Nick Duttle climbs The Bleeding 5.14b, Mill Creek, Moab
Posted: June 23, 2011 Filed under: Athlete, Climbing, Published, Stories Leave a comment »
To read more about Nick Duttle and his sending rampage across the country this spring, click on this link to read a write up by Alison Osius - Rock and Ice News about Nick Duttle.
I met Nick years ago at trade shows in the Salt Lake area and a few years back at a farm in Moab. I rode over to see some friends and saw that Nick was living in Moab… crushing every route at Mill Creek and truly loving the place, the environment and the desert. When he came out to send The Bleeding 5.14b up at Mill Creek he gave me a ring to meet up. On that day, I rigged the rope and headed over the cliff to see that he was already down there. He told me that their car wouldn’t start, so they push started it to get to the crag. That’s a warm up.
The history I’ve been told about The Bleeding, one of the hardest if not the hardest established route in the area is that it was originally bolted by a legendary rock climber named Tom Gilge. The first ascent was by one of the most talented desert rock climbers, Noah Bigwood ( I believe calling it .13d ). This steep line heads up an incredible overhanging prow of dakota sandstone, with just enough to link it up… if you’re really strong! Nick had been working the route for a bit, and this day was the day he could tick it off. The guy is so fluid, solid and never looks weak, not even through the crux. Move by move, locking off, dead pointing through the crux and clipping the anchor. This is the year he turned 30 and the year of linking it all up. Awesome Nick! Keep sending.
