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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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at The Little Crag
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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A really pretty chimney pitch that doesn't get mentioned is The Cleft on the Cookie Wall. Inside it is extremely polished, a cleavage plane actually, and like glass at some points. Very unusual and esthetic. Not terribly hard of course. Makes the climb special. Did it first time with Molly Higgins and her red-haired gal friend. 1974 probably.
And back to Darwin, that chimney above the crux of Peter Pan is terrifically beautiful for sure. And actually quite hard. It is a full value 5.8 widening from heel-toe to S-chimney and quite long. People do the crux and fail higher up. Molly did even. But incredible, perfect granite and so smooth.
The left side of Moby Dick before the chockstone fell out: that was a very hard and strenuous climb. Climbed an early ascent of it september 1966 and as Cochrane says, you were forced out to the very edge of the chimney negotiating around the flake. It is hard to imagine it "fell out"... anyway I always thought that it was the hardest 5.9 I knew and I secretly held the opinion that there were many 5.10 climbers who couldn't have lead it. Again, great rock flaring and long. Fun second pitch also. A 5.9 tieback, somewhat exposed and after the exhausting chimney pitch, daunting too.
I would add the Lost Arrow Chimney but only because of its size, length and history. It is not really a pretty place in there but interesting instead. And I guess the razz-mah-tazz of the Harding Hole is kind of fun; more climbing lore, you know.
Probably for pureness, the Worst Error pitches, the squeeze pitches on C of Doom and the very long finishing chimney of Despair.
I liked the flaring East Chimney on Rixons and the baby version of it on the right side of Church Bowl Chimney. Unusual, clean and hard-ish.
I never got up there but the chimneys on Excalibur clearly were world class iconic pitches!
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David Wilson
climber
CA
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Here's Ahab from a few days ago. It was only my desire to not come back to this one that helped me send. I had to keep telling myself to rest so I wouldn't puff out.......As you said Peter, it's very cardio
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Hermaphrodite Flake is kind of fun
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Excellent and great point David. Sometimes we succeed on a lead just because coming back to it or having it "hanging over our head" forever after is the prime motivator. David, when do you get your rope gun back from the East Coast?
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steve shea
climber
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LA, Black Dagger, Steck/Salathe and something on the old entrance road to Arches Nat. Park. Its on the left going in right at the start, full value desert chimney on a cool formation. Do not know the name. Did it with Larry Bruce and Molly Higgins in the early 70's. LA for history, Black Dagger for location, S/S for the only route I've done on Sentinel and Arches chimney for beauty and no pro.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Too hard to pick just one.
Though I am having vivid positive flashbacks to the mines of moria pitches on tricks of the trade at present......
Cool runout chim ey moves, ticked way I the top / back of the most amazing gaping maw of a chimney ever!
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David Wilson
climber
CA
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Peter, may go up and do the Slack tomorrow - that's a step up from what I hear. Chase is back in the beginning of June. I'm hoping to brush up on my wide skills so I still have a few tricks up my sleeve
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Stephanie Bergner
Trad climber
Planet Send
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Topic Author's Reply - May 5, 2012 - 06:07pm PT
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Bag, I love your meme.
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Stephanie Bergner
Trad climber
Planet Send
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Topic Author's Reply - May 5, 2012 - 11:56pm PT
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OMG, That dog knows his shit!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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David, re. the left side of the Slack. It had this huge rep back in the day but eventually did not turn out to be that hard. For years, maybe even today, in the summit register on top of the Slack, Royal had entered something like, "Chuck Pratt has just completed the hardest free lead in North American Mountaineering" but the lead as I remember it was about 5.10a or b. Royal barely made it up as I was told by him. Not tricky at all, maybe harder than left side of Reed's by a little bit. A little more continuous, a little longer, a little more leaning, as I remember it. (1970 or 1971 with Schmitz). Nice lead though, and the pitches below are kind of fun, kind of unusual. Have fun. You will have no problem. Remember, "Old age and treachery will win over Youth and Beauty".
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Plaidman
Trad climber
South Slope of Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Wolf's Tooth on Twin Owls - Lumpy Ridge - Estes Park, Colorado.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/wolfs-tooth/105749089
I laughed my ass off when my partner screamed up at me after he fell several times trying to get through the perfect hands to off-width section. The chimney is a gas. I got as an onsight lead coming in from PDX to over 8000 ft. above sea level in less than 5 hours. It was a stellar day.
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I am
Trad climber
San Diego, Ca.
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I'd have to say that "The Heart of Darkness" looks like the most perfect chimney out there but the weirdest one I've ever done was "The Ram" at Descanso Crag in San Diego County off of Wildwood Glenn Rd.-you have to use your head for a "head-jam" move that without that the climb can't be done.
But then again, I've only done it once as like many chimneys', once is enough!
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David Wilson
climber
CA
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Left side of the Slack was a great outing. Your memory is spot on Peter - I don't know how this roue got such a badass reputation. It was a notch easier than Ahab I thought, requiring much less composure. And, as you suggest, it was a bit harder than Reed's left. The crux V slot is visible about 30' above me in the pic
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David Wilson
climber
CA
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better get a pic of the iota in here - with bonus of left side of Reed's in background
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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When I first climbed the Regular Route on The Slack, the summit register still had Robbins' original entry for the FA of the left side. It said, if I remember rightly, something to the effect that "Chuck's lead on the last pitch was the finest I have ever seen." That, and the fact that Robbins had to leave a couple of bongs fixed cleaning that pitch, convinced me that this must be a route not to take lightly. As a result, I've never attempted it.
John
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Robb
Social climber
The other side of life
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The one behind this fireplace on our 30th!
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Stephanie Bergner
Trad climber
Planet Send
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Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2012 - 03:42pm PT
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David, that looks sweet! What's it rated?
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cliffhanger
Trad climber
California
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Half Dollar on the Free Blast (Salathe) is 5.8 but the bomb bay exposure is enough to make it memorable. The Root Canal at Suicide (5.7) is a rare 4 sided chimney, cool.
The Steck-Salathe's narrows because you can go so deep inside the mountain. I must have been 15-20' in at one point to find a little wider part. Does anybody know just how deep it goes in?
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