fun 5.9 with a crux down low and a 5.7 chimney with a hand-to-offwidth crack for protection. The anchors are placed in an odd spot on a pillar, thought.
~Friday the 13th – Alex sent this 5.10a (heavily sandbagged) with much more ease than on my first lead. The greasy top of the crack pumps you out. Vincent worked on the second pitch, a short but powerful 5.11a out a roof.
~Hesitation Blues – A pretty stout 1st pitch of 5.11b. The second pitch looks so inviting, but the continued rating of 11b and our current state of being worked caused us to hesitate, then have the blues.
-Mother #1 – According to Alex, “The world’s hardest 5.7”. I would have to agree. An offwidth that is a struggle all of the way up.

Alex figures out the gear on Middle Parallels Space 

Vincent turned my camera on me giving Friday the 13th a send attempt. 

Using my head for balance

Since the weather was calling for a clear night, I decided to not set up my tent and sleep under the stars. I woke up to an amazing show of the milky way, but couldn’t convince myself to get out of bed to get my camera. Again I awoke, just as the sun was starting to come up to something scampering up my chest. With my hands in my sleeping bag I just pounded out on the bag, and looked up to see a chipmunk doing backflips through the air! The visual is still cracking me up.

Someone built this cairn in a cairn near our campsite

 Sunday we decided to try somewhere new. On top of the main area, where there are classics like Edward’s Crack, sits Hassler’s Hatbox with the iconic Lucile 5.12d/13a. We scrambled up the backside of the main area through a maze of fallen boulders – over, under, and squeezed through. Despite being in the baking sun, we found some great moderate and not so moderate lines.

~Cat’s Cradle –  5.8+ A very hard 5.8. The start is a chimney to an offwidth. Traverse a ledge to a very awkward and hard move off a ledge, into a handcrack that varies from perfect hands to off-fists (too big for fists – very hard size for me)
~Hassler’s Hatbox – 5.6/7 A very fun moderate with some kick. I was happy to have a 4 and a 5 camalot for the bottom, but the top section takes finger size gear. Do this route! My personal opinion on the rating, 5.8/8+
~The Best of the Blues – 5.10 that sits below the iconic Lucille (5.12d – which looks heinous). The first slab move is unprotected, but you get into a fun moderate chimney and handcrack up to a roof. The roof goes from cupped hands to off-fists and is very difficult to pull the bulge as a pure crack climb. Get your sport climbing skills on and lie-back and crimp up the bulge, and then sit on the duck.

Alex works his way up the start of Cat’s Cradle

Just after the crux of Cat’s Cradle, Alex looking for gear. The views from Hassler’s Hatbox were incredible! 

Vincent took this photo of me figuring out the crux. I think I tried every combination of orientations before one finally got me off the ledge. 
Vincent finally get’s a piece in on a hard slab move start to Best of the Blues, a bit of a one move wonder 5.10. 

Vincent kisses the duck

Vincent belays Alex up through the crux of Best of the Blues
The view from Hassler’s Hatbox.

As always, the Voo did not disapoint, and we had a great trip. Ripped some clothes. Shed some blood. And left sore in places we did not know could be sore. Till next time.

Crack Climbing in Vedauwoo, WY

Spent the weekend in Vedauwoo with some great guys climbing some sharp granite crack.

Vincent working hard placing pro on the first pitch of Friday the 13th, a fantastic 5.10a (sandbagged) hand crack with a greasy finish.

Hanging out above the trees, Vincent looks for a placement on Captain Nemo. 

Alex Vidal, Vincent Keller and I at the 1st pitch anchors of Captain Nemo before I embark on the 10d traverse.

I’m all smiles before the holds run out on the 2nd pitch of Captain Nemo

The sunset was one of the most spectacular shows I’ve seen. 

We were surrounded by storms on three sides with lightning streaking through the sky, but we had nothing but spectacular weather. I slept out under the stars both nights. 
The sunset reflecting off a cumulonimbus storm cloud. 

Vincent prepping his tape glove for the day. 

Vedauwoo reminds me up Hampi in southern India. I want to go back! 

A Moab Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving with a couple friends in Moab, Utah climbing some stellar desert cracks. Perfect weather for four days of climbing!  

We had the best campsite! 
I’ve been trying to capture a Milky Way shot, somehow I’ve never done that. I think the moon was too bright this night. 
Along with Climbers, Moab was full of base jumpers and slack liners.
This is my view from my tent in the morning!

The Owl in Arches National Park. This was my first desert tower. Fun 5.8 climb! 
Self portrait from the summit of the Owl
Vincent leading the Owl

The view from the top of the Owl over Arches National Park
Vincent and Stefanie watching for the beta on the Devil’s Golf Ball before deciding to climb it
Vincent pulling through the C1 section on the Devil’s Golf Ball
We checked out The Windows for sunset

Vincent loving the perfect handcrack of The Naked and the Dead 5.10R. The top opens up into an awkward but stable offwidth. 

Moving into the offwidth
The last day we moved to Wall Street and climbed the best 5.9 crack climb I’ve lead, Flakes of Wrath. Five Stars and you can belay from your car!
The variation to the left is stellar too, but the crack dissipates into V3-4 face climbing with no protection. 
Stefanie snapped a shot of me leading Flakes of Wrath

Climbing Road Trip: Plan B is for Better!

People regularly ask me, “Do you have any trips planned?”, and for most of this year that question depressed me. I’ve been having a great year and have been getting out climbing a lot, but I also want a bigger adventure.

At a poker game with some buddies in Denver, Matt Lloyd asked me if I wanted to join him on an alpine climbing adventure in and around Banff in Canada. I’d been looking for this kind of opportunity and immediately said yes.

Four of us, two “old farts” and two young guns, piled into Keith North’s Toyota Four Runner in the early evening in August. It was a tight fit with all of our gear, but I was thankful we decided to take the SUV over a Subaru sedan with a canvas roof bag. I’m pretty certain we wouldn’t have fit.

We drive through the night to Buffalo, WY and find our way through obscure country roads to the Piney Creek Canyon parking lot around 3 am. We sleep all pile on a tarp and try to sleep beneath the bright starry night sky.

Typical Matt Lloyd, like a kid missing his Ritalin. 

We found spectacular limestone akin to Ten Sleep, but with very little development. There’s so much unclimbed rock there!

Matt Lloyd gets the send of Over Forty, a stout 5.12c. 

All the rock on the opposite side of the river is undeveloped; so much potential! 

Keith North getting the send. 

After a few hours playing on the fantastic limestone we pile back into the truck and make our way to the Canadian border.

Plan B
“Please park the car and come inside. A border agent will let you know the details.”

After driving almost 900 miles in the last 24 hours we were psyched to get into Canada. It was only 5 more hours to Canmore. Sitting in the waiting area we got the news. “You’re being denied entry into Canada.” I didn’t even know that was an option, I thought they let everyone in. We wasted three hours waiting at the border.

After the news sunk in we scrambled to salvage the trip. Matt got on the phone and started calling anyone he knew that had beta in Idaho and Eastern Washington. We talked about going to the Cascades. It seemed feasible until we realized how much further it was to the climbing. We were tired and upset. We got a hotel for the night in Conrad, MT and tried to piece together a plan.

The original plan was to climb a couple different routes on Mt Temple in the Canadian Rockies then make our way to Salt Lake City, UT for the Outdoor Retailer Trade show. Now we had a week to fill with unknowns.

Fifty miles west of Conrad, mountains form the eastern border of Glacier National Park. The wonderful tool that is MountainProject.com told us there was climbing there. Not just climbing, but fantastic sport climbing on 600ft tall vertical-to-overhanging limestone cliffs!

Few have heard of Blackleaf Canyon, but those who have know the quality of this hidden gem. After getting lost trying to find the road into the canyon (with the canyon in full view) we finally made it to the base of the climbs. Only carrying a sport rack up the 15 minute approach, we’re quite energized and ready to climb. 
Matt, Dan and Keith eying “Bodisattva” a 5 pitch 5.12″a/13a”
Keith North climbing through the 5.10 crux of pitch 2

Keith enjoying jugs on pitch 3, 300+ feet off the deck. 
Dan fought his way up pitch 4, a slab 5.11 with very tricky, balancy, thin moves. We made fun of the noises he made until we got on it. Then there was pitch 5. The description reads: “P:5 (5.12+) didn’t try this pitch. It heads up a very slick looking shield.” Keith tried it, and really it looked impossible. 
Some weather looked like it might come in and we wanted to get on the road to Idaho. So despite having climbed only one route and walking past so many tempting lines in this amazing canyon we get back in the 4Runner and drive towards Missoula. 

Somewhere in Western Montana

The Elephant Perch
We wake up in our tents somewhere in Idaho and drive into the Sawtooth Range. The drive from Montana is spectacular. I never realized how beautiful Idaho is – it’s not one I think about as wild and mountainous. The Sawtooths are as described: Jagged, rocky peaks jutting into the sky. Matt kept saying they should be called the Sharktooths. 

We take a boat across Redfish Lake that cuts 6 miles off our hike. Yea, I’m a lazy hiker. I’ll take it. 


It’s a beautiful, if not a little bit too warm, day so we jump into the crystal clear water before embarking on our epic three mile hike.

For two miles the trail is pretty easy, then you cross a log bridge.

Matt balancing his way across the unstable log bridge.

The last mile is UP! A test of your fitness. But the beauty of the Elephant Perch and Saddleback Lakes make you forget the hike as soon as you see them.

A 23 photo mega panorama of the Saddleback Lake and the Elephant Perch, including our amazing campsite. Natively this image is 60 inches by 60 inches!

We wake up before sunrise to get on the route, Astro Elephant, to beat any other team from it.

Prepping our gear for the 1000 ft, 10 pitches of amazingness

After a bit of route finding (Matt climbed a dirty crack that kind of matched the description of the route only to find it didn’t go anywhere) we start up the 1000 ft face. Matt takes a single trad rack and jumps into the flaring granite crack. He climbs past the first belay, past an overhanging ledge and disappears from site. I wonder what he plans on making an anchor with and how far he’s run out the climb with so few cams.

The first two pitches (that Matt climbed as one pitch) are the crux pitches of Astro Elephant. I decide, in my not-quite-awake brain, that I should wear my “comfy crack shoes” on the hardest sections of the climb.  Needless to say, I’m glad I was not leading.

The right leaning flaring crack constantly tried to spit me out. My right foot kept skating off the rock, the rubber on the loose shoe feeling useless. Lesson learned. At the anchor I switched to my aggressive slipper that performed incredibly (Until pitch 9 and 10 where I could barely feel my feet).

View of the Saddleback Lakes from Pitch 2
Keith North struggling through an awkward chimney/off width move on pitch 5

Since my trad fall in March 2013 where I broke my back I have been slowly getting my trad lead head back. I’ve spent a lot of time this summer leading “easy” trad leads and working on good placements. The week before the trip Matt and I went and climbed Peanuts, a stout, strange 5.9+ in Eldorado Canyon, my hardest lead since my fall.

When I got to the Pitch 6 anchor Matt says, “This next pitch would be a great one to shoot, but you have to lead it first!” 5.9+ 700 feet up…sure. It starts on a heady move from a huge hueco jug, out right to a right leaning flake. The flake accepted decent protection, but you reach the top and have to traverse 15 feet to the left with very little opportunity for protection before the crux, moving from the traverse rail out to a very exposed bulge. I clipped a tattered piece of tat (fixed webbing) and tried to back it up with a nut. My hands, now on positive jugs, were shaking uncontrollably. “YOU’RE FINE!” I yelled at myself.  I took a few deep breaths and pulled myself onto a small ledge.

Daniel followed me up and belayed me back down the route so I could shoot Matt on the section I had just climbed.

Matt making the exposed move out the bulge on Pitch 7 

 Matt runs pitch 7-8 and 9-10 together, making bold moves with very few cams for protection. I lead the rest of the pitches up to 10, glad that I stole some of Matt’s cams.

As I belay Daniel up pitch 9 the sky opens up. In a full downpour Daniel and I simul climb the last pitch, following on Matt’s rope. I was happy to not be leading with a river of water running down the 5.7 hand crack, fully filling the arms of my rain coat. At the top of the crack you have to pull an incredibly exposed roof, looking straight down over a 1000ft sheer drop. I scrambled up the last slab, hi five Matt and Keith, just in time for the downpour to let up.  I was very surprised how well my soaking wet climbing shoes stuck to the wet granite (I always imagined you’d just slip off).

We jump from rock to rock across the ridge, careful not to get too close to the 1000ft cliff on the right and a steep slab on the left. We finish the down climb and pack up our camp to head out.

The last boat across Redfish Lake leaves at 7pm daily. I got separated from the rest of the group and picked the wrong trail in the delta of trails leaving the Elephant Perch. It led me to fern covered cliffs lined by waterfalls. I could either go back up to the perch and try and find the right trail, or descend the cliffs and try to reach the river which would lead me to the trail. I picked going down the wet, tropical-esque cliffs and crossed the waterfalls trying not to injure myself in a place that being rescued, or found for that matter, would be very difficult.

I cross the river and reach the trail about 6:40pm. With my 40+lb pack I had 2 miles to cover in less than 20 minutes! I took off running as best I could with a huge pack on my back, only walking on the uphill sections. I hear a crackle on my radio, “SCOTT!” I had been trying to reach anyone on the radio the whole way down the mountain with no answer. I let them know I was close and would be there as soon as possible.

I run through the campground, past confused looking BoyScouts. “If you’re trying to get to the boat, it just left,” one of the leaders tells me. Dejected, I walk to the dock to find the guys waiting for me. “It’s coming back for us, don’t worry.”

Tired, wet, and hungry we stop for dinner in Ketchum and get a hotel in Hailey. I’m pretty thankful for the hot tub.

We get a lazy start and drive to Logan, UT, enjoying a rest day with a viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy. Fantastic entertainment. To top off our rest day we camp at Crystal Hot Springs and enjoy the hot springs.

Clouds in southern Idaho

A squall outside of Logan, UT. 

Climbing in Northern UT
Just outside of Logan is a little known canyon with some spectacular limestone sport climbs. Matt warms up on a fun 11c “Pig in a Python” then Daniel and Keith climb “Nuclear Fingers” 12a right next to it.

Matt climbing “Pig in a Python” 11c

Daniel working “Nuclear Fingers” 12a

Keith on “Nuclear Fingers” 

After arguing about where to go next and driving in circles we found China Cave, a steep, Rifle-esque crag with several inspiring lines. Matt jumps on “Blank” 12 c/d and we all follow in succession.

Matt gives Daniel a gentle catch. 

Matt on his send of “Blank” 5.12b/c

The route is gymnastic and fun, but several of the holds are manufactured. 

Matt captured this shot of me on “Blank”
We arrived in Salt Lake City a few days after Summer Outdoor Retailer Trade Show had started and went straight to the Hippy Tree party to enjoy some beers and live bluegrass music. We stayed out too late and drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to find a campsite in Albion Basin, which is in Alta Ski Resort. Not finding an open site we decide to just sleep in the 4Runner. 
After not sleeping for 5 hours we got up grumpy and headed uphill towards Devil’s Castle. I almost got stepped on by a moose as I came around a bend near some residence’s. The “Black Streak” goes seven pitches up the middle of Devil’s Tower on a black streak of unique limestone. 
The climbing is very interesting and fun, and getting seven pitches on a sport route is alway worth your time. There’s a 240ft runout in the middle protected by maybe four bolts that we simul climbed. The view from the top, overlooking Alta Resort and Little Cottonwood Canyon, is definitely worth the climb. 
Keith traversing to the rap anchors from the peak with Alta Ski Resort in the background

Daniel raps off “Black Streak” 

The rap descent was the scariest part of the climb. There are lots of loose rocks and every time you pull the rope you get showered with more rocks.

We spend a couple more days at the Outdoor Retailer show and Matt, Daniel, and Keith take off for Denver, stopping in Maple Canyon and Carbondale on the way home. I, not sick of traveling yet, get in a rattly Ford Explorer and head back to Idaho with BASE Jumper, Sarah Watson, for more shenanigans.

Despite getting turned away at the Canadian border, not getting to attempt our original objective, we had a pretty amazing climbing trip. Psyched to have gotten to climb in so many new-to-me climbing areas with stellar routes.

It’s quite amazing that after driving through 5 states, climbing in 5 new areas (7 for the other guys), traveling for 10 days, with roughly 40 hours of driving, and covering 2,400 miles, 4 guys in a 4Runnder, we didn’t kill each other. 

Climbing in Indian Creek

To celebrate my 28th birthday last year, my Golden Birthday (28 on March 28), I had planned on skiing two fourteeners in a day (14,000+14,000=28,000!) but I broke my back on 11 days before. Needless to say, my birthday was way less exciting. I turned 29 this year and didn’t have any crazy ideas for commemorating it. My friend, Alex, invited me to climb desert sandstone crack in Indian Creek, which sounded like a good enough celebration of another year.

I’m a sport climber. I like clipping bolts, engaging my “try hard” and not really worrying whether the bolt I just clipped 10 feet below me will hold if I take this massive whipper. It’s freeing being able to just try your hardest, and if you fall – no worries.

The last few weeks, though, I’ve been climbing a lot more trad – placing your own protection into cracks in the rock. If you fall, you hope you placed the last piece well enough that it will hold you. And if that piece blows, will the next blow too? That’s exactly what happened when I broke my back.

It’s taken some time for me to get my trad “head” back, the confidence in my ability to climb and place solid gear that I stay calm throughout the climb. This past weekend I climbed more trad than ever in the South Platte, and really gained the confidence I need to start pushing myself again. But this time I have proper knowledge and technique to do it right!

Back to Indian Creek. Ah yea, I’m a sport climber. Indian Creek is huge splitter sandstone cracks with slim to none face holds that only protects with Trad gear. Definitely not my strong suit. Crack climbing technique is very different from sport climbing, using your hands and fingers to wedge into the cracks instead of pulling down on holds. Your feet don’t stand on holds either, instead twisted into the crack in a way that the most rubber touches both sides of the crack. When you complete a sport route your forearms, fingers and possibly back are tired. After climbing a crack your entire body is spent from working together merely to stay connected with the rock. It’s a full body battle against the route. And it’s fantastic!

Enjoy a few photos from the trip!

Alex Vidal climbing a challenging 5.10 “Elephant Man” at Donnelly Canyon

Unknown climber working his way up “Chocolate Corner” 5.9+

Anthony Biolatto working through Elephant Man

Miniature Klass enjoying the crag. 

There’s two miniature Klass’s

Miniature Klass fights his way up Unknown 9+

Alex Vidal climbing Unknown 9+ at Blue Gramma Wall.  

Micah Salazar sending Unnamed 10+

Newspaper Rock pano – really unique place! 

Sony A6000 Review – First Impressions in Ten Sleep Canyon

View of Ten Sleep Canyon from my campsite

I’ve been desiring for some time a compact camera I can take with me on adventures that I can rely on for great quality images. Carrying a 5D Mk II on all day backcountry adventures was cumbersome and I wanted something WAY lighter and smaller. I’d been drooling over Sony’s NEX-7 and NEX-6 but wasn’t ready to make the plunge. This spring a buddy told me about the new one they just released, the A6000.

Photo from Sony

The A6000 has a 24mp APS-C Sensor, which is the same sensor found in many new Nikon DSLRs. The image quality is fantastic! It was one of the biggest selling points, along with the autofocus system, and the fast frame rate.

The compact mirrorless category of camera is growing at a rapid rate, with companies like Fuji, Pentax, and Olympus flooding the market with great cameras, but with Micro Four Thirds Sensors. I like a lot of features in Micro Four Thirds systems, but I couldn’t get myself to buy a camera with such a small sensor. Size Matters when it comes to photographic quality. Comparing Micro Four Thirds to 35mm (Full size DSLRs’ sensors) is like comparing 35mm to Medium Format. There is very little comparison in quality. It can be seen in the ISO noise, the bokeh, and focal length of lenses.

The crop of APS-C sensors are 1.5x that of a 35mm, Micro Four Thirds is 2x. This means that your 16mm lens on an APS-C is equivalent to a 24mm lens on a 35mm camera. Similarly, that 16mm lens on your Micro Four Thirds is equivalent to 32mm on a 35mm Camera. You lose quite a bit of your field of view. Also, a Micro Four Thirds lens with an aperture of f/2.8 is equivalent to f/5.6 on a 35mm camera (You lose a lot of that beautiful depth of field).

Photo from Sony

Sorry, I got off track. I’m talking about the A6000. First off, it feels great in your hands. It’s small, light, and fits in one hand. The grip is very natural and makes it easy to hold the camera. The physical mode dial is on top and is easy to turn (not it’s also easy to bump, so make sure you’re in the right mode before taking a photo.) Next to it is an exposure dial that you can program to be Aperture or Shutter. I prefer shutter because it most closely resembles my Canon setup.

Side note: I wish the Mode Dial and Exposure Dial were switched. I use the exposure dial way more often and the Mode Dial is slightly easier to reach with my thumb. On that note, most of the other controls are located under your palm when you’re holding the camera with a solid grip. It’s easy enough to get to them by moving your hand and it’s a consequence of how small this camera is.

Photo from Sony

I definitely would not want to be shooting outside without the viewfinder. Bring the camera up to your eye and the image automatically switches the viewfinder. One advantage of the EVF (Electronic View Finder) is you can review your images with no sun glare, a feature that would be incredible on my DSLRs while I’m shooting on a ski slope.

The menu UI is not the most intuitive, but I’m getting used to it. I wish that it had one menu that I could put all of my frequently used options. There are custom buttons that you can program. In fact you can program most of the buttons to do different functions, which is a great feature.

The autofocus system is incredibly fast and robust. You can select points that cover nearly 90% of the frame (better than any camera I’ve used. My 5dMkIII is still awkwardly in the center, but leaps and bounds above the Mk II’s autofocus system). Shooting 11+ frames per second I’ll never have to worry about getting the perfect shot when shooting someone hucking a backcountry cliff. And with a 75+% autofocus accuracy rate the great majority of shots will be acceptably in focus (I think my 7d was about 40% accurate).

My Sony A6000 arrived a day before I left for a Ten Sleep, Wyoming climbing trip, so I decided to test it out. In short, I was thrilled with the results.

Alex Vidal never skimps on breakfast.

The camera did a great job with backlighting

Alex Vidal climbs a 10c warm up at City of Gold in Ten Sleep Canyon

Dave Champion warming up on a 10ish 11 with the rest of Ten Sleep Canyon behind him. 

Alex Vidal contemplates a very challenging 5.11c crack

Wally Malles gets the heel on the 5.11c crack

Wally dropping clothes like a pro stripper. 

Sending the crux of the route, before a sustained finger crack to the anchors. 

Fingers and hands. 

I put up, then red pointed, this thin, crimpy, techy 5.12a

Yeah Footwork! 

In my photography I do a lot of manual HDRs. I take a bracketed exposure (3 shots, one underexposed, one over and one right in the middle) and combine the images by hand. The A6000 lets you shoot HDR’s which are processed in camera. It gives you a few options to fine tune it to your liking. Below are two photos, first an HDR that I blended by hand, and second the camera’s blend.

A single raw image with 3 different exposure edits to create this HDR image. Great view of Fickle Finger of Fate and Dry Wall from the Ice Plant

An HDR processed in camera. 

The results are pretty great. You press the shutter once and it takes 3 images faster than you can let off the shutter button. One downside is you must to change the camera to JPG for this function to work. I wish that  I think the camera would automatically do whatever necessary to get the image when I select this mode, not tell me that it’s not possible while shooting in RAW. It just adds an unnecessary complex step between seeing the image I want and taking the photograph. Because it has to be in JPG the camera processes the image and adds it’s own version of reality, over sharpening and saturating the image.

Sonja Nelson climbing Question Crack Right (5.12) on the Question Wall. Measuring only 4’9″,
 the first move off the flake was an exposed one since the first bolt was well out of her reach. 

It’s a superb route with an amazing view.

Alex Vidal enjoying Lake Point after our last day of climbing. He’s rocking my new Roscoe shorts. 

The trip to Ten Sleep was a great climbing trip with friends. I’m psyched on the limestone routes and can’t wait to go back and try the south facing climbs when it’s not nearly as hot. I’m also psyched on my new Sony A6000! It’s the perfect size, weight and has amazing quality. Will definitely be my go to camera for non-pro shoots. And it fits super comfortably on my backpack with my Peak Design Capture Camera Clip!

If you’re looking for a compact, lightweigh camera that can do just about everything your DSLR can do in spectacular quality, this is the camera for you. And it’s only $800! It was out of stock most places when I was looking for it, but found it at Adorama.com!

Edit: A couple things I can’t figure out. There are menu options about bracketed exposure, but I cannot figure out how to make the camera take 3 bracketed exposures. I’ve heard that you can do it easily with the Sony Smart Remote app on your smart phone, but after downloading the appropriate app and following the directions online I cannot get my phone to connect to my camera. Once I figure that out I should have a lot more shooting options. 

Clear Creek with Matt Lloyd

It’s been a while since I’ve shot some climbing. After two solid months of being too busy to do much else, I was finally able to get away from my desk a couple weekends ago and climb with Matt Lloyd. I worked on Twitch (5.12d), near the New River Wall (which felt incredibly hard) while Matt put a burn on The Prowler, his 14a project. Was good to get out shooting again.

I Love the Climbing Community

Being stupidly busy is a two tailed monster. I’m excited to be working with Zeal Optics and happy to have a steady flow of work to do, but I don’t have time to do the things I normally do, such as update my blog.

I’ve been shooting and traveling a lot since my last post. I went to Indian Creek for the first time with some good friends a few weeks ago. It was my first time climbing in the desert and it was amazing, but that’s not what this post is about.

I love being a part of something bigger than myself. It’s how we survive as humans, and it’s how I succeed as a creative. Without others my work would have no meaning. The climbing community is an amazing tool that spans every continent and country. As soon as you reach a new place, search out the climbing community and you’re guaranteed to meet fantastic and interesting people. It’s how I’ve made friends wherever I’ve gone, whether it’s Mumbai or Boulder.

Every trip you take, take time to meet the community around you because they are an incredible resource. Back to Indian Creek: while climbing at Donley Wall I met Anthony Biollato from San Francisco. We chatted for a while and later he climbed the stout 5.10c Elephant Man that I was posted above while shooting a friend on Chocolate Corner.

We exchanged contact info and a week and half later I hit him up when I was in the Bay shooting for Jansport. Anthony hooked me up with a mountain bike and we had an awesome day with some other friends riding Tamarancho on Mt Tamalpias. Such a perfect way to round out a great week in the Bay area.

Being an extravert I take a lot of joy in meeting new people wherever I go, and love that ever expanding network. I get to enjoy amazing places with a lot of great people. Anthony is definitely great people. 

Michael O’Rourke on Free Range (v13) for Mad Rock

Last spring I shot with Michael O’Rourke at the Cage Free boulder at Castle Rock in Boulder Canyon. He had previously sent the sit start that ends in a dyno to a less than amazing finishing hold. I was shooting with him for Mad Rock.

In the late spring we had a lot of snow and the runoff caused Boulder Creek to run quite high. We had to build a platform of fallen trees to put the crash pads on over the rushing creek.

This week, it looks like I’m heading up into Cody, Wyoming for an ice climbing adventure with a bunch of great guys. After I’m immediately heading to Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City for my biannual networking fest. I’m missing some really amazing snow right now, but I’m excited to climb in Wyoming! 

Climbing Out of Climbing Injuries

A blog post that I wrote for eldoradorockclimbing.com and coloradocrackgear.com earlier this fall.
It happens way too often; that dreaded “Pop” of a tendon when you’re getting burly on that microcrimp on your boulder project you’ve been desperate to send for months; that one time the you just miss the crash pads on the high ball; or all your placements zipper when you take the unexpected whipper on that nasty trad line. If you climb long enough you will get injured, some more seriously than others. I have had my own fair share – or plenty more than my fair share.

What do you do when you’re injured? How do you cope, how do you recover? For me, when I’m injured all I can think about is getting back on the rock. Can getting on too soon encourage recovery or damage you more? In my unprofessional opinion, play it smart.

An overview of some injuries and recoveries:
The Arm Bulge
In 2005 I took close to a 40ft whipper on a sport route at Torrent Falls in Red River Gorge. Somehow in my falling my arm got caught between my knot and my safety knot in the rope. When the smoke had cleared and I was lying limp at the end of the rope, my partner thought me dead. The “loose” loop in the rope had caught and stretched tight enough to squish my right triceps, permanently separating it into two sections connected only by scar tissue.

My first major climbing injury
Sitting at the specialist’s office a month and half later I asked if I could do pull-ups. “I guess that would be good for it?” was the response. Sweet. I can climb! It took me several months to get back to full strength, but the deformation of my arm does not hamper my climbing at all. Lesson: Tie your safety knot as close to the main knot as possible, or, as I do, do the Yosemite Finish.

The Non-Climbing Injury that Ends Climbing
The dreaded injury that had nothing to do with climbing but keeps you out for months: I was skiing in the trees at Beaver Creek and hit a buried rock that sent me superman-ing into a boulder field. While my brain was screaming “Protect the head”, I stuck my arm out to brace for impact. My right shoulder  received such jar that I couldn’t use it to climb for over two months…and I tried. And I kept hurting it. It took nearly six months for my shoulder to heal completely, though I was climbing hard before it did. Lesson: Stop doing stupid things that impact your climbing. Side note: get health insurance!

The Back Breaker
“Onsight it! You can do it! It’s a Jughaul!” Although I was pretty inexperienced at Trad I thought, what the hell, this one is just my style. I jumped on the Kloof in Eldorado canyon, and without thinking about my gear placements or the fact that I should think about my gear placements I started swinging up the overhanging route. I was sport climbing. I had no worries. I got a little bit off route then made a big throw for a hold. “Eh, not good enough” I thought, and I let go. I LET GO! Pop! Pop! In 30 feet I’d placed only two Camalots, and both of them failed. I hit the ground, amazingly on the flat ground between two large rocks that would have wrecked me.

Rocky Mountain Rescue taking good care of me
After falling 30 feet onto my back I came away with only a compression fracture in my T11 vertebrae and a fracture in my 5th metacarpal in my right hand. Lucky. Beyond Lucky. After a rescue from Rocky Mountain Rescue and hours in the emergency room I walked out on my own two feet. Amazing.

getting the deluxe treatment across South Boulder Creek by the Rocky Mountain Rescue
I wore a back brace for a month and half. It was so frustrating being restrained, and well, not being able to climb. I swam most days to stay active. After the six weeks I was cleared for moderate activity. “Nothing that could impact you, like climbing or skiing.” I’m not very good at listening. I started climbing in the gym, gingerly at first, only top roping and climbing nothing over 5.10. I knew my climbing ability and knew there was very very little chance of me getting an impact from climbing on jugs. But, beyond any kind of better judgment I went skiing after only a week of having the brace off. (I missed all of the epic powder days we had in the Colorado Spring Season…I was desperate) Lesson: Really, I learned  too many things from this than I can write here, but number one – When you’re climbing Trad, climb trad. It’s not sport, it’s not bouldering. It’s Trad. It’s a different mindset and needs to be treated as such. 

Recovery
Ok, it’s clear I’ve had my some mishaps. And I’ve learned a LOT! Onto a safe future. But the point of this post is about recovery. How do you recover from injuries? This last accident, I feel like I did it right. Five months later I’m full strength and feeling good. After I got hurt I didn’t just lie around. I did what I could to stay active. With the broken back, swimming was perfect. It’s a full body workout that is non-impact. When I got out of my brace I climbed very cautiously, not with the intent of sending hard, but with recovering well. I let my body be the canary in the mine. If it hurts, stop! Immediately. Don’t push yourself until you’re healed. Your body is telling you it’s too much. (For the shoulder injury I didn’t listen, I tried to push through and it only got worse).

Know your limits. I’m a 5.12(ish) climber. I know I can comfortably climb 5.10 without risk of hurting myself, especially in the soft gyms of Boulder. If you’re a 5.10 climber, climb only 5.8’s. Be smart. Stay active. Don’t let your injury just couch you. If you can’t climb at all, work your core, lift weights, do whatever you can to stay active. The worst thing you can do is let your body become lethargic.
I’m no doctor and I’m only recounting this from personal experience, but I think in the long run you’re body heals better when you push it to recover. You assist it and encourage it to be stronger. I think my back injury, my shoulder, injury, my arm etc, will bother me less as I age than someone who broke their back and lies in bed for twelve weeks.

Consult your doctor, then know they are being conservative.

Quick Trip to Shelf Road

Climbing just after dark on the fun LaCholla Jackson, 5.9, at Cactus Cliff. 
Kevin and I had been wanting to take a trip to Shelf Road for a while. We’re always talking about doing it, for some reason or another it failed to materialize. Shelf Road is a popular climbing area in the colder months, just outside Cañon City, CO. The white walls in the desert seem to collect the sun, and the average temperature while climbing in the sun is well above that of the surrounding areas. Most of the one pitch routes up limestone cliffs tend to be vertical with sharp pockets but fun movement. 
Frank meets us at the Bank parking lot. For a beautiful Saturday in early November the parking lot is surprisingly unpacked. It’s a quick hike to reach the the Cactus Cliff area, one of the most popular in Shelf. There are a few people there, but not the climbing gym madness we were expecting. We warm up on the classic but stout Dihedrous, a dihedral crack that goes at 5.10c but I tend to climb it like it’s an 11b. Several more classics go down, and we end the night climbing by headlamp on a fantastic 5.9 called “LaCholla Jackson.” 
Frank and Kevin enjoying the campfire. Camping out under the stars is one of the best parts of going to Shelf

We go back to our favorite campsite on BLM land (read “Free”) and enjoy the rest of the night.

Some random lifestyle images

Kevin and Whiskey posing so heroically. 

Breakfast from a bag. 

Sunday morning we hike from our campsite in front of the Gallery to Menses Prow, a large cliffline between the Farside and Mural Wall that can be seen from miles away. In the morning it’s fully in the sun. We decide to warm up on The California Ethics Pinnacle, which offers some easy but very aesthetic climbs, and offers us welcome shade since we’d spent the entirety of the day before baking in the sun at Cactus Cliff.

Kevin flaking the rope before Frank climbs the Original Route (5.8) on the California Ethics Pinnacle just off Menses Prow. 

Some stemming action on The Original Route

The California Ethics Pinnacle is a very cool looking rock feature. 

Whiskey so properly keeping watch. 

Kevin climbs “Red Dog” 5.9 on the California Ethics Pinnacle. 

Frank looking contemplative. 

Frank took a photo of me climbing “Slender Fungus” an interesting 5.10c with a second pitch. I apparently didn’t continue reading in the guidebook to see that the second pitch goes at a very sandbagged 5.11b. Climbing it in one pitch, I would personally rate it 5.11d. It was stout.

View East from Menses Prow

Cactus at the base of “No Passion for Fashion” 5.11c
Kevin snapped a shot of me climbing “No Passion for Fashion”

We ended a great weekend with a fantastic climb, “No Passion for Fashion” 5.11c. It is definitely one of my favorite climbs at Shelf. With sustained great climbing on a long route, it tops my list.

As always, the weekend ends too early. I can’t wait to get back to shelf, and I look forward to uncomfortably warm days in the sun in February on those limestone cliffs. 

Low Wire Crag in Clear Creek Canyon

Sitting below the popular High Wire Crag and, one of my favorites, the Wall of Justice in Clear Creek Canyon is a new crag with some great lines called Low Wire. Kevin Capps bolted this area this summer and has been working on sending all of the routes. The last one is the hardest, a 5.13b?, in a very overhung cave with some big powerful moves.

Kevin Capps climbing The Grizz 5.13b

Two routes, a 5.12a/b and a 5.12c, are just above the river.

Matt Lloyd climbing Groove Town, a very hight-dependent 5.12a

There are routes that range from 5.9+ to 5.13 including a great 5.12a, “Fly Low”, which is my hardest flash (climbing a route from bottom to top without falling on your first attempt).

To get out of the area you have to climb a 5.4 slab. Right now there is a rope to assist in your ascent. Low Wire will be included in the new guidebook coming out soon!

Daniel Cornella climbing the 5.4 slab out of Low Wire

Skiing the Lambs Slide on Long’s Peak

The weekend before I had a 14 hour sufferfest on Long’s Peak climbing Dreamweaver, and I dreaded doing the approach again – I don’t know why I hate it so much. When Thomas Woodson and Joey Schusler invited me to ski the Lamb’s Slide I considered the approach for a second, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Alpine starts are painful. Thomas raps on the window of my car at Oh’Dark Three AM. I’d been waiting for half an hour and fell asleep with my seat belt on. We throw my fatty powder skis in the ski rack on top of his Toyota FJ and take off into the pitch black canyon. It’s a surprise no one else is on the road.

Loading skis and boots onto my full backpack to carry for the 5 mile approach, preparing to gain 3,000 feet of elevation to the base of the climb,  I realized I need a different set up. Joey is in full Dynafit set up and carrying roughly 1/3 the weight that I am, with my fatty Bluehouse skis, Marker Barons, and Salomon Quest boots. Just to prove the point Joey does the entire approach in his new Dynafit TLT 6 boots, claiming that they are beyond comfortable the whole way.

Sunrise hits just as we breech the treeline. 

Sam Seeward on the approach

First sight of the Diamond

The sky is overcast and there are powerful wind gusts the whole hike in. We thought we might not get  the sun the at all during the day, but as we breech tree line the gold light of morning breaks through the clouds. We forget about the struggle for a minute to bask in the light and everyone pulls out there cameras.

I was impressed by Joey’s ability to climb in his Dynafit TLT 6’s. 

After debating whether to walk across the frozen Chasm we determine that it’s safe. But it’s still a bit scary hearing the ice shift underneath your weight. It doesn’t help that 50+ mile an hour winds blow us across the lake.

Thomas Woodson keeping himself upright through the high winds that whip around use, periodically engulfing us in almost whiteout conditions from the loose snow. 

Above Thomas you can see the Smear of Fear, an ice flow that’s particularly fat this year because of the floods. 

The week before, climbing Dreamweaver Couloir with only a little weight on my back the climb at 13,000 feet felt decently easy. The difference carrying a pack full of gear and skis, climbing Lambs Slide took a lot out of me. I reverted back to my technique I learned in Peru: One step, one breath. With this technique I can chug along. I picture myself as the tortoise slowly beating the hare. Except, in reality I don’t beat anyone. I hope I’m not holding the other guys back, who seem to be impossibly fit. They did, earlier this year, ride their bikes from Boulder, climb Longs Peak, and return to Boulder all in one day. Insane.

The climb up Lambs Slide, for most part, was in good condition, but parts of it were slogs through waist deep snow that just collapsed underneath you 

The wind passed largely over the couloir, but we still were blasted with huge gusts of wind carrying loose snow. 

The view of the diamond from the top of Lambs Slide Couloir

I reached the top of the couloir and was done. I could feel some nausea coming on from the altitude and wanted to take it easy. Sam, Thomas, and Joey wanted to continue to the peak of Meeker (13,900) which “is just over that ridge. It will be 20 minutes”. I decided to stay where I was and wait for them to come back. I huddled amongst the rocks trying to keep myself warm for well over an hour. I climbed down to our skis we’d left below and back up just to warm up.

Finally they appear over the ridge. The peak had been much further than they’d anticipated. I’m psyched to start skiing. My core temperature had dropped quite a bit from sitting still and I want to start moving again.

We figure out our route down and start carving. The snow is a little crusty on top but our skis cut in well, giving us some great turns.

Sam Seward getting in his first turns. 

After Joey Schusler figures out a binding issue he hits it hard. 

It’s impressive that Thomas Woodson is skiing in advanced terrain having never been on skis before last season! 

1500 feet of pure bliss, my first turns of the season were incredible. My legs burned, clearly not in skiing shape. I can’t wait to get out on more incredible terrain with these guys the rest of the season.

Thomas crossing Chasm lake.  Skiing across the lake was so much easier than walking. 

We hike the five miles back to the parking lot, everyone beyond tired. I can’t wait to get a lighter weight set up from Dynafit that won’t destroy my back on every hike. I was sore for days. I’m not psyched to do the approach to Longs anytime soon, but I’m excited to see what the Colorado backcountry has in store this year. Already, it’s shaping up to be a better season than last. 

Climbing the Dreamweaver Couloir

“Want to go do some mixed climbing in the Park (RMNP) Saturday?”
“For sure! When do we leave?” I say.
“2-3am?”
I have a Halloween party at my house Friday night…I can make it work. 
“Yeah! I can do that.”
When Tristan Hobson hit me up for an adventure I was psyched to get out with him. He had pretty grand plans for climbing Alexander’s Chimney, up through the Notch, and summiting Longs Peak. I was just down for an adventure. 
I sleep for roughly an hour and half after the party before meeting up with Tristan at 3am in the dark parking lot. I groggily grab my bag and jump in his Toyota truck. The road to Longs from Lyons was still closed from the floods so we had to take the Peak to Peak Highway through Nederland. Just as we got on the Peak to Peak I remembered I’d forgotten something crucial.
“You’re going to hate me…I forgot my harness in my car.” 
We sat for a little bit contemplating what to do, then drove the 30 minutes back to my car. 
“It’s almost 4am. Do you still want to go out?” 
“I’m up, I’m psyched to do something.”
Tristan didn’t think we had enough time to accomplish his original objective, so we decided to climb the Dreamweaver couloir on Mt Meeker, next to the Flying Buttress. 
Almost an hour later than we had planned we pull in to a full parking lot, as if it were still summer instead of a cold October morning. 

The five mile approach takes you from roughly 9,000 feet above sea level to 12,000 feet above sea level. We start in the dark with only the light of our headlamps leading us through the woods, but before long the sky starts to brighten with the first signs of the sun. The sunrise comes up over the city of Lyons, beyond a few peaks to the east, and filters through the trees just below tree line. The trees get much shorter and scragglier as we keep trudging up hill.

Finally the Diamond comes into view, soaking in the alpenglow.

  From the Chasm Junction, Dreamweaver looks to be in quite nicely. Ahead of us, the Smear of Fear is in pretty fat, but our original objective, the Notch, looks pretty thin.

I’m glad we picked to go up on Meeker, since you don’t have to do the traverse across a not-quite-frozen Chasm lake.

We finally reach the base of the Dreamweaver Couloir. The snow up to it was a little soft, but still firm enough to walk comfortably. But as we get higher into the couloir the snow gets softer and softer.

I start crossing into a small snow field below the first crux of the route and the snow seems a bit unstable, so we make an anchor and I tie in, just in case. The crux itself looks pretty easy, so I don’t plan on doing it as a lead, but as a free solo. I keep the rope on me so I can belay Tristan across the snowfield after I’m above the crux.

“Do you want some cams and nuts?” Tristan asks before I take off.
“Sure, I’ll use them to make an anchor at the top, just in case.”

In the constriction the snow just collapses beneath me, dropping me below my ice tools that are stuck in the rock. I manage to climb back up to my tools, just wallowing in the snow. I can’t count on any support for my feet from the snow at all. I pull myself up to my tools and press my crampons into nonexistent holds.

‹side note› One of the things I love about ice climbing is when you sink your tools you know without a shadow of a doubt, because of the combination of sight, sound, and feel, that they are going to stick and be able to support your weight. Dry tooling (using your ice tools on dry rock), on the other hand, is incredibly unstable. Never does a placement feel 100% secure; anything could pop at any moment. You pull up praying that each tool holds long enough for you to place the next one. Your crampon-ed feet scrape their way up the rock face, alway potentially slipping. You would give anything to be using the sticky rubber of rock climbing shoes that will stick on the smallest pebble. ‹/side note›

With my feet pressuring off opposite sides of the constriction and my tools finding whatever small crack to pull on I inch my way up, miraculously finding a frozen fixed sling left by someone else for protection. I quickly clip in, incredibly thankful to have some form of protection on this unexpectedly hard climb. Though, I was only using one 7.8mm rope that are meant to be used in pairs. The route had looked easy so because snow filled up the constriction, but now the snow offered absolutely no assistance in my climb and was more of an enemy of forward movement. With every move I had to use one tool to clear off the foot of powder that hid the rock below. Each time I reached above another rock I tried desperately to stick my tool blindly into what lay beneath the snow, mostly to no avail. I would either hit featureless slab and my tool would just scrape down or small loose rocks. The only firm holds I had were generally on my left in a small crack system. And my feet felt as if they were dangling helplessly below me.

As I cleared off more of the powder I uncover two more slings spaced out every ten feet or so, each time temporarily boosting my confidence. I ran out the pitch a ways before coming to the last bit of the crux section. I find a small crack that I’m able to fit a nut into and clip in. I pull on it, and it feels to be quite secure. Two moves later I bump the stem of the nut with my knee and the draw + nut go zipping down the rope. But I can see the relief! Only one more hard move till the constriction opens up and I can stand up on slightly lower angle snow. Instead of wasting more time trying to find another placement I pull over the last bulge and make an anchor. I had unintentionally lead my first “mixed” pitch, and it was scary as hell.

Tristan blindly searches through the snow for a purchase on the last bulge of the first crux. 

Wallowing in waist deep powder the ice tools do little more than put useless holes in the snow. 

Climbing on lower angle, more featured rock is way easier than wallowing in snow and/or climbing vertical rock with no feet. 

The last crux section had much better feet and tool placement options.

We free soloed the rest of the route, trying to avoid wallowing in the powder as much as possible. Thankfully there was lower angle rock with lots of features on the right side of the couloir. The last crux of the lower have of Dreamweaver went much more smoothly than the first. I was able to use the constriction more like a chimney and pressure both feet off of the opposing walls and there were many more solid tool placements for both hands.

We reached the top of the buttress, the end of the first half of Dreamweaver. The second half that takes you close to the summit of Meeker looked to be more of the same powdered mess that we just had come up, and it was getting late in the day so we decided to cut the climb short. We ate some food then down climbed to the Dark Star couloir which provided us an easier way down.

When we reached the basin floor my body decides it was time to shut down. It doesn’t care that I have a five mile hike ahead of me. Maybe for epics on Longs I should get more than an hour and half of sleep. I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Besides terrible climbing conditions, it was an incredible day adventuring. You always forget the pain and remember the awesome.