Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

A Scary Little 5.8

1 view
Skip to first unread message

Larry D

unread,
Mar 25, 2003, 2:20:18 PM3/25/03
to
A Scary Little 5.8

A few months back I hooked up with Todd from New York when he was
passing through Las Vegas. He didn't have a lot of time for climbing,
so we headed out to Calico Basin to look at some short routes. Todd was
up to pulling some hard moves but he diplomatically left route selection
up to me. "Well," I reasoned out loud, "there is this route I've had my
eye on, Riding Hood (5.8). The guidebook says something to the effect
that the route DOESN'T LOOK TOO GOOD, but you never know from a
distance. Besides, it is an old John Williamson route, and you can
always count on some good adventure on a John Williamson route. The
route was first done in 1970, back 'when boys were men and men were a
little better.'"

Todd is accommodating, and says OK. As we scramble up to the base,
Todd mentions that as a Gunks climber, he has not polished his crack
technique, so I am welcome to lead the dihedral above. That's fine with
me, so we tie in and I start up. The climbing is easy, but the rock is
kind of soft. Large holds have a tendency to fall off, and small ones
simply disappear in a little cloud of dust. I lead past some bail gear,
but it does not worry me. I've been pretty lucky at retrieving bail
gear from Williamson routes. Soon the dihedral turns into a chimney
with a beachball sized chockstone blocking the way. This does worry me,
so I do a few contortions to pass by without touching it. A short
distance above I set up a belay in an alcove beneath the steep upper
crack.

Todd quickly follows, marvelling at the fragile nature of the rock.
Apparently, back in the Gunks, the expression "solid as a rock" has some
kind of literal meaning. I assure him that much of the Red Rock stone
is of high quality. At this point he has reached a ledge by the
beachball chockstone, and he courteously pauses for me to finish my
sentence. Unfortunately, he gently rests his hand against the
chockstone, which rotates six inches before gaining a new position of
partial stability. To add further entertainment value, its new position
has trapped the rope. There is no sane way to move the boulder, so I
drop him a loop of rope for a new tie-in, and he unthreads the trapped
portion using the sort of care I associate with bomb-squad technicians.
He duplicates my contortions, and joins me at the belay spot.

The route continues straight up a flake on the vertical wall and
reaches the base of the upper dihedral about fifteen feet up. Since the
upper dihedral is where the serious jamming starts, I get to lead this
too. The bad news is that I am stymied by the flake.

"Can't you just lieback up to the main crack?" asks Todd, helpfully.

I'm kind of worried about pulling out on the four-inch thick slice of
petrified mud, and I'm unable to find a combination that won't involve a
quart and half of adrenaline. Todd, who seems to have forgotten the
beachball and the puffs of dust, offers to take a whack at it. I don't
have any better ideas, so we swap ends of the rope. He studies the move
for a moment, then gracefully rises to the dihedral above. He gets a
good cam in the base of it and looks over the next moves. He mentions
that it appears pretty committing for a guy who is not relaxed in
jamcracks. I reason that the dihedral can't be as bad as the flake,
which was certainly 5.8, so after a brief discussion, he turns the lead
back over to me.

The security of the toprope elevates the lieback flake slightly out of
the insane range, but I am still worried that I will pull off a forty
pound chunk of sandstone which will hit me in the face before dropping
down to kill Todd. Tiptoeing as delicately as I can, I shakily reach
the handjam at the bottom of the dihedral. Yikes! It is steep! I
manage a few more jams that feel about 5.9, then it starts to get
tough. Desperately, I try to stem with my right foot, but the optical
illusion I plan to use as a foothold has the structural integrity of
silt with a thin lubricating coating of dried lichen. I opt for
smearing an area that offers the comparative security of plain lichen,
without the silt, and hurl a hex into the only constriction between me
and Jupiter. Strength ebbing, I need to pull up and get a chicken wing
into the now off-width crack above me. The fact that the only usable
handjam is occupied by my number nine hex ensures an ironic end to my
ordeal. Wasted, I sink on to the rope and try to shake the numbness out
of my arms.

Probably as a result of reasoning faculties being impaired by
exhaustion, I somehow conclude that I need to get a cam deep into the
back of the overhanging off-width in order to remove the obstructing
hex. I launch a sequence of agonizing thrutches, massive exertions, and
hopeless aiding and manage, in the short span of 45 minutes, to get two
cams placed in such a fashion that they now completely block the removal
of the hex. Bereft of strength and hope, I lower back to the ledge.

I am thankful that Todd does not openly question my sanity, but it is
difficult to imagine that he does not have serious doubts. Whatever his
thoughts, he gamely ascends to my highpoint and begins the task of
untangling the mess I have made. The difficulty of this job is enhanced
by the geometry of the crack and the mutually obstructing gear
placements. It probably takes him as long to get things taken apart as
it took me to put them together, but he finally succeeds. Beyond that,
he manages to squirm up a few more feet and place the number 4 cam in a
GOOD location. Depleted strength reserves and the ominous off-width
above combine to suggest another lead change, so he descends to our
ledge.

I wryly mention to him that it is rare for a short crag route to
provide such an opportunity for teamwork. It is testimony to his
benevolence that when he smiled in acknowledgement, I detected no
apparent rolling of the eyes. I climb back up, fatigue dulling even the
fear I feel passing the flake. But Todd's work was good, and I manage
to pull myself into the constricted pod where he placed the good cam.
The next moves are not actually easy, but compared to what we have
already been through, they seem like a stroll. Shortly, we are shaking
hands on top.

In the few moments it takes to descend to our packs, I am able to take
a few deep breaths and reflect. We made it! We're uninjured (aside
from a few scrapes and muscle aches). We didn't lose any gear. Todd
listens patiently as enthusiasm overcomes me: "That was amazing! Five
lead changes to climb 40 feet of rock! How can they say this route
doesn't look good? This was MORE than a route-- this was an
EXPERIENCE! How can you beat that? Didn't I tell you that you could
expect a good adventure from a John Williamson route?"

Todd smiled at this point. I can prove it, because I snapped a
picture. I guess Todd's travels have not taken him out west since then,
because for some reason, I never heard from him again.

--Scary Larry

Jason Liebgott

unread,
Mar 25, 2003, 5:00:40 PM3/25/03
to

"Larry D" ...
> A Scary Little 5.8

NICE!!!! Thanks larry.
j.


blyslv

unread,
Mar 25, 2003, 7:10:18 PM3/25/03
to
Thanks for the TR. I'm scratching this one off my tick list...

blyslv

Phil Box

unread,
Mar 25, 2003, 7:33:50 PM3/25/03
to

"Larry D" <retr...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:3E80ABF2...@netscape.net...
> A Scary Little 5.8
Snipped near epic
> --Scary Larry
>
Very nice trip report Larry. Well done on ticking this improbable line
eh.
...Phil...


N42461

unread,
Mar 26, 2003, 12:49:04 AM3/26/03
to
>Larry D wrote:

"That was amazing! Five
lead changes to climb 40 feet of rock! How can they say this route
doesn't look good? This was MORE than a route-- this was an
EXPERIENCE! "

This enters my quote collection. Marvelous!

nathan sweet

Geoff Jennings

unread,
Mar 26, 2003, 10:37:21 AM3/26/03
to
Nominations for the best TR's of 2003..

As thery say in the movie posters "Laugh out Load Funny!"


Larry D <retr...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:3E80ABF2...@netscape.net...

JSJ

unread,
Mar 26, 2003, 7:56:57 PM3/26/03
to
To take another point of view on this TR...

Thank goodness I wasn't in a party waiting behind you to do this
climb. Well, better you guys play here than on one of the area
classics.

=)
Josh

Phil Box

unread,
Mar 26, 2003, 9:06:21 PM3/26/03
to

"JSJ" <josh...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:250c8a42.03032...@posting.google.com...

From my impression of the TR it appears that there aren`t too many who
will be lining up to do this route.

...Phil...


Tim Stich

unread,
Mar 27, 2003, 7:52:01 AM3/27/03
to
"Phil Box" <ddow...@bigpond.net.au> wrote in message news:<x0tga.7918$Ov1....@news-server.bigpond.net.au>...

Not me, that's for sure. I like to avoid chockstones like that one.
Hey, good read there Larry!

-Tim Stich

Mark Heyman

unread,
Mar 29, 2003, 10:15:04 AM3/29/03
to

"JSJ" <josh...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:250c8a42.03032...@posting.google.com...

Just as many others might take it as a warning.

Nice read. I enjoyed it very much.


Mark


0 new messages