SF Washington Column - 2 chicks have a go... (pics)

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cleo

Social climber

Berkeley, CA

Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 12, 2008 - 12:08pm PT

Given all the WC threads, and the fact that we saw some of the other parties up there, I thought I'd add to the fray.

Drinking beer in Berkeley, about a month ago, Kate corners me and says "Do you want to climb Washington Column?" YEA! "Ok, when?"... "uh, er, um... June?" No more talking, we're gonna go do! I'm scared - I don't know what I'm doing, so I think it's gonna be hard. Kate is not so worried. Luckily, WC is a total noob-fest, so we fit in with all the noob-dudes (and one other dude-ette).

Sadly, we didn't take as many pics as I'd have liked, but on day 1 we reached Dinner Ledge, rested, and started up P4 around 3pm. HA! The Kor roof proved to be tricky, and by the time I reach Kate (who led it!) around 7pm, she was FREEZING and very unhappy. So we rapped to the ledge. I think I was asleep by 7:30pm.

The next morning, I'm worried, so I wake up early. Here is Kate, and me getting ready to jug up. Kate looks MUCH happier.

Oh Yea, I look the part. Don't let it fool you, I'm still a noob!

Kate led P5 too (the book says some about a move being difficult for a midget... well, I'm kind of a midget, but Kate is tall, so Kate takes P5). Luckily for me, this puts her in a position to take pictures of me looking really tough. Here I am figuring out how to follow traversing leads on jumars.

By the time I get to the belay at the top of P5, we've gotten into a rhythm... Kate has figured out how to lead, and I've figured out how to follow (and gotten over being scared of penduluming). Unfortunately, while under the Kor roof the day before, I got spun in the wind about 20 times, putting a twist in the rope, which gets horribly bunched up while trying to pull it through the pendulum rings, and is then STUCK!!! We are both tired, and finally we decide to just go up one more pitch P6 and rap down to unstick the (other) rope. Since we're tired and have gotten into a rhythm ... that, and I'm a wimp, Kate leads again. She is such a rockstar. Also, I have pee really, really bad.

At the top, she has time to take a cute picture of herself while I follow. She has set pro on a ledge above herself, and the only thing I can think is "Can I pee on that ledge?"... not, "Can I downclimb to the anchor from there?" Oh, the things one has to sort through while aid climbing...

We finish P6, rap, unstick the rope, rap to Dinner Ledge, and enjoy the remainder of our afternoon there. It is so nice, we decide to spend the night. We also think of other ways to unstick the rope... in retrospect, we had options.

We got to sleep in the next morning.

And then I learned how to rappel and kick a pig down the mountain. Fun fun! I got my butt kicked, but somehow, I think I'll be back. But I need to practice first.

We ran into these guys heading up.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=612189

Echo

Trad climber

San Diego, CA.

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:17pm PT

Great post and great TR girls... I'll be in your shoes later this summer and am so excited that I can't sit still!

From what I've learned, all of aid climbing is a learning experience. Great job! Can't top out every time, right?

Cheers,
Jonas

Russ Walling

Social climber

Out on the sand.... man.....

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:19pm PT

Cool!

salad

climber

Escondido

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:30pm PT

nice effort ladies, get back out there and send!

bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, Ca.

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:37pm PT

Sounds like a good time out!

susan peplow

climber

www.joshuatreevacationhomes.com

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:38pm PT

Way to go girls!

Kor Roof spin around. Gee that's never happened to anyone (wink wink)

No lower out on the pitch above? I'm not sure I completely understood how you did the traverse. Just a flat pendulum fly away?

cleo

Social climber

Berkeley, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 12, 2008 - 12:45pm PT

On the pendulum, Kate passed a bite of rope through and lowered, and then fixed the ropes across (you can see them in the picture of me "looking tough"), and I was able to clip into those and pull, so no pendulum for me. It all worked ok, pretty good considering she figured it all out on the fly, until we tried to pull the bite through.

I don't really know what the "correct" method is... time to start reading!!

climber

The right side of the tracks but in the wrong town

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:53pm PT

Cleo Girlfriend--

YOU ROCK!!! (Your partner, too!)

Loved the TR, and those photos...man, did they tell a great story. You almost convinced me that pooping in a tube would be fun. :-)

Thanks for the thread...so refreshing after...well...you know...;-)

Post more, post photos, climb more, take lots of photos...your gig is what the Taco is all about.

steelmnkey

climber

Vision man...ya gotta have vision...

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:54pm PT

Nice work gettin' it done ladies!

No need to hit the library... you got about a bazillion years of big wall know-how here on this site. I'm sure you'd get all kinds of useful advice if you but ask...

nutjob

Stoked OW climber

San Jose, CA

Jun 12, 2008 - 12:55pm PT

Awesome to see folks getting out there and figuring it out! One of these days I'll become an aid bumbler.

caughtinside

Social climber

Davis, CA

Jun 12, 2008 - 01:05pm PT

Nice going cleo! Good photos and report.

Pewf

climber

nederland

Jun 12, 2008 - 01:06pm PT

Great work gals. Best way to learn is just to get out there, I think. As long as you stay safe that is.

One of my early walls (#2 or #3 I think) was over there on WC, Ten Days After... or is it Ten Years--I get them confused. Anyway, I royally screwed up a lowerout and had to cut loose on a huge pendulum. That was one way to learn my lesson... I sure didn't do that again.

I predict you all will be up top before fall. Enjoy it!!

Amanda

Impaler

Trad climber

Berkeley

Jun 12, 2008 - 01:08pm PT

Val and Kate, well done! Thanks for the report. When Erick and I were there in April I remember self-belaying on pitch 5 and looking down occasionally to see Erick spin wildly under that roof. I couldn't stop laughing for a while.

susan peplow

climber

www.joshuatreevacationhomes.com

Jun 12, 2008 - 01:11pm PT

Lowering out is an interesting tool to use. I too had never done one before, I ask Russ how to do it but we had some creepers coming up our ass so he launched off and told me not to worry about it.

When I got to the spot to lower out, he gave me a few tips over the radio, by the time he asked me how I was doing, I had lowered out and was well on my way to cleaning the crack up to him.

Side note: How those old-school type ever survived on yell-net alone I'll never know.

10b4me

climber

sous le toit

Jun 12, 2008 - 02:26pm PT

how does one do a lower out? I forgot.

Fletcher

Trad climber

The hear and now, currently Pasadena, CA

Jun 12, 2008 - 02:32pm PT

Nice! Thanks for the inspiration. One of these days I would like to be one of those noobs. :-) Gotta convince some cranky old-timer or some moderately experienced noob to go with me.

First I gotta do laundry and clean up after me kids... :-)

Fletch