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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Limpingcrab who made you the slab dictionary police? I can fall off any of the three....slab, face, or friction.
Here is Hudon and Macronut on Nuts and Bolts 5.7R up at Tollhouse this past weekend.
When you comin up for a slab morning? Its the most fun right now when the seepage from the top increases your chances of wet shoes.
Davey Tree took a 20 footer off Half-a-Snake Saturday.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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I keep hoping that kingtut will tell us about his climbs on the pyramids, and whether they're slabs or not.
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Kernville Annex)
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I'm with you Micro. I started and continued on friction slab for a number of years, mainly at Tollhouse throughout the early 90's. Balls is definitely a sustained 5.9 friction slab which always had my full attention!
On a humorous note, I love it when little gym rats that boast of pulling "V6", give an old school Tollhouse friction slab a try. Quite a show! :) Remember 'Funnel Runnel' at Lost Eagle, Micro? Witnessed a "5.12" climber bail off that route. ??????????
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Kernville Annex)
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The ex-wife soloing the join up pitch for Tollhouse Traverse/Elephant Walk/Wandering Taoist etc. I used to "run" the Traverse and that friction slab pitch for time.....starting at the Hanger Slab down to the base and up the Traverse, then back to the Hang Glider Slab. Best time: 21 min 12 seconds. Got pretty comfy "running" up this section.
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Dave I still can't believe when I hear those tales of you running laps on that thing that fast. I still feel a little insecure when I take the lead on that last pitch of Elephant Walk. And that shot of Deb (I only know her name from the MP page and that photo) has always given me sweaty palms.
For the longest time when I was a teenager, Tollhouse and Courtright were the only place I climbed. We never called it "slab" climbing. It was just "rock climbing" cause its all we knew!
Turns out I was a slab climber without ever knowing it.
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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"Granite climbing is all slab climbing"
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Sometimes innocent, sometimes ignorant, most often insecure, but there are better ways to be stylish in the climbing world.
It's a rare time when I have to disagree with Mr. Worral. Or perhaps not so much a disagreement as a lack of clarity on my part.
To say that the fine art of competing for the alpha position while at the same time being popular and well liked is innocent, ignorant, or insecure misses my point.
I think that making light of difficulties, as a point of style, takes confidence, charisma, and of course accomplishment. Otherwise, as you describe, it falls flat on its face.
So yes there are better ways to be stylish in the climbing world. I think that mostly happens on the rock? What happens later in talking about it is another artful thing. BTW I think its awesome when handled by the right person.
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Nanobody
Trad climber
Fresno, CA
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I climbed nuts and bolts at Tollhouse a couple of weeks ago for the first time. Highly enjoyable!
Micro - How does Balls compare to Wandering Taoist?
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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The ultimate slab route requires precision, balance and a zen-like focus for every move. And consequences for unworthiness.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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I'm familiar with Jim's remark, although I didn't make the connection.
(Edited. Didn't mean to sound snarky...)
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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For myself, I would modify this to say that the joy of slab is in getting away, just barely, with moves on holds so tenuous as to be almost unbelieveable to you. And when you're done, you feel a bit mentally taxed. It doesn't matter what the rating or run-out-ness is, whatever rating evokes that feeling in you.
That's sums it up.
God invented slabs so fat old men could still go out and climb.
On Prime Interest:
After leading my pitch, things are more relaxed:
After we got down from Prime Interest, which features 30 feet between bolts, JohnX asked us if we ever looked down while on lead. Big Daddy said, "No. There was nothing down there for us but death and dismemberment."
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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If you took square footage of granite in YNP, probably well less than .1% would be overhanging.
If you took the human population and averaged them, they'd all have one testicle, too.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley...
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BigB
Trad climber
Red Rock
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If you took square footage of granite in YNP, probably well less than .1% would be overhanging."
If you took the human population and averaged them, they'd all have one testicle, too.
Gold!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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A thorough search of my failing memory has resulted in a recollection of a time when I actually "enjoyed" being on a slab.
In the early 70's my Berkeley University gf was in the Valley resulting in one of the half dozen times or so that I dropped acid. We happened to be at the bottom of the Apron and before I knew it I found myself, barefoot and unclothed, happily perched in a no fall zone on 5.6 slab terrain. I seem to recall spending some time there before wandering back down.
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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goB, those are some classics😀
i always loved Lovers Leap for slab.. Fantasia,,,OMG. Even the East Wall crack's are mostly slab climbing with a crack nearby for protection. Like the East Corner, just succulent 😛
And don't forget Hogsback,, SchaWinnnggggg💃🏻
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Any 5.10+ slab route without people on it during a busy weekend at Whitehorse Ledge.
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