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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 26, 2011 - 07:51pm PT
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Is Rixon's Pinnacle is still potential death zone nowadays due to the unstable rockfall zone on the upper tiers of the wall?
Looked at East Chimney of Rixon's yesterday (did not know what it is) and was thinking that impressive overhanging chimney should be 5.10. Checked book at the car and found that this pitch (p2) is just 5.8 and have great history. Probably everybody in the 60th-70th Valley regulars - climbed it.
Rixon's Pinnacle East Chimney : Don Goodrich/Dick McCracken 1956 !!!
FFA Royal Robbins/DaveRearick 1960
Jim Bridwell in interview telling story in this youtube about East Chimney of Rixon's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkWTfXWfHVk
It is funny that footage is from different route- Reed's Left
So back to my question - is this area now is more dangerous than other Valley areas to be buried under rock fall?
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Sep 26, 2011 - 08:35pm PT
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i don't know that Rixon's is any more dangerous than it used to be; when it was a favorite day climb for many of us
i don't think the East Chimney should be downgraded unless the entire grading system is being downgraded
back in the day when all the hardest routes were rated 5.9; there were many attempts by the best climbers to free that route; so consensus was that it would have to be rated a 5.10 if it was freed
the jam crack on the first half of the pitch was by itself rated 5.9
the jam crack turns into an undercling; and the crux is moving from the undercling into a flared bombay squeeze chimney
the second pitch chimney can be called 5.8 and a bit spooky; but the first pitch is a different matter; and even Royal took a long fall in attempting it
it is unclear who did the first free ascent; so far as i know it was either Chouinard or Royal
i have talked about it with Royal, and he is unclear about it
i never asked Yvon about the story told about his ascent...
probably someone else on ST knows better than me
in 1961 or 1962 i was sandbagged by Margaret Young into trying it and succeeded on sight
Frank Sacherer heard about this and took me back there and i repeated the lead, observed by a group of Camp 4 regulars including Chuck Pratt
Frank watched me closely and followed my lead; but none of the others were able to repeat it at the time
i think it is fine to add to the top of the scale; but inappropriate to downgrade routes that were established as standard points on the scale during the learning process
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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2011 - 08:56pm PT
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Tom, I did not meant to change rating of East chimney or upgrade.
I just said that p2 looks harder from bottom of the climb than it is. ( actually I do not know since I did not climb it)
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Sep 26, 2011 - 11:20pm PT
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Royal fell when he tried an entirely different crack to the left
of the route. He raced up in his youthful, ambitious, impetuous way and
simply slipped. He fell to the ground and landed in a standing
position on the ground, a bit wide-eyes, half amused.
Look at that lefthand crack, and it's fierce and
very steep. Then he stepped right and on-sight liebacked the crack,
calling it 5.9. Later people worked at it as a jam, rather than a
lieback. And it's harder as a jam, as people later determined probably
all of 5.10a or so, for a short
distance. As a lieback it's straightforward, though scary. I think
Royal managed to hang there in a lieback and hammer in a good pin,
so he was relatively safe. But it was a bold lead for back then,
no chalk, manky Spiders, etc. To do it as a jam is technically
more difficult but not a problem psychologically, as it's easy
to get protection almost anywhere. And, as Tom C. says it's
a little tricky moving out of the lieback and into the squeeze above,
but that is by no means the crux for either the lieback or jam.
The crux of the jam is the squeeze where the chest doesn't fit in
the short offwidth. The crux of the lieback is making that commitment
and moving up into a kind difficult-to-reverse series of otherwise
fairly solid moves.
The initial jam crack getting up to the crux is about 5.6 at most.
Almost every time I've done the climb, water was dripping down through
the crack and made it about a grade harder (at least) than it
should have been.... This was a climb rated in retrospect years
later and from that later 20-20 hindsight vision easy
to determine it was 5.10a and the first 5.10 in the Valley, though
it's hard to know exactly how to treat it, when the lieback clearly
isn't 5.10 but might be close to it psychologically. Royal was very
solid and bold on liebacks, often ran them out without a second thought.
It's a climb that would have been well within the ability of Pratt.
Who knows? Wasn't in the mood? I can only speculate. He has a
thin chest and very wide shoulders, and that kind of pitch, well
he would have fit into the solid squeeze lower and sooner than
some of us with big husty chests.... I doubt it would have challenged
him too seriously.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Sep 27, 2011 - 12:21am PT
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I remember doing Rixons East the first week I was in Yoz. as a high schooler and jamming the thing and believing it was the hardest crack in the world. Then that slot chimney on the upper part and goodby kneecaps. I think the West Face is the most elegant route on the Pinnacle.
JL
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Sep 27, 2011 - 12:33pm PT
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Rixon's East, my first 5.10 lead in the Valley or anywhere for that matter.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Sep 27, 2011 - 12:41pm PT
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As far as I am concerned, I would climb on Rixon's. Rockfall simply happens, for christs sake, and anywhere. I wouldn't characterize Rixon's as a high-risk area. I mean, Elephant Rock!?!!! The sturdiest seeming hunk of granite we have and the sucker has had rockfall so large it loped across the river in house-sized chunks.
The Rixon routes are really excellent. Thinking back, they have to be all multi-star climbs; done them all even including the original Wilts one before I was driving age even. Direct South face is actually a pretty significant crack climb, btw.
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Sep 27, 2011 - 03:35pm PT
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I made the first free ascent of the West Face of Rixon's
in about '70 (would have to look). It's five pitches of
really fine climbing, ending with a long hand jam up the
left side of the summit block, the whole route having a couple
of easy 5.10 sections, but highly recommended.
The Far West face of Rixon's is a kind of wild affair. Kor told
me a story of coming off and grabbing a big flake 15 lower and
by some miracle catching himself... There is a pendulum high up
on the route that isn't easy....
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 27, 2011 - 04:29pm PT
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> Is Rixon's Pinnacle is still potential death zone nowadays due to the unstable rockfall zone on the upper tiers of the wall?
Yes.
I did Rixon's West several times before the big rockfalls, and went back in 2006. After a pitch, looking down at the "blast zone" below, I didn't feel so good. We finished it anyway. I dreaded even walking back to the base to pick up our packs and shoes. I don't plan to go back anytime soon.
Roger had a "near miss" on the Direct South Face, when a big rockfall came down about 10' out from the wall.
Rixon's East would be a little better protected.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Sep 27, 2011 - 04:51pm PT
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I failed on the East Chimney in 1969, but succeeded two years ago, so it must be improved equipment! The southeast face of the Three Brothers was always a rockfall zone, but it didn't stop me from learning aid on Koko Ledge and Koko Continuation, although a refrigerator-sized block came sickenigly past us on the latter.
I agree with Warbler -- the East Chimney is relatively safe on a notoriously rockfall-prone wall. I even did a couple of pitches on the Direct South Face a few years ago, marveling at how what was once exceedingly popular was deserted. Then I went by last year and saw some awfully fresh and fine dust on the talus. Maybe it isn't as safe as I was pretending it was. . .
John
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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2011 - 05:02pm PT
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but succeeded two years ago, so it must be improved equipment!
ha,ha
JEleazarian, do you remember do you need to cary big gear to protect the chimney ?
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Sep 27, 2011 - 05:06pm PT
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No big gear needed at all.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Sep 27, 2011 - 05:08pm PT
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I didn't carry anything bigger than 3", but I'm also fairly secure in chimneys, though this one is both flaring and converging. I don't recall needing bigger gear, though.
When I tried it in '69, I'd been climbing in the Valley for only a little while, and I didn't have anything bigger than a 2" angle, which had something to do with my abject failure. In truth, though, I simply didn't know how to climb that kind of a jamcrack, and was too afraid to try a do-or-die lieback, which is what it would have been.
John
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Sep 27, 2011 - 09:59pm PT
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If you do it as a "jam," well,
the crack itself is bottoming, in the sense that there is a block
in the crack, with a finger-type crack on either side of it. It's not
good and difficult to use, so the main jam techniques hold up as
necessary, such as heel-toe. It's too narrow for an arm lock (with elbow
up) and too shallow for a traditional arm bar (arm extended into the
crack to lever off of). But after a few of these awkward moves, the
crack widens, and when the chest can start to fit, then an armlock
starts to work also, and it's over. The rest is very straightforward
and moderate.
Royal, when he first did it, tried the crack off to the left, raced
up and slipped. Impetuous, careless, maybe. Landed on his feet on
the ground, fortunately. He shrugged that off and stepped right, then
sight-led the pitch, as a lieback (moving into a chimney where it
widens)
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Sep 27, 2011 - 10:49pm PT
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I can't comment on the rockfall, but do have a funny story about the East Chimney. This was back in the 60s on a Sunday afternoon; someone announced that they were going to do the east chimney. A group of us from Berkeley went over to watch. They were having a lot of trouble with it, although they had gotten a piton in just below the crux. They asked if anyone elese wanted to try it. Dick Erb, clad in his hush puppies, announced that he would give it a go and fired it!
There has been some discussion of the crux. My recollection both from watching Dick and leading it later is that you are laybacking, must jam the left toe, and then swing into a jam.
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Sep 27, 2011 - 11:44pm PT
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Eric,
Always good to have you post. Erb! Yes, all you guys were/are great.
The way you describe Dick doing the pitch is the lieback way, and
not the jam. He must have simply made a decision and took that
approach. It is surprisingly do-able that way but not the way most
climbers would naturally approach it, preferring the security of facing
into the crack and thinking they will find protection and holds rather
than be committed to some leaning lieback where it might be hard to
let go and get something in.
A small point. Hush puppies are probably an excellent shoe for such
a lieback, as they smear. My friend Larry Dalke could climb as well,
and sometimes better, in his hushpuppies than in climbing shoes.
I did a short new route over along the bottom of Reed Pinnacle that
I climbed in my street shoes, because they smeared better against
the sloping rock on either side of this steep lieback. This said, I
don't mean to take anything from Dick's lead. It's well known he
is and was a fine climber, and I'm sure back then he had the stuff
to do the East Chimney. One thing, if you get in a decent piece or
two of protection, a fall is about as safe as one could get (short
of a free fall into space), as the rock below is simply smooth granite.
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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 28, 2011 - 03:36pm PT
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thanks all for the stories, photos about East Chimney of Rixon's. It looks like really historic good and clean route which for some reason have no traffic nowadays, despite it has ~20 min approach from camp4. Knowing that not much debris on the bottom of East Chimney compare to West route- I'll try to "utilize modern equipment " there next time I'll be there
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