The Secret

Good afternoon, faithful readers. Today I send you greetings from Laramie, Wyoming. Laramie is the home of the University of Wyoming and, apparently, not much else. We started off on the wrong foot with Laramie when we arrived here at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night looking for a late-night eating establishment willing to serve us large quantities of food. Being a college town, we thought this would be no problem. Wrong. After about 45 minutes we managed to find what turned out to be the town's only 24-hour restaurant, Shari's. Thank goodness for Shari's. And for pancakes.

Now before I get into what we've been up to for the past few days, I thought some of you might be wondering what we do all day. So, let me give you a quick run-down of a typical day. It's pretty simple really. Thomas gets up and makes the coffee. I get up and drink the coffee. Breakfast consists of a banana and cereal or a bagel. We pack up the gear for the day. We go climbing all day long. We come back to the truck and make dinner which typically consists of couscous or pasta. After this there is a certain amount of sitting around, reading, or sometimes playing Scrabble (Yes, we have a travel Scrabble set; I am not ashamed to admit it.) Then comes the important part. And now, my friends, I am going to share with you the secret to a successful climbing trip:

Nutella. I hope you are taking notes. The nutella should be applied generously to bread or a tortilla, along with some peanut butter (and perhaps some cereal if you have it available). Like this:

Follow this simple plan and I guarantee your next climbing trip will be a success. Or any trip for that matter. Or, even if you're not traveling, your life will simply be a little better.

But enough about that. In my last post I told you that we were planning to visit Fremont Canyon in central Wyoming. This was definitely a new experience for both Thomas and I. The climbing here involves rappeling into the canyon, trying to keep your rope out of the water, and climbing out.

The tricky part here, as you can see, is that you are above water. So, if you pick the wrong spot to rappel in, you may end up at the base of something you can't climb out. And it's not as though you can walk along the base of the wall to find your route. We spent several good hours the evening we arrived just trying to figure out where the climbs we wanted to try were located.

We thought we had at least one portion of the area figured out but rapping in the next day to the base of what we thought was the first route we wanted to climb was still somewhat intimidating. Fortunately, we were right! The climbing at Fremont was definitely unique and we did some very high quality lines there, including, Thanatos, a very interesting 5.10b:

Wine and Roses (5.11a) a really beautiful splitter hand crack that alone would have made our stop at Fremont worthwhile:

Thomas led these lines and a couple of others on our first day at Fremont and I did most of the leading the second day--the best of which was a nice 5.9 hand crack in a dihedral called B-52.

The perils of climbing cracks on sharp granite! After two days of climbing at Fremont, Thomas and I were both ready to move on to our next stop. Fremont definitely had a unique feel and was a worthwhile stop. It is very remote and the act of rapping in over the water, hoping you are over the right line gives it a certain mystique.

Next stop, Vedauwoo, the land of wide cracks!

Thomas displays the essential gear for climbing here, big cams! Vedauwoo is another unique place made up of what appears to be giant granite blobs. Getting to the climbing involves quite a bit of scrambling around, but after a bit of fumbling about yesterday morning, we managed to find some nice lines:

Thomas at the base of MRC Direct (5.9, 2 pitches), which brought us to The Straight Edge (5.9+). Our first introduction to the wide cracks at Vedauwoo. After this introduction (and more scrambling) we found some other interesting lines that gave us a good introduction to the place.

The climbing here is hard. I have definitely felt that my climbing has improved over the last couple of weeks but yesterday was a humbling experience which showed me how far I still have to go. Climbing has a way of keeping me humble like that. When I start to feel more comfortable or that I am seeing improvements there typically seems to be something that shows me how far I have to go. I guess that is part of what keeps us coming back for more.

Today is a rest day and then we plan to spend 3 or 4 more days climbing here before heading back to the Southeast. Time flies when you're climbing so much good stuff. It's hard to believe we have been on the road for nearly a month now.

Thanks for reading!

Wyoming Rocks!

My apologies for the lame pun; I couldn't help myself. Today's post is again coming to you from the Lander public library in Wyoming. We are back from a successful venture into the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range (pictured above) and spending the day taking care of some errands (laundry, groceries, etc.) before heading out later this afternoon for our next destination.

After my last post we drove out to the Big Sandy Trailhead about 70 miles outside of Lander to hike into the Cirque of the Towers. We had planned to hike in that afternoon but decided to wait until the next morning instead. This proved to be a wise decision as the hike in took much longer than anticipated. (And we got to see a moose which wandered through our campsite that evening!) We started the hike early the next morning and made good time through the first 6 miles on relatively flat trail to Big Sandy Lake.



Thomas had most of the heavy stuff in his pack; I had the food. (Ha ha, I'm no dummy.) From Big Sandy Lake things got a little more difficult. We started climbing up switchbacks which definitely slowed me down, and also managed to lose the trail to Jackass Pass, where we would enter the Cirque. After alot of scrambling over talus, we found the way eventually up to Jackass Pass. After going through the Pass, we were rewarded with one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. Hiking through the pass and coming into the Cirque is something that I don't think I will ever forget.



We found a nice spot, dropped the packs (not a moment too soon!) and set up camp.



Our intention was to climb Pingora (the prominent mountain on the left in the photo above) and Wolf's Head (which is just barely visible in the upper left corner behind Pingora).



Did I mention that the bugs are a problem here? Thomas and I had laughed at the idea of purchasing head nets. Now, we've both seen the error of our ways and would absolutely not go back to the Cirque without one. The mosquitos are out of control.

We selected a large boulder several hundred yards from our tent to do our cooking and food storage (because of bears) and dubbed this the "Kitchen boulder."



Thomas hiding from the bugs on the Kitchen boulder. As you can see from this picture, we hiked in with the bare essentials, which included a french press for our morning coffee. Fortunately, Thomas and I are both coffee snobs and so we are in agreement that this item was a necessity.

The next day, we set off for Pingora with the planned objective of climbing the South Buttress route. After quite a bit of scrambling, staring at the rock, and expressed frustration at the minimalist description of the route in our guidebook, we eventually ran into two nice guys from Kentucky who had a bit more information. They were also interested in the same route so we decided to try the Southwest Face (5.9, 4 pitches) instead. Thomas and I traded leads through some fun climbing and eventually reached the summit.

From there we had an excellent view of all the snow accumulated at the base of Wolf's Head which would have made the descent from that mountain somewhat "tricky." We also ran into our friends from KY again who pointed out that there had been an avalanche at the base of Wolf's Head while we were climbing (I thought what I heard was thunder in the distance) and that there were a number of fracture lines in the snow below. As Thomas noted, the two of us don't have a lot of "mountain sense" but we had enough to know that we needed to reconsider our plan to try Wolf's Head the next day.

Instead, we decided to return to Pingora to climb the South Buttress route as originally intended and were rewarded with a great climb.



Thomas and I again shared the leads and the climbing was very high quality.



The summit of Pingora, at 11,884 feet. On our way back down after climbing the South Buttress route, Thomas suggested that we try another line that we had spotted the previous day that looked clean and nice. Without knowing what we were getting into, and hoping to find some gear placements along the way, Thomas set off...



It turned out to be two nice long pitches of 5.8 and 5.9 climbing that put us back on top again. We returned to our campsite after another good day of climbing and prepared to hike out the next morning.

We made the hike out in 4 hours and both agreed that the experience had been worth the significant amount of work it took just to get back there and get to the climbing. We learned a lot about the Winds in particular and about this style of climbing more generally.

Since we find ourselves now a little behind schedule, we've decided to make this a Wyoming trip. The idea of spending the month focused on the climbing in one state (especially one as amazing as Wyoming) is appealing to both of us. Our next stop is Fremont Canyon which is about two hours from Lander and just outside of Casper Wyoming. I saw an article and some pictures of Fremont a couple of years ago that really captured my attention and I have been wanting to get there ever since. Thomas has also never been so we are both interested in checking it out. After a trip to the grocery store to re-stock this afternoon, we'll be headed that way. I'll let you know what we find!

Give me a break, it's hard to find internet access in rural Wyoming

I've already received harassing emails from some of you asking when the next blog entry would be forthcoming. My only defense is to say that it's hard to find internet access in some of the places we're visiting so cut me some slack! Today's entry is coming to you from the lovely public library in Lander, Wyoming. After I last posted, Thomas and I spent a few more days climbing at Devil's Tower. We were really taken with that place and I can't say enough good things about it. A few more pics for those of you who are just here for the pictures.

As another climber pointed out one afternoon, the Tower is really just a giant sundial.

Some obligatory summit shots, Thomas at the very top and me signing the summit register:

Leading the Durrance route (5.8, 5 pitches to the summit). This route is probably the most famous on the tower, mainly for it's historical significance and as an easy route to the summit, but it was one of the less "classic" that we climbed in my opinion. In addition to the routes I told you about previously some of the best that we climbed in the ensuing days:

One Way Sunset - Thomas led the first 5.10c finger crack and then after doing all the hard work was kind enough to let me lead the perfect 5.9 hand crack second pitch. This was one of the hardest and most sustained leads I've done and it started about 160 feet off the deck which added to the fun!

McCarthy North Face - Thomas led the two pitches of the 5.11a awesome finger crack. We did this the same day as One Way Sunset and our fingers were not happy with us by the end of the day.

Tulgey Wood - For something completely different, Thomas led the two pitches of this 5.10a. The second pitch is 160 feet of fist crack (or armbars if your hands are smaller) and was a lot of work but very rewarding. It was a nice contrast to some of the other climbs we'd been doing. Getting to the top was a struggle and was definitely a matter of making progress inch by inch.

Leaving Devil's Tower was difficult because we stayed long enough to feel a real connection to the place and also to form friendships with Frank and some of the other folks around his lodge, but Thomas and I also both felt that we had the opportunity to do all the things there that we really wanted to do and that is a good feeling.

After staying significantly longer than we originally planned at the Tower, we reverted back to our original plan to head from there to climb in the Wind River mountains, which are located right outside Lander. Yesterday we visited Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons, both were a first for me. Seeing the Tetons was great because I have wanted to get there for a long time. Unfortunately, I took some pictures of the mountains around dusk but they didn't come out due to the lighting. But for anyone who's interested, you can find plenty of beautiful shots at the National Park's website: (http://www.grand.teton.national-park.com/) I know, you're all thinking that it's lame that I just linked to the NP website, but it's better than nothing, right?

This afternoon we'll head out from Lander for the trailhead for the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range. It's a 9 mile hike in to where we'll be camping and climbing for the next few days. (And I won't be carrying my laptop so don't expect another post for a few days!) Climbing in an alpine environment will be a new experience for me and I am really looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks for reading. More later!

Blogging is Hard Work

Well, I told some of you that I would give this blogging thing a shot to share some pictures and keep you posted, so here goes. Please bear with me as I try to figure out this brave new world. I know I will have at least two loyal readers (Thanks, Mom and Dad!). I apologize if the entries are too long and detailed, but than, you don't have to read them.

As most of you know, I quit my job in Atlanta about a month ago to spend some time climbing and traveling. It was definitely a somewhat scary thing to do in this economy but I have to be honest, being unemployed is fantastic. (Check back in a few months as the bank account starts to dwindle though!) I moved out of my place, put my stuff in storage and hit the road. Thomas and I spent about 10 days climbing at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky at the end of June, I drove up to D.C. for a quick visit with Mom and Dad and to drop off Brandy who is graciously being dog-sat by my sister Kim, and then on July 1st, Thomas and I headed West for Wyoming!


This first post is coming to you from Devil's Tower in the northeast corner of Wyoming. We arrived here on the afternoon of July 2d. I think by the time we arrived, we were both just happy to be out of South Dakota. Seeing the tower is really amazing. It rises up so starkly out of the surrounding landscape, with nothing else like it anywhere in sight. We rolled into the National Monument land and scored a pretty nice campsite.

We had originally planned to spend four or five days climbing here but the climbing has proven to be so good that we've decided to stay a bit longer. We've had six days of climbing so far (with a rest day sandwiched in the middle) and decided this morning that we will rest here again today and then climb here for two more days before heading to Squamish, B.C.

This place is awesome. The setting is beautiful and the climbing is classic. Everything we have done here has been so good. The routes are primarily long, sustained cracks (most pitches are 150 feet or more) which you can follow all the way from the base of the tower to the summit. Many folks tend to do the first two pitches of routes because these tend to be the highest quality. The climbing gets a bit more "adventuresome" as you go up. We have done this with some of the routes but have also followed five all the way to the summit:

Assemblyline (5.9, 4 pitches)

Belle Fourche Buttress (5.10b, 4 pitches)

Durrance Route (5.8, 5 pitches)

El Matador (5.10d, 5 pitches)

McCarthy West Face (5.10b, 4 pitches)

Here's Thomas starting up the finger crack on the crux pitch of Bell Fourche Buttress.

The classic pitch on this route takes a steep splitter finger-to-hand crack to the top of one of the tower's columns. This route was the one that was the most intimidating to me of all the ones that we had eyed beforehand and put on the "to do" list. This was despite the fact that I knew I'd be on toprope and following Thomas.

On our second day climbing at the tower we ran into local legend, Frank Sanders, who was guiding some other folks. Frank has been climbing and putting up routes on the tower for over 30 years. He also happens to own a beautiful chunk of property that borders the federal National Monument land where he runs a bed and breakfast (http://www.devilstowerlodge.com/) and climbing guiding service. Frank graciously offered to let us camp in his yard which is equipped with an outdoor shower with quite a view (that's our tent on the left):

We took Frank up on his kind offer and now, I am sending out this blog entry to you from Frank's living room, which is equipped with wireless.

The climbing here has been so good, I could gush about every route we've done. They all seem to leave us saying that each one must have been the best one yet. In addition to the routes we've taken to the summit, we've also climbed the first two pitches on a number of routes:

El Cracko Diablo (5.8+)

Soler (5.9-)

Mr. Clean (5.11a)

All of these routes are again, highly recommended and just a huge amount of fun. The two pitches on each route that I led on El Cracko and Soler were long and some of the most sustained, long crack climbing that I've led. I am definitely getting more comfortable with crack climbing, and learning the importance of finding a rhythym and to just keep moving! Here's a pic of me on the second pitch of Soler:

Of course, one of the classic routes on the Tower is a route called El Matador. This line goes up between two columns and involves a good bit of stemming with one hand and foot on each column, slowly working your way up, inch by inch. Thomas cruised right on up it while I had to take some hangs on the toprope because my calves were burning from all that stemming!

I could go on and on about this place and the climbing here but it has taken me so long to figure out this whole blogging thing and Thomas is patiently waiting outside to start cooking dinner. To anyone who has stuck with me for this long, thanks for reading. More later!