Trip: Chimney Rock - Sancho's

Date: 7/25/2009

Trip Report:
Did Sancho's with papa Zach aka "Bigbro". Only one other person climbing yesterday....on a saturday in july. What's up with that. For that matter there have only been about a half dozen parties up there this entire summer. Very weird.

Anyway, Sancho's

My second time up this route. It is 5.9 and climbs the left buttress of the west rappel chimney route. It is in good shape. I had a #4 camalot and a #4 friend. The friend was too small for the crux pitch and the camalot was almost tipped out. If you are not comfortable running it out you should bring something a touch larger than the 4 camalot. Otherwise, great climbing and a nice day. Minimal bugs until the afternoon when it began to heat up. So, take the bug spray.

Gear Notes:
a number 4 camalot and something a little larger.

Nice work on Sancho's Joe - that's a pretty stout wide pitch for 5.9. We were actually there the Saturday before, climbing the Rappel Chimney but rapped just prior to the summit scramble to avoid topping out and having to rap with 10 Mountaineer folks who were finishing up at the same time. So just because you don't see a name in the register doesn't mean nobody's been there...

Cheers!

Eric

A buddy and I were there July 27-28 and had the crag to ourselves both days (well, except for the thunderstorm that caught us a pitch from the top of Free Friends, and the bald eagle that circled as we topped out).

Speaking of the last pitch of Free Friends, there's a free small C4 for the taking for anyone who wants to get off-route onto the last pitch of Tsunami. You'll have to make what might be an irreversible move to get it, though...

Guess I should have studied the guidebook a little better.

Andy, This is a copy of your email that you sent me after your recent trip to North Idaho and I only post it so Joe knows he not the only climber in the Northwest.

Stopped at Laclede on way in Sunday. Should have taken your advice to keep driving. I led Trainspotting. Started up the corner to the left (where it's obvious to climb) without reading guidebook description that you're supposed to contrive your way up the slick slopey bulge. Anyway, that made the early bolts really difficult to clip, and then I hit a bunch of cobwebs and gravel on the jugs up high. Not a good way to warm up after 7 hours in car. We fought through the jungle to the main cliff and Ed led Shook Me. Pretty stout for .10b, and a total mossfest at the top. We finished off with the Dihedral (my lead) and Chicken McNubbins (Ed's lead). Both pretty good climbs, but a little on the funky side.

My Subaru nearly overheated going up the last part of road to the Chimney trailhead.

Got a leisurely start hiking in on Monday. Did It Ain't Hay/Fun Roof, then watched some thundershowers pass over Priest Lake. We didn't have time for another multi-pitch, so I "led" Lord Greystoke. "Led" as in I would briefly lead a few feet before hanging on the next piece I plugged in! Jesus, that thing is burly! I'd like to go back to try it again in better style.

We sat in our camp chairs for a good hour-and-a-half Monday night and watched a spectacular lightning show. One of the storms finally moved over us and it rained a good part of the night.

We got over to the East Face on Tuesday. Sunny, beautiful blue skies to start. After my Lord Greystoke experience, I decided to stick to the first pitch of Free Friends instead of branching off on Illusions. Even at that, the start of the first pitch is in your face!

Ed led the second pitch as a black cloud gathered overhead. By the time he reached the belay, it started raining. By the time I reached the belay, thunder was cracking like cannon shots from directly overhead. You could hear the sound waves shooting off and traveling out across the sky. We were obviously a little nervous and it looked like we might be getting socked in. We discussed our options and nearly decided to bail, which would have meant leaving gear. Instead, we decided to stay put a little while longer, hunker down, and see how things looked in a few minutes.

Things lightened up and it stopped raining. (Between the steep face and the fact the storm was coming from the west, we really didn't get too wet.) I started off for the top. Ed had stopped to belay at a small ledge about 30 or 40 feet short of the big ledge below the last pitch. When I set off and got to the big ledge, I kept going up the main flake system. (Guess we shouldn't have left the guidebook at the base.) Pretty soon I ran out of crack, but there were some pods where I got in a small C4 and higher up a TCU. It looked like I had two options from there--traverse right on a ledge, then up to a small crack system through a roof (with flaky blank rock in between), or make a hard-looking face/mantle move directly up to another ledge with some quartzy holds, then ????. I spent a LONG time moving back and forth trying to decide between the two options. It looked like either way, I was going to hit dirty rock with no protection. I finally committed to moving straight up. It was a pretty hard move (irreversible) and it led to a dead end, at least as far as I could see. There were some obvious jugs leading up and slightly left through some overlaps, but it looked dirty with no pro. Pretty much the same thing to the right, only with the same flaky exfoliating rock I'd seen before.

It started raining again. I had one place to put in a small cam. I had Ed lower me down to the big ledge, backcleaning as I went, to see if I was off-route. When I got back to the big ledge (where I guess we should have belayed after the second pitch), I realized I was on Tsunami instead of the last pitch of Free Friends. I pulled the rope from my lowering piece, tied back in, fired for the top, and fought through some of the worst rope drag I've ever experienced. I brought up Ed and we got the hell off the thing.

We thought our adventure was over, but we somehow got off the trail back to the East Face. We ended up hiking way north along a ridge until we could drop down through a break in the cliff, then hike back towards the East Face below a cliff band. Eventually we dead-ended and I roped up to lead up through the cliff band. It was true alpine fun--raining, slick rock, moss, mud, hanging flakes, girth-hitching dead stumps, and eventually fifth-class trunk pulling through a vertical alpine fir forest.

We left Wednesday morning, stopped off to swim in the Priest River, and stopped off in Spokane so I could replace Ed's cam.

I already want to go back!

Now that's a Trip Report!

Thanks Andy

Thanks for the support fellas. I certainly DON'T think i'm the only one around the PNW. It just seems like the Chimney Rock traffic may have decreased a bit. Hard to say on that one for sure though as the register was replaced within the last year. I agree the first pitch of Free Friends is in your face.

Well Dave and Eric. That's two additional parties. I stand corrected. Surprised we weren't assholes to elbows up there. Regular traffic jam!

Hope you guys are doing good. Maybe i'll see ya up there.

Joe

Nice to see Chimney can still be an adventure.
Couple of pics for fun.

Roof on FF.


Lower part of Tsumani

Nice, Dane. I can see why you've spent so much time up there. I respect what you've done.

So from my description, does it sound like I was at least on route for the last pitch of Tsunami? I followed the FF crack system to its end above the belay ledge, moved straight up on steep rock into a little right-facing blank corner with a key finger slot (where I got in a TCU, which I swapped out for a back-up nut when bailing), then made a face move on the right wall of the corner, with a thin little left-hand sidepull and right hand stretching high to reach a quartzy shelf. I had to do kind of a one-arm burl move till I could match on the jug, then mantle, clearing off black lichen as I was arranging hands to mantle. From there it looked like you could continue up and slightly left through juggy overlaps with the same black lichen. Is that where the route goes?

I also looked to the right when I made the above move, which is actually where I expected to go when I started the move. I thought I could traverse hard right to reach a little finger crack through a small roof, with the top (a bush) visible right above the roof. Unfortunately, while the shelf I'd mantled onto extended to below the little roof, there was a bulging, exfoliating, flakey wall above the shelf that would have made it really awkward to move that way, like doing a foot-shuffle around Bhudda's belly.

Thanks Andy. Fun place...although I scared myself last time I was there. East face can still be pretty intimidating.

Tsunami? Sounds about right. You just follow the obvious FF crack past the big ledge on the right and climb into the little bowl where the crack ends and the face climbing and obvious mantel magically appear. Always thought it was kinda GOD's joke on us. Used to be a couple of pins up there from Roskelly and Spearman aiding it at A3 I suspect. Hard climbing and terrible pro on dirty rock but the "obvious" line.

Too bad it is so damn hard and the pro bad. Just never fit with the climbing on FFs. Had to be the finish for Tsunami.

Last pitch of FFs start with a stand up to reach the hand crack through a small roof at the far right end of that big ledge. Much more fun and real pro. We always climbed to that ledge and then just moved the belay over to finish up so no rope drag. Love hanging out at the belay on the smaller ledge below after climbing the roof! Makes you feel like a GAWD doing the short third pitch and finding that big ledge and some flat ground

Joe started the thread on Sancho. Over the years I have seen some big whippers on that crack's crux. Thankfully none of them mine. But the real jewel on that corner is Sancho Direct. Bit dirty still I suspect but a awesome finger crack with good pro (wires and TCUs) just to the right of the off width. Little done (aren't they all) but one of the best cracks on the west face. Match it up with a some version of "Westside Girls" and you have a nice line.

And no question...Lord Greystoke is a "bitch" of nasty and steep 1.5" ring locks. Thankfully it is short, good job!

Couple more pics..and my apologies for the '80s lycra....or the even earlier '70s painter's pants!

FF roof



FF/Illusions start



Gwain on Fun Roof



Gwian again just below the splitter of Sticky Fingers



Max starting the crux of Yahoody

Dane, we gotta get you dialed in for the fine art of scanning that vintage stuff, it's more than worth preserving! Great shots, I just want more.

Hey Off Scanning?....these are just digital pics of the prints, flash and all....I have no clue on scanning. I should sit down and get them all scanned into a digital format at some point. Like most of us I have lots of old prints and slides.

Dane,

We talked a few years back (2004 I think) about this very pitch. My offer still holds with a little work it would be the best jug haul on Chimney.

I'm doing a article for OutThere about Castle Rock/Kingston. I would like to add your trad line on the Main Face. I was not given a lot of time to put this article together, so I have a deadline on next Wednesday. It's not a guide it's about getting out and climbing.

Hey Dave,
Jug haul? Tsunami's real value is leaving it to stand as it was first done. The last face climbing pitch of Tsunami is a exceptional and stunning finish to the other 3 pitches. IOM that pitch really defines and underlines the quality of the other 3 pitches of that line.

Nice to have a climb or two out there that can still be an adventure, even 20+ years after the 1st ascent. Free Friends is also an awesome line and 4 good (and easier) pitches just feet away from Tsunami. Route finding on both lines is unique.

For all the obvious reasons I've rethought adding anything to that last pitch. Dumbing down the exceptional granite climbs at Chimney would be sad imo.

We did three trad lines on Steamboat Rocks on the Cd'A river Dave.

One up the most obvious line on the main prow (2 or 3 pitches, don't remember) and two shorter lines of face climbing on the much steeper face on the left (facing the rock) off the bench/ledge.

Thanks Dane,

Trad 1,2 and 3 how about; I'll just leave them out for you and keep there value high.