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Shack
Big Wall climber
So. Cal.
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 21, 2005 - 08:22pm PT
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Last Saturday, Mike Ousley and I climbed the
West Face of the Leaning Tower in a push.
Other than this being my first “real” big wall,
and perhaps setting a new record for the slowest push ascent,
everything went fairly smoothly and we had a great time.
Note to self: Take more than 2 liters of water next time!
After catching our breath and socializing at the base for a few minutes,
we made our way to the start of the climb.
Mike prepares for blast off.
Our plan was to link 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7& 8, and 9 & 10.
Mike started up the first lead at a couple minutes before 5pm.
I managed to clean those first 2 pitches after much effort…
I almost got the rope stuck in the top of that damn tree but
narrowly avoided any down jugging.
Soon Mike was leading the next 2 pitches…(3 & 4)
The sun was below the horizon and it was starting to cool off a little.
Mike easily fired off pitches 3 and 4 and soon I was cleaning again….
I had a much easier time with these 2 pitches and after reaching Ahwanee/Guano
ledge, it was my lead.
These guys were already settled into their bags on Awahnee...
First thing was to replace the missing hanger from the lower off bolt
on Guano. After wrestling with the cinch hanger that was on it,
I finally got it off and the new Fixe hanger was installed.
I took one fall on pitch 5 when the #1 TCU I was on decided to bail.
Eventually after hooking the first couple of free moves,
I finally made it to the bolt ladder that starts P6,
sometime after that I reached the belay.
Not too long after, Mike was nearly at the belay!
After Mike made pretty quick work of the next 2 pitches,
I went to work cleaning.
These were the 2 easiest pitches to clean.
I finally arrived at the belay at about 7:30 am. (I think)
I was spent. I was tired and looking forward to getting out of the aiders,
when Mike asks me if I want the last lead!?
I know Mike was tired and we had already taken so long….
and I knew that if I led the last 2,
we would not be finished as quickly as if Mike lead and I cleaned.
Once I realized that Mike knew this and was graciously offering me
the chance to lead the last 2 really cool pitches, I had to say ”Yes”!
Well Mike tells me it took me 5 hours to lead the last 2…What?!
Was I really moving that slow? Man, I knew I was whooped
but I thought I was moving faster than that! Sorry Mike!
I finally managed to crawl over onto the final ledge!!
Flat ground!!
Shack looking pretty drained on the summit…
Mike almost there…
cleaning the last few placements...
Before busting out the free move onto the ledge! Studly!!
Ready to head down...
I just wanted to thank Mike for being so patient with me and never got upset
about our (read:my) snails pace. Maximum respect for Mike.
Mike is a super great guy, genuinely nice human being,
and if you ever get the chance to climb with him…
Don’t pass it up!!!
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Russ Walling
Social climber
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
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Sep 21, 2005 - 08:43pm PT
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Kick ASS™!!!!
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Sep 21, 2005 - 08:55pm PT
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Great work!
Going for an in-the-dark-in-a-push first wall was a burly undertaking.
And don't forget that those last two pitches musta taken about 2.5 hours each...which is perfectly respectable timing for an aid pitch...especially after climbing all night on your first wall.
Great pics too!
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ricardo
Gym climber
San Francisco, CA
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Sep 21, 2005 - 08:58pm PT
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pretty hardcode to climb through the nite
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elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
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Sep 21, 2005 - 09:01pm PT
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Sweeet! Congrats on a cool climb with a great partner! I will be in the Valley this weekend... hoping for some fresh Hot Dogs!!
Later Tom
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lazide
Big Wall climber
Bay Area, CA
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Sep 21, 2005 - 09:13pm PT
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Awesome guys! and you even stopped to replace some rap anchors on the way down - schweet!
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 21, 2005 - 09:49pm PT
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Whew, kudos shack and yes Mike is the tops for being a great guy. I know you guys will cherish this for a long time.
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Jonny D
Social climber
Lost Angelez, Kalifornia
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Sep 21, 2005 - 11:11pm PT
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Well done guys. Mike looks like those Sportiva's are getting broken in...
Glad to see they're getting some action after years in the closet.
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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Sep 22, 2005 - 01:03am PT
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sweet!
hey shack...don't feel bad about the time. It took me and a fried longer to do our push ascent of the Tower. It was his first wall also...as long as you had fun climbing through the night, that's all that matters.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Sep 22, 2005 - 02:06am PT
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Thanks for the great photoshop fodder, I mean, trip report. You've lifted the curse that I placed on you after losing $3 betting that you'd send last time.
Lookin good for being up on a wall
Ouch! oh Ouch!
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James
Social climber
The Climber's Subconcious
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Sep 22, 2005 - 02:18am PT
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Sick style,
Proud Send.
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susan peplow
climber
area 29
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Sep 22, 2005 - 02:20am PT
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Good job guys!! Hey Shack, why is it that you look so spent and Mike looks fresh as a daisy? ....we'll just blame that on dehydration.
Susan
p.s. Karl, good thing we didn't go double or nothing.
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David
Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
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Sep 22, 2005 - 09:31am PT
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Nice send Shack!
Time has a way of simply disappearing on an aid climb doesn't it? Maybe new wall climbers are simply the victims of alien abductions.
I acutally always wear a watch now when aid climbing so as to keep the little green men at bay. When you get tired you start taking extra seconds here and there and over the course of many placements it starts to add up. I know how long it should take me to climb aid pitches of varying degrees of difficulty and the watch keeps me going.
That said, you guys really weren't that slow. You must have done a good job of keeping up with Mike.
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Shack
Big Wall climber
So. Cal.
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 22, 2005 - 11:29am PT
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Wow! Thanks for all the positive comments!
You guys really know how to make a guy feel better!
I had a blast and am looking forward to doing something bigger.
Karl...did your curse involve the big toe on my right foot?
cuz it's still numb!
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up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Sep 22, 2005 - 12:11pm PT
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Congrats, Shack! Good game plan to climb at night to avoid the crowds. I'm glad you got the last two aid pitches -- mighty gracious, Mike.
So would another ltr of water been a good idea? Obviously, the more weight, the more likely it is to slow you down. But then again, nothing slams on the brakes like dehydration. It's always a balancing act, ain't it? How much is enough, vs. too little, vs too much. Sounds like you guys managed to go light and not suffer too badly.
Excellent job, guys!
Ed
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up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Sep 22, 2005 - 12:13pm PT
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LOL -- I'm a well-fed gila monster. Wadda ya say, Shack? You wanna team up for Zodiac next June? I do need a partner.
And, Mike, it's funny you mention the marathon. I did one a few years ago for the Lukemia Society as one of those "life goal" things you get in yer head that you need to do some day before you die. It's a vast understatement to say I'm not exactly built to be a long distance runner. Sure enough, I finished, running the entire time (no walking) in 5:05. The embarrassing thing is I narrowly beat Oprah's time of 5:15.
Ed
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caughtinside
Social climber
Davis, CA
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Sep 22, 2005 - 12:17pm PT
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Nice job on the push fellas!
Ed, Zodiac again? I hear there's other routes in the valley. ;)
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ricardo
Gym climber
San Francisco, CA
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Sep 22, 2005 - 12:22pm PT
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funny thing about crowds on the tower that weeekend ..
there were several parties jockeying for position.. but EVERYONE was headed up to Wet Denim Daydream ..
there wasn't a single party on the west face until shack and mike arrived.
ed and shack and I should team up and go on mescalito next year.
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up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Sep 22, 2005 - 12:35pm PT
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Mescalito looks like a great route. I just have a damn score to settle, ya know? I could probably be convinced to not do that long approach, though. I've hard enough of that long slog to-and-from the base of Zodiac.
Ed
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David
Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
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Sep 22, 2005 - 12:37pm PT
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re."You wanna team up for Zodiac next June? I do need a partner."
Hold on Ed! Don't forget about your long lost Zion climbing partner. I'd love to take a crack at something like Zod next year.
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