Devil's Tower

Another great climbing trip! I've never climbed at Devil's Tower before but Fred and I did visit it a few years back. This place has a special place in my heart (I love Close Encounters of the Third Kind!!!) but as a climbing destination, it has always intimidated me. In particular are the famous photos of people climbing El Matador and the extreme stemming up the 'elevator shaft'. Hmmm...my legs are a lot shorter than that...yikes!!



(Can't see the above slideshow? Click here.)

Day 1

We start on the northeast side of the tower, nice and shady (it was 90 the first two days). I lead the first pitches of New Wave and Broken Tree. Fairly easy leads but a big step for me who thought the most I'd do would be one lead on the last day after getting a feel for the place. The second pitches on both climbs are great. New Wave has a couple of tricky spots but nothing outrageous. Broken Tree is just a blast! I can actually see myself leading this...next year...I think.

Then we go further right to McCarthy's North Face. The longest single pitch I've ever led! It's nearly 70m (200'). It takes every bit of me to finish. Between all the other climbs of the day and the incredible rope drag forcing me to muscle through every simple move for the last 75 ft, I'm absolutely exhausted when I finally get to the anchors. Mentally, it felt more akin to a marathon than a climb. The crux is at the end and I think I'm powering through to a nice comfy ledge. I pop my head over and see another 10+ feet of a slabby dihedral crack climb before the anchors. Jerry speeds up the climb and it's an incredible work out belaying him and keeping pace. With the hour getting late and my exhaustion level, I do something I almost never do...opt out of a chance to even try the stellar 11A climb that follows. When Jerry gets to the "ledge", I rap down and watch Dave lead p2. It's a stout and strenuous lead for Dave and Jerry also takes a couple of falls on it. I have some regrets about not staying and giving it a run but it'll be another goal for next year.

We get to the camp site at dark...our camp mates are more than ready for dinner but we have all the ingredients! Dave and Jerry quickly whip up dinner - buffalo marinara pasta...delicious!! Later in the evening, we head over to the front of the KOA (the best one I've ever stayed at!) and watch the nightly showing of Close Encounters. I can practically recite the lines. Amazingly, I'm so tired that I'm dozing off near the end of it. I head back to my tent and sleep well.

Day 2

Beth, Jean, and I go to the northeast side of tower. The previous day, they had a miserable time climbing in the sun. Beth got sun stroke and had to call it. So today, it's all about what we can do to stay in the shade. Beth leads the first pitch of Broken Tree for a warm up. Then we head over to check out some climbs but settle on Mystic and the Mulchers which John and Bruce just climbed. This is suppose to be easier than McCarthy's North Face, but I find it very spicy with a heart stopping moment or two! It's a much thinner crack with narrow flaring spots - not gear friendly like all of yesterday's climbs! About mid way up, I place a RP, go for the move, my feet slip and I nearly fall. I manage to keep hold and scurry to a very secure stance. Looking down I see that my RP 's pulled out. I had run it out before that so if I had fallen without the RP, it would have been quite a whipper. I also didn't consider the length of this climb (about 140') when I started and took only about 11 or 12 draws. Do the math! Another stress factor is that I couldn't see the anchors for 99% of the climb and was very confused about how much further to go and how much more gear I needed to conserve or not. In any case, I finish the sucker with no draws left, only one medium sized nut, and a hand full of cams. Arg. Lesson learned on both fronts. Later I compare notes with Todd and he nicknamed the climb "Butt Muncher". Enough said?

After Jean and Beth run it, it's about 3 and no one is up for another lead. Dave and Jerry pop up and they say they're done for the day too so that cinches it...we head back to camp, get ice cream, take showers, and chug beers before dinner. Ahhh, dinner...nearly an epic of it's own! The short story is it takes us 4 tries to find a restaurant that's open and/or we want to eat at. We finally end up at the BBQ place just around the corner from the KOA, eat a very hearty meal, and wait nearly an hour for them to tally and add up our bill. It's about 10:45 before the dinner 'ordeal' is over and we're back at camp chuckling it up over wine.

Day 3

Not much to day 3 except the KOA's camp pony gets loose and 'wanders' into our campsite. Wander is an understatement since Bruce lured him over with bread and tried to get him to step into Todd and Kristen's tent while they're still asleep. Yeah - we laughed for a while about that! Dave R, Debbie, and Jean stay for more climbs. Poor Beth stays in camp due to a groin pull. The rest of us hit the road for the long drive back to town. I would have loved to climb some more...next year!

Norfolk Daily News article: Scaling the Niobrara

Update: links to Norfolk Daily News article and video.

Ice Climbing at Niobrara River Ranch, Nebraska

We attended the 1st Annual The Niobrara Ice Jam not knowing what to expect. Honestly...the concept of ice climbing in Nebraska is a little hard to wrap your head around. It's as incongruous as bobsledding in Jamaica! Sure the internet site says the tallest walls are as high as 180 ft but ice pillars & sand hills? We were intrigued since we first heard about it last year. With their 1st ice jam ever, we thought what better time than to join in on the festivities.

Being the first fest (and in NE afterall), we joked that we might be the only ones there. Well jokes on us and them...we practically were!! Sure, we didn't expect the pros to be there but at least some "real" icers for us to marvel at. Because of it's novelty, there were journalist from the Norfolk Daily News, Sandy (writer) and Darin (photographer), and a nature photographer for Nebraskaland Magazine, Mike Forsberg. Well, you won't find too many pictures by me for once...with those two pros taking them...why bother!

Norfolk Daily News article: Scaling the Niobrara

How ironic that we'll be the featured climbers for the ice jam! We hadn't ice climbed all season and any one who knows us, knows that we're not "hard core" or terribly serious on ice. Just your average "hackers" (har har...get it...we're in computers and we hack on ice...sorry). Our group was Joe, Janet, Mike, Jim and Fred. It's Janet's second time out and Mike's first; he's 12, by the way.

I've never climbed on untouched ice before; it's really a different experience as compared the routes we do in Ouray or Vail which are so chopped out that you might as well have tape on the lines...pick here, step there, etc. I found myself using my head a lot more...constantly scanning, reading the ice for good placements or hooks. According to Stuart, (chief ranger for the Niobrara National Wild and Scenic Riverway) , we even did 2-3 first ascents! As if that wasn't enough...there's no significant approaches either...untouched ice and no approach...could we ask for more?!

So you can tell the trip was incredible! The location, people and weather were superb (high 30's to high 40's by the end of the weekend). The welcome and hospitality of everyone from Nebraska was heartening. It was a great set up and first class ice. Lee, the host (the climbing area is located on his property, Niobrara River Ranch), set up warming huts (think full out gorgeous cabin) with home made chili. Tim, owner of Yucca Dune Sporting store, hosted a film fest at his store & lounge in the evening. We unfortunately didn't partake as much as we wanted to...we're late starters which means ending each day by twilight. Besides, our beautiful cabin stocked with beer, sake, port and scotch was too enticing!

Daily blow by blow for those interested.

Niobrara Ice Climbing, Daily Summary

Picture courtesy of Stuart Schneider.
Janet lowering on line 3 and me climbing line 4.

DAY 1

We arrive in Valentine Friday noon and head over to Yucca Dune to sign in for the ice fest. The sheet is completely blank; our names are first on the sheet. Joe and Janet mosey in next...and....that's it (a South Dakota group arrives later in the day and climbs at Simmons Cliff Saturday). We chat with a handful of folks there: Tim (the organizer and owner? of Yucca Dune), Stuart (chief ranger for the Niobrara National Wild and Scenic Riverway ), and Sandy and Darin (journalist & photographer for the Norfolk Daily News). Turns out Darin can only be in town Friday and needs shots for their article. We agree to have him accompany us for the day. Our original plan was to kick back, check in, check out the site and only maybe climb. Now we're committed!

With Sandy and Darin in tow, we finally get to the the climbing area (its own short story), take a very short walk through the trees and WOW! We're at the edge of the cliff and it's a long way down to the river valley. It's real, it's wild and best of all, it's untouched!


(Ice was in much more fully than in this picture)

We set lots of anchors to secure ourselves and the photographer on the steep snowy slope. None of us can actually see any of the wall below until we lower. Hmmm...lowering into the unknown...let's send Joe first! He's the climbing stud on our trip and will do this on every line. We decide that the easiest and least steep line is appropriate, #1. It's a WI3, slopey on bottom, topping out in a 25-35 ft near vertical section. It's late afternoon before I'm on it, the last to go. As I'm being lowered, I eye the beautiful pillars lines with perfect icicles to the left. They're simply beautiful. The climb is tame, short but nice to get back in the swing of it. We wrap up with Darin and Sandy (Norfolk Daily News article: Scaling the Niobrara) , have a beer or two at the cabin and head to town for huge cuts of prime rib at Jordans. It's a good day!

DAY 2

Jim and Mike arrive; we have a hearty breakfast (care of Joe and Janet on both mornings. They rule!), and we don't get out to the climbing area until noon-ish. Mike's a novice so we redo line 1. He's 12, never climbed but a couple times in a gym years ago. The kid has no problem with us lowering him over the edge into the literal unknown! Joe lowers too and gives him a primer. In no time, we hear those distinct thwacking sounds and his head pops up and over. Scaled it and we don't think he broke a sweat!

Line 2 is a short but sustained 30-40 ft WI4 pillar. It's steep and pumpy but there are lots of wonderful hooks which reduces hacking to half. Joe and Fred cruise it. Janet takes a small fall near the top but otherwise masters it, better than I ever did my second second trip out ice climbing. Mike's up for it but it proves too difficult for his limited experience. What's a hook?! He's spent half way up and just can't make anymore headway. So Joe lowers to talk him through. The kid listens stoically, musters the last of his strength and determination, and steadily makes his way up the last of it. What a trooper! Mike F., the photographer, got great shots of Joe, Janet and Mike climbing before they headed out. As soon as we get those, we'll send them out too. They had to leave before they saw Mike through the climb so here are my pix of Mike finishing line 2. (click on pic to access album). These are the only pix I took all weekend.



I'm last to climb for the day, so again another wonderful twilight as I get up and over. By the time we wrap up, it's sunset. It's back to the cabin to clean up and down some refreshments. For dinner, we head back to Jordans, indulge in beef and fried chicken for me. Hearty meals, lots of laughs and lots to share about our day out.

DAY 3

On the last day, we hook up with Stuart and Mike F. Joe had chatted them up the previous day while they were shooting us and they stop by the cabin to see if we'll be out climbing. Apparently we're the only ones again and they would like more shots. Stuart knows the cliff very well and shows us the climbs he has in mind, the area on the far left in the picture - never been climbed. Of course Joe goes first! He makes pretty fast work of it. What a stud!

Line 3 is about a 40 ft WI4...not counting the last 15ft top out on sandy semi frozen dirt! We started calling the "dirt" part of the climb gardening. So we'd give it a grade of G3! :) This face consists of a thin mid section about 2-3 ft across framed by 2 thicker sections for which to pick and kick - it's stemmy, sustained & pumpy. For the G section, you have to hack over the dirt lip to get some purchase and stand on the top of the ice pillar. Kicking into the dirt held well. I had a hard time with the axes though. It's a strange mix of too hard and too soft. Either I couldn't get my picks in or if I did, the moment I put any pressure on them, the sand would give out. Meanwhile, sandy dirt is flying everywhere as I hack away...into my boots the long way...vis-a-vis the top of my bib. I was still spitting out sand the next day! After the lip, the sandy dirt was more cooperative and allowed for full pick sinkers, phew! For the final lip to the belay station, there's a wonderful tree to hook and top out. I'm completely exhausted and pumped when I get to the top. A great climb with truly unique Niobrara characteristics...climbing sand!

Mike tried this one too. Again, what a trooper! He got to the pillar and started having trouble. With Joe to the rescue with some pointers, Mike has no problem climbing it all himself! I think we have winner here. Watch out pros!

Line 4, is definitely a WI5. It's nearly a 60 ft of ice shaped so that you can stem it too, though not as widely as #3. Very sustained vertical ice. There's two small rest ledges at about 25ft and then 40ft. Thank god for the rests!! Again lots of awesome hooking. I even got a good knee bar in near the top of the second section. Even though I was 4th on the line, I couldn't see any other pick marks. By the time I got to the second rest area, I could barely hold my axes! Very strenuous climb. But Stuart and Mike F. had gone across the river to get shots of us. With them as my cheering section, I muster the last of my strength to climb the final 10+ ft of ice then scale the rooty 5+ feet of dirt. Roots rule! They held well and in the end I simply grabbed them with my hands to top out...literally crawling. What amazing climbs!! It's the best I've ever climbed - personally and ice quality wise.

It was the perfect climb to end our wonderful primer to Nebraska Ice. The reporters and locals all asked us if we think we liked it enough to come back. Without hesitation...yes!

EU Trip - a 9 day blast!

Highlights:


Got back from a great albeit short romp in Europe, 9 days total. The big shame was that Fred couldn’t go as our business become quite demanding prior to departure requiring him to bail at the 11^th hour. Perhaps just as well…I think the sleep deprived schedule would have done him in! We’ll have to arrange a full length getaway to the EU that allows leisurely enjoyment of each site.

After attending Albert and Andrew's wedding in St. Albans (20 miles north of London), I hit Rome, Barcelona (& Montserrat), and Liverpool then the Peak District to climb for a day. I got back Monday wonderfully tired and jet lagged.

I loved Rome and with blind luck got a hotel in the less touristy but nonetheless interesting part of town. Found several great ristorantes in my “hood” by seeing where the locals hung out. 3 days was not enough for me. Just as I was getting into the swing of things in Rome, it was time for me to head out to Barcelona. It’s touristier than my last visit 15 years ago but the new work on Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia was fascinating particularly in contrast to the many classic cathedrals of Rome. On my second day in Barcelona, I decided not to fight the throngs of tourist (high season for travel) and headed out to Montserrat for a day trip. The crowds thinned considerably especially on my hike to the highest tower, Sant Jeroni. Then to cap of a wonderful holiday, I ended with a visit with our friends in Liverpool who took me out climbing the next day at the Roaches in the Peak District. It was a perfect climbing day, starting off with a fun boulder problem and ending on a grit stone classic, Valkyrie,…good leads John and Paul!! It was an action packed 9 days and I met some great folks along the way.

Of course, being me, I took plenty of photos. The above slide show has the highlights. The word links are to the full album versions for those with more time and inclination…i.e., warning - lots of photos! Select “slideshow” if you’d like to view full screen. Enjoy!

Asia Trip 2007

Highlights:



China & Macau
Mom and I joined a 9 day tour that started in Beijing (Summer Palace, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven) for the first half then Suzhou (Venice of China), Wuxi, Hangzhou and Shanghai for the second. Though cold in Beijing, we were lucky we did not get to experience it along with their infamous wind chill factor. In fact, our late afternoon jaunt on the Great Wall was windless and we even had to take off our coats to keep from overheating! Anyone who has been there knows how unusual that is. The second half of our trip welcomed us with slightly warmer weather but still overcast and murky throughout (winter "fog" or just plain pollution). We pretty much spent no more than a day per town. In a blur, we visited canals, gardens, temples and lakes plus the usual "factory visits" to suck out our tourist $. Most of our tour mates departed from Shanghai, but Mom and I put our free day in Shanghai to good use by eating real (nom-tour) food. Besides checking out the Oriental Tower, we splurged on dim sum and squab at the Grand Hyatt's high rise restaurant (the tallest building in China, 4th in the world). The food was painfully delicious! I think it's true but after 9 days of tour food my judgment may be suspect. The Xin Tien Di renovated area was also very interesting and had so many restaurants we had trouble choosing. We continued on to Hong Kong where I met up with 3 of our tour mates for a day trip to Macau. Our walking tour included savoring local street fare and ended with a Portuguese dinner. Yes - food plays a significant part in the highlights on my trip!

Hong Kong and Singapore
On the second part of our trip, I spent about 6 days in Hong Kong visiting my old haunts and checking out some new ones with my friend Tina. A couple of my favorite days out were spent hopping on the tram and wandering Central and taking a morning hike on the Peak with Tina. But the biggest treat was Tina's friends, William and David, taking us out on their boats around Sai Kung. They motored to a remote cove and cooked us a 5 course meal accompanied by champagne and wine! It a side of Hong Kong I've always adored - next to this dynamic and dense city are the serene coves and outlaying islands. It's just beautiful.

The last few days of the trip were in Singapore to visit my friends Chris, Kat and Tze. I spent a day with Chris' mom and visited the newly renovated National Museum of History - the most multimedia, interactive and modern exhibit I've ever seen. But my favorite part of the day was at the Singapore Botanical Garden. I'm not much of a botanical garden kind of person primarily because I've always been a bit disappointed with the gardens I've visited in the past. I expect something lush and packed with colorful and exotic flowers. Well, that exactly describes the Singapore Botanical Garden. It's tropical down there (it was in the high 80's when I was there and it's their cold season!) so it's dense and lush beyond belief. Most of my time in Singapore was spent chatting, chatting, shopping, shopping, and eating, eating, eating. Oh yeah - there was a bit of drinking and late nights too. Just as my recreational exhaustion nearly hit its peak, it was time to head back to Hong Kong for a last twirl before meeting up with mom and heading home.

It was a great getaway and my gal friends and I are already planning a trip for 2008!