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welle
Jul 28, 2010, 7:49 PM
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I have been holding my breath for another High E run-up  Saddened that your trip is about to come to an end!
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boymeetsrock
Jul 28, 2010, 8:29 PM
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I think i might go through a little withdrawal when this TR finally ends...
Awesome trip John. Great write up too. Almost makes me wish I wasn't on my honeymoon so I could have joined you.
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johnwesely
Jul 28, 2010, 8:51 PM
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boymeetsrock wrote: I think i might go through a little withdrawal when this TR finally ends... Awesome trip John. Great write up too. Almost makes me wish I wasn't on my honeymoon so I could have joined you.
Don't worry. This TR may end, but I have a special TR secret...
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rangerrob
Jul 28, 2010, 11:23 PM
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John did you ever think of getting on Supper's Ready? I've followed both that and Fly Again and I found Supper's Ready a little easier for me, and better protected as well. That would have been a wild finish to a wild trip!
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 1:06 AM
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rangerrob wrote: John did you ever think of getting on Supper's Ready? I've followed both that and Fly Again and I found Supper's Ready a little easier for me, and better protected as well. That would have been a wild finish to a wild trip!
I really wanted to do Supper's Ready, but alas, ran out of time.
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 9:43 PM
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Borrowed Time
I was not supposed to be climbing that day. If everything had gone as planned, I would have been on a southbound Greyhound bus and had an extra three hundred in my pocket. I had washed my bus ticket at Gail's a week or two previous and receipt in one hand, remains in the other, they wouldn't issue me another. For days, Gail and I spent hours on the phone getting the run around from customer service. For the first few, they said they would give me a new ticket, but as the day of my departure approached, they changed their tune. They wouldn't give me a new ticket. They wouldn't even let me buy a ticket at the same price I bought the first one. They wanted to charge me more for the one way back to Atlanta than I had paid for the entire round trip. That's not even the worst part. It wasn't so bad that I spent hours listening to a hyper lo-fi rendition of The Entertainer while on hold just to listen to customer service rep I could hardly understand give me cryptic meaningless answers. Conrad's Heart of Darkness was reimagined in Apocalypse Now as taking place in the Vietnam War. If someone were to try to do it again, they might look into Marlow having to deal with that call center, “no method at all.” The whole Greyhound experience culminated with a call from their customer service supervisor. That is not exactly true however. The call wasn't really it. Greyhound's customer service supervisor, the person it took me over a week to get into contact with, hung up on me mid call. No help. No solution. No forewarning. Just a dial tone. With no other option, I ended up having to buy a plane ticket.
However, on that day, none of that stuff mattered. Getting shafted by Greyhound gave me one more day to climb. On a six week trip that might not seem like a big deal, especially when that one day cost me more than the rest of the trip combined, but if you were there, you would have understood. The cool wind that had blown in the night before had completely transformed the gunks from a humid slimy mess into a crisp fall day. Everything was so perfect that I couldn't possibly be upset. My plans had gone straight to hell but had been replaced by something infinitely better and more splendid. It was a day that should have never existed, and I was throughly pleased to be a part of it.
My goal that day was the Yellow Wall. Prior to my trip, I had spent hours upon hours fantasizing about this wonderful route. It was my ultimate goal, but upon arriving, my hopes of surmounting that wave of steep yellow rock seemed hopelessly out of reach. It wasn't until the final week of the trip that that dampened flame was rekindled and my obsession felt obtainable. I had made my plan. I was giddy in my resolve. I called Gail the night before to tell her to bring a big blue C4. Everything was set.
Doug and I met up with Gail and Jen and proceeded to climb a few routes on the Frog's Head buttress. After a few pitches, I asked Gail if she had remembered the cam. She had not. My plan that had seemed so concrete just seconds before was now slipping away, as the crux is unprotectalbe without it. All of my hopes now rested on the off chance that Michael would somehow finish his work obligations and be able to come climb that day. He had said previously that this was unlikely, but a few minutes later, I got a call from him telling me he was on his way. It was as if God himself wanted me to do this climb.
In an hour, Michael was there, blue C4 in tow, and we parted with the rest to head off towards Yellow Wall. As we pulled around the Bonnie's Roof corner and my route came into view, the feeling of assurance began to melt away. There was a reason I wanted to do this route, because it was so big and bad, but that same reason now made me not want to do it. I had been so confident on the other side of the cliff. Standing under those huge roofs was a different story. However, now I only had two options. I could take control of myself and do the route of my dreams, or I could, quite literally, go home. Despite my fear and anxiety, I knew there was only one choice I could be happy with.
We made our plan for the route. Michael was going to lead the easy first pitch, and I was going to swing the lead into linking the the two crux pitches. Michael scurried right up the first pitch, placing only two pieces of pro. As hesitant as I was at that moment, I wished that it had taken him longer. However, there he was, and the rope was coming taut. Now more than ever, it was time to climb. That first pitch was hardly classic, but it didn't matter. While it didn't have memorable moves or stellar rock, it does deposit it you under a crazy kaleidescope or overhangs. When I reached the belay, Michael handed me my gear, and I started climbing. I didn't even get to into the anchor for a quick rest. At least I never had time to hesitate.
I scanned the rock above me but didn't see any opportunities for protection outside of bolt more than forty feet off the belay. The guidebook said I would find a fixed pin before that bolt, but I couldn't find it. Looking up made me nervous, so I just climbed, risking a factor two the entire way. The moves weren't exactly hard, but they weren't easy either. They were big and committing. I had to be on point. I couldn't hold anything back. Finally, just a few foot shy of the bolt and under a small roof, I found the elusive piton. Never was I more grateful to see a piece of rusted iron. After clipping the piton and pulling the little hang, I clipped a fancy modern bolt with a four foot sling. Nothing is more bittersweet than clipping pro with a four footer. Sure, you have pro, but it is already below your feet before you even make a move. Even with the four footer, I would have kissed that bolt if my position was less delicate. After clipping the first bolt, I made a delicate and slightly scary traverse right to another. After clipping that bolt with another four footer, I analyzed my position. I was right underneath the giant Mummy Roof, a 50 foot long sarcophagus shaped monster. I was at a great rest stance, but I quickly realized that I had no reason to do so. Any hesitation now would decrease my chance of success.
My entire trip was being boiled down into this single moment. Every success, every failure, everyone I had met, every climb I had done, and every step I had taken along that carriage road, led me to where I was now, committed to the crux on the climb of my life. I reached as far as I could over that roof, but failed to find a handhold. Another stab found me a nice flat edge. Committing to the roof, I matched on the edge, brought my feet up, and peeked my head over the roof. My hands were on giant discontinuous horizontal. Looking for a sweet spot, I plugged in the big cam, thankful to be rid of the weight but even more thankful for the protection it offered. After some further perusal, my situation seemed less than ideal. My only options for hand holds were some miserable crimps and a useless looking side pull. For feet, my I only had one option, a bomber heal toe cam in the horizontal. I pawed around at the hand holds. None of them were to my liking, and hanging out on the roof was quickly draining my forearms. In my hardest down climb to date, I reversed to moves over the roof to give myself time to think.
After depumping, I realized I wouldn't be able to pull such a stunt again. This time I have to pull the moves. Once again, I pulled over the roof, but this time, I went straight into the climbing. I grabbed a sloping edge to the left, threw my heel into the slot, and grabbed the side pull. The side pull that had seemed so useless with my feet under the roof now proved to be a miracle hold. It allowed me to pull my hips right into the wall and bump my left hand up to an incut crimp. Cranking that heel toe cam for dear life, I let go of the sidepull and reached for another crimp, this one even better than the last. Now I was high enough on the headwall to switch my heel into a toe and stand up to more good crimps. A few more moves deposited me at the Mummy Cave, an optional belay that is best avoided.
Rather than making me feel relieved, reaching the Mummy Cave only increased my tension. I could only think about how bad it would be to fail after coming so far. The Mummy Cave itself was also not terribly reassuring. Far from the spacious cave I had imagined, the Mummy Cave was not even deep enough to get a no hands rest. Its only semblance to a cave was that it was capped by a roof. Knowing that it didn't make sense to stay any longer, I clipped the fixed anchor with yet another four footer and reached over yet another roof. After blindly pawing for more than a minute, I finally found the flake that would carry me into the mental crux. Despite advice to the contrary, I opted to place a blue tcu behind this fragile feature. I doubt that it would have held, but sometimes mental pro is the best pro of all. I worked my way up the flake and threw my foot into a hanging corner to the right. A few hyper delicate moves put me in one of the most bizarre situations in my life. My legs and arms were splayed across this hanging open book with nothing but air between me and the ground. As I stood in that position I could feel my feet gradually slipping off the holds. My hands grew ever sweatier. I knew I couldn't stand there forever, but I didn't know where to go. I had no idea if that cam would hold. The slipping feet were truly disconcerting. Summoning the remainder of my willpower, I carefully made the awkward moves up the dihedral and made an elusive, trick tricam placement. Able to breath easier now, I pulled another roof and the end was in sight. Twenty feet of airy traversing would see me to the top. After I completed the traverse, I pulled a last small roof and finished the climb.
Words can't describe my elation. I had just exactly what I wanted to do, exactly in the way I wanted to do it. It was perfect. Sublime. Two weeks prior, I wouldn't have thought it possible. Five weeks prior, I would have thought it impossible, but there I was. We finished the day with Directissima and Modern Times. It was almost dark when we reached final pitch of Modern Times. I knew it would be my last climb but was not sad. I had no regrets. I had done what I came to do. I simply enjoyed the climb, the sharp contrast of dusk, the sound of bullfrogs and crickets, and every other sensory perception. I was aware, alive. In less than twenty four hours I would be back to the routine of everyday life, but at that moment, I was hanging two hundred feet off the ground on the lip of a massive roof. What more can you ask for?
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 9:51 PM
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Some pics
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Gmburns2000
Jul 29, 2010, 10:01 PM
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Nice Heart of Darkness = Apocalypse Now reference. By far and away not only my favorite movie, but the best movie from a book ever.
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 10:03 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: Nice Heart of Darkness = Apocalypse Now reference. By far and away not only my favorite movie, but the best movie from a book ever.
I agree.
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climboard
Jul 29, 2010, 10:08 PM
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Nice TR and congrats on Yellow Wall. That is a proud onsight.
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 10:08 PM
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climboard wrote: Nice TR and congrats on Yellow Wall. That is a proud onsight.
Thank you.
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mojomonkey
Jul 29, 2010, 11:01 PM
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Nice report, excellent finish :)
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boymeetsrock
Jul 29, 2010, 11:01 PM
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Awesome, John!
Awesome.
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 11:14 PM
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mojomonkey wrote: Nice report, excellent finish :)
Thank you very much.
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johnwesely
Jul 29, 2010, 11:14 PM
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boymeetsrock wrote: Awesome, John! Awesome.
Thank you.
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Bag11s
Jul 30, 2010, 1:57 AM
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John-
Very entertaining trip report, and nice writing style- casual yet particularly descriptive, with a nice balance of nervous anxiety mixed with a sort of offhand casualness. Also congrats on Yellow Wall!
I've been to the Gunks only four times spread out over twenty years but have great memories of the place- especially one weekend where we did four 5.10s, including Stannard's Roof and Fat City Direct. I believe that your approach- of making a fairly extended visit- is a good model for others looking to experience this great destination area.
For non-locals, or others reading of your experiences and wondering how intimidating can it be? You got it right- it's really fun and pleasant where its easy, and its real intimidating when the climbing gets physical.
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johnwesely
Jul 30, 2010, 2:22 AM
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Bag11s wrote: John- Very entertaining trip report, and nice writing style- casual yet particularly descriptive, with a nice balance of nervous anxiety mixed with a sort of offhand casualness. Also congrats on Yellow Wall! I've been to the Gunks only four times spread out over twenty years but have great memories of the place- especially one weekend where we did four 5.10s, including Stannard's Roof and Fat City Direct. I believe that your approach- of making a fairly extended visit- is a good model for others looking to experience this great destination area. For non-locals, or others reading of your experiences and wondering how intimidating can it be? You got it right- it's really fun and pleasant where its easy, and its real intimidating when the climbing gets physical.
Alas, I never made to Fat City Direct. I could have done it on the last day instead of Yellow Wall, but if I was going to do one of the steep ones, then it wasn't too hard to choose Yellow Wall.
As far as the length of my trip, for me, six weeks was absolutely perfect. I probably did 90% of the routes I wanted to do. Six weeks also allowed me to take it really easy. I never felt rushed. Once it got hot, I didn't want to climb before the sun went behinds the cliffs at two, so I didn't. If I only had a week, I would have climbed sundown to sunset every single day. I could have easily climbed twice as many routes during my trip, especially considering that I climbed pretty much every day. Really, I could have climbed three times as many routes if I went at it.
I am glad you enjoyed the writing style. I am glad I could capture and relay part of the Gunks experience for you.
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Dip
Jul 30, 2010, 2:30 AM
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I read these as you put them up. Way to go. Awesome job overcoming everything after what happened to your friend. Great writing, awesome climbing, perfect. So perfect in fact, you've inspired me to rip a day of work next week and head to the gunks. Thanks.
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johnwesely
Jul 30, 2010, 2:36 AM
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Dip wrote: I read these as you put them up. Way to go. Awesome job overcoming everything after what happened to your friend. Great writing, awesome climbing, perfect. So perfect in fact, you've inspired me to rip a day of work next week and head to the gunks. Thanks.
I am happy to support delinquency in any way. I am glad you enjoyed the TR.
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cracklover
Jul 30, 2010, 5:17 AM
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Well done.
Cheers!
GO
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johnwesely
Jul 30, 2010, 1:01 PM
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cracklover wrote: Well done. Cheers! GO
Cheers!
JW
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markguycan
Jul 30, 2010, 3:32 PM
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nice report- I relived the climb through your words.
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mtselman
Jul 30, 2010, 3:44 PM
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John,
Thank you for your fantastic trip reports! As a regular Gunks climber I can closely relate to specific routes you describe. Yet, beyond the specifics of the routes, you managed to capture the essence of the place, the people you met and the journey you had, all in a great style. Excellent read for both locals and outsiders!
--Misha
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johnwesely
Jul 30, 2010, 3:48 PM
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markguycan wrote: nice report- I relived the climb through your words.
Thank you.
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