Tehipite trip (contd)

The Kings Canyon drains to the west and the valley has about 3000-4000ft of elevation change. The native americans used to winter at the bottom due to the warmer temperatures and good fishing.

From camp we had to hike to the wall and this is just a piece of the 1300ft top half of the wall. As far as I know, no one has climbed the dihedral in this photo.

Mike and Ari setting up our line to hang the food. We had two haul bags of food for our ten days of camping. One was filled with meals and the other with breakfast and snacks. We saw bear tracks and scat while on the trip but no bears and pretty much nothing but birds. The area was burned by fire two years ago and there is very little food for anything to eat. Plus the fire must have killed many of the animals. At the beginning of the trip it took all three of us to hang the food (because it was so heavy) and by the last day or two it could be done by just one.

Our first recon on the first day to get to the wall. You can see the upper part of the dome (Tehipite Dome) that is over 1000ft of rock you are looking at. Plus notice the burn damage and the grasses coming back into the environment very slowly. We needed to use surveying tape (bright orange) to mark our path from camp to the wall because it took over an hour to get there hiking in the mornings and at night. It was too easy to get lost (as we did once) with out marking the trail. In the end, we removed all the tape and found the path of least resistance. The hike wasn't too bad, it was the mosquitoes that were no fun and the 1000ft gulley that we had to descend and hike out everyday.

Me at the last major river crossing. I chose to wear that long sleeved hoody on the horse because the bugs were so bad on the ride in and out of the base camp.
Have a great day!

piz : )

More Ten Sleep Climbing pics

This is turning into a photo blog. Oh well. You love it.

More pics from Ten Sleep for you. It's great having three people finally as we can spend time taking a few shots.

Gareth onsighting Number One Enemy 5.11a, a fingerlocky thing at Slavery Wall. Definitely one of the best sectors here. © L Cujes 2010

Me gathering beta. Sneaky! © S Cujes 2010

Another pic for the Molly Beard Appreciation Society © L Cujes 2010

Me onsighting a nice 5.11b, I Just Do Eyes. Techy long face. © G Llewellin 2010

Gareth on one of the best routes at Ten Sleep: Happiness Is Slavery 5.12b (or 7b or 25 :) © S Cujes 2010

Big G taking flight as the pump goes terminal 5m from the top © S Cujes 2010

Applying anti-pump techniques. Do you know this trick? © S Cujes 2010

Me on the start of the classic E.K.V 5.12c (7b+/26) which I flashed thanks to Molly & Carl's beta © S Cujes 2010

Me sending the classic long route Burden of Immortality 5.13a (7c+/28) © G Llewellin 2010

Well that's it for Ten Sleep. A nice couple of weeks was had by all.

Tehipite Dome Part 1

Mike B on his horse at the biggest creek crossing of the trip. Little did we know that our camp was just a few miles away. At this point of the ride, all of our butts were getting a bit sore and we were definitely ready to finish the ride. It was nice though to have a few minutes of walking around and stretching the legs by the crystal clear river.

Ari, taking it easy in the woods of tall trees and ferns on the forest floor. The outfitter (Clyde Pack Outfitter), put the littlest guy on our trip on the biggest horse. It was funny watching Ari trying to get on and off the horse during the ride in and ride out of Tehipite Dome. He wore is only blue jeans and a hand me down western shirt and a fisherman's hat the whole time!

This here is Allen Clyde and he knows these trails and his horses really well. He has been a horse packer in these mountains for over 30 years, he is a doctor of the feet, has a ranch near Fresno and is the man that you want to take you into the wilderness for any of your needs!

When we got to camp the evening before the ride into Tehipite Dome we had to explode the truck to repack all the gear in the horse pack bags. So we had to make sure that we had everything, ropes, harnesses, shoes, cams, nuts, toilet paper, stoves and cook sets, food, tents, backpacks, the whole works. It took over three hours to figure everything out and get the 6 pack bags equally loaded and all strapped down. As we did this the Pack station dogs joined us and sniffed our gear and we had a nice campfire going to keep away the bugs. It is always tough to pack the final amount of gear for a trip like this because you never really know what you need and it is always too late when you find out! We quickly realized that we forgot the bug spray!

Mike B and Ari just outside the Fresno airport where they picked me up. I was flying in from Canada and the Squamish Mountain Festival and they drove in from Colorado and Utah in my truck. Ari was wearing my warm weather gear to keep the 100 degree heat at bay while we walked to the truck. Notice the wind block hat and the woolen Arcteryx neck gaiter. I don't think that there is an outfit that Ari doesn't look good in.

piz : )

Climbing in Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming

Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming. The new IN spot in the US. Interesting though, because the climbing is kinda old school! Techy vertical walls abound. More rock than most could climb in a lifetime. Pockets EVERYWHERE! About 700 routes and growing. Summer only destination pretty much. Free camping. Come check it out.

Best guidebook cover - EVER :)

Crazy weather

Quality bridge access to French Cattle Ranch sector © G Llewellin 2010

 

Sam onsighting Eurotrash Girl 5.10b © G Llewellin 2010

Me standing on the newly developed 'Cigar'. You could possibly think of other names for this feature. © G Llewellin 2010

Me onsighting Floydirect 5.12a, Downtown. © G Llewellin 2010

Molly cranking out 11b on Valhalla

Now what?

Me flashing Keilbasa 5.12c/d at the French Cattle Ranch

Campfire planning

Gareth dispatching Floydirect 5.12a

Me doing the new Gravy Train 5.12b. © G Llewellin 2010

Mega rope whiplash!

We've been having some fun here. Completely opposite style to Maple Canyon where we've just been, so I've had to dial the grades back a bit, meanwhile Sam is dialing them up. And while I thought the size 40 Mago's I bought were too small and I would have to sell them, they've turned out to be just the ticket here to tame the often non-existent footholds.

Alright fingers, show me what you got!

www.Pumpfactoryroad.com

It turned out that on July 10th I was interviewed on Climbtalk radio in Boulder, Colorado
the transcript can be found on http://pumpfactoryroad.com/blog/?m=201007
It was interesting and fun to be interviewed even though I don't feel that I am of the caliber of the other athletes that have been on the show over the past 2 years. That being said it was an honor to be invited and I did have a good time experiencing the radio talk show first hand.
Those that are interested can listen every other week, on Friday night at 11pm to Boulders own KVCU 1190am to Climb Talk (Mike Brooks and company as they interview another person who lives and breathes rock climbing).
I can say that when you are on the radio that you always want to say more, but end up saying less because of the way that folks want you to answer questions; be specific and to the point, don't go on and on, no rambling. Those are all of the finer points of talk radio and interviews in general and some folks are better at complying than others. I did my best.
Enjoy the read on pumpfactoryroad and keep climbing.

piz : )

New Route in Kings Canyon National Park

piz : )

Back in Town

The view from downtown Squamish, the Canadian Rockies are way cool when compared to the Colorado Rockies. They stay snow covered most/all of the year are rugged and difficult to get to. They are real adventures for those who enjoy it. I think the closest range is called the Tantalus (but don't quote me on that). I didn't have the time to do much when I was in town because I was squeezing my presentation in before a bigwall expedition in California three days later. I wanted to get into the backcountry but knew that a silly injury at this time would be a real bad thing.

So I enjoyed the climbing closer to home and watched the tug a way and other events that Arcteryx planned for the festival goers.

I also participated (as a model) in the climbing photography clinic. We had about 9 folks who learned some things about shooting outdoor sports and climbing. They all had a chance to jumar (ascend a rope) to practice top down photo taking. I had to climb and reclimb a wonderful 5.7 that the name escapes me in the Smoke Bluffs just in town. It was great fun seeing the participants learn how to jug and take some fabulous photos while hanging on a rope. Thanks for not beating me up too badly during the all day pose down!

A view that never gets old. All the great climbing at Squamish and its all just a few minutes hike from the side of the highway. I took this one from the middle school parking lot where I gave a slide show on climbing and new routing in Norway. We had a sold out show, saw two presenters and a couple of climbing videos that rocked!

Well, I am sure that the two people that actually read my blog gave up hope for new material this year. I am here to say that I am back online from my Canada trip and from my California trip and from my relocation to Grand Junction, Colorado.

I have some stories, photos and of course more plans for the next few months so stay tuned as I play catch up with material for you all to take in.

First off will be a summary of the Squamish Mountain Festival in Squamish, British Columbia just outside Vancouver.

piz : )