TR: Spring Break...[2/3] T-Wall and Sunset Park
Todd Mummert
Part 2.. Chattanooga, Tradman, and Rain
Wed 03/26/97
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We've been climbing for four days straight, so today's our rest day.
Well, maybe not, since the weather looks so nice. The area has dried
off quickly from the thundershowers, the sun is out, it's a great day
to be climbing. I think about just going up to T-Wall and pointing
out the various climbs I remember from last year, but then realize I'm
not about to make that approach without climbing something. So all
the gear goes back into my pack, and I haul it up the approach trail
to T-Wall. This approach certainly is a nice warm-up, as I reach the
top all hot to climb.
The first lead of the day is Chris's, for whom I pick out 'Passages'
(5.8 ***). This turns out to be a very good choice as the climbing is
more difficult than he has attempted to lead before. Even though he
finds a strenuous layback variation to climbing through the initial
part of the dihedral, he gets to the top without falling. His gear
placements are quite good, though somewhat sparse near the top. I
follow using mostly the left face and some jamming sequences. We
setup the rappel from the fixed slings around a nearby pine tree and
rap back to the ground.
I've decided to do 'Superslide' (5.10b ***) next, though I keep
waffling about leading it rather than doing it on toprope. It's
located on the fall-line of the rope we just descended. After some
thought, I wuss out and decide to top-rope the route. However, in
hopes of leading it in the future, I take a full rack of gear and
place pieces as I climb. My first four pieces are all micronuts, but
I'm confident they'd hold a fall if called upon to do so. Protection
goes to larger pieces toward the top, though there are some short
runouts at places. I lower down -- upset with myself for not leading
it. Maybe next time. Chris takes his time on the route, but also
manages to top-rope and clean this climb without a fall. While on
this route, Katherine -- whom we met at the Red River Gorge, and who
lives in Chattanooga when not away at school -- walks by with Scott,
who initially got her started climbing. She takes me up on my offer
to try this climb on top-rope and she polishes it off with ease.
Once finished, she and Scott head off to do 'Golden Locks' (5.8+ ***),
a classic route I had done the previous year. While hanging out in
the area of the previous two climbs, I'd been eyeing a bolted arete to
the right. A quick glance in the guidebook shows me it's 'Don't Tell
a Soul' (5.10d *). There appears to be a bail biner about two-thirds
of the way up the route, so with booty in mind and the warning at
hand, I wisely choose to carry a set of HB quadcams up with me in case
I needed them. This turns out to be a very nice route, with
well-placed bolts and a committing crux that forces one to choose the
steeper side of the arete. After collecting the bail biner, I see
what had bothered the previous climber. The bolts stop here, buddy.
Fortunately, I have planned for this contigency and with a few gear
placements head up on easier ground to the top. Chris seconds and
cleans the route, falling a couple times at the crux.
We go to find Scott and Chris over at 'Golden Locks' where Scott has
finished leading the route, finding the jams very solid in contrast to
his previous experience with the route. I remember feeling very
uncomfortable with them the previous year too. Katherine is on the
route, and having a bit of trouble but refuses to fall. I decide to
lead 'Cake Walk' (5.10a ***), a route I had top-roped the previous
year. I lead it very quickly, remembering that there were good holds
on the route and just committing to the crux moves knowing that those
holds would be there. Katherine says she might want to climb it on
top-rope, so I spend a couple of minutes setting up a bomb-proof
anchor at the top. Chris falls once while moving up over the
small roof, probably the crux of the climb, but then finishes
the climb with relative ease.
In the failing light, Katherine declines to top-rope the climb, so we
break it down and head back down the trail to the cars. Katherine has
offered us a room at her parents' house and we gladly accept. Her
father fixes us some delicious burgers on the grill, and after our
first shower of the trip, we're feeling quite human again. I make
some quick phone calls to arrange to meet Tradman, whom I had blown
off the previous year in my rain-shortened trip to T-Wall and Foster
Falls.
Thu 03/27/97
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Our plan was to get up early and head back to T-Wall, where I wanted
to try a harder trad lead. I was hoping to do 'Finger Locking Good'
(5.10b/c ***), a wonderful looking splitter finger crack to the left
of one the Excellence climbs. However, after a good nights sleep, I
had no burning desire to make that approach solely for a single climb.
Instead, we wander around Chattanooga stopping at the downtown
outdoors store, Rock Creek Outfitters. I actually manage to walk out
without buying anything, as I couldn't think of anything I really
needed on my rack. Maybe it's time to take up aiding or ice climbing.
Chris picks up one of the Petzl Attache locking biners; a biner I
highly recommend for belay duty.
Around noon, I give Forrest (Tradman) a call as planned, and we agree
to meet at a local Krystal's and then he'll show us the way to Sunset
Park. Due to prior net reports, we were prepared for the 4runner with
the personalized plates and email address on the back window. He
leads us up to Sunset Park, where he drops his truck off at the
ballfield, and we all ride up to the parking area where I take up the
last available slot.
I want to give Chris another easy lead, so I suggest 'Blonde Ambition'
(5.7 ***) which Forrest says is a great route but is located quite a
distance away. We have a great time chatting on the way to the climb,
with Forrest pointing out numerous nice climbs -- way too many for me
to keep track of. 'Blonde Ambition' turns out to be a nice way to
start the day, with mellow climbing in a great setting, overlooking a
wide valley. Chris has no problem leading this route. At one point,
it takes him a while to find a solid placement in a fair-sized alcove,
but I think it was about as good as he was going to get at that point.
I second and clean fairly quickly, and Forrest declines to repeat the
route. He does say he wouldn't mind getting on one of the 5.9s we
passed a short ways back up the trail.
Our next climb is thus 'Liberty Bell' (5.9 ***). This climb starts
with big jugs out a small roof, then you weasel your way out through a
slot and onto the face. I get the lead and am doing real well until
the slot -- ok, so I'm only ten feet off the ground. I have two good
pieces in, and I keep moving up and trying the holds on the left side
of the slot. I back off it a couple of times, downclimbing back to an
ok rest. I find the good hold on the left side of the slot, but am
very uncomfortable swinging my left foot up and around onto the face.
So I swing it halfway up, falling over backwards flashes through my
mind, so I swing it back down. Now I'm hunched up, with both my arms
locks off at 90 degree angles and I can't find a way out of this
predicament. I believe I manage to get out, "Umm, I think I'm in
trouble here.", before giving in and falling onto my placements. The
top piece holds and I end up about two feet off the ground for the
second time this trip. On one hand, I'm upset about climbing so
poorly in front of this 'net acquaintance, but on the other I'm
ecstatic that the gear worked. Prior to this I'd choose to hang on a
piece when I got tired, rather than climbing above it and falling.
There was also a bad incident at Pilot Mountain involving the smallest
CCH Alien, poor rock, and a groundfall from 15' up that put me in an
emergency room for six hours. So this was the first time I'd
unintentionally fallen onto gear that actually held. I've fallen
intentionally onto pieces that were N-ways redundant and in known good
rock while learning to place gear, but this single piece stopping me
from whacking the ground was a great confidence booster. I jump back
on the climb, this time getting my head up high enought that I can
actually see into the slot where I spy a bomber finger jam in a
horizontal on the right side of the slot. This jam and better
footwork make the move onto the face downright easy. The rest of the
climb is great, moderate climbing with plentiful gear placements.
Neither Chris nor Forrest have any problems coming up after me, and
after lowering Chris, Forrest and I find a tree with slings from which
my 60m rope will reach the ground.
Forrest has to head out in order to get his son to baseball(?)
practice in time, so we make plans to call him about dinner later and
we choose our next climb, 'Wind Walker' (5.9 ***). This climb is
located immediately left of the previous and heads up to a small roof,
and then up a somewhat sparsely protected slab to the top. I find
this climb much easier than the former, and the runout is not bad at
all since it's relatively easy ground. Chris seconds and cleans with
only a little difficulty at the roof because he forgot to remove the
pro before climbing past it.
Feeling great about gear actually working, I decide to try 'Train Time
Direct' (5.11b ***) which is a full number grade harder than anything
I'd attempted to lead on gear before. If things turn really bad, I
could opt out and do 'Train Time' (5.10a ***). I get up to the thin
crack where the direct line lies with little problem, and the gear
below me is great. I get a pretty good nut in, and try some real
shaky fingerlocks to move up the crack. Pop! and I'm airborne again.
Woo woo! This stuff is really working today. Back up to the crack
and I layback the shallow the right corner instead which works well.
Halfway through the thin section, I decide to place some gear, and
manage to get a small wallnut in a secure placement. The fact that
the cable size was quite small was a little disconcerting, but I
pressed on. Pumped from stopping to place this piece, I come off a
little ways above it. Yes! Even this little stuff works. But as
long as I'm hanging I place a second piece to backup the small stopper
before moving on. I finally find the correct sequence and get to a
great hand/wrist jam from which I can place a bomber piece. The rest
of the climbing was a blast, though I ran it out to the top before
remembering to stop and place a piece. I'd taken quite a while on the
route, so Chris heads up with darkness nipping at his heels. After he
falls a couple of time at the thin section, I suggest he climb the
rope to the next piece of gear where I could then take up the slack.
I feel badly that he had to do so, but the moves were quite technical
and it was getting dark quickly. He forgot the nut tool at the
bottom, and can't free the two pieces onto which I fell, but he makes
short work of the top section. I have him lower me, while I attempt
to clean the pieces. A couple of hefty jerks and I free both of the
placements, though I bend the cable on the small stopper. It
straightens back out easily, so I assume it's ok. None of the strands
appear broken. Chris raps off in what remains of our light and we
pack up and head up the trail in the dark.
On the way in, we'd been talking with Forrest and didn't notice how
far we'd actually walked to reach the first climb. Finally, we come
to the Point overlook and from there it was just a moderate uphill
slog to my truck. Despite my many falls, this was the day I best
remember from the trip. I feel much more confident about my gear
placements after actually having to use them.
I call Forrest at home, and find out that he's already left for the
Big/River/City (choose any two) Grill, and is waiting for us there.
After getting three different sets of directions from people, we
finally close in on our destination and locate the restaurant.
Inside, Forrest, his wife Melinda, and son Lee are waiting and have
just been called to their table as we arrive. The restaurant has
excellent ribs, with the meat just sliding off the bone. The blue
corn enchiladas were also very good and everyone seemed happy with
their food.
During dinner, Melinda offers us their floor to sleep on, and I
initially decline but then accept as it will give me a chance to check
my email. Ok, I admit it, I was going through email and netnews
withdrawl. Leaving the restaurant, I persuade Lee to ride in my truck
assuming that if we got seperated from Forrest, Lee could get us all
back to the house. Actually, it also prevented Forrest from running
away and ditching us, since we now held his son hostage. Bwahahahaha.
Lee spent the entire ride entertaining us with riddles, some of which
were new, and some of which I hadn't heard in decades, making me
realize how old I'm getting. We spent a very nice night indoors and
safe from the rain, and 280 mail messages later I was caught up with
the rest of the world.
Fri 03/28/97
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We awake to rain, so instead of Forrest taking us to an area known as
the Dihedrals, we finally say our goodbyes and head out to the areas
largest mall (Hampton Place or something like that), located just a
few miles north on I-75 from the I-64 interchange. I would have liked
to have headed back north right away and maybe get some climbing in
the following day at the Red River Gorge, but with an amazing lack of
foresight I had dropped a couple rolls of film off at K-Mart for
24hour developing so I had to stay in town until 6pm or so.
Nothing spectacular at the mall, I get out without buying anything
other than food. I stop by a Nissan dealership and buy a few things
I'd been looking for for my truck -- a spare tire cover, and one of
the plastic inserts for the alloy wheels. Finally, we head back to
K-Mart where my pictures are now ready. I then begin the drive back
to the Gorge.
Rain, rain, and more rain. I drive through a lot of rain, and it's
fairly heavy at times. It's raining hard as we pass through
Winchester, KY so I decide not to head to the Gorge but to push on to
the New instead. The rain is really heavy at times, and my tires
should be replaced soon, but by shifting into 4WD I'm quite safe and
am making pretty good time. However, driving in this downpour takes
its toll on my nerves, and I finally, wisely, decide to pull into a
rest area and sleep in the truck until morning.