Sean Courage on Bo Derek, Icicle Creek Canyon, 1997.

There is one photo I have always regretted not taking. Back in 1983, when Todd Skinner came to climb Never Never, Marc Twight and I hiked up to watch Todd make the first ascent. Naturally, we got bored, so we soloed Givler's Crack a few times, then watched Todd try again, then got bored again. We fooled around on Never Never a bit, but pretty much got nowhere and gave up. In a fit of depravity, while waiting for Todd to make his final attempt of the day, I soloed The Enema, the 5.9+ arete. I scrambled down and then went to look at Bo Derek, thinking I might solo it, too. The wall was bathed in golden afternoon sunlight, split by a perfect crack. Sublime. But as I sat there enraptured in nature's grandeur, Marc walked up and just climbed it. It was a beautiful thing to see, a magic spell that would be broken if I ran and got my camera and started snapping pictures. So I just sat there on a boulder watching. God, that would have been an incredible photo! I came back with Sean Courage one day 14 years later, hoping to recreate some of that magic, and got some very nice photos including this one, despite it being about 30 degrees with gusting winds. It's a beautiful route, the "perfect 5.10" indeed. One of Washington's most photogenic routes, for sure.