Vertical Addict

Lake Louise

2008-06-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Heart Mountain

2008-06-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Mt. Indefatiguable Scramble

2008-06-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Too much snow.

More Rats Nest

2008-06-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Rats Nest Cave

2008-06-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Valley of the Sun

2007-12-23T10:56:00.001-08:00

With final exams over and a brand new set of picks it must be time to climb. Brenden, Kevin, Kyle, Ryan and I went to the north ghost on Saturday. Plans were to do THOS but we picked the Valley of the sun to avoid conversing with other parties that actually listen to SRD road closures. I’m sure the trout thank your selfless trek to and from mile marker 39. Does head shaking and finger wagging keep your ass warm?

The climb was great except the last pitch on the side at the top which was super brittle and platey so we left it alone. It’s super cool that someone decided to steal one of the two hangers of each of the two lowest rap anchors. I have dreams about the day I catch somebody stealing bolt hangers…don’t let it be YOU! ‘cause stealing hangers is so not cool.

Way to go shoulder

2007-11-30T19:32:00.001-08:00

After more than a month off climbing I finally felt like lifting my arm above my head so Chris and I went to King's Creek. Cold enough that we both got the barfies but my shoulder was feeling great.

Accidents

2007-11-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

Accidents happen all the time and they invariably always lead to injuries. A sore shoulder has started me thinking about all the injuries i've had. It seems they pile up, some never getting worse but never getting better. But where do all these injuries come from, could they be related. It's not as though i've been in some terrible accident that has scarred me for life, wait a minute... there was that time, on that mountain road

...and we slid off
and rolled a couple dozen times till we got to the bottom of the mountain.

It's not that i forgot it's that we all walked away (sans seatbelts). I had a cut lip, no big deal. Then there was that time i t-boned an aerostar full of natives in my pickup at 80.

I have a sore neck. All the time, especially when i have to look up. So I don't look up. Now I find out I have a winged scapula. Sounds super cool I know, but its not. The PT i'm seeing says that my rhomboid and serratus aren't strong enough so i'm supposed to do stupid arm lifts to try and fix it. I try to do the lift, my shoulders hurt. So i don't do it. Turns out that winged scapula can be caused by nerve damage in an accident. So I guess it's off to the doctor. But i'm going ice climbing first.

Aid Climbing, Wasootch

2007-10-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

I tried aid climbing for the first time. Lots of fun but it takes forever. We only did one short pitch each, and i did it on TR. I don't think I can afford to start aid climbing, but all that gear sure would be cool. Used ballnuts for the first time, i definitly need a set of those.

Mt. Baldy

2007-10-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Mount Baldy scramble, 5 hours. Richard, John Fell, Lilly Goga, and JP Borget

b

Mt. Indefatigable, Joy Route, 5.4+ slab

2007-09-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

I went to Kananaskis on sunday with brenden for the Joy Route on Mt Indefatigable. Great trad route, lots of easy pro placements, but we could have used more small TCU's and less nuts. A gust front came through in the afternoon. It is not a route you would want to be on if it was really windy, it was a little dicey crossing the ridge after the end of the route.

MSR Reactor

2007-09-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

After waiting since mid-february on back order, I finally got my MSR reactor stove today. Sometimes christmas comes twice a year.

SIV Course

2007-09-03T16:51:00.001-07:00

After a day climbing in the Bugaboos I went out to Mara Lake for the advanced manoeuvres course with Chris Santacroce. It was a lot to learn in such a short time, but they are good to know. I already can’t wait for next year so I can try and get better, wingovers and asymmetric spirals kick ass! I got 10 flights in over the 3 days I was there and didn’t really start learning to do the moves until the last day. On my last flight of the second day a gust front rolled in after Devon and I had launched. I got soaked with rain, but I managed to pull a B-line stall for a couple minutes and land in the middle of the lake. Devon went for an hour long ride, eventually landing in the field behind the campground. Unfortunately its back to school on Tuesday…fuck

Bugaboos

2007-09-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

This was my second time in the Bugaboos. Last time I felt like a bag of shit the first day hiking up, this time I felt like shit the whole time. Chris and I camped in the Boulder campground this time which is 10 minutes away from the Kain hut. We hauled ass up the approach trail and got it done in 2 hours. After a 4 a.m. alpine start the next day we did the snowpatch route on Snowpatch spire. Route finding was hard all the way up, we ended up taking a 5.8 variation near the top. My mind was totally blown and Chris had to lead the last 4 pitches. We topped out into a snow storm, one party on Bugaboo spire was forced to bivi the night away. Weather was deteriorating for the next few days so the decision was made to go home. I don’t think I could of climbed another day anyway.

Chris and I at the summit

The start of the first set of 5 rappels

The second set of four rappels is the corner system on the right

Full-on winter conditions on Bugaboo spire

Golden High Flight Course

2007-08-06T16:50:00.001-07:00

Next up on my paragliding lessons was the high flight course in Golden. I stayed there for 9 days, through the Canadian Nationals and managed to get 7 flights. Thats me on my APCO fiesta.

Canadian Paragliding Nationals

2007-08-06T16:45:00.001-07:00

I volunteered my driving skills for the Canadian Nationals in Golden. Learned lots, met some rad people. Jamie Messenger won the event, and one of my instructors, Keith, won for the Canadians.

Climbing 101

2007-07-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Lindsey, Cody, Richard and Tyler

Heart Creek and Heart Mountain

2007-06-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Heart Mountain (Northeast Ridge): Canmore, Alberta

Went out to heart creek with Brenden for some sport climbing on saturday, super fun except for the bugs.
Brenden showing off his sweet new 4 Runner

I came back on today to do the scramble up the northwest ridge and down the northeast ridge. 4hrs 15min
View east down the valley towards Canmore/

Me and Cody on the summit
Some thunderstorms were rolling into calgary as we drove home and by the time we were in town the rain was coming down in the hardest rain i've ever seen. I had to drove through puddles 2 feet deep , the 14th street underpass underneath 16th Ave North was closed and probably had over 5 feet of water. Water was coming out of manholes in the road and the covers were floating away. This picture show the 2 block layer of bricks in Killarney.
And these two idiots are showing how to make a flood of their own. Sunlight dish liquid does not go in the dishwasher!

Grotto Canyon

2007-05-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Grassi Lake, Canmore

2007-05-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Rock Season Cometh!

2007-05-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Pete, Cody and I at Wasootch last monday

Random Icefields Parkway Pictures

2007-05-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Weeping WallBridal Vail Falls
Northeast face of White Pyramid, location of The Reality Bath

Ho Ho Hold me tight

2006-12-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

I've finally had some time to sit down and put up new pics. In preparation for going back to work i've been very motivated to get lots of climbs in. It's been an awsome month, thank you to all my climbing partners that made it possible for me to fullfill my dream of being a climbing bum. Merry Christmas ya'll!

"One method of getting loved ones to look more fondly on your climbing is to tell them that since you've started climbing you hardly do drugs anymore." — David Harris.

"Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together ?
A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home !"

"1 - High pain threshold
2 - Bad memory
3 - I forget the third." — The three attributes of a good (mountaineer/ice climber/big waller).

"A climber's day always starts at the crux: getting out of bed."

"Vertigo I can handle alright — It's horizonto that drives me nuts." — Jim Lubell.

"The best climber in the world is the one who's having the most fun." — Alex Lowe

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave 5 minutes longer." — Ralph Walso Emerson

"Hey Brother, You're not fat Dude, you're just bomber !" — Karl Baba, reassuring Geoff on his % of body fat.

"Get into good physical conditioning by training (unless you are English)." — Chouinard's advice for ice climbing.

"Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible." — Doug Lawson

and finally, my personal favorite

"Alcohol, firearms and a 4 wheel drive can go a long ways towards making a rain day into a fun rest day." — Frank Stock.

Grotto Canyon

2006-12-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

Ron and I went to the grotto near canmore. We climbed Grotto Falls 55m ll, WI 3 and the mixed route Mental Jewlery M6+, 12m.

Ron at the top of grotto fallsMe traversing on to the ice on mental jewelry

Ron top-roping up His

Bear Spirit

2006-12-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

Mark and I out at Bear spirit. We spent most of the day working on our mixed climbing skills on top rope.

These guys look like real posers, they aren't even roped up.