tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46508503931320036642024-02-19T12:08:17.626-05:00Climb and PunishmentA blog about rock climbing, mostly in the GunksSethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-20069618489984220122021-05-14T17:06:00.004-04:002021-05-17T11:20:29.077-04:00My First 5.12: Uphill All the Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5P_AzI1xwAD63wbx3wHHwxR-gLzTmZJ0s71IeseJUNIr9NsHoNbrXEpPMfNu-MjTpHymScWhpBA91VHICeXJR27gp7eG9hy9h5pPMcDLKdnIOGurCgdFqsjyKzn1ACvFf3Ffp-pTulsI9/s1075/IMG_3897.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="826" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5P_AzI1xwAD63wbx3wHHwxR-gLzTmZJ0s71IeseJUNIr9NsHoNbrXEpPMfNu-MjTpHymScWhpBA91VHICeXJR27gp7eG9hy9h5pPMcDLKdnIOGurCgdFqsjyKzn1ACvFf3Ffp-pTulsI9/w308-h400/IMG_3897.PNG" width="308" /></a></div><p>(Photo: At the final crux on Uphill All the Way (5.12a).)</p><p>I know, I know.</p><p>It has been a while-- over two years!-- since I published a blog post.</p><p>It's not that I stopped climbing. Far from it.</p><p>But for whatever reason, my blogging dwindled and then faded away. </p><p>Seems like people don't blog so much any more. But that makes no difference to me. I was never much of a trend follower, much less a trend setter. I have no big platform, nothing to sell. I am ignorant of fashion. I started this blog because I wanted to express myself. I post because I enjoy it.</p><p>But over time I have blogged a lot less about every single thing I did, and blogged more selectively, about what seemed like significant events. And I guess over time the truly significant climbing events have become a bit less frequent for me? </p><p>When <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2018/12/moving-goalposts-in-gunks.html" target="_blank">last we spoke</a>, I talked about how I was hoping to send my first 5.12, before my 50th birthday. I've never been obsessed with numbers, but I have tried to make progress, however glacial, over the years. And finally breaking the 5.12 barrier after well over a decade of climbing seemed like a nice goal. I could have found an "easy" sport 5.12 for this particular milestone, but for me that would not have seemed legit. I am a trad guy, and my first twelve had to be a trad climb, preferably in my home crag the Gunks. </p><p>I thought this achievement would be a great subject for my next blog post.</p><p>Only problem was, it didn't happen! I did turn 50-- there was no putting THAT off-- but the 5.12 never came. </p><p>Until now.</p><p>At the start of the 2021 season, I finally sent Uphill All the Way (5.12a). I'm over 50, but not by so much. </p><p>I'll take it. </p><p>It was a somewhat circuitous journey. Allow me, please, if you will, to share with you my own "road to 5.12." This is not meant to be a guide for others. If you'd like an actual roadmap as to how to climb 5.12 I think you can skip the rest of this post and follow this advice: try hangboarding. It seems to work.</p><p>The first step, for me, was to follow around a great climber like <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2018/12/moving-goalposts-in-gunks.html" target="_blank">Fredy</a>, who showed me several of the prime 5.12 candidates in the Gunks. He introduced me, as a matter of fact, to Uphill All the Way, in late 2018 (which I discussed in my last post). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6X-wwQIGH2_f0ZnAwY9DvXkhSBIxykut5cW0Y7hzh7yd-MAO9Sy4z9dsHhnXC0zL4-bASHfpIfM9NHGjbjVcEv62E0xqg_EGC71DPuiizBuKFu1SruFkDYCJZHkHht_RuTSwQ941czQd/s6000/DSC03068.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6X-wwQIGH2_f0ZnAwY9DvXkhSBIxykut5cW0Y7hzh7yd-MAO9Sy4z9dsHhnXC0zL4-bASHfpIfM9NHGjbjVcEv62E0xqg_EGC71DPuiizBuKFu1SruFkDYCJZHkHht_RuTSwQ941czQd/w266-h400/DSC03068.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><p>(Photo: Fredy heading up the initial crack in November, 2018.)</p><p>As soon as I saw the climb, I knew that this was the one: the 5.12 climb that really fired my imagination, even though it might not have been the most sensible choice for my first 5.12. </p><p>Why might it not have been the best choice?</p><p>Because it is hard! It is intricate and complicated, with four distinctly difficult sections.</p><p>When I first did the climb with Fredy, I was unable to do two of these four sections. </p><p>But I loved how this short climb was packed with varied and interesting movement. It seemed to build on itself, getting harder and harder with each bouldery sequence. The climbing challenges were not the usual big roofs or blank sections between horizontals we so often see in the Gunks. In a way, the climbing seemed more typical of granite, with delicate foot placements on ripples in the rock and even some vertical crack climbing. And the gear was good, good enough that after our first visit I thought I might be able to attack Uphill All the Way on lead, and feel pretty safe doing so.</p><p>So after following Fredy up it just once, I considered it my new project. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh004ERopxzNXbGWgRNdGAVwXDX983eLfv46LL7bcPh2IJi5LTOya5nB7Y48ueVmYR62bu6EQP-027nJE2xRaeeO8sZmDOa9SiE47o0RmB3hPIyDss96yriMvcjUIUIn5UfZ4eebKe4D0MA/s6000/DSC03095.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh004ERopxzNXbGWgRNdGAVwXDX983eLfv46LL7bcPh2IJi5LTOya5nB7Y48ueVmYR62bu6EQP-027nJE2xRaeeO8sZmDOa9SiE47o0RmB3hPIyDss96yriMvcjUIUIn5UfZ4eebKe4D0MA/w266-h400/DSC03095.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(Photo: Fredy took this shot of me on my first attempt at the climb in November, 2018.)</div><p>I went ahead and tried to lead it, with Josh, in May of 2019. It didn't go well. Despite my conviction that the gear was good, I found myself struggling to commit to the moves on the initial vertical crack, the EASIEST section of the route. I took a hang before making it to the rest jug at the top of the starting crack, and then felt too defeated even to try the next bit. I lowered off of the fixed nut and we walked away.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPW_lal1_X0eFcOKgO8u55ypdPJxP4Q451hLD7ln47VOkNBYboKYpclPiYNqoEawfLNE22Z6Y8QgrS7clLzuAM7cg8V4s2hYQiZDJcq8L4lTL1VBl2dKZ9vTW1Z36dBkpfV6vSkeOipOV/s695/i-dr9Lg8H-X3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="538" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPW_lal1_X0eFcOKgO8u55ypdPJxP4Q451hLD7ln47VOkNBYboKYpclPiYNqoEawfLNE22Z6Y8QgrS7clLzuAM7cg8V4s2hYQiZDJcq8L4lTL1VBl2dKZ9vTW1Z36dBkpfV6vSkeOipOV/w310-h400/i-dr9Lg8H-X3.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><p>(Photo: Toh took this photo of me trying (and failing) to lead Uphill All the Way in May of 2019.)</p><p>This was a setback. Mentally, I wasn't ready yet.</p><p>But I wasn't done with the climb. In pretty short order, I had the chance to climb Uphill All the Way again with Fredy. He had narrowly missed on-sighting the climb at the end of 2018, making it all the way to the final move before falling off, and naturally he wanted the redpoint. </p><p>Funny thing: when Fredy wasn't juiced with on-sight energy, he found the climb much more mysterious. When he and I tried the climb for the second time together, in May of 2019, Fredy did not send, and in fact had a lot more trouble with the climb than he had the first time. He had to put some real work into figuring out the moves. He took several whippers at the top, off of the final, crux moves up and around an overhanging corner. Then he lowered, took a break, and offered me the lead. I top-roped up to his high point and led on from there, taking several lobbers off of the crux move. I got no closer to being able to do the move, but I did get more comfortable with the idea of blowing it and taking the whip.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EifKsALt-eknh35sSIP0-29lFonAqBR9UDkY-uCZv5_6Kdt42SCZKQTsZBz1qWOZaeqewASiwXGRz2ZBlruu7J1hjXSZrwjLXwBefcVP3RruR4dk_qT5BcJlevkCLByxxVXgqTX2ovzf/s4248/DSC03505.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4248" data-original-width="3003" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EifKsALt-eknh35sSIP0-29lFonAqBR9UDkY-uCZv5_6Kdt42SCZKQTsZBz1qWOZaeqewASiwXGRz2ZBlruu7J1hjXSZrwjLXwBefcVP3RruR4dk_qT5BcJlevkCLByxxVXgqTX2ovzf/w283-h400/DSC03505.JPG" width="283" /></a></div><br /><p>(Photo: Fredy sending in June, 2019.)</p><p>Fredy and I went back again in June, 2019, and by this time Fredy had it in the bag. He got the send like it was nothing, and I got another chance to work at the climb on TR and to make some progress. This time I got my beta a bit more worked out, though things were still far from smooth for me. </p><p>At this point, it might be helpful to get into the weeds a bit and describe the challenges of Uphill All the Way, in detail. This is what you came for, right?</p><p>As I mentioned above, there are four sections:</p><p>1. Moving up the initial vertical crack. Funky moves, thin feet. This section is probably 5.10. At the top of the crack you reach a big jug, and an optional step up left to a rest. </p><p>2. Stepping back down to the crack and making tenuous moves to the right, following a right-facing flake, with poor hands and very thin feet, to another good hold and gear. This is crux number 1. </p><p>3. Moving straight up into the slanted, overhanging corner, to an undercling hold. This move requires balance and strength. This is crux number 2, and it is harder than crux number 1. After you get established in the undercling, there is an easy move up to a horizontal that takes your gear for the final sequence.</p><p>4. The true, final crux: moving up and left around the overhanging corner and onto the face. You have to make a big move to poor crimps for the hands, and then a challenging reach to the left as you rotate your body around the corner using bad feet on the arete. </p><p>After working on the route with Fredy, I had the first two sections pretty well worked out. I came up with this nice step-through beta that usually works for the second section. And as for section three, I knew I could do it, though I still needed to work on it. Sometimes I fell and sometimes I nailed it.</p><p>But the final crux was still very hard for me. Up until this point I had managed to do the move successfully just once, on TR, and had fallen there many times. I found the move to be very low percentage. I couldn't reliably keep my foot on the arete and I couldn't use the handhold all the way around to the left with any consistency. </p><p>Still, I wanted to try again. This was my 5.12, and I intended to work on it, or so I thought. </p><p>For the rest of 2019, I kept putting myself in position to try Uphill All the Way on lead again. I made sure I was in the Trapps every time I visited the Gunks, and would pick other climbs for warm-ups that were nearby. I would even walk up to the route and put my stuff down, with the intention of climbing it. But then, over and over again, I chickened out. I decided I wasn't feeling it and walked away without trying it. I told myself that this must be part of the process of breaking into 5.12. First you have to work up the courage to try. And I needed more time.</p><p>I got a lot more time to sit around and work up my courage when COVID happened. </p><p>I'm hesitant to talk much about COVID and its effect on my climbing. I don't want to sound like I think I am some kind of victim of COVID. I am one of the lucky ones. I have a job and a place to live. No one in my family got very sick or died from the disease. Of course it touched my life, as it touched everyone's. But I have nothing to complain about. I'm grateful to have gotten through the last year with my existence, and my family's existence, more or less unchanged.</p><p>Still, my climbing was negatively affected, just as I imagine yours was. The gyms were closed. Like a lot of people, perhaps, I personally went through a cycle in which I exercised like mad to stay sane for the first few months, and then got kind of depressed and stopped exercising entirely for a few months after that. The Gunks opened back up in June (I ran up there on the first day), and an outdoor gym in NYC opened up a few months after that. When I got back to climbing outside, I felt kind of normal, surprisingly. But I could tell that I'd lost something. I didn't have the endurance I took for granted before the pandemic. I definitely wasn't at my best. It would have been truly shocking if I felt any differently.</p><p>Nevertheless, somehow I fell back into working on Uphill All the Way in the fall of 2020. One day in September, Will and I were playing around on the 5.10d Ventre de Boeuf direct start, which is right next to Uphill All the Way, and I decided it might be fun to throw a top rope over Uphill again, for old times' sake.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZOQ0FnVIj4aLsfXr7ZOq0H__HYRf2-GI5jhOYFrt-lOnS03McP2fX9V0SD480i5kbClXavl3ONxbAq3MysMBhhv7Hn2-5ZL-V_Bq057Sr05eOI2ZQcBmiXignEj1ZErOA_vsHe0Srqoa/s3780/8FC9E606-7E7E-491E-8ABB-948C11327351.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3780" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZOQ0FnVIj4aLsfXr7ZOq0H__HYRf2-GI5jhOYFrt-lOnS03McP2fX9V0SD480i5kbClXavl3ONxbAq3MysMBhhv7Hn2-5ZL-V_Bq057Sr05eOI2ZQcBmiXignEj1ZErOA_vsHe0Srqoa/w320-h400/8FC9E606-7E7E-491E-8ABB-948C11327351.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>(Photo: Will on Uphill All the Way.)</p><p>And what happened was kind of a breakthrough for me. I experimented a bit and worked out beta for the final crux that was much better for me than what I'd been doing. I used a different, higher foothold. It was hard for me to get the foot up so high-- I felt like I was putting my toe in my ear-- but once I did, the move around the corner was really solid. If I successfully got the foot up there, the climb was over.</p><p>This was exciting. It meant that I could do every move on the climb. I just had to put it all together. From that point on, I was inspired again. I started tackling the climb head-on, going at it on lead. We returned five more times in 2020. Will patiently belayed me over and over again. It was very nice of him. If he got tired of going to the Trapps every weekend, he kept it to himself. Over these several attempts, I got tantalizingly close to the send, falling off at the last move a couple of times. But I couldn't quite get it done. </p><p>I think, more than anything else, the problem was that I felt weak. I would reach the final crux very tired; I couldn't seem to contrive much of a rest before the hardest moves. And I wasn't able to try the climb more than once in a session. I would be spent after one burn. It was clear to me that the COVID layoff was hurting my chances.</p><p>As the fall season ended, I resolved to get fitter. I wasn't sure that I was capable of feeling the way I used to feel. Maybe, at 51, I would have to work really hard just to stay the same. Maybe I'd never get stronger again?</p><p>In late December, I did something that was truly radical: I hired a climbing coach. </p><p>I had always been uninterested in "training." Mostly this was because I really enjoyed climbing in the gym, and didn't want to turn it into work. I was afraid I would get burnt out and see climbing as a chore instead of a joyful, fun time. I also feared that I would hurt myself. It seemed like people who trained were always dealing with injured pulleys and the like. </p><p>But as 2020 ended, I knew I wanted to do something to change my personal climbing trajectory. And then, completely at random, I saw an Instagram post from someone I didn't know, saying they had achieved good results working with a coach named Alice Hafer. I'd never heard of her. There was a link to Alice's own <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alicehafer/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram page</a>, and when I clicked on it, I saw that she offered free consultations. Despite my longstanding lack of interest in training, I thought I had nothing to lose and, totally on a whim, I signed up for a meeting. </p><p>I did no research. I considered no other coaches.</p><p>When I talked to Alice, I really liked her, and her fees seemed very reasonable, so I decided to give training with her a shot. And I don't really want to dwell on this too much or turn this post into an extended plug for Alice (she doesn't need my help anyway), but I can say without reservation that my time climbing with Alice has been amazing! She's worked wonders for me. She is really great and if she has space for any more clients you should hire her. </p><p>Alice gave me a fitness test, analyzed my goals and tailored a plan specifically for me. I was worried that working with a coach would be boring, but she gave me all sorts of fun climbing exercises (which I never would have come up with myself), and listened to me when I said that sometimes I'd like to "just climb." Some of the things she's had me doing (like hangboarding) are things I could have developed a strategy for on my own, if I had the patience. But my eyes glaze over when I read these endless blogs and books on training and it has been so helpful for me to have someone to tell me what to do! </p><p>It also helped that I buckled down and put in the effort. I did pretty much everything in the plan Alice gave me. It wasn't that hard to keep up with it, since I was mostly working from home and had no social obligations. There was nothing else to do much of the time but to work out. And it was very lucky, from a climbing perspective, that the governor never closed the gyms again, even though over the winter the state blew past every COVID benchmark that had been set for gym closures. </p><p>Probably the most important aspect of working with Alice, for me, was the realization that my reluctance to "train" was based on irrational fears. I was afraid that if I trained I'd come to see climbing as a tiresome chore. I was afraid that if I trained I'd get hurt. But these fears were unfounded. </p><p>While I was doing all of this training, I kept wondering how I'd fare once the outdoor season rolled around. I knew I was feeling pretty good, much better than before, indoors, but would it translate to routes in the real world? </p><p>I found out pretty quickly once we got into March, and the temperature got high enough for some Gunks climbing. On my first day out I felt a little bit tentative, but as the day went on I cruised a few of my favorite 5.10s. They felt very easy. </p><p>Then on my second day out, on March 13, I went to the Gunks with Richard. We'd been climbing together in the gym before the pandemic, and I knew him to be a strong boulderer who wanted to dabble a bit in the trad game. He was curious about the twelves I'd been talking about so I knew it was time to put up or shut up. We needed to head to Uphill All the Way and see how it went. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiumX3x2mAScF0n7iQU2kpS4HvGJZUXCm95iQyxS5kIbivIoUyXFQe5NaQ27XZnvuF9gx-mBoJZ4KP-0ZuWSztGmknwp8k8IvkTb-B3d0YmGwRN3_aghTBMLacvk-NxKo2VmioLZaAIkzP/s3108/IMG_3180.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3108" data-original-width="2481" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiumX3x2mAScF0n7iQU2kpS4HvGJZUXCm95iQyxS5kIbivIoUyXFQe5NaQ27XZnvuF9gx-mBoJZ4KP-0ZuWSztGmknwp8k8IvkTb-B3d0YmGwRN3_aghTBMLacvk-NxKo2VmioLZaAIkzP/w320-h400/IMG_3180.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>(Photo: Richard on Uphill All the Way. He sent it on his second try on TR, which is very impressive!)</p><p>I didn't think I would send it right away, and I didn't. After four or five months away from the climb, I had to reacquaint myself with the moves. I assumed this would be a work session. As I expected, I fell a couple of times on my first trip up. But at the same time I could tell I felt better than before. My crimp strength was better. My flexibility was better. My endurance was better. I didn't feel at all tired. I thought that maybe I could send the climb if I went at it again.</p><p>So we rested a bit and I tried again. And then on my second attempt I took a random fall early, in the first cruxy bit! Oops. This was unexpected. I lowered off of the fixed nut and rested. </p><p>And then on try number three it went very well indeed. See for yourself:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mN65pYrqLFs" width="320" youtube-src-id="mN65pYrqLFs"></iframe></div><p>You can hear my shock at how it turned out in the video. Even though intellectually I knew I was close to sending this climb, I realize now that somewhere, deep down, I believed that maybe it would never happen. There was a barrier erected in my mind that I had to knock down. </p><p>And now that barrier is gone! I've since sent a second Gunks 5.12, which maybe I'll talk about in another post, and I'm getting close on a third one. </p><p>Looking back over the experience, I feel like I've learned so much from Uphill All the Way. I've learned about trusting my feet on things that aren't even footholds, more like small textures or changes in the angle of the rock. I've learned that sometimes the best way to do a difficult move is as slowly as possible, shifting my balance and keeping my whole body in tension to stay on the rock. And I've learned to experiment and to try new ideas, even if they seem like impossibilities at first. </p><p>And in the time since March, I've just been floating on air. This spring has been a magical Gunks season for me, one like I've never had. I didn't expect to send 5.12 trad on my second day of the season. And now I'm just hoping to keep riding the wave, stay uninjured, and keep sending more twelves. I feel so grateful to be healthy and climbing well. It feels so good not just to work at new levels of difficulty, but to cruise up climbs that used to feel hard. The big thing missing for me now is travel, which I hope we will all be able to enjoy again soon enough. There are so many climbing destinations I want to visit and revisit. Time will tell.</p><p>I hope that you, too, are having the kind of fun that I'm having out there. Be safe and climb on, folks. Stay tuned for more reports, coming soon?</p>SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-16276729180064208222018-12-28T19:59:00.001-05:002018-12-28T19:59:16.280-05:00Moving the Goalposts in the Gunks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenPxFaXOWqY5ok8hCoTYUIThP2ZequFaEd4vbE-8RZh-nowFVUdYCPurBNgqXGdrgQuy6-Rmh2UVkhpmtQ-_RVShHbX_SepZ8AwpoN5WdXQfJM958N1xKzpFYsKXH1Sz9J7q6WCUeGPUc/s1600/Seth+Enduro+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="742" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenPxFaXOWqY5ok8hCoTYUIThP2ZequFaEd4vbE-8RZh-nowFVUdYCPurBNgqXGdrgQuy6-Rmh2UVkhpmtQ-_RVShHbX_SepZ8AwpoN5WdXQfJM958N1xKzpFYsKXH1Sz9J7q6WCUeGPUc/s400/Seth+Enduro+Man.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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(Photo: That's me on Enduro Man's Longest Hangout (5.11c), pitch 3. Photo by Gus.)<br />
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"So what about you?" Gus asked. "Don't you have any projects?"<br />
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It took me a second to process that he was talking to me.<br />
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We were walking on the carriage road, on our way in to the Trapps from the parking lot. I'd been with Gus, Kevin and Fredy for two hours in the car, listening to lots of chit-chat about their plans to get on such venerable testpieces as <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-next.html">The Sting</a> (5.11d), Supper's Ready (5.12a), and <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/11/cool-november-climbing-nose-56-bold.html">Uphill All the Way</a> (5.12a).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpAINIeqVBXBviMlckOANOBfXWrcnb3D1pF3_W2yze97PJHuWyb0RVNl572y_vJ2zFqbJdiez6P5StxNw-ypRmhuUhiXppgHXDCdX8vMBwhN3rboH7phCtkkRPHjMmXFDDJEVrLAUTLXR/s1600/Gus+Directissima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="767" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpAINIeqVBXBviMlckOANOBfXWrcnb3D1pF3_W2yze97PJHuWyb0RVNl572y_vJ2zFqbJdiez6P5StxNw-ypRmhuUhiXppgHXDCdX8vMBwhN3rboH7phCtkkRPHjMmXFDDJEVrLAUTLXR/s400/Gus+Directissima.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Gus on <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/criss-cross-eyed-in-early-season.html">Directissima Direct</a> (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
I didn't know any of these guys very well. I'd seen them around the gym. I considered them to be strong sport climbers who occasionally dabbled in trad. I'd somehow lucked into going to the Gunks with them, but I didn't think of them as my peers. I thought of them as climbers who were better than me.<br />
<br />
While they'd been discussing their goals for the day, I'd been mute, taking it all in.<br />
<br />
Gus' question caught me off guard. I didn't know the answer.<br />
<br />
It was mid-October. High season. I ought to have goals, I thought. Did I have any current projects? What were they?<br />
<br />
"I'm just hoping I can keep up with you guys," I replied.<br />
<br />
I knew this was a pathetic answer.<br />
<br />
How did I get here? Where had my year gone?<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
In the spring I'd picked up where I left off last year, trying to lead cleanly every last 5.10 in the Gunks that gets at least a star in the guidebook. I also planned to keep working my way through the popular 5.11's.<br />
<br />
I didn't have any tens left to do in the Trapps, so I focused on the Nears. Over the course of a few different days, I knocked off some of my 5.10 targets, but I got a little bit bored with my 5.10 project pretty fast.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwHEGLr4a6MmXvK6aPIrairXOBSKfTHYMi-GN3EsZy1L8YUwzeR6MCiw3MSQyufFtzCVQ_rPA2GJ7aiTzObGSunHjU00IUG6A3Yv25orbbSUe1XaphX64x50pKvWu5hPi3O_wx1HC4Xmm/s1600/Will+Fat+Stick+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimwHEGLr4a6MmXvK6aPIrairXOBSKfTHYMi-GN3EsZy1L8YUwzeR6MCiw3MSQyufFtzCVQ_rPA2GJ7aiTzObGSunHjU00IUG6A3Yv25orbbSUe1XaphX64x50pKvWu5hPi3O_wx1HC4Xmm/s400/Will+Fat+Stick+1.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Will following me up Fat Stick Direct (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I sent just one Gunks 5.11 in the spring: <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/12/not-so-mellow-in-yellow.html">Harvest Moon</a> (5.11a). I worked it out over two visits to cliff. The crux bulge (near the finish) is tricky. The climb follows a striking vertical crack, but-- in typical Gunks fashion-- it doesn't really climb like one. You'd love to just jam it, hand over hand, but the crack size doesn't make it easy, and the angles are all wrong. I definitely did some jamming on Harvest Moon, but just a little, and it was weird, awkward jamming.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVpvlu8IjhivCs1LZSGnx5Uy0qQngYpEebSzDSB8Lxyd1dXqRu4RYeu9SX-XZzyoVM-ywg5uWZFpQ2-t2ap1AIU0V0HEmweiZ7UZSzl1Q6Zqdq2S3ZIWo4fUFxiqML-fq_y_aj9Ko7V9j/s1600/Seth+Harvest+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVpvlu8IjhivCs1LZSGnx5Uy0qQngYpEebSzDSB8Lxyd1dXqRu4RYeu9SX-XZzyoVM-ywg5uWZFpQ2-t2ap1AIU0V0HEmweiZ7UZSzl1Q6Zqdq2S3ZIWo4fUFxiqML-fq_y_aj9Ko7V9j/s400/Seth+Harvest+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: I'm getting ready to commit to the crack on Harvest Moon (5.11a). Photo by Connie.)<br />
<br />
On my first visit, with Connie, I figured it out well enough that I was able to fire it off on my second visit to the climb with Michael. At the crux bulge I nearly blew it when my foot popped but I clamped down like crazy and managed to stay on the rock. It wasn't pretty but I got to the top and was happy to call it done.<br />
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(Photo: Connie sending Harvest Moon (5.11a) on TR.)<br />
<br />
Until late in the year that was where my 2018 achievements ended. It got hot in a hurry this spring and when I made it to the Gunks this summer I didn't do much but play around on old favorites.<br />
<br />
And then September came along and I got to climb with Fredy.<br />
<br />
I had seen him around the gym for several years and he seemed like a very strong guy. I assumed he was a sport climber because I never saw him in the Gunks. Then on one fateful day in the gym he asked me if I could climb with him in the Gunks that weekend, and although I was a bit taken aback (you want to climb with me?), I said sure, why not. It turned out that Fredy had a baby on the way and was changing his focus from sport to trad as a way to stay closer to NYC. Our first time climbing together was going to be only his third trip ever to the Gunks.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy on our first outdoor climb together, <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/gunks-routes-proctoscope-59-feast-of.html">Feast of Fools</a> (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
On our way up to the Gunks that first day, it somehow came up that Fredy wanted to hop on a 5.12a in the Trapps called Supper's Ready, and when I said I was happy to flail away at it too, a partnership was born.<br />
<br />
Fredy had not yet been to the Gunks with anyone willing to do twelves with him-- his partners so far hadn't wanted to work that hard, and maybe they were concerned about Fredy biting off more of a trad challenge than he could chew. But after our first conversation I had no such reservations. It was quickly apparent to me that Fredy knew what he was doing. Fredy had sent sport climbs up to 5.13b, a grade that I couldn't even imagine. And he wasn't just a sport weenie-- he had alpine experience in his native Chile. If he thought he was ready to lead 5.12 trad, I wasn't going to try to stop him.<br />
<br />
And I was excited to learn from him. I knew I might not be able to do the moves on some of the climbs Fredy would want to do, but maybe climbing hard stuff with him would push me to a new level.<br />
<br />
It came at a good time for me, too. I turned 49 years old in June of 2018 and it has occurred to me that I'd like to send a trad 5.12 on lead before I turn 50. I think this is a reasonable goal, if I actually try to do it! I need to find the right climb and make it into a project, breaking it into digestible chunks. If I make a wise choice, and devote enough time to the climb, I should be able to work it all out and eventually send it.<br />
<br />
It sounds reasonable on paper, anyway.<br />
<br />
I've made some efforts on my own to find the perfect 5.12 for me. I've fooled around on a few of the obvious candidates, on top rope. Some of these routes have had moves I could do but are dangerous leads, so they don't fit the bill for my project. Some other twelves I've attempted have had good protection but are too hard-- or maybe I just haven't discovered the right beta.<br />
<br />
Prior to meeting Fredy, my top candidate for my first twelve lead was probably <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/some-golden-showers-511a-with-10000.html">Brave New World</a> (5.12a/b), out in Lost City. It is a beautiful climb, with lots of cool moves on a steep face, but the only real 5.12 part is the first bouldery sequence off the ground. The rest of the climb is probably some variety of 5.11, with good gear. My big problem with Brave New World is that I haven't unlocked the hard opening sequence yet. I worked on it a bit with Will this fall, and I made progress, getting halfway through the boulder problem. If I can figure out how to step up from there to the good hold-- just one more move-- then I know I can do the whole climb. So this climb remains a contender.<br />
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(Photo: This is Will on the upper half of Brave New World (5.12a/b). Not a great photo but it's the best I've got!)<br />
<br />
During that first day in September that I spent with Fredy, we got to know each other over a few warm-ups and then Fredy took a shot at Supper's Ready. The climb wanders up a moderate face just left of Hans' Puss and then kicks back through what is probably the biggest, most outrageous roof in the Gunks. There are five or six tiers and the crux moves involve huge reaches to jugs. Fredy went right at it without hesitation. He took some impressive falls attempting the on-sight on the climb, but his gear was good and he worked everything out, eventually reaching the fixed anchor. He was eager to return for the send on a different day.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy about to attempt the final big reach to the lip of the roof on Supper's Ready (5.12a).)<br />
<br />
We'd driven up to the Gunks with some other friends, Connie and Pascal. After Fredy got the rope up on Supper's Ready all three of us tried it, with similar results: lots of falling. But we all got up it, more or less. I left thinking that maybe this was a climb I could put together and lead, some day. It has good gear and two definite cruxes. I would have to refine my beta for each of the biggest reaches and really execute well if I were to have any hope of hanging on to the finish.<br />
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(Photo: Connie on Supper's Ready (5.12a).)<br />
<br />
That same day Fredy and I also tried another 5.12a/b called Bullfrog. I know that people lead this climb but it appeared to me that it would be very challenging to place the gear in the climb's thin vertical seam, so I suggested we set it up from <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/12/good-times-in-never-never-land-510a.html">Balrog</a> (5.10b) instead of leading it.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy on Bullfrog (5.12a/b).)<br />
<br />
On top rope, Fredy worked the climb out with just a fall or two. I did well on the opening arch but didn't really figure out the crux move onto a slab near the top. I need to go back to work on this one some more, but I think this one too could be a 5.12 possibility for me, after some more top-rope work to get the beta for both the moves and the gear.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
After our first day together, I felt like I was already getting a lot out my new partnership with Fredy.<br />
<br />
But the autumn seemed to go by very quickly, with near-constant rain. On the rare weekend days without precipitation, I went to the Gunks with Fredy and tried more hard stuff.<br />
<br />
Fredy invited Gus and Kevin along for our second day out, in mid-October. We were on our way in to the cliff that day when Gus asked me that question about whether I had any goals in mind.<br />
<br />
I struggled to name any and then felt ashamed of my mumbled non-answer. After stewing over it for a few minutes, I made a decision: I was going to try <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/highly-exposed-56-on-enduro-man-511c.html">Enduro Man</a>, pitch 3 (5.11c).<br />
<br />
It had been a year and a half since I'd first attempted the climb. <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/highly-exposed-56-on-enduro-man-511c.html">I almost sent it on my first go</a>. But I'd never gone back. I think a part of me was afraid that my near-success on that first attempt was a fluke and that I'd end up hanging all over it if I tried it again.<br />
<br />
I decided it was high time I just went up there and threw the dice.<br />
<br />
So I told Fredy I wanted to do it and he was psyched. He led quickly up the first pitch of <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/03/modern-times-58-and-alleged-gunks.html">Modern Times</a> and then I went right at it.<br />
<br />
To my surprise, I remembered the two cruxes reasonably well. The first crux involves steep moves up and left using several non-obvious sidepulls, until a bomber horizontal slot is reached. Then after you shake out and place gear, you go hard to the right for the second crux, traversing with some mediocre slopers and then stepping slightly down and into another great hold.<br />
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(Photo: That's me on Enduro Man (5.11c) pitch 3. Photo by Gus.)<br />
<br />
I managed to get through both cruxes again without falling. And then, much to my chagrin, I made the exact same mistake that I made a year and a half earlier-- I kept going to the right (wrong!) and couldn't find the move to get up and out to finish the pitch. The route finding is really the third crux on this climb. The whole pitch is overhanging, and as soon as you get lost, you flame out. Or I do, anyway.<br />
<br />
Once I took a hang I could see where to go-- just like on my first time on the route.<br />
<br />
I was upset with myself but I took solace in the fact that I could definitely send this climb. I proved to myself that my first time on the route was not just a fluke. So I vowed to go back to get the send before the end of the year.<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Fredy reaching the top of Enduro Man, discussing his beta for the traverse while still climbing.)<br />
<br />
That same day, Fredy and I went back to Supper's Ready and he put the thing down with authority. It was quite crowded at the Arrow wall (peak season) and everyone was watching. The whole cliff was abuzz after Fredy sent. I was honored just to be associated with this event, which seemed to provide so much entertainment for the masses.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy in the final crux as he sends Supper's Ready (5.12a).)<br />
<br />
I wish I could say I did just as well as Fredy, or at least made some progress on Supper's Ready. But after getting super pumped on Enduro Man, I was worse on my second effort at Supper's Ready than I was on our first day on the route. I had a really hard time with the first crux and eventually gave up, and we spent the rest of our day on some easier stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XGanNw3w4Gn81HS5BMsraka19hyphenhyphenNfRIxMqWQXnpBdOqHw0CujXi_hK6RfTjsU_1HZFe4LIOUPK7IdhiuK8MHwjZwQo0pSKnDdWtB8LcLtlF6Qnd_VGPOIl5OKwW9C4Ultq3rUVDN286b/s1600/Seth+NNL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XGanNw3w4Gn81HS5BMsraka19hyphenhyphenNfRIxMqWQXnpBdOqHw0CujXi_hK6RfTjsU_1HZFe4LIOUPK7IdhiuK8MHwjZwQo0pSKnDdWtB8LcLtlF6Qnd_VGPOIl5OKwW9C4Ultq3rUVDN286b/s400/Seth+NNL.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: That's me on <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">Never Never Land</a> (5.10a). Photo by Fredy.)<br />
<br />
Two weeks later, in early November, Fredy and I were together in the Gunks again.<br />
<br />
I went right back at Enduro Man for my second attempt of the season. From the very start I could tell that I wasn't feeling as strong as I did on my last effort. It was a high-gravity day, as they say. I struggled, grunting, through both cruxes, and the move up afterwards as well. I was still hanging in there, but barely. So far I was only making it because I knew the moves and the gear beta. Still, I had done all of the hard climbing and was at a good horizontal. Fredy was shouting up that he thought I'd made it. I threw a piece in and tried to regroup. But I knew I was toast-- I was going to have to hang. I just felt so pumped and couldn't get it back, even though it should have been all over!<br />
<br />
So I called out "take" and took a rest. And then after I started moving again I saw that if I'd made just one more move to the right I could have gotten a much better resting position and maybe could have finished it. I felt frustrated, but again, I knew I'd made progress and could (definitely? probably?) get the send if I got the opportunity to come back for a third time in 2018.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy heading into the overhangs on <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">Carbs and Caffeine</a> (5.11a).)<br />
<br />
We didn't try any twelves that day (thank God), but Fredy continued to add to his Gunks resume. He wanted to check out the Yellow Wall area so we went over there and Fredy proceeded to send <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/04/last-days-of-winter-510d.html">Carbs and Caffeine</a> (5.11a), <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/11/oceans-of-elevens-in-gunks.html">No Man's Land</a> (5.11b), and the <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/12/not-so-mellow-in-yellow.html">Yellow Wall</a> (5.11c), in succession, all on-sight, in a single afternoon.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy on The Yellow Wall (5.11c).)<br />
<br />
What for me had been a two year project with multiple efforts at each climb (still incomplete as I have yet to send the Yellow Wall), Fredy knocked off easily in a day.<br />
<br />
What can I say, the guy is good.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
It was December 1. Would this be our last climbing day of 2018? Fredy and I were back once again. We'd hoped to go to the Gunks on each of the previous two weekends, but the cliffs were soaking wet.<br />
<br />
At least it was dry today. But conditions were cold, in the high thirties. We'd hoped for sunshine, but a gloomy fog hung over the cliffs for the entire morning.<br />
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(Photo: I'm headed up <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/face-to-face-510b-with-space-invaders.html">Teeny Face</a> (5.10a). Photo by Fredy.)<br />
<br />
I started our day on <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/face-to-face-510b-with-space-invaders.html">Teeny Face</a> (5.10a). I had a hard time committing to the crux moves with numb, burning fingers, but I got through it.<br />
<br />
We moved over to <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/05/no-need-for-nurses-aid-510c-on.html">Ridicullissima</a> (5.10d). Fredy thought this would get me ready for my third try on Enduro Man. As Fredy led upward, disappearing into the fog, I wondered if I was really game for the send today. I felt fat and weak in the aftermath of Thanksgiving.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy on Ridicullissima (5.10d).)<br />
<br />
When I started climbing up to join Fredy, Ridicullissima felt hard. I didn't fall but by the time I reached the crux my fingers and toes were numb again from the cold. I got through the roof, willing myself to hold on even though I couldn't really feel what I was holding on to. I was struggling, and this was 5.10d! Was I really about to lead 5.11c?<br />
<br />
Up on the GT Ledge, I wasn't sure I was up for Enduro Man. I was freezing. We were surrounded by fog.<br />
<br />
Maybe the season was really over. Wouldn't it be nice to rappel off, have some hot tea, and do some 5.8's?<br />
<br />
Fredy wasn't having it.<br />
<br />
He said if I didn't send, we would just pack up and go home.<br />
<br />
He told me I knew exactly what to do.<br />
<br />
He reminded me that I'd never actually fallen on Enduro Man. I'd just given up at various points.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy on the GT Ledge, psyched for Enduro Man.)<br />
<br />
Eventually he shamed me into giving it a try. I racked up, grimly. I told myself to have no expectations, just to be safe and keep climbing.<br />
<br />
It went perfectly. Of course.<br />
<br />
I placed my crux gear and then committed to the first hard bit right away. The moves felt easier than ever before and in an instant I was holding the bomber horizontal.<br />
<br />
Then crux number two, the slopery traverse, felt casual. In the cold the holds felt so positive. And with one more move up, I was now at the spot where I'd given up the last time. But this time I had no intention of giving up. This time I wasn't so depleted. I couldn't believe how quickly I'd gotten there.<br />
<br />
Fredy was shouting encouragement, saying I had it in the bag. I told him to shut up. I didn't want to jinx my send.<br />
<br />
But I was just being superstitious. I knew I wasn't going to fall now. I just needed to execute a few more easy moves and it would all be over. I carefully picked my way to the top and let out a victory yell. I'd finally sent Enduro Man, pitch 3.<br />
<br />
I felt great. I wasn't cold at all. I wouldn't have done it without Fredy's encouragement.<br />
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(Photo: The view from the top of the cliff on a foggy December 1.)<br />
<br />
After we were done with Enduro Man, I didn't care what we did. Fredy decided he wanted to try <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/11/cool-november-climbing-nose-56-bold.html">Uphill All the Way</a> (5.12a), also known as The Man Who Fell to Earth. This short pitch ascends a beautiful, technical crack, and then follows a weird, arching corner to a final crux move out of the corner and onto a slab.<br />
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Fredy wanted to lead it. I didn't know how hard it would be to place gear in the thin crack. It looked like it was going to be all nuts and I worried a bit about Fredy's lack of experience with passive gear. But he was game for it and promised to be careful, and I didn't want to do anything to hold him back. In our few visits to the Gunks I'd learned to trust in his abilities.<br />
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As it turned out, the first moves up the thin crack are actually pretty casual, and it is easy to place bomber gear before the tough moves begin.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy on Uphill All the Way (5.12a).)<br />
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Fredy didn't get the on-sight but it was an impressive performance nonetheless. He got up the initial crack and then made some difficult moves up the arching corner, fighting for good gear and every inch of progress. He ended up making it all the way to the final crux move on to the slab, but then he fell off. He worked it out after a couple of more tries, finishing the climb.<br />
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(Photo: Fredy at the final crux move on Uphill All the Way (5.12a).)<br />
<br />
Following Fredy up this route, I discovered that this might become my top 5.12 contender, even though there remain a couple of moves that I didn't quite figure out. I had trouble in the middle of the pitch, with a hard move up as you start the slanting corner. I didn't quite master this move but I did succeed at an alternate sequence that involves stepping to the right and making a big throw to a jug. And then I also fell a bunch at the top move around and onto the slab, but I think I know what to do there now and I'll eventually get it right.<br />
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(Photo: That's me on Uphill All the Way (5.12a). Photo by Fredy.)<br />
<br />
I liked the gear. Having top-roped it once, I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of working this climb on lead. I might fix a nut or two if I fall repeatedly at the hard bits, but that's okay.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
I did lots of fun climbing in 2018. I had a great trip to <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2018/10/dammit-granite-i-love-you-four-days-in.html">Squamish</a> with Adrian in the spring, and another productive trip to Whitehorse and Cathedral Ledges with Will in the fall, which I will eventually write about.<br />
<br />
Closer to home, I didn't rack up too many achievements in the Gunks this year. For reasons that I can't really pin down, I coasted through most of 2018. But meeting up with Fredy in the fall definitely gave a boost to my ambitions. I'm very happy to have gotten exposed to some new and harder climbs, and to have capped off my year with Enduro Man, which at 5.11c is my hardest trad send to date.<br />
<br />
Next year I intend to put a real emphasis on working a couple of my 5.12 targets into submission. So long as I have partners willing to patiently belay me for parts of every climbing day, I should be able to do it.<br />
<br />
I don't know if that partner will be Fredy, since he and his wife just had that baby they were expecting! Maybe he'll settle into domestic bliss, scale it back, and forget about climbing for a while. And on the rare occasions that we get out I'll be dragging him up climbs for a change...<br />
<br />
But I doubt it. More likely, he'll be hangboarding in the nursery. When I next see him he will probably be stronger than ever.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-62094451050040920812018-10-25T23:42:00.000-04:002018-10-29T14:03:14.345-04:00Dammit, Granite, I Love You! Four Days in Squamish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Adrian's shot of me on the Angel Crack (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
The month of May seems so long ago.<br />
<br />
I've let the year get away from me!<br />
<br />
I meant to write a post, oh-so-long ago, about my climbing trip to Squamish. But things have been busy busy busy. Spring has turned to summer and then to fall, and now-- I can hardly believe it-- I'm at risk of letting the year slip away without memorializing the four wonderful days I spent with Adrian in his backyard granite playground.<br />
<br />
Well, my friends, the wait is over. I have been remiss, but I am here now to correct the oversight.<br />
<br />
The original plan was to go to Yosemite in the Spring.<br />
<br />
Adrian and I had been there once before, in 2014. We'd had a great time, and of course we'd barely scratched the surface of the climbing there. I was dying to go back. I hoped that I'd improved since 2014. I wanted to tackle some of the classics that were on my life list, like the old-school Steck-Salathe, historically rated a moderate 5.9 but universally feared for its wide sections and claustrophobic chimneys. I told Adrian that I'd volunteer to lead all of the weird and wide stuff, if he'd only agree to do the climb with me.<br />
<br />
It seemed like a good plan. But Adrian had a bunch of things going on, chief among them moving his and Cathy's place of residence an hour up the Howe Sound from Vancouver to Squamish.<br />
<br />
As we talked about Yosemite logistics and tried without much success to settle on some dates that we both could manage, Adrian eventually came up with a brilliant idea: I could just come to Squamish instead and stay with him in his new house, right after he and Cathy moved in.<br />
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(Photo: The Chief.)<br />
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Now, Squamish isn't Yosemite, but <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/hooked-on-crack-few-days-in-squamish-bc.html">I'd loved it</a> <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/still-hooked-on-crack-few-days-in.html">there</a> as well when I visited the area back in 2013. And we'd hardly gotten to do any of the big, long routes up the Chief. We'd had rain for three of the four days I was there, and though Adrian and I still got to do a lot of climbing, the only big route we'd really gotten to try was the <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/still-hooked-on-crack-few-days-in.html">Squamish Butt Light</a> (5.9). I was eager to get back out there and, with a little bit of weather luck, maybe this time we'd get some more multi-pitch good times.<br />
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So it was a go.<br />
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As the trip approached, the weather looked grim. A few days before my departure, I checked the forecast and saw a steady week full of storms. It seemed our Squamish plans would be dashed. Adrian and I talked about driving off somewhere else to do some sport climbing.<br />
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But then everything changed. Right before I flew out to Vancouver, Adrian told me that we were about to get a stretch of splitter weather. I decided to take his word for it. I was too superstitious to check the forecast myself.<br />
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It was raining that evening as I hopped into Adrian's vintage BMW and headed up the highway from the airport to his new home in Squamish. But Adrian's optimism was undimmed. He reported that the rain was due to end by morning, after which we would get to climbing. I tried to keep the faith.<br />
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Apart from my general desire to do long routes, I had only one big goal for my trip to Squamish: I wanted to lead the Split Pillar pitch on the Grand Wall. Really I wanted to do the whole Grand Wall route-- it is a long route, as legendary as any climb in Squamish, with several memorable challenges along the way. I was willing to lead any and all of the pitches. But the Split Pillar pitch (rated 5.10b) became my particular focus because it is all about jamming, for over a hundred feet. The pitch follows a crack on the right side of the pillar, which gradually widens from thin hands, to perfect hands, to fists. I'd been working on my jamming skills, as best I could, in my local gym, and I felt like I'd recently made real progress. I thought that if I could send this pitch it would represent a big milestone for me. And I thought that I might be able to pull it off.<br />
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Unfortunately Adrian wasn't all that enthused about the Grand Wall. Of course, he'd been up there at various times during his two decades of Squamish experience. And he knew we would need to do some hard and/or runout slab climbing, plus some awkward aiding up a bolt ladder, to get to the base of the Split Pillar. In addition, after we finished with the Split Pillar there were still several hard pitches before we would get to the top of the wall. It was sure to be a very challenging day, maybe more challenging than we needed.<br />
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We decided to plan for the Grand Wall, but to push it off until the last day. And we figured we might just get up to the Split Pillar and then rap off afterwards, skipping the harder pitches that follow. Since this pitch was my main goal, I was fine with that.<br />
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<b>Day One: Smoke Bluffs</b><br />
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On the morning of our first day, I woke up in Adrian and Cathy's new house, amazed to see the Chief in all its glory from Adrian's second-floor windows-- except that the Chief was partially obscured by clouds and the rain was still falling.<br />
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But it soon stopped, right on schedule. We had a leisurely breakfast and waited a few hours for everything to dry out.<br />
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And then we enjoyed four straight days of plentiful sunshine and moderate temperatures. We did tons of climbing and I got to lead almost all of the good pitches, since Adrian had done them all before.<br />
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Around noon on day one we headed over to the Smoke Bluffs (an area of small, single-pitch cliffs) to see if anything was dry enough to climb. It turned out that pretty much everything was dry. We did seven pitches that afternoon, hitting a bunch of climbs that were new for me as well as a couple of my favorites from my last visit.<br />
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(Photo: Out to Lunge (5.10b). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I was happy to find that I felt comfortable on the granite, pretty quickly. I remembered that Squamish granite has a wonderful, grippy texture-- in contrast to Yosemite granite, which feels much more slippery. But I also remembered that in 2013, despite the welcoming texture, it had taken me a while to trust my toes on rock that was unfamiliar to me.<br />
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Not this time. I felt confident right away and led a (soft?) 5.10 right off the bat. We started with Out to Lunge (5.10b), which begins with a crux high step right off the deck and then eases into a cruiser traverse up a diagonal crack to an anchor up and far left of the start.<br />
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(Photo: Mosquito, a classic 5.8 which we <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/hooked-on-crack-few-days-in-squamish-bc.html">also did in 2013</a>. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Next we hit a more technically challenging vertical climb called S-M's Delight (also 5.10b but harder). This one had a few thin, awkward moves in the middle. I felt fortunate to get the on-sight, clean.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on S-M's Delight (5.10b).)<br />
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Adrian suggested we up the ante with Kangaroo Corner (5.11a), which he described as "everyone's first 5.11" at Squamish. It ascends a short but blank corner.<br />
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I set off, placing one nut and then clipping a fixed wire at what turned out to be the crux move, just a short distance off the ground.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on Kangaroo Corner (5.11a).)<br />
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I slipped off attempting the next move up. I lowered and tried again, slipping off again at the same spot. But I thought I'd figured out the move. So I started one more time from the bottom and got it done, for my first clean 5.11 lead in Squamish.<br />
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(Photo: It's hard to pass up Penny Lane, a joyful 5.9. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Next we moved around to the Penny Lane area and I managed to get another on-sight on a 5.10d called (fittingly enough) Climb and Punishment. It is a fun route with some thin moves up a jagged flake and then a tough reach to a juggy shelf. The guidebook entry on this route mentions a piton, which is no longer there. The crux might be more difficult now than in the old days, because now you have to protect the crux with gear, and you have to place this gear in a crucial undercling hold without blocking the hold. I made it through the move, blindly placing a small cam at the overlap under pressure, and then working my feet up and reaching successfully for the good shelf. It was exciting.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on Climb and Punishment (5.10d).)<br />
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We finished up our first day with Health Hazard (5.10a), a climb that felt a little bit spicy to me despite the two bolts that protect the climbing up the initial slab. I enjoyed the movement on this one but the runouts and hollow flakes make it unlikely I'll ever do it again.<br />
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(Photo: Health Hazard (5.10a). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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As we ended our first day I felt like we were off to a great start. I couldn't wait to hit a big route in the morning. I was happy to find myself feeling right at home in Squamish, though I did find that the grading of the routes was often puzzling to me. Some 5.10's at Squamish felt like 5.8's to me, while other 5.10's seemed legitimately challenging. It was a pattern of inconsistency that I would continue to observe over the next few days.<br />
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<b>Day Two: Angel's Crest (5.10b)</b><br />
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The day dawned bright and clear and we got a pretty early start, huffing and puffing our way uphill through the forest to the base of Angel's Crest. This adventurous route essentially follows a ridge line up the left edge of a big wall on the Chief, framing one side of a huge fissure called the North Gully. There are many sections of memorable climbing, interspersed with scrambling through the woods to the next obstacle. The route is popular so we expected crowds, even on a weekday. We got there in good time, finding ourselves alone at the toe of the ridge. We enjoyed the solitude for the moment, but we ended up encountering several other parties over the course of the day.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian in silhouette getting us started on Angel's Crest (5.10b).)<br />
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Adrian volunteered for pitch one, which involves thin 5.10b climbing past two bolts on a bulging face and then some unprotected easy slab, ending at the base of the beautiful Angel Crack.<br />
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Adrian made quick work of it but I thought the climbing off the deck was strange and harder than I expected. Although the awkward climbing was well-protected by the bolts, I was glad Adrian led the pitch instead of me.<br />
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(Photo: Striking a pose at the start of the Angel Crack. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I took the next pitch, the Angel Crack. Allegedly 5.10b, this pitch felt to me like a really nice 5.8, with beautiful moves throughout. The supposed crux at the top didn't seem like a big deal to me, but I found the pitch outstanding and very memorable, regardless of the grade.<br />
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(Photo: I've stepped down and left into the wet crux pitch of Angel's Crest (5.10b). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I took the lead again for the pitches 3 and 4 combined, starting with some supposed 5.10b face climbing past bolts, leading into easy climbing up a corner. This pitch is often wet, and, as usual, it was wet on the day we did it. But still I thought it was easy for 5.10 and it was over very quickly.<br />
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I kept right on leading for the pitches 5 and 6 combined, starting with some 5.10a moves up some steep flakes, leading to a technical, slabby, right-facing corner. I loved this pitch. It was one of my favorites. The steep flakes offered good juggy fun and I also enjoyed the corner, although I found myself wishing it continued on for a bit longer. Before I knew it I was basically hiking up the next easy pitch to a set of trees.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian leading pitch 7 of Angel's Crest.)<br />
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The pitches started to go by in a blur. Pitch 9 was another highlight: the Acrophobes, a set of Flatiron-like fins leaning back, a thousand feet off the ground. Climbing them is easy (5.5) but the exposure is spectacular and the position affords sweeping views down to the Howe Sound.<br />
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(Photo: The Acrophobes. You can see the party ahead of us on the Flatiron-like features.)<br />
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We'd been on the heels of one other party for much of the day but as we reached the Acrophobes the traffic increased, with another pair briefly joining Angel's Crest from an adjacent route called Borderline (5.10d). These folks had big things in mind. They soloed the Acrophobes right behind us, and then they scrambled over to finish their day on High Plains Drifter, a gorgeous, curving 5.11a crack climb. We were able to watch them sending High Plains Drifter from our position on Angel's Crest. I was impressed. The route looked so sustained and pure. I was inspired to come back and try it on another trip. It looked like my crack game would have to be very on point if I were going to attack that one.<br />
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Meanwhile, we could see that the end was approaching for us. Adrian took pitch 11, yet another memorable bit of climbing. After a steep vertical crack, the pitch ended with the Whaleback, an unprotected easy slab (shaped, obviously, like the back of a whale) with ridiculous exposure.<br />
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(Photo: A climber from another party took this photo of Adrian starting up pitch 11 of Angel's Crest.)<br />
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I led the final 5.10 pitch of the day, pitch 12, which went up some discontinuous vertical cracks, some of them a bit wide. There were some interesting moves. For the first time all day, I felt like I was actually climbing a 5.10. But then Adrian told me that it used to be considered 5.9 and was only upgraded to 5.10a in the most recent guidebook! But Adrian also added that the pitch is known as "the stinger in the tail," so I guess I'm not the only one who finds it somewhat challenging. In any event, it was enjoyable and went fine.<br />
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We just had one more pitch to go, and it was my lead again. Pitch 13 wasn't technically hard, but it was thrilling, with an exposed step down and across a void to get into a 5.8 chimney, which I then took to the top of the Second Peak of the Chief.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian emerging from the final chimney on Angel's Crest.)<br />
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What a day! This was the kind of thing I'd always wanted to do in Squamish. A 13-pitch 5.10, and it felt casual. We finished it without any trouble by mid-afternoon. We'd have been a few hours quicker if there'd been no one else around, but as we got towards the top we found ourselves waiting to climb on several occasions.<br />
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It was my first time atop the Second Peak and I savored the views over the First Peak and down to the water. The walkoff was long, featuring what seemed like a million steps, but we felt like superheroes walking with our climbing gear amongst the gawking hikers.<br />
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<b>Day Three: St. Vitus' Dance (5.9) to Squamish Buttress (5.10c)</b><br />
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I was psyched to do it all over again on day three. Another long route, please! The glorious weather continued unabated, so the only question was which route to do.<br />
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Adrian proposed the Ultimate Everything (5.10b), and I agreed although I had reservations. From what I'd read on the web, this route involved lots of scrambling and maybe wasn't actually the best, or ultimate, in anything. But Adrian swore I'd like it so I went along.<br />
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This ten-pitch route starts from the top of the Apron so we had to pick an approach route as well. Adrian proposed St. Vitus' Dance, a high-quality 5.9 route with some good jamming for me. I was sold.<br />
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After Adrian and I knocked off first two approach pitches of St. Vitus' Dance, I led the next two pitches, the heart of the route.<br />
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(Photo: I'm heading into the hand crack pitch of St. Vitus' Dance (5.9), with another party just ahead of us. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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The first pitch of St. Vitus proper (our pitch three) is a glorious 5.8 hand/fist jam-crack pitch. Although the grade is moderate and the climb is sub-vertical, I felt like the time I'd spent practicing my jamming skills definitely paid dividends. I was more solid with the hand and the fist jams than ever before. The pitch felt just how 5.8 ought to feel. Before doing it I read numerous comments on Mountain Project suggesting the leader should bring an absurd number of duplicate cams to protect this pitch, but I was comfortable walking up a couple of hand-sized Camalots while leaving behind the occasional piece here and there. I thought a standard rack was perfectly sufficient.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">(Photo: Adrian coming up the beautiful St. Vitus crack.)</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The next pitch was maybe even better, with some nice 5.9 face climbing up to a brief wide slot.</span><br />
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(Photo: I'm doing the crux face climbing on St. Vitus' Dance (5.9). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Adrian led the next two pitches in one up to the top of the Apron. The final bits of real climbing came right at the beginning of the pitch, as the St. Vitus crack continued through a steep bulge. Again I saw my crack practice coming in handy as I was able to get a high jam right off the ledge, which effectively put the pitch in the bag for me (as the follower) after just one move.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian past the final challenging bits of St. Vitus' Dance.)<br />
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Now we were atop the Apron, but we still had to do a couple of pitches to get to our next objective.<br />
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(Photo: Getting started on Karen's Math (5.10a). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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First was Karen's Math (5.10a). This was one of my favorite pitches of the trip. It is a full-value pitch. It starts with steep, overhanging jams, then offers beautiful technical climbing up a thin flake, then a hand traverse past a bolt with slabby feet, and finally a thin move up a crack. I got through all of it without a problem but I made the mistake of going up at the bolt for one too many moves. I contemplated the foot traverse for a minute but then decided I had to downclimb to the hand traverse. It was touch and go for a second as I made the step down but then it was smooth sailing to the end of the pitch.<br />
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The next pitch, Memorial Crack (5.9), was also special. It is an old-school 5.9, probably harder than many of the pitches we'd done that were described as 5.10. Nice climbing up twin cracks, involving some thin moves and insecure positions.<br />
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(Photo: Memorial Crack (5.9). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Now we arrived at a decision point. We had plenty of time left in our day but we'd already done eight guidebook pitches. The Ultimate Everything would add another ten. Alternatively, we could do another popular route called the Squamish Buttress (5.10c), which would involve only seven pitches, most of which were pretty easy, and some of which we could combine together.<br />
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We had done portions of the Squamish Buttress on my first visit to Squamish back in 2013, as part of an easier variation route called the <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/still-hooked-on-crack-few-days-in.html">Butt Light</a> (5.9). But this time around we could change things up by starting with an alternate 5.10a first pitch. And of course we would do the crux 5.10c pitch near the top, which Adrian described as one of Squamish's most beautiful pitches, and which the Butt Light avoids.<br />
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It sounded good to me, and better than the Ultimate Everything. So we went for the Squamish Buttress.<br />
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I led the alternate start 5.10a pitch. It is an interesting pitch, moving awkwardly around a corner with bolts for protection, and then following more bolts up a slab to a crack that takes gear. I liked the moves but I felt a little bit uneasy moving past the first three bolts. It seemed to me that they were placed such that falling would be a bad idea.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian coming up the alternative 5.10a start to Squamish Buttress.)<br />
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As we cruised up the next several unremarkable pitches towards the 5.10c crux, I started feeling pretty fatigued. Still, I was excited about the 10c pitch. I remembered looking at it five years earlier and wondering if I would one day be up for it. It sits in a dramatic position, near the top of the First Peak of the Chief. It is a pure, natural line, ascending a dead-vertical crack in a shallow corner. It just begs to be climbed.<br />
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(Photo: The crux pitch of Squamish Buttress (5.10c). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Once we got there, the pitch did not disappoint. A few interesting moves up little ledges brought me to a good stance below the business. And then, after a nice rest, it was on. From there to the top, there would be no rest stances, although it was possible to change positions from a layback in the corner to the occasional stem, with the right foot on the outside edge of the corner and the left foot in a crack on the face. For the hands, too, there were choices. You could jam the crack at the back of the corner with your fingers, or you could reach over to the crack outside the corner to the right.<br />
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Unlike many of the pitches I'd done in Squamish, this climb felt like a real 5.10. The corner steepened as I got higher, getting harder just before the end, but after a few tenuous final moves I found myself with a sinker hand jam at the top of the buttress and I knew I'd made it. This was my favorite pitch so far at Squamish, and I was thrilled to get the on-sight.<br />
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(Photo: Success! Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I was also wiped out. As Adrian led the final 5.6 pitch to the top I was wishing we could paraglide down instead of doing the long walkoff again.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian taking us to the top on Squamish Buttress.)<br />
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I had no regrets. It had been another perfect day in Squamish, with fifteen guidebook pitches and many varied challenges. It all had gone off without a hitch. But it was our third day in a row and I was starting to feel it.<br />
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<b>Day Four: Apron Strings (5.10b) and Diedre (5.8)</b><br />
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So tired.<br />
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This was supposed to be our Grand Wall day, a fitting finale to my trip.<br />
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Or if not the whole Grand Wall, I was determined to get up to the Split Pillar.<br />
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But here I was, hanging from the rope after taking a whip on our first pitch, the 5.10b Apron Strings.<br />
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(Photo: Hanging after taking a fall on Apron Strings (5.10b). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Was this climb harder than all the other tens we'd done? Or was I just exhausted after three full days of climbing?<br />
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The route was sustained, following a steep layback flake, with smeary feet. I'd struggled from the get-go, misjudging which cams I needed to save for higher up and using them down below. As I got higher, I had to make do with the gear I had left and I battled to get good placements.<br />
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Eventually I got a bad case of the leg shakes, and after fighting to get in a blue .3 Camalot I slipped off and took the ride. Going back up, I made a few more moves past the blue cam but then nearly whipped again before getting my next piece at the top of the flake. I had hoped there would be juggy holds at the top of the flake, but no. There was no stance to speak of and, barely holding on, I struggled again to get gear I was happy with.<br />
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Once I finally got in a piece I took a hang, and then I finished the pitch.<br />
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I arrived at the anchor mentally drained and drenched with sweat. This was not an auspicious start to our day.<br />
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I should be enjoying this, I thought. It's another beautiful day. I would kill for a pitch like this in the Gunks.<br />
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But I wasn't enjoying it. I was suffering. Was I really up for the Split Pillar today?<br />
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Adrian was tired too. He struggled to follow the pitch. His stomach was bothering him.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian reaching the top of pitch one of Apron Strings (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
I decided to pull the plug.<br />
<br />
"Why don't we go run up something easier," I suggested, "like maybe Diedre?"<br />
<br />
"Wait a minute," Adrian said, surprised. "You've never done Diedre?"<br />
<br />
"No, it was soaking wet last time."<br />
<br />
That was all Adrian needed to hear. He was psyched. "Let's do it!"<br />
<br />
Diedre (5.8) is what you might call the High Exposure of Squamish. It is an incredibly popular moderate climb. It is a slab climb but because it follows a corner it also provides relatively good gear, for a slab climb.<br />
<br />
I had some worries about Diedre because I have very little slab experience and slabs give me the willies.<br />
<br />
But in 2017 I'd led the poorly protected slab pitch on <a href="https://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/07/a-trip-to-california-needles.html">White Punks on Dope</a> (5.8+), and it had gone well. So I figured I'd be fine on Diedre. With the generally soft grades at Squamish, Diedre was sure to feel easier, and with better gear too.<br />
<br />
When we got to the base, we could see a party ahead of us, a couple of pitches up, but no one was cued up behind them. Perhaps because it was Mother's Day morning, there weren't too many climbers about. So we didn't have to wait to get on the climb.<br />
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I took the first pitch, a somewhat complicated 5.7 slab with some traversing and not much pro. It went fine.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian coming up the long, poorly protected 5.7 pitch one of Diedre.)<br />
<br />
Adrian took the second pitch, a 5.6 slab traverse to the big corner, with pretty much no gear.<br />
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Then I led the next three pitches, climbing the endless slab and corner up the huge Apron. I enjoyed these pitches immensely.<br />
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(Photo: I'm leading one of the 5.8 pitches on Diedre. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
<br />
The two 5.8 pitches were well-protected. Much of the time my feet were pasted on the slab but you could make use of the corner if you wanted to. There were also some fun flakes in the corner for handholds from time to time.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian reaching the end of pitch 3 or 4 on Diedre (5.8).)<br />
<br />
As the angle eased the protection got worse, and I couldn't say that the 5.6 pitch felt much easier than the 5.8 pitches. I started to worry a bit as the gear got more sparse and I scared myself a little when one of my feet slipped on the slab. But I held on and continued leading without incident.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian leading our final pitch on Diedre (5.8). At least, I believe that's Adrian. We both wore red that day, sorry.)<br />
<br />
I think Adrian could sense my weariness, so he volunteered to lead our final pitch. I was relieved. I was having a great time but I was mentally and physically exhausted. There wasn't much protection for the final, lower-angled slab section of the last pitch, and the 5.8 exit moves onto the ledge atop the Apron were wet. I was so happy to be on top rope as I grunted my way to the finish.<br />
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(Photo: Totally out of gas at the final move on Diedre (5.8). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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There was of course plenty of time left in our day and many many routes still above us, but we were both done. It was Miller time.<br />
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(Photo: Hiking down Broadway Ledge. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
<br />
All in all, I could not have been happier with my trip to Squamish. The weather was ideal, and the routes we did were all world class. I got a good sampling of the very best of the climbing that Squamish has to offer. And I felt like I climbed reasonably well too.<br />
<br />
I wished I'd had the chance to do a little bit more pure crack climbing. And I regretted not putting the Grand Wall closer to the start of the trip. But Angel's Crest, St. Vitus' Dance, the Squamish Buttress, and Diedre were all amazing, so it is hard to say I would have had a better trip if I'd done the Grand Wall instead of one of these other climbs.<br />
<br />
And besides, I have to save some goals for next time, right? I hope I don't wait another five years to visit Squamish again. I'm already getting my routes planned out. We'll hit the Grand Wall (5.11a) on day one, Borderline (5.10d) to High Plains Drifter (5.11a) on day two...<br />
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And then maybe a rest day. Rest days are nice.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-67015454459562793452018-05-17T08:20:00.004-04:002018-05-17T09:51:29.762-04:00Rolling Like Movie Stars at Millbrook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Will coming up pitch one (5.9) of The Movie Star (5.10+).)<br />
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I never made it out to Millbrook in 2016, not once. I hoped to correct this regrettable oversight in 2017, but for some reason it didn't happen. I let the entire year slip away, again, without paying a visit to the wonderful white cliff.<br />
<br />
As 2018 got underway, I thought of every weekend as a chance to go to Millbrook. I was itching to get out there again. I resolved to go back to āthe Bankā as soon as I got the chance.<br />
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A recent Saturday seemed like the perfect opportunity, with no rain in the forecast and temperatures expected to reach 70 degrees. My partner, Will, had never been there, and he was eager to see what it was all about.<br />
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Half of the cliff was closed for falcons but I had several targets in mind (a couple of hard 5.10ās among them) that were open.<br />
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I hoped I would feel up to climbing the harder stuff.<br />
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I'd been cruising along pretty well lately. In the Trapps and the Nears I wouldnāt think twice about trying any 5.10. But Millbrook, I knew, was different. The isolation, the loose rock, the spooky atmosphereā what Todd Swain describes as the āterrors of Millbrookāā could make me revise my plans. Once we were actually there, I expected that my bold ambitions might float off with the falcons, leaving us with few options. (There arenāt many easy routes at Millbrook.)<br />
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But I tried to put these doubts out of my mind. <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/from-gunks-to-dolomites-and-back-again.html">The last time I visited Millbrook</a>, Iād gotten up the nerve to do my first 5.10 at the cliff, The Time Eraser. And once I finally sacked up and did it, the route went perfectly. I hoped I could build on that success with Will.<br />
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Our day began with the pleasant but long-ish hike out to the crag. We chugged along pretty quickly, but still spent over an hour on the trail. Was it the long walk that kept so many climbers away from Millbrook? Or was it the nature of the place?<br />
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We seemed to be the only ones at the cliff as we set up for the rap in to the base. Although civilization was visible beneath us, it seemed very far away. There was no road noise. The peace was disturbed only by a lone rooster, crowing away at some farm down below. I tried to imagine the crowds that were surely swarming the Trapps, even at this early morning hour, and felt so grateful that we had this huge expanse of stone to ourselves.<br />
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(Photo: Crossing the Death Ledge.)<br />
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Since it was Willās first visit, we started with <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/04/millbrook-westward-ha-57-cruise-control.html">Westward Ha!</a>, the ultra-classic 5.7 up a prominent corner system in the center of the cliff. It is everyoneās first route at Millbrook.<br />
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I led a short first pitch up from the Death Ledge to the tree at the base of the corner, so Will could then take it to the top in one pitch containing all of the great climbing.<br />
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Even though Iād done this climb twice before, I felt a bit uncertain as I led our first pitch. Was I really going the right way? The rock was so hollow and dirty. I picked my way slowly towards the tree, worried that this might not be my day to shine at Millbrook. I felt like I took much too long on what ought to have been a quick no-big-deal kind of pitch.<br />
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Will was clearly feeling the Millbrook spook too as he led off into the real meat of the climb. He was tentative and slow, but as he continued up the beautiful corner he seemed to gain confidence. By the time he disappeared around a roof up high I felt like things were looking up; we were going to have a very good day.<br />
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(Photo: Will setting off on the lead on Westward Ha! (5.7).)<br />
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As I climbed up to join him I remembered how great Westward Ha! is. There are some fun sequences in the corner. I have been working in the gym on my crack climbing skills, in preparation for a climbing trip to Squamish, BC (post coming soon). So on Westward Ha! I tried to throw a jam in whenever I could. It was fun but seldom necessary. I found the face climbing near the top of the cliff to be outstanding, on clean white rock with wonderful, grippy textureā quintessential Millbrook.<br />
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I decided it was go time. I was ready for something a bit more ambitious for our next route. We rapped back down and tip-toed our way across the Death Ledge until we found ourselves beneath The Movie Star (5.10+).<br />
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This climb doesnāt appear in any guidebook, but it is featured on Christian Fracchiaās website, <a href="http://www.thewhitecliff.com/">The White Cliff</a>. From Christianās description, I gathered that we could expect technical 5.9 climbing up a leaning corner on pitch one, and then a couple of 5.10 cruxes after that. I wasnāt sure where to belay; it seemed from <a href="http://www.thewhitecliff.com/routes/laughingwallleft/moviestar.html">the photos on the website</a> that the route could be broken into four pitches if you stopped at every ledge. I figured we would try to do it in two or three.<br />
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The usual rotten band off of the Death Ledge didnāt look too bad, and as I got started most of the rock seemed solid. It wasnāt long before the features forced me to the right and I found myself in the leaning corner depicted in Christianās photos. Moving up the corner, I encountered thoughtful, continuous climbing, with no "stopper" moves. Before I knew it I was mantling onto a comfortable ledge where it seemed natural to build a belay. This was a very nice pitch; I might give it a rating of sustained 5.8 rather than 5.9, but regardless of how difficult it is, I found it quite enjoyable, with good gear.<br />
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(Photo: Will on pitch one of The Movie Star (5.10+).)<br />
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I knew I was about to hit the hard climbing. The right-facing corner system continued above me, with a pretty blank-looking section right off the belay. When Will joined me on the ledge I took the lead again.<br />
<br />
I got through the first problem pretty fast. It took only a few delicate moves to reach some good holds at a shallow overhang, and once I was over that I was cruising up again towards another ledge. It seemed too early to stop, however, so I continued past the ledge into what was clearly the crux of the route, another even blanker corner capped by another overhang.<br />
<br />
I knew I had to get to the top of this corner and then move leftā a standard Gunks roof escape. But how? The corner was very smooth. I looked around for a while and eventually settled on something resembling a foothold. Stepping up, I managed to make some kind of Houdini move to the top of the corner, where I found good hands and could place gear.<br />
<br />
Now I was stuck at the overhang. I had to figure out how to move left around the outside corner, and I struggled. I couldnāt find any feet, and I started to get pumped, just hanging on. I wanted to commit to something and move around the corner but I couldnāt see anything; no hands, no feet. I was in a stalemate with the rock. I remember uttering a number of sounds, along with a āf*ck me!ā or two for good measure.<br />
<br />
I was considering taking a hang when I finally spotted a foothold Iād missed. With no time to waste, I planted my toe on it, matched hands and moved blindly around to the left, where all became clear. I found more holds and gear, and then made it up to another little ledge, where I exhaled and decided to build an anchor.<br />
<br />
Calling down to Will, I asked if he had seen my struggle with the crux.<br />
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He said he couldnāt see me but heard a lot of grunting going on!<br />
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I felt proud. This was a tough on-sight. Iād give it a 5.10+ for sure. And such good moves! The Movie Star is an awesome climb, very worthwhile. It is destined to be a Gunks classic. We all owe Christian a debt of gratitude for making this climb known to the general climbing public.<br />
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(Photo: Will between the two crux sections on The Movie Star (5.10+). I'm standing just above the hard moves around the corner.)<br />
<br />
I think Will would agree about the quality of the climb and its difficulty. When he got up to the crux corner, he struggled too. He was having no trouble during the early going, but then all of a sudden I heard āoof, how did you DO this??ā Along with ānice lead!ā and a bunch of assorted curses. Eventually he figured it all out and made it up to join me.<br />
<br />
I kept on leading for pitch three. It wasnāt entirely clear where to go but I followed the path of least resistance, taking a (5.8?) jog to the right around a little overhang and then heading straight up a dirty, vegetated gully to the top. Looking at Christianās pictures that evening, I saw that I could have avoided some of that dirt by stepping left after the first part of the pitch. But even though it appears I went the wrong way for the final fifteen or twenty feet, I donāt think I missed much.<br />
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<br />
(Photo: View of the Trapps and Skytop from a perch near the top of Millbrook.)<br />
<br />
As far as we knew, we were still the only climbers at the cliff that day, but as we emerged from The Movie Star at the top of the cliff we encountered a group of about ten hikers sitting around just above the top-out. This is another unique feature of climbing at Millbrook. There is a popular hiking trail from Minnewaska (called the Millbrook Mountain Trail) that dead-ends at the cliff's edge, so throughout the day groups of hikers reach the end of the hike, take a break, have a snack, and then turn around and hike back. (I've done the hike with my kids.) Where the hiking trail hits the cliff, close to Westward Ha!, the "summit" area is set back a ways from the edge, but further south by The Movie Star the slabs run pretty much right up to the precipice.<br />
<br />
When Will and I stepped over the lip, surprising the group of hikers, I felt like we might as well have just come over the Visor on Half Dome. We were greeted with awe and wonder. One shocked hiker asked the most intelligent questions he could, under the circumstances, such as "How was your climb today?" and "How long did it take you?" I tried to explain that there are many routes to get from the bottom to the top, that we'd already done two of them that day, and that were going to go back down for more.<br />
<br />
Then we marched off as heroically as we could.<br />
<br />
We had time for another full-length route. Will was still getting used to the semi-alpine quality of the rock at Millbrook, which dictates that every hold must be treated with some skepticism. Given this reality, Will wasnāt too keen on leading anything hard, at least not yet. I understood his reticence; I had been there! But I wanted him to be able to lead something so I suggested we try a moderate climb called Again and Again (5.7). I was eager to do the second pitch, a fifty-foot traverse under a huge ceiling. And I knew that after the second pitch weād have the option of finishing with an easy scramble to the top, or if we felt up to it we could do something harder: the 5.10 third pitch of Cuckoo Man, over a roof.<br />
<br />
Again and Again is easy to find if you know what to look for: a massive, radically overhanging right-facing corner. This corner is so big, you can quickly pick it out from as far away as Bruynswick Road down in Gardiner. The corner houses a legendary 5.12 route called Happiness is a 110-Degree Wall. Again and Again starts about twenty-five feet to the right, at a smaller but equally obvious right-facing corner that forms the right side of a pedestal leaning against the main wall of the cliff.<br />
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(Photo: Will on pitch one of Again and Again (5.7).)<br />
<br />
Will led pitch one, a perfectly pleasant climb up the side of the big pedestal. The route-finding on this pitch couldnāt be easier, and the rock seemed pretty solid, with good gear.<br />
<br />
After I joined Will atop the pedestal I took the lead for pitch two. This is truly a great pitch. It is marred slightly by dirt and bird shit in the early going, but the position and exposure soon make up for these trivial shortcomings. The long, rising traverse takes you across a smooth face under a gigantic overhang. The traverse stays below the roof level, on the seemingly blank face, for almost its entire length. You keep thinking the holds will run out, but as you move laterally, a magic row of footholds just keeps on going, with fun move after fun move. And while Dick Williamsā book gives this pitch an R rating, I thought with modern gear the protection was plentiful.<br />
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(Photo: Looking back at Will from the end of the long traverse on pitch two of Again and Again (5.7). Behind Will is the enormous, leaning corner of Happiness is a 110-Degree Wall (5.12).)<br />
<br />
Once you finish the traverse there are some more fun moves up a corner on beautiful white rock.<br />
<br />
This climb deserves to be popular. It is the Gunksā answer to Senecaās ultra-classic Pleasant Overhangs (5.7).<br />
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<div>
(Photo: Finishing Again and Again (5.7).)<br />
<br />
Now that we were done with pitch two, we had a decision to make. Should we scramble up an easy gully to our right, reaching the top of the cliff and the end of our day? Or should we do the third pitch of Cuckoo Man, just above us?<br />
<br />
I decided I was up for the Cuckoo Man challenge. Will said he was game to follow it.<br />
<br />
All three pitches of Cuckoo Man have 5.10 cruxes. The whole climb is on my to-do list, but the first pitch off of the Death Ledge seems like a committing proposition, since it has a long 5.8 runout before the (well-protected) 5.10 roof section. I took a good look at this pitch as we walked over to Again and Again. I think I'm ready for it but there's only so much time in one day. It can wait.<br />
<br />
Pitch three, our goal for today, appeared to have good gear throughout. It looked to me like an easy traverse under the overhang to a difficult roof problem.<br />
<br />
When I got up there I found out that the traverse is the real business. There is good gear but it can be strenuous to place and/or remove. As you move to the right the handholds get smaller and smaller and the feet fall away to nothing, over an empty abyss. It is exciting.<br />
<br />
I was happy to work my way through it on the first try-- I would say this pitch, like The Movie Star, is on the "plus" side of 5.10. Once I finished the traverse, getting to the notch in the roof, I found the moves upward to be easier, maybe 5.9+.<br />
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This is a quality pitch on great rock, and a nice way to reach the top of Millbrook without having to dig through a dirty gully to get there.<br />
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(Photo: Will making it over the roof on pitch three of Cuckoo Man (5.10).)<br />
<br />
Our day had come to and end, sadly. I had expected us to make it to the Gunks Climbers' Coalition barbecue that night, which ended at 8:00 p.m. But when I looked at my watch atop Cuckoo Man I was surprised to see that we were running late-- it was already almost 7:00, and we still had to hike for over an hour just to get to the car. So we missed the barbecue, which I regret. At Millbrook, a land that time forgot, the hours have a way of slipping away from you.<br />
<br />
As we hiked out I resolved not to wait so long to go back again! I am excited to do so many routes there. I feel like I've graduated to a new level of comfort at the cliff and I'm ready to tackle the climbs I've always wanted to do. In addition to the rest of Cuckoo Man (5.10), my targets include Swinging C (5.8 or 5.10 depending on the source of information), The White Corner (5.9/5.10), Lessons in History (5.10), High Plains Drifter (5.10), and Square Meal (5.11-), just to name just a few.<br />
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Adventure awaits!</div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-71981478059463786632017-12-11T22:15:00.000-05:002018-04-02T15:28:56.710-04:00Not So Mellow in Yellow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Andy following pitch one of Matinee (5.10d).)<br />
<br />
So psyched! Rock climbing-- in December!<br />
<br />
Andy and I were headed to the Gunks. He was planning to take it easy. He was in the middle of a self-imposed break from hard climbing. He wanted to rest for a couple of weeks before resuming his let's-climb-every-day training schedule.<br />
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Even though we were going to be climbing by pretty much anyone's definition, Andy figured that following me around on some trad climbs in the Gunks would nevertheless qualify as "taking a break." My hardest trad projects are still easy, in Andy's sport-climbing world.<br />
<br />
As for me, I had no plans to take it easy. This was likely to be my last climbing day of 2017. I couldn't afford to take a break, whatever that meant. I had too much left to do!<br />
<br />
As I'm sure you recall, dear reader, I still had a number of climbs to send as part of my little <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-year-in-510-and-beyond.html">5.10 completion project</a>. I was oh so close to sending, on lead, every star-worthy 5.10 in the Trapps, and with a little luck I figured I could knock off the four remaining climbs on my list in a single day.<br />
<br />
But I also wanted to send a 5.11. It had been a long long time since I'd sent a 5.11 in the Gunks.<br />
<br />
In 2016 Iād managed to do several of them. Iād hoped to work through several more of them in 2017. But here we were in December, and I hadnāt accomplished a single 5.11 trad send all year.<br />
<br />
It wasn't for lack of trying. As 2017 got under way, I was feeling really good. Not long after the season began I decided to attempt the top pitch of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/highly-exposed-56-on-enduro-man-511c.html">Enduro Man (5.11c)</a>, and I almost sent it! It would have been my proudest on-sight ever, but I got lost on the route after the two cruxes and I had to hang. It was so close.<br />
<br />
Still, I was thrilled with how it went. I had every intention of going back to send it in short order. But then I was briefly sidelined by a <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">neck injury</a>. After some physical therapy and some rest, my condition improved, but by the time I really got back in the swing of things it was already June. My spring had gone up in smoke, and I never quite got that early-season confidence back again.<br />
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(Photo: That's me, attempting pitch three of Enduro Man (5.11c) for the second time. photo by Andy.)<br />
<br />
On a hot day in July, I decided to try Enduro Man again. I knew the oppressive heat was an issue, but I wanted to give it a go anyway. You probably wonāt be surprised to learn that it didnāt go that well. I canāt say whether the heat or my own decreased fitness was to blame. But this time, at the first set of overhangs, I couldnāt immediately find my way through. As I ventured up and down, looking for whatever it was Iād done the first time, all of the holds felt so greasy and slippery. Nothing seemed to work. It wasnāt too long before I had to hang. And then I decided I just wasnāt feeling it, and I climbed back down to the High E ledge, aborting the lead.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian at the crux of Harvest Moon (5.11a) on top rope.)<br />
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On another steamy, muggy day in June, I tried Harvest Moon (5.11a) for the first time, on top rope with a group of friends. I loved the route. I had to work to figure out the crux near the top, but I felt like I could come back and lead it without too much difficulty. I still intend to do it, but I havenāt gotten around to it yet.<br />
<br />
As the year went on, my focus turned to a few other 5.11 routes. The main target of my attentions was Ent Line (direct 5.11b). I led this climb on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-year-in-510-and-beyond.html">three separate occasions</a> in September and October, trying for the send, without success.<br />
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And then there was the big one:<br />
<br />
<b>The Yellow Wall (5.11c)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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(Photo: Rob coming up the 5.8 first pitch of The Yellow Wall (5.11c).)<br />
<br />
"It's no fun to be yellow." -- Holden Caulfield.<br />
<br />
I started 2017 determined to try this climb before the year was over. But it didn't happen in the early season, when I was really feeling strong. And by the fall, as the year started to slip away without ever cooling off, I wondered if I would ever get up the nerve to do it. When it finally started to feel like autumn outside, I decided I had to take my shot. On one late October day, with Rob, the time finally seemed right.<br />
<br />
The Yellow Wall is considered by many to be the very best climb in the Gunks. It has an intimidating aura, sitting as it does in the middle of the most imposing wall in the Trapps. As you stand at the base of the route, looking up, numerous impossibly large overhangs fan out above you, reaching far into the distance behind your head as you crane your neck towards the sky.<br />
<br />
The route's daunting atmosphere is heightened by its recent tragic history. In 2014, a young woman named Heidi Duartes Wahl was killed when she fell from about twenty feet up on The Yellow Wall. She was soloing the easier initial portion of the route, placing no gear, in an attempt to do the entire route in a single pitch to the top. This is a common tactic employed by strong climbers on The Yellow Wall to avoid drag, and apparently Heidi had been on the route before and knew what the route required. Iām sure she felt there was no chance that she would fall during this early section of the climb, but obviously something went wrong up there and it had horrific consequences.<br />
<br />
Heidi was very much in my mind as I stood beneath The Yellow Wall with Rob, even though I knew that I wouldnāt be at risk of an accident like hers. I wasnāt planning to solo the 5.8 pitch. Instead I intended to place lots of gear-- as much as I could!-- and to stop at the traditional first pitch belay.<br />
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(Photo: I'm leading pitch one of The Yellow Wall. Photo by Rob.)<br />
<br />
Still, as I racked up and took my first tentative steps up the blocky start to the route, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Heidi. I felt jittery and I found the climbing to be strange. I knew I had to go up a right-facing corner until I could transition around left onto the face. There was good gear available in the corner, and I was happy to have it, since the moves were awkward and I had a hard time figuring out exactly where to turn the corner. I couldn't imagine soloing this pitch.<br />
<br />
Eventually I got onto the slab and cruised up to the obvious horizontal crack where the pitch traditionally ends. As Rob came up to join me I kept staring at the gargantuan crux roof, looming above.<br />
<br />
I continued to feel nervous as I began pitch two. I hoped to find a placement pretty quickly to protect the belay, but I couldn't come up with anything until I completed several steep moves to a fixed piton. At some distance above me I could see my next protection, a hunk of metal that everyone calls the "Thank God Bolt." I successfully navigated the territory to this bolt, clipped it, and resumed breathing. Then I had to make a thin traverse to the right under the big roof to a second bolt. As I moved to the right, I couldn't stop shaking, even though I was perfectly safe-- I'd just clipped a bolt! I hadn't expected the protection to be quite so sparse during the early going on this pitch, and I found it unsettling.<br />
<br />
I still had to confront the actual hard climbing, all of which was still to come. Once I clipped the second bolt and made a big move up to the overhang, I threw in the first piece from my rack on this pitch: a perfect blue Camalot in the roof.<br />
<br />
Now I was in steep territory at the lip of the roof. It was go time. I worked hard to find the way over the ceiling. I went up and down several times, surveying the large number of potential holds that might possibly provide the way upward. Eventually I got tired and had to either hang on the rope or commit to something. I didn't want to hang; I wanted to commit. I locked my heel in the roof and reached up to some crimpy ripples above the initial tier. Rocking upward over my heel, I attempted to find a good hold above, but I was unsuccessful and soon found myself falling.<br />
<br />
There was no risk of hitting anything, but since my heel was securely locked in the roof my leg got twisted as I fell away from the roof. I could tell immediately that my knee was mildly tweaked.<br />
<br />
I was still eager to solve this roof, and I went back up, several times. I didn't commit again with quite the same abandon, but I tried numerous approaches, going left and going right. I'm sorry to say that nothing worked for me.<br />
<br />
Eventually I gave up and we bailed.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcTaJyFCV6cGDfnJVJebPGCchGcWSUfhwQeC4_pu5tS7tSnQ8fuRb6G0mFMNcQK7cKlIBoHed2aQOtrHY4ggkD6YTes96Tq3krzF0uX2gw4A54FKCuqL98thZp_CFxHZYT3la7NugmEUP/s1600/IMG_2315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcTaJyFCV6cGDfnJVJebPGCchGcWSUfhwQeC4_pu5tS7tSnQ8fuRb6G0mFMNcQK7cKlIBoHed2aQOtrHY4ggkD6YTes96Tq3krzF0uX2gw4A54FKCuqL98thZp_CFxHZYT3la7NugmEUP/s400/IMG_2315.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: Rob coming up to join me at the point from which we bailed off of The Yellow Wall.)<br />
<br />
I was bummed to find myself shut down by The Yellow Wall. I had expected that I would probably fall, but I thought I would eventually work out the sequence, as I had on similar climbs like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/04/last-days-of-winter-510d.html">Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a)</a>, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/11/oceans-of-elevens-in-gunks.html">No Man's Land (5.11b)</a>, and Enduro Man (5.11c). Once I was back on the ground, limping away from The Yellow Wall, I felt like I'd taken a beating. I'd been spooked by the climb's special atmosphere and I'd been unable to unlock its mysteries.<br />
<br />
The very next week I found myself standing on top of Bonnie's Roof, with a bird's eye view as another climber got the send on The Yellow Wall. I didn't see what he did at the crux, but I watched him finish the climb. He was ecstatic as he topped out and I was insanely jealous.<br />
<br />
I have to go back.<br />
<br />
<b>* * * </b><br />
<br />
As I headed up to the Gunks with Andy in December I knew The Yellow Wall wasn't going to make it onto our agenda. It was going to be cold, barely above forty degrees. I didn't want to leave Andy shivering at the first pitch belay while I attacked the big overhang. And let's face it, I didn't feel up to it.<br />
<br />
Instead I figured that we could knock off the four remaining climbs on my list of star-worthy tens that I hadn't sent in the Trapps. Since one of these tens (Ent Line) was actually a 5.11b if you do the direct variation, I could also potentially get a 5.11 send to cap off my season.<br />
<br />
<b>Nurse's Aid (Pitch two, 5.10a)</b><br />
<br />
We started our day at the Arrow Wall. I quickly ran up pitch one of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/06/quest-for-easy-gunks-59s.html">Cold Turkeys</a> (5.8) to set us up for pitch two of Nurse's Aid (5.10a).<br />
<br />
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(Photo: Andy at the crux of pitch two of Nurse's Aid (5.10a).)<br />
<br />
I first did this pitch exactly <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-late-season-matinee-510d-more_12.html">one year ago with Connie</a>. On that occasion I took a hang during the wild traverse. But then I quickly figured out a mantel move that got me through the crux. As I went back with Andy, a year later, I thought I had this pitch all sussed out and that it would feel easy.<br />
<br />
Things went well enough as I negotiated past the very worrisome rock in the early part of the pitch. And when I got to the alcove before the real business I didn't hesitate at all as I placed my crux gear and then heel-hooked out the amazing horizontal crack, traversing over a sheer, two-hundred-foot drop to the ground.<br />
<br />
I set up for the mantel move that I thought I remembered, but I suppose I didn't push with my hands forcefully enough as I tried to get into the mantel. I found myself slipping backward instead of moving upward. I tried to correct my position but it was too late. I was flying through space! Although I had to admit it was a fun (and totally clean) whipper, I was furious.<br />
<br />
Climbing back up, I tried the mantel again, with a little more oomph, and it worked perfectly.<br />
<br />
I was so mad.<br />
<br />
I will have to repeat this pitch again in 2018.<br />
<br />
<b>Ent Line (5.11b)</b><br />
<br />
After we were done with Nurse's Aid, I started to lead the way over to Ent Line, the next climb on my list. In all honesty, I wasn't all that psyched to do it. As we trooped over to the climb, I had a whole list of excuses running through my mind.<br />
<br />
Maybe it was too cold out for this climb. Maybe I'd lost the mojo and it should wait until next year. Maybe, if Nurse's Aid was any indication, this wasn't my day.<br />
<br />
I figured the climb would likely be occupied, which would give us just the out I needed. Surely, I thought, the area around Ent/Ants' Line would be crawling with people and we'd have to go do something else.<br />
<br />
But when we got there we were all alone.<br />
<br />
I knew I had no real excuse for not doing this climb. I had every move rehearsed, every placement memorized. I just needed to execute.<br />
<br />
I decided to give it my best shot. I tried to convince myself that the stakes were low and that I didn't care whether I got the send or not. I grabbed all the gear I needed-- eight cams and one nut-- and I set off.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: That's me on Ent Line (5.11b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
<br />
It went well! The tricky 5.10d crux, a thin step to the right, felt as smooth as silk. Settling in, I felt increasingly solid as I made the big move to a sidepull and then stepped up and left to the juggy hold right before the 5.11 crux roof. I made sure I correctly placed my bomber red Camalot in a vertical slot, and then I carefully reached up to the tiny crimps at the base of the overhang. This move is probably the real crux for me, but today it was no problem. Everything was working out just right, and as I reached to the better holds just above the lip I knew that this time, finally, I had this climb in the bag. I adjusted my feet and reached easily to the shelf above the roof.<br />
<br />
Everything was going great, but I was getting pretty chilly. Unlike Nurse's Aid, this climb was in the shade. The rock was noticeably cold to the touch. I wasn't bothered by it right away, but by the time I got to the 5.11 crux my fingertips were on fire and I could barely feel the rock. As I tried to shake out and warm my fingers above the roof, I knew I still had one more hard move to do before it was really all over. I was determined not to make any mistakes. There was no way I was going to let myself blow it at this point. I carefully placed my last gear in the big pebbly horizontal, made it through the final tough sequence, and romped to the chains.<br />
<br />
I was so happy to end the year with a send on Ent Line. I put a lot of work into it, more than I thought would be necessary. But it was very satisfying to see it pay off.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Andy getting set up for the crux overhang on Ent Line (5.11b).)<br />
<br />
Andy usually just shrugs at every Gunks climb we do, but this time, he let me know that he thought it was legit. As he reached the top he said "Good job; THAT was a nice lead."<br />
<br />
<b>Bragg-Hatch (5.10d)</b><br />
<br />
Having cruised up Ent Line, I was hoping to get an easy redpoint on Bragg-Hatch. The climb is thin and devious but the hard moves come and go quickly.<br />
<br />
On my <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-year-in-510-and-beyond.html">first attempt</a> back in October I'd fallen at the crux moves out of the initial corner and I'd welded a little nut in the fall. When Andy and I arrived at the base in December, I was pleased to see that my nut was still in place.<br />
<br />
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(Photo: I'm mid-crux on Bragg-Hatch (5.10d). Photo by Andy.)<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the fixed nut didn't make the climbing all that much easier! It was tense getting up to and past the nut, and I still needed to place gear from a very thin position afterwards. I realized as I tried to move up that I'd sketched through these moves on my second try in October without really working out the best sequence. I had no memory of what I'd done and all the holds felt bad.<br />
<br />
I fell again.<br />
<br />
Andy encouraged me to do whatever I needed to do to work the climb and tick it off. So I took a little time to put together a better sequence through the crux. Then, once I had it figured out, I did the route again on TR to clean it. And then I started over again on lead from the ground for the send.<br />
<br />
This time it went smoothly. I really like this pitch. I still wish it were longer. But the crux section has several great moves all in a row.<br />
<br />
<b>Matinee (5.10d)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
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<b><br /></b>
(Photo: I'm on pitch one of Matinee (5.10d). Photo by Andy.)<br />
<br />
"It's better in the matinee. The dark of the matinee is mine." -- Franz Ferdinand.<br />
<br />
There was only one climb left on my list, and I was dreading it.<br />
<br />
Matinee <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-late-season-matinee-510d-more_12.html">had turned into a bit of an epic</a> for Connie and me a year ago. I tried to do it all in one pitch but I encountered horrible drag and we ended up getting benighted, along with some other mishaps.<br />
<br />
This time around, with Andy, I knew we had enough daylight left in which to do the climb. And I planned to split it into the traditional two pitches, so as to avoid any rope drag disasters.<br />
<br />
I wasnāt worried about the spot where Iād had to hang last year, at the pitch two crux. This crux comes at the very beginning of the second pitch. It is literally one hard move up a corner. There is ample gear and a clean fall if you blow it. I expected to redpoint this pitch without a problem. And if I fell, I intended to just start the pitch over again and keep trying until I could call it done.<br />
<br />
My real worry was pitch one.<br />
<br />
Iād on-sighted this pitch last year. It was one of my best climbing achievements. But the horizontal traverse under the big roof had felt desperate. The handholds weren't great and the footholds were tiny, polished indentations on a smooth, glassy face.<br />
<br />
It was slabby and slick, the stuff of climbing nightmares.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Andy in the midst of the crux on pitch one of Matinee (5.10d).)<br />
<br />
I was afraid that my success on this pitch had been a fluke, and that if I went back again I might fall all over it. Iād negate my prior send and Iād be revealed as the fraud that I surely am.<br />
<br />
But I had no choice. It was my mission to redpoint pitch two so we had to do pitch one, in order to get there.<br />
<br />
I neednāt have been so concerned. It went great.<br />
<br />
I loved pitch one. It didnāt feel desperate at all, this time around.<br />
<br />
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(Photo: I'm at the early crux of pitch two of Matinee (5.10d).)<br />
<br />
And I really liked pitch two as well. After the hard stuff is over the pitch remains interesting and exposed, as you work your way up and left around a few roofs and corners. Last year I hadn't been able to take the time to appreciate this pitch, what with the rope drag, the impending darkness, the snow, and whatever else was going on.<br />
<br />
This time, it was a joy.<br />
<br />
As Andy came up to join me I felt so grateful to be in the Gunks, and to be fit and healthy enough to climb as often as I do.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Andy making the final moves on pitch two of Matinee (5.10d).)<br />
<br />
Even though 2017 didn't go exactly as I planned, I still feel like I made progress. I remain more than capable of falling on a 5.10, as Nurse's Aid demonstrated. But I send my fair share of them as well, sometimes on the first try. And I'm capable of working harder climbs into submission.<br />
<br />
I may not have talent, but I am stubborn. It is probably my greatest asset. I'm obsessive and I keep trying.<br />
<br />
Next year, after I send the second pitch of Nurse's Aid, I have to turn my attention to the Nears and take down all my remaining star-worthy tens over there. And I intend to go back to all of the elevens that I've failed on, and maybe I'll even find some twelves to fail on as well!<br />
<div>
<br />
Enjoy the winter, people. Maybe I'll see you out there, ice climbing. Or maybe I'll just be biding my time, waiting for that balmy, 37-degree day in February on which I can run back to the Gunks. </div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-4081210809489677932017-12-02T23:04:00.001-05:002017-12-04T08:03:26.323-05:002017: The Year in 5.10 and Beyond<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: That's me, leading Turdland Direct Direct (5.10d). Photo by Nancy.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is always fun to take stock of the year as the climbing season draws to a close.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We had a weird autumn this year. Summer seemed to drag on forever, and after just a couple of weekends with good temperatures we find ourselves with little left of 2017. While we often get some good days here and there during the winter months (so long as there isn't too much snow), it seems like our Gunks season is for the most part at an end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what did I accomplish in 2017? If you know me, you know I like to have goals. I always go to the Gunks with a list of things I need to get done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The top agenda item for me this year was my project to finish off the 5.10 grade in the Gunks. More specifically, I wanted to send all of the "star-worthy" 5.10 climbs in the Trapps and the Nears, on lead. I came up with this goal <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-late-season-matinee-510d-more_12.html">in late 2016</a>, when it occurred to me that I was already pretty close to achieving it. I figured that with a little bit of focus I might be able to get through all of the remaining climbs on the list in 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My guru for this project has been Dick Williams. I view his assessments of the routes in the Gunks as definitive. When I look at Dick's ratings for difficulty, quality, and protection, I generally know exactly what to expect. When I rely on his description to do a route that is new to me, I usually walk away feeling like I get why he says what he does. Even if I find some surprises on a route, or occasionally disagree with Dick's opinion, I can usually construct a rationale to defend his point of view.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I used Dick's guidebooks for the Trapps and the Nears to put together my list of the 5.10 routes to which he assigns at least one star, and which I had not yet sent on lead as of the end of 2016. As soon as 2017 got under way, I started working on the list, checking them off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As of mid-May, which was the last time I reported to you on my progress, this is where things stood on my list:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trapps:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sonja (5.10a/b)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/criss-cross-eyed-in-early-season.html">Stirrup Trouble (5.10b) (DONE in March)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Matinee pitch two (5.10d) </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/criss-cross-eyed-in-early-season.html">Nemesis (5.10a) (DONE in March)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Birdie Party pitch two roof (5.10b)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Interstice pitch two roof (5.10d)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mother's Day Party pitch two roof (5.10a)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reach of Faith (5.10c) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Turdland Direct Direct (5.10d) (ATTEMPTED in April but fell at roof)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nurse's Aid pitch two (5.10a) </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/criss-cross-eyed-in-early-season.html">Directissima Direct (pitch one 5.10b/c variation) (DONE in February)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ent Line (5.10d or 5.11a) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Space Invaders (5.10d) </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Tweak or Freak (5.10a) (DONE in April)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bragg-Hatch (5.10d)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Creaky Joints and Trigger Points (5.10b)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tennish Anyone? (5.10c) </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Near Trapps:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Topeka (5.10a)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Outer Space Direct (5.10b)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/04/criss-cross-eyed-in-early-season.html">Criss Cross Direct (5.10a) (DONE in April)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fat Stick Direct (5.10b)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d) (DONE in April)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Elder Cleavage Direct (5.10b) (almost DONE but took hang on Pitch 1; have to go again)</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Boob Job (5.10b) (DONE in April)</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wooly Clam Taco (5.10c) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Hang Ten (5.10a) (ATTEMPTED in April but fell)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-necky-with-whatever-510a-and.html">Whatever (5.10a) (SECONDED in April; have to lead)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Spinal Exam (5.10b/c)</span></div>
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In the second half of the year, I've made significant progress towards completing the list. But I'm still not finished.</div>
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I've accomplished nothing in the Nears since May. I went back once on a very hot day in June. I managed to fail for the second time on Hang Ten, hanging twice before I figured out where to put my feet as I pulled the roof. So my Nears list is exactly as it was halfway through the year.</div>
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But in the Trapps I have much to report. I redpointed Turdland Direct Direct (5.10d) with Nancy in early September, and on an assortment of different dates I attacked most of the other remaining climbs on my list.</div>
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<b>Sonja (5.10a)</b></div>
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I've been both attracted to, and repelled by, Sonja for a long time, because it is a vertical crack climb. We don't have too many of these in the Gunks, and crack climbing is not my strong suit. People often describe this as a "thin hands" crack, but it actually varies. In the portion of the crack that I think is the toughest/steepest, there are textbook, gold-Camalot-sized hand jams.</div>
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(Photo: Attempting Sonja (5.10a) in the dog days of August. Photo by Gail.)</div>
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Because I am a crappy crack climber, I had to try this one on two different occasions before I got the send. On my first visit to Sonja with Gail in August, everything felt slippery in the heat. We both struggled in the crack. My so-called jams felt insecure. I had to hang a couple of times on my lead attempt, and I was soaked with sweat by the time I finished. I ran up it again for practice, getting it cleanly it on TR after Gail took her turn. I figured I was sure to send it on lead as soon as it got cooler.</div>
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In early November I went back with a new partner, Will. This time around, I got it done, though it was touch-and-go there for a minute as I got into the thinner hands part up towards the top. After I was done, I watched Will casually stroll up the thing on TR and saw that I still have a lot to learn about crack climbing. While I had executed a high-stepping layback move off the crack to get up to a stance near the finish, Will never deviated from straight-in jams and looked totally solid doing so.</div>
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(Photo: Cruxing out on Sonja (5.10a) in November. Photo by Will.)</div>
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I should go back and try to learn some more from Sonja but now that I've gotten a clean lead on the climb I'm not sure if I ever will. My first thought as I got to the top was "Thank God, I never have to do that again!" It is a very worthwhile climb, short but challenging. Steep and varied. You can place great gear over your head before you commit to anything so there really is no excuse not to lead it.</div>
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<b>Mac Wall Roof Pitches</b></div>
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I have spent more than my fair share of days at the Mac Wall over the past several years. Sometimes I feel sick and tired of the whole wall. And yet, in all of the time that I logged at this wall prior to 2017, I never led the second pitches of Interstice (5.10d), Mother's Day Party (5.10a), or Birdie Party (5.10b). I think that I'm not unusual; few people bother to do these roof pitches, which is a shame. The Birdie Party roof gets done the most out of the three, but I hardly ever see anyone on that one and I've NEVER seen anyone on the other two!</div>
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When I finally got around to doing these pitches, I found out that they are all great. If you have a seventy-meter rope you are really cheating yourself if you don't tack on one of these roofs whenever you do any of the Mac Wall tens at this part of the wall. It is a simple matter to continue in a single pitch through any of the roofs to the fixed anchor that sits above.</div>
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I led the Birdie Party roof pitch in early November with Will. (I chose to start with pitch one of Mother's Day Party (5.10b), making for a very direct line.) I'd <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">followed this roof pitch before</a> so I knew what to expect and ticked it off without a problem. It is a typical Gunks 5.10 roof. With a heel hook and a couple of crimps, you are done. It is a little bit spicy after the roof. You need to move up on some non-juggy holds for a couple of 5.8/5.9 moves before you can get gear again. Once you do, you are very close to the fixed anchor.</div>
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Later in November I returned to the Mac Wall with Rob to do the other two roofs.</div>
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I started with Interstice, which breaks the overhang just a few feet to the left of Birdie Party's obvious flake in the ceiling. I was a little bit worried about Interstice because in the guidebook Dick describes the face above the roof as R-rated. But I believe Dick has it wrong in this one instance. I found this roof to be as well-protected as any roof in the Gunks. You can place a bomber piece above the lip before you pull over the roof, and once you stand up, you can get a good Alien or other small cam, although at this point the gear is strenuous to place because you are standing in an overhanging position on some small holds.</div>
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I actually blew it on my first attempt as I stood up over the roof, before I got to place the small cam, and the fall was totally clean. Then I started over from the level of the MF bolts and led through the whole roof so I'm counting it as a redpoint send and calling it done.</div>
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(Photo: Rob making the reach over the roof on Interstice (5.10d).)</div>
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I loved this roof. It is my favorite of the three. It takes a big reach to get past the initial overhang and then a few more good moves in a steep little concave section of the wall before you reach easier climbing and the fixed anchor. If you do Interstice in one pitch from the ground through the roof (which is what I did), you get three incredible cruxes, all completely different from one another. I think this is one of the very best tens in the Gunks, which is saying a lot.</div>
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After we got done with Interstice I led MF Direct into the Mother's Day Party roof. This roof is just to the right of the Birdie Party roof, directly above MF's bolted anchor. Aim for a rectangular notch in the roof. If you look to the right you can see the pin on MF approximately five feet further over.</div>
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(Photo: Rob getting through the rectangular notch on Mother's Day Party (5.10a).)</div>
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This roof presents a very interesting, bouldery problem. You have to make a big, committing move up into the rectangular notch (with pro at your ankles), and then move left to a bomber horizontal that takes good gear. Once you reach this horizontal the actual roof pull that comes afterwards is straightforward and easier. I got the on-sight on this one (with much stepping up and down), but I would say it felt harder to me than 5.10a. I think it is tougher than the Birdie Party roof and maybe as hard as Interstice.</div>
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I'm so glad my little 5.10 project led me finally to get around to these roof pitches! I will definitely go back to all three of them.</div>
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<b>Reach of Faith (5.10c)</b></div>
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I can't say the same for Reach of Faith. I did all three pitches of this climb with Rob on the same day that we did those Mac Wall roof routes. I will likely never return to it.</div>
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I was curious about Reach of Faith, since no one does the route. I expected it to be dirty and loose. But Dick had to have some reason for giving it a star in the guidebook. </div>
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I found the first two pitches to be poorly protected. The first pitch goes at 5.4, so the sparse gear isn't terribly troubling. The second pitch, on the other hand, is one of the scarier 5.8 pitches that I have ever led. There isn't any gear to speak of as you trend up and right over a couple of ledges with blueberry bushes. I finally found some pro when I reached a spot of rock that is lighter in color than the surrounding stone, but I was dismayed to find that all of the features there rang hollow. I felt like I was in a do-not-fall situation as I entered the crux 5.8 climbing, venturing left on a mystery traverse (with no additional gear) for ten or fifteen feet until I could head up through a notch and easier climbing to a belay ledge.</div>
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(Photo: Rob coming up the final bits of pitch two of Reach of Faith (5.10c).)</div>
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When I led the crux 5.10c pitch, I could sort of see why Dick granted the climb a star. This pitch is better than the other two, and you can reach it by taking Hawk or Southern Pillar to the GT Ledge if you want to check it out, though I'm not sure it is worth the trouble. You have to battle past a tree to get over an initial overhang, and then finally you are rewarded with a good mid-5.10 roof, with solid pro. Then you top out through a thick field of lichen.</div>
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I wrote up Reach of Faith for Mountain Project if you want <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/route/113851850/reach-of-faith">a more detailed description</a>.</div>
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<b>Space Invaders (5.10d)</b></div>
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I'd done <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/face-to-face-510b-with-space-invaders.html">Space Invaders on toprope</a>, but it was a few years ago and I couldn't really remember much of anything about the climbing. Call this an alzheimer's on-sight. I led it in November with Will.</div>
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This climb has a variation to the left and one to the right, but Dick's book only lists the right-hand version so that's the one I led.</div>
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I felt pretty good about how I performed on this one. The climb has lots of fun bits as you work your way up the overhanging, right-slanting crack. To my relief, I found great gear. I placed something every time I reached a good hold. And the climbing is really good, sequency and interesting.</div>
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<b>Creaky Joints (5.10b) and Tennish Anyone? (5.10c)</b></div>
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(Photo: Leading Creaky Joints and Trigger Points (5.10b). Photo by Rob.)</div>
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I knocked both of these off with Rob on a beautiful October day.</div>
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I liked Creaky Joints and Trigger Points (5.10b). I wish it were longer. But the crux is my favorite sort of climbing: thin moves with gear placed under pressure. The business comes right away, as you step onto a a steep face with a slanting, thin crack. You can get gear before you commit to getting out there but once I was into the real climbing I really wanted another piece before making the crux move up. I placed a small nut in a hurry and I think it would have held if I tested it, but luckily I never had to, as I made the move and it was all over.</div>
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This climb is well worth checking out if you are down in the area.</div>
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I'd <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">previously attempted</a> Tennish Anyone? during a very hot and humid Memorial Day weekend back in 2016, and on that occasion I'd had to hang in the crux traverse. I'd found the crimpy holds to be difficult to use.</div>
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(Photo: Rob heading into the crux on Tennish Anyone? (5.10c).)</div>
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When I returned to the route in 2017, in perfect October conditions, the holds felt huge! This is a great pitch, a bit technical and demanding, different from the usual thing. With its crimpy moves sideways and then up, it reminds me a bit of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">Black Crack</a> (5.10+) out in Lost City, but I think Tennish Anyone? is easier. Not too many people lead it, since it is very easy to toprope the route after you do <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/10/gunks-routes-teeny-face-510a-simple.html">Wegetables</a> (5.10a), but it is a very good lead. The crux is well-protected. There is a committing move up to a jug before the crux, which I protect with a tiny tiny nut that I think would hold. This move isn't really difficult, but it is smeary and might give one pause.</div>
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<b>Ent Line (5.10d or 5.11b)</b></div>
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This climb has been my white whale of 2017, occupying too much of my time and frustrating my every attempt. I still intend to go back to finish it off but I'm starting to grow weary of my own failures on the route. I'm tempted to call it done for 5.10 purposes but I know that this would be dishonest and break my own rules, since I haven't yet led the thing to the finish without falling.</div>
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I've never done it the 5.10 way, in which you merge with Ants' Line through the overhang, after the 5.10 crux. Instead I've tried to do it the 5.11b way every time, staying left of the Ants' Line crux and blasting straight over the roof. </div>
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My first attempt, with Nancy back in September, was a reconnaissance mission. Even though I had done the climb before on toprope, I was wary of the PG/R rating that this climb gets in the guidebook, so my main concern wasn't the climbing but the gear. I was also concerned about smacking into the big tree next to the wall. Of course, since I was worried about falling it became a self-fulfilling prophecy and I took a whip from the 5.10 crux, which is a tricky move where you have to step to the right using very small holds. The fall was clean, much to my relief, and from that point on I explored the gear with every move, stopping several times to hang and inspect the potential placements.</div>
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(Photo: That's me heading up Ent Line (5.11b). Photo by Gail.)</div>
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A week later I went back with Gail and tried for the send. It was a super summery, hot day, and every move felt difficult. Nevertheless I got through the 5.10 crux and made it all the way up to the 5.11 roof, where I fell off after making a weak throw to the ledge above the roof. This fall, too, was totally clean. Going up for the second time, the roof felt easy. So I walked away secure in the knowledge that I had everything worked out, and that I could come back on a cooler day and finish Ent Line off.</div>
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(Photo: Gail approaching the crux roof on Ent Line (5.11b).)</div>
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That cooler day arrived in October, with Josh. Conditions were perfect and I started up the route for my third attempt with confidence. The rock felt great and the 5.10 crux was over before I knew it. Everything felt right as I got set up for the 5.11 roof. But somehow I fumbled my footwork up there, and though I made a game effort to regroup and actually grabbed the shelf above the overhang, I slipped off and took the fall AGAIN. </div>
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There were numerous people standing around on this peak-season weekend day. I know that most people don't lead this route, so just getting up there and leading Ent Line is pretty cool, I suppose. Several of the spectators offered words of praise about my efforts. I was happy to give them a show, including a nice whipper, but I felt like a chump. I couldn't believe I'd blown it again. Up until the moment I slipped off I felt like I had it.</div>
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I still have to go back. I'm disappointed in my performance but now I know what to do. I just have to execute. </div>
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And the route is really awesome. It is relentlessly steep and the moves are tricky/beta intensive. The protection is very good at the cruxes but I hesitate to say that the gear is exactly what you'd want throughout. In between the first 5.10 crux and the 5.11 roof there are a few moves where hitting the tree is a real possibility and I wouldn't want to fall. But I feel very good about those moves and I think Ent Line is a safe lead for me.</div>
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<b>Bragg-Hatch (5.10d)</b></div>
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On that same October day with Josh I failed at my on-sight attempt on Bragg-Hatch. </div>
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This is a short but high-quality climb up a tricky corner below a roof. At the top of the short corner you escape right on some more tricky moves on crimps, for just a few feet, and then move up to easier territory.</div>
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I struggled to place a good nut at the top of the corner, but hung in there, only to fall as I tried to move to the right. My nut got totally welded when I fell on it and Josh could not remove it. I don't know if the nut is still there but if it is the climb will now be much easier to lead! Even if it isn't there I think I will find the climb easier the second time, and should be able to get the send without too much trouble.</div>
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(Photo: Josh on Bragg-Hatch (5.10d).)</div>
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Bragg-Hatch is very different from Creaky Joints, discussed above, but the two climbs are similar in that they both would be truly great if they were longer. Both climbs feature tense moves with gear placed in the midst of the action. They are both worthwhile climbs but I wouldn't make a special trip for either of them.</div>
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There are two options for finishing Bragg-Hatch, after the hard part. You can continue straight up a right-facing corner to a tree with slings. Or you can traverse right to a left-facing corner. I chose to traverse to the right and I enjoyed the 5.8/5.9 climbing up this corner. </div>
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<b>* * *</b></div>
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As of now, I have just four pitches left on my 5.10 list for the Trapps: Ent Line, Bragg-Hatch, the second pitch of Matinee and the second pitch of Nurse's Aid. These are all redpoints. I have led every one of these pitches, just not cleanly. So I think I know what I need to do.<br />
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If we get the right conditions in December I just might be able to finish all of these tens in the Trapps by the end of the year. I'm trying to stay motivated and to seize whatever opportunities I get. If the high is above 40 degrees you can expect to see me out there!<br />
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I hope I'll see you out there too, working on whatever your own personal project may be.</div>
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SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-40539757048609542502017-11-18T18:32:00.000-05:002017-11-18T18:32:23.207-05:00Red Rain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: That's me on The Fury (5.11c) at Bibliothek, Muir Valley.)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It is an annual tradition: the autumn climbing trip. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Every fall, I break away from the family for a long weekend and I climb for a few days in a row.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This year I decided to join my friend Gail in the Red River Gorge. For several years, she has spent a chunk of October there. This year, she planned to be in the Red for an entire week. I couldn't imagine taking a whole week away, but Gail was happy to allow me to join in for just three or four days. I would have ready partners in Gail, her son Max, and also Nancy, a friend of Gail's with whom I have climbed in the Gunks on a few occasions. Nancy (like me) was planning to spend just a few days in the Red, so we were natural partners for the trip.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This was to be my second visit to the area. <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-raining-sends-in-red-river-gorge.html">When I last visited the Red</a>, in 2014, I didn't exactly fall in love with the place. At the time, I wasn't a sport climber. I had no real interest in becoming one. My longtime partner Adrian was there with me and, since he is a traddie like me, we spent two of our four days in the Red at trad crags climbing (wonderful) moderates. We didn't avoid clipping bolts entirely, of course, but in our short time in the Red we didn't get that strong a sense of what the area has to offer.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">That was a long time ago. In the three years since I first visited the Red, I've become much more open-minded towards the sport-climbing lifestyle. A fun trip to the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/06/getting-sporty-in-new-river-gorge.html">New River Gorge</a> with my partner Andy in 2016 made me look at clipping bolts in a new light. I felt inspired by the sport routes in the New, and challenged in a way that made me realize that if I spent some more time sport climbing I might improve as an all-around climber. I started to think that if I returned to the Red now, I might get a lot more out of the experience.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So I conceived of my latest trip to the Red in 2017 as a pure sport-climbing mission. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I had one goal in mind: I wanted to send a 5.12. I had no idea whether this would be within my abilities. But it seemed to me that I might have a shot at it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">All of my friends from the gym spend their weekends sport climbing at Rumney. In the gym I hear them talk all the time about the 5.12's they are doing. I think of these people as my peers. If they can do it, I should be able to do it, I reckon. By the transitive property of climbing, I ought to be able to send 5.12 sport routes too. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Even though it isn't the kind of thing I ever do. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So what if I don't go to Rumney every weekend? So what if I've never sent a 5.12 outside?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I've never really tried. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Maybe if I put some effort into it, I too could climb 5.12. And then I too could talk in the gym about the 5.12's I'm doing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I hoped that in the Red I could find an appropriate (i.e., soft) 5.12, and maybe over the course of a day (or two?) I could get close to a send, after a few tries.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So I started poring over the RRG guidebooks looking for likely candidates. And I ran into a problem: I kept noticing fabulous-looking trad lines. Every sport crag at the Red seemed to have at least a few.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">How could I pass by these wonderful climbs?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I couldn't. I am too much of a trad guy at heart.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I knew that Nancy had similar feelings. (She has taken several trips to the New in which she has only climbed trad!) So when Nancy and I talked about the upcoming trip, we decided without much debate that we were bringing the trad rack.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As our time in the Red approached, the forecast got more and more unfavorable. I was hoping for typical October weather: chilly mornings and sending temps throughout the day. I wouldn't have complained about a little rain, since in the Red there are crags that stay dry in light rain. But we were looking at more than a little light rain; it was going to come down hard, for several days in a row. And the temperatures were going to be hot, in the mid-eighties! It was hard to imagine worse conditions.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">At least our first day was scheduled to be dry. Nancy and I tried to make the most of it. Gail and Max had already been in the Red for a day by the time we arrived, and they were staying for a whole week. They could afford to wait out the bad weather. Nancy and I, on the other hand, had no time to waste, so we headed out early on our first day to try to accomplish as much as we possibly could.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We went to the Roadside crag. It looked like a stellar destination to me, with great stuff for tradsters and bolt sniffers alike. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Nancy and I warmed up at the 5.10 Wall, where several 5.10 sport climbs sit all in a row, one after another. We did two of them, enjoying ourselves, feeling good. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Nancy is leading A.W.O.L. (5.10a) at Roadside Crag.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">These climbs were nice enough, but the entire time we were there I couldn't stop staring at the nearby trad route Synchronicty (5.11a), a leaning, overhanging finger/hand crack that just begs to be climbed, right in the middle of the wall.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I couldn't wait to give Synchronicity a try. And once I hopped on it, it did not disappoint. The crux section of this climb comes right away. The climbing is both technical and very steep. It isn't too far to the jug at which things start to ease off, but it is tense the entire way up to that point. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Unfortunately for me, I didn't get it clean. I got a little flummoxed after a few moves, at which point I threw in a panic piece and took a hang. Then I worked out the move and went straight to the jug. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Nancy following my lead of Synchronicity (5.11a) at Roadside Crag. She has almost reached the jug.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Having done it once, I'm sure I could get the send on Synchronicity if I ever make it back to Roadside. I think Nancy sent it as the follower, if I recall correctly. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Even though I didn't get the on-sight I was happy that I'd had no hesitation about jumping on a trad 5.11 at an unfamiliar area.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">By now it was already pretty warm and I knew that if I wanted to try a 5.12 there was no time to waste. We were supposed to be sport climbing, weren't we? We turned our attention to Ro Shampo (5.12a), a very popular sport route, considered soft for its grade. I decided to attempt the lead.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Looking at Ro Shampo from the ground, it didn't look so bad. But once I got on the wall, it became clear very quickly that this route is radically overhanging. Most of the holds are jugs but it is a challenge just to hold on through the steepness, especially at the tricky crux, where you make a big move into a hueco at the mid-point of the climb.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: That's me, setting up for the crux on Ro Shampo (5.12a) at Roadside Crag.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Once again, I failed to get the send. I couldn't decipher the crux right away and had to work at it, trying it from a couple of different angles, and taking a few hangs, before I made it through. As with Synchronicity, however, now that I've done the route, I think if I went back (especially on a cooler day!) I might have a fighting chance at the send if I stick the move on my first try. After the one move it is all about hanging on.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Nancy on Ro Shampo (5.12a) at Roadside Crag.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After Nancy went at Ro Shampo on TR we were both kind of pooped so Nancy led us up a beautiful, ultra-classic 5.7 hand crack called Roadside Attraction. The crack starts out at a very low angle, but after you jam up to the first ledge the crack continues, with more great jamming in much steeper territory. This impeccable pitch ha<span style="font-family: inherit;">s gear available literally everywhere, but I would advise you to bring as many gold and blue Camalots as you own and to save some for the second half of the pitch. You will definitely find a place to use whatever you have.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSyXUC_Pgz1wDJFCet97Y0-YMW4US632_a2rmE3iDirccGUbnWQ2LyHBOYLKgfz-PjR8pYEPWbf46-wbWvkMTd4vzmIEDcnyyGdGrsRZXll-kOJCKrYnNwIKCVC62VmDINBVkYtVfzWuX/s1600/IMG_1905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSyXUC_Pgz1wDJFCet97Y0-YMW4US632_a2rmE3iDirccGUbnWQ2LyHBOYLKgfz-PjR8pYEPWbf46-wbWvkMTd4vzmIEDcnyyGdGrsRZXll-kOJCKrYnNwIKCVC62VmDINBVkYtVfzWuX/s400/IMG_1905.JPG" width="285" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Nancy on Roadside Attraction (5.7) at Roadside Crag.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The day was starting to slip away from us and I had one more big pitch in mind for us, a sport climb called The Return of Chris Snyder (5.11d). My frequent partner (and RRG expert) Andy had told me this was one of his favorites.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The pitch ascends a technical, shallow dihedral and then embarks up a steeply overhanging, honeycombed rock face. I've come to think of this type of face climbing as the trademark style of the Red (though of course the Red contains many different styles of climbing).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: I'm looking for holds in all the wrong places on The Return of Chris Snyder (5.11d) at Roadside Crag.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">There was a party already on Chris Snyder when we walked over to it, and we watched as the leader attempted (and failed) to get the redpoint. The climbing didn't look too bad to me. I thought that maybe I could get the send on this one, if I just moved quickly and held on. But then when I got my shot at it, I wasn't even close! I found out pretty quickly that I wasn't used to this style of climbing. The rock has wonderful holds, once you find them. But I was looking in the wrong places. Often features that appeared to be jugs were actually slopers, and while I was foolishly pawing at the sucker slopers, I was overlooking great sidepulls and underclings. And the climbing was so steep that every time I made the wrong choice I would find my arms flaming out fast. It was hard to find a way to rest and regroup.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Nancy in the shallow dihedral before the big roof on The Return of Chris Snyder (5.11d) at Roadside Crag.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I had to hang repeatedly on Chris Snyder. Nevertheless, I loved the climb. The early going up the dihedral is interesting and a bit tricky, and then, wow! It changes abruptly into a very different animal for the second half. I found it humbling, and tried to see it as a valuable learning experience.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Nancy and I had been going hard at it all day, and it was quite hot whenever we were in the sun, but we still had some time left and Nancy and I did not want to waste any part of what was likely to be our best day in the Red. We wandered over to the left side of the crag, hoping to warm down with an appealing trad climb in a corner called Andromeda Strain (5.9+).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We found it occupied, but as we looked around at this relatively sleepy portion of the cliff my eye was captured by a different climb called the Mantel Route (5.10c). This mixed climb gets five stars in the guidebook. It appeared to be challenging, with a low bolt followed by a long stretch of gear-protected climbing on a seemingly blank face. I was willing to give it a shot.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was very happy we decided to do it! This wasn't the toughest climb we tried, nor did it end up being my hardest send in the Red, but I remain proud that I on-sighted this pitch. True to its name, this climb requires repeated, thin mantel moves. The climbing is technical and the gear is tricky, especially between the first and second bolts, where if you pass up any potential placements you could be at risk of a ground fall. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: I'm past most of the difficulties on the Mantel Route (5.10c) at Roadside Crag.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This sort of climbing, with thin, delicate moves and gear placed under pressure, is one of my favorite things. I didn't expect to find this kind of experience at the Red, where most of the trad routes seem to follow vertical cracks with mindless pro. Not that there's anything wrong with mindless pro. I can appreciate mindless pro. But when I'm slotting a tiny nut, sideways, while holding on to a sloping dime edge with my other hand, that's my (twisted?) idea of heaven. If you feel the same way, you should check out the Mantel Route. If it isn't your cup of tea, well, I don't blame you. You should go climb all of the other routes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As our first day in the Red came to a close, I wasn't feeling satisfied with how well I'd climbed, but I was very happy that we'd come. At Roadside Crag we'd found amazing and varied routes, both sport and trad. We'd climbed several classics that I will be excited to come back to try to redpoint. And though I didn't get the on-sight on the hardest routes we tried, I was pleased with my lead head. I'd attacked 5.11 trad and 5.12 sport without hesitation. This was a good sign, I thought.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">With a little more acclimatization to the style, I felt like I could start racking up some good sends here.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Unfortunately I never got the chance. The rest of our trip sucked.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The rain arrived that evening and it came down pretty steadily for the next thirty-six hours or so.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We tried to go climbing anyway. As I kept telling myself, the Red is known for crags that stay dry in at least a little bit of rain.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">On our second day, we headed to Bibliothek, a wall in Muir Valley. The guidebook said this was a good crag for a rainy day. Gail and Max came along too, joining Nancy and me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It was my first time in Muir Valley, an area that Gail likens to Disneyland. I think she says this because Muir has a well-trimmed, landscaped air about it. And the climbs are labelled for you, with discreet tags at the bottom. Also they keep a stash of stick clips at the entrance so you don't even need to bring your own. As a climber, you feel pampered at Muir.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But the comparison to Disneyland only goes so far. I was very disappointed to learn that there is no Monorail at Muir Valley. We had to hike for half an hour in the rain to get to Bibliothek, only to find when we finally got there that practically all of the climbs were soaking wet.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Gail at the tricky crux of 100 Years of Solitude (5.11a) at Bibliothek, Muir Valley, with Nancy belaying.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We did what we could do. We all took a turn on 100 Years of Solitude (5.11a, not bad, tricky low crux), and I led a really nice overhanging, honeycombed route called The Fury (5.11c). It was similar in style to the upper half of Chris Snyder. On my first effort I still felt unaccustomed to this type of RRG climbing. I took a hang or two. But then I decided I might as well lead it again, since there was so little we could do in the rain. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: The Fury (5.11c).)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I tried The Fury for the second time, I felt like I was finally starting to get the hang of this sort of route. I sent it easily, without any problem. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And then we trooped on out of there.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The Fury ended up being the best send I would accomplish at the Red. The weather was so bad I never tried anything harder. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">It continued raining overnight. By the morning of day three it started to look like things were clearing up. Nancy and I decided to drive out to the Chocolate Factory, with no illusions that the climbs would be dry. We were hoping that things might improve a little bit as the day progressed. And maybe we'd find a climb or two that was worth doing?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">As we drove to the PMRP the rain started back up again.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">We carried on anyway. We parked and hiked over to the Chocolate Factory, only to find that everything there was sopping wet. Nancy and I hiked back out, meeting Gail and Max in the parking lot. They convinced us to go have a look at the Motherlode, but before we even started down the trail we encountered some other climbers who told us it was just as bad as the Chocolate Factory.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">So we got back in the car and drove a little bit further into the PMRP, heading to the Drive-By Crag. I'd been there in 2014 with Gail and Max, during a heavy storm. Having been at this crag in the rain, we knew that there were likely to be some climbs that were dry. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: Nancy on Deeper is Better (5.10b), Drive-By Crag, PMRP, with Gail belaying.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">We ended up having a decent day, though the conditions were bad, as we expected them to be. The rain finally stopped but then it grew so hot and humid that it might as well have been raining. Many of the routes were climbable, but everything seemed covered in a layer of slime. We ended up spending most of our time on the same tens and elevens I'd done here in 2014.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: Max on Whip-Stocking (5.11a).)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">All day long I kept looking at Primus Noctum (5.12a), a climb I'd stumbled into attempting three years ago. I wanted to give it another shot but it was clearly wet in its lower sections. I ended up not bothering.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Late in the day, I was feeling kind of depressed. It had been my idea to go to Drive-By, but I wished we'd gone somewhere else, to try something new. I was bored by the climbs we'd done before, but I wasn't psyched on trying anything hard, given how greasy everything was. There were other, more intrepid climbers than us at the crag, going at 5.13's even though they were wet. I admired these climbers and felt inadequate.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Just then it occurred to me that there was a whole wall at the right end of the Drive-By Crag that I hadn't seen. I suggested we go over there to have a look.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Checking out the slabby routes in this sector, I knew they would be wet, since they hadn't been sheltered from the rain. But I thought that if we picked one of the easier 5.10 routes, it might be a nice change of pace despite the lingering dampness.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I hopped on one of the 5.10's and immediately found myself desperately jamming a soaking-wet vertical crack. I didn't remember reading about this crack in the description. Once I got through this section, I was unnerved to find myself smearing on a damp, featureless slab. It was tough going! It wasn't long before I had to stop and hang.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: Wet jamming on a 5.10 (??) at Drive-By Crag, PMRP, with Gail and Max looking concerned.)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I tried again and made some progress, but the next moves didn't seem any easier. I'd expected wetness, but forget the wetness, this climb was just plain hard! Every move felt a bit desperate. Was this really a 5.10? </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Max looked up and noticed a bail link on one of the bolts up over my head. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Uh-oh, I thought. This meant the hardest part was up there, still to come! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Eventually we figured out that I was not on the 5.10 I thought I was on. I was actually on a climb called Giblets (5.11c). The guidebook says you should expect to be "bitching about no holds" on this route, and they're not kidding.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">After much sweating, swearing and hanging I made it up to the bail link and lowered off. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I think everyone was much relieved when I threw in the towel. But this is a route I would love to try again, when it is dry. I thought the movement was great. I even figured out the crux high-stepping move at the bail link but then I was unable to use the damp, tiny sloper holds that came afterwards, which is when I finally gave up. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I'm sure everyone else in my party was horrified by Giblets but I was energized by it. Here was another interesting, challenging route I'd love to revisit in the Red. It is technical. Working on it would make me a better climber. For me it salvaged the day.</span></span><br />
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Nancy and I had just one more half-day to spend at the Red. It seemed like the rain was finally over but we were sure to find some wet rock, wherever we went. We decided to check out The Zoo, a crag with a pretty quick approach. We didn't have tons of time but I was hoping that maybe I could try either Scar Tissue or Hippocrite (both 5.12a) before we left.<br />
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Unfortunately the twelves were quite wet. Other routes were a bit drier.<br />
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We got started by doing two of the tens. Put My In The Zoo (5.10b) is a nice slabby route. The hardest moves, at the bottom, were wet, but both Nancy and I managed to get it done.<br />
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(Photo: Nancy on Put Me In the Zoo (5.10b).)<br />
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We also enjoyed One Brick Shy (5.10c), which begins with a steep roof pull off of a block at the base. After that the climbing eases off a bit but it is still fun.<br />
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By now I was getting much more accustomed to the overhanging routes at the Red. I put up Geezers Go Sport (5.11b) without a hiccup. It felt very casual. It made me sad, thinking of what I might have done at the Red if the weather hadn't been so unfavorable.<br />
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(Photo: I'm climbing Geezers Go Sport (5.11b).)<br />
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With our time running out I finished our trip with the next route to the left, Monkey in the Middle (5.11a). This was actually more difficult than its 5.11b neighbor because the holds leading up to the first bolt turned out to be slimy wet. I ended up skipping some soaked intermediate holds, doing a dyno to hit the jug next to the bolt. Fun! After that the route was dry and enjoyable. Nancy didn't like the looks of this one and we were out of time anyway, so I cleaned it on the lower and we headed to the airport.<br />
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Even though the weather was unkind to us, I still had a great time in the Red River Gorge. The climbing I was able to do was fabulous. I was thrilled to find a variety of climbing styles, often within one crag. I loved both the trad and the sport. It was also great to spend the time with good friends. Gail's rental cabin was a most agreeable place to stay, and she played hostess, planning all the meals and generally taking care of our group.<br />
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I didn't really get a chance to find out what I could do in the Red. But I will be excited to go back again and find out.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-36407704154502795432017-07-21T20:51:00.000-04:002017-07-27T16:45:42.550-04:00A Trip to the California Needles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTS-AWtqF0h-apPwQSVJkdy_9GiY6YAwebUgcd8uGImbZbHiBTptTsU9RZ5kk8URQxj8OPFdODJSPZJ0moD_iTSO6wCma2kZ4sVrx7RgQbp4lssG2yTRA70Dwu32W7OIKyVaWzkC3KHl9/s1600/DSC00155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTS-AWtqF0h-apPwQSVJkdy_9GiY6YAwebUgcd8uGImbZbHiBTptTsU9RZ5kk8URQxj8OPFdODJSPZJ0moD_iTSO6wCma2kZ4sVrx7RgQbp4lssG2yTRA70Dwu32W7OIKyVaWzkC3KHl9/s400/DSC00155.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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(Photo: View of the Magician (on the left) and the Djin Needle (on the right), from the top of the Charlatan.)<br />
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Why the Needles?<br />
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Several years ago I came across some photos of the area (On Denis O'Connor's <a href="https://denisoconnor.smugmug.com/Climbing">website</a>) and I was immediately smitten. Ever since then, I've been dying to pay a visit.<br />
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It is a beautiful place, located in Sequoia National Forest at an elevation of over 7000 feet. The otherworldly, pointy rock formations seem to leap out of the surrounding hills, offering sweeping faces of flawless granite, broken only by perfect vertical cracks. The stone seems to glow with patches of fluorescent-green lichen. The surrounding landscape is filled with majestic green trees. Way off at the horizon, snow-capped Sierra peaks provide a backdrop.<br />
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(Photo: View of the summit of the Warlock, from atop the Witch.)<br />
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I've long been drawn to the Needles. But I've also been a little bit afraid. The area has a reputation as a hardman's crag, a destination for serious climbers. The remote location leaves you alone to manage your own affairs. Help is miles away. And the climbs are hard. The faces are steep and the climbing is sustained. The cracks go on and on, making for long pitches with move after move of the same difficulty throughout. There are only a few entry-level classics in the 5.8/5.9 range. Most of the climbs are harder, and the grades are super old-school.<br />
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The style of climbing is what you'd expect from granite: vertical cracks and slabs, i.e., not what I'm used to. I'm not confident on granite. I don't trust my toes the way I do when I climb on Gunks conglomerate. I need more practice on granite than I've been able to get.<br />
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(Photo: The upper portion of the West Face of the Witch, with the Warlock peeking over her shoulder. Taken from atop the Sorceror. If you click to enlarge, you can make out a climber (dressed in white) seconding the last pitch of Igor Unchained (5.9).)<br />
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This year I figured it was time to check out the Needles, whether I was ready to "crush it" there or not. I was sure that with the help of my longtime partner Adrian (who loves crack climbing), we could get up whatever we chose to climb, one way or another. Between the two of us we had the experience and the knowledge to deal with whatever challenges the Needles would throw our way.<br />
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If only we could get there! We planned our trip for Memorial Day weekend. As the date approached I kept seeing posts on Supertopo and elsewhere suggesting that the roads around the Needles would not yet be open. It had been a snowy winter and there were a lot of armchair rangers on the internet predicting a late start to the season.<br />
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Adrian and I almost called the whole thing off, but ultimately we decided to have faith. Even if we had to walk a few extra miles, we could still climb at the Needles. We'd just have to work a little bit harder for it.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian standing on the old staircase to the fire observation deck atop the Magician, which burned down several years ago.)<br />
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My plan was to fly in to LAX and then drive the three-and-a-half hours to Camp Nelson (where we'd rented a cabin) that same night. My flight was supposed to arrive at around 7:00 in the evening. Assuming an on-time arrival and a little bit of luck at the rental car counter, I hoped I could get to our cabin before 1:00 in the morning. Adrian was driving in from Vancouver at the same time. Once we both arrived, we would climb for the next four days.<br />
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My brilliant plan was thwarted from the get-go when my flight out of New York was delayed by six hours, for no reason that I could discern. No one at the airline seemed to feel the need to explain, even when I asked. I ended up arriving in Los Angeles just after midnight.<br />
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I decided to soldier on and to drive through the night to our cabin.<br />
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But first I needed to pick up my rental car, and the counter was a nightmare. There was a line winding around the inside of the rental office and then out the door. I ended up waiting there-- no exaggeration-- for TWO HOURS.<br />
<br />
I finally hit the road at 2:40 a.m.<br />
<br />
With no place to stay in Los Angeles, it seemed pointless to do anything but drive.<br />
<br />
I made it about an hour outside of LAX before I decided I just couldn't keep going. I was exhausted. I pulled into a gas station and crashed in the back seat.<br />
<br />
When I awoke about an hour later, I bought myself some terrible coffee and got back on the road. The day slowly dawned as I tore up the highway towards the Needles.<br />
<br />
As the sky brightened, I got a gander at the surreal landscape through which I was driving.<br />
<br />
California's long drought had clearly devastated this part of the state. The land was so brown, I felt as if I'd landed in Saudi Arabia. I even spotted some oil rigs!<br />
<br />
But occasionally citrus farms would appear, in perfectly rectangular islands of irrigated wonder. These green oases seemed out of place. To all appearances, this was not an agricultural land of plenty. It was a post-apocalyptic wasteland.<br />
<br />
Soon enough I was through it, ascending a very windy road up a pretty river valley towards Sequoia National Forest.<br />
<br />
I arrived in Camp Nelson at 7:00 a.m. I was fashionably late, but I'd made it.<br />
<br />
I crawled right into bed and grabbed two more hours of sleep. Then Adrian made me breakfast and we headed for the Needles.<br />
<br />
<b>Day One: Igor Unchained (5.9)</b><br />
<br />
We thought that the road to the Needles was still closed, which would necessitate a five mile hike just to get to the climbing. Since we were getting a late start, we decided to skip the Needles for the time being and instead spend our first day at Dome Rock, a nearby formation with much quicker access.<br />
<br />
But as we drove towards Dome Rock, we passed the Needles road and found the gate wide open-- probably for the first time in 2017! This was a great surprise, and proof you should never trust the internet. We changed plans.<br />
<br />
I turned onto the dirt road and found that for the most part it was in pretty good shape. We moseyed on down it just fine in our little Chevy Cruze. But about halfway down the road, we reached a big muddy rut that we decided we couldn't pass. A couple in front of us had just ripped a drip pan off of the bottom of their SUV trying to get by it. We didn't think it was worth the risk of doing the same to my rental car, so we parked and walked the mile and a half down to the end of the road, and then the two-mile trail to the Needles.<br />
<br />
We had arrived. And it was beautiful.<br />
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(Photo: First view of the Magician as you approach the Needles from the trail.)<br />
<br />
I didn't know where to start. As we worked our way around the huge slab known as the Magician, I tried to figure out how to approach the climbs I'd read about. Looking into the notches between the formations, I (mistakenly) thought I spotted some climbers on Spooky (5.9), one of the climbs on my list. So we went a little bit further and scrambled down to the start of Igor Unchained (5.9), a four-pitch climb on the formation called the Witch.<br />
<br />
I volunteered for pitch one, an endless hand crack.<br />
<br />
Not long after getting off the ground, I realized I was looking at 150 feet of placements for blue and gold Camalots and little else. But I was carrying just two of each.<br />
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I was also feeling nervous, which made me want to place gear constantly.<br />
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<br />
(Photo: That's me, leading pitch one of Igor Unchained (5.9). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
<br />
At least the jams felt good. The rock was perfect and the climbing was great. I was just very slow. I kept leap-frogging pieces, trying to conserve gear. Eventually I started hanging to retrieve gear from lower down, and then I started hanging just to hang. This pitch was a slog. I'm not proud of my performance.<br />
<br />
But by the end of it I started trusting my feet on the textured granite, and I hoped the rest of the climb would go better.<br />
<br />
Adrian tackled pitch two, which started with a brief off-width crack and then some thin, slabby moves up a corner. He handled it well, attacking the off-width directly. When I followed I found some footholds on the side wall which enabled me to basically climb around the off-width. The thin face moves that followed were thought-provoking, to be sure, but Adrian found good gear in the corner so there were no worries. It was another great pitch and totally different from pitch one.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian's outfit eerily matches the rock/lichen as he gets past the offwidth on pitch two of Igor Unchained.)<br />
<br />
I led pitches three and four in a long single pitch, and by this time I was getting much more comfortable. I loved the steep, juggy climbing at the start of the traditional pitch three, and then felt pretty good about negotiating the technical climbing to the finish up a finger crack. The climbing seemed to go on and on; I placed almost our entire rack on this double-length pitch.<br />
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(Photo: I'm in the steep early going on pitch three of Igor Unchained. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
<br />
As I reached the top of Igor Unchained, I wondered if I'd ever experienced a better 5.9. Every pitch had been fantastic. The climb has a bit of everything: hands, fingers, slabby moves, and juggy steepness, with great gear throughout. And the scenery was gorgeous beyond belief.<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Adrian topping out on Igor Unchained.)<br />
<br />
Adrian had complained a bit about feeling the altitude while we were doing the climb. I hadn't noticed it at all while we were climbing, but as soon as we got back on the trail it hit me hard. I suddenly felt very tired and I was not psyched about hiking the three and a half miles back to our car. It ended up being a bit of a struggle but I managed to trudge all the way back, feeling like I couldn't catch my breath whenever we had to go uphill.<br />
<br />
I collapsed into bed right after we got back to the cabin.<br />
<br />
<b>Day Two: White Punks on Dope (5.8+)</b><br />
<br />
This six-pitch climb is often described as the best multi-pitch moderate route in California. Like Igor Unchained, White Punks on Dope is a varied affair, with many challenges. I was most excited to lead the crux fourth pitch, which ascends a smooth corner with a finger crack at the back. The fifth pitch, a blank slab pitch with only four bolts, also appeared to be quite exciting-- but I figured that after the crux pitch I would hand the lead off to Adrian for that one.<br />
<br />
No need to hog all the best pitches, right?<br />
<br />
White Punks on Dope is on a large formation called Voodoo Dome, which is part of the Needles but is most easily accessed by driving away from the usual Needles road for about an hour around the Kern River Valley, approaching the rocks from the opposite side. The hike in to the dome is less than a mile but it is an uphill, sandy path and it took us almost an hour.<br />
<br />
We tried to get an early start but when we arrived at the base we found another pair of climbers hanging out, just getting ready to start the climb. I was momentarily miffed that we'd been beaten to the base, but it soon became clear that these two would not slow us down. They were a married couple and the husband was obviously some kind of 5.12 climber just doing this climb as a sort of rest day. He moved quickly and had no intention of falling. He started out with no belay at all. When he got about fifty feet up the 5.7+ pitch one, he placed his first piece, and only then did he ask his wife to put him on a "loose belay," which meant that she put the rope through a Gri Gri and periodically pulled out about twenty feet of slack. Then she continued to organize her pack, with neither hand on the rope.<br />
<br />
The wife described herself as the tourist of the pair but she was obviously quite comfortable following and seemed very capable in her own right. I was proud that we managed to catch up to these two a couple of times during the day but eventually they pulled away from us and we didn't see them again until we ran into them near the bottom of the descent trail.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on pitch one of White Punks on Dope.)<br />
<br />
Adrian took the lead for pitch one, another long (190 feet!) hand crack pitch. He handled it well, although for some reason he decided to be on belay and to place gear at intervals of fewer than fifty feet. (What a chicken!) Following the pitch, I felt good, casual. I would kill to have crack pitches like this in the Gunks. In the Needles, this was just another hand crack, going on and on for miles in solid granite. At the end of the pitch came a surprise, a few polished face moves right before the belay stance in an alcove.<br />
<br />
I led pitch two, which starts with a funky boulder problem right off the belay to escape the alcove. It is steep and in-your-face for a minute and then it is over. I elected to keep going into the pitch three chimney as well. It was fun and easy, with only a few 5.7 moves. I didn't experience much of any rope drag combining the pitches this way, and though combination was long it wasn't as long as pitch one-- it was probably 175 feet or so.<br />
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(Photo: I'm looking back at Adrian after doing the bouldery start out of the alcove on pitch two of White Punks on Dope.)<br />
<br />
Now it was time for the 5.8+ crux corner pitch. I had already put dibs on it so I took the lead again.<br />
<br />
It went well, though my tense state throughout made it more tiring than was necessary. The thin crack in the corner provided good finger locks-- and I locked my digits in there as much as I could! There were not many footholds on the off-vertical left wall. I suspected that a more gallant climber than I would have simply walked up the smooth face. But this was not my style. Instead I did my best to contort my body to take maximum advantage of little indentations for my left foot and tried whenever I could to torque my right toe into the corner for a little extra security.<br />
<br />
My strategy worked. By the time I reached a rest stance at the halfway mark I started to feel like this pitch was going to work out just fine. At some point the angle started to ease and my lone remaining anxiety became whether I would run out of finger-sized gear before the crack ended. This was another pitch into which I dumped practically our whole rack.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian's photo of me most of the way through the crux pitch of White Punks on Dope.)<br />
<br />
I thought I was out of the woods when I moved to the left for what the guidebook describes simply as a "5.6 lieback off a wide crack" which "runs it out to the belay."<br />
<br />
Imagine my surprise when I saw that this so-called 5.6 lieback involved walking up the slick, featureless granite with no pro (the crack is too wide) for about forty feet to a ledge. As I got started, I could see that this was pretty easy climbing. Still, I found it terrifying. Slipping out of the layback seemed possible. The chance was not that high, but it was definitely above zero. This wasn't like a 5.6 runout in juggy territory in the Gunks; it was far more insecure, at least in my mind. And the runout was really long. The offhand, blase guidebook description didn't begin to do it justice.<br />
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There was nothing to do but to carry on. I got through the runout by telling myself to "just keep going" with every step. I tried to put out of my mind the length of the potential fall I could take if I slipped. Forty feet, fifty feet, sixty feet.... I couldn't help but think about the potential cheese-grater fall down the face, and when I finally grabbed the belay ledge I announced to no one in particular that I'd just done the scariest thing I'd ever attempted.<br />
<br />
But I'd done it! Now I could relax, as it was Adrian's turn to lead the run-out slab pitch. I'd planned things out perfectly so that I would not lead this pitch.<br />
<br />
Imagine my surprise (again) when Adrian arrived at the belay, turned to me and asked "You wanna lead this next pitch? I hate slab."<br />
<br />
My first thought was that some impostor (perhaps a pod person?) had replaced my Adrian. The Adrian I know has spent his whole career climbing at Squamish, where slab is on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.<br />
<br />
My second thought was that if Adrian wasn't feeling it today we were surely screwed. I had no slab experience!<br />
<br />
My third thought was "I should lead this. It will be good for me."<br />
<br />
Pure slab climbing scares me, for the obvious reasons. There are no handholds and the gear tends to be widely spaced. I could see that the slab pitch we were now confronting was typical of the genre: a full-length pitch of utterly blank, slippery granite with just four lonely bolts.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Turning to Adrian, I said "It's only 5.8, right? I should be fine."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"Right," he said.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I tried to will myself to believe it.<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After placing a piece as high as I could above our anchor, I stepped to the right onto the blank face and ventured upward towards the first bolt, which seemed very far away.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Adrian's photo of me leading the slab pitch on White Punks on Dope.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It wasn't so bad. I tried to be precise and found ripples and edges to stand on. Moving slowly and with increasingly intense focus, I continued upward, taking it one small step at a time, until I eventually reached the first bolt, clipped it, and breathed a great sigh of relief.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Having established a rhythm, I repeated the process three more times. As the pitch continued it moved diagonally up and to the right, which meant that if I fell I would travel in a pendulum arc down and across the slab. As I'd done on the previous pitch, I tried to push the possibility of a fall out of my mind, but the potential negative outcomes relentlessly crept back into my head. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Nevertheless everything went fine. I kept on moving and didn't shake too much. By the time I reached the fourth bolt the climbing got a bit easier, up a shallow feature with some real holds to the belay ledge.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Adrian near the end of the slab pitch on White Punks on Dope.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I arrived at the ledge exhilarated and mentally exhausted. If pitch four had been the scariest thing I'd ever attempted, then this would have to have been the second scariest. But I'd gotten through it and now I could really relax.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The final pitch, which Adrian led, ascended another beautiful finger crack. It was quite steep for a few moves, with good gear, but then the angle kicked back and it was easy going to the top of the dome. Since I was done leading I considered the pitch an afterthought, though it is good and worthy of consideration in its own right.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2qtIhRzuEI55kDMT3A1Hlf7FVjG6RgsZUB9XJ4ivDJSsXWho8Ghi4pH7yrsSIlYm5KPvXhPT7VxJ8BNG9HjzsVl6CL8mt7LqrWM1zg79kDzNhf-mE05Mn3zXGrbcDrW5knjXUJE4x20Q/s1600/IMG_9474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2qtIhRzuEI55kDMT3A1Hlf7FVjG6RgsZUB9XJ4ivDJSsXWho8Ghi4pH7yrsSIlYm5KPvXhPT7VxJ8BNG9HjzsVl6CL8mt7LqrWM1zg79kDzNhf-mE05Mn3zXGrbcDrW5knjXUJE4x20Q/s400/IMG_9474.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Adrian leading the final pitch of White Punks on Dope.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As we descended around the back of the dome I felt deeply satisfied. This had been a great day. White Punks on Dope was one of the best multi-pitch routes I'd ever done. The climbing wasn't hard, exactly, but it had been challenging for the mind-- for my mind, anyway. This was a real granite climbing experience. Our team had handled it well and I had taken on all of the hardest bits. It was something I could build upon.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Day Three: Dome Rock</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Adrian and I headed to Dome Rock for our third day of climbing. This big dome isn't technically a part of the Needles, but it is close by and would be a worthy destination all by itself, even if the Needles did not exist. There are several high-quality full-length routes to the top of the dome (in four pitches or so) and a number of classic single-pitch crack and slab lines.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I had my eye on a multi-pitch route called the Anti-Jello Crack. This seemed like a good route with which to up the ante to the next level. So far we'd done some 5.8 and 5.9 pitches. The Anti-Jello Crack has a pitch of 5.9+ and then the next one is 5.10a. I wanted to lead at least one 5.10 before we left the Needles. This seemed like a good route with which to do it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Adrian handled the short, pleasant 5.6 first pitch up a hand crack to the base of the obvious, slanting 5.9+ pitch two finger crack.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I led pitch two and it was probably my best lead of the trip. It is a gorgeous pitch with sustained technical difficulty and great gear up the whole crack. I got it done cleanly but I probably made it harder for myself again, by milking the crack for footholds whenever I could, rather than simply trusting my feet on the slab. At the crux, just before the crack ended, the finger-locks shrank to virtually nothing and I had no choice but to smear my feet on the smooth face. I was unnerved but once I committed to the moves my feet stayed where I put them and I made it to a stance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: That's me leading the Anti-Jello Crack. Photo by Adrian.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The pitch still wasn't over. After the crack ended I had to run it out through easier slabby territory to the bolted anchor. This climbing wasn't hard and I got through it just fine, but by this point all of the runout slab climbing had begun to take a toll on me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Adrian followed the pitch I kept looking up at the corner ascended by the 5.10a third pitch. I couldn't see the crux-- it was around the corner. I had no idea what it would be like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Adrian following the Anti-Jello Crack.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I decided I wasn't up for the 5.10 pitch. My brain felt tired. Everything we'd been doing was so sustained. The 5.9+ we had just done was hard enough for my tastes! Adrian didn't want to lead the next pitch either so we descended.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We rounded out our day with a bunch of easier pitches. Adrian led the interesting first pitch of Arch Bitch-Up (5.8), which features a low traverse and then fun climbing up a corner. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Adrian making the thoughtful traverse on Arch Bitch-Up.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Then we took the Tree Route (5.6) to the top of the dome (and the parking lot). This is a varied and beautiful route, with nice climbing throughout on cracks, flakes, and slabs. It is the only quality route in the whole area that is this easy.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Adrian is all smiles as we cruise up the Tree Route with our packs on. The Needles are in the distance.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I would advise caution, however, to any beginning leader out there who might want to hop on the Tree Route. Whenever it gets slabby-- particularly at the end of the first pitch and the beginning of the fourth-- the route has runouts. We weren't bothered by them, because the climbing was so casual.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Adrian through the run out slab start to pitch four of the Tree Route.) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After feeling stressed on Anti-Jello Crack, I was relieved to cruise through the rest of our third day. I hoped that maybe I'd feel refreshed on day four when we returned to the heart of the Needles.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Day Four: Spooky (5.9)</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">By this time the dirt road to the Needles had been smoothed out so we were able to drive all the way to its end. The two-mile hike seemed so much easier now that I'd adjusted to the altitude and gotten a few good nights' sleep.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Our first target was a two-pitch 5.9 called Spooky. After we finished with that I figured we might finally try a 5.10. There were a whole host of classics at that grade to choose from.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Despite the three days we'd spent in the Needles, we still didn't quite have our bearings and it took us a bit of wandering to find the top of the Charlatan, the formation from which we would rap to the base of Spooky. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We wasted some more time searching for the rap bolts, which were hidden over an edge. When, after all of this, we were ready to descend, I peered over into the gap between the Charlatan and the Magician and felt a chill go through me. I could see how Spooky got its name. The wind was howling through the narrow canyon as Adrian lowered himself into the space between the formations.</span></span></span><br />
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(Photo: Adrian rapping in to the base of Spooky, with the Magician behind him.)<br />
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One of our ropes got stuck in a crack on the rappel, but with some work Adrian got it free. I rapped in without incident and we were finally ready to climb.<br />
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The route turned out to be great, and a pretty casual 5.9-- so long as you bring a big cam or two and aren't too upset about a little bit of offwidth.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on pitch one of Spooky.)<br />
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Adrian led the first pitch, an excellent 5.8-ish handcrack in a corner.<br />
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Then it was my turn lead the crux 5.9 offwidth. It is only about twenty feet long, and then you reach a ledge and transition to face climbing.<br />
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(Photo: I'm testing the offwidth crack on Spooky. I'm still standing on the ledge but I've already placed a big cam over my head. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I wanted some real offwidth practice so I purposefully stuck my side into the crack and attempted it with offwidth technique, although I suspect many people lay it back the whole way. I fought with the crack (fun!) until I was about two thirds of the way up the thing, and then, upon finding a good edge inside of the crack, I said "screw it," stopped grovelling, and switched to laying back for the final bits. I had both a Number 4 and Number 5 Camalot with me and with a little bit of pushing the cams ahead of me I was basically on top rope for the whole excursion. You could get by with just one of these big cams; having two made me very comfy.<br />
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(Photo: I'm enjoying the weird knobs on the second half of Spooky.)<br />
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The rest of the pitch was wild and probably no harder than 5.8. The face above the off-width is covered in these crazy, fin-shaped, tufa-like knobs. From below it looks like there might be limited gear up there but actually there is plenty. Climbing the strange features on the face was great fun and I found it to be very different from everything else we'd done in the Needles.<br />
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After Adrian joined me up top we ate lunch, snapped some photos of climbers across the way on Igor Unchained, and watched with awe as some pilots in fighter jets did exercises up and down the canyon, corkscrewing their way past us with engines roaring.<br />
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We had time for another route, but at some point we both looked at one another and we knew we were finished. We were satisfied. We hung out atop the Charlatan for a while, soaking up the atmosphere one last time, before hiking out and getting ice cream sandwiches in Ponderosa.<br />
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I really loved the Needles. It was everything I hoped it would be. It is a wondrous, beautiful place, with outstanding climbing, and the remote location keeps the crowds at bay. In our four days there, Adrian and I got a great introduction to the area. We basically did all of the entry-level routes. I got some much-needed mileage on cracks and slabs, and I felt like I climbed reasonably well.<br />
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On our next visit, I'd like to work into the climbs at the next level.<br />
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Every time I go out west, I come back home saying the same thing. I need to get more practice climbing on granite. I have to make myself take the long drive to New Hampshire so that I can get the experience I want and need. If I can do it even a few times a year, I can go back to the Needles more confident the next time around and hit the 5.10 classics without hesitation.<br />
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I suspect it will be a few years before I can make it out to the Needles again. Until then, I'll go back to staring at photos of the place and daydreaming about these magical, glowing towers of rock, and the incredible climbs contained therein.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-73827811414531987272017-05-19T22:20:00.000-04:002017-06-04T10:30:57.962-04:00Getting Necky with Whatever (5.10a), and More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: That's me on Turdland Direct (5.10d). Photo by Mike.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">For over a month, I've been contending with a climbing injury.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It all started in mid-April, in Berkeley, California. We were there on a family trip.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was at the <a href="https://touchstoneclimbing.com/ironworks/">Berkeley Ironworks</a> climbing gym. I completed a boulder problem and as I dropped to the floor I realized that something didn't feel right at the back of my neck. It seemed like I'd pulled something. It got worse as the day went on. The pain was constant, throbbing. I couldn't turn my head. That night, I had trouble finding a comfortable position in which to sleep.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I figured it had to be some kind of strain. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I came up with a foolproof plan: if I ignored the injury intensely enough, it would surely go away.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The pain got a little better over the next few days, so, naturally, while I was still in Berkeley I decided to go back to the climbing gym for another bouldering session.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">You might think this was a dumb thing to do. In my defense, I should add that it was raining.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So there were no other options. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In any event, I aggravated the injury at the gym. The pain got worse.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Now I got kind of worried. I decided I should take a week off from climbing. I hoped that with some rest, the injury might get better.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We returned home to New York and I sat around. The pain did get better. Not totally better, but somewhat better. After five or six days I decided I couldn't tolerate the sedentary lifestyle for another minute and I started climbing again.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I went to the gym and everything seemed okay. Things were stable. I tried to ease back into climbing. I went back outside, climbing at the Gunks a few times. The injury remained unaffected. Once, with Andy, I went to the Nears and we tried to knock a bunch of climbs off of my list of star-worthy 5.10's that I hadn't yet sent on lead. (More on that later.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">On another day, with Gail, Andy and his friend Chris, I went back again to the Nears and we threw ourselves at the popular top-ropes To Be or Not To Be (5.12a) and Slammin' the Salmon (5.12b). I didn't get the send on either one but I felt fine and worked out all the moves on To Be or Not To Be. I hope to send it soon, if the summer weather can hold off for a bit. (Andy got it clean and started talking about leading it.) I led Birdcage (5.10b), one of my favorite tens, and I felt good.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Andy on To Be or Not To Be (5.12a), belayed by Chris.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Was I on the mend? Over the next couple of weeks, I almost forgot about the whole thing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And then one Thursday night at the gym I aggravated the injury again. It was worse than before.</span></span><br />
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It took effort just to stand up straight. The next day, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a shop window and realized that I was walking around the city with my head tilted significantly to one side.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">What was I going to do? I had a climbing trip planned for Memorial Day weekend with my pal Adrian. We were going to the Needles in California. This trip had been a dream of mine for years. The tickets were non-refundable. I needed to be able to climb.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The weekend right after I aggravated the injury, I had a Gunks day planned with Olivier. I decided to go ahead with it despite how I was feeling. I reckoned I could take some time off again afterwards. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">My neck was still throbbing that morning. As I got out of my car to greet Olivier, I convinced myself that I had straightened my posture, but Olivier wasn't fooled. He noticed my Quasimodo-like countenance immediately.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Luckily for me, the weather was bad, so I didn't have to test my limits. It rained in the morning and drizzled on and off several times during the day. We were able to climb but the conditions were such that we didn't do anything hard.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiD9GTY1Luk6nZ4BVZl-MqAVf074XagMcxArkiTiUcD-KbjJ89sfZjHa9Rr7Dog1Ox1eJw9pEnXrhD_wXey-KafHiHTg6ifStykcavB2SADtg7trPomk25VpkrKlwHpeZ_bYJCUJW_3rz4/s1600/IMG_9223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiD9GTY1Luk6nZ4BVZl-MqAVf074XagMcxArkiTiUcD-KbjJ89sfZjHa9Rr7Dog1Ox1eJw9pEnXrhD_wXey-KafHiHTg6ifStykcavB2SADtg7trPomk25VpkrKlwHpeZ_bYJCUJW_3rz4/s400/IMG_9223.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Olivier leading a wet Strictly From Nowhere (5.7). He later led Apoplexy (5.9) in a full-on downpour!)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We had a good time, but late in the afternoon as I led the 5.4 second pitch of Pas De Deux, my neck really complained. I was hurting, even on this easy climb. I started to lose the will to continue. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyPFeA_-758lAGeoKcOrNbiYW3dBe-d1Th7bO21k9ZQo1TOrw4xU8ueGYuh-VBSKZbNY3pQqsH23sD-olsPl1GLo2SXHKzfBovc1qxULbUuRXiyC_bjYeZ9utJIto-Ley78O5ZszVn324/s1600/IMG_3226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyPFeA_-758lAGeoKcOrNbiYW3dBe-d1Th7bO21k9ZQo1TOrw4xU8ueGYuh-VBSKZbNY3pQqsH23sD-olsPl1GLo2SXHKzfBovc1qxULbUuRXiyC_bjYeZ9utJIto-Ley78O5ZszVn324/s400/IMG_3226.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: I'm leading the 5.4 pitch 2 of Pas De Deux. Photo by Olivier. I think this was actually my very first time on this nice pitch.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">There was still time left in our Gunks day but my motivation was gone. I had no ideas. Olivier proposed we throw a top rope over Retribution and Nosedive (both 5.10b), and I agreed. Why not? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Did it even matter any more? Was this how it all would end? Top-roping?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I walked glumly through the Uberfall. Despite the bad weather, there were lots of people there, occupying most of the climbs. As luck would have it, Bunny (5.4) was open, and so was Retribution. We plopped our stuff down in front of both climbs to claim the territory. We could run up Bunny to set up the harder climb.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But as we stood there, staring up at the wall, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt like that would be giving up.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So instead I downed three Ibuprofen tablets and led Retribution. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It went fine. I've led this climb at least half a dozen times. I wasn't worried about it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I led up to the roof and placed the improbable-but-bomber .75 green Camalot at the crux. Working my feet up, I milked the undercling hold-- you know the one-- with my left hand as I snaked my right hand up above the roof to the gorgeous fingerlocks that I knew were waiting there. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It was all very casual.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDbu9CfzgBEx5XNVvVAfQ8_PGGQHvGV5sFkD89W9VOm1ap3ZDkH0yKiqrxFxufpyAClTWZbZOMMjaSYtpPF6wkpawJAQfXuwJIjAAk8jOhl9EWd3hlIFh4yos9-slNv1P5GJrS_EnqscJ/s1600/IMG_9252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDbu9CfzgBEx5XNVvVAfQ8_PGGQHvGV5sFkD89W9VOm1ap3ZDkH0yKiqrxFxufpyAClTWZbZOMMjaSYtpPF6wkpawJAQfXuwJIjAAk8jOhl9EWd3hlIFh4yos9-slNv1P5GJrS_EnqscJ/s400/IMG_9252.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Olivier following my lead of Retribution (5.10b).)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As I walked my toes up to where I could stem the corner and place another piece, I felt good, in spite of it all. I glanced down between my legs and noticed a young guy beneath me on the carriage road, staring up at me with something resembling amazement and wonder. I could have been him, a few years ago.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"You don't know the half of it, kid," I wanted to say. "You just want to lead 5.10. But take it from me: you haven't lived until you've led 5.10... with whiplash."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"Don't ever get old," I failed to add. "Aging sucks."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A few days later, I decided I needed to see a doctor. This was not a decision I made lightly. Any visit to a medical professional carried with it the risk that I would be told to stop climbing. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">The doctor sent me for an x-ray and wrote me a prescription for physical therapy. When the x-ray results appeared in my inbox I saw the words "moderate to severe discogenic degenerative changes," which struck me as a serious diagnosis. But when I spoke to the doctor he suggested that this was par for the course. He described it as the human condition. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">It is what unites us. Underneath our skin, we're all going through our own moderate to severe discogenic degenerative changes.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">He told me that with treatment I should get better, but that it will likely flare up again from time to time. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I asked him if I needed to stop climbing and he said I could climb, as long as it doesn't hurt while I'm climbing. I took this as all the permission I needed, although my experience over the past month has taught me that I can't predict in advance whether a particular move will end up hurting my neck or not. If I could only figure out which kinds of moves will aggravate the injury then I could just avoid those moves and be fine. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Even better: wouldn't it be great if only one STYLE of climbing aggravated the injury? And if that style were slab climbing? Then I would have a permanent out. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">"I can't go slab climbing. My doctor said so. (Plus I'm not good at it.)"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Also off-widths. They are bad for my health. (And I have no idea how to climb them.)"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I've had two sessions with the PT. They have been highly educational. I've learned that I am a terrible sloucher and that my whole neck/shoulder area is locked up, as stiff as a fresh batch of hot caramel that has seized from over-agitation. During our sessions the PT works on my muscles with great enthusiasm. The therapy is so painful that I feel completely healed when it is over. It is only later that I regain perspective and recognize that I'm not healed at all. My neck still hurts. It just doesn't hurt nearly as much as it does while the "therapy" is going on. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">My plan is still to go to the Needles. I'm doing my rehab exercises and going to PT. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I am also going to the Gunks this weekend. But after that I think I will lay off the gym climbing for the remainder of the week before I fly to California. That way I'll have five solid days of rest before I climb again.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">But enough of all this old-man whining. I'm not looking for your pity. I'm sure you've dealt with injuries yourself. It is part of the climbing life. It happens to practically everyone at one time or another. This too will pass. I hope.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I want to update you on my 2017 project, which I'm sure you recall. It is to send every star-worthy 5.10 pitch in the Gunks. Over the course of several different days in the past couple of months, I have made some progress.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have tackled a few new tens in the</span> Trapps:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Turdland Direct (5.10d)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I climbed Turdland <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/04/at-mac-wall-try-again-510b-coexistence.html">once before</a>, but at that time I avoided both of the "direct" 5.10 cruxes, keeping the route at 5.9. This was back in 2014, when the route featured some truly frightening, ancient protection bolts. Even assuming the bolts were good, I still found the 5.9 moves up and left (avoiding the first 5.10 bulge) to be pretty heads-up, with a healthy runout.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The bolts have since been replaced, which gave me a lot of comfort as I returned to the route this spring with Sudha and Mike. I found the direct route to be better protected than the 5.9 version.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4Iv95X65s1lASFFiNhWBq5Uz1Mtdft9KQiDt2BXNgth0ji1yTntOOfPUcJodd5ZxZqP77OIlVTZmSGhd_Kut8Vz-0ZLx7epKvSOXj_ay96y54bfWY2SmHn-AeX097Fuj3_4Id_2D9kye/s1600/IMG_8777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4Iv95X65s1lASFFiNhWBq5Uz1Mtdft9KQiDt2BXNgth0ji1yTntOOfPUcJodd5ZxZqP77OIlVTZmSGhd_Kut8Vz-0ZLx7epKvSOXj_ay96y54bfWY2SmHn-AeX097Fuj3_4Id_2D9kye/s400/IMG_8777.JPG" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Mike on Turdland Direct (5.10d).)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Turdland Direct, as it exists now, is nothing but a good time, with great face climbing past two cruxes. I managed to blow the upper crux on my first attempt, sadly, slipping off as I tried to latch on to the good hold. I got the move immediately when I went back up the second time. I have to go back again to get the send and take it off of my 5.10 to-do list.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Never Say Never (5.10c)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">While I was in the Turdland area with Sudha and Mike, I also led <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">Never Never Land</a> (5.10a) for the third time in just the past year. This is a route I once swore <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/12/good-times-in-never-never-land-510a.html">I would never lead</a>! While we had the rope up I decided to tick off Never Say Never (5.10c), which is given two stars in the guidebook but only as a top-rope since there is practically no gear on the pitch.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Sudha on Never Never Land (5.10a).)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Never Say Never is a decent face climb, with a brief, balance move crux. I sneaked through it without falling off, achieving the top rope send. I don't know if I will ever bother to do it again.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Tweak or Freak (5.10a)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I did this climb on a different day, with Andy. Traditionally it has a first pitch to the right of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">Oblique Twique</a> (5.8) but you get more quality climbing out of it if you start on Oblique Twique and then head up into the roof from the ledge. So that's how I did it, in one pitch to the top of the Shit Creek pedestal.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtc8zRIRo90TxnGra-JtwqlawMOSzVc5e4pGUcmaBDwM1lduA29NCN0nzJSgBRIjU8qOu66ztvyn7Zdvzb1DmZ-_C6TBbEQiFgSsTpt8QjloLCdiedwzspJ5-cJRMGjq2q2g553Tx2NYw2/s1600/IMG_8694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtc8zRIRo90TxnGra-JtwqlawMOSzVc5e4pGUcmaBDwM1lduA29NCN0nzJSgBRIjU8qOu66ztvyn7Zdvzb1DmZ-_C6TBbEQiFgSsTpt8QjloLCdiedwzspJ5-cJRMGjq2q2g553Tx2NYw2/s400/IMG_8694.JPG" width="285" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: I'm at the roof on Tweak or Freak (5.10a). Photo by Andy.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This is a fun roof! It is a little bit awkward getting up to the overhang and then it takes a couple of good moves to get over it. When I did it, there was a fixed nut hanging from the roof, which lessened the commitment level.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I found this route to be worthwhile. It is surrounded by classics and thus I never even considered this climb until I started my little 5.10 completion project. But now that I am aware it exists, I would do it again.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">On a different day with Andy (already mentioned above), I went to the Nears and tried to knock a whole bunch of my tens off of the to-do list.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This route wasn't new to me. I'd <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/04/single-pitch-cragging-in-nears-tulip.html">tried it once</a> several years back and needed to return for the redpoint. It wasn't too hard to knock it off as our first climb of the day. It has pleasant 5.9 climbing up to a well-protected 5.10d crux through a short headwall. This is one of the least committing 5.10d's in the Gunks. It has just the one hard sequence with bomber gear at your waist.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Andy heading up Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d).)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Elder Cleavage Direct (5.10b) and Boob Job (5.10b)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Somehow over the years I have missed out on Elder Cleavage, a three-star classic. It is a great climb, with many challenges.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The pitch one crux comes right off the ground, with a boulder problem up to a good hold, and then a stand-up move with no gear to get to a small stance beneath a little overhang.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Andy and I looked over the start cautiously. It appeared to be hard, and there was no way to be sure how the stand-up move would go without trying it. Eventually I decided to go for it. It went well enough. I negotiated these initial moves and then nervously placed a good Alien at the overhang.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was rattled by the tough start and it affected me later in the pitch. I completed the next set of moves up a shallow slot, feeling shaky, and then continued into the vertical, arching crack that is the second crux section. After a tricky move to get established in the crack, I placed some gear under pressure and moved up to where the crack arched left. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The next move was thin and when I didn't immediately find the way my nerves got the better of me. I threw in a piece and took a hang to get my head together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After recharging, I found that the next move ended the difficulties. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was upset that I didn't get the clean send but wow, this is a great, demanding lead. It just doesn't let up.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Andy coming up pitch one of Elder Cleavage Direct (5.10b).)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Andy quickly led the throwaway 5.4 pitch two, and I got set to lead the third pitch up to the obvious roof in a left-facing corner.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This went well. I think it is one of the best 5.10 roofs in the Gunks. It features really fun moves into an undercling crack in the roof, and then to the right and up the corner to escape. The gear is ample. It is wild and exciting.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">There is another obscure roof pitch twenty feet left of the final pitch of Elder Cleavage, called Boob Job (5.10b). It gets a star in the guidebook so it too was on my list. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It is easy to see where you need to go from the big ledge. There is an obvious V-notch in the underside of the ceiling above. You climb more or less straight up to the notch, over easy territory. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Moving into the notch is committing. Once you are up in it, there is good gear. I placed something in front of my face and also reached out to the right as far as I could and put in a small Alien. And then it was on. A pumpy traverse out the right side of the V-notch, with a big reach in the middle, got me to the exit. Searching for purchase above the roof, I found very sandy holds. At this point, I knew that if I fell I was headed for a swing. I thought it would be a clean fall but I did not want to take the ride. Gripping like crazy, I got my feet up and, panting with relief, scrambled to the top.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Boob Job isn't as classic as Elder Cleavage but it is certainly exciting! I think you are cheating yourself if you go up there for Elder Cleavage and don't stick around for Boob Job as well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">There is a dead or dying tree with a cable rap station at the topout for Boob Job, but Andy and I didn't like the looks of it so we walked off. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Hang Ten (5.10a)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After we walked all the way back around to our stuff we kept on trooping down the cliff to Hang Ten (5.10a), which I expected to go easily and quickly. The climb goes over a roof about twenty feet above the ground. No big deal, I thought.</span></span><br />
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(Photo: I'm leading Hang Ten (5.10a). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But I was mentally fried at this point. I got good gear at the roof but as I pulled over I missed an obvious hold and, mystified, I had to take a hang. Then on the second try I found the hold and felt very stupid.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The run-out 5.6 slab after the roof on Hang Ten is quite nice. Hang Ten is a pretty decent little climb.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Whatever (5.10a)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We finished things up with Whatever (5.10a), which Andy led. This is a 50-foot 5.7 face climb with a brief 5.10 slab at the very end of the pitch. There is fiddly gear a little bit below your feet as you make the hard moves, which makes it a bit scary.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Andy trying to get solid pro for the crux of Whatever (5.10a).)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">It isn't much to write home about. I would never return to it except that I have to lead it in order to take it off my list! So I will go back to Whatever.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I ended the day a little bit frustrated with my on-sight rate. I have several routes that I must do again, though I think they will all be easy to knock off now that I've done them once.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjfN8sJ7Bz5giRLXPj6Rtg7cffU8NvrzsDv8f3h-uubpxpcJDrtPr75zgOJH5_JpfYOSSHVfO4LOqdiAT6OBlmp1q7q4hqFKohJJvtKAR9jbgS4aTdKokvcPqeXe6qRyrBXgDcNnlm-PI/s1600/IMG_9156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjfN8sJ7Bz5giRLXPj6Rtg7cffU8NvrzsDv8f3h-uubpxpcJDrtPr75zgOJH5_JpfYOSSHVfO4LOqdiAT6OBlmp1q7q4hqFKohJJvtKAR9jbgS4aTdKokvcPqeXe6qRyrBXgDcNnlm-PI/s400/IMG_9156.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: That's me, just three weeks ago, in between flare-ups, on To Be or Not To Be (5.12a). Photo by Gail.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">As I write this post, with a bag of frozen vegetables perched upon my shoulder, I can only hope that I'll have good news to report from the Needles, and opportunities for more progress on my Gunks list soon afterward. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">It may be that after my trip I'll have to dial it significantly back and focus on getting healthy for the fall. If this has to happen, it won't be too big a loss. We've hardly had a spring but it's practically over already. It will soon be hot and muggy. If I have to take it easy through the yucky months, then so be it.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">But I hope not. I hope the neck will feel better soon and I'll just be going for it like always. I'll let you know how it works out.</span></span>SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-33416365088062753512017-04-20T23:57:00.003-04:002017-04-21T14:25:09.345-04:00Highly Exposed (5.6+) on Enduro Man (5.11c)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaBTEytgfJfujMnl-6ZXwDHp-vW92kC2GiZePtbxHd92oYlQA-4iSpKYkIUfRrfsiTDoUqeI2yFgafnjnw_0HreO0VNZnPUWx4NnY-MYL8UQw2N7DhA-i0lHkgYskDsUW4m9J9J8J_Mu6/s1600/DSCF1342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaBTEytgfJfujMnl-6ZXwDHp-vW92kC2GiZePtbxHd92oYlQA-4iSpKYkIUfRrfsiTDoUqeI2yFgafnjnw_0HreO0VNZnPUWx4NnY-MYL8UQw2N7DhA-i0lHkgYskDsUW4m9J9J8J_Mu6/s400/DSCF1342.JPG" width="286" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Climbers finishing the second pitch of High Exposure (5.6+) in 2011.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In the fall of 2008, I led the crux pitch of High Exposure (5.6+).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I'm sure you already know all about this classic climb. It is one of the most popular moderate routes in the United States. Leading "High E" is a right of passage for many Gunks climbers. It may not be quite as cutting-edge today as it was at the time of its first ascent in 1941, but the climb still delivers a thrill. Making "the move" out from under the third-pitch overhang and stepping onto the steep face, high above the talus, requires commitment. The juggy climbing to the top goes through exciting territory, on a pointed buttress sticking out from the main wall of the Trapps.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-Gdy6fBfjPWq_fD6mH2f1-whHqTjMoA6JIDj2tKT937BvkOBZz9k5SkkWJdlf0Gz26zuEzwHpOhd_kEff1kyXNy0qznEqRD6QMepzcUrl-_pUPyVdqYJ6pjomMJmpLOfHpfBrfTaVq0E/s1600/IMG_1809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-Gdy6fBfjPWq_fD6mH2f1-whHqTjMoA6JIDj2tKT937BvkOBZz9k5SkkWJdlf0Gz26zuEzwHpOhd_kEff1kyXNy0qznEqRD6QMepzcUrl-_pUPyVdqYJ6pjomMJmpLOfHpfBrfTaVq0E/s400/IMG_1809.JPG" width="285" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: A leader on the crux pitch of High Exposure (5.6+) in 2013.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I did High E, I was a beginner of the most traditional sort. My progress had been slow. I'd been climbing in the gym for two years with a small group of friends, none of whom had much more outdoor experience than I did.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I had been to the Gunks and had begun taking the sharp end on some of the easiest routes. I found these routes a little too easy, but having no real guidelines to tell me what I should do, I erred on the side of caution.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Whenever I went to the Gunks I saw lots of newbies just like me, lining up to fumble their way through classics like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/rediscovering-joys-of-multi-pitch.html">Three Pines</a> (5.3) or Beginner's Delight (5.4). This seemed like the way it was done in the Gunks. It was a noble tradition. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I had no idea that in some circles, it was considered normal to send 5.12 after just a year or two of climbing experience. Or that to many climbers, 5.10 was regarded as a casual grade.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In my world, you moved slowly up the grades, one at a time. And I was just getting started. I couldn't imagine what 5.10 would feel like. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was fine with that.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But I wanted to make SOME progress. I was hungry. I wasn't always sure that the other climbers I saw around me felt that same hunger. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I remember one illustrative occasion during my earliest climbing days at the Gunks, with my first climbing partner, Greg. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">On this particular day, we were setting up to climb Ursula (5.5). While we were getting organized we watched another climber struggling in the crux of the nearby <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/revisiting-my-first-59-bonnies-roof.html">Bonnie's Roof </a>(5.9). As I recall, the leader looked a bit sketchy as he muscled his way through the overhang. His footwork wasn't what I'd call graceful, but he persevered and eventually made it up over the roof. He let out a cry of joy and relief as he reached the rest stance.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRdBD8IVwkel8CJuySgrRfQhr48IUwKIBilNxF1uV8DRoe6ral-s79JDcBFkL12zr9jLsVKyx0eJpmWYfk1OI423TAmiJf8sFNnoY3aqp9TW3XE-F2c2m4KhxYb_6_Wv0PNfY6piNldRz/s1600/IMG_1401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRdBD8IVwkel8CJuySgrRfQhr48IUwKIBilNxF1uV8DRoe6ral-s79JDcBFkL12zr9jLsVKyx0eJpmWYfk1OI423TAmiJf8sFNnoY3aqp9TW3XE-F2c2m4KhxYb_6_Wv0PNfY6piNldRz/s400/IMG_1401.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Adrian attacking Bonnie's Roof (5.9) with pristine footwork, in 2015.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Greg and I were both captivated by this performance. I assumed that the two of us were similarly drawn to what we had just witnessed. This was the real deal! I aspired to do things just like this. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But then Greg spoke, revealing just how different our mindsets really were.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">He said "I'm never going up there, but that looked pretty cool."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was shocked. It had never occurred to me that I would NOT want to go up there. I wasn't ready yet, of course-- I wasn't good enough-- but some day I would be. No one was going to stop me from going up there eventually. That was the whole point of mucking about on 5.5's like Ursula, wasn't it? To get ready for climbs like Bonnie's Roof. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was determined to go up there. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I just had to figure out the best way in which to work up to it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I needed someone who would support me and push me along.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I found that person in Vass. He had lived in Boulder before moving to New York and he had years of trad experience in places like Lumpy Ridge and Eldorado Canyon, in addition to the Gunks. He had been on routes far beyond the extremely modest beginner's climbs I had so far encountered. On his first day in the Gunks, before he and I met, he had climbed <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/03/modern-times-58-and-alleged-gunks.html">Modern Times</a> (5.8+), a feat that seemed extraordinary to me at the time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Vass had an easygoing competence with the systems used in climbing, and he was familiar with the routes I dreamed of doing. I quickly came to see him as a mentor and to trust his judgment. After just a few gym sessions together he told me that he thought I was ready to tackle Gunks classics like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2010/12/gunks-routes-oscars-variation-57.html">Shockley's Ceiling</a> (5.6) and High E (5.6+).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This was a great gift. Vass gave me permission to make progress. On our next trip to the Gunks, we did Shockley's Ceiling, and when that went off without a hitch we turned our sights to High E. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I don't know if I slept well the night before we planned to hit High E. And I can't tell you how I felt as I stared up at the route from the ground. The truth is that I don't remember. In fact, I can't say much about the first two pitches. I am pretty sure Vass led them, to set me up to lead the crux third pitch. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8YocrYLzcfbLltYFjVLVPHG0kJzXwJizcGQ0F7o6U1iagLxsv_wQ3JiWREHvp9j5upVNZfINdBIBoKoeqEgVjCwkhfTKMgyiskL2Y8sH9uF_08VEaT6G6cKu5vo16qTV32ikecm2vcfL/s1600/IMG_2392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8YocrYLzcfbLltYFjVLVPHG0kJzXwJizcGQ0F7o6U1iagLxsv_wQ3JiWREHvp9j5upVNZfINdBIBoKoeqEgVjCwkhfTKMgyiskL2Y8sH9uF_08VEaT6G6cKu5vo16qTV32ikecm2vcfL/s400/IMG_2392.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Climbers on High Exposure (5.6+) in 2014.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">But I recall what came next as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I was excited just to be up on the pointed, triangular belay ledge for the first time, enjoying the panoramic views down the cliff face in both directions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After taking possession of our huge rack, I took a deep breath and began climbing, moving off the ledge, and up a slab to the right, until I was at a somewhat awkward stance beneath the edge of the overhang. After burying a cam under the lip and slinging it long, I reached blindly above the roof, feeling around for something to hang on to. Finding a juggy hold, I grabbed it tightly and swung out from underneath.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"Congratulations," Vass said. "You just did 'THE MOVE.'"</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"Really?" I thought. It hadn't been a big deal. It felt a bit anticlimactic. I had built it up so much in my mind.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNFl6789wq_bVTNEAOFatfcBpIrmy3458r6Kfg8q-hS87BWTS-j1r9ykaMKAN5_bwyUwX0XpiJYpUktadBr-VWNGFg-UvqrOR25l87GvOKbtEqh6axlCUQZDXedhK-gfWQcHAHqFg4bFn/s1600/IMG_3218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNFl6789wq_bVTNEAOFatfcBpIrmy3458r6Kfg8q-hS87BWTS-j1r9ykaMKAN5_bwyUwX0XpiJYpUktadBr-VWNGFg-UvqrOR25l87GvOKbtEqh6axlCUQZDXedhK-gfWQcHAHqFg4bFn/s400/IMG_3218.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">(Photo: A climber making "the move" out from under the overhang on High Exposure (5.6+) in 2015.)</span><br />
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I kept on climbing. The rest of the pitch was steep, with lots of positive holds and gear available pretty much everywhere. I found it exciting to be up there, to be sure, but most of my excitement derived from the fact that I was doing such a legendary climb, and not so much from the climbing itself. The actual moves weren't particularly noteworthy. Unlike Shockley's Ceiling, which has an unusual crux, High E struck me as more like a gym climb, overhanging but not mysterious.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">On the other hand, it was remarkable that such a steep face could be so friendly, with so many holds. And the position was everything it was cracked up to be. As I ascended, I made sure to look around. I tried to take my time and savor the breeze as I took in the view.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvTdU2vgItqDx4Z51m9tCbaS-EVI0I_wOg6SJxGgjodgp4BflWKHkFJfjecU4fPPdCLqOM-8wKSN3yUvXw2JIae595qL_U2uxhdg7YPv2cdgYyZ5V3NwsEOcQfXx59La1r9Kqgue18zLWc/s1600/IMG_8621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvTdU2vgItqDx4Z51m9tCbaS-EVI0I_wOg6SJxGgjodgp4BflWKHkFJfjecU4fPPdCLqOM-8wKSN3yUvXw2JIae595qL_U2uxhdg7YPv2cdgYyZ5V3NwsEOcQfXx59La1r9Kqgue18zLWc/s400/IMG_8621.JPG" width="293" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Leader on High Exposure (5.6+) in 2017.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I reached the top I was overjoyed. I had just led High E. It had turned out to be well within my abilities. Vass' faith in me was justified. I was on my way to becoming a real Gunks climber.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I couldn't wait to tell anyone and everyone what I'd climbed that day. That evening, at a family gathering, I dragged out my guidebook so I could show my brother-in-law (who knew nothing of climbing) a photo of what we'd done.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">He didn't know enough to be impressed.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojdzu-qmJ_r6-xc-rYBeKnuAm1I10USyeCkzNUT_3ttsBkPxZHtm9V9HMu-zVtldQno4Ki6Em55g164BTSXC-MiS8UK85nAdjT_EasHPm5TtpRaZ72SkgAISc-1aK30KHafvFdTg38F1j/s1600/IMG_2337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojdzu-qmJ_r6-xc-rYBeKnuAm1I10USyeCkzNUT_3ttsBkPxZHtm9V9HMu-zVtldQno4Ki6Em55g164BTSXC-MiS8UK85nAdjT_EasHPm5TtpRaZ72SkgAISc-1aK30KHafvFdTg38F1j/s400/IMG_2337.JPG" width="312" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Climber in the distance on the High E belay ledge in 2014.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Vass and I went on to do a lot more climbing in the Gunks over the next couple of years, until he moved back to Boulder. He was there with me when I led my first 5.7 (<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/07/better-redpoint-than-deadpoint-p-38.html">Classic</a>), as well as my first 5.8 (<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/08/gunks-routes-v-3-57-limelight-57-arrow.html">Arrow</a>) and 5.9 (<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/revisiting-my-first-59-bonnies-roof.html">Ants' Line</a>) the following year. And of course, in the years since then I've gone on to break into new grades, with new legendary climbs to experience at every level.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But seldom have I felt the same excitement, the same tingly feeling of anticipation mixed with glowing satisfaction, that I felt on the day I first climbed High Exposure.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm always chasing that feeling, hoping to find it again. I found it on the day in 2009 on which I led <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/revisiting-my-first-59-bonnies-roof.html">Bonnie's Roof</a>, sending the route by the skin of my teeth in just as sloppy a fashion as that climber Greg and I had watched a few years before.<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And I got there again just over a week ago when I returned to the High E buttress for the umpteenth time, with my current partner Andy.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We were not there for High E, but for another classic route called </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Enduro Man's Longest Hangout (5.11c). I wanted to lead the third pitch.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A route like Enduro Man is not considered super hard by today's climbing standards, but in the world of your average trad guy like me, it is pretty serious business, a major milestone sort of climb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">At 5.11c, it was uncharted territory for me, but I believed that I could do it. It looked to be very steep, with many tiers of overhangs (crux #1), followed by a technical traverse to the right (crux #2), and then easier moves to the finish. I hoped that it would turn out to be similar to No Man's Land (5.11b), a climb that I did last year: relentlessly overhanging but with moves that aren't all that hard, relatively speaking.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I knew Andy would be up for it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Andy is in many ways the yin to my climbing yang. He started climbing around the same time I did. But while I was very slowly working my way up the trad ladder, Andy moved quickly to hard sport climbing and never looked back. He is one of those types of guys I mentioned above, progressing to 5.12 within a short time and staying there for the better part of a decade, while I've spent years and years fiddling with gear and fighting my way through the 5.10 grade.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I often describe Andy as a sport climber on this blog, though that really isn't fair to him. He can lead trad and he does. On his first day in the Gunks he led <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/04/at-mac-wall-try-again-510b-coexistence.html">Try Again</a> (5.10b), and it went down easily! But his real love is clipping bolts, and when he goes to the Gunks to trad climb with me he tends to let me set the agenda.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lucky for him that's what I like.<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As we drove up to the Gunks, I told him about my plan to climb Enduro Man. It didn't mean much to him but he was supportive. For my part, I started to get that tingly feeling of anticipation before we even hit the parking lot. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I decided to get up to Enduro Man by doing the first pitch of Lakatakissima (5.10b). This pitch gets no stars in the guidebook and I've never seen anyone on it. But I had heard that it is actually good. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Lakatakissima is overshadowed by the two popular climbs to its left, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/05/no-need-for-nurses-aid-510c-on.html">Ridicullissima</a> (5.10d) and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/09/doubling-down-on-doubleissima-510b-more.html">Doubleissima</a> (5.10b); understandably so, since these are two of the best 5.10 pitches anywhere. (Four out of five dentists agree: Doubleissima and Ridicullissima are the best!) Since the climbs next door are so good, most people don't even bother to look at Lakatakissima.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDjR3GzX5lkZwDOnAZjdD5ahnWoImSrwniif895hqB1lRlNUamRE4jcPshw-nKitoMInkUPxpL_X2FBjJ0sOntL6jD6epWmFtCb-F4ke687g3btqN2xzWkY3IbdGfs7bevNkT5e1DMRVr/s1600/IMG_5060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDjR3GzX5lkZwDOnAZjdD5ahnWoImSrwniif895hqB1lRlNUamRE4jcPshw-nKitoMInkUPxpL_X2FBjJ0sOntL6jD6epWmFtCb-F4ke687g3btqN2xzWkY3IbdGfs7bevNkT5e1DMRVr/s400/IMG_5060.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: This is Andy leading Doubleissima in 2016. He is at the initial ledge where Doubleissima goes left and Lakatakissima goes a few feet to the right.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The start is the same as Doubleissima, but after forty feet when you reach the small ledge, Lakatakissima jogs right a few feet to a vertical crack system that is next to a small tree in the gully. From here the climb goes pretty much straight up the face to a roof. I thought this part of the route was excellent, with interesting steep moves.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In the guidebook, Dick Williams suggests that you should step left and briefly join Doubleissima just before the roof but I found this to be totally unnecessary. I kept the line independent and went straight up (with one fairly big move) to the obvious 5.10 notch, where I could bust through the roof about five feet to the right of Doubleissima. After you clear the roof it is nothing but fun, juggy 5.8 climbing up to the GT Ledge.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdBNLWNtnz__AIZUr09odTG0rFSA5qp_U5j65CXN7GbhxY4RKSa6gGguOBezz66kgApOZZPCijHNmwfdS0yTv-BORNZRJkcUammiA9Qme7U_G_ue6DRpsuBw0hidEoGqPNgfgQD70HlZh/s1600/IMG_5072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdBNLWNtnz__AIZUr09odTG0rFSA5qp_U5j65CXN7GbhxY4RKSa6gGguOBezz66kgApOZZPCijHNmwfdS0yTv-BORNZRJkcUammiA9Qme7U_G_ue6DRpsuBw0hidEoGqPNgfgQD70HlZh/s400/IMG_5072.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Photo: Another shot of Andy leading Doubleissima (5.10b), in 2016. While Andy's route will break through the roof directly over his head, the Lakatakissima notch is also visible just a few feet to Andy's right.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Lakatakissima is absolutely worth doing. It is very similar in style to its more beloved neighbors on the same wall, which makes it very good indeed. You should do this route. I felt great warming up on it. It gave me confidence for our real objective: Enduro Man.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXICLn9VlfHZZ7QkJUvu6DKUhjWxWnxPGZb-Ak5a-QAlbrLpivA3T3xkrh6YM4-4WrvywGDJsp8s6K24M0oHTKG6tHi8z5W1jNz6RwrOhurJ4Kz4dTUu7WboDovjhRVBLMeTBTXv84YGE/s1600/IMG_8639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXICLn9VlfHZZ7QkJUvu6DKUhjWxWnxPGZb-Ak5a-QAlbrLpivA3T3xkrh6YM4-4WrvywGDJsp8s6K24M0oHTKG6tHi8z5W1jNz6RwrOhurJ4Kz4dTUu7WboDovjhRVBLMeTBTXv84YGE/s400/IMG_8639.JPG" width="287" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Andy making the final moves on Lakatakissima (5.10b).)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When Andy joined me on the ledge I pointed up at the cascading series of overhangs that we were about to climb.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Andy took one look and said "holy shitballs!"</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I have to admit, I felt the same way. It was pretty daunting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I told myself that the gear would be good and that the falls would be clean. And I headed upward.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The early going is easy until you reach the first of the several overhanging tiers. I plugged in a couple of good pieces and then spent a fair amount of time testing holds, moving up and down, checking the gear, and trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. Occasionally I climbed down out of the roofs to the stance where I could shake out and think about my options some more.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Eventually I decided I had to commit to something. I moved up on a sidepull that was reasonably positive and was overjoyed to find more holds above it. With a few more reaches I got to a dead end beneath a larger roof. Plugging in more gear, I realized that I must have cleared crux #1. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Now I had to move to the right, and there was no rest stance to retreat to any more. The clock was ticking. It was time for crux #2. I could see a great-looking handhold about six feet to my right, but how to get there? I kept testing some slopers. I didn't feel great about them, but I knew if I didn't move soon I would flame out. So once again I committed to what I had. After a somewhat dicey hand match I made it through. I was almost astonished to find myself latching on to the good hold. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I had to suppress a shout of exhilaration. I knew I'd just completed all of the 5.11 climbing. If I could just hold on through the easier moves to the top I'd have a successful on-sight of Enduro Man! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Good lord, I thought. This would be big. I could retire from climbing and be happy. I could have a button printed up with the words "Ask me about Enduro Man!" printed on it, and I could sit in the Trapps parking lot telling everyone about it for the rest of my life.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But it was not to be. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I couldn't find the easy moves. I'd gone too far to the right. I was burning out and I was lost. I searched for the path upwards but I couldn't locate it. I had a cam right in front of my face, so there was no safety issue. But as the seconds ticked away I knew I couldn't hold on any more. I had to take a hang. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">As soon as I gave up I saw where I was supposed to go. Doesn't it always work out that way?</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimEzMxLfim91TS6p5Yutm3VJq5nlZOXNkCIWzH0rPl-lJozqld8JU-o01MQc9JewBM9R-z6fsxLAQIrTgBCWXVvxgaX4HegkErBI1pv7IWgHMPgy46AE_M_sv2XA7vGeYtLFgYmS9wNYC/s1600/IMG_8655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimEzMxLfim91TS6p5Yutm3VJq5nlZOXNkCIWzH0rPl-lJozqld8JU-o01MQc9JewBM9R-z6fsxLAQIrTgBCWXVvxgaX4HegkErBI1pv7IWgHMPgy46AE_M_sv2XA7vGeYtLFgYmS9wNYC/s400/IMG_8655.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: A party on Modern Times (5.8+), seen from the topout on Enduro Man (5.11c). Look closely (click to enlarge!)-- you can see both climbers.) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">In one sense, it was heartbreaking. I don't think I've ever come so close to an on-sight victory on something I wanted so badly, so close to my limit, only to come up short.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">But I didn't feel sad. As I belayed Andy up, I was energized, even giddy. It was like the day on which I first did High E, or later when I did Bonnie's. This was what it was all about. It didn't matter that I hadn't gotten the send. What mattered was that I'd taken the leap. I'd tried really hard and left it all out there. And I'd done so responsibly. I'd placed good gear. The route had been totally safe. I'd proven to myself that I belonged up there. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">And that I could do it. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Just not on this day. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I have to go back and actually get it done cleanly, but I will. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I know I will. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGi_GxMu74Ae083vscI9k3fCrs9r1uBKxztfrJPs36B9DQbe7ui7p0K-BNSpaNyxfQ9pz3S4FoLlDcXTbsAiWushPdWzctGsDYP3l2yYInqNTjFJSXfCNKVDlKFkDBNBeGCD79vyTWJg6O/s1600/IMG_20170408_112725296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGi_GxMu74Ae083vscI9k3fCrs9r1uBKxztfrJPs36B9DQbe7ui7p0K-BNSpaNyxfQ9pz3S4FoLlDcXTbsAiWushPdWzctGsDYP3l2yYInqNTjFJSXfCNKVDlKFkDBNBeGCD79vyTWJg6O/s400/IMG_20170408_112725296.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: That's me standing at the top of Enduro Man (5.11c). The photo was taken by Bob, who is the leader in the photo of Modern Times that I posted above. You can also see a tiny piece of Andy coming up Enduro Man below me, as well as a person from another party on the ledge belaying a leader on High Exposure.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Andy and I did some more climbing that day, some of it very good, but for me the rest of our time in the Gunks was mostly an opportunity to talk to other people who might understand what it meant that I'd just attempted Enduro Man. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I wanted to discuss it with anyone and everyone. It was just like High E in 2008.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">I found myself chatting up every climber we met-- why not?-- and asking them "so what have you been climbing today??"</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">They would tell me.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Oh that sounds great," I would say. "I love the [whatever move] on [whatever climb]."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">"And you?" they would politely reply.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">"What did we climb? Us?" I would ask, as if I had to think back to remember. "I thought you'd never ask!"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">The next time you see me in the parking lot, you should ask me. I won't be tired of talking about it, I promise.</span></span>SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-89368661135581996972017-04-07T07:18:00.001-04:002017-12-01T10:44:00.795-05:00Criss Cross-eyed in the Early Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZJaMhIvkSD9AQrvOgxeeLKqqQStowwqv5acJnvtidC2RvgdcuUgTFrrUmr8daFarBnJZN80UKKRHB_XGzNjfzYm82GbLIu4nShRi_c90Wy9okN-yps1ZogrL7fpzs6SknY854y-MgCUx/s1600/IMG_8524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZJaMhIvkSD9AQrvOgxeeLKqqQStowwqv5acJnvtidC2RvgdcuUgTFrrUmr8daFarBnJZN80UKKRHB_XGzNjfzYm82GbLIu4nShRi_c90Wy9okN-yps1ZogrL7fpzs6SknY854y-MgCUx/s400/IMG_8524.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Gail reaching for the arete on the fun link-up <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2010/07/best-56-climbing-in-gunks.html">Basking Ridge</a> (5.7).)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"Ugh. I'm never doing THAT again!"</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So I said, to Gail, as I got past the undercling crux on Inverted Layback (5.9).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I meant it, too. I'd not been happy confronting this challenge. I hesitated and repeatedly stepped up and down before throwing myself into the crux. I built a three-piece anchor under the big downward-facing, off-width flake, trying with each new placement to conjure some confidence. Worried I'd slip off of the face and slam sideways into the wall, I'd contorted myself as far to the right as I could before bringing both feet up, trying to minimize the number of moves I'd need to make on the slab under the flake.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I knew it would be like this. I'd put this climb off for years, scared of the crux, and now here I was, in the crux, acting scared.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But when I finally committed, it was over in a flash. It was just one move, not that bad, and I was through it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I was relieved. I had done it and I never needed to go back up there again.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNG2yN7W2nZ9BIiIZ-OUPKFWqO5a5YmXodCE8poehTV2oMXhH0tIuqHJOCAVmZ7oatHnYwB-h0tySUHqWLZqU_oaTYx1MIm7OfkAXan-rx4UcLoCD_KUBAIAs701mNjvCCca-syOj8k2a/s1600/IMG_7295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNG2yN7W2nZ9BIiIZ-OUPKFWqO5a5YmXodCE8poehTV2oMXhH0tIuqHJOCAVmZ7oatHnYwB-h0tySUHqWLZqU_oaTYx1MIm7OfkAXan-rx4UcLoCD_KUBAIAs701mNjvCCca-syOj8k2a/s400/IMG_7295.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: I'm up there behind the branches, just past the crux of Inverted Layback (5.9). Photo by Gail.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Of course, with a few days' perspective I see the climb in a totally different way. I remember the fun moves up a vertical crack at the base of the cliff and then the cool wide crack in the center of the wall. Good climbing all the way, and the crux, while committing and tenuous, is unusual for the Gunks. It is like something you'd find in Yosemite. It is good practice.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">You should try Inverted Layback! I'm going to do it again. Some day, I swear.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVJBZzaYkiRJHPyLL0SBMkDBFADvpP3P8DTjJZ0wg6lQkseZZnIsA5JaA1faVnyA6qJ1GokGBGYJQ7zBhcYSJVpAkXu-zaiUg19Mg18Wj0mPeVlNgdJyYIJvF03DhIonXfOw2Rg3S9Cn5/s1600/IMG_8504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVJBZzaYkiRJHPyLL0SBMkDBFADvpP3P8DTjJZ0wg6lQkseZZnIsA5JaA1faVnyA6qJ1GokGBGYJQ7zBhcYSJVpAkXu-zaiUg19Mg18Wj0mPeVlNgdJyYIJvF03DhIonXfOw2Rg3S9Cn5/s400/IMG_8504.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />(Photo: Gail following me up a slightly drippy Baskerville Terrace (5.7).)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This was last Sunday, the first really nice day of Spring. A new season was just under way.There was a feeling of great possibility in the air. And moisture. Lots of moisture. Everything was kind of wet.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I couldn't let the occasional drippage on the cliff get me down. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had goals. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a list.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-late-season-matinee-510d-more_12.html">Late last year</a> I decided I needed to successfully lead every "star-worthy" 5.10 in the Gunks. I looked through the guidebooks and found that there weren't too many left for me to do. I resolved to knock them all off in 2017. It wouldn't be that hard to accomplish, if I made an effort to tick something off the list every time I went to the Gunks. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Already this year I have managed to do some of them.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In February, I got together with a new partner named Sudha. Unlike me, she is a real alpinist. She has gotten frostbite. She plans to climb K2. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I may have come off as a little intense to Sudha and her friends. When we got together, everyone was still in a wintry mode, sipping cocoa, complaining about the cold, talking about the snow that was still on the ground.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Except for me, that is. I was saying "Let's go! It's sending weather! I have a list!" </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I hope I didn't seem insane.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">With Sudha, I led Directissima Direct (5.10b/c). This variation on Directissima (5.9) takes the traditional 5.8 start off the ground and around the nose of the High E buttress, but then goes straight up the face past a piton instead of ascending the easy ramp to the right. After some steep, thin 5.10 moves up a pair of vertical cracks, the Direct rejoins the regular route about halfway through its 5.9 finger-rail traverse. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: I've just gone around the nose on Directissima, and I'm about to head up through the 5.10b moves on the Direct. Photo by Sudha.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Though I'd done <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/revisiting-my-first-59-bonnies-roof.html">Directissima</a> several times, I'd never gotten around to trying this 5.10 variation. I really liked it. The hard climbing is brief, but it is technical and demanding. And it is sandwiched between the best parts of the traditional Directissima. The variation makes a great route even better.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I got out again with Sudha in early March and we knocked two more of my tens off the list. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">First, I led Stirrup Trouble (5.10b). This climb wasn't new for me, but <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">last year</a> when I attempted it I was spooked by the opening moves off the block and I turned the lead over to my partner Andy. Then after he led it, I followed it easily and felt like a yellow-bellied, chicken-hearted loser-face.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: I'm plugging gear, past the steep start of Stirrup Trouble (5.10b). Photo by Sudha.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">This year I did better. I got on the wall and placed a blue Alien over my head. Then I stepped back down to the block and inspected the piece. Once I was satisfied with it, I stepped back up and climbed the route. It went well, and man, what a climb! So many challenges, so many great moves. This is one of the best tens in the Trapps. It is too good for the Uberfall. And despite its reputation as a challenging lead, there is gear literally everywhere after the opening moves. I will return to this route again and again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: Sudha getting close to the finish on Stirrup Trouble (5.10b).)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sudha and I also did Nemesis (5.10a). I'd checked this route out from the ground before. I hadn't liked the apparent lack of gear. But now? It was on my list of star-worthy tens, so I HAD to do it... or not really. Of course I didn't have to. But I thought I could get on the wall and see how it went. Dick Williams says it's PG, and I'd felt really good on Stirrup Trouble, after all.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: Past the hard bits on Nemesis (5.10a). See all the gear? Photo by Sudha.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">The climb offers bouldery thin face moves for about twenty feet. The climbing is decent, but the pro isn't. I got an Alien in a little slot about two moves up. This protected the hardest bit, but there were some non-trivial moves that followed with no additional gear. You get back in groundfall range well before you find any more pro. I would say Nemesis is 5.10(a) PG, as Dick says, but there are some moves of 5.9 R. And the climbing is just okay. I can't fathom why Dick gives this climb two stars. Maybe the second pitch is better than it appears; we didn't do it. It looks dirty and loose. I wouldn't bother with this climb again. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Photo: Sudha dancing her way up Nemesis (5.10a).)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Last Sunday, with Gail, I had to find another ten to put away. But everything seemed damp. The crux notch on Outer Space Direct (5.10b) was dripping wet, as was Fat Stick Direct's (5.10b) roof. The mossy corner at the bottom of Criss Cross Direct (5.10a) was seeping.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">But then again, isn't it always?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I guessed I had to do Criss Cross Direct. It appeared to be dry in the crux crack. It was on my list. And it's a three-star classic.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This climb is similar to Inverted Layback, in that I've avoided it for years. I've walked past it a million times, scared to confront the unusual climbing challenges contained within it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I say that I've "walked past" it, I'm not being entirely honest. It would be more accurate to say I've walked right up to it.... and then I've slinked away. I've racked up for it and stood beneath it, sincerely intending to climb it. And then after looking it over, I've chickened out. On one occasion I actually placed some gear in the opening crack and tested some jams before deciding I had no idea how I was going to get up this thing. And then I walked away.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Criss Cross is often described as an "entry-level" 5.10, and I can't understand why. I think people consider it an approachable ten because the crux is right off the ground and there is gear. But to me, the low crux is not a selling point. The climbing is slippery and strange, up a severely overhung water-polished vertical crack in a corner. Although you can place a piece over your head before you start, I'm not sure this piece will keep you from decking if you fall out of the crack after a few moves.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(Photo: Wondering how I'm going to climb Criss-Cross Direct (5.10a). Photo by Gail.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2050698889" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Sunday</span></span>, as I stood there with Gail, I still didn't know how I was going to get up it. I wanted to jam it. I figured that if I were a decent climber, I would definitely jam it, rather than gamble on a slippery layback up the crack. My granite-loving friend Adrian would SURELY jam his way up it-- and he would declare it easy.<br /><br />If there were any justice in the world, it would be easy for me too. I have jammed before. I have been to <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/cracking-under-pressure-at-spider-web.html">Indian Creek</a>, for goodness' sake. I have been to <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/hooked-on-crack-few-days-in-squamish-bc.html">Squamish</a>. I don't like to brag about it, but I have even sent the medium-hard hand crack at my local gym! I should know how to do this.<br /><br />But I couldn't find the jams on Criss Cross Direct, nor could I figure out how to use my feet beneath such theoretical handjams. Jamming just doesn't come naturally to me. After much testing, rearranging gear, and stepping up and down, I wasn't any closer to a solution, but I finally found myself with both feet on the wall and both hands in the crack, one of them jamming and the other laying back.<br /><br />It was on.<br /><br />After releasing my one jam and placing more gear, I resorted to laying back the rest of the way. The jamming was over. I tip-toed my feet carefully up the wall.<br /><br />I felt like a fraud. I should have been jamming.<br /><br />The layback was pretty sketchy. The rock was slippery, and at one point I said to Gail "I don't have it," thinking I was on the verge of sliding out of the crack. But I kept moving and managed to reach the jug next to the fixed piton without falling. I was happy to have made it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br />(Photo: Working it out on Criss-Cross Direct (5.10a). Photo by Gail.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br />After clipping the pin I tried to regroup and stop shaking so I could focus on the next sequence, a smeary step up onto a slab with some blocky features for the hands.<br /><br />This move was surprisingly hard. I stood up on the slab and was looking in vain for a decent handhold when my toe popped off.<br /><br />For a split second I was falling, but somehow I held on to the jug below and slid down to some kind of toehold. I was still on the wall, though I wasn't sure how.<br /><br />Had I weighted the rope? I didn't think so. Gail scolded me for not taking the fall; she thought I risked injuring my shoulders by hanging on like that.<br /><br />At any rate, I stepped back up, very thoughtfully, and after a couple of moves the climbing eased off enough that I could relax and say:<br /><br />"I'm never doing THAT again!"<br /><br />But there was still a lot of climbing left to do. In order to take this climb off my list I had to do both pitches. I elected to do the whole thing in one pitch to the top.<br /><br />And I really enjoyed the rest of Criss Cross Direct.<br /><br />I loved the thin face climbing just after the traditional pitch one belay. The climbing here is pretty run out but probably no harder than 5.8+. After a few delicate moves off the belay I got a single tiny nut, and then there was practically nothing until I reached the overhangs. From there I found it well-protected through the two roofs. The second roof is a puzzler. It is hard to figure out where to exit, but once you spot the holds, the climbing isn't too bad.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br />(Photo: Close to the first pitch anchor on Criss Cross Direct (5.10a). You can see the final roof at the top of the cliff, above my head. Photo by Gail.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br />By the time I reached the trees I was ready to endure the whole thing all over again. Criss Cross Direct has a ton of great climbing on it, and it calls for a wide variety of techniques. I am proud to have on-sighted it, though I did so by the thinnest of margins. (I'm counting it!) And I don't think you can say you've done Criss Cross Direct unless you've done the whole climb.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I feel like I'm in pretty good shape as 2017 gets officially under way. I am climbing decently and I seem to be in good health. I'm excited to keep working through my 5.10 list and to soon resume hitting the elevens in the Gunks. I even have a couple of 5.12 projects in mind, which I'd like to work with an eye towards a head-point lead. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I also have a trip planned in the late spring with my old buddy Adrian. The plan is to go to the California Needles, which has been a long-time dream of mine. But the record snow pack in California this year is raising doubts that we'll be able to get to the Needles, so we may have to shift our sights to another southern California target like J-Tree or Tahquitz/Suicide.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Wherever we end up going, I'm looking forward to big adventures in a new place. And some more practice hand-jamming!</span></span>SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-85029532883858731982016-12-12T16:07:00.005-05:002017-11-22T14:40:06.556-05:00A Late-Season Matinee (5.10d) & More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Connie at the crux of pitch two of Nurse's Aid (5.10a).)<br />
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It was December in the Gunks.<br />
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Connie and I were on our way towards the West Trapps parking lot. We'd been climbing all day, thanks to temperatures above forty degrees. It was getting late in the afternoon and I had to get back to Manhattan for a dinner reservation. I figured we could knock off a quick climb like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/09/510-redemption-bonnie-roof-direct-59.html">Retribution</a> or <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/10/weekday-fun-in-uberfall-birthday.html">Nosedive</a> and then we'd hit the road.<br />
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But Connie had other ideas. She was pushing me to hop on Matinee (5.10d), one of the hardest tens in the Gunks.<br />
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This was all my fault.<br />
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Connie had been reading my blog, so she knew that Matinee was one of my must-dos for the year. I'd said so. And the year was just about over! If I didn't do it now, the route would have to wait for 2017.<br />
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I wasn't sure I was up for it. With the season winding down, my ambitions were fading. And besides, we probably didn't have enough time left in our day. It was going to be dark in less than an hour, and we needed to get going.<br />
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So we passed Matinee and walked into the Uberfall, only to find that we couldn't do Retribution or Nosedive. They were occupied by a big group.<br />
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I should have known they'd be unavailable.<br />
<br />
What was my backup plan?<br />
<br />
I didn't have one.<br />
<br />
It looked like I would have to do Matinee. We walked back over to it.<br />
<br />
I'd never been on the route. Connie had seconded it before. She mentioned in passing that the person she followed on her first visit to the route was trying to complete all of the star-worthy 5.10's in the Trapps. Matinee had been one of the last ones on his list.<br />
<br />
As she said this, I realized that I'd basically done the same thing. I'd been working through the tens in the Trapps for years, and by now I figured I'd done almost all of them. Matinee was one of very few left on my personal hit list that I had yet to try. It was still sitting there, unclimbed by me, because of its stout reputation.<br />
<br />
It occurred to me that Connie's remark could provide me with a new purpose: I could polish off the 5.10 grade. I could lead every star-worthy pitch of 5.10 in the Trapps-- and in the Nears too, why not? I would have to comb through the Williams books later to see what I'd missed. There couldn't be too many of them left.<br />
<br />
I haven't worked through them in a systematic way. I just try to do new tens in the Gunks all the time.<br />
<br />
The last couple of days I've had in the Gunks have been no exception. Though I didn't know it at the time, I was subconsciously working towards completing my new project.<br />
<br />
The weekend before my day with Connie, for example, I was out with Gail and I ticked off a couple of tens from the list.<br />
<br />
We did Dis-Mantel (5.10b), a short climb up a big block with two good roof cruxes.<br />
<br />
This was a climb I'd tried in 2012, and on that occasion I'd been <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/07/gunks-routes-unnamed-pitch-1-50-dis.html">completely unable to do it</a>. There is a very reachy move over the first roof. In 2012 I couldn't make the reach.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoftIk4dVtyEsAk_KOjcXKbwkR0-dKVQbBBJjDJqaTFP-unmAq8Dw-VtVlJqkZBWS6lMh7FtDyzrXWsupU28KZcYw-iSBDnN4_AU-1HvVen6KMi5ZleJC-4w8Eru9ePEROeVz1H812mRx/s1600/IMG_7923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoftIk4dVtyEsAk_KOjcXKbwkR0-dKVQbBBJjDJqaTFP-unmAq8Dw-VtVlJqkZBWS6lMh7FtDyzrXWsupU28KZcYw-iSBDnN4_AU-1HvVen6KMi5ZleJC-4w8Eru9ePEROeVz1H812mRx/s400/IMG_7923.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: Gail's shot of me at the second crux roof on Dis-Mantel (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
And in 2016? It was still hard for me. I had to step up and down several times. I rearranged my feet, sucked my hip into the wall, and stretched with all of my might... and eventually barely reached the good hold over the roof.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxO7wjeOWiGO-bc0RTsPNboATwjZnckvvnCSUDtz9k4RXbHuSAKEzYUCVgAA1pg9FZuG7nlWFTAy-Ci_KWVK8RRKVrQZvdc4osn9rZFfBUr8xbV_QKVNGEKitvoY8vESbbJYwtGoKXjnC/s1600/IMG_7901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxO7wjeOWiGO-bc0RTsPNboATwjZnckvvnCSUDtz9k4RXbHuSAKEzYUCVgAA1pg9FZuG7nlWFTAy-Ci_KWVK8RRKVrQZvdc4osn9rZFfBUr8xbV_QKVNGEKitvoY8vESbbJYwtGoKXjnC/s400/IMG_7901.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: Gail at the first crux roof on Dis-Mantel (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
The second, "5.8" crux on Dis-Mantel is also no gimme. It is a good climb. It is well worth doing.<br />
<br />
Gail and I also did Co-Op Direct (5.10a), an unpopular line just to the left of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">Welcome to the Gunks</a> (5.10b). The regular Co-Op wanders a lot and is rated 5.8. The direct variation goes straight up some steep flakes and through a shallow overhang instead of veering left and back right to avoid the hard stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WnBNOPJnxWdGyakChyphenhyphenjifcpWpqLt3tz7V4u0t_VioW-zhYcA_EjLITy9UDixfEwclBnEAM0oe8HLGZyfz4t9mOQ4tRvFh7NONo0c0TKzPBGfXC2O0wFYRiQvq7_f5bOyo9oJWySkDmbb/s1600/IMG_7920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WnBNOPJnxWdGyakChyphenhyphenjifcpWpqLt3tz7V4u0t_VioW-zhYcA_EjLITy9UDixfEwclBnEAM0oe8HLGZyfz4t9mOQ4tRvFh7NONo0c0TKzPBGfXC2O0wFYRiQvq7_f5bOyo9oJWySkDmbb/s400/IMG_7920.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: Gail coming up Co-Op Direct (5.10a).)<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
I liked Co-Op Direct. It isn't spectacular but it has some good moves. I thought the 5.10a crux came at the steep flakes. There is gear at the beginning of the difficulties but by the time you reach the shallow roof you'd be in for a pretty good fall if you blew it. At the roof, it seemed natural to me to follow the holds just a foot or so to the left, where I was relieved to find good gear for the the final moves up. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
The next weekend, with Connie, I attempted a few more of the last remaining pitches on my 5.10 tick list before we got around to climbing Matinee.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh9YylJSStJpctTcR6BUytEy-cdHHXxP7IcLJfP8jnNuWeYVozyE-kzP-edTU4qk2kxk7zHwgFo5i1jz_hoXa-rZ7tkxi2UwPjBVpZQNYqUoCksFt-7el9OWGNUepmnOBZthHRnwfB61M/s1600/IMG_7943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkh9YylJSStJpctTcR6BUytEy-cdHHXxP7IcLJfP8jnNuWeYVozyE-kzP-edTU4qk2kxk7zHwgFo5i1jz_hoXa-rZ7tkxi2UwPjBVpZQNYqUoCksFt-7el9OWGNUepmnOBZthHRnwfB61M/s400/IMG_7943.JPG" width="297" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: Connie leading pitch two of Arrow (5.8).)<br />
<br />
Connie had expressed an interest in doing Feast of Fools (5.10b). We warmed up on the nearby <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/08/gunks-routes-v-3-57-limelight-57-arrow.html">Arrow</a> (5.8), and as Connie led pitch two of Arrow I got a good look at pitch two of Nurse's Aid (5.10a). Pitch one (5.10c) was <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/05/no-need-for-nurses-aid-510c-on.html">one of my prouder on-sights in 2015</a>, But I'd never gotten around to trying the second pitch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0ngDdcst4bX-UtW0NAmgM9qp_hmHYPl9dmyoFRQo_5vSaeWvRppADEh8KoLIMVdJ3MVJU6TGqebTD2qJ9rjwcqUqWtNjYGVvG7z8sKkUSDAxNCDUQy3bExYffL2dVO4Hv1G3YOWEEeFc/s1600/Pictures+051610+076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0ngDdcst4bX-UtW0NAmgM9qp_hmHYPl9dmyoFRQo_5vSaeWvRppADEh8KoLIMVdJ3MVJU6TGqebTD2qJ9rjwcqUqWtNjYGVvG7z8sKkUSDAxNCDUQy3bExYffL2dVO4Hv1G3YOWEEeFc/s400/Pictures+051610+076.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: An unknown leader on pitch two of Nurse's Aid (5.10a). I took this photo in May of 2010 from the bolted anchor above Limelight (5.7).)<br />
<br />
Pitch two is reputed to be a sandbag at 5.10a. It is also a great photo op, with a super-exposed swing out of an alcove to the side of a white block hanging in space. It looked very intimidating.<br />
<br />
It was time to give it a try.<br />
<br />
The early part of the pitch sucks. I found slimy wetness and loose rock. Just past a truly scary block things improved. After some nice layback moves up a vertical crack I landed in the alcove just before the crux. I took a big gulp before leaving the security of this little cave and swinging out to the crux horizontal. It helped that I was able to arrange bomber gear before making the moves. Nevertheless, once I got out there I really felt all that air beneath me!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFvajda21BiKkxadukg_lurYgC8SnPlZ156MVxTvYdLEbNtQg5OEeD2bvCkR8lbtX9WQLA5-3O-wrbTnuDHFdHn03FnGth6kzfZEWSpxOujApTl-DDTnLVIzitxjE2c8iOBU-ILFq8zx4/s1600/112376017_large_4da652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFvajda21BiKkxadukg_lurYgC8SnPlZ156MVxTvYdLEbNtQg5OEeD2bvCkR8lbtX9WQLA5-3O-wrbTnuDHFdHn03FnGth6kzfZEWSpxOujApTl-DDTnLVIzitxjE2c8iOBU-ILFq8zx4/s400/112376017_large_4da652.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: That's me in the thick of things on pitch two of Nurse's Aid (5.10a). This photo was taken by Mountain Project user cvanpak, from the GT Ledge.)<br />
<br />
I wish I could say I got the on-sight cleanly, but I did not. I tried heel-hooking out the horizontal and then rocking up over my heel but I couldn't make it work and eventually I took a hang. When I went at it a second time I found another way to mantel up over the crack. Once I figured out the move it felt straightforward; the grade of 5.10a seemed fair enough.<br />
<br />
I have to go back for the send on pitch two of Nurse's Aid. It will be easy for me the second time, I think, since I've worked it out.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3_ZGDUbNXMoHP5Bs0cJmj16G1my-m-EmNTkNrbVJxs-SR-FqBccm2bh5cG9IT1UHDXsqPYZLpRlX-3WicCV_6OcDD4wZIEO95OTcC9HlCNa2oIYJ_J21BgrFpnPKRTQ-cBk1RK-3hf8p/s1600/IMG_7977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3_ZGDUbNXMoHP5Bs0cJmj16G1my-m-EmNTkNrbVJxs-SR-FqBccm2bh5cG9IT1UHDXsqPYZLpRlX-3WicCV_6OcDD4wZIEO95OTcC9HlCNa2oIYJ_J21BgrFpnPKRTQ-cBk1RK-3hf8p/s400/IMG_7977.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: My shot of Mountain Project user cvanpak on Limelight (5.7), taken from the top of Nurse's Aid.)<br />
<br />
After we finished with Nurse's Aid, Connie got her on-sight of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/gunks-routes-proctoscope-59-feast-of.html">pitch one of Feast of Fools</a> (5.10b), motoring through it without a moment's doubt. I was happy for her. I'd led this first pitch a couple of times but, as with Nurse's Aid, I hadn't tried pitch two, another star-worthy pitch of 5.10a. Ever eager to knock off another new pitch of 5.10, I went ahead and led it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxpvYz8dUXBKVDVooqeet1CvtF2GjJSj_cBSK59Nxk2G3nqkHEMtBZXnaG5jlFtZMBQ3qoGAoQRXE18vFlwLxp5dku7e_W8nloAL7j8qCD9fwcqBU8wS1HMly4Ub6f6OpHbbG8mg_UG5L/s1600/IMG_7987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxpvYz8dUXBKVDVooqeet1CvtF2GjJSj_cBSK59Nxk2G3nqkHEMtBZXnaG5jlFtZMBQ3qoGAoQRXE18vFlwLxp5dku7e_W8nloAL7j8qCD9fwcqBU8wS1HMly4Ub6f6OpHbbG8mg_UG5L/s400/IMG_7987.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
(Photo: Connie on pitch one of Feast of Fools (5.10b).)<br />
<br />
It went well, though it wasn't quite what I expected. The pitch ascends a left-facing corner. I assumed there would be some kind of weird crux move to get around the corner, sort of like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/11/gunks-routes-mf-59.html">MF</a> (5.9) or <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/far-out-in-nears-main-line-58-mac-reppy.html">Moxie</a> (5.9). Instead it turned out to involve steep, burly climbing straight up the corner, using obvious jugs and crimps. It was a bit dirty after the crux. The gear was adequate.<br />
<br />
Pitch two of Feast of Fools is worth doing once. It isn't nearly as good as pitch one.<br />
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
But let's get back to Matinee.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
It was already late. Time was of the essence. I decided to do the two pitches of Matinee in one lead. I knew there would be rope drag but I thought it probably wouldn't be too bad, since the first pitch is so short.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Setting off on pitch one, I quickly got up to the stance beneath the big roof and confronted the crux of the climb: a thin traverse left, under the ceiling, with tiny crimps and underclings for the hands and, for the toes, only some pathetic little smears on the smooth, steep wall. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I really wanted to get the send on this pitch so I resolved neither to hesitate nor to give up. I placed a nest of good gear from the stance and then it was on. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Stepping out onto the slick face, I delicately moved from crimp to undercling, matching toe to toe as I floated to the left. I considered placing another piece of gear mid-crux but decided against it-- with just a few steps I was going to be through the hard part. Holding my breath, I matched hands on the undercling hold I was using and stretched out to the lip at the end of the overhang. Finding a positive edge, I held on tight as I swung the other hand to a jug on the wall. Just like that, I'd made it! Pitch one was in the bag.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I was very happy, and relieved. Pitch one of Matinee is tenuous and thin-- I'm not sure I can repeat exactly what I did. I could easily slip off of the same moves next time. I'm glad we tried it in cool weather.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I placed a couple of pieces for Connie at the end of the pitch one crux and then kept going instead of stepping left to the traditional belay. Moving up, I arrived at the pitch two crux, a tough layback move over a shallow rooflet in a left-facing corner. Again the gear was good. There was a fixed nut there and I placed another nest of pieces to back it up. But the move was mysterious. I couldn't figure out how to get my foot up so I could get up over the little roof.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I stepped up and down, trying everything I could think of. I was conscious of our time slipping away. Finally I decided I had to commit to something. I launched myself upwards, but it didn't work. I couldn't get established above the overlap. Giving up, I asked Connie to take and I took a hang.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Right after I weighted the rope I spotted a hold I hadn't tried. As soon as I got back on the wall, I used this hold and got through the move. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I was glad to be done with the hard climbing but I was angry with myself for giving up and hanging. I could easily have stepped down again and not blown the on-sight of pitch two. Impatience and frustration got the better of me. It was disappointing. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
All of this was soon forgotten as the real adventure of our day began. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I had taken a while getting through both of the Matinee cruxes. I knew the sun was setting, and I wasn't finished climbing. Connie still had to follow me. I needed to get this climb done! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I got up to the next big roof. The move to escape the overhang wasn't hard but I soon discovered that I'd used up all my slings below. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I couldn't extend my gear the way I needed to and as I stepped around the corner and up above the roof the rope drag became horrific.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I made a few more moves but I knew I couldn't continue. It was untenable. I could see the tree at the end of the pitch, only about 20 feet above me, but there was still some traversing to be done and I could barely move the rope. I decided I had to build a belay and bring Connie up.<br />
<br />
I should not have tried to combine the pitches. Or I should have been more careful about my slings.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Once she was on belay, Connie climbed quickly but there were issues. As light started to leave the sky, Connie struggled to remove one of my cams below the big initial roof. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Time passed, with no movement.... She kept working at removing the cam. I shouted down that if it seemed hopeless she should just leave the piece. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Finally she got it free and simultaneously swung out to the left. With the rope now out from under the roof, the drag situation was much improved, but Connie had to do some boinking to get back on the wall.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Once she resumed climbing she surmounted crux number two and came up to join me at my hanging belay.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpzo3vjbMZQr_Rw-Z5MYoLah96FiNW6QQF1T3uCxmoJQh_H5_A6yuR_gJWFHnZpTpKrl2bEvaeq7eTqKGlUtrFGtA3Ay7qZuHF0Wx2MJLeHGDdJwCMs-qgpXgmuZtFfS8edEdiaZkOKmI/s1600/IMG_8018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpzo3vjbMZQr_Rw-Z5MYoLah96FiNW6QQF1T3uCxmoJQh_H5_A6yuR_gJWFHnZpTpKrl2bEvaeq7eTqKGlUtrFGtA3Ay7qZuHF0Wx2MJLeHGDdJwCMs-qgpXgmuZtFfS8edEdiaZkOKmI/s400/IMG_8018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
(Photo: My phone captured this grainy shot of Connie as she climbed up to my hanging belay on Matinee (5.10d).)<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I was in a hurry to get going with what little daylight remained, so I just flipped the rope stack over, grabbed a handful of cams and slings from Connie and took off again. Connie had wisely brought up her headlamp and I took it for the lead, but I didn't turn it on. I thought I could see well enough without it. As I climbed up to the tree I could barely make out what my toes were stepping on. But I tried to be careful and still placed a couple of pieces along the way. I made it to the ledge.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
When I got to the tree I turned on the headlamp, inspected the fixed tat anchor and clipped in. Breathing a sigh of relief-- we were almost done!-- I pulled up the rope and then realized that in my haste to finish the climb, I had left my Reverso behind at the hanging belay with Connie. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Oops. I was really making a mess of things.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I had no belay device.<br />
<br />
It was now completely dark. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
And was I going crazy, or was it starting to snow??</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
It was definitely snowing. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I hope I redeemed myself by adjusting to the situation. I put Connie on belay using the Munter hitch, which I hadn't used in years. It is a very good thing to know, for just this kind of situation. I would encourage you to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOf1Yzu_OS0">learn it</a> if you don't know it already.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I pointed the headlamp downward to illuminate the rock for Connie and she joined me in a few minutes. I was certain we were were just one rap from the ground, but we couldn't see very far in the dark. We triple-checked everything, tied knots in the ends and were mindful of the rope as we rapped on down.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Needless to say, I was late for dinner! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I was glad we tackled Matinee, even if it did turn into kind of an epic. We faced a few surprises but kept our heads and were safe. I was proud to on-sight pitch one and kind of pissed off about not on-sighting pitch two. Now I have to go back for the complete send. It is a great climb. Best to do it in two pitches! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
When I got home I pored over the Williams books and compiled a list of every star-worthy pitch of 5.10 in the Trapps and the Nears that I have not sent on lead. Here is what I came up with. If I have been on a route before, I have indicated it in parentheses. In the Trapps, most of the climbs are routes I need to revisit for the red-point. There are only a few I haven't tried at all. In the Nears, by contrast, I still need to hit several three-star multi-pitch classics that I have never attempted.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Trapps:</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Sonja (5.10a/b)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">Stirrup Trouble</a> (5.10b) (I've followed it once)</div>
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Matinee pitch two (5.10d) (I need the red-point)</div>
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Nemesis (5.10a)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">Birdie Party</a> pitch two roof (5.10b) (I've followed it once)<br />
Interstice pitch two roof (5.10d)</div>
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Mother's Day Party pitch two roof (5.10a)</div>
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Reach of Faith (5.10c) (should be an adventure-- no one does this climb)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/04/at-mac-wall-try-again-510b-coexistence.html">Turdland</a> (5.10d) (I've led it the 5.9 way)</div>
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Nurse's Aid pitch two (5.10a) (I need the red-point)</div>
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Directissima Direct (pitch one 5.10b/c variation that skips the ramp and traverse)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/11/oceans-of-elevens-in-gunks.html">Ent Line</a> (5.10d or 5.11a) (I've top-roped it)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/face-to-face-510b-with-space-invaders.html">Space Invaders</a> (5.10d) (I've followed it once)</div>
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Tweak or Freak (5.10a)</div>
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Bragg-Hatch (5.10d)</div>
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Creaky Joints and Trigger Points (5.10b)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">Tennish Anyone?</a> (5.10c) (I need the red-point)</div>
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Near Trapps:</div>
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Topeka (5.10a)</div>
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Outer Space Direct (5.10b)</div>
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Criss Cross Direct (5.10a)</div>
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Fat Stick Direct (5.10b)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/04/single-pitch-cragging-in-nears-tulip.html">Tulip Mussel Garden</a> (5.10d) (I need the red-point)</div>
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Elder Cleavage Direct (5.10b)</div>
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Boob Job (5.10b)</div>
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/05/more-fun-in-far-nears-up-yours-57-wooly.html">Wooly Clam Taco</a> (5.10c) (I've top-roped it)</div>
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Hang Ten (5.10a)</div>
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Whatever (5.10a)</div>
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Spinal Exam (5.10b/c)</div>
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I'm excited to get to work on this list! And to resume my attack on the 5.11 grade in the Gunks.<br />
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I hope your 2016 was as good as mine was, climbing-wise. Though I didn't see any major breakthroughs this year, I achieved a handful of 5.11 trad sends. I enjoyed successful climbing trips to <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/12/las-vegas-on-rocks-2016.html">Red Rocks</a> and the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/06/getting-sporty-in-new-river-gorge.html">New River Gorge</a>. I also had a fun, casual day in Seneca Rocks about which I have yet to post.<br />
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If 2017 brings more of the same I'll be satisfied.<br />
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I wish everyone out there in the climbing world a happy and safe New Year!</div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-72688271158954166692016-12-02T20:17:00.001-05:002016-12-05T13:26:21.049-05:00Las Vegas on the Rocks 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJlWaI6Xo0aZLe3jHN0HKMRwOQgVPYI9kd0IROpGOj0dbLuce5W9SDTsj0Mb8pZEUKwwDtE75XkFhr3CYbpMrs8cVNUtH6nhNZfkfd9BWXudDeuB0VaOE4eTfSQYOOMjc5Sw1p6J7V1uc/s1600/IMG_2618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJlWaI6Xo0aZLe3jHN0HKMRwOQgVPYI9kd0IROpGOj0dbLuce5W9SDTsj0Mb8pZEUKwwDtE75XkFhr3CYbpMrs8cVNUtH6nhNZfkfd9BWXudDeuB0VaOE4eTfSQYOOMjc5Sw1p6J7V1uc/s400/IMG_2618.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: A leader named Brian at the 5.11a roof on Levitation 29 (5.11c).)<br />
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Vegas, baby!<br />
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I was excited to be back. </div>
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I've been to Vegas on several occasions-- a few times for the climbing at Red Rocks, and a few times for (let's say) other miscellaneous pursuits.<br />
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My <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-rocks-2011-part-1.html">last</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/05/red-rocks-2011-part-2.html">visit</a> was in 2011, and it was all about the rock climbing. Five years ago, I wasn't the polished, confident climber (!) that you, dear reader, have come to know and love. I was much greener back then, passionate to be sure, but unseasoned. During that trip to Red Rocks, with my longtime partner Adrian, I managed to get up a few of the area classics. I was tentative and had no idea what I could do. I was quaking in my boots climbing 5.8, and I was prone to bailing on my leads. I remember taking a hang because I couldn't commit to a single hand jam in 5.7 territory on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-rocks-2011-part-1.html">Ragged Edges</a>. </div>
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But that was then. This year I was sure it was going to be entirely different. I had in mind many of the most legendary, heralded climbs in Red Rocks. For me the most important thing was that the climbs be long, multi-pitch outings up big walls, of the kind for which the area is famous. I wanted to do everything, although to me the most appealing choices seemed to be in the 5.10 range and beyond.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian's capture of Rainbow Mountain at sunrise, with moon.)<br />
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Adrian was to be my partner again for this 2016 Vegas adventure. He's been to Red Rocks on countless occasions over the last twenty years. He's done almost every great Red Rocks climb you can name. Nevertheless, he came to Vegas this year with a brief list of climbs that he had never tried.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We had four short November days with which to make memories.</span></div>
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Flying into Las Vegas for the first time in a long time, I was struck anew by the duality of this strange place. The beauty of Red Rocks, always visible in the distance, stands in stark contrast to the ugliness of the sprawling city. The genuine natural wonder of the desert surrounds the wholly artificial glitter of The Strip. The pure, noble attraction of the mountains is ever present, but is juxtaposed with the cheap, tawdry enticements of the town.</div>
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How many visitors to Las Vegas are even aware of the glorious landscape that sits just outside the city limits? For the most part, people don't come to Sin City for outdoorsy games. They come for the other Vegas. They value the ugliness, the artificial glamour, the cheap and tawdry entertainments. Do they ever lift their eyes from their poker chips for just a second to scan the horizon? Do they wonder what is out there?<br />
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(Photo: Red Rocks in the afternoon.)<br />
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I ought to hate Las Vegas. Sometimes, driving around the city, I would play a little mental game in which I would try to see if I could spot in Las Vegas the most depressing place in the world. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Everywhere you look in the city, you'll find a candidate for the title. </span>How about this nasty-looking tattoo parlor? Pretty sad. Or maybe that seedy strip club in a sketchy strip mall? Could be a winner. Perhaps one of the countless little local casinos, with worn carpets and blinking fluorescent lights, empty but for a couple of patrons wearing thousand-yard stares as they slowly drain their bank accounts into slot machines?<br />
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There is much to dislike, and much to be depressed about, but I have to admit that I like Vegas. I like that people come to the city to let loose, to let go. I like the groups of women strutting out for a good time, dressed in a trashy way that I imagine they'd never consider back at home. I like the families with little kids, racially and economically diverse, entranced at the ersatz wonders on every corner. I like the conventioneers, gathered for marijuana industry panels or obscure religious meetings, and I like the groups of teenagers brought together for baseball championships and chess tournaments.<br />
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In Vegas, you encounter a broader cross-section of America than you're likely to find anywhere else-- much broader than I ever see in my home town of New York City. Every time I step into an elevator in Vegas I feel like I'm about to be introduced to a new example, previously unknown to me, of What's Out There.<br />
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And we climbers are part of the freaky parade. I'm sure Adrian and I looked quite unusual to everyone else in our (cheap) hotel, trooping through the lobby as we did in the wee hours of the morning carrying our packs and ropes and gear. This was our main interaction with the normal Las Vegas; we'd speed through the lobby on our way out, and stumble back through after climbing all day and grabbing a quick dinner, ready to shower, crash, and do it all over again.<br />
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(Photo: The famous Las Vegas sign, with a shadowy stranger lurking beneath it.)<br />
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Our routine was to awaken at 5:00 in the morning. We'd get our crap together and hit the road, with only a stop at Starbucks for a coffee and a sandwich before heading out Charleston Avenue to Red Rocks. Our aim was always to be at the gate as close to the 6:00 a.m. opening time as possible, so we could make the most of the available daylight and have the best chance of being first to our chosen climbs. This worked well for us on the first two days, when we climbed routes that were accessed from the loop road. On days 3 and 4, we drove to Black Velvet Canyon, which is outside the loop, and found out that 6:00 isn't necessarily early enough to be first when there is no gate. But arriving second didn't end up hurting us much.<br />
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We did a lot of excellent climbing in our four days. There were many pitches of 5.10 face climbing, which the two of us handled pretty comfortably, generally speaking. I thought we did well as a climbing team, too, moving quickly enough on the approaches, handling the changeovers efficiently, and avoiding any true rope management disasters. We never got bogged down or spent too much time on a pitch. All in all we succeeded in what we set out to do, climbed some wonderful classics, and had a great time doing it.<br />
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<b>Day 1: Unimpeachable Groping (7 pitches, 5.10b)</b><br />
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Our first route was Adrian's selection, chosen mostly because he'd never done it before. I hadn't put Unimpeachable Groping high on my list because it is essentially sport-bolted, with just a few optional gear placements here and there. I was more keen to do real trad climbs.<br />
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But I was willing. The guidebook describes the climb as having six pitches in a row of 5.10a & b face climbing. Adrian argued, convincingly, that this route would get us acclimated to the Red Rocks style.<br />
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In the morning we arrived in pretty good time and we were first at the base. It was chilly and shady in the gully below the climb, but it was nice and sunny up on the wall, which caused me to make a potentially serious mistake: I decided to leave my jacket on the ground. I figured that with high temperatures expected in the fifties and the sun on the rock, I'd be comfortable in a my shirt sleeves, just like in the Gunks.<br />
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Adrian led pitch number one, using the tree-climbing start recommended in the guidebook. It looked a little bit dicey off the deck, but once he reached over and placed an Alien to protect the move onto the face, it all seemed good and he made steady progress. As he climbed I took in the beautiful surroundings. It was good to be there, communing with nature.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian using the tree-climbing start on Unimpeachable Groping (5.10b).)<br />
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Soon we had company. Another pair of climbers arrived at the wall. They'd been partying a little too hard the night before. Right after they arrived, one of them started puking in the bushes!<br />
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My reverie was spoiled. I couldn't believe these dudes made the hour-plus hike.<br />
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After the guy finished purging his breakfast, he lit a cigarette and wouldn't shut up.<br />
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Standing there, shivering a bit, I couldn't wait to get going. Thankfully, Adrian finished the long pitch with dispatch and soon enough I got on the wall and escaped the barfing bros. They ultimately bailed after one pitch.<br />
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Once I got to climbing I quickly became comfortable on the sandstone. It sometimes felt a little bit slippery to me but I got used to the style and confident on my toes by the end of our first pitch. I liked the climbing on the route. It was all thin face climbing, but it wasn't a monotonous slog straight up the bolt line. There were interesting sequences weaving left and right past the bolts. Climbing into the sunlight on the wall, I felt warm and happy.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian's shot of me climbing into the light on Unimpeachable Groping (5.10b).)<br />
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I led pitch two. It went well, and though there were some interesting moves there was nothing that felt desperate.<br />
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I took an unexpected fall. I was standing at the anchor at the end of the pitch, about to clip in. I can't tell you what happened. My foot must have popped. I was suddenly airborne. It was to be my only fall of the day. Furious, I quickly climbed back up and kept going, linking the second pitch into the short third pitch, which brought me to a ledge beneath a big roof. Adrian offered me the lead again on pitch four, knowing that I'd be eager to use my Gunks superpowers on the 5.10 roof just above us.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian's pic of me clearing the roof on pitch four of Unimpeachable Groping (5.10b).)<br />
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Soon the wall fell into the shade, and this is where the trouble began. It might have been fifty degrees at the base of the wall, but up a few hundred feet, with no sun and no shelter from the wind at the hanging belays, it felt much colder to me. As Adrian climbed and I waited, I started to shiver uncontrollably.<br />
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When Adrian arrived at the belay I expressed an interest in leading again, so I could get moving. Adrian-- that bastard!-- was comfy in his jacket and he agreed.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian, appropriately dressed, on one of the upper pitches on Unimpeachable Groping (5.10b). You can see a party behind us on the route.)<br />
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The rest of the climb went by in a blur. I moved quickly while leading to get warm and then shivered, teeth chattering, at the belays until Adrian joined me and I could start climbing again. I remember good, steep climbing, but not many details. As I led the final 5.10 pitch, I blew past the last rap anchor and realized later, as I reached a big ledge, that I'd inadvertently committed us to doing the final 5.8 pitch to the top of the tower.<br />
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This last pitch was very enjoyable, with some space between the bolts and airy positioning at the left edge of the face. I'm glad we did it, in retrospect. At the time I just wanted to get down and put my jacket on.<br />
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(Photo: I'm taking it to the top on Unimpeachable Groping. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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During our descent over another route called Power Failure (5.10b), we had an encounter with the renowned rope-eating features at Red Rocks. One of our ropes got hopelessly stuck on a blocky ledge. It wasn't a crisis, but I had to climb back up to the ledge to free the rope. We'd been speedy, so we had plenty of time.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian rappelling over Power Failure (5.10b).)<br />
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I liked Unimpeachable Groping, much more than I expected to. It has pitch after pitch of consistent, high quality face climbing, and a fun roof problem. You really don't need any trad gear, although we brought a set of nuts and a few cams and placed them on occasion. I'd gladly go back and do the route again. And I'd like to do Power Failure, the route we rapped over. Looks very nice. You could easily do both routes in a single day when the days are longer.</div>
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The most significant thing about the climb, from my perspective, was that we'd now done many pitches of 5.10 and (apart from my one mystery fall) it had all been casual and fun. This was what I'd hoped for. I was going to have a great time climbing in Red Rocks.<br />
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<b>Day 2: Eagle Dance (9 pitches, 5.10c)</b><br />
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Our second day was projected to be slightly warmer, but not by much. I wanted sunshine. Over dinner we looked through the guidebook for walls that stayed in the sun all day. I was surprised to see that there really aren't that many. One option stood out: the Eagle Wall, home to some mega classic lines.</div>
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This wall hadn't figured into my plans. The traditional approach takes two hours. I wasn't sure we'd have time to do a big route at this wall in November.</div>
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But I saw some useful beta on Mountain Project for a direct "<a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/eagle-wall/105732036">Wily Climber's Approach</a>" that takes only an hour and a half. After some rough calculations we decided that if we moved quickly we could get a route done in daylight. We might end up walking out in the dark, but that wouldn't be a big deal.</div>
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Adrian had done all of the most popular routes at this wall, and he wasn't exactly thrilled about hiking all the way up there again. But he knew that if we could knock off a climb like Eagle Dance (5.10c) or Levitation 29 (5.11c), it would be a big deal for me. He could see the pleading in my eyes. So he agreed.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on the scrambly direct approach to the Eagle Wall.)<br />
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The "Wily" approach went well for us; I would recommend it. Because we hadn't done it before, it wasn't much faster than the traditional approach for us. It took us just under two hours to reach the base of the wall. But it was fun, and it avoided the endless boulder scrambling that is required by the traditional approach.</div>
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Although we'd entered the loop road just after 6:00 a.m., we weren't the first to arrive at the wall. There was a party just ahead of us, getting set up for Levitation 29 as we walked up. Our intended target, Eagle Dance, was sitting there open, so we were in luck.<br />
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(Photo: I'm standing not far from the end of the scrambling but still some distance from the Eagle Wall. You can see the bird-shaped streak of brown varnish which gives the wall its name. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Like many of the most popular climbs in Red Rocks, Eagle Dance was put up by Jorge and Joanne Urioste, whose routes tend to feature lots and lots of bolts. Eagle Dance is no exception, though it is definitely not a sport route like Unimpeachable Groping. Eagle Dance's first two pitches are protected entirely with trad gear.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian's shot of me leading pitch one (5.9) of Eagle Dance (5.10c).)<br />
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We fired off the first several pitches quickly. The opening pitch (supposedly 5.9 but probably not) went easily, as did the 5.7 pitch two. An unexpected hiccup: as I followed pitch two, I sensed that I'd dropped something. Looking down, I was horrified to see my wallet tumbling down the wall! The stitching in my pants pocket had blown out.</div>
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The wallet landed at the top of a 150-foot tower that is to the left of the start of Eagle Dance. It was about 40 feet below me. It had fallen into a thin crack. I could only hope that I'd be able to reach in and get the wallet out.</div>
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I had Adrian lower me to the tower and then I located the wallet. It wasn't very far into the crack but I couldn't quite wedge my arm in to retrieve it. With a little work, however, I was able to fish the wallet out with my nut tool. I was fortunate that the wallet fell when it did. It didn't go very far, I was able to get it back, and nothing fell out! It was a minor miracle, and only cost us about ten minutes. I quickly got back to climbing.<br />
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(Photo: I'm leading pitch three (5.10a) of Eagle Dance (5.10c).)<br />
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The middle pitches of Eagle Dance, all generously bolted, are among the best on the route. I led pitches three and four. Pitch three (5.10a) is incredibly sustained, with consistent great moves as it traverses right and then trends back left up a diagonal seam. And then pitch four goes straight up the beautiful face at 5.10c. I remember the hardest moves coming at the beginning of the pitch and then again near the end, at a shallow vertical slot. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Adrian handled pitch five, with more bolted 5.10a face climbing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: Adrian at the final bits of pitch four, one of the two 5.10c crux pitches on Eagle Dance. You can see the top of the tower where my wallet landed, now far below us.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">During pitch six the rock started to change, with the features getting more fragile. The climbing was good but I passed many loose flakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">As Adrian tackled the </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">straightforward but strenuous</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> aid climbing on the pitch seven bolt ladder, I started to really relax. We were cruising, and we had only two more pitches to go. I had brought my jacket but I never needed it, since I was very comfortable in the sun. The climbing so far had been awesome. Our position high on the remote Eagle Wall provided beautiful views over Oak Creek Canyon. And we had a front row seat to the guys to our right (named Brian and Gerry) on Levitation 29. They were struggling at the 5.11 cruxes but they made steady progress up the wall. Looking around, I basked a bit in our success. This was the Red Rocks experience I'd always dreamed of.</span><br />
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(Photo: Adrian's shot of Brian on the crux pitch of Levitation 29 (5.11c).)<br />
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I led the final two pitches, which ascend a shallow open book with smooth white walls on either side. These turned out to be the hardest pitches on the route. Pitch eight is rated at a modest 5.10a in the guidebook, but it is awkward and difficult right off the hanging belay. I got through this section with delicate wide stemming up the open book and then was proud of myself for hand-jamming, without hesitation, through a bulge to finish the pitch. Take that, Ragged Edges!<br />
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(Photo: Adrian doing the final jams on the 5.10a pitch eight of Eagle Dance (5.10c).)<br />
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Pitch nine upped the ante to 5.10c, and here I struggled, for the first time all day. At the start of the pitch I was unnerved when I gently touched a flake and it snapped right off in my hand. I desperately held on to the wall and the flake, worried about dropping it. Fortunately there was a little slot to my right where I could place some gear and, after a move or two, I shoved the broken flake in there as well.<br />
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(Photo: I'm holding the flake I broke off on pitch nine of Eagle Dance (5.10c). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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The crux climbing then came pretty quickly as I got back into the shallow open book. The wall had few features, and they were all hollow; it seemed like anything I touched could easily break. Using tiny ripples on the wall, I tried stemming upward again, but I slipped and took a fall. Going back at it, I changed tactics, throwing a shoulder into the crease of the open book, and this time I got through the hardest climbing, placing a cam under pressure during a somewhat spacious stretch between bolts. This was great climbing, thin and challenging, and not the usual crimping and reaching. As I got higher I resumed stemming. The pitch remained delicate, requiring precise movements and balance, but as the angle eased I knew it was all over.<br />
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(Photo: Looking down pitch nine to Adrian from the final anchor on Eagle Dance (5.10c).)<br />
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It was 3:00. We had an hour and a half before sunset, which was plenty of time to rap off and negotiate the ledges back to the drainage. Barring a rope-snag disaster, we'd be well on our way back to the car by the time it got dark. On our second rap, the knot got briefly stuck, but after a moment of panic we got it loose. I held my breath during every subsequent pull of the rope, but we made it down without incident.<br />
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Walking out, I felt like we'd just finished one of my best-ever days of climbing. The route had been fantastic, with great moves, varied challenges, and stunning scenery. Adrian and I had worked together with efficiency, getting up and down with time to spare.<br />
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Though I didn't get a perfect on-sight of every last move, the day was still a validation of sorts for me. I know I am not a talented climber. I've been a mediocre weekend warrior for many years. But I've steadily plugged away at it, hoping one day to be able to travel to the great rock climbing destinations of the world to do routes like Eagle Dance. And now, here we were, going after it and getting it done. It was all I'd ever wanted.<br />
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<b>Day 3: Bourbon Street (7 pitches, 5.8+)</b><br />
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Our second day had been pretty big and, being old men, both Adrian and I woke up on day three feeling a bit sore. Our plan was to head into Black Velvet Canyon and see what was available. We had many options in mind at Whiskey Peak, which is the closest formation to the parking lot. We also considered doing something at the Black Velvet Wall, which sits just beyond Whiskey Peak. There are tons of great routes at both of these locations. I'd never been in Black Velvet Canyon before, so it was all new for me. </div>
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Adrian pushed for us to do Bourbon Street (5.8+), a full-length route up Whiskey Peak that he'd never climbed. I was fine with it, but I was also up for something harder if we felt the urge once we got moving, or if Bourbon Street was unavailable.<br />
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When we arrived, there were only a few cars in the lot, so we figured Bourbon Street would be open. We did the forty-five minute hike in to the base and found that we were the first to arrive. I think we were the only people on the route all day on this beautiful Saturday, though there were a couple of parties on Frogland (5.8), right next door.<br />
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The climb was in the shade for the whole day, and I brought my jacket. I sometimes needed it, even though the temperatures climbed into the sixties.<br />
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I had hogged all of the best pitches on Eagle Dance, so we set things up for Adrian to lead the money pitches on Bourbon Street: the crux second pitch, and the long face-climbing pitch five.<br />
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(Photo: I'm heading up the 5.7 pitch one of Bourbon Street (5.8+). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Starting up pitch one, I had a couple of uncertain moments. This pitch (which is just 5.7) follows a .75 Camalot-sized vertical crack in a corner for about 40 or 50 feet. I had two green .75 Camalots, but I stupidly left one in the crack early, and then found myself constantly sliding the other one up with me while I looked for other gear. The climbing was reasonable, but I didn't like the feeling of repeatedly moving the only piece of gear keeping me off the ground. Soon I reached a small overhang, where other gear appeared, and all was well from there. I really enjoyed the last bits of the pitch, using hand jams to get in and out of an alcove with a blue Camalot-sized vertical crack at the back.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian leading the crux crack section on pitch two of Bourbon Street (5.8+).)<br />
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Pitch two is definitely the business, and Adrian did well managing the finger-lock moves up a crack just to the right of Frogland's second-pitch corner.<br />
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I led pitches three and four. Pitch three (5.7) is the closest thing to a throwaway pitch on the route, but I still found it fun. It wanders up a few bushy corners and then follows a brown face with many features and thin gear to a stance beneath an obvious hanging horn/corner. Pitch four (5.7+) ascends the hanging horn/corner, which is juggy and no big deal. Then an easier ramp takes you to the base of a crack.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian following my lead of the 5.7 pitch three of Bourbon Street (5.8+).)<br />
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Adrian took the lead again for pitch five (5.6), a beautiful long pitch (150 feet) of face climbing up to a little shelf beneath a break in the final overhangs at the top of the mountain.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian is all smiles as he starts up the 5.6 pitch five of Bourbon Street (5.8+).)<br />
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I brought it home by combining the short pitches six (5.7) and seven (5.5) into one lead. I found I was able to avoid rope drag by not placing much gear and by double-extending a few of the pieces.<br />
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(Photo: I'm doing the exposed but easy moves up the 5.7 pitch 6 of Bourbon Street (5.8+). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Compared to our first two days, Bourbon Street was an easy romp. But I found it to be a very worthwhile climb, with much to recommend it. The first two pitches feature great climbing up vertical cracks. The rest of the climb is adventurous, with some route-finding challenges. I liked the hanging corner of pitch four, the nice face on pitch five, and the exposure of the short wall ascended by pitch six. It was gratifying to top out at a real summit, with good views over the canyon below. And finally, the descent was an easy half-hour scramble down the back side of Whiskey Peak. What's not to love?<br />
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(Photo: Looking down at Adrian from the middle of the last pitch of Bourbon Street (5.8+).)<br />
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I haven't done Frogland, Bourbon Street's more popular neighbor, so I can't compare the two. But I can say this in Bourbon Street's favor: there is not a single piece of fixed gear on the route. Frogland (another Urioste route) has bolts next to cracks. Bourbon Street has no bolts, period! And no fixed anchors. It is a true trad experience. I found it refreshing after two days of heavily bolted routes.<br />
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<b>Day 4: Sour Mash (7 pitches, 5.10a)</b><br />
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When we finished Bourbon Street we could see several parties climbing on the Black Velvet Wall, just a little bit further into the canyon. It is a popular area and the sheer, steep wall looked very appealing to me. I wanted to come back on day four and hit one of these routes before we left Las Vegas.<br />
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(Photo: Black Velvet Peak seen from the summit of Whiskey Peak.)<br />
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Adrian and I talked about the many classics available on the wall. He's done almost all of them. The two he's never tried-- Rock Warrior (5.10a) and Fiddler on the Roof (5.10d)-- are considered somewhat run out and scary. I was feeling pretty good and thought I could handle either of these. But Adrian wasn't enthused, and I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. Eventually I proposed we just do something good; I didn't care which climb. I knew Adrian wasn't particularly fond of the two most popular routes here, Prince of Darkness (5.10b) and Dream of the Wild Turkeys (5.10a). So I suggested we do Sour Mash (5.10a). I'd heard Adrian describe this route as a favorite over the years. It has seven pitches, most of them easier than 5.10. Seemed like a nice, breezy way to end our trip, with no worries about finishing in time to head to the airport.<br />
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(Photo: Some rain clouds in the distance at first light.)<br />
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As we headed in, we were a bit concerned about the gloomy skies above us. There were threatening clouds here and there, and the forecast put the chance of rain at 30 to 40 percent by 11:00 a.m. Adrian had once had a scary experience on the Black Velvet Wall in which a sudden storm sent a stream of water down the wall, soaking everyone and sending Adrian nearly into hypothermia. So we brought a pack with our raincoats. I knew we could retreat from any pitch so I wasn't particularly worried.</div>
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I was much more upset to see that the parking lot was practically full as we pulled in at 6:00. I wasn't expecting this, since there were so few people in the canyon the day before, when the weather was better.</div>
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There was nothing to do but to hike in. If we were stuck behind too many parties on Sour Mash we could pick something else. We could even shift gears and do Rock Warrior, after all...</div>
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We found ourselves second in line for Sour Mash. The first party was just getting started as we arrived, and they looked pretty speedy, so we decided to just wait it out and start up behind them. It worked out fine, and after the initial waiting we weren't held up.</div>
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I led the first two traditional pitches in one. The first pitch is rated 5.8 in the guidebook, but the crux move is a committing step up with good hands and polished, tiny footholds. There is gear nearby but the territory below is ledgy so there is still some splat potential. After this move, the climbing eases up to the traditional belay ledge and then some very nice thin face climbing (5.9) past bolts takes you up to a second ledge where you belay at a small tree.<br />
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(Photo: I'm past the slightly sketchy 5.8 on pitch one of Sour Mash (5.10a), and heading into the 5.9 face climbing of pitch two. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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As we ascended these first two pitches, the air felt moist and the occasional raindrop came down out of the sky. The rock was still dry and we persevered, hoping it would blow over or hold off. I quickly got started on pitch three, a brilliant 5.8 pitch out a roof and then to the right up a diagonal ramp, which eventually led to a steep, juggy section up to a ledge.</div>
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(Photo: Adrian's shot of me scoping out the roof on the 5.8 pitch two of Sour Mash (5.10a).)<br />
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I really enjoyed the climbing on this long pitch, but I couldn't understand why there were so many bolts. Sour Mash is yet another Urioste route. I expected bolts, but some of their choices baffle me. I was sure that I could have found placements on this pitch. The ramp was featured with cracks. But every time I thought about looking for a piece of gear, I found another bolt instead.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian following me up the 5.8 pitch three of Sour Mash (5.10a).)<br />
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As Adrian came up behind me, I looked at pitches four and five. They looked beautiful, and easy to combine. The short, 5.7 pitch four goes straight into the 5.9 pitch five. There are no bolts on these pitches, which follow a vertical crack system up a varnished, smooth, brown face.<br />
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The wind started to pick up as I began pitch four, and soon it was raining. I decided to hurry up to the ledge at the end of pitch four, where there is a rappel anchor. I hoped the rain would stop again or pass over. We were moving fast, and if we got a reprieve for even an hour we might be able to finish the climb!<br />
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But as I reached the anchor it became apparent that the rain had truly arrived. It began really coming down, mixed with a bit of light sleet. I could see the smooth wall above me becoming slick and wet. Even if the rain stopped now, I didn't want to climb the next pitch. I could see the party above us moving to retreat.<br />
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It was time to bail.<br />
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Of course, once we were off the wall, the skies cleared and it was sunny for the rest of the day. We weren't in a hurry to leave, so we sat there a while, watching some other climbers who'd decided to stay up on the wall. I was sorry we didn't get to finish the climb, but I thought we'd made the right decision. Our climb was positioned such that it got quite wet in the brief storm. And you aren't supposed to climb on the fragile sandstone right after the rock gets wet.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian took this shot of the Black Velvet Wall after we bailed. If you click on the photo to enlarge, you can easily make out climbers on Prince of Darkness (5.10a), Dream of the Wild Turkeys (5.10a), and the upper pitches of Epinephrine (5.9).)<br />
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Sour Mash seems like a terrific route. I really enjoyed the parts we did and it looked like the best bits were still to come. All quibbling about bolts aside, the Uriostes picked out a great line with this climb, following fun natural features up the wall.<br />
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(Photo: So long Red Rocks! Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I left Red Rocks feeling like we'd had a very successful visit. We did about as much climbing as we could possibly do. I enjoyed every climb that we did, but for me the biggest highlight was obviously Eagle Dance. I had some other huge routes on my list, like Epinephrine (5.9) and Woman of Mountain Dreams (5.11a), that we didn't get around to doing. But in the end I don't think that November was the best time of year for these objectives, at least for us. I think it may be better to try these climbs <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">in April or early May, when it isn't beastly hot yet but the days are longer.</span></div>
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After this trip, I now know that these sorts of routes are well within reach for Adrian and me, and this knowledge is so valuable to me. I've felt great all fall, and this little excursion to Vegas put a fitting cap on my season. I'll look forward to coming back and putting another dent in the lifetime of climbing that is available in Red Rocks.</div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-90772968429356690262016-11-10T08:02:00.000-05:002016-11-10T14:03:46.501-05:00Oceans of Elevens in the Gunks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: That's me, setting off with some trepidation toward the many roofs of No Man's Land (5.11b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I've been feeling good lately. I'm climbing better than I have all year.<br />
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And it's high season! We've had some beautiful fall days in the Gunks.<br />
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I am a man in a hurry.<br />
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For me the goal is simple: I want to push into the 5.11's. For real.<br />
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I've done very few of them. I have my pick of the lot. As of a few weeks ago, I'd sent just three elevens in the Gunks. It shouldn't be hard for me to find some more. I can walk up to the best ones and try leading them. </div>
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If only it were so easy. These climbs are at my limit. Not so long ago, I thought leading trad 5.11 was something I was incapable of doing. It should go without saying that I need to explore these routes safely.<br />
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The problem is that in the Gunks, a lot of the climbs that are harder than 5.10 have pretty sparse gear. It isn't like other areas such as, say, Indian Creek, where a harder grade just means the cracks aren't the right size for your hand. In the Gunks, the harder grades often signify that there aren't any cracks at all. With difficulty comes extra commitment.</div>
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But I know there are many Gunks elevens that have more than adequate gear. I just have to find them.</div>
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In my last two visits to the Gunks I starting wading into the 5.11 pool with a purpose. I tried to on-sight some elevens, and to check out some others on top rope to see if I could find a way to lead them with adequate protection.</div>
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I got out with Andy on an October day that was supposed to be rainy. But at 6:00 a.m. the weather in NYC looked good enough for the time being, and after driving up to the Gunks we headed straight down to the area near the Yellow Wall.<br />
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There are several 5.11 climbs nearby.<br />
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(Photo: Andy resembling a climbing ninja on Ent Line (5.11b).)<br />
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We started out by warming up on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/revisiting-my-first-59-bonnies-roof.html">Ants' Line</a> (5.9) and then we used its bolted anchor to take a top rope run on Ent Line (5.11b).</div>
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I'd done Ent Line on TR once before, and I remembered the initial 5.10d face as kind of tricky. And then, as I recalled, the 5.11 roof above wasn't too hard. I'd never seen anyone lead the climb. The guidebook says it is PG-R during the 5.10 part, and just plain R for the 5.11 at the top. I wanted to check out the placements for myself.</div>
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As I climbed the route with the security of the top rope, I was surprised to find lots of spots for gear all the way through the (very nice!) 5.10 climbing up the steep face to the rooflet. This part of the climb would be a great 5.10d lead on its own. And at the top of the face, there is gear at the 5.11 roof as well, at the bottom of the overlap where the handholds are. Above the roof there is another hard move or two on the upper face, and this is where it gets complicated: I'm not sure there is any pro for these last moves. It would be a big whip if you blew it at the top.</div>
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Despite the runout at the end, I think that I will lead Ent Line. It appears safe to lead the climb up to and over the roof (just watch out for the tree next to the wall). After the overhang, you can step to the right and finish on Ants' Line, or place some gear over on Ants' Line and then step back to the left to do the final moves on Ent Line. Either way it is a good 5.11 lead.</div>
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Now it was time for our big target for the day: No Man's Land (5.11b). I'd been talking about hitting this route for a while.<br />
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Like all the routes at the Yellow Wall, No Man's Land climbs through an impressive and intimidating multi-tiered roof system. Standing beneath the wall, you can feel the aura of the place wash over you. The overhangs are immense. I'd previously done one of the routes here, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/04/last-days-of-winter-510d.html">Carbs and Caffeine</a> (5.11a). It had been tough and it had taken me a <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">few</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-next.html">tries</a> to get it cleanly. And when I attempted Carbs, I knew there were bolts protecting the technical crux moves. This knowledge took away some of the fear, though later in the climb when I did the mental crux, moving out a hanging corner with no footholds (and no bolts), it was still plenty scary.<br />
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As far as No Man's Land was concerned, I knew that there would be no bolts. The bottom part of the pitch was reputed to be easy but poorly protected. And in the hard climbing above, I expected the pro to be difficult to place as I moved through the three tiers of the big roof system.<br />
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I racked up and dove in. </div>
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The climb begins up an easy slab past a tree, with good pro in some cracks. Then the wall steepens and you climb 40-50 feet in 5.7-ish terrain on orange rock with almost no gear. The climbing is fun and casual but you have to be careful. As you approach the first giant overhang the pro situation improves; I was relieved to find great gear the entire rest of the way.<br />
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(Photo: That's me past the runout face and into the first tier of the overhang on No Man's Land (5.11b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I ended up taking a couple of hangs. I made it through the first tier, which is probably 5.10. Then I found harder moves to get over the second and third tiers. For me, the only issue at tier number two was commitment. Once I really went for it and found gear up there, the move was no problem. At the final ceiling I had more trouble. I had to hang to figure out the move, but once I did, I was pretty sure I would get it the next time.<br />
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My partner Andy had no issues at all as the second.<br />
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(Photo: Andy in the midst of the overhangs on No Man's Land (5.11b).)<br />
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Walking away from No Man's Land, I felt like maybe I would have been more successful if I'd been more aggressive. But I also felt pretty positive about how it went. I'd sorted it all out, the gear was good where it counted, and I knew I could come back and get the send. It wasn't THAT hard. I thought maybe it was easier than Carbs and Caffeine. It is a great line, with a thrilling atmosphere.<br />
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Next I ran up the first pitch of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">Airy Aria</a> (5.8) so we could throw a rope over yet another 5.11b: the first pitch of Scary Area.</div>
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Now, I don't pretend to have enough experience in the 5.11 grade to be an expert, but this thing felt much harder to me then either Ent Line or No Man's Land. The pitch isn't long, but the wall is steep and the holds are small and sloping. There are several bouldery, hard moves.</div>
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And it is a dangerous lead. There are two protection bolts, but the first one comes after two very difficult sequences. There is a potential placement in between the two hard moves but I think you'd still hit the boulders on the ground if you blew it during either of the hard bits below the bolt. After the first bolt, the gear is adequate for the difficult moves that follow. The second bolt is completely unnecessary; it is slightly off-line and comes in between two good horizontals.<br />
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(Photo: Top-roping Scary Area (P1 5.11b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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Andy got Scary Area cleanly on his first try on top rope. I didn't, but I felt like I worked it out and I could see coming back and setting it up again to take a few more runs on it. Then I could either leave the first bolt stick-clipped and lead it with the rope above me for the first cruxes, or if I felt like I really had it dialed I could try to lead it from the ground up. It is doable but I'd want to know for certain that I have it in the bag before taking on the initial moves without gear.</div>
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In any event, this first pitch of Scary Area is worthwhile. There is a lot of good climbing on it, even if you just do it on top rope.</div>
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Scary Area ended up being our last climb of the day. The rain finally arrived, sending us running for cover. Even though our day was cut short, I felt like we'd done some excellent work.<br />
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I now had some new projects to complete.<br />
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Andy and I were soon back in the Gunks for another day. I was pumped to hop back on No Man's Land... eventually. At some point.<br />
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Why rush? We had a full day ahead of us.<br />
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While I got mentally prepared for No Man's Land, there were plenty of other options.<br />
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I've been meaning to attempt Matinee (5.10d) all year. It remains one of the few big tens that I haven't tried. So with Matinee in mind, we started our day on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/07/gunks-routes-pink-laurel-59.html">Pink Laurel</a> (5.9), which is right around the corner.<br />
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(Photo: Andy coming up the final bits of Pink Laurel (5.9).)<br />
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This was actually my first time leading Pink Laurel, after all these years. And my first time doing the pitch two roof. I ran it from the ground to the top in one pitch. I thought the first pitch was great. The crux move out of the alcove is awkward, and there is good exposure during the easier climbing up the corner to the ledge. I thought the second pitch was kind of a waste of time. It wasn't that interesting and felt easier than 5.9.<br />
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When we finished with Pink Laurel we found Matinee occupied. So we shifted gears and walked on down to the Seasons area.<br />
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(Photo: I'm in the early going on The Winter (5.10d). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I was excited to do <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/04/last-days-of-winter-510d.html">The Winter</a> (5.10d). I'd been on this route before, but needed to get the redpoint on pitch one. And I wanted to try the second pitch of The Spring (5.10b/c), which sits directly above pitch one of The Winter. (It is confusing. The second pitches criss-cross above the first pitches.) The Winter/Spring link-up, done together in one long pitch, is sometimes called The Winter Direct. I'd never done the second half of the link-up.<br />
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It went very well, and man oh man, what a climb! The first pitch of The Winter is excellent and demanding, with a tough move off the deck just to get established and then wonderful thin climbing up a corner with tiny nuts for gear. When you throw in the second pitch of The Spring in one lead, you add a completely different challenge; a big roof in a corner. It too is mentally challenging, with a committing move out into space to get established in the roofs. The guidebook gives this pitch a PG-R rating, but I think the gear is good once you commit.<br />
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I was psyched to get the send on pitch one and the on-sight on pitch two. I think this double-length pitch is one of the best tens in the Gunks.<br />
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(Photo: Andy finishing the difficulties on pitch one of The Winter/Spring, with the challenging roof/corner of pitch two looming above.)<br />
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/07/gunks-routes-seasons-more.html">The Spring</a> (P1 5.9) was sitting there open to our right so we did that one too, and again I led straight up at the end of pitch one and tacked on pitch two of The Winter. This upper pitch is rated 5.10b/c or d depending on how you do the crux. Dick Williams says in the guidebook that if you go straight up at the crux it is 5.10d, but if you hand traverse five feet to the left it is 5.10b/c, a little easier.<br />
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For most of its length, The Spring/Winter link-up features good, technical 5.9 corner climbing. Then there is a great slot for protection just below the obvious 5.10 move but you do have to step up above the gear. <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/gunks-routes-blistered-toe-5759torture.html">A couple of seasons ago</a> I led up to this point and chickened out, traversing off to the right when I wasn't feeling it. But this time I wasn't worried. I followed the little handholds upward and was through it in no time.<br />
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I thought that I'd done the direct 5.10d version, but when Andy followed he reached to his right for a sidepull that I didn't use, so maybe I did it the 5.10 b/c way? The two options are within easy reach of each other, without anything that seemed like a "hand traverse."<br />
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(Photo: Andy at the second pitch crux of The Spring/Winter link-up (5.10d).)<br />
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Whichever way you finish it, the climbing on The Spring/The Winter link-up is nice, but not remotely as challenging as The Winter/Spring link-up to the left. The climb has a lot of good 5.9 on it and just one sequence of 5.10.<br />
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Andy and I had now ticked off six guidebook pitches pretty quickly. We were well into our short day and I still hadn't hopped on No Man's Land.<br />
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I figured we had to do it now. I told myself that I knew what to do.<br />
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Racking up, I felt a little bit nervous, but once I started climbing everything went off without a hitch. I negotiated the runout section without much worry. I remembered my beta for each of the three overhangs. The gear was good. The moves went fine.<br />
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I sent it in 17 minutes.<br />
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It is definitely easier than Carbs and Caffeine. Or maybe I'm better now? Who can say?<br />
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What a thrill! I was very very happy about it.<br />
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While Andy cleaned the pitch, I took a quick look at the namesake route for the area, The Yellow Wall (5.11c), just to our right. I thought about getting on it. This would REALLY be the big one.<br />
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Staring up at the gargantuan roofs, I thought that I should do it. I had to do it. It would be a dereliction of duty NOT to do it.<br />
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But I came up with a million excuses and reasons not to... and then I remembered Matinee.<br />
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This was my out.<br />
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"Hey Andy, let's go back to Matinee!" I said.<br />
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We walked back down there but it was still occupied.<br />
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I decided to try another nearby climb: A-Gape (5.11b). This one has a crux roof with good gear, right next to the classic 5.8 <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/09/rated-r-in-gunks-blackout-59-ape-call.html">Ape Call</a>.<br />
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(Photo: That's me at the 5.9 move protected by an old pin on A-Gape (5.11b). The crux roof is above me in the upper left-hand portion of the picture. Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I thought the climbing at the start was interesting, up a layback crack. Then a 5.9 step to the right with only a very rusty old pin for pro was a little bit dicey. After that it was easy climbing up and further right (almost touching Ape Call) and then back left up the slab to the obvious big roof with a pointed flake underneath.<br />
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I was relieved to get good gear in the roof. I started out with two pieces, and then bumped it up to three after I fell off.<br />
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And I kept falling off. This is a hard roof.<br />
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(Photo: Attempting the roof on A-Gape (5.11b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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There are some poor-to-middling holds above the lip. I could reach them. But I couldn't figure out how to get my feet up. I kept flaming out and taking the whip, several times. This was a real lead fall past the gear and down the slab, but it was clean. I must have taken the ride at least five or six times. Eventually I decided it wasn't going to happen. I gave up and traversed over to finish on Ape Call. I had to leave my blue Alien behind, hopelessly fixed at the ceiling.<br />
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I'm not sorry I tried A-Gape. It may be no Yellow Wall but it is a quality route. I'm pleased I made a game effort at it. My only regret (apart from the lost Alien) is that I never figured out the move. This was my fourth 5.11b in recent weeks and it felt much more mysterious to me than the others. I must have missed some kind of heel trickery or something. Since I traversed off and never finished the lead, Andy never got to try the roof. I'm sure he would have figured out what I was doing wrong.<br />
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(Photo: That's me, finishing our day on some obscure 5.9. Photo by Andy.)<br />
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As we walked out in the twilight I felt pretty darn good about our day, despite my semi-epic on A-Gape. I'd had some amazing sends on The Winter Direct and No Man's Land, and I felt like I had laid a foundation to make real progress into the 5.11 grade in the Gunks.<br />
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I don't know how much more climbing I'll get done at my home crag this season. Next week I am headed to Red Rocks for four days with my old pal Adrian. I have some big goals in mind. My enthusiasm is surging. I feel lucky to be going there before they turn the Bureau of Land Management into a mining company. Given recent developments in the real world, I may be tempted to hike into one of those big canyons and never come out...<br />
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Sorry. This is not a blog about politics.<br />
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I shall return. And if the weather permits, I may yet find some more 5.11's to attempt in the Gunks in 2016!</div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-20189313161790416502016-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:002016-10-20T14:02:24.123-04:00Some Golden Showers (5.11a) With 10,000 Restless Virgins (5.10d)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Nancy following 10,000 Restless Virgins (5.10d).)<br />
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We are well into high season in the Gunks. I need to get my ass in gear.<br />
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I haven't set my sights on any big climbing objectives for quite a while.</div>
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During my <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/10/2016-year-in-510-so-far.html">weekend with Adrian</a> in early October, I saw that it was time to ramp things up a bit. We did many 5.10's in a row and to me they all felt good, solid... even casual. After I cruised up J'Accuse, Nevermore, and Welcome to the Gunks (all of them 5.10b), I realized that I was ready to pick some harder objectives.</div>
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So when I met up with a new partner, Nancy, last Sunday, I wanted to pick a 5.11 to attempt. I didn't have a particular target in mind but Nancy was thinking of maybe trying the Winter (5.10d), so I suggested I might try one of the nearby elevens at the Slime Wall or maybe even No Man's Land (5.11b), or the top pitch of Enduro Man (5.11c), at some point.</div>
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When we arrived it was quite chilly, and we were content to warm up on some easier classics and work our way down to the Seasons area.<br />
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(Photo: Nancy leading Son of Easy O (5.8).)<br />
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After we had a couple of climbs behind us I decided to go for the redpoint on Cheap Thrills (5.10c). I'd had to take a hang on this climb on my first attempt, mostly because I'd been so nervous clipping the crux pin that I couldn't calm down and get over the roof. When I'd gone back up on the second try it wasn't so bad.</div>
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When I tried it again with Nancy, I decided to do the climb as it is described in the guidebook, as a wholly independent pitch, and not to do it by starting on Alley Oop, as I think most people do and as it is described in the Trapps App. </div>
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I began from the ground and found out that I'd skipped some great climbing on my first visit to Cheap Thrills! There are interesting, fun face moves in maybe the 5.9 range as you work up some shallow left-facing corners before the orange face leading to the roofs. There is gear, too, although it is somewhat spaced out and finicky. I recall one micronut placement at one of the corners and a pink Tricam in a shallow, pebbly horizontal that might also take a cam if you work to find the right spot for it.</div>
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Once I reached the orange face I felt totally in control, this time, as I moved up to the pin and clipped it. So far, so good. Reaching up to the good holds over the roof, I calmly backed up the piton with a cam and then just had to execute my beta to get over the roof. It went fine, and seemed like it was over in no time.</div>
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Cheap Thrills, done in its entirety, is now one of my favorite tens. It is a thoughtful, challenging pitch. I can see going back to it again and again.</div>
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Nancy and I walked on down to the Seasons area, but it was a zoo, as I suppose we should have expected on this peak-season Sunday. We kept on walking to Sleepy Hollow, where I hoped to try 10,000 Restless Virgins (5.10d). This is a very popular and highly regarded ten that I somehow have never gotten around to, until now. </div>
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Things were much more peaceful down at the far end of the cliff, though there were some people here and there. I recognized a climber named Alex, who I've seen at the cliffs a few times. I don't really know him at all but he is the sort of climber I aspire to be in the near future. He tackles the 5.12's in the Gunks and works them, getting the moves dialed and leading them when he can, in headpoint style. He has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te83r_WOra4">video</a> of himself on a Lost City climb called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te83r_WOra4">Brave New World</a> (5.12a?), in which he is so smooth, he makes the climb look like a 5.6. I tried Brave New World on TR with Andy in July and while we were able to do almost all of the moves, we were both stumped by the boulder problem off of the ground. If I ever figure out this move, I may try to work the route with an eye towards leading it.<br />
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(Photo: Andy on Brave New World (5.12).)<br />
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The other week, with Adrian, I tried another "introductory" twelve in the Nears called Eraserhead. This one can be easily set up on TR if you lead Roseland (5.9) or Shitface (5.10c) to the bolted anchor. On Eraserhead there was, again, just one move we struggled with, although this time the crux came pretty high on the pitch, just past a piton. If I could get this one move nailed down I could consider leading this one too.<br />
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(Photo: That's me at the crux of Eraserhead (5.12a) on TR.)<br />
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Alex was down in Sleepy Hollow with a friend working on two twelves, Future Shock Direct (5.12d) and Bone Hard (5.12b). Both routes looked clean, steep, and difficult. I chatted with Alex about Brave New World and Eraserhead. He had some beta for me on the Eraserhead crux that I'm excited to go back and try.</div>
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But I digress. There was no one on 10,000 Restless Virgins; it was wide open. Looking at it, I was psyched to do it. It is a beautiful, natural line up a left-facing flake system, capped by a large ceiling. </div>
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It went very well. The opening flakes are juggy (probably 5.8?) and there is gear available at will. The wall is slightly overhanging, so it gets a bit pumpy as you head towards the roof.</div>
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When I got to the roof, I thought the main challenge was finding good rock in which to place pro. There are some loose flakes just below the ceiling, so be careful. I got what I thought was a bomber yellow Alien in a downward facing slot next to the big undercling block.</div>
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Once I was satisfied with the gear, it was perfectly obvious what to do. I got my feet up and made the reach to the horizontal above the roof. It was easy to get a good piece in this horizontal, and then one more big reach up to a jug essentially finished the crux.<br />
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(Photo: Nancy at the roof on 10,000 Restless Virgins (5.10d).)<br />
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I think this route is easy for 5.10d-- certainly it was easier for me than Cheap Thrills. Anyway I was really happy to get the on-sight and to feel so good doing it. It was nothing but fun.</div>
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With the day slipping away, I figured I needed to try something harder or it wouldn't happen. We walked over to the Slime Wall and I took a hard look at two short climbs that sit right next to each other, April Showers and Golden Showers (both 5.11a). Both climbs seemed to feature some desperate moves on blank, nearly vertical faces. As I examined the routes it seemed to me that I had a better shot at getting off the ground on the one on the right-- Golden Showers. So I decided to try it.</div>
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Nancy tried, gently, to talk me out of it. She'd had a strong partner who took repeated falls on micro nuts at the crux of Golden Showers, and who then gave up.</div>
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It sounded a bit hairy, but I was undeterred, for some dumb reason. How hard could it be? After all, I'd just waltzed up a climb that was supposedly only a single letter grade easier. The climbs had completely different styles, but still... the guidebook said it was PG and I was sure to figure out something, I reasoned. So I racked up and threw myself at Golden Showers.</div>
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The very first move was hard, and height-related. There is a wide horizontal at about chest level and then a blank gap to an obvious little left-facing corner above. Stepping onto the wall, I managed to stand up, just so, to reach the key hold. But I was already shaking, and I floundered with my feet. I nearly popped off but eventually I found a toehold of some kind and stepped up to a horizontal seam where, trembling, I got some gear.</div>
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Then it took another tough move to get up to the next horizontal, where I placed two tiny pieces. And another thin step up and left to a semi-rest, where again I could get some placements. I stuffed the thin crack with everything I could here-- two small nuts and a C3-- since I believed I was now facing the crux climbing. I thought the placements were good, but everything was quite small. As I looked up, I could see the next stretch was very blank, with one possible slot for a micronut a few moves above me.</div>
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Every sequence on the route so far had been challenging and I was feeling pretty rattled. I found it difficult to commit to stepping above the gear even though, on an intellectual level, I was pretty happy with what I had. The gear seemed so dinky, the possible footholds were so desperate, and I had to step up and balance myself with my fingertips against the edges of a tiny vertical seam. It was frightening, even though I knew that I was not in any real danger at all. </div>
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I tried to move up, but with the gear at my knees I couldn't commit to going further. The move seemed too unlikely. I dropped down on my gear, which held just fine. I repeated this same dance several times, trying to build up some courage. But I never got any further. I didn't want to take a real whipper. I decided to give up. </div>
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I could see that from my stance on Golden Showers I could easily traverse a bit left and take April Showers to the chains. And although April Showers is also 5.11a, the only 5.11 move is right off the ground. Thus when I moved left to join the route I had to do just one 5.10 move up a crack before I found easy climbing to the finish. </div>
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There is some very good climbing on my accidental 5.10++ link up. Call it Golden April? It avoids the hardest bits of both climbs. And the gear is reasonable. Try not to blow it right off the deck!<br />
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Having now done half of each of the "Shower" climbs I want to go back and do both of them again. If I can unlock the move off the ground on April Showers then that route should be a snap. And maybe if I can get to my previous high point a bit more calmly on Golden Showers I can get through the next couple of moves and complete that one too. Even though it is "only" 5.11a I will be proud when I can lead Golden Showers. It is a head trip for sure. I found it humbling.</div>
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When I got back to the ground, after all that, Nancy suggested that No Man's Land would probably be easier for me than Golden Showers. And I think that's true. Though I've not done the climb, I expect the roofs on No Man's Land would be hard, but not mysterious. Golden Showers is more of a steep slab, a mental strength exercise. It is outside my comfort zone and has more to teach me, I think.<br />
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(Photo: Nancy on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/11/climbing-in-far-trapps-footloose-58.html">Art's Route</a> (5.9).)<br />
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I hope to get back to the Gunks at least a few more times before our season is over. The big news for me is that Adrian and I are going to spend four days in Red Rocks next month. It's been <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-rocks-2011-part-1.html">five</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/05/red-rocks-2011-part-2.html">years</a> since I was there and I am a completely different climber now. We have some big stuff planned and I can't wait to see what we can get done.</div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-54407250680982192762016-10-14T07:17:00.000-04:002016-10-19T09:44:07.952-04:002016: The Year In 5.10, So Far<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: That's me on Never Never Land (5.10a). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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5.10 is the premier grade at the Gunks. Everyone knows this. I sometimes refer to the Gunks as "Our Little 5.10 Paradise."<br />
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Just take a look at the guidebook and you'll see why. There are so many star-quality tens.</div>
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As I've worked through the various 5.10 routes, I've come to realize that the quality of the 5.10 grade at the Gunks runs even deeper than you might guess from reading the guidebook. The supply is all but bottomless in the Gunks, going well beyond the obvious classics. Sometimes it seems that lurking around every corner is an unheralded 5.10 that turns out to be awesome.<br />
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Over the years I've done many of the obvious tens. And lots of non-obvious tens. But still there are gaps in my 5.10 resume. I'm always trying to do new routes, and I love climbing 5.10 in the Gunks. As 2016 has progressed, I've tried to fill in my 5.10 gaps.<br />
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(Photo: Alec confronting the huge Wishbone roof (5.10+).)<br />
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One way in which I've been filling in the gaps is by climbing at Lost City. By tradition there is no guidebook for this part of the ridge. Lost City is known for its hardman top-rope scene, but I have discovered over the past few years that the area isn't just a place to get thrashed on 5.12's. It is also a 5.10 leader's dreamland. Lost City's collection of well-protected, leadable 5.10's is world-class.<br />
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You want roofs? In Lost City you'll find the amazing overhangs of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-next.html">Wishbone</a> (5.10+) and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/04/learning-top-ropes-in-lost-city.html">Stannard's Roof</a> (5.10-). If you like face climbs, try <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/10/fun-times-in-lost-city.html">Texas Flake</a> (5.10+?), or the beautiful <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-next.html">Resistance</a> (5.10+), which might be my favorite single pitch of 5.10 in all of the Gunks. Lost City also has steep, technical climbs like Lost City Crack (5.10-) and Black Crack (5.10++), and still others I have done but which I can't put a name to, like the fun roof climb just to the right of Agent Orange, and the one that follows the rap line just to the right of Stannard's. And there are more great Lost City tens, I am certain, upon which I have yet to stumble.<br />
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(Photo: Andy following my lead of Resistance (5.10+).)<br />
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I have gotten the send on most of these Lost City tens, though not always on the first try. I achieved the on-sight on the Wishbone Roof last year, which I was very very happy about. Both Lost City Crack and the ten next to Agent Orange went fine the first time I tried to lead them this past spring, but they weren't<i> technically</i> on-sights since I'd followed them before. Others, like Stannard's Roof, I've had to redpoint after messing up at least once on the lead. I was proud to send Resistance in 2016, after previously failing. Black Crack-- a real toughie-- frustrated me twice this summer. I need to go back in cooler weather to get it, finally.<br />
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(Photo: That's me top-roping Texas Flake (5.10+) in January 2012. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I've also tried in 2016 to hit some new tens back in the more familiar terrain of the Trapps and the Nears. </div>
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Though I've really improved a lot over the last few years, I am still not above failing on a Gunks 5.10. I am always hoping for the send but I am still more than capable of misreading a sequence, botching my footwork, running out of gas, or just getting scared. When I try Gunks tens, I win some and I lose some.</div>
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In May I was climbing with Andy and decided the time had come for me to try Stirrup Trouble (5.10b). The starting move off of a block and onto the face had always scared me off. You have to get on the wall, place gear blindly over your head, and then make a thin move up to a jug. If you fall here and the cam blows, the landing will not be pleasant.<br />
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But everyone says the route is a great classic. I had to give it a shot at some point.</div>
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I'm sorry to say it didn't go well. I stepped up onto the wall but I couldn't commit to the move. It was impossible to judge the quality of the gear up over my head. I had no idea whether it was good or bad. I kept stepping up and then stepping back down to the starting block. Eventually I decided I wasn't feeling it and I gave Andy the lead.<br />
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He confidently stepped up to the blind cam we'd placed, and then slotted a nut under pressure, looking a little bit shaky. I was impressed that he got the nut in, but I didn't have time to tell him so, as he promptly fell on it! The gear held. Then he stepped back up and the rest of the climb went fine.<br />
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(Photo: Andy past the spooky start of Stirrup Trouble (5.10b).)<br />
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As I followed Andy's lead of Stirrup Trouble I wished I'd been a little bit bolder. The moves were all reasonable. This one goes in the redpoint queue; I have to go back and try again to lead it. It is quite a climb. It's so in-your-face right off the deck, and then the great sequences just keep on coming all the way to the very end.<br />
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(Photo: That's me at the crux of P-38 (5.10b). Photo by Robbie.)<br />
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I consoled myself that day by getting the send on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/06/gunks-routes-p-38-510b.html">P-38</a> (5.10b), the route next door. I'd previously failed to get a clean lead of this climb on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/07/better-redpoint-than-deadpoint-p-38.html">three separate occasions</a>, always barn-dooring off at the last hard move before the climb gets easier. This time, I hesitated at the move once again, sure I was about to go flying for the fourth time. But eventually (helped by some verbal encouragement from my friends) I made it, planting my toe as precisely as I could and carefully stepping up to the jug.<br />
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Now I never have to do P-38 again!<br />
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But I probably will. It is a quality climb, with a good crux right off the ground and then awkward moves up the crack. It is a different sort of ten.<br />
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On Memorial Day weekend I was out with Alec and Liz, a climbing power couple who've now moved west to conquer desert towers. Despite the sweltering, humid weather, we attacked some harder climbs down at the end of the Trapps at the Slime Wall and Sleepy Hollow. After Liz started us off with <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/10/gunks-routes-teeny-face-510a-simple.html">Wegetables</a> (5.10a), I took a go at Tennish Anyone? (5.10c). I'd done this on TR <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/11/climbing-in-far-trapps-footloose-58.html">once before</a>, but I couldn't remember anything about the climbing.<br />
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(Photo: I'm leading Tennish Anyone? (5.10c). Alec is belaying. Photo by Liz.)<br />
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It is an interesting pitch, and I get the feeling it doesn't get done on lead all that much. Most people do it on TR after leading Wegetables. Tennish is a safe lead. There is a committing move to get up to the crux overhang. At this move I placed a nut over my head. It seemed solid but it was tiny. The gear for the crux is great: small Aliens and nuts.<br />
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I didn't get Tennish cleanly. I'd like to blame the heat. At the crux you have to move to the right, at the lip of the roof, on some poor holds. The feet drop away beneath you. I managed to move to the right but then got flummoxed trying to step up and out. After falling, I worked it out. It is another one for the redpoint queue. It is a quality climb. The crux is good, and similar to my Lost City nemesis Black Crack.<br />
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As the summer of 2016 dragged on endlessly, I didn't get too many chances to climb in the Gunks. On one day in late August Gail and I were in the Trapps, looking for something in the shade, when we came upon Size Matters (5.10c). Seemed worth a try.<br />
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(Photo: Gail at the crux of Size Matters (5.10c).)<br />
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On this one I got the on-sight. There is a hard move right off the ground. You can't protect it, but the fall would be only a few feet. Once you successfully get on the wall, there is good gear for the crux above. The hard part is literally a single step to the left with smeary footholds and crimpy fingers, under a sloping roof/left-facing corner. I was happy to put a send in the bank, for once, but it was no big deal.</div>
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As October approached and summer showed no signs of fading I started to wonder what happened to my year. I had accomplished a few 5.11 ticks in the spring but since then I'd done precious little. I'd had some <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/09/finding-inspiration-at-poke-o-moonshine.html">good days at Poke-O</a> but I hadn't exactly torn the place up. In the Gunks my success rate had been decidedly mediocre.</div>
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But the weather was finally cooling off and I felt like the time was right for me to start hitting it again. I was pretty much injury-free. And I was feeling very fit, as I'd been religiously doing an <a href="https://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/insanity-max-30-workout.do?code=SEMB_IM_GOOGLE&utm_campaign=Google_Brand_Insanity%20Max30_Beta&utm_term=+max%20+30%20+beachbody&trackingid=sUt30ibUE&gclid=CNPn28eO2s8CFUdehgodCfALEQ">Insanity</a> program (much too boring to talk about) and I'd lost several pounds.</div>
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I had a Gunks Sunday in late September planned with Gail. I thought it might be productive to head down to the area in the Trapps around <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/12/good-times-in-never-never-land-510a.html">Never Never Land</a> (5.10a). Gail had been urging me to lead Never Never Land for years. I had been on it twice, on TR, and hadn't particularly enjoyed it. I thought the crux move at the bolt was desperate and greasy. Also, I thought the route's techy, thin face climbing wasn't my strong suit. I recalled thinking "I hate this climb" as I worked my way up the face.</div>
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But it had been years since I'd tried the climb. Maybe I'd feel differently now? I used to be all about the roofs but in recent years I've become much more comfortable with thin face climbing. And, as I thought it over, I realized that there were a bunch of other 5.10 routes near Never Never Land that I'd never done. Why not check them all out?<br />
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When Gail and I got to the area, we found the Never Never Land wall besieged by a large group. So we shifted gears and moved a bit left to try Cheap Thrills (5.10c), which was new for both of us. I decided to start (as most people do) by doing the first couple of moves on Alley Oop (5.7) and then moving up and right to the orange face beneath the crux two-tiered overhang.</div>
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The guidebook describes Cheap Thrills as having a committing move before the upper overhang. </div>
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I found out that this is an understatement. It is pretty scary.<br />
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(Photo: I'm at the first tier of the two-tiered overhang on Cheap Thrills (5.10c). Photo by Gail.)<br />
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The climbing up the orange face to the roofs is very nice. Then there is great gear at a horizontal below the first tier in the overhang. After placing two cams, I did a little exploring and figured out how I was going to move up to the next tier. And then it was on. I made the move and found myself fully extended, with two fingers in a pocket just beneath the upper tier and my toes at the level of my gear. There was an old piton off to the side but I couldn't clip it without making another delicate step to the left. </div>
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Carefully I moved left, using crimps for the hands and smeary nothings for my toes. I admit I was shaking pretty badly as I clipped the pin. It wasn't easy, but I got it done-- I did NOT want to fall! Once I had the pin clipped, I was very relieved, but I had to work to calm myself and shake off the flop sweat. I was still clinging to little crimps, with crap for the feet, and I had to get over the big roof!</div>
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There were good holds above the overhang, thank god, but there were a few different ways one could approach the roof problem and I tried a couple of them before getting worn out, admitting defeat, and dropping down on the pin.</div>
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So much for the on-sight.<br />
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(Photo: Placing gear to back up the piton on Cheap Thrills (5.10c). (Click on the photo to enlarge.) You can see where the last gear is, beneath my feet. Photo by Gail.)<br />
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Once I rested a bit, I stepped up again to the pin. It was so much easier the second time. Then I backed up the pin with a cam and got over the roof without much trouble.</div>
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Cheap Thrills has good face climbing followed by a very good roof problem. It is tough for 5.10c! The idea that it is the same grade as Size Matters seems a little silly. Even though I didn't get the on-sight, I was gratified that I really went for it. I intend to go back and get it soon. It is now at the top of the redpoint queue.</div>
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And by the way, if you try Cheap Thrills and decide you can't commit to the move up to the pin, it looks like it would be pretty easy to escape left along the good horizontal to Alley Oop's finish.<br />
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(Photo: I'm heading up J'Accuse (5.10b) after slinging the tree. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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It was two weeks before I got back to the Gunks, on Columbus Day weekend. I planned to climb with my old buddy Adrian. We were going to have two days in which to play, which is extremely rare for me. I suggested we go back to the Never Never Land area and that we do EVERYTHING. I was feeling good and wanted to go for it.</div>
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After we warmed up a bit on Saturday, I went at our first target, J'Accuse (5.10b). This is Never Never Land's less-popular sister climb. It looks unsafe from the ground, since it begins with a blank face, with no apparent gear, below a high bolt. But I knew that people often protect the opening moves by girth-hitching a sling around the small-but-sturdy tree right next to the wall. I found it easy to shimmy up the tree and attach a sling just above the tiny branch.</div>
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With this unusual gear in place, I started climbing. The moves were fun and well-protected. And it went well. I got up to the bolt, clipped it, then made a couple of thin moves to where the climb eases off. It's all great climbing and once you get gear above the bolt there is good (if spaced) protection to be had for the rest of the way. I really enjoyed the climbing style and was proud to get the on-sight. This route isn't easy.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian at the bolt on J'Accuse (5.10b), leading it through my pre-placed gear.)<br />
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After we were done with J'Accuse, I figured Adrian would lead Never Never Land. But since he'd already led it a couple of times before, he offered it to me.<br />
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It was time.<br />
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And it too went off just fine. I think this climb is a tiny bit dicey right off the deck, since there is a hard move past the first horizontal, and the slot for gear is shallow and flaring. I got an Alien that I thought was probably okay. But I'd use caution in the early going. After the first hard moves, there is good gear and a bolt, plus two or three pitons, along the way. I felt that overall the protection was good.<br />
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(Photo: That's me on Never Never Land (5.10a). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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And I enjoyed the climbing too. I was struck by how similar Never Never Land is to its neighbor J'Accuse. This shouldn't be surprising, since they are only a few feet apart from each other. But I can't understand why one of them is so much more popular than the other. To me, J'Accuse is the better climb. Both routes have cruxes that are similar in difficulty and style but the one on J'Accuse is more pleasant: it isn't so slippery and polished. </div>
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I came off of Never Never Land on a high, and I wanted to keep it going. I decided we should do Nevermore (5.10b), a climb which starts up the first fifteen feet of Triangle (5.9-), but then ventures to the right on a blank face and then up through a bulge. The initial climbing on the face is 5.8 R, but the 5.10b crux above is well-protected.</div>
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Adrian is not a fan of unprotected 5.8. His position is entirely reasonable. I respect it. But for <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">some reason I seem to thrive on runout 5.8 climbing, so I was happy to give Nevermore a try.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: I'm just past the runout 5.8 part of Nevermore (5.10b). Photo by Adrian.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Again it went well. The initial runout when you leave the Triangle blocks is unavoidable. There is no gear on the face. You can place a piece at the Triangle blocks but if you fall from the first moves on the face you will slam sideways into the blocks. But you can test the holds before you commit to stepping out there and once you go for it the moves are reasonable. It isn't too long before you can get some gear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There is also a good slot for pro right before the crimpy crux, which goes up and left through a bulge. It is good climbing but relatively brief, after which you wander to the right past some scary detached blocks before moving up to the Never Never Land anchor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I was psyched to put away another on-sight ten, but in the final analysis I didn't think the climb was that great. The good climbing was over quickly. I might go back again to try the variation in the Trapps App called Never Better, which moves left after the crux instead of right and adds some additional difficult face moves into the mix.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">As we finished Nevermore, we decided to head off to the Mac Wall for some climbs that Adrian wanted to do. And, honestly, I had every intention of doing whatever Adrian wanted to do for the rest of the day. I was pretty happy with the day so far. But then as we walked down the carriage road I could see that Welcome to the Gunks (5.10b) was just sitting there, open.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I felt ready. I had to do it. Adrian was fine with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: I'm between the first and second roofs on Welcome to the Gunks (5.10b). Photo by Adrian.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">This was another 5.10 I'd always been afraid to try. The climb features several roofs, but the mentally challenging parts come in between them, on poorly-protected slabs. I'd done the route on TR <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2010/12/gunks-routes-asphodel-55-credibility.html">all the way back in 2010</a>, and about all I remember is that on that occasion I fell a lot. The climb seemed hard and scary. I posted at the time on <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/welcome-to-the-gunks/105799065">mountain project</a> that my hat was off to anyone who would lead this thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">But now? I wasn't worried. I took the rack from Adrian and dove in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I thought the initial slab was kind of heads-up, with non-trivial moves and no gear. Then the first roof was well-protected and really fun. At slab number two (the 5.9 R section) I thought the big move to a jug was reasonably safe. The next move after that, to some slopers, is where you want to be careful, for the sake of your ankles. But it didn't seem like a big deal to me, and before I knew it I'd placed gear and surmounted roof number two. I was still waiting for the route to seem hard, but it only got easier after that. The final two overhangs were nothing but fun. And I loved the ease of lowering off of the new bolted anchor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: Adrian at the first roof on Welcome to the Gunks (5.10b), with a couple of raindrops on the lens.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I'm not going to lie: I felt amazing after leading Welcome to the Gunks. It was my fourth 5.10 send of the day, and all four of them were on-sights, or climbs I did on top-rope so long ago that they might as well be on-sights. It was one of my best days on the rock. Gotta love the high season! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">On Sunday morning we awoke to misty rain. It quickly stopped and Adrian and I headed to the Nears. We took it easy for a good part of the day, but eventually I wanted to try something new and interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We selected Disney Point (5.10d). This variation on Disneyland (5.6-) goes left when Disneyland goes right, and heads out a diagonal rail under a huge roof. When you reach the "point" at the end of the rail, you have to figure out how to get up onto the face above.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: I'm up atop the cliff, waving, as Adrian climbs Disney Point (5.10d). He is about to embark on the crux flake, out to the point.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">As I led up Disneyland and turned left to approach the roof, the route appeared more and more intimidating. But when I got there, it didn't seem too bad. I was able to place gear halfway out the traverse before committing to the moves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Once I decided to go for it, things got pumpy in a hurry. As I heel-hooked out to the point, I had to hang in there to place a piece. And once I was satisfied with the pro, I had to diagnose the exit. Unfortunately I went the wrong way at first. I was able to hang in, shake out, and try again, but by the time I found the slopery exit holds I ran out of steam and fell off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: Adrian headed into the crux section on Disney Point (5.10d).)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">It was my first fall of the weekend. I wasn't too upset, though I'd almost had the send in the bag. After falling, I started the whole sequence over again from the beginning and I got through it without a problem. So I sort of got the redpoint right then and there, although I didn't hang out to place gear on the second try. I still have to go back and do it cleanly in one go from start to finish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I loved Disney Point. It is short, but it is also as exciting as climbing gets. The route is a hidden gem, buried in the guidebook as a one-star variation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Photo: That's me, feeling dog-tired at the end of our weekend but knocking out one of my favorite tens, Birdcage (5.10b). Photo by Adrian.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">With autumn finally upon us, I am really excited about what's to come. I feel good and I'm climbing better than I have all year. I haven't really picked a "project" for myself but I'm sure something will soon present itself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Until then, there are still plenty of tens, both new and old, with which I can pass the time! </span></div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-28744642517947319152016-09-21T19:58:00.002-04:002016-09-22T08:23:27.975-04:00Finding Inspiration at Poke-O Moonshine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: That's me on C-Tips (5.10c).)<br />
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I've been searching all year for my next big thing.<br />
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In 2015, my goal was simple. I wanted to attack every 5.10 climb in the Gunks that I'd ever been afraid to try. The choices were obvious, and they fell like dominoes over the course of the year. For me it was a dream season, including many ultra-classics, and I tacked on my first trad 5.11's to boot.</div>
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This year it hasn't been quite as easy to figure out "the way." There are still plenty of legendary targets left for me in the Gunks, of course, in the 5.10-5.11 range and beyond. I've continued to go after them, and I have managed a few 5.11 ticks so far this year. I knocked off <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/04/last-days-of-winter-510d.html">Carbs and Caffeine</a> (5.11a) back in March, and in June I got the send on a tricky face climb called Cars That Eat People (5.11a) out at Lost City.</div>
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But I don't want 2016 to be the year in which all I did was to climb the easiest 5.11's in the Gunks (as awesome as that is). I want to improve, to become a climber with broader range. And to do that I know I need to get out of the Trapps and the Nears and climb at other crags.</div>
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To that end, I've been trying to get around. I've climbed more at Lost City (it really is different!) and committed to doing more <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/06/getting-sporty-in-new-river-gorge.html">sport climbing</a>. And recently I've made a concerted effort to climb in the Adirondacks.</div>
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One day in June I was to meet up with my longtime partner Adrian, who has been living in Montreal. He's made the long trip from Canada to the Gunks to meet me on many occasions, and once in a while I try to return the favor by heading north from Brooklyn to meet him on turf which is closer to him. The issue for me is that I can seldom take two days in a row, so for me to go the Dacks, even on a weekend, involves an "alpine start" very early in the morning and then a long drive home at night. If I get up early enough I can get in a reasonably full day of climbing, along with the nine or ten hours of driving.</div>
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When I was planning to meet with Adrian in June, the summer heat provided enough motivation for me to make the long drive. It is always at least a little bit cooler up in the Dacks. So Adrian and I planned to meet at Poke-O Moonshine, the big cliff which sits just off of the Northway at exit 33.</div>
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We'd both been there on several occasions, both separately and together, and we'd done a lot of the easier classics, like the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/poke-o-moonshine-cliff-fm-57-r-bloody.html">FM</a> (5.7+), <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/09/adirondack-crack-attack-day-one-poke-o.html">Gamesmanship</a> (5.8+), <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/poke-o-moonshine-cliff-fm-57-r-bloody.html">Bloody Mary</a> (5.9+) and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/10/crack-lackin-adirondack-in-at-poke-o.html">Fastest Gun</a> (5.10a). I've enjoyed all of the climbing I've done at Poke-O. The routes tend to follow vertical crack systems but seldom involve pure crack climbing. The terrain is often steep, but slightly less than vertical, with technical, slabby moves and seemingly blank sections requiring commitment and creativity. The difficulties tend to be continuous and sustained. Especially on the multi-pitch routes, the climbs have an adventurous feel, with route-finding challenges and loose sections requiring a heads-up mentality.</div>
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Fastest Gun in particular really opened my eyes as to what the harder climbing at Poke-O is like. And I loved it. I also found it very challenging and I wanted to get better at it. I always felt sandbagged at Poke-O-- everything seemed hard. I thought that if I could learn the ways of the granite at Poke-O, I would feel more confident on my toes at other granite areas like Cathedral Ledges, Cannon Cliff, or Yosemite. </div>
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On our hot day in June, I hoped to find other multi-pitch tens like Fastest Gun on which Adrian and I could struggle and find some adventure. We settled on Mayflower, a three pitch route that looked doable. The first pitch-- the hardest one, at 5.10c-- is entirely bolt-protected and we found it to be in the shade. How bad could it be? The second and third pitches were both 5.10 as well, but a little bit easier. I figured we'd be fine.<br />
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We got our butts kicked.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian confronting the blank, clean streak that is the first pitch of Mayflower (5.10c).)<br />
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Adrian tried leading pitch one and found the climbing extremely thin and tenuous, up a lonely clean streak on this dark, dirty wall. He worked his way up to the third or fourth bolt, but after several falls, he decided to take a break and offered me the lead, pronouncing this thing way harder than 5.10.</div>
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Upon taking over I sketched my way up to his high point with the security of the rope above me, and then proceeded to fall repeatedly where Adrian had given in. Finally I worked out a sequence and was able to lead up to the top of the pitch. This pitch is hard!<br />
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(Photo: I'm coming up pitch two (5.10a) of Mayflower.)<br />
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Our first pitch had taken a long time, and we still had two to go. Adrian resumed leading on the 5.10a pitch two and he got it cleanly. Following the pitch, I enjoyed the interesting face moves on clean rock. </div>
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Now it was my turn to lead pitch three, which features an airy, hanging dihedral. This pitch, rated 5.10b, isn't the hardest one on the climb but the guidebook suggests it is the money pitch.<br />
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I was nervous and struggled in the early going, moving up and right off of the belay towards the open book looming above. After taking a hang I figured out how to get into the dihedral, and once I clipped a bolt on the left wall I breathed a sigh of relief.<br />
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(Photo: Heading up pitch three (5.10b) of Mayflower.)<br />
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But my stress was actually just beginning. I found as I moved above the bolt that the (dusty) rock at the back of the open book was crumbly. I managed to place a nut but I didn't have a lot of faith that it would hold if I tested it. As I continued to make the delicate moves up the open book, with plenty of air beneath my feet, the lone bolt started to feel very far away. By the time I got to the top I was well into do-not-fall territory.</div>
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I was psyched to reach the anchor. I was exhausted, but happy. This was a quality route in which (typical for Poke-O) the interesting challenges just kept on coming, one after another.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian emerging from the rope-eating Mayflower dihedral at the top of pitch three.)<br />
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I thought we'd finished with Mayflower but it wasn't finished with us. We rapped off of the route with my double ropes tied together. When we got down we found that the ropes were hopelessly stuck. Luckily we reached the ground in a single rap, so we weren't trapped on the wall.<br />
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We tried every which way to free the ropes but nothing worked. The struggle went on and on. At some point I looked at my watch and realized we'd spent our whole day on this one route. I had four or five hours of driving ahead of me and here we were, still dicking around with my ropes stuck on the cliff.<br />
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Adrian had a spare rope back in his car. We could go get it, and climb back up to free the ropes. Or we could ascend the stuck ropes with prussiks. Neither option seemed terribly appealing to me.<br />
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Eventually we left the ropes behind. I'm not proud of this decision. We didn't clean up our own mess. At the time, I was tired and I couldn't bring myself to make the effort to get the ropes down. I was willing to write them off. The ropes were in pretty good condition but they were at least nine years old. I was considering retiring them anyway. And Adrian thought he might be able to come back and get them the following weekend, though he didn't end up making it.<br />
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After a week or two a climber from Montreal retrieved the ropes and returned them to us. So the story has a happy ending. I got my ropes back and the good samaritan got some beer out of the bargain. But the ropes were hanging there for a while and they got quite bleached in the sun. They are definitely retired now!<br />
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Our misadventure on Mayflower made me hungry for more climbing at Poke-O. I felt like we'd been spanked, and I knew we could do better. I resolved to go back, but the opportunity didn't come for me until after Labor Day. I made the trek up there on a Sunday in early September, and liked the climbing we did so much that I took a day off from work and made the drive again on the following Thursday.<br />
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During these two September days I tried to figure out how to better climb these Poke-O tens. I made some progress. As always, for me I think the biggest challenge is psychological. I've found out out that I can do every move on these climbs, but I need to feel secure in the knowledge that my toes will stick or I fail in lots of ways: I rush, I over-grip, I refuse to commit.<br />
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(Photo: That's me in the early going on Cooney-Norton face (5.10b).)<br />
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I got things off to an inauspicious start with the Cooney-Norton Face (5.10b). This route has great climbing all the way, with cool moves up a shallow stem box followed by thin face climbing past two bolts. I felt insecure on my feet as a leader on this pitch, pressing the stems way too hard and clutching madly at whatever holds I could find. I wore myself out and, after hanging, offered Adrian the lead. He then led up through my gear and finished it.<br />
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Trying the route again on top rope, I thought it wasn't exactly easy but it was all there and it went fine. On TR I could easily stand in the stems, releasing both hands. If I'd relaxed like this on lead I would have been okay, I think. As I moved up on TR I found out that I'd given up on the lead one move from a jug and a good rest, which was infuriating. I will go back and send this route. It shouldn't even be a big deal.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on Macho (5.11a).)<br />
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Adrian and I threw a top rope over Macho (5.11a) and while neither of us sent this one, either, I felt like this was where I finally started to find my way on Poke-O face climbing. I loved the moves on this pitch, and by the time we were done I started thinking this was a Poke-O 5.11 I could come back and send on the lead, though I might like to figure out my placements on top rope first. The positions are balancy and above the initial bolts the gear might be a real challenge to place.<br />
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(Photo: I'm stemming it out at the crux of pitch one (5.10a) of the Snatch.)<br />
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On our second September day we tried another ten called the Snatch (5.10b). This route ascends a left-facing corner for two pitches. It gets four stars in the guidebook but I wasn't expecting much, since I couldn't recall ever hearing anything about it.<br />
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It turned out to be an awesome route. Both pitches are really good. I led pitch one (5.10a), which wanders up a blocky face to the main corner system, and then ascends the super-cool technical stem corner until a ledge with an anchor appears on the left. I was happy to get the send, for once, as I led up the challenging corner to the belay without incident. Things were looking up.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian at the crux of pitch two (5.10b) of the Snatch.)<br />
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Adrian (who, it should be noted, was allegedly fighting a cold) started up the 5.10b pitch two, and got into the weeds pretty fast as he confronted the overhanging jam-crack crux on the right wall of the corner. After a couple of hangs he got through this section but then the difficulties continued with more thin moves up the corner. At one tough move Adrian decided he'd had enough and we did another hand-off of the lead. I lowered him back to the belay. Taking over, I too had to hang in the crux jam crack but then sent it the rest of the way. I felt okay about it. Like pitch one of Mayflower I thought this pitch was pretty darn tough for its grade.<br />
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(Photo: I'm doing some of the hardest bits on C-Tips (5.10c).)<br />
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We also took on C-Tips (5.10c), a bolt-protected line up a bulging, black face. From below it appears to be utterly blank. I took the lead again. I told myself to think of this as a 5.11 sport climb. No big deal. There are bolts!<br />
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But I was still a bit nervous after I clipped the second bolt. The third bolt seemed very far away, the slab beneath me was very close, and the next holds were so, so small. I was afraid I would hit the slab if I fell, so I called out "take" and took a hang.<br />
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Immediately I kicked myself for giving up. I resolved to go for it. And then everything went fine. This climb is full of beautiful sequences. After the hardest moves, around the third and fourth bolts, the angle of the wall kicks back a little and the climbing becomes a bit easier. I marvel at the vision of the first ascensionists, who saw a route here on this featureless face.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian leading Group Therapy (5.9).<br />
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Late in the afternoon of our weekday at Poke-O, Adrian and I decided to dial it back a little and do something more casual. We ended up picking out a link-up of the first pitch of Group Therapy (5.9) and the second pitch of Discord (5.8). It doesn't appear that these climbs get done all that often despite a recommendation in the guidebook and their convenient location right where the approach trail meets the cliff.</div>
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Neither of these pitches is fantastic but both are quite worthwhile. Adrian led Group Therapy, a route with some face moves over bulges which lead to a slab finish. The rock is good and all of the harder bits are well protected by bolts or solid gear placements. </div>
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I took the lead for pitch two of Discord, and this pitch provided some full value Poke-O adventure. The crux came right away, after I stepped to the right from the belay and had to commit to pulling over a low roof and into a right-facing corner system.<br />
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(Photo: That's me fooling around past the initial roof on pitch two of Discord (5.8).)<br />
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Once I grunted my way past the (dirty, crumbling) overhang, I had to confront twenty feet of corner climbing with an off-width crack at the back. I'd just placed my largest cam beneath my feet, to protect the initial crux, and it looked like I'd have no gear big enough to place anything again until I reached the top of this corner. </div>
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Luckily the climbing was pretty secure and easy. Cramming my foot and leg in the crack, I made sure there was no way I could fall out and inched my way up to the top of the corner, where I was relieved to find solid gear. Then a fun traverse under another roof and a final layback corner led to the belay.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian coming up the final bits of pitch two of Discord (5.8).)<br />
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Adrian got to the top of Discord and announced "that pitch was crazy!" I certainly thought it provided a bit of everything: route finding, questionable rock, fun moves, technical problems, spice....<br />
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In the end I think Group Therapy/Discord is a fun 5.9 linkup-- for the 5.10 leader.<br />
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The three days I've spent at Poke-O this year have been a challenge for me, and I've really enjoyed getting schooled on the routes at this big cliff. I've still only experienced a fraction of what the place has to offer and even as I sit here typing I'm racking my brain trying to figure out when I'll get another chance to go back.<br />
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By the end of the third day I started to feel like I was really getting the hang of the climbing there, which surely means I'm ready to have my butt kicked by another Poke-O multi-pitch route.<br />
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I can't wait.</div>
SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-80727754427887175002016-06-22T07:55:00.001-04:002016-09-08T17:41:01.894-04:00Mac Wall In-A-Day: A Non-Birthday Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: I'm getting ready to fire the roof on Star Action (5.10b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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Over the past few years I've gotten to know the Mac Wall pretty well.<br />
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The wall is stacked with classic 5.10 climbs. For a long time I was intimidated by several of the routes, but as the years went by I eventually climbed all of them (except for Water King (5.10d R), which no one ever does). I'm most familiar with the hardest ones, since I had to work to get them clean. A few of them I've only done once or twice, and one of them-- MF Direct (5.10a)-- I've only followed.<br />
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Last year, after I finally sent <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">Coexistence</a> (5.10d) and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">Graveyard Shift</a> (5.10d), it occurred to me that I might be ready to try to lead all of the tens at the Mac Wall in a single day. The challenge would involve these climbs:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/09/gunks-routes-star-action-510b-still.html">Still Crazy After All These Years</a> (5.10a)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/mac-wall-machinationswas-interstice-p1.html">Interstice</a> (5.10b)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">Mother's Day Party</a> (5.10b)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">MF Direct</a> (5.10a)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/mac-wall-machinationswas-interstice-p1.html">Men at Arms</a> (5.10b)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/04/at-mac-wall-try-again-510b-coexistence.html">Try</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-secret-gunks-tricam-society-major.html">Again</a> (5.10b)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/rediscovering-joys-of-multi-pitch.html">Coexistence</a> (5.10d)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/09/gunks-routes-star-action-510b-still.html">Star</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">Action</a> (5.10b)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">Graveyard Shift</a> (5.10d) and<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/mac-wall-machinationswas-interstice-p1.html">Tough Shift</a> (5.10a).<br />
<br />
Ten tens. It is quite a list! Some of them are hard for 5.10 and many of them have some serious moments.<br />
<br />
I thought this would be a good challenge for me because while I believed it would be difficult, it didn't sound utterly crazy. I was inspired by the day on which those guys did <a href="http://www.climbing.com/places/thirty-pitches-of-510-in-a-day-at-the-gunks/">30 pitches of 5.10</a>, but I needed a more realistic objective, something that seemed within the realm of the possible for ordinary humans like me.<br />
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Still, leading ten 5.10's was much more than I'd ever tried to do in a day. I didn't know if I'd be up to it. I could really be dogging it by the end. Maybe at some point I'd get exhausted and become too frightened to keep leading these hard climbs.<br />
<br />
This wasn't a "birthday challenge," exactly. I wanted to do it when it was still cool out. My birthday is in June. But as 2016 got going I couldn't seem to find a time to do the challenge. As we got into June, I decided to call it a birthday challenge and just to go ahead and try to do it on my next day out.<br />
<br />
Andy and I were planning to climb on one recent Sunday. The high was supposed to be around 80 degrees. This was not ideal but I figured it would have to do.<br />
<br />
I asked Andy by email if he would be up for belaying me on my Mac Wall challenge.<br />
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Andy was an instant supporter.<br />
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"Challenge accepted," he wrote.<br />
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Here is my pitch-by-pitch account of our day:</div>
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<b>1. Try Again (5.10b), 9:00 a.m.</b><br />
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It is already warm when we arrive at the cliff. I had hoped to start with MF, but we find it occupied. No big deal. We move over to Try Again (5.10b) and get ready to begin.<br />
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I decide it makes sense to start on the right side of the wall. I want to get the hardest climbs out of the way first, while I am still relatively fresh. And since Try Again and its neighbor Coex are popular, it seems like a good idea to get them done now, while they are open.</div>
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Racking up, I feel very nervous. I know I can do all of these routes individually. I worry that I will be overwhelmed by ten in a row. I have to be careful not to let myself get so tired that my judgment becomes impaired.<br />
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I'm not that concerned about sending them all. Of course I want to send as many as I can, but I know I have a good chance of falling on Coex and maybe Graveyard. They will be hard for me no matter how well I remember my beta.<br />
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I want to avoid falling to the extent possible, to avoid wasting both energy and time. The goal is to get through all ten routes.</div>
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Shaking off the jitters, I start up Try Again. It is hot in the sun but I feel good all the way up to the crux. Thinking that I remember my beta, I clip the pin and go for it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBC2iufCE2ecFxGG_d7r99OBp9FT2Bd7KypqnLtC7lce-8rVBvxpHr_U90Xz6tFob1tATUHNr9F1ETjm-Z2RufJOTXnXm2g3MhG9_IBjBL1777z_c1rJxgfZ8gIVNZaFYk4RREsGT-ecl/s1600/IMG_5229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBC2iufCE2ecFxGG_d7r99OBp9FT2Bd7KypqnLtC7lce-8rVBvxpHr_U90Xz6tFob1tATUHNr9F1ETjm-Z2RufJOTXnXm2g3MhG9_IBjBL1777z_c1rJxgfZ8gIVNZaFYk4RREsGT-ecl/s400/IMG_5229.JPG" width="310" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy at the crux of Try Again (5.10b).)<br />
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The crimps above the roof feel greasy in the heat. This roof is hard! I fumble trying to place my toe. I can't hang on and I fall.</div>
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I change my approach and "try again."<br />
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I fall again.</div>
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I had hoped to send this climb. But now I've fallen twice, right out of the starting gate. Maybe I'm not feeling so great today?<br />
<br /></div>
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With new resolve I go back up and try my original beta again. Success! I am over the roof, where I find a nut placement, right in front of my face, that I've never noticed before. The thin step to the right after the roof feels much more secure with this nut in place. I'll have to file that away for future reference.</div>
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Andy cruises the pitch as the second.</div>
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<b>2. Coexistence (5.10d), 9:50 a.m.</b></div>
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I've had a slow start, and I expect this second pitch to be the toughest of the day. But I think I remember what to do. I believe I can get the send on Coex. I know I can.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXHDXA9ga_vkXVQLaSV5uvaUqVNs6Mtffi4OOAbOyVq4m8D9YhQk_u7dMl_WgWLjikw9m_YnK-3n8l4mY1YHP059k5BU4I3kgHMcn9GvHPyrRJCsvmfhO_KEJmNhDrgumzWjyaHSUPjtA/s1600/IMG_2389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXHDXA9ga_vkXVQLaSV5uvaUqVNs6Mtffi4OOAbOyVq4m8D9YhQk_u7dMl_WgWLjikw9m_YnK-3n8l4mY1YHP059k5BU4I3kgHMcn9GvHPyrRJCsvmfhO_KEJmNhDrgumzWjyaHSUPjtA/s400/IMG_2389.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: I'm starting up Coexistence (5.10d). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I'm still very anxious. Nevertheless I climb smoothly all the way up to the roof. I place my crux gear, clip one of the pins, and shake out. I think I'm in good shape. Once I feel rested, I commit to the moves.</div>
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But it just doesn't feel right. I can't make the move I've rehearsed in my mind. I step up and down, up and down. Something is off. I can't match my hands where I usually do it. Finally I take a hang. </div>
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Failure number two. This is becoming a pattern. And I'm wasting precious time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw4G0kP4SNjzMSYpmWC8q3hsnmQYugv1Xzj8qACd1vofbVI1CXGzR4urlLhUJJK_vQ2CDuDErUPtp3Vvya6eMxElfXJtgoVPWvm-S4WnLvmDwagVadEtWmwLWhuK7rIM0v8D7dvANZp1K/s1600/IMG_2391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw4G0kP4SNjzMSYpmWC8q3hsnmQYugv1Xzj8qACd1vofbVI1CXGzR4urlLhUJJK_vQ2CDuDErUPtp3Vvya6eMxElfXJtgoVPWvm-S4WnLvmDwagVadEtWmwLWhuK7rIM0v8D7dvANZp1K/s400/IMG_2391.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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(Photo: I'm confronting the crux on Coex. Photo by Andy.)<br />
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What am I missing? Staring at the holds, I realize I've been grabbing the wrong feature with my left hand. I've become blinded by a faulty memory-- a slave to bad beta.<br />
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I sail over the roof. It feels easier than Try Again.<br />
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Grrrrrrrrrr. This was a missed opportunity. I really should have sent Coex.</div>
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Andy has never been on Coex before. He struggles a bit but ultimately gets the top rope on-sight.</div>
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<b>3. Men at Arms (5.10b), 10:40 a.m.</b></div>
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I am expecting this one to go smoothly. It is one of the easiest tens at the Mac Wall. And this is a good thing because I do not intend to fall on Men at Arms. The gear sucks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmHipGpbhuYkEA62J0twzq0ucuXfziIA__Oxc39Crczx3yUsdQSpYx5OkopczI6y_bGooZkl5wPU9zQw7TMIl7kj4_sV4xdnzVKDnzlh6MFhHa-KfV0Fy29hTvRYzJjmewq1FMZtmm43L/s1600/IMG_5235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmHipGpbhuYkEA62J0twzq0ucuXfziIA__Oxc39Crczx3yUsdQSpYx5OkopczI6y_bGooZkl5wPU9zQw7TMIl7kj4_sV4xdnzVKDnzlh6MFhHa-KfV0Fy29hTvRYzJjmewq1FMZtmm43L/s400/IMG_5235.JPG" width="326" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy almost finished with Men at Arms (5.10b).)<br />
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It goes well. I really like the climbing on this route. But there are moves of 5.9-ish difficulty all over it that are above so-so placements. After the upper crux move (above a tiny nut) there is a significant runout before you can get a piece again. I am not happy to be so far above my gear. </div>
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Whatever. It is over and done with. I finally have a send in the bank.<br />
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Andy follows the pitch with no issues.</div>
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<b>4. Graveyard Shift (5.10d), 11:30 a.m.</b></div>
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This is the most tense moment of the day for me. As I prepare to start Graveyard Shift I realize that of all of the demanding climbing at Mac Wall, the thing that scares me the most is the initial 5.8/5.9 runout over a bulge on Graveyard Shift. I have never come close to falling here but I have found that my fear of this section never goes away. Staring up at it fills me with dread.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXfvQxz3BjIyqs86TUxZcXS-KWtGUmqY0q5lYXxCXkKBdz0ZzpUTz1_n9w4S0gkt_edP_hegskEHMJhEqFaAeycXoyy10twgjac8UhX9Lzcgh_BMKkxKRfmHrJTSA0WqLB_GEcF64MNo1/s1600/IMG_5242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXfvQxz3BjIyqs86TUxZcXS-KWtGUmqY0q5lYXxCXkKBdz0ZzpUTz1_n9w4S0gkt_edP_hegskEHMJhEqFaAeycXoyy10twgjac8UhX9Lzcgh_BMKkxKRfmHrJTSA0WqLB_GEcF64MNo1/s400/IMG_5242.JPG" width="285" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy at the scary bulge on Graveyard Shift (5.10d).)<br />
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I swallow my emotions and start climbing. The bulge goes fine. But then I blow it once again at the well-protected crux. I forget about a drop-knee move that I usually do when I reach above the roof. I correct my footing mid-reach but I slip off just as my fingers are touching the hold.<br />
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I'm learning that it might be better to have no beta than to mindlessly try to execute the wrong beta.<br />
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I finish Graveyard feeling depressed. This day is not meeting my expectations. So far I am one for four. I am a bundle of nerves, sweaty, rushing, making lots of mistakes. Am I really going to soldier on through all ten climbs? I am officially sucking.</div>
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Andy follows the pitch cleanly.</div>
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<b>5. Star Action (5.10b), 12:44 p.m.</b><br />
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Now that Coex and Graveyard Shift are behind me, it is like a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I FINALLY relax. Star Action goes beautifully and I really enjoy it, more than I ever have before. I sail up the face to the roof, barely have to lunge for the good hold, and make the mental-crux move to the left with no worries. It feels great, and gives me a much-needed boost of confidence.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3STHgnP2nubSPLqH6b33lGiMUxuXNOX2Iodby2F4cEt26yxn9h0UU2s_GlsKu1H1T7w-EjLgp46qU81PqtJhWPW7WOOrSTiPTvmvSsXi7g4KMJdFxpe4uhyhRFnLkSJyTo3BInnTTrET/s1600/IMG_2424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3STHgnP2nubSPLqH6b33lGiMUxuXNOX2Iodby2F4cEt26yxn9h0UU2s_GlsKu1H1T7w-EjLgp46qU81PqtJhWPW7WOOrSTiPTvmvSsXi7g4KMJdFxpe4uhyhRFnLkSJyTo3BInnTTrET/s400/IMG_2424.JPG" width="282" /></a></div>
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(Photo: That's me in the early going on Star Action (5.10b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I am amused to see Andy struggle, for once. He's done everything cleanly so far, and has previously led Star Action when the crux was wet! But this time he can't find the holds and ends up throwing wildly for the jug above the roof. Of course (Andy being Andy) he sticks the dyno, but it ain't pretty. It's easy to climb like that when you are on top rope! I'd like to see him try it that way on lead.</div>
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<b>6. Tough Shift (5.10a), 1:25 p.m.</b><br />
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I'm not worried about Tough Shift at all. It has a reputation as a dangerous climb but I know the runouts are in relatively easy territory. I've done it before and I am certain it will be fine.</div>
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It goes perfectly. I carefully negotiate the tricky starting crack and then the runout upper face feels free and easy. It is a great pitch. This is actually my first complete send of Tough Shift. Last year when I led it I struggled in the opening crack.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt3xxa-WW_lCV6PDcIslv7JqNN-jvWgXj6cvd97_A9zqj1B2kKahAHXF6hawY8gnG2egiwC1lJsvjGtFCoIWkNexWLEy7RQOze95HGVyTrrkHEaPLkrz1-3aNOpmkokYek4eaGKF-85ZR/s1600/IMG_2479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyt3xxa-WW_lCV6PDcIslv7JqNN-jvWgXj6cvd97_A9zqj1B2kKahAHXF6hawY8gnG2egiwC1lJsvjGtFCoIWkNexWLEy7RQOze95HGVyTrrkHEaPLkrz1-3aNOpmkokYek4eaGKF-85ZR/s400/IMG_2479.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy about to move left onto the runout face at the end of Tough Shift (5.10a).)<br />
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Andy cleans it with little effort and we head to the left side of the wall.<br />
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<b>7. MF Direct (5.10a R), 2:24 p.m.</b></div>
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I am cruising now. We are past the halfway point and I feel strong. The weather has changed. Clouds are rolling through, threatening rain but also bringing a pleasant, cool breeze.</div>
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I've never led this route before. But in the past when I've followed it I have checked out the gear, and I think I know what I want to place.</div>
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It goes down easily. I believe with my special gear beta the route is safe, and not R-rated at all. Here is the beta, if you want it: I get a purple C3 in a tiny vertical seam after the first hard move, and then a bomber blue Alien at the thin horizontal a couple of moves higher. After that it's just one more move to the chains.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Andy on MF Direct (5.10a).)<br />
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Andy follows MF Direct quickly; it is our fastest pitch of the day.<br />
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I like MF Direct. It has a couple of big moves to great holds. It is casual, and barely 5.10. I think the original 5.9 version is more fun.<br />
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<b>8. Mother's Day Party (5.10b), 3:00 p.m.</b></div>
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I feel like I'm floating now, everything is clicking. I love this pitch. It goes like clockwork. I place two pieces before each of the cruxes and then I fire them off. Great moves and two very different, interesting sequences.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju26CTM3ZDQNOffsemZpJYxll5GKzagv-BXSCqqGFnznbI6qLFsooqwfoLbu7zwfFhbyL9v33H9Hvi7eWWIJkZkJ_v6f6FCmvHZeDUuQv12HW6t4Y4apmDKYL8BC1VeNw-vQK0WHHlkcJ7/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju26CTM3ZDQNOffsemZpJYxll5GKzagv-BXSCqqGFnznbI6qLFsooqwfoLbu7zwfFhbyL9v33H9Hvi7eWWIJkZkJ_v6f6FCmvHZeDUuQv12HW6t4Y4apmDKYL8BC1VeNw-vQK0WHHlkcJ7/s400/IMG_2501.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: I'm just past the first crux on Mother's Day Party (5.10b). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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I would climb this pitch any time but to my mind it is actually the most R-rated pitch on the wall. At the first crux you are going to go splat on a ledge if you blow it. There is no avoiding it. And there is good pro for the start of the second crux but by the time you make the last big move to a jug, your gear is ten feet below your ankles. The fall would be huge. The climbing is relatively soft for 5.10b, in my opinion, so if you're solid then all is well. But this route is not to be undertaken lightly.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJskaC0Ul5yUR43PMmi676IqtxrGjFN0Krs2VaylnvW3fgXdelr614cetw5Yn83PO4vcJvnpmilEXKNmsxH2HOSyrknGkBLpTyqnCAUmVcGAyqSVbmJrwzzgt9boILwyQus0K5kkTAW1me/s1600/IMG_5250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJskaC0Ul5yUR43PMmi676IqtxrGjFN0Krs2VaylnvW3fgXdelr614cetw5Yn83PO4vcJvnpmilEXKNmsxH2HOSyrknGkBLpTyqnCAUmVcGAyqSVbmJrwzzgt9boILwyQus0K5kkTAW1me/s400/IMG_5250.JPG" width="295" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy at the upper crux on Mother's Day Party.)<br />
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Andy takes his first and only fall of the day on Mother's Day Party, when he gets puzzled in the flakes at the first crux. Perhaps he's getting tired? He goes right back up and, grabbing the jug, curses himself. Hey, nobody's perfect.</div>
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<b>9. Interstice (5.10b), 3:50 p.m.</b><br />
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The end is in sight. We are taking our time now. We pause to support a leader named Ryan who is taking his first run up MF (the 5.9 version). He sends! We cheer.<br />
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(Photo: Ryan on MF (5.9).)<br />
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The cliff has gone into the shade and conditions could not be better. I am loving life.<br />
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Interstice, like Mother's Day Party, has perfect rock and two interesting, very different cruxes. It is as good as any other route at the wall but I never see anyone leading it. It is thought to be somewhat run out but in my opinion it has just enough gear, exactly where you need it.<br />
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(Photo: Andy at the first crux on Interstice (5.10b).)<br />
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I climb the route without a problem, standing up carefully against the blank slab at the first crux, and quickly cranking through the second crux bulge after placing bomber tiny pro in the left-facing corner. The final moments heading up and left to the Birdie Party bolts are a little bit heady, but are probably no harder than 5.8. Not a concern. Such a good pitch, from start to finish.<br />
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Andy follows cleanly but remarks that it might be a challenging lead.<br />
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<b>10. Still Crazy After All These Years (5.10a), 4:45 p.m.</b><br />
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We've reached our last route. I climb it joyfully, without a care in the world. I don't feel tired at all. There is one 5.8 move above the second horizontal where the pro (green Alien) is suspect. If you fall here and the piece blows, you will hit the ground. So it is important to climb with caution in the early going. Otherwise the gear on the route is great.<br />
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(Photo: I'm inspecting the holds at the start of Still Crazy After All These Years (5.10a). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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The last time I led this route I hesitated at the crux crimps but this time I dance right past them. It doesn't even feel like a crux. The route as a whole is quite nice, with consistent 5.8/5.9-ish face climbing similar to <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/07/gunks-routes-higher-stannard-59-friends.html">Higher Stannard</a> (5.9-) and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/04/gunks-routes-birdie-party-pitch-1-58.html">Birdie Party</a> (P1 5.8+). Some of the holds are a little bit sandy. It is well worth doing.<br />
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(Photo: Andy bringing it home on our last route, Still Crazy After All These Years (5.10a).)<br />
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Andy likes the route too, says it feels pretty casual.<br />
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And that's it! We are done. We call it a wrap at 5:30 p.m.</div>
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* * *</div>
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In retrospect, I feel reasonably good about how the day went. I started off pretty shaky, and failed on some routes I should have sent. I might have done better if I had saved the hardest routes for later in the day, when they would have been in the shade. Heat and direct sunlight make such a huge difference. But if I'd saved the hardest climbs for later, I might not have been so relaxed on the easier tens, so who knows whether things would have actually gone any more smoothly.</div>
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On the positive side, I eventually settled down and sent seven 5.10's in one day-- six of them in a row, one after another. I've never done anything like that before. And I have to try to keep in mind that the whole idea of doing something like this is a sign of my improvement as a climber. The notion of doing this challenge would have seemed completely insane to me just a short time ago. Two years ago I thought I would never have the guts to try to lead Coex. Just last summer I felt the same way about Graveyard Shift and Tough Shift. So much has happened over the last year or so. I feel like a totally different person.<br />
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I was surprised at how strong I still felt at the end of the day. Andy felt fine too. As we walked out we started talking about trying to do twenty tens in a day, with each of us leading ten of them. I think the chief obstacle would not be endurance, but time. We would need a relatively long day and we'd have to make a concerted effort to go faster than we did at the Mac Wall.</div>
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I think it is possible for us. I do think it would be far less casual than our Mac Wall day, and might become something of a deathmarch by the end.<br />
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In other words: it sounds fun!</div>
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I am grateful to Andy for supporting me in this little project and sacrificing his day for my goals. I look forward to belaying him all day on a siege of twelve 5.12's or something. It could happen. We'll have to wait and see.</div>
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SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-59816956357733761762016-06-16T07:35:00.000-04:002016-06-16T11:16:08.245-04:00Getting Sporty in the New River Gorge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Andy on Call 9-1-1 (5.13a), at the Endless Wall.)<br />
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I am sorry. It has been almost two months since my four-day trip to the New River Gorge in West Virginia<br />
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I have been slow to post about it.<br />
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I really, REALLY liked the New. I will definitely go again. I enjoyed the climbing we did and I'd love to find a way to do more of this style of sport climbing. And though we did some trad, we didn't really get a representative sample of what is available, so I'd like to go back to try some of the crack climbing in the gorge.<br />
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Andy and I planned our trip for mid-April, thinking it would be warm enough by then, but not too warm. The weather looked iffy as the trip approached. But Andy and I kept hope alive, and on the eve of our trip a new forecast materialized, and it was a thing of beauty. We were looking at four straight days of sunshine and temperatures in the sixties and seventies.<br />
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As I prepared to go to the New, I tried to get myself into the proper mindset. I'd always been a trad chauvinist. I'd never really given sport climbing a fair chance. It's not that I hadn't been sport climbing before. No, I'd had some exposure to sport climbing at several climbing areas, including <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-rocks-2011-part-1.html">Red Rocks</a>, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2010/08/weekend-in-rumney.html">Rumney</a>, the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-raining-sends-in-red-river-gorge.html">Red River Gorge</a>, and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-day-in-boulder-canyon-eldo-yellow.html">Boulder Canyon</a>. I'd enjoyed these areas.<br />
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But I'd always been cautious when sport climbing. I'd never truly embraced it, pushing my limits and climbing until I fell. I had been a sport tourist. This time I wanted it to be different. I wanted to go to the New and find out what I could do. I wanted to try hard climbs and maybe even work a route.<br />
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Crazy talk, right?<br />
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Also hanging like a specter over our trip were Batman and Superman. </div>
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The <a href="http://batmanvsuperman.dccomics.com/">movie</a> had just come out.<br />
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And somehow it had come up in conversation that Andy was the proud owner of both a Batman and a Superman onesie. </div>
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I know this raises some important questions.</div>
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Such as:<br />
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Why does Andy own superhero onesies?<br />
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And why were we talking about them?</div>
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I don't know. I can't explain it. Ask Andy.</div>
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But at some point in our conversation I suggested that we should climb in the onesies. It would be Batman vs. Superman, come to life! Pure awesomeness. Andy agreed.</div>
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I thought we were just kidding around. But as far as Andy was concerned the matter was deadly serious. He took me up on my offer and brought the onesies to West Virginia. Being no stranger to <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/eighties-day-in-gunks-excellent_24.html">climbing in stupid outfits</a>, I wasn't about to back out of our deal. At some point we would have to put them on.<br />
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Eventually.<br />
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But not right away.<br />
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On our first day, a Friday, Andy and I went to the Endless Wall, the New's most impressive crag. The cliff here goes on for miles, and Andy and I got to see a lot of it when we started out in the wrong direction and went down a random ladder to find ourselves nowhere near our intended destination.</div>
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After a bit of a hike along the base of the wall we finally located the climbs we wanted, in the Snake Buttress area.</div>
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I started our trip off with a bang by leading Discombobulated (5.11b). I quickly discovered a couple of things:</div>
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(1) Ratings at the New are stiff!<br />
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And</div>
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(2) Sport climbing at the New requires rather more commitment than I am used to. The first bolts are often high and the spacing between bolts can be wide.<br />
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(Photo: I'm starting up Discombobulated (5.11b), crimping nervously to the first bolt. Photo by Andy.)<br />
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Discombobluated was a tough initiation into the ways of the New. It starts with a technical thin face past a high first bolt. I nervously made it past this test but then peeled off shortly after clipping, on the very next move up the thin face. From the start of the route I was sweating it out and climbing scared. My head was not together. I was surprised to feel so shaky. I had expected to be a little more relaxed, as I am indoors at the gym.<br />
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And of course I regularly climb above trad gear in the Gunks, which ought to be more mentally challenging than clipping bolts, right?</div>
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I shouldn't have been surprised. I hadn't climbed a sport pitch outside since I was in the Red River Gorge back in <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-raining-sends-in-red-river-gorge.html">October 2014</a>. And I'd never before chosen to warm up with a mid-range 5.11.</div>
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After getting this first fall out of the way I resumed climbing Discombobulated and tried to remain calm-- combobulated, if you will-- as I worked my way up to the actual crux, a roof with some slippery holds just before the anchor. I was shaking (for no apparent reason) as I struggled to commit to the moves, but after a few false starts and some self-exhortation I made it through the crux to the finishing notch without falling or hanging.</div>
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My partner Andy, aka Mr. Sport Climber, sent the route without hesitation, of course. He was in his element here. </div>
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Next Andy wanted to check out a 5.12 so we moved over to Bullet the New Sky (5.12a). Here Andy struggled through hard moves moving around and through the overhanging arete not far off the ground. But he eventually got it done.<br />
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(Photo: Andy heading up Bullet the New Sky (5.12a).)<br />
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As hard as it was for Andy, the route was harder for me. I struggled in several places and got completely shut down at one hard move. In the New, I was discovering, 5.12 is the real thing.<br />
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These first routes set a pattern that would be repeated through the rest of our trip. 5.11 in the New would be challenging for me. I would on-sight some 5.11's, and I would have to work at others. I found 5.12's to be very hard and generally would be frustrated, even mystified, by at least one move. Sometimes I could fight my way to the top with some falling and hanging but during our short trip I never got to where I could put together a send on a 5.12. Andy, by contrast, generally cruised all of the 5.11's and had to work a bit on the 5.12's. He sent a couple of them.<br />
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(Photo: Look close and you'll find me up there near the finish of Legacy (5.11a). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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Over the rest of our first day my lead head improved as I got used to the climbing style in the New. Leading Legacy (5.11a), I was able to keep the irrational sport climbing jitters at bay and I got the on-sight. I really loved this pitch. It has a great roof problem and then a beautiful shallow dihedral with technical moves up to another overhang at the finish.<br />
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(Photo: We were alone for the whole morning of our first day in the New, and then who should appear but our NYC gym friends Iwen and Gautam! We had no idea they were coming.)<br />
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Andy attacked another 5.12 called New World Order (5.12a), and even took an abortive go at a 5.13a called Call 9-1-1. I worked at the 5.12 for a while and didn't even attempt the 5.13. It appeared absolutely blank to me. </div>
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But the ratings and my abilities aside, I loved the climbing we were doing. I found the routes to be so much more interesting than the sport climbs I'd done elsewhere. While sport climbing in the Red (for example) often feels gym-like, with its overhanging jug hauls, in the New I was delighted to find thin faces, long reaches to crimps, bulges, roofs, and technical corners and aretes. I'd always found sport climbing unmemorable, but not at the New.<br />
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We ended our day on an outstanding 5.10b called Strike a Scowl. Along with Legacy, this route was a candidate for my favorite climb of the trip. It features fun moves up a thin, textured face. The rock is gorgeous to look at and through the upper part of the pitch you cling to an improbable stacked flake system. The climbing is reasonable but I sure wouldn't call it easy for 5.10.<br />
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(Photo: Andy working out the thin moves on Strike a Scowl (5.10b).)</div>
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Around midday we were joined at the Endless Wall by some gym friends of ours from NYC named Iwen and Gautam. We had no idea they were coming, but we were excited to run into them and spent the next few days hanging out near them and sharing some meals together. Over pizza and beer on Friday evening Iwen and Gautam told us they were heading to the crag called Kaymoor in the morning. This sounded good to us so we decided to go there too for our second day.</div>
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When Andy and I hiked down to the Butcher's Branch section of Kaymoor the next morning, we found it packed with people. We decided to walk a bit more and found less of a crowd at the nearby Seven Eleven Wall, so we set up there for the day.</div>
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This area is known for its collection of 5.11 routes. It seems like 5.11 is the entry-level sport grade at most of the crags in the New. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXB1DMNbJ0Qm6plbQdrdQPZx4BkBsafuKXrmNHL-0euNMaUGhu3OEdNH5ALP5EIC3n2vybwx1d2nAeCmIuK2xauXUoebNmdfE6vQMJE7lgF6SFGrg9jg8OijAagGknZRQOwWBdXD4gJu_/s1600/IMG_2256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXB1DMNbJ0Qm6plbQdrdQPZx4BkBsafuKXrmNHL-0euNMaUGhu3OEdNH5ALP5EIC3n2vybwx1d2nAeCmIuK2xauXUoebNmdfE6vQMJE7lgF6SFGrg9jg8OijAagGknZRQOwWBdXD4gJu_/s400/IMG_2256.JPG" width="291" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy at the first overhang on Tony the Tiger (5.11c) at the Seven Eleven Wall. To the right of Andy a climber is visible on Scenic Adult (5.11c).)</div>
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I was really happy with our day here. Almost all of the routes were fun and they were all quite different from one another. We started with the forgettable (and somewhat dirty) short route Butcher Man (5.11a), but things got better from there. I had to take a few falls to work out the crux on the one I liked the best, a climb called Scenic Adult (5.11c). The route has good moves up and around an arĆŖte, followed by a very exposed and pumpy traverse to the lip of a roof. I thought that Tit Speed (5.11c), on the left end of the wall, was also very tough, with a steep and technical starting sequence, which led to more big moves in overhanging territory. This was the only eleven that Andy had any trouble with, as I recall.</div>
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(Photo: I'm climbing Bimbo Shrine (5.11b). Photo by Andy.)</div>
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I had better luck with Tony the Tiger (5.11c), a roof climb which seemed easy for the grade, and Bimbo Shrine (5.11b), a face climb that passes a few bulges with steep, crimpy cruxes. </div>
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We decided to treat our third day as a sort of rest day, doing some easy trad in the Meadow River Gorge. I knew that this was not the very best trad area in the New, but I thought it would be nice to see a different part of the region. Most of the routes we did, at the Sunkist Wall at the far end of the gorge, were nothing to write home about, though one 5.9 corner climb called Arachnophobia was pretty nice. It would be worth making a special trip for this climb, if only it were longer.</div>
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(Photo: I'm leading Arachnophobia (5.9) at the Sunkist Wall in the Meadow River Gorge. Photo by Andy.)</div>
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Andy couldn't make himself take it easy for the whole day. He ticked a 5.12 send on a short, steep sport route called Fresh Boy (5.12a).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJBVFAPsO19voV1zgmSV0Ye-oEpb2zClHok7BrqAdgQgiV83dI5dW7TlkXmIIvzX29ghH-OSgM6AhscmLcaaVf9ys1MKTrsydX0ri7mRkF5sD9qJDS_Qs7RijiJ85rgnaBuKJO15BLvou/s1600/IMG_2314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJBVFAPsO19voV1zgmSV0Ye-oEpb2zClHok7BrqAdgQgiV83dI5dW7TlkXmIIvzX29ghH-OSgM6AhscmLcaaVf9ys1MKTrsydX0ri7mRkF5sD9qJDS_Qs7RijiJ85rgnaBuKJO15BLvou/s400/IMG_2314.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy on Fresh Boy (5.12a).)</div>
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It was so pleasant to be in the Meadow River Gorge. The river was always close by. Its clear, cool waters were a soothing presence. I thought the rock in the gorge was pretty to look at, too, with its fiery orange shades. </div>
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The most pleasant thing of all: we were all by ourselves on a beautiful Sunday. </div>
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As we walked back to the road we stopped to look at a couple of the prime attractions of the area, like Mango Tango (sport 5.14a) and The Greatest Show On Earth (trad 5.13a). They seemed far beyond us (or me, anyway) but were impressive to behold.</div>
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We ended our day with a beautiful, sandbagged sport 5.10c called Winter Harvest, which ascends a juggy roof and a steep arĆŖte. </div>
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(Photo: Andy on Winter Harvest (5.10c).)</div>
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Our fourth and final day was a short one. We had to hit the road at midday for the eight-hour drive back to NYC. We elected to spend our final morning checking out Summersville Lake. We'd heard good things about the area. Gautam said it was his favorite place to climb in the New. It is known for having more entry-level sport climbs than many of the other areas of the New. And judging by my Facebook feed, Summersville Lake is home to everyone's favorite 5.13a, a climb called Apollo Reed.</div>
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We got to the parking lot early. We needed to cram in some good climbing before leaving town.</div>
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We also had to put on our onesies.</div>
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It was now or never.</div>
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We hiked down to the Long Wall and found a group of 5.11 sport climbs in a perfect setting right next to the lake. What a beautiful place!</div>
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Getting into costume, we assumed our battle positions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf1Dm5pCetiAn_xgZFN9_Xy9UUX6UxF5dprH2Y-w5I7E4aZLeAC_dim7H7UibqXwTWQ8w15Ul0BNvQUobWeQjYY53WNTdSAv2lq23AEplyhMMiMOGvvQ7zhQqjmPboX62SAqAptO8MgH6F/s1600/13072852_10102530710687469_6263484823291464886_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf1Dm5pCetiAn_xgZFN9_Xy9UUX6UxF5dprH2Y-w5I7E4aZLeAC_dim7H7UibqXwTWQ8w15Ul0BNvQUobWeQjYY53WNTdSAv2lq23AEplyhMMiMOGvvQ7zhQqjmPboX62SAqAptO8MgH6F/s400/13072852_10102530710687469_6263484823291464886_o.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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(Photos: Getting into character at Summersville Lake.)</div>
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We were dressed to kill. But we hadn't really considered the weather. It had grown hotter each day since we arrived in the New. Even though it was still early morning, it was already approaching 80 degrees. The Long Wall was baking in direct sunlight. And we were wearing long-sleeve flannel pajamas. </div>
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We climbed a couple of the 5.11's, but all I really remember is that I was hot.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtE7nWOZVTpyFG1lzrhm70FO8hsXfrZrVWpj1A1m6whmy413ZGEK_5vOR88yq6GO36yDYn7sfquhLN_uwHQ_saUoDBepTBLaB6wqWeFv3LyduWBGsb65fzDZuS7SkeXhr_VQwI4lfWi8od/s1600/IMG_2346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtE7nWOZVTpyFG1lzrhm70FO8hsXfrZrVWpj1A1m6whmy413ZGEK_5vOR88yq6GO36yDYn7sfquhLN_uwHQ_saUoDBepTBLaB6wqWeFv3LyduWBGsb65fzDZuS7SkeXhr_VQwI4lfWi8od/s400/IMG_2346.JPG" width="281" /></a></div>
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(Photo: That's me climbing something. Photo by Andy.)</div>
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Wearing the black outfit, I felt like I was in a greenhouse. And the cape kept getting in my way as I reached for draws. </div>
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Oh, the dark side of being a superhero! Who knew?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulIwBsp1ORztX6ixoNRUHtFuTRNvy5rUaUycub12D0PMwJQsnU2gsy0n_CCf_vTrxU01l_gCF9ae1zIV2C80gp7GWFqA9Q9VxNC96sSlX4EyUkoYOIybriYohej_tdGfSiiMmIHpJQr5y/s1600/IMG_2354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulIwBsp1ORztX6ixoNRUHtFuTRNvy5rUaUycub12D0PMwJQsnU2gsy0n_CCf_vTrxU01l_gCF9ae1zIV2C80gp7GWFqA9Q9VxNC96sSlX4EyUkoYOIybriYohej_tdGfSiiMmIHpJQr5y/s400/IMG_2354.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Andy in the spirit of things as Superman.)</div>
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It wasn't long before we shed the costumes and moved around the corner to the shady side of the wall, where we found a fun collection of steep 5.10 routes. Grateful for the shade, we camped out here for the remainder of our time. We knocked off all of the tens and then it was time to head out.</div>
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Our trip was over. I'm not sure we found the best of Summersville Lake, but we had fun. </div>
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(Photo: That's me, finishing our trip with Flight Path (5.10b).)</div>
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I left feeling I'd gotten a great introduction to the New River Gorge. </div>
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I loved it there, and I could see how being a regular at the New would make me a much stronger climber. Just in the course of our short trip, once I got used to the sport mentality, it became very clear exactly where my level was. If I could climb at the New all the time, I would have a virtually endless supply of climbs with which to push my level, one letter grade at a time. Without all the mental nonsense of trad climbing, my work could be focused on the moves alone. And since I liked the style of climbing so much, I wouldn't get immediately bored with such an enterprise.</div>
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Would I prefer the New to my beloved home crag, the Gunks? I wouldn't go that far. I still cherish the mental nonsense of trad climbing. Most of the time I still think that's what it's all about, for me.</div>
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But there's no doubt that if I had a place like the New closer to NYC, it would make me better.</div>
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SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-88246385936562583822016-04-25T20:59:00.002-04:002016-09-09T13:05:35.307-04:00Learning the (Top) Ropes in Lost City<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ByObE5F-b5ULK6KaHCkZqkR5op__n82xLLIW3OciEJbUKIonh13uebIgIwvaw1JWNTqdf4GE2yHDpUChkMwh8Ub-ygD65zRfEwiYB456yu0SXPgAsnbR2PSWATNAbUBM4uv9Fbbl9nlZ/s1600/IMG_4975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ByObE5F-b5ULK6KaHCkZqkR5op__n82xLLIW3OciEJbUKIonh13uebIgIwvaw1JWNTqdf4GE2yHDpUChkMwh8Ub-ygD65zRfEwiYB456yu0SXPgAsnbR2PSWATNAbUBM4uv9Fbbl9nlZ/s400/IMG_4975.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: That's me leading <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-next.html">Resistance</a> (5.10c) at Lost City. Photo by Connie.)<br />
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I'm getting frustrated.<br />
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"I don't think I can do this," I say.<br />
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We are in Lost City, in the area known as the Survival Block. It is ground zero for Gunks hard-man top-roping. <br />
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I'm just one move off of the ground and I'm already flailing on an "easy" 5.12 top-rope. I need to get up an overhanging arĆŖte, using invisible Houdini footholds. A juggy rail is just out of reach. I can't find a way to stay on the wall until I reach the good hold.<br />
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Perhaps I can forget about advanced footwork and throw for the jug? My partner Andy has just done it this way.<br />
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I try for the throw and come up short, swinging out and away from the wall. As I fly outward my feet barely clear the talus blocks.<br />
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"Maybe this is pointless," I wonder out loud.<br />
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"You'll never know if you don't actually try," Andy says. "You have to do it again, and COMMIT this time."<br />
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I know he's right. My throw was utterly half-assed. I set up to try again, and fail again. But I'm improving: I get my fingers on the good hold for half a second.<br />
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"You've almost got it and you're still not really going for it," Andy observes. "Stop being such a WIENER about it, and you've got it made."<br />
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Again, I know he is absolutely right. What am I afraid of? Is it the harmless swing out into space? Could it be the crowd of onlookers, every one of them (I assume) a better climber than me?<br />
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I psych myself up to try again. <br />
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"Just do the move, idiot." <br />
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Eventually I get the jug. <br />
<br />
The rest of the climb goes more smoothly. I don't get it clean but I quickly work out the difficult bits and believe I could do these moves again. Once I am back on the ground, I feel okay about it all.<br />
<br />
Resistoflex is a Gunks 5.12. And it isn't that bad! It can be accomplished by mortals.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Gabe taking a quick top-rope run on Resistoflex (5.12), with Andy handling the belay. Gabe led the pitch earlier in the day.)<br />
<br />
If I come back to Resistoflex and run through it a few more times I might even consider leading it.<br />
<br />
I'm still not used to this style of working routes, but I am coming around to it.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * * </div>
<br />
Years ago I dabbled a bit with the Gunks top-rope game and found it maddening, boring, even counter-productive. Twelves in the Gunks seemed cryptic and impossible. Why was I wasting my time shredding my tips on these climbs, which I couldn't do and did not enjoy? I had a mile-long list of easier, leadable routes I desperately wanted to climb.<br />
<br />
I recognized that other people achieved rapid progress by working hard routes into submission. But I had a limited number of climbing days and I wanted to spend them doing full-length, world-class routes, not struggling for hours just to do a few hard moves. If slow improvement was the price I had to pay for adventure and on-sight leading, I could live with that.<br />
<br />
My way of climbing was very satisfying... for a while. But then I seemed to stagnate at the 5.10 level. I fooled around with the tens for years, having occasional success with the easiest climbs in the grade but struggling with the harder ones. The most impressive tens in the Gunks seemed beyond me and too scary. Elevens? No way. <br />
<br />
I wanted to get better, but I didn't want to sacrifice what I found most fun about climbing: going for the on-sight and trying new routes. So for a long time I just carried on in the same way, and didn't really get anywhere.<br />
<br />
I finally broke through the plateau when I started treating my climbing as a series of projects. I picked climbs that I knew were pushing my limits. I hoped for the on-sight but if it didn't happen I did not give up and move on. Instead I thought about what I needed to do to come back and succeed. And then I made sure to return and put in the work.<br />
<br />
This approach yielded dividends. I sent harder climbs than I'd ever considered possible before. And routes I used to struggle with seemed suddenly easy. I knocked off many of the legendary classics I'd always dreamed of doing. With my horizons broadened to include many climbs that were new and difficult for me, I didn't feel like I lost much in terms of adventure.<br />
<br />
And now it is 2016, a new season. In order to keep improving, I know I have to keep picking climbs outside my comfort zone. And recently I've started thinking that if I really want to get significantly better, I need to reassess my antipathy towards working on seriously hard stuff on TR.<br />
<br />
So when Andy and I headed up to the Gunks on a recent Sunday, I was thinking about Lost City, the home of the hard top-ropes. Our friends Connie and Alex were coming along, and they also had the same idea, so we were all on the same page.....<br />
<br />
...maybe.<br />
<br />
I had several climbs I wanted to lead. I figured we would probably get around to doing something on TR eventually. But first I had some unfinished business to take care of with <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-wet-week-at-gunks-stannard-roof-510a.html">Stannard's Roof</a> (5.10). <br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: That's me on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-wet-week-at-gunks-stannard-roof-510a.html">Stannard's Roof</a> (5.10) in 2013, struggling to get the wrong cam off of my gear sling.)<br />
<br />
I led this route in <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-wet-week-at-gunks-stannard-roof-510a.html">July of 2013</a> and I should have sent it on the first go. I fell because I wasted all of my energy trying (and failing) to get a cam off of my gear sling. I remember it as a comical scene. I was fully horizontal in the roof, hanging in there forever in the slimy summer heat. My cams were all behind my back, dangling off of my gear sling into space. I couldn't see the gear. I had to fumble blindly to get at the cam I wanted. Finally I got the cam loose, but then as I reached up to place it I saw to my horror that I'd fished out the wrong cam. It wouldn't fit, and I was screwed.<br />
<br />
After this incident I swore off the gear sling forever. I have racked on my harness ever since.<br />
<br />
Now, almost three years later, I hoped to run through Stannard's Roof as our warm-up, with no drama. This was April, not July, and there was a chill in the air. The rock felt fine in the sun, but as I approached the roof I went into the shade under the big ceiling. The rock under there was quite cold to the touch. But I wasn't worried about it (cold rock = good friction!), and I tried not to waste any time as I moved out under the roof. I placed one cam, moved out some more, and placed another. <br />
<br />
Everything was going great as I grabbed the holds at the lip of the overhang. I just had to rotate my body and reach up to the higher holds so I could stand up above the roof.<br />
<br />
I was almost done. Easy peasy.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Andy coming up Stannard's Roof (5.10).)<br />
<br />
But then I couldn't move. The rope seemed stuck. I looked down under the roof to see what the problem was, and I realized, once again to my horror, that I'd messed up. I had Z-clipped my two cams under the roof! This was a nightmare. Talk about a comical scene. What was I going to do now?<br />
<br />
Moving up was not an option. I had to downclimb back under the roof to fix the cams. I couldn't see any alternative. So that's what I did. I reversed the moves, unclipped the second cam, and re-clipped it correctly. Then I had to climb back up and out again, and by this time the tips of my fingers were freezing. They were starting to burn. But I was determined not to blow it and I got out without falling.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Andy making it over the lip on Stannard's Roof (5.10).)<br />
<br />
I was furious with myself for making such a stupid mistake, but happy I was able to hang in there. I was so relieved to get to the stance above the roof.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Andy leading an unnamed (?) 5.10 to the right of Stannard's. This is a good route, with a fun crux at the triangular overlap.)<br />
<br />
Andy and I did a few more 5.10 leads and then went looking for Connie and Alex. They had started out climbing nearby, but at some point they'd wandered off. We found them at the Survival Block with some other folks we know from our gym, the Cliffs at LIC.<br />
<br />
Gabe, a strong climber who is less than half my age, seemed to be leading the group. He'd set up ropes on Resistoflex as well as on Persistent (5.11d) and Survival of the Fittest (5.13a), and on Gold Streaks (5.11) over on the next wall to the right.<br />
<br />
Connie was gamely going for it on Survival when we showed up. The climb looked brutally hard. But Connie was thrilled to be trying something that was a real challenge for her. Kat, another LIC regular, was taking multiple burns on Persistent, trying to pink-point it on lead with pre-placed gear.<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Kat on Persistent (5.11d), with Gabe belaying her.)<br />
<br />
As I watched them gleefully working these routes, I knew that I should be doing exactly what they were doing. If I had the same attitude, I would improve. I felt shamed. So Andy and I did some top-roping.<br />
<br />
It went fine. The world did not come crashing down around us. We had fun. Andy and I ran up <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/10/fun-times-in-lost-city.html">Gold Streaks</a> (5.11), a wonderful route with poor protection. Then we gave Resistoflex a good effort, which in the end was very worthwhile, and not pointless at all.<br />
<br />
Gabe offered me a run on Persistent, but I begged off. I had reasons, of course. I told myself that the climb has great gear; it seemed like I should save it for an on-sight attempt. But the real reason was that there were so many people around. Several of them were strangers to me. Such a big audience made me self-conscious. I felt like I didn't belong.<br />
<br />
Honestly, I was being silly. But Connie and Alex had wandered off again, and this provided as good an excuse as any for us to clear out too. We wanted to find our friends. So we moved on.<br />
<br />
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(Photo: Alex on Gravity's Rainbow (5.12).)<br />
<br />
We located them at the far right end of Lost City, laying siege to another 5.12. I'd never ventured this far over to the right before. The trail here comes much closer to the cliff, and most of the rock is on little free-standing buttresses. I don't know the names of any of the routes in this area, but it looks like there are a bunch of easy scrambles... and one imposing, overhanging climb up a smooth face.<br />
<br />
This is Gravity's Rainbow (5.12).<br />
<br />
When Andy and I arrived, Alex had already set it up on TR. He was now climbing it, and was almost at the top, having figured out the hard bits. He was thinking about leading it at some time in the near future.<br />
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<br />
(Photo: Connie on Gravity's Rainbow (5.12).)<br />
<br />
Once he was done, I watched Connie work her way up the route. It seemed like there were two very very hard cruxes. And one of them was wet.<br />
<br />
I started thinking about finding something else to do. I could see a crack climb over yonder. It didn't look too bad, probably 5.9 or 5.10. Maybe Andy and I could go do that one...<br />
<br />
But it was too late. Connie was finished. The rope was free. There was to be no escape.<br />
<br />
It was my turn to man up and do some more 5.12 top-roping.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<br />
I'm getting frustrated again.<br />
<br />
Is this really the move?<br />
<br />
I'm supposed to hold on to this ridiculously small, greasy crimp? And then I have to rock up over a high heel hook?<br />
<br />
This crux is heinous!<br />
<br />
I find myself saying it again: "I don't think I can do this."<br />
<br />
Andy says he's heard that one before.<br />
<br />
But this time I'm doing my best to prove that I mean it. I really, truly, can't do it. I'm failing over and over again. My fingers won't stay on the hold. I can't find the flexibility to get my heel up. When I manage to get the heel up, I'm frozen. I have no leverage to rock up over the heel.<br />
<br />
I keep on falling.<br />
<br />
I'm conscious of the fact that it's about to get dark. We have to hike out of here soon.<br />
<br />
I hate this.<br />
<br />
But I have to admit I'm slowly getting better. When I first tried the crux I couldn't hold the crimp at all, but now I can step up, just so, and grab it as if it is an actual hold.<br />
<br />
I keep working the angle on the heel hook and finally, after who knows how many attempts, it all clicks. I grab the crimp; I raise my heel; I lock it in. Somehow I'm shifting my weight over the heel hook and I find myself standing, not falling. I have done it.<br />
<br />
My three friends cheer, mostly because now we can get our gear back and go home.<br />
<br />
But never mind, I take it as validation.<br />
<br />
I'm learning.<br />
<br />
I can do this.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/27802226">I can top-rope</a>.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-22633158403185679882016-04-06T22:02:00.000-04:002016-04-06T22:02:25.660-04:00Last Days of The Winter (5.10d)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />(Photo: Getting into the overhangs on Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
<br />
We live in an age of great environmental peril. Temperatures are climbing at an alarming rate. Ice sheets are melting. Scientists project that someday soon the oceans will rise up like giant <a href="http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/gulper-eel.html">gulper eels</a> and swallow our coastal cities whole.<br />
<br />
It is enough to make you feel guilty whenever the weather is nice. On days when it is warm and the sun is shining, it is hard to enjoy yourself without feeling at least a small, nagging tug of disquietude.<br />
<br />
"What a wonderful day," you think to yourself.<br />
<br />
"(We are all going to die.)"<br />
<br />
So one might expect that yucky, cold days would provoke feelings of relief. Maybe if the weather is lousy, as befits the season, we are NOT going to die. Or not so soon, anyway. We ought to take comfort in any anecdotal evidence we can get that the end is not so near after all. <br />
<br />
But it doesn't work that way. Not for me. When it is appropriately damp and cold in March, I am not grateful. I am resentful. I feel the weight of our impending doom, regardless of the present conditions. And I expect something in return. If my property is soon to be beneath the sea, the very least nature can do for me is to grant me some excellent climbing days before everything goes forever into the crapper.<br />
<br />
Is that so much to ask?<br />
<br />
I was supposed to take a trip to the New River Gorge at the end of this week. "This week" being practically mid-April, for crying out loud. But with snow (!!) in the West Virginia forecast for Friday, and an expected high of 37 degrees in Fayetteville on Saturday, it looks like we are calling it off. We had a contingency plan-- we were going to push it off for one week if the weather was lousy. But the forecast for next week is a solid wall of rain showers. So it looks like that ain't happening either.<br />
<br />I am feeling grumpy about it all. But I will make the best of it.<br />
<br />
Maybe I'll console myself with a day in the Gunks, if it gets warm enough to melt the snow they got this week. <br />
<br />
Since my last report, I did get out in the Gunks one time, with Adrian. The temperatures were in the low forties (just warm enough for climbing, in my opinion). Unlike my prior (sunny) day with Andy, this one was overcast and the air felt a bit damp. <br />
<br />
My goal was to put <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4650850393132003664#allposts">Carbs and Caffeine</a> (5.11a) away, once and for all. Adrian was willing to do it with me, so we trooped on down there first thing, hoping in vain that we would warm up on the walk.<br />
<br />
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(Photo: Adrian getting started on the 5.8-ish pitch one of Carbs and Caffeine.)<br />
<br />
It was still cold and damp as we got started. Adrian led the first pitch without delay, but as I stood there belaying him I found myself shivering. I told myself I would feel warmer once I got up on the wall. Soon enough I was climbing and I joined Adrian at the anchor, ready to see if the third time would be the charm for me on the crux pitch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kvaldzl_Uha9UFl7XCmqXsJGQbGSBdv2h2MOPH2ZfvxtysE2f_FVA7A93Vtb5ufXUyyAL5Q4inznZvAMTyqk6mKX3cuUzBHASXIgxT8o6Q6CdKU5S6yuoPUR0J_I0PMcZ_cDBLjhRkMu/s1600/IMG_3536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="" height="300" id="blogsy-1459991140608.157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kvaldzl_Uha9UFl7XCmqXsJGQbGSBdv2h2MOPH2ZfvxtysE2f_FVA7A93Vtb5ufXUyyAL5Q4inznZvAMTyqk6mKX3cuUzBHASXIgxT8o6Q6CdKU5S6yuoPUR0J_I0PMcZ_cDBLjhRkMu/s400/IMG_3536.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />(Photo: Coming up pitch one of Carbs and Caffeine. Photo by Adrian.)<br />
<br />
This time I knew I had the beta. It had been only a week since <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">I'd almost sent the damned thing</a>. I expected that the crux move would be hard but as long as I executed my sequences properly I figured I would get through it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jwZxWOywyJu8fwb4IW1UVpHsK7Wrnml4MQVeKtxfEaPDO7rJOsHsSFpoqlr-xcl7GfnA1iObO1Yr8z82SUkXvrVPY8O6Dhs5aRlurNKeRiJhjlUX1Ra3ma8Qzw_ukPm14-YElvvO3zL2/s1600/IMG_3542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jwZxWOywyJu8fwb4IW1UVpHsK7Wrnml4MQVeKtxfEaPDO7rJOsHsSFpoqlr-xcl7GfnA1iObO1Yr8z82SUkXvrVPY8O6Dhs5aRlurNKeRiJhjlUX1Ra3ma8Qzw_ukPm14-YElvvO3zL2/s400/IMG_3542.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(Photo: Ready to go for it on Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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Heading upward through the tiers of overhanging rock, I got to the first bolt without a problem. After I clipped it, I tried to move up into the crux right away, but when I made the big reach up to the sloper hold, I didn't like it. The rock felt slippery. I needed to match on the hold but I wasn't sure I could hold on in the current conditions. I stepped back down and tried to shake out beneath the crux.<br />
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Then I went up again. Still no good. It seemed like I was about to slip off the sloper. I had to step back down again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdRcf1qHe8JvA7uqftlCWXQpp8OYPo2sk-iVBMV01jI4j4EaYtKrZGG4_c1LeqH4m0n7msNYCCqOT5MLfiOvGRUDeFNA6KMcCxLll4Zu97U0ic7QHco88q1yRnR8NQCqqN3NJRbG3ueaQ/s1600/IMG_4824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="" height="400" id="blogsy-1459991140614.078" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdRcf1qHe8JvA7uqftlCWXQpp8OYPo2sk-iVBMV01jI4j4EaYtKrZGG4_c1LeqH4m0n7msNYCCqOT5MLfiOvGRUDeFNA6KMcCxLll4Zu97U0ic7QHco88q1yRnR8NQCqqN3NJRbG3ueaQ/s400/IMG_4824.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />(Photo: Adrian at the 5.11a crux of Carbs and Caffeine.)<br />
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If I didn't get on with this move I was going to end up taking a hang. I was shaking out in an overhanging position. I couldn't really rest. I wished I'd found the knee-bar rest at the crux that people talk about. I decided I couldn't afford to wait around any more.<br />
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On the third try I forced myself to commit to the match. I thought for a fraction of a second that I was about to go flying but, luckily, I didn't. I stuck it. And then I stepped up to the crimps knowing that I had this climb in the bag if I could keep it together. I tried to stay focused as I moved up the slab to the final challenge.<br />
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<br />(Photo: Adrian in the final crab-crawl traverse on Carbs and Caffeine.)<br />
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This time I remembered to move up to the good hold in the corner before plugging in gear for the traverse. Placing a bomber blue Alien over my shoulder, I dove out there into space, hoping I would feel as solid on the no-feet crab-crawl as I had <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-next.html">the previous week</a>. But in the damp air the traverse felt a little bit harder. I nearly lost it when one of my toes slid off, but again I managed to hold on and with a few more moves I got around the corner to the stance. The pitch was over.<br />
<br />
As I stood there backing up the fixed anchor I felt very relieved. And a little bit proud. Carbs and Caffeine, baby! And it was only March!<br />
<br />
I was quickly brought back to earth when we moved on to The Winter. This pitch, at 5.10(d), is supposed to be marginally easier than Carbs and Caffeine-- but it is a very different style of climb, so it is hard to make a meaningful comparison. The Winter is a technical corner climb, with some awkward climbing up a slot before the real business begins in the smooth, thin corner.<br />
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The route has been a nemesis of mine. I find it intimidating and scary. I've <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/eighties-day-in-gunks-excellent_24.html">backed off</a> of it <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/05/gunks-routes-winter-510d-stubai-to-you.html">twice</a> before even reaching the crux corner. The early going up the slot is kind of in your face (though it is definitely easier than 5.10+), and the cracks for gear are kind of flaring. On two occasions I've made the first couple of moves, and, confronting a committing sequence with so-so cams, I've decided to step back down and walk away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSO7ZxFicgHK7vmyEBepxiFUg0QFNpyCBsN-nLLfi5JEZZ3TyAXIQRRvPP_4YPTrIRtwsJwyv2FUFiB0ZCbK2J_pc7CazZHekbNEfzpRqB8CxNwiORry9WaDJE9gdU5z5An1EgLuSlbPLw/s1600/IMG_0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="" height="400" id="blogsy-1459991140557.2517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSO7ZxFicgHK7vmyEBepxiFUg0QFNpyCBsN-nLLfi5JEZZ3TyAXIQRRvPP_4YPTrIRtwsJwyv2FUFiB0ZCbK2J_pc7CazZHekbNEfzpRqB8CxNwiORry9WaDJE9gdU5z5An1EgLuSlbPLw/s400/IMG_0387.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />(Photo: Starting up the awkward slot on The Winter (5.10d) in October 2014. Photo by Gail. The tights were in honor of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/10/eighties-day-in-gunks-excellent_24.html">Eighties Day</a> in the Gunks.)<br />
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I'm sure my fear of the upper portion of the pitch has played a role in the urge I've felt to abort. From the ground it appears there are placements in the crux corner, but they are tiny nuts. There is a piton at the end of the hard climbing, but the move to get to that piton isn't easy and on the lead you are going to be above whatever small gear you can arrange in the corner.<br />
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This time around I hoped to commit to the move down low and then, once I reached the main corner, I would make sure I got the best pro I could get.<br />
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As I started the pitch I managed to place three pieces before committing to the move out of the initial slot. The move went fine and soon I was standing at the base of the desperate crux corner.<br />
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So far, so good.<br />
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But then it all fell apart.<br />
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(Photo: Finessing gear at the start of the crux corner on The Winter (5.10d). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I placed as much gear as I could manage. I got a good Alien at my knees and then I placed four (yes, four!) nuts in the corner. I liked a few of these nut placements but they were all small.<br />
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I had a hard time getting myself psyched up to launch on up above the nuts. I worked out the move but couldn't make myself go. Eventually I took a hang. Then I made the hard move up the corner but got really nervous making the stand-up move to the piton. I fumbled desperately and then took a real whip. The fall was clean, and now that I'd really welded my top nut in place I felt a bit better about climbing above it again. I went back up, made the final hard move and finished the pitch.<br />
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(Photo: Adrian on The Winter (5.10d).)<br />
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I'm not happy about how it went. I was so tentative. But now I have The Winter all sorted out. And now I know that The Winter is quite safe. The fall is clean and the nuts are good. Adrian had to fight to get some of them out. I think I should be able to go back and fire it off. And then I'll have to try the second pitch of The Spring (5.10d), directly above, which everyone says is a great roof problem pitch. I've never been on it.<br />
<br />
I think Carbs and Caffeine and The Winter showed both my strengths and weaknesses as a climber.<br />
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On the plus side, I think I have reached a basic level of climbing proficiency (after many years of mediocrity). And I'm persistent, which is also a plus.<br />
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On the negative side, I know I have real mental challenges. I have a fear of falling. When the moves are hard I often find it difficult to commit, even when I'm certain that the gear is good. And when I do eventually commit, my fear makes me climb poorly. I get tunnel vision and fumble around because I am scared. It happened the first time I tried Carbs. And it has happened several times now on The Winter. The fear of falling has caused me to give up, to hang, and to fall.<br />
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It is a paradox. To some degree fear is healthy and necessary. Especially when trad climbing, you should always be aware of the risks of falling. It would be foolish and dangerous to behave as if falling were not a potential problem. But when reasonable caution morphs into irrational fear, the danger increases because failure becomes much more likely. The fear makes you fall when you might not have fallen otherwise.<br />
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(Photo: Feeling fine while running it out on the first pitch of Annie Oh! (5.8). Photo by Adrian.)<br />
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I'm not sure what I can do to address the issue except to keep trying hard. I've never been a big believer in taking practice falls, and I don't think my specific fear of falling would be addressed by the type of deliberate falling one does for practice. It isn't falling in and of itself that is the problem. I'm not paralyzed on easier climbs-- it's when I'm at my limit, or when I'm climbing on a style of route with which I'm uncomfortable.<br />
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The good news is that, as I push to work on harder climbs, the grade at which I feel free and easy is also getting higher. I think I really need to push myself to trust my gear and go for it more often. If I can do that, I'll have a shot at on-sighting more of these harder climbs, and I may reach a whole new level.<br />
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We'll see how it goes when I pick the next project. What should it be? Harvest Moon (5.11a)? No Man's Land (5.11b)? Square Meal (5.11a)? So many to choose from...SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-60720921402443198102016-03-25T22:05:00.002-04:002016-06-20T10:28:15.803-04:00What's next?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: Gingerly exploring Avoid Where Inhibited (5.11a). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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So what's next?<br />
<br />
What do I want out of the 2016 climbing season?<br />
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I've been asking myself this question all winter.<br />
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2015 was a great year for me. I broke through to a whole new level, climbing <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/08/get-up-stand-511a-up.html">my first trad 5.11</a>'s and knocking off a bunch of the most legendary tens in the Gunks, including <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/05/no-need-for-nurses-aid-510c-on.html">Ridicullissima</a>, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/gunks-routes-erect-direction-510c-amber.html">Erect Direction</a>, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/feeling-crass-510b-in-fat-city-510d-more.html">Fat City Direct</a>, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">Coexistence</a> and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">Graveyard Shift</a>, just to name a few! The year was like a dream come to life-- every visit to the Gunks seemed to produce a new milestone.<br />
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In 2015 I also took really fun trips to <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/04/mountain-momma-few-days-in-seneca-rocks.html">Seneca Rocks</a> and <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/cracking-under-pressure-at-spider-web.html">Indian Creek</a>. At Seneca I felt instantly comfortable on my feet and on-sighted several classic tens. At Indian Creek I was much less sure of myself but I still had fun working on the amazing splitters and learning the ways of the crack climber.<br />
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My last big goal for the year was to climb Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a) at the Gunks. I spent the whole year wondering if I could do it and working up the courage. <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/12/gobbling-up-remains-of-season-carbs-and.html">I did finally attempt it in late November</a>, though it was far from a send. I ended up hanging all over it, in both crux sections. Still, when it was over, I could see that this climb was possible. I knew what to do. I just needed to go back and execute, without a lot of dilly-dallying.<br />
<br />
So as the winter began I knew that Carbs would remain on "the list" for 2016. But what else did I want to accomplish in the new year? <br />
<br />
I have a list of Gunks elevens I want to tackle (i.e., virtually all of them). And there are so many great tens in the Gunks that I have plenty of them left to do as well. (Matinee (5.10d), I am looking at you.) And there are even a few twelves I am considering.<br />
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But I need more than a list of climbs. I need a plan. I want to keep my trajectory of improvement going. I don't want to plateau-- I think I have plenty of room yet to get better.<br />
<br />
Over the past few months, the climbing days have been infrequent despite the relatively mild winter. As a consequence, When I've been able to get out I've taken it easier and not pushed it so much, although nowadays when I'm not pushing it I'm doing climbs that used to be a big deal to me.<br />
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(Photo: Adam below the intimidating Wishbone (5.10+) roof.)<br />
<br />
In December I went to Lost City with Adam and had a great time on some climbs that I'd long wanted to attempt, and we also had a lot of fun trying to lead a few lines that were a total mystery to us. I was happy to on-sight the Wishbone (5.10+?) roof. I also made a game effort at the nearby Resistance (5.10c), but had to hang at the crux. I think Resistance is one of the nicest face climbs in the Gunks. It has consistent, beautiful thin moves up a little seam. I need to go back to lead it cleanly.<br />
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(Photo: Adam on Resistance (5.10c).)<br />
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There are so many great leads at Lost City. Just to the right of Wishbone is a technical face climb called Cars That Eat People (5.11a), which I am dying to try. Further to the right, I have stared with wonder at Persistent (5.11+) on more than one occasion. The list goes on: I have never attempted the popular Lost City Crack (5.10), and I still have to go back and get the red-point on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-wet-week-at-gunks-stannard-roof-510a.html">Stannard's Roof</a> (5.10). And there are many awe-inspiring twelves and thirteens that can be top-roped and worked into submission.<br />
<br />
Goal No. 1 for 2016: spend more time at Lost City!<br />
<br />
I have also been out in the Nears a few times over these past few months. On a warm day in December I went there with Anna and Robbie. I was psyched to get clean leads on both Shitface (5.10c) and Transcon (5.10b). Shitface has nice climbing up a bulging, smooth face and then a brief but stout crux at the overhang. People say it is a scary lead but I thought the pro was good throughout, even above the crux where the route has a reputation for being necky.<br />
<br />
Transcon, by contrast, was a frightening lead for me. I was quaking in my boots as I high-stepped on the low slab even though I had three pieces in. I know people have been injured here. Even with good gear it seems perilous. And at the top, above the well-protected roof, the finishing moves are truly run out and intimidating. <br />
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(Photo: Anna following my lead of Shitface (5.10c).)<br />
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I need to get used to Transcon, so I can run up it to set up the hard climbs that surround it. This part of the Nears is known as the "Workout Wall," because it is stacked with unprotectable hard climbs that are usually top-roped. In December, Robbie and I tried to do one of these, El Kabong (5.12c), on top rope, and neither of us was able to get past the crux-- it is steep, balancy and thin. But it was fun just working out the moves to get to the crux, and I think going back would be good for me.<br />
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(Photo: Robbie confronting the scary slab on Transcontinental Nailway (5.10b).)<br />
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I have barely touched on any of the hard climbing that is available in the Nears-- and actually I've not hit many of the cliff's classic tens like Elder Cleavage (5.10b) and Criss Cross Direct (5.10a). <br />
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Goal No. 2 for 2016: spend more time in the Nears!<br />
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In February and March we had some really good days for climbing. I got out a few times with Andy and sometimes a few others as well. I've previously described Andy as a person with a sport climber's mindset. He is still pretty new to the area, and trad hasn't been his big thing, so I have been acting as his Gunks tour guide for the last year or so. But I think I've been holding him back. He has been ripping it up in the gym lately and on our last few visits to the Gunks it has become clear to me that he is poised to do great things in our little trad paradise.<br />
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(Photo: Andy past the crux on Avoid Where Inhibited (5.11a).)<br />
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In February Andy and I were out at the far end of the Nears. I wanted to take a look at some of the elevens out there. We checked out Harvest Moon (5.11a but it looks harder). The starting chimney was slimy/wet so there was no chance we could do it. Moving over to the Voids, I attempted to lead the one on the right, Avoid Where Inhibited (5.11a). I hadn't been outside in a while and I felt tentative about committing to the move, even though the gear was so good that I was essentially on top rope, with two perfect red Camalots in the vertical layback crack at the crux. I made a few meek efforts at figuring it out and then decided I wasn't feeling it, and asked Andy if he wanted the lead.<br />
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(Photo: Andy trying to get started on Void Where Prohibited (5.11d).)<br />
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Andy flashed the right-hand Void in ten seconds. And he used exactly the same beta that I was experimenting with. I was mad at myself. I sent it on top rope and wished I'd been bolder.<br />
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Then Andy got greedy and decided to lead the other Void-- Void Where Prohibited (5.11d)-- but got nowhere. I couldn't do it either. There must be some very specific beta for getting your body into this blank corner right off the ground, but neither of us could find the solution.<br />
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(Photo: That's me on Last Frontier (5.10a) with Simon handling the belay. I liked this climb-- it was hard for me, but if you like jamming it will be easy for you. Photo by Gail.)<br />
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More recently, in March, Andy and I found ourselves with a group of climbers down at the Slime Wall. I was psyched to lead Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b) like it was no big deal, which was quite a change from my abortive <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/11/gunks-routes-falled-on-account-of.html">on-sight attempt</a> at this route a few years ago. This has to be one of my favorite tens. It combines wonderful face climbing with a truly outrageous, multi-tiered overhang. And I finally got around to red-pointing <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/10/gunks-routes-teeny-face-510a-simple.html">Simple Suff</a> (5.10a/b), so I can take that one off of the list as well.<br />
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(Photo: Gail at the finishing lip of the roof on Falled on Account of Strain (5.10b).)<br />
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The real star of the day was Techno Suff (5.12a), which we top-roped from the Simple Suff anchors. This steep face has interesting climbing up an arching crack and then some big technical moves between small holds. When I tried this climb I fell several times but in the end I was pleased because I figured out every move and I could see myself sending it one day. Andy one-hanged it, which I found very impressive. He also on-sight led <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-new-route-in-trapps-erogenous-zone.html">Frustration Syndrome</a> with the R-rated direct 5.11b/c start. (The man is on fire.) I tried to follow him but I had to hang at the direct start and ultimately worked out a totally different solution than the way Andy did it. I don't know if I'd dare lead it. There is no gear for the hard move but a good spotter or a strategically placed backpack might suffice.<br />
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(Photo: Connie confronting the crack on Techno Suff (5.12a).)<br />
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On our most recent day out, I decided it was time to really get started with my season. Andy and I paid a visit to Carbs and Caffeine. Andy led the first pitch and then I set off on pitch two for my red-point attempt. It went pretty well. I ALMOST got it done. I led up into the roofs with some confidence and got to the 5.11 crux without wearing myself out too much. I clipped the first bolt and took a look. I basically remembered the beta from my last attempt so I didn't waste too much time before I made a big reach up to a sloper hold, matched hands, and then stepped up and left to some little crimps. It was a tough sequence but I got through it. I was crimping on to the tiny holds, and feeling a bit shaky, but I was still in the game.<br />
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Standing there, with the second bolt at my chest, I carefully grabbed a draw and clipped it. I wasn't quite done but I knew I was in good shape for the send, if only I could stop trembling.<br />
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I started talking to myself.<br />
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"Calm down," I told myself. "Breathe! One more move and you are out. Keep it together."<br />
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Andy couldn't see me but he could hear what I was saying. He called up to me. "Dude, you are scaring me!"<br />
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This snapped me out of my near-panic. I told him I was fine: I had two bolts clipped, after all. I made the move and got out of there.<br />
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I should have been home free but at the top of the pitch, right before the dreaded crab-crawl traverse, I forgot about a crucial hold from which it is easy to place gear. I wore myself out trying to place the pro from a bad hold and when I tried to step back down to shake out I got tangled in the rope and had to hang. It was disappointing. When I went back up and did the moves they felt much easier than the last time.<br />
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I will go back again. I can do this climb. I know it now.<br />
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(Photo: Andy on the 5.9 pitch one of Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a).)<br />
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After we were done with Carbs, Andy and I took a look at The Sting (5.11d). I've never really dreamed that I was capable of sending The Sting but Andy saw it and got more excited than I've ever seen him. The climb is short, perhaps just 50 feet, but it packs a punch. It has big moves between horizontals on a smooth white face. The first and last moves are both dynamic jumps. It is very unusual for the Gunks. Andy decided to lead it.<br />
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He placed a bomber blue Alien at the first horizontal and launched off on the dyno. He missed. The Alien held and Andy was caught a few feet off the ground. He tried without success a few more times, and then decided to lead up Lisa (5.9), the climb next door, so we could work The Sting on top rope.<br />
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(Photo: Andy heading up Lisa (5.9). I didn't care for this one. It is a two-move wonder with an awkward crux. But it is a very useful climb for setting up The Sting)<br />
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Andy had little trouble working out the moves on The Sting once he had the security of a rope over his head. It was much harder for me. I failed at the opening dyno over and over again. But with some helpful coaching from Andy I eventually was able to stick it-- on what was perhaps my 15th try. I couldn't get the other dyno at the top worked out but after I was done Andy went back up to work it again and I think now I can see what I was doing wrong.<br />
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(Photo: Andy getting set up for the dyno at the start of The Sting.)<br />
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I'm sure I'll get the chance to try it again. Andy left the cliff determined to come back and lead The Sting, and when he does I'm pretty sure he'll get it. And maybe I can get it too. These last few days at the Gunks have been the first occasions on which I've tried climbs in the 5.11+/5.12- range and not felt they were totally hopeless for me. If I make a concerted effort to work on these climbs I will continue to improve. Lately that sort of projecting doesn't seem so boring to me anymore.<br />
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Goal No. 3 for 2016: keep hanging out with Andy! He will push me to greater heights.<br />
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As it happens, Andy and I will be heading to the New River Gorge in two weeks for a four-day climbing trip. Gail is also coming with her son Max. The New has both sport and trad but for the first time in my life I am thinking that sport climbing should be my focus. I've never really given it a fair chance. And I want to really work at a "soft" 5.12 and see what I can do.<br />
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2016 has barely begun but I feel like great things have already happened. I'm in pretty good shape and it's still March. I am excited to see what the rest of the year will bring.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-69615660156986175782015-12-08T07:35:00.000-05:002015-12-09T20:16:53.223-05:00Gobbling Up the Remains of the Season: Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a) & More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: I'm heading into the crux on Graveyard Shift (5.10d/5.11a) once again.)<br />
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After hosting the big family meal on Thanksgiving day, I was ready to collapse into a food coma. What with all of the cooking, baking and eating that came with the holiday, I felt ready for some rest and relaxation on Friday.<br />
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But duty called.<br />
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Alec asked me to go climbing. It was going to be quite nice in the Gunks, with a high approaching sixty degrees.<br />
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How could I refuse?<br />
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At this time of year, I tend to dial it back. Every November, as the days get shorter and cooler, my ambitions fade. I start cruising up old favorites instead of pushing my limits.<br />
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But 2015 has been such a great year for me. I don't want it to end. As November came to a close I couldn't bear to waste any remaining climbing days that came my way. I still had many projects I was eager to hit.<br />
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While I've been making some progress, Alec has really been on a roll in the Gunks. When I've run into him at the crag he has looked <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">super solid</a> to me. I knew he was more than able to handle anything I could come up with.<br />
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First on my list was <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/11/mac-wall-machinationswas-interstice-p1.html">Graveyard Shift</a> (5.10d). I had failed to get the redpoint on my last attempt. I should have made it, but I messed up above the crux roof and stuck my right toe out too far, causing a fall at the final hard move! It was a silly mistake and I regretted it deeply in the days that followed. I knew that if I'd executed my beta properly I would have sent this climb.<br />
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I had to go back again. I told Alec that when we got to the Gunks on Friday, I wanted to march right up to Graveyard Shift and knock it off.<br />
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So that's what we did.<br />
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(Photo: Alec heading into the scary bulge on Graveyard Shift back in July, with his wife Liz-- also a strong climber-- handling the belay.)<br />
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Heading up, I got through the initial scary bulge in no time and danced up the face to the good hold beneath the overhang. I tried to place my crux gear quickly and then I briefly reviewed my strategy before firing it off. It was an instant success. The sequence went down easily and before I knew it Graveyard Shift was over.<br />
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It was 9:00 a.m. and my send of the year was in the bag.<br />
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Despite my numerous fumbling attempts at this route, I think Graveyard really isn't that hard. It is cryptic if you don't know where the holds are. So it's a tough on-sight. But now that I know what to do I think I really should send it every time going forward. This is in contrast to a route like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">Coexistence</a> (5.10d), which I could easily fail to send tomorrow. Even if I do everything right, I might not make it.<br />
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Once we were done with Graveyard Shift, Alec and I moved just a little ways down the wall so that he could lead MF Direct (5.10a R). I was psyched to follow him up it because I wanted to check out the gear in preparation for a lead of my own.<br />
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(Photo: Alec placing gear next to the pin below the crux of MF Direct (5.10a).)<br />
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Alec made quick work of it and then decided to keep going, tackling the Birdie Party roof (5.10b) too. When I followed, I looked around to see if I could make the pro on MF Direct a little more PG than R. I managed to find a tiny vertical crack just over the roof in which I could seat a purple C3. It might hold in a fall, but I'm not sure it would be worth hanging in there to place it.<br />
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(Photo: Alec at the Birdie Party (5.10b) roof.)<br />
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I liked the Birdie Party roof. I'd never done it before. It requires a big move over the hang and then you aren't quite out of the woods once you stand up. There are a few more thin moves in steep territory before it is really over.<br />
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If you combine MF Direct with the Birdie Party roof, it makes for a great single pitch-- one of the best 5.10 pitches around, I'd say. You need a 70-meter rope to lower from the fixed anchor.<br />
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Now it was my turn to pick a route and there was something I knew we just had to do.<br />
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We needed to try Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a).<br />
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I've been talking about this route all year, and with the final days of the season fading away I couldn't think of any excuse not to finally get on it. Alec had never done it-- not even the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/03/modern-times-58-and-alleged-gunks.html">first pitch</a>-- and he generously gave me permission to lead the crux second pitch.<br />
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(Photo: Alec setting off on the 5.8/5.9 first pitch of Carbs and Caffeine, with the insane roofs of pitch two looming above.)<br />
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Alec knocked off the first part of the route without any problems. It is a really nice face climb, with a good technical crux protected by small nuts.<br />
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Standing at the bolted anchor atop the first pitch, I couldn't see where the route went. I knew there were two bolts up there in the sea of roofs, but I couldn't spot them.<br />
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I would have to get going and see how it went.<br />
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I set myself up for a hang-fest by moving very slowly and deliberately right from the start. I found out that the crux comes after you've already weaved your way up and left through several overhangs. It went roof, roof, roof... oh here's the first bolt, how nice! And by now I was already fatigued, hanging in there, and I was faced with a very cruxy, beta-intensive sequence to get up to and past the next bolt.<br />
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(Photo: Alec following pitch two of Carbs and Caffeine (5.11a).)<br />
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I had a tough time with the crux and after a few game attempts I had to hang. I kept trying to clip the second bolt from below, which was a tremendous waste of energy. Once I got the second bolt clipped (after several tries) I worked out a difficult but doable way to get through the move and I could finally get on with the rest of the climb.<br />
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The upper crux was still to come. Once I got beneath it, I was very intimidated. There is a no-feet traverse out from under a huge ceiling. Again you have to do a few roof moves just to get to the place where you start the crux. I wanted perfect pro for this sequence and I confess I took another hang at the optional belay point in order to fiddle with the gear and get my head together. I figured the send was already blown anyway.<br />
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(Photo: Alec getting into the intimidating final traverse on Carbs.)<br />
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Once I committed to heaving myself up into the space below the huge roof I was able to reach out and place a good piece further out to protect the traverse, and then I made it through the desperate moves to the fixed anchor. The hands were surprisingly good. It's really just about getting your toes on something, anything, as you move out from under the overhang.<br />
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(Photo: Alec finishing it up.)</div>
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Because we had my 70 meter rope, I could lower to the ground from the fixed anchor and watch Alec work through the entire pitch. He sent it easily. I wanted to watch him do the crux but I looked down for just a second and missed it! That's how easy it was for him.</div>
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I think Carbs is safe and it is one of the very best climbs I've ever done. It just goes and goes. The atmosphere of endless overhangs is pretty special and unique to the Gunks. It is one of those routes which you could say epitomizes what the Gunks is all about. </div>
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I could have climbed it better, obviously. But even if I'd been perfect and confident I don't think I would have sent this thing on the first try. It's so continuous and the crux comes after so many roofs. </div>
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I will go back for a real send attempt. This one worked out to be more of an exploratory mission. </div>
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If you plan to hop on Carbs and Caffeine, I would advise you to extend all of your early pieces, up to and including the two bolts. There is an edge below the first bolt which could damage your rope if the rope is pulled tightly against the rock. With the pieces extended, I thought this wasn't an issue.</div>
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After we were done with Carbs I was feeling pretty worked. But Alec was still full of energy and he proposed we try a route called Three Vultures Direct (5.10c). This variation route starts up the second pitch of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/08/gunks-routes-three-vultures-59-keep-on.html">Three Vultures</a> (5.9) but then busts straight over a roof instead of traversing to the right. The Direct eventually goes up and left to join <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/gunks-routes-erect-direction-510c-amber.html">Amber Waves of Pain</a> (5.10a) at its final roof problem. This route is described in the <a href="http://www.gunksapps.com/">Trapps App</a> but it isn't in Dick's guidebook.<br />
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After I led the first pitch of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/face-to-face-510b-with-space-invaders.html">Face to Face</a> to get us to the GT Ledge, Alec sent Three Vultures Direct but it didn't exactly look easy. The roof seemed like big pull and then Alec found another tough, technical sequence up the face before he ultimately joined Amber Waves. He found good gear along the way.<br />
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(Photo: A tough shot of a tough roof. Through the branches you can see Alec at the crux roof on Three Vultures Direct (5.10c).)<br />
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When I got up there I found out that I was really wasted. The roof was very difficult for me. I made it over but I was grateful I was on top rope. It is a good challenge, and the face climbing afterwards is also fun. I thought this variation was quite worthwhile, though it isn't as spectacular as its neighbor Face to Face.<br />
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We still had a little time before it got dark and I decided to sleepwalk up <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/05/gunks-routes-silhouette-57-moby-dick-58.html">Silhouette</a> (5.7+), an old favorite, to finish the day. I was wiped out. We'd done some hard pitches.<br />
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After this day with Alec the season seemed all but over in my mind. As I organized my gear at home, I noticed some of my slings were starting to look a bit beaten up. I calculated the age of all of my stuff and I realized I was long overdue for some gear maintenance. So I decided to get it all over with at once. I packed up all my cams and sent them off to be reslung. And I pitched my slings, bought a new backpack, and washed my rope.<br />
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Of course I did all this before I checked the forecast! It seems that this will be the season that never ends.<br />
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Luckily most of my climbing friends have their own gear. And in a few weeks when I have all my stuff back I'll really be ready to hit it in 2016.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-3931511129932501602015-11-19T08:05:00.001-05:002015-11-20T10:58:14.564-05:00Mac Wall Machinations: Interstice (P1 5.10b), Graveyard Shift (5.10d/5.11a), Men at Arms (5.10b), & Tough Shift (5.10a)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: The Trapps in early November.)<br />
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My office was closed for Election Day. It was one of those rare weekday climbing opportunities. The weather was going to be beautiful and Julia was looking for a partner.<br />
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/12/good-times-in-never-never-land-510a.html">Julia</a> and I haven't climbed together much so I approached the day as a sort of bonus. I didn't have anything on the agenda.<br />
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After we warmed up a bit, we found ourselves at the Mac Wall, standing at the base of <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/11/gunks-routes-something-interesting-57.html">Something Interesting</a> (5.7+). It was a weekday so there weren't too many people around. A party was racking up for the ever-popular <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/rediscovering-joys-of-multi-pitch.html">Three Pines</a> (5.3) but everything else was available, and it was my turn to lead. <br />
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(Photo: Julia on Something Interesting (5.7+).)<br />
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I've spent a lot of time at the Mac Wall over the last couple of years, but on most of my visits I've been focused on red-pointing just a few of the routes. It took me <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/04/at-mac-wall-try-again-510b-coexistence.html">more than one</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-secret-gunks-tricam-society-major.html">attempt</a> to nail <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/12/november-chills.html">Try Again</a>, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/rediscovering-joys-of-multi-pitch.html">and it happened</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">again</a> with <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">Coexistence</a>. So there remained several routes that I hadn't explored. There were some that I'd top-roped but never led, and a few more routes on the wall that I'd never even touched, despite all of my days there.<br />
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I've been thinking lately that I want to fill in the gaps and send everything at this wall. Or at least, all the tens. Or maybe all the tens except for Water King (5.10d R)?<br />
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Standing there with Julia, I checked out the nearest 5.10: Interstice. The first pitch is 5.10b. I was on this climb once before, in 2013, with Deepak and Chin. On that occasion nobody led it. I set it up as a top rope from the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2012/04/gunks-routes-birdie-party-pitch-1-58.html">Birdie Party</a> bolts. I found it devilishly difficult to make the first crux move just ten feet off the ground. You have to stand up on a good foothold above a shallow roof to a balancy position with no handholds to speak of. I also remembered the upper crux as a tough move, cranking over a bulging, leaning corner to a thin stance.<br />
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(Photo: This is Chin at the first crux on Interstice (5.10b) in July of 2013. She's been waiting two years for me to write a post about it!)<br />
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At the time, two years ago, I didn't think I would ever lead this route. Both cruxes involve moving up past the gear and you have to keep it together above your pieces to complete the sequences.<br />
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But that was a long time ago. As I glanced over at Interstice on Election Day with Julia, it looked like good fun to me. I told Julia that I was feeling like leading it. As we talked about the route, I pronounced the name as "Inter-stiss."<br />
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One of the guys on Three Pines immediately piped up:<br />
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"I am a scientist, so I can tell you: it is pronounced 'In-TER-steh-see.'"<br />
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Who knew? I stood corrected (though the people at the <a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/interstice">Cambridge Dictionaries Online</a> seem to disagree).<br />
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It is a clever name. The word means "the space between," which is a good description for a face route which ascends the blank nothingness between other obvious, natural lines.<br />
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(Photo: Fall colors at the Mac Wall.)<br />
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I racked up and got started. I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped right up into the first crux move and had no trouble standing up above the little rooflet. This was so different from my 2013 experience. Right after this stand-up sequence there is another thin, delicate move up. You really want some gear for this move-- you are still so close to the ground. I managed to get a small Alien in a little v-notch. It seemed like it would hold.<br />
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Once I was through these early moves I found pleasant climbing past a shallow left-facing corner and then it was time for the upper crux. I placed the highest gear I could manage in the bulging corner. Then I committed to moving up. It took a little bit of work to get the move right, but I managed to hold on just fine and to get out onto the face, where after one more easy-does-it step up I was relieved to get another small cam in a tiny downward-facing slot.<br />
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(Photo: At the upper crux on Interstice (5.10b) in 2013. Photo by Chin.)<br />
<br />
I loved Interstice. It has the same excellent rock quality as the other more well-known climbs on this part of the wall, and two excellent, interesting crux sequences. It doesn't get much attention, but I think it is one of the best of the tens on the Mac Wall. And while it is mentally challenging, requiring moves above gear, I believe it is a safe lead. Bring small cams. I used Julia's C3's in addition to my Aliens.<br />
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(Photo: Julia on Star Action (5.10b).)<br />
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After we were done with Interstice, Julia went hard at Star Action (5.10b), a climb with which I've become <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/09/gunks-routes-star-action-510b-still.html">quite</a> <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">familiar</a> over the past year or two.<br />
<br />
While I stood there belaying Julia I couldn't take my eyes off of Graveyard Shift (5.10d or 5.11a, depending on who you believe). It was another climb I'd tried <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">once on top rope</a>, this past July. I'd gotten it clean on the first try, which was nice.<br />
<br />
This is the most feared hard 5.10 on the Mac Wall. Near the start it has some scary, run-out 5.8 climbing over a bulge. And above, at the crux, you go over a small roof with great gear but then you have to make a few more hard moves before you can place anything else. This hard part isn't dangerously run out but I expected it to be very committing.<br />
<br />
I decided to go for it. I'd felt so good on Interstice. Again I took Julia's C3's.<br />
<br />
I got through the scary 5.8 part just fine and once the run-out section was done I was pretty happy with my pro as I moved delicately up the face to the crux roof. I worked in a few more pieces at the overhang and after shaking out for a while, I went for it.<br />
<br />
Alas, I didn't make it. I got above the roof but then I couldn't find a way to stand up. I fell. Then I tried and fell again, and again and again, coming off each time with my feet just above the level of my gear. <br />
<br />
With every fall I had to psych myself up to go back above that roof again.<br />
<br />
Why was this so much easier on top rope?<br />
<br />
Finally I realized I was totally missing a crucial handhold. Once I found it I figured out the sequence and finished the route.<br />
<br />
When it was over I was a little bit disappointed that I'd had such a tough time at the crux and that it had turned into such an epic struggle. I wished I'd read the route better. But, on the other hand, I was overjoyed that I'd just led Graveyard Shift, because it meant that <b>OH MY GOD, I AM CAPABLE OF LEADING GRAVEYARD SHIFT</b>.<br />
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A year ago I would not have believed that this was possible.<br />
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(Photo: Julia approaching the crux roof on Graveyard Shift (5.10d/5.11a).)<br />
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As we left the cliff I hoped that the weather would hold out so I could come back soon. I had to return to get the send. A successful lead of Graveyard Shift would really put an exclamation point on the year.<br />
<br />
As luck would have it, we had some unseasonably warm temperatures into mid-November. I got back up to the Gunks with Andy on Sunday the 15th, and we went right back to the Mac Wall.<br />
<br />
I was debating whether to hop on Graveyard Shift to start our day but there was a party already on it. This was fine by me. I could fill the time by doing the rest of the Mac Wall routes I hadn't led.<br />
<br />
I started us off with Men At Arms, which was totally new to me. This climb is supposedly 5.10b. It starts at the same corner as Try Again and then heads left and wanders up the face, past the right side of a big overhang. From below it looks like nothing much. The face appears dirty in places and it is hard to tell where you'll be going.<br />
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It went well enough, but the climbing is thin and the gear is spaced and consistently small/fiddly. It seemed like I was stepping above marginal gear to do cruxy moves in the 5.8/5.9 range over and over again.<br />
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(Photo: Andy on Men at Arms (5.10b).)<br />
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I never found any 5.10 on Men At Arms. Maybe I skipped it? The route wanders a bit and I may have moved right and then left to avoid the "direct" crux climbing. If I'm right about where the direct climbing is, then it doesn't get done much. It is covered in moss.<br />
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Also I did the route in one pitch, climbing up until I could traverse over to the Try Again anchor. Doing the climb as one pitch makes for a nice outing of consistent 5.9 climbing-- it is also the way the Trapps App and some users on Mountain Project recommend doing the route. In Dick's book he says you should stop and build a belay at a stance where I wasn't happy with the gear.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed Men At Arms, but this route is heady, and very different from all the other Mac Wall climbs. I'm not sure I should admit this, but I have really come to enjoy this type of climbing: thin 5.9 face climbing with marginal gear. I don't know why, but I like the mental challenge. If this type of climbing isn't your bag then you might want to stay away from Men At Arms.<br />
<br />
Late in the day I saw someone else on Men At Arms. It was funny: I'd never before seen anyone on this route and then on the same day I decided to finally do it, another person had the same idea. I saw this leader get a little bit lost and then he took a fall. He ripped three pieces, eventually falling thirty feet! He finally came to a stop about fifteen feet off the ground. Luckily it all worked out okay, but it was a close one. I don't know what this says about the route, but please be careful out there, folks.<br />
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(Photo: That's me, getting gear for the crux on Graveyard Shift (5.10d/5.11a). Photo by Andy.)<br />
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After Andy put up <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">Higher Stannard Direct</a> (5.9), we went back over to Graveyard Shift.<br />
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I tried really hard but I felt nervous. The scary 5.8 part seemed scarier the second time around. The handholds were slippery and the footholds seemed very very small. Nevertheless I made it up to the roof, got my gear in place and tried my best to get over it. As I stood up to reach for the undercling hold above the roof-- the last hard move-- I realized, to my dismay, that I'd misplaced my feet. I wasn't set up right. I couldn't release my right hand and I couldn't fix my feet. I fell, cursing.<br />
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After a rest I went back up and sailed over the crux, furious that I'd blown it because of a single toe placement. I'll have to go back and try again.<br />
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Once we were done with Graveyard, I took a long look at the climb next door: Tough Shift (5.10a).<br />
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This was it: the last Mac Wall 5.10; the only one that I'd never tried.<br />
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The final frontier.<br />
<br />
I'd racked up for Tough Shift once before, <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/07/june-rain-july-heat-summer-sendage.html">back in July</a>, but on that day after checking out the start I decided I wasn't feeling it, and walked away. Though Tough Shift is far from the hardest of the tens on the Mac Wall, it is one of the more frightening leads in the area. It has a reputation for having lots of run-out climbing. In the guidebook, Dick says that Tough Shift is "not for the meek." I'd never seen anyone dare to lead it. It seems that most people are scared away by the orange face at the top, across which you do a rising traverse with no gear until you reach the big overhang. If you mess up here on this upper face you risk a swinging, sideways fall onto an old piton.<br />
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Standing there with Andy I felt ready. This was my favorite type of climbing, right? Anyway, I'd just led Graveyard Shift, which had to be more scary than this, surely.<br />
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(Photo: Trying to figure out the opening crack on Tough Shift (5.10a). Photo by Debra Beattie.)<br />
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Getting started, I had a bit of trouble working out the move to get established in the vertical crack at the bottom of the face. There are great nuts here, so it wasn't a big worry. And it turned out that getting established in this crack is the only 5.10 climbing on the route. Once I finally worked out this move it was smooth sailing up the crack to a ledge where a right-facing corner begins.<br />
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If you ever decide to lead Tough Shift, I advise you to get gear as high as you can when you are standing at the base of this corner, because there is no more gear until you are almost level with the piton at the upper crux. The climbing here through the middle is very run out, worse than the at the top of the pitch, though the climbing is also easier. There was little risk that I would fall but there was no question that a fall in this part of the route would have been bad.<br />
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(Photo: Andy resembling a rock ninja in the opening crack on Tough Shift (5.10a).)<br />
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Once I got through it and clipped the pin I spent quite a while at the top of the corner, contemplating the exit. I could see where I had to go but it took several trips up and down before I committed to moving left and putting myself out there. I backed up the pin by making another move up past it, placing a good nut in the crack at the roof atop the corner, and then stepping back down.<br />
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When I finally reached for the jug out left, it went fine. The move to the jug, and the next interesting move afterwards, are reasonably well-protected, I think. Then it gets into more risky territory as you keep climbing up but I felt with each successive move it got easier until I was level with the roof, where I could exhale and put in a bomber blue Camalot. The rest of the way was all gravy, moving further left to go over the roof above Graveyard Shift.<br />
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(Photo: Andy about to embark on the upper face portion of Tough Shift (5.10a).)<br />
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I liked Tough Shift and I would do it again. There is great climbing up the initial crack and on the orange face up high. The route has significant runouts, but they are in relatively easy territory. Because the unprotected climbing is pretty straightforward I think Tough Shift is less mentally challenging than either Men At Arms or Graveyard Shift. I expect others might disagree with me on this. All three of these climbs are serious, to some degree.<br />
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After we finished with Tough Shift, Andy was looking for a ten to lead and since we were standing right there I sent him up Star Action. <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/gunks-routes-erect-direction-510c-amber.html">As I've mentioned before</a>, Andy is a very strong climber but his background contains more sport than trad climbing. He seemed nervous through the middle of the pitch, where there is gear to be had but it is a little bit tricky to place. At the crux, by contrast, he made the big reach over the roof look like child's play. As soon as he gets used to the sporty pro at the Gunks he's going to be unstoppable. I won't be able to keep up with him.<br />
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At the end of the day, I was a little bit sad that I couldn't say I'd capped the year off with a send of Graveyard Shift. But it will come, maybe this year, maybe next year. And now, after two days' work, I can say that I've done all of the Mac Wall tens. I still haven't led MF Direct (5.10a R), but I top-roped it easily earlier this year and I think I'm ready to lead it now. (I also have not done the roof pitches on the three tens that are just to the left of MF.)<br />
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The next-level challenge that I am mulling over is to lead them all, from left to right, in a day! This would involve:<br />
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<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/09/gunks-routes-star-action-510b-still.html">Still Crazy After All These Years</a> (5.10a)<br />
Interstice (5.10b; 5.10d if you include the pitch two roof)<br />
<a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/06/coexisting-with-coexistence-510d-lito.html">Mother's Day Party</a> (5.10b)<br />
MF Direct (5.10a; 5.10b if you tack on the Birdie Party roof)<br />
Men At Arms (5.10b but not really)<br />
Try Again (5.10b)<br />
Coexistence (5.10d)<br />
Star Action (5.10b)<br />
Graveyard Shift (5.10d/5.11a) and<br />
Tough Shift (5.10a)<br />
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A worthy project for next year? When the days get longer I may give it a try.SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650850393132003664.post-87118991512365387962015-11-12T19:58:00.000-05:002015-11-13T16:41:47.016-05:00Feeling Crass (5.10b) in Fat City (5.10d), & More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(Photo: The Gunks in Autumn.)<br />
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I was very excited to get back to the Gunks after my trip to Indian Creek.<br />
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Don't get me wrong. The trip was nice, but I was out of my element there, struggling on the vertical cracks. I was eager to return to my home turf, where I was comfortable on my feet and where things have been going so very well lately.<br />
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I felt like I'd been away from the Gunks for a long time, even though it had only been a few weeks.<br />
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The high season was passing me by! Or not really. But I felt the itch. You climbing psychos know what I mean.<br />
<br />
The year would soon end. I needed to hit something big with every day at the cliff. Who knew when a given climbing day would turn out to be the last one of the year?<br />
<br />
I made plans with Adam to go to the Nears. I had one route in my sights:<br />
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Fat City Direct (5.10d). <br />
<br />
This was a biggie, for sure.<br />
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It had been on "the list" all year. It was a must-do for 2015 as far as I was concerned. And we didn't have too much of 2015 left to play around with. I needed to get on it, and soon.<br />
<br />
So Adam and I drove up on a Sunday morning, ready to hit it.<br />
<br />
And then, as we careened down the road towards our destiny... it began raining.<br />
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This hadn't been in the forecast. <br />
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As we bravely carried on, it kept on coming down. We persevered in the face of the storm, only to arrive at the West Trapps lot in the midst of a misty sprinkle. It was cold too. Our little pocket computers promised us that the rain would pass over soon, so we optimistically went ahead and gathered up our crap, hiking over to the closest part of the Near Trapps, where the routes tend to stay dry under huge roofs.<br />
<br />
Standing at the cliff we were sheltered from the falling rain but our spirits were nevertheless slightly dampened. The rock felt cold to the touch. We took our time getting started. <br />
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We thought about warming up on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2014/05/memorial-day-weekend-in-nears-yellow.html">Outer Space</a> (5.8) or Le PliƩ (5.7), but after we looked around a bit my eye fell on a roof problem about fifteen feet off the ground. I had never noticed this line before.<br />
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Taking my phone out of my pocket, I checked the Nears App and found out that this was Crass (5.10b), a short climb which goes over the crux roof just off the ground and then does a traverse around a corner to join Le PliƩ. The roof appeared to be well-protected. It looked fun. Why not give it a try?<br />
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(Photo: Adam on Crass (5.10b).)<br />
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I liked Crass. There isn't any gear for the first move up onto the easy slab but there is dynamite protection as soon as it gets difficult. The roof itself is tricky. I had to take a hang to figure it out. Once I sussed out the move it wasn't so hard. Above the crux overhang you reach another roof where there is good gear for the exciting traverse out and around the corner. This part is probably 5.8. And then it's over.<br />
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Crass is no classic but it provided good fun while we waited out the rain.<br />
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By the time we were finished things were looking up. The rain had passed and the cliff didn't seem too wet. There were a few other intrepid souls around but Adam and I had our pick of lines to do.<br />
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Adam had expressed an interest in <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2011/05/sundays-worth-of-super-classics-in-near.html">Grand Central</a> (5.9), so we did it. I led up the easy 5.6 part and built a belay so that Adam could take it the rest of the way to the top in one pitch covering both of the route's cruxes.<br />
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Grand Central is a good 5.9 and while it isn't the hardest nine out there-- the crux climbing is just a couple of steep moves on small holds-- it tests the budding 5.9 leader because the gear is small/fiddly and you have to commit to moving above your protection through the crux moves. Adam did well, hanging in to make sure he was happy with his placements and then climbing on through. And he made quick work of the upper crux, a reachy overhang which for me always requires a little lunge off of greasy feet.<br />
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(Photo: A blanket of fall colors, seen from the top of the Near Trapps.)<br />
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After we rapped off of the Alphonse tree (with my 70 meter rope; be careful folks!), it was decision time. <br />
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Was I ready to attack Fat City Direct?<br />
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In what is becoming a tradition for us, Adam suggested we go over and "just have a look at it."<br />
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This has come to mean that we are definitely going to do whatever climb we are "looking" at.<br />
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Fat City Direct ascends a most impressive portion of the cliff, winding steeply through a kaleidoscopic series of orange roofs. Like <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2015/10/gunks-routes-erect-direction-510c-amber.html">Erect Direction</a> (5.10c), another legendary climb which I did last month, Fat City has hard crux climbing that no one talks about, which is then followed by slightly easier but more spectacular climbing that gets all the attention. <br />
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After walking over, I tried to scope out the hardest bits. I figured the initial 5.9 roof wouldn't be too bad. I tried to spot the 5.10d crux just above but I couldn't really tell where it was. I could see a bulging section above a notch and guessed that this had to be it. Then, looking higher, it was pretty easy to find the intimidating upper crux, where a sloping diagonal rail led to the lip of a big overhang. You can't see it from the ground, but I knew that an ancient, hard-to-clip piton was sitting at the lip of this roof, providing the only pro for getting over it. Dick Williams says that this part of the climb is 5.10b R. <br />
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I racked up, taking as many slings as I could dig out of my bag. This climb is often done in one super-long pitch. There is the option to stop and belay between the cruxes but I hoped to take it all the way to the top if I still had any gear left.<br />
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(Photo: Here I'm just getting started on Fat City Direct (5.10d), heading for the 5.9 roof. Photo by Adam.)<br />
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Getting started, I felt a little bit shaky at the initial 5.9 roof. There was a lot of chalk all over the place and I initially went at it the wrong way. But eventually I changed tactics and it went fine. <br />
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Pretty soon after that I came to a shallow overhang. There were some fixed nuts. I thought this must be it: the 5.10d business. I experimented with working out the move, going this way and that. Placing more gear. Eventually I did a committing layback up over the little roof. It was a success. Thinking I'd just done the hard bit, I was feeling good. <br />
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But then I quickly found myself in a little notch under yet another overhang, with tiny crimps leading to the left.<br />
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Oops, my bad. This was obviously the real crux.<br />
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I took a long time there, checking my gear (small Aliens), testing the crimps. Every time I tried to commit to going left I felt like I didn't have it and I came back. Luckily there was a stance there, where I could chicken-wing my arm in the notch and reset. <br />
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Finally on my umpteenth foray I worked out a way to get my feet higher, and I found myself committed. My right hand was on a bad crimp; my left was on a sloping vertical feature. Standing up and reaching higher, I prayed the horizontal I was reaching for would offer a little more security.<br />
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Eureka! It was a jug. With a "woo hoo!" and an "oh yeah!" I was out of the woods.<br />
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(Photo: Emerging from the 5.10d crux on Fat City Direct. Photo by Adam.)<br />
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The bolted belay station was a short distance above me and to the left but I thought I had just enough slings to keep going, so I scampered straight up to the final challenge, the famous Fat City upper roof.<br />
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I vowed to keep calm and to try to execute. I didn't want a repeat of my Erect Direction experience, where I on-sighted the hardest parts and then blew it when I got nervous in easier territory. <br />
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Also I needed to get on with it. This lead was taking forever.<br />
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(Photo: At the upper crux roof on Fat City Direct. Photo by Adam.)<br />
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It went really well. There is a fixed pin right before the difficulties. I backed this up with two cams. Then it was go time. I breathed deeply and willed myself into "the zone." I only needed to test the holds once or twice before I moved out to the overhang. I had no trouble clipping the well-known sketchy piton at the lip (which I cannot believe was placed on the lead by Gary Brown in 1968!). Then I moved up and over the roof without hesitation, knowing somehow, without a doubt, that this move was going to be fine. Standing above the roof, I put in a piece to protect the second and exhaled, secure in the knowledge that Fat City was finally in the bag.<br />
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The 5.8 climbing which followed, winding through several more overhangs, went by in a blur.<br />
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I couldn't wait for Adam to join me up top so I could thank him for patiently belaying me on the greatest on-sight of my life.<br />
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Fat City Direct is a wonderful climb, with many awesome moments. It is definitely worthy of its legendary status. Done in a single lead it is a monster pitch, nearly 200 feet long. I was psyched to do it that way but I felt compelled to run it out in between the hard parts, both to avoid drag and to conserve gear. At one point Adam was begging me to place a piece. Don't be too alarmed-- he didn't know how easy the climbing was in that section. Nevertheless, I think if I go back I will probably break it up by stopping at the bolted anchor. It is a natural stopping point and it's surely safer to do it that way.<br />
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Regarding the exposed upper crux, I think it might be easier than 5.10b. Maybe it's 5.10 minus? And I'm not sure why Dick gives it an R rating. It seems to me that it isn't R if the pin at the lip is good. On the other hand, if the pin is not good it is certainly R; blowing the roof and pulling the pin would be bad news. And who can say whether that pin is at all trustworthy? It has been there a long long time.<br />
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(Photo: Adam getting ready to rap off at the Alphonse tree.)<br />
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We still had time for more climbing. Adam wanted to lead Broken Sling (5.8) and I wanted to do whatever Adam wanted to do. After Fat City I was cool with anything.<br />
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I had only been on <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2013/09/gunks-routes-broken-sling-58-bird-cage.html">Broken Sling once, in 2013</a>. I really liked it then but I thought the first pitch was awkward and in your face, and that the second pitch was hard to protect well. <br />
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Adam did a super job leading both pitches.<br />
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(Photo: Adam over the first hard moves on Broken Sling (5.8).)<br />
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My opinion of Broken Sling remains basically the same. It is sometimes awkward, and at times a bit necky. But wow, this route is really great. So varied and challenging, with tons of climbing packed into two short pitches. It is a worthy classic, and a proud lead.<br />
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With the sun going down, I decided to run up Disneyland (5.6-) for a fun, easy end to our day. Apparently I've never written about this very popular climb, but it is a favorite of mine, and just another example of how deep the <a href="http://climbandpunishment.blogspot.com/2010/07/best-56-climbing-in-gunks.html">5.6 grade</a> is in the Gunks.<br />
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Sitting atop the cliff, gazing at the leaves, I started to think about the next big target. What would it be? Would there be any more highlights I could squeeze out of 2015?<br />
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Who knows?SethGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11327917373261826674noreply@blogger.com0