Rad

Trip: Sedona - Mars Attacks! Trip Date: 11/20/2017 Trip Report: Having an adventure that pushes you beyond your comfort zone is great....unless it's your daughter, a friend's child, and your wife on the other end of the rope when things go sideways. When my wife and I started dating we made a deal: I’d learn snowboarding, which she loves, and she’d learn climbing, my passion. We shared some good times on the rock many years ago, but in recent years we haven’t climbed together except in the gym. My daughter, now 12, started climbing early, but she’s only been outdoors a few times, on top rope or following single rope pitch bolted climbs. Dan, a close family friend, has really enjoyed the few times he’s climbed and was eager to do more. A quick trip to Arizona, a few hours from his family, provided an opportunity. I figured we’d just climb on some short, easy routes in the sunshine. I’d walk to the top, set up an anchor, toss down the rope, and belay. But then on our hike to Devil’s Bridge we saw climbers on a sun-drenched buttress across the valley. Gaping from flatland, I realized I was now the tourist gazing up at climbers instead of the climber looking down on tourists. I’m not ready to make that transition. So I did some research and looked up the route…. The climb we did is the prominent buttress in the upper center of this shot. It was Mars Attacks. Four pitches of 5.8. Each one holds a different mental and physical challenge. 400 feet of climbing with a traverse and two double-rope rappels to get off the top. I might be pushing too many envelopes at once by bringing three inexperienced climbers up the route, but I was confident I could get us safely up and down (green dots mark the belay stances at the top of a pitch.) … The approach started on the familiar trail to Devil's Bridge before heading North to a wash and a faint climber's trail around a cliff to the base of the wall. Somewhere in there we got off route and had to dodge some ankle-biting cacti, but we found our way... The trail contoured above a small cliff with great views back across the canyon... At the base of the wall, we got our gear together: two ropes, harnesses, and a variety of climbing gear. My daughter sticks to the wall even without her climbing shoes. The crux of the opening pitch is a holdless low-angled slab where you must trust your feet and the rubber in your shoes, balance on the balls of your feet with no handholds at all, and BELIEVE in order to climb. I lead the first pitch, scampering up moderate climbing to a high first bolt. 20 feet later I hit the crux slab. I puzzled for a bit, but hundreds of ascents in recent years have worn off the tiny features on the rock, which is now smooth and blank. I tried one sequence and started sliding, so I grabbed the protection to stop. We didn’t have all day, so I pulled on the quickdraw and stood on a bolt to get past the crux. I climbed the rest of the pitch clean and made it to the belay, an airy stance below a giant hueco. The others came up behind me, with a bit of tension on the rope to help them through the crux. They all did great on the rest of the pitch. At the belay there was a giant hueco worn into the rock by thousands of years of desert winds. It was a comfy spot for some to take off their shoes and take in the view. The second pitch is a horizontal traverse along a limestone dike in the middle of the red sandstone cliff. There are good holds most of the way, but the exposure is incredible. The limestone band protrudes from the cliff because the softer sandstone below it eroded away, leaving you staring down between your toes to the ground about a 100 feet below. If you fall, you will dangle in open space and might be unable to re-gain the limestone. I had a hard time sleeping the night before the climb, going over in my mind how we could all safely climb this pitch without risking a pendulum fall into space. First, I lead across. A came next, clipped to both ropes via slings but not tied into either one. Via ferrata style. She had to unclip one sling at a time to get around each bolt. If she fell she'd still be attached to both ropes and could easily get back on the wall. Here she is moving past one of the seven protection bolts that were placed by the first ascent party in 2000. Resting in a thin section. The Devil's Bridge trail is visible behind her. It was impossible to communicate on the second and third pitches, but we had just enough cell signal for texting. Here's a snapshot of our communication. We had a clear plan, and I knew Beth had enough climbing experience to belay me and make sure A and Dan could set off safely. Arriving at the end of the limestone band. Dan coming across second. He was tied into the end of the yellow rope and had one leash clipped to the blue rope, which would keep him from dangling in space if he fell. He didn't. Beth came last, tied into the end of the blue rope. She unclipped our gear from the bolts. She was totally solid and didn't fall. Two pitches down. Two to go. But we were moving slowly. I was having to check everything and do all of the work to keep the ropes and protection organized and untangled. We were always very safe, but we were slow. And it would catch up to us... The third pitch is a dark red vertical chasm, a slot, like an open book. The steep sandstone on one side of the corner has been worn by wind into crazy pockets called huecos. Some are tiny, others are large enough to climb into, and you’ll find every size in between. Then there is the crack, which varies between the width of a finger and a slot several feet wide. To ascend you must use a wide range of crack climbing techniques that are not very intuitive to the uninitiated, including hand and foot jamming, palming smooth walls to move your feet up in a stem, using your palm and upper arm in opposition while your arm is bent like a chicken wing in a wide crack, lie backing on a sloping rail, and more. I placed cams at wide intervals for efficiency and because I didn't have a lot of gear. Fortunately, the climbing wasn't too hard and the tough bits were well protected. Sometimes an accidental shot can yield an interesting image. This is looking back down from high on the third pitch. Lead climbing brings the mind into sharp focus. The world's deluge of distractions is swept away in the face of the immediate situation. The views from high on the wall were stunning, the air was still. At one point, a raven swirled on rising currents and circled our group curiously, wondering what these noisy, vulgar beasts, whose brethren provide such rich garbage down below, were doing up here in the land of wind and stone. The fourth pitch combines some awkward crack with slab and face moves and ends with a long, unprotected section of low angled rock where a fall by the leader is unlikely but would be bad. Dan climbed the final section of the final pitch... just as the sun was just about to head down below the horizon. Night would soon be upon us, and we still had to get down. Here we are about to make the first rappel, which runs down a clean face on the far side of the buttress. You can see the trail far down below us. I rigged everyone's rappels and then headed down first to look for the next bolt station just as the sky glowed orange and red in a beautiful sunset. But we didn't have any headlamps, a cardinal sin I acknowledged before we left the car in the morning. I've rappelled in the dark, but never without a headlamp, and I've never had inexperienced climbers rappel in the dark without a light. Good thing they're all strong of mind. I rappelled down the vertical face in gathering darkness, looking for a three bolt anchor mentioned in the guide. We'd never seen this part of the wall as it's on the other side of the buttress we climbed. And here's where I pushed things a bit farther than I'd intended, because I never found the bolts. I looked left and right between 45 meters to 55 meters down our 60 meter ropes. Nothing. Swinging back and forth across a blank cliff in near darkness without a light was a bit unnerving even for me. Our ropes wouldn't reach the ground, and although I could have ascended back up to our anchor above, it would have been very slow and difficult. We could have rappelled back down pitches 4 and 3 and then to the ground from there, but I'd read multiple stories of people getting their ropes stuck in the cracks we'd climbed, so that was surely a last resort. Instead, I swung over to the crack shown here and built an anchor using a few cams I just happened to still have on my harness. Truth be told. I'd put most of the rack in the pack my wife was carrying. Fortunately, I had the pieces I needed. Luck was with us. I clipped myself into this unplanned, makeshift belay spot and yelled off rappel so the others could come down to me. I held the rope ends as first A, then Dan, then Beth rappelled down in the dark to join me in this corner crack 150 feet off the ground. I pulled them each over to me from the blank face out right. We were safe, and I kept reminding them of this. The stars came out on a brilliant night. I was able to tuck my phone into my pants by my belly and shine light on our belay as we rigged to descend. This time I would just lower them one at a time to the ground. Thankfully, the rope reached. I lowered Beth into the darkness first, explaining that she'd need to climb up to the large ledge below us if the ropes didn't reach the ground. But she made it. We were safe, but well beyond our intended plans. Then again, that's where adventure begins. We made it down and used the light of my phone to hike out on the trail. The evening was calm and still and the Milky Way guided us back to the car. I ended up leaving two cams behind. Over the years I've gathered gear from the misadventures of other climbers. This time they can benefit from ours. No worries. An adventure to remember! Gear Notes: Headlamp would've been nice Approach Notes: Follow the trail

My friend in ecology told me about a project on Maui, where goats are a major invasive pest. It wsa nicknamed the Judas project. Apparently goats are very social, so what they did was put a radio collar on one goat and send him out into the wild. They'd wait a week or two and then go out with the chopper to find him. Invariably he'd be hanging out with his pals, so they'd pull out the rifle and kill his pals and fly away again, leaving "Judas" alone. Then they'd wait a couple of weeks and go out and do the same thing again, killing his new friends. I'm not sure OLY mountain goats are this social. Regardless, it seems silly to move them rather than just shoot them, but I guess in Washington we can't harm them and probably need to give them counseling and relocation support services during their goat-transition.

Holy crap. Darwin Award near miss. And taking a video of the whole thing?!?! Sketchy beyond words.

What a great adventure! I'm very glad Elaine wasn't hurt in that fall. Thanks for sharing what certainly was an ascent you'll remember the rest of your days. And yes, the eclipse was beyond words. I can understand why the ancients thought the gods were angry with them.

Boarding is just cooler. Period. Travis Rice in Alaska Skip to 2:30 for the best sequences.

By this logic, you shouldn't bother with a seat belt, helmet, or airbag because the odds you're going to need them are low. I didn't filter in my youth and didn't get sick, but then again we didn't have airbags or seatbelts in the back seat then either. I'll use them all today, thank you very much. Oh, and the evidence presented in the article seems thin. One study from 1993 (25 years ago!), a backpacker survey, and a meta analysis of studies of unknown design/results. Ah well, the "evidence" were just used to frame the conclusion anyway, right? Sigh. This is what passes for evidence-based recommendations these days.

I think there are many values to this site. The biggest is TRs. Another is more up to date conditions. Another is discussion among members that is hard to find elsewhere - given current conditions (or my vacation in two months) should I do X or Y route, go to area A or B? People with experience share their knowledge. Then there's partners, used gear, gear tips, events, and so forth. Yes, the interweb has changed since CC started, but I don't see anything out there that replaces it. Hopefully those that left will return, or we'll get some fresh faces to reinvigorate the discussions.

Pffft. Can't be real. Real climbers have drones to film their rad penjis, and they can use the drones to deliver lattes and send rescue requests. So this must be fake. Still, it's pretty cool they got Alex Huber to star in a drama.

Another vote for Gaia.

1 - Stay healthy. 2 - A few FAs somewhere somehow. 3 - A few memorable wilderness sufferfests w friends. 4 - One bucket list climb. 5 - More cowbell.

Thanks all. Look forward to seeing what's new. If entering TRs is much easier than before, then perhaps more will be posted, which may lead to more visitors and more posts and more TRs. That would be a nice virtuous cycle. More free beer at pub clubs might be the next step? Sadly, no more Fred there.

Dear Fred, thanks for showing us what true passion and persistence are. I feel lucky to have shared a beer, shared a rope, and shared FA tales and dreams with you. Your alpine guides planted the seeds of adventure in our hearts, and we eagerly followed your footsteps into the mountains. That is where I will look for you, not down here in the city.

Dear Fred, thanks for showing us what true passion and persistence are. I feel lucky to have shared a beer, shared a rope, and shared FA tales and dreams with you. Your alpine guides planted the seeds of adventure in our hearts, and we eagerly followed your footsteps into the mountains. That is where I will look for you, not down here in the city. “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” - John Muir.

Cute! Looks like he's going to weigh a hundred pounds by age 3. Maybe he can pull you on a dogsled in the Klondike

Thx. Completed the survey. I oppose user fee-based revenue approaches because these are regressive taxes that block lower income folks, including but not limited to climbers, from accessing our shared natural resources. This makes these folks less likely to want to protect them. What is the fruit of this activity? People being OK w drilling in the Arctic, auctioning off large swaths of the Gulf for oil n gas exploration, selling public lands to mining companies, and so forth. Insert Lorax image of trashed landscape.

Had to wipe coffee off my monitor from laughing at this. There are artery trails in some high use places that see annual tree clearing and even building projects, but once you get off these you look at people like me and many on this board who go out to cut logs, remove brush, and mark the trail through the Western jungle. Apparently the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. Want to trade governments for a few years? I'm down with that. Actually, it's both comic and tragic that our political pendulums seeem to be 180 degrees out of phase.

This is what happens when their budget gets slashed. We've seen this on many levels. Look at the Discovery Passes. BC has it right: tax everyone and make Provincial Park access free, unless, of course, you want to park http://www.canadatrails.ca/bc/parkfees.html Also, the NP interagency pass is $80/yr, so you may as well get it and get into MRNP and all the others for a year instead of the one-offs. Locally, Olympic NP is truly spectacular and easily accessible. I can't fault the Park., Look higher...

This time of year conditions change almost hourly. I'd suggest posting something on one of the boards of hikers who visit those areas, or look at hiking reports. In Washington it would be the WTA. Not sure about Orygun.

I'm sure he's a very well read dude. How about quoting another great author? "He was a man, take him for all and all, I shall not look upon his like again" Hamlet

Avenge suicide? Your empathy muscle has atrophied.

Thank you. Very poignant. This echoes words from many others and shows us that the key to a life well lived is radical kindness. The good news is that we don't have to climb 5.14 to be kind to our friends, family, and strangers.

Yes, when bad things happen to really great people it shakes the foundation. What is it all for anyway? What constitutes a meaningful life? As a parent, I can't imagine much worse than having your only son take his life. Their hearts will forever be broken.

Probably not very often. The original route (in Nelson) involves crossing ice/glacier/moat that can be pretty sketchy in late summer, the lower section has loose rock and is the place where Steph nearly lost her leg, and the upper section is slab that is easy but quite run-out. The newer lines involve less risk, lower commitment as they are shorter, more interesting climbing, and a better position.

Nice. Thanks for posting. Definitely a good route for simul-climbing.

Updates: - Bolts at anchors were tightened. - Managed to leave the socket wrench out there, perhaps on the summit. Send PM if you find it or leave it in the summit register. Thx - The pitch linking beta above was spot on. 20 quickdraws (10 extendable slings, 10 bones) plus a single 70m rope was sufficient. You can easily skip a few or back clean if needed.