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| photo Noah Mckelvin |
- JD Merritt (reposted from the AM site.)
From
the 18-21st of April we kicked off the third round of Alpine Mentors.
Eight potential mentees met with Steve House,
Steven van Sickle, Colin Simon, and Buster Jesik. The previous
mentees had returned as mentors. Topher Donahue was also able to meet up
with us for a day. We planned to have an “ice
breaking” day rock climbing at Lumpy. The snowstorms rolled in, so
we changed our plans from breaking the ice to trying to climb some of
it. We got a pre-dawn start to climb mixed routes in
Tyndall Gorge, skiing from the road. This was the first time in
years I had returned to the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park, or
RMNP. After often making the trip up there to climb
during college, my friends and I have come to pronounce it as:
“Rah-Mu-N-Puh”. The climbing there is complete with cold, ripping winds,
some longer approaches, and wonderfully featured rock. In
the winter the crowds subside and RMNP becomes its best self.
Day One
The first day I was paired with Noah Mckelvin and Buster Jesik. The
buttresses of Hallett were covered in fresh snow and the place was
looking very alpine. We climbed a crack system left of
Bullet for two pitches of (possibly unclimbed) steep cracks
and roofs. It was an interesting warmup, with everything from edging to
overhanging offwidths, and even a roof clearing move
that necessitated cutting feet and swinging on a mossy picklock. We
continued on to the top of Bullet. If this is new terrain, I propose the name Hollow Point in reference to some
rattly blocks I had to trundle.
Day Two
The next day I
was paired to climb with Kat Vollinger and Steven van Sickle. The focus
of this day was shifted away from harder mixed cragging,
and would be an experience in efficient movement on moderate
terrain. After picking out the Spiral Route on
Notchtop peak, we finished the long approach and stopped to deliberate.
It was unanimously decided that the approach couloir would be an unsafe
proposition after the new wind loading. We instead scrambled a
wind-scoured ridge across from Notchtop, finding interesting sections of
climbing on frozen moss and broken gneiss.
Day Three
After
two days in a row of predawn starts, we all took it easy on our third
day and went to Lumpy Ridge for a little bit
of rock climbing and a lesson in rescuing the fallen leader from
Buster. This was an important review for most of us. If you’re in doubt,
ask your climbing partners if they know self-rescue and
go practice with them. It’s vital for trying more committing routes,
and can be a sobering experience--it’s not easy. There are factors
outside your control in climbing, and knowing how to help
an injured partner gives you a chance to manage the situations
no-one wants or expects. For those of us who are guides, this stuff is a
job requirement and by now second nature. For people like
me who aren’t engaged in any kind of guiding, it’s important to
practice self-rescue simply to become a safer and more dependable
climbing partner.
Day Four
We closed out the day on some of the best pitches at the Book. This was a fun way to close out the session, and at
this point everyone was relaxing and getting in good pitches on the funky, cryptic, and polished granite of Lumpy.
I was initially nervous for what seemed like a “tryout” for
some sort of
alpine climbing team. Instead it was more of a social experiment.
After a while we started to relax. Everyone got to know each other and
did some great climbing. I’m psyched be a part of the next
round of Alpine Mentors, and I’m looking forward to two years in the
mountains with an amazing group.
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