Greg Garretson was dangling 150 feet off the ground. The wind was pushing and spinning him in his climbing harness as he fought to keep his lens steady.
Below him Ryan Palo was fighting to become the first local guy to climb Just Do It, one of Smith Rock's most difficult routes. Garretson knew there might not be another chance to capture a successful attempt, so he steadied himself on his fixed rope, fought the vertigo and kept his eye to the camera. Then—free fall.
Palo let out the familiar scream of muscle failure. Garretson followed the climber with the lens until the rope stopped Palo's fall, dozens of feet below, snapping a dozen great shots of the stellar climber.
So begins our Outside story this week, written by local climberTaylor Roozen, which takes a look at the rad new branch of photography a core group of skilled climbers are pioneering at Smith Rock.
Check it out on stands today.
