(THE YEAR’S BEST CLIMBING IMAGES)

ROCKICE AND

ISSUE 160| JUNE 2007

BUILT BY CLIMBERS

PHOTO
OUR BIGGEST
ISSUE
 

DISPLAY THROUGH JUNE 1

$5.99 US $7.95 CAN

EXPOSED, EVER

 


Cover 160.indd 1 3/19/07 3:41:02 PM

Marmot_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:39:59 AM
Five.Ten_160.indd 1 3/19/07 3:43:05 PM
Arcteryx_160.indd 2 3/9/07 8:42:18 AM
Arcteryx_160.indd 3 3/9/07 8:42:39 AM
Maxim_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:43:43 AM
 160 RockIce
J u n e // 2 0 0 7

climbing
and

the photo issue exposed 54 here it is, the issue everyone’s

been waiting for. the most
killer work from the world’s
finest photographers ...
Photos by: Tim Kemple, Greg Epperson, Boone
Speed, Brian Solano, Dawn Kish, Jim Thornburg,
John Evans, Nathan Smith, Hermann Erber, Jonny
Copp, Peter Noebels, Cory Richards, Andrew Burr,
Damon Corso, Eric Draper, Reinhard Fichtinger,
Jonathan Griffith, Paul Bride, Dan Brayack,
Monica Dalmasso, Merrick Ales, Brian Irwin

Cover: Matt Maddaloni hangs by a thread above

the tranquil waters of Halong Bay, Vietnam.
Photo by paul bride

This page: Kevin Daniels goes crazy for Temporary Insanity

(5.11+), Buck Rock, Sequoia National Forest, California.
Photo by greg epperson
Right: Lucky dog Mike Beck on Cairo (5.11a), City of Rocks, Idaho.
Photo by boone speed
66 | the lost city
America’s best neglected crag goes under the
lens, and you won’t believe what you’ve been
missing. Rediscovering the City of Rocks, Idaho.
by boone speed

p.007-10 TOC 160.indd 7 3/13/07 12:48:31 PM

TNF_160.indd 2 3/9/07 8:45:06 AM
TNF_160.indd 3 3/9/07 8:45:29 AM
 30

22

DEPARTMENT S »

31
22 breaking news
Grit’s new headpoint hero also happens to
flash V13. Plus, Mark Jenkins reports from
the brink of devastation in Pakistan. Big-
time comp coverage and war in Patagonia
round out this in-depth news edition.

38 ACCIDENT REPORt
Miscommunication is fatal ... again.

40 spotlight
He’s collected nine summits in the Fitz
Roy region. Is he a crusty rusty trad
dude? Nope, it’s Colin Haley, a 22-year-
old willing to miss a few Monday classes.
BY Sarah garlick
42 outlook
Sandbagging is just another way of saying,
“I love you.” Or something like that.
BY fitz cahall
46 Kemple’s Corner
Listen up to what Chris Lindner has to
say. He’s been climbing his whole life.
76 field tested
Now, even you can own a jacket with
built-in mittens. That’s awesome.
80 ask gear guy
Big Foot goes climbing and
anti-freeze gets on a climbing
rope. Is the end nigh?
82 training
You’ve hit your plateau, right? Wrong!
You can still shoot through the
grades like grass through a rabbit.
BY neil gresham
two words: vertical slopers
James Pearson has repeated every difficult
grit route. Now he has one of his own.
Photo david simmonite
oh, my god, are you serious?
Melissa Rice can’t believe the skills she saw
at this year’s Hueco Rock Rodeo.
Photo merrick ales
barnes the noble
Natasha Barnes looks poised
at the Gravity Brawl.
Photo tim kemple

160 RockIce
BY tim kemple
90 parting shot
48 TNB Kim Reynolds, giver. J u n e // 2 0 0 7
What do mainstream media and
mountain lions have in common? 14 EDITOR’S NOTE and
If you’re attacked, Fight Back! 16 LETTERS
26 BOOKS AND FLIX
BY andrew bisharat 85 CLASSIFIEDS

p.007-10 TOC 160.indd 10 3/13/07 12:49:19 PM

Black.Diamond_Quantum_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:46:38 AM
 [ EDITOR’S NOTE]
THIS COULD BE YOU
I REMEMBER THE SMELL OF BURNING
rope, cooking in my rappel device, dur-
ing the sickening, bottomless Luna Bong
rappel, 500 feet above the cliff base, with
a slope dropping steeply below to the dis-
tant river bottom. Rope fuzz piled up in
front of me. I thought of the story some-
one had told of two brothers simul-rap-
peling here in the Verdon Gorge, France.
Arriving at the belay, one brother auto-
matically clipped in, unweighting the
rope—and that was it for the other. Was
the horrifying tale apocryphal? I reached
the hanging belay, but could barely touch
my heated Sticht plate to unclip.
My friends Rhea and Fiona joined me,
Fiona rapping last. From below I could see
her knees knocking. When we told Fiona
she’d have to wait on the rope for
me to leave, the petite Brit said,
“You have got to be kidding—no
SOMEONE ONCE ASKED NED
way!” and shouldered in. GILLETTE HOW TO LIVE
That trip was a women’s
climbing exchange to France, THAT LIFE. NED SPOKE A FEW
supported by the Vera Watson/ WORDS AND THEN ADDED,
Alison Chadwick-Onyskiewicz
fund (let’s go with VWACO), “AND SAY THANK YOU.”
administered by the Ameri-
can Alpine Club. In 1978, Watson and
Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz died in a sum-
mit attempt, slipping 1,000 feet between
camps 4 and 5 on Annapurna, during an
expedition that put two women on top.
Consider these proud firsts supported
by grants: Josh Wharton and Kelly Cordes
on the Southwest Ridge of Great Trango,
Pakistan; Mike Pennings and Jonny Copp
on the first ascent of Cat’s Ear Spire and
a new route on Hainablak East Tower,
Shipton, Pakistan; Steve House, Kevin
Mahoney and Ben Gilmore on a new ice
route on the Southeast Face of the Moose’s
Tooth; Lizzy Scully and Heidi Wirtz on a
new route and the FFA of the South Howser
Minaret, the Bugaboos; Mike Libecki solo
on The Viking’s Shield, Greenland; Vince
Anderson and Steve House on a new route,
alpine style, up the Rupal Face of Nanga
Parbat. The funding sources ranged from
the AAC Lyman S. Spitzer, Jr. grants to the
Mugs Stump Awards to one from Moun-
tain Hardwear. Other grantees’ objectives
have not been successes but were equally
worthy. Climbing grants for top-flight
achievements benefit individuals and our
community, creating evolution and prog-
ress that draws others along.
Grant offerings, however, are part
of a broad spectrum, much of it little-
known, and being rad is not always
required. Some grants, such as one in
the late Scott Fischer’s name, are for
conservation, while others fund scien-
tific or medical projects. Some, like that
named for Zack Martin, have humani-
tarian aspects; others, are for women
or youth. The Polartec Challenge grant
is intended to “inspire.” From the Banff
Centre comes one requiring that the
trip be recorded in images, words or
14 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.014 Editorial 160.indd 14
fi lm. Grants can benefit more than our
climbing community.
I was a couple of years out of college
when I attended the women’s exchange,
and we climbed on Corsica (putting up
a new finish on an 11-pitch tower route),
and in the then emergent area of Buoux.
The grant was only for $400 (which I
later opted to pay back), but without it
I wouldn’t have gone.
Laura Snider, our current intern, a Mas-
ters candidate in journalism as well as a
climber of 12 years, has compiled a com-
prehensive resource chart for climbing
grants. See it on rockandice.com.
Years ago, Ned Gillette was a charis-
matic career adventurer, recipient of
repeated grant and sponsorship support.
Gillette, who in 1997 would be tragically
shot by robbers at the base of Laila Peak,
Pakistan, was by his own admission never
the best climber; what he did was imag-
ine. He dreamed up ideas, researched and
delivered: in determination and visibility.
Once I heard someone at a slide show ask
him for advice on, pretty much, how to
live Gillette’s life. He spoke a few words
about seeking support, and then added
deliberately: “And say thank you.”
Thanks even means appropriate returns.
If you receive a grant from one organiza-
tion, come back and give a benefit slide
show. Mention grant support in films,
slide shows and articles or the author bios
that follow text.
I never forgot having received a grant,
and later served on the other side. I was
on the board when the AAC received
a generous bequest from the estate of
the great astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer,
driving force behind the Hubble Space
Telescope, and we put a portion toward
cutting-edge, exploratory climbing. I’ve
heard from Spitzer’s friend Bob Palais
that Lyman, who climbed in the Gunks
and Tetons and achieved a first ascent
on Mount Thor, Baffin Island, was always
interested in youth and hard climbing,
and would be pleased.
Yet be aware that grant funds are not
always set in stone. Their use can be sub-
ject to debate or change. There will always
be many uses for any money, and they’re
all good causes, too. Receiving a grant is a
privilege; help sustain it.
Grants are gifts, and memorial grants
are also very fine tributes. Please remem-
ber the people who gave or inspired them.
And say thanks.
—Alison Osius
3/9/07 9:38:09 AM
Asolo(lowe.alpine)_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:49:33 AM
 [ LETTERS]
BONDED
EVAN GERMELES
PINEDALE, WYOMING
I want to thank the entire Rock and
Ice staff and especially Paul Piana
for the wonderful article celebrat-
ing Todd Skinner [“The Renegade,”
DOUBLE MOTIVATED
In 35 years of reading climbing
mags, I’ve never felt motivated to
write a letter to the editor. Paul
Piana’s “The Renegade” changed
that. His personal account of the
life of Todd Skinner, one of the most
visionary and motivated climbers of
all time, is one of the best climbing
articles ever. Kudos to Mr. Piana.
KEN DUNCAN
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
GOLDEN SPLENDOR
The cover and story about climbing
in China [“The Stone Garden,” No.
159] offers some of the most visually
stunning graphics I have ever seen
in a magazine. Like the cover prom-
ised, it blew my mind! The exotic
and seductive imagery of rocks,
rivers, flora and fauna, in their lus-
cious blue, green and golden splen-
dor, are the perfect antidote to the
grays, beiges and blacks of this grim
Colorado urban winter.
DOUG HENNINGER
DENVER, COLORADO
IMAGINE
Mixed climbing [“RIP Mixed,” No.
157] ceases to exist only when the
top players in the sport cease to
create a vision and push the sport
further into the future. Mixed
climbing will evolve with or with-
out certain people, but to blame
the lackluster status of the sport on
technical advancement is to close
your mind and accept fate (RIP?).
Personally I see a bright future for
the sport—grades and caves and
climbs that only the mind can
imagine. Mixed ice climbing lives
and rules!
RICH PURNELL
DENVER, COLORADO
16 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.016-18 Letters.160.indd 16
No. 157]. I would also like to let you
know that your article has been a
great comfort to the Skinner family
and to those who miss Todd.
The Skinner Brothers Wilderness
School was recently sold, ending
a long history of outfitting that
goes back to the 1930s and Todd’s
grandfather, Clem Skinner. Todd’s
mother, Doris, died in September
after a very long and difficult ill-
ness; Todd died in October and
Todd’s father, Bob Skinner, passed
away in December after a pain-
ful fight with cancer and kidney
failure. Meanwhile, the old Skinner
Ranch may well be subdivided into
700 units, and the mountain way of
life that Todd grew up knowing is
coming to an end in the gas boom.
These have been hard times.
While Todd was very famous as a
climber, he had another side, known
to his family, friends and many of
us that went to the Skinner Camp.
Your article really did a beautiful
NO SYMPATHY FOR
SOLOISTS
OK, so let me get this straight:
I’m supposed to work up a bunch
of sympathy for a 43-year-old
climber with a 4-year-old daugh-
ter, who goes free soloing in an
area notorious for loose rock,
falls and dies [News, No. 157].
Quite frankly, I don’t care if he
was the nicest guy on the planet;
my only reaction to this obituary
was anger and disgust. How many
times does this story have to be
repeated before climbers get it? If
you have children that depend on
you, knock off the free soloing!
Although I personally think
that free soloing is on par with
Russian roulette, I’m perfectly
fi ne with others that want to do it.
That said, contrary to what some
climbers seem to think, you sim-
ply can’t have your cake and eat
it, too. If you want to free solo, be
my guest, but don’t have kids that
you are going to leave parentless
when you die.
MIKE McGLYNN
HENDERSON, NEVADA
KEEP IT CLEAN
Any time a crag gets closed for
any reason, it’s a tragedy. Such
is the case in your article [News,
No. 157] referring to the closing
of Torrent Falls, the Red River
Gorge, Kentucky. It seems climb-
ers run into opposition on a regu-
lar basis, and we are lucky to have
access to many of the places we
do. Landowners aren’t always the
most reasonable or cooperative,
but we should still do whatever
we can to have as little impact as
possible on the land and main-
tain a good relationship with
job of portraying that (best) side
of Todd. He, like his father and
many others in the Skinner family,
was a mountain poet and artist.
He, like his family and those of us
who worked at the Skinner Camp,
believed in the value of wilderness
and exploration. But most impor-
tant, Todd was a mountain dreamer
and inspired many of us to follow
our own dreams, to find our own
paths and not follow others. Todd
epitomized the ethic of the Skin-
ners: to be practical, creative, car-
ing and comfortable in chaos.
The last generation of climbers
made a huge contribution toward
making this world a better place,
and it is up to our generation to
begin to recognize that there can
be a special bond between men
and mountains. It would be fitting
if Todd’s memory would allow all
of us to come together and recog-
nize the true spirit of climbing—the
bond of the rope.
owners. Hearing that I’ve lost
access to a classic crag due to
someone’s foolish disregard for
posted rules when I make every
effort to climb with “no impact”
is disappointing and infuriating
all at the same time. Losing the
privilege of access for reasons
such as not following a few rules
and using foul language is noth-
ing more than stupid. It’s a well-
known fact that grunting and
yelling help you climb better, but
there isn’t any proof foul language
does! Keep the language and the
land clean—it’s better for every-
one and helps keep crags open.
PRESTON SCHWENDIMAN
CLOVIS, CALIFORNIA
JONESING FOR ROCK, ICE,
PEANUT BUTTER
As I am Western Montana born,
I am naturally addicted to rocks,
mountains, boulders and excep-
tionally cold water. However, I
am currently a foreign-exchange
student in northern Argentina,
which sounds like great climb-
ing, right? Unfortunately, due
to my school, host family and
geographical situation, I am
quite far from being my normal
rock-obsessed self. I haven’t had
chalk on my hands in nearly
eight months! Next to Missou-
la’s local burrito joint Taco del
Sol, I miss the Rock Gardens
and Kootnai Creek more than
anything. So, despite the fact
that this exchange has been an
STEVE DIECKOFF
amazing adventure in the realms
of language, people, food, smells,
places, and that I am utterly in
love with South America, I would
like to say “thank you” to Rock
and Ice for reassuring me that
3/13/07 10:34:00 AM
Black.Diamond_icon_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:48:20 AM
 [ LETTERS]
while I’m living in Argentina, the other
half of my life is still happening. Rock
and Ice magazine has now become a
staple item in my mum’s care packages
(along with Ramen Noodles and pea-
nut butter, of course).
EMMA RAY
SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY, ARGENTINA
ONE CARD, ALL GYMS
I have this idea that I think would
help the climbing community, from
individuals to full gym groups. I cur-
rently have a membership to Rock’n
&Jam’n, a good-sized gym here in
Colorado. There’s been times when
I’ve wanted to go to another gym,
especially in the winter, to try new,
different routes. Having already paid
my dues to climb, I fi nd it seems like
too much money to pay another gym
$15, not including drive time and gas.
My idea was to create some kind of
national membership that allows peo-
ple to go to different gyms and get some
sort of a significant discount. The two
main advantages would be that people
would not feel so committed when get-
ting a membership to a gym, and most
important, it would encourage people
to climb different routes, in different
places, and different styles.
I’ve talked to a couple of owners of
some of the climbing gyms in Colorado,
and a ton of climbers, and so far most
liked the idea, seeing that it would not
harm their business; in fact, it would
bring new customers every day.
Now I know this poses questions and
barriers, such as how to get a “univer-
sal card” that every gym recognizes.
Which is why I’m writing to you. As a
subscriber to your magazine, I like the
way it’s edited and it’s my favorite one
of all. I was hoping this letter could
get gym owners and climbers together,
to come up with some ideas to make
this happen. Maybe there is even a way
to make it benefit the Access Fund so
that it helps all of us.
FRANK MENDEZ
DENVER, COLORADO
SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK
It’s great to see Rock and
Ice covering the trend of high
school rock-climbing com-
petitions [Breaking News,
No. 156]. We have a climb-
ing competition series of 18
senior and junior high school
teams every week and we are
still growing. Contact Climb-
ingTeams@vermontclimbing.
com for more information.
STEVE LULEK
RUTLAND, VERMONT
DR. J KNOWS ELBOWS
Seeing the “100-Percent
Cure” tag line on the recent
issue of Rock and Ice made me
giddy as a kid at Christmas. I
quickly fl ipped past the pages
of badass ascents, hungry for
18 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.016-18 Letters.160.indd 18
some answer to the persistent pain that
has kept me humbly grounded for the
past three months. Julian Saunders’
article [“Dodgy Elbows,” No. 156] has
provided invaluable insight into my
injury. I’ve been diagnosed with lateral
epicondylosis, and though I’ve been to
an M.D., an excellent physical therapist
and a shoddy one, I have been unable
to afford any prolonged treatment.
So, I am left with a diagnosis, varying
information gleaned through research,
and the hope that Dr. J might be able
to offer me some guidance.
If he can’t—no worries. I just hope
he keeps writing engaging, humorous
articles that cut through all the bull
surrounding climbing injuries. I’ll be
tossing out my counterforce brace
thanks to Saunders; it made me look
like a wanker anyway.
NATE BATTAGLIA
BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS
THANKS, BROTHER
Whenever the television media gets
their hands on a climbing accident
story, they turn it into some sensation-
alized circus event. Last December’s
Mount Hood incident immediately
comes to mind. A consistent theme
is always the cost of the rescue and
the number of rescuers needed. What
the media does not understand is the
brotherhood of the rope.
On February 7, while ice climbing
at Frankenstein Cliffs in Crawford
Notch, New Hampshire, I fell near the
top of a route. Both of my ankles shat-
tered when I hit a ledge. My partner
Gerry held the fall, but we were now in
a tight spot.
Mark Synnott, an accomplished
climber and guide who was on an adja-
cent route, heard our calls for help and
reacted immediately. He recruited every
climber within shouting distance to assist
in the rescue. They all gave up their day
of swinging tools to come to the aid of
3/13/07 10:34:21 AM
DMM 160.indd 1 3/13/07 8:47:30 AM
 [ LETTERS]
a fellow climber. While Mark and Gerry
managed to get me back on the deck, oth-
ers went to call 911, fetch the litter from
the rescue cache or wait at the base of
the route to pony up their belay parka
to keep me warm. Once I was in the lit-
ter, they all carried me down the steep
approach trail and out to the ambulance
waiting in the parking area.
Before that day, I had never met
any of the climbers who rescued me.
Pain and morphine has since erased
their fi rst names as they introduced
themselves, wishing me good luck as
I was loaded into the ambulance. To
Mark Synnott, my partner Gerry and
all of the other guys who helped that
day, I can never thank you enough for
your unselfi sh assistance. It makes me
proud to be a climber.
GARY FINNEY
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA
CORRECTIONS:
The caption to the photo of Jim Law-
yer on The Apology on page 61 of No.
157 lists the Adirondacks as being in
Maine. The ’Daks are in upstate New
EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DUANE RALEIGH
EDITOR: JEFF JACKSON
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: ALISON OSIUS
SENIOR EDITOR: ANDREW BISHARAT
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: BARRY BLANCHARD, GEOF
CHILDS, KELLY CORDES, JOHN LONG, LIZZY SCULLY,
TYLER STABLEFORD, PETE TAKEDA, JON WATERMAN
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: CHRIS BELCZYNSKI,
TOMMY CALDWELL, NIALL GRIMES, SONNIE TROTTER
INTERN: LAURA SNIDER
CREATIVE
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: JOLENE MELNICOFF
ad@bigstonepub.com
PRODUCTION MANAGER: QUENT WILLIAMS
qwilliams@bigstonepub.com
SENIOR WEB DESIGNER: BRIAN HELGE
bhelge@bigstonepub.com
SENIOR ILLUSTRATOR: JEREMY COLLINS
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID CLIFFORD
ADVERTISING SALES
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: LISA RALEIGH
lraleigh@bigstonepub.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER: JOANNE KNEAFSEY
jkneafsey@bigstonepub.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER: CYNTHIA BRUGGEMAN
jcbruggeman@bigstonepub.com
BUSINESS MANAGER: MARK KITTAY, CPA
accounting@bigstonepub.com
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR: PAULA STEPP
pstepp@bigstonepub.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER: LINDSAY BROWN
lbrown@bigstonepub.com
RETAIL SALES COORDINATOR: EMILY E. SCHWING
retail@bigstonepub.com
PRINT WHAT WE SELL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
At Rock and Ice, we believe in minimizing paper waste by printing what we sell. We don’t fl ood
the magazine into mass markets, which typically sell fewer than 40 of every 100 copies they
receive, and discard the unsold magazines. Instead, we rely on specialty retail outlets, including
your local climbing and outdoor shop, that work with us to reduce waste. Our stance costs us
sales, but saves nearly 45 tons of paper annually. We’re proud to be the only climbing magazine
that micro manages its print run, and encourage all publishers to put the environment first.
20 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.016-18 Letters.160.indd 20
York, of course.
In the Gear Guide, No. 158, in the
B.I.G. award for the Lowa Ice Comp,
we mistyped Lowa as “Lova.”
Our apologies.
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
The editors of Rock and Ice appre-
ciate your opinions and hope to hear
from you. Letters may be edited for
length and clarity, and may be posted
on rockandice.com without notice.
To submit a letter to the editor,
please email us at:
letters@rockandice.com
ROCK AND ICE PROUDLY SUPPORTS
2007 DIAMOND BENEFACTOR
ROCKICE
AND
OWNED AND OPERATED BY CLIMBERS
417 Main St., Unit N
Carbondale, CO 81623
Telephone: 970-704-1442
Fax: 970-963-4965
www.rockandice.com
WARNING! The activities The views herein are
described in Rock & Ice carry those of the writers and
a significant risk of personal advertisers; they do not
injury or death. DO NOT necessarily reflect the views
participate in these activities
unless you are an expert, have
of Rock & Ice’s ownership.
• Manuscripts, photographs and
sought or obtained qualified
professional instruction or correspondence are welcome.
guidance, are knowledgeable Unsolicited materials should
about the risks involved, be accompanied by return
and are willing to assume postage. Rock & Ice is not
personal responsibility for all responsible for unsolicited
risks associated with these materials. All manuscripts and
activities. ROCK & ICE MAKES photographs are subject to
NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED Rock and Ice’s terms, condi-
OR IMPLIED, OF ANY KIND tions and rates.• Please allow
REGARDING THE CONTENTS
up to 10 weeks for the first
OF THIS MAGAZINE, AND
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY
issue after subscribing or a
change of address (to expect
WARRANTY REGARDING THE
continuous service).
ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY
OF INFORMATION CONTAINED No part of this publication
HEREIN. Rock & Ice further may be reproduced without
disclaims any responsibility written permission from the
for injuries or death incurred publisher. © Copyright 2007 by
by any person engaging in Big Stone Publishing Ltd.
these activities. Use the Occasionally, we give
information contained in this subscriber names to companies
magazine at your own risk,
offering products/services in
and do not depend on the
information contained in this which you may be interested.
To remove your name from the
magazine for personal safety
or for determining whether to list, please contact Rock & Ice
attempt any climb, route or Customer Service at
activity described herein. 1-877-ROCKICE.
3/19/07 3:50:56 PM
Millet.LaFuma 160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:51:19 AM
 [ 24|AFTERMATH]
CAI REBUILDS
MARK JENKINS ON
CLIMBERS’ EFFORTS TO
REBUILD PAKISTAN
[BREAKING NEWS]
The single #1 slider nut is the only pro on the sustained V11 crux of The Promise.
A HARD PROMISE TO KEEP
PEARSON ESTABLISHES THE MOST DIFFICULT
GRIT ROUTE, AND FLASHES V13
BY JEFF JACKSON
IN A LITTLE OVER A MONTH, from
January 14 to February 16, James
Pearson of the U.K. put up the hardest
route on British gritstone, The Promise
(E10 7a), and made the hardest flash in
bouldering history when he stepped up
and sent Dave Graham’s Ticino, Swit-
zerland, testpiece Ganymede Takeover
(V13) on his first attempt.
Pearson is no stranger to hard climb-
ing. Last summer, he flashed Secret
Splendor in Rocky Mountain National
Park, Colorado, a problem given V13
but subsequently down-rated. His trad
22 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 22
[ 28|BISHOP]
PLAY HIGHBALL
KEVIN JORGENSON PUTS
IT ALL ON THE LINE FOR A
BEAUTIFUL V13
resume is equally stellar, with repeats
of many scary and difficult gear-pro-
tected headpoints, including the former
hardest grit route Equilibrium (E10 7a),
which he climbed when he was 19.
WHAT DOES THE GRADE
E10 7A MEAN?
I guess the British trad grade is hard
for foreigners to grasp at fi rst but once
you get it, it works very well for trad
routes. Each grade is split into two
parts, the adjectival grade and the
technical grade.
The adjectival (i.e. E10) is the over-
all grade and this generally tells you
how much “effort” it will be to climb
the route. The effort could be both
physical (long and pumpy or powerful)
and/or mental (scary).
The technical grade refers to the
technical difficulty of the crux move.
For The Promise, E10 7a means it is very
dangerous with very hard climbing (sus-
tained V11) above a terrible landing.
HOW DO YOU GET READY FOR AN
E10 GRIT FIRST ASCENT?
When I am preparing for a hard trad
route, I make sure that I am comfort-
ably climbing at a higher level than
is required on the route. I do this so
that if something were to go wrong, I
have a chance of getting myself out of
the dangerous situation. I also spend
a lot of time mentally rehearsing
the moves and body positions. The
more trad routes you climb, the more
your body and mind get used to the
process and often, when it comes to
the ascent, your body takes over and
switches to autopilot.
DESCRIBE THE PROMISE.
The Promise was one of the last great
unclimbed lines on gritstone. It takes
a blunt overhanging arete, with very
hard and powerful moves on bad holds
to get to an extremely precarious crux
right at the top. The landing is a jumble
of jagged boulders and the gear is poor,
a single #1 slider-nut in a shallow slot
that is difficult to place correctly. It
is by far the hardest trad route I have
ever done, which makes it the hardest
route on gritstone.
[ 30|FIGHT CLUB]
GRAVITY BRAWL
BIGGEST COMP SERIES OF
THE YEAR KICKS OFF WITH
TWO HUGE UPSETS
DESCRIBE THE DAY
YOU LED IT.
This year, the grit season has been very
bad. We have had lots and lots of warm,
humid and wet weather. I had spent
maybe six days trying the route, and
although I had only linked it once or
twice on a toprope, I felt confident that
if I had good conditions I could lead it.
The day of the lead started off a
lot like any other day on the route. I
warmed up, fell off the top on the link,
rested, got a little closer, still fell, did
the crux section, rested, fell off the top
again, etcetera. I was lucky enough to
have my girlfriend, Emily, and best
friend Keith with me to offer psyche
and give me chocolate.
The sun went down at about 3:30. I
linked it a couple of times on a toprope
and it felt good. The light was fading,
but the conditions felt great and I set
off. The moves flowed and every hold
felt good. I got my arm on the wrong
side of the rope but the conditions
were so good and I was so psyched
that on a move I normally slap, I man-
aged to lock off, untangle my arm and
continue the climb. When I got to
the last move, I felt a little tired, and
didn’t quite get the top sloper correctly,
but I stayed calm, managed to adjust,
reached through and topped out.
DESCRIBE THE
GANYMEDE TAKEOVER.
The Ganymede Takeover is on a very
steep boulder on a beach of a river,
high in the mountains. It is a beautiful
place. The problem climbs a 65-degree
wall via tiny edge snatches to a dyno
for the lip and a cool mantel topout.
YOU JUST CLIMBED THE
HARDEST GRIT ROUTE AND MADE
THE HARDEST FLASH
IN BOULDERING. HOW MUCH
HARDER CAN YOU CLIMB?
A lot harder. I don’t really train. I just
climb as much as I can on all different
rock types. I feel like over the last year
or so, while I’ve been focusing mainly
on bouldering, my climbing has started
to come together and I have also
DAVID SIMMONITE
started to get a little stronger. I know
my technical ability can improve dra-
matically and I’m still weak compared
to a lot of people. I have a lot that I can
work on.
3/13/07 1:18:20 PM
Toyota_160.indd 1 3/13/07 9:42:34 AM
 [ NEWS]
Pakistan’s revered Western celebrity Greg Mortenson, and a new earthquake-proof school.
RISING FROM RUBBLE
IN THE WAKE OF A DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE, THE CLIMBING
COMMUNITY HELPS REBUILD
BY MARK JENKINS
“ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR STUDENTS
died when the school collapsed,” Iffat
Sulman Usmani said quietly. She was
cradling her textbooks and her eyes
beseeched me not to probe into this
tragedy. Everyone in this mountainous
border region of Pakistan, Azad Kash-
mir, had lost family members or friends
in the earthquake.
Iffat, 17, stood with seven of her class-
mates—each wearing a pure white
shalwar kameez and a brilliant green
shawl—outside the brand-new, earth-
quake-proof Pattika Girls Secondary
School.
I asked Iffat what she thought of the
new school, and her expression immedi-
ately changed from one of sorrow to joy.
“Bohot Shukuria!” She caught herself
and translated, “We are very thankful!”
On October 8, 2005, Pakistan was
rocked by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake
that killed 75,000 people, injured an
equal number, and left 2.8 million peo-
ple homeless and 500,000 students out
of school. Although the earthquake was
the third-deadliest natural disaster in
the past quarter century, international
relief was incommensurate. Americans
had pulled $1.6 billion from their wal-
lets to help the South Asian tsunami
victims, but came up with less than one
percent of that—$26 million—for survi-
vors of the earthquake. Since then, only
250 of the 9,200 schools destroyed in
the earthquake have been rebuilt. How-
ever, a small iconoclastic subgroup did
respond with cause and cash: climbers.
The American Alpine Club orga-
nized a “Coats for Pakistan” campaign,
encouraging climbers to send in their
used jackets and gear.
“The response was astounding,” said
Phil Powers, executive director for the
AAC. “We received over 22 tons of coats,
sleeping bags and tents—plus $122,000
in cash donations.”
A portion of the money was used to
transport these supplies over to Paki-
stan and distribute them, but with the
rest, the AAC decided to “get involved
in something more lasting.” Jack Tackle,
chair of the outreach committee, knew
what to do: he called Greg Mortenson,
founder and director of Central Asia
Institute (CAI).
Over the past 13 years, CAI, through
Mortenson’s indefatigable leadership, has
built 58 schools—providing education to
over 24,000 children—in remote villages in
the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Pamirs.
24 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 24
Directly after the earthquake, Morten-
son and his local Pakistani team visited
Azid Kashmir, the hardest-hit region of
Pakistan, and promised to build three
schools. One would be in Pattika, a shat-
tered village that sits less than 10 miles
from the earthquake epicenter, another
in Nowseri, and one much deeper up-
valley in the school-less, hillside village
of Pakrat.
Remarkably, only a year later, all
three schools are open. Built on con-
crete foundations from modular, foam-
insulated panels proven to withstand
an earthquake, the Chinese-engineered
schools are watertight and warm. When
I visited the AAC-sponsored Pakrat
elementary school, one of the teach-
ers said, over the cheering of some 50
wildly happy children, that it was easy
to get kids to come to school because it
is warmer than home.
The CAI, however, wasn’t the only
group interested in establishing schools.
“Extremist jihadi groups set up much-
needed refugee camps, but with make-
shift madrassas right next to their mess
tents,” said Mortenson.
Madrassas are male-only, Muslim reli-
gious schools that sometimes encourage
violence. “They know that poverty and
death, hunger and helplessness breed
desperation, and they wanted to take
advantage of it,” said Mortenson. “I
saw it as essential to get a few secular
schools, particularly girls’ schools, up
and running as fast as possible.”
“Girls that are educated can read the
newspaper,” said Shaukat Ali, 28, a
richly bearded science teacher at Pat-
tika. (Ali is a former Taliban turned
girls’-education advocate.) “They know
their rights. They have status. They can
change backward thinking. This was
impossible 20 years ago.”
From his time on the ground in the
Middle East, Mortenson believes the
oxymoronic “war on terrorism” is
backfiring. He believes education is the
answer, but knows it will take a long
time—generations.
“Since 2001, the U.S. has fired over 100
Tomahawk Cruise Missiles into Afghani-
stan and northern Pakistan, at the cost
of $940,000 each. The CAI could build
50 schools with what it costs to pro-
MARK JENKINS
duce just one cruise missile. With just
the money spent on cruise missiles we
could educate a million kids!”
(For more on the Central Asia Insti-
tute, visit ikat.org.)
3/13/07 1:19:23 PM
Blue_Water_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:57:37 AM

TOP 20 CLASSIC
BOULDER PROBLEMS
OF NORTH AMERICA
DIRECTED BY NATHAN CANDO
flashed.com, $25
★★½
THE BEST THING ABOUT NATHAN
Cando’s vision—to fi lm the top 20
most classic boulder problems in
North America as per a survey of 500
climbers—was his decision to use a
team of badass women as the talent.
But as captivating as it is to watch
strong chicks mantel the topouts of
the fi nest problems from New York
to Texas to Canada to Colorado, it’s
not enough to carry the fi lm.
Despite the fact that the fi lm is
structured around a countdown,
the production feels scattered,
bouncing between musings on the
central meaning of the word “clas-
sic,” what really makes a highball,
and why Squamish is the ultimate
bouldering destination. Some of the
problems get only seconds of foot-
age while others drag on for min-
utes with detailed beta or an area
mini-guide. The women’s perfor-
mances are also interrupted with
snippets of interviews with dudes—
like Fred Nicole, Matt Wilder and
Jason Kehl—opining about the art
of bouldering. Credible as they are,
their views relate only peripherally
to the 20 boulder problems.
A few of the interviews with the
women, however, are refreshingly
human, illuminating real struggles,
both physical and emotional. Char-
lotte Jouett’s story of resending The
Buddha (V7) after being sidelined
by an abdominal tumor is particu-
larly compelling.
The majority of the problems fea-
tured—The Buddha excluded—are
rated in the mid-V range, making
a future ascent of almost all of the
beautiful boulder problems within
the reach of climbing mortals. The
Top 20 Classic Boulder Problems
of North America makes a proud
ticklist.
—LAURA SNIDER
26 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.026 Reviews.160.indd 26
[ REVIEWS]
SECURITY LIFE
DIRECTED BY FRED BOHM
cartelclimbing.com, $25
★ ★★
SECURITY LIFE OSTENSIBLY
tells the story of three old, beaten-
up climbers who are confi ned to
a nursing home and relive their
glory days through “broken mem-
ories and fractured perspectives,”
revealed in the fi lm as fl ashbacks,
hallucinations and dreams. In
reality, we see montages of direc-
tor Fred Bohm, editor Ed Rhine
and producer Scott Moser climb-
ing and bouldering interspersed
with the three old dudes remi-
niscing about their past exploits:
Like getting caught in a snow-
storm on a wall in Zion or going
bouldering. Take this snippet from
the fi lm as an example: “Man, you
guys couldn’t agree on anything.
Seems to me all you did was dis-
agree, disagree. Why, I remember
when you’d go out to go climbing.
You just couldn’t agree.”
This kind of random rambling
proves that memory is only rele-
vant or entertaining when accom-
panied by some kind of point.
Added to the story problems are
uneven production values. The
actors are hard to understand at
times and the lighting varies from
harsh sun to full shade depending
on the angles.
Huge props to Cartel Produc-
tions for attempting to tell a story
about climbing rather than offer-
ing up the usual blasé mutants
pimping the sickety sickness. But
a story has to have some clear
confl ict plus a theme in order to
grab you and keep you interested.
Security Life is all concept.
—JEFF JACKSON
KEEP CLIMBING
BY SEAN SWARNER WITH
RUSTY FISCHER
simonandschuster.com, $24
SEAN SWARNER WAS 13 WHEN
he crumpled on a basketball court.
Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease,
he endured chemo and then, in
ebullient remission, returned to
full-scale activity. Two years later
he was struck with a tumor in his
lung, Askin’s Sarcoma, with a sur-
vival rate of only 6 percent. He
is apparently the only person to
survive both. That, more than an
ascent of Everest as a client, gives
Swarner a tale to tell.
“Life? There was no life,” he
writes, “only the hospital, the
treatments, the cycles, the mea-
surements, the comas, and the
sad, unfi ltered truth: I was sick.”
The heart of his story is his willful,
combative vigor: Sean returned
twice to his swim and track teams,
even when illness had left him 60
pounds overweight—or, the sec-
ond time, 60 pounds underweight.
The book is marred by an overly
colloquial style. For example, we
read this dispatch, from the top of
Everest: “the stars are at eye level.
Amazing. Truly. If it were a few
hours earlier and I had a lasso, the
moon would be, well, you know the
rest.” Various sentences include
lame little asides, or end with
“right?” or “huh?”
Still, you give the wallopingly
inexperienced Swarner—who had
never climbed when he decided on
Everest — credit. He and his brother
moved to Estes Park, ate ramen and
potatoes, and climbed 14ers, Sean
while lugging 100 pounds of rocks.
On Everest, by then age 27, Swarner
felt strong and passed others. Bet-
ter yet, he visited kids in a hospital
beforehand and brought hope.
—ALISON OSIUS
[guidebook]
BISHOP BOULDERING
BY WILLS YOUNG
AND MICK RYAN
wolverinepublishing.com, $36
★ Guidebooks are not rated ★
TWO THOUSAND PROBLEMS,
nearly 350 pages, over 100 areas,
zillions of color photos. That’s a lot!
3/9/07 9:49:58 AM
Charles.Moretz_fp_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:59:28 AM
 [ NEWS]
DAMN BEAUTIFUL
JORGESON WALKS AWAY WITH
STUNNING FA IN BISHOP
BY LAURA SNIDER
FORMER COMP STAR Kevin Jorgeson
has been on a tear in Bishop, ticking one
highball after another before crowning
his bouldering vita with a bold first
ascent of The Beautiful and Damned, a
30-foot V13 with a nasty landing. Jorge-
son rehearsed the sequence on toprope,
explaining that it would be “question-
able” whether he could walk away after
a slip off the upper slab moves. The
problem climbs a striking golden streak
on one of the smattering of granite
rocks at the Bardini Boulders.
Jorgeson, 22, sent the problem in
early January, taking a dozen tries
over two days, after a wobbly, terrify-
ing reach for the fi nal knob landed his
numb fi ngers in a shallow seam, giving
him just enough purchase to pull over
the top and keeping him off the mound
of boulder pads piled below.
Ethan Pringle, who had also vied for
the first ascent, repeated the problem
on January 19.
[ SMALL WIRES]
AAJ MOVES ONLINE
The American Alpine Club has now
released the American Alpine Journal
Online, available at americanalpin-
eclub.org.
Jorgeson punching through the opening moves of The Beautiful and the Damned (V13).
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 28
Today you can type the words “Ruth
Gorge” into your computer and in an
instant receive 31 pages of results,
from notes on measurement by the
great cartographer Brad Washburn
to accounts by prolific climbers such
as Jack Tackle.
The initial launch of the AAJ Online
includes volumes back to 1966. Over
time, staff and volunteers will work to
add all volumes to 1929.
The AAJ research tool is available
gratis. —ALISON OSIUS
CLIMB HARD, GET FAT FINGERS
Contrary to widespread speculation,
rock climbing does not increase the
risk of osteoarthritis, a breakdown
of the cartilage in the joints causing
pain and infl ammation, according
to a study published last fall in the
Journal of Anatomy. Boulderers and
sport climbers do, however, have
wider bones in their fingers and hands
than non-climbers. Trad climbing
had no effect on the fi ngers. The
research also showed that the harder
a climber can send (on average, the
27 climbers studied bouldered V6 and
led 5.12c sport routes), the stronger
the fi nger bones. The authors of the
study were surprised to fi nd that the
considerable stresses put on joints
from climbing hard routes and prob-
JERRY DODRILL
lems could cause additional bone to
be deposited on the outside surface
of the bone, something not usually
seen in adults. Read the study at
journalofanatomy.com.
—LAURA SNIDER
3/19/07 4:27:40 PM
Mammut.EMS_160.indd 1 3/9/07 9:00:37 AM
 [ NEWS]
Underdog Paul Robinson may have won the Gravity Brawl, but got served (like everyone
else) on problem 5, dubbed “The Wheel of Tim,” on The Thunderdome.
SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHT
THE GRAVITY BRAWL PACKED A PUNCH HEARD ’ROUND THE
WORLD (OR AT LEAST, NEW JERSEY)
BY ANDREW BISHARAT
INDOOR BOULDERING COMPS are
a hard sell to the many climbers who
believe that it’s not rad unless it’s trad.
But have these people ever seen what it
takes to suss and send V11 in five min-
utes? That type of strength, skill and
confidence was on display for over a hun-
dred wowed spectators at the New Jer-
sey Rock Gym, in Fairfield, opening the
year’s biggest comp series, the Mammut-
EMS Bouldering Championships.
A brutal qualifying round narrowed
down 40 top male and female com-
petitors to 10 men and 10 women, for
the fi nals round, held Saturday night,
March 3. As at other comps, climbers
were given five minutes to reach the
top; unlike in other comps (which use
a confounding point system), competi-
tors were ranked based on how many
problems they completed.
When Daniel Woods arrived at prob-
lem 4, he had completed just one prob-
lem—in fact, on the fi rst, Woods had
posted the lowest score of the entire
field. It looked as if he was out; he knew
that Paul Robinson, who had already
sent three routes, was strongly in con-
trol of fi rst place. As Woods studied the
steep V10, his hands swapped in and
out of a chalk pot. If he didn’t send, he
wouldn’t have a chance.
Woods took a deep breath and began.
He absolutely crushed it fi rst go, and
was the only person to tag the top.
Things suddenly became heavy, and
the gym vibrated like an Africanized
beehive. Robinson couldn’t do the fi fth
problem (set by Tim Kemple and Jason
Danforth, and dubbed by the latter,
“The Wheel of Tim,” in a nod to Dai
Koyamada’s famous V16 Wheel of Life).
It was probably V11—and so far, no
one had the guns to maneuver through
the cryptic full-body sequences. Then
again, no one had the guns of Daniel
Woods. If he could send, he would win.
Just then, the DJ’s power acciden-
tally shut off, and the music stopped.
The crowd, interestingly, became pri-
mal, even uproarious, because every-
30 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 30
one in the room wanted to see the
unthinkable—for Woods to make the
biggest comeback of all time.
Energy poured down on Woods’
head. The screams were locomotive
and wave-like as he climbed past Rob-
inson’s high point, past the horizontal
throw to the miserable sidepull, and
up onto the headwall of the structure
called The Thunderdome. Woods just
barely reached the last hold, a little
blob of a sloper. He kept bumping it,
desperately trying to gain purchase.
One move separated Woods from the
top and the ground, from fi rst and sec-
ond. Woods fell.
“I was defi nitely not the favorite to
win,” said Robinson, a floppy-haired,
lanky 19-year-old. “That took some
pressure off and let me climb to my
ability.”
On the women’s side, Kate Reese
arrived on a high wave of confidence
after winning the Triple Crown, but
her best effort (two problems sent)
wasn’t enough to beat Lizzy Asher, who
fl ashed three problems for fi rst place.
“Lizzy deserved to win this one,”
said Reese later. “She climbed really
well. I gave it my best.” After the comp
ended, Reese laced up to complete the
problems she didn’t send, as did both
Woods and Robinson. It was clear that
these climbers were psyched.
Vasya Vorotnikov, last year’s Mammut
tour champion, came in third, struggling
to out-score the fourth-place Gabor Sze-
kely. Competition for third and fourth
was equally close on the women’s side
between Sasha DiGiulian and Andrea
Szekely. Other impressive performances
were by Brian Kim, who demonstrated
near-perfect technique, and Marah Brag-
don, who can pull down hard.
Cash prizes were awarded to the fi rst
six fi nalists, with $1,000 for fi rst place.
MERRICK ALES
Stay tuned for the next issue of Rock
TIM KEMPLE
and Ice, when Tuesday Night Bouldering
reveals what kind of twisted maniac you
need to be to set up and pull off a huge
comp like this. Don’t miss it!
3/13/07 1:21:02 PM

Gitty up, l’il doggie. Allen Peters way up The Cornerstone (V4), at the Hueco Rock Rodeo.
THE THREE B’S:
BURGERS, BEER, BOULDERS
DEFINE HUECO’S 2007
ROCK RODEO
BY JOSHUA HAYNES
WITH THE LOSS of two Hueco Tanks
pillars still fresh in our memories, the
2007 Hueco Rock Rodeo, held on Febru-
ary 24, was a special one. Climbers from
all over the world came to the desert of
El Paso, Texas, to pay tribute to Todd
Skinner and Pete Zavala, to celebrate
our mutual love for bouldering and to
party till the cows came home.
The Advanced and Mutant categories
spent the morning on the East Spur.
Classics as well as new problems, such
as Rules of Chaos (a highball V10 put
up by Jason Kehl in 2006), saw quick
repeats. The beginner and intermedi-
ate categories freely explored the end-
less classics found on North Mountain.
As the day wore on, the Advanced and
Mutant categories moved over to North
to continue their assault on some of the
MERRICK ALES
best boulders in the world.
TIM KEMPLE
At day’s end—with thin skin, sore
fingers and worked muscles—all of the
competitors turned in their score cards
and diverted their attention to one of
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 31
[ NEWS]
Yowzer! Josh Haynes pulling piss on Le
Retour de Goupil (V12).
the biggest reasons to take part in the
Rodeo … the celebration. Burgers, beer,
schwag, awards, a live band, killer DJ
and Red Bull cocktail bar ensured that
the party was extraordinary. The Rock
Ranch bonfire could be seen from two
miles away.
Thanks to Hueco Tanks State Historic
Site, Hueco Rock Ranch, sponsors and all
of the participants, this year’s rodeo was
a huge success. First place for the Male
Mutant category went to Sam Tingey
(two of his top six problems were V12s),
followed by Nick Duttle in second. Jody
Hansen placed first, followed by Heather
Johnson for the female Mutant category.
For more on the 2007 Rock Rodeo,
including all of the results, go to
huecorockranch.com.
JUNE 07 | R O C K A N D I C E . C O M 31
3/13/07 1:21:35 PM
 [ NEWS]
Will this new high-altitude helicopter change mountaineering for the better? Or worse?
OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER
“ALPINE WASP” STINGS THE NO-RESCUE ZONE
BY LAURA SNIDER
CLIMBERS STRANDED HIGH on the
slopes—or even at the summit—of
Mount Everest in 2008 might receive
a speedy rescue by an unmanned heli-
copter if the not-for-profit Everest Res-
cue Trust has its way. With the donation
of an innovative new helicopter engi-
neered by New Zealand’s TGR Heli-
corp, the trust is planning to establish
an alpine rescue base at 11,300 feet in
Namche Bazaar, the village gateway to
the Khumbu region of Nepal.
At the heart of the operation is the
Alpine Wasp, a svelte, windowless, pilot-
less chopper that can fly to 30,000 feet
with the help of a two-stroke diesel engine
that can burn Jet-A1 fuel and rotor blades
that are specially designed for maximum
lift in thin air. Conventional helicopters
are not designed to reliably hover above
a ceiling of 14,000 feet—Everest Base-
camp sits at 18,000 feet and the summit
rises above 29,000—and rescues in the
high mountains can pose deadly risks for
the pilots. The Alpine Wasp will be able
to hold two injured climbers, who will
need only to be capable of hooking them-
selves to a winch; the futuristic Wasp will
do the rest.
Though efficient, high-altitude helicop-
ter rescues are welcomed by many (and
billed as a humanitarian project by the
Everest Rescue Trust), they are viewed
with trepidation by others. For some
members of the mountaineering com-
munity, access to easy rescues squelches
the spirit of alpinism—a sport that has
long required vigorous self-reliance. The
controversy flared in 2005 when a Euro-
pean helicopter landed on the summit
of Everest and, later in the year, when
a Pakistani military helicopter rescued
Slovenian alpinist Tomaz Humar from
19,360 feet on Nanga Parbat.
The Humar rescue sparked a squall
among cutting-edge alpinists. “A short
haul off Nanga Parbat, a helicopter at
32 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 32
the summit of Everest ... and now every
ill-prepared sad sack whose ability falls
short of his Himalayan ambition can get
on the radio, call for help, and expect
the cavalry to save the day,” lamented
the prolific and notoriously outspoken
alpinist Mark Twight in the December
2005 issue of National Geographic
Adventure.
Cutting-edge alpinist Steve House, who
climbed Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face the
same year, opined: “I think that instead
of rescuing climbers off the top of Ever-
est, it would be a much better business
to take people to the top of Everest …
Come to think of it, I see very little dif-
ference between what many people call
‘climbing Everest’ and flying to the top
by heli. Hell, it might even be cheaper!”
The Everest Rescue Trust points out
that the risks of high altitude will not
diminish with the possibility of rescue and
that there will always be extreme weather
conditions that make rescues impossible.
“We have not had one response from
anywhere in the world indicating climb-
ers would rather die than be rescued by
helicopter,” says founding trustee Trevor
Rogers. “Why would anyone not want
assistance if it were available?” Rogers
made it clear that the Everest Rescue
Trust will not be providing a “taxi ser-
vice for those that are tired.”
The Alpine Wasp is not scheduled to
COURTESY OF EVEREST RESCUE TRUST
land in Nepal until next winter, after
several months of testing in the New
Zealand Alps, and the rescue center will
not be fully operational until April 2008,
assuming continued negotiations with
Nepal go as planned. The rescue base
will also include a clinic specializing in
helping Sherpas who have lost limbs to
frostbite and a “Sherpa Shed,” which
will outfit Sherpas with high quality gear
for free. For more on the Everest Rescue
Trust and the Alpine Wasp, check out
rescueoneverest.org.
3/13/07 1:21:47 PM
Scarpa_160.indd 1 3/9/07 9:01:41 AM
 [ NEWS]
Kate Rutherford on Moonlight Buttress (5.12d).
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 34
MOONLIGHT
RISING
ALL-FEMALE TEAM FREE
CLIMBS ZION CLASSIC
BY FITZ CAHALL
ON OCTOBER 21, Kate Ruther-
ford and Madaleine Sorkin free
climbed Zion’s Moonlight Buttress
(5.12d) in a two-day push. Theirs
was likely the fi rst redpoint by an
all-female team, and the second
female ascent of the route after
that of Mia Axon—who completed
a team free ascent with Topher
Donahue in 1995.
First, Rutherford and Sorkin
rapped into the route to work a
few key pitches and stash bivy
gear. During the ascent, Ruth-
erford led the 5.12d crux and
Sorkin dispatched the “slot
pitch”—5.12 ringlocks in a tight
corner. The duo placed all the
gear on lead with the second fol-
lowing free.
After topping out, Rutherford
and Sorkin rapped to retrieve
their bivy gear, and, wearing
sombreros to celebrate, passed
out chocolate caramels to the aid
climbers they passed.
“They were stoked,” says Ruth-
erford. “And while we ruined
their wilderness experience, at
least they laughed.”
HIT BY THE FECALATOR
UNSANITARY MIXED CLIMBING STRIKES THE DAKS
BY ANDREW BISHARAT
WHILE SOME MIXED CLIMBERS have Boyer succeeded in the second ascent,
spent the last season confounded by upping the ante by placing all gear on
the unresolved ethical quagmires of lead. A week after Boyer’s lead, Mayo,
their sport [see “RIP Mixed,” No. 157], shown here, made the third ascent of
a couple of Northeasterners continue a route he first tried six years ago, also
to show that cutting-edge challenges placing all gear on lead.
still exist for those with exceptional “I know there will be another surge
skill, a trad rack and a good head. [in new mixed trad routes] soon,” says
Ian Boyer and the mild-mannered Mayo. “While The Fecalator is one in a
insurance salesman Will Mayo have million, there are so many more phe-
made the second and third ascents of nomenal traditional mixed climbs just
the hardest mixed route in the North- waiting for someone with the desire,
east, The Fecalator (M10). motivation and skill to get ’em done.”
Matt Horner discovered the climb in
2000, and named it after a weapon in
a sci-fi movie that makes people soil
themselves. Located at the Exit 30
Crag, Adirondacks, The Fecalator is
a two-pitch line that leads to a rare
hanging icicle. The second pitch is the
business: a thin crack that overhangs
JAMES Q. MARTN (LEFT); DAVE VUONO
120 degrees.
For three seasons, various climbers
worked to send the rig first, but it was
Chris Thomas who nabbed the first
ascent, in 2003. Mayo called Thomas’
ascent, with pre-placed gear, “the most
impressive lead I had ever witnessed at
the time.”
In late February, after harrowing
multi-season battles on The Fecala-
tor that involved massive whippers Mayo on the third ascent of the hardest
riding the fi nal icicle when it broke, mixed climb in the Daks.
3/13/07 1:22:46 PM
Gregory_160.indd 1 3/19/07 3:53:00 PM
 [ NEWS]
La Aguja de L’S boasts one of the steepest walls in the Fitz Roy Range, Patagonia.
WAR IN PATAGONIA!
STEEPEST WALL IN RANGE CLIMBED ... WITH MORE TO COME
BY ANDREW BISHARAT
RYAN NELSON AND CRYSTAL DAVIS-
ROBBINS, both of Colorado, established
a 3,300-foot new route on the unclimbed
south face of La Aguja de L’S (7,660 feet),
in the Fitz Roy range, Patagonia. They
took 35 hours to establish The Art of War
(V 5.12a A2), on the peak’s west side.
“I just went down to Patagonia by
myself,” says Nelson, “and luckily met
up with Crystal, and she just happened
to need a partner.”
La Aguja de L’S is small from its
east side, and can be climbed in four
pitches. From the west side, however,
the peak drops down over 3,000 feet to
the glacier.
“The south face rises above you like a
big wave,” Nelson explains. “The upper
headwall is overhanging on every pitch.”
Nelson and Davis-Robbins began
their route a day late in the weather
window, on February 11. The climb-
ing began on a vertical buttress,
which Nelson all but freed at 5.12a,
except for one thin corner of A2. The
route then kicks back, and the duo
traversed over to get beneath the impos-
ing south face headwall.
Davis-Robbins began up the headwall,
firing a burly offwidth at 5.12a. In the
36 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.022-36 Breaking News.160.indd 36
midst of surfing the giant headwall, the
climbers were overcome by darkness. A
storm blew in, and both were soaked.
Rapping the overhanging face was nearly
out of the question, so they continued
upward, freeing and aiding their way to
the top. They reached the summit in the
early morning, and tried rapping the
north ridge, battling high winds.
“Crystal and I were literally lifted
into the air and slammed down on
our anchors,” says Nelson. The duo
walked into camp 35 hours after leav-
ing, “hungry and happy as little clams,”
says Nelson. This was his fi rst climbing
experience in Patagonia, while Davis-
Robbins has climbed the North Pillar
of Fitz Roy and made two other fi rst
ascents in the area. Nelson said Davis-
Robbins thought this was her burliest
Patagonia climb yet.
“Crystal is a badass,” says Nelson.
“She already is, and will continue to
be, one of the most influential female
climbers in Patagonia.”
If this headline made you think you
RYAN NELSON
were going to read about the ethical
war over Cerro Torre, and the resulting
fi sticuffs, you’ll just have to wait for the
in-depth exclusive in our next issue!
3/13/07 1:23:12 PM
NBTY.Met-Rx_160.indd 1 3/9/07 9:04:03 AM
 [ ACCIDENT REPORT]
FATAL
MISUNDERSTANDING
OWENS RIVER GORGE SUFFERS ITS FIRST DEATH
ON FEBRUARY 4, IAN MACK, 23, OF
Appleton, Wisconsin, started up the
route Paradise, a four-star 5.9 at the
Banana Belt crag, Owens River Gorge, a
popular sport-climbing area on the East
side of the Sierra Nevada.
Mack, a climber with two to three
years’ experience, successfully, though
shakily, navigated the dead-vertical
route, clipping its 12-odd bolts. He
arrived at a set of stainless-steel hooks
with spring-loaded gates, a common
anchor type at the Gorge.
To lower, Mack would simply have
had to drop his lead cord into the
hooks, but he clipped his cordelette to
bolts above the fi xed hooks, clipped a
locking carabiner to the cordelette and
clipped his rope.
According to Aidan Loehr, a guide
for American Alpine Institute who was
climbing a route next to Paradise, Mack
“clearly yelled, ‘Off belay.’” Mack’s girl-
friend, who was belaying, took him off
belay and stepped back to take a picture
of him.
Seconds later, Loehr saw Mack, still
tied to the rope, free fall 120 feet to the
ground. Nearly a dozen climbers rushed
to evacuate Mack, but he died of his
injuries at the hospital in nearby Bishop,
becoming the first fatality at the Gorge.

Paradise is well bolted and equipped with lowering hooks and a

bolted toproping station to save wear and tear on the hooks. A 70-
meter rope will lower you back to the belay ledge, about 15 feet off
of the ground. According to a climber who had done the route just
prior to Mack, the belayer can see the climber for the first three or
four bolts, but after that the climber is out of sight and you have to
communicate verbally.
Typically, if you were going to lower off Paradise, you would drop
your rope into the hooks, yell, “Take,” and be lowered by your belayer. While no
one will ever know with certainty what Mack, who was a first-timer to the Gorge,
had in mind, the fact that he ignored the hooks and clipped his cordelette to the
bolts and clipped his rope through this with a locking carabiner suggests that he
intended to toprope the climb, and clean the station later. With that in mind, Mack
either meant to be lowered, and said “Off belay,” when he meant to say “Take,” or
correctly said “Off belay,” and intended to rappel. In the latter scenario, which is
the least likely, he may have failed to correctly clove-hitch into the anchor. If he
only looped the rope through the locking carabiner, instead of hitching it down (a
mistake that would be easy to make), when he leaned back at the hanging stance
the rope would have pulled through the carabiner with almost no resistance. Since
Mack did not have a daisychain or sling fixed to his harness, anchoring in with a
clove-hitch or a figure-8-on-a-bight would have been the only way for him to
secure himself.
A contributing factor may have been Mack’s apparent rattled mental state.
Although he was wearing a helmet, an indication that he was safety conscious,
witnesses say he sketched up the route. When you are stressed, it is easy to make
absent-minded mistakes, such as yelling out the wrong belay command. Mack’s
girlfriend initially thought she might have taken him off belay when she was sup-
posed to lower him, but witnesses clearly heard him say, “Off belay,” and felt the
accident was no fault of hers.

MISCOMMUNICATION
between the belayer and
climber is a common
cause of accidents, often
fatal.
When the climber
and belayer will not be
able to see one another,
such as on Paradise,
clearly stating—before
the climber leaves the
ground—whether the
climber intends to lower
or rappel is crucial. Nov-
ice climbers in particular
should heed this advice,
HAVE AN ACCIDENT TO REPORT? E-MAIL DRALEIGH@BIGSTONEPUB.COM
PREVENTION
and when other route he is never off belay until
options abound, avoid all the rope has played
climbs where communi- out and the intent of the
cation can be a problem. leader is clear.
As an extra precau- Last, preventing an
tion, even when the accident of this type is as
leader yells, “Off belay,” simple as never weight-
the belayer can keep the ing the rope until you
leader on, and feed the clearly hear a “got you”
rope through the belay from your belayer. In this
device all the way to case, the lack of a reply
the end. This might be would have alerted Mack
annoying for the climber, to the fact that he had
who struggles to tug up issued the wrong com-
the rope and rig the rap- mand, and was in fact no
pel, but guarantees that longer on belay.

38 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE

p.038 Accidents.160.indd 38 3/19/07 3:58:02 PM

Petzl_harness_160.indd 1 3/14/07 12:48:36 PM
 [ SPOTLIGHT]

REVENGE
OF THE
NERD
COLIN HALEY
By Sarah Garlick
PULLING UP ONTO A PARTIALLY to climb in my life, it was Cerro with the upper West Face route
buried picket, Colin Haley watched Torre. It felt pretty surreal to be on (VI WI4 M5 AI6). Haley has now
in horror as his sole piece of pro— a summit that I’d been obsessing reached nine summits in the Fitz
another picket, at his feet—slid about for so long.” Roy region.
out of the snow, loosened only by Descending the mountain, Haley Last July, Haley, with Jed Brown,
the movement of his rope. Instinc- became distracted by an odd smell. made the fi rst ascent of The En-
tively, Haley grabbed the piece as “I kept thinking, man, Kelly really tropy Wall (VI 5.9 A2+ WI4+ 2300
it started to fall and then placed it stinks. But then I’d get to an anchor m) on Mount Moffit, in Alaska’s
above his head in a desperate aid before he did and the smell would be remote Hayes Range. Haley has also
move. Haley was leading the last there. I realized it was me, too—we completed the second enchainment
snow mushroom to the summit smelled like ammonia.” Haley and of British Columbia’s Waddington
of Cerro Torre, a bizarre pitch of Cordes, emaciated from 40 hours out, Range (VI 5.9 AI3), in 2004, and
overhanging fluff. were burning through their muscle in 2005, a solo attempt to 21,300
“It was the scariest moment on tissue. “When we got to the ground, feet on Nanga Parbat’s Schell Route.
the entire climb,” Haley said. “I I could actually feel that my harness Last year, the American Alpine Club
used my elbows and knees, trying was looser,” Haley said. honored Haley with the Robert Hicks
to spread out my weight so I didn’t A 22-year-old college student, Bates Award for achievement by a
just fall through.” Haley tunneled Colin Haley has accomplished more young climber.
up and into the steep snow, fi nally in the world’s toughest mountains We chatted with Haley on a Friday
keLLY cordeS

punching his way out. When his than most alpinists will in their afternoon; he’d just gotten out of
partner Kelly Cordes arrived at the entire lives. His January climb of class at the University of Washington
belay, it was only a short pitch to the Cerro Torre with Cordes marks a and was packing his gear for a solo
summit Haley had been dreaming milestone in Patagonian climbing: winter attempt of The Garth Pillar
about since his early teens. the sought-after first linkup of the (V 5.10 A1) on the north face of
“If there was one peak I wanted ephemeral Marsigny-Parkin route Mount Stuart.

40 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.040-41 Spotlight 160.indd 40 3/13/07 10:54:15 AM

 Q u e s t i o n + A n s w e r
How long are you going to be out?
It’s a 10-mile ski in to the base of the
route. I’m going to try to do it in three
days, round trip.
Does that mean you’re skipping
classes on Monday?
There’s a high-pressure system—you’ve
got to take advantage of it.
When did you start climbing?
My dad taught me how to self-arrest when
I was 9, but I didn’t start climbing fifth-
class stuff until about 13. My early climbs
were mountaineering objectives—fourth-
class climbs using a swami belt and an
eight-mil cord.
In the Cascades?
Yes. One of my main partners was Mark
Bunker. He’s great, totally old school. I
think a lot of people learn how to climb
WI6 and then they go to Alaska thinking
that they’re all set. But alpine climbing
has just as much to do with knowing
how to arrange stuff on a tiny bivy or
how to melt snow efficiently. I learned
that from him.
What has been the highlight of
your climbs so far?
Cerro Torre. I’d been thinking about it for
so long. Moffit [in Alaska’s Hayes Range]
was a more difficult climb, but Cerro
Torre was more spectacular.
What was it like to reach your life’s
climbing goal?
I was super psyched to be [on the sum-
mit of Cerro Torre], but to some degree
it was weird. All of a sudden this thing
that you’ve held in such regard—this
ideal—no longer exists.
Now what?
The world’s most difficult objectives are
in the Himalaya and Karakoram, so I’m
sure I’ll go there. To up the ante in alpine
climbing, you have to go to altitude. I
want to climb Latok I, but then everyone
wants to climb it.
What is your favorite kind of route?
The most inspiring climbing objectives
for me are mountains where simply
getting to the summit by any route is
a challenge.
You’ve been to Patagonia three
times, for a total of less than 11
weeks—not very long for all the
summits you’ve reached. To what
do you attribute your success
down there?
Definitely I’ve had good luck with the
weather. But I think it’s also due to being
willing to climb in worse weather than
most people. When Bart [Paull] and I
climbed Poincenot, we had on crampons
and ski goggles and belay parkas the
whole time. We were climbing through
a blizzard.
You’re in your junior year at the
University of Washington.
p.040-41 Spotlight 160.indd 41
I should be a senior, but I took all of last
year off to go to Pakistan, France, Argen-
tina and Norway, to ski and climb.
You went to Chamonix after
Patagonia last year?
It was pretty crazy. I was on a cheap
stand-by ticket and my travel got messed
up in Buenos Aires. I only had 14 hours
in Seattle after being in Argentina for
seven weeks and leaving again for Europe
for four months.
I bet your parents were psyched
about that.
They still picked me up from the airport,
at least.
How do you spend your time
in Patagonia when you’re not
climbing?
Basecamp is so comfortable there. I go
bouldering, hang out in camp and listen
to music.
What kind of music do you bring
on expeditions?
Bjork, Sigur Roas—they’re another Icelan-
dic group, Tool and Alice in Chains—sort
of an eclectic mix.
What’s with the Icelandic thing?
Oh, it’s awesome. Do you like Radiohead?
Sigur Roas is just like Radiohead, but
better … and even crazier.
Did you meet any Argentine girls
in El Chalten this year?
[pause] Maybe.
Where do you live?
I rent my friend’s floor for $100 a month
[in Seattle]. I just keep a sleeping bag, a
ridge rest and a pillow—all my climbing
and skiing gear is at my parents’ house.
To save money for climbing?
Yeah, my parents give me enough money
to live in the dorms if I want, but I real-
ized that if I just dirtbag it, I can save
enough money to go on climbing trips
on my breaks.
What do your college friends think
about your climbing?
They’re all disappointed that I don’t party
as much as I used to.
Because you’re training?
Well, yeah … not going out and binge
drinking is training for me.
You’ve climbed with a lot of
different partners of all ages.
Do you look for anything
specific in a partner?
A good alpine climber has to be physically
strong, but intelligence and experience
are also important. I think in alpine
climbing more than any other type of
climbing, you have to do a lot of logical
thinking. … It’s no surprise that all the
sport climbers out there are living the
rock-star lives and all the alpine climbers
are a bunch of nerds.
Does that mean you’re a nerd?
Yeah. Totally.
June 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 41
3/13/07 10:54:20 AM
 [ OUTLOOK]
the crux on a highball boulder
problem only to discover that
my friends failed to mention
the agonizing mantel. Slowly,
the gullibility eroded away and
was replaced by an icy heart. I,
too, came to revel in the ruins
of friends’ egos. I had become a
sandbagger.
As time goes by, our climb-
ing culture has grown more
and more supportive and
trustworthy. With a plethora
of super-detailed topos and
Internet sites providing gear
lists and beta, today’s climb-
ers rely less and less on word
of mouth. Route descriptions
aren’t just proliferated around
campfires by shady dirtbags
coming off Old English binges.
Climbers actually encourage
one another.
Frankly, it’s getting dull.
Something has to be done.
Oft-maligned, yet time-hon-
ored, the psychological sand-
bag—climbing’s true dark
art—is in danger of disappear-
ing altogether. For the last two
months, I have compiled notes,
ransacked my journals and
culled information from fellow
sandbaggers. Here are a few
basic, introductory strategies
to undermining your friends’
or soon-to-be ex-friends’ hopes
and dreams. Remember, even
if you don’t wander down the
dark path, a thorough under-
standing of these strategies al-
lows you to avoid the sandbag.
SIZING UP YOUR VICTIM
Whether in demolition derbies,
poker or climbing, sandbagging
THE NOTES ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SANDBAG is a form of misrepresentation.
BY FITZ CAHALL A driver of a battered Dodge
Pinto feigns mechanical failure
DARK
SITTING IN A KATOOMBA PUB, GARTH MILLER TOLD ME, to draw an opponent in. A card
“Whatever you do, don’t grab the surfboard.” shark fakes a weak hand. Es-
We were in the center of the Blue Mountains. My mouth loose sentially, a climbing sandbag-
after a pint or two, I had announced my plans to climb Bladder- ger downplays one’s strength to
ART hozen, a three-pitch, runout 5.11 face climb in the notoriously
loose Grosse Valley. I puzzled over Garth’s strange advice, slept
nervously and relayed the information to my partner.
When the 10-by-3-foot wide “surfboard” flake appeared in
an otherwise blank section of rock on the third pitch, I tapped
gain an advantage over a usu-
ally weaker peer. If it sounds a
touch sadistic, it is.
The skilled poker player also
looks for the mark whose wal-
on it. It moaned. I moaned. I inspected its mooring. It didn’t let is bulging. In climbing, we
seem to be attached. I considered the source of the advice– gamble in ego. When sizing up
Miller, the climber who established 5.14 in Australia—and stud- and selecting a target, look for
ied the surrounding face for a line of micro crimps. Nothing. an outpouring of confidence.
Already 10 feet out from the last bolt, with the pump setting in, Seek someone who won’t back
I had only one option—grab the surfboard. I imagined riding down. If that confidence is ac-
it all the way to the talus below. Before waves of panic set in, companied by ambition and
I grabbed either side, smeared onto a tiny edge and shuffled my naivete, you’ve got your mark.
hands up. In the mid 1990s a young Ja-
Days later, when I ran into Miller at the same pub, he asked, son Smith arrived in Yosemite
“Did you grab the surfboard?” Valley looking to climb El Cap.
“Yes.” A longtime Valley climber,
“I did, too,” Miller said with laugh. Realizing I had been duped Chris Van Leuven, befriended
by greatness, I bought the man a beer. Smith, whose wild, frilly
Through the years, I’ve been talked into climbing crumbling shirts, self-made on a sewing
sandstone towers, leading offwidths that require sophisticated machine, earned him the nick-
knee and arm pads and found myself nearly in tears after pulling name Singer. Despite only hav-
42 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE ILLUSTR ATION BY J E R E M Y C O L L I N S
p.042-44 Outlook 160.indd 42
ing led a few aid pitches, Singer
decided to rope-solo Lurking
Fear. He turned to Van Leuven
for advice.
“He showed me what he
had—a few cams, cheese and
crackers, and a few gallons of
water,” says Van Leuven to-
day. “Why send him up with a
bunch of water and food that
he was just going to have to
hike down? I thought he would
bail. No one solos El Cap with
so little experience.
“Everyone thought I was try-
ing to sandbag him. I wouldn’t
do something that evil. At least
not now.”
SLOWLY, THE
GULLIBILITY
ERODED AWAY
AND WAS
REPLACED BY
AN ICY HEART.
I, TOO, CAME
TO REVEL IN
THE RUINS
OF FRIENDS’
EGOS. I HAD
BECOME A
SANDBAGGER.
Singer embarked on a four-
day odyssey with a single rack
of cams, only a basic knowledge
of aid climbing, a box of Tris-
cuits and will. He slept curled
inside his haulbag, weathered
August heat with little water,
and leap-frogged cam place-
ments forever.
Singer’s epic ascent illus-
trates an important point.
Even if the victims realize they
are woefully under-equipped
or in terrain above their
ability, they often persevere.
Their drive and stubbornness
is ultimately what sandbags
them. Don’t feel guilty. The
traits that make young climb-
ers such easy targets—confi-
dence, ambition and boundless
enthusiasm—may make them
great climbers. In the long run,
you’re doing them a favor.
TACTICS
The typical sandbag involves
ruthlessly wiring an area favor-
ite and then tricking visiting
climbers into thinking it’s an
easy tick for the grade. I see
two problems with this ap-
proach. First, it requires talent.
Second, it sounds suspiciously
like work.
Think psychological warfare.
3/9/07 9:22:45 AM
Mountain Hardwear 160.indd 1 3/9/07 9:08:12 AM
 [ OUTLOOK]
IF YOU DO GET
SANDBAGGED,
REMEMBER
THIS—OUR
GREATEST
SUCCESSES
AND
PROUDEST
MEMORIES
ARE OFTEN
BORN OF OUR
MISCUES AND
BLUNDERS.
When a friend asks about a
route, give concrete details
instead of using vague adjec-
tives like “hard” and “scary.”
Pantomime complex sequenc-
es. Also play up the threat of
animals on the route—effec-
tive in creating general mal-
aise. A hand jam can feel a
lot like a finger stack if you’re
worried about a peregrine
dive-bombing you.
Last summer, a rumor
began circulating that Astro-
man’s infamous Harding Slot
was infested with bats. This
gaping squeeze chimney is al-
ready the most talked-about
ropelength in Yosemite. Orig-
inally rated 5.8 by Warren
Harding, it’s now considered
a sickening, claustrophobic
5.10+. Most aspiring climbers
spend weeks fretting over the
standard enigmatic advice—
“follow the ‘S’ path”—and
gathering meaningless beta.
When the rumor cropped up,
a frantic rush ensued to climb
Astroman before the Harding
Slot became an impassable
cleft of rabid bats and putrid
guano. An already notorious
sandbag had become expo-
nentially sandbagged.
Once your target has set
his sights on a particular
route, your mission is to
build up your victim’s ego.
Let the route break it down.
Be more blindly optimistic
than Tony Blair and George
Bush the day they invaded
Iraq. The offwidth section?
Tell them that it’s got cruiser
hand stacks and the knee
jams are brilliant. The dou-
ble dyno? A gimme at V1+.
Blame your own failure to
climb the route on a lack of
the natural athleticism your
friend possesses.
Disinformation also has its
place around the campfire.
For example, whenever a
friend asks if a route takes
44 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.042-44 Outlook 160.indd 44
wide gear, seize the oppor-
tunity. Tell her, “You could
definitely use the #4 and
#5.” You aren’t lying either—
somewhere along a 1,000-
foot route, that Big Bro could
be placed. Hold back laughter
as she stuffs them into an al-
ready enormous backpack. A
bit childish, maybe, but your
friend’s face after she has
dragged the OW gear up the
approach and pumped out in
the middle of the crux will
bring you nothing but joy.
IN THE EVENT OF
A SANDBAG
If you do get sandbagged,
remember this—our great-
est successes and proudest
memories are often born of
our miscues and blunders.
I remember cursing the
sandbagger who had talked
me onto whatever hor-
ror show I shook my way
up, but in hindsight, these
routes were where I learned
how to manage fear, to take
three deep breaths and start
climbing, to be patient even
though the instinct is to flail.
Through the years, I have
had the pleasure of return-
ing to routes that had previ-
ously humbled me, induced
dry heaving or spit me off in
grand, arcing whippers.
Occasionally, I cruise up
these routes and relish each
jam or finicky RP placement
while wondering what the big
fuss was about. More often
than not, though, I’ve lulled
myself into believing that
time has made me a far supe-
rior climber. Invariably, I’ve
trimmed the rack or failed
to tape. I try to remember
whether I’m going to need
that #4 Camalot. The answer
bubbles up through thick
memory: “Quit whining.
You’ll be fine.”
Ten minutes later, I’m
grunting and swearing. My
mouth feels like sandpaper,
my elbows are bleeding and
I’m wishing I’d given my part-
ner this pitch. How could I
ever have done this without
the big cam? The granite
seems to perspire, as if col-
luding to spit me off. I can’t
let go; it’s too big a fall. The
only option is to climb. I’ve
sandbagged myself. The na-
ïve, fresh-faced climber has
finally had his revenge.
Fitz Cahall lives in Corval-
lis, Oregon, and is currently
working to settle his karmic
debt by volunteering at a lo-
cal youth shelter.
3/13/07 2:17:54 PM
Julbo_160.indd 1 3/9/07 9:12:43 AM
 [ KEMPLE’S CORNER]
THE ACOUSTIC CLIMBER
Chris Lindner has been climbing for 20 years—which is a lot, considering
this blond surfer dude turned 23 in March. He’s an original article: styl-
ing 5.10a trad at age 4 when the cams were almost as long as his legs, red-
pointing his first 8a at age 10, and climbing 5.14c at age 16. Last season,
he stepped it up big time by nearly free climbing the Big Stone, via El Nino
(5.13c A0). An impressive Lindner sent the hard 5.13 pitches within a few
tries each, though a single wet move on the final 5.12 pitch kept him from
ticking the route. Not bad for his first big wall ever.

What’s it like being a Describe your El Cap

total major rock star? You
must have a lot of ladies
asking for your number.
When I roll into the club, most
girls don’t know what rock climb-
ing is. When I puff my chest and
throw out, “Yeah, I climb rocks,”
I better follow up with something
cheesy immediately or I don’t have
a chance.
Like what?
“Wow, your shoes bring out the
color of your eyes.”
You’ve been in the game
forever. Do you think the
chipped routes of the
90s helped or hurt the
sport of climbing?
Helped. I feel like you have to
make mistakes before you learn
from them. Now, the majority of
the world doesn’t approve of chip-
ping tactics, so more people will
think twice about putting the drill
bit to stone.
experience in five words:
Intimidating, sketchy, technical,
beautiful and rewarding.
That’s six.
Whatever.
Describe the difficulties
of El Nino.
The hardest part for me was con-
stant death-fall potential on the
easier pitches. I felt like I was
escaping serious injury or death
on pitch after pitch, and it seemed
like just a matter of time before my
luck ran out and I slipped and fell
60 feet. But we lived, and I think I
am used to it now, so I can’t wait to
get back on the Big Stone!
What’s your worst
climbing injury?
Sprained my ankle trying to cam-
pus a boulder problem in my san-
dals the first climbing day of my
trip to France. Had to climb with
one foot for the first week.

Is chipping OK in What did you dream of

certain situations? becoming as a kid?
I’m not a rock snob. As long as I I wanted to be a rock-and-roll star
am outdoors with good friends and a pro surfer.
doing what I love, I am stoked. I

CHRIS am fortunate that sponsors help

me travel around the world climb-
ing on the best stone. But I am not
Is climbing like surfing?
It’s so similar it is mind-boggling.
People buy surf videos and maga-

LINDNER
everyone. I know plenty of people zines to see people living the ulti-
with families who work 40 or 50 mate lifestyle of traveling to exotic
hours a week, and they only have areas all over the world searching
time and money to make it to the for the perfect waves. Climbing is
local—perhaps heavily chipped— the same exact thing.
AGE 23 *VITALS cliff one day. If that cliff wasn’t
there, that person might not be What would you like
WEIGHT 155 able to climb at all. to accomplish in the
HEIGHT 5' 11" I do take a stand against drilling next five years?
a route down to your ability level. If Improving in both loves of my life.
WINGSPAN 6' 3"
the route has holds, leave it alone. Focus on developing remote world-
YEARS CLIMBING 20 I have never chipped a hold in my class climbing destinations with
VICES Anything on a tortilla. life, and probably never will. Also, I world-class surfing nearby.
have way more respect for the route
WEBSITE chrislindner.com
developers who’ve established hun- Describe having a
MUSIC 311 dreds of routes with a few chipped relationship and trying
Primus holds here and there than the to climb your projects.
ALO people who sit in their office and I will take advice from anyone
Donavon Frankenreiter try to defame these [developers] in who has it on this topic. I don’t
Beatles their little online forums. have a clue.

46 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE INTERVIEW AND PHOTO BY T I M K E M P L E

p.046 KemplesCorner.160.indd 46 3/9/07 9:30:14 AM

Omega.Pacific_160.indd 1 3/9/07 9:16:31 AM
 [ TUESDAY NIGHT BOULDERING]
THE
IF YOU THOUGHT CLIMBERS WERE CRAZY AND DUMB …

DIMENSION By Andrew Bisharat

I keep coming back to the “beach ex-
ample.” If conditions are too danger-
ous, if there are sharks in the water or
a hurricane is coming, there are life-
guards there to Close That Beach. Why
don’t we have similar regulations for
mountains? If conditions are too dan-
gerous, why not Close The Mountain?
—Bill O’Reilly speaking about the recent
highly publicized tragedy on Mount
Hood in which three climbers died.

EVERY NOW AND THEN, SOME

climbing-related episode or drama
drops from our happy, insular world
up high and plummets to the ground,
where the rest of this disparaging soci-
ety festers. Non-climbers, or as I like
to call them, Floor-boreds, exist in a
terrible two-dimensional world—Left?
Or … Right!—and have no idea about
the third dimension: Up.
But Up is climbing at its core. Up is
uplifting! Up is good, challenging, pos-
itive and provocative, but also, tragic
and harrowing. Well, so what? That’s
what makes Up so real. In fact, the
complexity of Up rivals even life itself.
Unlike, say, snowboarding, Up is not
just for fun, though perhaps, like life,
that’s all it’s meant to be.
The Floor-boreds, who are as Bored
as they are unable to leave the Floor
(and probably resentful of those who
can or do), have a difficult time under-
standing this third dimension that we
call The Climbing Experience, whether
it’s trad, ice, bouldering or whatever it
is that gets you off (the ground). Maybe
that’s why I find it so infuriating to hear
our Experience discussed in the main-
stream—because when non-climbers
talk about climbing, it’s always with
the barely disguised repugnance of a

NON-CLIMBERS, OR AS
I LIKE TO CALL THEM,
FLOOR-BOREDS,
EXIST IN A TERRIBLE
TWO-DIMENSIONAL
WORLD—LEFT?
OR … RIGHT!—
AND HAVE NO IDEA
ABOUT THE THIRD
DIMENSION: UP.

48 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE ART BY E M I L I E L E E

p.048-52 TNB.160.indd 48 3/9/07 9:34:32 AM

Sterling_160.indd 1 3/13/07 9:43:35 AM

politician sucking on a garden
hose to get a farmer’s vote.
Climbers, however, don’t
strike at things outside our
little world, probably because
we don’t care. I don’t know
any climbers trying to take all
the fun away from snowboard-
ers just because they have a
bunch of attitude in the terrain
park and ruin all the snow …
though I know plenty who rip
on boulderers for essentially
those same things. What? Ah,
never mind. Point is, when I
hear Bill O’Reilly on national
television putting the idea in
everyone’s head that “reckless
50 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June
p.048-52 TNB.160.indd 50
climbers” need to be regulated
with more Rules, I want to act
out my favorite scene in Philip
Roth’s book American Pasto-
ral and hold his putrid mouth
open, and vomit directly into
the coal-black void.
LOL! That’s pretty harsh lan-
guage coming from the happi-
est guy I know (me). Well, my
tiger of a grandmother taught
me that anything worth fight-
ing for is worth a hyperbole or
two. Climbing falls into that
category for me, and I respect-
fully ask that outsiders leave
alone the very thing that I most
love about this sport—the lib-
erty to take risks, get high and,
above all, Live Free.
The nut of this issue’s TNB
is the kind you’d find in a pig
trough or a bar dish—it’s the
frustrating degree to which
society fails to understand
climbing, our great sport that,
despite all our petty arguments
over discipline, ethics and style,
we supposedly still care about.
This fearful, sneering atti-
tude held by the Floor-boreds
arises every so often—most
recently, with the extensive
national coverage of the Mount
Hood, Oregon, tragedy, when
three climbers went miss-
ing. A rescue mission found
the deceased Kelly James, of
Texas, in a snow cave; his two
partners remain missing.
Anyone with a TV will prob-
ably remember the grim end
I plan on taking all that
has been written and said
about climbing by non-
climbers, and compiling
it into the world’s most
comprehensive manuscript
of insane bullshit.
to 2006, when all the “news”
media—especially that haz-
ardous carnival of irrational-
ity Bill O’Reilly—covered the
Mount Hood report and, “in a
related story,” the disappear-
ance of “one of America’s best
climbers, Everest summiter
Christine Boskoff” (and, uh,
“her partner, a Colorado boy
scout,” Charlie Fowler). The
Hood brouhaha turned what
is, sadly, a “normal” (though
always painful) occurrence
in the climbing world into
some kind of weird, “gripping”
coverage laced with zipping
helicopters and subtle con-
demnation of anyone who’d
knowingly do something as
inherently dumb as try to
climb up a mountain. It must
have been a slow news week.
Well, no matter. I plan on
taking all that has been writ-
ten and said about climbing
by non-climbers, and com-
piling it into the world’s most
comprehensive manuscript of
insane bullshit.
But I will save that for later,
because right now, I feel nei-
ther ready nor even compelled
to confront the world on its
own terms—I still have proj-
ects to send. I suspect my
pent-up aggression toward
anyone at all stems from a
partly smug, mostly sad feel-
ing that no one sees the world
as I do. To most, climbing is a
freak sport for sporty freaks—
it scares them to look at it, and
when something scares people,
they usually move to the sub-
urbs so they don’t have to see
it and their kids don’t have to
go to school with it.
Until then, I have my climb-
ing, aggression toward the
rest of the world and a bunch
of failed attempts to explain
this sport to people who don’t
climb. Interestingly, indoor
climbing has become the
most easily understandable
discipline for non-climbers—
in fact, the list, from most
to least easy to understand,
goes like this: gym climbing,
mountaineering, rock climb-
ing, ice climbing, aid climb-
ing, mixed climbing and,
finally, bouldering, which, of
course, is the dumbest-look-
ing one of all.
But for all the insta-com-
prehension that indoor climb-
ing provides, it’s still a strange
idea to those who believe
hands should be used to catch
footballs. For instance, back
in college, when I couldn’t
get out, my favorite thing to
do was grab plastic holds with
tape beneath them. I’d prac-
tice practice-climbing, a sub-
discipline so far removed from
the real thing that it might as
well be phone sex. An 8-by-10-
foot woody stood outside my
room like a British royal guard,
all immovable and greasy. My
five roommates and I tugged
on its silly holds until we were
positive that we’d always,
always remember those good
times by sustaining lifelong
cases of tendonitis.
Coincidentally, the wall dou-
bled as a subject of my all-time
favorite pick-up line. Check
this out:
Me: Hey, Girl. You want to go
back to my place and see my
climbing wall?
Girl: You have a climbing
wall?
Me: Of course. It’s very big.
And overhung. I can show you
the jug warm-up.
Girl: Well, I would, but the
snowboarders are here, and
they have an X-box … and
the X-Games. What do climb-
ers have?
Me: A confusingly diverse sport
without any money or celebri-
ties, but an abstract sense that
what we’re doing has no real
importance, and for that rea-
son, might be one of the most
awesome things ever.
Girl: Um, right.
Me: I mean … nuts. Yep, we
put our nuts into slots for
protection.
Girl: Get away from me, you
freak!
3/13/07 9:01:34 AM
petzl 160.indd 1 3/14/07 12:48:02 PM

Snowboarder: Hey, Girl.
Check out my yellow visor.
It’s hella cool.
Girl: I love yellow visors.
I learned three things that
night. First, climbing should
get back into the X-Games.
I know a lot of lonely male
climbers and I believe this
would help them. First you
get into the X-Games, then
you get your own video game,
then you get a yellow visor.
Second, I learned I hate snow-
boarders. These hedonists
with hideously neat facial-hair
arrangements don’t know the
52 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June
p.048-52 TNB.160.indd 52
first thing about what it means
to work hard for something.
Third, no one understands
climbing. At all!
Most people can’t be both-
ered to learn about something
complex. There are truly great
things about climbing—it
teaches about will, morals, life
and death, and it’s also the
best antidote I know to a liti-
gious society hell-bent on tak-
ing away everyone’s fun.
I recently went on a crazy
Googling binge to see what
people really think of our
fringe sport. I started on the
website urbandictionary.com,
an index of all kinds of fantas-
tically ungrammatical words,
defined by “you,” such as dap
(the knocking of fists together
as a greeting or form of respect)
or blogorrhea (to write a blog
entry just for the sake of post-
ing, not because you have any-
thing interesting to say).
Example: No one gave me a
dap for last month’s TNB the
Blog posting (on rockandice.
com) because it was all blog-
orrhea about going to trade
shows and ice fests.
Anyway, I looked up “rock
climbing” on urbandiction-
ary.com, and found some very
As far as I can tell, any
climber in America
(according to O’Reilly
and urbandictionary.
com) is either a “reckless”
risk taker that needs to
be incarcerated with
more rules, just for his or
her own good, or a poseur,
or, apparently, a copulator
with the corpulent.
telling fodder that makes me
think non-climbers either
don’t understand this sport,
or understand it better than
we do. Here are the first three,
in order of appearance. No,
I’m not making this up.
Rock climbing:
1. The act of having sex with
a large woman. I went rock
climbing last night.
2. Of all the so-called “extreme
sports” (activities undertaken
by otherwise boring people in
a desperate attempt to become
interesting), this is the trendi-
est way to give yourself the
affectation of ruggedness, dan-
ger, physical fitness, etc. Note
that most people who express
an interest in rock climbing
or purchase incidental gear
such as carabiners have never
climbed and never will.
3. a) The extreme sport of
climbing extremely large cliffs.
Let’s go to the cliff and go rock
climbing. b) The extreme sport
of [having sex with] extremely
fat chicks. Let’s go find that
chick and rock climb her.
Where any of this comes from,
I have no idea, nor does it mat-
ter at this point. As far as I
can tell, any climber in Amer-
ica (according to O’Reilly
and urbandictionary.com) is
either a “reckless” risk taker
that needs to be incarcerated
with more rules, just for his or
her own good, or a poseur, or,
apparently, a copulator with
the corpulent.
I give up. I suppose as long
as you don’t hurt anyone, you
should be allowed to do and
believe whatever you want.
At the same time, I don’t
want to simply pass off all
these haphazard judgments
tossed around by society
because I believe that climb-
ing could one day be some-
thing people respect. I wonder
if people will ever understand
what it means to onsight solo
the DNB before sticky rub-
ber and Supertopo (Charlie
Fowler), or that Mount Ever-
est might not be the pinnacle
of climbing achievement, or
even that relevant to the mod-
ern climber. I wonder if people
could ever understand the pri-
mal need to pull yourself into
the vertical world and be, even
just for the 15 minutes one
pitch takes, like a silly, stupid
monkey. Or, could it be that
we’re so far removed from our
origin, and that we now live
in a world with so many rules
and talking heads on TV tell-
ing us what to do and believe,
that we’ve forgotten what free-
dom truly means?
Ancient Japanese war gen-
erals say that it’s best to know
yourself first, but second best,
to know your enemy. Punks like
Bill O’Reilly and urbandiction-
ary.com may not understand
this thing we do, and that’s OK
as long as their attacks are all
fluff. But, if they ever try some-
thing, I take a solace in know-
ing that I can always go Up,
into the third dimension, into
a very real world where risk,
camaraderie, freedom and,
always, Fun, are the only rules
that mean anything.
And as it turns out, urban-
dictionary.com might not be
entirely wrong. I searched for
“rock and ice,” just for fun, and
here is what I found:
Rock ice:
v. Relatively new and unheard
term synonymous with cool,
badass or pimp, depending on
context. Has a benignly smug
connotation when used in the
first person.
Dick: Damn, you totally just
sent that rig like Fed Ex.
Jane: What can I say,
I rock ice.
Andrew Bisharat thinks he
totally rocks ice.
3/13/07 9:01:17 AM
 GUIDE DIRECTORY
ACADIA MOUNTAIN GUIDES
Jon Tierney, UIAGM and
AMGA certified
198 Main St., Bar Harbor, ME
(summer)
92 Main St., Orono, ME 04473
888-232-9559
AMGA Accredited
acadiamountainguides.com
climb@acadiamountainguides.com
Acadia • Katahdin • New
Hampshire • Red Rock • Joshua
Tree • Sierra • Alaska • South
America • Canada • Alps •
China ice
ADVENTURE CONSULTANTS
PO Box 97 • 58 McDougald St.
Wanaka, New Zealand
64-3-443-8711
F 64-3-443-8733
www.adventureconsultants.co.nz
info@adventure.co.nz
New Zealand • South America
Himalaya • Seven Summits •
Antarctica • Artic
ALPINE ASCENTS
INTERNATIONAL
121 Mercer St.
Seattle, WA 98109
206-378-1927
F 206-378-1937
www.AlpineAscents.com
climb@AlpineAscents.com
7 Summits • Alaska • Cascades
• Ecuador • Mexico • Mongolia
Alpine World Ascents
IFMGA/AMGA Certified Ski &
Mountain Guides, instruction,
guiding, expeditions in rock,
ice, alpine, ski/snowboard,
avalanche safety, Specializing in
Private Arrangements
PO Box 1013
Boulder CO 80306-1013
800-868-5429 | 303-350-0366
www.alpineworldascents.com
info@alpineworldascents.com
Boulder area * Black Canyon of
the Gunnison, and throughout
CO, Red Rocks * Devils Tower *
North Cascades, Alaska, Canada
* Europe * Mexico * Ecuador
*Peru * Bolivia * Argentina *
Chile * Africa Himalayas
AMERICAN ALPINE INSTITUTE
1515 12th St.
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-671-1505
F 360-734-8890
www.aai.cc • info@aai.cc
Rainier • McKinley • North Cas-
cades • Sierras • Alps • Andes
AMERICAN CLIMBING
INSTITUTE
373 Bonanza Dr.
Nederland, CO 80466
303-570-5227
www.climbinginstitute.org
ri@climbinginstitute.org
AVENTURAS PATAGONICAS
PO Box 11389
Jackson, WY 83002
307-734-5201
888-203-9354
www.patagonicas.com
summit@patagonicas.com
Aconcagua • Bolivia • Alps •
Chile • Patagonia • Antarctica
p.053 Guide Directory 160.indd 53
CHICKS WITH PICKS
All women’s ice climbing clinics
PO Box 486
Ridgeway, CO 81432
970-626-4424
www.chickswithpicks.net
kim@chickswithpicks.net
Ouray, CO • North Conway, NH
COLORADO MOUNTAIN
SCHOOL
2829 Mapleton Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301
P: 303-447-2804
F: 303-447-8356
800-836-4008
www.totalclimbing.com
info@totalclimbing.com
Rocky Mountain National Park
• Boulder Area • Vail • Utah•
Alaska • South America
COSLEY & HOUSTON
ALPINE GUIDE
Kathy Cosley & Mark Houston
UIAGM and AMGA Certified
1627 Dunbar Lane
Bishop, CA 93514
760-872-3811
www.cosleyhouston.com
fun@cosleyhouston.com
European Alps • Peru • Nepal •
New Zealand • Eastern Sierra •
Canada
EARTHWORKS, LLC
8058 Emerald Street
Ventura, CA 93004
www.earthworksclimbing.com
info@earthworksclimbing.com
Santa Barbara, CA • Central Coast
• Joshua Tree • Southern Sierra •
Eastern Sierra • Southern CA
EXPLORADUS, LLC
PROFESSIONAL
MOUNTAIN GUIDES
Jim Williams - Expedition Leader
PO Box 4166 Jackson,
WY 83001 USA
307 733 8812 • F 503 213 9861
pmg@atrav.com • www.exploradus.com
Grand Teton • Denali • Seven
Summits • Asia: Ama Dablam,
SA: Aconcagu • Africa • Antarc-
tica
HIMALAYA EXPEDITION
with Daniel Mazur
360-570-0715,
www.summitclimb.com
summitclimb@earthlink.net
EVEREST • Pumori • Lhotse Musta
gata • Amadablam Cho-oyu • Treks
FOX MOUNTAIN GUIDES
843 Ecusta Rd
Brevard, NC 28712
1-888-28-GUIDE
info@foxmountainguides.com
www.foxmountainguides.com
Instruction and courses offered
by Southeast’s only AMGA
Accredited Climbing Schoo
HIRE A MOUNTAIN GUIDE
The Mountain Guide Bureau’s
world wide directory of certi-
fied mountain guides and guid-
ing agencies.
www.hireamountainguide.com
www.BradleyAlpinist.com
PO Box 2986 Corrales, NM
87048 505-243-0910
INTERNATIONAL
MOUNTAIN GUIDES
30416 State Route 706
P.O. Box 246
Ashford, WA 98304
360 569 2609 Tel
360 569 0824 Fax
www.mountainguides.com
office@mountainguides.com
Climbing the World’s Great
Mountains” since 1976
Seven Summits • Alaska Ouray
• Joshua Tree • North Cascades
Smith Rocks • Ecuador • Bolivia
Mexico • Peru Cho Oyu • Alps
JACKSON HOLE
MOUNTAIN GUIDES
Mountain Adventures
Since 1968
Box 7477, 165 N. Glenwood St.
Jackson, WY 83002
800-239-7642 www.jhmg.com
Tetons • Wind Rivers Beartooths
• Red Rocks • Devils Tower •
Moab
MOONEY MOUNTAIN
GUIDES, LLC
Art Mooney, UIAGM and
AMGA certified
638 Old Bristol Road
New Hampton, NH 03256
603-744-5853
art@mooneymountainquides.com
www.mooneymountainguides.com
New Hampshire • Rumney •
Cannon Cliff • Mount Wash-
ington • Red Rocks •Canada
• Haute Route • Aconcagua •
Bolivia • Mexico
MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE
SEMINARS (MAS)
PO Box 5450
Bear Valley, CA 95223
209-753-6556 ext.
Fax: 209-753-2313
www.mtadventure.com
mail@mtadventure.com
S.F. Bay • Pinnacles Cosumnes
• Sugarloaf • Phantom Spires •
Lovers Leap • Calaveras Dome •
Hammer Dome • Bear Valley •
High Sierra
MOUNTAIN MADNESS
3018 SW Charlestown
Seattle, WA 98126
206-937-8389
800-328-5925
Fax: 206-937-1772
www.mountainmadness.com
info@mountainmadness.com
Everest • North Cascades •
South America • Seven Summits
•Colorado • Asia
MOUNTAIN TRIP
P.O. Box 658
Ophir, CO 81426
866-886-TRIP (8747)
f. 970-728-3779
www.mountaintrip.com
info@mountaintrip.com
Vinson • Aconcagua • AK Range •
Authorized Denali Concessionaire
ONTOP IFMGA
CERTIFIED GUIDES
Canmore, Alberta Canada
800-506-7177
403-678-2717
www.ontopmountaineering.com
info@ontopmountaineering.com
Canada • Alps • Dolomites •
Colorado
OUTDOOR WILDERNESS
LEADERSHIP SCHOOL
Resort Based, Since 1996
Mid Atlantic - Northeast
Northern U.S. Rockies
International
406-920-2808
info@owlsadventures.com
www.owlsadventures.com
RED ROCK CLIMBING CENTER
AND MOUNTAIN GUIDES
Groups & Classes in
Red Rocks, NV. 8201
W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89117
www.redrockclimbingcenter.com
Showers, WiFi, Local Beta
SAN JUAN MOUNTAIN
GUIDES, LLC
P.O. Box 1214
Ouray, Colorado 81427
970-325-4925
866-525-4925
www.ourayclimbing.com
info@ourayclimbing.com
San Juan Mountains • Colorado •
Utah • Bolivia • Asia
SIERRA MOUNTAIN CENTER
AMGA/IFMGA Guides
P.O. Box 95, Bishop CA 93515
www.sierramountaincenter.com
office@sierramountaincenter.com
Sierra Nevada rock, ski, alpine,
ice & avalanche courses Mt
Whitney • Joshua Tree • Alaska
• Patagonia • Dolomites • New
Zealand
SIERRA MOUNTAIN GUIDES
Doug Nidever UIAGM and
AMGA Certified
P.O. Box 446
June Lake, CA 93529
760.648.1122
760.648.7221 fax
climb@themountainguide.com
www.themountainguide.com
Sierra • Mt. Whitney • Palisades
Yosemite • Lovers Leap • Don-
ner Summit • Mexico • Ecuador
• Peru • Canada
SIERRA MOUNTAINEERING
INTERNATIONAL
236 N Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514
Phone (760) 872-4929
Fax (760) 872-2489
www.sierramountaineering.com
info@sierramountaineering.com
Sierra • Mt. Whitney • Palisades
• Seven Summits • Ecuador •
Mexico • Peru • Europe • Africa
• Mt. Ararat • Rock climbing •
Ice climbing • Backcountry skiing
• Avalanche courses
SOUTHWEST
ADVENTURE GUIDES
P.O. Box 3242
1205 Camino Del Rio
Durango, CO 81302
Toll Free: 800-642-5389
Local: 970-259-0370
info@mtnguide.net • www.mtnguide.net
San Juan Mountains, CO • Alaska
• Aconcagua • Bolivia • Ecuador •
Mexico • Peru
SUNTOUCHER
MOUNTAIN GUIDES
John Kear UIAGM and
AMGA Certified
2900 Vista del Rey NE, 18D
Albuquerque, New
Mexico 87112
505.400.5590 • 505.400.2529
F 505.293.3604
www.suntoucher.com
climb@suntoucher.com
New Mexico • Colorado • Utah
• Alaska • Canada • European
Alps • South America
TIMBERLINE MOUNTAIN
GUIDES, INC.
Accredited by the AMGA.
PO Box 1167, Bend, OR 97709
541-312-9242
www.timberlinemtguides.com
info@timberlinemtguides.com
Guiding on Mt. Hood and the
other Oregon Cascade peaks and
rock climbing at Smith Rock State
Park since 1983.
VERTICAL ADVENTURES
AMGA Accredited
Bob Gaines, Director
Courses and Guided
Climbs Since 1983
www.verticaladventures.com
(800) 514-8785
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Tahquitz & Suicide Rocks, Idyllwild
YOSEMITE
MOUNTAINEERING SCHOOL
Yosemite Park, CA 95389
866-387-9843
www.YosemitePark.com
Instruction and guide climbing
services since 1969
Yosemite Valley • Tuolumne
Meadows • High Sierra
CONTACT
CYNTHIA BRUGGEMAN
877-762-5423 ext. 13
cbruggeman@bigstonepub.com
3/13/07 3:43:21 PM
.

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 54 3/19/07 4:01:55 PM

 Exposed

1 Far from the madding crowd

Khaetthaleeya “Kat” Uppakham, co-founder and director
of Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures, racked up for a
day of cragging in paradise, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
photo dawn kish

2 walking tall
Chris Lindner feeling small on Huge (V9), Little Cotton-
wood Canyon, Utah.
photo Tim kemple
3
To the tooth!
Dean Lords in a weak moment on Indulgence (M9+),
Perrine Coulee, Idaho.
photo Nathan smith

4 feets don’t fail me now

Anonymous paws walking the line, Yosemite Valley.
photo hermann erber

June 07 | r o cka n dic e . c o m 55

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 55 3/13/07 2:39:58 PM

 5

56 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 june

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 56 3/22/07 12:48:16 PM

 Exposed
5 fire in the belly (and eyes)
Justin Wood emerges from The Abyss (5.12c/d), Division
Wall, American Fork, Utah.
photo Nathan smith

6 humpity humpity
Bean Bowers jugs a line on Torre Egger, Patagonia. Later
that day he took a 100-foot fall from the tower’s infamous
summit ice mushroom.
photo jonny copp

7 not just another pretty face

Nicky Dyal susses the four-pitch Starchek (5.9), Cheaka-
mus Canyon, British Columbia.
photo Jim thornburg

8 tunnel vision
Drew Haigh at a Barcelona gym, Spain. The tunnel is
closed to all traffic except for bicycles and scooters.
photo dawn kish

9 Not forgotten
Hari Berger gets steep and deep in a glacial cave, Tirol.
Photo hermann erber

10 Men are from mars

Anonymous pulling in the anonymous desert of Utah.
photo duane raleigh

10

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 57 3/19/07 4:03:14 PM

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 58 3/13/07 2:41:20 PM
 Exposed

11 head games
Letting loose atop Montezuma’s Head, Organ Pipe, Arizona.
photo peter noebels
12 band of sisters and brothers
A little ritualistic bonding after a hard day’s work, Indian
Creek, Utah.
photo john evans
13 what’s in a name?
Raphael Slawinski and Steve Swenson on the FA of Bros
Before Hos (WI 5+ M5) Ghost River Valley, Alberta, Canada.
photo cory richards
14 oh henry’s!
Mike Anderson somewhere in the Henry Mountains, Utah.
photo Andrew burr
15 the real deal
Kelly Cordes making good time above the crux pitch of
Deprivation, North Buttress, Mount Hunter, Alaska.
photo jonny copp

June 07 | r o cka n dic e . c o m 59

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 59 3/13/07 2:41:50 PM

 who needs hands anyway? 16
Mallory Cox umphs out a V4 mantel on an unnamed
problem, Vedauwoo, Wyoming.
photo Brian solano

super mega fragilistic 17

Natasha Barnes is on The Chube (V2), Joshua Tree, California.
photo damon corso

Naargh! 18
Cedar Wright on the crux of Birthday Bash (5.12 R), Zion
National Park, Utah. On the FA, Wright took a 35-foot whip-
per onto a nut in the soft sandstone.
Thankfully, it held.
photo Eric Draper

against a crooked sky 19

Kilian Fischhuber on Telefono Azzurro (8a), at
Cinque Torri, Dolomites, Italy.
photo reinhard fichtinger

how’s it hanging? 20
Trevor Massiah begins a multi-pitch
sport route on Ko Laoliang, Thailand.
photo dawn kish
60 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 60 3/22/07 12:54:45 PM

 21 leanie meanie
Kay Okamoto gets a slice of heaven on El Camino Real
(5.10), Tahquitz, California. Near the end of this 70-foot
Exposed
pitch, and shortly after this photo was taken, Okamoto
fell, ripped her top piece, and plunged 55 feet, bruising
both ankles.
photo greg epperson

22 Oh Canada
A rare aerial view of Squamish Chief, Vancouver.
photo john evans

23 cool running
Lisa Bonds avoids the dip, Little River Canyon, Alabama.
Photo brian solano

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 61 3/13/07 3:01:34 PM

 me timbers! 24
Portia Menlove, Shivers (V7), Little
Cottonwood Canyon, Utah.
photo tim kemple

Getting the head right 25

Unknown yanker on Mindbender (V7) on the Animal
Magnetism boulder, Squamish, B.C.
photo boone speed

between heaven and italy 26

On the Lyskamm Ridge in the Monte
Rosa Range, near Zermatt, Switzerland.
photo jonathan griffith

treading the dragon 27

John Furneaux and Matt Maddaloni, Tiedemann Glacier,
Waddington Range, B.C.
photo Paul bride

whoa! 28
Serkan Ercan in Dalyan, Turkey, on the fantasy Lancelot
(5.11d), in Dalyan’s Temple Sector. photo boone speed

hooking for dollars 29

Stephane Husson competing in the Tour de la Gorzderette,
Champagny, Vanoise, France.
photo Monica dalmasso

seeing red 30
Matt Fanning tweaks Quinsana Plus (5.13a), Endless Wall,
New River Gorge, West Virginia.
photo Dan brayack

62 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 june

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 62 3/22/07 12:57:07 PM

 Exposed

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 63 3/19/07 4:07:30 PM

 Slip slidin’ this way 31
Avalanche off Mount Hunter, as seen
from Kahiltna basecamp, Denali National Park, Alaska.
photo Brian irwin

austin power 32
ABS Champion Alex Puccio getting her kicks
on Zen (V5), Roger’s Park, Texas.
photo merrick ales

blood meridian 33
So ends another splitter day. Sunset over the
Six Shooters, Utah.
photo john evans

putting the woods to it 34

Daniel Woods flashing a V9/10 at the recent Mammut /
EMS Gravity Brawl, New Jersey Rock Gym. For this photo,
Kemple, who set the problem, pre-arranged a light and
camera just to capture this crux move. He waited all
evening, but it looked as if he would walk away empty-
handed—no one came even close to the send. Then
Woods, the last competitor, stepped up, fired it, and
Kemple got the shot.
photo tim kemple

64 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 64 3/22/07 12:58:05 PM

 Exposed

p.054-65 Exposed 160.indd 65 3/19/07 4:08:17 PM

 Revisiting America’s premier moderates destination,
Idaho’s oft-neglected City of Rocks.

Rappelling from Skyline (5.8), on Morning Glory Spire, the iconic formation in the City of Rocks, Idaho. Crack of Doom, Greg Lowe’s legendary 5.11c, is the bulging splitter on the protrusion right of
the center chimney. The technical and fingery 5.12 Power Tools follows the face to a cleaved arete between the chimney and Crack of Doom. Yet another classic, Strategic Defense (5.11), climbs
the patina edges on the rounded arete left of the chimney. These are some of the best routes in the City.

66 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 66 3/19/07 4:18:38 PM

 photo essay by Boone Speed

The crux was easy. Maybe because I was over-prepared or scared; I don’t know, but over-

hanging 5.11 fingery face climbing makes sense to me. It was the 5.10 hand crack above

that made no sense to me. It spit me out over and over ... and I was on toprope. The

Crack of Doom (or The Incisor, as we called it) on The Morning Glory Spire was first led

free in 1968 by Greg Lowe who, as the story goes, graded it 5.9+. At solid 5.11 it is the

crown jewel of Idaho’s premier rock-climbing area, the City of Rocks. Twenty years and

hundreds of climbing days later, I still haven’t led the route clean.

I learned to climb around the Salt Lake City area in the 1980s, before SLC developed into one

of the country’s biggest and most diverse climbing destinations, with world-class bouldering,

sport, trad and alpine climbing just minutes from downtown. But back then, I felt unlucky

to live in an area with so little climbing. It was the three-hour trips to Indian Creek and the

City of Rocks that kept me going. My mentors, guys like Jeff Pederson, Bill Boyle and Paul

Shilton, often talked about “the City,” with details of classic testpieces like The Incisor.

I drooled over pictures of Straight Edge (5.11)—a perfect 120-foot face climb.

June 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 67

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 67 3/19/07 4:18:41 PM

 1
During one early trip to the City, Boyle and I
arrived in the morning and drove straight to
the base of The Twin Sisters formation for
Straight Edge. Then we ticked Safer Than
Sex (5.10+), to the right. “Wild Bill,” as we
called Boyle, was on a tear. He was 17 years
older than me and much more experienced.
At the time, I couldn’t comprehend his com-
mitment and motivation, let alone how much
we climbed. The day culminated on Crack
of Doom, our 10th route of 5.10 or harder,
which Bill grunted up with a single hang and
where I hit my failure point.
That night we met Dave Bingham (author
of the City’s guidebook) and Pokey Amory.
Both were developing new routes in a mod-
ern style imported from Smith Rock. They
had seen Boyle and me climbing and were
psyched to have us check out some of their
new routes. The next day, we were guinea
pigs on Dave and Pokey’s testpieces, lines
that typified the mixed trad/sport routes
from the mid-80s ethic of top-down, hand-
drilled bolts. The routes sometimes required
unique gear like the TCU (new at the time)
on Hyper Spuds (5.11), a face climb that
combined widely spaced bolts with fiddly
small nuts and the small three-cam unit.
The two proud authors offered precise gear
advice and running beta as they took us to
another, and another still. Of all the climb-
ing jaunts I’ve taken, the spontaneity and
adventure of that trip to the City ranks as
one of my most satisfying ever.
Over the next couple of years I met many
p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 68
lifelong friends, all from within 250 miles of
the City, areas including Boise, Sun Valley,
Jackson and Pocatello.
Two of those friends were Mike Beck and
Eric Wright. I’d heard Mike’s name tossed
around as an up-and-comer, and we were
soon thrown on all the SLC testpieces, and
had a lot to talk about. Now, 20 years later,
Mike and I still have a lot to talk about. On
a recent drive to the City, Mike and I agreed
that the area was a forgotten gem.
As soon as you pull into the City of Rocks,
you’ll understand how it got its name. A
cityscape of granite monoliths rises so
close to the road you can practically touch
the rock from your car window. The soar-
ing granite is prominent, and the area was
a waypoint for California-bound emigrants
in the 1840s, some of whom wrote their
names on the rock in axle grease, graffiti
that survives even today.
The slabby to vertical granite that typifies
the City isn’t conducive to producing climbs
harder than 5.12, so it is no longer a place
where the cognoscenti can make big names
for themselves or impress sponsors. If any-
thing, the City is decisively mellow. It embod-
ies that middle slice of American climbing,
where routes between 5.8 and 5.11 abound,
the camping is quiet, and you don’t have to
worry about having relentless beta spewed
at you. Here, in this out-of-the-way spot in
southern Idaho, you climb for the same rea-
son Greg Lowe did way back in the 1960s: 2
For the pure enjoyment of it.
3/19/07 4:19:11 PM
 Bovine Guidance (5.11b)
Nematode (Pokey Amory, 1987)
Mike Beck tackles this paradigm of perfect City
patina. Bring fresh forearms and a couple of
TCUs if you don’t like climbing above your pro.

Quest For Fire (5.10c)

Flaming Rock (Jeff Rhoades, Dave Bing-
ham, Bill Boyle; 1989)
Mike Beck arching back to inspect the route.

Mystery Bolter (5.9)

Bumbly Wall (Dave Cichon,1989)
Unknown climbers, perfect rock and a splitter day.

June 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 69

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 69 3/19/07 4:19:17 PM

 4 4

70 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 70 3/19/07 4:19:45 PM

 Quest For Fire (5.10c)
Flaming Rock (Jeff Rhoades, Dave
Bingham, Bill Boyle; 1989)
Two perspectives, the first pulled back, the
second close up, show Mike Beck on this
patina face. Quest For Fire epitomizes the
circa-1988 “power-drill era” of development.
Because the patina edges of Flaming Rock
were so unpredictable, new routing required
top-down inspection and, consequently,
speedier equipping.

Tribal Boundaries (5.10a)

Flaming Rock. (FA Unknown)
Mike Beck amidst a sea of City escarpments.

The P ygmies Got Stoned (5.10a)

Elephant Rock (Dan Sperlock, 1989)
Climber Unknown. Elephant Rock, at the
entrance of the City, is one of the area’s most
popular formations. It is home to several long
classics ranging from 5.7 to 5.11.

The Cowboy Route (5.5) Crack of Doom (5.11c)

Bath Rock [FA Unknown] Morning Glory Spire [Greg Lowe, 1965]
Classic Route (5.7) Strategic Defense (5.11c)
Lost Arrow [Greg Lowe, Rob Brown; 1962] Morning Glory Spire [Dave Bingham, 1986]
Swiss Cheese (5.7 R) She’s the Bosch (5.11c)
Anteater [FA Unknown] Window Rock [Kellie and Jeff Rhoades,
with Aimee and Chris Barnes; 1989]
Rye Crisp (5.8)
Elephant Rock [Greg Lowe, late 1960s] Spuds in the Gym (5.12a/b)
Rabbit Rock [Dave Bingham,
Bloody Fingers (5.10a)
Pokey Amory, Paul Potters; 1987]
Bloody Fingers Corridor [FA Unknown,
1970s] Betty (5.12c/d)
The Flintstone [Darius Azin, Tedd
The Drilling Fields (5.11a)
Thompson; 1987]
The Drilling Fields [Bill Boyle, 1989]
Tunnel Vision (5.12b)
Terror of Tiny Town (5.11a)
The Office [Bill Boyle, 1989]
Buzzard Perch [Dave Bingham, 1984]
Go Spuds Go (5.12c)
Redtail (5.11a)
Rabbit Rock [Boone Speed, 1988]
Rabbit Rock [Dan Sperlock, 1988]
Power Tools (5.12c)
Scar Tissue (5.11a)
Morning Glory Spire [Tedd Thompson,
The Office [Dan Sperlock,
Darius Azin; 1987]
Stan Caldwell; 1984]
Beware of Nesting Egos (5.11b)
Elephant Rock [Dan Sperlock, Stan
Caldwell; 1984]
AUTHOR’S PICKS
6

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 71 3/19/07 4:20:03 PM

 8

10

72 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 72 3/19/07 4:20:33 PM

 9

Interceptor (5.11a)
Upper Breadloaves (First done by visiting
New Yorkers, early 1980s)
Brendan Nicholson on the unforgettable City of
Rocks rainbow lichen.

Double Trouble (5.8)

Upper Creekside (FA Unknown)
Unknown climber following the crack map.

Just A nother Pretty Face (5.10d)

Parking Lot Rock (Jeff Rhoades and
friends, 1989)
This route looks virtually blank from the ground,
but trust your feet to negotiate the opening slab
and use your momentum to pull over the roof,
and you can get established on the upper wall
where tenuous climbing and clips—illustrated
7 here by Brendan Nicholson—lead to long lock-
offs on larger holds on the steep headwall above.

C airo (5.11a)
Parkinglot Rock (Dave Bingham, Tedd
Thompson, 1988)
Cynthia Levinthal cruises technicolor rock.
Thought-provoking moves, good pro and
a nice position make this one of the City’s
most popular jaunts.

June 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 73

p.066-73 City of Rocks.160.indd 73 3/19/07 4:20:49 PM

p.074-75 City of Rocks.160.indd 74 3/13/07 8:36:19 AM
 Sends in the City
* City of Rocks Logistics *

getting there
The City is located in southern Idaho, three hours northwest
of Salt Lake City, Utah, five hours southwest of Jackson Hole,
Wyoming, and four hours east of Boise, Idaho. The nearest
town is Almo, Idaho. Almo offers basic amenities including
gas, groceries, showers and sandwiches. Make sure to visit
Idaho’s oldest store, the Tracy General Store.

From points southeast:

Head north on I-84 past Snowville. Turn left on Utah SR-30:
after 15 miles SR-30 becomes Idaho SR-42. Continue for
another nine miles, then turn left onto 3600 South (Strevell
Road). Take this road for 17 miles and veer right at the first
Y. Veer right again onto Yost Road and drive for about three
miles. Turn left onto 3250 South (EY Road) and drive for five
and a half miles. Turn right onto 825 East and drive for 100
yards. Turn left onto 3075 South (City of Rocks Road), the
east entrance to the reserve.
From points southwest:
Head east on I-80. Turn left onto Nevada SR-233, which
will bend north and become Utah SR-30. Continue through
Lynn, Utah, and veer left and enter Idaho. Turn right onto
Twin Sisters Road, the south entrance to the reserve.
From points northeast:
Drive west on I-86. Veer onto I-84. Turn left onto SR-77 (exit
216) and continue through Declo and Albion. Turn right at
the fork and head through Elba to Almo. Take your first right
after Almo on City of Rocks Road, the east entrance to the
reserve.
From points northwest:
Drive east on I-84. Turn right onto Route 27 (exit 208)
through Burley. Turn left onto Main Street and continue for
one mile. Veer right onto Birch Creek Road and drive for
about 15 miles. Turn left onto City of Rocks Road, the west s"!#+0!#+).'s42!6%,
reserve entrance. s&!-),9#!-0).'s#,)-").'
s25''%$#,/4().'
/54%27%!2&//47%!2
camping s")+%4/52).'s7!4%230/243
Make peak-season reservations 90 days in advance or plan
&ORA&REE#ATALOG
on dossing for free on nearby BLM land. Sites at the City are
#ALL  #!-0-/2
beautiful and popular. Single sites cost $7 per night plus a   
$6 reservation fee. These sites can only be occupied by one /R7RITE0/"/8 2)
vehicle. A $5 fee will be assessed for one additional car. No -!(7!(.*
more than two cars are allowed at each site. Call 208-824-  
5519 to reserve a site.

Climbing seasons
Climbing areas at the City are situated at 6,000 to 7,000
feet. Spring and fall are often perfect. Summer temps can
reach into the 90s, but the climbing can still be pleasant in
the shade.

guidebook
City of Rocks Idaho: A Climber’s Guide by Dave Bingham,
dbingham2@mindspring.net

Mike Beck putting up a new, five-star V2/3 on an unnamed bolder. The

arete to the right remains unclimbed. City of Rocks isn’t known for its
bouldering, but tossed about the rolling plains you find blocks that rival

ÜÜÜ°V>“«“œÀ°Vœ“
those of any granite destination.

June 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 75

p.074-75 City of Rocks.160.indd 75 3/13/07 8:36:26 AM

 [ FIELD TESTED]

NONeSSeNTIal eSSeNTIalS
iB rEliEF $19.95 aNd atwatEr-
CarEY HaNd saNitiZEr $1.99
ibrelieF.com
atWater-carey.com
★★★★

BaCK BReeZe
PEtZl sama $76
PetZl.com
★★★★
The old adage aBoUT a rope,
a rack and the shirt on your back no
longer applies in this era of bumper
belays. We are now creatures of
comfort, and stock up on all sorts
of crazy commodities to make the
daily dirtbag grind easier. We stay
as healthy as possible and avoid
any pain that isn’t a micro-crimp.
Enter two new products that I’ve
thrown into my climbing pack with-
out looking back. IB Relief is a new
topical ibuprofen cream, the first of
its kind. Rub on this lotion and you
get nearly instantaneous relief for
any affl icted area, unlike the pill,
which takes at least 15 minutes to
enter the system. Ingesting ibu-
profen is notoriously harsh on the
stomach, too. In fact, I all but gave
up the smack a few years ago, after
it made my guts feel as if I’d been
eating broken glass.
It was hard to tell if IB Relief lasts
as long as the pill. The stuff works
instantly, but then the relief seems
to fade; however, the bottle explains
that it will take 24 to 48 hours to
really work on the affl icted area. I
can’t attest to that, but I will rec-
ommend IB Relief for the last-ditch
send of the day, when your fi ngers
are stiff and so sore you would This UpdaTed sporT-climBing the swami belt give the Sama a sur-
rather cry than shoe up. harness from Petzl is literally cool. prising amount of rigidity, making
Also, Atwater-Carey has a new The new and very much improved it also quite comfortable.
hand sanitizer, a tube that looks Sama incorporates mesh in both The leg loops are small and tight. I
like a pen with a cap. Spray the the swami and leg loops to create a tested a medium harness, and while
lemon-smelling liquid on your lightweight (14 ounce), breathable the waist fit perfectly, the leg loops
hands, and, according to Atwa- and comfortable harness that is the squeezed my thighs more intimately
ter-Carey, 99.9 percent of bacteria new hot fire for sending the rig. than I would have preferred.
will be annihilated. This packable, I used the Sama in the blister- The thing I like most about the
pen claims to house over 70 sprays ing Mexican heat, on both big walls Sama is its simplicity. There is only
worth, and it fits in my pack right and shorter, harder projects that I one buckle for the swami, and are no
next to a roll of TP. It would also dogged my way up. My shorts and buckles on the legs. Two stiff gear
be a good addition to a med kit or shirt normally sweat out under loops sit up front, which are great
your bouldering gear. With concern other harnesses, but stayed dry in for carrying draws. The two floppier
growing over the risk of a CA-MRSA this one. gear loops in the back stay out of the
infection [see Medicine, No. 159], At first glance, I wondered way. Racking gear back here is prob-
now might be a good time to keep whether the mesh panels would lematic for chimneys; but this is a
bacteria at bay. No excuses! be supportive enough on the lower sport-climbing harness. Very cool.
—andrew BisharaT back, but two stays running along —aB

76 r o c k a n d i c e . c o m | 07 June

p.076-79 Field Tested 160.indd 76 3/13/07 2:17:10 PM

 The Rattler
Edelweiss Laser
9.6 x 70 meter
$180
libertymountain.com
★★★

This hardcore rope from Edelweiss is light and

right for sporty sends and long onsights. As a bonus, it comes
in a red, green and yellow rattlesnake pattern.
At 61 grams per meter, it’s right in there with other ropes of
similar diameter, and I barely noticed the Laser on the end-
less, taxing and monotonous 35-meter pitches I’ve been tying
into recently. Unlike babies and snakes, it feeds extremely
well. Right out of the coil, the Laser is slick. Lowering anyone
over 100 pounds was difficult at first, and I definitely needed a
glove to control the thin cord through my auto-locking belay
device. With time, however—perhaps as grit and grime began
to work into the cord, and the dry coating began to wear—the
Laser started paying through my belay device with a level of
friction we can all feel sane about.
The bi-color design on the Laser is great. This visual indi-
cator is the most reliable way to tell where the middle is,
an important bit of info when lowering your partner off a
long route. Of course, as soon as you cut either end of your
rope—as you surely will if you suck as badly as I do and fall
all the time—the middle marking becomes useless unless
you trim an equal amount off each rope end.
With its impact force of 8 kN, on the low end for a rope
of its weight, the Laser gives a nice, soft catch. Also, with a
rating of six falls, it is a durable cord. A few times, I fell on
a wretched, grooved biner with a sharp edge and it really
frayed the sheath, but the core was completely intact. What
more can you ask for?
—AB

June 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 77

p.076-79 Field Tested 160.indd 77 3/13/07 2:17:19 PM

 GEAR FINDER

For the
price of an JUST
inexpensive
yet quality
entry level LIKE
road bike,
you can get
into one of
the finest
custom
SEX
packs on
the market PUSH IT IN
like the …
PULL IT OUT;
FULL
DYNEEMA
IT’S THAT EASY!
S-CM II
rated ★★★★
by Magazine
8E;

530-223-9000
McHale&
McHALEPACKS.COM - SEATTLE Company www.rockclimbingtools.com

One
One Dirty
Dirty Magazine
Magazine
See why 46,000 feet
follow in our footsteps
53/@
/@3:/<2
C<<7<5/>>
7<B@/7:@
%B63:/B3AB
(%!$4/4/
4= /<

AC3""
=B 2/

;/@16 %’7A ' % % ,

"% 3/ 3A

 I G D
E 11 
34 @ A=

E = N 
30%#)!,2!
). /

UOhW\S H : G >
=\S2W`bg;O : H
' >> 73

#%%$)4)
%! / A

/.
2 @3

,/.'3 %
@

:

342!.' 34),,
42)0 \bc`\a 0%!+).
/b`OW\W\U`cW\U
ZWTSbV`SObS\ '
:WaO5]ZRa[
WbVbOYSa]\
bVSV WZZa
4/0/&4(%
$/#4/2´3 ;SSbbVS
)2#
,!33
%23 O\QS
/2$a^`OW\
$B`]^
AS`WSa1V Vg
O[^a
Od]WR 3 % 2 ) %
3
/\YZS
O\Rb`SOb[S
\b     4
2 / 0 ( 9
5,42!,%
A1=BB8 '%.$
C@39
>@7;3B@7>A
A>317/: <^%
´3&,!44/037),$
%2.%33 @/13327B7= @3D3/:A
,/34).#/,/2!$/.).' /<2273BB@/7<7<5
.%79/2+´3345. !+%342!), A31@3BA
 -),%&).'%2,
B/>3@@
'ETTHEMOS
TFROMYOUR 756B
HARDTRAIN
ING

27A>:/GB6@C;/@
! A75<C><
  %B@=>6GA
=E
3@73A1/:3<2/
"/.53/&& @7<A723

`SQSWdS c^ %2°*/).5
b] 3
b`OWZaV]Sa>: " ]TT :O A^]`bWd
 CAOQVO\QSb] O
  :OA^]`bWdO;
]c\bOW\@c\\W\X]W\bVS
 E
+%00LJ&&,%00:8
UBSO[

PM
12/20/06 12:31:30

dd 1
Cover.44_2.1.in

Cover.TS2.
2.indd 1

12/20/06
12:29:10
PM

www.trailrunnermag.com

• p.086 Gear Finder 160.indd 86 3/13/07 3:40:43 PM

 [ FIELD TESTED]

MAIN EVENTS
WILD THINGS SUPER LIGHT
ALPINIST JACKET
$275
WILDTHINGSGEAR.COM
★★★★

LOKI LEVITY
$449
LOKIUSA.COM
★ ★ ★ ★✍

UNTIL RECENTLY, MOST WATER-

proof/breathable jackets I wore
felt like saunas. They got the
waterproof part right, but like an
asthmatic child, they had trouble
breathing. In sub-zero temps, this
caused my sweat-dampened fleece
to freeze to my shell. Then I tried
something new: the Wild Things
Super Light (SL) Alpinist and the
Loki Levity shells, two garments
that use eVent fabric.
Like most popular waterproof/
breathable fabrics, eVent uses an
expanded-polytetrafluoroethelene
fi lm. But, unlike the others, eVent
is oleophobic, meaning it is imper-
vious to body oils. Other water-
proof/breathables employ a layer
of polyurethane to keep oils out, a
layer that can inhibit breathability.
How breathable is eVent? Army
testers at their Natick Lab found
eVent to be more than twice as
breathable as its closest competi-
tor and three times as breathable
as most. Peter Hickner, owner of
Feathered Friends, tested it against
Epic, a micro-fiber, and found
eVent more breathable, a surpris- SL Alpinist (15.8 ounces) is the cold wind blows, just pull a tab
ing result considering that water- lightest full-coverage jacket I’ve on your sleeve, do a Houdini fl ip
proof/breathable fabrics are not tested. It has the usual standard with your wrist and, whah-bam!,
supposed to breathe better than mountain features such as a hood the mitts appear. The built-in face
micro-fibers. that covers a helmet, two internal mask stores behind your head in
As for me, I’ve used eVent shells on pockets and two Napoleon pock- the parka’s hood. The cargo pocket
mounts Rainier, Shasta and Whit- ets. It doesn’t have pit zips and on the jacket’s back allows enough
ney in winter. I’ve taken the jackets doesn’t need them. room to stash any items you’d need
ice climbing in minus-13-degree The 23-ounce Loki Levity con- for a day trip. The jacket also stuffs
temps, and into the high Sierras— tains some truly unique features into this cargo pocket, and in this
battling wind, rain and snow. Both such as integrated mittens, a mode, you can wear it on your back
the Loki Levity and the Wild Things face shield and a huge back cargo with two nylon shoulder straps
SL Alpinist proved waterproof, pocket. The mittens tuck unobtru- instead of tying it around your
windproof and breathable. sively out of the way into a hidden waist. Sick!
At less than one pound, the pocket above your wrist. When the —LARRY AMKRAUT

JUNE 07 | R O C K A N D I C E . C O M 79

p.076-79 Field Tested 160.indd 79 3/13/07 8:18:04 AM


THE BIG FLUSH
last april I took a trip to alaska
and rented an rv for the month.
We stored our gear in the
shower, which one day back-
flushed. my rope got soaked in
the water, which had about two
gallons of rv antifreeze in it. Is
my rope ruined?
—WaDe eVeritt /
Fort CollIns, ColoraDo
Let’s not dwell on why you and
someone else were up in the Far
North, driving around with your rope
in the shower. Let’s just focus on the
salient facts. So you had a little spill,
let’s leave it at that.
The active ingredient in RV anti-
freeze is food-grade propylene gly-
80 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE
p.080-81 Gear Guy 160.indd 80
[ ASK GEAR GUY]
col, a non-toxic, oily liquid with a wide
range of applications from food addi-
tive to personal lubricant (bingo!).
Antifreeze also has water, and might
contain ethyl or “grain” alcohol.
Scott Newell of Blue Water Ropes
says that, as a rule, “Anything that
you can put on your skin that doesn’t
burn is OK for your rope.”
Since we eat propylene glycol and
rub it on swinging Henry, I feel pretty
good about getting some on the nylon
cord. Water is also certainly fi ne, and
dousing a rope with a mild solution of
ethyl alcohol is no worse than spilling
a fifth of Jack Daniels on it. If that was
a problem we’d all be playing hide-
the-cat-o-nine-tails with the Horny
One (in other words, dead).
Personally, I’d wash that rope and go
about my business. However, if you feel
the least bit uneasy—did anyone ever
use bleach to clean that shower?—chop
up your cord and tie it into monkey
fists. (For details on chemicals that can
ruin your rope, see “Acid Test,” in the
Gear Guide, No. 158).
Now, Gear Guy knows you are
wondering, “What’s the difference
between RV antifreeze and auto anti-
freeze?” Elementary, child: Auto anti-
freeze uses ethylene glycol instead of
propylene glycol. Ethylene is sweet.
Dogs and children lap it up. It’s also
extremely toxic, found in cheap
moonshine, and causes renal failure
to death. Ironically, the antidote to
ethylene glycol poisoning is a big
belt of ethanol in the form of whisky,
vodka or gin. Salud!
BIG FOOT BIG
PROBLEM
I have been trying to get a pair of
size-18 rock shoes. Does anyone
build, or is anyone willing to
build, a large shoe? I sport climb
barefoot, and I am reaching the
point (5.12) where it is extremely
difficult to progress without
better traction on my feet.
—CHase JabLoNsKi / vIa e-maIl
You are climbing 5.12 barefoot? Per-
haps we should all take a lesson from
you, and start relying more on talent
and brass than rubber. It’s worked
before. In the Elbsandstein region of
Saxony, Germany, barefoose climbers
from Oliver Perry Smith a hundred
years ago to Berndt Arnold in the
1970s have tackled steep sandstone
walls up to 5.12. Are you a relation?
Per your problem, the market
for kicks your size is diametrically
opposed. Outside of clownshoes.net
I couldn’t fi nd any shoes that would
fit you. In fact, during my 34 years
of climbing, the only person I’ve ever
seen with dogs your size who climbed
was a bodyguard for David Lee Roth,
former swordsman and lead vocal-
ist for Van Halen. (Rock on Eddie!)
A custom cobbler made his monstro
shoes, which I swear could have dou-
bled as paddles, but that craftsman
fell in love with demon rum and can’t
be bothered now.
Commercially, you can get some
select shoes in size 15 from Acopa,
Cava, Evolv, Five Ten and Mad Rock.
Maybe an unlined leather shoe from
one of these companies would stretch
enough to be tolerable. Tony Puppo
of the Rubber Room in Bishop rec-
ommends a pair of those fashionable
rock-shoe look-alikes, such as the
Puma Chalk or Scrill, and resoling
them with sticky rubber, but even
those in your size will be tough to
fi nd, even on Google.
That failing, according to the Soci-
ety for Barefoot Living (for real, yo!),
tossing out the shoes can improve
your life. They cite an article in The
Journal of the National Association
of Chiropodists: “Survey in China
and India of Feet That Have Never
Worn Shoes.” The article states that
118 rickshaw “coolies” who pulled
passengers at a run on cobblestone
roads had healthier feet than people
who went easier on their feet and
wore shoes. Get naked! Of course, as
usual, if you experience an erection
lasting longer than four hours, seek
medical attention.
3/13/07 1:00:22 PM
 COOKED GOOSE
I have a goose-down jacket, which
I really like because it is so light
and warm, but I’m wondering if
they have to kill the goose to get
the feathers.
—Jim Neiber / via e-mail
Geese aren’t sheep. Their feathers
are plucked only after the goose has
been slaughtered, harvested for its
liver and meat. Down insulation is
simply an efficient use of a byprod-
uct, one that is no more likely to
raise the bile of PETA than the mak-
ing of bologna.
The liver is the most prized part of
the goose, being sold for upwards of
$200 a pound as foie gras, or “fatty
liver. ” Ancient Egyptians learned
that they could fatten migratory
waterfowl such as geese and ducks
by force feeding them. A gorged bird
can have a plump, buttery liver up to
12 times larger than normal, produc-
ing up to three pounds of the organ
coveted by the gastronome. For cen-
turies, the French (and now the Chi-
nese) have used a similar fattening
process called gavage, or “to gorge,”
where they place a tube in the bird’s
throat and shovel down the grocer-
ies. Up to four pounds of grain mash
are pumped into the bird two to
three times a day. Here in America,
we have a similar process, except
p.080-81 Gear Guy 160.indd 81
we call it Happy Meal and practice
on small children instead of birds.
When the goose reaches maximum
plumpness, it gets axed. The bird’s
proverbial golden egg, its liver, goes
to the cannery, the unctuous flesh is
peddled at market and the down is
sold as insulation.
Feeling faint? Consider eiderdown.
This insulation from the wild eider
duck of Iceland is plucked from the
female’s breasts or gathered from the
nest lining, where the soft feathers
protect the young birds from the
Arctic cold. In this case the bird is
not harmed and the feathers are col-
lected only after the chicks have left
the nest.
Eiderdown, although from ducks,
which typically do not produce down
that can compete with that from a
goose, is highly compressible yet
has fantastic loft and a unique hook
design that interlocks the plumes,
minimizing shifting, the bane of all
feather insulation. Shamans even
claim that eiderdown can heal. Eider-
down is rare and spendy. Less than
9,000 pounds are produced annually
and one nest produces just half an
ounce—there are more Ferraris than
eiderdown jackets. Usually reserved
for luxury comforters, eiderdown
broke into the climbing world in 1982
when a Russian team wore BASK
eiderdown parkas on Everest.
Both goose and duck down is valued
for its “fill power.” Outside the world
of smut, fill power is the amount of
cubic inches one ounce of down can
occupy. The higher the fill power, the
better the down will insulate. Down
with a fill power of 600 or greater is
excellent, and 700 is standard in the
climbing industry, where you can find
claims as high as 850.
You may notice over time that
your down jacket or sleeping bag has
lost some of its loft. Loft reduction
doesn’t mean that the plumage has
collapsed. Down, like the stubble on
your chin, is made from keratin, a
tough fibrous protein with a nearly
infinite shelf life: Feathers thou-
sands of years old have been found
in Egyptian tombs. Rather, down
loses loft because your body grease
is coating it. A washing can restore
it, or ruin it if you do it wrong.
Hand wash a down jacket or bag
in a bathtub filled with warm water.
Use a gentle soap like Ivory Flakes
or a special down soap, available
at most climbing shops. Submerge
the item and carefully knead the
down. Washing is easy; rinsing and
drying, like cheating on your taxes,
take a lot of time to do right. Rinse
the bag in warm water two, three or
more times until you are certain it
is fully rinsed. Drain the tub, then
fold the jacket or bag, and carefully
press out the water. Lift the sop-
ping thing out of the tub, set it in a
washing machine, and run the spin
cycle to centrifuge out most of the
water. Toss it in a dryer, and dry on
low, checking often to make sure
the bag isn’t getting hot. When the
down clumps, gently pull the clumps
apart. Finish with a two- or three-
day air dry. Hibachi!
RACK ’EM
Why is a rack called a rack?
—Robert Patterson /
Kingston, Ontario
The word “rack” has about two
dozen definitions, from destruction,
to a scud of clouds, to a cut of juicy
ribs, to a most buoyant part of the
female anatomy capitalized on by
the “restaurant” Hooters. My favor-
ite definition, and the one that seems
most apropos, is that from Ambrose
Bierce. In his Devil’s Dictionary he
said a rack was “An argumentative
implement formerly much used in
persuading devotees of a false faith
to embrace the living truth.” Alter-
nately, we might consider the first
definition from the Oxford Ameri-
can Dictionary, which says a “rack”
is “a framework for hanging things
on.” That sorta makes sense, but
whatever. Gear Guy has spoken!
3/13/07 1:00:23 PM
 [ TRAINING]
cheap
tricKs
WILL DO THE TRICK
By Neil Gresham
HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE YOU
noticed a real improvement in your
climbing? If it has been a year or two,
then you are probably still reaping
the benefits of your previous break-
through. If it’s been three or four
years, then frustration may be creep-
ing in. Half a decade or more and you
may have given up all hope of reach-
ing the next level. We all get stuck at
various points in our climbing, and it’s
easy to haul out the same old excuses:
insufficient training time and the
same uncooperative body in the same
gym. Surely everyone plateaus after a
while, and perhaps your genetics only
geared you up for 5.11d and not for
.12a? Bunk!
Beating plateaus is not necessarily
about training harder, but training in
a more strategic way. The body adapts
quickly to training stress and it’s vital

dawn kish
to keep one step ahead and “trick”
your system into improving.
Here are three common plateau
Justin woods crushing the “three points of contact” maxim, Big Bend, Utah. stages and tricks to move past them.

Ca
O
82 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE

p.082-84 Training.160.indd 82 3/13/07 4:09:07 PM

 THE 5.9/5.10 PLATEAU—
FEAR NOT!
Don’t worry, you are not about to be
sent to the campus board. The first
thing that causes so many 5.9/10 climb-
ers to plateau is a loss of momentum in
their training as a result of enforced
breaks or an erratic approach. Aim to
use the climbing gym a minimum of
three (and a maximum of four) times
a week during training phases, and
once or twice a week during climbing
phases. Heeding this advice alone will
make a huge difference.
The next big step is to start doing
separate sessions for bouldering and for
endurance. A recommended split is two
endurance sessions per week, and one
bouldering session. For bouldering, still
climb the vertical and slabby problems,
but know that the improvements from
now on will come predominantly from
using the overhanging walls. This will
help you gain specific strength, and teach
you an entirely new way of moving to use
that strength efficiently. Don’t be intimi-
dated by the guys who live on these walls;
soon you will be able to play their game.
With bouldering, spend at least two-
thirds of the session on steeper walls, but
make sure the angle isn’t so steep that
you can only use jugs. Finger strength
is always a greater priority than arm
strength. You can usually use technique
TO ORDER YOUR PACKAGE...
Use the attached card and enter this
promo code: BBGPK07
Call now: 887.762.5423 x18
Or go online at www.rockandice.com
and use this code: WBGPK07
p.082-84 Training.160.indd 83
real climbs because your endur-
to compensate for weak arms, but if you
ance lets you down, and as a result
can’t hang the holds then you’re out of Beating
you treat fire with fire, and carry on
the game. Try problems with a range of plateaus is not
develop a weakness. The problems
with endurance training. But you still
different holds and moves so you don’t
don’t get results. Why? Because your necessarily
diagnosis is wrong. You are pumping
should be between four and eight hand about
The classic issue for the 5.9/10
out because your muscles are work-
moves long, and at your absolute limit.
ing at such a high percentage of your training
strength limit. Simply put, you are
climber is to lose interest if you can’t harder, but
too weak.
flash a problem or get it on your sec-
ond or third try. But harder climbersIt’s difficult to see how a few moves training
may spend weeks working moves and above a crash pad will help you con- in a more
Rest well between attempts so no
quer a 30-move enduro-fest, but a
it’s this process that builds strength.
typical sport climb requires a 50/50 strategic way.
lactic acid builds up. On alternatesplit of power and endurance. If
you’re only training endurance you’re
weeks you may wish to substitute the fingerboard work can also keep things
bouldering session with a home fin-only working one half of the equation. buoyant. Although bouldering is the
gerboard session, doing a combina- Endurance training has a minimal main area of focus, you can also tweak
effect on power but power training
tion of dead hangs, pull-ups on jugs your endurance work to keep things
(ie: bouldering) has a great effect on
and leg raises for body tension. For moving. It’s time to stop doing what
endurance. The reason you don’t get
endurance, stop traversing altogether you enjoy, which is trophy hunting on
and instead aim for between six andpumped on 5.9s isn’t because you’ve the lead wall. Get over it. You know
got great endurance, it’s because
eight successful repeats of routes that you can onsight 5.11c and lap easy
the moves feel easy. You’ll never do
are gently overhanging and as close to 5.11s. It’s time to hit the bouldering
the moves on 5.13s if you can’t first
your limit as possible. You’ll be climb- wall and start doing circuits. You
make them at ground level. So, get
ing 5.11 before you know it, and when won’t be able to massage your ego by
bouldering. If you don’t already really
you do, you’ll need to throw much of ticking off the grades, but you’ll sure
enjoy bouldering, learn to love it.
what you’ve been doing in the trash. as hell need to massage your forearms
Here’s how: Climb four times a week afterward. All elite-level climbers use
during training phases. Keep your circuits extensively for power-endur-
THE 5.11/5.12 PLATEAU— endurance on the back burner and go ance training. You can vary the length
YOU ARE TOO WEAK! for a 3:1 bouldering to endurance split from 20 to 50 moves, which will also
for the majority of your training. The test your memory for long sequences.
The biggest mistake made by inter- right type of bouldering (see chart, Make the circuits sustained (with no
mediate climbers is to undervalue next page) should be all you need to rests or cruxes) and vary the style
bouldering. You think you fail on make huge gains, but a little supportive from session to session. To get fit for
START CLIMBING NOW
BVS    0SUW\\S`¸a>OQYOUS
3dS`gbVW\UOPSUW\\W\UQZW[PS`\SSRab]PS
8E;
W\bVSY\]e]\V]eb]QZW[P
•Rock Climbing Skills: The Basics and Beyond
$29.95 value
•Knots and Ropes for Climbers
$8.95 value
•One year subscription
(9 issues) of Rock & Ice
$45
$29.95 value
All in one package for only
Offer good through December 2007 while supplies last. Offer not valid in combination with any other subscription offers. Only available in U.S.A and Canada.
3/13/07 4:09:08 PM
 [ TRAINING]
trad routes or longer sport pitches, start
going up and down on the leading wall
or doing long stints of random move-
ment on easy sections of the bouldering
wall. I know it seems boring, but if you
want to be able to recover on longer
routes, then this is the only call. Don’t
forget your supportive aerobic condi-
tioning and your antagonist exercises
either. Do four sets of 10 push-ups and
a three-mile jog twice a week. This bit
of light exercise may just be the miss-
ing link to help you capitalize on your
training. Remember, it’s the things
that you haven’t done before that will
make you improve. Once you’ve milked
these ideas and onsighted 5.12c here’s
what’s next:
THE 5.13 PLATEAU—
UP THE INTENSITY
It’s time to increase the intensity of your
training. You may have dabbled with sys-
tem training and campus boards in the
past, but you generally use bouldering
for your core-strength training sim-
ply because it’s more fun and requires
less discipline. No one is disputing that
bouldering provides the best overall way
to train strength and technique in uni-
son, but sometimes you need to shock the
system and favor methods that maximize
overload, even if it is at the expense of
technique and play. Campus board, sys-
tem training and bar exercises such as
assisted one-arm pull-ups, lock-offs and
leg raises are the main ones on the list.
Split your strength training into phases.
Pad your project with this exclusive Four to six weeks is a good length. For
the first phase do one bouldering ses-
package deal from sion and two campus or system sessions
per week. For the next phase do two
bouldering sessions and one campus or
system session. If you’re looking to break
5.14, you’ll need to constantly adjust to
your week/day structure to keep shock-
ing the system.
try to increase the “extent” of training
(ie: do more work) and for the second
half, try increasing “intensity” (harder
work). The scope for minor variations
is almost endless—it’s up to you to take
control and be creative.
LIFESTYLE
Regardless of the grade you climb, another
classic plateau buster is to pay more
attention to nutrition and lifestyle factors.
If you haven’t used protein supplementa-
tion during strength phases then give it
a try, or if you’re used to surviving on
seven hours sleep then watch what hap-
pens when you up this to eight. There’s
no point polishing your training program
if you’re not fuelling the machine and
maximizing your recovery time.
Neil Gresham is based in London
and has climbed 5.14X (E10) on trad,
5.14a sport and M10 in winter. He has
just released a two-part instructional
DVD, Masterclass, which covers tech-
nique, training and crag skills. See
climbingmasterclass.com.
5.9/5.10 PLATEAU
• Train more and train regularly—
three times per week
• Train bouldering and
routes separately
• Greater emphasis on routes,
but try steeper ones
• For bouldering—short, hard,
steepish problems not
on jugs, with good rest
between attempts
5.11/5.12 PLATEAU
• Greater emphasis on bouldering

2 years of Rock & Ice magazine The key is to train as hard as possible (three bouldering workouts to
one endurance)

+ a basic bouldering combo

without injury, but the big question is
how. A simple method is to push your • Circuits for power endurance
t:
t you ge
training in waves with a hard two weeks (15 – 35 moves)
e ’s w ha
Her followed by a lighter week, and so on.
• Longer stints for stamina
only es of The most productive approach is to
• 18 issu Ice
(up and down on routes)
follow a peaking cycle that is planned

$55 Rock &

• A mini ring pad
months in advance. Don’t switch off
here because this is the part that will
make all the difference. It’s also not as
• Remember antagonists
and cardio

boulde t
difficult as it sounds. Start with a light

Ch alk • Chalk po phase of general conditioning, then 5.13 PLATEAU

• go for a month of endurance work to
rush provide a base. Then try running two • Higher-intensity strength and
• Toothb strength phases, which are structured power-training methods such
as a campus board, system
differently (as described above) back-
to-back, and then run an endurance training, bar work and
phase as the season approaches. Fin- body-tension exercises
ish with a tapering phase, where you • Push your training in waves or
reduce the frequency and intensity cycles so you don’t get injured
of training, and tune the machine to
• Experiment with periodized
address any minor weaknesses. There
training principles
are other threads that you can keep
running through each training phase, • Healthier lifestyle
Don’t miss out on this SWEET deal! for example, in the fi rst half of a phase
Call 877 762 5423 x 18 and ask for the Bouldering Kit Package Deal,
or go online to www.rockandice.com and enter the promo code: CREV0407
Offer good through December 2007 while supplies last! Offer not valid in combination with other subscription offers.
Only available to U.S. addresses in the lower 48 states. We must have a UPS shipping address to deliver the pad.
84 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE

p.082-84 Training.160.indd 84 3/20/07 2:14:20 PM

 world wide south america

guides & Expeditions

HIMAL AYA , AFRICA , ACONCAGUA
EXPEDITION. With Daniel Mazur. Ever-
est, Kilimanjaro, Ama Dablam, Cho
Oyu, Lhakpa-Ri,North-Col, Mt. Kenya,
Shishapangma, Lhotse, Treks. www.
SummitClimb.com; info@SummitClimb.
com; 360-570-0715
HIRE a MOUNTAIN GUIDE: The Moun-
tain Guide Bureau’s world wide directory
of certified mountain guides and guid-
ing agencies. How to choose a guide,
understanding guide certifications, lo-
cating a certified guide to hire. Including
AMGA, ACMG, IFMGA certified guides.
Go to www.hireamountainguide.com, or
www.BradleyAlpinist.com.
Alaska Mountain Guides & Climb-
ing School offers the highest qual-
ity climbing instruction and guided ex-
peditions worldwide. Join us in Alaska,
Utah, Ecuador, Mexico, Nepal, Kiliman-
jaro, and Aconcagua.  Many  courses
are available for university credit. www.
alaskamountainguides.com; 800-766-
3396 Since 1992
Non-profit
The Highest Goal: Sherpa Adven-
ture Gear and the Sherpa Education
Fund are partners in support of disad-
vantaged Sherpa families in Nepal. A
portion of proceeds from every piece
sold by SAG goes to school scholarships F LY I N G A L A S K A S I N C E 1 9 6 3
for the needy through the SherpaFund.

MOUNTAIN MADNESS. Join our Al-

pine & Rock climbing school in the
Cascades and South America. Climb
the Seven Summits, Kilimanjaro, Cho
Oyu, Everest, trek in Patagonia, the
Inca Trail & to Everest Basecamp. Cas-
cade volcanoes & classic North Cas-
cade climbs all summer. 800-328-5925;
mountainmadness.com
Help us to help them! More info: www.
SherpaAdventureGear.com, email info@ Climbing McKinley or the
SherpaAdventureGear.com, Sherpa-
Fund.org, email Kathy@SherpaFund.org Alaska Range?
Contact
CYNTHIA BRUGGEMAN
cbruggeman@bigstonepub.com
We invite you to fly with K2 Aviation.
877-762-5423 ext. 13
— Todd and Suzanne Rust

UNITED STATES
907-733-2291•800-764-2291•www.flyk2.com
COLOR ADO M O U NTAI N SCH OO l .
Courses, climbs and expeditions and
indoor training. Colorado’s total climb-
ing service located in Boulder and Estes
Park. Exclusive guides for Rocky Moun-
tain National Park since 1870. www.
cmschool.com or 888-267-7783

fox mountain guides. North Car-

olina Rock and Ice Guiding, Climbing
Courses, and AMGA Top Rope Site Man-
ager Courses. Exams and Recertifica-
tion in the Southeast. www.foxmoun-
tainguides.com; 1-888-28-GUIDE

Mountain Adventures Seminars (MAS)

- Friendly, Professional & AMGA Accred-
ited. Rock climbing, mountaineering,
avalanche education and backcountry
skiing in Northern California. (209)
753-6556 or www.mtadventure.com;
www.mtadventure.com +%6).-!(/.%9
!-'!!,0).%2/#+#%24)&)%$

S an J uan M o unta i n G u i d e s .
Ouray’s Local Experts! ICE, ROCK, AL-
-!(/.%9!,0).%!$6%.452%3#/-
PINE, SKI. Group Courses and Custom +"-"!2. 9!(//#/-
Programs. Ouray, Telluride, San Juans,   
Black Canyon, Moab. International:
Bolivia, Europe, Asia. Clint Cook - IFM-
GA/UIAGM AMGA Certified Guide. 970-
325-4925 www.ourayclimbing.com

YOSEMITE MOUNTAINEERING SCHOOL

and guide service.  All levels of instruc-
tion and guided climbing in Yosemite
National Park since 1969.  Climb the
walls of Yosemite Valley with the Big
Wall experts.  Climb the domes of Tu-
olumne Meadows and the peaks of the
High Sierra with our expert guides.  Yo-
semite National Park, CA 95389; 866-
387-9843; www.YosemitePark.com
VerticalAdventures 2/3/05 11:05 AM Page 1
CAnADA

CIRRUS ALPINE GUIDES. Guided Cus-

tom Climbing Adventures.  IFMGA / VERTICAL ADVENTURES ®
ACMG Guides. 15 Years Professionally.
Guiding the Canadian Rockies.  Classic Rock Climbing School
Snow and Ice Peak Ascents.  Sport and
Alpine Rock Climbing.  Quartzite, Gran-
Joshua Tree & Idyllwild
ite and Limestone Routes.  Bugaboos,
Ghost River, Banff, Canmore, Lake Lou-
ise, Mt Robson, Mt Assinaboine, Mt Edith
Cavell, Mt Columbia, Mt Athabasca.  Rock
Climbing Instruction. 2 and 4 day. Al-
pine Skills intro 2 and 6 day.  Call Local
Mountain Guide Mark Stewart. Personal- Accredited Member
ized Service and experience getting you of the AMGA

to the top.  Canmore Alberta, Canada.

403-678-8567; cirrus@shaw.ca; www.
(800) 514-8785
cirrusalpineguides.com. www.verticaladventures.com
JUne 07 | r o c k a n d i c e . c o m 85

p.093-97 Classifieds/Listings 1685 85 3/13/07 3:33:37 PM

 CANADA
Lavel, QC. ACTION DIRECTE CLIMBING.
4377 Boul Street Elzear O. Lavel, QC H7P
4J3; www.actiondirecte.qc.ca
ROCK GYMS
Newmarket, ON. OF ROCK &
CHALK CLIMBING. Climate
controlled. Open 7 days. 905-
895-ROCK; 888-248-7625;
www.rockandchalk.com.
Toronto, ON. JOE ROCK-
HEAD’S CLIMBING GYM.
More Good, Less Suck. 29
Fraser Ave., Toronto, On-
tario M6K 1Y7; 416-538-
7670; www.joerockheads.com
Toronto, ON. THE ROCK OASIS.
27 Bathurst Street, Toronto: 15,000 sq.
ft., 60’ high plus bouldering; 416-703-
3434; Ajax Community Center: 3,000
sq. ft., 25’ high plus bouldering: 905-231-
3434: www.rockoasis.com
Toronto, ON. TORONTO CLIMBING
ACADEMY. 416-406-5900; www.climbing
academy.com
ALABAMA
Homewood. ALABAMA OUTDOORS.
3054 Independence Dr. Homewood, AL
35209; 1-800-870-0011
ARIZONA
Flagstaff. VERTICAL RELIEF
CLIMBING CENTER. Awe-
some indoor walls, guid-
ing and instruction, gear shop, S.W.
guidebooks, showers. 928-556-9909;
www.vertical relief.com
Phoenix/North Valley. SOLIDROCK GYM.
23620 N. 20th Drive, Suite 24, Phoenix;
(623) 587-7625; www.solidrockgym.com
“Arizona”
Phoenix/West Valley. SOLIDROCK GYM.
407 S. 107th Ave., Suite A6, Tolleson;
(623) 643-9399; www.solidrockgym.com
-”Arizona”
Scottsdale. AZ ON THE ROCKS. State of
the art, approx. 14,000 square feet, fully
air-conditioned, lead climbing, fitness
equipment, showers. 480-502-9777;
www.azontherocks.com
Tempe. PHOENIX ROCK GYM. 1353 E. Uni-
versity, Tempe, AZ 85281; 480-921-8322;
www.phoenixrockgym.com
ARKANSAS
Little Rock. LITTLE ROCK
CLIMBING CENTER; www.
littlerockclimbing.com; 501-
227-9500
CALIFORNIA
Anaheim Hills. ROCK CITY CLIMBING
CENTER. 714-777-4884; www.rockcity-
climbing.com
Berkeley. BERKELEY IRONWORKS. 14K
sq. ft. climbing. Full fitness center, yoga
and programs. Retail shop. 800 Potter
St. Berkeley, CA 94710; 510-981-9900;
www.touchstoneclimbing.com
86 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 J U N E
p.093-97 Classifieds/Listings 1686 86
Concord. TOUCHSTONE CONCORD.
10K sq. ft. climbing. Full fitness cen-
ter, yoga and programs. Retail shop.
1220 Diamond Way #140 Concord, CA
94520; 925-602-1000; www.touchstone
climbing.com
Davis. ROCKNASIUM. Great
Routes. 530-757-2902;
www.rocknasium.com
Hawthorne. BEACH CITY ROCKS. In the
South Bay, 40 foot leads, top ropes, and
bouldering. 100+ routes. Just minutes
south of LAX. 4926 West Rosecrans Ave.;
310-973-3388; www.bcrgym.com
Marin County. CLASS 5. 6K sq. ft. climb-
ing. Fitness center. Retail shop. 25B
Dodie St., San Rafael, CA 94901; 415-485-
6931; www.touchstoneclimbing.com
Monterey Peninsula. SANCTUARY ROCK
GYM. 1855A East Ave., Sand City, CA 93955;
831-899-2595; www.rockgym.com
Mountain View. TWISTERS. The
best instructional climbing gym
for all ages! 2639 Terminal Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043.
650-967-5581
Orange County. SOLIDROCK GYM (Lake
Forest) 10,000 sq. ft. climbable terrain.
Top roping, bouldering, lead climbing.
26784 Vista Terrace; 949-588-6200;
www.solidrockgym.com
Rolling Hills. QUANTUM ROCK EXTREME.
Mobile rock walls for rent in Southern
California. Mobile rappel tower too.
www.quantumrock.com; 310-378-2171
Sacramento. SACRAMENTO PIPEWORKS.
10K sq. ft. climbing. Full fitness center,
yoga and programs. Retail shop. 116 N.
16th St. Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-341-
0100; www.touchstoneclimbing.com
San Diego. SOLIDROCK GYM. Three loca-
tions- DOWNTOWN, POWAY, and SAN
MARCOS. 30 foot walls, 35-45+ ropes.
Hundreds of clearly marked, frequently
changed, expertly set routes. Toproping,
bouldering and lead climbing. www.solid
rockgym.com; 619-299-1124
San Diego. VERTICAL HOLD SPORT
CLIMBING CENTER, INC. The largest
in Southern California. Over 20,000
square feet of superbly textured climb-
ing surface. Colossal 40 foot lead
cave, 200+ toprope/lead routes, 2
awesome bouldering areas. 9580 Dis-
tribution Ave., San Diego, CA 92121;
858-586-7572; www.verticalhold.com
San Francisco. MISSION CLIFFS. 14K sq.
ft. climbing. Retail shop. Touchstone’s
first gym. 2295 Harrison St. @ 19th St.,
San Francisco, CA 94110; 415-550-0515;
www.touchstoneclimbing.com
San Jose. TOUCH STONE SAN JOSE. 3K
sq. ft. climbing. Bouldering and Yoga.
Retail shop. 200 S. 1st Street #70 (Down-
town), San Jose, CA 95113; 408-920-6000;
www.touchstoneclimbing.com
San Mateo. PLANET GRANITE. 20,000
square feet, 50 foot high cracks! Exten-
sive weights & fitness, yoga, pro-shop;
100 El Camino Real, Belmont, CA 94002;
650-591-3030; www.planetgranite.com
Santa Cruz. PACIFIC EDGE.In-
door climbing at its finest! 104
Bronson St., Santa Cruz, CA
95062; 831-454-9254; www.
pacificedgeclimbinggym.com
Santa Rosa. VERTEX CLIMBING CENTER.
707-573-1608; www.vertexclimbing.com
Sunnyvale. PLANET GRANITE. 25,000
sqft of indoor & outdoor climbing. 60 ft
high. Cracks, chimneys, off-widths and
lots of steep climbing. HUGE bouldering
area. Extensive weights & fitness, yoga
& spinning, pro-shop. 815 Stewart Drive,
Sunnyvale, CA 94085; (408) 991 - 9090;
www.planetgranite.com
Thousand Oaks. BOULDERDASH IN-
DOOR ROCK CLIMBING. 10,000 sq ft in-
door climbing surface/bouldering; 45 ft
high walls with over 40 lead/top-ropes;
www.boulderdashclimbing.com
Upland. HANGAR 18 INDOOR CLIMBING
GYM. 256 Stowell St., Ste. A, Upland,
CA 91786; 909-931-5991; www.climb
hangar18.com
Victorville. THE BULLET HOLE TRAIN-
ING CENTER. The high desert’s only
indoor climbing gym! 15315 Cholame
Road, Unit D, Victorville, CA 92392;
760-245-3307
COLORADO
Breckenridge. BRECKENRIDGE RECRE-
ATION CENTER CLIMBING WALL. 880
Airport Road, Breckenridge, CO 80424;
970-547-4324
Colorado Springs. SPORT CLIMBING
CENTER. Colorado’s ultimate indoor
climbing destination. Spacious. Over
13,000 square feet. Guiding available.
4650 Northpark Dr., 80918; 719-260-1050;
www.sportclimbcs.com
Denver. PARADISE ROCK
GYM. Denver’s indoor climb-
ing community. 6260 N.
Washington St., Unit 5, Den-
ver, CO 80216; 303-286-8168;
www.paradiserock.com
Denver. THRILLSEEKERS. 300 Ft. MEGA
bouldering traverse, 5 lead arches. 38
topropes, 12,000 sq. ft. of climbing sur-
face; www.thrillseekers.cc
Fort Collins. INNER STRENGTH ROCK
GYM. 5800 square feet. 3713 South
Mason, Fort Collins, CO; 970-282-8118;
www.innerstrengthrock.com
Fort Collins. MIRAMONT LIFESTYLE FIT-
NESS. Over 6000 sq. ft. of awesome ter-
rain. 1800 Heath Pkwy 970-221-5000;
www.miramontlifestyles.com
Glenwood Springs. COLORADO MOUN-
TAIN COLLEGE, Spring Valley Center
Climbing Gym. Boudering area and top
rope wall. 970-947-8237
Thornton, Centennial. ROCK’N & JAM’N.
Tallest, steepest, indoor climbing gyms
in Colorado. Spacious locker rooms,
dust-free, air-conditioned enviroment.
Two locations to serve you. North Den-
ver at Washington St. Thorton 80229
and South Denver at 7390 Fraser St.,
Centennial 80112.
CONNECTICUT
Manchester. STONE AGE ROCK GYM.
860-645-0015; www.stoneagerockgym.
com
Wallingford. PRIME CLIMB. Connecticut’s
OLDEST and BEST 203-265-7880; www.
primeclimb.com
FLORIDA
Miami. X-TREME ROCK CLIMBING.
Florida’s premier climbing facility.
12,000+ square feet of state-of-the-art
fully textured arches, aretes, slabs &
overhangs, fitness gym & yoga. 13972
SW 139 Court, 33186; 305-233-6623;
www.x-tremerock.com
Tampa. VERTICAL VENTURES. 813-
884-7625. www.verticalventures.com
GEORGIA
Atlanta. ATLANTA ROCKS!
INTOWN/PERIMETER
GYMS. The largest gyms
in the Southeast, offer
challenging climbing on
12,000/6,000 square
feet of seamless, textured climbing
surface, featuring multi-tiered, wildly
overhanging ledges on terrain so real-
istic, it seems like real rock. Lead routes
up to 85 linear feet 50/40 topropes,
bouldering features, aerobic and weight
training equipment, computerized ro-
tating climbing wall, locker rooms and
showers. Group rates, daily instruc-
tion, equipment sales and rentals IN-
TOWN! location 1019A Collier Road,
Atlanta; 404-351-3009; PERIMETER!
location 4411A Bankers Circle, Doraville;
770-242-7625; www.atlantarocks.com
Atlanta. WALL CRAWLER ROCK CLUB.
Atlanta’s neighborhood climbing gym.
Where the climbers hang out! www.
wallcrawlerrock.com. 404-371-8997
Kennesaw. ESCALADE ROCK CLIMB-
ING GYM. 770-794-1575 www.escalade
gym.com;
Metro Atlanta. ADRENALINE CLIMB-
ING. Climbers come here for long over-
hanging leads, massive bouldering, Pro
route setting, & relaxed atmosphere.
12,500 sf, Radwall design. 460 Brogdon
Road, Suwanee 30024; 770-271-1390;
www.adrenalineclimbing.com
ILLINOIS
Bloomington. UPPER LIMITS. Over
20,000 ft2, 65’ silos, wave wall, bi-
level cave, large outdoor bouldering
area and 110’ routes. Just off I-55
and I-74 309-829-TALL (8255);
www.upperlimits.com
Chicago. LINCOLN PARK ATHLETIC CLUB.
773-529-2022; www.lpaconline.com
Chicago. VERTICAL ENDEAVORS.
18,000ft2 of climbing on 40 ft walls.
19 Auto Belays. Programs and outdoor
guiding for all ages. 630-836-0122;
www.verticalendeavors.com
Crystal Lake. NORTH WALL. 815-356-
6855; www.climbnorthwall.com
Evanston. EVANSTON ATHLETIC CLUB.
847-866-6190; www.eaconline.com
Homewood. CLIMB ON. 18120 Harwood
Ave, Homewood, IL 60430; 708-798-
9994; www.Climbon.net
3/13/07 3:34:31 PM
 INDIANA MONTANA Wind Gap. NORTH SUMMIT CLIMBING
GYM. Large, all extremes, professional
!.$
walls and routes. Easy access from East-
Bloomington. HOOSIER Billings. STEEP WORLD. Your
ern PA, NY and NJ. 610-863-4444
HEIGHTS. 5100 S Rogers St. comprehensive climbing cen-
12,000 sq ft of climbable ter- ter! Gym/Shop; 208 N 13th. Wildwood. CLIMB NORTH. Best climbing
Billings, MT; 406-25-CLIMB; wall in Pittsburgh. New routes weekly for

BOOK SALES

ROCK GYMS
rian. 2000 sq ft top out boul-
der. Seperate party room www.steepworld.com all levels. Open 7 days. www.jewarts.com
available for rental. 812-824-6414; www.
hoosierheights.com NEVADA RHODE ISLAND
Lincoln. RHODE ISLAND ROCK GYM. 401-
Las Vegas. RED ROCK CLIMBING CEN- 727-1704; www.rhodeislandrockgym.com
MARYLAND TER & MOUNTAIN GUIDES. 8201 W.
Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89117; TENNESSEE
SHOWERS! (702) 254-5604; www.re- Chattanooga. THE TENNESSEE
C L I M B I N G C E N T E R S
drockclimbingcenter.com BOULDERING AUTHORITY. Indoor climb-
Columbia, Timonium & Rockville. EARTH ing, instruction, guiding and fraternizing.
TREKS CLIMBING CENTERS. State- 423-822-6800 www.tbagym.com ALASKA
of-the-art Climbing Gyms, among NEW HAMPSHIRE CLIMBING
Whether looking
the largest in the country, with the to climb Denali`s
best bouldering in the area. Three fa- West Buttress
cilities within 25 minutes of Baltimore Plymouth. ROCK BARN. 603-536-2717 or scale a wall in
www.rhinocerosmountainguides.com the Ruth Gorge,
and Washington, DC: 800-Climb-UP, Nashville. CLIMB NASHVILLE; 615-463- Alaska Climbing
www.earthtreksclimbing.com is the book to
7625; www.climbnashville.com take you there.
NEW JERSEY Author Joseph
TEXAS Puryear`s result of
MASSACHUSSETTS Fairfield. NEW JERSEY ROCK
15 years of Alaska
Range climbing
Frisco. CANYONS OF FRIS- and research is
GYM. 973-439-9860; www. CO CLIMBING GYM. 7164 the most detailed
newjerseyrockgym.com Technology Sr., Ste. 202 information ever
for the region`s
Frisco, TX 75034; www. best climbs.
Boston. METROROCK CLIMBING CEN- canyonsclimbing.com Price: $29.95
NEW MEXICO Item: BK1038
TER. 69 Norman Street, Unit 9, Everett,
MA 02149; www.metrorock.com Houston. STONEMOVES. 281-397-0830;
Albuquerque. STONE AGE www.stonemoves.com
CLIMBING GYM. NM’s larg-
est! Topout bouldering, UTAH
two lead caves, guiding, YOSEMITE
Provo. QUARRY INDOOR CLIMBING BIG WALLS
Newburyport. METROROCK NORTH. 40 complete climbing shop. CENTER. 2494 N. University Pkwy Pro- Yosemite Big
Parker Street, Newburyport, MA 01950; 505-341-2016; www.stone vo, UT 84604; 801-418-0266 Walls is the most
ageclimbinggym.com current, detailed,
www.metrorock.com and accurate guide
VIRGINIA to Yosemite`s
most classic walls.
Santa Fe. SANTA FE CLIMBING CENTER. Alexandria. SPORTROCK 703-212-ROCK; Yosemite Big Walls
Woburn. BOSTON ROCK 825 Early St Ste A, Santa Fe, NM. 87505; covers the 41 best
GYM. New England’s original www.sportrock.com big wall routes on El
www.climbsantafe.com Capitan, Half Dome,
rock gym. 78 G Olympia Ave., and Washington
Woburn, MA 01801; 781-935- Sterling. SPORTROCK 703-212-7625; Column all of which
PEAK (7325); www.boston NEW YORK www.sportrock.com were personally
climbed and docu-
rockgym.com mented by author
Chris McNamara.
Albany. ALBANY’S INDOOR ROCK GYM. Price: $24.95
Over 6,000 square feet of climbing. Item: BK 1032
MICHIGAN Labyrinth system. 4C Vatrano Road, Al-
bany, New York; 518-459-7625; www.air Virginia Beach. VIRGINIA BEACH
Ann Arbor/Pontiac. PLANET ROCK rockgym.com ROCK GYM. 6,000 square feet, 33
CLIMBING GYM & TRAINING CENTER. foot textured wall with roofs, aretes,
Over 39,000 total sq. ft. of climbing New Paltz. THE INNER WALL. Main St., slabs, cracks and bulges. Toprope & LAKE TAHOE
terrain. Over 50 ft. top ropes and 85 ft. Eckerd’s Plaza, New Paltz, NY; 845-255- lead, bouldering, rappelling, pro-shop. BOULDERING
Open everyday. 5049 Southern Blvd., Lake Tahoe is be-
lead routes. Ann Arbor 734-827-2680; 7625; www.theinnerwall.com. coming California`s
Pontiac; 248-334-3904; www.planet- VA Beach, VA 23462; 757-499-8347; largest summer
rock.com www.virginiabeachrockgym.com bouldering area.
Schenectady. ELECTRIC CITY ROCK GYM. There are more than
35 areas with more
518-388-2704; www.ecrockgym.com WASHINGTON than 1,400 problems
and new challenges
Grand Rapids. HIGHER GROUND ROCK Seattle. STONE GARDENS. Big & friend- are discovered every
CLIMBING CENTRE, LTD. 851 Bond NW, NORTH CAROLINA ly, Tons of bouldering. Lots of TR & lead
week. It is all here,
it is all year round,
Grand Rapids, MI 49503; 616-774-3100; too. 2839 NW Market St., Seattle; 206- and even this book,
www.higround.com Charlotte. INNER PEAKS CLIMBING 781-9828;www.stonegardens.com
offering the most
complete coverage
CENTER. 9535 Monroe Rd., Ste. 170, yet on the subject,
Charlotte, NC 28270; 704-844-6677; Seattle/Redmond/Bremerton/Everett. can only whet your
MINNESOTA www.innerpeaks.com VERTICAL WORLD. America’s first in- appetite.
Price: $29.95
door climbing gym. Fun routes, friendly Item: BK1039
service and professional instruction since
Rochester. PRAIRIE WALLS CLIMB- OREGON 1987. Four gyms for the price of one! Se-
ING GYM. www.prairiewalls.com. 507- attle 206-283-4497; Redmond 425-881-
292-0511 8826; Bremerton 360-373-6676; Everett
Bend. INCLIMB ROCK GYM. 555 Ari-
zona Ave Ste 50 Bend OR 97702; 541- 425-258-3431; www.verticalworld.com SOUTH LAKE
388-6764; www.inclimb.com; info@ Tacoma. EDGEWORKS CLIMBING. 6102
TAHOE CLIMBING
South Lake Tahoe
inclimb.com North 9th St. Tacoma, WA 98406; www. offers exquisite
St. Paul / Duluth. VERTICAL ENDEAVORS. edgeworks-climbing.com year-round climbing
for every ability and
The Twin Cities facility (651-776-1430) Portland. PORTLAND ROCK GYM. taste. Trad climbers
offers 18,200ft2 of climbing while Duluth Portland’s premiere rock gym (est. WISCONSIN can jam smooth
Yosemite-like cracks
(218-279-9980) offers 14,000sf on walls 1987) 12,500 sq. ft. of climbing sur- at Sugarloaf or Eagle
up to 42’tall. Auto Belays. Programs and Brookfield/Pewaukee. ADVENTURE
face and growing! From Highball Lake, pull on steep
outdoor guiding for all ages. www.vertical ROCK. 21250 W. Capital Dr. Pewaukee, WI knobs at Phantom
bouldering to 60 ft. lead walls. 21 NE Spires, or lead their
endeavors.com 53072; 262-790-6800; www.adventure
12th Portland, OR 97232; 503-232-8310; first multi-pitch route
rock.com at Lover`s Leap.
www.portlandrockgym.com Sport climbers can
Madison. BOULDERS CLIMBING GYM. clip bolts at Luther
MISSOURI 3964 Commercial Ave. Madison, WI 53714;
Rock, Luther Spires
Tigard. CLUBSPORT ADVENTURE and Mayhem Cove.
CENTER. Oregon’s largest rock gym. www.bouldersgym.com Price: $24.95
Item: BK1029
Springfield. PETRA CLIMBING GYM. 916 18120 SW Lower Boones Ferry Rd. Tigard,
N. Cedarbrook, Springfield, MO; 417-866- OR 97224; 503-968-4535; www.club WYOMING
3308; www.petrarockgym.com sports.com Casper. THE PEAK. 408 N. Beverly,

St. Louis. UPPER LIMITS. 10,000 ft2 of
custom sculpted terrain. Climate Con-
trolled! Auto belays. Conveniently lo-
cated off I-64/40 behind Union Station.
Free parking. 314-241-ROCK (7625);
www.upperlimits.com
TO ORDER
Casper, WY 82609; 307-472-4084.
PENNSYLVANIA
Oaks. PHILADELPHIA ROCK GYM. Call toll free:
422 Business Center, PO Box 511, Get the exposure you deserve! (877) 762-5423 ext. 18
Oaks, PA 19456; 610-666-ROPE; www.
philarockgym.com Call • 877-762-5423 ext. 17 Or go to: www.rockandice.com
JUNE 07 | R O C K A N D I C E . C O M 87

p.093-97 Classifieds/Listings 1687 87 3/13/07 3:35:08 PM

 GEAR
CLIMB THROUGH
STRONG HANDS = STRONG CLIMBERS.
CLIMBER’S RESOURCE
HIGH SCHOOL We provide top quality equipment and
the step-by-step instructional guides to
help take your grip strength to the outer
Renowned Climbing Program limits. www.functionalhandstrength.
com Join our Free Iron Hands email
• College-prep boarding and day newsletter for workout tips, equipment
school, grades 9 -12 recommendations and the latest hand
strength news.
• Located 30 miles from Aspen, CO
STEPHENSONS WARMLITE BAGS &
TENTS. Since 1958, warmest, most com-
fortable, adjustable, sleeping bags. Va-
poBarrier Interior & Goose DOWN filled
airmat. From +80 to -70 degrees F. STE-
PHENSONS Warmlite Tents, the lightest
and still the most storm resistant tent.
FREE Catalog; 2hr VHS Video $6. Ste-
phensons 22 Hook Rd Gilford, NH 03249;
inquiries@warmlite.com; warmlite.com
(970) 963-2562 or ad-
FREE GEAR GIVEAWAY
missions@crms.org FREE GEAR GIVEAWAY. Visit www.
www.crms.org srcfc.org; Solid Rock - Climbers for
Christ offers community and the Good
News to climbers.
EMPLOYMENT
ENTRE PRISES USA, the industry leader in
selling, building and designing rock climb-
ing walls and holds is expanding our na-
tional sales team. We are located in Central
Oregon, known for world class, year round
outdoor recreation. The ideal candidate
will be an avid climber, have 3 to 5 years
sales experience in the outdoor recreation
industry, proven communication/presenta-
tion skills and strong computer skills. Trav-
el required. Salary based on experience;
excellent benefits. Send resume and cover
letter to 20512 Nels Anderson Pl, Bend,
OR 97701 or email to nancyg@epusa.com.
EEO and Drug Free. www.epusa.com
WORK ON ROPES: We are looking for
skilled, cooperative and adventurous
COLD FEET? people to perform various tasks on ropes.
4 models of insulated
overboots to fit step-in Email resume to: info@ropepartner.com.
and strap-on crampons.
STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY is hir-
Call for your free ing Managers for our Rifle, CO location!
catalog & ordering
We offer full comprehensive benefits
Ph: 253-846-2081 including medical, dental, 401(K), stock
www.40below.com options and more! Amazing training &
development opportunities. Please ap-
ply on line at www.starbucks.com/ca-
reers or email mpatti@starbucks.com.
™ LODGING
® Spokane, WA 99202
BISON WILLY’S BUNKHOUSE, BASE
Graham, WA USA
™ CAMP, AND SPIKE CAMP. The climbers
Climbing Equipment
for the Extremes lodging of choice in Cody, Wy. A mem-
ber of the A.A.C. hut system. www.bi-
sonwillys.com, bisonwilly@bresnan.net,
1-877-587-0629.
MEDIA
CHESSLERBOOKS.COM: Great new
website with 1000’s of mountaineering
books, videos, posters, collectibles, bar-
gains. 800-654-8502.
CONTACT LISA RALEIGH
www.dzifoundation.org lraleigh@bigstonepub.com
877-762-5423 ext. 19
88 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 J U N E
p.093-97 Classifieds/Listings 1688 88
Pad your project with this exclusive
&
package deal from
2 years of Rock
+
& Ice magazine
a basic
bouldering
combo only
$55
Here’s what you get:
• 18 Issues of Rock & Ice
• A Mini Bouldering Pad
• Chalk * Chalk Pot * Tooth Brush
Don’t miss out on this SWEET deal!
Call 877 762 5423 x 18 and ask for the Bouldering Kit Package Deal,
or go online to www.rockandice.com and enter the promo code: CREV0407
Offer good through December 2007 while supplies last! Offer not valid in combination with other subscription offers.
Only available to U.S. addresses in the lowe r 4 8 st ate s . We m u st h ave a U P S s h i p p i n g a d d re s s to d e l i ve r t h e p a d .
ONLINE RETAILERS
www.acmeclimbing.com; sales@acmeclimbing. www.gearexpress.com;
com; 800-959-3785; 509-624-4561; 888-580-5510;
F 509-747-5964; 12 W Sprague 815-667-7170; F 815-667-9970; 201
Ave. Spokane, WA 99201 Donaldson St., Utica, IL 61373
www.alpenglowgear.com; www. MARMOT
acadiamountainguides.com; rocknice@ MOUNTAIN WORKS
alpenglowgear.com; 888-232-9559; www.marmotmountain; info@marmotmountain.com; 800-
F 207-866-7562; 92 Main Street, Orono, ME MARMOT-9 (627-6689); 3049 Adeline St.,
04473; www.acadiamountainguides.com Berkeley, CA 94703
MODERN MOUNTAIN MAN
www.backcountrygear.
com; bcgeartech@backcountrygear.com; 800-953-5499; www.modernmountainman.com
service@modernmountainman.com;
1855 W 2nd Ave., Eugene, OR 97402
(801) 957-7414; F (801) 957-1787 Free Ship-
ping On Orders Over $99
BENT GATE
www.bentgate.com; bentgate@bentgate.com;
877-BENT-GATE; 877-236-8428; 1313 Wash- MOUNTAIN GEAR
www.mountaingear.com; info@mgear.com; 800-829-
ington Ave., Golden, CO 80401
2009; F 509-325-3030; 730 N. Hamilton,
BOULDER MOUNTAINEERING
www.bouldermountaineering.com; steve@bouldermoun-
www.mtntools.com;
taineering.com; 866-442-8355; 303-444-2470; F climb@mtntools.com;
303-444-2729; 1335 B Broadway, Boulder, CO 800-5.10-2-5.14; 831-620-0911; F 831-620-
80302 0977; PO Box 222295, Carmel, CA 93922
BRADLEY ALPINIST NORTHERN
PO Box 2986, Corralles, NM MOUNTAIN SUPPLY
87048; (505) 243-0910; F (505) 898 4117; www.killerdeals.com; mtn@northernmountain.com; 800-
www.bradleyalpinist.com; info@bradleyalpinist.com 878-3583; 707-445-1711; F 707-445-0871;
125 W. Fifth St., Eureka, CA 95501
www.campmor.com
info@campmor.com ROCK/CREEK
800-CAMPMOR 800-226-7667 OUTFITTERS
Catalog-PO Box 680-RI7 Mahwah, NJ 07430 www.RockCreek.com; info@rockcreek.com;
888-707-6708; 423-266-8200; 100
Tremont St., Chattanooga, TN 37405; Free
www.pagangear.com; Shipping over $75
websales@climbaxe.com;
Toll-Free 800-895-0048; (503) 797-1991;
F 503-236-9553; 2105 SE Division St., SIERRA TRADING POST
Portland, OR 97202 www.SierraTradingPost.com; info@
SierraTradingPost.com; 800-713-4534; F 800-378-
8946; 5025 Campstool Road, Cheyenne, WY
CLIMBINGGEAR.COM 82007
www.ClimbingGear.com;
info@climbinggear.com;
888-707-6708; 423-266-8200; 100 Tremont www.summithut.com; summit@
Street, Chattanooga, TN 37405; summithut.com; 800-499-8696; 5045 E. Speed-
Free Shipping over $75 way, Tucson, AZ 85712
Rock & Ice (USPS 0001-762, ISSN 0885-5722) is published 9 times a year (January, March,
April, June, July, September, October, and December plus one annual) by Big Stone Publishing,
417 Main St Unit N, Carbondale, CO 81623. Periodicals postage paid at Carbondale, CO, and
at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Rock & Ice, 417 Main St
Unit N, Carbondale, CO 81623. Subscription rates are $29.95 per year, $44.95 for two years.
Canada, add $12.50 per year for surface postage; all other countries add $15 per year for sur-
face postage (US funds only). Canada Post CPM #7157697.
3/19/07 11:24:39 AM
 Get the exposure you deserve! • Call 877-762-5423 ext. 17

ALABAMA COLORADO MINNESOTA ROCKHARD SECOND ASCENT

ALABAMA OUTDOORS
3054 Independence Dr., Birmingham,
AL 35209; 205-870-1919;
800-870-0011; www.aloutdoors.com;
BENT GATE MOUNTAINEERING
1313 Washington Ave., Golden, CO
80401; 303-271-9382; F 303-271-3980;
877-BENT-GATE; www.bentgate.com;
MIDWEST MOUNTAINEERING
309 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN
55454; 612-339-3433; 888-999-1077
www.midwestmtn.com; info@midwestmtn.com;
Smith Rock State Park, 9297 N.E.
Crooked River Dr., Terrebonne, OR
97760; 541-548-4786
PENNSYLVANIA
5209 Ballard Ave NW., Seattle, WA
98107; 206-545-8810; F 206-545-
9397; www.secondascent.com;
info@secondascent.com

RETAILERS
outdoors@aloutdoors.com bentgate@bentgate.com Free Climbing Cave WHITTAKER MOUNTAINEERING
BUCKS COUNTY 5 miles outside Mt. Ranier National
ALASKA BOULDER MOUNTAINEERING W-TREK OUTFITTERS OUTFITTERS Park, 30027 SR 706 East, Ashford,
1335 B Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302; 230 E. Superior St., Ste. 130, Duluth, 64 E Swamp Rd., Doylestown, PA WA 98304; 800-238-5756;
ALASKA MOUNTAINEERING 303-444-2470; F 303-444-2729; 866- MN. 55802; 218-722-3593; F 218-722- 18901; 215-340-0633; F 215-340-9621; www.summithaus.com
& HIKING 442-8355; www.thebomo.com; 4922; www.w-trek.com; sales@w-trek.com www.buckscountyoutfitters.com; info@buckscoun-
2633 Spenard Rd., Anchorage, AK info@thebomo.com tyoutfitters.com
99503; 907-272-1811; F 907-274-6362 MICHIGAN THE NORTH FACE
www.alaskamountaineering.com; amh@alaska.net 1023 First Ave., Seattle, WA 98104;
OURAY MOUNTAIN SPORTS THE NORTH FACE NESTOR’S SPORTING GOODS INC 206-622-4111; www.thenorthface.com
ARIZONA 732 Main St., Ouray, CO 81427; 970- Somerset Collection 2510 MacArthur Rd., Whitehall, PA
325-4284; www.ouraysports.com 2800 W Big Beaver, Troy, MI 48080 18052; 610-433-4060; 800-898-1133;
www.nestors.com
WEST VIRGINIA
ARIZONA HIKING SHACK (212) 362-1000, www.thenorthface.com
11649 N Cave Creek Rd, Phoenix, AZ PINE NEEDLE
85020; 602-944-7723; F 602-861- MOUNTAINEERING MONTANA NESTOR’S SPORTING GOODS INC ADVENTURE’S EDGE
835 Main Ave # 112, Durango, CO 99 N. West End Blvd., Quakertown, 131 Pleasant St., Morgantown, WV
0221; 800-964-1673; www.hikingshack.com; NORTHERN LIGHTS TRADING CO.
81301-5436; 970-247-8728; F 970- PA 18951; 215-529-0100; 26505; 304-296-9007; F 304-292-
dale@ahsrescue.com 1716 W. Babcock, Bozeman, MT
259-0697; 800-607-0364; 800-439-2858; www.nestors.com 2295; www.TheAdventuresEdge.com;
www.pineneedle.com; info@pineneedle.com 59715; 406-586-2225; F 406-586- info@adventuresedge.org
BABBITT’S BACKCOUNTRY
7544; 866-586-2225; www.northernlight-
OUTFITTERS
strading.com; info@northernlightstrading.com;
UTAH
12 E. Aspen Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001; THE NORTH FACE THE GENDARME
629-K So. Broadway, Boulder, CO Skiing, Climbing, Boating PO Box 53, Seneca Rocks, WV
928-774-4775; F 928-774-4561; HURST
www.babbittsbackcountry.com; 80303; 303-499-1731; 160 N Bluff St (Corner Of Bluff And 26884; (304) 567-2600; 800-548-
PIPESTONE MOUNTAINEERING
backcountry@infomagic.net www.thenorthface.com Blvd) St George Ut 84770 435-673- 0108; www.climbseneca.com;
129 W Front St., Missoula, MT 59802;
6141; F 435-628-3380, www.hurststores.com info@climbseneca.com
406-721-1670; www.pipestonemountaineering.
ARKANSAS WILDERNESS EXCHANGE UNLIMITED com; pipestone@montana.com Jhurst@hurststores.com
2401 15th Street Ste. 90, Denver, CO WATER STONE
PACK RAT 80202; 303-964-0708; NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN OUTDOORS
OUTDOOR CENTER www.wildernessexchangeunlimited.com; EQUIPMENT 101 E. Wiseman Ave., Fayetteville,
209 W Sunbridge Dr., info@wildernessexchangeunlimited.com INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN 3265 East 3300 South, Salt Lake City, WV 25840; 304-574-2425; F 304-
Fayetteville, AR 72703; EQUIPMENT UT 84109; 801-484-8073; 574-2563; www.waterstoneoutdoors.com;
479-521-6340; F 479-521- GEORGIA 2733 Main St., North Conway, NH F 801-467-7884; www.imeutah.com; waterstone@charter.net
8059; 877-521-6340; 03860; 603-356-6316; imeutah@networld.com
www.packrat.biz; info@packrat.biz CALL OF THE WILD F 603-356-6492; www.ime-usa.com WISCONSIN
425 Market Place, Roswell, (Atlanta) WASATCH TOURING
CALIFORNIA GA 30075; 770-992-5400; NEW JERSEY
702 East 100 South, Salt Lake City, UT WHEELER’S CAMPGROUND
F 770-992-9343; callwild@earthlink.net 84102; 801-359-9361; F 801-534-0905;
ADVENTURE 16 CAMPMOR E. 11329 Hwy. 159, Baraboo, WI
11161 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Ange- 810 Route 17 N., Paramus, NJ 07652; www.wasatchtouring.com; wtouring@xmission.com 53913; 608-356-4877;
les, CA 90064; 310-473-4574 for other THE CLIMBING STORE
201-445-5000; 800-CAMPMOR www.wheelerscampground.com
SO CAL locations: www.adventure16.com 3032 North Decatur, Alanta, GA VERMONT
(266-7667); www.campmor.com
30079; 404-292-8834; climbingstore@
bellsouth.net; www.theclimbingstore.net NEW MEXICO WYOMING
ELEVATION CLIMB HIGH
125 N Main St., Lone 191 Bank Street, Burlington, VT
Pine, CA 93545; IDAHO SANGRE DE CRISTO 05401; 802-865-0900; www.climbhigh.com; CORE MOUNTAIN SPORTS
760-876-4560; www. MOUNTAINWORKS info@climbhighretail.com 1019 15th Street, Cody, WY 82414;
sierraelevation.com LOST RIVER SPORTS 328 S. Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, 307-527-7354; 877-527-7354;
516 N Main St., Hailey, ID 83333; 208- NM 87501; 505-984-8221; F 505-984- www.coldfear.com; aaron@coldfear.com
CLIMB HIGH
MAMMOTH MOUNTAINEERING 788-7625; lostriversports@cox-internet.com 8303; www.sdcmountainworks.com; 2438 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, VT
SUPPLY info@sdcmountainworks.com 05482; 802-985-5055; www.climbhigh.com; TETON MOUN-
3189 Main St., (Next to Wave Rave) ILLINOIS info@climbhighretail.com TAINEERING
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546; NEW YORK 170 N Cache, PO Box 1533, Jackson,
760-934-4191; www.mammothgear.com STARVED ROCK OUTFITTERS, LTD WY 83001; 307-733-3595; 800-850-
TENT & TRAILS OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE
201 Donaldson St., Utica, IL 61373; 3595; www.tetonmountaineering.com
21 Park Place, New York, NY 10007; 152 Cherry St., Burlington, VT 05401;
MARMOT 888-580-5510; 815-667-7170;
802-860-0190; F 802-860-4327;
MOUNTAIN WORKS F 815-667-9970 212-227-1760; 800-237-1760;
www.tenttrails.com www.gearx.com; info@gearx.com WILD IRIS
3049 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703; 333 Main St., Lander, WY 82520; 307-
800-MARMOT-9 (627-6689); www. THE NORTH FACE THE NORTH FACE
marmotmountain.com John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michi-
VIRGINIA 332-4541; F 307-335-8923; 888-284-
2101 Broadway (at 73rd), New York, 5968; www.wildirisclimbing.com;
gan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611; NY 10023; 212-362-1000; wildiris@wyoming.com
NORTHERN 312-337-7200; www.thenorthface.com MOUNTAIN TRAILS
www.thenorthface.com 212 E Cork St., Winchester, VA 22601;
MOUNTAIN SUPPLY
125 W. Fifth St. INDIANA THE NORTH FACE
540-667-0030; www.mountain-trails.com; CANADA
Eureka, CA 95501 mail@mountain-trails.com
139 Wooster St, New York, NY
707-445-1711; F 707-445-0781 J. L. WATERS & COMPANY 10023 (212) 362-1000; LA CORDEE PLEIN AIR
800-878-3583; www.northernmounain.com; 109 N. College Ave., Bloomington, IN www.thenorthface.com THE NORTH FACE 2777 St Martin Blvd. West, Laval, PQ
www.killerdeals.com; mtn@northernmountain.com 47404; 888-580-5510; 815-667-7170; 7870L Tyson’s Corner Center, H7T2Y7; 800-567-1106; www.lacordee.com
F 815-667-9970; www.jlwaters.com NORTH CAROLINA McLean, VA 22102; 703-917-0111;
REAL CHEAP SPORTS www.thenorthface.com LA CORDEE PLEIN AIR
36 W. Santa Clara, Ventura, CA KENTUCKY DIAMOND BRAND 2159 St. Catherine East, Montreal, PQ
93001; 805-648-3803; OUTDOORS WASHINGTON H2K2H9; 800-567-1106; www.lacordee.com
F 805-653-2581; www.mountainoutlet.com J & H LANMARK 2623 Henderson-
189 Moore Dr., Lexington, KY 40503; ville Rd, Arden, NC 28704; 828-684- BACKPACKERS SUPPLY
THE NORTH FACE 6262; www.diamondbrand.com 5206 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA LA CORDEE PLEIN AIR
859-278-0730; 800-677-9300; 1595 Blvd Des Promenades, St.
423 N. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, CA jhoutdoors@aol.com 98409; 253-472-4402;
90210; 310-246-4120; OREGON www.marmotmountain.com Hubert, QC J3Y5K2; 514-524-1326; F
www.thenorthface.com 514-524-5081; 800-567-1106;
PHILLIP GALL’S CLIMB MAX www.lacrodee.com; info@lacordee.com
OUTDOOR & SKI 2105 SE Division FEATHERED
THE NORTH FACE FRIENDS
217 Alma St., Palo Alto, CA 94301; 1555 E New Circle St., Portland, OR 97202; 503-797-
Rd., Lexington, KY 40509; 859-26 119 Yale Ave N., Seattle, WA 98109; MOUNTAIN MAGIC EQUIPMENT
650-327-1563; www.thenorthface.com 1991; F 503-236-9553; 800-895- 224 Bear St., Banff, AB T1L1B7; 403-
-0469; F 859-269-5190; www.phillipgalls. 0048; www.climbaxe.com; www.pagangear.com; 206-292-2210; 206-292-6292 - Mail
com; phillipgalls@phillipgalls.com Orders; F 206-292-9667; 762-2591; F 403-762-4672; 800-661-
THE NORTH FACE websales@climbaxe.com 0399; www.mountainmagic.com;
www.featheredfriends.com;
180 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94108; info@mountainmagic.com
415-433-3223; www.thenorthface.com MASSACHUSETTS THE NORTH FACE retail@featheredfriends.com
1202 NW Davis Street, Portland, OR
THE NORTH FACE Vally Fair MOOR & MOUNTAIN 97209; 503-727-0200; MARMOT MOUNTAIN WORKS HONG KONG
2855 Stevens Creek Blvd Ste 2321 3 Railroad St., Andover, MA 01810; www.thenorthface.com 827 Bellevue N.E., Bellevue, WA
Santa Clara CA 95050-6709 978-475-3665; F 978-470-1982; 98004; 800-CLIMBIN; HONG KONG MOUNTAINEERING
(408) 553-0190 www.thenorthface.com www.moor-mountain.com REDPOINT CLIMBERS SUPPLY www.marmotmountain.com TRAINING CENTRE
8283 11th Street, Terrebonne, OR IF on Yip Building 395-7 Shanghai
WILSON’S EASTSIDE SPORTS THE NORTH FACE 97760; 541-923-6207; F 541-923-1303; THE NORTH FACE University Village St., Kowloon Hong Kong, China; 852
224 N. Main St., Bishop, CA 93514; 326 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02115; 800-923-6207; ascent@goclimbing.com; 2682 NE Village Ln Seattle Wa 98105 23848190; F 852 27707110;
760-873-7520; www.eastsidesports.com 617-536-8060; www.thenorthface.com www.goclimbing.com (206) 525-8500; www.thenorthface.com www.hkmtc.com; hkmtc@hkstar.com

JUNE 07 | R O C K A N D I C E . C O M 89

p.093-97 Classifieds/Listings 1689 89 3/13/07 3:37:20 PM

 [ PARTING SHOT]

GIVING BACK
KIM REYNOLDS AND JIM NOWAK
arrived in Nepal in 1998 hoping to climb
Pumori (23,442 feet) by a new route. Nine
years before, Nowak and two friends,
forging the route, had come within 600
feet of the summit, but stopped, effecting
an epic rescue when one was hit in the
eye by rockfall.
Unfortunately, Reynolds and Nowak hit
a dry year. Prepared for snow and ice, the
two lacked enough rock gear for the huge
swathes of newly exposed, loose rock.
Reynolds says, “The point when we
decided to turn around was a lot less
disappointing than it would be on a
standard expedition.”
The year before, while leading treks in
the region, Reynolds had visited a safe
house for young Nepali girls at risk of
being sold into prostitution. This trip,
she, Nowak and expedition members,
knowing the Friendship House was at
risk of closing its doors, had raised funds
for it as part of their plan. Before starting
up Pumori, they delivered clothing and a
$30,000 check.
“What really stood out for me,” Reynolds
says, “was the love and gratitude we’d
gotten from the girls, this effort we had
put toward helping them. That’s what I
walked away with as mattering. I made
a little promise to myself, that whatever
I did in life I was going to help people, to
give back.”
Reynolds, a longtime Outward Bound
instructor, was a focused ice and alpine
climber. She and Nowak (now her husband)
had done ascents of difficult ice classics
such as Sorceror and Curtain Call in
the Canadian Rockies, as well as the
Nettle-Quirk route on Mount Huntington,
Alaska Range.
“I think the timing was right,” says
Reynolds, 48, who lives in Ridgway,
Colorado. “When all your focus is on
climbing, at some point it becomes sort
of an empty, lonely place because it’s all
about me and my goals. At some point it’s
got to be bigger.”
Reynolds founded the women’s ice-climbing
clinics Chicks with Picks, which fundraise
for local women’s shelters, and early this
year surpassed the $100,000 mark (with
$116,000); and she and Nowak co-founded
the dZi foundation, which now affects
30,000 people with health and educational
programs in Nepal, Ladakh and Sikkim.
www.dzifoundation.org.

“I MADE A LITTLE PROMISE TO

MYSELF, THAT WHATEVER I DID IN LIFE
I WAS GOING TO HELP PEOPLE.”

90 R O C K A N D I C E . C O M | 07 JUNE PHOTO BY D UA N E R A L E I G H

p.090 partingshot.160.indd 90 3/9/07 9:41:02 AM

Entre Prises 160.indd 2 3/13/07 8:46:30 AM
Entre Prises 160.indd 3 3/13/07 8:46:37 AM
Gramicci_160.indd 1 3/14/07 12:54:57 PM
Mad.Rock_160.indd 1 3/9/07 8:38:06 AM