Solo Sessions in Vail

Guest blog by Rob Griz

“I am the eagle, I live in high country
In rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky
I am the hawk and there’s blood on my feathers
But time is still turning they soon will be dry
And all of those who see me, all who believe in me
Share in the freedom I feel when I fly

Come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops
Sail over the canyons and up to the stars
And reach for the heavens and hope for the future
And all that we can be and not what we are”

– John Denver

Ever since I began this crazy game of chasing frozen flows and incessantly watching weather, I have always been fortunate to live close to some sort of classic ice. Back in PA I climbed the Narrows, a beautifully chossy 350’ cliff that offered some post-work pick placing. When things were hoppin’, there were a number of gullies and flows I could run up and downclimb, putting in lap after lap, cruising up routes not only with efficient speed but more importantly with fluid form. Be like the grasshopper.

A year later and my ‘backyard’ playground has taken a change of scenery. Once scaling roadside rusty red cliffs of Brunswick Shale high above the slow steady flow of the Delaware River, I now punch my way up to the Vail amphitheater. Admittedly the river was way more tranquil than the rambling roar of I-70, but change is good and Vail has offered me new challenges.

The Fang in particular, has been an object of my passion (obsession?!). Friends have traveled, climbed and brought back stories and snapshots. After watching the free-hanging Fang build and snap from it’s perch multiple times this year, I was wondering if I ‘d get my shot at sending this mighty hunk of ice. When it finally formed well enough to climb, it caught me off guard with just the essentials I drag along to solo. An older rope, 3 screws and a few draws. As luck would kinda have it, a fella (Eric) happened to be up there poking around partnerless like me. The line I chose was steep, sweet and virgin…the best kinda lines for leading. Up the pillar and under the curtain I almost wasted myself hacking a hole in the massive sheet that stood between me and the top. A few airy and exposed moves and I was atop a line I had only dreamed of in pictures.

So where does this all lead, you ask? Vail has become my post work work-out wall, and what better place to spend some spiritual solo time than on the steep, icy walls of chossy limestone?! My circuit usually consists of a lap up the Fang and then a TR lap up one of sides too intimidating to take on ropeless. Pulling the line, I face into the wall and run up the 7th Tentacle to the chains. Zip down, fix the line and dance a delicate lap up the Frigid Inseminator. Back down and feeling warmed-up, I run over, rope in hand, to the Rigid Desi. Peg-board makes for a nice cool-down as I stretch far between pockets. Big moves on the Nomics lends an incredible sense of freedom, dare I say flight. Like an eagle pulling the thermals mid-morning, I soar higher and higher in an entrancing ascent. I perch atop the anchors, gaze out at the ice that still clings to Booth Creek’s warm red walls and give utmost praise to the Spirits.

See, soloing ice for me is a truly spiritual experience. No bystanders, no bragging, no bullshit. I could care less what anyone thinks, it’s truly all about my heart, soul, mind and body culminating in harmonious unison. The focus is like none other, it is the Zen experience, the Vision Quest. Fluid, like the water that runs from mountain tops to the valley floors. The purity of the experience cleanses the mind, liberates the soul and renews the spirit. Few things in this world release me in this way.