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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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May 11, 2017 - 04:48pm PT
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So.......did climbing happen?? Inquiring minds and all that. I made it through the first day of Jury duty without having to make the week long commitment, so tomorrow I go easy slab hunting. The current formula is climb slow = low pain.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - May 11, 2017 - 04:50pm PT
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Leaving tomorrow for a Saturday ascent (Zeus-willing). Going next weekend too.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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May 11, 2017 - 04:52pm PT
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Nice! Can't help but be envious, but have a great time!
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 11, 2017 - 06:07pm PT
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Great thread! I've never been out there, but it looks damn attractive. If you had a couple of days there for your first trip, what would be some recommended "get to know the place" 5.9 up to mid 5.10 climbs?
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - May 11, 2017 - 06:18pm PT
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Well, there is this little route called the Scenic Cruise (13 pitches). It's 5.10+, but basically only one move at that grade. It's rather continuous in the 5.9 through 5.10a/b grades in sections. As Brassnuts has pointed out, it has cleaned up considerably over the years. It's almost certainly one of the best 5.10 all-day routes in the country. All but the trade routes in the Black are still a little loose and spicy.
Journey Home is the shorter, somewhat easier equivalent (8 pitches, 5.10a), but has an infamous 5.9 R first pitch. I would assume that most climbers' introduction to the Black anymore is either Comic Relief or Escape Artist. I've done both a couple of times. They are clean but sub-par IMO.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - May 12, 2017 - 11:29am PT
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I apologize for bumping a thread that has not been exactly lively, but I'm totally in to the whole geology aspect of my upcoming climb. Just up-thread I anticipated that we should be climbing essentially along the "bedding planes". So, I was looking on Mountain Project and noticed this picture, in particular, that shows exactly what I was anticipating. I show the picture again but with a line approximately along the base of an obvious "bed" that is approximately coincident with the plane of the climb. Gotta go!
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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May 15, 2017 - 02:04pm PT
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THAT looks like something between a schist and a gneiss from here. It would be interesting to see it up close. Supposedly the Black's got schist, gneiss, and migmatite, with the pressure indicator minerals being sillimanite or andalusite = somewhat low metamorphic pressure. Wonder if there is any zonation showing, or is it sort of a jumble.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - May 16, 2017 - 05:00pm PT
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Chris, you bring up some interesting ideas, but I didn't bring a hand lens. I was foucussed on the structure, and it turned out pretty much exactly how I had anticipated. Basically, the routes on this wall are aligned with the foliation, which may well align with the original bedding planes overall.
So, it turns out that the Great White Wall is a particularly good Black Canyon climb to photograph from above by a third party. Laurent and I had our wives and his daughters on this trip. Kinda wish they would have come over to the Balance Rock Overlook a little earlier, as the more interesting climbing is in the lower pitches, but, in any case, Elizabeth got some pretty good ones of the upper (easier) part of the route. (By the way, if you don't know, click on the photo and it will show you an enlarged view).
Approximately the upper half of the route in shown in this photo. You can't actually see the bottom of the route from this overlook. This side canyon is deeper than it is narrow. (Use the v-shaped pegmatite band to align yourself with the next photo).
The Great White Wall is in a canyon trending more or less 90 degrees to the main Black Canyon in which the Gunnison River runs.
Our pre-planned color scheme is particularly noticeable in this shot.
As noticeable particularly in the enlarged view, Laurent seems to be showing off his bald spot.
This last photo, in particular, shows the foliation parallel to the plane of the climb.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 16, 2017 - 06:24pm PT
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Eyonkee...a great climb just to the right of the Scenic Cruise (and a tad bit harder) is Highway 61 Revisited. It has six nice pitches and then exits into the Journey Home for the last five pitches above the R pitch.
No bad rock or spice.
Two good options to the right of Comic Relief are Cloak and Dagger and Modern Day Migs. Both better (in my opinion) than Comic Relief and no bad rock or spice.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - May 16, 2017 - 06:43pm PT
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Jim, the second-to-last climb I did at the Black was Highway 61 Revisited. I gotta say, I pretty much always agree with your assessments of grade on the Black Canyon routes as you have posted on MountainProject. The 5.10+ on Great White Wall seemed hard to me (just like you said), although Laurent led it on-sight and I was able to (barely) follow it. The 5.10+ on Highway 61 was similarly hard (I led it, but thought is was 5.11-).
With a little luck (it IS popular) I'm hoping to do Cloak and Dagger or the harder link-up this weekend (I'm on a mission from God).
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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May 17, 2017 - 09:48am PT
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Ohhhhhh man eeyonkee, NICE WORK you two! I know it's serious when you are wearing a helmet ;) I kind of screwed myself with the ankle and all, but it would be nice to get a few routes done at this place before I'm of that "age". It still could happen, no more screw-ups tho. Either way, cool local and climbing!
Some last bit of geo geeking, and then I'll leave it. That first shot shows beautifully this "grooving" along the foliation plane; it's almost horizontal but obviously drops from the left to the right. Could be indicative of movement during metamorphism. Carrying a hand lens, LOL. Probably the last thing on your mind.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - May 17, 2017 - 05:09pm PT
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So, I bumped this thread for two reasons, one; to acknowledge Don Paul's two contributions, which seem particularly artistic, and two to point out that, ever since Monday, I cannot reproduce on Google Earth what I had previously seen and took snapshots of. This is what I get now on looking at the SE face of the North Chasm View Wall.
I'd be interested if anybody could reproduce the detail in my Google Earth screenshots up-thread which I will reproduce below.
This shot was just amazing to me -- clearly it (seems to me) incorporated camera pictures from the ground, as there is no way that a satellite is going to see detail on a vertical wall. I wonder if I just lucked out and they were experimenting or something.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 22, 2018 - 10:45am PT
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Hey Greg- Alpinist is doing a big article about the Black and would love to hear from you if they haven't already.
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