Joshua Tree Jan 2014

Marianna, Richie, Joey, Billy and I just finished three days climbing in J Tree. (As the cognoscenti say.) A boulderer's paradise. A slab climber's mecca. We had perfect weather - highs in the 60s and sun. It reminds me of Black Hills climbing a lot - runout, friction, foot and balance intensive. Here's a 3 minute recap.

Joshua Tree

A teaser of our trip to Joshua Tree.


Joshua Tree Day 2 Jan 2014 from rgsletten on Vimeo.

Team Marianna In Red Rocks

Paul, Joey, Richie and Marianna are out at Red Rocks climbing now. I know they've done several routes, including "Cat in the Hat", "Great Red Book," and "Crimson Chrysalis." Here they are on "Great Red Book." Look at those big, strong, muscular men. I'm sure Marianna guided them to the top.

Ice Monkey Dyno

Yesterday, at Franklin Bridge, Peter invented the "Ice Monkey Dyno." Here is a short version of him demonstrating.



Here is a longer version of us climbing yesterday including a failed "Ice Monkey Death Dyno."

Stuck In A Chimney

Mark Smiley got stuck in a chimney in Yosemite. Is this what Santa fears?

Climbing At Franklin

Peter & I went climbing today at Franklin. Ice is a little thin, but there's a great icicle. Here's Peter rapping down on our new bolts.

 Here's Peter rainbowing up the back of the icicle.

And here's what happens when a chuck of ice hits your face.

Chamois Outrunning An Avalanche

It's tough enough being a goat in the mountains, what with the bad weather and steep cliffs. (Plus, these goats need to know French.) Then along comes an avalanche. Some of these goats don't run away quickly enough and are caught in the avalanche. But....just watch.

Some New Bolts

Today we added 4 new bolts at Franklin bridge. Two in the middle of the span and two over to the left. There is also a 3rd set over on the right, on the concrete ledge of the bridge. The one we added in the middle, is up above the creek so it should never be covered in snow or ice. The one we added on the left, will probably be covered by snow but shouldn't get iced over.

Shopping Is Inherently Dangerous

Always wear a helmet when you shop so if you get into a brawl, like this one, your head will be protected.

Our Trad Climbing Clinic

This was probably the last clinic I'll teach this year on rock. There were 3 climbers last week at Taylors and we had a blast. It was so slow at Taylors, that I let Buddy off the leash and he did his own independent tour of the potholes. What a good dog!


(You know, I realized today I now have enough trad gear so 3 people can set anchors and do leads using my gear simultaneously. And I just ordered some more gear. Can't have enough gear.)

Climbing Yosemite Royal Arches With An 11-Year-Old

The kid was mostly taken up the route by the Smileys, but still, it's kinda fun to watch.

Making Some New Routes

Ron, Peter and I went to Arcola today to bolt some new routes. We only got one route finished; on a bridge pier right on the river. It's been top roped, not done on lead yet. 5.9ish? Some photos below.

"The Pain Closet"

A trip report of the Smileys climbing the Steck-Salathe route on Sentinel Rock in Yosemite. Here's a photo of him trying to get through the "Narrows." This is the section of the climb they called "the pain closet." He didn't make it on his own; his wife used a 3:1 pulley system to help get him through the tightest spot.

Here's a description of this spot on mountainproject:

"One must drop one's feet and figure out some way to make upwards progress in a squeeze chimney using only body parts from the hips up. I managed this by using the back of my head on the back wall to pull my body upwards while simultaneously exhaling, then taking a deep breath to hold that position while I groped for a higher purchase with the back of my head. Hey, it worked. Gear for inside The Narrows really isn't necessary, but a fist-size cam (#3.5 Camalot/#4 C4) works well to protect the initial moves. For most of this you feel pretty alone with only the sound of your own gasping, and the tinkling sound of the hangers on the old aid bolts blowing freely in the wind on the outside of the slot, for company. Perhaps you'll wish you were out there hanging from those bolts, but persevere -- eventually things will start going a little more quickly."

Biking In Sedona

Why would anyone want to climb here, when you can bike? The town is overrun with mountain bikers. They've built tunnels under the highway so the mountain bikers don't have to cross the road. It's quite something. Oh, and there's climbing around here too.

What You Can Do With A Rope & Some Mechanical Advantage

We had our first early morning clinic at VEM on Saturday. Here I am raising Liz and Marianna with a 9:1 pulley system.