Scarface Wall, Indian Creek
Spent a couple days climbing in Indian Creek. It might be my special place.
Climbing Kootenai Canyon
The name of the route is “Venus DeMilo”. The first 5.11/d I have ever made it to the top of.
Mill Creek Rock Climbing
Pictures from a 4-pitch climb in Mill Creek Canyon. A pitch of 5.10something, two of 5.11something, and one of 5.9. I led the first pitch with a bit of difficulty at the crux. Conner led the 2nd, Steve the 3rd, and both of them led the 4th. I managed to drop my shoe after the 2nd pitch.
Climbing Nez Perce Spire, Southwest Face
Yesterday I met Steve at 5:30am and we drove down to Blodgett Canyon to climb the southwest face of Nez Perce Spire. Rock Climbing Montana says it is 8 pitches, 5.10. It is definitely the tallest climb I have ever done.
The pitch length and difficulty of our route varied quite a lot from the guidebook’s. However, it was freeing not knowing exactly how hard what you were climbing was or how long you should go before setting up the next belay. Big ups to Steve for leading all the hard stuff.
I had a bit of a scare on the first pitch, taking a 20 foot lead fall/slide on a slabby section (apparently there was some slack in the rope, none of my pieces popped), and was both grateful and proud of myself to be caught by a #3 stopper I had put in a fairly shallow crack. (A piece of metal a little smaller than a jellybean with some metal wire attached to it.)
The sun was out and we didn’t have any other major incidents, and were back to the car around 7:30pm.
No Sweat Arête, Mill Creek Canyon
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the Bitterroot Valley. Steve and I made the most of it and went climbing. We did No Sweat Arête, a moderate 4-pitch 5.7 in Mill Creek Canyon.
Climbing in Lost Horse Canyon
Sunday we went went with our friends Steve and Ann down the Bitterroot to Lost Horse Canyon for a fine day of climbing. It turned out to be a wee bit chiller than forecasted, but quite reasonable for March in Montana.
Blodgett Canyon Climbing: Drip Buttress
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.
Blodgett Canyon Climbing
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.
Climbing Gallatin Tower
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.
Devil’s Tower and the Black Hills Needles
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.
Gallatin Tower
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.
