Red Rocks Fall 2012

Last fall I went on a severely unplanned climbing trips to Red Rocks Nevada with professional principle Jim Gilchrist. In under a weeks time we managed to climb over 40 pitches of exceptional rock.  A month before the trip my wife and I bought a house. A fixer upper.  I dropped off the face of the earth cleaning, patching dry wall, and painting. I feared if I tried to leave the new house in its condemned state with a mound of projects for my wife to do on her own I  would be in the dog house faster then a Saint Bernard that ate it’s owners birthday cake then soiled her bed. 

All I knew about the trip was Jim and I were going to Red Rocks, (no not the amphitheater in Denver), we were taking my truck, I was bringing the gear and Jim was bringing the food.  The lack of planning was not my usual style. Usually I have every minute of a climbing trip packed with 66 seconds of activity.  

Jim has over 20 years of experience in Red Rocks.  I figured any of the gumbee climbs I might want to do Jim would have had already done.  I counted on him having a  plan.  When Jim arrived he had no less then  75 pounds of food in a marine cooler including a 2 day old slaughtered cow from his family’s ranch. Even if the climbing wasn’t good we were going to eat well.  

Jim is a greatly respected School Principle molding the lives of Aspen’s youth. Yet somehow he was able to take a week off during the heart of the school year. He left behind his gang of teachers working together like a well oiled machine in his absence. Climbing bums and School Principles go together like lobster and milk shake but Jim incredibly makes it work. I can just imagine Jim disciplining some delinquent for cutting class when all he can think about is cutting school himself to race up Independent Pass for an after school climbing burn. 

When I mentioned Epinephrine an incredibly popular 5.9 with 5 lower pitches of wide chimney climbing I could tell Jim fought the urge to roll his eyes.  He had already done the climb a half dozen times.  He said something like “Epi’s not very hard, maybe hard if it’s your first 5.9 ever.” I appreciated his honesty and steering us towards a more intriguing and challenging climb, Texanephrine. Texanepherine (5.10d) is a 1500 foot 14 pitch link up of several different routes on the popular Black Velvet Wall.

Mountainproject.com

Parts of Texanpherine feel like a journey through climbing history. A couple pitches have some of the most defunct rusty hard wear I have ever seen.  Luckily through most these sections the climbing is reasonable. The aged bolts make the climbing feel a little spicy and exciting. 

Nine Pitches up where the route connects into the upper Pitches of Epinephrine we found ourselves behind Luis from Columbia and Andy from Cuba. Little did we know this duo would provide us companionship and entertainment for the next 10 hours.  Luis had a thick ascent and robust voice and he continuously called out "Annddeeeeee, Annddeeeee where are you? Anndeeeee how are you? Annddeeee Anndee Andee Andee?”  Luis reminded me of this groundhog YouTube video my wife had shown me. Soon I saw Luis as a 180lb rodent with pearl white teeth, furry and capped with a climbing helmet that I wanted to gag. 

The pair had a few multipitch climbing blunders. Tangled ropes, miss communications, leaders forgetting to swap gear at belays and sloppy transitions.  Jim and I soon found ourselves several pitches from the top of the Black Velvet Wall cloaked in darkness. The climbing from here on out was relaxed actually quit fun by headlamp. Jim dubbed it “Scary walking,” not really climbing. It had been a couple hours since I finished off my water bladder my eyes were itchy with sand and my mouth was dry, I was ready to be done. Little did I know we had a 7 hour descent in front of us. Yes 7 hour descent. A descent that should of only taken us 2 hours under normal circumstances.

Luis and Andy were laying in darkness when we next saw them. Jim asked “Do you guys have head lamps?” I eyed a pair of cheap foam sandals hanging from Luis’s harness.  Luis said “Are you kidding me man,we carried all this shit up here of course we have headlamps.” With that he pushed a button on his forehead. His head lamp was about as efficient as tapping a lightening bug to your forehead.  He then handed the sandals to Andy who used medical tape to secure them to his feet.  Descending from the top of the Black Velvet Wall is very similar to descending the SOB trail into the Black Canyon. Sandals wouldn’t be my first  choice for descent shoes. 

Just to give you an idea of Andy's descent shoes.

Jim had done the descent from the Black Velvet Wall several times and the darkness didn’t seem to phase him. He confidently started following rock cairns into the night. Luis and Andy trotted behind. Andy’s sandals and their dim headlamps didn’t seem to slow them down.  Bright stairs and a full moon illuminated the darkness.  After a half and hour the cairns Jim were following petered out and we struggled to find a trail.  We were left scratching our heads.  Little cairn went in all directions and lead one after another into no man's land. At one point while we combed the formation for a descent trail Andy disappeared for half and hour. Luis was a mess screaming "Andeeeeee, Andeeeeeee, Andeeeeeee," into the night. We all feared Andy in his slippery sandals had stumbled off the top of the formation and fell to his death. Suddenly there was a pathetic flicker of light as Andy turned his dying head lamp. It turned out Andy was just tired of being lost and had decided to take a nap without telling us. Luis excited to see Andy turned to Jim and I saying "At least we are together," in his think Spanish ascent. Hours went by before we found the correct descent. Arriving back at the truck I was shocked when I checked the time. 01:30am this can’t be right. It had taken us 7 hours to walk down from the top of the Black Velvet Wall. Luckily gas station in the Vegas area are not only open all night but sell cold Guinness all night.

Other climbs included: Triassic Sands, Sand Felipe, Ixthlan, Matzoland TR, Night Crawler, Armatron, Only the Good Die Young and the first 4 pitches of the Rainbow Wall's Original Route.

2012 Summit for Life Results

Doug Folk and Me at the Top

Last Saturday’s Summit for Life Race at Aspen Mountain was a lot of fun. An after dark start was a nice twist to your typical daytime race start. The race was timed perfectly with a large winter storm that dumped 15 inches of much needed snow on Aspen Mountain.  It was beautiful skinning up the mountain with large snow flakes falling. The scene in front of each racer was illuminated by headlamp.

My goal for the race was to finish in under and hour. The race ended up taking me 1 hour 2 minutes and 27 seconds a 10^th place overall finish out of over 390 racers. The race was a good kick in the pants to train a little harder leading up to the 2013 US Ski Mountaineering National Championships in Jackson Hole WY.

Time to Sharpen the Ice Tools

Lots of new and great climbing went down this fall in the Narrows just outside of Carbondale Colorado. A long list of excellent climbs have been added to the area. Some of them like Maximis are a full 40 meters long and mind blowing good. Can’t wait for the new guide book to come out highlighting the Crystal River Valley’s new climbs. I think locals and visitors alike will be thrilled by the Narrows unique setting along the Crystal River and new excellent routes. 

This fall we climbed rock all the way into the first week of December 2012.  Here are a few pictures from recent projects in the Narrows area. Most of the following pictures of of Gabe Collins. He was one of the few climbers I could convince to come up to the new zones as temperatures usually dipped below freezing, icy rain drizzled and snow flakes fell this fall.

Gabe follows first ascent of Knuckledragger.

Gabe enters Diaphoresis final crack after difficult face climbing.

DR cleaning the Simian Sounds Wall.

Gabe follows the Mohel's Mazaltov in The Gash.

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Diaphoresis

Wild Stems on Spunk Monkey.

The great white Spunk Monkey.

More Diaphoresis.

Gabe low on Knuckledragger.

Diaphoresis in the left and Spunk Monkey on the right. Crystal River in the background.

Just past the roof crux on Kunckledragger.

Diaphoresis arete.

Pulling hard moves on the Mohel's Mavaltov.

Sweet Simian Sounds Wall Perch.

John on first ascent of Fasting on Ramadon in The Gash.

7th Annual Summit for Life Event Climbs Aspen Mountain at Night

Don’t miss Saturday December 8ths Summit for Life race up Aspen Mountain Ski Resort to benefit the Chris Klug Foundation. The Chris Klug foundation raises money and awareness for organ and tissue donation.  For us Ski Mountaineer Racing dorks this is a great opportunity to kick start our lungs early in the season.  Every time I skin up Aspen Mountain I am reminded how relentless a hill can be.  A couple of my coworkers from Valley View Hospital are going to be competing in the race including Doug Folk who just completed his first Iron Man.  For more information on the race and Chris Klug Foundation visit http://summitforlife.org. Thanks to all of those who have already sponsored me with donations to The Summit for Life Event.

Bottom to Top Aspen Mountain gains 3267 feet of elevation. Not exactly a climb one want to do off the couch. To get ready for the event I thought I should start skinning  up Aspen Mountain as much as possible. My first skin up was Monday November 26^th 2012. I have always held onto the foolish notion that I could keep training through any cold, sickness or injury. It has taken me over decade to learn intense cardiovascular activity is not a cold remedy.

On the 26^th Aaron and I skinned up Aspen Mountain sucking  in frigid cold air as snow gun blew icy snow that plastered our faces.  I was sick as a dog and struggled to keep up with Aaron. My throat burned like a lava tube.  At the Sundeck we turned south and  ventured out Richman Ridge for an hour. I knew it was a bad sign when we saw a Nissan Xtera at the top of the mountain.  (There was so little snow people could still drive up the backside of the mountain.)  Aaron and I had to constantly remove our skis and walk through snowless patches along the  ridge.  A mile out or so  we ran into an elk herd.  These guys were a little high in elevation for this time of year.  Needless to say the outing was supposed to knock my cold out of my system but instead it grounded me at home the next day.

Aaron searches for snow on a very dry Richmond Ridge.

A week latter I was 90% recovered.  I decided to skin up Aspen mountain again on Monday December 3^rd 2012. Rain in Carbondale turned into ice and then snow as my wife and I drove up Valley. Aspen Mountain had gotten 2 new inches of snow.  A handful of people and I skinned up.at a tortoise pace.  As I reached the base of Kleenex Corner I noticed a guy taking some pictures of a snow dusted Aspen below. It turns out the early morning uphill enthusiast was taking a picture of me that ended up on the front page of the Aspen Daily News! Things were finally starting to look wintery on the mountain.  The couple inches over the manmade base was actually enjoyable skiing.  We’ll see if the precipitation in the next couple days gets winter back on track.  

Sunlight a GO, kind of

For all you uphill ski junkies that can't wait to fight gravity and feel the early season thigh burn the uphill skiing at Sunlight just out side of Glenwood Spring Colorado is not to bad.  The downhill turns get about a D- so be careful. I managed a couple laps in via Sun King. The views and having the mountain to myself were priceless.

A Quote from Gaston Rébuffat

" In this modern age, very little remains that is real. Night has been banished, so have the cold, the wind and the stars. They have all been neutralized: the rhythm of life itself is obscured. Everything goes so fast and makes so much noise, and men hurry by without heeding the grass by the roadside, its colour, its smell and the way it shimmers when the wind caresses it. What a strange encounter then is that between man and the high places of his planet! Up there he is surrounded by the silence of forgetfulness. If there is a slope of snow steep as a glass window, he climbs it, leaving behind him a strange trail. If there is a rock perfect as an obelisk, he defies gravity and proves that he can get up anywhere."

 From Starlight and Storms

Photo by Glen Denny

The Back Door Approach to Forbidden Peak

The National Park Service limits overnight access to vulnerable areas as a way of reducing human impact on our pristine wild lands. I’m all about keeping our wild places wild by reducing foot traffic and tent platforms until these limitation interfere with my climbing plans (Just kidding). The restrictions do present climbers with limited time an added challenge. When my friends Ben and Spruce and I headed to the North Cascades to Climb the West Ridge of Forbidden Peak the overnight use limitations proved to be a pain in the butt. This inconvenience lead us off the typical path to the summit of  Forbidden Peak, where we found a great out of the way adventure.

On July 19th 2012, Ben, Spruce and I left Seattle in a light rain and overcast grey skies steaming coffee in hand. This was not the best climbing weather by Colorado standards but we were fueled with optimism. Our goal was to hike into Boston Basin and climb the West Ridge of Forbidden Peak the next day. Both Boston Basin and Forbidden Peak are extremely popular destinations. The West Ridge is one of North America’s 50 Classic Climbs per Steck & Roper making the peak insanely popular and crowded. As we raced excitedly towards the Marblemount Washington Ranger Station, the gateway to the North Cascades National Park, I had no idea getting permits to stay in Boston Basin was more unlikely then taking Cindy Crawford to prom.

With a massive smile on his face, the greenback Ranger at the desk told us no permits for Boston Basin remained. My heart sank. He told us eagerly about other great hikes in the park. Hike, are you kidding me? I don’t hike. I walk to the start of a rock climb. But that’s not hiking. This wasn’t just a great opportunity to climb a classic but was my traditional birthday climb. Hiking was not going to get the better part of me.

Ben in a moment of genius noticed the adjacent Torment Basin might offer us a “back door,” into Boston Basin. The topographical map showed a ridge separating the two Basins. “There has got to be a weakness in the ridge that will allow us into Boston Basin,” I thought. No one had a permit for Torment Basin. Game on. This was our way to sneak into Boston Basin and get the job done.

As the newbie ranger scribbled our names onto a permit for Torment Basin a senior ranger with hands on his hips marched over to us. He had been ease dropping. “What are you boys up to?” he asked.

I explained “We’re going to hike up Torment Basin, spend the night and then cross the ridge into Boston Basin the next morning and climb Forbidden Peak.”

Wheels turned in the Ranger’s head, he thought we were up to no good, “There’s no trail up Torment Basin.”

“It looks pretty straight forward.” I said pointing at the map.

He then said “You can’t cross that ridge into Boston Basin, the cornice is still to big.” He pulled out a recent hiker’s photo and pointed to a random ridge.”

“I guess we’ll have to cut through the cornice,” I joked.

The ranger had no immediate response. He seemed frustrated and just got right to the point “You guys are not allowed to camp in Boston Basin,” he said firmly.

“Sir we are aware of this, we will stay in Torment tonight.” I replied.

Now he got down to business, “We are going to have a climbing ranger up there and if he finds you guys camped in Boston Basin there are going to be fines and consequences.”

We assured the skeptical Ranger we would not poach Boston Basin and hurried out of the office into the pouring rain. The rainy weather, the unfamiliar approach, possible crowds on the climb, did I mention rainy weather. These were all billboard signs telling us to retreat but we pushed on.

We found what we thought was Torment Basin and started bush wacking up the fall line. It was like nothing I had ever seen. First of all I didn’t know a forest could grow on such a steep hillside. The rain lubricated the forest floor making it slicker then snot. We desperately climbed through old growth conifers sprinkled with slick loose talus fields and impassable thickets of Box Elder and stinging Devils Club. The going was relentless. Our hands and legs stung with each swipe of Devils Club. The humidity was almost debilitating. I felt like a wet towel that needed ringing out. We hiked mostly in silent misery probably because throwing in the towel was at the tip of everyone’s tongue. I wouldn’t be surprised if the last person to have walked into Torment Basin was Fred Becky himself.

After hours of hiking we gained a ridge. To be honest we had been hiking in such a thick fog nobody had any idea if we were on the right ridge connecting Torment and Boston Basin. The ridge offered a breath of fresh air and was substantially easier then fighting our way through the thick unrelenting forest. As we inched further up the ridge day light was disappearing. We had been on the move for over 5 hours and we had no idea where we were. All of a sudden the ridge ended one more step would have been into thick grey fog supported by nothingness. We were on a pinnacle with cliff to the right, left and straight ahead. I was sure we were defeated and would be hiking back down Torment Basin in the morning unsuccessful.

My stupor was broken when Ben yelled “There’s webbing down here.” To our right there was an old rap station on the Boston Basin side. A sense of relief filled me. This must be it a way into Boston Basin. In the thick fog and rain we had no idea where a rappel would bring us. It would of been reckless to try the rappel so we decided to bivy on the ridge and see what the morning brought.

We were in our wet sleeping bags and bivy sacks by midnight. I laid contorted on a small irregular patch of wet ground close to the crest of the ridge thinking there is no way I am going to fall asleep. The next thing I knew my alarm was going off, it was 3:45am. My head was near the crest of the ridge so I looked over the cliff edge in the direction of Boston Basin. There was a little light in the sky and the thick fog was breaking. Below me I could see the snow field of a glacier. I ripped myself out of my sleeping bags more excited then 6 year old on Christmas morning. The guys groaned and stirred out of there

warm nooks. We stuffed soggy down sleeping bags into out packs. We were ready in minutes.

We rappelled down over 250 feet of broken granite cliff to the snowfields of Boston Basin below. After a quick transition into crampons we were charging across the snow field just below Torment Peak. The West Ridge of Forbidden Peak is narrow and can easily become bottle necked with climbing parties. Do to our handicapped start we were already feeling behind the curves so we raced across the snow. We decided to drop all non essential climbing gear on a flat swath of glacier to be collected after the climb. This let us pick up the pace. I had another motivation for moving fast. The next morning at 6:30 am I was leaving from Seattle on a 6 Day Mt Baker Trip. I had to get back to the city, dry stuff, grocery shop, pack and maybe sleep.

The stellar granite climbing of Forbidden is protected by a 400 foot steep snow couloir. I dreaded having to pitch out the couloir or do running belays with snow pickets. I knew this would really slow us down. Fortunately the couloir had a great boot pack (Steps) with firm cramponable snow. It took us only minutes to ascend the couloir. A short pitch of blocky granite in a gully above the couloir lead to the ridge proper. After hours in the shadows the sun hit our chilled bodies for the first time in a day, the warmth was incredivble.  Once on the ridge we were overwhelmed by breath taking views and energized by the narrow ridge in front of us still to be climbed.

We easily lead most of the ridge. I lead out full 60 meter lengths of rope until the rope would literally tug me to stop. At that point I would build a belay. I then brought Ben and Spruce in simultaneously to the belay spot. We did this until the angle of the ridge leveled off just a few pitches before the summit. From this point we simultaneously climbed to the summit roped up with a few pieces of protection here and there.

At no time is the climbing on Forbidden’s West Ridge very challenging. In fact I did the whole thing in a pair of mountaineering boots. Spruce had on a pair of approach shoes. Approach shoes are probably the best choice for security of foot placements and comfort. Although the climbing is not strenuous the rock quality is superb and the exposure on each side of the ridge makes the climbing exhilarating. The West Ridge offered a little of everything, Cascade weather, tortuous approach, glacier travel, steep snow climbing and stellar alpine granite.