AlpineK Posted July 14, 2003 Posted July 14, 2003 After Dru and I cut down the tree at the base of the Split Pillar, Cman and I decided to try a climb on the Apron despite the funky weather. Anywho we headed up to St Vitus. Things were looking real good. We cruised up to Baseline ledge quickly, and we met a couple locals climbing Vector at the ledge. A few rain drops started coming out of the sky but stopped fairly soon. I led the first pitch and belayed Cman up. Cman started out on the second pitch. While belaying him I gazed down Howe sound and saw big black clouds rolling down the mountains on the other side and the wind started picking up. I debated on whether or not to yell at Cman to hurry up, but I decided he really wouldn't go that much faster. Eventually he set up a belay and I started climbing. Those black clouds were really big and the wind was really blowing. About half way up the second pitch the rain set in. I climbed as fast as I could, but I the rock was getting wet fast. Apon reaching the belay I told Cman to hurry up and give me the rack. I headed up the third pitch with in a steady rain. I could get positive holds in the hand crack, but on the upper part of the pitch the crack ended in smooth wet slabs. I finally found a seam that was covered in moss but provided some holds that were more positive than a smooth slab. Cman came up and told me the hand crack was a watterfall. We ran into the locals climbing Vector there; after talking to them we all realized that we needed to climb higher to get to Broadway and the route off. Anyway we made it to Broadway and climbed up the streambed to the trees. There was one last bit of scrambling that under the conditions we were all unwilling to do, so the locals set up a rap on a tree, and we all slid down the rope to some more easier scrambling. The woods were a welcome relief and after more hiking we reached the parking lot. We changed into dry cloths, drank a beer and scanned the apron for other unlucky suckers. After a while we headed to the brewpub and met up with Dru, Snoboy and his gf. After a few beers and food we spent a fun evening looking for local youths to open up a can of wup-ass on. Another fine Squish adventure. Quote
catbirdseat Posted July 14, 2003 Posted July 14, 2003 Glad you had fun. 'Twas nice and dry in Leavenworth. Quote
chucK Posted July 14, 2003 Posted July 14, 2003 Fine TR K. Did you add another aid bolt on the Grand Wall to take the place of the aid tree limb THAT YOU CUT DOWN(!!! ) ? Quote
EWolfe Posted July 14, 2003 Posted July 14, 2003 ...and sent some folks at the base of the apron to the hospital when the tree came down... Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 i've been wanting to do that climb. just not in the rain! Quote
Greg_W Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Would you do this climb over, say, Diedre? I really don't want to deal with the crowds on Diedre. Quote
Dru Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 You should only do Diedre at night or between 7 PM- 7 AM anyways. Any other time will be like Uncle Tricky's TR. Quote
snoboy Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 TLG - come up and we will do St. Vitus. GregW - yes, St Vitus is a good alternative to Diedre. Not as long though. D has 7 pitches of good climbing, StV only three. But you can always go and do some of the other stuff at that end of the Apron, like Vitus direct, or Start From Scratrch, to make it longer. After StV, you can head up Karen's Math, and or Memorial Crack. Quote
Greg_W Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Dru said: You should only do Diedre at night or between 7 PM- 7 AM anyways. Any other time will be like Uncle Tricky's TR. No, my partner's all good and has done it before. What is the passing situation like? Easy? Hard? Am I fucked if I get behind some gumby motherfuckers? To be expected on such a route, to be sure, I still hate it. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 no passing. that's not cool on this route. just go really early or late. Quote
Greg_W Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 thelawgoddess said: no passing. that's not cool on this route. just go really early or late. Excuse me? "not cool"? What the fuck does that mean? Can't pass at belays and such? Quote
erik Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 thelawgoddess said: i've been wanting to do that climb. just not in the rain! ARNT YOU STILL SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOSE? Quote
Alpinfox Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 GregW, You could probably pass at most of the belays, but that route is often stacked with people at EVERY belay station, it which case I don't think passing is appropriate/polite/etc. Cool route though. Mid-week you might have good luck on it. Quote
Greg_W Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Alpinfox said: GregW, You could probably pass at most of the belays, but that route is often stacked with people at EVERY belay station, it which case I don't think passing is appropriate/polite/etc. Cool route though. Mid-week you might have good luck on it. Wait, are you actually commenting on a route you've done? SHocking. Yeah, I hear you. Might have to have a plan b or c. Quote
erik Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 ITS A FRICTION ROUTE, JUST GO AROUND THEM. DONT EVEN TAKE GEAR. THERE ARE BOLTS AT THE APPROPIATE SPOTS. AND JUST SIMUL CLIMB IT. Quote
Greg_W Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 erik said: ITS A FRICTION ROUTE, JUST GO AROUND THEM. DONT EVEN TAKE GEAR. THERE ARE BOLTS AT THE APPROPIATE SPOTS. AND JUST SIMUL CLIMB IT. Good thinking. However, I only like to pass if all parties are agreeable. A high gumby factor may mean that some parties are sketched about that type of shit. Whatever, I'll figure it out when I get there. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 erik said: ARNT YOU STILL SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOSE? i wish. you up for a road trip? personally, i think that if you're choosing a route that is traditionally overrun with newbies you should give them a little respect. ask them if you can pass if you really feel the need, but don't be assholes. and don't rush people either. it's fucked up. Quote
Dru Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 there is a nice 10a route called passing lane on the slab about 5 m right. of the dihedral pitches bypass parties on lower pitches by doing straight up (short sec of 5.9 slab 35m out, no pro) or diedre direct (5.9 1 bolt) - see guide book for details. Quote
thelawgoddess Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Greg_W said: erik said: ITS A FRICTION ROUTE, JUST GO AROUND THEM. DONT EVEN TAKE GEAR. THERE ARE BOLTS AT THE APPROPIATE SPOTS. AND JUST SIMUL CLIMB IT. Good thinking. However, I only like to pass if all parties are agreeable. A high gumby factor may mean that some parties are sketched about that type of shit. Whatever, I'll figure it out when I get there. oops; didn't see this before i responded. i'm glad to hear you say that. Quote
AlpineK Posted July 15, 2003 Author Posted July 15, 2003 Dru said: there is a nice 10a route called passing lane on the slab about 5 m right. of the dihedral pitches bypass parties on lower pitches by doing straight up (short sec of 5.9 slab 35m out, no pro) or diedre direct (5.9 1 bolt) - see guide book for details. But then you haven't done the Apron uberclasic Quote
erik Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 tlg i am a weakend warrior. no road trips till i am rich again. apron classic! Quote
fern Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 there is a parallel slab route next to Diedre called "Passing Lane", I dunno the grade - maybe 5.9? Sparrow rarely has crowds, ditto Pineapple Peel, Sickle, and Slab Alley. Calculus Crack and St.Vitus are often at near capacity on nice days, Vector and South Arete are more likely to be free but a convergence on the top pitch can bottle neck. I think the total distance of quality climbing on St. Vitus, Calculus etc. is the same as on Diedre, just the pitch count is different. Diedre has >50% vertical gain over ho-hum climbing and only 2 quality pitches IMO. Quote
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