Well done old chap!

Sounds like it was a bit of a battle hey?

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.

These TRs always make me wish I could get out more...

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.

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!

curious if there was a fixed red camalot on pitch 8 or 9?

Congrats on the climb, its memorable for sure!

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

your blog is hard to read, it's all over the friggin' place. but i gather that you sent epinephrine, so congrats on that.

"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.

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 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.