Valley confessiona: never felt solid on P1 of After Six

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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Trad climber

San Francisco, Ca

Mar 10, 2011 - 02:35am PT

Truth be told neither 6 nor 7 is a particularly good route.

ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber

bouldering

Mar 10, 2011 - 02:38am PT

While cleaning pitches up at Mirror Lake, I put the slings around my neck, and I felt cool.

Jaybro

Social climber

Wolf City, Wyoming

Mar 10, 2011 - 03:00am PT

I've never climbed Royal arches!

Mountain climber

there and back again

Mar 10, 2011 - 03:09am PT

I have not climbed After Six since the tree disappeared. I think I tried under it and over it. Either way seemed awkward. But always preferred After Seven better. I just think its a more solid a climb. After Seven seems like the right rating but After Six does not. I'll have to go back and give it a try with out the tree and see. That is if there isn't a big group with top ropes all over the place that is.

Ottawa Doug

Social climber

Ottawa, Canada

Mar 10, 2011 - 06:59am PT

Bump, because this is just too much fun.
You guys are hilarious!

I was standing at the bridge with a few people and we were watching some guy on the second pitch of Zodiac when someone beside me said "come on you pussy, get out of your aiders and free that move." I then proudly stated that I had avoided the 5.7 by aiding on a blue camalot. Guy was not impressed. I laughed (inside) WTF : )

Ciao,

Doug

Melissa

Gym climber

berkeley, ca

Mar 10, 2011 - 11:57am PT

So, the Steck thread kind of bummed me out. I bumped it because the story of Yo's dad taking him up there to beat him into adulthood is just the best ever, IMO. But then, like 30 hardtimers jumped on it to say what an easy and/or overrated little trifle it was.

Any time I move my ass from the Valley floor to the rim, I'm going to suffer and be grateful for the passage, even on the Park Service trails. There are things that challenge me more than others, but I never feel like it's easy when I'm on a rope.

Am I the only one that thinks just about everything in climbing is hard whether I can do it solidly or not?

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Mar 10, 2011 - 12:06pm PT

No, Melissa, if it was easy then anybody could do it and they wouldn't
appreciate it. I feel so sorry for all those people who hone themselves in
order to avoid the physical and mental anguish the rest of us cherish in our
pathetic flounderings. Do they really feel like they've accomplished something?

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Mar 10, 2011 - 12:40pm PT

Always thought After 6 was a good spot to take women for their first climb. That is until I found out that many couldn't pull the first moves off the ground. 5.6+ fer shure.

I used to like soloing that rig, once you get the first pitch out of the way, it's totally fun cruiser up to the top. One time on a hot summer evening, I was dragging a rope behind me, my buddy didn't want to solo that slick-as-snot P1... He stood at the bottom while I went up, and another buddy of mine was off soloing Nutcracker. We were going to all meet up at the top.

Half way up the pitch, I heard something and my bro at the base said "Shit! I think Tommy just fell off of Nutcracker!!" Well that certainly upped the grease factor feeling of that first pitch! More focused than ever, I finished the pitch and ran around to the base.

Miraculously, Tommy landed standing up, facing away from the wall. Later, I think he measured the fall as 55 or 60 feet. Got away with a broken tibia, ho man.

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Joshua Tree

Mar 10, 2011 - 12:46pm PT

I've said many times about climbing "man, it's all hard".

But people honing themselves to avoid the struggle...wha??? I train to struggle on harder routes that take cool lines on big formations, or to climb poorly protected routes safely, not to avoid the struggle. I don't know anyone who trains hard so they can go outside and climb routes that don't challenge them.

Confessional: First time I tried to find Positively 4th Street, after 2 hrs we never found the route and ended up on a heinous bushwhacking journey that ended at Manure Pile where we climbed Just Do Do It and some other equally forgettable piles. Took 3 attempts before I found the route...if you've been there, you know how ridiculous that would be. It's like 100yds off the road and pretty easy to find.

Pcutler

climber

Iowa

Mar 10, 2011 - 12:46pm PT

Pinkie seems to put me off my game. There, I said it! : )

hahaha Agree - I'm really glad someone else said it!

John Moosie

climber

Beautiful California

Mar 10, 2011 - 01:06pm PT

I think this doesn't recognize that some people really do find things to be easier, and others struggle. I am not a natural athlete. I have to work at everything I do, but I know natural athletes. I have one friend who can do most anything that involves a ball and bat. The first time he played croquet with our family, he went around the course in two turns. It was a huge course, but he cruised it. He couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. I have another friend who skis. I took him for his first time out. By noon he was skiing the easier black diamonds. This was his first day of skiing ever. He is just crazy good. Every year I practically have to relearn how to ski, and this guy cruises it on his first day. The weird part is, they both died young.

So I do believe that some folks have natural abilities and those abilities make things seem easy for them.

Edit.. I also think that this forum has a high number of natural/gifted athletes.

http://www.wimp.com/insanevideos/

cleo

Social climber

Berkeley, CA

Mar 10, 2011 - 02:38pm PT

It took me 2 hours to find the base of Royal Arches. Walked all the way to Washington Column and back. D'OH!

Melissa

Gym climber

berkeley, ca

Mar 10, 2011 - 03:03pm PT

Awesome, cleo!

I met the love of my life asking for directions to the Prow.

clode

Trad climber

portland, or

Mar 10, 2011 - 03:18pm PT

The first pitch seemed pretty casual at 5.6, except for a few slippery 5.8 moves in the area where the tree used to be. The rest of the route is great 5.6 all the way to the top. The walk-off down the gully to the west was not too bad either.

murcy

Gym climber

sanfrancisco

Mar 10, 2011 - 03:38pm PT

Having seen how awesomely Melissa climbs, I'm finding this last turn of the thread pretty funny.

Branscomb

Trad climber

Lander, WY

Mar 10, 2011 - 03:50pm PT

Fell asleep hanging on a bolt on the crux pitch of The Punch Bowl, after falling a couple of times. Hey, it was August.

Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber

San Francisco

Mar 10, 2011 - 06:13pm PT

also I slept with Tommy Caldwell, but he was super drunk. Probably doesn't even remember it. The Hubers were there too, they provided the hamster.

Weren't Hubers, and wasn't a hamster...it's a GERBIL! Get it right!

matisse

climber

Mar 10, 2011 - 06:17pm PT

Melissa I think you are right. Climbing is hard. It is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I'll never be any good at it (whatever that is). But what sucks me back in over and over again is those magic times when you are just standing on your feet, and moving up methodically in balance and it feels not hard. (on those days/hours minutes/seconds the angels sing in the background aaahhhhhh)