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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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May 13, 2011 - 06:21pm PT
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I thought the pitch after the rap was the hardest 130 ft on the route.
I think the "crux" of S-S is best described as the long, slow drain that occurs over the course of the day (edit: or days, as in our case!). Whenever that draining of your energy hits bottom, the bit that you're looking at is going to be the crux for you. For me it was right after the rap, and I gained a second wind for my lead on the face pitch above that.
If this climb is a challenge for you (I realize that for many here it's no big deal; it was a beast for me), you really need to have yourself psyched for the four pitches that come after the rap. Don't let yourself crash!
Here's the TR of our trip, there are many good ones on the site:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Steck-Salath-photo-TR-captions-in-10-words-or-less/t10672n.html
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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May 13, 2011 - 07:35pm PT
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I love this thread.
And thanks for the link to the great TR, le_bruce. I clicked on some links and found your video, which gives a much better sense of the start of the Narrows than I'd seen before.
http://www.youtube.com/user/EvaArrow#p/u/108/QGOsJpiqi50
I would love to climb this, assuming someone pre-places gallons of water and a comfy bivy along the route.
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nutjob
Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
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May 31, 2011 - 05:06pm PT
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Speaking of squeezes, how about the third pitch of the Hourglass (the one near Ribbon Falls, not at Lover's Leap).? I did it with Bates and Donini. You started on the outside. After a while there was a bolt. I'd heard that most people had to go about 7' above the bolt before getting in one of the tightest chimneys in my experience. It was the only -- ? -- time I couldn't turn my head without scraping off nose skin. But at least once in no way could you fall (almost no way could you make upward progress initially). But Barry had to go something like 40' above the bolt (old quarter incher of course). I was surprised; I'd never thought of him as all that much bigger than I. But he was -- all muscle of course. And that's why it wasn't traumatic for him.
Man, I wish we had read this before le_bruce and I headed up to Hourglass Right yesterday. We backed off the last pitch because I couldn't squeeze inside near the level of the bolt, and it wasn't clear that I ever would be able to fit inside. That pitch would be utterly horrifying (and physically impossible for me) without being able to squeeze inside. Even inside it would be scary run-out, but the wedge factor would make it plausible. Next time I might sack up enough to run out the part until I can squeeze in. That plus a bigbro or two will help.
It is also scary because the belay tree is not in great shape, and I couldn't help but imagine a fall onto that tree causing the whole belay and tree to rip out. Probably not all at once, but in a slow cracking and bending way that gives plenty of time to panic and dive at the bottom of the crack with tipped out #6 in hand.... not a good head space to be in while looking up at that pitch.
Edit: Murcy! Thanks for posting that link! I didn't remember there was a video of me in the fetal position. Well, would have been fetal if there was room to curl up more.
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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May 31, 2011 - 08:34pm PT
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I remember the Narrows pitch some 40 years ago. I did it with John Bouchard and he was even skinnier than I was.
Jim Donini told me that he did it last fall leading every pitch.
There is a difference between Jim and me. He still climbs all the time and is still skinny and I'm a little chunkier than 40 years ago and much stiffer.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Time for a go then, eh what?
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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Is this thing still full on alpine style? Still full of snow and ice?
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Lace
climber
las vegas, nv
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Bump for "Your everyday run-of-the-mill holdless proless .10b flare smeared with Crisco and the thin blood of sport climbers."
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cultureshock
Trad climber
Mountain View
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Conditions bump... I assume the rain/snow this week is going to put a damper on the Steak & Salad
 Luke
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Jim Smith
Trad climber
sunnyvale, ca
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Apr 27, 2012 - 05:43pm PT
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bump
anybody been up there yet this year?
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jul 11, 2012 - 05:52am PT
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The SS is a GREAT route. It has a little bit of that alpine feel because of a fair amount of broken areas, and for the most part it isn't that exposed, despite being on a big vertical wall.
OK. You don't need to be able to do generator crack. You don't need to be able to do Astroman. You just need to be fit. Since everyone has their own opinion of where the crux is, you can think of it as sustained. It isn't sustained for full pitches though. It is sustained in having short little cruxes here and there. The rest is groveling, and damn fun groveling, with great pro even before cams.
No kidding. When I did it I couldn't climb 5.11 or beat my way out of a wet paper bag.
I was embarrasingly skinny, 18 or something, and all of the chimneys were easy. I had never done a chimney of any difficulty, so there ya go. I was also no hot kid prodigy. I think that the hardest crack I had done was CPOF. It was my first trip to yo.
Perhaps it is because the old green Roper guidebook or the Reid topo showed most of it as 5.7. Not having heard a single scary story, we thought it was a total romp. From the old description, it said that the slab was the crux, so I did my quiet trick of counting the pitches to make sure that my partner got it. You know, "I'll take this first one." Or, "Hey, why don't you take this first one. It looks easy."
So maybe a lot of it is psychological. I thought that the slab WAS the crux.
I was yacking about that route with a buddy last fall, and he said that on the Narrows, he just climbed outside and that it was super easy. I had heard that it was scary but he said not so. Are there modern bolts out there now?
Those chimneys keep you from experiencing any exposure, so I can understand how leaving the womb of the narrows pitch being pretty scary. He said it was piss easy. He looked at the narrows and just went outside. I suggest barrel chested people do that as well.
Having the physique of Nicole Kidman, I had no problem with the squeezes.
Don't waste time at the belays. The route is long. Pro is everywhere. Go fast on the easy stuff, and there is plenty of easy stuff.
Go do it. It isn't bad at all. I'm living proof.
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Jul 11, 2012 - 06:46am PT
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Base,
I agree with you on all counts. I was about 22 years old, when I did it, and I wasn't a particularly gifted climber. I don't remember any problems, except I was pretty skinny, 32 inch waist then, ( 34-36 inches now). My chest was not nearly as big as it is now, so I might have problems in the narrows.
We did it in about 7 hours, back in 1971.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Jul 11, 2012 - 12:45pm PT
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Most exposed part of the route is on the outside of the Narrows. Totally drops off, like, Wow!
And no, the bolts out there are the originals--Star Drivin's with flat aluminum hangers. I found the climbing to be about 5.8 OW ...
Lots of folks have trouble with the squeeze after the Wilson, but I take the very exposed 5.8 improbable traverse out right. It's a bit scary starting off, and there's no pro for a few moves. But once you commit, it goes fast and you're quickly on your way.
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cliffhanger
Trad climber
California
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Jul 12, 2012 - 01:59pm PT
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By traversing deeper into the Narrows Chimney a wider passage can be had. I went in about 15' or so to avoid the horrendous squeeze out near the face.
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