Blodgett Canyon Climbing: Drip Buttress

Oct 8th 2009 — Climbing — 12:25 am

On Tuesday my friend Steve and I did a 5-pitch climb up the Original Route on the Drip Buttress in Blodgett Canyon. It is 3 pitches of 5.9 followed by two of 5.8. We had some awesome weather for October in Montana, sunny all day and the windiest part was at the base of the climb.

It was definitely a long day, taking us about 3 hours to walk off the route once we had finished climbing and get back to the car. I am really sore now but it was well worth it.

Drip Buttress and the Prow The Prow Start 4th Pitch Steve Top of 4th Pitch Self Portrait Steve Top Me-Top Walk-Off

Climbing Shoshone

Jul 7th 2009 — Climbing — 10:55 am

A few more pictures of the upper part of climbing Shoshone.

Lunch Ledge Jason Dylan Me Nez Perce Clouds Blodgett Canyon On the Summit Jason Rappel

Blodgett Canyon Climbing

Jul 6th 2009 — Climbing — 2:59 pm

Over the weekend I was able to go climbing with Dylan and Jason, a couple of Missoulians. We went to Blodgett Canyon, a 40 mile drive south on Highway 93. The route we did was the South Face of Shoshone Spire, listed in the Falcon Rock Climbing Montana guidebook as a 7-pitch 5.8+, described as

Probably the first multi-pitch route climbed in the canyon and still a mandatory classic.

The climb is all traditional style, with no bolts anywhere. It was definitely the tallest climb I had ever done. A bit scary in places but still a lot of fun.

Flathead Buttress and Shoshone Nez Perce River Crossing Chimney Blodgett Rain Blodgett After Rain Nez Perce Down Canyon Looking Down

Climbing Gallatin Tower

Aug 12th 2008 — Climbing, Family — Tags: , — 6:46 am

Davy and I did some rock climbing during his brief stay in Bozeman. We climbed Gallatin Tower, 3 fun pitches in the Gallatin Canyon. It was only Davy’s second time climbing outside (the first being when we went the day before) and he handled it like an old pro.

Gallatin Tower First Pitch Gallatin Canyon David Sulock Stormcastle Mountain David Sulock Davy Rappelling

Devil’s Tower and the Black Hills Needles

May 17th 2007 — Climbing, Sports, Travel — 8:21 pm

I just got back from a trip to South Dakota to Kezia’s hometown of Rapid City, South Dakota. We did a little bit of horseback riding, were well taken care of by her family, and managed to get in climbing on three separate days in the very wonderful Needle formations.

It was a grand trip. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Devil's Tower

Spire

Moon

Crossing

Buffalo

Climbing

Gallatin Tower

Apr 17th 2007 — Climbing — 9:10 pm

Here are a couple of shots from the climb Joe and I did Monday afternoon. The climb is called the Gallatin Tower and is located down Gallatin Canyon as you go towards Yellowstone NP and Big Sky ski resort. It was a great way to spend a relatively warm afternoon in Bozeman. I recognize the beard is getting a little out of hand. I’m going to do someting about that one of these days.

Looking south down the Gallatin Valley towards Yellowstone

I'm following Joe up during the second pitch of Gallatin Tower.

Joe looks to put some protection in as he starts out the 3rd pitch.

Climbing and a Pow Wow

Apr 15th 2007 — Climbing — 5:38 pm

Its been a good week. Busy, but good. On Thursday I went rock climbing at one of the closest local areas, Practice Rock, with Joe and Luke. I had been there before but not since winter had arrived. I was quite proud of myself as I did my first 2 lead climbs using “traditional” protection. (You climb up with the rope trailing you, place protection in the rock, clip yourself to it, and keep climbing ) Leading a climb is more difficult (and scary) than being the 2nd person up. And trad climbing is another level of difficulty above just sport climbing (sport is where there are pre-placed bolts that you the clip the rope to as you climb)

It was a lot of fun and makes me look that much forward to summer where hopefully I’ll become familiar with all the local areas around here. I found out that the class I’m teaching is only 3 days a week. I did a fair amount of climbing when I was going to school in Chapel Hill, and not much since then. It has been a good to return to something I enjoyed so much.

There was also a “Pow Wow” here at MSU this weekend, about a block from my house in the basketball complex. I’d never been to one but I believe they are much more frequent in the western part of the country. It was really interesting, and I could go on for awhile about that as well. However, for the sake of brevity here are a couple of low-quality films shot by my camera and then sent through You Tube to make sure they end up looking extra cruddy.

Enjoy!

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