Joshua Tree [November 13/14]

It was a weekend of firsts for me at Joshua Tree… led my first .8 and led my first .9 and took my first fall on gear. It was a great climbing trip for me. I drove out on Friday night to meet up with Tim at Jumbo Rocks CG. Got there at about 10:15pm and set up my tent and camping gear. I had a few beers and some good times by the fire, then to bed to get ready for climbing.

Saturday morning we were to meet up with Alfred and Ellen in the Intersection Rock parking lot. Alfred was right on time and Ellen was a no show. We were not sure if Ellen was coming and just late, so we decided to stay close and check back for her. First we jumped on Right Ski Track (.3), a perfect easy warm-up climb which I have led about 5 times now. After finishing that, we hopped on Toe Jam (.7) which is a fun climb and usually has a line but didn’t this day, so it was a great opportunity to get on a classic route without waiting. It was almost too good to be true, but around the corner from Toe Jam is Double Cross (.8) which is an Uber-Classic… always has a line and I’ve wanted to lead this for a while. I on-sighted it with relative ease and Tim followed. Alfred was going to, but Tim removed the top directional piece, so both ends of the rope were stuck in a pod away from the climb, directly on Route 499 (.11b). Alfred tried the TR on Route 499 but ended up not making it… he had a severely sore neck and really was not in good climbing shape because of it. I jumped on the TR and sent the route with a couple hangs. It was seriously tough. Next all three of us led Sexy Grandma (.9 bolted) which went without issue. It was my first lead at Joshua Tree at that grade, so it felt really good. That climb shared anchors with Band Saw (.10c) so we decided to give that one a go as well. It had a tough start and a roof section that was very challenging, but I sent it clean. By this time the sun was setting, so we wrapped up for the day. Tim and his Dad headed back to Dana Point and Alfred and I headed back to the camp site to eat and rest up for the next day.

Sunday we were up by 6:45 and had camp packed up and were heading to climb by 8:15 or so. We made a quick stop by Jumbo Rocks CG to look as some climbs, but it was cold and windy at the wall (which was in the shade) so we decided to head to the Echo Rock area. I had been wanting to lead Fun Stuff (.8) which is a very popular route and usually has a line… got lucky again, no line. I on-sighted it and it was as good as I thought it would be. Next we climbed an un-named .7 slab route that was fun and challenging. After that we headed around the formation to Bacon Flake (.9) which was where I took my first leader fall on gear. To get to the route, you had to cross a boulder stuck in a 6 foot wide crack… at the bottom 15 feet below were boulders and jagged rocks. While standing on the boulder you could get in a piece of small gear in a horizontal crack, and then traverse about 10 feet to the main crack, which starts off in with a roof section. I placed another small piece of gear (an orange Metolius Master Cam) and started up and over the roof. I had one bomber jam and good feet placements to the right, but as I got up on to my feet, I couldn’t get the sequence quite right and felt the bad thing coming. All I remember is saying falling, and then I was hanging from the rope. Good thing the piece held or a trip to the hospital would have been in order. I regained my composure and got back on route… got over the roof and sent the climb. It was a good experience to have finally taken the fall on gear and then getting back on and sending. Alfred followed, and then we had a fun JTree down climb to get off the formation. Next we jumped on Pope’s Crack (.9) and Alfred led that one. It was a very stout climb for the rating, with a tough section in the middle of the lower crack section. I was glad I didn’t try to lead it this time. Once we made it up that, we rapped down and left the rope to TR British Airways (.11d). Alfred and I both made the climb with numerous takes. It was the hardest thing I have ever climbed without a doubt. By this time, the sun was inching closer to the horizon, so we headed back to the cars. I bid farewell to Alfred and cleaned up a bit before heading home, which included a post climb beer at Intersection Rock. An uneventful drive brought me back to Dana Point… already looking forward to next weekend when I will do it again.