Muir Valley Memories
The Route Developers of Muir Valley
Click on photos to see enlargements and biographies
The five pioneers of route development in Muir Valley. (From left to right) Tim Powers, Mike Susko, Jared Hancock, Karla Carandang, and J.J. Jones. This team of hardy souls shed blood, sweat, and tears in Muir's early days, bushwacking back to the cliffs, discovering lines, cleaning off loose rock, dirt, and lichen, and installing rock anchors. Rick and Liz Weber, the then owners of Muir Valley—and the entire climbing community—owe these pioneers a huge debt of gratitude! Other developers followed these folks and, with a lot of hard work and huge generosity, also added their creations to the wealth of Muir climbs.
Names Appear in no special order. Click on each photo to see more info.
Not only one of the few female route developers, Karla was one of the more skilled persons at this craft. She is a tiny thing but mighty with the rock drill. She was affectionately know as the "69-inch Drill Bitch". Karla was a key member of the prestigious "Team Muir".
Jared was one of the members of "Team Muir" and the most prolific route developers at Muir Valley. He was there the day we opened the Valley and has bolted many of Muir's classic lines. Jared later married another member of Team Muir, Karla Carandang and, together, they have a daughter (and prolific climber) Lucy. Jared continues to develop routes in Muir, albeit at a slower pace than he did in his earlier years.
J.J. is a strong, experienced climber and member of Team Muir. He was very instrumental in locating quality lines on remotely-located cliffs.
Mike is the grand old man of climbing in the Red and a member of Team Muir. He was there in the golden era of rock climbing route development in the D.B. National Forest. He brought his skills and experience to Muir Valley which proved to be invaluable in Muir's first few years.
Through Muir's existence, Greg has been a regular visitor and supporter of the Valley. In Muir's early years, he developed several classic lines, including "Urban Voodoo", "Super Best Friends", and "Summer Sunshine" at the Solarium Wall.
A member of Team Muir and developer of several of Muir Valley's more difficult classics.
Kipp (shown here with Lynn Hill) set many classic routes in Muir including all of the super classic, and very challenging, routes at the Midnight Surf wall. Staring up in awe at the severely overhanging steepness of these M.S. routes, one can appreciate the Herculean effort and determination Kipp put into creating these lines. His contribution to Muir Valley is immeasurable and much appreciated by the climbers who give his Midnight Surf routes a go.
Dustin developed several classic routes in Muir Valley, including all the climbing routes on the Ivory Tower and Stronghold Walls with their hugely challenging climbs.
JIm not only developed several excellent lines in Muir, as a volunteer he contributed in many other ways. Jim is an AMGA Rock Instructor and has taught Single Pitch Instructor courses for years at Muir. He was a key medic, as a member of Muir Valley Rescue, responding to numerous accidents in the Valley.