How is History Made?

On Sunday, we went out to Sweetwater with Kyle. I got the first ascent of our project and named it "True Grit." Ashley climbed it too, and we discussed what we should rate it. It felt like V8 to Ashley, and on the easy side of V7 to me. So I've settled on V6. It's probably slightly easier for people who are taller, and I don't want to over grade it. I don't think anyone would find it easier than V6. Some of the holds are pretty slick and core tension is required to keep them. Conditions weren't perfect, but not bad either. Warm temps were improved by a stiff breeze, and a cloudy afternoon.

Kyle rode out with us, got a tour of what we've done so far, filmed us on a couple problems, and did three first ascents.

Kyle standing on the top of the second problem he established.

And topping out on the third one.


Kyle does good film work! And his current project is a film documenting the history of climbing in Lander. Which got me thinking about history and how it shapes, but is also created by the future. Because history is only history if it is important, if it affects the future in a significant way. But in the moment you never know what events will end up being significant, and which will be completely forgotten. Probability is involved.

Ashley and I are just bouldering for fun, at generally moderate grades, at an area that's been bouldered at sporadically for over a decade now. We aren't making history. We're not trying to, or expecting to.

But if others join in, and development of Lander bouldering continues. And the Lander area one day becomes a significant center of bouldering activity. Then the areas we helped develop could have some significance in that progression.

Future events decide what will be history, and what won't be. So future and past times are tied together in a mysterious way, somewhat detached from the present moment. And it's like this for everything. And I should get some sleep.

We went out for an after school session last week at the Cheesegrater boulders. Smoke from prescribed burns up canyon made it smell like we were bouldering right next to a campfire, but also made the sunset look pretty.

Well, I really do need to get some sleep. That's all the history for this post. We'll see what else is history later.

A Double Dose of Sweetwater

Beautiful weather at Sweetwater in March?! I'd never seen it in the forecast before, so I had to check it out. Jesse came with me on Saturday, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Then the same type of day was forecast for Sunday so I took the family back out. Sunday started nice, but got windy and cold pretty quick. We toughed it out, and got a workout. Ashley made the third ascent of "Gimme Three Steps" and the second of "Davy Jones" which you will see below. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a sheltered project we've named the "True Grit" project. It will be an enduro V7 for me, but requires Ashley to do moves that are probably V9 since she can't skip the bad holds. It's still a project, but hopefully it won't be for long. I'll post photos once it's been done.

On Saturday, the weather was incredible. Cool, sunny, and air so still the enormous landscape was silent. Jesse wanted to show me some new projects, but snow and mud forced us to turn the van around. Luckily we had a good back up option. Plenty of lines have already been scoped at the God Eye area. Before we hiked to them though, we warmed up and both repeated "God Eye."

Jesse likes tall problems, so I made sure to avoid the short lines. We began at a tall line I thought would be V3-6 from a stand start. It ended up being V3 from the sit start, but starting at obvious jugs it's a perfect V1 that climbs just like a Hueco problem. Jesse flashed the sit start and got the first ascent. It's named "Gimme Three Steps" and is an instant classic.



Jesse continued his first ascent streak with a V5 he named "Sheep Go To Heaven." It has a committing top out over a marginal landing. Jesse was willing to go for it before I was ready to risk it. After I saw that the top would go, I repeated it without too much trouble, but Jesse deserves props for going for it before knowing exactly how it would go. It's a great addition to the area.

"Sheep Go to Heaven"



Just behind "Sheep Go to Heaven" was a line I'd always wanted to try. We were short on time, so instead of hiking to "Norwegian Wood" we jumped on it instead. The boulder isn't tall, but it is nicely overhung with a really interesting hueco feature. I got the first ascent of the line, and it felt V5 to me. The problem is short, but really cool, so I named it "Davy Jones" after the recently deceased member of the Monkees.

"Davy Jones"

Shots of "Davy Jones" looking out from the sit start.




I'm excited that we were able to get started at Sweetwater so early this season, and hope that the good weather will continue...

The First Day of Spring

It doesn't matter what the calendar says, in Sinks Canyon, Spring began today. The sun was hot, the rock was warm, and the breeze just slightly cool. Conditions were gorgeous, and we soaked it up.

We spent the day repeating problems on the Rubber Blanket boulder, checking grades, giving stars, and sunbathing. I also did a fun V5/6 contrivance that I'd never done before.

Twenty one pages are finished for the guide, and I'm estimating that I have one hundred and seventy-five left to write. It's been surprisingly fun to revisit problems in order to confirm things for the guide, but I'm also getting excited to try some problems that I haven't been on before. As I've started organizing my information, I've realized that I still have a lot of lines to do. Some that are old, some that are new, and some that haven't been climbed yet.

Here comes the sun, and a new bouldering season!

A Few Photos of the Tetons in Winter

We've made three winter trips to Jackson, and Sunday was the first time we've been able to see the Tetons covered in fresh snow. On our other winter trips they were completely obscured by clouds and falling snow.



Every time I see the Tetons, I'm in awe.

A Quick Session on Sandstone

The Ice Age boulders.

Work continues on the bouldering guidebook. The sun emerged for a few hours this afternoon, and we had a short session at the Ice Age area. I was excited to return to some boulders I hadn't been to in a while, and to use our new large Organic pad.

It's nice to have some new foam, and the design looks great. Thanks Josh!

I took photos for the guide, and re-climbed some lines to figure out the grades and star ratings they deserved. The Warmup Boulder has grown back some lichen, and gotten sandy again since our last visit. It needs more traffic!

The Mammoth boulder was just as good as I remembered.

I managed to climb "Il Mammut" the proper way, by stabbing two fingers into the Mammoth's eye like Davin did on the first ascent. The pocket is deeper than I ever expected it to be. It requires perfect aim, but it's really fun to catch.

Solid V7 and two stars on my three star scale. It felt really good to send it!

Clouds, cold, and a little snow are expected during the next couple days. Maybe I'll get a few more pages finished while waiting for Spring to return.

The International Climbers' Festival 2012

This year's ICF flyer.

The festival is going to be held from July 11-15th this year, and it's time to mark your calendar. Royal Robbins will be the keynote speaker, sharing reflections of early climbing in the Tetons and Wind River Range. It's always a lot of fun, and this year you'll be able to get some bouldering beta or come out for a tour if you'd like.

Last night, I had a great time at the Elemental Climbing competition. The problems were thought provoking, and exciting. And while catching up with everybody, I learned that Kyle is making a new film about Lander climbing. He's planning to document the entire history of Lander climbing leading up to what's getting done today. You can see how it's developing at Lander Climbing Film.

Enjoying the Work

Busy times. A lot of things are in progress, and a few things have already been done. During the last couple weeks Chris and Jesse have spent some time exploring, cleaning, and climbing on sandstone boulders in the Lander area. Last weekend, I spent Sunday bouldering with Chris on some of the new blocks and projects he's been working on.

We warmed up on a roadside block, and then made our way to one of the projects. The line looks impossible, until you see Chris get close to sending it.


Most boulders were too covered in snow last weekend to top out, but Chris got the first ascent of one new line called "July to January." It's about V8, and as good as a short problem can be. The rock and movement are both great. I climbed the problem from one move in, at about V6, but will need to return to link the crux first move. It's named after the odd temperature shifts we experienced on Sunday, and the abrupt shift in climbing style necessary to finish the top out. The photos didn't turn out as well as the problem did.

Later, Chris worked on another difficult project. This one will be spectacular if it goes!

It was a fun day in a beautiful canyon.


This weekend, I spent a couple hours climbing twenty problems at the Dolomite Band from V1-V3. I was checking out difficulty and star ratings for the new guide. Top outs were covered in snow so I downclimbed all the problems too. It ended up being an incredible workout, and my abs and upper back are more sore than I anticipated.

Adobe InDesign is starting to make sense, and pages are getting done. Here is a sample page from the Dolomite Band.

Ashley completed the B1 traverse line seen above last Saturday, but I haven't finished it yet. If I can't do it next session, I might have to raise the grade to V8.

Developing sandstone boulders and writing a guidebook both require some work, but I enjoy them whenever I can find the time. Fun projects are a great thing to have.

Getting Started

Sunday on the Sandstone

Getting outside wasn't a sure thing this weekend. I had a lot of work to do, and the weather forecast looked cold and breezy. But the skies were clear on Sunday morning, and the breeze wasn't too strong, so we decided to try some toprope climbs on the Sandstone Buttress.



We warmed up on "Dorsal." Then we climbed "Code Blue," and finished with "Road Test." "Road Test" is a fun bouldery route which took us a couple tries to send clean. We enjoyed all three routes, and I highly recommend them. They have interesting features, on comfortable sandstone. It's fun to pull through moves that feel very insecure when you're on a toprope!

Approaching the crux on "Road Test."

Higher on the wall, two climbers spent the day multi-pitching. I couldn't identify what route they were on. It might have been a first ascent.

The topropes were a lot of fun, but they didn't provide a full work out. We hiked up the hill, and ended the session by working on the "B1 Traverse" on the Dolomite Band. It's a difficult problem for short climbers. We found separate sequences to do all the moves, but Ashley will need another session (and I might need two) to send the crux after climbing through the beginning.

Ashley approaching the crux of the "B1 Traverse."

For the past few years now, I've made an effort to post my climbing activities or some climbing thoughts on a weekly basis. This approach has provided a somewhat scientific transect of my climbing life. The interesting stuff is all here, and it's evenly mixed in with the not so interesting sessions.

Going forward I've decided to change my approach. Rather than write 18 posts about our next 18 weekend sessions in Sinks Canyon this spring, or committing philosophy because I feel forced to, rather than inspired to, I'll only be posting when I have something that I feel is worth sharing. With all the extra time I save, I'm going to begin work on a bouldering guide for the Lander area. The timeline isn't set yet, and I'm not even sure what form the final product will take, but I'm committing myself to finishing a guide. If you know about bouldering in the Lander area, and have something to contribute, please contact me. Photos, history, opinions on grades and star ratings, what areas should be included or which should be excluded, I'll be looking for information and support. Thanks in advance.

Sometimes it's Personal

Were you aware that snow can get in your shoes during a long winter hike, completely numb your skin, and then rub your ankles until they are bleeding, without you even realizing it?

On Saturday, Ashley and I fled windy conditions in Sinks Canyon. So I decided to spend my free afternoon hiking to the boulders I noticed in a photo last week.

Objects in a cropped photo, taken with a zoom lens, will appear closer than they are.

Down in the canyon, it was difficult to tell which ramp the boulders were on. I cut off too early and ended up missing the main field in my photo. The snow was knee deep on the shady side of the canyon. And even after five hours of hiking, round trip, I didn't cover as much ground as I hoped to. I missed the concentrated boulders, but I did come across a few scattered sandstone boulders, and granite erratics that could have some good problems one day.

Next time, I'm planning to pack binoculars and hike the sunny side of the canyon.
While wandering on the shady side, I stumbled upon a well hidden cave in the woods with a wide ice pillar inside. It could offer some great bouldering, and I'm looking forward to climbing in it this spring.
Sometimes when I'm exploring, I can justify the time spent by thinking "I'm finding boulders for other boulderers to enjoy one day." Other times, I'm browsing Google Earth examining giant talus fields, miles from any trailhead in the Wind Rivers, or hiking canyons with very widely scattered boulders. Then the justification doesn't work. I ask myself "Who's going to hike this far, to boulder here?" Not many.

But I will.