As a sport climbing area Ten Sleep, WY was lurking somewhat under the radar nationally until James Litz blew through town last year establishing a slew of 5.14s over the course of a single season. This summer, the ever-psyched Joe Kinder setup shop in Ten Sleep, and he’s been reporting back on 5.14 getting sent by both himself and local Alli Rainey as well as chronicling his never-ending search for the next ill gnar cave to bolt.
Then there is the Ten Sleep guidebook written by Aaron Huey. Oh my, what a guidebook. If you’ve seen the book you know what I’m referring to. While it does a very decent job of directing you toward climbs at all the different areas of Ten Sleep that’s not what one takes away from reading the book. From the symbols of patriotism used to denote 5 star routes to the communist/military themed cover to the almost stream of consciousness musings of Huey the book is an interesting read from cover to cover. The book may not be “safe for kids”, but it’s definitely the most unique guidebook I’ve ever seen.
With the news about Ten Sleep fresh in my mind and a copy of the guidebook in hand, Mrs. Narc and I made a brief stop in Ten Sleep over the 4th of July to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out we weren’t the only ones with this idea as evidenced by the parking lot for the Mondo Beyondo on the 4th of July.
Colorado North
A small portion of the "Mondo Beyondo"
Slavery Wall
There's rock everywhere in Ten Sleep Canyon
From Ten Sleep we made our way further west, stopping in the Tetons and Yellowstone before heading north to Glacier National Park. Here are some photos from the rest of our journey:
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- There’s rock climbing up there somewhere
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- Slavery Wall
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- A small portion of the “Mondo Beyondo”
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- Colorado North
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- The Tetons
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- Near the summit of Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone
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- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
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- Wildlife along the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park
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- Bullhead Lake – Glacier National Park
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- Teddy Roosevelt National Park
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- Bison in Teddy Roosevelt National Park
did you get to try circus in the wind? right around the corner from save the best for last… another classic 11.. ten sleep is full of 4-5 star 11s and 12s and i’m assuming 13’s and (mostly undone) 14’s and maybe some day i’ll be strong enough to attempt some of those!
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That was a fun one as well. Especially the needles-esque rocking over on little crystals near the top.
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exactly! jugs to peebles and lovin it! aw man i could go on and on about loving ten sleep.. this was my first summer to miss in the last 4 years and it literally hurts my soul!
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I was actually surprised at how juggy that route was. I kept expecting it to get hard and it never really did other than the somewhat technical nature of the last part there.
Save The Best For Last on the other hand did get hard at one point near the top and between the blasts of cold air and my fear of 2 finger pockets I have to say I was quite relieved to make it to the top of that one.
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Nice TR! Guessing you didn’t make it climbing in the Black Hills.
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Correct. I haven’t climbed at all since we left Ten Sleep.
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Has anyone checked out Aaron Huey’s website? After reading the Narc’s comments about his guidebook, I expected something a bit twisted, but instead I am blown away by his photography. I’ve only looked through three of the albums (Afghanistan Drug War, America and Sufism), but I’m in awe.
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Not to distract from the climbing but I see you did quite the circuit of national parks too. Highline trail in Glacier and Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone are both amazing hikes 🙂
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The national parks were by far the highlight of the trip. I could have spent many weeks just hiking around in Glacier or the Tetons.
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that place looks incredible!
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We spent 2 weeks in Tensleep late last September, and literally only saw one other climber in 10 or so days of climbing.
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