Navajoland Towers

We just took a quick trip to Arizona, and on our way passed through the Navajo Reservation. Every time I visit this place I’m filled with compassion for the people, and anger at those who forced their current way off life on them, but this isn’t a political blog so I’ll save that rant for elsewhere.

Climbers have long known of the many towers spread across the Navajolands, but they are generally off limits without permission from the locals. My friend Andy Burr recently visited the area with some local climbers, and got the OK to climb some of the stunning formations there. Here’s what he had to say about the trip:

“In early April, I spent a week down on the Navajo Reservation spanning the border of New Mexico and Arizona. We (myself and a couple of friends from Colorado) climbed 6 towers in 7 days.

This trip was all about the unknown. Before hand, we weren’t really sure what was going to happen and actually being able to climb wasn’t even a given. However, we did know that whatever happened, it was going to be an adventure and so the trip was dubbed Operation F*ck Ya (OFY).

The weeks’ worth of climbing flew by with lots of wind, sand, and even sandy wind. We met some wonderful local Dineh climbers who brought us into their homes and helped secure permission for these sacred summits. While I mostly shot photos, I did try to take a few video clips to create this ‘journal’ of our trip – a trip that I shall not forget anytime soon!

I’m fairly certain that I speak for all of us when I say, I look forward to reconnecting with our Dineh companions for OFY2 next year… “

Navajolands – A week on the rez from andrew Burr on Vimeo.