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Gmburns2000
May 11, 2010, 6:29 PM
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Finally, I have it done: "Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word. The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword!” – Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (written in prison).
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airscape
May 11, 2010, 7:14 PM
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Well done old chap! Sounds like it was a bit of a battle hey?
(This post was edited by airscape on May 11, 2010, 7:17 PM)
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Gmburns2000
May 11, 2010, 7:42 PM
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airscape wrote: Well done old chap! Sounds like it was a bit of a battle hey? OMG THOSE CHIMNEYS WERE HARRRRRD!!! Actually, I think if I was better at crack technique then the first chimney wouldn't have been so hard. The second chimney, however...I think the move pulling out of the chimney onto the ledge below the face climbing that leads to the anchor is WAY harder than 5.9. Jeremiah disagreed, but my problems in the first chimney were due to fatigue and simply not being used to the style. My problem in the second chimney was specifically that one section and had little to do with the style. Thanks for reading, btw, and the kind encouragement.
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gblauer
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May 11, 2010, 8:04 PM
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Very nice write up! Mitch and I followed "the mace" in Sedona, 5 pitches, but 3 body eating chimneys at 5.9+. It was really really hard and very little pro. I am glad I did not lead! I don't have a lot of experience with chimneys, it was an incredibly physical slog.
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airscape
May 11, 2010, 8:09 PM
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These TRs always make me wish I could get out more...
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Gmburns2000
May 11, 2010, 8:17 PM
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gblauer wrote: Very nice write up! Mitch and I followed "the mace" in Sedona, 5 pitches, but 3 body eating chimneys at 5.9+. It was really really hard and very little pro. I am glad I did not lead! I don't have a lot of experience with chimneys, it was an incredibly physical slog. yeah, I learned that day that chimneys are a full-body workout for sure.
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Gmburns2000
May 11, 2010, 8:18 PM
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airscape wrote: These TRs always make me wish I could get out more... now surely there are some great climbs in SA, right? Or are you still battling the other commitments thing? Either way, I know what that's all about. My sympathies if it is difficult. Here's hoping it gets easier for you down the road.
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edge
May 11, 2010, 8:55 PM
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Well, I read it and kept thinking, "Damn, he climbed with Jello*? How did he pull that one off, I am so jealous. And then it hit me, you were climbing with a Jello-lite. * Jello = Jeff Lowe's username on teh Taco. Still, congrats for getting out there and throwing yourself wholeheartedly into your dreams/ambitions/demons/something-else-profound.
(This post was edited by edge on May 11, 2010, 8:56 PM)
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dugl33
May 11, 2010, 10:42 PM
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Good write up. Thanks for posting it.
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moose_droppings
May 11, 2010, 11:39 PM
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Nice TR. Way to hang in there and push on. I've always wanted to get out there once when I can afford it.
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haleymay
May 12, 2010, 1:27 AM
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Sounds like quite an accomplishment. Way to push through :)
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Gmburns2000
May 12, 2010, 2:05 AM
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edge wrote: Well, I read it and kept thinking, "Damn, he climbed with Jello*? How did he pull that one off, I am so jealous. And then it hit me, you were climbing with a Jello-lite. * Jello = Jeff Lowe's username on teh Taco. Still, congrats for getting out there and throwing yourself wholeheartedly into your dreams/ambitions/demons/something-else-profound. Thanks for the kind words everyone! It is appreciated. Had a good day of writing over all today, so that's good. Edge - heh - this explains why Gabe was so confused a week or so ago in another thread as to who I and Magnus were referring to. The Jello that I know (and everyone else on this site) was given his nickname by me several years ago as a result of his penchant for wearing Dead Kennedy t-shirts. Thus, the nickname stuck (he actually answers to it, too).
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Gmburns2000
May 12, 2010, 2:07 AM
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and Jello was a real trooper on that climb, too. He made up for all of my deficiencies. Without his efforts, we never would have made it in the time that we did. He basically carried me up the climb, even when I was leading.
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rock_fencer
May 12, 2010, 2:48 AM
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curious if there was a fixed red camalot on pitch 8 or 9? Congrats on the climb, its memorable for sure!
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vegastradguy
May 12, 2010, 2:58 AM
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looks like you had yourself quite an adventure. it also sounds like you did Epi the hard way- i looked at your guidebook and you missed the proper route on what you call Pitch 4- instead of going up the overhanging offwidthy thing (which is 5.9, but a total grunt fest), go out toward the mouth of the chimneys, and about 10' above the anchors on the ledge that runs the length of the chimneys is a bolt. clip this, then chimney up another 10' and make a 5.7 move onto the face above. alot of people miss this bolt, but its totally the easy way to go... you should get more chimney experience- Epi's chimneys are sustained, but never really that difficult, but proficiency in crack and chimney climbing really helps in something as long as Epi. (and, btw, Epi's chimneys clock in at 5.7 in the valley....) in any case, glad you got it done and had an adventure- thats how its supposed to be done!
(This post was edited by vegastradguy on May 12, 2010, 3:04 AM)
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Gmburns2000
May 12, 2010, 2:31 PM
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vegastradguy wrote: looks like you had yourself quite an adventure. it also sounds like you did Epi the hard way- i looked at your guidebook and you missed the proper route on what you call Pitch 4- instead of going up the overhanging offwidthy thing (which is 5.9, but a total grunt fest), go out toward the mouth of the chimneys, and about 10' above the anchors on the ledge that runs the length of the chimneys is a bolt. clip this, then chimney up another 10' and make a 5.7 move onto the face above. alot of people miss this bolt, but its totally the easy way to go... you should get more chimney experience- Epi's chimneys are sustained, but never really that difficult, but proficiency in crack and chimney climbing really helps in something as long as Epi. (and, btw, Epi's chimneys clock in at 5.7 in the valley....) in any case, glad you got it done and had an adventure- thats how its supposed to be done! Yeah, so we totally missed that bolt. Instead, we went for the fixed nut that is in that grunt-fest section. Man, I would have LOVED to have stayed out wide. I wonder if jeremiah is reading this...
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Gmburns2000
May 12, 2010, 2:32 PM
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rock_fencer wrote: curious if there was a fixed red camalot on pitch 8 or 9? Congrats on the climb, its memorable for sure! there was a fixed cam on one of the upper pitches (not sure which pitch, but I believe it was above the two 5.9 pitches on the long 5.7 dihedral). I can't remember the size, but I clipped it, mainly because I had sewn it up a bit too much before I got to that point and didn't know where the anchors were.
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cracklover
May 12, 2010, 3:57 PM
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Nice writeup, in a sense. You sure have gotten accomplished at making yourself out to be a total wet blanket with very little interest in planning, forethought for what would be good routes for you, positive outlook, or enthusiasm. I have to say, for me, it makes it kind of a slog to read through. You come across as a very unsympathetic character. It makes it hard to empathize with you, and I just want to stop reading. Besides, you're really not that bad in person. So if you're playing up the general unpleasantness for the sake of me, the reader, it most definitely does not work. But hey, that's probably just me. Cheers, GO
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mr.tastycakes
May 12, 2010, 4:20 PM
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your blog is hard to read, it's all over the friggin' place. but i gather that you sent epinephrine, so congrats on that.
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Gmburns2000
May 12, 2010, 4:21 PM
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cracklover wrote: Nice writeup, in a sense. You sure have gotten accomplished at making yourself out to be a total wet blanket with very little interest in planning, forethought for what would be good routes for you, positive outlook, or enthusiasm. I have to say, for me, it makes it kind of a slog to read through. You come across as a very unsympathetic character. It makes it hard to empathize with you, and I just want to stop reading. Besides, you're really not that bad in person. So if you're playing up the general unpleasantness for the sake of me, the reader, it most definitely does not work. But hey, that's probably just me. Cheers, GO hehe. thanks for the honest feedback Gabe (i'll take a part of it as a compliment, I guess?). it doesn't work for everyone, and I'm not afraid of hearing that either. either way, your comments made me laugh. But, in truth, I'm really not like that in person because I hide a lot of it verbally (so to speak), and let out all the crap that's in my head when I'm writing. Though, Jeremiah may think differently. I certainly whined my way up the route. We actually did a lot of planning, but I never got over the nervousness. I thought long and hard about doing the route, and I didn't mention that in the post. In the end, I decided to do it because one never knows. I've found some of the most fulfilling moments in my life were after I had done something I wasn't so sure about in advance. Of course, there are also bad results, too, but it's all a learning experience. I think I'm actually a pretty optimistic person, but I can't stand enthusiasm for enthusiasm's sake. There are enough sheep in the world for that. To each his own, though. I try to not let it affect me one way or another. But seriously, the feedback is genuinely appreciated.
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jnm1
May 12, 2010, 4:41 PM
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"It only gets bad when there's nothing left to say." Great line. Really enjoyed reading it. I like the nonlinear style. Seems appropriate for such a long day out.
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Gmburns2000
May 12, 2010, 4:45 PM
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jnm1 wrote: "It only gets bad when there's nothing left to say." Great line. Really enjoyed reading it. I like the nonlinear style. Seems appropriate for such a long day out. thanks man.
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cracklover
May 12, 2010, 6:26 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: cracklover wrote: Nice writeup, in a sense. You sure have gotten accomplished at making yourself out to be a total wet blanket with very little interest in planning, forethought for what would be good routes for you, positive outlook, or enthusiasm. I have to say, for me, it makes it kind of a slog to read through. You come across as a very unsympathetic character. It makes it hard to empathize with you, and I just want to stop reading. Besides, you're really not that bad in person. So if you're playing up the general unpleasantness for the sake of me, the reader, it most definitely does not work. But hey, that's probably just me. Cheers, GO We actually did a lot of planning, but I never got over the nervousness. I thought long and hard about doing the route, and I didn't mention that in the post. I know, since you consulted me extensively about beta. But from your blog, it sounds like you just got dragged up a big climb that you were too wimpy to either look at seriously enough to realize what was involved, or too lazy to prepare yourself for the major effort and new (to you) techniques involved, or were too wimpy to admit it to either yourself or your partner that you weren't ready.
In reply to: I think I'm actually a pretty optimistic person, but I can't stand enthusiasm for enthusiasm's sake. There are enough sheep in the world for that. To each his own, though. I try to not let it affect me one way or another. You misunderstand me. Some of the trip reports by a variety of people I've read over the years that I've liked best are those that did not go well, the person had a bad attitude, etc. The difference being that they realized and acknowledged, at least in the writing, the humor in the situation.
In reply to: But seriously, the feedback is genuinely appreciated. Glad to hear it. GO
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caughtinside
May 12, 2010, 6:40 PM
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"There was no one below us to slow me down" fukkin classic!! Sounds like you got winched up that thing.
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