More From the Valley

                So the Nose hasn’t happened yet.  The weather doesn’t want to seem to cooperate.  We are hoping to start next Tuesday.  Keep your fingers crossed.  We just need a weather window of four days to do the thing.  Other than that, have been getting in some great free climbing.  I climbed one day with Khristina and did Central Pillar of Frenzy and After Seven.  It was an interesting day of climbing, not because of us but because of other people.  Since it had been raining for about two days straight, we decided to go somewhere where the sun would be blazing.  Manurepile Buttress it was.  We got there and started prepping.  There was a dad and his kid on the route and let me tell ya it wasn’t pretty.  The kid was screaming, couldn’t get gear out, and was not making progress.  Did I mention that this is a multi-pitch route with natural anchors.  Make a long story short, the kid ended up getting lowered to the ground.  We had to send our rope up so the dad could rappel.  Well this small roadblock was going to deter the man from continuing to climb that day.  He decided that he was going to take this poor kid on the scramble around the first 2 pitches and try to finish the route.  Khristina and I were cruising since it was pretty easy for us.  Well, After Six and After Seven converge and finish on the same route.  Needless to say, it was like ground hog day with this kid hanging from the rope screaming bloody murder that he couldn’t move and his dad yelling at him.  After a soloist, my partner and I, and another party were all at the same anchor, the scene just escalated.  The dad just kept yelling about how they couldn’t go down, had to continue, and blah blah.  Well after he had rappelled to a point and helped the kid get up the route.  I blasted off and shot past them.  While I was belaying my partner, four soloist shot past me.  One in a banana costume, one in a western outfit, a John Bachar look alike, and a girl in pink lycra with a beer in her chalk bag.  I was thinking at this point WTF is going on.  Khristina and I finished quickly and after having looking at Central Pillar all day, decided to move over to that side of the Valley and go for it.  The sun had hit it and it looked good.  We headed up the trail, with another party at our heels and got to the base of the snow cone.  Yes the snow cone.  There was snow about half way up the first pitch.  Khristina started and still got the crux since it’s at the top of the pitch.  I followed and then went on to climb one of the best finger cracks of that grade that I have ever done.  It was pretty darn sustained for 5.9 climbing, I was impressed.  The entire route was quality and very fun.  Other than the fact the other party did not have multi-pitch manners and crowded us the whole, it was a great day out. 

                The next day Andrew and I went to do Serenity Crack and Sons of Yesterday.  This is one of the best routes I have done.  Long, sustained, and varied are it’s hallmarks.  Andrew led all of Serenity and I led all of Sons.  I was totally psyched since I sent every pitch on both route and on-sighted all my leads.  It was such a great route.  My favourite pitch was the last pitch with a zigzagging crack that gave you thin hand and off-width.  We were moving really quickly and sat down to grab a snackie at the top.  We decided that the very last pitch of the route was lame and didn’t do it.  I wonder if anyone does it?  Then the rapping began.  Another party had started up the route and we moved past them.  One of the raps (an intermediate rap) causes you to do a very sideways traverse to the next anchor.  Well, let me tell you socks were not a good idea in this situation.  As I was traversing at a pretty decent angle, the rope got a little caught up, and I started to flick it.  I tried to take a step towards it to free it, and I started to lose my balance.  That was it, I started running across the rock, realized it was a lost cause, picked my feet up and assumed a semi-fetal position to prepare for impact.  Thankfully, I launched into a tree and was unscathed.  It was nuts, I think I’m ready for the King Swing after that.  People on another route were like, are you okay?  Yes, yes I was and after untangling myself and the rope out of the tree, I continued down towards an alternate anchor.  Andrew met me and we started pulling the rope.  Well my friends it got stuck.  We ended up having to wait about 2 hour for the other party to start rapping, get the rope and then meet us at the base.  Thank god there was someone else up there, cause I would be out a rope.  They said that the rope was terribly wedged into the crack, and took some work to get it out.  There wasn’t any way to get back to the route after we had rapped.  All’s I can say is that if it had been a dihedral that I swung into I would be a pancake at a hospital.  It must have been a 30 foot swing.  Yaoosers!!

The cool last pitch of Sons of Yesterday.

                Tomorrow we are going to move camp over to Camp 4, move in for seven days and then go to Reeds Pinnacle.  We are looking at Reeds tomorrow and then Royal Arches into Crest Jewel the following day.  We plan on two days on one day off for the next six days and then heading up the Nose weather permitting.  If the window is at least two days, then we are going to try for a shorter aide route maybe the Prow or something.  Send good weather thoughts this way!  I’ll continue to be a send train to the best of my ability!

                I’m learning that this relaxing thing is pretty cool.  I’m reading Kite Runner right now, which I highly recommend.  It’s nice to have time to reflect and reset.  I think that this type of trip is long overdue for me, and I’m loving it!