Climbing Character series #2: The Dirtbag
As a part of the Philadelphia climbing community, I can easily name a handful of friends that have packed up their lives and hit the road to dirtbag and climb for a year or more at a time. This may be due to the fact that Philadelphia is well situated but not ideal for reaching many of the great East coast climbing destinations. Our favorite “local” spot to climb is the Gunks in New York which is 3 hours away, the Adirondacks are 5 hours, Rumney in New Hampshire is 8 hours away and the New River Gorge to the south is 7 hours away. This makes day trips really long days and typically climbing will take up the whole weekend or we have to wait for a 3-day weekend to hit the further spots. Given this situation, it makes sense that many friends have sought a more satisfying way to scratch the climbing itch.
In First Ascent, we have represented the dirtbag archetype with our friend Tolin Hessell who traveled the US in his used Promaster for just over a year before recently settling down in Salt Lake City. Tolin became addicted to the outdoor lifestyle after college when he decided to hike the Appalachian trail. He then found his dream job working as an engineer for the Philadelphia Water Department helping the city implement more ecologically-friendly stormwater management systems. But the grind of working 40 hrs a week at a desk in an office eventually took its toll. After saving up some money, he purchased a used Promaster van and tackled the engineering challenge of building out a space-efficient and functional van he could take on the road and live in. For 8 months he would drive his van to the Lowes parking lot on weeknights and weekends and tinker away. At twice the initial cost and time he estimated, the van was finally ready to go and he hit the road to climb, meet folks, and be a dirtbag.
Tolin left Philly and set out on a clockwise tour of the US, with the goal of hitting locations he hadn’t yet experienced like the southwest desert and the pacific northwest. His first stop was Chattanooga, then west to Texas, through the national parks in the southwest up into Oregon, Washington, and heading back east into Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Some highlights included alpine climbing in the Wind River Range, making fast friends in Yosemite and Joshua Tree, and the incredible scenery of Sedona and Cochise Stronghold. With a loose plan Tolin hit many of the iconic climbing destinations of the US and could stay as long or short as he wanted before moving on and finding new climbing partners using online message boards or connecting with old friends at each location. Along the way, Tolin also interviewed folks he met in these locations and documented them in his blog People of the American Outdoors. Eventually Tolin decided to park it in Salt Lake City for the amazing access to all types of outdoor recreation and relatively central location to many western climbing destinations. Luckily, the van is still an excellent adventure tool, and with remote work, Tolin uses it to travel and camp in his van while taking week long trips.
Climbing in Red Rocks National Conservation Area, Nevada. Photo credit: Hobo Greg
Being a dirtbag can mean a million things these days from stealth camping in a talus field and eating saltines with mustard to living in a kitted out Mercedes van and maintaining gainful employment with remote work. Regardless, the individuals who set out on a lifestyle to prioritize outdoor recreation, climbing, and experiencing the incredible destinations fuel my wanderlust and vicarious enjoyment. While I can easily become cynical about Instagram influencers, assumed trust funds, and #vanlife I can also choose to be inspired by amazing landscapes, the camaraderie of meeting new folks around a campfire, and the joy that climbing gives me a reason to experience these places myself. For that we are grateful to embrace the dirtbag archetype in First Ascent.
As the Dirtbag character has traveled a lot and is resourceful, he’s picked up some booty gear along the way and can substitute one gear card for any one skill card on a pitch.
Climbing in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. Photo credit: Hobo Greg
Tolin also makes some rad screenprints of his original artwork available on his Etsy store.