Dan Lamarra

Dan was the person I first had in mind when I finally decided to make it a real goal to climb El Cap and start putting a timeline to it.  I have known Dan since middle school when we started playing soccer together.  We had a lot of good times... one of the most memorable for me was in high school.

Dan had this sweet red beater Toyota 4 Runner, named Brian.  We skipped class and went up into the mountains in search of a cave that my brothers had told me about.  I seem to recall that we actually did find the cave, but the real adventure was getting there.  It was quite the muddy day and it was soooo much fun blowing through all the ginormous puddles in Brian!

Dan and Sean (a biker we picked up on the way to St. George) near Prophesy Wall

This is what we woke up to in the morning at the Prophecy Wall  in Veo, Utah...the dry spot is where Dan slept in his bivvy sac :O)

As far as climbing went I started climbing with Dan after high school when we were in college.  I don't know how it all came to be...but alas we started climbing together.  Dan was always game for the big adventures, though he often had a different schedule so the weekday climbing was out of the picture.

Dan sort of speared me toward trad climbing, using gear you take with you up the rock, rather than relying on what others have put there before.  Dan had some experience and I had even less, mostly tinkering around with my brothers gear when they didn't know about it...oops.

At the time I had money to burn or at least I thought I did, so I started to buy gear in bulk with every paycheck.  Soon we had enough gear that we could tackle most of the climbs in our ability.  What fun it was.

A super memorable experience with Dan is going down to Moab with him, Chase, and Julz (Dan's wife, girlfriend at the time).  It was my first day joining up with them and we were on Potash Rd.  The first climb of the day was Bad Mokey Roof, a 5.9 trade route.  It looked fun and I watched both Chase and Dan climb it with ease (sort of, it really is quite tricky).  Then I had a go.

Dan climbing in Moab on 8 Seconds Over Potash

Just a little different angle

Truly I really wish I had pictures...for what insued must have been one of those priceless moments.  I went into the crux backwards and ended up in this heniously awkward off-width position with my upper body stuck between two rocks and my feet sticking out nearly parallel with the ground.  Dan had quite the chuckle as did the rest of the gang.  I wasted so much energy on that first climb that I was practically worthless the rest of the day.

Another great time is when Dan and I put up a couple first ascents up Logan Canyon.  It was awesome.  Dan danced up this super flaky and sparse crack line, to which I was very grateful to be seconding, especially when the bat flew out and tried to eat me.

This is one of the first ascents we did near Swan Flats in Logan Canyon, super fun route, it was like a Cracker Jack box

All in all, I would have to say that I have had awesome times with Dan and look forward to another big adventure.