Prehistory (1979 - 1989)

Chronological list of selected routes, covering the period before e-mail trip reports

1979

First climbing in Quincy Quarries with Harvard Mountaineering Club and Clint Cummins

Toproping in Acadia National Park with Gavin G.

First multipitch climb, Eaglet Pinnacle (5.4), Cannon Cliff with Tufts Outing Club

1980

First leads: Weissner Slab (5.4), Ragged Mtn.(in the rain); FA of Laundry Shoot (5.7) and a number of other forgettable Trap Rock routes with Clint and Ken Nichols

New Hampshire: Whitney Gilman Ridge (5.7), Recompense (1st 5.9 lead), Vertigo (5.9)

Gunks: Farewell to Arms (5.8 with Gavin G.), Broken Sling (5.8)

(took leave of absence from Harvard, hitchhiked to Colorado, lived in Gavin’s house)

Eldorado Canyon: Perversion (5.8), Yellow Spur (5.10-), Ruper (5.8).

Lumpy Ridge: George’s Tree (5.9)

(hitchhiked to Yosemite, lived in Camp IV)

Yosemite: Commitment (5.9), Peruvian Flake (10a), 2nd pitch Serenity Crack (10a, 1st 5.10 lead), Nutcracker (5.8)

Joshua Tree: Sidewinder (5.9+ then, 10b now), Judas (10b), Deviate (10a), Orphan (5.9), Hobbit Roof (10b), Pinched Rib (10b), Walk on the Wild Side (5.8), Diamond Dogs (5.10a)

1981

Squamish: Burgers and Fries (5.7), Flying Circus (5.10a)

Yosemite: Bev’s Tower (10a), South Face of Washington’s Column (V 5.9, A1), Lonely Dancer (10c, for many years my hardest lead), Braille Book (III, 5.8, epic), Synapse Collapse (5.10a), Hoppy's Favorite (5.10b)

(Returned to school to complete senior year)

Gunks: Son of Easy O (5.8), CCK (5.8)

1982

Connecticut: Unconquerable Crack (5.9+, more like 10b), Reflections of a Fall (5.9), Squirrel Cage (5.9)

Gunks: Ant’s Line (5.9), Bonnie’s Roof (5.9-), Directissima (5.9), Modern Times (5.8+)

New Hampshire: Moonshadow (5.9), Sticky Fingers (10-), Refuse (5.5, solo), Sliding Board (5.7, solo), Little Feat (5.9-, solo), Retaliation (5.9), They Died Laughing (5.9-)

(Began graduate school, University of Colorado at Boulder)

Boulder area: Touch and Go (5.8), The Bulge (5.7), Ruper (5.8), Green Spur (5.9), Green Slab Direct (5.9)

Joshua Tree: Alice in Wonderjam (5.9)

1983

Boulder area: Cosmosis (5.9+), Jackson’s Wall Direct (5.9), Grand Course (5.9), Long John Wall (5.8), Alice in Bucketland (5.8, R)

Lumpy Ridge: Pear Buttress (5.8+), Mainliner (5.9-)

Joshua Tree: R. Baskerville Crack (5.10a), Tax Man (5.10b), Broken Glass (5.10a), Run For Your Life (5.10b), Illusion Dweller (10b), Touch and Go (5.9), Solid Gold (5.10a), Exorcist (5.10a)

RMNP: Petit Grepon (III, 5.8); Jackson-Johnson, Hallett's Peak (III, 5.8); Notch Couloir, E. Face, Long's Peak (II, AI2+, 5.5)

1984

Boulder Area: N. Face, Bell Buttress (10-), Anthill Direct (5.8),

Lumpy Ridge: J Crack (5.9+), Conad’s (5.9), Hand Jive (5.9), Broken Wing (5.9+), Backflip (5.9), Orange Julius (5.9),

Joshua Tree: Direct S. Face Moosedog Tower (5.9), Bird on a Wire (5.9 R), Colorado Crack (5.9), Bird of Fire (10b), Sphincter Quits (5.9+)

RMNP: Culp-Bossier, Hallett's Peak (III, 5.8); Flying Buttress, Meeker (III, 5.9), Notch Couloir, E. Face, Long's Peak (II, AI2+, 5.5, solo)

1985

RMNP: Blitzen Ridge, Ypsilon (III, 5.7, solo)

Joshua Tree: Poodles Are People Too (10b), Head Over Heels (5.10a), Loose Lady (10b), Grand Canyon Donkey Trail (5.10a), Watanobe Wall (5.10a)

1986

Boulder area: Rosy Crucifixion (10-), Outer Space (10-), Captain Beyond (10), Cruising for Burgers (10),

E. Ridge Maiden (10-), Tagger (10), Bastille Crack (5.7, solo), Center Direct on Blob (5.10-).

RMNP: Casual Route, E. Face Longs Peak (IV, 10a); Syke's Sickle, Chiefshead (III, 5.9); Northcutt-Carter, Hallett's (III, 5.7, solo); Kor Route, Cathedral Wall (III, 5.9)

Lumpy Ridge: Guillotine (5.10c), Checkerboard Crack (5.10-), Bat Crack (5.9), Clown Time is Over (5.9), Mission Impossible (5.10-), Romulan Territory (5.10-)

Yosemite: NW Face Half Dome (5.9, A1), Lean Years (11a, first 5.11 lead), Mr. Natural (10c), Fairest of All, Fairview Dome (III, 10c), Lucky Streaks (10b), Regular N. Face (5.9)

Gunks: Ringwraith (5.10-), No Exit (5.10), M.F. (5.9+), Never Never Land (5.10), Simple Suff (5.10)

Joshua Tree: Compassion of the Elephants (10c), Frontal Lobotomy (10a)

1987

(took extended road trip)

Hueco Tanks: Pazuzu (11a), Snake (10d/11a), numerous solos up to 5.9

Joshua Tree: Semi-tough (10d/11a), Clean and Jerk (10b+), O’Kelley’s Crack (10c+), Figures on a Landscape (10b), Hobbit Roof (10b, solo), Martin Quits (10c), Bearded Cabbage (10c), Coarse and Buggy (11a, TR)

Yosemite: Nose, El Capitan (VI, 5.9, A1), E. Buttress El Cap (IV, 5.9), Steck-Salathe (V, 5.9), NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral (IV, 5.9), Royal Arches/Crest Jewel (IV, 5.10a), Wheat Thin (10b), The Tube (11a), Serenity Crack (10d), Outer Limits (10b), Lunatic Fringe (10c), Gripper (10b)

Calaveras Dome: Wall of the Worlds (IV, 5.10c/d)

(flew to Europe, visited friends in London and Sheffield)

Gogarth/Anglesey: The Strand (E2 5c or 5.10-), Mousetrap (E1), Quartz Icicle (E2)

Numerous gritstone routes at Stanage and Millstone Edges

Limestone climbing at Kilnsey, Raven's Tor, and Malham Cove, and Stoney Middleton

(began post-doc in Heidelberg)

1988

Oldenwald: Kakelackenhocker (6+, solo), Direkter-Wald-Wecker Kakelackenhocker (7-), Hexentanz (7-), Dachausstieg (7-)

Frankenjura: Geistesblitz (7+), Kunstflug (7), Neuer Alter Hut (7-), Daniel Suedwand (7-), Knox (7), Hohe Liebe (7-), Freundschaftweg (7)

Buoux: Minouchette Cherie (6a), Le Emore (6a), Golot Fou (6b, TR), Brazil (6b+, TR), Cri d' Guerre (6b, TR)

Stanage Edge: Right Unconquerable (HVS, 5a), Left Unconquerable (E1, 5a), Flying Buttress Direct (HVS, 5b)

1989

(moved to California, began working in Berkeley)

Yosemite: Salathe Wall, El Cap (VI, 10c, A2), Oz (10d)

Needles: Igor Unchained (10a), FA of Ice Pirates (11b), Don Juan Wall (11b)

Beginning of archived trip reports