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CONTENTS
ISSUE 325
6
FLASH THE APPROACH
T H G I R W R A D E C ; N O T R E L L U F N E B ; N R O C R E P U S ; N O T R E L L U F N E B ; I T N U R F F A T T E R B ; ) 2 (
15
Editor’s Note
16
Letters
17
Archives
18
Gram vs. Gram Our avorite climber dogs go head to head.
20
Off the Wall The story o a spy blimp and a climbing gym.
TH E CLIMB CLIMB
GUIDE 24
26
Advice Ammon McNeely returns to climbing afer nearly losing his oot. Epicenter New Paltz, New York, is the ultimate staging area or the Gunks.
32 Training
Improved ootwork can quickly make you a better climber. 34 Nutrition
Bye bye, bars! Make these tasty, hydrating energy bites at home.
GEAR 37 Primer
Ounce-counting: how light alpine packs measure up. 38 Big Review
Minimalist high-country haulers or astand-light ascents. 40 Tested
The latest gear obsessions rom our testers. 41 The Kit
Must-have gadgets or perect crag coee.
CLINICS 45 Begin Here
30
Instant Expert Master riction slabs with techniques and tips rom Hazel Findlay.
N O T R E L L U F N E B ; L L E B P M A C . N E V A D ; R E T T O P N A E D ; R E L G E I Z A I D U A L C : T F E L P O T M O R F E S I W K C O L C
Take your nut game to the next level with these advanced methods. 46 In Session
Being a better belayer is a lielong process, and you can start right here. 48 Coolest Trick
Use your head to overcome anxiety and ear to send your project.
VOICES 51 Ask Answer Man
What’s the deal with those zip-o pants? 52 The Wright Stuff
Pro climber Cedar Wright writes about heroes and Honnold. 54 Semi-Rad
Brendan Leonard discovers aid climbing.
FLOW FLOW
88 TH E
Cover photo by Cedar Wright: Alex Honnold on his epic free solo of El Sendero Luminoso (5.12d), Luminoso (5.12d), El Potrero Chico, Mexico.
CLIMBING.COM
|1
CONTENTS
56
Reese Mountain What?! There’s a people-free sport crag hidden in southern Wyoming? Affirmative! Dougald MacDonald details how one legendary first ascensionist and his Reese Mountain Gang developed some of the best bolted routes in the West but are still the only visitors almost 20 years later.
72
Alpine Now! Temps down low might be heating up, but the high country is damn near perfect. Climber and perpetual road-tripper Brendan Leonard highlights seven routes across the country from Maine to Washington that the everyman can climb.
81
Mentorship Gap Today’s gym-born generation of climbers can pull down harder than ever. But when it comes time to transition to climbing outdoors, many old schoolers wished these youngsters knew more about the outdoors, ethics, and etiquette—the intangibles once passed down from a mentor to a new climber. Photographer and veteran climber Chris Noble explores this gap and what we can do about it.
R R U B W E R D N A
Jules Cho takes a welcomed rest on a bulge-covered route at Reese Mountain, Wyoming.
ISSUE 325
LEADING SINCE 1970
Browse areas, routes, photos, comments, etc OFFLINE, at the crag, on the rock.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD TO PACK TO THE CRAG? WHAT TASTES GREAT AND GIVES YOU ALL-DAY ENERGY? PB&J or lefover pizza! But afer seeing the recipe on p. 34, that may change.
EDITORIAL
Editor S HANNON DAVIS
Classic PB&J
Art Director JACQUEL INE MCCAFFR EY
Quinoa salad with plenty o veggies
Senior Editor
Peanut butter and chocolate chip– covered banana
Digital Media Specialist
JULIE EL LIS ON K EVIN COR R IGAN
Editor at Large DOUGALD MACDONAL D
Senior Contributing Photographer ANDR EW BUR R
Senior Contributing Editor Peanut butter and honey in a tortilla wrap. Messy but great! Sausage McGriddle Value Meal
JEFF ACHEY
Contributing Editors BR ENDAN LEONAR D, DAVE S HEL DON, ANDR EW TOWER , CEDAR WR IGHT
Gummy rogs A mix o peanuts and raisins
Contributing Illustrators S K IP S T ER LING, S UPER COR N
Staff Photographer BEN FULLER T ON
Tablet Media Specialist ProBars. Tastes good enough and packs enough punch to get me through till the end. Plus, most o them are gluten- and dairy-ree.
Download your local areas, trip destinations, or all 100,000+ routes. Once downloaded, you no longer need to be online!
Download high-res photos, one at a time or for a whole area
CR YS TAL S AGAN
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FLASH
6 | MAY 2014
Carolina Godoy (V2) Auyántepui, Venezuela Como Un Sueño
In late February and early March of this year, seven people trekked 25 miles—three days on steep terrain with scrambling and fixed lines—to get to the top of this tepui (“house of the devil” in the native Pemon language). The plan was to hunt for boulders and put up as many climbs as possible in 18 days. This particular block, the Gandalf Boulder (so named because the feature that comes off the top resembles the famed wizard’s hat), was right next to the crew’s established
basecamp. They walked by it everyday and saw a proud and beautiful line up the prominent orange streak. Photographer Gustavo Moser cleaned the holds and urged fellow climber Gary Sorcher to go for it because Moser knew Sorcher was waiting for an ideal first-ever FA. Sorcher hopped on the rock, and it went first go. “This was my first FA ever, and one of my proudest moments as a climber and as a person,” said Sorcher. “I named it Como Un Sueño because this rig climbs like a dream: Every move flows into the next. It has jugs, pinches, pockets, and an airy, exposed mantel topout.”
Following a striking orange streak and maxing out at 22 feet, this V2 problem is no gimme. Not only did Sorcher call his group “sandbagging sons of bitches,” but the commitment factor makes it quite heady. The group went on to make several dozen first ascents all over the tepui. “Realistically, we only saw about one percent of the rock Auyántepui has to offer,” said Sorcher. With a summit surface area of 260 square miles, this particular mesa is home to stone aplenty, and the world’s highest waterfall: 3,212-foot Angel Falls. GUSTAVO MOSER
CLIMBING.COM
|7
FLASH
Matt Segal and Will Stanhope Tom Egan Memorial Route (5.9 A3) Snowpatch Spire, Bugaboos, Canada For the third consecutive summer alpine season, pro climbers Matt Segal and Canadian Will Stanhope will venture to the rugged, granite-spire paradise o the Bugaboos to try and ree an old aid line, the Tom Egan Memorial Route on the East Face o Snowpatch Spire. The duo says it should go at 5.14. The route was originally done by Canadians Daryl Hatten and John Simpson in 1978, and they named it afer riend Tom Egan, who died in Yosemite. It caught Segal and Stanhope’s attention in 2009, but they didn’t return to try in earnest until 2012. With a total o 15 pitches—two o those 5.14 and two 5.13—this photo shows the first splitter finger crack, which they’ve dubbed the Blood on the Crack pitch. Segal calls it “one o the most painul finger cracks either o us has ever experienced.” And it’s only the second hardest pitch. The true crux is a bolted ace pitch, which they call the Drunken Dawn Wall, that enters another difficult finger crack. Sta nhope says a third crux is living in the grueling Bugs backcountry or two months at a time: “We’ve struggled with recovery and have resorted to hiking up loads o creature comorts to Applebee Camp.” This includes lugging up a double-burner propane stove to cook “realood meals, not gnarly dehydrated ood,” Kokanee beers (which Stanhope calls “a fine Canadian beer”), and pillows. The climbing doesn’t lend itsel to a specific style, so the pair trained by climbing as much as possible, including a spring training camp in Zion, where they topped out Moonlight Buttress (5.12d), Touchstone Wall (5.13b), Shune’s Buttress (5.11+), and Sheer Lunacy (5.12b). With about 50 days o eort under their collective belt, the team is drawn back again and again because, as Stanhope says, “The line is enthralling. It is beautiul and right at our limit. All o our climbing experience has led up to this.”
ANDREW BURR
8 | MAY 2014
CLIMBING.COM
|9
FLASH
10 | MAY 2014
Klemen Becan Water World (9a/5.14d)
Osp, Slovenia Sometimes the approach to a route can be as much o a crux as the route itsel, as Slovenian pro climber Klemen Becan ound out in early 2014. He bolted this line more than two years ago, and it finally started to come together in recent months, which happened to coincide with an extremely wet winter in Slovenia. “This cave [Ospo] is in a unique area o Karst [a region in Slovenia and the name or the one-o-a-kind shapes o stone], which means it’s connected with cave systems o a much larger region,” said Becan. “When we had a lot o rain this winter, water
had to go out somewhere, and the cave was flooded.” Since his strength and motivation were high, Becan used both a kayak and a Tyrolean traverse to get to the line. He says the crux o this 50-meter megapitch (164 eet!) are the first 30 moves, which required “a lot o imagination” to figure out. There’s a good rest afer the opening section, which he says makes it hard to stay ocused, and then there’s still 30 meters o 8b/5.13d to get to the top. Becan hasn’t allotted or much celebration time, however. Two weeks later, he bolted a 150-meter line next to Water World that he says “looks a bit easier.” LUKA FONDA
CLIMBING.COM
| 11
FLASH
Ofer Blutrich Icarus (8a/5.13b)
Keshet Cave, Israel Israel is a land steeped in history—its climbing, however, is a dierent story. Most climbing areas were developed in the past five to 10 years, and the pictured Keshet Cave was only established in the last year and a hal. Local strongmen, like Oer Blutrich who has traveled to world-class climbing areas in Spain and Thailand, have come back to apply what they’ve learned to their home country. Blutrich, now 34, started climbing at age 22 afer our years in the Israeli military (serving in the military in Israel is mandatory or all citizens, both male and emale). He’s bolted and climbed the first ascent o more than 100 routes in the country, including lines up to 5.14b. This particular climb is about 115 eet and takes a direct route up the side o this natural arch, which is a popular tourist destination in Galilee in northern Israel, right next to the country’s border with Lebanon. CLAUDIA ZIEGLER
12 | MAY 2014
Ben Fullerton
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T H E
A P P R O A C H CONTRIBUTORS
I got this view o the Drus afer climbing a mixed route on the Petit Aiguille Verte in Chamonix last month. Thanks or the kickstart, Tim.
DAVE N. CAMPBELL Black Diamond employee Dave N. Campbell has established climbing routes the world over and spent more than 1,000 nights sleeping in “The Spaceship,” his silver Honda Element. In this issue, he details climber and BASE jumper Ammon McNeely’s best advice for maintaining stoke, no matter the obstacle. DOUGALD MACDONALD Years ago, editor-at-large Dougald MacDonald heard of one “Dingus McGee” and his pet project, a little-known Wyoming sport crag called Reese Mountain. He finally visited. Read his report (with beta!) on page 56. “Dingus’s crew warmly welcomed us. Their pride in this isolated, semi-secret, scruffy, wind-blasted, yet still-excellent crag was palpable.”
EDITOR’S NOTE
Calling All Tims BY SHANNON DAVIS
Y E V R A H N A N N E K ; ) 3 ( Y S E T R U O C ; S I V A D N O N N A H S : T F E L P O T M O R F E S I W K C O L C
I was never meant to play football. That wiry 120-pound frame in my high school yearbook tells that story pretty clearly. But rock climbing? I found something there. Trou ble was, growing up in Ohio, I had hardly anywhere to climb (the closest: a Treadwall an hour drive away) and—more important—precious few people to climb with or learn from. Then I met Tim. Tim was a distant friend of the family who’d just gotten out of the Army. He drove a Ford Bronco with tires taller than most parking meters—but he had a rope, double rack, and a deep enthusiasm for West Virginia’s Seneca Rocks. We’d make the six-hour drive every nice weekend (monster trucks are slow) just to get one long day of trad climbing in. I learned how to belay, follow, clean a route, and rappel. Then I learned to lead and build anchors. Along the way, I also picked up a lot about self-sufficiency, gobies, leaving a campsite better than you found it, bad beta and good, how to deliver the latter, and more. Dude was my hero. He helped me find an identity and a cool community to be a part of. In other words, he was my mentor. As Salt L ake City–based photographer and writer Chris Noble details in his excellent essay, “The Mentorship Gap” (p. 81), climbing is in dire need of quality mentorship as more climbers than ever transition from the gym to the crag. Read it, and take action.
S T E Y H H E T N G I L M R H O U R O G I F J H
CEDAR WRIGHT Cedar Wright, a self-proclaimed “poetic genius,” is psyched to be joining Climbing magazine as a contributing editor. His monthly column The Wright Stuff will weave mostly true, sometimes heinous, sometimes hilarious tales of adventure, professional climbing, and dirtbag culture.
Eat more peanuts
Wear more leather
Trust your feet
Climb this
Judging rom the answers to our masthead question on page 4 (What’s your avorite crag ood?), the Climbing sta loves us some peanut butter. Makes sense, though: It’s packed with protein and potassium, and it’s easy to digest. Plus, it tastes great on everything, rom bagels to bananas. Where’s my spoon?
Dean Potter’s dog, Whisper, may have won our whimsical Instagram photo challenge (p. 18), but Gus ( aka the “AllTerrain Pug”) made a strong showing and taught us a little something about crag style.
We explored the most repeated maxim in climbing—it’s all about your eet—to deliver a ootwork training program and a visual guide to slab climbing. Increase your riction starting on page 30.
There’s a our-pitch 5.7 with your name on it (p. 79).
CLIMBING.COM
| 15
THE APPROACH UNSOLICITED BETA
AND WE’RE BACK Maybe I’ll never be more than a sporadic amateur, but your magazine al ways makes me want to organize my gear and hit the road. The things that people are doing all around the world are amazing, and I want to thank you for bringing those photos and stories to my door every month. You also put technical skills within my grasp in those handy yellow pages. I miss seeing letters to the editor in each issue, though. They often made me laugh, made me interested and curious, and made me think that I should write one myself. Leave it to me to wait until you’ve stopped publishing them to finally get around to it. —David Lightenberg, via email Ed. Note: Thank you, David. Hey, look! Letters are back! Keep in touch.
RIPPLES I feel so sad for Chad Kellogg, his family, and his climbing buddies. I used to be one of them. Chad was a ranger on Rainier back in the 1990s. We would climb and snowboard together. I still remember our first descent of Success Couloir. We were gearing up at basecamp, around 10,500 feet, when we heard a huge rumbling. Tons of ice was falling a couple thousand feet above us. I looked at Chad. Then there was ano ther huge icefall. We could feel the ground shake. Chad said, “We better get after it.”
OVERHEARD
“I will not do that to my body.” —Legendary rock shoe designer Heinz Mariacher, climbing with Scarpa North America’s CEO Kim Miller in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado. Afer Miller led an awkward dihedral involving contortion and smearing, he pulled the rope up or Mariacher to ollow. Instead, Mariacher untied and said this as he walked away.
“I got tired of lugging my trad rack up here all the time, so I brought the bolt gun a few times instead.” —Dennis “Dingus McGee” Horning. Read the ull story on page 56.
“Why didn’t you just build a f***ing snowman?” —Lauren McBeth, afer her sister, Robin, a novice ice climber rom Colorado, said she’d “just wanted to play outside in the snow” to explain how she’d gotten popped in the eye with an ice tool, leaving a deep gash.
“Chris? Chris? I’m sorry, but we are asking people who have been drinking to put on wristbands and stop climbing.” —Earth Treks gym employee at a February 2014 AAC Climbers’ Gathering, asking Chris Sharma to get o a 15-oot boulder because he had had a beer.
16 | MAY 2014
After a successf ul summit, we began to descend. It was ra ining below in the clouds. We snowboarded as far as we could, and then downclimbed until we cliffed out . We had to put on crampons to climb back up the steep mud and roots. Chad smiled the entire time. He liked it when the trip didn’t go as planned. I know he’s with Lara [Chad’s wife, who died on Mount Wake in Alaska in 2007], and they are climbing together again. Thanks, Chad, for all you did for me. —Luke, via Climbing.com
FIRST ASCENT MINDSETS By making a route bold and giving it death potential (“To Bolt or Not To Bolt”, February 2014), you deter a lot of the weekend-warrior gumbies who think they have something to prove. Matt Segal’s a stud. He shouldn’t be required to cater to the masses of self-entitled “climbers,” KEEP IN TOUCH
letters@ /climbingmagazine @climbingmag climbing.com
@climbingmagazine
VERTICAL LINES
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever dropped during a climb? 15 0 12 5
You can belay and rappel from a Munter hitch, but it’s best to learn how before there’s a problem, go to climbing.com/munterhitch .
Wait.
100 Save the selfies for the summit.
75 50 25 0
E E V I C D L A Y B E
M C A
E T A T U B L M E M E R H E E / C A O O P P N P H O
S R K D H O E M B E G ) P A C P P E T ! O E S L I I N U R T D R G , Y U R C E L A Y Y O ’ N V E N Y T H I Y O E B H I L I H A A N ( W
who think they deserve to safely flail up a 5.13+. If you want to climb Air China so badly, climb harder and get on Matt Segal’s level. Future climbers need to earn this route. “Badasses only” sounds fair to me. —Taylor H., via Climbing.com I’m very sad that you love risking your life. If you had splattered your brains on Air China, it would have been a tragedy. Thank goodness your friend recognized the danger and demanded a bolt. That may have saved your life. The idea that safety cheapens the experience is an idea we need to part with. Certainly, there is danger inherent in climbing, but no one would use a questionable rope. Yet many climbers put value in sketchy gear placements and go out of their way to risk their lives. Is that bold? Certainly. It also leads to needless injuries and worse. Climb safe and climb tomorrow. —Aaron, via Climbing.com
NOGA When
did it become conventional wisdom that yoga enhances climbing performance? If anyone has scientific data to back it up, I’d love to see it. The studies I’ve read say stretching before exercise is a waste of time, or even downright counterproductive. Unless you’re doing routes that require you to drape your leg behind your neck, skip the yoga and climb more. Yoga is good for one thing—getting better at yoga. —Ken, via Climbing.com
JUNE/JULY 1989 ARCHIVES Spain revealed
SOCIAL CLIMBING
Could you date a non-climber?
18%
In this issue, we reveal little-known Wyoming sport crag, Reese Mountain (see p. 56), but back in 1989, Spain, which is now considered one of the best sport climbing destinations in the world, was also “little-known”: “Despite occasional rave reviews that sneak across the French border, Spain remains a shadowy enigma to most potential rock tourists. Even as France was flooded last fall with record rainfalls, skeptical climbers preferred to risk mudslides in Buoux rather than robbery, abduction, remote cliffs, and a lack of 8b’s [5.13d] and croissants in Spain.”
Hot new trend
NO
Remember that 1980s climbing shoe craze when teenagers were wearing climbing shoes to school, dances, and around town? No? It never quite caught on, but that didn’t stop Reebok from trying with the Reebok Rocker, a rock shoe-inspired street shoe.
47% YE S
35%
Academy Award climber On the cover, Scott Cosgrove climbs Headstone Arete (5.13b) in Joshua Tree, California. Since then, Cosgrove has become (presumably) the only person to both be on the cover of Climbing and win an Academy Award. He won the Academy Award as part of a rigging team and, more recently, a Screen Actors Guild award for stunt work in Lone Survivor . He’s worked on everything from The Hunger Games to Puff Daddy music videos.
MAYBE
Time-tested skills
NON-CLIMBERS, TURN ‘MAYBE’ INTO ‘YES’ BY: Owning a really cool van
Having a family-owned cabin in
Enjoying alone time every weekend
Tahoe, California Being an independently wealthy chef Learning to climb
while your significant other climbs Being very attractive
*Source: Climbing’s annual reader survey. Watch Facebook for your chance to participate.
“The oppositional nut, when combined with its counterpart, provides a non-directional anchor, one you can weight in any direction. And all an chors must be non-directional.” Sound advice, excerpted from Rock Climb! a “new” instructional book by John Long. Somewhat ironically, we also cover opposi- tional nuts in this issue on page 45.
CLIMBING.COM
| 17
THE APPROACH UNBELAYVABLE!
GRAM VS. GRAM
Scary (and true) tales from a crag near you A climber warned us about a sketchy dude in Smith Rock, Oregon. Mr. Sketch had offered him a belay, and when he was three-quarters up a route, he looked down and noticed something chilling. The belayer was gone. The rope hung loosely from his harness to the ground. He rapped down and found the sketchy dude flirting with some girls a ways down the crag. Sketch said, “What? You looked like you were doing fine!” —Submitted by Jason D. Martin, via Climbing.com
Who’s the best climber dog on Instagram?
if someone is too “sketchy” to belay you, see page 88.
(OWNED BY CEDAR WRIGHT)
literally placing your life in his hands. Only climb with peo-
“Only one end of the rope is on the ground!” “That’s OK. I’ll rappel on both strands until I get to that point, then I’ll finish the rappel on one str and.” A chorus of “No! Stop!” saved the climber. —Submitted by Richard Bothwell, via Climbing.com LESSON: Every time you rappel, pull your rope
Big walls like El Cap
Whisper hangs high above the Yosemite fog
Paw jams in splitter cracks
Gus stands mightily in front of his domain: the Flatirons
(OWNED BY DEAN POTTER)
ple you know you can trust. For a simple test to determine
When you allow someone to belay you, you’re
EP IC SHOT
Whisper @deanpotter
Gus the AllTerrain Pug @allterrainpug
LESSON:
CLIMB ING PR EF ER ENCE
OTHER HOBBIES
through the
anchors and center it. If your rope doesn’t have a middle mark, put it through the anchor, match the ends, and coil until you find the center. Next, tie stopper knots on each strand so you can’t rap off the end. Toss the rope and make sure both strands reach the ground before you rap.
I saw a guy build a toprope anchor by putting a harness around a tree and clipping a single oval biner to it. Then he put another harness on a dead tree at the bottom of the cliff and belayed his daughter fro m it—with a pulley. At least he put a helmet on her. —Submitted by Ben, via Climbing.com LESSON:
So many. Foremost, always seek expert
instruction. Take a class from a g ym, guide company, or climbing school, and practice building anchors in a lowrisk environment (like your backyard). Always read the instructions that come with your gear. Climbing gear is very specialized and should only be used as intended.
See something unbelayvable? Email us at
[email protected].
18 | MAY 2014
Tandem wingsuit BASE jumping
Chills cragside in leather. Probably smokes reds, too.
for her impressive RWhisper, ascents in Yosemite Valley and Edaring BASE jumps. Gus had a showing in the adorable Nstrong department, but it’s hard to com N with a canine with so many I pete passport stamps and flights on Wher resume—even for humans!
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THE APPROACH OFF THE WALL BY KEVIN CORRIGAN
Secret Agent Gym Spy-blimp engineers learn to rappel at New Jersey climbing gym Arborist. Rigger. Firefighter. Window washer. Stuntman. Magazine editor. There are only a few careers (and really—some of these are a stretch) where technical climbing skills will boost your resume. But now you can add spy-blimp technician to that list. Lucas Kovalcik and Tim Walsh, owners of the Gravity Vault climbing gyms in New Jersey, were recently contacted by defense contractor Northrop Grumman with a vague request. “It was supposed to be a secret,” said Walsh. “But they had to tell us a little bit so we could understand how we as climbers could help them.” Here was Northrop Grumman’s problem: They’d built a spy blimp, but they had no w ay to reach the engi nes for maintenance. “They were contracted to build a $500 million spy blimp for the army,” said Kovalcik. “They realized, though, that once they pulled this blimp out of the hangar and floated it, they would have zero access to the engines and motors, by way of any scaffold on the ground.” Take that image in your mind of the Goodyear Blimp floating above a football stadium and forget it. This blimp is the size of an entire football field. It’s designed to float at the edge of the atmosphere where it’s undetectable by radar. It was scheduled to fly to the Middle East, but first, those engines needed some work, and they could only be accessed by rap-
pel from an anchor on top of the blimp. So the engineers and mechanics were shipped off to the Gravity Vault for two packed days of training. “A lot of these guys had never wo rn a harness before,” said Kovalcik. “Let’s just say they weren’t necessarily in ‘Army shape.’ Plus, some of them had a fear of heights.” The Gravity Vault crew taught them everything they needed to know to rappel, ascend fixed lines, and arrest a rappel so they could work ha nds-free. However, Walsh had concerns about the structural integrity of the blimp itself. “If that thing is full of heli um, how delicate is it?” said Walsh. Would it be like a Mylar party balloon ready to puncture at the slig htest provocation? “But it was explained to us that it can take several rounds from a .50-caliber gun and continue to fly for a certain amount of time.” That eased concerns. It would take more than a little friction from a nylon rope to pop this spy in the sky. The lessons themselves proved uneventful, which was a good thing. The engineers and mechanics readied the blimp for its tour of duty, and the Gravity Vault did their part to serve their country. Maybe if they’re lucky, the army will let them borrow the thing to scope out some new crags when the spies are done with it.
Details That Matter
What does a hiking boot company li ke LOWA know about climbing shoes? We don’t have any rock stars, we don’t have any first ascents, we haven’t given away tons of p roduct, but here’s what we do have: 90 years of boot-making experience that, among other things, has taken climbers to the summit of every 8000 meter peak in the world. Our new X-BOULDER carries our legacy forward.
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© 2014 LOWA Boots, LLC. VIBRAM ®, the Octagon Logo, and the Yellow Octagon Logo and the color Canary Yellow are registered trademarks of Vibram S.p.A.
N A M M U R G P O R H T R O N F O Y S E T R U O C
OFFICIAL
PARTN ER
A n d r e s M a r i n I I n d ia n C r e e k I C r a c k A t t a c k 5 . 1 1 F . M a r m s a t e r
D L O B B E r i l le t. f m . w w w
o n. a r u c t i g a n u l tr t s n o c n i r i r m e t e n s r e q u . / 1 0 a i 9 d l i o L E ® s i v e d u a i n g s e s s e s i n o n e u X IA l n i o p c A a x r I t e s e t w o r h m t T R i o r w f E , s e e T e h I p t O S r a n g i c r o i n e s O P P l e d y n a m t c l im b i n g 1 0 c o m b 9/ p o r ia x i a A T r c a l ib r e s s i te T R X o H i g h h e O p p T l. a i s i d e r o p e
There’s nothing like a beautiful blue-sky day, high above sea level, cruising toward a summit on pristine rock. We celebrate alpine climbs that everyone can conquer in this issue, along with offering techniques for friction slabs, how to overcome fear, drills to improve footwork, the lifelong pursuit of becoming a better belayer, and much more. Here, Alex Honnold takes advantage of ideal alpine temps on Knobvious (5.10d) on East Cottage Dome, Tuolumne Meadows, California.
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T H E 22 | MAY 2014
VOICES
C
L I M B ANDREW BURR
CLIMBING.COM
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THE
CLIMB
GUIDE Ammon McNeely and his typical ear-to-ear grin while he leads Colorado Northeast Ridge (5.8 C2) on Kingfisher Tower near Moab, Utah. Inset: Almost losing his oot to a BASE-jumping accident and the resulting surgeries that saved his limb lef McNeely with a gnarly scar—and an even gnarlier story.
ADVICE
An Unbreakable Spirit BY DAVE N. CAMPBELL
Ammon McNeely’s unbelievably fast return from a career-ending injury I stared up at the sandstone walls of the Kingfisher Tower outside of Moab, Utah, and felt sick with anxiety. I could faintly make out the speck of a man on the summit and knew it was Ammon McNeely. He was up there hobbling around on his surgically repaired foot (now laced with so many scars it looked like a relief map of canyon country). He carefully studied the cliff edges and exposure below, in search of the best spot to jump, but the wind was gusting, creating less-than-ideal conditions for flying. Deep down I suspected this would not deter him. “Fuck. Maybe I shouldn’t have helped him get up there,” I thought.
Ammon currently holds the most speed records and one-day ascents of Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan, and he’s done more than 1,000 BASE jumps. This jaunt in the Fisher Towers wouldn’t create a buzz far past the fire circle, if not for one thing: Just months ago, he suffered an accident so severe that he nearly lost his foot. In a jump not far from here last October, Ammon’s parachute didn’t open properly. He swung back
toward the wall and pushed off of it with his left foot. This may have saved his life, but it resulted in a gruesome compound fracture—his foot literally hanging by a few thin threads of skin and muscle tissue. Ammon calmly applied a tourniquet using chute rigging and apologized to his mother (he filmed it—view at climbing.com/ammon ). Doctors wanted to amputate, but after seven surgeries, two skin grafts, and a remarkable amount of community support, he was now miraculously ready to climb again. And he asked me to join him. Ammon and I climbed the filthy chimneys and exposed arête of Colorado Northeast Ridge (5.8 C2), and then fixed 500 feet of rope on the wall, so that he could quickly return when the time seemed right for the jump. As he pondered conditions, we spoke for a bit on the radios about lulls between wind gusts and such. Then Ammon declared he was ready. He punctuated his decision by throwing the climbing rope and his harness off of the tower. I watched it plummet to the ground, creating a puff of smoke on impact. My mouth went dry. Within moments he was airborne, and his parachute canopy cracked open with a bah boom! I watched as the one and only “El Cap Pirate” flew safely to the desert floor. Ammon had dug deep to bring the world another speed record: his lightning-fast recovery.
How I Made It Back
1 SETBACKS AREN’T THE END
) 2 ( L L E B P M A C . N E V A D
When I realized I might lose my foot, I instantly thought about people like Chad Jukes, Sean O’Neill, and Malcolm Daly. Chad is missing his leg just below the knee; Sean is paralyzed from the waist down; and Malcolm lost his foot. I thought about the climbing those guys continue to do, regardless of their disabilities, and acknowledged that I could still maintain my adventurous spirit, even without a limb. —As told to Dave N. Campbell
2 KEEP AN ACTIVE MIND
I buried myself in Steve “Crusher” Bartlett’s book Desert Towers, which my friend Mario Richard gave me before he passed away. Conrad Anker mailed me his book with a note, “With a heap of respect, your friend, Conrad.” I also watched a lot of motivational speaking on the Internet, such as Nick Vujicic, who was born without limbs but remains super-positive. My injury seemed insignificant compared to his struggle.
3
4
5
SMALL STEPS LEAD TO BIG GAINS
CREATE INSPIRING PROJECTS
LEARN FROM YOUR PASSIONS
I did 20 trips up and down a flight of stairs each day. In the beginning, I had to use two crutches, and then was eventually able to walk up and down on my own. I also swam two hours every day. Once the doctor said I could weight my leg, I did a BASE jump. I also started doing five-mile hikes with a forearm crutch. After three months, I onsighted a 5.9 on Owl Rock. It felt like a huge leap, and after that, I knew I was ready.
I’m going to continue combining my two passions: climbing and BASE jumping. I also get a lot of satisfaction out of working with Paradox Sports adaptive athletes. I’ve climbed El Cap a couple of times with paraplegic Sean O’Neill and his brother Timmy. We have plans to help Sean lead climb on El Cap this year. It’s such an inspiration to see guys out there charging like that after losing so much.
The outdoors is where I’m most happy and comfortable, and climbing has taught me so many things about myself and about life. The biggest is how to overcome obstacles and hardships, how to be patient but also how to grab the bull by the horns when you need to get things done. There’s a saying I really like: “I refuse to tip-toe through life only to arrive safely at death.” That perfectly sums up my attitude.
C L I M B I N G . C O M | 25
GUIDE
CRAGS
Epicenter: New Paltz, New York We’ve partnered with mountainproject.com to bring you the ultimate primer for life-list climbing epicenters around the country. In our first installment, we shine a spotlight on New Paltz and the legendary Shawangunks. CRAG MAP
HIGH E 87
23 routes
HIGH FALLS
THE UBERFALL THE ARROW WALL
65 routes
38 routes
DOUG’S ROOF
THE MAC WALL
16 problems
PEBBLES BOULDERS
28 routes
4 problems
KEYHOLE CLIFF AREA
JACKIE & FRIENDS
13 problems
209
FROG’S HEAD
27 routes
TRAPPS BOULDERING
32
ACCORD
34 routes
KERHONKSON
107 problems
KAMA SUTRA AREA 44
209
4 problems 8 44
THE NEAR TRAPPS
WAWARSING PARK44
118 routes
ING55LOT BOULDERS
17 problems
BEGINNING OF
New Paltz
8
CLIFF TO GELSA 8
28 routes Witch’s Hole State Forest
21 routes
y a w ru h T t e t a S rk o Y w e N 17
THE TRAPPS GELSA TO MOE
87
7
Minnewaska State Park
208 32
371 routes
MOE TO HARVEST MOON 44
36 routes 55
55
HARVEST MOON TO THE END
33 routes
87
TRAD
NOT PICTURED:
44
32
Awosting Reserve
TOPROPE
NAMELESS AREA: 3 problems; THE YELLOW WALL: 32
BOULDERING
routes; BOXCAR AREA: 14 problems; PETERSKILL: 142 routes; SLEEPY HOLLOW: 22 routes;
STRICTLY SHOCKLEY’S: 19 routes; THE GUIDE’S WALL: 29 routes; V3-MIDDLE EARTH: 36 routes; SLIME WALL: 18 routes
THE SCENE
Trad Central! The Gunks (short for Shawangunks) is one of America’s premier climbing areas. It’s just minutes from New Paltz, a funky college town of 13,000, and 85 miles from New York City, making it a popular spot on weekends. The rock is solid quartz conglomerate
with horizontal, rather than vertical, cracks. Climbing here is characterized by airy roofs, big jugs, traverses, and sometimes “sporty” pro. It’s famous for stellar one- to three-pitch climbs of all levels of difficulty, including some of the best moderate trad in
the country (sorry, no sport climbs). It’s also notorious for stiff ratings. Drop down a few grades for your first lead to get a feel for the rock, the ratings, and to learn how to place pro in the horizontal cracks. September and October are the prime climbing
months (cool, low humidity), though it can be good in spring and summer as well. Most of the Gunks is part of the Mohonk Preserve, a land trust dedicated to preserving and protecting the northern Shawangunk Ridge. ($17 entry fee, mohonkpreserve.org) POWERED BY
26 | MAY 2014
R R U B W E R D N A
Photography: John Glassberg I Athlete: Paige Claassen I Location: Ultimate Power, 5.12d Waterval Boven, South Africa I marmot.com
The Women’s Essential Tank Check out the Marmot Momentum Collection at marmot.com/momentum
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G U I D E
CRAGS
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The Winter Direct (5.10+).
ROUTES
Definitive Gunks Classics The 10 best 4-star routes as ranked by Mountain Project users High Exposure (5.6) The Trapps, 2 pitches (250 feet) “It can be intimidating pulling through the crux from under the roof to the side wall. That’s Gunks 5.6! This climb has bomber hands all the way up the third pitch, great gear, and enough air to keep you talking, smiling, and bragging about it forever.” Limelight (5.7) The Trapps, 2 pitches (180 feet) “One of my favorite leads of all time! The second pitch roof traverse is the highlight.” Christoph Hass/www.rockandsnow.de
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Something Interesting (5.7+) The Trapps, 2 pitches (200 feet) “This route, a right-leaning finger crack to a bulge with a large reach, was reminiscent of some 5.9+/5.10- routes in other areas. In any case, this climb is incredible. Do this route!” Son of Easy O (5.8) The Trapps, 2 pitches (170 feet) “This is the best 5.8 I have ever climbed. The upper roof is interesting, but never so hard that you can’t pause and look around to admire your surroundings. And what amazing surroundings they are.” Bonnie’s Roof (5.9) The Trapps, 2 pitches (250 feet) “In 1937, Bonnie Prudden shattered her pelvis in a skiing accident. A doctor told her, ‘You will always limp. No more skiing, climbing, or dancing. And no children.’ Fifteen years later, she
made the historic first ascent of Bonnie’s Roof , after the legendary Hans Kraus backed down and handed her the sharp end.” CCK Direct (5.9 PG13) The Trapps, 2 pitches (240 feet) “Perhaps the best 5.9 in the Gunks. The first move/traverse off the ledge is the physical and psychological crux. If you blow it, it would be a nasty pendulum. The rest has excellent gear, and it’s easier than it looks.” Ridicullissima (5.10c PG13) The Trapps, 1 pitch (180 feet) “Easily the best non-roof ‘hard’ route. The rock is stellar, the moves are challenging, and the gear is plentiful.” Fat City Direct (5.10d PG13) The Near Trapps, 1 pitch (150 feet) “The crux, while barely earning the grade, is tenuous until you reach the finger-jugs. Then it’s cruiser.” The Yellow Wall (5.11c PG13) The Trapps, 2 pitches (125 feet) “One of the best climbs I have ever done, regardless of grade or area. The pro seemed adequate, and the crux required total commitment. It’s a special feeling to try hard in such an exposed and dramatic position.” Supper’s Ready (5.12-) The Trapps, 1 pitch (150 feet) “I felt like a fat kid chasing the ice cream truck after doing this multitiered roof!”
R R U B W E R D N A
Epicenter: New Paltz, NY GEAR BETA
LOCALS KNOW
Brad Heller feels the exposure on Tripleissima
What you need to pack
Where climbers:
(5.11- R), The Trapps.
[stay] The American Alpine Club is building a 50-site campground (expected to open in fall 2014) a short walk from the Mohonk Visitor Center (close to The Trapps and Near Trapps) replete with a bathhouse and indoor space to wait out rainy days. Until then, “Camp Slime” is the closest. Turn left on the dirt road just before the steel bridge on Highway 44/55 to claim a spot, and then park in the West Trapps parking lot. First come, first served. Want a roof? Reserve a room at the New Paltz Hostel (newpaltzhostel.com).
Standard
Gunks rack: Set of micro-nuts (often useful for 5.10 and above) Set of wired nuts (No. 3 to No. 13 Black Diamond Stoppers or equivalent) Pink, red, and brown Tricams (some climbers double up on the red) Blue, green, yellow, gray, and red Aliens (or equivalent) .75, 1, 2, and 3 Camalots (or equivalent) 10 to 12 extendable runners (24” sewn slings) One or two long runners (48” sewn slings) One Yates Screamer
[eat] Bacchus Restaurant Bar & Billiards has nearly 500 beers on the menu, so it may take you a while to choose. Have the Bacchus Chili while you consider your options. Stay for live music. (bacchusnewpaltz.com, 845-255-8636) For sandwiches and small supplies, hit Bistro Mountain Store (845-255-2999). It’s the closest place to get food near The Trapps. For real groceries, drive into New Paltz.
The
amount of gear you carry will depend on the climb, as well as your experience, ability, and familiarity with the route and with the Gunks. If you’re new to the Gunks, err on the side of more, especially cams in the .5’’ to 2’’ range.
[gear up] Dick Williams (who literally wrote the guidebook on Gunks climbing) founded Rock and Snow, one of the premier specialty climbing and outdoor gear shops in the country. Check in when you get to town. ( rockandsnow.com , 845-255-1311)
Bring
two-way radios for communicating past the big roofs on many Gunks climbs. Most
routes can be climbed and rappelled with a single 60-meter rope. Double ropes can be handy, however, for the traverses, wandering pro, and roofs. They’re also nice for descending in fewer rappels.
[learn the ropes] Take a class (from beginner to expert) or hire a guide from the Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School. Bonus: It shares a building with Bistro Mountain Store. ( emsoutdoors .com/new-paltz-gunks, 810-310-4504)
Many
popular routes have bolted rap stations, but sometimes trees are used for rap anchors. Bring some webbing in case you need to beef up a sling anchor on a tree.
GUNKS METRICS
QUALITY
STYLE
DIFFICULTY
300+ routes score 3 stars or higher
Mostly trad, some toprope
Variety in the moderate grades
4 stars
225 200
Toprope
3 stars
20.6%
175 150 125
2 stars
100
1 star R R U B W E R D N A
Trad 79.4%
75 50 25
Bomb
0
0
100
200
300
400
1 3 2 1 0 1 . 8 . 1 . 1 . 9 s s 7 . l e 5 5 5 5 . 5 5 . 5 r o 6 5 .
3 5 7 9 s s 2 8 l e V V 4 V 6 V r 1 o V
POWERED BY
* Get route beta, photos, and topos at mountainproject.com/gunks
CLIMBING.COM
| 29
G U I D E
INSTANT EXPERT
Slabtastic! Master runout and hold-free friction slabs with this comprehensive playbook BY JULIE ELLISON
IN AN ODD WAY, friction slabs are like wide cracks: Hate ’em all you want, but you can’t climb some of the most classic trad routes without working through them. It’s common to find slab sections leading into and out of perfect cracks in places like Yosemite and Lumpy Ridge, Colorado. They’re characterized by a low angle (between roughly 65° and 80°) and a dearth of holds (think: micro- divots, bumps, edges, dishes, and nubbins ). There’s nothing to pull down on, so you must employ a set of techniques unique to these features (or lack thereof).
Breathe deeply. Move deliberately and continuously.
Don’t get fancy. Reaching way up, high-steps, mantels, and crimping those barely there holds pulls your body into the rock and reduces the weight on your feet.
Believe in your feet. Trust your foot and put more weight on it. This will make invisible holds usable.
Smear. With heels down and toes bending upward, paste the balls of your feet and as much rubber on the rock as possible. Don’t edge—this decreases the amount of rubber on rock, thereby reducing grip.
Biggest Dangers—and How to Avoid Them Legs are the only things moving you up, so they’ll p ump out j ust like your arms do. Sink your heels way down to rest. This stretches overworked muscles and increases rubber-rock contact. If a single hold is good, switch your feet and rest each in turn. LIMITED PRO
Welcome to runout country:
30 | MAY 2014
with Hazel Findlay
Don’t pull down. Keep arms soft, elbows slightly bent, fingers out to the sides, and thumbs up, using your digits to press against the rock.
Butt out! This puts your weight over your feet, which increases pressure (and thus friction) on the rock. This will make you feel more secure.
PUMPED CALVES
GET PSYCHED ON SLABS
No cracks or fissures means you won’t get gear in, and bolts are usually well-spaced. Prepare mentally and place solid gear whenever you can. If there’s a traverse, place pro to catch your direction of fall (see p. 45). HEINOUS FALLS
This is where the term “cheese grating” comes from. If you do fall, maintain your body position
and slide down with your feet still touching the rock. Gently pat the wall every few seconds to stay upright, but don’t let your hands slide down the rock. LOSING MOMENTUM
One secret is just to keep moving. This prevents getting stuck in a position that feels impossible to move from, and it keeps your mind calm and focused.
POSITIVE SELF-TALK Before climbing, I tell myself that I’m good at slab climbing and that I most likely won’t fall. I follow that with saying that I’m quite experienced at falling down slabs, so should I take a big fall, I will be OK. Once I start climbing, I often tell myself that my shoes work and that my feet won’t slip. I say over and over in my mind: It will stick. It will stick. DON’T THINK, JUST MOVE I try really hard not to overthink what I’m doing. One of the best things about slab climbing is the fluidity of the movement; success is usually found from being relaxed and simply climbing instead of over-analyzing every move. If you get stuck in a particular position, you’ll have to get out of it at some point. Embrace this, decide what to do, and move with confidence into the next position. Don’t doubt yourself or second-guess. SHOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE Two important things are body position (the foot is weighted in the right direction) and confidence (the foot is weighted enough). If you believe your foot will stick, then it most likely will. The opposite is also true. Probably the most important thing when slab climbing are the rock shoes you wear and how they fit. (Flat, flexible, and comfortable shoes are best.) GAIN CONFIDENCE THROUGH EXPERIENCE If you aren’t an experienced slab climber and the route is dangerous—don’t even try it. Gain experience on safer territory; it might still be a bit scary, but at least you’ll be safe. Confidence is an integral part of slab climbing, and if you don’t have any, then you’re in trouble. Gain confidence through experience, and you’ll start to love slab climbing.
G N I L R E T S P I K S ; ) T F E L ( N O T R E L L U F N E B
G U I D E
TRAINING
Fantastic Feet BY DAVE SHELDON
7 simple gym drills to improve footwork and overall technique YOU’VE SURELY HEARD THIS ONCE (if not a thousand times) before: Climbing is all about your feet. However, when a fellow climber recites that adage, it’s generally not followed with a detailed explanation about how and why your feet are important, so it can be confusing and frustrating and maybe not mean much at all in the end. So listen up, as that’s about to
GUIDELINES
2-3x /week <15
minutes 3:1 foot to
hand moves boulder or toprope
change. Two people who know a few things about improving footwork are 5.14 climbers, brothers, and training experts Mike and Mark Anderson, who together authored The Rock Climber’s Training Manual. They’ve compiled a list of guidelines and drills that will help you improve your footwork and become a better climber overall. Soon you’ll be spreading the adage, too—but with the knowledge and experience to back it up.
WHY?
WHEN?
Footwork is typically the last skill addressed when climbers try to progress. This bias is not surprising since emphasis is almost always put on upper body strength, but learning to optimally place and weight your feet reduces strain on your forearms and puts your body in a position to efficiently reach the next set of handholds. Plus, the muscles in your legs are larger and have more stamina than your arms, so the more propulsion you can get out of those stems, the better. The net result is climbing that feels anywhere from a little to a whole lot easier.
Do these on toprope or bouldering close to the ground, so you can focus on the movement instead of worrying about falling. Set aside dedicated practice time two or three times a week; you can easily incorporate the exercises into a 20- or 30-minute warm-up. Pay attention to how your body feels (sensory feedback) while performing the drills, and practice them frequently. Your new skills won’t become part of your on-the-rock repertoire unless they are natural and familiar. You can accelerate this by attempting these drills on increasingly difficult terrain.
HOW? Wear
tight-fitting, highperformance shoes. Strap on your redpoint kicks when redefining what you can effectively stand on and move off of. Your mileage gym shoes will be too sloppy and loose to get the desired result and practice. Keep your feet low and move them frequently. Most gym routes encourage large movements between footholds. And while highstepping or a wide stem may help you send the blue route, these techniques have much less value on real rock. When practicing, work to make small, frequent foot place-
ments. Specifically, try making three foot placements for every hand move. Don’t be surprised if you have to add intermediate feet that aren’t part of the designated route. Climbing in this style will train you to keep your body close to the wall and your weight, well, on your feet. Focus on feet and body, not hands. It’s easy to get fixated on hand sequences and simply put your feet on the biggest holds you can find. The gym offers an excellent place to experiment with how utilizing different foothold locations will drastically affect body position, which in turn, affects the use of handholds.
FOOTHOLD HANDBOOK How to get the best purchase on common gym holds
Pocket Place pointed toe precisely in the opening Press down with forefoot Raise heel slightly to engage calf
32 | MAY 2014
Flat Wall Smear like on a slab (p. 30) Drop heel as far as possible to maximize contact Bend toes upward to engage forefoot
Small Edge Focus on the most positive section Keep ankle at about 90° Wrap toes around hold
Sloper Drop heel to maximize contact Push toes and forefoot down Stay up high on hold
) 4 ( N R O C R E P U S
Weight footholds cor-
rectly. There is more to good footwork than just putting your piggies exactly where you want them. Once your feet are in position, concentrate on wrapping your toes over the hold while weighting your foot in a way that maximizes friction between hold and rubber. This requires a large amount of core strength and body awareness.
DRILLS Precision Feet GOAL: Toe accuracy When boulder traversing or toproping, pick the best spot of every foothold you encounter and move your foot onto this exact location with great precision like a bull’s-eye. Do not take your eyes off the foothold until your foot is perfectly placed. Move quicker as your skill level increases.
Foot Stab GOAL: Improve coordination Wear your shoes, stand in front of the wall, and balance on one leg. Reach out and accurately touch pre-selected foothold targets with your raised foot. For increased difficulty, pick targets that require tricky reaches and challenge your balance. Blinking GOAL: Evaluate foot placement by feel Pick out a foothold and move your foot toward its exact location. Before your foot makes contact, close your eyes and finish locating the hold using spatial awareness. Keep your eyes closed until you have your foot securely placed. Evaluate your performance first through feel, and then open your eyes to confirm. Pick out the next hold and continue.
Jibs Only GOAL: Simulate real rock and utilize bad holds Only allow yourself to use tiny screw-on foothold jibs, small divots, waves molded into the body of handholds, and natural features on the surface of the wall. Downclimbing GOAL: Focus on lower extremities Many people develop tunnel vision and focus only on what is directly above them and in reach of their hands. When stuck in this pattern, the hips, legs, and feet are easy to forget. Practice downclimbing and let your feet lead the way as you shift your body to most effectively weight and utilize your feet. Glue Feet GOAL: Increase holding power and prevent slips Imagine that your toes
become frozen to the hold as soon as you place a foot; you can’t change the relationship between foot and hold—no pivoting, tilting, or repositioning. Simply flex at the ankle when moving past the hold. Learn to establish and feel a wide contact area between your foot and the hold, and then work to maintain this maximum contact while the rest of your body moves. Observe GOAL: Learn from others Watch advanced climbers on the exact route or boulder problem you just climbed. When in witness mode, analyze how they move and use their feet. Also, note which footholds they use and consider why. Another option is to watch World Cup competition climbing videos to glean footwork nuances that you can later apply to your own climbing.
MIKE AND MARK ANDERSON Mike has climbed 5.14 and done free free ascents of grade V and VI big walls in Yosemite and Zion. Mark has put up several 5.14 first ascents throughout Colorado and works as a climbing coach. Together they designed the Rock Prodigy Training Center, a unique hangboard system, and authored The Rock Climber’s Training Manual (rockclimberstrainingmanual.com ).
CLIMBING.COM
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GUIDE
NUTRITION
Hydrating Energy Bites Fuel up with portable chocolate and sea salt snacks
MANY GELS, blocks, and bars require up to 20 ounces of water for digestion; that’s why some of them hit your gut like a brick. That’s the genius behind real-food snacks (aka unprocessed, additive-free, and homemade from basic ingredients)—these rice-based Bitter Chocolate and Sea Salt Sticky Bites have a lot of water content already, so they require you to drink less. The increased water helps your body digest them easily and absorb the nutrients quickly. You’ll recover faster after a difficult climb, or stay powered up during a long route. But let’s get to the bottom line: The taste of sweet chocolate and savory salt is unbeatable when you’re tired, which can encourage you to eat more and stay fueled when you otherwise might not feel hungry (think: working hard on a sport route or chugging along at high elevation). The mix of simple and complex carbs from the sugar and oats, respectively, will provide both immediate and lasting energy, and the salt and chocolate will be so irresistibly tasty that you won’t run the risk of not eating enough and underfueling. Bonus: The plastic-wrap packaging makes them easy to stash in a pocket. Ingredients
1 cup uncooked sticky rice
½ cup uncooked rolled oats
2 cups water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate (chips or shaved)
Top with:
FILL UP! ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of sea salt
Directions Combine oats, rice, and water with a dash of salt in a rice cooker and cook. If you don’t have a rice cooker, cook them separately according to package directions. Let this melange cool to the touch before continuing. In a medium bowl, combine the cooked rice and oats with the remaining ingredients. Stir to incorporate the flavor throughout the sticky mixture. Press into an airtight storage container or shape as individual bites. Sprinkle with chocolate and salt. (Be careful not to add too much salt here.) Store Press the sticky mixture into a shallow, airtight container and top with plastic wrap. (Tip: Wrap as tightly as possible to prolong life.) Simply cut and package bites as you need them.
34 | MAY 2014
2 tablespoons shaved bittersweet chocolate
½ teaspoon sea salt
Wrap Place a heaping tablespoon (one serving) of the sticky mixture on a small piece of plastic wrap. Press into a shape like an ice cube or small tube. Roll plastic wrap lengthwise, and then twist the ends like a hard-candy wrapper.
Republished with permission of VeloPress from the book Feed Zone Portables ($25, skratchlabs.com). Try more recipes at feedzonecookbook.com.
Gluten alert: Oats
do not contain gluten, but they are often processed in plants where other wheat products are made. Nutrition Facts per serving (1 heaping tablespoon) Energy 101 cal Fat 1g Sodium 197mg Carbs 20g
Fiber 1g Protein 2g Water 64%
N O T R E L L U F N E B
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Never been done. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done. We live in a world where firsts are rare. Where most routes are already set, and most boots fall in the footsteps that others have already taken. Most—but not all. In May 2014, a three-man team—including 16-year-old former National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Matt Moniz; his father Mike, who summited both Mount Everest and Lhotse within 24
16-year-old climber Matt Moniz is taking on a new high-altitude adventure.
hours in 2012; and veteran climber Jim Walkley—will undertake an adventure that will end with two firsts. The trio will attempt to summit three of the six tallest 8,000-meter peaks in the world: Cho Oyu, Mt. Everest and Lhotse, all within a total of 15 days. And
TRIPLE 8 EXPEDITION
they’ll cap off that accomplishment with the first-ever ski descent of the Lhotse Couloir.
April 4 through May 28 THE LIST Cho Oyu (26,906 f t.) ascent, from Tibet side
Helicopter ride to Namche Bazaar, Nepal
This is the Triple 8 Expedition . We at Zamberlan are proud to partner with this groundbreaking team—and proud of the new 8,000-meter climbing boot that’s the result of our partnership. It’s a next generation boot that sets the route for next-generation
18-mile run/hike to Mount Everest Base C amp
adventure: It fits better, and is more functionally in tune with what
Mount Everest (29,035 ft.) ascent; descending the South Col Traverse
today’s alpinists, adventurers, and record-setters need and expect.
Lhotse (27,280 ft.) a scent; ski descent of Lhotse Couloir
Learn more about the Triple 8 Expedition at climb7.com, and learn more about the new Zamberlan 8000-meter boot at zamberlan .com
CELEBRATING 85 YEARS OF ITALIAN CRAFTSMANSHIP
The Zamberlan family is celebrating its 85 th anniversary with the introduction of our next-generation alpine collection. We are proud to be a part of the Triple 8 Expedition and the feats of alpinists the world over. Quality-Performance-Unrivaled Fit, Discover the Difference™ , discover Zamberlan™ . www.Zamberlan.com
THE
PRIMER
CLIMB
GEAR
Alpine Packs The weight of a pack and its comfort have traditionally had an inverse relationship: Fewer ounces in a simple design meant less comfort, while teched-out models were easier to carry, but added mucho poundage. However, a new crop of alpine-specific backpacks on the market have slimmed-down suspension systems that still boast comfort under heavy loads. Some packs, like the Arc’teryx Alpha FL 45 seen here, weigh less than individual items you’ll pack inside. Find out how the Alpha FL’s weight compares and then see our top five new-school alpine packs.
5 issues of Climbing 23.6 ounces
Nos. 2, 3, and 4 Black Diamond Camalots 22.8 ounces
One monstrous peanut butter and jelly sandwich 26.6 ounces
Trango Raptor with pick weights 21.3 ounces
N O T R E L L U F N E B
Salewa Firetail Evo GTX 24 ounces
Arc’teryx Alpha FL 45 23 ounces
G E A R
BIG REVIEW
Alpine-Ready Haulers BY JULIE ELLISON
5 minimalist packs that are light on weight but heavy on comfort
Pack
Going light and fast in the volatile abovetreeline environment is all about carrying everything you need for the changing conditions and nothing you don’t. Minimizing weight is a prime directive. Designers have taken that to heart with a new breed of packs for climbers who are carrying a specific set of gear for miles in the alpine. By cutting out extraneous padding, pockets, and removing the lid in some cases, weights are low without sacrificing practical field use, durability, and ease of carry. Testers thrashed a dozen packs in the Rockies, the Northeast, Canada, and the Alps to find these five winners. Each is fit for the high country and its many assailants, whether it’s scraping against granite in the Bugaboos or rime ice in Patagonia.
Arc’teryx Alpha FL 45
Patagonia Ascensionist 45L
$239; 1 lb., 7 oz.; arcteryx.com
$179; 2 lbs., 4 oz.; patagonia.com
Performance
“What more could I ask for?” our backcountry ice climbing tester asked. “Enough room for all my layers, dedicated spots for my sharps, easy to carry, and a weight that even K ate Moss would be jealous of; it’s the perfect alpine pack.” The lidless Alpha FL is one large compartment with a small outer sundries pocket. The main structure carries about 32 liters (a sleeve extends upward to hold a maximum of 45 liters). “Loved the option to carry small or large because once I put on all my layers, the pack doesn’t feel or handle like a deflated balloon,” said a Colorado tester. High-density foam in the backpanel provides some support without adding weight, and a webbing-only waistbelt funnels the load to your hips, but caused some pressure points over multiple layers. However, testers were able to avoid this by positioning it correctly and evening out clothing underneath, calling this hauler’s overall feel “surprisingly comfortable for the weight.” Everyone loved the mega-burly N400-AC2 outer fabric that stood up to accidental crampon steps and rough-and-tumble treatment.
With years of feedback from alpine climbers, Patagonia re-enters the technical pack market with the Ascensionist series, which includes 25L, 35L, and 45L versions. “Brilliantly functional” was a common remark from our testers. “Every part of the pack was thought through down to the last detail—from the flat, precipitation-shedding lid to the customizable suspension system that can be shifted based on your load,” said one tester, who took it on multiple winter trips into Rocky Mountain National Park. The removable mesh and aluminum frame provided more support and suspension than any other pack in the test, and the waistbelt and shoulder straps had ample padding for sustained comfort with loads up to 35 pounds. For days when your loads are lighter or for the weight-obsessed, you can remove the frame and waistbelt to save 10 ounces; you’re still left with foam that provides cushion and support. Testers loved the ingenious top, too: It forms a flat, angled surface when cinched down to easily slough off precipitation, like when one tester got caught in surprise graupel and sleet.
Conclusion
Ounce-counters will fall in love with this pack, which is lighter than a single mountaineering boot, with enough space for subzero-temp gear and a relatively comfortable suspension system.
With the sturdiest and most comfortable suspension system in the test, the Ascensionist also gives you the option to go ultra-light, and it has all the attachments for ’pons and picks.
Featherweight
Bottom Line
Comfort King 1. Use 1” x 2” wood and Liquid Nails to frame
#GEARCLOSET
Tom Kletzker (@tomkletzker) shows us how to build a ridiculously easy gear-organization system that keeps everything accessible and off the floor.
38 | MAY 2014
1
2
3
the outside of the pegboard. If the pegb oard is larger than 3’ x 3’, include some inner framing for support. 2. Put screws through the front of the pegboard and then the frame so they’re evenly spaced. Attach at least a few of these screws to studs in the wall, and the rest to the drywall. 3. Use pegboard hooks to start organizing your gear.
BASICS OF BURL
Fabrics are lighter and more durable than ever thanks to advancements across the board in textile manufacturing, but what exactly makes them so strong might seem like a mystery. In practical use, we refer to denier to denote the strength and durability of a fabric: A higher number means more of both. In reality, that measurement stands for the weight in grams of 9,000 meters of a particular yarn. So a 210-denier fabric means that 9,000 meters of a single strand of yarn in that fabric weighs 210 grams. These specs are mostly used to rate synthetic fibers, but they’re based off of a single strand of natural silk, which is designated as one denier. Nylon, the main material used in most packs and tons of other outdoor gear, is strong on its own because of the chemical bonds used to create it, but ripstop nylon (developed during World War II) is a fortified version that’s even stronger. This type of fabric is resistant to tearing and ripping because thicker threads are woven into the fabric in a regular pattern, which makes the surface look like a square grid and adds strength without adding much weight.
Cilo Gear Alpine 40B WorkSack
Vaude Minimalist 35
Millet Prolighter 38 + 10
$239; 3 lbs., 8 oz.; cilogear.com
$115; 1 lb., 13 oz.; libertymountainclimbing.com
$170; 2 lbs., 13 oz.; milletusa.com
Don’t let that weight scare you: The name of the game here is customization. It comes with building blocks to put together your ideal pack, including extra straps and removable everything. All included (except extra straps), the pack weighs in at three pounds, eight ounces. Remove the hipbelt (5 oz.), lid (6 oz.), and framesheet and pad (1 lb.) to get down to a scrawny one pound, 13 ounces. With multiple attachment points on the body, testers were able to add straps in a unique configuration for optimal compression when carrying light loads and for maximizing load transfer when carrying heavy loads. A genius internal compression strap positioned low on the inside cinched down and stabilized the weightiest loads. “I could move the outer straps around based on the weight and volume of my pack that day,” one tester said. “This resulted in a perfect carry every time.” This was also due in part to the two-piece suspension system made of a stiff but moldable HDPE framesheet (with aluminum support rod) and a foldable foam pad that doubles as a small bivy pad.
At 35 liters, this pack is on the small side for big days in the alpine, but our Northeast tester found it had just enough space for rack, rope under the lid, layers, first aid kit, headlamp, and ice tools secured outside. After a ski-in approach to climb ice in the Adirondacks of New York, he said, “I was surprised how much I could load it down—up to 35 pounds—without an uncomfortable carry. The seemingly simple foam and mesh waistbelt supported almost all of the weight with no problems.” The waistbelt is also removable, so testers didn’t have to wrestle with a harness underneath. A full polyester body stood up to rock abrasion and several weeks of regular abuse, and heavier siliconized polyester on the bottom and side panels kept high-wear areas ding-free. The V-Flex suspension system puts padding in contact with your back in a V-shape: More contact where you need more support and less contact up high for added breathability and freedom of movement. “It’s clearly designed for technical climbing; I could move freely with no pressure on my spine.”
“Pack carefully, go light, and you can do it all with this pack,” one tester said who dragged it on rock, snow, and ice outings in Colorado. “This is an alpine-thinking carrier.” That’s because it looks stripped down without extra pockets and gadgets, but the included ice tool attachments, haul points, and ski straps are beefily reinforced and serve their individual functions well. Thirty-eight liters gave testers enough space for super-cold day outings in Rocky Mountain National Park, but the option to expand the unit to 48 liters of space meant testers could stretch its use to overnight expeditions. The lid and the hipbelt are removable, too. “Even if I’ve got a double rack, personal climbing gear, layers, food, water, and the rope because my partner is lazy, the stiff suspension keeps it comfortable for tons of miles,” one tester said. New X-Lighter construction puts dense EVA foam and lightweight fiberglass in an X-shape against your back, so you have stiffness and support across the torso but a solid amount of airflow for breathability. “This pack hugged my body without restricting it.”
If you want endless options for weight, strap configuration, and what you can carry in or outside of the pack, then this “alpine weekend” WorkSack is right for you. The various Dyneema, nylon, and Cordura materials were the burliest in our test.
A leader’s bullet pack on steroids. True fastand-light climbers will dig the weight, size, and simplistic design of the Minimalist. If you like your packs to be “what you see is what you get,” then this is for you.
Multi-sport mountaineers will love this hauler’s basic but perfectly dialed design, especially if they want the option to stay overnight and don’t mind a few more ounces.
Smart Options
ONE-MINUTE HISTORY
Cams 1971–1975: Ray Jardine begins
fiddling with spring-loaded camming-device designs for his personal use. He tests prototypes by secretly carry-
ing them from crag to crag in “a blue nylon bag that clinked and rattled,” according to Wild Country founder Mark Vallance. 1974: Jardine carries a “set” (four 2.5” and three 3.5”) to Yosemite and climbs a few dozen hard routes with them, including cut-
Simply Light ting the previous three-day speed record on the Nose in half. 1975: Jardine remains tight-lipped about the invention and swears climbing partners to secrecy before they’re allowed to see inside the blue bag. Chris Walker inadvertently comes up with
Most Versatile the name when he wants to ask if Jardine has the goods without giving it away, saying, “Have you got the bag of Friends, Ray?” 1977: Vallance and Jardine begin working together to get Friends manufactured, but high cost and a complicated design make
it difficult. 1978: Vallance goes all in by mortgaging his house (again) and borrowing as much money as he can get his hands on. With that commitment, Vallance founds Wild Country with the goal of giving Friends international distribution.
CLIMBING.COM
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39
G E A R
TE ST ED
THE KIT
Field Notes The latest and greatest from our diligent testers BY JULIE ELLISON
sleek for hauling. Oh yeah, and the price is super-nice. $129; metoliusclimbing.com
Smart synthetic midlayer THE NORTH FACE
Carry-everywhere rope tarp
DNP HOODIE
Simplistic durability METOLIUS
FREERIDER PACK
Haulbag meets daypack is how testers described the burly Freerider, with proprietary Durathane outer material on a crag-friendly 41-liter package. It has the aesthetic of a hauler, with a beefed-up and comfortable suspension system consisting of a stiffly padded foam backpanel, plus ergonomically shaped shoulder straps and waistbelt. “This carries just as well as my most techedout pack, even with loads up to about 35 pounds,” our photographer tester said of carrying multiple camera bodies, lenses, jugging gear, and a static line to a shoot. One large compartment keeps the majority of your gear in the pack, with compression straps on the side to stabilize smaller loads, and a strap on top gives you the option to carry a rope up there as well. Testers’ favorite feature was a top lid that had an access zipper on the inside and the outside, so you can get to your essential gear whether the pack is open or closed. External haul loops and a long, tubular shape without too many extras to get caught keeps the pack clean and
40 | MAY 2014
For a warm, slim-fitting midlayer that breathes and stretches in all the right places, look no further. Sixty grams of PrimaLoft One insulation keep you toasty even when wet, but the woven side panels on the torso and undersides of the arms allow air and moisture to exit from high-heat zones. “I reach for this whenever it’s going to be chilly but I need maximum freedom of movement,” said one tester, who carried this on a late-fall ascent of the East Buttress (5.10b) of El Capitan, Yosemite, California. “Plus, it takes up almost no room in my pack and weighs less than 11 ounces [men’s medium].” Perhaps most impressive was the jacket’s durability; it survived chimney and widecrack thrutching around Moab for a full week thanks to the 15-denier nylon ripstop with DWR coating. For a quiver-ofone, wear-anywhere midlayer, this is the answer. $180; thenorthface.com
TRANGO CORD TRAPPER
Dedicated rope bags can be cumbersome to carry fully loaded for long distances, and it seems silly to stuff an empty rope bag into your pack while your cord rides nicely on top. This tarp is ideal if you’ve ever found yourself in such a predicament. The wallet-friendly and simple Cord Trapper is a durable 4’ x 5’ nylon tarp, with buckles on the outside so you can roll it up and secure it like a rope bag, and with green and red tie-off loops so you can quickly and easily find the top of the rope pile. Our testers loved the ridiculously light 9.5-ounce weight, and the minimal space it required in a larger pack: “about the size of a long-sleeve T-shirt.” $16; trango.com
Comfy do-it-all women’s harness
constrictor wrapped around their torso and legs, squeezing the life out of them. Instead, the Silhouette has an ultra-wide waistbelt (about four inches in the middle of the back) that creates a large contact zone with the torso and disperses pressure. That fuller width extends to the front as well; where most harnesses get really skinny and uncomfortable, the Silhouette stays wide for maximized comfort. The ad justable leg loop s follow the same protocol, with more width in the entire contact zone. “I use this as my quiver of one because it’s easy to wear during both hanging belays and repeated big whips in the gym,” one multi-discipline tester said. “Plus, the increased contact is offset by the airy and breathable inner mesh material, so I didn’t sweat out when the temps rose in Colorado.” $100; mistymountain.com
MISTY MOUNTAIN
SILHOUETTE
With this ladies-specific rig, it seems like harness designers finally understand that female climbers don’t want to feel like they have a boa
Most breathable shell ARC’TERYX ALPHA
SV JACKET
The Alpha SV has the newest Gore-Tex Pro technology, which claims 28 percent more
breathability than previous iterations, and our testers were blown away on ice climbing trips to Chamonix, France, and Hyalite Canyon, Montana. “Of 10 other shells I’ve tested that claim increased breathability, this is the one that I sweated the least in,” one tester said. “I kept it on for high-intensity approaches, full days of ice climbing through warm spring temps, frosty mid-winter temps, and then downhill descents, and it was ideal for every scenario.” Testers also lauded the perfect “alpine climbing” fit that was trim throughout the torso, with extra room in the shoulders and arms for swinging tools and pulling down on rock. High chest pockets, large pit zips, and a fully adjustable and helmet-compatible hood make this a climber’s dream piece. Only ding: the Rick Ross price point. But with the burliest of burly N80p-X face fabric, you might have the Alpha SV forever. $650; arcteryx.com
Crag Coffee
Enjoy a perfect brew with these 6 essentials
BY JULIE ELLISON
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3
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MSR REACTOR 1.0L WITH FRENCH PRESS
Integrated stove systems are the way to go if you’re just boiling water, and with this delightfully easy French press adapter, just add water and ground coffee to get a coffee house–worthy b rew. In less than eight minutes (boil time for one liter is 3.5 minutes, allow water to sit in grounds for four minutes), you’ll have a hot cup of j oe to give you the morning fix. This all-in-one setup weighs in at a mere 16.6 ounces (add eight ounces for the medium canister). Tip: As with all French presses, use a coarse grind to get a fuller, more flavorful b rew. $190 (stove and 1L pot), $20 (press); msrgear.com STARBUCKS VIA
N O T R E L L U F N E B
If you’ve ever scoffed at instant coffee or the Starbucks mega-chain, it’s time to give both another chance. This actually tastes like real coffee. No gadgets, brewing, or steeping necessary, just add hot water and go. The best feature for climbers is that these little packets are miniscule in size and weight. We could quickly judge
about one minute to put together, add grounds/ water, stir, and press. Clearly marked lines make it easy to add just the right amount of water, and an included scoop ensures you get the precise amount of grounds, too. The overall package is sleek and compact as well, with a weight of 8.5 ounces. $32 (includes tote bag); aerobie.com
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4
how many packets to grab instead of bringing too much pre-ground coffee or—even worse—too little. Instructions say to mix each with eight ounces, but we found the best brew by adding about six ounces per packet. Plus, there are tons of different choices: flavors, caffeine level, iced/hot, or latte. $8 (8 packets of French roast); starbucks.com BONFIRE COFFEE
Jeff Hollenbau gh, a climbe r for 25 years, runs Bonfire Coffee (formerly Defiant Bean Roaster) in the mountain town of Carbondale, Colorado. (Rifle, anyone?) What started as a typical climber coffee addiction turned into a home-roasting obsession that eventually led to Hollenbaugh roasting professionally. He says,
“Climbers are inherently coffee fiends it seems, so my connection to the climbing world made our coffees an easy sell to the climbing community.” And Bonfire sponsors the popular climbing podcast the Enormocast (enormocast.com ). We loved the Blend X, a medium-dark roast with just the right amount of acidity. $12–$16; bonfirecoffee.com GSI OUTDOORS JAVAMILL
If you absolutely must have your coffee fresh-ground but don’t want to carry the weight of a grinder, this light but burly gadget is for you. Ceramic hand grinders are a must-have for java elitists, and the JavaMill fits the bill perfectly without the weight and sizeable price tag of
other models. Fine-tune the grounds for various presses, filters, and machines, and do it anywhere—near a power source or not. The unit weighs 9.3 ounces, and the handle nests against the body so it fits in the outer mesh pocket on your pack. $30; gsioutdoors.com AEROBIE AEROPRESS
Espresso lovers take note: Not only is this unique setup super-quick, but the brew that comes out is bold and dense, which gives you options. Add a bit of hot water for an Americano or add milk for a latte. There’s no steeping time like with a French press, and it takes
SNOW PEAK KANPAI BOTTLE 500
Right off the bat this travel mug elicited ooh’s and aah’s from our caffeine-obsessed staff members, but it really won us over when we realized we could also slide a bottle of beer in it to keep it protected and cold (nothing to do with coffee, true, but an important detail). The Kanpai comes with three tops: a cold lid with freezable gel pack, a thermal lid that keeps liquids hot for six hours, and a drinking lid that provides easy sippin’ while insulating. The smaller 350 has all the same features and fits a 12-ounce can. $80; snowpeak.com
C L I M B I N G . C O M | 41
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PROMOTION
ˆ T H E B E T Aˆ
411 from our climbin c limbing g partne pa rtners rs
WESTERN MOUNTAINEERING
TAKE THE LEAD
Western Mountaineering has manufactured high quality goose down
Get out of the gy m & onto the crags. Move from crags t o the alpine.
sleeping bags and clothing in California since 1970. Every measure is
The skills & judgment you’ll need aren’t just things you pick up. Whether
taken t o insure th at our produ cts ex ceed consum er expec tat ions for
you want t o lead friend s or become a prof essional guid e, we have the
quality, performance, and warmth. WM sleeping bags are still made in
traini ng progr ams that w ill get you t here.
USA using the finest raw materials in the world.
AlpineInst Alpin eInst itu itute.com/climb te.com/climb
westernmountaineering.com
American Alpine Institute Institute
CAMP LAUREL Camp Laurel is a co-ed, r esidential camp in Maine seeking Climbing, Ropes, Mountain Biking and Camping Staff for the summer. Facilities include two 55-foot climbing towers, bouldering pavilion, 30-element 30-eleme nt ropes course, ext ensive mountain biking fleet & trails, and
ADVENTURES
NYC
a camping & hiking pr ogram throughout Maine. For more information, please visit our website at camplaurel.com or email
[email protected] .
THE COUNT COUNTRY’S RY’S LARGEST ONE-DAY CELEBRATION OF
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C Y N , k k r a a l P r a C e n t r 2 0 1 4
, 1 2 E N U J
THE
BEGIN HERE
CLIMB
CLINICS
NUTS 102 By Jeff Achey
fig. 1
fig. 2
TAKE YOUR PASSIVE PRO PRACTICES TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH THESE TRICKS
If you’re well-versed in nut usage and passed Nuts 101 ( climbing .com/skill/nuts-101) with flying colors, then these intermediate skills are perfect for you. First, a quick re view. Nuts are p assive pro tection de vices, meaning their ho lding powe r comes from their wedge shapes, cleverly placed in natural slots and constrictions (as opposed to cams, which acti vely exp and under load to grip the rock). In 101, you learned the five principles of placing nuts: Ensure good rock quality; pay attention to direction of pull; seek out good constrictions; make sure the nut has adequate surface contact; and, once you make the placement, set it with a gentle tug. Got it? Of course you do. The principles are simple, but mastering them is a never-ending process. Recognizing subtle constriction constrictionss in natural rock takes a trained eye, and maximizing surface contact is an art learned through experience. Nevertheless, here are a few more tricks and tips that will help you up your nut g ame.
MIX BRANDS
) 2 ( N R O C R E P U S
Every company’s nuts are slightly different in size, taper, curve, and the relationship between the wide and narrow sides. Getting a secure wedge—especially wedge—espe cially in small and and nearparallel placements—is often a game of millimeters. Carrying nuts in a mix of brands will give you a nice range of the in-between sizes.
DOUBLE UP Nuts are inherently less secure than cams, meaning they can and do
fall out. Nothing feels worse than cruising past a well-protected crux, only to notice with alarm that your bomber nut c ame out and y ou’re 15 feet above your last piece. Hedge your bets by placing two (or m ore) nuts to protect a crux. This type of pro is lightweight, so you can carry more with little burden. Put them to use! Likewise, if you can’t find a single solid placement in a flare, consider placing two nuts in the same slot. Place a small one nestled in the back and a larger one wedged close r to the surface. T he wire of t he larger nut will he lp keep the smaller, deeper nut securely in place ( fig. 1). When placed in horizontal cracks, nuts will usually resist a sideways pull from one direction, but they can be vulnerable from the other side. You can use long slings to create elaborate “opposition” setups like you see in textbooks, but it’s often possible to simply place complementary nuts side by side in the same crack, close enough to be clipped with the same biner ( fig. 2). This system is quick, simple, and avoids adding an element, like a sling, to the chain.
the exact nut you’ll need next. Don’t wait until y ou’re hanging on for dear life to use this information! If you usually carry your nuts on two biners, spread them out onto three or four—five nuts max to a biner—so you can get t o the ri ght size quickly. Always use biners with notchless noses for snag-free nut dispensing. Take the whole biner off your gear loop, slot the nut you need, return the nuts biner to your loop, and clip the placed nut with a quickdraw. For very strenuous sections, you can single-rack a preselected assortment of nuts on their own individual biners or quickdraws. Grab the right size, slam it in, and clip. This tactic has saved many an onsight.
SHAPE MATTERS A curved nut fits diff erently wi th the curve facing right versus facing left, so try both. If a slot is plagued by obstruct ions or a partial fl are, a nut placed sideways (that is, broad side facing out) may wedge in the sweet spot. Tapered or “offset” nuts are great for pin scars and flares, but don’t o verlook o pportunit ies to place them “backward,” with the wide side de eper in t he crack.
ANTICIPATE More often than not, the protection challenge is not about tinkering or trick gear. It’s about getting the right nut off your rack, in the rock, and clipped before you pump out. That’s the kind of nutting skill that’s most likely to improve your climbing. Here are a few tips to get pro in the rock fast. Eye the protection possibilities ahead and adjust your rack accordingly. If it’s a finger crack or wider, cams will usually go in faster.. Get the right sizes up front. faster For thinner cracks, optimize your nuts. Sometimes a crack will have slots so obvious that you can guess
TRICK GEAR * For “headpointing” projects on
England’s gritstone and elsewhere, climbers sometimes file down aluminum or brass nuts to get just the right shape for a finicky placement. Rap down with a selection of nuts, a medium-toothed file, and a small plywood “workbench” fitted with slings for hanging. * For a horizontal crack across the top of a thin flake, don’t use nuts. Try hand-placing a medium or long knifeblade piton. Seek a placement that sets to the hilt but doesn’t wobble , pre ferably in a w ider spot to keep the pin from rotating. * Hooks can provide pro on crackless faces where nothing else will work. They work on inc ut po ckets and edges; the main problem with hooks is keeping them from falling off before you do. Duct tape or tensioned sling systems can be used to “secure” delicate placements.
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C L I N I C S
IN SESSION
BE A BETTER BELAYER By Julie Ellison
GIVE A SAFER AND SOFTER CATCH WITH THESE TECHNIQUES Climbers are constantly trying to increase their strength and improve climbing technique, while belaying the leader is of ten viewed as a stagnant skill: Once you know how to feed out rope, take in slack, and catch a fall, you’re done. False. All climbers should strive to refine their belaying practices throughout their climbing career, which means learning and practicing the subtleties that make a truly g reat belayer. We’ve We’ve talked to guides, longtime climbers, and even a physicist about how to give the best catch possible in a variety of situations, and we’ve compiled all that information here. Dial in these methods every time you go to the gym or the crag, and your top-notch belay services will mean you’ll never have trouble finding a partner again.
2
1 Before the climb
During the climb
Wear closed-toe shoes to protect your feet if you’re being pulled up through obstacles, jumping into the air, and deflecting off the wall.
Smaller belayers should consider using an assisted-braking device and standing really close to the base of the wall, near the first clip. This will help catch a fall and minimize the distance the heavier climber falls, which also minimizes the distance the climber has to yard up to get back on the route. Since lighter belayers will get pulled into the wall naturally, be aware of the lowest pieces of protection. We’ve heard horror stories of broken fingers as a result of being catapulted into the first draw.
Belay gloves will give you increased control of the rope (including better grip on skinny cords), as well as protect your hands from rope burns and anything that might get stuck in the rope as it drags across the ground toward your brake hand. (Think: A cactus needle stabbed one belayer in the hand and resulted in him dropping the ro pe completely.) Check your belay stance by making sure you have a clear path between you and the the cliff (in case you get pulled into it), and be aware of loose rocks as you shift your position by stepping forward or backward. Tripping in this situation can pull your climber right off the wall. This is more of a belaying basic, but it can’t be stated enough: Always double-check your belay setup and the climber’s tie-in knot before he leaves the ground.
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Communication between climber and belayer is key. For more info on this, check out Climbing No. No. 323 “Know the Ropes” (climbing. com/2014knowtheropes). If you are a lighter belayer, don’t don’t anchor yourself to anything on the ground. That would result in a hard catch on the climber and a violent jerk for you. If the climber is significantly heavier than you and long falls are possible, consider finding another belayer. Golden rule of belaying: Belay others as you’d like to be belayed. Focus on your leader, don’t get distracted, and pay attention. Talk Ta lk through how to belay a route beforehand. Maybe there are slab sections, roofs, near-groundfall clips, etc.; it helps to agree on how each section should be belayed so both partners are on the same page. If you’re heavier than your climber, know how to give a dynamic belay (see page at right).
Whenever you’re not feeding slack, be prepared with your brake hand in a locked position. The climber might be tired, off-route, out of sequence, scared, or even just evaluating a loose hold. If the climber isn’t climbing, he might be falling, and even when he is climbing, he might be about to fall! Exercise situational awareness; know where your climber is and what he might hit if he t akes a fall. He might need a bit more slack to clear a roof and fall into space, or he might need less to avoid hitting a ledge. Keep tabs on the rope: the location of the midpoint (will you still be able to lower the climber?), where the end is, the amount of stretch you expect, that the coil is feeding smoothly to you, there are no knots in the rope, etc. It’s your job to alert the climber if his leg gets between the rock and the rope (this can cause him to get flipped upside down in a fall and hit his head). If you see this happen, alert the climber by yelling up to hi m: “Joe, watch your leg!” or “Joe, watch the rope!” It’s also your job to alert the climber if he has Z-clipped (clipped the rope from below a lower piece into a higher piece) or back-clipped (instead of the leader’s rope running up through the draw and away from the wall, the rope runs up through the draw and out between the biner and the wall. If you didn’t
Dynamic Belaying ADAM SC HEER As a Ph.D. physicist and an avid rock climber, Adam has studied the physics of climbing and belaying for climbinghouse.com. Based in California’s Bay Area, he is currently researching the fundamental chemistry of new biofuels.
When the leader starts to fall, our first instinct is to lock down the rope quick and hard, minimizing the overall distance the climber will fall. This can cause a leader to slam hard into the wall, resulting in snapped ankles, jarred spines, and serious head injury if the climber falls upside down. A way to mitigate this is to aim for giving a “soft catch” by dynamic belaying, which eases the climber into the wall and greatly reduces the chance of injury. Keep in mind that a dynamic belay isn’t always appropriate and it’s an expert technique, so make sure the answers to the following questions are yes before you employ this method. Is the path of the fall free from ledges, slabby sections, or other obstacles (including the ground) that the climber would hit if she takes a longer fall? If these are present, give a catch that will land the climber in a spot that avoids these h azards altogether.
already know what these things are, consider taking a basic lead-belay course.) Yell up to him to correct his mistake. When the climber is low to the ground, you’ll want less rope out to keep him from hitting the deck. As he moves up, you can keep a bit more slack in the system so he has ample rope to pull up and clip.
Is the belayer a similar weight to the climber or heavier? A lighter belayer will get pulled up in the air when the heavier climber takes a fall, and that unintentional movement by the belayer will naturally result in a soft catch.
Anticipate clips and be super-active with the rope, whether he’s clipping below his waist or way above his head. You’ll need to quickly feed out slack to avoid short-roping him (meaning you stop the rope from feeding through, which is not only annoying for the climber, but could cause him to fall at an inopportune time), but if he can’t make the clip or drops the rope suddenly, you’ll want to quickly reel in slack to avoid a huge fall. On the very start of a climb, the belayer might need to stand off to the side of the climber so he doesn’t land on your head if he falls. The belayer also might need to help the climber step over the rope by moving in closer to the wall or repositioning the rope. Encourage and reassure your climber as much as you can. He might need that extra push to get through a hard o r scary move. Simple words like, “You got it!” or “Keep fighting, Joe!” might go further than you think. An assisted-braking device might not lock up completely if your climber is very light, if the climber sits back on the rope (instead of falling), or if there’s a lot of rope drag—more reasons to always have a hand on the brake side. Before the climber makes the first clip or places his first piece, spot him by standing slightly behind and having your hands up, ready to guide his fall safely to the ground. If the climber takes a fall hig her on the route, yo u can assist him in getting back up by sitting back and putting all your weight on the rope while he pulls the rope down toward you. Time it right so you’re weighting the rope while he’s pulling himself up, and then quickly pull slack through yo ur device. Repeat this process until he’s back to where he wants to be. Same goes for boinking: Make sure the rope is fully weighted when he’s pulling up.
) T F E L ( G N I L R E T S P I K S
To avoid aches and pains while belaying, shift your weight between fee t, take a step to the side to slightly change your stance, move your neck and eyes as much as possible, and stay loose. To prevent and treat the dreaded belayer’s neck, check out climbing.com/skill/belayers-neck . When lowering on a sport climb, step forward so you’re practically leaning against the rock directly under the first bolt. Lowering the climber while standing away from the first bolt puts a tremendous amount of outward force on a bolt that is primarily designed for a downward force. Plus, this bolt sees more traffic and impact than almost any other bolt on the climb.
Fall Factor =
Length of fall Amount of rope in system
Are you on a trad line with marginal gear? A soft catch will reduce the force on the piece catching a fall, which could mean the difference between a safe catch and pulling gear.
THE PROCESS
DON’T…
We talked to phy sicist and cli mber Adam Scheer t o see how a dynamic belay works. The belayer jumps as the climber begins to weight the rope. Because the belayer introduces upward momentum from the jump, it momentarily takes less work to continue pulling him upward, in essence reducing his weight from the standpoint of the climber. This lengthens the time over which the catch takes place, thus softening the catch. The belayer needs to stay light on his feet and be prepared to get pulled into the wall quickly. Keep knees and feet soft for low impact. Timing the jump is a mix between art, science, and practice, but you want to be moving upward just as the climber starts to put down ward force on the ro pe. Falls happen quickly, so if the climber isn’t very high above his last piece, the belayer can usually plan to jump as soon as the climber comes off. If the climber is 10 feet or more (spicy!) above his last piece, the belayer can wait a split second before jumping.
* Don’t feed out extra slack. This
results in a harder catch because it increases the fall factor. If a climber takes a 10-foot fall with 20 feet of rope in the system, the fall factor is 0.5. If the belayer includes an extra five feet of slack (15-foot fall, 25 feet of rope in the system), the fall factor increases to 0.6, resulting in a harder catch (increased maximum force). Only give extra slack to make sure the climber clears an obstacle. * Don’t mistime your jump. If the belayer jumps too early, his center of gravity will actually be on the way down when the climber is reaching the point of maximum force. The belayer acts as a counterweight, and if he is traveling downward, his momentum will be counteracted by the falling climber, causing a harder catch. * Don’t run toward the wall, which will not softe n a catch wh en the first piece is high (20 feet or more). This is dictated by trigonometry. (Scheer says, “Trust me, I’ve done the math.” For more info on this, visit climbinghouse.com. )
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C L I N I C S
COOLEST TRICK
BRAIN POWER By Don McGrath and Jeff Elison
FOCUS ON YOUR MENTAL GAME TO BREAK THROUGH PLATEAUS AND SEND CHALLENGING CLIMBS
Think back to the last time you got on your project. Why did you fall off? Were you so pumped you couldn’t hold on? Were you scared to fall so you just sat back on the rope instead? Or were you so anxious about your redpoint attempt that you didn’t even get on it? If the second and third situations sound familiar, you’re not alone. Years of personal climbing experience, countless climber surveys, and psychological research all point t o mental strength as the most influential factor in whether a climber succeeds or not. Your body might be strong and willing, but if you don’t have an equally strong and willing mind, your body has nothing to guide it. The good news is that you can train your brain just like you train your body. We’ve developed a mental training plan that outlines the knowledge and skills you’ll need t o improve your head game and thus, your overall climbing performance.
How we learn Any skilled behavior is learned. Therefore, we will first describe some of the science behind learning. Neural firing is responsible for the three domains of psychology: thinking, feeling, and doing. No neural firing and you are without thoughts, feelings, or emotions. You are dead. In fact, it takes many, many neurons fir-
ing in particular patterns to produce the end results that we observe as thoughts and feelings. Understanding a bit about how this system works will help your mental training. Hebb’s Law states that when Neuron A fires, causing Neuron B to fire, changes occur in the neurons that make this firing sequence more likely
in the future. Some people describe Hebb’s Law as: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” What this means for climbing is that repetition, practice, and drills improve performance by changing neural connections. Rehearsing something until it becomes automatic is called overlearning. Think about memorizing beta.
Why did that redpoint crux feel so easy after rehearsing it a hundred times? Rehearsal made you quick and efficient at perceiving the holds, grabbing them exactly the right way, and moving smoothly between them. Because you overlearned the sequence, you could reliably produce it under pressure, and you experienced less anxiety.
Visualization and beta maps We’ve all seen climbers outside and at competitions standing below their route or boulder problem, hands in the air, miming movement while staring intently at the line. This is an excellent technique when you’re at the base, but a more p ractical and powerful tool that allows you to overlearn beta on a climb without being there is a beta map. This is an illustration of the key holds and moves on a project climb, including clips, cruxes, and any troublesome spots. While you’re at the climb or looking at an overall image of it, draw the map to the finest detail, making sure to call out key features, moves, and holds. Use this reference to visualize and rehearse each move and hold over and over, just as you would study for an exam. Practice makes perfect, so do it as much as you can: lying in bed before you fall asleep, riding the bus on the way to work, or whenever you have some free time. See an example of a beta map in fig. 1.
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fig. 1
This is an excerpt from the book Vertical Mind: Psychological Approaches for Optimal Rock Climbing by Don McGrath, Ph.D., and Jeff Elison, Ph.D., which is available now at verticalmindbook.com. The authors go deep into the latest research in psychology and explain how it can help you retrain your mind and body for higher levels of climbing performance. Drawing on psychological research, surveys of climbers, interviews, and more than 50 years of combined climbing experience, the authors explain not only how to improve your mental game, but also the theory behind why it works.
Importance of scripts Human brains have evolved to perceive patterns—whatever makes a certain situation similar to previous situations. Generally, this is a very positive mechanism because it allows us to react speedily without much (if any) thought. These sequences of perceptions/thoughts/feelings/actions are what cognitive psychologists call scripts. They may be as mundane as your morning routine, or they may be as important as your way of interacting with loved ones or responding in emergency situations. Scripts are typically automatic, quick, and efficient. As such, we usually carry them out in a similar way every time. They require little conscious effort, allowing us to conserve valuable resources: attention, consciousness, and working memory, which are intimately linked and very limited. On average, a human adult can hold about five to nine items in working memory, which becomes the bottleneck in our thought process. One of our greatest adaptations as humans is the ability to learn, to practice, and to turn intensive tasks that would usually take up the entirety of our working memory into automatic, scripted tasks. In other words, instead of having to think through each move and hold of a crux (wasting valuable time and energy), your body would automatically perform the moves without any active thinking.
T hin k PLAN
Analyze your climbing and identify areas to work on.
d
n
PERFORM
PRACTICE
Solidify new habits in application.
Do drills in a safe environment.
e
S
P
l a
y
Rewrite scripts to improve climbing You currently have a set of scripts that affect your climbing. Everyone’s scripts are different, but many need to be rewritten in order to get better. Luckily there are only three simple steps required: Plan, Practice, Perform. A different way to say it that’s geared toward climbers is: Think, Play, Send!
Think
Play
Send
In this phase, analyze your climbing for areas where you can improve. Selfexamine and gather input from others to figure out the skills to focus on and develop that will improve your climbing. A recent survey showed that more than 75 percent of climbers spend less than 30 minutes a week actually analyzing their climbing to figure out how to get better. We recommend spending at least 30 minutes (if not more) a week reflecting on your climbing and working to identify the things that will help you climb better. One way is to simply ask people who have watched you climb what things they would point out as areas for improvement. Most of us don’t like to hear that we have things to improve on. Our egos feel hammered when this happens. You have to let go of your ego, be open to feedback, and figure out how you can improve. People who perform at very high levels are always good at taking constructive criticism and turning that into valuable lessons learned. So ask and listen. Don’t try and defend why you do what you do. Just listen. Write down what a few people say about areas where you have room to improve, and especially target areas that more than one person pointed out.
In this phase, perform drills that build or rewrite scripts to create the automatic movements that lead to efficient climbing. In the previously mentioned survey, more than 85 percent of climbers spend less than 25 percent of their climbing time doing drills to develop specific skills, like better footwork (see p. 32) or dynamic movement. Spend at least 25 percent of your climbing time working to develop these skills. Spend your warm-up time doing drills, or use the time when you are climbing easy routes to build these skills. Perform these exercises in a safe atmosphere. Allow yourself to fail and try again. And again. The objective will not be performance, but the repetition of movements or thoughts that rewire the current scripts. Let’s say you struggle with dynamic movement. Find some holds in the gym that allow you to work on jumping between holds without getting high off the ground. Try a variety of footholds and handholds; switch the catching hand, cutting your feet, and any other variables you can include. Practice a variety of dynos a few times each, until you feel like you have nailed down each different movement. This might not happen in one session, but be patient and keep trying!
At this point, you’ ve identified areas that will yield the biggest improvements when mastered. Then you focused your training on those areas, practicing exercises in a safe and playful environment to form new scripts. In this final step, you solidify the new habits that you created by finding a route that you are excited about and will be challenging for you. Apply your scri pts to the real world situation of tryi ng to send a route under the pressures of difficult moves, pumped arms, and potential falls. This makes the scripts actually useful in similar situations when you really need them. It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to onsight or redpoint the route, but what does matter is that you really want to climb the route well and that it’s challenging for you. This will create emotions and feelings, including excitement, that build a proper en vironment in which to practice y our new scripts. This will help move them deeper into your subconscious and make them automatic. Continuing this Think-Play-Send process with other weak spots in your clim bing will help you rapidly improve your performance—and have more fun along the way.
CLIMBING.COM |
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THE
CLIMBER WISDOM
CLIMB
VOICES My boyfriend and I bought our rack together. Now we’re breaking up. Who gets to keep it? —Susan K., New Paltz, NY
Remember that Bible story about the two women who each claimed to be the mother of the same baby? Then that crazy-ass king was all, “Let’s cut it in half, and you can share the baby!” One woman was fine with that plan, while the other sobbed and told the first she could keep it, thus revealing the true mother’s identity through her genuine love for the child. Your rack isn’t (exactly) a baby, but what are we talking here? Indian Creek set? Or some sort of nuts and hexes situation? If it’s the latter, let him keep it. Buy yourself some new cams and find a man who understands that modern trad climbers don’t have to live in constant fear for their lives. If the rack is relatively complete and you definitely want it, you have a few options. 1) If you have doubles of all your cams, split it down the middle. If you’re missing a second in a few sizes, toss in the Tricams, or whatever periphery items you have, to sweeten his deal. 2) Prove to your now-former toprope leech that his skills are inferior, and he doesn’t deserve the set. Buy him out at half of his original contribution to account for wear. 3) Sell the rack; split the money.
Ask Answer Man He knows climbing. And he knows it. Are zip-off pants ever acceptable? You can’t argue their function, but where do they fall on the dork spectrum? —Ted M., Modesto, CA
I T N U R F F A T T E R B
Zip-off pants fall roughly between fanny packs and LARPing on the NDS (National Dork Standard), which means they are acceptable in the following situations: 1) in the very far reaches of the backcountry, where there are no people and no cameras, and 2) never. Here’s the thing, Ted: There are numerous better options out there in terms of calf coverage. Take, for instance, La Sportiva’s Kendo Jean. It covers all in a sweet denim-and-Cordura package that you can actually wear in public. If that’s not techy enough for your tastes (or you’re the alpine type), check out Patagonia’s Rock Craft Pants. Also, where on Earth are you climbing? Where does the climate fluctuate so often that one moment it’s too hot to bear the thought of having your ankles covered, and then so cold that your shins might freeze solid? Do as me and my pals do—buy a pair of thick, comfortable, above-the-ankle socks and wear shorts. It’s all about confidence, and in a pair of zip-off pants, my friend, you clearly have none, or we wouldn’t be chatting rig ht now. AND OTHER TOPICS...
What type of music should I listen to in order to get psyched? —Sean P., Fort Collins, CO I’m partial to the technotastic pump-up jam that is “Sandstorm” by the indelible DJ Darude. But then I have an affinity for a genre of techno music that went under in the late 1990s. That was before that dweeb with half a haircut started making songs that sound like a dial-up connection struggling to download Jenna Jameson pics. But this is about you, not me! I can’t begin to guess what might get you hyped, Sean. Could it be the soft intros that give way to raucous denouements of “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Come Sail Away”? Maybe crunchy, guitar-driven rock will blast you into send mode? Perhaps Eminem’s anger or the self-congratulatory anthems of Kanye West will help you float that next line? What gets you psyched is as personal as the shape of your downstairs hang-low. And just like that undoubtedly invigorating piece of work, it should remain private until called upon. Ya dig? Try JayBird BlueBuds X for the ears, Baskit Active Low-Rise Trunks for the other.
Got a burning question about climber etiquette, customs, or values? Email
[email protected].
Which hangboard should I get? Any of the unused ones hanging above your friends’ door jambs. // When does the length of my stick-clip become too extreme? The moment you refer to stick-clipping as extreme. // Is boar’s hair really better?Yes, but does it matter?
CLIMBING.COM
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V O I C E S
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Humans and Heroes BY CEDAR WRIGHT
Within days of my first real rock climb, a crum bly 5.7 on Moonstone Beach at the age of 21, I was completely consumed by a wild and unruly passion for all things climbing. Rock overtook my life with an unprecedented combustive fervor during what had mainly been a listless collegiate existence. Much as lost souls find religion, I found climbing, and much as true believers often do, I went on a pilgrimage to what may as well have been the literal Mecca: Yosemite Valley. The Yosemite Free Climbs guidebook was my bible and the Valley itself the holiest of churches. There were other important religious texts, though, one of the most holy being Climbing magazine. Though my income was in the low four figures, I’d occasionally forgo a couple beers to spring for an issue. And then I would read it zealously from cover to cover, even all the copy in the ads. Then I would reread it. Certain photos and stories etched themselves so deeply into the fabric of my psyche that they still guide my life to this day. For me, the most heroic of prophets that I discovered within those hallowed pages was Peter Croft. I remember picking up an old back issue at a friend’s house with Peter on the cover sticking to the blank corner of The Shadow, a 5.12d in Squamish, as if he had super-human powers. Reading about his
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accomplishments as a climber seemed as otherworldly as Superman jumping over the Empire State Building. Peter’s ropeless ascent of Astroman, a 1,100-foot 5.11c on Washington Column in Yosemite, was the most badass thing I could ever imagine. So when I got a call from photographer Greg Epperson asking if I would belay Croft for a photoshoot on The Acid Crack, a 5.12d in Joshua Tree, you might as well have asked me if I wanted to ride in a spaceship with Jesus. Two days later, there I was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Croft! It turned out there was a heat wave and it was much too hot to climb, so Peter offered to give me a catch. With Peter belaying me, I sketched out the hand jams on More Monkey Then Funky, a 5.11 roof. But what struck me more than anything else that day was just how plainly human and normal Peter was. Honestly, it was kind of a let down. I’d imagined a transformative experience basking in this guy’s glory, but what I got was the discovery that my holiest of heroes was just another dude. In that sense, I guess meeting Croft was pretty Earth-shattering—just not in the way I expected. Peter Croft is still my hero, though, and now—even better— he’s become a friend. Climbing is a unique sport where it is common to meet your heroes. Unlike team sports where the best play on a separate field, in climbing, we all frequent the same cliffs. You could bump into Lynn Hill at Rifle, or Tommy Caldwell among the boulders in Yosemite. Which brings me to a climber you might call the second coming of Peter Croft: my good friend and part-time hero Alex Honnold, quite possibly the most famous and idolized climber in the world today. I’ve been lucky to share some fun adventures with Alex in some faroff stretches of the world, and I am here to spoil your illusions that he, just like all other climbers, is anything but human. Alex is simply a good guy, one whom I sometimes worry about. After Alex soloed Moonlight Buttress (5.12d), Monkeyfinger (5.12a), and Shune’s Buttress (5.11c) in a day (still, in my opinion, one of his more unsung but impressive feats), he called me up with a wavering voice. After topping out Shune’s, which everyone else rappels, he was
Unlike team sports where the best play on a separate field, in climbing, we all share the same cliffs. forced to put up a first ascent on a 2,000-foot, snow-covered, decomposing slab—“easy,” if you consider onsight-soloing 5.9 kitty litter easy. High on this loose slab, with 2,000 feet straight to the deck below, he simultaneously broke a foothold and a handhold, which sent him cart wheeling down the face. Alex Honnold fell soloing! To hear him tell it, he kind of knew this might happen and had planned on grabbing a tree he’d been eyeballing about 15 feet down if the shitty holds he was using didn’t work out. He caught the tree but banged his knee pretty badly, and then was forced to find another variation of his intended route,
T H G I R W R A D E C
which went better. Alex explained to me that it technically didn’t count as a free-solo fall because he had his approach shoes on. This summer while Alex and I enchained all of the 14ers in California by bike (climbing.com/insidesufferfest ), he talked a bit about El Sendero Luminoso, a wild 1,500-foot wall of limestone with 11 5.12 pitches in El Potrero Chico, Mexico. He had toyed with the idea of soloing it last winter, but realized that the route needed more cleaning and sussing before it was a “responsible” decision. This summer, he called me up and asked if I’d be interested in helping him with the project. I’d always wanted to climb the route, and as a soloist myself, I jumped at the chance to help push the progression of free soloing forward in my own small way.
FIND A GUIDE
Having heroes inspires us to work harder, go farther, and pursue dreams. We cleaned the shit out of the route, and Alex repeated the crux second pitch countless times because all of the holds were sideways and one slip would result in an irrecoverable death plummet. We figured out the 1,000-foot exit climb, and then after eight days, he was ready. The morning of the big day, he lounged in bed, surfed Instagram, and ate some yogurt and granola. Nothing remarkable. Then he set off to free solo the route. I filmed the historic moment along with another one of my hero-friends, Renan Ozturk, a world-class filmmaker and alpinist. It wasn’t really scary to watch Alex. It was like observing a good line cook methodically whip up an omelet, or a taxi driver taking the quickest route downtown. The solo was a rather boring display of businesslike comfort and control. After eight days of hard work helping Alex, filming, and generally toiling, I had missed my chance to r edpoint the route myself. We finished the final interviews for the film, the sun began to set, and we realized we were flying out the next day. I was pretty bummed to have come so far just to scrub a route and not climb it. “We could always go right now,” Alex said, half-joking. “You know what, that’s a good idea,” I said, not wanting to let the gauntlet he had thrown down go unanswered. “I should.” And so we walked up to the base of El Sendero Luminoso one more time by the last embers of daylight. I proceeded to pick my way up the technical crimping and footwork in a surreal bubble of headlamp light. After I freed the crux second pitch, I realized that I might have a chance, but there was still more than 1,000 feet of hard technical climbing above me. And then in a classic moment of “first-world problems,” I dropped my iPhone off the cliff trying to play some music. But it didn’t matter. I was that first-time climber again, devoutly enraptured by a sense of purpose and worth in what I was doing. In that moment, nothing could suppress an unbridled sense of passion that was reminiscent of my first heady, religious years. As if on cue, a mariachi band started playing loudly in the town down below. They serenaded Alex and me all the way to the summit. I didn’t free solo Sendero, and I never will, but I got the consolation of what I believe to be the first “in a night” free ascent. Worked and completely satisfied, I stood at the top of the spectacular 1,500-foot route when Alex jumared up to me and said, “Nice work, dude. That was kind of heroic!” Having heroes inspires us to work harder, go farther, and pursue our own dreams of greatness. In other words, to be a little more heroic ourselves. //
BECOME ONE
» A M G A . C O M Cedar Wright is a professional climber and contributing editor for Climbing Magazine. Gus the all-terrain pug is his full-time hero.
«
V O I C E S
SEMI-RAD
With A Little Aid From My
Friends BY BRENDAN LEONARD
The sun was minutes away from ducking behind the West Rim of Zion Canyon on a February Saturday afternoon as I stretched high in my aiders to plug a .5 Camalot in a splitter sandstone finger crack that shot 200 feet up above my head on Touchstone Wall. I looked down at the other set of aiders clipped to my harness, flying sideways in the breeze, a couple hundred feet of air between me and the Scenic Drive road below, and I thought, How come nobody ever told me about aid climbing? 54 | MAY 2014
I was slow—almost two hours to lead each of my first two aid pitches ever. I had worn the wrong shoes, so each step in the aiders painfully smashed the bones in my feet. I made a few stupid moves, like stepping into one aider and crushing my fingers under the carabiner connecting it to a piece (twice). We weren’t going to top out, or even try, but I was getting my first bit of a big wall education, finally. Nine years before, I sat in a seat next to my then-girlfriend on the Zion shuttle bus as i t wound down the ca nyon from the last stop. We’d gotten on after our post-dinner stroll on the Zion Riverwalk, a flat sidewalk that follows the Virgin River as the canyon walls close in leading to The Narrows. I had climbed about a dozen sport pitches my
entire career, which was about three months old, and climbing was so scary for me (terrible footwork) that I thought I’d never get into it. As my girlfriend and I chatted, the bus driver slowed and stopped for three guys walking along the road in the dark; they were all wearing helmets, harnesses, and approach shoes. I didn’t know anything about climbing, but I knew they were climbers. I had no idea why a couple of them were wearing kneepads. The bus driver asked them which climb they were on, and they said Spaceshot . Then they said something about fixing the first few pitches and coming back in the morning, and I had no idea what that meant. I must have stopped talking to eavesdrop, and my girlfriend later busted my balls about having a crush on the guys on the bus. I laughed, but I was still curious. I became a sport climber. We got married in Zion, and then I learned how to place gear and started doing multi-pitch climbs. We got divorced later, and I kept passing through Zion, just to walk around, maybe do some bouldering. I looked up at those walls and saw climbers on them and wondered what it was like up there, thinking maybe I’d get up on one someday—but loving the park’s skyscraper sandstone peaks from the bottom so much that I didn’t feel like I absolutely had to.
I struggled upward at a glacial pace, sorting out my aiders and the rope, back-cleaning, trying to learn some- thing that was not-at-all free climbing . I managed to make it through eight and a half years as a climber without ever juggi ng a fixed line, let alone learni ng to top-step in aiders. A couple friends badmouthed aid climbing, talking about how slow it was, how much work it was. In my many visits to Springdale and Deep Creek Coffee, I befriended Ethan, a local guide a decade younger than me, who offered to take me up a wall “someday.” Finally I said yes, that would be awesome, let’s do it. I would love to lead just one pitch if at all possible. I bought brand-new ai ders, and Etha n taught me the basic sequence of a iding on the first two bolts of Touchstone Wall. And then he was patient for the next five hours while I struggled upward at a glacial pace, sorting out my aiders and the rope, back-cleaning, trying to learn something that was not-at-all free climbing. Cars full of park visitors whizzed by below, and I could hear w hen the occasional one slow ed to a stop to look up at the climber on th e wall. Maybe I looked calm and i n control from down there, I thought, as I not-at-all-calmly strained and shook to step up again, and talked myself (out loud) into standing on an offset nut I was only kind of sure was any good. It was heavy and slow and a lot of work, but I finally got a taste of what those g uys on the shuttle bus wer e doing back i n 200 5, maybe even making it into a photo by someone who would eventually get on one of those big red walls, too. I’m glad I held on to that memory and curiosity so long—and had someone to help open the door to all those climbs with C’s in the grade. //
Brendan Leonard is a con tributing edi tor for Climbing. His first book, The New American Road Trip Mixtape , is availab le at semi-rad.com.
Dingus McGee had sent me written directions and three separate maps to Reese Mountain, but when we drove onto the Vale Ranch in Wyoming’s Laramie Mountains last September, already layered in dust from 15 miles of dirt roads, we quickly lost our way. A maze of ranch roads twisted through the grass like Land Rover tracks across the African veldt. In the distance, studying Dingus’ photos, we recognized the long ridge of Reese Mountain, where he and his posse have put up about 200 routes during the past two decades. But how were we supposed to get there? Dingus had said Reese held the best sport climbing he’d ever done—and he’s put up more new routes in eastern Wyoming and South Dakota than any man alive. His photos revealed a striking fin of gray, green, and red rock, like a granite version of Eldorado Canyon in Colorado, but with better holds and plenty of bolts. Most of the routes are in the sweet spot for sport climbing popularity: 5.9 to mid-5.12. But Reese, we’d soon learn, presents many challenges unrelated to actual rock climbing. It took us an hour just to find the trailhead. A faint trail plunged down a slippery, wet draw through aspen and scrubby oaks. In the creekbed we pushed through thickets of poison ivy with glossy, scar-
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let leaves. (Reese climbers, we learned later, always hike to the crag in gaiters or rain pants, and then scrub their exposed skin with soap and water before climbing.) Bear shit lay in prodigious, berry-filled piles in the path. After more than an hour of walking, we climbed over a small ridge to a view of the crags, still 500 feet up a hillside. Suddenly the wind blew so hard that we staggered under our packs, loaded with food and gear for three days. Within five minutes of reaching the lowest cliff, looking up and wondering which line of mystery bolts would make a good warm-up, I cartwheeled into the talus as a boulder rolled under my feet. As I gingerly checked for injuries, I was approached by a wir y, slightly stooped
Route developer, first ascensionist, and Reese Mountain local Dennis Horning (aka Dingus McGee) cruises the route Pseudo Scalars
(5.10b) at the Amphitheater.
man. He had a silver beard and tangled hair poking out from under a ball cap and wore wire-rimmed glasses and a threadbare sweater. He looked us over. “You made it!” said Dingus McGee. He sounded surprised to see us. I was beginning to sense why Dingus and his gang had decided to spill the beans on their long-secret enclave. Given what we’d experienced before even roping up, it seemed unlikely that Reese would soon be overrun with gym climbers.
was the new young police officer walking to work just after dusk,” he said. “Just after the jailing, a girl that had a crush on me showed up and offered to sneak some hamburgers through the small window. I asked for a hacksaw blade instead. They let everyone out when the 10 o’clock curfew whistle blew, and we never told anyone about the bar I’d sawn through in that cell.” Horning discovered climbing in 1971 during a joy ride to Devils Tower on a new motorcycle. Ignoring the “Hiking Above Talus Requires a Permit” sign, he scrambled to the base of Hollywood and Vine (5.10c). It was obvious he couldn’t go farther without gear and knowledge, so he bought a how-to book at the visitor center. Back at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, where he was studying engineering, he asked local cavers where they bought their carabiners, and then sent an entire paycheck to Boulder Mountaineer (a gear shop in Boulder, Colorado, now closed) to order gear. The Black Hills held the closest rock to campus, and Horning dragged friends out to the Needles, Mt. Rushmore, and Elkhorn Mountain, climbing whatever looked good. There was no real guidebook and precious few climbers in the area. Most of the routes he did were probably new. Horning was a good athlete—he later competed in Nordic skiing and wrote mountain biking guide books—but it wasn’t just the physical side of climbing that appealed to him. He was an engineer and liked to make stuff. (He learned to make homebrew when he was just 14—with his parents’ permission—and at the tipi camp outside Devils Tower National Monument, where climbers used to crash in the ’80s, he constructed a bicycle-powered device to grind wheat for pancakes.) Making new routes naturally followed. “He might be the most prolific first ascensionist ever in the Black Hills, probably even more than Herb and Jan Conn [the original pioneers of Black Hills climbing],” said Brent Kertzman, a longtime climber from Rapid City, South Dakota. During his first year of climbing, Horning spotted a group of climbers on a pinnacle in the Black Hills. It
Dingus McGee, née Dennis Horning, is one of America’s most prolific and enduring route developers. (Horning adopted the nickname from a 1970 film, “Dirty Dingus Magee,” starring Frank Sinatra. It’s a long story, and Dingus is more than happy to tell it, but it’d require a thousand-word detour.) Over more than 40 years, Horning has established or freed hundreds of routes at Devils Tower, the Black Hills of South Dakota, throughout southern Wyoming, and in other states. In the early 1980s, he was a pioneer of what eventually would be called sport climbing. And he’s still at it: Last winter, at age 65, he redpointed the first ascent of a 5.12 route at Guernsey State Park, a recently developed sport area in Wyoming. Dingus is a born raconteur, telling stories in a highpitched, singsong drawl, and his life has given him plenty of material. Growing up in Edgemont, South Dakota, (pop. 774) just south of the Black Hills, he was a bright, smart-ass kid who got in a lot of trouble without doing much real damage. When he was 17, Horning and some friends were jailed briefly for lobbing eggs at someone they thought had just egged them. “Well, that person
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Clockwise from top: Yet another obstacle to overcome on the approach into Reese Mountain; Peter Vintoniv has some fun on the juggy topout of Eat a Lotta Peaches (5.12a); Horning in a cozy bivouac hideout.
turned out to be Tom Higgins, Bob Kamps, Mark Powell, and Dave Rearick, four of the strongest free climbers of the day. “They befriended me immediately, and the next few days I climbed with them and learned a lot, including their ideas of what would later be called climbing ethics,” Horning said. “So I learned from the traddest of the trad,” Horning said. He paused for a beat: “I guess it didn’t catch.” He also later met bouldering legend John Gill in the Needles. Without much concern for what other climbers thought—at a time when most new routes were still established ground-up—Horning began experimenting with rappelling to place bolts. “Doing new routes for me is a creative undertaking that makes use of several of my skill sets,” Horning explained. “But by the time I met Kamps and that group at the Needles, I had my own ideas as to what constitutes safety and fun. When you climb a new line, you are in control of the outcome, and I had several convictions of what I wanted out of a climb. Boldness and runouts never had much merit for me. If I did a climb, I wanted some 99.9 percent likelihood I would be around for another.” Horning said he “came out of the closet” about his top-down tactics in 1981, and in 1983 he rap-bolted the second pitch of Everlasting (5.10c) at Devils Tower, while doing the first ascent. “Locals were furious,” he said. “But I put up a third of the routes at the Tower. I was more local than anyone!” (In fact, Horning put up or freed about a quarter of the routes in the Devils
Tower guidebook, including many favorites: Assembly Line (5.9), Burning D aylight (5.10b), One-Way Sunset (5.10c), Mr. Clean (5.11a), the first free ascent of McCarthy North Face (5.11a), and, of course, Everlasting .) “Back in the ’70s, I was a ranger at the Tower, and Dennis was on the South Dakota Climbing Team, which means he was on unemployment for the summer,” said longtime partner and friend Frank Sanders (see climbing.com/route/under-the-devils-spell ). “Dennis definitely raised free climbing standards on the Tower.” Horning and his ex-wife, Hollis Marriott, popularized climbing at Devils Tower and the Black Hills through a long-running series of guidebooks, published under the pen names Dingus McGee and the Last Pioneer Woman. The Tower guide went through at least 14 editions. Kertzman climbed many new routes with Dingus in the Black Hills, including some controversial rappel bolted climbs in the early 1990s. Later, Kertzman said, “I decided there were better places to play that game, but Dennis would say, ‘Let’s stir up the hornet’s nest. Let’s see how long these routes will stand before they get chopped.’ “I call him the Howard Stern of southeastern Wyoming climbing,” Kertzman added. “He’s not worried about what other people think. And he was a harbinger of sorts—he understood climbing’s evolution.” Dingus had enrolled in college to escape the draft and Vietnam, and he eventually chose mechanical engineering for a degree. However, he said, “Before I had finished
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Jules Cho on the superb 5.10+ start to Down Converter (5.12a) at The Curl.
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Clockwise from top: Alton Richardson warms up on the crimpy bulges of
Red Mite (5.9+) at The Curl; Peter Vintoniv and Jules Cho explore the pool-covered top of Reese Mountain; local climbers make dinner
and relive the day’s exploits in Reese’s rock-walled hideaway; fellow developer Mike Friedrichs looks for the next hold on Aeolus (5.12a), a mostly chalkless wall; bolter and first ascensionist Ryan Laird gathers the necessary gear for a day of equipping at the mountain.
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three semesters working on my master’s, I discovered climbing. My foggy career goals soon became definite: I would rather be climbing than working at an engineer’s desk.” (He eventually did get a master’s and worked on a Ph.D., with the thesis topic “Using Lagrangian Coordinates to Model Shock Wave Propagation in Snow.”) Now he works just enough to get by, doing home remodeling and other building projects. Mostly he climbs. In recent years, Horning and partners have developed dozens of routes in Harts Draw, a side canyon of Indian Creek, Utah; more than 100 routes at Guernsey, the lowest elevation and warmest winter climbing area in Wyoming; and about 60 routes on the limestone of 4 Stories, a summertime crag in the Snowy Range west of Laramie. Horning found Reese in the 1980s while perusing maps of the Laramie Mountains for mountain biking routes. He saw a cluster of contour lines and thought, I gotta check that out!
coarse at times and doesn’t have the small-grain compactness of Reese granite.” Like Friedrichs, many Reese climbers are part of a Wyoming diaspora—climbers who once lived or studied in the university town of Laramie but migrated elsewhere for work, or just to escape the wind, and now come back for homecomings at Reese and other favored crags. Ryan Laird, who now lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, says, “The remoteness and ruggedness of Reese provide a sense of solitude. The different sections of the ridge offer a huge variety of rock shapes and climbing styles: featured technical faces, four-pitch slabs, steep roofs, and even a few splitter cracks. It’s a special place.” On our second day at Reese, we headed for The Curl with Friedrichs, Laird, and Anne Yeagle, another Reese climber now living in Utah, seeking the morning sun and some shelter from the sharp knife thrusts of Wyoming wind. We sampled a new route that Laird had just
Bolts have made Reese’s burly approach a little lighter and thus, more enjoyable. Below: Reese Mountain gang-
The southwest ridge of Reese Mountain is a granite fin that rises about 1,400 feet above winding Ashley Creek. Both sides of the ridge and its tip are laced with climbs. Because of the different sun and wind aspects, and who-knows what geological influences, the rock and the climbing vary from crag to crag along the ridge.
ster Woody Barnmore hikes out through the scrub afer a weekend o cragging.
The Hightower, at the low end of the ridge, has tricky sidepulls and edges, with a second tier of routes up an overhanging headwall. The Curl, around the right side, has chickenheads and incut edges. On the opposite side is the Amphitheater, a flat plane of gray overhanging rock. Higher up the ridge, Douglas Park, usually accessed by rappel from the ridge top, has overhanging slopers. Sherard Tower, near the top of the fin, has longer routes with slabs and roofs. Bolts are plentiful, and Horning and other climbers are rebolting their old routes to turn them into pure sport climbs or to reduce the possibility of ledge falls and other hazards. “We’ve crossed the River Styx between trad and sport,” Horning laughed. “I don’t want this to be a stick-clip area.” “I’ve climbed at a lot of places, and steep, featured granite is pretty hard to find,” says Mike Friedrichs, a Salt Lake City climber who has been coming to Reese and developing new routes since about 1993. “City of Rocks comes the closest to what Reese is like. But it is
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completed, brushing drill dust off the holds. Yeagle and Friedrichs led two 5.12a pitches, cranking positive edges over bulges. I climbed several 5.10 pitches that would be three stars anywhere in Colorado. Horning showed little inclination to shoe up. “ That one’s beyond my hangingon ability,” he said at one point. Instead, he directed traffic, telling the crew which routes they ought to climb for photographer Andrew Burr. After lunch, I tried and failed to find the right sequence for the hand-jam and iron-cross crux of a wild 5.11 called Sex at Noon Taxes. Dingus, a fan of puns and palindromes, had coined that name. He is also prone to practical jokes and pranks. Once, when he felt a partner was lingering and chatting with other climbers for too long near the top of Devils Tower, Dingus rappelled off without him. Kertzman said every climbing trip he did with Dingus had a theme, usually involving flatulence or sex or human activities too per verse to describe in this magazine, upon which Horning would riff for days, sometimes in nasty ways, like a kid who doesn’t know when to stop teasing. “I learned a lot from the guy, and he’s been inspirational, but in a kind of tormenting way,” said Kertzman. “He’s more of a tormentor than a mentor.” Zach Orenczak, who has been climbing at Reese since 1998 and is about to publish a guidebook to the Laramie Mountains (see Beta section), said of Horning, “The steep routes of Reese were built by the blood, sweat, and tears of his many younger partners. Reese is Dennis’ ShangriLa, and when he’s out there, he’s the king. He rules with an iron fist and incredible punctuality. If you are not ready to hop in his van the moment he’s ready to roll, he’ll steal your route and name it Zachoff [Rendezvous Buttress, 5.11a]. At least he gives credit where credit is due.” “Dennis can be irascible, petulant, and loves to argue,” Friedrichs said. “Some people just don’t want to be around him anymore. But Dennis also has a really caring side to him. One time a woman in Laramie was in an auto accident and was hurt pretty badly. Dennis showed up at her house and did chores for a couple of months until she was back on her feet. He’s given away more first ascents than most people ever have. I hadn’t known Dennis very long when he asked me if I wanted to do a first ascent at Devils Tower. He had cleaned the crack of poison ivy and placed a bolt, and he gave me the lead. I’ve seen him do that for a lot of people.
“Dennis is also interesting,” Friedrichs added. “He calls me at least a couple times a month to talk about string theory or nutrition—once, a long discourse on welding. It made me realize that you don’t have to stop learning when you get older.” One veteran Wyoming climber calls Horning a cantankerous know-it-all. Another calls him a cherished friend. To many, it seems, he is both. “One of my favorite stories is actually recounted by Dennis himself,” Laird said. “The family that lives next to Dennis once told their 6-year-old that he needed adult supervision to play outside. The kid thought about it for a minute and then asked, ‘Is Dennis an adult?’”
Late in the day, we hiked to the top of the southwest ridge, and Friedrichs, Yeagle, and I rappelled off the far side into Douglas Park. I climbed back out via Hanging of Yellowstone Kelly, a superb 5.11b with sequential cruxes between good rests. Friedrichs led the appropriately named Aeolus (5.12b), and then belayed on top with his coat snapping in the wind. “One time I couldn’t even throw the rope down to rappel to Douglas Park, the wind was so bad,” he said later. “I had to tie a pack to the rope to get it to go down.” The night before we arrived at Reese, the wind destroyed a brand-new tent.
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“Is it always like this?” I asked Horning, hunched in the lee of a boulder. “May and September are windy,” he said. “July is too hot. June and August are good.” Reese is a bastion of Type 2 fun—activities that seem fun only after they’re over and you’re telling stories about them in the bar—which is undoubtedly part of the appeal for certain climbers. “I have had too many Reese experiences to count,” Laird said. “I have been
THE DINGUS DOZEN The Reese Mountain Gang’s all-time favorites RED MITE (5.9+)
RIDE STEPPENWOLF
TWENTY RED
DOWN CONVERTER (5.12A)
THE CURL
(5.11A/B)
LIGHTS (5.11C)
THE CURL
Great warm-up with chicken-
HIGHTOWER
THE AMPHITHEATER
Difficult stemming fin-
heads, bulges, rests, and an
Sidepulls, edges, and pinches
An overhanging ace not
ishes with a crimp at the exit
optional 5.10 finish.
or 140 eet on the upper wall.
yet flashed by a Vedauwoo
shaped like a light switch in
climber—they always go or
the “on” position. The first 80
the crack.
eet to an anchor on the right
BLOCK PARTY (5.10C)
HANGING OF YELLOW-
HIGHTOWER
STONE KELLY (5.11B)
150 eet o un.
DOUGLAS PARK
GAMMA BURSTS (5.11C)
“The best 11b in all o Wyoming.”
HIGHTOWER
FADING INTO MY OWN
Burly moves on a double-
PARADE (5.12A/B)
overhanging dihedral.
THE AMPHITHEATER
ROPE TRICKS (5.10D)
is 5.10+ and excellent.
HIGHTOWER
SPORT TRINDLEBERG
Pinches and gastons rule over
(5.11B)
crimps.
THE CURL
AEOLUS (5.12B)
your hands can’t eel to
A steep wall to a delicate
DOUGLAS PARK
grip, toes too numb to step,
MRS. RADICAL (5.11A)
hip-shifer roo exit, with more
Lef-trending crack and
and your boot heels are
DOUGLAS PARK
fight to come on the ace
corner system. Spectacular
wanderin’. (Apologies to
How good are you at slopers?
above.
stemming and arête moves.
Bob Dylan.)
Fading will happen when
—Commentary by Dennis Horning
Dingus climbs with style—quite literally—in a cashmere sweater and an old-school brain bucket on Just Another Saturday Night (5.10b) at The Curl.
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Welcome to Undercling City, population three: you and your two pumped biceps. Jules Cho combines friction-slab footwork with pulling-in power to navigate the brilliant overlapping fin features on the Book Pages Wall, an area with six routes, all in the 5.9 to 5.10 range. 68 | MAY 2014
baked, frozen, wind-whipped, and mosquito-bit mosquito-bitten. ten. I have experienced rain that soaked through my rain gear to my underwear, and forded flooded streams. I have seen deer, elk, bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, and lynx. I’ ve skinny-dipped and stomped out a brush fire, but not at the same time.” In July 2002, Friedrichs and Yeagle hiked into Reese late at night during a fearsome lig htning storm. “We sat on the rocks and wa tched an amazing sh ow,” Friedrichs recalled. “The next morning there was a faint smell of smoke. Anne and I hiked around and climbed two pitches on Hightower. On top of the second pitch we saw smoke to the northwest. We headed back to camp and watched for about 15 minutes until flames came over the ridge two or three miles away. The flames were leaping from tree to tree. We packed up and left as fast as we could, and the fire eventually burned almost all the way around Reese. We were lucky the wind didn’t pick up .” Rattlesnakes have been discovered at least twice at Camp Dingus, Horning’s favorite campsite atop the ridge. “We really like rattlesnakes, but not at camp,” Friedrichs said. “Dennis made a snare from a stick and a piece of twine, caught the snake, and put it in a fivegallon bucket. We put a lid on it, and Anne rappelled off the west side with the bucket clipped to her harness so she could let the snake go.” In such an environment, it’s not surprising the Reese
regulars do their best to ease the burden. When climbers are occupying Camp Dingus, hidden in a sandy patch amid the convoluted rocks on top of the ridge, a camouflage tarp keeps off the rain and sun, and a filter system provides drinking water from potholes filled by storms. The Reese crew stashes ropes and gear in strategic locations around the crags, and they stock mouseproof thrift-store suitcases with cooking supplies and other necessities for return visits. This way, they can hike in for several days of climbing with a daypack weighing only 10 or 15 pounds. Entering Camp Dingus after scrambling up a gravelly gully and threading through rock passageways feels like you’ve stumbled into a guerrilla hideout. You expect to encounter armed sentries and trip wires. Horning estimates he has spent more than a year of his life at Reese. One time he stayed there 18 days straight. Understandably, he’s a bit possessive. Twice, most recently in 2005, billionaire Pat Broe, who owns Notch Peak Ranch just to the north of Reese, tried to negotiate a land swap with federal officials that would have moved about 5,000 acres of land, including Reese Mountain, into his holdings. Horning helped rally opponents to the deal and kept Reese in public hands. On day three the wind had lessened just a bit, and we walked around to the Amphitheater for two overhanging overhanging Lights (5.11c) and Fading classics: Twenty Red Lights (5.11c) and Fading Into My Own Parade (5.12a/b). Parade (5.12a/b). Looking up at the latter, FriedClockwise rom lef: Photographer Andrew Burr enjoys a classic Wyoming hot tub in the fields leading into the climbing area; Yeagle finds more exposure on the Sport Trindleberg (5.11b); the roads to Reese can be more than a bit baffling or the first-time visitor.
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richs said, “That route’s all 12b before you get to the 12b.” In late morning, Horning got inspired to climb. After a couple of us had done a long, tricky 5.10, Horning laced up, tied in, and floated the route. At 65, because of exercise-induced asthma, he no longer ski-races or bikes, but he’s plenty fit. “If you’re going to hike with Dennis, you better put your your track shoes on, on,” Friedrichs said. The Amphitheater had obvious room for new routes, likely very hard, but I wondered who would do them. There’s not much harder than 5.12b at Reese, and not much easier than 5.10. Given the isolation, the short season, the snakes, and the wind, even this article and the new guidebook are unlikely to lure hordes of sport climbers. Which will leave Reese Mountain to those
who love it. “Dingus first invited me to Reese about 15 years ago Torpedo edo Tube (5.10+) when he saw me climb the Left Torp at Vedauwoo blindfolded,” said Laird. “Apparently he figured that if I liked climbing that much, then I would love the climbing at Reese. I’ve been trying to keep up with Dingus ever ever since. Reese is unique, and I love sharsharing the experience with other climbers and seeing how the place affects them.” In early afternoon, facing a long drive home, I started to hike out from Reese alone. A rattlesnake buzzed by my feet as I followed the faint path up Duck Creek, and I got lost halfway to the car. But I knew I was one of those // / climbers who’d soon find his way back. /
TAIN UNT MOUN REESE MO REES
K T ROC ROCK SPLI PLIT
EEK Y CR CRE ASHLE Y ASH
n Jackso Jack son
Mountain Reese Mountain Reese
Cheye Chey enne
EK CRE REE CK C DUCK
ING G RKIN PARK
mile ile 1 /3 /3 m
BETA GET THERE Reese Mountain
is in the Laramie Mountains, west of Wheatland, Wyoming. Allow about four hours of driving from Denver or eight hours from Salt Lake City. The last hour of the drive is along the gravel Tunnel Road and two-tracks across Vale Ranch; high-clearance vehicle recommended. The hike from the parking area at the top of Tony Gulch takes about 1.5 hours; the faint trail goes down Tony Gulch to Duck Creek and
70 | MAY 2014
follows this to the confluence with Ashley Creek. GPS tracks for the drive across Vale Ranch and the hike can be found at climbing.com/reese . Maps and other approach information are at mountainproject. com . Allow a few extra hours for the driving and hiking route-finding on your first visit. GUIDEBOOK Zach
Orenczak and his wife, Rachael Lynn, will release High Adventure in the Laramie Range: A Climber’s
($50, extremeangles. Guide ($50,
SEASON The Reese Mountain
com ) in August. The book will
window extends from May through September, with June and late August typically offering the best climbing, without being too scorchingly hot. Some roads may be difficult to pass in early season. Parts of the Laramie Peak Wildlife Habitat Management Area, including the approach to Reese Mountain, are closed to public access December 1 through April 30 to protect breeding bighorn sheep.
cover Reese and many other crags accessed by Tunnel Road. CAMPING There are good
sites in the meadow below the crags (make sure you’re above private land at the junction of Ashley and Duck creeks; water may be hard to find in late summer). You can also camp on top of the crags; potholes hold water year-round (filtration mandatory).
) A T A D P A M ( Y C N E G A E C I V R E S M R A F A D S U , E L G O O G ; ) P A M ( A G N A R T A M W E R D N A
Picturesque Prusik Peak rises high above Gnome Tarn in the Enchantments, Cascades, Washington.
72 | MAY 2014
7 EASY ROUTES FOR YOUR SUMMER TICK LIST
BY BRENDAN LEONARD
Y E V R A H N A N N E K
Sometimes, when committing to a move, I hear my friend Lee’s cranky voice in my head: “Could you pul l that 600 feet off the deck? ” It’s his old-school way of busting my cho ps. Sure, Brendan, you can climb 5.whatever in the gym, or at the crag, but are you confident enough to do the same thing high on a face 10 miles from the car? Can you keep your composure onsighting a route on a peak, not totally sure if you’re on the right route, with rock that looks OK, but might have l oosened during its previous freeze-thaw cycle? Pulling a crux move in the alpine is just that much more exciting. It’s an addictive feeling that every climber should experience. So we’ve curated a list of seven introductory alpine routes that keep the adventure high and the technical di fficulty at a mellow 5.8 or lower.
THE ARMADILLO (5.7, 6 Katahdin, Maine
PITCHES )
ENJOY A BIG DAY ON THE NORTHEAST’S LONGEST SUMMIT ROCK CLIMB
Katahdin is legendary to Henry David
Thoreau devotees, Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, and the scramblers who summit via its amously exposed (but only class two) Knie Edge—but it’s also got several underrated rock climbs. The Armadillo is the Big K’s most classic: Varied climbing on steep, quality granite with airy moves and views 2,000 eet down into the pine-carpeted bowl o Katahdin’s South Basin. Bluebird days (target July to September) deliver shimmering reflections rom the icy, blue waters o Chimney Pond below. A climb this long reaching a true summit is rare east o the Mississippi.
BETA
do have to check in with the rangers and have a quick gear inspection. Some wannabe summiteers have allegedly been turned around or not having a No. 4 cam, so make sure your rack is complete. From Chimney Pond, hike up slabs to the right side o a huge triangular flake lying against the base o the buttress on a grassy ledge. Rope up here and start climbing the chimney. From the top o the flake, head up and lef on exposed, steep ace climbing past old pins to the base o a 60-oot 5.7 fist crack; this is where you want your No. 4. At the top o the crack, the route heads right, and the climbing eases up to get to the Knie Edge that takes you all the way to the craggy summit. D E S C E N T : From the summit, hike back down the Knie Edge and descend the
Helen Taylor Trail to the parking lot.
G E T T H E R E : The crux o The Armadillo might be the logistics. Get to the Roaring
Brook parking lot (eight miles north o the Togue Gate at Baxter State Park on Roaring Brook Road) in time to get a parking spot—the lot fills up ast on busy weekends, so be there by 5 or 6 a.m. Then make sure you make it up the three-mile, 1,500-oot elevation-gain hike to Chimney Pond by 8 a.m., which is the cut-o time or climbers attempting routes on Katahdin. You don’t need a permit, but you
74 | MAY 2014
S T A Y T H E R E : Camp at the Roaring Brook Campground or backpack 3.3 miles to
the Chimney Pond Campground ($11 to $30 per night, reservations recommended, baxterstateparkauthority.com , 207-723-5140). G U I D E B O O K : Rock Climbing New England , by Stewart Green ($35, falcon.com )
NORTH BUTTRESS
(5.7, 6 PITCHES ) Pagoda Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado TACKLE A PARK CLASSIC WITHOUT QUEUEING UP AT THE BASE When alpine season begins in the park,
climbers flock to the classics: the Petit Grepon , the Casual Route on the Diamond, and the North Ridge o Spearhead. But while everyone else is bee-lining or these routes, change course and head to the North Buttress o Pagoda, a quality six-pitch route that gets one-fifh the traffic. It also delivers alpine views o the hal-dozen 13ers (and one 14er— Hello, Longs!) that wrap around the Glacier Gorge cirque; you can see them all the way up to the 13,497-oot summit. Splitter cracks, juggy c limbing on the ste ep crux ourth pitch , and a section o chimneying make the case or this route to be included among the best o RMNP alpine rock climbs. Local guide Eli Helmuth says it’s arguably an “even more aesthetic and inspiring route” than the next-door North Ridge o Spearhead.
BETA
G E T T H E R E : Get a bivy permit at the RMNP
backcountry office; reserve starting March 1 ($20, 970-586-1319). From the Glacier Gorge trailhead, hike six miles to find a bivy spot under overhanging boulders near the base o Spearhead. (Doing it in a day is possible, but a long day.) Get an early start and scramble up the lef side o the buttress. Near the bottom o the obvious black band o rock that crosses the ace, a system o lef-acing corners bisects the buttress. Traverse to the bottom o the corner system and rope up there. D E S C E N T : Walk o the east ridge o Pagoda
toward the saddle between Pagoda and the Keyboard o the Winds. Scramble northwest down talus back to your bivy. S T A Y T H E R E : Camp at the Moraine Park Camp H T U M L E H I L E
ground ($20 per night) in RMNP; reservations recommended (recreation.gov, 877-4446777). G U I D E B O O K : Rocky Mountain National Park,
The Climber’s Guide: The High Peaks, by Bernard Gillett ($31, earthboundsports.com )
Two climbers up high on the North Ridge o Pagoda, just below the summit.
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Disappointment Peak (circled) is so-named because first ascensionists thought they could easily summit the Grand Teton via this smaller peak.
EAST RIDGE (5.6, 3-4 PITCHES) Disappointment Peak, Teton Range, Wyoming TAG A SUMMIT ON THIS INTRO TO TETON CLIMBING COURSE
It
may seem like there is only one mountain in Grand Teton National Park—the Grand Teton—with only two climbing routes on it: Exum Ridge and the Owen- Spalding . Or that’s what you might think if you hiked up Garnet Canyon on a summer weekend. But there’s so much more, including the East Ridge on Disappointment Peak. Jack Durrance (legendary claims to fame include the North Face Standard— the first route on the Grand’s, yes, North Face—and the Dur- rance Route on Devils Tower) first climbed this ridge in 1937. You’ll likely have the route to yourself, and it’s a great introduction to alpine climbing, with mostly easy climbing until the last pitch. All done in a world-class mountain setting. The final steep moves past a couple fixed pins are full-value Teton rock climbing, with 1,000 feet of air around the corner into Glacier Gulch to your right.
76 | MAY 2014
BETA
GET THERE: From the Lupine Meadows trailhead, hike up the Garnet Canyon Trail to Am-
phitheater Lake, where the East Ridge will be plainly visible on the lake’s north side. DESCENT: Walk down the southeast ridge of Disappointment Peak to Amphitheater
Lake—a little route-finding will keep the scramble easy at third class. STAY THERE: Crash at the AAC’s Teton Climbers’ Ranch inside the park ($16 for mem-
bers/$25 non-members), reservations recommended (americanalpineclub.org/gtcr ). GUIDEBOOK: Teton Rock Climbs: A Select Guide to the Classic and Not-So-Classic
Climbing Routes of the Teton Range , by Aaron Gams ($27, wolverinepublishing.com )
M O C . K C O T S M E D N A T / C O R A V A C E K I M
GOTHICS ARCH (5.6, 7 PITCHES) Gothics, Adirondacks, New York CLAMBER UP A TECHNICAL LINE ON THE BIGGEST, CLEANEST SLIDE IN THE DAKS The Adirondacks are amous or their ourth- and
fifh-class “slide climbs”: rambles up the giant rock slabs adorning the sides o some o the rolling green peaks in the Northeast’s largest playground. Every ace o Gothics has exposed rock, and guidebook author Jeremy Haas says the peak is second only to Katahdin or potential in long mountain rock routes. Gothics Arch adds some technical terrain, tackling 800 eet o anorthosite up the south ace o Gothics. Its relative isolation and long approach (6.5 miles and 3,000 eet o elevation gain to the base) make it one o the longest, most committing days in the Adirondacks—but the climbing stays at 5.6 the whole way.
public lands is allowed 150 eet away rom trails, roads, and streams, and below 4,000 eet elevation. Car camp at the ADK Wilderness Campground 22 miles west, near Lake Placid ($40/night, adk.org, 518-523-3441). G U I D E B O O K : Adirondack Rock , by Jim Lawyer and Jeremy Haas ($37, adirondack-
rock.com )
BETA G E T T H E R E : The St. Huberts trailhead is eight miles south o Keene on NY-73.
M O C . K C O T S M E D N A T / N A M L O H T T E R B ; ) P O T ( E R O M S N E D A S I L
From the St. Huberts trailhead, hike our miles south on the West River Trail, then west on the Alred W. Weld Trail or two miles. Hike north on the PyramidGothics Trail over the summit o Pyramid Peak and down to the saddle between Pyramid and Gothics. From the saddle, bushwhack southwest to the base o the slabs that make up Gothics’ south ace. Traverse across the ace to the base o a black streak running down the ace, at the lef edge o the arch. Rope up here. D E S C E N T : Hike the Gothics-Pyramid Trail back to the summit o Pyramid and
reverse the approach back to the trailhead. S T A Y T H E R E : The trail crosses in and out o private and public lands; camping on
NORTH ARÊTE (5.7, 6 PITCHES ) Matterhorn Peak, Sierra Nevada, California A CROWD-FREE SIERRA CLASSIC WITH VARIED CLIMBING ON PERFECT GRANITE
You could argue that the 5.6
Matterhorn (circled) juts out o the Sawtooth Ridge to top out at 12,285 eet.
East Buttress o Mount Whitney is the king o high-country Caliornia moderates. And you’d be right. Problem is, that also makes it one o the most crowded climbs in the area. For a calmer atmosphere, head north to Matterhorn Peak and tackle the North Arête , where you’ll find six granite pitches o edges, cracks, stemming, and a majestic vista o jagged peaks punctuated by snow-filled couloirs—all to yoursel. I you crank it out in a day (roughly 16 miles round-trip), you don’t even have to mess around with backcountry permits. Too big? Camp at the unnamed tarn just northeast o the summit.
BETA G E T T H E R E : From Bridgeport, drive 14 miles southwest on Twin Lakes Road to
Mono Village. Hike up the Horse Creek Trail until it begins to switchback away rom Horse Creek, and then hike cross-country (no official trail here) along the drainage. Eventually you’ll make it onto loose scree and finally the snow slope that sits below the peak—pack an ice axe just in case, in all seasons. Climb two pitches up and right to the arête, and then step around onto the arête or a dose o exposure. Stay right o the arête or the ourth pitch, a 150-oot hand crack. Head lef through a notch on the arête, and then move up and lef to the final dihedral to a chimney, which is the crux. Afer the last pitch, scramble up 200 eet o class-our rock to the summit. D E S C E N T : Hike east o the summit, and then north down the East Gully (climb-
er’s lef o the route). S T A Y T H E R E : Stay at Lower Twin Lakes Campground ($20/night, recreation.gov ),
or backcountry camp to break up the hike ($3/person, fs.usda.gov/htnf ). G U I D E B O O K : High Sierra Climbing , by Chris McNamara ($25, supertopo.com ) CLIMBING.COM
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Sundial reflects in the calm waters of Lake Blanche in the Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah.
ELEVENTH HOUR
(5.8, 4-5 PITCHES)
A Cascades climber literally strolls up a casual section o the West Ridge .
Sundial, Wasatch Range, Utah CRUISE ON ALPINE ROCK 30 MINUTES F R O M D O W N T O W N S A LT L A K E C I T Y Shingo Ohkawa, buyer
or International Mountain Equipment in Salt Lake City and longtime wizard o the Wasatch, calls the routes on Sundial “the finest adventure outings this side o the divide—they require a bit o mountain sense and route-finding, and oer un, i not thoughtul, climbing in breathtaking situations.” Eleventh Hour climbs steep corners and aces up the North Face o the peak, popping out on top o a 10,320-oot summit surrounded by higher mountains, delivering 360-degree views o the Wasatch.
BETA
The Mill B South trailhead is 4.4 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon Road rom its intersection with Wasatch Boulevard. Hike the Mill B South Trail three miles to Lake Blanche, heading east around the lake to the base o Sundial. Eleventh Hour begins at the ar right o the North Face. Climb the 190-oot first pitch on a broken quartzite ace ending at a large ledge; when the ollower reaches the ledge, move the belay 50 eet to the right. Climb the ace above in a huge lef-acing corner to a flat ledge. Above the ledge, ollow finger cracks to the exposed arête, staying right o a roo and ollowing the arête to the top. Scramble the south ridge to the summit. GET THERE:
the summit, scramble east and down toward a stand o pines. Three singlerope raps (60m is best) rom slung trees drop you at the top o the scree on the northeast ace. Scramble o the scree back to the trail.
WEST RIDGE (5.7, 4 PITCHES ) Prusik Peak, Cascade Range, Washington
D E S C E N T : From
USFS Spruces Campground ($22/ night, recreation.gov, 877-444-6777) STAY THERE:
A FUN RIDGE CLIMB ON ONE OF THE NORTHWEST’S MOST AESTHETIC PEAKS All most climbers need is
a photo o the chiseled arrowhead o Prusik Peak or inspiration—and you’ve probably seen more than a ew o Prusik, one o the most photogenic peaks in the Northwest. TheWest Ridge climbs solid lichen-specked granite slabs, laybacks, and chimneys, keeping the route at mostly 5.5. On the spine o the peak, you’ll get v iews o the alpine lakes and larch tree–blanketed meadows in both directions all the way up. The first ascent party, Fred Beckey and Art Holben, named the mountain Prusik Peak because their 1948 climb o the East Face required a lasso-and-prusik ascent o the summit horn.
G U I D E B O O K : Rock Climbing the Wasatch
Range , by Stuart Ruckman and Brett Ruckman ($35, falcon.com )
BETA
From Leavenworth, drive 0.8 miles southwest on Highway 2 and turn lef onto Icicle Road. Drive 4.3 miles on Icicle Road to the Snow Lakes trailhead. Hike into a campsite at Lake Viviane (eight miles) or Perection Lake (nine miles) or an early start in the morning. Head northeast cross-country to the saddle west o Prusik Peak, aiming or a large balanced rock on the West Ridge . Rope up here and stay on the lef (north) side o the ridge up to an easy 100-oot dihedral, then ollow easy ledges and cracks to the ridge proper. The crux o the climb is a 20-oot riction slab with an old pin or protection (or put in a small nut). Afer the slab, cruise easy ledges to a squeeze chimney, and then scramble to the summit. GET THERE:
Y E V R A H N A N N E K ; ) E T I S O P P O ( E G D E T E R B
D E S C E N T : Four single-rope rappels (60m) or
two double-rope rappels down the North Face, and then traverse to Prusik Pass, and back to your campsite (Perection or Viviane). S T A Y T H E R E : Beore or afer
the climb, try USFS Eightmile Campground ($16/night, recreation.gov , 877-
444-6777). G U I D E B O O K : Selected Climbs in the Cascades: Volume 1 , by Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield ($27, moun-
taineersbooks.org )
Required or overnight stays in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness between June 15 and October 15; demand is high or the Enchantments. The 2014 permit lottery began in February at recreation.gov ($6 application ee plus $5 per person per day). Or try or a day-o walk-in permit at the Wenatchee River Ranger District Office at 7:45 a.m. the day o your trip; they give one per day. PERMITS:
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r
s e h o s
a g e
s so r ie s e c a c
e l y o C a r r e i S : e v i t a t n e s e r p e R m a e T
ClimbXGear.com
[email protected] 503.929.5360
NO SIEGE-TOPROPING.
YELL “ROPE!” BEFORE YOU THROW YOUR ROPE.
DOGS? SAFEST BET: LEAVE THEM AT HOME.
Yes, even crumbs are trash.
Nature sounds cool— when your tunes aren’t blasting. Brush all your tick marks off completely. Or avoid them altogether.
Scan for trash (and pick it up) before you leave.
A big white X means don’t touch.
Avoid taking over routes.
Those teeny-tiny bits of tape you just pulled from your fingers are trash. Pack ’em out. A
Essay
The Mentorship Gap The way we learn to climb has evolved. The way we mentor needs to change, too. By Chris Noble
BE EXTRA AWARE. THE HAZARDS OF CLIMBING (ROCKFALL, BAD BOLTS, ETC.) ARE A LOT MORE REAL OUTSIDE.
STAY ON DESIGNATED TRAILS: SHORTCUTS CAUSE EROSION!
Corral children in a safe area— or arrange a way to climb without them.
Don’t poop there. Don’t poop there, either.
Yell “Rock!” if you dislodge a rock or drop anything.
Stop touching the boulder problem if you’re not climbing it. HIKE AND SET UP TO BELAY ON DURABLE SURFACES (THAT PATCH OF GRASS AND WILDFLOWERS IS NOT DURABLE).
Accept safety advice and beta from other climbers gracefully.
SERIOUSLY, DUDE, IF YOU HAVE TO GO, BURY IT (PE R LEAVE NO TRACE GUIDELINES) OR USE THE NEAREST ESTABLISHED CRAPPER.
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IT WAS EARLY SUMMER. Josh
Moreland and his wife were climbing in Utah’s Maple Can yon, which draws climbers from the ever-growing Wasatch Front, as well as road-trippers from across the country. The Morelands had been climbing at Minimum Crag but decided to try The Pipeline. Temps were perfect, and Pipeline is close to the road, so when they arrived, they weren’t surprised to find a crowd. Looking for routes he could onsight, Josh chose a 5.12a called Freshly Squeezed . “There were some draws on it, and a rope was hanging through the first two, but there was no one at the base,” he recalled. “So I started pulling the rope, and as I did, I heard a woman shouting from the far end of the crag. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?!’ She stormed over and told me if I ever touched her rope again there would be hell to pay. “I was shocked. I’d never experienced such a strong negative reaction from another climber. Then I said, as politely as I could, that I would like to climb the route, and I asked if she would mind pulling her rope. She said, ‘No! I’m not going to pull my rope. First, I’m going to watch my friend finish her route, and then I’ll come back and climb this one.’ “With that, she turned and walked away, and we sat down to wait. In the end, the only satisfaction was that the woman couldn’t make the chains, and eventually she packed up and left. “They were from another state, and they had three or four ropes on different climbs at The Pipeline. It was as though they laid claim to the entire crag, then were infuriated that anyone else wanted to climb. I said I didn’t know how people acted where they came from, but this wasn’t typical behavior in Utah.” Albeit an extreme example, this type of siege-cragging is an increasingly common by-product of climbing’s ever-expanding popularity and of the challenges we face as new climbers transition to outdoor climbing.
Record Growth CLIMBING IS EXPERIENCING a tsunami
between 1,000 and 1,500 people are trying
continue to build more gyms and introduce ever-more people to
o growth and change unprecedented in the
climbing or the first time—every single day, in
a sport and liestyle we all love, we cannot create more outdoor
sport’s brie history. The number o indoor
the U.S. alone. Did you catch that? More than
climbing destinations than already exist in nature.
climbing gyms has doubled since 2005 (Moun-
1,000 first-time climbers every day!
tain Project currently lists 884 gyms in the U.S.
Regardless o whether you see this explosive growth as good
While 70 percent o new gym climbers say
or bad or climbing, the tidal wave o new climbers created by the
and Canada). The industry trade organization,
they aspire to someday climb outdoors, many—
rapid spread o indoor climbing has swifly transormed a ringe,
the Climbing Wall Association, estimates that
like pro climber Nalle Hukkataival—speculate
counter-culture activity into a mainstream sport practiced by
more than 60 new climbing-specific acilities
that due to mounting access issues, user
millions. And the trend is not likely to reverse.
will open in the U.S. by 2015. In act, business
conflicts, and general environmental impact,
Whether you learned to climb in the 1970s wearing EB’s, a
is so good that the largest wall builders are all
“a large portion o climbing areas in the world
red bandana, and a rugby shirt, or you’re a rising star on the local
currently working at cap acity. They’re not even
can’t support a much greater number o visi-
climbing team who just turned 16, we all have a responsibility
accepting new contracts until current jobs are
tors, especially areas located close to big cities
to learn how to help climbing adapt to the times. Not only by
completed.
that see the highest traffic.”
keeping the sport sae, but by minimizing impact on the ragile
Based on liability waivers, it’s estimated that
82 | MAY 2014
The bottom line is that while we can
environment in which outdoor climbing takes place.
ROADSIDE CRAG
B.G.E.
A CASE STUDY ON IMPACT AND CRAG CLOSURE
“Roadside was where most of us local climbers had our first climbing experience,” says Mike Driskell, senior land manager for the Red River Gorge Climber’s Coalition (RRGCC). “But many climbers were unaware it was on private property.” Then in 2011 the owners visited on what Driskell calls “the worst day possible.” Despite restrictions against new routes or fixed gear, homemade perma-draws hung on several routes. Every route either had multiple climbers on it or groups waiting. Dogs were running off leash, digging holes, and the smell of urine filled the air. The crag was closed, effective immediately. Subsequent offers by the RRGCC to provide funds and dialogue (including a $5,000 restoration grant) for climbing access were refused. As the RRGCC states, “Roadside is a failure on our part, and on the part of the climbing community. A failure to address the impact and potential destruction of a wonderful crag. A lesson we learned from and are endeavoring to make sure never happens again.”
THE CHANGES IN OUR SPORT are so proound
and celebrated because they oer myriad advantages to all climbers,
that, in the uture, climbing history may well be
regardless o background or location. While it was relatively easy
divided into B.G.E. (Beore the Gym Era) and
or climbers who originally learned outdoors to adapt to gyms, it’s a
afer. Beore gyms, most climbers were outdoors
much larger challenge or gym climbers to learn the nearly infinite
people, drawn to the adventure, solitude, and
spectrum o knowledge, technique, and behavior necessary to
renewal o wild nature. Typically, they were
master outdoor climbing. In short, there’s an education gap between
hikers and backpackers who learned to climb to
what people learn to climb saely indoors, and what they need to
broaden their experience. Beore gyms, many
learn to master outdoor climbing in all its variety.
climbers learned by accompanying older, more
Elaina Arenz, owner o New River Mountain Guides and a
experienced mentors who, over a period o years,
member o the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA),
showed their apprentices the ropes by imparting
guides in West Virginia’s New River Gorge and Red Rock outside
the entire canon o “climbing literacy,” that is
Las Vegas. “In Red Rock, especially at popular areas like the Black
holistic climbing knowledge, including saety and
Corridor, the Panty Wall, and the Gallery, we see large groups roll in,
technique, but with an emphasis on environmen-
and sometimes there are more dogs than people!” she says. “The
tal concerns, etiquette (social norms), and climb-
people are carrying on, having a great time at the expense o every-
ing traditions appropriate or the region.
one else, making communication difficult between other climbers
As Pete Ward, head o the UBC Pro Tour,
and their belayers. They’re excited to be out in nature, but they’re
points out, “The majority o climbers today
simply taking their indoor experience outside and not really thinking
are urbanites whose first significant experi-
about other users who might want to climb the route they’re on.”
ence in nature might well be the first time they
What’s normal or new climbers is a controlled indoor
try climbing outdoors, and the ‘mentor’ they
environment with a large group o riends an d, ofen, a blaring
accompany might be a riend whose only exper-
soundtrack. Having attained a high level o technical proficiency
tise is that he or she owns a rope and enough
indoors, many gym climbers assume they’re already experts. They
draws to equip a sport route.”
don’t realize that climbing 5.12 or bouldering V8 is only the first
Climbing gyms have been universally embraced
step in a lielong apprenticeship to Mother Nature.
SUSTAINABLE CLIMBING Go to climbing.com/sustainableto learn a ew key principles that all climbers, regardless o location, experience, or specialty, can practice in order to reduce crag impact, improve the public perception o climbers, and ensure that climbing is an activity that we all can enjoy or generations to come.
Pros & Conf licts GROWTH ISN’T ALL BAD. More climbers mean better gyms, better coaching,
more advanced gear, and more research on training, technique, and nutrition.
Kinder had received “the most intense learning experience I’ve ever known.” While developing a route near Lake Tahoe, Caliornia, he cut down two trees, one
Growth means increased political and economic clout. I t means exciting surges in
living and one dead, in order to make the route saer. They were junipers—protected
perormance. As pro climber Kitty Calhoun points out, “Climbing brings mean-
both by law and local climbing tradition. When the news hit the Internet, the public
ing and happiness to our lives, and a world ull o happier people is a good thing.”
condemnation was immediate and harsh. Kinder’s personal phone n umber was
But, as Brian Payst o the Carolina Climbers Coalition cautions, “Climbing could
published. He received a blitzkrieg o threats. Responding to the outcry, Kinder
become a victim o its own success.”
wrote on his blog, “I am deeply apologetic about what I did. I was wrong. I’m very
In act, the Access Fund considers the tidal wave o new and under-educated climbers to be the primary issue threatening c limbing access in the U.S. today. “Unless climbers as a community can ad dress the problem, we’re acing ever-
sorry, and now I’m using my blog, my voice, and my position in the climbing community to bring awareness to an important issue.” Afer the conerence Kinder wrote, “Most climbers I know understand you aren’t allowed to use a p ower drill in
increasing rules, regulations, fines, permitting, and closures,” says Access Fund
wilderness, don’t take a dump near water, and other crag etiquette, but that’s as
Executive Director Brady Robinson.
ar as it goes. We all just want to go climbing, and until recently, this has been my
In November 2013, the Access Fund sponsored a conerence in New York’s Shawangunks to discuss the issue and explore solutions. It was attended by land managers,
approach. One o the things I’ve learned is there are reasons we can go climbing in certain areas, and maintaining access requires conscious eorts by all.”
local climbing organizations, the gym industry, guides, outdoor educators, Leave No
So how can the climbing community join orces to bridge the mentor gap to
Trace, pro climbers Josh Levin and Joe Kinder, and one journalist—me. Perhaps more
create literate, aware, and inormed climbers capable o sustaining and preserving
than any other attendee, Kinder had personal skin in the game. A ew weeks earlier,
climbing or generations to come?
CLIMBING.COM
| 83
MODERN MENTEE HOW ONE NEW ENGLAND CLIMBER LEARNED THE OLD WAYS FROM AN EX-PAT RUSSIAN
When I first met Aleksey, I was only looking for another after-school activity. I had been to climbing gyms a handful of times and was intrigued enough to give the sport a try. Yet what really interested me, as a talkative 13-year-old from the Boston suburbs, was the strange Russian man who twice a day drove a van of kids to go rock climbing. They all seemed to be having so much fun. Aleksey Shuruyev came to the United States on August 9, 1995, in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union. Determined to build his own community in a faraway place, he founded the International Rock Climbing School in 2000. It began with three students and a leased 15-passenger van. By the time I joined in 2003, the school had two principal teams: Waimea and Alpina. The former was the competitive indoor team; the latter, a loosely defined program that served primarily as a medium for Aleksey to impart wisdom gleaned from a lifetime spent in the mountains. Topics included outdoor ethics, glacier skills, traditional, ice, and sport climbing, plus guitar playing and the occasional Russian language lesson. Weekend road trips to crags and mountains around New England were interspersed with tall tales from the Soviet military and stories of far-off places with names like Elbrus and Ushba. During my introductory class, I quickly found that I was no great talent on rock or plastic. I had little athletic experience outside of recreational soccer and made painfully slow progress. Sensing I had not yet caught the bug, Aleksey pulled me aside near the end of my first year and handed me two climbing magazines, instructing me to read them cover to cover. The next class, I was already blathering about Steve House’s solo of K7 and speed records on the Nose. Soon thereafter, Aleksey suggested I join Alpina. Alpina practices were unusual, irreverent, and challenging. The crew consisted of eight high schoolers, six boys and two girls. Twice a week, we gathered in a parking lot behind a department store in Newton, Massachusetts, where Aleksey would give us the day’s plan. The adjacent urban park contained a broken 30-foot slab of puddingstone, a small bouldering alcove, and a stagnant pond. In this uninspiring schoolroom, we learned to place gear and set up topropes. We practiced building Tyrolean traverses over dried riverbeds, ran laps around the pond in mountaineering boots, and mock–ice climbed on a recently deceased maple tree. On weekends we would drive up to New Hampshire’s White Mountains for multi-pitch or ice climbing, camping in summer heat and 0° cold snaps alike. Along the way, Aleksey watched us closely, pointing out messily tied bowlines and insisting that we learn to put on crampons without si tting down. I was enthralled. Each class felt like being handed a small piece of something very old and very precious. In my first year with the team, climbing ceased to be an activity and became the anchor around which I structured my identity. In all of our minds, Aleksey occupied a tripartite role of skilled coach, beloved friend, and feared demigod. He was at once the stern parent and smiling instigator. He climbed 5.13 sport routes and grade five alpine first ascents in Alaska’s Ruth Gorge. Over the four years I climbed with Alpina, he showed our posse how to heel hook, drive a piton, and build a Russian-style steam bath in the woods from scratch. His teaching could be frenetic and scattered, but it emphasized camaraderie and resourcefulness over all. Throughout high school, Aleksey’s one non-negotiable rule was that we obtain his approval before any major trip. In my final year with Alpina, a teammate and I intentionally neglected to mention our plan to climb a runout three-pitch 5.12a on Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire. As I rounded the crux lip to the second belay, I saw a familiar face on the adjacent route. I swore loudly. “Good morning, sunshine,” said Aleksey, almost expectantly. His face was furious yet proud. Aleksey always held a special reverence for rule breakers, a trait ingrained over his many years of cutting class to go to the mountains. Defying him was, in a sense, a sign that we had learned this, too. But he still lectured us. Aleksey’s climbing school, I understand now, is a means for him to create a microcosm of a cherished climbing tradition, one that puts community and culture at the heart of a sport. It is a school that teaches both rules and rule-breaking as skills of climbing and living. It provides a meaningful counterpoint to the strict risk-management rubrics of professional guiding and the new breed of gym-based teams that focus on building athletes. We were lucky. With climbing’s popularity exploding, it isn’t common to find someone with the patience or experience to impart both the hard and soft skills of the sport. For me, mentorship granted access to climbing not just as a skill, but as a tradition, with all the lore and myth and camaraderie that color it. Had I not found such a mentor, I may still have fallen in love with the sport of climbing. But I might have missed its true meaning—its stories, its tradition, its morals. All those intangibles that make one a real climber. —By Andrew Freeman After poset-grad climbing in Europe, Freeman will start an economics consulting job in Boston.
The New Mentors THE PLACE TO START is in the g yms. If you
wanted to reach the climbing community 20 years ago, your best option might have been to pin a message on the bulletin board at Camp 4. Today nearly all the climbers in the country pass through the gym system at some point. Gyms are the key to reaching the masses of new and under-educated climbers. “Our gyms are located along Utah’s Wasatch Front, so we have immediate proximity to all these wonderful outdoor resources,” says Jeff Pedersen, part-owner and director of Momentum climbing gyms. “Many of the individuals involved here—myself, business partners, routesetters, and coaches—came to the sport from the outdoors first, so I think when it comes to our youth programs (and we currently have 150 kids involved at our Sandy location alone), we feel strongly about providing solid mentorship regarding transitioning from gym to crag. For example, if one of our coaches takes his team to American Fork Canyon, the first thing he does is talk about how everyone’s expected to behave. “In our experience, first the kids get involved, and then the parents jump on board. There’s a general excitement, not just about climbing, but about being part of a new community. Most people want to fit in; they want to do things respectfully with regard to the outdoors and other people they’re sharing the cliff with. So we help kids and parents learn to do that.” To help educate climbers who are not team members, Momentum partners with a guide service to offer professional instruction for transitioning outdoors. They also post information on their website about etiquette, lowimpact methods, and local access issues. “If gym owners need a profit motive, which we do,” Pedersen says, “the way to approach this is to leverage the enthusiasm and excitement people tap into as they learn to climb. Let people know what they can do with these great skills they’ve learned indoors. All they need is to sign up for the Gym to Crag class we offer, in which we include low-impact principles and etiquette, along with technical safety instruction.” As Momentum demonstrates, the mentor system isn’t extinct—it’s evolving. It’s becoming formalized. Coaches and gym climbing teams are today’s most important new mentors. Along with pro climbers, they are the role models young climbers look up to.
Generation Next JOSH LEVIN IS A 19-YEAR-OLD pro climber rom Caliornia. He’s a three-time
stressing proper ethics. Contact local high schools, set up extracurricular climb-
national youth champion in sport climbing, 10-time national youth champion in
ing events. Sponsor outdoor events. Reach out to colleges; partner with outdoor
speed, and five-time national youth champion in bouldering. During the Access
clubs. Target young climbers coming to the gym. In my experience, younger
Fund conerence, he gave a presentation about the ways he successully engaged
climbers are much more willing to hear about and engage in proper outdoor eth-
young climbers in crag cleanups and trail building while still in high school.
ics than their older [18 to 25] counterparts.”
“Kids don’t get these things yet, but they will,” Levin said. “They just need to
Mike Morin, ormer outdoor recreation manager or Jeerson County Open
be told in the right way. Kids really do respect those who have more experience.
Space in Colorado (which includes the popular Front Range climbing destination
Tell us the proper way to behave and why. Stress the reasoning behind the words
Clear Creek Canyon), emphasized Josh’s recommendations.
so we can connect action to ethics.
“In my experience as a land manager, the best approach is to involve kids in
“My advice is that anyone who cares about this issue gets involved with youth climbing o all sorts. Find an afer-school program that encourage outdoor trips
experiential learning,” said Morin. “When we take kids out trail building, they continually have ‘aha’ moments, and they express that.”
Mirror, Mirror READING THIS, older climbers who have been
climbing much o their lives (such as mysel)
environmental awareness into their lives. Listening to Tracy Howard and Kate
The first step is to become more aware. “I remember helping develop a crag in Logan Canyon [Utah]
are probably thinking, Right on. Let’s just teach
Bullock, members o the Leave No Trace Road
that’s now quite popular, and I remember how beautiul it was
these young punks how to behave.
Team, discuss low-impact practices or climb-
when we first discovered it, with grass and wildflowers growing
ers at the conerence, I realized with some
everywhere,” said Doug Heinrich, vice president o product or
climbers,” says Robinson. “But that’s not the
embarrassment that there was more I could be
Black Diamond Equipment and a lielong climber. “But i you go
case. There are bad actors rom all eras. My own
doing. I’ve been pooping in the woods or more
there today, it’s all bare, compacted earth. Not a blade o grass or
generation provided its share o damage, but
than 30 years, smugly thinking I had it dialed,
flower in sight. That really bummed me out. But the point is, climb-
there were ewer o us, and we were more iso-
but they made me realize my approach could
ers don’t even know what’s been lost when they visit new areas.
lated. Today, participant numbers are increasing
use some updating.
Unless you see beore and afer photos, you have no idea what sort
“Some people think the problem is young
rapidly, and so are the negative impacts—so we all need to clean up our acts.”
In act, the entire conversation in the Gunks
o impact climbers cause. In act, i you go to Maple Canyon these
made me realize how easy it is to point fingers
days, the message you receive is that it’s alright to bring your dogs,
“Clearly there’s a certain amount o shock
and blame others, while blissully ignoring one’s
your loud music, and throw your stu everywhere, so it’s important
seeing a 14-year-old warm up on the project
own role. As Kinder pointed out, most o us just
that brands like Black Diamond help create a counter-message to
you’ve been working all summer,” adds Peder-
want to climb. Climbing is our escape rom the
mitigate those impacts.”
sen. “And i you have a lot o ego, you are im-
world’s problems. The last thing we want is to
The good news is that the education gap in climbing can be
mediately at odds with that kid. You’re going to
be conronted with the inconvenient truth that
bridged. But it’s going to require a concentrated eort on behal o
find things to criticize about his or her behavior
our beloved sport is changing, and we are all
all climbers—individuals, local climbing organizations, the Access
no matter how well behaved they are.”
going to have to change with it.
Fund and the American Alpine Club, the gym industry, guides,
Whatever your experience or conscientious-
Yes, there was a time, not so very long ago,
educators, parents, coaches, and major climbing brands like Black
ness level, we all have impact. Simply walking to
when there were ar ewer climbers and it
Diamond—working together to do so. It’s time to stop pointing
the crag adds to soil compaction and trail erosion.
was OK to bring your dog (and your neighbor’s
fingers. It’s not new climbers, gym rats, traddies, or boulderers
Each o us contributes to sanitation issues, noise,
dog) with you to the crag. Yes, there was a
causing the problems; it’s all o us. We’re all climbers, and we’re all
and over-crowding. Our very presence stresses
time when it didn’t really bother anyone i you
equally responsible, both or the problems and the solutions. //
wildlie. The emphasis here on educating young
brought your entire posse with you to boulder
climbers is not because they are unduly respon-
or siege-toprope. But in light o rising numbers,
sible, but because they are our greatest hope.
it’s time to take a look in the mirror and ask
Educators, land managers, and coaches all
ourselves: What can I personally do to reduce
suggest that kids ages 10 to 18 are the most
my own impact, and to make climbing a better
open to learning and the most likely to integrate
experience or everyone?
Chris Noble , a novice climber for more than 30 years, is hoping
to successfully complete his transition from the crag to the gym. His most recent book is Women Who Dare: North America’s Most Inspiring Women Climbers.
CLIMBING.COM
| 85
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THE FLOW
Should you let that rando belay you? BY KEVIN CORRIGAN
YOU’RE AT THE CRAG. You’re tied in. You’re ready to climb. At that very moment, your belayer’s breakfast burrito comes back with a vengeance. He runs off to take care of business (using LNT practices, of course). Across the crag, a lone climber spots you. He sprints at full speed, brandishing a belay device, and yelling, “Need a belay?” You do, but should you let this random person belay you?
ARE YOU WITH ANYONE ELSE WHO COULD BELAY YOU?
Yes. I’m with a large group of friends.
Assess his mental state. Does he smell like weed, is he wearing a Bob Marley T-shirt, or are there any other signs that he might be intoxicated?
He does have dreadlocks.
Work on your boulder project until your partner gets back.
Why are you even considering this? Climb with your friends.
He has gym belay cards dangling from his harness, but this seems like his first time outside.
He’s here every weekend lapping 5.14s.
We all had to start somewhere. Consider taking this rando under your wing. He could use a mentor.
Is this person Alex Honnold? I wish.
No.
Does he have his own gear?
He addressed me as “Guy with the rope.”
He’s as alert as a shot of espresso.
Have you ever seen this person before?
Multi-pitch trad
You’ve got to be kidding.
Yes. Toprope That’s awesome!
His harness shimmers with the light of 1,000 cams.
I know!
Sport
Climb with Alex Honnold.
88 | MAY 2014
What kind of route are we talking about here?
Get to know him and come back another day. Remember: Randos are just friends you don’t trust yet.
Give the rando a shot, but only after you’re confident he knows what he’s doing and you’ve agreed on belay commands.
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