Yosemite aka "Center of the Universe"

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

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

The classic tunnel view

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

Half Dome

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

Yosemite Falls

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

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

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

El Capitan

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

Pitch 1, 30 to go...

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

Top of pitch 1

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

Dan making a gear selection

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

Brad cleaning the last pitch

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

Brad on pitch 6

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

Our first bivy

Brad, pitch 13

Gray ledges

Dan ascending after the storm

Dan climbing pitch 17

Brad in the port-a-ledge

Brad belaying Dan, pitch 24

Sunrise on top

Humping loads on the descent

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

Verga rolling through the valley

The mine on Mt. Sentinel

Result of a smart ass remark

Blackfoot Recreation Area

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

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

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

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

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

Tourists at Home

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

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

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

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

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

East Side

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

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

Looking in from the dam

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

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

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

Starting the trail to Iceberg Lake

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

Grinell Peak

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

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

Iceberg Lake Cirque

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

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

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

Grand Canyon

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

Grandparents

Everyone

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

Hiking in the rain

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

Grand Canyon

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

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

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

Outside Sedona

Outside Sedona

Montezuma's Castle

Despite the poor weather, we had a great time.

Big Sky Country

About a week ago I went to Bozeman for a little climbing and skiing get-away. I planned on hanging with Ben, but when I got there, I found out Patrick was in town for an avalanche course.

Ready to drop in

Patrick had a friend working at Moonlight Basin and she graciously hooked us up with tickets. The skiing was great and the area was nearly void of people. We enjoyed the skiing and ended the day at the bar to some food and live music.

Ben

The next two days Ben and I went climbing. Temps were warm, but the ice was good. A lot of people were out so once again we found ourselves in the Bingo Cave. This time we were on a new route, but it worked me as well. After the cave session, I was on my way back to Missoula.

Patrick