Bolting on stance - ground up - leading

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bhilden

Trad climber

Mountain View, CA

Feb 10, 2006 - 09:10pm PT

One more story......

Back in 1977 I actually had to go to college for a while. There was a dam about 25 miles west of the University. The face of the dam was not vertical and they had used wood forms to construct the concrete structure. Because of this, there were some edges and pockets and slab/face climbing was possible.

Of course, we needed to protect ourselves and bolts were the only real alternative. Since this is an thread about drilling from stance I will skip all the details about all the laws we broke and the well-intentioned people who tried to enforce said laws.

At one point, I ran it out about 15 feet and decided that I needed a bolt. Unfortunately, the only foothold was a very small edge for my right foot. As you may or may not know, concrete can be very smooth and slippery so any type of friction for my other foot was out, I just let it hang uselessly on the concrete slab. There, in the middle of a 5.9 move, I had to try to figure out how to be able to let go with both hands so I could drill.

After about 5 minutes I had enough worked out so I could let go with both hands and start pounding away so now it was a race with fear and the strength in my right foot. Unfortunately, about a 1/8 of the way into the drilling, I got a severe case of sewing machine leg in my right foot and before I could steady meyself I was off on a 30-footer.

As happens many times after a long fall, the adrenaline rush powered me back up to the miniscule stance and I wacked the bolt in in no time.

Bruce

Chris W

Social climber

Eldo

Feb 10, 2006 - 11:13pm PT

Jaybro, In that first pic the rock looks like it could almost be Eldo sandstone but the tree in the pic looks like an aspen? Where are there aspens so close to the wall in eldo? Are there aspens in Eldo? I am always so busy looking at the walls, so sad. South Face of the Wind Tower? It doesn't look like any rock over there? And there's not many aspens on any of the steep slopes near the walls. Maybe up on peanuts wall somewhere?

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

one pass away from the big ditch

Feb 11, 2006 - 12:42am PT

Nice Bruce!!

way to stick to it

Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Feb 11, 2006 - 01:06am PT

Chris, nah it's some obscure place in Az, I really am trying to remember where, near Crown KIng? Yarnell? I'll figure it out.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Feb 16, 2006 - 12:28am PT

Here is ablegable bolting on the second pitch of Waiting for the Sun 5.9 3 pitches, "Sunshine Bluffs", Yosemite Valley, CA...

...we finished this up sometime in January this year. There are a whole lot of climbs over there now... I think the topos got sent in to Donny Reid (hope he's doing better now).

noshoesnoshirt

climber

deskville

Feb 16, 2006 - 01:09am PT

Put up a groovy OW in South Nuttall at the New some years ago. The first pitch was a 40' bombay squeeze about 30' above the deck that I led on cams (and a #4 Big Bro) on the FA. The squeeze turned into a vertical OW. When I came out of the chimney and started up the OW I looked down and the rope had turned my cams upside-down. Ground fall potential.
I came back a couple of weeks later and re-led the pitch with a hand drill. At the point where the chimney turned into OW I hand drilled a bolt to keep the cams in place.
The detail that makes it interesting is the width of the chimney at the change-up. I had to turn my hammer sideways to acheive even a modicum of a swing. Forty-five minutes and about 3000 swings later I had a 1 1/2" x 3/8" wedge.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

one pass away from the big ditch

Feb 16, 2006 - 01:41am PT

Ed, nice pic. Where's this at?

noshoes, huh? bolting to hold the cams in place? I don't get it. bolt to bolt

Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Feb 16, 2006 - 01:43am PT

Nosh--- why do you taunt us so? When I come your way I'm stopping at your house for approach beta on that one.

Ed-thanks for putting another long neglected classic into the I-pod of my mind. May have to look up the full lyrics.

Have you climbed Sunfighter, @ Devil's Tower?

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Feb 16, 2006 - 09:13am PT

"...
Can't you feel it, now that spring has come;
That it's time to live in the scattered sun
Waiting for the sun, waiting for the sun,
Waiting for the sun, waiting for the sun
..."

Munge - right now we're in the "development mode" so I have been asked to wait until the new guide is out before revealing the exact location. It is in a slightly inconvenient location with a wee-downhill approach through a lovely oak forest. The picture was taken noonish or early afternoon... ablegable explored it and put a handful of climbs up with me and a number of others. But there are climbs put up by others in the vicinity.

1096

Social climber

hell

Feb 18, 2006 - 05:40pm PT

This has to be on the north side and since it is downhill through oaks how about the slab cliff west of the Cookie?

aldude

climber

Monument Manor

Feb 18, 2006 - 10:45pm PT

Three Brothers - West Face?

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

one pass away from the big ditch

Feb 19, 2006 - 02:07am PT

Ed,

not a worry.

more power to ya.

here's to wrists staying in one piece for hand drillin.

M

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Feb 19, 2006 - 02:16am PT

Munge - this is ablegable's project area, I've been helping him out in the development. You know how it goes, ablegable just asked me to keep it quiet while we worked it...

...the cliff you mentioned has coiler routes on it, as well as some other obscure things.

ablegabel

Trad climber

Livermore,Ca.

Feb 19, 2006 - 02:33pm PT

If your want new route info,you can always try E-mailing me. -Eric Gabel.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

one pass away from the big ditch

Feb 19, 2006 - 05:27pm PT

Thx E.

Not hitting the Valley for free climbs anytime soon. Catch ya later.

Now if you got a perfect A1 baby angles seam you newly uncovered?

Pink Pussycat, here I come.

ciao,
M

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Feb 19, 2006 - 06:46pm PT

Cool thing about going to undeveloped areas is that you eye wanders over everything seeing the lines.. free, aid, whatever...

...there is so much out there, and no way we could touch most of it. But it is fun. If we find a cool aid line it will be remote, and unlikely to warrant getting your kit out there.

Remote is also a state-of-mind. The Valley has the wonderful climbs less than 5 minutes from your parked car. But if you don't mind hiking an hour or so, there are unlimited possibilities. If you don't mind hiking two hours, well you get to choose whatever, a few old lines but miles of virgin rock. My guess is that all this could be "advertised" and no one would venture out there.

Being an obscurista is one form of dis-ease, intentionally putting up obscure routes is quite another. And that is where we're at these days.