Rock Climbing --- 5/31/2006 - 8/28/2006 --- United States, Canada
Three months, 11000 miles, 1300 photographs. Presenting it all without overwhelming you is a challenge. This page presents an itinerary of the trip along with highlight photos. Selecting links from the itinerary will take you to pages with detailed stories and comprehensive photos from that portion of the trip. Story highlights are in bold if you are skimming. Enjoy!
My favorite parts of the trip?
- All the fantastic people!
- My first big wall
- Ice cream
- Climbing in twelve locations where I had never before climbed
- Leading a pitch of C2+ aid
- Crimson Chrysalis, Snake Dike, Lost Arrow Spire, Petit Grepon, McTech Arete
- The summit of Mt. Shasta, my first 14,000' peak
- Four bears, one fox, one moose, big horn sheep, wild burros, many marmots, zillions of chipmunks, a gorgeous skink, and one very friendly butterfly
- Leading a 5.11c sport route
- Completing eleven climbs from the North American Classics list
- Spending the night on the cliff... twice
- Yosemite, Yosemite, Yosemite
- Rest days! A good book and my hammock strung between two large shade trees
- Did I mention all the fantastic people?
| When | Where | What | Who |
| 5/31/2006 - 6/6/2006 | West Virginia, Kentucky | One day of climbing at Seneca before getting rained out. Five days of sport climbing in Red River Gorge. | Ryan, Kathy, Kenny, Jesse, Laura, Porscha, Cynthia |
| 6/7/2006 - 6/21/2006 | Colorado | A bit of bouldering in Kansas. Climbed Calypso, Wind Ridge, Yellow Spur and Bastille Crack in Eldorado Canyon. Hiking in Roosevelt National Forest and Chautauqua. Climbed Kor's Flake and J Crack at Lumpy Ridge. Climbed Petit Grepon in Rocky Mountain National Park. Sport climbing in Rifle. | Ryan, Alana, Tom, Porscha, Amy, Charles, Becky, Burke, Natalie, Alex, Sierra, Gabor, Andrea, Chelsea |
| 6/22/2006 - 6/28/2006 | Utah, Nevada | Ancient Art in Fisher Towers. Climbing and spending the night on top of Castleton Tower. Canyoneering in Zion National Park. Caustic, Prince of Darkness and Crimson Chrysalis in Red Rocks. | Ryan |
| 6/29/2006 - 7/14/2006 | Yosemite National Park | Nutcracker, Moby Dick, Lost Arrow Spire Tip, Snake Dike, Central Pillar of Frenzy, South Face of Washington Column. Plus some bouldering, swimming and lots of hanging out in Camp 4. | Ryan, Jess, Thea, Damian, Jeffie, Bonnie, Julie, Bridgette, Jenn, Tyler, Ana, Reid, Mike, Ryan, Justin |
| 7/15/2006 - 7/21/2006 | California, Oregon | Avalanche Gulch on Mt. Shasta. Sport climbing at Smith Rock. | Simon, Simone, Ryan, Melissa, Bridgette, Jenn, David, Matt, Karen, Caroline |
| 7/22/2006 - 8/9/2006 | British Columbia | Visiting Joanna, Carl and Jasper in Vancouver. Climbing at Squamish -- Penny Lane, Zip, Peasant's Route, Exasperator, Arrowroot and Diedre. Then back to Vancouver for another weekend of visiting. | Joanna, Carl, Jasper, Mike, Rebecca, Eric, Betty, Bridgette, Jenn, David, Viren, Noah, Siemay, Greg, Paul, Lauren |
| 8/10/2006 - 8/17/2006 | Bugaboo Provincial Park | Climbed McTech Arete, NE Ridge of Bugaboo Spire, Super Direct on Snowpatch. Enjoyed White Swan hot springs after leaving the Bugaboos. | Joe, Kyle, Brian |
| 8/18/2006 - 8/28/2006 | Montana, Wyoming, West Virginia | Quick tour of Glacier National Park. Climbed Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Saw Mt. Rushmore and the Corn Palace in South Dakota. Sport Climbing in New River Gorge. | Jessica, Melissa, Kyle, Jason, Carla, Sylvan |
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Ryan at the top of Roadside. Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/2/2006 |
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Me leading Different Strokes (5.11c) Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/4/2006 |
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Me leading Different Strokes (5.11c) Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/4/2006 |
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Falling off Stucconu. I like the dramatic look of pictures of rock climbers falling. Though I hate to be the subject of those photos :-) Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/4/2006 |
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Laura with a very friendly butterfly. Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/5/2006 |
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Ryan with a very friendly butterfly. Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/5/2006 |
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Porscha Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/6/2006 |
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Montage of Ryan in the process of onsighting Ro Shampo. I have an animated GIF of the climb here. Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/6/2006 |
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Beau Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/6/2006 |
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Porscha climbing AWOL. Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/6/2006 |
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Porscha climbing AWOL. Red River Gorge, Kentucky -- 6/6/2006 |
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Midnight bouldering at a rest stop in Kansas. Kansas -- 6/7/2006 |
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Tom climbing Calypso. Eldorado Canyon, CO -- 6/9/2006 |
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South Boulder Creek trail to Roger's Pass. James Peak Wilderness, Roosevelt National Forest -- 6/10/2006 |
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Brielle James Peak Wilderness, Roosevelt National Forest -- 6/10/2006 |
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Roger's Pass Lake James Peak Wilderness, Roosevelt National Forest -- 6/10/2006 |
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Drying my feet. James Peak Wilderness, Roosevelt National Forest -- 6/10/2006 |
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Leading a pitch on Yellow Spur. Eldorado Canyon -- 6/13/2006 |
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Ryan at the top of Yellow Spur. Eldorado Canyon -- 6/13/2006 |
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Ryan at the top of Sundance Buttress. Rocky Mountain National Park -- 6/14/2006 |
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Hiking in to Petit Grepon. Rocky Mountain National Park -- 6/16/2006 |
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Ryan in the blizzard at the base of Petit Grepon. Rocky Mountain National Park -- 6/16/2006 |
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The approach to Petit Grepon is gorgeous. Alpine snowfields and waterfalls. Rocky Mountain National Park -- 6/17/2006 |
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Sitting on a ledge on Petit Grepon with Taylor Peak in the background. Rocky Mountain National Park -- 6/17/2006 |
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Ryan, Alana, Tom and me hanging out on a ledge at the top of the third pitch of Petit Grepon. We spent three hours here waiting for slower parties ahead of us. Rocky Mountain National Park -- 6/17/2006 |
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Chelsea climbing Public Service or Popular Demand (I don't remember which) at Wasteland. Rifle, CO -- 6/20/2006 |
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The meadow where we were camping. Rifle, CO -- 6/21/2006 |
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Ryan on top of Ancient Art. Fisher Towers, UT -- 6/22/2006 |
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Me on top of Ancient Art. Fisher Towers, UT -- 6/22/2006 |
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Me with the haul bag preparing to hike in to Castleton. Castle Valley, UT -- 6/22/2006 |
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Ryan packing the haul bag on the summit of Castleton. Castle Valley, UT -- 6/24/2006 |
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My shadow while rappelling off Castleton. The large shadow underneath me is the haul bag which was dangling from my harness. Castle Valley, UT -- 6/24/2006 |
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Three Frogs Zion National Park -- 6/25/2006 |
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Keyhole Slot Canyon Zion National Park -- 6/25/2006 |
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Great Disguise! A cell tower disguised as a tree. In the middle of the desert. Where there isn't another tree for miles in any direction. Red Rocks, NV -- 6/26/2006 |
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Leading the first pitch of Prince of Darkness. Red Rocks, NV -- 6/27/2006 |
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At the top of Prince of Darkness. Red Rocks, NV -- 6/27/2006 |
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Ryan at the top of Crimson Chrysalis. Red Rocks, NV -- 6/28/2006 |
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Welcome to Yosemite The Nose of El Capitan. Three thousand vertical feet of the most amazing granite on the planet. Yosemite -- 7/4/2006 |
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At the summit of Nutcracker. Yosemite -- 7/4/2006 |
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Yosemite falls, the third highest waterfall in the world. Lost Arrow Spire is the projection on the right side of the photo which casts a shadow back on the main cliff. Yosemite -- 7/5/2006 |
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At the top of Lost Arrow Spire. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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On the tyrolean from Lost Arrow Spire to the north rim. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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Jess doing the tyrolean from Lost Arrow Spire to the north rim. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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Jess doing the tyrolean from Lost Arrow Spire to the north rim. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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Ryan on top of Lost Arrow Spire. I thought this was a good advertisement for Cornell Outdoor Education. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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Ryan doing a handstand on top of Lost Arrow Spire. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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Ryan doing the tyrolean from Lost Arrow Spire to the north rim. Yosemite -- 7/6/2006 |
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Half Dome. Yosemite -- 7/7/2006 |
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The intrusion (dike) which makes the Snake Dike route on Half Dome. The dike is created when molten lava squeezes into the cracks of older, solid rock. In the case of Snake Dike, the volcanic intrusion is harder than the surrounding granite, so it erodes more slowly. This results in a projecting ridge up the side of Half Dome. Yosemite -- 7/8/2006 |
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On the Diving Board which overhangs the sheer face of Half Dome. Yosemite -- 7/8/2006 |
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Me, Jess and Ryan on top of Half Dome. Yosemite -- 7/8/2006 |
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Sunset Yosemite -- 7/8/2006 |
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Ryan and me on top of Washington Column, having finished our first big wall. Yosemite -- 7/14/2006 |
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1100' tall Washington Column. This is the east face. We climbed the south face, part of which is visible on the far left. Yosemite -- 7/14/2006 |
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Mt. Shasta at sunset. Mount Shasta, California -- 7/16/2006 |
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Hiking up Red Banks, nearing the summit of Mt. Shasta. Mount Shasta, California -- 7/18/2006 |
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On the summit of Mt. Shasta, 14,162' elevation. Mount Shasta, California -- 7/18/2006 |
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Jenn and Bridgette Smith Rock State Park, Oregon -- 7/21/2006 |
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Bridgette leading Five Gallon Buckets. Smith Rock State Park, Oregon -- 7/21/2006 |
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Jenn climbing Float Like A Butterfly. Smith Rock State Park, Oregon -- 7/21/2006 |
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Bridgette and me at the top of Sting Like A Bee. Smith Rock State Park, Oregon -- 7/21/2006 |
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Bridgette at the top of Rope De Dope. Enhanced with Photoshop. Smith Rock State Park, Oregon -- 7/21/2006 |
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My car up on jack stands. Unfortunately, a common condition this summer. Vancouver -- 7/24/2006 |
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There's a spider on my head, on my head! Joanna and Jasper Vancouver -- 7/25/2006 |
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Joanna on the beach. Vancouver -- 7/27/2006 |
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Jenn leading Zip. Squamish -- 8/1/2006 |
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Bark, bark, woof, woof. They do love their dogs in Squamish. Squamish -- 8/3/2006 |
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David on Diedre. Squamish -- 8/4/2006 |
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The Chief Squamish -- 8/4/2006 |
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An overcast day in Glacier NP, British Columbia Revelstoke, British Columbia -- 8/9/2006 |
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Joe, Kyle and Brian ready to start hiking. Bugaboo Provincial Park -- 8/10/2006 |
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Room With A View View out the window of the Applebee outhouse. Bugaboo Provincial Park -- 8/11/2006 |
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Hiking to McTech Arete. Bugaboo Provincial Park -- 8/12/2006 |
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McTech Arete Bugaboo Provincial Park -- 8/12/2006 |
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Sun illuminating Snowpatch Spire in the morning. Bugaboo Provincial Park -- 8/14/2006 |
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On the NE Ridge of Bugaboo Spire. Bugaboo Provincial Park -- 8/14/2006 |
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View from the continental divide. Glacier National Park, Montana -- 8/18/2006 |
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Devil's Tower. The Durrance route starts at the leaning column which is visible on the lower left third of the tower. Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming -- 8/20/2006 |
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Jessica Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming -- 8/20/2006 |
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Melissa with her first piece of climbing booty. Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming -- 8/20/2006 |
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Close Encounters of the Weird Kind Aliens on top of Devil's Tower! Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming -- 8/20/2006 |
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Kyle, Jessica, Melissa and me on top of Devil's Tower. Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming -- 8/20/2006 |
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Sylvan Harrisonburg, VA -- 8/24/2006 |
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Blue Tailed Skink New River Gorge -- 8/26/2006 |
