Video: Midget Widget - Ririe, ID

It's not every day that I get to shoot and edit a video that includes some of my own climbing.

This video is of me, Jennilyn Eaton, and Sam Perkins climbing at Midget Widget near Ririe, ID. This band of very-low basalt cliffs allows us hungry trad climbers to go and practice our piece-plugging skills.

The Chalk Pot

The Chalk Pot is the "melting pot" of climbing stories and videos. We'll scour the web for the best rock climbing content and push it out to you in spot. We'll give you the links to all the pro and amateur climbing blogs that we can find. We'll keep you entertained with the best climbing videos that have hit the web.

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We are currently working on the construction of our official website that will provide you with even more stuff to help you get your climbing fix. Stay tuned for the announcement of the new website.

A Dream Come True...the Idaho Mountain Festival

As of last summer, Jennilyn and I decided to move forward with a dream of mine...to organize a climbing festival at the City of Rocks.

My first trip to the City of Rocks was April of 2007. We were able to put together a large group of friends from college and high school and spent three enjoyable days there climbing, camping, and mountain biking. There were 11 adults and three kids sharing two campsites. Half were climbers and the other half were not. But everyone had fun. I believe that this was the first trip for almost everyone in that group. We felt like pioneers.





Since then we've gone multiple times, and have always succeeded in getting a large group to go at least once a year. The location is beautiful and plentiful when it comes to landscape and climbing. So why not enlarge our annual group climbing trip to be a national climbing festival?

What's a climbing festival? In my mind a climbing festival is a reason for climbers from all over to gather and celebrate the sport. Climbers come in groups, they all throw their tents up in an open field (the tent city), they participate in odd activities for free climbing gear, and they just climb everyday. During this time you get to form new friendships and strengthen old ones.

So here it is. Jennilyn and I are the founders of the newest climbing festival in the U.S.A. and the only one in Idaho. And it is called...Idaho Mountain Festival.

Official Press Release of the Idaho Mountain Festival

 SAVE THE DATE: NEW CLIMBING FESTIVAL COMES TO IDAHO

It may be 7 months until the Idaho Mountain Festival - Powered by Asana, but it isn’t too early to save the date for the newest climbing festival to hit Idaho on September 27-30, 2012 at Castle Rock State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve.

The Idaho Mountain Festival will be joining similar festivals, such as the International Climbers Festival, Red Rock Rendezvous, and New River Rendezvous, to offer a four-day event where climbers, as well as trail-runners, can gather to enjoy endless climbing, trail races, activities, giveaways, music, meals, and workshops. Visit www.IdahoMountainFest.com for complete details.

The festival will be held near Almo, ID in Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve, home of the grand collection of granite domes for multi and single-pitch climbing, trad-climbing, sport-climbing, and bouldering. With the location being no more than a 3.5 hour drive from Boise, ID and Salt Lake City, UT, The Idaho Mountain Festival is the perfect convenient climbing event for friends and families to gather as a closing social for the 2012 climbing season.

On September 27-30, 2012, festival attendees will enjoy a slew of free amenities including tent-camping, dinners and breakfasts, and entertainment. Festival tickets will go on sale starting in March. Ticket options include an all-inclusive ticket for $45 that includes almost everything and a daily-pass ticket for $25 that excludes the free tent-camping.

The Idaho Mountain Festival has teamed up with Asana (www.asanaclimbing.com) to make this event possible. Asana is an Idaho based company that specializes in bouldering specific climbing gear. With much excitement, Jamey Sproull (the founder of Asana) said, “Asana Climbing is proud to present the 1st Idaho Mountain Festival. What a great opportunity to lure climbers from all over to see the beauty and grandeur of the granite in Castle Rocks and the famed City of Rocks! With Asana being based in Boise, we feel like we are welcoming the community into our backyard for a 4-day party of climbing, clinics, music, and fun. We look forward to this being the first in a long tradition of a yearly event that highlights what Idaho has to offer our ever-growing climbing family.”

As of now, the Access Fund and Solid Rock – Climbers for Christ have also jumped on the bandwagon as sponsors for the festival. The Access Fund will be sending their new Conservation Team to manage an Adopt-a-Crag day that will allow the climbers to give back to the parks and nature by cleaning up climbing areas and trails. Solid Rock – Climbers for Christ will be providing a Sunday Morning Breakfast as well as sending one of their athletes to host a bouldering clinic.

 




The Idaho Parks and Rec has been great supporters of the Idaho Mountain Festival. They have welcomed the event with open arms and are anxiously waiting to welcome and assist all the gathering climbers.

Park Superintendent, Wallace Keck, made the following statement when asked to share his excitement about the festival, “As one of the country's premier granite face-climbing destinations Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks create the ideal location to host the Idaho Mountain Festival. Park staff is excited to showcase the facilities, exceptional climbing resources, and grand scenery to this year's attendees. We strive to offer exceptional recreational opportunities and experiences, and providing a home here for the Idaho Mountain Festival is sure to accomplish this and more.”

Start making plans to attend the Idaho Mountain Festival with your family and friends. More announcements and information will be provided in the future.

Please direct all questions and inquires to Ben Eaton at off.grid.productions@gmail.com. Follow the news and happenings of the festival by becoming a fan of the Idaho Mountain Festival Facebook Page and Google+ Page.




The Year of 2012

A new year is upon us. I have now lived to see the passing of one year to another 28 times. As each year ended, I'd celebrate it banging pots and pans in the front yard, playing board games with family, watching movies, trying to find a girl from whom to steal a new year's kiss, or with my friends in a camper-trailer at a ski resort. It is always interesting to see in what way I bring in a new year.

A new year is often seen as a time to turn over a new leaf, to start over, or to do away with the old and bring in the new. I don't know if it's just me that is seeing this, but it seems like a lot of people are getting good feelings about 2012. Facebook statuses are redundant with "I've got a good feeling about 2012." and "2012 is going to be way better than 2011." I wonder if everyone had those same feelings and predictions are the beginning of 2011 or any of the past years. Is 2012 really going to be the better year or are we all just excited to try again to do better in our lives?

For me, 2012 is going to be the year for me to experience some new things. Yea, I'll focus on correcting and redoing some things, but my focus this year is to add on and discover.

It's been a while now that I have felt like I could climb a 5.13 sport route. But for some unknown reason I have held off from attempting one, let alone having the desire to climb one. I don't know why that is. I love climbing and I love progressing in it. So why wouldn't I aspire to raise the bar? Why have I saved my first 5.13 lead when I should have attempted it back in 2010?

I can honestly say that fear has never been the factor. I can also say that I could come up with many theories as to why I've waited. But in all reality, I honestly don't know the true answer. What matters now is that I have put away my childish actions and reasoning and am going to reach this new bench mark.

Who knows, I may not event red point a 5.13 this year (I hope that isn't the case). But I will feel a whole lot better about myself knowing that I spent the days of 2012 projecting a new level of difficulty for myself.

If you have a future accomplishment that has been looming and haunting you for a while, dedicate yourself to approach it and take it on. As many people are already preaching..."2012 is the year!"

Ben Eaton redpointing Snipe Hunter (5.12c) at Lime Creek near Basalt, CO.
Photo by Kausha Allison.

Ben Eaton redpointing Jumanji (5.12a) on the Black and Tan Wall
of the Woodbury Road Crags near St. George, UT.
Photo by Jennilyn Eaton.

Ben Eaton going for the failed redpoint of Zealot (5.12c) on Kelly's Rock
of the Woodbury Road Crags near St. George, UT.
Photo by Jennilyn Eaton.

Running Table Rock

In 2009, I was able to secure a job that allowed me to end my 15 year streak of living in Rexburg, ID. I spent my teenage years, college years, and first four years of marriage exploring and playing in the great areas that surround my home-town. It was the Rexburg area where I first learned to climb. It was the Tetons where I became obsessed with snowboarding and became familiar with the mountains.

One of the last adventures that my wife and I decided to do before ending our residency in such a great place was to run Table Rock Mountain. Both of us had hiked it a couple times before, but never did it while running the whole time. So we tied on our shoes and started on the trail, hoping that we'd be the first ones to summit on that day.

We were quickly slowed down to a slow pace during the first mile due to the steepness of the trail. The trail then passes through some lovely meadows before it hits the death-switchbacks that take you up to the ridge and then on to the summit. We found ourselves taking walking breaks more that we ever wanted. This was our first time mountain running and it definitely opened our eyes.

We hit the summit after 6 miles and found that we weren't alone. Some young fellows had camped below the switchbacks and summited to watch the sunrise. After we soaked up the scenery and ate some energy, we began running again...only this time it was downhill.

My wife is a speed demon when it comes to downhills. I felt like I was putting my life on the line when I tried to keep up with her. We did get to slow down whenever we passed the hordes of people who were starting to hike up to the summit. We received many looks, some that said "you're crazy," "I'm jealous," and "I'm glad I'm not you." Many people asked us if we had already been to the top and then coughed on their saliva when we responded with our affirmative answer.

We returned to the car having ran it in a time that made us very happy. It was a great run and I actually prefer running that trail rather than hiking it. Running 12 miles is a lot better than slowly hiking the same distance.

Jennilyn and I recently returned in 2011 and ran the mountain to celebrate our 6 years of marriage. Having ran more trails and hills prior, this time didn't seem so hard and we took a lot less walking breaks. I am very happy to be married to a lovely gal that loves to climb and has kept me running for all these years.

Video: Pump-O-Rama

I was fortunate to experience the overly popular climbing in Rifle, CO. The scene there was something I had never experienced before. One of the things I noticed was that everyone had their project. The climbers only talked about projecting, and the way they spoke about their current project was as if they had some type of ownership for that one narrow strip of overhanging limestone on a particular cliff. I felt like an outcast because I never did adopt my own project in Rifle. I was new there and wanted to experience each cliff and sector before I dialed into one route for the rest of my existence. Let's just say that we moved from the area before I ever really joined that scene.

Here is a quickly shot and edited video of my friend climbing one of his projects:



Josh Allison on Pump-O-Rama in the Arsenal Cave at Rifle Mountain Park, Colorado.

Indian Creek

There is something about the southeast Utah desert. Something I can't explain. But I know that it beckons me.

I grew up in New York and Idaho. These areas both built inside of me the love for trees, rivers, mountains, and wildlife. When I met my wife, she always expressed her love for the deserts. The red sand, solitude, and artistic rock formations. Having so much in common, I saw that our love for different landscapes was the opposite factor that attracted us together.

After almost six years of marriage, I have ventured off into the deserts, mostly in Utah, with my wife on many occasions. I now see what draws her to a place that I once thought was full of dryness, death, and heat. Though the desert will never beat the mountains in my heart, I now crave that desert for its magnificent vistas, stupendous crack climbing, and its comfortable temperatures and sunshine when everywhere else is too cold to do anything.

This last spring, we took advantage of living only 3.5 hours from Moab, UT, giving us prime access to Indian Creek. Indian Creek is a land of sandstone buttresses, one right after the other, with inspiring splitter cracks with short approaches and bolted anchors. In March we spent a couple days here with a friend, Jason Flaster, that flew in from New York. Then in April, Jennilyn surprised me with a secret Creek Trip for my 28th birthday. 

Now that the temps are higher than 100 degrees in this land of climbing paradise, we are anxiously waiting for fall to arrive for more desert action.

Indy (5) and Fisher (3) love going on adventures with Mom and Dad. Indy has proven that he can hike any approach at Indian Creek by himself.

Indiana Eaton (5) getting ready to climb at Indian Creek.

This kid progresses every time he put on his harness.

View of Battle of the Bulge Buttress, from the Super-crack Buttress.

The Eaton Family in Indian Creek, UT

Canyonlands NP, UT

Canyonlands NP, UT

Canyonlands NP, UT

We call this set up "Home" more than we say it about our apartment.


Jennilyn Eaton testing out Puma at Indian Creek
Photo by Ben Eaton

A classic view of Indian Creek.

Ben Eaton chugging the chimney section of a 5.11 route on the Cat Wall
Photo by Jennilyn Eaton

Jason Flaster leading up Railroad Tracks on the Battle of the Bulge Buttress in Indian Creek
Photo by Ben Eaton

Fisher Eaton (3) trying to hold his patience as the rest of us climb.

The Gash

Tucked away in a little out-crop of granite cliffs along CO Hwy 133, near Carbondale, is a series of narrow hallways of blocky granite. The area is known to climbers as The Narrows. There are a handful of sectors that offer a variety of difficulty and style, both sport and trad.

The Gash is one of those sectors that is hosts to some tall and steep sport routes. After-work evening sessions are great options at this place to get some laps in and to beat the heat. In my opinion, the climbing here is a bit beta dependent. The fractured granite offers great holds and movement, but you have to hold things a certain way or place your foot in a certain position to advance up to the anchors.

In the photos below, I've captured Jeff Jackson and Kirk Meyers as they do their work on two quality routes: Easy Spankin' (5.12c) and 30 Meters of Meatballs (5.12b/c).

Jeff Jackson on 30 Meters of Meatballs (5.12b/c)
Photo by Ben Eaton

Kirk Meyers on 30 Meters of Meatballs (5.12b/c)
Photo by Ben Eaton

Kirk Meyers on 30 Meters of Meatballs (5.12b/c)
Photo by Ben Eaton

Jeff Jackson on Easy Spankin' (5.12b)
Photo by Ben Eaton 
Kirk Meyers on Easy Spankin' (5.12b)
Photo by Ben Eaton

Lime Creek

Ben Eaton redpointing Snipe Hunter (5.12c)
Photo by Kaush Allison
Last weekend, Jennilyn and I (along with Indy and Fisher) were able to spend some time with new friends in the Ruedi Reservoir area near Basalt, CO. We stayed at their cabin and explored the limestone cliffs at Lime Creek.

I quickly fell in love with this place. The limestone here reminds me of Logan Canyon, just sharper. We were able to sample three of the walls in that canyon in our efforts to chase the shade. The climbing was great, the scenery was amazing, and the company was terrific.

Not only did I get to experience a new place to climb here in Colorado, but I was able to advance myself in my climbing by redpointing Snipe Hunter (5.12c) on my second try. That is the fastest that I have ever sent a route at that grade.

Climbing that route left me pretty stoked, making me not want to get off the route. So I decided to keep dangling from my rope and practice my photography skills in shooting the girls as they cooled down on Corporate Greed, after sending all those killer 5.11s.

Kausha Allison on Corporate Greed (5.9) at The Punch Bowl - Lime Creek, CO.
Photo by Ben Eaton

Kausha Allison making the last move on Corporate Greed (5.9) at Lime Creek, CO.
Photo by Ben Eaton

Jennilyn Eaton cooling down on Corporate Greed (5.9) at The Punch Bowl - Lime Creek, CO
Photo by Ben Eaton

Jennilyn Eaton on Corporate Greed at The Punch Bowl - Lime Creek, CO
Photo by Ben Eaton

Jennilyn Eaton nearing the top of Corporate Greed at The Punch Bowl - Lime Creek, CO
Photo by Ben Eaton  

Moonlight Buttress


My bucket list has always included two specific items sleeping on a port-a-ledge and climbing a rock cliff that is at least 5 pitches high. I never really intended to knock off these two items will one swipe. Truthfully, I had already accepted the fact that my "sleeping on a port-a-ledge" experience was going to be setting one up 5 feet off the ground just to say that I've slept on one. I love rock climbing do it all the time, but I had never really considered myself as a big wall/alpine/mountain climber, so these bucket list items didn't seem that easy to obtain...until Abe came along.

On Monday, April 25, I received a voice message, text message, and a Facebook message from a climbing friend, with whom I'd only climbed two times with previously. Abe was in need of a climbing partner to aid climb a big wall in Zion National Park that following weekend, April 29 - May 1. I had mixed feelings about going. I didn't think my wife would want me to spend the money and vacation days to go. I didn't think that my boss was going to let me take more days off, having just returned from a climbing trip the week before. I also didn't know if it would be a smart idea for me to go and aid climb a big wall with such short notice and never having climbed that style before.

To my surprise, my wife encouraged me to go and said that I'd be stupid to turn down a chance to learn how to aid climb. This made sense, seeing how within the previous months Jennilyn and I had been curious to venture into aid climbing, but didn't have the gear and the knowledge. My boss also gave me the thumbs up to miss that coming Friday of work. So I was a go.

The Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park, Utah
Abe and I decided to climb the Moonlight Buttress route of the Moonlight Buttress. Our plan was to aid climb this 9 pitch, 1,200 foot wall of sandstone in three days and spend two nights on a port-a-ledge. That was the main objective, to sleep on a rock wall, high above the ground for more than one night.

Our bivy on the top of Pitch 5. (730 feet off the ground.)
Abe Shreve waking up after a long night of sleeping in the air.
Our approach to the base of the climb was a bit epic with an unexpected 3-hour hike through bushes, sandbars, and steep hillsides. So our first day of climbing consisted of climbing the first pitch, hauling the gear-bag up, and setting up the port-a-ledge. We felt a little sheepish for sleeping so close to the ground, but we had ran out of time to go higher.

The next two days were spent climbing some great pitches and spending one more night sleeping 730' above the ground. Unfortunately, due to my unracked nerves and our lack of time, Abe was a bit forced into leading all the pitches accept for pitch 1, 3, and the top-out slab. He was an animal. And I continually thank him for fixing all the lines for me to jug up and for hauling up the gear-bag. It was a great experience observing his style of aid climbing and having him teach me the techniques. I can't wait to get back on a big wall and actually lead more using aid gear.

The one thing that I have to say about sleeping on a port-a-ledge is that it is the one time that your body and mind can just let loose. The whole time on the wall, you are constantly holding on to something and your mind is unceasingly double checking everything you do and projecting the next moves. It was amazing to just let myself go unconscious knowing that the only thing keeping me safe was the two loose "life-lines" that connected me and my harness to the rock.

Ben Eaton at the top of Pitch 6 or 7 of the Moonlight Buttress. (830 or 930 feet off the ground.)

Ben Eaton leading Pitch 3 of the Moonlight Buttress.

Pitch 3 of the Moonlight Buttress - one super fun bolt-ladder.

Abe Shreve leading the way up Pitch 4

Looking Back: Cross Country Skiing With Toddlers - 1st Time

Two Years ago on this very day, Jennilyn and I took advantage of the free admission day at Harriman State Park in Idaho. Our oldest boy was 2.5 years old and our youngest was 9 months old. We borrowed two pair of cross-country skis from my work, grabbed a two-person plastic sled at the Cal-Ranch Store, and took along our

Kelty Kid Carrier

.

It was a cold day. Luckily we were able to dress ourselves and the boys in our warm clothes in the back of our Toyota Sienna with the back seats laid down. Fisher was awake, so we started him out in the kid carrier first while Indy was sitting in the sled with a blanket wrapped around him. Jennilyn and I took turns wearing the backpack or pulling the sled. At one point I was handling both the backpack and the sled so that Jennilyn could zoom ahead and feel the winter breeze run through her winter cap before it ran through her hair.

We had a lot of fun just staying on the Road Trial that is 1.2 miles one way. We started at the parking lot of the main lodge and skied into the Becker Warming Hut. We were able to make ourselves warm, eat lunch and let Fisher fall asleep.

On the way back, Indy was in the backpack while Fisher laid asleep in the sled covered with the blanket as it snowed ever so lightly on us.

We had so much fun on that trip, that we decided that we'd try to gear ourselves up with the proper equipment to be able to do that more often. We have yet to buy our own set of cross country skis and all, but we did buy a

Nordic Cab

that converts into a bike trailer, jogger stroller, or a ski chariot. This nifty contraption allows us to run, bike, snowshoe, or cross country ski with our boys and it keeps them dry and warm.

Where there's a will...there's a way.

January Sport Climbing...Outside

I can't believe that I went sport climbing outside in January. In Colorado.

Jan 6 started out with temps in the upper single digits. By the time the temp reached the teens, my new climbing bud and I started making plans to trust the weather man and go climb at Puoux in Glenwood Canyon. The prediction was for all day sun and highs of upper 30s. The hardest part about our plan wasn't the task of bringing my two boys (ages 4.5 and 2.5), it was ignoring my usual requirement that the outside temp be at least 45 degrees in order for me to climb and enjoy it.

I've always heard of people sport climbing during the winter and I've always wondered how they did it. I've climbed when it was 40 degree before and my toes and fingers couldn't tell if i was crimping or edging on quarter or dime sized holds.

We decided to meet at the crag around 1:30pm. Due to natural occurances, I didn't get there with the boys untill just after 2pm. You see, 1:30pm is usually Fisher's (2.5 years) nap time. Indy usually naps too out of sheer boredom because his best-friend is off "sawing logs." Without the nap, Fisher exploded when I dressed him up in snow clothes like the little brother on The Christmas Story. He kept ripping off his clothes faster than I could put them on. With love and kindness, Fisher and I fixed the problem and hit the road.

Five to eight minutes later, we arrived at Puoux to find that this south facing wall radiated the sun rays to allow for my climbing partner to climb in a t-shirt. Ignore the fact that it was 35 degrees. With the boys bundled up in the sun and watching the new Go Diego Go dvd from the library, I was able to run up a fun 5.11 before I had to book it back home to unlock the house for my hard working wife.

For this to happen, I had to pack the climbing gear, dress the boys and their needed supplies, wrestle with "Thing 2," and carry all the stuff with my youngest in my arms for 100 yards in the snow. I may have only climbed one route, but the new friendship, the flash, the sun rays, the limestone, and the new experience with my boys made it well worth it.