Adventure Sports Journal // Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 // #100

RESTORE THE DELTA / SKIING GLACIER POINT / CALENDAR

Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

CHRIS SHARMA sea & stone GIFT GIVING GUIDE

for the adventure lovers in your life

THE CLIMBERS

by Jim Herrington

AVALANCHE AWARENESS

tips for reducing risk

THE CENTENNIAL RIDE from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe

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Table of Contents

Photo: Restore the Delta

departments

6 7 9 10 12 25

Editor’s Note Gnarvana

Inbox

Readers chime in

Ear to the Ground News & notes

Gift Giving Guide

For adventure lovers

EPiC: Restore the Delta

Protecting CA’s largest estuary

Calendar

Directory of upcoming events

4 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

features

14 16 18

Photo: Jeff Glass

Centennial Ride

Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe

Ski Glacier Point

Winter wonderland at Yosemite

Avalance Awareness Tips on reducing risk

20 22

Photo: Adam Clark/REEL ROCK 12

Chris Sharma

Of sea and stone with world-renowned climber

The Climbers

Jim Herrington’s lens captures climbing legends

Cover Head shot of Chris Sharma taken by Matthew Hulet outside of Evolv Sports headquarters in Buena Park, CA.

DON’T MISS AN ISSUE – Subscribe to Adventure Sports Journal Mail a check for $20 to PO Box 35, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 along with subscriber name and address, or order online at adventuresportsjournal.com/subscribe.

Photo: Yosemite Hospitality

asj contributors how would you like to ring in the new year?

PUBLISHING + EDITORIAL

leoniesherman

By climbing or skiing or hiking or biking or soaking in remote springs ...

Wherever I am I like to make a list of highlights from the previous 12 months so I can plan well for the upcoming year.

chrisvanleuven

By getting up early and climbing ice and rock (mixed) all day. (Photo by Rob Kepley.)

kurtgensheimer

By getting out and doing something big, like bagging Mount Tallac.

brucewilley

PUBLISHER Cathy Claesson cathy@adventuresportsjournal.com EDITORIAL/MARKETING Matt Niswonger matt@adventuresportsjournal.com EDITORIAL Michele Charboneau michele@adventuresportsjournal.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jennifer Stein jen@adventuresportsjournal.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Leonie Sherman, Chris Van Leuven, Kurt Gensheimer, Bruce Willey CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Matthew Hulet, Jim Herrington, Bruce Willey, Adam Clark, Nate Christenson, Keith Ladzinski, Will Scheel, Jeff Glass, Jeff Barker, Eugene Hepting, SP Parker, Ryan Huetter, Vince M. Camiolo, Josh Beddingfield LAYOUT Cathy Claesson & Michele Charboneau

By donning animal skins and drinking champagne with coyotes in the desert north of Bishop with my daughter. But we’ll probably just go climbing as if it was any other ordinary day in the Eastern Sierra.

mattniswonger

With a promise not to get my pajamas on and sneak away while everyone is in a festive mood. My plan is to start taking shots of espresso around 10:30 so I can say “Happy New Year!” with Ryan Seacrest at midnight.

cathyclaesson

With a day of skiing or snowshoeing with the family — preferably with perfect weather and no fighting or complaining from the kids! Capped off with a toasty beverage under a starry sky.

michelecharboneau

By being out in the snow!

I’m brand new to winter sports, and excited to get into skiing and trekking this season.

COVER DESIGN Juliann Klein WEBMASTER Brooklyn Taylor brook@adventuresportsjournal.com ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Cathy Claesson I 831.234.0351 cathy@adventuresportsjournal.com EVENTS & DISTRIBUTION Matt Niswonger matt@adventuresportsjournal.com EVENTS COORDINATOR Jennifer Stein jen@adventuresportsjournal.com Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Adventure Sports Journal or our advertisers. We usually agree with our articles, but sometimes we don’t. We welcome all contributions.

All content © Adventure Sports Journal 2017.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the editors.

ADVENTURE SPORTS JOURNAL PO BOX 35, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 Phone 831.457.9453 asjstaff@adventuresportsjournal.com

jenniferstein By enjoying a great hike with a great guy!

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5

Editor’s Note

Gnarvana

100 issues of Adventure Sports Journal

W

elcome to the 100th issue of Adventure Sports Journal. In 2001 we began distributing the very first copies of ASJ out of an old blue Volvo wagon. The concept of combining all adventure sports into a single “thing” seemed novel at the time.

This was before GoPro, Facebook, Instagram, or Red Bull Media. It’s amazing how much has changed over the years. We are proud to be California’s original outdoor sports magazine.

More than ever we are committed to California’s wild places, and the wild people who play here. In the last few years we have added Nevada to our distribution list, to include climbing areas like Red Rock Canyon and the mountain biking boom that is happening in Carson City and elsewhere in the Silver State.

It goes without saying that California and Nevada represent a unique opportunity for people who play in the great outdoors. When it comes to climbing, surfing, mountain biking, skiing, and any other adventure sport you can think of, our terrain is a top five destination at a minimum, and usually we are quite simply the gold standard. In terms of the four main sports we cover – climbing, surfing, mountain biking, and skiing/ snowboarding – California pretty much sets the bar for the rest of the world.

Still, there is a downside to living near such an embarrassment of outdoor riches. How does one find the time to take advantage of all this outdoor opportunity while pursuing a career, raising a family, and keeping up with exorbitant housing costs?

In response, we’ve seen the so called “adventure lifestyle” go mainstream. Originally the practice of just a few diehard climbers and surfers, we now see an entire generation of adventure enthusiasts re-framing their priorities around simplicity and outdoor adventure.

This sort of dedication is not the height of irresponsibility as some might suggest. With the passing of Jack O’Neill and Royal Robbins, we see how both hardcore adventure and business success can be combined into one lifestyle.

In this complex economy is it so far-fetched to suggest that the outdoor lifestyle could also represent a career opportunity as well? As we’ve been saying all along, the powerful mental state that results from a regular practice of adventure can be pretty darn useful for making money.

While ASJ was started by a couple who saw a need for a publication with a regional outdoor perspective (Cathy and I started the magazine after an inspiring climbing trip in Yosemite), we would be remiss not to recognize all the incredible support we have received over the years. In no particular order we would like to recognize

The concept of combining all adventure sports into a single “thing” seemed novel at the time. This was before GoPro, Facebook, Instagram, or Red Bull Media.

Adventure Sports Journal was started in 2001 a couple of years after we got married. One hundred issues and many adventures later we now have three kids.

Mariann Claesson, Christa Fraser, Pete Gauvin, Michele Charboneau, Brook Taylor, Steve Shaw, Mark Hoover, Jennifer Stein, Juliann Klein, our interns and distributors, the many talented writers and photographers who form the core of what we do, and last but not least all of the companies who make ASJ possible by purchasing advertising space.

In Buddhism, Nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. I use the term “gnarvana” to describe a similar transcendent state that is available to those who pursue a regular practice of adventure sports in the great outdoors. This blissful state of Gnarvana is why we started ASJ all those years ago: we wanted to share with others what we have been lucky enough to find in California.

See you outside!

—Matt Niswonger

IN PURSUIT OF ENDLESS ADVENTURE.

Photo Anita Martin

@TEPUITENTS | 800.301.9874 | TEPUITENTS.COM 6 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

Campfire memories from Sea Otter, 2017. ASJ editor, Matt Niswonger on the plasitc horn.

INBOX

Fanmail, Feedback, Ideas & Opinions

In response to Editor’s Note #99: FIGHT CLUB: THE POWER OF NO MIND TIRED BRAINS Your editor’s note called “Fight Club” in the Oct/Nov ASJ was killer. I have been wrestling with the same issue and curious about how the human brain is functioning when we are always at a level of information ingestion and “connection” with others.

Tired brains. Very tired brains. Loved the piece. Be well!

Avery Robins, Santa Cruz NO SCREEN SUNDAYS Yes — excessive “tech” usage IS a national mental health crisis. You are NOT just projecting. How appropriate that on Sunday, October 15th, I started my official “NO SCREEN SUNDAYS” and came across your article.

As a Solopreneur business woman, writer, and Creative, I use my MacBook Air and my iPhone. On occasion, I’ll pull out the iPad, but that’s more rare. I don’t own a TV, but if I’m staying somewhere with one, I’ll happily unwind with an occasional Netflix or Amazon. I’m a GenX, so I definitely have a LOT to say about the influence of screens — even before IBM and Apple.

Sooo, I have all of these “justifications” for using screens but on the other hand I have an aversion to them as well. I, too, am a surfer and I HAVE to get in the ocean or hike in forests at least weekly to “clear my head-drive” as I like to say.

I made it through my “NO SCREEN SUNDAY” with no phone, no computer, and a conscious NO to MOVIES or BIG SCREEN anything at the unwind of the day. Instead, I reclined and read the epic Finnegan novel Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life (which I’m sure you’re aware of).

The next day I felt a certain pride. I’m not a heavy user of any devices other than basic business or creative or technical writing projects on my laptop. I just acknowledged myself for the follow through, and for the extra empty space. I am one who takes GENEROUS amounts of empty space and NO MIND time because it is essential for balance. Unplugging from all technology was gratifying. It also made me chuckle because of the elders I know who have never yet “plugged in.”

Andrea Robinson, Santa Cruz

COMPUTER FREE LIVING I’m a regular reader of ASJ and love your publication. I always like hearing your “take” on things as it varies from the usual “Editors” comments from other journals.

Thank you so much for putting into words why I love the outdoors and taking risks. I’m not a huge risk taker but have been backpacking since the 70s when it was barely known of in mainstream. I’ve seen many places change over the years with high usage and a lack of wilderness ethics — but, I digress!

“Adventure opens the door to my imagination, and imagination is the royal road to happiness ...” ... “outdoor recreation with calculated risk makes the entire sequence possible.” – MN I couldn’t agree more. My family and friends think I take too much risk but it’s what it’s all about out there.

Stripping away the connections — the conveniences, the electronics. Yes, smartphone usage is a national mental health crisis! You’re not projecting!

I purposely live a computer-free life (except for using it minimally in my business) and I LOVE it. I don’t come home to piles of emails and useless crap. I feel the freedom and it brings me peace ... and the happiness you spoke of. But we must choose to let some of that shit go and resist. Discipline ourselves. Like you tried to do when you were surfing without your phone. That relaxation and restoration comes to us when we are absorbing our surroundings. As I love to do for hours on the trail — no phone. No GPS. You’re right.

There’s no mental recovery time. It’s so essential.

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So ... Keep on writing.

Continue surfing with your son.

Leave the phone on shore.

Soak up the moment.

Live out loud.

Restore & rest your mind.

Take risk.

Imagine.

Thank you for your thoughts. Truly enjoyed.

Celeste Felciano, Glen Ellen We love to hear from our readers

ASJ Then & Now // #1 vs #100 Issue #1 On Our Cover: Tom Davis, co-owner of Pacific Edge climbing gym — Before Facebook, GoPro, Instagram or RedBull — 7,000 copies Issue #100 On Our Cover: Chris Sharma, who grew up climbing at Pacific Edge ­­­­— Grassroots and dedicated readership in digital world

RESTORE THE DELTA / SKIING GLACIER POINT / CALENDAR

Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

CHRIS SHARMA sea & stone GIFT GIVING GUIDE

for the adventure lovers in your life

THE CLIMBERS

by Jim Herrington

AVALANCHE AWARENESS

tips for reducing risk

THE CENTENNIAL RIDE

from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe

www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

7

Ear to the Ground

News and notes from the outdoor industry

Sonoma Pride Raises Funds for Sonoma County Wildfire Victims

Ski California Releases Inaugural “Mountain Safety Guide” As part of their ongoing snow sports education effort, Ski California (aka the California Ski Industry Association) and its member resorts have debuted their first-ever Mountain Safety Guide for the 2017-2018 season.

The free guide is available at resorts in a pocket-size format and/or an online/mobile version to all guests with education about making good decisions for a safe experience. It contains safety education every resort guest should know, covering everything from what to

do before going to a resort, to loading and riding lifts, navigating potential hazards (including deep snow and avalanche awareness), and understanding trail signage. It’s printed on reclaimed stone without using trees or water, and is waterproof and tear-resistant.

The guide is complemented by a series of PSA videos featuring Olympic gold medalist Maddie Bowman and professional snowboarder and founder of Protect Our Winters (POW) Jeremy Jones.

PSAs include safety education for children and their parents, being “Park SMART” in terrain parks, and specific guidance for new skiers.

To date, Sonoma Pride has raised over $340,000 for victims of October’s Sonoma County wildfires. King Ridge Foundation — founded by former road cycling national champ Levi Leipheimer — has partnered with several organizations in the Sonoma County community to guarantee funds raised by Sonoma Pride are disbursed in the most effective manner possible.

On October 31, Sonoma Pride beer was released at Russian River Brewery and select retail outlets, and 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this beer benefits victims of the catastrophic fire events that took place in the Northern California communities.

In addition to Russian River Brewery, ten other Sonoma County breweries released one of their own signature beers under the Sonoma Pride label with 100% of the proceeds being devoted to this Sonoma Pride fundraising effort.

Help wildfire vicitims by purchasing Sonoma Pride at Russian River Brewery and select retail locations or by making a direct donation.

Vince M. Camiolo, PA League

Club Ride Launches Program to Support Interscholastic Mountain Biking (NICA)

The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), a youth development organization governing interscholastic mountain biking in the US, recently announced its partnership with Club Ride, a well-known apparel brand based in Ketchum, ID. “We are honored that Club Ride has joined NICA’s Corporate Booster Club and will be contributing a portion of revenue generated from the sale of their excellent clothing. By doing so, they are joining a number of leading brands who believe in NICA’s goal of wanting to provide every American teenager the opportunity to build strong body, mind and character through participation on school based mountain bike teams,” says NICA president Austin McInerny.

Club Ride founder Mike Herlinger adds, “By providing financial support from the sales of Club Ride gear, we are proud to strengthen NICA’s efforts to expand their programs to more communities across America.”

Sewn with pride in San Jose, California!

www.westernmountaineering.com

Available at the bay area’s best outdoor equipment stores: Down Works, Redwood Trading Post, Sports Basement, Sunrise Mountaineering, Young’s Backpacking 8 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

High Fives Grants Record Amount to Injured Athletes

Nine Miles of Singletrack Added to Downieville Trail Network

This past September, the High Fives Foundation experienced its largest grant cycle since its inception in 2009, granting $110,578.89 to 22 injured mountain bike action sports athletes as well as the sponsorship of a wheelchair rugby team in Reno, NV and a sled hockey team in Central VT. The Truckee-based foundation supports injured athletes through grant funding to be used toward reaching their recovery goals. Since the non-profit was founded, its empowerment program service has assisted 167 athletes from 31 states in nine respective categories including living expenses, insurance, travel, health, healing network, adaptive equipment, winter equipment, programs and “stoke” (positive energy, outlook and attitude).

As of September 2017, $444,673.84 in 114 board-approved grants has been disbursed to 73 individuals across 23 states (including the 2017 Military to the Mountains Program) and the sponsorship of two adaptive sport teams.

The Lost Sierra region that includes the notorious Downieville Downhill is a model for true shared multi-use recreation, thanks in part to a strong partnership between the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS), Sierra County Land Trust, the Tahoe National Forest – Yuba Ranger District and the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA).

And after nearly a decade of work, nine new miles of bike-legal singletrack and 1,500 extra vertical feet of non-motorized descent were opened with a ceremony on October 1. From the very top of the Sierra Buttes at 8,591 feet elevation on the Sierra Buttes Overlook Trail, the Downieville Downhill now boasts 7,000 vertical feet of descent to Downieville, dubbed the “Tower 2 Town,” one of the longest descents in North America.

Not only is the Sierra Buttes Overlook Trail a technically challenging and fun singletrack descent, but it also offers breathtaking views of Lower and Upper Sardine Lakes as well as cliffside views of Young America Lake.

REI Adventures Launches New Destinations, Expands Camping Offerings

Nakoma Resort Opens New Recreation Center “Altitude”

REI Adventures, the active travel company part of national outdoor co-op REI, has launched 20 trips, bringing its total to more than 40 new itineraries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. The industry leader also introduced a collection of lower intensity trips to meet the diverse interests and abilities of its broadening traveler base.

REI Adventures’ new lower intensity collection offers its usual active itinerary but at a more relaxed pace and with less intensity. Designated as level two on the company’s activity scale, a sample day includes hiking two to six miles with minimal elevation gain and/or loss.

Physical activities are interspersed with local experiences to highlight a region’s cultural and natural history, and unique interactions with communities made possible by local expert guides. The company’s most strenuous trips (level five) offer 10-miles per day hikes with dramatic elevation gain and/or loss, and guests carry up to 45 pound backpacks.

To say Nakoma Resort is a surprise discovery in the Lost Sierra is an understatement. The resort and its iconic Frank Lloyd Wright architecture peeking from the pines is a true four-seasons base camp from which to explore all that the vast Lost Sierra region of Eastern Plumas County has to offer.

Overnight Lodge guests now have full access to Altitude, Nakoma’s recreation center that opened in October. Altitude’s 12,500 square feet features a heated 25-meter outdoor pool, indoor climbing wall, fitness center, play room for little kids and a game room for the young and young-at-heart.

Located 45 minutes north of Truckee off Highway 89, Nakoma is just minutes from the Gold Lakes Basin, Mills Peak trail, Plumas-Eureka State Park and historic Johnsville Ski Bowl, and is open yearround.

Dive into more detail about these stories at adventuresportsjournal.com/ETG100.

Have news to share? Email us at staff@ adventuresportsjournal.com.

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9

THE

BEST GIFTS

THIS YEAR

e d i u G t f Gi Gear, events and services that are sure to please the adventure lover on your list.

SHAPE-SHIFT RESERVOIR Smart design, meet peak performance – also known as the Shape-Shift Reservoir. Our timetested creation for hydration on the go, it can take a serious beating, it fits nicely in most packs and it’s fully reversible for easy cleaning.

Durable, dependable form and function.

Available in 2L & 3L ($33-$35).

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AE 5-GALLON SUMMER SHOWER Designed with an efficient 4-layer construction for optimal heat retention and performance, simply fill and layout in the sun and you will have a hot shower in no time! Whether it’s in camp, at the end of a long trail, or on the deck of your boat, a hot shower is a pleasure to have.

AdvancedElements.com/summer-shower

Skier Logan Vadasz, photo: Max Rainoldi.

ALPINE SKILLS INTERNATIONAL Give the Gift of Experience!

Come to Truckee/Donner Pass and enjoy the backcountry experience with Alpine Skills International. For 38 years our goal has been to encourage you to love the outdoors, by teaching skills to make you competent in the backcountry.

Our Avalanche School is legendary, and we have locations in Sugar Bowl and Truckee at The Back Country. (530) 582-9170 AlpineSkills.com

10 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

O’NEILL YACHT CHARTERS Come aboard the 65' Team O’Neill catamaran and experience adventure and beauty on Monterey Bay. Our sails are fun and memorable for the whole family, as we venture along the picturesque coastline and spot the local marine wildlife.

Sailing tours run regularly during the May-October season and private charters are available upon request year-round. (831) 818-3645.

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MOUNT HERMON CANOPY TOURS Give the Gift of Adventure! Join us on the Redwood Canopy Tour or Sequoia Aerial Adventure for an unforgettable experience high up in the redwood forest. Gift Certificates are available for both adventures and make the perfect high impact stocking stuffer! Purchase online at mounthermonadventures.com MountHermonAdventures.com/gift

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11

EPiC: Environmental Partnership Campaign

Restore the Delta Opposing Governor Jerry Brown’s tunnels to protect California’s largest estuary

Words by Leonie Sherman Photos courtesy of Restore the Delta

W

hen Governor Jerry Brown announced his support of Water Fix, the plan to build two 30mile long tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the non-profit group Restore the Delta (RTD) was waiting with hundreds of protestors. Its presence was so intimidating that Governor Brown retreated to the top floor of the building to make his announcement and refused to answer questions from the press or meet with the gathered residents. While its presence that day had a large impact, RTD’s effectiveness extends far beyond the plaza in front of the Natural Resources Building in Sacramento.

RTD originally formed in 2006, with the intention of advocating for water quality and quantity. Just months later, then Governor Schwarzenegger laid out plans for the Bay Delta Conservation Project, the predecessor

to Governor Brown’s tunnels, and the organization’s focus shifted. From movie theaters to council chambers, courtrooms to board rooms, RTD’s members have lobbied, educated and advocated incessantly against the tunnels project. They seem to be winning.

“The tunnel project will decimate the shreds of intact ecosystem we have left in the delta,” explains RTD Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parilla. But the motivation behind her tireless work is also personal.

“I live in Stockton,” she continues. “If this project goes through, it’s our drinking water supply that will be impacted, our economy that will be harmed, and our environment that will be decimated. Nobody wants to live in those conditions.”

Thanks to the hard work of RTD’s five person staff, hundreds of volunteers and 50,000 members, nobody

may need to live with those conditions. Funding has collapsed in recent months and, if passed, House Bill 1713 will require the approval of California voters, who overwhelmingly rejected a similar plan called the Peripheral Canal proposed by Governor Pat Brown, Jerry’s father, 35 years ago.

The current Governor Brown’s Water Fix project would involve the construction of twin tunnels 150 feet below ground, 40 feet in diameter and 30 miles long.

These tunnels would divert up to 67,000 gallons of water per second to the pumps at Tracy and distribute that water, via the California aqueduct, to districts from Santa Clara to San Diego. It’s larger than the English Channel Tunnel or Boston’s Big Dig — both of which ran significantly over their proposed budgets. Nothing on this scale or in these conditions has ever been

Tis the season for sharing ...

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Because Marriage is an Adventure. built before. In addition to the political challenges, burying enormous tunnels 150 feet deep in the mud of the delta poses a colossal engineering challenge.

The tunnels are meant to address the aging water system infrastructure in California. Farmers and urban users would foot the $17 billion bill for its construction through bonds created

by Water Districts — which neatly circumvents the democratic process that defeated the Peripheral Canal. Unless HB 1713 is approved, this project — which will affect millions of people and impact a diverse and unique delta — could proceed without voter input.

The four districts that are meant to fund the project represent the users who stand to benefit from its construction.

Metro Water District is a cooperative that provides water to 19 million residents of Southern California. They’ve pledged $4.6 billion to the project. Kern Water district pledged only half of the $2 billion they were asked to come up with.

When Westlands, the largest agricultural water district in the country, realized they would be paying into a project that didn’t guarantee them more water, they voted 7-1 against contributing anything.

The Santa Clara Water District followed suit, leaving the tunnels almost $11 billion short.

“They’re going to have to turn to the state or the voters to make up that shortcoming,” explains BarriganParilla. “Or they might look for a federal subsidy. But given all the floods and and earthquakes and fires, it’s hard to imagine a conservative ongress coughing up $11 billion dollars for Jerry Brown’s water tunnels.”

Still, the fight to defeat the tunnels and restore the delta ecosystem is not over yet. RTD suspects the Brown administration will return with a proposal for a single tunnel. This would be cheaper, but still leave the project underfunded. Construction of a single tunnel would inflict similar environmental damages and the price of the delivered water would rise.

The delta covers an area the size of Rhode Island and is home to half a million people. The watershed it drains, which includes the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers as well as the San Francisco Bay, covers over 75,000 square miles, a little bit smaller than South Dakota. It encompasses the largest estuary on the west coasts of North

and South America and is bounded by the Cascade Range in the north, the Tehachapi Mountains to the south, the Sierra Nevada to the east and the Coast Range to the west. Nearly half of all water that falls as rain or snow in the state lands within this watershed, which provides irrigation for over 7,000 square miles of agriculture. 25 million Californians rely on it as their primary source of drinking water.

Ten thousand years ago during the most recent Ice Age, the delta and the bay were river valleys and sea level was 300 feet lower. As the climate warmed and sea level rose, strong tides pushed against the river mouths, slowing their flow to the ocean and forcing them to drop massive loads of sediment.

Perhaps 20,000 Maidu and Miwok people inhabited the eastern edge of the delta and relied on the abundant reeds and wildlife for their sustenance. Though Europeans first arrived in the delta in 1722, they didn’t realize the agricultural potential until the Gold Rush.

For a century this was California’s richest farming region; as its productivity grew, its biodiversity shrank. Several endangered species of fish live here, two thirds of the state’s salmon pass through these waters, and half the migratory birds who use the Pacific Flyway rely on the shrinking wetlands for food and shelter on their journeys. Both tunnel advocates and opponents agree that the ecosystem is broken and in need of attention; RTD wants to see restoration take priority over construction.

Just as everyone agrees the delta is a damaged ecosystem, nobody is disputing that California needs to plan for water security in an uncertain future. With an increasing population and cataclysmic climate change, many doubt whether investment in huge infrastructure is a wise use of taxpayer money.

“There are lots of solutions that address our water problems but won’t have such negative environmental impacts,” says Barrigan-Parilla. “We could install big storm water capture systems in urban areas or move all farming to drip irrigation. We can restore Sierra wetlands, do groundwater clean up and bank recycled water.” She sighs as she contemplates the work ahead of her.

“This is such a waste of government time, money and talent. If we were devoting our energy to figuring out creative water solutions the whole state would be better off.”

BRUCE WILLEY PHOTOGRAPHY Giving wedding photography discounts to outdoor motivated couples since 2006.

So they can go further on their honeymoon ...

Based in Bishop CA; will travel.

brucewilleyphotography.com

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13

The Centennial Ride

Celebrating a historic bicycle adventure from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe

By Kurt Gensheimer

I

t all started with a photograph. Jeff Barker of El Dorado Hills, California was looking through historical photos on the Center for Sacramento History’s Facebook page when he came across a photograph from 1917 of a bicyclist posing at a sign on Echo Summit above South Lake Tahoe. As a lifelong mountain biker and self described adventure rider, Barker’s interest was immediately piqued; who were these guys and what route did they pedal back then?

Barker dug a little deeper into the Center for Sacramento History’s archives and discovered that two young men, Eugene Hepting and Abbie Budd, had ridden their bikes 105 miles from downtown Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe in a mere 17 hours and 29 minutes on October 19, 1917, establishing a record for the feat that as far as Barker knows, has never been repeated.

“I thought it was so cool that these guys rode their bikes from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe, especially considering they were on primitive bikes with only one gear and the entire route was pretty much dirt, decomposed granite and sand,” said Barker.

“They were mountain biking sixty years before mountain biking became a thing.”

Barker continued to search the archives and found more photographs of Hepting and Budd’s bicycle adventure, which roughly followed what is today’s Highway 50 up the South Fork American River Canyon to Echo Summit, then down Meyers Grade into Meyers and on to Lake Tahoe.

Barker also learned the record setters turned around the very next day and rode all the way back to Sacramento to attend a bike club meeting. This impressive ride wasn’t Hepting’s only bicycle endeavor; he was a very well known and accomplished competitive cyclist in Sacramento who also carried a camera everywhere he rode.

“Based on all the pictures he took that are now at the Center for Sacramento History, Hepting has been referred to as Google Street View a hundred years before it existed,” said Barker. “Hepting’s pictures are an invaluable part of Sacramento history, and it’s been so fascinating discovering all the places he rode and seeing what the communities around Sacramento looked like decades ago.”

14 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

Hepting and Budd were on the tail end of the bicycle’s overarching popularity in mainstream American society. In the first two decades of the 20th century, Americans used the bicycle as a primary means of transportation, as it was far more reliable than a horse and much more simple and affordable than an automobile.

But soon after Hepting and Budd’s ride from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe, the automobile gained significant popularity, manifesting the end of the bicycle era.

“It was 2014 when I learned of Hepting and Budd’s ride,” said Barker. “I realized the 100 year anniversary of their ride was coming up in a few years and thought it would be really cool to commemorate it by doing the ride again, but on modern bicycles and on a mostly dirt route that mirrored their route.”

In September of 2016 Barker made it official and created a Facebook event page titled “Centennial Ride: Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe 100 years later”. The response was far bigger than what Barker anticipated.

“Immediately after creating the page I had people contacting me about the ride and asking what the route was going to be and many other logistical questions,” said Barker. “I was really hoping at least a few people would do this ride with me, but became worried that it might get ‘too big’ and require too much hand-holding. I just wanted this to be a no-frills adventure to commemorate what Hepting and Budd did in 1917. No fees, no formal support, no liability and no whining.”

Barker started digging into potential routes, and considering much of the route Hepting and Budd took along today’s Highway 50 is now all pavement, Barker’s route would have to be a variation, especially considering he wanted to keep

the ride on as much dirt as possible.

The route Barker worked out ended up being 145 miles long, highlighted by the American River Bike Trail from Sacramento to Folsom, a trail originally funded and constructed by the Capital City Wheelmen in the early 1900s. Next was the El Dorado Trail, a 35-mile railroad route, partially converted to a multi-use trail, running from the El Dorado County line on the west side up to the town of Camino on the east side.

The group then tackled the historic Pony Express Trail from near Kyburz to Echo Summit, a rugged and at times impossibly steep singletrack trail. The route offered a wide range of characteristics from smooth, easy pedaling paved trail on the American River Bike Trail to primitive backcountry riding on the Pony Express Trail, almost non-existent in some places, making for very slow going at times.

A total of 15 riders participated in at least a portion of the route, with six completing the entire 145 mile adventure and three riding from Folsom to Echo Summit. Equipment ranged from narrow tire cyclocross bikes to full-suspension trail bikes. Some riders like Barker went credit card-style, opting to pack minimal gear, staying the night at accommodations in Pollock Pines and Strawberry, while a few other riders like Will Scheel bikepacked, carrying all the gear needed to camp along the way.

“Will is so throwback; he’s a reincarnation of Hepting,” said Barker. “He rides his bike everywhere, over long distances and takes tons of photos. He and I rode the same route over two-and-a-half days, but he was on a fully loaded bike. After we reached Tahoe, Will kept riding up to Truckee, camped, then worked his way back on the Foresthill Divide to Auburn, then to Sacramento just like Hepting would have.”

This page, clockwise from left main image: The photo of Abbie Budd at Echo Summit on October 19, 1917 that inspired the Centennial Ride (Eugene Hepting / Courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History); Jeff Barker recreating the 1917 photo in nearly the same spot 100 years later (Jeff Glass); Barker and Will Scheel celebrate the end of the Centennial Ride very close to where the 1917 ride ended on South Lake Tahoe (Jeff Glass). Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Will Scheel takes a self portrait along his Centennial bikepacking adventure (Will Scheel); Matt Reynolds (of Truckee) shadowed by Sugarloaf while riding on the Pony Express Trail (Jeff Barker); Abbie Budd poses on the sandy road with Sugarloaf in the background one hundred years earlier on October 19, 1917 (Eugene Hepting / Courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History); Barker races to South Lake Tahoe on the Angora Ridge Trail to wrap up the Centennial Ride (Will Scheel).

Robert Goss, a Folsom Parks and Recreation Director, completed the entire route in two days with Cody Schwartz, a 19-year-old Civil Engineering student at Sacramento State University and mountain bike racer for Cycling Development/Scott USA. “Being so overgeared on my cyclocross bike, I could really appreciate Hepting and Budd’s fitness and strength to ride over the Sierra with so few gear choices,” said Goss.

“I now have a greater appreciation for the amazing horses and riders that conquered the Sierra on practically a deer trail with steep pitches and tree falls. What we call an epic adventure was just a day at the office for the hearty souls of the Pony Express.”

“It was really hard to conceptualize that we were riding from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe,” said Schwartz. “Even though parts of the Pony Express Trail required hiking and bush whacking, it exposed me to views along Highway 50 I would never have experienced otherwise. I’m not sure I would do it again on that route, but cresting Echo Summit and seeing the blue of Lake Tahoe was one of the most rewarding moments I’ve ever experienced.”

There were a couple viewpoints along the route that followed Hepting and Budd’s 1917 route, including a very cool now-and-then photograph of riders in

the same shadow of Sugarloaf, a giant granite boulder outcropping just above Kyburz that’s unmistakable. And to properly commemorate the ride, Barker reconstructed the original Echo Pass sign that Hepting and Budd were photographed in front of; the photo that started it all for Barker.

“Where Highway 50 crosses Echo Summit today isn’t exactly where Hepting and Budd were pictured,” said Barker. “The old sign was just north of Highway 50 on Johnson Pass, so that’s where I put the replica, almost exactly where the original stood. Having the sign was actually really important, as it motivated a few people

who otherwise wouldn’t have completed the ride. They wanted to reach that sign.”

Vida Morhain, her husband Bryan and friend Blaine Quillin rode 100 miles from Folsom to the sign on Echo Summit, a fulfilling challenge that taught her a little history along the way.

“Props to Jeff for all his time and efforts spent organizing this tribute ride,” said Morhain. “I believe it was fate that he stumbled upon this gem about Hepting and Budd. It was as if this ride was meant to be. Hepting and Budd would have been stoked!”

Morhain also gained a new appreciation for adventure after completing the ride.

“Challenge and adventure is inherent in many of us, but the preference by which adventure is accomplished is different for each individual,” said Morhain. “Whether it be on foot, horse or bicycle, I maintain a healthy respect for all seeking to fulfill the call for adventure, because in the end, it’s about the journey.”

In the afterglow of the ride, Barker’s been thinking about the possibility of developing an official off-road cycling route between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe, promoting adventure, multi-use recreation and connectivity between where people live and where they play. Barker’s also having to answer a new question.

“Folks are asking if I’m doing the ride again next year. Considering this was a centennial ride, I tell them maybe in another 100 years!

As much as this was me jonesing for an epic adventure, it was also a history lesson and celebration of two young pioneers who did amazing things on their bikes. What I would love most is to track down a descendant of Hepting and Budd and share this story with them. Being photographed riding some of the exact same spots as Eugene and Abbie one-hundred years later made this ride really special; a ride I’ll never forget.”

Check out adventuresportsjournal.com/ centennialride for additional photos of this epic event.

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15

Glacier Point

Learn to Love Winter Camping this Solstice

T

he winter solstice is coming! December 22 will be two seconds longer than December 21, and within a month we’ll be gaining a minute and a half every day. Even though this marks the tipping of the scales, the turning of the season, the return of the light, it also marks the beginning of the coldest, snowiest months. What better way to celebrate than by spending a night at 7,200 feet, perched on the lip of California’s most dramatic valley?

Glacier Point boasts iconic views of Yosemite, from a promontory 3,200 feet above the valley floor. During summer months, the road is clogged with RVs, and tourists crowd the parking areas. Most spend less than an hour and go home with photographs of the panoramic view which features Half Dome and thundering Nevada

16 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

By Leonie Sherman and Vernal waterfalls. Just a mile away is the bald top of Sentinel Dome, with an even more breathtaking vista and the weathered remains of a Jeffrey pine Ansel Adams made famous.

The road closes with the first snow. Even a thin white blanket brings a hush to the surrounding forests and meadows. Rodents and deer abandon the area for warmer climes lower down. Some birds remain, crouching in the shelter of trees or flitting from branch to branch despite the frigid temperatures. Life slows down when cold seeps in and darkness takes over.

During winter, the metal gate that bars automobiles welcomes wilderness lovers and winter adventurers.

For the past 35 years, the park has groomed the ten

and a half miles of road to Glacier Point. They start as soon as there’s enough snow and provide maintenance through March. Those two smooth sets of skiable tracks encourage winter exploration of Yosemite’s back country and make skiing easier and safer.

Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area is the start of any winter Glacier Point expedition. The concession has hot food and there’s a Nordic ski center with rental equipment and knowledgeable staff nearby. Permits are required for overnight travel; the Wilderness Center, located in a quaint A-frame cabin, is open from 8am-5pm. Rangers are happy to help you plan your trip.

Two ski huts are accessible from Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area. The Ostrander Hut involves a strenuous

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(Yosemite Hospitality). Clockwise from upper Bunks cost $50 a night and reservations left, this page: The merry tunes of a banjo are required. A moderate ski to the end of add lightness to dark wintry camping (Josh the groomed Glacier Point road brings you Beddingfield); Stop and savor the view of Half to Glacier Point Ski Hut — a cheery hut Dome and the dramatic drop off at iconic Glacier where dinner is provided. The following Point (Yosemite Hospitality); Glacier Point ski morning’s breakfast and a sack lunch hut beckons to a weary ski tourer (Yosemite are also included in the price; $137 per Hospitality). person per night for a self-guided party of As the night approaches, violet and six or $350 each for a guided tour. These fuchsia streak the sky, fading to indigo. In huts glow amidst the snowy surroundings the distance, range after range of snowy and welcome the weary winter traveler.

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17

Early Season Avalanche Awareness

Thoughts on preparedness and losing a friend

By Chris Van Leuven

B

y now most readers have heard of the early October slide on Montana’s Imp Peak that claimed the life of Inge Perkins (23) and, later from suicide, Hayden Kennedy (27). The couple were swept by a slab avalanche 300 feet long by 150 wide with a crown of one to two feet that resulted in a full burial for Perkins and a partial one for Kennedy.

The following day, after Kennedy was found unresponsive in his Bozeman home, which he shared with Perkins, personnel from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center were able to locate Perkins under three feet of snow. They found her from written directions left by Kennedy showing where he last saw her on the 11,202-foot peak.

While writing this I’m looking at a picture I brought home from Kennedy’s memorial in Carbondale, Colorado. In the shot, he’s smiling and dressed in a blue micro-puff jacket. The picture is tied to a pine tree stem wrapped in sage. I never knew Perkins, but after reading countless articles on her and hearing about her at the memorial, I know they brought immense joy to one another’s lives.

The slope they were skinning up, where the avalanche took place at 10,000 feet, was “38-45 degrees steep with a north-northeast aspect,” the Gallatin Avalanche Center reported. The area received a foot of fresh snow a week before, which sat on top of three or four feet of snow that fell on the mountain in mid-September.

When Perkins was located, it was discovered that her beacon was stashed in her pack and turned off. Would the two still be alive if they were properly using their equipment? We’ll never know.

Perkins could have died from trauma, which would have made the point about her beacon being off moot.

And though proper use of avalanche equipment, including beacons, probes, shovels and air bags, can help save lives, there’s no guarantee.

Thinking of their moments in the fatal slide reminds me of the time I was in a car that flipped over on the highway after the driver fell asleep going about 60 mph. We were both wearing our seatbelts, but as hard

concrete smashed into fragile windshield glass, again and again, my head nearly impacting the ground on each flip, I knew it was just a matter of chance if we made it or not. Surviving an avalanche can be viewed the same way, except the victims in a slide often find themselves helpless in a river of fast-moving, heavy debris.

Disorientation can occur; people get slammed into trees, fall off cliffs, and knocked with heavy blocks of snow or hit rocks. I can only imagine the fear they experienced, followed by Kennedy’s panic after he dug himself out and could not locate his partner.

As friends and family of the deceased move on with their lives, carrying the pain and loss of their loved ones like a river of pain flowing into an ocean — as Kennedy’s father said at the service — now may be the time to be aware of best practices for traveling in avalanche country.

The Ski Industry Association estimates that today there are more than six million backcountry skiers worldwide, ten times more users in recent years, with a “death rate at less than 0.5 per 100,000,” or 27 per year, according to Mountain Culture Group. This number also includes snowmobilers and snowshoe hikers. Of note, people trigger nine out of ten avalanches.

“Avalanches are very violent events,” Bruce Tremper of the Utah Avalanche Center says in a video. “One out of four people are killed by the trauma of hitting trees and rocks along the way down. Then the avalanche debris instantly sets up like concrete. You can’t just pop out of there. Somebody else has to get you out of the snow.”

Unlike a car wreck, which is caused by many variables that are out of your control, getting caught in an avalanche has much more to do with proper decisionmaking by people in a group. “The only time we should even consider getting into steep terrain is when we have

Unlike a car wreck, which is caused by many variables that are out of your control, getting caught in an avalanche has much more to do with proper decision-making by people in a group.

18 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

COURTESY OF SIERRA MOUNTAIN CENTER

This page, top to bottom: Classic beautiful Sierra ski touring from Rock Creek to Mammoth (Ryan Huetter); Backcountry travelers can do exactly what motorist are advised — don’t dally in the danger zones. Opposite page, top row left to right: Very large D4 avalanche on Mount McGee near Mammoth (SP Parker); Doing a compression test to help assess snow stability (SP Parker). Opposite page, bottom row left to right: An inclinometer helps to judge slope angles and to gauge how far avalanches might run (SP Parker); Airbags are the latest in avalanche survival and save lives through buoyancy and head protection (Ryan Huetter); Surface hoar crystals are lovely to look at but a major problem once buried (SP Parker).

safe avalanche conditions,” continues Tremper.

This means checking local avalanche reports — it’s crucial to do your homework and research legit resources for the areas you are entering.

During and immediately after storms avalanche risk is the greatest. However, weeks or months after a storm the snowpack structure may still be unstable. Slopes in California and the Pacific Northwest are different than those in the Midwest. The maritime snowfall that shrouds the mountains in white in the west often causes avalanches in the first 24 to 48 hours, with much of the immediate dangers subsiding after that period. The more time that passes after a storm, the safer the slope becomes, but avalanches can and do still occur.

Though some people view heading out into avalanche country as playing roulette with a loaded gun, others know which slopes are safest, and where various types of avalanches are most likely to occur.

Below are five ways to prepare for entering avalanche country, whether you’re a snowmobiler, skier, snowshoe hiker, ice climber or general recreationalist.

1

Attend at least one course through AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education) or a similar school, and take refreshers. The Sierra Avalanche Center lists transceiver workshops, avalanche seminars, and refreshers at locations throughout California, including Bear Valley, the Bay Area and Donner Summit. Avalanche.org offers online courses. Other resources include the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and Mount Shasta Avalanche Center.

4

2

Learn the basics of terrain and how to manage it, being pro-active in avoidance. As renowned avalanche specialist Karl Klassen points out, “The snowpack is a capricious and erratic acquaintance who you never get to know very well. The terrain is a steady and predictable friend that you can always depend on.”

3

Ensure your transceiver has fresh batteries and that it’s technologically up-to-date, and know where to keep it on your body (i.e., away from cell phones).

Use avalanche safety equipment including beacons, probes, shovels, radios, and airbags.

“Your chances of surviving an avalanche are doubled if you’re wearing an airbag,” says Bruce Edgerly, co-founder of Backcountry Access. Set up mock burials, and time yourself in searches. And rehearse.

5

Visit KBYG.org, which stands for Know Before You Go. The website contains a 15-minute video which shows someone getting buried — complete with a terrifying scream — before getting dug out. “If you live close to snow-covered mountains, you need to know about avalanches,” says the narrator. “It just goes with the territory.”

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19

The Chris Sharma Effect

From Santa Cruz to the world, surf and stone are always linked

By Chris Van Leuven

Sharma, now 36, shares how climbing changed his life. A gym rat at Pacific Edge in Santa Cruz in the early 90s, he was first profiled in ASJ in 2001.

Sixteen years later, he’s combined his love for the sea and stone, coming full circle as the world’s most prominent deep water soloist.

W

This page, top to bottom: Chris Sharma in the water at Mallorca (Adam Clark/Reel Rock 12); “I don’t know how he can keep his nerve, 60 feet above crashing waves, no rope, doing insanely difficult moves. Every fall means you smash into the water below. If you don’t land right it can seriously mess you up,” says Josh Lowell, Director of Above the Sea and co-founder of Reel Rock (Adam Clark/Reel Rock 12). Opposite page, clockwise from left: Sharma bouldering in Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT (Nate Christenson/Red Bull Content Pool); Photogenic beauty is part of the appeal of combining surf and stone (Adam Clark/Reel Rock 12); Sharma poses for a portrait in Eureka (Keith Ladzinski/Red Bull Content Pool).

20 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

ith Adventure Sports Journal entering its seventeenth year, we got back in touch with our old friend Chris Sharma, a Santa Cruz native once regarded by National Public Radio as the World’s Best Climber. We wanted to know how his life and career has changed since he burst onto the scene as a 12-year-old phenom in the early 1990s.

He answered the phone from his Barcelona home in his typical relaxed-but sincere style, like someone who has just gotten out of a hot tub. Since meeting at a competition in the early 90s, we’ve since kept in touch. That first day, some 25 years ago in a dusty climbing gym in Davis, with me having blown it at the competition, he was calm, relaxed and friendly. His demeanor set the tone for our future interactions. I forget if he won that day, though it’s likely he did; after noticing I was having an off day, he took me aside to boulder together at a quiet section of the gym.

That night, with the event over and the crowd filtering out the exits, we continued climbing one-on-one. He shared his select boulder problems and we climbed, without ego, just two people enjoying their favorite thing.

We connected again a few years later at Camp 4 in Yosemite and bouldered for hours along the famous blocks scattered in the area. Then there were the times we talked among friends in the back of a van in the Camp 4 parking lot, along a river in Tuolumne Meadows and in my RV parked on a suburban street in Bishop.

As the decades went by, with him standing atop the podium at the world’s toughest comps, our interactions took place at more formal events, most recently at a hotel in Salt Lake City during the Outdoor Retailer trade show, six months ago. That late morning, with nearly everyone in attendance on the trade show floor a few blocks away, we chatted quietly on the couches in the hotel lobby with no one else around. It didn’t matter that he had grown into perhaps the most famous climber in the world and that I was a journalist writing for a few pubs (and a dedicated though comparatively unexceptional climber), he addressed me on the same level.

He interrupted the conversation from Barcelona, apologizing that his wife, Jimena Alarcon, and their newborn Alana, needed his attention for a moment. I could hear their voices in the background. The pause in our hour-long chat gave me a chance to acknowledge how much his life had changed in recent years. Two years ago he married, with his daughter arriving shortly after. He also became a businessman, having recently opened Sharma Climbing BCN near his home. Though he shared much of these changes in Above the Sea, a 15-minute short and part of the REEL ROCK 12 Film Tour (on the road now) profiling his fascination with climbing ropeless over the ocean in Mallorca, as we talked he shared much more with me, including how his formative years in Santa Cruz helped shape who he is today.

A child of Bob Sharma and Gita Jahn, Chris entered the world in Santa Cruz in 1981, spending his youth surfing with his father, boogie boarding and climbing trees before advancing into rock climbing.

At age 12 he joined Pacific Edge climbing gym located mere blocks from the ocean, and he burst onto the scene.

His talent was obvious and he received support from the local climbing community. The since-closed Bugaboo Mountain Shop gave him his first harness, and Tom Davis, the owner of Pacific Edge, held a fundraiser to send him to his first Junior Nationals competition in 1994. Matt Niswonger, the editor of ASJ, remembers that one day at the gym a specialist tested Sharma’s hand strength and said it was off the charts. “Here was this teenager whose grip strength was equal to a 250 pound weight lifter who only weighed 150 pounds soaking wet,” recalls Matt. He was truly a climbing phenom, and his career was only in its infancy.

Over the phone, we reminisced about the time he met world-class photographer Jim Thornburg at the Pinnacles, in what would become a partnership spanning decades.

Sharma, then 13, with an electric-clipper-length haircut, a skinny frame except for developed biceps and forearms, was working on a repeat of Thornburg’s first ascent, a steep, thugy 45-foot route rated 5.13c.

Thornburg captured shots of him on the climb and later accompanied him on his early visits to Céüse, France, where Sharma would go on to establish Biographie/Realization, in July 2001, the world’s first climb rated 5.15a. The same year he completed that route, he also walked 720 miles through Japan, visiting nearly 90 Buddhist temples during

his pilgrimage. While all the fanatical climbers wondered what out-of-the-world climb he had planned to do next, he was quietly following his own path, one influenced by his spiritual youth and parents.

Thornburg, like many adults Sharma spent time with, was a father figure to him. Looking at my desk covered in broken climbing gear and cups filled with day-old coffee, I zero in on Thornburg’s coffee table book from 2010: Stone Mountains: North America’s Best Crags, containing images of Sharma from over the decades. Looking through it is a timeline of his most significant ascents.

From ages 16 to 26, he ticked off the hardest climbs in the world and established his own, all while living out of a backpack. By the end of that era he felt the need to settle down and lived in Bishop for a period but his busy lifestyle meant he was rarely there to enjoy it. Finally, some five years later, he found his home near the Mediterranean Sea

in Spain. Today, instead of embarking on weeks to monthslong climbing trips, he day-trips to his local crags, which contain routes at the highest level. He currently has four projects up to 5.15d, the highest rating in the world. If he times it right after a day of climbing, he can be home in time for dinner with his family. He calls this “integrating climbing with real life.”

Sharma splits his time in Spain between his home in the bustling city of Barcelona and the quiet village of San Lorenzo de Mongay. He also makes frequent visits to the deep-water soloing walls at Mallorca. He began visiting Mallorca after his mother died in 2006. There, climbing over the ocean—obsessively—helped him work through that difficult, painful time. It was a spiritual journey that had a lasting effect on his life.

“We have a nice lifestyle here. But I certainly miss California. I miss my family out there. Now that I have a

daughter, I feel a duty to share that part of my world with her,” he says. “We’re slowly organizing our lives to live in both places.” He makes three to four visits to California yearly.

In Barcelona, he’s paying forward the kindness he experienced in Santa Cruz by playing a mentor role with the kids at his gym.

At 36, despite his busy life as a husband, father, business owner and celebrity, he’s still at the top of his game. This is apparent in the latest video profiling him, Above the Sea,which is about his latest demanding deep-water solos in Mallorca. Describing the short movie over the phone, he pointed out many parallels between his climbs over the ocean and the love he discovered for water as a child in Northern California.

In one scene, he’s in a deep, dark body of water, just like around Santa Cruz. However, instead of mountains pouring into the ocean, steep, striated limestone walls tower over him. To climb here, he says, “You have to be an ocean person. The main danger isn’t falling. It’s being in the sea and being comfortable in it. The tides, the wind directions; many things you don’t have to deal with in regular climbing.”

Above the Sea is poetic, mesmerizing viewers with crashing waves and sea spray under hard climbing. It’s also soundtrack free, allowing viewers to take in the simple beauty of the surroundings without distraction. Even Sharma’s narration is filled with pauses. It’s him in joyful play and in celebration of his surroundings. The film begins with him saying: “There really is nothing like being on a huge wall with nothing but your climbing shoes, chalk bag, and dangling by your fingertips. The waves are smashing into the wall, you actually feel the vibrations in the cliff and the reverberations in your ears.”

Though this isn’t the first video of Sharma deep water soloing, with the first coming out 12 years ago, this one is a continuation, showing his evolution as an athlete.

“Today deep water soloing is the forefront of climbing for me,” he explained. “For someone like myself who grew up by the beach every day, it’s really adventurous. Every year I go back to Mallorca. I feel quite at home there. It’s epic, man. It’s the ultimate place.”

www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

21

The Climbers

Photographer Jim Herrington’s book, The Climbers, exposes the deep inner lives of legendary mountaineers and climbers

By Bruce Willey Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.

—Edward Whymper, Scrambles Amongst the Alps

C

offee was brewing on the stove. From the looks of things, Jim Herrington had stayed up late. His thick brown hair, normally combed and coifed, looked like he’d just eaten an electric eel for breakfast.

On the small kitchen table was a stack of film negatives, a loupe, contact sheets; the flotsam (keep) and jetsam (discard) of assembling nearly two decades of work into a major photography book — which at this time in May 2016 didn’t yet have a title. In his distinct patois — a mixture of SoHo New York City erudition, Nashville cordiality, and a slow dash of well-mannered Southern charm — he said that he’d stayed up late. He’d been editing photographs of the world’s legendary climbers.

Out the front window of the single-wide trailer on an alfalfa farm in the Owens Valley, a long, sage-covered lateral moraine swept down from the 14,000-foot Palisades, peaks in the High Sierra upon which many of Herrington’s subjects had plied their craft. Herrington was frustrated; he wanted to get up in the mountains that were so enticingly close, but work on the book was getting in the way.

Nineteen years. That’s how long The Climbers (Mountaineers Books, 2017) took. Between gigs photographing music and movie stars such as Tom Petty, Dolly Parton, Morgan Freeman, and too many others to 22 ASJ — Dec 2017 / Jan 2018

mention without bruising your left foot from the namedropping, Herrington was traveling around the globe methodically ticking off a list of legendary climbers while they were still alive. (And as I write this, just two weeks after the publication of The Climbers, another legend found in the book, Fred Beckey, passed away at the age of 94.)

“I was doing this all alone,” he says. “I was doing it when I had some money, when I could travel.

And almost everybody agreed to varying levels of enthusiasm. There were a lot I didn’t get.”

Two rejections were memorable. One, the great Polish climber Voytek Kurtyka, wrote him back, saying, “. . . forgive me, it’s too difficult to take part in this spectacle which is, whatever the noble intent, a display of ‘the decay of heroes,’ this ‘march of heroes.’ Forgive me. I’m not ready yet,” and signed with the valediction “Friendly.

Voytek.”

The other was Warren Harding, the Yosemite rabblerouser to first nail his way up the Nose of El Capitan.

Warren and Herrington had been imbibing in a string of tipsy late-night phone conversations and were getting pretty friendly with each other. Herrington was about to buy a plane ticket out to California to make Harding’s portrait. Then Herrington spilled a juicy bit of gossip about a climber he made a portrait of that was in keeping with the bawdy flow of the conversation.

Something salacious, perhaps. As Herrington writes in the book, “He suddenly, ferociously, and very permanently put an end to our friendship, punctuated by a crescendo of bellowed verbiage and a final Herculean slamming down of his phone receiver with the combined force of every piton he’d hammered into the granite of El Capitan.”

Herrington lobbied for a blank page in the book to commemorate this exchange but the publisher didn’t approve. And it pains me not to be able to tell the intriguing story that Herrington told me off the record.

But you’re welcome to ask him in person should you find yourself at his reading and slide show.

••••••• The Climbers is really the first of its kind. Featuring 60 seminal climbers from the early to mid-20th century, or as Herrington defines it, climbers who were vertically active between 1920 and 1970, the book is printed in black and white (and taken with analog B&W film). It isn’t meant to be an encyclopedia of every well-known climber within a particular era. Instead, it is a collective portrait of the global mountain landscape etched into the aging faces of climbers. Of men and women who devoted their lives to the pursuit of climbing and as a result, were given deep lives and rich lines.

As Alex Honnold writes in the introduction, “Jim Herrington captures the men and women behind the superhuman feats. His experience as a climber allows him access to their world, but his talent as a photographer is what brings them back to ours. In these portraits, we are reminded that great men are still men, sharing the same humor, motivation, and humanity as the rest of us.”

Little wonder the book won the Grand Prize at the prestigious Banff Book Award competition. Add to that the 30,000-word introduction to the book by highly lauded climbing and mountaineering author Greg Childs, which the even higher highly lauded climbing and mountaineering author David Roberts recently called “… a stirring apologia for the life of the mountains.”

The Climbers is really the first of its kind. Featuring 60 seminal climbers from the early to mid-20th century, or as Herrington defines it, climbers who were vertically active between 1920 and 1970, the book is printed in black and white (and taken with analog B&W film).

First page, clockwise from left: Chuck Pratt, Royal Robbins, Pat Ament, Layton Kor, Jim Bridwell. This page, clockwise from left: David Brower, Mark Powell, Pertemba Sherpa.

Herrington began the project in 1998 thinking he would focus on Sierra Nevada climbers. “I wanted to meet the old guys from the 30s and 40s, and the first ones I got were Jules Eichorn and Glen Dawson who had done the first ascent of Mt. Whitney’s East Face in 1931 with Norman Clyde.”

Much in the same way he had sought out the legends of rock and roll and country early in his career, Herrington’s project soon expanded elsewhere with Bradford Washburn in Boston pulling it out of California, and still later into Europe and eventually the Himalaya, Japan, and other places.

“Climbing was an underground thing when these people were doing it,” Herrington says. “It was not something you saw on a Sprite commercial on TV or on a Twitter account. It was a punk rock thing to do.”

In person Herrington seems to have been transported from another era. His jean jacket, glasses, and haircut peg him somewhere into a very rock and roll late 50s, early 60s. But when he’s climbing he’s more likely to don a wool sweater and knickers rather than GoreTex and nylon. On occasion I’ve heard his bittersweet lamentations that he didn’t live in the daguerreotype or the wet plate era, to have been alive to photograph John Muir, John Tyndall, Clarence King, George Mallory, Norman Clyde — to name a few. During the multidecadal project, he often worried if silver-based film would still be available by the time he completed the project and would be forced to shoot digital pixels.

“I’m an unapologetic romantic,” he writes in the book.

“Show me a photo of a rain-soaked Don Whillans in 1956, soggy cig draped from his lip, hungover and

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Jim Herrington and Jim Herrington in the Alabama Hills (Bruce Willey).

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grizzled from a bar brawl the night before, and twenty-five feet out from his last rattly piton, and I get all giddy inside.”

To find out what it’s like to be behind the lens of Herrington’s camera, I hunted down one of the youngest climbers to make it into the book. The climber — who happened to be hiding in the cushions of my couch — was Doug Robinson, resting up between Buttermilking sessions on Smoke Blanchard’s “Rock Course.” (Blanchard being another climber Herrington would have liked to photograph.)

“I had never met Jim before he flew out from Nashville in the late 90s,” Robinson says, between bites of a cucumber. “And he’d come up from LA after he had photographed Glen Dawson, the first photographs he took for this project — before it was even a project.

He rolled into camp seven miles into the backcountry, into my Palisade camp right below Temple Crag. I knew he was a good sport climber so right away we upped the ante to a first ascent on the unknown south face of Temple Crag, a climb that ended in moonlight and light snow on the last pitch. Halfway up the climb, with a storm brewing, I was staring down the crux pitch and I glanced over just in time to hear the shutter click on his classic Leica. The expression that showed up in the print says a lot about the situation and Jim’s relentless pursuit of a revealing portrait.”

••••••• What these portraits do reveal is often left up to the viewer to decide.

Like a good song lyric, Herrington’s keen eye leaves enough room for both wonderment and interpretation. But what’s beyond dispute in The Climbers is the clarity of expression, the intensity of the gaze that seems to suggest these eyes have seen a lot of the world, have met fear and failures head-on, and have (or have not always) summited the world’s finest peaks. They, and ultimately all of us, climber or not, must face that threadbare mountaineer’s question of getting down off the mountain, or failing that, the descent into old age and (the) beyond.

Or maybe these revealing climber portraits have less to do with a keen eye and everything to do with Herrington’s inherent charm and friendly rapport with his muses, his heroes since he was a pre-teen ogling mountain boots and steel carbineers in a North Carolina climbing store. And to keep his heroes, our heroes, alive for all of us.

So when our own end comes — or even if we are young, nearly hit by rock fall or about to drop in on a monster wave — may we mutter the same noble words of Voytek Kurtyka, the Polish climber who rejected being included in The Climbers: “Forgive me. I’m not ready yet.”

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25

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