EWolfe

I don't get it...

Wolfgang Gullich Peter Croft John Gill Royal Robbins Tom Frost Michael Reardon Chris Sharma Catherine Destiville Lynn Hill

Dance on Vaseline by The Theivery Corporation (with David Byrne) Bhimpalasi Warrior by Transglobal Underground Xpander by Sasha Electronica roolz for climbing - makes ya feel like yer in a climbing video

Bill: I almost lead that crack on gear, but it peters out at the top. But here's a .10+ crack/trad climb for ya just around the corner: And our favorite boulder boy, somewhat out of character: Erik

Dumpsters: Trader Joes Safeway Now there's a real resource!

Bump. Any updates on access? New route development? Erik

OK, I will concede that the only acceptable usage of wedgebolts is in an emergency bolt kit. My Bad

A past co-worker (redneck carpenter type) was telling me about shooting at "some shiny things on a cliff" out by East Flagstaff. I recognized the place as a climbing area called The Barrio, and gave him an earful for shooting at anchors.

I only trust bolts I have placed, and they are 3 or 5 piece anchors. Wedge anchors are for construction, and anyone too cheap to get the decent bolts should stick to trad or clipping other peoples bolts! :battlecage: Why on earth anyone would waste energy/drill power drilling a hole 6 inches deeper than the bolt is long is just as much of an idiot as the person above, and should follow the same advise. There. Cleaned that mess right up!

Same old Kevbone - wants everyone else to babysit him rather than do a search...yawn. Congrats to Erden on the continuation of an amazing journey!!

Last weekend I was invited to go on an overnight Canyoneering trip. It was to be my first experience canyoneering, so I was quite excited. There wee to be 5 of us: my friend Tim, his GF Natalie, and her two friends visiting from Montana: Sarah and Corrie. Friday afternoon, Tim and I checked out a new climbing area in Sedona I recently found called “The Mystery Spot”, and afterwards dropped a vehicle at Dry Creek for the end run. Saturday at the crack of noon, we drove out to the Secret Mountain Wilderness area, and after 25 miles of dirt road and a wrong turn, found ourselves at the trailhead. It was a beautiful view from the parking area down-canyon as we gathered our packs: The start was a 800-foot plummet down a dirt slope to gain the canyon bottom. Hard to reverse that one, I thought as I descended. Here’s Natalie on the slope down: Corrie psyched to get started: Almost immediately we encountered a tricky log descent: There was a fair bit of water, and plenty of downfall to navigate, making for an exciting afternoon: There was supposed to be a log for one of the descents down an impassable 12-foot drop. “Ken’s Log” had washed away apparently, and we were all thankful for “Tim’s Rope” which we fixed with loops and knots and left for the next party. After about 3 hours of tricky descending, log-hopping and creek-skirting, we found a flat spot to set up camp. We were lucky to have a water source nearby, as well. The funny thing was that I had predicted we would find this spot just before dark. I was somewhat of a celebrity in the party for my uncanny accuracy in this prediction... Anyhoo, the next morning I got up early, as usual, and took some pictures, did some rock-hounding and filtered water for the day: Nice morning light: I was wandering around when I heard a big “crash” of branches. Looking up, I saw a good-sized black bear, but didn’t have my camera. I yelled “bear!” to the others, but they were asleep. Sarah heard me and got up to look, but the bear was heading back up the slope and was a fair distance away when she got to where I was. The black bears are brown around here, which always throws me a little. Around 9 the others started to get up and ready: Almost immediately we were in the rock canyon: On and on we went, water crossings, wading, log descents and bush-whacking were common. The canyon is beautiful... Around noon we came to a pool that was quite deep. I took the initiative to find out how deep, and as a male in waist-deep water, I can tell you: It was cold!!!! Tim set up a rope to get to the entry of the pool, as it was slippery and narrow. Sarah taking the plunge: Tim grimacing at the chill to his man-parts ( I could relate): Lots of downfall everywhere, requiring constant attention and route-finding. We used the rope four times for descents and waded innumerable times. Very different and much more technical than what the guidebook described. Sarah negotiating downfall: “Hey, look! A frog!”: There were a lot of frogs in this one area, often times stacked two deep (**ahem**). Mating season in the ponds! I took a ton of pictures, so I’ll just let them speak for themselves: Another log descent: I even got a little bouldering in: On and on we went. The canyon is 10 miles from where we started to the finish, but when you are going 1/4 mile per hour in the canyon, it can seem like a long ways! Tim checking out some bear tracks in the mud: About mid-afternoon, the walls really started steepening around us: We loves us some log-walkin’, but we hates the damned under-loggin’!: At one point we really hit a blocker - hard descent to a difficult mantle, then down a steep slope to a deep sandy pool. The crew sizing up the prospects after my initial scouting: The mantle: The others decided to skirt this pool, but I went for it. Waist-deep, with shifting sands - exciting stuff! Some of the best pictures came from this one little area though, I thought. Glad I went that way: More shots from the afternoon: As we descended, things started to get really green, and there was a lot more water than up higher: Bear signs were everywhere, from scat to footprints in the mud. These were quite big: Eventually, we picked up a trail, and were glad to take it. We started making good time then: The trail afforded us better views than being in the clogged canyon: Tim had brought a picture of his nephew - a “flat Jeffry” if you will - and Natalie had one of his hands sticking out of her pack: Alligator Juniper: The large trees started disappearing, and gave way to deciduous trees: A huge wall towards the end of the canyon: Keepin on truckin’!: Amazing fern patch (in the desert?!?): Arch: Things started opening up as we approached the chapparel: A much-needed break in the diminishing shade: Looking back up the canyon: Getting close! Coming out onto the chapparel: Manzanita in bloom: And finally, a two mile hike on the road to get back to the bottom vehicle (Tim and I were cursed for not driving to the end of the road!): What a great trip! Erik

Darwin Award nearly

He did NOT solo it barefoot. He aproached and descended barefoot. Didin't want to carry shoes. Makes sense.

Frickin' Badass! James on Supertopo reports: "Yeah, I'm in Zion right now. Honnold soloed the route in an hour and twenty minutes on April 1, Tuesday. He walked up to it barefoot and then came down without shoes too."

Rudy, for cying out loud you are the master of your own destiny. Deal.

Classic Timmy! ZSdgnuc7zCk

Bump! And update... The Doctor and I went out to do a 4-pitch Arizona backcountry .5.11b that has only seen 2-3 ascents this Saturday. The approach was said to be 45 minutes, so we got an early start. The Doctor got a written description of the approach, and we also had a topo off of Mountain project. We set off, the directions seeming obvious... HA! 20 minutes into the approach, looking back on parking: After ascending the first part of the hill, about 35 minutes into the approach, looking back again: We cut off the main trail just after this, looking for the anchors that we would rappel for 4 pitches to get us to the base of the climb. Looking for anchors in all the wrong places: We finally realized we cut off too early, and continued for another 20-25 miutes until we saw an obvious North-facing wall (the climb was supposed to be in the shade all day). Approaching the amphitheater: the sweeping view from the top: We were looking for a "nose" of rock - we found about a thousand. Out on one of the "noses" looking back on the wall we were sure the climb was on: The last pitch says 5.10 slab, but the wall didn't look slabby AT ALL!!!! We spent a total of 4 hours looking for the elusive anchors, and an untold number of vertiginous peeks over "noses" before we gave up. Another shot of the amazing view: We found another trail we decided to follow back and do some sport-area recon. Sometimes the search for one thing gives you another. We stumbled upon a series of short one-pitch walls (5-6 in all) that looked promising for our next project: By this time we were well off the beaten path, but within 30-40 minutes of parking, so we decided to check the walls out. Dropping our packs, we hiked another 10 minutes trough minimal underbrush, and discovered steep, solid, and clean sandstone on the initial formation! Psyche! The Doctor checking out the rock: We decided to head over and check out the next few formations. Looking across the next approach section: After a little more bushwacking, I heard David yell: "Hey, Look! An arch!" Looking up, I shot this picture: It was more of a window, that an arch, but we realized that there was a very, very good chance we had just discovered an undocumented Sedona arch! Sweet! It is very remote, invisible from any trail, and there were zero signs anyone had been here. We decided to call it Windowpane Arch, if it proves to be undocumented. David with his find: We continued on, excited by both the arch find and the potential climbing in the area. The nextwall was very steep and featured: and another several formations lay behind this one: I got a cool shot of a gnarled juniper and had some photoshop fun with it: At this point, we had been back-country hiking and 'schwacking for almost 6 hours, and decided we had seen enough to warrant a return. Plus we were both getting a bit shagged, so we decided to call it. We did follow the lower trail (below the one we came in on), and I got one more shot of the amazing prow near the arch. We dubbed the area Windowpane Rock: Following the rim back, we spotted a few good trad lines to be done. One is close to the area we explored: Another was a 2-pitch chimney David had been eyeballing for a few years. Steep and clean, it looks like a classic! Since it is on Bear Mountain, and looks like a real bear of a climb, guess what we're going to call it? (check properties for answer): Spring in Sedona! Indian Paintbrush: Cheers! Erik

Bachar sportin a pair of 'em:

Prismatic glasses don't strain neck! Haven't tried 'em yet, but what a great idea!

Carry tincture of benzoine to keep tape on hot spots in boots, splits or injuries to fingers. stuff a lightweight polypro hat into the space in helmet Keep a lightweight jacket clipped to your harness during multi-pitch ascents

Pretty Cool Feed :nurd:

Trip: - Date: 3/1/2008 Trip Report: My friend Mike K invited me to visit the area known as Tamo (as in ‘taming’) for a weekend of climbing last weekend. The chance to explore yet another area, combined with my affinity for quartzite and the chance to meet The Verm (John Sherman) convinced me to abandon the higher ground of Flagstaff and head for Kearny and warm weather. The area was originally slated as part of the land-trade agreement for the Queen Creek mining interests to ‘help’ the climbers in compensatory measures towards their future loss of The Mine Area and Euro-Dog Valley. Both of which are still open as of now. Rumor has it John was flown around to find a climbing area near Superior, land was bought for access to it, then he was given bolts, hangers, anchors,etc. and presumably bits for the flint-hard quartzite. As well, being paid for the development! Good work if you can get it! Unfortunately, the access (as of now) is not quite ideal: 3.5 miles on 2WD road, followed by 4 miles on high-clearance 4WD mining road. Then the 15-20minute approach through the usual suspects of the high desert. But land has been purchased that allows access from the much-closer valley below, the only remaining obstacle is for the mine to build the access road...through the land they bought for non-mining purposes...so climbers could get to their climbs easier...and paying for equipment and development of the area...does something seems funny? Oh, well! Enough of the gift-horse mouth-gazing! Located just across the valley from the Homestead climbing area (south of Kearny), there is enough rock in this area to choke any rock monkey- be they willing to forgo the “Arizona Backcountry” approach. John lives in Kearny and swears the 4WD road to Tamo goes in 18 minutes by Jeep, so strap yourself in! Personally, I would prefer an ATV or dirtbike to the imminent-death gaping from the passenger’s side, but I hear people do this kind of road for fun in their rigs (I don’t understand it, must be a Jeep Thing). Mike was kind enough to put forth this disclaimer the first 10 minutes into the difficult section: “I’m not the best off-road driver...” I have always liked quartzite. It has a tenuous and demanding aspect to it that hardens one’s resolve: a refiner’s fire of rock quality. Stellar holds only limited by the ability to stick and balance through the often inobvious sequences, and requiring tenacity and creativity. Eldorado Canyon, in my opinion defines this quality. The Tamo rock, though not as clean or long, is a similar type of climbing. It feels hard for the grade. I also wanted to compare the rock to Isolation, another quartzite crag recently developed in Arizona (is there any rock we don’t have?), and having been to Skaha, Eldo and Seneca Rocks, was interested in the comparison. The rock often seems slippery on the fingers - tricking the mind to distrust the feet - but the rubber friction is actually better than with the skin, I find. Monzonite and Rhyolite have this quality too. The first day we arrived at the crack of noon with a group of 8 or so to sample the top-roping area called “The Corridors”. All the climbs are 25-40 feet tall, and numerous ropes had been strung up from the tops of the easily-accessible columns. Anchors abound, and setting up TR’s is easy-breezy. The view looked over another rock formation known as the “Tam-o-shanter” because of it’s similarity to the hat, and the areas namesake. The climbing in the Corridors is a blast! It is also difficult to see chalk on this rock, making the sometimes inobvious holds even more difficult to find. I found my self doing a lot of what MedSooz calls “shopping”. True to form, the climbing is steep and physical on great holds, varying greatly but continuous for the grade. One of the corridors: On one climb John dubbed the “Mr. Stinky Challenge”, he set PBR’s on the ledge in the middle of an .11a and the challenge is to chug the beer before finishing the route. Here he is stocking the ledge: The best part is yelling “rock” as the empty is tossed down. According to the V-grade author, the beer upgraded the climb to .11b and you have to pop the top on the way down for the next climber. Passing the challenge: The route is called Mr. Stinky because in the crack next to the route is a dead and decomposing coatimundi. Good times! Back to camp for food and a nice fire with 20-25 climbers, and a beautiful starry night. John and his sweet van: The next day was slated for the main area, with sport, mixed and trad climbs. After the bump out the road, we traversed a ridge to a cool slot that allows access to the cliffs below. Coming out from the crevice, the rock cliffs changes the landscape dramatically, providing coolness and more foilage to the desert environ. The climbs were a bit taller, we sampled a 5.9 that was really good, and then worked a stellar 5.12a that worked me back! The climbing is a bit more spread out along this cliff-band, with plenty of new routes yet to be developed. We then moved onto a very hard .11b, on which I hung at every bolt. Right next to it was a photogenic 5.8, I took some pictures of Kathleen from Seattle leading: I was gassed by this point, so I hung out and enjoyed the sun and scenery. Another climber on the nice .12a (the .9 is on the left): Soon it was afternoon, so we gathered together our fellow 4WD-poolers and headed back to camp, then towards Phoenix. Just North of Kearny, I got some pictures of a monsterous open-pit mine, this thing must be 30 miles square: Quite an adventure, all in all! Cheers, Erik

Summary: I don't like you, you different

Nice! Camp stayed dry, LOL

The Doctor and I have been striking southward from the snowy Flagstaff winter to the sunny sandstone of Sedona. Sitting on the sun deck, sunning, snacking, sending... (OK, that's too hard, back to regular narrative) The Mission to Mars area, aka The Planetarium, hosts a series of powerful, steep and blocky sandstone routes, sprinkled with a few established mixed and trad lines. The cliff gets sun after 11AM, and the radiant heat of the rock warms quickly. The M2M gets sun by noon, as seen from the sun deck: All of the sport routes in this sector are 5.11 or harder, so bring your guns. Most of the routes are also named after the space/planet theme, including a wonderful 100-foot face/arete climb, Space Cowboys 5.11c Mike K climbing: Mission to Mars is an ultra classic, ticking in at 12c with powerful open-handed moves and body tension. Clayman Getting it done: One of the hardest climbs in the area is Galactic Hitchhiker, a 5-star climb on immaculate rock. The 13a crux hits high: Other great routes include The Doctor's warm up route Starship Trooper, (Mike K again on the finishing crux): and Lunar Lander 5.12a/b (also put up by the Doctor) Thanks Doc :-) All this time during the winter staying strong got us looking at some new lines in the area, and last week (yet another Bloom route) found the completion of Do The Bosco 5.12b . The first 20 feet of this thing climbs out a cave, and requires some attentive belaying as well! Colin Cox on the second ascent: The climbing stays hard through a steep shield above, it's a long climb: That got me excited about a line i had been checking, so after several weekend days of work, last Saturday, I completed Solar Flare, 5.11c. Though only 45 feet, it sports two seperate .11 cruxes, and the hardest move is getting on the climb! A 3-foot roof above add spiciness, as well. Colin Cox got some pictures of me on the FA: And when we get tired of sport climbing, on another level just above us is a stellar 5.10c thin hands crack with a 3-bolt approach, among others: Ahhhh, love those winter days in Sedona! All the beta for this area can be found here: http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/Arizona/Central/Sedona_Sport_Climbs/Mission_to_Mars/ Cheers! Erik