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mack
Trad climber
vermont
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 20, 2007 - 04:53pm PT
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I've been wanting to try and post a TR for awhile - I'm going to give it a go. Picture perfect weather in Franconia Notch
Moby Grape - a classic 5.8 on good granite. Some really fun climbing!!! 9 pitches.
View of Cannon Cliff from the parking lot
Pitch 1 of Moby Grape - Reppy's Crack
Dave leading
Pitch 2
me on lead pitch 3
The Triangle Roof Pitch 4
Dave leading Pitch 5
The Fickle Finger of fate Pitch 6
I'm not used to body jamming WHEW!!!
Start of pitch 7
Pitch 8
Dave at the top
Victory beers
A view down the Notch
A couple of climbers from NY on VMC Direct 5.11
Hounds Hump - on the other side of the Notch
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handsome B
Gym climber
SL,UT
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Sep 20, 2007 - 04:55pm PT
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looks like a grand adventure, thanks for keeping the vibe alive!
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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Sep 20, 2007 - 04:57pm PT
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very cool. thanks for taking the time to post up!
It looks super fun...
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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Sep 20, 2007 - 04:57pm PT
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Bueno!
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Sep 20, 2007 - 05:00pm PT
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Nice pics, thanks for sharing!
Looks like you got yourself wedged in behind the Fickle Finger of Fate, but good! Lucky you made it out.
GO
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 20, 2007 - 05:01pm PT
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Nice photos. So how'd ya (both) like the climbing?
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Nohea
Trad climber
Aiea,Hi
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Sep 20, 2007 - 05:04pm PT
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Very Cool Mack! Thanks for putting that together, looks like some beautiful rock.
Aloha,
wil
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mack
Trad climber
vermont
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 20, 2007 - 05:13pm PT
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Chiloe,
The climbing at Cannon is superb! I'm sure you've been there. We intended to do Vertigo but the plan got changed at the last minute due to an unforseen sticky rubber shortage.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Sep 20, 2007 - 05:29pm PT
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I noticed in some of the pics Dave looked like he was wearing approach shoes, was that the sticky issue?
That Fickle Finger was Funky, looks like it's ready to teeter backwards.
Looks like a great day on the rock, cheers!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Sep 20, 2007 - 05:59pm PT
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Moby Grape!
I want it bad.
And that VMC Direct, or Direct Direct...
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Looney
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Sep 20, 2007 - 07:00pm PT
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Very fun. Thanks for posting and sharing. I look forward to your next TR. Should we expect it on Monday? :)
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Duke-
Trad climber
SF, aka: Dirkastan
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Sep 20, 2007 - 07:42pm PT
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OMG that route looks amazing!!! Thanks for posting.
-Dirka
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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Sep 20, 2007 - 09:12pm PT
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I spent an uncomfortable night on that ledge in the pitch 7 photo in 1983. Off route, stuck rope, arguing partners, thunderstorm, no rain gear.... kinda sounds like a Reid depiction, except we lived :)
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Aya K
Trad climber
New York
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Sep 20, 2007 - 09:29pm PT
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Awesome!!
But, ahem, p1 of Moby Grape isn't really Reppy's Crack. It kind of has its own first pitch that is cool in its of weird, 3-d regard!
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Sep 20, 2007 - 09:40pm PT
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The original P1 of Moby is nasty, awkward, and poorly protected. Reppy's shouldn't be missed unless there are already 3 parties in line for it (like I've always seen it....)
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Sep 20, 2007 - 09:55pm PT
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Mack, awesome pics. Rumor has it that your partner forgot his climbing shoes and you saved the day by leading all the hard pitches. Way to go.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 20, 2007 - 09:55pm PT
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Naw, the original P1 of Moby Grape is a much more interesting & varied lead than Reppy's Crack.
The latter is a photogenic exercise in foot pain.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Sep 20, 2007 - 11:28pm PT
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Wow, that rock looks clean. Looks like you had a beautiful day to climb.
Outstanding,
Thanks for posting.
Zander
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland: what's not to love?
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Sep 20, 2007 - 11:31pm PT
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Looks like a trippy route. Not sure why, first word that came to my head while looking at your photos. Thanks for 'em!
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slobmonster
Trad climber
berkeley, ca
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Sep 20, 2007 - 11:36pm PT
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One of my faves, looks like you had great weather. Fall is certainly the best season for Cannon: hopefully the melt-freeze spring looseness has shed, rock is usually dry, and no frigging black flies!
FWIW I also have enjoyed the original P1 of M.G. But it is indeed a wee bit awkward.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Sep 21, 2007 - 12:09am PT
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May 1988... though I remember going up there in the winter and trying to jam Reppy's Crack with Dachstein wool mittens on... it didn't work.
It is a wonderful crag...
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wack-N-dangle
Gym climber
the ground up
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Sep 21, 2007 - 12:38am PT
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!arriba arriba onbelay! Salud from the west coast...
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clustiere
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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Sep 21, 2007 - 12:57am PT
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Well now technically the start is that wide thing to the left.
Good job Im jelous, ahh big granite
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mack
Trad climber
vermont
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 21, 2007 - 10:38am PT
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Tarbuster, Next time you're in the Northeast, make a plan to go to Cannon. Fall is perfect.
Aya, yea I know Reppy's isn't the original start to MG but the original start has a pretty nasty reputation.
Crimpy, off to Poke-O-Moonshine this w/e.
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Andy Middleton
Trad climber
Cow Hampshire
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Sep 21, 2007 - 11:14am PT
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The original 1st pitch of Moby was altered by a very large flake
falling out of the corner sometime last year. Unfortunately the
1st real protection on this pitch (after about 40 feet, unless you bring some wide gear) went with the flake. It looks like it's gonna be harder than the original 5.8 too!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 21, 2007 - 11:22am PT
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the original start has a pretty nasty reputation.
Greatly exaggerated I'm sure! Really, if I was doing it for the first time, I'd choose Reppy's too, 'cause that looks so striking in photos. The original start seems like more of a connoisseur's choice though. Along with the Triangular Roof and the Finger of Fate, one of Moby Grape's best pitches.
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Sep 21, 2007 - 02:20pm PT
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Mack, looks like we have to go back and do the 1st pitch AND Vertigo.
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tinman
Trad climber
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Sep 21, 2007 - 02:31pm PT
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To hump the Fickle Finger or to squeeze in behind it, tis also a dilemma.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 21, 2007 - 02:34pm PT
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Raise your hand if you know the origins of the name "archival flake"!
Paulina does, I'm sure.
And looking at Mack & Dave's fine pictures, it becomes clear why Cannon offers both great rock and great rockfall.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Sep 21, 2007 - 02:37pm PT
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tinman
Trad climber
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Sep 21, 2007 - 02:39pm PT
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"Archival Flake" as in the Fickle Finger? I know that the Fickle Finger got its name from Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. The only time I ever heard my pops laugh out loud was when he watched that show.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 21, 2007 - 02:41pm PT
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Yep, "Archival Flake" = the fickle finger of fate. Which often gets humped. But how on earth is it archival?
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mack
Trad climber
vermont
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 21, 2007 - 02:52pm PT
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Dave,
Yes, absolutely. Do the (real) first pitch of MG then do Vertigo. I'm ready when you are. How about the 28th, weather permitting?
Mack
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Sep 21, 2007 - 03:30pm PT
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Chiloe wrote: Yep, "Archival Flake" = the fickle finger of fate. Which often gets humped. But how on earth is it archival?
Do explain the name, it's a good story! But just to clarify, I think "Archival Flake" doesn't refer to the Fickle Finger, but rather to a larger flake up on Weissner's Dike/Lakeview.
GO
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Sep 21, 2007 - 03:35pm PT
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As well as capturing a couple climbers on VMC Direct, that's one of the best shots I've ever seen of the Whitney Gilman route (that enormous ridge/buttress of rock sticking out on the left side).
GO
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 21, 2007 - 03:36pm PT
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You're right, I'm confusing my flakes!
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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Sep 21, 2007 - 03:37pm PT
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Eh, we all have our flaky days! (yuk yuk)
GO
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Sep 21, 2007 - 07:45pm PT
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Ahh, great TR and photos from the Right Coast, huge thanks for this. My only experience on Cannon was a powder day snowboarding at the ski area around the shoulder in early spring, perhaps even more rare than a bug free fair weather trip up one of the East's preeminent adventure crags.
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Sep 22, 2007 - 12:32am PT
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Mack,
Sounds good. I'll try to remember my shoes this time.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Sep 22, 2007 - 07:10pm PT
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Beautiful rock and route! David - you forgot your rock shoes probably because you were so focused on NOT forgetting the hardhat.... Guess if you had to choose between one and the other, you made the best choice.
Part of the reason I keep my shoes clipped to the outside of my pack is so I won't forget them, whether it's at home, or in my tent. (The other reason has somethng to do with letting the air circulate....).
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 22, 2007 - 08:08pm PT
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Tarbuster's Tuolumne thread got me going through some old slides, and I came across this one. An undistinguished photo of the cliff in fall 1977, before the four big recent rockfalls that changed its face. Only the talus left of Moby looks fresh in this picture.
And here's a photo looking across towards Moby Grape from Vertigo on that day. The Triangular Roof pitch can be see near top center. It was a wet chilly late-fall day, my first excursion up Cannon.
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Sep 23, 2007 - 09:10am PT
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Chiloe,
Did you ever do the Whaleback Crack? Wow, that must have been some big rockfall when that came down.
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Beagle
Trad climber
CO
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Sep 23, 2007 - 01:15pm PT
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Yeah, I remember usurping an unsuspecting duo, going up Reppy's, via the original first pitch , I started just running up and got about 40' or so without placing any gear so I grabbed a piece and almost crapped myself upon trying to get it in... after that things went swimmingly. I love N.H. granite!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 23, 2007 - 06:31pm PT
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Chiloe,
Did you ever do the Whaleback Crack? Wow, that must have been some big rockfall when that came down.
There's a nifty pair of photos in Sykes' guidebook showing the first (Barber) and last (Sykes?) ascents of Whaleback Crack. I missed my chance on that one but back in 1981 I climbed a Cannon route called Torque -- a cool 5.9 splitter just left of Whaleback Crack. It turned out that Torque's splitter crack was actually the fracture line from which the whole Whaleback flake detached, pivoting rightwards and down off the cliff. When you look at the cliff now you can see the outline where the flake used to sit. Its left edge marks the former location of Torque, so I guess the left side of that crack is still there.
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ng
Trad climber
New Mexico
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Sep 24, 2007 - 12:52am PT
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i moved from Portland ME 10 years ago - didn't know Moby Grape hadn't exfoliated like much of Cannon.
is Whitney Gilman still climbable?
nice pix!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 24, 2007 - 07:55am PT
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Whitney-Gilman, Moby Grape and many other classics are in fine shape and get climbed many times a week, in season. Even on Cannon's cleanest routes, though, you see the onion-skin architecture with new layers a few feet underneath, waiting for their day in the sun.
Possibly New Hampshire's warming climate, with more freeze-thaw and winter rains, has speeded up Cannon's erosion over the past 30 years.
If somebody has a Cannon photo from the same perspective as my 1977 shot above, it might be interesting to post them next to each other for comparison.
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mack
Trad climber
vermont
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 24, 2007 - 08:27am PT
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40 feet off the deck with no protection!!! ACK I don't think I want to do the original start afterall.
Mack
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 24, 2007 - 08:51am PT
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If you walk up to the original start, you'll see exactly what's up. The first 30' or so is a wide, flared but low-angle corner, about 5.7. I don't know if huge cams would fit this, but back in the day you just ran it out, the rock is clean and the laybacks/jams are not too insecure. Eventually a secondary crack comes along and takes good gear. The 5.8 crux happens higher, when you leave the main corner system to climb cracks on its right wall, leading to a good ledge. There's a photo of this section (from the FA) in the 1987 edition of Webster's guidebook -- look at that, compared with any pic of Reppy's, and you'll see the difference in character. Or why most folks climb Reppy's, but a few think the original start has more flavor. The FA party broke this first pitch in two, but it's simpler if they're linked.
The second pitch starts with a nice splitter hand crack before you joining with the same line as Reppy's.
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mister t
climber
nowhere special
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Sep 24, 2007 - 09:59am PT
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Thank You Sir- may I have another?
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Sep 24, 2007 - 11:08am PT
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Chiloe, have you done it recently? The first pitch has huge hole in it where the block fell out last year. The stokes litter that used to live at the base of WG was used in this rescue and not returned to the upper talus. There is no litter up there as of 2 weeks ago.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 24, 2007 - 11:19am PT
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No, that's news to me. Where was the block that fell out?
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Sep 24, 2007 - 11:37am PT
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To my knowlege a guide was about 30ft up the origional rt trying to pass a party on reppys when he rode a huge block for a ways . his gear caught im before the deck but he broke some bones and was evaced. The new rockfall is obvious. It looks sandy and fresh up there. Not inviteing. Compared to your overview photo the whole cliff looks like it was hit by a week long artillary barrage..... Three weeks ago I was on Duet Direct and large rockfall occured just past WG. Big rumble and riseing cloud of dust again.... Can"t wait for that sucker to freeze so I can get on the black dike again :)
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Sep 24, 2007 - 11:56am PT
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Wish we had photos, I can't recall any blocks 30' up the first pitch.
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Rcklzrd
climber
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Sep 24, 2007 - 01:54pm PT
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Love that crack in the first pitch!
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Tomcat
Trad climber
Chatham N.H.
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Sep 24, 2007 - 04:38pm PT
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Nick...not a guide but my buddy Mike D.,brother of Chris D of Walk on the Wild Side/Quartet Ice hose fame.Chris got belayer of the year award for hanging tough while the block slid down around him.Since then,while sitting awaiting our turn on Reppy's crack I've heard a few folks exclaim..."darn,where's that block I used to put gear behind".Mike did get carried out,but I don't think he broke anything,except the cliff...
I see the First ascentionist of Duet Direct daily at work.No cams involved then.Originally rated 5.7,I believe it was Hurley who said it's the hardest 5.7 in the country...lol...what did you think?I led it when I was a kitten,in electric blue lycra....maybe that's what's missing...lol.It was up to 5.9 then.We had a double rack of friends,that's six,first gen ones...I recall poking them in in the midst of some stout liebacking,and trying to steal a look at them as I passed by..Dube and I tried it couple years ago after waltzing Sticky Fingers and got shut down,so I am looking for my lycra.;-o
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losbill
climber
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Dec 27, 2007 - 08:14am PT
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Mack - Just stumbled across your post. Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Looked like it was spectacular Cannon day!!!
Noted with interest your partner leading Reppy's in his approach shoes. That's not a bad idea for going up Reppy's I thought. As I roll down the post I see he keeps them on further up. Okay, that's doable. Then I come to the photo of your partner Dave. It is then I remember Dave telling me the story and I finally make the connection!
Mack, that's what you get for climbing with a thick mick of an Irishman (TMI). BTW if Dave isn't available for an outing where you absolutely need a TMI, give me a holler. I lead 2+ grades lower than Dave but I fit the TMI category fully!
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L
climber
The Wide Blue Yonder
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Dec 27, 2007 - 12:14pm PT
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Awesome TR Mack! Can't believe I missed this when it first went up, it's such a good one.
However, in the dead of winter (haha! LA winter ain't winter baby!) and after not touching real rock in a month, I have to admit it's working wonders for my withdrawal symptoms. Thanks!
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divad
Trad climber
wmass
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Dec 27, 2007 - 04:47pm PT
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Hey Bill,
Welcome to the Taco. With your thick skin and sense of humor, you will probably enjoy it here.
BTW, I'm not so thick that I climb with a partner who can't bail me out when necessary.
Mack, If you ever meet or climb with this guy, don't believe a damn thing he says about me. Haha.
Dave
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Feb 25, 2008 - 09:16am PT
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Quoting myself (upthread):
If you walk up to the original start, you'll see exactly what's up. The first 30' or so is a wide, flared but low-angle corner, about 5.7. I don't know if huge cams would fit this, but back in the day you just ran it out, the rock is clean and the laybacks/jams are not too insecure. Eventually a secondary crack comes along and takes good gear. The 5.8 crux happens higher, when you leave the main corner system to climb cracks on its right wall, leading to a good ledge. There's a photo of this section (from the FA) in the 1987 edition of Webster's guidebook -- look at that, compared with any pic of Reppy's, and you'll see the difference in character. Or why most folks climb Reppy's, but a few think the original start has more flavor. The FA party broke this first pitch in two, but it's simpler if they're linked.
The second pitch starts with a nice splitter hand crack before you joining with the same line as Reppy's.
And tradmanclimbs:
Chiloe, have you done it recently? The first pitch has huge hole in it where the block fell out last year. The stokes litter that used to live at the base of WG was used in this rescue and not returned to the upper talus. There is no litter up there as of 2 weeks ago.
This weekend, going through more old slides, I found a pic of the original first pitch. Dozens of photos of the Reppy's Crack start are on the Web, so it was interesting to dig out this relic. I'll get it scanned and post it over the next couple of days.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Feb 25, 2008 - 03:41pm PT
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So here's the original first pitch of Moby Grape. That piece above the top of the tree is probably the first nut placement, you just shuffled up the layback till you got there. Above the climber's head you climb up and right, out of the corner and eventually up that splitter visible in the white face.
Tradman, this was 1980. Where was the block that later fell out? Is it that huge thing I've got my first gear behind?
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Feb 26, 2008 - 03:02pm PT
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Its hard to say from memory? Is about 30ft off the deck and pretty big? looks fresh and there is a scar where it was. the block is sitting at the base. It looks like it was part of the climb. Just one of the overlap/corners slid right down to the start of the climb.
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