Ingraham Flats, WA

Ingraham Flats, WA

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Rock Road Trip: Part 3

Rocky Mountain National Park




Unfortunately Colorado has had a pretty bad snow year. After talking to a few CMS guides in the Boulder area I was told that Dreamweaver (Grade III, WI2 or 5.6) on Mt. Meeker was still in shape. Given the string of high temps in Boulder and Estes Park we knew our time frame was narrowing. We decided to give it a shot anyway.

The hike up to Mt. Meeker cirque was pretty relaxed, mainly due to the wide trail all the way up to Chasm Lake. This area receives a ton of traffic from both hikers and climbers going to Longs Peak. For once my pack didn't weigh half my body weight. Starting at 9,405 ft we ascended to our bivy location at 12,100 ft in under a few hours. From our bivy we could see that most of the snow on Mt. Meekers shoulder and into the Loft descent area had very little snow left, not a good sign. We met a group coming down from the Loft who reiterated our concerns. Regardless we were going to have a look at it the next day.

Besides waking up a few times to scare off some marmots we slept in until 4 a.m. , ate breakfast, and then headed over to the snow slope. The temperature that night did not dip as low as we were expecting and upon approaching the base of the snow slope we saw some melting ice. The snow had frozen slightly with around 3-4 inches of crust with very rounded snow below. Previous parties steps were still visible but pretty melted out. We ascended without rope or crampons to the base of the couloir on hard-ish snow, reaching 12, 600 ft around 5:30 a.m. All it took was looking at the large amount of exposed rock and rotten ice above for us to decided to retreat. Though the bottom looked doable it was the top section that concerned us most. The high temps the previous few days had melted the route out considerably.

On our way out we ran into a party of 3 who were going to attempt Dreamweaver that day. They had quite a bit more rock protection than we had brought, and looked more comfortable doing mixed climbing if needed. We sat and watched the group ascend the snow slope until they got into the couloir proper. Given their speed, it took them over an hour to reach the route proper and it was already 8 a.m.,  I assume they ran into some very unstable snow higher up and on the descent.

Pride can be a dangerous thing sometimes, but luckily Linus and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to pushing a climb when all the factors are stacked against us. We had hoped for a snow climb not a mixed climb on rotten rock, we just didn't have the gear to do it. Such is life. We headed back down to the truck, which was not faring well to begin with,  and back over to the Front Range.



Meeker to the left, the Diamond on the right




Ships prow


Bivy


Conditions

Ideal conditions




The rounds



Red Rock Canyon


After cruising through Castle Rock again, with a short pit stop, we headed south to Colorado Springs. The idea was to stay in the lower areas to save wear on the truck, as it was belching white smoke everywhere. Two climbing destinations are immediately adjacent to Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods and Red Rock Canyon. The former is a tourist trap, so we decided to check out the latter. The area is unique in the sense that the sandstone substrate is exposed rather than the granitic formations just miles west. Red Rock Canyon is actually owned by Colorado Springs and is designated as a open space. Earlier in the trip we had run into lots of elitist local climbers who were very unwelcoming, however at Red Rock Canyon we experienced quite the opposite. Due to is close location and relatively new development the canyon is filled with tons of families out for a few climbs, hikers, cyclists, and just people walking around. Our goal on this trip was to see and climb in as many destinations as possible. The sandstone was very very soft and most of the climbs were slabby sport climbs, however there are a few great trad routes as well.

Because the stone is so soft, the use of top roping is actually incising the rock face. Some of these rope troughs are over 2 inches deep. Now considering this area is only about 8 years old that is staggering. Our first day there we saw a few climbing schools running top ropes all day with no regard for the environmental impact, sad.

Unfortunately due to the unusually high temps we were only really able to climb from early morning until around noon. Overall the area was nice, though something needs to be done to save the rock for future climbers.


Beta






Storm rolling in




Rope cut


The vertical lines on the rock are actually rope cuts






Well, the trip was a success, more or less anyway. We ended up climbing in a lot of different areas and on a lot of different stone types. However, my told truck didn't fair too well. I limped home with the old girl, but I don't think she will be doing any long road trips again. Now its time to get prepared for the post-vacation madness of work.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Rock Road Trip: Part 2

Castle Rock and Castlewood Canyon

We decided to drive south of Denver to my aunts place in Castle Rock to shower and take an off day or two. Though we ended up going out to Castlewood Canyon for a short bouldering session one day. The stone out there is pretty unique. It is a conglomerate stone, which is really interesting to climb on.


Up was easy

Down, not so easy

Linus getting schooled by a V0
While we were there we also experienced a freak storm system. Large amounts of hail fell for nearly 5 hours leaving a path of destruction everywhere. It has been a long time since I have been in the middle of a flash flood warning, tornado warning, and thunderstorm warning. There was still drifts of hail on the ground the next morning when we left for Boulder.

Hail

Specimen 



Boulder

We cruised up to Boulder, mainly because I was slated to take the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course, however we also plan to do a number of snow and rock climbs in the area as well. The SPI course went well and I learned a lot of new techniques. Many knowledge bombs were dropped on my head. Needless to say the 3 day course left me a bit wore out. Below are a few photos from the course.



Demo lead


Hanging out


Haul systems




Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Rock Road Trip: Part 1

Devils Tower

Got into Devils Tower around mid afternoon on the 28th and scoped our routes. Almost bought a town en route near Crow Buttes. We decided to spend our first day climbing some easier lines on the lower SW shoulder, just to get used to the rock type. The rock is a sort of igneous phonolite porphyry, which is surprisingly smoother than I had thought but offer lots of hand and gear placements on its fracture points. Linus hadn't been on rock in a while and it showed a bit. I led a few short trad pitches and then we jumped over to the Durrance approach pitch, which is pretty mellow. The idea was that this area would be a good place for Linus to lead, however after about 10 meters a climbing group above us decided to rappel onto our heads.



Some climbers on the 2nd pitch of Durrance


Practicing the finger lock



Intruder


Thank god for crash pads


Right before rocks started falling on our head


Devils Tower brews


Overall I was really disappointed with the climbing community around devils tower, almost an elitist attitude. After the rappelers yelled "rock" a few times we decided to jet. As the evening approached a large black wall started edging in so we decided to set up camp. We had hoped to summit before June, when a voluntary climbing closure of the park takes effect in observance of Native American religious activities, but I guess there is always next time. Thinking on the subject of cultural impact now I realize how uncomfortable I would have felt after summiting. There is not much respect for first nations in the United States. It seems sort of conceited of us to think that the tower is for our use when these culture groups have been using it and watching it erode for centuries. Even the climbing book by Rachel Lynn and Zach Orenczak has the following quote:


"During the month of June, the Park Service encourages climber s to volunteer not to climb. This is apparently in respect of Native American wishes. If you truly have it in your heart to be respectful and helpful to these so-called underrepresented citizens, please call the Interdepartmental Council on Native American Affairs." (italics mine)


Now, being part Native American myself I find this a bit insulting. In hindsight I feel like I would have regretted climbing Devils Tower because of the native connection. It was sort of an "a  ha" moment for me. Being trained as an archaeologist and working in that field for so long you see large companies abusing the first nations, and to be part of that cultural insensitivity in anyway was what I always fought against. Without even thinking about it I had become part of the problem with my desire to climb.



Spearfish


Next stop on the tour was Spearfish Canyon. This area is mostly composed of sport climbing on limestone. Coming from Thailand I thought I had an idea of what the climbing here would be like, both limestone right?, no problem. Wrong. The limestone here is not as stable and is much less featured except for tons of pockets. Needless to say it took a few moderate climbs to feel comfortable on the harder stuff. Most of our time was spent on Skeletal Remains, Sunshine, and Black Betty walls, which we would later find out are some of the worst areas. Evidently the areas were bolted to keep "riff raft" out of the better climbing down canyon.




Spearfish Canyon


Stratification






Ask a Swede to buy ice and he buys so much the food doesn't fit


Evidently this can be climbed in winter

Deadwood

Seeing how we were in the area I decided to show Linus a piece of the old wild west. Deadwood was the location of a large gold and silver industry before the Indian Territories became states. That being said the area was notorious for outlaws, gambling, and brothels. Today the town feels like a small Las Vegas but older, just a shell of its former glory. Everyone we met was old or foreign, or both. But before we left I handed Linus a 20 dollar bill to gamble with. He accidentally bet $5 and was upset until the damn machine started making all kinds of noise. That damn Swede won $30 bucks with one push of a button and cashed out, while I on the other hand lost it all. Beginners luck is all.

Downtown Deadwood

Just history

One button wonder

I lost, as usual

Needles

Our first day in the Black Hills was dedicated to showing Linus what 'mericas all about. We promptly visited Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, both of which are a rip off I might add. Don't stop, just drive by and take a picture. Driving down from Spearfish we noticed a striking difference in the rock type and local geology. The granite of the Black Hills is very distinct in its course nature and amount of quartz and other minerals in it. The area is called the "Needles" due to the specific visual representation of erosional processes.

Freedom costs a $1.05

Crazy Horse still in progress

 We decided to check out the area before we started climbing. Sylvan Lake is one of the main climbing areas in Custer State Park, so we started there with guide book in hand. It took a few hours to get used to the stone and orientate ourselves to the climbing locations. The night was spent at Poverty Gulch, a local NFS road that all the local dirt bags and climbing guides stay. Again, we were met with open hostility and a sort of condescending attitude of local climbers. I was not impressed with the local guides who regularly would recount stories of guiding hungover or worse. I understand being territorial about climbing locales, but to blatantly push other climbers away from an area is a bit stupid. The climbing on the other hand was superb. We focused on the Galaxy, McQ's Pinnacle, and The Fin areas. Mostly just doing sport and trad single pitch climbs. Again it took awhile to get used to the rock but after awhile it started feeling like home.


The spires

Showdown


Needlin

Storm brewin'