Matt and I were pretty good friends in high school, but we weren't best friends unil the summer afterward. That is when we learned how to rock climb. We weren't very good, but we had a lot of fun. So really, it was rock climbing that brought us together. In fact, he even proposed near one of his favorite climbs. Awe, how sweet.
As the years rolled by, we continued to climb and we improved a little, but it wasn't until Kateka's Biggest Loser Challenge last year, that Matt really got obsessed with the sport (Thanks Kateka!). He lost over 30 lbs and apparently that makes it a lot easier to climb.
So this is a video of Matt climbing Banana Dance 5.11d in St. George last month. I'm really proud of him!
In honor of this obsession and his new ability to climb really, really hard stuff, Matt has started a blog about (what else?) rock climbing. See redpointmatt.blogspot.com. It is under construction, so if you are really interested, come back later.
Showing posts with label rock climbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rock climbing. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
50 special moments in 2009
- Running my first 5K and almost dying in the process
- Parker being pretty much the chubbiest baby I've ever seen
- Parker learning to crawl
- Successfully implementing cloth diapers
- Lots and lots of running
- Still not having all our doors properly installed in our home (we've lived here 3 years)
- Going to the zoo with Parker. He didn't care too much, but I had fun.
- Matt losing 36 lbs in 13 weeks and winning the title of biggest loser
- "Vacationing" at the Grand Canyon and by vacationing I mean "boot camp"
- Sharing a pork salad at cafe rio. . . a lot (did you know they give you a free "kid's quesadilla?)
- Still being just as in love as the day we got married (actually, more in love)
- Taking Parker up in the mountain often, and exposing him to climbing early
- Did I mention I ran a lot?
- Taking Parker swimming for the first time. He didn't like it at first.
- Running my first half marathon in 2:05 at Bear Lake and NOT almost dying from it. Best Race Ever.
- Matt redpointing his first 5.12
- Going to the Temple almost but not quite once a month (maybe more like every 2 months)
- Even more rock climbing
- Piano students stealing Matt's ipod...and my favorite piano book. grrrr
- Hanging with Matt's family in St. George
- Redpointing a 5.9
- Parker pointing at everything. Literally everything.
- Doing a little photography on the side
- Matt's promotion to Senior Accountant even though he doesn't have his degree yet (coming this May!)
- Singing a song I wrote to the Young Women while playing the guitar. Scary.
- Climbing with my best friend to the top of the Grand Teton and almost dying in the process
- Reaching the car after we finished the Grand Teton
- Attempting to "go organic"... ok, it's a small attempt, but I'm still working on it
- Accepting a new job to teach the science fair class at AMES
- Wishing I hadn't accepted a new job to teach the science fair class at AMES (even though I like it... most of the time)
- Getting the biggest kisses from my little boy
- Crossing the finish line at the top of Utah Marathon and almost dying in the process
- Parker learning to walk (0r wobble. However you want to look at it.)
- Parker turning 1 and having his first birthday party with family and friends (what a popular little guy)
- Sewing my Halloween costume and having the cutest Toy Story family ever
- Being called as the Young Women President just when I thought my life was busy enough
- Matt being called, the very next week, to be the Executive Secretary even though his life is busier than mine
- Parker swallowing my wedding ring
- The very next week, Parker swells up like a balloon because of a peanut allergy
- Matt learning and implementing the concept of "barefoot running"
- Dancing in the kitchen with the cutest kid I know
- Giving up on cooking dinner for practically the whole month of december
- Parker learning to talk "ba ba ba ba..."
- Matt achieving "Employee of the Year" for the accounting department
- Parker's fear of action figures
- Having the opportunity to participate in the "Sub for Santa" for our ward and feeling the gratitude of others
- Matt's first bouldering competition and taking 5th in his division
- Giving Parker tons of gifts for Christmas and him loving the cheap "hit the ball with a hammer" one I got from walmart for, like, 10 bucks
- Watching Movies in "The New Room"
- Continuing to live "happily ever after" one day at a time
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Our Grand Adventure
Sometimes it seems like when you have a baby, you give up a lot of things. The baby becomes the first priority when it comes to everything. All that I am is for my baby, but I know that it is best for both me and Parker if I live a healthy, happy life independent from my role as a mother. Even though I compromise many things (like sleep), I am determined not to compromise my identity and part of that is rock climbing.
Matt and I have decided that once a year, no matter what, we will go on an adventure...just the two of us. This year we finally did something we have always wanted to do: Climb the Grand Teton.
See the Grand Teton? It's the big one in the middle.
I thought I was in good shape. I had been training for a marathon (although not as diligently as I should have been), but this mountain kicked my butt! Next time I do it, I know I need to do some real training.
We started our adventure at 7:00 in the morning to backpack up to our campsite or "the caves" as the rangers called it. It was about 5 miles in and the hike wasn't too bad except my pack was about 35 lbs. and Matt's was probably around 50 lbs. Climbing gear is really heavy!
We're almost to our campsite. It is in the trees above the waterfall. That peak is the Middle Teton.
After we reached our campsite, I went exploring. This is looking down on the trail and our campsite (in the trees).
The next morning we woke up at 3:00 am. Yes, 3:00 am. After we eat and geared up, we started on the trail about an hour later at 4:00. We left our tent and sleeping bags and brought just the supplies we needed for the climb to the peak which included a rope, cams, food, and clothing. The reason you have to leave so early is that you want to avoid the thunderstorms that always come in the afternoon.
We started hiking in the dark with our headlamps and things are going pretty well until we reach a huge boulder field and lose our way. We scrambled around and eventually find our way by following the lights on the mountain from climbers up ahead.
Finally we reached the saddle at 6:00 am. It took us two hours to hike just two miles, but it was very steep and very dark. Reaching the saddle is pretty much equivalent to reaching the peak of Timpanogos...and the hard part hasn't even began.
I look tired because I am. This is the saddle at sunrise.
Still at the saddle, looking South at the Middle Teton
The tree line was back where we camped out and everything around us was just rock. Big boulders, little boulders, steep cliffs...but nothing like a trail or dirt. So we got lost a lot trying to find our way. There were many climbers along the way, but we mostly just tried to follow vague descriptions from the guide books.
We're getting quite a bit higher. This is the middle Teton.
Trying to find our way to the "wind tunnel"
The climbing was actually not very difficult. We climbed the Upper Exum which is 5.4 at hardest. Many people don't rope up most of the way and some free solo it the entire way. It is scary at some parts because of the extreme exposure: huge sheer cliffs that would lead to your death if you fell. It is also very steep. Imagine climbing stairs to the top of a mountain. It isn't technically difficult, but it uses a ton of muscle.
Some unknown climbers climbing the crux of the Upper Exum: Friction Pitch
I started getting really tired at this point. A self-portrait is a good excuse to rest.
We made it most the way and get lost again, but this time it is scary because we are practically out of food, a storm is coming in, and there is snow all around which meant slippery and dangerous climbing. We meander and reread the guide book for a while. I had a moment of panic and then decided that panicking never helped any one so I pulled myself together and we said a prayer. Instantly, we knew which direction to go and we reached the peak.
I'm waiting while Matt is supposedly figuring out where we are. This is looking West to Idaho.
There were two guys up there still (it was 3:00 pm at this point and we were pretty much the last people up there). The storm lasted less than 10 minutes and the guys helped show us the way down (the Owen-Spalding route) which was different than the way up (Upper Exum route).
We're there! Looking south towards the Middle Teton. You can't see it cause it's so small.
See that tiny peak below us, that's the Middle Teton.
My legs were shaking practically the whole way down from overexertion and lack of energy. I needed food and rest, but we weren't there yet. I needed to keep on going. Matt was fine, of course. He is in great shape and is strong. I had altitude sickness which really affected me near the peak which is about 14,000 ft.
One of the two rappels on the way down. This is my first "free rappel." Look ma, no feet.
We finally made it back to our campsite around 8:00 pm. That meant we had been hiking/climbing for 16 hours. I slept horribly that night in our little tent and woke up around 4:30 am, so we got another early start, but this time down the mountain. We painfully hiked the 5 miles out of the mountain to the campground. Overall the journey to the peak and back took us around 24 hours.
Now we're to the easy part. We have to hike straight down that to the saddle.
This is called "the eye of the needle." We were supposed to go through it on the way up, but we got lost and did it a completely different and more difficult way.
It was so flippin' hard and my body hurt so much, but it was worth it. The views were beautiful and the feeling of accomplishment was thrilling. We will definitely do it again.
Here we are at the saddle again looking North towards the Grand Teton. Still 7 more miles to our car.
Matt and I have decided that once a year, no matter what, we will go on an adventure...just the two of us. This year we finally did something we have always wanted to do: Climb the Grand Teton.
See the Grand Teton? It's the big one in the middle.I thought I was in good shape. I had been training for a marathon (although not as diligently as I should have been), but this mountain kicked my butt! Next time I do it, I know I need to do some real training.
We started our adventure at 7:00 in the morning to backpack up to our campsite or "the caves" as the rangers called it. It was about 5 miles in and the hike wasn't too bad except my pack was about 35 lbs. and Matt's was probably around 50 lbs. Climbing gear is really heavy!
We're almost to our campsite. It is in the trees above the waterfall. That peak is the Middle Teton.
After we reached our campsite, I went exploring. This is looking down on the trail and our campsite (in the trees).The next morning we woke up at 3:00 am. Yes, 3:00 am. After we eat and geared up, we started on the trail about an hour later at 4:00. We left our tent and sleeping bags and brought just the supplies we needed for the climb to the peak which included a rope, cams, food, and clothing. The reason you have to leave so early is that you want to avoid the thunderstorms that always come in the afternoon.
We started hiking in the dark with our headlamps and things are going pretty well until we reach a huge boulder field and lose our way. We scrambled around and eventually find our way by following the lights on the mountain from climbers up ahead.
Finally we reached the saddle at 6:00 am. It took us two hours to hike just two miles, but it was very steep and very dark. Reaching the saddle is pretty much equivalent to reaching the peak of Timpanogos...and the hard part hasn't even began.
I look tired because I am. This is the saddle at sunrise.
Still at the saddle, looking South at the Middle TetonThe tree line was back where we camped out and everything around us was just rock. Big boulders, little boulders, steep cliffs...but nothing like a trail or dirt. So we got lost a lot trying to find our way. There were many climbers along the way, but we mostly just tried to follow vague descriptions from the guide books.
We're getting quite a bit higher. This is the middle Teton.
Trying to find our way to the "wind tunnel"The climbing was actually not very difficult. We climbed the Upper Exum which is 5.4 at hardest. Many people don't rope up most of the way and some free solo it the entire way. It is scary at some parts because of the extreme exposure: huge sheer cliffs that would lead to your death if you fell. It is also very steep. Imagine climbing stairs to the top of a mountain. It isn't technically difficult, but it uses a ton of muscle.
Some unknown climbers climbing the crux of the Upper Exum: Friction Pitch
I started getting really tired at this point. A self-portrait is a good excuse to rest.We made it most the way and get lost again, but this time it is scary because we are practically out of food, a storm is coming in, and there is snow all around which meant slippery and dangerous climbing. We meander and reread the guide book for a while. I had a moment of panic and then decided that panicking never helped any one so I pulled myself together and we said a prayer. Instantly, we knew which direction to go and we reached the peak.
I'm waiting while Matt is supposedly figuring out where we are. This is looking West to Idaho.
We're there! Looking south towards the Middle Teton. You can't see it cause it's so small.
See that tiny peak below us, that's the Middle Teton.My legs were shaking practically the whole way down from overexertion and lack of energy. I needed food and rest, but we weren't there yet. I needed to keep on going. Matt was fine, of course. He is in great shape and is strong. I had altitude sickness which really affected me near the peak which is about 14,000 ft.
One of the two rappels on the way down. This is my first "free rappel." Look ma, no feet.
We finally made it back to our campsite around 8:00 pm. That meant we had been hiking/climbing for 16 hours. I slept horribly that night in our little tent and woke up around 4:30 am, so we got another early start, but this time down the mountain. We painfully hiked the 5 miles out of the mountain to the campground. Overall the journey to the peak and back took us around 24 hours.
Now we're to the easy part. We have to hike straight down that to the saddle.
This is called "the eye of the needle." We were supposed to go through it on the way up, but we got lost and did it a completely different and more difficult way.
It was so flippin' hard and my body hurt so much, but it was worth it. The views were beautiful and the feeling of accomplishment was thrilling. We will definitely do it again.
Here we are at the saddle again looking North towards the Grand Teton. Still 7 more miles to our car.Tuesday, August 18, 2009
St. George Adventures
Matt, Parker, and I went to St George from August 6-8 to have some awesome adventures. As many of you know, being in a car that long with a baby can be an adventure, so we drove in the evening when he would be sleeping. We are lucky enough to have Matt's sister, Sarah, and her husband, Eric living in St. George. They are kind enough to let us stay at their home and they planned an awesome weekend for us. Matt's whole family came down, so it was a ton of fun.
Friday, Matt, Jesse (Matt's brother), and I got ready early to go rock climbing at the Black Cliffs. It was pretty fun to climb on Basalt. I decided to be brave a lead a 5.9 and was surprised that I could redpoint it (climb without falling or resting). The hardest climb I could lead before I had Parker was a 5.9 and this was my first redpoint of that rating. I was super excited. At the beginning of the year I made a goal to lead a 5.10 (one grade harder than 5.9), but thought it would be impossible once the summer started. Now I'm working towards that goal and hopefully will be able to do it before it snows. Matt and Jesse climbed too. I just think my accomplishment was more interesting then anything they did;).
Matt leading a 5.10b
still leading the 10b
this is me redpointing the 5.9: Entropy
clipping in on Entropy (5.9)
the scary part: I'm starting to climb above the bolt
Friday afternoon Sarah and Eric took us on a beautiful, short little hike called Canaraville Falls. Canarville is just south of Cedar City. It took us up a small stream and into a slot canyon to some waterfalls. I was having fun taking pictures so I didn't notice Matt climbing up a rickety ladder with Parker on his back. I was mad. I was mostly worried about the climb down, but I know Matt has some mad climbing skills and would be able to safely transport
Parker down the ladder.
The next day Parker went boating for the first time. He didn't really care for it. He was content exploring the boat, but didn't even seem interested in the fact that we were surrounded by water. He did have some fun on the beach, crawling around in the sand. Matt and I went wakeboarding a little. I would like to try it some more some time.
It was such a fun weekend! Thank you Sarah and Eric for the good times!
Friday, Matt, Jesse (Matt's brother), and I got ready early to go rock climbing at the Black Cliffs. It was pretty fun to climb on Basalt. I decided to be brave a lead a 5.9 and was surprised that I could redpoint it (climb without falling or resting). The hardest climb I could lead before I had Parker was a 5.9 and this was my first redpoint of that rating. I was super excited. At the beginning of the year I made a goal to lead a 5.10 (one grade harder than 5.9), but thought it would be impossible once the summer started. Now I'm working towards that goal and hopefully will be able to do it before it snows. Matt and Jesse climbed too. I just think my accomplishment was more interesting then anything they did;).
Matt leading a 5.10b
still leading the 10b
this is me redpointing the 5.9: Entropy
clipping in on Entropy (5.9)
the scary part: I'm starting to climb above the boltParker down the ladder.
The next day Parker went boating for the first time. He didn't really care for it. He was content exploring the boat, but didn't even seem interested in the fact that we were surrounded by water. He did have some fun on the beach, crawling around in the sand. Matt and I went wakeboarding a little. I would like to try it some more some time.
It was such a fun weekend! Thank you Sarah and Eric for the good times!
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