November T-Wall with Will

November 16, 2024

Went to T-Wall with Will. A gorgeous day, we were legitimately hot in the sun despite having left Atlanta when temps were about 40 degrees.

Dirt Bag (5.8) - Warmup. Harder than expected. Three spots where I struggled to get my feet under me.

Finagle (5.9) - Tried three times from the bottom, jumping off or falling in the hard campus moves right above the first rail. I ended up placing two #3 cams in the horizontal crack and had to hang on one of these before hauling myself up to the holds above the horizontal and getting my feet onto it. From there I traversed left; near the top I followed a finger crack up and right instead of following the arete proper. I was disappointed not to send this clean, having done so in the past.

In Pursuit of Excellence (5.9+) - Felt classic as always. There are a few cruxes on this route, especially in the middle. The rail near the top was actually dry this time instead of watery/soapy!

Cake Walk (5.10a) - Harder than I remembered it being. The feet are thin especially in the middle. I fumbled the gear at the middle mini-roof crux and was forced to hang on it. For future reference, the gear here is a 0.4 in the finger crack above the mini-roof.

Margin of Profit (5.9+) - Very thin, very balancey, very technical. The gear is sparse, but there are enough placements at least to protect the climb reasonably well. There are definitely some run out sections. Start on the face almost directly below and maybe ever so slightly to the right of the bolt. Move straight up and place some gear in the horizontal cracks. You don't necessarily want or need to clip the first bolt; that is intended for a different climb, but you are moving towards it. When you get close to it, move out to the right and into the left-leaning finger crack that's maybe 8 ft to the right. Move up this finger crack to the ledge above, and then move directly above that onto the an even higher ledge. Move up and right gradually over towards the arete. From here follow the arete up and all the way around to the other side where you can find more protection and some horizontal bands. Follow the easier climbing to the top, placing gear in shallow horizontals.