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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 3, 2006 - 02:00am PT
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Last weekend wasn't happening... even with the great weather and prospects to make good progress on the project I had had a pretty tough week. While I was really really looking forward to getting out with ablegable for a weekend of producing new, obscure routes, my ass was dragging.
Eric picked up on this right away... I was dozing on the trip up, and during the gear sort at the Reed's Pinnacle pullout, I fell asleep in the nice warm sun. While I wanted to go to work on our project, I realized I didn't have the mojo working.
OK, Eric has a list of lines to work which will outlive the both of us... and so we drove off to the Cascade Creek pullout and headed up to Knob Hill. We had been working this area quite a bit. This last year both Eric and I have been fighting a variety of injuries, Eric had decided to seek out new easy lines, to become "King of the 5.7's" and the Knob Hill area is ripe for development. So off we hiked.
Eric had pointed out this particular line to me a number of times... route developers have a modus operandi much like that of a fly fisherman: you bait the hook with the particular tasty line of the season and float it out there, wait for the partner to "rise" and take the bait, then you play it carefully until the hook is set... well I am thankful for "catch and release" because I have taken the hook many times, and this particular Saturday, I just wanted to relax.
We approached around Turkey Pie and past the next corner which has a great 5.9 we put up called Drop Your Heel or Sure To Peel. It is a one pitch 5.9 lie back (smallish gear) to an interesting move protected by a #4 where you get into a huge chimney which you work over to the end of Turkey Pie. It's an obvious corner and maybe already had a climb in it, but no record we know of. Past this corner and up over the ridge we get to the start of the new adventure route.
The first pitch didn't look that hard, and was short. It turned out to be interesting, where you fight in an offwidth/squeeze to get gear in, and then have to back out and lie back the edge, utilizing an small crack out on the face to your right... well anyway, a nice lead with inobvious moves and clocking in at something like solid 5.9. The usual issues on a first ascent, cleaning stuff off, cleaning stuff out of cracks, but not too bad. The belay ends at a manzanita bush which was the belay anchor.
Pitch two didn't look all that promising, "I'm going to have a look" says Eric as he ventured forth without the rack. "Look's like it should go" he said skeptically after the initial inspection. Back for the rack and then out to unlock the secrets. While the crack looked somewhat rotten, it cleaned up nice with good finger locks and thin hands - taping is a good idea - which I had to work for a few moves before getting to a pretty good shelf. I hung after falling on this section, as did Eric, so we haven't completed a FA yet... but we both felt this was in the range of 5.10 and an interesting bit of climbing. Up and over a brow of rock and we were at the belay station atop Arlington Heights and Hampton Estates. There is a big rap bolt there, next to the 1/4" stud that Eric ripped his pants on, which is how he found it.
Pitch three goes up the "slab" to the prominent overhang and works under this for a fairly long pitch. Only 5.8, but long, and there are some freaky plates which vibrate but are probably pretty well fixed. The roof is split and the second half goes with good jams on interesting feet, this day the end of the pitch was on the other side of a large wet streak, which while slick wasn't hard... this is a really fun pitch with just enough weird about it to be interesting.
Now we are looking at the Trix corner, 5.11a, but our route will skirt around and exit off this slab section. We explored it to the drop off... need to go back and put another pitch on it to get to the end. I think Eric is OK with this post though.
Anyone been up Trix lately? ever? Eric was in delight over poaching a booty nut with an old, moss covered perlon sling on it... in the one place a bomber nut would go. We fantasized that the nut was Jardine's...
...anyway, we had had enough for the day, so we rapped to the approach slabs and then on down to the start.
Eric & Ed's Excellent Adventure is probably 5.10, probably 4 pitches, and a somewhat contrived line in an area that doesn't see a whole lot of traffic. A standard light rack is probably enough.
Speaking of traffic, be careful if you are up there, anything dropped goes right to the road!
A photo taken from The Owl pullout:
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scuffy b
climber
S Cruz
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"Eric & Ed's Excellent Adventure is probably 5.10, probably 4 pitches, and a somewhat contrived line in an area that doesn't see a whole lot of traffic. A standard light rack is probably enough."
Nice report, Ed. I hope the route turns out well. Good use of
the term "probably." Sort of highlights the gray areas.
sm
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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I envy you guys, isn't it snowing out there?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2006 - 04:15am PT
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Not last weekend... but we're getting hammered this weekend, I'll be on my bike and in the gym instead of at the crag. But I just spied what I think is the upper section of our other project on some images I shot, also last weekend. So now I'm stoked to go put the pieces together!
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ablegabel
Trad climber
Livermore,Ca.
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Went skiing, ice skating, fishing, drinking, hot tubing, and rock climbing in the valley this weekend. Weather is what you make of it.
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