The VOG

It had been a while since I'd been to the desert.  So when it worked out that Bill and I were able to sneak away for a day in Valley of the Gods I was stoked!  I picked up Bill at 5:30am and by the time we pulled into VOG it had warmed up to a balmy 15 degrees.  Luckily there was no wind and the sun was out.

We started out the day with a small tower called Sitting Hen and then moved over to Petard.  As we touched back to the ground after rappeling off the top of Petard I thought things were going great, two towers down and only one to go.  The ropes were pulling smoothly and then suddenly stopped... shit.
The end of the rope as it snaked up the tower had gotten stuck on top of pitch 2.  We pulled and bounced and changed out angle but to no avail.  I was getting pretty Hangry at that point and was ready to just leave the rope.  Bill was not about to leave 200' of rope hanging off a tower even if it was a crappy old rope.  He started jugging the questionable "fixed" line simultaniously placing gear on lead incase the "fixed" line became unfixed.  He go to the top of the second pitch and freed the rope then rappeled back down using the rappel stations we had skipped.  Next up was the Anvil.  We decided to try and free a route called 'Iron Bear Crack' which ended up going at about 5.10.  We watched a great sunset on top then hurried back to the car.

Great day in the desert! Can't wait for the next!

Summit of Sitting Hen

Subaru advertisement with Petard in the background.

Bill following the first pitch of Petard.

Last pitch of Petard

Top of Petard with Anvil in the background.

Starting up The Anvil.

Anvil's Mascot.

The VOG.

Bill was so excited about the light. 

Heading back to the car.

Hall of Justice

Matt and I went up to Ouray last week and climbed at the Hall of Justice.  Super fun!

Matt on Pull the Trigger

Skiing Anvil Mtn.

Amanda and I went with a few friends up to Anvil Mtn. north of Silverton, this morning.  For 4 out of 5 of us it was our first turns of the winter.  A little thin in spots but it was great to be out!

Starting out.

Gretchen and Amanda loving the steep skin track.

Pete, Amanda, Gretchen, and Thad

Amanda

Amanda has had enough of Thad's singing!

Anvil summit at 12,537'.

Headed back down to the skis.

The Best of the Best in Moab Oct. 2012

October is a great time to climb in the Moab area.  The weather is generally good and the temps are perfect.  Unfortunately most of Colorado also knows this and heads for the desert every fall weekend.

I met Sean at a coffee shop on Monday morning and we decided to hike up to Castleton and climb the classic Kor-Ingalls route.  The last time I climbed Kor-Ingalls was 10 years ago with the woman I married.  Sean and I got to know each other as we hiked up the talus cone to the tower.  Four pitches of great climbing put us on the top of the tower, which was Sean's first desert tower.  The route was pretty much what I remembered although I remember the OW pitch feeling a little more runout.
The next day we climbed at Indian Creek which is the most famous crack climbing area in the world.  Known for it's clean parallel cracks, it's a great place to practice crack climbing technique, whether you climb 5.13 or 5.9.
On our last day we climbed the incredible Ancient Art, made famous by the Citi Bank commercial.  With a team of 3 in front of us and a team of 4 behind it was a little clustered.  At one point all 9 of us were on one belay ledge!
Sean it was great climbing with you!  Hope to see you soon!

Looking up at Kor-Ingalls.

Kor-Ingalls

Hot feet.

Sean

Summit!

Back on the ground.

Chocolate Corner

Ansaid Tower

Generic Crack

Looking Glass Rappel

Ancient Art with Cottontail and Echo behind.

The summit corkscrew.

Thanksgiving in Vegas

The plan was to spend Thanksgiving in Vegas with some of Amanda's family but when I accidentally let slip that the campground we would be staying at is nicknamed 'Afghanistan' people decided that maybe that was not how they wanted to spend their holiday.  We stayed the course and met up with some friends for some climbing in an area called Red Rocks which is on the outskirts of Vegas.

Upon arriving in Vegas, Amanda got to check out Tuoro University (at the time a school with a potential PA program).  And in the process of finding the school (or not finding the school) Amanda decided once and for all that she NEEDED an iPhone.  From the school we headed straight to In-n-Out Burger, where we promptly gave ourselves tummy aches.

The climbing in Vegas was great as always.  Hanging out with friends was great as usual!  All in all a great way to spend a thanksgiving!  Oh yeah, and Amanda got to eat loads of sea food with her hands.

It's good, but it's still just fast food.

Red Rocks

Amanda and I w/ Mescalito in the background.

Bill on Y2K pitch 1.

Bill and Amanda on Y2K pitch 2.

Bill at the Gallery w/ some healthy snacks.

Cooking 

Brad

Headed to Unimpeachable Groping.

Hanging belay on Unimpeachable Groping.

Million Dollar Tower

You can always count on the old wise desert rats to know where the unclimbed towers are.

Jeff had climbed 'Million Dollar Baby' and noticed that what the guidebook called "a beautiful 200-foot pinnacle" right next to him still didn't have a route on it.

According to the guide book Mike Baker had been to the area in 1997 and put up the route Jeff had climbed.  Mike Baker's name is all over obscure desert routes, and there had to be a reason that he put up a route right next to the tower and didn't actually climb the tower.  We assumed the reason was that it required to many bolts.

Jeff insisted he had spotted a line so Jeff, Ian, Bill, Amanda and I headed to the desert with Ian's drill and a bunch of bolts.  Leaving Durango at 5:30am the temp was 15 degrees F, by the time we got to Bluff it was a balmy 29 degrees F.  I might also mention that Jeff was joining us with an arm in a sling from a recent bike accident he had commuting home from work.  As I led Amanda concluded that what I was doing more closely resembled construction work then climbing.  After placing 18 lead bolts and 2 anchor bolts.  I might have to agree with her.  When Ian pulled onto the top of the tower he informed me that the the others all agreed the route would be called "The Compressor Route", obviously inspired by the famous route on Cerro Torre in Patagonia that was littered with bolts.  Although I'd be surprised if Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk waste there time chopping this route.  Jeff crushed it of course and jugged the tower with one arm.

EDIT: We have since discovered that Jeff was keeping quiet about how many towers he had climbed.  Million Dollar Tower was Jeff's 100th tower!  Good work Jeff!

Ian

Jeff and Amanda

Maybe not such a good idea.

Hucking some rocks.

Yeah, I was climbing that fast.

Half way.

The farther you reach the fewer you have to place.

Million Dollar Tower

Amanda jugging.

Bill and Jeff on top!

On the hike out Bill, Ian and I headed over to 'The Bant' for a quick ascent.  A fun free pitch and a free hanging rappel makes for a great end to the day!

'The Bant'