Climbing Armenia

I am still getting used to speeding my life back up even though it has been over a week since I returned from the former Soviet state of Armenia. The life there is just a bit slower: you get a couple of hours to eat a breakfast that doesn’t even start until 9 A.M.! I actually figured one morning that I could drag breakfast into lunch and possibly take a quick siesta at the table and still be on time for dinner.  Lest this made me feel a bit sluggish, I quickly woke up when I hit the Yerevan streets in my little Lada Niva. Locals all drive like they have just stolen the vehicle they are in: one foot on the gas, one foot on the horn. Once out of the bustling city I soon found myself in rolling hills that gradually grew into larger mountains. The country folks are a bit reserved at first but, like most Armenians, are welcoming and always very giving.

The climbing in Armenia is as far from developed as it could possibly be; the number of climbers there could fit in a small school bus. I was fortunate to get to hang out with Mkhitar Mkhitaryan, who started the climbing club Up The Rocks. Mkhitar has been the main developer for climbing in Armenia and was featured in Rock and Ice issue 189. Mkhitar graciously showed us as many climbing areas as he could in the two weeks we had there. Most of these areas held a smattering of routes with almost endless possibilities for future development.. From places where you could belay out the back of the Lada Niva to fairly long approches with some of the sketchiest bridges I have ever walked across, here is a photo essay of the trip!

Cheers to all for great climbing, a wonderful country, and the welcoming Armenian people!

The first ascent of “Don’t Pay the Old Man” (5.9) on the Nose Buttress.

Climbing exists in the city as well. Here, Marius make his way up a route in the Hrazdan Gorge.

I took my run on the hardest line in the country. It is a proposed 5.13+ and is still without a clean ascent.

There are many vipers lurking near most of the climbing areas, so one must stay aware!

Inside one of the many monasteries in Armenia, some of which are over 3000 years old!

Karine “slackin” in one of the many local parks.

A trip to Garni Gorge from the city only takes about an hour, making day trips great!

Paige climbing one of the famous pillars. Sometimes they are detached and a little hard to protect!

Armenia is known mostly for its stunning and dinstictive basalt columns which were featured in Rock and Ice. Here is another view of Garni Gorge.

Mkhitar on his project,”Hell’s Diamond” (5.12a). He sent our last day there and his last go.

Mkhitar on the second ascent of my route, “Rainy Day” (5.10a), Noravank Canyon

One of the many questionable “bridges” available to test a climber’s mettle before he or she even touches the rock. This particular bridge guards climbs in Arpa Gorge.

Arpa Gorge also boasts a good amount of basalt climbing. Mkhitar on “TriCam” (5.10).

Every time we were back in the Yerevan, Mount Ararat was looming on the horizon.

Moving into the crux on the third ascent of “Hell’s Diamond.”

Paige on the first ascent of “Mkhitar’s Gift”(5.7) at the Arzni Wall outside the village of Arzni.

Unfortunately, I got pulled over for speeding. They let me off but argued that a picture of my driver’s license on my iPhone wasn’t legitimate only because the battery could die! Mkhitar had to argue quite a while!

Armenian Hardman

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the first-ever indoor climbing competition–a beginners’ comp for local Armenian Mountaineering and Hiking Federation members. The honorable guest, main speaker, and judge was Aghvan Chatinyan. Chatinyan is known as the “Armenian Hard Man” and at 84, he lives up to it. His list of life accomplishments is long to say the least. The greatest feat, according to many Armenian locals, was edging out Soviet climber Mikhael Khergiani in the 1952 climbing comp in Arzni, Armenia. The only place this was documented was a newspaper called the “Communist.” Chatinyan brought the original to the comp. Mkhitar Mkhitaryan (the founder of Up The Rocks) introduced me to the Hard Man. Chatinyan was very excited to meet an American climber and duly proceeded to present me with the pin that he received in 1981 after winning the first official Armenian climbing comp that was held in Noravanq canyon. It was truly an honor to receive a gift from a mountaineering legend from such an important event in Armenia’s climbing history. You can read more here on Aghvan Chatinyan

Carabiner Brake Rappel

A Number in Mind

I sit here writing this post from the now world-famous Miguel’s Pizza located in the Red River Gorge. It is amazing as it is a Wednesday morning and this place is swarming with climbers all talking about and getting ready to send their “proj.” I have never really tried to climb hard – by this I mean putting a ton of effort into a single route so that every move is dialed, and when it all comes together, I can call it a “send.” This year I picked a number and have been working towards it. I haven’t hopped on a route that bears this number grade yet; maybe today will be the day. The Red is very specific climbing that mainly deals with being able to hold on. I have spent more back-to-back days here this year than I ever have and also have a plan to be here this October for the Rocktoberfest and a short stint after as well. This is proving to help my endurance on these harder routes. I have been getting climbs that are a bit easier than my target grade in a few goes, but even giving a route a few goes is something I never would have put in the effort to do in the past. So here is to the process of working a route, chasing numbers, and Ale 8 One; though I still believe that what it is really all about is the good times we have with the people around us!

Muir Valley Trail Day

Muir Valley is located in the Red River Gorge near Slade, Kentucky. The amazing climbing destination is owned (but not kept a secret) by Rick and Liz Weber. These two folks have given this land up for use to anyone who likes the outdoors, but the land lends itself to rock climbing. They have spent the last eight years building trails, opening new ground, and maintaining the routes that have been established. This past weekend thirty volunteers showed up with the Access Fund Crew and did an amazing job fixing up a few trails as well as building a new one. Fox Mountain Guides gave a free anchor clinic to the folks who participated in the trail day, and two lucky people walked away with a total of $100 in gift certificates.

For more info on Muir Valley click here.

For info on climbing instruction in Muir check out Fox Mountain Guides.

For more info on the Access Fund and to become a member click here.

Locking Munter Hitch (Guide's Tip)

The Solution

I have been climbing in the Red River Gorge for the last few days and have been noticing the humidity rising with the warmer temps. This equates to slimy holds, slick feet, and well… not sending. The solution: La Sportiva Solutions. Though marketed as a bouldering shoe, the Solution’s sticky rubber wants to hold you onto the wall whether you are 10 feet off the ground or 50. I had worked a few 5.12s and was not having any luck fighting the pump on  the steep overhaning sandstone that the Red so readily throws in your face. So I threw on a pair of Solutions and onsited the very next climb.

Today I was back in North Carolina at a new area developed by Eric Singleton known as Cathy’s Creek Crag.  The climbing area offers great sport climbing on steep granite with crystalline quartzite edges. I used the La Sportiva Solutions again, and again with warm, humid air and thunderstorms rumbling in the mountains not far off. Lindsay and I ran laps for a few hours, and I had her try them out. Of course she loved them and is now looking at picking a pair up for herself! So I am going to stick with this shoe for a bit on the harder overhung routes and see if they are the “Solution” to the next climb.

Lowering with a Black Diamond ATC-Guide (Plaquette)

An Afternoon Cup with a Friend

As usual, my inspiration for this post comes from coffee – well not coffee directly, but from my experience at Starbucks this morning. As I pulled into the drive thru, I was greeted by Tom, the manager of the Bishop Starbucks. He is always cheerful and seems to enjoy his job; this morning was no different. He greeted me and asked if I was off to work. I replied, “Nope, headed to play today!”  Tom retorted, “But your job is like playing!” I didn’t know what to say and with reluctance just said “Yeah, I guess so.”

After I pulled out, I thought to myself, I bet Tom loves coffee as much as I do, but I bet getting up at 5 am to serve it is much less enticing than heading down for an “afternoon cup with a friend.”  Guiding is the same  for me as serving coffee is for Tom. I love my job, but it is still just that: A JOB! Granted, if I became independently wealthy, I would still take folks into the mountains and give them the best experience I could, but there IS a difference, which I talked about the difference in Guiding vs. Climbing late last year.

Let me paint the picture for you. It is 2:45 a.m. You need to get out of the tent to check the temps. It is -5 degrees outside. You decide to wait for another half hour so that the walk to the base will be a bit “warmer” for the clients. ALARM goes off… holy-moley, it is 3:30 a.m. You fell asleep for 10 min, and now it is time to get up. You get out in the freezing temps to start the stoves that don’t want to wake anymore than you do. You dig through the food bag to find the oatmeal to serve. Your fingers are numb, your toes are cold, and you just want your cup of coffee. Client comes over and says his tent mate is sick. You scramble to their tent and, based on your medical knowledge, decide that they have AMS. Now you must make a go/ no-go decision for them that could or could not affect them physically as well as the rest of the groups’ ability to get to the top. Oh no, the water is boiling over. Ok, back to serving breakfast, making sure folks are eating. Do they have there harnesses on, avalanche transceivers on, and crampons on correctly? It is getting close to go time. Grab a quick swig of that cold coffee, forget eating your breakfast as there is no time for that; you can eat a bar on the way up.

Ok, that was the first hour and a half of a summit day that could be 12 to 18 hour day for you. What do you think – work or play?

I think everyone would agree. Work is work, even if we have made a profession of something that we love to do. I hope this provides some insight for those out there who were unsure of the difference between guiding and climbing.  But, as I have said before, even though it’s work, I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

And as always, see you in the mountains!

Why Wool Works

Gaston in his wool.

I am not sure when we deviated from using wool in the outdoors. Many of the ancient mountaineering pictures we see have old, hard men wearing their wool sweaters and knickers. So why are we all wearing synthetics? Maybe to keep away the crowds from the horrible body odor emitting from our capilene’d pores. Or maybe it is just marketing…

I have been using wool for the last few years in the mountains and now try to wear nothing other than this amazing natural material. Some folks think they are allergic to wool, disapproving of it’s ‘itchy’ quality, like grandpa’s old sweater. In reality, this ‘itchy and bulky grandpa sweater’ wool myth has long been dispelled. Good wool products like the “Base” series from Ibex have a small micron which makes them very comfortable to wear right next to your skin. They can also be worn for multi-day activities and do not produce the odor synthetics would. As for the wicking factor, if the weave is just right, like in the Ibex “Woolies” line, it dissipates moisture better than most synthetics I have worn. So a smaller micron gauge of wool is a good base layer choice for moving throughout the day and nights at camp.

The alpine, as you may know, is an environment of extremes. I watch others change layers all day when I am comfortably regulated by the wool I’m wearing. It’s as if the fabric knows to keep me warm, or when I am too warm to turn down the thermostat. This of course makes guiding easier for me as I can worry about other things at hand.

In the mountains, we need to have rugged gear. This is where that old wool sweater comes in! Yeah, the itchy, bulky one; except now not so itchy and minus the bulk. With better weaves and perfected sizes of micron for durability yet comfort we now have the best outer layers of wool available on the market. The “Shak” is one of the best selling pieces of wool clothing due to these attributes.

Lindsay and myself cooking at high camp on Mt. Whitney with all wool layers on!

Wool is on the comeback, and new products arriving on the market this fall will be using wool in place of synthetic fill “puffy” jackets. It will have some of the same properties of the synthetics, like holding warmth even while wet. Look for these innovative products on shop.ibex.com.