I went to Leavenworth this weekend with Gian and Jeremy (a new friend). It was Jeremy's first time climbing and he did great! He was climbing 5.8 on his first full day on the rock. I'm sure he will be tearing it up in no time.
We got to Icicle Creek at about 5:30 and searched out a camping spot. Of course all th good sites at Bridge Creek had already been taken by then, so it was 8 Mile CG for us. Once we had a spot secured, we headed out for a little climbing before dark. We did a couple routes at Roto wall; a couple of the 5.4 and 5.5 cracks on the left side that are always being used to practice trad leading. The climbing was fun and easy, and we were back at camp enjoying beers by the fire at dark.
Saturday brought sunny skies and great climbing. We did a route on Bruces's Boulder and the to cracks at Barney's Rubble before moving on. Next, we decided on going to Playground Point to do Birthday Boy and a few other routes up there. We did run into a little route finding issue, when we took the wrong trail and ended up bushwacking for 15 minutes before deciding to go back to the road and try again. Once we found the right trail, we were in good spirits and make the fun hike up the hill. I lead Birthday Boy, and we did two other routes to the left of BB before moving to the area above to do one more route. It wasn't in the book, so we TR'd it. I should have nutted up and lead it, as it turned out to be no harder than 5.8 and pretty easy at that. After 7 routes and sun all day, we decided a snack and a beer were in order and drove into town for Subway and beers, whcih we enjoyed at the campsite. After a couple beers and a little rest, we ventured up the hill from 8 Mile CG to the JY boulders. We all did the V0 problem German Acres, just downhill from Nosebleed. It wasn't too tough, but I guess that is what you would expect from a V0. We then went up to Nosebleed, where we all tried Gradisfaction V2. It was a tough undercling start that moved up and left with an awkward topout. It was damn hard just stepping up holding the undercling; it probably took me 4 or 5 tries just to get on the first move. Once on the undercling, you had to move your left foot and make a far reach with your left hand to another undercling. This was the crux of the problem. Neither Jian nor Jeremy could make this move. I was able to make it, and then moving up and left became easier. On the last move, you have a small sloping area for your right hand, then step out on the face proper and finish. I got to the finish 4 times before making it. I was going to throw in the towel on it for the day, when the other guys offered up their pad for me to use if I wanted to try again. I figured why not, and was able to finish the next try. Having the security of the pad made all the difference. I have not done much bouldering outside, so it felt amazing to finish a problem that an hour before I couldn't even get on the first move! We all went back to camp and had a couple more beers, before Jian and Jeremy had to head back home. I stayed, as I had arranged to meet Velvet on Sunday and climb. I had a quiet evening by the fire drinking beers and listening to The Wall (Pink Floyd in case you didn't know).
Sunday came and I met Velvet who had her girls with her, Madison 9 and Alesha 12. We had to go back to Playground Point to retrieve a cordalette that Jian left the day before. There we climbed Baby Steps (I think, or the route just left of it), it was runout but so easy it didn't really matter. Velvet got 1/2 way up in a couple minutes, then realized she was higher than she had ever been before. She had a little difficulty with the exposure and lowered down. (She wished she would have kept going afterwards.) Alesha did a great job and made it to the top. Madison didn't have climbing shoes, so the route proved to be too much for her badly worn tennis shoes. After this, we returned to the car and went down to the river to relax in the shade and eat lunch on the topout of Flying Lady (V2). It was so nice to feel the breeze and spray coming up from the river. After relaxing for a while, we all took a walk up to the JY Boulders and played around for a bit before calling it a day.
Once again, a great weekend climbing in Leavenworth.
No comments:
Post a Comment