Cold Weather Rock Climbing Tricks

It doesn't matter what kind of rock climbing you're into, at some point you're probably going to find yourself climbing in chilly weather. From boulderers waiting for perfect "sending temps" for their project, to alpine climbers on a rock route in the mountains and everyone in between, being out in the cold is a fact of life.

It's fairly straightforward to keep most of our body parts warm, except for our feet when they're in rock shoes. Snug fitting rock shoes offer pretty much no insulation, and also slightly reduce circulation by their tight fit. While I will occasionally wear a thin pair of socks in my rock shoes this is a sacrifice in performance. Besides, many of my shoes are too tight to wear with a sock.

One simple (and free!) solution I've come upon is to tuck the shoes into my layers when I'm not wearing them. At the boulders or at the crag, this means putting them in my jacket before I start climbing and in between laps. In an alpine setting, tucking them into my layers is the first step of the transition from hiking to climbing at the base of the route. Puffy jackets with internal "drop-in" style pockets are perfect for this. To get them even closer to the warmth coming off your torso, tuck them into the layers which are themselves tucked into your harness.

Kevin getting ready to boot up at the base of the Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo Spire.

While assisting Arc'teryx athlete Leslie Timms with a clinic on a cool spring day a few years ago we discussed this technique. She referred to it as "shoe-boob" because of the way it looks when your layers are zipped up with your shoes in there. I think that's a great name.

How To Write A Public Comment

Over the last year and a half I've been receiving a lot of emails from non-profits about public lands. Many of these emails have been about what's going on with public land in southern Utah, a place I love to climb.

Some of the time I delete the emails after briefly scanning them. Sometimes I read the email and take the most minimal action I can on the issue. I am not proud of either of those responses. Increasingly I've been thinking that the amount of time it takes to dig into the issue enough to understand and respond productively is pretty small given the amount of time I spend enjoying myself in these places. In less time than it would take for most readers of this blog to earn the money for a lift ticket at a major ski area, I can do something lot more effective than clicking on a box to send a form letter.

Sometimes the emails are just news, but sometimes they're calls for public comments. In two days the public comment period for the management plan for the new Indian Creek monument (in place of Bears Ears) ends. McKenzie Long recently wrote a great how-to guide to writing a public comment. Read it here. It's aimed at what's going on with Bears Ears right now, but some of the beta could certainly be applied to public comments generally.

How Do Your Slings Look?

Getting the most life out of your climbing gear is not only a smart financial decision, but it's also good for the environment. The materials our stuff is made of (various metals and petroleum products) have a high environmental cost. That being said, pushing our equipment beyond what it was designed for is kinda dumb.

It's not the end of the world for clothing or camping gear, but taking the equipment we use to protect us in the event of a fall out of it's intended application (or beyond it's intended lifespan) can have serious consequences. When climbers (myself included) look at a worn out piece of gear and say, "oh, it's fine" that's a great example of poor decision making. That decision is usually not based on any actual scientific data. Instead it's most often based on some combination of laziness, a short sighted need for that piece of equipment, and frugality.

What brings all this to mind is a study I recently came across from The German Alpine Club. Every time we go climbing (unless it's bouldering) we're using slings (runners, quickdraws, etc) of some kind. They don't last forever. This study took a look at the strength of sling material as it ages, and if there is any correlation between a haggard appearance and a loss of strength. Pretty interesting reading.

I am not a scientist and have no science background. I'm pretty sure that for something to become accepted science it takes more than one study. That being said, the above paper presents information that is waaaay more fact based than guessing and hoping for the best. If you're interested in a bit more reading on sling material selection and use (or just have some time to kill at work) check out this article from Rock And Ice magazine and this video and article from DMM. Both look at appropriate applications for plain nylon and dyneema slings and quickdraws. There are more links at the bottom of the DMM article if you really want to fall down the rabbit hole.

Blue Diamond Ridge

Less than a week ago I got home from Red Rocks. I always make a trip there at this time of year for the Red Rock Rendezvous, and I try to incorporate some other guiding work and some personal climbing too.

This year Jess and I went down for a few days of climbing to kick off my trip. Amongst other routes, we climbed Burlesque in Icebox Canyon. I have rapped down this four pitch route on every time I've guided Frigid Air Buttress, as it's part of the standard descent. The massive flake on pitch three has been something I've wanted to climb ever since I first rapped past it.

It was a rather windy Saturday when we left the truck, but the winds abated as we got into the amphitheater below the route, and we didn't have to worry about the crowds on an old fashioned route known for it's wide climbing. The route itself was a fun adventure. Pitch two featured some fun crack climbing on great varnish, and the flake didn't disappoint. It starts as an offwidth and widens to a comfy squeeze chimney. The belay has great views down into the chimney. All in all a good route for any crack climbing aficionado or connoisseur of Red Rocks trad.

Then Jess took off and I had a fun week of guiding that included The Rendezvous. It was while driving to the event one morning a number of years ago that I first noticed the Blue Diamond Ridge. Morning light accentuates this line on Mount Wilson; as the sun makes its way across the sky it blends in with the Basin Wall behind. There's not a ton of beta out there on this route but everyone I spoke to talked about the Equalizer pitch, a notorious 5.9 lead where the only pro is two cams that are equalized part way up.

This event always brings a lot of my colleagues to the area, and every year that route comes up in conversation. It always goes something like, "Hey I'm looking for a partner for Blue Diamond Ridge...but you've got to lead the Equalizer pitch". I may have even been guilty of uttering those words myself. Over the years I've learned that some legendary pitches aren't all they're cracked up to be and I started wondering if the Equalizer was really that bad. This year I talked to my colleague Chad about the route and when I asked him if he was interested, I made sure to mention that I would be happy to lead the Equalizer. He was interested, and also was interested in leading the famous pitch. We decided that we would take the route as it came and whoever happened to be in front would take that lead.

Almost done with the approach.

A couple of days after the event we found ourselves walking away from my truck by headlamp. Pretty soon we were on an old dirt road that cuts across the desert directly toward the gully that leads to the base of the route. The dirt road peters out before it reaches Mount Wilson and after some cross country travel we picked up cairns that led us into the gully. Some fifth class climbing had us tightening our approach shoe laces and chalking up. The gully passes by a nice looking crag with varnished cracks that forms the proper toe of the ridge. This remote zone probably deserves a visit of it's own, if the climbing is half as good as it looks. After some ogling we followed the gully into the bowl between the ridge and The Basin Wall and then angled over onto the ridge where we took a long snack break at a big cairn.

I found some beta written by the first ascensionist at rockclimbing.com. He mentioned a "40' splitter crack" marking the start of the route. Above us was 4th and low 5th class climbing with no splitter in sight. We put on rock shoes and got out the rack, but left the rope coiled and resumed scrambling. We spent the next couple hundred feet climbing easy terrain on the left side of the ridge, but looking for straightforward spots that would put us back on the crest. Before long we found ourselves at the base of an excellent handcrack in a corner just left of the ridge crest. Whether on route or not, there was no way we weren't going to climb this thing! So we roped up and sent it.

Chad on a fun tight-hands crack part way up the ridge.

From here the route unfolded fairly smoothly. Some of it was easy ropeless scrambling. We did some simul-climbing. We made a number of shorter pitches with the follower wearing half the rope as tied-off coils. There were some terrain belays. We also made a handful of longer pitches with anchors and everything. Maybe halfway up passed through a cool tunnel to the left side of the ridge and got a good view of the upper part of the ridge. We saw something that looked like maybe it could be the mythical Equalizer. Chad led a short pitch of offwidth in good varnish to return us to the crest and then I took over. A few easy leads found us bypassing the only real tower on the route and then stowing the rope for some fun low 5th class climbing.

Getting fired up just before the tower.

Above this I found myself standing at the base of what we were pretty sure was the Equalizer pitch with the rack clipped to my harness. Chad put me on belay and I cast off. The reputation of this pitch was in my head at first, but after a few moves I just focused on the climbing....which was very good. It was frictiony face climbing on the best white rock I've ever climbed on in Red Rock. Aside from the two equalized #1 Camalots, I also placed a small C3 and a tricam. If we had carried more small C3's and small tricams I may have been able to get more gear. The movement was enjoyable and never desperate. Chad's offwidth felt a bit harder. Partway up Chad expressed some envy that I ended up with the pitch and I promised him that he could lead the money pitch(es) next time we climbed together.

Chad nearing the end of the Equalizer.

The Equalizer ends on a big flat step where we again coiled the rope for the last few hundred feet of scrambling. And then we were on top, putting the gear away, reapplying sunscreen, and happily changing out of our sweaty rock shoes. Good descent beta from rockclimbing.com had us back in First Creek Canyon faster than the standard walk back to the limestone, so we decided that a quick lap on Black Magic was in order on the way out.

Blue Diamond Ridge is a great route, but it's not typical Red Rocks fare. It feels a lot more like an alpine rock climb than say, Resolution Arete (also on Mount Wilson). The route felt fairly casual to Chad and I because we're both very comfortable climbing on 5.9 terrain and both have a lot of alpine climbing experience. We have a lot of experience routefinding on 3rd to low 5th class terrain and managing loose rock, which abounds on the route, particularly in the easier sections. Parties with appropriate skill and experience will find this is a really fun and rewarding route and shouldn't be intimidated by its reputation.

On Being Well Rounded

Recently, I got home from my second expedition up the West Buttress of Denali. Between the two trips I've guided a total of 15 climbers on the mountain. It's a very diverse group, all of these folks had worked hard before and during the expedition and had a strong desire to go to the summit, but that's where their similarities end. Climbers on these expeditions came from different countries, different generations, and even slightly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Perhaps the most striking of their differences was in climbing background.

A sort of a sunset at 14,000 feet. The full moon hangs over Mount Hunter, with Mount Foraker to the right. The classic Sultana Ridge is the sun-shade line on Foraker.

All had some mountaineering experience. Some had some more extensive alpine climbing mileage. A few folks on each trip had done a lot of technical climbing. These difference became glaringly obvious on two of the sections many regard as the cruxes of the expedition: the Fixed Lines above the 14,000 foot camp, and the Autobahn (a section of fixed pickets above the 17,000 foot camp). Both of these sections of the route are steep, and both require the climber to have a basic grasp of moving together as a roped team, and an understanding of how to operate a carabiner. I know this second skill sounds a bit sarcastic, but bear with me because it's not.

Eating salmon with the pick of my ice axe. I forgot my spoon this day.

Denali suitors who had extensive technical climbing experience on rock and ice were comfortable with the steeper terrain of the Fixed Lines and Autobahn. The very act of standing on these slopes did not tire or unnerve them. Their previous climbing experience gave them experiential, not just intellectual, knowledge of how rope systems can add security to steep terrain. Spending time handling ropes and carabiners in a variety of steep rock and ice situations meant that they had a fundamental understanding of how to clip and unclip rope from carabiner. They had no problem doing either with big bulky gloves (or mittens) when they were cold and tired.

Those with less technical experience were nervous on the steeper slopes. They didn't feel comfortable standing upright and sometimes assumed positions that seemed more secure but were more tiring. They didn't feel comfortable resting with their weight on the fixed rope. Clipping and unclipping was difficult and stressful. If the weather was bad and they were tired, all of these things were magnified. It was as if those with less technical experience were given a slightly harder mountain to climb.

Spud and Mike cruising to camp at 17,200. This is one of my favorite sections of the route.

In my time guiding in The Cascades* I worked with many climbers who were not interested in rock climbing at all. Some of them preferred to gut it out on obscure moderate alpine ice climbs that were in less-than-optimal condition rather than choose a classic route that might involve some 4th or low-5th class rock to get to or from the ice. Some thought they were too old to rock climb. Others thought that because they didn't look like Sharma shirtless they had no hope on the rock. Still others scoffed at rock climbing as something that couldn't benefit their mountaineering career in any way.

It might be the great variety of climbing available here in the Eastern Sierra colors my viewpoint on this issue, but it seems to me that having a breadth of experiences is beneficial no matter what part of the climbing buffet is your favorite. Some of the connections are obvious: bouldering can help you deal with powerful or dynamic moves on a sport climb. Sport climbing lets you work on movement skills you can bring to trad routes. Trad skills let you climb big walls and rocky peaks. But the connections could be more subtle. Projecting a boulder problem or sport route can help the mountaineer embrace the process of climbing a big peak and deal with the inevitable occasional setback or failure. The benfits could work the other way too. The experienced alpine climber knows that the summit is a very small part of a much bigger thing, and can bring that knowledge to working a challenging pitch at the crag.

On an expedition the little things can be pretty sweet, like having your name written in Sriracha on a quesadilla.

No matter what your preferred way of engaging with climbing, being well rounded (or even attempting to be) is beneficial. A bigger skill set puts more items on the menu of things you can do. As Josh Wharton said in a climbing video once, "What could be better than climbing? More climbing."

I was going to to mention a bunch of accomplished climbers who were known to be well rounded when a colleague pointed out that I don't need to drop famous names when I guide well rounded climbers all the time. He's right. I don't need to name drop Alex Lowe and Ueli Steck when I personally know Brett and Lee and Clay. I've been lucky to share a rope with climbers who like to eat from every part of the climbing buffet. Next time you find yourself joking that, "sport climbing is neither" remember that it's all just climbing and consider trying something new. You might like it.

"Do not use parking brake on glacier". From the dashboard of the de Havilland Beaver we flew off the glacier in.

*I meet folks who hold these views in The Sierra too, but in much smaller numbers.

The Dawn Wall, The New York Times, and being cool

Every person who isn't in a coma right now (and maybe some who are, medical science still doesn't totally understand what's going on in there) knows that Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson finally sent the Dawn Wall. That's because, unlike a lot of other climbing feats, this one made it into the mainstream media. Brian Williams talked about it in his nightly newscast, Melissa Block from NPR spoke with Kevin and Tommy on the air, and on January 4 The New York Times ran a piece about it. I didn't read that article, but I did read something Brendan Leonard wrote in the Adventure Journal that collected the best of the negative comments from the Times article.

Reading those negative comments was depressing. My wife and my buddy Vic both reminded me that the comments weren't that big of a deal, and that there were probably lots of good comments on the article too. They're right on both counts, internet comments should be taken lightly, and many of the over 500 comments on the article are positive. Still, it irked me to see people hating on a major achievement in a pursuit that's so important to me. The haters are probably voting citizens, and with their votes help shape public policy and the way our public lands are managed for recreation.

Most of the negative comments had their roots in a lack of understanding of the basic facts of what those guys were doing. If their opinion of what was going on was more informed maybe it would be more positive, maybe they would be more likely to encourage their elected officials to support and protect recreational opportunities.

So here's the call to action: next time a member of the non-climbing public stops you to ask about what you're doing, whether you're at a backcountry trailhead with a rope on your pack, or at a front country crag walking back to your car, be cool. Answer their questions. Their interest in our crazy passion is totally sensible, and the fact that you just sent your project does not make you a better person than them. This is an opportunity to create an ally or an enemy for climbers. Which would you rather have?

Adventure and The Dawn Wall

Chris Kalman has written an interesting little piece on The Dawn Wall Project on the website Fringe's Folly. He uses what's happening on El Cap right now to open a discussion about adventure and climbing. It's thought-provoking reading. Remember that with this sort of thing there probably isn't an ultimate right or wrong and that this sort of topic attracts all kinds of rabid internet commenters.

Rocktober 2014

For most guides in the lower 48 summer is the busy season and I am no exception. Ever since I started guiding I made it a point to take some time off in the fall. Some years it's just a couple of weeks, but more often it's over a month. Sometimes it begins with The Yosemite Facelift, a fun volunteer event put on by the Yosemite Climbing Association. This year though, I went straight to Red Rocks. It was pretty hot, but we got some fun climbing done in the shade.

On my first day we linked up two somewhat obscure routes: Magic Triangle and Crabby Appleton. Except for the scrambling from the top of Magic Triangle to the Crabby Appleton gully we were in the shade all day. Both routes are worthy for folks looking for something off the beaten path.

Aaron and Geoff staying (just barely) in the shade on Magic Triangle.

Geoff hand-over-handing down a weird old fixed line in the Crabby Appleton gully.

The Black Velvet Wall in the eponymous canyon is one of my favorite spots to climb in Red Rock and it's also not very sunny. Aaron, Braden, and I climbed two very different but very classic routes. Both Prince Of Darkness and Rock Warrior are mid-5.10 and feature hundreds of feet of fun edging. However, Rock Warrior has fewer bolts on the whole route than Prince Of Darkness sports on a typical pitch. As a result Rock Warrior is a lot less traveled and requires solid trad skills - the ability to find and place good gear and then climb above it. Both routes are great, one is all about the movement, and the other is a mental journey. 

A sea of edges on the Black Velvet Wall. Aaron puts the rope up while Braden belays suspiciously.

As fun as Red Rocks was, Jess and I had to leave. We had a wedding to attend in Moab. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a fun chance to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. The next morning we drove to Montrose, CO to meet up with our friends Vic and Heather.

We stopped in Zion on the way to Moab for a day of cragging.

 

We saw these two get married just north of Moab.

In the morning-after-wedding-reception haze I drove over my climbing pack. Fortunately my helmet was the only damaged item. I think I might have to retire it.

Vic is a climbing ranger in The Black Canyon Of The Gunnison. For years he's been telling me to come visit and I've been putting it off. I was wrong. The Black is a fantastic place to climb. Looking over the rim reveals thousands of feet of vertical stone in a tight canyon. The rock itself is fantastic to climb on, with good friction, cracks, and featured faces. Even if you're not going to climb there, if you're in the area it's well worth a look.

Vic at a belay on Journey Home, with the Gunnison River churning a thousand feet below.

We climbed a few classics and were welcomed at the North Rim ranger station's end-of-season party. The current guidebook to The Black Canyon is over a decade old. Vic has been plugging away at a new guidebook and the end is in sight. When this thing is published it's going to have great essays, route history, and little works of art masquerading as hand-drawn topos.

Cliffs of Insanity on the far left, Bridger Jacks at the center in the distance, and the Six Shooters on the right.

After saying goodbye for now to Heather and Vic we turned the truck toward Indian Creek, the typical center of gravity for my Rocktober travels. As usual there were sunburns, campfires, gobies, new friends and, oh yeah, lots of amazing splitter crack climbing.

Jess following a fun stembox on one of The Bridger Jacks.

Rocktober is by nature a temporary state and now I'm back home. I went ice climbing yesterday and today it's snowing. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area says they've had 6 inches already at the Main Lodge and chain restrictions are in effect on 395. Winter is here and I am stoked!

Taping For Crack Climbing

I'm smack in the middle of my yearly October rock climbing vacation (or Roctober, best spoken like an enthusiastic classic rock DJ). I've been climbing and catching up with friends old and new at some great locations, including Red Rocks, Zion, Indian Creek, and The Black Canyon.

I'm also learning a lot. As usual I'll spend the most time in Indian Creek this Roctober; I'm writing this from Moab's excellent public library. Indian Creek always teaches me a lot about crack climbing and trying hard. Another thing I'm learning on this visit is how to tape my hands.

Taping wasn't really something I saw climbers doing a lot when I was learning to climb in New Hampshire. Over the years I tried making tape gloves a few times, but they always took a long time to make, never lasted more than a pitch or two, and usually made the climbing harder. Climbing on the sometimes sharp rock of Joshua Tree taught me that "milking" the jams always led to bleeding and that it was best to put the hands or fingers (or more) in the crack and accept the jam for what it was. I still rarely use tape. After a few weeks in the Creek I usually have my share of gobies, but they've never been a huge problem.

I recognize that I am in the minority here. For most climbers, crack movement does not come naturally, and taped hands are a very effective "training wheel" when learning different sizes. I've come to see that as a guide it benefits me and my clients if I know a great taping method. I did some research before Roctober began and was looking for a method that didn't take a lot of time or tape, was easy to remember, and didn't change the size of my hand too much. This last one was a problem I've always had with the reusable tape glove.

The best method and tutorial I've found was by crack master (or mistress?) Steph Davis. She writes about  it on her blog, and is in a great instructional video. She advocates for 1.5" wide tape, but I've had good success with 1". As with learning anything new, practice is important, and the best place to practice might not be at the crag right when it's your turn to climb. She's also spot on with her recommendation of the Mueller Europtape. It can be found at climbing shops here in Moab and also at Eastside Sports in Bishop. If your local shop doesn't carry it, they should.

Peak 12,563

We've had an interesting summer of weather in the Sierra. Long periods with thunderstorms both in the forecast and in reality, coupled with smoky air from wildfires in the western part of the range has made prolonged trips in the mountains less than desirable. 

Classic thunderhead approaching Cecile Lake.

A little bit of luck and itinerary adjustment has allowed me to still help climbers accomplish their goals on guided trips. Glen and I climbed the Southeast Face of Clyde Minaret and The Palisade Traverse during periods of unsettled weather. However, I've put off some of my big personal objectives in the mountains in favor of shorter trips. A half day's scramble up Cloudripper and some cragging have been excellent consolation prizes. Early in August I had a free day with a 30% chance of thunderstorms, but still wanted to get into the mountains. So it seemed like a good time to tick some shorter alpine climbs.

Getting ready to leave the North Palisade bivy on a clear but windy and cold morning.

Peak 12,563 and it's Northeast Ridge (5.6) came to my attention in a Mountain Project thread from several years ago about less traveled, easier Sierra alpine rock climbs. Some of the routes sounded cool, so I added them to the never-shrinking to do list for this range. Last September Jess and I got out and climbed The Diamond on Two Eagle Peak (12,966), a route from that Mountain Project thread. The route had all the hallmarks of any off-the-beaten path alpine climb: a little loose rock rock, some lichen, and some interesting route-finding. It was a really fun day of climbing, with nobody else in sight and great views of the Palisades.

A little research in RJ Secor's Peaks, Passes, and Trails told me that Peak 12,563 is sometimes called "Bear Claw Spire", that it had a spectacular summit block, and that the route was first climbed by Galen Rowell. These facts on top of the fun we had on Two Eagle were enough to pique my interest.

I got a far from alpine start at 9am from the Pine Creek trailhead. Hiking up that trail is usually a hot dusty affair, and this time was no different. By the time I got to Upper Pine Lake the altitude and building clouds made the temperatures much more pleasant for hiking. From Honeymoon Lake to Golden Lake was fairly easy cross-country travel and soon I was getting a good look at the ridge. I have few photos from the day as the forecast and building clouds had me feeling some time pressure.

The bottom of the ridge features some fairly steep cliffs. These looked a little harder than 5.6 and certainly harder than I wanted to climb solo and in approach shoes, so I started left of the toe of the ridge at an area with several inviting cracks. Fun 5th class climbing up to about 5.6 led to the ridge top after a while. From here I crossed over to the right side and followed some 3/4th class ledge systems to get back on the ridge top. Staying generally on top of the ridge with the occasional 5th class section led up to the summit block. This was spectacular, as promised, and required a few 5.6 or so moves on very high quality granite.

The summit featured great views back into Pine Creek Canyon and down to the Owens Valley, south toward Four Gables, and a front row seat on Feather, Royce, an Merriam Peaks. Walking off down the west side of the peak was pretty casual. Though the rock had some of the potato-chip flakiness of rarely traveled alpine granite, the underlying rock quality was really good. If you're comfortable at the grade and have some alpine rock experience, this route could be a great adventure.

If you go the summit register could use a new container, notebook, and pencil.

Belay Specs Review

This is a piece of gear that's been seen at the crag more and more over the last few years. At first I scoffed at their goofy appearance, but when I got a chance to use them in Indian Creek last fall I was convinced. They're still goofy, but they make me a better belayer. 

For me the benefit of belay glasses is twofold. First, they drastically reduce neck strain. They make long belays pretty casual. If you or your partner has a project at the local crag, these make the belaying way more bearable. My neck still gets a little sore from time to time because my head is in the same position for much of a pitch and my neck gets tired from holding still, but this is fairly minor. This reduction in neck strain probably has all kinds of benefits for neck and shoulder mobility and longevity. Second, you spend most of the pitch looking at your climber. This leads to less short roping when they're going for a clip, and better coaching. You also get a better sense of what the route is like for your own burn.

There are a few models out there, but they all seem fairly similar and work on the same principle. Prisms in the glasses "bend" the light and let you easily see what's above you. I own "Belay Specs" and have been using them since late January. They've probably seen about 30 days of action thus far, predominantly sport climbing at The Owens River Gorge, also at Pine Creek, Clark Canyon, and The Dike Wall. Most of the time at the crag when I'm not using them one of my partners is borrowing them. At first everyone just wants to try them out, but they're soon convinced.

Belay Specs come in an orange plastic case. The color of the case makes it easy to find in my pack. There's a cord attached to the ends of the frame arms so you can wear them around your neck like a librarian. The frames are a springy steel that doesn't look particularly durable. Then again, I try to be careful about not scratching the prisms, so the glasses are always on my face, around my neck on their cord, or in the case. So, the durability of the frames is probably not a big issue. A cloth for keeping the prisms clean comes in the case.

Belay Specs work nicely with all the sunglasses I've tried. This is an important feature.

I've also tried the "Belaggles" but they were a little too tight for my head. Their case is a little more low profile, and looks like the case for a nice pair of sunglasses. The Belaggles frame is plastic and appears more robust than the Belay Specs frame, but I'm not convinced that frame durability is that important.

Confidence Gap with Sheldon Kerr

Verticulture, the Outdoor Research blog, published a really cool article/interview with friend and badass mountain guide Sheldon Kerr. Sheldon talks about the disparity women feel between competence and confidence in their skill levels, specifically in outdoor sports. She discusses five tactics to boost confidence in the mountains, and probably most any other place. Oh yeah, these tricks will work for guys too.

The 4x4 or The Big Four In Four Days

I am tired. I don't know if I've ever been tired like this before. I've been sleepier, I once fell asleep while belaying on El Cap. I've been more physically tired, I remember hiking out to the car over Lamarck Col and barely being able to put one foot in front of the other. This seems different. There are little muscles in my legs and feet that I didn't know existed before. Most telling, even more than being stoked about what Aaron and I did, I'm just glad we're done.

The "Big Four" are four classic rock climbs in The High Sierra. I first saw the grouping and Big Four name in Peter Croft's 2002 classic guidebook "The Good, The Great, And The Awesome". Every other mention of The Big Four I can find references Croft, so the concept might be his (though it turns out there are a lot of other "big fours" out there). And what a concept! Four long 5.10's on beautiful peaks spread along the length of the range. All were first climbed by Sierra heavy hitters. The first ascenionist list includes names like Warren Harding, Doug Robinson, Don Jensen, and Dale Bard. The routes are The Harding Route on Keeler Needle, Dark Star on Temple Crag, The Southwest Face (Harding Route) on Mount Conness, and The Red Dihedral on The Incredible Hulk.

On Partnership

When I started climbing I was so desperate to get out there that I would rope up with anyone who had a pulse and claimed they could belay. I picked up partners in campgrounds, parking lots, even on the internet. Once I picked up a partner at the Lover's Leap campground. While we were sorting gear at the base of the route this guy, who I had met about 30 minutes before, said, "Well, I guess we should have that conversation".

"What conversation?" I replied.

"About anchors..."

"Oh, you mean that anchors are good and we should build them?"

Dr. J's Dodgy Elbows

Rock climbing season is upon us in most of the US. For many climbers that means it's time to aggravate old injuries. Everyone says that elbows are the most common body part to suffer from a climbing overuse injury and that certainly seems to be the case in the Eastern Sierra right now. I must know at least four climbers who are currently complaining about their elbows, some of tendonitis, some of tendonosis.

A great resource for climbers who are suffering from or looking to prevent these types of injuries is this article from the website of Dr. Julian Saunders, an Osteopath and former sponsored climber. He explains what tendonosis and tendonitis are, what causes them, and what to do about it. As a bonus, his writing is also kinda funny.

Charlie Porter

Charlie Porter was one of my climbing heroes. He was a very well rounded climber - he climbed rock, ice, alpine, big walls, everything - and climbed in an impeccable style. On the first ascent of New Dawn (a big wall route on El Capitan) he dropped one of his haulbags which contained most of his food, his sleeping bag, and other supplies. He was only a few hundred feet up and could have easily retreated but pushed on for nine days to the top. And oh yeah, he was climbing it solo.

He also did not do a lot of talking about what he climbed or self-promotion. Charlie Porter never had a blog. He made the first solo ascent of Denali's Cassin Ridge in 1976 in a time that would make present-day climbers proud. Only a few sentences were ever published about the climb at the time.

Charlie Porter died of heart failure about a week ago. A great article on and interview from the early 90's, including more information about both of those now legendary stories, can be found by clicking here.

Off The Beaten Path in The Owens River Gorge

It's no secret that we're having a dry winter here in the Sierra. California's drought was even a headline on the BBC's website last week. For those whose first love is skiing and snowboarding this has been disappointing. That disappointment can be heard at house parties, pot lucks, restaurants, and bar stools all over town. For everyone else, it's been a great season for sport climbing in the Owens River Gorge.

Recently my friend Maarten and I made plans to head down to the Gorge for the day. We chose to head down to the Sub Gorge - a rarely visited area that looked good in the guidebook. Usually, dragging partners to obscure crags leaves them (and me) questioning if we'll ever climb together again. This day was different.

After few warm ups we headed down to the Silent Pillar Wall. The trails aren't very well established so this involved wading in the river itself at a few points. It was only knee deep at the deepest and a pleasant temperature, a nice change from the generally loose dusty approaches to other crags in the Gorge. The routes at the Silent Pillar were great. They had high quality rock and fun moves. There was almost no chalk on the holds, so we had to actually figure out our own beta instead of follow the chalk highway. And there was no waiting for the multi-starred routes.

Visiting a scenic, quiet area with beautiful climbing and a great partner is a pretty good silver lining in a dry winter. Though I would hesitate to use the word "adventure" to describe a day of sport climbing, it was definitely a fun variation on the usual day in the Gorge.

Steck-Salathe Video

Mark and Janelle Smiley are on a mission. They're trying to climb all of the routes from the book Fifty Classic Climbs of North America by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. Part of their project is to make a short video of each route.

Jed belays while I enter the most infamous pitch of the route, "The Narrows". Photo by Mark Smiley.

Jed and I were lucky enough to get to be their film crew for The Steck-Salathe route on Sentinel Rock in Yosemite Valley. This basically entailed me climbing the route as quick as I could, so as to keep Jed ahead of Janelle and Mark and in good positions from which to shoot video. I climbed this route for the first time a few years ago, and it was a pleasure to get on it again. See the cool movie Mark and Janelle made by clicking here.

Rocktober

Every year I take a big chunk of time off in the fall. By early October the summer climbing season has come to a close in the High Sierra and work and play have slowed down. This coincides with a particularly nice time of year to climb in desert destinations like Red Rocks, Zion, the Moab area, and Indian Creek. This time off usually encompasses October and quite a bit of November, and I spend it enjoying some of the desert's finest rock climbs. So, taking a page from classic rock radio, I call my fall vacation "Rocktober".

Just like the more extended dirtbag climbing trips I've taken in days gone by, the two best parts of Rocktober are the climbing itself, and the people I get to climb and hang out with. Every fall it's a mixed bag of folks I already know and new friends. This year was no exception. Jed came along for his first Rocktober and wrote a neat little thing about the people.

For now I'm back in California, holed up at The Hopping Rabbit Farm near Yosemite and enjoying the dregs of Rocktober. Soon I'll be back in the Eastern Sierra for late fall and winter sport climbing, bouldering, ice climbing, hot tubbing, alpine climbing, skiing, movie watching, and all the other fun stuff we get to do in the Mammoth area.

Ape Indecies

Climbers spend a lot of time obsessing over small things. What's the hardest way to climb up this cliff when we can just walk up the back? Which are better, shoes with a pointed toe or shoes with a blunt toe? This carabiner is one gram lighter than all others, is it worth five dollars more?

Another small thing we think about is reach. The length of one's arm is something that normal folk rarely consider. To climbers, for whom reach can be of the utmost importance, it is quite serious. They have developed a method of expressing arm length relative to height. It is called The Ape Index. Here's how to calculate yours:

Measure your height, no cheating. Measure your arm span, from middle fingertip to middle fingertip. Subtract height from arm span and you have a positive or negative number that is your Ape Index.

For example, my arm span is 73.25 inches. My height is 70.5 inches. 73.25 minus 70.5 is +2.75, my Ape Index. The positive or negative sign is usually included for clarity. Also of note is the fact that in Canada my Ape Index would be much higher because of the metric system. Large positive numbers are desired.

Ape Index would only connote climbing advantage if all other things were equal, which is never the case. Let's look at Josh. He's 0.75 of an inch taller than me, but with a paltry Ape Index of +0.25. My reach is nearly two inches greater than Josh's. However, Josh's footwork is superior to mine and he can therefore climb harder.