Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Barley Legal


A friend asked me why I chose a headless picture of myself for the title picture of my blog. In the picture I appear in control, confident and in my element. In reality if you could see my face you would see the look of total and complete fear. The type of fear you would jump off a cliff to escape. There was no fight or flight only flight. However I managed to gained a bit of composure and put in a screw as Ari snapped that photo and then I promptly came down.

That was many years ago and one of my first ice leads. I survived the learning curve and have grown a lot as a climber and especially as a person since that day. I have learned that fear is always going to be there if you are a climber, the secret is managing that fear and knowing when and how to back off when your safety margin isn’t there.

This is where this story begins. On Sunday my long time climbing partner Daniel Burson and I went to Cody to attempt a second ascent of the climb Barley Legal. To reach the start of the climb, which on this day was a hanging icicle, you must traverse a cliff band with a 50 ft. drop below. Deciding that the hanging icicle was not safe enough to start on, I opted for a mixed start to the right. I first built an anchor for Daniel to belay from, an equalized tri-cam and .5 cam, worst case scenario this should keep us from going over the ledge in case of a fall. So I started up the rock face searching for anything positive in which to hook with my tools on, literally every feature I pulled on broke off. Finally I managed to get three pitons in, the last two I resorted to placing on aid thinking I could come down and try to free the moves with pre-placed pro to clip.

Now, let’s go back to that fear and safety margin thing. I acknowledged and accepted the fear, but I ignored the safety margin. I knew the three pins where questionable at best. I am ashamed to say ego overcame brains and I continued to push higher. Next thing I know, I am crashing into the rocks below and begin sliding backwards over the edge of the lower cliff when Daniel stops my slide. In the fall I zippered out all three pins and blew the .5 cam out of the anchor, only the tri-cam remained. My lack of judgment came within a tri-cam of costing me and worse my partner a lot.

So, back to my friends question about the photo, I chose it because when I look at it I realize that I am no longer that scared climber. Now, I ask myself, am I the person who foolishly pushes beyond common sense? The answer is no. On Sunday I knew the risk, accepted it and paid for my choices. I was lucky to walk away with only bruised ribs, but I walked away. I will continue to push my personal limits. However, next time, I will make sure that I and especially my partner have an acceptable safety margin. I want to end this with my favorite Teddy Roosevelt quote. “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor souls who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twighlight that knows not victory nor defeat.”



Saturday, December 26, 2009

2 days in Hyalite

Routes climbed: Roman Candle M8 (Got to the anchor but not clean)
Northwest Passage M12 (Got half way through the roof)
Matrix M4 WI4
White Zombie M5
Switchback Variation M6
Routes followed: Feeding the Cat WI3+

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Carrot Motivation


You’ve seen the commercial, Kobe Bryant, Jeeter, Lebron and other professional athletes of the NBA, NFL, MLB working out in Rockyesque scenes of sweat, pain and agony. They are pushing themselfs beyond what most normal human beings can attain. Then, the climax of the commercial is the athlete walking onto the field, court or arena to pit themselves against each other, to go to battle like gladiators in front of thousands or even millions of spectators.
I was thinking of this commercial the other day on one of my daily runs and the same word kept popping in my head “motivation”. You might think I was motivated by these images. When actually I was disgusted by it, let me explain. My passion is climbing whether its ice, rock, aid or any discipline, it consumes me, inspires me and always humbles me. I work for myself and purposely keep a light work load so I have more time to train. And train I do, multi hour runs, pull-ups, kettle bells, hills, slosh pipe, often to the point of complete exhaustion. I think of Kobe with his $100 workout suit and $200 Nikes doing sit-ups in the Lakers multimillion dollar gym. When I come home after a full day of work and go out to my un-heated garage in my Carharts and steel toe boots and use my ice tools to swing around my rafters working on technique and trying to build more strength and endurance for that one mixed climb.
Once, I read that Lance Armstrong has a personal chef that measures every calorie he puts in his body and at the end of the day he has a masseuse work out his kinks. I eat a $5 Little Caesar pizza and if I ask real nice my wife will scratch my back while she watches Grays’ Anatomy.
I know they love their chosen sport, but in the end it is not just a carrot they chase but rather a golden carrot, worth millions and worldwide recognition. So, I wonder would they work that hard if no one cared. Would they still commit if there were no payout at the end? Does it have a higher meaning for them?
So what is my carrot? In the end after all the miles ran, weights lifted and blood spilled. When I go into the mountains there are no fans, no spectators other than my climbing partners and certainly no millions. What is my “motivation”? I think it is best summed up by the great Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev “The mountains are not a coliseum where I strive for glory, but rather a cathedral where I practice my religion”.

climbing resume

First Ascents
Tower of Poor Rock- Beartooth Mnts.- 5.10 A3 (5 pitches) Myself, Ari Greenberg
Lower Doublet- Beartooth Mnts.- 5.10 (9 pitches) Myself, Daniel Burson
Crow Lake Buttress- Beartooth Mnts.- 5.11R C1 (6 pitches) Myself, Daniel Burson, Tanner Callender
Camelot Tower- Beartooth Mnts.- 5.10 (6 pitches) Myself, Ari Greenberg, Daniel Burson
Granite Peak North Face- Beartooth Mnts.- AI3 5.9 (3,000 ft.) Myself, Daniel Burson
Spirit Mountain North Face- Beartooth Mnts.- AI4 5.9 (400 ft. from summit) Myself, Daniel Burson
Sponge Bath Buttress- Clarks Fork Canyon- 5.10 (6 pitches) Myself, Ari Greenberg
Speed Climb
Whitetail Couloir- Beartooth Mnts.- AI3, 22 miles roundtrip, 4,800 ft. elevation gain, 7 hrs. car to car,
Nepal
Ama Dablam 6856m- south west ridge- successful 2003
Annapurna III 7555m- south east ridge- unsuccessful 2007
Alaska
Mooses Tooth- West Ridge to Shaken Not Stirred- successful 2005
Mooses Tooth- Ham and Eggs- successful 2006
Mt.Bradley- North Face- Unsuccessful 2006

: I listed those climbs in the Beartooths as first ascents, however, my motto for the Beartooths is “There’s no such thing as a first ascent in the Beartooths , just go climb”. Because those mountains are unique in that there is not a lot of info on what has been done there. Many times I have been on a route I think is new and I come across an old sling or piton. So on the routes I listed we found no sign of others but who knows. Also I will tell you where the route is but if you need a list of what cams you need for which pitch then the Beartooths are not for you. The Beartooths are about adventure and are not for the meek, so if you can’t stomach it stay at your local crag or climbing gym. Rusty

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