Through Fire

Aragorn: It cannot be…you fell!

Gandalf: Through fire... and water…. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life-age of the Earth..., but it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back... until my task is done.

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“Through Fire” is a route commemorating a harrowing fall, an impossible decision, and a heroic rescue that succeeded within literal minutes of nightfall deep within the Black Canyon.

Shook with PTSD, I became fixated on making this route a tribute to that experience, and in the weeks following the accident, I came out to Massey Wall many, many times alone and spent full days scrubbing lichen and cleaning off any potentially loose footholds. I was relentless and inconsolable. Sometimes I just hung in my harness and stared into the rock; sometimes I wept. My therapist suggested cleaning this route was my "grief work."

In the month following the accident and rescue, my life took on a rhythm familiar to those who have endured trauma in the mountains and have gone back out to move through the pain: days spent mostly alone working the route, checking in, showing up for counseling sessions; long evenings spent waking up from nightmares of uselessly holding a belay and watching a 30’ ledge fall and the eternity of time wondering what to do, screaming to the rim for help.

In time, I began to process how closely that day in the Black mirrored my own accident and brain injury 11 years prior. On a tower in the Creek, an unexpected fall- onto a piece I had thought solid- had pried off a flake roughly the size of a doorway, which hit me in the face and chest as I took a long lead fall. I hit the wall hard enough that my partners thought I was dead.  I was heli-evacuated to St. Mary’s in Grand Junction with head and chest trauma and began a long recovery dealing with the cognitive and physical fallout of a brain injury. 

Unable to handle the parallels and unresolved grief of my own accident, I became reclusive and irritable, struggling to connect or even be around anyone who brought up memories of that day.

Chris Righter showed up as a stalwart friend and partner, assuring me that accidents like these just happen sometimes.  No one had made a mistake; sometimes the rock just breaks when you least expect it. He bolted and cleaned the second pitch and worked the arete with me, unlocking some clutch beta at the crux. Unfortunately his work schedule became packed and he was unable to join for the true FA, but later made the second ascent in excellent style. Patrick Longley joined me for the first redpoint attempt, which unexpectedly turned out to be the FA, on the one month anniversary of the accident.

True to the gravitas of this narrative, we had to self-rescue on the FA when our ropes got stuck on the initial rap in and didn't get to the upper crux until it was in full sun.

It's an honor to share this special route and process with the climbing community, especially other friends and partners and anyone who feels connected to the rescue and recovery. Thus, the route is also dedicated to the Black Canyon SAR Team, whose courage, competence, and commitment is absolutely extraordinary.

Out of respect for their strength & boldness, this route was kept traditional and proud: bolting kept to a minimum and crux moves above gear and hardware. Expect spicy climbing with difficult protection. A ground-up ascent would be very proud indeed, but be solid on 5.11 face and good with finding small RP and offset cam placements.

What remains is the climb itself: a proud line on Massey Wall, built deliberately and with restraint, and offered in solemnity to our tribe. The pitches that follow reflect the character of the wall—technical, committing, and unyielding—and are offered in that spirit.

Here is a pitch breakdown:

P1. The Doors of Durin. "Speak, friend, and enter". Climb easy slab up a ramp to a juggy face (5.7/8 R) leading to a black corner, clip a bolt, and move left to a stance. Find indistinct gear, and commit to a puzzling corner leading to a hands splitter, nimbly passing a bush, to a nice gear belay (0.4-0.5), 120'; Elvish 10d.

P2. The Bridge of Khazad-dûm. "We've had one warm-up, yes, but what about second warm-up?" Like its sister in the East, this pitch features a wild, 25'+ rightward roof traverse. Climb an excellent corner to a little Black Canyon funk, then step out onto a foot rail. Commit to a delicate sequence, passing two fixed nuts, and save some lembas for the final face traverse to a stance on the arete, 2 bolts, a bolted anchor, 100'; Dúnedain 11d.

P3. A Demon of the Ancient World. "Dark fire will not avail you!" Enigmatic and unrelenting 5.12/+ for about 40’ past 4 bolts leads to a rest; run it out a little more to some gear, then tiptoe up 5.11 (possibly R) face with very little gear (crucial #3 RP) until you can equalize two marginal microcams, and commit to a slabby 12ish sequence below a bolt. Medium/tall climbers can clip bolt before hardest moves, and shorter climbers can place another small stopper. Above the bolt, commit to a valiant move ("Fly, you fools") and an airy press before the next bolt. Sporty 5.11+ joins Bachelor Party's last bolt before a big ledge belay (crucial .2-.4 for anchor and offsets helpful), 7 bolts, 140'; Maiar 12d (11 PG-13).

P4. Cracks of Lothlórien. Stay in the left-facing corner shared with Bachelor Party until it's possible to traverse left to the beautiful, splitter finish. Steep fists become perfect hands, but a little trickery awaits right at the rim. This could be linked with P3, but it is not really worth it (tag up gear if linking). It has a nice belay ledge, 60' to bolted anchor on top; Dwarfish 10c.

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"From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be the blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The base area is on private property. Approach from the top via Divide Road. The anchors are 10' skier's right of Bachelor Party. When rapping down, it's best to leave an anchor extended over the lip to ease the rope pull. There is a double rope rappel to the bolted anchor below P3’s blunt arete. Another double rope rappel takes you to the ground. Walk climber's left 50’ to a break in trees where the slab is accessible directly below a black corner with single dark bolt. Ignore weirdly bolted easy ramp with shiny hangers (?). A fixed 80m rope could get you to the ground as well with a little easy downclimbing.

A blue/black Alien Offset, a red C3 (both crucial on crux pitch), a set of RPs & optional larger offsets, doubles from 0.2-2, and singles of 3 & 4.