Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 15 of total 15 in this topic |
ricardo
Gym climber
San Francisco, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 28, 2006 - 11:39am PT
|
Was rather humbled this last weekend on the column...
Me and my partner went up on friday to do skull queen in a push, trouble though is that i haven't touched rock all season, and havent stepped off the couch except to refill my big-gulp.
The hike in wasn't too bad except for the part where i saw stars and almost puked the half pizza we'd eaten 30 minutes before.
Got tot the base, saw 3 parties on the prow, fixed lines on the south face, but nobody at the base. cha-ching! We got some half assed sleep from 9 pm until 3 am. I chose the top slab at the start of the south face as my bivy spot, the place that is like a granite seat, bad idea, i didn't get a wink of sleep. At 4 am we racked up and started up to dinner ledge.
By 8:30 am we were on dinner ledge and the sun was about to peak over half dome. The forecast was for mid 90's and it had pretty damm hot the last few days. We'd brought a luxurious 3 quarts of water a piece, and i'd drak 1/2 a quart already.
We swapped gear at dinner, and I led off in style from dinner, by taking a short 5 foot fall back down to the ground when i failed to free the initial crack moves in my boots, good thing dan was anchored in in case i fell over the edge of dinner. Back on aid, i slowly made my way up to the roof, over, and up to the 2nd set of anchors. Took about 180 feet of rope to get here, so short fixing will have to wait.
The sun made its debut, and quickly heated up the situation, it was already in the 80's, and i saw the water bottle going to empty. By the time i'd led the bolt ladder which is the first pitch of Skull Queen i'd finished off one and a half quarts of water. The temperature had reached at least 90 degrees by 10 am.
I got slower, the temps got hotter, and the water dwindled, at the top of the 6th pitch, i had drank 2 quarts. The rock was hot, and burnt your hands if you didn't watch out. We confered. We probably could finish, but we'd be out of water. It was 1 pm, and we probably still had another 9 hours to go before we'd finish, hmmm. Without much discussion, we fixed a line and began to egress, reversing the bolt ladder required clipping some bolts along the way. The airy rappel to dinner was fun (i was beginning to get dehydrated, and dizzy). The fixed lines back to the start were much appreciated.
Back on the ground, we crashed out immediately and woke up abut 3 hours later, packed up, and hoofed it back to the car with our tails between our legs. So much for just waltzing up to the column and bagging a route. I guess thats why i worked out all season last year before jumping on a route.
We had fun though, and it was an enjoyable ass kicking that we got. Nobody got hurt, and we only suffered enough to wake up that morning. The Kor Roof is a burly pitch, fairly physical and long, i would put it on the same scale of physicality as the overhanging initial pitches on the south seas. (Its pretty easy, but you have to hoist yourself onto the right leaning crack, while your feet still dangle in space, ouch!).
I guess there is now another route that is awaiting a rematch...
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
The West
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 12:41pm PT
|
"The hike in wasn't too bad except for the part where i saw stars and almost puked the half pizza we'd eaten 30 minutes before."
Nooow we're talkin'
|
|
paganmonkeyboy
Trad climber
the blighted lands of hatu
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 01:06pm PT
|
ouch !
might be more fun getting spanked *on* the couch next time ;)
good reading food-for-thought though - totally motivating me to get more training in now...
|
|
Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 01:07pm PT
|
...trouble though is that i haven't touched rock all season, and havent stepped off the couch except to refill my big-gulp.
Sweet. Sounds like an abridged version of my life :)
Now you need a mortgage, a wife, and kids. Then move east. Then try some wall routes. That's pushing the envelope.
If it were not for failure, we'd all be superheros; and what fun would that be?
|
|
JuanDeFuca
Big Wall climber
Stoney Point
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 01:13pm PT
|
Ricardo,
3 Quarts, what the f*#k were you thinking?
I would have taken 2 Gallons of Gator-aid.
Juan
|
|
the Fet
climber
Earth
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 01:27pm PT
|
I think Shack/Mike's strategy on LT was good (TR last year). Start at 8PM or so and climb by headlamp.
What the record for the hottest big wall ascent? For the best style you should also limit your water, hahaha.
|
|
Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 01:58pm PT
|
"The Kor Roof is a burly pitch, fairly physical and long, i would put it on the same scale of physicality as the overhanging initial pitches on the south seas. (Its pretty easy, but you have to hoist yourself onto the right leaning crack, while your feet still dangle in space, ouch!).
"
Using adjustable daisy chains or not? You're probably not lazy enough.
I've seen plenty of suffering from folks following the Kor Roof though. I took a girlfriend up there once and thought I did her a favor by not clipping any of the bolts on the roof. The wind spun her around like a top!
peace
Karl
|
|
dank
Trad climber
the pitch above you!
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 02:28pm PT
|
still have dan's slings and biners. we only got to pitch 4.5 that day due to impending thunderstorms. finished "south face" on sunday. i got hot jugging up the fixed line at 5:30am
the guy soloing southern man said you guys looked pretty worked at the base. he only did one pitch and bailed. probably too hot for him too.
i guess you'll bring more water next time?
skull queen looks like fun!
you'll definitely have to give it another burn!
|
|
susan peplow
climber
Queen of the Sh^t talkers!
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 03:17pm PT
|
Ricardo:
Don't feel bad, that top part is a gunge-fest anyways!
Karl:
Interesting strategy on the Kor roof not clipping the bolts. As a cleaner they're hard to suck yourself into unclip while the lip of the roof is pulling you straight out.
I took off thinking it was casual.....BIG surprise, it was a lot harder than it looked. Oh yeah, and the damn things were spinners to boot!
Look for us next week - by Monday I'd imagine.
-Susan
|
|
steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 03:25pm PT
|
I just remember unintentionally back-cleaning a little on the heavy side when I led the Kor Roof and listening to Coomer down there casting disparaging commentary at my parentage. :-)
|
|
Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 06:31pm PT
|
I'll find ya Susan. Call me sometime when your down there.
Next time I'll probably have the second clip clean the Kor Roof. Lesser of the Evils.
Peace
karl
|
|
CA Dreamin'
Trad climber
Davis, CA
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 06:52pm PT
|
I climbed the So. Face of the Column with dank, and cleaned his lead of the Kor Roof with one jumar and a gri-gri. This method proved to be relatively easy after passing my jumar above a bolt and lowering out on the gri-gri. I've led the roof via the standard daisy/fi-fi method and with adjustables. Adjustables make it feel like less of a pain in the rear, but this is merely the opinion of an unseasoned psuedo wall climber.
|
|
flamer
Trad climber
denver
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 07:28pm PT
|
Susan did you mean gRunge?
I thought the upper pitch's of SQ were quite good. The crux is wicked thin clean aid...you'd better know how to use itty bitty HB's!
josh
|
|
Elcapinyoazz
Mountain climber
Anchorage, Alaska
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 09:20pm PT
|
Aid climbing off the couch is easy. Try overhanging cracks after a 2+ year layoff....that's where I'm at right now....getting spanked/demoralized on steep cracks that used to be well within my ability.
Now, I've never done the south face, but why would you not just clip clean the roof? I hear all kinds of stories about first time wall aspirants getting turned back by this feature...usually after an epic attempt to clean it.
|
|
Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
|
|
|
Jun 28, 2006 - 11:13pm PT
|
Thanks for the trip report Ricardo. Next time you'll get it.
Zander
|
|
| Messages 1 - 15 of total 15 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!