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How much ativan used to make someone comotose

Shune’s Buttress and Monkeyfinger in Zion

May 222013

Zion is a magical and adventurous climbing area. For the first time in years, there was a fairly up-to-date guidebook and I was excited to try routes that I had heard so much about. I’m a huge fan of long crack routes and Shune’s Buttress and Monkeyfinger sounded like just my style. The big unknown in Zion is the rock quality. The sandstone ranges from bullet hard to hilarious sugar stone that falls apart instantly. I’m most comfortable in Yosemite and the previous week and a half in Indian Creek and Red Rocks wouldn’t prepare me for some of the “sand” stone I encountered.

Welcome to Zion!

Steve and I had gotten a pretty good partnership worked out in Red Rocks and he was psyched to keep trying hard routes. First up was Shune’s Buttress, a shady 800+ foot long route that follows cracks of all sizes. You end up bringing a huge rack, not my favorite, and a big contrast to the ten cams used on Drifting. As I set off up the very crux first pitch, I somehow seemed rusty at crack climbing, and the first pitch of Shune’s throws in a bit of everything. I thought it was a full value 5.11 pitch and I was psyched to send and get into the next section of the route.

A handful of 5.10 pitches, with a highlight of a crazy squeeze chimney took us up to the next 5.11- pitch, a short crimpy traverse. In an effort to keep things moving I linked the traverse with the previous pitch and was psyched to find the climbing much easier than on pitch one. One big downside of the route so far had been the belay locations and the quality of the fixed gear. I’m a fan of clean bolted anchors and despite the classic climbing, I was saddened that the route was in such disrepair with lots of old slings and a few spinner bolts. Everything was safe enough, but there was part of me that wanted to make it all better.

Steve up high on Shune’s Buttress

By now we had made it to the base of the 5th pitch, which is the best pitch of the route and would be five stars just about anywhere. A short down climb and some face climbing puts you at the base of a killer fingers to thin hands crack. This is another full value 5.11 pitch since you climb an off-fingers crack over a roof. After enjoying 40 feet of finger-locks, it was go time and I barely made it over the roof. A couple of face holds made this section much more pleasant. After the roof, the angle backs off and you get to climb an amazing thin hands to hands crack for nearly 100 more feet! It felt like I was back at Indian Creek, but with 500 feet of air below my feet!

Steve cruised this pitch and swung through to lead us to the top. We managed a no falls day and took time on the way down to cut off a bunch of old webbing to help pretty up the anchors. You can read more on our cleanup here. The next day I was curious about doing Locksmith Dihedral, but the long hike and our late start pushed it to another trip. It didn’t really matter since the next day we were going to climb Monkeyfinger!!

Steve on the 2nd pitch of Monkeyfinger

While I aspire to try long hard routes it seems like it had been a while since I’d gotten on a 5.12 multipitch. Perhaps this is just my selective memory, or unwillingness to consider “short” routes like Hotline and Lost in the Sun. Regardless, it was time to give a hard effort and Monkeyfinger would be a great challenge.

The theme for Monkeyfinger seemed to be second chances. After cruising up the first two pitches I started up the Black Corner, which gets graded somewhere between 5.11c and 5.12b depending on your finger size. I got flash pumped right away as my nerves caused my feet to slide all over the place. One move short of a rest, I pumped out, came off, and decided to get lowered back to the belay. To save time I top-roped the first section again, with the 3-4 cams left in, and tried to finish leading the pitch. I made it to the rest, much more confident than before and realized I had yet to do the crux. A tricky section of stemming and palming got me to the end of the pitch. Awesome! One 5.12 down, Yo-Yo style.

Steve had a similar performance, falling midway up the pitch, before figuring out the finale and making it up to the belay. I kept in the lead and climbed easily up to the 5.11 roof on the next pitch. I got in a bunch of gear but couldn’t figure out the seemingly footless sequence. I finally committed, but to the wrong sequence and came off. Not again!! Down I lowered to try the pitch again, Yo-Yo style. This time I figured out some tricky stemming to make use of the small calcite edges and I was through the crux, but the pitch was far from over and I had to earn it as the route had just come into the sun. Steve couldn’t be bothered to do the roof, and pulled through, but sent the remaining 5.11- climbing to the crappy hanging belay. Rather than swap leads I took the lead for the next pitch, psyched to get to a better stance.

The super thin Black Corner

The fifth pitch was mostly thin hands and very enjoyable but all of my thoughts were on the Monkeyfinger crack. This was supposed to be a step up from the Black Corner and is avoided by most parties in favor of a 5.10+ off-width. I wanted the full value experience and 5.12 fingers is often my bread and butter.

From the belay you do a hard traverse to the start of the Monkeyfinger crack, which turned out to be the crux for me. A combination of crumbling footholds, swinging falls and insecure jamming stumped me for over an hour. Repeatedly I went up and ended up falling and hanging on my first two cams, unsure of how I was supposed to get past the initial boulder problem. The biggest issues that I was unwilling to climb far above my gear and couldn’t figure out how to place anything more. Finally I placed a third piece and lowered back to the belay. This was to be my final effort and I made it through the crux up to the good part of the crack. After a long section of splitter yellow aliens the crack started growing in size, as did my pump.

At the final rest, I took stock of the final 15 feet of the pitch. The angle seemed to kick back a little and all the useful face feet disappeared. I struggled up the .75 camalot crack until I reached the point of no return. My body was shaking as I tried to tried to sort out my options. In a moment of desperation I karate chopped into a hand jam at full extension, practically a dyno. As my hand slid into the constriction I could feel the grains of sand sliding as I hoped for purchase. Everything held and I quickly kept going, putting my foot into the sandy pod. With the pump clock still rising, I slotted a final piece of gear and grunted my way up the remaining finger stacks. The ledge came none too soon and I had pulled off another 5.12 pitch!

At this point I was relieved for the shade of the “Monkey House”, a huge sandy ledge magically cut into the face. I realized that my style so far had not been great but in one way or another I was sending. I had neither onsighted nor redpointed the entirety of either 5.12 pitch, but I had climbed both of them without weighting the rope and doing many hard moves first try.

Leaving the Monkey House seemed to put us in the adventure section of the route. The quality of the rock and fixed gear greatly diminished and the excitement factor went way up. Steve lead a steep and sandy hand crack, that was almost fun, and then I tackled a very height dependent slab. My friend Josh, at 6′, had laughed at the 5.11- grade, while his 5’2″ partner had been stumped by the move (despite 5.13 climbing ability). At 5’8″ I somehow managed to stick to the rock and pulled off a full value 5.11 move. The only thing that really concerned me was falling on the old bolts and fixed gear. From the stance below the crux I actually lassoed the next drilled angle so that I would have something to backup the lousy looking 1/4″ bolt.

The final pitch was a nightmare with kitty litter rock and sand on every hold. In some ways it was so improbable that it was fun, but stemming and chimneying past old hardware, that might not have held, was the worst part of the day. Some people might just skip this pitch, but summits matter and I was happy to finish the mentally challenging pitch.

We had two ropes, but you can also rappel the route with one 70m rope. The hot day had taken its toll and the next day was spent sleeping in and going cragging.

On my final day in Zion, Steve generously drove a car shuttle so I could run the East Rim Trail, a great point to point adventure. It was supposed to rain so I was being chased by cold weather, which was humorous compared to the 75+ degree heat of the previous days. This is a great run and I highly recommend it. The hills in the first half of the route are pretty mellow and the views as you drop into Zion are astounding. I was also curious to do the run as prep for Lizzy’s attempt at the Zion Traverse the following month. Here is the GPS track from my run:

It was really fun to get to spend many days in Zion both hanging out in the canyon and climbing on the bright sandstone walls. On a future trip it would be nice to get used to the rock and put some time into freeing Moonlight Buttress. It seems there are many cool sounding routes, that are off the beaten path in Zion. With seemingly few climbers its hard to know which routes to get on outside of the “classics”. It is hard to complain when there are too many to choose from!

Enjoy,

- Luke

Klonopin interact with 5-htp

Route Beta: Free Climbing Scarface on Liberty Cap

Notes, Trip Reports No Responses »

May 152013

I couldn’t really believe it. On only the second trip of the season I had climbed half of the route clean. Sure I hadn’t lead all of those pitches yet, but I knew that I could. Getting over the mental barrier is the most important part of doing a First Ascent or First Free Ascent.

After the first day on this project I almost gave up. The 5th pitch was going to be too hard, too leaning, and not fun. I’m usually not one to give up so I simply delayed hiking up to the route the following day and enjoyed good company and bacon for breakfast. I got up to Liberty Cap by noon and mini-traxioned up the first three pitches. I’ve found that roped self-belay is a great way to work on routes and allows you climb partner-free. I managed to send each of the first three pitches, cleaning out dirt and moss as I went up. My “dirty direct” variation would be climbable, but I wondered if it would ever really be clean. At least the route was less dirty the higher you went and soon I was on Scarface proper.

Looking up at the first pitch.

I kept going up my fixed lines through the “crumbling empire” which had the worst rock on the route. Cool moves still existed and the vertical climbing was a nice relief after the endless laybacking on the bottom of the route. I made it to the pitch four belay, having climbed without falls and looked upon the leaning tips crack. I wasn’t even sure how to get established in the crack, but made progress by standing on the piton I had hammered in the previous day.

I saw a line of crimps on the face and figured the the climbing should be possible. A bolt would be needed so I pulled through and worked on the tips crack. A crazy idea had dawned on me the night before and I was excited to try out some magic beta. I laybacked up the offset crack for a few moves and then slotted a thin finger lock. From here I was able to mantel the offset crack and start laybacking it, walking on the two inch rail. This took me 20 feet higher and set me up for the crux off finger section. I was shocked that I was doing so well, having fallen only a few times so far on a pitch I knew to be 5.12. When the corner switched back around, I struggled with the nearly footless moves. The edge of the crack was sharp, which helped with the pseudo campusing and lead me to an awkward rest at a wide pod. I hung many more times in this upper section, desperately trying to work out where to put my feet. After I reached the anchor, I knew the pitch would go! I had found the perfect project and I had to keep trying.

The crux finger crack full of bushes.

Depending on how many consecutive weekends I could spend in the valley I would leave and strip my fixed lines, trying to keep my impact as low as possible. February and March are great months to spend in Yosemite and it was nice to enjoy the solitude.

After my first foray I came back with Steve, Jonathan and Casey on different weekends to push the high point further. I kept going ground up, but used fixed ropes to help mitigate the fact that I only had weekends to work with. By the end of March I had red-pointed the second through the seven pitches and had aided up the eighth pitch, which would be another 5.12 pitch. It was an incredible feeling to lead the crux tips crack on my first lead attempt. Lots of try hard effort went into the send and I almost fell off at the very end, pumped to the max.

The second half of March was booked but it was very exciting to have so much of the route figured out. I took time off, to go climb in Utah, and planned on finishing the route up in April when I returned.

Adding a bolt on P10 of Scarface.

Some final prep work still needed to be done to protect a few sections where pitons had be used for pro. I was in constant contact with Josh, on of the FAists, about any changes I wanted to make to the route. I wanted it to go free, but didn’t want to drastically alter the route. Even though it had been over 7 year since the first ascent, the route had not been repeated. I got everything in order the best I could and planned for a final weekend of work. The following weekend I would put in the last bolts and then go for the first free ascent. Look for a trip report soon!

Route Overview:

For the most part the climbing on Scarface is straightforward and strenuous. After a slab and cerebral opening pitch you have to climb about 70 meters of right facing dihedral. The crack is all sorts of sizes and angles and you are occasionally just laybacking a rounded edge.

Topo for the lower pitches of Scarface

The crux 5th pitch is a laser cut leaning finger crack that goes through all sizes from tips to rattly fingers and then back down. I replaced a 1/4″ rivet on the bottom of the pitch with a new 3/8″ bolt, and added on bolt up and to the left of the crack, due to hollow rock on the right. This also should not change the aid route at all. The rightwards lean requires a good amount of power and trickery to capitalize on the infrequent rests. There is a nice 5.10 offwidth on the sixth pitch with better rock on the second half of the pitch. One new bolt was added on this pitch, early on, to protect moves getting past a few loose blocks. The aid line follows a parallel crack in this section, so this bolt doesn’t change the original route.

On the seventh pitch I bolted a new variation to the left of the original bolt latter. 5.10 slab climbing past four new bolts leads back to the original bolt later and the rest of the pitch. I removed the last “bolt” from original ladder, a 1/4″ rivet, and put in a new bomber 3/8″ bolt. The first three bolts, on the free climbing variation, are closely spaced but there is mandatory 5.10 climbing to reach the forth bolt and to regain the final bolt on aid line. Aid climbers can stick with the original rivet ladder, or climb the new variation at 5.10 C0 or 5.8 C2 with some hooking between bolts.

The eight pitch is 5.12 with killer fingers and off fingers laybacking for about 75 feet before a boulder problem when the crack pinches out. Originally you would have placed peckers & tomahawks in the corner but I added two bolts to protect the free climbing. This was approved by the first ascentionists and allows the whole route to go clean on aid which is a plus! This section still might be one of the aid cruxes since you will need to do some hooking or trickery to get from the second bolt back to bomber gear in the corner.

The next pitch, the ninth, is pretty low angle and there are very few holds, which makes it challenging. One bolt was added on this pitch, above a fixed rurp. The climbing is very technical with fun stemming and slab climbing. Aiding this pitch requires lots of thin cams, nuts and maybe some cam hooks. The following pitch, the 10th, has the final bolt of the route which was added where the first ascentionist used more beaks for pro. The climbing is mellow but cams and nuts would not protect this section. The final two pitches are lower angle and follow discontinuous cracks to the summit. I followed a slightly different line than the first ascentionists in the last three pitches, but there is much overlap.

Upper Pitches Topo

Pitch by Pitch Beta:

Pitch 1 – 5.11a – 90 feet – 2 bolts

Full rack to #3 camalot

From the ground climb up a series of dirty ledges until you can get established on a good foot rail. Step left to a right leaning crack, get in some gear, and stem up until the crack starts to pinch out. Make a move left with your hands on a dike feature to get to the base of a thin crack. Layback up the thin crack, passing a bolt to get established in the slabby corner. Continue laybacking past occasional pods for gear. A few hard moves getting to, and working past another bolt lead to an exciting stemming sequence and an belay at a tree on the left.

This pitch is often dirty and can be wet in the early spring. Having a nut tool to clean out the crack is a plus. The stances are pretty good, so you could still climb this even if it is a little dirty.

Pitch 2 – 5.10c/d – 175 feet

Full rack

From the belay work up the varied corner to a wide section of crack. Layback up until progress becomes very difficult, a finger sized piece goes in here. Techy moves will allow you to move right to a finger lock or wide edge that seem just out of reach. Once established on this edge you will need to go another body length before getting any more gear. It is possible to sling a big horn on the left in the middle of this runout. Good holds on the left wall, and some more laybacking, allow passage through this run-out. Keep on laybacking past a slopey section and mantel up onto a dirty ledge. There is a pink rope here for rappelling, but you should keep climbing. Fight through the tree to the best corner so far.

This rock on this second corner has good friction and you get nice finger sized slots at the start. The corner crack has some interesting geometry, which makes placing gear harder, and it helps to have many finger sized pieces. The corner gets steeper as you go higher until a short chimney section that can be avoided by stepping right. A few face moves lead to another hand sized crack. Jam and layback with feet on the right passing some sweet knobs. In a continuing trend, the layback turns slopey and harder moves lead to a good stance right below a tree.

Belay at the tree with a green rappel sling.

Pitch 3 – 5.10d – 85 feet

Full rack minus all the green alien and smaller pieces

This is the cleanest of the first three pitches. Start off with a few tricky layback moves or stem up using the large dead tree as a foot hold. Crisp finger locks lead you out right to yet another section of slopey layback (hopefully you’ve got it dialed by now). Punch it until the edge of the crack gets better and figure out how to get your self standing on the chalkstone. A couple more tricky moves, with some stemming get you to a grove of trees. Sling something for pro and keep going. Do some easy (5.7/5.8) but unprotected face climbing on the wall to the right of the trees to get established on a big sunny ledge. Belay at two bolts.

Pitch 4 – 5.10b R – 110 feet

Full rack with including a small cam for the start.

The climbing is never particularly run out, but there are occasional places where there is loose rock and one spot with bad fall potential, thus the R rating. The climbing on the “R” section is not much harder than 5.8/5.9, just be careful with rock quality.

Start just to the right of the bolted belay with thin gear and a few mantels. Some tricky stemming gets you established on a wide ledge. Go right and up through some chossy rock to get established in a awesome left leaning hand crack. When the crack ends avoid the ledge covered in loose rock by stepping to the right. Some thin gear protects tricky moves to get into another hand crack. Fun crack and face moves get you up an over a series of ledges to a two bolt belay on a nice 3′ x 5′ ledge.

Pitch 5 – 5.12 – 110 feet – 3 bolts

My rack: 2 Red C3, 2 Green Alien, 3 Yellow Alien, 2 Grey Alien, 1 Red Alien, 2 #.5 camalot, Single Green C3, #1. camalot More thin gear if aiding (000 and 00 C3 useful).

The first of many stellar pitches. From the belay you can either face climb straight up past two bolts or use the ide crack out left. In both cases be careful to avoid the precarious stacked blocks above the wide crack. Traverse across the grainy rail until you reach a no-hands stance. Thin fingers gear (green alien/Red C3) goes in the crack to your left to protect the next hard section. Face climb/layback up an semi-expando flake, 5.11, up until you get established at a good stance on a small ledge to the left of the flake. Clip a bolt and check out the tricky traverse to the leaning tips and finger crack.

Bust out a short crimpy boulder problem, 5.11+, and make a few hard moves up the crack to get established on a huge foot rail. Recovery is key since the next ten feet are tips! Red C3/Blue Metolius seem to fit best since green aliens are too big. The crack is quite off-set so heel hooks and tricky foot work are possible. Once you pass the small bush, the crack changes corners again and gets steeper. It quickly goes to rattly fingers (.5 camalots) and the feet disappear. Luckily the crack is pretty sharp and you can get opposition with your thumb. Fight you way up the leaning crack until a hand jam pod, where you can catch a rest.

The crack thins back down to fingers, but by now you should be quite pumped and wishing a good foot would magically appear. After a few moves your prayer is answered in the way of a thin hand jam and the notion that you have almost done it. Grr your way up a few more fingerlocks and until you can reach a hand crack that takes you the rest of the way to the anchor. Belay at two bolts on a small ledge.

Pitch 6 – 5.10c/d – 165 feet – 1 bolt.

Full Rack with two each #3, #4 camalots (Very confident leaders can get away with a single #3 and #4)

Start off with enjoyable thin hands off the belay until you must switch to the left crack. The higher you go in the right crack, the longer of a reach you must make. A few steep moves lead to another thin hands to hands crack in grainy rock. Climb up until you are below some scary stacked blocks and clip a bolt on the left. Carefully mantel over the blocks, which seem pretty solid, and you will be greeted with a splitter wide crack. Fist jam up clean granite making sure to bump along your #4 camalot. Eventually you can get your right foot in the leaning crack and the difficulty eases and I leave the #4 behind. Continue up the wide crack, past a short slab. Another #4 camalot can go in here or you can run it out until you can place a finger sized piece in a thin crack on the left. Dual cracks lead up with plentiful gear options until you pass another wide section of crack. Laybacking seems to be the best option here and eventually the crack thins to nothing. Make a hero reach from the last finger lock to a perfect jug. A few easy moves leads to a two bolt anchor on a reasonable ledge.

Pitch 7 – 5.10d – 90 feet – 6 bolts

Bring the nuts, Purple and Green C3, and doubles of Green Alien to #1. Single #2,#3,#4 camalots.

Start climbing up the wide crack until you can see a line of three bolts with black hangers. The original line continues further up the wide crack before cutting left on a ladder with mix of rivets and 1/4 inch bolts. The free line joins the aid ladder at the last bolt (which was upgraded to 3/8″).

Climb a series of small ledges angling up and to the left past the three bolts. A combination of mantels and trickery will get you to the highest foot rail. Make a long reach to clip a bolt (the 4th) and get established on the slab. The holds get progressively better and you work back to the right to another bolt (which is the end of the aid ladder). From here follow the bottom of a flake to the left via underclings. Gear in a crack to the right can protect a hard reach to thin seams/crimps on the face. The flake you are climbing gets steeper and eventually a series of good fingerlocks leads to a two bolt belay at an ok stance.

Pitch 8 – 5.12 – 90 feet – 2 bolts

Triples of fingers sized gear are essential for this pitch. Make sure to bring a single #.75, #2 and #3 camalot.

Steep fingerlocks off the belay lead to a tricky bulge and a good stance. Continue layabacking up the stellar corner passing an occasional wider section. Make sure to milk the rests before the crack runs out and there is a bolt. Make a hard move to good hold on the face, or do some ninza stemming. Clip a second bolt, move the good hold and reach to the left for some more face holds. Once you get your feet situated you can reach left to a flake system which will take you back into the main corner. When the corner crack pinches out make use of the thin finger crack on the left and execute a final tricky sequence. Move carefully past a loose tooth and traverse right to a nice sloping ledge with two bolts.

Lizzy mini-traxions the balancey 9th pitch

Pitch 9 – 5.11a – 70 feet – 1 bolt

Bring the nuts and all the small cams. Nothing bigger than a .75 camalot is needed.

From the belay work up the thin corner until you can clip a bolt on the left wall. Balance/slab climb with difficulty, until you can make use of a thin crack on the left wall. Follow this as it becomes a finger crack and then pinches out. A few tricky moves are requires until the crack becomes usable again. Keep stemming up the golden rock until you can move left to ledgy terrain. Belay on a sloping ledge with two bolts.

Pitch 10 – 5.10a/b – 120 feet – 1 bolt

Full Rack

From the belay climb the dirty wide hands crack until you get to a lose block. Step left and climb up to the obvious left leaning roof. Climb this, extending all your pieces, and pull around past a small stump. Layback and jam up an easy crack until you can reach a dirty ledge. Reach high for a small flake and make a committing move on to the face. Follow the seam to an obvious wide pod, which takes a #3 camalot. Continue up the seam at 5.10, nuts useful, until you reach a ledge covered in manzanita. Continue straight up various low angle cracks and aim for a shiny bolt. Climb on the right side of the bolt via fun easy stemming up to a good rail. A few more easy moves lead to a ledge.

Belay to the right of a tree with red bark on a ledge with hand sized gear in a flake. This is about 20′ above the bolt and below a chimney like feature.

Pitch 11 – 5.10a/b – 100 feet

Full Rack

Climb up past a few loose rocks until you can step left towards a “chimney”. From the ledge, next to the short chimney, you can see a thin flake on the right . Follow this, which becomes a fun hand crack until the flake pinches out. Step left to an obvious crack in a corner. Climb this crack until it too runs out past a tricky section of laybacking. Face climb up, past occasional cracks towards a clump of manzanita bushes. Climb past these on the right side, on a series of rails and edges until you can reach a large tree on the right. This pitch is pretty wandering so make sure to extend your gear!

Belay at the tree.

Pitch 12 – 5.10a – 200+ feet

Full Rack

From the belay trend left along a nice low angle crack system. After about 40 feet the crack pitches out and you will need to step left to a hidden flake, follow this up passing a short roof and head towards some small trees. Follow the past of least resistance as you head towards the summit. It seems best to follow the left leaning gulley/crack system towards a fairly large trees. This pitch is low angle and has some moss. Tread carefully.

Belay at a nice tree, that may or may not have tons of ants…

There is still about 200-300 feet of easy scrambling to the summit. Its best to un-rope at the big tree and work your way up the manzanita and slabs.

Scarface – Full Photo Topo

Semenax amazon

Two Weeks at Indian Creek

Trip Reports 4 Responses »

May 062013

Over the last five years Lizzy and I have gone on a number of very productive trips to Indian Creek. There are still new cliffs that we have yet to visit, but we have picked off most of the low-hanging fruit. With this analogy I mean that we have gone around and done the fun sizes and the easier sizes and are now starting to graduate to the less secure and harder climbs. This makes things more interesting when choosing where to go on any given day.

At Indian Creek you run into a whole lot of different types of routes, but the dichotomy for me splits the routes into difficulty based on endurance/pump versus a hard-to-jam size. On this trip I spent a good amount of time working on finger stacking, a weakness of mine. I get perfect finger stacks in a .75 camalot crack, with difficulty increasing as the crack shrinks to .5 camalots. The other thing that I learned on this trip was that I have no clue how to use my feet when the crack is smaller that a .75 (green) camalot.

I was lucky enough to get spend two weeks out in Indian Creek so far this year. The first week was with the UC Berkeley crew of Jonathan, Casey, Jessica, Alix, and Ben. The latter four drove out separately and I picked Jonathan up in Vegas before driving through the night to “the creek”. Perhaps it was Love Muffin breakfast burritos or the psyche to be back at the creek, but we started the trip with a bang.

The first three days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday) held the coldest temps of the trip. It was a big change, on the second half of the trip, when we had to seek shade in the 70+ degree weather. It was great time to be in the desert since there was another crew from Planet Granite along with a smattering of friends from San Diego and else were. Eileen, Terri, and Leo showed up mid week to fill up our “party site”. We had many late nights at the camp fire telling stories and remarking that the climbing community was so small. It seemed that I knew half of the other people in Creek Pasture during that first week.

Casey at the crux of King Cat. Photo by Jessica Wan

We started at the cold Pistol Whipped, where I was happy to send Sig Sauer on my birthday. Day One was a learning day as people got used to the sandy rock and tried hard in the cold weather. My hands were numb often and we decided on the warmer Cat Wall for Day Two. Weather improved and it was pleasant when the arctic winds were not blowing. Highlights included Johnny Cat, King Cat and Bad Cat.

Trying hard at the crux of Bad Cat. Photo by Jessica Wan

After the Cat Wall I was totally wrecked and decided on an “active” rest day. Scarface was the group choice and I was happy chill out somewhere I’d been many times before. I didn’t lead much, but did redpoint Big Guy, which had nearly induced vomiting on my first attempt five years prior. My favorite route of the day was Desert Vuarnet which Casey onsighted. I think it is an overlooked route and I was psyched to do it on TR.

Big Guy, Photo by Jessica Wan

Before the much needed rest day I was determined to do a first ascent. Jonathan and I loaded bags with heavy hardware and trudged up the long approach to Sacred Cow. The route I had seen two years before was still sans anchor and I set about climbing it, ground up. Sandstone face climbing makes for a dicey experience, but I was able to get a few bolts in and finally make it up to laser cut splitter. I put in the anchor, fixed a rope and we made our way to Moab.

In some ways it was a release to finally bolt the line that had been calling to me for the last few years. The upper crack, as I suspected was of 5 star quality and quite difficult. The opening face climbing was very doable and much more technical than I expected. I would come back to it later but for now the focus was on our upcoming day at Optimator.

At Indian Creek size matters, and we learned that Jonathan was quite good at the .5 -> .75 Camalot size. I’m a fan of yellow alien/.4 camalot cracks and was really excited for Jonathan to play rope gun and lead Optimator, 5.13-. He made a valiant attempt, with numerous falls on the sustained .75 camalot crack. Placing gear added significant difficulty since stances were few and far between. In one of my better performances, I gave everything I had on top rope, and flashed Optimator for my first of the grade.

Casey cruxing on Double Bock at the Optimator Wall

The hot weather had really taken it out of me, but we decided to go to Battle of the Bulge the following day. I correctly remembered that it had morning shade, but had forgotten how fast the sun comes around the corner. This was our first day seeing a bunch of other parties, but we still managed to get on all of our goal routes. For me the day was all about Ruby’s Cafe. I wasn’t sure that I had the guns to send, but I wanted to give it another effort. I played the game of telling everyone it was my project, so that I had an extra bit of encouragement to try it. I was pretty nervous and was unsure if I would even get as high as my previous attempt.

Jonathan enjoys the Big Baby at Battle of the Bulge Buttress.

By the time I was warmed up the sun was already on the Ruby’s Cafe, but now I was brimming with psyche and set off, sprinting up the crack. I took an overabundant supply of yellow aliens making sure I wouldn’t run out like last time. The changing corners went by quickly, as I climbed confidently above my gear and soon enough made it to the midway rest.

I executed the shuffle across the first roof, pasting my feet high and managed to snag the jug, flag through, and slam in the kneebar. Looking up I could see the anchor above the final roof. Two more pieces went in as my calf grew more and more pumped. It was go time and Casey and Ben provided much needed encouragement. I passed the roof and got into the green aliens. I stalled, thinking about placing a piece, but knew I had to keep climbing. A few more moves and somehow I was clipping the anchor. I had climbed Ruby’s Cafe!

In some ways, my trip ended when I sent Ruby’s Cafe. I’m not sure it is the hardest route I’ve climbed, and it certainly didn’t take very many tries, but it was oh so significant. In the way that I finally climbed Equinox, so many years ago, I had succeeded in reaching a lofty goal that I was not even sure was achievable. Landmark climbs, like Ruby’s Cafe, are few and far between but count in ways that are hard to describe.

Sacred Cow Wall Project.

At this point in the trip I was ready for another rest day so when the crew went to Reservoir Wall, I slept in. I hiked out alone to Sacred Cow at noon and put in some burns on my new project. It was nails hard and I could barely even do the moves. After about five or six attempts on the mini-traxion I managed a one hang, shocked that I didn’t fall off my nemesis size. I added another bolt, pulled the rope, and red tagged the route, for my return with Lizzy.

The final day, before the Planet Granite and Berkley groups had to leave, I was still completely exhausted. I had climbed each of the past seven days, but was curious to join Eliot and Doug out at The Wall. They had been projecting Learning To Fly and I was curious to try one of the hardest finger cracks at the creek. I climbed with Brian, a friend of Alix and we had a blast doing new to us routes at The Wall. I tried Learning to Fly briefly, but my body was in no condition for the brutal one arm lock offs required for the route. The climb was almost all yellow alien/.4 camalots but the crack was overhung and had zero feet in the crux section.

Rainy Arizona

On the last day of March I took a much needed rest day and drove to Vegas to meet up with Steve for the next leg of my trip. I’ve already detailed my trip to Red Rocks and will soon have a trip report about climbing Shune’s Buttress and Monkeyfinger in Zion. After a fun run on my last day in Zion, I headed back to Vegas to pick Lizzy up from the airport. The weather had been quite stormy and I hit a pretty wild rain storm driving through the VRG. In no time Lizzy had arrived and we were en route to Utah. With midnight quickly approaching and snow in the forecast, we decided to spend the night in Zion where Steve still had a campsite.

The final five days at Indian Creek seemed to go by quickly with a mix of bad weather and tired muscles. At this point I had recovered physical energy from two consecutive rest days, but my lead head was shot. I put in five lead burns on Surf and Turf, my new route at Sacred Cow, but couldn’t commit to the insecure moves. It is problematic for me to climb high above my gear with no concept of when I’ll be able to place again.

New Route in the making!

Lizzy and I checked out a few new crags with trips to the Fin and the Cliffs of Insanity. I also went back to Scarface to redpoint Desert Vuarnet, which is WAY harder on lead. We had much less of an agenda than my first week and got to spend more time relaxing.

The final day Lizzy and I worked on the stellar Broken Brain. This climb is mostly hands until a very tricky finale. The headwall, shown below, goes from #2 camalots to .75′s and is quite offset. This means a good left hand at the end but a horrible right finger stack. I fell twice from the very top, just before the thank god hand jam at the lip. Like in most years it was nearly impossible to give a solid effort since my body was so run-down and my mind unwilling to keep trying hard. I am quick to forget how much psyche maters and that time needs to be put into mental recovery as well as physical.

Lizzy on the steep headwall of Broken Brain.

I really enjoyed my time at the creek, but as always tried to do too much in a short amount of time. More FULL rest days, and perhaps a few mellow days of easier fun routes would be the better way to spend the trip. I was very cool to spend more time trying my nemesis size (Surf and Turf). The best part was getting to spend time with all of the different people. Too many names to list, but I really had a blast!

I’ve added route lists to many Indian Creek posts since grading is so subjective. A snapshot of the routes from this trip. Funny that this time I felt Johnny Cat was harder than King Cat, the opposite of the last time I tried them.

Routes from the trip in order of my perceived difficulty (regardless of grade):

Learning to Fly – 5.13 Hangs
Optimator – 5.13- TR Flash
Surf and Turf – 5.12+ Hangs
Ruby’s Cafe – 5.13- Redpoint
Bad Cat – 5.12 Hangs
Broken Brain – 5.12 1 Hang
Nukanator – 5.12- Hangs
Baroque - 5.12 Onsight
Desert Varnet – 5.12- Redpoint
Double Bock – 5.12 Flash W/ Preplaced Gear
Sig Sauer – 5.12- Flash
Heat Searcher – 5.11+ Onsight
Johnny Cat – 5.11+ TR Send
King Cat – 5.11+ TR Send
Goodby Cruel World – 5.12- Onsight
Rump Roast II – 5.11 – Redpoint
Pigs on a Wing – 5.11 TR Flash
Double Trouble – 5.11 – Onsight
Big Guy – 5.11- Redpoint
Karin’s Corner 5.11- Flash W/ Preplaced Gear
The Feltcher 5.11- Onsight
Brown on Butter 5.11- Redpoint
Sorrow 5.11- Onsight

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Adventure Punks and Drifting in Red Rocks

Trip Reports 2 Responses »

Apr 302013

Despite many trips to Red Rocks over the last five years I have yet to do many of the shady spring-time routes. One reason is that I haven’t felt ready to test my mental limits while maxing out my physical abilities. So in the past I have stayed away from a number of routes in Red Rocks that were established in an a more exciting style that required mental fitness in addition to physical strength.

One stronghold of “adventure” routes is the Challenger Wall in Pine Creek Canyon. The climbs on this wall were established more than two decades ago by a group of hard men who took boldness seriously. In modern terms this means running it out and avoiding bolts by any means necessary.

Jet Stream and Challenger Wall Overview. From MountainProject.com

My introduction to this area was Adventure Punks, a five pitch 5.10d with an implied R rating. Having come off a solid week of climbing in Indian Creek I knew that my fitness was solid and I would just have to kept the mental demons under wraps. I often joke that I’m no mental warrior, but my greatest strength is doing moves, even when runout, that I have utter confidence in. Once I’m convinced I know what to do, I have the ability to execute. In these situations I rarely, if ever, fall off.

With this in mind I set off up Adventure Punks, moving with calculated confidence on the un-protected 5.9 slab at the start. The rest of the pitch fell in to place with a smattering of marginal to bomber gear. For the most part it was a do-not-fall pitch, but 5.10b is well within my ability.

Next up was perhaps the sportiest section, above the pitch one belay. The climbing was stimulating and the gear occasional but solid. You would be taking long falls, but perhaps the climbing was not as serious as the first pitch. The route continued in this fashion for the first four pitches, with a mix of face and crack climbing on excellent varnished sandstone. The fourth pitch, with a steep feeling finger crack, deposited you at the base of a long off-width.

The fifth and final pitch is the crux of the route and was climbed hard-man style before there were any big cams. It was the definitive crux of the route for me, with a hard section of squeeze chimney about halfway up. Pushing a #6 camalot made this part safe, but I almost slid out, having climbed that section with the “wrong” side in. I can’t imagine doing the pitch without any wide gear, big props to the first ascentionists!

We rapped the route, replacing some old slings at the top anchor with ASCA rap rings. It was really nice that the route had recently been cleaned up courtesy of some Las Vegas locals and the ASCA. Having two solid bolts at each belay was a nice way to relax after pushing my mental limits while climbing each pitch.

Adventure Punks was a great mental warm-up that reacquainted me with the Red Rock sandstone. The next day we decided to kick it up an notch and climb Drifting on the Jet Stream Wall, another place I’d yet to visit.

Scenic approach to the Jet Stream Wall

When I was getting ready for Drifting, I was slightly nervous. 5.11c could be challenging and a friend, who is a Vegas local, had told me the route might be more like 5.12 and bold! All of these things embodied the experience I was looking for. Drifting would be a solid challenge and a good way to test both my fitness and mental strength. We took the strenuous approach up the Olive Oil descent, but the second half of the hike was beautiful. An exposed ridge brought us above the Jet Stream Wall and the “trail” dropped down through a scrappy forest of pine and manzanita. The wall itself was a blank and endless expanse of varnish. It was tricky to try to figure out the line of the route, an opposite experience to the natural weakness we climbed on Adventure Punks.

Drifting goes up the center of the wall through the red rock roof.

I knew Drifting, which has a healthy number of bolts would have more face climbing than I had done in a while. I was happy to have gotten some beta from Mountain Project that allowed me to take a selective rack on each pitch. Even the full rack, a touch more than a single set of cams, was nice and light. I needed every advantage I could get since the route would put up quite a fight for this wanna-be onsighter.

Right away the route was interesting, with the first pitch starting 80 feet up under a small roof. Some third class ledges lead you there and the route did not wait to deliver inobvious cruxy climbing. I was only at the second bolt and I’d been stalling for over five minutes. I tried to figure out what constitutes a “hold” and where I need to go. As I commited to upward progress, each bolt I clipped was a small victory. I stalled out again below a challenging sequence, psyched to have figured out a nearly hands free rest. I needed to have power to waste and I went for it, full on 5.11 crimping with the bolt below my feet. Magically, the holds, which seemed to point the wrong way, worked perfectly as I got my feet high on perfect sandstone edges. I kept up the dancing routine, savoring the hidden jugs and amazing varnished crimps and make it to the belay.

Steve on the first pitch of Drifting

Starting off the second pitch, I had confidence. I ran it out to the second bolt, finding great edges and stances. The next 15 feet followed a varnished edge that undulates up the face, forming a type of flake against the softer white sandstone. There were just enough slots and crimps along the edge allow for passage upwards. Having clipped the final bolt on this section, my forearms wanted to explode. I climbed and down climbed twice, trying to figure out the right sequence. Finally I committed and pushed my feet hard against the soft white rock, praying for them not to slip. Luckily I got the sequence right and reach the big crimp I had been staring at longingly. As the climbing ease,s you run it out a touch on good holds until you make it to a nice varnished crack. I learned on Adventure Punks that it is important to put in gear when you can and I fired in a couple of pieces. I followed this routine for the next thirty feet, getting in gear when the crack opened up, and face climbing quickly between the stances.

Another party at the end of the tips laybacking on Pitch 2. Photo from MountainProject.com

The next section of pitch two was perhaps the mental crux of the route. The climbing was never hard, but you go for a little journey away from your gear. In many ways, I’m glad there is not a bolt in this section. If you have sent the route to this point you are physically capable of doing the moves. As I ventured 5, 10, and then 15 feet away from my last piece, I made sure to test all of the sandstone crimps before committing fully. Eventually, I wiggled in some gear and made it to the lone bolt that protects the final crux, a short thin 5.11 traverse.

Having gotten fully pumped on the first two pitches, I was properly warmed-up for the next pitches. The third and fourth pitches flowed well with lots of thin balance moves and exciting positions. Some airy laybacking on pitch four brought us to a small stance under the large roof. In some ways this bit of climbing makes you feel like a hero as you pull over the massive roof on solid holds with heaps of exposure. Above the roof we were greeted with slabby crimping up softer red rock with a smattering of varnish. This pitch really backs off in difficulty, after the roof, until the final moves to the belay, where you climb into black varnished rock that last until the end of the climb.

Post crux on the second pitch.

The final pitch of Drifting is full value and perhaps easier for taller people. Unlike the larger holds on the previous pitches, the crux on this pitch is finding which holds are usable and figuring out where to go next. It was a good fight for me as the pump level went back up through the delicate yet powerful crimp sequences. The pitch was sustained the whole way and only after I finally clipped the anchor could I relax.

Climbing Drifting was one of the best days I have had in recent years on a multi-pitch. It is rare for me to get to onsight a long route at my limit and this route pushed me both mentally and physically. The climbing provided a perfect challenge and I really enjoyed leading all the pitches. What a good time! You can easily rappel the route with a single 70m rope. The rappels are close so do watch your ends. We replaced tat on one of the anchors with rappel rings courtesy of the ASCA. The Pitch 5 anchor could still use some ASCA or rebolting love. See mountainproject.com for details.

Now that I’ve seen the Jet Stream Wall I’m psyched to return to try the namesake route next time I am in Vegas! There are also tons of other routes on the Challenger wall to test me and push me to grow my mental strength.

Enjoy,

Luke

Extended Excitement in Utah

Notes 6 Responses »

Apr 182013

For the first time in almost five years I took an extended vacation! I escaped to Utah and Nevada for the three weeks following my birthday and went climbing for a total of 18 days! Four of these days were “half rest days”, a non-functional idea of sleeping in, but still going climbing. I also managed four full rest days and one long run on the East Rim Trail in Zion.

The majority of my time was spent at Indian Creek with a few days in Zion, climbing longer routes. Between my weeks in Utah, I spent two days in Las Vegas and climbed Drifting, one of the best routes I have done in Red Rocks.

Rapping down the last pitch of Drifting

A big theme of this trip was giving back. It was great to show friends around on their first trip to Indian Creek and clean old webbing off a number of anchors. I have long wondered about a good way to contribute back to the climbing community and I get a lot of satisfaction from replacing old bolts, cutting off faded webbing and generally making anchors safer.

A clean anchor!

Over the three week trip my various partners and I replaced and updated hardware on over a dozen routes, including four multipitches. A good percentage of the hardware was supplied by the ASCA for fixing up routes, with additional chain and quick-links coming from the “Stefurak Gear Fund”.

Before

After!

The ugliest anchors of the trip were found on Shune’s Buttress in Zion. On the seven pitches there is a full garbage bag worth of old slings and cordage of various age. We we only had time and hardware to clean up the first four pitches, but I plan to go back and do some more maintenance on the route when I return to Zion in May.

Steve leads the offwidth on Shune’s Buttress

I think Shune’s Buttress is a high quality climb, with excellent cracks, and barely any bad rock. The anchors should be up to par, and I got in touch with the first ascentionist about relocating some aging belays and replacing some of the bolts on the route. There is no reason a classic, such as Shune’s, should have 1/4″ hardware, ratty slings and spinner bolts.

Old cord and webbing removed from Shune’s Buttress!

I’ll be writing blogs about Zion, Red Rocks and Indian Creek in the coming months to recap some of the highlights of my trip.

- Luke

Also a round of thanks to John Wilder and Sam Lightner for providing me with ASCA hardware and getting me up to speed with the best bolting practices for sandstone (versus the more familiar Yosemite Granite).

Why We Run…

Notes 1 Response »

Mar 282013

I find it hard to pinpoint why exactly I participate in my chosen sports. I think that everyone has a different reason to get out and put in some miles. There are many different aspects of running that motivate me and they vary from week to week.

Enjoying an early season run in Yosemite

This can make it hard when I to explain to my dedicated climber friends why I spend all this time out running. I miss climbing days and can end up much more tired than if I had just stayed home.

One of the things I seek, both in running and in climbing, is the state of flow. Most are familiar with the runner’s high, but even beyond that is the feeling of running fast without working hard. The 5-star runs can be the most gratifying when I know that miles I have run are paying off in pure enjoyment.

Some days I want to feel the burning in my chest as I try to keep up the pace. Other times I just want to be out on a pretty trail enjoying nature and a sunny day.

I also run to get away, from the stress of everyday life, from a sport like climbing where there can be serious consequences, and sometimes from myself. In this way running is my meditation, it helps me re-center and reduces the chaos in my life.

I do not run for any single one of these reasons. It is the whole experience, the hard runs and the joyous ones. All of them compel me to get outside and put in the miles.

I think this video shows the importance of running as an escape. Some times we need to to find peace (and silence) from the noises of the urban jungle.

Silence from Duct Tape then Beer on Vimeo.

Enjoy,

Luke

The Liberty Cap Project

Notes No Responses »

Mar 232013

The months of 2013 have blurred together and the routine of daily life has been flying by. It has been a crazy year so far and I can barely believe it is already my birthday.

Every year I take a look at my big list of walls and routes I want to check out in Yosemite. Liberty Cap had been on my mind and the south-facing aspect, ideal for a winter project, pushed it to the top of the list. I was able to get in touch with Josh Mucci, who had done a number of first ascents on Liberty Cap, and figured out a good first objective. When my efforts on Liberty Cap are all finished up, I will write another post with more photos and some specific beta.

One of the best parts of this project so far has been the out-pouring of support. Friends have been helping hump loads, clean dirt, drill bolts and figure out beta. Many different partners on different days have helped push the free route up over the half way point. Each of the first seven pitches have been climbed cleanly and I have redpointed six of those pitches. Some unknowns still remain and it has been interesting climbing ground-up.

Trying to free climb an aid line is an interesting challenge that is full of surprises and excitement. I have really enjoyed figured out each pitch and taking steps towards a much bigger goal. All the little victories have made the whole process much more manageable. Both Josh and Steve have been helping out with beta and are psyched to see action on one of their routes, since many of their Liberty Cap aid lines are unrepeated. It has been a great project so far and while it’s still unfinished I wanted to share some photos.

Enjoy!

Luke mini-traxioning the first pitch.

Steve laybacking up the killer second pitch. Great rock quality with an extra helping of dirt.

Steve figures out the crux section on the third pitch.

Checking out the crux finger crack.

Past the cruxy face traverse on Pitch 5.

Enjoying sunny weather on the P6 offwidth.

Casey lower down pitch 6

Casey is always psyched!

Thanks for all the help and support!

- Luke

Mental Training with Arno Ilgner

Tips 1 Response »

Mar 082013

This past weekend Lizzy and I attended a Committing and Falling workshop put on by Arno Ilgner at Planet Granite in Sunnyvale. The class was a little over four hours long and went over a condensed set of drills and techniques for improving mental strength. Over the years I’ve learned that your mental skills are just as important as your physical ability and I was excited to learn some new ways to improve my climbing. It was great to have this at our home gym and the ratio of eight students to two instructors, (Jeff was our co-instructor) seem just about right.

The main reason I wanted to attend this class is because I am not very comfortable with falling. More specifically, I really struggle with starting out on a section of climbing that I am not confident I can complete. While I have been trying to take steps in the right direction, this class taught me specific methods for overcoming these issues.

After a brief introduction the class started with a series of falling drills to get us comfortable with the idea of letting go, falling through the air and trusting our belayer. We did nearly 20 falls from different heights and it was really awesome how fast the practice helped make me more comfortable. There were also specific items, like posture and looking at the ground (as soon as you start falling), that we worked on during the drills. You don’t simply want to go limp and slam into the wall when you fall. The takeaway here is that practice should be done often to help our mind relax and trust the system. As well, practice teaches our body how to impact the wall without injury.

After our falling training, we worked on commitment and how to focus our attention while climbing. The biggest “ah ha” moment, for me, was in this part of the course. I often second guess myself and spend more time up and down climbing instead of committing. One good question that Arno asked, in preparation for our challenge route, was “what do we do in Yes fall situations?”. The answers is that we climb and we don’t listen to any voices of doubt in our head. When you are safe, go for it and commit since your body knows how to climb.

By breaking down a climb in to rests and “climbing” sections you will already have evaluated the risks before you start climbing. While climbing (versus resting) you should stick to your plan, work on flow and intuitive movement, and not think or re-evaluate. Once you come to the next rest stance you can evaluate the next section (yes or no fall terrain) and then start moving again. A few good thing for the belayer to ask: “Are you Resting or Climbing?” “Are you Thinking or Moving?”. Both of these questions go hand and hand an helped me to work on execution once I have evaluated the risk.

Listening to Jeff for one of our debriefs.

In addition to the tips that we received in class, Lizzy and I both took home a copy of Arno’s Espresso lessons book. One of the sections I read stuck with me in terms of the perceptions of our climbing. The rough idea from the book is that we are often too quick to say we have “failed” when we fall off of a climb. It is more productive if we can learn from each fall. By focusing on learning, each fall is a new opportunity to evaluate the circumstances that caused us to come off the route. Arno really emphasized, in class, that we look at the exact instant we fall and determine how much was caused by mental issues (lack of commitment, fear, etc) or physical issues(bad sequence, pump, poor footwork). In almost all cases, Arno said, some small mental issue is holding us back. We may not be able to totally eliminate this issue, but we can reduce it’s impact on our climbing.

It can help with motivation when falling of your project can be seen as a good thing and a learning experience. I had a senerio where this came into play a few weeks back in Yosemite. I was working on America’s Cup, at the cookie cliff, and had done all of the hard climbing on top rope. On my first lead attempt I didn’t get through the crux but fell off trying. Since the fear of falling is a known weakness I was very happy with my performance. The gear was small and by falling of I tested the system and convinced myself that I was in a “yes fall” zone. On my next attempt I was able to push harder physically since my mind was at ease, having “practiced” the fall that I would take. I was able to send the route and this was as much a mental victory as a physical one.

Below is a video of my challenge route. This was a red point effort and had two hard bouldery sections. In the audio Arno goes over a few of the things that I should be working on while climbing. Having watched the video I did well committing to a high stopping position, but I should have climbed the entire of the way to the top afterwards. Even though I did send the route, I wasted energy by taking mini breaks on the poor holds leading up to the finish.

I was a fan of the course, and while the time window was short I learned many way to improve my climbing. It is very helpful to have a framework to remember all of the various mental tips that they brought up in the course. Even if you have read Arno’s books, it is good to take action and do the drills. I would readily recommend this course to other people and enjoyed working with Arno and Jeff.

- Luke

Searching for direction in Yosemite

Notes, Trip Reports No Responses »

Feb 282013

One goal from 2012 was to spend the glorious Rocktober in Yosemite. So when Fall came around I refused to do anything else and managed to get four weekends in a row of time in the Valley. Yet with all this time I lacked a direction for my season. 2011 was focused on climbing Astro-Man and that singular goal allowed me to focus my energy and climb an amazing route. In 2012 it seemed that I was just shopping around. I was unwilling to commit to any new single pitch projects, saving them for potential onsights, and unsure my fitness was adequate to start putting any serious effort into the Phoenix.

Ron Kauk on Hotline, Elephant Rock via Patagonia.com

Luckily there is an overwhelming number of routes on my “to-do” list and I spent the end of 2012 checking out new places and climbs. The middle of September was my first time back in the Valley when Gordon, a friend from college, visited for a weekend. Despite some warm temps we made the death march up the cathedrals gulley and climbed the Higher Cathedral Spire via the Regular Route. This route was the first of many to offer killer views of Yosemite from slightly more off the beaten path.

I have spent a good number of days, at the Cookie Cliff, staring across at Elephant Rock. It was time to stop waiting to check out Hotline and Fatal Mistake (the white splitter to the right of the climber in the photo above). Fatal Mistake was first up and the most common method is to climb Pink Dream, which is around the corner, and rappel in. I assumed that Pink Dream would be just another forgettable climb but it had super quality cracks!! The two pitches have a variety of jamming and the second pitch is a tricky off-width, sandbagged at 5.10a. I really enjoyed the Pink Dream and Fatal Mistake was excellent as well. Between the two climbs you will do over 100 feet of #3 camalots, so you better be dialed on that size!

Leading the second Pitch OW on Pink Dream

For Hotline I partnered up with Jonathan Guy and we swapped leads up yet another splitter route. The cracks on Elephant rock offer high quality jamming and Hotline demands proficiency at off-fingers and thin hands. I was yet again impressed by the route and even though the cruxes spit me off, I will be back for another attempt.

Later in the season during a warm November weekend I managed to climb Hardd and Crack A-Go-Go at the ever popular Cookie Cliff to nearly finish off the cliff’s 5.11 trad routes. It has been fun to get to know the Cookie Cliff and climb many of it’s fabulous routes. There are cracks of all sizes and I also got to try a hidden treasure called Vendetta. This overlooked climb has a phenomenal second pitch which is mostly 5″ hand and fist stacking. The off-width aficionado in our group, Sonia, lead this climb and I happily followed it. I’ll be back to lead this and the most famous off-width at the Cookie, Twilight Zone, in 2013!

Looking up at the crazy chimney pitch on the Gold Wall

The grand finale for the 2012 Fall season was a trip up the first seven pitches of Silent Line on the Gold Wall. This towering route is in the Ribbon Falls amphitheater and grants a spectacular perspective on Yosemite. Steve and I climbed this route in December and were rewarded with t-shirt weather on the south facing wall. The first two pitches are slow with a bolt ladder and some awkward wide free climbing or aiding. The rest of the route follows fun wide hands crack with an exciting tunnel through chimney pitch. The route goes into the sun early and bakes on the typical California day, making it perfect for “winter” ascents.

Looking out from the window of the chimney crawl.

Hopfully everyone had a great fall. It was great to climb a wide variety of routes and I learned that it helps to set specific goals to help me find direction for the climbing season.

- Luke

Striking Gold in the Shadow of Basket Dome

Trip Reports 2 Responses »

Feb 202013

The beautiful East face of Basket Dome

It all started with a tale of a grand route on Basket Dome. I went on a run, to check it out, and see what gems were hidden in the Yosemite backcountry. I found the mega-route, Milestone, and explored the surrounds for other potential lines. I ended getting a bit lost, and took something like the blue line in the photo below, which is not recommended. On the plus side my run took me past the small dome on the right, that I have come to call Acorn Dome. Acorn Dome had a few cool looking lines so I knew I would be back to investigate later in the summer.

Basket Dome Overview

It’s hard to describe all of the reasons I seek out First Ascents. Perhaps it is the dream of establishing the perfect multipitch route with tricky cruxes and spacious belay ledges. I have only done a small number new routes and I am still learning what makes them exciting and meaningful. The draw of natural features is obvious and I saw a soaring dihedral on the right side of Acorn Dome. It begged to be climbed! Unfortunately further inspection showed that inside of the dihedral was sealed and would not take any gear. On the left side of the dome I had seen a long dike feature on xRez which appeared to be continuous and potentially climbable. Over the following weeks, and months I took many trips back to Acorn Dome and established a total of seven pitches between two routes.

The beautiful golden dike on pitch two of the Miwok Dike

Looking back down from midway up the second pitch.

The most obvious line, and first to be climbed was the five pitch Miwok Dike. This route follows an obvious golden dike for two mega pitches, surrounded by easier slabby climbing. The route is steeper than it appears in photos and you often end up laybacking and pinching the dike to make progress. The majority of the climbing on pitches two through four is bolt protected with a few gear placements on the third pitch. The third pitch requires a full sixty meters of rope and has a gamut of movement from easy friction and an exciting mantel to dike hiking. Pitch by pitch beta is at the end of the post.

Casey on the Miwok Dike with Half Dome lurking in the background.

During my time equipping the Miwok Dike, I noticed a line of large knobs leading up to the pitch two belay. I followed these down and found an exciting series of scoops, flakes and crystal features that continued for 70 meters back to the base. This stretch of climbing was much harder than the Miwok Dike. With occasional gear placements, this crystal streak turned into a two pitch direct start for the Miwok Dike, called the Staircase of Frozen Tears.

Casey sets up for a cruxy mantel on Pitch Three

Perhaps the best thing about climbing on Acorn Dome is the scenery. You are surrounded by huge cliffs and the vertical relieve down into Tenaya Canyon is massive. I think you can occasionally make out people on the cables of Half Dome, but don’t expect to see any other people in the area or on the route. It was a sweet adventure exploring the unknown and spending time figuring out these two lines.

Casey at the crux on Pitch One of Staircase of Frozen Tears

Neither of these routes are perfect but they helped me understand the life-cycle of how bigger routes get established. Without a crack-line to follow, some of the route direction is up to the developer. In some places the sequence is obvious and too cool to skip, like the mantel in a photo above. Other times it is tricky to find the line of least resistance when faced with blank slab. There are divided schools of thought in regard to adventure routes, versus mellow ones and bolting these climbs made me think a lot about climbing style.

Casey starts of on the second pitch of Frozen Tears

Casey starts off on the second pitch of Frozen Tears

Perhaps my next routes will have a bit more spice, but for now I’m happy that I can recommend these routes without hesitation. Both routes are perfect for people trying to break into slab climbing, and are not yet comfortable with huge runouts found on many Yosemite and Tuolumne slabs. Getting to Acorn Dome or Basket Dome is an adventurous and well off the beaten path. Once you start climbing you will find that both of these routes are well protected and do not require bold-school talent.

Casey tops out on the Miwork Dike with Cloud's Rest in the background.

Casey tops out on the Miwok Dike with Cloud’s Rest in the background.

Go have a look, I doubt you will be disappointed!

- Luke

Route Beta:

Acorn dome is a slabby apron of rock that resides between Basket Dome and Mount Watkins. It is close to the East Face of Basket dome and best approached via the North Dome Trail from Porcupine Flat.

It should take 1.5 to 2 hours to approach the top of Acorn Dome. The first three miles are on the well maintained North Dome trail. The final .75 miles are cross country travel downhill to the top of Acorn Dome.

From the three mile mark, which is the first uphill after the split for Indian rock, head left across a sandy meadow. Continue into tall trees and walk parallel to a marsh/creek. In Late Spring/Summer/Fall the stream bed is dry and offers direct and fairly easy passage downhill towards Acorn and Basket Dome. You can also try to link up the various clearings, but I found the creek bed to be the fastest route.

After 20 or so minutes following the creek bed, at steep section, cut left directly towards the NW Face of Half dome (which is occasionally visible through the trees). This point is hard to find and perhaps needs a cairn. If you are unsure, the best solution is to hike further since the creek bed eventually becomes impassable. Follow the path of least resistance, directly towards Half Dome, through occasional manzanita, until you reach a nice sandy meadow with a very large fallen tree, and some sawed off tree stumps. You should have a spectacular view of Half Dome and the East Face of Basket Dome should be on your right.

Go towards Basket Dome and descend a steep section of logs and manzanita, dropping about 100 feet. From here you can see the top of Acorn Dome. There are a few trees on the summit of Acorn dome and some grainy white rock.

There are two options to get to the base of Acorn Dome.

Recommended Option: With two ropes you can rappel the Miwok Dike (4 Raps). Two anchors will need to be built so you will need, a cordelette, some slings and a few extra cams (1-2 finger sized plus #.75, #1 camalots). These anchors will be retrieved on your way back up.

Walk/scramble down about 200 feet from the top of the dome until you can sling a large boulder (seen just to the left of Casey in the photo above and described in the photo below).

1. Rappel ~40 meters to a fixed nut on the skiers left (i.e. towards Mt. Watkins). Build a gear anchor.

2. Rappel 40-50 meters to the skiers right to a bolted anchor atop P3 of the Miwok dike.

3. Rappel a FULL 60m to the P2 anchor (still trending to the right).

4. Rappel a FULL 60 meters and swing right to a small stance. 20-40 feet of easy 5th class down-climbing leads to the base. A full 70 meter rappel will put you on the ground. This rappel skips the P1 anchor of the Miwok dike since it is far off to the side, and not equipped for rappelling.

Second option: Skirt around the east side of Acorn dome (towards Mt. Watkins). This gulley is fully of manzanita without a clear or continuous trail but requires only one rope. Once you reach the toe of Acorn dome, traverse 500′ further along the base. Eventually you will need to go up about 50-100 feet to a higher tier where you can start the Miwok Dike or the Staircase of Frozen Tears.

GPS Approach Beta:

Miwok Dike:

Rack: Single set of cams from yellow alien to #2 Camalot. 18 draws/slings

P1. 5.8 – 25m – 0 bolts

From the ground climb a left facing corner past the start of the Staircase of Frozen Tears, a bolted crystal dike. Traverse left until you reach a short chimney/slot with a few tricky moves. Mantel up onto a small ledge with a two bolt anchor. This pitch has no bolts unless you clip the first bolt of SoFT before traversing left.

P2. 5.10c – 50m – 18 bolts.

Slab and dike climb up from the anchor following the obvious dike feature, 5.9. When the wall gets steep you can continue up the dike at 5.10c or you can step right, past a shiny bolt to climb an easier flake. This keeps the grade at 5.10a and protects with a finger sized piece.

Pitch Two Beta

Keep climbing up the dike past one more hard sequence before the angle lessens. Scamper up the corner past ample protection until you must step right across the face to a small ledge with a two bolt belay.

P3. 5.10b – 60m – 13 bolts

Easy moves off the belay past a few bolts lead to a gear placement and a steep wall. Clip a high bolt and do a cruxy mantel to gain the dike. Walk the dike to the right, past a flake for gear, until you have to make another tricky bolt protected move. The climbing quickly eases in difficulty as you gain a huge horizontal dike that you traverse to the right. Leave the dike and slab climb another 30 feet to a sloping ledge and a two bolt belay.

P4. 5.7 – 40 m – 9 bolts

Easy slab moves off the belay lead to a short crux on steeper terrain. Push on up the slab past increasingly spaced bolts until it is best to traverse right across to a corner and a gear belay at a fixed nut.

P5. 5.8 – 40 m – 0 bolts

Climb the easy corner and then a slab up to a 6 foot stretch of manzanita, 5.4. Fight your way through the “jungle” and walk up until you hit a steep face. Chimney up a crack on the right side. Eventually you will be stemming and need to step right to a very short handcrack. A awkward mantle, protected by a #2 camalot, leads to easier ground and a belay with a cordelette around a large boulder.

Staircase of Frozen Tears:

Rack: Two each Blue and Green Alien plus single set of cams from Yellow Alien to #2 Camalot. 15 draws/slings

This is a two pitch direct start to the Miwok Dike. It shares the first 10 feet with Miwok dike before shooting straight up the face for ~70 meters in two pitches.

P1. 5.10c – 40m – 15 bolts Easy crack climbing leads to a tricky sequence to get established on the face. Its best to climb up to the left and then traverse across at the first bolt. Crimp and slab your way up the crystal covered dike until the holds run out below the arch. Move right initially past a bolt before cracks open up for thin finger sized gear (you can place between 1-4 cams). Continue traversing right with difficulty, 5.10c, until you reach another streak of crystals that allows you to gain elevation. A sequence of easier moves past bolts leads to a slab crux, 5.10-. The pitch ends at a poor stance with a two bolt anchor.

P2. 5.10c – 30m – 15 bolts Very closely spaced bolts lead off the belay and protect the crux of this pitch. Pulling through on the bolts is possible if you can’t work out the tricky slab moves. Follow a rising traverse to the right past small knobs and divots. Once past the slick water streak climb up and link the various large knobs on the face, sometimes climbing off to the side and then back to the bolt line. Once the knobs disappear work back to the left and up the slab and occasional edges to the P2 anchor of Miwok Dike. Rappel the route or continue up Miwok Dike to the summit.

If descending with one rope a 70m is mandatory and you will need to swing left at the bottom and down climb 5.2. Both anchors are equipped for rappelling, unlike the P1 anchor for the Miwok Dike.

New routes on Acorn Dome

Goals for 2013

Notes 2 Responses »

Feb 152013

It seems that every other year I end up writing down some specific goals. Sometimes it helps even if I can’t do everything on the list. From bolts, to running and climbing here are my goals for 2013!

Update bolts and hardware on at least 8 routes.

ASCA Bolt Photo

Climb in the Whitney region.

Climb at Calaveras dome.

Spend more time projecting in Yosemite.

Dave Schultz on The Stigma

Hidetaka Suzuki on The Phoenix. Photo by Bob Gains

Climb at least one of the following:

West Face of El Capitan
Pegasus on Quarter Dome
The Crucifix on Higher Cathedral Rock
The South Face of Mount Watkins
Any route on Liberty Cap

Liberty Cap route list: (1) Passport to the Sky, V 5.11d A1 (2) Scarface, V 5.8 A3 (3) West Buttress, V 5.10 A3 (4) The Patriot Act, V 5.9 A3+ (5) Southwest Face, V 5.8 C3 (6) Direct Southwest Face, VI 5.10 A3+ (7) Turkey Shoot, V 5.9 A3 Route lines and info courtesy Josh Mucci & Joe Hornof

Run 1000 miles over the year.

Complete a marathon or ultra (mountain runs count).

Gain over 100,000 feet of elevation. (Climbs not included)

Increase leg speed and run a “fast” road half-marathon.

What are your goals for 2013?

- Luke

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