Moses

The silence was complete. I sat on a large boulder looking up at my friends through a lens as they made their way up the famed Moses. They were nearly a quarter mile away, but I could still hear them as if they were next to me. There were no bugs humming, no rush of wind, the silence wasn't even interrupted by planes passing by. My eardrums didn't quite know how to react to the stillness. 

We were there on a three day weekend. Chase, Greg, and I snuck off for a day in Canyonlands. They were there to climb Moses, and I was there to shoot. Shifting to different locations every so often seemed to make the time go by. Sitting in the desert with a camera was a unique experience. This was the first time I have been out to shoot a day of climbing without climbing anything. 

It was a fulfilling day, even more so as I got home and went through the images. It was a stunning landscape. I hope to make it back to climb the route in the future. It was amazing. 

Weekender: Climbing and Camping

We sat around the campfire laughing and catching up until after midnight. We took turns throwing knives, we cooked tin foil dinners, and ate candy. We enjoyed the last of summer before it made its annual migration south. The cool night was an indication that this would be the last trip like this for the year.

We awoke early the next morning and were in no hurry to get climbing. The throwing knives made another appearance and we might have actually gotten better. We ate a small breakfast and headed for the crag. It was probably the last warm night of summer and we took advantage of it before autumn could reach in and change everything.

Direct Beckey

We were 10 pitches into the Direct Beckey. We were out of water, exhausted, and ready to be done. As I started into the tenth pitch with my butt hanging out over the 1,000 feet of open air, I couldn't believe the layback finger crack was 5.8. Nothing about this route thus far had been easy for me and I will willingly admit that it was well above my fitness level. Greg had charged through the leads like a champ and I was just glad to be there.

We had both reached a point in our misery that only the summit could cure. It had been a spectacular route with some of the most amazing climbing I have ever had the opportunity to do. Elephants Perch is a massive wall made of a really unique pinkish orange granite. Its size is hard to capture in photos. I had hoped to document the climb with my GoPro, but when I had reached the top of the first pitch I looked down and saw it sitting peacefully at the base. That meant we only had Greg's iPhone to document the route. 

As far a climbing trips go, the few I have been on with Greg have been some of the best. Last year we had a pretty interesting time on Castleton Tower. This time we went for the longest most difficult route we have ever tried. Both times Greg has dragged me up to some of the most amazing summit moments of my life. He is a solid climber and he always has a great attitude, even if the situation turns out less than ideal. This trip made me realize that I need to get my fitness level up if I want to keep getting invites from Greg and if I ever want to reach my bigger climbing goals. Just climbing here and there isn't cutting it. 

As I pushed up the last pitch with everything I had left, I reached the summit ready to vomit. I don't think I have ever been so dehydrated. Greg and I were all smiles and high fives. We were happy to be off the wall but grateful for the good weather and the experience. I learned a lot on this trip about myself and the type of climber I want to be. Hopefully next time I am in the Sawtooths I will be able to swing leads on this route. I am lucky to have a friend like Greg that is patient enough to let me follow him up something like the Direct Becky.