Peter Juhl of Urban Plastix

Peter Juhl is the owner and head shaper of Urban Plastix holds based out of Brooklyn, NY. His work is inspired by the art and culture in urban environments and his time spent climbing hard boulders outside shows in the details of his holds. Juhl has been spending the summer in Boulder, CO shaping in the Kilter Grips studio and in just a few weeks has shaped a few hundred new holds for the company. 

Shooting with Juhl was a nice departure from the social media content I have been creating lately and is more in-line with the type of documentary work that original inspired me in photography. 

By The Numbers: The PNW via California

Sunset at Dead Horse Point outside Moab, UT

Starting a Rainier ski trip in Moab is weird. But I was there to shoot with Mountain Standard for catalog, social media and partnership content. A quick 3 day trip in the desert had me looping towards the PNW via California. 

It had been a few months since I had last visited my Mom and friends so a quick stop in the Bay Area was called for. After a week of dealing with hard drive issues and visiting family, I pointed Bertha north towards the PNW. 

Day one on the drive had me staying outside Eugene, OR with my brother Chris and his wife. The next day I made my way towards Seattle where I was to pickup a buddy at the airport, meet another, then give an attempt at Rainier and skiing the Fuherer Finger. 

Two weeks in Seattle and a second attempt on Rainier saw my good friend Cory Fleagle and myself standing on the summit with over 10K' of skiing below us. It was wild. 

After leaving Seattle, I was en-route to North Idado to visit with my Father. But a sleepy little Bavaria styled town called Leavenworth is on the way and hosts hundreds of perfect granite boulders. While researching parking and beta, I came upon two moderate multi-pitch routes stacked on top of eachother. Keen for an adventure, I set off to Leavenworth with the idea to on-sight solo these routes and boulder as a back-up. 

I did not boulder and I sent the routes. Climbing these two routes was an awesome personal experience and a huge step up in term of getting my head straight o the rock. 

After a few days spent in North Idaho, it was time to finish the trip up and head back to Boulder, CO. Where the very next day I met friends at 4am to ski, again, 

Dates - 4/21 - 6/1, 2017

Days on the road - 31 + days at "home" in California 

Days spent driving - 8

National Parks Visited/Driven thru - 2, Death Valley, CA, Mt. Rainier, WA

Vertical Gain Skiing - 21,524'

Ski Descent - 22,749'

Days spent climbing or trying to climb - 3

Days spent skiing - 6

States visited - 7

Miles Driven - ~3,962

Miles Ridden - 15.3 (979' vertical gain)

Pitches Climbed - 7, onsight free solo

Boulders Climbed - 3

Hours of Video Captured - ~12hrs

Images taken - ~ 9,000

The coolest boulder in Moe's Valley, UT. 

Milky Way over the Alabama Hills, CA. 

Pre-long haul drive soak outside Mammoth, CA. 

Jason Mauer feeling the stoke in the Fuhrer Finger, Mt. Rainier, WA.

By The Numbers: The West

Stop 1: Vedauwoo, WY - Coffee/Selfie break. My check engine light came on not long after leaving. Less then 3 hours after leaving Boulder...  

Road trips are a damn good time. Whether solo or with friends/loved ones it’s an amazing way to connect; with one other, yourself, the land, a new community, something else. Ask anyone who has spent at least a few weeks on the road how it was and more times then not, no matter what happened or how much money they spent the answer will be something along the lines of “It was a damn good time!” 

The garage. Bend, OR

But what most aspiring road trippers or vanlifers don’t realize is how much goes into and comes out, of time spent on the road. I’ve compiled a rough idea of the stats involving my last big trip touring from Colorado out to Oregon, back east across to Wyoming, North to Montana and back down to ol’ Colorado. Certainly I could have done this slightly cheaper, but I also like to treat myself every now and then to keep spirits happy and it’s a really good idea to always come handy with beer. Whether it’s for the owner of the house you’re parked outside of or after a long day of climbing and filming. Either way you slice it, gas is expensive and staying located in one area for more then just a few days helps to cut that cost. No matter what, it’s not always cheap, but do we want cheap memories anyways?

Self-shot on Waxie Pants (V7), Castle Rocks, ID

Dates - 9/7 - 10/1

Days on the road - 25

Days spent driving - 8

Deer/Elk Avoided - ~20+

National Parks Visited/Driven thru - 2

Auto Shops Visited - 2

Days spent climbing - 10

States visited - 5

Miles Driven - 4,600

Miles Ridden - 36.1 (2,320’ gain, 4,070’ descent) 

Miles Hiked - 25 miles

Trails Rode - 3

Pitches Climbed - 22

Boulders Climbed - 4, 2 3x’s

Wood Chopped - 1/2 cord

Beers Drank - ~ 70

Coffee Beans Consumed - ~ 35oz

Showers taken - 3

Images taken - ~ 4,000

Ben Hoiness somewhere mid route on the Northwest Ice Couloir, Middle Teton, GTNP, WY. 

Hanging in Hyalite Canyon, MT.