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Graduate Cliff

CLIMBS: Pick Your Poison, Walk to School, & the End of Pre Skool
GRADUATE CLIFF CLIMBS
  • ​Pre Skool - Part 1 
  • Pre Skool Part Deux
  • ​Walk to School (This Page)
  • Pick Your Poison (This Page)
  • Finished Pre Skool (This Page)

SUMMARY HAIKU

Pick Your Poison FAB!
Finally finished Pre Skool!
Feisty Walk to School!
Picture
Picture
Picture

The Climbs

​Pick Your Poison

Climb: Pick Your Poison (Trad) (5.7+)(2 pitches - 200 ft, you have to do the 1st pitch of Pre Skool - see Day 26: Graduate Cliff/and/or Graduate Cliff, Day 46 for Pre Skool details/stories)
Wall: Graduate Cliff
Rope: We used a 70m for two long raps and one short rap to avoid the 5th class down-climbing.
Good Lead for a New Trad Climber?
Pick Your Poison, yes, it's pretty easy and mostly protectable. The end might be a little un-nerving for a new lead. (P1 of Pre Skool, no.)
Conclusion WTF? What the FUN!
In order to get to Pick Your Poison you have to climb the first pitch of Pre Skool. The first pitch of Pre Skool is a good climb, but the roof is for real - it's not a typical 5.7 bypass or juggy with steps (hence the + rating in the climb.) It also helps to be tall to reach key holds. I (Stef) have done this roof three times now, hoping it will get easier each time and it doesn't (I am 5'5"). Rick has done it twice now and he does not believe the roof is a 5.7 - which is probably why the FAs call Pre Skool a 5.7+ - the roof is not 5.7 but the rest of the climb is. 

When you near the top of Pre Skool pitch 1, you will see a big pine tree to your left. Angle up across black petina rock to the pine tree (you can also do a straight traverse level with the pine tree, but angling up is easier. Start the traverse low on featured, protectable dark petina, then angle up on easy but unprotectable petina.) Pick Your Poison starts from this pine tree..

Pick Your Poison has mostly good rock and is straight-forward climbing for the first 75%. A good chunk in the middle of the climb is basically walking up a gully inside a really cool cleft. Then the chimney narrows and you have to stem and go up into a cavern. This section is where you have to look closely for pro and plan your slings for your exit choice.

There are three options for the exit:

(1) Climber's right, which is what I (Stef) took, is like a stemming through tunnel (see photo below of Rick coming through the tunnel.)

(2) The middle, direct exit out (you may have to go inside the cavern to place a piece and then backtrack out onto the main chimney wall, but I'm not sure. I didn't scope this one out too carefully. There may be pro on the face somewhere.

(3) The birth canal is a quite small hole that looks like you'd have to take off backpacks to squeeze through. It looked like there were lots of rock and sand in this option. 
Picture
Rick, on the first pitch of Pre Skool, reaching up over the roof to find a hold. The best hold can be found by someone 6 feet or taller - and it's still scrappy.
Picture
Stef at the base of "Pick Your Poison." I started a little left because of the big pine tree.
I built an anchor and belayed from the end of the tunnel. The bolted anchors are out near the edge of a large flat boulder - too far and too angled to belay from. 

​I loved this climb!
Picture
Rick following on the "right-hand" exit (lead climbers right as you come up the chimney) for "Pick Your Poison." Behind him where the sun is shining would be the middle exit. Behind him on the right side of the photo is the "birth canal" exit.

Finishing Pitch 2 of Pre Skool

If you have been following our climbs, you may recall that on Day 46, a friend, Tony Ferrar and I climbed Pre-Skool and bailed about 30 feet from the top - the rock and pro seemed way too sketchy for either of us to feel comfortable leading it. Since then I have been wondering if bailing was the right choice. 

Since Pick Your Poison and Pre Skool Share the same bolted anchors at the top, Rick and I decided to top-rope pitch 2 of Pre Skool. Rick top-roped the entire pitch (since he hadn't done it yet) and I top-roped the last 30 feet. Boy am I glad I did not lead that last part! It was terrible and there is maybe one tiny-gear spot I might trust - but not really because the rock is so soft and it was a pretty small crack. There is no question in my mind that Tony and I made the right choice (and Rick concurs.)

With that said, I'd strongly recommend NOT (What the Forget About It!) doing the second pitch of Pre Skool and doing Pick Your Poison instead - as you read above, Pick Your Poison is a blast. 

(TIP: Walkie Talkies will be really helpful if you do the 3-pitch climbing. If the second has trouble on the Pre Skool roof, you all can communicate. And, you likely will not be able to hear commands on Pick Your Poison.)


​Walk to School

Climb: Walk to School (Trad) (5.7)(1 pitch - 100')
Wall: Graduate Cliff
Rope: We used a 70m
Good Lead for a New Trad Climber? Probably not. The protection is ok, but the climb is feisty and heady. 

Conclusion WTF? What the FEISTY!
This is another example of a climb that looks cruiser from the ground, but isn't. There are several bulgy, awkward undulations to contend with. Fortunately the protection is good. 

Mountain Project talks about different anchor options for this climb. Someone commented that there is an anchor further up past the traverse option. We cannot comment on this, as we did not go that way.

The Handren guidebook shows the anchor to be a threaded hole a short ways in on the traverse, this is no longer there. Once you start traversing you are committed to using the bolted anchors atop The Graduate (see photo of Stef on the traverse.). 

​The first half of the traverse is on a decent sized ledge, but there is some soft rock, no initial pro, and some bulges in your face. Protection is available in a bit, though. The small ledge eventually ends and then the traverse is on knobs with so-so rock (good enough, but not so good that you relax.) You can place a piece right before heading out onto the face, then once on the face sling a horn if you want extra security.
​
Picture
Starting the traverse on Walk to School.
Picture
Picture
Stef leading Walk to School

Climb Stats to Date

DATE OF CLIMB: October 4 & 9, 2020
​WALLS HIT: 2 (Footloose entry on Ragged Edges wall is on a different page)
NUMBER OF 5.7 CLIMBS TODAY: 3.5 (includes Footloose and half of the second pitch of Pre Skool)
NUMBER OF 5.7 PITCHES TODAY: 4.5 (includes Footloose and half of the second pitch of Pre Skool)
​NUMBER OF FALLS: 0
NUMBER OF TAKES: 0
5.7 VERTICAL FEET CLIMBED TODAY: 400'

DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TODAY: 0

​TOTAL CLIMBS SO FAR: 138

TOTAL PITCHES SO FAR: 182
TOTAL 5.7 VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 15,795' 
NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 100 (out of 237)

VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: 34,952'

​​DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TO DATE: 
​​​​​​​​​​​5

FALLS SO FAR:
  • STEF: 2 (By Stef on WTF'r Tarkus Crack)
  • ​RICK: 0
TAKES ON LEAD SO FAR: 
  • Stef – On Lead
    • WTF'r Miniwanka
    • WTF'r Lean & Languid
    • WTF'r Pauligk Pillar
    • WT Freak Out: 5.7 Freak Out
    • WTF'r Unknown left start to Datura
    • WTF'r: Short Subject
    • WT Fua: Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun
    • WTForget About It: Glue Gun
    • WTFun: Cialis Cleft (took to figure out the moves on start)
    • WTF'r: Guys and Ghouls
    • Takes As a second:
    • WTF'r: Too Many Tantrums
    • WT Fail: Pre Skool (took the first time, not the second she climbed it)
    • WTF'r: Tarkus Crack
  • Rick - Takes On Lead
    • WTF'r Too Many Tantrums
    • WT Fork: The Ledger
    • WTF'r: Deja Vu
    • WTF'r: Tuna and Chips (he took and rested at the start of pitch 2 to recover from pitch 1 before continuing)
    • WTF'r: Tarkus Crack​


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  • Home
  • Blog
    • WTF 5..7 Tour - Red Rock >
      • General >
        • WTF 5.7 Climbs
        • The Plan
        • Managing the Desert Heat
      • Black Velvet Canyon >
        • Lazy Buttress/Whisky Peak E >
          • Day 79: Schaeffer's Delight
          • Day 83: Ballantine Blast
          • Day 86: Lazy Buttress (Climb)
      • Calico 1 (1st Pullout) >
        • Amusement Park
        • Day 17: Civilization
        • Day 20: Panty Wall
        • Day 14: The Slab
        • Day 21: Wall of Death & Hamlet
        • Day 24: Child's Play
        • Day 49: Ultraman
        • Day 50: Dog Wall & Fixx Cliff
        • Day 51: Tuna and Chips
        • Day 53: Viagra Towers
        • Day 59 Iron Man - Necco Waif
        • Day 80 - Tuna Cookies
        • Day 80 - Diamond Dance - The Oasis
        • Day 81 - CarlyQuinn Crag
      • Calico 2 (2nd Pullout) >
        • Day 13: Meetup & Black Corridor
        • Day 28: Retirement Plan
        • Day 52: The Walrus, Running Man, & Sweet Pain
        • Day 54: USS Crag & Tsunami
        • Day 56: Great Red Book Wall
        • Day 66: The Gallery
      • First Creek Canyon >
        • First Creek Slabs >
          • Day 40: Falling Stars & Bad Moon Arising
          • Day 67: Smiley Face
          • Day 94: Romanian Rib Right
          • Day 95: Romanian Rib Left
        • Lotta Balls Wall >
          • Day 88: Lotta Brews
        • Romper Room >
          • Day 42: Algae on Parade
          • Day 67: Romper Room 2
        • Schoolyard >
          • Day 44: School Yard 1 - Deja Vu & Short Subject
          • Day 77: School Yard -Sunday School & Dunce's Corner
          • Day 89: Schoolyard Bully
        • Slot Club Area >
          • Day 78: Escondite
        • Strawberry Hill >
          • Day 43: This Ain't the F'n Way!
      • Icebox Canyon >
        • Day 12: Sunnyside & Frigid Air
        • Day 39: Necromancer - Hop Route
        • Day 57: Tarkus Crack (Tiki Cliff)
      • Juniper Canyon >
        • Jackrabbit Buttress >
          • Day 16: Myster Z
          • Day 35: Mz. Why
        • Rose Tower >
          • Day 64: Canola Cracks
          • Day 87: Olive Oil
      • Kraft Mountain >
        • Day 6 (and 90): Conundrum Crag
        • Day 7: Caligula Crag
        • Day 4: Three Peaks and Yin & Yang
        • Day 10: Winter Heat
      • Mt. Wilson >
        • Day 41: Limon
        • Day 72: Gentleman's Club - Silicone Sag
      • Oak Creek Canyon >
        • Day 37: Johnny Vegas
        • Day 65: Tan Line
        • Day 68: Byrd Pinnacle
        • Day 92: Beulah's Arete
      • Pine Creek Canyon >
        • Day 22: Mescalito E - Too Many Tantrums
        • Day 23: Mescalito E - Pauligk Pillar
        • Day 27: Straight Shooter Wall
        • Day 31: Robin Trowel (Abutment) & Stick Gully 1
        • Day 32-34: Flight Path
        • Day 34: Stick Gully 2 - Prelude
        • Day 36: Birdland
        • Day 38: Diarrhea Dialect (Bullnose Wall)
        • Day 48: Cat in the Hat
        • Day 62: Stick Gully - Box of Rain
        • Day 63: Cookie Monster
        • Day 69: Soloist Crack
      • Red Springs >
        • Day 2: Cowlick and Cannibal
        • Day 1: Cut Your Teeth, Hide & Seek, Happy Acres
        • Day 3: Dickies (Seems Like a Butt)
        • Day 8: Fringe
        • Day 5: Moderate Mecca
        • Day 9: Reptile & Fox Walls
        • Day 45: Gnat Man
        • Day 55: Coco Crag
        • Day 58: In Through the Out Door (Ridinghood Wall)
        • Day 91: Guys and Ghouls
      • Sandstone Quarry >
        • Day 29: High Scalin'
        • Day 47: Man's Best Friend & Americrag
        • Day 66: Hall of Fame - Ms. Adventure
      • Southern Outcrops >
        • Day 70 & 71: Chocolate Rocks
        • Day 82: Illusion Crag - Part 1
      • White Rock Springs >
        • Angel Food Wall >
          • Day 11: Group Therapy
        • Day 25: The Ledger
        • Seraphim Wall >
          • Day 91: Ride the Wind
      • Willow Springs >
        • Day 15: Mother's and Outhouse
        • Day 18: Mossy Ledges - Pussy Nuts
        • Day 19: Mossy Ledges 2
        • Day 26: Graduate Cliff - Pre Skool Part 1 >
          • Day 46: Pre Skool Part Deux
        • Day 60 & 61: Graduate Cliff 2
        • Day 30 - Gold Digger
        • Day 61: Ragged Edges - Footloose
        • Day 62: Case Face - Space Case
        • Day 73: Ragged Edges Area
        • Day 74 Peaches (Children's Wall)
        • Day 75 N' Plus Ultra 1 - Geezer Face & Lucky Charms
        • Day 76: N'Plus Ultra 2 - Pillar Talk & Chocolate Tranquility Fountain
        • Day 84: N'Plus Ultra Part 3 - Cereal Killer
        • Day 84: Lost Creek Canyon - Grey Matter
        • Day 85: Communist Plan at Lost & Found
        • Day 94: Double Pin-etration N'Plus Ultra
    • Meet Our Tools >
      • GPS Units
      • Van Life: Tankenstein >
        • Tankenstein Gets Gutted
        • Van Life: Rebuilding Tankenstein >
          • Glowing Disco Counter Top
          • Cold Food Storage
          • Bouldering-pad-bench
          • Insulation and Vent Fan
          • Quick Fixes
          • Kingsized Pullout Bed
      • Ultralight Exposure Protection Gear