Calinete (JB's route)

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Largo

Sport climber

Venice, Ca

Jul 14, 2009 - 12:36pm PT

About 25 years ago I did Calinete with Brother Gaines. We were looking at trying to go straight up after the thin run out face bit before the arch - something we never completed. But I think we might have gotten some shots. Let me pester Bro. Gaines.

JL

henny

Social climber

The Past

Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2009 - 12:40pm PT

Go for it JL. Post 'em if ya got 'em...

midarockjock

climber

USA

Jul 14, 2009 - 02:21pm PT

I'd enjoy seeing the route again.

Levy

Big Wall climber

So Cal

Jul 14, 2009 - 02:24pm PT

I did the route in 1987 with Matt Oliphant. Largo was there encouraging me to give the thing a go so I did. I fell once at the crux but lowered down, back to the top of the ramp, and did it next try. I recall a tough move on crimps, just over the lip of the steep bulge. The fall was clean, nothing to hit, but you do impact the ramp a bit but no big deal really. What Darryl said,I am only 5'10: but I do have a + 3" ape index. It seemed like I couldn't reach much higher. I recall doing some funk slab move & then I belayed off some mank setup higher. Matt did it with a fall or two but he did all the moves pretty quickly & we were at the top!

When we did it, Largo was jacked!! He was super stoked that we did it. I didn't realize what a reputatation the route had so I was pretty much oblivious to what we had just pulled off. I later went back to do it again & I couldn't touch it. The crux section was like trying to climb the walls of a tile shower enclosure, super thin & greasy/slopey. It may have been too hot for a proper send.

Around this time Matt & I had done both Black Harlot's & The Reach, which we thought to be 5.11d & 5.12a respectively. The Reach had a lunge from twin razors with one foot on a sloping, black knob & the other pasted on nothing. It seemed much harder than Black Harlot's but less continuous. Caliente was harder than either of those by a good measure.

I can't say how hard for Caliente is for certain but 5.12 seems correct. Let people haggle over the minutia of 5.12b vs. 5.12c. It is temperature dependent, height dependent & talent dependent, etc. It stands out as one of the better routes in Idyllwild, in my opinion.

The vision shown by those who scoped the line & thought it looked do-able, was pure genius. The talent to do the moves & drill a bolt above must have been an exercise in pure terror. The developers of the routes at Suicide showed their mettle in the bolt spacing on those routes established during that era. When I go back to those routes today, the runouts seem much more scary than they did back in the day. Has sport climbing made pussies out of us, with their bolts every bodylength? I did Rebolting Development, 5.11a last year and the runouts on the first two pitches seemed pretty stout. I never remember being so heads-up to do those moves before.

Good stuff by any standard!

klk

Trad climber

cali

Jul 14, 2009 - 02:29pm PT

so am i the only one who didn't climb this frickin thing?

levy, good to know that you could whip there and not lose an ankle. slapping back onto that slab looked really iffy to me.

henny

Social climber

The Past

Topic Author's Reply - Jul 14, 2009 - 03:33pm PT

You actually end up landing ok on the slab. Kind of surprising because it does look like it might be funk, but when it happens it's like, well, that wasn't bad.

Levy said:

Around this time Matt & I had done both Black Harlot's & The Reach, which we thought to be 5.11d & 5.12a respectively. The Reach had a lunge from twin razors with one foot on a sloping, black knob & the other pasted on nothing. It seemed much harder than Black Harlot's but less continuous. Caliente was harder than either of those by a good measure.
Word.

I recall doing some funk slab move & then I belayed off some mank setup higher.
What a relief. Finally, somebody that can remember they belayed up there. I was starting to get worried about you guys...

Capt. Buzzkill

Trad climber

Northridge, CA

Jul 15, 2009 - 12:41am PT

Leventhal's recollections are pretty accurate. I remember that Black Harlot's and The Reach were way doable and I flashed both. Caliente seemed several letter grades harder and I couldn't touch one move on the lead due to its reachy nature (at 5'8" and a negative 2 ape index). Levy, after one fall, lowered to the rest stance and sent it. I gave him some sh#t about not lowering to the base but his performance on the upper part of the pitch (moaning, with bad pro) was stellar. This route, and no doubt its neighbor Someone Your Not, will not see many flashes during our lifetime.

Levy

Big Wall climber

So Cal

Jul 15, 2009 - 02:41am PT

Welcome to the Taco, Matt!

I love the handle you've chosen, too funny!

Hope to see more of your insights & humor here soon.

Social climber

Tujunga CA.

Jul 15, 2009 - 10:51am PT

Do you not hear the call of the Caliente? (Gato Barbieri sax wails faintly in background)

Grant Meisenholder

Trad climber

Jul 15, 2009 - 11:24am PT

A few years back, I had the pleasure of following the route with my favorite ropegun Stuart. He was climbing at his peak and decided the route would be a good tic mark for the day. Now he knows his Suicide history, so I'm sure he knew what he was getting into. I, on the other hand, was just sitting fat and sassy at the belay thinking it was just another pleasant day to be out.

It was taking unusually long for him to top out, so I yelled up to him a few times to see what the problem was with no answers forthcoming. Finally I heard "off belay" and waited for him to tell me to climb. Another significant period of time passed and finally I got the go ahead.

I didn't pay too much attention to the finer details of the climb. I do remember it being a bit of a huff, but being on toprope, I had no fear.

I finally reached the top and found Stuart wide-eyed & still breathing hard. He proceeded to tell me about his near-death experience at the top of the runout where his foot blew out and he was saved by the sheer strength of his middle finger. He wrote a gripping TR, but I seem to have misplaced it. But I do remember that he was severely impressed.

We then went over to try Disco Jesus. That didn't go as successfully. No injuries or major whippers, but we did reach the second belay before he ran out of gas.

Wish he was still on the west coast to lead me up some more horror shows...

henny

Social climber

The Past

Topic Author's Reply - Jul 15, 2009 - 12:17pm PT

The Siren Song from Caliente is reaching out. You do hear that Sax, don't you... Stop and listen, you won't be able to resist.

henny

Social climber

The Past

Topic Author's Reply - Jul 17, 2009 - 10:48pm PT

A request for somebody to produce said photo of Henny from way back when please.

Since no one seems to be posting up any action pics, I'll scan the picture Greg Epperson took back in 87 so people can get a feel for the route. It was part of an article on Suicide/Tahquitz in Climbing magazine. Not sure how well my scanner will do, but I'll try.

henny

Social climber

The Past

Topic Author's Reply - Jul 17, 2009 - 11:12pm PT

Close. At the knees. That's getting started on the first reach of the crux. The next bolt is a couple body lengths higher. Then comes the more run-out climbing.