Sinks Canyon
Lander, WYoming
After finishing Grand Teton with Exum Guide Ben Hoiness, he invited me to be the "test subject" for a Sport Climbing Camp that fellow Exum Guide Zahan Billimoria and he were putting together. At first I was hesitant given the fact that I had been out to WY twice in 3-weeks, however, after considering how fantastic Ben was as a guide, I decided to go. Wow! So glad I went. He and Zahan are great teachers of the mountains. The camping was right near the base of the wall and the company was fantastic. We were accompanied by Corey Buhay and Alton Richardson to document the camp. I had my first lead climb on a pitch rated 5.7, although I can't remember the name. My second was "More Funky than Gunky". An awesome route that follows a crack up to a roof rated at 5.9+. I got so close to redpointing (term to mean lead the route without any falls). Made it to the last hard move and just ran out of steam. Took a nice lead fall too on one of my attempts that can be seen in the video. Learned so much, however, I think the most exciting thing is that I have started working with Zahan or Z on a training program designed around alpine and rock. Through Z and his company, Samsara Mountain Experience, I will gain the strength and endurance to accomplish a number of new and harder objectives.
If you are interested in the Sport Climbing camp, visit the Exum Mountain Guides Sport Climbing Seminar page.
Photos by Alton Richardson. See Alton's work at www.altonrichardson.com.
