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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Apr 23, 2010 - 12:05pm PT
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Why climb anything else?
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland: what's not to love?
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Apr 23, 2010 - 02:44pm PT
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For me Bongs Center was many degrees easier than Generator, a climb I've tried three times and still not topped out on.
Bongs Center offers all kinds of scumming for your shoulder and hip on the right and all kinds of features for feet and even hands at times on the left. Total length of the wide section seemed about 35 ft. Easy to set up a TR after doing the easy Bongs Left if you're not sure about the lead. Great climb, but aren't they all great climbs?
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Jingy
Social climber
Nowhere
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Apr 23, 2010 - 03:41pm PT
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jaybro - "Why climb anything else?"
becuase you can!!!???
lol
cheers
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Apr 23, 2010 - 04:44pm PT
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A couple old school off widths that don't get much ink.
Vendetta. Not a total or pure off width but a good climb.
Crack of Despair. All time classic rarely done. Stiff for 10a.
Edge of Night. Weird flare. Short but technical.
Edge of Night. Strenuous for 5.10. Good technique essential, unless you're Ron Fawcet (my sometimes partner back then) who just lybacked it.
Right side of Hourglass. Classic right side in humper.
Peter Left. Long walk but good.
Right side of Absolutely Free. Used to be impossible to protect the first thirty feet so you had to be solid at the grade (10b??).
Center Route of Absolutely Free. Beauty.
JL
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nutjob
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
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Apr 23, 2010 - 05:05pm PT
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Second the motion from le_bruce that Bongs Away Center is casual for the grade. I though Bong's Away Left is about the same! To be fair, I only TR'd BA Center so my judgment was impaired.
Generator crack is significantly more stout.
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Apr 23, 2010 - 11:31pm PT
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Ed's comment about overcoming personal limitations is the main reason for my upcoming venture into offwidth climbing. I've avoided several climbs over the years because of the OW portions therein.
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scuffy b
climber
Where only the cracks are dry
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Apr 24, 2010 - 01:56pm PT
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Vendetta: whether you think this is a real offwidth will vary with your
personal contours and perimeter.
The money pitch is mostly around 4", with the right side of the crack
very rounded into a flare.
For someone like Largo, it's probably solid fists, but awkward to reach
in with the right hand, so climbed left-side in, shuffling.
It is the real deal offwidth for me. No hope of a fist jam for a long
way, stacks and arm bars, bigger than foot jams, very tight knees except
where the knee doesn't actually fit.
Superb quality, that 2nd pitch.
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okie
Trad climber
San Leandro, Ca
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Apr 29, 2010 - 08:49am PT
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Puzzles me what Long means when he says Vendetta isn't "pure ow"- it starts out 6" (rule of thumb: add an inch to whatever the guidebook says) and then tapers to 5" for the rest of the pitch. There were a couple of spots to place a 4" cam but it's basically 5" up there. Unless you have big green hulk hands it's ow. I was doing tight hand-fist stacks through the final section. And like Scuffy, I got my knee stuck at the top.
The anchor in the alcove may need renovation...because, there wasn't one! LOL! Exciting exit out of there on the next pitch too...
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Apr 29, 2010 - 11:02am PT
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At the beginning of the third, "come-out-of-the-roof pitch" on Vendetta, 1972 or so, it was my second time up the route, first was with Schmitz in 1971, spring. I think this is one of the better routes in Yosemite.
the second pitch is offwidth, has a large-radius left edge (not the right side as Scuffy says). It is armbarring and the left hand deals with the large radius left edge. You are right side in and there is plenty of friction actually to the rock. Stiff shoes, protectable. You have to be patient also.
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scuffy b
climber
Where only the cracks are dry
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Apr 29, 2010 - 11:36am PT
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You have it backwards, Peter.
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okie
Trad climber
San Leandro, Ca
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Apr 29, 2010 - 07:12pm PT
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That's a cool pic Peter. Did the belayer take that? Puzzling because I didn't see anything that high in the alcove- there was some cut tat on some tightly wedged blocks way in the back of the alcove, at the bottom of it(last weekend). I just did a "Donini Belay" off a single 5" cam in there (oh well...)
Perhaps the next pitch could be linked, I almost did that anyway in my search for anchors.
I really got a sense of adventure on this route- and there were crowds just next door on Catchy.
I tried the Twilight Zone... Things were going well for a bit until it bulged and those great edges on the face went away and the beast reared its overhanging head...but I think that crack is the coolest looking thing in the whole canyon. I shall return.
By the way- I know that doing these things with cams is not even in the same world as what you guys were in. I think Mark Chapman said it best here on Supertopo: "sport crack climbing" to describe how we climb nowadays.
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scuffy b
climber
Where only the cracks are dry
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Apr 29, 2010 - 07:20pm PT
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That piece in Peter's picture is further out towards the lip than it
appears.
How did you like the 2nd pitch, Okie?
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okie
Trad climber
San Leandro, Ca
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Apr 29, 2010 - 07:44pm PT
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Good stuff, Scuffy! Hey, I went over to Wide Wednesday, but nobody showed! I guess people figured it was raining too much... and I thought so too... until I went in my backyard and starting playing on my crack machines and realized they were dry- hence Gary's might be dry too...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 10, 2010 - 10:50am PT
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Once upon a time climbs like Crack of Despair made the cover of "the journals of reference"...
I believe the leader below is Tom Higgins, the photos were John Dill's (hey Dill, how come you don't post more here? especially old images like these!) Who's sitting in the tree?
Behold:
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 10, 2010 - 11:04am PT
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Thanks for the photos of Crack of Despair, Ed. That sure does look like Higgins; the all-in-white featured climber has that "little train that could" look. ( I say this for Tom's benefit of course).
Scuffy is right about the offwidth pitch on Vendetta. Here is a sequence of part of it:
Higher up though you turn around for the hardest part, to face left below the alcove. It is obvious and not optional.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Nov 10, 2010 - 11:24am PT
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Despair had (has?) bolts?!!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 10, 2010 - 11:41am PT
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those two bolts, and a two-bolt anchor at the top of that pitch, per Reid's guide...
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Nov 10, 2010 - 11:52am PT
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Ed-
Glad to see this thread resurrected (getting bumped!)!! Maybe next year in the Valley? I'm now getting back to feeling more....Normal!
Rodger
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 10, 2010 - 12:01pm PT
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Despair is a slightly harder, slightly longer Pharaoh's Beard and barely 5.10a. The bolts on the left side were original oldies from the sixties last I knew. I suppose most just do that first pitch and avoid the long moderate s-chimneys above and the resulting longer rappel or walkaround.
EDIT: I did the first unroped / 3rd class ascent of Despair in june of 71.
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scuffy b
climber
Three feet higher
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Nov 10, 2010 - 12:01pm PT
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Not sure, but I would suspect the bolts were for aid on the first ascent
of Crack of Despair. There's the story of Sacherer making sure his
partner didn't stand on the bolt (on the FFA) by threatening to pull him off...
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