Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
Seams Heady is a renowned 5.11b "PG" trad seam in the glacial polished granite wonderland of Teton Canyon. In 2024 I completed a ground-up redpoint with no previous inspection or beta. I learned three enlightening lessons through the process.
On Thursday June 19th, 2025, I climbed Irene's Arete with new-to-the-Tetons desert coworker Kenzi Stemp, including a two pitch direct start which has surely been climbed before, but is undocumented and often skipped. Higher, we explored a few harder variations with pleasant rewards. This article will focus solely on the variations we climbed, and others I've climbed over the years, which add tremendous value to this already great route.
The Snazette is an especially incredible two pitch 5.10c variation to one of the Teton's already great routes, The Snaz (5.10a, IV).
On Saturday September 20th, 2025, I climbed another long and classic Tahquitz crack line with new partner Simon Lee. The Consolation offered several pitches of quintessential granite jamming, a particularly strenuous crux, and a few spectacular exit pitches on the venerable Whodunnit (5.9, III).
The third pitch of El Camino Real is "one of the great layback cracks of Idyllwild"
Bob Gaines dubbed the first pitch of Dave's Deviation one of the best finger cracks in Idyllwild. The Jam Crack is a classic Royal Robbins grunt. I lead rope soloed both routes on September 7th, 2025, and took my first LRS lead fall! Spoiler alert: I'm still alive.
On Saturday September 6th, 2025, I lead rope soloed my first multi-pitch route! El Whampo (5.7, II), and it's direct start via El Grandote (5.9, III), are respective classics on the legendary Tahquitz Rock.
Tunnel Vision is the most unique route I've encountered in my climbing career. Four pitches of wild chimneys and wide cracks lead to the namesake "tunnel pitch", a 30 meter diagonal bombay chimney which passes through an incredible varnished tunnel almost dark enough for a headlamp. This is three dimensional climbing at its finest, and a must climb for the grade anywhere!
Whodunnit is a physical, varied, sustained, and historical quest up the plumb line of Tahquitz Rock. Since it's first ascent in 1957 by Joe Fritschen and Royal Robbins, this route has been climbed by thousands, including about every United States climbing legend imaginable, and is revered as possibly the best route on Tahquitz. A topo and detailed route description is included for prospective climbers.
Our last Red Rocks route before leaving Vegas for the summer - Bobbi Clemmer and I climbed the highly regarded Sour Mash. With three pitches of 5.10a and two pitches of 5.9, this spectacular route is sustained at the grade.
Ten Thousand Too Far 