Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 21, 2007 - 11:23am PT
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The Spell, Warlock Dome, Needles, Kern County , Calif.
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Jul 21, 2007 - 11:30am PT
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Chim-Chimney, Granite Mountain, AZ
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Jul 21, 2007 - 11:45am PT
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Everyone should do the Right Side of the Worst Error- FA Sacherer/Rowell,1962. III, 5.9. The Left Side's pretty exciting too (5.9). Great summit, great rock. Check em out! Bring a light rack and a big sack.
Anybody got photos?
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Mike.
climber
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Jul 21, 2007 - 12:16pm PT
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Evil thread...
Epinephrine (the Steck-Salathe of the desert), SS, a few Salathe Wall pitches (Hollow Flake, above Lung Ledge, below the spire), Texas Flake, Pitch to Big Sur, Recompense on Cathedral Ledge...not hard, but some thought-provoking. The pitch above Lung Ledge IMO is the blankest and least restful of all of those.
Leading up to Lost Arrow spire at midnight, about fifteen feet from the top, my "advanced" rechargable-battery headlamp suddenly faded away. Much panicked dialog ensued, then the entire chimney lit up. Some Koreans in the Alcove had whipped out a mega-candlepower flame thrower and trained it up the chim so I could STFU and finish. Thanks, guys! The humor came in as my partner finished breaking down the anchor, and the Koreans (who spoke no English) simply held up the end of their rope in a plea to avoid the horrible 5.6 nigthtmare.
Sweet pic of CC, sm. Looks steep in that pic = 0
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Jul 21, 2007 - 12:50pm PT
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The Crescent Crack on Half Dome DNWF is pretty cool, easy, but long and super clean...
Entrance Exam's a good one, Right Side of The Cookie, both sides of Reeds. The Left Side of Moby DIck is a really interesting chimney pitch. Edge of Night's crux is a good hard chimney, not really OW.
Orphan (5.9) At Josh is a nice chimney pitch. When I started climbing, it was the hardest route in the Monument, now it's a hike on the solo circuit.
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Jul 21, 2007 - 12:53pm PT
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Legendary Brutus on the legendary Narrows, Steck-Salathe
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 21, 2007 - 01:37pm PT
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Last pitch of Rollercoaster Chimney at Midnight Rock, near Leavenworth, staying in the chimney/crack all the way. Allegedly "5.9". (There's a 5.7 face detour.) Peapod tightening into a downward flare to an offwidth. Uggh! Not a place for cameras, either.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 01:46pm PT
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How' bout that bombay chimney up on Hotline?
More like an overhanging flare, but you really do chimney it.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 01:53pm PT
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The desert chimneys are phenomenal,
W Face Castleton has good chimney & OW:
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Jul 21, 2007 - 02:10pm PT
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Yo Tar - that IS a good one. The last pitch of The Right Side right around the corner is similar in angles, exposure, easiest technique, just with an offsize/sqeeze in the back of the flare instead of a stopper crack.
Hardest flared chimney I ever did was Lizard King on Lost Brother with Yabo. There's a big roof at the bottom that you undercling right and where the roof ends and becomes a vertical right facing corner, the crack flares into a bottomless flared chimney. Entry to the flare is gained off a handjam to a series of overlapping upside down armbars until you can highstep a toe into the bottom of the flare. All this with an audience of alligator lizard heads peering out of the stopper crack in the back.
Bizarre, but good, in a twisted kinda way.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 02:14pm PT
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When Dave Katz & I did Chouinard Herbert, he (not me man I never get off route or make poor decisions, haha) went off route left at the start and went up the left side of Chessman Pinnacle. That was some pretty uncooth, burly chimney.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 02:17pm PT
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We use to venerate Lizard King, because of Yabo's report, as well as a whole host of Yabo wide stories: like the epic he had getting his knee stuck on that OW thing down by Parkline Slab? Ala Moana maybe?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 02:24pm PT
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Crowley,
Supertopian Prod took that shot.
He was my unsuspecting 2nd on a whole slew of wide stuff out this way. Guy had very little climbing experience and he never balked at all the wide which his apprenticeship garnered.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jul 21, 2007 - 03:23pm PT
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From my point of view, you guys are drawing too many distinctions. That pitch on hotline is flaring and wide, and why exactly is that not, offwidth? It's wide & flaring, so of course it's always offsize for some kind of jam. Sounds like the essence of offwidth, to me, but what do I know?
To paraphrase Janis: "It's all the same damn wide ..."
Realm of the Lizard king is a classic, Coz thought we did the third ascent not long after he and Werner thought they did the second (who really knows?)
But,
if you like that one, New Maps of Hell (vedauwoo) is very similar. Similar jams to a weird roof before you abruptly go wide. We did the second, not all that long after the first, (weeks? a year?) and I don't think it's had a third.
Chimneys rock, there is a place by Bluff Utah, that could become the chimney mecca,how's that for spilling the beans?
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Jul 21, 2007 - 03:42pm PT
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Jaybro -
A rare climber who appreciates the wackiness of a route like LK...you might have been the last ascent. Werner was likely the second, he's a guy who likes cwack routes like that...
The flare on Hotline (below the final short face pitch) protects with stoppers if I remember right, or that's the crack size anyway. Seemed like the farther away from the crack you stem, the easier it is, and the airier. What a great route THAT is! Did an early ascent w/aid at the 5.12 and Art Higbee. My favorite pitch was the handcrack after the traverse. Did forty foot runouts on that pitch with those sinker hands. Seemed like a waste of time and a perfect handcrack to stop and fiddle in a hex. I can still see that rope streamin down below my feet...
What up with Art Higbee?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 03:49pm PT
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OW is too big to fist but too tight to get your hips in.
OW size then, is between the fist and the chimney.
So, from this simple description, may I proceed to the fantabulous logic that everything on either side of the OW, from fists down and tight squeeze up, is also OW, but the acronym stands for: On Width.
So whatever it might measure out at, it's either On Width or Off Width no matter how you measure up to it!
Ergo, you are correct Jay, it's all OW.
Yup, "Yesterday, today...it's all the same fucin' day man".
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 03:54pm PT
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'Dunno about Higbee, never met him.
Those chimney moves on Hotline are wild.
There's a similar pitch on the Dunn Route, Moses, that looks cool. My buddy, Clean Dan, instead of heading out the intimidating bombay on his lead, opted for a straight up tunnel through to a bizarre but secure stretch of 3 way chimney.
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Jul 21, 2007 - 03:58pm PT
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3 way chimney...?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 21, 2007 - 04:01pm PT
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I know, it sounds weird.
Like an intersection of fissures, while inside, from several directions you could see light streaming in through the tower.
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Walleye
climber
The back seat of my 69 Nark Avenger
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Jul 21, 2007 - 04:04pm PT
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Warbler sez..
"Everyone should do the Right Side of the Worst Error- FA Sacherer/Rowell,1962. III, 5.9. The Left Side's pretty exciting too (5.9). Great summit, great rock. Check em out! Bring a light rack and a big sack"`
Yeah, hard man 5.9 Yosemite old school. I always said I was a 5.9 climber. sure, I've led 10.d but I always called myself a 5.9er... Super solid on 5.9. In fact I've never fallen on that grade ever. The Right and Left Side of the Worst Error severely tested that record. It's the closest I ever came to puking from a climb. Burly burly burly all the way. You never see people lining up to do those routes and that's too bad. Heavy Duty Regal Birdlime sez "Phew Yosemite 5.9..... Phew!!!! The Fissure Beck on Lower Cathedrals East Buttress is hard too, although maybe not technically a chimney.
I wish I had taken some photos of that Kierkegaard Chimney on El Cap. That's a real "mans" chimney, which is probably why I just jumared through it. That's the wildest chimney I've ever been in or seen. Maybe Graham can re-post his pic of that monster, whoa man!!!
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