Tanuki Ridge First Ascent Grade VI 5.9 (SE Ridge of Seahpo peak)
This ridge was wild and scrapy and intimidating and a beautiful line drawn on the map. It boasts 4,400ft of gain and 1.5 miles long, plus we linked it into the Jagged Ridge traverse adding another 1.5 miles of continuous ridge line to the traverse. Hard to believe that this exists in our backyard. Along the way there is some classic ridge climbing and some not so classic 5.9 moss climbing. It's amazing how 4 grueling and uncertain days in the alpine will make your life make sense again. Here's the story of the first ascent:
The first time @chossdiaries & I attempted the route last year we expected to likely be the first people to go up this valley, because we could think of no other reason to go up there other than this unclimbed ridge. So when we left the old hiking trail and started up the Crystal Creek basin we prepared ourselves for full on bushwhacking. But instead we found the remnants of a trail. At first we thought maybe it's a well worn goat path? But soon decided it was too distinct. Who had created this trail? Don't worry there was still some bushwhacking and a deadly steep dirt slopes above a slot canyon, but we made it to the valley much quicker than expected. What we found in the valley was even spookier, the 8ft tall grasses and bushes that lined the valley floor had all been trampled as if a herd of animals had been there, and yet we hadn't seen a single animal, not even a mouse. Our approach had gone too smoothly... We started joking that it must have been the tanuki playing tricks on us. And so the route was named.
That time we bailed 800ft up the route because of smoke and heat. We were out of water and uncertain if we would find water on the route. There was a part of me that knew though that I also had wanted to bail because the climbing was truly f***ed up. It's one thing to be climbing 5.9 choss, it's another to be climbing 5.9 choss covered in moss so you can't even tell what is loose.
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To be continued...
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1) A cool photo by Sam of me, we climbed most of the ridge in either a smoke white out or a cloud white out.
2&3) photo of almost the full traverse in all its glory.
Here I am freeing the crux pitch on our new big wall free route, La Sombra De Muerte 5.12d, 15 pitches. More details on the new route to come, go check it out on MP! Since the crux pitch is also one of the hardest pitches I have ever sent on lead, and I bolted it, I wanted to talk about that experience first.
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It turned out the finger pods on the pitch were a little smaller than we hoped, the crimps a little farther apart. That’s how first ascents go though, you have to take the rock as it comes. We were unsure if either of us would free the pitch, and there was no good way around this part. It took 2 days to dial in the moves. This incredible pitch keeps you on your toes, mostly sustained balancy climbing with a rest in the middle. Delicate moves between small finger pods, pitches, crips, high steps. I was in love with the movement.
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After a few incidents, I grappled a lot with my head game. I preferred to “head point” most pitches, climbing them repeatedly on top rope until I was almost certain I wouldn’t fall. Unsurprisingly this is a pretty restrictive and miserable way to always climb, and I have been working on the more mental aspects of my climbing for the past year, with slow but steady results. It takes a long time to unlearn habits, and I could write many posts on what that has been like. Anyways those head pointing tactics wouldn’t work for me on this pitch, the climbing was too insecure and we only had a few days.
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I decided to give the pitch a go on lead, allowing myself to go as high as I felt like. No pressure. I had also been taking more falls recently, and reminded myself what that felt like, so when I got above a bolt, my body wouldn’t tense with fear. I tried to put together all the tricks I have been working on the manage fear. I surprised myself by making it all the way to the last bolt before the juggy finish. It had been a long time since my climbing had flowed so smoothly, when I was able to focus on just the climbing, especially on such an exposed and insecure pitch. The feeling was intoxicating. I knew I didn’t have any more tries in me that day. I couldn’t remember the last day I’d actually rested.
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Continued in the comments.
Freerider, El Cap 5.12d 31 pitches
Sam somehow made it up the Scotty Burk with me feeling like I was going to pass out while belaying. I somehow woke back up inside the offwidth and was again surprised that something that had felt impossible before, wasn’t so bad. By the time I reached the ledge I was chipper, but beat. We elected to watch a beautiful sunset. Then climb the last 2 sandbagged 5.10d pitches the next day in the hopes that a night's rest might restore us. I felt even creakier the next morning. My hands and feet were swollen but we slowly made our way up the last couple pitches.
We celebrated with hoots and hollers on the summit. Just like it always does, the pain of the last 9 days washed away. I was so emotionally overwhelmed all I could do was smile. Processing the ascent and competition of a dream was for later. I’ve never been able to see past freeing the Freerider. In my mind freeing El Cap would be the epitome of my climbing.
Bigwall free climbing is a whole different game. You don’t get to wait around for perfect conditions to project pitches like at the crag. You have to just take them as they come. I’m really proud that we went ground up. Being very experienced bigwallers definitely helped us exist on the wall longer than a normal party would. We’re just a couple of 5.11 crack climbers anyways.
They say there are a hundred reasons to bail on a bigwall, and we definitely had them. There is usually only one reason to go up, to prove to yourself that you can. We toproped the crux since it was wet and therefore didn’t do it in the most perfect style. But after everything that went wrong, waiting out a storm, and going ground up, I am still proud of what we accomplished, and that’s all that really matters. Also we had a lot of damn fun.
In classic form, Sam and @austindonisan decided to spend the morning before our rehearsal dinner developing 2 new single pitch climbs instead of helping with set up. It turned out to be the greatest gift. The day after our wedding we rolled up to the new crag with a crew of our friends to work and send the new routes and add some more. A true party crag day.
I have often commented how connected climbing and my life are. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I was maybe the most stressed I have ever been trying to plan an event and having no idea what I was doing. (Why this was somehow more stressful than an AMGA exam is unclear). My climbing mimicked this, I barely led, I was scared and sad a lot. I went into the week before our wedding with the express plan of basically only top roping, I didn't need any more stress or anything else to focus on.
Then the week before the wedding as our friends trickled in, the stress eased away replaced solely by joy. My climbing started flowing better, I led more than I thought. I took falls in a wedding dress. The day after our wedding at the party crag (and extremely hungover) I surprised myself by being excited to try leading the 11b. As I stood there trying to commit to the crux, I reminded myself that if I were on TR I probably wouldn't even blink at the move, I took a practice fall, with a perfect catch by @lizolas and reminded myself it would be fine. Then I committed.
I tried the 11d, the movement reminded me so much of Index, a series of delicate insecure face moves where you're not really sure how the moves are working but somehow you are still moving upwards. It's my favorite type of climbing although not my favorite type of leading. Austin encouraged me to lead it, and again I surprised myself by agreeing to try. I could always bail, no one here would care. Surrounded by friends whom I knew each and every one would be there to catch me, for the first time in a really long time, I didn't think about falling. I flowed and focused on the movement in a way I wasn't sure was possible anymore in my climbing. And I did fall, multiple times, and eventually I sent. What a way to end one of the best weeks of my life.
Photos from the best week of my life filled with climbing, campfire cake, beer ball and GETTING MARRIED! We elected to try to put on a "dirtbag" wedding, which was a little chaotic and meant we needed all the help we could get from our family and friends. I am extremely grateful to everyone, I have never felt so cared for or loved and I hope to carry that feeling for a long time. Just like everything else in life we couldn't have done it without you guys.
@cherlynelizaphoto had the idea of getting photos of us climbing in wedding attire. Most climbing wedding photos are either of rappelling or the guy is leading. So I wondered, can I lead in a dress? And the answer is YES! The key is a really deep slit. I actually barely noticed the difference, maybe we should do it more. 😉 Damn did the photos turn out beyond my imagination. This is as much a Cherlyn appreciation post as anything, most of this was her vision, including convincing me to wake up at 5am on our wedding day for sunrise photos. 😂 Her art is absolutely stunning!
Anyways I have always known Sam was my forever human, but now the world gets to know it too.
Index series is BACK BABY! This recurring season-long program to help you get comfy with granite slabs-n-cracks was a highlight of summer last year and we are so excited to renew for season 2 in 2026!
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I know it’s winter but it’s never too late to start dreaming of summer plans!!!
Some fun running around the walls of Potrero. Sam and I bought silly animal onesies at the local tuesday market for $3. We then tried to get a bunch of mileage in while avoiding crowds (a bit of a challenge lol). A fun day of movement and a good reminder to not take things too seriously. We also only realized like halfway up the wall that Sam was el toro on El Toro!
2016 seems to have been a pivotal year for a lot of people and my year was no exception. In 2016 I led my first trad climb, which happened to be my first multi-pitch lead, White Maiden's Walkway a 6 pitch 5.4 in Tahquitz. Trad climbing finally clicked in a way that single pitch sport climbing never did. I threw myself into climbing and was outside basically every weekend despite a demanding student schedule. I also summited my first volcanoes, Chimborazo and Cayambe and discovered the joys of alpine climbing in the High Sierra. I studied abroad in Nepal which changed the trajectory of my life. The other students helped me realize that getting a high paying engineering job out of college wasn't the only path. Living in Nepal mostly out of a tent post earthquake made me realize I needed very little to be happy. I started to research becoming a guide. I applied to outdoor related jobs instead of engineering ones. I climbed Mt Baker for the first time not knowing that one day this would become my work.
Within 6 months from learning to trad climb I led my first 5.10, within a year I was working as a guide, within 18 months I had climbed El Cap, and 2 years later I had sent my first 5.12 on gear. I struggle a lot now with seeing such rapid improvement early on and feeling like my climbing has been stagnant for a while now. It's also easy to look back and see a girl with very little fear chasing bigger and bigger things and wish I could be that person again. I have always looked back and thought that it was youth and a lack of full understanding of the consequences of climbing that allowed me to progress so quickly. But thinking back 2016 held some high highs but also many of the lowest lows of my life. In some ways climbing was an escape from depression, but I think really in comparison climbing just felt a hell of a lot safer than depression.
It's easy to look back and think about how 2016 me was such a badass (because she was and it's also nice to be able to pay tribute to that). But I have a lot healthier relationship with myself and life and I know that 2016 would be proud and excited to see my life now. That is also amazing to reflect on.
I've been a bit slow on my Instagram posts recently but I wanted to recognize that we had a pretty amazing trip to Jordan that had very little to do with climbing and a lot to do with the people. From guiding a really fun retreat to getting to know some of the local kids and their goats, to laughing with @oryx_hostel2022 . I'm really enjoying getting to know a place and culture better. Constantly eating amazing food and the gorgeous views certainly don't hurt. We are already planning our next trip. Of course none of these experiences would have been possible without climbing, so it's nice to remember climbing can create great experiences without it being the focus.
One of the few very loose "new years resolutions" I had last year was to start learning Arabic. And while it may have taken 11 months to start, Im stoked to continue working on it and have a goal that is not climbing related. Honestly these days better late than never is a great thing to strive for.
For the record the climbing in Wadi Rum is amazing, I just have just been less motivated by climbing in general.
Index provides! I've called a lot of places home in my early twenties, and I loved it. Every time I drove into Yosemite or Red Rock it felt like seeing an old friend. I thought my desire to travel and live on the road full time would outlast my van. But calling Index home is one of those amazing things you never quite saw coming but you realize are perfect once it happens. I never knew I could feel such a connection to one place. I missed home more than I thought I would this fall and it was so nice to be here even briefly. We even had good enough weather to climb a little! This view will never get old.
Sam and I sent Monkeyfingers and Im gonna call it my first 5.12 flash on lead. (I've onsighted a lot of 5.12 on TR 🫣) Does it count as a flash if you aided the pitch like 7 years ago and you remember nothing about it? Maybe not, but Im going to be proud of the effort in this silly game were playing. It was a whirlwind week in Zion, one of those weeks you're so tired you're not sure how you're still moving. But the weather is coming and you're finally stoked so you're going to eeek out as much climbing as you can. Somehow those times are often when I perform best. I have unsurprisingly been exhausted for the last week. 🤣
Climbing splitters does in fact still make me smile. Pretty stoked Sam and I sent Shune's Buttress on our first time on it (we each fell once at not the cruxes lol and reclimbed those pitches). It's been a hard fall season, feeling lost and scared in my climbing, which for me generally translates to the rest of my life as well. And not really being sure why after a pretty good summer. Luckily this was interspersed with some amazing time with friends I don't get to see as often as I would like. Anyways, there were times in my life when Shunes probably would have just felt like another day out climbing, and it's easy to compare to a past self. But for where Im at right now, feeling this much joy on a route feels like quite the win.
