‘Merica…a land of independence, opportunity, the pursuit of happiness, and currently a place of extremes. It seems appropriate, then, that we found ourselves in a tiny town in a big canyon full of cowboys and dirtbag climbers during a thunderstorm-filled 4th of July week. We neither loved nor hated Ten Sleep, Wyoming, but we certainly grew to appreciate its extremes.
If you will recall, when last we corresponded, the Raffs were hunkered down in Pocatello, Idaho waiting for the locals to park their stock car Buicks, so that we could safely make our exit. The following day, we were treated to a host of beautiful experiences including Targhee Pass (a land of many uses…inspiration for Keen’s bestselling shoe), Jackson Hole and the Tetons, the Continental Divide, and some stunning canyons along the Wind River. We felt a little bittersweet to see all of the snow in the Tetons; it was gorgeous, but it’s looking like the Grand Teton may not be in the cards for us this summer if a dramatic melting isn’t on the way soon.
When we pulled into our campground, it was a humid 90 degrees, and we were tired after a 10-hour day of driving. It looked like rain, Ten Sleep’s reputation for hard climbing intimidated us since neither of us knew much about climbing limestone, and our guidebook was full of pictures of American Flags, Popes, Kittens, and Pamela Anderson in spandex (what’s wrong with a simple star system of ranking?). We decided to celebrate the Sabbath and take an honest-to-goodness rest day on Sunday before trying to figure out how to tackle this canyon.
What’s extreme about a rest day? We’d climbed 13 of 14 days, so it was sort of a big deal to take a day off! I fried up a good breakfast, and then we toured a nearby fish hatchery that helped populate most of the lakes with Cutthroat Trout in that part of the state. Most helpful, though, was a drive up the canyon. It was full of beautiful, stark bands of brown, grey, and red limestone cliffs rising above a snake-like creek. Using our weird-ass guidebook, we were able to at least figure out where to climb. A good afternoon nap in the Craggin’ Wagon left us ready to get on the rocks come Monday.
We started at the innocent sounding Pooh Corner, only to find that we could barely climb 5.6! What the heck was this slick, sharp glob of irregular pockets and nubs? It sure wasn’t anything like the granite we’d been climbing the past 2 weeks! Sarah started to get it after a couple of climbs, but I thought I might be in for a really tough time! It turns out that Pooh’s Corner must be named after the body function and not the cute cuddly bear because we eventually found some better climbing and started to have much more fun!
Basically, we had to either find morning shade and climb hard until the daily afternoon thunderstorm came in, or we had to fart around at camp all day before climbing a few lines after the daily morning thunderstorm finally subsided. Either way, you could have some fun…just not too much. Highlights included a 5.9 steep bolted crack (I think these guys would bolt down their kitchen table if it looked fun to climb) called Ice Station Zebras, a 5.8 super pocketed steep column called Suits and Boots, a slabby red old-school 5.9 that ran about 10 feet from a waterfall (Water into Wine), and then getting good enough to push a bit harder on a new type of rock. The bolts are typically really close, and the climbs are pumpy but short with good jugs; a combination that made for some bold climbing. Sarah led an 5.11A called the Godfather II, which was a really proud moment for her! We then climbed the Godfather I, which I think would be a classic 10C if it were longer—sweet hero holds all the way up the overhung boulder! The signature climb of the week, though, came on Saturday right before we headed out: a full 60 m. 10C called Big Bear Memorial; this steep corner required jug hauling, foot stems, jams, liebacks, and good body turns. Very cool—I’m glad Sarah put it up for us!
As I said at the beginning of this post, though, we were also here during a week to celebrate ‘Merica, and it turns out that Ten Sleep is a great place to celebrate the 4th of July! The local brewery (a really cool place with delicious beer and a real enthusiasm for climbers) hosts fireworks on the 3rd, although that is really not pertinent to us because we did not go. 😊 The 4th begins with a parade with all the bells, sirens, and—more importantly—Walt Longmire’s creator, Craig Johnson! Yup, one of my favorite authors lives about an hour away from Ten Sleep and came to read from his upcoming book. Sarah hasn’t read the books but really enjoyed the TV show, so we both had a good time hearing him read, joke about the area, and discuss his characters. Plus, it was only an hour, so Sarah had plenty of time for a Wyoming-sized ice cream cone afterward.
The big event on the 4th, though, is a rodeo! Sarah had never been, and I think I’d only been to a small one years ago. I’d say the whole town came out, but I think several whole counties would be a better description. We saw a little of everything: barrel-racing (Sarah loved), calf-roping (Sarah gasped), bronc-riding (Mikey liked), team roping (Sarah tolerated), and bronc-riding (Sarah closed her eyes). The people-watching was even better—pretty much any stereotype you could imagine. We sat by a sort of jarhead that tried to be funny when people walked by but clearly came off as mean (his wife chewed straight Copenhagen); other highlights included the requisite senior bikers in full ZZ top glory that yelled across the stadium at each other while getting re-beers, and lots of long-legged cowboys and cowgirls dressed in their finest Wranglers and button-downs. We weren’t the only climbers there, either. Really, it was a pretty cool mixture of folks enjoying the same show. Before the rodeo ended, they auctioned off a limited-edition rifle that fetched $8,000. The rodeo emcee went full-on auctioneer, “Ahheara2500—2500—cannagetanittybittyprettykitty—26—26—gottabeatta26—SOOOLD for $8,000!Next up, the bulls!†We may not have experienced a typical 4th for us, but we sure did have a ton of fun!
Ten Sleep may not be for everyone; we’re still not sure it’s for us, but it definitely grew on us as the week went on. Just like the storms and the climbs, though, everything was a series of big highs and lows. One minute we met new friends Kelly and Maria who pushed us to climb harder and got us super-stoked about climbing in Europe this fall; the next minute I was repeatedly ransacking the van trying to find my lost phone (I strip-searched that friggin’ thing 3 times, only to find it 4 days later sitting in plain sight at the bottom of a cup holder!); then, a few moments later, we’d be at an awesome climber’s festival listening to Paige Classen discuss her latest sweet climb in the Fins. Then, just as we started wondering what Ten Sleep might hold next for the two of us, we discovered a nearly perfect weather window at Devil’s Tower. We didn’t have this canyon figured out quite yet, but sometimes you gotta’ change plans. Ten Sleep started as an extreme frenemy, but now I think we just might go back.
I’m so glad you guys got on Big Bear! Such a classic and a great representation of how high quality TS can be. Pooh Corner notwithstanding 🙂
And you found your phone!!! LOL yay!
Maria, yes, it was a super fun climb! I also have a designated phone spot now! Very nice meeting you guys last week!