Tag Archives: Climbing

Sep29

A labor of love – My labor day climbing road trip! Part 4.a: Ascending the tower itself

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Saturday, 04-Sept-2021, through Saturday, 11-Sept-2021

I Saturday, 04-Sept-2021, through Saturday, 11-Sept-2021

I love road trips. I’ve learned that, speaking to various therapists and councilors in the last year or so, long drives are a major form of meditation for me. I have something to keep me focused, and I’m accomplishing a goal, but I can let my semi-conscious mind wander and reflect on what’s been happening in my life.

I try to do this at home, of course, but… I always get too stressed out, feeling like I should be doing something instead of just sitting back and letting my brain process all the various thoughts and possibilities that are constantly screaming around in my skull.

For my birthday, I’d originally planned to climb at Index with Daniel. When that fell through, I’d sketched out a road trip down highway 101 into California with my friend Laurel. That fell through too. Finally, I gave up and decided to do something on my own – something I’d always wanted to do, but had never quite been able to make happen.

An ascent of Devil’s Tower...



Thursday, 09-September-2021



It was early.

I mean… really early.

“Keep your headlamp by your pillow, because it’s way before the sun is up”, type of early.



I was moving by 3:15 – Pulling on my clothes that I’d laid out beside the bed, doing some jumping jacks and stretches to warm up my cold muscles. I scarfed down my quick breakfast of protein shakes, sipped on my pre-made coffee from the night before (the thermos keeping it mostly warm, still), and shook the cobwebs from my brain.

I’d gone to bed early the night before… The drive from Rapid City was long, but beautiful, and I’d arrived at the tower with more than enough light left to bring my gear into the teepee, to cook a meal, and to do a quick initial recon of the tower itself.

Still, I’d had a bit of spare time… one of the advantages of a kindle, that I’d been able to pick a short book to read that evening… and I’d been asleep by 8:30. Hadn’t slept perfectly, of course, since I was too excited… but I’d slept acceptably well.



Two days before, Doug and I had talked about where we’d meet:

“Okay, we’ll meet at the gravel parking lot. But Doug, how will I find your truck?”
“Ben, it’ll be 4am. We’ll be the only cars there. Don’t worry about it”


He was right, of course. We’d met at 4am, and started the walk to the tower by headlamp. By 4:45 we were on the wall, and by the time the sun broke the horizon we’d already made it half-way up Devil’s Tower.

We climbed by the Durrance route (5.7+, trad, 6 pitches), one of the most iconic climbs in North America.

We didn’t follow the “jump traverse” section, where you vault over a 5ft gap, since it’s the most common spot for accidents… and there’s a perfectly good option called Bailey’s Direct that goes straight up to the top. The climbing was glorious, though I honestly don’t remember a huge amount of the Durrance itself. It was dark for the first three pitches, which doesn’t help… but I do recall that I stuck to the off-width for the eponymous “Durrance Crack”, which is definitely the less-optimal way to do the route.

But hey – it was fun! And at the end of it, I was at the top of Devil’s Tower!!!

From here, We relaxed on the summit for an hour or so.

Doug gave me a quick tour, showing me the semi-famous Bison skull (proof that the Great Creator had raised the tower from the ground) and the cache of food from a stunt gone wrong years ago (A guy named “Jumpin’ George” who parachuted to the top… but lost his descent rope on the skydive). We looked at lightening strikes, we ate some food, and we appreciated the serenity of being at the top of the nation’s first National Monument – completely alone.



After a solid amount of reflection and relaxation, Doug asked if I was up for some more climbing. I was hesitant, not wanting to push myself to injury, but after some stretching and frank / candid self-assessment, I knew that I was ready. We descended, and I started climbing back up…

Instead of descending all the way, I’d rappel down a pitch, then climb back up to Doug. Then, we’d rappel down to the base of that same pitch… and do the same thing again.

This way I was able to climb Bon Homme, a 5.8 variant ascent, that was singularly gorgeous! Honestly, it was even better than the Durrance route; clean climbing, great cracks, and gloriously fun movements. I felt great, and absolutely felt my love of rock climbing refreshing itself.

Soon enough though, we were back at the foot of the tower, the climbing completed. Doug and I chatted as we walked back to the cars – thanking each other for an excellent few days of adventure, and with him sharing some much-appreciated feedback with me. Feedback… and a few tips for new climbing spots back in Portland!


Then we were off – Gear was traded back, cars started, and I was heading down the road to get some much-needed napping in…

Links:

“Jumpin’ George” = https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/stuntmans-jump-parachutist-stranded-days-devils-tower

Link to the Lakota Legend of the bison skull = https://www.nps.gov/deto/learn/historyculture/first-stories.htm

Jul23

A long staycation on July 4th – Bouldering at French’s Dome

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So my company was hit pretty hard by COVID-19, and instituted a 10% furlough program. Reduced pay, but balanced by various furlough days scattered throughout the year… primarily around holidays. July 4th was one of those, which meant that I had Thursday through Monday off from work – the 2nd through the 6th. Five full days for adventure!

My original plan was to drive out to City of Rocks in Idaho. I reserved a campsite maybe two weeks beforehand, and started planning out what to bring, and what route to take.

But… It’s a 10 hour drive, shortest route. 11, by the route I was thinking of taking. And that doesn’t include stops for gas, food, and the stretch breaks that I’d absolutely need on a trip that long. I kept trying to talk myself into it, but in the end I just talked myself out of the trip.

I canceled the reservations, and put together a new plan. A staycation, full of relaxation, organizing my new apartment, and re-aquainting myself with the Pacific Northwest…

 

 

Monday, 06-July-2020

 

Monday dawned brighter and earlier than I would have liked. I’d had a heck of a time falling asleep the night before, and getting up and mobile was particularly challenging… as it tends to be after four days of vacation and eating lots of great food. But I mobilized, got showered, and started packing myself up for the days adventure!

The night before, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d went through the various guidebooks that I have and picked out the adventure of the day. I wouldn’t be going back to the Garden, but instead heading East, to a volcanic remnant on the slopes of Hood called French’s Dome.

 

I’d heard about the Dome before, from a few different people, but for some reason had never actually made the trip out to climb it. It’s not like it’s far, either… turns out, it was the closest of the various options! A fact that definitely contributed to choosing it.

I had another happy breakfast of avocado english muffins and seared ham, finished packing up the car, and headed into the great wild… after stopping at the post office and REI for some quick errands.

 

But I made it with tons of daylight to spare, and started in with my bouldering pad and trad gear. Not that I expected to be doing any roped climbing, of course, but it had been so long since I’d placed gear that I figured a refresher course was absolutely in order… if only to remind myself that I do feel confident placing gear in rocks.

 

Well, first off, French’s Dome is beautiful, and beautifully close to the road. Seriously, it was less than 5min walk. Downhill, even. The drive itself wasn’t bad either, but was still just a bit over an hour. Combine those two, and I think I may have a new favorite after-work climbing place here in Oregon! Which… is kind of sad, comparing it to Hammond Pond in terms of distance, or Quincy Quarries in terms of variation of routes…

 

 

But you know what? Gift horses and mouths, as the saying goes, and I was just happy to have found a fun area!

I set up the crash pad, and started working the starts of a few routes. French’s is actually set up nearly perfectly for long bouldering, because the pinnacle is up on a steep slope, which has been terraced to avoid erosion. Because of that, I could get 50ft bouldering lines in, while staying less than 8 feet off the ground! I couldn’t bring my crashpad with me the whole way, which stunk, but it was still a really awesome chance to work on my footwork and endurance.

 

I stayed later than I had planned, only leaving when the mosquitos started coming out and my stomach was reminding me that I hadn’t brought quite enough snacks.

I’ll be back soon, I promise.

Dec26

Climbing outside! At beacon rock! Multi-pitch!

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Friday, 01-Nov-2019

Fall is my favorite time of year. It’s bright, the leaves are beautiful, it’s cold but not freezing, and the sun is still up for a fair amount of time. It’s the perfect season for rock climbing.

 

Thankfully, we were able to make a bit of time, and Sarah and I headed out to The Beacon for a quick three-pitch jaunt up the SE Face.  It was amazing to stretch out our climbing muscles again; placing gear, building anchors, and facing the cold wind through the Columbia Gorge.  We had a blast!

We’d been debating continuing to the summit, but honestly, after Pitch 3, we were pretty burnt and cold – it was NOT a warm day, and while I love climbing in the cool weather, this was getting just a little into the “cold” side of things.  We conferenced quickly, and decided that it’d be better to descend… everything after Pitch 3 is pretty weak anyways, so we weren’t really feeling drawn to it.

Instead, we rapelled down, packed up our gear… and then hiked to the summit!  Woo!