Climbing Resume

When I first moved to Boulder I would see people all around hanging off rock walls and think to myself  "What a bunch of idiots, why in God's name would someone want to hang off a piece of rock?"  Over the course of climbing the 14er's it dawned on me that there was more to life than a:) the 14'ers and b:) 3rd and 4th class walk ups.  In the interest of bettering myself as a mountaineer I decided to take up rock climbing.  (A decision spawned by having climbed all of the Elk Range 14'ers and wanting to experience the mountains at a higher degree of difficulty)

My first experiences were with a guy named Henry Throop who is a recent CU PhD graduate who now works at SWRI.  Henry was kind enough to take me out a few times and show me the ropes during the summer of 2004.  On our first climb (Cozyhang at the Dome) I sketched out and forced Henry to lower me off the first pitch.  I was however determined not to let that end it and Henry and I did several climbs around the Indian Peaks Wilderness area both on unnamed rock faces and on named mountains.  I pretty much let the whole rock thing go until the spring of 2005 when I decided to get out and start really learning.  In the pursuit of this I took three 8 hour lessons with a guide named Bill Morris (highly recommended go here GUIDEfor contact info he runs rock, ice, and snow schools and offers several international expedition packages at rates less than the CMS but has 20+ years experience, he will tailor courses for you as well) .  I was also fortunate to have guys like Doug Shepherd, Greg Dooley, Brian Hynek, and Brian Espe show me alot of the beginner ropes. Right now I am breaking into the 5.8 area for trad leading and have recently begun working on my ice climbing more diligently.  As my experience in the crags and the high country grew I would do my best to pick up formal education in ares that I thought were important to improving mysef as a climber and have taken a number of formal courses to that end.  I've found that a mix of formal courses, informal learning through friends, and practice in the field is a great way to move ahead as an alpinist.  

I'm not a Boulder Hard Man and probably never will be.  My goal is to eventually become a 5.9/WI4 trad leader but if I only go up one grade every few years that is OK by me.  I enjoy moderate routes in the crags and in the alpine and place a high emphasis on safety and preparedness.  I also think that a well rounded climber ought to know more than just the first aid and technical aspects and should be adept at things like recognizing wildlife, plants, knowing what plants are edible/medicinal, etc. and have begun informally teaching myself these things for the local region.

Below are a list of my climbs including trad leads, trad follows, sport climbs, top ropes, ice climbs, and technical peaks  in the high country. This is not an inclusive list as I have forgotten the names of several climbs.  The final section outlines the courses I have taken to further my self as a mountaineer/climber. I have not inculded trips to other countries or states as I have not done technical routes outside of Colorado, those reports can be found on my 'Other Mountains' page.

Rock Climbs

Technical Alpine Climbs

Ice Climbs

Courses Taken

Links




ROCK CLIMBS


COLORADO

Boulder Canyon

Avalon

Incline Club  5.8

Boulderado
Ho Hum  5.4

Castle Rock
Cussin Crack 5.7

Cob Rock
North Face Center 5.7
Empor (last pitch only) 5.8
Houston Crack 5.8+/5.9-

Dome
East Slab 5.5
The Owl 5.7
Prelude to King Kong 5.9
Gorilla's Delight 5.9+

East Blob Rock
The Young and the Rackless, 5.9 (one move 5.10a/b if you are short)

Eagle Rock
To The Sun 5.5

Elephant Buttresses
Standard route, 3rd Buttress 5.7+
NW Face with Second Pitch of Heartland to Finish, 5.9

Happy Hour
I,Robot 5.7
Are We Not Men  5.7
Malign 5.7
Nightcap  5.9
Grins  5.8
Twoofers 5.8

Nip and Tuck
Finger Crack (Nip) 5.9
Hare  Balls (Tuck) 5.7
Surprising Slab (Tuck) 5.8

Sport Park
Walk in The Park  5.6
Choss Temple Pilots 5.8
Dutch Oven 5.9
Monkey Bob  5.8
The Touch  5.8
Frictionary  5.7

Uper Dream Canyon
    
Dream Dome
     Wrinkles in Time 5.9
     
      Water Slabs
       Mary Lynn's Slab 5.9
       Mes Amis 5.10a
       
       Lost Angel
       AAArete 5.10b/c
       Standard Route  5.7


Watermark

Glennevere 5.8
Lothlorien 5.7
The Memory of Trees  5.9
Minas Tirith 5.10a
Road To Isengard  5.7

Colorado National Monument

Independence Monument
Otto's Route 5.9


Eldorado Canyon

Bastille Tower
Bastille Crack 5.7
Breakfast in Bed 5.8
Blind Faith 5.10a

Cadillac Crag
V3 5.8

Peanuts Wall
Star Wars 5.8
Your Basic Lieback 5.6
Dihedral 5.7+

Redgarden Wall
Swanson's Arete 5.6 (via west chimney)
Rewritten 5.7
Icarus 5.6
Ytrid Deed 5.6
Great Zot (Pitch 1 only) 5.8+
Green Spur 5.9
Mr Natural 5.8+
Green Slab Direct 5.9
Darkeness Till Dawn 5.10a

Rincon
5.8 Crack 5.8+

Shirttail Peak
Gambit 5.8 (My first 5.8 lead and the best cragging route I've done to date - April 28th, 2007)

West Ridge
Mesca-Line 5.7
Duh Dihedral 5.6
Washington Irving 5.6
Doctor Michael Solar 5.7
Dandi Line 5.7
Verschneidung 5.7
Long John Wall 5.8
Positively 4th Street 5.9+
Pool of Bloof 5.9
5.10b Crack 5.10b
Purple Haze 5.9
Xanadu 5.10a
Pony Express 5.9
Over The Hill (1st pitch) 5.10b
Handcracker Direct 5.10a
Yellow Spur 5.9

Wind Tower
Bomb 5.4
Breezy 5.5
Reggae 5.8
Calypso 5.7
Wind Ridge 5.8
West Overhang 5.7
Tagger (1st pitch) 5.9



Elevenmile Canyon

Arch Rock
Staircase 5.5
Hollow Flake 5.6

Elevenmile Dome
Moby Grape 5.7
Phantom Pinnacle 5.7
Counter Strike 5.5
Enamed 5.9

Estes Park Valley

McGregor Slab
Some Route With Direct and Indirect 5.7

Flatirons

1st Flatiron

Fandango  5.4
Zig Zag  5.7
Direct East Face 5.6

2nd Flatiron
Freeway Variation  5.3
Free For All 5.6

3rd Flatiron
Standard Route 5.4

4th Flatiron
East Face Variation 5.7

5th Flatiron
East Face South Side 5.5 (with Jen)

Gregory Canyon Ampitheater
Direct West Bench 5.7

The Slab
NE Arete 5.7 variation (with Jen)

The Thing
East Face 5.7


Lookout Mountain
5.9 Face
5.10 Crack
5.8 Crack

Lumpy Ridge

Batman Pinnacle
Batman and Robin 5.6

The Book
Campground 5.7+

The Bookmark
Original Fantasy Ridge (variation) 5.7

Gollum's Arch Rock
Gollum's Arch 5.10a/b

Hens & Chickens
Cackle Crack 5.8
Yosemite Crack 5.9
Rooster Tail 5.9+

The Left Book
White Whale  with 5.8+ variation for final pitch up a water marked gully

Sundance Buttress
Mainliner 5.9-

Twin Owls
Wolf's Tooth 5.8+
Organ Pipes (with 5.8 finish) 5.8


North Table Mountain


Brown Cloud Rocks
Thelma 5.7
Louise 5.8

Overhang Area
Another Unamed Billy Bob Route 5.7+

South St. Vrain Canyon

The Monkey Skull
Casual Corner 5.8+
Holow Be Thy Name 5.10b
5.9 left 5.9

Scout Rock
Cornered 5.9
KemoSabee 5.9
Triple Mantle 5.9


 WYOMING
Vedauwoo

Nautilus
Piton Perch 5.6

Reynolds Hill
Fat Man's Demise 5.7
Maiden 5.6

Walt's Wall
Edward's Crack 5.7
Friction Slide 5.8


TECHNICAL PEAKS
chronological within subsections

COLORADO

Indian Peaks Wilderness

Dicker's Peck  Dicker's Peck 5.7 variation 
Navajo Peak  North Face 5.4 
Devils Thumb Devil's Spiral Variation (variation) 5.8 
Lone Eagle  North Face 5.7
Mt. Bancroft East Ridge 5.2
James Peak Superstar Couloir 5.6
Mt. Toll  North Ridge 5.7
Apache & Shoshoni Peaks  Kasparov Traverse 5.6


Colorado Front Range Mountains

Longs Peak (2) North Face 5.6
Longs Peak (3) Kieners 5.4
Mt. Ypsilon Blitzen Ridge 5.6
The Spearhead North Ridge 5.6
Mt. Meeker Dreamweaver 5.4
Hallet's Peak Great Dihedral (variation) 5.8
Longs Peak (4) Keyhole Ridge 5.6
Petit Grepon South Face 5.8
Sharkstooth NE Ridge 5.7
Notchtop Spiral Route 5.6
Longs Peak (5) Notch Couloir 5.4/WI3
Mt. Lady Washington Martha 5.5/WI3
Hallet's Peak Culp Bossier 5.8+
Mt Evans Second Apron, right sidee 5.7

Colorado Sangre De Cristo Range Mountains

Little Bear & Blanca Ridge  Traverse 5.2
Crestone Needle Ellingwood Ledges 5.7+

 WYOMING
Devils Tower (Durrance Route) 5.7


ICE CLIMBS
  

COLORADO


Boulder Canyon
WI2-3

Clear Creek Canyon

WI2-4

Hidden Falls
WI 3

Lincoln Falls

WI 3-5

Loch Vale
WI 3-4

Vail
WI 3

Ouray Ice Park
WI3-5




COURSES TAKEN
Intro to Anchors and Gear Placement
Intro To Trad Leading
Rock Climbers Self Rescue
Intro To Glacier Travel
First Aid/CPR
Avalanche Safety Level 1
Wilderness First Responder 



LINKS

ROCK AND ICE CLIMB ROUTE INFO

Mountain Project  Hands down the best area for information about rock climbing in Colorado, California, and Wyoming, many detailed route descriptions and comments

Black Hills Wyoming Climbing A Climbing Boulder site for Wyoming

Chockstone  Check out the tech tips section, it has good write ups and pictures of how to make all the standard knots

GENERAL INFO FOR ROCK AND ICE CLIMBING

How To Tie Knots Many useful knots, shown step by step


PLACES TO BUY GEAR - TRAD, SPORT, & ICE CLIMBING GEAR

Boulder Mountaineering Owned by Bob Culp, These guys really know their stuff and will set you up with the right gear without trying to sell you the most expensive items, highly reccomended
   
Neptune Mountaineering  If you live near Boulder support this store, they are very mountaineering/climbing oriented and the owner Gary Neptune is a true world class climber

Bent Gate  Another great Colorado store to support (located in Golden), they have a helpful staff and a good range of climbing equipment

Gear Express Another great place, good deals and fantastic customer service




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