Jenna Kwon

Why zero plastic? Petroleum based plastics can take up to 1000 years to decompose, which means that the plastics that have ever been produced by humans all exist somewhere on the Earth ( source ). This is incredibly problematic since the plastics can fill up the landfills and the ocean, where they release toxic chemicals that harm plants and animals - including humans - for hundreds of years. And of course, extracting petroleum releases CO2 into the atmosphere.  "Compostable" plastics fare better but do require proper composting environments to completely decompose, which not all recycling centers currently have. There are also different types of "compostable" plastics where all nuances live ( source ). Seattle (where I live) is good in that "biodegradable" plastics can be put in the curbside compost bin, but "degradable" or "oxo-degradable" plastics cannot be in the compost bin and instead should be in the garbage ( source ).  Recyclin

When the pandemic began and the gravity of it sank it on March, it was quite depressing. When outdoor recreation opened back up in June or so, I began to find solace in climbing outside as much as possible. My partners and I climbed before or after work on the weekdays and on most weekends. This post contains some photos taken on the cragging days. Omitted are the photos from multipitch routes that are in other posts. Also, many short sessions before/after work at the Exit 32/38 crags are not represented, since those sessions are spent cramming as many route burns as possible.. :)  June Fellow climber on top of P1 of Zig Zag  (5.7, Trad) @ Mt. Erie Nate on... I forgot which route, they all kind of look the same @ Vantage My stick clip, stuck on 2nd bolt while projecting  Crescendo of the Sarcophagus Bleeding  (5.11b, Sport) with Nate @ Exit 38. Don't ask how this happened.... Zoomed in photo of my stick clip July Me on Gotta Keep Dancin'  (5.9, mixed, 4 pitches) @ Mt Erie Nate

Route Details Mountain Project:  https://www.mountainproject.com/route/108263566/silent-running Difficulty: 5.10b, 7 pitches, Grade III It was supposed to be a "nice, casual Saturday outing on a slab multipitch!" Well, only the "slab multipitch" part was true. For more details, read on..  Getting to the base of the climb... We left Seattle around 7AM! Driving to the TH took about 2 hours, where the last half hour was pretty gravelly on a dirt road. Our Suburu Forester did just fine though. Approach hike was short and pleasant at about 30 minutes. There were some impressive old growth trees en route!  Climb Details  There was a party in front of us, so we waited a bit and began around 11:00AM. We set our turnaround time to 4PM.  I led 5 pitches - 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7. The first pitch (which I followed) felt like a walk in the park - more like incline walking at about ~45-50 degrees. When we began on pitch 2 though, the steepness snuck on me pretty quickly. Suddenly I fou

Route Details  Mountain Project: https://www.mountainproject.com/route/112553808/mile-high-club Difficulty: 5.10a, 7 pitches, Grade III Report Chris and I woke up at the crack of dawn and departed Seattle around 5:30AM. We got to Sunrise Mile Trailhead around 7:15AM Approach The approach was definitely not the easiest climbing approach I've done :-) It was steep at first then we crossed a couple talus / boulder fields. It was a beautiful approach though - we were walking in the valley with great ridgelines around us. It was slightly confusing as to when to depart the trail get to Morning Star Peak base. It was a left turn right before Headlee pass but we couldn't really spot any obvious cairns. We just used our Gaia maps and ended up sorting it out in a few minutes or so though. All in all, the approach hike took us 2 hours - ~2.3K elevation gain @ 2.5 miles. Climbing Climbing was great! All pitches felt pretty easy and smooth. Chris and I swung leads quite efficiently and onsi

Route Details 5.10b/c, 5 pitches, Grade II Link: https://www.mountainproject.com/route/114778289/the-ascentionist Climbing Sometimes you are just feeling the climbs that allows you to be lazy in the morning. I got up and took plenty time to make myself some nice breakfast and coffee. We left Seattle around 9AM and got to the base of this climb around 10AM (40 mins driving and casual 20 mins approach!). Jay led the first pitch and I led the rest. Every pitch felt smooth with the exception of a couple thought-provoking moves on pitch 2 and 3.  On pitch 2, there was a boulder problem off the belay then pretty easy climbing to a big ledge. The ledge had some rap chains which I knew to not belay from and it took me a minute until I found a bolt way to the right of it. Getting off that ledge felt like the crux!  Pitch 3 was very cool - it was very traversey. Traverse to the right, pull off roofs, then traverse back to the left. Cool moves combined with airy-ness made it definitely my

Route Goals @ Local Crags  Vantage  Trad Seven Virgins and a Mule  MP Link: https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105793812/seven-virgins-and-a-mule  5.7 / ? / Chimney  Sport (Single Pitch) A Midsummer Nights Dram  MP Link: https://www.mountainproject.com/route/108762255/a-midsummer-nights-dream 5.11a / 100ft / One cam (#3 or #4) needed  Desert Dessert