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I visited Smith last weekend for the first time. It took us a couple days to figure the place out. Here's my two cents:

 

The main climbing area, Dihedrals, etc., are too damn hot by mid-morning and will stay too hot until mid-or late-afternoon. If you want Ginger Snaps or Cinnimon Slabs, be there by 6 or 7am-ish then get the heck outa there. Go back at 4pm.

 

On the third day we did Spiderman - really nice, I liked it - stepping around that roof was, as the guidebook says, exciting. We were at the parking lot at 8am, and walked over Asterisk Pass directly to Spiderman. At the top by 10:30. This place starts gettting in the sun by 11am or so and will be unpleasantly hot after that. Not a lot of moderate stuff on the backside - some but not lots.

 

We found that the Red Wall area came into shade by 1:00pm or so - a great early afternoon destination. We found a 5.8 crack (uh, Moscow?) whose first pitch led practically to the chains of a .10b (um, dang, cant remember the name of that one - Face It perhaps?), anyway really nice climbing. Early afternoon - Red Wall rocks.

 

Rope de Dope has some nice looking moderate stuff - I led a 5.6 there - and its shaded. Its also crammed with classes and otherwise beginners (like me).

 

I gotta go back and have another look around. Its a beautiful place with lots of options but honestly I didnt find a lot of easy or moderate stuff. Seems kinda hard. The guidebook shows most all the .6's, .7's and .8's have a R or X after the rating.

 

BTW, Grasslands was good for (free) camping. Dont fall asleep too quick - you'll miss the sounds of coyotes yelping and howling, and the elk bugling - nice.

 

Dox

 

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slothrop said:

jkrueger said:

Revelations.

Bring a small stopper (#6?) if you want to ease the runout to the first bolt.

Ease the runout -- where's the fun in that? evils3d.gif

 

I think it's called Revelations because on your way to that first bolt you find out whether or not you are truly a 5.9 Smith leader. If so, you're ready to move on. A testpiece of sorts, one might say.

 

Conveniently, once at the top of Revelations you can set a TR for Irreverence (10a).

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matt_warfield said:

RuMR: Don't you mean "right" of Karate Crack? If so, you are probably talking about a second pitch to

Cinammon Slab, of which there are several options.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't call Latest Rage a good moderate. Have you seen anyone whip on the crux!!! There's nothing mellow about this sport route all you alpinists.

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jkrueger said:...on your way to that first bolt you find out whether or not you are truly a 5.9 Smith leader. If so, you're ready to move on. A testpiece of sorts, one might say.
perhaps, if the climbing to the first bolt was actually 5.9 hahaha.gif gets your attention, anyway. smirk.gif
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Shoot, I just saw this, and you are already there at Smif.

 

From my vantage point nursing my fall cold-addled body back to health, let me add "Pop Goes the Nubbin" to your to-do list for Smith. It's on the Peanut, rated .10a, but it is not really .10a or I wouldn't have been able to lead it. I'd call it 5.8d. wink.gif Classic Smith moderate, if you can wade through the crowds and get a rope on it.

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