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 Prepping fer the mighty Moonlight, note the designated PEE bottle under the dogs tail. Being of advanced age it's nice to have a pee bottle handy at night so as not to rock the portaledge and wake my partner. Getting old is son of a gun. Credit: Batrock |
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 Our objective, Moonlight Buttress. Earlier in the year we got pushed off the route by Andy Kirkpatrick and an army of BBC riggers, this time we started up with nobody on the wall, that didn't last long, damn Germans!! Credit: Batrock |
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 Fording the mighty Virgin River. Credit: Batrock |
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 Cleaning the second pitch, I think, they all look the same to me. Credit: Batrock |
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 My partner Curt Lyons leads the third pitch up to the Rocker Block where we would bivy for the night. We got a late start. Credit: Batrock |
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 Curt eating one of three cans of Ravioli we brought for the entire climb. Due to some misunderstanding we left our food back at the car. So for the entire climb we had the ravioli and a handful of Jolly Ranchers. Oh, and coffee, I never forget the co Credit: Batrock |
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 Curt wondering what that stench is and where is it coming from? It turns out that early that morning two teams of Germans had gotten an early start and were hot on our heals. Since we were taking our time waking up we let one team pass, they were free Credit: Batrock |
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 Looking down the awesome Grand Dihedral pitch. Endless orange and yellow mastercams. Credit: Batrock |
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 Curt leading out of the dihedral into the ugly squeeze chimney. Credit: Batrock |
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 More great climbing and easy hauling. Credit: Batrock |
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 Credit: Batrock |
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 Because we waited and let the Germans pass we ended up getting stuck another night on the wall which was pretty cool and worth the views. Credit: Batrock |
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 The next morning we had just one more long pitch combining the last two pitches into one 200 footer. My favorite pitch of the entire route. Credit: Batrock |
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 On top and enjoying the view. Credit: Batrock |
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Curt and I had not seen or heard from each other in over 20 years. We used to climb together at Mount Williamson and did many first ascents together there back in the early 90's. A little over a year ago we got in contact with each other through the magic of the interwebs and hatched a plan to climb a big wall. We tried El Cap but due to a family death had to bail from halfway up the Triple Direct. A few months later we got stuck behind a slow party on Spaceshot and bailed after running out of water. This time we were not going down, we had plenty of water and plenty of time. It has been great getting to know each other again and plan on many more walls in the future.
Heck, if those old farts Hudon and Jones can do it we can too.
