The North Face

Rock Climber | Hazel Findlay

Introduced to climbing at the age of 7, Hazel took right to indoor competitions - claiming the title of British junior champion 6 times. At 16, she shifted her focus to the outdoors, climbing traditional routes. Spending most of her time on UK rock, Hazel is now in search of solid climbing across the globe, exploring the rock formations of South East Asia, India, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, North America and Europe. The past three summers have landed Hazel in North America as she cultivates the art of climbing granite.

Feb 14 | China's First Ever Trad Climbing Festival.

By Cedar Wright

A couple of months ago I attended China’s first ever Trad-Climbing Festival in the small village of Li Ming with fellow athletes and good friends Matt Segal, and Yuji Hirayama.  Matt had visited Li Ming the year before and established “Air China,” the hardest trad-climb in China, and roped me into the trip.  “Dude you are going to love it their,” he told me.  I’m always game for something new and adventurous, but was skeptical.  As far as I was concerned the only good sandstone crack climbing was in the U.S.

 

Li Ming is located in a river valley surrounded by wild red and black streaked Sandstone walls and happens to have hundreds of cracks of all sizes splitting through the steep towering walls.   The terrain is reminiscent of Zion, Arches National Park, and Indian Creek, if you mashed them together with the sensibilities of a Buddhist landscape artist, and then dropped the amalgam into a mountainous high altitude jungle.

I first visited China for climbing about eight years ago to visit Yangshuo, the premiere limestone sport climbing area in China.  I was excited to see a budding Chinese climbing community that was still finding its legs, and “learning the ropes.”   Returning this year I was impressed by how quickly the climbing community has grown and progressed in China.  Not only were are ten times as many competent climbers as my last visit, but many had graduated from sport climbing, to the more technical and committing world of gear protected Trad-Climbing.

Three years ago there was no climbing in Li Ming to be heard of!  American Mike Dobie was one of the first climbers to realize the epic potential of Li Ming and has spent the last three years leading the charge to develop what may be China’s best Trad-Climbing resource.   Mike, put up countless routes, established trails, and made a guidebook.  With the area opened, word caught on in the Chinese climbing community.  Soon, the Chinese were putting down their quickdraws and putting together racks of Cams for burly crack climb assaults!

For Mike this years Li Ming Trad-Climbing festival jointly sponsored by The North Face, and Black Diamond was a emotional and cathartic experience.  Over two hundred climbers from around the world showed up to climb on the routes that he had developed.  “Sometimes I wondered if I was crazy to spend so much energy on this project,” he told me one evening, “but seeing everyone enjoying the climbs here makes it feel like it was all worth it!”  Yuji, Matt and I all agreed that Mike’s time was well spent!

I lead two days of intermediate crack climbing clinics, and was impressed by the enthusiasm of my group.  Most of them were sport climbers but they seemed much more open to trying something new than most American sport climbers.  I think because China is a young climbing community there are less preconceived notions of a separation between sport and trad that have developed over time in the U.S.  To them it’s all just climbing. 

I put up several burly offwidth climbs for them to practice on.  Offwidths are considered by many to be the most physically demanding and miserable form of climbing in existence.   I think offwidth climbing takes, heart and grit.  Most American climbers avoid offwidths like the plague, so it was heart warming to see my motley crew of Chinese climbers throwing themselves at this unique type of challenge with boundless enthusiasm. 

Almost all of the good sandstone crack climbing is in the United states, so the fact that China now has what I would consider a world-class crack climbing destination is huge for Chinese climbers, but also for Eastern European climbers who now have a way practice this unique art form much closer to their homes!  And Li Ming is only about twenty percent developed, with many side valleys that have yet to see first ascents, so crack climbing only just beginning in China!

In America the routes of our climbing history are in trad-climbing and while I believe it’s all just climbing, there is a special place in my hear for trad-climbing.  It requires more expertise, commitment and risk, and therefore I believe yields a deeper and more meaningful reward than sport climbing.  To put it simply, Trad-Climbing is more adventurous.  To put it colloquially, Trad-Climbing is more badass!

Because China is still a developing country, especially in terms of climbing, there are literally hundreds of world-class crags waiting for a motivated soul to develop.  In the United States several generations of climbers have left few crags left to pioneer, but in China a country with as much land and variety of terrain as the U.S.A.!   It is truly a climbers frontier of mind boggling proportions. 

I’m already planning my next trip back to China to travel deeper into the beautiful and in terms of climbing, unexplored country. 

 

 

Jun 14 | HIKING: MEDICINE FOR THE BODY, MIND, AND SOUL

By Cedar Wright

On the route  Iron Hawk on El Capitan

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” –John Muir

It’s a beautiful world we live in, and we are only here for a limited time, so the way I see it, we should explore it while we can.   It’s easy to get caught up in the fast pace of daily life and forget stillness, but when we slow down, breathe, and explore the natural world, we become happier people.  We all should take a hike now and again.  It might seem like hard work at the time, or perhaps you will be immersed and joyous in the moment, but regardless, you will be happier in the end.  The trail, the trees, the mountains, the grass, the flowers.  So here is to taking a month, a week, a weekend, a day, or an hour even, to throw backpack on and move one foot in front of the other, breath by breath, through your park, forest, or mountain range!

A wild view of the iconic Half Dome after which The North Face Logo was patterned.

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain, or spend a week in the woods.  Wash your spirit clean." –John Muir

I have a lot of backpacks, and I love them like friends.  There is a certain simplicity and freedom they enable, and each one in my gear closet serves its unique purpose, and represents its own type of adventure; day hiking, climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, or even picnicking!  I have a ten year old Prophet in there that is all but retired.  Call me sentimental, but I could never get rid of it, that prophet is an old trusty friend that saw me through some of the greatest adventures of my life.  I think that a lot of the worlds real problems could be solved with a backpack and hard hike in the woods…maybe I’m just a hopeless, optimistic romantic.

Hiking through the Arctic Circle, Baffin Island

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” –John Muir 

But…maybe I’m a Realistic, Hopeful, Romantic!  A quick Google search confirmed what I knew in my heart…hiking improves your quality of life.  Research shows that brisk hiking can reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes significantly!  A study of over 60,000 men and women over an 18-year period suggested those who engage in increased physical activity such as hiking are forty percent less likely to have a stroke.  Another study of people with memory problems found in a four-year follow up that those who expended the most energy walking were 27 percent less likely to suffer from dementia.  Data from the National Walkers Health Study found those that took the longest weekly walks were morel likely to use less medication!  Did I mention that hiking lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, trims your waistline, and improves your mood! See?! Hiking is good medicine!

Approaching Half Dome the hard way

 “I never saw a discontented tree.  They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.” –John Muir

There is a power in stillness.  By calmly taking our time, we get to our destination quicker than by rushing.  I was lucky to learn the importance of tranquility and being present in every step at an early age on a backpack trip through the Sierras with my dad.  By surrounding ourselves with beauty, our perception of reality changes.  It’s a lesson I have forgotten and relearned more than once.  We all have moments closer and further away from the ultimate truth and wonder of life, but without question, I am always happier in the woods.

On an early expedition into the Sierras with my Father. 

“The Mountains are calling and I must go.” –John Muir

So on that note, I think I’m going to throw a couple Clif Bars and a bottle of water in my Verto and walk the walk!  I hope that everyone reading this has an adventurous summer filled with beauty, nature, exploration, and lots and lots of hiking!!!

Patagonia Scrambling

Jan 27 | Climbing and Filmmaking, a Life of Passion.

By Cedar Wright

When I went on a climbing trip to Brazil in 2009, with Renan Ozturk, I had just bought a video camera and loaded Final Cut Pro onto my rickety laptop.  A month later, I was loving Brazil so much, I ended up staying an extra two months, and shot and climbed the entire time.  When I came home I had SO much footage, and decided I should try to put together a short film to enter into film festivals.  This was the beginning of what has become a career within a career.  I've been lucky to shoot short films in Australia, Malaysia, all around the western united states since then!  Here is Pra Caramba!

 

Now three years later, I am still passionate about climbing and filmmaking.  I sometimes struggle with finding the balance between these two passions but in the end they are complimentary, and whether I am hanging off the side of a cliff filming or climbing, I feel like I'm living my own personal version of the DREAM!!!  Here is my most recent work, that features fellow TNF athlete Sam Elias defying gravity.

 

Dec 13 | 2011 TNF Athlete Summit, Sayulita Mexico

By Cedar Wright

The North Face's Global Athlete Team is one of the most unique and cutting edge Professional Athlete Teams in the world, with some of the best climbers, skiers, and ultra-runners in the universe all working together. The team spans the globe representing Europe, Asia, South America, and us here in North America.

The North Face supports a classic cast of characters in their dreams to push and live within the sport. Each year TNF hosts an "Athlete Summit," which is essentially a team meeting, that brings all of these talented global athletes to one place, to talk about expeditions, product, and most importantly to bond as a team. I have attended all of the Athlete Summits since their inception eight years ago, and have become good friends with skiers and runners who I would never have otherwise met.

This year the Summit was in Sayulita Mexico, a beautiful little surf town near Puerto Vallarta. Call it a work meeting or a paid vacation... I can say that at times like the Summit I feel very fortunate to have climbed for The North Face for the last eight years. Sometimes I have to pinch myself and ask, "is this really my job?" 

It feels more like a family then a team really! On our third day, in Mexico with all our meetings done, we had an activity day, and I opted to go snorkeling instead of surfing, which turned out to be a great decision, as our crew of runners, skiers, and climbers saw Dolphins, Whales, and a host of beautiful sea birds. It was one of those magical playful moments when you really appreciate and feel a part of the natural world. Inspired by Sage Cattabriga Alosa one of TNF's top skiers who had showed me his workflow for shooting and editing short films on his IPhone, I was psyched to give it a whirl, so here it is a short film about our adventure, shot, edited and uploaded, using only my iphone! Technology has come a long way!!!

 

Nov 10 | The Dragon Horns, The Climb of a Lifetime!

By Cedar Wright

My life has been marked by the good fortune of adventure, travel and an intimate connection with the natural world.  Growing up on eleven acres on the side of Black Mountain in the Sierra Nevada, I spent most of my time outside exploring and playing in the dirt.  My dad took me on my first backpacking trip soon after my first steps, and I spent most summers sleeping on the back porch under the stars.  Looking back I realize how formative and therapeutic this early connection with nature was, and it's a large part of why I am a professional climber today.  Unfortunately many teens in our growing urban centers, never get outdoors.  In fact, with stars drowned out by the lights of the city, maybe they never get to marvel at the milky way!  Surrounded by the influence of gangs, crime, drugs, and the often isolated reality of city existence, it's easy to see how life can begin to feel hopeless for a young kid. So I'd like to encourage you to donate to Big City Mountaineers in the name of our climb. It's tax deductible, and you'll be donating hope to our younger generations.

After graduating from college I spent a few years working intermittently as an outdoor educator, and witnessed first hand the simple power of nature to heal and steer a young soul in a more positive direction.  I am a huge fan and believer in nonprofit organizations like Big City Mountaineers which each year gets thousands of urban teens from San Francisco, Denver, Portland, Minneapolis, and Chicago outside on sponsored week long wilderness expeditions.  They have a great fund raising program called SUMMIT FOR SOMEONE, and I put together this trip to Malaysia's Tioman Island to climb the Dragon's Horns specifically with the program in mind.  My main sponsor The North Face generously helped finance the trip, and offered to match the first four thousand dollars we could raise in the name of our climb!!! We hoped to climb first ascents on the legendary dragons horns said to be an ancient petrified Chinese Princess.  The fact that only one of the two horns had been climbed was quite alluring, and being able to raise money for a good cause while doing what I love was a definite win win.

Above is Lucho Rivera.  At first I planned to go to Malaysia with an old friend from Humboldt, but when he wasn't able to make it, I realized that my homie Lucho would be perfect and pulled him in!  Since it is the modern age, I invited him while chatting on facebook!  Lucho and I shared a lot of adventures together in years past with numerous first ascents in Yosemite and the Sierras including the F.F.A. of The Camp Four Wall 5.12 and The Gravity Ceiling 5.13 a huge roof on Higher Cathedral Rock.  Lucho is one of the few people these days still putting up new routes in Yosemite Valley.  He's got an adventurous spirt and an infectious if not overly zealous sense of confidence.

There was no doubt Lucho'd be a great climbing partner, but what tipped the scales and made it kind of karmic even, was that Lucho grew up in the Mission district of San Francisco amidst the negativity of gangs and violence, and was headed down a dead end road until he was exposed to the mountains by an organization similar to Big City Mountaineers called The Urban Pioneers.  Soon instead of hanging with his thug friends in the Mission, Lucho was spending his free time in Yosemite climbing.  I bought Lucho's ticket on half airline miles and half personal cash , and a few weeks later we were on a plane.  I've been living the playboy dream for nearly ten years now, traveling and climbing on the regular, so it felt great hook a brother up, wasn't so lucky to have those opportunities.  This would be Lucho's first trip overseas, and I knew he would be hungry and psyched to get shit done, which for me is invaluable.  On big trips I  like to drop the motivation clutch.  I know I won't go home happy unless I give it everything.

After putting up the first route to the summit of the North Dragon's Horn on our first full day in Malaysia, (see previous blog) which involved wasp attacks climbing in the rain, a dicey descent and a horrifying lightning storm, we turned our sights to the more impressive South Tower and one of the proudest looking lines on the entire formation, a wild unclimbed "nose like" white buttress.  Scotty Nelson who with Nick Tomlin did the first ascent of the tower in 2000 when he was only eighteen mentioned to me that this was the line to do, after seeing it in person it was love at first sight.  A dream line, which is rare in this modern age of climbing exploration.  On our recon day we traveled heavy with 60+ pound bags filled with first ascent supplies.  The Jungle in Tioman Island is pretty treacherous, with heinous spiky ferns dripping spiny tendrals that manage to consistently grab your clothing and skin as you attempt to weave through unscathed!  "OUCH!"

Above is my make shift rain vest, constructed out of a heavy duty trash bag. The fact that I own probably twenty North Face rain jackets and managed to not bring a single one up our climb was certainly equal parts exasperating and comical.  But actually it worked alright... waterproof, but not breathable...just don't be looking for TNF to be coming out with one soon!  But I digress...As we attempted to approach our second objective, I realized just how hot it is in the jungle.  If you want to train for Tioman island, just get in a Sauna with a heavy backpack and do jumping-jacks and pull-ups! 

We passed all kind of heinous creepy crawlies; ants the size of my thumbnail, angry monkeys, a black snake that we later learned was a poisonous pit-viper, bizarre frogs, and this oddness all highlighted by the constant screech of mysterious bugs (or were they birds?) that sounded like really, really loud car alarms!  "RUHEEEE RUHEEEEE RUHEEEE!!!""  Lucho did not mention it to me until we were on the island, "Dude I'm afraid of Spiders and Bugs."  Around each corner, Lucho would scream and jump back like a scared little kid, at some real or imagined threat to his existence.  I had one main concern, the hummingbird sized wasps or hornets or whatever they were that had attacked me on the previous climb. 

Above is a carnivorous plant, that waits for ants or other bugs to get a drink, and then it DIGESTS THEM.  There is a lot of wild flora on the island.  You half expect a dinosaur to pop up!

We had some loose beta on how a british team had approached the general vicinity of our proposed line, but it was going poorly, with lots of machete work, backtracking and thorny bushwhacking.  At one point Lucho looked at me and said "Do you ever wonder what the point is?" "Man Down" I thought to myself...time for a pep talk.  "Lucho" I said,  "their are different types of fun...and sometimes the most fun you can have isn't fun while it's happening, but it's SO FUN when it's over."  Err was that motivational?  "Well right now this sucks," said Lucho as he tried to extricate his hair from one of those damned ferns.  Every ten feet or so, along the approach we'd encounter another "fern from hell."  These ferns look friendly, but THEY ARE NOT, they are evil and their thorns are hidden on the bottom side of the leaves so they can trick you into a false sense of complacency.  They grab on and don't like to let go.

This is a poisonous Frog...don't lick him!!! Actually I don't know if he's poisonous for sure!

So, anyways, about four hours into our hike even I was losing a little bit of psyche and I live for this kind of stuff.  Of course I wasn't going to tell Lucho, and I continued to stumble aimlessly under the increasingly heavy feeling burden of my pack.  I mumbled "we've got to be close!" "ARGHHH" I yelled, "Damn you thorny fern." Sweat dripped down my face fogging up my glasses.  Lucho helped me pull the fern out of my hair and pack, and then a glorious moment!!  I noticed the remnants of the British teams camp.  We were probably the second party ever to stand here at the base of the west face, and it was AMAZING.  A bit of scrambling, and tree climbing and a wild traverse later, and we were at the base of the beautiful white buttress that we had been singing it's sirens song.

Above, this Monkey found out we were roguing his line on the dragons horn and was very upset!!!

And so after four and a half hours of circuitous spiral/slogging , fern whacking, and a lot of whining from Lucho, we collapsed in disbelief at the base of our proposed line.  It looked steep, gnarly, and....maybe not even possible! "Dude this is SICK," said Lucho, having already forgotten how heinous the hike had been.  After a little food and water I racked up as I eyeballed a wild corner that lead to a series of impressive roofs.  Soon I was run out and at the top of the corner, but unsure if I was going the right way.  I pounded in a pin, lowered down, and pengied around a corner to see if it looked easier.  It did look easier, but their was a giant Hornets Nest right in the middle of the path with several of my friends buzzing around it.  "Definitely not the way," I yelled down to Lucho.  

I brought Lucho up and then began making my way out the roof.  It looked to be hard 5.12 at the easiest, but every edge and ripple seemed to be placed in a divinely perfect alignment, and after installing one quarter inch bolt with our hand drill I managed to free the pitch at hard 5.11!  The line went out a roof, onto an arete, and then out another roof, on perfect golden stone.  Some of the best climbing on the planet really!  At the lip of the second roof there was a hero jug and you could hang like Sylvester Stallone in Cliff Hanger and enjoy a nice view of the South China Sea!

Right as I got out the roofs, something happened that would become a theme of the trip.... it started to rain.  For a while I just huddled there getting soaked and hoping it would eventually stop.  Finally I realized the rock was soaked and it was time to go down.  I fixed the line and rappelled back to Lucho who was completely dry under the roof!  "Were, back on it tomorrow if the suns out" I said hopefully.   

 After the four and half hour epic stumble thrash to the base the first day, we got the approach dialed and could make it to the base of our route in around an hour and a half.  Each day I could literally squeeze the sweat out of my t-shirt from the "SAUNA APPROACH." Over the next five days we established one of the best climbs I have ever done, first ascent or not.  The rock on the white buttress was nothing short of impeccable and offered up diverse, unique and specific movment, characterized by tricky boulder problems out mini roofs and big run-outs on wild flakes, pockets and nob features.  At some point every day the rain and lightning would come, and we would nervously head back down our fixed lines hoping that the next day would be clear.   

This is me drilling on lead, eventually we got the power drill up there.  Putting up the route involved lots of running it out while searching for a flake you could hook off of, and then gingerly weighting it.  At one point I had two marginal mini-hooks and a dubious looking slung nob that somehow together held my body weight.  I began gingerly towing up the drill, praying that I didn't whip and break my legs, or worse, and drilled a bolt with a genuine sense of risk and urgency!

Each day we'd either push the route a couple pitches higher, or realize that the sky had opened up, and we'd huddle into our little cabin that we'd rented.  I'd read "The Smartest Guy in the Room" about the Enron scandal, or manage and back up all of the video I had been shooting.  The reality was that even though we were nearing the top of our route, we were there late season, and any day the Monsoon would come shutting the  Dragon Horns down completely for climbing.  My worse nightmare was getting rained out before we could climb the route bottom to top in a day.  For Lucho and I getting to the top would be a small victory, it was only when we climbed it all free in a day that the project was done.

On our fifth day we headed up the fixed lines, and finished the final two pitches to the end of the white buttress.  The final pitch involved climbing out overhanging tufa runnels, then manteling onto the top of the buttress.  From there we scrambled up about three hundred feet of easy fifth class and then bush whacked to the summit up vertical steps of grass.  The view from the top was a kings view of the town of Mukut where we were staying.  Fishing boats looked like little toys far below.  

Every pitch on the route turned out to be a five-star classic!  It was hard to believe just how good the climb we had just put up was.  I equate it to going to Yosemite and doing the first ascent of Astroman, or going to Squamish and doing the University Wall.  It was a MEGA-CLASSIC!!!  Now all we had to do was free it in a day!  An awesome challenge no doubt.

On the way down, the weather came in hard, but we figured that was fine... we were both exhausted from a week of toiling, and enjoyed some fresh local seafood and napping in our cabin.  But when the next day, it was still raining, we started to get worried.  Was this the Monsoon?  Were we going to sit there in the rain for a week and lose the plot.  After three days, I came up with a plan.  "If it's not raining at 3 a.m. tomorrow morning Lucho, we start hiking up and hope for the best."  At midnight it was dumping, but by 3, there was no rain, we also couldn't see any stars as they were covered by a blanket of clouds.  It didn't look good.  It was a hail Mary, but we reached the base of our route at the first inklings of light and began to climb earnestly.  The weather looked less then optimum, and the thunder and lightning was dancing and singing out on the sea.  I prayed that the sky didn't unleash half way up the climb.

Re-climbing my pitches I realized just how much I had run it out.  "Damn it Cedar" I said to myself, "what were you thinking," and then I'd commit to another dicey move with incomprehensibly huge whipper potential. Four and a half hours later we were on top of the buttress having completed the first ascent of the route.  The weather had miraculously held, but looked ominous and we toyed with the idea of descending from the top of the buttress and not summiting, but I knew we'd regret it.  An hour later we were on the summit of the South Dragons Horns for the second time, having summited in just under five and a half hours!  We were the first people to climb both horns of the Dragon which felt pretty special, and both of the routes especially this one were world-class!  I gave Lucho a big hug on the summit and new that this would be one of the best climbs of my life!

Repeating parties should be ready for big run outs on 5.10 and easier ground, and not be afraid to be creative with their gear, including, shallow cams, weird R.P. placements, and slung knobs and flakes.  The 5.11 and harder ground however is relatively well protected, and this really is one of the best routes in the universe.  Perfect stone on a beautiful buttress in a wild location!  ENJOY!!!

We called our route Batu Naga, which is Malay for "Stone Dragon," and rated it 5.12a R.  We think from the base to the summit is about fifteen hundred feet of elevation gain, but only the first 900 feet or so is technically challenging....but there is some proud bush-whacking to reach the summit!

I highly recommend a trip to Tioman Island to climb the dragons horns.  Where else in the world can you sit on a beach eating fresh seafood, snorkel through the wild coral reefs that surround the island, bivy in a sweet little cabin, and then an hour later be climbing on a world class granite big wall.  Just watch out for the Wasps, poisonous snakes and Spiky Ferns!

Lots of Love for the Journey!  Cedar Wright.

 

Oct 19 | Fresh Off The Boat

By Cedar Wright

While Lucho and I are in Malaysia we are raising money for Big City Mountaineers an organization committed to getting teens from urban areas into the wilderness. Lucho and I are both huge believers in the transformational power of nature. Please CLICK HERE to donate! It's tax deductible!

Wow, what a whirlwind! Only four days after leaving the states Lucho and I have managed to summit the unclimbed higher but smaller Dragons horn on Tioman Island here in Malaysia. By sheers luck we have managed a summit on our first full day in Malaysia! One of the cruxes of the route was the approach. Basically everything in the jungle has thorns on it, but somehow I had not heard about the humming bird sized wasps. I can now attest that their bites are EXTREMELY PAINFUL! I was attacked by several of them right as we neared the base of the climb. I still have huge red itchy painful welts to prove it.

The climbing itself was great…. The rock here on Tioman is impeccable granite with wild water pockets and runnels. And the location on an island overlooking the South China Sea is nothing short of surreal. I’d been craving some adventure the last couple months, and now I was getting a full serving! Pretty much all seven pitches of the route were dangerous, and beautiful, with big runouts on high quality granite, in a plum line for the summit! It rained twice on the route, but right when we would consider bailing the rain would subside. It was a bit like the mountain was toying with us, but in the end welcoming our presence.

We topped out at sunset and bushwacked to the true summit. It felt magical to know we were the first humans to be at this perch on one of the highest points in Malaysia! Thankfully the vegetation on top of the Dragons Horn represented a whole different ecosystem, and lacked the thorns of the jungle below. I kept a weary eye out for wasps as I climbed a tree to the highpoint and got a never to forgotten view! We Bivied in the bushes at the summit for a couple of hours, in a bed of photo-luminescent leaves! GLOW IN THE DARK LEAVES!!!

We initially planned to wait until morning to descend, to avoid rappelling and thrashing through the jungle at night, but when the thunder and the lightning woke us up, we decided it was better to begin our descent before things turned wet and epic. Lucho was gripped about the rappels (always the most dangerous part of a climb) but all I could think about was the wasps waiting below.

Eight hundred feet of rappelling later we reached the base at first light. It turned out that we were wise to descend when we did, because we spent much of the walk out in a surprisingly violent rainstorm. Now we are worked and satisfied hanging out in the small charming fishing village Mukut, which lies below the horns. Were enjoying the amazing Malaysian food and good mellow island vibes of the locals.

With three more weeks here in Malaysia, Lucho and I are now going to turn our efforts to a new route on the larger Dragons horn... I’m guessing it will be adventurous! We rated our new route on the Unclimbed Dragon’s Horn 5.10X. It’s about a thousand feet of Jungle to the base, eight hundred feet of climbing and three hundred feet of bushwacking to the summit. You should come and do it! Just watch out for the wasps.

Mar 07 | Nepal 2011, Khumbu Climbing Center, Namaste!

By Cedar Wright

This is a two hour speed edit that captures the vibe of the Khumbu Climbing School, that I put together to show the students on their graduating night.

I think it's great to shine as much light as possible on the KCC, and I can say firsthand that this is a wonderful and effective program. To give you an idea of how important it is to provide climbing education to the Sherpas, this year we had a five time everest Summiter who didn't know how to tie a figure eight, the basic climbing knot for tying into a harness.

Each year there are accidents and deaths in the Sherpa community that could have been avoided with proper climbing technique. If anyone is looking for a write off, good karma, or just believes that the people that have been dragging us westerners up the mountains for the last sixty years deserve our support and education this is a great way to DONATE to the cause. If you have a couple extra bucks it could really help KCC to keep the dream alive.http://www.alexlowe.org/kcs.shtml

Dec 02 | Moonlight Dreams

By Cedar Wright

MOONLIGHT DREAMS

 

I’m about 800 feet up Moonlight Buttress, one of the most classic and iconic big wall free climbs in the world, at the crossroads between a dream and disappointment. This world famous route has been climbed no falls, first try only a hand full of times, and it’s looking like I might be joining the club…but I’m starting to bonk.  I’m seeing spots and to emphasize the thread I’m hanging by, my left forearm cramps when I clip into the anchor…Not Good! 

I unlock my hand from it’s clenched, clawlike position and pull some clif blocs out of my pocket.  I chase a couple blocs down with the last of my water, and then lay my head against the thousand foot tall, red sandstone cliff for a moment, waiting for the calories and electrolytes to do their job.  There are only a couple more 5.12 pitches to go, but with no idea what to expect, and very little in the reserve tank, I know that a free ascent is far from in the bag.  This is probably the best multipitch sandstone climb in the world and to walk up to it and climb it without falling has been a dream that I’ve entertained for some time, but deemed highly unlikely.  Some really great climbers have come one fall away.

 I do have experience on my side, I tell myself.  In the last five years I’ve spent a good deal of my time in Indian Creek near Moab Utah, a downright mecca for sandstone crack climbing.  During my time there, I repeated countless hard cracks and even put up a few testpieces of my own, and with each day in the creek, I got a little more proficient and a little more in tune with the subtlety and some times pure thuggery of climbing these unique parallel sided “Splitters.”  “How are you feeling,” my fiancé Nelissa asks me, snapping me out of introspection.

I lift my head slowly from the wall. I can feel the blocs and water doing their job.  I slowly open and close my swollen hands without them cramping!  This is encouraging!  I quickly organize my gear for the next pitch and then with renewed momentum I set off.  I practically jog up the vertical finger, and before I know it I’m twenty feet above my last piece, and looking at a huge fall, but I’m feeling pretty locked in!!! The last hard pitches are a blur.  Nelissa Yells up words of encouragement, and I climb beyond my ability, an experience I’ve had before on big climbs.  “You’ve come this far,” I tell myself, “Now it’s time to be at your best.” 

As I move up this huge majestic wall, almost outside of myself, I am overcome by a wave of pure childlike joy.  I’m thankful for my rope and think of young Alex who climbed up here without one.  I love the desert, I love climbing, and this is as perfect a moment as I could as for!  “WOOOHOOOOOO” I yell as I clip into yet another anchor.

And somehow, through a mix of good fortune, hard work and years of experience, I stand on top of Moonlight Buttress, without a fall!  I couldn’t be more psyched.  Nellissa and I share a clif bar and then head down the trail, with thoughts of burritos and margaritas luring us on!!!  

 

 

Feb 14 | "The Game" Daniel Woods Climbs World's Hardest Boulder Problem?!?!

By Cedar Wright

Watch Daniel Woods working what very well may be the hardest boulder problem in the country if not the world! If Daniel's estimation is correct, this is the first V16 in the country and arguably the universe!!!  I shot and edited this piece in collaboration with Big Up Productions and Sender Films  The Full Send will be featured in this years Reel Rock Tour   ...The back story....I first met Daniel Woods about 5 years ago while in Rocklands Africa. Daniel already had a reputation as a steel fingered bouldering phenomena, and watching him crush in the boulders was about as close as I've come to witnessing the defiance of gravity. When Daniel mentioned on a facebook post that he had a new super project up in Bolder Canyon, and felt he might be close to "the hardest moves I've ever tried", I figured it might be a cool moment to film and so I rang him up! For the last two weeks I have been braving the 30 degree temps and shooting Daniel's process and progress. Recently, in spite of a broken hold and a nasty fall, Daniel sucked it up, figured out new beta and SENT!!! "This is definitely harder than Terremer, and Jade, and I think warrants the grade of V16" he said. If Daniel's estimation is right, this puts "The Game" as a competitor for hardest boulder in the world!!! Daniel had this to say, "I called this problem The Game, because for me the climb was a game I had to play, I had to click into game mode, and really train myself for these moves. I had to grow mentally strong and also physically strong to be able to put it together. I call it the game, because I played the game and I ended up winning the game so game over." A little inside information... one of Daniel's favorite rappers is also named "The Game!"

Dec 20 | BAck To The Roots: Indian Creek 5.13a F.A. of M.D.M.C.P. 09

By Cedar Wright

Man was it great to get back down to Indian Creek over Thanks Giving!! Indian Creek has always been one of my favorite climbing areas, and it felt like coming home as I rolled Beef Basin with my good friend Nick Martino. Over the years I've been lucky to put up some classic First Ascents in the Creek that buck the trend of the straight in splitter and offer up more complex esoteric climbing. My most recent foray into the unknown continued with this trend. Nick and I were lucky to establish our new route over a few days and headed back to Boulder psyched on our little dose of adventure. We both lead the crux pitch, and I managed to onsight the wild twenty five foot roof on the third pitch by the skin of my teeth. We named the route the "Micah Dash Memorial Choss Pile" in honor of our good friend Micah Dash who was lost in the mountains of China this year. I think he would have appreciated the tongue-in-cheek name, which as it turns out is not a choss pile at all!! Micah loved the creek and was always good for a laugh and a quality shit talking session around the fire. Well...Enjoy everyone. Happy Holidays!! Cedar Wright.