Red Rocks Day Deux

 

Here is our group hiking to the first day of climbing at Red Rocks. It was horrible weather: 70 degrees, no wind and sunny.

Here are Killer,Pete, Eric and Natalie finishing off a short, fun trad lead near the “Panty Wall.”

 

 

This is “Chris Sharma” Eric leading a very hard 11.D near the “Panty Wall” called “Viagra Falls.” (I call him “Chris” because he flashed this climb so easily. And because he’s wearing Chris Sharma’s shirt. Of course, Eric has not been climbing in three weeks because of his shoulder. So he is “weak.”) Dawson led this climb first, which is hard, not only because of the moves, but because of the fall potential. Dawson, Eric and Pete got to the top.

Here are Anika and Siu-on leading on “Panty Wall.”

Red Rocks

We managed to get seats together on the plane – in the very last row, without a window. So we went a little crazy.

  

Then we went climbing.

And we found a perfect gnome home for Killer.

Vegas Here We Come

The weather they have in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Looks like the weather will be good.

 

Next 5 Days

• Tonight

  Mar 2

  Mainly clearLo 43°

• Tomorrow

  Mar 3

  Warmer with bright sunshine65°Lo 47°

  more

• Sunday

  Mar 4

  Bright sunshine70°Lo 49°

  more

• Monday

  Mar 5

  Mostly sunny, nice and warm74°Lo 50°

  more

Climbing Is Hard

“Climbing is hard” is the message I got from this video of Chris Sharma being interviewed by a “Mindful Living Ambassador.”(Man, I wish I were an ambassador of something. Maybe the “Ambassador of Snark?”)

Letting Go: Chris Sharma and Mark Coleman from Prana Living on Vimeo.

Tower Landing

Outside of Moab, Utah are the famous Fisher Towers. In this video, the parachute jumper flies from a cliff to land on Kingfisher Tower.

“..base jumper Mario Richards leaped off a cliff called Dragon’s Nest outside Moab, sailed to the top of the King Fisher, the biggest of the Fisher Towers, high-fived some waiting friends, and then jumped off the King to land in the valley below. He’s believed to be the first to pull it off, though certainly many have dreamed about it….

If you’re paying attention, you’ll catch a glimpse of Ancient Art, the route climbed by Katie Brown and Alex Honnold in the semi-infamous Citibank commercial.”

King of the mountain from No Fly Zone on Vimeo.

It’s Just Like Climbing A Ladder

“Ice” climbing competition at an Alaskan gym is literally like climbing a ladder. And a tree. It looks like there were a lot of ice tools flying around.

Time Lapse Journey Thru The Southwest

Makes me want to visit.

The Wild Heart - A Journey through the Southwest Wilderness from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

New 5.15a Route In Nevada

Arrow Canyon in southern Nevada contains this cave climb which recently saw its first ascent. 5.15a?

Le Reve - Jonathan Siegrist from MAXIM DYNAMIC ROPES on Vimeo.

“My Doctor Prescribed Climbing For Me”

She has an inflammatory spinal disease. So she climbs for physical therapy.

Climbing as Therapy with Whitney Boland – presented by Sterling Rope from sterling rope on Vimeo.

Some More Climbs For Us At Red Rocks

I haven’t been to this area, but I like the description and it seems like a good place for us to get our feet wet (so to speak) on our trad leads.

“Willow Springs is located roughly seven miles along the loop road. It is host to several single pitch traditional climbs of very good quality. The approaches are generally short and easy.”

 

I think this is the perfect climb for me. It has my name all over it.

“Tent Bound In Devil’s Bay”

A group of climbers attempts new routes in Newfoundland and encounters several days of bad weather. And then the sun comes out and they climb. Great scenery of a fairly remote part of North America. (I am always a little uncomfortable when travelers who volunteer to go into the wilderness use terms like “suffering.”  There are lots of people in the world who are suffering – none of those people volunteer for it.)

“Though Newfoundland is relatively close to Mark Synnott's home in upstate New Hampshire, in reality, it would be easier to reach some Himalayan basecamps than get to Devil's Bay. Five days of travel by car and boat into this land forgotten by modern time, the team finally arrived only to discover adverse conditions and suffering.”

Rules Of Climbing Booty

I’ve never understood the debates about whether or not gear you find on climbing routes is booty. I’ve always figured that anything I leave behind will probably be taken/picked up/cleaned up by someone else. So my expectation is anything I leave will be gone the next time I get there.

That’s a view not held by many climbers. Here’s a set of rules for booty discussed in a climbing forum. Some of them are:

“If you leave it for any reason other than assisting in a rescue it is booty as soon as you leave the parking lot unless you make it known that you will be back the next day to retrieve it.
if you plan on getting it the next day BE THERE BY 6:00AM! Don’t show up at 4:00pm and start crying when you can’t find your shwagg.

Stuff you find in the parking lot is Not booty. It is lost and found material.
Any and All gear that is left or misplaced in the course of a rescue including the victims gear is NOT booty and will be collected and returned to rightful owners.

Asking for your gear back is bad form and shows a lack of self respect.
If the finder of your shwag offers to return it you may accept but if you do you will lose face. Buying them a six pack or case will help but in some cases still not completely erase the honor debt. If they offer , you refuse and they offer again and you accept it’s much better but you should still buy them a drink and you still lost face just not as much face.”

Ice Climbing On Phone Poles

Near a ski resort in B.C., they’ve built an ice climb from phone poles.

“The ice wall is made from telephone poles and cross braced wood with a fire hose on top to spray fresh water on the outside creating a new surface almost daily. The thick blue ice is more than a metre thick in places.
The water is sprayed differently on each side of the structure to create easy and hard routes. Ongena says there are 19 routes to the top but it changes daily depending on how the water flows and freezes.”

Anchoring At Red Rocks

 I did not attend the anchoring clinic last week, but I did buy some gear to help us anchor our ropes when we go to Red Rocks. I cannot carry this stuff onto the plane, so I will need one of you to carry it in your checked luggage. Do any of you have room for this?

Red Rocks

I have been watching the Las Vegas meetup.com climbers’ group to see what trips they are doing. This weekend, they plan on climbing at the Great Red Book Wall for “some great sport moderates.” Sounds like a place we need to check out. The long range forecast looks very promising – next weekend temps in the 70s.