Ascent Notes for: Carbs and Caffeine - 5.11a popular Average Rating : 4.55/5

six stars out of five

Cruxy moves near the top. Felt on the harder side today. We did p2 of airy aria.

Hard.

dogged this one hot day last summer. felt a ton better in good conditions last weekend.

I got on this in June of 2011 on a very hot and humid day and it spanked us. I took three 20+ foot whippers on the final traverse, with the third one blowing a cam and leaving me 10 feet below my belayer. This time, in good weather, it felt much easier, although I led the 2nd pitch this time.

I took a fall on the end traverse last year and wanted to send it clean, so I waited for nice Fall weather. It actually didn't feel that hard this time.

Great climbing leads to thin crack and thoughtful moves.

TRd P1 only with Josephine, Keith and Ryan.

only did the first pitch. Pete led and i followed. absolutely loved this pitch...delicate, balance-y moves and a nice thin crack!! cant wait till i lead this.

This was most likely the largest roof system I've ever climbed, yet not nearly as hard as it looked. If you pitch off near the end, you'll be learning how to prussic or waiting for a rescue! I really wanted to break it up into 3 pitches, like the book suggested, because my girlfriend was following and I was already pumped below the last roof. I looked for a belay, but could not find one because nearly all of the rock consisted of loose plates. She suggested I just link the last two pitches, so I climbed the final roof with just one piece. As I pulled the lip onto the face, I was looking at a rediculously huge, yet safe and clean fall. I really did not want to fall, so I managed to flail through the last few moves. When she cleaned it, she got up to the last roof and pumped out, taking a HUGE pendulum (clean but scary swing). We were both glad I only placed one piece on the final roof, because it made cleaning and hauling much easier. Again, it is a very clean, safe fall, for both the leader and second, even without much gear, because you are 90 feet out on the rope and 150 feet of the deck!

Moral of the story, place gear often and early, because you'll want (have?) to run it out in the end!