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Moonrise/sunset photo from the top...

​SUMMARY HAIKU

5.7 sandwich
Made a one-off a fun-off
No undies found here
​
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An afterwork, weekday, summer climb. When we arrived it was 98 degrees F at Red Rock Canyon (105 F in Vegas). Once we crossed that shade line it felt hella good.
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This is an example of the labeled photos found on our maps. The colors correspond with trail difficulty. (Copyrighted image: Use only with permission and credit: Climb-On Maps)

​DATE: August 13, 2019
​WALLS HIT: 1 (The Fringe)
NUMBER OF CLIMBS: 1 (actually we did a 5.7 sandwich which was 2.25 climbs...more info below)
NUMBER OF PITCHES: 1 (we really did 2 pitches today... for fun)
​NUMBER OF FALLS: 0
NUMBER OF TAKES: 0
VERTICAL FEET CLIMBED TODAY: 65 (+30' +95' for the other 1.25 pitches that don't count toward the tour)
TOTAL VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 1,345
NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 215
VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: ~48,740
DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED: 0
​DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TO DATE: 3



​START & END TIMES:
  • Arrived Parking Lot - 5:00 p.m.
    • Temperature 98 degrees F
  • Arrived at The Fringe wall - 5:40 p.m.
    • The first part of the hike in was still in the hot 98 degree sunshine, but as soon as we hit shade it was awesome.
    • We decided to do a 5.7 sandwich and added in some climbing to make the long hike worth while! Details below.
  • Back at the car - 9 p.m.


The Route
​

Climb: Broad Border (Sport) (5.7)
Conclusion WTF? What the FEISTY!
  • This climb is located on the right side of The Fringe. To access the start you have to walk around and scramble up to a ledge. 
  • We decided to do a 5.7 sandwich. Instead of doing the regular start, we climbed the first ~30 feet of Trust Me, I Lie (5.10a), past the 2nd bolt, then traversed over (run out with a swing if you fall - decking potential) to the 1st bolt of Broad Border. 
    • Then Stef brought up Rick, who lead the second pitch of Trust Me, I Lie, which continues directly above Broad Border (pitch 2 is a 5.8).
      • Other than a one-move-wonder on pitch 2 of Trust Me, I Lie, we felt pitch 2 of Trust Me, I Lie is easier and more fun than Broad Border.
      • Although there is some rock to clearly avoid, the rock quality isn't that bad. Broad Border itself was a bit of an odd climb, with a zig-zagging bolt line and a couple spicy moves (hence the rating of What the FEISTY). 
        • Be sure to bring at least 3 long slings to accommodate for the zig-zagging bolt line and prevent rope drag.
        • If you do the start of Trust Me, I Lie, bring two more long slings to accommodate for the angle and traverse needed to get over to Broad Border.  
  • There are a lot of fun sport climbs at The Fringe and a couple trad lines. The left side is an easy slab-fest leading to some more difficult upper climbs. A few climbs here and there have some fragile rock, but we've enjoyed this wall over the years. (5.5 to 5.11b). But, this is the first times we've done Broad Border and Trust Me, I Lie. 


​Summary
​

With respect to the WTF 5.7 TOUR, Broad Border is a one-off climb. One-off climbs are basically a pain-in-the-ass. A one-off climb means it's the only 5.7 in the vicinity, it's typically just one pitch, and it has a longer approach (>30 minutes). One-off climbs suck even more if the climb itself sucks (makes sense, huh?).

Rick and I really did not want to hike all this way, in the heat, to do one climb, so we decided to maximize the experience by adding a ~30' start by going on Trust Me, I Lie (5.10a, located to the left of Broad Border - see details in "The Route" section above) and then adding on a 2nd pitch by finishing Trust Me, I Lie.

Frankly, doing the sandwich made the experience far more enjoyable (other than the hinky and heady traverse from the 2nd bolt of Trust me, I Lie to the first bolt of Broad Border.)

We found Broad Border itself to be a rather "meh" and weird climb. If we didn't do the 2.25-pitch 5.7-sandwich with Trust Me, I Lie, I think we would've ended up annoyed and feeling jaded. But, in the end, we felt satisfied. 
A Little Aside... Teenage Transgressions

When I (Stef) was a teenager I was a hurting, angry child who used a lot of drugs and sometimes did destructive things. I once spray painted a school because I thought it was funny. I wanted the kids to be afraid of the messages I painted. I wanted to convey my hatred of school and "the system." I wanted to mar a place where clearly the privileged children went.

Over 30 years later the fact that I did that still haunts me. It breaks my heart for the child that I was and the life circumstances that put me in that place. It breaks my heart that a $10 can of paint caused thousands of dollars of damage. It breaks my heart that I negatively impacted hundreds, possibly thousands, of innocent people with a quick act of insolence. 

Every time I see graffiti it reminds me of that sadness.

Since then I have removed a lot of graffiti in places that I love. I will continue to do so for as long as I walk this earth.

I'm not sure I believe in karma, because there are a lot of good, innocent people who do good things and get the shit-end of the karma stick. But I do believe in paying my debts to this world. The amount of graffiti we saw today on the approach to The Fringe was disturbing. It's likely one, maybe two people, leaving this shit during a single lapse of judgement, but the effects are long-lasting. 

​These marks on the world remind me how one person can make a difference. It's a shame that the negative, destructive marks stand out so glaringly, and the positive marks go mostly unseen. But, if you ever question your place and contribution to this world, just think to yourself how beautiful this place is when people bring nothing but their footsteps (well, now we need to bring some elephant snot graffiti remover too...)
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