DCramer

April is pretty much impossible for me because I will be a single Dad for awhile, a climbing trip is planned and kid's b-days. A day trip to Leavenworth sometime would be easier to swing.

I think that enough climbers can be encouraged to carry a section of replacement chain and a wrench in their pack to properly maintain anchors. The cost aspect doesn’t seem really material to me especially if a larger number of climbers were contributing. Encouraging climbers to participate more in crag maintenance will provide other benefits than simply wellmaintained routes. Anyway those be my thoughts on the subject.

I use to agree with the sentiments express by Jason but now do not. True chains wear out faster if climbers are lowered than if a rap descent was used but what does that mean? Not much. A well-designed anchor should be easily maintainable and “backup-able” in the field. Climbers as a group should be encouraged to contribute to maintenance efforts. For decades people willingly left additional sling materials when the need arose, I think believing that climbers might replace a length of chain doesn't require an impossible leap of the imagination. I agree that TR'ing does cause excess wear.

As far as sandbags go Trapeze to the left of Carnival Crack seemed impossible. The crux move on Killer B's seemed pretty darn hard too.

Jens – You have made the same post twice in this thread. Arguments about ratings aside the magazine article you are referencing is incorrect. Numbah 10 .12b – I believe this was flashed by Peter Mayfield. I believe he agreed witrh the rating. Iron Horse .12a – Although he may have climbed to the ringing flake before I think that Dick flashed up the flare and roof on the first complete free ascent. Dick rated the route. Bat Skins .12b – I believe this was flashed by Russ Clune. He suggested the rating to me in a dicussion. Big Science .12b – Wasn’t this flashed by Lynn Hill? With the exception of Big Science, which I am unsure of, all of these ascents occurred before 1992. There have been lots of Index 5.12 flashes. The odd thing is why would anyone think that someone was/could keep track of them. I mention the above because someone already brought up #10 and collectively they account for most of the classic .12s at the Lower Wall.

There is a bit of distortion in the photo but the easy nutting starts at the roof at the top of the 4th "dot". Below it is a weird exposed chimney. The obvious rfc is the left wall and there is a 2-3" lfc forming the right. This is the crux of the pitch for free climbing and it sounds like it's the cux for aid too. I can't really remember much. Last time I lead that was in the 80's.

See attached. I have aided the variation Lambbone mentions and it is a fun climb. My guess is that as an aid pitch it is better than the straightup variation you were trying. I think the variations join at the top "dot" in my attachment. I have not aided it since TCUs, Ballnuts and such were invented, they might make it easier, but from my experience I agree with the C2/3 rating given by Brooks. I have free climbed the straight up variation. At the bottom "dot" I remember there being an old bolt (new ones added later)and slightly above a friend in a flare. From there you bear hug the rock and move up clipping a bolt. At this point sometime later an anchor was created by someone else. At the third "dot" there is a horizontal break and I fixed a small LA there which was later stolen. Higher up if I remember correctly you move to the right crack. From the top dot on the nutting is definately easy and the pitch ends at a nice stance. I always wanted to go back and clean that route up a bit - removing the manky old bolts (leaving fewer good ones in their place) as the pitch is a **** free pitch. If you were using Sky Valley Rock I may have confused you but I didn't intend to give this pitch an aid rating. The second pitch climbs straight up to a roof (formerly fp, now bolts) and has been freed at.12+. This should be easy aid. The roof is wild at.12b and is C2 (rps) if aided. The crack turns into an easy flared chimney shortly after the roof is turned. In the topo in SVR the 12+ section is shown as C1. The overall rating for the route should have been 12b C1, not 12b C2. Of course now it should be .12+ or more likely .13.

Is the crux on this route a seciton of OW? Do Big Bro's work for pro? Thanks.

Caught up in the sunshine of the weekend I agreed to write this TR. Don’t read it if you value wit and wisdom in reports. Several weeks ago I agreed to go to Vantage for the day thinking that the rest of the state would be either rained or snowed in. As we drove east I couldn’t help but to think how nice the day would be at Index. When we arrived at the parking lot we were only the second car! The sky was blue and the views outstanding. Off we hiked to our goal – the lower cliffs. Our plan was to start at the Hen House and work our way west. It was only after we had climbed a half dozen routes that other climbers arrived in the area. By mid afternoon the air was so warm that it was tempting just to take nap and work on our tans. The routes a the Hen House varied from 5.5 to 5.11 and varied in quality from ok to pretty good. No real dogs. One route that we didn’t attempt/do is shown as #7 Project in the Ford/Yoder guide. It looks great. It reminded me a bit of the Campaigner Crack in Boulder Canyon. An overhanging thin lieback crack past a series of blocky roofs. Anybody have any info on the route? We then moved over to the Millennium Wall. The two 10c’s no the right side were as good as the guidebook stated they would be. Their ratings, however, seemed a bit harder than the rest of the routes in the area. The third clip on My New Hammer didn’t really seem too tough. Just to the left a 5.10a was super fun. I would have given it more than the two stars shown the guidebook. It must be popular because the chossy rock rumored to be at the top was nowhere to be seen. By late afternoon we had worked our way over to the Corn Wall and decided it was time to head home. Beautiful day. Great weather. Fun routes.

Robertm - Thanks for the beta. Anyone else been up there? Photographs make the place look spectacular. Mike - Haven't ried to lead it. The crack is more of a flake at the start and thin.

Mike - Don't wait five years! I was 130 when I was 18 and about 145 in my late 20's then 200 in my 30'S now mid 40s 185. Life goes on and waists grow!

Books and Horst aside wasn't the question about the HIT program? HIT strips are basically mediocre system holds. System training does work. Earlier in the year Rumr and I were discussing climbing with weights on, this is in essence what HIT strips are except the moves are repetitive. I haven't read his books but did print out the HIT routine when it was on the web.

Shhh! Lance you are giving away the secrets of the super secret spot!

I purchased some used strips for a very low price. Used them a bit last year and am starting again Sunday. You could easily buy/make your own holds and lay them out in an appropriate pattern. Knowing what I know now, if I couldn't buy the strips cheaply, I would make my own. All you really need are a good edge, a two finger pocket and a pinch. The pinch would be the hardest to get. Last year I noticed some improvement in strength but honestly since I climb so infrequently it is really hard to evaluate the program's real impact.

On the right side of Midnight Rock the Apron Jam route. (5.7) It isn’t climbed very often but it is in a fantastic position.

A couple other threads would be Witch Doctor Wall Free A TR about Cerberus @ Squamish A TR about the top pitches of Remorse on SCW A TR about the east face of Gunsight –so I’d know if there really was a huge rockfall.

In a perfect world these would be threads on cc.com: 1 – Freeing of second pitch of Golden Arch. Only a body length to go! 2 – Free the start of 10%. Thin but good pro. Clean and dries fast. 3 – Free Hell Bent For Glory. Only a few hangs need to be eliminated. 4 – Free Bobcat Reality. Faster please!

Can't you place a #2 Friend right below where the pin use to be? (By right below I mean within 2" of the pin?)Is there a bomber #5 rp or small nut about two feet higher that you can place before doing the crux? It is too bad the pins were stolen. Especially the lower two.

Erik - When are you coming back? Looks like there will be lots of new routes this year.

The sad thing about Index is that very people ever travel off the very well beaten path to the base of the Lower Wall. As a general rule all the less traveled routes will be a bit dirty. While it isn’t current beta my experience is consistent with Lance’s. Many years ago the first pitch was awful mostly due to dirt sloughing off of the ledge above. The main corner is however a pretty impressive feature and looks very appealing. My understanding is that the bolts are ¼” You might want to try Jack O Diamonds instead if you’re set on a Diamond route. All the published topos of JOD are a bit off but I think some of the bolts may have been upgraded.

I pretty much agree with the "don't mess withthings viewpoint." I am not sure why soemone took the pins on Iron Horse, they had been in place pretty much constantly (with a few exceptions in recent years) since I first climbed at the Town Walls. As far as the upper pin (bottom of V slot) the last few times I was on the pitch the pin was definately cracked. I am not sure if it would have held much of a fall. Pins seem to get stolen at Index with a disconcerting frequency. There use to be a FP a bit higher as well.

I thought we were talking clean aid? Anyway another reason besides ladybugs for not nailing is that the rock over in the quarry area is just about as brittle as Index gets. It is very easily scarred and even a single pin placement can have a significant impact. Bigwalling brings up a good point about ratings. Aid ratings have become somewhat messed up or at the very least confusing. The ratings do not mean the same thing as they did 25 years ago. I think the ratings at Index may be off current Yosemite standards in many cases. Any suggestions for rating adjustments? You can post them here but an email that I could print off and file away for future reference would be even better.

Iron Horse is C2 to the ringing flake. I imagine the v-slot above the ringing flake would be easy clean aid too. Passing roof may be a bit harder. I have only viewed the roof section from a free climbing perspective but I think it might be harder than C2 and an aid line past the roof might not follow the free line. It would be easy to avoid the roof by aiding Sagittarius. A ball nut is not mandatory for 10%. You might consider aiding Shirley. It is a really good aid climb. There is no anchor at the top of the first pitch; however, the second is easy clean aid. Have you aided Steel Monkey? It is on the left side of the Country and stays fairly dry even in the rain. It is easy clean aid. It requires some small pieces and it is pretty short.

I wonder if you mean the OW/Squeeze just to the left of Lamplighter. I wouldn’t describe the first pitch of Lamplighter as either a squeeze or as an offwidth but the overhanging crack just to the left can be described that way. A couple years ago I ripped some huge pieces of rock from the left crack so the rating is up in the air. If I was leading it, I would definitely bring along some big gear. 4” would be a bit on the small side.

You can traverse to the upper pitches of NAD very easily from a variety of routes to the right. Thin Fingers for example.