This one meant a lot.
My mom had passed away less than a month before and I came down to Joshua Tree to find some peace and reflection. It was a lot to take in. Spending New Years in the desert was a good way to reset. A few days prior, the late legend Scott Cosgrove mentioned to me that he had seen a new boulder out by Barker Dam. It had fallen out of the cliff side a few months before. We always look for new boulder problems but this was literally a brand new, beautiful iron rock boulder that had just appeared in one of the main areas of Joshua Tree. What a gift! The arete line was big, obvious and stunning and it immediately inspired me. After scoping it on a rope (I used a bolt in the boulder from a route that it had belonged to as an anchor). I only had one pad and my good friend Sterling Keene as a spot, (he is a great friend but not the burliest guy to catch me from the sketchy crux at almost 20 ft😅.)
It was cold, windy and a little ominous. But it was New Year’s Day and one of those moments when I just wanted to move forward and not look backwards. Standing up through the upper mantle to top it out, was a liberating moment that I can still vividly remember. …Iron Resolution, a true gem of a climb. [2]