More adventures near Flagstaff, Arizona.

Zak Romuald on Crystal Clear 5.13a in Northern Arizona.

Matt Kuehl on The Grim Reefer 5.9.  Limestone offwidth in shorts?
Northern Arizona

Andy Reger digs deep on Mary Jane's Guillotine 5.10

Zak Romuald on the slab by start to Crystal Clear.

The Oak Creek / Waterfall area near Sedona.  Basalt splitters! 

Andy Reger doing a top rope run up Black and Tan 5.10

And at some point we also went to Zion and climbed Inner Chi 5.11.  It was sweet. 

Flagstaff Adventure

Zak takes the whip off a newly established 5.12b/c at the Peaks area.

Last weekend I hooked a ride with Andy Reger to go visit our friend Zak Romuald in Flagstaff Arizona. It was my first time there and when the sun came up in the morning I was really impressed by the great looking stone and beautiful environment.  The rock we ended up climbing on was a volcanic rock called Dacite.  This type of stone had a corse texture, some wild caves and cracks, and great potential to explore endlessly. The climbing we encountered was a lot of creative slab crimping, some technical vertical terrain, and even continuous wandering crack systems.  The areas we went offered a great variety of terrain to climb on, and I found most of it to be pretty engaging.  My only regret is not bringing a rack to get on some of the beautiful mixed crack climbs! Oh well... So the first day we went to a new(ish?) crag up in the Peaks that offend plenty of aesthetic and challenging sport and mixed climbs.  Hear we got a solid day of sport climbing in and we all left feeling very pumped.

Zak on an Unnamed 5.12b/c.  Evidently it is stiff!

A fun .12a corner called Be The Burn. 

The routes that we climbed were all 50-80 feet long and each one seemed to have a split personality.  Our warm route started on easy slabs and gradually became steeper until it was overhanging and pumpy.  A 5.12a I did started in a clean cut water streaked corner and transition into bulgy wandering/sequencey climbing at the top, were the real pump set in!  The climb Zak was working started in a wide chimney and transition abruptly to technical face climbing, which I could only imagine was a difficult transition to make.  Even with their dual personalities, the routes were all quite good and easily provided us with a day worth of fun.  The next day Andy and I woke up late and went thrifting in the afternoon. I was looking for overalls and any sort of cool stuff. I found an orange karate belt I plan to make into a gear sling and an old elbow pad I can use for climbing.  Andy found a whole slew of things and left the store looking like he was about to set up a Rube Goldberg Machine.  After our Flagstaff wandering we headed to an area called Gloria's to do some bouldering.  After walking through the woods for a short while we arrived at the base of a small mountain formation where we spent the rest of the day exploring the boulders and climbing.

Looking out after a few minutes of scrambling at Gloria's.

Zak's favorite warm up, the aesthetic V4 traverse.

Most of the time I wasn't quiet sure the difficulty of many of the climbs I was attempting. Zak was the brains behind the operation and he didn't get off work till later when he planned to meet us.  Luckily he drew us a map of the area, which explained (roughly) were some of the popular boulders were.  We used this as a mini guide and went off exploring.  We started on the slabby routes, which seemed harmless until you reached about halfway up and realized you still had to do some delicate moves higher on the slab to finish.   We transitioned into some of the harder crimpy problems and did our best to unlock some of the moves on these mysterious problems.  In between climbs we would scramble around the boulders and look for the next problem to solve.  Surprised by the abundance of features and many large cracks, I found myself looking for the perfect untouched offwidth problem for me to goof around on... I knew it was out there somewhere! 

Andy's favorite crimp fest V5.

My favorite problem, Unknown (AKA Glutton For Pain) V?

Needless to say I was pretty psyched when I found the wide crack that was formed between two big boulders.  It looked gnarly!  It was way too skinny to acomidate your upper body, too large for doing handstacks, and also coated with a nice layer of spider webs and bugs... perfectly off-sized and off-the-map!  I first looked at the formation and didn't know where to begin.  I sat under the large traversing wide crack and wondered how to even get off the ground to begin climbing the big beast.  Finding no success with arm bars or chicken wings, I new my lower half would be the only effective jamming device.  So I laid down on my back and stuffed my feet into the crack and did a sit up to reach some marginal face holds.  From here (after several attempts) I was able to work my lower body upwards into the crack as I gradually traversed upside-down and to the right working up the crack.   If I was determined enough I could wiggle my body upwards were I could eventually reach a few better face holds and begin the pivot back upright, which I found to be the most difficult part.  If I explored Gloria's for a month I'm sure I'd find a dozen more of these excellent offwidth challenges, only next time I'd wear thick pants with some neoprene knee pads underneath.

Zak sticks the finishing sloper jug as Andy lights the scene. V6/7

As the sun was going down Zak came and met with us after he was off work for the day. We continued to climb into the night with the aid of headlamps and a little beef jerky.  We etched tried a few problems and eventually worked out the moves of a pretty fun V6/7.  Eventually our bodies were worn and tired and that meant is was time for a beer and some grillin'.   Back at Zak's we relaxed, made food, and looked through photos. I reminisced about my first Arizona climbing experience and determined that Flagstaff definitely has a great feel, and is somewhere I could see spending a good amount of time.  The climbing was great and the environment and people can't be beat.  I know there is still a ton of climbing to be done there and I'm looking forward to my next opportunity to head in that direction.  Thanks to Zak and Jeff for the hospitality and Flagstaff for all the cool thrift stores and climbing! Until next time...

Fear This Post

Zak zings off the top crux of Fear This Sport...
Andy gets the ejector seat belay.

I hope everyone had an excellent holiday!  I've been staying pretty busy these last few weeks, and it hardly seems like time is passing... although it is passing very fast!  I was able to travel back to Wisconsin to see my family for christmas as well as seeing some of my good ol' Wisconsin swillbilly friends.  There was not nearly enough time of course, and I could only see a small handful of the people I would have liked to.  Fortunately it wasn't very long before some visitors came out West to see me here in Vegas.  The day after I got back home our good friends Zak and Bethany drove up from Flagstaff to come climb with us in Red Rocks. So climb we did.

Zak Romuald moves off the marginal top crux crimps.
Fear This Sport 5.12b

Just a day after expeirencing the Wisconsin winter (although there was no snow yet this year) I was already back out climbing shirtless and in NEW pants!  The temperatures were unbeatable, and believe it or not it was almost a little too hot in the sun.  The psych was high and this was definitely reflected in our climbing for the extended weekend.  Their visit had a lot of highlights, but in my opinion our best climbing day was probably our fourth day on.  We all decided to go to Cannibal Crag for a shorter "half day" of climbing.  Andy and I were both working on "Fear This Sport" 5.12b and were getting darn close.  This route features a really bouldery opening sequence that requires lunging for a terrible crimp.  The move is low to the ground and provides for a pretty exciting belay.  We all blew the move at least a half dozen times, but we all prevailed gracefully at least once.

Andy Hansen sticks the low crux crimp.
Fear This Sport 5.12b

Having got pretty close on the route before, my goal was to send it ground up on my first attempt of the day.  But as we all know gravity can be ferocious, and today seemed like it might be no exception.  I fell off the bad crimp a few times, but eventually dialed in my beta and finished it up.  Once I was at the top I hung my rope down and prepared to rappel in off a fixed line to shoot photos of the route.  I hung for a while and shot photographs from a few different angles and distracted my self from the difficulty of climbing.  While shooting I just focused on the excitement of the route and the beauty of the day instead of the fact that I couldn't send.  When I lowered off and cleaned my rope I was ready to move on, but Zak and Andy both encouraged me to give the route another go.  With a new enthusiasm I roped up again and went for the send... and with new enthusiasm I fell off the wall barely missing my innocent belayer, who now hung off the ground enthusiastically below.

Myself nearing the top for the long awaited send.
Fear This Sport 5.12b

I gave it a rest for five minutes and tried to shake my tired arms back to normal.  Feeling slightly better I chalked up my hands and left the ground. Once again I lunged for the terrible crimp, only this time I stuck it and held on long enough to pull the next move to a better hold.  I felt as if the hardest part was over, but I knew the top was nothing to take lightly.  So I did my best to stay relaxed and remember the rest of the moves.   Luckily the holiday season hadn't done too much damage on my climbing, and I was able to stick all the rest of the moves, including more small crimps at the top that leads to the finish.  When I got to the top I clipped the top two draws and felt a great sense of relief. Andy took up the remaining slack and started lowering me back down to the ground. When it was all over I felt like a sweaty million bucks that was covered with chalk and wearing a purple bandana... and that's when I knew it was more than just a send, it was a new accomplishment; a goal met.

My first climbing goal of 2012.
A barefoot ascent of the iconic 25' tall Plumbers Crack.

Clippin' Bolts, Throwin' Wobblers, and Avoiding Hibernation

Andy Hansen on Steep Thrills 5.12a

 The weather the last few days has definitely been in the favor of us south-western climbers.  Temps during the day are about 50° and now that the wind is gone you can spend all day plenty warm climbing in the sun.  Although no climber leaves the house or campground without at least one warmer layer, it is still a safe bet that if you follow the sun, you'll be warm enough to climb.  My climbing friends and I are finding that these temps are best suitable for bouldering and sport climbing, which also matches our current desires to get stronger this winter.  Seeing as these types of climbing also require less time and equipment, it is easier to make the most of the sun and avoid having to commit to a long climb,which will more quickly go into the shade and leave you with the "screaming barfies." Lately I've personally been interested in getting on more 5.12s, and I have been trying a lot of 5.12b and up.  I am hoping that the more I apply myself on these climbs the more the moves will become easier to figure out and execute more regularly.   Recently some friends and I went to the popular sport climbing crag The Gallery, and I had an opportunity to get on The Gift 5.12d and Where the Down Boys Go 5.12d.  Both climbs are overhanging, pumpy and have very bouldery sections protected by perma-draws.  This makes it a no brainer to attempt and is something I was glad to do.  I have visited The Gallery several times before attempting these harder lines, but when I did I was encouraged by the fact that they both felt achievable and not impossible.

Senja Palonen low on The Gift 5.12d

Senja getting one last shake before entering the crux.

... Senja just after falling off the crux hold. 

On all of my visits to The Gallery I have seen many people attempting to send The Gift, but I can't ever say I've seen anyone do it successfully.  The climb features about 35 feet of pumpy and fun climbing before it's crux, which is two or three small crimpers just far enough apart to shut most mortal climbers down attempt after attempt.  The crux holds are sharp and a little bit awkward.  On my attempt I chose to bypass the two worst holds and rather did a large and static cross through to the best of the three holds... beta which I'm not sure is ideal either.  The climb was a great challenge and besides a few greasy holds was a lot of fun.  Later on I was lucky enough to get to watch and photograph Senja Palonen on one of her attempts this winter, and from the sounds of it she's been trying to do this climb clean for over a year now.  Although giving it one hell of a try she was still unsuccessful and fell off the crux hold... After her second attempt of the day it looked liked it still might have to wait for another day.  The sharp point on the right hand crux hold managed to tear up her finger and even drew a little blood, something not terribly uncommon in this sport.  But the reality is an unfortunate sign that the send might have to wait till next time...

Andy Reger gets the send on Donkey Punch

After a rest day from two days of sport climbing we decided to gather the troops and go out bouldering at Kraft boulders in Calico Basin.  Old friends and new friends came together for a day attempting what many climbers lovingly refer to as "pebble wrestling".  Although this shorter rope-less variation of rock climbing doesn't usually climb higher than 15 feet off the ground, it is nothing to shake a stick clip.  Bouldering really packs a punch in those short segments of climbing.  Often the moves required on bouldering problems are more technically difficult than on most routes, it just usually isn't as sustained or pumpy overall.  Although I was probably no higher above the ground than a two story house, I left Kraft that day feeling like I had climbed a long multi-pitch climb somewhere back in the canyons.

John Starr on Alexisizer V5/V6

 My favorite problem of the day was Alexisizer V5/V6, which is a difficult slopey traverse which lead to a powerful mantle and top out.  The moves were tricky throughout and a total riot to figure out.   For me deciding how to grab the slopper holds across the traverse came naturally, but the foot work and multiple heel/toe hooks to figure out proved to be the more cryptic aspect of the climb.   Every attempt ended with my falling or slipping off with a huge grin on my face, not even bummed, just happy to try it again.   I came close to sending it that day, but kept falling on one of the last traverse moves to match hands on a decent horn out right.  This problem didn't leave me feeling frustrated, but instead I left even more psyched than I had arrived. 

Lindsey Gram on an unknown problem (V2?) on the Warm Up Boulder.

Lindsey and the lady crew bouldered circles around the men.  As the men were "throwing wobblers" attempting problems harder than we're probably capable of, they were topping out boulder after boulder, some of which they jokingly referred to as first ascents.  One of the problems they were working on that caught my eye was a short desperate face climb on the backside of the Warm Up Boulder.  A few crimps and a long move to a slopey crimp would bring you to the top, if only it was that easy.  The move looked awesome and I got a few good shots of them giving it a go.

Andy Hansen working the moves on "Monkey Bar Right" V6

Lastly we gathered what was left of our strength and walked over to the Monkey Bar Boulder.   This popular boulder is home to a handful of great problems, all of which top out surprisingly high off the ground.  Andy, John, and I started focusing out attention of a V6 called Monkey Bar Right, which was seeing good light at that time of day.  I gave a few attempts, one of which I found myself not even sure how I was still holding on and with an increasing side ache.  Andy seemed to dig this problem the most and he spent some time working it as I shot photos.  Being a little tired I decided to try something slightly easier, and gave Hyperglide V4/V5 a go.  This problem starts on a  few good holds and then you find yourself on a okay pinch, and a terrible crimp.  Gaining the next bad crimp requires a very high foot and intense core strength, a move I was surprised to pull off on my second attempt.  The top out was extra spicy at 20ish feet above the earth, and as I pulled on questionable less traveled stone I tapped into my multi-pitch-trad-runout state of mind... three points of contact, don't pull too hard, and don't fall!  It was an exciting finish to a great problem, one that I am sure I'll be back on again.

John Starr moving off the two bad crimps on Hyperglide

A weekend in Red Rocks

Andy Hansen nearing the top of "Suffering Cats"

Last weekend Zak and Beth came up to Las Vegas from Flagstaff to see the new place and to spend some time climbing in Red Rock Canyon.  Their visit created a great opportunity for our house to gather together and climb at the same crag for a day.  So on Saturday we all hiked the beautiful trail through Calico Basin into a crag called "Sunny and Steep".  As one would expect, the climbing here is in the sun for most of the day and the climbing terrain is steep and pumpy.  The crag sits on top of a very large flat sandstone ledge that provides ample space to sit back and rest while you watch others climb all around.  I started my day on a just-for-fun 5.8 called "Sport Chimney" and finished the day working 12a's until I was too exhausted to even hang onto my hat! (It blew away in the wind.)  The whole day was a blast and provided me with what seemed like endless great climbing, great views and great company.  But with all these lovely distractions I managed to forget one important thing... shooting some photos! Luckily my companion Andy Hansen was there to pick up the camera and get some climbing shots from the day. 

Andy Hansen shot this photo of me on "Gimmie Back My Bullets" 

So the next day brought yet another beautiful climbing day with friends in the Red Rocks.  We left the house and decided to check out a few different crags in the Second Pullout of the 13 Mile Loop.  We came to the conclusion that we'd warm up on a few routes at the "Sweet Pain Wall" and then move onto "Kitty Crag" and perhaps "The Sandbox".  All the climbing areas we had in mind were within a 10 minute hike of each other and each had something new to offer.   Sweet Pain is (mostly) shady crag with many good lines. Most of the routes range in difficulty between 5.10-5.12- but there are a few exceptions.  So after everyone warmed up on two routes the decision was made to wander over and check out  what "Kitty Crag" had to offer. 

Bethany Julka gives "Suffering Cats" a burn in the warm Fall sun. 

We knew we were at the right crag when we spotted the prominent finger crack/flake going 30 feet the left side of the wall.  It was then I knew that this line would not only be a really fun line to climb, but it would also be great to photograph.  So without much delay I started unpacking and I got harnessed up to climb the route just to the right of the aesthetic finger crack/flake that I wanted to shoot.  After getting to the anchors I hauled up my camera and rappelled into position to shoot.  The sun was hot and bright but still provided pretty pleasant light on the climber and wall.  It was a fun challenge to try and compose a shot by anticipating the climbers moves on a route I'd never seen before.  Overall the shots all turned out really cool, and I really glad we decided to check a crag I hadn't been to before.

Andy Hansen above the crux.

But considering I live here in the desert this could just be another standard weekend of climbing and photographing for me.  Although I've been here almost a month I've spent most of my time climbing rather than photographing.  So in the months to come I hope to spend a significantly more time shooting climbing in this beautiful place. I think some long multipitch photography sessions are in order...

Andy Hansen: Climber, Linguist, and Part-Time Model

Andy Hansen surfs the flake on "Headstone Surfer" 5.10a

Funk Rock City, RRG, KY.

Above the flake and into the dihedral of "Headstone Surfer"

Doing his best piranha impression on "Hardcore Jollies" 5.12a

Funk Rock City, RRG, KY

Working out the beta before his first 5.12a send of "Surpress the Rage"

Sunnyside, RRG, KY.

Fighting the pump on "Twinkie" 5.12a

Phantasia Wall, RRG, KY.

Recollecting his thoughts after the whipper. To boink or not to boink...

Return from the Red River Gorge

Andy Hansen on "Hardcore Jollies" 5.12a

Funk Rock City, RRG, Kentucky

I have just returned from a climbing and photographing trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. The warming spring temps meant it was time to get climbing, so Andy Hansen and I packed up my station wagon with food and climbing gear and ventured out for a ten day adventure. The trip would be out longest to the Red and we were both very excited to try and tick off many sends, and also photograph some of our favorite lines. The climbing was to include many 5.12 sport climbs such as "Suppress the Rage" 5.12a and "Orange Juice" 5.12c but as well as several 5.11 tradition lines such as "B3" 5.11b and "Synchronicity" 5.11a. We had hopes of climbing harder than we had been able to do previously, and we figured over the ten days we'd have some time to work more diligently on some of the routes. The weather for a majority of the trip was sunny and warm, but eventually the temps cooled and some rain came in for the last couple days. But regardless of dropping temps, the stone was there to be climbing, and we gave it our damnedest.

Walking around barefoot felt like summer. Need I say more?

The Craggin' Wagon in the parking lot of Miguel's.

"Home sweet home" for ten days thanks to some handmade curtains.

Our home was an '89 Buick station wagon, our kitchen was a wobbly picnic table, and our job was to rock climb. Life was good, and the photos and videos reflect this. So as I gather myself and attempt to adjust back to regular life here in Wisconsin I will be editing photos for a more thorough photo post in the near future. I can't wait to share some new Red River Gorge photos, as well as some beer drinkin' hillbilly stories that will leave you askin' "How'd ya git up there ya crazy kid!?"

A Second Look

Recently I've been taking a look through a lot of my photos from climbing in the Red River Gorge over the last few years. I've been hoping to better organize them, as well as being able take a second look for goodies I may have previously overlooked. It's great to look through all the (barely) old images from the two trips there in the fall of 2009 when I really committed to going on my first "photo trips" instead of just climbing. I am finding a lot of exciting shots that seemed to slip past me at the time, but not anymore!

I am also working on starting a small collection of images to submit to Ray Ellington for the next edition of the Red River Gorge Guidebook, whenever it may come out. Along with this process I have been submitting images to websites such as www.rockclimbing.com and www.mountainproject.com to share with the general climbing community for feedback and beta photos. So far the reception has been good, but it is an on going process in which I hope will yield some good feedback and future opportunities. So next time you're looking through climbing photos online to get psyched while ignoring the fact that you're at work, I hope you can daydream while looking at a few of mine.

Glorious Butt Shots

One last trip down to the Red River Gorge as the summer and fall wind down and winter begins. This is probably the latest I've traveled to the Red to climb, and I don't think I'd hesitate to take the drive again. The rock was a bit cold at some crags but we occasionally got lucky and were able to follow the sun to several warm crags. This will also be the first major trip of the year where I was in the company of multiple climbers in the same place. The photographer in me tells me to grab the ascender and GriGri, look for the light, and get ready to hang for hours shooting ever angle I can pull myself into. Although this is tempting within itself, the climber in me has a way of coming out in the diminishing fall temperatures. So on the other hand, the climber in me tells me to bundle up, do some jumping jacks, squeeze into my cold shoes, and see if I can hang upside down from my feet mid climb... Although I want to continuously pursue climbing photography without slowing down, I am aware that my enjoyment of the sport directly reflects why I choose to pursue it seriously in the first place. Sometimes I'm an ambitious aspiring adventure photographer, and others I'm just a big kid with a rope attached to him for safety. Some days I can control myself better than others... these are my favorite butt shots from the short trip.

Andy Hansen being lowerd off "Breakfast Burrito" 5.10d

at Drive-By Crag, Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Andy Hansen en route.

"Breakfast Burrito" 5.10d at Drive-By Crag, Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Andy Mires on "Tikka Monster" 5.13a

Drive-By Crag, Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Dave Neill on "Whipstocking" 5.11a

at Drive-By Crag, Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Yours truly, just trying to blend in on one of my my favorite 11's

"Whipstocking" 5.11a Drive-By Crag, Red River Gorge, Kentucky

The Red In November: Post Two

Dan Apostoli on "Chainsaw Massacre" 5.12a

The Motherload, RRG

Zak Romuald on "Chainsaw Massacre" 5.12a

The Motherload, RRG

Craig on "Hot for Teacher" 5.12c

The Motherload, RRG

Zak Romuald on "Mid Life Crisis" 5.11c

Indy Wall, RRG

Eddie Avallone having second thoughts,

nah, just gettin' warmed up...

"Triple Sec" 5.12c/d The Sanctuary, RRG

Robin Maslowski on "Ale-8-1" 5.12b

The Motherload, RRG

Its officially crunch time for me as I approach my last week of my last fall semester at MIAD. I spent a large amount of time writing a three part narrative about traveling around the United States, and found great joy in the challenge of this extensive creative writing. My interest in writing seems to be growing exponentially, and Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" has provided me with some additional inspiration. I also have recently started an improvised form of journalling, and spent my Friday night running around a local Milwaukee venue taking notes on anything and everything going on as the dance music blared. I knew it would be an interesting process, but had no idea how exciting and entertaining the writings would actually turn out to be. I learned a lot from my surroundings though the seemingly silly observations that would have otherwise been forgotten without the small green spiral pad. I typed it up the next day it came out to be around five pages of genuine stream-of-consciousness observational thought. I now carry this notepad with me everywhere, and write about all sorts of nonsensical assessments. I am uncertain how I will apply this process into my photography, and am not yet sure if the writings hold value outside of my own interests. I will just have to keep writing and see.

I am also posting more climbing photographs from the Red, and hope that people are enjoying the new images still. (I think I will do a non-climbing post next to spice it up) Tuesday at school will be my "final critique" of the rock climbing images from this semester, and I have made eight 24x31 inch prints to showcase what I consider to be the best eight images from the two trips. I displayed three of them all last week and got a lot of positive feedback from the series. On another note, I hope to have my website up and running within two months, and will keep everyone updated on that. Cheers!

(All photographs ©Matt Kuehl)