What was your most proud climbing moment 2010?

I just started leading on gear this year so I'd have to say that leading an entire 4 pitch route would be it.

Some proud moments in this thread! Awesome work, Scott, Rob et al.

2010 was a tough year. No climbing goals ticked. But my most enjoyable moment was either a Flatiron trifecta for my 48th birthday, or scrambling the Second with two of my visiting adult children the day before Christmas.

Here's to a prouder 2011.

Wow Rich, I'd forgotten about that day- my memory was overwritten by the burlathon the next day out up on Mt. Conness. Exploratory fun wins every time.

In which spirit I have to include the first lead of the monster pitch on the new thing- 180 feet of kinda nonstop action, tricky pro, delicate climbing, a bit of headiness. Go do it. PM me on that one.

Also the view from the top of Washington Column>

Great post from rob.calm; I think that one takes the prize so far.

I guess my two proudest moments in 2010 were getting an FA at Tennessee Wall (Little Green Men, 5.8+) and ticking my 200th trad lead (which will tell you how OCD I am about my climbing journal, heh).

JL

I managed to onsight the crux pitch of Birds of Fire (5.11aR)on Chiefshead, without having a total melt down due to the huge runouts.

I also had the opportunity to climb my first Black Canyon route. (Scenic Cruise) We managed to top out with enough daylight to watch the sunset with beer in hand.

rob.calm wrote:A few years back the late Daniel Schorr , the veteran reporter and news analyst, was interviewed by NPR on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The interviewer told Schorr that he was a walking encyclopedia. Schorr said he was most proud that he was still walking. I turned 80 this summer, and like Schorr, I'm most proud that I’m still walking (and still climbing). The climbing went well this year. As I’ve gotten older, the goals have become more modest but achieving any of them is more satisfying. Every now and then, there’s a thread where someone asks how he should train to get beyond the plateau he’s stuck on. I’d like to know how to train to remain stuck on the plateau. For me, it’s a good year if I climb as strongly at the end of the year as I did at the beginning. I had 52 days of outside climbing this year, mostly on the Front Range along with a week at Joshua Tree. One of the high points of the season was finally climbing Nun’s Buttress in Rocky Mt. NP something I’ve wanted to do for decades. I’ve described the endeavor at (my comments are near the bottom of the list). mountainproject.com/v/color… A couple of pictures from my 80th birthday party, hosted by my wife and four daughters-in-law, and of my climbing this year are at (including pictures from an annual wide-crack class I teach in the fall for a local club). s793.photobucket.com/albums… At Vedauwoo, I participated in a number of first ascents (5.7-5.10a) Here’s a description of the route Ben Boykin and I established on Midsummer Wall (we also thought Shortest Night was a first ascent, but later found out it had been climbed earlier). mountainproject.com/v/wyomi… And here are some on the Old Folks’ Wall: mountainproject.com/v/wyomi… A new route on Holdout at Vedauwoo with an interesting name: Morning Sickness. One of my partners experienced this malady on pitch 2. mountainproject.com/v/wyomi… A new route on Nautilus mountainproject.com/v/wyomi… Since I’m not climbing as hard as I used to, it’s fun to seek out moderate first ascents, which often leads to adventures seldom encountered on established routes. As the weather turned cold in the middle of November, I stopped climbing. I had lost several pounds during the climbing season and am now seriously weight lifting (squats, dead-lifts, power cleans and robust eating) to regain the lost weight. So far 5 lb. in 6 weeks. A couple of more pounds to go, and I might even consider going to a climbing gym while I wait for the weather to warm up and the beginning of another season. Cheers, Rob.calm

Amazing!!!! Cheers to you sir and good luck in '11!

The most proud for me, is seeing my wife Helen getting back on it on remote desert routes after almost losing her right foot in a 25 foot ledge fall in summer of '07. She's back with her new nick name "Helen 'back"!!

Welp Id have to say leading all of Frogland at Red Rocks. My first multi/trad!!! sooo fun!

Topping out the Rostrum

Onsighting Sunspot Dihedral

I would have to say that my most proud climbing moment in 2010 was not on Sierra granite but Andean ice! I ventured South of the Equator on my first trip to South America to visit Peru, Bolivia and Chile. After an amazing visit to Machu Picchu and the Northern end of Lake Titicaca in Peru, I crossed into Bolivia to pursue high altitude mountaineering climbs. After successful ascents of Pomerape, Parinacota and Bolivia's highest peak, Sajama at 21,522 feet I ventured to Chile for some time on the beach! Upon my return to La Paz, Bolivia I grew restless with a desire to climb again during my final week in the country. Back in the States, I had watched a video of Bolvian guide Eduardo Mamani free soloing up the South-East face of the beautiful Andean pyramid Pequeno Alpamayo...now, I found myself in this beautiful country with a little more than a weekend left and this video came back to my mind and I decided I would repeat his effort and climb, "La Ruta Directa"

I set up my logistics and transportation to Lago Tuni and then enjoyed a fun Friday night in La Paz with friends. My driver arrived early in the morning Saturday and it was not long before we pulled into the tiny village of Tuni below the lake. After nearly an hour of conversation with a few local boys, I shouldered my pack and departed the village on my way to base camp.

The Bolivian countryside near Condoriri is nothing short of spectacular! After a few hours, I arrived at Chiar Kota the most amazing basecamp I have ever seen! After setting up camp and getting some dinner, I made an unsuccessful attempt at sleeping, too amped on adrenaline to sleep. I had spoken to several people about the mountain and ultimately decided to abandon my attempt at the Direct Face route in favor of the easier Ridge Route due to my inability to find a partner and having only a general mountaineering axe instead of a pair of technical ice axes.

I awoke early the next morning at set off up the trail towards the Tarija glacier, watching several streams of headlamps on the glacier above me. Just before dawn I reached the foot of the glacier and paused just long enough to put on my crampons and pull out my ice axe. Being solo on a glacier can be a little nerve racking at times but the crevasses were wide open and easy to traverse around for the most part. I passed three rope teams heading up the glacier, drawing questions from some and disapproving headshakes from others. I made my way to the top of Punta Tarija without issue before gaining my first views of Pequeno Alpamayo.

Despite initial hesitations, I couldn't keep my eyes off the South-East face! As I descended from Tarija to the base of the Ridge route, my mind swirled with thoughts of what to do! After taking a food break I spoke with a local guide and his two clients and very impulsively decided to, against all advice, attempt the Direct Route. As I crossed the snowfield towards the bergschrund at the base of the face, I felt incredibly alone despite the crowds of people on the ridge to my left.

The South-East face consists of steep, hard snow and ice at nearly an 80-degree angle for nearly 2,500 feet. I set out on the lefthand side of a corner and followed it up the route for about 2/3's of the route before crossing the "gully" to the right side. I paused briefly, thinking I was imagining voices in some sort of strange altitude related issue. I turned to look back towards Tarija to find a group of people gathered there and watching, cheering me on! Another, smaller group had gathered at the base of the Ridge Route to watch. I laughed it off and continued up the route.

I found myself only two-hundered and fifty feet from the top of the pyramid with a long section of hard water ice above me and a rockband and 2,150 feet or so of air below me. I started up, making several moves up very steep, hard ice when I swung my axe down on the ice, driving it into the ice but it created an odd sound! I attempted a second placement but heard the same sound! In trying to make a third placement, my left crampon let go and I began to slide/fall down the nearly 80-degree slope. I remember looking down in between my legs at the approaching rock band and the hard snow just above that point! I tried to keep myself calm as I slid further and faster down the mountain! I counted in my head: 1 - 2 - 3 - NOW and swung my ice axe hard down into the snow and just like that, I was stopped!!!

I immediately started back up the route, climbing just right of my initial line and feeling more confident in my placements! I quickly raced to the lip of the snow/ice and then over the crest onto barren rock! I turned to hear the sounds of whistles and cheers from the two groups of spectators, I raised my axe to respond to them before making the final steps to the summit of Pequeno Alpamayo!

After about a half hour on the summit to catch my breath, take a few pictures and eat some food, I descended the Ridge Route back down to the base of Punta Tarija and then up to where the crowd had gathered. My watch registered an ascent time of one hour and thirty-five minutes...no record like Senor Mamani but I was proud. After receiving congratulatory hand shakes and answering various questions from other climbers, I sat down to finally reflect on what I had just done! One guide had informed me that in all his years guiding (16 so far) he never thought he would see such an ascent in real life! That's when it finally hit me...what I had just done!

I quickly descended from Tarija and then down the glacier to base camp, where I intended to stay one final night before returning to La Paz. In camp I continued to receive praise and questions from various groups who were in camp or passing by. The next day I returned to Villa Tuni and then La Paz to spend my final days and nights with friends...

This is my most proud climbing of 2010 and my entire life so far...

quitting smoking in September. Amazing how much better i can climb without nicotine in my blood.

Boo-Ya Darren! Way to go!

My proudest moment in climbing this year was being one of the top 3 fundraisers for the HERA Colorado Climb for Life event.

Mr. Rob.calm, I too climbed Nun's Butress this year for the first time, after wanting to do it for 25 years, and with a great partner. Whoa, life is good. Thanks Kat!

Rob Dillon wrote:Wow Rich, I'd forgotten about that day- my memory was overwritten by the burlathon the next day out up on Mt. Conness. Exploratory fun wins every time. In which spirit I have to include the first lead of the monster pitch on the new thing- 180 feet of kinda nonstop action, tricky pro, delicate climbing, a bit of headiness. Go do it. PM me on that one. Also the view from the top of Washington Column>

Yeah, Conness won't go down as a proud climbing moment for me. Great climb, and an awesome day, but I pulled on way too much gear to be proud of that effort. Damn that thing is hard!

Nice work on the "new thing". I'd love to check it out! The logistics just got a little harder since my tour guide (and rope gun) decided that he was tired of living in El Portal (what!?) and he'd rather ride his bike around Asia for a year???

Personally it'd probably be *finally* getting Curvaceous in CCC. That sucker took a while! And also trying to start leading some easier trad stuff at Lumpy and Turkey earlier in the year. But I was also a VERY proud belayer for a few of my boyfriends projects, and it made me so happy to watch a few of those go down :)

My proudest moments of 2010 were when I helped climbers crack into a grade they did not believe they could climb.

Although I have sent significantly harder climbs, my best moment in 2010 was onsighting the headwall pitch on J Crack. Also, aiding on the Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite was radical. Doing an FA in RMNP, onsight, ground up, no fixed gear, was sick. 2010 was a great year!

Shared some first ascents with a few dedicated people. New boulders dont need names or grades, just some imagination.

rob.calm,
Very cool! I hope your 2011 is even better.

In 2010 I climbed less (indoors and outdoors) than any of the 14 years I've been doing it. This year I'll be moving to a city with no climbing and leaving behind my climbing community/friends. The only bonus to that is Colorado will be two hours closer. Staying motivated and strong will be a challenge.

As for 2010, doing the Grand Teton with my best friend was easily the highlight.

When Monty took his shirt off for me at the crag, I knew it was a 2010 Brokeback moment....

I just was lucky to get out when I could. Climbing that is, get out climbing.

Eeked this one out on Dec 31st... one of my hardest boulder problems to date.
YouTube: Ralph's Arete FA

Topping out after 5 pitches of ice at Tahquitz was up there too.

9 days & 53 routes in JTree over Thanksgiving was my longest climbing trip yet, and a fantastic one despite the chilly temps.

It was a good year... looking forward to the next.