Incredible Hulk

Sometime in mid-August, while sitting around the campfire in the SAR (Search and Rescue) site, I overheard SAR member Sam Piper mention that one of the other team members, Ben, was in a predicament. Ben was camping in Little Slide Canyon, home to the Incredible Hulk, one of the best backcountry walls in the High Sierra. Situated at the end of the canyon for only climbers and intrepid hikers to see, it stands well over 1000' tall and sports many difficult free climbs on amazing high country granite.

Ben had been camping there for several days, and had lined up climbing partners for every day he was up there, enticing people with the idea that they would not have to hike up any extra climbing gear beyond their shoes and harness. He did not have a vehicle, and so was relying on his partner for the last day to give him a ride back to the SAR site for work. The problem arose when his partner (who shall remain anonymous, despite being a huge jerk) for that day decided to take a rest day and not hike up to meet Ben. This was problematic because Ben was stuck a 2-hour drive from the site and moreover, there was no way of contacting him to tell him the jerk had bailed on him.

Back to the campfire: the idea of someone else going up there to get him was thrown around, but everyone had plans or was working...except for me. Time: 11:00PM. Time I had to get up to make it there with time to climb with Ben: 4:00AM. I packed quickly while Sam drew me a map of the approach hike.

The next morning was a true alpine start. I was on the road by 4:40AM, on my way to Twin Lakes, the start of the approach for the Hulk.

Dawn on the Sawtooth range

The approach went well for the first hour...until I had to find the climber's trail that took me into Little Slide Canyon. I later learned I had severely overshot it. I began bushwhacking uphill into the canyon, across and over boulders. At least the view was beautiful!

I forgot the name of this formation, but luckily you don't need a name to appreciate beauty

After 2 hours of steep, vegetated battling, I found Ben tucked in under some boulders by the base of the Hulk. He expressed a little surprise at seeing me and offered my a quesadilla he had just cooked...how could I say no after the approach?

The Incredible Hulk!

We decided to climb Positive Vibrations (5.11a), a 1200 foot route following exceptional crack systems up the center of the formation.

Disclaimer: The following pictures are the best I could find out of the few I took. It was pretty windy, cold, and taking pictures while belaying is tricky at best. I also did not lead any of the pitches; I was not feeling my best. Regardless, I had a fantastic time on the route.

Ben leading what I believe is the second pitch

One of the final pitches of the route; check out the color of the sky! (Elev: 11,500 feet)

Soon I'll have a trip report of my aborted (but fortunately aborted) attempt to solo-aid the Lost Arrow Spire.

Coffee and offwidth climbing go hand in hand.
Championship Wrestling (5.10a), Joshua Tree Natl Park

Cam Lobe Earrings

I was recently given a haircut from a friend (and what a kick-ass haircut it was). Being a professional hairdresser and all, she required payment, but considering the conditions the haircut were given in, I thought it would be cooler to trade her service for something I could make...

After disassembling an old piece of climbing gear called a Spring-loaded camming device (SLCD), or cam, I went about looking for earring hardware on the East side of the Sierra and came up empty handed...until I found myself in the hardware store (duh). Here is the result.

Lobes removed

One finished earring, 3 lobes, 1/4" threaded aluminum spacer, and cam axle

The goods!

My friend Sarah wearing the earring

I used a 1/4" threaded aluminum spacer, which barely fit into the hole in the cam lobe. I had to gently tap it in with a hammer...and thanks to the malleability of both pieces, the threaded hole did not deform, and the cam lobe did not break. I then placed a small (6-32 x 3/4") machine screw into the threaded hole. The appropriate nut holds the earring in place, much like a threaded barbell.

I risked using both a brass flathead screw (which looks really cool) and a stainless philips screw (which looks a little less cool). The brass ended up being too reactive with Sarah's skin and she can only wear the stainless one. Thankfully in Sarah's other earlobe resides a #3 Black Diamond stopper.

Photos from climbing and foot patrol

I have the opportunity to patrol and protect some of the most beautiful places in the world. Here are some of the pictures from this season:

The view down onto Tenaya Peak (left) and Tenaya Lake (center) from Medlicott Dome


Lots of wildflowers. This is one of my favorites. Any guesses?

Unicorn Peak (left) and Cathedral Peak (right) with their early-season blankets (taken in mid-July)

The Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River

The rare clouds and even rarer storm approaching Tuolumne Meadows.

A good assortment of the Domes and peaks pictured: from L to R, Unicorn, Fairview, Lamb, Mariuolumne, DAFF

A typical trail through the lodgepole forests.

Cloud's Rest (L) and Half Dome (R) in the evening light

The two story composting toilet in Glen Aulin, one of the High Sierra camps

There will be more patrol photos as the season progresses!

My coworker Eric finds a magical door...to where does it lead?

Yosemite 2010: Rope Rescue Training

Building a monster anchor

As the climbing intern here in Yosemite National Park, I am lucky; I have the opportunity to take part in all kinds of cool training. The most recent one was AST-1 (All-risk Support Technician, Type 1) and also Rope rescue training.

Sorting gear for the Rope Rescue portion

This was 4 days of training, the first covering topics like chain of command during a rescue mission, radio communications, and also some case studies, presented by John Dill, YOSAR legend (Yosemite Search and Rescue). The next three were full days of hands-on rope rescue training.

Practicing mechanical advantage haul systems

We spent those three days on top of granite domes in Tuolumne Meadows lowering 2kn loads (1kn roughly equals 225lbs, so two of our team members plus a litter and rope).

A Mono County SAR member playing attendant for one of our LE Rangers, Bekky.

A technical rope rescue has many positions.

• Ops: The Operations command must synchronize the teams' movements so as to reduce the risk of endangering anyone on the team and reduce the chance of further injuring the party that must be rescued.
  
• Mainline: This team is responsible for lowering the attendant with the litter to the injured party. They then either haul or continue lowering the injured party to the ground.
• Belay: The belay is a secondary safety line in case the mainline fails. They must either feed out line or take it in as necessary.
• Edge attendants: This is one of the most difficult positions, as the edge attendants must watch undue abrasion on the rope and also assist the attendant and injured party up past the edge in case of a haul.
• Safety officer: When it comes to double-checking systems, the more brains the better. The safety officer makes sure all anchors are solid and every team member is managing risk properly.
• Litter attendant (or just attendant): Possibly the most difficult position, second to Ops. They must possess a high level of medical training and be able to move the litter efficiently so as to allow the rescue to progress quickly and also to prevent further injuring the patient.
  

Clay as Edge Attendant


Tamsen rocking Ops.

Cheers, y'all. I will try to post more often (and more pictures) but I am pretty darn busy.

Journey Westward - Ill-Wi-SoDa-Col and beyond

From the Last Chance Corral, I drove to Chicago to sleep in one Graham Haviland's new apartment. He lives in a sweet neighborhood, right by the University of Chicago campus, where he currently attends. Chicago in the summer has got to be one of my favorite cities.

Next stop was Madison, Wisconsin, to see my friend Hannah. This may seem repetitious, but Madison is also a beautiful city in the summer. There are two lakes within city limits and sitting down by their shores during the sunset, enjoying the company of good people and good Wisconsin beer, is truly a delight.


Hannah and her BF Jimmy^

I left early the next morning and drove through the plains of Wisconsin and South Dakota to a small town called Murdo, about 130 miles east of the Badlands. This was some of the most beautiful land I had seen so far:


The Missouri River from the Lewis and Clark Historical Museum^



More gorgeous grassland^


The last time I drove across the country and these relief-challenged places, I disliked them for their flatness. Presently my view has changed and I enjoy them for their tranquility.

More western beauty (this time Wyoming):



I stopped in Estes Park, CO to visit Jeanine, a good friend and one of the biggest influences early in my climbing career. I never realized exactly how spectacular this little mountain town was until I saw this:



Jeanine was busy working but she was able to connect me with a friend of hers who took me out climbing on Lumpy Ridge, the north side of the valley that houses the town. Lumpy's spectacular granite (have I mentioned how much I love granite) was just the thing I needed after sitting in a car for the last three days. Wes and I climbed Fat City Crack (5.10c) to Outlander (5.10c), for a total of 5 pitches, each one quality!

Next post: My final destination, the Big Yosemite...

Journey Westward 2010 - Last Chance Corral

I had the honor and pleasure of making my first stop on the way to Yosemite at the Last Chance Corral in Athens, OH. The corral is a cozy 2.6 acres, complete with a handful of barns and the animals to occupy them. I counted over 25 horses (a mixture of foals, mares, and stallions), 2 dogs, 3 cats, and some assorted humans (including myself) residing in close proximity to each other. In fact, the barn that partially houses the foals is also where us people sleep.



They are adorable. All legs, occasionally taking off into a fit of running and bucking, just for the fun of it. They are amazing to watch, as many of them are less than a month old (like this one)

I stayed for two nights, and put in about half a day's work, helping to build some new enclosures, do some cleaning, and feed the foals (that same day, they had received 10 new ones). The owner, Victoria, is a compassionate and capable individual, and her abundant hospitality is only outmatched by her love for horses.

I'm not taking it for granite

I spent most of the month of May in New Hampshire, climbing and graduating from college.

Some of the highlights of the trip:

-Introduced my friend Ana to the glory that is Cathedral Ledge. Here is a picture of her toproping A Room with a View (5.12a):



-Made another attempt at aid-soloing the Mordor Wall. On my previous attempt, I dropped my bathooks on the second pitch traverse, and was unable to continue upwards...this time, I reached the top of the third pitch and realized I was cold, hungry, and scared-just plain not having fun. I bailed for the second time...looks like it will have to wait.

-Graduation. Ceremony was fun but a bit hot. The university president chastised us for being too exuberant. I know there's a certain sense of decorum, but why be a killjoy, Sara Jayne Steen?

On the procession on the way down to the field:


-Came annoyingly close to onsighting Leafspring (5.11+) but slipped off the big jug at the top because I was too pumped. Overall really fun movement; similar to stuffing yourself into an overhanging broom closet that is trying to spit you out. Oh, and the closet is lined with 20-grit sandpaper.

-Made a possible first gear-only ascent of White Zombie, a 5.12d chimney. It took me about 6 tries over the last year to get this clean. A combination of strenuous chimneying and over-the-head handstacks and finger jams makes for a full-body thrashing...it's not the kind of route that you can try more than once in a day. Here's a video so you can get an idea of the madness.

I have spent the last three years in NH and I will miss the time shared in these majestic environments with truly wonderful people. Thank you all!