Autumn climbing at Sunset Park

Malcolm preparing to climb Afternoon Delight in his swami belt

On Saturday, October 29, I drove with Malcolm and Jacob to Sunset Park outside Chattanooga to enjoy the cooler fall temperatures and to get me climbing again after a long recovery from a shoulder injury. Malcolm has started climbing at the gym once each week, and he's really getting into the sport! Having left the house about 7:45 AM, we made a few stops on the way before parking in the Craven House parking lot, a half-hour hike from the start of the main wall.

We warmed up on A Walk in the Park (5.8). Jacob led this pitch, I followed, and Malcolm finished up. Jacob climbed it again to clean the gear at the top.

Jacob leading A Walk in the Park

I have to admit this climb felt harder than I had expected. I have a long way to go to get back to the climbing shape I was in a year ago. It was great practice for crack climbing, though, and I'm always happy to find that in the southeast.

The crack halfway up A Walk in the Park

The funniest (and saddest!) part of this climb happened when Malcolm realized that he had left his climbing shoes and harness at home on the kitchen counter. We rigged him a harness out of thin Dyneema webbing and the rope itself, and he did the climb in his sneakers. Malcolm is getting stronger every week, but he still likes to hang on the rope occasionally. You can imagine how that felt in his home-made harness; I think the webbing was cutting into his legs and making him very uncomfortable. There were definite discussions about the family jewels!

Malcolm at the start of A Walk in the Park in his torturous webbing harness. He's not hurting enough yet to stop smiling!

Malcolm halfway up A Walk in the Park

Our three intrepid adventurers

From here we moved back a few hundred feet toward the parking lot to give Liberty Bell (5.9) our best shot. I had tried and failed to climb this route cleanly on my previous (miserable) trip to Sunset, and I wanted to try it again. Unfortunately, I was stymied in the same place yet again. There is a move only about 20 feet off the deck where you need to pull up and around a roof. The sequence is really awkward, with solid handholds in a crack on the right but no feet to be found anywhere. It requires a very high left foot to step over the roof, and I just couldn't do it. After several minutes of hanging and completely busting my forearms, I was forced to hang on the rope. At least the move is really well protected (I think I had a number 3 or 4 in the crack). I remembered from my previous attempt that I had been able to get the move eventually by kneeling on my shins instead of using my foot, but that particular feat had led to a bruise that left a real scar: I can still feel a bump on my shin three months later. That was the last thing I wanted to repeat. This time I finally placed my knee instead of my shin on the rock and gingerly put my weight on it. It didn't feel great, but it wasn't excruciating, either, and I was able to pull my weight around into a more stable stance. I will be back to defeat this route once and for all!

We didn't get many pictures this time except for a beautiful shot of Jacob on the bouldery start. I don't know how he does it, but he managed to get the hard move with a high left foot instead of using his knee. What a badass.

Jacob on the start of Liberty Bell

We wanted to give Malcolm another opportunity to climb, so we moved back right to Afternoon Delight (5.7+). We had seen another party climbing on this route earlier, and apparently they had been forced to bail from halfway up, lowering off of a sling hung from a horn sticking out of the rock. I felt confident that we wouldn't end up in the same situation, and I was right, but the "plus" on this 5.7 did have real meaning when the climb transitioned into smaller sizes. As usual, Malcolm was ready with tons of smiles and positive energy to follow me despite his swami belt harness and sneakers.

Malcolm prepares to climb Afternoon Delight, again in swami belt and sneakers

Kenton belays Malcolm on the lower portion of Afternoon Delight

Malcolm crushing it on Afternoon Delight. This kid doesn't need climbing shoes!

We finished the day by hiking around to the backside of the same wall to toprope Back Street Revelations (5.11). Jacob made the first attempt and made the bottom look easy. I thought for sure he had the climb clean until the crack narrowed near the top of the route and I heard "take!" After resting for a minute or two, he changed strategies and did a lay-back instead of straight-in crack climbing and cruised to the top.

Jacob hits his crux on Back Street Revelations

I was unsure how I would feel on a hard climb after such a long time away from climbing, but it turned out I did better than I had expected. After struggling to follow Jacob's path near the start up a face with only small crimps, I traversed right and found bigger holds. From there the climb moved up into a hand crack which I was able to climb straight in for a little while. When that became too difficult, I imitated Jacob's lay-back and managed to push my way up to the top. It felt good to be challenged again, and I'm looking forward to trying to lead this climb some day.

Two of my favorite smiley people!

My skinny protege