week in review

Not much happening this last week. Heather and I have been busy packing boxes and moving them into our new old house across the street. We are excited for the move and look forward living in our new place. We should be done moving by the time i leave for Red Rocks on Wednesday.

The weather hasn't been great so we continue to climb in the gym. Lots of motivation from Chad, Justin and a few of the ladies. The boys are working on enduro links ups in the cave. Only resting at an inverted knee-bar to keep it realistic! Lots of fun. The ladies are piecing together some of the harder boulder problems and getting good at making long moves for their short stature. Sven was able to get the crux on my hardest route there and is now trying to get it from the ground. Good job Sven!

Several of us did a nice full moon skin and ski session the other night on Kelly Mountain. That was a lot of fun despite the bullet proof snow. I was very glad my edges were sharp! I also picked up a new pair of AT boots that made all the difference too! If you're looking for ski stuff, check out Peaked Sports in Driggs. They are great people and have some killer deals going right now.

Last and definitely not least; Scott, Garon, and Mike climbed 11308 via the Northwest Ridge yesterday. They had a great time wandering up that exposed ridge in variable conditions. John Schutz and I climbed this ridge in February of 1995 which was likely the first ascent. I have fond memories of this climb and excited to see others climb it and to report it to be enjoyable. The climb is not difficult by technical standards, but is continually exposed along a knife edge corniced ridge. The views of Borah, Sacajawea, and Mt, Idaho are spectacular!

Oh, and i added a few other photos to REFLECTIONS for your viewing pleasure.

home on the range

One of my roles for Mammut aside from being an athlete is to manage certain aspects of our Athlete Team. At times it can be somewhat challenging, but always rewarding. Devaki Murch who has worked closely with Prana has been known to relate managing an athlete team with the outrageously funny concept of herding cats. So i was not surprised when she passed this little number on to me!

I am almost positive at least two of the 'dudes' in that video are my neighbors! There is something to be said about living in the country though. You never are left wanting when it comes to a good steak and friendly neighbors...

Yup, that's me.

Cordes on training and disaster

I have always enjoyed Kelly's writings, but here he brings his humble personality to life for a short Patagonia film on training and disaster style climbing. Not only a friend, Kelly has been an inspiration to me; providing a way to understand how i think and feel when it comes to my views on alpine climbing.

My good friend Chris Thompson had a hand in the production/filming of this and i wanted to link it here for those of you who love alpine climbing as much as we do.

Enjoy...

tomorrow is a long time if you're a memory

Heather at the Walrus - Dam Boulders
You know, I'm just not someone who usually gets excited about bouldering. I would rather spend time in the gym than go bouldering outside. Now, with that being said, I've learned you should never say never!

About four years ago, Heather and I along with a few motivated friends spent some time bouldering at a new area in the Teton River Canyon. We all had a lot of fun working on problems, hanging out, socializing, and encouraging others during their attempts. That's bouldering right!? Winter brought ice climbing and other motivations and by spring the crew we had been climbing with moved on to various other life adventures. Since our close friends were our climbing partners and no longer in the area, Heather and I packed up the van and spent the summer visiting far away climbing area's we hadn't been to. In the wake of this mass exodus, the Teton River exploration faded into old photos and a few good stories. Like the time when Wild Man Eli and his two passengers accidentally jumped the 4-wheeler off the dam... in the dark! Classic Idaho adventure at it's finest...

Chick Rock is cool for a good reason - Dam Boulders
The years in between brought less local motivation for us, so our climbing adventures were spent other places. I even considered moving from eastern Idaho just to be around other climbers and new terrain. As a matter of fact, Heather took a job teaching school in Twin Falls, but for some reason, i just could not pull the plug. I new something needed to change but was it really our location? So obviously i chickened out and we didn't move to Twin. Last year things started turning around for us. Mostly due to Matt TeNgaio's new route motivation in the area and my new motivation to start establishing sport routes again. (thanks Matt!)

In relation to this winter and the abundant snow, this winter ended the drought for eastern Idaho, more specifically, the upper Snake River Valley in terms of climbers and motivation; along with the return of our close friends. Not only do i see evolution about to take place in eastern Idaho, I'm motivated to go bouldering...outside! Our weekly gym sessions have been nothing shy of inspirational and i look forward to rekindling the movement at the Dam Boulders with our new friends and the old hats who are back in town along with other legends getting back at it. The return of the old school gang from the days that use to be is something i have longed for since life took them to other places. Let's just say a couple of the original members of The Hold on the Wall Gang have either been pardoned by the Governor, or busted out with guns a blazin'. Either way, things are gonna get done this year!

Crash pads. Good movement. Bon-fires, and new motivation will be a very worthwhile focus this spring in the Teton River Canyon. I am excited to spend time with the new crew: Kyle, Emily, Mike, Alli, Chad Sr., Chad Jr., Phil, Heather, Nat, Matt, Jerry, Brian, Megan, Beth, Justin, Jordan, Rick, Garon, Misha, Ben, Jennalyn and a few others who I'm forgetting at the moment. Get your approach shoes out, grab the snake charmer (code word for pistols, rifles are better, or long sticks to chase off the rattlesnakes from the base of the boulders... come on it's Idaho - guns are cool!), and put your game faces on. As soon as the snow melts, we'll get after it...

Get psyched and work hard today, you know what they say about tomorrow...