Category Archives: Rock Climbing

So, despite what it must look like, Mark and I are still leaving the house occasionally this summer. I know it seems like I’ve just been sitting around writing about Italy, but, in fact, we’ve been out climbing! I know, it’s amazing!

Yesterday I stuck shots from bouldering at Rotary Park up in the gallery. I know, I know, these shots are two weeks old! But I like them, and I thought they deserved some attention.

This was the Sunday the day after I got home from Italy. Ann and Dylan had a little picnic with the group up at Rotary Park to celebrate various family members visiting, their purchase of an awesome new camper, and (ahem) my safe return from overseas. After a tasty dinner of perfectly grilled chicken and really good quinoa salad, the boys retired to the boulders, and I dug out my flash.

10. Wyoming wildflowers are not to be missed.

9. The adventure starts on the approach!

8. Daytime views cover the whole state, nighttime views cover the whole universe.

10. Awesome, powerful storms that blow their energy into you.

6. Tired people and tired doggies.

5. Sunsets that take your breath away.

4. Rappels that take your breath away!!

3. Climbs that test your mental and physical limits in ways that you just can’t find anywhere else.

2. Everybody gets to take home a trophy, just for participating!

1. Hanging out with really great friends, in a really beautiful place!

Sunday morning, I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and the desire to climb more!! So, we hopped in the car and took off for Ved, again!

Horticulture (5.6) – There were various climbs on our list “to do”, and we ended up choosing to climb on the north face of the Nautilus while it was still warm and relatively calm. Plus, we thought this approach would be shorter than those in other areas.

I didn’t take any pictures of this climb (gasp!), so I’ll steal one from Vedauwoo.Org. Horticulture is #13 on this shot, but it shares the same corner start as #12.

Pitch 1 – Climb the tricky corner for about 15 feet. A red cam slots nicely into the flake that hangs just above it. Then turn right, and climb up the steep, fun, low angle hand crack until it peters out. The crux of the first pitch comes here, where you have to step out onto the slab for two moves, with nice hand-jams deep into the flake in front of your face, while you work your feet up on to the knobs out right. Wild, exposed, easier than it looks, and way cool! Takes good pro in the #3 range. Belay on the ledge just behind this flake.

Pitch 2 – So, this turned out to be an off-width, and a nasty one. Was this in the book? Did I read it on a website somewhere and just forget about it? MP.com says the pitch can be protected with only 2 #3s, but Mark was walking his #4 up through the ‘skinny’ spots in the crack, and whining because we didn’t bring the #4.5 or #6. He even placed the green big bro in the top of the flake.

We both found this pitch to be really hard. Just getting into the crack off the belay was one of the hardest things either of us did all weekend. I got my hips stuck behind the flake, and had a few panicked moments of kicking my feet before I calmed down, started to breathe again, looked for the heal-toe and then wiggled my way out. I seriously bruised the back of both my elbows doing some sweet double-arm-bar moves, but I wanted to take Mark’s shoes off the back of my harness (Why was I carrying these again??) and throw them at the dog 100ft below us because they kept wedging in behind my hip. Or sometimes they would keep my hip from wedging. You figure out the difference.

The off-width ended up being about 50ft long, and once I made it over the flake and into the ledges on the far side, I found Mark at a nice little belay with a beautiful view of the Holdout and the Main area. We weren’t on top of the formation yet. The book describes the climb as finishing after another 20ft crack pitch, and then the walkoff going down slabs on the south side of the formation. We had seen anchors in the area of this belay, and thought that a rappel would be much easier than hiking all the way around. Even though I had carried our shoes all the way up.

Pitch, um, 3 – I wandered off over the boulders and slabs to find the anchors. I set a couple of pieces of pro, and the anchors were so close to the cliffs edge, that I was glad to have the rope as I climbed down to them. We set up our rappel, and Mark found that our 60m rope just barely reached the ground from here. Don’t tie knots for this one, you might find your toes swinging in the air a few inches above the rocks.

I found myself nervous about going on rappel again. I may write a blog entry later this week about why I find rappelling so terrifying. Mark had my belay (though he was below our overhang and couldn’t see me), and I added a prussik backup for this one.

Once everything was set and triple-checked, I stopped for a minute to breathe and enjoy the view. The wind was whistling through the cracks above me, and I could see another pair of climbers that had just topped out on the Holdout. The main area looked warm and yellow in the afternoon sun, and the bright green quaking aspens filled the valley with their soft swishing. I felt calm, and so happy to be right there at that moment.

And so I stepped off the edge of the cliff.

Back at the base of the climb, Mark and I re-organized the rack (we’re down to 8 quick draws now) and packed up to hike out. We decided to get in one more pitch for the day, and after laying around in the grass, reading the book and generally getting sun burnt, we decided on a sport climb.

Stand and Deliver (5.10a) – Our guidebook gives this route the “Nautilus Formation Award” for best placed bolts in Vedauwoo. Four bolts protect a steep 50ft face covered in cubic, pink crystals. Mark thought ‘face climbing’ meant he could wear shorts, but then spent the whole lead in mortal fear of what would happen to his knees should he fall. This was probably the added stress that made him stop and hang on the third bolt (and tighten his shoelaces). The crux is, as MP.com so cutely puts it, getting both feet off the ground. Mark and I were tired from the weekend, and not too proud to pull on that first draw to just get off the stupid ground. Maybe some other time we’ll get it clean.

Mark used a long leash and a butt-belay to sit on the edge and watch me climb behind him. Evidently, the angle gave him a great view down my top, and he seemed to enjoy this thoroughly. I LOVED THIS CLIMB. It was awesome. So thin, but so solid! Just slabby enough to make the moves do-able, but so steep that the slightest error in balance would send you reeling. A great way to end another great day on Vedauwoo granite.

There were TONS of AMAZING pics from the day. I’ve put them all up in the gallery.

What a great day! For Doug and Liz’s second trip to Vedauwoo, we decided to take them out to Poland Hill to enjoy some sweet, moderate crack climbs that are easily top roped. I started the day with a long, slow, lead of Kim (5.6). I still took a hang in the tricky vertical section, and I still sewed the thing up, but I made it to the top without too much whining or groveling, what a great climb!

Mark pulled the rope and pink-pointed it, and then Doug and Liz both took their turns. Things started to get complicated after this, as the wind began to really pick up, and we had to decide what to climb next. We picked Sugar Cracks (5.7) as D&L had such a nice, fun time on Kim, we figured they’d be ready for the next step up. Plus it was out of the wind.

Mark belayed D&L up from above, and then TJ, Thomas and Nathan all arrived, so we set a top rope, and let them enjoy the climb for the afternoon. Which they did! TJ climbed all the way to the top, despite having never jammed a crack before in his life, and Nathan climbed the thing twice!

Doug wanted to get a rope on Fantasia (5.9 ow) before they took off for the day. So Mark and I convinced him to lead up Southwest Friction (5.4) to get another rope up on top of the formation. This climb, with only two bolts in well over 60ft of climbing, is an exciting lead in the best of conditions. But on Saturday afternoon, when Doug took off, the wind was howling. It was hard for me to stay standing, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Doug, 25ft out above the top bolt, on top of the formation. The wind was blowing so hard, it started whipping plumes of chalk out of his bag. It was crazy.

This gave Mark and I a quick chance to enjoy the slab on TR, and then Mark hung the rope on Fantasia. Wow.

Doug started up this one first, with only a little bit of beta, and having never seen anybody struggle in the crack before. Unfortunately for all of our egos, he wizzed up the thing without much problem. It was shocking to watch. He toed into the tiny-est crystals, and face climbed the crux (goes at 5.11+ that way), and then face climbed most of the rest of it. Mark kept yelling “Get in the crack!!!” and Doug just kept ignoring him. Liz seemed to get a big kick out of this.

I took a try at this one again, hoping for a better outcome than the last time I tried. I too found a few small crystals high on the left face, and then inched my way up and threw the crux for the first time in over a year. TJ was yelling at me to “Get angry! Tell that punk-ass bi-atch of a crack who’s it’s mommy!!”

And that was me up on the crack, yelling into the rock “Punk-ass crack!! I’m your mommy!!”

I think it helped.

Doug and Liz had to get home to return the puppy Curry to her actual Mom, so we packed up and took off after this. Mark hung around and belayed Nathan on Fantasia, and then cleaned the climb. The guys stuck around for another hour or two, bouldering on rough, unclimbed boulders and enjoying the Ved evening. Then they all headed back to the Fort for big tacos and burritos on their last night in Old Town.

Why Pete Takeda Loves Vedauwoo

…I started up with confidence, but the edge was too rounded to lieback and my only relatively big piece—a number 3 Camalot—was soon a few bodylengths below. The smears and edges felt insecure, and my pinchy, down-toed slippers—great for overhanging limestone—made my feet hurt so much I couldn’t stuff them into the flare.

At last I found some crystals outside the crack for my feet, but the mineral clusters inside tore up my bare hands. I’d always contended, like any good Valley local, that taping was aid; now blood began to lube my naked jams.

A huffing mantra of “It’s only 5.8” brought me quaking over the final awkward bulge. Profoundly relieved, I clipped the anchors, my heart racing.

Other climbers were filtering into the area. I did my best to look collected. Oversized, umbrella-like cams and spring-loaded tube chocks the size and shape of bazookas clanked on their racks.
…
“Bob” glanced at my fresh gobies and unlaced slippers.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, Cheshire-Cat-like.

“Yeah, sure,” I replied, the metallic taste of the 5.8 still in my mouth. Your climbing area sucks, I wanted to add.

Fourth of July Crack swept overhead, parallel to Horn’s Mother, equally aesthetic. The alcove’s symmetry of crack and sculpted stone evoked the architectural ambiance of a cathedral.

“Nice slippers,” a man in a rugby shirt and shredded canvas pants said as I reached the ground. He nudged another local, pointing at me.

We drove off in a huff. A few days later I read a Todd Skinner quotation in an old issue of Climbing: Vedauwoo’s offwidths “filter out the weak, the soft and the spineless.”

I’d been filtered.

Monday morning was our last day of vacation, and Mark and I both woke up feeling stiff and sore. Three days of climbing is a lot, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to lead anything. We waved good-bye to all of our CH Ranch friends as some headed home and other scattered to the cliffs for one last day on the fantastic Shelf Road limestone.

Kate’s Favorite 5.7 lead (~5.7) – This climb is not in any guidebook or on the web. We found it once on the hike from the Bank to Cactus, back when the trail followed the cliffline and nobody else bothered to walk. The 7 bolts are shiny and perfectly placed for an interesting (but not too scary) lead of this 50-ft climb.

On Monday, I led it up slowly, placing my own gear, and puzzling out the tricky sections. I felt more confidant than usual on the smaller footholds, because I had spent so much time climbing thin slabs this weekend. The section of thin, tough climbing at the anchors still made me shake like mad, but I didn’t fall or hang.

Mark suggested I take a few laps on this climb, working the moves until I felt comfortable. I climbed it carefully on toperope once, and then pulled the rope and led it again on my own pre-placed gear. This second time felt great! I felt fully confidant in all the tiny, sloped ledges and sharp, shallow, pocket holds. I was still nervous clipping the anchors, but much less shaky, and it took me about half as long to complete the climb as my first trip up.

I cleaned the climb and came down. Mark was happy to not have to climb again; he felt completely done. And I felt like my weekend had come to a successful, and educational close. I’ve had so many problems with leading during my six year climbing ‘career’. I’ve tried so many things to get myself on the sharp end, and so few have helped at all. The idea of being able to run laps on comfortable climbs until I’m comfortable leading felt like a good one. Maybe this tool and some commitment will help me take the baby steps I need to become a consistent and confidant lead climber.

We packed up and hiked out before noon. On our way back to the Springs, I got to really enjoy my happy-post-Shelf glow. A little sunburnt, a lot sore, and very happy with my accomplishments.

Just because I forgot to mention it in the last post, check out the photos in the gallery!

On Sunday morning, Mark woke up groaning. He put a pillow over his head and went back to sleep. Turns out he’d had a lot too much beer the night before. Eventually, we got up, made the coffee, packed the gear, and headed out for a day of climbing on the Dark Side.

Come to the Dark Side. We have Cookies.

Lumina (5.9) – Ann hopped on the lead of this one first thing, but found pretty quickly that the 5.8 rating in the guidebook was quite the sandbag. She decided to let somebody taller and more reckless finish the lead after several valiant attempts at the crux sequence. We all took a turn on this one, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the slabby section at the top, the cruxes were tricky and I took a fall on my way up.

Fragile (5.10c) – Despite my grumbling and worry, Dylan convinced Mark to lead up this one. I remembered a couple of guys having a h*ll of a time on this climb the last time we were there, and I was worried about another sandbag. But Mark dispatched the climb with absolutely no problems, and in fact had a ball on it. This climb went up the left side of a detached pillar in the middle of the wall, and lended itself nicely to lots of great photos.

Porkus Procurement (5.10d) – This was one of my favorite climbs the last time we were in the area, and climbing it again on Sunday was not a disappointment. Once I get my confidence built up, I’m going to come back and lead this one. It starts with an easy ramp up to a thin vertical face, and then it’s all happy crimping on sharp but extremely solid black limestone. Beautiful.

Enchanted Porkfist (5.11a) – By late in the afternoon, there were only a few hard climbs left in our little area that we hadn’t tried, and this was one of them. Mark (aka The Rope Gun) shot off on this lead, and enjoyed the climb. He actually had his first real lead fall in over a year on the third bolt, and was proud of himself for climbing to failure on the sharp end. I climbed this on top rope later and really really enjoyed it. I think it might just be my all-time favorite 5.11.

While Mark and I were enjoying Enchanted on TR, Dylan worked Punjabi (5.11a/b) on a fine lead. He worked hard for that climb, and took several impressive whippers from the top bolt without quite being able to clip the anchors.

As we packed up for the day, thunder started rolling in, closer this time. Rain fell for a while and stopped, and we hiked out. I tried to take a shot of lightening from the parking lot, but it just didn’t come out, so I made my own.

Another evening back at the Ranch, and another evening of campfires, card games and hanging out with friends.

Every year, for the past five years, our friend Brian from the rock gym has had a big group of climbers up to camp on his ranch near Shelf Road, and enjoy a weekend of great sport climbing and fun desert camping. Mark and I have been in the area in past years, but never fully participated in the gathering for various reasons. This year, we threw worry into the wind, and caravaned down to the Cheesehead Ranch with Dylan, Ann, Doug and Liz.

We had a great group of climbers to camp and climb with this year. There were probably close to 30 people all said, and most of them we knew from the rock gym already. This made it a really nice weekend to relax and get to know cool people we’ve only met in passing, and to really spend time with those that we don’t get to see very often.

Friday night, we arrived a little late (around 9p), and most of the campers had already gone to bed. Mark and I took campsite number 2, which turned out to be about a 5 minute walk down a nice little pinon-lined path, to the top of the ridge that runs down the northern edge of Brian’s 35 acres. It was one of the best campsites I’ve stayed at in a long time. Beautiful, quiet, shaded, sheltered and even perfectly level; it was an ideal tent site.

On Saturday morning, Mark, Liv and I got a tasty breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese bagels before hopping in the car and heading out to climb with the group on the Mural Wall in the Gallery. Up until we arrived at the base of the climbs, I had been sure the whole of Shelf Road would be packed, route-to-route with climbers for the holiday weekend. I think we were all pleasantly surprised to see this shady little crag almost completely deserted before our group descended upon its plethora of tasty moderates.

Block Party (5.10a) – Mark led up this climb as our morning “warm up”, and it was a bit of a shock to my system. I don’t mind overhanging pumpfests, but first thing in the morning?? It was a lot of fun, and I completely understand why it gets the “classic” rating. The giant swiss-cheesy goodness is not to be missed.

Morrocan Roll (5.10b) – Dylan led up this climb as his warm up. I had heard somebody point to it earlier in the morning and say “That’s the 5.9 you’re looking for.” So, I climbed it thinking it was simply a hard nine (after hearing people complain a bit), but I didn’t have any problems with that rating. The slab was full of fun and friction, and the small finger pockets were all over the face. I found my feet stuck wonderfully to this climb, and I had a great time on it. Much more my style of climbing.

John Cruiser Meloncrip (5.10b) – Another overhanging and hard route to grunt my way up, but the sun felt good, and the moves were definitely interesting. I was exhausted by the time I made it to the top of this route. Totally ready for my afternoon nap.

Mother of Invention (5.10c) – One nice thing about climbing with a big group is that there always seems to be another toprope around to climb on. I had been watching people lead this one for most of the day, and when I saw the rope was free in the afternoon, I decided to try it. Boy, I was so done. I don’t remember anything about the climb. About half way up, my hands gave out on me. They wouldn’t open all the way or close to grip rock. I had to come down. But it was a good, hard day of climbing for me!

Pi (5.12b) – Yes that’s right, 5.12. I don’t know exactly which routes Mark climbed on Saturday, but I hung out and watched him try this one at the end of the day. Again, just because there are topropes on fun climbs, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to climb the route. Mark gave a great effort, but didn’t quite make it through the crux on this one, as it was the last route in a very long day. Other memorable moments included Mark revealing his true traddie self as he screamed “What tick? What the $#*% is a tick?!?” in the crux.

In the late afternoon, we packed up and headed back to the ranch. I will, for a very long, long time, remember how cool it was to pull into the main camp area and have everybody wave “Hi!” to us to welcome us back after a great day of climbing with cool friends. It felt like coming home.

Brian tapped the keg, and made no less than 10 bar-b-que pork loins, which we all devoured happily. We spent the evening screwing around on the slack line, hanging out by the fire, loosing at cribbage and Five Crowns, and enjoying far too much beer. Now that is the end to a perfect day of climbing!