The most gangster, moderate (low-end), climbing video in the history of suburban white-boys listening to rap.

I went out to Lucky Strike today with the intention of getting a send of the Long Knife on video. Which, it turns out, was a poor idea. The other night, Kyle (my room mate) convinced me that weighted pull ups were the best way to get really strong in hurry. ...Or the best way to feel wrecked for multiple days in a row. Instead, I made a video of an easier problem I put up a week or so ago. 

P.S. This video is worth watching again just to listen to how absurd this song is.

P.P.S. I don't drink purple drink, nor think I'm a G.

Daydreams: Brought to you from the Montana Tech Library

Once again, Montana Tech (my lovely university) has been recognized as one of the top ten schools, in the United States, for student dissatisfaction. (To be fair, all ten schools were either fellow engineering schools or military academies... neither of which generally enjoy a reasonable guy/girl ratio.)

I am no exception. Calc III is roughly a billion time less fun than scamming on ladies in art appreciation, at the good-ol' Uof M. 

Instead, I find myself staring out the library window at the Anacondas, procrastinating and making tick lists. 

 Peaks climbed (at left) and on the agenda (at right), organized by region. Compliments of my Environmental Sampling notebook. 

 Howe, Evans and Haggin respectively. As seen from the Natural Resources building on campus. 

Bagging Howe and Evans in tandem via their connecting ridge-line has been on my mind all summer.  While I should have been doing physics I pulled up the topo... Looks good to me.

Tomorrow the high temp for Butte is 45 degrees, which may well mark the full transition to climbing season... Sending temps.

Gems.

 I've developed something of a pattern with my weekends, which generally goes like this: climb, hike, climb. This weekend was no exception. After bagging West Goat on Saturday, John David and Sarah came over from Bozeman and Missoula respectively to sample the development at Lucky Strike. ...JD takes pretty pictures.

Hiking in through the aspens. 

 Sarah so close on "The Shaft of Doom." Instant, easy classic.

 JD, defining the beta.

 She's not little.

 Continuing with the classy names, Sarah cruxing on "Browneye."

 The day ended with us cleaning up a problem I've been eyeballing for some time. Sarah attempting the newly established "Pretty Shield."

Pretty Shield from another angle. This block will hold multiple quality problems.

Getting back out for some projecting with Kyle this afternoon. ...The advantage of Butte.

The Goats.

 West Goat Peak is another mountain that's been calling my name ever since I moved to Butte. You can really only go into a range so many times before you want to bag the highpoint. At 10,973, that happens to be W. Goat. 

As I drove down the Big Hole, I was excited to notice that a night rainstorm seemed finally quelled the smoke. The sun was out, the aspens were golden, and W. Goat was looming over the valley south of Wise River... and it was at that moment I realized that I'd forgotten my god-damn camera. 

Overall the high point of the Anaconda's was a big day. Not technical at all, but quite long. I'm not sure on the mileage, but I'd bet on upwards of sixteen (I did it as a loop bagging East Goat in the process) with 4,500 of elevation. 

I ripped these photos from Summitpost... the quality blows. Sorry. 

West and East Goat as seen from Warren peak.

 Looking towards the summit from the Lost Lake cirque. 

Enough hiking for the weekend. The Lord's day is for bouldering.

Lucky Strike: more development.

Technically speaking,  Lucky Strike Canyon is a few gulches over, but the Lucky Strike boulders seemed like a fitting name considering the potential quality. In fact, much of the rock is high enough grade that much of it was quarried back in the day.  I've been returning whenever possible (only 20 minutes from my house to chalking up), and Kyle and I have been steadily cleaning and adding new problems. No better way to get back into fall climbing shape, then sprinting through the woods like an idiot, gunning for new problems. 

 Sheep Eater V4+

White girl problems V3

 Navajo high-step V2

 Perhaps the best find was The Long Knife project: a long, well attached flake, which gashes its way out of a steep corridor, and finishes with a dyno to the lip.

Kyle feeling out the rail. 

The sequence:

From another angle:

 The dyno. Aka the crux. 

A closer look at the feature. 

All the moves have been sussed and stuck, now its just a matter of linking. Hopefully there will be a video soon. 

Highland Traverse

A flaked partner and low funds in the bank account had me scrambling to find a last-minute adventure a little closer to town this weekend. Initially,  I'd been itching to bag Mt. Evan in the Anacondas, but with the puppy in tow, I decided to keep things a bit mellower. Instead, the Highland ridge traverse was selected. Three 10,000+ peaks all above tree-line within spitting distance of Butte. 

 Table mtn (center) and Red mtn (right) seen through the haze from the Butte Walmart, when I stopped for the morning grub. 

 The route requires heading up the old road to the abandoned Red mtn lookout (seen here) and following the ridge up to the summit of Red (in the distance).

Looking towards Butte from the lookout.

 Great view from the can.  

 A look at the traverse (This pre-smokey pic is taken from the summit of Red Mtn last July). 

 After descending the opposite side of Red, the route requires summiting Peak 10,136 (Second tallest in the Highlands) on excellent goat trails. 

 Looking down into a moonscape cirque. 

 After Peak 10,136, the geology changed dramatically, from sharp volcanic scree to alpine tundra. The plateau summit of Table mtn at back. 

 Emerald lake: The headwaters of the Clark Fork (and depending on how you measure the Columbia).

 Summit cairn and a weather station on Table's broad summit.

Looking back at the route. Peak 10,136 at left, and Red at right. 

First round of exams is now upon me, so the only mountains I'll probably interact with in the near future, will be out the library window. 

Salude!

Nuevo Boulders.

 With the temps starting to cool just slightly, returning to the batholith (specifically the higher sectors) is becoming tempting once again. My roommate / Missoulian transplant Kyle has been high on motivation for a while now, and has been crushing new problems throughout the top of the pass. Yesterday, we went to go scope a potential new zone I'd eyeballed on a trail run the week previously. In truth, I was mainly thinking this area might make a good little training circuit, but the quality and features of the rock (a rare batholith combo) have me convinced it may turnout to be the closest and quickest legit area for Buttians (All 5 climbers in town).

Kyle getting a quick FA on Old Ironsides V4. Pretty neat finish on this one. 

 Getting ready to launch on an excellent seem-to-seem dyno. 

Still a project...

Send of the day was a stellar new V6 dubbed "The Great White Buffalo." Awesome and smooth rock with a  wild double thumb-catch crux. Here is the sequence:

A look at the crux from another angle.

Expect more soon.