Benjisaurus's Logbook (15 ascents)

Several People I've taken to T-Wall have gotten their first lead on Nutrasweet. Ugly start in the trees, and the flakes at the top are a bit hollow, but a good route overall.

Being only about 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean, when the jet stream dips out of Alaska, it picks up all that moisture dumping many feet of snow in a very short time. The heavy snows and horrible wind (mph 80 sustained) during my January 2005 attempt made Hood a little less than "Baggable". Two days of miserably cold whiteout conditions caught my attention and made me realize that nothing is a "given", not even Mt.Hood.

I stuffed a #4 Friend in the crack just as it goes from horizontal to vertical...and I used it SEVERAL times... It's frequent flyer territory until you figure out the heel hook/hand jam sequence to pull the lip. Great Route...highly recommended. Maybe I'll get it clean one day.

This was my introduction to Sunset. Very nice crack...not much view unless the leaves are off of the trees until you reach a nice ledge up high. A few nuts, and a few small TCU's to mid range will do...nothing big.

This was my first multi-pitch, and my first climb in Colorado...loved it. I heard that the rock ot the Garden was a bit chossy, but I was surprised at the good quality of this route. Plenty of placements for the sketched leader.

First and last climb at Cheyenne... I wish I could have spent more time there. I had lots of fun anyway. Beautiful area.

My friend and I roped up for this one (in the dark), but now that it's over, we both agreed that we would simul-climb or free solo it to get out of the Gorge next time. Nothing scary about it. ..And a GREAT view of the Mummy Buttress, and Shortoff Mtn. an few miles down the Gorge! Beautiful.

Although bitterly cold, windy, and icy, I still thoroughly enjoyed this climb (and the Amphitheater)...although the approach should be factored into the grade as it is THE crux in the winter. Either descending the ice and rock choked main Amphitheater gully (which my parner Josh and I named "The Devil's Grundel", or traversing the rotten and disintegrating rim trail, and rapping down behind the Mummy Buttress (the latter we indorse wholeheartedly), it's surprisingly a dangerous, wild place for the Southeast U.S. in winter. With the short days and difficult approaches, don't expect to climb the last piches of the day in anything less than pitch black....and if you're lucky, maybe it won't snow. It's just good, miserable fun! Enjoy!

It was extremely cold and windy, but this route was still fun...it could do w/o the bolts on the first pitch though. The terrain is quite easy, and without wife and kids, I would consider free soloing the first 2 pitches. The view off the second pitch "ramp" is quite beautiful.

Only the first pitch...didn't make "The Move". :( ...Give me a break though...the temps were in the teens and the route had some snow and ice on it. Alright, alright...I chickened out. I've climbed 5.11b roof cracks that were not as heady as that move. I'm a gumby and I have to live with it.