September 29, 2005

Hi Folks,

I wouldn't say that I have a fear of heights. I'd say it's more like a healthy respect. But here I was hanging on this single 10.5 mm rope just below the lip of the triangular roof on the Prow and gently twisting in the the light 75 degree breeze. Wryly looking at the quickdraw hanging off a pin in the corner about 3 feet out of reach, I ask my mentor Mark Synnott what to do. He leans over the lip, grins and replies, "You're going to have to lay your body out completely sideways and grovel like the dog you are!"

I've been in a few very exposed situations, some safe some not so safe. However the Prow is a different type of beast, at least to me. For some reason there is very little respite from the feeling that you are "out there." Following the edge of the buttress pretty much all the way up, I never got rid of that "airy" feeling in the back of my mind. The closest thing to it is the pipe pitch on Whitney-Gilman.

I've been slowly dipping my toe into aid climbing this summer. I had a really good lesson with Mark about a month ago and I have gone over to the North End on my own to practicing jugging and placing gear. This day I was going to get a real lesson in seconding and cleaning. Something that I figured would be a good practice for something a bit more ambitious.

We didn't aid the first pitch as it's only about 5.7 or so. Mark just ran up it quickly, hardly placing any gear. I followed easily to the regular belay ledge, tho not quite as quickly as I had all the gear and the tag-line. The next pitch goes up a steep bulge (5.11c or 5.11d) past a couple of bolts to a hand/finger crack. Mark aided the start then lowered back down & worked the moves free. He found an interesting variation to the left that he managed after just a couple of tries. He then got back on aid, zipped right up the next short pitch and then on past the belay to the 3rd belay.

It was very interesting to watch Mark freely switch back and forth between free-climbing and aid, a technique obviously honed by years of practice. It certainly does make the process go faster if you feel OK doing it. I was going to wear approach shoes for the climb, but he had recommended using a pair of comfortable rock shoes. That made it a lot easier to aid, free a bit, French-free and then get back in the stirrups.

It took me a bit of time getting started on cleaning the second pitch. For some reason I didn't get the length of my daisy-chains right and it was a lot harder than it needed to be. Once I got that straightened out and figured how to get past the first bulge, things went a lot smoother. I heard a familiar voice call from over on Thin Air, "Hey, is that Al Hospers?" It was Brad White. "Man you look like a Christmas decoration, " he said. He was probably right.

At the next belay I had to manage the always entertaining lower-out. I'd never done this before so Mark talked me through the process. It wasn't all that bad, once I got over the nervousness about all that slack in the rope! As you lower out onto that right-facing vertical wall the exposure really kicks in. In addition when you get to the top of the face, you have to remove some directional gear, which makes the second, me in this case, swing to the right. Again, it's highly entertaining.

Location, location, location! The next belay is the one below the triangular roof and it's certainly a uniquely cool location. Again you have the drop off to your left and the verticality of the slab that leads up to the roof and its corner in your face. Mark freed the start, aided up to the corner and then freed the roof.

I had some trouble feeding rope out as fast as he wanted with the GriGri and caused him some rope drag under the roof. That's something that I need to work on as I don't normally use a GriGri to belay someone leading free. There was a good tip in one of the climbing mags recently about just this issue. Still he made short impressive work of the roof even tho it is 5.11d.

I followed, much more quickly now that I had finally sorted out my ascenders. When I got to the corner things got much more interesting. I could see the tension on the rope as it went through the draws and I knew I was in for some swinging when I removed the gear. The lower piece was no problem. However when I got to the draw on the pin in the corner I had a conundrum. I couldn't pass the piece because of the draw, and I wanted to avoid unclipping an ascender unless I really had to. Hmmm, it seems as if this was one of those times when I might have to! Oh yeah, did I mention back-tying? Of course I've been tying off the main rope to my harness as I go up on a real regular basis. By doing this I limit my possible fall if something happened to one or both of my ascenders. This was a time when I did it again.

I'm looking at about a 5' outward swing when I unclip the draw from the rope. Of course that's not quite as easy as it looked. with all the tension on the rope it was hard for me to pull in with one hand and unclip the biner from the fully tensioned rope. It took me several tries to get it, and when I did I definitely took a swing. Of course now I'm hanging at the edge of the lip, looking at the pin & draw in the corner and wondering how "this dog" is going to manage getting back in far enough to grab the draw, much less unclip it from the pin. This is when Mark told me I was going to have to grovel. <sigh>

Now was the time to take deep breaths, swing on the rope and lay my body out completely horizontally. My word, that was an experience! But, after 2 or 3 swings I managed to grab the draw and with a pull to take off the tension I was able to unclip the biner from the pin. WHEW, only 12 more feet to go! Mark had placed 2 totally bomber Alien's at the lip of the roof and it took me a few minutes to get them out. Again I was faced with the problem of getting my ascenders over the lip, without undoing them from the rope. This time I was able to rock enough to slide one, then the other over the lip. A few minutes later and I was at the belay. Hammered, but I was there.

We had talked about aiding this last pitch or doing it free. I've actually rapped down & led this pitch many times, so we decided just to free the whole thing. Of course Mark walked it like it was nothing. I was tired, was carrying the tag line on my back plus most of the rack and it took me considerably more effort than usual to get started up the crack, but once past that it was pure fun. I've certainly said it before, but once those tree roots at the top are gone, it's going to go up at least a grade. It's a great pitch with wonderful exposure and I was very happy to finish it off.

We sat up by the tree on the edge and ate peanut butter sandwiches and savored the late-summer afternoon. I was tired, happy I'd crossed a climb off my list that I'd thought about for a long time and ready to head home for the afternoon. Mark, he was trying to talk me into doing another route! <grin>

Selected Ice Conditions effective April 24, 2024
It's all over for 2023/2024.
	Huntington Ravine	OUT
	Repentance	OUT
	Standard Route	OUT
	Dracula	OUT
For the full current conditions report, CLICK HERE

Access To The Ghost Threatened:
The world-class climbing area we know as the Ghost (Canmore, Canadian Rockies) is facing an immediate access threat. There's an online petition that can be signed, but it WILL BE TURNED IN TO THE PROPER AUTHORITIES FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005. That means get on it TODAY to sign! It'll only take a couple minutes...
 
http://www.calgarymountainclub.com/petition.htm
 
You can either just sign the petition, or sign and add comments.

PLEASE HELP!

Adopt A Crag at Cathedral Ledge:
TheAccess Fund's Adopt A Crag will be held at Cathedral Ledge on Saturday October 1st at 9am. The AMC and State Parks will provide some help and tools but we really need YOUR help to make it successful.  The Access Fund has a bunch of goodies to give away also.

The plan:
Sat. October 1st
·Meet at the Kiosk at Cathedral Ledge at 9am
·Bring food,water, work-clothes and tools if you got them.
·Basic trail work- water bars, brush in social trails, etc.

As Ranger Erik says, "Here’s a chance to do something productive  instead of talking about bolts."

Climber’s Gathering In Joshua Tree:
Friends of Joshua Tree will host the 9th annual Climb Smart gathering at Indian Cove group campgrounds from September 30 through October 2, 2005. This is the largest gathering of Southern California’s climbing community, featuring intensive clinics, gear raffles, food and top notch entertainment over the weekend. This year’s event features climbing legend Ron Kauk, along with rock stars Brittany Griffith and Eric Decaria bringing their skills and multimedia presentations to the fore. A revised format includes an open toprope circuit for those who just want to crank all day, then party. Once again, presenting sponsors Adventure 16, Patagonia, Black Diamond and Wilderness Outings are stepping up to provide an abundance of quality gear, guides and excitement.

Remember - climb hard, ride the steep stuff, stay safe and above all BE NICE,