Salathe Footage

It feels a long time ago, and worlds away right now… But here is a video of me on the Salathe Headwall. It is still my favorite place to be. Enjoy!

Video by Andy Bardon

 

Big walls & Boulders

Ahhh, Yosemite… I just can’t seem to keep myself away form the place! It seems to have an irresistible allure, a magnetic field which keeps drawing me back.

This last trip I discovered that it is not just the big walls which hold appeal for me, but also those little pebbles lying scattered around the valley floor. I had always kind of found it strange that people came to Yosemite just for the bouldering when there are such amazing walls to be climbed… However, now I have gained some understanding of how good the bouldering is there. I went to the Valley with the intention to do both boulder and routes, yet my main motivation was to play on El Capitan. I was yearning to feel hundreds of feet of air under my feet again and be alone on that wonderful wall.

Back on the Capitan - Alone in the vertical world and loving it!

My first day in the Valley I hiked back up to the summit of El Cap, dug out my ropes and spent the day hanging out alone in the vast vertical world. It was an amazing contrast to my last visit to this wall – Everything was silent, miles of granite stretched out below me with no one else in sight… even the usually teeming Valley floor was deserted. I loved the silence and space of being back up there alone. Even just hiking back up to the summit made me feel like I was back at home – I realized once again, that El Capitan really has become  a part of my being over the last few seasons I have spent in the Valley. However after a day up there I was happy to return my focus to bouldering and making the most of the perfect winter conditions on the Valley floor.

Bouldering with Alex Johnson. Photographer: Tom Moulin

It was awesome focusing on the boulders for once, sampling some of the true Valley classics and hanging out with friends. It was also nice to return with a little bouldering fitness – To feel strong after a couple weeks of bouldering in Bishop was a pleasant contrast to my previous attempts at bouldering in the Valley, after only climbing cracks for several months! After a really fun week of destroying myself, with tapped tips and totally over worked shoulders, I was very happy to finish my week in the Valley with an ascent of the notorious “King Cobra”…

Desperately trying to stem my way up "King Cobra" V8, Yosemite Valley. Photographer: Tom Moulin

Now I am back in Bishop, soaking up some more desert sun, and looking forward to returning to the Valley soon!

Bouldering frustration... Photographer: Tom Moulin

Psyched for change

Time flies… and not just when you are having fun. It simply seems to just keep flying faster and faster with each passing second – It is a vicious spiral, I notice time passing quickly so I try to fit more into every day, which in turn makes time pass even quicker. I find it hard to believe that another year has almost slipped away. But somehow, life seems to keep getting better as well!

After five weeks in New Zealand, it felt like high time to leave… The weather had changed to a nasty Easterly flow, causing low-lying cloud roll in continuously in off the sea, leaving Christchurch damp and miserable. “The Cave” is worst of all – It is the one place left to climb, and faces due east, therefore immediately becoming a nasty spooge bowl! A week before I left I came very close to climbing one of the few climbs which I have not climbed in the Cave, but the Easterly made a send impossible. This was a little frustrating, yet it made leaving NZ easy… And it seems that I left just in time to miss yet another big earthquake. My heart goes out to all those living in Christchurch at the moment!

Attempting Alcatraz, 5.13b at Jailhouse. Photo: Vian Charbonneau

A couple weeks ago I found myself back on a plane, headed to San Francisco! I went from a wet miserable NZ summer to a sunny perfect winter in California – Although long distance flying is one of my least favorite things, the freedom it provides is pretty amazing! I spent a few days hanging out with a friend in San Fran, and finally summoned up the courage to join the locals at Jailhouse. It was a pleasant surprise, not at all the dirty steep cave, full of desperate slopers and crazy knee-bars that I expected! Well, ok… there were plenty of crazy knee-bars – I have never seen so many pads in one place, nor experienced the super technical, gluing and taping techniques used there. I thought I knew about knee-bars, but jailhouse definitely takes knee-barring to a new level!

The climbing was really fun. I had a great couple days sampling several of the crag classics and re-learning to climb a little more dynamic. However after a couple of days, it was time to move on… Though, after avoiding the place for a couple of years, I do look forward to coming back to Jailhouse soon! It has been a surprisingly dry early Winter here in California, and for the first time since the 70′s, Tioga Pass was still open until late December! There is no snow anywhere, and the conditions at the Buttermilks are amazing – Almost too hot at times!

Sunset from the Buttermilks.

After not really bouldering for almost four years, it is pure joy to be here, playing on boulders with nothing other shoes and a chalk bag! Before arriving, I was a little apprehensive and unsure how I would enjoy focusing solely on bouldering. But, maybe it is true that change is good for psych – I have barely been able to contain my excitement to climb everything here! After a week here, with only one full rest day, my fingers are suffering, but my mind is still unable to rest. There is something incredibly beautiful about this harsh dry environment. The vast spaces and unrestricted openness of the desert, and tall majestic boulders with striking lines. I am instantly drawn to these boulders which are almost of route length, and require total commitment high off the ground. I am excited to still be at the beginning of my time here, and that I am already feeling much more comfortable than I expected. Bring on another year of fun and climbing!

The classic highball, "Secrets of the Beehive", V5

Kiwi-land

The last week of my time in the Getu Valley was really amazing. As the village returned to normal, there was no more waiting in a cue to climb and by end of the week it felt like we were the only foreigners left in the village. There was some sick sendage going down, despite us all getting sick at various times throughout the trip. Beau got some great photos, and thanks to Kevin, doing an incredible job of organizing everything for us throughout the week. Which including making multiple hair-raising trips to town, we were able to really just enjoy craziness of rural Chinese life. We all got sick of eating noodles for breakfast and rice for dinner everyday, so began sampling ever-increasing amounts of every variety of the (very limited selection) of junk food available, and slowly our standards lowered enough that it actually tasted good! It was an awesome trip, but I think we were all ready to leave when the time came!

A village kid playing in the basket ball court in the "Village in a Cave", Getu Valley

I am not quite sure what was more of a culture shock for me… China or arriving back in a still very altered (earthquake affected) Christchurch. I have been away for long enough that I had pretty much forgotten how badly the city (and the surrounding rocks) have been damaged. Even though I knew that it was going to take years to come back to normal, In my subconscious I must have expected at least some things to be returning to normal after months had elapsed. However, the inner city is still closed, many of the roads are still more like four-wheel-drive tracks and many houses are still hanging off crumbling precipices. In the hills behind the city, the cliffs are covered in raw scars where large chunks of rock have detached themselves and scoured the hillsides below.

Shipping containers are being used for everything in Christchurch these days...

Most of the climbers in town have turned to mountain biking because it is too risky to go climbing at the crags which have not been damaged. Since coming back, I took a couple (much-needed) weeks off climbing to let my body and mind recover, and because it was hard to motivate myself to climb here after spending so much time in incredible places, like Yosemite and the Getu Valley. The Cave, my regular training venue in Christchurch really does not compare, it is small, often wet and held together by glue… And worst of all at the moment it is located inside a Park which is closed due to the danger of rockfall in the event of another aftershock. However, I soon realized that my obsession with moving over rock is too great for any of these minor facts to matter – I needed to climb! So, I found a small group of dedicated friends who still climb at the Cave, and the for the last week I have been putting my life at risk every second day to go and train on routes I know so well I could climb them in my sleep. “Are we crazy?” I often wonder, as we stop on the boulder strewn track, scoping out the teetering blocks above, while discussing the likelihood of another big quake… The answer is probably “Yes”, but I have been really enjoying my afternoons climbing at the Cave, and I think I would rather enjoy life than live in fear.

Sefton still crushing at the Cave, Christchurch

Roctrip in the Getu

The grande entrance!

Three weeks ago I tore myself away from a perfect October in Yosemite, to partake in the Petzl Roctrip in the Getu Valley, China… What a crazy contrast, after an epic two days of traveling, I found myself in rural China, staying in a tiny village surrounded by an amazing amount of incredible limestone walls.

This was my first experience of a Roctrip, I did not know what to expect and was at first a little intimidated… However, this was definitely unnecessary – I was greeted by an amazingly supportive and welcoming crew of strong, psyched and supportive climbers from all over the world. The vibe was awesome and the focus was definitely on just having fun climbing and exploring this unique area.

Lynn seconding up to me, on a multi-pitch route in the arch.

The Getu Valley is an incredible place – unlike anywhere else I have been… Walking through terraced rice fields and bamboo plantations (which were all still plowed by hand), being taken across the river by a boatman with a bamboo pole and walking up well over a thousand prefect steps to reach a massive limestone arch, containing the most incredible features and very diverse climbing. From powerful climbing on crazily slick scooped slopers down low on the walls of the arch, to creative three-dimensional climbing through upside-down forests of tufas on the massive horizontal roof – A stunning location which is several hundred meters up above the ground and littered with stalactites.

Looking back out of the arch... On our final day we actually got to see blue sky!

It was a shock to my system to suddenly be clipping blots and throwing myself at hard sport routes. However, I really enjoyed it, especially being able to climb multi-pitch routes without needing to take anything other than a few quick-draws! The highlight of the trip for me was climbing one of the classic multi-pitch routes with Lynn Hill. “Lost in Translation” 5.13a was the first route to be established to the top of the arch… It is a four pitch route which takes an impressive line through the right hand side of the arch. It was incredible doing a multi-pitch route on such steep terrain. Luckily the route had been equipped with suspended bamboo rods at each belay, prefect and authentic seats, without which it would have been a much less pleasant experience.

Heading back to the village through the bamboo fronds at sunset.

For the duration of the roctrip, the tiny village turned into a swarming hive of activity and the crags were super busy… It was great fun climbing with such an amazing crew, but our psyche levels wavered… Non of us understood a word, we quickly got sick of eating noodles and most of us got sick at least once during trip. However, I am thankful that I was able to stay for another week after the event. To climb with the Five Ten athletes and watch the town slowly return to its normal rhythm – a sleepy little village where life is simple, machinery is scarce and everything happens on the street… there are water buffalos wandering down the street, kids playing, babies pooping, food drying, being prepared and being eaten, even parties (bonfires) happened in the middle of the street.

Chili, wheat and pig fodder

A simple kitchen

Free ridding monkeys…

When I first arrived in the Yosemite two years ago, I remember looking up at El Capitan with awe… I found it difficult to fathom the daunting task of free climbing that massive face in several days, let alone in a single day! However, I had my heart set on free climbing this historic wall, so I threw myself in the deep end and attempted Free Rider ground up, leading and hauling nearly every pitch, with the selfless support of my partner Max, who agreed to follow me up, even with the treat of  a fast-moving storm! That first time up the Capitan totally destroyed me… and yet as soon as I reached the top I was dreaming of returning – El Capitan had found its way into my heart and there was no way I could ignore it any longer.

This year, after two seasons in the Valley, I fulfilled my dream free climb this great wall, with my ascent of the Salathe, becoming the first Kiwi (male or female) to free climb one of the central routes on El Capitan and only the second female to free the Salathe. However, I still had a couple weeks left in the Valley and decided the obvious progression was to attempt to free the Capitan in a single day…

Niels Tietze leading the traverse pitch on Free Rider. Photographer: Tom Evans.

At ten past midnight, two weeks after my ascent of the Salathe, Niels Tietze (a member of the SAR team at Yosemite) and I started up the Free Rider, carrying minimal gear, several energy bars and a bottle of water each. We moved fast through the moonlit night, swinging leads and simul-climbing the easier sections of the route. Everything flowed like clockwork, and we reached the crux of the route, the Huber Boulder pitch, at first light. Here, we encountered the only other party on the route, and they happened to be good friends of ours, who were also trying to free climb Free Rider over several days. Luckily, they were using the Teflon corner variation to the crux pitch and so we were not in each others way. Unbelievably, I managed to stick the boulder problem first try, and let out an unrestrained whoop of joy knowing that a free ascent was totally possible for me now! With that I started an awesome train of sending – Within 10 minutes all four of us sent the crux pitch of Free Rider! So, with adrenalin soaring we continued our charge for the top… It was only after my battle to hang on to the slopping laybacks in the enduro-corner, that fatigue started to set in. However, after slumping at the anchor for a few minutes, I managed to pull myself together to follow Niels through the last hard section –  the traverse pitch, which I had not actually free climbed before. After this it was simply a matter of hanging on though the last few wide pitches.

We reached the summit at 2.20pm, 14 hours and 10 minutes after leaving the ground! Making for a bunch of firsts… The fastest free female ascent of El Capitan, the first New Zealander to free climb El Capitan in a day, the first free Kiwi ascent of Free Rider, Niels Tietze first free route on El Capitan, and most importantly the best 14 hours of incredible climbing in my life, on the most beautiful piece of rock ever!

The Salathe Wall

Free climbing El Capitan has always been a dream of mine… Something which I have always aspired to ever since I started climbing. I have always had a fascination for big walls, and loved being in exposed, beautiful places. However, until a couple years ago I did not take it on as a real goal. Then, when I when I climbed El Capitan for the first time, via the Free Rider, I realized my dream was not too far fetched and I set my sights on trying the Salathe. The strikingly steep, flaring crack on the crazily exposed headwall captured my imagination… It is beautiful and brutally unforgiving.

I started my mission on the Salathe on my own and spent countless hours alone on the Headwall, working out how to climb an overhung flaring crack… This is where I really started learning how to crack climb. I had several unsuccessful attempts on the route – Exactly a year before sending the Salathe I was forced to bail off the route after freeing everything up to the Headwall, when a brutal thunderstorm hit and soaked us and all our equipment. This year I spent several days trying to climb the Headwall, and the day before I sent I had a heartbreaking fall off the very last move. This left me dejected and with the weather looking a little threatening, I was also very anxious that it would be a repeat of the previous year. But Sean, my climbing partner, was a constant source of energy and belief in my abilities. He could not have been more encouraging and supportive, and helped keep my spirits up with the help of his music and stories.

Another Birthday in the Meadow after success on the Salathe!

The weather held, conditions were perfect the next day… Every hand jam felt amazing and the climbing flowed – It was an incredible feeling reaching the top of the Headwall, free from the ground, with only a couple easy pitches to the top. A total sense of elation, release of tension and relief. Then slowly the emptiness set in, the Salathe has been a huge part of my life for the last year, and there was almost a sense of sadness – kind of like saying good bye to a great friend and teacher. Best of all Sean also succeeded in climbing the Salathe the next day! Thanks to everyone who has supported me and helped me achieve this goal of mine… It really is one of the most amazing climbs!

Another Fall in the Valley…

This is my favorite time of year, yet it always brings with it a mix of emotions… It is the perfect climbing time, with temperatures getting better and seepage at a minimal. However, this time seems to pass painfully fast – the days getting shorter quickly, the weather more unsettled, with storms becoming ever more frequent, and everyone is talking about the next step in their lives. There is a frenzy of activity in the Valley, as everyone is trying to use the good patches of weather to accomplish their goals for the season, and uncertainty as people who have been family for the six months of summer are all attempting to make plans to move on with their lives.

Another storm brewing over Half Dome

My season in the Valley has been filled with psych, I have become very comfortable on the slick  granite slabs and perfect splitter cracks of El Capitan and my sights have been broadened. I have begun to see how many more possibilities there are on these beautiful soaring walls. I have spent most of the last few weeks building up my fitness and re-familrizing myself with the crux pitches of the Salathe wall. Two or three in the morning has almost become a normal time to get up, and the near vertical two-hour hike and jumar up East ledges of El Capitan are feeling more like a nice stroll than an grueling ordeal. After several solo morning missions on the Headwall with my mini-traxion, I felt ready to attempt to lead the pitches, and managed to recruit a couple solid climbers to come up there with me.

It was a perfect morning, on the hike up we saw dozens of shooting stars, then a beautiful sunrise over Half Dome… It was a treat for me to share these special moments, which I have experienced many times on my own, with a couple of good friends. Everything went perfectly that morning, the climbing just seemed to flow, and I managed to fire off both pitches of the Headwall on my first attempt. It was an amazing feeling to feel solid and confident on that steep crack in the most beautiful, exposed location I have experienced.

Resting my way up the first pitch of the Headwall. Photographer: Danny Uhlmann

The next step for me was finding a climbing to head up the wall with me from the ground… unfortunately this proved to be rather challenging, so I used the time to do a couple of missions up to try to figure out whether I could climb the original aid variant (instead of the Monster off-width). I managed to figure it all out, and came very close to climbing this pitch. So, when I eventually managed to find someone keen to head up there with, I decided that it was worth at least trying to climb it via this way.

Unfortunately, this ended up being the downfall of this attempt on the Salathe wall. The first day went perfectly, we moved quickly and efficiently up the fist 20 pitches of the wall. However, the next morning things did not quite go to plan… I fell off the last tenuous finger-locks on the original variant several times, then by the time the sun hit, I was physically destroyed, had blown a hole in my finger tip and taken a big flapper off the back of another finger. I ended up climbing the Monster, but had wasted far too much energy to be able to climb the Huber Boulder pitch the next morning. So, with my tail between my legs I descended to rest, grown skin and gather myself for another attempt.

Pulling into the initial moves of the powerful boulder pitch at the top of the Headwall. Photographer: Danny Uhlmann

I was feeling a little dejected and lost after this failed attempt and did not feel capable of facing the daunting task of once again persuading someone to come up the wall for several days. So when a friend asked me to come on a speed ascent of the Nose with him, I jumped at the opportunity to get on something else and have some fun. I tried to convince myself that doing 1000 meters of climbing as fast as possible would be a good active rest day…. I am not so sure that this was the case, but it definitely cure me of my depressed mood. It was my first time on the Nose, and also the first time either my partner or I had climbed in this style. It ended up being super fun, when we got up under the great roof I could not stop giggling – I felt like a kid with free-range of a candy store, and it just kept getting better… Endless hand cracks soaring ever upwards, it was so much fun climbing in this continuous style on the most iconic route in the history of Yosemite climbing. We ended up spending 11 hours on the route, and getting back down to the Valley just before the daily thunderstorms hit! Perfect fitness training, but a little more than active rest…

Now, after several more real rest days I am preparing for another attempt on the Salathe, and best of all, I found a climbing partner without even having to try!

In search of Peace

I can’t think of anywhere better for finding inner peace than Tuolumne Meadows… The landscape is stunning, vast and free. I have spend the last few weeks running around the classic peaks in the area and a few days down in Yosemite Valley…

As always, I found a difficult challenge to aid my search for inner peace… Trying to string together the endless, vertical maze of knobs and find the balance of power and technique to stay in contact with this vertical path, on one of the most striking walls in Tuolumne – Medlicott Dome. Peace 5.13d, runs up a faint black streak on this blank, dead vertical orange wall… Right next to the infamous Bachar/Yerian route.

Crimping hard and determined not to let go... just after the first crux of Peace 5.13d, Tuolumne Meadows. Photographer: Greg Kerhner

I spent several days working out and piecing together the moves of this epic 40m route. Then had the pleasure of finding my moment of peace while out at the dome with two locals, Katie and Ron (who did the first ascent of this route). It was the last try I would get that day, because of thin skin and fast the approaching blazing heat of the sun… I was far from confident of achieving success on that attempt, yet decided to give it one last attempt. It was possibly this attitude which let me achieve that state of inner peace and determined relaxation, which enabled me to successfully pull through the crux moves and then keep my cool and float through the never ending and precarious minefield of tiny knobs that eventually lead to a final powerful deadpoint near the top of the route. It was a wonderful feeling to reach the top of this route, especially when I least expected it…

Sunset on Half Dome

However, unfortunately these momentary feelings of Peace do not last long, before I am once again searching, testing myself and attempting to find what truth lies hidden deep within me. Pushing myself hard and challenging my determination against the largest and most immovable objects I can find… Attempting to decipher pathways up the faces of these stone giants somehow gives me insight into myself and provides me with a wonderful sense of freedom. Yesterday I a great day climbing Half Dome and tomorrow I will head back up to visit my old friend the Salathe once more…

Back in the USA

America, the land where everything is big… from coffee cups, to soda cans, to cars (trucks), roads and shopping malls, to the landscape itself and most importantly the rocks! In this case I guess it is true – what could possibly be better than a vertical kilometer of bombproof granite.

Yes, the time came where my stubbornness had to be put on the back burner, or rather be applied to a different purpose – my time at Arapiles had run out and the weather was not cooperating… The cold got the better of me and I had to walk away from my obsession with Punks, once again. Only for a while though… I will return soon enough with refreshed energy and psych. On my return to NZ, I had just enough time for a weekend with my dad and my first day of work as an ambassador for SPARC (Sport and Recreation NZ). This means that over the next year, through SPARC I will be available to schools throughout NZ to give talks and workshops.

Hanging out on Long Ledge once again... 900m above the valley.

Then within a week I found myself back in the States, on the Salathe Headwall. Hanging out far above Yosemite Valley with only a rope as my partner, reacquainting myself with that stunning piece of climbing… 900m of air under my feet and only one single flared crack splitting the sheer overhung granite wall. It felt so good to back in that environment, alone, exposed and responsible only for my own actions, the granite and my own strength defining my existence.

Unfortunately, I only had a couple days to enjoy freedom of climbing before heading out to Salt Lake city to experience a very different aspect of the size of this country… The summer Outdoor Retailer trade show. Four days inside a massive (several mile long) hall where every manufacturer and retailer of outdoor gear comes to meet, trade and check out the latest creations. It was crazy, a total information overload and yet kind of fun – I do not think I have ever talked so much in my life! Thanks to everyone who helped introduce me to this foreign world, and made this a positive and inspiring experience for me.

My place at the front desk of the 5.10 booth.

Now, only a week later, although it feels as though years have past since I left, I am back in Yosemite, enjoying and readjusting my pace of life to this natural environment. Trying to reacquaint myself with the intricacies of granite climbing and calm my mind. I have been escaping the heat and craziness of mid summer in the Valley for a couple weeks, taking the time to enjoy some of the Tuolumne meadows classic climbs and its alpine beauty.