TR: Animas is a Hard Mother - 40 miles and 400ft rock walls

[backcountry1pr]

nice job dude!

[summit]

Those wishing more insight into this trip: I am not writing a longer TR... ever... but here's a few tidbits...

Adimmen was fairly calm compared to other trips. No trees were beaten with an ice axe. However, some skis were thrown during a spate of swearing.

Adimmen: (getting water for breakfast) “If I’d have fallen into the creek with my Jetboil, I think I would have had a psychotic break.”
Summit: “Meh, I’d just mutter ‘figures’ and go catatonic.”

Summit: “Besides, it really isn’t a normal trip for *you* until you fall through the ice.”
Later that day, Adimmen fell through a snow bridge into the creek while filling nalgenes. I had been worried up until that point.

Summit: “Wait, so exactly how many times have you woken up with your tent upside down.”
Adimmen: “Uh… four… maybe five…”

Summit: “Why are we here?
Adimmen: “We chose this.”
Summit: “What, like voluntarily?”
Adimmen: “I think so…”
Summit: “That makes no sense at all.”
Adimmen: “We should seek professional help.”

Adimmen: "Maybe a shop will have an extra crampon."
Summit: "I need TWO crampons."
Adimmen: "I thought you only lost one crampon?"
Summit: "The other is not lost. I know exactly where it is. We had a little disagreement when it came time to put my XC skis back on."

Observation: When you are pushing along and suffering like that, it certainly lets you process a lot of stuff. Catharsis through agony is the way of the warrior... or the idiot...

[Cruiser]

No shit? You guys are animals. I can't fathom the effort involved with what you just described. Simply unreal!!!

[Grizzly Adams]

WOOOOOOOF

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Wow - this is an awesome TR. Epic sufferfest. Great pictures, and great words.

Question: I assume trains are not actually running on those tracks (or at least you didn't see any). How would one of these improve the approach:



Probably stupid heavy to get on/off the tracks, but I bet a budget one could be made. I guess it would suck trying to get it uphill, though.

[P_McPoser]

red x's always improve the approach

[montanaskier]

springtime and the Adimmen slogfests begin. Nice work guys, major kudos.

[smalls]

very well done.

[LightRanger]

Fantastic TR.

Having partaken in epic sufferfests myself, you really did nail the "one foot in front of the other... fuck this hurts!... when are we ever going to get to the car?" thoughts and feelings pretty well. Solid writeup.

[Tips^Up]

takes a lot to make TR of the day over young topless girls! before reading this TR, i didn't even know of animas as an objective. after reading this, i wont ever think of it as an objective.

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

Simply awesome. I have a pretty wide and deep masochistic streak, even so I might have waited for the train. Way to get after it.

[Yukonrider]

Wow, amazing TR, way to get at it!

[Woolly the Mammoth]

Awesome. Unexpected high water stream crossings can be scary.

[tone capone]

Wow. I'm so impressed you guys went and tried that. I was looking at the same peak in a picture I have in a book about the rocky mountains. I knew the peak because I lived there, so I checked it out on google earth. I saw the awesome 3000 ft. coolers and decided it had to be done.

I contacted a local photographer/skier, Jack, at Wide Range Photography, and asked if he knew of anyone skiing those lines, and if he possibly wanted to accompany me on such an endeavor.

He was like "No Name Creek is the most heinous bushwack from hell in all the Weminuche. No one would ever even think of going there, count me out".........

So I didn't make the trip down there last year, but it has always been on my mind, as I love that range and those lines look sick. I figure it couldn't be that bad.

So, anyways, thanks for putting that one to rest in my mind. Won't be attempting that in my lifetime!

Awesome TR. though, Best thing on here in a while. Good to see you guys going for something like that. Probably one of the greatest adventures in the Lower 48, skiing in the Weminuche.

[Rontele]

You guys are crazy.

[cdlv]

a most impressive suffer fest

[MultiVerse]

All time TR. All of it, the photos, the writing, the suffer fest; excellent work.

[Skipig25]

nice work, know how that feels. not animas, but the situation

[Ccard257]

Fucking amazing. Thanks for writing that up.

[adimmen]

He was like "No Name Creek is the most heinous bushwack from hell in all the Weminuche. No one would ever even think of going there, count me out".........

As long as you are on the north side of the drainage, the bushwhack wasn't bad at all. Our effort to get up the south side last year....well that's another story.

I would suggest Ruby Creek proper if you want the full Weminuche experience.

[Poop~Ghost]

nice, you guys sound like you enjoy suffering enough that you just might enjoy big wall climbing.

awesome write up summit. that was great and beautiful photos.

[^^^]

My favorite part of this whole report is the amount of dedication, heart, and drive that went into this mission. Good conditions, bad conditions, summit, no summit, it doesn't matter. You guys put it out there and went after it. Excellent freaking work.

[Alkasquawlik]

that was sick.

[born2snowboard99]

That is awesome, just awesome! What everyone else has said, way to get after it.

[KansasBoarder]

Jesus.

With remarkable pictures and text written in competition with the stone of time that grinds away the sharper moments, I find it difficult to fully comprehend the magnitude of the experience.

I am simultaneously dumbfounded, impressed beyond words, motivated to sack the f"ck up, and terrified. What an adventure. What a test. What a journey.

I was lucky enough to tour with Andy the three days prior to this endeavour, and can attest to his absurd determination, fitness, and passion for the real (see genuine, adventure, frontier).

To hear of his challenges along the way gives me goosebumps....


But perhaps ^^^ hit it on the head; One's journey may begin with the goal of a summit, a specific line, a perfect destination. Yet somehow along the way, during the miles of trials that one experiences in this sort of endeavour, this sort of life, the real gift is given. Boundaries are pushed. New horizons are seen, new perspectives granted.


You say sufferfest, and accurately so. But what a blessed endeavour it was.

Great job gents, hats off to you.