Lost Worlds

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here is an encyclopedia of the back corners of Smoke Hole Canyon and the surrounding region.

Free solo, anyone?  Privately-owned Eagle Rock, last pitch of Karma Cracks.

Macdaddy Mike Stewart cranking into the sketchy section of Cherry Lane, Darkside.

Memories of Devil's Canyon

Sitting here in Wild'n'Wonderful West Virginia, thinking back on winters past, some of the best of them spent in Northern Devil's Canyon, in the Dripping Springs Mountains of Arizona.  

Resolution Copper has once again been denied their application to swap other, smaller chunks of AZ for this jewel... no thanks to climbers or their advocacy organizations... it was the San Carlos Apache Indians who accomplished this feat.  

But like all corporations, although they are treated like people in the eyes of the law, they live on a timescale of immortals, planning for decades-long campaigns to wear down their unfocused and weak-willed opponents, who will all too quickly move on to some place like The Homestead, because the climbing rags and a few asshats claim those spots are "the best climbing in Arizona".  

Of course, that particular crag is now closed, since climbers just can't stay off private land or limit their impact...

So, reaching to the back of the rack, and a bit closer to the present, I pulled up a few images of the incredible views and rock of that seldom-visited crag which I believe to be one of the best in all of Arizona, in hopes that perhaps the lazy, scene-driven climbers of the Valley of the Sun and the rest of the U.S. just might be inspired to speak up and act.

Urge Congress to enforce the same EPA regulations on foreign companies that U.S. companies must follow.  Understand that we are doing many of the same things in other nations, including Australia, which is corporate HQ for Rio Tinto/Resolution. 

The Silent Scream Boulder, high on the shoulder of King's Crown Peak.

The Melting Man area, on the road to King's Crown.

Cindy Gray, taking a break from the wind, Windlass Gardens Wall, above Shenandoah.

If climbers do not act, now, and in a unified fashion, instead of feuding like children and backstabbing each other and the climbing community over old slights that have NOTHING to do with the issue, then this place will, someday, be nothing but an open pit mine skirted by a carefully-placed freeway. 

And the the climbers of the world will have no one but themselves to blame.

And so with Castles Made of Sand...

Fled the heat of Secret Crag #7 for the shade and close proximity of the river to be found at the Entrance Walls.

With so much rock and so few routes, we took on a new line or three...

The green and surprisingly steep start of "Castles Made of Sand".  The big detached block at the bottom later became part of the trail edging below the route.

Looking up the short, STEEP Sandcastle Arete... three bolts of fun to come.

Wall base in pristine condition- debris, spiders, stinging nettles, poison ivy, and plenty of loose rock.

The view from the top: beginning the bolting rappel.

Paleface- this short tower front the road.  Line comes up from under the roof right and heads through big holds above.

The loverly Miss Cindy, keepin' us hydrated on a 90 degree day.. and looking FINE!

In  the end, we ran out of hardware long before we ran out of rock.  Working toward an order of bolts and hangers, for now, and looking forward to creating more short, fun lines along the river.  

So glad everyone is convinced that New River and Seneca Rocks are the only worthwhile climbing in West Virginia!

Ronin's Road

Some pics from the Ronin's Road

New Routing for Christmas in Devil's Canyon

We started out the week before, one day after the End of the World.  Having seen no sign of the Mayans, the Altasrians, the Pleiadeians, or the great black hole that would open with alignment, we resolved to ACT!

The day went well, if with a few set-backs and delays.  The hike to the Troll Hut was breezy, with a sharp, biting north wind breathing down our necks, which helped cool the sweat of carrying 60 pounds of drill, bolts, hammer, wrenches, rope, gear, snacks and food.  The feeder creek below the crag turned out to be running, necessitating an alternate high-water trail to the crag... one which I fortunately possessed the foresight to have constructed about a decade before.

Work soon proceeded apace.

The line was classic; the rock, solid... enough.  but cold weather, a few false holes, and an uncooperative first bolt put paid to our dreams of a first ascent... that day.

Gypsy Conditions, a sustained 5.8, stalled in progress by a single bad bolt and a dead drill battery.

Close-up of the traitor bolt.  Oh, well, a good day, regardless... not like it was the end of the world or anything... THAT WAS YESTERDAY!

We worked another partially-completed line, named in honor of my friend Mike, The Fisher King, before heading back towards lights and "civilization", which seemed doomed to continue for another millenium or so.

Three days later:

Christmas Day, 2012: 34 degrees F, 20-30 mph gusts, heavy overcast.

Full-on Gypsy Conditions.  An hour's drive east did nothing to change the picture.  Cindy looked at me, I looked at Cindy.

"We're already here," she said.  "We can freeze in camp, or freeze with a smile on our faces."

So.... we went out and bolted and climbed a new route, in the sheltered corridor of the Troll Hut, and started another new line on the opposite wall, just for good measure.

We ended the day with a smile and a last look into the canyon, where water rolled over the volcanic boulders, before hiking out to hot drinks and dinner with friends.

Gypsy Conditions, 5.8, 4 bolts and anchors, First Ascent: Michael and Cindy Gray, 12/25/12.