Swiss Update

Check list:
Swiss Alps. Italian Alps. Famous Fred Nichole boulder problem. 8a in a day. 140 on the Autobahn with the top female climber from Austria behind the wheel. Largest climbing gym IN THE WORLD. Lensburg Castle. Swiss chocolate. Awesome pictures. Lost camera. Found camera. More awesome international friends. Good health. No jet lag. Limestone. Granite. Plastic. DISCO.

Alive and kickin in the land of the Swiss. Still traveling to my final destination of Altdorf.

off to the Swiss Alps

I'm leaving with a backpack and duffel full of climbing equipment and pulled muscles in my forearm from the climbing gym session this evening. Psyched for Swiss limestone. NOT PSYCHED to start the trip with an injury.

Photo of the Day

Nat Meacham and his bionic arms!

Box Canyon - Lemhi Range, Idaho

A doorway to the underworld?

Heather Lords feasting on a real life Texas Barbecue 5.12a

Weaner Dogs Ripped my Flesh 5.10c

A long way from anywhere, Box Canyon is a great little East Idaho gem! The southern tip of the Lemhi Range offers local and visiting climbers a unique (for East Idaho) limestone experience. The established routes offer something for everyone, short powerful bouldery sport climbs, hard single pitch crimp fests, and enjoyable moderates. However, the main attraction for many climbers visiting Box Canyon are the classic sport multi pitch routes. Generally slabby in nature with average spaced bolts, the multi pitch climbs are superb!

After a flurry of development, the Wood River Valley based climbers abandoned Box Canyon for the steeper and more pocketed walls at the Fins; leaving behind about 30 quality routes spread over 10 different zones. Further route development from other area activists have been halted due to a current Wilderness Study of the area.

I hear a lot of people say that the Box Canyon limestone is super sharp and correlate some of the crimp moves as to climbing on razorblades. I use to agree, but after climbing at many of the limestone sectors in Croatia, the Box Canyon stone is not that sharp compared to what other world class European areas offer. Sooo, stop your whining!

Texas Barbecue 5.12a
photo: N. Meacham

There are two zones in Box Canyon that offer multi pitch routes, the Bardini Wall and the Shade Wall. Both offer climbs up to three pitches in length. My favorite Box experience is the right hand route on the Shade Wall. Two nearly full rope pitches each, this route is spectacular in every way. The second pitch is the meat of the climb; it's easy to get lost in this sea of limestone crimps.

Heather at the anchors belaying Nat Meacham up the first pitch.

Heather on the stellar 5.11 second pitch!

It's easy to feel all alone on this route!

The Shade Wall in all of its glory! Can you spot the two climbers?

You can find all of the beta in Matt TeNgiao and Jerry Painter's guidebook, Sweet Spots of Eastern Idaho. Pick up a copy and help support our local guidebook authors and area route developers! Information is also available at http://www.seiclimbing.com/

Currently there is a bolting ban for the Box Canyon area due to nearby Indian artifacts and petroglyphs. If you visit, please treat this climbing area with respect, pick up your trash, don't be stupid, and help continue a healthy relationship with the BLM. Beware of rattlesnakes, summer mid day sunshine, cactus and the WIND!

Owl Cove Classics

Chad "Sr." Alldredge and I during our morning commute.

Freudian Slip anyone?

Chad "Jr." Witbeck visits Nurse Ratchet.

Heather floating weightless on Space Violator with Nathan Smith as her ground control.

The final BIG move on Space Violator... it's COSMIC!

Heather goes Coma-Toes!

_

While many other climbers baked their brains out in the hot April sun at the south facing All American Wall, we lounged in the sun and climbed in the shade all day at the Owl Cove! Our group of five enjoyed the breeze as it carried cool air from the nearby Snake River and the solitude of being the only climbers in the Cove. Later in the afternoon, two ambitious souls arrived in the Cove and started to work on their latest high line project. They were just as excited as we were to see another group!

Owl Cove offers several worthwhile sport classics and a few worthy traditional adventures. If you have access to a boat, getting to the Cove is easy, however, it's still worth the extra walking effort from the standard parking lot! Many of the routes are at least twice as long as most other Massacre Rocks zones. Bring your power, but be ready to use your endurance on the long Owl Cove Classics!

jammin'

There is nothing like having 4 climbing zones just 10 miles (in two different directions) from the house; each offering 4 different styles of climbing!

A quick afternoon trip to Midget Widget with Nat and Heather. As always, the routes were entertaining!

Yup, they are still short but worth a visit just for the experience and joy of plugging in gear!

Need more info? Check out the local SEIClimbing website :

http://www.seiclimbing.com/?page_id=171

a traditional Massacre

Twist and Shout 5.10+
Main Wall - Massacre Rocks, Id.

Located at the Bop and Beta sector of the Main Wall, Twist and Shout is a three star thin crack Massacre classic! Steep but easy climbing leads to a bouldery seam protected with small stoppers or #0 Metolius TCU's. Equipped with sport anchors for ease of lowering!

First Ascent: ??

Connor Columns

I first visited the columnar basalt zone on Connor Creek Summit in 1994. We only did two routes, but since that single visit to this small crag, i have always joked that the best crack climbing at the City of Rocks was at Connor Columns! Not that i think there isn't good crack climbing at the City of Rocks, but in all of my years climbing there, i have never discovered a single formation offering a dozen lines, splitter in nature and varied from tips to off-width climbing that require more jamming than the easily climbed face features gracing many of the City's classic crack lines.

Some people may ask the question, "Why would you want to waste your time at Connor Columns when you have world class climbing at the City of Rocks only 20 minutes away?"

The answer to that is a simple one... i like climbing. Although not the world class stone and adventure offered at the City of Rocks, Connor Columns does offer a dozen worthwhile splitter lines stacked right next to each other overlooking Connor Creek Summit and the valley below.

If you fancy yourself a lover of jamming style crack routes, Connor Columns is a worthy half day experience if you're at the City of Rocks.

Over the years, I've asked friends and various locals if they've ever checked out the climbing at Connor Columns. The answer has always been the same... "I've looked at it on my way to the City but have never stopped." Heather, Chad Sr, Nathan Smith and I decided to visit the crag yesterday. I wanted to revisit this over shadowed zone to see if in fact i was right about the climbing it offered. We spent the day jamming classic cracks stacked next to each other as if we were at a developed sport crag, minus the signs of any recent human traffic of course! We walked back to the car after sunset completely exhilarated by the climbing we had enjoyed all day!

Connor Columns from Connor Creek Summit

Heather Lords in front of the Pull Photography lens.

Heather cruising up a classic columnar corner.

That's me jamming a superb strait in splitter!

Sport climbing with cams!

Heather soaking up the sunshine while jammin' the goods! Nathan's static line and his foot are in the top right corner of this image. Oops, my bad!

I gave a good effort at on-sighting the Connor Column test piece. I was flashing until i fell off high on the route! No traffic and the presence of lichen made the feet a real challenge! It was fun climbing with sustained movements protected by #0 and #00 Metolius TCU's! And it even felt better climbing sustained moves when i could plug in #1's!