Supermoon, Classic Wall Routes, and Wildlife in Zion and Red Rock.

The time has come for me to dust of the ol' blog and start sharing photos and stories again!  I hope I didn't leave too many folks scratching their heads because of such a long delay since my last post.  Luckily, my days have been filled with the same types of adventures to new places, new routes, new people, photos, and all sorts of adventure and mis-adventure.   I am making a point to update here more often again and don't worry, I'll still have the same type-o's and confusing analogies that got so many people psyched! In short I've been hoarding images and experiences inside my mind and hard drive for some reason that I no longer understand... So, hope you're all open to let the flood gates open again!

The Supermoon photographed November 13th, 2016 just outside Zion. 

The most recent and relevant trip I just took was going to see the Supermoon over Zion with my good adventure bud Andy Reger.  We had been longing for an adventure for some time now, as Andy has been out of commission due to a shoulder injury/surgery.  Originally he was going to just "tag along" as I went to attempt a solo on a wall route.  But soon after we packed our bags and got in the car, the same vibes of our many past adventures caught up with us and it became clear we would rather adventure around Zion as a team.  It certainly felt likeit would be silly for me to enter the world-of-pain that is soloing, when I could just kick it with my friend and enjoy all the beauty that is Zion.  So thats what we did!

Our first night we rushed to our camp spot just outside of the park in hopes of catching the moonrise over the horizon. Unfortunately prior to this we were also quite hungry, which caused a pitstop at Amigo's in Springdale for the "Super Burrito".  We filled our bellies but missed the true moonrise.  Either way the moon greeted us with its wonderfully bright glow as we set up out basic camp for the night.  Soon after I got the camera gear out and was able to start shooting the Supermoon and my Super burrito digested.  Since it was later and higher in the sky it was also starting to get very bright in the lens by this point.  It was a nice surprise for me because it allowed for a faster shutter speed, and lower ISO setting, which meant that there was a possibility of capturing more detail on the moon.  I clicked away, being still and limiting all movements around the camera itself to eliminate vibrations and micro-blurs.  I'm never quite sure what specific images will be the sharpest until I view them at 100% view on a computer, so I just shoot a lot, and focus on using the best practices.  I was pleased with the results! But I am always looking for more detail and clarity in the images.  Perhaps I will rent the Canon 800mm in the future...

Nic Gunter and friend on Pitch 7 of Desert Shield. 

The next day we awoke with a very open schedule.  With no longer a time crunch of having to get up so early to starting soloing a route, my mind was free to enjoy and relax in the surroundings.  We grabbed a coffee and bite to eat, and meandered into Zion and took a quick drive around to see where our energy might take us.  Immediately we had noticed most of the classic trade routes had parties on them.  Touchstone Wall, Prodigal Sun, Desert Shield, Spaceship, Moonlight Buttress all had people on them.  Made sense to us.  The weather was beautiful, the moon would be out, and these routes are mega-classic.  I took the camera out pretty excited to once again see what kind of clarity and detail I could capture, but now of the climbing teams on these routes.  I had never tried to capture climbing with the 400mm lens that I had brought, so it was all new enough and I was pretty sure that in the daylight the challenge would be a little more predictable than at night.  I first aimed my camera up on Desert Shield 5.9 C3.  

Pitch 7 complete. Nic starts to clean the pitch. Desert Shield. 

I captured a team on of two on the headwall pitches.  These are by far the most memorable pitches on the route, and I was having flashbacks of excitement. I later found out that it was a friend up on the wall, so the small world that is climbing just got a little smaller that day! Another team of 3 was starting up the route the same day, but were about a day behind the headwall team. I captured a quick shot of them on Pitch 3 that day.  It was pretty safe to assume they were planning on bivying at the "Jungle Bivy" that night, probably in hopes of watching the moon in the canyon.  The next day before leaving I got another photo of them and their portaledge nearing the top on Pitch 8.  Looked like they had a fun time!

Another team of 3 beings Pitch 3. Desert Shield. November 14, 2016

Team of 3 on the headwall Pitch 8. November 15, 2016. 

We walked around the canyons exploring all sorts of things, but not too long without looking up at the walls.  We pretty much had the best view in the canyon for observing these teams from the ground.   Another route I took a good amount of photos of was Spaceshot 5.9 C2.  This route was in the sun, and at the time I thought that made it a little more easy to photograph and capture the same vibrant red sandstone we are used to seeing.  The team was moving a little slow but this is not uncommon for the route, and this team was also linking pitches which would help the pace in the end.  We imagined they were aiming to get to the Earth Orbit Ledge and bivy there to once again watch the moonrise in the canyon. Would be a blast! 

Team on Pitch 4 or 5 of Spaceshot. November 14, 2016

Adding some color to the shot... Spaceshot. November 14, 2016

Team on Pitch 6 on Prodigal Sun. November 14, 2016.

Lastly to share is just one images of a team on Prodigal Sun 5.7 C2 up the Angles Landing Wall.  Such a fun route and iconic wall in Zion.  I remember having a blast climbing this route with Andy in the past, but unfortunately the photos didn't really reflect the beauty of the wall, or the feeling of being up there above the Big Bend parking area and Virgin River below. Either way this team in all ninja-black seemed to be plugging away and in good pace for the summit.  Nice work!

The Streaked Wall.  One of the most awe-inspiring (for me) walls in Zion.

California Condor is the largest bird in North America and is considered critically endangered. 

As we walked around starring at the walls, we couldn't help but observe the finite details of the things we encountered along the way.  Trees, dear, butterflies, bugs, plants... I guess I could just say nature, wildlife, and everything in between.  Zion has such an awesome energy and feeling, it pulls the creativity and curiosity right out of your brain and its quite painless.  There were surprises around every corner, but I think the most exciting moment was trying to photograph the 10-point buck that we had spotted briefly and earlier in the day before it ran off into the woods.  As we walked around we had done a very novice but eager job of trying to find it again.  We walked for a good couple hours and saw many awesome things, but no deer.  It wasn't until we crossed the river and began heading back to the car that the deer emerged from right behind us.  It was a pretty serendipitous moment.  Also pretty hilarious considering how close we were but had no idea...

Clueless me. Photo: Andy Reger

We stayed in the river a while, and watched the deer walk back into the brush.  We laughed at how cool it was and how amateur it made us feel. I guess that was part of the joy. The river temperature felt nice so we kept walking down it and decided to look for a nice rock to rest and put our shoes back on.  Along this saunter up stream the deer emerged once again, but this time it walked across the river in front of us.  This was when I finally had my chance to get a good photo of a pretty unique moment.  A rewarding and unexpected experience.  I am seeing this reoccur everyday I go out to shoot photos of wildlife. Always seeing something I never expected when I didn't know what I was looking for. 

The Buck crossing the Virgin River as we walked down it. 

In the week or so before this I also went out to Red Rock Canyon in my backyard and started some of my first random explorations into "wildlife photography".  I didn't really think of it with any type of category in mind really, I just wanted to shoot and wanted to be outside.  I went to a few locations over two days and few hours and found that with patience and curiosity there is truly a lot to see in the desert environment.  Things don't always jump out at you (sometimes they do though), and being still in and observant in one location will allow you to see many things you might not have been looking for. Always a nice surprise. 

Bees, water, and leaves in Red Rock Canyon, NV.

Tarantula hunting Crayfish in a desert pool. Red Rock Canyon, NV.

Oasis - Red Rock Canyon, NV. 

Hope you all enjoy!  I am looking forward to sharing much more in the future.  Please feel free to comment, critique and share this and all future posts.  I am always open to hearing more opinions and experiences. See you out there! 

Red Rock and the Spirit of Adventure

I recently had an opportunity to do a write-up on Red Rock climbing for Travel Nevada.  It's a fun overview on the climbing variety here just outside of Las Vegas.  It has some history but focuses a lot on the spirit of adventure and how its evolved within climbing. But I think the best part is just getting the official title of "Adventurer". Take a read and I hope you enjoy.  : )

http://travelnevada.com/discover/adventures/red-rock-and-spirit-adventure

Another Year of Adventure

Andy Reger and I on the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley.

Another year has passed and it appears I haven't updated the blog since June... My apologies to any of you who (once) regularly checked for updates of the latest adventure shenanigans.  I am happy so say there have been a good amount of these adventures in the last six months and the stories have been steeping in my brain like a deep roast accumulating delicilousness in my french press every morning.  Each day goes on and the inspiration to explore still comes from many angles.  Over the summer and fall I had a lot of opportunities to climb, work, travel, and explore new realms of interest.   This post won't really represent them in any cohesive manner, but at least it may touch on a few.

To start the summer off Andy Reger and I went to Yosemite National Park in California.  This mecca for climbing should be visited by all, climbers or not.  The history is rich in many realms, but to many is considered the birth place of modern climbing. To some it up the place is just radical.  Recently the film Valley Uprising was created to help share some of the highlights of climbing in Yosemite Vally of the last half a century or so. Its a pretty entertaining watch for anyone who is looking to gain some inspiration for those who climbed before us. 

Matt Kuehl leading a steep aid pitch on Leaning Tower West Face 5.7 C2.
Yosemite Valley, California. 

When Andy and I packed up my van and headed towards the valley it was a pretty exciting moment, one that I anticipated for quite some time. I have always been inspired by John Long stories of first ascents, epic failures, and having no choice but to poop it someones kitchen, etc. Ha! There is so much to say, but it's hard to quickly describe the years of mental preparation that went into this trip for me. I guess it just takes a while to gather the skills to confidently walk up the base of a massive granite feature and start climbing without reserve. I get pretty fired up I guess!  On this trip we got to climb Snake Dike 5.7R on Half Dome, The Steck-Salathe 5.10 on the Sentinel, the West Face of the Leaning Tower 5.7 C2, and then one day in Tuolumne climbing the Regular Route 5.9 on Fairview Dome. Some of the routes went easier than others, but we very pleased with our trip.  We did each route in a day and it felt good to keeping moving on such impressive features.  This trip really inspired me and I'm planning another trip this summer.  Goals are focused on El Capitan this time around, and I'm hoping for a route or two during the trip.  Thinking Lurking Fear 5.7 C2 and The Salathe Wall 5.9 C2... but it's still open for change. 

Andy Hansen looks up at our objective on Isaac in Zion National Park.

Recently I headed to Zion with old friend and fellow swillbilly Andy Hansen.  We had our sights on Tricks of the Trade on Issac 5.10+ C2+.  It's a long route, up a pretty impressive sandstone feature with a distinct headwall split but some amazing looking cracks.  We hadn't had to much time to catch up of our wall team work since we live in different areas, but we figured what the hell and went for it anyway.  Climbing anything in Zion is an adventure, so when you have your sights on something you pretty much go for it, expecting unforeseen difficulties, sandy everything, and occasional crappy gear.   We planned to the route in two days in hopes of being able to enjoy our time a little more by spreading the climbing out.  I knew this would add some additional work having to haul extra gear and water halfway up the wall, but was not afraid of the little blue-collar work up there.   The opening 5-6 pitches are adventurous offwidths and chimneys, which is pretty awesome, it just takes a lot more time because the climbing is generally slower.  Not to mention hauling a large bag through a continuous chimney... not excellent but I guess we knew this ahead of time.  We stopped a little short of out anticipated high point for the day, but still set up our bivy and watched the sun go down over the beautiful canyon.  In the morning most of our mental energy was used up, and we were slow to get moving and the thought of a dwindling water supply was also taken into account.  After a little bit of climbing we realized that we had well lost our steam.  We didn't tackle our goal this time, but we did have a great time in the process of not succeeding. 

Looking up at Tatanka 5.10, A2 on the Buffalo Wall, Red Rocks, NV. 

The Buffalo Wall is another wall that has thwarted us.  This is one of Red Rock's most remote walls, and has only 4 routes on it to my knowledge.  Majority of the routes are (or were) established as aid routes, put up in a big wall style, hauling and bringing all gear along in tow.  I only included this photos because I would like to go up there again soon.  As it turns out my aid climbing interests are not fading, but rather still growing. Perhaps this is just the beginning. Getting psyched up for hard(er) aid this year... Big Wall dreams will hopefully be realized with a little help from of those who have been up there before and can "mentor" me on a route or two. I've found it a little daunting to make the transition from "clean" aid to traditional aiding involving nailing pins, beaks, etc. A whole new level of expertise and blue-collar craftsmanship I hope to acquire. More on that as the year progresses...

Tales of the Scorpion 5.10a, A3+. Zion National Park, Utah. 

"Come and get me you bastards!" Zion National Park, Utah.

Kevin Jorgeson in Red Rocks, NV. 

On another note on Big Wall climbing...how about Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell up on El Cap's Dawn Wall!?  Impressive efforts up there and it looks like they are going to finally pay off with a successful free ascent.  What's equally impressive is how much media attention it's receiving.  Usually the sport of climbing is pretty isolated from the mainstream, probably because there are just too many words and other lingo that just don't translate to the brain of a none-climber.  As an example... trying to explain what "free climbing" is to your average person...  Either way this type of climbing news only occasionally crosses over into the mainstream, despite how massively impressive the efforts are.  It's been funny to read the good, the bad, and the totally inaccurate reports from major media bosses on their efforts.  Did you know they are just hikers? Ha!  Either way... above is portrait of Kevin that I shot in Red Rocks a while back. Ironically none of the portraits I shot of Kevin got selected by the magazine who requested them.  Guess none of them fit the bill.. Perhaps it's more relevant to post one now. 

Andy Reger and I starting off the new year with some high jumps. Windy Peak, Red Rocks, NV.

The rest of this post are just a few images from trips, fun days, good times etc.  Wanted to share a few to share but no need to talk about every moment too long!  I was excited to hit the slopes skiing in Brian Head for the first time in maybe 8 years?   Before that during the summer I was able to head out to Southern California to do some video work.  It was great to get more familiar with the area, spend time on the ocean, and get get my first attempts at surfing during good swell.  It was very summer-like, and I got very sun burnt. 

Winter sky skiing/snowboarding up at Brain Head, Utah. 

Documenting some serious dance moves in Southern California. 

Andy Reger and I getting in on some "surfing" action. Mostly swimming. 

A collection of old Pitons. 

One last note... If you haven't checked out John Long and Peter Croft's "Trad Climber's Bible" make sure you do.  It's a great read and there are good selection of photos from the Matt Kuehl Collection.  It's an honor to be a part of the book, and if you see one on the shelves make sure the page through it at the very least.  Climb on!

Take a look in this for photos of some of my past adventures! 

Red Rocks Maternity Shoot w/ Adrian

I recently had a unique opportunity to shoot a few maternity photos out in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon.  Adrian was looking to do something a little different and Red Rocks was the perfect setting for some adventure-inspired maternity images. It was a fun change of pace from the climbing photography/videography I shoot more often.  Here are a few photos from our day.   

For rates and information about scheduling a portrait session feel free to email me anytime. 

New Year Updates: 2014

Andy Reger on his journey up Wise Guys Off Size 5.10c, Red Rock, NV.

Happy New Year! …  A little late, but now that I've said that I can move on with slightly more interesting ramblings.  The motivation and time to climb or shoot has fluctuated around the holidays as usual.  This phenomenon (as it seems) is actually relatively normal for those of us who choose to see our families, eat lots of great food, and have a few glasses of egg nog to unwind.  But now with the new year, the motivation is back in full swing and the great American West is looking like a lovely playground once again.  This year I plan to expand a little from the regiment of offwidth and aid climbing I have somehow found myself adhering to.  Not to say I will leave these fun disciplines behind, but rather I plan to take some time to explore a handful of challenging boulders, climb some finger cracks, and maybe take some massive sport lobbers off something I should probably be able to send by now.  Plenty of climbs to work on!

Slogging upwards after the crux on Malicious Mischief 5.10c.
Red Rock, NV.

For the first adventure of the year me and good friend Andy Reger decided to head up the non-classic Malicious Mischief 5.10c.  This route receives very little attention; I haven't talked to anyone who's been up it. Its position directly next to the classic Epinephrine 5.9 means that pretty much nobody really considers going up this climb anymore.  At first I thought it must be because the crux pitch is described as "scary" and begins in a "10-inch down flaring offwidth", but to me these things seemed relatively intriguing and moderately inviting.  Even before entering the crux, some complications were encountered and I soon had a few additional descriptive words to include. We pressed on through the sea of loose rock and on one pitch Andy selectively avoided the remains of an old webbing anchor wrapped around a now completely dead bush and opted for building a belay stance 15' below the crux pitch.  I then headed up the crux, which involved an unprotected traverse to gain the offwidth. After a few fist jams I was able to plug a piece and kept climbing.  I offwidthed my way through the flaring fun and soon was wedged into the base of long squeeze chimney.  35' feet of unprotected squeezing led to a neat flared tight hand crack corner, where I placed my second and third piece of gear on the pitch.  This brought me to a nice ledge which was an easy rest, but the spice was not over. 

This is when it got more interesting, again.  The climbing kind of halted, and it appeared that I would need to traverse 10' left to get into another wide crack system, which would continue to the top.  I envisioned a traverse route across, and as I started to climbing I ripped off a nice chunk of stone and stepped back down to the ledge. Yikes. Opting out of another unprotected free traverse on questionable rock, I chose to tension-traverse over (with the rope) and swung to the next crack system off to the left.  From here you enter another squeeze and offwidth up a ways until the crack becomes a tighter corner.  The rock quality is still pretty crunchy and many features are questionable.  I will leave it at that, an adventure for sure!

Inches from the send on Chinese Handcuffs 5.11d/5.12a.
Red Rock, NV. 

A little burnt-out on some of remaining obscure wide climbs in Red Rock, I decided to venture out into some smaller splitter cracks.  The Monument in Black Velvet Canyon features some nice splitters of the finger sized variety and a lot less loose rock to rip off.  It felt great to crank on just my fingers and toes after so many days spent jamming my whole leg or arm.  I still need to hone in on this smaller size, but overall I felt pretty good when I think about how these climbs felt over a year ago.  We'll be heading up soon for more work on these great crack features.  I sense sending soon. 

Snapshot from some preliminary moonrise time-lapse shooting. 

In my spare time I've also be pursuing a variety of video based projects.  I have been eager to explore some new shooting and editing techniques, so I found the challenge in time-lapse shooting.  I decided to start with shooting various moon-rises over Las Vegas and the desert at large.  As many of you know the colors at this time of day/night in the desert are incredible and very conducive for time-lapse work.  I have found time-lapse photography to be conceptually easy but more difficult to execute.  Lots of editing steps and lots of images to string together.  The procress has been exciting and things are coming together well.  Check back soon for some examples of this work.  

Experimenting with some angles for a video project on cycling. 

Being a regular bike commuter I have also been pretty interested in creating a cycling short video.  The concept remains mostly in my head, but the basic idea is to shoot a short ride using one camera placed in as many possible angles as I can think of.  Using a GoPro, this idea might seem trite before I even begin the project.  But using some artistic judgement I think this project could take on a life of it's own, and avoid being the helmet-cam catastrophe I see all too often. Although it might be a little time consuming.  I am currently in the preliminary stages of the project and have been working on bringing the ideas from my head into actuality.  A new and exciting process that I'm looking forward to figuring out. Well, that's all for now.  Hope everyone is having a fun a productive 2014. 

Flying above the snowy mid-west.

Action In Solitude: Red Rock Profile

Thanks to Kevin and Ian with Action In Solitude for working on this great video short.

Featured Routes: 

Offwidth AKA Desert-erata V2 - In Calico Basin beneath Alternative Crag.

Plumbers Crack (South side) 5.10 - In the Kraft boulder field in Calico Basin.

Trophy Crack V2 - In Sandstone Quarry just East of the Trophy Wall.

Chrysler Crack 5.9 - In Sandstone Quarry at the top of the Sandy Corridor.

Also featured by Climbing Magazine here.

Don't Just Wing It: Climbing Magazine

The article featured in Climbing #317 (August 2013)

I am glad to announce that an article I wrote on offwidth climbing technique was featured in Climbing Magazine #317. The article covers some essential techniques such as Heel-Toe cam, Chicken Wing, Arm Bar, and several different Hand-Stack variations.  I am grateful to contribute something to the climbing community and hope those who is interested to offwidthing will learn a few things from the article.  I also shot the technique photos for the article, and have written a little about that process in my last post.  Now go climb a wide crack and enjoy!

The article can also be viewed online here.

Also featured on the Mountain Project homepage (mobile version shown).

Photo Happenings

Serious camera rigging in the name of offwidth climbing photography. 

Here are a few photos I've shot recently that I'm pretty excited about.  At time's it can be hard to convince myself to lug around the big SLR and I occasionally settle for snapshots on the mobile device, especially on long all day routes.  Sometimes the best camera is the one you have with you, but that's no excuse not to get quality images when you have the time. There is nothing quite as rewarding as the process of getting a high quality, thought provoking, well composed climbing photograph.  It's an adventure in itself just trying to get into position and anticipate the best shot. These two photos from Zion were actually from our "rest day" from doing longer climbs, but I managed to convince the boys to get on the Intruder 5.11+ with no warm up. They did pretty damn well!  My part was easy, I just aid climbed it in 5 minutes and made sure to bring a beer to drink at the top. The three of us seemed to gather some attention from the passing by tourists and some bikers stopped to take photos of us climbing and shooting photos.  Rock climbers might be one of Zion's main attractions... they should let us in for free... and feed us! 

Andy Hansen on Intruder 5.11+ in Zion, Utah.

Ryan Strong on Intruder 5.11+ in Zion, Utah.

I also have just recently started to experiment with a photo idea I've had some time.  Often I encounter problems with a lack of people to shoot, not enough belayers, or a hard to get angle where a person doesn't really fit (i.e. deep inside a crack).  My solution to the problem was clear, I needed to experiment with camera rigging with an automated shutter release.  The concept is easy to understand, but the execution is the real test.  So recently when stuck with no available climbing partners and a photo deadline to meet, I went to see what I could do.  Rigging the camera up inside a crack was my first objective, and it was a precarious and delicate process consisting of much jingus-ness and improvising... my strong point! 

Self portrait solo on Chrysler Crack 5.9 in Red Rocks.

My second objective was to do a more full-scale shot of a climb from a distance with the camera set to shoot in increments of 10 or so seconds. Keeping with my wide-crack ways I decided Chrysler Crack would be a fitting climb.  I have climbed this crack many times and it's difficulty lessens significantly with every passing arm bar.  A while back, this was my first true offwidth I attempted.  On that try I couldn't even figure out what to do! The second time (after climbing many other harder offwidths) I did it without any trouble and only placed three Big Bro's for protection in the whole 90' feet. The third time I did it in 2 minutes and 30 seconds and set the new "world's most pointless" speed record. And the fourth time I did it sans-rope.  Clearly, once your figure this thing out it becomes pretty mellow.  Whatever way you climb this thing it is a classic! 

Jason Molina on Beelzebub 5.11 in Red Rocks, Nevada.

I also finally got around to shooting the obscure wide route Beelzebub 5.11, which I think is one of Red Rocks most impressive and clean cut offwidths.  This route tackles a long offwidth crack that splits the center of a beautiful streaked wall and is about 70' of a clean cut 6 inch crack... Woohoo! Finally burly fist stacks and heinous thigh scums and heel toes for a looong while.  This thing is a beast and I can't wait to get more images of it once the desert temps drop more in the fall.  But in the mean time, these two images should give you a little taste of what it's all about.  Cheers! 

A view from the offwidth cam, but this time my head was also in the crack...