Out of the Blue and into the Black

My time in Boulder has come to an end. I’ve more or less lived the last six months as a normal human would. I made money and spent money. I’m a litttle scared and very excited to leave this comfortable monotony behind. The cold winter is gone and the time for sending in here. I’m not only going to challenge myself to difficult rock climbs but I’m going to live like less of a dirt bag on this next trip. If it means less time on the road then so be it. My days of penny pinching are over. I want to find a way to use my talents to make money. Not a ton but just enough to make my life on the road more comfortable. The first major destination on my tip will be Yosemite Valley. My life goals lie on the 3000 foot chunk of rock known as El Capitan. I feel like I’m finely at the stage in my life where I’m ready to test myself to these goals. I’m going to spend as few days as possible on the Valley Floor, away from the Rangers who are so eager to hand out tickets and the hordes of tourists who just make me want to leave Yosemite.

My final week in Colorado has been both amazing and awful. I made some bad decisions in my eagerness and stress to leave boulder. What should have been a happy time for me has turned stressful and problematic. None the less I feel I learned a thing or two that will hopefully influence me to improve my future lifestyle. All in all however I’m proud of the time I spent here. I met my financial goals in an extremely difficult job and still found the time to do some amazing rock climbs. On top of that I made some awesome new friends who share my passion for the sport.

After clocking out and saying good bye to my fellow co-workers at the West End Tavern I headed down to the Black Canyon with Madaleine Sorkin, one of CO’s most accomplished trad climbers. Our goal was to free the 2000 foot Hallucinogen Wall 5.13R VI. I checked out the climb a few weeks prior with my good buddy Cody Scarpella and the climbing on the route seemed within my ability. The numerous R rated pitches had me a little worried but in a way in kind of made the climb more desirable. When Madaleine and I showed up to the North Rim it was clear that the wall would be backing in the sun all day with temperatures in the 80’s. Those sustained runout face climbing pitches where going to be no joke. Our plan was to spend a day stashing food, water, sleeping bags and a portaledge on top of pitch 12 just before the pitch 13 crux. We would spend the first day on the wall climbing up to our stuff on pitch 12 then spend the night. The next day we would climb the remaining four pitches to the top. That night I set my alarm for 5:30 am and tired to go to sleep thinking about how all those scary pitches would feel in the heat.

I feel like I had just closed my eyes when the alarm went off on my phone. I got up and made a hasty breakfast in the dark. I met Madaleine at her van and we thrashed down the poison ivy cover gully. It was a bit scary to see the dark towering walls rise above me as we descended lower down the gully towards the roaring river. Was I really doing this? Was I ready for such a challenging scary climb? This was the first time I ever climbed here. Was it such a good idea to be going for the hardest route? This climb had only seen two ascents  by truly badass climbers. Who was I to think I was in the same leauge as Hansjörg Auer and Joe Mills. The Hallucinogen seemed to scowl down at me as we racked up at the base. I could see our stuff hanging on pitch 12, fifteen hundred feet up. “You’ll never get to me” it seemed to say. “Screw it” I thought. This is why I love rock climbing; The Adventure and the unknown. It’s time to put my skills to the test. Up we went with good progress. Yes it was scary, the rock was loose, the protection was far apart and the climbing was challenging. By the time I got up to the harder more serious pitches, the wall was fully backing in the sun. I fell once on a tricky 5.12 move on pitch seven that proved to be real reachy and hard to protect. The remaining five pitches to our portalledge went smoothly and quick. There were many times where I felt like I was going to come off but I managed to hold on and not take any savage whippers. After a restless night on the poralledge we were ready to go to the top. We had both sent all the pitches up to that point. It was time to gear up and lead the crux. I was so sore and tired but I wanted to send this climb so bad. I felt like I was going to come off on almost every move on the pitch but I held on and managed to send the entire thing on my first go of the day. The route was in the bag! Like a champ Madaleine followed the pitch clean. She would be the first female to send the route free! Three more pitches of scary loose climbing brought us to the top where we high fived in the baking sun. The third and fourth free ascent of The Hallucinogen Wall had just been made!

This climb was a great achievement for me and a perfect finish to my stay in Colorado. It was an excellent adventure that was both challenging and enjoyable (in an odd sort of way). With Colorado behind me, I look forward to the inevitable challenges and adventures of the next six months. I’ll keep you informed. Peace!

Little Talks

The road calls

Life continues on here in boulder Colorado but not for much longer. I told my boss I’m leaving at the beginning of May. Work started off great but now after five months I’ve had enough of bussing tables and pretending to be friendly to stupid drunk customers. I need to answer the call of The Road! I want my next road trip to be similar to the last one. Only this time I plan to not break my foot. Hopefully the Honda can handle all the driving. I’d like to leave Boulder May 10^th and head to the Black Canyon with Cody Scarpella to make a free attempt at the Hallucinogen Wall. All my training done in Boulder has been to prepare me for this wall. If accomplished it will be without doubt the greatest climbing achievement of my career. I’m skeptical but we’re both feeling very fit and capable, so maybe we have a chance. Fingers are crossed! We’re going down to the Black to make a recon mission in a few days. This will hopefully give us an idea of the chance we stand at getting the beast done in May. After the Black I’d like to go to Rifle for a week are so. I hear it’s the best limestone sport climbing in North America.  I’d be cool to get a little endurance training in before the bulk of my road trip begins. I won’t get into the details of everywhere I plan to go because frankly I’m not sure of what those details are myself. And I want it to stay that way. Just take it as it comes. I’m trying to learn from the mistakes I made on my last trip! Two places are a given however, Squamish and Yosemite. That’s all I’m going to say for now.

The free topo for the Hallucinogen Wall 

My time in Boulder since my last blog update has been amazing. Work hasn’t been all fun and games but I’ve made some good money that should make my time on the road a little more comfortable. The climbing has been great. The weather turned really nice and the days got longer. Spring in Boulder is awesome! It doesn’t get dark till 7:30 or so, so I have time to go climbing after I get off work. I’ve been going to eldo and soloing a bunch of the easy classics there. Outer Space and Alice in Bucketland are two climbs that really stand out as good scrambling routes. The rock there is super interesting; it climbs like a mix of both granite and limestone but it’s actually a tough kind of sandstone. Eldorado canyon is what I’ll miss most when I leave Boulder. I would say I’ll miss all the cool people I’ve hung out with while I’ve been here, but luckily for me I’ll see most of those people when I’m out on the road for the next seven months. I love the climbing community!

The Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon-photo by Kris Gorny

Probably the most exciting day I’ve had in boulder so far came about two weeks ago when Cody and I decided we wanted to climb one of the notorious eldo 5.12X routes. This is an idea that formed in my head while I was at work. I was working the day shift and I knew I’d get off around 3pm or so and I thought it be cool to go give a toperope inspection session on a route called The Lion. A horrifying 5.12x route with poor protection well below your feet. A fall would mean many broken bones without a doubt. After I got off work I gave Cody a call and asked him if he wanted to have a safe afternoon of toproping.  He was game. We got into the canyon at around 4 and went to work on getting the TR set up. We ended up both flashing The Lion. It felt insecure and balancy at the crux, but doable. And then all the sudden there we were picking out the gear we wanted for the lead. Leading a 5.12x route was not in the plan for that evening but there I was telling Cody he was “on belay” as he stepped off the ground. Like a boss Cody stuck the crux and managed to clip the anchors 60 feet above his last piece of protection. Cody would not be leaving the canyon in an ambulance. It was now my turn. I of course couldn’t devastate my ego by backing out of the lead, so there I was trying to breath and stay calm as I pulled my way up to the crux. Below the cuxy face sequence there’s an insecure mantel that isn’t reversible. After the mantel your committed to the climb. Your either clipping the anchors or your taking the wild bone breaking fall on the low angled slab thirty feet below(if the gear holds). Before I could psych myself out I was pulling the mantel. It was now time to crimp the crux hold and stab out for the sloppy pinch while trying to not barn door off the foot holds. I reached up for the crimp and right away I knew I wasn’t sticking the next move. I was going to fall. It’s as if the crimp got twice as small and grease had somehow oozed out of it since my TR go. Somehow my legs didn’t do the Elves dance they sometimes do when I get gripped. I was strangely calm. It was as if I had accepted the fact that I wouldn’t be climbing for the next year or so. I noticed a small audience down the path way out of the corner of my eye. “Your about to watch me die”, I thought to myself. After about a minute of sitting there at the crux (which felt more like an hour) I knew I had to at least try the move. My fingers where getting more sweaty and I was in too much of a balancy spot to chalk up. I was going to fall in the next twenty seconds if I didn’t do something fast. I thrutched out for the slopper with my sweaty fingers. By some miracle I stuck the hold without swinging off. A couple of more tricky moves brought me to the first jug. I was going to live. We drove out of the canyon just as it was getting dark feeling like we had concurred the world. This concludes my story of the closest call I’ve had in climbing.

After the Lion ordeal I got serious about trying to do a climb in Boulder Canyon called China Doll. A 14a R route that goes up an amazing arching crack/seam for 130 feet. I’m glad to say that on April 14^th I succeeded in sending the route without clipping the bolts. Psyched on sending my first 5.14! Enjoy these pictures of the route taken by Rob Kepley.

 Another one of Musta Been High that I really like...
Thanks Rob!

This update is deticated to Brandy. My best friend for thirteen years. She was my childhool. R.I.P... 

Boulder

I’ve been living in Boulder Colorado for the past three months. After spending seven months on the road, I decided to end my nomadic lifestyle for a while. Boulder seemed like a good place to live due to its close proximity to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Plus I finished my roadtrip in Moab Utah and Boulder was only a short drive away, or at least closer then Orange County. The people here in Boulder are very into exercise, healthy(expensive) food, Outdoor sports, and being eco friendly. I sometimes catch a whiff of snootiness in the air, but for the most part the Boulder folks are really cool. I got a job working at a nice restaurant where I’m making some good money. Work can be extremely demanding at times especially after climbing all day but the friendly co-workers and good tips make the hard hours well worth it.

The reason I moved to boulder is the same reason I do anything. Great climbing! There’s a ton of awesome crags super close to town. Eldorado Canyon, just fifteen minutes from where I live is a personal favorite. Eldo has a bunch of spicy trad climbs that are plenty exciting. I recently just sent Musta Been High 13c r/x one of the famous hard trad testpieces in Boulder. I also sent some of the other classic trad lines in the same area such as Free Line 13b, Surfs Up 13a, Fraid Line 13aR and the Evictor 12cR.  I’m psyched to start doing some longer routes now that its spring and the days are getting longer and warmer. I’m especially excited to get down to the Black Canyon, a massive granite canyon just five hours south of Boulder. My biggest goals in Colorado lie on those massive dark walls. The climbing there looks terrifying and epic. I recently just bought a 600 foot static line I’m hoping to use in the Black next month. Hopefully the comfortable days cragging in Boulder haven’t softened me up for epic all day adventure!

Dreaming!

Living in Colorado has been great but honestly it hasn’t been too exciting and there isn’t much more to write about. All I can say is that life has been comfortable and relatively normal.  Some of my good friends have better stories to tell for how they spent their winter. Enjoy some fascinating blog updates from Kevin Molar, http://dirtbagliving.blogspot.com/and Mason Earle, http://masonearle.blogspot.com/2012/03/kids-with-guns.html

I’m a little worried about Kevin to be honest. He’s as dirtbag as they come and I know he doesn’t have much money to survive off of. He Hitchhiked down to Patagonia a few months ago and he’s been down there since. He’s posted facebook updates like “surviving a Patagonia storm in a three season tent” and “living off a free bag of rice”. I also heard he broke his knee and he hasn’t been doing any climbing. Hopefully he makes it back to the U.S in one piece. Hitchhicking from Chili to the U.S with no money and a broken knee doesn’t sound easy but if there’s anyone who can do it, it would be him “the King of the Dirtbags”. Go Kevin!

Here are some awesome photos taken by my buddy Rob Kepely. Enjoy!

 Flashing Brothers In Arms 12c at the South Platte

Musta Been High 13c r/x. Not my tick marks!

The last crux move on Musta Been High

Thanks again for these photos Rob!

The Last Stage

In my last blog update, I wrote about climbing at Smith Rock. That was over two months ago and a lot has happened since then. After leaving Smith, I drove down south to Yosemite. I had a lot of big plans for the fall season in the Valley, but none those things really panned out. There really isn’t much to tell for the month I spent there. The motivation to climb was hard to find and the new route Mason Earle and I had been working didn’t go down. It turned out that the new direct start we had scoped out the season before was a bit harder then we had predicted. Two very large dyno moves on pitches five and six proved to be do difficult for us to free. I couldn’t really find the motivation to climb anything else after coming down from the el cap project. Soon after, I left the Valley and headed back home to Orange County to visit my family for a little while.

 After resting up in the OC for a week I felt ready to get back out on the road. It was time for the last stage of my trip. The desire to get out to the desert had been growing on me all year so I packed up the civic and headed out to Moab Utah. One of the many reasons I enjoy Moab so much is that it has this feeling of blissful freedom unmatched by any other climbing area I’d been to. I couldn’t wait to sink my fingers into those perfect sandstone cracks so I headed to the crack climbing Mecca of the world, Indian Creek.

I ended up climbing pretty well in my time at the Creek. I think the laid back feel that place has fueled my motivation to climb. For a change I didn’t worry so much about what I was climbing and whether or not I would succeed. As long as I was climbing I was happy.  It was great to just hang out with friends and enjoy the vast silent beauty of the desert. We rock climbed, highlined, rope jumped, fired guns, went wondering around the desert looking for first assents and hung out around the campfire at night telling stories of previous climbing adventures.

This concludes my six and a half month road trip. There were ups and downs and of course awesome adventure I'll never forget. I plan to settle down for a while in Boulder CO where I hope to make friends, get a job and climb ALOT! Thanks for reading...

Here are some photos from my month in Utah.

Onsighting Learning To Fly 5.13

photo by Curtis Long

Climbing Tasmania, the amazing extension on Johnny Cat

 Photo by Curtis Long

Making what might be the second assent of Abbienormal. I was really psyched on sending this thing. This might be the hardest trad pitch I've done.

I love it

My FFA at the Pregnate Woman Wall. "Mother" AKA "The Coat Hanger", 13a  35m. Thanks to Scott Bennett for showing me this thing!

A 12+ called Humble Pie. One of the best pitches at the Creek!

Sending a cool 5.13 at Donnelly Canyon called Half Alligator Shark, Half Man.

Big Guy! didnt send

Sending a 13a called Death Of A Cowboy second go.

My lizzard friend. Found him under my tent trying to stay warm.

Photo By Curtis Long

Some Big Horns on the White Rim

A unbelievable 13d roof crack on the White Rim Called Necromonicon. A hundered feet of overhaning hands. Pumpy to say the least!

Walking my first highline at the Fruit Bowl. Never knew I had it in me.

From Switzerland With Love. I would always gobie on this climb really bad. Never managed to get the send. On this go I got through the crux then fell.

End of the day at the Fruit Bowl

A nice video of myself on a cool route called Humble Pie. Thanks to Bronson Hovnanian for shooting and editing this...

Hot and Beautiful Smith Rock

Brian Mosbaugh photo

As September arrived my foot was feeling fully healed. I could pretty much climb anything without discomfort. The weather in Squamish seemed to be getting better and better. The only problem was that I was having trouble finding people to climb with and after spending over two months in Canada I was ready to get back to freedom land. Smith Rock was an area I’d always wanted to check out. My friends that had been there were always raving about it, and the huge role it played in the history of American rock climbing added to my desire to go. On top of that, my good friend Scott Bennett was psyched to meet me out there to climb.

Scott takes it all in on the onsight solo of Zebra Zion

Brian Mosbaugh photo

The weather report showed the temperatures to be In the mid 90’s which wasn’t at all ideal, but I figured we could climb in the shade and still have a good time. I packed up the Civic and headed back to the U.S.A. Shortly after my arrival at Smith I realized two things; Climbing anything hard in the mid 90’s is nearly impossible even in the shade(or at night), and the ratings at Smith are no joke. The climbing there is HARD! I got my ass handed to me during my entire visit. Basically I can climb a number grade lower at Smith then I can at other areas.  It was an amazing learning experience I’ll never forget. Towards the end of my two weeks there the weather cooled off and Scott and I got in some really good climbing. We climbed everyday and our finger tips got totally thrashed on the unforgiving Volcanic Tuff.

A 13b called Aggro Monkey

Brian Mosbaugh photo



Some highlight sends include The Backbone, The Quickening, Chain reaction (harder then any 13a I’d ever done), Full Heinous and the Monkey Face Speed record via the Pioneer Route at 3 minutes and 25 seconds, beating the previous record holder Mason Earle by six seconds. After two weeks of climbing at Smith rock, my fingertips were totally thrashed. The weather report showed another heat wave rolling in so I decided to pack up and leave. It was time to head back to where I started. Back home, back to where the Granite walls are always calling my name. Back to YOSMIETE VALLEY!

The Backbone

Brian Mosbaugh photo

The Backbone

Brian Mosbaugh photo

On top of the Monkey face on a hot day

Brian Mosbaugh photo

 Scott and I soloing Zebra Zion 

Brian Mosbaugh photo

The upper exposed section of the Backbone

Brian Mosbaugh photo

A big thanks to Brain Mosbaugh for taking all these awsome photos!

Healing in Squamish



Shortly after I broke my foot in Yosemite I headed up north to British Columbia. The only reason I spend so much time in the Valley is because of the climbing. Since I couldn’t climb I sure as hell didn’t want to be there. The whole hanging out scene in Yosemite really sucks. You always have to be on the look out for bears breaking into your stuff and of course the dreaded law enforcement rangers. Since June had arrived the Valley was packed with hordes of tourists. It was time to leave.

Just a random photo of Dustin you might enjoy...

I drove straight to Squamish, a world class climbing area I’d never been to. The first month was frustrating and nothing to write home about. The climbing looked amazing but I couldn’t touch it until my foot healed. After about four weeks of hanging out in the library, working out at the gym and staring up at the chief, my foot started to feel better. At first I only climbed steep single pitch routes. I managed to do a few classics like Zombie Roof, Presto, Free Will and Flight of the Challenger which I managed to onsight. I definitely felt out of shape but I was glad I managed to keep some of my endurance and power I had built up all winter. I did try Cobra Crack a few times. It’s truly a spectacular climb that lives up to its reputation. I didn’t spend too much time on it as it became clear I wouldn’t send before I had to leave at the end of August.

Giving a top rope go at Cobra Crack

About six to seven weeks after my foot broke I started climbing some multi pitch routes on the Chief. Some of the highlights include the Grand Wall solo, Northern Lights and Freeway. I climbed the Grand wall six times on my visit with hopes to make a free ascent, but never managed to pull some of the crux moves. I kinda wish I had gotten to do more of the bigger routes Squamish had to offer but in the end there just wasn’t enough time. I look back on my time in Canada as being fun and successful even though I spent the fist month there doing nothing. I didn’t accomplish any of my biggest goals, but I still had a great time hanging out with good friends, making new ones and enjoying the magnificent beauty of British Columbia. There are so many beautiful mountains and forests there that you don’t even have to be a climber to enjoy your self and be happy you’re alive.

A climber at  Cheakamus Canyon, a nice area about twenty minutes north of Squamish

Yosemiteland

The winter conditions have finally left Yosemite. After days of snow and rain the sun came out and we were lucky enough to enjoy a few days of spring conditions until summer kicked in. Now the Valley is super hot and hard climbing is out of the question. With the heat came the crowds. There are so many people in Yosemite right now! It’s like living in Disneyland everyday. Only unlike Disneyland everyone is driving a vehicle. No one knows what they’re doing or where they’re going or what they’re even looking at. Most people don’t even get out of their car. Since there’s absolutely no parking, tourists park their cars in the middle of the street to take pictures of trees or deer or whatever. I’m kinda ready to leave Yosemite to say the least. 

Yosemiteland!

My time in Valley hasn’t been all hot days and annoying tourists however. I’ve had some stellar climbing days that have made my six weeks here well worth it! There’s been a lot of fun cragging at cliffs like Reed’s Pinnacle and the Cookie Cliff. I did some fun cracks I’ve never done before and made a 3rd class assent of the stellar Nabisco wall at the Cookie. Cody Sims and I had an awesome time climbing the A1 Beauty pitch of Leo Houlding’s Prophet Route on El Cap. The Al Beauty is basically what I picture perfect climbing to be, hard splitter crack on perfect rock high off the ground. With out doubt the best climbing I’ve done! The Prophet is definitely a climb I’d like to go do in the future.


Climbing a 13a R route called The Phantom

The stellar A1 beauty pitch. This is what good rock climbing is all about!

The Heart Route Project finally dried up a couple days ago but now its way too hot and Mason and I are going to wait till next fall to finish it up. In the meantime we’ve been checking out free climbing possibilities to the left of Freeblast that more or less follow an old aid route called Bermuda Dunes. This line will take us strait up into Heart Ledge and therefore make our route more direct and independent from Golden Gate. The climbing is very difficult however and will involve a lot of hard slab climbing and an eight foot downward dyno to get past a steep blank section of rock. It’s going to be a sick route if it goes, and we think it will.  Summer is going to be awesome but I can’t wait till next fall!

The cruxy arete pitch thats still wet. The arete climbing starts about twenty feet down from the bush.

Mason working some tough slab climbing on our new direct start. 

So that’s life in Valley right now. Kevin, Bronson, Mason and I are gonna leave Yosemite and head north in a week or so. Squamish will be the final destination with a few quick stops along the way. I hear nothing but good things about B.C and were all hoping to rage when we get there. Stay tuned!

UPDATE!

On June 23^rd I broke my foot bouldering in Camp 4. This really wrecks some of my plans and has cost me a good chunk of money. Fortunately I have good health insurance through my dads company and the accident didn’t completely clean out my bank account.  It was the hottest day Yosemite has seen this year, somewhere in the 90’s. The rocks was simply to hot to climb and the whole day was spent sitting in the Curry Lounge using their god awful internet. By the end of the day I just had to climb something. I decided to head over to Camp 4 to run some laps on the legendary boulder problem called Midnight Lightning. There are usually always people climbing it with a bunch of pads laid out in case you fall. A fall from the tricky mantel move at the end could be serious as your high off the ground and in an awkward position to fall. Luckily I’ve always managed to pull the mantel without falling.

When I rolled into Camp 4 I discovered there were no people climbing Midnight and therefore no pads. Since it had been so long since I fell off the climb I decided to go for it anyway without the pads. The beginning went real smooth and I got up to the mantel with no problem. The mantel hold felt real greasy however and I had a brief moment of doubt. The thought of jumping off before it was too late occurred to me but instead I committed to the move. I now had to get to the top or else take the nasty out of control fall. Backing down was now out of the question. I must have had bad body position because when I reached up for the finish hold I was about three inches to short. Panic set in and when tried to reposition, my left palm lost contact with the rock and I was off. My left foot impacted the hard granite below and I fell backwards on my butt. At first I felt no pain, only a lot of adrenaline and major embarrassment. I quickly got up and ran off to SAR before anyone could see me. I knew something was wrong about ten minutes latter when my foot started to swell up.

The next day I drove to the hospital in Meriposa and the Doctor told me I broke two metatarsals in my left foot. He said I should expect six to eight weeks to be fully recovered. I’m going to Merced on Monday to see a foot doctor and I think I’ll decide what to do form there. If I can be healed in a month and a half I think I’ll head up to Squamish anyway. If not I’ll have to figure something else out. I’m obviously super bummed about the whole situation but, honestly I’m relieved I walked away with only a broken foot. With luck and perseverance I’ll be climbing again in a little over a month. Stay Tuned!

The mantle move on Midnight Lightning

Rob Kepley photo