Dry Tooling Practice at the Local Crag

Some solo dry-tooling practice on a hot, humid summer afternoon in Phoenix, AZ. Route is mostly slabby with crumbly dirt that will try to tempt ya; slightly negative sloping start to vertical to overhanging finish. I don't trust my skill yet to go up and over the small roof on the left quite yet. I need to move to CO already.

The slightly overhanging, slabby route.

Casaval Ridge Denali Training, Mt. Shasta, March 16 -18th

Our weekend of inclement, cold-weather training on Mt. Shasta. I flew in Friday night, drank beers in Sacramento with my bro (on break from his Blast! tour), then I set off to the mountain with Mark. Highlights include our custom snow cave camp at 10,000' on the exposed ridge, climbing with two tools to the ridge proper at 10,500', several winter whiteout storms, and some route-finding through sketchy avalanche-prone terrain, then back down and to the airport to catch my Sunday night flight back. Whew, what a weekend.
 

The Mount Shasta. Casaval Ridge, our objective, is the prominent ridge on the left. Avy gulch lies at the center

Rolling up the mountain in the ol' 2WD CAR, no chains. Mark is the man as far as driving is concerned. We would later find a group of "Texans" in a lifted truck slid-out off the road on our way down from the Mtn. Some folks can't hang.
Watch out for that iiiiiiiiice!



Casaval Training from Mark Emerson on Vimeo.
Mt. Shasta during a winter training climb. Using all the skills we've learned over the last few year we wanted to push ourselves a little bit with the weather, navigation, physical ability and knowledge. Building a snow cave and learning quite a bit about what to expect in cold weather.

Keep reading for more pics!...

Off-trail Scramble up South Mountain

Class 3 & 4 Scramble / Free-solo up to Dobbins Lookout at South Mountain
Focus on speed but good, careful route-finding. No snakes hopefully. And safe moves on the features of course (nothing too risky, since I'm usually alone).

UP: GPS Track Distance: 1.1 miles Time: 54:31 hh:mm:ss Avg Speed: 1.2 mph Avg Pace: 49:59 min/mile Climb: 1177 ft

DOWN: GPS Track Distance: 1.7 miles Time: 24:25 hh:mm:ss Avg Speed: 4.1 mph Avg Pace: 14:38 min/mile Climb: -1177 ft

Video from run:

A quick solo night hike into the lush Sonoran desert...

Today was a wonderful weather day, here in the Valley of the Sun -- the kind that painfully calls for a "sick day" from work. The climate took the week off from the typical barrage of high 100's and intense heat index and us Phoenicians have had the pleasure of getting an early glimpse at the beautiful weather that fall usually brings with it. I finished my desk job at around 6:30 and I was met in the parking lot by the gorgeous sunset that found it fitting to toss a palette of watercolors across the evening sky. I raced home to refill a canteen and grab my headlamp before jetting to the Holbert trailhead in the South Mountain regional park. Lucky for me the trail is only three miles from my pad, so I was able to save precious sunlight for my 2.5 mile ascent up to the lookout point. In actuality, within 15 minutes of starting, the night sky was already prevailing and I decided to don the headlamp for the remainder of the trip.

I reached the vista in just under 30 minutes and settled into the crowded lookout atop the mountain -- I was the only soul who had ventured up via the trail; the rest of the visitors opted for the paved road up the mountain to catch the sunset -- meh, too easy. With a couple swigs of my canteen and a short breath, I jogged back down, trying carefully to pick the landings for each step -- The shadows can play awful tricks! My pace was solid until I sailed down [almost] upon a rattler quickly crossing the trail down the side of the mountain. He quickly slithered into the bushes and coiled, attempting to best resonate his warning shaker and alert me that he had the right of way. "It's all yours, compadre." Phew! From then on, I took each corner and downstep a little slower and with more care, ensuring I didn't spook any of his buddies further down the trail. Boiled down, I completed the 5 mile roundtrip in just under 60 minutes. Even in its harshness, I can really appreciate the beauty of the desert and it's native dwellers. It was a nice solo trip this time 'round. Cheers!

Up next, I'm still trying to decide on which mountain to hike this Saturday. It's getting cool enough that a hike into the Supes wouldn't be out of the question. Yet again, the northern parts of the high-country are calling to be utilized while the remaining days of summer are quickly dwindling. Perhaps Matzatzal Peak or even Browns Peak (4 Peaks!)? We shall see...