Road to Knowhere

Hayden Kennedy was one of the most righteous dudes I’ve ever known. He was wise beyond his years, about as kind and real of a person as you’d ever meet, and along with his raw good will he had an effortless, preternatural talent for climbing. This route was established as an honor to him. His death was for me the first glimpse of its kind of a certain visceral mortality we all face. And although the Romeo and Juliet tale of Hayden and Inge is a uniquely tragic one, as life and time moved on I saw that that loss somehow brought myself and some of my dearest friends closer together. It helped me to realize certain importances, and see with greater clarity certain trivialities. Every new route to me is a story, written in the experiences that lead to its fruition. A bit of that story unfolds below. 

Credit for the vision of this route goes to Coleman “Troutman” Blakeslee, one of Hayden’s best friends and one of my most cherished brothers. Coleman was an inspiration to Hayden, as he still is to many of us who are fortunate enough to know him as a great friend. It was Coleman’s suggestion to investigate the line as a potential tribute, and he bravely aided it in the blazing heat for the first ascent, leaving a cam nest to TR off of. I went up and pulled the trigger to drill the anchor, discovering in the process a difficult and intriguing free climb. I likely ended up getting the first free ascent because Coleman's finger tips wouldn’t quite fit for the crux, and because the beguiling nature of the line luckily eluded others for the nearly 3 years it took for me to complete it. For so many years this line sat front and center at Battle. Difficult free climbs were established just a stone’s throw away, yet for some reason it was never done. If such a thing could be considered, I would think of this as my magnum opus in Indian Creek, the closing of a chapter of new routing in an area I love so much. Hayden likely would have styled it first or second try. 

Knowhere is a harbor at the very edge of what is known in Marvel comics as the multiverse. Much like an electron, it does not hold one physical, identifiable location and thus cannot be observed as such. It is a dimensional crossroads that holds particular significance within the time-space continuum, and the limits of language make it difficult to describe. Multiple significant Marvel plots play out here, in the severed head of a once-mighty Celestial; one of the all-powerful beings who essentially watch over and reside at the very foundation of the multiverse. I clearly remember reading my brother's Thor comics as a little kid and seeing the depiction of the Celestials. The scale with which they were drawn broadened my understanding of the vastness of space and the colossal nature of the universe. Thanos also famously steals the Reality Stone here from Taneleer Tivan, The Collector, proclaiming in the process that “…reality is often disappointing. That is, it was. Now, reality can be whatever I want.” So it is with this authorship. The direct reference to Knowhere with relation to this route's name, specifically, is that this crack sat in some sort of vortex for so many years. Right at the top of the trail but seemingly invisible, it was never done. Coleman and Joe and I showed up at the “right” time, with the “right” mentality, and thus were granted access. 

I’ve also upgraded the route from the original grade of 12+ to 13-. This is sort of bait for suitors so that folks will come climb it, lured by the potential tick of a route with a coveted grade. I think it’s one of the hardest climbs I’ve ever done, and it felt like 12+ effort when I did it, but first ascents have a process that is unique. Finding out if it’s even possible presents a challenge all its own. Of course it doesn’t really matter how hard it is. It’s an amazing challenge with a great deal of meaning to me. I’m interested to see how it shakes out once repeated. 

Respect.

A stone's throw to the right of 3 Strikes