In my brain, at any given moment, there are hundreds of ideas or plans or opportunities of what I want to do or climb and how I could try to do it. I am obsessive and I enjoy doing my research for potential adventures all over the world. However, I often get jaded of my brain and the ideas in it. I absolutely LOVE when other people who are planners, even if I don’t know them, come to me with their ideas! Peak 5,710 was something I have never heard of before and Amy reached out to me trying to rope me into an attempt. An unclimbed, technical peak in a place I have never been? I can’t think of anything more enticing!

Amy is an exciting person, and she gets after it. She’s got grit. I knew that if she was talking about it, then she was serious about actually trying to make it happen. She is organized and motivated and willing to do what it takes. Everyone loves talking about big plans, but Amy likes actually attempting them as much as I do. Especially weird ones like this!

Amy knew that there were many people who had been making attempts on this peak for years including a man named Tom Pierce. I was introduced to him via email, and we started discussing beta, photos and potential plans to make an attempt. Being the humble, kind person that Tom is, there was no annoying gatekeeping or ego in it. He was happy to share the information he had whether he was able to join the climb or not. That is the kind of attitude that promotes healthy climbing culture. An attitude that is often lacking these days. Tom was pure kindness and genuine appreciation of the beauty in the sport that we are all a part of. I liked him instantly and felt comfortable around him.

However, it was hard to nail down a time for an attempt. We went back and forth discussing all of it for months via email, text and phone call. Eventually the three of us were on the same page for strategy and landed on a plan to make a 3 day attempt March 27-30^th.

I finished up a WFR course in Twin Falls Idaho on the 26^th and drove all the way to Green River UT that night to a spot I often sleep in my car. I live in my car dividing my time between people I love, different jobs around the west and climbing objectives. I have many spots around the country that I commonly visit because I feel safe there. It doesn’t lend itself to finding a life partner/wife but it feels right for now. I had these dates set aside to make an attempt on 5,710 with Amy and Tom and everything was finally falling into place between the other plans in my currently absurd schedule. I showed up to Amy’s hotel in Grand Junction where I gave her a big hug after not seeing each other since November when we found out last minute that we will be in Potrero Chico during some overlapping dates! That was crazy! She’s so full of life and often has a large optimistic smile on her face. It was very exciting to see her again. Amy was on the tail end of a long spree of adventure climbing and first ascents of her own in the Utah desert so she was coming into this leg of the journey firing on all cylinders, or at least that’s how it felt from my perspective! In her hotel room she generously had a pile of free breakfast food on the desk waiting for me. In the parking lot she handed me the key to the room and I took a long hot shower before devouring the smorgasbord she made for me. It was the perfect reset!

Amy and I met in of 2018 when I was on the unplanned third day of a winter solo ascent of Mountain of the Holy Cross. Coming out of the basin provided too much avalanche danger late in the day after I summitted and I needed to wait for a re freeze the next day. Once above the avalanche danger, I opened it up on my skis, irresponsibly listening to music in my headphones. I tore through the forest on my way down when all of a sudden there was a person! I swerved and came to a halt to see Amy standing there. Shocked to see another human, we ended up chatting for more than an hour and exchanging information. She told me all about her Ecuador plans and a near miss she recently had. It wasn’t until 2023 that we finally reconnected and started climbing together. We have a lot of parallels in our taste for adventure and I feel very grateful to have met her, especially in such a fitting way!

We set up a tarp on the ground and started organizing the rack in the parking lot of the hotel. Shortly after, Tom showed up and joined the party! Neither Amy nor I had met Tom before, so we were excited to become acquainted. Tom is soft-spoken and discretely hilarious. He is respectably easy-going and gives people the benefit of the doubt before passing judgement. I could tell by his approach and understanding of certain situations that he’s been around the block a few times as far as climbing shenanigans go too! He quickly joined in on our blasphemous senses of humor, which in all climbing teams is a great sign! We were efficient but not rushing. Chatting but also organizing. It was fun to start making progress on our trip and getting to know Tom. I was feeling very optimistic about the team! I got a solid laugh about the fact that Tom had his car cleaned for the trip and was wearing a nice shirt, meanwhile I couldn’t open my passenger door without trash, books and gear falling out. I was living in the squaller of my trusty Subaru but now I was hanging out with real adults!

Our rack was massive, and my pack weighed approximately 100 pounds. Tom had made around 8 attempts on this peak but it had been a few years. I didn’t know what gear we would need but I knew by the looks of it that it would probably go at A3 or A4. We brought everything I thought we might need to allow for any kind of hard aid climbing that the peak would throw at us, along with 3 days of food, water and light weight camping supplies. I rarely revisit a mountain or route after I climb it once, and I don’t often make multiple attempts on things. There is so much in the world that I haven’t done, I often prefer to go to a new thing instead, so I really wanted to make this attempt count. First ascents get me fired up but especially ones in remote wilderness. I wanted to have what we needed to get it done. I didn’t want gear to be an issue.

We each had roles in the team and with the chaos of my current schedule all over the country, I took a solid back seat on the approach and driving directions. I simply had no time to plan and didn’t even pack until the morning of. It took me a while to feel organized. I went through my mental checks and balances while I was following in my car as Tom and Amy navigated the way to where we would park for the climb. We had a few small hiccups but found the spot and began our slow and heavy hike to camp.

Day 1 was brutal! Our packs were the classic desert first ascent, shockingly heavy packs but the wilderness around us was stunningly beautiful and all new to me. After a week of academics, and florescent lights, it felt good to carry a heavy load. It’s rare that I get to find a zone that I’ve never seen but even more rare to get to coast off of the experience of others and trust them with the route finding and planning. They crushed it and we slowly but surely found our way to camp. During our email exchange Tom had alluded to a story he had from the Matterhorn and I got a chance to ask him about it on the hike. It was the most iconic, daring and bold Matterhorn climbing story of all time. He told it in a suspensefully, hilariously drawn out way so if you know Tom, feel free to pester him until he tells you! It’s a curve ball!

Peak 5,710 is a heavily guarded peak. It’s at least 5^th class from all directions but to add to the complexity, it is surrounded by a canyon that acts as a massive protective moat. This moat is steep and technical from all directions except one, the southeast. There is a deep canyon that Tom familiarly refers to as the Inner Canyon. After about 4 miles and 1000’ of elevation LOSS, we were at the bottom of the moat, looking towards where we could now hike to the base of peak 5,710!

Our plan was to hike all the way to the base of the peak and maybe to the base of our route, but our plans were in need of some serious adjustment. We were trashed from the heavy loads once we got to the bottom of the Inner Canyon. We also happened to stop at a beautiful camp spot that surprisingly had a small creek running through it! In his previous trips, Tom had never seen water down here, so we were thrilled! It wouldn’t reverse the damage of the 10 liters of water that I carried down but it was a luxury none the less. To continue to the base of the peak, felt like it would waste our energy for the next day. Staying at this spot was Amy’s idea and Tom and I agreed it was a wise move that would set us up better for success the next day. It’s important for success to be flexible and deviate from the plan when it’s not working. We spent the rest of the day organizing and hanging out with each other and joking around camp. It was such a relaxing peaceful camp spot, and I found one of the best bivy caves I have ever had the delight to sleep in! Amy had a tarp shelter nearby, and Tom had a tent next to it. We had an early dinner and went to bed early, all sore from the day.

In the morning, our plan was to hike about 3 miles up the canyon and around the north prow, to the base of the west face. Our loads were still heavy, but the lack of water and camping supplies made it significantly better than the day before. The hike was stunning as we walked underneath probably 5 striking unclimbed desert towers. I love desert towers and instantly knew I’d want to come back next spring to climb them. We scoped out some potential ascent routes on 5710 but none looked as promising as the west face crack feature. I knew this based on the pictures that Tom had taken on previous scouting missions and sent us during our email exchanges. Eventually we finally rounded the prow and laid eyes on the west face crack. Understanding the rock and the way features like that feel, I still thought it was going to be hard aid combined with some X rated free climbing.

We humped our loads up and around several 5^th class bands blocking the base of our proposed route and hauled packs through those sections. It was slow and I was antsy to get climbing as the day was getting later than I would like. We were excited and felt optimistic! The closer we got the more antsy and excited I felt. I was emotionally rearing for some hard and scary climbing! This was exactly where I wanted to be, and I felt extremely happy with the people I was here with.

Shortly before the base of the route, Tom informed me that he was considering sitting out the climb. He was having some leg pain and was deciding this for two main reasons. One, he was worried about slowing us down, and two he was wanting to save some energy and not exacerbate it, knowing that the next day was going to be a brutal heavy hike out, up all the elevation we lost on the way in. He was undecided still but was leaning towards waiting at the base. He was, however, determined to make sure he brought all the gear to the base of the route to make sure Amy and I were set up for success. He was a solid teammate. His process was well thought out with no self-worth wrapped up in the climb and he decided to gracefully bow out. I was sad but I quickly realized that I was more sad about it than he was and didn’t push the issue. He is humble and chill and has been around long enough to know that climbing isn’t important in many of the ways society these days puts pressure on. He didn’t take himself too seriously to do what he felt was best for himself and the team, much respect.

Upon arrival at the base of the route we started setting up. I had a vision for how I wanted to execute it for maximum efficiency, safety and ethics. The first pitch had no protection and was a huge friction slab traverse left then back right. I planned to free solo it and expected it to be around 5.9. Tom waited on the ground while Amy and I scrambled up on top of a pedestal that would allow me to start up to the slab. We transferred all the gear that we would bring into my haul bag that would come with us on the climb because we still were unsure of the gear we would actually need. Also, if your hauling systems are simple and dialed, it can make the whole experience easier, faster and more enjoyable. The haul bag with gear and the backpack of things we wouldn’t bring went down to Tom who was situated vertically below pitch 2. I asked Amy to stay on top of the pedestal to make sure the rope feeds well and to help me flip it over some features after the traverse so I can fix it straight down. I also just wanted the moral support of her nearby to bounce ideas off of if I needed to. I knew how I thought it would go but it was, after all, a free solo pitch on an unclimbed feature. I’d take all the support I had access to!

Fortunately, the first pitch was easier than I expected, clocking in at 5.7 X. It started with friction slab moves off the pedestal then an easy 30’ traverse left where there was a small bulge that felt like the crux. It always had a decent hold right where I wanted it and was overall a non-event. A few 5.7 moves up that, then an easy 50’ traverse back right until I was directly underneath the feature that would make up pitch 2. I flipped the rope over some trees and downclimbed to a larger tree. I tagged up some gear plus the other rope and backed up the tree with #4 cam. From there, the rope was hanging perfectly straight down to Tom where I could easily haul up my haul bag which had water, food, layers for Amy and I, plus the whole rack. I fixed the other rope so Amy could jug up while I haul. It would have been an extreme waste of time and unnecessary risk to try to belay a second on that pitch. I imagine its hard to understand the lay out of the land, but hopefully the pictures help.

Amy descended from the pedestal, down to Tom so she was directly underneath my anchor. She jugged while I hauled the bag. From that P1 anchor there was a 15’ 4^th class scramble to a massive 15’ deep ledge with no good anchor options. Once Amy arrived at the P1 anchor, she released the haul bag and I pulled it up onto the comfortable ledge by hand. She scrambled up to join me and we started organizing all the gear on the ledge. On first ascents like these, instead of trying to climb with a massive rack, still unsure of what would be needed, we set it up so I could climb light and use our tag line to tag up whatever gear I needed while climbing. Eventually all our gear was laid out so it would be easy for Amy to find when I asked for it. With the information we hope to provide from this report and Amy’s Mountain Project post, future parties will be able to climb with the lighter rack and belay from the solid tree below the big ledge, taking a large portion of the danger out of this next part.

The first and biggest problem was the start of P2. Had we not been in a wilderness area, I would have already placed a 2 bolt anchor in which Amy could have jugged up to and I would have all the gear organized already. It would have saved multiple steps. But on this ascent, our goal was to leave nothing. Especially not hardware because the law forbids it. To belay from the tree below the ledge would have been possible but extremely inconvenient with needing to tag up gear. Looking up from the ledge was a small incipient seam, about what we expected. There were no real anchor opportunities on the ledge and I could tell that falling off the beginning of the pitch would likely mean I pull Amy off as well. I felt like I could climb the beginning without falling but I knew it wasn’t just my risk to take. Amy and I discussed it. She tied into a small bush on the ledge, and I was able to get a #1 beak barely into the seam with a screamer on it. There was also a chance that I could stop on the ledge if I blew it but much more likely a fall would result in pulling us both off the ledge and to the ground where Tom was hanging out. Amy said that if I thought I could do it, she trusted me and I got to work.

It was the lowest angle hard aid climbing I had ever done. From the #1 beak I free climbed the slab up for probably 15 or 20 insecure feet in my approach shoes. I got to a spot where I thought I could find a stance but there was nothing. I balanced as delicately as I could as I cleaned the exterior of the seam with the spike of my hammer. I, over optimistically, tried a #3 beak and gingerly hit it as hard as I could without throwing myself off balance. To my dismay, it didn’t bite. It barely stayed in place, and I clipped into it with my adjustable daisy/ladder combo but didn’t dare weight it. Maintaining balance and pressure breathing I tried again slightly higher with a #1 beak. It bit but still less than 2 millimeters of iron was in the sandy rock. I clipped my other adjustable daisy into it and was able to put a small amount of my weight on the ladder with one foot while I fully smeared with the other. It gave me some relief, but I knew neither piece could be trusted with my life and in this situation, both of our lives. Using the #1 to stabilize myself a little, I was able to reach a spot where I thought I could get another #1 beak. It was hard to strike the head of the piton with the force it needed without throwing myself off balance, but I knew to be patient. I felt my leg start to shake and my eyes widen as they searched for more information that could help the situation. I tried to maintain balance without putting too much of my weight in one place. It was physically very strenuous. I wondered if Amy realized how much effort I had to put in to make sure we don’t die right now. She had good energy and seemed confident. I felt confident too and my right leg continued to shake. It grounded me. I was scared but not THAT scared. I didn’t know why it was happening and as I balanced trying to strike the beak with precision, my mind wondered if it was because of the huge load I had carried the day before and now balancing on a slab in this position was straining a weird muscle. Without trying to, my mind was distracted by these thoughts and let my body do what it needed to.

I felt the #1 beak bite and I bounce tested it appropriately for how small it was. I knew it would hold, and I carefully weighted it in the exact orientation I knew would be strongest. Amy could sense my relief and I told her it was good! It was a small victory but an important one. It was still unlikely that I would survive a fall from here, but I was now able to reach what I thought would be a good #2 beak placement. It bit and I moved up, screamers on all my pieces offered some comfort. I was also now in the zone where potentially none of my gear would hold a fall, but there was enough rope in the system that I would hit the ground below pitch 1, thus Amy was no longer in danger of me pulling us off. But then again, beaks are magic and maybe one of them would catch me if I fell, I wasn’t looking to find out. Another series of #1 beaks eventually led to the seam opening a bit for consistent #2 and even some #3 beaks! I knew that I was now sufficiently connected to Peak 5,710 and it was getting easier. I was having fun!

Soon I had a series of bomber beaks, a couple cams and some really good stopper head style nut placements. The climbing was extremely dirty and took a lot of time to excavate dirt, loose rock, sand and plants to find usable features. But the gear was confidence inspiring and I felt safe. It was mostly A2ish. Falls would be large but not terribly unsafe.

A question mark blank slab traverse towards the top of the pitch was starting to reveal itself. I would have to free climb but not as hard as I originally anticipated. I excavated some dirt and plants that revealed good holds and then eventually to a stance where I was able to alpine stack 3 perfect black totems in good rock. I extended it and made the final free traverse to the large ledge and massive tree anchors! It was probably only 5.5 or so, maybe 5.7 before that. The crux was done. I quickly fixed the ropes so Amy could start cleaning the pitch. She put all the unused gear in the haul bag, and I quickly hauled it up but found out that I didn’t have any water left. Minor bummer. It took me 4 hours to excavate and climb that pitch, but we were able to get through it would placing a single bolt or drilling anything! As a team, we were thrilled to get through the crux of the climb in the style we had hoped for.

This was Amy’s first time following a hard aid pitch and she did great. She always has an incredible attitude, but I know following nailing pitches on rock like this can be particularly frustrating. Much more so than granite. But her skills and positivity persevered, and she was able to get through cleaning it all without leaving anything behind. She got her jugging system dialed and used different strategies to remove each piece one by one. While Amy jugged I offered Tom one last invitation to join us, but he chose not to which we understood.

The top of our p2 belay was the beginning of a large hallway type feature that was open on one side. It tapered until the end where a thin seam allowed for an anchor. While Amy cleaned the last pitch, I walked to the end of it where our pitch 3 would start and placed a #3 beak, #4 knife blade and a #6 knifeblade. The KBs were awesome but if we didn’t have them, we could have gotten by with 3 #3 beaks.

Once Amy arrived, we reorganized and sprung into pitch 3 at the end of the hallway. I used a cordillette to equalize the 3 pitons and climbed the short but unprotected 5.6 pitch up to a tree. I was solidly warmed up and excited, I climbed it fast and felt good! The exposure was extravagant, and we knew it was our final technical difficulty before the summit. Amy also climbed it, and we were oozing with stoke. Looking back, that was probably my favorite pitch. We were trying to be as efficient as possible to avoid route finding after dark and Tom having to sit longer at the base of the route. We left the rope and rack at the pitch 3 tree anchor and made a mad dash to the summit, weaving in and out of rock bands to find the path of least resistance which delivered us almost directly to the summit!

There is some conflicting information about the true summit of Peak 5,710 so we visited both of them. The northern one was the first one we gained and where we left the summit register. The south summit is more aesthetic, but we were pretty sure its shorter. Either way we tagged both to be sure. We went quickly to not waste time. From the north summit to the south summit is a beautiful land bridge with incredible views! The lighting was incredible, and it was one of the most memorable parts of the trip. It felt like our victory lap but we wished Tom could have been there with us. We did our best to avoid stepping on crypto biotic soil up there which was plentiful. It was beautiful untouched desert. Once back on the main summit we hugged again, and each took some quick photos before starting the descent as the sun set.

From the main summit we reversed our steps through confusing terrain to the top of pitch 3. The rappel was very short, so we chose to rap directly off a tree and not leave tat. That rappel put us in the hallway where we walked back to the top of pitch 2. For pitch 2, we chose to leave a small cord and non locker to rap off because pulling a full 70m rope over a tree trunk would cause damage to the tree. I rapped with the haul bag, and we got all the way to the ground on that rappel, thus completing the climb in clean style that agreed with our ethics and with the law. Tom was thrilled for us and offered many congratulations.

He had a small fire that he put out as we organized for the hike out. Darkness fell and we quickly got cliffed out. Out of water and with heavy loads, we decided to just rappel over some of the 5^th class bands instead of wander back and forth looking for the path of least resistance. Usually not the move but in this case because of the terrain, it saved a bunch of time. Once again since the rappels were so short, we didn’t leave any tat for the sake of efficiency and not littering. We hiked back to camp through the dark and ate dinner before sleeping hard with a plan to wake up whenever we naturally woke up. It was a satisfying 18 hour day that didn’t really feel as long as it was.

The next day in my cave, I woke up to the sound of Amy and Tom talking. Our plan was to have a slow morning. I took another 30 minutes to process my surroundings and mental state before joining them and making some breakfast. The fun lighthearted banter continued once again, and we laughed about unrelated things. We packed at a comfortably glacial pace, enjoying our present location.

All dreading the hike out, we started up slowly at a conservative pace. At the top of the Inner Canyon we sat on a perfect rock bench and soaked in the views chatting for a long time which was very nice. Once we were ready, we continued hiking out with one more break like that on the way. I don’t know about Amy or Tom, but the hike out was significantly better for me than the hike in. It was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Arriving at the cars felt good and with a storm coming in, and the roads notoriously dangerous when wet, we started driving towards Grand Junction.

At a trailhead close to town, we blew up all our gear and sorted it to make sure we all had our things. I was sad to leave those two because they are easy to be around, and it was a lot of fun, but it was time. We exchanged photos and said our goodbyes, looking forward to the next time we could climb together. They drove off and I stayed at that parking lot for a while. Those alone times between events are the times that punctuate chapters for me, and I need to make sure I have a good plan before making moves. Once I was ready after an hour or so I drove into Grand Junction and ate a cheeseburger, fries and a cookie dough milk shake from Freddys. Then I drove to my safe spot south of Green River to sleep before heading up to Salt Lake City for work and friends.

At many steps of this journey, I realized this climb was more special than I previously thought. To myself and to others. Amy took her aid climbing skills to a new level and is solidifying herself as a prolific first ascensionist on the Colorado Plateau. Tom declared he would not be returning to Peak 5,710, thus completing a 10 year long relationship with the mountain. And since learning about our ascent, the many people who I don’t know and have never met probably have their own significant thoughts and feelings about this thing that they have wanted to climb. But I don’t know everyone’s whole story, just my own. I know that I recently made monumental changes in my life and relationships and ended an 8 year chapter in the mental health industry which was the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve returned to living in my car and going back to the mountain guiding industry. I’ve come off my anxiety medication in a healthy and responsible way in the last 5 days and I am exploring different avenues within this new chapter of my life. I write this and feel sentimental for unknown reasons, probably just because I’m a sappy dude which I like about myself. I can once again thank climbing and the wilderness for providing me with the space to have introspection and motivation to live in alignment with my values. I am very grateful for what the wilderness continues to give me alongside the wonderful people such as Amy and Tom that I have been fortunate to share it with. Thank you both.

During our initial email exchange, Tom referred to the elusive Peak 5,710 as his white whale. In honor of that and to all the people who have made many attempts on this peak, we chose to name our route White Whale and graded it 5.7 X A3+. I speak for all 3 of us when I say that the ethics of this particular climb are important to us and to the area. Do not bring a drill. Do not place bolts or leave fixed gear. We worked very hard and accepted a level of danger in order to treat this mountain and area with the respect it deserves and climb in an ethical way that would leave minimal damage or trash. If you don’t feel like you can climb it in that way, please don’t do it or do it with someone who can maintain the standard. With the information provided after our ascent, it will be significantly safer and easier for the next parties to come. If you plan to go in there and want additional information, send me a message either on 14ers, Instagram, Facebook or whatever but just be aware I often don’t receive notifications from 14ers, not sure why. I am happy to share any information I have about any of it so you can have a good climb!

Also for the next people to go out there, on the northern prow of 5,710, a different party previously made an attempt and left a rope hanging on something. We didn’t have time, but it would be a really cool thing if the next party could go over there from above, rap in, clean that stuff up, jug back up then go back over and rap your route of ascent. I don’t think it would take more than an hour if you locate it before you climb but it would clean up an eye sore on the mountain and add style points to your climb!

Have fun out there everyone and thanks for reading!