A Visit to Little & Big Cottonwood Canyons, Part One

(Photo:  A view towards the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon from the top of Schoolroom West (5.7).)

Last week I got to spend four days climbing with Adrian near Salt Lake City.  It was a wonderful experience, but also a humbling experience. 

We were blessed with four straight days of bluebird skies and temperatures in the seventies.

The terrain in the Cottonwoods is glorious.  The canyons go on for miles and miles.  They feature steep rocky walls interspersed with tree-filled slopes.  Larger snow-capped mountains are visible above the ridge line.  The air is filled with a wonderful fresh aroma, as if the creator sprayed a giant can of piny Febreze over the whole area.  During our visit beautiful purple and yellow wildflowers were everywhere in bloom.

The climbing is great.  So great, in fact, that the Cottonwoods caused me to question some of the bedrock assumptions of my climbing life.

We Gunks climbers hold certain truths to be self-evident, and we repeat these bits of wisdom to anyone who will listen.

We claim that the Gunks has the best moderate climbs, and that Gunks ratings are tougher than everywhere else.

At some level I've always known these dogmatic pronouncements to be the product of chauvinism and regional pride, but the Cottonwoods really opened my eyes to how ludicrous such statements are.

There are fantastic moderate climbs in the Cottonwoods.  We did several of them.  It seemed like we constantly hit the jackpot, like we were picking the very best options in the canyon, but I know the reality is that there are many other classics.  We were only scratching the surface of what we could do. 

And these climbs are hard.  They aren't easy romps with one good move.  To the contrary, the climbs have consistent challenges, and all too often (it seemed like it happened on every one of my leads) the climbs we tried featured at least one total puzzler of a crux that had me cursing about being sandbagged.

Little Cottonwood Canyon

Three of our four days were spent in Little Cottonwood Canyon, climbing on granite.  (Technically it is quartz monozite but everyone calls it granite.)  Prior to this trip I had just one day's experience on granite, on Moby Grape (5.8) at Cannon Cliff in NH in 2010.  During our time in Utah I always felt outside my comfort zone on the slabs and vertical cracks that characterize this kind of stone.  I spent the first day backing off of leads when I got scared, but by the end of our time in the canyon I must have improved at least a little, since I left feeling I was being too conservative about leading harder climbs and wishing I'd gone for it a bit more on our last days. 

Satan's Corner (5.8+)

(Photo:  Adrian past the first crux of Satan's Corner (5.8+) and into the second; there are two more cruxes to come.)

We started our first day looking for Pentapitch (5.8), but discovered when we parked at the power plant that there was no longer a bridge across the stream.  With no way to get to our climb, we drove back downhill to the nearest lot and, seeing climbers above, decided to just hike up and ask them what was good. 

After a somewhat sketchy "third class" approach, we were informed that we were in the Beckey's Wall/Tingey's Terror area.  The climbers we spoke to suggested we try Satan's Corner, which they described as a sandbagged 5.8+, ascending a broken crack system to a horn and then following a ramp up to a final exposed traverse to the anchor.  I assumed I would be fine leading it.  After all, I can hop on any 5.8 in the Gunks without worrying too much.  (I've been dipping my toe in Gunks 5.10's, for goodness' sake.)  But I started up Satan's Corner and upon arriving at the initial cruxy wide vertical crack I felt immediately uncomfortable.  This climb was actually more Gunks-like than most of the climbs we did in Little Cottonwood Canyon-- it had footholds outside the crack and the occasional jug.  But the texture of the granite freaked me out.  It felt unfamiliar.  I had no confidence in my feet.  After eyeing that flaring vertical crack a while I reluctantly asked Adrian to lower me and take over.  He led it just fine but it didn't seem easy for him.

(Photo:  Arriving at the top of Satan's Corner as the second.)

Doing it as the second, I fell out trying to jam that scary opening crack.  Then I laid it back instead and the rest went fine.  What with the tough initial crack, some steep climbing with jugs, a tricky ramp and an exposed final traverse, this was a very high quality pitch.  And if this was 5.8 in the Cottonwoods, it was something of a wake-up call.  5.8 here was going to be no joke.

Tarzan (Sweet Jane variation) to Tingey's Terror (5.7)

(Photo:  Adrian leading the Sweet Jane variation (5.7) start to Tarzan.  His foot is on a jug I couldn't reach to start the pitch.)

Next we moved over to Tingey's Terror, a multipitch route that we hoped to take to the top.  We had to do an approach climb first (Tarzan-- Sweet Jane variation (5.7)), and again I felt unable to commit to the crack that started the pitch and asked Adrian to take over.  I led a second 5.7 pitch (finally, I led something!) that brought us to the real business.

(Photo:  Adrian very pleased to have clipped the first bolt on the runout slab of Tingey's Terror, pitch 2 (5.7)). 

The next pitch was what Tingey's Terror was named for:  a blank slab pitch with long runouts.  The guidebook claimed this pitch had been tamed by the addition of a third bolt, but from the belay I thought it still looked plenty dangerous.  A long traverse (we're talking 25-30 feet) led to bolt number one.  It looked bad for both the leader and the follower, but particularly ugly for the leader, who would pendulum hard into a corner if he fell just before the bolt. 

I was set to abandon the climb but Adrian had a good idea.  He proposed to downclimb a bit to where he could easily cross to a 5.8 variation that went straight up to the first bolt.  He could place pro on this variation, so that even though he'd have a bit of a runout to the first bolt, he would fall straight down if he blew it instead of taking an awful sideways swing. 

It was very smart and worked out really well for both of us.  The runout slab pitch turned out to be pretty easy.  The angle was low and there were lots of features to be found for the feet if you looked around.  Still, you couldn't pay me to lead it... maybe with a little more slab practice.

(Photo:  I'm leading a 5.6 bit up and over leftwards to a 5.8 variation crack/roof traverse finish to Tingey's Terror.  It felt easy so I may have skipped all the actual 5.8 on it.  It was fun with good pro.)

I got another lead in before we finished with Tingey's Terror and then we rapped down without incident.

(Photo:  Adrian following the variation final pitch to Tingey's Terror.)

Becky's Wall (5.7)

(Photo:  Setting off up Beckey's Wall (5.7).)

By the time we got down from Tingey's Terror I was feeling a bit more comfortable and was eager to lead something else.  Beckey's Wall didn't disappoint.  The guidebook says it is "probably the best 5.7 in the canyon."  It was definitely our best single pitch of the day (really the first two traditional pitches combined in one).  Following a superb natural line, the route climbs a corner up a low angle slab until the slab dead-ends at a perfect vertical flake that goes straight up for about another 50 feet.

(Photo:  Looking down from the top of the traditional pitch two of Beckey's Wall (5.7).)

Although the guidebook claims Beckey's Wall is hard to protect early on, I sewed it up with nuts and Aliens.  (Believe me, it was much much tamer than Tingey's Terror!)  The low-angle slab seemed pretty casual and the vertical flake was awesome, with no jamming required.  

The Green Adjective (Direct 5.10a) & Perhaps (5.7)

(Photo:  The Perhaps area, including Perhaps (5.7) and The Green Adjective (5.10a).  This photo was shot while on rappel from Schoolroom West (5.7).)

On our second day we went back to the same parking lot and walked a little further to the Perhaps area.  Adrian was really psyched to check out The Green Adjective, a well-known 5.9 slab with a finger crack and an optional 5.10a start.  Having gotten our bearings a bit the day before, we had no trouble finding the climb.

(Photo:  Adrian past the 5.10a start and into the 5.9 bit on The Green Adjective.)

This was Adrian's most impressive lead of the trip.  He opted for the 5.10a start and sent it onsight.  He had recently spent twelve days in Yosemite and it showed.  He was really solid.

The climb protects well, although the initial pro is micro.  Thereafter (as you can see above) there are lots of placements.  The 5.8 start to the right seemed by contrast to have no opportunities for gear.

When it was my turn I thought the climb at first seemed impossible.  I expected a finger crack but the seam initially provided little more than a few slippery edges.  And there were no footholds at all.  But with sharpened eyes some bumps on the wall for the feet could be discerned.  I slid off once just a few steps into the climb, but after starting over, I made it through the hard part, and then all the way to the top without a fall.  Maybe I was finally starting to get the granite.  Adrian and I each took another toprope run just for kicks.  Great moves on perfect bullet-hard stone. 

(Photo:  I'm leading pitch two of Perhaps (5.7).  The climber to my left is toproping Gordon's Hangover (5.9).)

After The Green Adjective we turned to Perhaps (5.7), which goes in two or three pitches. 

The crux of Perhaps comes in pitch one.  It is pretty easy going up an initial corner, but then a thin slab traverse past a piton leads to a bolted anchor.  It is kind of a reach just to clip the piton, and then two or three really tense steps of pure friction get you to a good foothold around a right-facing corner, a crack, and some more gear.  I thought this slab was harder than anything on Tingey's.  It didn't feel much different than the Green Adjective to me, frankly, although I know it is much less steep.  I think I was fortunate to lead this because in my opinion the fall and the intimidation factor are worse for the second, who has to make the crux moves after cleaning the placement at the piton. 

(Photo:  Further along the Perhaps traverse, which is not as low-angle as it appears here.)

After the tense pitch one, the rest of Perhaps follows a beautiful and unusual natural line, which goes straight up a corner, then traverses far to the right, then finally downclimbs to the anchor above pitch one of The Green Adjective  (see beta photo above).  For much of the way you're underclinging while your feet are pasted to the slab.

(Photo:  Adrian following the final pitch of Perhaps.  He is still going up as he moves across, and will cross over my head before downclimbing to me at the anchor.)

I elected to stop at the optional belay, because the guidebook warns of the potential for horrible drag when the whole traverse is done in one pitch.  Also I could see the undercling crack widen as it continued and I wanted to make sure I had all of my biggest pieces with me when I got to the final bits before the downclimb.

Leading the entirety of Perhaps was one of my favorite moments of our trip.  It was such a different sort of climb, unlike anything I'd ever done before.  And I think it really helped me feel more at ease placing my feet on featureless granite slabs.

Schoolroom West (5.7)

(Photo:  Adrian on pitch one of Schoolroom West (5.7).)

We finished our second day with Schoolroom West, a five-pitch outing that we knocked out in three.  It has good climbing, but to me it lacked the standout moments and natural lines of the other climbs we'd done so far. 

Adrian linked the first two pitches to start, up discontinuous corners to a good stance. 

(Photo:  Adrian nearing the top of pitch three of Schoolroom West (5.7).)

At the beginning of the third pitch came another one of my "Cottonwood 5.7 WTF?" moments, of course at the beginning of another one of my leads.  A blank face left of a wide crack led up to a piton, then a thin move to the right with no feet went around a shallow corner and into the narrowing crack.  It went fine but I think without the piton I would have backed off again, just because I would not have believed this was the correct, 5.7 way to go.

Adrian combined the final two pitches when I incorrectly insisted that the first tree he reached couldn't possibly be the proper belay yet.  After a fun double-tiered 5.7 roof the angle and the climbing eased to the top.  We had no difficulties scrambling over to the rappel line and, with ten pitches under our belts for the day we decided to head out.

We considered heading to a new area on day three, but we were enjoying Little Cottonwood Canyon so much we decided to devote one more day to it before heading somewhere else.  Watch this space for the second half of my report!


Coming up in Part Two:  Stuck ropes & Mexican Crack (5.10a) in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and Outside Corner (5.7) in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Gunks Routes: Splashtic (5.10a) & Nice 5.9 Climb

(Photo:  Gail about to make the crux move on pitch one of Splashtic (5.10a).)

What happened to my Spring season?

When I got out to climb with Maryana in late April I was feeling pretty good.  After warming up with Gaston, I followed her up Obstacle Delusion (5.9), then we both cleanly toproped Teeny Face (5.10a).  After that I led Directissima (5.9) from the ground to the GT Ledge in one pitch and we both one-hanged Ridiculissima (5.10d) on toprope.  Finally, Maryana redpointed Retribution (5.10b).  I wanted to try leading it too but we were out of time, so I just followed it.  It was a good day.

And then I got so busy I couldn't find time to climb.  Trials at work, plus a home renovation that required us to pack up all our belongings and move, meant I couldn't find a day on which to play.  I couldn't even find time to write a blog post about Directissima and Ridiculissima. 

The weeks flew by. 

Memorial Day was fast approaching.  I was headed to Utah with my wife and kids for a destination wedding in Park City.  I had plans to stay in Salt Lake City afterwards for four-- FOUR!!-- days of climbing with Adrian.  I was excited to climb with Adrian again, and to see him for the first time since he moved back to Vancouver in February.  The trip promised to be a climbing dream come true, but I didn't want to arrive feeling out of shape on real rock.

I was desperate to go to the Gunks.  I needed a tune-up!

As is my wont, I hatched a plan:  I would tack an extra day onto my Memorial Day vacation and go to the Gunks right before we left town. 

In many ways this wasn't a great idea.  The forecast was not good.  It had been raining for several days.  And I needed to be back early.  Plus I had no partner. 

No matter.  I decided to go for it.  I harassed Gail until she agreed to climb with me for half a day.  At first she begged off, saying some nonsense about deadlines and proposals.  When I told her this was important, that I really needed to climb to be prepared for my trip, she said that some different explanations for my behavior came to her mind.  And then she used some ugly words.  Words I hesitate to repeat, like "obsession" and "compulsion..."

Luckily she is just as fixated on climbing as I am.  She eventually agreed to meet me.  (She had work to do but brought her laptop computer to the cliff.  Talk about obsessed.  I think that woman has a problem:  she works too hard.)

In addition to the climbing, I decided to cash in a gift certificate Adrian had given me for a free weekday rental from the Classic Car Club in Manhattan.  At no cost, I got to drive to the Gunks in a 2007 Porsche Cayman S.  So even if our day turned out to be a bust, I could at least enjoy my time driving around in a real precision speed machine. 

(Photo:  My ride for the day.  Can you believe it?)

It had been a long time since I'd driven a stick shift.  I was afraid that the Classic Car Club people would immediately discover my incompetence with a manual transmission, rip up the gift certificate, and send me packing.  But even though I stalled out three times on the test drive, they nevertheless (unaccountably) let me leave the lot with this gleaming white priceless sports missile. 

"Suckers!!" I thought as I drove away, trying my best to appear as if I belonged in this car. 

I made believe I was an investment banker with a pocket full of Viagra. 

I took corners in third gear.

I passed people on the right. 

I think I got away with it.  That's what happens when you drive this kind of car.  People expect you to be an aggressive asshole and they get out of your way.  I could get used to this kind of driving.  It felt really good.

I sped up to the Gunks in a wet mist but by the time I picked up Gail in Gardiner the rain had stopped and the sun was beating down.  It was a bit hot and humid, but hey, I wasn't about to complain.  We were going to do some climbing!

I pulled my Porsche into the nearly empty West Trapps parking lot and we set off to look for something dry.

We didn't find anything dry.

There was wetness everywhere but the cliff seemed to be less soaked as it got higher.  We decided to do something with an easy start.  Strictly From Nowhere was open, so we did Strictly's to Shockley's.  We were using Gail's 70 Meter rope; I knew I could get from the bolts atop pitch one on Strictly's all the way to the top of the cliff in one pitch.  I felt great leading both pitches.  I was so comfortable, I was unfazed by the copperhead I found nestled in a crack halfway up Strictly's.  I was particularly happy with how Shockley's went; I managed the roof with much less awkwardness than in the past and got to the finish without any significant drag. 

I wasn't so out of shape after all.  Maybe it was time to try a 5.10?

We were close to Splashtic, a climb I'd glanced at a month earlier with Maryana.  It looked dry now.  Gail encouraged me to try it, saying she thought there was pro for the crux and that if I decided to bail I could escape around the corner to the right.  And the 5.10 bit appeared like it would be short.  It seemed the steep wall which began the climb was only about 30 feet high.  After one or two hard face moves between horizontals it looked like the whole thing eased off to a low-angle romp. 

I had no intention of doing the R-rated 5.9 pitch two.  I didn't know how we'd get down without doing another pitch but Gail said she thought there was some kind of fixed anchor up there to the left.

I racked up and did it.  My analysis:  I think this is a pretty good easy 5.10.  It isn't a great pitch by any stretch of the imagination.  But if you are trying to get your feet wet in 5.10, as I am, Splashtic provides a short steep face with just a couple of hard moves on it.

You can come into the middle of the face from the right or the left.  The right may be a little easier but there is no pro for the move that gets you established on the wall.  I came in this way at first but couldn't work a C3 into the only little crack that is available.  So I stepped down and tried it from the left, where there is a good slot for a cam and a hard, steep move to get up on the wall.

Then it's just a few moves of nice climbing to the jug below the crux.  I got a nice piece in the obvious slot just below the jug.  Don't block this whole slot because you might want some space available there.  I don't want to give the move away so that's all I'm saying about that. 

Also, because I'm a chicken (and a safe chicken at that), I placed two more small Aliens in another horizontal a few feet over to the right and a foot or so higher.  These cams took a little more work, because the horizontal is sort of flaring.  But I thought they were good.

With three solid pieces in, I felt ready for the crux, which is a long reach to the next horizontal. 

I stepped up and gave it a whirl.  And I almost made the reach but didn't quite have it.

So I stepped back down, not weighting the rope. 

Trying again, I made it!  Whoa, my second 5.10 onsight, just like that. 

Once up above the steep face, I moved left to the Gorilla My Dreams corner instead of right to the former Gaston belay, since I knew from my previous trip to the Gunks that the Gaston station was gone. 

As Gail had remembered, there was a rather small tree with some good-looking slings and rings in this vegetated corner to the left.  I put in a piece to back up the tree while Gail climbed the route but then she went ahead and removed the piece after she finished climbing, using the fixed station alone for lowering.  The station seemed good enough for body weight, certainly. 

With not much time left in our half day I suggested we do Nice 5.9 Climb, another 5.9 tick on my list that I hadn't led yet.  I had done this one on toprope a few years ago with Nani and I had struggled at that time with the crux move, falling several times before finally getting it.  Earlier this year I had done it in wet conditions, again on toprope, and it seemed much less mysterious.  I figured now I would lead it quickly-- it is short-- and we'd go on home.  It was on the way out right at the beginning of the cliff.

In one sense Nice 5.9 Climb resembles Splashtic as a good introduction to its grade.  The crux is just one move, an escape out of a corner with an overhang, and it is well-protected.  (There is an upper crux but it is just a little bit of 5.8 steepness, much easier than the lower crux, in my opinion.)

In another sense, however, I don't think Nice 5.9 is a great introductory 5.9, because that one crux move is really pretty tricky.  It is a stand-up move in which you have to get your weight over your high foot just right.  If my memory were erased and I had to onsight it right now I'm not sure I'd get it clean the first time. 

But last Wednesday with Gail it went fine, although as with Splashtic I had to step up, step down, think it over, and try it again.  At which time I got it, without ever weighting the rope.

And so I went home happy with my climbing, and ready (I thought) for Utah.  Little did I realize that the granite slabs and cracks of Little Cottonwood Canyon would humble me, making this day in the Gunks seem like a distant memory. 

Stay tuned.  I'll tell you all about it next time.

Free Clinics for Climbers on Saturdays in the Gunks

Joe Vitti works for Alpine Endeavors, a guide service based in New Paltz.

I hired Joe back in 2007 when I was first learning to lead trad climbs. Joe gave me two days of intensive training in placing gear and building anchors.  And we did some fun climbing.  I didn't know the cliff at all in those days-- it seems like another lifetime even though it was just five years ago.  Joe took me up several great moderates and only as an afterthought did I ask him the names of the routes we'd climbed.  They were all classics: Hawk, Snooky's Return, Madame G's, and others.  Along the way I learned a ton about how to keep myself safe at the cliffs.

Since then I've seen Joe guiding around the Gunks on several occasions.  He is always friendly, always professional.  He's an all-around good guy.

Now in response to the tragic accident a few weeks ago Joe has gotten together with some other guides to offer free clinics for climbers on Saturdays, at 5:00 in the Uberfall.  (See the flyer I've reproduced above.)  At these clinics these guides will be offering (for free!) the kind of priceless information I got by hiring Joe several years ago.  I would urge climbers of every level to try to check it out one of these Saturdays.  I hope to stop by myself one of the next few Saturdays.

If you would like to attend, email Joe at joe@alpineendeavors.com, or call Rock and Snow at 845-255-1311, or EMS at 845-255-3280.

Gunks Routes: Obstacle Delusion (5.9) & Teeny Face (5.10a) ...but still no Insuhlation (5.9)

(Photo:  Maryana tackling the crux move at the first set of overhangs on Obstacle Delusion (5.9))

I found myself at the Obstacle Delusion/Insuhlation buttress again with Maryana the other week.  Maryana wanted to lead Obstacle Delusion (5.9).  I'd never been on it but she'd done it once before, taking a hang at the first hard roof, then getting lost and bailing off to the right. 

I was excited to try it out, and of course being in this location made me think yet again about heading back up Insuhlation, the climb on which I broke my ankle in 2009.  As it happened, while we were getting ready to start Obstacle Delusion another party was finishing up the short first pitch of Alpine Diversions (5.8).  This other party was planning to do pitch two of Insuhlation, so from my belay stance on the ground I hoped to watch Maryana and at the same time get another look at Insuhlation.

(Photo:  She may not know it, but having grabbed the jug, this climber has done the tricky starting crux of Alpine Diversions (5.8).)

Maryana decided to do Obstacle Delusion as a single pitch.  She ran right up the traditional 5.4 first pitch, placing almost no pro.  Immediately she was below the big first roof.  This was where she'd previously struggled, and unfortunately she struggled again and had to take a hang.  I could see the hold she was going for-- it looked like a pretty big move.  After she rested she got through it.

(Photo:  Maryana in the steep series of overhangs that make up the second crux of Obstacle Delusion (5.9).)

The second crux of Obstacle Delusion seems to involve two different skills:  (1) endurance and (2) route-finding.  Maryana told me that her first time on the route, she'd wandered too far to the right and found herself lost in the 5.10 territory of the variation climb Teeny Face, then moved further right to Insuhlation, and finally bailed to the finishing moves above the roof on Alpine Diversions.  This time, from the ground, we'd looked carefully at the guidebook and she found what I believe is the correct 5.9 route.  In the photo above she is just below and to the right of the shallow orange right-facing corner mentioned in Dick's book.

You won't get lost, I think, if you stay in the numerous overlapping overhangs.  If you find yourself venturing to the right into the flatter, lighter orange-colored face, you are leaving Obstacle Delusion.

Maryana successfully negotiated the second crux through the series of overhangs, and after she put me on belay, I started up the route just as the leader in the other party was reaching the crux of Insuhlation. 

(Photo:  Climber following pitch two of Insuhlation (5.9); it is the same woman who is pictured above leading pitch one of Alpine Diversions.  I regret that I have forgotten her name!)

This climber on Insuhlation seemed like a very competent fellow, but he was struggling with the final roof problem.  And his pro was several feet below the roof. 

I stopped climbing for a moment and watched him.  I imagined his pro was exactly where mine was when I fell there two years ago.  But I had pulled above the roof without finding another placement.  He, more sensibly, was trying to place another piece before going any further.  He worked a nut in at the roof, but I heard him say it was junk.  He didn't clip it.  Instead he warned his partner that he was coming off and let go.

As I watched him fall, swinging down and into the wall, I thought he'd been so much smarter than I had been at that same location, and yet still this was a fall that could easily tweak an ankle.  (Luckily he was fine.)  I decided once again at that moment not to get back on Insuhlation.

But then as I negotiated the many overhangs of Obstacle Delusion-- finding them straightforward and well-protected, but pumpy and sustained (nice lead, Maryana!)-- I arrived at the top to to find the leader on Insuhlation had made it to the top as well, finding other pro and finishing the route.  Once he went back up, he said, he found both the pro and the climbing reasonable. 

The mystery gets deeper again. 

(Photo:  Another climber leading Obstacle Delusion; shot with my phone from the High Exposure ledge.)

After we finished Obstacle Delusion Maryana and I dropped a toprope over Teeny Face (5.10a) and gave it a whirl.  It too is steep and unmysterious.  It is definitely a step up in difficulty from Obstacle Delusion, and it does not have the same obvious protection opportunities.  We both sent it on the first try with the comfort of the toprope, but I don't know if either of us will be leading that one any time soon.  It features very good climbing, and it is totally worth the few minutes' effort to drop the rope over it if you find yourself at the rap tree and no one is coming up the route. 

I'd love to go back to lead Obstacle Delusion. The line is a little indistinct, but the climbing is classic Gunks. Steep reaches between good holds, with great horizontals for pro wherever you need it. And Insuhlation, well.... I'm still scratching my head about it.

Tragedy in the Gunks: Stephanie Prezant, Age 22

(Photo: Stephanie Prezant, age 22.)

On Sunday something unthinkable happened.

A young woman full of life, just a few months away from college graduation, went outside climbing for the first time.  She had no reason to think she was doing anything risky.  She climbed an easy route, and believed the rope to which she was tied was secured to a massive tree on the ledge above her. 

But when she weighted that rope the system that was supposed to protect her collapsed.  Climbers who were nearby reported that the rope didn't catch her.  Instead it (and the slings to which it was attached) came tumbling down.  With nothing holding her weight, the woman fell about twenty feet to the ground.

Eyewitnesses said that rescue personnel came immediately, tending to her injuries and quickly getting her to an ambulance.  Despite these efforts, they could not save her.

Young Stephanie Prezant died. 

I never knew her, but as a member of the community of Gunks climbers, and as an ordinary human being, I feel such pain at this tragic loss. I can only guess at the anguish her family must be feeling.  Being a parent myself, I have the barest inkling of the grief they must be dealing with.  And as for the people who were with Stephanie when it happened, for them too this must be such a terrible time.  I am so sorry. 

I wish I'd been there.  I wish I could have done something to prevent this horrible event before it all unfolded.

Whenever an accident like this happens, we climbers tend to come together and speculate about it on the internet.  It may appear insensitive, but it is inevitable and probably cannot be prevented.   

Part of this phenomenon, I think, is just the morbid curiosity we all share.  But there is a more positive side to the internet postings.  There is genuine concern in the community for the well-being of others.  Another part of it is the worry we all feel as climbers.  We trust our gear with our lives and when we hear of an accident we fear that our trust is misplaced and that we could be the next casualty.  We want to know the details both so that we may avoid whatever mistakes might have been made and also so that we can distance ourselves from the accident.  If we can establish that this accident was caused by one mistake or another, we can feel assured of our own safety because we would never make THAT mistake, whatever THAT mistake may be.

I am as guilty as anyone of participating in this orgy of curiosity and speculation.  When I heard there had been an accident I started a thread on Gunks.com seeking more information.  Mostly I just wanted to hear that the young woman would be okay.  But like everyone else I also wanted to analyze the event, to learn from whatever went wrong.

I guess I should have restrained myself.  My own post on the accident was an example of how these internet feeding frenzies produce misinformation.  I provided the few details I'd heard and one of them-- the name of the climb from which Stephanie fell-- turned out to be incorrect.  And then after some useful information surfaced, the thread devolved into the usual speculations and know-it-all prescriptive arguments, none of which were at all helpful to anyone.  Another thread, on rockclimbing.com, followed a similarly depressing trajectory.

I hope the Mohonk Preserve rangers who responded to the scene will eventually be able to make some determination of what really caused Stephanie's anchor to fail. 

Here, on my blog, I do not wish to presume I know exactly what went wrong.  Nor do I want to make her climbing partners or family feel any worse. 

Of course without knowing what caused the accident one can offer no formula for avoiding this kind of disaster.

But the temptation to preach is irresistible.

I want to say:

Please, all you climbers out there, do not assume this accident was solely the result of inexperience.  We don't know what level of experience these climbers had.  Even if in this case it turns out they were all first-timers, we all know that experienced climbers too have been injured and killed when they trusted faulty anchors.  Whatever went wrong here, do not delude yourself:  it could happen to you or me. 

Be careful out there.

The systems we employ as climbers are very simple.  But in a brief moment of complacency, or exhaustion, or distraction, it is all too easy to set up these systems incorrectly.   Here I am speaking not just of top rope anchors, but of all the systems we climbers use.  And I speak from experience.  We are all capable of failure.  Even the best of us under some circumstances will fail to double back a harness, finish a knot, lock a carabiner, or attach ourselves properly to an anchor.  Anyone can fail to ensure the ends of the rope are even or that both strands are through the rappel device.  Anyone can load a GriGri backwards. 

It can happen at any time.

Please remain vigilant.  Double-check everything.  And employ a partner check whenever you can.  A fresh set of eyes is so often helpful.  I have no idea whether it would have made any difference in this case.  But it never hurts.

I have been fortunate.  The times when I have screwed up, partners have been there watching for me.  There have been no consequences.  Others, obviously, have not always been so lucky. 

I like to think I have come through to the other side.  That I have graduated from the screw-up years.  But I know it only takes one lapse.  When you trust your weight to your gear, it has to be right every time. 

I want to do right by Stephanie.  I want to honor her memory.  I intend to do so by watching out, for myself and my partners.  And for others.  In the future I may be less prone to walk away from situations that seem unsafe, and more prone to offer some friendly advice to strangers.  It is all I can think to do.

I hope you will do the same.

Gunks Routes: Gaston (5.8-)

(Photo:  Past the pro-less start on Gaston (5.8-).)

Maryana and I were looking for something new to do on a beautiful Saturday in April, and it seemed like if we wanted something out of the ordinary our timing couldn't be better, since we might not have any choice in the matter.  We arrived at the West Trapps lot in the morning to find it was already nearly full, even though the temperature was still in the low 40's.  As we walked down the carriage road it seemed like all the usual suspect climbs were occupied.  It was the perfect occasion for us to jump on something unpopular, something obscure.

When we passed the connector trail I looked up at the cliff and saw the expected sights.  Climbers were on Arch (5.5).  Climbers were on Strictly From Nowhere (5.7).  But as usual no one was on the no-star climbs nearby: Calisthenic (5.7), Gorilla My Dreams (5.7), or Gaston (5.8-).  And no one was on Splashtic (5.10a), a climb which gets a star from Dick Williams but which seems always unoccupied because the first pitch is 5.10 and the second is 5.9 R.

I was intrigued by Splashtic, because it seemed from the description that the crux is really one move, early in the first pitch.  Looking it over on Saturday, I thought it looked doable and protectable.  Maybe this was a good 5.10 candidate for me?  I wasn't interested in the R-rated second pitch (although it sure looks exciting...) but I figured we could descend from the threaded anchor atop pitch one or continue with the upper pitches of another climb.

I was also interested in Gaston, because it has a reputation for being underappreciated and somewhat tricky for its 5.8- grade.  I'd heard the upper pitches, which are just 5.5, were also good.

Maryana thought Gaston was a better choice for a warm-up than Splashtic so we were set. 

Dick's guidebook describes the first pitch as going up a ramp and then moving right past a bulge.  Then thin climbing left past two pins was supposed to be the crux.

For me the crux of pitch one was the lack of pro low on the pitch.  There is nothing for at least fifteen feet or more.  I went up the easy ramp and then expected to find something.  But I didn't.

Then another move up and left onto a ledge.  Still pretty easy climbing, but I was still looking in vain for some placements.

Finally I found gear, but it was to the left of the route.  The climbing clearly went to the right through the bulge.  I had two pieces but they were off-line. 

After trying out a couple of different approaches I committed to the surprisingly thin holds and got through the bulge. 

Then I think I got another piece, something micro, before moving up and left to an angle piton.  (Dick mentions two pins but I guess one has since disappeared.)  I don't remember these supposed crux face moves as tricky.  There was nothing as thin as the move at the bolt on Wonderland (5.8-), for instance.  All I really remember was wishing I had more confidence in the gear. But once I clipped the pin it seemed everything would be okay.  The rest of the way I felt both the climbing and the gear were casual enough. 

At the end of the pitch I felt like in retrospect there was JUST enough pro.  And the climbing was nice; it was clean and interesting.  Maryana pointed out that I'd missed the key placement.  There is a place right below the bulge where a runner could be threaded.  You can see it in the above photo over to the right of where I have a sling connected to the blue rope.  I had pro at the same height but off to the left.  It would have been better-- I would have felt better-- if I'd found this placement. 

(Photo:  Maryana at the final overhangs on the 5.5 pitch two of Gaston.)

The next surprise on Gaston was that the threaded anchor atop pitch one was gone.  I built a gear anchor and brought Maryana up.  We had been thinking we'd rap after pitch one and go do something else, but now we were forced to do at least one more pitch.

Maryana led pitch two and it turned out to be very nice.  We both enjoyed it.  While pitch one features interesting face climbing, pitch two is more typical Gunks terrain, with good features in a huge corner system and plentiful horizontals, leading up and left to some final overhangs with jugs. 

One we reached the GT Ledge we had an easy walk over to the bolted rappel route to our left.  But I thought it was a waste not to finish the climb.  We'd come this far.  Would we ever bother to come to this spot again?  Might as well do pitch three.  It looked like a short romp up to a roof.  Why not do it?

(Photo: Most of the way through the 5.5 pitch three of Gaston.)

I led the pitch in about five minutes.  I'm glad we did it.  It reminds me of the top pitch of Minty.  It is a little harder and the move out to the roof is a bit more exposed.  But it is very similar, featuring a nice corner and then another juggy overhang.  Good fun.

I think Gaston is definitely underrated at no stars.  It has a lot of quality climbing.  Each pitch is worthwhile.  The rock is good.  It is clean.  It should have at least a star.  I think if the two 5.5 pitches were not guarded by the tricky pitch one this climb would be extremely popular with new leaders. 

As it is it should be more popular with moderate leaders of all levels of experience. 

Gunks Routes: Birdie Party (Pitch 1 5.8+) & Mother's Day Party (Pitch 1 5.10b)

(Photo: Matt starting up the first pitch of Birdie Party (5.8+).)

After Matt and I finished climbing Anguish the other week, we rapped down to find our original objective, Birdie Party, wide open.

I've been really wanting to lead it.

I followed my friend Nani up the first part of pitch one (to a bolted anchor about 80 feet up, directly above the start) two years ago. We stopped there, but Williams describes the pitch as continuing from this first set of chains to an intimidating hand traverse over a big pointy flake, going all the way to a another set of bolts and chains atop the first pitch of MF.   The face climbing up to the first set of chains is 5.8; the crux traverse is 5.8+.

In 2010 when Nani led it I was a little shocked because I'd never seen her lead something this challenging.  The climbing was well within her abilities-- she is and was a better climber than I am-- but she has never gotten totally comfortable with trad leading.  She prefers sport to trad; if she ever really embraced placing her own gear she'd be ripping it up in no time and I could spend the rest of my days following her up climbs I'll never be good enough to lead.

On the day she led Birdie Party she was thinking she would stop at the first set of bolts and then I would handle the scary traverse.  As it turned out, the first part of the pitch, up to the initial set of chains, was challenge enough for both of us.  She handled the lead with a cool head and placed plenty of gear, but this pitch has placements that are spaced far enough apart that many times a thoughtful move has to be undertaken above the last piece.  By the time Nani reached the chains I was thankful I wasn't the one on the sharp end.  And by the time I followed her up to the chains I wasn't so sure I wanted to lead the traverse.

It was a moot point, anyway, because Nani had already decided that the traverse scared the crap out of her.  She did not want to follow it.  So we were in agreement and we bailed from the first anchor.

Ever since then I've wanted to go back, and over the past year as I've improved I've been eager to lead that traverse and maybe tackle pitch two, which features a 5.10b roof, as well.

(Photo: Matt about halfway through the first pitch of Birdie Party, at the right-facing corner.)

So last Friday after my mini-disappointment on pitch one of Anguish I wanted to do this one right.

I ended up feeling pretty good about it.

The first few moves are a little hairy. You have to boulder up to a good edge right off the deck, and then you can place a small Alien or the equivalent to protect the next move. After that, you reach a little ledge and move five or six feet to the right. These moves are easy but you can't protect them. By the time you start moving across the ledge you are back in ground fall range.

Once you are through this opening bit, the pro is very good the rest of the way, straight up to the chains. But as I remembered from two years ago, the 5.8 moves are consistently thoughtful and often above the pro. The going is steep but each time you gain a good horizontal you can stick in a piece and relax/shake out a bit. The climbing is excellent, and (unsurprisingly) similar to Higher Stannard, the superb climb just to the left. Things ease off a bit as you go higher, passing a shallow right facing corner. As I passed this corner last Friday, with the first set of chains nearly in my reach, I started to eye the big scary flake.

(Photo: Matt doing the awesome traverse at the end of the first pitch of Birdie Party.)

I was a little nervous, but I soon learned there was no need for concern.  The moves up to the flake are easy, and the pro for the traverse is great.  I looped a double-length runner around the point of the flake (it seemed solid...) and got a #2 Camalot further to the right, underneath the flake just about where it merges with the wall.  And then for the rest of the traverse a perfect horizontal crack (pictured above) takes gear anywhere you want to place it.  The climbing is airy and super-fun but, I thought, very reasonable.  The early part of the pitch, close to the ground, is actually more difficult, in my opinion. 

What a great pitch!  I may have to revise my thoughts about the best 5.8 in the Gunks.  Birdie Party is certainly one of the best.  So many great moves, and variety:  challenging face climbing plus an exciting traverse. 

As I waited for Matt to join me at the belay I kept looking up at the 5.10b roof that is the crux of pitch two.  I thought maybe I could give it a go-- so long as I could get pro at the lip of the roof.  I also thought maybe we could instead do pitch two of MF, which I led last November but which Matt had never done.  But ultimately I was seduced by the easy opportunity to throw a toprope over Mother's Day Party, a 5.10b just to the left of the MF bolts.  It was too convenient not to do it.  And besides, I'd never toproped any of the 5.10's at the Mac Wall, which was another big hole I needed to fill in my climbing resume.  Toproping at the Mac Wall, what could be more traditional for the Gunkie of today?

I enjoyed Mother's Day Party.  I wasn't really paying attention to the potential gear placements, but the two cruxes were both pretty brief.  I almost felt like leading it would be reasonable.  Climbing on toprope will fool you like that; in retrospect I am pretty sure the final crux moves are rather far from the gear.  I think if I tried to lead it I'd be scared silly at the finishing moves.

On toprope I got up the initial corner and face up to a little ledge without a problem.  This part of the route almost touches MF.  Next comes the first crux, which comes right off the little ledge.  It isn't so bad.  One thin move using a right-facing flake gets you to a great jug.

Then it gets steep as you work up an orange face to a little rooflet, where the leader might find his or her final gear.  The pumpy finishing moves (second crux) up and right through the big corner take you to the chains.  I blew the footwork at the final hard move and took a fall, then went right back up and realized to my chagrin that I would have sent the route on my first try if I'd just bothered to look around at the holds for about one second longer. 

Like me, Matt took one fall when it was his turn, but his error came at a different time.  He blew the first crux and then cruised through the second.

What would it really take for me to feel ready to lead a 5.10 route like Mother's Day Party? 

Part of it, I'm sure, is confidence.  But there's more.  I'd have to be faster, so I wouldn't flame out in the cruxes.  And I'd need to be prepared to commit to the 5.10 moves.  The hard moves on Mother's Day Party aren't mysterious.  But they require moving with dynamic pushes, with momentum.  I need to get more practiced at doing those kinds of moves on lead.  I'm not sure how to acquire the practice I need without walking up to a few of these 5.10 climbs and just going for it, trying them out.