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