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