texplorer

Or you could put them IN the crack like Toes of the Fisherman at Smith

This is a Troll.

I went up last year and got on the kind of NE face. After 4 shitty cam hooks in a row I decided that I should come back with pins but never did.

This post is was a waste of my time.

I don't know what a "power place" is but here are some of favorite spots. There is a spot on the east side of el cap with huge blocks of granite lay flat. Even during the summer it is cool there, springs drip from the wall, and the smell of the bay trees prevades. It is a cozy feeling and yet awe inspiring to know there is 3000ft of sheer granite above you. Another mysterious place for me was the propellar cairn below Slesse. When we came upon it for the first time the narrow path was shrouded in thick fog and you got an eerie feel walking across the boulder field beyond and seeing parts of plane scattered about. Other cool places are the Hobbit hole at Smith, Beef Basin at Indian Creek, the lake below Prussik peak, and of course El cap Spire on the Salathe Wall

rbw, I am going to try to be there but what's your address again. My memory is fuzzy from the last TG hazed outing there.

Thanks for all the great links and info. Any other patagonia knowledge would be appreciated as well.

glasgow, Just for the record, I am tired of hearing how "hard" trad is too. Trad used to be the only game in town and then the sporto came along and began rating routes. So if anything we should be saying sport routes are too easy. Once you learn to do jams, cracks may be as easy as their sport counterparts but you still have to hang out and place gear, which it takes even the most experienced tradster longer to place than clipping a bolt. My pieve wit you is the Hubers comment. Funny what you said about the Hubers getting on the Salathe after one week. I just had a conversation with Alex last year where he told me he started leading 5.7 cracks when he first came to the valley and GRADUALLY worked through the grades. I think it was the NEXT year that they came back and made their Salathe ascent.

Do any of the Alpinist's that have come out so far have any info on routes down in patagonia? If so what is that issue and could I make some copies from it if any of you have it?

Alot of good points here. I think that different people learn in different ways. Most teachers out there are teachers because the "liked" school and did well in the traditional model of teaching. Therefore you have alot of teachers out there that think one way or another is the "best" way to learn. As has been said, a variety of methods are useful to varying degrees with different students and topics. I agree with Ian that it is difficult to learn about certain topics experientially and some things simply require old fashioned techniques. One interesting study I saw gave a sample of college students ridelin (one of the ADD drugs) whether they needed it or not. ALL students improved their test scores and concentration. I guess there is no clear cut answer. I would like to see more experiential ed in mainstream schools if nothing more than to interest the students in school and learning again in a new and different setting.

Yea, the crux comes low and then you get a no hands rest. The part where he fell is .11- climbing but a building pump can get you. I just recently redpointed this route and it is definetely a headpoint kind of climb. I really liked the classic position and fun features.

That Asterick pass climb (5.5) at Smith is SWEET but a little runout. Behold me in all my glory cause I only placed three pieces of gear.

Yep, dreamin, that slab above is pretty runout, definetely a 30 ft fall if you blow it at the wrong spot.

Nice job Mac, sounds like a fun little adventurous climb.

I remember it about the same. Nice TR Scott. I remember being about 5-6 pitches up and seeing this reddish brown looking stuff all over the rock next to the belay. At the time I thought it was dried blood of an unlucky climber but now looking back I'll bet it was some F@#$er on the shield's thrown off shit. Ahh the Capitan

Booty

Classic Will

Drew, the only guides to IC I know about are the few pages in the fat falcon guide and a puny little "interim" guide. The interim guide is ok but is a bare bones list of the clmbs there. It has maybe 100 climbs listed in it of the thousands actually out at the creek. Most of the people that go to the Creek go to the supercrack buttress and donnelly canyon area. These cliffs are popular for having a good amount of .10 climbs in a close area. There are many other areas and crags just as good or better but that, up to this point, are not as well known. The access issues and destruction from climbers I believe is overblown. Yes, climbers have made an impact but I think the annual jeep festival in which thousands of off-road vehicles descend and destroy is a much bigger problem. (but brings in a ton of money) The crowds of people up to know have been pretty centered in just one area and the "crowds" are nowhere like what you see at Smith or Squish. I just hope things stay as they are but I guess well just have to wait and see.

Last week I returned from my 4th trip to Southeast Utah and those splitter cracks. It was a great trip despite a few of the usual roadtrip hiccups. The Short Version: Zion - Free climbed Organasm, Organ Grinder and aided Prodigal Sun Canyonlands NP - Moses Tower, Primrose Dihedrals Indian Creek - Numberous splitters at Pistol Whipped wall, Resivoir wall, and Tenderloin Wall After much ado Mark and I headed out of Portland for a 9 day trip to my second favorite climbing destination in the world. As we drove my mouth salivated with thoughts of climbing up the sweet red rock with its black desert varnish. The desert and indian creek sometimes get a bad reputation for various reasons but they will forever have a warm place in my heart. It is a great place to test your crack skills. Several friends talk about heading to the University of Indian Creek. For sure, if you think you are a crack climber that place will confirm or embarass you. After some fun freeclimbing and getting up Prodigal Son we headed to Moab where I met another friend, Kris, from previous desert trips. Every year, I meet a small group of friends in the desert. We are from all over the U.S. but for a few weeks every spring we converge on Moab and Indian Creek. Our ages range from mid 20's to mid 50's. Moab and I.C. seem to draw other climbing obsessed climbers like myself. In previous years I have seen many famous and bad ass climbers there. Just this trip I met Lennord Koin (of Koin Crack fame). Right in the Pagan Climbing Shop Parking lot he told me of a new route he had put up calling it the "Astroman" of the area. This trip my main objective was a beautiful tower known as Moses. First climbed by some guy named Beckey (?), it is one of the most identifiable towers anywhere. The Primrose dihedrals route up the south side of the tower is purportedly one of the very best routes in the desert (see supertopo website). It is not one of the mega-popular routes. Most of its pitches are .10+ with a .11d first pitch and a .11 Offwidth high up on the route. Combine hard climbing with the traditional original shitty drilled piton and star drive anchors, a remote location accessible only by 4-wheel drive and you have a classic desert testpiece of skill and juevos. The first pitch is deceptive and hard. The crux comes 20 feet off the ground with an offset nut (and possible loweball) for pro. After my partner went up and down a few times I took the sharp end and actually fell on the loweball. Yikes! After hanging once I was able to fanagle my way up. The next several pitches are super-classic and fun. There is the crazy downclimb traverse and an amazing pitch of dihedrals and a small bulging roof. We moved ok through the next several pitches and sooner than I wanted we arrived at the dreaded "ear" pitch. This .11b offwidth is a huge flake with a 10-12 inch crack behind. It's starts off overhanging and then turns gradually to vertical. Ed Webster, on the first ascent, put in several bolts and aided the line. The bolts end about half way up the ear with the last "bolt" being a drilled angle only half way in and bent downward. It was my pitch since I was the "OW specialist." Hoping that maybe one of the 1977 1/4 inch bolts or scary pins might hold a fall I began to grovel up the 40 ft flake with nothing but quickdraws and a few cams. It was one of the most exhausting pitches I have ever led! Slowly I inched up clipping each bolt and finally the bent piton. Another 15 ft of climbing and it would all be over I told myself. I tried not to think about a 30ft whipper onto that pin and squirmed upward. The supertopo said to go right side in but I stayed left side in and inched up. After averaging about a minute a foot I had made it! I imagine that I laid on the ledge above for 10 minutes or more trying to catch my breath. As I lay there in exhausting triumph over one of the hardest pitches of my life I remembered why I love the desert. She is a hard, stark place that seldom gives her rewards away. When you earn them, though, they are some of the best and finest. A few more easy pitches and we were on the summit. After the usual summit photos we headed down, rapping the original Beckey line. I wondered what it must have been like climbing these spectacular towers for the first time. Beers at the car never felt so deserved. Sitting in swirling sand and drinking gritty lukewarm beer in contentment is something only a rare few enjoy. I was very lucky that day and will have a memory for a lifetime. My trip continued with a short trip back to Moab and then the fabled Indian Creek. There I met some old friends and new. Yet again I was impressed with the Creek. No new routes put up this year but I did get on some really great super long routes. In the next few months a new comprehensive Indian Creek guidebook is coming out. Although the it will be helpful I hope that the spirit of the desert and the Creek are same for years to come. I fear however with a guidebook the masses may follow and the desert I know will be lost. In any event I recommend the desert and her allures to anyone. If I can find someone with a scanner, I'll post some pics.

In my book, contorted jams and clipping bolts don't go together. So eh, the reason I won't do it . . is . . uh. . .its a bolted crack. . errr. . .yea, that's why I won't do it.

What route were they trying to do? There are alot more people up on that side of the mountain than I thought.

Resting a tweeked finger, writing a TR, and spending time with the g-friend. Injuries suck (and your girlfriend will too if your lucky.)

Listen to this enthusiastic response to this weekends glacier course. Climber: "I started the Mountaineer course last year but they just moved really fast. I think there was a cavalier attitude toward safety and they were flat out dangerous up there. I am glad that the new bushwhacker club took an entire day to learn how to tie figure 8's and prussiks. I was also pleased to see that the north face MET 5 jackets were mandatory (cause sitting around all day on the glacier can be cold). I look forward to next weeks topics of putting our crampons on and walking on flat snow"

DFA, I think toes is a wee bit harder as in .13 or something.. . so my softcore ass wont' be even pretending to get on that thing.

TALL PEOPLE ARE AID