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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 2, 2008 - 04:03pm PT
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Who's had those days? Rubbing grit from your eyes at day's end, while thinking damn, that one's not gonna be a classic.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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More than I care to think about. most of them, really, for awhile. 's why so few are recorded. Got better about which ones to mention, some have some damn good legs.
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Brutus of Wyde
climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
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"Mobile Chimneys" on Mt. Thor in the Whitney area.
Think granite the consistency of kitty litter held together with dried egg.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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I'm not saying nothing in this thread. I think it's a prima facie case of negligence.
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lucho
Gym climber
San Franpsycho
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Um where do I start? Camp 4 Wall. Most likely the route that will fall into obscurity. I always wondered why no one had ever tried to free the entire obvious wall behind the most famous climbers campground in the world. On pitch six travering across 20 ft of bay trees with pro over by my belayer that I really didnt wanna test it hit me. No one will ever repaet this. Later on pitch 11 or something digging dirt out of a 5 inch crack to place a piece again it hit me, wow really no one will repeat this pile. Then on the final pitch some hienous OW leading to the summit, it was for sure no one would want any part of this. But to this day it is one of my proudest sends and the only 15 pitch first ascent and first free ascent of a major Yosemite wall. I'm so glad I did it.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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The one I went up with a saw in one hand and a pruning shear in the other. Ditto on the "probably nobody will ever climb this (or want to)" but they did in fact. Still, a wandering, bizzare stupid little route, with enough loose stuff after cleaning that it got called "Air of Detachment" But it was great fun, so, really, I don't think there is a worst first ascent, unless you get hurt bad doing it.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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An un-named POS in one of the canyons above North Vancouver that no one will ever -- EVER -- bother with. On the other hand, I was rehabing from a broken hip, unsure that I'd ever be able to climb again, and it was a major breakthrough for me just to be able to hang on a rope and scrape moss.
So, crap route, but major breakthrough for me.
D
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Nice Lucho!
Anybody ever repeat Embarrassment of Rich's ?
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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I don't think youz all really want to know...
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snyd
Sport climber
Lexington, KY
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The Last In Line 5.11a, Cookie Cliff.
Donny Reid told me that Jardine had tried it. No cleaning required but not that good a route. Certainly not worth the approach.
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Jim E
climber
Mountain Road
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Chiloe,
In terms of suffering for the FA I think there's a few at Crag Y I may be responsible for. Then again some of the ones I suffered for the most there turned out to be pretty nice. Many others there, on the other hand, are destined to be reclaimed by the forest and erased forever. They probably were within a year or less after the FA. I'm willing to bet you're responsible for a few there as well.
Some of the highlight features: long uphill bushwhack approach, swarms of black flies, swarms of mosquitoes, ticks, stifling humidity, lots of loose rock, copious lichen, trees (you know the one), and the failed attempts at secrecy (like it mattered).
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ARoberts
Trad climber
boulder, colorado
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About 10 years ago on the left wall of the Ice Cream Parlor in Kane Creek. I got 80' up to a dihedral choked with loose rock. I named it "Someone Should Shelak This MotherF*#ker" or AKA " Critical Mass" because I thought that was the last possible route that would go up there. Of course on my last visit someone was climbing my crappy route and there were 2 more routes put in to the left.
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TwistedCrank
climber
Ideeho
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I dislocated my shoulder on the last and easiest 10 ft of a wonderful and untouched Wingate corner near Colorado National Monument. Talk about a deflating climbing experience!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2008 - 11:41am PT
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I'm willing to bet you're responsible for a few there as well.
Seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time climbs! Yeah, a bunch of those deserve to be reclaimed by the forest, as you say -- but who knows, maybe some got repeated once or twice. Your Sunkist Wall routes, and a few others like Sword of Omens or Hotel California are proud enough lines, though. Albeit, with pre-modern protection, because we didn't quite "get" the new sport-climbing ethic back then.
And then there's Last Laugh. I'm embarassed to recall how cranky I got over nothing.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2008 - 11:53am PT
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Jaybro:
More than I care to think about.
Brutus:
Think granite the consistency of kitty litter held together with dried egg.
Mungeclimber:
I think it's a prima facie case of negligence.
lucho:
Um where do I start? Camp 4 Wall.
dirtineye:
The one I went up with a saw in one hand and a pruning shear in the other.
Matt:
I doubt any sane climbers ever even considered it.
Ghost:
An un-named POS in one of the canyons above North Vancouver that no one will ever -- EVER -- bother with.
Watusi:
I don't think youz all really want to know...
snyd:
Certainly not worth the approach.
ARoberts:
I named it "Someone Should Shelak This MotherF*#ker" or AKA " Critical Mass" because I thought that was the last possible route that would go up there.
TwistedCrank:
Talk about a deflating climbing experience!
It sounds like there's a mother lode of tales behind these comments, many stories just as good or better than those we tell about prettier, more famous FAs.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, Ca
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My worst FA was a thing in Josh. Actually I was sitting it out on the sidelines 'cause it didn't look too good to me. Then my buddies, who started the whole mess got weak and didn't have the sack to get up there and hang on the little hook thingy to put in the bolt so they could climb above, so I had to go up and do it. Lucky no one knows where this climb is and I intend to keep it that way. Oh wait, should this be on the spraylord thread?
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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A few forgettable ones, the worst is a project I started on last summer, and will likely be re-visiting with a wrench and epoxy vs the drill and more bolts. I was looking to put up another relatively mild climb on one of our roadside crags and spotted a line that looked like it would go. I got 1/2 way up, there was a pile of loose rock just waiting to dust the belayer, nasty sharp endges to cut the rope, and just a generally contrived line up bad rock.
I named it dung heap based on what we found at the base of the route while working it, and as an apt description of the climb.
There have been others that should have never been, but that is the worst.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Five or six pitch thing on a random wall in Sedona. Long approach. Brutish chickenwinging, thrashing and thrutching. Loose. So sandy that dunes formed in my eye-balls. Never to be repeated or talked about in polite company.
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Bubba Ho-Tep
climber
Evergreen, CO
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I can think of a number of worthless piles that I did in the South Platte here in CO that would probably qualify.
The good news is that Pete Hubell wrote the guidebook and took credit for the FA's so I won't be blamed for eternity.....
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couchmaster
climber
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damn, I just lost my words.
I had quite the classic tale of woe going. I', waiting as I suspect Piton Ron will be showing up with something impressive though.
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vegastradguy
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV
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Oh, lord, a POS route called 'Crocodile Rock' out on Windy Peak, which somehow managed to find its way into a new guidebook for the area.
Absolute hollow red rocks sugar sandstone on the first pitch (the semi-hanging belay was in such bad rock, i was positive it wouldnt take a fall...)- the crux right off belay with gear in the same crap rock....it was a wonder we didnt die.
further up, i set out on what looked like a beautiful arching finger crack only to discover it was a waterstreak in rotten rock after about 50'- which resulted in a scary traverse protected by a two lobe #1 camalot in soft rock back at the waterstreak....luckily, we were able to gain the really classic Windy Corner about 30' to our right after that and shake off that piece of crap.
another route- Lost Marbles, over near Lotta Balls in Red Rock- first pitch was pretty cool, but the second pitch was no gear on white sugar horns that i was pretty sure our leader was going to die on.....somehow, the route held all three of us without any breakage. yeah, that one was a stinker!
gotta love those adventures with Scary Larry!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2008 - 01:21am PT
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gotta love those adventures with Scary Larry!
Hah! As I was reading your descriptions, I started wondering whether he was involved.
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vegastradguy
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV
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all the good ones do! if nothing else, larry is always a good source for stories!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2008 - 01:52am PT
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A zest for adventure comes through despite the worst-ness of these stories.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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The most recent has yet to be discarded by the selective memory machine... a crumbling, low-angle granite-based offwidth choked with raspberry bushes led to a loose pillar, also crumbling...belayer cowering around the corner whilst I trundled...somehow we bailed and walked around to toprope the unprotectable good stuff.
I think we try and forget these things so we can find the occasional true score.
Anyhow, this might not be the worst (there's a reason I use this handle)-- go ask my partners, they might feel more strongly about a few things.
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Dave Hauser and I went out into the Wonderland to put a new route up. We had a nice line going until I weenied out at the crux and went right to escape the difficulty and turned a nice 5.10 into a wimpy 5.8. The route is 'Exit Stage Right" and is by far the worst route that Dave and I put up.
KSolem and I screwed up at the top of 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride' and got up into the big roof for 2 pitches. We called it the 'Grim Traverse' and it was horrible and death defying. Fortunately, nobody fell.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Quality judgements have a funny way of transmuting over time. Most of us would probably agree that what seems great at the time may fade to mediocre, but sometimes the opposite happens, and what seemed like a lump of coal can turn into a diamond.
Case in point is a route I wanted to climb at Squamish back in the 1970s, but couldn't find a partner for because it was such a "dank and grotty chosspile." It was up one of the gullies that, back then, weren't considered climbing terrain, and everyone I tried to talk into working on it said "There's nothing worth climbing up there, and even if it turned out to be okay, no one would bash there way through that jungle to get to it anyway.
Finally, my best friend and regular partner gave in and said he'd go up with me. I don't know if he did it out of pity, or friendship, or just to shut me up. I do know he didn't believe it would be anything other than a wasted day.
So we thrashed our way up the streambed (mostly dry) and then through the undergrowth, and finally arrived at the base of my "route" with a load of aid gear and landscaping equipment.
Two pitches of digging mud and vegetation out of cracks an corners got us to a bit of clean rock, and a short pitch later we were able to move right into a gap that promised a walk off. There was more rock above, but it looked blank, and the day was over anyway, so down we went. Which was actually more of an adventure than the climb, because the "walk off" turned out to be a major disaster, but that's another story. I came back several times with various partners to clean the pitches properly, and then moved on to other adventures.
A couple of years later, another party finally got on it, and with the first three pitches in reasonable shape, had time to find and climb a fourth and fifth pitch. They also gave the route a name -- "Rock On"
Since then, the climb that no one was willing to even consider looking at has become known world-wide as one of the must-do routes for anyone visiting Squamish. It gets maximum stars in the guidebook. it's been written up in the mags, been given photo-essay treatment, and almost always has a lineup at the base. And there's a good trail now, for an easy ten-minute approach.
I don't know if there's a moral to this story, but thinking back on it does allow me to feel a certain satisfaction once in a while.
Here's a shot of someone on p3
I don't have any photos of my own, and found this one in a "My visit to Squamish" TR on the web. I don't know who the photographer is, but if they want credit, or want it removed from this site, I'll be happy to oblige.
D
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KP Ariza
climber
SCC
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Snyd, Last in Line hardly qualifies as a bogus f.a. bro. BTW 5.11a/5.11.d is a more accurate grade. I followed you on the f.a. remember? A hard boulder move above thin gear, for 11.a this one packs a punch. Good job!
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cowpoke
climber
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Ghost - very cool story!
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426
Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Cowboy Stew, 5.9+ III on Mt. Wilson. May it never be repeated or mentioned again.
Close second...Sonic Reducer 5.12 Suck Pile, CA. Great 'Dead Boys' song though...
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2008 - 06:20pm PT
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Yeah, Ghost has a worst first with a twist. These stories seem divided between routes where we're proud that we persevered despite the low quality, and others where we're more like embarrassed.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Kelly,
> Anybody ever repeat Embarrassment of Rich's ?
Yes - I did it with Dennis Erik Strom. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The feeling of gravel sliding down into my shirtsleeves was unique, though! I haven't been back to repeat it yet, but maybe someday when find the right victim^M^H^H^H^H^N^partner?
I'm not sure what my worst FA has been (so far). 2 possibilities:
1. Flies on a Pile (at Pinnacles). I finally realized this was a bad idea when in a moment of inattention, a coil of the belay rope slid slightly to the side, sweeping some sandy gravel over the brink and onto a young hiker's head - he started crying....
2. Gardening at Night (third tier of the Church Bowl). I realized this was a bad idea when I decided there was no way I could remove all the moss hummocks and loose blocks from the second tier approach. Then it became a much worse idea when I was unable to pull down my rappel rope and did not have a good way to ascend to clear it - I had to be rescued - written up in Accidents in North American Mountaineering as an El Capitan veteran, etc. (does this belong in the Spray-Lord contest?). :-(
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SamRoberts
climber
Bay Area
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Mark Bowling and I did a route on Stonehouse Buttress we called "Rots o' Rock". The name says it all...
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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My one and only and I never even got credit for it in the guidebook.
There's a piece of crap corner below Imaginary Voyage in Josh that has trash rock only found in Josh. In the guidebook, it's called Gravel Shower (.10b) and is listed as TR. Years, years ago, I Bob Cox, Bob Critchfield and maybe the Nabolsi wander over to snag IV and we hike in too low and see this corner separating us from the start of IV. Too lazy to hike back up and around, I strap on the rope and rack and chimney up this corner, butt on one side, both feet on the other, placing absolute crap for gear.
I was inspired by a photo of Henry Barber chimneying up a 90 degree corner in Dresden, barefoot, that I'd seen in Climbing Mag. All kind of grit and choss are raining down on the boys, but luckily I don't get the opportunity to test my gear and I reach the ledge at the start of IV. After that performance, none of my cohorts even want to follow my brilliant lead. So I pull up some extra slack to rap off. When I toss off the ends of the rope, they dislodge a shoe box size rock in the corner that almost takes out everyone.
I later find the entry in the JT guide but never bother to claim the FA. It's like some really ugly stupid bastard kid you'd never want to take credit for. Good memories though.
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Larry
Trad climber
Bisbee
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"Tooth Decay" 5.11+
The crack on the right side of this photo.
My hardest FA in more ways than one. I got a hands-free rest in the tiered roof that forms the right side, though.
Just plain Larry
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 5, 2008 - 02:40pm PT
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Just plain Larry
Not the scary one, eh?
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GOclimb
Trad climber
Boston, MA
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It was in a former quarry. The crux of the climb was near the ground. I graded it as it felt to me, and that's how it went into the guidebook for the place. Six months later, the crux got buried under a load of Boston Big Dig dirt that got dumped into the quarry by some shady backroom deal. From then on, my name got associated with "that 5.11 climb in the book that's really 5.10-".
GO
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 5, 2008 - 08:39pm PT
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Six months later, the crux got buried under a load of Boston Big Dig dirt that got dumped into the quarry by some shady backroom deal.
That's funny. Crux erased by shady backroom deals.
I've got a route somewhere that might have been made worse by global warming. Poor Beatrix was the victim of my not-up-to-date recommendation to climb that one.
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Scary Larry
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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There was a sport commentator back in Los Angeles who used to recount a story about the portly Dodger manager, Tommy Lasorda. A reporter apparently asked him, "Tommy, in one word, can you describe the worst meal you ever had?"
Lasorda said, "Fabulous!"
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 6, 2008 - 10:08am PT
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Lasorda said, "Fabulous!"
A true point but even so, I bet you've got just a few stories that could fit with this thread.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 7, 2008 - 12:54pm PT
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There's the '67 Camaro, again.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Mar 11, 2008 - 03:28pm PT
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Hey Clint-
there's something called the "Laundry Shoot" in Connecticut....saw it in my old Nichols book I found in the garage last night. How's that one?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Mar 11, 2008 - 04:38pm PT
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Rob,
Laundry Shoot (at the "Shooting Gallery") was definitely a dirt experience - Ken did a nice job in the written description - it was one of my first FAs with Joel, so it's a good memory. It's up there with my other non-classics FAs like Nature's Call (don't ask), Double Crutch, and Never Give a Cripple an Even Break (in my "rehab phase" after a spinal cord injury).
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Mar 11, 2008 - 04:53pm PT
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Whoa...It was a teetering little pinnacle of volcanic dust on the back back back side of Smith Rocks. I was 15, and my high school buddy wouldn't get anywhere near the thing, but he held the rope for me.. It wouldn't have mattered since there was no pro. (I think I only had two or three nuts anyway.)I climbed about 2/3 of the way down and jumped to the hillside for a little tumble..
Anybody want to sign up for the second ascent of this Oregon junk classic?
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MisterE
Social climber
My Inner Nut
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Mar 11, 2008 - 08:25pm PT
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Haha! Smith! The home of chossy sport routes in the NW...
My worst one was my first one at Smith - Snuffy Smith, 5.9 to the left of the peanut. I put some good ones in that area between the 4th Horseman and Peanut, though: No Golf Shoes, The John Galt Line, Equinimity, and another one I can't remember...
Also, Lion Zion as an alternate (sport) 2nd pitch to Zebra Zion...only one BAD route - not too shabby. Thanks for the reminder, Survival!
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 15, 2008 - 08:34am PT
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From the road, looked like it might be worth doing. Probably a thousand climbers have seen it.
I wonder if anyone else climbed it?
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 08:03am PT
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 08:40am PT
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Nov 17, 2008 - 12:21pm PT
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Whoa Chiloe,
That is clearly superior to the dust pinnacle I was talking about at Smith Rocks.
You've got a long way to go before you get to the choss some of us are talking about!!!
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nature
climber
Santa Fe, NM
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Nov 17, 2008 - 01:09pm PT
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summer of 1992. I had just graduated college and spent 7 weeks on the road - four weeks augered into Tuolumne Meadows.
Petch and I loaded up our packs and did a 9 day hike down the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. We had our fishing poles with us as we were counting on rainbow and brookies for food.
Anyway... on about day five we spied a line and went for it. After bushwhacking the manzanita we started up our route. The opening sequence was the toughest part of the route - probably 5.10+ and then it eased off to 5.7. Long pitches on little gear. I don't recall how many pitches it was but probably 800 to 1000 feet all totaled. I don't recall how we got off but there must have been a few raps - not sure what the anchors would have been. The raps landed us in the middle of Manzanita hell. We managed to get back to the river and then had to get back to the base through more Manzanita to get our stuff. That was when we decided that "Chumps Shoulda Gone Fishin'"
So...
"Chumps Shoulda Gone Fishin' III 5.10+"
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 01:12pm PT
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That is clearly superior to the dust pinnacle I was talking about at Smith Rocks.
Well, it looked like it might have been a good route.
At day's end we weren't impressed, and all guidebooks since then have ignored it.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 01:14pm PT
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"Chumps Shoulda Gone Fishin III 5.10+"
Good name. We should have gone hiking!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Nov 17, 2008 - 01:18pm PT
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I have lots of candidates, but I think the worst would be a route Dan Smith and I put up directly over the highway by the Feather River in 1973. Aside from poor rock, sketchy pro, lots of dirt (and lots of vegetable matter in said dirt) and taking five pitches to gain 250 feet of altitude, trying not to destroy cars below us was an entirely new adventure.
On our rap to the ground, a Highway Patrolman drove up, said he'd been admiring our climbing, but concluded "that really is a hell of a place to climb." How true!
John
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Anastasia
climber
Not here
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Nov 17, 2008 - 01:36pm PT
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Mine are all in the back of the Santa Paula Sespe. All of it choss that I played on while feeling bold. Today they are testament of how one's brain synapses can misfire, how logic can take the back door and just how dangerously dumb I once was.
If you are ever up there, go to the punch bowl water fall and on top of the overhang you will see one of my bolts. There use to be a tree there before the fire that I used for my anchor. It's pretty scary.
AF
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Nov 17, 2008 - 01:39pm PT
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Fortunately, with the selective memory and limited bioharddrive space of old age, the good ones edge out the bad ones; as it should be. There were mostly all adventures, though. Though I have drawn a blank on some of the alleged good ones.
Chiloe/Vegas which scary Larry? Not the one who broke his pelvis when we climbed the LA Chimney by any chance?
I did a new route on Court House rock in Sedona (with, My, Scary Larry, I think) we thought we were on day in court, till it blanked out. I don't remember the technical crux (pretty sure there was a crack) but I will never forget scrambling up the final choss pile (imagine a wobbly pile of old bricks stacked against a vertical wall with bad pro a ways back. I think I placed four drilled angles when we bailed. I would never suggest anyone do it, but it was an invigorating venture for us! Bill Paul did the second, we high fived when he told me about it,and then wondered why we were both still alive! It starts left of day in court.
Michael Covington the younger (Climbmax gym, Phx), and I did a new route somewhere across from the Mace on that other formation. looked good from the base, but was pretty scary loose. I don't remember what we called or rated it. But he was so psyched, I decided to chalk it up to adventure, rather than wish we'd found something more substantial.
Chiloe re"'67 Camaro";
"Not a millionaire,
Not doing bad,
When the Camaro sells,
I will be glad"
-DeeDee Ramone.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 01:52pm PT
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Chiloe/Vegas which scary Larry? not the one who broke his pelvis when we
climbed the LA Chimney
Sounds bad! No, I mean the Scary Larry who broke his collarbone while attempting
some first ascent, probably not one of his worst, in the Red Rock.
Photos of my '67 Camaro remind me of lost youth.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 02:04pm PT
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The author of this:
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Nov 17, 2008 - 02:09pm PT
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a different Larry, as I suspected,
lots of colorful Larrys out there...
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Nov 17, 2008 - 02:38pm PT
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Since I am a legend in my own mind, all my FA'a have been 5-star classics and the only reason other haven't repeated them is that they lack the vision to see their greatness.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for my fellow climbers. I would like to hijack this thread (or maybe start a new one) and title it "FA's Which Should Have Been Unreported."
Bruce
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2008 - 03:12pm PT
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I would like to hijack this thread (or maybe start a new one) and title it
"FA's Which Should Have Been Unreported."
That's a thread we need too. Instead of these "Routes That Went Unreported for
Good Reason!"
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Petch
Gym climber
Lover's Leap
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Nov 20, 2008 - 08:31pm PT
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come now nature! how often can you walk up to a cliff and do a 7 pitch fa, ground up, on-sight, no bolts, and get back before dark.
maybe my memory is lacking!!
fish on
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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Nov 20, 2008 - 09:23pm PT
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Maybe someone said this already, read the thread and did not note. But, I'm thinkin' it would be good to have a a worst first.... cause I don't think it will happen for me in my lifetime. So even if it's bad for you it's good. Thanksgiving... count your worst first ascents as not all that raw. Lynne
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Ezra
Social climber
WA, NC, Idaho Falls
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Nov 20, 2008 - 10:11pm PT
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A route I did with Nathan B in the bottom of linville gorge.
The last scarry FA nathan did was in the bottom of linville gorge. We did one of harrison shull's route for the first mini pitch. Then he busted out out to a little area and did some gardening for a belay. Moss clods flew every where. Nathan built a pretty good belay including a fairly bomber #1 camalot. Then he climbed the next 5.10+ pitch that was moss and lichen covered. My eyes hurt from the grunge. He got his first piece in 50 feet off the belay. The belay was only 35 feet up. I was hoping he would just deck if he blew it rather than pull me off .
Later, after the pitch, nathan looked at my harness and said, you had that screamer AND DIDN'T TELL ME!
My reply was: well you never asked.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 21, 2008 - 08:52am PT
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Ezra:
Later, after the pitch, nathan looked at my harness and said, you had that screamer AND DIDN'T TELL ME!
Lots of good stories here. I hope we see more.
Lynne:
So even if it's bad for you it's good.
Even from your worst first ascent, the views might be grand.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Nov 21, 2008 - 10:02am PT
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Back in the late 70's and early 80's, we were exploring the crags all over the Niagara Escarpment which runs across the province. We checked out a lot of obscure cliffs, and put up a lot of really horrible new routes. Stuff up loose rock up on the Bruce Peninsula, or just fighting your way through bushes and shrubs all the way up.
And then there was the poison ivy on the approach! One time Steve DeMaio got completed covered with the stuff. Evidently I am one of the 50% or so of the population that does not react - fortunately.
You won't find some of my routes in any guidebook, though you'll still find plenty - but you'll never find a bolt.
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TYeary
Mountain climber
Calif.
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Nov 21, 2008 - 12:18pm PT
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Once , along time ago, Mike Harbison, Tony Yinger and I set out to climb the West Ridge on Conness in the Sierra. A real classic. We did no reserch, didn't have a map, or beta, just the desire of youth and a lot of ants all biting at once. Now Mike and I had been climbing together for a while, but this was Yinger's first outing with us. He looked to us to show him the "alpine ropes" amd we were all over it! We hiked in, located the route and began climbing. It was alot harder than 5.6 and the route just didn't seem right, but on we pressed. At one point we were in a water chute/gully, slicker than snot and way harder than the given rating. Surely we were off route. We were simil-climbing 5.9 with one # 3 wired stopper in a shallow crack. It seemed like a whole pitch, but was prolly shorter. Never the less, death was but a slip away for all of us. At the belay, Yinger suggested that , perhaps we were indeed off route. I said something like," these alpine routes are like this, ya know. Everything is different in the back country" I rattled on,trying to hide my embaressment with bravado. As we topped out, there in front of us, about a mile away, was the un-mistakable S.W.Face of Conness with the obvious West Ridge in profile on the left side. We all looked in dis-belief at each other.Yinger politley suggeested, that maybe we were on the wrong mountain. Duh... We named the route Mistaken Idenity, II 5.9 r/x. It's on the southwest side of peak 12, 240' or something like that. We have all been climbing on and off together for 20 years or more now and shared many adventures together. However, I'm sure this one remains, for us, as an all time classic screw up. I'm farely sure no one will ever repeat this route, unless of course, you go with strangers, who have no beta, map or route discription. Good climbing!
Tony
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 22, 2008 - 06:07pm PT
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TYeary, one of the best tales on this thread -- and your topo really makes it.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Nov 23, 2008 - 12:21am PT
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Back at the beginning of this thread I described my worst first as: An un-named POS in one of the canyons above North Vancouver that no one will ever -- EVER -- bother with. On the other hand, I was rehabing from a broken hip, unsure that I'd ever be able to climb again, and it was a major breakthrough for me just to be able to hang on a rope and scrape moss.
I might have left it at that, but a few weeks ago a new voice chimed in at our campfire, and on another thread he reminded me of a time when he and I went "rapping through a tangle of wet saplings to scarify the rock and bombs-away adjust the rope to the height of the outcrop."
Yup. That was the Piece Of Sh#t in the canyon above my place in North Vancouver. To get there, Andy (now posting as MH2)had to drive us ten blocks because I'd broken my hip in a freak bike accident a few month before, an -- walking was tough, and driving was still in the future. But I could hobble. Sort of. With a couple of long ice axes as canes. And my memory convinced me that a short and easy trail would take us to the top of something worth checking out.
So Andy and I headed up the trail to where it came close to the top of a wall between two waterfalls on Mosquito Creek. I'd scoped it out the year before, hiking in from below. This is the first waterfall on the approach
Some kind of construction there in the distant past. Logging? No idea. But just above this first waterfall there is a gorgeous little amphitheatre. A Hidden gem just a few minutes above the city. Rarely visited because getting into it required scrambling around the waterfall on wet rock.
Here's the second waterfall, taken from that amphitheatre.
The wall itself was only about 30 or 40 meters high. And covered in slime and moss. Not exactly El Cap. Not really even worth climbing. This is the most flattering shot I've got of it.
Well, not worth climbing for anyone who could actually climb. But for someone who wasn't sure he'd ever be able to walk properly again it was a chance to pretend to be a climber for a day. Hobble a few hundred meters up the trail and bushwack two meters to the cliff edge. I knew it would feel like a six-day approach in the Coast Range, but once I got there I'd just have to hang in a harness and scrub. Of course hanging in a harness with a broken hip is not really fun, but what the hell, it would be better than lying on my bed...
There was also the question about jugging back up. In theory, one-legged jugging is no big deal, but the pain factor would probably make it interesting. No worries though, cuz Andy was along. Old trad. Vastly experienced. Hikes 5.12. Whatever happened, I knew he'd be there to bail me out.
So we get to the top, set up an anchor, and get ready to rappel. Just as I was about to head down Andy holds up his ascenders and stares at them quizzically. "So how do these things work?" Hmmm.
Anyway, we hung on rappel, scraped away at moss, dropped a big block that severed one of the ropes below us, laughed some, and Andy even pretended that he was out on a real climb with a real climber.
Now that I think about it, it's not really a first ascent because we never did go back and climb it. But for the purposes of this thread, and as a way to welcome Andy to ST, it'll do just fine.
D
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Nov 23, 2008 - 12:35am PT
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We did a route, and the rock was poor and the bolts were bad too......we called it "Don't ".........so you have been warned........(I think the name has kept most people off it....but you never know.......)...I have so many crappy first ascents;.......But FA's are like babies;.......their mothers love them even if they are ugly............
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Nov 23, 2008 - 05:51am PT
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FA's, or any climbing with Larry, is highly entertaining - looking forward to getting out with him again sometime soon. Then again, we more or less think about climbing along the same lines which probably colors my view of him.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Nov 25, 2008 - 12:02am PT
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"The Agony Arete" 5.10d 3 bolts FA. DE
Directly below the Agony Arch is a small pillar with a three bolt arete.
I guess Socalbolter didn't notice the three bolts when he discovered the Riverside Quarry and claimed the FA, eh Louie?
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MisterE
Trad climber
My Inner Nut
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Nov 25, 2008 - 12:13am PT
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bump, cuz i just reminded The Doctor he hasn't posted his...it's Bad, Babies.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Nov 25, 2008 - 12:16am PT
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de ee: I have the honor of having the 2 bolt FA of the climb to the left of your arete: Every Dog Has It's Day 5.9. What can I say, I got a hand drill and felt obligated to do something with it. I think about it now and just laugh. Imagine hand drilling in that rock. It was a f*#king nightmare from the start.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Nov 25, 2008 - 12:49am PT
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Roughster, I can imagine that!
Next time I go there I'll check it out.
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socalbolter
Sport climber
Silverado, CA
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Dave -
Looked for your route last time I was out there. Didn't find it. You said a 3-bolt arete on a small pillar below Agony Arch and I didn't find anything like that.
I'd like to put it in the next edition of the guide. Can you tell me more about it?
Is it by chance the short, bolted inside corner just below Agony Arch. Richard Jensen had told me that was called Stem Job and he didn't know who did it first. I have it listed as FA: Unknown in the guide. Is this your route?
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Direct Start, North Ridge Goat Perch!
Summer 1982 I decide a “direct start” for the classic North Ridge Goat Perch route in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains would be an “interesting challenge.” Goat Perch is in the same valley as Elephant’s Perch and looks inviting from near “the Perch.” I had already climbed the North Ridge and thought rock quality would be good.
I went in with a friend that I had climbed with very little: but that mattered not, since this man was in every way my superior. He had the good genes to the max and was: athletic, intelligent, tall, handsome, and fearless. In fact he was just out of the Navy and had been a fighter pilot and then was in the Blue Angels. Oh-----and he was a born-again Christian, but he tolerated my pagan ways.
The first lead was up a steep chimney/gully, with a jam crack at its back. At the end of the first lead, the choice was overhanging off-width, or an inviting ledge that went left to less-steep terrain above. Bruce led left and quickly turned a corner. The rope stopped. Then he called back, “there’s a little loose rock here.”
In the next hour, he must have pulled off 10 tons of rock. The snowfield below was soon a blackened war zone. Slowly, the rope played out, then more crashes and booms would shatter the quiet.
At last I hear “On Belay” and follow the lead. The traverse was just horribly-loose, but then I reached the line that he had climbed up to his belay. Everything was stacked, small loose blocks, at a 70-80 degree angle. There was some “protection” slotted between obviously loose blocks. It was not an easy lead to follow, and when I reached Bruce I was both scared and angry.
“How could you justify leading that?” I barked. “Everything is loose and your protection wouldn’t have stopped a falling squirrel”
Bruce thought for a minute and then calmly replied: “It was pretty iffy, but whenever I got to a tough spot I just asked Jesus where to go.” He then smiled and added, “he takes care of me.”
Never before had someone asserted to me: that Jesus took a personal interest in his climbing. I was truly staggered. I clipped into the belay nuts, noting that they were worthless to stop a leader fall.
Rappeling was out of the question, since we were now above an overhang. Down-climbing did not seem like a good option either. After some water and a little small talk, I decided that based on prior success: Bruce and Jesus could lead the next pitch too.
That pitch was not as bad, but it was worse for me: since I was now in the direct line of rock fall. I hung the pack above me and cowered as stones clattered by. The only rocks that hit me were mercifully small.
Once again, when I followed the lead, the rock was all loose. The protection that Bruce & Jesus had placed would probably not have stopped a leader fall. Another similar, but easier lead for Bruce & Jesus followed.
When I reached Bruce again, I realized we were very close to where the North Ridge route started. We had done a “significant variation.”
I was able to do a traverse over to the ridge on reasonably good rock. Bruce was however, very disappointed in me. I adamantly refused to continue up the standard North Ridge route with him and Jesus.
I did not write the route up, since any future parties might not have the divine protection that we had experienced. I also confess: I did not “see the light” and continue as a pagan.
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
صَخْرَه&
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Good tale, there, RRR.
Some of that rock is REALLY good, but some is REALLY bad.
Yarrr.
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