Matthew and Cassie's Big Climbing Trip.: Ten Sleep update

I just do eyes 11b

Tensleep is the best climbing we've done so far on the trip. Shelf Road in Colorado comes close with great limestone and tons of walls as well, but the variety and quality of the limestone here is more varied and interesting. The bolting is a little less spacy which also helps to inspire confidence and increase fun. Combine that with free camping very close to the camp and reasonable temps in the shade and you get a great experience.

Cows in Camp...

We arrived at tensleep on Thursday the 7th of July and have climbed every other day since then. Cassie's arm continues to feel good and we continue to push ourselves on progressivly harder grades. Our first day we climbed at an area known as Charlie's Circus which has great cool shady climbing until just after lunch or so. The climbs there are relatively short but are excellent. We did a few climbs around 11a or below our first day, then went back again found a few projects and worked them. I tried a really bouldery 12a called "The Barnum Route" and sent on my third try. A great long overhanging 11a called "Circus in the Wind" spit me off twice at the last bolt. I still need to get back to it and finish.

matthew-on-solid-gold-secret-sauce-12a_3

After a few days of easier climbing we headed to an area with a huge number of climbs called "Mondo Beyondo". We joined our new friends Tom and Laura. Tom is semi-retired and owns a eco-lodge in Panama and Laura is a pro x-country skier (one of the best in the country). They are both super hard climbers and worked on 5.12s all week without a rest. We opted for a few 11s called "I just do eyes" 11b and "Slightly Toasted Cracker" 11d. Both Cassie flashed or onsighted. Those are her hardest onsight and flashes to date and she was very happy with them. Both climbs are quite long (10-13 bolts) and are technical which is the style Cassie really excels at.

We also went to the Valhalla area and hopped on "Great White Behemoth" 12b which is the hardest lead either of us has tried to date. It's an incredible wall that is slightly overhanging the entire way. All of the moves are quite difficult and it just keeps coming. We were both impressed with the excellent rock quality and were happy to make it to the top even though neither of us redpointed the route. We are planning to go back for another shot.

Hoping for fish

Sunset Reflection

After a week of climbing Jesse, Nicole, Chris, Renee, and Tori showed up from SLC. Also joining us was Tom (Nicole's dad from South Carolina) We climbed at another area called Metropolis and the Daily Planet Boulder. Two good crack climbs warmed us up. Jesse led Luthor (a 9/10 that felt more like 10b) and I led "Captain Tombstone" (also a 9/10 that felt more accurate). The crew then headed over to "Moon Units Secret Shinto Ride" (10-) and I hopped on "Solid Gold Secret Sauce" (12a). After those we headed to some brand new routes on the Cigar that were 10b and 10c which Cassie and Jesse led. The shots were quite spectacular.

Solid Gold Secret Sauce 12a

That evening we headed to the Herzog's cabin on the east side of the Bighorns. It's a beautiful place next to a mountain stream and pond. Mojo has shown his obessive nature and is constantly swimmining in the pond and looking for fish. We've been eating great food, playing cards, watching the sun set, and relaxing by swimming in the pond. We also went to Crazy Woman Canyon yesterday and got on a few routes that were good quality. Crazy Woman is about 15 minutes from the cabin while TenSleep is more like 40 minutes or so. We're headed back to TenSleep tomorrow.

It's been great climbing with all our friends and catching up after months apart. Seems like we just pick up where we left off and everyone is laughing and joking.

We're headed into Buffalo to pick up our mail and get some supplies. We'll be climbing at Ten Sleep for about another week or so, maybe a little less. Then we head north to Canada!