Last weekend I finally connected with Paul Nunez, winner of Mammut's "Pitches with Pros" contest. Paul turned out to be a very cool guy. Originally from Columbia, Paul is now getting his Doctorate in Astrophysics from the University of Utah in S.L.C. Despite being such a smart guy, Paul was willing to meet me for an adventure in the Black Canyon. For being such a good sport, I hooked him up with a new Mammut Tripod helmet to insure that he'd be just as smart and the end of the trip as he was at the start. We met at the Black Canyon's North Rim Campground, and had a great two days of climbing, managing the Canyon classics "Comic Relief" (III 5.11-), and "Lost Cities" (IV 5.12-), despite some pesky showers on Sunday. Thanks for great weekend Paul, and I hope to see you back in the Black soon!

Hats off to Mammut for running this raffle contest to benefit Big City Mountaineers--a non-profit organization that gets troubled youth out into the mountains. So often as climbers it's all about chasing our own dreams and aspirations, so it was really nice to help out a worthy cause,. I hope I can be involved with similar fundraisers in the future.


In other news...Whit Magro and I are off to Yosemite for the first two weeks of October. Very excited to get back to the Valley after being away for six years! I recently sent my Independence Pass Project at 5.13+. Turned out to be a very cool route, and I was excited to finish it before the winter snows start falling. And last but not least, Erinn and I finally got married two weeks ago!

Hope you're all enjoying the great temps of fall, and sending all your pesky summer projects!

Best Wishes,
Josh