Chris Gibisch

Back to Reality

2012-01-14T10:46:00.006-07:00

It has been a few months since we've been back from China. It was pretty much just jump back into the routine of things. One day off to get my shit together, then back to work. Daily life has been normal. Work mixed with play. We haven't had much of a snow season so I've mainly been ice climbing. The ice has been good so I've had plenty of opportunities to continue improving. When not out climbing or working, I've continued to work on my photography. Trying new techniques and working on improving existing ones.

The holiday season has been a very shitty one for me. On Thanksgiving night, one of my best friends was in a serious roll over accident. Thankfully despite his serious injuries, he is healing up nicely. Later, the beginning of December brought with it news that one of my old time best friends John Redwine, was found dead in Lebanon. Apparently he took a fall while climbing solo. A week later my mother called me to let me know that my Grandmother had passed away. And just the other day I learned that a close family friend back in Wisconsin has been in a horrible car accident and seriously injured. Pretty shitty season, but I guess that it life.

Redwine, typical Blodgett approach

Josh Beckner, Myself, and John

John and I skiing on July 11th at Logan Pass, GNP

John and I and the final belay on "Modern Home Environment"

John in Glacier's high country

Kathryn's first day on ice

Working on new techniques/images

Myself climbing the "Daggers"

Success in the Daxue Shan

2011-11-25T14:21:00.010-07:00

We are back from China and happy to say that the trip was a complete success. Everything worked out incredibly smooth and Jeff and I were fortunate enough to make the 3^rd ascent of Mt. Grosvenor via a new route.

Traveling to China was amazing and very different from the everyday life we are used to. The hospitality we were meet with was unlike anything I’ve ever experience.

Rural traffic jam

Moments after being kicked to the curb

Preparing for the approach

After 34 hours of travel we arrived in Chengdu, a city of 19 million people. Chengdu struck me as any other old city; used and abused and polluted. It has run down sections as well as very up scale places. We spent a day there before getting on a shuttle bus and heading for the city of Kangding, and then on to Laouylin. It was to be an 8-hour ride, but after a few traffic jams, drug on for 12 hours. On the outskirts of Kangding, our bus driver decided to call it quits. Within minutes, we found ourselves on the sidewalk beside our bags. Our L.O. quickly got us another ride and we were in Laouylin shortly.

Beginning the journey

Acclimatizing hike

The next morning the horses were loaded with packs and we began our trek into the mountains. The 15-mile journey was to be split into two days for the sake of acclimatizing. It took most of the first day to reach camp just under 13,000ft where that night, it dumped about 12 inches of snow. In the morning, with the new snow, the horseman refused to travel for fear of injuring their horses. Luckily that night no more snow fell and we were back on our way the next day. Half a day’s hike finally got us to base camp at 14,500ft.

Base camp

Organizing gear for the climb

The weather had turned nice to we quickly focused our attention to acclimatizing. A few day hikes here and there as well as making an advanced base camp got us acclimatized to around 17,000ft. We were feeling good and just waiting for a good weather window. On the morning of Oct. 24^th we received conflicting weather reports, but despite the discrepancy, left for our high camp.

We woke to a star filled night and made the decision to climb. The snow cone at the base proved to be more exhausting that anticipated. Rather than firm snow to crampon up, I found myself in knee to crotch deep snow. Eventually the snow gave way to ice and we were back to a good pace. I eventually built a belay and Jeff took over the lead. We swapped simul-climbing pitches and soon found ourselves below a steep looking section. Jeff charged off and when the rope came tight, I followed. As he reached the steeps, his pace slowed and he moved with precision. After climbing unprotected for 60-70ft, he finally found some pro and topped out. I followed in amazement.

Zero light pollution

Local residents battling

We were now two long simul-pitches from our proposed bivy, so we made haste for the site. With the sun setting we reached our bivy and found it less than ideal. I pounded a picket while Jeff backed it up to an anchor above. We chopped a ledge to sit on, pulled our bags over us, and settled in for the night.

Base camp

Bouldering in camp

Jeff beginning the climb

In the morning light, we could see a weakness transecting the rock above. Delicate ice placements along with some dry-tooling got me through to the more moderate slope above. Jeff began simul-climbing and soon I reached another crux of steep rotten ice. Again, delicate climbing got me to a belay above. We swapped leads and Jeff headed for the last of our mystery pitches. When I reached him, the ice was awesome, nice and thick. Exhausted, I limped my way up the pitch. After about 2 hours I found a belay and brought Jeff up. Half frozen, he took the lead and headed for the ridgeline. Hopes of a bivi were crushed when I reached him and discovered we were on a knife-edge ridge. With no options, I continued up in search of somewhere to sleep. With daylight dwindling, I stopped at a rock buttress with nowhere to sit, but did provide a great anchor. We again chopped ice buckets and prepared for another miserable night.

A few pitches up

Nearing the crux

Bivi #1

The next morning was freezing, so rather than get cold cooking, we headed for the summit and morning sunshine. The last 120 meters were grueling, but eventually I was standing on top with Jeff. In the sun, we brewed up and prepared for the descent. It took the rest of the day to rappel the East face and find a camp.

A few pitches from the ridge

Jeff nearing the ridge

Looking down from the second bivi

We woke to high winds and were forced to break camp quickly. The entire day was spent slogging across the glaciers and moraine until we reached camp, nearly broken.

Cold temps and poor weather plagued the remainder of our time in camp. Eventually, our patience was worn thin and we decided to head back to town a few days early. For a couple of days, we hung out in the town of Kangding shopping and sightseeing. We made our way back to Chengdu where we had another day to kill before beginning out journey home. After 40 hours of travel, we very happily made it back to Missoula.

On the summit

Our route

The team

Monastery in Kangding

Buddhist shrine in Laouylin

Art in Kangding

Panda world research center in Chengdu

China Preparations

2011-09-30T13:00:00.003-07:00

The last few weeks have been quite stressful. In classic style we have left everything to "last minute". It is all relative, but preparation for a trip this involved, needs more time than a month. Although we are making it happen. Plane tickets are purchased, money has been sent to our Liaison Officer, visas are being processed, and equipment is being gathered. We have most of what we will need from previous Alaska trips, but we are discovering there are still a few (expensive) items we need. Money seems to be flowing out of my pocket and stress building, but it will all be worth it as soon as we take the first steps of this adventure.

Land in Chengdu, bus to Kangdin, horse pack 2.5 days to base camp

Weekend in Helena

2011-09-30T12:44:00.005-07:00

Last weekend Kathryn and I decided to hang in Helena for a bit. We went to visit her father and do a little sailing. Having absolutely no experience with sailing, I was excited. On the way into town we touched base with her Dad and he was at the local Fish, Wildlife, and Parks facility. They have a brand new facility with a raptor and bear rehab center. Her father was volunteering some time so we got the opportunity to stop by and check out some of the birds.

I was thrilled to see the birds. They had a handful of raptors, my favorite being the Golden Eagle. It is such a hugh magnificent bird. Afterwards we headed to town and got ready for a weekend of boating.

Sailing was a blast. I got to understand how it all worked and even got an opportunity to be in control. Saturday was nice and casual, but Sunday was race day. The local club coordinates fun races so we had a go at it. Unfortunately we got worked over, but it was still a great time.

With limited time, Kathryn and I headed back to Missoula to make Patrick's daughter's 1st birthday. We spent the evening watching the kids play and catching up with friends.

Great Horn Owl

Golden Eagle

Kathryn

Ana

Warm-up Climb

2011-09-15T09:20:00.008-07:00

Last Friday Jeff and I left Missoula for the Columbian Ice Field. It's an area about 1.5 hours North of Lake Louise that is surrounded by glaciated peaks. A kind of "roadside" alpine playground.

We had our eyes fixed on a route call Andromeda Strain. It's a classic Canada "5.9, A2" route which generally means its going to be difficult. Jeff grabbed the spotting scope and glassed the route. It appeared to be in great shape. With an excitement like little school kids, we started racking up.

We planned on staying in the cirque for about three days. A day to approach, a day to climb, and a day to hike out. Packs would be heavy, but we had plenty of time for a relatively short approach.

We drove up the snow coach road and bivied in the parking lot before our hike in. We spent the night with anticipation, drinking scotch and watching the Northern lights.

The hike turned out to be mellow. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery. Around 12:00 we reached a nice place to camp and called it quits there. The day wasn't over yet. We planned to scope out the approach and drop gear at the base of the route in order to make life easier the next morning. I was starting to feel the effects of the altitude and sun about this time and was beginning to hate life. I was nauseous and had a pounding headache, but we need to do this one last task. The walk was simple yet exhausting for me. We stashed the gear then started making our way back. As I was stepping over a crevasse, the snow bridge gave out and I punched through to my wast. My forward momentum caused me to tumble out of the hole where the rope came tight. Back to camp and to sleep.

The alarm started buzzing at 4:00am. I was feeling better, but was still slow to wake. We quickly ate and then started the approach. The glacier was almost frozen making travel safer and quicker. By 5:30am, Jeff and I were ascending the lower couloir by headlamp. We were traveling fast and making good time. By 10am we had topped out in the couloir and began the traversing pitches. We worked ourselves through one short rock band and began traversing back towards the crux pitched. The gear was sparse, but the climbing was easy. By noon I had reached the base of the upper couloir and the crux pitches. They didn't look good. I tried not to think about it and belayed Jeff over.

Jeff climbed past me and took a look up the gash. It was sparsely filled with rotten snow, ice, and rock. To make matters worse, what was there, was actively melting out. Our position wasn't good. Going up looked dangerous, but rappelling was going to be equally as bad. Jeff and I himmed and hawed about what to do. Eventually I grabbed the rack and gave it a go. I climbed up about 15 feet hooking loose rock and ice. The closer I looked at the pitch, the worse it appeared. It was too dangerous and that effort was good enough for me. I popped my gear and gently reversed my moves. Time to bail.

We spent about 40 minutes trying to build and anchor suitable for rappelling off. The ice was rotten and the rock horrible. Eventually we were able to equalize some rock and ice and rap off. We found ourselves building one more anchor before being able to link existing anchors from previous parties. The descent went smooth and we lucked out with no rockfall. It wasn't long before we were back at camp relaxing in the sun.

Hank Butzel

2011-08-20T08:17:00.002-07:00

Thursday, the tightly woven community of Missoula hang glider pilots suffered a huge loss. Our close friend Hank Butzel died while flying his sail plane in Idaho. Hank was a wonderful person whom I was lucky enough to know and form many great memories with. He will be greatly missed.

Hank up front at the controls

Boudoir Photo Shoot

2011-08-17T21:26:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago a gal I work with asked if I would take some pics of her for her boyfriend. I had never tried anything like it, but was excited to try. She came over with an assortment of outfits and some friends who did her make-up. We shot for a few hours an I had a blast doing so. She was extremely bold and comfortable posing which made my job so much easier. It was a great experience trying to create an image by controlling the light rather than capture an image using ambient light. I'm looking forward to my next opportunity to shoot this style.

Stuck in the Sky

2011-08-16T13:37:00.004-07:00

For the last week I've been trying my best to get some work done with Jeff, but I haven't been successful. I'm just too much of a fun whore. Each day off from the hospital I've planned on starting a new batch of harnesses, but between Jeff taking people tandem and the sky looking good, I can't help myself. I just go flying. I guess it is just like Leonardo Da Vinci said, "Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

I can't be bummed though, I am flying and it has been good. I feel like I've been flying better and I have been redefining what is possible for me.

Some random pics from the season:

Jeff tuning his glider before Europe

Josh enjoying a beer after flying Leadore

Jesse out for a morning flight

Paul and Josh flying a Zaggy waiting to launch

Setting up my new glider

Posse on Sentinel

Hang Gliding at Tarkio

2011-07-26T08:09:00.002-07:00

Sunday was a high pressure day, but several of us were itching to flying so we made plans to fly Tarkio. As expected, conditions looked good. The winds were blowing straight up launch with good cycles and good lulls. We set up quickly and I punched off first. The air was a bit turbulent right off launch, but the mass lift made it easy to climb out. Once I had ample clearance from the hill, I started trying to core lift. I quickly climbed out to 9,000ft and thought maybe this would be a cross country day. I couldn't break 9 grand and didn't know the character of the day yet, so I decided I would try to stair-step my way up.

Again I found my self climbing to 9,000ft and unable to break through. It appeared I barely had the ridge-line of Stark Mtn. on glide, but the thought of landing in the 9 mile valley seemed like a total was of time and inconvenience to the group. If I was to go for it, I needed to get high so I would have a good chance of making the jump over Squaw Peak. It just didn't seem like the right day for it.

I decided to bail and head for the town of Superior. I glided about a third of the way finding very little lift and made the decision to head back for launch. When I got back there, I found more good lift and climbed out to 10,200ft. This was the elevation I was hoping for. Unfortunately it was late in the day and my vario started to die. Shut down again.

With the intention of keeping the LZ within glide, I headed into the Bitterroots Mtns. The air was starting to get buoyant and my glide was great. I glided deeper and deeper into the mountains finding my self nearly at Quarts Peak a short distance from the Idaho boarder. I was alarmed to see how far I had let myself dive into the mountain through the confidence of having such a high performance glider. I turned around with hopes that I would make the valley and an appropriate place to land. As I glided out, it was obvious that not only would I make the valley, but I was going to make it back to the hill above launch.

Don and Bob launched for an evening glass-off flight and I chased them around the hill trying to take pictures. Eventually I was getting tired and decided to land. After about 3 hours of flying, I found myself back on the ground with a cold beer waiting for me.

Gliding into the Bitterroot Mountains

Looking back at the Tarkio valley and launch

Bob Garrety

Don Lang

Searching for Launch

2011-07-12T16:10:00.004-07:00

Sunday morning without enough coffee on board, I packed up and headed South with a posse of hang glider pilots in search of excellent flying. Our plan was to fly Grant mtn then continue South to either King mtn or Big Southern Butte. After a 3 hour drive we were in sight of Grant and the sky was starting to look threatening. We continued up the steep road to launch and waited with hopes that the sky would open up. Cloud after cloud passed, occasionally raining down on us. It was time to move on and Peter had a place in mind.

Peter knew of a launch not too far from where we were and without any other options, we jumped in the rigs and sped away hoping to get a flight in that day. Before we knew it, we were 4 wheeling though alpine meadows at 8,000 ft. We were in search of a site that had probably only been flown once before, by Peter and Karl. I would call it more of a mountain that pointed in the correct direction than a site. After following barely distinguishable roads that most likely get traveled more by cattle, we reached the launch.

Josh waiting patiently at Grant

A classic Montana/Idaho road to launch

A perfect slope about 2,500 ft above the valley floor. We quickly set up, assessed the conditions, and began launching. A large shade cycle was moving across the valley making flying difficult. One after another, the guys launched and worked hard for every bit of lift.

I hung back helping the less experienced pilots with their launches. By the time I was ready, the valley was full of sun shine and thermals were rolling up the hill. I launched and quickly climbed out.
As soon as I had the necessary altitude, I headed North to a ridge-line I thought would be producing better lift. When I reached it, I found very punchy small thermals that were difficult to stay in. Eventually I managed to hang on long enough till the lift became more organized and easier to utilize.
I climbed out to 10,500 ft and tried touring around. The going was slow so I turned cross wind into the valley to look for other lift. Surprisingly not much was happening so I used the slightly buoyant air to glide across the valley as far as I could. Eventually I turned in the direction everyone else was, landed next to the guys, and was greeted with a nice cold beer.

We loaded up Karl's rig (9 people and 8 gliders) and headed back to launch with just enough time to find a suitable camping site. After plenty of beer and whiskey, we determined anywhere in the alpine meadow would do.

Camp

I woke early to watch the sun rise and see the sky filled with storm clouds. As the morning progressed, more clouds built to the point of raining. Eventually we accepted defeat and headed home. Every site along the drive back was plagued with dark storm clouds. By early afternoon we were back in Missoula and all pretty happy with previous days flights. We also learned that a tornado touch down in Dillon earlier that day confirming our smart decision not to fly.

Sunrise on the Lemhi mountains

Climbing and Flying

2011-07-06T08:05:00.004-07:00

The last few days have been a blast, full of climbing and flying. Saturday Dan Hoffman and I headed to Blodgett Canyon for two days of climbing. We got on a route he established a few years prior which still needed some finishing touches. The plan was to climb the route, put chains on the last two anchors, and fix a line on the last pitch. The last pitch is a difficult one; 140ft of fingertip layback up a dihedral (5.12a/b). I was intimidated, but the pitch takes great gear, so I gave it a go. I was pleasantly surprised with my performance having hung on the rope only a couple of times. Dan and I installed the chains, fixed the rope, and rapped off.

Sunday, with the route all fixed, Dan and I headed back up to "mini-traction" the route. It was awesome. We barely had to carry any gear and were able to race up the route. It was a little spooky the first time because even though we knew the belay system would work, neither of us had ever tested it. On the last pitch I found out how well it worked when I blew the finishing moves of the route. The mini-traction locked up immediately. We rapped down and strolled out of the canyon stopping once for a dip in the creek.

Pitch 2

Pitch 1

Starting up the last two pitches

Monday I went to Sentinel with Ian for an afternoon flight which turned out to be uneventful. It was a blue sky with punchy thermals. I was able to low save over the LZ extending my flight, but eventually was forced to land.

Last night a crew of us headed to Alberton with hopes of an evening glass off. When we reached the launch, conditions looked great. I launched second and climbed out immediately. The lift wasn't incredible, but it was plenty to maintain above launch. As the evening came to an end, we glided out to the LZ where I had plenty of altitude to play with. I tried to get better acquainted with my new glider through a bunch of wing overs. It flies a bit different from my old wing so it will take a little getting used to before I'm really confident under it.

Alberton

Neck Deep in Hang Gliding

2011-06-23T08:40:00.006-07:00

I've had a good week being surrounding with good people and immersing myself in hang gliding. Dustin, jeff, and I have been cranking away building as many harnesses as we can. It has been fun working with friends and producing a product that people all around the world are excited about. Of course some days we bail out early when the cu's start popping. If we're building the product, we gotta use the product.

We found ourselves back at the training hill helping Jeff teach Justin and Sara. They both did great and are fast on their way to flying. It brought back fond memories watching them train and get excited about the sport. Even Jeff and Dustin snuck in a flight when the wind came around.

The other night a few of use headed up the hill for an evening flight. Dustin had been working all day while I was having a tattoo worked on, so we were looking forward to the evening soar. Nicky had high hopes of getting a tandem flight with Jeff that night as well. Conditions on top were light and looked like a sled ride. Didn't matter though, it was still flying and my first flight in a new harness. Jeff let us know he was heading back up, so we set up the gliders and started punching off the hill one at a time. They were all short flights, but still very satisfying. I think Nicky was the most satisfied with the flight. There is nothing like seeing someone who has just landed, buzzing from their first flight.

Dustin slaving away

Jeff working an inner shell

Jeff, Sara, and Justin

Sara working on launching skills

Justin's first flight

Myself on launch (courtesy of Tamar Kasberg)

Dustin just off launch (courtesy Tamar Kasberg)

Jeff and Nicky (courtesy Tamar Kasberg)

Remembering a Friend

2011-06-14T07:57:00.003-07:00

Today I woke to heavy thoughts of life and death. It has been exactly one year since my friend Chris Spurgeon died skiing Lolo Peak. I've thought of this day for along time. What should I do in memory of Chris? I always thought I should head back to the peak and ski the line he died on, but now that this day has come, it just doesn't feel right for me to return. Friends are on their way up there now, but I feel it would be better for me to loose myself in my memories of Chris while I'm alone. Regardless of what I do today, I'm going to bliss out on life, which is exactly how Spurgeon liked to live.

Yesterday Dustin, Jeff, and I cranked away building harnesses while it rained outside. Eventually we reached our breaking point and went for and evening walk around blue mountain. The skies opened up allowing for a spectacular sunset and we all relaxed soaking in the beauty of our surroundings.

Lolo Peak

Climbing and Surfing in SoCal

2011-06-11T06:58:00.004-07:00

I just got back from another trip to Santa Barbara and as usual, I had a fantastic time. However, our original plans were shut down by weather. With a forecast of thunderstorms in Yosemite, we turned our attention to climbing at Tahquitz and surfing. We got a little climbing in and a lot of surfing. That was fine by me since I can climb all the time. Its not every day that I get to go surfing. And damn its fun!

Doing what we do best, enjoying good wine.

Brad racking up for Tahquitz

Brad playing with is new travel Martin guitar.....so nice.

Sunset view from Tahquitz

The summit of Tahquitz

Yesterday back in Missoula, the weather cooperated and a bunch of us got a great flight in. Conditions didn't look to promising with a slight overcast, but there was still plenty of lift in the air. We raced around the hill for an hour or so and all landed safely. I thought to myself how great life can be when two days ago I was surfing with dolphins 30 feet away and then come home and get to surf the sky with bald eagles!

Evening Surprise

2011-05-20T08:18:00.002-07:00

The Cu's were popping early Tuesday so with hopes of flying, a few of us made plans to meet around 4:30. Surprisingly the day had not over developed so we headed up the hill. Everything was going normal until we came across the first of two down trees. The previous weekend's wind storm had left two trees over the road. If we couldn't move them, we would be done.

The first one was easy. It was rotten and broke easily. The second was another story. It was solid and not going to budge. With only a hatchet I happened to have, we took turn for an hour chopping at the tree. When it was finally cut, we had to resort to leverage moves like egyptian slaves moving monstrous stones. Eventually the tree gave way and the road was clear.

We were now an hour late and assumed the prime window for flying had passed us by. Still flying down always beats driving down. We quickly set up and formed a launch line. Watching everyone start to fly didn't look promising, but when I launched and looked behind me, I could see everyone soaring. The day hadn't shut down yet! It actually turned out to be quite good. The four of us spent an hour or so soaring around the mountains surrounding Missoula for a wonderful evening.

Finally Back on Rock

2011-05-08T14:34:00.005-07:00

Last weekend the weather finally worked with me long enough to have a nice day climbing. Travis, Tom, and I headed to Blodgett Canyon to climb the Prow. The climbing was great, but a cold wind started to break us down. After getting some very satisfying climbing in, we decided to escape the cold and rap down. We all had a great time out there.

On another note, I got the great news that an image of mine made the cover shot for Cross Country magazine. It is my understanding that it is just about the largest flying mag in the world so I was thrilled that one of my pics would get that kind of exposure.

Travis leading pitch 2

Tom starting pitch 4

Travis finishing pitch 4

Cross Country cover

Hard at Work

2011-04-24T14:07:00.003-07:00

The weather has been difficult in Missoula recently. We are still getting the occasional snow storm in the valley and the mountains are getting pounded with snow. It seems as if Winter doesn't want to quit. Due to the poor weather, I've been spending most of my time working, either at the hospital or at Shapiro's producing harnesses. Here are some pics from a recent one we finished.

Attempted Ski Traverse

2011-04-16T08:57:00.003-07:00

Last weekend Patrick and I headed into Glacier with hopes of ski traversing from West to East. Weather was looking great despite an iffy forecast. It took us about 4 hours to get to Sperry chalet where we set up camp on the second story deck. Weather appeared to be moving in so we crawled in the tent for the night. Temps were moderate and the camping was chill.

In the morning we woke to low overcast skies. With poor visibility, we packed up and left for Lincoln Pass. It was a short distance away, but by the time we got there we were in white-out conditions. Conditions for snow travel were great, but we had no view of the incredible scenery we were surrounded by. Motivation plummeted and we decided to leave this trip for another time when the weather was better.

The ski out was uneventful and we were back at the car in a short while. Another trip cursed by bad weather. Oh well, just have to keep trying. Soon the skies will open up.

Camp on the second story deck

Home sweet home

Lincoln Pass

Wedding Shoot

2011-04-16T08:41:00.003-07:00

At the beginning of the month I had the honor of being the photographer for my friends Mike and Angie's wedding. Being my first wedding, it was the most challenging and intimidating times I've ever had shooting pics. The lighting was extremely difficult and I was terrified that I wasn't going to be able to capture the moment well. Fortunately the event was a blast and I had a great time celebrating with friends. I did the best I could giving the challenging situation and came away from the experience happy with what I got.

New Route Attempt

2011-04-05T07:06:00.007-07:00

Last week Jeff and I found ourselves working our way up a trail we were all too familiar with. Once again we were heading into the Snyder Lake basin to attempt another new route on the North Face of Mt. Edward. The weather wasn't holding true to the forecast and heavy cloud cover with slight snow obscured most of the face. However, it was stable and climbing conditions were acceptable.

We approached the face watching the occasional slide rush down the mountain. Just spindrift slid, the major snowpack was stable. At the base of the route, we could occasionally see through breaks in the clouds. The ice looked good and we started climbing immediately.

As expected, the ice was steeper than appeared. After a slight burn in the arms I was at a suitable belay stance. Jeff came up and quickly started the next lead. The climbing was going great. Good ice and favorable temps made progress quick. Jeff was nearing the top when skies opened up for a moment. Finally some sun. Then I noticed spindrift off to the side of us. Suddenly, the entire blue sky above me became white. It came down in slow motion and I was mesmerized by the swirling snow caused by upward wind gusts. Was this spindrift or a real avalanche? Will it shoot over us? What ever it was, it looked big and looked like it would hit us. "Avalanche, hang on!" I ducked under the pack, clinched my break hand, and waited for impact. Light snow pounded us. Eventually it ended and with no tension on the rope, I figured Jeff was ok. I looked up and saw him start to climb again....game on.

He reached a nice belay and brought me up. Now we were under the business, rock leading to hanging daggers. Temps were warm though and the ice barely attached. I climbed up about 30 feet to take a closer look, but conditions looked too dangerous to continue. It was time to bail. We made hast to minimize our exposure to the enormous daggers. At the base we dug out our packs and quickly headed down slope to our skies. The slide had taken out one of Jeff's skies, but luckily we found it quickly.

On the ski out we heard some other major slides and agreed we made the right decision to leave. The route will have to wait till another time.

Jeff starting up pitch 2

Punked in the Park

2011-03-10T20:31:00.004-07:00

As usual this Winter, Justin and I had plans to climb and the weather wasn't cooperating. Our objectives were in East Glacier where the weather can be horrendous. As we approached the park, we could see that the entire place was engulfed in a storm. The wind was blowing and the temps were bitter. On the verge of bailing, we threw our stuff together and began the approach.

This is the point where Justin and I always get pissed off. We now had to ski 7 miles of road to reach the Many Glacier hotel. 4 of which were outside of the park. How the hell is that an accessible public National Park. I don't buy a park pass every year for 4 months of access. I know most people don't care for the park in Winter , but I would like to continue to have access to one of this nation's most beautiful places. I guess I'm just a minority. Enough ranting now.

The approach into the park

The approach wasn't too bad, but our packs kind of broke us down. The hotel deck offered a nice dry place to camp so we stopped there. We set up camp and settled in for the night.

Lounging on the deck

In the morning we woke to whiteout conditions completely shutting down our climbing plans. After a slow start we decided to go on a tour and take a look at things. Weather remained poor, but it was still nice to experience the park when no one was around. On our way back to camp, we ditched some gear with plans of climbing the next day before we left.

Back to camp on day 2

Doing what is necessary to keep the toes warm

When we got up the next morning, the sky was clear, but the temps were bitterly cold. Once again, no climbing. The decision was made to quickly get our gear and then head for the car. After using the stove to thaw our boots out, we on our way to gather our gear. Despite the cold temps, the park was stunning. It is always nice to hang out in the park regardless of conditions.

Morning of day 3

Justin at the gear cache

The ski out was uneventful. The wind and cold temps plagued us the entire way, but we knew it wouldn't last forever. The car and cold beer weren't too far away.

One last look before heading home

Same Old Routine

2011-02-10T16:32:00.003-07:00

My work schedule and the weather pattern have not been matching up this Winter and it is starting to drive me crazy. The few blue skies we've seen around Missoula have occurred while I've been working and when I'm off, its either snowing or raining.

I've tried to make the most of my time though. Saturday, I managed a short but sweet day out at Finley ice climbing where I met some nice folks. Other than that I've mainly been working and playing around with my camera. I bought a new flash so I've been learning how to better take pictures using a speedlight. I also started helping Shapiro sew hang glider harnesses. That has actually been fun. It reminds me of working at the bike shop. Great company and no bullshit.

Other than that, its been the same old routine, hospital work and training for the day the weather grants me permission to the big mountains.

Staying Positive

2011-01-28T03:31:00.003-07:00

Last weekend Justin Woods and I planned on heading to Glacier for a possible long day. We had been itching for a long route and conditions looked like they could be good. However, I had to go and screw everything up. While out skiing Saturday, I tagged a snow covered stump which quickly put my face down in the snow. During the crash, my right ski tried to continue down its path right while my body twisted left. The twisting force put on my right knee was incredible. Having "blown out" my knees before, I waited for the "pop". Everything came to a stop and nothing. My knee was sore, but no ligaments had torn. I got up and skied back to the snowmobile knowing that I was going to be sore the next day.

Justin working the Mule Palace

I awoke with a very stiff knee. Struggling with the idea of not climbing in Glacier, I had to call Justin and give him the disappointing news. I was feeling good enough for a local trip to Finley Creek so that is what we ended up planning on.

Monday, with my knee feeling better, we hiked into Finley. What we saw was disappointing. The recent warm weather had done a number in the ice. With hopes of getting a workout, we settled with doing laps on a bolted mixed climb which can be climbed in nearly any condition.

We ended up having a nice day out there. Chucked a few laps and got a bit of a pump. Turned out to be a better day than we anticipated. It was no Glacier Park though......

My turn

Working on New Stuff

2011-01-16T14:29:00.003-07:00

Yesterday Justin, his roommate Dan, and I slogged into the Missions with hopes of establishing a new route. We were eyeing an overhanging rock roof between Whispering Left and Center. We had a drill, but hoped to climb it on natural gear.

After a good effort to make the line go natural, we deemed it too unsafe to climb without bolts. We had the bolts at our side, but weren't motivated from the extremely wet conditions the weather was giving us. Justin worked his way through a hole in the ice and finished the pitch.

Whispering Left and Center

We rapped off and decided we ought to get one more pitch in since we were there. I led Whispering Center which was in great shape. A good steep 60m grade 5. We finished the day feeling content with our efforts and made hast to the 44 bar.

Hyalite Ice

2011-01-06T19:40:00.004-07:00

Monday Jeff and I headed back to Hyalite Canyon with expectations of working ourselves over on some ice. We had plans of pushing our leash-less climbing abilities so we headed right for the business. Last time I led "Airborne Ranger", this time it was Jeff's lead. Extremely cold temps made the ice brittle and very thought provoking to climb. Through delicate climbing with frozen hands, we topped out on the pillar. A short pitch took us to the top and reminded me how tired I actually was. The day was coming to an end, so it was time to rap off and find something to eat.

Jeff starting up Airborne Ranger

Tuesday we headed up to the Bingo cave. This area hold some of the most difficult dry-tooling routes in the canyon. Rather than pump ourselves out right away, we decided to warm up on the "Good Looking One". We made two laps on it, each being extremely fun. We were feeling the workout from the day before, but still decided to give the cave a go. As was expected, it worked us over and finished off the burn in our arms.

Mid pitch

With a half day remaining before heading home Wednesday, Jeff and I headed back to the canyon for one last climb. Some other parties beat us to the climb we wanted, so it was off to an old favorite; "The Scepter". We made short work of it, but were definitely reminded of our previous days work. Feeling totally sapped, we packed up and headed home.

Jeff topping out

Jeff starting up the "Good Looking One"

Deep Snow and Cold Temps

2011-01-01T10:37:00.006-07:00

Wednesday, a big weather system hit Montana bringing with it cold temps and lots of snow. Knowing avalanche conditions would be bad, we headed to Lolo Pass Thursday. The snow was deep and cold temps made the snow soft.

Friday the temps were forecasted to be even colder, around 0 degrees. Knowing nearly no one would brave the cold, Patrick and I headed back to the pass. The snow had set up even better and the shinning sun took the edge off the cold air. We found a place away from anyone else and enjoyed untouched powder all day long.

Bob charging Thursday

Patrick

A bad hore-frost layer 2' deep

Bozeman Ice

2010-12-23T17:29:00.004-07:00

4:30am Tuesday morning, my alarm clock started blaring. Jeff and I had made plan to day-trip Hyalite canyon for ice climbing. Hyalite is near Bozeman, 3 hours away, so a long drive plus a full day of climbing, meant leaving Missoula around 5:30am. Lots of coffee got us ready for the day. Ben told us of a climb we should try, so we headed straight for it. When we reached the base, another party was already there. They were extremely nice, so we just coordinated our climbs.

Me climbing Airborne Ranger

There were two climbs to try; Cleopatra's Needle (WI4+/5) and Airborne Ranger (WI6). All of us were there to climb both, but the other party started on Cleo's first. This meant straight to the business for us. A short pitch lead us to a cave to belay in. Then we looked up at the pillar. It was steep and chandeliery. We were both very intimidated, but there was a weakness up it. We took turns himming and hawwing about it and before I new it, I was climbing. A look became an attempt.

Jeff steeping out for a look

Temps were about 10 degrees so the ice was brittle. The beginning was delicate, but the ice got better the higher I got. Eventually the tool placements got good as did the screws. Unfortunately at this point I was getting very pumped. Smart climbing allowed me to reach the top without blowing it. Jeff came up, took the lead, and got us to the top.

We rapped off, but still had some daylight. With the remaining time, we climbed Cleo's. That maxed out our daylight. We got down and packed up just as darkness reached us. An enjoyable dark walk got us back to the car and the beginning of our journey home.

Jeff taking a look at Airborne Ranger

Lolo Pass Skiing

2010-12-23T17:22:00.002-07:00

Monday morning I awoke to 8" of new snow on the driveway. Jeff, Ben and I had planned to climb, but conditions looked too good not to ski instead. After a few quick calls are plans were changed. We headed to Lolo Pass for a convenient backcountry option. The temps were cold and the snow was soft. We spent the day touring around working our legs and getting fresh powder turns.

More Ice Cragging

2010-12-17T18:22:00.003-07:00

Tuesday, Jeff and I headed back to the Mission Mountains for another day of cragging. With recent warm temps, we figured the road would be in better shape, but weren't sure what condition the ice was in. Monday had rained hard, but we thought there was enough ice to withstand it. The road and trail turned out to be in great shape, but the sight of the ice was disappointing. Much of what was there the previous Friday had either melted away or fell down.

A closer look revealed that everything that was still standing was running with water. Our motivation faded away even further. We were there to climb though, and had hiked the 2 miles in. We could deal with getting wet and cold for at least one climb.

Shapiro checking out the line

I harnessed some screws and started up. A dry line appeared on the far left side of the ice, but it was difficult to assess from the ground. As I climbed, everything looked dry. At least where I was. On either side of me was running water. I worked my way up the ice getting wet only for a moment. The route was fun, but seemed to be the only dry line in the area. We rapped off and called it quits.

Cooler temps have reached Missoula now, so hopefully the ice will start to fill in again.

The route (just left of center)

Mission Falls

2010-12-13T12:14:00.003-07:00

Friday Justin Woods, Jeff Shapiro, and myself put in the effort and broke trail to Mission Falls. The adventure began on the road where deep snow conditions had shut down all previous attempts to reach the trailhead. With a very skilled yet reckless looking approach, Justin rallied his rig without a doubt in his mind we would make it to the trailhead. After charging the road like 16 year old punks driving in the snow for the first time, we reached the trailhead.

Jeff and I racking up

We packed up and hit the trail. Trail breaking was slow in the knee to thigh deep snow, but we pushed on to the climbs. First sight of the ice revealed everything was formed. With plans on getting milage in, we headed for the Whispering Ice area.

Jeff on Whispering Center

Jeff lead up Whispering Center which was in great steep conditions. After that, we moved over to Whispering Left which had a nice curtain touching down. Another lap on steep ice and we were done. The day was coming to an end and we still had to hike out.

Myself starting up Whispering Left

Headlamps showed the way and we enjoyed the dark peaceful walk out. The return trip down the road was mellow and shortly after, we were on our way for a burger and a beer.

Starting the curtain on Whispering Left

Finley Creek Ice

2010-12-07T19:34:00.002-07:00

Sunday, Jesse Selwyn and I headed for Finely Creek to see what kind of ice we could get on. Temps had been great for ice formation and we were expecting good conditions. The road conditions however were less than desirable. As I approached the final stretch to the trail head, I could see people had already been skiing and hiking from this point. I put the rig in 4 low and started up. The snow was cold and weightless, causing slick conditions. I barely made the first hill and the struggle only continued. We eventually made the lower parking calling it good.

Jesse and I began the short approach and when the ice came into sight, we were thrilled. Everything was formed. We could climb anything we felt like. We hit all the mixed climbing and then ended with a nice classic. Everything went well. Although we did get a rope stuck once and had to re-climb the pitch to free it. (some old pics © peter anderson)

Mule Palace

Leatherman

Back to Glacier

2010-12-04T08:01:00.005-07:00

The weather had finally appeared to be stable long enough for Jeff and I to take a look in Glacier National Park for ice. Previous trip this year had been shut down by cold temps and poor avalanche conditions. This time thing seemed to look ok, not perfect, but doable.

We got to the Park, packed up and headed in. To our amazement, we saw what appeared to be very fresh grizzly bear tracks on the trail. We were a little alarmed but didn't put to much thought into it. As we continued up, the tracks were there the entire way.

We finally got a little concerned when we knew we would be spending the next two days in the same basin as the bear. The likelihood of having an encounter is so slim we decided not to worry.

Snow continued to fall all night and we could occasionally hear the snow pack settling out. We knew avy conditions would be bad, but figured we might as well ski tour around and do some testing to check snow stability.

We skinned half way up to Mt. Edwards and dug a pit. The snow pack held some old rain crust layers and when Jeff applied weight to the block, it failed immediately. We got back on our skies and got the heck out of there.

With snow conditions too unsafe to reach the ice or ski, we just toured around the basin, broke camp and headed home. Despite poor conditions, we still had a great time. It is always better to go take a look then to make decisions from the couch.

Winter is Here

2010-11-20T11:09:00.003-07:00

The first major storm of the year has finally arrived, bringing with it lots of snow and freezing temps. Unfortunately its timing couldn't be worse for me. Jeff and I had planned to climb in Canada, but the heavy snowfall has brought poor stability to the snowpack. The recipe for avalanches couldn't be more perfect. We are now forced to twiddle our thumbs and find something else to do. Since there isn't quite enough snow for skiing and not enough ice to climb, we were force to get creative. We bolted links of chain to Jeff's climbing wall for the purpose of hooking them with our ice tools. It turned our to be great training. We may have solved the problem of how to train for hard mixed climbing.

South Carolina

2010-11-03T09:36:00.004-07:00

Just got back from another great trip. This time I traveled to South Carolina to visit my brother, his wife, and my niece. My folks planned on driving down the same time so I got to spend time with them also. It had probably been 3 years since we had all been in the same place at one time. I had a great time visiting everyone and especially getting to meet my niece.

2010-10-24T07:52:00.006-07:00

Yesterday marked Day 4 this week at Kootenai Canyon. Feeling weak lately, I felt it was necessary to get some milage in. The climbing was great and I remembered how much I enjoy our local routes. Everything from on-your-feet, to horizontal roof climbing. I put myself on anything from classic routes to old test pieces and was pleasantly surprised at my performance.

Since I was with Dean and Levi yesterday, I thought it could be a good opportunity to get some pics. The overcast sky diffused the sunlight limiting hash shadows, but forced slow shutter speeds. I made some mistakes and learned my lessons, but oh well, there will be next time.

Dean warming up on "Lookout its 10d" (5.10b)

Levi starting up "The B.R.I.K." (5.12b)

Levi "The B.R.I.K."

Levi on "Club Foot" (5.12a)

Dean on "Club Foot"

Levi on "Smoking Joe Tahoe" (5.12b)

Crux move on "Smoking Joe Tahoe"

California Climbing

2010-10-17T11:39:00.006-07:00

Another great trip to visit Brad and climb. This time we checked out some climbing in the hills behind Santa Barbara, then headed to the Needles. The climb in Santa Barbara was great. A short, but great crack climb with a heady mantle in the middle.

Mid-mantle move

The Needles turned out to be awesome. In the middle of no-where, we had the entire place to ourselves. Wonderful granite spires riddled with perfect cracks. We warmed up on some easier climbing which turned out to be some of the best. Then we worked our way to slightly more difficult climbing, which again was amazing. Excellent crack with great protection.

Approaching the mantle move

The scenery was spectacular; Mt. Whitney to the North and the Golden Trout Wilderness below us. Everyday lent itself to wonderful sunrises, sunsets, and great climbing.

Brad topping out on "T-Crack"

With only two days spent there, Brad and I left looking forward to a return trip.

Overlooking the climbs

Beer time post climbing

Brad on the last pitch of "Igor Unchained"

The Sorcerer

Topping out on "Airy Interludes"

Brad approaching the 1st belay on "Thin Ice"

View from near the climbing

Fall in Montana

2010-10-03T08:16:00.006-07:00

Last few week haven't been anything exotic, but I'm still managing to have fun. Thankfully work butts in long enough for me to catch my breath. The weather is mimicking summer, one that we never had, so I've been doing my best to take advantage of it. Fishing, climbing, flying, hiking, and visiting friends has been my agenda when not at work. I've caught a little bug now, but that will only slow my stride. Here are some pics from my daily jaunts...

Cutthroat Trout

Ben Brunsvold

Ben sticking a pig

The newest member of our clan; Ana Knoll

Cynthia and Ana

Patrick and Ana

Kyle assessing the next moves

Scotty working it

Scotty working the crux

Slightly upside-down over Missoula

Diving out of the maneuver

Bill Smith touching down

Lolo Pass Climbing

2010-09-25T12:44:00.003-07:00

Went up to Lolo Pass the other day to climb. I hadn't been there for years, so it was nice to climb something different. Since there were three of us, I decided to bring the extra equipment to take pics.

Fishing

2010-09-14T10:20:00.003-07:00

Before Sage and I left for Yellowstone, I went into the mountains to check out some water Brad was telling me was excellent to fish. I had the best day of fishing to date so when we returned from Yellowstone, I promptly went back. I hiked in a few miles and started fishing the many holes. I was quickly NOT disappointed. I caught a few small guys in the littler pools, then found the deep holes where the larger fish were hiding. I fished for about eight hours up and down the river catching a total of 16 fish, most of which were 14" to 17". Once again, the river did not disappoint.

A few of the Cutthroats I caught:

Yellowstone National Park

2010-09-14T09:47:00.005-07:00

After 12 years living in Montana, I finally made it to Yellowstone National Park. It is by far the weirdest, most bizarre parks I've been to. The geothermic activity makes the area one of the most unique places on the planet.

Boiling River flowing into the Gardner River

With limited time, Sage and I blitz the park trying to fit as much in as possible. We decided on the largest loop through the park we could do with hopes of seeing the most. As it turned out, it limited our time at each place.

Mammoth Spring

The park's roads systems were great, passing by nearly all the major attractions the park had to offer. Short hikes from the road got us to the spectacular views and bizarre sights while keeping us within our timeframe.

Evidence of the '88 fires

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

Grizzly bear in Hayden valley

Buffalo near Yellowstone Lake

Springs and geysers near Old Faithful

Old Faithful

Grand Prismatic Spring

More geothermic activity

Bull Elk keeping his ladies in check

Sawtooth Mountains

2010-08-04T08:31:00.006-07:00

Last weekend, Justin Woods and I decided last minute to check out the Sawtooth Mountains. Mainly, The Elephants Perch. Neither of us had been there and had only heard good things about the area.

Looking up the drainage from Redfish Lake

The approach started out great. A 10 minute boat ride across Redfish lake cut off 5 miles of hiking leaving us with 3 miles to go. A mellow trail gave way to a climbers trail which was a small grunt up to Saddle Back lakes and our camp site.

Justin enjoying the boat ride

The camping was plush. Beautiful lakes, minimal bugs, and a short approach to the climbing. We tapped into some wine and kicked back to enjoy the stars excited to climb the next day.

Milky Way our first night

Due to the proximity of the wall, there was no need to set an alarm. We slept in and casually rolled to the climb. A 9 pitch 5.11 is what we chose to start with. The climbing was excellent although sandbagged. Beautifully smooth dihedrals ran the length of the wall forcing delicate stemming and smearing.

Enjoying a dip in some cold water

Once on top, we couldn't have asked for an easier descent. A short walk led to a gully with a trail down it. A quick walk with a single rappel got us back to the base. 10 minutes more of walking and we were back to camp. Cush!!!

R&R with the Elephant's Perch in the background

Back at camp we found ourselves with 6 hours of light to kill. In such a beautiful place, it wasn't hard to occupy that time. We went swimming, hiking, fishing, and kicked back in the sun.

Elephant's Perch

The next morning we woke to more perfect weather and headed to another climb. This time it was a 12 pitch 5.11. The first pitch was sustained and with worries of continued difficulty, combined with having only one rope, we decided it best to return to the ground while we could. With the plan a bust, we decided to have fun top roping that first pitch again.

Camp with the the Elephant's Perch silhouetted

We returned to camp and took a leisure approach to packing up. With no reason to spend another night there, we hiked out and began the journey home.

The Goat's Perch

Saddle Back Lakes

Justin bouldering pitch 1

5.10 fingers

Perfect dihedrals

Summiting

Another Great Flight

2010-07-20T16:08:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was an awesome day in the air. Jeff, Karl, Brian, and I went up Sentinel in hopes of a good cross country flight and that is exactly what we got. Conditions were looking great so we headed up the hill early. Launch conditions weren't idea so it took us awhile to get in the air.

Once I was off the hill, I found it difficult to stay up. Jeff and Karl were just above the top while I was looking at the LZ. Luckily I found a thermal low, worked it hard and found myself climbing out. Jeff quickly joined me and we were on our way to 13,000 ft. By the time we neared the clouds, we had drifted down the Clark Fork valley. We pulled full rope and headed for Drummond.

Jeff thermaling above launch

We were getting low near Rock Creek and stopped to find a climb. Back up to 11,000 ft, we headed again towards Drummond. This next glide got us to within one more jump over the mountains to Drummond. The lift was soft, but steady. At 10,000 ft, we headed towards the valley.

Jeff climbing out

We were entering as blue hole and found no lift as we went on glide. Jeff was out front heading for Drummond and I was following behind. It wasn't until I got to the foot hills next to Drummond that I found lift. Unfortunately, I was too low to comfortably work it. I drifted for a short ways then landed in a nicely hayed field. Jeff was able to drift further down the interstate landing in the next available field.

My landing zone

We found out later that Karl and Brian both got up and went down the Potomac valley. Everyone had a great day.

Waiting for Greg

Luckily for us, Greg Brow was on the road and picked up our radio communication. He was picking us up within minutes of landing.

Random Pics

2010-07-19T08:22:00.004-07:00

Here are some random pics that have been sitting on my point and shoot camera.

Travis on Juanita's wall

Balsam Root on Sentinel

Setting up on Sentinel

Bitterroot on Sentinel

Dan on the Prow

Dan on the Red Tower pitch

Recon in GNP

2010-07-19T08:05:00.003-07:00

Last week I left for Glacier in hopes of climbing with Justin. When we got there, conditions were horrible so we decided to go for a hike. We hiked from Syieh bend to Many Glacier so we could get a look at Mt. Gould. Weather kept most people off the trail so we had the majority of it to ourselves.

Nearing Pigeon Pass

Justin pointing out the line on Gould

Descending from the pass

Hidden creek waterfall

Few More Yosemite Pics

2010-07-19T07:43:00.003-07:00

It took a few weeks to retrieve some gear that I left with Dan. When I picked it up, we swapped pictures. On the last day, we were moving fast and I never pulled my camera out. Fortunately Dan had his camera.

Mess of gear

Brad starting the free hanging jugs

View from near the top

Dan

Summertime

2010-07-12T10:01:00.004-07:00

Summertime seems to be in full swing here. Hot temps followed by the occasional evening storm. I've been out trying to enjoy every minute of it. Flying, skiing, climbing, fishing, biking, and running have all been great. Unfortunately work seems to always get in the way. Oh well. Everyone needs a rest day.

An evening storm brewing

Impressive light show

4th of July in Seattle

Skied the remaining snow on Lolo Peak.

Life Goes On

2010-06-28T07:33:00.003-07:00

I've been having a hard time wrapping my mind around what I've been going through for the last week and a half. Its been a long time since I have lost a friend and once again it hit me hard.

As always, I've been doing my best to stay busy and remember why many of us choose to pursue somewhat risky activities.

Sunset from Mt. Jumbo

Exiting a wing over

Christopher Michael Spurgeon

2010-06-23T07:55:00.002-07:00

Bouldering at Lolo

2010-06-12T21:31:00.002-07:00

Had a great time bouldering with friends today. Checked out some lines that they have been developing and they are brilliant. Looking forward to working on them again. Here are a couple of pics from today.

The Euro boulder

Luke

Bethany

Canyon Ranch, Wyoming

2010-06-01T06:45:00.005-07:00

After three weeks off climbing in Yosemite, two days of work was too much (ha,ha), so I went on vacation again. This time Sage and I went to her Mother's and Step Father's ranch outside of Sheridan Wyoming. The town is small and the land looks as it did when Native Americans and buffalo occupied the region. On the way down I wanted to stop at the Battle of Little Big Horn National Monument. The battlefield is a stones throw from the interstate so it was a short detour.

Cheyenne headstone

The experience was an impressionable one. The skies were gray and the mood somber. We drove through the rolling hills passing headstones and reading signs reliving the battle. Just over 200 US soldiers stood against 7,000 Native Americans. Every US soldier was killed and about 87 Native Americans died.

Native American Monument

Memorials were built for both sides of the battle on the highest hill where the last men fell.

US monument

US headstones

Sheridan is only an hour or so from the monument, so we were there before nightfall. The weekend turned out to be great. Good weather and wonderful people.

Canyon ranch

The ranch is beautiful. Nestled up against the Big Horn mountains, there are only a few other homes within sight. The area is incredibly relaxing, a real paradise.

Enjoying the sunrise

We spent the weekend exploring the ranch by foot and horse. I also got the chance to shoot clay pigeons and fish. Unfortunately it is run-off season now so the creeks and rivers are too muddy.

Morning hot tub session

Lupine wildflowers

We had a great time unwinding at the ranch and I look forward to the next opportunity to go there.

Sage

Yosemite aka "Center of the Universe"

2010-05-31T05:58:00.007-07:00

As a climber, Yosemite was alway described to me as the center on the universe. It took me ten years to get there, but when I finally saw the valley, I understood. Yosemite or "The Valley" is the 4th national park I've been to this year and it is by far the most mind blowing. It could be because I am a climber, but the magnitude of the place can be overwhelming.

Anyways, the plan was to tick off El Cap then move on to other things.....ha ha. Easier said than done. Weather wasn't on our game plan so after 6 days over 2 weeks, we finally stood on top of El Cap with no time remaining on our trip.

The classic tunnel view

The first few days were spent waiting out weather. When it finally broke, we had to wait for El Cap to dry out. As soon as we could, we were on the wall.

Half Dome

Day 1: The plan was to climb 6 pitches then fix ropes to the ground. Climbing started a little slow since none of us had aid climbed for years but we eventually found our rhythm. We eventually finished as the sun set and rappelled off in the night.

Yosemite Falls

Day 2: Since we hadn't packed the haul bags yet, the plan was for Dan to pack while Brad and I finished the remaining 4 pitches to heart ledges. We had a slow start behind another team, but eventually got on our way. I had the first pitch, which was a link-up of two. I must have been rushing it because half way through I found myself falling down El Cap. After hearing metal pinging and wondering when I would stop, I came to a rest about 60 feet from where I began the fall. A little shaking up, I had to go back up and finish my pitch. Brad was nice enough to take the next two pitched so I could collect myself. We reached the ledges and started rappelling the permanently fixed lines to meet Dan.

It was about 8:00pm with 30 min of light remaining. "If you and Brad want to climb El Cap, we need to start hauling now", Dan said. I knew how much work was ahead of us and I was fine quitting then. Brad on the other hand, had never done this before. "Lets do this", he said.

We started hauling around 8:30pm and reached heart ledges by 3:30am.

El Capitan

Day 3: After a 3 hour nap, Dan woke me to the sound of our breakfast menu; bagels, cream cheese, and 5.10 climbing. Despite exhaustion, there was no time to waste. I quickly ate and began climbing. We hammered out 5 more pitched and made it to Gray ledges for out second night. There was weather forecasted in two days and we knew we needed another three to top out. So we made the painful decision to leave our gear and rap off the next day with the intention of letting the weather pass.

Pitch 1, 30 to go...

With the one remaining nice day we went climbing and had a blast. Monday the weather moved in and we were thrilled not to be on the wall. It was perfect hypothermia weather and looked miserable up there.

Top of pitch 1

Day 4: The weather cleared Tuesday and El Cap looked dry. We ascended the fixed lines and were back to our high point by 12:30pm, 1600 feet off the ground. 4 pitches to the next bivy so we went for it. I was able to free the first pitch speeding things up. Dan had a slow aid pitch, then Brad got a bolt ladder. The last pitch was 5.6, so after a few minutes, we were at the next bivy site.

Dan making a gear selection

Day 5: After one pitch we were on the Nose route climbing some of the most classic pitches in the world. It wasn't our intended finish, but it was great. I'm not a huge fan of aid climbing, so when the opportunity arose to free climb, the guys let me take those pitches. Those moments were by far my most enjoyable. We moved more efficiently that day and made it to Camp V by night.

Brad cleaning the last pitch

Day 6: 6 pitches to the top remaining. By now we were all ready to be done. Physical and emotional exhaustion was taking its toll. We climbed great and found ourselves two pitches below the top around 7:00pm. A speed team passed us here and told me that we could link the last two pitches. "Awesome, I want off now", I thought. With that I started the final pitch of the climb and it turned out to be one of the most spectacular pitches I have ever done. Only being there could you fully understand the position. Amazing.

Brad on pitch 6

We spent the night on top and awoke to the sun rising over Half Dome. A grueling descend laid before us. We lightened the loads best we could and began the descent. A few hours later, we were back a the deli enjoying good food and beer.

Our first bivy

Brad, pitch 13

Gray ledges

Dan ascending after the storm

Dan climbing pitch 17

Brad in the port-a-ledge

Brad belaying Dan, pitch 24

Sunrise on top

Humping loads on the descent

2010-05-01T17:52:00.002-07:00

Weather in Missoula has been crapy lately, but I can only sit still for so long. Despite the poor weather, Sage and I got some exercise hiking Mt. Sentinel.

Verga rolling through the valley

The mine on Mt. Sentinel

Result of a smart ass remark

Blackfoot Recreation Area

2010-04-21T10:53:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Ben and I were just leaving my place to climb when we both decided the only reason we were climbing was because we didn't know what else to do.... Three blocks from the house I turned around with new plans.....float the Blackfoot.

Temps were forecasted to reach around 80 and where better to enjoy that than on the river. Ben knew of a good fishing stretch about 50 miles from town near Ovando. Last minute, Linsey got ahold of me and she and Elum joined us.

It was about 4:00pm when we put on and the river was so low that it resembled a large creek. Unfortunately it wasn't the mindless float we were hoping for. Strainers and exposed rocks kept us navigating the entire way. At times Ben and I were able to throw a fly trying to catch something.

As the sun crept closer to the horizon, we began to wonder where we were. We had been floating for hours. Eventually we saw a river access point and took out there not knowing where we were. Ben saw a man fishing down river and went to ask him our location. Turns out we were only half way and it was already 8:45pm.

Ben starting jogging to hwy 200 with hope of hitch-hiking back to the car. After just a short while Ben returned and our mini epic ended.

Tourists at Home

2010-04-21T10:35:00.004-07:00

Two weekends ago Sage thought it would be a fun idea to do the tourist thing around the Missoula are. After twisting my arm a little, we were on our way. We decided to check out Phillipsburg, Anaconda, then head to Butte.

P-burg is a nice little rustic town, but unfortunately everything was closed so we didn't get to experience much.

Anaconda didn't even turn out to be a place worth stopping. I don't even think I would want my car to break down there. On to Butte....

Butte was a little better, but like the other towns, nearly everything was closed. We walked around the historic downtown checking out the old buildings and trying to imagine what it was like when Butte was one of the wealthiest town in America. Unfortunately, Butte now isn't much more than a died up mining town with the worlds largest and most god awful open copper pit!

We headed up to the mining museum but didn't have time to take an underground tour. Looked like it would have been fascinating. After that, I had about all I could handle of Butte and we were quickly back in the car heading home.

East Side

2010-03-30T09:37:00.004-07:00

Saturday, Justin, Ben, and I headed for the East side of Glacier park in search of some adventure. Ben had never been to the park in winter and I had never been to the east side in winter so we were both very excited. As expected the park never disappoints.

The scenery was stunning and we couldn't wait to be surrounded by it. Winds were howling so we camped at the gate eliminating the need to take so much gear into the park.

Looking in from the dam

The windy conditions made our camping situation less than ideal, but we made the most of it. A dam provided a nice wind break so we could at least enjoy a fire and not be forced into the truck too early.

By the morning we found ourselves very comfortable and too lazy to get up when the alarm went off. Two hours later we started stirring. Plans for the day were made, gear was sorted, and we began our adventure.

We were camping six miles from the Many Glacier hotel due to a gated road (thanks NPS). Since the road was completely void of snow, we brought bikes to quicken the approach. Other than the brutal head wind, the ride was nice. After about an hour we were ditching the bikes for skies.

Starting the trail to Iceberg Lake

Luckily there was enough snow to ski from this point. We decided to check out Iceberg Lake and ski the notch if possible. The trail to iceberg must be one of the best in the park. A very gradual ascent over five miles with continuous views.

Grinell Peak

High winds kept us from climbing any peaks, but we were still having fun and liking the light packs. As we got near the lake we could see the notch couloir and some ice climbs we didn't know existed. We were there to ski, but being climbers, we couldn't resist the ice.

We chose the largest, bluest ice and climbed it. Nice 350 feet of WI3+/4- with a walk off/down climb. As we were climbing, the weather changed. By the time we were back to our skies, we were in near whiteout conditions. This was the Glacier Park Justin and I have come to know so well.

Iceberg Lake Cirque

Unfortunately this shut down our plans to ski the notch also, but we were still happy to get the climb in. The rest of the day was spent skiing and biking out.

The climb (far left), the descent (far right)

As always our light and fast style allowed us to pack in 22 miles, an ice climb, and still make it back to Whitefish for drinks and greasy food.

Grand Canyon

2010-03-13T16:17:00.005-07:00

Last week, Sage and I left for Arizona. Neither of us had seen the Grand Canyon, so we thought this would be a fun trip. We flew in Friday and spent Sat. with my grandparents and cousins. I see my grandparents every year, but haven't seen my cousins since I was about 10 years old. It was great to see everyone, but too bad my brother wasn't there. We almost had all the grandchildren together with our grandparents.

Grandparents

Everyone

After the nice visit, Sage and I headed North for Sedona. The town was beautiful, but the weather wasn't. Despite the rain, we still went for a walk and enjoyed the town.

Hiking in the rain

From Sedona, we headed to Flagstaff and found snow, and lots of it. Shut down by weather, we checked out the town and spent the night. Weather was looking poor for the Grand Canyon, but we figured we would head up there anyways in the morning.

Grand Canyon

We woke to partly cloudy skies and went North. By the time we got to the Canyon, the clouds were high and visibility was good. We enjoyed an afternoon of sightseeing with the occasional snow shower. There were a few places left to stay and we found a nice cabin to stay in.

The next morning we woke to white out conditions and figured it was time to leave. This part sucked! Four hours of driving in a white out at thirty miles an hour in a compact car that in no way was set up for snowy roads. Not to mention that no one in Arizona know how to drive in those conditions regardless of how beefy their trucks are. What a nightmare!

We survive and eventually found ourselves back in Sedona. This time it was hailing, so we enjoyed the views from the car. The next day was spent working our way back to Phoenix and back to the sunshine. On the way we stopped at Montezuma's castle and checked out the cave dwellings.

Outside Sedona

Montezuma's Castle

Despite the poor weather, we had a great time.