Hatcher Pass, and Recent Alaska updates.

Alaska climbing has been full of surprises and some good climbing lately.

A few weeks ago Katie Scatena came for a surprise visit. We managed to get some rock climbing in. We did 'Classic Crack' a fun two pitch trad climb which goes a 5.8+, 5.8. The next day we made a trip up to Wookie Wall and did some fun overhanging pumpy granite climbing. I started working 'Catalyst' 5.12c, there is a direct start to this that is quite a bit harder, 13b perhaps. Katie finished up our day leading 'First Amendment'.

Now for the more serious part of the post, perhaps a follow up to Allen's earlier post about the dangers of climbing. On tuesday the 6th (?) of July. I had three friends climbing at the 'Wedge', a high alpine crag with an hour and 45 min. approach, my friend and often my partner Kelsey, and extremely competent and experienced climber was on route when a freak rock fall occurred. A large rock slammed into his chest and throat, ripping him and his belayer off the wall, and into a fifty foot tumble down scree. Kelsey was flown out helicopter with serious although non life threatening injuries, and his partner suffered a broken foot. The moral of this story I suppose is that accidents happen, even to the most experienced climbers, and it's wise to expect them every time you touch the rock. The next day, I went to rescue gear. Accidents and danger are around every corner. On the same tuesday we were heading to climb at 'Pivot Point' A fun short crag with a handful of decent routes from 5.7 to a 5.14 project. We headed up the hill towards the crag concerned about bears. I was about 15 feet in front of my partner, when a big brown shape loomed out of the brush, and started crashing towards me. Before I knew it, this animal was on top of me, and "I'm going to die" flashed through my mind. I fell over and rolled into a small ball trying to protect my head. It was only from the ground that I realized moose hooves were crashing on either side of me. I started screaming "Run Hannah, Run!" Hannah made it to a tree as the moose saw her and went after her, giving me a second or two to regain my feet and dash to the tree. I climbed into the tree as the moose charged us again, and again. The last time I saw her coming from 50 feet away, I had no way to attack back except my voice, which I used. the moose finally backed off. Had I had a firearm or mace, I would have used it.

I've been doing some other climbing. I've had two beautiful days in Hatcher Pass with one overcast one. I've lead some fun trad lines, two pitches of 'Toto' 5.8, 5.7, 'The Slot' 5.7, were two of the best although I did a "sport" 10a that required gear and runouts as well as a 5.7 that required several 30+ foot runouts between bolts. I've also managed to get some bouldering in at the pass. Including some repeat ascents: 'Indian Head Arete' V2, and unknown V5 on the same boulder, and yesterday a FA on a 20 ft V1 we named 'Nuptial Ball'.

Summer at the Red

Red River Gorge in the summertime is not for the faint of heart. The stifling humidity and sweltering heat provide a one-two punch capable of deflating even the most adventurous soul into a sweaty mass of whining and complacency. The bugs bite, the snakes lurk, and bears come lumbering around in an effort to drive the masses back to their backyard barbeques and air conditioned lifestyles. The local flora, even, aides the fauna in their attack upon trespassers. Poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak will leave you itching, stinging nettles will leave you cursing, and at every turn rhododendron fields make movement laborious and claustrophobic. Still around? The indigenous people of the 3rd poorest county in the nation will steal the lint out of your pockets should you turn your head for a second.

For those who choose adventure over comfort, however, the memories of those two low humidity days, the trips into lexington for liquor, and that(those) near death experience(s), are more valuable and enduring than the bugbites, sunburn, or hangovers. The Red in the summertime can be grueling, but the experiences are authentic, lasting, and worth the steep price of admission.

This past weekend, for me, was a reminder of these truths I learned last summer. My Thursday-Sunday trip was rich with stories of sketchy offroading, rainy day crag hunting, a keg of Newcastle with the Miguel’s crew (including the man himself), and excellent climbing. Did I send anything of note? Absolutely not. Didn’t matter at all. A bottle of Ale-8, a good slice of pie, and a group of friends to sharing stories. The good life.

Red River Gorge Bouldering

Part of my last weekend was spent cleaning/poaching boulder problems on Natural Bridge property at the Red. Mark Osbourne, however, informed me that should I get caught by the rangers, its a $250 dollar fine and they will confiscate my gear. Dilemmas...

This boulder problem is on the road easement and is thusly fair game

Table Top v3 from Allen Chaney on Vimeo.

This is Matt Rupp at Friction Slab boulder.

"Black Fly" - Boone, NC

Black Fly from Allen Chaney on Vimeo.

Climbing Is Dangerous

This may seem like an obvious statement, but scaling large rock faces can pose significant health risks to its participants. Somehow, though, this seems to be a point of fact lost on the mass migration of gym rats from plastic to rock. Yes, you can climb v8 problems in your gym, but can you thread a rope through a gri-gri correctly? Can you keep your hand on the brake rope? Can you clean a route then rappel from the anchors? When it comes down to it, there is no substitute for experience outside climbing, but hubris has prevented the new generation of climbers from asking the right questions, and learning from the dirty old veterans. There are reasons they were able to survive the climbing lifestyle.

Dungeon Roof (Hwy 221)

Dungeon Roof (Hwy 221) from Allen Chaney on Vimeo.

February Climbing

Alaska isn't known for it's winter rock climbing, but none the less, with current temps in the high 30's to mid 40's, we decided a climbing trip was in order! We drove about an hour and 45 mins north of Anchorage to Puritan Wall. This wall is close to the road which makes a snowy approach. After a failed attempt at driving off road to a camping spot, which quickly turned into a truck rescue, as we dug out of a snow bank, we got up to the wall. we set up a one bolt belay about 20 feet off the deck, we didn't get climbing until it was dark. Kyle quickly (and intentionally) kicked a large rock of the ledge, as it was threatening anyone on the ground. By headlamp, Kyle led a 5.10a and quickly got off route, finishing on the chains for a 12a next door. he clipped three bolts on the 60 foot route. Kelsey began rope soloing aid climbing the "11b" to our left. about half way up, he discovered that Kyle's Rock had core shot his rope, meaning he had been essentially free solo aid climbing. I quickly polled his rope through and reanchored it.

After we got our fill in, and temps started to drop, we rapped to the ground, and set up camp. we huddled around a fire to keep warm and ate food, and drank some Moose's Tooth brew. Then it was bed time. Over the night, temps dropped to 0 to -5 degrees. In my -20 sleeping bag, I remained toasty.

Day two broke sunny and cold. By 10:30 or 11 it had begun to warm up, so we headed up to the wall. we top roped the climbs which we had put up the day prior, and Kyle led the "11b" which after we had all fallen at the blank slab section called solid 12a. We climbed on a core shot rope all day long. On our way back to town, we drove back a side road to look at the Ravine Lake wall, there we discovered a car that was stuck and frantically being dug out. We threw our weight into pushing and digging, to a successful rescue.

I had a great time climbing finally and am looking forward to better temps and warmer rock!