Category Archives: Rock Climbing

Jamming

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A number of rare circumstances were in alignment the past few weeks, and while the time has been brimming with awesome, it’s kept me away from writing.  Maybe that’s a good thing?  It started almost two weeks ago.

I don’t really care how you feel about Obamacare (or the Affordable Care Act of 2010).  Healthcare in this country has a lot of issues, and I don’t pretend to understand them.  Check out Keith’s blog for far more insight than I can muster.  One issue I do understand is accountability, and the fact that healthcare is a unique product and in a unique market- and because of that, I believe it needs some very careful regulation and standards for accountability.  One fun fact of ACA is that if your insurance company doesn’t spend 80% of the premiums they take from individuals on actual patient care, they have to refund you  the difference.  Time Insurance Company, with whom I had insurance last year while traveling, only spent 71.8% of premiums on patient care.  So, I came home from a day of insulating attics and got a check for 8.8% of the premiums that I paid them.  This is corporate accountability.  This is a good thing.

Who likes getting their money back?  Me and a check from Time Insurance.

So that was cool…

Then my friend Maggie from Portland stopped in for a few days.  I knew it was about to be hectic, but Maggie is one of the most easy going people I know, and after many nights crashed on her couch last year, I was grateful to return the favor.  Suffice to say we had too much fun to take any photos, and part of that was because the Strangled Darlings also arrived a day later from Portland.  They are some of my favorite people to make music with.

Wednesday night we jammed until Thursday.  Thursday we ate and drank until Friday.  Friday we jammed on the street in the afternoon, ate in the evening, and played music until Saturday.  Poor Maggie finally got fed up with it and finished making her way to Bozeman, where I look forward to visiting her this winter ;D

Two local tango instructors turned more than a few heads tearing it up on the patio…

Saturday we started playing music at 4pm- and one way or another, between myself, my friends with Border Affair (a little music ensemble I play with here in Missoula), and the Darlings, we didn’t stop making music until Sunday.  A huge thanks to Draughtworks Brewing for having us out and letting us make some noise.  Somehow we got free tacos from the taco truck out on the street, otherwise we might have perished.  The staff mentioned that in 8 months of hosting live music, no one had gotten people dancing like we did.  It was a very good time.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to Draughtworks.  Huge thanks to Jess for hosting the after-party.  And, somewhat sheepishly, huge thanks to Steve for waiting until 11am on Sunday morning to go rock climbing…

Photo courtesy of Steve Cundy + Instagram.

Steve yet again showed me another Bitterroot rock climbing gem at Big Creek.  You have to rally up a gnarly Forest Service road to get there, but there’s a perfect old school 5.10a stembox and a bunch of fun bolts to crank.  My hand is finally starting to feel good again, and plans are brewing for an excellent weekend.

No Sweat

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It’s been hot here in Missoula lately, so I’ve been chasing adventures that tend to keep me cool.  I haven’t succeeded in not sweating, but I certainly have had a lot of fun.  Just as Ramesh and I got back from Glacier National Park last week, my close friend Andy (and his lovely lady Sarah) rolled in from Chicago.  They’re out backpacking in the Bitterroot now, but wanted to check out Missoula and catch up before they checked in to the deep wild.

We hit the Clark fork in the canoe last Sunday, but the Clark Fork hit us back with some spicy rapids and strong flows.  There was no shortage of getting wet, but that also meant there was a shortage of photos.  Boats were flipped, a few minor pieces of gear got lost, but the smiles stayed on and we made an adventure of it.

One of the rare photos of me and Andy- on the far end of Como Lake.

Wednesday night Andy and Sarah were ready to head in, and despite a full on week of work, I made a last minute decision to sneak out with them for a night in the woods.  We took off out of Missoula at 530, made a few stops on our way to Como lake, and started hiking around 8pm.  We made camp at 10pm, I slept until 5, and then hobbled as best as I could back to the car to drive into work.  It was a long commute that I sincerely did not mind.

If only every commute could start with this view…

Saturday I got the climbing itch, bad, and knew I’d be far from adventure activities due to some upcoming work commitments, so I tracked down a partner and headed out for an easy romp up No Sweat Arete (4p, 5.7, II) in Mill Creek.  Overcast skies kept temperatures reasonable, and after over a month of being off the rock, getting in a few pitches felt awesome.  My right hand is still well injured from tearing a pulley in early June, but my foot is coming back together nicely so mellow terrain was in order.  There’s still nothing I enjoy quite like a nice multipitch outing.

I still don’t know if this is actually the first pitch…

Jen- figuring it out, backpack and all.

Major props to my new friend Jen for completing her first multi-pitch climb, and carrying a sizable pack to boot.  Now that I know the route, we’ll take less stuff next time… thanks for a great day out lady!

Still smiling after pitch 4… only one more to go.

One off the top for good measure. And yes, there is a 1,000ft unclimbed wall behind me…

14 Minutes

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“Skander, I bet we only have like 30 minutes until that storm hits.”
“Naw, it’s 8:45 now.  There’s no way we’ll be wet by 9:15.”

I spent last week desperate to climb, and despite a relatively obvious forecast (“heavy rain”), Jess and I were hiking up to the Starlight Lounge wall at Lost Horse Canyon on Saturday morning.   I had hoped the rain wouldn’t really kick until the afternoon, that seemed optimistic as we drove up to the trailhead.  Props to Jess for being a willing partner, and a much better judge of the weather- 14 minutes after our conversation, a steady drizzle enveloped the cliff face.  It was not the best start to the day.

Not sure whether Jess is indicating her opinion of the weather or my skills at forecasting it.

Jess was kind enough to oblige me by finishing the hike to the base of the cliff despite the steady precip.  Just at the base, the skies began to lighten, and we scrambled to get an up-valley vantage.  Clearing skies and warm temps got me thinking- “by the time we rack up, I bet this thing is dry…”  So we did, and it was.  I shot up the 5.8 we chose to warmup on, leaving several pieces of big gear on the ground.  Fast early season lesson- big cracks are always bigger than they look from the ground.

This picture just doesn’t really fit into any good day of climbing. Note the line of water marching down the valley.

Ultimately, it was fine, and “good training” for running it out and finding “odd” gear.  From the top I could see another system building up the valley, but it felt like we had more time.

The sun in the background is entirely deceiving.

We rapped off but left a top rope for this funky looking wide crack just next to the previous line.  The storm was moving fast. My ego told me I should lead the wide crack, but based on the previous experience, I took the top rope and figured out the route on top rope just in time to rap off before the rain hit.  And then it really hit, going back to the car suddenly became mandatory, we we’re sitting this one out.  It was clear and sunny by the time we got down, but another storm system was rolling through, so we grabbed some lunch and weighed our options.  A group of five other folks came off the cliff around the same time and we swapped stories about who was on what when it started getting wet.

Long story short, they were “the locals”, and also very friendly, and also literally lived in a climbing gym.  They were psyched to meet some new people, and quickly invited us back to town for some plastic pulling rather than rolling the dice with the weather.  As usual, the locals are STRONG.  Eric and Katie rent a 4,000s.f. warehouse, with a little partition for a bedroom, and a completely freestanding, multifaceted indoor wall covering about 1,000 s.f. of floor space.  They have plans to continue building out the rest of the space.  I admire their complete dedication to the sport, and they are equally strong, humble, and fun.  Getting to know them was a great way to salvage the afternoon- I look forward to linking up with them again soon.

Wanna get strong? These kids literally live in a gym…

The Winds

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10 years ago I went to the Wind River range with two high school friends in search of “adventure”- suffice to say we found it.  We spent 12 days on our own in the range, and walked over 85 miles.  I drove back to Chicago in love with mountains, and determined to learn how to climb them.

A few days ago I made a new friend at the climbing gym, and we realized that we shared common dreams of that place in Wyoming.  I haven’t been back since that first trip, but the Winds have been in the back of my head for every climb and every trip since.  If you had told me then of all the places I would climb in the following 10 years, and how those early determinations would shape my life, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

One of my early trad leads in a quarry outside of Stirling, Scotland. 2005

I’m missing a few photos in digital format from some other early experiences (Granite Peak, Montana and the Weminuche Wilderness in Colorado), but it was fun to dig up more of the early inspiration.

Few places inspire like the desert- Canyonlands National Park, Utah. 2005.

Loving the granite bouldering at Groom Creek, Arizona. 2007.

One of my first Cascade summits, Mt. Colchuck via the North Buttress Couloir. Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington. 2008

Sometimes I wonder why burn all the gas, why suffer all the training, but when I think of the friendships built, the photos taken, and the experience shared, there’s no doubt it’s worth it.

Flying prayer flags for a friend on the summit of Denali. Denali National Park, Alaska. 2009.

Eyes wide open on my first mixed climb. Hyalite Canyon, Montana. 2009.

Learning open-hand strength in Squamish, British Columbia. 2010.

The weather looks rough again this weekend and I’m fighting to keep my stoke up.  Tonight I got looking through a bunch of old photos- it’s fun to see where this journey has taken me, so I thought I’d share a quick history.

Stoked to ride an elephant, on Elephants Perch- Sawtooth Wilderness, Idaho. 2010.

Sometimes this feels a little lunatic- leading Lunatic Fringe, Yosemite National Park, California. 2011.

Finding far flung goods in Seusca, Colombia. 2011.

Taking it to the next level on Cleopatra’s Needle, Hyalite Canyon, Montana. 2012.

I think I’m finally ready to say it- I’m ready to go back to the Winds.  Hopefully my new friend can join me, but if nothing else, I can thank her for pushing the idea back to the front of my mind.

Core Values

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This weekend was about core values- what are they?  How does my everyday life reflect them?  Why do they matter?  I was feeling punchy for most of the weekend, and it’s funny how life boils very quickly towards questions of your core values:

Why do you go to work in the morning?  How does your work connect to your core values?  If you can’t tell, then you are in the wrong line of work.

Do you like the girl?  How does she inspire you to live closer to your core values?  If she doesn’t, then don’t waste your time (or your heart).

Should I spend the money on [insert blank]?  How does that purchase support your core values?  It’s surprisingly hard to negotiate with yourself on this one.

Why aren’t you reaching some of your goals?  How committed have you been to the core values that reaching the goal demonstrates?  More commitment = more accomplishment.

Dedicated hard work yields honest worthwhile rewards.

So what are they?  I finished up my series of seminars with the New Leaders Council (NLC) on Saturday and Sunday morning.  We reviewed some of what we had sorted out during our time- and realized that back in January, I had put together a pretty concise list:

Accountability, community, humility, resilience, optimism.
Adventure, teamwork, quality, necessity, fun.

Interestingly enough, when I frame my life and activity with respect to the core values, I’m always pleased to realize that none of these values seem to contradict each other.   My life of late has been feeling very busy, but not necessarily full.  Sorting through the clutter leads towards questions about commitment to core values, and for whatever I’m cutting out- it always feels good to let go of the extraneous.  Appropriately, I enjoyed finding this gem on facebook from my friend Oscar:

Less more, more less.

The Weekend Summary:

I finished work early on Friday, met my friend Jess, and I ended up sending my first project of the season in Kootenai Canyon.  5.10c, all gear, with a delicate yet powerful crux well above your last piece.  As usual, it’s all about letting go of the baggage and getting that feeling to stick.

Identity Crack- tick. It only gets better from here.

As usual, the NLC conference was a very good time- I look forward to continuing to strengthen the many valuable relationships founded through our time together.  Despite a very fulfilling time together, I needed some time outside to finish the weekend right.  Accountability and humility point me at improving my running- and I’ve been working at it for months.  Ultimately though, that means that you have to run with people faster and stronger than you.  I only had one name to call, and I knew it was going to hurt.

Derek and I met at “the M” and traced the “Double Dip” route backwards.  ~13 miles, ~3,000 feet of climbing, and 2hr18min later we were back at the bikes, and I was distinctly not feeling punchy any more.  Derek ran me into the ground like I hadn’t been in a long time- and I think he still had quite a lot of fun doing it.  I’m looking forward to next time my friend.

The Beehive

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Almost unknowingly, the greater Yellowstone ecosystem stole a spot in my heart early in my experience with mountains.  I spent 8 days in the Absoarka Mountains in 2003 and found my first alpine experience climbing Granite Peak (12,799′, tallest mountain in Montana).  I’ve been back to the greater Yellowstone area at least a dozen times since, and it never ceases to amaze me.

We’re headed towards the obvious face at the head of the basin.

When I started ice climbing, I bought a copy of Winter Dance- one photo stood out to me immediately.  The view off the summit of a mountain I had never heard of called “The Beehive”.  It didn’t seem like a realistic objective then.  This year, with mileage, time, and the right partners, I knew I was ready to go when Drew mentioned it a few weeks ago.

Like many other Beehives, this one was full of honey.

I drove over to Bozeman on Friday afternoon with my favorite feeling: certain, inevitable awesome.  A perfect forecast, stellar partners, and a long sought after objective lined up for some of the most fun I’ve had on rock in a long time.  Enough talking, more photos…

I’ve never had to switch directly from ski boots to rock shoes before. Go figure…

Views from the center of the face were spectacular.

Drew leading up pitch 4.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the company of our friends Pete and Marco.  They climbed a mixed ice/rock line just next to ours, and friendly banter continued throughout the afternoon.  It’s rare to have another party in close proximity, and especially one with Pete Tapley.  Pete has put up most of the first ascents on The Beehive, and also happens to be one of the chillest, most fun climbers I have ever met.  I sincerely wish him well on his upcoming trip to the Alaska range.

The one and only Pete Tapley, ragin’.

Marco- enjoying a little exposure just before the summit ridge.

Drew and summited about 15 minutes after Pete and Marco, and we took extra time to enjoy the late afternoon sun and dead silence.  It was every bit as good as I had hoped- perfect partner, perfect weather, perfect route.  No, it’s not the hardest thing I’ve climbed, but we had a hoot, and I got to tick one off the list that’s been well overdue.  Booyah.

Feeling high on life on the summit.

Great views of The Sphinx and Lone Peak on the way home.

Technical details: The New World Route- 5.8, III, 500′.  Gear: singles #0-#2 C3, #0.3-#3 Camelots, 1 set offset nuts, 1 set BD Stoppers, 12 alpine draws.  Rock shoes don’t climb snow very well…

Pacing

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The first piece of art I hung in my room was the reminder I've needed the most lately.

Somehow, life here in western Montana keeps picking up the pace- I haven’t planned it that way, that seems to be how life goes for me in the city.  Wrapped up in the NLC conference over April 21 and 22, adventures were largely confined to evening activities- thankfully the days are already long here and we get usable light until about 9pm.  Running up over Sentinel and rock climbing in Kootenai Canyon made the days spent inside more bearable.

Thoroughly worked by the time I got to the top of Mt. Sentinel.

The week sped by with equal parts of packing, fundraiser planning, and getting a massive proposal out of the office (it looks good, fingers crossed).  Our NLC fundraiser on Friday night was quite the success, thank you so much to everyone who donated!

The 2012 NLC-Montana Fellows. What an inspiring group of people to share ideas with.

Proper moving operations absorbed all of Saturday, and a huge shout to my friend Andy for bringing his subie and trailer combo over, as well as donating the best part of a Saturday afternoon.

Really glad I didn't move 550 miles like this...

Despite spending most of my day cold, scared, and exhausted getting on some hard sport climbing (no photos… my mind was elsewhere)- Sunday was still a great day of climbing with Steve in Kootenai.  If I have high goals for pushing my grade climbing, Steve is the guy that’s going to make that happen- thanks a bunch dude. I burned out early and Steve had family commitments, so we were back in town by 330- leaving me time to enjoy dinner with my friends Jeremy and Crissie, and make it to a really special event (not my local running site, but Bridger Ridge had the best description).  Geoff Roes is a titan in the sport of ultra-running (running races longer than a standard marathon)- he’s been someone I’ve followed on and off for years, and he had an amazing win in the Western States 100 trail run 2010.  His competitors were just as much part of the story, and the story was so good they made a film about it.  The Wilma Theater was packed, the strength of the running community here is amazing, and an avenue I haven’t tried to plug into yet.

Three of the best long distance runners in the world. Geoff Roes, Tony Krupicka, and Hal Koerner at the Wilma Theater on Sunday night.

If nothing else, the training volume (30-40 hours per week of running) these guys put in is unbelievable, and gets me re-thinking some of the training I’m doing towards my own goals.  To be certain, they know a thing or two about pacing, and priorities- and the event gave me a mental push I need lately to hopefully dial the pace back a bit.  That’s all for now, cause I’m late to work.  Thanks for reading!

Rattler

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Beyond the somber tone of my last post, I’ve also been getting out for plenty of climbing and other outdoor fun.  The past two weekends I’ve gotten a primo introduction to the rock climbing goods at Rattler Gulch, about 50 minutes east of town.  Very grateful for fun and motivated partners on both weekends, I’ll let the photos tell the rest:

Always pushing ahead- Steve gets chewed up by "Puppy Teeth", 12a.

Jamie gets on it with grit and grin.

The climbing is mostly solid limestone with funky little pockets and sharp edges- and reminds me a lot of many pitches at Smith Rock.

Yours truly sticking the crux on the 11b I fell off last weekend.

Jess steps up her game and gets down to business on a 10b.

Proof that if you go for it, it’s probably going to be good!  Get out and love the spring.

Don't forget to look back after you top out, the views are not to be missed.

Adventures? Yes…

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… I am still having them, but  my motivation to write about them has been low.  Sometimes we all need a break from blogging.  A summary of adventures, in rough chronological order over the last two weeks:

Country swing dancing at the local cowboy bar.  Gotta give them credit, the band (County Line) was ripping.

Cowboys just love to dance.

Plenty of hiking and trail running on a few of the local trails now open for the season, including my first trip up Mt. Jumbo.

Mt. Jumbo is finally open for hiking!

Lots of contracting work.  Crawlspaces, gas piping, big power tools, the works.  Feels good to start to figure some of it out.

It is strangely gratifying to put a 6" hole in the side of someone's house...

This is how you prevent a gas leak, before you turn on the gas...

A little rock climbing on a day of unlikely weather.  I was glad to get into Kootenai canyon and start identifying a few projects for the season.  Steve is a beast.

The rope hangs, after two whippers on the crux...

And today, a little backcountry skiing at Lolo Pass with a new partner.  Many thanks to Jake for hiking a lot, never complaining, and making some good looking turns.  Glad we could make the most of a “variable” day!

The weather couldn't make up its mind on Lolo Pass today...

Today was not a powder day, but might have been everything else.