Taylors Falls-Interstate Park

On Aug. 9th we traveled home from an overnight stay in Duluth. My Brother Paul, Gabe and I stopped at Taylor's Falls to do some hiking and climbing. It was raining in the AM so we went to the interpretive center to absorb some of the history of the park. In the afternoon, the weather broke and gave us a 3 hour window to do some climbing. Paul wanted to do some rappels because the North Shore (where we had just came from) can be somewhat intimidating to a new climber. We climbed on the Wisconsin side and then we traveled to River Falls where we spent a night in the Kinni Creek Lodge. The lodge turned out to be a great place to stay and I wish we had more time to explore Kinni Creek for fishing and kayaking.

Paul demonstrating his "rock skills" on rappel at Taylor's Falls.

The Jimmy's shirt (from the best Blue's Band in the World) making an appearance by one of the famous Pot Holes created by glacier melt water at Taylor's Falls.

Climbing at the North Shore (Shovel Pt and Palisade Head)

On August 6 and 7, my brother Paul, Gabe and I traveled to Tettegouche State Park in Minnesota to camp and do some climbing at Palisade Head and Shovel Point. We camped in the park and had some cool temps at night which we welcomed because of the hot and humid July we had in the La Crosse area. On Monday we climbed at Shovel Point. We then went back to Shovel Point on Tuesday to complete one route we did not do before driving over to Palisade Head. The biggest difference between the two climbing areas in my opinion is that Palisades give the sense of being a more serious climbing location. The climbs are longer and seem more exposed. At Shovel Point, many of the popular routes are bolted (massive bolts and hangers) to make it easy to set up your top rope. The first day we climbed we had brisk winds coming in off the lake which made it a coat day to keep warm. The second day, it was sunny and calm and the biting black flies were out in force. The views of Lake Superior were spectacular. It was quite a contrast watching the pounding surf on Monday and then the water like a sheet of glass on Tuesday. It was my mistake not to come up here sooner. We will plan another visit next summer.

(L-R) Gabe, Paul and I at Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park, MN

Gabe and I on the North Tower at Palisades Head in Tettegouche State Park, MN

Gabe and I double checking the system before we begin climbing. (If you are interested, the orange rope is a 7/16" static line anchored to two big trees (no bolts on this route) to create our master point. One 60 m rope is used to set up a releasable rappel. As the climber rappels to the bottom on one strand he/she is backed up by a munter controlled by the belayer at the top on the other strand which is tied directly to his harness.  We use a mule hitch to lock it out and then switch to a GriGri to safely bring the climber up from the bottom of the climb.)

Gabe rappelling down to start his climb over Lake Superior at Shovel Point.

The whole trip was not spent climbing. This is the beach at Shovel Point where we spent some time relaxing. We had a contest to see who could stay in the water the longest because it was so cold... I lost.

I took this picture of the Lake Superior shoreline while standing on Shovel Point.

Climbing Devils Tower, WY

Gabe and I made a quick run from South Dakota up to Devils Tower with the intent of doing a one day summit attempt on July 26th. We were a little wore out from climbing in South Dakota so we got a hotel in Hulett and got a good nights rest. We started later in the AM around 11:30 AM. The forecast was clear so we were not as concerned about thunderstorms but we still kept our eyes open to any changes. We went up the Assembly Line route which was a 5.9. We are not used to crack climbing so it was very challenging. It was 110' of sustained 5.9 crack. After we completed the pitch we were both pretty wore out. The last two pitches to the top were relatively easy. We signed the summit register and enjoyed the view from the top for about 20 minutes. Three rappels later, we were down on the ground and back to the parking by about 4:00 PM.

Gabe is starting the 5.9 pitch of the Assembly Line

Gabe and I holding the summit register at the top of Devils Tower

Gabe and I sitting on the edge and enjoying the view on the West side. We are clipped into two bolted anchors. You can see the visitor center and the lot where we parked below.

Gabe getting ready to start the first rappel down to the base 800' below.

This is a short video clip of Gabe mid-route on the crux of Assembly Line on Devils Tower.

Climbing in Custer State Park, SD

Gabe on the summit of Spire #1. I wanted to get more of the summit, Gabe and background in this photo, but the top of Spire #1 is only about 7' in diameter. Not a lot of room to move around or back up to get more of the subject in the picture.

Me at the Moonlight Ridge area. This is a great single pitch climbing area although we were only able to spend one day in this location. A lot of the bolts are new, cruxes seemed pretty well protected, everything else is run out.

Gabe and I at the base of the Cathedral Spires

On July 23rd-25th, Gabe and I spent a couple of days in the Needles climbing. We camped at Sylvan Lake which was a very nice place to camp. It stormed hard one night but we managed to stay dry. We climbed Spire #1 and Spire #3 in the Cathedral Spires area then spend a day doing some of the sport and trad routes at Moonlight Ridge. The rock was very different from what we were used to and many of the sport routes had bolts that were very run out. This is the norm for the Needles.

Climbing at Devils Lake

Gabe and I decided to see how climbing would be in the insanely hot weather on Friday, July 6th. Temps were in the 100's; the rock felt like glass; chalk was sweated off seconds after putting it on your hands during a climb; every climb felt a grade up. We went to the B-Day Rocks and ran some laps on BD Crack and The Twins. We brought extra water and still pounded down 3 liters each. We did have a little breeze that would tease us periodically, but otherwise the air was dead. All-in-all...great day and a good experience. Pictured is Gabe on BD Crack (5.7).

Skiing and Snowboarding at Keystone and Breckeridge

Well we finally made it out West skiing. I can say it was everything everyone said it would be. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather and the snow conditions (although not as deep of a base as usual) were great. We started out Wed. Feb. 15th and drove through the night arriving at around 9:00 AM in Keystone. We aclimatized on Thursday and then skied Keystone on Friday and Breckenridge on Saturday. On Sunday we skied at Keystone in the morning and then headed back for the drive home. The drive takes about 16 hours.

Gabe and I just getting off the chairlift at the top in Breckenridge.

The five of us (L-R) Isaak, Jill, Me, Gabe and Keachen

Gabe getting ready to go down the mountain off the Imperial Express. Notice that the wind is blowing the snow so much that it whiteouts the people below Gabe.

Gabe pictured by one of the black diamond runs at Breckenridge.

We liked both Keystone and Breckenridge. I thought the Keystone had better quality runs for our type of skiing, but Breckenridge had the Imperial Express lift to the top where we could also ski into the bowls. Gabe really enjoyed the experience. We went with some friends, Keachen and Jill Abing and Isaak Owen.