Breaking New Ground

For rest day numero dos we find ourselves in another quaint coffee shop in the town of Worland, WY where Eric and I have snagged the comfy recliners in the corner. After waging war on some viscous assailants, ie. mosquitos, for the past couple of days we are both enjoying some iced coffee and reprieve from a losing battle. According to a few people we have talked to there was a flood earlier in the season that made for prime mosquito conditions the rest of the summer. Luckily we came armed with Bushman's 80% deet and pants.

Happy Campers . . .

After a full week in Tensleep Canyon, it is looking like two weeks is not going to be enough with the overwhelming amount of quality routes that are still yet ticked, but holy toledo we have been climbing as much as we can and enjoying every second of it. A trip chock-full of exploration, maybe some climbing, and new scenery were my only expectations as we headed out of Portland, but what we have found here in Tensleep seriously gets no better than this. After putting our time in at Smith Rock all summer we were somewhat prepared for the technical climbing in Tensleep and have excelled quickly in our short time here. Even with all of these slabby and techy routes I tend to be drawn to, I have really enjoyed trying some of the overhung and juggy routes Tensleep has to offer with massive pockets that go up some pretty significant bulges. It seems every time one of us is lowering off another route there is a theme following, "that was so fun!!!", or "seriously that was SO quality!!!!", or "I HAVE NEVER CLIMBED ANYTHING THAT GOOD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! Did I mention how fun it was?"

This trip has been so much more than quality climbing though, including improved pots-O-stuff for dinner, absolutely breathtaking stars in the arvo, and late night fires with new friends. I am confident I would be able to eloquently recall every move on every route we have climbed in the canyon since we last checked in, but I think I'll leave that for Eric.. take it away!

-Jessi

The climbing in Ten Sleep has continued to impress us with its quality and overwhelming quantity. Just when I think it can't get any better, it really does. Each day we have been exploring new areas in hot pursuit of challenging routes. For me, I have been on a search for a fine 13a. Jessi has been sampling the canyons offerings in the 11 to 12- range. On Saturday, we decided to check out a new (to us) area called the French Cattle Ranch. The stone in this area is astounding. It is composed of bullet hard stone with alternating tan and blue streaks. The holds in the FCR  tend to be small, positive crimp edges, rather than the sinker pockets that define most the other routes in Ten Sleep. After warming up on a fun 11a, Jessi and I started our day at the Ranch with an onsight and flash of a techy and quality route called Wyoming Flower Child 5.11d/12a (Probably 11b at Smith). Next, I threw myself at a 5.13a/b called Blue Light Special. The movement was fantastic, but the holds a little small for my taste. I clipped the chains with many hangs and sore finger tips. Jessi attempted a 12b called Center El Shinto and made it to the top with a few hangs and rests. It was a pumpy affair with some long lockoffs and little relief until the chains are clipped. This seemed to be the route she was looking for. We'll be returning to that one!

What was my beta? . . .

The next day, I really wanted to check out an area called the Cigar Pillar. I had heard rumors of a supposed 5 star 5.13a called Name of the Game taking plum line up the center of the pillar. We quickly knocked out the uphill approach to the Cigar and looked with awe at the four bolt lines up the back side of the pillar. The Cigar is a rare feature in the climbing world as it basically always facilitates hard climbing with perfect temps. The back side of the pillar (where the 4 classic lines are) has a constant breeze and never sees the sun. The breeze continuously blows the moisture from your fingertips and allows for cool and comfortable climbing. I quickly warmed up and jumped on a 12a on the left side of the Cigar. It was a bouldery line with a low crux and fantastic climbing up the exposed upper arete. A perfect warm-up for my main interest: Name of the Game. I took a 3 burns on Name of the Game and figured out good sequences all the way through. The route consists of 8 bolts of quality 5.12 pocket pullin', with a harsh and fingery crux right at the end. A true heartbreaker. In between burns on Name of the Game, Jessi ran up a bunch of fun and recently bolted 5.10s and 11s surrounding the Cigar. I will be returning to the Cigar tomorrow to see if I can walk away with my first 5.13 send! Hope I didn't bore you with all the painful details about these slabs of stone in which we take so much interest.

Inspecting the cigar from the opposing warm-up. . .

Till then . . .

Eric