Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
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.
Alex Honnold himself called Dark Shadows "the best 5.8 in Red Rocks" - stout praise. The full route is 10 pitches long, and climbs to the top of Mescalito via several adventurous upper pitches. We climbed only the first four pitches, a common abbreviation which captures the steepest and best rock climbing closest to the... Continue Reading →
Come April, May, and June in North America, reliable weather forecasts for ski mountaineering are fickle, and the parameters for good ski conditions tighten. Here's my strategy for planning a great day out.
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.
3 descents - 3 seasons - 3 sets of beta - 3 stories. If you are eyeing up this Teton classic, here's the skinny - From powder to ice, "cornslush" and beyond.
Ten Thousand Too Far 