Elk Hunting in Colorado

So, back in October I went on a 10 day, Colorado elk hunt with my Dad and a couple of his buddies. Let me tell you a story.

Unlike deer hunting on the East Coast, where there are so many deer that the DEC is trying everything in their power to kill as many deer as possible and it is quite easy to get a deer tag, the opportunity to draw an elk tag is limited to say the least. The way it works is basically a lottery system. You apply for a tag, your name is put in a hat, and X amount of people are given a tag every year. If you don't draw one, you get a preference point for next year. So, my Dad had a couple of preference points for this year, and he drew a tag. Out of seven hunters in our camp, my Dad was the only one with a tag. I didn't draw one, so I went as an observer.

We hunted an area that had been the site of a forest fire in 2002. The Hayman Fire, as it is known as, burned 138,000 acres (roughly a quarter of the size of Rhode Island), and caused over $40 million worth of damage. It was later discovered that arson was the cause. (wikipedia.org)

Typical of the burn site. You look for miles and miles in any direction and see this type of landscape.

One of the positives of the fire is that it created an absurd amount of food and cover for wild game. (As we know, forest fires serve as a natural rejuvenator of soil and habitat.) This place is a mecca for mule deer hunting. The place is crawling with them. Instead of old growth pine, with little bio-diversity, there is now acres of food.

That said, it's hard to figure out where to go and hunt. Every place looks like the place before it. Usually, with elk hunting, you can use their bugle as a compass. Every evening the herd, guided by the dominant bull elk, will leave higher elevation where the temps are cooler, and head down the mountain for food and water. As the sun starts to rise in the late morning, they head back up the mountain to sleep through the hottest part of the day. The dominant bull will bugle to let his girlies know that it's time to move. Usually you can pattern elk, and set up on them, either going up, or coming down. This year, they weren't bugling.

Sunrise in the burn area.

I got to see lots of pretty wildlife though. And some cool sunrises. And the mule deer hunters where doing great. By the third or fourth day all six mule deer tags had been filled.

Mule deer hunters.

And then it snowed.

The weather had been really warm up until then. It would start out around 25 degrees in the morning, pushing all the way up to the mid-70s by late afternoon. But then it snowed 4 or 5 inches and for a couple of days it didn't get very warm.

There is actually an elk in this photo. Can you spot him?

Finally we saw an elk! The first one of the trip that wasn't seen from a car and the second to last day of hunting. We ended up getting a shot at him, but it was probably 375 yards away, and we didn't hit him. But at least one saw one. And because there was snow on the ground, we ended up tracking him for the rest of the day. We never saw him again, but man do they have some serious endurance. A brawny beast built to climb mountains for sure.

Just after the shot.

We woke up on the last day of the hunt at the usual time. Round about 4:45. I didn't have much hope, but at least it would be good to savor one last day hiking around at 8,000 feet elevation.

We went back to the same place that we saw the elk the day before. More or less a pipe dream of a chance. But, it was the only thing we had to go on. We sat there, shivering for a while, when, up over the hill...I saw an elk! Looking at it closer, through some binoculars, We realized it was actually an enormous mule deer. Just a massive brute. Substantially bigger than anything we had seen so far. But it wasn't an elk.

Soon after that, our buddies called us on our radio, and said that there had been a siting of a herd just a few ridges over, and that they were headed our way. We high-tailed it to the top of the nearest ridge to get a bird's eye view of the suspected area. It was a great spot to look. We were probably covering 50 square miles of cover, hoping to see a herd of elk somewhere.

After some time, I thought I saw what could be a group of a dozen or so elk. They could have also been deer though, as they were really far away. My dad never saw them, but, we cut the distance in half, trying to get a better look. We got to the next ridge and couldn't see anything. Whatever was there, was now gone.

At this point, it was probably around, lets say 10 or 10:30. No sign of anything. We sat, and told stories, ate lunch, periodically looking through our binos to see if we could spot anything. This method hadn't worked all week, but, we had nothing better to do and it was turning out to be a great day weather-wise.

Around noon, I saw a little speck of brown a mile and a half a way. "It's either a boulder or an elk," I mentioned casually. We had been through that same game of boulder/elk spottings all week, and so I was pretty sure it was a boulder. And then the boulder moved it's neck, showing some antlers in the process. We quickly packed up lunch, and took off, following the different drainages and ridges, keeping out of site of our boulder/elk.

When we closed the distance by more than half, we got a chance to look through the binoculars again. It was an elk. And definitely a bull elk. He was bedded down on top of a ridge where he could see most everything in front of him. We figured out a strategy to get closer, following a stream bed a ways. If our plan played out correctly, we would pop up within a couple hundred yards of him, without him ever knowing we were there.

We got within 400 yards and saw him again, ducked back down, and cut the distance in half. We then sneaked up a little further, belly-crawling to the top of a flat boulder -- a perfect rest to shoot from. But he was gone. No where to be seen. My dad left me with the gun on the boulder, headed back to the last place we saw him, to try and see if we were just at a bad angle or something. A minute later, he stood up. He started walking towards me. Just ahead of him was an opening. I clicked the safety off. Bang!

Bang!.....Bang!.

I was certain I hit him. I saw him almost fall forward. And then he ran out of site. My Dad came up. "I hit him, I said. And he's big." We headed over to see how the blood trail looked, hoping he was lying dead just of the ridge.

Then he got up again. "Shoooot!" my Dad said. Bang. "Again!" Bang! "Again!" Bang! And off he went over the next ridge.

We spent the next two hours, walking on egg-shells trying to find him. There was a steady stream of blood, but not a lot of it, and based on the tracks it looked like he was dragging a leg. We were down to just three bullets lefts, so I handed the gun back to my dad. "Your turn," I said.

An hour or so into the tracking, we started to see some ravens circling. That was a good sign. Maybe he bedded down, and we'd get another chance to put him down for good. And then there he was! Hobbling over the next ridge. My dad scrambled to get to a rest and shoot, but never got the chance. He handed my the gun, and I sprinted to the last place we saw him, trying to catch him in the open again. Nothing but charred pine trunks to be seen though.

Another hour of arduous tracking, and my dad spotted him in some tall grass in the bottom of a creek, bedded down. He scrambled again to get a shot, couldn't find a rest and shot at him off-hand. Missed! The elk got up, and tried to hobble away again. My Dad finally found a rest (which was a crumbling burnt tree stump), pulled the trigger, and it was down. Dead. And so the epic started.

Success. A big 6x6.

Rocky Mountain Elk generally weigh around 700 pounds. And we had been tracking this thing for miles. We had a rough idea where we were, but we had to somehow get this thing out of the woods, butchered and frozen in less than 24 hours. We had some work to do. The plan was simple. I take out all the unnecessary gear, get the car, and rally troops to come help pack it out. Meanwhile, my Dad would stay and de-bone the elk, getting it ready to pack out.

Four hours later, after a heinous walk back to the car with no water, and then a hike back into the elk, I returned with our buddy Justin. The three of us carried out a hind-quarter, the loins and tenderloins, and the head and cape. We left, hanging in trees, the other three quarters, plus the neck. We would return in the morning to retrieve the rest.

Definitely an epic last day, and an awesome vacation. And now, we have lots and lots of red meat to keep us through the winter.

A few more Photos from Pete's Camera

These are all photos from Silver Lake. The climbs at Potter Mountain to be exact. Enjoy!


Me on the first pitch of the Brazillian
Oh what fun! The blind no. 5 Camalot placement is always fun.

It takes great gear. See?

It's getting harder...

Phew, got it.

Come on up Rich! Notice the neatly trimmed pine above me?
Tom leading Stop Making Sense. You can see the first pitch of the Brazillian in the background.
My new Tusk rope with my old Tusker Beer shirt. They are both yellow.
Shangri-la in all its glory. If you look, you can see several climbers on a second pitch on the right-hand side.
A bunch of SLU kids getting together for dinner after a sick day of climbing. Uh-huh.

Photos from Smiling the Hard Way

Me pulling the 5.10bR section.
Setting up for the crux. I got beta from Devin that I wouldn't need any more gear after that horizontal. So I left everything there for him! Notice the CCK crack to the left to me. And the Vulture in the background...he knows what's about to happen.
Half way through the crux....ahhhh

Slipping...ah! Gotta get that rope out from under my leg!
And the rest is history. I didn't get my leg out from under the rope, and I took a nice big fall. I was definitely smiling the hard way after that. What a great route.

(Thanks Pete for snapping the photos.)

A Return to the Gunks

I decided to do my American Mountain Guide's Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) course. Taking the SPI course enables one to professionally guide clients at the single pitch level. Plus, it will also teach me some things about rescuing that I don't know, but that Rich and Matt do both know.

So I came up a day early. Wouldn't you?

The weather yesterday was awesome. Probably like 60 degrees, sunny (but not oppressive), and the rock here is still beautiful. We went straight to Smiling the Hard Way which is right next to CCK. It goes at 5.11c, with a 10b/c R before the crux. Definitely a very committing lead up beautifully clean sparkling white rock.

I handled the lower roof crux no problem, only hesitating for a moment. After you get past that section there is a wonderful little horizontal with a great rest. I plugged in three cams for a little 'nest of courage,' and rested for a while, sussing out the next moves. As far as I could see, there were no holds to speak of (I later confirmed this), so I figured it must be a feet thing. I did the old hand-foot-match, stood up using tiny dime edge crimps, and was now totally committed, with the gear at my feet.

And then Devin told me I was too far left. I was in the nevernever world of 'oh shit!' Other than once decent left hand, there wasn't really anything to hold on to. I tried smearing and laybacking, desperately trying to reach the horizontal that was juuuuust out of reach. And then the smear started to un-smear...slid...POP. I was off.

Luckily, when you fall, things slow down a bit. I had time to think several thoughts. First I thought, "Oh great, this is gonna be big." Then I thought, "Oh great, the rope is behind my leg." And then, "I'm turning upside down. It's cool to be parallel to the ground." And finally, "Here comes the cliff, better put my hands out."

All that in a fraction of a second. I ended up being completely upside down thanks to that rope-behind-the-leg thing. Luckily I didn't smack my dome on the rock. A few minor scrapes, and a little soreness in the fingers from catching myself, but other than that, unscathed.

We spent the rest of the day doing some more relaxed climbing. Devin tried to lead back up and fininsh the route after that, but took several falls. Then I went back up and bailed on CCK, which I'm not ashamed of in the slightest. After that we climbed Falled on Account of Strain and did some bouldering. I finished on the Buddha which I'm glad to see I can still do.

And now it's raining again (damnit) but the SPI course runs regardless. Should be ok methinks.

(pictures to come tonight from Smiling...)

The other day at Potter...

...Matt and I went up to try Leroy Brown again. Well, I was trying it again -- Matt was trying it for the first time. And like most of this season, it was raining a little. And it had been wet the night before. But, we went out anyway.

It just so happens that because there is a little roof that hangs over the crack for at least the first 60 feet, that first 60 feet stays dry (for the most part). So we set to projecting the route.

Matt got on first as I had been there before. Fresh perspective and all. The first 15 feet are, technically speaking, the hardest. Matt worked out the gear placements and some of the beta, but could seem to get around the first little bulge. After he came down, I went up to give it a try. After some tomfoolery, sassy highsteps, and double horizontal hand/fist jamming, the crux was unlocked.

After the crux, which is a traverse crux, the angle of the line changes. No longer a traverse, but a 45 degree overhung hand-to-finger crack. I guess I should be fare and say that it's really only a 45 degree overhang if you lay it back. If you jam, it's only slightly overhung. That said, there are times that you have to lay it back.

We made it another 20 feet or so up the crack, but the rain started to come down harder, and the crack started to seep a little more. At this point the hold were definitely wet, which is really too bad because we were starting to make some serious progress on the thing.

It will definitely go down soon. I just hope it doesn't happen while I'm away. Maybe it will be a next-summer-send.

The climbing season approaches its end...

It's raining again. What else is new. This entire summer has done nothing but rain. I'm not complaining. I'm not upset about it. I mean, there has been lots of climbing to be had. At Silver Lake, I have first ascent credits on 14 pitches of climbing. Not to mention I'm climbing some of the harder routes that I've ever climbed before, so can't really hate that.

But it's raining. And I'm not climbing today. And, as it stands, today and tomorrow are the potentially some of the last days of rock climbing I'll have this year -- tonight I'm leaving for New Paltz to take my SPI course. After that, I'm heading to my parents house to meet up with my Dad for a 2 week elk hunt in Colorado. By the time I'm back from that, it will be late October. I hear it gets cold in the Daks that time of year...

...But don't worry. If anything happens at Silver Lake, Rich said he would do some posting here. I would ask both Matt and Rich to do the posting, but Matt is already one post behind. In fact, I'll do that post right now too.

Afternoon Delight

The weather was good today. That's a change.

And to celebrate, Rich and I went out to the Chapel Pond Slab (some 800 feet tall granite boulder). We did two highballs there. The first was Empress 5.5, 835 feet and the second was The Regular Route 5.5 765 feet. Making a total of 1610 feet of technical rock climbing in a day. By far the most I've ever done. And the climbing up part of it probably took a grand total of 30 minutes (the climbing down was the hardest part!)

We also learned the descents today. We decided to try both the northern gully and the southern. We went down the southern first -- which was sopping wet, technical and manky. That's why we decided to try both. We met a friend of Colin's at the top of the cliff (Bill) after the second lap, and he advised us on the northern decent, which was way better.

What an awesome piece of granite. Woo hoo!

After that we went to PJ's for some twofer's and had ourselves some celebration brew.

A new route...but first...

So, things have been happening again. I've gotten a little behind here, so let me talk about yesterday first and then I'll tell you about the new route.

First and foremost, we saw snow for the first time on Whiteface. The mountain is covered all the way to mid-station. Woah. The weather here has been spotty, but since it is also so localized, we have been able to climb pretty much every day.

Yesterday Rich, Colin and I went to Poko. Rich had never been before so we started with the Sting, the classic crack line just next to Gamesmanship. He crushed it, no problems. Colin followed to warm up for Karmic Kickback which we had done last week. He wanted to lead it, having sent the other 5.11b dihedral (God's Grace) just next to it. Karmic is awesome. So sustained...all the way to the top. He got up past the eighth bolt, just one bolt away from sending, and just barely came off. Definitely a great effort though.

After that, Colin had to leave, so Rich and I decided to get some mileage in and planned on simul-climbing The Snake 5.4, 380 feet. We simuled the first 280 feet (awesome) until I ran out of slings. I belayed at a tree ledge, and spotted a sweet looking line of bolts. It looked doable, so I went for it. Such a fun climb. It felt like Kentucky sport climbing. Steep rock, good holds for the most part, sustained, with a definite crux. Really great. It even had a series of moves that involved three separate underclings. 'Dats what I'm talkin' 'bout. Turns out, we climbed the third pitch of Pandemonium (5.10b). Highly recommended pitch.

As for the new route. The day before yesterday, the weather forecast was bad. Rich had some life errands to run, and Colin had the morning off, so we went for a quick session at Beaver Brook. I climbed the last route I hadn't done (Good to the Last Drop), which was excellent, and Colin climbed Save a Tree...

When I got back to the house, Rich was already back from the DMV/bank. "Let's go up to Potter and do Leroy," Rich said. "Done," I said. It was already 2:30 in the afternoon at that point, so we needed to hussle. Furthermore, we had hear that this route was haaard, so we brought all the aid gear. Rich hadn't aided anything before, and it had been a while since we did and FAing, so we were both super psyched to head up there.

Leroy Brown is a crack climb in the "Ghetto" of Potter Mountain Cliff. It follows a right slanting crack system that also forms a little roof. Sustained, no feet, steep, sometimes good jams, sometimes not -- and a hard crux low. We only did one 100 foot pitch, but there is definitely more above. The 100 feet that we did do was awesome!

Aiding is slow. And we didn't get started until late. We had planned on Rich aiding and cleaning, and then I would try to second it cleanly. First of all, the climbing was too hard for me to onsight (but it will definitely go soon), and by the time Rich had finished, it was dark. Like, I put my headlamp on while Rich was still climbing. So by the time I was climbing, I couldn't see much. It's gonna be sick.

The Bird Dogs

My Dad came up on Monday with the bird dogs in anticipation for their nine days of glory. Every year since the 1960s, starting with my grandfather, my family has gone on an annual hunt in Croghan, New York. Mostly a hunt for grouse and woodcock, but occasionally we find some turkeys, duck, pheasants, etc. Anyways, the dogs are getting a bit older now, and consequently they are out of shape. So, they same up here before there hunt, to run a bit.

To get ready for their arrival, I cooked all day on Monday. And boy did I have a blast doing it. I made two loafs of bread to start -- a banana nut bread and a spiced butternut squash bread with nuts and raisins in it. The squash bread was supposed to be a pumpkin bread, but apparently they had a bad crop of pumpkins this year, and there was no pumpkin puree anywhere! After the breads, a made a squash soup that was equally as yummy as the breads...yummmmm.

They got here around 4:30, so we took a quick walk out at Silver Lake so my Dad could see what it looked like (that was the intended hunting spot for the next day.) After that, we checked out the elk farm (I'm going on an elk hunt in Colorado in two weeks). I cooked up some speedies in the broiler for dinner, and we called it a night.

Tuesday was wet again. Even so, we were headed out to hunt anyway. But first, we fooled around with the fire place. We got it all set up to run (which we have been doing, since yesterday there was snow on the top of Whiteface).

We ended up going to Potter Mountain to hunt. It poured on us the entire time, but it was still pretty fun. Gabby even pointed a grouse, and I even got to shoot at it. Of course, I didn't hit it, but still very successful day. (According to my dad, a normal grouse hunter will shoot 1 in 10 they he flushes and a great one will shoot 1 in 5.)

That night, after drying out a bit, we went to the Brewery -- they just tapped their new IPA which was very delicious.

Overall a good trip. The dogs got worked, shot the gun, drank some beer. Good times.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday, my buddy Grant came up to visit, and with his friend Marc we all went up to the Summit Cliff. I hadn't been up that-a-way in some time, so I was particularly excited to get back on our "firsts."

We met at the trailhead and worked our way up what could be the worst approach in Silver Lake. That said, the approach isn't bad at all. For the first little bit its nice rolling clear logging roads. Once you start heading uphill though, the quality of the logging road deteriorates a bit, and the brambles start to get taller. And with a total of 45 minutes of approach, it isn't bad at all.

When we got there, Green Mountain Boys was wet (like usual), but Handlebarbarism was dry (like usual). So I convinced Marc to get on it, which he did, and ended up onsighting. His first Adirondack 5.10 onsight. 'Atta boy. Grant and I then toproped it. Such a good climb.

When I got to the top I belayed from up Marc and Grant, and we headed over to Tales of Weakness -- the summit arete crack -- which is one of the more obvious lines in all of Silver Lake. Marc led again, and Grant and I followed. What a day what a day.

Grant has pictures that look pretty good. I'll try to find those.

And today. Well, today I am cleaning the house.

7,000 Words

Beaver Brook

Yup, went. Rich and I got in two pitches. Rich led Old Men Shooting Powder, which is a pretty fun roof, followed by some sustained, balanced face climbing above. It goes at 5.10b and, like the other climbs at the crag, it felt a little sandbagged. The light was waning, so I hurried up Save a Tree, Eat a Beaver (5.10d). There are some good long moves between good holds, slightly reminiscent of the gunks. Oh, and mandatory foot cut.

Dat's what I'm talkin' bout.

Poke-o-moonshine

Colin and I went to Poko today for a few pitches of climbing. The sun is back, and the rock is dry! We were able to put away three excellent pitches -- three five-star climbs.

We left here around 9 o'clock this morning and went straight to the crag. Once there, we headed straight to C-Tips to "warm up." C-Tips, which goes at 5.10c goes straight up a blank, black water-streaked wall. The climbing is tenuous. Very balancey, with quite a few small holds. The route definitely requires a fair amount of footwork. Colin had climbed it many time, so he gave me the lead. It went down no problem.

Next we went to try one of Colin's long-term projects. This route, God's Grace (5.11b), goes up a wild corner, out to a sharp arete, then back to the corner again. It requires, again, really precise footwork. Lots of stemming, and pulling on tiny crimps. Colin had tried it last week and almost sent. Today, he crushed it. I followed cleanly, gave him serious props, and then we moved to climbs over to another classic corner climb.

Karmic Kickback (5.11b) is similar to God's Grace. Stemming up a corner, smearing, crimping, sharp aretes -- simply awesome. Colin gave me the lead. I struggled slightly at the crux, but other than that enjoyed the climbing to the maximum.

Just talked to Rich, I think we are going to go to Beaver Brook for a quick evening session. Yeheah.

Fire Wood

More rain, more wetness.

We got a load of firewood delivered today. The guy actually lives over at Silver Lake. I think he is one of those local land baron types. Owns a ton of property and rents several houses on the lake. The guy had a huge gut (probably from eating fine foods) and a little Jack Russell dog that kept kept eating grass and puking it up. And his father graduated from St Lawrence in '32. Certainly a nice enough guy though.

So, he missed our driveway, as there is no mailbox or number or other indication, turned around, and then tried to back into our driveway. Turns out "it's a little soft" at the end of our driveway. He backed up his huge trailer loaded with firewood into the drainage ditch, resulting in the necessity of a tow from his son. "Tell the boy to bring the four-wheeled drive and a chain."

Things eventually sorted themselves and they dumped five face cords worth of wood in our driveway. After they left, there was a huge pile of wood laying in the middle of our parking spots. I went to start carrying the wood over to the shed, and instantly realized there was no way I was going to carry a couple thousand sticks 50 yards back and forth. A search ensued and lo and behold there, behind the second shed, was an old, red, wagon/cart -- the kind you can attach to a riding lawnmower, only definitely hand built.

We spent the rest of the day doing many (like, many many) little (like, really little) wagon loads from the driveway to the shed, stacking under the overhangs of the roof. Yay chores.

Rain Rain...

Ugh. Shoulda taken the rest day today. It's grey and wet, and I don't really want to go a-scrubbing today.

On the plus side of things, I just finished a new book. It's called Bloodsucking Fiends; A Love Story written by Christopher Moore. It is about a romantic would-be writer named Tom Flood from the mid-West who moves to San Francisco for adventure. And quickly enough he meets Jody, a recently turned vampire. From there you follow the (mis)adventures of the two, as they struggle with the complexities of a monster/human relationship while battling a Fiend many centuries old. On the whole, a very satisfying book. Especially knowing there is more to come with the sequel You Suck; A Love Story. I just ordered it from amazon today!

I've also read The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Grove by Moore, and it is quite good to. Definitely a similar vane to Tom Robbins, only not quite is intricate and hard to follow. As one critic put it, "...the impatient man's Robbins."

Anyways, going to go do some bouldering in Colin's gym for a little while now. One must keep fit, after all.

A day of chill-axin'

Ahh the rest day. What a glorious thing to have.

Today I did a lot of nothing. Well, that's not entirely true. I basked in the sun, soaking in the views of Whiteface. I tossed the frisbee around for a while. I made some apple bread. I caught bull frogs with Cece, Colin and Henry. I ate a great dinner with friends. And we ate banana muffins that Rich made right before dinner that was still warm!

Twas a good day indeed.

Back to Center of Progress

Matt and I went up to the Center of Progress cliff, back to the same area as Oops...I'm Pregnant. There are actually a couple of really outstanding crack climbs in that area -- not just big chimneys and slopey face climbing.

So anyways, yeah, finished up cleaning this crack that cuts this otherwise blank face. As you get higher the crack splits into two cracks, so for a while you are sort of monkeying/bear-hugging. After that, the wall kicks back, the crack gets to small for fingers, and the feet completely disappear. On top of that, there are two cracks, and many possibilities to climbing the cracks, which makes it hard to figure out first where to go, and second how to do it. Needless to say it is awesome. Very cool. I've named it The Chipmunk Waltz and I think it will eventually go at 5.12 something. If not that, then very hard 5.11 -- potentially making this the hardest line at Silver Lake. As it stands, it goes at 5.11a A0.

Here are the preliminary pictures:

Potter Mountain Cliff

Alright! So, it frosted for the first time last night. And now it's really really cold in our house. Brrrrrr. But don't worry that hasn't prevented us from putting up somewhere in the vicinity of 15 pitches (with the help of a sizable crew) all within 100 feet of each other.

All the pitches on on Potter Mountain Cliff, and particularly this part of the cliff were remarkably clean. On top that, there are a series of water runs that have created the cooooooooolest holds ever. There are all these pock marked pinches and edges and finger pockets, toe dishes and the greatest exposure.

In a slightly different section of cliff, Tom and Joe spent the better part of the day scrubbing and doing some crack climbs. There is definitely more potential where they were working -- finishing routes to the top as well as more crack climbs at the bottom.

The setting and the climbing here are awesome. It is nice and remote. You feel like you are way way out, and while the approach is roughly an hour, there is a nice trail to follow (at this point). As soon as we can, we're going to do a serious photo shoot up there.

So, here is the break down of routes:

Stop Making Sense 5.7; four pitches
The Brazilian 5.10a; three pitches
Once in Lifetime 5.10d; one pitch
Groovitational Pull 5.10a; two (long) pitches
Brutus Ate My Sandwich 5.10a; three pitches
Zebra 5.9, one pitch
Leroy Brown 5.11+?
(Can't remember Joe and Tom's last route) 5.9+ one pitch

So yeah, good climbing out there, just as good as any other place we have climbed. Matt and I are off to the Center of Progress to clean up a few more cracks that look outstanding. Woo hoo!

Silver Lake

There has definitely been some action up there at the new Mountain. Yesterday I went out with a bunch of guys (Jim, Colin, Tad, and Tom) to a new area. We put up four new pithes in one day -- no scrubbing required!! There is a new route that is over 350 feet long and has three 5.10a pitches in a row. It's so gooooooood. Hopefully I'll have some more details later, as well as some more routes to talk about! I'm headed back to the same section right now.

Wallface Mountain

Rich, Matt, Rich's buddy Paul and I just spent Wednesday evening through early Friday at Wallface doing some climbing and camping. Pretty sweet to say the least. The weather was the absolute best we could hope for, the bugs were non-existent, the cliff was impressive and the climbing was remote, adventurous and classic.

We got a relatively late start on Wednesday, taking care of chores and things around the house. Once Paul rolled in (coming from New Hampshire), we packed up the car and headed out to Placid to get a couple of bear canisters and some high-calorie food. From there we took off and headed to the ADK Loj, in the heart of the High Peaks.

Wallface is, in the poetic words of David Henderson, "If Niagara be the prince of waterfalls -- [Wallface] exhibits the prince of precipices." The cliff itself is roughly 700 feet tall, with routes up to 1000 feet long. The climbs themselves, as I mentioned earlier are very adventurous. You have to hike more than six miles to get to the camp sight, with probably another 30-45 minutes of approach through scree and talus. (Sidenote: the boulders out there look awesome.) Once you find your climb, you can expect plenty of lichen, moss, and dirt -- and definitely no chalk to guide your way. Once you get above tree level, which won't take you very long, the exposure and scenery are fantastic -- simply sublime. We were warned before going out there that "the climbing itself isn't that good." That may be true, but if thats what you are looking for, go sport climbing in Kentucky or something. Wallface is definitely about the whole experience, of which there is none better.

So after our six mile hike, each sporting 40 pound packs, we set up camp, cooked a gourmet dinner of pasta and meatballs (quite the feat for the backcountry) and went to sleep with dreams of crushing.

Next morning it was on. We cooked up some instant oatmeal, drank a cup of tea, and racked up for the day. Rich and Paul set out for the classic Diagonal. It goes at 5.8, is 860 feet long and was first climbed in 1962, which is very impressive given the gear of the day. Matt and I opted for another classic, despite the fact that it is only 10 years old. It's called Free Ride and it goes at 5.11a.

The route itself is grade IV (my first), and it 750 feet tall. There are nine pitches in total, and the go like this: 5.11a, 5.10a(sandbag), 4th class, 5.10a, 5.9+, 5.10a, 5.11a, 5.10d, 5.10c. Jim Lawyer has this to say about the route:

This route has brilliant climbing, good-quality rock, good protection, and exposed situations...the exposure on the final pitch is jaw-dropping.

I'm inclined to agree. This route has everything from technical, beta intensive cruxes, to cracks, to steep face climbing to steep friction climbing. On top of that, the last two pitches are spectacular -- so much so that they get their own names: Endurance Pitch, and the Perverse Traverse.

Needless to say, both parties enjoyed themselves thouroughly. We both made it back to camp well before sundown. Once there we drank some whiskey, ate some food (backcountry pueblo stew, kung pao chicken and cheese cake -- yum), and crawled into our sleeping bags.

All-in-all it was a great success.

Wallface

The Gang with Wallface in the background

"The Shield" Pitch 4

Me on top of pitch 7

Me on lead on Pitch 8 -- Pitch 9 traverses out the big roof to the right.

The hike out.

Three new routes + one

Just put up three new routes with Rich and Mike on Thursday. A nasty gully that gets you to the top. 5.0+; A cool chimney called Cackling Spiders at 5.7; and then an unsuspecting slabby thing with sloooooooopers called Oops!...I'm Pregnant. I think that one is in the 5.11 range.

Other than that, started scrubbing this really steep crack. It looks like it's gonna be another classic.

More ADK

So, Rich and I have started to settle in up here. This new place is awesome.

This is mostly a teaser post. Three new routes have gone in. Tooth and Nail, 5.10; Oral Surgery 5.11b; African Barking Spiders 5.10+/11a. Will have photos and the like soon!

Adirondacks!

After a plate full of undercooked (as in half frozen) pierogies, I am ready to start writing a little bit about Silver Lake. Writing the words ‘silver’ and ‘lake’ next to each other puts a bit of a smile on my face, which given the amount of rain, coupled with this finger injury is always a good thing.

So what is Silver Lake anyway? Why should you care about whether or not I am smiling? Silver Lake is a climbing spot on the Adirondacks that has just recently been opened to the public (i.e. climbers) via a land easement. There are a series of cliffs ranging in 30 feet to 300 plus feet. The rock, like other rock in the Daks, is granite, and as such, the features and quality vary. Luckily the rock is mostly really solid. The features range from gentle and steep slabs, to vertical cracks in any number of sizes; there are overhung faces, and even some roofs to be pulled. And let me be frank. There. Is. A. Ton. Of. Rock. I mean lots. (To see what I mean, check this out: http://www.adirondackrock.com/silverlake/photo_key.htm .)

And there is lots of potential for first ascents of five star classics. There are well over a dozen cliffs in total. And while there are only 50 or so documented climbs so far, there is potential for ten times that much…if…you like moderately long, steep, bushwhacking approaches; poison ivy; black and horse flies, mosquitoes; scrubbing lichen, digging out cracks, and pulling rotten stumps off cliffs. This is the Adirondacks after all, and the cliffs are sometimes overgrown and dirty. But once you reap the fruit of your labor, it’s like being a pig in shit…pay dirt…sweet.

I have recently begun to learn about the process of ‘The First Ascent.’ Let me first say a loud “Thank you!” to everyone who has ever prepped a route that I have climbed. It’s hard work. The basic process (which is fairly obvious) is to first pick out a line that looks good, get to the top some how and hang a rope, clean, climb. Simple enough. But, given the sea-of-rock-that-is-Silver-Lake, there are so many awesome looking lines, it’s hard to pick one. And getting to the top can be tricky as well. I have recently learned how to aid, but more importantly, I’ve learned that usually there is a 4th class scramble to the top somewhere. I’ve also learned that the cliff looks way different from the top than it does from the bottom, and that cleaning a route can take several days and several wire brushes. And finally, I’ve learned that taking whippers on routes that you have cleaned is really, really fun.

So, the cliff officially opened on Earth Day this year, and with much excitement, my roommates Matt Way and Devin Berberich, as well as Rich Wilson, who is a college buddy of Matt and mine all headed up to our friend Colin Loher’s house the night before the opening. Colin’s home is nestled on a hillside in Wilmington with a spectacular view of Whiteface Mountain (home to the 1932 and 1980 Olympics). The day before the opening it rained but we still managed to get in a bit of scouting. And although the amount of rock seemed overwhelming, at the dinner table that night we decided that the Summit Cliff would be our target.

The Summit Cliff as a fairly long, tall cliff that is, as the name suggests, at the summit of Potter Mountain (Silver Lake climbing area is actually comprised of two mountain: Silver Lake and Potter). On the left end of the cliff is a very striking nose/arête with a beautiful right-slanting crack just next to it. This was perhaps the most striking feature we had come across while scouting, and it was that crack that drew us to the Summit Cliff.


The Summit Cliff(©Lawyer)

After an hour or so of hiking/gawking we arrived at the base of the cliff, hoping to find a line up to the arête crack. To our amazement's, there were three obvious cracks that lead up to a ledge. Devin and I decided to tackle the laser-cut gently overhung finger crack, and Matt and Rich took the left-most tips-to-offwidth vertical crack. Since this was our first day of free ascents, we decided to do everything ground up. Out came the aiding gear and two and a half hours later I had managed to climb 70 feet! Devin ascended the rope, and then free climbed the next pitch to the base of the arête crack. I followed, and gave the final lead to Devin. Despite a healthy amount of lichen, the crack climbed beautifully. Add on a bit of Adirondack mountain-scape and another bit of wild adventure climbing, and you have the makings for non-stop fun.

We have since gone back and cleaned all three cracks at the bottom of the cliff. Matt and Rich called their route Handlebarbarism. The middle crack, which Matt cleaned had seen a previous ascent and it’s called Green Mountain Boys. The crack Devin and I climbed had also seen an ascent, and it is called Great Northern Pillar. Rich freed Handlebarbarism at 5.10, Matt got Green Mountain Boys at 5.9, and I freed Great Northern at 10+. On a subsequent trip, Matt and I put up one more pitch from the ledge. An amazing 5.10 changing corners/roof/crack/stembox dubbed Hair Upper Lip Drip.


(Green is Green Mountain Boys; Red is Great Northern Diver; Yellow is Harry Upper Lip Drip; Aqua is Handlebarbarism.)


Devin on pitch one of Great Northern(©Littleton)


Colin finishing pitch one of Great Northern(©Way)


Rich on Handlebarbarism (©Littleton)


All five pitches are stellar, and they are all within fifty feet of each other on one small section of one of a dozen cliffs. And there are at least two more climbs in the same section – a traversing finger crack/sloper rail, and a chimney named Lost Boys Chimney – both awaiting first ascents.

I am so excited about the potential at Silver Lake that I am moving to the Adirondacks. Rich and I just signed a lease on a house a few miles from Colin’s, and we will be moving in August 16th. Hopefully I will be spending most of my free time at Silver Lake. Woo Hoo!

Coming back

I'm coming back to this blog. It truly has been too long without a post. Not only have I missed writing, but this is a valuable way to record my climbing endeavors. On top of it all I have a finger injury that has put an immediate halt on any climbing.

This is my first true sports related injury, and it really sucks to not be able to climb. In recent weeks I had been feeling really strong. I sent a year long project -- Infinite Space (12a), along with two other projects: Carbs and Caffeine (11a) and The Sting (11d). The highlight of the season was an onsight of Psalm 32 (12a) at Pok-o-moonshine. I'd also recently discovered what getting a first ascent is like. A new cliff opened up in the adirondacks, and Team Nasty has been cleaning and putting up/ re-vitalizing old climbs. With help from Matt, Devin and Colin, I got an FFA on a climb called Great Northern (10d) PICTURE As well as an FFA on a climb that Matt first aided called Hairy Upper Lip Drip (10b). All this to say, I was super excited at the prospects in the Gunks this summer.

And then one afternoon, in between rain showers (that won't seem to stop this summer) we went out for a bouldering session. We got on New Pair of Glasses (v7) after warming up a bit on Million Dollar Problem (v5), after falling off after a few tries, I got my self psyched to try really hard. I went out for the crux holds, a left hand pinch and a right hand crimp right on top of the pinch. I must have over gripped and my whole left hand felt wrong. I think I have a minor pulley tendon sheath injury. So I guess I'm out for a while.

On the plus side, this will enable me to write more. I also bought a new camera that I'm excited to learn how to use.

10,000 Restless Virgins / Carbs and Caffeine

On one of the really hot days last week, Matt and I rode our bikes from the parking lot at the cliff way down to the other end to the Sleep Hollow area. There is a climb there that we saw last fall that just looked so good. It's called 10,000 Restless Virgins and it's a 10d. It's is more or less 5.9 corner climbing for 50 feet, and then you pull an enormous roof followed immediately by another small overhang. Matt gave it the first go, and with one hang (at the roof) he sent. He came down and then top roped it and cleaned the gear out so I could lead it. I sent it first go -- turns out that having beta (both gear and otherwise) is extremely helpful. Super fun climb.

After that we went to the Yellow Wall. There has been a climb there that I have been eying for quite some time. Carbs and Caffeine 11a. The first crux is protected by two bolts, even if they are a little manky. The climb itself is steep. Really steep. And the holds are small. So you're climbing up this jug haul at the start, and you start to move up and left, and then the first crux is there. Big moves on small holds and steep rock. But its protected by bolts, so it's not really that scary. (There were actually three bolts, one was rusted and chopped off. The one that replaced that one was pretty shiny, but it was spinning quite a bit. And the third one looked to be about as old as the first one, only it hadn't been chopped. Consequently, I backed up the first bolt with a micro nut.) Once through the first crux there are some balancey moves there are pretty run out. Then you get into some steep stuff again. In the book, this part says 5.10c if you are short, 5.11a if you are tall. You more or less have to get up under a roof, and then traverse out underneath it. But the cliff drops off after like 2 feet, so you are sort of crab-walking out under this roof with tiny hands and smearing feet. The climb went really well. I fell once on the first bolt -- beta; and I fell several times at the second crux -- pump. And actually, there is an optional belay right before the second crux. After trying the moves and falling off a couple of times, I gave the lead to Matt and he finished it.

Super fun day. And now I have a project.

What about boulders?

I like bouldering. I've recently been on a bouldering kick, and one problem in particular grabbed my attention. It's called the Village Idiot, and it goes at V7. I'd seen some video of it a while back and thought to myself "That looks good." But it kind of wandered out of my mind soon after that. On a recent trip to Peter's Kill, however, my interest was re-sparked. I'd never actually seen the problem in real life before, but on that first viewing, I knew it was a beautiful line. I decided this was going to be my first summer project.

The first day I worked on it, I was with Matt. It's got kind of a sketchy landing at the top-out section, and the spotter has to be right on. So the first session I just kind of worked out the moves and Matt worked out spotting beta (Matt has some tendonitis flaring in his elbow, so he hasn't been bouldering much). It's got great moves on it. You start under this roof on huge holds, feet kind of thigh-mastering/smearing on each side of an arete. Then you reach up over the roof with a cross onto a pretty good hold. Match your heel on the same hold your starting hand is on; crimp; mail-slot; heel hook; through to a small half-pad three finger pocket/crimp; heel to toe; up over an over-hang to a crimp; match; bicycle feet; throw for a jug; top out! That's what I'm talking about. After about half a dozen sessions and probably about 50 tries, I sent it. Woo Hoo!!

Here are some photos:

Crushing.

So, I haven't been very devoted to the old blog as of late. But that's because I've been busy climbing! With Charlie, Connor, Ian, Matt and myself all living in the same house, there is never a time when someone doesn't want to go climbing. We have been climbing all the time. Climbing climbing climbing climbing. And when we aren't climbing we are talking about climbing. This of course has been very productive in the way of getting strong. It is so much fun pulling on hard climbs in the Gunks. Recently we have just been crushing 5.10s. We have done Beatle Brow Bulge, Face to Face, Birdie Party, Stirrup Trouble and Fickle Fingers, all of which are 5.10s. Last week we set up a photo shoot for Charlie and Connor on Modern Times. We got there via Directississima (Doubleissima). It was a revenge climb for me -- two weeks before that I led it and took a massive whipper at the crux on my second smallest piece of gear. On my second go, I crushed it. It's certainly the most sustained 5.10 I've done, and it's probably my most favorite send of the season.

Speaking of setting up photo shoots, just a couple of days ago we all went out and we set up a photo shoot on Welcome to the Gunks (5.10b). This has been a climb that has loomed in the distance for me. It has been there, staring at me, waiting. It's got a certain reputation of being scary, airy and hard. There are a total of five roofs on the route, all pretty substantial. And on top of that it has a 5.9+ R section where if you blow it, you could hit a ledge. The gear you have is more or less at your feet, and you have to sort of mantel on some slopers right before the second roof. I think that was both the mental and physical crux of the climb -- I'd say all of the roofs go at like 5.9+, none of them as hard as, say, Grim-Ace Face. My best on-sight to date. For sure.

And continuing with the crushing, just yesterday Connor and I got up at like 6:30 to beat the heat, and we did Art's Route (5.9), Wegatables (5.10a), Simple Suff (5.10b) and Birdcage (5.10). Yay crushing.

Here are some of the photos from Welcome to the Gunks.

Frog's Head

I had the day off yesterday, but Matt only had a three hour window between a morning shift and an afternoon shift. So of course we went climbing. We got on Frog's Head (5.6-) which is just one of the coolest climbs. It's normally broken up into two pitches, each 80 feet, but we linked them up. Great idea. Really good, fun, interesting climbing for 160 feet in a row. Perfect rest day climb. We got up and down in less than an hour, which is a good thing, because otherwise we would have gotten rained on!

Bouldering

After our mileage day, Matt and I went out for a day of bouldering. The weather was pretty sketchy -- a morning thunderstorm had already graced us with its presence, but we decided to go for it anyway. Peter's Kill closes in December and doesn't up again until April, so neither of us had been there for a while, and they do have sick bouldering. So we went there. Straight to the Outbreak boulder.

We warmed up on VD which is a fun little V3 dyno problem. Certainly some hero pulling: you can't help but feel like a hero. After that we worked $5 Traverse, which goes at V5. It basically follows a thin horizontal from one side of the boulder to the other. At the crux the seem is tiny, the holds are far away, and you don't really have any feet. Really cool. I think it could go with a few more days of work. Lots of stemming and reaching and coolness. We worked that problem for probably 20 or 30 minutes, and then we went over and did Tree-Bola Direct-Direct which is a V1, which we both onsighted. Super fun moves.

Last year we had noticed a problem called Mentos (V4) that follows this really sharp, overhung arete. It looked like it involved lots of heel hooking, and meat hooking and other various sick hooks. We sat down on it and within half a dozen tries, I sent it! Matt got it the time after I did. I even got the repeat. Definitely a really awesome climb with an opportunity for some sick photos. I liked it so much, I did it twice in a row. Woo-hoo!

And guess what else we did. We went for a run. I probably haven't run in like 3 years. My legs hurt right now, but it felt really good to run again. I guess we are going to try and run like three times a week, which I think is a really good idea. I'm excited to get sick-nasty strong this summer. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

A day at the Nears

A bunch of news to report. First and foremost, I've been promoted at My Hero. No longer am I a lowly peon, for I have been given the rank of Pizza Maker. I start training on Friday, and soon I will have my own shifts. Yay!

In other news, Matt and I have been climbing some more. (Go figure.) I've been working four days a week as of late, and so Tuesday was the beginning of my weekend. The weather was a little iffy, but thankfully it held (for the most part). We went off to the Near Trapps, and did quite a few climbs, actually.

Late last fall when Duncan and I went out and did Gelsa, Ian and Matt did a climb called Inverted Layback (5.9) It's a classic climb, and I had never done it, so Matt recommended we do it -- and he gave me the lead. The beginning of the climb follows a crack that is pretty vertical. The climbing isn't too hard though -- maybe 5.8 or so. Then, you eventually get up to this big roof that is separated from the face. So there is like a foot and a half gap between this roof and the rock. You traverse with some underclings and just smearing with your feet on the wall. Right before that I placed a green C4, a blue C4 and clipped a piton, but it took some serious convincing to actually get up into this thing. Very committing.

After walking off the backside of the cliff and getting back to our bags, we decided a short walk was in order. Two climbs over is another classic called Grand Central (5.9). The first pitch is a coasting pitch, with nothing but fun easy climbing. It follows twin cracks and so I tried to lead it with nothing but nuts. I did place lots of them, but cams sure are friendly. The second Pitch was were the meat was. Matt got on the sharp end and started up the climb. The climb traverses around the nose of an arete and then goes up a steep face. He got around the nose no problem, and then at the crux he had to think about it just for a second. After getting in a few micro nuts (a new purchase right before Morocco -- starting to like them a lot), he pulled the crux no problem. And followed up and led the last pitch, which has two roofs in a row. Upside down at 5.8 -- gotta love the Gunks.

The next climb we did was called Roseland which is another classic 5.9 in the Nears. Matt had lead it before, but I had never climbed it, so he gave me the lead. It follows a beautiful open-book, with a crack in it, and then traverses under a roof, exiting it at the easiest spot. What a wonderful climb. Lots of stemming, lot of palm down moves, high steps and also great protection (even got to place a few more micro-nuts). There are second and third pitches to it, but we only did the first one. Matt followed it cleanly, and we set up a top rope on a 5.10R climb called Shitface. Very cool climb. So cool, I did it twice!

So with the official start of the summer season, Matt and I did 8 pitches of climbing. That's what I'm talkin-bout.

Todra Gorge

Saharan Sands

State-side

I've made my way back to New Paltz after a long journey homeward. (What an outstanding vacation.) New Paltz has exploded into greenery, along with tourists as well. The cliff is as beautiful as ever, and of course, that means time to climb! Charlie, who will be moving in with us in June, came to visit this weekend and on Saturday we got out to do a climb. We were going to do Le Teton, but the cliff was a little crowded so we did Grimace Face (5.9+).

I had done the climb late last fall with Ian and since it's just so fun, I suggested it to Charlie. There are three pitches, 5.8, 5.8+, and 5.9+, which was good for getting warmed up and back in the trad game again. The first pitch has a nice 5.7R section, and some so-so pro with a slung horn and nice face climbing. The second pitch is a bit of a one move wonder, but it's a really fun move through a roof (next time I'll have to remember to save a green c4 for the crux). The last pitch is awesome -- a full body-length roof, with holds that aren't quite jugs. And a legitimate, needed heel hook! Woohoo. This is definitely a three star climb.

It's nice to be back in the gunks.

The long trip is near an end.

I´ve been out of the states now for like three and a half weeks, and we are leaving for home on Monday. The trip is been amazing. Absolutely amazing. I´m planning on doing a big write-up when i get back. Stay tuned for pictures and storries!

El Chorro, Spain

So Kasia and I did a couple of scouting dayins in El Chorro. Siiiiiiiiiick limestone climbs ranging from slab, to vertical, to overhaning tufas, to monsterous caves and roofs. We checked out two crags, and did some good sending. Kasia worked a route for a while, taking a couple of nice falls (in the 10ft range -- first falls ever above a bolt!) There are supposedly over 1000 climbs here, and I wouldn´t doubt it for a second. A definite place to come back to.

climbing done

We did a big route in Tafroute today. This marks the end of climbing in Morocco. To the coast we go.

Escalade du Todra Gorge

Go to Morocco. The climbing is awesome.

So, we've been climbing in the gorge now for several days. It has been the sick nasty. I've never seen so much rock in my entire life. Everything from sweet boulders to sick, hard single pitch climbs, and awesome 300m climbs. The rock here is some sort if limestone (I think), and it ranges from plentiful pockets to sharp sharp sharp crimps.

The first day we were here, we met a local guy named Hassan. In fact, we were introduced to him right away. Turns out he is the local bad-ass and he wrote the guide book. We of course bought one, and then he walked us through the book, pointing out the good climbs. Then, he took us to the crags and showed us the sweet climbs.

We got on a bunch of climbs ranging from 4+ to 6a+. All good. Next Matt and I did an eight pitch climb which was one of the greatest climbing moments of my life. Pictures to come. Tomorrow (in'shallah) we will do another 300m climb with Kasia. Word. Time for mint tea.

Hello Morocco

So, made it to Morocco. Matt, Kasia and I made it to Lisbon no problems. After passing through two countries, many train rides (including an overnight train), some busses, and a boat, we arrived in Marrakesh. So far, no hitches. Tomorrow we are headed to Todra gorge and climbing. The country is beautiful, the people are friendly travel and communication is easy, and the food is great. Oh and so is the weather. Climbing to come.