Big Ben

Well, the first snow flakes of the season have started to fall in North America. Colorado got a dusting last week, Vancouver Island just got a few inches up high, and it's dumping snow at Alta and the rest of the Wasatch, with up to a foot and a half expected. So to honor the new season here's a trip report from a fantastic day last season in Utah.

Towering 5200' over Ogden is 9712' Ben Lomond. It's definitely the monarch of the Ogden area and was instantly on my "to ski" list when I first moved to Ogden. All of the lines off of Ben Lomond are very serious. The most mellow line and generally best snow holding line is the massive NE bowl which falls several thousand feet to Cutler Creek below. The pitch is a consistent 35-40 degrees and was the site of two tragic snowmobiler deaths a few years ago when they triggered a gigantic 1/2 mile wide avalanche. The bowl is pretty exposed and gets massive cross and top loading so I had been biding my time for the right time to ski this beast. Conditions seemed right for a go on Sunday, March 15, 2009.

Here's a view of the massive south face of Ben Lomond as seen from Ogden. This photo was taken in mid April about a month after we skied it.



I met up with Doug and his friend GR at the parking lot at 6am and we began skinning up by headlamp.



We watched the sun come up behind James Peak and the rest of Powder Mountain.





And the first few rays of light shone on our objective: The NE face of Ben Lomond.



We worked our way up to the main ridge on the left in the photo above and then switched to booting as the angle increased and the snow became more wind jacked. I liked this one better in black & white.



GR looks over the Ogden Valley after booting to the ridgeline. Mt. Ogden can be seen in the background along with the stunning Banana Chute, a 40 degree, 2500 vertical foot couloir we skied in February down to Ogden.



Me booting the rest of the way to the summit.



And delivering a Sunday morning summit sermon to the masses.



The boys on top. Doug, GR, and Joshua.



The views over to Willard Peak were fantastic. The whole bowl from Ben Lomond to Willard slid when it killed those snowmobilers.



Doug dropping into the upper 40 degree section. We had nice windbuffed powder. All in all, good snow for a line that exposed.



Two variations on the same shot. One without tilt shift...



The other with. This is GR about half way down the face.


And another of GR.



The snow got even better down low below 7500'. Here's Doug finding some nice pow.





4100' of skiing, and just over 4 hours later we were back at the car. Here's another view of Ben Lomonds NE bowl and the whole Cutler Basin as seen from James Peak at Powder Mountain on April 17, 2009. Ben Lomond on the left, Willard Peak on the right.

Indian Creek

Summer is coming to a close and I didn't get much done in the way of climbing this year, but this past April I had a chance to head out to Indian Creek in southeastern Utah to sample some of the best crack climbing on the planet. Indian Creek is the mecca for crack climbing and its rock is unique. It is Windgate Sandstone which is very strong for sandstone and also splits from the rock in perfect ways. This is the only place that I've ever climbed where you can literally climb the same size crack for a whole pitch. No tapering or fluctuation like in granite or other forms of rock. There is an aesthetic and physical beauty in the rocks consistency. The climbs at Indian Creek are also very physical. They're steep, long, and require a lot of endurance.

My buddy Josh from California flew out to Utah and after picking him up at the airport we made the 5 hour drive to the Creek. A couple of other buddies, Galo & Pachu, Argentineans who live in San Diego, were already out there so we met up with them. It was a beautiful drive in. Here are a few of my first views of the Creek.



The tower on the left is called South Six Shooter and the one on the right is the North Sixth Shooter. On our last day here, Josh and I climbed the North Sixth Shooter via Lightning Bolt Cracks, a burly 5.11 3 pitch climb that we got spanked on. It's a classic desert route with one of the coolest, airiest summits I've ever been on.



Our first day out we warmed up on a gorgeous 5.10 finger crack and then Josh wanted to lead a stiff 5.11 dihedral called Blue Grandma. I almost puked at the top of this climb it was so physical. Here's Josh Pelletier getting into the crux of this sucker.



I toproped it after Josh led it and stayed up top to take photos of Galo leading it. Caught this nice little whipper he took.



But he got back on and sent it.



Josh & Galo talking about route possibilities on day 2.



We were lucky enough to find no one on the uber classic Supercrack of the Desert. THE classic desert splitter. Here's the one and only Josh P leading it in style. This has to be one of the sweetest cracks I've climbed.



After that we were able to get on The Incredible Handcrack, an amazing 5.10b handcrack that is, without a doubt, the best crack I have ever climbed in my life. It's perfect handjams for the whole climb. Here's Josh P top roping it after I led it.



Then we headed to another area of the Creek called Way Rambo wall. We toproped a burly 5.12- and I led this beautiful splitter 10a.



Looking out over the valley.



Galo tried this crazy 5.12 corner. I just took photos and watched. That guy is strong.



Another shot of the South and North Six Shooters.



On our way out of town Josh and I drove into Arches National Park since I'd never been. This place was amazingly beautiful. They shot the beginning of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade here. Spectacular country.





Balancing Rock.



The beautiful La Sal Mountains form the backdrop of this park. Although the snow is hit or miss on them, there is supposed to be some great backcountry skiing in good snow years.



Another crazy arch.

Maine

Since we were in Quebec City, France and I decided to spend our honeymoon in Maine since neither one of us had been and it wasn't too far of a drive away. Maine is a gorgeous state and definitely worth a visit if you've never been. It has a beautiful rugged coast line, green mountains, delicious lobster, and some of the densest forests I've had the privilege of wandering in. Most people in the States would say it's sparsely populated, but after having lived in the bush in Northern Alberta, it seems plenty well populated to me.

From Quebec City we headed to Bar Harbor which is located on Mt. Desert Island just off the coast of Maine. It's where Maine's famous Acadia National Park is located and we decided to spend a few days exploring the area. Bar Harbor is a cute, fun little tourist town that reminded me a bit of Estes Park in Colorado but smaller. It rained pretty heavy the first night we arrived, and the next morning we went for a run along side the ocean with gorgeous mist that surrounded the nearby islands. The weather cleared around 11am or so and we decided to grab some lobster before heading into Acadia National Park for the day.

I bless this holy lobster.



We went for a quick hike up to an area called Eagle's Cap that overlooked part of Acadia and then went for another hike around Sand Beach, the only beach on Mt. Desert Island. The rest of the coast line is rock.



Looking back at the beach.



France and the beautiful Maine coastline.



Cadillac Mountain is the tallest peak in the Park. From there we could look down on to Bar Harbor where we were staying. Gorgeous!



The two of us on top of Cadillac.



The next day we headed for Sergeant Mountain which is the second highest peak on Mt. Desert Island. None of these guys are big, but you get beautiful views. Along the way we had to hike up 2 other peaks to get to Sergeant. Here we are on peak numero 1, which I can't remember the name of. I know, when have I ever forgotten the name of a mountain?!






On peak numero dos. Guardsman Peak.



On top of Sergeant Mountain...



With beautiful views out to the Atlantic.



France at sunset in Bar Harbor.



The next day we went kayaking on a gorgeous lake called Long Pond. I let France do all the work, like a good husband, while I took pictures. She looks strong enough to handle it.



That afternoon, we left Bar Harbor and headed to northern Maine to Baxter State Park so we could climb Mt. Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine at 5268ft/1606m on my birthday. We climbed Katahdin via the Abol trail which is a Class 4 scramble that gains about 4000' vertical feet and is around 7.5 miles round trip. It felt so good to be back on a real mountain. Here France emerges from the dense Maine forest.



About half way up it started to get pretty foggy and then started to drizzle/mist on us a little.



But that didn't stop the smiles!



Although it had been socked in for most of the climb, the clouds cleared and the sun came out for us for about 10-15 minutes while we were on the summit. France on top of Maine.



Joshua on top of Katahdin.



On the descent overlooking the Maine highlands.