TR: A bold day at Spire Rock

[faust]

Here's a story for you poor souls stuck in an office or in class today: I was lucky to have the day off from classes and thus teamed up with the Indomitable Ms. Gray for an exhilirating day of hard-core rock climbing at the Matterhorn-esque summit of Spire Rock. For those who may be uninformed, Spire Rock is a truly spectacular peak located in beautiful South Tacoma. Though not sure of its geologic origins, I assume it is a volcanic remnant of some sort, or perhaps a massive glacial erratic.

 

Upon arriving at the foot of the wall, we decided to first attempt the heinous off-width near the south-west corner. Due to poor protection and loose rock, I decided to set up a top rope via the spooky 4th class scramble on the North Face. The Irrepressible Ms. Gray offered a belay, and I surprised myself by succeeding on this classic route on my first try!!! It was going to be an 'on' day for me, I could tell already. After I rapped the route, my partner, the Exceptional Ms. Gray, roped up and gave it a try. After several burns on the begining crux moves, she managed to jam herself into the wide crack and flailed admirably to the summit.

 

After my bold ascent, I was feeling unstoppable, so I jumped on the infamous Red X Traverse. I have to admit, my heart was in my throat the entire time, but I managed a truly impressive free solo on the route. This may be a first ascent, I will have to check on that.

 

Nearly spent, the World-Famous Ms. Gray and I cooled down bouldering near the base of the massive face, trading burns on the nearly-impossible Crisco Rock. Does anybody know the grade on this bouldering problem? V13 or so? Anyway, we failed here but that could hardly dampen our enthusiasm for a glorious outing in the climber's paradise of Parkland.

 

Yes, it was a bold day at Spire Rock, truly one I will tell my grandchildren about. (If I live to have grandchildren, what with this dangerous game of rock climbing.)

 

I've got big plans for the weekend, so tune in next week for a trip report of our adventure to the remote crags of Fossil Rock and our red point attempts of the neo-classic death routes on Boyal Bobbins Wall.

 

-Matt

[666]

I AM INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS MS. GREY. PLEASE FILL IN THE BLANKS_________

 

THANK YOU

[mikeadam]

We used to watch Yoder send Crisco slab in his Tevas (and not even 5.10 resoled Tevas!). He said it was like 5.7...he lied....

[pope]

Nice TR Faust. For those of you who haven't visited SPIRE (Spanaway Park Ice & Rock Education), Crisco Slab (the West Face) offers the greasiest bouldering north of Camp IV. It features vertical basalt river rocks so polished you can see your reflection, especially when a younger member of the indigenous species urinates down it. You may catch SPIRE at its finest if you visit soon: it currently features a visibly thick coat of male spores (from the local forest). Only verglas offers more tenuous climbing.

 

[ 05-01-2002, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: pope ]

[Jens]

I was told that the polished rock that makes up the prevously mentioned crisco slab came from deep underwater near where I used to lifeguard-- Lake Spanaway.

[pope]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jens:

I was told that the polished rock that makes up the prevously mentioned crisco slab came from deep underwater near where I used to lifeguard-- Lake Spanaway.

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I didn't hear that, but I'll bet you're right!

[mtnrgr]

I attempted the 7 continents, 2 weeks ago. I flailed on it for an hour, but couldn't get past #5 (would that be Africa or South America?). It has to be rated V5+

 

I've crossed algae covered creeks with better traction than most of Spire Rock.

 

But on the other than hand, I was the local Hardman for the hour I was there. All I need to do is dial a few routes and I could be a climbing god.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I remember I liked bouldering at the spire when not many people were around. I used to like to climb crisco slab. The topout is scary for me - at least it was like 5 years ago. Also liked the finger crack around the corner from it - harder at the end there too. Good highball nerves on some stuff there.

 

Everything there is rated 5.7