Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Steven Amter
climber
Washington, DC
|
|
I didn't know this thread was still going!
Yeah, we were sort of crazed with the idea of doing the entire ascent bolt free (Hey, we were Gunkies!). We actually had a bolt kit with a dozen bolts to be used only in case we found ourselves needing to make an emergency descent. This was in contrast to the Japanese team, whose six man team included bolt-drilling specialists intent on installing fixed ropes on a bottom-to-top bolt ladder. We estimated they brought something in the neighborhood of 1000 button head bolts and five thousand feet of rope... they made it about 1/2 of the way up before retreating after one of their team unfortunately fell to his death.
Our bolt-free philosophy probably cost us the first ascent, as climbing clean (and two weeks of rain, sleet, snow, and ice storms) really slowed us down. We finally ran out of gas after a final heavy snowstorm and 30 days on the wall (we started with 21 days of food). The pity of it was that our final push had put us on a large ledge below really good cracks leading through the final headwall - the final 1300 feet appeared much easier than the blank middle section. But we were spent, cold, physically and emotionally wrecked, and had run out of food days earlier. And getting down was no easy thing: it took us two more days to get back to base camp.
While I am traipsing done memory lane, here are some fun facts about the tricks we employed to avoid placing bolts on steep blank sections and other stuff:
We carried a 15- to 20-foot(?)long "cheater stick" made of shock-corded aluminum tent poles with a bat hook and triple length etriers attached to the top end. This allowed us to hook, sometimes blindly, tiny ledges above and pray that they held as we climbed them. Terrifying...
We also carried 5 minute epoxy cement and some wide runners. The concept was we could ascend completely featureless sections by standing on runners glued to the rock (and pray that they held). Even more terrifying! Some early tests on some giant boulders in base camp showed that while they could theoretically hold body weight, the runners tended to pull off without warning, so I don't remember that we made much, if any, use of this method on the climb proper.
Mike spent an entire day trying to do a long pendulum to link distant crack systems on overhanging rock. The crack system we had been following simply ended at utterly blank, overhanging rock. The feature on the second crack he was trying to grab, after sprinting all-out across the face and launching at full horizontal body position was a small vertical rail. He finally got it after countless attempts and weeped with relief and exhaustion.
This was pre- portaledge days. We had custom made single point suspension hammocks that during storms we were stuck in for days at a time. It was like being confined to the smallest prison possible, like sleeping in a wet condom. With apologies to the guy who made them for us, we were so miserable that we wanted to kill him for our discomfort.
To save weight, we did not have real sleeping bags. We had child-sized bags that we used as half bags, and slept in our parkas, which rarely came off. Yes, we did get cold during the worst weather.
And man did we reek. No bathing, or changing clothes for a month. The smell was so overpowering we were offensive even to our own noses - think vintage marooned Antarctic explorer ripe - and you could never get away from it. It was a bit maddening. I am surprised no one ever brings up this issue on trip reports.
Hope you enjoyed my musings.
|
|
Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - May 27, 2017 - 04:41pm PT
|
Thanks for weighing in Steve! I wonder if anyone has repeated the boltless Gunks start to Thor?
|
|
Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
|
|
|
May 27, 2017 - 04:59pm PT
|
Ok,
You have overwhelmed my night,
I ll add that there is a strong difference in the meaning and use of maestro and master.
You are both , just don't over use or mis bestow the former, high praise to often. I very much value all that you do to keep the flames of what it is all about and from whence it comes, alive here at the taco truck.
|
|
Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - May 28, 2018 - 09:46am PT
|
Amter's Finest Bump...
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!