Climbing February - March 2018

CLIMBERS Jon Jugenheimer and Colten Moore ROUTE HMR (WI5) FIRST ASCENT Paul Kuenn LOCATION Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Lake Superior, Michigan Imagine rapping an icefall, the 10-foot waves of Lake Superior booming below. With the water at 33 F and a long swim to the nearest beach, your only way out is up. This was what Midwest hardmen Jon Jugenheimer and Colten Moore faced in January 2016 on the 200-foot HMR, short for Help Me, Rhonda. The route was originally ascended by Wisconsin native Paul Kuenn, who, says the photographer Aaron Peterson, “climbed damn near everything in the area in the 1980s and 1990s without naming or recording anything.” As lore has it, Kuenn and partner climbed the flow off a frozen lake, naming it Singing in the Rain for a storm that caught them on the open…

AS YOU READ THIS, IT’S JANUARY, the dead of winter, which for most of us means one of three things: 1) Your hands are a welter of calluses, cracks, and splits from pulling too much plastic—and spring can’t come soon enough. 2) You’ve found a dry, south-facing cliff, and you’re going to do every last route, even if they’re all zero stars. Or, 3) You’re ecstatic, because you love ice, mixed, and alpine climbing. Ice climbing has enjoyed a parallel evolution to rock climbing, with both in the past five decades seeing the invention and mass production of gear that’s served to make each pursuit easier. On ice and mixed, it’s things like self-ratcheting screws, curved picks, and mono-points; on rock, it’s performance rock shoes, quickdraws, nuts, and spring-loaded camming devices.…

[Kennan Harvey] When Kennan Harvey (“San Juan Silver,” p.46) was 5, Willi Unsoeld, the legendary mountaineer and father of experiential education, accidentally stranded him on a zipline because Kennan did not weigh enough. Although the upturned faces below registered concern, the position suited Kennan. He’s been searching for rope-guided isolation ever since. [Lynn Suyeko Mandziuk] Lynn Suyeko Mandziuk (That One Time, p.24) is a freelance illustrator/ designer/artist who lives out of her Ford Transit, fondly named Otis. Currently, she is parked in the Front Range of Colorado. When she isn’t busy scribbling with crayons, you can find her at the crag, making delectable van meals, or refining her Mario Kart strategies. [Matt Spohn] Matt Spohn (“Trying for Invisible,” p.56) lives in Portland, OR, with his wife, Michelle. In 2015, Spohn freed El Capitan via Freerider…

RAP BATTLE Re. “Rappelling: The Most Extremest Sport” (climbing.com/extremeraps). This article serves as a reminder that as a climber in my early forties, I am older than your target audience. I realize the article is poking fun at a younger set who only rappel and do not climb, but I think that any newbie to climbing or rappelling could misinterpret this article as encouragement to adopt risky behaviors. Climbing Magazine has posted instructional articles on safe rappelling in the past, and I hope you continue to promote safe practices. —Beth Santoro, via email BEE CAREFUL I was setting an anchor atop Bobsledding (5.7) at the Red River Gorge. A young man was climbing above me on Pogue Ethics (5.9) and yelled down to his belayer, “This hold has a ‘T’ on it— what does…

“Climbing gives me a deeper connection with nature and the outdoors, which acts as an endless source of inspiration,” says the Los Angeles visual development artist and character designer Yuhki Demers. A climber since 2007, Demers often boulders at Stoney Point and Malibu Creek, or indoors at Boulderdash in Westlake Village and Cliffs of Id in Culver City. When he’s not out bouldering, he’s working on an animated Spiderman feature film at Sony Pictures Animation. His work in animation and mid-century cartoon design plays into his images of dramatically lit mountains and climbers in action. “The sense of awe and wonder I get when staring at rocks larger than skyscrapers motivates me to try to create awesome work,” he says. FOLLOW HIM @NINJAYUHKI OR YUHKIDEMERS.COM TO SUBMIT ARTWORK FOR ROCK ART,…

The sun rises behind Vrksasana (Tree Pose) atop the Balmenhorn (13,671 feet), with a view into Italy’s Val D’Aosta. —JOANNA AHRENS Lord of the Dance Pose on the slopes of Annapurna III, at 13,000-plus feet, while completing the Annapurna Circuit. — ERIN HAYZELDEN Ahlam Serhan in Bow Pose with the support of her partner Kent Edward on the summit of Jebel Rum, Wadi Rum, Jordan. —AHLAM SERHAN A celebratory Handstand after hiking up a mountain in southwestern Norway. — KRISTIN GERHART This is what happens when you talk yourself into getting out of bed at 4 a.m. after hitting the sack at midnight the night before. —SHANNON PATTERSON Yoga at Gosaikunda Lake (~14,000 feet) in Nepal, April 2017. —IVAN DAMNJANOVIC At the topout of the Shawangunks classic High Exposure (5.6), New York. —RACHEL TOPF Danny Coutts (and an arboreal friend) striking Tree Pose on…