Anyway, I just entered this video in the American Alpine Club video contest — the video with the most views between now and Feb 15th wins some cool stuff, and is featured on the AAC site.

So do me a favor so I can win — give the video a look see. It’s 3 minutes of IC goodness. Ahhhh… wish I was back there. Instead I’m freezing in Massachusetts. Brrr. Couldn’t even go ice climbing because the weather was just too bad to get to the cliff.

Highlights of the last 4 days: Way Rambo (5.12-) – 1 fall, Battle of the Bulge (5.11+) – 2 falls, Swedin Ringle (5.12-) – 1 hang, Top Sirloin (5.11) – redpoint, Annunaki (5.12-) (this was my first time on it) – several hangs and 1 fall (all on the top section).

Looks like at this point I can usually onsight anything up to 5.11-, and some 5.11, and I’m getting close to redpointing 5.12-. Whoo!

Next posting, pictures – I promise! Look for it sometime midweek, now I gotta go crank out some more routes!

Ciao,
Tad

Tad moving past the first traverse on Way Rambo (5.12-)

Enough words already.  It’s long and boring, but if you want to watch a six minute video of me working the line, here it is, enjoy!

Rest day is done — it’s back to the ‘Creek tomorrow for two more days of climbing before heading somewhere else… Looks like Zion might be too hot, so destinations are in flux …

Ciao, – Tad

First, a warmup of course.  Matt L decides to get his wide on, with this Unnamed 5.10 offwidth which is just left of The Wave (with the Unnamed 5.9 in between).  Matt puts in a great effort getting through the overhanging stacks, and even takes a short fall here before getting through the hard part.  Turns out that he didn’t bring enough big gear, so he established himself on a ledge and lowered down a loop of rope to pull up another #6 Camalot.  After plugging it in, he pulled through the last few moves to the top.  When I did this on TR, I invented some new “grab and roll onto your back” move to top out… Hey, it seemed logical at the time, and was easier than the “beached whale”!

Matt L. leads an unnamed 5.10 offwidth, left of Wavy Gravy, on Scarface Cliff

Kevin onsighted the cool Unnamed 5.9 left of Wavy Gravy, and also led Wavy Gravy with one hang (after the crux!), which he really enjoyed. Then I led Wavy Gravy for a good warmup in preparation for Twitch.

Kevin in the classic placing-pro position on the Unnamed 5.9 left of Wavy Gravy

We headed over to my nemesis…. I was psyched.  I’d been on the climb before, and Matt R. wanted to try for the onsight, so he took the first lead and almost made it over the roof on his second try.  Then, on his third try, “take take … lower!”.. He broke or sprained a rib trying to pull too hard!  Damn! Unfortunately we didn’t get any photos of Matt trying, and it put him out of commission for the rest of this trip (luckily that was only a few hours away anyway!)

Tad attempting to pull through the crux on Twitch (5.11)

Then Bojan gives it a try ...

Then it was off to Scarface (5.11-), which I redpointed on my first try on this trip.  I had done it once before on toprope on my last trip, and thought it was pretty easy for my skill set.

Tad getting past the business on Scarface (5.11-)

We finished the day up with Where is Carruthers? (5.10) and headed back to camp for a nice dinner.

The campfire warms us as the sun sets behind North Six Shooter

Ciao, – Tad

Warm up on Incredible Handcrack, of course.  Matt R. and I both took turns leading this, and Kevin put in a great showing on TR, having the most trouble getting off the ground, but cruising right on up after figuring that out.

Matt R. cruising through the crux overhanging corner on Incredible Handcrack (5.10-)

Then … the mini epic ensues.  We missed our opportunity to get on Coyne Crack (5.11), so instead I opted to give The Wave (5.10+) a try.  It went fairly well, and would have been un-remarkable (other than being a great line!) with a couple of hangs getting to the last roof.

Tad stemming through some bulges on The Wave (5.10+), prior to a mini epic ...

So I’m under the roof, I put bomber a green camalot in, and go to pull up the rope to clip it in… “Slack!” I yell … no slack comes.  “SLACK!”, still nothing!.  So I hang on a grey camalot. Oh shit … The rope is stuck somewhere.  Damn.  Nobody else wants to lead up on the other end (did I mention the temperature is dropping, and I’m in nothing but a long sleeve shirt and a t-shirt?)  What to do?  “You could build an anchor and rap” hollers up Matt..  Good idea, so I start to build something.  Shit, I can’t even pull up enough slack to tie a knot in the rope!  I ended up having to down-aid to somewhere that I could build an anchor with what I had left for gear, and have enough rope to tie it into the power point.  Finally, after building a second anchor, I rap, cleaning as I go.  Turns out the rope jammed behind the link cam trigger handle!  Apparently the cam walked back in the crack and ended up pinching down the rope between the trigger handle and the side of the crack.  Argh.  So I finish cleaning and rapping.

Now what?  I need to climb back up to the anchor and finish off the climb so I can get the gear back.  I’m not about to lead that sucker again, so Matt offers to run down to the car to get my ascenders.  Great… except they’re not in the car… so I run down and look around.  Nope, not there!  Crap, they’re in the haulbag in Bojan’s car (which is currently in Moab!)  Luckily I find my tiblocs, and we’re in business!

Tad jugging back to his intermediate anchor on The Wave (5.10+), after freeing the stuck lead rope!

So, to make a long story short (well I guess it’s too late for that)… I jugged up to the anchor, went back on lead, and finished the climb (with one more hang at the last roof, damn it!)  Matt and Kevin took some toprope laps on it, and really enjoyed the climbing.

We packed it up and headed back to the campsite, where Matt L. and Bojan had just arrived themselves, and that’s where we learned of their toaster sized block encounter… what a day!

Ciao, – Tad

After spending a rest day in town and dinner at the Moab Brewery (guess when I wrote that last blog posting, eh?), MattR, Kevin, and I headed back to camp while Bojan and MattL stayed in town to get Bojan’s car fixed (what an epic that turned out to be!).  As I write this, on a subsequent rest day, the car still isn’t fixed (but the part is ordered, phew!).  At least it turns out that Bojan’s 5 cylinders (out of 6) is enough to get around with.

Anyway, the climbing, what about the climbing?  Let me give you a taste in a few words:  Matt L. and Bojan has an encounter with a Toaster sized block (which never goes well), Waaaay Rambo (or not), Snow, and … jugging!

Kevin’s first day in town coincided with our first rest day… so on the way to Moab, we stopped at Blue Gramma cliff and I belayed him on Mexican Unicorn (5.9+).  What a great intro to Indian Creek for him!  It wasn’t quite a perfect handcrack… It was a bit too wide for that, but he got up it and then cruised up it again on TR, proving that those rusty crack skills were still around somewhere!  We retreated to the car and headed into Moab while the wind grew in intensity and stirred up the most horrendous dust storm I have ever seen.  Later in the afternoon, some more rain came through … well, I guess you could call it rain, but it was more like mud!

Mud Rain ... another new experience in the desert!

April 16, 2009: Donnelly Canyon

I have taken to camping in my truck, because it turns out that my tent is just a giant sand trap.  We woke up in the morning to cold and overcast weather, but no precipitation.  So after breakfast we headed over to Donnelly Canyon for some fun.  We started on pitch 1 of Elephant Man (5.10).  A good varied sized warmup for Matt R. and I.

Tad heads up Elephant Man (P1) (5.10)

Just left of it is Chocolate Corner (5.9) … Someone is always on Chocolate Corner, and today (even in the cold) was no exception.  We ran into Jim Donini guiding a couple of climbers for their first time in IC.  (If you don’t know who Jim Donini is, a quick Google search should fill you in).  Kevin was lucky enough to score a belay from Jim so that he could tear down their anchor.

We meet the famous Jim Donini. L to R: Tad, Jim Donini, Matt R., Kevin B.

After Matt R. and I led Elephant Man, and Kevin TR’d it, Matt turned his attentions to Chocolate Corner, which turned out to be pretty easy for him, and perhaps a small taste of what was to come.

What’s this?  Snow?  You have got to be kidding.  Is it really snowing on us?  Yes indeed.  The flurry increases in intensity as we pack up and head on over to The Drainpipe, which I start leading as the snow starts to become heavy enough to leave wet spots on the exposed ground as it evaporates.  The climb is back in a flaring V shaped water polished corner (good thing it was snow, not rain!), and luckily the snow swirled around at the base but left the climb itself dry.

Tad leading Drainpipe (5.10) as the snow falls

This climb was without a doubt the hardest 5.10 I’ve ever climbed.  I almost had Kevin give me tension at one point, but sacked up and pushed on through to the end.  Damn, I’ve rarely been as pumped on a climb as I was when I arrived at the anchors.  I was so spent that it was all I could do to clip a quickdraw to one bolt, clip the rope in, and hang for about 10 minutes while I got my breathing back under control and could start flexing my fingers again!  Phew!  Then what happens?  Of course, the sun comes out for Matt R’s attempt!

Then the sun comes out and Matt R. gives Drainpipe (5.10) a go

Next up we did the really fun (deserving of many stars) unnamed 5.10+ left of Drainpipe.  It starts with a short wide slot and then lots of low(er) angle purple camalots interspersed with good hand jams, before a full body wedge/rest before busting out from under the roof in a perfect hand crack up to the anchors.  Matt R. lead this beautifully.  I had one hang about half way up because I got a rigid stem friend stuck and then trying to fix it I got my link cam stuck, so I finally put a #2 camalot in the hand jam just below and hung to try to fix the stuck pieces (which I eventually had to leave and deal with on the way down).

Tad making his "O-Face" on the wide section of the Unnamed 5.10+ left of Drainpipe

Kevin seems to have an eye for wide-ish cracks.  Not quite offwidth, and not quite cruiser hands… So he boots up this nice short unnamed 5.9 left of Dos Hermanos (which looks absolutely steller, and is a must do under better conditions!).  We all took turns leading this fun thing for the last climb of a good day, even with uncooperative weather.

Kevin getting into the swing of things on the Unnamed 5.9 left of Dos Hermanos

Meanwhile, Matt L. and Bojan narrowly missed injury when Matt pulled down a toaster sized block off of a climb on Wall Street near Moab.  Matt took a nice lead fall pulling this block out and over his head where it exploded into pieces near Bojan, narrowly missing him and his car!  Navajo sandstone … yuck!  I’d say we had the better day on bomber rock!

Ciao, -Tad