Early Climbing
Castle crags with Cameron Coppock
August 2017
My first time ever placing gear in rock.
The North Ridge of Mt. Conness
September 2017
We didn’t bring a tent as the plan was to open bivy in the parking lot. It turned out there was 6 in of snow in the parking lot and I forgot my sleeping bag at home. I still managed to get about 4 hours of sleep. The approach was cold and snowy, then the sun hit and it was hot and snowy. I wore Gor-Tex hiking boots and wish I brought gaiters. My socks were soaked before we started climbing. The 4th class climb to the ridge was the sketchiest part of the day since it was covered in snow, and we didn't rope up. Once at the ridge, we soloed, simulclimbed, repelled, and belayed a few spots all the way to the top. Incredible views. The descent was a slog. It took forever and we destroyed Matt in the process. Drove back to SF that night.
East Butress of El Capitan
February 2018
The Needles
May 2018
The orange body in this shot (below) is Bryan Schmitz finishing up the short but burley second pitch of Thin Ice in The Needles as I belay from below. We climbed 7 routes on these lichen covered spires this past weekend and they were all incredible. Public service announcement... everyone needs to start climbing because it’s literally the most fun thing ever.
Tuolumne
July 2018
The North Arete of Matterhorn Peak
July 2018
After a day of zooming up Tuolumne classics, Tyler Shopshire and I got back to camp in time for some killer Indian food made by Domonique, Tyler's girlfriend, and future wife. Nicole Schrad and I racked up and packed our bags for the approach to Matterhorn peak. I had attempted Matterhorn peak twice before, coming up short both times, and I thought the North Arete would be the perfect route for both of us being that Schrad was psyched to go on a true alpine adventure. We got to the trailhead at Mono Village at around 8:15 pm. It took us till 8:45 to actually find the correct trailhead and by that time, headlamps were on. As we hiked up from the RV park, a band was playing music on the beach which made for a nice vibe. The hike seemed to go on forever. I definitely played down the approach distance to Schrad, and she was clearly struggling. We were going at a fast pace but Schad kept insisting we go fast and continue to the high alpine lake I camped at the first time I attempted the peak. I was carrying the bulk of the load and was sweating a lot for it being 10pm in the Sierra. The hike was long, and the dark did not speed things up. I lost the trail a handful of times despite having done it twice before. We finally got to the bivy spot by the alpine lake around 11:30 pm. Schrad was destroyed but very determined. It was interesting and impressive. We slept under the stars and woke at 7 am. I carried all the gear on the approach to the start of the climb which was still a fair distance from where we bivied. I love the Sawtooths. It has been one of my favorite places since the first time I visited but being that this was the first time I came after I started climbing, I was blown away. There were clean cracks everywhere. So much potential and so few established routes. I can't believe it.
As we got to the base of the route, a party of 3 had just started up. They were clearly going slow, and we were clearly going to pass them. I assumed Schrad would be fast and she was. We passed them on the second pitch, and I was happy because this climb turned out to be a choss pile. Lose rock everywhere. Route finding was definitely the crux, but I gave that up around pitch 3 as I opted to take to best looking line. This is where the climbing got fun. There were some awesome flake systems that we took advantage of. Schrad was not a fan of climbing choss and waiting more than 20 minutes at a belay... but I don't blame her because I'm not into that shit either. The last pitch was really nice and the finish on the arete was rad. Schrad led a section of the 4th class ridge towards the top. I took over and we quickly simuled to the summit. I wish the views were better but the area was filled with smoke. We probably just smoked the equivalent of a pack of cigs in the last day. Worth it.
As we descended, we were followed by hundreds of migrating butterflies. Schrad was NOT a fan of the descent. We started down a loose rock gully but there was still quite a lot of snow we had to pass through. I handed Schrad a rock to self-arrest and began my glissade down relatively firm snow. The first slope went okay but on the second, she came hammering down out of control. The self-arrest rock did not appear to be working but I was able to catch her before hitting the talus field. Nicole broke into tears, and we embraced in a big hug. After a couple minutes, all was better. We got back to camp and cruised back down to the car. After a quick jump in the lake to clean off, we were back driving home. I managed to forget my backpack and wallet in the car... what a dingus move. I had to drive down to Palo Alto to meet Schrad halfway from Santa Cruz and get it the next day.
Ultra Heavy Weight Backpacking
September 2018
Calpanism with John Bolte
October 2018
John Bolte took me up my first time on the rightmost couloir on North Peak. We climbed the North Ridge of North Peak carrying a #6 cam with the intention of climbing the Harding Route on Mt. Conness but we didn’t make it that far.
The Prow on Washington Column
November 2018
El Potrero Chico, Mexico
January 2019
Aid Practice in San Franscisco
May 2019
Lurking Fear
June 2019
My first time up El Cap
Ty and Adam the morning of day 2. We ran out of toilet paper about half way through the day (my fault) and we resorted to chopping up Ty’s underwear as we rolled into our night 2 camp at Thanksgiving Ledge.
Mt. Goode With Chris Farrah
July 2019
This was my first of many climbs with Chris Farrah, who turned out to be one of the most solid partners ever.
Tuolumne
July 2019
Yosemite Valley
Fall 2019
An assortment of images from my first true season in Yosemite Valley that don’t have a dedicated page.
