Scott Krankkala

Summer 2010 Climbing Highlights Video

2010-11-29T21:16:00.001-08:00

Here is a short video compilation I made of a great summer of climbing. You may need a high speed connection to view it.

2010 Climbing Highlights from Scott Krankkala on Vimeo.

Scott

The Titan

2010-11-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

Faced with a long weekend and a break from school my friend Pat and I decided that we would make it worth it by attempting to climb the Titan. At over 800 feet the Titan is the tallest freestanding tower in the United States and the tallest sandstone tower in the world. We picked the first ascent route called the Finger of Fate which follows 9 pitches of mixed free and aid climbing on the north east face. This route on the Titan was a visionary ascent by legendary climbers Layton Korr, Huntley Ingalls, and George Hurley in 1962. In their time modern rock climbing protection and equipment did not exist and the ascent was truly cutting edge.

The first ascent party as featured in National Geographic

The Titan as viewed from the Southwest

This trip also was the maiden voyage of my "House Jeep." Faced with a weekend on call with nothing else to do I decided to build up the inside of my jeep to allow storage and a sleeping platform. The platform consists of three separate compartments, one for gear, one for food, and the other for my spare tire camp stove and other car essentials. I covered the surface with a car carpet designed for aftermarket speaker enclosures. My loving mother created a custom sleeping pad with a very stain resistant washable material with high density foam so while the pad is not thick it is still super supportive.

Jeep interior ( a bit messy due to gear sorting)

Pat and I at the Trailhead

For Pat and I this was our first Grade V which is a route commitment rating that implies one long day or two days of climbing. Our sole objective on the first day of climbing was to fix the first thee pitches to the base of the "Finger of Fate." This section included some of the most difficult aid and free climbing of the route. The first pitch while a moderate climbing grade still required some strenuous free climbing for 160' with all the additional gear required for such a long climb. After changing leads Pat started up the second pitch which was 70' of pure aid climbing. Aid climbing as opposed to free climbing requires placing protection and using specialized ladders known at etriers to work your way up a few feet at a time. I took the next pitch which was another 70' of aid climbing featuring "tricky" gear placements and committing high steps. The rock in the fisher towers is unique in that it is much less solid than most of the sandstone found elsewhere in Utah, although with the proper gear and experience this intrinsic danger can be mitigated. After about 5 hours of climbing we successfully fixed two ropes over the first three pitches. We timed it perfectly and made it to the ground right as it started to get dark. We quickly stashed our gear and made the hour hike back to camp.

Cleaning protection on the second pitch

The next morning we made a desert alpine start and with plenty of coffee we made it out of camp at 4:45. After a quick reorganize at the trailhead we started the hike towards the Titan. After some small route finding issues in the dark we made it to the base around 6:30. Pat started ascending the rope first in complete darkness. Once he passed our intermediate anchor I began up right as the sun began to rise. The light provided by the rising sun was amazing and before too long I was on the belay ledge at the top of the third pitch. The next few pitches involved some more mixed free and aid climbing and took us to the base of the exposed summit arete.

Walking towards the Arete

The summit arete as climbed by the first ascent party

At this point the climb became very interesting and exposed. At one point I was standing on a platform about 4 feet in diameter that dropped off for 700feet in two directions. The final two pitches were some of the most exposed and difficult of the entire route. However with a large amount of fixed protection and bolts we were able to make it through this section without too much trouble. We finally reached the summit around 3:00 with a total of 13 hours of climbing on route. The view from the summit is unrivaled compared to the numerous desert summits I have found myself on the top of. After about a half hour of resting and taking in the view we began the 800 feet of rappelling to return to the base. We arrived at the base just as the sun was setting and began the trail hike through the dark back to our car and the pizza waiting in Moab.

Standing on the Summit

Pat at the base watching the sun set

The next day we took it easy sleeping in and getting a late start on a small tower in the Bridger Jack towers in Indian Creek called Easter Island. This tower is only two pitches and a 20 minute hike from camp. Although moderate at 5.10 this tower still remains one of my favorites based on the quality of climbing and tiny summit. We climbed the tower in two teams of two with our friends we met at the campground and had a great time hanging out on the summit on a beautiful desert day.

Climbing the Second Pitch

Belaying Morgan from the Anchor

Pat, Morgan, Clay, and I on the summit

Recent Climbing Endeavors

2010-06-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ever since the end of the semester and the end of finals I have been traveling around and climbing as much rock as possible. On Saturday after finals I made a trip into the Black Canyon to climb Comic Relief with Matt Toensing. This is a route I have been looking forward to climbing since I climbed its neighbor to the left Escape Artist. This stunning line follows a great crack system that ascends nearly 1000' of the North Chasm view wall. As far as length and sustained difficulty this remains one of my favorite climbs in the canyon.

Another Amazing Pitch on Comic Relief

Great View of the Astonishing Painted Wall

The next stop on my trip homeward was Moab. In Moab I met up with friends Mali Noyes, Reid Pletcher, and Märta Larsen. After some great mountain biking and climbing along potash road Reid and I decided to make an ascent of the tower Sister Superior via the route Jah Man. As I had climbed this route the past fall I knew exactly how to get there and the route to the summit. Although the forecast was for weather in the 40's with high winds we decided to go for it any way. The climb went very well although the wind felt as though the tower would blow over. After making the summit we took some pictures and immediately began the series of rapels to the ground. This tower is very classic and follows one of my favorite routes in the whole desert.

Sister Superior

Mid-way up the stellar thin-hands pitch

Reid and I on the Blustery Summit with Castleton, The Rectory, and the Priest in the background

After a quick stop in Salt Lake to stay the night at Mali's and do some mountain biking I drove the final stretch home to spend some time at home before returning to Colorado for the rest of the summer. The only climbing I was able to do at home was up trail creek in an area I have never been. The location had an amazing view but the climbing was difficult on poor rock. Most of the time home was spent mountain biking on the great south valley trail system up Croy Canyon.

The next stop on this journey was another trip to Moab on the way back to Colorado to climb some more desert towers. The first climb was done by Reid and I upon arrival in Moab. Lighthouse is a great tower with a relatively short approach and moderate climbing to reach an impossibly small summit. After two great pitches we reached the summit and enjoyed the view of the Colorado River and Big Bend.

Lighthouse(right) as seen from the road

Making the final desperate move to the summit

A seldom seen view of Big Bend

The next day Reid and I made a early wake to climb my final tower in Castle Valley, The Priest. This climb spent a strenuous 180' in a chimney system that was so narrow at some points that you could not turn your head to look the other direction. From here the climbing moved onto the airy face and to the summit. This tower while physical was one of my favorite summits to reach as it was the final climb for me to do in Castle Valley.

Sun setting on Castle Valley, from left to right The Priest, The Nuns, The Rectory, and Castleton

Summit of the Priest

After returning to Gunnison I spent some time mountain biking in preparation for the Growler. This mountain bike race travels 64 miles of the rocky and fluid trails of Hartman Rocks. This race marked the longest amount of time I have ever spent on any type of bike (6hrs 45min) and was extremely brutal yet satisfying. After spending some more time climbing in Taylor Canyon and Hartman rocks I decided to make a weekend trip to the Black Canyon to climb two more routes I have been looking at for a long time. The first climb was A Midsummers Night Dream which unfortunately I did not have my camera for but ascended 4 long pitches of good rock with tricky well protected moves. The next day a hike down the same gully was made to climb the Journey Home. This route which ascends over 1000feet of the Black Canyon is known for its extremely sustained climbing and marginal rock quality in places. After only 1 hour of climbing the sun came around the corner and made its way onto the climb. We instantly went from being somewhat cold to feeling like we were in a stone oven (next time I am going to bring an egg and see if I can fry it on the black rock). This aside we were able to drink enough water and keep moving so that we were never severely dehydrated or tired. This route which took about eight hours to climb has now become my favorite Black Canyon climb due to the extensive nature and awesome climbing. I would also like to mention that while on this climb my Grandma Loraine Dickman (81 years young) was rock climbing on Lake Superior with an outdoor women's camp!

Grandma climbing near Lake Superior

Will Anglin on the runout first pitch

Me on one of the higher pitches

Skiing the East Face of Gothic

2010-05-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Skiing the east face of Gothic is something that I have been wanting to do for a long long time. After skiing the spoon on the south face I knew that I wanted to ski more of this iconic peak that looms over the town of Crested Butte. After talking to Clay we decided to ski it on Saturday with outdoor recreation professor Tom Zimmer. Tom is also a member of the rescue team and an experienced backcountry traveler. Fortunately on Friday night we received 5inches of new snow. This was great because due to recent wind events carrying red sand from Moab all the snow in the Gunnison Valley was covered in this sand which increases the rate of melting and makes skiing very difficult. This caused the snowpack to resemble a piece of carrot cake with white frosting. Hoping that either the Washington Gulch or Snodgrass roads were open we checked both trailheads to find them closed. We chose to come in on the Snodgrass side and take the southeast ridge to the summit. After walking for a couple of miles on the road in our shoes we stopped to put our skis on and start the skin to the ridge.

Starting the skin up

Once to the ridge we traded our skis for crampons and began the monotonous bootpack to the summit. We were fortunate in that there was cloud cover and the sun had not affected the snowpack. This allowed us to kick steps into the hard dust layer without postholing.

Tom working his way up

Tom and Clay on the ridge

Of course moments after we reached the summit the wind picked up and it quickly became very cold. Not wasting time we got our skis ready to go, cut off a small cornice, and dropped in. The upper bowl skied surprisingly well as the new snow provided traction above the ice layer below. The skiing in the choke was actually even better. As it had not been as affected by the wind or sun the snow was soft and made for great may powder skiing who would have thought?

Tom dropping in

Making my way through the upper choke

Tom at the top of the apron

In an attempt to keep our elevation we traversed out and picked our way through the aspens and sections of dirt and rocks. At this point the snow had begun to melt and the result was very dirty snow that concealed rocks and prevented you from gliding efficiently. After finally making it to our shoes we again put our skis on our packs and walked out along the Snodgrass road where a well deserved lunch at Pitas in Paradise awaited. This day marked the eighth consecutive month that I have had very good skiing (October-May).

Torreys Dead Dog Couloir

2010-04-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

On April 16th Clay Meier and I made the last minute decision to head down to the front range and ski the dead dog couloir on Torreys (14,267). While not the steepest, narrowest, or longest 14er couloir we chose it based on potentially hazardous forecasted thunderstorms all over the rest of Colorado. After hastily packing camping and ski gear we left Gunnison around 5:00 to make it to the trailhead by 7. After two hours of skinning on the road we made it in to the summer trailhead where we decided to make camp. On the way in we noticed stars and hoped it was a sign of a great spring day to come. After making a few quick rounds of hot water and tea we crawled into the tent and waited for the sun to rise. Surprisingly I heard a party walk by our tent at 3:30am, I am still unsure of their objective and why such an early start was necessary. After waking, eating breakfast, making some coffee (which I spilled), we sat and watched the last glimpse of what could have been a sunny day disappear behind the impending storm.

After starting the skin at 7:00 we made it to the base at 7:45. At this point most of the couloir was not visible due to the new snow falling and the wind.

After pausing to put our skis on our pack and put on crampons in a sheltered area we began the bootpack up the couloir. Fortunately towards the base the snow was hard and the crampons provided just enough purchase in the snow to make effective steps without sinking. This unfortunately changed the higher we climbed. Once near the top it became a series of careful stepping hoping that each step would not result in a frustrating plunge to your waist.

The only technical part of the ascent came as we had to leave the couloir and traverse to the summit ridge on an exposed section of snow covered rock. Fortunately the crampons provided good purchase and we were able to move through with relative ease.

Once on the summit we realized the rate at which the storm was moving and decided to get moving as quickly as we could so that we would be able to safely ski the couloir.

The descent began with a approximately 40degree headwall with new snow that required some sluff management to stay on your feet. From here the skiing became much more straightforward and we leapfrogged pitches until we were at the bottom.

Upon making the bottom we picked our way through the grass and rocks on thin patches of snow and quickly broke our camp down. On the way out we saw a plethora of people on everything from snowshoes to skis taking a hike to the summer trailhead. After making it back to Dillon we ate at Chipotle and made the drive back to spend Sunday playing lawn sports and barbecuing on a beautiful Gunnison day.

USCSA Nationals

2010-03-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

This year I made the decision to miss a week of school to travel to Maine to compete for Western State College in the United States Collegiate Ski Association National Championships in Rumford Maine. The bulk of planning for this trip ended up on the shoulders of Becky Sears and Sage Smith who did an excellent job making sure this trip would run smoothly. The first mistake we made as a team was not confirming the date and time of the sprint so we reserved our plane tickets for Monday at noon out of Denver. Soon after we realized the first race started at 9:00am on Tuesday morning.
When we finally arrived in Portland Maine at 11:30 we found that our coach Duncan Callahan, Chris Lange, Brittany Perkins, and Ansel Schimpff were stuck in Boston. So without wax, a bench, or coaches we left for our the house we were renting house in Bethel. By the time we arrived and found beds to sleep in it was already 3 am. We attempted to get some sleep and left for the race course at four and a half hours later at 7:30. Upon arrival we bumper scraped the travel wax off of our skis and threw on some random klister and got ready to race. Needless to say the lack of sleep compounded with the lack of wax and warm up resulted in poor results as a team. Bruised but not broken we prepared for the next race the 8.5k individual start skate race the following day.

The intersting part about my 8.5k race day is that my warm-up felt like one of the worst skis of my life. I felt like I had no energy, no endurance, or no pop. I tried to keep this out of my mind but thoughts of a bad race filled my mind. As soon as I heard the audible start gate beep something changed in my mind I knew what I had to do and I was going to do it. Powering out of the start I started to feel better and soon thought to myself "why not make this a good race" at this point I turned it up and was suprised when my first split time was a tie for second place. At this point I began to get into the race mentality and skied through the next lap. Throughout the race I was impressed about the speed of my wax, props to Duncan for nailing the glide! At the finish line I heard the announcer say that I was sitting in third place. At first I thought there was no way it was going to hold but as I nervously sat and watched as each of the contenders come through with slower times I realized that a third place finish might actually happen. As soon as Evangeny Panzhenski came through behind my time I knew that I was in for the podium. I gave my coach a high five and anxiously awaited the final results. I ended up third and better yet Western was able to take the third place team award for the race.

The next day we had an off day before the start of the 15k classic mass start. I felt good going into this race knowing that it was a longer distance and the race prior had helped me get back into my race mentality. Unfortunately the conditions on course were far different than the test hill and the klister I decided to go with was essentially innefective on course. Although I was herringboning everything that resembled a hill the course still felt good and I just made it my goal to get to the finish line and get my body ready for the relay. Although personally I did not have a good race teammates Chris Lange and Jamie Woelk made the best of a difficult day with a top ten for Jamie and a top 15 for Chris which was an awesome finish for Western.

That night our team decided that based on our proximity to the Atlantic ocean it was only appropriate that we have a surf and turf dinner. The live lobsters were more than enough to entertain us until the water was boiling. After bidding farewell to our aquatic friends they quickly became a delicacy that some people on our team had not experienced. After finishing our dinner we had a short team meeting and got stoked for the relay the next day.

Arriving just in time for the start of the Womens relay we were able to watch Jamie take off under the bridge and into the forest to come back through the stadium for the tag. I was very impressed by the effort of the girls and am always excited to be a 'professional spectator' to get my mind off of my personal race. Before I knew it Tom and I were standing by the wax bench watching Chris go for it off the start and hoping that he would have a great race out there. After Tom went to the start to prep for his lap I stayed around the wax bench waiting for Chris to come though. As soon as I saw that he was in third place behind the two Wyoming teams I started cheering as loud as I possibly could to give Chris all of the motivation he would need to enter the tag zone as fast as possible. As soon as the tag went to Tom I made my way to the tag area. After a few quick sprints and a caffinated gu I sat anxiously and waited for race updates. Before long I heard the course marshalls radio state "#1 first over the top of high school hill" I thought for a moment and then asked the marshall "Does that mean 1st place or bib #1?" As soon as he said bib 1 I double checked my bib and realized that Tom had in fact passed the Wyoming teams and we were in fact the race leader. Moving into the tag area I was full of anxiety and excitement that WSC could actually pull off a great relay result. As soon as Tom came through and made the tag I started one of the few 5k's I have ever skied. Knowing the 'Russian' was only seconds behind me I went out as hard as I could. Not wanting to look back I tried to determine his distance back based on coaches cheering. At some points I thought he was right there ready to pass me but it never happened. Coming into the final big hill on the course 'high school hill' I found what energy was left inside me to charge up this hill hoping that the race wouldn't come down to a sprint. At the top of the hill I got my final encouragement from a running Duncan and I pushed hard over the top and got into an excruciatingly low tuck. After I pushed over the last few rollers I realized that I could actually do it, WSC could be the 3x5k national champions. Even though there was a gap I didn't want to risk anything and just went for it all the way to the finish line, what else did I have to lose? Crossing the finish line in first position was probably the most elated and excited that I have ever felt after a race. I definitely had a smile on my face for the rest of the day. We did it Western State College won a national championship and it was due to the amazing efforts of all three of us especially Tom for skiing the fastest lap of the day and Chris for surviving the scramble and making it through in excellent position. I will always remember this race as the hardest I have ever gone and the best team effort that I have ever been a part of. Well done all of the skiers at Western and I am already excited for next year!

First Winter Ascent of the Curecanti Needle

2010-01-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

On January 23rd 2010 Clay Meier and myself decided to make a second attempt of a winter ascent of the Currecanti Needle, a rock spire protruding 500ft out of the base of the black canyon.

From what we understand a winter ascent of the "needle" has never been completed. After a quick gear sort the morning of we were able to leave the house by 5:30am. On the drive it seemed that the closer we got to the Black Canyon the worse the weather became. Once parked opening the door brought in a flurry snow and a cold wind. Not wanting to bail at this point we pulled all of our gear together and began the long walk down the pioneer point trail to the base of the black. By the time we made it down the wind had calmed and it appeared that the rest of the day would be bluebird and perfect for alpine climbing. As we started to cross the ice it became evident that there was a layer above that unfortunately was not frozen solid which resulted in each footstep breaking through a thin layer and stopping in the inches of ice cold water between the top layer and the solid ice. After finishing the long walk across the ice we took deep sighs of relief and started racking up for the climb.

(Racking up and preparing for the first pitch)
Although the first pitches consisted of insecure mixed climbing through rock, ice smears, and moss we were able to move pretty fast. The higher we climbed up the needle the harder the climbing became. Soon it got to the point that there were mandatory sections of pure rock climbing that had to be tackled with mountaineering boots and gloves and minimal rock protection.

On one of Clays early leads he started working on a rock face and took a substantial fall (luckily he had placed good protection and was caught before the ground). After the fall he re-assessed and was able to find an easier path up around the corner. Once we reached the final summit pitch I first elected to attempt it in mountain boots instead of putting on my rock shoes in the blowing snow. After moving onto the ledge leading to the oversized hand crack leading I decided that it would need to be done with rock shoes.

After a precarious stance on a large block I was able to switch into my rock shoes and continue up. The crux of the route came on the final lead in which Clay had to traverse around and find the route to the summit. The summit pitch consisted of varied climbing involving committing reaches and stems between icy rock. Clay did a great job making it to the summit and I was relieved that it was not a pitch I had to lead. Once atop the summit we checked the register took some pictures and chose to get down as soon as possible.

After a search for the rapel anchors we were finally able to find them after brushing snow away from rocks in the general area we believed the anchors to be. After making the three rapels we made it to ground on the opposite side of the needle and made the precarious walk around the semi-frozen Curecanti creek. Once across the reservoir we started the long hike out of the canyon. By the time we reached the rim it was 6:30 and a total of 12 and a half hours since we left the car. Accomplished and exhausted we hopped in the truck that fortunately had not been snowed in and made the drive back to Gunnison.