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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 6, 2008 - 07:58pm PT
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Now that I am on the ground, and everything is moving faster and the roar of the river no longer fills my head, I want to be back there. I want to trade the well dressed people and their smiling faces for the worried looks of my partners on lead as they ponder the next move. I want to swap the comfort of my bed for the streaking pegmatite walls that we traced up and down the canyon for hours while belaying. Yet in the throws of suffering I wanted comfort and safety. You wish for the opposite. You want the warm dinners and the ground, to be out of your harness and for your cuticles to heal.
This was my last semester in school, and Matt had graduated a semester early. Mike had finished his crap with the Marines and we needed something to capstone it all. I needed something to drive me in my hell during finals. What better thing to do than to celebrate by doing a wall. Mike and I have been doing a lot of aid climbing trying to prepare for the Valley. We went to Zion and did Lunar Ecstasy and some other smaller aid routes. Matt had only lead C1 and never done a wall before. His mathematical Brain seems to figure it all out though, and he has the spirit and drive to give anything a go.
What wall to do? We wanted something big and memorable. What about the Black? I had done one other route previous to this one and it was Midsummer night's Dream, Mike had never been, Matt had done one route and bailed off another one because of a storm. For some reason we all felt confident in ourselves to do the Hallucinogen Wall. Secretly I think we all thought that if we couldn't do it another member of our party could. Two days before we were supposed to leave found Matt and I in Unaweep and I am filling him in on the finer points of aiding and telling him to practice hooking as much as he can. Saturday, the day before we leave Matt and I are in a granite drainage in the Monument teaching ourselves how to head, trying to gain some confidence. Sunday Matt and I finish work at three and we get into Mike's Car and Drive as fast as we can stopping only at the ranger station to sign in before we start the descent.
Moral is High in the Beginning:
Friends Help Friends tuck socks for Tick Prevention:
Three Haul Bags: One Newish and small, one homemade hand-me-down, one large old fish bag that we spent hours nursing back to shape, One old double A5 ledge and a single fish ledge that smelt the ball sweat. We threw ourselves down the Cruise Gully trying to miss Poison Ivy everywhere.
WE started down around 6:30
The First Rap:
We make it to the base as it start to get dark. We dump out the haul bags and Matt gets some gear and Rope Solo's the first pitch while Mike and I Fill and empty haul bag full of Bottles and head to the river. The river is raging, its so loud we scream at each other and are reduced to pointing. Down the talus you look straight at the river and its raging profile crashes higher than you are tall. In an eddy that may as well been a tide we filled water bottles. I stood on a small rocks, bare feet freezing as the water level sucked down six or more inches and shot up again. After the water was filled we took turns carrying the heaviest load on a talus field to the base where Matt was starting to rap down. In a small beaten out area we laid two pads down and tried to sleep.
5AM I set up the first haul and we look up dreading the next five pitches of low angle crap.
Second pitch is more crap:
It takes two to haul, one person to jug by the bags to free them on every edge that it gets caught on. It is so sunny we fear we didn't bring enough water.
Pitch 3
Pitch 4
Hauling
Matt Cleaning Pitch 5
Pitch 6 was the first business pitch. I clipped some crap and started hooking my way up through some bulges and left.
(last seen picture of hook before it was sucked into the abyss.)
Once you reach a roof and traverse left a bit you find a rats nest of webbing as a pendulum point.
Penduluming:
And darkness comes
Mike Chases the Sun
Matt Cleans the Pendy
Mike and I set up the Bivy on Fantasy Island.
While Matt leads the C2 7th pitch.
A huge flake sits on the ledge mysteriously solid. A bivy for two my ass. We set up our portaledges and are asleep by 10.
In the morning I lead a C2+ pitch that forces some scary free climbing and a line of shitty heads.
I asked Matt if he wanted the next A3- on Pitch 9 and he looked at me for a few seconds and said yes. Some Balls.
Mat starts up clipping too many bad heads and hooks right off the belay for comfort.
Matt Finishes and there are some high clouds that give us a break from the sun.
Mike Arrives at the belay and says he wants to do the Crux hooking pitch. His words and his face say two different things:
Mike styles the 15 foot traverse on hooks off the belay to the first bolt.
He then makes his way up and right a good 20 feet on hooks to another bolt.
He gets to the large peg streak and clips one last bolt and looks at the topo.He sees no ledge with bolts and cactus on his left but sees some fixed gear to his right. He starts going right and then up. He keeps looking down and he moves quickly and farther away from anything attached to the rope. He yells that there is a dead head and Matt and I are thinking he is off route. We send the hammer up and he beats on a head but the peg is to shitty and our skills are too poor to get anything to stick. He hooks past it and cinches a rivet. He spots the belay station 20 feet down and left. He lowers and Pendies over. When I jug up the haul line I try to clean as much as I can and we pull the rope leaving some gear. The next pitch traverses back right so we were able to get most of our gear.
Pitch 11 is mine and I leave the belay with some free climbing to a bolt and some hooking. Some more A3 and I am on a micro edge with a large ramp up and right of me. Sweating I get in the second step up my aiders and lean way right trying to forget it all below and get this captain hook to stick. Thankfully the Captain hook is bomber and I make my way up and do the cactus traverse in the fading light.
The supposed on person Bivy at the Happy Trails ledge is a laugh. We set up our ledges and stare up at the looming head wall.
In the morning its overcast
No one wants to lead the next A3 pitch. I had already done two A3 pitches and some harder Clean pitches. Mike was still unwired from his scare fest on the hooking pitch. I told Matt if he really wasn't up to it that I would do it. Matt Carried his weight and more as he racked up and took off from the ledge.
Matt Worked his way up crap gear and hooks to a seam and said there was three blown heads in a row and the next piece was way out of reach. We sent the hammer and heads up but he couldn't remove the heads or place a new one.
He tried throwing his hook on the end of an aider at the next piece with no success. He tried hooking on the dead heads but they just pulled. I asked if I could cannibalize his Ledge. I dug it out and cut the SHock cord and made a make shift stick clip and tagged it up to him. Matt went on to finish the pitch as the wind started to rage and the clouds got thicker.
He screamed into the wind that he was off and Mike and I both were impressed at his performance.
I took off on pitch 13 as fast as I could fearing the worst in the weather.
Mike Rocked the 14th pitch and found the most rotten rock yet. Matt was still recouping from his lead.
Rain started to spit a bit but the angle of the wall decreased. after the last roof
Matt Jugged up and started leading the rotten 15th pitch as I hauled. So very Rotten.
I jugged up to meet with Matt inside a chimney
We pulled some line up as the top was in view and the weather was getting worse. Matt and Mike battled with the pigs as I did some scary climbing to the top Hoping to not brain my partners with the huge loose blocks everywhere.
It took us until 10:30 to get the pigs hauled to the top.
Mike was the last to arrive.
Victory.
WE stood on top and went to the overlook yelling down at the route. Our sh#t in the car we headed back to Grand Junction and slept a lot. The next day we sorted gear, drank beer, and made almost serious jokes about our next wall in the Black. We talk about how you understand wall climbing or you don't. You tell someone or they find out you climbed a wall you can tell by their reply if they get it. If the mention the sweat and the work first and the sore muscles then they know. Everything seems doable compared to wall climbing.
All in all I wonder how much of our success was luck. The weather held, the pieces held. Its a gamble but its worth every f*#king foot of it.
-Jesse
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L
climber
A place with rocks...lots and lots of rocks...
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Jesse,
That was a great TR...and I'm still shaking. Some of those pitches just looked bad...as in terrifying. Great photos, too.
Mike's face before the crux...priceless.
Thanks for a great write up.
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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wow.
nice post...looks full on
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Thank you for taking the time.
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Crag Q
Trad climber
Louisville, Colorado
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Great TR. My hands are sweating buckets. Thanks.
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yo
climber
I drink your milkshake!
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bwahaha, yes!
Slowly descending into madness...
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Trippel40
Social climber
CO
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Thanks for sharing! Great writeup.
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Delhi Dog
Trad climber
Good Question...
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Hey Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed all the pictures and a great write up!
Cheers,
DD
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originalpmac
Trad climber
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bump for a great TR.
good work, looked bold.
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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 6, 2008 - 11:18pm PT
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Props for Jared Ogden and Ryan Nelson for freeing most of it. Every pitch we looked at looked impossible and scary. 5.12 and 5.13 and clipping heads for protection, bad ass. They also did a lot of anchor replacement that was a glad sight for sore eyes.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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That's pretty cool. Nice job by everyone involved.
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Excellent. Thanks for sharing. You guys rock! What an adventure....
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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c'est bon!
everyone knows that doing a wall in the black earns credit for 2 walls.
:)
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cowpoke
climber
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outstanding!!!
The black. love the shots looking down the canyon!
Thanks for sharing the report.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Great TR with awesome pics. Thanks!
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piquaclimber
Trad climber
Durango
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It wasn't luck Jesse. You guys were killing it.
NICE WORK!
AWESOME TR & PHOTO ESSAY!
Brad
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Ezra
Trad climber
WA, NC
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Nice Work! Some of that rock looks like quite the mind bender. Bump for the real deal.
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Wow, great TR. Thanks for posting.
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nature
climber
Santa Fe, NM
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Great TR. Thanks for the contribution.
Papajoto and I had plans to do this route but it looks like we might wait until fall. The shots of the hooking pitches make me want to get off flatlander territory and enter the vertical world.
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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That was a fine TR. Great pics. Took me right down nightmare memory lane. Thanks for sharing and good on ya dudes!
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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 7, 2008 - 09:14pm PT
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Piquaclimber, Ben did it a few weeks before me and in two days. Its ungodly how fast that guy can move. SAid the last day was a 20 hour marathon!
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Dirka
Trad climber
SF
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Love all those pics!!!!!!!!!!!
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benkiessel
Trad climber
Gunnison, Co
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Nice job Jesse. I had a hard time choosing where to go on pitch 10 also. What is the next wall in the black? Oh... and I'm not fast i just have a stick clip that gets me past the tough sections.
ben
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ddscott
Trad climber
Boulder,Colorado
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Nice post guys! Philo and I (with different partners)did that thing in 1988. It still looks hairy at A3 whatever. Glad you guys had fun what a cool place to be.
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Dogtown Climber
Trad climber
The Idyllwild City dump
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Jun 10, 2008 - 12:26am PT
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Now that is a cool TR. SH#T YES!!!! NICE WORK!!!!!
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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 10, 2008 - 05:58pm PT
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Ben, I was thinking of doing High And Dry. You in? Were the heads gone on pitch 12 for you as well?
-Jesse
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simian
Gym climber
milan
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Jun 11, 2008 - 02:31am PT
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Wow, what a trip! June 6 is my birthday....I feel as though I got a present. I was one of the fools that did the first ascent of this pile. Funny thing is I can only recognise about 30% of you're pics, so much climbing from then until now. Thanks for the trip down the lane and good job on the wall.
Bruce.
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benkiessel
Trad climber
Gunnison, Co
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Jun 19, 2008 - 07:48pm PT
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Jesse,
yes the heads were gone on pitch 12 when we did it. I talked to a party that climbed the H-wall about 2 weeks before me and they said that they took multipul falls pulling out fixed gear each time.
High and Dry sounds good. when are you going?
ben
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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2008 - 09:02pm PT
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Multiple falls? Holy crap, who does that and why? I can't imagine falling on that crap. That streak of dead heads is in some sh#t peg too. I wonder what will become of the section. More enhanced hooks? a Bolt? Would take some real heading skills and something to clean the old heads to get anything to stick there. Hah, were they trying to free climb it or what? I have to find partners for High and Dry first, you in?
-JEsse
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ktoober
Social climber
Bay Area
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Jun 21, 2008 - 10:17pm PT
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Looks like fun!
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FeelioBabar
climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Jun 22, 2008 - 10:53am PT
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Proud. Nice work!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Jun 22, 2008 - 11:01am PT
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Big climb and a well-illustrated TR. Thanks!
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Handjam Belay
Gym climber
expat from the truth
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Jun 22, 2008 - 01:21pm PT
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Bump for the Black...
respect...booyakasha
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Z3
Social climber
Evergreen, CO
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Jun 23, 2008 - 01:04am PT
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Cowabunga Matt. I see why you like this sport.
dad
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jun 24, 2008 - 11:00am PT
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Looks like you guys were having just a little too much fun.
I'm not sure that's legal?
Good stuff.
Zander
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Dirka
Trad climber
SF
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Mar 20, 2009 - 10:48pm PT
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That was a fine read. Well done.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 21, 2009 - 01:30pm PT
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Great TR!
A shot from the FA by Les Choy.
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Mick Ryan
Trad climber
Kendal, English Lake District
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Jun 17, 2009 - 07:51am PT
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Can someone scan and post a topo please?
Cheers,
Mick
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goatboy smellz
climber
groove tube hell
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Jun 17, 2009 - 09:47am PT
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Here you go Mick.
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Prod
Trad climber
A place w/o Avitars apparently
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Jun 17, 2009 - 10:57am PT
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Cool, not sure how I missed this one.
Prod.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Jun 17, 2009 - 10:58am PT
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Nice TR. Great photos. Looked pretty tough
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Jun 17, 2009 - 11:36am PT
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That looks scary and dangerous. Wonder how anyone even spoted a line there for the FA?
JL
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Jun 17, 2009 - 11:47am PT
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Easy, Largo.....T'was the Hallucinogens.
They were hallucinating.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
a greasy pinscar near you
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Jun 17, 2009 - 12:47pm PT
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Nice job there fellas!
That hooking pitch put the taste of metal in my mouth.
Edit:...and I didn't even try to get over onto Happy Trails!
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taylor
Social climber
the local crag
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Jun 17, 2009 - 02:11pm PT
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best trip report in a while, the sustained hooking had me shaking
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Man! How did I miss this one, first time around?
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Betty Uno
Social climber
Colorado native
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Dec 24, 2010 - 12:38pm PT
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Yes, this is the era and the wall I was watching when the RV pulled up, and I tried to explain wtf they were doing.
I just posted it on the "overheard" thread as the funniest conversation I ever did have about climbing. Now you can see why that tourist lady was so alarmed.
That Les Choy photo is incredible, do you realize when he took it what he must have used? Jesse just did himself proud with that report.
I watched Doug Scott climb with Jim Nigro two different years. A photo Doug took of Nigro with a big big grin in a bivy was accepted by Patagonia and put in the catalog in '88 or '89.
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domngo
climber
Canada
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Jan 20, 2011 - 01:04am PT
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bump, awesome read and a great job guys!
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
sawatch choss
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May 10, 2015 - 09:01pm PT
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Bump for the proud papa and P.I. season.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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May 10, 2015 - 09:20pm PT
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Nice to see some Black stuff . . . quality ascent you guys. Nice images for perspective . . . the route is out there.
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