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micro_marc
Trad climber
Squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 02:39pm PT
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Thanks for that photo Fish Boy, do you have more? I've been looking for photos from Ten Years After for quite some time! If the traverse is indeed juggy then continuing to Green Acres would be awesome, I just saw a blank section on the topo and figured it was traversing blank granite.
When I freed the grand, I did the same thing you did Coz, except I did the 12a move to the base of the pillar and then continued to the top of the pillar as one pitch. I wanted to go from the top of the pillar to the station above the mantle out of the Underfling, but my feet skated on some grit on my first go, so I lowered to the Genius Loci ledge and sent it from there.
I should add that I bailed off Bellygood, I really need to go back and finish up the chimneys.
Here's that slab pith!
The slab awaits an onsight ascent. Which someone will pull off for sure.
Kruk following the pitch, he decided that the bolt ladder did not need to be chopped and we carried on ;)
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hamish f
Social climber
squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 02:49pm PT
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Hi Scott. Thanks for the writing.
Just to clarify what I wrote, I wasn't inferring you rapp-bolted anything; I merely said I didn't know how you had arranged your bolts, that's all. I drilled that first bolt, standing on that no-hands ledge at the belay, and then I drilled the next one off a hook (with that Spanish guy babbling away at me), I was getting pretty close to the belay so I'm not surprised it didn't require much more.
Nice job, by the way; I never really had the skills for that grade of climbing. Maybe a little low on patience, too. Hope things are good in Josh., if that's where you are.
I miss that place; solo-heaven right in amongst the bugs-bunny/ coyote/ road-runner scene. Those were some choice days booting around the desert, trying to solo stuff ten grades easier than what Bachar was soloing.
Here's to John Bachar, way more the Real Thing than anyone can imagine.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 22, 2012 - 03:44pm PT
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A Bellinghamster aid soloing Ten Years After, summer 2010. Other mayhem and malarkey occurring elsewhere in the photo.
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Fish Boy
Trad climber
Vancouver
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Feb 22, 2012 - 05:19pm PT
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Sorry if I'm hogging bandwidth, but here's some pics for Marc that I never put on the net...I can put them elsewhere if need be...
Near the top of the 7th pitch
Beginning the 8th pitch
Half way up 8th pitch, a couple of meters below yellow alien sized crack with arrow poking out of it. Gets larger after a few meters off to the left as seen. I am on a short bolt ladder after an scary-for-me piece of expando.
After the finger crack, cruisy as but sharp. Nearly at make shift belay...
Sorry none after that of interest, but the traverse pics are in the other thread...big hooks and finger cams I guess. You then hit a crack with two fixed blades, then up a 12+ ish dirty corner with good nuts. After that your home...
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micro_marc
Trad climber
Squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 05:48pm PT
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Very much appreciated Fish, like I said I've been looking for these kinds of photos of TYA for a while now.
This looks sick! I wonder if those pins would hold a fall? I have my doubts, I generally don't like to, or condone the idea of replacing pins with bolts. But I wonder if replacing just one with a free climbing bolt, so a falling leader doesn't rip the entire pitch would be acceptable. What do others think on this kind of issue? I would like to hear what you have to say.
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Fish Boy
Trad climber
Vancouver
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Feb 22, 2012 - 05:57pm PT
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Those pins are pretty good from memory, though the flake makes boom sounds...a little expando, nothing major. I'm not sure how often you'd be placing gear on a free climb like this cos I have no experience at all, but the pro is ok most of the way, especially equalised. The route seems clean until the end of the traverse. Have you checked out the thin crack on the 1st proper pitch after Merci Me?
Good luck anyway!
(Adding a bolt will tone it down as an aid route for sure, some parts are scaryish, which I guess is where you'd put a bolt, and the not so scary has better pro...whatever)
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Feb 22, 2012 - 06:07pm PT
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Before my ground up send Mike Mont and Andrew? Tried to free the line and in doing so climb ground up replacing my bolts with fat 1/2 or 3/8 stainless and taking two fix pins out of the Underfling and adding one bolt, making it more run out but getting rid of the rusty pins in the locks.
It was Mike Mott and Andrew Boyd, two strong local climbers. Andrew has done some amazing FA's in Squamish and is one of the guys that started the bouldering craze in the forest at the foot of the Chief.
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MH2
climber
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Feb 22, 2012 - 07:22pm PT
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I had opportunity this Spring to ask Andrew B about Genius Loci. He said he hadn't done it, although he was, "pretty good on slab." He's fair at understatement, too.
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micro_marc
Trad climber
Squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 07:24pm PT
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Well if most of the gear seems okay then there would be no reason to replace anything, I was somewhat under the impression that all those corners were expanding to the point that most of the pieces would pull out in the event of a free climbing fall.
But I am still interested to hear what people think about these kind of issues, replacing fixed gear on these old aid lines to facilitate free ascents.
For instance, on harder pitches if there was a difficult runout right off the station but maybe an old pin a bit off the belay. How unreasonable would it be to replace it with a bolt rather than take huge whippers directly onto the belay?
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Feb 22, 2012 - 07:52pm PT
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FWIW, once in a while pulling an old pin exposes a perfectly good nut or cam placement.
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thekidcormier
Trad climber
squamish, b.c.
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Feb 22, 2012 - 07:55pm PT
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On that particular pitch (I havent done it yet mind you) it appears as tho and SLCD would offer better pro then those old angles any way; as under weight atleast the spring loadeds would expand(abit depending on size).. and hopefully hold.
I feel that adding a bolt in the middle of an aid pitch like that in the middle would largely take away from the characteristics of the current..
Let hear thoughts from "The Squamish Morals and ethnics Committee"
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micro_marc
Trad climber
Squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 08:02pm PT
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Yeah adding bolts in the middle of pitches definitely detracts from the nature of the aid route, but what about placing one close to the belay to avoid factor two falls if nothing else is available?
I haven't had to do anything like this, its all theoretical. It would be good to know what people in the general area think about this sort of thing before even heading up on such routes with intentions of free climbing them.
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thekidcormier
Trad climber
squamish, b.c.
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Feb 22, 2012 - 08:10pm PT
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Thats what I was thinking exactly just up and over an arms length from the belay.. If all the gear blows at least you keep the fall factor a bit under two;)
Just chuck a screamer on there and giver!
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micro_marc
Trad climber
Squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 08:41pm PT
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Thanks for the info Bruce, I think a good way to do these things is to go at it ground up, and aid climb if necessary just to get up the pitch, clean if needed and suss out the protection, but avoid practicing the moves. Then go back down and try to free climb it.
An true example of where replacing fixed gear was NOT necessary was 'Edge of Pan', which was mentioned earlier in this thread. Trotter showed me the project before he (or anyone) had actually tried to free climb it. Our 'recce' mission was actually when he bolted a new belay at the end of the crux pitch. He then left for the fall, forget where he went exactly, might have been Colorado or something...
anyways, I spent the next week or two riding my bike to the campground every couple days, hiking the first peak, and rapping to the top of the corner. Then I would drop a line down it using the new belay station Sonnie bolted. I cleaned out the corner, it wasn't very dirty, just had some grass and some gritty footholds. But it also had at least 15 fixed pins. I left the pins in and found many many good wire placements in between them as well as a few bomber cam placements. I also put in a belay on the ledge at the base of the corner and scrubbed a way to get to it by traversing right out of 'Lower Pan Tease'. I actually free'd the corner on my 'ushba' on my fixed rope a couple times. It's an AMAZING pitch! Never cruxy, just never ending stemming without a whole lot of rests.
My last day that I spent up there was in early June 2011 I think, after a long winter and wet spring spent waiting to get back on the pitch. It was freezing cold and windy, I was alone and rather hungover and lost my psyche to try the pitch, but I pulled every single pin and left it to be climbed without any fixed gear. I never had a chance to go up there with a partner and lead it unfortunately. I was busy the day Sonnie went to try it, but I was super psyched for him to get to try it out. He sent it his first try leading it, after doing it on a fixed line just once! Super impressive!
It really would have been a shame to leave the pins, they were ugly, plugged up some holds/gear placements, and most of them would not have held anyways.
I guess Sonnie went back to free climb it continuously via a hard and sustaned slab climb cale 'Never Land'. But when he got on the corner pitch he wasn't feeling too fresh, used up some of his wires in less ideal placements. When he made it to the bomber gear, he had used the wires lower down already! Then he fell and blew 5 or 6 pieces! It must have been scary because they retreated, then he phoned me a couple days later telling me he was going to put a bolt on 'Edge of Pan', just one partway up the corner, he had some good arguments for it, but it seemed hard to justify. I told him I wasn't stoked but it was up to him, and I guess he hiked ALL the way up the chief, rappelled into the corner, and once he was there in person he also decided not to do it. So he didn't place any bolts and jugged out. The pitch is a bit spicy, especially compared to climbing a splitter hand crack or something, but it certainly is not dangerous if you bring tonnes and tonnes of wires.
I am really happy that the pitch remains free of fixed gear and a true 'trad' pitch. Can't wait to try and free it continuously this spring. :) Psyched!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 22, 2012 - 08:56pm PT
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Is it true that the Little Smoke Bluffs Morals & Ethics Committee was recently renamed the Squamish Inquisition?
Speaking of Ten Years After, during the FA in 1970 (not 1971), Hugh, Steve and Dick pendulumed into the bolt ladder above the Sword, and finished via the Grand. They never went back. Then in 1977 Scott did Humpty Dumpty, not far to the left. Who continued work on the TYA line, and when?
Nice stories and discussion, all!
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micro_marc
Trad climber
Squamish
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Feb 22, 2012 - 08:59pm PT
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Thanks Coz, I managed to free it a couple days later. But it was definitely one of the coolest slab pitches I have climbed. I remember pushing on clumps crystals and step throughs on the sloping ramp. Really exposed too!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Feb 22, 2012 - 10:17pm PT
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I gotta say, Squamish and Squamish climbers rock! (I just wish they didn't kick me out of Canada).
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Fish Boy
Trad climber
Vancouver
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Feb 22, 2012 - 10:57pm PT
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Jim, Maddaloni's guide says "grinning weasel, A3, 1982".
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will stanhope
Trad climber
Vancouver BC
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Feb 22, 2012 - 11:05pm PT
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Hey there guys-
Thanks for that write-up Hamish. I've tried that crux finger pitch on GL some years back and got totally shutdown. The piece that you wrote has really fired me up to go give the whole route a look. Maybe I'll recruit Sonnie for the mission. :)
It seems to me that those early '90s ground up efforts were the high-water mark of that sort of granite climbing. It excited me when I was a kid, and it still does now. Hopefully we can all meet up one of these days soon and drink a beer.
All the best,
will
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