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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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I was looking for the B&W photo which depicts a 60's climber's footwear for Crack of Fear:
a Kronie on the left foot and something like a Cortina on the right.
I bet Oli has it.
Anyhow, from Godfrey & Cheltons, Climb!
Here are Crack of Fear & Turnkorner:
Jim Erickson on Crack of Fear
"The crux crack on Turnkorner from which Robbins took a number
of short falls before making the first free ascent in 1964."
Each of these climbs has in its vicinity some OW which would challenge most of us "modern" aspirants and the climbs have been referenced upthread. Both climbs are on my wish list, given some sort of miracle recovery:
1) To the right of Turnkorner is an offwidth roof, "Icarus", which caps a few pitches of very interesting looking terrain,
done by Jeff Lowe and Sandy East.
2) To the right of Crack of Fear and left of Twister is "Peaches & Cream",
a line Jimmy Dunn is quite proud of and which is by all accounts pretty stiff.
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Here's a couple of pics of Sundance and Icarus, Tar:
The pitch below the roof, which is actually the crux.
Looking up TurnKorner, which goes up slightly left. The Icarus roof is top left of dead center.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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She's a beaut. You take care of that miracle recovery and we can go try some of these Tar!
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Wow, how hard/wide is Icarus?
There just
isn't
enough
time.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jay,
The times of looked up at it I'd sooo hoped it was a perfunctory hero fist section, but knew better because of the distance some 3 pitches off the deck.
Jeff confirmed that it is about 5".
So there: she's the real deal.
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Just now back on the thread. Someone mentioned Fredericks and Logan doing the Crack of Fear free in the early '60s. That was incorrect, of course. They did it in the late '60s, around 1968, or even maybe '69 without looking at my books and records. Logan could fit in all the route's off-widths and hammered the big bongs they used from the inside out! He is a skinny bugger, not to be disrespectful. Fredericks is just a very very slow plodder but a good climber. He was the slowest climber I'd ever been with when he and I did Sentinel, but a few years later he'd been doing so many Yosemite cracks he took a very logical crack (so to speak) at the one point of aid remaining on the Crack of Fear. Robbins, in shorts (!) had done the route all free but for one point of aid, when he got turned around or something at the crux. I don't know how he did that thing in shorts. His knees must have been hamburger, but Fredericks, a fair bit below Robbins in actual ability, was skilled enough to hone in on that one point of aid. Logan was just learning then and followed along, like a worm deep in the crack.
That photo of the rack of wooden nuts looks a lot like the very nuts Rearick gave me once, a whole set, and even more. I still have them. They're amazingly strong, actually. How did this thread get off Twilight Zone? I guess comparing different offwidths. Anyone with a fairly husky, strong, big upper body ever try to do the Umph Slot in Boulder Canyon? If you do it on the outside, as I have had to do, it's solid 5.11 or better. That was one of the first climbs I did with Pete Cleveland. He'd never seen such a thing. I took several very good climbers up who couldn't touch it, even following, such as Erickson. That may be the hardest off-width I've ever done, far more difficult than any mentioned so far, but it's shorter and more intense, and it's well protected. If you fit inside, it's about 5.9, as it was for Pratt who had a fairly thin width chest (but wide shoulders).
Pat
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Yeah, Pat, Umph Slot is probably technically harder than even Peaches and Cream if you can't fit in it. When I did it back in, maybe 1989, it was rated 5.9. I know there must be lots of contenders, but I always thought of it as a good contender for the hardest 5.9 anywhere.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Heck, Umph Slot even has a hand jam in the back, if you're skinny enough to climb through there--as once upon a time I was. I recall thinking that if I ever soloed a 5.10, which I didn't, Umph Slot would be the one I chose.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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I free soloed Umphslot onsight when I was about 21. I was pretty skinny then.
Fortunately I've been able to avoid it in these days of my more 'Manly', 'mature' physique
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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my thoughts exactly on the slot: if you can't fit in, there are no knee locks, it overhangs, so stacking is out, it would be pretty darned burly. as mentioned earlier, after pulling off my harness and going with a single wrap bowline on a coil, my hips popped in and up I went at about 5.9.
sibley heard the report and stuck with his opinion:
because i could fit in, i didn't actually do the climb!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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buncha skinny bastards :)
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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The only climb I ever did with Jeff Long, the Boulder climber/writer, was the Umph Slot. I couldn't fit in and found the lead desperate, but anyone who knows how big Jeff Long is (bigger even than John Long), would think he'd never have a chance at following that thing. But amazingly he did. It was like watching Hercules tackling one of his great challenges. He didn't fall or weight the ropes, as I remember. He's a great guy, an awesome writer and he was a good climber, too. He organised and lead the first attempt on the West Face of Makalu, in the mid-seventies.
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Jay, I think Icarus is a little harder than Peaches, but it's hard to compare, exactly. If you have a really big fist, you might be able to do straight-forward jams on Icarus. It would still be hard, but not as hard as having to stack, swing and turn. The exhilarating thing is, you're hanging over 400 feet straight above the ground, so you have that nice "light and airy" feeling.
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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Oli, you ever go to the Hot tomato on Wednesdays from dollar pints, giant cal zones, and some blues?
Cheers,
Jesse
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Per that roof on Icarus,
I once heard tell of a skinny guy making his scrawny fist bigger with welding gloves...
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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I don't think that guy was so scrawny and skinny, Roy. Really, I think he was rather Largo. At least that's the legend, Paisano.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Ho Man!
OK, not so thin a man recalled I must confess...
But, the stuff of legend for sure.
Even before I met the guy, that story loomed larger than life.
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guycan
Trad climber
flagstaff
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Has anyone done TZ as well as "Abracadaver" in Cochise? I'm wondering how it compares. Also noteworthy to OW-afficionados are some other "awesome OW's" in AZ located in Sedona. Ck out the "fat bastard", the "prosecuter", "praying hands", and the "ultimate off width".
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Why yes, Mark. Abracadaver (the ow part) is about a letter or two easier and much more secure. A spectacular, fun, must-do route all the same.
sadly, have not done those others.
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K. Fosburg
Sport climber
park city, ut
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Hey Jay,
How does the OW pitch on Powerpoint rank in your opinionation? Got back on that last fall and it felt horrendous. What a striking feature though!
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