|
|
|
|
roughster
May 27, 2002, 8:54 AM
Post #1 of 3
(856 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 3, 2002
Posts: 4003
|
The Road Less Traveled…
“…Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost.
As a modern day rock climber, the unknown paths are becoming fewer and farther between. From the early 1900s hoodlums like you and I have scoured the land for climbable rock. Each generation pushes the next further away from the urban centers, further away from the ole’ stand-bye crags for terra incognito.
In late 1995, I had found a little backwater crag in SoCal. Surely this dumpy stretch of grainy quartz monzonite would be untouched. A reasonably stiff approach through a bush-filled gully, lead me to the base of a large slab. My partner could only scratch his head to wonder why on Earth I would be possessed to hike this far for what looked to be a 5.3, 70 foot slab. I started climbing up the slab with slow and steady movements. Not from any fear of falling or difficulty from climbing, but rather to savior the touch of newfound holds. To caress the rock where no one had ever touched before was my goal. 30 feet up, I switched from the grainy slab into a dark black water streak. The climbing was more featured and the moves, while easier, were more interesting. 20 feet later, 50 feet above my partner, I found it… and it shattered my unrealistic expectations…a Leaper Bolt and Hanger.
By very nature, rock climbing lends itself to guides, written descriptions, and topos of where others have gone before. In fact, many would venture to say that this verbal and written tradition is one of the enduring qualities of climbing. All one has to do is look at Falcon Press our their local Climbing Shop Guidebook section to see that there is a want, dare I say demand, for the knowledge of others who have come before.
I am no exception. I have a collection of guidebooks spanning every edition of many crags including some for crags I will never see. There is something very interesting in reading descriptions and accounts of climbs. It’s almost as if by magic, you can feel the rock, take in the environment, be a part of the action when reading a good guidebook. It is this feeling and also the fear of the unknown that send climbers scurrying for the known crags and popular climbs. Chances are, no matter where you are, someone else has "Been there, done that."
While first learning to climb at Big Rock, a well established and heavily used climbing area in Southern California, a friend and I were taking turns soloing up a small low angled finger crack to the left of the main wall. Since neither of us had any idea of what we were doing, nor even a guide for the climbing located just to our right, we were just out there exploring the vertical on a line that seemed as obvious as the Sphinx Crack in Colorado.
After topping out for my fifth or sixth time, I heard a jangling of gear and carabiners. Walking down the side of the slab, I was met by a “real” climber. Decked out in a rack of magnitude capable of climbing El Cap, he seemed to be someone who must know everything there is to know about this place. I eagerly walked up set to ask him about climbing. I found him looking down at a book. With a perplexed look on his face, he glanced up and asked me, “What route are you guys on? I can’t seem to find it in the guidebook.” I turned and looked at my friend, who was lasing up his boots to give the crack another run, and he stared back just as blankly as I must’ve looked.
“Ummm not really sure.. This is my first time here, Hell, this is our first time ever climbing even.”
The scene is played out all too regularly at local crags. You can spend a few scant minutes on a busy day without someone asking you for beta or to line the routes up for them in hopes to finding that route that the guidebook extols as a “Must Climb!” Look through the guidebook, any guidebook for any area, and locate a climb with no stars. Now trudge up to, and I can pretty much guarantee that you will be hard pressed to see any sing of recent passage. Now head up to the area classic. On a busy weekend, there will often be 3 or 4 parties queued up, all jostling for a turn.
“The Road Less Traveled” may be construed to be the forgotten lost art of route development, but in this case I would like to suggest, that the Road Less Traveled be that 1 star climb in the guide that you pass up for the 5 star polished classic around the corner. Sure 5 star climbs are 5 star climbs for a reason, but lets not forget that many "lower star" routes have a lot to offer, even if they are given a “shit bag” in the guide. Let me explain…
I have made several pilgrimages to the Holy Mecca of sport climb, Rifle, CO. One thing that is a quick identifier for those “popular” 5-star climbs is the dreaded Rifle polish. On a hot humid summer day, it is entirely possible to pick a stray piece of tuna from between your teeth while staring into the starting holds of the Beast.
After a tour of the area classics, I was becoming well versed in polish climbing, but I couldn’t help but wonder what it was like to climb on Rifle Limestone that hadn’t been pulled on by 1 million other climbers before me. I quickly scanned the guide for a no star climb to check out. I found a 5.11d (Forgotten years) in Skull Cave given a “Shit Bag” by the guidebook author. Surely if it was classified as a bag of shit, the holds wouldn’t be polished to that Hi-Pro-Glow. To make things even better, just to the right of it a few climbs over, was ANOTHER s--- bag route by the name of Moroni Blows. Ahhh, two climbs in close proximity of one another. What more could I ask for!
My first attempt left my dangling at the end of the rope just a few moves from the top. As I sat swinging, I look over at the nearby heavily starred classic “Pile Driver”. A climber was sweating his way up it, the whole time swearing about the polish. I on the other hand, looked down a clean line of pockets and pinches, a little sharp, but missing the glass. I smiled and asked to be lowered.
After my near miss with Forgotten Years, I decided to give the moss covered Moroni Blows a run. The attempt didn’t last quite as long before I was dangling, being a victim of a pocket still oozing water and on the inside full of green algae. I managed to dog my way to the top, only to see the conditions of the anchors. Judging by their state, I was very hesitant to trust my life to them. In fact, they looked so bad, I decided I would rather down climb/whip instead of trusting my life to those corroded pieces of what I could only hope were anchors.
What’s funny is when I talk to my partner from that trip, we always remiss back to that trip for one reason or another, but invariably my quest for the perfect s--- Bag climb comes up. We laugh and remember the down climbs, the algae, the loose rock, and the fear, but I always look back at that experience as kind of an eye opener. Since then, I have always been the first to check out the new area that most people dismiss as a choss pile. I am also one of the few who will go out of their way to climb EVERY route on a wall, whether it has a star or not.
I’ll be honest with you, many of the climbs truly were s--- bags, but often I found those no star climbs have every bit as much interesting climbing to offer as their 5 star counterparts. I guess I can take comfort in knowing that Robert Frost had it right. Sometimes the road less traveled, while in appearance may look a lot less attractive, will have something to offer you.
Give it a shot, if anything you’ll free up the crag 5 star classic I am dying to get on Oh, and as for Forgotten Years, I went back, cleaned it up, and sent it next go. To this day, I still consider that my favorite route at Rifle.
[ This Message was edited by: roughster on 2002-05-27 01:55 ]
|
|
|
|
|
roughster
May 27, 2002, 8:01 PM
Post #2 of 3
(856 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 3, 2002
Posts: 4003
|
bump
Lots of reads, but no comments? No one else out there likes to climb the no stars?
|
|
|
|
|
ponyryan
May 27, 2002, 8:52 PM
Post #3 of 3
(856 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 4, 2002
Posts: 704
|
I'm just too lazy to read the whole thing. Glanced over pieces, but I can't concentrate for that long.
|
|
|
|
|
|
