Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
A manic two day strike to "Idaho's El Capitan" with Jed Porter. Astro Elephant was astronomical - Jed called it Steck-Salathe and Epinephrine caliber - I've never climbed anything quite like it. On the way we climbed an excellent unnamed 7 pitch 5.9 slab on the Super Slab. The Elephant's Perch is a monolithic 1,000... Continue Reading →
We've been climbing in the Tetons all summer - it was time to head west. Bell Mountain's Northwest Face stole the show as an excellent sustained fourth class scramble on a remote and gigantic Idaho Peak, and White Mountain brought a long enduro ridge traverse to the tallest peak in the Salmon River Range.
On Saturday September 21st, 2024, Greg Gwinn and I attempted to repeat the long forgotten Vas Defrens on Cathedral Rock, a 1000 foot "5.9 R" established by the legendary Jim Beyer and Buck Tilly in 1978.
On September 15th, 2024, Chris Morelli and I thrutched, wormed and grunted up the Snaz, an old-school, mega classic, ten pitch 5.10- on the commanding 1000 foot wall of Cathedral Buttress. I led all the crux pitches, and eight out of nine total pitches, which provided a far different challenge than swinging leads on the same climb two summers ago.
On September 8th, 2024, Bobbi Clemmer and I climbed the classic Southeast "Buckingham" Ridge on the 12,809 foot Middle Teton via an overnight camp in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon. It was Bobbi's first time swinging leads on an alpine climb, at pretty darn high elevation no less.
On August 15th Drew Grasso and I scurried the Upper Exum Ridge (5.5, II) for his first, and my thirteenth, Grand Teton summit. This was my third time on the route, but only the second with a rope. On this day we aimed to find the perfect balance between minimalism and security for a roped ascent. Here lies an exceedingly nerdy article oriented towards climbers, detailing our light rack and specific techniques for moving through this notoriously long 1000' route with a short 30 meter rope.
On August 3rd I trotted into Garnet Canyon and soloed the should-be-classic Dike Route on the Dike Pinnacle. While the climbing itself was excellent, the direct descent into Garnet Canyon from the summit of the Dike Pinnacle nearly killed me... metaphorically... of course.
I've been battling a partial rotator cuff tear this summer, so I've been dipping my toes into the dark arts of rope-less climbing as a way to score significant mileage on easy terrain. The Chouinard Ridge provides a 1,600' vertical adventure on clean-as-a-whistle Middle Teton granite.
On Saturday July 13th Bobbi Clemmer and I attempted a Cloudveil Traverse, a classic seven peak link up following the skyline ridge connecting the South Teton to Nez Perce. Due to a few unexpected steep snow crossings and a critical route finding mistake by your's truly we were forced to retreat 150 feet from the summit of the final peak.
I finally got around to making a modern topo for the excellent multi-pitch rock climbs on the Southwest Face of Teton Canyon's Grand Wall. As of July 2024 there are four routes on the Southwest Face, all with their own flare. Wild Kingdom (5.7) is likely the most popular, offering enjoyable climbing and good protection... Continue Reading →
Ten Thousand Too Far 