Skip to Content

Routes : Reviews

overthehillclimber's Logbook (4 ascents)

Climbing Log | Hit List (0)



Show: Sort by: Display:

Comments:  Show | Hide


Routes: North America: United States: Virginia: DC Metro - North Eastern: Great Falls Park: Aid Box

Monkey Paws (AKA Illumination Arete) Average Rating = 0.00/5 Average Rating : 0.00/5

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.11c
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Top Rope Top Rope ascent by: overthehillclimber on 2012-11-10 (View Climbing Log)

4 out of 5 stars Second ascent ???

I worked on this route over several months in 2012, finally getting it clean. It is like a boulder problem on a rope, with two hard sequences. The top sequence might be relatively easy for a really tall climber as the hardest move on the climb might be avoidable. I wrote up the route and suggested the AKA, but Ethan completed it the previous year.

Added: 2012-11-14

Routes: North America: United States: Oregon: Smith Rock: 07. Smith Rock Group: TBA

Freedom..... Average Rating = 0.00/5 Average Rating : 0.00/5

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.11c
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Onsight Onsight ascent by: overthehillclimber on 2011-06-15 (View Climbing Log)

5 out of 5 stars Great route. I did it with my son, Chris.

Ascent style should be "Hangdog." Well, some of the pitches went onsight.

Freedom’s Just Another Word for Nothing Left To Lose (5.11c with the “Good Ol’ Variation) is possibly the longest route at Smith Rocks. On the east face of the Smith Rocks formation, it runs to six pitches, counting the short 5.6 junk pitch to get to the very summit. I strategized to draw the softest pitches, but there was no way to avoid leading one of the two 5.11c pitches, without obviously wimping out. I led the first pitch, reasonable 5.10a on bolts.

Pitch 2 was the first of the business pitches, 5.11c on bolts; steep face with some overhang on bulges. Chris onsighted. Beautiful! I hung once on the toprope. This marred the perfection of the ascent, but given what was coming later, it was unlikely to be the only imperfection.

Pitch 3, my first business pitch, relented only slightly, featuring 5.11b on bolts followed by 40 feet or so of 5.8 trad. I hung once on the 5.11b part. Not perfect, but then I don’t claim to be a Smith Rocks 5.11b climber.

Pitch 4 of Freedom is a 5.12b arête, but we had planned from the beginning to do the alternate Good Ol’ Variation pitch at 5.11b. Again Chris onsighted. Again I hung once on top rope. A pattern seemed to be developing.

Pitch 5, my last pitch, was 5.11c, comprising a 5.11c trad diagonal crack followed by 5.11c steep face on bolts. I hung once on the trad and twice on the bolts, but I made it! Chris hung as much or more than I did on the TR, making me feel ever so much better. By the time Chris arrived, I was borderline hypothermic from the cold wind, and he was cold too. Our windbreakers were in the pack which was at the previous belay, so we elected to forego the summit 5.6 junk pitch in favor of getting down to our jackets.

We had towed an extra rope to allow us to rappel the route. It can be done with a single 70 meter rope, but we had only a 60. So, tie the ropes together and get down to that pack. Ahh, some measure of warmth! After the next rappel, I committed a blunder that could have resulted in an epic. We had both arrived at the lower belay ledge and tied in and I let go of the ropes—not deliberately, but casually, forgetting that a) we weren’t quite straight below the upper rappel anchors, having traversed slightly rightward, and b) the wind was blowing strongly from the right. Both ends promptly blew out about 10 feet left and hung there, just out of reach. After abject apologies on my part, we set about to see what could be done to avoid having to call in a rescue while still maintaining safety. Chris was on 4-foot slings and I on 2-foot. He leaned as far left as possible, but was six or eight feet short of the ropes. We strung together several webs and draws and hung several biners on the end. He leaned out as far as possible again and swung the biners toward the rope. After a half-dozen or so tries, they wrapped nicely around the ropes and he pulled them to us. Whew! Saved! We had considerable additional resources, as we thought about it later, that could have been drawn on if plan A hadn’t been sufficient. We had 20 feet or so of cordelette in the pack. I also thought later that if we had chained together the half dozen or so cams on our rack, they would have provided something like a grappling hook to provide a better chance of catching the rope. The rest of the rappels were routine, and we were so tired when we got to the ground that we gave away nearly three hours of daylight in favor of finding dinner and a motel.


Added: 2011-06-30

Routes: North America: United States: Virginia: DC Metro - North Eastern: Great Falls Park: Birds Nest

Face Flop'n Average Rating = 0.00/5 Average Rating : 0.00/5

Ratings
  Difficulty 5.11d
  Safety Rating G
  Exposure
  Rock Quality
  Scenery
  Fun Factor
Top Rope Top Rope ascent by: overthehillclimber on 2008-11-02 (View Climbing Log)

4 out of 5 stars It's a piece of work

I have been climbing Face Floppin' for about four years. Sometime around 2004 or 5 a foothold broke off, making the last dyno/deadpoint more difficult. (It wasn't much of a foothold, but its loss made the finish harder by a grade.) Tall climbers can do the final dyno/deadpoint from lower footholds, making it easier. Stronger climbers can static the last sequence. Me (old climber) I have to dyno like crazy. It is a very satisfying route, even though it really amounts to just two dynos.

Added: 2008-11-03

Routes: North America: United States: Washington: Southwest Washington: Columbia River Gorge: Beacon Rock

Blownout Average Rating = 0.00/5 Average Rating : 0.00/5

Ratings
  Difficulty
Onsight Onsight ascent by: overthehillclimber on 2004-03-22 (View Climbing Log)

0 out of 5 stars Ascent Note

Overthehillclimber and son! Really liked this. Grade is hard, like Seneca or Gunks 5.10a. Some rests in chimney stances and stems, as appreciated by overthehill climber. Crux near top of dihedral at bulge. Beautiful view over the Columbia River.

Added: 2004-03-22