Southeast Face Clyde Minaret

Southeast Face of Clyde Minarret 5.8, 15 pitches, IV, elevation gain 1,500 feet. One of the best climbs I have done in California. A true classic in my mind. There will be loads of red tape to get on this rock but it is well worth the effort.
Superb climbing pitch after pitch with amazing panorama. Honestly only confident 5.8 - 5.9 leaders should attempt this climb. Study the descent very thoroughly because the descent is not extremely obvious. Will be easy to make a mistake here. My partner and I did not move fast enough during the day. We were over come by darkness during the descent and missed the gully. Forced to climb to higher ground and bivy for the night. During the sunrise over Mono Lake we were able to rectify our mistake and make a safe descent to our camp. Super classic alpine climb. Have fun , stay safe, move fast and enjoy this gem.

Kor-Ingalls route Castleton Tower, Castle Valley, Moab Utah

Castleton Tower was my first desert tower climb. Moab Utah is one of the more beautiful climbing destinations in the South West. The rock in this area is amazing. Is the rock amazing on the Castleton Tower? I am not sure.
The Belays on every pitch are really comfortable and large ledges. The Third pitch is the crux with a 5.9 off width. This was my first real off width as well. So I struggled up this pitch for a really long and exhausting time. The views from the climb are amazing. The views from the top are even better. The top is a large house size summit with amazing views in every direction. When we arrived at the base of the climb there were about a dozen people from the discovery channel. They were shooting some documentary of climbing. They had also fixed lines on the Kor-Ingalls route. So on the descent they let us use their ropes for the Rappel which saved us so much time and was allot of fun. Overall I do think the Tower is a classic and I would definitely do it again when I am back climbing in Moab.

East Face of Mt. Whitney

The East face of Mt. Whitney, 5.7 13 pitches 1,000 ft of climbing at altitude. A fairly short but steep hike from Whitney portal trailhead at 8,300 ft. up to Iceberg lake 12,600 ft puts you a short approach to the base of the climb. This hike took my friends and I 5 hours to get to Iceberg Lake. I don't think I would have wanted to do it any faster.
An Alpine start is fairly easy considering the route is on the east side and you will for sure be up at the fist sign of light on the horizon. You wont want to miss the Whitney crest bathed in Alpine glow.
The climb itself is not at all technically challenging. Mostly 3rd to 4th class scrambling that you can simul-climb to move faster with a couple of actual climbing pitches along the way. The fist pitch is a traverse. We simul-climbed the washboard in about 20 minutes. The 5th pitch is a one move wonder over a block that could easily be simul-climbed as well. Which we did that put our party at the 6th pitch on the second tower. The down climbing pitch is just a fourth class down climb that could be done by a confident climber. The fresh air traverse is technically the route finding crux but it is pretty obvious where you are supposed to go if you study the topo. The 8th pitch is the only pitch that I thought was actually good climbing. A 5.7 chimney with some great exposure and cool stemming moves. This puts you at another 200-250 feet of mostly 3rd and 4th class climbing which we also simul-climbed. Pitch 10 has another cool chimney but a very short one. Then more easy scrambling. The last pitch or two to the summit is just blocky and not that stellar. More time consuming than difficult.
The descent is the mountaineers route. This route sees allot of traffic so it is very obvious and easy. A couple of hundred feet from where you top out the climb is a steep gully with towers lining the right side. Head strait down 4th class scrambling to a notch between two towers. Pretty obvious climber trail leads to this notch. Once in the notch you are staring straight down to Iceberg Lake. You can glissade straight down to your campsite. Our total descent time was 40 minutes. Probably much longer if there isnt any snow in the gully.
We hiked in the first day, rested and tried to get some sleep. Got an early start, climbed for 6 hours then hiked out to our cars on the second day . The hike out took about 3 hours maybe a little less.
For anyone reading this if you can make the time bring extra food and consider doing the East face one day and the East Buttress another day. Possibly Keeler needle as well as the Fish Hook Arete on Mt. Russell. There are so many cracks up there just begging to be climbed. If I had it to do again. I would have definitely spent another day up at Iceberg lake and climbed the East buttress as well.
I read on supertopo.com about a couple of guys who did the East face and the East Buttress car to car in a day. Sick Bluh!