Trip Report
The Flakes - MCR, May 27, 2016
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Tuesday May 31, 2016 9:51am
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I had to be in Turlock at 6:45 for a graduation. Our plan was to hustle up the "six pitches" of The Flakes, boogie down and do Overhang Bypass on LCR, boogie down to the meadow for a beer and cruise home for the graduation. What an optimistic moron. It took us over eight hours car to car to climb The Flakes and I was a bit late to graduation.
5.7 - 5.8+ run-out climbing on choss, expanding flakes, teetering blocks, etc., but with some very nice pitches in the middle. After the sixth pitch, there is two hundred feet of abandoned quarry traversing, a mine field of loose rock. There were climbers on Border Country below us so we had to be super careful. Once past the loose rock it was another two hundred feet of 5.4ish vertical climbing, then several hundred feet of third/fourth class traversing on a ledge to gain the west shoulder/walk off to the Gunsight.
The start. See any solid rock? Neither did I. I went up and left. It took me 12 minutes to find a nut placement hidden behind some moss.
The second pitch, just a bit run-out, but at least the placements were sketchy.
Looking back at pitch 2:
The start of pitch 3:
The best placement all day....
More pitch three. How does this stuff stay put on such a steep wall?
The start of pitch four. Four and five were the best.
Looking down from the belay at the top of three.
Looking back at the belay:
I think this is pitch five.
Looking down from the sixth belay:
Border Country action:
And the best part of the day - down climbing this. Blech. Almost died three times.
Burnin' Oil
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About the Author
Burnin' Oil is a trad climber from CA. |
Comments
donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 31, 2016 - 09:58am PT
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Nice! At least you didn't have to burn oil in your headlamp.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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May 31, 2016 - 10:52am PT
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Thank you for good memories. I always liked that climb, but then the last time I did it (over 40 years ago), I had pitons in addition to nuts in the rack. I haven't gone back because I've always questioned how protectable it is now. Your TR showed my concerns were well-founded.
Incidentally, the last time I did Overhang Bypass, I was late to a surprise birthday party. That wasn't easy, since I had the guest of honor with me. When he and I first climbed it (in the mid-1970's), we ran up it using only hexcentrics and stoppers -- and needing precious few of either. When we came back, 25 years later, we discovered that the "killer death flake" was missing and bypassing its spot required some rather reachy moves (I'm quite short, so that proved to be a real challenge), and wasted more than an hour getting past it.
Again, thanks again for the memories.
John
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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May 31, 2016 - 01:03pm PT
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Never had to place a pin, myself, John, as it was VERBOTEN under the new clean climbing aesthetic which arrived in '70-'71 in C4. I first did it in '71, thought it was airy and scary due to the run-out nature of the pro.
Burnin' Oil, I'm real sorry that you were late for your graduation and sorry you seem to think it a 'waste of time route.'
Sacherer and Powell routes are generally very tough lines for whatever reasons. This one's aptly named, though, wouldn't you say?
And how about the exposure and the view of Lower Cathedral with all that inviting rock in the sun?
Have a good summer, dude, and thanks for the write-up and pix.
Ed H, you still thinking of doing this choss-monster?
Here's a little private memory of this climb. I loved the lichens up on the route so much, a real vivid orange that complemented the grain and texture and color of the flakes. I snagged a small piece and took it with me. I set it in a gold locket and gave it to my new bride as a small token of my love.
donini, love that remark!^^^
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Burnin' Oil
Trad climber
CA
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Author's Reply
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May 31, 2016 - 01:18pm PT
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Mouse, you Merced folks are all the same, always jumping to conclusions and what-not. Hilmar folks are just a better class of people, I guess.
I enjoyed the climb a great deal. Fun, challenging, exposed, unique, etc. I recommend it.
Edit: Being late for graduation was a bonus, if you know what I mean.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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May 31, 2016 - 01:50pm PT
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And you Hilmarianites are always making generalizations of a broad nature.
I'm glad you like the route. When you gonna go do it again? Let me know and I'll go up the Gunshite and steal your soul for you from on high.
Cheers for Turkey Tech. Gobble gobble.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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May 31, 2016 - 05:15pm PT
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The Flakes sparked my first interest in the possibilities of routes on the North Face of Middle. The North Buttress, on the other side of the North Face Slabs, is long but sort of a slog and there is not much to extrapolate onto possible new routes on the faces on either side.
The Flake are on the far right of the North Face but they are out on open rock. We learned to see Middle Rock with more possibilities. We got up the smoother, lower angle, North Face Slabs, but I could never see a route on the steep rock between the Flakes and the North Face Slabs. But possibilities came into focus: Meyers started up what became Mother Earth and some 40 years later Mikey Schaefer found a free line on the steepest rock between Mother Earth and the North Face Slabs. Proud history on Middle with the Flakes as one of the first probes of what was possible.
The Flakes is also the first climb I did that made me feel as if I were on a first ascent--there not any obvious signposts that say "this way." It is not hard but you have to figure it out and cannot rely on a detailed topo. Given the level of difficulty, The Flakes are about as good as it gets on Middle.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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That comment of Roger's about the feeling of being on a first ascent tallies with commentary from Mnt Project by Bryan G, who wrote, "...because of the adventurous nature of the route combined with the frequent runouts and somewhat tricky belay anchors (it is a 1000ft face climb without a single bolt), this is a 5.8 best suited for the experienced 5.10 Valley climber."
Adventurous is the very word.
I love this photo from that MP page, too. I think it shows well the nature of the rock and the color. It sure SEEMS like there ought to be plenty of opportunity to set pro from this angle, eh?
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Nice choss!
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