New Year's Eve 2010

It snowed on the 30th. That's right. Snow in Tucson. We decided to go up to Oracle and see it first hand. Here is a picture I took of the Catalina Mountains from the In N Out Burger parking lot.

Cholla cactus that is feeling the chill.

That's the warmest clothes we have. Well at least the kids. Amy has more jackets/coats layers than anyone I know. Unfortunately she doesn't really appreciate it. Patagonia and OR labels mean nothing to her.

Here is the picture from our run. It was 29 degrees. That's cold to us. The screen on my Garmin had a hard time changing numbers because it was so cold. Hope you got to participate. Send in your pictures so I can post them. (The two wet spots on my shirt are from my heart rate monitor. I have to get the contacts wet for it to be able to read my heart rate. Seriously, I'm not lactating.)

Then a few fireworks to end the night. They just became legal in Tucson. Everyone was setting off their little bottle rockets (which are still illegal) and Roman Candles. I had to take it up a notch.

Happy New Year from Team Brenton and Broken, Beat & Scarred!

The Kent Effect

One morning Amy and I went for a run together. We don't get to run together much because of work schedules, and driving the kids around after school. We talked about stuff. I don't really remember what stuff. Just stuff.

I do remember one topic though. I think the reason I remember it is because I figured I was in for a lecture. We were talking about our climbing trip with Mike and Terry. I said that I had forgotten to wear my helmet, and that it was becoming a habit.

Amy said it was because of Kent. Kent doesn't wear a helmet, and thinks it's ridiculous. That's good enough for me. He's a trauma surgeon after all. Mike doesn't wear one either. I think it just has to do with the time they both started climbing. They are about the same age, and no one wore a helmet when they started.

Regardless, I like both of these guys quite a lot. I've always said that Kent is the big brother I always wanted. Turns out Mike is the other big brother I wanted too. Maybe I'll start slowly and quit wearing my helmet for sport climbing.

Check out the above pic of Kent. Now you see what I mean.

Christmas Haul

Team Brenton had a good Christmas. We hope yours was great too. I made out pretty well. Chalk, tape, Reverso 3, a pair of Sanuks, and a renewed subscription to Trail Runner. What more could a guy ask for?

Brett and I got out to climb one afternoon after I got off work. We did a little liquid ice climbing. That's right, it rained on us. I had worked so hard to get off early (which is not an easy feat during Christmas peak at UPS), gave up a half a day's sleep, and Brett used up half of one of his days off so we could go get rained out. It never rains here in December.

Yes Michelle, we are stupid enough to go climbing in the rain. We got three routes in, and had a good visit on the way to and from the mountain. Brett successfully cleaned the anchors all by himself for the first time, and didn't cry or die.

It's not often I get/have to wear my rain shell.

3rd & 4th Biannual BB&S, Team Brenton 2.5K Fun Run

I am running a little behind this year on getting the information out on this event, but it is still on. The rules are simple, and the same as last year. Here they are listed below for those of you who are new to BB&S. 1. Sign up by making a small donation at: http://www.100friends.org/. This is a great non-profit run by one guy named Mark Gold. He lives out of a hotel room. He gives small amounts of money to people who are trying to make a living, but have a need. It might be 50 cents, or 15 dollars, but it will be enough to help them be self sufficient. Amy and I liked the charity and felt it was worthy. Please research it for yourself so you can feel good about your donation. http://www.parade.com/news/2010/12/19-the-shoestring-philanthropist.html (The story from the Sunday Parade magzine) His facebook page can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/100-Friends-Project/266622643087 2. Run 2.5K on December 31st 2010, and then run the second 2.5K on January 1st 2011. Running can be substituted for walking, skiing, cycling, skipping, crawling, any non motorized human powered activity you choose. (2.5K is 1.55 miles) 3. Have fun, and feel good that we are helping someone we don't even know because that's what good people do. 4. All finishers will receive a finishers prize after providing photographic evidence of their accomplishment that will be posted on BB&S. Amy and I will be running from 11:45 on the 31st to 12:15 on the 1st (approx). If you are in town and want to join us we'd love to run with you. If you are out of town and want to join us give us a call, we'll put you on speaker phone, and we can run together that way (520-977-7820 Rik, 520-977-7816 Amy).

Christmas Songs for the UPS Guy

I picked a few songs for the poor weary UPS box monkey who might have to get up at 11:15 pm to go sort packages, or spend all day and most of the night delivering. Christmas cheer is only four days away. Enjoy!

Correction

Amy has brought it to my attention that she was not third in her age group as stated in the post below. She was actually first. I am now in trouble for not listening carefully and reporting the news incorrectly.

Special Day

This afternoon I went for my first run in two weeks. Christmas peak at UPS makes me lazy. Don't feel too bad for me because I went climbing last Saturday. While I was running I looked at the Catalina Mountains. The sun was shining on them, and the air was really clear giving them that special glow that they only get in the early evening in winter. I automatically thought "man I wish I was climbing right now." Then I started to think about what a great day it had been. First off my favorite niece ran her first 5k this morning. That is a picture of her below. I think she got all of her cute from her Uncle Rik (never mind the guy in the background trying to push over the soccer goal). Amy and Philip ran it too. Philip ran a 22:41. A little disappointing since he has run sub 20 minutes before. Amy came in third in her age group, and got a realy cool Christmas ornament as a prize.

Here is Harley crossing the finish line.

Then I started feeling bad about wasting a Saturday with such great weather. I spent it just hanging around the house with Amy and the kids. That really was kind of nice though. Utimately I ended up on that run where I came up with all the thoughts you are reading now.

I also talked to a guy on a Niner mountain bike. It was the same bike I have been thinking about buying. He gave it a rave review. It was nice to talk to someone who had actual experience on the bike.

Even without a fun climbing trip it ended up being a good day.

Bug Springs

Ryan's sister was in town on Saturday so he couldn't go climbing. Fortunately for me I got an invitation from Mike and Paul to climb with them. Here is one of the walls at Bug Springs.

Paul hasn't been climbing much lately, but here he is at the top of his first lead in two years.

Mike and I both lead this 5.10-. It only has about 30 feet of climbing, but it is really good climbing. Mike floating C Base.

The Day the Music Died

I interrupted the Christmas music to bring you this memorial. I will resume regularly scheduled Christmas music in a day or two. Today is December 8th. It is the anniversary of the shooting of a musician who changed the way we listen to music forever. He was shot by a mentally ill man. I think the world still grieves every time it is brought up. It's hard to believe that it was six years ago. We will all miss Dime Bag Darrell Abbott. He was the heart of Pantera and Damageplan. His style was unique, and he was named one of the 50 best guitar tones of all time. Who'd you think I was talking about? I put up a few of my favorite Pantera/Dime Bag songs.

Not Climbing

Ryan and Mike went climbing on Saturday, but I decided to stay home and decorate the house and hang the lights. One year I was out at 9:00 at night after a fourteen hour day knowing I was only going to get three hours sleep before I had to be back to work, but the lights needed to be hung. I didn't get them hung one year and the kids were bummed. I've decided not to let that happen again. Since it is getting close to Christmas and the new year I would like you to start thinking about the third and fourth bi-annual Broken, Beat & Scarred, Team Brenton 2.5k fun run. We are trying to decide on a charity to donate to so if you have any ideas let's hear them. Remember, you can run, walk, skip, ride (non-motorized of course), ski, skate, or cartwheel the distance. Whatever you like. We would just like to see you moving, and help someone out. Remember you are always welcome to join Amy and me on our 11:45 to 12:15 (approx.) run.

Rope Rug Final

Here is the climbing rope rug after I finished taking all the slack out of it. I ended up with about seven hours in it. There is a guy on the Internet who will turn your rope into a rug for $40. I wouldn't do it for less than $200. It is a ton of work, but I like the way it turned out. I will do it for my ropes as they wear out, but I don't think I will be making many for fun. If you want one though I will be happy to lend you the peg board and information.

**Warning, if you are easily disturbed do not look at the picture in the post below.**

Making it Bearable

**Seriously though, if you have a weak stomach please don't look at the picture below.**

Last week I did a long run, and didn't want to be sore the next day. I headed over to the grocery store and bought some ice. I have actually gotten to the point where I enjoy ice baths, but I had to learn a few tricks first. The first one I ever took was horrible. Did you know it is almost impossible to make yourself sit down in ice water? Well it was for me. Step one- Acquire necessary items. (ice, cell phone (you don't want an excuse to get out of the tub because you won't get back in), and something to read (it helps I swear)) Step two- Sit in tub. Step three- Turn on the cold water and let it fill only high enough to cover your legs. Step four- Have someone add the ice down by your feet. It will feel good on your feet, and the cold slowly creeps up your legs toward you. Step five- Sit and read for 15 minutes. It may be a little tough at first, but it will be worth it. You won't be as sore the next day after a hard effort. Step six- Enjoy a nice hot shower. This is the best part, and feels awesome after freezing for what seems like forever. Why an ice bath you ask? From what I understand the cold constricts your blood vessels pushing the blood out of your legs letting it re-oxygenate. When you take the hot shower afterwards it dilates the vessels and allows oxygen rich blood to flood back into your legs, and promotes the healing of all those little micro tears in your muscles.

**Warning, below is the picture from the previous warning. Seriously!**

I was not getting ready to shave my legs (as far as you know), even though Amy said the razor on the side of the tub makes it look that way.

Repurposed Climbing Rope

I recently retired an old climbing rope, but didn't want to throw it away. Old climbing ropes can be used for plenty of things. Just not climbing. I started looking around and found rope rugs. Fortunately for me my friends Mark and Stacy had already done all the leg work, and posted the info on Mountain Project. I built a peg board, and got started. Elsie was there to lend a hand if I needed it. Here is the first pass.

Second pass complete.

Third pass. The rug is starting to take shape. A 60 meter climbing rope is 196+ feet long. As the weave gets more crowded it is getting harder to pull the rope through.

Finally finished pulling the rope. Not much rope left over. All I have left to do is figure out how to tighten up the weave a little bit, and sew the ends together. It was physically much harder than I had imagined. Once you have the first pass complete the brain work is done, but I did have to pay close attention to avoid any mistakes.

Antisocial

This week I am featuring a song by Anthrax for my friend Michelle. The song is Antisocial. I personally think it is one of their best. Michelle is a huge Anthrax fan. In fact, when she was in high school she shaved her head just like Scott Ian as a show of solidarity. If you make sure your sound is down, or are using google reader to view my blog please make sure to check out the weekly music feature. I look long and hard for radio edit music to put up. I add all kinds of music, not just Cookie Monster thrash metal (although I am partial to that). Some of it might be added while I am thinking about you. I often put up music that I know one of you likes. If you have something you would like to hear let me know.

Checklist

"Rope?" "Check." "Rack?" "Check." "Climbing Shoes?" "Check." "Helmet?" "Check." "Harness?" "Harness?" "Ch.............?" Yep, that's right. Yesterday Ryan and I went to Windy Point to climb Vista Cruiser and Burning Apostles. When we got to the parking area we started to go through our gear, and decide who would take what. Guess who forgot his harness? After Ryan got done saying "darn","dang it", and "shoot" we went for a nice walk, and looked at the climbs we had come to do. We also took a look at the only 5.14 on Mt. Lemmon. It looked pretty blank. We then decided to go meet our friends Mike and Teresa. They had invited us to climb with them so we knew where they would be. It ended up being a really fun day. Mike was the only leader in their group of seven so it turned out to be a good thing that we met up with them. We were able to help put ropes up, and everyone got to climb more that way. But really the best part was that Ryan forgot his harness, and those of you who know him know how out of character that is for him. Now I have something to give him a hard time about. Forever.

Perception

The Wednesday before we left for J-Tree several of us went to the Reel Rock Film Festival. One of my friends that went with us was Michelle. She had never been to one of these climbing/outdoor festivals so I was hoping she would have a good time. Michelle is a little reserved. I can never tell when she is enjoying herself when I am around, or if she is thinking "I need to have Brett's head checked. Why does he insist on hanging out with this idiot?" I asked Brett on the way to California what Michelle had thought of the films. Her one comment that really stuck out to me was "she felt sorry for Ueli Steck because his whole life was climbing mountains." He was featured in one of the films. He was shown running, yes running, up the summit ridge on the Eiger. He spent everyday training to be in the kind of shape it takes to be able to solo these alpine peaks in hours instead of days. The reason I remember her comment, and that it made an impression was while she was feeling sorry for him I was thinking "how can I live that life?" All a matter of perception.

Heart and Sole

Brett gave me a disc with the pictures he took at J-Tree the other night. This is a climb that I lead called Heart and sole 5.10a. It was a lesson in learning to trust my gear placements. There were several friction moves that seemed very greasy. After returning home I read about the the climb, and in almost all of the comments people said that it has gotten harder over the years as dime edges have broken off. They also said that they would not do it in direct sun or if the temperature was over 50 degrees. As you can see by great panoramic picture that Brett took it was in full sun, and probably over 90 degrees too.

Here is the friction traverse over the roof on the way to the flake that would finally give a decent handhold.

This is what spending over an hour on Heart and Sole in full sun and tight climbing shoes will do to your feet. I could barely put my shoes on. Mike spent over an hour belaying me on this climb which I'm sure was way worse than a blister. Thanks Mike.

Josh

I promised more pictures of Joshua Tree, but don't have the time to do it justice so I just picked a few photos and slapped them up here. Still more to come I promise. Until you are sick of them, or quit reading my blog. Ryan on Sail Away (in blue, not the cute half naked girl to the left). I was glad to finally get to lead this climb. We had looked at it about six or seven times over the last two trips, but there was always someone on it.

Leading Fote Hog. Most fun 5.6 I have ever done.

J-Tree with Brett climbing in the background. I thought it looked cool.

Brett on the Headstone at dusk.

Strange angle of a J-Tree, a crack climb, and Brett's butt. At least I photographed his good side.

Best Times

I have had several occasions when I thought that, like the old cliche beer commercial, this is "as good as it gets". There was the Grand Canyon, the Tetons, Wasson Peak various times on Mt. Lemmon, J-Tree, Flagstaff, and some times just hanging out having dinner or ruining our diets at BTO. Last week was one of those times. I spent the first five days in J-Tree with the crew pictured above. What a group. I think we all had a great time, and I was always sad to see someone have to peel off and go home. It was like having a member of the family move away. I spent the last four days camping in the White Mountains in NE Arizona with Amy and the kids. That was great too. How lucky I am to have all these awesome people to go on these cool adventures with. Yes, even you Steve. More posts to come on both of these trips.

All Mighty Guarantee

Another new pack. Actually this is a replacement for my twenty plus year old Osprey Silhouette. It was still in good shape and I would have continued to use it if not for one little problem. The waterproofing on the inside of the pack cloth was delaminating, and would get this sticky brown goo all over the pack's contents. The pack always felt slightly damp too. I carried it through the Grand Canyon about four years ago, and had the brown goo problem. I called Osprey and they said that it wasn't a defect, and that I should just line the inside of the pack with a garbage bag. Needless to say I wasn't very satisfied with that answer, but what could I do? I was in Summit Hut a few weeks ago and saw a tag hanging off of a new Osprey pack. It said something about the All Mighty Guarantee. I read a little farther, and it said any Osprey pack, any reason, any era. The "any era" part might be a little confusing. I'll explain. Osprey started out as a small pack company in Colorado. Now they are made in Viet Nam. It has been sold to several larger outdoor conglomerates. Kind of like Dana, Sierra Designs, Mountain Hardware, Black Diamond............. Generally good for profits, but not for the consumer. Long story short they said they would replace my pack. They let me pick any pack I wanted. I picked the Argon 110. That's 110 liters, or about 6,900 cubic inches. It is huge. I figured it would be good for overnight climbing trips, family backpacking trips, or when the day finally comes that I get to do some mountaineering and have to haul some big heavy loads. It really is a cool pack with all the bells and whistles. I am also once again a fan of Osprey Packs. I feel like they did right by me this time, although I think they should have replaced my pack several years ago when I first noticed the problem. It did have a lifetime guarantee when I bought it after all.

Scarry Conversation

Yesterday at work one of the guys I work with said to me "At least we bought a motor home so we can go camping." Really?!?!?!?!?!? I didn't realize that one needed a house on wheels to go "camping". Is it really camping if you are living in a permanent structure (even if the structure is mobile). I feel like a sissy for sleeping in a tent even though weather or privacy sometimes make it necessary. I am going to J-Tree and the White Mountains next week, and am probably taking to much stuff, but I refuse to sleep in a motor home, fifth wheel, or travel trailer. I thought the whole point of camping was to be outside. Not to have a TV, DVD, and a shower (although after three days a shower does sound really good). My dad keeps trying to get me to take his truck and fifth wheel. It would cost more than a hotel to tow it to J-Tree. Besides, what kind of dirt bag climber sleeps in a fifth wheel anyway. *My apologies to all who think living in an RV is camping. I didn't mean you. I was talking about the other people.

Booty

No, not that kind. Look up "booty" in the climber's dictionary I posted a while ago. I found this grinder yesterday on my run. I did an out and back route that I do on a regular basis. I have to run across a bridge, and may have run by it on the way out. On the way back I saw what looked like an electrical cord sticking out from the railing. I took a look even though usually it is just trash that I find. I was surprised when I saw the cord was attached to this grinder. I'm guessing it bounced out of a work truck (although it shows no sign of bouncing), and almost made it under the railing. I had to run the remaining .93 miles back home which was not much fun. It's amazing how much harder this 5 or 6 pounds was to carry while running. I had to keep switching hands. So far I have found $55 and a grinder on my runs. If only I could find enough to fund my running shoes.

Roof

I finally finished coating the roof this weekend. It seems silly to be this excited about something so boring, but I am excited about it. What's next? Discussing the weather at length? That's not snow. Just a freshly painted roof.

A view from the other angle.

Irrational Fear

I guess I needed to be taken down a peg or two. I had been feeling a little too good about myself lately. I had been working on getting in shape for an upcoming J-Tree trip by doing laps on the auto belay in the gym. Last week I did 70+ laps. Philip had a scout camp out Friday night so I went along. I got up early Saturday and went for a 5 mile run in the hills. Not being in great running shape I suffered and even walked when the Jeep road went straight up the hillside with no switchbacks, but I finished it. Yeah, I was feeling pretty good about myself alright. Then we took the boys into Peppersauce caves. I don't like confined spaces, but had been in the cave before and was able to maintain. It was muddy and fun. We all slipped around getting muddier by the second. Then we came to a small crack that was as big or bigger than some of the other places we had to squeeze through. I just couldn't do it. I talked myself into going through, but then remembered that I would have to come back through it. I just couldn't even muster the desire to want to make myself do it. I decided to turn back. I climbed back up a little way, and turned off my headlamp. I listened to the cave noises, and felt the humid air. I enjoyed being alone. When I heard another party coming I turned on my headlamp and headed out. I am going to have to go back and conquer that irrational fear.

Saguaro

Yes, it's true I beat my wife last Monday. At the Saguaro National Park East Labor Day 8 mile run. I beat her by about 20 seconds. We both added about 2 minutes to our times from last year because we got to the park a little later than we should have and ended up starting in the back. We had a good time and the mile long climb that starts at mile 3 didn't kill either one of us. I have to say that I am not in shape right now. Summer is the worst time for me to try to train for something. I was just glad to be able to run the entire hill, and not have to walk any part of the course. Amy finished 13th in her age group, and I finished 27th in mine. We both finished in the top third overall. You should come join us next year. Start training now. Amy after a severe beating.

That's me feeling like the recipient of a severe beating.

I Beat My Wife

More details to follow later.

The Fortress

Yesterday Mike and I went to the top of Mt. Lemmon to climb The Fortress via Steel Crazy. It looked like we were going to have the whole rock to ourselves because there were no packs where people leave them for the approach down to the start of the climbs. When we arrived at the base there was a party that had camped somewhere close by and had beat us to the bottom. We decided to wait our turn by doing one of the 5.10 single pitch routes close by. Mike lead a very pumpy 5.10 that was lots of fun. When we got done we went to check the other team's progress. Their third member was just starting up the first pitch. Sometimes if you want to have a good time climbing you have to be flexible. We decided to go climb the Fisherman's Elbow. Mike had done it a few months earlier with Ryan so he lead the two pitches that Ryan had lead the last time. That's me getting ready to start the third pitch. It was the most fun (and scariest) part of the climb.

The view of Rapp Rock from the Fortress. If you look back a few posts you can see a view of the Fortress from Rapp Rock.

I had to hold a gun on Mike to get him to let me take his picture.

Can you find the climbers in this picture of the Murray Wall. They were drilling and bolting a new route.

All in all another great day that I hope to remember forever. Good climbing+good partners=great memories. That is my equation for happiness.

Close Calls

I was scheduled to coat my roof tomorrow. I had done the prep work a couple of weeks ago, and had just been trying to decide which product I wanted to buy. I also needed at least three days of good weather that started on a day that I could be around in the morning before the roof got too hot to paint. Who would have thought that weather (other than hot) would be a deciding factor here in Tucson. Fortunately Mike called me and asked me to go climb a multi pitch route with him tomorrow. I put on my best sad puppy dog eyes and told Amy that I had an invite, and how I hated to let Mike down. She said "as soon as you finish painting the roof you can go." Hey that's a partial win. I was just going to have to get up at 4:00 am, and paint the roof. Then this afternoon monsoon clouds started to build in the East. Now I can go climb and I don't have to do my chores. Plus I get to sleep in a little bit. I figure it is just my reward for being such a hard worker and living a good clean life. There's no other explanation.

Amen

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body. But rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming .... WOW what a ride." — Mark Frost (The Match)

New Kicks

I've been needing new trail running shoes for several months. I have been squeezing the last few miles I can get out of one of my pairs of Cascadia 3's. Both pairs have over 500 miles on them, and really are shot. If you remember, I tested a pair of Cascadia 5 last year. They just didn't hold up. I procrastinated buying a new pair for so long, that in the meantime, I wore out my road shoes too. Part of the reason I hadn't bought new trail shoes was that I didn't know what to buy. I decided to try a pair of Mizuno Cabrakan 2's. I had almost bought a pair of the original Cabrakan's a couple of years ago. I had had good luck with their road runners until they narrowed the toe box. For road shoes I went with my old standby. Brooks Glycerin 8. I had been running in the 6's, and had intentionally avoided the 7's. Brooks decided to put a gel pad right under the ball of the runners foot. It made it feel like my foot had to cam over the pad to toe off. Fortunately they changed that for the 8. I've only got a few runs in each, but I am liking both pairs very much. Both are a little taller than I like, but the cushioning is great. I recommend both shoes if you are looking for new runners. I would just plan it so you don't have to pony up $236 (with coupon and free shipping) for both pairs at once.

Climbing Video

I found Cedar Wright's blog by accident the other day. Cedar is a The North Face sponsored climber. He was in the movie The Sharp End. Even though he is a great climber (5.13 hard) he was kind of shown up in The Sharp End by Alex Honnold. I think cedar is very cool, and it appears that he is headed toward making climbing videos instead of continuing the pro climber thing. 5.13 is great, but there are a bunch of young kids pushing the 5.15 envelope. Here is the link to his blog; http://verticalcarnival.blogspot.com/; where he posted a video called Boogie Till You Poop. It shows why one should not climb 5.11 off widths after a hard night of drinking. Disclaimer; there is some foul language, and tons of immature scatological humor. If you are not a middle school aged boy you will probably find it disgusting. View at your own risk. To those of you who I have already e-mailed the link too I apologize for not having something new for you. My other option was to post pictures of where I accidentally ran the pressure washer over my leg and foot last weekend. Not pretty.

3 Weeks Ago

Here are a couple of pics from a climbing trip from three weeks ago. (L to R) Terry, Meagan, Mike, and Ryan. I have invited Mike and Terry to join our little blog family.

Here is the gang after a fun day in the Chihuahua Power/Puppy Chow area close to windy Point. It really was a fun day.

Saturday

I had such a great time climbing on Saturday that I decided to post some of the other pictures that I took. Ryan on the walk off with the Fortress behind him. We plan to hit that too sometime soon.

The Ravens. Also on our to-do list.

The Lemmon Rock fire lookout. You can visit the rangers when they are there.

This was the only bad part of the day. I couldn't walk between my truck and this Toyota so I got in from the passenger side. What kind of DB does that?

Rapp Rock

Yesterday Ryan and I went to the top of Mt. Lemmon to do the Bender Axen start and the Standard Route on Rapp Rock. Here is Ryan fueling up before we made our way via bushwhack to the route.

If you look closely you might be able to make out Ryan bushwhacking his way through a new stand of Aspens on the way to the route. This area was burned a few years ago, and the little Aspens are taking over. We were hiking in flip flops. We left our shoes at the top because we didn't want to have to climb with them clipped to our harnesses.

Ryan won at Rochambeau so he got to lead the Bender Axen 5.8 pitch. I was a little jealous, but the second pitch turned out to be as good. We had to do a variation of the Standard Route because another party of five was climbing ahead of us and were really slow. We just moved over a few feet and made our own way.

Ryan set up this belay at the top of the third pitch. I was getting a little concerned because he was running out of rope and had only stopped to place protection a few times. When I climbed up to him I realized why. It was a 5.7 chicken head hike.......................

and that is a chicken head. A hold so good it is almost impossible to fall off of, and that is how to protect one. I ended up leading the last pitch. 180 feet protected by three pieces. The climbing really was that easy, but it was some of the most fun I have ever done.