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blueeyedclimber
Mar 22, 2011, 5:06 PM
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Is there really anything better than the anticipation of a climbing trip? I love everything about it; Scouring the internet for the best deals on airfare, rental cars, and sometimes if we want to splurge, hotel rooms. Flipping through the guidebook to get familiar with the area. Developing ticklists. Looking at weather. Deciding on rest days (if we take any). If we do take a rest day, what will we do instead. Wondering if there are any good restaurants in the area, and if there are do they also have good beer (that’s a deal breaker). Long routes? Short routes? Long approach? No approach? Trad? Sport? Bouldering (just kidding)? Organizing gear. Packing. Wondering just how awesome I will be. I love it all! The anticipation is great. It’s not until you actually get there, is when reality creeps in. Maybe you didn’t climb enough beforehand to be in shape. Maybe you’re climbing well, but you are not in shape for the overall trip itself, when you factor in long approaches on rugged terrain, climbing multiple days in a row, or just eating and sleeping differently away from the comfort of your own home. I have always had pretty good fortune on all the trips I have been on. No complaints. Well, until now. Before I report on my most current trip, I just want to tell you that I DID have a good time and I spent a week away with the love of my life, so it was not BAD, per se, but things didn’t exactly work out how I expected or hoped them to. Red Rocks, Nevada. Aside from maybe Yosemite, is there a better destination for trad climbers in this country? If you like long trad routes, then it’s the place to go. Not too long ago, I wrote a thread about dream climbs, with 5 top notch climbs being on my list. One of them was a classic called Levitation 29 (9 pitches, 11c). Now, in my thread, there were mixed reviews about whether it was one of the top climbs in the country (maybe because of all the bolts, but who knows?). Lynn Hill lists it as her favorite climb ever. Better than the Nose? Really? Well, ok, but she is Lynn Hill and I think I’ll take her opinion over some Joe on the internet. So, once we made up our minds to go to Red Rocks, L29 was all I could think of. I talked to countless people and got beta from everyone I knew who had done it (which was about 4 people). “The approach is a Bitch!”, they said. “3+ hours to get in.” “The climbing’s easier than getting there.” I started to build it up so much in my mind that I started to get nervous about it and doubt started to creep in. Was I strong enough? Would Tiff even want to do this? Are we fast enough? What gear should I bring? I want to keep the packs light, but what if I leave something I need? I got so nervous that the night before, I couldn’t sleep. Now, for those of you not familiar with the route, it has rappel anchors at every station (except the top). If we are not fast enough, are running out of daylight, it’s too hard, we’re too tired, or we want to bail for any reason....you can. Why would I be nervous about it? “So it’s a tough hike. Maybe I’m not in shape for it. So what?! Get your ass up there and get on it!”, I had to say to myself. Now, let me back up and start again at the beginning. Once Tiff agreed to do L29, I came up with a plan. Let me also say that this would be our first outdoor climbing of the 2011 season. Day 1 - We would do a moderate mulitpitch to ease back into climbing and to not stress our muscles too much for the next day. I chose Crimson Chrysallis (5.8). Not only is it a moderate grade but is a Red Rocks classic. Underestimation #1: It’s kind of a long hike. The combination of us not being in shape and it being the hottest day of the week, exhausted us before we even got there. Underestimation #2: Not only is it a Red Rocks classic, but apparently it is one of the classics at it’s grade in the entire country. We finally get to the base (after initially going to the wrong wall) and I see people at the base. “Dang!” I was hoping to get lucky and walk right up to it. Then I looked up. There were 4 parties on it (including a group of 3) and another group of 3 waiting. There’s no way I am waiting behind that many people. Luckily there was another climb in the area that I really wanted to do as well. The only problem is that, although not too hard, it was harder than I wanted to climb that day. Unimpeachable Groping (10b) is a 5-7 pitch sport climb up this beautiful rock in Pine Creek Canyon. We get there and there is one party on it. Well, that’s much better and after talking to them we find out that they are only doing the first pitch and rapping after the second gets to the first anchor. “Perfect!” I think to myself. I have a suspicion that if we weren’t there ready to do it that they might have kept going. They were new to multipitch and were going a little slow. I told them that I don’t want to rush them and we will wait and not to worry about it. They said that they didn’t think they would go very fast and they are coming down. “Ok,” I said. Secretly, I was very happy. Tiff said she was exhausted from the hike so I led everything. I think we did everything except the last 5.8 pitch, because we were tired and that allowed us to rap straight down and get to the base quicker. Underestimation #3: I am a good judge of distances (or is that an overestimation?). On Unimpeachable groping, there are quite a few anchors. Sometimes those anchors look like you can skip one to rap to the next one. This is a bad habit of mine. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. Tiff doesn’t like this habit. I did it twice this day. I may have learned my lesson. The first time I did it, there was a big ledge that I was able to reach until Tiff rapped to the anchor and set up the rope again. The second time I did it, I was well short, so that I couldn’t reach it, with no ledge to bail me out. I was about 10 feet shy. I tied a knot in the rope and treated that as my tie-in and shouted up to Tiff to put me on belay. She needed slack to do that, so I climbed up to give it to her. Luckily the climbing wasn’t too hard and I could easily reach the wall. Otherwise I would have had to prussik up an entire pitch and that would have sucked. We finally get down and decide we are way too exhausted to do L29 tomorrow. More doubt started to creep in. “Would I even get to do it?” “If not now, when?” Day 2 - We decided to go cragging. At this point we still hadn’t set in stone our schedule to attempt L29, or if we were even going to. I was tired and had already begun to lose motivation (this is not like me). I wanted Tiff to lead something, so she picked out where we were going and what she wanted to do. She picked an easier single pitch trad route called Peaches. I was so tired, I was happy to just follow her all day (also not like me). It turns out, she was just as tired as me. We started talking, and started to think about doing L29 another day. “Which day?” “How bout Thursday?” “That’s tomorrow! If we are going to do it, then I am not sure I want to climb any more today.” We made the decision to make Day 2 a rest day and climb L29 on Thursday. Now, it’s ON! My motivation started to come back. But, so did doubt. Day 3 - 4 a.m. Time to get up. I was still tired but felt much better than I did the previous day, even though I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked. The park opens at 6 a.m. and I wanted to make sure we got there before 6 to ensure every possible second. There is a way to park out of the park and hike in but it adds a mile or 2 to the hike. I didn’t want to do that. The park closes at 7 but Red Rocks has a phone system in place to apply for a “late exit pass” for certain areas and routes. Assuming that we would probably be coming out late, I took care of that the day before. We were not only early to the gate, we arrived at 5:10 a.m. “Did I remember the headlamps?” I thought to myself. To make our load light, I was going to carry the pack with a trimmed down rack, and Tiff would carry just a small pack with the hydration pouch. Because we switched Tiff’s pack, I neglected to grab the headlamp out of her pack and put it in the smaller one. I didn’t want to do the heinous descent in the dark with one headlamp, so we made a quick decision to go back for it, thinking we should be able to get back by 6:00. We got back by 5:56 and already there was a line of 4 or 5 cars waiting to get in. Almost as soon as we got there, the ranger opened up the gate to let the line in. A few minutes early. Great! I started to think, however, what if all these people are going to do L29, ignoring the fact about the grade of the climb and the heinous approach, not to mention the 1000’s of other climbs in the park. More doubt. Two nights before, we had met up with our friend John (vegastradguy) for dinner. He had done L29 (more than once I believe) and I was grilling him for beta on the approach. I had read in the guide book about a quicker one than the traditional approach. He had done it and was explaining how to find the start of it. I thought I understood him. Walking up the trail, as soon as I came to something that matched his description, we headed up, not knowing that we were heading up way too early. It was actually the way up to Black Orpheus. This approach takes on some 3rd-class to steep 4th class steps (maybe low 5th class, not sure). Tiff wanted to be backed up by a rope a couple times so I was happy to provide it for her. We continued up and I kept one eye on the huge ledge that I knew we were supposed to eventually be on. Not only did this trail never lead there but we got cliffed out and we realized we had made a big mistake. Demoralized and realizing that we had just wasted a lot of time, we started to head back down. Even though we decided to rap in a couple places, the way down went much faster. But, we knew that we now had no shot at the entire route. Kind of deflated, I suggested that maybe we should just go sport climbing (once again, not like me). When we got back to the trail, we ran into some guys who I started talking to. I told them our situation and they not only showed me the “correct trail”, but encouraged me to keep going and maybe just do a few pitches, just to get on it. Slightly reenergized, I thought that was a good plan. Besides If I go all the way up, I will know the way for the next time. Tiff agreed. This trail seemed very similar to the last one, with me belaying Tiff once, but I at least knew I was headed in the right direction this time. We finally made it to what’s called the IBM boulder which is a sure landmark to tell you you’re in the right place. Once you get there, you take a left and go up the long, low angle, thigh burning slabs to the base of the wall. Poor Tiff. Neither one of us were in shape, but with her asthma, I think it was effecting her a lot more. We finally get to the base of the wall, 6.5 hours after we started hiking. She told me she didn’t think she could climb. I wanted to do a few pitches but I decided just to do the first pitch and clean on rappel. I started out the day wanting to do the whole route, but at this point it was more important to learn the descent and approach. If I had a shot at the whole route, I would have given it my all. But now, with that gone, I kept thinking, “You know, I don’t want to go down in the dark.” So with chilling out and doing one pitch, we were assured to have daylight for the entire walk out. The walk down, even in daylight, wasn’t as straight forward as I was hoping. It was fairly chill with no pressure and good visibility but I really had to pay attention and keep an eye out for the cairns. Even though you can see exactly where you need to get to, there was definitely a best way to get down, and even though I believe I followed the right path, it seemed that it would be a little tricky in the dark. I was disappointed but tried to remain optimistic and I was determined to not let it ruin our vacation. After all, L29 will be there next time. And, so that we didn’t focus on just this one climb for our entire trip, I did not push on giving it another go. Day 4 - With the stress of L29 behind us, Tiff felt that she needed to get more leading in, so we decided to go cragging again. We went to Willow Springs. She had eyed a climb the other day called Sumo Greatness (5.9+). It follows a corner and then traverses to a steep slab above a bulge. You climb up a little to a bolt and then do cruxy moves above this bolt to another bolt, which is further away then you would like. If you blow a move before clipping the second bolt, then you will hit the bulge, most assuredly getting hurt. After going up and down, she decided she didn’t want to commit to it, so turned the lead over to me. I got up to the bolt and immediately felt her pain. The moves themselves above the bolt felt harder and more insecure then the grade suggested, but I committed to them and got to the second bolt. Trying to relax, I pulled up rope and clipped. As soon as I did I shouted down to Tiff, “I don’t blame you, that was f%#@ing scary!” After doing a little more climbing at Willow Springs, we thought it would be fun and relaxing to finish up the day with a little sport climbing. So that’s what we did. Day 5 and 6 - Sport Climbing. What? Sport Climbing? Didn’t you come to do long trad routes? Yes. Yes, we did. But, Whatever. Even though I consider myself a trad climber, there is something relaxing about sport climbing. It’s FUN! Just concentrating on climbing. Climb, climb, climb, clip, climb, climb, climb, clip........ The light pack, the short approach, the comraderie of your sport climbing brethren, shouting, “Come on, dude!” It’s Fun. Yup, on day 5, we decided to go sport climbing at Calico Hills. This happened to be the scene of my one accomplishment this trip. I onsighted my first 5.12 (don’t even tell me that RR grades are soft, because I might have to hurt you ;) I only sport climb a handful of times each year, but for the past few years, I have pretty consistently sent a low 12 (a or b) on each trip. They have always taken a couple tries, though. In some ways, I consider myself a better sport climber than trad climber, given my set of skills. I am good at technical face climbs (preferably slightly overhung) and juggy roofs. I also believe that if I gave up my rack and spent a little time training and working on projects, that I could climb up to 13a or b. I’m not going to do that, but I could. Tiff might divorce me, though. All in all, it was a good day, and I felt pretty good about it, even though it was not what I expected to be doing. Let me back up a little bit. We did not plan to go sport climbing. We wanted to actually get on some stuff that we had talked about before we even got here. One of the days, we wanted to head into Black Velvet Canyon and tick off one of the classics there, like Dream of Wild Turkeys, Prince of Darkness, The Gobbler, Fiddler on the Roof, etc. Basically, whatever was open. Both Tiff and I had previously done Sour Mash with different partners, so I was not even opposed to doing that one again. I just wanted to do a longer route, and time was running out. Well, even though mid week, temps had reached 70’s and 80’s, the cold and windy temps had come in for the weekend, with potential for 40 to 50 mph gusts. With that and the fact the BV canyon stays in the shade for the majority of the day, it didn’t sound too appealing. So, we went sport climbing. We were HOPING that the weather would change for Sunday, but it got worse. Just as windy as Saturday, but colder. So, our trip came to an end without really doing ANY of the climbs we were hoping to do. This is our first experience with a trip that doesn’t quite work out the way you expected. But, I’m an optimist. I got to spend a week climbing with my best friend and the sexiest partner a man could hope for. We also got to see downtown Vegas for the first time (what a weird place). Hey, sometimes things just don’t work out. That’s life. C’est La Vie!
(This post was edited by blueeyedclimber on Mar 22, 2011, 5:27 PM)
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epoch
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Mar 22, 2011, 5:24 PM
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Awesome! Glad you two had fun, despite the pain.
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olderic
Mar 22, 2011, 5:58 PM
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Fear and Loathing?
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gblauer
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Mar 22, 2011, 6:18 PM
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So sorry that the trip didn't quite work out the way you planned. Sounds like you had an adventure anyways. And...any climbing is better than no climbing.
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boymeetsrock
Mar 22, 2011, 6:40 PM
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Way to turn lemons into lemonade. Sounds like a nice trip after all.
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edge
Mar 22, 2011, 7:23 PM
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olderic wrote: Fear and Loathing? Ah yes, Dr. Thompson's most excellent guidebook for rescuing any failed roadtrip. His techniques are guaranteed success! Josh, you'll be back someday, wiser, stronger, and ready to send. For whatever reason, it just wasn't the right time this trip. Thanks for sharing.
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olderic
Mar 22, 2011, 7:26 PM
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edge wrote: olderic wrote: Fear and Loathing? Ah yes, Dr. Thompson's most excellent guidebook for rescuing any failed roadtrip. His techniques are guaranteed success! Josh, you'll be back someday, wiser, stronger, and ready to send. For whatever reason, it just wasn't the right time this trip. Thanks for sharing. Actually I was asking if the 12a he sent was Fear and Loathing (Wall of Confusion). But yes it is one of several routes at Red Rocks with the same name that was inspired by the works of the venerable doctor.
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edge
Mar 22, 2011, 7:30 PM
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olderic wrote: edge wrote: olderic wrote: Fear and Loathing? Ah yes, Dr. Thompson's most excellent guidebook for rescuing any failed roadtrip. His techniques are guaranteed success! Josh, you'll be back someday, wiser, stronger, and ready to send. For whatever reason, it just wasn't the right time this trip. Thanks for sharing. Actually I was asking if the 12a he sent was Fear and Loathing (Wall of Confusion). But yes it is one of several routes at Red Rocks with the same name that was inspired by the works of the venerable doctor. I knew what you were asking, but I went in another direction with it.
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blueeyedclimber
Mar 22, 2011, 7:50 PM
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olderic wrote: edge wrote: olderic wrote: Fear and Loathing? Ah yes, Dr. Thompson's most excellent guidebook for rescuing any failed roadtrip. His techniques are guaranteed success! Josh, you'll be back someday, wiser, stronger, and ready to send. For whatever reason, it just wasn't the right time this trip. Thanks for sharing. Actually I was asking if the 12a he sent was Fear and Loathing (Wall of Confusion). But yes it is one of several routes at Red Rocks with the same name that was inspired by the works of the venerable doctor. Actually, it was Wedgie at Panty Wall (first pullout). Handren lists it as 12b, rc.com has it at 12a. I thought you were talking about my demeanor during the trip, and I was going to reply with "Lack of Motiviation and Self-Pity" Josh
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Gmburns2000
Mar 22, 2011, 7:56 PM
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Sometimes I'm just happy finding routes on the longer approaches for the next time. Now that you know it's there, you'll bag it next time. Good TR. Thanks!
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Dip
Mar 22, 2011, 10:33 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: Sometimes I'm just happy finding routes on the longer approaches for the next time. Now that you know it's there, you'll bag it next time. Good TR. Thanks! +1 I tried L29 about 3 weeks ago and had to rap after the 5th pitch. Ran out of daylight, water, plus a few other small mistakes added up to thwart our efforts. I'm not gonna lie i lost a little sleep over not topping it out, but with everything we learned i'm sure it'll go next time. Now i just have to get back out to Red Rock to do it.
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vegastradguy
Mar 22, 2011, 10:33 PM
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it was great to see you guys, kind of bummed i didnt get a chance to climb with you, but theres always next time! btw- Sumo Greatness has a fearsome reputation and probably has only seen a handful of ascents over the years- nice job on that one! my apologies for the bad approach beta- i sometimes forget how confusing the desert can be if you're not familiar with it. i'll make it up to you next time and hike out there with you guys and take a nap while you send!
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ensonik
Mar 22, 2011, 10:53 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: Sometimes I'm just happy finding routes on the longer approaches for the next time. Now that you know it's there, you'll bag it next time. Good TR. Thanks! Agreed. Great TR. I just came back from RR having had a rough time as well, I came out of it with what Greg says: Next time, I won't get screwed over by the approaches (getting lost on the approaches pretty much fumbled my shot at finishing Solar Slab, Cat in the Hat and Lean Lady). Your TR makes me realize that my 13 year old son whom I was with for the trip is tougher than I thought. I've been keeping busy this winter by hiking the New York 46'ers, sometimes 2 or 3 in a day, but not my son. So him saying that he was a bit tired after 3 days makes sense. Again, great TR and thanks for sharing.
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aerili
Mar 22, 2011, 11:26 PM
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All I can say is: welcome to Red Rocks! If you go there enough, you're bound to get bouted eventually.
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enigma
Mar 23, 2011, 6:43 AM
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Red Rocks has great climbing. Soft rock , Soft grades. Lots of multi-pitches and beautiful scenery, It sounds like you put the stress and expectations into the equation. I don't see the point of getting up at 4 am. Or to make you and your wife sick and exhausted. Having fun, feeling good is a better way to climb. I'm glad you had a good time. I climbed at josh this weekend and on Sunday it was windy and my partner felt rushed so we only did a couple of climbs. You had a good week, you climbed and you didn't get injured. Be thankful. Its all good.
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troutboy
Mar 23, 2011, 12:12 PM
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I have the same issue with Red Rocks. Although well past the mid-century mark, I do endurance mountain bike races and consider myself in pretty good shape, but Red Rocks is at altitude and coming from the flatlands I just find it very hard to be able to do long climbs after the long hikes in. Essentially, I just don't anything more than easy climbing at Red Rocks unless I have two weeks, so I can use the first few days to get used to the long approaches with full packs. It is was it is, and having your attitude of making the best of a trip that might fall a bit shy of expectations is the best way to be. No need stressing over what might have been. TS
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blueeyedclimber
Mar 23, 2011, 3:23 PM
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enigma wrote: It sounds like you put the stress and expectations into the equation. Sometimes climbing is stressful. Well, not sport climbing.
In reply to: I don't see the point of getting up at 4 am. Uhh, if you need more time to try and complete a route, you get up earlier.
In reply to: Or to make you and your wife sick and exhausted. Who said anything about sick? And why wouldn't you be exhausted from long approaches and climbing all day? If you are not exhausted from a day of climbing, then you are not trying.
In reply to: Having fun, feeling good is a better way to climb. Pushing your abilities and testing yourself is fun. If you don't step out of your comfort zone, you don't learn anything.
In reply to: I'm glad you had a good time. We certainly did. We adapted to the situation.
In reply to: I climbed at josh this weekend and on Sunday it was windy and my partner felt rushed so we only did a couple of climbs. Maybe you should stop rushing your partners
In reply to: You had a good week, you climbed and you didn't get injured. Be thankful. I am always thankful. A bad day climbing is better than a good day......well, anywhere. Josh
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airforceclmr
Mar 23, 2011, 3:30 PM
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Thanks for the story. I blew my opportunity in the Red because we were all too hung over to hike / climb any of our true objectives. At least you didn't get up because of a nav error/Wx, my trip was less honorable. Damn you Las Vegas Boulevard!
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blueeyedclimber
Mar 23, 2011, 3:40 PM
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I forgot one very important detail that was like salt in the wound of our Day 3 epic. Somewhat defeated and trying to find the best way down the descent to the two pine trees, I lost my footing on some dirt and rocks. Not to worry, though, because their was a cactus to cushion my fall. YOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never bounced back up so quickly. "You OK!?" Tiff called out. "I think so." I said, as I reached around to my butt to feel what was now a very large pin cushion. "One, pluck, OW!" "Two, Pluck, OW!" By now, Tiff had reached me and continued to perform the plucking. 5 total. Oh, wait. 6.....7....Ow! Ow! All right, all gone. We continued are descent, but I was much more careful regarding the local flora. Josh
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cracklover
Mar 23, 2011, 5:28 PM
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Great TR! Sorry things didn't work out as planned. I know *exactly* how that goes. Making the best out of a situation that doesn't go how you'd like is a skill all its own. So you got to work on that skill! :) Thanks for the write-up, and hope to see you guys soon. GO
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edge
Mar 23, 2011, 5:31 PM
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Any pics of this trip? Well, everything except the cactus spines?
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olderic
Mar 23, 2011, 5:40 PM
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Reminds me of the time Nika accidentally kicked a cactus out there - did not end well. But not as badly as it went the time her British bred husband tripped and head butted a cactus in Jtree - did in both ends at once on that one. I've already told you about how Soon's and my experience on L-29 wasn't all that much better then yours. But just to keep you from thinking the whole family is incompetent I will report that a couple of day ago Zeb and his girlfriend did L-29 (complete) AND Eagle Dance (5 pitches) in a day. I asked "how long did the approach take?". the response "well we started from the main road because we wanted to go before the loop was open - and it was dark - we probably didn't go the best way - about 2.5 hours". - arggh. But he was more excited about on-sighting Drifting, Cloud Tower (claims it was the biggest rack he ever carried) and going for the Rainbow wall tomorrow. So someone in the family can climb. Nice job on sloper, sloper, sloper dyno last night. It would have taken me 3 hops to reach that hold and then my arm would have pulled out of the socket.
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cracklover
Mar 23, 2011, 5:50 PM
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olderic wrote: Reminds me of the time Nika accidentally kicked a cactus out there - did not end well. But not as badly as it went the time her British bred husband tripped and head butted a cactus in Jtree - did in both ends at once on that one. I've already told you about how Soon's and my experience on L-29 wasn't all that much better then yours. But just to keep you from thinking the whole family is incompetent I will report that a couple of day ago Zeb and his girlfriend did L-29 (complete) AND Eagle Dance (5 pitches) in a day. I asked "how long did the approach take?". the response "well we started from the main road because we wanted to go before the loop was open - and it was dark - we probably didn't go the best way - about 2.5 hours". - arggh. But he was more excited about on-sighting Drifting, Cloud Tower (claims it was the biggest rack he ever carried) and going for the Rainbow wall tomorrow. So someone in the family can climb. Nice job on sloper, sloper, sloper dyno last night. It would have taken me 3 hops to reach that hold and then my arm would have pulled out of the socket. A few years ago I tried to get the story from Bill S and Dave R about their attempt on L29. See for months before the trip, Dave R had been talking up how they were going to crush it, no problem. I mostly kept my mouth shut, 'cause I'd heard the reputation about the climb. So anyway, I ran into him in the gym after they got back. He didn't want to talk about it. G p.s. - glad to hear Zeb is still tearing it up. That's awesome!
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blueeyedclimber
Mar 23, 2011, 6:01 PM
Post #24 of 37
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Registered: Nov 19, 2002
Posts: 4602
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edge wrote: Any pics of this trip? Well, everything except the cactus spines? Unfortunately, I realized the first day that my camera wasn't working. I wonder if the rechargeable battery finally kicked it. I have a few on my phone that I will try to put up. Josh
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jsh
Mar 23, 2011, 6:50 PM
Post #25 of 37
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Registered: Oct 24, 2003
Posts: 118
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Gabe ... I'd pay good money to hear the story of Bill & Dave. I'd pay better money to hear it from both sides ;-) Josh, sorry the trip didn't pan out so well. It sure does happen to all of us at some point. I can say that when I lived out there, the long hikes were just in my legs, thoughtlessly, and now that I live back East again I'm back to oh ... god ... how much further? I have a pic. from a long-ago trip to Joshua Tree, where Brian B. is fully stemmed out, ~4' over a cactus (David B. belaying). When I heard you'd fallen on a cactus, I immediately thought of that picture. Glad it was 'only' a hiking fall, and no nads were harmed.
(This post was edited by jsh on Mar 23, 2011, 6:54 PM)
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