March Puerto Rico Nuevo Bayamon with Malcolm

 

Crazy wax-like limestone features at Nuevo Bayamon

Wednesday March 8, 2023

Climbing at Nuevo Bayamon in Puerto Rico with Malcolm over spring break. Weather was warm, but the entire climbing area was shaded behind the wall itself at this time of year. And, we were surrounded by dense vegetation, so the temperatures were actually rather pleasant.

The rock is limestone. All the climbs were sport.

Paz (5.8-) - Easy warmup.

Amor (5.8) - Another short and easy warmup. Malcolm led this himself, too!

La Cueva del Alacrán (5.8) - Slight crux in the middle. Malcolm top-roped this once, then led it himself, too.

Jadihel (5.9) - Longer than the others but bottom half was trivial. Another strong lead for Malcolm.

Yan Gabriel (5.9-) - Crux near the top actually felt like 5.9.

ADD (5.10b) - Cruxy and hard on the fingers in the second half. I had to climb this twice, because Malcolm pulled the rope by mistake without intending to lead it.

The Shark Attack (5.10c/d) - Overhung and sharp, but over quickly.

I'm Only Human (5.11a) - Challenged me more than I expected.

Shanghai Bombay (5.12a) - Hard near the bottom, hard near the top, easier on the middle. Go left at the top until the last chance to escape right toward the chains. I had to take twice just below the chains on this one before I figured out the beta.

La Venganza del Planeta (5.9) - Harder than I expected near the bottom and at the overhang.

March Woodcock Cove with Malcolm

March 4, 2023

After a rainy Friday, Malcolm and I drove up early Saturday morning to Woodcock Cove to try to get in some sport climbing before spring break. Woodcock is truly a winter climbing destination - it was getting sun all day, and although the temps had started in the mid-40's, even I was too hot after a few hours wearing only a long-sleeve t-shirt. The drive is a bit farther than other nearby-Chattanooga destinations, but not so much that it's not worth it. Our biggest challenge in the morning was finding some moderate climbs that weren't too wet to climb. Luckily, we did find some to start out on, and the others quickly dried out in the perfect morning sunshine.

Malcolm standing in front of the waterfall between the two main areas at Woodcock Cove

Regret (5.9+) - This climb has a bouldery start but gets easier up top. The area right beneath the chains was dripping when we climbed it, but the good holds are out left, so this didn't matter.

Reach (5.10) - Tough long moves at the bottom, an especially tricky section around a two-finger pocket in the middle, the much easier at the top.

Man with the Hammer (5.10-) - Tricky getting off the ground, but the rest of the climb was quite easy and this short climb was over rather quickly.

The Lizard of Oz (5.9) - A very chill saunter compared with the previous wall. Slightly cruxy slab section near the top.

Pup Friction (5.7) - Malcolm's lead, and he hung the draws himself! Very casual.

Anonymouse (5.10+) - I felt as if this could have been a trad climb instead of sport. Also, it was lots of fun, but it felt more like 5.10- to me. It would be worthwhile returning to this climb and trying it on trad gear.

February T-Wall with Daniel

 February 18, 2023

Met up with Daniel for the first time to climb at T-Wall. We carpooled from the Walmart parking lot. Weather was ideal, with clear skies and highs in the mid-50's.

People's Express (5.10a/b) - Daniel's lead. Crux was down low at the mini roof. He used a #5 to protect it, then mantled out right. Another possibility would have been to stay left using the face holds/pocket. The middle of the climb was also tricky/balancy.

Open Sesame (5.9-) - My lead. Exciting below and getting out of the smaller second cave. Also exciting traversing under roof at the top. This climb felt Full value for the grade.

Stepping Stone (5.10a/b) - Daniel's lead. This one has a hard sequence at the bottom with thin protection, but it doesn't really let up tremendously even after this low crux.

Hungry for Heaven (5.10+) - My lead. I fell at the crux right above the dish. This climb felt harder than I expected and was exciting the whole way. I have to admit I was disappointed not to make a clean send, as I have climbed this clean once before.

Stone Wave (5.11a) - Dan's lead. Stick clip a nut into the crack down low. Then pull up the rack once you are established near the nut. Move at the start is hard V3. Put feet far out left and high, pull up, reach for a small knob up and left, then push off/mantle with the right hand. The finger section two thirds of the way up is really tenuous, too. It would be great to make this a project.

Finger Lockin' Good (5.10b/c) - My lead, and it spat me off. This was a real fall fest for me - I took a big whipper above my second cam placement (black alien) and almost hit the deck. So glad Daniel is such a good belayer! I was clearly tired from all the other climbing we had done earlier, and after the fifth piece of pro I just gave up and came down. This was especially disappointing as I have climbed this one clean in the past after projecting it. It would be great to set up a toprope on this climb and just do laps to practice finger crack techniques.

January T-Wall with Zach

 January 15, 2023

Beautiful weather, lows in the 30's in the parking lot, highs in the upper 50's. Was wearing long sleeves and a fleece the whole day but felt perfect.

Climbed with Zach.

Kenton just approaching the crux of Blood on the Rocks

Prerequisite for Excellence (5.8) -  Zach's lead. Fun. Dripping crack in places. Warming up in the sun.

March Hare (5.10a) - My lead. Stiff bottom, easy after the roof. Fun. Interesting movement through the bottom corner and roof.

Sugar in the Raw (5.11-) - Zach's lead. Stiff bottom, easy after the roof. Fun. Interesting movement through the bottom corner and roof.

Centerfold (5.10) - My lead. Just kinda on you the whole way. So much fun! Crack climbing all the way in a corner to the roof, then hand jams and liebacks through the roof to very easy face climbing over the roof. Maybe my favorite climb at T-Wall. 

Stepping Stone (5.10a/b) - Zach's lead. Thin arete. Tricky pro down low (but Zach led it, not me!). Thin start. Balancy, but it's all there.

Blood on the Rocks (5.10+) - My lead. Super techie finger crack and corner down low. Had to hang on a black totem halfway up at the crux. Made it through the crux by reaching high for a painful pinkie finger jam and smearing my feet up. Super burly getting over the roof using jugs on the left side.

January Denny Cove with Cammie

January 8, 2023. Had intended to climb at T-Wall with Cammie, but it started to rain as we drove toward Chattanooga. There was a band of storms that never came far enough south to impact Atlanta but which completely drenched Tennessee. So we made a last minute decision to climb at Buffet Wall at Denny Cove instead. I was glad I had brought along extra jackets, having at first believed that I would be climbing in the sun and potentially stripping down to a t-shirt. It rained the entire time we were at the Buffet Wall, but the wall itself was mostly dry. Unfortunately, the 5.11's were not dry, especially near the top, only the 5.12's stayed dry, so it was tough to start out gradually!

Squeeze Daddy (5.11), or was it Moral High Ground (5.12a) ? - first climb to the right of Donald Pump - Hung at first fixed draw because I tried to move right instead of left. Lowered off last draw (fixed) before anchors because the route was a stream of water above. My fingers were going numb constantly.

Pressure Cooker (5.12a) - My second and third times on this route. Had to hang many times at the crux. Finally made the move but couldn't do the clip. Came down and got a long draw. Went back up for another attempt and only made it through the crux by pulling on the draw. One more hang above that led me to the top. I can do this clean in better conditions.

Overall conditions were not optimal. Our fingers were going numb, and at one point we were in a fog cloud.

Castle Rock with John

December 17, 2022

Castle Rock. Temps in the low 30's with wind at the beginning of the day chilled our bones to start, but the wind died down and the sun warmed up the rock by lunch time.

Tallboy (5.10a) - Warmup. It was windy and cold though!

Kingpin (5.11-) - Wandered a bit. Some runout near the top. Interesting overall.

Wish I Was Trad (5.11c) - Hard. Very technical. Worked me over. Fun.

Copperhead (5.12d) - John's lead. I toproped but only made it two-thirds of the way to the top before I ran out of gas. Fun. Technical. Thin, but doable.

Red River Gorge with Dave

Standing in front of Miguel's after a cold day climbing at the Red

On November 19 and 20, 2022 I climbed with Dave in the Red River Gorge for (my) first time. It was a chilly weekend, having dropped from temperatures in the 70's the week before to highs in the mid 30's when I was there. Despite the conditions, Dave and I convinced ourselves to head out for two full days of climbing, chasing the sun at the crags.

On Saturday we climbed at Funk Rock City. It was incredibly crowded, perhaps because this is one of the sunniest walls, so there were lines for many of the classic lines.

Rite of Passage (5.9+) - Dave's lead. Straightforward hand jams for the first two-thirds of the route followed by some more awkward hand and finger jams with a bit of liebacking near the top.

Cruising Lane (5.10a) - My lead. Fingers almost the whole way. I found it tough to find solid feet in the middle section finger crack. I kept trying to jam my foot in the toe/finger crack but it kept slipping.

Goodstone (5.10c/d) - Dave's lead. Another thin finger crack. My toes kept slipping the thin crack but I managed to (barely) keep holding on in the finger jams.

Prime Directive (5.11b) - My lead. This line shut me down two-thirds of the way up at a crux moving around from left to right across the arete, so I was unable to finish. I couldn't find good enough feet to make the move. Apparently I was supposed to stay a bit lower down with both hands matched on the slopey rail, but I didn't really try this out.

Hardcore Jollies (5.12a) / L'ile Au Ciel (5.11c) - We did these two climbs as separate pitches, with Dave leading the first one and me leading the second. I fell several times near the start of Hardcore Jollies before figuring out the beta that took me farther left than I had initially been trying. The second pitch was a bit overhung and really pumped me out, probably because I hadn't had much rest between the two pitches. But it was at least very straightforward.

On Sunday we climbed at Drive-By Crag. It was sunny in the morning but moved into the shade by early afternoon, so we spent most of the day feeling pretty cold!

Make a Wish (5.10b) - This was crimpy, and my fingers quickly grew very cold. The route overall felt harder than I expected.

Breakfast Burrito (5.10c/d) - This was comparatively juggy, with only a crimp or two on the arete. My fingers didn't get so cold.

Dave tried climbing Kaleidoscope (5.13c) but unfortunately fell two bolts from the top. He tried again later but fell a few moves higher up.

Spirit Fingers (5.11c) - This line was totally my style, crimpy and only slightly overhanging. My fingers got quite cold, but there were several rests along the way where I could pause to warm them back up.

Check Your Grip (5.12a) - I was pleasantly surprised to on-sight this one. It was rather juggy, with not as many crimps, and easier than expected. My fingers did get cold, but there were at least two knee-bar no-hands rests where I could warm up my fingers and shake out. I also could definitely tell that the caffeine from the Clif Bloks I had just eaten gave me a huge boost!

Primus Noctum (5.12a) -  I just couldn't quite finish this one. I had a clean ascent until 10 feet below the anchors, but from about 20 feet below the top the holds became much crimpier (rather than the jugs I'd had until then). And it was a bit run out, so every time I tried repeating the crux move I kept needing to climb back up, thereby tiring me out for the move itself. Still, this climb was also my style, and I really enjoyed it overall.