Rock Climbing This Season
So the 2013 climbing season has been one of the best for me, and as I haven't been posting photos of every outing I figured the least I could do is sum it all up in one thread here, for any interested viewers. 
We started our climbing season in March with a trip to southern Thailand, which is already outlined here, but a few duplicate shots seem appropriate. Our first climbs were on a wall overlooking the Andaman Sea in the oppressive heat of the tropics, which turned out to be a pretty big problem for our winterized Alaskan selves.
The full gallery for these is HERE.
The area around Tonsai Beach, Thailand has some seriously incredible limestone cliffs, with many bonuses around such as beaches, food, and an all-around awesome lifestyle. We could definitely stay there forever, if there weren't such pesky things as visas and money.
Northern Thailand offered a little less climbing-specific vacationing, but we did get out on the rocks at Crazy Horse Buttress, which features a bunch of great cliffs and a giant cave through the formation which also has some climbing inside.
Gallery is HERE.
Anyway, after vacation was over we headed home to Alaska and waited for spring, which came a bit late with a six-inch snowfall hitting us on May 17th. When it did arrive it hit hard, though, with sunny day after sunny day quickly melting the snow out of the mountains and raising rivers to their banks for the whole summer. The road to our favorite climbing area opened up on schedule in mid June, and we were out on the rocks the day it opened, although I took no photos of the trip. A week later, with foliage beginning to turn green, my wife Tracy and I took a couple hours to pull down a few pitches in the warm sun.
Galery HERE.
The end of June tricked us into thinking this might be a normal summer, with some fog moving in while we were walking a highline over Reed Creek. It still hadn't rained on us while climbing though, which is a fairly standard occurrence in these hills.
Gallery HERE.
A day of dry rock in Hatcher Pass is to be celebrated, and what followed the start of our season was dry day after dry day after dry day. Our latest snowfall record was pushed aside by records for the highest number of consecutive days over 70 degrees, and the warmest summer on record. We enjoyed excellent T-shirt weather for almost the entire month of July on the rocks. This shot is of Sandra as she struggles through some difficult moves.
Gallery is HERE.
In climbing, I have found that while not very many people are "climbers", nearly everyone at least wants to try it. As we tend to focus less on sheer difficulty in our route selection and more on just the enjoyment of being out on the rocks in the mountains, quite a few of our friends have joined us here and there for their first try at the sport. Here, Melody gains a deeper understanding of just how challenging it can be on her first route.
A bit of moisture dropped on us this day, but as the afternoon came it dried up and our slippery morning challenges turned into thoroughly enjoyable climbs on friction slab. Aaron and his wife Emily were visiting from out of state and had never climbed before, so as we geared up in a light drizzle for a moderate climb I was a bit worried that they might not enjoy it too much.
Gallery is HERE.
Emily seemed to have little difficulty following up a delicate and balancy route on a typical Hatcher Pass slab. Slab routes present much less in the way of features and handholds, but are at an angle slightly less than vertical, meaning that any small nubbin can be a very secure foothold if the climber moves carefully and balances well. Of course, those of us who struggled up it first still maintain that the rock was drier when she made her ascent!
Every season it seems new friendships are born out of the convenience of finding people on the internet, and this year was no exception. We met Sarah and Eliza, two climbers from the Lower 48 who were up for the summer in Cordova working on a trail crew. Eliza is a very interesting (to me) element of the modern climbing scene in that she has been a climber for seven years, even competing at a national level, and yet this is her very first experience climbing outdoors on real rock. Mind boggling! :huh
Gallery is HERE.
Here Richard pulls through a difficult move on the second pitch of a route high over the old Fern Mine. Hatcher Pass is filled with ancient relics from a bygone era of gold mining. What may be considered very interesting artifacts from the early 1900s, when men and mules worked with drills and dynamite to bring the yellow metal many miles out to civilization, may also just be piles of trash that they simply left behind when they quit. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Gallery HERE.
Back in 2009 my wife and I, along with Kelsey (Prezwoodz here) and Dane, put up a big route overlooking Lower Reed Lake. We went back this July and climbed it again, and discovered that this really is one of my favorite routes in the area. Two easy slab pitches bring you to the base of an incredible crack system up a dead vertical face, and then you top out in a sort of mouth in the granite, looking out over a beautiful valley with an icy green lake below. Tracy and I climbed it with Matt, seen here on the final 1/4 pitch near the topout.
Gallery HERE.
Some days the companions most desirous of joining us on our excursions are not too inclined to ascend the vertical faces. On one light afternoon meandering walk to an old hut a little way off the road, a few of our non-climbing friends were treated to a glimpse of my mountains as I have loved them now for most of my life. They were stunned that this scenery has been here so close to home and so completely unknown to them, and were vocally exuberant about the excursions they will be making to this place in the future. Who am I to ruin it by telling them it rains here more often than not?
Gallery HERE.
Here a tiny pika works at building a stash of food for the winter. These interesting little guys are more closely related to a hare than the mouse they resemble, and do not hibernate through the eight months of snow in these mountain valleys. Instead they build up a gigantic pile of plant matter - I've seen piles six or seven feet across hidden under boulders - and they simply subsist on it deep under the snow for the winter. They're busy all the time, but they blend so well and are so small that it's often difficult to find them, and even more so to get a good shot!
Tracy and I spent one entire day in early August climbing a local classic called "Toto", which is six pitches of some pretty committing climbing, relative to what we usually do. Our reservations at jumping into this gradually receded as we managed to get through the harder pitches and move closer to the top, and eventually we summited and were treated to that most coveted sensation of pushing through a severe challenge and succeeding in spite of the positively frightening outlook at the start. Plus, the views from up there are just awesome!
Gallery HERE.
But of course, "Nothing gold can stay", and so in late August our heat wave broke and we were back to our typical weather in Hatcher Pass. This season saw the release of the first guide to bouldering in the area though, so when we reached Archangel Valley through thick fog and rain and ran into a friend who had been morosely idling in his truck hoping against hope for a break in the weather, we decided to make the best of it anyway. Leaving dryness behind, we got drenched and muddy on the smaller rocks scattered all over the valley.
Gallery HERE.
Another outing saw us hiking route developement gear, camping gear, and of course camera and climbing gear through a drizzling and cold rain, some three miles off road and up through a pass into Reed Valley, where we promptly set up camp and discussed how terrible this was, and how much we would rather be warm, dry, comfortable, and watching a movie. The tarp and the M&Ms helped, but not enough to stick around longer than a night.
Gallery HERE.
The end had come, but still we tried, heading out again with the intention of doing some boulding. More wet and miserable weather found us struggling with slippery lichen and icy fingers on boulder problems that should have been easy, had it been dry.
Gallery HERE.
After a few hours of wallowing in the muck, we made it back to the car sopping wet and headed home with the knowledge that we probably won't be back again this year, at least for climbing. The season has been a great one though, and now at least we should have time to catch up on the regular elements of life that have been on hold since June! Next up: Buying a home.
We started our climbing season in March with a trip to southern Thailand, which is already outlined here, but a few duplicate shots seem appropriate. Our first climbs were on a wall overlooking the Andaman Sea in the oppressive heat of the tropics, which turned out to be a pretty big problem for our winterized Alaskan selves.
The full gallery for these is HERE.
The area around Tonsai Beach, Thailand has some seriously incredible limestone cliffs, with many bonuses around such as beaches, food, and an all-around awesome lifestyle. We could definitely stay there forever, if there weren't such pesky things as visas and money.
Northern Thailand offered a little less climbing-specific vacationing, but we did get out on the rocks at Crazy Horse Buttress, which features a bunch of great cliffs and a giant cave through the formation which also has some climbing inside.
Gallery is HERE.
Anyway, after vacation was over we headed home to Alaska and waited for spring, which came a bit late with a six-inch snowfall hitting us on May 17th. When it did arrive it hit hard, though, with sunny day after sunny day quickly melting the snow out of the mountains and raising rivers to their banks for the whole summer. The road to our favorite climbing area opened up on schedule in mid June, and we were out on the rocks the day it opened, although I took no photos of the trip. A week later, with foliage beginning to turn green, my wife Tracy and I took a couple hours to pull down a few pitches in the warm sun.
Galery HERE.
The end of June tricked us into thinking this might be a normal summer, with some fog moving in while we were walking a highline over Reed Creek. It still hadn't rained on us while climbing though, which is a fairly standard occurrence in these hills.
Gallery HERE.
A day of dry rock in Hatcher Pass is to be celebrated, and what followed the start of our season was dry day after dry day after dry day. Our latest snowfall record was pushed aside by records for the highest number of consecutive days over 70 degrees, and the warmest summer on record. We enjoyed excellent T-shirt weather for almost the entire month of July on the rocks. This shot is of Sandra as she struggles through some difficult moves.
Gallery is HERE.
In climbing, I have found that while not very many people are "climbers", nearly everyone at least wants to try it. As we tend to focus less on sheer difficulty in our route selection and more on just the enjoyment of being out on the rocks in the mountains, quite a few of our friends have joined us here and there for their first try at the sport. Here, Melody gains a deeper understanding of just how challenging it can be on her first route.
A bit of moisture dropped on us this day, but as the afternoon came it dried up and our slippery morning challenges turned into thoroughly enjoyable climbs on friction slab. Aaron and his wife Emily were visiting from out of state and had never climbed before, so as we geared up in a light drizzle for a moderate climb I was a bit worried that they might not enjoy it too much.
Gallery is HERE.
Emily seemed to have little difficulty following up a delicate and balancy route on a typical Hatcher Pass slab. Slab routes present much less in the way of features and handholds, but are at an angle slightly less than vertical, meaning that any small nubbin can be a very secure foothold if the climber moves carefully and balances well. Of course, those of us who struggled up it first still maintain that the rock was drier when she made her ascent!
Every season it seems new friendships are born out of the convenience of finding people on the internet, and this year was no exception. We met Sarah and Eliza, two climbers from the Lower 48 who were up for the summer in Cordova working on a trail crew. Eliza is a very interesting (to me) element of the modern climbing scene in that she has been a climber for seven years, even competing at a national level, and yet this is her very first experience climbing outdoors on real rock. Mind boggling! :huh
Gallery is HERE.
Here Richard pulls through a difficult move on the second pitch of a route high over the old Fern Mine. Hatcher Pass is filled with ancient relics from a bygone era of gold mining. What may be considered very interesting artifacts from the early 1900s, when men and mules worked with drills and dynamite to bring the yellow metal many miles out to civilization, may also just be piles of trash that they simply left behind when they quit. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Gallery HERE.
Back in 2009 my wife and I, along with Kelsey (Prezwoodz here) and Dane, put up a big route overlooking Lower Reed Lake. We went back this July and climbed it again, and discovered that this really is one of my favorite routes in the area. Two easy slab pitches bring you to the base of an incredible crack system up a dead vertical face, and then you top out in a sort of mouth in the granite, looking out over a beautiful valley with an icy green lake below. Tracy and I climbed it with Matt, seen here on the final 1/4 pitch near the topout.
Gallery HERE.
Some days the companions most desirous of joining us on our excursions are not too inclined to ascend the vertical faces. On one light afternoon meandering walk to an old hut a little way off the road, a few of our non-climbing friends were treated to a glimpse of my mountains as I have loved them now for most of my life. They were stunned that this scenery has been here so close to home and so completely unknown to them, and were vocally exuberant about the excursions they will be making to this place in the future. Who am I to ruin it by telling them it rains here more often than not?
Gallery HERE.
Here a tiny pika works at building a stash of food for the winter. These interesting little guys are more closely related to a hare than the mouse they resemble, and do not hibernate through the eight months of snow in these mountain valleys. Instead they build up a gigantic pile of plant matter - I've seen piles six or seven feet across hidden under boulders - and they simply subsist on it deep under the snow for the winter. They're busy all the time, but they blend so well and are so small that it's often difficult to find them, and even more so to get a good shot!
Tracy and I spent one entire day in early August climbing a local classic called "Toto", which is six pitches of some pretty committing climbing, relative to what we usually do. Our reservations at jumping into this gradually receded as we managed to get through the harder pitches and move closer to the top, and eventually we summited and were treated to that most coveted sensation of pushing through a severe challenge and succeeding in spite of the positively frightening outlook at the start. Plus, the views from up there are just awesome!
Gallery HERE.
But of course, "Nothing gold can stay", and so in late August our heat wave broke and we were back to our typical weather in Hatcher Pass. This season saw the release of the first guide to bouldering in the area though, so when we reached Archangel Valley through thick fog and rain and ran into a friend who had been morosely idling in his truck hoping against hope for a break in the weather, we decided to make the best of it anyway. Leaving dryness behind, we got drenched and muddy on the smaller rocks scattered all over the valley.
Gallery HERE.
Another outing saw us hiking route developement gear, camping gear, and of course camera and climbing gear through a drizzling and cold rain, some three miles off road and up through a pass into Reed Valley, where we promptly set up camp and discussed how terrible this was, and how much we would rather be warm, dry, comfortable, and watching a movie. The tarp and the M&Ms helped, but not enough to stick around longer than a night.
Gallery HERE.
The end had come, but still we tried, heading out again with the intention of doing some boulding. More wet and miserable weather found us struggling with slippery lichen and icy fingers on boulder problems that should have been easy, had it been dry.
Gallery HERE.
After a few hours of wallowing in the muck, we made it back to the car sopping wet and headed home with the knowledge that we probably won't be back again this year, at least for climbing. The season has been a great one though, and now at least we should have time to catch up on the regular elements of life that have been on hold since June! Next up: Buying a home.
John Borland
www.morffed.com
www.morffed.com
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Comments
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Other site
www.morffed.com
I agree with you on this- In climbing, I have found that while not very many people are "climbers", nearly everyone at least wants to try it.
I have for long wanted to try it and finally gave it a shot with some friends. It was fun when I tried it, but it was obvious to me that I needed more training and experience to get a lot better at it. Maybe that is what kept me away from it. But every now and then I see pics like these or read blogs with experiences shared and I'd want to start again. I think having a companion who shares the same interest does a lot to motivate you. I even recently joined a mountaineering school http://www.mountainskillsacademy.com/rock-course-trip and tagged along on some of their trips to gain more experience. Now I'm getting more confident and enjoying it much more. Not sure when I'd get a chance to commit time to it again. Great pictures. Good to see you also enjoy noticing and snapping pics like the one of the pika.
www.morffed.com
Need more pics of the caves in Thailand though