Last year I was able to climb Mt. Rainier via Kautz Glacier. It was an amazing experience and I was able to capture some photos that help tell the story of our climb. The trip was a success and will forever be engrained in my memory as one of the more surreal experiences of my life. Continue reading
For spring break we all decided we needed a trip to some where warm with good climbing. We decided on Joshua Tree and then plans began to take shape. Joshua Tree is a lot like the City of Rocks but out in the middle of California with less camping. Continue reading
I keep hoping for the snow conditions to change here in Utah so I can get up on the high ridges without feeling somewhat guilty. It is dumping snow right now and I know the avalanche conditions will call for more fun, but low angle, turns tomorrow.
Last night we had the opportunity to get up Little Cottonwood Canyon for some climbing. Our friend and soon to be contributor, Eric Montandon, just bought himself a new trad rack so we decided to go test it out. We decided on one of the Little Cottonwood classics, Becky’s Wall. This climb has a beautiful aesthetic and we had a blast climbing it. There is a reason this is a classic and we have Fred Becky to thank for it. Continue reading
I loathe leaving the Wasatch Range in the wintertime. With its limitless terrain to explore on my skis, there is no place I’d prefer to be. There’s always new peaks to summit, lines to ski, and powder stashes to plunder.
This year, however, has been a different story. We’ve received record-low amounts of snow, and the snow we have received has proven to be unmanageable and deadly. Even the best day out in the backcountry is not worth tempting fate, so we’re not getting out as much as we’d like. It’s a bit depressing. So what to do? Sit around and sulk?
Nope. There’s no need to sit around when you live so close to the almost equally satisfying playground that is Southern Utah. Three and a half hours from the time you can get all your climbing gear, bikes, and sleeping stuff crammed into the car you can be enjoying the perpetual summer weather and endless outdoor adventure the Utah desert has to offer.
Last weekend Josh Snow and I headed south to get a nice wintery dose of summer sunshine. First on the list was Chuckawalla Wall. I had a date with Second Coming, a route that had been haunting me since I first hopped on it last fall.
I held on long enough to redpoint, which Josh and I celebrated with a victory lap on the Zen Trail (a quick, yet technical single-track not to be missed if you have your bikes along).
We wrapped up the night with a bit of bouldering in Pioneer Park.
The next day we warmed up on some riotous biking trails outside of Santa Clara, and concluded our quick getaway at Prophesy wall. We hopped on an enjoyable two-pitch route called The Visionaries. The brilliant exposure of the first pitch and a spicy move or two on the second pitch crack made the route a worthwhile excursion.
Two days in the Utah desert is all it took for us to feel just fine about the worst winter in the Wasatch. In fact, sitting on top of the Prophesy Wall, snow was the last thing on our minds.
Photo: Pockets of Resistance 5.12a NRG
With Kate silently sleeping, I sing-a-long to the radio as our rusty Volkswagon Golf hums toward Asheville. The thick green forest flies by the windows, never seeming to change. The first few hours slowly creep by. Just before I become impatient of feeling like the highway is a treadmill of consistent imagery, we hit the Smoky Mountains.
Mountains bring surcease to my mind as I begin to imagine. Spring break is here and I have a week to climb with my wife and best friend Kate.
We spent our first day back at Rumbling Bald. This place never gets old. As Asheville was being blanketed with snow, we were climbing in T-shirts and soaking up the sun (well….most people were. Kate, however, was wearing a hoody, a puffy, and a jacket. The girl is always cold!).
After spending a few days in Asheville and celebrating Kate’s B-day, we decided to shoot up to New River Gorge to climb with our friends Kelly and Stephen. Kelly and Stephen hail from Texas and they are not afraid to let you know it. Kelly climbs with incredible technique; the kind that can only be developed from years and years of experience climbing. Being an all-around superstar, Kelly learned to climb with the rest of the Team Texas comp-goers that are continually dominating the competitive climbing scene. Stephen coaches the kids at Triangle Rock Club and he is definitely one of the strongest climbers I know. One of the best things about these two is they don’t take climbing too serious. We were able to goof around, climb some rock, have a campfire, hangout with our dogs, and eat some good food in Fayetteville.
Photo: Blood Raid 5.13a – Stephen
Thanks for reading this short post. Life is good! Kate and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in New River. I’m so lucky to be married to my best friend. She keeps me happy and sane. It is amazing to have a partner that you can adventure with. I look forward to many more years of adventures with her.
Greg
The days of being able to dawn patrol may be coming to a close. We went out earlier this week and found the snow on most aspects to be completely baked out. The Northerly aspects were still good and held some deep settled pow turns, but because of deep instabilities, trusting long steep northerly facing slopes isn’t something we are willing to chance this year.
There is something very relaxing about a climbing trip. Maybe it’s just us but we end up doing a whole lot more hanging out and sleeping than we do climbing. Don’t get me wrong, alpine starts have their time and place, however, bum camping is one of the greatest things in the world. You don’t reserve a site and always try to camp for free. The food is always a collaboration of us emptying out cabinets and calling my mom to ask her what they have. If we are lucky we can convince her to make us dinner for the drive.
It is one of the best ways to wake up. You know it’s good morning when you wake up late in the back of car in one of the prettiest places in the world to slowly cook breakfast, hangout, and otherwise screw around. In the end it’s all about a good time in good company. Here are some images of some more memorable dirtbag trips.
This picture captures most our trips to city of rocks perfectly. Sleeping under a shady boulder after doing some routes. The sunflower seeds are always a must.
While we may look like homeless people and bums by the time we are done, these have been some of the best times of my life. Do yourself a favor, load a car up until it is almost too full to drive and go on a climbing trip.
Chase McMillan always seems to accomplish a lot more than most in 48 hours…
