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Neal's Photo Gallery

1. East Face... ... 5. The Minarets 6. Zermatt- 2008 7. Independenc... 8. Desert... 9. Hamilton Lakes 10. Terri's... 11. Memorial... ... 43. Mt. Whitney
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Neal's Photo Gallery
Desert Spires and Splitter Cracks: The greater Moab area
Terri and Neal spend 5 days climbing and mountain biking in the Moab area, ascending the classic spires "Independence Monument" and "Castleton Tower", climbing splitter cracks in Indian Creek such as "Supercrack", "3 AM", and "The Incredible Hand Crack", and topping it out with a Mountain Biking adventure on the famous "Slickrock Trail".
Date: 10/22/2009
Size: 40 items
Views: 150
Independence Monument
Item Actions Independence Monument
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 5
This spire is the centerpiece of the Colorado National Monument, rising 500 feet off the valley floor. John Otto made the first ascent in 1911 by chopping steps in the sandstone and drilling holes for pipe segments- today this kind of activity would be frown upon, but in 1911 this was bold stuff! Today the pipe segments have been removed, but the chopped steps and pipe holes make the climbing moderate and fun. 10/08/2009
Storm or Sunshine?
Item Actions Storm or Sunshine?
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
We bailed off the route after 1 pitch due to a storm that was threatening to drench us in downpours, but half an hour later the sky openned up and we were blessed with sunshine. 10/08/2009
Terri on the first pitch
Item Actions Terri on the first pitch
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
. 10/08/2009
Neal leads pitch 3 of the 4 pitch route
Item Actions Neal leads pitch 3 of the 4 pitch route
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 1
. 10/08/2009
On a ledge at the top of the 3rd pitch
Item Actions On a ledge at the top of the 3rd pitch
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
. 10/08/2009
Neal surmounts the summit overhangs
Item Actions Neal surmounts the summit overhangs
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
. 10/08/2009
On the summit
Item Actions On the summit
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 4
The top was about half the size of a soccer field, with spectacular views of the Colorado National Monument. 10/08/2009
Neal revels in summit glory
Item Actions Neal revels in summit glory
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
. 10/08/2009
Other spires in the monument
Item Actions Other spires in the monument
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
. 10/08/2009
View of Independence Monument from the valley rim
Item Actions View of Independence Monument from the valley rim
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 3
. 10/08/2009
Closeup of Independence Monument showing Otto's Route
Item Actions Closeup of Independence Monument showing Otto's Route
Date: 10/22/2009
Views: 1
. 10/22/2009
A last view of the monument
Item Actions A last view of the monument
Date: 10/08/2009
Views: 2
After driving the rim road through the monument we drove back through Grand Junction to pick up groceries and stove fuel, and then drove into Castle Valley, Utah for our next big tower climb. 10/08/2009
Castleton Tower
Item Actions Castleton Tower
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 3
This is probably the most spectacular tower in the desert, rising 400 feet from its thousand foot rubble cone it's like the empire state building of the desert. 10/09/2009
Castleton Tower showing North Chimney
Item Actions Castleton Tower showing North Chimney
Date: 10/22/2009
Views: 2
Terri checks out our route- The North Chimney, 5.9, 3 pitches. 10/22/2009
Neal gets ready to climb
Item Actions Neal gets ready to climb
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 7
Looking north from the tower with the Rectory in the background. 10/09/2009
Looking down at Terri from the pitch 1 belay
Item Actions Looking down at Terri from the pitch 1 belay
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 2
This is one of the best 5.9 pitches anywhere- sustained challenging moves with good rests and good protection, just amazing! 10/09/2009
Neal moving past the offwidth section
Item Actions Neal moving past the offwidth section
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 2
The crux of the route is a 10 foot section of "offwidth", which is when the crack is too narrow to fit your whole body into, but too wide to jam your fists or feet in- the result is physically demanding and awkward moves usually coupled with poor protection (because the crack is also too wide to accept standard climbing gear). 10/09/2009
The summit of Castleton Tower
Item Actions The summit of Castleton Tower
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 4
This summit is truly spectacular, with a 360 degree panorama of desert towers, mesas, the La Sal mountains, and the Colorado River. 10/09/2009
North from Castleton
Item Actions North from Castleton
Date: 10/22/2009
Views: 3
The Rectory and The Priest are seen to the north, with the Colorado River in the distance. 10/22/2009
Camping by the Colorado River
Item Actions Camping by the Colorado River
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 2
After descending from Castleton Tower we drove down to the river and found a nice spot to camp. 10/09/2009
Relaxing by the river
Item Actions Relaxing by the river
Date: 10/09/2009
Views: 2
We spent some time relaxing and exploring around the campground. 10/09/2009
View up the Colorado
Item Actions View up the Colorado
Date: 10/22/2009
Views: 5
. 10/22/2009
Wall Street
Item Actions Wall Street
Date: 10/10/2009
Views: 4
This cragging area is appropriately called "Wall Street". It's the only place I know where you literally could be hit by a car while belaying. 10/10/2009
Terri on Cybernetics
Item Actions Terri on Cybernetics
Date: 10/10/2009
Views: 4
Cybernetics (5.8) felt like 5.10 to me, thanks to some friction moves on sandstone- something us granite regulars aren't used to! 10/10/2009
Neal on El Cracko Diablo (5.10a)
Item Actions Neal on El Cracko Diablo (5.10a)
Date: 10/10/2009
Views: 2
. 10/10/2009
At the top of El Cracko Diablo
Item Actions At the top of El Cracko Diablo
Date: 10/10/2009
Views: 3
In this shot you can see the road at the base of the route! 10/10/2009
Neal and bright orange sandstone
Item Actions Neal and bright orange sandstone
Date: 10/22/2009
Views: 2
After a few routes at Wall Street we explored up Long Canyon in the car to check out areas we may visit on another trip. 10/22/2009
Supercrack Buttress, Indian Creek
Item Actions Supercrack Buttress, Indian Creek
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 4
Our next destination was Indian Creek Canyon, famous for amazingly laser-cut splitter cracks that range in difficulty from very hard to completely insane. The most famous (and some of the more moderate) of these are found here, on Supercrack Buttress. 10/11/2009
Supercrack (5.10)
Item Actions Supercrack (5.10)
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 5
This crack starts out as perfect hands, but widens in the top half making it quite difficult. 10/11/2009
Neal racked up for Supercrack
Item Actions Neal racked up for Supercrack
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 5
Because the cracks are a uniform width for a full pitch, climbing here requires many pieces of gear at the same size- in this case I am carrying 5 #2 cams and 5 #3 cams- and didn't use anything else on the pitch! 10/11/2009
Neal on Supercrack
Item Actions Neal on Supercrack
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 4
That's how far I got before I had to sit. From here I groveled my way to the top a few moves at a time. 10/11/2009
Terri on Supercrack
Item Actions Terri on Supercrack
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 2
Terri made it to the top too, and groveled about as much as I did! 10/11/2009
Terri on Twin Cracks (5.9)
Item Actions Terri on Twin Cracks (5.9)
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 2
This short 5.9 crack was really fun, and much easier! 10/11/2009
The Incredible Hand Crack (5.10c)
Item Actions The Incredible Hand Crack (5.10c)
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 3
Another ultra-classic crack. I almost pulled off the lead on this one, and sent it no problem on TR. 10/11/2009
Binou's Crack (5.9)
Item Actions Binou's Crack (5.9)
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 3
. 10/11/2009
Neal nearing the anchors on Binou's Crack
Item Actions Neal nearing the anchors on Binou's Crack
Date: 10/11/2009
Views: 3
. 10/11/2009
Slickrock Mountain Bike Trail
Item Actions Slickrock Mountain Bike Trail
Date: 10/12/2009
Views: 3
On our last day we rented mountain bikes and headed out to the world famous "Slickrock Mountain Bike Trail", which is also a motorbike trail, and a jeep trail too. The riding is very technical and sustained, and really exciting! 10/12/2009
Neal and bikes
Item Actions Neal and bikes
Date: 10/12/2009
Views: 5
After riding out to the main loop Terri decided the riding was too technical, and decided it would be better if I rode the loop on my own and met her back at the car. She rode the shorter practice loop, and made it back without any major crashes. 10/12/2009
At the far end of the loop
Item Actions At the far end of the loop
Date: 10/12/2009
Views: 3
Steep ups and downs characterize the trail. The friction on the rock is so good you can ride up things that appear to be impossible, as long as you lean far enough forwards that your bike doesn't tip over backwards! 10/12/2009
Neal on the trail
Item Actions Neal on the trail
Date: 10/12/2009
Views: 4
Behind me is one of the many ultra-steep short climbs (trust me, it's steeper than it looks!), you can see the dashed line of the trail painted on the rock.
By the time I got back to the car my legs were jello, and it was time to head back to Grand Junction for the flight home! 10/12/2009