Spearfish Canyon & Moonlight Ridge Video

Video of assorted climbs in both places. 

Some More Photos Of Our Trip

(If you see a photo in the slide show you want bigger, just double click on it.)

This Is Mostly For The Warden

The Boyz voted me in as secretary so I had to document - in photographs as well as in writing - every climb we did. (Since I was secretary & I had to wear a skirt, it made climbing particularly hard for me.)

Yesterday I did not have an opportunity to list the climbs we did in Rushmore for Ward. So here they are in order (I think.)

Reef One

• "Way Cool Junior"
• "Old Number 8"

Toy Boat

• "Full Speed Ahead - lead & free solo"
• "Damn the Torpedoes"
• Unnamed 5.9 climb on to the right of "Full Speed Ahead"
• "Putt Putt Toot Toot"

Toy Boat 2

• Unnamed route left of "Life Vest Made of Lead"
• "Unknown"

Cavity

• "Tranquil Evening"

Borneo

• "Pelican's Dyke"
• "Bolts for Bob"

Then it was about 1:30 and we had to leave.

Return From Black Hills

 

Got home about 12AM. John and Ward are still driving to their homes. So while they're still driving, I'll put some photos up.

 

 

"Pakastani Route" in Spearfish Canyon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advance base camp at Mt Rushmore 

 

 

 

 

 

Moonlight Ridge in the Needles

 

 

 

 

Summit of "Beside the Point" Moonlight Ridge done trad style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rapping down "The Point" Moonlight Ridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ward approaching summit of "Tricouni Nail" in Ten Pins area of the Needles and unknown climber standing on top of "Super Pin."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John approaching summit of "Tent Peg" in Ten Pin area. 

QD, Johnny Mac and The Warden "Strike" 10 Pins!

Over the roar of motorcycles this tale was told to me by a very excited Needles climber named Richard. He spun a yarn of folks from the Black Hill Climbers Coalition gathered in the Ten Pins to set top ropes (good thing too, I hear the leads are truely frightening) Our fellas climbed a lot of routes; Hairy Pin, Super Pin, Ten Peg, End Pin, Tee to the Ball. They also climbed Nantucket Sleigh Ride on Moby Dick. Descriptions of all these routes at can be found here.

Yes, there was lead climbing too!
The Warden Locked up Tricouni Nail, a Needles Classic, of which he can be very proud. That's it in the photo.
Mountain Project says this about Simul-rap required in this climb.
This is one of the most classic climbs in the Black Hills, and the descent is a notorious though completely secure simulrappel from the top. No anchors exist on the summit, so the rope must be layed in between two of the horns with one climber rappeling off each side simultaneously. Be sure to maintain good communication with your partner while doing this because you end on opposite sides of the spire. Local climbers harvest booty almost daily from people unfamiliar with this technique.

I'm not sure what it means to "harvest booty" but I bet Ward would want to do that too. Ward was a very bold belayer as well. His climber told him "If I fall between the first and second bolt, you jump off the 20 foot rock, We will both get scraped up but we will both live" Jeez. That's a dynamic belay!

After all that excitement, the threesome went for a refreshing swim in Sylvan Lake, then found Hill City closed to mere autos. You shudda taken the bikes, guys!

The Word from The Black Hills

I'm just sayin' If I was a cop and I saw the Warden, Johnny Mac and Quick Draw zooming down the highway, I would want my dog to sniff their car too. The officer was just doing his job.

The boys gave Spearfish a good thrashing and QD flashed a 10b, He was pretty excited about it. I think it's a good idea that he keeps the keys in his pocket, I'm not sure it guarantees a good belay though, but if he needs to think so, ok!

So they are off to the free campground. It's only illegal if you get caught.

Red Wing Unplugged

Here's video of our rappel clinic on Tuesday. I didn't have time to edit it, so it's just raw footage. (Link is here if player below doesn't work.)

Happiness Is A Good Prusik

 

Some photos of our multi-pitch, rappel/aid climbing clinic at Red Wing on Tuesday. It was "chaos" to use Ron's term. But fun. And not so hot. (Temperature-wise, I mean. Because, of course, everyone there is a super hot climber.)

More photos here.

 

 

 

 

Ron preparing to rap down from the 1st ascent of the 2nd pitch of the 3rd buttress on the 4th bluff on the 29th of July (sorry I ran out of sequential numbers.)

Our Rappelling Class Outline

This is a very basic outline in PDF for our practice on Tuesday at Red Wing.

Rappel & Multi Pitch Training Tuesday at RW

Because of Mel-lo's and Sunbeam's upcoming trip, we're going to practice some of the techniques they'll need to climb at the Needles. So let's meet this Tuesday afternoon at Red Wing starting about 3ish. (We'll do some climbing too.)

Here's what you should bring - besides your regular climbing stuff:

• Some accessory cord - 5mm to 7mm about 2 to 3 feet is plenty
• 2 locking biners
• A daisy chain or personal anchor system
• An enthusiastic willingness to learn (blah, blah, blah)

I have all of the above (except the enthusiastic willingness to learn) so don't worry if you haven't bought that stuff yet - but remember: it's always better to get more stuff.

Read about what we'll practice here and here.  You'll need to know how to tie a prussik knot. Go here for that.

(Ron, we'll be there late, so get your butt out there!)

PS Apparently "rappel" is French and "abseil" is German. We'll use the French. Vive le France!

We're # 2!

Hooray for us. We saw some nice rocks, they were laying down so we climbed them with no hands. Photos are on my other blog if you want to see. Women on the Edge Blog The only photos I have right now are of a big party... I was busy paddling during the race!! I'll post some exciting race photos as I get them. As for now enjoy the cute-ness of you climbing buds.

Dragon Boat Race Update

Lisa and Mel-lo's team came in 2nd place. Big whitecaps and rollers; no capsizes. 2nd place time was 2:27.5 (just under 2 1/2 minutes.) Hooray for them.

Volcano Lightning

The Chaitén volcano in Chile belched forth a 40,000-foot-tall ash plume touching off lightning and a monthlong eruption.

Lots more photos here.

epiphany!

I never had an Idea of what I wanted to do exactly. I had a great idea today. I was thinking about climbing (go figure) and I thought about trad gear and who designs it. I researched job opportunities for Black Diamond and found one that fits my mechanical engineering major. Quality Assurance Engineer. I emailed Black Diamond about internship opportunities today and am excited.

Quality Assurance QA ENGINEER

apply for this job

POSITION SUMMARY:
Conduct statistical and graphical analysis of test data. Conduct product testing. Analyze test data, determine product and component strength ratings. Provide technical support for the Quality Assurance, Engineering, Product Design & Development, Sewing, PP&L, and Manufacturing Departments. Define, implement, and maintain quality records systems for test, design, and product rating documents.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

Required: Bachelors degree in Engineering (Mechanical or Materials Science).
Preferred: Bachelors degree in one of above with advanced statistical analysis knowledge.

Work experience:

Required: Internships or major classwork focused on testing materials & statistical analysis.
Preferred: 1 year post-graduate experience testing materials & statistical analysis.

SKILLS & GENERAL EXPERIENCE:
Required: General knowledge of strength of materials & failure analysis. General database, word processing, and spreadsheet knowledge. Ability to read and implement technical procedures and government regulations. Ability to design test fixtures and relevant test procedures. Ability to collect and present data, identify trends, and make written & verbal reports on conclusions.

Where is everybody?

We had a great time in Red Wing yesterday, had the whole place to ourselves. It made me wonder where everyone is! I like to look at the world map on the blog. Mike and I play a game called "Where am I now?" He travels, he asks. I guess. I got the message yesterday. I think he thought I would never guess this! I wouldn't.

I’m officially in Bum Fu@# China!
Unbelievable….
-m

There are other dots on the map that I know who they are. Israel is my nephew PJ, who would be eager and welcome to climb with us if he would get his lanky self back here. Colorado! Jake and Levi. I know more, but how about you?

Mel and I are of to Grand Marais to Race Dragon Boats this weekend.Click here for race coverage on Saturday Our team is Women on the Edge. Our goal is to not create an emergency rescue situation. I will try to send updates through QD. It's a sprint accross the harbor about 4 minutes. But I'm always spent after about 2 minutes. It's fun! more later.