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October 14 - Well, the PLT proper has come to an end. Jeff is now back in Santa Fe and Shannon is making his way back to Ohio to reclaim his dog. The tour was a unique experience for both of us and we're still trying to take it all in. The last three weeks saw the tour visiting many old friends and frankly finishing more beers than finishing long routes. Nevertheless it was great to see all of them again and see their new lives out west. Perhaps over the next week or so we'll come up with some profound thoughts on the tour and post them here, but most likely it will simply remain an experience to add to our resume and revisit from time to time while we sit at desks and peck at computer keys. Thanks to all who let us sleep on their floors and couches, in their driveways and even in their housemates' beds. You are appreciated.
As for what's next, Jeff is hoping to organize another, smaller, climbing trip with some friends here before he begins work at Outside again and Shannon is spending some time with his fam in Marion before heading west to start anew. Hope everyone is doing fantstic as the Ides of October approaches. This is the PLT...signing off.
(10.14 site updates: photos from Oregon and Cali plus updated Tour Map)
October 6 - Our apologies for the lack of recent updates. The tour is wrapping up in a week. We've decided to cut it short for various reasons. We're now in Bend, OR for a theee day stint, then on to Nothern California for some bouldering and a visit to the Bay area. Some beautiful destinations recently. A great climb on a classic route in the North Cascades, some wonderful scenery on Orcas Island in the San Juans and bouldering on the Oregon coast. One week from today Jeff will be back in Santa Fe heading out on a short continuation of the PLT and Shannon will be in Ohio to collect his dog.
One a quick side note...We would like to extend our congratulations to Abe Sands and Lindsay Barrett on their engagement! To be married as soon as Abe is off house arrest.
(10.6 site updates: photos from Glacier NP and the Liberty Bell plus updated Tour Map)
September 22 - Greetings from Bozeman, Montana. After a great stay in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with some very generous friends, and a quick stop in Pocatello, Idaho, and nearby City of Rocks, we're now nearing the end of our stay in the Boze. We're surrounded by beautiful country and have been able to meet up with some good friends. A few days of good climbing and an excellent ride through "Serious Grizzly Country" yesterday have been the highlights. Tomorrow we head west, for a few days of climbing, then north to Whitefish, Montana and Glacier National Park.
(9.22 site updates: photos from Jackson Hole and Bozeman plus updated Tour Map)
September 12 - Emerging from three days in the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range we now bask in the comfort and hospitality of our friend Mike May in Jackson, Wyoming. Mike, Chris Denny and Alli Noland (all employees of the Jackson-based PR firm Stanwood & Partners) took us on a classic 20-mile Jackson Hole ride this afternoon. A wonderful autumn-like ride though the forests and meadows of the Teton Valley.
The Cirque proved to be everything we had expected, even with a bit of surprise. After driving 36 miles on a dirt road, we hiked nine miles in a cold drizzle to make camp just before dark. Hoping to wake at 6:00 am to attempt the east ridge of Wolf's Head, we opted to wait out the crummy weather and attempt a less committing climb (Wolf's Head requires a 1000-foot ridge traverse on less than 18 inches of foot room for much of the climb). So after a bit of debate, we made the 30-minute hike to the base of Pingora to see if the weather would break. It did, giving us a 6-hour window of sun and a beautiful climb on Pingora's South Buttress (II 5.6). After rappelling back to the trail and packing up, we returned to camp just as the weather was turning for the worse. We slept through a chilly night and awoke to three inches of fresh snow covering the Cirque. Absolutly breathtaking. We took in the view over a tent-bound breakfast and headed it out through a morning of flurries.
(9.12 site updates: photos from The Cirque)
September 8 - Today is the beginning of the first academic year at Ohio University in the better part of a decade in which neither Shannon nor Jeff will attend a day of class. We celebrate in Lander, Wyoming, with hot dogs and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Life is good.
The tour has settled in nicely to the wonderful state of Wyoming (The "Equality State"). We are currently parked in the Lander City Park. This extremely climber-friendly town (pop. 6867) allows free overnight camping in their city park. We are taking full advantage.
After departing Boulder, Colorado, on September 1st, we traveled north to Ft. Collins to do some bouldering at the well-known Hoorsetooth Reservoir, which is home to many famous boulder problems put up by John Gill in the 1960's. There were many failures and some successes, but all in all the sessions were quite excellent. It did however end on a bit of a sour note. We were working a fairly tough (for our standards) problem just to the left of Gill's famous V6 "Pinch Overhang." After some work, we were consistently getting the first move, but staying on was a problem. While Shannon was catching some shade, Jeff hopped on, stuck the first move and got his feet in position to attempt the second. Doing so, he was spit off of the overhanging problem, missed the crash pad and landed on rock cranking his ankle. Hence we decided to call it a day and head to Larime, Wyoming and investigate a lead we had on All-U-Can-Eat Tacos. The rumors were true. On a Tuesday night in a country bar in Wyoming we sat down to an endless stream of cheap tacos and a mammoth mug of cheap beer. We ate like dogs.
With free camping in the rolling hills of Medicine Bow National Forest, we were in no hurry to leave. We took the next day as a rest day, mainly to give Jeff's ankle a rest, but also to enjoy our new pace of life. We took the day to read and write letters, kick back and revel in the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere. No phones, no deadlines, no gas stations, no shopping malls, no appointments, no responsibilities.
The following days we explored the trad climbing at Vedauwoo (vee-duh-voo) rocks, did some local riding and some bouldering just up the hill from our camp spot. "The Voo" is an amazing collection of strange rock formations and difficult crack climbing that was first developed (as a climbing area) in the 1940's. The day's highlight was a stellar, 2-pitch 5.7 called "Edwards Crack."
Now, after a day of sport climbing at Wild Iris, we prepare for tomorrow's hike into the Wind River range and the remote "Cirque of the Towers" to climb the east ridge of Wolf's Head (III 5.6). It's a three-day endeavor and we are both looking forward to being in the woods for a while...
(9.08 site updates: photos from Wyoming and updated Tour Map)
September 4 - After a week-long stay in Boulder, CO, filled with high-life living and a sufferfest on a 13,00 ft. glacier, the tour has come to rest for the time being in Larime, WY.
The Boulder stay was highlighted by the successful ascent of Longs Peak via the non-technical "Keyhole Route" and was low-lighted by ass whoopin' received while trying to ascend the 6-pitch Stettner's Ledges (5.8). (See photo here) On August 29, after missing the planned 4:00 am start by nearly 45 minutes, we slowly slogged up the Chasm Lake trail to the base of the diamond to attempt Stettner's. We arrived at Mills Glacier nearly 90 minutes later than we had planned and we still had a bit of work to do before we could beging climbing. After preparing all of our gear, we began to travel across the glacier. What we soon learned was that although the guide book had said we could simply kick steps in the snow, by this point in the summer the glacier was nearly impassible with our crampons or an ice axe. Risking little more than some cuts and bruises (at very worst a cranked ankle) we attempted to cross the glacier without the proper gear. The movements were labored and tedious, but we managed to make our way to within ten feet of the base of the climb. But as we got close to the shaded cove where the climb began, the ice became harder. At this point Shannon was cutting steps out with a rock and Jeff was spotting him from behind. Then while trying to make a move, Jeff slipped and went for a 200-ft sled ride (sans metal disc) down Mills Glacier. Using self arrest techniques he read in a magazine, he was able to stop himself, regain his composure and rethink the ascent.
After surveying the area, he took a different line that included scrambling up a few rock faces and traversing over to the base of the climb. Once Jeff finally reached the base he set up and anchor and belayed Shannon (who had simply been waiting in a secure spot on the glacier) across the rest of ice field. Exausted and cold, but with blue skies above, we decided to try to knock the bastard out. Jeff lead the first pitch to a rappel station and Shannon followed.
Once at the first rap station we talked it over and decided it was best to respect the struggle it was to reach the base and the semmingly bad karma we had going. We made and executive decision to leave the rest of the climb for another day.
We rappelled down off the glacier with little incident (although Jeff did nearly drop his belay device off the rappel ledge), cut our losses and hiked out to the sounds of an approaching thunderstorm. Sometimes you just have to know when to say when.
In retrospect, it was a free lesson in climbing in an alpine climate. A serious schooling from one of the more famous alpine climbing spots in North America.
August 27 - The tour has recently found itself in the lap of luxury. Through the hospitality of a relative stranger...Lara Coleman...the Tour is making a weeklong stop in Boulder, CO. The agenda in Boulder is multi-faceted. Jeff needed to file a gear review for Outside and hang out with Kate before she disappears to Greece forever, Shannon is meeting with local officials regarding possible employment and the tour needs to see exactly what this town of "Boulder" is all about. After a local bouldering session on the 26th, the tour headed north to Rocky Mountain National Park to summit Longs Peak. With a 2:45 am wake-up to hit the trail by 3:00, Team PLT cruised through the crisp August morning to greet the sunrise at 13,000 ft. Spectacular. After ascending through the Keyhole notch, the route revealed a brilliant view of the valley west of Longs. Continuing along, we were rewarded for our early start with the entire 14,255 ft. summit to ourselves. 5 hours from parking lot to summit. A truly "kick a-yuss" experience.
(8.27 site updates: photos from Longs and updated Tour Map)
August 25 - Rain's tapping the roof of the Westie, and after a 26-mile ride replete with storms, mud, and a few wrong turns, we've settled into a night of shit shooting, bean burrito eating and book reading in the Hahns Peak region of Colorado, about a half hour or so north of Steamboat Springs. In the parlance of the PLT, this is good shit.
It's been awhile since we've posted a written update, and for good reason: We busy. On the 20th, we planned to climb Outside Corner, a 4-pitch 5.8 trad route, in Big Cottonwood Canyon with a Salt Lake City local we met while climbing at American Fork. Unfortunately, said local and his girlfriend couldn't get away from their affairs until 4 pm. We warmed up on some 5.10 sport routes and made our way to the base of Outside Corner circa 5:00. We all climbed well, but hauling 4 people up the route burned more time than any of us foresaw. Jeff, leading, and Shannon, seconding were three pitches up, with dwindling daylight, when the two locals called to us to throw down their rope. They had decided to rap down while Team PLT topped out. Jeff threw the rope down, and it caught on a sloping rock. Jeff rapped down to free the rope, then climbed the pitch again. All while Shannon marveled at new things such as "rope drag," "runout" and being secured several hundred feet in the air by two (seemingly small) pieces of gear. Now, in near darkness, we finished the route, organized our gear and, without headlamps or closed-toe shoes, attempted to negotiate the hike down. Very sketchball. Luckily, said local ran up the trail to help us down. It was 10:30 by the time we got back to the van. Just in time for some hugs and a happy hour courtesy of the Coors Brewing Company.
Next stop: Joe's Valley, Utah. The 21st brought a late wake up and a drive to Joe's. We worked on a variety of V2's, V3's and V4's near our campsite with a window-washing climber named Mark also camped nearby. The next day we did the same at Riverside and New Joe's. Lesson of the day: Bouldering ain't easy, it's hard on the body and the mind. Hence we dubbed this stop a "get strong session." The last session at New Joe's brought out the best and worst, particularly in Shannon. It was rainy on arrival, and we hiked up to some wonderfully overhanging problems at a spot called Area 51. The rock was amazingly, twistingly, pocketedly beautiful as if it were formed under the ocean many years ago (can any geologists out there back this assumption up?). After a long few days of working problems, the last overhanging beauty got into Shannon's head, pissed him off, and then (after much frustration) provided the booty. The reward of one last honest effort was not only a send (word!), but also a grand view of the coolest rainbow and sunset ever seen.
After a much-needed travel and rest day, we arrived in Steamboat, ready to ride. And ride we did. We returned to our camp (on public land where our neighbors are scores of sheep) muddy, spent and feeling like champs. Now, John Coltrane blows amid hundreds of "Baa-Baas" of every pitch.
August 20 - The first real suffer-fest of the tour took place yesterday on a beautiful but grueling 23-mile ride along the Park City Mid Mountain Trail (photos coming soon). The Trail began with an abrupt 1,500 foot climb then leveled off around 8,000 feet above sea level for stunning views and no less than ten miles of rolling terrain though aspen groves and fir trees. In somewhat of a daze after 3 hours of pedaling and more than 3,000 feet of total climbing, we bought some beers and attempted to find free camping in Big Cottonwood Canyon. With no apparent free camping in sight we decide to press our luck and camp along what appeared to be a secluded trailhead. We were kindly awoken by the county sheriff at 11:45. The reasoning he gave for us not being able to park overnight was because it is within a watershed...fair enough...but how do you explain the dozen houses that were less than a quarter-mile upstream? Or the pay camping ( per night) not much further upstream? Nevertheless, we were forced to drive 90 minutes back to American Fork canyon, as it seemed to be our only option. We were back asleep by 1:30am. Today we hope to do some trad climbing in Big Cottonwood canyon before heading south to Maple Canyon and then on to Colorado.
August 18 - The Outdoor Retail show has come and gone and we've found ourselves at the end of a two-day sport climbing stint on the beautifully overhung pocketed limestone of American Fork Canyon, UT. We've taken a bit of a liking to the Salt Lake City area and have decided to stay a few more days. Tomorrow we plan to embark on a mountain bike ride along either the Wasatch Crest Trail or the Park City Mid Mountain Trail. Both are exceptional, according to the technicians at Bike Peddler, the town of American Fork's local bike shop, so we're looking forward to that. The tour has gotten off to a marvelous start with all kinds of people helping us out with info and just down home Midwestern friendliness. God truly has blessed the Mormons (now known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). We are, however, hoping the tone of the tour will soon feel less rushed. Less like a road trip and more like a lifestyle. Only time will tell...
August 12 - After a bit of a miscommunication that had Shannon missing for three days, preparations for the tour are well underway. Shannon is set to arrive in Santa Fe manana and from there we head to Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retail trade show. Take a stroll around the site and let us know what you think (there are some photos up from last weekend). We'll be updating the site as much as possible with amusing stories and breathtaking photos. So stay tuned...p.s. For those of you that don't know what the hell is going on here, allow me to explain. Myself (Jeff Purton) and one of my good friends (Shannon Davis) have recently found ourselves underemployed with a fair amount of money saved and the ambition to get out and climb, bike, and hike as much of the Western United States as possible. We'll be on the road for nearly three months travelling from one area to the next, sleeping on floors, hiking through the night, rappelling down climbs in the dark, and drinking cheap beers, all from the comfort of Shannon's 1991 VW Westfalia van. This site is intended to keep you, the taxpaying citizens of America (and other nations in good standing with the US Government), informed on our whereabouts. We'd love to come0 to your neck of the woods so you can show us all the cool undiscovered areas you've been playing in for years. Shoot us an e-mail.
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