Murphy's Law.

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Murphy's Law

Another time and another place when Murphy sent us bouldering in the desert.

Murphy must have been somebody who knew something.  Perhaps extreme in his perspective, he makes a fair point. The funny thing with climbing, is that it sometimes results in making the best of a situation that Murphy would identify with. The weather around the Wasatch had been disappointing and resulting in among the worse December's I had ever seen (conditions wise) which worked in conjunction with his law.

Thus two climbs of mine were sabotaged recently; and while saying they went wrong is correct in the perspective that we did not top out, we still had a good time up high.

Mt Superior

"Where do you think it is?" Matt asked. "Who on earth knows?" I thought as I drove up the canyon shrouded in mist so dense we could hardly make out objects 15 feet away.  Despite being familiar with one of our home canyons, we were were bumbling around the canyon in search of the South Ridge of Mt. Superior (one of the largest features of the canyon) like we were blind. Still, running out of daylight from a late start due to life's demands, we decided to go for it as best we could. 

Since we knew that we were directly beneath it, we though how hard is it find and navigate a large ridge?

Do you think the ridge is this way?

Pretty quickly we realized we were not on the way too the ridge and had actually walked to far down canyon because of the obscurity caused by the fog and were on the south face of the mountain west of the ridge.  We decided from our lack of time to pursue it, and follow the natural lines up the face as they lined up rather than return to start of the original route.  Forgoing the topo and climbing what looks attractive is one of my favorite ways to experience the mountains and so I was quite happy that we were off route.

Fun mixed climbing low down on the route...

...that allowed for enjoyable but slow climbing.

 After several hours on the face we were nowhere near the top and had an hour before dark. The thought of being part of an epic on a face in our backyard with our warm beds so close by sent us scurrying back to the ground.

I think this ramp is the ticket!

Roberts Horn

While Roberts Horn is a beautiful climb that one should pursue early in the season to avoid excessive snow and/or avalanches, this season provided a later window than usual.  For whatever reason, the fog and falling snow decided to stick around from Mt Superior as we squeezed in the probable last "send" of the route for the season.

Big time spindrifts that would plague us the entire day.

They would periodically stop though while the terrain above was reloading.

Myself sorting out the gear on the pitch I would later back
 off of resulting in us taking a variation to the route.
Photo by Matt Berry

The upper part of the route consists of snow slopes that can consist of everything between snow wallowing nightmares or such perfect styrofoam neve as to make you cry.  In this instance though, not only would it be chest deep snow swimming, but it would be prone to slide. We decided to bail and take the slow way down rather than go the fast route that would ultimately be via avalanche.

I am not going to touch that snow! Myself rapping off the face.
Photo by Matt Berry

The good thing with Murphy's law, is that it does not affect how you see the hills.  No matter how much fog, snow, and adverse conditions you have, it is always good to be outside regardless of the outcome.  Something else to note, is that while we talk about failing on routes a lot, climbing often does go to plan.

As of late and according to plan, I have been teaching my brother to climb mixed and ice.  It is fun to view and experience climbing through the lens of a fledgling ice climber, as well as motivating to enjoy it with my brother.

Saying thank you.

The man himself. He would have been an alpinist, I am sure of it! 
Photo from Wikipedia

To say that we are blessed would be a serious understatement.

 On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln gave his Proclamation of Thanksgiving. President Lincoln's example is very interesting to observe.  Just months before, the Civil War was dragging on and the Battle of Gettysburg was fought with deaths of that specific battle totaling over 50,000. 
Despite our situation, we are able to develop "an attitude of gratitude", which in my view is a main point of what he says.  

The key part in what he says is as follows: "It has seemed to me fit and proper that [their blessings] should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. 
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens...to set apart and observe...a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Should you be interested in reading his proclamation in its entirety, I have included it at the bottom.

The Blessings

Since this page is focused on climbing, I will list a few of those blessings that relate to climbing that are important to me, but one ought to think on the many others we possess.


-I suppose the first is simply climbing. Whatever and wherever you like to climb, most of those reading this will have a passion for climbing. This brings so much joy to my life, I can only assume it does the same for you.

Treking in on an expedition?
 No, Tyson simply like to bring the comforts of life to the crag.

Despite the majority of the crag being out of the picture, I feel the message is clear.
One of the best crags for winter climbing. Sun and climbing from slab to steep.

- A part of climbing is visiting beautiful places and becoming inspired.   

The always alluring Tetons. 

Big sky country? Nah, just the good old Targhee.

-Climbing provides adventure...

On the first ascent of Bagram Sacrifice, Ophir Canyon.
While it appears out of place for a picture of sport climbing to be placed
under adventure, bolting new terrain in my view fits within the scope.
Photo by Grace Wylie

-...and a motivation to stay fit and have fun!

Bouldering in Little Cottonwood Canyon
Photo by Grace Wylie

-Friendship certainly can't be discounted either.

Psyched! Alex Lowe said "the mountains are life giving."

-I love living in Wasatch. Not only is the climbing most excellent, there is access to so much close by. Despite areas such as Ibex being so close, I had never been there. It ended up being a Plan B that worked out perfectly over Thanksgiving weekend.

Every time I visit a new area I feel the need to touch everything! That includes..
Photo by Nathan Nelson

...attempting to boulder everything in tennis shoes.
See the Nose Shadow in the background? I am excited to return!
Photo by Nathan Nelson.

Part of that friendship I was talking about.
Photo by Nathan Nelson

Now is the time to remember what you are grateful for and to say thank you!






Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. 

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

 Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, l as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. 

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. 

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. 

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

 Abraham Lincoln

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

Seasons with Calvin and Hobbes.

My how times flies...

Life is a balance for sure.

I always find the transitional times between seasons to be motivating.   The clock is ticking on whatever you're currently interested in, and if the season is about to change with you lagging behind, it is easy to feel pressure since you are running out of time before having to wait until conditions turn back around.

Usually these periods can go one of two ways for myself.  Specifically with autumn, either I just cannot accept that it is time to move on from rock climbing and am left running around underneath my project trying to stay warm and in denial about sending; or I am anticipating winter so much that I am wandering around the higher altitudes dreaming about fleeting ice.  This fall I have managed to juggle both impulses quite well.  I wrote previously about chasing winter, this is about completing some last projects.



Last year I was driving up American Fork Canyon looking to escape the heat and I spotted this wall.  Behind trees, brush, a river and yet close to the road, this wall was hidden in plain sight.  Really good looking, I had to look at it closer.  It turned out to be undeveloped, have excellent rock, and so I bolted a few routes. Despite being shorter than desired, the wall still provides outstanding movement.

Yum, fresh limestone!

Directions should you be interested: Drive up American Fork Canyon to Tibble Fork Reservoir. At the dirt road west of the lake, set your odometer to 0. Drive up canyon on the dirt road just over .75 of 1 mile and park at the pullout next to a large tree on the left side of the road.  You will see the canyon river on your left and just across it, a wall and a small cave to the right of the wall. Go down, cross the stream on the log, and go to the wall.  It is a 30 second approach(in all honesty, it is not even that long!).  There are two routes both being 8-ish bolts to fixe ring bolt chains at the top.
The one on the left is called Sawyer 5.12A. Others have sent it and thought it was one of the best in the canyon, 3 out of 3 stars. Thin, techie and immaculate rock.  The one on the right is called Calvin 5.12C. Due to the movement at the bottom, I bolted this with a stick clip in mind as putting a bolt high enough to catch a fall would be in the way and a bolt low enough out of the way would be useless.

How often are you lucky enough to find a route with a foot move being the crux? 

I decided to call the wall Hobbes Wall.  My inspiration came from the comic Calvin and Hobbes.  I called the right one Calvin since that is how he is often portrayed in the comics, sometimes an ideal boy and often a troublemaker.  Calvin 5.12C has good moves then a stopper move, then good moves then a stopper move.  I put my name in there since as a child they were (and still are!) incredibly alive in my imagination.  Sawyer, Calvin, and Hobbes.

Just in time too!  

The Wasatch got it's first dusting today.

Life did not "rip me off" this time!

The angle of the sun.

The opening of a blog deserves something of a background, right? Something tangible to give the readers an idea of what is important to the author as well as an invitation for them to enter their world.  Well the following is a short tale of my life for the past several months, and because it is not an inspiring story (yet) I included events from this week. I salute your efforts in reading it!

Quite the inspiring photo from http://www.muenchphotography.com/

In a letter to John Quincy Adams in 1813, Thomas Jefferson said: “ There is a natural aristocracy among men.  The grounds of this are virtue and talents. 

"Those who are not happy with the angle of the sun should climb up and change it."

Ancient proverb

"Decisions determine destiny."

Thomas S. Monson

2013

As my muscles burned and slowed, my brain raced proportionally faster through these phrases providing motivation to push through to the end.  I was in physical therapy, recovering from injuries that limited my ability to climb. 

My divinely mandated rest sent me scrambling for anything to feed my intellect.  Far more than is reasonable, I climbed with others through media. Examples include the now famous Shark’s Fin with Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk, and Conrad Anker. Soon enough it became a trade route for me.  El Capitan became my backyard crag and I warmed up on 5.14 with Adam Ondra.  It was in this period of pseudo climbing that I read Yvon Chouniard’s essay Modern Yosemite Climbing.

“The future of Yosemite climbing lies not in Yosemite, but in using the new techniques in the great granite ranges of the world. A certain number of great ascents have already been done in other areas as a direct result of Yosemite climbers and techniques, notably the north face of Mount Conness in the Sierra Nevada, the west face of the South Tower of Howser Spire in the Bugaboos, the two routes on the Diamond on Longs Peak in Colorado, the Totem Pole and Spider Rock in Arizona, the north face of East Temple in the Wind Rivers, the northwest corner of the Petit Dru (voie Américaine) and the first American ascent of the Walker Spur of the Grandes Jorasses in the French Alps. Although these ascents are as fine and as difficult as any in their respective areas, they are merely the beginning of a totally new school of American climbing, that is to say technical climbing under Alpine conditions. The opportunities here are limitless. I have personally seen in the Wind River Range and Bugaboos untouched walls that are as difficult and as beautiful as any ever done in the history of Alpinism. There are in the Wind Rivers alone opportunities for fifty Grade VI climbs. The western faces of the Howser Spires in the Bugaboos are from 3000 to 5000 feet high. The Coast Ranges, the Logan Mountains, the innumerable ranges of Alaska, the Andes, the Baltoro Himalaya all have walls which defy the imagination.”

Searching the history and particulars for each of the ascents listed, I was struck by the North West face of East Temple Peak.  I had never heard about this wall, and yet it was among the most striking. This imposing face had only seen one ascent, in 1963 by Chouniard and Gran in two days going at 5.8 A3 which followed the obvious left-facing chimneys in the center of the wall.  In a not subtle fashion, this wall began to dominate my psyche and I made it my dream.  My research into it was thorough and obsessive. I found every photo of it I could and traced possible routes. I studied weather patterns for the area. I spoke with people who had seen it and others who had climbed the nearby Lost Temple Spire to obtain any fragment of useful beta about the wall. Eventually I chose a route that balanced my desire to create a beautiful free climb with adventure, visible features, and aesthetics. 

Photo from http://www.mountainproject.com/v/106885455 that shows the alluring face.

This became my aspiration, my white whale despite never having even seen it in person.  I trained, grew stronger, regained prowess on rock, and gained confidence.  Armored with the information I had compiled and the motivation I had developed from hours of regaining old ground, I sought for a partner.  My significant hiatus from climbing had left me with significantly less partners who were motivated enough for a mini expedition of this style.  Eventually after sifting through numbers, I found someone who was willing to attempt it with me.

We planned on climbing the route during the week of July 13th. In a similar fashion to before, I gave every effort to engineer success into our equation.  I coordinated training with my partner, I planned details, schemed logistics, and dreamed about topping out the face.  We planned for adventure, to start our route from the ground up and onsight going for it in a day.

The day before we left, my partner told me he would not go, he had not placed this in a position of priority as I had, and thus other portions of life had gotten in the way, he did not have to motivation to make it work. I went to the Tetons for a couple days over that week, and while I enjoyed myself tremendously, there was still a tinge of disappointment from the countless hours of preparation that were dashed (lucky they are easily applied elsewhere!). Despite my serious attempts to join the “natural aristocracy” among men through applications of virtues, my project remains incomplete. Climbing is anarchy as Marc Twight put it and we are all free to determine our own destiny.  Even with my friend’s decision, I personally could not let my fixation go so easily.  I attempted to go with others and my project unfortunately never got off the ground despite false starts.

The year is late now for an attempt for a project like this, it will have to wait for a future day. Planning in the time ahead will bring the angle of the sun closer and hopes that I can complete it.

The Wind River Range for the Tetons? I think it is hard to be disappointed with this on your horizon!

Are we there yet?

Today however is a different day and the time is now.  Fortunately the sun shines closer to home....and besides shinning over ideal conditions for rock (as it does in the Wasatch during autumn) currently it illuminates early season ice!  Hard to believe, but it does exist with the correct aspect, however fleeting.  As I was pulling into the parking lot to meet my partner for the day, I couldn't believe how hot it was!  Regardless, with enough elevation gained it began to look like winter.  Since I have been mostly sport climbing recently my approach time suffered as I re-realized that crossing mountainous terrain quickly is not a demand of sport cragging in the least! 

Greeting winter on the approach.

In the couloir.

I still have projects on rock to complete before winter takes an absolute hold...lets hope the snow line doesn't creep towards home to fast!