Eric T

Very Nice Wayne! I'm inspired...

Hi, I'm Eric, i'd love to do the Becky-Chanard in the Buggs. I live north of Colville Wa and could meet you some place. I may not have a full week but can do three days for sure if that interest you at all. Perhaps four days because there is a lot of classic stuff up there. I'm smithrock@gnail.com or (425) 329-5167...text is best. I went to the winds last year and recommend going as soon as the snows off like June 15-20th, we had cool weather with no storms and no mosquitos. Then the day we left they came out in mass... Eric

Outstanding!!! Great work, can't wait to give it a try.

Hey, Would anyone be up to take a run on the south ridge of Mt. Gimli in the Valhallas? My house is an hour south and I'd make it comfortable coming and going. I'd be down to car to car it or stay for two or three nights and climb other stuff as well. It's like a 8 pitch 5.8+ alpine trad route with a three hour walk in and a walk off to get down. Eric Search trip reports here for Valhalla and here are some links that show the area....look at the video in the first one... http://summitmountainguides.com/blog/comments/etoile_filante_iv_5.11c_south_face_of_asgard_peak_valhallas/ http://marcadrian.wordpress.com/valhalla-range-summer-2005-2-trips-and-3-pitches/ http://www.mountainproject.com/v/valhalla-range/106990811 https://sites.google.com/a/stephabegg.com/website/home/tripreports/britishcolumbia/valhallas2 https://sites.google.com/a/stephabegg.com/website/home/tripreports/britishcolumbia/gimli http://www.summitpost.org/valhalla-range-british-columbia/538347

Hell Yeah Tad and Whitney! Isn't that a sweet climb. Great Pics, I love the light. With all the climbers flooding into Leavenworth for the Alpine these days I can't believe there are single digit ascent numbers left on a climb this classic.

Beau and Tad, you guys rock! Awesome pics; what a spectacular place. Thanks for posting.

Awesome! Great pics!

Trip: Red Rocks - Inti Watana to Resolution Arete Date: 10/29/2012 Trip Report: Inti Watana to Resolution Arête Grade V, 5.10+, 22 pitches On Monday, October 29th, Chris Cox and I climbed Inti Watana to Resolution Arête at Red Rocks, Nevada, car to car. Inti Watana is Bolivian and translates as “The place where one can lasso the sun”. The name is fitting as IW to RA is one of Red Rocks longest and tallest routes which culminates on the summit of Mt. Wilson. Resolution Arête was F/A’ed on New Year’s Day, hence the name. Inti Watana is a steep, east facing wall (12 pitches, 2000ft) just to the north of Resolution Arête; Init eventually joins Res Arête on its 14th pitch and climbs 10 more pitches to the summit. Oct 29, 2012 Rise 7:01Am Set 5:47PM 10h 46m 03s Above is the sunrise and set for the 29th, we had 10 hours and 46 minutes of light to do the climb and committed to do the approach and decent in darkness. At 22 pitches in length that would give us 30 minutes a pitch to lead, follow, rerack and start the cycle anew. The full Moon was chased away by sunrise and in turn the full Moon rose as the Sun set making me think about the cycles of life. The approach was strait forward enough; each step we took toward Mt. Wilson made it seem larger until it loomed above us like a dark fortress. We were alone at the base and prepped in silence. Chris led out on the opening crux pitches, stiff 10’s through bolts on red rock. The quiet was only broken by his grunts and my affirmations. The route is a delicious mixture of bolts and trad. If you tie a 70 meter rope onto Chris look out; he will link pitches, habitually. Chris is a habitual pitch linker! Which works out well on long routes like this; after the first few pitches the climbing eases back into 10-/9 territory and had the feel of Crimson Chrysalis on steroids. The 9th through the 12th pitches are worth doing the whole climb alone for. They’re on that plated Red Rocks stone, in spectacular position and really fun climbing. Every anchor of Inti Watana is bolted and the route can be rapped. Chris and I both highly recommend this route. Once we reached Resolution Arête the grade eased off a bit but the climb clears its throat, deepens its voice and gets strait into some adventure climbing. We simu-climbed the last five pitches of Res Arête to make the summit at sunset where we watched the full Moon rise over Las Vegas. We signed the summit log in total solitude snapped some pics and started our three hour decent to the car through First Creek Canyon. A local told us to follow high ground all the way to the back of the escarpment to a saddle where you have one foot on the sandstone and one foot on the limestone, that was good beta. That saddle is where you turn south into First Creek Canyon and start the two hour boulder hoping session before the trail gains the flats where we emerged to Mt Wilson bathed in full moonlight and looking much less sinister. Chris and I had warmed up in the previous days on: Ragged Edges, Frigid Air Buttress, Dark Shadows, Crimson Chrysalis, Bird Land and Black Orpheus. Chris had also done Epinephrine and a few others on Black Velvet Wall with Whitney Clark while I rested and viewed the Grand Canyon. I turned over 100 trad pitches at Red Rocks in Rocktober; a spectacular fall season. Thanks Brother Chris! Moon set behind Yellow Jacket Tower, Mt Wilson to the left. Chris approaching IW to RA at day break More approach gully to IW Looking up IW with Resolution Arete to the left. Chris firing off the crux pitches on IW The last belay on IW looking down the entire route. Chris leading out on pitch 14 of Resolution Arete The cat walk Mt. Wilson Summit Moon rise over Las Vegas Our summit log entry Mt. Wilson by the full moon looking north Crimson Chrysalis Crimson Chrysalis Chris at the final anchors on Crimson Chrysalis The base of Black Orpheus Me at the crux of Black Orpheus Dark Shadows Dark Shadows An old SMC Star Drive....Some say clip'em, some say skip'em Gear Notes: A standard rack to 3 and 15 draws will be sufficient for Inti Watana; some folks might like a 4 and some long runners to finish up on Resolution Arete. Approach Notes: We Approached Inti Watana in darkness and had minimal issues fining the right gully.

Hell Yes! The Warrior looks sick. We are mustering our energy to give it a try while we're down here. Did you guys consider the link up?

Trip: Red Rocks, Epinephrine, Triassic Sands, Frogland, - Cat in the Hat, Elephants Perch, F. Becky Returns Date: 10/21/2012 Trip Report: Epinephrine a Desert Classic Grade IV, 5.9 2240’ On Sunday October 21st Brooke and I climbed Epinephrine at Red Rocks, Nevada. I found a hand scribbled note on the bulletin board at the campground looking for a partner and fired off a text. She said she'd be back after dark and we could talk then. Brooke pulled up and pulled a bottle of white wine out of her trunk for us to share over our introductions. She suggested Epinephrine and I couldn't say no, I've wanted to get on Epi for years. We started gear layout right there in the dark and then drove out to Black Velvet Trail Head to poach some sleep and get a jump on the crowds. A truck woke us up at 4:30 in the am; it was another team arriving for the climb. We woke, ate and started after them as another team pulled up. At the base we were third in line and day was breaking allowing Brook and me to see each other for the first time. 7am, we soloed the ramp to climbers right and came up to the second belay right behind the second team. I followed their second out and got to the third belay with him where they let us pass. The first team was way ahead of us and now we had room to breathe and I really got to enjoy the chimney pitches. Brooke and I were on top of Black tower with the chimneys behind us at 11:00. I was stoked and thrilled with the spectacular position of the rest of the route above us. We could see down across Black Velvet Wall with all its classics and a handful of teams enjoying them. I led out toward the Elephants Trunk and tried to take in each move as it passed. The climbing above the tower is a lot like other Red Rocks routes and we were cruising it. I came up to the last belay on the exit ramp at 2:45pm and was so stoked I texted Shaun “Verticolorful” to share my joy. We put the rope away for the exit ramp and it was easy going over a very exposed void. We changed out of our climbing shoes and the mutual smiles erupted into laughter. I kept asking Brooke “Did that just happen”? We went to the top of the mountain and started following the large and plentiful cairns on the ridge top. We made it back to the car at 5:50pm and still had an hour of light. We celebrated with shots of Black Velvet, a perfect end to a perfect day. We had just popped off Epinephrine within 24 hours of meeting each other. We laughed and wondered what our next climb would be….Thanks Brooke! My next partner was a Finnish climber named Tukee and he was mustard. We did Triassic sands and loved it. The second pitch is one of the finest pitches I’ve done at Red Rocks. I then led Froglands first five pitches in one simu block, one more pitch took us to the top in 50 minutes. Thanks Tukee! Dina Cline is a Sun Valley Climber who I met in The Wind River Range this June on Wolf's Head. In September Dina, Fred Becky (89) and I went into the Elephant's Perch to climb the Mountaineers Route. This was Fred’s first time back since he FA’ed the Perch. Hanging out with him was a hoot, everyone either knew him or thought he was my Gramps…lol Fred’s bronchitis started bothering him at elevation so he settled with watching us climb. Last week Dina her Grandfather, a known Jackson Hole local, Roland Fleck, his friend a known Vegas climber Andrew Fulton and I climbed Cat in the Hat a classic 5.6 at Red Rocks. I was thrilled to meet Roland and see him climb at 78, truly a class act. Thanks Dina, Rowland, Andrew and Fred. My friends Chris Cox and Tad and Whitney (Tadney) will be coming in soon to climb in Red Rocks and the hits will continue. Looking down the fourth pitch of Epi looking up the fifth pitch Looking down the sixth pitch Looking down the elephants trunk Looking across Black Velvet Wall Brooke playing for the camera 1500 feet off the wash Looking down the exit ramps on Epi Looking up the exit ramp on Epi Me following the second pitch of Triassic Sands Me following the third pitch of Triassic Sands So I get to this belay stance and Tukee asks me if "I got the memo"? I'm like "what memo?" He's says "On the helmet!" lol Me leading out on Frogland Fred Becky returns to The Elephant's Perch 89yo Fred behind the wheel.... Roland Fleck on Cat in the Hat... Dina Cline on Cat in the Hat Dina Cline and her Grandfather Roland Fleck on top of Cat in the Hat... Gear Notes: We ain't afraid of the Pro We just set it and go And when you see those tape gloves Sporty, you already know.... Approach Notes: Varied

WOW! Thanks for the pics and the great TR!

Shaun, Wow Bro, what an alpine summer season it's been. You're outta control; can't stop, won't stop! "Monkey Call"! I stand both inspired and impressed. You should be asking yourself what you're going to do once you've blown through the select guides??? Thanks for everything SJ, looking forward to many more climbs with you.

Adam, What up Bro? I'm (425) 329-5167 or smithrock@gmail.com... I'm at Red Rocks till Nov 2nd come and climb!!!!

SJ, Thanks for the great day and the great TR!

Hell yes, getting it. Way to stick it out!

Blake Herrington corrected me yesterday at Index. Thank you for correcting my info here. I strive to be as accurate as possible and I'll do my homework better in the future. True, she's cute. She's got an even better personality and a winning attitude. Sorry to talk about you like you're not in the room Sunshine...

Awesome!

Hi Danielle, Yes, we were able to fill up water at the flat area 800 feet or so beneath Burgundy Col. Where the trail goes flat and the great camp sites are, travel 300 meter NE on a trail. Sunshine actually filled the water both times for us so I never laid eyes on it. It took her five minutes to fill a gallon and the water was fine. Have fun up there! Eric

Hell Yeah! Looks like fun in the sun.....

OMG, great pics, nice work!

Wow, "Monkey Call", Go Der Town!

Trip: Washington Pass and Wine Spires - East Butt SEWS, West RDG Pisano, NF of Burguny Date: 9/23/2012 Trip Report: On the 23rd of September Shaun Johnson and I climbed the East Buttress Direct of South Early Winter Spire. Then on the 24th and 25th Sunshine Summers and I climbed the West Ridge of Pisano and the North Face of Burgundy in the Wine Spires. Shaun, Sunshine and I had been in Mazama Saturday the 22nd for the Fall Mountain Festival where Mark Allen and Blake Herrington gave great slide shows and SJ won some skis in the raffle and Sunshine won gloves and a headlamp. I walked away empty handed. The East Buttress Direct, Grade IV 5.9 A1, came highly recommended to SJ and I and it was solid info. The feature is classic, in great position and has perfect Granite. I loved this route and found its place in Vol 1 of the Selected to be well deserved. The approach is mellow and then we down climbed the Southwest Couloir and walked out on the trail then down Hwy. 20 to our car at the hairpin. It was a very fun and relaxing Sunday for us. Thanks SJ. Shaun left Sunday night turning his energy toward Vanishing Point with Jens H on Mt. Baring. SJ told me the crux pitch is a wildly exposed 5.12b over a thousand feet off the ground. I think that route is a bit out on my horizon…. Monday morning Sunshine and I started the approach to the Wine Spires on a better than expected trail. I was surprised to learn that the West Ridge of Pisano, Grade III 5.9-, had only been FA’ed in 2005. This route is great and I was pleased Sunshine picked it for us. This was our second time out and I had led the first time. I was taken off guard when Sunshine told me she wanted to lead but who am I to blow against the wind? I handed over the rack and we swung pitches to the summit with Sunshine leading the crux 5.9 pitch with poise and confidence. I was humbly impressed. On Tuesday we had a casual morning and went up to do the North Face of Burgundy Spire, Grade III 5.8. Again Sunshine and I swung pitches and had a ball; especially on the last pitch which goes from 5.8 fingers to off width. Thank you Sunshine. We both want to go back for Rebel Yell and I’m really looking forward to that. I hope to see everyone in Red Rocks this Rocktober! Shaun with the East Buttress. (Above the tree) Sj cruzing the bolt ladder on the East Buttress Direct of SEWS... Sunshine... Sunshine all smiles after leading the 5.9 crux on the West Ridge of Pisano. Sunshine ponders the mental crux of the West Ridge... Styling it... A Goat at Burgundy Col. Sunshine high on Burgundy Spire Sunshine savioring the flavor on the summit pitch of Burgundy Spire... Silver Star with the sun in the West... Gear Notes: Standard Rack, 60m rope.

Thanks Sol! You da Man... solclimbs.blogspot.com Sorry it took me a while to answer I car2car'ed backbone with fin yesterday....headed for Nooksack tower later today... Buckaroo, Thanks for the heads up on the time in Nelsons guide. I'm thinking there must be a faster time than 9.5 hours but I don't know. I would also be curious to know their route? I've been told the east ledges decent is up to two hours faster but I don't know it and didn't want to try and onsight it alone. I would think that any way is on as long as you're car 2 car and tag both summits. That run for me was a trial run and I now know I could do it much faster. I could go a lot lighter if I had alu crampons and a tag line instead of a rope. A pair of approach shoes would be lighter and cancel a few transitions. Having one of my young climbing partners along would speed me up as well. All told I forgot my helmet in the car...lol. My climbing helmet weighs 17 ounces and that was my bike helmet that weighs 9 ounces. I wear it for rock fall from other climbers so it was no big deal this time. That is an avocado among my food. I like to work out on foods with a lot of fat and it has a ton of potassium. All told the avocado and half the bananas didn't fit in my final pack and were left. The route isn't all that cruxy there are a few low fifth class hits on Torment but nothing sustained. The biggest issue there is loose rock. Then you have the 5.6 sections on Forbidden that are also short and strait forward. I think most people would have an issue with loose stuff on fourth class and low fifth class and that would be the crux. My run went well because nothing went wrong, I never had a rope stuck or got off route or had to stand in line for anything. If someone tried this with too many parties on the route and you had to wait to rap or climb your attempt would be over. Or you could get slowed down by conditions like the ice for me. But all that is part of the "race" on big routes. To all climbers, I'd love to see some other runs for speed. Please know your limits and don't partake if you're not ready. If you have to ask, respectfully, you're not. Please be safe and have fun! If anyone wants to join me on my next run I'm smithrock@gmail.com or (425) 329-5167 Have fun! Eric

Thanks Mr. Storms, that's a great compliment from a climber of your caliber.

Trip: Boston basin - TFT Solo Car2Car Date: 9/1/2012 Trip Report: On Saturday September 1st I soloed the Torment Forbidden Traverse car to car in 9 hours and 46 minutes. I had done the route five days ago with Chris Cox and it really felt like a casual outing for us to do it in two days. Word around the camp fire is this route is primed for a speed ascent. I thought I’d give it a run and start the bidding. I have no doubt that another climber will turn my time on its ear. I also have no doubt that person will be playing hurry up offense. I found myself pacing by headlamp on Friday night. I was camped with one of my climbing mentors Bruce Wolverton, who was on a different climb Saturday. He listened to my doubts and fears and calmed and assured me that I’d be cool. He said “you’ll feel good once you’re up on the rock and moving.” Thanks Bruce! I stepped off from my car at 4:30am and settled into a brisk pace. I got to enjoy day break in Boston Basin. On the glacier below Torment I saw two climbers ahead of me headed for the ascent gully. It was Evan and I forgot your partners name, very sorry. They waited for me where the ice turned to rock and let me pass. I was really impressed with those two, being so young and climbing with such great etiquette. I stood alone on Torments summit and quickly signed the log and started the down climb to the rap. I wanted to go summit to summit in sub three hours and would have to keep a move on. There were two sections in the traverse that I would be changing to stay off the snow. I had to onsight the rock at these points and wanted to get that done. I found myself at the middle bivys and had the hard rock sections behind me. I felt there wouldn’t be anymore surprises, and I was wrong. At the Forbidden Col I met Mark and Jeff who had camped there for the evening and were now headed up the West Ridge. I asked them if I could go first since I was soloing with no helmet. They were cool and let me pass them and even offered encouragement. The cloud that had been sitting to the south of the West Ridge all morning was aesthetic; it was also depositing a small sheen of ice on the rock. This seriously made me consider abandoning my attempt for safety reasons. I found that the rock on the non cloud side was drier and could be climbed. I had climbed with my ear phones on all day; on the top of the West Ridge just as I broke into the sunlight Ian Van Dahl’s ‘Castles in the sky’ came on with its visceral lyrics …. do you ever question your life? do you ever wonder why? do you ever see in your dreams, all the castles in the sky... oh tell me why... do we build castles in the sky... oh tell me why... are the castles way up high... I was in complete bliss. It had taken me three hours to the minute between Torment and Forbiddens summits. I signed the summit log for second time in five days, snapped a few pics and headed for the exit. Here are my splits, humbly submitted for your review. Leave Car 4:30am Torment ascent gully 7:15am Torment Summit 7:55am Middle Bivys 9:40am Forbidden Col 10:25am Forbidden Summit 10:55am Forbidden Col 11:51am Off the glacier 12:55pm Back to Car 2:16pm Total Time 9 hours 46 minutes. Sorry for the pic quality, I was working with my phone. Below, me leaving car J-berg in the clouds Even and partner at the top of the entry gully on Torment. Torment Summit A little icy makes the freesolo spicy.... Forbidden Summit Above and below are Mark and Jeff having fun.... Return to car.... Gear Notes: 1 60m rope, 5 small nuts, 3 rap rings, 3 biners, 25 feet of webbing, belay device, 1 ice ax, crampons. Approach Notes: Marblemount to Cascade Pass road to the Boston Basin trail head.