Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
On October 30th I redpointed the notorious Run For Your Life (5.10b R) in Joshua Tree National Park, after taking a huge fall from the final move 24 hours earlier. This article is a trip report in essay form, examining the polarizing topic of traditional climbing ethics.
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.
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.
Ten Thousand Too Far 