The Diamond, Casual Route

July 28, 2019

Longs Peak

The Diamond, Casual Route 5.10

Gearing up at the base of the North Chimney

I’ve heard the diamond on Longs Peak called the premier alpine wall in the lower 48. I had never climbed anything like it and knew it would be a huge challenge – lots of vertical pitches climbing on a sheer face of almost 1,000 feet in height. Laura had wanted to climb the diamond for years, so when she asked, I knew it would be some work but that I had better put in the effort to make it happen. The goal was set and we added the casual route, 5.10a to the list on the refrigerator at home. I knew the climbing would be well within my range, but a 5 mile approach, leading every pitch on a demanding wall, moving quickly and efficiently and being 100% confident in every gear placement with 500+ feet of air below me would be important to make it an enjoyable experience rather than a stressful one. Neither one of us took the route for granted. We knew we would need to work on some things before committing to going for the diamond. We started climbing at Turkey Rocks, improving our wide crack technique as well as our chimney climbing abilities. We went to Eldorado Canyon and placed as much gear as we could on routes that pushed us. Lastly, we worked to be in good physical shape knowing that Longs is well, just long!

Looking up from inside the North Chimney

As the summer progressed and the snow eventually melted from the diamond, Laura and I would begin to watch the weather to seek out a nice day to go for our big objective. We would both take the day off work Monday but actually end up going for the climb a day early despite a forecast with high winds. We knew that sometimes you just have to go for things and hope for the best. Since we bailed on the Grand Teton just a month ago due to indecision, we were determined not to be wishy washy in our decision making on this one. There was rain on Saturday but with only a 20% chance for moisture on Sunday, we headed for the Longs Peak trailhead Saturday evening and planned to catch a few hours of sleep in the back of the Jeep before setting off around 2am.

Sun coming up over Chasm Lake

Our alarm went off at 1:30 and we were quickly awake, packed and ready for the 4.5 mile hike to Chasm Lake at around 12,000 feet. We went light and each carried a small backpack. I would carry the gear – a set of cams #.2 and #.3, doubles #.5 - #3, a set of stoppers and 12 alpine draws. Laura carried the rope and we each had a liter of water to get us through the day. Leaving the trailhead at 1:45 am, we made good time and were at the Chasm Lake junction and getting everything we would need for the day into just one backpack at 3:15 am. We ate and headed toward Chasm Lake, making our way around the east side of the lake and reaching the hard packed snowfield that leads to the North Chimney as the morning light approached. I commented that the walk around the lake was much more pleasant with snow rather than boulder hopping but we make it nonetheless.

Justin topping out of the North Chimney

The North Chimney is about 500 feet of 5.4 climbing so we put on our rock shoes, roped up and simulclimbed the 3 pitch approach to Broadway as Laura lead in one continuous block. We reached the base of the casual route just before 6 am and looked around for storm clouds before setting off up the wall.

Start of the Casual Route

Laura would lead the first 5.4 pitch. I handed the gear to her and we tied into the rope, ready to set off up the sheer and imposing east face of Longs Peak. We were the first group on the casual route this day, which we had expected to have a line at when we arrived. It was nice to set off and be able to climb the route at our pace. Following the first pitch of the route, I made quick work of the 5.4 climbing. Laura handed me the remaining gear as I passed by and started up the 5.9 finger crack.

Justin half way up pitch 2

I chose to link this pitch with the traditional 3^rd pitch of the route, making the 5.7 traverse and setting a belay at the base of the wide chimney system with just 15 feet of rope left. This gave us some space from the group that showed up as Laura lead the first pitch and we never had anyone waiting on us or joining us at belays the entire day.

Looking over at Chasm View, watching the clouds fly by

While Laura cruised the long pitch toward me, I noticed rain begin to fall. I looked across the wall to a group on Pervertical just to the left of me and asked if they thought we were going to get wet today. He said that they were on the wall yesterday and then replied no and gave a long winded explanation about moisture in the atmosphere and some other factors. By the time he explained his thoughts the raindrops would stop. This process continued off and on throughout the day but never became heavy enough to consider bailing off the wall.

sloping belay ledge

I would lead the remainder of the day so when Laura arrived at the belay, I pulled the gear from her harness as she snapped some pictures. A quick transition and I was off again, pulling up and through a chimney for a few feet and out onto the face for the remainder of the long pitch ending at a nice sloping ledge. It was 8:25 as Laura reached me at the ledge and we felt like we were making great time, now about half way up the route. I had a snack and took off on what is regarded as the best pitch of the route.

right facing dihedral

Looking down from good belay ledge

Continuous 5.8 climbing in a right facing corner for 200 feet, all with a perfect hand crack for jamming and gear placements. I ended on a comfy ledge relaxed in the sun while Laura again followed. This was the best belay of the climb and gave me an opportunity to look around and enjoy the surroundings. The exposure here is intense! Looking down to Chasm Lake over 1,000’ below is crazy.

Having climbed all morning at altitude, we were both tiring and decided to chill out a bit before heading up the crux pitch of the route. We had put over an hour of space between us and the group below and knew we had a few minutes to relax.

Justin starting up the crux pitch

Squeeze chimney

After eating and taking a drink of water, I proceed up the 5.9 finger crack with the 2 foot wide squeeze chimney looming above. I was tired as I reached the chimney but was comfortable once I shoved my body in it having had good practice from last weekend at Vedauvoo. After the 30 foot long and accurately described “grovelfest”, I was able to pull through the crux moves of the route and continue on to set a belay just to the right of Almost Table Ledge.

Trying to figure out the ledge traverse

Laura followed up to the chimney and I lowered a loop of rope and hauled the backpack up to me. It would be impossible to climb that chimney with a pack on! She reached me at the belay and we organized the rope before sending her off on the final traverse pitch to Almost Table Ledge.

Justin making his way to Almost Table Ledge

She stopped here as to not go around another group and I followed across and worked my way across and up 50 more feet to Table Ledge. It was 11:30 am and we had just climbed The Diamond! We were both excited but knew we had some climbing left to do.

Summit

We didn’t want to rappel the route but rather chose to cross over onto Kieners and climb to the true summit of the mountain. At a relaxed pace, we made the summit at 1:30. We had thought there would be a lot of people up there but it turned out that we were the only people on the summit. We had achieved our goal and now it was time to make the long slog out.

Rappelling on the North Face

Down the north face/cables route, we descended and rappelled eventually reaching the main trail leading back to our pack stashed at the Chasm junction. The remaining 4 miles back to the car held true to the Longs is just long saying as we slogged our way back to the trailhead at 6 pm. It’s pretty great to achieve a goal that takes commitment and that you put a concerted effort into. I feel like this was a good progression for Laura and for me. Hopefully it will lead to more great experiences on alpine walls in the future!

Great day on an amazing mountain!

A few climbers were still out there as we were headed down (taken from Chasm View)

Vedauwoo

Vedauwoo, WY
July 20-21, 2019

Justin right before "the most ridiculous move ever"

"That is the most ridiculous move ever." I bet that's exactly what many climbers say when they visit Vedauwoo for the first time. It's wide crack territory and many of the climbs are too wide for hands but too small to fit your body into and chimney, thus the term off-width. Laura and I had planned to climb the Diamond on Longs Peak but weather forced us away so we decided to make a trip to climb an area we have never been to before.
Vedauwoo was a treat and was pretty fun. It is a series of different rock outcroppings all with lots of crack systems and all about 200' tall or so. We climbed mostly "easy" routes here, but learned that without any off width experience that even 5.7 can be difficult.
When we arrived, both Laura and I had expected that there would be a lot of climbers like at the better Colorado areas, but we were surprised to find very few climbers here at all. It was mostly hikers and folks camping in the area. 

Mother 1

Since there were not any lines on the rock routes, Laura and I climbed mostly the classics - Edwards Crack, Walt's Wall, Satterfield's Crack, Fallout Crack, TM Chimney and Mother 1. Laura learned that building anchors in the dark was difficult while leading TM Chimney and I learned that 5.7 off width feels like 5.10 - especially when you're racing the rain! We will be back for more once the bruises heal and our memories forget the war with rock we experienced this weekend!

TL: Yes, we fit through there, TR: Raptor nest at top of Fallout,  BL: Free rap off the potato chip, BR: Looking down Fallout

 

Don't worry, I inspected it with the cell phone light before bringing Justin up.

Father Dyer Peak, Crystal Peak, Peak 10

July 14, 2019

Father Dyer Peak 13,615’

Crystal Peak 13,852’

Peak 10 13,640’

Laura and I met Isaac at 7 am and headed up the road just outside Breckenridge for a day of scrambling. We did not have a plan except to summit Father Dyer Peak and see how the day went from there. Clouds were already building early in the morning so we figured that at some point we would retreat to escape the rain or lightning.

As we began walking up the trail, we quickly encountered a stream flowing very high, forcing us to wade through the water to continue. We all removed our shoes not wanting to hike all day with wet feet and proceeded across the rushing stream. Along the trail we went, eventually reaching the fun rock ridge that leads to the summit of Father Dyer Peak. The scrambling was fun and we all commented on how nice it was not to be carrying a rope and climbing rack as we normally do on our mountain adventures.

Summit of Father Dyer

Summit of Crystal

Just before 10 am we reached the summit. We hung out for a few minutes and decided that we should continue on to Crystal Peak just across the saddle. Within 30 minutes we were on Crystal Peak, Colorado’s 82^nd highest mountain at 13,852’. It’s pretty fun hiking the Centennials and I am sure we will eventually climb more if not all of Colorado’s highest 100 mountains. On our second summit for the day, we relaxed for a short while once again and pointed out peaks in the area that we have done and routes that we would like to climb in the future.

Summit of Peak 10

The weather still looked good so we opted to add in just one more summit for the day. Peak 10 is the top of Breckenridge ski area and is near the drop in for 4^th of July bowl. We made the rock hop across the ridge, crossing several snowfields along the way and reaching the summit around noon.
The clouds were beginning to build so off we went, crossing several more snowfields on our descent back into the valley.
We commented on how much snow there still is in the area being mid-summer and how we hoped the upcoming winter would bring more of the same. Hiking back along the trail to the car, we were happy to have been out hiking again and enjoyed the day without ropes. It is always fun to be out with best friends and new peaks are just a bonus!

Grandma's painting of Father Dyer

Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim to Rim

Grand Canyon
Rim to Rim to Rim
May 31, 2019

Hiking into the Grand Canyon is something every avid hiker should experience.  It is a truly iconic landmark with dramatic drop-offs and spectacular scenery.  I had been contemplating a rim to rim to rim hike/run for many years, but it never seemed to come together.  So when work and other commitments prevented me from taking the week off to to accompany Justin and his friends to Mount Shasta, I decided to make the most of the time that I could take and see if I could make it happen.  With only two weeks to plan, I was super stoked when I found a single campsite available for the nights we would need at the Mather campground on the South Rim.  Things were looking good.  Unfortunately, I wouldn't have time to train and I am not in the shape I used to be.  I would have to rely on my prior ultra experience and stubborn determination to pull me through, but I was still going for it!

Big Momma dropped me off at Pipecreek Vista, the closest spot you can drive to the South Kaibab trailhead at 3:15AM.  It was already 50 degrees; I was hoping for nice weather but not too hot.  I jogged the 1 mile to the South Kaibab trailhead and started down in the dark.  I couldn't see much, but I knew I must have been right on the edge.  When I would try to look around, my headlight couldn't pierce the darkness; there was nothing beyond the trail; all I could see was black.
I was surprised to find the trail extremely muddy with hundreds of puddles for the first few miles.  Every step was a puddle.  Not wanting wet feet all day, I was trying to avoid stepping in the puddles.  Within the first half hour I had already slipped on the mud and fallen down and scrapped my knee.  That scared me a bit since I was right on the edge; I decided not to run after that until I could see better.  I still made decent time and arrived at Tip Off right as it was getting light enough to see.  My first views of the river were unforgettable.  There was even some sort of creature hanging out on the sandy river beach.  I probably spent half hour to 45 minutes just looking around, reading the signs and taking pictures of the bridges, the river, Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel campground.

Ribbon Falls

The canyon was gorgeous with sun shining only on the very highest levels and casting shadows throughout the canyon.  As you start up the north side, there are several miles of not very steep, easy jogging through a narrow portion of the canyon.  This was my favorite part of the hike.  I only saw one other person for at least 4 or 5 miles through here and the air was still cool and the colors of the canyon were amazing.

Roaring Springs

As I got closer to Cottonwood Campground, I started running into many other people that were headed down. The miles went pretty quickly and before I knew it I was at Manzanita, where the trail starts going up for real. The sun was shining brightly on me by this point and I heated up quickly.  I started stopping at every shady spot I could find.

Despite being hot, there was still plenty of water in the canyon.  I passed under a couple dripping springs and the Roaring Springs across the way were definitely roaring.  It was amazing how much water was just pouring out of the canyon wall.  If I ever hike into the the Grand Canyon again, I will hike over to the springs to get a better perspective of just how big they are.  The steepness of the climb and the heat were definitely getting to me; I was actually relieved when I came upon the Arizona Conservation Corp doing trail work and asked me to stop for half an hour while they cleared some rock slides.  Apparently they clear the trail by just throwing the rocks off the side and they couldn't have people on the lower switchbacks.  I found a shady spot and threw myself down despite it being quite muddy there.  I ate my sandwich and chatted with the gentleman as one or two other hikers came to wait as well.

As I got closer to the top, I ran into more and more people all headed down just for short day hikes.  It was nice to have people to chat with and see all the families with kids laughing and goofing off.  I had to laugh myself at how concerned everyone was about my bloody knee; I couldn't even feel it at this point and it was certainly the least of my concerns.
Topping out at North Kaibab at 11:30am; I was about an hour behind what I had planned.  I hung out at the rim for about half an hour eating and drinking, texting Mom and Justin and talking to folks from all over the world.  Many of them were collecting there waiting for their guides to get everyone organized.  Naively, I didn't realize how many people took guides for this type of thing. Heading back down felt good.  I took it easy and tried to stay cool.  I made it back to Manzanita and then Cottonwood in no time where I refilled my camel back and pored water on my shorts and back for the long flat stretch to Phantom Ranch.  The rangers had warned me that I would be in the narrow portion of the canyon at the hottest part of the day.  They were right; it was hot.  There was hardly anyone else out there.  I caught up with only one group during that 7 miles and it was a group of gentlemen from south Georgia.  They were suffering quite a bit with heavy packs and wanted to know how much further they had.  I encouraged them along and tried to keep my pace up through the heat.

Arriving back to the river around 5pm, I refilled my water once more and started the hike up the Bright Angel trail.  It was cooling down a little bit due to some cloud cover and I was able to make steady progress up to Indian Garden.  Although there were no other people, I did encounter two rattlesnakes on this section of trail which kept me alert.

The remaining trail out

With only 4.5 miles left, I was optimistic I could still make it before dark. I honestly felt pretty good; better coming up this side than the north side, likely due to the cooler temps.  It seemed like I was completely surrounded by cliffs and there was no way out, but once I started looking closer, I could barely make out dozens of switchbacks straight up the cliffs right in front of me; I knew this wouldn't be an easy stretch.  It was about the 3 mile rest house where I started catching up to people that had either hiked from the north rim or else just gone further than they should have for a day hike.  Group after group of people struggling to get back out kept me entertained and I was especially happy there were other people around when I saw the very distinct outline of a cat.  It didn't seem quite big enough to be a mountain lion, but it clearly had a tail so it wasn't a bobcat.  I also passed a few scorpions and other rodents; lots of activity right at dust.  I knew I was close when I started coming across groups of spectators and family members of the hikers that had not yet returned.  One group even gave me a beer when they heard I was completing the R2R2R.  I was happy when I finally came over the edge at Bright Angel trail head just after 9pm.  I wandered around the rim for just a few minutes before catching the bus back to the campground where Big Momma and Leia were excited to see me.  After talking about this for so many years, it's good to have finally completed it.  Special thanks to Big Momma for being willing to drive down and camp with me on virtually no notice.