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BBWolf
climber
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Sick! If a TR is not Fly'n's style then maybe someone else can make up one? Climed the topo but dying to know what reality is like.
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Burt
Trad climber
Las Vegas, Nv
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when Brian gets home I will ask him if I can post some of the details, we have been talking about trying to get some of our TR for some of the other routes that we have have done including Red Arch Mountain, Stigmata, and other assorted adventures. It was truly funny talking to him in the Cyclops eye and other various parts of the wall, it sounded tough, topos are meaningless, it looks doable on paper, but boy some of those pitches sounded horrifying...
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altieboo
Boulder climber
Livermore, Ca
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He told me that it took a week. And he had just gotten down yesterday when I ran into him.
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Fly'n Brian
Big Wall climber
Las Vegas
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 3, 2009 - 10:15pm PT
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hey guys. i gotta set this story straight.
i am down from 7 days on nocs after a wild adventure.
ultimately, this was not a legitimate 2nd. after reaching the cyclops eye, i was out of food and had about a gallon of water.
i called my trusty friends from vegas who happened to be in the valley and they graciously brought me food and water by rapping in from the top.
they had never even been on el cap and "guessed" where to rap in and did well. they ended up going to the igloo and then rapped in straight over the center of the eye which was a very airy rap/jug.
i was rejuvenated with food and friends and took a belay on p.13 which was a 5.9r face type pitch which took us to a hanging belay on the right side of the roof of the eye. i then was belayed out the roof for p.14 but it got dark right before the belay and we "bailed" on their fixed lines to the igloo for bivy.
the next day we rapped back down to finish the final pitches but the logistics of getting me and all my gear (which got hauled to the igloo and which ended up in a clusterf*#k)was a royal pain in the ass. the sun was ruthless, i was tired and felt that it was too much work to get back to the route and do the last 3 pitches.
i called it and we jugged out. it's kind of a bummer but ultimately it really doesnt matter. there are no rewards! i pushed myself, climbed the first 14 pitches of nocs solo over 2 week long periods over 2 months. but a true bottom to top continuous ascent of nocs has not happened. yet!
thanks to all my friends and the climbers i have met in the valley for their support! and also to the kind words from this forum.
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Boise....
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Hey, He's Flyin' Bryan, man.
I saw Warren & MonoDread when they came down from there....
Sketchy shizz in the Diorite.....
Hi Bryan! Long time no see, bro....
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Wild - thanks for sharing the story.
Good move on calling in your friends for the resupply.
"You gotta know when to fold 'em!"
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NBB
Social climber
Boulder
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Everyone knows Hollinger, but Grant Gardner did the hard pitches and is the best climber I've ever roped up with by a long ways, no offense to anyone else. I miss him. He doesn't climb much anymore. I think after this route, frankly, he got bored. He'd already done every other hard route on El Cap.
I've climbed with Brian as well and as others have said he's also a super competent climber. I'd hope others considering the route raise themselves as such to the route before attempting it lest it become a hammered out POC like the Reticent quickly became. Maybe the next party will die and the route will thus get its full due respect by fulfilling Chris K's "consensus A5 = corpse" thing.
Congrats - brings me back to 1998 - I had a f*#king job, while my buddies were out having the time of their lives.
 Nate
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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amazingly kewl keep it on the top bump
the help at the end, well hell, that's just like someone leaving an Old E and a clif bar and bunch a water on a ledge from the previous party on a trade route.
still kicks ass!
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Burt
Trad climber
Las Vegas, Nv
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dude your light! (inside joke between Brian, Ammon, and myself)
See you when you get home my friend, glad the demon didn't get you.
Kurt "Burt"
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BBWolf
climber
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bump for more detail on the climbing...
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Bill Sherman
Mountain climber
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Brian,
Awesome endeavour nonetheless. You did more hard climbing in those 14 pitches than most of us will ever do in our lifetimes.
I have some pics that Deb took when she visited you the first week around.
I'll post a few of those if you don't mind?
Bill
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Camper is packed and ready to go
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I was wondering who the fool in the center of the diorite was in the middle of AUGUST...now it all becomes clear: a desert-dwelling hardrat from a different dimension...badass!
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NBB
Social climber
Boulder
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"the help at the end, well hell, that's just like someone leaving an Old E and a clif bar and bunch a water on a ledge from the previous party on a trade route"
I can recall in 1996, Grant and I did Zodiac in 18 hours or so. I know it's been done since in 23 mins solo by a 12 year old girl on her 30th shot at the route, but that was the route then and that's the level we were at. Neither of us had seen the route before and we climbed it mostly in the dark.
Grant was so low key - hated spray and spraying sprayers, never got caught up in the Valley to-be-seen thing. I had to talk him into it a bit because he was so humble about his abilities - but he was so obviously competent when we climbed together, in reality I was really just begging him to drag me up it.
We planned for 16 hours and Grant dutifully paced himself through his blocks in under 8 hours. I felt I had let the team down a bit by dragging things out near the top - but I was so wasted. Grant went and sent Butterballs the next morning while I was dead to the world.
I climbed Native Son later with Brian. I'm sure I talked at length about how cool and good I thought Grant was and how much fun we had on Zodiac. Grant and Brandon happened to be doing a parallel ascent of Lost in America. I'll never forget all of us howling at the full moon.
After we got down, I'd certainly talked so much about Zodiac, and now that Brian had a chance to size the situation up, he wanted to solo it. Just before he hiked off to the base, I asked how long he was planning. He looked me in the eye with a smirking grin I'm sure everyone who's ever roped up with Brian would instantly recognize and said "about 18 hours". It was clearly a throw-down, but that's climbing and that's how we all progress. I was like "Go Brian!". It took Brian about 21 hours and he had stories about being delerious and seeing stars near the top.
Anyway - kind of brings me back.
I know Hollinger scoped the route and was probably just looking for a rope monkey to help get it done, but I'm thinking he got a f*#k of a lot more than he bargained for out of Grant. Grant had just soloed Reticent, done the Gulf Stream and a couple other routes, and was now looking for something that was actually hard, that he could perhaps express himself a bit on. I have to wonder what the "5th class" pitch is like up there, that Brian jugged past. Grant mentioned it - that it was a play on the "4th class" pitch we did on Jolly Roger. I think the "Dream is Dead" name on the crux pitch is in reference to how disappointed he was in having to place a rivet. That a climber with a decade more experience since "back in the day" had to break the route in half and jug off at the top says a little something-something about Grant's skill and talent, I think.
Grant just loved being on those walls. For those years in the early 90's, he just lived for it and put everything he had into being there. His style was immaculate. No dead heads, no gear left behind, no racking the drill, no cheat sticks, no buried pins, no 100 equalized heads with a screamer, none of that stuff. He didn't need it. I've been with him in very bad weather and wanted to bail, but he was so happy to be there and wanted nothing of going down - so we kept going.
Lastly, I recall asking Grant about some big-name-route-with-a-rep he'd just done. I wanted to keep up, but I had so little time. He laughed - "Check the internet - and bring lots of sawed offs...!". Hopefully it will be awhile before this route reaches that level - but with threads like this - probably not...!
Nate
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Bump to the front page to where it belongs!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Nate,
Thanks for the perspective on Grant and a look back on the climbs in 1996-98!
I've always enjoyed your Jolly Roger trip report from that year - great stuff. Definitely an internet high point of the time, and it still holds up as a classic in my view.
http://www.terragalleria.com/mountain/info/yosemite/jolly.html
I'm not sure if the "5th Class" on p15 matches up with the old Jolly Roger topo error where "4th" was really A4!
As p13 was noted on the NOCS topo as "5th Class R", and Brian found it was 5.9 R.
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NBB
Social climber
Boulder
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"I'm not sure if the "5th Class" on p15 matches up with the old Jolly Roger topo error where "4th" was really A4!
As p13 was noted on the NOCS topo as "5th Class R", and Brian found it was 5.9 R. "
Just to clarify, the topo says '5th Class "R"', with the "R" in quotes for the 5.9 pitch, which I'd take as a play on the supposed "R" pitches on other routes - pitches rated mostly by guys slipping around 5 ft above a bomber bolt in their hiking boots, I think. It says '"5th Class"' in quotes for 15. From my computer several states away, I'm just guessing there's a difference, but only because Grant chose to mention it with a bit of a crack along with very few other things. Who knows, it was a long time ago and I just love to make sh#t up. Let the legends spin. The "4th class" pitch on JR was not A4 any more than the guys who came up to me and asked how the 5.12 up there was. It was certainly well protected.
I'm certainly flattered you posed a link to that old TR, but it's giving me the willies to be on here. Grant would smack me with disgust, but someone's got to do it. I've spent the last decade doing other stupid things that no matter how interesting at the time, always seem to fall short of my past - so I still love to sometimes reminisce about these El Cap routes and the fun I had out there with these guys. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who feels that way, who has climbed something on El Cap. My efforts of late have been spent trying to keep up with the 13 yr old girls at Rifle. Wish me luck.
Nate
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duncan
Trad climber
London, UK
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The Jolly Roger 15th pitch topo '4th' should have been 4". Make that 4.5", a Friend 4 isn't quite big enough...
I enjoyed Nate's JR trip report too.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Apr 22, 2011 - 12:26am PT
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The expanding flake/block that Sir Duncan referred to was originally on Sunkist and was barely climbable with tipped out #4 Friends. He would know as he went for a hundred footer when one folded on him while soloing! His proud and grueling descent with a broken arm was beyond impressive. Most climbers would have called for a rescue that high off the deck.
Charles Cole and I watched the entire thing unfold once we noticed his strange behavior through the Celestron.
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D.Eubanks
climber
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Apr 22, 2011 - 12:23pm PT
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Has there been a third ascent yet? My understanding is it hasn't seen a complete 2nd ascent.
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