Trip Report
Angry Natives, Reed's

by le_bruce
Monday December 19, 2011 8:11pm
Last week Nutjob and I got fired up to give Independence Pinnacle, Center Route a try. Representing a typical overreach on our part, this 3-pitch climb has got a burly reputation, a rumored squeeze-to-fist first crux, and a stomper and steep fingers-thru-sustained-offwidth second crux.

But we were up for trying it and pulled into the Reed’s pullout Saturday morning with a rack heavy on the wide end.

That plan changed when we ran into Kev, ablegable and Linda at the pullout, and we went for their new’ish (2008 I think) route Angry Natives instead.

Kev tempted me by saying he hadn’t heard of a clean second ascent yet. Maybe there had been a clean repeat already, maybe not, but it was definitely a route that hadn’t been traveled much. I’d been eyeing a topo of the line that ablegable sent me last year. It looked pretty darn good on paper, so I was in. Nutjob was wavering (ed: still chomping at the bit for Independence), so we flipped a coin and it came up AN, instead of IP,C.

We got some beta on the rack and on the crux, last pitch. We asked for and received assurances that the .10a rating wasn’t a sandbag (though we still had our doubts, having heard rumors about the scary stuff ablegable has put up on Lower Brother). We asked for info on the nature of the 5” flake on the last pitch. And then we were off to try it out, while their crew split for some new-route activity elsewhere.

All in all, it was a great day, and we thought it was a really cool route.

 .10a grade is right on, not a sandbag. Though as you approach that last pitch, especially if you’re on deck for leading it, you’ll have your doubts right up until you actually start climbing it, or actually until you finish climbing it, hoo!
 Takes you to and through a really cool section of the Reed’s cliff, and gets you up off the ground.
 Lots of different types of climbing, pretty much all of it good or better.
 The natives were nowhere to be seen, though I had no trouble imagining how enormously f*#ked up but character building that lead (or follow, maybe more so the follow) would be if they were home, and pissed.
 The last pitch was killer – great climbing. Only wish that pitch were longer.

Here are some pics from Angry Natives (ed: first 2 pitches including bolted chimney are S. Jones route, Tarkus, 5.8):


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These next pics of the last pitch are screwed up, because I was unknowingly titling the camera while firing shots from the anchor. The two above give a better sense. It’s hard to belay your second and do right with the pics. Tried to correct them to show a truer steepness factor, but couldn’t get it right. It’s not this steep.


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This one about shows the angle:

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And a short video of Nutjob on the crux pitch, still with the wrong angle:

[Click to View YouTube Video]

PS – Eric/Kev/Linda, we put those links up on the p2 anchor, and were glad to have them on the way down.

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Angry Natives, p5
Angry Natives, p5
Credit: le_bruce
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  Trip Report Views: 6,472
le_bruce 		About the Author
le_bruce is a climber from Oakland: what's not to love?.

Comments
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
  Dec 19, 2011 - 08:17pm PT
Nice job, guys. I've heard it's a fun route.
mike m

Trad climber
black hills
  Dec 19, 2011 - 08:18pm PT
Nice report and some very cool pictures. Hard to believe there are cracks like that, that were undone until 2008
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
Author's Reply  Dec 19, 2011 - 08:34pm PT
Yeah, thanks guys. Definitely a good route. Mike I kept thinking that same thing... Quality granite, good jamming, good position, at a popular cliff... and unclimbed as of 2008!
Dos XX

Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
  Dec 19, 2011 - 08:46pm PT
Nothin' better than an excellent TR of what appears to be an excellent climb! Thanks for taking the time to post.
mucci

Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
  Dec 19, 2011 - 08:54pm PT
Bitchin!

Good climb, looks really clean now. The natives were HOME when we were there.

I backed off the lead on the last pitch, after placing a #5 and pussyfooting it out left but never committing. Partner hung/A0 in the middle somewhere.

You just have to gun it there to the #4's.

That last sequence to the anchors is tech.

Bravo team!
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
  Dec 19, 2011 - 08:57pm PT
Nice! I wanna get up on this one.

But did you meet any of the angry natives, en route?
Captain...or Skully

climber
Boise, ID
  Dec 19, 2011 - 09:09pm PT
Reed's Rules. TFPU, indeed.
ablegabel

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
  Dec 19, 2011 - 10:31pm PT
Nice job guys! For clarity I should note that the first two pitches(chimney with some bolts) was put up by Sean Jones and is called "Tarkus" 5.8. Glad you liked it - Eric Gabel
Studly

Trad climber
WA
  Dec 19, 2011 - 10:48pm PT
Super coolness.
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Dec 19, 2011 - 11:12pm PT
Rad bro!
Darwin

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  Dec 19, 2011 - 11:40pm PT
Nice job on a good looking climb you two. I'm not even going to whine about my rehabbing shoulder and the differences in climate and December day length between Seattle and Yosemite.

The chimney looks cool! Protection, or don't you need it?
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
Author's Reply  Dec 20, 2011 - 12:40am PT
Mucci - I figured you must have climbed it when you were able to recognize the pitch in another thread. Your team must have been second or third, yeah? Nice.

It was clean when we did it - nothing wet, and nothing mungy except that traverse after the p2 chimney. The crack on the last pitch was super clean, with great locks at the thin part up high. The feet on the main wall at the thin part are still kind of shedding a bit, but not much and not bad.

ablegable - those first two also have a different character, the bolts but also the climbing is totally different. Only fixed hardware after the anchor on top of 2 is at the end of the climb, which is cool.

Jaybro - I think that most of the natives were kind of dormant and in a cold stupor, en route and off route.

Those last three moves to the anchor - if not for one tiny feature (that is bomber and not going anywhere) that part would be so much harder. It'd be the crux for sure. I thought the crux was turning the corner on the roof/flake down lower, and getting set up with the fists.

Edit: Darwin, that chimney was Nutjob's lead. There are three bolts, or you can cruise into the interior of the chimney and protect with a crack there. He did sort of both.
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
  Dec 20, 2011 - 01:14am PT
Eric and I reconned that part of Reed's when we did the first 4 pitches of what is now Dream Easy traversing across to the last pitch of what is now Angry Natives. That was January or February of 2008, and the Sun was getting low. But Eric did that pitch in the corner before we called it a day...
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
Author's Reply  Dec 20, 2011 - 01:06pm PT
Ed, cool to see those pics - almost looks like Eric has no pro in at the flake. Did you follow the pitch?

Crazy to see how that last pitch of Dream Easy has cleaned up - I pendulumed over there on rappel, and where I'm seeing plants and munge in your pics above was nothing but a clean, clean crack.
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
  Dec 20, 2011 - 02:05am PT
the monkeys are sendin?
Mighty Hiker

climber
Outside the Asylum
  Dec 20, 2011 - 02:11am PT
Thanks - was this really climbed this week?

Why weren't the natives friendly?
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
  Dec 20, 2011 - 02:34am PT
didn't do that last pitch... so I'm keen to do Angry Natives one of these days...
...that day there was no Dream Easy... the last pitch went in with Eric and Linda later...

the natives were angry because they don't like their hummocks disturbed...
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
  Dec 20, 2011 - 02:46am PT
Nice photos - thanks for sharing.
nutjob

Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
  Dec 20, 2011 - 06:16am PT
Le_Bruce, thanks! These pics make me look about as manly as I ever have or probably ever will again. My moments of glory.

But, I take umbrage at Nutjob was wavering. Filthy lie. More like I was hoping for a beat-down on Independence Pinnacle and Steppin' Out, and Angry Natives was a happy alternate possibility. Overall I'm happy with the coin toss, turned out to be a perfect climbing day!


I'll get my pics uploaded soon (mine weren't as good though), and I'll stick them here with some more comments on the climb.
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
  Dec 20, 2011 - 06:13am PT
The crux of Independence Pinnacle Center is a steep arching thin hands crack (#2 Friend size). If you have small hands, it's not too bad, but still pumper.
If you start via the Independent route, that does go from squeeze to fist and looks very stout.
scuffy b

climber
heading slowly NNW
  Dec 20, 2011 - 11:28am PT
When do you want to go up it, Jaybro?
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
Author's Reply  Dec 20, 2011 - 01:08pm PT
Nutjob, that's true, bad wording. You wanted the historic, burly route, I wanted the new, fun route. IP next time.

The hummock where the natives dwell looked about 1/2 dislodged and fallen away, and only a matter of time and repeats before the rest of it goes, too.

MH, just last weekend - t-shirt weather as long as you were in the sun, shivering if in the shade.

Vitaliy - cool shots, that's the last anchor of the climb.
kev

climber
A pile of dirt.
  Dec 20, 2011 - 02:24pm PT
Good job guys - glad you liked it

So when Eric and I we're on it somewhere around pitch 3 he started yelling something like "...$^(ing horror show..." He gets to the tree and puts me on belay. I'm not used to him yelling and so I'm expecting some hard ass moves. A little bit into the pitch he yells down to me "you're gonna want to move through the next section fast. This will test your character" A hummock jam or two later they erupt all over me and I met the natives :)

kev
PellucidWombat

Mountain climber
Draperderr, by Bangerter, Utah
  Dec 20, 2011 - 03:53pm PT
Thanks for sharing Scott & Bryce! Looks like a great route. Last Sunday I was eyeing the chimney that is the starting pitch of the climb, wondering if it was part of a route.
HighTraverse

Trad climber
Bay Area
  Dec 20, 2011 - 03:55pm PT
Where does it start? Is that the chimney just to the right of Dream Easy?
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Dec 20, 2011 - 03:58pm PT
WELL DONE FELLAS!!
JEleazarian

Trad climber
Fresno CA
  Dec 20, 2011 - 04:14pm PT
Nice-looking route, and excellent TR. I have High Traverse's question as well -- where does it start?

Thanks again.

John
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
Author's Reply  Dec 20, 2011 - 05:06pm PT
Yeah, big moaning chimney just right of the Dream Easy start (100 ft +/- west of Lunatic Fringe)
PellucidWombat

Mountain climber
Draperderr, by Bangerter, Utah
  Dec 23, 2011 - 04:45pm PT
It looks like this from the climbers trail along the base:
PellucidWombat

Mountain climber
Draperderr, by Bangerter, Utah
  Dec 23, 2011 - 04:52pm PT
BTW while on the topic of lesser known routes at Reed's, does anyone know if the 5.9 route that ascends to the Stone Groove anchors has a name? It is just around the corner to the right of Stone Groove. The Reid guide just labels it as 5.9 with no name on the area topo. It was pretty fun and links up well with the 5.8 second pitch of Stone Groove (which is also a fun one to do if you bring a #6 C4 to push). It seems like these two pitches are a nicer way to start up The Rorp rather than the lame brushy approach pitches.
doughnutnational

Gym climber
its nice here in the spring
  Dec 23, 2011 - 06:01pm PT
Nice climb and nice trip report. When I stopped in the Reed's pullout yesterday I'm almost positive the only party I saw climbing was on the route, almost a trade route now!
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
  Dec 23, 2011 - 08:44pm PT
Zander

climber
  Dec 23, 2011 - 11:54pm PT
Looks like fun guys! Thanks for the report.
Clint, thanks for the topo photo.
Z
Tork

climber
Yosemite
  Apr 29, 2012 - 02:32pm PT
NutAgain!

Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
  Oct 6, 2015 - 12:36pm PT
Bumpy blast from the past... just found a bunch of old pics, including from this day. I'll just post ones that complement what's already here.

The usual suspects at the Reed's Pullout in the winter time:

Le_bruce on the first part of Tarkus (start of Angry Natives):

Man love.

Seconf half of the pitch above the monster chimney:

Lookin' over at Reed's Pinnacle:

Looking down from second to last belay:

My little buttercup

Now here's a blow-by-blow for the start of the last pitch:





Sorry, no pics of the rest of the biz out my sight line... just the ending success:


Hurry, the natives are coming...

Somewhere in the raps:



Some pics on rap to show that gnarly chimney. I recall about three bolts in it, but the first one is high enough that you'll ruin your day if you don't reach it, and the others are healthily spaced:


Not sure where this was, but it looks ominous and it's in the same group of pics on my disk:

Doh! I remember now. I've got it upside down. This was after rapping Lunatic Fringe when we did that in the dark just after coming down from Angry Natives. I think? Pretty sure, sort of.
kev

climber
A pile of dirt.
  Oct 6, 2015 - 01:06pm PT
:)
NutAgain!

Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
  Feb 20, 2017 - 11:07pm PT
Bump of an awesome day.
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
  Feb 21, 2017 - 06:37am PT
Nice. Looks wonderful. As in full of wonder!

BAd
mooch

Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
  Feb 21, 2017 - 07:40am PT
Nice job, Boys! Good to see Linda finally was able to get outside and blow the stink off.
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
  Feb 21, 2017 - 08:07am PT
I enjoy reading this TR everytime it comes around here on the tacostand. Boffo performance, dudes. nice pics too.
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
  Feb 21, 2017 - 08:26am PT
the broken links in my post on the FA exploration are fixed here:
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