• First time climbing Monkey Face
Date: April 16, 2006; Partners: Jason Cullum, Trevor Edwards, Erika
In April, 3 friends and I packed into a small truck and drove the 8 hours down to Smith Rock in Oregon to escape the rain of BC. We spent 4 days climbing there. I cannot remember all that we climbed, but on our second day there, we climbed Monkey Face, which is a giant tower of rock. We climbed the easiest route up, which begins with a pitch of 5.6 gear, then a pitch of aid climbing (there were about 25 closely-spaced bolts up a sheer wall that we clipped quickdraws into and pulled on since we did not own ascenders and other aid gear), and then the route finishes with a super-airy bolted 5.7 pitch that involves stepping out of a cave to face a 200 foot drop to the ground.

• Second time climbing Monkey Face
Date: May 20, 2006; Partners: Jason Cullum, Trevor Edwards, Joleen Prystupa
When I returned to Smith Rock in May, we again climbed Monkey Face, and this time I led the second two pitches, since the first time I had led only the first pitch. The weather was a bit warmer for us on the May climb (in April it had snowed while we were climbing!) but we got stuck behind a slow group of 6 that took a couple of hours to aid up the second pitch. But we spent the time exchanging climbing stories, so it wasn't so bad.
Below are some photos from the climb.

Photo descriptions:
1. Looking down while leading the bolt ladder.
2. In the cave at the top of the bolt ladder before the final pitch.
3. The hanging double rope rappel.

Date: September 13, 2015 (Sun); Partner: John Plotz

This is THE trad multipitch route at Smith. So, naturally, when I met up with my friend John for a day at Smith (I was driving home from Red Rocks), this route was top on my list. To be honest, after climbing it, I feel this route is over-hyped, but then again Smith is known more for its sport climbing than its cracks. It was fun though. (Thanks John for climbing it for a 6th time!).

Below are some photos from the climb.

Photo descriptions:
1. John leading off Pitch 1 (~5.7). We took a mostly 5.7 line up juggy buckets. The athletic unprotected first move was the crux of the route for us (seemed a bit harder than 5.7).
2. Pitch 2 (10b). I led this pitch. This pitch is the crux of the climb and pretty sustained. I found the gear to be a bit tricky since the crack opened up in the back and I was used to granite and sandstone cracks at the time, but this was a good bit of climbing.
3. John leading off Pitch 3 (5.9).
4. Pitch 4 (5.9). Juggy flake climbing. This was my favorite pitch on the route.
5. Slackliners. These guys impress me.
6. Slackliners.
7. Slackliners.
8. Slackliners.