Hurdy Gurdy Climbs

This season my focus has been to not only climb harder and faster, but to tick off as many climbs that I haven't done previously as possible.

So far this season, I've ticked off
-Hollow Icicle
-PFM Route
-Dreams of a Brown Moose
-Bullwinkle
-Avalon Falls

One that I've always wanted to check out but requires a burly approach are the Hurdy Gurdy climbs in Eagle River.

Richard was going out there with a few friends this weekend and invited me along.

The approach starts with just under a three mile ski, followed by another 1.5 mile bushwhack up a small drainage that gains more than 3,200 vertical feet. The approach alone took 4.5 hours. While the others climbed Piece of Cake, a fat 325' WI3, Richard and I traversed over and climbed Fruit Cake, a solid WI4.

Armed with an arsenal of 10 screws, I set off and climbed through lots of steep alpine ice that was brittle and often aerated. It took lots of time to lead through the funky ice. I got to a spot that looked good for belaying...and it wasn't. I put in a 10cm screw and equalized it with a worthless spectre, then climbed up another 20' of vertical ice. With one long screw left, I constructed a V-thread (that was hard as hell to make since my abalokov didn't want to grab the webbing). Then that was equalized with my last screw.



Richard is barely visible way down there

A view down from the hanging (uncomfortable) belay

Richard followed up then lead another 40' of slightly better ice.

We decided to traverse a snow ledge over to Piece of Cake and rappel from there. Richard lead out and protected the running belay with slings wrapped around finger-width alders. Three rappels brought us down to the bottom, where our friends met us.

Sadly, one of my poles got caught on an alder while traversing through them and got pulled off my pack without me knowing. We gathered our things, then started the hike down and out.

The whole day was about 13.5 hours...a long day for a little ice.

The point of the day was to work my legs and climb some new ice. Mission accomplished!

After that, we had a midnight dinner of moose spaghetti at Richard's and then happily turned in for the night after a long day!

Steep Highway Ice

After a long cold snap followed by a long warm snap, the ice around southcentral Alaska is finally looking good again.

Lee and I took advantage of the conditions and headed out to the highway for some steep drips. Neither of us had ever climbed much on the PFM Wall, so we started there. We've always wondered what PFM stands for and our friend Matt thinks it stands for Pretty Fucking Miserable. Despite his guess, it was nothing but stellar on Saturday for us.



The first 30 feet are dead vertical and contain mostly candlesticked ice with occasional spots for pro. Luckily, I was able to reach the third bolt to stop a groundfall right off the bat. There was a small hole where two converging drips came together that allowed me to chicken-wing with my left arm as I put in my second screw. That was a first for me, I've never chicken-winged on an ice climb before. It was almost fist-jammable, but not quite. Above that, the climbing eased a little bit, but still proved thin and aerated in spots.


The south facing aspect of the highway means that it can get lots of sun. Half-way up the climb, I was so hot I shed my coat and continued up in my poly-pro top. You can see in the photo that I was all black: stealth mode!


Lee followed up like a champ, then we rapped off and did a lap on Roadside Attraction, which was also stellar.


Here's a cool video sequence I put together from Lee's photographs.


On Sunday while everyone else was watching the Super Bowl, Lee, Matt, Agnes and I skied at Alyeska.

The next day we went back to the PFM wall so Matt, a professional photographer, could snap some shots. It was not a very nice day and his guess of what PFM stands for seemed to fit.

I broke a crampon on lead and encountered several other problems that forced me to lower down. After fixing the bugs, I re-climbed the route to the top.

Thanks to Lee for supplying these awesome shots.

Viva El Fede!

Federico "el Fede" Campanini was an amazing human being. I first met him during my second season working on Rainier. Fede was one of those rare breeds of people that got along with everyone and never had a negative thought in his head. Fede loved educating people on mountain travel and was equally at home discussing broader contexts of life during breaks on the hill.

We lived together that season in Ashford under the flanks of Mount Rainier. Fede was quickly a favorite among both fellow guides and clients alike.

I remember when I was moving up to 14k camp on Denali this spring. Fede's team had just had a super long, hard day. He looked very tired, but still had that same characteristic smile creased across his sunburned, sweat encrusted face. Exhausted as he was, his true generosity and selfless nature were as present then as they ever were.

The more I climb, the more I come to appreciate the small things. Mountains like Denali are fun simply enough in the fact that you frequently run into familiar faces. When I ran into Fede on that beautiful day in May I knew it would be the last time I would see him. It never occurred to me though that it could be under such circumstances.

Fede died on Aconcagua, his home mountain, on January 7th, 2009. It is with no doubt in my mind though, that the actions which led to his death saved the lives of his clients. That's the Fede I knew and that's the Fede I will remember.

I cannot help but mourn the loss of my good friend, but likewise I choose to celebrate his life.
Like the winds and the snows of the high peaks Fede climbed, his spirit is forever a part of the mountains. For that much, I cannot help but smile.

VIVA EL FEDE!!!!!!

New Training Log

Now that I know the Revelations trip is going to happen, it's time to get down to business. So, I created a new blog to help log my training and nutrition. It's rough and new, but will be continuously refined as I get a better idea as to what my training methods should be. Please feel free to check it out and offer input, ideas, suggestions or even encouragement!

Check it out at HIGHER DREAMS TRAINING.

Mugs Stump Grant!

2009 kicked off to an AMAZING start when word came that I had been selected as a recipient of one of the most prestigious grants a climber can dream of...the Mugs Stump Grant.


Mugs Stump was an avid climber in the 1980s and early 1990s. His bold routes on the Emperor Face of Mount Robson, the east face of the Mooses Tooth, the north buttress of Mount Hunter, Yosemite and beyond are unmatched and timeless. Mugs' impeccable style set the standard by which many alpine climbs are now compared to. Tragically, Mugs died in a crevasse fall while guiding on Denali in 1992.

Seth and I will use the money to go nail some unclimbed objectives in the Revelations, located at the southwestern most part of the Alaska range. After last year's venture, we have lots of unfinished business to tend to.

The motivation so lacking is now coursing through my veins! T-minus five months! Time to start training!!!!!!!

Eagle River Ice

Eagle River is without a doubt my favorite place to climb. The views are gorgeous, the approaches are relatively easy and there's so much to do within an hour or two from the car.

I've already climbed out there three times this ice season, but haven't posted anything about it. So, as I try to get motivated (see post below), here's a little trip report from a day on the ice with my good friend Richard Baranow.


Mr. Chugach himself knows the range and especially Eagle River better than anybody, without a doubt. We had talked about going out and scoping an unclimbed ice route high up in the valley but the motivation to hike 4,000' for one pitch of ice wasn't quite there.

Richard, all smiles!

So instead we went to a beautiful early season climb that rides up a gully for more than 2,000'. Well, we hit it in early season...in the early season of early season. The climb was definitely 'in' but it was wetter than a fish.

Richard and I brought a rope but never took it out. We climbed the first three main ice pillars, all of which are fairly steep but never too hard. The third pillar was so unbelievably wet, we would have been dryer had we jumped in a pool. Even though it was steep, we opted not to rope up due to the water. The idea was just to climb as fast through it as possible.

An interesting note would be that I fell up to my waist in a deep pool when some ice broke underneath me. Soaking but not too cold, we climbed to the base of the main pillar. It was equally as wet, so we took an exit trail and hiked back down.

Richard coming up with Clint's swimming pool below him

Richard running up the third main piece of ice

...and getting SOAKED!!!

My clothes were stiff as they turned to solid ice sheets. All in all, it was a good day on the ice in late October. Sometimes the fun comes in suffering a little bit.

Motivation and lack there of...

It is amazing how at times, there is so much motivation pulsing through my veins it is like riding a lightning bolt. Other times I feel like a deflated balloon, empty and flat.


Right now I am the balloon. The stress of school, work and Alaska's short days as we approach winter solstice have zapped my energy and my will to train.

After a long and stressful day in the Revelations this spring. This is how I feel now.

Flash back several months ago when I was hitting the rock-gym four times a week, running, lifting weights, riding my bike. I was running on an emotional and motivational high. My ambitions were all I thought about and being my best fueled my every thought.

Take one sip of beer. Add one bowl of ice cream, four term papers, 40 hour work weeks and no immediate objectives. Now repeat four to five times...with the beer, quantify by 100. That's where I am at now. But it isn't where I want to be.

As far as ice climbing goes, I feel like I'm climbing better than I ever have, but that isn't enough. I need to get out and put in some long days in the mountains. I need to feel the burn in my thighs from post-holing up some precarious snow slope as fast and efficient as I can. But, I don't want to. Where is my motivation?

There is an infinite multitude of amazing online sources for training that I have been looking at lately. Here are some of my favorites that at least spark the motivation.
Kelly Cordes Training for alpine climbing

Andy Kirkpatrick's website: Pyscho Vertical

I find the best motivators for me are old pictures from previous climbs and trips. Not only do they get me thinking about fun times in the mountains with my friends, they also get me thinking about how alive I felt in those situations.

So, here's a few shots from over the years to get me, and you... MOTIVATED!