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! 

Lunar Ecstasy 5.10 C2 V - A Solo Ascent

The summer in Las Vegas can be a little tricky for adventure climbing.  The temperatures at times soar in the 110 degree range and just going for a walk sometimes can be face melting. I usually take a trip in early June to beat the heat and the last two years I have gone to Yosemite Valley to explore the tall granite walls there.  After this most recent trip, having successfully climbed Zodiac (see my last post) I was pretty psyched up to keep on big-walling on the regular.  The only problem was now my trip was over and the next months seemed filled with work and sweating on my bicycle commute for entertainment.  At first the heat was too much, but I soon got over complaining and embraced the heat for what it was. After all it wasn't going to change for a while.  Friends came and left on their summer vacations and I stuck around and spent my time flipping through climbing guide books like they held the answers to all of life's unanswered questions. 

The Yosemite Bigwalls book and Zion: Free and Clean were on the top of the reading list. Of course Red Rock: A Climber's Guide was also in the rotation.  But eventually reading and day dreaming was not enough, I needed to actually climb something more than a pitch long. Mid July I went out with a friend to Black Velvet Canyon and climbed The Gobbler, Yellow Brick Road, and Triassic Sands all fun 5.10 moderate multipitches. We sweat our asses off on the hike in and out, but throughout the day it was nothing but smiles, laughter, and good climbing with absolute solitude. A well needed adventure into the canyons I moved here for.  I think we both realized despite the "free sauna" effect it was actually a pretty awesome time to be out there with such silence and isolation. Of course this solitude wasn't as welcoming when I got our rope stuck five pitches off the ground, but hey, we managed to get creative and get it unstuck, otherwise we'd probably still be up there waiting for a little less solitude.  

Lunar Ecstasy 5.10 C2 V - Zion Nation Park, Utah.

As it gets later in the summer and temps gradually become more reasonable my day dreaming has an opportunity to turn into reality.  So just a few days ago I decided I'd "start off the season" right with a solo big wall adventure.  What a better way to get the psyche going than to put in a bunch of work for one great adventure! So it was decided, I would give Lunar Ecstasy in Zion a go.  It's primarily an aid route, although Nik Berry did free climb it and I think it was somewhere in the 5.13(?) range. Way to go dude!  My plan was to only free climb the easier sections and aid all the rest, which was most of the route. The route gets the difficulty of C2 and there were really only a few "tricky" sections.  It tops out after about 1,200 feet in length and is broken down into 9 pitches.  I had debated in my head about trying to push the route in a big day effort but after seeing a photo of the sweet ledge above Pitch 4 I thought it would be more fun to do it over two days time.   I found myself starring at the photo and getting unusually excited about the little ledge.  The positioning at the bottom of the clean headwall and brilliant looking exposure just called out to me.  The next question was "Do you think I could sleep on that?"

Farewell Ledge on top of Pitch 4.  The ledge that inspired a solo.
Reference Photo: Nick Storm 

 I figured it would be conceivable that one person could lay down on it, but certainly no more.  It also looked kind of downward slopping so that was another point of concern.  Still I debated about the idea and let it brew in my head.  I asked some friends what they thought and most laughed, but not too long before saying that they thought I should go for it.  Either they were sand bagging me or they just wanted to hear the absurd story of me trying to sleep on some tiny slopping ledge 600' off the ground.  Either way seemed good enough to me.  My plan was to pack pretty minimally and skimp on as many of the niceties as I could.  Doing it solo means I have to carry all that stuff everywhere so I wanted to keep it pretty minimal so it was less fuss and hauling would be easier.  As the trip got closer I started to piece together the rack for the climb, borrowing a few stray pieces from friends.  Once I laid out the rack, rope, and all climbing gear I realized there was nothing minimal about aid soloing.  Even if I didn't bring a sleeping bag it barely made a dent in the pile of crap I would have to lug around.  Oh well,  I guess I'll just use a bigger haul bag! 



Gear prep, what happened to being minimal?

Lunar Ecstasy goes up center line "B".

After getting everything into the haul bag the night before it was starting to look like it was actually going to happen.  That night I met with another wall climber friend who was about to head to Yosemite the next morning.  It seemed like a proper send off to meet and talk walls over good food before we both headed out on our own adventures.  I left at 7:30am from Las Vegas and did the quick drive to Zion.  I probably should have left earlier but I needed some good rest before hand.  On the drive I also forgot there was an hour time change so I actually lost an hour on the way too.  I was already perfectly behind schedule.   When I got to the park is was busy as hell because it was Labor Day and there were no parking spots at the visitor center where I had to stop and get my bivy permit.  What a genius plan I had hatched!  Show up mid-day on a busy holiday and start soloing a wall with the idea of climbing 4 Pitches before dark just to sleep on a little ledge. Genius!  

At the Visiter Center I inadvertently parked my van in the "RV Only" parking lot when I ran in to get my overnight bivy permit.  Once I talked to the ranger there they told me I couldn't park there and to try to get a spot in the main parking lot because that's what I was approved for with the permit.  Good to know.  I went back to my car and there was already a blaze orange parking violation on the drivers side window from the park service. A great souvenir. I got in my car and started scouting the busy lot for any one who was going to be leaving their spot.  After about 15 minutes of waiting I finally found a couple who was leaving and I put the flashers on and waited for their spot to be free.  During this time I started finalizing the packing on the haulbag, and included my last decisions for what food to bring.  They drove out and I pulled into the spot.  I got my last things together, changed shoes and was almost ready to go!  I picked up the haul bag a few inches and dropped it once or twice on the ground to help settle the contents down to make more room to close it, a pretty standard procedure.  Moments later I noticed I was standing in a puddle and there was water pouring out of the haulbag.  NOOOO! I thought loudly to myself and frantically starting throwing the contents of the bag onto the pavement as fast as I could.   Quickly I discovered that BOTH my gallon jugs had exploded in the bag, and most of my water had leaked out! This was the first big blow to my psyche, and for a good couple moments I had some serious doubts if I was actually gonna do this.  My time window was dwindling fast, and now my water supplies were significantly diminished. Not good.  I scrounged around my van for some reserve gatorades and any extra empty water bottles to fill and bring along. I filled them up and now it seemed reasonable for me to continue.  "This may just be enough" I thought to myself, and threw the heavy pack over my shoulders and got in line for the bus into the canyon. 

Haulbag leaking most of my water moments before I was going to leave. 

I got on the bus near last and stood up by the driver like I usually do.  The Zion bus drivers are awesome because as a climber you can ask them to drop you off directly in front of your climb.  Some pretty sweet service! This time my bus driver was John and he was both curious and excited to chat about the adventure I was partaking on.  He asked me all sorts of questions about climbing, life, relationships and the whole story of living a climbing life. He also contributed some good facts about the park that were new to me. He also told me about an area where there was recent rock fall but also explained it shouldn't effect where I would be climbing.  At this point we were starting to be pretty chatty and other people started to jump in on the conversation with their own questions about what exactly it was that I was doing.  One person asked what I did for water and I told them "I like to bring as much as possible, but funny you asked because most of my water just exploded in the parking lot!"  I laughed more than they did.  The ride continued and a few people got on and off throughout.  The couple who asked me about water stood up to get off the bus and when they walked by said they'd like to make "a donation", and gave me a small water bottle full of the good filtered stuff.  "Thank you, this will be great!" I said and gave them a thankful and cheerful wave as they walked away.  The bus continued and John asked me to point out where I would be climbing.  I pointed up to the Moonlight Buttress and indicated the face I would be on and that the route was called Lunar Ecstasy.  Soon enough we were right in front of the climb and it was my time to get out and start hiking.  John stopped the bus and made a pseudo announcement "Here you go folks, one of the main Zion attractions!" and unexpectedly people on the bus started clapping in support as I grabbed my stuff and got ready for my quest.  "Wow! What a send off." I thought to myself. "...but I haven't even done anything?" As John pulled the bus away he asked one more question out the window.  "Hey Matt, what will you be wearing tomorrow on the wall?"  I smiled to myself and replied "I'll probably be wearing this same thing!" Knowing very well that I didn't bring a change of clothes.  John said "Alright, I'll look for you!" as he pulled away. I turned around to face the wall and took my first steps towards a great unknown and true adventure.  

Virgin River crossing to gain the base of the route. Always a joy.

I quickly got to the Virgin River that runs through the park and right in front of the wall.  You have to cross the river to get to the base of the climb and it's always kind of a fun experience because there is always the slight possibility that you will foolishly slip and douse all your climbing gear.  My stuff was half wet from the exploded gallon jugs so it didn't really matter if I biffed it this time around. The water was actually refreshing and felt nice (instead of freezing) and it wasn't flowing as high or fast as some previous crossings. I put my shoes back on and started the small slog up the sandy hill to the base of the buttress.  For some reason the start of the route didn't look as familiar as I remembered from a previous ascent of Moonlight Buttress and I kind of struggled to find exactly where to get set up.  I thought I spotted the first pitch but it looked more bushy than I remembered, which is a good indicator that I wasn't looking at the right pitch.  In this process I also struggled to get the haul line configured through all the bushes and cactus.  You leave your bag about 60' to the right of where you start climbing so that when you finish the pitch you can haul straight up. I had to drag the haul line through 60' of desert bush nightmare to have it with me to start the climb.  It got stuck on everything and I walked into a cactus and now had little needles all in my elbow and left pointer finger that I never could get all out.  Classic desert shenanigans. 

I set my ground anchor and decided it was time to get this show on the road.  I started up what I thought was a 5.10 variation pitch that went straight up.  It was really sandy and a bit loose like a lot of Zion first pitches and for some reason I thought it was the way.  I climbed about 15' and then half squeezed into the narrow chimney and looked up.  It now looked a lot harder than it did on the ground and I observed that I wasn't even close to having the gear to protect the gash.  I reevaluated and down climbed the sandy rock until I was back on the terraced base.  I stepped back and had a good hard look at the start of the route and referenced the topo again to get this sorted out.  I discovered I was too far to the left and I needed to scramble up and right to gain the actual first pitch. "Brilliant" I thought to myself in relief that I didn't continue climbing that other junk.  This probably would't have happened with a friend because there would have been another voice of reason and another set of eyes to spot the correct pitch but oh well!  I reconfigured the ropes and set another anchor to actually start the first pitch and took a deep breath to put the little difficulties behind me. It was probably nearing 2pm at this point but I didn't look because I didn't want to confirm I was falling behind.

I began the pitch, which is a sandy 5.7 corner than doesn't take a lot of gear and because of this is a little sparsely protected at points.  I knew this part would not be the highlight of the day and if I biffed it at some point in the first 50' I'd probably end up back on the ground in another cactus. At least it was only 5.7 and despite getting lost finding it I had actually climbed this pitch before without trouble.  It was just the mental crux of leaving the ground.  I started climbing and got my first piece in a ways up, which I tensioned the rope up with to keep my lead line and anchor correctly oriented. I climbed above the piece and hesitated when I confirmed the next gear was another 10'-15' feet further up.  I down climbed and had a thought and hesitated.  I climbed back up to the same spot and felt the same hesitation again, severely doubting myself and not wanting to slide back down this slab. I hit a real mental roadblock.  I went the full way back down to the base and questioned everything I was doing and why the hell I was doing it.  I knew I was behind schedule. I knew my plan was kind of already dumb anyway. I knew I didn't want to ground fall off a 5.7. I knew I didn't have enough water. I knew the "sweet ledge bro" was still way up there and I knew I wasn't even remotely close to being successful yet.  I also knew nobody was here to help me out and nobody cared if I did it or not.  I almost quit.  I quickly tried to shift my thoughts from the sudden negativity that overwhelmed me to more encouraging and positive thoughts from somewhere, anywhere I could find.  I thought about my friends that I got to see before I left.  More specifically their encouragement and belief in what I was doing and how they had encouraged me to really pursue it.  If they believed in me I needed to at least believe in myself from time to time.  I got my head back together and more accurately reevaluated the pitch.  I relaxed.  This would be the first of many unseen mental or psychical challenges and if I couldn't handle this I was hopeless.  I started climbing and blocked out all the noisy doubt. The pitch wasn't hard at all but I still had to do it.  Once I completed the pitch I was relieved because I had finally done the first small step in doing this thing and I was desperate for some momentum.  I got right to work, rapped back down, cleaning the pitch.  Jugged back to the anchor and then hauled the bag. I was happy and in my comfortable zone finally.  My hesitation was gone for now and I calmly and enthusiastically continued further up the route.  After all, I had 3 more pitches to climb that day and shadows on the walls were growing. 

Farewell Ledge - A wonderfully narrow and sloping bivy ledge with a great view.  

The next two pitches went pretty fast despite some minor confusion finishing the second pitch.  I guess its always an adventure and when you're alone there isn't another person to help guide you and confirm what you're doing is right or wrong.  I always looked at the topo before each Pitch but had it "memorized" enough that I didn't really look hard and just climbed what looked like the natural way to go, which usually was correct. Soon enough I had just one more Pitch to climb to gain the ledge. Pitch 4 was the base of the sheer headwall and the climbing was finally starting to look fun and more difficultly cool.  I started up at a relaxed and confident pace and just took it all in.  I was surprised I was so close and it wasn't dark yet.  I kept plugging away and awaited the right leaning bolt ladder near the top that would bring me to the ledge.  I guess I was climbing slower than I realized and soon enough it was getting hard to see in the dimming light.   I was probably about 3/4 of the way up the pitch when I realized I couldn't really see what I was doing anymore.   I didn't allow myself to stop and think about it.  I had a headlamp but of course it was in the haul bag way at the bottom of the pitch and I wasn't going down for it because it would kill whatever momentum I had.  I dreamt of reaching the bolts coming up that would take me to the ledge. 

It was now too dark to see what the next placements would be. I was climbing more or less blind, seeing only vaguely what the features were. I felt around the crack for pods, constrictions, splitter sections, anything I could fish a piece of gear into.  I got to one spot that was really tricky, mainly because I didn't seem to have any gear that would fit.  It was a real head scratcher for a moment and I mentally used whatever I had left to not let this be the next roadblock.  I felt around the blown-out pod again trying to feel any sort of variance that would allow me to place gear in it.  I thought "Hey this is probably where people said tricams were critical. Hmmm, well good thing I left those in the haulbag too!"  I swam around in my chest harness looking for anything offset that would fit the pod.  I had just one offset cam left, and it just so happened to be the smallest one.  I finagled a way for it to fit in the hole, which was significantly bigger than the cam itself.  I bounce tested it and it didn't rip out but I couldn't tell why.  So I hung off it and hoped for the best.  I gently moved up high and with a big reach was finally able to clip a bolt. Sweet! I back-cleaned the cam in case I would need it again and moved on.  It was kind of a trip because I never saw how the cam was placed, let alone how it didn't rip out in such a misshaped pod.  I climbed the remaining 15' and with great joy finally stepped onto Farewell Ledge.  I fixed the rope, rappelled back down to the last anchor and cleaned the gear.  I ascended back up the rope to the ledge and then hauled the bag up to the ledge.  Finally I was at a stopping point and was able to relax for a while.  I drank some water, took my shoes off and took in the dark mysterious view.  

Done for the day.  Relaxing on Farewell Ledge.

The ledge was the best thing that happened all day.  I reached my goal and it seemed maybe my plan wasn't as dumb as it occasionally seemed.  The ledge certainly was narrow and down slopping but I didn't care, I was just happy to be there.  I watched the last of the buses drive through the canyon and had my last moments with distant human interaction for the night.  I've shared walls with climbers in Zion before, but it seemed that nobody else was climbing in the canyon this day, and nobody else was bivying.  I was truly alone out there. I guess it was early in the season and a lot of people still thought it was too hot to be there.  I had the whole canyon to myself and it was almost overwhelmingly cool.   I felt lucky to be there and to be so engaged and present in an awesome place within my mind and nature combined.  It truly was an experience that few people get to have, especially when you add on the solo aspect and act of being alone.  It was euphoric and I kept reminding myself to do my best to take it all in and appreciate all the small parts.   I thought about my friends and family and tried to conceive a way to share this experience with them when I was done.  But I struggled and knew whatever words or photos I shared wouldn't ever come close to representing what it meant for me to sit up on that ledge. 

"I've worn yamakas bigger than this bivy ledge." - Micah Dash 

Morning came and I woke up at 7am.  I slept what seemed like a a few hours at a time and then would reposition slightly and fall back asleep.  Pretty comfy and the small hammock I brought and put my ass in kept me from sliding around too much. The ledge by my head was barely shoulder width so it was a pretty close distance to the edge.  I woke up on my side once in the night and opened my eyes directly to seeing the abyss below.  That was pretty cool thing to open your eyes to.   The temperature was pretty nice but it did get a little cold through the night and there was a slight breeze.  I was glad I brought the sleeping bag after all, even if it didn't close because the zipper was broken.  Morning duties were done and soon enough I was ready to start getting the gear organized to prepare to keep climbing.  I had the idea to do an "epic time-lapse video" in my mind and rigged up a GoPro and small tripod above me looking down onto the ledge and ground below.  I thought it'd be a pretty cool video of me getting all the stuff ready.  Well, either way that idea died quick because after I rigged it up the camera wouldn't turn on.  Dead batteries huh, well I guess it won't be such an "epic video" after all.  Oh well. 

"I just woke up like this..." Morning view looking down from where I rested my head for the night. 

The next 3 pitches all went up the shear and beautiful headwall of the route.  They were the most difficult pitches of the route but I wasn't really worried about them being too hard, mostly I knew they'd be the best pitches. They went at C2 but some people argued C2+ or C3-  I knew it would go fine, I just had to do it and hopefully it wouldn't take me forever. Ultimately I didn't think anything was harder than C2, it was just Zion C2, which is sandy and has lots of weird pods you place smallish brass nuts in. Logistically I was more concerned with managing the two ropes, and haulbag, all with the absence of a natural ledge to set them on.  The belays now transitioned into fully hanging stances, and as a soloist this is more tricky because I need to neatly organize both ropes so they will feed easily as I progress, and obviously they cannot get twisted, stuck, knotted, fall off, etc. This would cause much difficulty.  To my surprise and joy I was able to run a pretty tight ship and I didn't have any major issues with the rope or haulbag. It seemed maybe I actually knew what I was doing?  These pitches were the most fun because they were the most challenging and the terrain was so steep and engaging.  It was still a lot of work but finally the reward was a little more evident.  I eventually ripped a piece out bounce testing on Pitch 7, but as you can tell most of the gear was solid enough to climb without major complications.

View from the summit of Lunar Ecstasy. 

When I finished these couple hard Pitches and just finished ascending back up to my high point I heard a voice yell to me "Good job! You did it!"  I looked around a little perplexed and found two individuals looking down and across at me from the West Rim Trail.  I didn't know what to say really so I just dumbfoundedly said "Thanks... but I'm not done yet!" Their celebration gave me a sense of accomplishment which I found distracting and didn't want to feel yet.  I wasn't done, so I didn't want to fool myself into thinking I could relax.   I started climbing again and had two more pitches to do.   I got perplexed again by some sandy unprotected free climbing that was just kinda odd but just kept plugging away one step at a time.   I took the original last pitch because I thought it would be more full value and it was slightly harder.  It was kind of a nightmare and the rock quality was really sugary at times, the placements were weird everywhere, and there were numerous ledges to fall onto. I puked my pants. Well not really but I wanted to. It was kind of a "questing" pitch to say the least.  Next time I'd do the "Jarrett" finishing Pitch and save some stress. 

When I topped out after the lead I was pretty relieved to be done climbing.  I still had to drop back in and rappel to clean my gear, anchor, and then ascend back up to haul the bag.  But, more or less, I was feel kinda done with my goal.  I did the last remaining work and once again stood back at the summit.  I threw all the gear off me in a big pile and felt the weight of the challenge lift off my shoulders.  I sat down and starred out at Angels Land wall and beyond.  Such a beautiful place.   I drank the last remaining water I had saved for this very moment and tired to think about everything that had just happened.  This anticlimactic moment at the summit never seems to change and the accomplishment isn't at first very noticeable.  I lulled for about 2 minutes like this and then started to repack all the stuff into the haulbag.  It was a little lighter with no water, but it still felt like a chore to pick it up and hike it out... but it always is.  I made quick time on the descent trail and spent the whole time on the way down thinking about how much water I would drink when I got to the Grotto. 

Moonrise over my neighborhood back in Las Vegas. 

I filled up 3 large Nalgenes up with cold refreshing water and sat down on the bench and waited for the bus.  It was now dark. When the bus arrived I got on with a few other people and then threw my stuff down on the seat next to me.   The bus pulled away and the cool breeze from the open windows cooled my sweaty, dirty, sandy self down from the hike.  I closed my eyes and took in the relaxation and almost found a quick meditative like state.  I knew next step I'd be back at the van, which was kind of like the "home" feeling when you feel like you actually did it and you can finally relax fully.  Soon enough I was there and I stumbled off the bus and towards the van. I slowly loaded up the van with my gear and had a little snack and a canned double-shot expresso drink that I had brought along.    I changed into a clean shirt and underwear and took my shoes and socks off.  I didn't have other pants or shorts to put on so I drove home to Las Vegas in my underwear.   When I got home I cracked a cold beer and took a shower.  That night my friend Andy would be home from his summer excursions and we'd have a lot to catch up on still this evening.  We stayed up a while and watched an awesome moonrise while we chatted about numerous adventures and misadventures from the last few months.  I now got to share my solo ascent with someone, and perhaps here is when I finally got to feel that "Lunar Ecstasy" effect.  Now what next?

Ammon McNeely aid soloing in Yosemite.
Photo: Tom Evans

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! 

Zion: Desert Shield, Space Shot, and Prodigal Sun

Andy Hansen works his way onto the steep headwall of Desert Shield V 5.11 C3

A few months Andy and I hatched a plan to climb a wall route in Zion, something I've been eagerly waiting to do all summer.  The steep clean cut walls of Zion are always amazing, and there are so many great looking walls to choose from.  I suggested that we get up on Desert Shield, a mixed aid and free climb that goes up onto and impressive steep headwall that looks practically blank.  It had some 5.11 free climbing down low to psyche Andy up, and two moderately hard C3 aid pitches to satisfy my cravings for big exposure with exciting gear placements up high.   The icing on the cake was also the sweet bivy ledge mid-route that allowed us a place to hang out and sleep at the end of the day to rest  up and do the upper portion the next day.  After all the route is Grade 5(V) and to us that meant it would be more reasonably done in two days.

Andy and I about to head up Pitch 2 of Desert Shield. 

But not so fast! It's not gonna be that easy... Just weeks before we were set to head up the Shield the government shut down and closed all of the National Parks.  Who would have thought! Needless to say there was a lot of disappoint all around.  My local crag of Red Rocks was minimally affected by the shutdown, it just made everything more of a walk and more of a pain in the ass. But who wants a police helicopter buzzing around them while they are climbing? Still doable I guess.  Zion was a different story, there would be no access permitted to the main canyon and thus putting Desert Shield out of the picture and even out of sight. Bad news for us.  So we let the time pass hoping the government might open the doors before our mission was to get started.  Weeks passed and our departure date was soon approaching. Out of necessity we formed another plan.  I guess the Rainbow Wall is pretty cool, but nothing that similar to the route we were gunnin' for. Seemed like fun still though but it was no Shield. After giving up hope a day before our departure day, Utah Governor Gary Herbet made a deal with the National Park Service to reopen Zion and several other of Utah's parks.  Amazing! The psyche was way high again! That night we gathered all our gear and started packing up to head out to Zion the next day. 

Snapshot of The Desert Shield Headwall in the fleeting sun.
Taken from the descent of Space Shot. 

Our strategy for the climb was to do it over two days, hauling gear, water, and food to the bivy on top of pitch 3.  From here we would leave the haul bag behind and continue up the next two pitches.  Our high point on day one would be the top of pitch 5 just below the first headwall pitches. We then were going to fix a rope there and rappel back down to the "Jungle Bivy" for the night.  Of course, things just couldn't be that easy for us.  After getting to the bivy ledge like planned and just before we we were going to head up pitch 4, it started raining.  There we were, starring up at the headwall with all our gear in tow, and the weather takes a leak on us when it was forecasted clear. There was really no choice what to do, and we had to head back down in the rain.  We got good and wet, but by the time we were back down the rain had more or less stopped.  We made the best of it by hanging by the river for while, forming yet again a new plan. Spirits were low, but I was also encouraged by the ordeal.  At least our plan was going well before the bad weather, and hauling wasn't actually that bad, dare I say fun?  That night we made a fire and dried out our stuff. Still no back up plan. 

Leading up Pitch 7 C3/C2+ on the headwall of Desert Shield.

The next morning I woke up and knew there was no way I could go home after climbing only 3 pitches of Desert Shield.  We had to go back up.  The next day we waited as long as we could, and headed up the lower pitches late in the day.  It seems our plan was back on!  Psyche was high as we enjoyed our time on the Jungle Bivy and watched the sun set across Zion.  As we settle down for the evening I was especially "in my head" thinking about the upper pitches.  How hard is this C3 gonna feel? Am I gonna be scared out of my mind?  Am I gonna pee myself shaking in the aiders and have to ask Andy to come rescue me? What if I drop my harness? Is that even possible? Some of these concerns were reasonable, while others a product of excitement and anticipation.  The thoughts filled my head and I couldn't really sleep, not to mention its wasn't really even that late and I was laying in the dirt.  Then later, as I was laying down in my sleeping bag trying to sleep, it seemed as if somebody had turned on a light. It wasn't Andy's headlamp, but rather the almost full moon rising and coming right across the top of Desert Shield.  An amazing sight that I will never forget.  Then as I was laying there day dreaming a lizard scuttled across my sleeping bag and went right past my face.  I was startled back into reality by the little creature and I laughed to myself. A friendly reminder that this would be a great adventure.  

No trip report complete without a photo of the "Jungle Bivy" on top of Pitch 3. 

After finally getting some sleep, the morning came.  We got up before the sun was up and it was hard not to feel a little tired and cold.  I think we finally got climbing at 7am.  This was a little later than expected but still would maybe just give us enough time.  Because of our one day delay, I now would have to drive straight back to Vegas to be at work by 4pm after climbing the headwall.  Not ideal.  There was a bit of a time crunch but we went for it.  Andy lead the very exposed and exciting bolt ladder/hook pitch and brought us up to the thin crack section that goes up almost the entire headwall.  I jugged the line up to him and couldn't have been more exited to finally get my chance to head up! I racked up as many sets of small offset brass nuts as possible, I think we had 4-5 sets all together and a couple sets of tiny cams and a grip of screamers.  My adventure was on!  I started up the C3 and C2+ pitch, carefully but confidently placing small wire after wire.  There were a few tricky placements, but generally speaking I felt the placements were straight forward, although many consecutive tiny placements.  Would they all hold a fall? Probably most would… but I didn't have to test it. 

Andy cleaning Pitch 7. Excellent thin clean aid climbing.
Instagram @instantmattkuehl

I let out a nice loud hoot at the anchors and celebrated a successful pitch up the wall.  Andy started jugging and I starred upwards at the next C3 pitch.  It looked classic as hell! I wanted to go up it without a doubt. When Andy came up to the anchor we were both super psyched, but our "turn around" time was approaching quickly.  We estimated it would take at least an hour to lead and clean the next pitch, and another 2 hours to get down and back to the car.  We simply didn't have the luxury of time.  I probably should have skipped out of work, but I made the less popular decision of making it to work on time. I drove straight to work and made it there with just enough time to wash my hands before punching in right on time. I was a little disappointed, but I was also very encouraged and excited by what we had done so far.  Everything in our control went pretty smoothly, and being high up on the headwall revitalized my soul.  Ultimately I was still pretty excited and I knew it was the first of many wall routes I would have the experience of climbing.  Now I just have to head back for the other C3 pitch soon! To the summit! 

Andy Reger aiding up Pitch 5 on Space Shot IV 5.9 C2

After a few days to reminisce about our incomplete ascent/attempt on Desert Shield, I contemplated what we could have done to make the ascent more successful.  Ultimately it came down to one element: Speed.  We had the skills, we had the gear, but we didn't have the time.  You can never predict the weather, but you can control your climbing pace and strategy.  So I hatched a plan with another climbing partner of mine Andy Reger, and we set our sights on two walls in two days.  The routes would be Space Shot and Prodigal Sun back to back.  This wasn't by any means a huge "link up" or speed mission.  But it was a challenge just difficult enough to make us work hard while also having a good chance of success.   Not to mention this would be Andy's first wall's in Zion, and only my second true wall with aid climbing.  My focus and our strategy was to do these routes efficiently and "hassle free" with no hauling, no going back to the base, and no bivying mid route.  Simple.

We got up early, before the sun was out and headed right into Zion in anticipation of catching the very first tram into the park.  We quickly ate some cold breakfast in the parking lot and kept our energy moving forward to the next step. We racked up and walked to the tram stop.  Going lighter meant we only had one small backpack, which could pretty much only hold water, some food, and two jackets.  We wore all the gear and both ropes on ourselves and clinked and clanked our way into our seats. Lots of looks of course. I talked to the driver and they had no problem dropping us off right at the base of the climb, how rad is that! I later found out the rock climbers are the only people that the tram drivers are allowed to drop off or pick up outside of the regular stops.  Which explains why we never had any trouble snagging a ride or getting dropped off. Thanks Zion!  So we did the short approach hike and got to the base with plenty of time for our mission and we started climbing as soon as possible. 

Andy Reger about to get his "Space Shot" on the exposed hook move on Pitch 8.

We simul-climbed the first 3 pitches, which go from 5.5 scramble to 5.7 offwidth, pretty manageable. That brought us to the base of the 4th pitch very quickly, and from here the aid climbing would begin as we worked our way up the headwall's right-leaning crack.  Andy started us off and got into his aid-climbing groove, which sometimes can take a few placements (or routes) to get dialed in on.  He took his time, but moved efficiently.  After all, we were both trying not to waste  time and energy.  We swapped pitches, leading alternating sections and getting higher and higher with every move.  We took time to monkey call over at our friends David and Carmen who were across the canyon from us climbing the ultra-classic Moonlight Buttress.  It was a damn good time on the wall!  The aiding on this climb was considerable easier than on Desert Shield, but the challenge was really efficiency after all.  There were a few tricky placements though, and two consecutive pieces were especially hard to place. A few preliminary pieces ripped out while I was bounce testing then, eventually I found just the right trick piece for the spot. Andy also had his fair share of exciting moves, including THE move in which I believe the route gets it's name.  THE move is (very) exposed hook move between piton and bolt, its a straight drop back down to the base and when looking down your body gets that adrenalin "Space Shot" direct into the veins. In the end we climbed the route in 8 hours and 20 min.  About 6.5 hours short of the speed record, but still not too bad! Great climb.

Self Portrait from the Earth Orbit Ledge atop Pitch 7 on Space Shot.

The second half of our mission was to climb Prodigal Sun the next day.   This route has caught my eye since I first visited Zion, and ascends the steep wall below Angles Landing, a very popular and adventurous hike in the park.  The route is more sustained, and has only one pitch of free climbing and all the rest C1 or C2 aid.  This meant that there would be no free pitches we could easily cruise through, essential meaning more aid = more work.  I was psyched on the challenge though, and I was ready to get my aid game more speedy.  Andy was also pumped, and it seemed that despite the previous days effort, we were still (if not more) energetic on route.   I don't think we had a choice to be tired after having to take off our shoes and role up our pants to cross the Virgin River to get the base of the route.  Another element of adventure I suppose!

Overview of Prodigal Sun V 5.7 C2  on Angels Landing Wall

I thought this route was a ton of fun, and getting to work your way up this massive wall is pretty unique.  Both Andy and I were feeling more confident after our success the day before, so we had a lot of fun up there.  I linked the first two pitches to get us started and cranked through the easy bolt ladder as fast I could and begun the long string of placements to get me to the second set of anchors.  Andy quickly jugged up the line and was ready to lead the next pitch.  My rope management could have been better here, but every transition after that was more smooth for the both of us.  Just gotta find that groove! We alternated pitches from here to the top and each had some exciting hook moves and tricky C2.  Andy also got to experience his first tension traverse on lead (sorry Andy I probably should have given you the heads up on that) and he also got to do a big lower-out when cleaning the last aid pitch.  For me the most exciting moves were the hooks and also doing some big top steps between offset nuts.  For the first half of the route we were both in concentration mode, but after gaining a great and exposed ledge mid-route and putting on some Talking Heads, we really started to get a little wild up there!  Hooting and hollering at each other, often like monkeys, singing along to the music loudly and declaring to the world "How did I get here!?"  It was a blast, and for about 5-10 minutes we had attracted a small crowd of onlookers both from the tram stop below and from the people hiking Angels Landing above.  After a little bit of ridiculousness we went back into climb mode and continued the push upwards.  Our energy was really high and I think we both probably wanted to lead every pitch.  We topped out the climb before it was dark out and clocked a time of 10 hours and 40 minutes on route.  Sweet!

Andy Reger getting down to the Talking Heads before he starts up Pitch 6 of Prodigal Sun.
"How did I get here!?"

What a great experience it all was for me.   Zion is truly a special area for climbing and I can't say enough about the quality of the routes I have done so far.  Its a great place to learn the methods and also a great place to be challenged and also get tons of sand all over your face.  I should be heading back to Zion again in a week or two for another two wall weekend with Andy.  At the moment I am thinking Touchstone Wall V 5.8 C2 and Disco Inferno V 5.8 C2+ back to back.  Slightly harder but still very reasonable.   After that I think I will start to hone in on some more difficult routes to spend a little more time on, not to mention finish Desert Shield.  A few harder routes that I'm day dreaming about are the Lowe Route V 5.9 C3 on Angles Landing, The Fang Spire IV/V 5.9 C3 and Swoop Gimp Or Be Dust V 5.9 C3.  Not to mention hitting up some mostly free routes like Moonlight Buttress V 5.12d C1 and Tricks of the Trade V 5.10 C2.  So much to look forward to!  If you've made it this far into the post you must really be psyched too! Want to climb? Thanks for reading...

Found this smashed in hex on route!  Damn that's crazy!
Sick whipper perhaps?