I’m usually not one to talk about how awesome I am, or brag about any of my crazy adventures. Even if someone else starts tooting my horn, I’ll usually play it off with “nah… it wasn’t all that.” Well today I’m going to forget about that because according to the Up My Own Ass blog I am a badass mofo. Here’s a little quote from the post:
I wonder if he is one of those guys that you get into a fight with at a bar, and you know you are screwed after the first punch when you land it squarly in his face and he just starts laughing… and then you piss your pants.
A couple of months ago Erin and I put together a couple of videos on the topic of the mining in Queen Creek for the Queen Creek Coalition. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:
Savoeun and I went climbing out at Sven Slab on Sunday and had a little unexpected adventure. The first route we hopped on was a lovely crack called One for the Road. I was half way up the first pitch, and thoroughly enjoying myself, when I started to get attacked by bees. I soon realized that the ledge at the top of the first was the home for a hive of killer bees. Bummer. Sav and I managed to retrieve all our gear, but I ended up getting stung in the face three times! So what’s it like getting stung in the face by killer bees?
It sucks. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s pretty uncomfortable. It’s a little comical too. I can’t smile or laugh and keep my eyes open at the same time!
The past two weekend I’ve spent climbing in Red Rocks, Nevada. In these four short days I’ve climbed some of the most amazing, long, and fun routes of my climbing career. Of particular note is a route called Community Pillar. Now this climb might not be your typical “classic” route, but it was HILARIOUS. The amount of squeezing through improbable holes and up tight chimneys you do is mind blowing. And watching people attempt to go through holes they are fairly certain will get them stuck is entertainment like nothing else. Here’s a video I made for my climbing partner Erin who couldn’t join me because she’s in Nova Scotia:
You can check out the photos I took from both weekends here, and here.
About a month ago Erin convinced me to do Totem Pole with her. It’s a classic Queen Creek route that goes up a free standing spire for about 150ft. Its summit is about the size of a small couch. The climb is good, the summit is pretty damn sweet, and there’s nothing quite like climbing hard, giant, phallic objects.
My friend Jason asked me for beta on the route, and I thought I’d repost what I gave him here:
1st pitch: throw a cam in as your first piece. I think I used the red link cam, so probably a #2 or #3 camalot would work. 5.9 climbing up until the 3rd bolt. Right at the 3rd bolt is the crux of the 1st pitch. There’s a chalked to hell sloper right next to the bolt that you want to use, but don’t. Climb it like an arete with your arms stretched WAY out and work your feet up high. Stand up, and hit a decent ledge. I fell here once trying to dyno off the sloper, the bolt completely protects you. The rest of the pitch is probably 5.8ish.
2nd pitch: walk up a low angle ramp and clip the first bolt. Right after the first bolt there’s maybe 3 or 4 balancy moves on small ledges and crimps. Marty thinks this is the crux of the climb, I was able to sail through it after hanging on the bolt and studying it for a minute. Easier climbing through bolts 2 and 3. After the third bolt you hit the crux of the entire climb. You hit a ledge about 5 feet above the 3rd (and last) bolt, after that there’s what looks like a crack going up to the top. The crack is actually a seam that can only be used to lay back on. Unfortunately I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to lay back on it. I felt the feet just weren’t good enough. I ended up crimping on a shallow mono with my right, gastoning between that and the seam, and bumping my right up to the only good face hold in the section. After you do that you can reach up to a spot in the crack that you can jam a finger or two, then throw yourself at the ledge above and the top.
That section of climbing is pretty scary and insecure. I even scared the shit outta Erin. At that point you’re probably 7 feet from the last bolt. The fall would probably be completely clean though. I put in a 00 c3 a few feet above the bolt and hung on that before I made my attempt. If you bring some small nuts (BD 4-6ish probably), you can place a piece another foot or two higher.
You can get off in a single rap if you bring a 70m, so don’t worry about bringing two ropes. Maybe bring a little webbing to backup the old shit that’s at the top. Good luck!
Check out the rest of my photos from our climb here.
Sunday before last I spent an afternoon bouldering and sport climbing over at the Mine Area of Queen Creek. Over the past few months RCC has begun to restrict access to some of the areas of Queen Creek they own. Here’s a little update on the situation:
The road before the old parking area now has keep out signs…
… and the old parking area itself now has a fence with razor wire, yikes!
It’s not all bad news though. They’ve created a new parking area next to the road. There’s a new trail that someone has cleared from there, up the wash, and to the old trail.
Look for that to show up in the next few weeks.
