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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Been on it, well... not Direct.. but the left variation.... Looking up at that think... I thought "yeah, that looks doable..".... after a couple of days with Kevin over the Facelift weekend... I've reconsidered.. It's still doable, just not by me!
But if there was a great group of great folks want to head up there (with the exception this weekend).. I'd be game to take a crack! (no pun intended)
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Exactly, Stevie Grossman. Left Side in, third pitch. Namely that pitch that SOO many leave out. If you put your right side in, you will have a harder time, will not be able to use the crack on the wall on the right and your decision will seem lame eventually as you work up the feature.
Actually, in a kind of Come To Jesus Moment here, I never was that incredibly fond of the Triple Direct on Reeds. I did it many times of course and with a variety of characters and it is true that it is kind of a very unique "playground" kind of route. Maybe last time 1975.
I found the second pitch verged on tediousness. I know, IT IS A SPLITTER AND TAKES NUTS LIKE CRAZY and you can tunnel behind it, but it leans to the right for over a hundred feet, is a longish bunch of crazy simple perfection. But for me, I got bored with the lean, the kind of foggy-assed easy but very physical "nut-your-hand-and-pull" monkeybar climbing. It is surprising that there are NO holds on the main wall on the right. In fact now it is scraped all the way down to the white stone, visible from 10 miles away. I found the first pitch and the last pitch more interesting and I guess, more difficult, tricky and engaging.
It was first done in pieces. But finally in Fall of 1966, RR and Gordie Webster and Terry Burnell got it put together. Really picturesque, semi-steep and has a bitchy first pitch that noobies fall off of regularly, it is a three star plus route certainly. But for me it just was not that engaging.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Steve I can't remember how I did it but I'll bet that most of today's climbers wouldn't call the third pitch 5.9 even if they had helium balloons attached to their cordellete/belay glove assemblage.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Done the second pitch dozens of times and even soloed the first pitch a time or two but only led the last pitch once. Enough is enough.
You can do the "Deer" route and tunnel up under and behing pitch 2. You might even scare the crap out of a climber on the outside by reaching through and grabbing their hand while they are climbing the Direct.
Tried to do the last pitch of the regular route tunnel through but couldn't get my fat ass though.. It was too tight!
Peace
Karl
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Are you sure that's not the Weasel Route, Karl?!?
Some folks just can't enough of that 3-D stuff!
Bob Gaines photo.
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okie
Trad climber
San Leandro, Ca
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I agree with Peter Haan, the 2nd pitch is not that great, aesthetically speaking. It is a very weird crack and not at all elegant in itself.
A friend was climbing this route once, placing nuts when to his shock a disembodied hand appeared from inside the crack and tossed his nuts out!!!
Yeah, that tunnel-behind gag was great for major yuks.
Oh yeah, I've never done this route, ever, in almost 30 years...because I haven't groveled up that OW...so can't claim an ascent. LOL
On a side note, has anyone done the LEFT side of Reeds? Now THATS a line...that chimney looks pretty damn scary, if you ask me. Its only Yosemite 5.8 for the first pitch but looks to be a back and foot solo type of thing...
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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I climbed all three pitches in the fall of
1967 with my friend Chuck Pratt. He asked me to
lead the third pitch, which I did with right side
in (facing left). I always liked being able to pull
sideways against the main wall, but perhaps it is
easier with left side in. I've done it several times
again, and each time I seemed to want to go right side
in. That day with Pratt was beautiful, a perfect
blue sky, just the right temperature. This was
the day Chuck made his famous statement, as he followed the
third pitch. At the hardest section a couple
body lengths below me, he said with a smile, "It
lends itself to technique."
Not too many days earlier, Chuck and I also did
the Left Side, with Mort Hempel.
Pratt led the crux and of course turned it into
a work of art.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C. Small wall climber.
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Forgot - I've done the route three or four times, and quite like it. The second pitch is unusual for the Valley, in that for the most part it's a quite irregular-sided but vertical crack. Not your basic parallel sided unit. And as it's one the cover of the Stonemasters book - with a climber or two - that speaks for itself. I've only done the third pitch once that I can remember.
The 'clean streak' effect is undoubtedly there. You can see the white strip of the second pitch from quite a way, just as you can see Nutcracker, and a few other things. It would take a pretty sharp-eyed tourist to see, and distinguish, the strips from all other the colourful features on the rock in the Valley, though.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Not the full thing...
early 90s me thinks...
apparently I was fooling around too much posing....
cuz I fell...
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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I've done the first two a number of times and the complete version a few times but to do the upper pitch for me anyway requires carrying a 6 inch cam that you don’t need anywhere else. I know that’s pretty weak rationale but there it is. I also like linking pitch 1 and 2 and am finding it amazing that there are some out there that don’t like pitch 2.
Back in 2005 when I was still a real man me and a kid named Cleaver did Chingado, Left Side of Reed’s, Reed’ Direct, Bongs Away Left and Center and that arch thingy that starts on Bongs Away Left in a day kind of the classic 10- and under wide tour up at Reed’s.
Oakie you need to get on the Left Side it’s got more pro then you might think and it’s pretty high adventure for a two pitch route.
Here's a couple of not so great pictures from it:
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Maysho
climber
Soda Springs, CA
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Thanks for the correction Kevin, for the record, I did not fall on any pitch, but off of the belay flake on top of the first pitch.
Embarrassed to say, I have never done the third! So many times up the first two, and many times guiding to the top by tunneling through to the last part of the left side.
Have to correct that.
Peter
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 3, 2009 - 05:38am PT
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emac
climber
New Hampshire
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That 3rd off-width pitch was a total grovel, and as an East coast face climber I may have actually cried near the top. I know I hyperventilated. Photo by Jim_E
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scuffy b
climber
Whuttiz that Monstrosicos Inferno?
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Both times I've done the last pitch, 1975 and a couple days ago, I did
it left side in and thought it was no harder than the 2nd pitch, at worst.
Actually, this time, I thought the 2nd pitch was harder.
I also thought, both times, that if you did it the "right" way it would
probably be 5.10. But why turn a 5.9 into a 5.10?
No gear bigger than a 6 1/2 Stopper, endwise, is needed. Where you would
use a big cam, if you did it right side in, there is a thin crack right
in your face, left side in.
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okie
Trad climber
San Leandro, Ca
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Thanks for the photos and bit'o'beta on that awesome looking left side, Hardly Visible!
I was looking at it last weekend. I don't think my partner wanted anything to do with even following that OW 2nd pitch but honestly I wasn't all that dissappointed she felt that way because I was scared of that gaping chimney which was black and evil-looking in the fading late afternoon light. I never said I was hard...LOL
Yeah, sometimes I just need a kick in the butt...er...encouragement...
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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When I did the third pitch with Pratt, I seem to remember I had
no large piton for that final off-width thing and how much
easier psychologically it would be with a big friend or something....
I understand now people climb the Twilight Zone with a big cam or
Friend they simply slide up with me all the way?
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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"Are you sure that's not the Weasel Route, Karl"
Probably is, Deer is just a name we came up with because it's Reed in reverse.
For mortal types with fortitude, it's fun to do that final pitch so you can throw a rope down the left side without having to sack up for yet another knarly lead.
I think left side in is the ticket cause there's a shallow crack out left to push on with your right foot if you go that way.
Peace
Karl
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OR
Trad climber
So.VT.
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One of my fav's. I did the whole thing with that nut Mr.Way in like 1993. Does that guy still exists? If so does he still hang out in the Valley?
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Redlands
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Have done it maybe 4 or 5 times, topped out all but once, led that last pitch a couple times.
First time on it, about a 5.9+ max guy at the time, no gear bigger than a 3.5 camalot. I was sucked too deep in the flare at the crux and couldn't stem to the seam on the right, so grabbed a little micro-chip on the wall to crimp to let me slide over more to the outside. Chip busted off, headfirst/backwards dive for about 20'. Got back up there and stayed farther out, felt miles easier.
I don't like the p2 either. Looks nice, but it's just physical, not really engaging.
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