The Latest From Sweetwater

 We've spent a couple days climbing at a sector at Sweetwater that's new to us.  Some the rock is naturally very clean, so it's hard to say with certainty that all of these lines are new.  But I didn't see any evidence of prior bouldering in the area so I'll call these first ascents until I hear otherwise.  This sector has a lot of walls and boulders that I'm interested in climbing, and is incredibly scenic.  On our first day of climbing a strong wind kept us on the eastern side of the formation until it calmed down in the late afternoon.  We did a few short lines on a sheltered boulder.  The best and most difficult was this V5 SDS done by Ashley.

She still hasn't settled on a name.

 When the wind stopped we walked a short distance to what I'm calling the Ocean Boulder.  It's the centerpiece of the area, and now has three classic problems.  The first line I put up goes right up the center of the face from an obvious sit start jug.

"Another Toe in the Ocean" V4.

I put a few tries into a dyno to the left, but we had to go before I finished it.

 It wasn't long before I returned with Jesse.  He did the dyno from a stand start, and also added a line up the left side of the right arete.

"Debaser" V2/3

 I managed to figure out the dyno from the stand.  And before we left I linked into it from the sit start jug.

"What Goes Boom" V6

It looks like good weather and more new discoveries will be converging soon.  I'll let you know what develops.

Access Note:  The access situation at Devil's Kitchen seems sensitive right now.  The reservation has put up new signs, and it's possible that they could close the two-track access road if they decide it's getting too much traffic.  If you're planning to visit the Lander area to boulder this Fall, I recommend erring on the side of caution and not visiting Devil's Kitchen this season.  The Rock Shop and Sweetwater are great alternatives and have good conditions this time of year.  Please don't be the climber that gets the Devil's Kitchen closed for everyone.  If you do decide to visit Devil's Kitchen despite this warning, please make sure you have a Fishing Permit, keep a low profile, carpool, be friendly, and go up in a vehicle with Wyoming license plates if at all possible.  Fair or probably not, out-of-state plates attract extra attention.  Three Wyoming plates go past, no one notices.  Three Colorado plates go past and suddenly people remark on how much traffic there is.  Thanks for understanding, and helping preserve access up there.

Finding Autumn

We were on top of the Tombstone formation at the moment this year's Summer died.  A storm came out of the mountains, and sent us back to our truck.  It brought a couple weeks of wet and unsettled weather, and just days after that, Winter started to visit.  We had just one sunny cool breezy weekend, and then weekly snowstorms started hitting Lander.  During the last week of September, and the first week of October, back to back Thursday snowstorms broke the branches off the green leaved trees, knocked out the power, and covered Sinks Canyon and the mountain boulders in a foot of slush and powder.  After the first storm, we managed to find snow free blocks away from the Wind River upslope conditions by driving to Sweetwater.  Our number one project out there was too cold and windy, but we were able to find some shelter from the tempest at the Hampi boulders.  We had fun and got a great workout on a variety of lines.  Here are a couple we enjoyed that we hadn't tried before. 

"Center El Herman" V5      

 This unknown V6 SDS has great moves, but the strong wind, possibly loose top out flakes, and not enough pads kept us from committing to the top out.

 We hope to get back soon.

 Last weekend I noticed that the northern Winds didn't get nearly as much snow as Lander did in the latest storm.  We drove up to Torrey Valley and had a nicer day than we ever expected.  Snow free, and 60 degrees.  I got a sunburn.

 Ashley got "The Good Earth Traverse."  Right to left, and then after a rest she jumped on and did it left to right.

 I got through the crux going right to left, and then pumped off the easier part before I could get my feet established. It was getting late in the day, and I was getting worked.  It should have been disappointing to come so close and not send the line.  But the weather and scenery were so good, I couldn't be upset in the slightest.
 On the drive home I decided it would be safer if I pulled over and took a photo.  It's hard to keep your eyes on the road while driving in a landscape like this.  I often wonder how many cars actually go off the road each year due to scenic distraction?  I bet it's under reported.

Unfortunately, Autumn can't be found everywhere this year.  In western Wyoming she's seemed conspicuously absent. But we've been able to find her on the weekends so far, hiding out of the wind, or in a sunny mountain valley.

Return to Oz

 It took me too long to get back to this place, but I'm so glad that I did.  We spent a gorgeous day with Chris, Tony, and Will at the summit of the mountain.  Chris has been the most active developer at Oz, and a few others have added problems as well.

Tony and Will checking out a difficult project that Chris has been working on.

 The area offers an abundance of solid featured overhangs with views that are difficult to grasp, much less convey.

 The bouldering highlight of our day was getting the second and third ascents of Chris' V6/7 "Eye in the Sky."  It's a very interesting problem to work out, with different sequences for tall and short climbers.

 I didn't want to go home.

 Whenever the weather and my schedule allow it, this is where I'll want to be for a while.

Our original plan for the day was to visit Devil's Kitchen, but we changed plans once we became aware of possible access issues up there.  Here's a quick explanation of what I've been able to find out about Devil's Kitchen access so far.  I've contacted Wind River Fish & Game, and the BIA office in Ft. Washakie.  They report that no roads are closed in the Dickinson Park area.  But there is a new sign that implies that the road might be closed, and Allen's Ranch has turned back at least one group of climbers and told them that the road to Devil's Kitchen was closed.  Until everyone is on the same page, access remains somewhat questionable.  I'll post more information soon.

The Roaring Fork

 Lately I've been spending after school exploratory evenings hiking upstream above Roaring Fork Lake.  The best boulders don't begin to appear until two miles past the trailhead, but it's an easy trail and you don't need a high clearance vehicle or a reservation permit to go there.  Ana and Devlin have spent some time hiking up there too, and they told me about the best sector found so far.  It's the most accessible high quality Wilderness bouldering I've been to in the Lander area.  This place has a lot of potential, but it will take some work to get the problem concentration up.  Today I took the family up there, and we established four problems.  The first was a slab warm up.  The other ones were worth photographing.  I haven't settled on any names yet.  I'll update this post when I do.

A nice tall V2 crack problem.  I'm wearing a harness because the only easy way off this boulder is to rappel from a tree on top.

 A new three star V4 is just to the left of the crack.  This was the best line we finished today.

Once Ashley got to the top she used a rope to pull up her harness for the rappel off.

I also cleaned a very thin crack line to the left of this, but it's still a project.

We did the line below from a stand start.  It went at V3 once I figured out that the opening move required a heel smear above my head.  The sit start is still a project and will be much more difficult.

 All the hiking seemed like a little too much for Roo.  He couldn't keep his eyes open.

I can hardly believe that Lander has yet another vast area of boulders to overwhelm me!  The ambiance and stone quality of this area are really superb.  Once the best stones are found, and the pine needles, lichen, and moss are cleared, it just might be amazing.  Until that happens, take a short rope and some brushes, and budget some cleaning time into your day.

Unfortunately, I just got word that there might be some access issues at Devil's Kitchen.  I'm working on getting more info and will give a full update as soon as possible.  Until things are clarified it's probably best to climb elsewhere.    

Psyched on the Source Again

The first ascent of "The Aftermath" V5.

A couple exploratory fridays ago, I decided it was finally time to clean up a few of the amazing projects on the summit of the Tombstone formation.  I was somewhat surprised that they were still undone.  It felt like I was giving them away when I put a full page photo of the blocks on page 114 of the guide with a caption reading "The Tombstone formation and it's summit projects as seen from the North."  I'd considered leaving the photo out of the guide in order to give myself more time to finish what looked like some of the best undone lines I'd ever seen.  But it's been almost four months since the book came out, and no one had even tried them yet.  They remained without chalk, cracks thick with lichen, completely undisturbed.  I set up a rope, got on rappel, and spent an evening brushing.  A small storm came through, a double rainbow formed two thirds of a circle to the east, and the sun lit the clouds in the west.  A spectacular sight, and nice way to spend an evening after a hectic school day.  But I was alone, and ascents would need to wait.

The next Friday, Calen and Meghan met me at the Tombstone.  Not only were they interested in spending an evening cleaning problems with me, but Calen had spent the day finding and cleaning new lines at the Source.  We brushed a lot of lines, climbed a few, and then I needed to make a decision about what would become "The Aftermath."  It might be possible for me to work the highball line ground up.  Falling or down climbing from progressively higher points until I committed to going for the top.  That's what John Sherman would have done.  But it was also very possible that I'd hurt myself badly if I fell from the top half of the line.  I remembered that John Sherman's style of highball first ascents, though courageous, had caused him to have a lot of injuries including aggravated arthritis in both of his hips.  The newly brushed line looked somewhat insecure, falling off it would be scary, but it was the possible aftermath of falling that really influenced my decision.  In my head I questioned "What if I fell, got hurt, and couldn't boulder for a while, or ever again?  What if I end up with as many injuries as John Sherman?"  My inner voice shouted in response to the thought "I'M NOT READY TO TAKE UP WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY!"  A clear sign that I'd better rope up.  Calen belayed me and I fell a couple times.  I tried it a second time, and got to the top without falling on the rope.  The next day I brought the family, and we met Calen and Meghan at the Tombstone again.  Ashley toproped the line, and I decided to toprope it a couple more times.  My beta improved with practice, and I felt ready to give it a try without a rope.  Calen spotted, Ashley took photos, I turned off the worried part of my brain, and just climbed it.  It felt wonderful.      

It's a difficult problem to rate.  Working it from the ground would probably feel V5.  With toprope rehearsal I refined my beta until the moves felt V4.  But it's a problem that probably isn't appropriate for anyone that can't boulder V6.  As far as quality goes, I think it's on par with Nexus.  One of the best first ascents of my life.

This wasn't our first session with Calen and Meghan.  They drove up two weekends ago from the Las Vegas area to visit Lander, do some sport climbing, and check out the bouldering.  We took them to the Rock Shop on their first weekend.  But they didn't ask for a tour of the classics.  Calen said he wanted to climb wherever we were going, and maybe put up some lines himself.

Calen climbing "Pork Chop."  A classic put up by Bryan V.  

As we climbed and brushed, Calen kept asking "Has that been climbed? Has anyone checked out that formation? Why hasn't this been climbed?  Is this for real?" His enthusiasm was contagious, and I realized I'd been taking some amazing things for granted.  Doing first ascents at the Rock Shop had just become an expected part of my normal weekend routine.  Listening to Calen's enthusiasm made the area feel new again.  We made our way to the summit above "Pork Chop" and did the first ascents of three new problems including a V4 roof called "Pit Viper."  Calen had a good session, and decided to buy a full set of brushes.

On Labor Day Calen gave us a tour of new lines he'd established at the Source the previous Friday.  Just south of the problem "South" at Source South is this boulder.  I hadn't gotten around to cleaning it because it looked a little short, but it climbs so well!  Calen has a great eye for lines.  He got the first ascent of "Anti venom" V6*** which starts on the lowest right rail and climbs left to an interesting undercling to sloper top out.  The moves and rock quality feel just like the good stuff at Squamish.  "Snake Wrangler" V4** climbs the arete and moves right along the lip to two possible top outs.

Uphill to the north are a couple more lines added by Calen.  They both start sitting at the horizontal.  "Longmire" climbs the left arete, and "Long Arm of the Law" climbs the right.  Both are in the V4 or 5 range.

Calen also noticed this slopey feature on the boulder just right of "The Aftermath."  He spent an hour or two on Saturday morning brushing it on rappel.

Calen did the line from a stand start on Saturday evening, but didn't finish it from the sit start.  After our tour of Calen's new lines at the Source on Monday, we headed over to the Tombstone for another try.  Calen let us work the line with him.  Ashley made quick progress, using some of my beta, and ended up nabbing the first ascent.  I got the second ascent a few tries later.  The problem's called "The Arrowhead" and we think it's a V6.  

Ashley climbing "The Arrowhead."

Another instant classic, but I hadn't noticed it.  It wasn't steep enough to catch my eye, but Calen saw that it was a beautiful feature that could climb really well.  He was right!

In the chimney just behind "Arrowhead" is a new easy, committing, and somewhat scary problem. A granite version of the "Plumber's Crack" at Red Rocks, Nevada.  Try it if you're confident.

"Do or Die" V0

A new warm up wall with many variations, and a couple other problems were cleaned and climbed on the west side of the summit.  I'll post more info when I have photos.

In just a two week trip Calen established at least fifteen new boulder problems, with days spent sport climbing at Wild Iris and Tensleep as well.  Thanks Calen and Meghan for making plans with us, cleaning and climbing so many great new lines, and helping me see these areas with fresh eyes again.  Have a good trip back to Vegas, and we hope to see you in Lander again soon!