Batrock and I head out from La Cañada at a quarter past two. Pretty drive as usual, and I look forward to finding Toprope Rock after my first trip wandering lost wth my wife a few months ago. It's easier to find from the trailhead going up the ridge from the back rather than from the campground.

Other than runny noses, didn't notice the cold because we were hoofing in at a pretty good pace. But it was more noticeable at the base in the shade:

I started off with a lead of a hand crack that pinches to tips (with plenty of face holds to keep it from getting hard), with a wide finish. Set up a toprope to play on a very thin crack with some thuggish lie back moves before easing off in difficulty at the roof. Batrock says it's 5.11c. I say I can do each of the moves but will take some big strength/endurance improvements (and better body position control) before I can link it all cleanly.

Then we messed around on a fun easy but grunty chimney climb.



The top out was a short little face section, back exposed in the howling cold wind. But the motion generated enough heat that it wasn't objectionable.

We had talked about doing Pie Slice, but at this point it's getting dark. We threw caution to the wind and decided to make haste over the ridge and sneak in one more.

We half walked, half jogged up and across the ridge and through some bushes and trees to get to Pie Slice. I took a few stops along the way to capture the gorgeous colors of a setting sun:

At the base, we quickly roped up and I took the one headlamp between us as I set off. Last time I was here a few months before, the climb was a serious endeavor for me, and I fell numerous times at the summit lip before getting it. This time I felt pretty calm and casual about it, even in the near darkness (I didn't end up needing the headlamp) and biting wind. I didn't hesitate more than a few seconds at any spot, and got the summit lip cleanly, to enjoy this top-out view:

Batrock came up quickly, but he would have needed infra-red vision or climb by Braille to get this without the headlamp. So I tagged the light down to him:


We used the headlamp to scramble through the bushes and trees back to the ridge trail, but from there we had a cool night hike in the dark. The last rays of sun were gone, the moonrise was not for a while, but the light of stars and reflected city light was enough to guide us on the wide sandy trail. When I closed my eyes, I could imagine that instead of the low roar of the wind in the trees, I was laying on the beach at night listening to the changing of tides.

It was a beautiful mountain day that seems so incongruous with the stereotypes of Los Angeles, and yet this mountain-ringed basin holds something for everyone.