Sol

Super cool 😎 FA all day

Super cool you guys! Yeah im sure that pitch into black tooth notch could be 5.9 or so and I think the tactic of soloing what you can is the way to climb this route.

Looking at all that pretty grey stone, incut edges, and beefy flakes reminds me that that beautiful chunk of stone needs a free route up it...! Nice work you three, it’s cool to see a big ol aid route go up in the Cascades again!

I've had quite a few... Top 5: 1. Nearly killing Jens Holsten with rockfall after the belay ledge I was standing on broke and sent a couple refrigerator sized blocks which turned into thousands of chunks of flying schrapnel towards him on the last rap off of DOE after climbing and scrubbing it over two days prepping it for the FFA which Jens sent the next day. 2. FA'ing the Kittly Litter Direct pitch on the Dissapearing Floor Route on Mt. Hardy with Jimbo Shokes. Ran it out 50--60ft on 10- terrain before a harrowing mantle with my hands dug into kitty litter gravel. 3. Catching a 30ft whipper 1/3 of the way up the Jaded Lady on Mt. Hooker when Matty Van Biene took a wrong turn and powered up a steep flake system which eventually broke off. He was just going for it way run out on steep overhanging 11+/12- terrain. Went on to finish the route taking about 16 hours of which the last 4 were spend climbing wet 5.10 offwidth in the dark, then shiver bivying on top until sunrise. 4. Shiverer bivering with Blake and Jens after sending the FA of GITM: https://www.bluewaterropes.com/blog/shiverer-bivering-the-f-a-of-gorillas-in-the-mist-2/attachment/shiverer-bivering-the-fa-of-gorillas-in-the-mist-2/ 5. Somehow not dying by jumping off the belay ledge when Blake broke off a large block above me on Inspiration: http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web14x/wfeature-picket-range-herrington-wertkin-best-pitch

Jens tried it a number of years back (10?) but the ancient pins? he saw kept him from really comitting to it. He said it could use a bolt or two to be safe but looked cool.

DOE takes no prisoners!!! Glad to see folks getting after it, not an easy route...! On the 2nd ascent of the route Jens and I broke the headwall into 3 pitches and he onsighted from a semi hanging belay near the wide section thru the roof to the belay your using on the upper headwall. No way in hell we could have freed that upper bit without the scrubbing we did on our next mission.

New crux! WHOA! Thanks for the TR, it's on the list but I am intimidated!

I climbed on the East Face of LIberty Bell on Wednesday and it was damn near perfect. MUCH worse down valley in Mazama. Couldn't see the wine spires for most of the day but up at the pass itself condition were good. Worth noting I'm an east-sider and quite use to smoke. Unless my eyes are burning and i'm coughing I dont really notice it.

I heard the whole shield fell off and the handcrack is no more..!

Sounds legit.

What exactly is muscular endurance training? One thought, if it ain't broke... you know the rest.

BOOM! Nice work! Always interesting to hear how folks get on with this stuff. A couple thoughts on dealing with the aches and pains in your body of an intense training load is like you said, to build a bigger base more gradually, but also to take 3-7 days off of training every 3-4 weeks. What now?

Not likely. There are two kinds of strokes: ischemic (loss of oxygen to the brain, which is usually due to arterial vessel blockage) and hemorrhagic (bleeding). Both cause irreversible damage in proportion to the size/area affected. As a long shot, this could be a temporary vessel occlusion (blockage) that is released within minutes of stopping the descent. That would be very unlikely. Add that no permanent effects have yet been detected and it seems even more unlikely to explain this. Maybe Dr Phil can help... I'm a certified Neurologic RN who works with acute stroke victims and I will say that these symptoms are consistent with a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA or Mini-stroke) which only last 1-30 minutes and then completely resolve.. Might be worth a quick Head CT or MRI to rule out any type of vascular abnormalities.

stop running

Thanks Rudy!

I made a blog post detailing the most current training plan i'm using for rock climbing, I also talk about my home climbing dojo and touch a bit on trying to be performance rock climber while being a dad to two young children. Climbing Training Fall 2016 - Conjugate Periodization

Thanks Ivan! I had to google Dian Fossey, LOL that's funny!

Thanks guys!

Trip: Mt Stuart - FA: King Kong - Gorillas in the Mist Direct Direct Date: 9/9/2016 Trip Report: On September 9th I completed a long-term project on the West Face Wall of Mt Stuart: King Kong, AKA Gorillas in the Mist Direct Direct AKA The Joe Puryear Memorial Route - 11d, 900ft. It took multiple attempts over many years and is my most meaningful first ascent to date. This climb was a tribute to fallen alpinist Joe Puryear who died in Tibet in 2010. A lengthy trip report can be found on my blog which recounts not only this ascent but the first ascents of Gorillas in The Mist, Gorillas Direct, and my many failures/attempts in between: Sol Wertkin Blog

Wish I could have made it over. You guys ever think about having one over here in Leavenworth? I imagine we could get a great turnout.

A new route of you guys's that my wife might actually let me go repeat! Thanks for keeping the true North Cascades adventure STOKE alive!

I've said it many times before and I'll say it again, an ascent of Mt Stuart should never be underestimated! Nice work getting out of there with your partners bum knee! RIP 59er Diner (it will be rebuilt)