In August, I went to Vedauwoo, a climber’s oasis of giant granite boulders amidst the vast Wyoming prairie. It was an honor to be invited out by Pamela Shanti Pack, one of the world’s best off-width climbers. More typically, Climbers are drawn to “finger cracks” or “hand jams” which are as the names suggest, the right size for fingers or hands. Most climbers avoid Off-widths like the plague, but Pamela actually goes looking for them.
Off-widths involve counter-intuitive and awkward gymnastic maneuvers in wide cracks. To get purchase and make upward progress, you have to do a bunch of weird techniques like pressing two fists together, stacking an open hand against a fist (butterfly), or cranking an elbow against one wall with an open palm against the other (chicken wing). Sometimes you can even lock a knee in the crack for an all-hands rest. Even after taping up your hands and wearing elbow and knee pads, It’s still painful and shreds your skin. It’s like sliding up a cheese grater. Sighted climbers can just follow the blood spots up the rock, but I’m at a disadvantage there!
I was excited to return to Vedauwoo. The last time I was there was in the 90s when I led Ann Curry from The Today Show up a moderate route. Ann showed up in shorts and, by the top, her legs were covered with oozing dime-size gouges.
I returned this time with a true No Barriers Crew: Trevor Hahn and Nerissa Cannon, and Nerissa’s boyfriend, Kelsom. Trevor is another local climber from CO who happens to be blind, and in his spare time, also creates beautiful art sculptures (check out his work on Instagram.) Nerissa has an unspecified neurological disease that means she uses a wheelchair and has overall limited mobility, but she has spent the last several years pioneering new adaptive solutions and training for climbing (check out her No Barriers story).
Pam invited the three of us to camp out for five days, where we met and spent time with her tribe: including Brittany Goris, one of the country’s strongest climbers, and Felipe Nordenflycht and Karen Williams. Felipe took some epic shots of the group while Karen supplied the team with amazing gourmet food every evening like veggie pizza and curry with naan – all cooked on a little camp stove. Check out her company Gritty Gourmet on Instagram). Together, we climbed hard during the day and ate like kings at night.
Every morning we sat down to wrap our hands with rolls of tape, and then we were ready for off-width school. Pam taught us some of her crazy tricks like an “invert.” Hanging from a roof crack, you actually drop your upper body so that you’re up-side-down – with feet still jammed tenuously in the crack. Then, somehow you flip your whole body around in Cirque du Soleil style, do a Rocky Balboa hanging sit-up, and jam your hands back in the crack to reverse direction. Grunting and sweating, I thought I might be too old for that stuff, but it was fun trying.
Being out with such an adventurous, and eclectic crew was one of the highlights of my summer. Pam embodies the No Barriers spirit and is a passionate teacher of her hard-earned craft. I look forward to getting out for another shred session soon. Who wants to join?
