mcnda623's blog

Searching for an electronic link to the climbing world, I pull up YourClimbing to see photos, view blogs, understand why others throw themselves at rock faces, and read pedestrian and amazing accounts. Sitting in my office with a minute of solitude, I click on the bookmark bar, and my mind takes in the stuff that our world labels secondary yet feels more important than my duties, my boss, the expectations of our ever-growing (unsustainable) economy.

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Megan posted a photo of Tony that won post of the week, and here you can check out a few more.

I've seen this kid go from flailing to sending in just a couple of visits to our local bouldering spot. Granted, his height makes some of the problems mighty difficult, but it's cool to see him heel hook, backstep, match, dyno, crimp, mantle, and all the rest WITHOUT any tips, without instruction. I'm almost certain, the impulse to ascend and the movement of climbing is in-born. Tony has been applying thousands of years of human survival to the rock in ways novel to his body but inherited from his DNA; it seemed like magic when he independently turned himself upside down and heel hooked for the first time.

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WALK OFFS

Descending from a climb by foot, while typically less dangerous than repelling, has always led me to find epic-worthy climbs. For me, the lure of an easy descent in sandals makes “R” mean rare, “difficult route finding” mean interesting, and “vague climbers’ trail” mean four-lane superhighway. I’m a sucker for walk offs. Some malfunctioning part of my brain downgrades the ratings, emboldens the spirit, and shouts the most dim-witted mantra in climbing history: “You only have to get to the top.”

ANGEL’S LANDING

One thousand four hundred feet of sandstone nosing up into the Virgin River Gorge of Zion National Park, the Landing is but one of the piously named formations towering over the narrow fissure carved into the Colorado Plateau. Each year countless tourists wind up two and a half miles of paved switchbacks to stand on its summit. It rests as a blade of crumbling rock with chains and carved stairways leading over its spine and a stunning 360-degree view rewarding anyone willing to walk or climb the high, lonely feature.

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At two Indian Creek crags, I’ve seen the same guy without a hand, his left arm amputated below the elbow. From my brief observations, he belays like a champ, but I haven’t yet had the opportunity to see him climb. After we met him at the Bridger Jacks, we moved on to warm up and scare ourselves on Thumbelina’s long, insecure route (Learning to Crawl) while he followed his partner.

Later, as Megan and I ascended Sunflower Tower, a three pitch route of steep cracks, he rapped by us, using his amputated limb with incredible dexterity to clamp down the rope while clipping into the anchor. It was staggering to see what could be done with a forearm!

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"The Speed of Existence"

The raven is an intelligent bird. Scientists have tested its ability to solve novel problems given limited information. The birds learn quickly, noting important details and projecting outcomes. And yet, there are raven behaviors that scientists have not explained. Frequently when the raven is floating about a cliff face, for example, it will invert itself, dive briefly on its back, and then quickly pirouette back into a calm, soaring position. A croak typically follows these inverted spells. Though not an accepted scientific theory, most who study the bird have come to believe that the ravens are experiencing what we humans term fun.

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Holy Text

My feet move over sandstone,
as if writing Arabic, Chinese, Aramaic,
flowing in ancient sweeps, dabs, locks,
expressing this moment to the sandstone itself

Aloft, ablaze, a reaching puppeteer
casting symbols above, pressing
down again and again on the bones
of my fingers, on sand of the Permian

Writing my text on a cliff of red,
worshipping the worship of being
here, soon there, at once where
I am always creating the canon of life

It’s a long work of truth
and fiction, my reality and dreams
coming together, together, together
in each automatic and beautiful breath

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When Hope Is Not Enough; Indian Creek At Risk

by Dan McNeil

Friends of Indian Creek Mission Statement:

"The mission of the Friends of Indian Creek is to preserve the unique experience we all love at Indian Creek. We support dispersed free camping, reasonable management policies, access to crags, limited development and a voice in future land management decisions. Our vision includes responsible recreation to ensure the conservation of Indian Creek's natural resources and primitive character."

Indian Creek is a truly wild climbing area: remote, undeveloped, and beautiful. The Friends of Indian Creek make the noble commitment to preserve these qualities with minimal management, primarily with the aim of maintaining the Creek’s “primitive character.” Through grassroots efforts and ally-building strategies, Friends has been the key force in shaping important components of the Creek’s new management plan. The plan rests heavily on: 1) informing the public, 2) the responsibility of climbers to regulate themselves, and 3) the expectation that significant growth of climbing use – and therefore crag access – can be supported with limited facilities and fees.

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