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johnwesely
Jul 26, 2010, 7:40 PM
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cracklover wrote: Sweet! That OS of Coex must've been very gratifying. Only thing missing is that your TR needs more pics! Here's a pic of me on Le Teton. HTH [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/images/photos/assets/7/347347-work-le_teton.jpg[/image] If a pic of someone else is distracting from what you're going for here, let me know and I'll take it down. GO
Thanks for the pic. I don't have any wear near as many pictures as I would like. I took my SLR, but really only used it for wildlife. Honestly, I would poach pictures form other people for every route, if I knew people would not mind.
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johnwesely
Jul 26, 2010, 10:32 PM
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Thanks for the info.
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rangerrob
Jul 27, 2010, 12:57 PM
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Nice job on Le Teton and on Co-Ex...shit, nice job on Sheep Thrills too!!! I've only done le Teton and Co-ex, and I have to say I was less intimidated on Co_ex than I was on le Teton. That climb is freaking out there!
RR
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cracklover
Jul 27, 2010, 2:33 PM
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rangerrob wrote: Nice job on Le Teton and on Co-Ex...shit, nice job on Sheep Thrills too!!! I've only done le Teton and Co-ex, and I have to say I was less intimidated on Co_ex than I was on le Teton. That climb is freaking out there! RR
Agreed.
GO
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rgold
Jul 27, 2010, 2:45 PM
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hyhuu wrote: Nice job on Co-Ex. When I led the climb somehow I didn't see that crimp until I was well above it so the whole time I was thinking man! this climb is really hard.
I missed that crimp on the first free ascent in 1967; pulled on some crappy pebbles lower down. We also didn't know about heel hooks then, so I missed that too...
I went back ten years later, found the crimp, did the heel hook, and thought, "this climb isn't nearly as hard as I remember it."
(This post was edited by rgold on Jul 27, 2010, 2:45 PM)
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johnwesely
Jul 27, 2010, 3:45 PM
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rgold wrote: hyhuu wrote: Nice job on Co-Ex. When I led the climb somehow I didn't see that crimp until I was well above it so the whole time I was thinking man! this climb is really hard. I missed that crimp on the first free ascent in 1967; pulled on some crappy pebbles lower down. We also didn't know about heel hooks then, so I missed that too... I went back ten years later, found the crimp, did the heel hook, and thought, "this climb isn't nearly as hard as I remember it."
I would love to read your trip report.
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rangerrob
Jul 27, 2010, 4:57 PM
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Have you got about.......oh I don't know.......4 years to read it??? Rich has had a rather lengthy "trip".
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johnwesely
Jul 27, 2010, 4:59 PM
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rangerrob wrote: Have you got about.......oh I don't know.......4 years to read it??? Rich has had a rather lengthy "trip".
I could read it in 3.
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sethg
Jul 27, 2010, 6:38 PM
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John, I'm really enjoying these reports. It is quite a story, going from being sketched on Bloody Mary to onsighting climbs like Le Teton and Coex! Your tolerance for runouts is starting to scare me, though. Be careful out there.
Steven Cherry just posted an awesome photo of Le Teton on mountainproject.com:
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gblauer
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Jul 27, 2010, 6:42 PM
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He's through the crux and into the jugs. It's easy peasy from where he is...
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sethg
Jul 27, 2010, 6:45 PM
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gblauer wrote: He's through the crux and into the jugs. It's easy peasy from where he is...
So I'm told but that's also the photogenic part!
(He also posted some pics of earlier in the pitch.)
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johnwesely
Jul 27, 2010, 6:58 PM
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Persistence is a Virtue, or The Breaking Point
I had been climbing every day for as long as I could remember. The closest thing I had to a rest day was the day Doug, RC.com's Sween 345, and I went to Bonticu and climbed wet moderates, and that doesn't even count because I climbed in a gym afterwards. Weariness was slowly creeping up on me, but at the same time, I felt stronger than ever. It was in this mindset that I headed to Lost City with Doug and Michael for an afternoon of hard and hot climbing. Meeting us there were one of Michael's friends from the AAC and Colin, a local from the college in New Paltz. Michael had never done Lost City crack, so we decided to warm up on that and then top rope the mega hard face climb to the right.
When I did Lost City crack, I face climbed the outside of the chimney. Michael dove right in and climbed up the tight inside. As he was finishing the route, Colin showed up, and he and Doug went to go set up a Top Rope on Yellow Streak. I found the chimney to be much harder than Michael had, but I eventually grunted my way up it and finished the route. After reaching the top, I lowered half way down and re climbed the splitter crack a few times to finish warming up. I needed to dial my crack climbing for what I had in mind later in the day.
The start of the top rope route to the right proved to be outside of my ability range. It involved grabbing on to microscopic slopey crimps, getting a high step, and making a huge move to an even smaller and slopier crimp. Moving off of that thing proved to be too much, and I opted to skip it by climbing up a boulder and starting the route from it. The rest of the route was great and was right at my limit for the entire stretch. Every move seemed impossible until completion. I love routes like that.
Now that we had warmed up, it was time to make a decision. There was really only one route at Lost City that I wanted, Persistence. I didn't think I could do it, but I sure wasn't going to go home without at least trying. I had the opportunity. I wasn't going to live with regret. One of my biggest weaknesses in climbing is not doing the routes I want to do. I always make grandiose plans, but when I get to the base of my intended route, I chicken out more times than not. It wasn't going to happen this time. I was a thousand miles from home. I didn't know if I would ever have a chance at this route again.
Full disclosure for the style police: I placed my first piece from the giant boulder that sits behind the route.
After drinking a bunch of water and and eating a snack, I composed myself for the route. That lingering doubt and fear crept into my mind, but today, I wasn't having any of it. This was my chance. I was a real rock climber then, I had to climb that rock. I climbed down into the cave between the route and the boulder, took a deep breath, and started the pitch. The climbing was stellar, perfect finger locks on a thirty degree wall. However, the finger locks soon disappeared as the crux hit me, hard. The crack suddenly became offset to the point that a shallow right facing corner was created. The crack was still back there, but it was now impossible to jam. To overcome this obstacle, I needed to gaston and sidepull the slopey edge of the outside corner and bring my feet way up to provide counter pressure off of smears. I couldn't do it and fell off the route. Falling ushered that doubt back into my mind. Not only was the route hard, but the finger locking on such steep rock was destroying my fingers. My skin and tendons were on fire.
I gave it another go and fell once again. A third try, same result. A fourth, a fifth, you get the picture. It didn't seem like it was going to happen until I discovered a strenuous undercling finger jam. This move allowed me to get into the sloper in a new, and much better, way. I had unlocked the sequence. Now I just had to commit. With my new beta in hand, I stabbed my right hand into the crack upside down, got my feet way up, and strew my left hand into the gaston. Keeping my body as stiff as a carbon fiber shoe insert, I brought my right hand up and matched as a side pull. Now was the tricky part, I had to bring both feet way up near my chest without somehow falling off of the sloper. Tricky indeed. This time I fell. Who doesn't like repeated lead falls onto small gear? The next time, however, I was successful and found myself past the crux on with both hands on a nice slopey jug. Realizing that I was now in ground/huge boulder fall zone, I carefully clipped the fixed pin off to the right and attempted to make the next sequence of moves. Missing out on a key chockstone, and feeling a fair bit pumped, I blew the moves and took fall number x of the day. Now seeing the chockstone, I underclinged it and arrived at a decent rest. The next section looked tricky. It was a beautiful pure finger crack but looked incredibly sequential. I reached up from the jug, placed a yellow tcu in the crack, and continued resting.
I planned out the moves in my mind and decided on a correct course of action. Miracle of miracles, my assessment was correct and I cruised through the section, placing a blue tcu along the way. After this section, the crack widens to hands before it becomes blocky and juggy at the top. This section proved to be quite pumpy but manageable. Suddenly, I was at the top, so I built an anchor and was lowered.
We had planned on me leading the route and then leaving it up as a top rope for the others, but now I had a new plan. I told Michael to clean all of the gear as he seconded because I wanted to go for the red point. I knew I could do it. After Michael cleaned all of the gear, I racked up with just the pieces I needed. I even put them on the correct side of the harness. I was all set to give Persistence the old college try.
The technical crux at the bottom went smoothly. My countless tries earlier pretty much guaranteed it. I clipped the fix pin, used the chockstone, and got good rest below the finger crack. Everything was going so smoothly. I had the route in the bag. I reached up, placed the tcu and moved up into the finger crack. It felt slightly harder this time, but I wasn't worried. I placed the blue tcu and committed to the painful hand jams. This time they were greasy from mine and Michael's previous attempts. While these handjams are the perfect size, they have about a third of the surface contact of the typical handjam due to there sinuous and flared nature. Now that they were greasy, they weren't feeling so hot. I was still confident. It was still in the bag. I had gotten through all of the hard climbing and only the blocky jugs remained. I reached for my red Camalot to place it in the crack, but it wasn't there. I had put it on the wrong side of my harness. Not only that, but the way my gear loops sit made it impossible for me to reach the cam. All of my confidence was melting away. I couldn't place the piece.
I had two options. Either I could fall there, or I could go for it and run it to the next piece. I chose the latter. I wasn't going to let persistence get away without a fight. I made another jam. I pulled up to crimp. I was pumped. the shock from my racking error had cause me to over grip like a madman. I was getting sloppy. The rope was behind my leg, but I was too occupied with the climbing to do anything about it. Desperately, I made one last move to what I thought was a mail slot. It was nothing. Too pumped to reverse the move, I pitched off.
I had taken a lot of falls but this one was different. Maybe it was the length, but it seemed to take place in extreme slow motion. In my memory, it took a full thirty seconds. While falling, a single thought dominated my consciousness. I new the rope was behind my leg. The only question was, “when am I going to flip?” That must have repeated in my head ten times before I felt the rope catch. When that happened, my thought was quickly replaced by a sort of Eyore fatalism, “oh, there it is”. The flip was in diametric opposition to the rest of the fall. While the first part was slow and reflective, the flip was abrupt and physical. When I regained my senses, I found myself swaying headfirst six feet above the boulder. I flipped upwards and looked at that blue tcu. Man, I love that cam. Not only had that cam held my first fall, but it also had held many others. Now it had held when it really mattered. What a trooper. I love that cam.
After my adoration for my little blue had subsided, another sensation arose. I looked down at my leg, It was bleeding profusely under the knee. Blood had already flowed down to my heel. Still hanging in my harness I assessed the damage, a ten inch long, 3 inch wide, nasty piece of rope burn. Great, I thought to myself, that is really going to hurt tomorrow. Thoroughly defeated, I finished the route. This time the crack was even greasier. I barely plugged in the red and clipped it in before I peeled off again. I could only think of how close I was.
I finished the day on Yellow Streak, a popular top rope but insane looking lead. In the days that followed, something had changed in my climbing. That nagging weariness had used the fall as an opportunity to grow and consume me. My climbing was suffering. I was exhausted. I needed rest, but couldn't pull myself away. A miserable lead of apoplexy almost made me throw up. My physical weakness was paving the way for mental weakness. When that fear I had though vanquished began rearing its head on Transcontinental Nailway, I new it was time. I needed a break.
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johnwesely
Jul 27, 2010, 7:03 PM
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sethg wrote: John, I'm really enjoying these reports. It is quite a story, going from being sketched on Bloody Mary to onsighting climbs like Le Teton and Coex! Your tolerance for runouts is starting to scare me, though. Be careful out there.
Thank you.
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sethg
Jul 27, 2010, 7:05 PM
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Also I believe I know the photo of Le Teton in Climbing mag that John was talking about. It is from Jim Thornburg's great photo essay "More Gunky Than Funky," featuring photos of legendary Gunks moderates like Arrow, Snooky's and CCK. the Le teton photo is of Dan Schwarz, also in the "easy peasy" part but it sure doesn't look like it!
The photo is on a stock photo site and it seems I can't embed the photo here, but you can go see it at http://www.getstockphotos.ca/images/9646300004/
I wish the whole Thornburg article were available-- all the shots are great.
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rgold
Jul 27, 2010, 8:58 PM
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rangerrob wrote: Have you got about.......oh I don't know.......4 years to read it??? Rich has had a rather lengthy "trip".
Lengthy for 1967---I fell off either two or three times before I made it . After each fall, Jim McCarthy and I switched places, so we each fell off two or three times.
Total elapsed time from first attempt to success was probably a few hours, considering changing places and resting.
Soon after, Stannard changed the game to its modern formulation by making many attempts over multiple days on Foops and then Persistence. These immediately superseded Coex in terms of both conception and execution, and ushered in the modern age of climbing in the East.
Oddly enough, I did Foops with fewer falls then Coex and then onsighted Persistence, but that was several years later after we had all adapted to Stannard's visionary perspectives. Meanwhile, he was working on nuts-only-protected 5.12 by then and Jim and I were behind for good.
(This post was edited by rgold on Jul 27, 2010, 9:00 PM)
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johnwesely
Jul 27, 2010, 10:23 PM
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sethg wrote: Also I believe I know the photo of Le Teton in Climbing mag that John was talking about. It is from Jim Thornburg's great photo essay "More Gunky Than Funky," featuring photos of legendary Gunks moderates like Arrow, Snooky's and CCK. the Le teton photo is of Dan Schwarz, also in the "easy peasy" part but it sure doesn't look like it! The photo is on a stock photo site and it seems I can't embed the photo here, but you can go see it at http://www.getstockphotos.ca/images/9646300004/ I wish the whole Thornburg article were available-- all the shots are great.
It was that article. Do you know the issue #. I would love to look it up again now that I have been there.
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johnwesely
Jul 27, 2010, 10:30 PM
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rgold wrote: Oddly enough, I did Foops with fewer falls then Coex and then onsighted Persistence, but that was several years later after we had all adapted to Stannard's visionary perspectives. Meanwhile, he was working on nuts-only-protected 5.12 by then and Jim and I were behind for good.
I think I need some of that visionary perspective.
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sethg
Jul 27, 2010, 10:59 PM
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johnwesely wrote: sethg wrote: Also I believe I know the photo of Le Teton in Climbing mag that John was talking about. It is from Jim Thornburg's great photo essay "More Gunky Than Funky," featuring photos of legendary Gunks moderates like Arrow, Snooky's and CCK. the Le teton photo is of Dan Schwarz, also in the "easy peasy" part but it sure doesn't look like it! The photo is on a stock photo site and it seems I can't embed the photo here, but you can go see it at http://www.getstockphotos.ca/images/9646300004/ I wish the whole Thornburg article were available-- all the shots are great. It was that article. Do you know the issue #. I would love to look it up again now that I have been there.
I have it at my office, I can tell you the issue number tomorrow. I think it was from 2007.
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losbill
Jul 28, 2010, 12:48 AM
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In reply to: I think I need some of that visionary perspective.
Exactly my thought as I read RG's post!
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sethg
Jul 28, 2010, 1:35 PM
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johnwesely wrote: sethg wrote: Also I believe I know the photo of Le Teton in Climbing mag that John was talking about. It is from Jim Thornburg's great photo essay "More Gunky Than Funky," featuring photos of legendary Gunks moderates like Arrow, Snooky's and CCK. the Le teton photo is of Dan Schwarz, also in the "easy peasy" part but it sure doesn't look like it! The photo is on a stock photo site and it seems I can't embed the photo here, but you can go see it at http://www.getstockphotos.ca/images/9646300004/ I wish the whole Thornburg article were available-- all the shots are great. It was that article. Do you know the issue #. I would love to look it up again now that I have been there.
It was Issue No. 258, July 2007.
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rangerrob
Jul 28, 2010, 2:42 PM
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Nice work on Persistence John. I love the spirit. I find it interesting that you still had the mojo to go toprope something after seiging a 5.11 like that, and having a nasty rope burn. I'm sure I would have run home with my tail between legs after that experience. I know the feeling you speak of though. When I climb a lot I feel physically strong, but after a while I become mentally weak. Sometimes a week long break is what I need to rest my nerves. Again, nice job!
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johnwesely
Jul 28, 2010, 3:31 PM
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sethg wrote: johnwesely wrote: sethg wrote: Also I believe I know the photo of Le Teton in Climbing mag that John was talking about. It is from Jim Thornburg's great photo essay "More Gunky Than Funky," featuring photos of legendary Gunks moderates like Arrow, Snooky's and CCK. the Le teton photo is of Dan Schwarz, also in the "easy peasy" part but it sure doesn't look like it! The photo is on a stock photo site and it seems I can't embed the photo here, but you can go see it at http://www.getstockphotos.ca/images/9646300004/ I wish the whole Thornburg article were available-- all the shots are great. It was that article. Do you know the issue #. I would love to look it up again now that I have been there. It was Issue No. 258, July 2007.
Thanks a bunch.
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johnwesely
Jul 28, 2010, 3:32 PM
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rangerrob wrote: Nice work on Persistence John. I love the spirit. I find it interesting that you still had the mojo to go toprope something after seiging a 5.11 like that, and having a nasty rope burn. I'm sure I would have run home with my tail between legs after that experience. I know the feeling you speak of though. When I climb a lot I feel physically strong, but after a while I become mentally weak. Sometimes a week long break is what I need to rest my nerves. Again, nice job!
I actually said I was done for the day after my go on Persistence, but the rope was up on Yellow Streak and it looked really fun. I just can't pass down a climb I guess.
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johnwesely
Jul 28, 2010, 6:30 PM
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Some Well Needed R&R
I was tired alright, exhausted both mentally and physically. I had climbed every single day for at least the last thirty. My climbing was breaking down. Doug had the solution. His mother wanted to see him before he headed off to Squamish, so we would head up to Woodstock and spend a day or two there visiting and recuperating, a perfect plan. We drove up to Woodstock at night, Doug speeding through the winding yet familiar roads, while I marveled at the five or six art framing stores that the little town supported. Doug's mother's house was an old farmhouse, rustic, comfortable, and the perfect place to rest. For dinner, we ate takeout Mediterranean, but that paled in comparison to the other food surprise. Doug's mom bought us four huge bags of food, including at least five or six pounds of nuts. I looked at that food, and decided I probably wouldn't being touching anything I had back at camp.
After dinner, I went to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms. It was amazing to sleep in a real bed. In the last week or so, I had grown entirely sick of sleeping in a tent. To make matters worse, my sleeping pad was starting to leak air. This bed was a godsend. I slept straight through the night. It seemed like I slept for ages, but when I had finally woken up, no one else had. I ate some of my new cereal for breakfast and pondered what to do next. Realizing I hadn't been able to see anything outside due to arriving at night, I decided to go for a walk. The surroundings were more wonderful than I could ever imagine. Surrounded on all sides by mountain and lush forest, the farmhouse and surrounding land represented an idyllic agricultural archetype that I thought no longer existed. I took a walk around the pond. It was filled with salamanders. Already, I felt rested.
When I arrived back at the house, Doug's mother and sister in law were both awake and implored me to take a swim in the pool. I initially declined because I had nothing to wear, but they insisted. The pool was hotter than a bathtub, perfect. I floated around until my fingers looked like raisins. I thought I felt rested before. That was nothing compared to how I felt now. Floating in that hot water refreshed me more than ten days of lazing around. After drying off, I picked up an old guitar, a book of Bob Dylan lyrics, and tried to see how many of the songs I could come up with the chords for. I probably played and sang for an hour, even more relaxed than before. After growing bored of that, I picked up a computer to check the weather. The forecast almost blew my mind. There was a front of cold clear air coming in. It was going to be highs in the low low seventies for the last few days of my trip. What luck. The day couldn't be any more perfect. As I was checking the weather, Doug finally woke up. When I told him the forecast, he was just as excited as me.
After taking a shower and eating some lunch, we headed back to the Gunks for some fair weather climbing. At the cliffs, we headed to the Mac Wall, as I had two routes I wanted to get on before I had to go home, Fly Again and Graveyard Shift. However, after warming up on Something Interesting, I really wasn't feeling those routes. Despite the rest and relaxation, I still felt mentally fatigued. However, I only had two days left. I didn't want to go home with regrets, so I racked up for Graveyard Shift and went at it. The first thirty feet were technical and slabby before reaching a bulge. The bulge required making difficult moves well above gear before getting a decent small cam. At this point I was feeling fine. I made the thin traverse to the left, and moved up into the left facing, arching corner that marked the crux of the route. I placed a small cam at the base of the arch, but it didn't make me happy. The next moves looked tenuous and my previous placement was a ways down. Finally, I realized that I could place a bomber medium sized cam off the right. That made me feel much better. Now confident in my gear, I reached up to a micro chip, rocked my feet over left and pulled up under the crux roof. This position was insecure and quite scary. A fall would be both long and quite the swing. I grabbed an orange tcu to protect the crux, but it didn't fit. No problem, I just grabbed my yellow tcu, too big also. I reached down to grab my blue tcu, and it wasn't there. I had already placed it lower in the route. Now I was in a pickle. I couldn't reverse the moves. What had I gotten myself into? Rather than placing a bomber cam in the little slot, I had to place my yellow tcu right inside of the crux under cling. Now, the crux was going to be harder, and the cam was alright but not amazing. I stood at the stance for fifteen minutes contemplating my fate. I shock tested the cam over and over. Knowing that it wasn't going to get any easier. I grabbed the nasty slot the left of the under cling and tried to make the moves. I couldn't commit and down climbed back to my little stance. Now I was really sweating bullets. I once again grabbed the substandard hold, but this time, I made sure to get me feet nice and high before going for it. With the high feet, I reached right up to the crimp and then to the mini jug. Now I was above the roof, with crunched up feet, and a psychological traverse to overcome. I moved me feet over right, grabbed on small crimp, crossed into another, and blasted out to a thank god jug. After placing a bomber cam, I pulled the final roof and clipped the anchors.
When I reached the ground, I no longer felt fatigued. Having to commit 100% on Graveyard shift had snapped me right out of my funk. I felt great. It was time for Fly Again. I had top roped Fly Again once never expecting to lead it, but after doing it on top rope, I changed my mind. I knew there would be some scary climbing down low, but with the amazing temps, I felt confident I could pull the moves. The first thirty feet are steep but juggy, very fun climbing. After that a ledge is reached and the business begins. A smallish nut at weight height is placed before making severe moves off the ledge. This was the part I was most worried about. Although the technical crux is much farther up, the moves off the ledge are all on credit card edges and are quite difficult. Crimping like I never had before, I surmounted the initial fifteen feet off the ledge and placed a bomber nut. Ten more feet of rather easy climbing led me to more pro and another crux, this one with a wild pocket feature. After surmounting that crux, the real fun begins. A small cam is placed in a pod and a huge move is made for a crazy India shaped pinch feature. Some tenuous liebacking lead to yet another crux, this one the hardest yet. A huge move is made off of a shallow two finger pocket over a roof, to a small crimp, and then to a crazy hole. I was feeling good until this point, but the second I hit that hold, I knew my pump clock was running out. The next section involved bomber finger locks but no feet. I stabbed the first lock and scummed around with my feet, but I could not for the life of me find any purchase. My forearms were burning. I tried to make throw for the next lock but didn't have the gas. After falling, my forearms were on fire with lactic acid burn. I didn't feel like finishing the route, so I finished on Coex and called it a day. Although my attempt was technically a failure, it was a success in terms of commitment and sticking to goals. I was immensely satisfied. The cold weather was coming in force now. The strong breeze filled me with a strong sense of excitement and anticipation. I only had one more day of climbing, but the breeze told me it would be wonderful.
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