The scary 5.7 slab in Joshua Tree.
PULLING DOWN ON PLASTIC
AND PUTTING IT UP
I started work five weeks ago for the Planet Granites climbing gym in the bay area. I am a setter, its tough, long hours and little time for personal climbing time. I have learned so much about how others climbing. Because I am six foot two inches, I can usually reach through. So when it comes to thinking about where feet should be plugged I have to pretend I am way shorter closer to a "normal climber". I get up between six and six-thirty am depending whether I am working in the Persidio or not. Since the San francisco Persidio gym is an hour and a half from my house. I roll out of bed making sure I don't hit the snooze button, cause its all over if I do. I turn on the stove for coffee get dressed brush my teeth, once the water boils I fill my mug and jump in the car. start up the ipod beats and head out.
Stem Gym v4 and the full missing link v9
Working in the Persidio is the best, everything is new, all the holds are new, the T nuts in the wall aren't stripped, and its got good space to work with. Plus the view is amazing. While I am working I can looks out over and see Crissy field, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The hold choices make the problems, this is one thing that I have learned since setting. I wouldn't have thought that from just climbing in the gym. But when you are choosing holds it
becomes really clear. Setting with 90's "clumps" make no star problems. Working for the gym certainly has its perks. But getting up early every day and working all day and once your worn down from the day its time to climb and rate what you spent all day setting. Yeah its great but you kinda spend your wad by the end and have really no energy for some personal climbing. And after four days of setting your pretty ready for a break from climbing.
But for me the psych is always up and I cant stay off the rocks long. After a restful friday of speeding through the state of california bound for some remote area with a hand full of boulders waiting, Im ready to climb for my self. But Im slightly fatigued and cant really send at my limit. Its a good thing we spent all night driving to Joshua Tree to send some old school boulders and some scary sandbagged trad routes. My good friend Nikolai and I are here to get familiar with the old school. The first thing we get on is some 5.9 we think, it turns out to be not so hard. But the next route we get on is supposed to be 5.6, my idea of what a 5.6 should feel
like is shattered. The is thin facing climbing with big long moves between slopping holds. Im belaying Nikolai he gets in a few pieces and including a yellow cam below this small roof which doesn't look like he wants to fall on from down here on the ground. Maybe the piece will hold, but the position and the run out makes me a little nervous. He manages to pull through the thin section and gain some huge jugs under a large roof. Over the roof is a large face covered in huge patina. After a few moves which certainly don't look like 5.6 and something more like 5.10c. Nikolai gains a small belay ledge and he brings me up. I set off on the second lead. Right off the ledge is a huge diamond shaped block with two side pull cracks kinda like climbing a fridge. The cracks are flaring and I cant get at gear in them. I feel like I am soloing with my last gear at the belay ledge Im in a mind sp
ace of don't fall no matter what. The moves are easy but its not down pulling so its a bit precarious. I make it to the summit build and anchor and bring up Nikolai. We're getting a little better at this. I think its time for some bouldering.
We head back over to the Hidden Valley Campground to try some classic boulder problems. First on the list is Stem Gem, a ultra classic v4 stem problem. I send quickly but apparantly you're supposed to climb it facing out, I didn't just figured it was hard because we're here in Joshua tree and everything is old hard. Next I try a pretty cool v9 called 'full missing link' in this cave. It was a pretty nice
new school problem. It just had some nastly boulders right on your back making it
nice and scary to fall. After that it was getting late so we called it a day. So we headed to town to
drink Margaritas and burritos.
The next day we did a few more trad climbs and some more bouldering. We went
out to the geologic tour road area, where I climbed 'Slash face' its a really nice tall
v4, with an exciting roll over mantel way off the deck.
On the last day we got a little earlier start and went over to Echo rock. I lead this 5.7 slab
there is a picture of it over the title. The black streak up the middle of the slab is the line. the thing
felt more like 5.10, I was crimping like crazy, and there were only four bolts in the 150 feet. Man
super run out fourty feet above your last bolt high stepping and crimping on micro edges. Totally
solo head space. I dont even know what would have happen if I had fallen.
So back to the grind for another week of setting.
So last weekend I went to this amazing area in Sonora. The rock is freaking limestone and super high quality. It was super exciting to be running around seeing new boulders. Plus the place is super bizare, I guess what happen is miners flushed out all the dirt surrounding these rock features looking for gold. So the place is man exposed but not man made it it doesn't feel made made in the slightest. above is a picture of the best problem there.
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