rant warning!
what is up with the trollz in tuolumne taking 45 minutes at belay changeovers???? went to climb OZ on saturday (ya i know bad call to hit a classic on a weekend but we figured people would be competent, so much for making assumpitions) and watched 2 parties take 2 hours each to complete 1, yes O N E complete pitch. embarassing. getting bored after sitting and not wanting to see the mahem get worse we bailed and ran laps on do or fly and used binos to scope hotties at the river.
observations
nobody fell or hangdogged it, so climbing skills were all there...
but just because ur technical skill is sufficient, does that mean you should gumby up a classic climb because you sit around and climb single pitch climbs at that grade rather than LEARN how to climb bigger stuff with EFFICIENCY and SPEED???
belay changovers should take <5minutes. tops. wtf are u doing otherwise?????
all gaper crews had backpacks. BACKPACKS?!?! its a 4 pitch climb! even if u do hobbit book its still a short day...shouldnt u be simuling/soloing HB if u are floatin 10d? me thinks yes. if water/food are in the car u will climb faster, i betcha!
one guy spent a solid 30 minutes BUILDING a belay. ok if u are strung out on day 4 and finished an A4+ R/X pitch and ur belay is crap rurps, flared tipped out microcams all on choss rock, i understand. but in this case, a belay should take 5min MAX. plug, plug, plug, clove clove clove equalize off belay rope up on belay climb.
message to those getting in over their head:
before u hop on a classic HAVE YOUR S$%@# DIALED!!!!
if it takes ur crew longer than an hour per pitch total, you are in over ur head. now if u are workin thru 11+ R, take all the time u need. but on a classic moderate this is unacceptable. get dialed, have more fun, cruise climbs. plenty f training climbs to do this on. what is with people doin climbs without putting in the work needed to cruise em? missin the days when hard work went in to something before reaping rewards. i guess thats what happens when ur taught by old skool dudes who drag u up classic OW climbs and and tell u to get all skills at same level. V6 =/= 10a OW fyi hehehe
lesson
no more weekends in meadows until i climb hard enough to escape trollville. heart of stone was empty despite carloads of trollz on regroute/luckystreaks. bet scariest of them all went un climbed too!!!!!!!!!