Showing posts with label Fox Mountain Guides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fox Mountain Guides. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2015
New Website and Blog
For those of you that follow me on this site, I wanted to let you know that I now have my own website and blog. It has been up for a while and I finally started to write on the blog again. I have two posts up right now with hopefully more coming soon. So go check out the site, www.travisweil.com
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Fox Mountain Guides in New Hampshire
It has been quite a while since I last posted something. This winter has been somewhat uneventful. A friend recently asked me why I haven't posted anything since I posted about the Rock Instructor Exam. I then said that nothing has really happened. I was referring to climbing but as I was soon reminded, a major life event happened that I failed to write about; I got engaged. Maybe in the future I will sit down and write about that event but for now we will talk about some more current events.
I just got back from New Hampshire where I once again enjoyed two weeks of great ice climbing with my amazing colleagues from Fox Mountain Guides. Like last year, I was placed in charge of cooking and managing the cabin. Last year, I learned a lot about the job and was psyched to try and take it up a notch. It did prove to be just as difficult if not more difficult than last year. This year, I was focusing on improving my leading ability on ice and filly my ice climbing resume. Doing my work and trying to get the amount of climbing in was quite the task. Many days this left me rushing from climbing to shopping to cooking. Either way, I enjoyed being able to cook for everyone. Now, on to the climbing part.
Ron and I arrived midday on the 30th of January. Once we got into town, we met up with the rest of the crew; Karsten, Lindsay, and Cristin. We did a few climbs at Trollville that were super fun. As we were finishing up, it started raining. The forecast had called for rain and warmer temps for the next 24 hours. This could really mess up our plans since rain destroys ice. That night, I tried lobster for the first time. Much to everyone's dismay, I did not think that lobster was that great. The next day, we were scheduled to have a guides training day. Since the weather did not cooperate, we had a training at the Frontside Grind, a coffee shop in North Conway. The training them moved to the ice which surprisingly was still there. The rain had melted quite a bit of the ice and snow which limited our choices that afternoon but I was able to take Cristin and Karsten up a route at Cathedral Ledge to do some on ice training. Soon after that finished, my duties began. I went to the store with Cristin, got two cart loads of groceries, then headed back to the cabin to get supper started.
The next day, Cristin and I headed out to get some climbing in. I would be leading my first complete multipitch ice route with Cristin following. I chose Standard Route at Frankenstein as our plan. It seemed that nearly everyone else chose that as well. Either way, we eventually started up the route and made our way to the top. Other than being a bit hollow at the top, the route was superb. We then did one easy single pitch route to finish the day out before heading back.
On the 2nd, I had the opportunity to do some instructional work. That day, I was able to teach our guest, Mac about placing screws, leading ice, ice anchors and just get more time on the ice. It was a super fun day. We also had some entertainment provided by an extended family with "Uncle Bob" taking everyone ice climbing. Judging from their accents, they were from the Boston area and some of them had not spent much time outdoors. The best thing, which I regret not getting a picture of was of a woman climbing the route they had set up in platform boot which strap-on crampons on, snake print flaring jeans, and cotton gloves. After this, Mac and I headed over to do a fun two pitch climb called the Thresher Slabs.
The next day, Cristin and I headed up to do Hitchcock Gully on Mt. Willard. I had read some stuff on this climb and it sounded amazing. What it failed to mention was the slogging up a rock and ice filled gully when there is not much snow. Other than that, the climb is amazing. The pitches are great WI2/3 climbing with a bit of rock mixed in there for some spice. That evening, the Ice 101 course wrapped up. The 201 would start the next day and Karsten asked if I would help. I quickly jumped on the chance to help.
The first day of the 201 course, we headed to Trollville. There we worked on doing harder climbs and a bit of drytooling. Karsten had me lead three of the main ice routes there with each one coming in around WI4. The first was a thin route in a corner. The next was a corner that had thicker ice with sections that involved a lot of hooking. The last one goes up to a roof, pulls the roof with some amazing hooks then climbs near vertical ice to the top. Later in the day, we worked on some advanced movement on ice and did a little bit of drytooling on an M7. I also joined the 201 course the next day. We headed to Champney Falls. It is a bit of hike back to this little slot canyon but was worth it. On the right side of the canyon, there are many ice climbs from WI3 to WI5/M4. I led a route on the right side while Karsten set up a route on the left called Champin' at the Bit. It is a WI5/M8+ according to the guidebook. It follows thin ice up a steep section on the wall and has some sections of rock that you much navigate. We had a great day despite it being quite cold there. The next day, I took a rest day.
At this point, I have been in New Hampshire a week and have gotten a ton of climbing in and I am super psyched to get at least one more good day in before the AIARE level 1 course starts. Cristin and I head to Frankenstein again to climb Chia, Pegasus, and Dracula if we have time. We arrive to great conditions in the amphitheater. We are out of the wind, the air temps are cold but we are in the sun for the first route, Chia. Chia is a 1 or 2 pitch WI3 that has a ton of fun climbing on it. On the upper section you traverse right following a ramp that take you over this exposed section which is a ton of fun. After that, we headed over to Pegasus which was in the shade. I had figured I would do it in two pitches so that I could bring Cristin up while I eye that last bit which is a bit harder. Well I did it all in one pitch. The funnest part was topping out the pillar at the top. I start to surmount the bulge at the top and find myself staring into a huge hole in the back of the pillar formed from the water running behind it. I managed to step around the hole and finish the route. When Cristin got to the hole she was more surprised than I was and found it very interesting. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to head over to Dracula so we headed out.
The next couple of days involved Ron, Cristin and I taking an AIARE Level 1 course. It was recommend that I take this course so I signed up. It was a great course. In it we spent time in the classroom discussing terrain that is prone to avalanches and how the weather effects the snow pack in a way to make avalanches more or less likely. On the second day, we spent some time doing companion rescues with beacons, probes and shovels. It was a lot of fun but very cold that day. A snow storm had just finished and the winds were howling at the top of Crawford Notch were we were. The next day, we met in Pinkham Notch discussed the avalanche forecast for Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines on Mt. Washington. We then hiked the 2.4 miles up to Hermit Lake. There we met with the avalanche forecasters and watched a demonstration they did with their avalanche dogs. We then hiked up into the Ravine and did some snow work. After all of this we did another companion rescue scenario where after finding the "victim" I got to play the victim and get strapped to a ski sled. This reminded me of my WFR course where I had the same injury, tib/fib fracture, and I got to lay in the snow for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, I didn't ski up the mountain so I also didn't get to ski down. Three of us walked back down the mountain while the rest skied down. We then had a bit more classroom time. It was a great course.
The final day, I didn't ice climb. Ron, wanted to go skiing and since I had never skiied before decided I would join him on the slopes that day. I had never skied before. Back in college, I spent a few days in Whistle snowboarding but I was not prepared for this. I buy my lift ticket and get fitted with gear and head out to the lifts. I had gotten a case of tunnel vision and failed to see the lift for the beginners section. Instead I hopped on the lift to the top and figured that I could do this. Well, after many falls within the first few minutes I had quite a scare. Only 20 minutes into the run, I took a fall that torqued my right knee enough to cause some pain. I got out of my bindings and limped towards the edge to get out of the way of other skiers. After assessing it for a few minutes and realizing it was nothing major, I started to get back into the bindings when Ron showed up. He gave me a few pointers for the rest of the run after stating his surprise to see me at the top of the hill. Eventually, I made it back to the base. There I went inside to chill a bit before hitting the beginners slope to figure things out. I then did multiple laps down the beginners run. Feeling more confident, I headed back to the top. I did two more laps on an easy run all the way down the mountain before retiring for the day.
Once Ron was done, we headed to the cabin to get clean and pack the van, we were staring our 18 hour drive home at 5pm. After many hours and a bivy in a shopping center parking lot, we made it to back to North Carolina. I was surprised to find that I was excited to be back in my humble apartment. Honestly, I think I was ready for a few days of relaxing and not having to do anything. As I write this, I am preparing to leave after being home for only a few days. I am heading to Utah to visit my fiance, Jill. While I am there, I will hopefully be able to get a few pitches in on some of the frozen stuff. If not that is ok. I will be in a beautiful place with a beautiful woman that I love.
I just got back from New Hampshire where I once again enjoyed two weeks of great ice climbing with my amazing colleagues from Fox Mountain Guides. Like last year, I was placed in charge of cooking and managing the cabin. Last year, I learned a lot about the job and was psyched to try and take it up a notch. It did prove to be just as difficult if not more difficult than last year. This year, I was focusing on improving my leading ability on ice and filly my ice climbing resume. Doing my work and trying to get the amount of climbing in was quite the task. Many days this left me rushing from climbing to shopping to cooking. Either way, I enjoyed being able to cook for everyone. Now, on to the climbing part.
Ron and I arrived midday on the 30th of January. Once we got into town, we met up with the rest of the crew; Karsten, Lindsay, and Cristin. We did a few climbs at Trollville that were super fun. As we were finishing up, it started raining. The forecast had called for rain and warmer temps for the next 24 hours. This could really mess up our plans since rain destroys ice. That night, I tried lobster for the first time. Much to everyone's dismay, I did not think that lobster was that great. The next day, we were scheduled to have a guides training day. Since the weather did not cooperate, we had a training at the Frontside Grind, a coffee shop in North Conway. The training them moved to the ice which surprisingly was still there. The rain had melted quite a bit of the ice and snow which limited our choices that afternoon but I was able to take Cristin and Karsten up a route at Cathedral Ledge to do some on ice training. Soon after that finished, my duties began. I went to the store with Cristin, got two cart loads of groceries, then headed back to the cabin to get supper started.
The next day, Cristin and I headed out to get some climbing in. I would be leading my first complete multipitch ice route with Cristin following. I chose Standard Route at Frankenstein as our plan. It seemed that nearly everyone else chose that as well. Either way, we eventually started up the route and made our way to the top. Other than being a bit hollow at the top, the route was superb. We then did one easy single pitch route to finish the day out before heading back.
View of Mt. Washington from the tracks at Frankenstein
On the 2nd, I had the opportunity to do some instructional work. That day, I was able to teach our guest, Mac about placing screws, leading ice, ice anchors and just get more time on the ice. It was a super fun day. We also had some entertainment provided by an extended family with "Uncle Bob" taking everyone ice climbing. Judging from their accents, they were from the Boston area and some of them had not spent much time outdoors. The best thing, which I regret not getting a picture of was of a woman climbing the route they had set up in platform boot which strap-on crampons on, snake print flaring jeans, and cotton gloves. After this, Mac and I headed over to do a fun two pitch climb called the Thresher Slabs.
Karsten got a sweet picture of me leading at Trollville
The next day, Cristin and I headed up to do Hitchcock Gully on Mt. Willard. I had read some stuff on this climb and it sounded amazing. What it failed to mention was the slogging up a rock and ice filled gully when there is not much snow. Other than that, the climb is amazing. The pitches are great WI2/3 climbing with a bit of rock mixed in there for some spice. That evening, the Ice 101 course wrapped up. The 201 would start the next day and Karsten asked if I would help. I quickly jumped on the chance to help.
Cristin on the second pitch of Hitchcock Gully
The first day of the 201 course, we headed to Trollville. There we worked on doing harder climbs and a bit of drytooling. Karsten had me lead three of the main ice routes there with each one coming in around WI4. The first was a thin route in a corner. The next was a corner that had thicker ice with sections that involved a lot of hooking. The last one goes up to a roof, pulls the roof with some amazing hooks then climbs near vertical ice to the top. Later in the day, we worked on some advanced movement on ice and did a little bit of drytooling on an M7. I also joined the 201 course the next day. We headed to Champney Falls. It is a bit of hike back to this little slot canyon but was worth it. On the right side of the canyon, there are many ice climbs from WI3 to WI5/M4. I led a route on the right side while Karsten set up a route on the left called Champin' at the Bit. It is a WI5/M8+ according to the guidebook. It follows thin ice up a steep section on the wall and has some sections of rock that you much navigate. We had a great day despite it being quite cold there. The next day, I took a rest day.
Stuart climbing some thin ice at Trollville
The 201 crew at Trollville
Garrett practicing his dry tooling
At this point, I have been in New Hampshire a week and have gotten a ton of climbing in and I am super psyched to get at least one more good day in before the AIARE level 1 course starts. Cristin and I head to Frankenstein again to climb Chia, Pegasus, and Dracula if we have time. We arrive to great conditions in the amphitheater. We are out of the wind, the air temps are cold but we are in the sun for the first route, Chia. Chia is a 1 or 2 pitch WI3 that has a ton of fun climbing on it. On the upper section you traverse right following a ramp that take you over this exposed section which is a ton of fun. After that, we headed over to Pegasus which was in the shade. I had figured I would do it in two pitches so that I could bring Cristin up while I eye that last bit which is a bit harder. Well I did it all in one pitch. The funnest part was topping out the pillar at the top. I start to surmount the bulge at the top and find myself staring into a huge hole in the back of the pillar formed from the water running behind it. I managed to step around the hole and finish the route. When Cristin got to the hole she was more surprised than I was and found it very interesting. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to head over to Dracula so we headed out.
The next couple of days involved Ron, Cristin and I taking an AIARE Level 1 course. It was recommend that I take this course so I signed up. It was a great course. In it we spent time in the classroom discussing terrain that is prone to avalanches and how the weather effects the snow pack in a way to make avalanches more or less likely. On the second day, we spent some time doing companion rescues with beacons, probes and shovels. It was a lot of fun but very cold that day. A snow storm had just finished and the winds were howling at the top of Crawford Notch were we were. The next day, we met in Pinkham Notch discussed the avalanche forecast for Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines on Mt. Washington. We then hiked the 2.4 miles up to Hermit Lake. There we met with the avalanche forecasters and watched a demonstration they did with their avalanche dogs. We then hiked up into the Ravine and did some snow work. After all of this we did another companion rescue scenario where after finding the "victim" I got to play the victim and get strapped to a ski sled. This reminded me of my WFR course where I had the same injury, tib/fib fracture, and I got to lay in the snow for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, I didn't ski up the mountain so I also didn't get to ski down. Three of us walked back down the mountain while the rest skied down. We then had a bit more classroom time. It was a great course.
Ron staying warm during companion rescues
Heading up to Tuckerman Ravine
Panoramic view of Tuckerman Ravine
The final day, I didn't ice climb. Ron, wanted to go skiing and since I had never skiied before decided I would join him on the slopes that day. I had never skied before. Back in college, I spent a few days in Whistle snowboarding but I was not prepared for this. I buy my lift ticket and get fitted with gear and head out to the lifts. I had gotten a case of tunnel vision and failed to see the lift for the beginners section. Instead I hopped on the lift to the top and figured that I could do this. Well, after many falls within the first few minutes I had quite a scare. Only 20 minutes into the run, I took a fall that torqued my right knee enough to cause some pain. I got out of my bindings and limped towards the edge to get out of the way of other skiers. After assessing it for a few minutes and realizing it was nothing major, I started to get back into the bindings when Ron showed up. He gave me a few pointers for the rest of the run after stating his surprise to see me at the top of the hill. Eventually, I made it back to the base. There I went inside to chill a bit before hitting the beginners slope to figure things out. I then did multiple laps down the beginners run. Feeling more confident, I headed back to the top. I did two more laps on an easy run all the way down the mountain before retiring for the day.
Once Ron was done, we headed to the cabin to get clean and pack the van, we were staring our 18 hour drive home at 5pm. After many hours and a bivy in a shopping center parking lot, we made it to back to North Carolina. I was surprised to find that I was excited to be back in my humble apartment. Honestly, I think I was ready for a few days of relaxing and not having to do anything. As I write this, I am preparing to leave after being home for only a few days. I am heading to Utah to visit my fiance, Jill. While I am there, I will hopefully be able to get a few pitches in on some of the frozen stuff. If not that is ok. I will be in a beautiful place with a beautiful woman that I love.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Rock Instructor Exam Part 2
The day before the exam started, we had a meeting with the instructors to go over the logistics, risk management, and get to know each other. We were given our route assignments and our partner for the first two days. I was paired with Russel. Our first day would be climbing at Hemingway Buttress with Silas. The next day we were to guide Angela on the Sentinel. After the meeting, we hung out a bit, discussed our plan for the day then left to go get fueled up for the next day. That night was the first night of not sleeping in a tent. I appreciated having a shower that night. Then I prepped some more that evening before falling asleep at 8:30.
The next morning I woke up at 5AM when I started to get a bit nervous. Apparently, I had started thinking about the exam while I was sleeping and then I couldn't get back to sleep once I had woken up. My route assignment that day was to lead White Lightning and something else after Russel led his route, Overseer. We were the first ones to the crag that morning so we hopped right on White Lightning. It is a 5.8 crack that goes all the way to the top. About 3/4 of the way up there is a small nook in which you can set a belay if you want to break the route into two pitches. I did just that and brought Silas and Russel up to me. From there I did a short pitch to the top. Getting off of Hemingway can be a bit of a challenge since there are only two rappel stations for the entire wall. Luckily, after topping out, I was close to the central rappel station and we quickly made it back down to the ground. Russel then took over and took us up Overseer. It is a great route with a crux that will keep you on your toes. From there we rappelled on the right side of the wall. It was now my turn again. I went up this exposed fin covered in patina plates. The only downside to this route was the lack of adequate gear. Still, I loved it. Once back on the ground, Russel took us up Feltonian Physics. Another great route on Hemingway. After that route, we went to a pile of rocks near the base and refined some short roping techniques. That was our first day. By the end of the day, the nerves had finally settled. Now time to get ready for day two.
On day two, Russel was assigned Fote Hog and I was assigned Western Saga both of which are on the Sentinel in Real Hidden Valley. Fote Hog is a 5.6 that starts up a ramp, goes on to a face with a thin crack, then moves right to a juggy overhang. From there it follows cracks and ledges to the top. My route, Western Saga, is normally done as a single pitch but due to it having a huge ledge half way up the climb, I broke it up. The first pitch is thin crack and stemming in a corner. Above the ledge, you get a slightly overhung hand crack going up to a roof. The roof moves follow the crack and are a bit awkward. After the roof, there is a flaring hand crack to a nice ledge. After this, Russel chose to take us up Sail Away which is a beautiful 5.8 finger crack. Over there I ran into some people I had met before from NC. After Sail Away we went to Intersection Rock to climb Mike's Book. I only was able to do the first pitch due to time constraints. It is a fun route with an awkward start leading to jugs in a corner. We then came down and debriefed for the day.
Day three was the rescue drill and movement test day. The rescue drill, is a 45 minutes exercise in which you must show your knowledge and application of certain rescue tools needed by a guide to safely get out of a situation if one were to arise. It can be quite stressful having an examiner standing a few feet away watching your every move. In my rock instructor course, I had some issues that I needed to work on to get a good time on the drill. Well I must have practiced enough because I was well within time. After doing the rescue drill we did the knot pass. It is a 5 minute exercise in which we must lower a client past a knot in the rope. I had slight brain fart during the knot pass which I luckily caught before it hosed me. This added time to the drill. I still got through it in time. Next we did our movement test. The first route was Pope's Crack. It is a 5.9+ thin hands crack that leads to a slightly downward traverse before going back up a fun lieback flake. The next route we did was Touch and Go 5.9. It starts off in a corner with twin cracks. It them moves to a single dihedral crack with a juggy top out.
Day four was the first day that I was able to do some of the longer routes in Joshua Tree. This day, Russel and I were with Tom Hargis. The three of us went to Lost Horse Wall to do Dappled Mare and Bird on a Wire. Russel was up first on Dappled Mare. It has an interesting downward traverse which creates a somewhat unique guiding problem. Russel negotiated it well and we were quickly through that part of the climb. He took us to the top then guided us down the walk off. Next, I was up on Bird on a Wire. It is a 5.10a that follows a sweeping crack line to the top. The second pitch is the money pitch. It has a thin section that is protected by a bolt but you are able to get gear soon afterward in a finger crack. The crack eventually opens up to a juggy crack that is a lot of fun. You then cross Dappled Mare and continue on juggy cracks all the way to the top. We then did the descent back to the base. We wrapped things up for the day. Back at camp we had a good debrief in which Tom gave some great critiques on our day which helped me understand the use of certain tools better.
The fifth and final day of being on the rock, Russel and I were once again with Silas. We were assigned to guide Walk on the Wild Side and Right On on Saddle Rock. Walk on the Wild Side was the only route in the exam that I did not have to onsight since I had done it before the exam. We went up the three pitches then rappelled back to the base. This was one of the most straight forward assignments I had. We then hiked over to Right On. There was a party that was finishing what they thought was the first pitch. So we had lunch and chilled. Eventually, we were able to head up. We were continually having to wait at belays on this route due to the party ahead of us. At one point, we waited 30 minutes before Russel was able to begin leading the last pitch. Eventually, we made it to the top of Saddle Rock. There we basked in the sun since we had been in the shade most of the day. We then did a double rope rappel to the ground and with a bit of rock hopping. After this day, we all went out for dinner at the Saloon. We were finally able to relax and just enjoy the evening.
The sixth day, we had our debrief as a group in the morning. Then individual debriefs went until about 2 in the afternoon. We were done. Wes and I just chilled out the rest of the day. He was leaving the next day and I was waiting for Jill to come into town. The next morning before Jill and I head to Utah, we did one last climb in Joshua Tree. I chose Overhang Bypass since it is only 5.7 and is quickly accessed. I led up the first pitch to a cave like feature on Intersection Rock. The route then goes to the right on a hand rail. It is quite exposed and then goes to a slabby face. When Jill got to the belay I could tell she was stressed by the exposure. We sat there for a little bit and then decided that we could do this. Because she was stressed, I belayed her from the bottom of the slab so that she could see me as she did the exposed traverse. We eventually made it to the top. There we relaxed in a water bowl feature soaking up the view and the sun. We then rappelled down and started on our way to central Utah.
After a couple of restful days with my girlfriend, I made my way back to North Carolina. It had been an amazing few weeks. I had gotten the chance to climb at a new place that has amazing climbs, I learned a ton of stuff on my exam, I completed the exam, and I spent time with a beautiful woman. Now I was ready to get back home and begin working again. A week after getting back home, I received a manilla envelope in the mail. I opened it and found a certificate with my name saying that I am now a Certified Rock Instructor. I was psyched. I cannot take all of the credit though. I have had great mentors here at Fox Mountain Guides particularly from Ron. Also thank to Wes for joining me on this trip. It was nice to see the NC Mafia, a title we were given by another guy in the exam, crush the exam. And thank to Angela Hawse, Tom Hargis, and Silas Rossi for their great instruction and amazing work they do for the AMGA.
If you would like to see a Certified Rock Instructor at work you can find my contact information on my contact page on this blog. You can also find me and other great guides at Fox Mountain Guides.
The next morning I woke up at 5AM when I started to get a bit nervous. Apparently, I had started thinking about the exam while I was sleeping and then I couldn't get back to sleep once I had woken up. My route assignment that day was to lead White Lightning and something else after Russel led his route, Overseer. We were the first ones to the crag that morning so we hopped right on White Lightning. It is a 5.8 crack that goes all the way to the top. About 3/4 of the way up there is a small nook in which you can set a belay if you want to break the route into two pitches. I did just that and brought Silas and Russel up to me. From there I did a short pitch to the top. Getting off of Hemingway can be a bit of a challenge since there are only two rappel stations for the entire wall. Luckily, after topping out, I was close to the central rappel station and we quickly made it back down to the ground. Russel then took over and took us up Overseer. It is a great route with a crux that will keep you on your toes. From there we rappelled on the right side of the wall. It was now my turn again. I went up this exposed fin covered in patina plates. The only downside to this route was the lack of adequate gear. Still, I loved it. Once back on the ground, Russel took us up Feltonian Physics. Another great route on Hemingway. After that route, we went to a pile of rocks near the base and refined some short roping techniques. That was our first day. By the end of the day, the nerves had finally settled. Now time to get ready for day two.
On day two, Russel was assigned Fote Hog and I was assigned Western Saga both of which are on the Sentinel in Real Hidden Valley. Fote Hog is a 5.6 that starts up a ramp, goes on to a face with a thin crack, then moves right to a juggy overhang. From there it follows cracks and ledges to the top. My route, Western Saga, is normally done as a single pitch but due to it having a huge ledge half way up the climb, I broke it up. The first pitch is thin crack and stemming in a corner. Above the ledge, you get a slightly overhung hand crack going up to a roof. The roof moves follow the crack and are a bit awkward. After the roof, there is a flaring hand crack to a nice ledge. After this, Russel chose to take us up Sail Away which is a beautiful 5.8 finger crack. Over there I ran into some people I had met before from NC. After Sail Away we went to Intersection Rock to climb Mike's Book. I only was able to do the first pitch due to time constraints. It is a fun route with an awkward start leading to jugs in a corner. We then came down and debriefed for the day.
Russel coming down off of Sail Away
Day three was the rescue drill and movement test day. The rescue drill, is a 45 minutes exercise in which you must show your knowledge and application of certain rescue tools needed by a guide to safely get out of a situation if one were to arise. It can be quite stressful having an examiner standing a few feet away watching your every move. In my rock instructor course, I had some issues that I needed to work on to get a good time on the drill. Well I must have practiced enough because I was well within time. After doing the rescue drill we did the knot pass. It is a 5 minute exercise in which we must lower a client past a knot in the rope. I had slight brain fart during the knot pass which I luckily caught before it hosed me. This added time to the drill. I still got through it in time. Next we did our movement test. The first route was Pope's Crack. It is a 5.9+ thin hands crack that leads to a slightly downward traverse before going back up a fun lieback flake. The next route we did was Touch and Go 5.9. It starts off in a corner with twin cracks. It them moves to a single dihedral crack with a juggy top out.
Looking up at the guys doing the rescue drill
Rodney and Russel hanging out during the rescue drill
Wes going down to Russel during the drill
Day four was the first day that I was able to do some of the longer routes in Joshua Tree. This day, Russel and I were with Tom Hargis. The three of us went to Lost Horse Wall to do Dappled Mare and Bird on a Wire. Russel was up first on Dappled Mare. It has an interesting downward traverse which creates a somewhat unique guiding problem. Russel negotiated it well and we were quickly through that part of the climb. He took us to the top then guided us down the walk off. Next, I was up on Bird on a Wire. It is a 5.10a that follows a sweeping crack line to the top. The second pitch is the money pitch. It has a thin section that is protected by a bolt but you are able to get gear soon afterward in a finger crack. The crack eventually opens up to a juggy crack that is a lot of fun. You then cross Dappled Mare and continue on juggy cracks all the way to the top. We then did the descent back to the base. We wrapped things up for the day. Back at camp we had a good debrief in which Tom gave some great critiques on our day which helped me understand the use of certain tools better.
Tom on the second pitch of Bird on a Wire
Russel finishing up Bird on a Wire
The fifth and final day of being on the rock, Russel and I were once again with Silas. We were assigned to guide Walk on the Wild Side and Right On on Saddle Rock. Walk on the Wild Side was the only route in the exam that I did not have to onsight since I had done it before the exam. We went up the three pitches then rappelled back to the base. This was one of the most straight forward assignments I had. We then hiked over to Right On. There was a party that was finishing what they thought was the first pitch. So we had lunch and chilled. Eventually, we were able to head up. We were continually having to wait at belays on this route due to the party ahead of us. At one point, we waited 30 minutes before Russel was able to begin leading the last pitch. Eventually, we made it to the top of Saddle Rock. There we basked in the sun since we had been in the shade most of the day. We then did a double rope rappel to the ground and with a bit of rock hopping. After this day, we all went out for dinner at the Saloon. We were finally able to relax and just enjoy the evening.
Russel after taking us to the top of Right On
View from the top of Saddle Rock
The sixth day, we had our debrief as a group in the morning. Then individual debriefs went until about 2 in the afternoon. We were done. Wes and I just chilled out the rest of the day. He was leaving the next day and I was waiting for Jill to come into town. The next morning before Jill and I head to Utah, we did one last climb in Joshua Tree. I chose Overhang Bypass since it is only 5.7 and is quickly accessed. I led up the first pitch to a cave like feature on Intersection Rock. The route then goes to the right on a hand rail. It is quite exposed and then goes to a slabby face. When Jill got to the belay I could tell she was stressed by the exposure. We sat there for a little bit and then decided that we could do this. Because she was stressed, I belayed her from the bottom of the slab so that she could see me as she did the exposed traverse. We eventually made it to the top. There we relaxed in a water bowl feature soaking up the view and the sun. We then rappelled down and started on our way to central Utah.
After a couple of restful days with my girlfriend, I made my way back to North Carolina. It had been an amazing few weeks. I had gotten the chance to climb at a new place that has amazing climbs, I learned a ton of stuff on my exam, I completed the exam, and I spent time with a beautiful woman. Now I was ready to get back home and begin working again. A week after getting back home, I received a manilla envelope in the mail. I opened it and found a certificate with my name saying that I am now a Certified Rock Instructor. I was psyched. I cannot take all of the credit though. I have had great mentors here at Fox Mountain Guides particularly from Ron. Also thank to Wes for joining me on this trip. It was nice to see the NC Mafia, a title we were given by another guy in the exam, crush the exam. And thank to Angela Hawse, Tom Hargis, and Silas Rossi for their great instruction and amazing work they do for the AMGA.
If you would like to see a Certified Rock Instructor at work you can find my contact information on my contact page on this blog. You can also find me and other great guides at Fox Mountain Guides.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Rock Instructor Exam Part I (Pre-Exam Days)
For anyone who follows what I write on this blog, you will probably know that last fall I took the American Mountain Guides Association's Rock Instructor Course. By taking this course, I was able to guide in multipitch terrain for work. It was a great learning experience that opened up some great opportunities for me. After taking that course the next question was do I move on to the Rock Guide Course or take the Rock Instructor Exam? I quickly decided to take the exam after some advice from my fellow coworkers. Originally, I was hoping to take the exam next spring. That would give me ample time to prepare and save up the money. Instead, I was persuaded to take the exam this fall in Joshua Tree National Park.
I had never been to Joshua Tree before. Friends have told me that it is a magical place where your inner dirtbag is at peace. Joshua Tree lies about an hour to the east of Palm Springs in southern California. One thing that the park is known for and is its namesake are the multitude of Joshua Trees spread throughout the park. You get forests of these huge Dr. Seuss looking plants that are not even trees at all. They are actually a type of yucca plant. Some of the Joshua Trees are thought to be 500 or more years old. Also dotting the landscape is the reason that I went there. Throughout the park, there are these mounds of rock that seem to rise out of the ground. From afar, they have been described as piles of rock droppings. That is somewhat fitting. On these piles of rock there are some amazing climbs. The rock is a granite that has a very coarse crystal structure. This can be bad for your skin but allows you to stick to just about anything. Most of the routes tend to follow crack systems. I loved the amount of classic vertical cracks.
Intersection Rock viewed from site 28 in the Hidden Valley Campground.
My intention was to fly out to Palm Springs on the 8th of November, rent a car, drive to Joshua Tree, then climb for about 6 days before the exam. Well I managed to miss my flight out on the 8th, so instead I flew out on the 9th. The one good thing about missing my flight was that it gave me one more day to train with Ron and Wes at Looking Glass. That day I also was able to redpoint the first pitch of Out to Lunch which has a crux that was tricky for me due to my height.
One last day of training at Looking Glass
On the 9th, I arrived in Palm Springs, got a car, purchased supplies, then headed to the park. Once there I set out to find a campsite and possibly hook up with the other guys taking the exam. I was unable to meet up with the two guys that I knew were there already. Now I had to find a campsite. This proved to be tough since it was the friday before a holiday weekend. After searching for a while, I finally snagged a site in the Jumbo Rocks campground. The downside to camping there is that it is further from all of the good climbing. So the first couple of days, I would drive 15 minutes just to meet up with everyone. It was also cold and windy my first couple of days which made life less enjoyable. Due to the conditions, I tended to crawl into my tent around 7 and fall asleep by 8. This led to me waking up just before sunrise most mornings. Each morning I would get out of my tent and start breakfast while enjoying the sunrise on the horizon of the desert. Joshua Trees silhouetted against a blue, yellow and red morning sky is quite a beautiful sight.
This first day that I had a chance to climb, I went on a mission to meet up with Russel and Matt. Both guys had emailed saying that they were in Joshua Tree and told me what sites they were occupying. I first checked Matt's site. No luck, they had already left. I then wandered over to Russel's site where I met a guy that he was sharing the site with. They guy said that Russel was in town. While talking to this gentleman, a guy named David drove up also looking for Russel. It turns out that David was a friend of Matt's. Finally, a lead. I went with David to meet up with Matt. After meeting Matt, we all decided to find a climb that would allow us to be out of the wind and in the sun. We chose two routes on Chimney Rock in the campground. David and I did a no star 5.7 called Howard's Horror. Never do this climb. I managed to tear a large portion of skin off of the back of my left hand when one of my hand jams slipped. After getting off of that route; Russel, Matt, David, Teresa and I headed over to the Echo Tee area to get on some more routes in the sun. Over there, I onsighted a fun, jug filled crack called Bacon Flake. We also did a few other routes on that wall, one of which was a bolted face climb that left me thinking a couple of times during the climb. To finish the day, Russel and I separated from the group and went to Lost Horse wall which was one of the few walls with multipitch routes. We climbed a route called Roan Way. It starts with the classic Dappled Mare then heads straight up off of the second pitch anchor avoiding a downward traverse. It was super fun with cracks that had huge holds around it. It was a great first day in Joshua Tree.
Panorama of an early morning at Hidden Valley Campground
The next day, I hooked up with David later in the morning and we did a few routes on The Old Woman. I led Double Cross, which is an amazing climb. Once we were off of that, Matt and Teresa met us. We then went up Dogleg in two separate groups. Another great climb. I finally felt as if I was getting the feel of the rock. The next morning, I was only able to get one route in since I had to go pick up Wes from the airport. I followed Matt up the Orphan since he was unable to get one of his cams out of it the evening before. After meeting Wes at the airport, we gathered more supplies then went to go find the crew. They were all in the Echo Tee area chilling at a parking area with one new guy, Jon. Jon was one of the other guys taking the exam. Now we knew that every one taking the exam was in the park because Russel and I had run into Rodney on Lost Horse a few days before. From this meeting, we split up. Jon, Russel, Wes and I headed to Lost Horse to do some more multipitch routes. I teamed up with John on the Swift. It was a bit crowded with the Rock Instructor Course that was going on taking up most of the routes so Wes and Russel came up the Swift right behind us. After topping out, Jon and Wes went down the standard descent while Russel and I scouted out a possible alternative descent that Adam Fox had hold me about. It was quite an adventure traversing the top of Lost Horse back towards the parking area. We eventually found a rappel down into the Rock Garden area. From there we did a lot of boulder hopping back down to the parking area.
Jon following the second pitch of The Swift
The next day was the day before the exam. We had a meeting with the examiners/instructors at 4PM but wanted to do a bit of climbing and the rescue drill that day as well. Wes and I came across Tom Hargis one of the instructors in the camp ground and he told us of some possible routes that were going to be used for the movement test and where we would be doing the rescue drill. With that beta in mind, Wes, Jon and I headed to the possible climbs which were on the Thin Wall. There I led up No Calculators as did Wes and Jon. We then top roped the 5.9 to the right. Feeling good about our movement abilities, we headed over to the Peyote Cracks area to practice the drill. There we found Matt working on the rescue drill with Teresa. After figuring out the set up, we went to it. Everyone did the drill at least once. I managed to have my best time on the drill ever with a time of 27 minutes. After this day, I was excited for the exam. I finally felt ready.
Practicing the rescue drill. Jon coming down to save me.
Later that afternoon, we met up with the instructors, Angela Hawse, Tom Hargis, and Silas Rossi. We went over the schedule, expectations, and our route assignments for the first two days. From the start, the instructors set a great atmosphere for the exam. This had me psyched. I was ready to go out and crush this exam. That night, Wes and I moved into a hotel for the duration of the exam so that we could be well rested and clean for each day of the exam.
Stay tuned for part 2 (The Exam)
Monday, June 27, 2011
First Return Clients
A week ago, I had the privilege of guiding a couple, Trudy and Ralph, at Chimney Rock Park. They had booked a half day of top-roping. I took then to an area called Wildcat Buttress. There are some great crack climbs there. The couple had been climbing before so I figured that they would be able to handle the routes I was going to put them on. They did well. The routes were just at their limit but they were able to make it up them. The biggest problem of going to Wildcat was that the trail there is very bad. There is a lot of loose rock, many obstacles, and it can be a little steep in some places. That was one of the biggest challenges that we faced that day. As we were talking through the day, I began to tell them about Looking Glass. They were interested in possibly doing another half day. I tried to sell them on coming over to Looking Glass and checking it out. We parted ways and then I began to wait to see if they would book for later in the week.
Fast forward to Thursday. The booking that I had for that day got rained out. Trudy had not booked again so I had figured that they were not going to want to do another day. That night, I received an email from Trudy. We then got things set to go hit up Looking Glass on Friday. I was stoked. My first return clients.
Trudy and Ralph at the top of the first pitch of the Nose
Friday morning arrives. They show up a little early and we head up to the Nose area. Once there we climbed The Nose. They really enjoyed it. Oh, it was also a beautiful day. There was a steady (should read strong) breeze and the temperature and humidity were lower than normal. After doing the first pitch of the Nose we moved over to do a variation of the first pitch of Sundial Crack. It was a bit trickier but they both enjoyed it. Finally, I swapped ropes with another of our guides here at Fox, Tracy. She had a rope set up going through a small roof about 60 feet up the wall. Trudy and Ralph both gave valiant attempts but failed to pull through the roof.
After we did that we were done for the day. I had a great time getting to work with them. I also managed to get some decent photos at Looking Glass. Here are a few of them.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Youth Group Mystery Trip
It has been a while since I was last in a youth group. I remember it being a lot of fun, a place to go for encouragement, more drama than there needed to be, and we would go on fun trips. This past week, Tracy and I had the privilege to guide a youth group from Florida.
This youth group goes on a mystery trip every year. Only the leaders know what is planned for the days of the trip. The youth don’t find out the day’s activities until they arrive at whatever destination is scheduled. This year they added rock climbing to the mystery trip. Some of the kids had been climbing, mostly inside, before.
Throughout the day, we had teen agers laying siege to The Nose on Looking Glass. It was great to see them encourage each other and help one another out when one would get stuck on a move. The one thing that I remember most about this group is that there were a few kids that loved to just hang out on the ledges. One girl was always racing up a route with her camera in tow so that she could get some good shots. Normally she would end up on a ledge and after 10 minutes, she would finally come down. I actually got a picture of three of the students just chilling on a ledge enjoying the view and the great weather we had.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Lovett
This past week, I had the privilege to guide groups of high school students in the Pisgah National Forest. Every year, the rising seniors go on a five day backpacking trip in the forest. This year, I was able to be in charge of one of the sites in which they climbed. Over the course of four days, we had groups in the morning and afternoon. Every group that we were able to work with was great. I loved being able to see these kids challenge themselves and do things beyond their comfort levels. Many of them when they would reach the top of climbs would just be in awe of the sheer beauty of the surrounding wilderness. Here are a few pics from the week.
Even though it was a lot of work bringing all the gear in, hiking up there twice a day, and sometimes having to wait for the groups; I loved every minute of it. Nothing beats being able to share something you love with other people so that they can experience it, if only for a few hours.
Even though it was a lot of work bringing all the gear in, hiking up there twice a day, and sometimes having to wait for the groups; I loved every minute of it. Nothing beats being able to share something you love with other people so that they can experience it, if only for a few hours.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Moving
As some of you may already know, I have moved to North Carolina. It has been a long couple of weeks for me. They have been great. As you read about in my last post, I had a chance to climbing at a great destination (The Red) and with great people (Nate, Sarah, Calvin, and others.) Once I got back from the red I was at home for less than 24 hours before moving out. I then headed to Springfield, MO to relax, catch up on some writing, and hang out with some great friends. Speaking of friends, I have to give a shout out to one of my best friends, David Olson. This guy has been super generous to me over the years. He even let me live with him before he got married. It has seemed like his house in Springfield has been my second home over the past year. Thanks for all you have done for me Dave. Then last Friday I left Springfield, after some car problems, to go down to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas. It is an amazing climbing destination. I went down there to teach a trad climbing course with Jon Richards of Vertical Voyages.
Once I arrived at the Ranch I searched for Jon. After a little while I was able to locate him and we proceeded to do some scouting for our course. I got the chance to climb a route I have never done before and to lead an existing sport route on gear. That later route was Green Goblin (5.8). I have led that route many times using the bolts as protection but leading it on gear adds another element to make it an even better climb. That night it started to rain. We knew that the forecast was bleak for the weekend but we remained hopeful. That next morning we awoke to cloudy skies. We went down to meet the participants in the course. They all had rented a cabin. This proved very beneficial because after about 30 minutes of sitting on the front porch getting to know each other and figure out what everyone wanted to get out of the course it started to rain. We then moved the course inside the cabin. Some how we were able to cover quite a bit in the cabin. Then a little while after lunch the rain stopped just long enough for us to move outside and teach the placement of gear on real rock. They got to practice placing gear and building anchors. That night we all hung out in the cabin.
That night it stormed. I also tried to start my Yukon. It wouldn't start. It was doing the same thing it did back in Springfield. The next morning I woke up got ready then tried to start my car again. No luck. After going to the cabin to discuss what was going to happen with the participants, I went back up to the campground to work on my car. I needed it to work so I would be able to get to North Carolina by Monday evening for a meeting. I took some parts off and checked them out and everything seemed alright. Then by some miracle, it started. Now, I did send out some texts to a few friends to pray for me and my car. Now if it was their prayers that helped my car start; I'm not sure. But I do know that I have no clue as to how anything I did got it running again. Once it was running, I met back up with the group in the barn. We had decided that we would do some very basic self-rescue stuff so that they could learn something with the crappy weather. I surprised myself and Jon as to how well I was able to teach some of this stuff.
The course was a great time. Once the course had ended Jon, Gina, and I went to the Ozark Cafe to grab some dinner before I left. If you ever go to HCR hit up the Ozark Cafe. It has great food for a reasonable price and the people there are great. After that I left and headed south to I-40. Along the way I was able to get a few great pictures of a valley with some rain clouds in them. Eventually I made it to I-40 and then turned left (east). I managed to make it past Memphis before pulling off into a truck stop to sleep. Then the next day I drove across Tennessee and managed to make it to The Fox Mountain Guides office early. Finally I was able to sit, relax, and kind of get my head around what all was about to happen in my life. Then we had a meeting for all of the guides. It was great to get to meet them all and figure out some of the different roles that everyone plays in the company. After the meeting Adam showed me where I would be living. Soon after moving a few things in I crashed. I knew I would have a busy day the next day.
On Tuesday I woke up early and got ready to do the second day of The Rock Warrior's Way Clinic with Arno Ilgner that all of the other guides were taking. One of the participants from the first day was unable to make it, so I was able to take his spot. My first climb was the beginning of an aid route that goes at 5.8 called Remember Appomattox. Next I was put on a 5.10c called Invisible Airwaves. I managed to onsight that route. Making it my hardest trad onsight yet. Then I top roped a technical 5.12c called Waste Not Want Not. It has some pumpy
A little while later I was told to try this 5.11c which takes the start of one route (Waverly Wasters) and then traverses into the finish of another (Creatures of Waste). The beginning is easier climbing on less than vertical edges. You then stand up on a ledge. On the ledge you get some good gear in a crack. You then traverse out right below the first bolt on Waverly Wasters. Before you can clip the bolt you must make a committing move to a small edge directly below it. Even before I probed into the move, I knew I wasn't going to like it. If i would fall, I would swing or pendulum back to the left and may hit a ledge along the way. After probing the move a few times and feeling very insecure I decided to take a few practice falls to get used to the pendulum motion. The first three were shorter ones. Then on the fourth, I took a practice fall from about where I would be if I were pulling the move. I exhaled, let go, and started my downward ride. On the way back left, my right foot scraped against the wall. As it was doing so, my right heel impacted a hold on the wall. At the time I didn't think much of it. But after a few days I realized that I bruised my heel and also sprained a tendon. Luckily this hasn't kept me from climbing. After that fall I took another practice fall and then bailed on the route. I just couldn't make that move comfortably. After bailing I took a top rope run on the route and really enjoyed it. We then discussed as a group things we had learned from the clinic.
The next day was my orientation. It wasn't anything too exciting. We just went over paperwork, bit of the manual, and how to enter things into the computer. After that was the first time I was able to relax since I left Springfield. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few hours. One of my roommates, Michael, came home and asked if I wanted to go climbing. Of course I couldn't resist. At about 430 we finally left and headed back to the North Side at Looking Glass. There we did a few routes. I just followed all of them. While he was on the last pitch, it started to pour. I knew I wouldn't be able to run back to the car with my heel so I was preparing to just get wet even though I had a rain jacket. Luckily Michael lent me his trekking poles. They actually helped with my heel and I made good time back to the truck.
On Thursday, Adam Beck, one of the other guides who lives in Tennessee; Ron; and I went to the Nose area on Looking Glass to do some multipitch. This was my first experience on the eyebrows of Looking Glass. We started on a 5.9+ route called Sensemilia Sunset. It was tough. It took almost the entire route to get used to the slab climbing and using the eyebrows. We made it to the top, ate a bit of food, then we scrambled down to the anchors on Peregrine (5.9). The anchor we were at was about 300 feet off the deck. There Ron suggested that we top rope the route. For those that don't know much about climbing, the longest common rope used in climbing is 70 meters or 230 feet. Well this gave Ron a chance to show us how to pass a knot while lowering someone and how to belay past a knot since we tied two ropes together. It was fun to continually climb on this terrain for that long. After that, we rappelled back to the ground and did a variation to the Nose that hits a roof with a tricky move on it. I was privileged to lead this pitch and boy was it fun. We went up another pitch then called it a day. We didn't do as much as we were hoping mostly because the routes challenged us more than expected. We had a good time anyways.
Those were the past couple of days in my life. They were very hectic but super fun. There are some more stories that happened today which I will write about at a later time. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to go with the stories. Hopefully soon I will be able to get some pics up of the area so that you can see how marvelous this area is.
Once I arrived at the Ranch I searched for Jon. After a little while I was able to locate him and we proceeded to do some scouting for our course. I got the chance to climb a route I have never done before and to lead an existing sport route on gear. That later route was Green Goblin (5.8). I have led that route many times using the bolts as protection but leading it on gear adds another element to make it an even better climb. That night it started to rain. We knew that the forecast was bleak for the weekend but we remained hopeful. That next morning we awoke to cloudy skies. We went down to meet the participants in the course. They all had rented a cabin. This proved very beneficial because after about 30 minutes of sitting on the front porch getting to know each other and figure out what everyone wanted to get out of the course it started to rain. We then moved the course inside the cabin. Some how we were able to cover quite a bit in the cabin. Then a little while after lunch the rain stopped just long enough for us to move outside and teach the placement of gear on real rock. They got to practice placing gear and building anchors. That night we all hung out in the cabin.
That night it stormed. I also tried to start my Yukon. It wouldn't start. It was doing the same thing it did back in Springfield. The next morning I woke up got ready then tried to start my car again. No luck. After going to the cabin to discuss what was going to happen with the participants, I went back up to the campground to work on my car. I needed it to work so I would be able to get to North Carolina by Monday evening for a meeting. I took some parts off and checked them out and everything seemed alright. Then by some miracle, it started. Now, I did send out some texts to a few friends to pray for me and my car. Now if it was their prayers that helped my car start; I'm not sure. But I do know that I have no clue as to how anything I did got it running again. Once it was running, I met back up with the group in the barn. We had decided that we would do some very basic self-rescue stuff so that they could learn something with the crappy weather. I surprised myself and Jon as to how well I was able to teach some of this stuff.
The course was a great time. Once the course had ended Jon, Gina, and I went to the Ozark Cafe to grab some dinner before I left. If you ever go to HCR hit up the Ozark Cafe. It has great food for a reasonable price and the people there are great. After that I left and headed south to I-40. Along the way I was able to get a few great pictures of a valley with some rain clouds in them. Eventually I made it to I-40 and then turned left (east). I managed to make it past Memphis before pulling off into a truck stop to sleep. Then the next day I drove across Tennessee and managed to make it to The Fox Mountain Guides office early. Finally I was able to sit, relax, and kind of get my head around what all was about to happen in my life. Then we had a meeting for all of the guides. It was great to get to meet them all and figure out some of the different roles that everyone plays in the company. After the meeting Adam showed me where I would be living. Soon after moving a few things in I crashed. I knew I would have a busy day the next day.
On Tuesday I woke up early and got ready to do the second day of The Rock Warrior's Way Clinic with Arno Ilgner that all of the other guides were taking. One of the participants from the first day was unable to make it, so I was able to take his spot. My first climb was the beginning of an aid route that goes at 5.8 called Remember Appomattox. Next I was put on a 5.10c called Invisible Airwaves. I managed to onsight that route. Making it my hardest trad onsight yet. Then I top roped a technical 5.12c called Waste Not Want Not. It has some pumpy
A little while later I was told to try this 5.11c which takes the start of one route (Waverly Wasters) and then traverses into the finish of another (Creatures of Waste). The beginning is easier climbing on less than vertical edges. You then stand up on a ledge. On the ledge you get some good gear in a crack. You then traverse out right below the first bolt on Waverly Wasters. Before you can clip the bolt you must make a committing move to a small edge directly below it. Even before I probed into the move, I knew I wasn't going to like it. If i would fall, I would swing or pendulum back to the left and may hit a ledge along the way. After probing the move a few times and feeling very insecure I decided to take a few practice falls to get used to the pendulum motion. The first three were shorter ones. Then on the fourth, I took a practice fall from about where I would be if I were pulling the move. I exhaled, let go, and started my downward ride. On the way back left, my right foot scraped against the wall. As it was doing so, my right heel impacted a hold on the wall. At the time I didn't think much of it. But after a few days I realized that I bruised my heel and also sprained a tendon. Luckily this hasn't kept me from climbing. After that fall I took another practice fall and then bailed on the route. I just couldn't make that move comfortably. After bailing I took a top rope run on the route and really enjoyed it. We then discussed as a group things we had learned from the clinic.
The next day was my orientation. It wasn't anything too exciting. We just went over paperwork, bit of the manual, and how to enter things into the computer. After that was the first time I was able to relax since I left Springfield. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few hours. One of my roommates, Michael, came home and asked if I wanted to go climbing. Of course I couldn't resist. At about 430 we finally left and headed back to the North Side at Looking Glass. There we did a few routes. I just followed all of them. While he was on the last pitch, it started to pour. I knew I wouldn't be able to run back to the car with my heel so I was preparing to just get wet even though I had a rain jacket. Luckily Michael lent me his trekking poles. They actually helped with my heel and I made good time back to the truck.
On Thursday, Adam Beck, one of the other guides who lives in Tennessee; Ron; and I went to the Nose area on Looking Glass to do some multipitch. This was my first experience on the eyebrows of Looking Glass. We started on a 5.9+ route called Sensemilia Sunset. It was tough. It took almost the entire route to get used to the slab climbing and using the eyebrows. We made it to the top, ate a bit of food, then we scrambled down to the anchors on Peregrine (5.9). The anchor we were at was about 300 feet off the deck. There Ron suggested that we top rope the route. For those that don't know much about climbing, the longest common rope used in climbing is 70 meters or 230 feet. Well this gave Ron a chance to show us how to pass a knot while lowering someone and how to belay past a knot since we tied two ropes together. It was fun to continually climb on this terrain for that long. After that, we rappelled back to the ground and did a variation to the Nose that hits a roof with a tricky move on it. I was privileged to lead this pitch and boy was it fun. We went up another pitch then called it a day. We didn't do as much as we were hoping mostly because the routes challenged us more than expected. We had a good time anyways.
Those were the past couple of days in my life. They were very hectic but super fun. There are some more stories that happened today which I will write about at a later time. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to go with the stories. Hopefully soon I will be able to get some pics up of the area so that you can see how marvelous this area is.
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