by Logan to Denver, a damn long way. We set out Friday afternoon and met
some friends in Salt Lake. Never made it any further that day! Saturday
we set off for real, and made it to Rifle for a late lunch. There were more
people drilling and working than there were climbing. Pretty amazing place
though. We chatted with 'the unknown climber' about routes... There's a
10b down there, then in this area its 12x, 12y, 12z etc etc. We'll be back
I'm sure, but not until we get a lot stronger or someone puts in some more
moderate lines! Sunday through Tuesday we spent in the City looking for
accommodation for Steph (my better half). Monday evening we met up
with Tim at Jose Muldoons in Boulder. Interesting to put a face to the text
and all in all quite a fun evening. Killer mexican too!
Failed to get in touch with some friends in Boulder, so Tuesday lunchtime
we headed off to the Devils Tower in Wyoming. It had obviously rained
when we got there, but all was dry Wednesday morning, so we registered
with the ranger station and headed up to Walt Bailey, a 5.9 route that had
been highly recommended. Typical for the tower it was a 160' pitch, quite
sustained and seemed a little hard for 5.9, but very nice climbing. Its on
the southeast face, and deposits you at the meadows form where a pitch
of 3rd class gets you to the top. As we planned to do one of the west face
routes we didn't bother with the top and rapped off. Round to the west
face to try El Matador, a 10d second pitch that I had fallen in love with
when I saw some photos a year or so ago. Met a couple of Idahoan friends
at the bottom, who, like everyone we had mentioned it to said it was great,
so,... The 5.8 first pitch was straightforward (complete with a 5.9 move
near the top!) and I started up the 2nd pitch feeling quite confident. About
50' later, arms about to explode, I took a hang and deflated. A few half
hearted attempts saw me failing to commit to moving above the last runner
and I accepted defeat, lowered off a stopper and bailed. #7 chouinard on
el matador if anyone is interested. After a little rest we went back around
to the friendlier (shorter) east side and did the first pitch of Bon-homme
variation (5.8). Another 160' 5.9! It features some offwidth and then an
exposed face traverse to cross a pillar from one crack to another. Some
fingers, some hands and finally a little liebacking. Pleasant but not a
classic! On the trail down, Steph, ahead of me, stopped and said `Hmmm,
that's interesting'. When I caught up she pointed out a quickdraw with two
biners below a little downclimb in the trail. What's more, it was one of
ours. More still, one of our best, complete with a $14 DMM tru-clip.
Closer inspection revealed some nice gouges suggesting it came from
somewhere up the route but neither of us remember dropping it! Maybe
exchanging gear on the stance?
And that evening it rained. And it rained, and it rained, and it rained. `Oh
***' said Pooh!
Spent Thursday morning watching the woodpeckers and waiting for things
to dry off. By about 1.00 we set off to do the McCarthy west face
variation (10b, 5 pitches). This route goes straight up the west face, right
opposite where the trail from the visitor center meets the loop trail around
the tower. A very high, steep face, also very high profile as all the tourists
sit at the bottom of the scree with binoculars, video cameras and the
works. The tourism scene at the tower is quite interesting, and the stupid
questions are a little irritating. However, the monument is very clearly set
up with climbing in mind, so we felt it was worthwhile to humor them
rather than have reports of 'those rude boys in lycra' get back to the
rangers who were very helpful and friendly. (NB, The loose rock closures
I had heard about are not real. Currently there are 3 routes closed due to
nesting prairie falcons, but I understand they will re-open when the nest
is abandoned). The first pitch has a 5.9 crack, quite thin, that is a little
tricky passing a small roof. Steph claims that she found this the hardest
move on the whole climb. Dumps you on a ledge below a huge roof, and
the second pitch climbs up under the roof and swings out right into a
stunning corner crack. Traversing under the roof is OK, and there is a bolt
on the face. I placed a high runner to protect the traverse and then back
cleaned it to prevent rope drag. Getting established in the crack was a
fight. The jams were a little tight and I couldn't get my feet up. Eventually
I trusted a jam that felt insecure and it was all OK. Steph, with slightly
smaller hands cruised that section!. From there, it just goes up, and up, and
up. Jams for the hands with nice ripples for the feet until it gets a little
wide near the top. Great pitch. 3rd continues up the crack (which as dirty)
and through a 5.7 roof. I was worried about a huge block (15' cube) under
the roof. You could probably park a jeep on it, but I stemmed round it and
did some face climbing and held my breath! A nice ledge with a terrific
view, and while we sat there, the prairie falcon soared past, about 10'
below and 15' out. Amazing! ...And a 5.8 chimney above. How I
*LOVE* chimneys :-). This wasn't too bad. Actually got pro in and didn't
swear too much. The top move (at least the way I did it) was one of those
`here we go' sensations as I tried to rock onto a heel hook with an
offwidth crack splitting a holdless top. Steph did the elegant bellyflop
landing and we surveyed the 5.4 finishing pitch. Fairly trivial, and there
was a burst of applause as I topped out. I'm hoping it was just co-
incidental, but at the tower you never can tell. The top of the tower is
pretty cool. I think that a lot of the appeal is that there is no
walking/scrambling route up there, which probably serves to enhance some
of the mystique and awe the tourists feel.
We were confused by that time about which McCarthy route we had done.
There are so many north and west and variations and brothers, so we wrote
regular McCarthy north west variation, which I don't think actually exists,
but covered all the bases. The book is about an inch thick, and already 3/4
full just from 1992 which was quite a contrast to the tablet bottle on top
of the 6-shooter with its tattered photocopies from the guidebook. We
noticed that Derek Hershey had signed in as soloing McCarthy west
variation, El matador and Mr. Clean (11a) in the same day and intending
downclimbing Soler to finish. Good Climber, MBTB(?) and a charmed life
so far. Had fun with the descent, and met a Brit from Boulder on the way
down. `Come over to the campsite and catch some swill' and so later on
we did just that. Co-incidence 2, the friend from boulder we had failed to
phone was there, about to go with these folks to Alaska, sea kayaking into
a fjord to try a wall. EEh, the things these people do. A fun evening with
old friends.
Friday. I'm gonna get that route, so, we headed back to El matador for a
second round. Watched our Idahoan buddies on digital extraction. Just
right of El matador, a steep, 11d, finger crack. Looked absolutely
mindblowing, and needless to say they both made a splendid job of it. The
5.8 pitch went about the same as before, and I racked the gear a little
differently and left some of the bigger stuff behind. The 2nd pitch is a 3
sided affair, a back wall with a pillar sticking out on each side with about
7' (?) between the slightly flared walls. Good crack in left corner, poor
one on right. Before, having spent a lot of time in canyonlands, I tried to
exclusively jam and lieback the left corner, as the stems just seemed
ridiculous. I also overprotected low down and was worried about gear for
higher up. Today, I had spent 30 or 40 minutes stretching out, and knew
that the stems were the key, if not to the moves, then to getting enough
rest to keep it going. I reached my highpoint quite easily, not much gear
and much faster climbing. That felt good, and I was anticipating an in-situ
stopper to protect what I had mentally decided was the crux as the left
hand crack becomes thin and discontinuous. Well, obviously, it was
already gone, so I hit the stem and placed another. Very uncomfortable.
`Maybe if I move my left foot up onto that ripple I will be able to stand
a little easier'. OK move, but still left me feeling like a wishbone and
`perhaps my right foot up level with the left will help'. Still no joy, and
when I'd tried variations on that theme a few times I discovered the
stopper was under my feet and it was time to place another! About 25' of
that and I was ready to scream, but found a way to lieback for a few
moves before stretching again. And repeat. And again. And eventually, just
when you feel the tears starting to well up from the fear in your mind and
the pain in your calves, a jam appears. Now here's a rest. Cross the right
hand up into the jam, seat it good and snug.... and cut loose and shake out
your feet! Near the top, just when you absolutely cannot continue, a flake
appears on the left wall and you can swing into a secure lieback and its all
over. I think I sat on the ledge at the top for about 5 minutes, with my
shoes off, wiggling my toes and saying `Ow, ow, owowowow' before I
was able to take in for Steph. Scoping it out from the bottom, I had
decided the pitch was about 100', so I was surprised when about 15' of
our 165' came in and she yelled that was it! Steph gave it a good effort.
A couple of hangs to fight my paranoia infested placements at the crux
and a couple of little slips where her legs gave way (and yes, a few tears
from the awesome (awful) stemming section too). We sat on the ledge,
quite content, looking at the trail rope neatly stacked at the top of the first
pitch (oops!) and decided that although we could probably get off with one
rope (there was a fixed line the day before just right of Walt B.) we were
content with what we'd done and so rapped, hauled and left it at that.
The Idahoans yelled up `nice job, why didn't you ...
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