Misadventures of the Wasatch and beyond

Iceless in Iceland

2011-03-02T16:00:00.001-08:00

This was a trip of firsts for me, in more ways than one...

stuck in Boston on the way out, a blessing in disguise

that's where we're heading, way up there to the arctic, should be cold right?

this was the extent of ice we found and the only pitch we did over the next 5 days. so basically, Iceland suffers from erratic ocean currents which can warm up the climate on a weekly basis, which happened to us. it got warm and all the ice fell down which meant no climbing. for the first time on any trip, i got completely skunked.

so we did some sightseeing

and lots of drinking

and more sightseeing...

the stormy northern atlantic ocean

the melting Vatnajökull glacier

the blue lagoon

Hvannadalshnukur 6,952' - icelands highest peak

nice frosted tips!

a bathroom bivy - another first!

Hawaii - The Big Island II

2011-02-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Part II - the other (west) side

the digs

place of refuge

tangs

free diving

the evening line-up

manta rays

the lovely kaia

turtles & the fam

beach life

on the way back, high over LA

Hawaii - The Big Island I

2011-02-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

Part I - the east side aka the wet side

akaka falls

one of the super cool banyan trees

of course some surfing

and volcanos

and lava

and crazy tire art

be nice to Pele or else!

old graffiti

and the family walking like dinosaurs down a lava tube

Montana

2010-12-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

a few panoramas from bozeman (aka boozeman) and the amazing hyalite canyon

cleopatra's needle

roman candle

guess who?

who else then java jack tackle

con-

-rad

joe joe

will gadd salutes the house

vices

???

local hero pete tapley

finding some trouble on main street

California Girls

2010-12-06T15:56:00.001-08:00

the big blue pacific & the farallon islands

rust never sleeps at mickey's beach

reflections of an old thornburg route w/ scary bolts

a classic tony yaniro route :: walk the thin line

sex porpoises

yup, the bolts are still scary, are glue-ins supposed to spin?

clipping

sunset sending

stinson beach

one for the puzzle series

bubba gump heading home

South Dakota

2010-11-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

the rushmore massif from the air

rancho'relaxo and the fall harvest

taking down the bull

father-in-law paul and the inaugural pheasant hut

trigger finger bill

brother-in-law #1 RD

brother-in-law #2 Lee

yup, thats a limit

pretty birds - thats whats for dinner

Go Giants!!!!!!

Wisconsin

2010-11-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

the infamous Devils Lake

the footless greek getting down to business - son of a great chimney direct

cleopatra's needle

necedah

Minnesota

2010-10-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

palisade head and shovel point

lake superior

storms from the north

beached whales

lakeshore or seashore?

funk

wildlife

ummmm yup.

the hangers are bigger in minnesota

now boys and girls - don't play with yourself

across towards da u.p.

For all you desert lovers

2010-10-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Crusher will be intown tomorrow night (tuesday) at Black Diamond to show slides, tell a few tall tales, and sign his new and may i say badass book about the history of desert towers... If your a fan of climbing shitty towers you don't want to miss this one!

Tuolumne in a day

2010-09-26T08:15:00.001-07:00

Pywiack Dome

'Pete the Greek' in a rare moment - being one with nature...

the cool kids

Do or Fly 11c

Horseshoes and Handgrenades 12a

Electric Africa 12c - from the side

from the top

tight!

hanging at the SAR site

the ladies

big fall james

eppy and his piercing eyes

mikey's office

the maiden voyage

No. 500

2010-09-22T09:23:00.001-07:00

A day in the life of Paul Ross and his 500th FA - an obsession that started in 1954

Three Finger Canyon, San Rafael Swell

the namesake petroglyph

the 3-pitch route

the man, the myth, the legend

the other rope gun

the lookouts

and here we go

pitch 1

lance questing on pitch 3

maybe time for a bolt?

antics on pitch 2

congrats!

Lost in the Desert

2010-09-16T11:59:00.001-07:00

Banff 2010

2010-09-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

Just received another (my second) special mention in this years Banff Film Festival Photo Contest - Stoked!

View it here, along with the other winners:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/competitions/photo/2010/#panel-11

Epic Brewing

2010-08-30T19:42:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City's newest brewery opened it's doors this summer and i was fortunate enough to provide local photography for 2 of their signature beers!

Logical Progression #4

2010-08-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb//video-4-bd-athletes-sonnie-trotter-and-alex-honnold-make-oneday-ascent-of-28pitch-513a-in-mexico

the adventure continues...

Logical Progression #3

2010-08-20T13:12:00.001-07:00

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb//video-3-bd-athletes-sonnie-trotter-and-alex-honnold-make-oneday-ascent-of-28pitch-513a-in-mexico

a final breakfast in baseaseachi before the long haul back to the states

Kaia's Birthday Week

2010-08-17T09:11:00.001-07:00

my baby girl just turned 2 and we had an entire week of fun!

my attempt at a 4 tiered cake

good thing kaia was distracted with learning how to blow out a candle

but the beaters, the beaters are the best part

the 11,132ft summit of Mt. Superior

albion basin w/ the Bay girls

walking sticks were the hit of the day

birthday flowers

and birthday moose!

Logical Progression #2

2010-08-09T18:53:00.001-07:00

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb//video-2-bd-athletes-sonnie-trotter-and-alex-honnold-make-oneday-ascent-of-28pitch-513a-in-mexico

critter bivy register entry

Logical Progression #1

2010-08-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Stoked. The first of 4 is up and running on the BD Journal...

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb//video-1-bd-athletes-sonnie-trotter-and-alex-honnold-make-oneday-ascent-of-28pitch-513a-in-mexico

stretching the legs during the marathon drive down to basaseachi, alex 'boy wonder' honnold onsighting 'red planet' 13a in sedona.

It was time

2010-08-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to replacing my nut-tool. It cleaned a few cracks over the years...

I Failed

2010-07-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

well, i gave the repeat a good go, but in the end i couldn't pull it off and took 2nd place at this year's 'Steep shot' photo shootout up in Squamish. Local hero Paul Bride with his banjo debauchery segment took me down. Congrats man and to Mann for taking 3rd.

brian goldstone photo

Cedar in a Cedar Tree

2010-07-23T13:33:00.001-07:00

Wish i had a photo of someone climbing on 'Easy in a Easy Chair' but atlas, i didn't even take one bouldering photo during my 6 day stay - that's how lame i am. Anyways, it's Mountain Festival time of year and Squamish has one of the best, do yourself a favor and go next summer!

some say the crack climbing doesn't get any better...

...but the tree climbing is even better

up at the cirque of the uncrackables, i

ran into Cedar Wright one afternoon and

he was stuck in a cedar tree - how fitting - ha haaaaa!

he was making a short flick called 'Squamish in a day...eh!!!', super inspiring to see how it all came together, and you can check it out at http://verticalcarnival.blogspot.com/

end of the day solo up 'March of the Kitchen Utensils'

Kruk, what can i say other than i hope Cedar makes his 'Boogie till you poop' flick available soon

best of the west - partying squamish style

Chris Chan w/ love

2010-07-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

1.24.1979 - 7.9.2010
You will be missed by many. Chris took a fatal fall while downclimbing Eichorn Pinnacle in Yosemite.

Here are a couple memories from a February 2010 trip to the Shuangqiao Valley, China.

40,000 people

2010-07-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

that's the rumor anyways, for the number of people that turned out in the City of Salt last night for a free Modest Mouse show in the park. it was crazy, luckily, i had a great seat.

back in '95 i lived in Washington and used to flip hamburgers with these guys at an Issaquah 'Gullivers'

That's Life.

2010-06-02T16:10:00.001-07:00

I love shooting photos, it's a huge passion. And a lot of what i do is freelancing and that's fine, it allows me to go where i want and shoot what i love. Mainly, i try to capture images for patagonia as i love working with them. I see something cool, get an idea, or whatever, shoot it, and hope they like it. Most of the time it works out just fine, but sometimes it doesn't. Below is a recent example from the latest patagonia catalog. The in-house man, Tim Davis, who by the way is doing an awesome job and really coming into his own as a photographer (his images are great and he has really progressed over the last few years), anyways, he shoot 5-6 'grassroots' business'y type people. The images turned out really well and all have the same feel and flow which is important for a piece like this and is just fine.

But the downer is - I lose. I got inspired last summer up in Squampton when i stopped by friend Sonnie's shop and thought i captured the perfect 'patagoniac' image. Now it's killed. Oh well, good thing i shoot ALOT and that Tim is a super nice guy and that i don't have to break his knee caps... :)

@ the second generation shop

Chinese Food

2010-05-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

sorry for the F-bombs...

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb/all/bd-athlete-kyle-dempster-reports-on-an-ice-climbing-trip-to-china

Ladzinski

2010-05-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

lots of respect and major props on achieving the impossible - landing the current and respective covers of both mags! how he walks the line is beyond me. and he is

a photoshop master

and

a master of making his flashs look like natural light.

amazing

UPDATE: wow, the impossible just got impossibler: all 3 north american publications at the same time!

Vintage NST

2010-05-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

For the first gathering of this, the 3rd season of NST (No Star Tuesdays), Shingo and I decided to kick it old school - hex's, slung chouniard stoppers, swami belts, and the occasional bong.

the grill master

A Confluence Celebration

2010-04-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

A Confluence Celebration from andrew Burr on Vimeo.

Spring Skiing - Monte Cristo

2010-04-21T14:10:00.001-07:00

ahhhhhh, back to the sleepy town of alta

5:30am

pole line pass

pfiefferhorn, pre-dawn

yes please

traffic on superior's summit ridge

monte cristo's north summit

dropping by the bomb holes

those oquirrh bastards are in the background

hitching

late for work!

Spring Skiing - The Oquirrhs

2010-04-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

While the Wasatch got 7 feet in 7 days, the Oquirrhs probably get 7 feet in 7 years. Today we proved that theory.

morton salt

tooele

high above the great salt lake

magna

I-80

a lone sail boat

The Butt Shot

2010-03-21T20:31:00.001-07:00

a few out-takes from a recent desert shoot with mr. honnold

4 cheeks are better than 2

eye to eye with the first half of the second half

0.5 camalots are so easy for alex, he climbs them with one arm

From Spain Part 2 - The Climbing

2010-03-21T11:54:00.001-07:00

sunrise over costa blanca

you can't do much in rodellar...

except climb!

los mallos de riglos - the fake ones

and the real ones

the greek high up on 'la fiesta de los biceps'

when you clip this, you know your in riglos

siurana

boy wonder with film crew in tow

boy wonder = adam ondra

via missing link

jules let'n fly on tufa-groove

rafael nadal IS number uno

From Spain w/ Love - Part 1

2010-03-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Part 1 - The sights.

the love cactus

old castles are everywhere

the world's oldest transporter bridge - built in 1893

the guggenheim at Bilbao

the classy town of Oviedo

ya, that's a big black booty

quite possibly the easiest E8 you'll every climb (seriously, the guidebook gave it an E8 2a rating!)

a typical small village

typical roadside commando camp

typical dinner in a deserted camp ground

as the kind kid would say 'RAIN - a big negative'

10 years in the making

2010-03-10T17:46:00.001-08:00

While home for a few days between two international trips, I was lucky enough to find myself slogging up the snowy road of Santaquin Canyon with two friends.

In 1985 Brian Smoot and Bill Robbins established one of the 'hardest' pitches of ice in the Salt Lake area - Angel of Fear. (I'm apprehensive about saying hardest because it seemed quite easy the day i shot it with chris, which was his 3rd ascent in 5 days). It has been rumored to have only fully formed twice since '85, with the last touchdown being 10 years ago. While I'm not sure if i believe this entirely, I do know that it is rare and hasn't been around for the last several years that i've been looking.

This also marks one of my first forays into integrating film with still imagery. While, I'm happy with the results, I still have room for major improvements and look forward to the process of this new (well already here) form of story telling and adventure capturing.

Angel of fear - Santaquin Canyon from andrew Burr on Vimeo.

Time Zones -

2010-02-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

- 17 different ones this week. will get a proper post up soon!

Walks in the Wasatch

2010-02-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

The Talent

2010-01-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

A few of the worldclass women of the Ouray ice fest:

audery gariepy

ines papert

caroline george

kitty calhoun

Journey to the Swell

2010-01-15T16:57:00.001-08:00

why you ask? because the north face's are in primo condition!

classic san rafael swell cowboy scenery

and the indian scenery

the objective - the north face of window blind peak

hoar crystals

the approach - steep ridges

the approach - small cliff bands

p1

bomber first piece doooode!

ummmmm, why are we doing this again?

this IS ridiculous

....man, look over there, the dylan wall is nice and sunny

the summit ridge

signing in - first entry in 2 years

the mandatory summit beverage

down in the dark

The Great White Icicle and the probable FFA

2009-12-31T18:44:00.001-08:00

the First Formal Ascent that is...

the board members

the 10:30am tele-conference

aggressive business strategies guarantee success

looking sharp

pitch 3

running a few minutes late

mr. white, mr. brown, & mr. pink

or is it mr. brown, mr. orange, & mr. pink?

time for contemplation at the base of pitch 4

still looking sharp

pitch 4

climbing the corporate ladder

watch yourself!

stlye'ly

so in summery, the stocks look good...

...and continue to rise!

the 'aid climber'

hattori

the greek

the button pusher

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T14:06:00.001-08:00

Rediscovering Winter

2009-12-21T14:25:00.001-08:00

the sluggish green river rolling through canyonlands national park

fort bottom

cottonwood + calamari

calamari + wingate

mineral bottom

big chris smith, rediscovering his winter with PBR via a red vine

the one, the only, b.ditto

c.thomas also sending baghdad, santaquin canyon

the south side, LCC

and the north side

beckey's wall, bottom's up

and from up

jules, what an angle

bizarre things happen in the west desert

skull valley's ark boulder

stansbury island

sun & shells, but we're not talking about the beach

for sure it's pretty, but that's about it....

What did your 4x4 do last weekend?

2009-12-11T11:24:00.001-08:00

this is a quick visual story about the second ascent and FFA of an all clean tower (leave no trace style)... december 4th moab forcast - high of 21F, low of 13F (it was a double down coat kind of weekend)

wrangling the wood, SLut

big chris smith, trimming his wood

the anchor is ready

soda springs basin, canyonlands national park

the tower - yum kipper

the gear

the approach

remnants from past travelers

getting close

the climbing on some of these towers isn't always pretty

halfway

the summit at nightfall

warming with tea

more tea and contemplation of our sanity

ya, that's right, duct tape

ari, man'ing up, and rappelling into the blackness from the 4x4

yup, thats the anchor

on the ground. both us and the anchor. a successful ascent and descent leaving no fixed anything!

the anchor give'ath warmth

Words

2009-12-01T22:14:00.001-08:00

a few things that made me laugh this week:

corey's moment of glory and he got f'ed. his last name is richards not rich like the other famous photog.

this is what happens when you have friends that work late nights at UPS - they change your mailing labels...

nothing beats homemade salsa

Run to the Hills -

2009-11-21T08:39:00.001-08:00

- why? 'cause Iron Maiden said so, nope. because

this is the air we breath:

the onset of winter in salt lake means two things, perfect sending temps for the granites' slabbiest of routes and the dreaded inversion.

so head on up the canyons for the clean air and perfect friction

badlands

nothing but fun on arm and hammer

approaching one of the coolest pitchs in the wasatch, the 'zion curtain'

megaclassic, megahard, cymbals of the sun

cymbals is THE multipitch slab route to do.

it's desperate in many places

and even with perfect friction, you still will probably fall - many times

lovin it, high above the valley smog

Iconic America

2009-11-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

philadelpha with my brother-in-law...

philly+lee from andrew Burr on Vimeo.

New Routes

2009-11-12T10:57:00.001-08:00

Here in the Wasatch, like many places around the country, we have a HUGE bolting problem. Bolts are being fired into any climbable chunk of stone at an alarming rate. This has been going on unchecked (well until very recently) for several years now. It's in vogue, I guess. It seems as though this has been happening regardless of rock quality, aesthetics, or reason. I don't know why. Is it to leave 'your' mark, the adventure of putting up a new route, or because the average climber with a decent income has come to the realization that you can buy a new drill for $200? I don't know.

But i do know that i don't like it.

So, I was very pleased to hear about two new routes that went up this fall here in LCC that required NO bolts.

Bad Motha 5.12 (it's between badlands and mother of pearl - hence the name)

we were all pulling for brad-lands, but guess it didn't make the cut, maybe it could be an aka?

steep, slabby, technical, and powerful

b-rad with the send and FFA

brad barlage that is...

nut-zac eyeing up this long forgotten beast of a route on the lizard head

giving it a good burn, but eventually getting spit out like so many before

it looks real easy from the ground, there's only two body lengths of real hard climbing, and yes it overhangs and leans to the right (but of course)

this route has been looked at and tried for 20+ years and back in the day when this thing should have been sent, they didn't make cams big enough. and nowadays, people don't climb wide cracks nearly enough.

so it was time for a send, and after zac and i failed miserably, i enlisted pete the greek to put this sucker to bed and with the FFA of cashmere crack 5.11+, he did so. check out that fine sweater he is wearing.

he also created the hardest OW in little (sans the freak show of trench warfare), a testpiece for years to come.

warming up with tea on the block that almost killed us. it fell out of the upper crack, almost on pete's head while he finger jammed behind it.

Kentucky Madness

2009-10-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

say hello to my little friends

center of the universe, kentucky style

only if pete knew what he was in for...

....yep, i'm a real bastard sometimes. pete and luke's first route in the red, the caver's route 5.3 (it did get 5 stars though)

i hate spiders

the monkey hold

casa ladzinski/lee

luckily, my man shoots better than he climbs

more madness

the high speed 'banjo'width at the house

yes, kentucky is all about the guns...

guns

and ammo

and more guns

and of course, inappropriate old men in the beer trailers

Trying To Hard

2009-10-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

should of went sport climbing. not worth the risk. etc,etc.... (fill in your favorite phrase now).

so, i've being trying all summer and fall to get up in the upper reaches of big willow canyon to shoot and recon some routes. nobody ever wants to go. and i can understand why. i've lived in salt lake for roughly ten years now, and have been to most crags. we all know, that the higher you go, the shitter the granite gets around here (lone peak being the exception). but the routes get stars and monday was the LAST day of the season for rock climbing above 10,000 feet.

by some miracle i've found 2 people willing to go - i'm psyched, i can shoot some real rock climbing photos. one dude bails in the morning (no surprise there), so now it's just pete and i. i give pete ample opportunities to bail, but he's to nice, and is willing to accompany me on the hike.

the day started out casual enough, with a nice 1.5hr stroll up to jon's hideout and the guardian. it all looks pretty decide from afar.

upon closer inspection and a quick solo of one of the 5.10s, it becomes apparent that yes, its kitty litter and we struggle to find answers to why the ruckman's gave these routes any stars let alone two!

so up to big willow cirque we go.

here is a photo of pete shoeing up on the ledge below pitch 3 of giggles. so, in order to shoot, giggles, i decide to boot up the descent gully which starts off pretty mellow with ankle deep grapple from saturdays storm. however, soon i find myself halfway up the gully, half steaming the wall, half trying to pointlessly kick my busted ass tennis shoes into the hard gully ice/snow. i'm past the point of no return. i have to go up. i cannot down climb this and live. up ahead it looks easier. its not. the gully has had recent rock fall, and everything is frozen kitty litter granite with embedded toaster sized decaying granite rocks. more opposition and clawing with my frozen clubbed bare hands. if any piece of the equation fails, i'm done for. i manage to get to the top. post hole up the ridge into the sun and find a viewpoint for giggles. my hands start thawing. the worst screaming barffies of my life. my whole hands, fingers to the wrists. feels like someone has smashed all my fingernails.

meanwhile pete starts up pitch 3 of giggles. he is stopped by a chimney filled with snow and ice. it's overhanging. he yells over. he's bailing. shit, he's bailing. fuck, all of this for nothing. wait, its ok, its good he's bailing. my friend will live. downclimbing back to the ledge, his foot slips on some wet rock. 3 points cut. his face slams the wall with a thud. one hand remains gripped to a icy hold. shit that was close. back on the ledge now. he says he's going down. i yell over that i have to walk up the ridge to lone peak and down the draper ridge to get out. ok.

more post holing up the ridge. i arrive and the saddle with lone peak and look back into big willow. looking for pete. can't find him. he should be at the base by now. start scanning the wall and base below pitch 3 looking for a body. can't find him. yell over several times between wind gusts of the approaching storm. the wall is at least 1/4 mile away. finally he yells back.

he's near the top of the wall! unable to downclimb the first two wet/snowy pitchs of giggles, he traversed over to the corner system of 'better homes and gardens' and topped out. he looks at a different gully and says he can get down. i'm scared for him. it doesn't look any better than the one i climbed up. he knows what he's doing. ok. he says he'll call and have someone pick me up at corner canyon. i don't have my phone. i really don't want to walk down corner canyon. i look into little willow. shit might as well. i descend some jumbotron snowy death talus, traverse some more and hit some beautiful high alpine meadows with no trail. easy walking though. descend more and find a break in the ridge to traverse back into big willow (below jon's hideout). i thought the ridge was going to be short. it's a 1/2 mile wide. the worst bushwacking of my life. descend far into big willow. second guessing myself. did i miss the trail. sticks breaking in the waining light of the dark forest. deer. cougar. don't know. if i miss the trail, its going to cost me a few hours. find the trail. walk out.

keep walking. still walking down, waiting to crest the ridge to see the church parking lot far below. if his car is gone, than thats good. cause that would mean he's down and went over to corner canyon to pick me up. if his car is still there, then he is introuble. likely dead from falling on the descent. stay cool. i can now see the empty parking lot. good. its dark. i descend more, most out of view. i'm closer now and in the dark corner away from the lights i now see a car. shit. i can't tell if its his or not. stay cool. it's not. i flag down a car and make the call. 15 minutes later he's back. i get in. i tell him that i wanted to cry. he says the same.

maybe next time we'll go sport climbing. probably not...

AAC - P2

2009-10-22T17:21:00.001-07:00

The International Climbers' Meet and Craggin Classic - hosted by the American Alpine Club

Part 2 - The Climbs + The After Party

another north sixshooter sunrise

mantel illness

the cleaner

ruby's cafe

desert shield

the big baby, it's long...

...and you will gasp for air

swedin-ringle to...

...air swedin

and if you want to climb 'air swedin' clipping the midway anchors is not allowed

trotter

sending

expect anything else?

flaming groovy

sports action on 'aesthetics'

and aesthetics the traditional way

black diamonds' very own 'use as is'

and you wonder why they sounded so bad....

rock on

AAC - P1

2009-10-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

The International Climbers' Meet and Craggin Classic - hosted by the American Alpine Club

Part 1 - The People

sunrise and the north sixshooter

the hang at creek pasture

sydney

chili

monkey

donini

angela hawse

mikey schaefer & kate rutherford

andres marin

the nightly life

no, its not. its a map of italy via guido casarotto

the international crew

Fanboy

2009-10-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

i don't get all fanboy very often, but it happened the other night when i got to meet a local legend - george lowe - back in the day, he was THE man around these parts.

LCC's Hardest?

2009-09-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

A Guide to nabbing the FFA of LCC’s hardest climb – The Alpenbock Crack (Project) aka the 5.14 crack.

***Disclaimer: Unless your naturally gifted at levitation, are having serious relationship problems, or have Lost Arrows for fingertips, this route will not be worth the walk.

The Beta: Park at the Grit Mill, cross the street and stream and thrash up the hill for an hour (machete and eye protection recommended) and then get your ‘mountain goat on’ for the last little bit.

The Rack: Double set of mega-small to .75 camalots and a few small to medium stoppers. You wouln’t use all of it, but alas it’s not that much gear or heavy for that matter, to carry up the hill. Don’t worry though; placing gear on the go for a true redpoint send will be more than a testpiece, it will be superhuman.

The Zone: A couple of bolted/mixed slabby routes are in the area (Budge’s I presume) to ‘warm up on’ if you so choose, but honestly, the ‘Teton 4th class’ death approach and getting the rope up the measly little 45feet to facilitate a TR burn seem to do the trick just fine. And staying true to Little Cottonwood standards, it leans to the right, but of course! ***There's no red tag, so get after it and be the first to send!

LPC's Lowe Route

2009-09-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

so, i found myself up at Lone Peak Cirque a few times this fall with 'Pete the Greek' and we had a spare hour and figured, hey, why not shoot the last pitch of Out of the Question?

and if you don't know Pete, then he's usually game for whatever, ESPECIALLY if he doesn't need a rope. so for your viewing pleasure here is Pete the Greek climbing the Lowe Route into Out of the Question sans rope

Good Times w/

2009-09-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

old friends.

Hurricane Bill, Acadia, & Lobsters

2009-09-09T19:45:00.001-07:00

the calm after the storm

'a dare by the sea' getting swallowed

the otter cliffs

and you wonder how people get swept into the ocean and die...

a newly washed 'a dare by the sea'

morning glory

great head and the head arete

bridging the gap

some gigantic northeastern lichen

pins and pipedream

some sort of flower

and a bug too

lobster pound at bar harbor aka bahh haabbbahhh

thanks you guys!

A Date with Hooker

2009-09-04T20:10:00.001-07:00

wind river mountains, wyoming

at mile 12, we leave the horses

thanks for helping with those 75 lbs

fresh snow on the pass

16 miles later, camp

and after 10 minutes, camp is already a disaster

better food management

encase of emergencies, this spoon doubles as a light

northeast face of mt. hooker

alpine lake

climbing 'red light district'

wet cracks

lost

into the shadows...

...the cold shadows

attempting a new route 'red direct'

on the summit and still cold

Squampton Part 2

2009-08-21T19:39:00.001-07:00

jas emerging from the forest on silly putty

and the ever photogenic split beaver

jeremy w/ an impressive send on the squaw (forget the name and grade of the route, its on the right side, anyone?)

the boys nearing the top

wow, i even took a bouldering photo

corey 'rich'ards, broken pins, whiskey shakes, and sentry box

a photo that i've had in my mind for years - evan stevens on even steven

holy sh*t, sonnie trotter is wearing my shoes

jeremy and his rig

the man - peter croft

simon yates

Squampton Part 1

2009-08-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

such a beautiful cliff

such a beautiful valley

and then the clouds

and the rain

checkamus, pretty uninspiring

the ques were 2 parties deep for the four dry routes

but we found one partially dry roof crack

yup, full on squampton

The Following is Hijacked from

2009-08-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

www.squamishmountainfest.com

It was standing room only again at the Howe Sound Inn & Brew Pub for this year's Steep Shot photo Shoot out.

Five professional photographers from across North America were each given up to 5 minutes to showcase the very best of their climbing photography talent in front of an eager and enthusiastic audience of more than 200 people.

The judges deliberation was tough - but in the end it was a unanimous one and first place , with a prize of prize of $1500 went to Andrew Burr, who graciously gave his winning cheque back to the Squamish Mountain Festival and The Squamish Access Society.

Second & third place went to Keith Ladzinski & Cory Richards respectively.

Mandatory Hooking...

2009-08-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

...and Zion's sweet canyons

pine creek canyon

imlay canyon

Faces at the Crag

2009-08-10T08:25:00.001-07:00

peter mortimer

jack tackle

camera 1 = pete the greek

odub

the working man = tk

bisharat + paparazzi

tk & patty cakes

pictures & sound

pictures & sound + ben moon

D is for Diamond

2009-08-06T18:37:00.001-07:00

R is for ROCKY Mountain National Park

L is for LONGS Peak

D is for Diamond

E is for EARLY start

A is for ARIANA

O is for ONSIGHT

S is for SNOW

Surf Wyo

2009-07-30T00:21:00.001-07:00

The Snake River near Jackson

Bay's vs. Burr's

2009-07-26T20:27:00.001-07:00

Weekend canoe trip to Grand Teton National Park with friends & family

the launch

kaia gearing up for her first overnight canoe trip

bay's 1 - burr's 0

always!

not much freeboard

kaia and daddy's medicine

swimming lesson's postponed due to...

...hot chocolate

arrrrrrrgh

can you say static?

morning fog

Man Hands

2009-07-13T21:32:00.001-07:00

the approach

the island of Lillemola and the 300m rock pillar. man hands (our new route named after our female swedish flight attendants) takes the money line just left of center for 7 pitchs or so of up to 5.11 climbing.

basecamp

p1

p3

p5

p6

one of the many clumps from cleaning p1

the no'see'ums were see'ums

24hr cragging

2009-07-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

Vagakallen - 2am

Vagakallen - 10pm

Svolvaergeita - midnight

Henningsvaer - 2pm

Hovedveggen - 11pm

Hovedveggen - 11:30pm

Store Festvag (and a souvenir) - 3pm

Presten - noon

Paradiset - 8pm

The Stetind (National Mountain of Norway) 1391m

Stetind - 5pm

midnight

Fish = Food

2009-07-13T15:52:00.001-07:00

old cod

new cod

fresh

not so fresh

reindeer meatballs - everyones favorite

everything tastes better with bacon flavored mayonnaise

six'er of the mack

can'd ass

puke bread

are you?

roll'n in style...

I'm Back

2009-07-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of non-posts of late. I've been over the pond, climbing and shooting at a pretty cool place above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

the crew assembles at the chicago airport

Lofoten Islands, Norway - where, at this time of year it never gets dark, actually the sun never sets. here we are, racking and breakfast at 4am.

the view from the cragging at henningsvaer

More to come, hopefully this week...

Causey

2009-06-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

A cool new adventure route straight out of a Northern Utah reservoir.
JuJu Bird 5.11 (FA Blake K.)

FFA-LCC

2009-06-12T10:58:00.001-07:00

That is, a First Free Ascent in Little Cottonwood Canyon
Flirtin' Death 5.12- at the upper waterfront

salt lake valley fly over

a rare sight in little cottonwood (and it's no longer there)

all photos are from the actual first two ascents...

finishing the first crux

wondering, if today is the day

last rest

redpoint crux

trying hard and sending between the rain showers

celebration - parking lot style

and more, this time porcupine style (full order of nachos + beer)

Pete the Greek

2009-06-08T21:48:00.001-07:00

and a day of climbing in the cottonwoods.

master scriptorian 5.10

outside corner 5.7

remnants of an ancient sea

goodro's wall 5.10c

depth of field 5.12a

A Shitty Day...

2009-06-06T23:23:00.001-07:00

...you guys will be missed & always in my heart

jonny - a big inspiration for me and mountain photography

MUCH LOVE

Screwed Again...

2009-06-04T12:32:00.001-07:00

...this time by baby bjorn

so, last winter i came up with this idea and shot this image for patagonia and they were very psyched (i was very pleased with the outcome as well). it was slated to run in their early fall catalog but it just got axed. patagonia, being the business they are, have to get permission from every company which has a logo present, hence baby bjorn. it never even crossed my mind and much to patagonia's surprised too, baby bjorn denied the permission to use the photo and threatened legal action if the photo and/or like (i.e. logo photochopped out) was used. LESSON LEARNED but not without some bad words mumbled under my breath and out load...

Lines

2009-05-31T20:55:00.001-07:00

Drove out to Wyoming over the weekend to meet Mr. Fryberger and snatch a portrait for an upcoming article/interview for Urban Climber

chuckfryberger.com

he's super into wind turbines and believes that they will server as a symbol for our generation

and the rain, it seemed to rain everywhere on saturday

but we got lost in utah on the way and got a pitch in before getting soaked

still lost, but now at a crag where you can climb in a down pour

heller + power

power + sky

yikes! spikes!

Legends

2009-05-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

one stopped by the office today...

Steve 'Crusher' Bartlett - Desert Mud Aficionado

Crusher dropped by to pick up a few photos for his upcoming coffee table book about desert towers and their history. He was mostly interested in FA and FAA photos, so i had him covered on Cottontail and the Shark's Fin. Hopefully i'll sneak a few others in too. It should be out in time for the holidays. I'm a sucker for climbing lore and history - so i'm way psyched to be a part (albeit small) of this project!

Life + Family

2009-05-27T22:12:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend and my family's annual diving trip to Van Damme State Park, near Mendocino, California

california poppy

my sister-in-law showing the boys how its done

brent long and one of his vw's

my brother tony and one of the many sea caves in the area

daughter kaia sampling some of daddy's medicine

Return to the City

2009-05-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

City of Rocks, ID that is.

moments before the execution

old wasp house

turkey vulture, big but not as cool as a hawk

the classic 'strategic defense'

two views of 'bombs over tripoli' - 1

2 - after several attempts over several years, my good friend Ari, sending :)

'technicolor'

something to the right of 'vice grips' that scott carson may or might not have done, it's probably at least 12+ or 13-, i'll call it 'jimmy grips' for the time being.

two views of 'beef jello' - 1

2

the classic 'cairo'

sending the not so easy 'roughleg'

Covers

2009-05-20T15:34:00.001-07:00

A couple of my recent covers at your local gear shop or in your mailbox this summer...

Jason Haas of Fixed Pin Publishing and Sharpend teamed up to put out a truly spectacular book on the Flatirons

The Backcountry.com Summer 09 Catalog (or not).
The following is an exert from the first page:
This is not a catalog. We've tried that before-many times, in fact. And no matter what we did, it left the same bland taste in our mouths. It always seemed like something that came ou of an ad agency in Chicago, not from a bunch of dirtbag ski bums in Park City. The smattering of products and staid format never felt true to our voice or to those passionate about gear and the outdoors.
So we trashed it. But rather than using a tanking economy as an excuse to bag the whole project, we switched it up and focused instead on what sets Backcountry.com apart-you, the community....
....Call this whatever you want-a catalog, a magazine, a print-form bastard-child of a blog-we don't care. We just ask that you keep the Backcountry.com community in mind the next time you're lost in some side canyon or hunkering down for along night in the tent. After all, we're going to need some new stories for next year. - Justin Mool (Senior Editor)

Tres Piedras

2009-05-15T00:46:00.001-07:00

and a few of the boulders...

the warmups

the fins

getto stimulator

arrogant bastard (FA)

commitment boulders

chickenhead direct

crescent moon

again

unnamed

the (sun)set

Faces of Taos

2009-05-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

an original bat cave topo

the rio grande gorge and

some of its climbing.

the kaia monster

Slurpees and Slots

2009-04-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

the range

the other range

waz up

peter is happy

ok, back to the mountains

and the goats

and our roadside distraction

and the creek, why is there always a creek?

and some more goodness for the post hole'n professionals

and more

and more

and finally the top

and the style'eee descent..

...well maybe.

and back to the creek

and getting rid of the creek

and some chill'axn

and some more turns on pequop summit on the drive back

and nevada, gotta love those nevada gas stations

NST - year dos

2009-04-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

No Star Tuesdays has entered its second year. And what a great first gathering for the new year. 30+ climbers descended on the Cresent Crack area to give a little loving to the less traveled and forgotten climbs...

little cottonwood park & ride and the new trail courtesy of the utah climbers coalition

bring on the rack of hex's - ah yaaaah - 'kutcorner 5.5'

in classic NST style, two of the founding members implement a unnecessary shoulder stand for the start of 'paraplegic ward 5.9A0'

portrait of the third founding member

rob earning his second year shirt on 'journey to the moon 5.10'

tyler looking for his bottle of ancient age on 'body english 5.9'

peace brotha - 'interplanetary voyage 5.11'

the new generation and

the old -- one big happy family - the way it should be...

Bringing Down the Face

2009-04-23T18:50:00.001-07:00

A journey to Hogum Forks' Thunder Ridge, Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Good, bad. Amazing, crappy. The amount of snow in the Wasatch is incredible (upwards of 15' in the last few weeks), but the heat wave is down right miserable. I guess it is spring...

the wasatchs' coolest peak - the pfeifferhorn

let the journey begin

shredding frozen chunder

skinning up soupy chunder

the objective - the dresden face (right side of photo)

ummm, the aftermath and the 2000' feet of korn we were going to ski...

minutes pryer, looking down at 2000' of creamy korn

dropping the knee beneath the hanging doom of thunder ridge

our korn turned into bowling balls and small microwaves

inspecting the 15' high pile of madness

some lads shredding the NE couloir of lone peak

hogum's heros

cooling off the feet in little cottonwood creek

the campbell's and their pearly whites

maybe the gate buttress would have been a better option (everybody else seem to have known)...

BD slideshow 4/22

2009-04-17T11:27:00.001-07:00

in support of kyle, i will be showing 15-20minutes of wasatch slides. psyched. should be fun. i usually start things off with a quiz - maybe for PBRs this time...