Despite his young age of 23, Jackson Marvell is old-school. For him, climbing is about adventure. He’s not out clipping bolts or waiting for the temps to drop so he can send that next V-grade. You’re more likely to find Jackson out solo-aiding a crumbling mud tower. But when it comes to sending bold routes, he’s prolific. The Utah native summited 100 desert towers before he could legally drink and has established first ascents from the Colorado Plateau all the way to Kyrgyzstan. Despite his impressive ticklist, however, Marvell is a throwback to the days of old, when you climbed hard, came home, and went back to work without spraying.
“If you weren’t filming him, the majority of people wouldn’t know all the stuff that he did this season,” says alpinist and photographer Drew Smith.
Luckily, local filmmaker and photographer Ben Neilson was filming last season, and captured Jackson in his element, climbing some of Utah’s hardest ice and mixed routes. Check out the film Gimme Back My Bullets.
Live. Climb. Repeat.
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