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bkboyd
May 24, 2005, 11:14 PM
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Registered: Feb 28, 2003
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Just returned from the Indian Creek camp. Had an excellent time, and learned a lot. I’m posting a TR in case anyone is thinking about attending a later camp.
The group was pretty mixed: there were people who could climb 5.11 and 5.12, and people who climbed easier grades; people with 20 years of climbing, and people with 20 days of outdoor experience. We had a small group (5 climbers), and the camps max out at 12 participants.
Staff
Lynn Hill and Craig Luebben are the main instructors, with local guides supplementing at each camp. Lisa Hathaway from Moab Desert Adventures was the third instructor for the trip. While Lynn may be the main draw, Craig and Lisa added a lot of expertise. In addition to a number of FAs, Craig is the inventor of Big Bros, on the board of the American Mountain Guide Association, and a contributing editor at Climbing – the cover piece on offwidths in the last issue was his. Lisa is one of the organizers of the ‘Chicks on cracks’ workshop, and was a walking guidebook down to the smallest crimp and sidepull. Brad Lynch, Lynn’s husband, is a professional chef and kept us all incredibly well fed during the week.
Climbing
We had a mix of sport and trad during the week. They made a real effort to dial the difficulty levels to individual needs, and balance improving both your strengths and weaknesses. I did a half dozen routes on the Supercrack buttress (first day), eight each at Potash and Mill Creek, and a multipitch tower (Lightning Bolt on North Sixshooter). On the day we did the tower climb, part of the group wanted to go cragging, so we split into two parties.
Lots of emphasis on related skills, as opposed to just climbing movement. Wednesday was a rest day, and there were workshops on self rescue, rope jugging, etc. During the week, they also did optional workshops on things like trad leading and anchors for people who were interested.
Every day that we went out meant lots of specific suggestions on how to best handle different types of moves. Jim the video guy shoots footage of everyone, and Lynn does a debrief of the video with each person. We all sat and watched everyone else’s debrief, with lots of good stuff. I came away from the week with a bunch of specific suggestions, plus big picture advice on training, goals, etc.
Other stuff
Their goal is to make the camps as rich an experience as possible. As I mentioned, the food was great. The camp organizers run on caffeine, so there was always coffee being brewed for the early risers. In fact, on the tower day, we were pleasantly surprised when Jim handed us a fresh thermos of coffee at 5.45am for the drive. We had powerpoint slide shows – with multimedia – on a couple of nights. There is a bunch of swag as well, including the Nose free climb video, books by both Lynn and Craig, and other stuff. We’ll each be getting a DVD with video highlights of the trip.
Overall, it was an outstanding week.
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tradmanclimbs
May 25, 2005, 12:00 AM
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Registered: Apr 24, 2003
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WOW! It sounds like even though the camp is insanly expensive that you got your moneys wourth.
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legoushka
May 25, 2005, 2:25 AM
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Registered: Jan 27, 2005
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Yeah, I really wanted to go but didn't have that kind of money to spend. Sounds like you had fun!
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kimgraves
May 25, 2005, 3:13 AM
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Registered: Jan 13, 2003
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Hi,
What kind of teacher was Lynn? If you don't mind, would you give us some examples of her insights into your climbing?
Thanks, Kim
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bkboyd
May 25, 2005, 4:54 AM
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Lynn and Craig were both great teachers. Lynn is really into the camps being a learning experience, and she's working on getting her AMGA certification to help this along.
The video review had lots of specifics and very micro suggestions -- things that I might do differently in a particular spot. While we were climbing, lots of general tips came out as well; both Lynn and Lisa had different suggestions for reachy moves, for example. Sometimes the suggestions were basic things that I never knew or had forgotten about -- I'm more attuned to using my feet in hand cracks now, for instance. Other things were less obvious (to me at least), like using a gaston in an offwidth. Lynn also focuses a lot on efficiency, which translated into suggestions for getting rests, better movement, and such. We also spent a bunch of time talking one-on-one about how to get the best bang for my gym time and other training.
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kappydane
Jun 12, 2005, 7:08 PM
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Registered: Apr 22, 2004
Posts: 119
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I just got back from the Eldo camp and it was unbelievable. I won't repeat all the basic info from the original poster's message but imagine everything you could want in a 5 day camp and it was there. Climbing and being instructed by a legend, safety course by the man who wrote the books (Craig Lubben), still and video photography from great angles (often from across the canyon) by a published videographer and photographer (Jim Hurst) , and gourmet food at night by Brad Lynch. The climbing abilities ranged from 5.7 to 5.12 and ages were from the 30's to the 60's. The camp accomadated everyone's abilities and goals perfectly. Lynn's video review of my reachy, flail with the feet, style was especially helpful to me and listening to her critque the other campers gave invaluable insights that we could all apply the very next session out. It was an all trad week since we were in Eldo but they were more than willing to do sport if some of us wanted to. We split into groups the next to last day and one group did Yellow Spur and the other Rewritten (6 pitches each). On the West Ridge we all got to work on routes from 5.6 to 5.12d. One of the most enjoyable parts of the camp was the fact that all the people that Lynn has to run the camp were so nice to deal with. They are a very experienced and fun group to hang out with and they made sure you got as much climbing in as you could take. We often climbed until after 7pm. When you combine the expert instruction, the professional photos and videos, the fantastic food and the opportunity to hear some of the wild stories Lynn and the others had to tell, the price of this camp was a steal. If you have an chance to get into any of the remaining camps, you will not be disappointed. I think there are still openings for the Vedauvoo camp and possibly some of the others, but you can get more info on Lynn's page: http://www.lynnhillclimbs.com/index.htm
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phaedrus
Jun 12, 2005, 11:49 PM
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Registered: Sep 24, 2002
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phaedrus moved this thread from General to Trip Reports.
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esallen
Jun 13, 2005, 1:48 AM
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Registered: Jul 11, 2004
Posts: 304
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Sounds very cool! -and very expensive!
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