rat

Sounds like someone should start a J'burg Epics thread....

I personally think that beer is a legitimate expense for running the site & part of our donation can be used for such if you wish.

Right on. Cool photos.

Michael, You two made quick work of it. Glad you enjoyed it. I vaguely remember pulling some move pretty close to the belay just to avoid the left-right manuever. I don't remember the corner in your photo. I finished up a lighter colored corner that seemed like an relatively recent scar but the rock was good. As you found out, there is plenty of room for variations. Eric might have a better memory & chime in eventually. Darin, I've climbed a number of your routes and mostly enjoyed them. You really know how to slam in bolts for us hoi polloi... To my knowledge, you have climbed none of ours. You might like this one. Or Mox, which I maintain is as good as Bear's DNB but more committing. Cheers.

That's one reliable climbing partner you have there.

Normally I wouldn't shit on such a genteel parade but Eric's route photo needs a reality check. Yellow dots show the initial foreshortened start. I slung a barely adequate horn & down climbed. My climbing ability & risk tolerance have declined so the corner above might go for someone else. This is a reasonably sheltered start for what could be an aesthetic line. I would still advise an emergency bolt kit for the rib above since there appear to be some large gaps between cracks/seams. Red dots show our approx. line. The definition of poor communication (unsure on who's part): a partner who takes silence as acquiescence. Gullies to the right/left of where we started are "maga" gullies. In contrast to Lani & Sam's "mega" gully on Whatcom Pk., "maga" gullies spew shit & idiocy. The left one did so while Eric was climbing the first pitch. After P2, Eric fortuitously declined to continue up the left hand rib & took us toward the right hand defile. Hindsight showed the left hand rib probably would have led to rotten rock above the tower in front of the summit tower, itself a massive rock scar with perched blocks. We fortunately avoided clocking one another or the rope while hugging the sides of the right defile. We escaped up the right hand rib as soon as possible. In short, our route was an unaesthetic line on pretty crappy rock. Hopefully this info will help a future party put up a better line on the right hand rib.

Nice job. Does your line take the buttress on the left in Matt's photo with your "mega gully" separating it from the slightly shorter but steeper buttress on the right? Thanks.

That right-hand start looks much better than our attempted direct up the lower left. Congrats. Glad to see the French grades getting traction. Now if we also started using the Scottish ones in winter.....

Nice one. There look to be a couple other lines on the west side of Spectre for those willing to brave the runouts. Very disappointing to hear of the new NCNP permit fees.

Agree w/ Jason regarding conditions.

Much of the large overhang near the junction of the upper ramp of the Improbable Traverse & the variations above Lunch Ledge fell off in late November, 2021. Most of the ramp near this junction is missing & has perched blocks, the roof variation above Lunch Ledge looks like it is now talus, there appear to be scars near the traverse itself, & the entire lower face is covered in loose rocks. Apologies if you have already been fed this on #outofmyfuckingfacetwitgram.

Here are some specs that I found after ordering: http://www.qualityfoam.com/docs/Minicel_Type_T_T200_T300_T380.pdf T300 may be worth the minimal extra price & weight depending on the thickness you want.

Reasonably inexpensive source for eva foam: https://www.foambymail.com/minicel-type-t-foam.html I just received a sheet of T200. It appears identical to the yellow hardman pad of yore.

Found in the brush next to our house: 1 rope (appears to be gym-length). 1 Metolius PAS. 1 Butora rock shoe (size 8.5). We looked around for the other one but couldn't find it. Send me a pm describing the pertinent colors & I'll get it back to you.

Thanks for the history & your efforts. Perhaps thankfully, we didn't see any of your bail pins. I suppose it's rated about the same as other routes on the NW face, however one wants to rate those, but is of a slightly different character & pretty run out on the first pitch. Since then I have seen photos where that pitch looks like hero WI3. I'm surprised that it wasn't done before & I haven't heard of an ascent since. It's a good route with plenty of opportunities for new variations with a summit at the end.