I will be traveling in the Southwest US from approximately 12/7 through 12/24 with very limited internet and cell phone access. If you need to reach me, calling my cell phone at 603-340-0432 would be best and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

This photo is of the rock climbing route Touchstone Wall (V 5.8 C2 or 5.13b) on the Cerberus Gendarme cliff in Zion National Park, Utah. The route mostly follows a crack system in the middle of the photo, you’ll probably be able to pick it out.

Photo Details: 3 vertical photos taken with Canon SD800 IS, 1/400s @ f/5.8, joined in Photoshop Photomerge.

February 7, 2006. Andy Hale on the classic 5.8 crack, Sail Away, in Joshua Tree National Park, California.

Photo Details: Nikon D70 w/ 17-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 55mm, 1/250s @ f/5.6 and ISO 400 w/ +1 exposure compensation.

*Update* Sarah’s book Flakes, Jugs, and Splitters won Best Book in the Mountain Exposition category at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival!

Flakes, Jugs, and Splitters is A Rock Climber’s Guide to Geology by Sarah Garlick. This is a great book if you are a rock climber, geologist, or just interested in the processes that have shaped the Earth. As a geology major in my college days, it was great to refresh my knowledge of the different climbing areas I’ve visited. I’ll post a few of the photos that I have in the book below (along with Sarah’s text). You should go find this book at a local store or order from the Amazon link above.

Shiprock, in northwest New Mexico, is the eroded neck of a volcano.

The North Fork of the Virgin River has rapidly cut down through the soft sedimentary rocks of the Colorado Plateau, forming the big walls of Zion National Park.

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is a stratovolcano.

Climber and photographer Anne Skidmore rock climbing the route Recompense (5.9) on Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, New Hampshire. Anne’s birthday is today, so you should head to her blog and wish her a happy birthday!

Photo Details: Taken 09/28/2005. Nikon D2X w/ 10.5mm f/2.8 and 1/500s @ f/5.6 and ISO 200 w/ -0.33 exposure compensation.