Jared Ogden News
spring 2006
A mild snow winter made for incredible bouldering in and around Durango this winter. I discovered tons of new problems and put up at least a dozen new ones up to V9 and repeated Golden Delicacy V10 and nearly nabbed the sit start at V11 but it'll still be there when I find the right time to send. Late winter I made repeats of Indian Creek cracks Ruby's Cafe 5.13a, 2nd try, Death of a Cowboy 5.13a on fifth try, Less than Zero 5.13b on fifth try, and tried a dozen times on Pink Flamingo 5.13 but never made a clean redpoint despite several TR ascents...it just wasn't my week.
This spring was wet but I still found time to put up another new route in the Black Canyon. This time Topher Donahue and I discovered incredible rock on the right side of the Hooker Buttress putting up the 12 pitch The Blacksmiths V 5.12. It was a perfect send with no falls either leading or following. Summer has blown past in a wave of heat and rain but finally temps are cooling and I'm heading back to the Black Canyon to find more adventures.
1/10/06
This just in! I've signed on with Petzl and Fortress Watches to use, abuse and promote the finest gear and time pieces out there today!
FIRST
FREE ASCENT OF MOUNT BARRILLE’S EAST FACE, RUTH GORGE, ALASKA
Durango, Colo.- On June 29th, Durango-based climbers Jared Ogden and Ryan
Nelson completed the first free ascent of the 3,000-foot East Face of
Mount Barrille in the Alaska Range.
The two did not use any fixed ropes or add any bolts or fixed gear for
their ascent and rated the free route VI 5.11.
“The route is stacked with some of the best cracks we found in the
Ruth Gorge. There were countless splitters, long pitches, and an amazing
view.” Ogden said. He also remembers encountering “Some of
the greatest choss on earth.”
Bad weather was a constant factor allowing only three days of high pressure
out of 21 leaving the pair with short windows of dry weather for attempts.
The Cobra Pillar presented the best opportunity for a completely free
ascent to the summit and became their primary objective. Jack Tackle and
Jim Donini first climbed the Cobra Pillar, VI 5.10+ A3, in 1991 over a
five-day effort on their third attempt. On the first ascent they managed
to free climb most of the route except a handful of pitches and suggested
it as a possible candidate for an excellent free climbing objective.
Ryan on pitch 4, 5.9
Ogden and Nelson started up the route on two occasions but were stopped
by rain and had to retreat from more than halfway up the climb. Following
a day of rest they resumed efforts in a short window of good weather and
made the complete free ascent in a fifteen-hour push followed by a four-hour
descent down the north ridge. They made it back to the tent after 20 hours
total just as a fierce three-day stormed engulfed them.
For the free ascent Ogden and Nelson avoided a blank wall where Tackle
and Donini drilled bolts and bat hooks to make progress by pioneering
a 5.10 traverse to a wet but moderate 5.9 crack that made a three-pitch
variation to the original line. There were a few other original aid pitches
that were also freed on this ascent, including a pendulum and a rotten
corner.
Nelson recalled the route being “An excellent combination of beautiful
and frightening rock conditions, a true adventure climb.” The pair
agreed that the first ascent was an awesome effort and the route deserves
a place among the best alpine wall free climbs in the world.
The pair also attempted a new free route on Mt. Dickey’s East Face
but were thwarted by unsuitable rock conditions and bad weather. They
were also turned back nine pitches from the summit of the Eye Tooth, a
stunning 23-pitch route, by a miserable storm. Other attempts on the South
Face of the Moose’s Tooth and the Sugar Tooth were just as fruitless.
Overall they highly recommend the climb and were utterly stoked to have
scored the first free ascent of such a gem.
Jared on pitch 11, 5.10c
SMOKING ON THE HALLUCINOGEN WALL!
On May 12th Ryan Nelson and I made our way up the Hallucinogen Wall in the Black Canyon in just under 9 hours! We climbed in blocks with Ryan taking pitches 1-7, me on 8-14, and Ryan again on the last two. We did a lot of short-fixing and free climbing to make such fast progress. It was super cool to be back on the route a year after we freed it. It's such an awesome line! To see photos of the route scroll down this page.
A few days later Topher Donahue and I did a new five pitch free start to High and Dry that finishes on the free diagonal. The climbing is SICK and super worthy! On the second pitch you climb across a 40-foot roof by climbing out a floorlesschimney then underclinging laybacking a finger crack! The rest of the new pitches are really clean on solid rock with good protection and make for a superb start to the free diagonal. The Rectagonal V 5.12- topo is available at the ranger station on the north rim. You'll be really psyched you did it!
April 28, 2005 BIG WALL CLIMBING: ELITE TECHNIQUE, AVAILABLE NOW!
My first book titled "Big Wall Climbing: Elite Technique" published by The Mountaineers Books will be available on the shelves in May and can be purchased online now at these locations!
Amazon The Mountaineers Trail Stuff Chessler Books Barnes and Noble
As part of their Expert Series, the book is geared toward experienced climbers who want to learn the skills necessary for climbing big walls. The 207 page book is published in full color with over 100 personal instructional photos and illustrations.
March 1, 2005. OUTSIDE profiled me in the Dispatches section in regards to my recent "drytooling"antics. Check me out on page 28 trying not to stab myself while trying to eat noodles with ice tools!
Dec. 19, 2004 FIRST ASCENT OF MONSTER MIXED ROUTE "JEDI MIND TRICKS"
Dec. 19 2004. Ryan and I finally sent our new route in Lake City which we called Jedi Mind Tricks. It's by far the hardest thing either of us has done mixed climbing and we decided not to rate it until others have climbed it and we can come to a confirmed rating. The cave is huge with three routes so far and later in the season a 125-foot grade V ice pillar forms where you see the curtain of ice on the left. Jedi Mind Tricks follows lots of small keyhole like pockets to the curtain on the right and sports very technical movements that were pretty hard to master. You pass 20 bolts to reach the ice requiring powerful pulls, long reaches, and the sickest pump you'd ever imagine. The other two routes climb out to the curtain on the left and fell in the M8+ and M9 range. The cave sits at 10,500 feet making you pay the piper with every attempt and adding to the difficulty. We fell really lucky to have scored such gems and the potential for more of the hardest mixed routes is just beginning. Contact me if you want more information on the climbs and how to get to them. They start forming in November and usually last till late March.
August
2, 2004. HARD NEW FREE ROUTE COMPLETED IN GREENLAND
Moab climber Nathan Martin and I completed a radical new free line on
Nalumasortoq’s 2,000-foot face.
DURANGO,
COLO. – On August 2, 2004 Nathan Martin and I completed the first
ascent of our“Prowed and Free” route, V 5.12+. The route was
done in-a-day without the use of any fixed ropes or jumars: a first for
any route on Nalumasortoq or Ulamertorssuaq. These granite towers, located
in the Tasermiut Fiord on the southern tip of Greenland, have seen a lot
of activity in the past several years however this is the first time a
new route on either of these formations was done with the light and fast
approach marking a significant advancement in style.
Jared following pitch 10, 5.12. Photo by Nathan Martin
On
July 2nd we started our 34-day expedition by climbing the 2,500-foot route
“Non C’e Due Senza Tre”, V 5.11+, on the right pillar of
Naulmasortoq to within two hundred feet of the summit in a day before
retreating in the dark. The following day it started to rain and continued
for the next 12 days. After three days of clear weather we started up
the central pillar by following the first eight pitches to the 2003 highpoint
that Nathan reached with Tim O’Neil on a previous expedition. From
here we followed excellent hand to finger cracks that would lead to the
summit, however three difficult pitches required cleaning forcing us to
hang on gear and forfeiting the free ascent on that attempt. We reached
the summit at sunset and rappelled the route confident that another attempt
would lead to a successful free ascent. Then it rained for 16 days straight!
Blasphemy!
Nathan bouldering near Basecamp
Eventually
the skies cleared and on August 2nd we completed our route all-free-in-a-day!
The dead-vertical route is stacked with hard crack climbing including
five pitches of 5.12 in a row starting at pitch 8 with two of them ranking
in at 5.12+. It's just an amazing line. To complete the route all-free
in a day was our ultimate goal and success came after a long period of
anxious waiting. It was amazing that everything came together at the last
minute to pull off such a great climbing achievement in the area. We’re
really stoked we could push it so hard and usher in what we think is the
ultimate style of ascent on our route. Hopefully future ascents will try
the same style.
Jared leading pitch 12, 5.12-. Photo by Nathan Martin
High
and motivated from such a successful ascent and with one day left before
the boat arrived to pick us up, we set out to climb the classic route
“Moby Dick” VI 5.13-, on the 3,000-foot tall Ulamertorssuaq.
We shattered the previous speed ascent of 28 hours by racing up the route
in 11 hours and 56 minutes, pulling on the occasional piece of gear but
free climbing most of the route. It really left an impression on the remaining
climbers in basecamp on how things can be done. Several parties had done
the climb earlier but had fixed hundreds of feet of rope and spent at
least two days on the climb. On our return they were shaking their heads
and asking us how the hell we climbed so fast. We shared a toast to all
our successes with bloody knuckles.
Nathan Martin leading pitch 8, 5.12+.
For
more information, contact me at: jared@jaredogden.com. Climbing
ran a feature on my climbs in Greenland in the March 2005 issue #237.
MAY 4, 2004. NEW ROUTE IN THE BLACK CANYON: TAGUE YER TIME V+ 5.12
On
May 4 & 5 Topher Donahue and I climbed a new sustained hard free climb
in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Their new route, Tague Yer Time V+
5.12, named in memory of our friend Cameron Tague, climbs the 2,000-foot
South Chasm View wall via 14 pitches of thin face and crack climbing.
We had climbed the route last October but were unable to redpoint the
route at the time because we were doing a ground-up ascent that required
cleaning and we ran out of time. The climbing is sustained from the difficulty
of six pitches of 5.12, five pitches of 5.11, and three moderate pitches
that require total concentration and a lot of time. The route climbed
nine new pitches and shared a few pitches with other routes for a clean
and exciting new route.
This marks the third first ascent on the South Chasm View wall for us.
The other routes include Shadowboxing V 5.13- RX and Burlgirl V 5.12-,
both featuring excellent free climbing on immaculate granite with a spicy
flavor to them. I'll send you a topo if you're psyched to give em a try.
They're all really high quality on very good rock.
MAY 20, 2004. HALLUCINOGEN WALL GOES FREE AT VI 5.13-R D10+
Free
Hallucinations VI 5.13-R M10+ By Jared Ogden
The Hallucinogen Wall on North Chasm View Wall in the Black Canyon of
the Gunnison is one of the countries most notorious routes and at the
time of its first ascent was considered the hardest aid route in the world.
First climbed in 1980, the route was rated VI 5.9 A5, and has lived up
to its reputation ever since.
Jared leading pitch 12, 5.13- R, Photo by Topher Donahue
Despite
an unknown climber who added a few bolts on an A5 hooking pitch, the route
features steep rock with fearsome runouts and hard climbing through incredibly
wild roofs near the top. The route had a few free pitches near the top
and bottom that lured me into thinking it might go free. After two recons,
one with Mike Shepard, one with Topher Donahue, I decided to do the route
wall style for further inspection.
Ryan Nelson leading pitch 9, 5.13-R Photo by Topher Donahue
In late March, Ryan Nelson (my partner for the remainder of the project)
and I climbed up through pitch 10 working them on toprope as we climbed.
On the way up pitch 5, I drilled on lead a 50-foot two-bolt variation
(5.12+) that avoided the pendulum and reached Fantasy Island. These are
the only bolts we added to the route, however we did replace at least
half of the bolts (from the ASCA) on the entire route since the 24-year-old
1/4” buttonheads were rusted and dangerous. We were caught in a blizzard
on pitch 11 and bailed the next morning. A month later we decided to rappel
in and see if the upper crux pitches would go free.
For eight days spread out over four weeks, we top-roped the 5 crux pitches
in the middle of the climb. After all this effort we felt we could finally
try a redpoint attempt even though some had never been top-roped clean.
From May 20-22, while living on the wall, we redpointed every pitch, out
of order, with the crux pitches first. We did it this way since we only
had a few days off from work a week: if we failed to redpoint any of the
crux pitches up high we’d have to return the following week to complete
it again from the ground and with hot weather approaching time was running
out.
The free climbing is technical and difficult featuring runouts up to 30-feet
with pitch 9 sporting a 20-foot runout over two equalized copperheads
on 5.13- climbing with a bolt another 10-feet below that: a potential
60+ foot whipper if the junk heads pulled. On the send Ryan came very
close to falling off the last two moves to the anchor.
Jared leading pitch 10, 5.13-R Photo by Topher Donahue
The majority of the crux pitches are lead using fixed copperheads as pro
and the psychological preparation was equal to the physical. There are
two crux sections on pitches 12 and 13 that climb past bolt ladders on
the steep overhanging headwall that were dramatic. Pitch 13 proved to
be un-climbable (for us) using traditional free climbing tactics so we
improvised: we decided to use leashless ice tools and rock shoes to “free”
this pitch. We call this new style “free aid, or fraid” and
rated it D10+ since we thought it was as difficult as an M10+ mixed pitch.
Is it free climbing? Who knows? The first ascent party bolted the 40-foot
section we used the tools on at A0, after they had established A5 hooking
pitches. Perhaps a better free climber could do this section in the future.
We have climbed lots of 5.13s up to 5.13+ and feel the rest of the climb
was done with the highest ethical standards that this new style was acceptable.
All said it was an amazing climb to puzzle together and free.
Pitch 1, 5.8
Pitch 2. 5.8
Pitch 3, 5.10
Pitch 4, 5.10+
Pitch 5, 5.9
Pitch 6, 5.12+
Pitch 7, 5.12-
Pitch 8, 5.11
Pitch 9, 5.13-R
Pitch 10, 5.13-R
Pitch 11, 5.12 R
Pitch 12, 5.13-R
Pitch 13, D10+
Pitch 14, 5.12-
Pitch 15, 5.9+ R
Pitch 16, 5.7
JULY 1, 2003. JARED OGDEN JOINS CLIMBING MAGAZINE AS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Jared, who has been contributing for over seven years to Climbing, signs on as Contributing Editor at Climbing Magazine as of July 1st.
Dec. 2004 issue # 235. Climbing Magazine ran a feature on a climb I did with Mark Synnott on Roraima Tepuis in the rainforest of Guyana.
2004 EPICS issue. Climbing ran my story "Beaten on the Shield" about speed climbing the Shield on El Capitan.
June 2003 issue #222. Climbing ran my feature titled "The Black Hole" using my photo on the cover. The story profiles in word and image some of the old and new classic routes on South Chasm View wall in Colorado's Black Canyon.
Alpinist published their 2005 Calendar featuring my photo of Alex Lowe on Great Trango Tower on the cover. I also wrote two reports for Alpinist 9 about new routes in the Black Canyon and in Greenland.
Alpinist Magazine #4: Climbing Notes Dept. First ascent reports on activity in the Black Canyon and Guyana, South America
Men's Journal Fall 2003: Features my photography illustrating Mark Synnott's article about a climbing expedition we did to the Tibetan Borderlands.
National Geographic Television, Fall/Winter 2003/2004. Television show documenting our first ascent on Roraima Tepui in Guyana, in South America.