How tough are you?

Just a little fun video of a pretty tough climber from India. Don't expect me to demonstrate any flips on to the hand that I'm holding myself on the rock with. WOW that looks like it must be painful even if you don't miss



see it here on youTube

Hill City Climbing Wall

Thanks and kudos to Superintendent Mark Naugle and all the rest of the crew who made the magic happen in creating the impressive new school in Hill City. Extra double kudos for putting up a climbing wall. We will be expecting a huge new wave of rad home grown young climbers to be out there tearing up the Needles, Devils Tower, Spearfish Canyon and beyond.

Thank You Hill City!!!!! Go Rangers

Custer State Park Heli Logging

As many of you know,the good folks at Custer State Park are pretty scared of the Pine Beetles that are killing the trees as a result of the conditions brought on by the long drought in the west that "ended" a few years back. CSP is doing all they can to slow the spread of this little critter and the killing effects it has on the forest. They started by chopping infested trees up in 2' hunks. This is the reason why the Cathedral Spires area looks like a war zone. Well, for awhile it was a war zone.

The battle has moved on and they are now using more high tech tools. They brought in a Heli Logging Company with a way cool K-max helicopter to pluck the infested trees out of the forest w/o building roads over the rough and beautiful terrain that we all love. The K-max is all business. Designed to lift over 6000 pounds, it is a sky truck!! Parts of the places we love are looking pretty industrial this winter, but the end result is going to look GREAT. Only the stumps of the bug trees will be left, and a whole new vision of the park will come of it. We will see granite masses that have been hidden by the trees for decades. I'm willing to bet that boldering will go off like crazy now that you can see the rocks.


For some of you, the idea of logging might be hard to swallow, but for those of you who climb, this could do a lot to save our beloved climbing area in the event of a fire. Because our forest have been starved of fire, they are over grown. Thus when they do burn they burn HOT HOT HOT. As I understand it, very hot wild fires can change the structure of the rock such that all the great crystals and friction that make this place such an awesome face climbing area start to break down and fail when weighted. Not so good for climbing!!!!! So getting rid off all that fuel might be saving a classic climbing area. Mother nature weaves such a tangled web.

Sausagefest 2010

So we harvest 3 deer this year, and Matt got one too. More importantly he helped me drag one in from over the hill and through the woods out on the prairie, but thats another really fun story!! So with all this red meat, we decided to take advantage of the sausage attachment on our grinder.

Now, having a "sausage making party" does bring up a few sophomoric jokes, but the end result is good good eats. I still have a lot to learn about this hunting game, but thats the fun of it for sure. Besides, when there is 6" of snow on the ground, the high temp of the day is 6, and there is only 10 hours of daylight, the climbing isn't all that fun. So "When in Rome..." I think Matt is becoming a true South Dakotin...he is talking a lot about buying a bow for next season.

Until then, we'll be enjoying a freezer full of goodness.

pile of toys

So its been cold here...yeah, really cold, and as it has spread across the nation, I'm sure you all understand. The weather has not slowed down the fun though. I been getting out a lot more to play outside then I ever have time to enjoy in the summer when there is climbers coming and bookwork to keep up with.

I can always tell when things are going good by the PILE of gear that coats my office floor. Esp. in the winter when everything you use has to dry out before its next use or storage. The toys tend to sprawl. Now this could be in part to my lazyness, but I try not to admit such things. I did pick up the rifle from the January hunt fest, but the ice climbing, skiing etc. type things never seem to get put away before going out the door again. Things could be worse. That pile is called the garage, but thats another subject.