Mick looking down from the top of Makapuu Point.
Some climbing locations become destinations because of the aesthetics of the rock, or the ultra-classic rock quality; others become so due to the environment. I recently took a trip with my family to the Aloha State, and during our stay on Oahu, we made the 45 minute trek down to Makapuu point, on the leeward side of the island.
As we arrive at the local “long dong” (dragons cave) crag, I am reminded of the states. Jack Johnson can be heard from a portable stereo someone brought along. People who speak little English at all are yelling “take” and “on belay”. Some one has put up a high line…some things never change.
The sun is trying to peek his head out through to beautiful maw of American Fork Canyon while I was driving to pick up Taylor.
Saturday mornings have become my last bastion of adventure. Having a grown-up job certainly accommodates smaller windows of opportunity to get out and play. That being said, I haven’t been necessarily deprived of recreation, but my complex schedule doesn’t allow for me to plan outings that are going to last for more than 4 or 5 hours––except for Saturday mornings.
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By: Greg Osborne
If I had known what we were getting into I would have turned around. On the other hand, I’m glad I didn’t. I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.
This last weekend we all headed down to Castle Valley to climb some towers that have been on our tick lists for a long time. For Tanner, this would be his last desert adventure in years, as he is headed to Honduras for an LDS mission. Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate.
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Jonathan Safran Foer once wrote a book called Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. I always kind of thought that would be a fitting description for any large-scale avalanche that was too close for comfort.
It turns out I was right.
Black Velvet Peak
While eating a bowl of cereal one morning and flipping through my roommate’s copy of the book, Fifty Favorite Climbs, I stumbled upon a bad ass photo of woman in a seriously run out chimney. The chimney was sandstone so I figured it had to be close. I quickly found out the chimney was that of the famous, long-moderate route Epinephrine. With the grade being “only” 5.9, I talked my other roommate Curtis into climbing the route with me on our way to Joshua tree. With both of us having little chimney experience, we figured the 5.9 Epinephrine would be a great place to start. With 14+ pitches ahead of us, we started the hike up Black Velvet canyon just before sunrise to be sure we did not get stuck behind any slow parties. We soloed the first 5.5 pitch and quickly cruised the second to the base of the famous 3 pitch black chimney system. Continue reading
