Tag Archives: rock climbing

I’m a model! -or- A photoshoot at a Climbing Gym

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Thursday, 18-Apr-2024


I’ve always liked taking photos. I love the opportunity to share things with people (my folks raised me well, I guess), and photography is the closest I can come to sharing the amazing experiences that I have with others.

That being said, it’s hard to share the experience of rock climbing with people. The movement, the delicate strength, the height and pattern and the entire feel of the act. How secure a tenuous hold can be in the moment, and how impactful the subtle differences in the holds can be.

I also lack photos of myself. Being behind the camera doesn’t lend itself to being in front of the camera, unsurprisingly, so I’m not often the subject of photos. Which isn’t that bad, but it does make me a little sad that I don’t get to see how I look on the walls.


Thankfully, I met an amateur sports photographer who climbs at my gym.


We scheduled a time, missed the time, rescheduled a different time, and made it happen! For four or five hours Bri and I climbed. Moving slowly, making clear movements, and then pausing regularly to allow Antonio (the photographer) to reposition. It was exhausting! We got a great workout in AND got a metric ton of photos – a few thousand, from what I heard near the end.

A week to curate and edit, and soon enough I was sitting at the gym with my laptop open, looking at a full 81 amazing photos.

Of those 81, I’ve curated them down again to my absolute favorites… so please! Sit back and enjoy a few pictures of me enjoying my favorite hobby!



If you’re curious, or even if you’re not, you should definitely check out Antonio’s instagram page – He’s breaking into sports photography and portraits, but is already an amazing astrophotographer!
https://www.instagram.com/lunamic_virtus/

A rock climbing competition – Movement Friction 2024!

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Saturday, 13-Apr-2024


Ohhhh man it’s been way too long since I’ve done a climbing competition!

I mean, it’s been a year. Almost exactly one year. Since this is an annual climbing competition. Duh, Ben.


Anyways, it was great!

I’m very proud to say that I did quite well this year – I didn’t quite make it into the open category, which was my goal, but I came close – Open competitors started at ~2600pts, and I ended with 2430, so… not too bad, if I may say so! Past the raw score, I did pretty well overall too. Counting every category, I was 49th out of 129 total folks competing!

Not too bad. Not too bad at all… Maybe I’ll find a way to swing by Portland for the competition next year, and see how a year in Ireland impacts my climbing!

Klimbing at Klinger – Fourth of July!

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Tuesday, 04-July-2023


I’m actually getting a fair number of rock climbing trips in this summer!

Not as many as I’d like, mind you, but… Frankly, I’m okay with it. I’m happy with the backpacking, and the climbing that I’ve gotten to do has been exceptionally fun and solid. No one will hear me complaining, and the 4th of July was no exception.

I was worried it’d be slammed – I mean, everyone has the 4th off, right? But this is Oregon, and you never can tell… But it was beautiful out, and warm, and quite dry… Ahh, who knows.

Bri and I took stock of options and picked a crag that we figured would be the least likely to be inundated with climbers – a spot on the Eastern side of Mt. Hood, far from Portland, called Klinger. We got going early, met up at her place, and even got ourselves breakfast sandwiches on the way. We drove, found the last spot at the parking area, and started in.

“The last spot at the parking area” doesn’t bode well for our heroes, but keep in mind – this was a parking spot that’s shared between climbing and a nearby trailhead… and it only held eight cars or so.

In the end? No one else nearby. We ran into maybe 8 people the whole time, none of which were climbing near us, so… I’ll consider it a win.



What did we climb, you may ask?
Hanging Chad – 5.7, Sport, Lead!
Hot Pockets – 5.8+, Sport, Lead!
Blue Grouse – 5.9, Sport, Lead!
Felsschlupfer (Rock Wren) – 5.10d, Top Rope
GSR (Good Sport Route) – 5.7, Sport, Lead!

Yeah – I felt strong. Lots of leading, though I was sad that we didn’t get any trad routes in… but I felt strong – even doing that 10d was pretty solid!


By the time we left the crag, we were the last car in the lot. We headed back, snapped some pictures of a cool little shrine we’d found in the woods, got a photo or two of Mt. Hood looking beautiful, and then I made a glorious dinner.

Not a bad 4th, huh?