tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17094180359210978282024-03-13T11:48:40.842-07:00Off the Couch ClimbingBen Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-57231194345263661652020-05-18T16:38:00.002-07:002020-05-18T16:38:42.413-07:00Animas RiverAmanda and I have been tagging along with friends on some local rafting this spring. It's just the Durango town run, but during the spring melt it's plenty exciting! On the first trip down Dave and Brit were nice enough to let Bean tag along. For her first rafting trip she crushed it, although Amanda walked her around the Smelter rapid to play it safe. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beanie in her new PFD</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda, Jeff and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snack break!</td></tr>
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-80366028036656358652020-05-18T16:32:00.000-07:002020-05-18T16:38:58.275-07:00The OrthrusMatt and I had a day so we busted out toward Blanding to climb a two headed tower that I assumed had been climbed because of its proximity to the road. After walking around the base we were pleasantly surprised to not see any evidence of a previous ascent. We scoped out a few options but decided to start on the South side slab. Some loose sandy rock made the easy climbing feel plenty sporty. Luckily I was able to wander around and find some gear here and there to protect the slab. At the top of the slab was a little headwall with a thin crack splitting it. Getting to the crack required a bolt but then some tiny cams and a couple pin placements got me to a spot that was free climbable. I belayed Matt up to the top of the first summit off a gear anchor as I strategized the next section. On the second shorty pitch we were able to stem across the gap between the summits and do some easy free climbing to the taller summit. We decided to name the tower after the two headed dog that guarded Geryon's Cattle. Unfortunately it was killed by Hercules. Not cool Hercules.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Orthrus</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of the slab.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt on the first summit.</td></tr>
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On the way back to Durango we stopped at the Butler Wash Ruins which were super cool and worth the short hike.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small arch near Butler Wash Ruins</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-68002426778861367142020-04-03T09:37:00.000-07:002020-04-03T09:37:47.006-07:00Climbing along the Green River Initially we planned on doing a small river trip to climb the 'Green River Towers' between Spring Canyon and Hell Roaring Canyon. Unfortunately between the weather and the start of the Corona Virus people bailed until all that were left was Trevor, Neil and I. We decided to hold off on the Green River Towers for a bit but since we already had a canoe organized we decided to do some other towers down river a bit. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Vena Cava'</td></tr>
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First up was 'Vena Cava'. We paddled across to a sandbar just up from the tower and pushed through some brush to get to the base of the talus cone. Shortly, we were looking up at the only published route on the tower thinking it wasn't as inspiring as we were hoping. Luckily we spotted a route on the up hill side of the tower. The route appeared to have a crack running all the way to the summit but since we didn't have a bolt kit with us we just hoped for the best. Luckily I was able to get to the top with some pulling on cams and aiding. Trevor was able to free the route on TR at about 5.12-. Later we found out that the route had been climbed by Ralph in the past. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben on the beginning chimney.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor on 'The Tool'</td></tr>
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After 'Vena Cava' and getting back to the car we decided to check out a tower we noticed on the east side of the river in a little sub canyon between Hell Roaring and Mineral Bottom. Not knowing if it had been climbed before we hauled a bunch of gear up to the base. We found a very faded plaque under the obvious crack system on the West face. It appeared to read, 'The Tool' 5.10+. Trevor started up pitch 1 and built a belay in a little alcove about 3/4 of the way up the tower. The final pitch to the summit has some cool face climbing past bolts. Before we started up we noticed a stuck rope in the notch, and unfortunately after we rappelled the last 20' of my tag line suffered a similar fate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil rappelling 'The Tool'.</td></tr>
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The next and last day out, we crossed the river again to climb a tower called 'Horse Thief'. Getting the canoe into the river on the east side required lowering it down a steep embankment and then carefully getting in. On the west side we just left the canoe tied up and floating in the river while we headed off to spend the next half hour thrashing through the thick brush on the rivers edge. Finally we broke out of the brush and found an old road though a cliff band and headed up the talus cone to the base. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil on top of P1 of 'Horse Thief' </td></tr>
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The original route's first pitch is a 5.8 chimney but Neil spotted a nice splitter to the left that appeared to lead to the same saddle as the chimney. Neil lead the fun first pitch, Trevor took the crux second pitch and I lead the last pitch to the summit. The route that goes at 5.10 was a great outing with minimal choss. We headed back to the vehicles and then back to service, where we discovered that the Corona Virus has exploding and that our future desert plans would have to be put on hold. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor and Ben on top of 'Horse Thief'</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-84359443682773187492020-03-25T19:18:00.002-07:002020-03-25T19:18:59.000-07:00The Maze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the first times I noticed Standing Rock of the Maze was when Bill, Matt and I climbed <a href="https://benkiessel.blogspot.com/2013/03/bill-matt-and-i-were-able-to-go-to.html" target="_blank">Candlestick Tower</a>. The Maze however is not easy to get to and it took 7 years before I made it over there. </div>
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I piled into Trevor and Emily's truck at the turn off for the Maze. It was 40ish miles from the pavement to the towers we wanted to climb. That 40 miles took 4 hours because the driving was at a snails pace for 10 of those miles. Those 10 miles we rough and required getting out of the truck to scout the line over and over. We finally made it to camp which was literally at the base of Standing Rock and decided to climb the first of the 2 pitches. Trevor lead pitch one and fixed the rope for the next day. Emily lead pitch 2 the next day and then we had to figure out what to climb. We scoped out the Plug but decided it was too big of an objective for the afternoon so we headed over to a smaller feature called Chimney Rock.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFFYHAl-RmG4KORW5ZLt4qKksSxeLVkkf5I4IiCLm2cCB41xEJBq7cGPImE_Kzwslk6Bdek-mE9UFWoZbP2xp9-WWK_7ghpnDyU1azhvdzK3VjNHC_ambYm-n7zyW7WD6QBUWucOzAHQ3/s1600/IMG_3465.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFFYHAl-RmG4KORW5ZLt4qKksSxeLVkkf5I4IiCLm2cCB41xEJBq7cGPImE_Kzwslk6Bdek-mE9UFWoZbP2xp9-WWK_7ghpnDyU1azhvdzK3VjNHC_ambYm-n7zyW7WD6QBUWucOzAHQ3/s320/IMG_3465.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing Rock of the Maze</td></tr>
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Chimney Rock doesn't have a published route on it and new bolts are not allowed so we scoped for a while before deciding to give it a go. I started up the obvious weakness and at about 5.9-5.10 was able to make it up. On top, as expected there were no bolts so we counter balanced to get down. Later we found out that the route had been climbed in the past by Ralph Ferrara. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chimney Rock</td></tr>
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After getting down from Chimney Rock we packed up camp and drove out to the Mother and Child to camp. As Emily set up camp, Trevor and I headed up to the tower to check it out. We could see a drilled pin near the top and I found a line up to it that looked the most straight forward. As I approached the pin I noticed that there were in fact 3 pins. The first was in about a centimeter and pulled out easily with my finger, the second moved when I lightly weighted it, and the 3rd was about halfway in. I was able to get a sling over the 3rd pin and gingerly aid past it to a mantle onto the summit. This summit was also missing an anchor so again we had to do a counter balance to retreat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mother and Child</td></tr>
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The next morning as we started down the rough road back to the pavement we lost the 4wd in the truck. This was unfortunate since we had a lot of burly driving ahead of us. Luckily Trevor and Emily were able to rally the truck out to pavement where my vehicle was parked. The truck however needed to be towed to Blanding, and Trevor and Emily came with me to Durango. The next day a mechanic in Blanding took off the CV joint so it was drivable to Flagstaff. They got a rental car, picked it up, and got it fixed in Flagstaff.<br />
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-13540794850929245632020-03-25T11:01:00.002-07:002020-03-25T11:01:48.749-07:00Assorted Small Moab Towers.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Matt and I were lucky enough to get out a few times this winter and climb some little towers around Moab that we've missed for whatever reason over the years. Some of them are older routes that aren't described in guide books or online, while others are new towers.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt on 'The Phurba'</td></tr>
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'The Phurba' is a small tower right off Kane Creek that we've looked at for years as we drove by on our way to other objectives. Thinking that it wasn't described anywhere we finally walked over to check it out and found a route that was fairly casual. Later we discovered that the route had been posted on Mountain Project for that last 6 years...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unknown Tower</td></tr>
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This unknown tower was a fun outing that seems to get called 'Arnold Ziffle' frequently. I have a hard time calling it that because the info for 'A.Z.' in Desert Rock 3 doesn't match the route in any way. Matt and I walked out to the tower in the rain on one trip to scope the approach and the route and then returned to climbed it in better weather the next trip. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt on 'Frightened Pickle'</td></tr>
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We checked out Hunter Canyon which has 3 towers we'd never climbed and discovered that the middle tower(Frightened Pickle) had had the bolts chopped. We climbed the other 2 and returned on the next trip to put up a new route on the 'Frightened Pickle'. Matt topped out in 6" of snow and crawled up the gradual slope to the summit. Luckily he was able to locate the old anchor studs by sweeping his arms and legs around in the snow. We had some hangers and nuts so he was able to reuse the bolts. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben on 'Misplaced Lunate'</td></tr>
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On the same snowy trip Matt and I drove north of Moab a bit to check out a couple little towers that we thought hadn't been climbed. My wrist had been hurting for months and his hips are jacked up some we named the towers accordingly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt leading 'Hip Displasia'</td></tr>
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Matt and I around this time noticed that we were starting to lose stuff. Matt lost two aiders and I lost my watch. We are usually pretty good at doing idiot sweeps before we leave an area so this generally doesn't happen. We decided to retrace our steps and hike back to a couple of the towers. At the 'Phurba' we found one of Matt's aiders and the other at the base of the 'Frightened Pickle'. My watch I found a couple weeks later hiding in a pocket. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zLB_GsKfNME2L84SSUnuUrat8AfeeUfq7mKljMlKUZK5y2Idfb3e8PY3eDY3Uux8hVIa32Qd3EiJktCGmjyqUCglzIewFsx_Hd0u4voxafkehuQz7gzCqHeViK1gRDg-vC3opBrXLqBr/s1600/IMG_2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zLB_GsKfNME2L84SSUnuUrat8AfeeUfq7mKljMlKUZK5y2Idfb3e8PY3eDY3Uux8hVIa32Qd3EiJktCGmjyqUCglzIewFsx_Hd0u4voxafkehuQz7gzCqHeViK1gRDg-vC3opBrXLqBr/s320/IMG_2020.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben on 'Hissing Cobra'</td></tr>
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The 'Hissing Cobra' is an amazing little tower that was undocumented and just hidden enough that it is easily overlooked. We hiked up to it assuming it had been climbed but came prepared for an FA. As we approached the West face we started seeing bolts. Assuming that was the only route on this little tower we started up without walking around to the East side. As it turns out there is a route on both sides of the tower and we chose the harder of the two. Luckily we had the stick clip with us as we were not prepared for the hooking and/or hard free climbing the route was probably actually put up for. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzm9yHqnOCFioNK6JMhgc2nreNhQqpDRnP1RZnIjQ7Y16oImnJNiyPxI0xC6aJJxFj29B214n8Cd-hQT2v9jAoszYnC5cT4pq2TltIj7xsQY8XpsQTtS-9uokVOCUDFRYaCkaKhakmifXG/s1600/IMG_2034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzm9yHqnOCFioNK6JMhgc2nreNhQqpDRnP1RZnIjQ7Y16oImnJNiyPxI0xC6aJJxFj29B214n8Cd-hQT2v9jAoszYnC5cT4pq2TltIj7xsQY8XpsQTtS-9uokVOCUDFRYaCkaKhakmifXG/s320/IMG_2034.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben on 'Crying Python'</td></tr>
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On the hike back to the car we paused and scoped out a towery feature just west of the 'Hissing Cobra'. I was able to sneak up a chimney and ledge system to its west. I got about 60' up with only the coiled tag line I'd brought. From there I threw down an end of the tag line and hauled up my harness, rope, cams, drill, etc. Matt put me on belay and I continued to the summit.Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-9208839438463342252020-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:002020-03-04T20:04:26.667-08:00New England Ice Climbing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Matt and I both had lost some of our enthusiasm for ice climbing over the years. Personally repeating routes isn't that interesting and after a while we'd both climbed most of what SW Colorado had to offer multiple times. The last couple years I've been going to Cody, WY for an ice trip to get on new routes and check out a different area. This year however the Cody trip fell through, so Matt and I decided to check out New England. We mostly had our eyes on 'Repentance' and 'Remission' but quickly learned that there was a ton of ice in the North East. Matt grew up just south of Boston. He'd spent a lot of time in the mountains out there when he was a kid, and knew the area. Matt flew out a couple days early to visit his dad before I showed up. I flew into Boston and he picked me up in a Ford Fiesta rental car. Maybe not the best winter vehicle but we'd make it work. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt belaying P2 on The Black Dike.</td></tr>
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New Hampshire: First up was 'The Black Dike' which I learned is on the same cliff where the old man in the mountain was before it fell down. We walked up to the climb to find another party ahead of us. The route was maybe a touch thin but still good fun. We topped out in a light rain and quickly headed for the car. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hackett Trembley P1</td></tr>
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Maine: The next day we decided to check out a route called the 'Hackett Trembley'. There isn't a ton of info that we could find on it but luckily it's visible from the road and we found an old boot pack. At the base we noticed that about 40-50' up there was a section that looked especially thin and delaminated. I headed up to assess from a closer vantage. Turned out that the lower bit was also delaminated and I came down after realizing that there was no good gear to protect the really thin bit. We decided since we were there we might as well bush whack to the top to top rope the route instead of leaving completely empty handed. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENO0TCbocaGlRqTaTJjyByrmSownVHRrm1yuyhvCD5QyUceEJ76xrfm2R1WsTTE4mmBZ44f0rlS_tb-BuTOCFXegqoArXYVz7SXiUFA8ziGAyvsVcipALEseqh8uEb0S2H67TS-9BYAxU/s1600/IMG_2110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENO0TCbocaGlRqTaTJjyByrmSownVHRrm1yuyhvCD5QyUceEJ76xrfm2R1WsTTE4mmBZ44f0rlS_tb-BuTOCFXegqoArXYVz7SXiUFA8ziGAyvsVcipALEseqh8uEb0S2H67TS-9BYAxU/s320/IMG_2110.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hackett Trembley P2 on a mega TR.</td></tr>
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At about 200' tall the 'Hackett Trembley' is a giant TR! After tip toeing past the thin bit we were both glad I didn't continue up and risk getting hurt on our second day in the middle of now where.<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JSOmgHKTM2CMZqzbDXeMj3o4dR8MBCzPghTKGDHTqVGQQOKU9sbTsPmzo3o3iEUfc7J02WoivjngVQF_zFVXnYwLOxdL61KHbi291rVY4l6hq9yVGZvZyChrY1trpLjjjKUbf6RO3I9Q/s1600/IMG_3233.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JSOmgHKTM2CMZqzbDXeMj3o4dR8MBCzPghTKGDHTqVGQQOKU9sbTsPmzo3o3iEUfc7J02WoivjngVQF_zFVXnYwLOxdL61KHbi291rVY4l6hq9yVGZvZyChrY1trpLjjjKUbf6RO3I9Q/s320/IMG_3233.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Called on Account of Rain</td></tr>
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Vermont: We next headed to Lake Willoughby which has a whole cliff band of amazing ice climbs right next to each other. We had heard that 'Called on Account of Rain' was in so we started there. Things went smoothly because it was picked out from all the recent traffic. The route apparently doesn't always come in. We were back at the base at 11am and started looking for another route. We walked the cliff band until we saw 'Reign of Terror'. We'd walked under a bunch of ice to get there, but when you are the only one at Lake Willoughby you can be picky.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF83lqeaGhi95niIIesIutZ94NEt9D_BBSmvCx-r9tCc8L765oC0QTFeJBEipTye6FHxDJllU4l6USgc3LkuCilMzzn4WHd37QiOgkF-mRfIvEiVcHtf40nHnwhHVO9Enk5Hym66Ax8i5J/s1600/IMG_2165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF83lqeaGhi95niIIesIutZ94NEt9D_BBSmvCx-r9tCc8L765oC0QTFeJBEipTye6FHxDJllU4l6USgc3LkuCilMzzn4WHd37QiOgkF-mRfIvEiVcHtf40nHnwhHVO9Enk5Hym66Ax8i5J/s320/IMG_2165.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reign on Terror</td></tr>
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Quebec: A storm was scheduled to hit so we made the logical decision to go to Canada. Living in Colorado neither of us own a Goretex coat because it's generally dry or so cold when it's snowing that we get away with softshells. All we have are thin rain coats that we almost left at home. We did both have some old Goretex bibs that we had sprayed some waterpoofing on before the trip. The storm lasted the entire day and just while we were on the route it accumulated 6". There was constant spindrift which at first added to the fun of climbing but as we got wetter just made it solid type 2 fun. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjubZrwrqkpt8qZgNafhYL_77UViiB0-dTelSC48qXnycH7vzPCKNw0OCn76us_gzFbJixPqgpP1dCSiuSEumzN_13egQr-afvAJNuN4EzY-27qcgX1CeSHQlrkz1NmF3tifmYO6CSJMi/s1600/IMG_3265.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjubZrwrqkpt8qZgNafhYL_77UViiB0-dTelSC48qXnycH7vzPCKNw0OCn76us_gzFbJixPqgpP1dCSiuSEumzN_13egQr-afvAJNuN4EzY-27qcgX1CeSHQlrkz1NmF3tifmYO6CSJMi/s320/IMG_3265.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Le Gringalet</td></tr>
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The highlight of Canada other than the great experience of climbing in the snow storm was getting back to the vehicle and realizing that there was poutine next door. What a way to warm up! The roads had gotten much worse since we'd left the car and the drive to Burlington ended up being pretty epic with lots of pushing the vehicle up hills.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhscN1Qc2CIiYryXlISWDMCG2u6ujPGhKTh38i7w4E25R7eYR437sZQFsTKuu2OnAgVX3BOjzY1m3q2ZiFkt8GLuCzj9yrNEUtnH80tGQI3CRnw4yX_87GWgg4pNX6BWxWfTMlmF6CkAT/s1600/IMG_3301.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhscN1Qc2CIiYryXlISWDMCG2u6ujPGhKTh38i7w4E25R7eYR437sZQFsTKuu2OnAgVX3BOjzY1m3q2ZiFkt8GLuCzj9yrNEUtnH80tGQI3CRnw4yX_87GWgg4pNX6BWxWfTMlmF6CkAT/s320/IMG_3301.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ragnarock Direct at Elephants Head</td></tr>
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Vermont: After sleeping in Burlington we headed for Smugglers Notch and parked with all the skiers heading for the resort. We shouldered our packs and started walking up the snowy road to Elephants Head. Unfortunately the storm that we had driven through the day before had dumped a bunch of snow at Smugglers Notch and we were the first ice climbers up there so we were breaking trail up to Elephants Head. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrPN7amA1q3h8SzUhQbW7ZhzPpq1nkTXXAa0vgDTKrfVIHCSzCWgYFjbR6XI6rQt00zdqkVXYAxW6cCem1x5sya3VVX1IYz83svjzRodjFV46yCKfQdbXiV4PS7NxtSu7gk7z9I9LzfqK/s1600/IMG_3319.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrPN7amA1q3h8SzUhQbW7ZhzPpq1nkTXXAa0vgDTKrfVIHCSzCWgYFjbR6XI6rQt00zdqkVXYAxW6cCem1x5sya3VVX1IYz83svjzRodjFV46yCKfQdbXiV4PS7NxtSu7gk7z9I9LzfqK/s320/IMG_3319.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Positive Thinking</td></tr>
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New York: The last day of ice climbing had us heading on the ferry across Lake Champlain to Poke-O-Moonshine. We climbed a great route called 'Positive Thinking' and then decided to give 'Discord' a go. The first pitch of 'Discord' was thinner and more delaminated than I expected but luckily I brought some rock gear which made it doable. Matt lead the last pitch and we called it a trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uOnUJ06BhdMp2VYxnUai74-3LEDPtDbcHqfS8GllO5Bhv2v9Z-rk-Qzb7hR0cAPS9cfDny7aOKpBl98LPjiM3YAw7LXMOrfgTrDUycqzo21jvSIpNqTGVJU0PhLg028OYAn0jJbQBT8R/s1600/IMG_3323.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uOnUJ06BhdMp2VYxnUai74-3LEDPtDbcHqfS8GllO5Bhv2v9Z-rk-Qzb7hR0cAPS9cfDny7aOKpBl98LPjiM3YAw7LXMOrfgTrDUycqzo21jvSIpNqTGVJU0PhLg028OYAn0jJbQBT8R/s320/IMG_3323.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discord</td></tr>
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Unfortunately 'Remission' and 'Repentance' were not in while we were in New England. Next time in addition to 'Remission' and 'Repentance' we have our eye on 'Maine Line' and some stuff further north in Quebec.Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-33508133592901903722020-03-02T17:11:00.004-08:002020-03-04T20:04:15.672-08:00Park Avenue <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've always neglected towers in Park Avenue for whatever reason but in the last few months we climbed a hand full of them. Last fall after topping out the Citadel in the morning Matt and I climbed The Corn Dog in arches in the afternoon. We'd tried to climb The Corn Dog a few years ago but it had snowed and was dark and we couldn't figure out how to get by the snowy slabs to access the tower. This time things went smoothly. We got to the base and we were able to stick clip bolt to bolt past all the empty pin holes.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg3M6BrucztOI0HSHg9DBJoVGGzPerLoY0zkvIq1TJB4pHxPMyFTSSoh3WpcFCcsUUCbKP27W1iTBNYQZQ6d6LbDisYzHmBmiG_XRIuGvNh22CnEAsN3C62UeKsIk1S9MRG4haBU66bKk/s1600/IMG_2237.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg3M6BrucztOI0HSHg9DBJoVGGzPerLoY0zkvIq1TJB4pHxPMyFTSSoh3WpcFCcsUUCbKP27W1iTBNYQZQ6d6LbDisYzHmBmiG_XRIuGvNh22CnEAsN3C62UeKsIk1S9MRG4haBU66bKk/s320/IMG_2237.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Corn Dog</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
A month or two later, the day after Matt and Justin climbed Bridal Veil Falls and The Titan in a day we went back to Park Avenue. Justin was halfway up the first pitch of the Candelabrum when I showed up. I'd gotten off work that morning and driven straight from Farmington to Arches National Park. I led the second pitch to the shoulder because the old Desert Rock topo didn't show anchors on the summit. Luckily Sam had already climbed the tower and had replaced the undocumented crappy anchors with fatty bolts. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uD6RMNVkNkSJcNq7gudCn6yctVjKDnlcQfq2-SqjvTIQnBOfpoDv8QdV3pyl-kPmp5YjCCcThOzyagpQFbKJCJ1p_GiJ5PIANT0YYkscaNicRRL7A3i5hxwRYICIdqTAam1fBeu1kyaj/s1600/IMG_2848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uD6RMNVkNkSJcNq7gudCn6yctVjKDnlcQfq2-SqjvTIQnBOfpoDv8QdV3pyl-kPmp5YjCCcThOzyagpQFbKJCJ1p_GiJ5PIANT0YYkscaNicRRL7A3i5hxwRYICIdqTAam1fBeu1kyaj/s320/IMG_2848.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Igor on the left and Nefertiti on the right.</td></tr>
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We rappelled off the back side of the Candelabrum and headed for Nefertiti. I didn't know that there was a route on Nefertiti until I saw a photo on Instagram with people on it. Luckily they gave me some info that pointed us in the right direction. When we had climbed The Corn Dog we'd noticed lead bolts on Igor (the tower between Nefertiti and The Corn Dog) so we weren't surprised to to see and anchor on the summit block of Igor. After we summited Nefertiti Matt was able to throw a rope with a big knot in it over Igor and get the knot stuck in the crack that splits the summit. I then rappelled off Nefertiti to the notch between the towers and batmaned up the fixed line while Matt gave me a TR from the top of Nefertiti. Luckily the jammed knot didn't move or it would have been one nasty swing. The anchor webbing on Igor was so rotten that the quick link was sitting on the dirt below the anchor. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh753qm4mJ6CZyV6XH_IbkKkmRsfE7fgs5R6HZSoFryTNR6aw4Bb2mbhrKMvC6agLzubfgQ9xPMMdiqmxOdh3M3xwx8-c5KBoOCdnh_FRtzsN6JjXUdTxfo-fKryWgpuJsW8VcQ5b22dU8q/s1600/IMG_2824.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh753qm4mJ6CZyV6XH_IbkKkmRsfE7fgs5R6HZSoFryTNR6aw4Bb2mbhrKMvC6agLzubfgQ9xPMMdiqmxOdh3M3xwx8-c5KBoOCdnh_FRtzsN6JjXUdTxfo-fKryWgpuJsW8VcQ5b22dU8q/s320/IMG_2824.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jammed knot.</td></tr>
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The last tower for the day was Jello Tower. The last pitch of this route is supposed to be scary aid climbing past big blown out pin scars. Luckily when we got there we found one fixed pin and two lead bolts protecting the climbing. Unfortunately after summiting in the dark and rappelling back to the ground we forgot to make sure there were no knots in the end of the rope when we were pulling the ropes. Just when we thought our day was over a knot got stuck in the anchor. I ascended the stuck rope while on belay from below, placing gear in the first pitch as I went. Turned out the jammed rope just had a few twists and hitches!<br />
<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-28778168425355983932020-03-02T17:11:00.003-08:002020-03-04T20:04:15.664-08:00The Citadel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Citadel is a huge tower that has been on my list for years. Last November Matt and I hiked out there and gave it a go. I had just hurt my wrist and Matt's hip wasn't feeling great so we were a good team. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2CknFy-M4RsdPAmicyO_hmURExXQjCpK_avLuXHFYKYIph0gVipR0khISiJJvAcYnr0P1iqY49vJW22bP90zvNYjN94iY_hEnGwAATlPd0DXanzKNKaFMCN2yMDkT7CAmAQb2QJ6_Q8v/s1600/IMG_2213.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2CknFy-M4RsdPAmicyO_hmURExXQjCpK_avLuXHFYKYIph0gVipR0khISiJJvAcYnr0P1iqY49vJW22bP90zvNYjN94iY_hEnGwAATlPd0DXanzKNKaFMCN2yMDkT7CAmAQb2QJ6_Q8v/s320/IMG_2213.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt on Pitch 1.</td></tr>
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I left Farmington after getting off of work and met up with Matt in Cortez. We drove out Onion Creek and hiked up the super cool canyon to the Mysteries. I wasn't sure how hammering would feel on my wrist so Matt took the first pitch which was a line of beaks right off the ground. As scary as it was to watch him lead the pitch while belaying, I'm sure it was even more scary to actually lead it! Matt topped out P1 and I led the long second pitch to the shoulder. The sun was starting to go down and as much as we wanted to push it to the summit we opted to rap and hike out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36J-fNYImZ27Paa5jAymtHX0yzS3VLa87O7qzEx47_GggxqDGhERPeKpRXE0QcSP3yC0Aj1U_3xnorH5BZnuVhV_BJtf2TLKNWTSMsavfhv8WnLMNsTSTigqV1h1T3gRpW_7a-8TEi52g/s1600/IMG_1646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36J-fNYImZ27Paa5jAymtHX0yzS3VLa87O7qzEx47_GggxqDGhERPeKpRXE0QcSP3yC0Aj1U_3xnorH5BZnuVhV_BJtf2TLKNWTSMsavfhv8WnLMNsTSTigqV1h1T3gRpW_7a-8TEi52g/s320/IMG_1646.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pitch 2 muddy crack.</td></tr>
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On the second day we hiked back in and jugged the fixed line back up to the top of pitch 2. Matt was leading pitch 3 when he pulled off a microwave sized block 40' up. It was nice that it was light for that and because pitch 3 wandered a bit and required some route finding.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifi0xc45dIojk0Gz8YxodvqiS2WiUaEeQTRUoURlmr2xsJ3ObN0WLe2cRK0JYRrb2EyG1VeyHOWWk-jAjUSnDk7pmEnhZMsyfXJzEhtGDXJB5jBiHWHuffYepcTx460wMwU4NcCnYVWB5J/s1600/59528279548__B12300D6-C18E-45E5-8F7A-E6999EFED09E.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifi0xc45dIojk0Gz8YxodvqiS2WiUaEeQTRUoURlmr2xsJ3ObN0WLe2cRK0JYRrb2EyG1VeyHOWWk-jAjUSnDk7pmEnhZMsyfXJzEhtGDXJB5jBiHWHuffYepcTx460wMwU4NcCnYVWB5J/s320/59528279548__B12300D6-C18E-45E5-8F7A-E6999EFED09E.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical bolt.</td></tr>
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On the 4th pitch I wished we had another big cam but was able to make it to the short bolt ladder and the better rock making up the summit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFYEEdR-RV53cV-6qL0VYNrU1937ZUIV4GEha2vwW7NZsMpIyiXIfngPool_VUfBRrtNfoayCf_K5jmFPb8vGvTYcdSzFZQInvVV2WVoHz_h14yoEQjxE5UVRlaBPOHaFUTnVaggtgO2f/s1600/IMG_1653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFYEEdR-RV53cV-6qL0VYNrU1937ZUIV4GEha2vwW7NZsMpIyiXIfngPool_VUfBRrtNfoayCf_K5jmFPb8vGvTYcdSzFZQInvVV2WVoHz_h14yoEQjxE5UVRlaBPOHaFUTnVaggtgO2f/s320/IMG_1653.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit!</td></tr>
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I was never really interested in climbing the Atlas in the Mysteries because it looks more like a big fin than a tower. However after climbing the three obvious towers in the mysteries(Doric, Gothic Nightmare and Citadel), Atlas and the Hydra are looking more appealing...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRYDL27bWsY4vBdp3WlPJweZImDuP5uiPhDRI7pTFIInJlkMw74TcFVA323ez6VnIsL_KJmMms9vxGuXU6tq4RbseSRSHiJGaQpuYooPfsL7vLVJJrsPMLa6hqEbgr5IQyhtSKvBD7Xi5/s1600/IMG_2228.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRYDL27bWsY4vBdp3WlPJweZImDuP5uiPhDRI7pTFIInJlkMw74TcFVA323ez6VnIsL_KJmMms9vxGuXU6tq4RbseSRSHiJGaQpuYooPfsL7vLVJJrsPMLa6hqEbgr5IQyhtSKvBD7Xi5/s320/IMG_2228.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gothic Nightmare on the left and the Citadel on the right.</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-54715618111880546792020-01-06T08:38:00.002-08:002020-01-06T08:39:08.906-08:00Sierras 2019This summer when Matt and I were driving across Arizona we weren’t driving through smoke and didn’t turn north and go to Wyoming instead of California as we had in 2018. This summer Matt and I drove straight to Lone Pine, CA and got permits for the next day. We hoped to climb at the Whitney Portal that afternoon but it was so hot we just napped in the shade instead. Matt had hiked up Whitney when he was younger but hadn’t technically rock climbed in the eastern Sierra before. I’d climbed in the eastern Sierra but had never been in the Whitney zone. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3b5pbPTxfwMM_veayHllVEDCg86CJLfmdJuMMRYsxZaGU7TWwP8jZ_t6mirEAOKruTsCRgMvBNLg_WjmZFR6emKLWTKaH68ClBfl4UgDpnbrx65rqUl70JWLYfWoH9Y1naCnUQR6j-Yn/s1600/IMG_1748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3b5pbPTxfwMM_veayHllVEDCg86CJLfmdJuMMRYsxZaGU7TWwP8jZ_t6mirEAOKruTsCRgMvBNLg_WjmZFR6emKLWTKaH68ClBfl4UgDpnbrx65rqUl70JWLYfWoH9Y1naCnUQR6j-Yn/s320/IMG_1748.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making some coffee while we wait for the Ranger Station to open.</td></tr>
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We woke early, shouldered our heavy packs, and headed for Iceberg Lake. We set up our tent, where we’d sleep for the next 3 nights and started toward the Keeler Needle. Already at 8am we were down to t-shirts and sweating. We expected cool temps/wind/weather since we were in the high country so we brought our puffy coats. Puffy coat that would never get put on because the temps would never drop, the winds would never come in, the clouds would never come, we cooked all day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPr3idjmw3UcBqkhjo60uT8Z_BXB2uy7zT1ih5uYS0kStpAzEqthSTenY3VF6kQM3yOS4vNdc7ZpFSaYhTJ0ZGxQKnJrtA1fBHsywqqIPflr_B5uDWyuqR9N827X3v8tQ-uQ5qS-xLGzkk/s1600/IMG_1765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPr3idjmw3UcBqkhjo60uT8Z_BXB2uy7zT1ih5uYS0kStpAzEqthSTenY3VF6kQM3yOS4vNdc7ZpFSaYhTJ0ZGxQKnJrtA1fBHsywqqIPflr_B5uDWyuqR9N827X3v8tQ-uQ5qS-xLGzkk/s320/IMG_1765.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt following a pitch on Fishhook Arete.</td></tr>
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The next day we headed over to Mt. Russell and climbed the ‘Fishhook Arete’ in the morning. In the afternoon we climbed ‘Western Front’. In addition to both routes being awesome there was a slight wind that kept the heat down and made for a great day. The plan initially was to do a route on Whitney our last day up there before hiking out. We decided because of the temps and mediocre rock on Keelers Needle to head out early and go check out another area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDaQNUnf06iORdsp54b2Gpd4agX0_dFOXNhx4cTBSP-ATJxXR66T_tUsm1HUOaqvrh9SM3vrLljzVvnZGjRMduSk1zfjOPvkilW1L_wtdSvcHO9Dxvc3ruZGQMtg6mRX0vkS68Uq6JJCB/s1600/IMG_1772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDaQNUnf06iORdsp54b2Gpd4agX0_dFOXNhx4cTBSP-ATJxXR66T_tUsm1HUOaqvrh9SM3vrLljzVvnZGjRMduSk1zfjOPvkilW1L_wtdSvcHO9Dxvc3ruZGQMtg6mRX0vkS68Uq6JJCB/s320/IMG_1772.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt following a pitch on Western Front.</td></tr>
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We hiked out and ironically headed to Temple Crag which is lower elevation and generally worse rock. We decided to do something car to car in a day so we didn’t have to deal with permitting. The plan was to climb ‘Dark Star’ then continue to Mt. Gayley and Mt. Sill but after topping out Temple Crag and looking at the loose ridge that separated us from Gayley we decided to head back to the car. And to be honest I probably didn’t bring enough food with me to actually be able to continue onto Sill without bonking and probably dying. Although ‘Dark Star’ doesn’t seem to have the best reputation in terms of loose rock, we found the rock climbing to be fun and all the 4th and easy 5th class to be solid enough. All in all it was a great day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhAj79Kt2GA5Ds1zTIok7hKs_9DWiFKQaILbu2wp4HpMh7sb3koJ3_YkGWVHa9SiN209NpH3eKKT0rijYc2z1g_yPLRyrEMvKeNzXbmo6GlbiHmTa4sWHGGbiKMFxT0cPDZr2STE7Kd4J/s1600/IMG_1790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhAj79Kt2GA5Ds1zTIok7hKs_9DWiFKQaILbu2wp4HpMh7sb3koJ3_YkGWVHa9SiN209NpH3eKKT0rijYc2z1g_yPLRyrEMvKeNzXbmo6GlbiHmTa4sWHGGbiKMFxT0cPDZr2STE7Kd4J/s320/IMG_1790.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt leading the crux of Dark Star in approach shoes.</td></tr>
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After Temple Crag we figured we head to Toulumne for a bit. After a morning ascent of the awesome ‘Aqua Knobby’ the high temps made climbing out of the question so we just chilled at Tenya Lake for the afternoon. Since long days in Tuolumne were out of the question we figured we’d try out Mt. Conness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAiU3lFjsD8YiLEabtFQ-1RpkHtK8Umo1sZCo9oMi7MNf7DqV89FkgD4jQICTTx2rP2gHaMRFku5i89e1KDH0t7piP_c-hfAaFPl3e_f7TTcNpW5CHbPjTdFkOC8ZHAJlETlrWM5UwoNz/s1600/IMG_1793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAiU3lFjsD8YiLEabtFQ-1RpkHtK8Umo1sZCo9oMi7MNf7DqV89FkgD4jQICTTx2rP2gHaMRFku5i89e1KDH0t7piP_c-hfAaFPl3e_f7TTcNpW5CHbPjTdFkOC8ZHAJlETlrWM5UwoNz/s320/IMG_1793.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our home on the side of the road for multiple nights.</td></tr>
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The SW Face offered pretty fun climbing with amazing views of Tuolumne. Unfortunately on the hike out my ankle started hurting which was weird since I didn’t twist it and don’t remember any trauma.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5scx3kJvdkpddKlZZSW7yxDxiH1yclwAG6NX1OurgJGbYrP7fEsUB5CYoVItHpa_IsrTJ9BJa0ap2ziTsTQPHQ1fTBp3LU117u800rDjTcHAYkAKqDb809Td_RA8gHK1W4aTQBgcFKPev/s1600/IMG_1803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5scx3kJvdkpddKlZZSW7yxDxiH1yclwAG6NX1OurgJGbYrP7fEsUB5CYoVItHpa_IsrTJ9BJa0ap2ziTsTQPHQ1fTBp3LU117u800rDjTcHAYkAKqDb809Td_RA8gHK1W4aTQBgcFKPev/s320/IMG_1803.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the SW Face on Mt. Conness</td></tr>
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Either way the next day I taped it for a morning climb of ‘Crying Time Again’. We’d planned on going to the Hulk but decided to bust over to Maple Canyon instead since hiking with another heavy pack sounded less than ideal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbWjEmIvk7fQ2aG4i_W8CXe8X8vTWan4LVle6E6ioXHqou773UtfkOrupHOb7Xqnu1mgtShOdX9ZESZJ9t-mTvKvVKY_wLDyXVDZTPJKl3m3F7y4YIn2AJ1nmS-dc15CRA1RyAwc1jMJe/s1600/IMG_1815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbWjEmIvk7fQ2aG4i_W8CXe8X8vTWan4LVle6E6ioXHqou773UtfkOrupHOb7Xqnu1mgtShOdX9ZESZJ9t-mTvKvVKY_wLDyXVDZTPJKl3m3F7y4YIn2AJ1nmS-dc15CRA1RyAwc1jMJe/s320/IMG_1815.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aqua Knobby</td></tr>
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The next morning we were blown away with how fun the climbing was in Maple. We went from crag to crag only climbing the 4 star routes. Turns out having a couple knee pads in the vehicle would have been more beneficial than the crampons we had in the trunk.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutUDb_c9_dT80XUmz3RwnM3bFTDX7-YzAdyz3c2ExALSL5p0hgGKVVEWEkyvy1-DwbOxf_EgwaWt-11dOFCqeuIIglvbEQPJwuaNt_7cCM1qiioOZxrAqMVaSehhcbKPVysm6riVTR-GJ/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutUDb_c9_dT80XUmz3RwnM3bFTDX7-YzAdyz3c2ExALSL5p0hgGKVVEWEkyvy1-DwbOxf_EgwaWt-11dOFCqeuIIglvbEQPJwuaNt_7cCM1qiioOZxrAqMVaSehhcbKPVysm6riVTR-GJ/s320/IMG_1127.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipe Dream Cave in Maple Canyon</td></tr>
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-89646096168196108722019-04-23T10:28:00.003-07:002020-02-16T15:15:23.210-08:00The OpenMatt's full of ideas. For awhile now he's been saying we need to do an 18 pitch day at Golf Wall. 18 obviously like 18 holes of golf. The only rules were that they had to be 18 different routes and they all had to be lead clean. A few days before we discussed the order that we thought would work and wrote it down on a piece of paper that we conveniently forgot to bring to the crag. We both warmed up on a couple easier routes before hopping on the hardest pitch of the day, Pink Taco. I had the route wired but Matt hadn't been on the route in a while and messed up his foot beta near the top and fell on his first go, then crushed it second go. We both had a big sigh of relief having completed the crux of the day for our 5th route. We hoped it would be an easy coast to the finish for the next 13 routes.<br />
<br />
The next 6 routes went smoothly until I fell on Putt Putt. I'd done the route a hundred times over the years but just couldn't hold on. I decided I needed to start taking longer rests between routes, eat more food, and stop trying to do doubles(2 routes back to back). Matt motored up Bert and Ernie's even though it had some wet holds and I moved onto Cinderella. I got 3/4 of the way up and melted off the holds. This isn't good. Matt proceeded to try Cinderella and fell on two attempts. It seemed like we had both hit a wall. More rest and more food is what we needed, I hit Cinderella on my second go by skipping a clip and Matt hit it on his 3rd. Ok, back on track!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTCa7OFOcbIdn6BisIudVZCnVJuqFPDqEtabBuFmtDptoCOczLcbDVNQCAxQJQw3tMYut1CMkVoQ9EL_Y0PoaSoudk4PU6HMSht5A_qz4RmF1f2eIJL0iN_KHoDlc5BQYz9uX3ACUYl4D/s1600/IMG-7827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTCa7OFOcbIdn6BisIudVZCnVJuqFPDqEtabBuFmtDptoCOczLcbDVNQCAxQJQw3tMYut1CMkVoQ9EL_Y0PoaSoudk4PU6HMSht5A_qz4RmF1f2eIJL0iN_KHoDlc5BQYz9uX3ACUYl4D/s320/IMG-7827.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second attempt on Mail Slot...</td></tr>
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I went back to Putt Putt and it felt casual. I thought I'd caught a second wind until I fell off the top of Mail Slot. Matt ticked a few hold up top for me after he'd sent Greenskeeper and I sent next go. We'd thought we'd coast to the finish after Pink Taco but as we got more and more tired there were no gimme pitches. My last route was Hole in One and to be expected I almost came off right before the no hands rest. We're surely not the first to climb 18 different pitches in a day at Golf Wall but that's not what it's about.<br />
<br />
My order with approximate grades...<br />
1:Greenskeeper .10+<br />
2:Eagle .12b<br />
3:Bushwood .12a<br />
4:Par Six .11b<br />
5:Pink Taco .12d<br />
6:Divitator .12c<br />
7:Masters .12a<br />
8:Bogey Man .12a<br />
9:Birdie(aka Pumpy ten) .10+<br />
10:Shooter McGavin .10+<br />
11:Gator Pond .12a<br />
Putt Putt (fail)<br />
Cinderella (fail)<br />
12:Cinderella .12a<br />
13:Putt Putt .11d<br />
14:Three Roofs .12a<br />
15:Pebble Beach .11<br />
Mail Slot (fail)<br />
16:Ping .11b<br />
17:Mail Slot .11c<br />
18:Hole in One .11aBen Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-48142051267136746672019-04-16T15:45:00.002-07:002019-04-23T10:33:26.588-07:00Harts Draw<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Had a great 4 days discovering Harts Draw and Bobbys Hole Canyon in late March. I accessed Harts Draw from 211 on the first day and walked 4 miles up the canyon to get to Bobbys Hole. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5CEB6ZQFXz0kUjXGlHTRliYgM9TJ6nZTuuU7FtrIxbblFAOjwMwFcs3G5WLoI4aSa7iRcoyf9dSTGJ5cshY1lP9BhxdlgtiQQd6xdneUiFnfslPRgaQd8uLlXNW7c2mzRUMCuePPHVoH/s1600/IMG_1188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5CEB6ZQFXz0kUjXGlHTRliYgM9TJ6nZTuuU7FtrIxbblFAOjwMwFcs3G5WLoI4aSa7iRcoyf9dSTGJ5cshY1lP9BhxdlgtiQQd6xdneUiFnfslPRgaQd8uLlXNW7c2mzRUMCuePPHVoH/s320/IMG_1188.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hartworm Tower</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I got two towers done that day but then had to head back home to go to work. I knew I'd be back in a couple days so I left my climbing gear hidden behind a boulder so I wouldn't have to carry it back and forth. While at work I looked some more at Google maps and discovered what looked like an easier way into the towers. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIVvkCLS6yu8-f35I-3zU2TkLhbUWbOMpNKk2XjrgQA0EP1zt8-u-Cm_mCmUtLEy5hT-iZ77m7ATUEUGW8F9b8e-tdaXvYnDUf1GgfxonhCaRi76QB0MOTBathSpoBKPGulezZRegmarW/s1600/IMG_1195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIVvkCLS6yu8-f35I-3zU2TkLhbUWbOMpNKk2XjrgQA0EP1zt8-u-Cm_mCmUtLEy5hT-iZ77m7ATUEUGW8F9b8e-tdaXvYnDUf1GgfxonhCaRi76QB0MOTBathSpoBKPGulezZRegmarW/s320/IMG_1195.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Infarction</td></tr>
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So a few days later when I returned, I accessed the area from 133. The short section of dirt road was rough in a few spots but was a much shorter drive. I parked next to two cairns on the side of the road and was pleasantly surprised to find a trail leading down into the canyon. Luckily no one at taken my pack of gear and I climbed one more tower and hiked out with everything. The plan was to meet Trevor and Cam to climb some other towers but back on the rim with good service I learned that the area was inaccessible because of the snow melt. Cam bailed completely because he was sick but Trevor decided to come meet me. Trevor arrived later that night and we looked at photos and made plans for the next two days.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3p4amoRbNoJVnOiqhD1R9dceRKv4lstQVa4AFsaZpNDHSHSFotoBVLlpMr0n2ik9htLEtkp71HuIhHAZgNnZdfoXYFxPyueRUMpykhFlCh1hQSuHr67q4QaIHgoZcW-QgmTGFivW6hrJ/s1600/IMG_1203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3p4amoRbNoJVnOiqhD1R9dceRKv4lstQVa4AFsaZpNDHSHSFotoBVLlpMr0n2ik9htLEtkp71HuIhHAZgNnZdfoXYFxPyueRUMpykhFlCh1hQSuHr67q4QaIHgoZcW-QgmTGFivW6hrJ/s320/IMG_1203.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harts and Minds Tower</td></tr>
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In the morning we carried the climbing gear back into the canyon and set our sights on the proudest looking tower in the area, The Infarction. Things went smoothly and we were soon back on the ground planning the next day. We walked over to Harts Draw Rincon Butte with no plans of climbing it but found a easy route up. We soloed up and down, happy to get another summit. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfUq9Y-as57AriiOIpPqsnOwI01QmJ6_44kfQKFZtqwQGGOE84YOJigsu7E5t4zIzRg15MuTwY3Xa76M6_qrEGdSSwsz7ASRTvshMxW6Z3ZnkhrdzNCqnXhb5DFWdz7TetzSfE5yC973M/s1600/IMG_1209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfUq9Y-as57AriiOIpPqsnOwI01QmJ6_44kfQKFZtqwQGGOE84YOJigsu7E5t4zIzRg15MuTwY3Xa76M6_qrEGdSSwsz7ASRTvshMxW6Z3ZnkhrdzNCqnXhb5DFWdz7TetzSfE5yC973M/s320/IMG_1209.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor leading the last pitch on The Infarction</td></tr>
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On the last day we woke up to some flurries and weren't sure if we were going to get any climbing in. However, our packs of climbing gear were in the canyon so we had to do the hike either way. Luckily the weather cleared up and we were able to put up 3 more short routes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg3mghBudTBwvVhRrsxV-rvzOr5_rh3FMx7y1eeeQVk1KDcq0GmgyE7r0TWjUNWVddN_mCP4HEzpKPFOdf7QcQ6vchV7K5j8KGmkw5ino3EFngV3g-LriUOwyiaKKErcwChaxOtcRNG05/s1600/IMG_1221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg3mghBudTBwvVhRrsxV-rvzOr5_rh3FMx7y1eeeQVk1KDcq0GmgyE7r0TWjUNWVddN_mCP4HEzpKPFOdf7QcQ6vchV7K5j8KGmkw5ino3EFngV3g-LriUOwyiaKKErcwChaxOtcRNG05/s320/IMG_1221.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor and I on the summit of The Infarction</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-33315814859635705612019-04-16T15:35:00.001-07:002019-04-23T10:33:10.112-07:00Cody Ice <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the beginning of March we took a trip up to Cody to ice climb. I hadn't ice climbed since the year before when we were in Cody, but luckily ice climbing is like riding a bike. Once again we got a cabin in the valley which made the drive to and from the ice nice and short. Unfortunately it didn't shorten the approach hikes! On the first day, 5 of us climbed a great route called "View to a Thrill". </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwg_NP-p0uwCv7jbARCkoAem4XVPDgJvJDYwNBiohxtcXTdRHUZUocd6D6xlbqKJ0fMHQHn2vP65WU33CeazSdd59E1xS89V5SvWZoWIidnhp3KwIXzMEoLofY9euIUDeWSZ7M0ZtnY0Q/s1600/IMG_0981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwg_NP-p0uwCv7jbARCkoAem4XVPDgJvJDYwNBiohxtcXTdRHUZUocd6D6xlbqKJ0fMHQHn2vP65WU33CeazSdd59E1xS89V5SvWZoWIidnhp3KwIXzMEoLofY9euIUDeWSZ7M0ZtnY0Q/s320/IMG_0981.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pitch 2 of View to a Thrill</td></tr>
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Day 2: We all climbed Too Cold to Fire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYCiq6iqiEMOpit4vEwrl6e4HMYsZOykigOEXuDPzUYJIH8Uwd8n-wb_B1ptzZzj1jpNAxYSIHVmggLrfvZ52C345Ybr2LrwLFOGzQvjfoLtzFhzgrRB-gEfmWngWz0f8Xpz-OoSgNixA/s1600/IMG_1012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYCiq6iqiEMOpit4vEwrl6e4HMYsZOykigOEXuDPzUYJIH8Uwd8n-wb_B1ptzZzj1jpNAxYSIHVmggLrfvZ52C345Ybr2LrwLFOGzQvjfoLtzFhzgrRB-gEfmWngWz0f8Xpz-OoSgNixA/s320/IMG_1012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last pitch of Too Cold to Fire</td></tr>
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Day 3: Unfortunately, John and Jaaron had to head home, but Brooke, Tim, Smokey Joe and I climbed Mean Green. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkiO5ab7YhC_c5RWUiL3gAclwJAuzqffqfp_lwXVqLqUvlvnuhM_-kLnBCKHrFdvBw8ss3UEnS4NQdBLPEfEi9v10BNwvhmxExnNGE0kT1t0CRkytrEv_GzSn3RUnewz3OvEcIeAP50xu/s1600/IMG_1034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkiO5ab7YhC_c5RWUiL3gAclwJAuzqffqfp_lwXVqLqUvlvnuhM_-kLnBCKHrFdvBw8ss3UEnS4NQdBLPEfEi9v10BNwvhmxExnNGE0kT1t0CRkytrEv_GzSn3RUnewz3OvEcIeAP50xu/s320/IMG_1034.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mean Green Pitch 1</td></tr>
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Day 4: Tim, Smokey Joe and I got a late start and climbed Broken Heart's first 4 pitches. We walked up to My Only Valentine and were pleasantly surprised to find it in. We climbed that and then saw that we made a big mistake of starting late because the rarely in 6th pitch was fat. Unfortunately we had to rappel since Tim and I had left our headlamps at the packs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUtXw4I2woQuBF72JAYT61vkkNLZBBa0jACtfkgk8uVl3ZfZFzWSZYHtncER44vbpSlHvtOutT0p5ha13LdaZMBMKvZU2LZsDrPfB-oVDy0cnWPIX7F1W-zoNJevrbvvV_xxtOcogi20M/s1600/IMG_1048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUtXw4I2woQuBF72JAYT61vkkNLZBBa0jACtfkgk8uVl3ZfZFzWSZYHtncER44vbpSlHvtOutT0p5ha13LdaZMBMKvZU2LZsDrPfB-oVDy0cnWPIX7F1W-zoNJevrbvvV_xxtOcogi20M/s320/IMG_1048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim following a pitch on Broken Hearts</td></tr>
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Day 5: Brooke, Tim, Smokey Joe and I climbed High on Boulder to Save it for Later and Moonrise.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7D3w9mRJLvtsf1X0Zs0BhYnSwUEIrrcC0vqjibAi9_Zsw3WjlrLVCIhvhuY5z-Y_6D1FdaURNnq8hPvb9LaNjkjqK-8UEaeoyyepyV-jizPT1H1CB2OP7dQcfvnUGhF8m2T4VReRAMEV/s1600/IMG_1086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7D3w9mRJLvtsf1X0Zs0BhYnSwUEIrrcC0vqjibAi9_Zsw3WjlrLVCIhvhuY5z-Y_6D1FdaURNnq8hPvb9LaNjkjqK-8UEaeoyyepyV-jizPT1H1CB2OP7dQcfvnUGhF8m2T4VReRAMEV/s320/IMG_1086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smokey Joe following My Only Valentine</td></tr>
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Can't wait till next winter! </div>
<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-41345045562276359092019-04-16T15:13:00.001-07:002019-04-23T10:33:02.266-07:00Mexican Road Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In January Matt, Adam and I headed on a little Mexican road trip. We left in the morning after Adam and I got off of work. The vehicle we were taking was a 19 year old Honda Accord. On the 2,500 mile trip we would break 200,000 miles. None of us were concerned with whether the car would make the trip, but Matt and Adam were both concerned with the trunk space. You see I bought the car 6 months before with a subwoofer in the trunk and I didn't want to take it out. I don't care about bumpin' down the road, but probably irrationally, I was worried that by taking it out we would mess up the rest of the sound system making for a very long, quiet ride. Either way I made both of them pack very light which caused a lot of shivering later on the trip. We got a cheap hotel outside of El Paso, food shopped, and filled lots of water bottles that night. As planned we crossed the boarder early in the morning in hopes of making the 8 hours to Basaseachi before it got dark. Everyone we'd talked to about traveling in Mexico suggested only driving during the day. Luckily we remembered to get our Vehicle Import Permit as throughout the trip we were stopped 3 times by cops asking to see it. A few hours past the border we saw a taco stand and couldn't resist. We each downed 9 tacos to the surprise of owners. We pulled into Rancho San Lorenzo in the late evening and met up with Fernando who owned the place. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGqhcgnwn8zWjS6yKElNVkdj9DFnioMuCbIdeIvOT72W9zCuU8JEjfN0bUze-M7spwjoNkKFTfMpdmbf3kwnllSX3ZHshAMaejq_rpYMLYl3Rvczu0Ipiy4e22kj3-Do7W3MWyI9E6Psi/s1600/IMG_0738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGqhcgnwn8zWjS6yKElNVkdj9DFnioMuCbIdeIvOT72W9zCuU8JEjfN0bUze-M7spwjoNkKFTfMpdmbf3kwnllSX3ZHshAMaejq_rpYMLYl3Rvczu0Ipiy4e22kj3-Do7W3MWyI9E6Psi/s320/IMG_0738.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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He organized a ride to El Gigante the next day for us. After an good sleep we woke up and packed in preparation for 3 days on the wall. In the afternoon we got picked up and dropped off at the TH for the wall. An hour hike put us at the top of the wall where we would spend the night. The next morning we woke early and rappelled the route leaving food and water along the way to be picked up as we ascended. We also left some extra draws on the crux pitches which turned out to be nice but often they weren't on the bolts where you wanted them. After 5-6 hours of rappelling we were on the ground and started back up. We climbed the first 8 pitches to the Tower of Power where we'd left our sleeping gear and then climbed and fixed the next two pitches. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRgZn-yqcu7Pk3X_tWHGnPUhwRczsHgWCA5uU9_fUIWlu6vH1Q-lUcjpiQbHNMwdrRBBUKD55LFFh7B9BP1HiBeX5BGqcb84d1AYKa0RYLmMuLwnsZYepwuaVpN4G3M58h29n9u45VuK_/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRgZn-yqcu7Pk3X_tWHGnPUhwRczsHgWCA5uU9_fUIWlu6vH1Q-lUcjpiQbHNMwdrRBBUKD55LFFh7B9BP1HiBeX5BGqcb84d1AYKa0RYLmMuLwnsZYepwuaVpN4G3M58h29n9u45VuK_/s320/IMG_0746.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Above the Tower of Power is where the climbing got hard. Pitch after pitch of .12 climbing. We only brought one lead line and one haul line to minimize weight and help with station management. Luckily most of the hard pitches were about half a rope length, so the middle guy could just tie into the middle and we'd caterpillar our way up. When we had a longer pitch we'd have the middle guy climb it on a micro traxion, maybe not the best option but it worked. Once at the Critter Bivy which is where we spent the second night we once again climbed and fixed the next two pitches. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhem31I2gaFUoFIIV_yr_Jj24VOYZb1lnb7SZlNjxh9Nw_HvaImvza4pFKraU5nyDln5_iM95HhdUmYdbJmCrUh5WvPTySmCfihEncO6fMOQ2CDda7TqxAD2Mo01S_llpeCuOJEXrvTT8I/s1600/IMG_0763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhem31I2gaFUoFIIV_yr_Jj24VOYZb1lnb7SZlNjxh9Nw_HvaImvza4pFKraU5nyDln5_iM95HhdUmYdbJmCrUh5WvPTySmCfihEncO6fMOQ2CDda7TqxAD2Mo01S_llpeCuOJEXrvTT8I/s320/IMG_0763.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
On the third day after waking up we jugged and hauled the two fixed pitches and punched it to the top. We decided the last .12a pitch near the top was the best pitch on the route. We joked that we should have just rappelled those top few pitches to climb the pitch instead of rappelling all the way to the ground and spending 3 days on the wall. As we climbed the last pitch to the top the sun hit us and we started to thaw out. The route gets zero sun so we'd been in the shade, and shivering for most if not all of the route. We repacked on top for the hike back to the road. Luckily our ride was there waiting for us and drove us back to Rancho San Lorenzo. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ik7a8PogWomUxUsF2wFZjWVUijGEpbs8Xdl2ZaqLSuV5ulWELbM3O2Cqo2cHyYAFvqn1yN8PB1e6dOLV1K2iF_39sWLwMEwaYFWNuRpR2WRoaB32zduB4BRx9ed_-UY_rCCPmS9qVp7W/s1600/IMG_0790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ik7a8PogWomUxUsF2wFZjWVUijGEpbs8Xdl2ZaqLSuV5ulWELbM3O2Cqo2cHyYAFvqn1yN8PB1e6dOLV1K2iF_39sWLwMEwaYFWNuRpR2WRoaB32zduB4BRx9ed_-UY_rCCPmS9qVp7W/s320/IMG_0790.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Although we probably should of stayed another few days in Basaseachi we decided to get up early the next morning and make the long drive east to El Potrero Chico. We made it to Mark's place in Hidalgo a little after dark and then spent ten minutes pulling an Austin Powers trying to get into an admittedly pretty big parking spot. Apparently I forget how to reverse into a parking spot after driving for 12 hours.</div>
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The next day Matt and climbed on El Sendero Luminoso. We'd been wanting to climb the route for years and Adam had already climbed it. The route had pitch after pitch of good climbing on clean rock. It's definitely a classic for good reason. We met Adam in the canyon and decided after some dinner to climb Time Wave Zero which is a route we all wanted to climb. It was dark when we started but thought that was a good thing since it gets a lot of sun and would be hot during the day. With only a few hard pitches we thought we'd bring a bunch of draws and simul climb as a group of 3 for the majority of the route. Adam linked the first third, I took us up the next third, and Matt took us to the base of the crux pitch. At that point it started raining and only because of Adam did we continue. Matt and I were ready to call it a day but Adam took over the sharp end and took us to the top. We'd forgotten Adam's chalk bag and belay device at the car so we ended up lowering him every pitch then Matt and I would simul rap. <br />
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We wanted to go check out El Salto but the region was dealing with a gas shortage and so we stuck around Potrero for a couple days and got a little cragging in. We drove back though the boarder near Laredo and paralleled the boarder all the way back to El Paso. Adam got dropped off in Truth or Consequences to climb some more and Matt and I continued home. Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-55690668005617862692018-12-07T15:59:00.002-08:002018-12-07T15:59:54.494-08:00Something Wicked This Way ComesGothic Nightmare has been on my to do list for years. Matt King and I finally made it happen this week. The weather was less that prime with cold temperatures and a few inches of snow but to be expected I guess since it's December. We didn't start the hike until 1pm because I got off work that morning. We fixed about 100' before fixing the rope and calling it a day. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EPU3v2pLYcrxPbCg0Od_Jq8nFZhkpx8b2Q8i07jmA2KKVMfOwyRc-oDOUeNNWxhmpju6M6kWNVaaST1up_Wu93aVpdqlxs_T_RB75fNaspMzAGCJDrN-RAhbtvWGJxWv1ypqlNWS9gw2/s1600/IMG_3552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EPU3v2pLYcrxPbCg0Od_Jq8nFZhkpx8b2Q8i07jmA2KKVMfOwyRc-oDOUeNNWxhmpju6M6kWNVaaST1up_Wu93aVpdqlxs_T_RB75fNaspMzAGCJDrN-RAhbtvWGJxWv1ypqlNWS9gw2/s320/IMG_3552.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting up pitch 1.</td></tr>
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Matt had been having knee issues. He told me that night that it was aching and that he could probably only do the hike one more time. So the last 4.5 pitches would have to get busted out day 2. We left at 7am on day two. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3DAun86gzWyAR67HRQ1blLVE14IpmgrhMFTBFA9IO_VjC7Rytn4hVXFCkMllWl0qhctNzEW41Bul6LIPWyrzRW3R86b2CT8cUexYdp_RG7porrLNA7CRcNepnThytHa7gq5Oi4q2ZokB/s1600/IMG_0538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3DAun86gzWyAR67HRQ1blLVE14IpmgrhMFTBFA9IO_VjC7Rytn4hVXFCkMllWl0qhctNzEW41Bul6LIPWyrzRW3R86b2CT8cUexYdp_RG7porrLNA7CRcNepnThytHa7gq5Oi4q2ZokB/s320/IMG_0538.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy approach.</td></tr>
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<div>
He belayed from the ground as I finished leading pitch 1. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EmsJYDMLg4vHYyOo2SYHTtuXGLNeawANJzDIP80TlTK_oJVjPTSfifBy7KCHqrJWaLADt00Y6XDcrVYuEECyd_jedjH-g6YyIO37aba04hgY4V0IkPhnOJbgSYPP7sTY-Or2wRIu4cj_/s1600/IMG_3553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EmsJYDMLg4vHYyOo2SYHTtuXGLNeawANJzDIP80TlTK_oJVjPTSfifBy7KCHqrJWaLADt00Y6XDcrVYuEECyd_jedjH-g6YyIO37aba04hgY4V0IkPhnOJbgSYPP7sTY-Or2wRIu4cj_/s320/IMG_3553.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jugging the fixed line</td></tr>
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<div>
Next up was a dirty crack pitch that required a fair bit of mining to find solid placements. Luckily I'd borrowed a bunch of wide cams from friends or else I definitely wouldn't have made it. Pitch 3 and 4 followed a line of mostly hangerless bolts that stuck out of the rock 1-2 inches. When I pulled on to the top of Pitch 4 the route was less steep and slightly on the NW side of the tower, this meant that we now had to deal with some snow and ice. </div>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_q6YgO_2aqEJl8cHLm2AkkNp-_EqxL0L1Nt8-8c4zLPXIHZ9TuSw6aCk2lwcx7ipPLhtoGC8sg5iV6NpNUyXDEycsspDWNzI4-3Run0A0TH1b-exMEju8Kl0o13vXSUX7IxpxPgj4Ft-w/s1600/IMG_0555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_q6YgO_2aqEJl8cHLm2AkkNp-_EqxL0L1Nt8-8c4zLPXIHZ9TuSw6aCk2lwcx7ipPLhtoGC8sg5iV6NpNUyXDEycsspDWNzI4-3Run0A0TH1b-exMEju8Kl0o13vXSUX7IxpxPgj4Ft-w/s320/IMG_0555.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pitch 4 anchor.</td></tr>
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<div>
I lead the last pitch and rappelled back down to Matt. What a cool summit! </div>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5W8ye9xNAgj4_pLo850hWNt7wYibEGLFGpX2Xt3Sl-ahFi_341CW9VV0iqN4iVwn31eZAjHtz8JnJaPigsQD0Ss1-bFvsaKxyhSInVdokfbAIKZdRTxBD2O5xgCOz7Fes_NCzWCmJzAjB/s1600/IMG_0545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5W8ye9xNAgj4_pLo850hWNt7wYibEGLFGpX2Xt3Sl-ahFi_341CW9VV0iqN4iVwn31eZAjHtz8JnJaPigsQD0Ss1-bFvsaKxyhSInVdokfbAIKZdRTxBD2O5xgCOz7Fes_NCzWCmJzAjB/s320/IMG_0545.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7Vph0mhCVjgUKWAi712luhJnZPJu51m__HrkEnYw1ovKf1HC-Tsl5-Q31Qcf_WZxCSe30h-wrMWBTvnk3lKCnKDLrHiCKOE4y3Ozsijkd2jooPHBd7v7zxpBg3NCjLagLvIJ8XTHNNI0/s1600/IMG_0551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7Vph0mhCVjgUKWAi712luhJnZPJu51m__HrkEnYw1ovKf1HC-Tsl5-Q31Qcf_WZxCSe30h-wrMWBTvnk3lKCnKDLrHiCKOE4y3Ozsijkd2jooPHBd7v7zxpBg3NCjLagLvIJ8XTHNNI0/s320/IMG_0551.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie on top of Pitch 4.</td></tr>
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Luckily all the rappels went smoothly and we were back at the base before dark. <br />
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-85217196778160837032018-09-20T20:11:00.003-07:002018-09-20T20:12:56.677-07:00Back to WyomingA week after Amanda and I got back from Wyoming, Matt picked me up in Farmington. I was just getting off of work and he does like to waste time having me drive home to Durango. We made it nearly to Kayenta before we noticed all the smoke from the California wildfires. Matt called the ranger station in the Eastern Sierra that is responsible for the Incredible Hulk. They informed us that the smoke was horrid. We changed plans on the spot and headed North to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. After stopping to shop for food we pulled over on the dirt road to the TH to sleep for the night. It was a long day, Matt left Colorado and drove south to New Mexico. Then we headed west to Arizona, then north through Utah and the corner of Colorado into Wyoming. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2TBiZ3bXdwcQLPYfA-2RH_xHyMn3AeilWX-WBsUAu319YHdG-7lH1rNHc2KaeEyjeJaVZ3DKfwrJFZj-5p5DgnrVQ6nmALwx2PbJ-8qdf94sh8R95Mo0TfKnrDZkvJI_pNsBC9tPxm8ez/s1600/IMG_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2TBiZ3bXdwcQLPYfA-2RH_xHyMn3AeilWX-WBsUAu319YHdG-7lH1rNHc2KaeEyjeJaVZ3DKfwrJFZj-5p5DgnrVQ6nmALwx2PbJ-8qdf94sh8R95Mo0TfKnrDZkvJI_pNsBC9tPxm8ez/s320/IMG_0068.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt following on Black Elk.</td></tr>
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The next morning we finished the drive and packed our bags. We headed over Jackass Pass and climbed the NE Face of Warrior 1 in the afternoon. A fun route but mostly chosen because it was right above camp and we could rappel the route. <br />
We had heard a lot about Black Elk so that was next on the list. The topo suggested a #5 and a bunch of #4's for the OW pitch but Matt decided all we needed was one #4. Obviously that was his lead. Luckily he was right and he floated the pitch. Black Elk was indeed and great route and we were stoked for more. Once back at camp we packed up and moved into the Monolith Cirque a couple hours away. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1BiE6binPAQpVVhPp8L7SL250NkaARCxaHKe10JToro_2TAjRfemhDTd7HuR6wpA-7H4kmAaVw6QMrY8WwTRcbLFg6KxPkDOFKNGj8kt7C1AOs6PmkDHnBNWLUF9l3pOTqWLBYUIXQMD/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1BiE6binPAQpVVhPp8L7SL250NkaARCxaHKe10JToro_2TAjRfemhDTd7HuR6wpA-7H4kmAaVw6QMrY8WwTRcbLFg6KxPkDOFKNGj8kt7C1AOs6PmkDHnBNWLUF9l3pOTqWLBYUIXQMD/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Monolith and out camp below.</td></tr>
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Our buddy Sam had put up a route called Discovery and it was calling our names. The next morning we climbed all but the last two pitches of Discovery before bailing because of a thunderstorm. Although we never saw him Sam was on top of the route the whole time. He was rappelling in to free the crux pitches. He said the storm that scared us away dropped 1.5" of hail on them! We rappelled to the base and packed up camp again and headed back to the Cirque of the Climbables. The next morning we climbed the uber classic Pingora via the NE ridge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZ7-09msM_uTjkjU64qvj-TyxQtzCBifWz60jMUQmCKnSCHg4PElq9KhyphenhyphenlCrEzdmIpK_7unARCFNoBHJgnbYhPEdqmZXwahkAw8KolF4D92qSOvts5WlvK5WVfDsaDLkYibq87QfL2oZY/s1600/IMG_0176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZ7-09msM_uTjkjU64qvj-TyxQtzCBifWz60jMUQmCKnSCHg4PElq9KhyphenhyphenlCrEzdmIpK_7unARCFNoBHJgnbYhPEdqmZXwahkAw8KolF4D92qSOvts5WlvK5WVfDsaDLkYibq87QfL2oZY/s320/IMG_0176.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Pingora</td></tr>
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Then sticking to our schedule of moving camp in the afternoon we packed up and moved to Deep Lake. En route we ran into Trevor and Emily who had just gotten married in Ten Sleep a few weeks before. Deep Lake is probably the coolest/most beautiful alpine lake I've ever seen. The next morning we got up really early and hiked up to Lost Temple Spire. We started the SW arete as it was misting on us and we topped out in a light snow flurry. Then per usual we packed up camp and walked back to the TH.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwr8vgFjeovSJFRyzGeybqqxbkN1adaSMlE4O_gbX2Z6Ln2QF5lBuaPbia_u-ZGqA7PUSfSh1LYV4BSbPTLHNATRfa9FFsBWi_mxYkwDHOjYGZU6wjK50440Z0RG1Sy3CG_iWPCPdDm_b/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwr8vgFjeovSJFRyzGeybqqxbkN1adaSMlE4O_gbX2Z6Ln2QF5lBuaPbia_u-ZGqA7PUSfSh1LYV4BSbPTLHNATRfa9FFsBWi_mxYkwDHOjYGZU6wjK50440Z0RG1Sy3CG_iWPCPdDm_b/s320/IMG_0118.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep Lake...</td></tr>
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Next up was the Grand Traverse in the Tetons. I hadn't been to the Tetons in 20 years since I was guided up the Exam Ridge. Matt had never been to the Tetons. We had some good beta and figured it couldn't be all that hard if someone had done it in 6.5 hours. Luckily the route finding went pretty well. Matt's guts weren't feeling good which lead to him not eating and moving slow near the end but we still managed to squeak it out in 17 hours. We stayed at the AAC climber ranch that night, which is a super cool spot. I'll definitely be staying there again in the future.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdNz02WNCM1sIb53OS07778xdlbYqgFZUcesHW1VrUW9_FrXj16Qfr2TWaefAvLA29LffeNgZWUvADCcVfpJiKq5HphJiU2_dbyulrcgIKCNMukGlsCQkKgjjK8qCRK6q085xIf3gWTOa/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdNz02WNCM1sIb53OS07778xdlbYqgFZUcesHW1VrUW9_FrXj16Qfr2TWaefAvLA29LffeNgZWUvADCcVfpJiKq5HphJiU2_dbyulrcgIKCNMukGlsCQkKgjjK8qCRK6q085xIf3gWTOa/s320/IMG_0180.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Owen with the Grand behind.</td></tr>
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We then drove to Lander for some sport climbing and to visit Sam and Liz. Great to see those two. It's a bummer that they live so far away and we see them so rarely. Sam directed us to a couple crags where we could stretch our legs on our drive from Lander to Estes Park. First stop was Cranner Rock then on to Freemont Canyon, then on to Estes to see the Brandewie's. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJXMkkvIFRAdankFKQHz7s99VTEuBhWpTL6aYwdzk7qKrpHPW1MoixAg9BfqmPuSr7C_KSUFo8UunbScgrPgFvsLEfVdZ6sa0VNHXoAsve-cw7TIPLNGbiPpTq4OvjQhSm0_zq-ZZYxf6/s1600/IMG_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJXMkkvIFRAdankFKQHz7s99VTEuBhWpTL6aYwdzk7qKrpHPW1MoixAg9BfqmPuSr7C_KSUFo8UunbScgrPgFvsLEfVdZ6sa0VNHXoAsve-cw7TIPLNGbiPpTq4OvjQhSm0_zq-ZZYxf6/s320/IMG_0148.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Birds of Fire</td></tr>
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A couple days cragging around Estes and one big day into the Chief's Head to climb Birds of Fire. What a cool alpine route! Every time I thought the route was going to follow a crack it would bust out onto the face. Very fun thought provoking climbing. What a great way to finish a great trip!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKieFmnOFbhbnQcbqJGXwdVl3rm2PRRhtRfWqq7pIufbYRR4HXRFgwAodH3cJiW0jnLY7WME419x_HuL5XX1gXaUvSfTW1I6XcxJaeqJwkHL7im7I_A1Xf8qu1jgtznJ0vkoWfsORc6Ec/s1600/IMG_0153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKieFmnOFbhbnQcbqJGXwdVl3rm2PRRhtRfWqq7pIufbYRR4HXRFgwAodH3cJiW0jnLY7WME419x_HuL5XX1gXaUvSfTW1I6XcxJaeqJwkHL7im7I_A1Xf8qu1jgtznJ0vkoWfsORc6Ec/s320/IMG_0153.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owen need some work on his mean mug.</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-21883452999846342472018-07-22T10:28:00.001-07:002018-07-22T10:29:20.303-07:00Summer FunLast summer Amanda and I went to the Eastern Sierras to climb and explore. This summer I wanted to check out Wyoming. Fortunately, our friends Trevor and Emily were getting married while we were going to be up there so we were able to celebrate their wedding with them in Ten Sleep. We had planned on checking out Lander and the Wind River Range after the wedding but the climbing was so good we stuck around Ten Sleep for an extra day. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4hEmA3q1np1y1arOkzYroh-Kut2vGCyE4qPo9wweWBEcGtRThGGYslX9sfemp5b-vJOrinLfb1d6ByYprU3YNuSHjBzWGJqUeV8oACtgNYfju4Bt71rUTO6oBxY1TJXSqVn7k6zvnBT_/s1600/IMG_9804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4hEmA3q1np1y1arOkzYroh-Kut2vGCyE4qPo9wweWBEcGtRThGGYslX9sfemp5b-vJOrinLfb1d6ByYprU3YNuSHjBzWGJqUeV8oACtgNYfju4Bt71rUTO6oBxY1TJXSqVn7k6zvnBT_/s320/IMG_9804.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking out of a cool crag called Section 6.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvou-PqK-HlozsPiMB3SOMZ2dRrozsK30KUAmLdkdOiVboCbPqazef8Bg5ybCGbL2Cyh0YP3zp5WOynFZnKWBNUHNmMlNLSZJWphrpi-PfymfmLoiG7ik42eJaBPdRNVwkuVJKM0sK39mI/s1600/IMG_9799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvou-PqK-HlozsPiMB3SOMZ2dRrozsK30KUAmLdkdOiVboCbPqazef8Bg5ybCGbL2Cyh0YP3zp5WOynFZnKWBNUHNmMlNLSZJWphrpi-PfymfmLoiG7ik42eJaBPdRNVwkuVJKM0sK39mI/s320/IMG_9799.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda loving on a cloud.</td></tr>
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After our fill of sport climbing we decided to skip Lander and the Winds because of the heat and bugs. Instead, we headed east to Devils tower. I had climbed it once before in 2002 with John but had always wanted to return to climb el Matador. 10' up the classic stem box I was already apologizing to Amanda. I was able to stem and knew that she wouldn't be able to, which would make the pitch much harder for her.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nLkcrkb_lM3O8f_CBNgkQ4J4ZRXBIBTLpn1BVx5U-gtTlgwVUlonz5NVHRsrOWsRqQid-YU-T9JJ673W9Jy8GUtnlMdF0CdBFCs7CIpvtjQ_ntPr5C4uWJ_8Cdv0WW0iEOhAtSVpv7Vh/s1600/IMG_9851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nLkcrkb_lM3O8f_CBNgkQ4J4ZRXBIBTLpn1BVx5U-gtTlgwVUlonz5NVHRsrOWsRqQid-YU-T9JJ673W9Jy8GUtnlMdF0CdBFCs7CIpvtjQ_ntPr5C4uWJ_8Cdv0WW0iEOhAtSVpv7Vh/s320/IMG_9851.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">el Matador's stem box.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda crushing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit!</td></tr>
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We then drove to Estes Park to visit the Brandewies. Brad, Owen and I climbed at Combat Rock. I told Brad I had a trad rack packed and discovered at the base of the cliff that I only had 3 cams. Luckily we found a few bolts and made it work. Oh and Owen did his first rappel which was 230' long! The next day Amanda, Brad and I got up early and headed into RMNP to climb Zowie and Wham. The climbing was good, the weather was great, and the company was even better.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zowie</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda rappelling off of Zowie.</td></tr>
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Amanda and I have been wanting to rent big down hill mountain bikes, ride chair lifts and rip down hill for a long time. We finally made it happen at Winter Park. Super fun day! After 5 hours of biking we drove to Rifle for the night. The next morning we only lasted 3 routes before we decided we were too tired to continue and headed home. <br />
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-74939226835259491362018-07-22T09:43:00.002-07:002018-07-22T10:29:07.290-07:00Mt. OsoA couple photos from Mt. Oso a few weeks ago. The East side of Vallecito Creek is an amazing area that doesn't seem to see as much traffic as the West side.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moon Lake with an unnamed peak behind.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Columbines on the way up Mt. Oso.</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-57491301974817398322018-07-22T09:43:00.001-07:002018-07-22T10:28:45.854-07:0010th Anniversary!Amanda and I recently celebrated our 10th Anniversary by revisiting the Monarch Crest Trail, where I proposed to her near Salida, CO. Usually it would have been too early for biking the Crest Trail but we had so little snow last winter that everything was dry except for 2 small patches of snow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice to see some snow at 12,000'!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The one and only... Mandy Pants!</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-59639380355777384292018-04-23T19:09:00.000-07:002018-04-29T07:23:03.276-07:00Arch Canyon and Texas CanyonsMatt, Matt and I decided to head out to Texas Canyon and check out 'Lone Star' which is a tower I had been wanting to climb ever since Clay and I saw it over a decade before. For the standard approach Lone Star is guarded by a long rough 4wd road. For this trip we decided to opt for the rim approach which is an easy drive but requires a rappel and longer hike. This approach was great because is offered a different view of the canyon and allowed us to scope out some other towers that were on the way. Pickren lead pitch 1 and 4 while I linked 2 and 3. This allowed our group of 3 to skip the hanging belay and go ledge to ledge. Matt obviously hadn't climbed in the desert much recently before this trip as he kept complaining on the pitch 4 bolt ladder that the bolts were moving. Matt had forgotten that movement is a safety feature of desert bolts. The movement acts like a shock absorber when you fall on them. We rappelled and hiked back to the vehicles vowing to return to the towers we had passed on the hike. Pickren headed home and Matt King and I set up camp for the night. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Matt and Matt on top of pitch 4 on Lone Star.</td></tr>
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The next morning we hiked into Dream Speaker. After looking at both routes on the feature we decided to do the North Face route as it didn't mention any sections of loose rock. Unfortunately they just opted to leave that part out of the description. The start of pitch 2 requires pulling on some very fractured rock, the rest of the route though is great. Again on the hike out to our fixed lines I scoped out another small tower that was unclimbed as far as I knew. We headed back to the vehicle and back to Durango. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Matt following pitch 2 on the N. Face of Dream Speaker.</td></tr>
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A few days later Pickren and I had 2 days off and started out at Broken Tooth Wall in Indian Creek. We got in some great pitches and then the crowds descended so we headed back down to Arch Canyon. By the time we got down there we had just enough light to go try the small tower I had scoped out by Dream Speaker. We left the truck at 18:30 hiked to the rim, rappelled in, and climbed the tower. Unfortunately there were bolts on top. We learned later that the feature was called Sun Tower. We did a FA but didn't do the FA of the tower. We jugged back to the rim and hiked out getting back to the the truck at 20:00. <br />
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The next day we headed back to the towers we'd seen hiking to Lone Star. We started with a tower we knew had been climbed called Cerro del Perro. Then moved to a small spire that hadn't been climbed just below Cerro del Perro. We called this Hair of the Dog Spire. Next up was another small triangular tower that be believed was unclimbed. Unfortunately once again it had been climbed. Can't wait to head back out that direction!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Cerro del Perro with Hair of the Dog below.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hair of the Dog</td></tr>
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-22361206909273292632018-04-14T10:56:00.000-07:002018-04-14T10:56:43.526-07:00Fun with AlternatesAdam and I had been planning on heading to Mexico in the end of March for the last 6 months. Unfortunately schedules didn't quite work out to allow that to happen but we were able to get out for a few days. We visited some great limestone sport climbing areas in the St. George area and then climbed two routes in Zion National Park. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJECf2OL2XqGe4ASJ2ktPOGqgiXu7Edw3XDSuMwAohS0a64_p0HWfoRZ6b3Aj_fqdNLBNmojl0jKI-i5GRkYG-eJkT261g_DeoTBw39QVY1KzrOXIgzL_30G07qMjnqiMfSACrRk9ZLiw/s1600/IMG_9171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJECf2OL2XqGe4ASJ2ktPOGqgiXu7Edw3XDSuMwAohS0a64_p0HWfoRZ6b3Aj_fqdNLBNmojl0jKI-i5GRkYG-eJkT261g_DeoTBw39QVY1KzrOXIgzL_30G07qMjnqiMfSACrRk9ZLiw/s320/IMG_9171.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam on pitch 1 of Tatooine.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5hTrEuGhPQCSrUBFHE_5vyRfd8iSp7zo0P7xsesaKKoYyYO_uun9z7DyJOntQycOF69QW-9u01R1v4TgF69zlj_DrzpljIzJ2PVDTBtU8j5EqGl5GTUeCFfU-GeYM2eXjYlRpoD_fx6B/s1600/IMG_9173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5hTrEuGhPQCSrUBFHE_5vyRfd8iSp7zo0P7xsesaKKoYyYO_uun9z7DyJOntQycOF69QW-9u01R1v4TgF69zlj_DrzpljIzJ2PVDTBtU8j5EqGl5GTUeCFfU-GeYM2eXjYlRpoD_fx6B/s320/IMG_9173.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam folloing a pitch up high on Tatooine.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQNn4cr1_uX6gZNfQFsDxk_6JLXYJV5oEi1ECXhSBBhyzPVRs9_-iFCwudb3UHh9SECuwBr17rTDEGudI7k6AKOyegaOM3yfHjaE0q5H-0hNuX0LrCoIBzLA9vWMaBV2TqAX1BcbTyT5x/s1600/IMG_9170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQNn4cr1_uX6gZNfQFsDxk_6JLXYJV5oEi1ECXhSBBhyzPVRs9_-iFCwudb3UHh9SECuwBr17rTDEGudI7k6AKOyegaOM3yfHjaE0q5H-0hNuX0LrCoIBzLA9vWMaBV2TqAX1BcbTyT5x/s320/IMG_9170.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A disturbing 'welcome' to Mt. Kinesava.</td></tr>
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After climbing with Adam I headed back to work for 2 days. Then it was time to go to Arkansas to visit Grandma Boyer. Unfortunately the weather was bad enough that Arkansas was flooding. So Amanda and I changed plans and once again headed west. We stopped in Springdale for a few days to visit Geoff and Janice. Geoff and Janice had to work but we were able to visit in the evenings and then go climbing while they were at work during the day. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uKFWfBHzcv3t8RH7IGpU8dafXCuHXfph_HLBUXSBAbOxPJdvJ54WeGTh-L8OsKfBtXd5adzPJyGWfbNOKP7-DMJ_CvP2O-8vnGs5-6zx1E6id4ZCiOv1ijgyvg-pfKpXgJT4XAZ0iBf0/s1600/IMG_9207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uKFWfBHzcv3t8RH7IGpU8dafXCuHXfph_HLBUXSBAbOxPJdvJ54WeGTh-L8OsKfBtXd5adzPJyGWfbNOKP7-DMJ_CvP2O-8vnGs5-6zx1E6id4ZCiOv1ijgyvg-pfKpXgJT4XAZ0iBf0/s320/IMG_9207.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lime Kiln Canyon with Amanda.</td></tr>
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The next stop was visiting Clay and Linda in Yucca Valley. The last time I was in Joshua Tree was in 2002 so it was time to revisit the area. Our finger tips were trashed from 3 days of sport climbing so our first day there we did some hiking and sight seeing with Clay as our guide. Then a day of climbing at the Hemingway Wall. On our final day we decided to go checkout the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. We took the tram up and were pleasantly surprised to find a mountainous paradise with cool temps and all!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting Clay in J-Tree!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the Hemingway Wall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYaMeVna2p6oqK_7RmJ3Ekyg-vHnSHEGCunMSRuGt8BwYiIrs07wQ7PjDQwOoGHmt7RPFqmFlTae-yTkdtstqAn5qmQsT8P1KbR-5cvXjQvtArtH24HauQzGK6szhXryb353aUQCrmsix/s1600/IMG_9276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYaMeVna2p6oqK_7RmJ3Ekyg-vHnSHEGCunMSRuGt8BwYiIrs07wQ7PjDQwOoGHmt7RPFqmFlTae-yTkdtstqAn5qmQsT8P1KbR-5cvXjQvtArtH24HauQzGK6szhXryb353aUQCrmsix/s320/IMG_9276.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yucca in bloom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldTCMATDIh-ECuN1XZgvDiQQ8b2mU15U9A6D0q8bHZzLUOPJOB3g3833eLtwcGL27LOHkgm2cJ2EdPi-VquG_ghg8Za75mlZkebcbmx7xAXO4nY5JN3CPijVu-GQEupNJxVRGMEwLYUDg/s1600/IMG_9277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldTCMATDIh-ECuN1XZgvDiQQ8b2mU15U9A6D0q8bHZzLUOPJOB3g3833eLtwcGL27LOHkgm2cJ2EdPi-VquG_ghg8Za75mlZkebcbmx7xAXO4nY5JN3CPijVu-GQEupNJxVRGMEwLYUDg/s320/IMG_9277.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. San Jacinto State Park with Clay and Linda.</td></tr>
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We split up the drive back by climbing in Lime Kiln Canyon again. Two great trips back to back!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-65383371090464378982018-02-25T20:06:00.000-08:002018-02-25T20:06:30.820-08:00Cody Ice ClimbingTim, Jaaron, Aarona, Cory and I made it up to Cody this year for some ice climbing. We all split a super plush cabin right near the climbing which cut our commute to the ice down from an hour to 10 minutes. It was a great year for ice this year, many routes that rarely form were very fat. I had a list of classics to do while we were up there but didn't really do any because we kept finding stuff that rarely forms to climb. We figured we might as well save the stuff that always forms for next year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4zhB8TlUUjdYDNQcuqTY2_WZvbKQpRo07P5Te4RGn1hSFxrztuz6LddX1XKsyxsjTdQAWWeGGTb7SsVnTUMdlEeLOnG06C6eEyNt1Ca8xAfUlOVoLWgjbaqXmoL46Ijv5y7FfibUvB5K/s1600/IMG_8938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4zhB8TlUUjdYDNQcuqTY2_WZvbKQpRo07P5Te4RGn1hSFxrztuz6LddX1XKsyxsjTdQAWWeGGTb7SsVnTUMdlEeLOnG06C6eEyNt1Ca8xAfUlOVoLWgjbaqXmoL46Ijv5y7FfibUvB5K/s320/IMG_8938.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim following 'Cabin Fever'</td></tr>
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After around 17hrs of driving because of horrible roads, we arrived at our cabin at 1am to -22 degree temps. Needless to say Tim and I took it easy the next day. We climbed 'Cabin Fever' with the planned of tacking on 'Wyoming Wave'. Unfortunetly after climbing CF we walked past WW's first pitch saying, "that can't be it". Well apparently it was. After postholing up the wrong drainage for a very long time we finally decided that the small frozen falls we had seen likely was the correct pitch. We turned around, climbed the pitch and called it a day, skipping the last two pitches.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvKVAHWLU3ZmAqfevDPmXHIavSzO8kZYBb_tKDEHSlrrpbpvuMXiHtS9QcT6yO11Tp76dlp2KkCp9fcOaGnVGjWYQvoJeYncvh6Z4lqJTnVFbAo3VoGm6oG1xHJAAhy6Q4Ibmp9SGS1HU/s1600/IMG_8943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvKVAHWLU3ZmAqfevDPmXHIavSzO8kZYBb_tKDEHSlrrpbpvuMXiHtS9QcT6yO11Tp76dlp2KkCp9fcOaGnVGjWYQvoJeYncvh6Z4lqJTnVFbAo3VoGm6oG1xHJAAhy6Q4Ibmp9SGS1HU/s320/IMG_8943.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim leading the 4th pitch of 'Spying and Flying'</td></tr>
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The next day we decided to hike in and check out 'Spying and Flying' and Ro Sham Bo'. Somehow a 2 mile approach took a solid two hours of pretty fast hiking to complete. Tim had been back there before but luckily for me he hadn't done all the pitches he had wanted to. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK0FXW9aW0r5q1i1JSb15zd3uCYhPk0aqmz4defVS0sozNPg3uDi77GYbhxGtPTBXiMqPpa3fQNgRn3ALPC2Y_L3VkHcPyk1g_-UHO9Hd522LJsFiWdBbmMqNLP4EWPx3t83QHOQ9vTs0/s1600/IMG_8953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK0FXW9aW0r5q1i1JSb15zd3uCYhPk0aqmz4defVS0sozNPg3uDi77GYbhxGtPTBXiMqPpa3fQNgRn3ALPC2Y_L3VkHcPyk1g_-UHO9Hd522LJsFiWdBbmMqNLP4EWPx3t83QHOQ9vTs0/s320/IMG_8953.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim following 'Ro Sham Bo'</td></tr>
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We got back to the car well after dark but got some great pitches in!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4U3DWwwyQqMOZiZufQud2lriN3G0hdPFKfxLSUhV5bXcFq07SBJy2enUi93yR24KD5UpaVMZ39kTknYUhBew6Fb5o_vt_1vqbBDuMET9opa1gaoPWgj3nDwYDDZgpZFKrQvgpMKpC18n/s1600/IMG_8958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4U3DWwwyQqMOZiZufQud2lriN3G0hdPFKfxLSUhV5bXcFq07SBJy2enUi93yR24KD5UpaVMZ39kTknYUhBew6Fb5o_vt_1vqbBDuMET9opa1gaoPWgj3nDwYDDZgpZFKrQvgpMKpC18n/s320/IMG_8958.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim leading 'Sendero Illuminoso'</td></tr>
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After all the hiking the day before we wanted a shorter approach so we opted for 'Sender Illuminoso' which apparently rarely forms as big as it did this year. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkmWHFUWgqaPR8OR_Eu2ktqBK1GDFRcBJIGRZhiWb2yi5I8gWroP6v2RTI5uonz-Iy7FGjKRVYwZIQLcb5z1r4FWyBLTKbiG9LfVp6iMHxxJeJsUdG8Jq-Xg8mrKhVYpdnePdO2Z8i1aJ/s1600/IMG_8992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkmWHFUWgqaPR8OR_Eu2ktqBK1GDFRcBJIGRZhiWb2yi5I8gWroP6v2RTI5uonz-Iy7FGjKRVYwZIQLcb5z1r4FWyBLTKbiG9LfVp6iMHxxJeJsUdG8Jq-Xg8mrKhVYpdnePdO2Z8i1aJ/s320/IMG_8992.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim following 'Scratch My Itchy'</td></tr>
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On what ended up being our last day of ice climbing we climbed 'Super Blue Moon' which is to the left of the uber classic 'High on Boulder'. We climbed its 3 pitches and continued up the drainage to the spectacular 'Scratch My Itchy'. What a great way to end a great trip!Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-23197460763206789152018-02-10T15:25:00.000-08:002018-02-10T15:26:07.530-08:00Stairway to HeavenFor the last two winters Amanda has ice climbed a day or two each winter. Even with her minimal days out each winter she has been steadily picking off San Juan Classics. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Stairway to Heaven</td></tr>
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In years past she climbed, Ames Ice Hose, Bridalveil Falls, The Calling, and Whorehouse Hoses. On Thursday Tim, Jaaron, Amanda, and I got out and added Stairway to Heaven to that list. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim belaying Jaaron on pitch 1.</td></tr>
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We split into two teams with Tim and Jaaron climbing first and Amanda and I trying to keep up. Although the temps were a chilly 4 degrees at the trailhead when we left the vehicles, it turned out to be a beautiful pleasant sunny day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda and I on the way down. </td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-85470218818789008472018-02-07T10:36:00.000-08:002018-02-07T10:36:41.809-08:00Hite TowersTrevor, Emily and I made plans to check out some towers near Hite, Utah. I'd never been that far west of Blanding on 95 so I was stoked! I got out of work and drove straight to Blanding to pick them up. We filled the Ranger with camping gear, climbing gear and people and headed out. By the time we got out to our first objective it was afternoon. We pulled over under Middle Finger Tower and racked up.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Middle Finger Tower with the Henry Mountains behind. </td></tr>
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Emily took the first pitch ending on a rubble filled ledge. I was up next, a mix of aid and free slowly got me to the top. The pucker factor was high in spots but luckily everything worked. This little tower turned out to be super cool with spectacular views. </div>
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<br />The sun was starting to get low in the sky so we hurried back to the car and drove on. The road got rough for a bit but we made it through and found a camp spot below the next day's objectives.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sewing Machine and Sewing Machine Needle</td></tr>
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This was our main goal, The Sewing Machine Needle. A beautiful thin wind gate tower in a remote location! If things went well the plan was to check out the butte next to the needle, it was aptly named the Sewing Machine. We couldn't find any reports of routes on the butte and thought maybe we'd be the first to climb it, or at least put a new route on it. The Needle was chilly to say the least. We started in the shade and by the time we got into the sun the wind had picked up. I lead the free first pitch and Trevor took the long aid pitch to the summit. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sewing Machine Needle</td></tr>
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It was afternoon by the time we were back on the ground and thinking about the butte. We decided to at least check it out. We walked the western side looking for possible lines. We decided on a line on the southern tip that wasn't proud but would get us to the summit quickly. I took the first pitch stopping 20' below the summit because of bad rope drag. Unfortunetly, as soon as we summited it became apparent that we were not the first to climb the butte or the route! There was an anchor with fresh looking bolts and webbing. Still a fun climb and summit to cap a great day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking back to camp.</td></tr>
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Having completed all of our planned objectives, that night we brainstormed for tomorrows possible objectives. We settled on The Bishop. Another windgate tower just up the road in North Wash. The next morning we four wheeled back out to 95 and turned west once again to find The Bishop. Although the approach looked heinous from the truck it went quickly and we were at the base of a super cool, little 3 pitch free route before we knew it. I took the first pitch, Emily styled the second pitch splitter and Trevor took the wide summit pitch. Once again a super fun desert trip comes to an end. Thanks for the fun times! Oh and Trevor and/or Emily took all these photos....<br />
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Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-29815859534558419132017-11-27T08:39:00.001-08:002017-11-27T08:39:57.358-08:00BlacksmithsAlthough the Black Canyon has the reputation of being full of loose rock, poison ivy, and scary climbing, there are the occasional gems that avoids all three of those things; Blacksmiths on the Hooker Buttress is one of those routes. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stoked on the warm sunlight.</td></tr>
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I had given up on the idea of climbing at all in the Black in 2017. Schedules and weather never lined up. Luckily with the mild and dry fall we've been having the season was extended and we were able to squeak in a route. I saw some photos of Noah on the route in the end of October and texted Matt immediately. We hadn't done a Black route in mid November before and I for one was a little worried about the minimal light and cold nights. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traversing</td></tr>
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We started early, leaving the car with 30 degree temps. Per usual however, half way down the SOB I was in a t-shirt and sweating. With a plethora of beta we were able to get to the base of the first pitch at first light. The route allows a few pitches to warm up on Dry Hard before veering off left over some big roofs. 2 1/2 pitches of traversing puts you at the base of the hard climbing. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling the exposure.</td></tr>
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Matt was up and onsighted through the hard climbing, and fell off due to rope drag on the wandering pitch right before the anchor. I convinced Matt that we should lead in small two pitch blocks since he was rested from belaying and I was pumped from following the last pitch. He lead up the next crux pitch and gave it a valiant effort but apparently he gets tired too. Who knew? I lead the next to pitches and Matt took the last, topping out at 3 with lots of light left for the half hour walk back to the car. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt on the first hard pitch.</td></tr>
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709418035921097828.post-35242901848741867132017-10-14T18:08:00.003-07:002017-10-14T18:11:28.072-07:0024 HHH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year Ben Griffin and I amazingly got into 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell. The event has gained a lot of attention over the years and is increasingly difficult to get into. <br />
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In addition to the two of us, Amanda and Katy came to heckle us and climb before and after the competition.<br />
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Although our "strategy" of trying to climb the good looking lines didn't really pan out with a win. We did at least get enough points that we can preregister for 24HHH next year. Having never been to the area before, I'm pretty happy with how smoothly things went. With all the energy from the other climbers around getting through the night climbing portion was definitely easier that anticipated.<br />
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Before registering for 2018 though, I'll first have to forget how much the skin on my hands hurt near the end and after the event.<br />
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<br />Ben Kiesselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15033797581766329739noreply@blogger.com0