Cookie Center, Left and then Right 3/8/08

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List

This thread has been locked

Messages 1 - 20 of total 20 in this topic

Zander

Trad climber

Berkeley

Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 9, 2008 - 10:25am PT

Cookie Center, Left and then Right 3/8/08
My camera died as I was trying to take a pic from the parking area., I hope I can fix it. All the pics I’ve posted here over the years were taken with that little rascal. Here’s a quick report. Warning, lots of detailed beta about to be spewed.
Cookie Center 5.9.
The P1 crux is right near the ground. Cool hands and fingers. There is a fun move into a flare near the end. P2 is the offwidth. I put a #6 C$ as high as I could. I put in my right knee as high as I could and a right arm bar. A couple of moves and small flakes and edges appear for the left hand and foot. I put in a second #6 C4. I pushed the cams along with more of the same until there is a good placement for a #.4 C4, the gray one. There is a blank spot somewhere that is pure OW technique. A few feet higher I left the cams. It is got too wide above. You work your way up to a little rooflette. I put in a good #3 Bigbro. I kept trying to turn the roof, which pinches to about 7 inches at the lip. The Bigbro was at my waist. I was just too scared. I should have brought the #4 Bigbro. I lowered. Bob was able to substitute delicate face climbing for a lot of the OW. After a few attempts he declined the rooflette. He tunneled through and up the last few feet of Right Side of The Cookie P2. Now belayed from above I managed to finish the pitch. It was a close thing. All arm bars and pawing the edge while being forced way out.
My recommendation for the rack on this pitch is 2 #6 cams, one #.4 C4, one #3 Bigbro, one #4 Bigbro and a couple of long slings to set up the belay on top of the pillar. The bolts are gone.
P3 is the third pitch of Right Side of The Cookie. This is just great 5.9 hands. All in all this is a great route
Left Side of the Cookie10a.
We left the rope set up and Bob toproped the Left Side, which he’d never done. He climbed it clean without hanging or liebacking. Right side in. I was pretty tired from watching him by the time he was done. The top part of this pitch is chimney to awkward 5.8 reach around a bulge to easy ramp. Fun. I took a halfhearted attempt at the OW but I didn’t have the gas. I’ve thrashed on this thing before. The right side in Beta from last weeks TR seems promising. I top roped the 5.9 variation which is short but steep stemming and jamming. We hurried around to the do Right Side of the Cookie, which Bob had never done. I climbed the middle section to the block as a right side in chimney. I think this is the easiest thing. I did it left side in a few years ago and struggled. The second pitch was my lead. This is the run out 5.7/8 squeeze. The rack is one .75 C4, one #1 C4 and slings for the belay. I was pretty tired when I finished. We rapped the Center route to the ledge and walked off. Another good day.
Zander

spyork

Social climber

A prison of my own creation

Mar 9, 2008 - 11:51am PT

Thanks Zander. Cookie Center sounds pretty hard also.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Mar 9, 2008 - 12:32pm PT

thanks for the post Zander, Cookie Center has to be done! The beta will be very helpful.

Wished I coulda been out there with you but I was just out of juice after a really difficult week. Right now, I've been doing 5.12 OW gardening and Debbie is happy, but my body is rather sore. The last time I was awaken from sleep with body soreness, as I was last night, was last summer's Vedauwoo trip after 3 days of climbing. This episode was 6 hours. I'm a light weight!

Gunkie

climber

East Coast US

Mar 9, 2008 - 01:25pm PT

First route I ever did in the valley: Right Side of the Cookie. Fortunately, I followed the whole thing. I felt good, and still cocky after the first pitch. I thought I was going to puke on the second pitch. I laybacked the entire third pitch because I didn't know how to hand jam.

mtnyoung

Trad climber

Twain Harte, California

Mar 9, 2008 - 01:40pm PT

Zander:

I had the same experience at the little roof on the second pitch of The Cookie Center. Flat couldn't do it, using any type of offwidth technique. My partner, who lives in El Portal and climbs at the Cookie all the time couldn't touch it either. We bailed. Later I talked to Don Reid. He told us that this pitch doesn't continue up the offwidth - instead you tunnel through to the other side here. We went back and did it that way. Really tight tunnel through, I had to fight hard. But it worked, and finally the rating made sense.

jpin

Trad climber

Mar 9, 2008 - 02:57pm PT

Good job you guys !!

What about 1st pitch of Cookie Left the 5.9 chimney ??

I've never done it but it looks good.

Mighty Hiker

Social climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Mar 9, 2008 - 03:29pm PT

I tried the centre route once. Foiled by the mini-roof, where apparently you're supposed to tunnel sideways, body parallel to the ground, through some tiny hole. I know someone who went outside, protected only by an old horizontal nearby.

Zander

Trad climber

Berkeley

Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2008 - 05:37pm PT

mtnyoung,
When I decided I couldn't do the roof I tried to tunnel through. No way was my chunky style carcass going through there! Since I've been shut down on the 10a offwidths I've tried I think it’s just a particular species of old school 5.9. Industry Standard as Russ would say. I think the secret is the pro. Get up as high as you can under the roof. Reach up and back and place the #4 Bigbro. Then it's three inches at a time, keeping the left knee in chimney style at the edge, until you can get the right over the lip. A second #4BB to place right after the roof could be a nice thing because it blankish for a bit after that. Then some pretty big handholds appear and you pull to the top. If you are skinny this section after the roof will be easier,
jpin,
The 5.9 chimney of Cookie Left is fun. Way easier than center. It succumbs to trickery if I recall rightly. Here’s Ed's TR of the day we were there.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=326718&msg
Zander

nutjob

Trad climber

San Jose, CA

Mar 9, 2008 - 05:43pm PT

Sounds like a great outing, and sounds like Cookie Center needs to be revisited :)

But alas, I'm consumed with another 10a OW for next weekend... details of getting my butt kicked will be posted in 10 days.

Chiloe

Trad climber

Lee, NH

Mar 9, 2008 - 11:27pm PT

The Cookie center route has a special place in our marriage.

Years ago, Leslie and I went up there in December. I led slowly and it started to snow.
The rock was still dry and after a while I topped out and rapped down. Leslie had been
patiently belaying for so long she was coated with snow.

I've forgotten all details of that day, but she likes to tell the story about belaying in
the snow.

hoipolloi

climber

A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi

Mar 9, 2008 - 11:58pm PT

I thought cookie right was awesome. The first pitch was great, second was squeezy and the third, well the third was just fantastic. It was a chimney trifecta the way you are wedged in a T of wide chimneys with the two intersecting (if that makes any sence, if not go up there and you will get it!) I didnt have anything large really, well not that large, so i managed to get two small small nuts around the corner then just went for a good long while to get to the hands at the top. Loved it.

TomKimbrough

Social climber

Salt Lake City

Mar 10, 2008 - 12:11am PT

I led the 1st ascent of the 2nd pitch of the Cookie Center back in '65 with Tom Hargus. I tunneled through when it started to get hard. No big bros in those days. In the '70s I returned and stayed on the outside and remember clipping a fixed pin somewhere in the hard section. The throne belay at the top of the pitch is very nice.
Hargus is still climbing very hard and is a senior guide with Exum in the Tetons.
TK

Russ Walling

Social climber

Out on the sand.... man.....

Mar 10, 2008 - 01:12am PT

Cool stuff! FA guy on the keyboard! Dig it man...

scuffy b

climber

up the coast from Woodson

Mar 10, 2008 - 03:03pm PT

Early 70s, when lots of Berkeley climbers were doing lots of
Valley climbs and doing lots of talking about it,
Center Cookie was a big topic, because there were two types of
people: those who could fit through (most folks) and those who
couldn't (either hard guys or screwed, depending)

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Mar 10, 2008 - 03:11pm PT

I went up the Cookie Center with Todd Vogel about 50 years ago. It was our first climbing trip together. I loved the first pitch, which Todd seemed to have some trouble with. Then I went over to lead the 2nd pitch, took one look at that wide thing and said "Bring me home, baby. I'm coming down!"

Todd, curious cat, wanted to see what the fuss was all about. No problemo for that cat, he hiked the wide, with no pro at the crux. Had he looked down, he would have seen a free flowin' cord, swingin' in the wind below (I think we might have had a #4 Friend with us, but that would have been it).

I kicked, squirmed, and squeezed. I can't remember, did I pull on the silk thread from above? Maybe. But Todd was the hero, although his 5.9 hands still needed some work...

Rick L

Trad climber

El Dorado Hills, CA

Mar 10, 2008 - 03:32pm PT

I did the R side many moons ago with the late, great Alan Bard and "Animal Art" Hannon. Our EB's were so painful that we got the bright idea of deferring suiting up for as long as possible. Eventually, we three idots were esconced somewhere in a chimney trying to put on shoes, wrap 20' or so of 2" swami, tie in and and establish a belay. The entire fiasco took longer than the rest of the climb and was puuctuated with much laughter and the predictable banter regarding exactly who was responsible for the foolishness. I don't remember much about the rest of the climb except for a beautiful hand crack.

I recall the L side was a bit dirty. I'm pretty sure we did it L side in but maybe not in view of the photos posted.

Rick

Hardly Visible

climber

Port Angeles

Mar 10, 2008 - 08:47pm PT

Way to go Zander,I've only done The Right side a bunch of times and I combine the final hand pitch with the one below it sort like icing on the cake sorta thing.

Zander

Trad climber

Berkeley

Topic Author's Reply - Mar 10, 2008 - 09:06pm PT

Kevin,
I know you'll like Cookie Center. If I remember from Vedauwoo, it's your style.
Tomkimbrough,
It must have been fun putting up Cookie Center. It was a blank canvas in those days.
So cool.
Zander