SCOTT SINNER AND I FOUND the formation we named the Black Obelisk by accident after following some bad guidebook beta while looking for an established route in the area. We returned a week later, on April 21, armed with more substantial equipment ...
On October 20, Myles Moser, Amy Ness, and I hiked into the mouth of rugged Sawmill Canyon from the edge of the desert, about nine miles northwest of the town of Independence. This narrow, brush-choked canyon has thwarted many potential explorers f...
During the summer of 2017, Adam Sheppard, Daniel Jeffcoach, and I went out to Bubbs Creek Wall and attempted a line left of the Samurai Warrior/Ronin (V 5.12a) and Crystal Bonzai (VI 5.11 A3). We climbed to a dihedral toward a huge, guillotine-lik...
MANY HUNDREDS have passed by the Checkered Demon (13,121’) while descending from the adjacent and popular East Arête of Mt. Humphreys. The north side of Checkered Demon features one of the most stunning arêtes in the High Sierra, and the peak is u...
AN ATTRACTIVE and sheer granitic wall juts out of the North Fork of Lubken Creek Canyon, south of Tuttle Creek near Lone Pine. This 1,000’-plus cliff is plainly visible from town and many areas in the nearby Alabama Hills, but our research reveale...
In July, Neal Harder, Sebastian Thau, and I established a nearly 1,000' route on the east side of Lower Tokapah Dome. 1,000 Piece Meal Deal (5.10d) climbs a direct line to the summit and is to the right of previously established routes. The first,...
In October, Brian Prince and I completed the Money Shot (9 pitches, 5.11 C1), a spectacularly steep route that climbs the left side of the prominent Sunset Buttress, the first route up the face. [This Nose-like buttress was climbed by Richard Leve...
In September, Cristina Engel, Neal Harder, and I established the first known technical routes on Confluence Dome (37.445315, -119.242106), located at the confluence of the south and main forks of the San Joaquin River, downstream from Balloon Dome...
In early August, Becca Pilkerton and I approached Mt. Chamberlin (13,175’) from Cottonwood Pass. After a day of swimming and staring at potential routes, we climbed a mostly new nine-pitch route on the west buttress of Mt. Chamberlin’s northeast f...
In July, I backpacked to Upper Boy Scout Lake with my friend Steve Yamamoto and my wife Giselle Field. It was to be Steve’s first true rock climbing experience, and we had the intention of climbing standard routes on Mt. Whitney and Mt. Russell. H...
On July 28, Dave Spies, Steven Stosky, and I climbed what we believe to be a new route up the east face of Mt. Humphreys (13,986’), just west of Bishop. Our route ascends the center of the very prominent pillar on the far right (north) side of the...
The afternoon sun beat through the smoke-filled air. My mind was delirious and my legs ached from the previous 50 miles. I had left Tuolumne Meadows 19 hours and 15 minutes earlier, running northbound on the Pacific Crest Trail. Passing Dorothy La...
In July, Tad McCrea and I made the long trek up the East Lake Trail, aiming for the east face of Sky Pilot (ca 12,960’), just south of Longley Pass. After hiking 17 miles from Road’s End, we camped at Lake Reflection and set off early the next mor...
FREESTANDING PINNACLES are a rarity in the High Sierra, where it’s more common to top out on a flat plateau and surf down scree to descend. But in late August, Jon Griffin, Tad McCrea, and I found a new route up Shaw Spire, a freestanding tower be...
In October, Jon Griffin, Tad McCrea, and I climbed a likely new route in mixed conditions on the northwest face of Mt. Russell (14,086’) that we named Land of Milk and Honey (1,000’, IV 5.8+ M3 R 65°). We spied the line while scoping another objec...
IN EARLY JUNE, Josie McKee and I climbed a new route on the east face of Four Gables (12,720’), just west of Bishop. Inspired by an article by Dave Nettle (see AAJ 2014), we decided to check out the face for ourselves. [Editor’s Note: In addition ...
In August, Tad McCrea and I climbed a new route called Mud Falcon (1,400’, IV 5.11- C1) up the north face of Ericsson Crag 3 in Kings Canyon National Park. We had been curious about this mountain after seeing it from the top of North Guard the pre...
In August, I was invited to join an expedition with Sean Canterbury, Mark Evans, Evan Johnson, Jared Leader, Shingo Ohkawa, Heath Rowland, Oli Shaw, and Greg Troutman—an unruly group of climbers from around the country—for two weeks of exploration...
THE DEEPER MYSTERY TOWERS are a previously untouched area of desert sandstone towers, a mile east of the Mystery Towers, which themselves are just east of the well-known Fisher Towers. The Deeper Mysteries can only be seen from the nearby mesa cal...
At the end of March, Thomas Auvaro, Jeremy Fino, Antoine Rolle, and I traveled to the Revelation Glacier. After reading Clint Helander’s stories, the “Revs” seemed to be the perfect place to fulfill our dreams of adventure on unclimbed walls.After...