The Chief wrote:Whatever happened to the days that you just tie into a rope with a buddy, go fking climb something that you can do without killing yourselves and having fun at it. Oh, and not ticking off some ego list.

Unfkingbelievable......

x15x15 wrote:two types of climbers... those with lists, and those looking for adventure...

No there are two types of climbers- those that are a-holes and those that are not. Good thread among members of a community up until now.

jpsmyth wrote:No there are two types of climbers- those that are a-holes and those that are not. Good thread among members of a community up until now.

Which group do you fall into? To state the obvious, the issue with public posts is that others may express a contrary opinion. That's their right, as it was your's. It's a free country. But, if the OP got the value from the thread he was looking for, why grouse?

tiogap wrote:you say you want to do these routes this fall. I don't know if this is possible on your part, but if you can get to Indian Creek this spring, you will really be able to dial in your crack technique. I climbed for many years in the Valley, and found the cracks in IC to be harder.

Its just what you are used to. When I was a granite whore I found IC hard , but now I'm a sandstone whore and find granite harder. Go figure.


Getting mileage and lots of it is good advise. The concept of all falls are bad, I question. In the past I was of that camp but at some point falls are common place. You have to just understand where a fall in inconcievable and where one is perfectly fine. The beginning of the first pitch of Serenity Crack and the end of the third pitch (unless you sew it up with green c3 size pieces) are such positions. The end of the first pitch and the second pitch of Serenity Crack are places where falls SHOULDN'T be an issue.

a) get amazing at gear placement and be absolutely critical about your placements. Do some aid climbing and bounce test your placements. It will teach you a lot. A bad piece is as bad or worse then no piece. There is no reason trhat in 90%of the situations that you should ever have a piece of gear pull. In 38yrs I've had 3 pieces pull, and one of them someone else had placed and I knew it was bad and I was in the process of replacing it with a better piece.

b) understand when you are in a no fall situation and try to get gear in if possible. It's not always possible and you have to then make critical decisions about is the risk a good risk for YOU today or is it a bad risk. The book "Rock Warriors Way" discusses this in a very good manner.

Climb with people who are better then you arwee and accept critisism constructively. No one is perfect and everyone can improve themnselves. Climbing with people who climb harder then you are day in a nd day out can help you with a mental shift.

b)

I just did two routes on Lower Brother (not in SuperTopo)...Absolutely Free Center (5.9) and Positively 4th Street (5.9). Didn't see another soul and both had great protection. Positively 4th Street is literally 5 min from the car and an easy rap-off.

Tom Fralich wrote:I just did...Positively 4th Street (5.9). Didn't see another soul and both had great protection. Positively 4th Street is literally 5 min from the car and an easy rap-off.

I mentioned that one earlier. Next time you're there do Maple Jam (10a) too.

The Chief wrote:Whatever happened to the days that you just tie into a rope with a buddy, go fking climb something that you can do without killing yourselves and having fun at it. Oh, and not ticking off some ego list.

Unfkingbelievable......

Coming from the king of humbleness himself.

I know abstract ideas such as the use of the term 'drainage' challenge you, Chief, so I won't go into why lists can helpful aids in working towards goals and have nothing inherently to do with ego.

Frankly, if I can be safer and more prepared with some planning and research, especially in well-traveled areas, then I consider it kind of dumb to not ask around if I really care about (safely) pushing myself hard and making good use of my limited time in the Valley. Taking the time to plan ahead & research routes has not in any way conflicted with me climbing more or climbing harder. In fact it has really helped me work my way up to gaining the skills & experience needed to tackle some of the routes that I wanted to do. For books such as the Reid guide, asking for opinions makes it a lot easier to figure out what climbs I want to do since it gives very little information on a climb for making such a decision. I like my adventure too, but there is plenty of that to be had on less traveled routes. Being planful and methodical has worked very well for me this past year for making good use of my time on the rock and staying safe, and the point of my OP is to find safe climbs to start on to break into or work up into a grade.

Thanks again to those who are kind enough to share recommendations that don't come through in a brief guidebook excerpt. The Brothers are looking pretty tempting to check out soon!

On a side note -

Circuit Breaker (5.11b) is great for working powerful finger crack technique, is close to Curry Village, and is easy to TR. It kind of reminds me of Sherrie's Crack on steroids.

Generator Crack (5.10c) is good for training different wide techniques on TR if you focus on it in 3 different sections with 2 distinct cruxes. Nice to climb by lowering down from the top to work each progressively harder section before trying the whole thing. Top 1/3 works 5.9 squeeze technique. Middle 1/3 works classis OW technique of armbars, chickenwing rests, leg cams & foot stacking. Bottom third is a lot more physical and I've found an armbar with a gaston while focusing on camming the feet in the crack works pretty well. The climb goes easier if you switch directions going up (great to practice on TR!) and has excellent rests if you work on finding them.

Churchbowl Terrace ( 5.8 ) is good for working on your flaring chimney technique, can be well protected, and is easy to TR after climbing Churchbowl Chimney. For extra fun climb further out from the inside crack.

The Remnant, Right (5.7) is good for working on chimneys and your head space for running it out on easy ones since the first piece of pro is a ways up there.

Central Pillar of Frenzy (5.9) is also a great one for working fingers to fists & some squeeze at well-protected & safe 5.9. Just don't do this one in peak season unless you're solid at 5.9 or else you'll back up the route (it's a crowded one!).

Peruvian Flake (5.10a) is a pretty easy & well-protected .10a fingers. A good starter route.

The Surprise (5.10a) is also a good first 5.10a lead with sustained 5.9-5.10a fingers (depending on the Reid or ST guide) and a 5.10a reach across. The climb is well protected and falling at the crux is safe, as I learned when I ripped a small flake off on the reach across

Moby Dick, Center (5.10a) is a stellar climb for sustained & well protected 5.9 above the crux (assuming you bring enough #4s or don't mind climbing 20' or so between pieces on the wide crack), but it is probably not a good early .10a to do unless you are very confident in your finger jams since the crux is low, but high enough that you probably want to hang out & place gear in it, and the landing is not a nice one.

Find a climb, and generally two words apply:


Go up.



OR, if it traverses, in the words of Ron Kauk, "High, low, whatever feels right"

So that's what I've been doing wrong! If only it occurred to me to go up, I could be flashing 5.12s on lead by now! I'll go do the Grand Traverse next year and do what feels right rather than reading route info and topos to ensure success on it.

PellucidWombat wrote:So that's what I've been doing wrong! If only it occurred to me to go up, I could be flashing 5.12s on lead by now! I'll go do the Grand Traverse next year and do what feels right rather than reading route info and topos to ensure success on it.

"ensure success" on a climb? Wow, never knew climbing could be so boring...

x15x15 wrote:

PellucidWombat wrote:So that's what I've been doing wrong! If only it occurred to me to go up, I could be flashing 5.12s on lead by now! I'll go do the Grand Traverse next year and do what feels right rather than reading route info and topos to ensure success on it.

"ensure success" on a climb? Wow, never knew climbing could be so boring...

meh, there are plenty of other ways to fail or mess up even when you try to be prepared or be smart. That's why I think it's silly to fail due to something easily remedied. Of course if you're not going out with a serious drive to finish a climb, but just to climb and see what happens, then of course you would define success vs. failure differently and approach it more cavalierly

btw, I don't know if it is just me, but if you TR Ahab, shin guards might be helpful, heheh. I had no issues with the 'dry heaving' that others have experienced on this joy ride, but I did beat the crap out of my knees & shins.

For how I figured out how to climb Ahab, it really tests you on foot bridging & foot stacking techniques and how to get better rests or purchase by rotating your body compared to the line of the rack. The route is also helpful for learning how to rest in a crack barely large enough to bend your legs in (hint - point your toes down and your legs lock nicely into place to rest).