Tag Archives: rock climbing

Feb9

A retrospective on 2022

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Holy crap… how is 2022 already done and gone? I feel like it just started… but also that it’s been going on for a lifetime? I can’t imaging that I was in BCEP a short seven months ago…

It’s intense, and impressive, how time seems so variable. It’s not healthy, undoubtedly, as I’ve repeatedly heard people echoing the sentiment of trauma that “A day lasts forever… but a week is gone before you realize”. The constant influx of “once in a generation” disasters, events, and improbable or impossible happenings… It wears on you, you know?

So let’s forget all that tomfoolery, and focus on the one small slice of life I really understand. My own.

Here’s a list of all the archetype galleries that I have saved from this year, in chronological order… followed by a single gallery of my favorite photos I’ve taken:

  • Hiking on the beach
  • Cross country skiing at Elk Meadows
  • Sunsets in Wilsonville
  • Making babyback ribs
  • Photos of a tree in Wilsonville
  • Walking around Wilsonville
  • An oyster dinner with coworkers (holy crap, this wasn’t even a year ago?!?!)
  • Camping at Smith Rock
  • Hiking up the White River Glacier
  • Walking around POrtland
  • Gardening
  • Seeing a punk show in Portland
  • Hiking up near Timberline Lodge
  • Hiking and Stargazing near the coast (Wait, this was a year ago too??? I thought it was like… two years back!)
  • Fog in Wilsonville
  • BCEP! Hiking Story Burn
  • Wandering around Portland
  • BCEP! MMC Night
  • BCEP! King’s Mountain
  • BCEP! Horsethief Butte
  • BCEP! Land Nav at Mt. Tabor
  • BCEP! Hardy Ridge
  • BCEP! Snow School
  • Gardening, Pt. 2
  • Spring is springing in Wilsonville
  • Visiting Massachusetts – Rumney
  • Visiting Massachusetts – Rising Phoenix
  • Visiting Massachusetts – Flying, archery, and dinner
  • BCEP! Graduation
  • Hiking Elk Meadows again
  • Backpacking the White River Glacier
  • Skies and flowers
  • Duffy Lake
  • Exploring Seattle
  • Backpacking Flapjack Lakes
  • Summer in Wilsonville
  • Alegria!
  • Wandering and paddling around Wilsonville
  • Elk Meadows on the 4th of July (Again with Elk Meadows? Jeeze, Ben!)
  • Backpacking Foley Ridge
  • Walking Izzy and Lando
  • Climbing at Ozone
  • Rise Against in Bend!
  • Smith and Trout Creek
  • Summitting Middle Sister
  • August in Massachusetts – Allison’s wedding!
  • August in Massachusetts – Hanging Mountain!
  • Late night at Dove Lewis
  • The GRE & GMAT!
  • Octoberfest at Mount Angel
  • Backpacking Elk Meadows (Okay, it’s getting silly now)
  • Chasing zen in the desert
  • Pretty fields and pretty views
  • Backpacking Jade Lake
  • Thanksgiving in Sacramento!
  • Wisdom teeth, goodbye
  • Portland art museum
  • Elk Meadows and Timberline Lodge
  • Indian Head beach
  • Portland in the rain
Sep13

Exploring and climbing a new crag – Hanging Mountain!

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Sunday, 21-Aug-2022

When I confirmed my flights, I quickly reached out to Daniel. I miss climbing outdoors, as does he, and late-August is definitely a good time to get onto the wall. It’s hot, true, but also minorly less likely to be rainy… so I’ll take it.

After deliberation, we locked into a destination – Hanging Mountain, a new crag recently opened to the public. I’d first heard about it last November, when flying out for Dillon’s bachelor party, but honestly didn’t know much about it, aside from that it was in Western Mass. We dove into some research, locked in the details, and headed out early on Sunday morning.

Well… early-ish. I mean, it’s Daniel, right? And me. We do mornings… but not really.

As far as new crags go, it was amazing. As far as established crags go, it was also amazing. The rock was solid, the trails well cut, and the belay areas tolerably sized. The areas were beautifully close together, and it was basically abandoned on the Sunday that found us scaling the heights.

It.

Was.

Awesome!




So what did we climb, you may ask? Well. We climbed all the things!

Acorn Face / Squirrel Wall:
– Lost and Found, 5.7, Sport lead
– Radiant Sky, 5.10d top rope, one cheat move… I admit.

Progressive Buttress:
– Green New Deal, 5.7+, Sport lead
– Nevertheless, 5.8-, Sport lead
– She Persists, 5.8, Sport lead
– Feel the Bern, 5.10, Top rope

Aug16

My first outdoor Oregon climbs of 2022! Ozone!!

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Saturday, 23-July-2022

(Edit: 20-Aug-2022, I realized that these weren’t my first outdoor climbs of 2022! Instead, my first outdoor adventure climbing was at Rumney, back in April! How crazy is that… I’ve climbed equal amounts on both coasts!)

How has it been over seven months, and I haven’t climbed outside??

I mean, I don’t think I have… And I have to admit, there’s good reason. An excessively rainy spring, far longer than most, leading into a summer approximately a billion degrees during the day doesn’t really lend itself to getting out of town and rock climbing.

But none of that matters now because I went climbing!!!

My friend Lexi and I headed out leisurely on a Saturday… it was a bit impromptu, with our plans varying the few days before. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, and we found ourselves eating breakfast sandwiches in the morning and then starting the drive while the day was still comparatively young.

Our goal was Ozone – to do a bit of exploring and just feel out the climbing. This would be our first climbing trip together, and her first outdoor climbing in 7 years or so, and we weren’t aiming to push grades or do anything particularly crazy… just get out on the rock and enjoy ourselves.

So… we did! We climbed, we crushed, and we had a great time!

Okay, so… photos. There really weren’t any. Since, you know, we were climbing. But I did get a cool shot of Lexi looking up at an impossibly tall section of the wall! And of some BBQ that we had afterward!



What did we climb, you may ask? Well, ask that I may answer!

Stairway to Heaven – 5.6, Sport, Lead

Stigmata – 5.7, Trad, Lead

Rusty Cage – 5.8, Top-rope (climbed on Stigmata anchors)

Stigmata variant (Left) – ~5.8, top-rope

Ripper – 5.9, top-rope

Ripper Variant (left) – 5.9, top-rope