November Denny Cove with Malcolm and Will

 

Malcolm approaching the chains on Room for Cream

November 19, 2021

Malcolm, Will, and I drove to climb at Denny Cove, only my second time at this crag. The weather was cold but dry and sunny. The first two routes were cold on the fingers, but by the third route we were warming up. This is definitely a good winter destination. 

Last Dance (5.10a/b) - Sharp conglomerate, felt slightly painful on the cold hands! 

Tulip Poplar (5.9-)

The Drippler (5.11b) - interesting start, it required jugging up the rope after clipping the first bolt to reach the first moves. Very overhung, this route was pumpy.

Vitamin C (5.10b) - interesting side-to-side movements working with the arete. 

Room for Cream (5.10c) - my lead. A bit runout (only four bolts on this climb), but not overly challenging, so it didn't feel uncomfortable. Tricky to see the holds when it transitions onto the upper lichen-covered face. 

Voyer (5.10d)

November 2021 Tallulah with Jacob

 

Jacob begins his rappel down Primitive Paradox

November 8, 2021

Trip to Tallulah with Jacob, the first time I have been able to climb there in many years. I had forgotten almost everything I might once have known or remembered about this place.

If you rappel down from the top, you come down right at the base of Digital Delight. Punk Wave is 60 feet to the left.

I led Primitive Paradox (5.9). This climb had two or three hard moves but was pretty chill. The hardest move for me was the mantle near the very top.

I led Punk Wave (5.10a). I had some trouble route-finding right after the pitch-1 belay. I ended up sliding directly left of the bolts around the arete and then up onto the fact. I struggled a few feet higher trying to establish myself in the finger crack, hung on gear once, and then took a fall. Eventually I pulled on a black totem positioned in the bottom of the crack, but once I was above this the finger crack actually felt very secure. I will be able to get this the next time I try it if I go into it with more confidence and just reach as high as possible as soon as possible into this crack.

Both after our first rappel (down from the summit) and after our rappel down Primitive Paradox, we struggled with the (double) ropes becoming so twisted that we had to climb back up to free them. So, unfortunately, after Punk Wave we were already running out of daylight.

We finished as quickly as possible up Digital Delight (5.8) with Jacob leading the first three pitches in one go and me sending us to the top. It was aerobic following Jacob's lead with the backpack on!

View from the start of Primitive Paradox

October 2021 Tennessee Wall with Noel

 

Kenton and Noel

October 31, 2021 Halloween! Misty day, chilly. We weren't really nice and warm until mid afternoon, when the sun finally came out.

Art (5.8) - Warmup. Noel's lead. Always fun. Brings back memories of my trad fall 2/3 of the way up on this route a few years ago.

Finagle (5.9) - My lead. Bouldery start, basically two campusing moves. Traverse left to face climbing with thin cracks. Poor protection on the face, better protection higher up. 2nd "pitch" was mostly lichen, felt sort of hard for 5.6. We did both pitches in one go.

Hidden Assets (5.10) - Noel's lead. Easy down low, tricky section 2/3 of the way up in the corner. Pretty classic hand crack. A long route, definitely needed the 70 m rope.

Golden Gloves (5.10) - My lead. Bottom half was chossy, making me nervous about the quality of the protection. But the climbing was very easy. Second half was challenging, but the protection was very solid. Pulling out of the roof was the first crux, and I needed to hang on gear to regain my composure after freaking out about the dripping wet hand/finger crack. The second crux was keeping stable in a flaring hand crack very near the top of the route. The entire route was a good deal more difficult than I had anticipated because all of the cracks were dripping wet today.

October 2021 Dogwood West with Malcolm

Malcolm ready to go at Dogwood West

October 18, 2021

Malcolm and I went to Dogwood West with Zach and his wife Erin. As a surprise, we also ran into John and Rachel when we arrived!

We climbed several routes here, but none of them are on Mountain Project yet, and I don't know any of their names. It was a special day for Malcolm, who did his first climb on lead; it was a 5.10!

This is a small area with many short but very fun sport climbs. The approach is extremely short and convenient.

September 2021 Moore's Wall with Malcolm

 

Malcolm on top of Beelzebubba

September 6, 2021

Wailing Wall (5.6). Full value 5.6, I really enjoyed the face climbing in the second half. Descent was tricky, because the rings were near an edge and I didn't want us to fall walking over to them.

Almost Seven (a.k.a. Golden Earring) (5.7). Fun crack climb with a traverse under the roof at the top. Another tricky descent, and I managed to drop Malcolm's ATC. Doh!

Quaker State (5.11a). We toproped this after descending from Almost Seven. It was mostly finger cracks and challenging, but I still got it clean.

Beelzebubba (5.6). We had a lot of trouble finding this one. It is on a separate crag above the main wall called "Meat Puppet", and the trail(s) up to this different crag aren't very well defined. But after we located the climb, it was great. The arete was exhilarating and the view at the top was incredible. However, it was full-on bushwacking through thorn bushes to get back down to the base.

August 2021 Sunset with Malcolm

Warmed up on A Walk in the Park (5.8). This was the farthest down on the south end I had ever been, beyond even Liberty Bell.

We did Thin Pockets (5.8+) again. The last time we did this it started raining on Malcolm halfway up! I believe Malcolm got the route clean this time. Quite runout at the start. Malcolm said he wished the route was longer.

Ghost Dancers (5.8) was next door. The start was a hard boulder problem, felt more like 5.10. I have read conflicting beta about where this route starts and how hard the various starts are, so perhaps I was "off route" just for the start. Malcolm got the whole route clean except the first few moves. 

Both these two previous routes had interesting transitions from crimpy face climbing to cracks. 

We did Bill's Route (5.8) again. Moving into the chimney/slot on this route is just so much fun. This climb has it all - cracks, chimney, face climbing, and slab. 

All four of these routes felt harder than I expected. 5.8 at Sunset is legitimately challenging. 

August 2021 Eldo and RMNP with Derek and Nick

August 6, 2021

Showed up in the Eldo parking lot around 6 AM. Derek and I climbed Touch 'N' Go (5.9-) as an approach to The Naked Edge (5.11b). I don't remember much about this climb. We then meandered up the Meadow to the start of The Naked Edge.

I led all of the pitches of The Edge, at least those that we were able to complete. The first pitch was a hard (for me) finger crack, but I managed to do it clean. The second and third pitches were not easy, but they weren't super challenging, either (although they were a bit run out in places). There was a bit of a thoughtful move a third of the way up the second pitch. Traversing right and doing the mantle move on the third pitch also felt a bit challenging. I belayed from two slings/static loops wrapped around a rock at the top - I was unsure if it would make more sense to continue over the top of this rock and build a gear belay or stick with what appeared to be a rap station. The fourth pitch I was unable to complete. I climbed it cleanly until I needed to get into the chimney - then I lost my will to continue. After hanging (on the piton and cam below and to the right of the chimney) and making several attempts, we finally gave up. Moving up through this chimney seemed very technical, and you move quite high above the two pieces below. I need to have these moves dialed in to feel comfortable getting that high above my gear. Still, I'm determined to return and give this climb another attempt.

The Spearhead with Syke's Sickle in the center

On Saturday we got up at 3 AM to climb Syke's Sickle (5.9+) in Rocky Mountain National Park. Because of the new permitting system for park visitors, we needed to be inside the park before 5 AM, and we barely made it because of road construction. The approach was, as usual, and endurance fest for me, and I struggled to keep up with the pace that Derek and Nick were setting. Still, I made it to the base, where we started the day of cold, cold temperatures. It was probably above 90 degrees back in Denver, and yet I don't think the temperature ever cracked above 42 degrees (and windy) while we were on the climb. I was shivering at the belays. Derek led the easy first pitch. The second pitch was super run-out slab, and I can't say I was too happy about that. I believe it was on pitch 4 as described on Mountain Project that, while Derek was leading, he fell. The rope began to slip through my fingers, and it took me a second or two to realize what had happened. By the time I arrested his fall, he was 20-40 feet below the piece he had just placed. I'm still not entirely sure what happened here, but I think it was a combination of not stopping the rope in time and having a tremendous amount of rope out (it was a very long pitch or a link-up he was doing) which led to a lot of rope stretch.  Luckily, he continued up the climb with nothing worse than a very bruised ankle, but he did complain about it feeling numb, and he did say he didn't want to lead any more pitches. OK - I felt bad enough that he had fallen so far, and I was more than happy to lead the rest of the pitches for us.

Pitch 5 was fun once I figured out I needed to move really high in the crack/chimney before traversing out to the right. I think I ended up placing a piece high to protect this traverse before moving back down a bit lower to make the crux moves. On pitch 6, the crux pitch, I fell while trying to make the final moves out around the roof. It protects really well with a #4, however, and I almost felt like it was a "sport" pitch from the perspective of protection, so never was really nervous. Regaining my composure, I found a huge hold/edge at the top of the roof - if only I had been able to hold on a bit longer and reach a bit higher, I would have done this cleanly. From here I climbed a ways up the crack/ramp and set up a belay.

Pitch 7 may in some ways have been the spiciest pitch of all. Derek did manage to spot the lone bolt for me (yay!), and I slotted a piece in the flake directly above the belay. But overall there wasn't a lot of protection on this pitch, and a fall would be exciting and/or dangerous both for the leader as well as for the follower. Very delicate slab moves led to easier climbing to the top.

The descent was relatively casual, although it still felt long. By now I was feeling the altitude to a very large degree, I was very tired, and all my muscles were starting to cramp up. I was super happy when we trudged back into the parking lot and I could finally relax. That night, I experienced leg cramps unlike any I've ever experienced before (both legs cramping in various places at the same time), and even trying to walk them off didn't help at times. I think I need more water and more electrolytes next time. I also need more warm clothes - I was cold even with a long-sleeve synthetic shirt, a short-sleeve synthetic shirt, a puffy, and a gortex shell. Perhaps I even need a pullover next time.

Also of note was the smoke from fires out west. There was so much smoke that we basically couldn't see the sun for most of the day even though it was directly over our heads. This kept us cold, and it also made breathing at altitude that much more difficult. I do hope the air clears up there soon.

Nick expresses his excitement

Tired but satisfied at the top of Syke's Sickle

July 2021 Sunset Rock with Derek

July 3, 2021

Stan's Crack (5.9+). I have been doing the "Direct Finish #1", route 134 in the Chattrad guide. Derek claims that the "Direct Finish #2" slightly to the left is also fun.

Bubble Bath (5.9). Thin pro at the bottom, but was able to place a C3 in a small pocket.

Slip Stream (5.7+). Derek's lead.

Rusty's Crack (5.10a/b). My first clean ascent! I roughly followed the beta that I had recorded previously here. Derek's hand is apparently large enough that he can fist jam at the crux instead of the crazy chicken wing stuff I find myself doing.

Screamwall (5.10). Felt easier than the first time I climbed it.

June 2021 Sunset Rock with Malcolm

Bill's Route (5.8). Malcolm thought it was a lot of fun, maybe his favorite climb ever. It was interesting to move from under the roof into the corner above.

Broemel's Route (5.8+). Felt hard. Lots of crack climbing.

Both of the above climbs felt harder than I expected.

Thin Pockets (5.8+). Short but fun. Sparse protection at the bottom with plenty higher up.

Unfortunately it started to rain when Malcolm was only a third of the way up Thin Pockets, so we had to leave after this one.

June 2021 Yosemite with Malcolm

 We went to Yosemite and stayed at the Moonstone June 7-11, 2021. Malcolm and I climbed June 8-10 with Nate. Weather was perfect, with highs in the mid 60's.

June 8 Malcolm and I followed Nate up The Nutcracker Suite (5.8). I felt that the infamous mantle move near the top was fun but not overly difficult. We were stuck behind two slower parties for a good portion of the day, although Nate passed one of these parties between the last two pitches. Malcolm did a great job keeping up and only hung on the rope a few times. In the afternoon, Malcolm took a nap while I tried to climb some harder stuff. I tried to lead Haley's Comet (5.10a) but fell three times at the crux between the first two bolts. This is definitely a climb where the falls are potentially dangerous. Nate put it up for me, showed me the beta, and I did it on toprope. Very thin slab moves! Then I toproped Jump for Joy (5.9 R) trying to figure out good gear placements. Despite comments on Mountain Project to the contrary, the solitary bolt near the bottom of the climb was in place, and I repeated the climb, this time on lead.

Malcolm and Nate at the top of The Nutcracker Suite. Half Dome peeks around the mountain in the distance.

June 9 Malcolm and I followed Nate up Munginella (5.6) as an approach to Selaginella (5.8). Munginella was a nice warmup for what came next. Not a single boring pitch on Selaginella! A wide variety of climbing including cracks, chimneys, and the wild, exciting, very exposed traverse left near the top of the second-to-last pitch. That traverse was definitely the highlight for Malcolm.

Malcolm heads up the first pitch of Selaginella.

June 10 Nate put up topropes for us and Calliope. I toproped Coup d'Etat (5.12a) and was pleased to get the onsite on this route! The crux was a semi-dynamic lunge to a great jug near the top off of small/slabby footholds. Then Malcolm and I drove into the park and climbed Nurdle (5.8). It was a fun, relaxing lead, but by this point Malcolm was too tired and sore to really climb much more, and we stopped for the day.

May 22 Sunset Rock with John and Rachel

 John and Rachel came with me to Sunset with Beck in tow on May 22, 2021.

Stan's Crack (5.8+) - our warmup. I chose the direct finish which seemed more straightforward than moving out right near the top.

Rusty's Crack (5.10a/b) - I finally did the crux move clean (after a single take). Bring at least two and maybe three #4 cams. You don't need to bring doubles of anything else especially if you back-clean anything you place in the chimney. In the chimney, you can place a high #2 - be sure you have it on the correct side of your harness. Each time you've climbed the chimney, you've done so facing to the right, but several folks climb it facing to the left and claim this is easier. Protect the crux roof move with a #4 as high as you can reach from under the roof, and also place a smaller cam (0.5?) in the horizontal finger crack below as a backup. To pull the crux move:

    1. Right hand on the low corner arete horn

    2. Left hand on the crimp up in front of your face or a bit higher

    3. Left foot up on something before you try to make the move, probably want to use the rail that is 6-12 inches below on the underside of the roof to push off with your left foot.

    4. Pull hard and lift your right foot up onto the slopey foothold on the roof edge/arete.

    5. Look for a face hold for the right hand? (maybe this doesn't exist, can't remember)

    6. Right hand thumb down in the crack, there is a flake you want to gaston high on the inside right face of the crack.

    7. Find small but good face hold right in front of you for the next gear stance.

Then place a second #4 cam and walk it as you make your way up the fist crack.

Broken Arrow (5.10a) - I forgot how hard the lower section is. Also, I went left at the top instead of right as I have done before. I was trying to follow the topo as indicated in Chattrad, but I don't believe that topo is correct. I ended up in a lichen-covered section that ended at a tree with old tat rap anchors and no bolts. I think this climb is supposed to end up and to the right under the roof. I set up a gear anchor to back up the tree, had Rachel toprope on that, then climbed it again and rapped off the sketchy tree. Ugh.

May 20 Sunset Rock with Kellett

Climbed at Sunset with Kellett on May 20, 2021.

Lefthand Crack (5.9+) - I thought I was getting on Righthand Crack, but it turns out I was getting on the harder "Lefthand" Crack. It was fun, a solid hand crack.

Spud Boys (5.10, p. 108 in Chattrad) - Had a fun start with a mini-roof, but the top was boring and covered in lichen and finished in the trees without anchors. This climb isn't even on Mountain Project.

Rusty's Crack (5.10a/b) - I fell on top of Kellett just above the hard move at the roof. After that I aided through the section by pulling on two #4 cams. See post from May 22, 2021 for full beta.

S'more (5.8+) - Fun, and a good deal harder than I remembered.

Flagstone (5.11a) - Done on toprope. I fell several times getting around the roof, but managed to get through it eventually with an "aggressive" belay. This would be an exciting lead, to say the least.

April Whitesides Original Route with Jacob

 

Kenton and Jacob at the top of the Original Route

Jacob and I drove up to Whitesides on April 27, 2021 with our minds set to try climbing Traditions (5.11c). After the 45 minute walk from the parking lot, and after convincing ourselves that the route was not closed for peregrine falcon nesting, we thought we were at the base of the route. I made my way up the first twenty feet, using a fallen tree resting on the face for extra handholds, and clipped the first bolt. And then I promptly lowered back to the ground from that bolt, abandoning a carabiner, and gave up. Either we weren't on the right route, or we were in way over our heads.

Just then we heard noises from the trail behind us and realized another party was approaching. It turned out that they had climbed here many times and were heading to the Original Route (5.11a/5.10c A0). Not only that, but they are firefighters/paramedics AND rock climbing guides. A HUGE shoutout to Anthony and Forrest from Fox Mountain Guides. Not only did these guys let us know that we weren't on the right route (we were in fact on a difficult, alternate start to the O.R.), they also sprayed volumes of beta down at us as we tried our best to follow and keep up with them. There is no doubt in my mind that we would have gotten quite lost trying to climb this route without such a competent and generous party in front of us.

Pitch 1 - climbed up the slab, placed a small cam under a flake halfway, traversed up and right to clip a tree/bush, then up and traversed left to belay from a tree.

Pitch 2 - Moved belay left on the ledge, climbed over a flake with cam placed behind it (waiting for the fall to pull the entire flake off the wall!), then easy climbing up to the next belay.

Pitch 3 - ?

Pitch 4 - Reached high to place a #3 cam in the slot above my head. Then, with a tight belay from Jacob, I lay back on the small rail and smeared my feet up the polished face to my right. When high enough I was able to grab the real hold and clip the bolt at my face. What a relief, and happy to have done this pitch clean. Easier climbing after this move.

Pitch 5 - ?

Pitch 6 - Fun, exposed.

Pitch 7 - I had to pull on the bolts here after trying to make the move free several times. I just couldn't reach far enough to hit the good holds left of the first bolt. I almost began the traverse of the next pitch before the party in front of us pointed out that I was supposed to belay from a hole/cave up above and THEN make the traverse.

Pitch 8 - Easy traverse to the right.

Pitch 9 - We had lost sight of Anthony and Forrest at this point. I worked my way up and right but never found the "grassy flake with a fixed pin". Instead after maybe 200 feet I just built a gear belay and brought Jacob up.

Pitch 10 - Climbed 10 feet on rock, then straight up through the bushes/forest above my head. It turned out we were supposed to climb on the rocks to the right of these bushes, but I didn't figure that out until we were at the top, and we wanted to finish things up quickly. The "dirty bushes and mud forest variation".

We struggled a good bit with twists in the double-rope system. I will need to practice my half-rope technique some more to avoid these problems in the future. My overall impression was of many, many runouts. Glad we made it safely to the top!

Jacob flaking the ropes

Kenton near the top of pitch 5?

April Sunset with Malcolm

 

Malcolm with his first-ever set of crack gloves

Malcolm and I drove to Sunset on April 18, 2021 for him to cut his teeth belaying me outside for the first time even. He also made and tried out his first set of crack gloves! We climbed

Slipstream (5.6 or 5.7+ depending on the guide/site!) - This was a crack climb that had some serious cruxes for the grade!

Bubble Bath (5.9) - Malcolm tried this but unfortunately didn't get very far. I climbed it on toprope to clean the anchors.

One-Ten (5.6) - An enjoyable climb that Malcolm was finally able to get to the top of without takes.

Copperhead (5.7[+?]) - This was short on pro which definitely made me uncomfortable. Also, I believe we started too far to the right, climbing through some lichen patches, and only traversed onto the proper climb near the top. There was no anchor, so I belayed Malcolm from above off of two trees and then rapped from the anchors on the climb to the right.

Tennessee Wall March 2021 with Will

Facing the arrete to the right of Rape Conducive

 

March 5, 2021

Went to T-Wall with Will. Beautiful morning that the weather service said should have been cloudy, but clouds didn't come until later in the afternoon. We made our way all the way to the end of the Orange Blossom wall to the Lost Blossom area.

We warmed up on Rape Conducive (5.8). This route was wet and dripping in several places which made it less fun. Also, I should have brought my #5 and an extra #4 cam. I felt like I didn't have enough large gear by the time I was only halfway up, because the crack was perfect hand-sized or slightly larger, and very uniform.

Next we climbed Intruders in the Dust (5.10), almost the last climb on the wall. This route was loads of fun. The crux near the bottom above the short roof and bolt was a big reach, and I needed to rest on the gear to figure out where to go after having tried the move a few times. The rest of the climb had good hands and plenty of feet.

We finished on People's Express (5.10-). The crux at the bottom roof was well protected by a #5 although a #4 would probably have worked just as well. I made a crux move up top out of what should have been an easy move because I apparently missed an undercling. Unfortunately, the worst part of the day came after I had already come down and belayed Will. While I was pulling the rope it became stuck in a tree, and when I pulled it harder and looked up, it came free and slapped me in the eye, scratching my cornea in the process. Gotta be more careful!

I would have enjoyed climbing more that day, but the injury to my eye cut our adventures short...

Tennessee Wall February 2021 with Jacob

Jacob and Kenton getting ready for the next project

T-Wall on Feb 21, 2021 with Jacob.

Puppy Ride (5.9) - Jacob led this for our warmup. I did the rest of the leads.

Golden Locks (5.9) - I really LOVED this climb. It was basically straight-up crack climbing for 100 feet, great practice.

Razor Worm (5.8+) - I led this. It was fun, but not as much fun as Golden Locks.

Fill in the Blanks (5.10 PG13) - We did this on top rope. There was some protection, but not enough that I would have felt super-safe on the climb. It was a fun and very technically challenging climb, a mixture of thin crack and face moves.

Hungry for Heaven (5.10+) - Lots of fun, pretty steep. Just had to keep pushing through the strenuous sections and trust that my gear would be good if I lost too much energy and fell. Lots of layback, required careful footwork.

Centerfold (5.10b) - What a great way to finish the day. A big right-facing corner followed by a huge roof with a finger-sized weakness. But there were big holds the entire way! Again, I just had to place good gear and trust that it would hold me if I ended up taking a fall.

Tennessee Wall December 2020 with Malcolm and Noel

Parking lot was about 30 degrees, we were still warm by the time we reached the wall. Malcolm was wishing he had worn shorts and a t-shirt for most of the day. T-Wall is magical that way!

Blind Date 5.7 - felt hard for 5.7. My lead.

Molly and Rocket - 5.9- - the guidebook calls this 5.8 but it felt pretty hard at that grade. Interesting move getting out of the "cave". Noel's lead.

Passages - 5.8 - lots of fun. My lead. Gear gets thin at the top. Gotta use crack technique on this climb for sure.