Lessons from Sister Superior

[Jim]

Well, I took the advice of some CC.commers and opted for Jah Man on Sister Superior outside Moab last week. The weather was a bit unsettled so we were rained out on Monday but Tuesday was sunny and calm. After a couple miles of 4x4 we hiked to the talus cone and tromped up for an hour to the tower base. This thing didn't look so big from the far end of Castle Valley where we were staying.

 

The first short pitch of 5.8 was a good warm up. Then came the 110 ft of the Sister Squeeze, a narrow slot between a huge block and the main tower. After many catepillar moves with my feet splayed outward and palms down and out I came up for air. I clip my wedding band on my chalk bag when climbing and in the squeeze I smushed it so only a paper clip could fit through instead of my finger.

 

The next couple of pitches are way vertical and exposed 10c and 10b cracks. Did I mention that I struggle with cracks? From the perch atop the chimmney the 3rd pitch goes up to and traverses under an overhang on some inventive finger locks. I thought was getting the jamming thing down when I was spit out of the crack like a slice of rye bread from the toaster. There was a suprising amount of blood from a ripped pinky cuticle. I popped off twice more, had to pull on a sling to gain my stance and basically got whipped. I pulled the traverse cleanly and after that the pitched eased off to a 5.9 crack or so.

Dangling there, regaining my composure, there was no war, no shitty politics, no work-a-day worries. Just a few square meters of rock and a puzzle for me to figure out. I'm almost 50 and still enjoy this stuff so much, even if it's a notch above my ability.

 

The 4th pitch is a long 10b thin hands crack that I actually did well on thanks to some more options for minor foot placements on the wall. After that it was about 20 ft of 10c face climing to gain the top.

 

If asked I'd call my part of the climb A1 10c. It wasn't clean. I got back to the house in Castle Valley, had a beer while looking across to the Sister, my first thought was that I could have climbed it in better form. Maybe I get another chance sometime before I get too old and creaky.

 

Went for a sping bc ski in the Cascades on Sunday and had a hoot.

[JoshK]

 

Great TR man!

[mneagle]

It's my favorite climb since I moved to Utah. I too thought I could have done it in better style as I hung once at the crux to shake it out before climbing through it. I think there is a psychological factor to overcome when coming out of the sister squeeze suffering from claustrophobia onto that exposed ledge and shear face looming above. The whipping wind didn't help either. Now that I've climbed it, I realize it's all there and hopefully if I go back I'll get it clean.

 

With regards to the last pitch, I think it's 5.9 face, not 10c. The crappy bolts add a little spice though.

 

http://www.climbingmoab.com/rock/db/castle_valley/sister_superior_group/

 

Note: Lower climber at belay atop sister squeeze pitch and higher climber about to complete 3rdpitch.

 

Forgot to mention that there is a new bolted line along the right side of the face with anchors at the far right end of belay atop the sister squeeze pitch. It looks pretty hard but welll protected. Anyone know anything about this route? We used it to rappel as it was in better shape than some of the Jah Man anchors.

Edited April 13, 2004 by mneagle

[Jim]

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With regards to the last pitch, I think it's 5.9 face, not 10c. The crappy bolts add a little spice though.

 

Ah man - throw me a bone here! My arms musta been puddy by then I guess.

[dberdinka]

Thank you for a well-written report. The River Road area must be, in my mind, one of the most beautiful places in the world to climb. While there is no lack of ***** routes in the area, I feel like chiming in and saying add the Honeymoon Chimney on The Priest to your must-do list. Crazy geometry and an amazing summit structure make in the most memorable climb I've done in the Castle Valley.

 

That last pitch on Sis Sup is one hell of a 5.9!! 5.9++ maybe!