more on obscurity

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Melissa

Gym climber

berkeley, ca

Oct 29, 2007 - 12:04pm PT

It's been on my list for a while...Kind of scared of what will happen.

Doug Robinson

Trad climber

Santa Cruz

Oct 29, 2007 - 01:08pm PT

Thanks ED, for photoing those old pages to...uh...preserve the Obscurity.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

sorry, just posting out loud.

Oct 29, 2007 - 01:30pm PT

kewl stuff

love the question mark and exclamation combo... "5.7?!"

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

sorry, just posting out loud.

Jan 17, 2011 - 12:59am PT

bumping this after rereading the obscurity scale on clint's site.

I have done an O11

I'm rather glad for that oddly enough.

Jan

Mountain climber

Okinawa, Japan

Jan 17, 2011 - 01:04pm PT

This thread brings back a lot of memories! Many of Sheridan's obscurities were done the summer I lived in Camp 4 with my arm in a cast. I'd forgotten their names but hearing them again, brings back memories of the parties we had to celebrate them afterward. Andy's Inferno provoked a particularly good one as I recall? Maybe Doug can remember it too?

M. Volland

Trad climber

Grand Canyon

Feb 10, 2011 - 01:41pm PT

Loggerhead Ledge Route 5.7 O1

Well worth your time and effort. The route takes you to a huge ledge. Good rappel chains on top, and you can reach to within 5ft above the ground by rapping twice with one 70m rope.

The 5.7 rating is reasonable.

Jason Price and I enjoyed this one on a hot day, summer 2008.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/california/yosemite_national_park/yosemite_valley/106612628

Barbarian - I have been looking at Tiny Tim for a long while now. I think it would be a solid O1, as it sees WAY less traffic than Lemon which is the benchmark for O0. Since we are discussing that area, you should check out Sunnyside Pinnacle .10a O1. I feel its a solid O1 eventhough it is 10ft from jamcrack's first pitch, because nobody ever does it. Bring a nut tool on lead to clean out the .10a fingers above the tree. Also, I slung the tree for pro on this one simular to Tree Route and Ugly Duckling. Enjoy!!!
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/california/yosemite_national_park/yosemite_valley/106612702

nutjob

Trad climber

Berkeley, CA

Feb 10, 2011 - 04:35pm PT

Via Aqua shouldn't be an 04 because it's in the 1987 blue (aqua!) Yosemite Climbs. But it's definitely a classic!

Here's your only fixed pro on the route:

And I just posted this up on the stemming thread:

M. Volland

Trad climber

Grand Canyon

Feb 10, 2011 - 05:25pm PT

Nut, I think you are right about Via Aqua:

O2 it's in the guide book and it still never gets done, I mean never. A good example of O2 is "Alley cat" on middle cathedral.

O3, it's in the guidebook still, but nobody knows much about it, but Tucker Tech has done it; ex:"Phantom Pinnacle", or the "Flakes" on middle cathedral.

O4 routes, they aren't in the guidebook but it's on the obscurist's tick list ,like "Via Aqua" or "church Tower".

Via Aqua Should slide from O4 to O3 based on the fact that it is in a guide book. I would argue that it gets done more than what Coiler benchmarked as O3. That being Phantom Pinnacle and The Flakes. With that said, I think it should slide down to O2. (IMO)

By the way, what did you think of the step over on the approach to Via Aqua? Remember, that airy corner. Jason Price and I actually roped up for that step.

For anything to be rated O3, you must have a list of what Tucker has climbed. Coiler says, "Ask him." Which is understandable. This is all for fun anyway. Maybe Clint could make up a list on his website of all of Tucker's ticks. (hint hint)

nutjob

Trad climber

Berkeley, CA

Feb 10, 2011 - 05:32pm PT

MV, that 3rd class approach is certainly an attention getter! The first time we tried it, were so spooked about it that we backed off and did a first ascent instead! The funny part about that is we ended up rapping the Aqua Mist chimney in the dark and doing this step-across in the dark, when we were already in a walk-off position up higher (end of Aqua Mist) and didn't know it!

Some pics on the second time we went there, actually reaching the proper Via Aqua:

My buddy after the "3rd class" step-across

Me on the first part of the step-across:

And the second part:

kev

climber

A pile of dirt.

Feb 10, 2011 - 05:52pm PT

Yeah Via Aqua sees some traffic, err, um, well, I know of people who've done it but then again I hang out with a rough crowd. I'd say O2

There are many good uns - Phantom Pinnacle, Cat Pinnacle, Leaning Tower Traverse, all come to mind - guessing all O2-3ish. All fun to (except the jigsaw puzzle loose plates on the last pitch of Phantom Pinnacle.

M. Volland

Trad climber

Grand Canyon

Feb 10, 2011 - 07:09pm PT

kev
Do you know anyone who has done Tiny Tim?

kev

climber

A pile of dirt.

Feb 10, 2011 - 07:11pm PT

Tim

I bet Eric has (ablegable) but not off the top of my head.

Scuffy, have you done it?

kev

nutjob

Trad climber

Berkeley, CA

Feb 10, 2011 - 07:20pm PT

What about Ramblin' Rose?

That one gets me sweaty in the knickers, but haven't gone for it yet.

Batrock

Trad climber

Burbank

Feb 10, 2011 - 07:31pm PT

My son bought the Curtis Creek Manifesto a year ago, he's 10 years old and after reading the manifesto he saved his allowance and bought a fly tying set up and now ties his own fly's and is pretty good at it. We fly fish a lot of small streams in the Sierra and the White Mountains east of Bishop, my son has incorporated many of the manifesto's techniques on sneaking up on the unwitting fishies. You cant just wade out in your hip boots to catch these sneaky little bastards.

Thanks Sheridan for a great little book and for getting my son hooked.

scuffy b

climber

Three feet higher

Feb 10, 2011 - 07:32pm PT

No, Kev, I haven't done Tiny Tim.
I think really I'm not much of an obscurista.
Sunnyside Bench Lieback Route, though, that's not totally popular,
I believe.
I've never climbed After Five, which sort of got this discussion rolling
a while back, but I have climbed Elusion, which is obscure enough that
although it's in the guidebook Meyers got the name wrong even though it
was published in Ascent (he calls it The Illusion).

There's one at Manure Pile that's not in the book that I've done a good
many times since 1972 or 73.
Tapioca. Follows a discontinuous crack. The face next to it got bolted
maybe 10 years ago, one of the bolts is maybe a foot away from the key
protection on Tapioca, which happens to be one of the best nut placements
I've ever used. One pitch, walk on, walk off.