The City of Rocks

It's wild to think that The City was a landmark on the California Trail, and at one time may have been quite a busy city. Rumor has it gold is buried under some of the rock outcrops. Today, you need to reserve a campsite on the weekend and if you climb in the inner city you may not see anyone.


The City south of the Slabbage Patch formation.


Aaron enjoying Wheat Thin 5.7, a mega classic on Elephant Rock.


The Slabbage Patch has two cool 10a sport climbs on them, both put up by Canadian road-trippers in the late 80's. The better one, I Can't Believe It, has sweet patina face climbing with a nice roof at the top.


Our warm up on the third day, Tow Away Zone 5.10a. Aaron cruised it after I had my foot slip off and my blue Alien worked mighty fine!


The Animal Cracker formation has a huge flake which runs over half the face. The climb on the edge of it has everything from fingers to off-width.


Start of Animal Cracker 5.10a. Just above the finger crack the flake gets really thin, and sounds a little spooky. Then you get perfect hands to off-width which ends in a roof.


The overlooked Harvest 5.10d.


I was hoping the stance I'm going to would be a bit better, as the stemming section leads to the crux overlap, which is really steep.


Placing way too much gear was a mistake in this section, even though small stoppers and blue and green Aliens don't inspire great confidence. The insecure finger jams and slabby feet soon were too much for me to hold onto. After the fingers section there is a good hand jam before the wall gets back towards vertical and is easier. However, an awkward OW slot with a .75 inch crack in the back leads to the top. After a fall and one hang I got to the top happy to have tried a harder trad line.


On our last day we went to Elephant rock again and climbed Rye Crisp 5.8, overheard at the crag to be, "one of the best 5.8's in the Western Universe.", and Just Say No 5.9, 5 bolts in a 100 feet. Then we finished up a half day at the King on the Throne's, Stan's Roof. A short, but stout 5.10.

Summer is on it's way in the Tetons

Joshua Tree California

As fall came on last year I started to think of Yosemite. While looking for partners I tried to convince my friend Leif to come along. Yosemite came and went without Leif being able to join me. This spring it looked like the tables had turned on me. Leif was heading to Joshua Tree National Park, and I was starting training to work for the Census. With only days left before spring break in Jackson Hole, where the town disappears and elk run wild, I had to join Leif on his trip to J-Tree. The six days in between training was plenty of time to go to California, especially with an $89 plane ticket. The 16 hour blast down there and the return travel from LA to Jackson was well worth the four days of climbing.


Leif walking up Double Cross 5.7+ on our first day. We had a mellow warm up of about a grade a day. My most desperate lead of the trip was my first trad lead of the season on a stout 5.8 to the left of Double Cross.


After our late night arrival, and brutally windy night at Jumbo Rocks Campground our first night, we found a sweet place at the Ryan Campground for the rest of our stay.


The next day we started off with a Walk on the Wild Side, a 5.7+, two pitch, slab climb. The spaced nature of the bolts, all placed on lead in J-Tree tradition, made for added excitement to the relatively mellow 5.7 grade.


There is something about slab that just doesn't feel solid, maybe it's the feeling you always have of slowly sliding down.


We picked it up a bit in the afternoon and climbed Touch and Go 5.9, and the classic Pope's Crack 5.9 in the Echo wall area. The main West face is one of my favorite looking walls at J-Tree.


In the desert I think everything is out to get you, especially the cactus. Who knows how the bat got into that situation.


The classic, but too short, Room to Schroom. It took us a while to get our bearings and find this climb, but after and hour and half of wondering we did it.


Even further back in the Wonderland of Rocks area, we found the non-obvious entrance to the Big Horn Mating Grotto, home to 4 star, 5.10 crack climbs. Our first route in the Grotto was the Dangling Woo Li Master. The intimidating route was all I hoped it would be, and left me laughing aloud as I made the anchor at the top, not even believing how good it was.


Next, Leif led Caught Inside on a Big Set. Steep crack climbing with cool footwork then a straight in hand crack, pretty ideal.


Three routes were enough for us for the day and on the way out we got a nice sunset.


On our last day we were tired, and decided to take a walk back to the Wonderland to avoid the crowds on a Saturday. We went out to Lenticular Dome and climbed Mental Physics 5.7+.


For our last climb of the trip was the Red Obelisk. We found the tower wandering around and had to climb it. The bottom of the 70 foot tower has a window through the rock you can look to the other side!


One of the cooler formations we saw in the Wonderland was the Freak Brothers Dome. A route called I Can't Believe its a Girdle traverses all three brothers.


Easter Sunday left me with a flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake, then the drive to Jackson.

Spring Break?

With it snowing 6 feet in the past week and a half, you can't help but think of spring. Sunny and 70 degrees sounds pretty good right now.

















Joshua Tree, California has that.






















Walk on the Wild Side 5.7+

Northwest Face of Half Dome

Going to Lander, Wyoming twice has really made me start thinking about rock climbing.



Big wall climbing is one thing you sure are going to remember. Last fall Neil and I climbed the NW Face of Half Dome wall style. It reminds you that going fast and light is right, as hauling takes more time than climbing. And we went to Yosemite to go climbing.



We arrived in Yosemite later than planned, due to tire issues. It was looking like rain. We had planned to climb Serenity Crack as soon as we got there. At the base of the route a party of four was looking ready to climb. Every belay, as far as the eye could see, had people at them. Welcome to Yosemite in fall.


Serenity Crack the day we actually got to climb it. We went in the afternoon and had most of the route to ourselves.


Somehow we found ourselves the next day hiking up to the base of Half Dome planning to climb the first three pitches, sleep at the base, climb to the top of pitch 17 the next day, bivy, and top out the day after.


At the base of the route we got to meet the resident bear.


The first few pitches went pretty quick. I wasn't able to get the first pitch free (5.10c), but we were fixed to the top of pitch three, and back down at sunset. Just in time to watch somebody in a wing suit base jump from the summit. Dusk is their favorite time to jump so the rangers can't catch them.





The Real Deal Neil


Looking West towards El Cap and North Dome


The start of pitch 6, 5.9


Pitch 9


The Robbin's Traverse pitch 10


Pitch 12, great face and crack climbing


The crux 5.9 section of pitch 12. You are standing on the tip of a thin flake and have to step left to the crack. Very exposed.

We had to bivy at the top of pitch 12, after we fixed to the top of pitch 14. We had wanted to make the top of pitch 17, but the chimney pitches in the dark seems worse than the narrow bivy. We rapped with leaving the haul bag and most of our gear at out high point. Only with our sleeping bags, puffy coats, and food we managed a night of light drizzle.


We woke at 5:30am to cloudy skies we had lost the starry sky much earlier in the night. When it got light it kinda looked better to the west, but Tuolumne was getting rain. At that point on a wall that big, up is better than down.


It cleared up to be a fine day. Looking down pitch 16, 5.9.


The Double Crack, pitch 17. A straight in 5.9 hand crack, one of my favorite.


Neil getting to the far side of the Thank God Ledge.


Top out at sunset. A little late, as we planned to do the 8 mile decent trail that day. We ended up hiking well into the dark and just slept out in the woods a few miles from Curry Village.




Mount Watkins. Had an failed attempt on this face later in my trip.