Moab and Goodbye

I had plans to spend the summer travelling around the west, climbing and mountain biking along the way. I sold my truck and bought a van, so as to have a more livable rig. Of course, a few days after buying the van I was offered a chance to return to Switzerland for another summer of guiding; an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Knowing that my parents would be thrilled to have a huge, blue, molester-van parked outside their house for a whole summer I planned my flights to leave from Albuquerque, meaning that I had a chance to spend a few days in Moab on the drive down. I enlisted a few friends to join me for my last few days in the States, loaded all my belongings into my vehicle and headed out. We had a great time climbing and mountain biking, but since it's hard to bring an SLR camera along on a bike, and even harder to bring one along on a climb, all my pictures are of climbing, taken from the ground. We started off with an evening session on Wall Street.

Daryn belaying me at the start of El Cracko Diablo:

And proof that I finished:

Sunday we went to climb Ancient Art. I'd followed Daryn up it a few years ago, but this would be my first time leading it. Here's a shot from the hike in, looking across at Castleton Tower and the Rectory.

Aubrey belaying me at the start:

Climbing through the crux:

And excellent overview of the route. The first pitch goes up the rock jumble and ends at the bottom of the chimney (just left of center). The second pitch is up the chimney. The third pitch is very short and goes from the top of the chimney up on the bulge between the two pinnacles. The fourth pitch is where things get interesting from an exposure standpoint. You're heading for the top of the little corkscrew pinnacle on the left. However, you have about 40 feet of rock to cross to get to the base of it, the narrowest point being about a foot wide with a 300 ft. drop to each side. Then you simply have to climb up the corkscrew and stand on the pizza-box sized summit:

Aubrey rappelling down:

I was happy to get the chance to climb this route again, and especially to lead it. It was a great trip with great people and an excellent send-off before leaving the country.