Rolling into Ten Sleep canyon is an awesome and almost overwhelming experience that instantly builds psyche for pulling pockets and clippin bolts. The flat fields of Wyoming slowly transition into sheer rock walls of some unknown red stone as you drop into the canyon where the small town of Ten Sleep rests. As you enter town, you are greeted by a road sign claiming a population of 304 and an elevation of 4,206 feet. A small bakery and coffee shop (where I am currently sitting), two bars and an ice cream shop soon follow. Pass a Connoco station and you are on your way up into the hills where the shear pocketed faces of Ten Sleep canyon reside. The red and crumbly stone that is prevalent near town slowly gives way to pocketed faces of Dolomite as you wind your way upwards.
Jessi and I made this journey into the hills on Tuesday after our 5 hour drive from Bozeman and a wild goose chase to acquire Aaron Huey's Ten Sleep Climbing guidebook (which is awesome, mostly informative, and artsy all at the same time). In almost all cases, presentation and creativity takes precedent over information in this guide! This makes it a little fun to find the crags at first, but once you gather your bearings, the route finding is mostly simple. A bizarre array of symbols indicate the quality of routes. A picture of a kitten means 3 stars, a Porn Star means 4, and an American Flag or other patriotic symbol means 5 stars. After reading through the book and getting a few laughs, our first order of business was to find camping. There are a few paid campgrounds managed by the National Forest Service off the main road. But at 13 dollars as night, Jessi and I decided it might be better to set up camp in the expansive and boundless free camping area down the road and fill up our water jugs at the paid campgrounds when necessary. We blindly drove around the old road for a bit until we found a suitable spot to set up camp. Most spots were vacant and we eventually decided on a nice shady spot a ways back from the road. (We later found out from some new friends that this was one of the most desired spots in the free camping area). After hurrying to set up camp, we decided to run up into the hills across the way and see if we could get some climbing in (even though it was after 6). After a nice 20 minute hike to the Mondo Beyondo area, we were greeted by absolutely perfect climbing temps and shade. With a little bit of exploring, we decided to run up a classic 5.10b called Beer Bong (a five star American flag route). It involved some simple and fun face climbing leading to an airy and exposed stemming section. It was my first experience with Limestone and I must say it was love at first sight. We decided to call it a night after this route as it was starting to get dark.
Beer Bong . . .
The next two days involved a flurry of climbing and a fair bit of sending for Jessi and I. Climbing days start at noon in Ten Sleep and don't end until after 8:00. These are the hours in which perfect sending temps can be consistently found. The first full day climbing involved an awesome 10d and 11a warm-up to start things off. Next, I managed to send a short, steep, and bouldery (not at all the style I excel at) 5.12a. Jessi managed an onsight of a 5.11b (her first onsight at this grade) of a fantastic pocketed route called White Buffalo. A successful first day!
The hike in to Mondo. . .
The next day went even better. I warmed up on a sweet overhanging 5.11b/c and Jessi managed to send it second go. I then went on to onsight one of the most fantastic 5.12 pitches I have touched. It is a 95 foot long, 15 bolt route called Cocaine Rodeo that involves sequential and strenuous pocket pulling and many rests. Next we traveled down the cliff line a ways to a gigantic free standing chunk of white stone called the Superattic Pillar. Jessi wanted to try a 12a called Tricks for You that she thought could be a potential project. It was a less than vertical, slabby affair, with heinously technical movement and holds that are invisibly small from the ground. Just Jessi's style! Jessi confidently hopped on, and what followed was some of the best climbing I have ever had the privilege of watching. She climbed confidently and well. 15 minutes of concentrated effort later, and she was clipping the chains on her first ever 5.12 send. A pure onsight! We couldn't have been more excited! We walked to the other side of the pillar and I was able to pull my way to send of a fantastic 5.12b called Great White Behemoth. It was truly one of the best routes I have climbed. Probably even better than Cocaine Rodeo. 65 feet of athletic movement through overhanging two finger pockets and even a mono pull on flawless white stone! What more could you ever want? We returned to camp tired but buzzing with excitement. What a wonderful day.
Today, rest and Ice cream at Dirty Sally's are in order.
Until next time,
Eric
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