SUMMARY HAIKU
Two walls and three climbs
Glue Gun stuck it to us - ow!
4th pair of undies
Two walls and three climbs
Glue Gun stuck it to us - ow!
4th pair of undies
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I think we need to stop saying we are going to do x number of climbs. It's a jinx!
We had planned to hit three walls (Man's Best Friend, Americrag, and Running Man) and four climbs (5 pitches). Instead we hit two walls (Man's Best Friend, Americrag) and three climbs (4 pitches). Glue Gun on Americrag (a "What the Forget About It!") ended up being a scary climb and a time-suck. By the time we got done, it was too hot to go to Running Man. The climbs on Man's Best Friend wall were a blast though! It's been a while since we've run across some rogue undies. Today ended the "drought" with a nasty pair of dinosaur undies from a kiddo that did what he would've done if a Tyrannosaurus Rex was about to engulf him... |
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WALL: Man's Best Friend
Access to Man's Best Friend wall is in a steep gully. There are two ways to get down, rappel or scramble down 3rd/4th class terrain. We rappelled down and scrambled back up. |
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There is a sign near the very first parking spot as you enter into Sandstone Quarry, use this sign as your reference point to locate the scramble and anchors. From the sign, walk directly up the white slab heading nearly straight back towards Man's Best Friend. When you get to the steep gully look for some bolted anchors that face left (as you are looking at Man's Best Friend.)
- Rappel - These bolted anchors are a little awkward to access.
- Scramble - If you want to scramble down (this will also be the way to get back up) go left from the anchors until you hit a small wall. You will see two crevices. Take the second crevice that angles down to the right (its a bit of a squeeze, packs may need to be taken off).
CLIMB: Man's Best Friend
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Climb: Man's Best Friend (Sport) (5.7)(2 pitches - 180')
Wall: Man's Best Friend Beginner Climb? Yes Conclusion WTF? What the FUN!
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Rick, Pitch 1, Man's Best Friend
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Stef at the anchors atop pitch 2 getting ready to bring Rick up.
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CLIMB: Crusty Creatures
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Climb: Crusty Creatures (Trad) (5.7)(1 pitch - 140')
Wall: Man's Best Friend Pro: single rack to #4, there are four bolts at the beginning of the climb and bolted anchors, 70 m rope Beginner Trad Climb? A confident beginner. It's spicier than Man's Best Friend. Conclusion WTF? What the FUN!
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WALL: Americrag (south wall)
CLIMB: Glue Gun
Climb: Glue Gun (Sport) (5.7)(1 pitch - 65')
Wall: Americrag (south wall)
Pro: 3 bolts (bad bolts) + 2 bolt anchor (these bolts are good)
Beginner Climb: Hell NO!
Conclusion WTF? What the FORGET ABOUT IT!
Wall: Americrag (south wall)
Pro: 3 bolts (bad bolts) + 2 bolt anchor (these bolts are good)
Beginner Climb: Hell NO!
Conclusion WTF? What the FORGET ABOUT IT!
- This climb could be fun IF: The rock were better/it was cleaned, it had more bolts AND it had bolts that won't kill you (there are only three bolts - all bad! - in 65 feet - Handren lists this as a 50 foot climb, it's longer). So until these things are fixed (more bolts, new bolts, remove crap rock) it's pretty damn scary.
- Although there are some easy sections, this climb is not 5.7. There are a couple tricky sections on the face and the bulge at the top - it's more like 5.9.
- I (Stef) lead this climb up to the third bolt and was frazzled by the time I got there (because I felt like I was soloing). The distances between the bolts are pretty long (with crap rock) AND the bolts are rusted. The second bolt has a chunk of rock that fell out behind the hangar, exposing a decent section of the bolt stem. That bolt definitely would not have held in a fall. After the third bolt, I began to climb to the anchors and backed down twice. I just didn't have any more focus left to deal with an unprotected bulge move AND after seeing the bolts up to that point, I didn't want to face a horrific anchor. I decided I'd rather take the risk and have Rick lower me off the rusty third bolt than to finish the climb (fortunately the third bolt was the best of the three, and it got me down safely.)
- Rick lead the final 15 feet. It's a VERY insecure, unprotected slabby bulge move that favors the tall. Rick is 6 feet tall and had to really stretch to reach a shit hold. I re-did the climb on toprope to finish it and see how the ending was. Wow, super spicy for a "5.7" lead. A retro-bolt to protect that move would improve the experience greatly. In fact a whole retro-bolt, some climb clean-up, and upping the grade to a 5.9 would make this a decent climb. For now, it's shit, so forget about it.
- I debated between calling it a "What the Fucker" versus a "What the Forget About It." One of the criteria for a "what the Fucker" is the F-word is said by the lead climber during the climb. No f-words were said, so it doesn't fit that criteria.
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Climb Stats to Date
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DATE OF CLIMB: June 26, 2020
WALLS HIT: 2 NUMBER OF CLIMBS TODAY: 3 NUMBER OF PITCHES TODAY: 4 NUMBER OF FALLS: 0 NUMBER OF TAKES: 1 (Stef on Glue Gun) VERTICAL FEET CLIMBED TODAY: 370 DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TODAY: 1 (it's been a while - can't say I missed it, this one was pretty gross - let's just say a poor kiddo had an accident...) START & END TIMES:
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TOTAL CLIMBS SO FAR: 110
TOTAL PITCHES SO FAR: 149.75 TOTAL 5.7 VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 12,970' NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 127 (out of 237) VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: 37,777' FALLS SO FAR: 0 TAKES ON LEAD SO FAR:
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