May Tennessee Wall with Noel

 

Noel getting ready to send

May 19, 2024

Prerequisite for Excellence (5.8) - Noel's lead. Nice warmup. Remember to go right at the top not left.

Love Handle (5.10b) - Hesitated at the face crux, but it was easy when I did a sequence of smaller moves working my feet up instead of trying to do just two or three bigger moves. Hesitated again at the roof but did it easily after cranking on a small edge with my right hand to be able to reach up to the crack jug above with my left.

Shiva's Last Dance (5.9-) - Low angle corner at the start, cruxy bulge down low, run-out face, chill roof, ladder to the top.

Reptile Analysis (5.10b) - On the right face under big roof, the cracks/weakness side pulls for your left hand are better than you expect in places. Don't just pick one at random. For the roof itself, place a #3 in the slot out right near the lip. Then, rather than traversing across with your hands right under the roof, instead stay on the rail/edge out right about two feet under the roof, smearing with your feet. Crank up, and move your feet over onto the arete proper so you can stand up again. Do a few moves with your hands in the crack above the roof, and place another #3 in this hand crack. Work your hands and fingers up in this crack and step up with the left edge of your left foot onto a small edge over the roof. The climbing eases up after this. Near the top go left into the chimney if you want to place some protection, but you don't need to stay in the chimney. You can move out onto the left face or onto the large flake on the right of the chimney to make your way to the top. Anchors are on the left face.

April Sunset Rock with Zach and Daniel

 April 20, 2024

A brief morning of climbing at Sunset with Zach and Daniel. Amy was in town for a comedy performance and even showed up briefly at the crag! The rain held off on us, but just barely.

Jams and Shams (5.10) - Zach's lead. Beautiful splitter crack at the start.

Bubble Bath (5.9) - My lead. Run out below the lower roof. Tricky mantle move higher up.

Stans Crack (5.8+ - 5.9+) - Daniel's lead. I did the variation of going straight up at the top, not to the left on the flake.

Toothpick (5.11b/c) - Zach's lead. A thin finger crack near the bottom protects well with a black totem. Near the top you can either use the parallel cracks (there is another crack out left), or you can use the features on the arete out right in combination with the main crack. I would be comfortable trying this on lead after working it on toprope again.

March Woodcock Cove with John

 

John getting ready to send

Woodcock Cove

March 24, 2024

Big Orange Baby (5.10+) - Finger crux 25 feet up. Fun traverse left to right halfway with large hands and smearing feet.

Honky Red (5.11a) - Thin but straightforward.

Hokumpoke (5.11b/c) - Hard, tricky, beta-intensive start. Rest below the roof. Then fire through it, and don't stop until you're standing up straight above it. I made the mistake of trying to pause right above the roof and pumped out, had to take.

Insurrection (5.11a) - Thin delicate climbing. Middle section was crux. Lots of back and forth to the left and right.

Mask It or Casket (5.12-) - Heel hook on first roof. Second roof looks awkward but is all jugs. On the face above, when it gets thin, move left to the corner/arete. Above the next clip, move far right. Go to the top. I fell multiple times before I figured out that I needed to go left instead of straight up in the middle of this climb.

Sedition (5.10d) - Chill face climbing with a small, juggy roof.

February Tennessee Wall with Jacob

 February 15, 2024

Gorgeous weather, highs in the sixties.

True Colors (5.8) - Fun, stemmy climb, but no bolts at the top! Used a tree as a top-rope anchor.

Contents Under Pressure (5.9) - Tough getting out of the chimney at the bottom. Then a bit chossy in the second half, although the climbing there was easier. Finished at the same tree as the first climb.

Finger Lockin' Good (5.10b/c) - Wanted to send this again after failing on last year's attempt. This time I finally made it to the top cleanly, although I fell twice near the bottom and was forced to lower back down to the start each time. Then Jacob did it twice, and I repeated it once on toprope. My beta for next time:

In general, remember to try different fingers, and try to get them in as deep as you can. High step whenever possible.

First crux is right off the deck. You can place a nut right off the deck to do the first moves without worry about broken ankles. Down low there are some key footholds on the face on the right. This includes a right facing edge that seems improbable about 10 feet up. Use this combined with a layback foot in the crack to get up to the face ledge for the first rest. 

Next moves: smear and use the crack for footholds to get to the juggier finger locks higher up. After jogging right, continue up, remembering high feet along the way. This is enters the second crux. Near the ledge at the top of this finger crack the finger locks are not as good as they seem from below, and the feet are nothing but smears and prayers. You just need to power through.

Continue to the cave. Place gear in the cave such as a 0.5 in the pocket on the left interior, or place a piece in the handhold that you use to exit the cave. Traverse left out onto the face and face climb gingerly to the top. The very last five feet is slopey, so be sure to place gear in the horizontal crack.

Super slide

I bailed 6 feet above the Roof. Couldn't figure out the moves and protection seemed far away. Although, there is a GREAT 10 nut right above the roof and a 0.75 totem in the slot 4 feet above and to the left of the roof.

Super Slide (5.10b) - I bailed six feet above the Roof. I couldn't figure out the moves, and protection seemed far away. However, there is a GREAT #10 nut right above the roof as well as a 0.75 Totem in the slot four feet above and to the left of the roof. Both of these are solid protection for the move getting up over the roof and onto the face. If I do this again I need to figure out exactly where the route goes after getting over the roof.

Passages (5.8) - A lap up this route gave us both a final burn as well as an opportunity to clean the gear I had left on Super Slide. This climb always feels harder than I expect, and I was feeling especially tired by this point in the day.

February Tennessee Wall with Noel

 

Noel glances down near the start of Molly and Rocket

February 3, 2024

Sunday Gardening (5.8) - My lead. I don't think I had ever climbed this one before. It's a corner crack to a set of tiered roofs. There's a bit of vegetation in the middle of the climb. Some thought is required through the roofs.

Molly and Rocket (5.9-) - Noel's lead. The guidebook gives this 5.8(+?). It definitely feels harder than that to me.  Lots of fun. It's especially challenging getting out of the little cave.

Points O' Contact (5.10c) - Apparently I've followed this before, but I didn't remember it this time. I led it cautiously. I placed two nuts at the lip of the big roof to keep the rope from snagging in the crack. The real crux is higher up, about 2/3 of the way, where you transition slightly left from the finger crack and begin to stem between the two cracks. At the beginning of this a black alien works well - I placed it high and blind in the crack on the left, and when I checked it out after the move it looked solid. Bring more than 14 runners. A fun climb that felt very challenging at the grade.

Restless Pedestrian (5.8+) - Noel's lead. A short but fun hand crack with awkward feet.

Puppy Ride (5.9) - My lead. There is a crux (boulder problem) right at the start, and another one about 25 feet off the deck. Otherwise this climb is pretty chill, with great pro. It also is a rather long climb, lots of fun!

T-Wall January 2024 with Darian and Tim

January 14, 2024

Jay Walker (5.7) - Warm-up

Tim starts off on Jay Walker

Passages (5.8) Wow what a fun climb! Traverse under the roof is exciting. And the whole climb is pretty long.

Sanscrit (5.8) - Challenging bottom. Cruiser second half. 

November Denny Cove with Matt

At the base of Empire of Dirt

November 18, 2023

Denny Cove Buffet Wall

Empire of Dirt (5.12a) - I had four takes or so on this climb. Top was steep but didn't feel hard. Middle section felt harder.

Flash Fried (5.12c) - The guidebook said 5.12b, recent comments on Mountain Project say 5.12c/d after some holds broke off. It felt hard. I got to the top, but only by pulling on draws in two crux sections.

Kobayashi (5.11d) - Pumpy, crimpy, powerful climbing. I made it to the top cleanly, but it was a struggle.