Archive for the ‘Tim Walther Adventures’ Category

My climbing adventure this December began with a road trip to Cochise Strong Hold.

Cochise Strong Hold – the land of the great Apache Native American leader. An incredible climbing destination thick with the Spiritual Aura of Cochise. His military strategy and leadership is well studied. He was known for going first and leading his troops into battle. This was a man that defined courage and bravery – fighting for his homeland against the invading white settlers. Many times being shot at directly but always avoiding the bullets. He also had remarkable horse skills, hanging off the side of his horse’s neck while on the attack and firing at the enemy.

Here’s the cover of the Guide Book I book I borrowed from Jarad Spackman. We headed straight for the crack! 

Climbing at Cochise Stronghold – Arizona. This is moments after a large lead fall after climbing up the face to the right. I got back up, and had a long traverse and run out to minimize rope drag and get to the anchors. Exciting!  Funny, one of my climbing Nick Names is Geronimo. (Geronimo became the Apache leader following in the footsteps of Cochise.) Yes, the name is because I have a tendency for big falls – often accompanied by BIG screams! I was glad to get the fall out of the way. Last time I was on a rope with Gary I took a 30 foot run-out fall on South Buttress Central on Mount Moran. This time it was a long fall, but with a soft landing! Climbing is about falling – and failure – and most importantly how you deal with it when you FALL. 

Gary Falk on a technical face finish. Balancy! Solid, Gary, real solid!

Gary leads the Classic Cochise Crack – look familiar?

Today is a recovery day – and for good reason!  Yesterday, Gary Falk and I completed Time Wave Zero – the 23 pitch mega route in Potrero Chico in a noteworthy 9 hours up and down. This rock climb is over 2000 vertical feet and has 23 pitches!  I have been training and thinking about this one for months. The technical details of the ascent are below and I must say that achieving a big goal like this takes a lot. the climb was not without its challenges – including the fact that I fell on the second pitch of 5.11 b. Well, what can i say? I have been climbing hard 5.11´s all week – firing them without falling. BUT, it was dawn, i wasn´t exactly warmed up, and i got out of sequence as i went for it charging up the route.  I got back up and made it through the pitch and admitedly was a bit upset. I flashed to Seeking True North, and the equation – values, plus beliefs plus action = a state of mind or being.  what part of the equation was leading to my frustration and what needed to shift? Well i did indeed value climbing the route in style and not falling at all, and i did believe that i would send the 5.11 and all my other pitches, and when my actions were not aligned – i got frustrated. (For those non-technical climbers – lets just say that climbing 5.11 is very difficult – and something that has taken me several years to get to) So – what do you do when you feel that frustration? I shifted to another value i have about climbing – and that is that there is no failure if you are giving all you got. in that moment, believe i did my best and i did give everything so my actions were aligned.  Besides, we still has 21 pitches to go!  I decided to be a LEADER and shifted as the rope came tight and we began the next 500 feed of simulclimbing. Gary took the helm and together we moved in sinc up the rock – beautifully pocketed limestone. Such amazing movement over rock – and lots of it. we flashed through 4 pitches of 5.9 and a pitch of 5.10 and after a short scramble we soon were are the base of the 9th pitch. It was my turn again and I had a bit of redemption in mind as I climbed the 5.9 plus pitch and moved up into the 5.10 B. a Great hand jam and overhang finish!  And on to more simul-climbing. Another 5 pitches of 5.7, 5.9 with a 5.10 finish to the sequence. Gary was like a machine – just cruising. that is until he had a bit of trouble in the crux with rope drag. He just happend to look down the steep face as I was rolling some video (the only video i got for the trip). I had made it over a steep part and was traversing to the next steep part - lets just say it started to get a little hot!  Pitch 16 was  5.10 D and steep and technical – and it was my turn to step up. We were in the meat of the route now and  at 1500 feet off the deck, things start to get a bit fuzzy!  The mountain was cooking and our water was just about gone. I refocused on the breathing and stepped up and sent the 10.d and linked the next pitch of 5.9 plus! sweet. Gary flashed the next two steep pitches of 5.9 with style and I grunted my way up to the belay ledge. I was a little cranky on the ledge, taking off my shoes for a rest, breathing hard, and dreaming of more water. Well… i suppose you could lead this next pitch of 5.10D Gary… i mean, that does look pretty hard and steep and time…  bla bla. Yeah right. Gary respondedwithTHIS IS IT. ITS NOW. You are not going to be thinking back wishing you have led your crux pitch. THIS IS THE MOMENT YOU WAIT FOR!  Step up and lead this thing! I knew he was right, and that is precisely why i like climbing with Gary.  He knew I could do it, and pushed me to step into that growth zone.  That´s the Prax Factor in action! With that, I strapped on my rock shoes through the pain of swollen feet, and sent off into the vertical world again.  The moves were hard, and I was for sure on the brink of falling several times – i mean really in that fine line of a few centimeters of holding on or not! Committing moves and a nice delicate traversing finish to a final overhang and I was done!  Totally sweet. And now Gary´s turn for the 5.12 pitch… He gave it a great shot to free the pitch and it was difficult overhanging stemming, side pulls and pinches. He pulled on a few draws and soon we were at the final pitch. The last 5.8 was vertical, with what seemed like harder moves than any of the 5.9 pitches, and with a few grunts, we sent it nonetheless.  We summited El TORRO at 1:00 PM and didn´t wait around very long to celebrate – we were out of water and had 2000 feet to descend! i sent a text to the one person i thought could help us – Holly! I asked her to summon the clouds for our descent!  We made it down 2.5 hours later as the clouds rolled in :o) with only one stuck rope and several songs about the beer we were soon to drink.  Within minutes of hitting the dirt, the words were murmured… NOW WHAT? Great question. What do you do when you achieve a big goal in your life? Well, first we can´t forget the very important step of celebration!  We did indeed return to a nice meal, cold beer and laughs and stories about the climb.  And so we began talking about our next objectives for the rest of the time here. One of the routes includes Satori – a flash of enlightenment – which we plan to send later this week. As i have been recovering, I also have been thinking about the importance of energy management and how to maximize our performance in everything we do.  Rest and recovery are keys to success. So is solid training efforts focused on being prepared for the big game, which in the corporate works is that big presentation, the ongoing reports due, the critical decisions, those challenging conversations.  I think about climbing and the transference of lessons i have learned – the importance of BREATHING, and staying focused on the present moment – these are all things that are critical to performance – and to success. In summary, as I continue Seeking True North, I am reminded of the freedom and beauty of the mountains, and to that place that it brings me – that place where time stands still. And i am also reminded of how all things are interrelated, and the importance of applying principles of success (and failure:0) from the mountains to my personal and business life. Cheers to you as you continue on your journey!  Peace -  Tim

The Seeking True North Forum Registration contests by Walther and Erickson have been awesome! Thanks for all of you who have registered. We have 20 more registrants to go to reach our December 1 deadline! Here is the Tim Walther – Grand Dynamics contest! We look forward to continue and grow the STN Forum Community!

This is the first of many years that I have been in the country for Thanksgiving. Last year I was in Fez, Morocco with Ryan Ernst – and we had quite the celebration with the local Berber and Arabic folk after a long bus ride from Tangier.  No matter what corner of the world I have been in, the  importance of Thanksgiving has always rung true. Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to reflect on all the people and experiences that we are grateful for. I like to express thanks for the past, present and future.  

I was just talking with my brother Todd about the story of the Native Americans, Pilgrims, and the Thanksgiving feast. There were a tribe of Indians who had been on a Vision Quest for several days when they came across the Pilgrims sitting down to a table of wild game. They were invited to join, and provided their own offereings as they all joined in for the feast.   I am sure there are many versions of what really happened, but what is most important to me is the meaning we associate to the story.  The simplicity of that story has impact in a couple different ways. First, the Vision Quest – I respect the Native American tradition of the vision quest and have gone on many vision quests in my own life over the years. To me, the Vision Quest is about seeking awareness. Seeking those moments of enlightenment where things shine brightly with purpose and we are able to experience a state of being that is in harmony with our Telos. Another important aspect to the story is the sharing - and what I ofter refer to as STEALING…. to steal away 5 minutes of our hectic schedule to share an act of kindness with your fellow man.

This Thanksgiving season, Seek out your Vision, STEAL… and give precious moments, and live a life of gratitude.     Tim

Well Now – It’s that time of year again – the another international climbing trip is upon me. This time I’m sticking fairly close to home – and heading South to Mexico on a road trip to Potrero Chico with Gary Falk. We’ll be driving through Cochise Strong Hold in AZ, and Hueco Tanks near El Paso – climbing at both areas along the way.

GOAL: Time Wave Zero – 23 pitches; 2000 feet, Rating: 5.12

Apparently there are taranchulas and rattle snakes to keep an eye for, other than that, another mega-classic Mountain Endurance objective with one of my best friends on the planet!

 http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/Mexico/Nuevo_Le_n/El_Potrero_Chico/Time_Wave_Zero/

Rock balancing can be a performance art, a spectacle, or a devotion, depending upon the interpretation by its audience. Rock balancing is also an incredible team building activity – which we incorporate in many Grand Dynamics programs. Essentially, it involves placing some combination of rock or stone in arrangements which require patience and sensitivity to generate, and which appear to be physically impossible while actually being only highly improbable. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_balancing

What I like about Rock Balancing is this notion of achieving the seemingly impossible. Invariably, first time rock balancers will share a common perception that the intention of such a precarious balancing act is indeed impossible. Several minutes with acute, minor adjustments, and you have a creation that breaks through limiting beliefs and confirms our ability to achieve the “impossible”.  

I was first introduced to Rock Balancing by Master Rick Erickson, which, coincidentally, happened to be the same time that I was introduced to Andy Goldworthy by my friend Brian Prax. Collaboration with Nature is Goldsworthy’s first book – awesome.

Andy Goldsworthy (born 26 July 1956) is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist living in Scotland who produces site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. His art involves the use of natural and found objects, to create both temporary and permanent sculptures which draw out the character of their environment. The materials used in Andy Goldsworthy’s art often include brightly-coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. He has been quoted as saying, “I think it’s incredibly brave to be working with flowers and leaves and petals. But I have to: I can’t edit the materials I work with. My remit is to work with nature as a whole.”^[7] Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing. For his ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy#Biography

My intention is to meet Andy Goldworthy in May of 2009, and to balance some things with him. If anyone know how to contact him, please let me know!