Ward was there even with the duct tape around his cracked ribs. Ouch, that hurts! I saw these people there too.
In order, left to right, Hannah completing a new lead out of the pit, Mike leading over the arch, Meagan doing a new PPM route, and Jake clipping. Lisa and I made a rare appearance too.
And your outdoor climbing gear ready. I know it seems like it’ll be forever – and a day! – until it’s reasonably warm enough to climb outside. But…look at the March historical highs at this link: we can go from a high of 59 in early March to 71 by mid March. (Of course, it can also go from –32 to –10 in the same time frame, but this is a happy, upbeat posting so we’ll ignore the negatives, right?) So lift up your chin, polish your outdoor climbing shoes, clean the battery acid off your rope, and find that new piece of gear you were going to give me last year. Keep your outdoor pack near the door, because you could get a red alert “let’s go outdoors tomorrow” message pretty soon.
(For those of you new to summer, those are short-sleeved shirts. No parkas, no mittens. Amazing, huh?)
Making another showing was Aaron 2 who is climbing very well considering he just recently had his shoulder re-attached to his body (I think I have that right.)
Amy showed up to climb hard. And led 2 new routes out of the pit.
And I hung around marveling at the strength and technique of the WRers.
Click mountain name for pictures + information.
Mt. Athabasca
3491m - beginner to advanced - ice faces and mixed routes.
Mt. Andromeda
3450m - intermediate to very advanced - ice faces and hard mixed routes.
Mt. Temple
3543m - beginner to very advanced - scramble, 5.7 ridge, or 5.10 Face.
Mt. Edith Cavell
3363m - intermediate but high fitness level - long 5.5 ridge climb.
Castle Mountain
2766m - beginner to advanced - 5.4 to 5.9 rock climbs.
Mt. Louis
2682m - intermediate to advanced - 5.7 to 5.10 rock climbs.
Mt. Robson
3954m - advanced to very advanced - huge alpine ice faces & mixed ridges.
Mt. Victoria
3464m - beginner to intermediate - ridge and glacier climbs.
Mt. Fay
3234m - intermediate - ice face or ridge climb.
Mt. Cline
3361m - beginner to very advanced - alpine ridges and rock faces.
“This mother of four and grandmother of four has already proven her spirit and strength in the mountains with over 15 climbs on four continents since being introduced to the sport only five years ago.”
Looks like we missed it this year, maybe next year gals.
er. Here is the link
I don't think I need one of these, but I might! The Gear Junkie: The Sqivvy
By STEPHEN REGENOLD
It looks like an outhouse made of nylon. Or else it’s a strange tent for tall people. But the Sqivvy, a new shelter product from Logan, Utah, isn’t a tent at all. You can’t comfortably sleep in it. Pop it open and stake it out, and you’ll notice an oversight rendering the shelter all but obsolete for camping: There is no roof.
The Sqivvy, which costs $89.95 and is sold at www.sqivvy.com, is marketed as a “portable pop-up privacy shelter.” Its genesis was with a trail runner who needed to change clothes in a public place. He was sick of pulling on shorts while hiding in his car. “I had a eureka moment,” said Paul Vaslet, company founder. Here is the rest of the review
Who was there? Hey, it’s easier to list who wasn’t there. Let’s see, the Queen of England was not there nor was Mel – both of whom were sick. And, the Pope was not there. PPM (Pink Pants Mike) was there putting up lots of new, fun routes. A1.0, A2.0 were there. Radio Liz was there. Pamela was there. Bret, Amy, Lisa and I were there. And, most importantly, Jeff was there with his home made scones.
Article here about the Cathedral Spires in the Black Hills.
“Custer State Park has been working to combat the death of trees from the Pine Beetle. The removal of these trees has resulted in some huge changes in the Cathedral Spires areas. The views are incredible. All this change will result in changes in use from hikers and climbers. In the bottom of all the gullies between the Spires you can walk on stumps and rounds without touching the ground (until you trip and fall in the slash). All the user trails leading to the gullies are gone, and will need to be recreated. This is a great chance for the coalition to create sustainable climber trails for future generations to use. We will need to come up with a plan and gain permission from Custer State Park to clear some user trails. We could turn this into a springtime Adopt a Trail Project with the Access Fund. If you get a chance to get out there hiking and or climbing, think about what might make the most sense. I will take suggestions and coordinate an effort this spring. I also know that Custer State Park is considering doing some work on the old Cathedral Spires hiking trail, and might be looking for volunteer labor. So contact me at the email address below if you are interested in helping. I just wanted to make people aware of what is going on in our climbing areas.”
It's a marvel hidden away in quiet neighborhood in Eagan. Mike has many more holds than he has walls but he is working on that. As you can see the is a 20 degree wall and a 45 degree wall. I was a-scared about the 45 but I think I did ok, I made some big moves to the rafters, some of which were successful, humbling.
Lots of TUFF new routes for Lisa and me. We got to climb two brand new, unrated climbs. One very hard, the other not so. Here are Dr. Mike and Hesam doing some hard leads out of the pit. Photos here.
At Anza Borrego Park, there were all of these great boulders lying around. But apparently the people who lived here a few hundred years ago only used them to grind up grain. Here's one of the morteros (mortars) they used by my shoe. And look at the great boulders they left alone. 
painting. Here I am wondering if there is still some room on the rock to spray paint a greeting.
Please. Lisa found this list of running and climbing songs. Agree? Disagree? I’m constantly searching for songs I’ve not heard when I make my climbing videos/slide shows. So, if you’re bold, you can post them right here on this site. Or, if you’re less bold, you can put them in the comments section. Or, if you’re quite shy, you can email me your list. Send it to richard sletten at gmail . com (Of course, you have to remove the spaces and put that pesky ‘@’ sign in.) I don’t mind any type of music as long as it’s more upbeat than downbeat and won’t embarrass most grandmothers. (You know what I’m saying.)
After summiting the Grand this year, they are looking for more of a challenge. Maybe in 2010 they can do the Cathedral Traverse.
Today at VE, Lisa was doing a route where she did a static crossover under cling crimper move. Next time you see her, ask her to demonstrate it.
climbing dog at this link.
This is a short video showing how they re-inflated a flat in the extreme cold. Keep this in mind when you get a flat in MN in the winter.
Lisa got me a new digital app for keeping track of all my climbs. This app is in the 4F1T format. (4 fingers & 1 thumb.) Here’s my first use of it:
Here’s the finished product:
Are any of you using a digital method for recording your climbs? (BTW, my DRD – Digital Recording Device – is monogrammed and has my initials as well as the letters in my name. So there!)
Here’s a report on the Colorado Mountain Club’s High Altitude Mountaineering School. The area they went to learn about ice climbing, looks a lot like the Brick Yards. Maybe we should start the “Almost at Sea Level Mountaineering School.”
I've been asked by Bruce to email you concerning the proposed changes at Mount Rushmore. There are currently 3 projects on the drawing boards that will impact us as climbers.
#1) Wrinkled Rock- Project Phase 1: The parking lot will be expanded to accommodate around 35 cars. Primitive camping will still be allowed (people had to put up a fight to keep that there), and raised tent pads will be built. There will be a new climbers Kiosk with general info, maps and sign in. Rules for Rushmore and the Forest Service will be standardized and possibly an ADA accessible trail from the parking lot up to South Seas area.
Phase 2 Calls for more trail improvements around the south seas including belay pads in areas such as Toy Boat and an actual trail be built along the Rushmore and Forest Service boundary where the current trail that is commonly used to access Mt Baldy is.
Phase 3 Calls for trail improvements in the Chopping Block area and a staircase like trail that heads up towards Evergreen.
This is a Forest Service project and is in the works... dirt could start moving as early as October. You can reach the Forest Service office at 605-673-9200
#2) The proposed spur trail linking the Mickelson Trail (near Hill City) to Mount Rushmore area...has a high probability of coming near Wrinkled rock trail head (possibly affecting the parking and camping there) and running up the old highway in front of many climbing areas (possibly resulting in user conflicts if its not properly managed). If you would like to talk to someone about this, Wyss Associates in Rapid City is handling the project right now and are accepting comments till Feb 20. Their website is currently down, but should be back up soon... and I believe there is more info there...but I called them today and they said you can email Matt, the project manager at Mattf@wyssassociats.com
#3) Yellow Wolf Trail --- Which I know much less about as I have not been to the Informational Meetings that have been being held in the area since last Dec. the project is to create a trail system of 1 to several loops in around the Rushmore area. Here are several links that have more info.
http://www.keloland.com/
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ comments for this project CLOSE ON SUNDAY and I think they can be emailed to the park service via their website. All of these projects will likely bring more non climbers into the areas where we climb. The trail projects will mostly work to reduce erosion and allow easier access to the climbing areas. Please learn more about these proposed projects and comment on them. IF you chose not to be involved, please do not whine about the outcome. "Democracy is ruled by the people who participate." Of course, if you do comment, please be nice and professional. If anyone knows more details on these projects and would like to share it with the rest of us, please email me at sylvan@sylvanrocks.com I personally feel these are great projects for the Forest Service, Mount Rushmore and for the area, and hope that they are able to happen. I do hope that they are properly funded and that no shortcuts are taken in construction that will later result in erosion or maintenance issues. One last thing: As many of you know, the Forest Service is currently working on a new forest wide Travel Management Plan that will change the forest from being open to motorized vehicles everywhere (even off roads) unless posted..... to only open on designated routes. At least one of the potential alternatives for this project may affect access to the Victoria Canyon climbing area by permanently closing some of the roads. The draft for this project is expected to be open for comments sometime later this month and will be found at: |
Quoting from their web site:
“Saturday, January 24th 2009, a hundred athletes faced off in the ultimate bouldering competition. After eight hours, three male, and three female climbers were left, gazing at a wall with holds and taped up money....lot's of money.”
When asked about how to improve his climbing, Abe said:
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”
(I made up the part about improving his climbing, but I think that’s a real quote of his. It sure is good climbing advice.) Another quote of his that’s good advice for training to climb:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Now here’s a famous quote of his I just do not find true – at least for me. Maybe some of you agree with him. (If you do, please keep it to yourself.)
“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.”
5.10D,
5.11A
5.11B
As well as doing some overhanging roof leads. Way to go Mel.
“…today the sport is almost mainstream.”
Listen and you’ll figure it out. Mike, Lisa and Aaron at VE today.(Click on the arrows on bottom right to make it bigger.)
And directly above, this is what El Capitan in Yosemite looks like (click for bigger image.)
Image from www.geoeye.com Copyright © 2009 GeoEye
