TRIP REPORTS: CLIMBING THE FANG

The Plan

I drove from Denver to Vail with two other climbers (Dan and Dan) in search of one last ice climb of the season. We were hopeful that the Rigid Designator (WI5) would still be “in.” After a short but steep hike up to the Rigid Designator Amphitheater, we inspected our options for ice climbs. As it turned out, the Rigid Designator was in poor shape, but the infamous (The) Fang was still in good shape most of the way up. Due to the fact that it was late April, we certainly did not anticipate being able to climb The Fang. Colorado’s unusually long winter gave us an opportunity that probably would not exist during a normal year. As we trekked around the many ice and mixed climbs, we pondered the rich climbing history of this magnificent place.

A Little History

“With Jeff Lowe’s ascent of Octopussy in the late 80’s, the world’s first consensus M8, it was clear that this amphitheatre had much to offer. Along with Lowe, later generations of climbers such as Will Gadd, Rich Purnell, and Eric Malmgren put up even harder test pieces. Continuing from the early 90’s until today, a slew of difficult routes such as Amphibian (M8-), Red Bull and Vodka (M8+), Fatman and Robin (M9), and even some double digit routes like Reptile (M10) and Somnambulist (M11) speckle the cave with their bolts. Vail’s long routes require powerful and acrobatic techniques that have helped usher in the sport of modern mixed climbing. In 1997, the overhanging stone of Vail became the North American epicenter of the modern mixed movement. Routes like Amphibian and Fatman and Robin, then the pinnacle of difficulty, went up virtually overnight. Using bolts for pro and tools for hooks, mixed climbers began tapping the athleticism of the new sport." [commentary courtesy of Dan Dalton]

The Photos

After hiking around the Amphitheatre for a while, I decided that there were three specific shots that I wanted to capture; three shots that would communicate the essence of the geography and the difficulty and scale of the climbing. For the first shot, I wanted to capture the entire height of The Fang while it was being climbed (see photo #219 below). For the second shot, I wanted to capture the intimate setting that the climber experienced while on The Fang (see photo #220 below). Finally, for the third shot, I wanted to capture the overhanging nature of the entire Amphitheater. This shot begged for the use of my brand new fisheye lens…and I did not resist (see photo #221 below).