Smith Rock and the 30 for 30

During our brief stop back in Portland, Juan & I got to see a ton of friends.  We celebrated Josh's birthday with him and his family, visited Brandy and Bob, hung out with Todd & Amelia, had a barbecue at Eric & Heather's, saw Matt & Michelle at the gym, and saw the whole Stoneworks gang at Jeff's solstice party.  It was wonderful to see everyone again!

Peter and I (in the lucha libre mask I brought him from Mexico) at Eric & Heather's

Some of the gang at Jeff's:  Jeff, Jordan, Matt, Wen, Skyler, Toby, Juan, and Hui En

Then we were off for Smith Rock, which we had missed even as we traipsed all over the west.  We decided to give Juan's van a break and took my "Eggplant" down instead, which thankfully worked perfectly (after a couple jumps) after 5 months of storage!  The plan was to climb for the week leading up to Juan's birthday on the 24th, on which he'd do his 30 for 30 challenge, and climb the following weekend with friends who were going to come down to the park.

Smith climbing has a lot of unique characteristics:  the welded tuff can be rough on your fingertips, the first bolt on many routes is pretty high off the ground, and cruxes come low on a lot of routes, and the climbing is largely vertical and technical.  So we wanted to devote some time to re-acquainting ourselves with Smith climbing before Juan attempted his big feat.  That week we climbed most of the 30 routes on his list, and left our quickdraws hanging on the hardest ones (the 5.11's and 12's) to make things easier on the big day.  Thanks to Toby & Todd for letting us borrow your draws too!

On Sunday we ran into Juan's friend Zack, who used to work at Nike, and his friends from Portland, Matt, Ellie, and Joe (it was so weird for me to talk to "Ellie and Joe" and not be talking to my siblings!).  They were a really cool group and we ended up camping together and making s'mores around the campfire that night.  That first day back, Juan & I also each scored a redpoint, him on the start of Five Easy Pieces (12a), which he had only tried a long time before, and me on the start of Heinous Cling (12a), a route I'd toproped last year but didn't have the guts to lead back then.  It was so sweet to come back to Smith feeling much stronger and more confident after our big road trip.  When we were at Heinous, we met (re-met?) a couple, Aimee and Kyle, and while talking, learned that they were the ones who wrote the big article about El Chonta in Climbing magazine that had been a big part of our inspiration to go there!

On Monday morning we were joined by the lovely Amanda, a good friend and former Stoneworks-er now living with her husband Adam in Bend.  We chased the shade over to the Llama Wall, and after she had to take off Juan and I continued over to Phoenix and the main area to knock some more climbs off the list.  Amanda had kindly invited us to hang out at her place the next day, which was a rest day for us, so we did, and she made us an amazing dinner of spinach salad, burgers, and sweet potato fries, preceded by her famous avocado smoothies.  What a treat!

Amanda leads Time to Shower (5.8) to warm up

Sunset on the way to camp

Wednesday we started the climbing day right with a delicious peanut butter milkshake from the Sun Spot in Terrebonne.  That day we also had some great sends!  Juan redpointed Latin Lover (12a) on his 1st go that day.  It was the only route on his birthday list he hadn't done previously, and was notoriously technical, so he wanted to get it dialed as much as possible before the big day.  And I sent Heresy (11c), a short, bouldery, extremely fun route that once again I'd TR'd last year but only now felt confident enough to do on the sharp end.

Me catching some air on an earlier attempt of Heresy (11c) (photo by Zack)

Thursday was our final rest day before Juan's birthday challenge, and we spent it relaxing at the Grasslands, hiking over Asterisk Pass (not very restful, haha) to stash the gear we'd need to climb the multi-pitch Wherever I May Roam on Friday, and stocking up on beer for the post-birthday bash.  That night Andrew Perman, our friend from Stoneworks and the Designated Birthday Videographer, rolled into camp, and we all enjoyed a pasta dinner cooked on the fire.  Not far behind him were another 4 members of Juan's support crew - Jordan, Charlie, Skyler, and Wen.  We hadn't known until recently that all these guys were going to be able to come out, and it was so awesome to see them there!  The energy and excitement was building all around, we could hardly wait!  With difficulty we forced ourselves to go to bed early to be ready for the big day...

I'll let Juan take over from here.

Marie




The evening of June 23rd after retiring to our tent, I could hardly fall asleep with all the anticipation of the next day's birthday challenge.  As i lay in my sleeping bag, i began recounting the the final order of the routes we had chosen and thought about the great challenge that lay less than 6 hours ahead of me.  Marie must have been doing a little of the same because she began talking to me about routes in her sleep.  After a while, i began my usual routine of counting sheep and after about 500 or so my mind reluctantly let me fall into a sort of half sleep.

At 3:00am, Marie's alarm woke us up and 5 minutes later our back-up alarms were making sure we hadn't fallen back asleep.  We dug out warm clothes from the bottoms or our sleeping bags, got dressed, and stepped out into the dark early morning.

Aware that it was super early and the entire campground was still asleep, Marie and I decided it would be more polite to cook up our game-day breakfast at the Smith Rock parking lot so as not to wake everyone up with our excitement.  We helped our friend Andrew get his camera gear packed in the van and a few minutes later, we were on our way to the park.

Of course we were the only ones in the entire park at that hour so we had first pick of parking spaces.  The park didn't officially open until 5am so technically we were trespassing, but we didn't really think anyone would mind.  We continued unloading our grill and supplies from the van and after a few minutes, we were enjoying a hearty breakfast of fried eggs over hard, with cheese and salsa with sliced avocados, and sides of toast.  Andrew was getting his camera gear ready in between bits of blueberry pound cake and a no cook breakfast of yogurt and bars.

The Early Bird Special :)

At 4:30am there was enough twilight in the sky to safely hike down the trail into the park.  We crossed the bridge over the Crooked River, hung a left, and walked excitedly towards the Western Ship face to start the first 3 routes, Purple-Headed Warrior 5.7, Phone Call From Satan 5.9, and Caffeine Free 5.10.  We laid out the rope, put on our harnesses, I tied on my rock shoes, clipped my chalk bag, racked quickdraws evenly on my gear loops, and Andrew got in position to start filming.  At exactly 4:55am, June 24th, 2011, my feet left the ground one at a time and pasted themselves to the first of 30 routes to be completed on my 30th birthday. 

By the time i got done with the first 2 routes, as I was tying in to do the 3rd, the cavalry had arrived.  Jordan, Skyler, Wen, and Charlie were making their way up the trail to join in the early morning celebration.  After making quick work of the 3rd warm up, we left our gear near the base of the warm-ups and started up the short but steep hike into the Aggro Gully.  Here was the first of the hard routes on the list and one of my favorites for the grade.  Toxic 5.11c, is a short but really fun overhung route that has the option of doing a very dynamic move mid-route.  Even though the route is short, it feels super exposed as its position is at the very edge of the Aggro Gully where the ground drops off some 50ft. below the start. 

After Toxic, we headed to the Overboard wall where I quickly dispatched with Magic Light 5.11a, and then we were off to the Dihedrals for the first of the 2 hardest routes on the list.  Latin Lover 5.12a, is the only route on the list that I hadn't done at least a handful of times before.  Earlier in the week I had blown the on-sight near the top of the route and just barely managed to redpoint the route a couple of days later.  I kept the route on the list as an added personal challenge.  The route is somewhat short, vertical, and consists of mostly small marble-sized holds and the occasional incut crimps for hands and feet.  There is a section near the middle where I needed to use a mono-hole (small hole big enough to fit only one digit) and up higher almost near the anchors a terrible pinch that consisted of a small shallow pocket for my middle finger and a sliver of rock for my thumb.  I mis-read the route near the middle and took my first and only fall of the day.  I was able to complete the route after the one fall, lowered off the anchors and walked a short way to the 2nd of the hardest routes on the list.

Juan heads up Magic Light, route #4 out of 30

The next route on the list was Heinous Cling 5.12a R ("R" stands for run-out, which is long sections in the route without protection).  Even though it gets an R rating, the route is a classic for the grade at Smith and because the holds and movement on it are so fun it was an automatic addition to the list.

Heresy 5.11c was the last of the hard routes to go down on the list.  After completing 3 warmups and the 5 hardest routes of the Dirty 30, we realized that we were WAY ahead of schedule having completed all 8 in 2.5 hours including hiking time.  8 routes in 2.5 hours!!  More often, Marie and I climb no more than 8 routes in an entire day.  Needless to say, I was in super high spirits and feeling very excited about the possibility of completing all 30 routes in one day.

After a few minutes rest, Marie and I stashed the current gear and packs we had in a notch near Heresy, and with Andrew already ahead of us, started up Asterisk Pass to gain quick access to the back side of Smith where we would start a 5-pitch route called Wherever I May Roam 5.9.  Once at the start of the first pitch, I retrieved the gear stashed the previous day near the trail, tied into one end of the rope, and shot up the first pitch of the route at 8:00am.  Once at the top, I anchored in, put Marie on belay, and brought her up to the anchors with me so we could began shimmy-ing our way up the next 4 pitches.  It happened that a team of 2 was already ahead of us by 1 pitch on the route, but as luck would have it, they were extremely fast and there was no hold-up on any of the pitches. Andrew filmed this route from various places on the ground and Asterisk Pass, and Marie wore a helmet cam to catch some video en route.  A little over an hour later, Marie and I were enjoying granola bars some 400 feet or so above Smith Rock looking down on the park, river, and surrounding farms.  After 4 quick simul-rappels we had completed our 5-pitch route in exactly 2 hours.  10:00am, 13 routes down, 17 to go...

Summit shot atop Wherever I May Roam

Still way ahead of schedule, we crossed back over Asterisk Pass to the front side and headed for the Phoenix Wall to meet back up with our friends.  Another Stoneworks friend, Hui En, had joined the crew and was awaiting our arrival.  At this time, the Phoenix Wall was still in the sun and being so ahead of schedule, we decided to break for lunch and just hang out and get some rest.  Afterwards, I took down four routes, Drill Em' and Fill Em' 5.10a, JT's Route 5.10b, Hissing Llamas 5.8, and Phoenix 5.10a.

At this point I was more than halfway done.  The rest of the routes were all in the sun still, so we posted up near the next set and took a little afternoon nap.  A short while after, I was back on the rock at the Testament Slab where I did routes 18 and 19, Irreverence 5.10a and Revelations 5.9.

The previous day Marie and I made T-shirts for ourselves that sported the words Dirty 30 in cool graffitti font on the front.  On the back of mine, I had 30 check boxes and a blank line next to each for writing in and checking off each completed route.  Marie's had Chief Belayer in bold block letters on the back.  By the time I had 20 routes completed, word had spread around the park that there was a birthday challenge in effect, and strangers from all over would congratulate us, wish me happy birthday, or call out from far below to our crew to find out what number I was on.  Even though physically I was feeling great, I knew that mentally I was starting to fatigue a bit and my friends, especially Jordan, were always ready to double-check that I had tied in correctly and making sure that I had enough to eat to stay sharp, and Marie was on me constantly about staying hydrated with water and Gatorade.

Working on the Dirty 30 shirts the previous day

The next four routes went very quickly despite the crowd of people in the area, as the routes there are fun, easy, and especially kind to beginners.  I did Lichen It 5.8 and Ginger Snap 5.8 on the far right side of the Dihedrals, and No Golf Shoes 5.10c and Snuffy Smith 5.9 in the Fourth Horseman area.

Somewhere around 4:00pm, we made it back to Morning Glory wall.  After doing 1 of 3 routes, 5 Gallon Buckets 5.9, our friend Charlie headed back to camp early to start cooking his amazing fish taco dinner extravaganza.  I finished up the other 2 routes, The Outsiders 5.9, and Light on the Path 5.10a, and headed back to the Overboard area to do one route, 9 Gallon Buckets 5.10c.

Juan rapping off the Morning Glory Wall (it wasn't quite as dark as it appears)

Gettin' close!

We packed up our gear and headed towards the entrance of the park to do the final 3 routes of the day.  We stopped at the Shipwreck Wall to do Time to Shower 5.8.  Just as I was tied in and about to climb, Matt and Michelle from Stoneworks came sneaking around the corner with a big bottle of celebratory champagne ready to spray the entire crew down in a big hurrah of bubbly goodness.  Since I wasn't quite done yet, we got them to spare the cork and they left the bottle with us while Matt ran up the trail to finish up a couple projects.  I finished the route and walked towards the entrance of the park, seeing the footbridge that crossed over the Crooked River for the first time since 4:30 that morning.  We did a quick 2-minute switchback hike to the base of the Picnic Lunch Wall, where I would do the final 2 routes and complete the Dirty 30.

A few minutes before 7:00pm, I was tied in and cruising slowly up golf ball sized pebbles to the anchors of Teddy Bear's Picnic 5.10.  People we had seen through out the day were on their way out of the park and we heard occasional cheers and encouragement from the hikers and climbers alike.  When I was tying in for the last route of the day, I was so happy to have met the challenge head on, in great shape, and high spirits on what I can only describe as one of the best days of my entire life.  I found myself in a beautiful crag against an amazing sunset, climbing my favorite routes, with my girlfriend, surrounded by friends I love to climb with, some of whom i've known for a short time and some of whom i've known for over 10 years, on the day marking the end of a decade and the start of a new one, and starting up the final route of the day it was all I could do to keep a little pain water from leaking out the corners of my face.

And, on June 24th, 2011, my 30th birthday, at 7:15pm I was done with the last route on the Dirty 30 list, Honeypot 5.9.  After hugs from everyone, Jordan Disko popped the cork and sprayed me down with Matt and Michelle's bottle.  A tiring hike up to the parking lot led to a cold water splash-down at the park faucet, and we were off to eat a delicious dinner provided by Charlie back at Skull Hollow campground.

Charlie whipping up a gourmet camp dinner for all

Once dinner was ready, I ate somewhere around 8 of the most delicious fish tacos ever cooked up by man, 2 pieces of German chocolate cake, one and a half bottles of Monkey Face Porter, plus mounds of chips and salsa.  One cigar later, I found myself with everyone, sharing stories around the campfire.  Our friend Toby had made it to camp late with his climbing partner Dave Boltz, as did Giacomo and his mother Emily, and even a surprise visit from a girl named Megan whom we had met at the very beginning of our trip in Mexico.  Jordan played a little banjo music under conversations and somewhere along the night, I finally crashed into my sleeping bag.  Babies don't sleep this good...  P.S. You can find more photos by Skyler from the big day here.

The next day was a slow one for me.  Even though I got up with everyone, i was last to leave the campground.  I was not climbing at all but packed a small bag with food and my harness in case anyone desperately needed a belay and couldn't wait for someone else.  I met up early on in the day with my friends Eric and Jessi and their friend Art over by Latin Lover to give Eric back a Gri-Gri he had loaned us 2 days before and to catch up with them on the goin's on.  Jessi we had seen back in April at Red Rocks, but I hadn't seen Eric since I left back in January.  After a while i caught back up with Marie, Giacomo, Matt, Michelle, Wen, and Andrew back up the Aggro Gully to watch everyone having fun on Toxic, and to watch Matt crush 5.13's on Smith Rock's hardest wall.  Marie got herself a brave redpoint on Up For Grabs 5.11d, and Michelle scored a redpoint on Toxic 5.11c.

Matt cruises up Karate Crack (5.10a trad), which he followed with a pitch called Crossfire (5.12b) above it.

As the day came to an end, I ran into Amy Benton, who was my physical therapist after my motorcycle accident 8 months ago.  She was climbing with her husband Matt, and their friend Geoff, and what do you know, she was 5 months pregnant.  A lot happens when you're gone for 6 months i guess.  We ended the day scarfing down large piles of food at the Terrebonne Depot and headed back to camp succumbing to food comas and exhaustion.

Juan, Marie, Emily, Giacomo, Michelle, and Matt at the Terrebonne Depot

Sunday morning was our last day at Smith before heading back to Portland and officially ending our road trip.  Marie gave her project, 5 Easy Pieces, a couple goes and retrieved her fixed draws.  The route still remains a project for her at the moment.  An old college friend, Daniel Jones, recognized her on the wall and stopped to say hi and catch up.  Unfortunately he had to make his way back to Seattle and didn't get to climb with us, but his friend Darron was able to stay a little longer and joined us for some fun climbing on the Mesa Verde wall.    Eric and Jessi caught up with us and climbed a few routes before heading back over to the front side to work some other projects. 

Darron had to get moving back to Seattle and parted ways with us as well, and Marie and I headed up trail to Monkey Face to meet Matt and Michelle, Giacomo and his mom, and maybe try a hand at the infamous route Spank the Monkey 5.12R. 

Once at the Monkey, I saw that Matt, of course, had already finished the route and upon close inspection (I had never seen the route before), i practically wet myself with fear.  The route ascends the NE corner of the pillar, switching back and forth over the arete from the north to the east face for about 85 feet.  There are only 7 bolts to protect in 85 feet and 3 of them are close together in the beginning.  There is a space of about 10 to 12 feet of unprotected climbing in between the remaining bolts, which could give you a fall of about 25 feet or so if you blow the clips near the top.  Needless to say, it's a route that takes some guts.  But, with Matt on the belay and full of beta from having recently cruised the route, I was encouraged to try it on lead.  I'm so glad I did, because I was able to send the route on my 2nd try and it instantly became my favorite route at Smith of all time, hands down, no competition, without a doubt!  A great adversary with a stellar reward, a killer view, and a sequence to remember forever is what you will have if you get a chance to do this route.  In fact, it was so good, when we got back to the front side, I talked my friend Eric into doing the miserable hike back up and over just so he could try the route as well, and he had the same opinion.  I'm really stoked that Matt suggested this route!

Spankin' the Monkey

 After Eric's attempt on Spank the Monkey (his new project!), we hiked back up and over the front side, met up with Marie (who'd been climbing at the Red Wall with Michelle) and Eric's friend Greg and headed up and out to the parking lot.  Our trip was officially over.  We hugged our friends, said our goodbyes and keeping tradition, headed to Juniper Junction to have ice cream cones, 2 scoops each, before driving 3 hours back to Portland.

After 5 1/2 months of being on the road it's nice to be home again with friends and doing familiar things.  Throughout the trip we've gotten to meet many amazing people, done incredible things, and climbed in spectacular places but in certain ways it can't compare to climbing at our home crags and being in the company of our local friends.  On the trip, there were so many people that treated us kindly and added to our unique experience and we hope that in the future if they come through our Portland we are able to do the same by showing them around this great city and taking them out to our awesome climbing spots.  Thanks to everyone that encouraged us along the way and to our families for their kindness and endless generosity during our stays with them.

We've constantly been reminded of how small the climbing world is during our trip and look forward to running into everyone again in the future. 

Love,
Juan and Marie

Back Home(s)

Time for a flash post from Portland!  After a loooong drive we made it back safe & sound Wednesday night, and here's what we've been up to since our last post, in 1000 words or less:

As I mentioned in our last post, we got a chance to check out the climbing at Poudre Canyon with Le last Wednesday, at a spot called the Upper Echelon - a beautiful, flat, slightly overhung granite wall.  We all were climbing strong - I got my hardest onsight yet on a route called Tamed Donkeys (11d/12a), Le hopped on the send train and got it as well, and Juan onsighted a fun 12a called O.D.K. with a bouldery start, a dyno, and an armbar all in one route.  Le had to run, and then as I was working O.D.K. and Juan a 12c nearby, it started pouring!  Our draws were up on both routes, and since the wall became a little slabby up top, we were afraid it would start getting wet.  Juan managed to clean his whole route but I was exhausted and with thunder and lightning starting to sound, we decided to hike out and come back for my draws (and hopefully some redpoints!) the next day.

Me on O.D.K. at the Upper Echelon, Poudre Canyon

All that evening it poured, and we witnessed the most insane hailstorm we'd ever seen from the comfort of my dad's doorway.  Unfortunately, the next day was wet too so going back to Poudre was out.  We chilled at home and watched movies instead.

The hail turned to rain, which formed rivers through the inches of hail

Friday was our last chance to go back and get the draws because we planned to head out to Rifle that weekend, so luckily it was a sunny and dry day.  I warmed up and made a somewhat meager redpoint attempt, cleaned my draws, and we were outta there.  But before we left town we had to visit my sister Elly at the restaurant where she waitresses, a western grill.  Of course we donned our best cowboy attire for the occasion :)

Elly, second from left, attempts to conceal her embarrassment.  Yes, that is a stick horse in my hand.

After dinner with Elly, Juan & I headed down to Denver International Airport to pick up our buddy Todd from Portland, flown in just in time for our last weekend in Colorado and eager to climb outside after a rainy Oregon winter and a finger injury had caused him some cabin fever.  The next morning we drove ~3 hours west to Rifle, Colorado, and met up with our friends Adam & Ali, Wes, Diesel, and Courtney.  We had a great weekend climbing there, throwing ourselves at crazy difficult routes on the Meat Wall, Project Wall, The Arsenal, and The Anti-Phil Wall. 

The dynamic duo is re-united

We'd heard about Rifle's reputation for hard climbing, and it was no joke.  The steep limestone is at times glassy, and you never get to just grab a hold and pull down on it to move up - it's always side-pulls, pinches, underclings, and gastons, so that by the end of the day muscles you didn't know you had in your back and shoulders are screaming for mercy.  Many of the routes were very beta-intensive too, but lucky for us, Adam and Diesel had been there before and gave us all the pointers we needed.  We all got on some great routes.  Juan sent a 12b called Lost & Found and projected a really cool 12d called Debaser.  Todd worked his way up anything and everything we put up, an impressive showing for someone who hadn't climbed outside in quite a while, and by the end was leading a tricky 11 on the Anti-Phil wall that involved a lot of big moves between holds.  I bagged a few 11's, including an awesome 11c, Jail Bait that had a cool lieback up top.  In the evenings we hung out around the campfire, telling stories, drinking river-cooled beers, and chowing down on delicious grub like Juan & my famous Reese's Cup S'mores.  It was a great weekend and when we dropped Todd off at the airport, we knew this time we wouldn't have to wait many moons to see him again!

Todd proves that you simply climb better in a Stoneworks t-shirt, on an unknown 11 on the Anti-Phil Wall.

Juan on Debaser (12d) at The Arsenal

Me on Fist Full of Dollars (11c) on the Project Wall

The Bags of Dirt relax at camp after a long day of climbing

After a raucous last night at the Brophy house in Fort Collins (involving "extreme couponing" at Ben & Jerry's, Jenga, beer pong, slapcup, and National Lampoon's Vacation), Juan and I set out on the 20-hour drive back to Oregon.  We only had to replace one tire on the way (lost a hunk of tread somewhere near Twin Falls, ID) and arrived back in one piece to Casa de Todd y Amelia, where we're staying for a few days.  The last couple days have been full of catching up with friends, talking to the temp agency about work, making living arrangements (Juan back with his friend Bob in North Portland and me in a sublet I found in a fun area of NE), etc.

The college kids (Elly and her boyfriend Kellan) show us how it's done

Juan did pretty well for his first time playing beer pong!

Tomorrow we head out to Smith to climb and get revved up for Juan's 30 for 30 birthday challenge, to happen next Friday, June 24th!  Wish him luck!  We'll be seeing some of you out there :)

Peace OUT!

Marie

Separate Ways

Ahhhh!!  We are so behind on our blog.  The last two and a half weeks have been completely packed, with the big photo shoot, family, friends, and great climbing.

After climbing at Dierke's Lake, Juan & I headed up to Boise on Monday for a night, to shower, go out for some drinks, and break up our drive.  Juan found a spot called the Red Feather Lounge, and we lucked out by having a really cool bartender who was into climbing and was planning a trip to Smith soon!  We talked with him a lot and gave him all the local beta, and in thanks he comped us a round of delicious cocktails.  The next day we drove about an hour and a half to the no-stoplight town of Jordan Valley just over the Oregon state line, where we were to meet up with the Vibram crew for the photo shoot.  That afternoon their cars rolled in:  Mark & Chantelle, the husband & wife casting/photo team, and their assistant Sam(antha) from Portland; Georgia, Jon, and P.J. (the third model) from Vibram's Boston offices; and Rafaela and Irene from Vibram Italy.  We were so excited to meet everyone after all the anticipation and planning of the last few weeks!

After getting a bite at the JV Cafe, I was handed a trail-running type outfit and a pair of Vibram FiveFingers to change into, and we set off for our first shoot!  We left our van in Jordan Valley, as it would not be able to handle the off-roading, and carpooled in an SUV and a truck.  The first shots we did were of me looking over the edge of a beautiful gorge on our way to where we were going to camp for the night.  Thirty miles of rugged dirt roads and a few river crossings later, we'd arrived at our first campsite, the Three Forks site along the Owyhee River.  Our jaws dropped when we saw the river canyon, and Chantelle pointed out some beautiful waterfalls flowing into the Owyhee on the other side, saying we'd be doing a lot of shooting there the next day.  And, wait for it...those waterfalls flowed from hot springs!  So basically we were gonna be playing in hot springs in a stunning, remote river canyon, getting our pictures taken, and getting paid for it.  Best.  Job.  Ever!!!!

One of several river crossings on our way

Stunning view over the Owyhee

View of the hot springs across the Owyhee Canyon

The next couple days were a blast.  As the cameras snapped away, we kayaked across the river, hiked the hot springs, swam under waterfalls, cliff-dove into the freezing Owyhee River (Juan), and chilled around the camp.  The down time was fun too, especially with Chantelle's delicious homemade cooking (sample dinner menu:  vegetarian chili with cornbread, spinach/onion/roasted hazelnut salad, and strawberry-rhubarb pie), free flowing alcohol (she even brought everyone margaritas in our tents when the weather was stormy the second night!), and a really interesting group of people with amazing stories to tell.

Our tent village

Getting ready for the first day's shoot:  (l-r) me, P.J., Sam, Georgia, Jon, and Rafaela

Mark shoots Juan under a waterfall

The third day after getting some morning-light shots, we packed up the gear and set off for our next location.  However, since it had poured the night before, the already steep, rocky roads were now extremely muddy.  We fishtailed left and right the entire way out, and were all white-knuckled a couple times, bracing ourselves as the car veered dangerously close to cows and ditches on the side of the road.  It was an impressive feat that both Chantelle and Mark managed to get us all out of there unscathed!  The cars looked like they had just been mud-wrestling.  We dropped off the Boston/Italy crew in Jordan Valley, as they had flights to catch out of Boise, and drove out to a place called Leslie Gulch.

Juan & I were so pumped when we learned we were going to get to visit, and possibly climb at, Leslie Gulch as part of this job.  Back at Dierke's Lake, local legend Dave Bingham had sung its praise and implored us to go there when we were in the area.  Sure enough, when we got there and saw all the volcanic tuff rising out of grassy hillsides like castles, we felt strangely at home.  The area reminded us of our home crag, Smith Rock, but had its own unique features too.  The tuff had more huecos, with many entire walls full of them, and many free-standing spires and pinnacles of all shapes and sizes.

We didn't end up climbing in Leslie Gulch, but we had a great time hiking, scrambling, and chimneying our way around.  We set up a long slackline between two huge boulders and Mark got some great shots of us walking it (as well as falling off!).  He also took some fun ones of us goofing around the campsite, with Juan slinging me over his shoulder and running off, me doing handstands, etc.  We enjoyed a last dinner and wine with our fellow Portlanders before heading our separate ways the next day.

Mark getting a worm's-eye view

Juan hiking in Leslie Gulch

If I were a photographer, I would want Sam as my assistant!

It was such a privilege to be able to work with such a professional yet fun group of people in such incredible locations we might never otherwise see.  Without a doubt, the funnest job we'd ever done.  Thank you to all the Vibram crew, Mark, Chantelle, and Sam, and perhaps most of all Juan's good friend Jackie back in Portland who alerted us to the casting call for this job!

After hugs and goodbyes, we headed back to Boise.  I showered, for the benefit of my family, who hadn't smelled seen me in a while, and we got our "leaving-town" ice cream at Ben & Jerry's.  Then Juan dropped me off at the airport to go to my brother's graduation in Ohio, and he started the long drive to Colorado.

Memorial Day weekend, for me, involved a refreshing dose of family (my dad, brother Joe, sisters Elly & Kate, bro-in-law Rob, niece Adira, grandma, and Aunt Paula) and food (barbecues and pizza, mostly!).  Joe has finally finished at Oberlin College - congratulations JoeBro!!!  He was involved in many different activities on campus, and we got to experience a lot of them with him that weekend, including break-dancing, swing-dancing, soccer, cooking pizzas both at the Kosher/Halal co-op on campus and at Magpie Pizza where he worked, and more.  A major highlight was seeing Adira walk (she just started a couple weeks prior)...she is a bundle of joy!  The graduation ceremony itself was long, as they all are, but we got to play with "Diri" the whole time, so no complaints.

Out for pizza at Magpie (l-r Joe, Elly, me, Dad, Aunt Paula, & Nana)

Joe busts a move with a young fan after his hip-hop show

Rob, Adira, and Kate at Joe's place in Ohio

Adira walks with her grandpa!

Playing with Adira at the graduation ceremony

I flew back to Colorado with my family, then spent a day and a half with Juan, Adam, & Ali in Denver (he'll tell you about all that) before re-joining the fam in Fort Collins.  Kate & Diri visited for a few days after the graduation before heading back to St. Louis.  We kept busy:  we brought Diri and our dog Gabe to every park or playground in a 5-mile radius of the house, I worked on continuing my mom's scrapbooks (it was her passion and she was unable to finish them when she was sick last year), filing my taxes (I got an extension) and just relaxing with my siblings.

Joe & Diri at the playground

On Saturday, I went bouldering at nearby Horsetooth Reservoir with my friend Le, a local I met at Inner Strength climbing gym last year.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and not crowded.  No big sends for me - the fun Punk Rock Traverse (V5) remains a project for now, though I am really close to getting it.  If you plan on visiting the area, check out the awesome free guidebooks available from the Northern Colorado Climber's Coalition.

Le on Corner Lunge on the Eliminator Boulder

Me on Curving Crack

That night, the doorbell rang and it was Juan!  He arrived just in time to chow down on homemade Muddy Buddies and watch a movie, and gave me an excuse to postpone finishing my taxes :)  On Sunday we took Diri and Gabe on a hike down to the water at Horsetooth, brought Diri to a petting zoo/farm, Joe cooked us all pizza (YUM!), Kate & I made a chocolate cake, and we had a family party.  The party was a combined celebration (in the traditional Brophy style!) of Joe's graduation, my (belated) birthday, Kate's birthday (June 14th), and Father's Day.  Juan also gave the van some much-needed TLC:  a wash, an oil change, and a thorough vacuuming.

On Monday, after bringing Kate & Adira to the airport, Juan, Joe, Elly, & I went out for ice cream and a stroll in downtown Fort Collins, then met my dad for beers and pool at Old Chicago before coming home for more beers, "Wedding Crashers", and pool - I think the score was as follows:  Juan 2, my dad 1, Joe 0.  Impressive, as my dad is quite the pool shark!

Hike at Horsetooth

At my dad's

On Tuesday, Juan, Joe, Elly, and I slid down just about every slide at Water World and it was the best rest-day activity I can imagine for a 90-degree day :)  One of our favorites was The Revolution, which Juan described as "being flushed down a giant toilet bowl".  On Wednesday we went out to climb with Le at the Upper Echelon wall in the Poudre Canyon (details in our next post), and we are so psyched for the weekend, when our friend Todd is flying in from Portland to visit!

Till next time,
Marie




After dropping Marie off at the airport in Boise, I started the long drive to Ft. Collins. The plan was to get there and hang around until Marie got back in a few days from her brother's graduation and continue climbing.

A few miles after I had crossed into Wyoming I got a call from my buddy Adam, who lives in Denver with his girlfriend Ali. I thought I might be able to meet up with him for some limestone climbing in Ten Sleep but it turned out there was a bad weather system moving through.  Instead he offered me a spot in his friend Jaime's Element and a chance to go climbing with them in Penitente, located in south central Colorado, and then onto New Mexico before heading back to Denver. The only problem? They were leaving the following morning around 7a.m. The GPS gave an ETA of 3:30 a.m. from where I was at the time of the phone call, and Denver was still a good hour away farther south than Ft. Collins. Well, I should have expected this. The last few times I've met up with Adam, they've all been on the heels of other climbing trips involving heinous back-to-back travel times to meet up and climb. There was the time I got off the plane in Portland from Colombia only to get in the car a few hours later the same day and drive to Wyoming for a weekend of climbing in Ten Sleep. Or the time Marie and I got off the plane in Las Vegas and got in the car for a drive to Tucson to climb with Adam in Mt. Lemmon. But, climbing with Adam and his friends is always a guaranteed good time, on great rock, and lots of laughs, not to mention the chance you'll get your picture taken by one of the best photographers in the biz.

After waking up from a 3 hour nap at a rest stop, I reached Ft. Collins in 2 hours, dropped off some of Marie's things at her father's house, grabbed some lunch meat and snacks from the fridge to keep me awake, and 15 minutes later I was on my way to Denver, nerves shot and bleary eyed to meet up with Adam and Jaime for the 4 hour drive to Penitente.

Los Hermanos de la Weenie Way, Jaime and Adam

If your preferred style of climbing involves caves, or steep terrain, mini-jugs, and bucket holds, then Penitente will beat you down harder than a Chuck Norris ground-n-pound. However, if you like vertical climbing on mega technical terrain, with shallow crimp pockets and forced sequences with the occasional flake or blank slab to lure you into more menacing terrain, then this is your palace. The canyon is made up of two sides of welded tuff boulders ranging from 40 to 60 foot routes all containing the previously mentioned terrain. The climbing is tough on the tendons and relentless on the mind as you drag your belly up hold-your-breath sequences to the anchors. I still managed to walk away with a few decent sends on some really beautiful lines like Sister of Mercy 12b, Los Hermanos de la Weenie Way 11c, Rocket Man 11c, Not My Cross to Bare 11a, and Dazed and Confused 12a. You can read and see more pictures about this peculiar canyon in Adam's blog here.


On our third morning at Penitente we decided to skip New Mexico due to Adam's finger injury on Sister of Mercy. We hung around to watch Brett "Diesel" Merlin make an epic send of one of Penitente's most proud lines and pure lines, Bullet the Blue Sky 12c (sandbagged).

Adam on Sister of Mercy, the route that did his finger in.

Back in Denver I had a couple days of rest playing with Adam's dog Hank and meeting other kids in Adam's Colorado crew. We went out to have a few drinks in different local spots around town, including dangerously delicious Moscow Mules served in cold copper mugs at the Providence Tavern and plenty of good store-bought beers enjoyed cold down by the Platte river, where Hank would dive in the water and retrieve anything you tossed in. It was at the Platte that I got inspired to do a little "urban climbing" after scoping out a neat line across the river by way of a curved I-beam that supported an overpass. After closely inspecting the intended route, we agreed to come back another day so Adam could photograph it.

On Tuesday I picked up Marie from the airport in Denver. She was supposed to head straight to Ft. Collins with her family and I would catch back up on Thursday, but as bad luck would have it, I had locked my keys in the van on Sunday and Marie had the spare. We came back to Adam's house and had a little cookout with Adam and Ali's friends and we broke out the Mole enchilada recipe for everyone to enjoy. Later that evening, moments after getting in bed, I heard Adam outside catching a couple of punks breaking into his car (for the 2nd time). I ran outside to help my friend and after a short foot chase we managed to scare the little bastards off...never a dull moment with this kid I tell ya.

Wednesday afternoon brought us to the Wall of the 90's located in Clear Creek, a conveniently large canyon with many crags located just a half hour from Adam's house. Even though he had an injured finger and was unable to climb, Adam was still a really nice host offering to take us up to one of his favorite walls and the home of one of his current projects, 10-Digit Dialing, 12c. His buddy Connan, whom I met in Penitente along with his lovely girlfriend Ashley, met up with us for some sends as well. Marie gave an impressive performance onsighting the balance-y Reefer Madness 11a, Curvaceous 11c/d, and very nearly making her first 12a onsight, Wet Dream, falling on a techy crux very near the anchors. After 3 goes, I managed to bear hug my way past the slopey crimps and clip the anchors on the physically demanding crux of 10 Digit Dialing, 12c.

Catching some air on 10-Digit Dialing

Best buddies

Wednesday involved a trip back to the airport to meet Marie's younger sister Elly and her older sister Kate and little niece Adira. Marie would be catching a ride with them back to Ft. Collins while I hung around to do a little stuntin' on the Platte River overpass the following day. After hellos and goodbyes I headed back to Adam's place for more R n' R.

Thursday was "D-Day". Around 7:30pm, Adam, Ali, Connan and I gathered under the overpass to bring our plan for free-soloing the overpass to fruition. You can read about and see pictures of our shenanigans here.

My last day of climbing involved a trip to the infamous Flatirons, huge slabs of hard-as-steel sandstone and conglomerate sandstone tilted upwards by tectonic plate action. Adam was the tour guide and with Connan and his two dogs Kaia and Fred, Adam's dog Hank, and the special guest Tina A.K.A. The Red Panda, whom Ali was watching for a co-worker all headed up the trail towards Dinosaur Mountain. Like a complete idiot, I left my camera at the house so I have no pictures to illustrate how amazing this place was, which of course is to be expected considering that Adam will only take you to top quality crags with 5 star routes and a view to match. Since this is pretty much a home crag among many for Adam, no guidebook was needed. Connan and I got on plenty of super cool overhanging routes with holds ranging from flat shaped, diagonally pointed ledges, to Red River Gorge-like pockets and huecos. Among the highlights was Touch Monkey 11b, and an onsight of The Shaft 12b.

At the end of the day we celebrated Bret "Diesel" Merlin's birthday in Boulder, bar-hopping until the birthday boy puked in the bushes of a pretty upscale hotel before calling it a night.

Saturday Adam and I forwent the Bouldering World Cup at the Teva games due to our laziness and instead spent the day at Connan's cabin building zip lines, slack-lining, and eating McFlurries. In the late afternoon, I got a ride back to Denver and started my drive back up to Ft. Collins to meet up with Marie and her family for a party on Sunday and as Marie mentioned above, a day of water sliding at Water World.

Our stay in Colorado has been a great way to bring this trip to a close. Marie has been spending a great deal of time with her family, and I've been getting no less than royal treatment touring some of Colorado's finest terrain with Adam, Ali, and their hilarious crew of Denver friends. With less than a week left in our journey I'm glad that we have been able to spend as much time as we have with friends and family and hope that we are able to return the favor the next time any of them are in town visiting us.

-Juan