half dome

it always looks nice to stare up at in the evening light from curry village, but the view takes on a new gravity when you are planning on climbing up that face the next day.

the climb went well, even though it took a bit longer than expected. lesson learned: transitioning from a month of aid climbing back to free climbing does not happen over one sleepless 90 degree night.

the death slabs

The approach to climb half dome, seth and I thought it might be a good idea to schlep our gear in there in advance to avoid the bivy at the base... wrong, it was a horrible idea, but it was a nice hike with Seth and Patti.

Generator

getting eaten alive by the crack, totally fun.

biggens

me, with a giant sequoia

dinner in the meadow

Mmm, burgers....


and a lovely evening.

The Shield

Brian, Seth, and I had a blast on the Shield. Again pushing our personal limits with harder aid climbing and having a ball hanging out on the portaledge making up silly songs. Here we are coming up over the shield roof.



the headwall is a magical place, go there if you can.

the Merced

Lost in America part 2

Ohh, the adrenaline of a big swing high above the ground. One of the best parts about climbing a route that overhangs the whole way.


Brian slept cool as a cucumber while his ledge hung to a single rivet.



The summit AGAIN, 4th time on top in 4 weeks.
Enjoying the view and a dew.

Lost in America

Well, it was time to up the ante. Seth and I were unsure if we liked the harder aid on Zodiac, but somehow thought it would be a good idea to climb "Lost in America" with Brian. We're not sure if Brian knew what he was getting into with us, but we definitely didn't know what we were getting into with him.

Are we lost yet? do we really need all this stuff? Is it really going to take 5 days? what's with this new hauling system?


Brian shows us how its done on the sharp end and teaches us the joys of flagging the ledge.


Higher up Seth busts out some mandatory free moves high on the captain.

Zodiac

Here's Seth and me starting Zodiac in some wet weather. All photos compliments of Tom Evans.



Seth, leading out the nipple pitch.


Me, hanging out on Peanut Ledge.

It was a great 3 days on el cap with lots of learning for both of us.

time for a trim

seth gets a haircut in El Cap meadow.

WFLT

the West Face of the Leaning Tower:



seth, and steven jugging:


the "summit dew" with el cap in the background.

another fine day learning to aid climb in the valley.

NOSE

with the team dialed in we moved quickly on the Nose of El Cap, route was dispatched in 2 days.

hangin out with steven on a ledge

a tired crew at the end of a long first day

seth jugging a free hanging line approximately 3000 feet above the valley floor.