What's your favorite sport climb?

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

OK, the good Doctor is wondering, for those of you to whom the question applies, what your favorite sport route or routes is or are. Feel free to include any relevant details such as where and why and all that crap.

 

For those of you who hate sport climbing and don't do sport routes, go stuff nuts in your crack.

[forrest_m]

neither of these is 5.12. do they still count?

 

kite flying blind, second pitch, at index. exemplifies the "it looked totally improbable but somehow it's possible". second choice: pure palm, in the gorge at smith. i'm a sucker for stemming problems.

[allthumbs]

DFUnamazing...go chug some cock, wankeryanker

 

[ 08-23-2002, 05:11 PM: Message edited by: trask ]

[sk]

can I name it if I can't do it???? what are the rules here DFA?

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

quote:

---

Originally posted by trask:

DFUnamazing...go chug some cock, wankeryanker

---

Is that at Red Rocks, you coprophagic neanderthal pansy?

 

 

[ 08-23-2002, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Dr Flash Amazing ]

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

quote:

---

Originally posted by sk:

can I name it if I can't do it???? what are the rules here DFA?

---

It's fucking anarchy in here. You can name it if you had to stick-clip the first bolt, couldn't get to the second bolt, and used all your chalk trying to figure out the first three moves. Whatever, just give up the favorites!

[Attitude]

North Face of Concord Tower.

 

(There is one bolt on route, next to the manky piton.)

[sk]

thank you for letting me play

 

I climed to the 3rd bolt (for real) of pure palm (on top rope) It was awsome. Maybe someday I will lead it. realy challenging.

 

I stand at the bottom of This Ain't No Disco every time I go to flagstone. I will climb it one day.

 

Gingersnap was lots of fun at smith (yes on top rope, shut up meanies)

 

me thinks I climb with ropeguns too much... but then again maybe not

 

oooh I almost forgot there is an unnamed climb at a place I can't tell you about, but would take you to. I made it to the crux on top rope... you might not like it though more of a mixed route than pure sport. Fun though

 

[ 08-23-2002, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: sk ]

[allthumbs]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dr Flash Amazing:

quote:

---

Originally posted by trask:

DFUnamazing...go chug some cock, wankeryanker

---

Is that at Red Rocks, you coprophagic neanderthal pansy?

---

You've gone and got it wrong, once AGAIN. It's "coprophagist", meathead. Geeze, do I have to do everything?

[Uncle_Tricky]

Moons of Pluto--a nice line up a beautiful arete (Smith)

Sideshow--fun barndoor crux on the last move (Index)

Local Boys do Good--sporting runouts (Squamish)

Silent Running--multipitch slab (Darrington)

Some of the pitches on the upper tier of Careno Crag in Leavenworth--nice exposure, cool cystal pockets

Whatever that climb is at the Pearly Gates that starts off the huge flat block--neat moves, some power, some balance.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

 

 

[ 08-23-2002, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: Dr Flash Amazing ]

[fern]

rope below: star chek p2, triage arete, totally clips, some other thing at smith that crosses a bunch of other routes and ends at the top of a cliff

rope above: naturopath, besot and flushed, BBQ da pope

 

do slab climbs count as sport climbs though, even if the only pro is bolts? 'cause I sure wouldn't want to take repeated whippers

[sexual_chocolate]

For some reason, I've always liked Hydrophobia at Little Si.

 

Magic Light at Smith I always enjoy.

 

Californication at Little Si (Chronic sucks!).

 

Ooh...Five Easy Pieces at Smith. Oh why are you so fun, little one, little one?

 

Oh jeez, Kings of Rap.

 

And something called Missing Link at Lake Louise, Banff. Yo hard!

 

And what is our favorite proctologist's favorite route, por favor? I believe there are numerous points of curiousity quivering, perhaps bwain dwayne being one of them?

[Cpt.Caveman]

The North Ridge of Stuart is sporty.

[jhamaker]

Pashastin Pinnacles after the exfoliated sand has been cleaned off by other climbers.

 

Anything at Red Rocks.

 

Friction slabs like the Upper Apron rts at Squamish.

 

Snake Dike in the valley.

 

See a pattern here?

[Off_White]

quote:

---

Originally posted by jhamaker:

Pashastin Pinnacles after the exfoliated sand has been cleaned off by other climbers.

 

Anything at Red Rocks.

 

Friction slabs like the Upper Apron rts at Squamish.

 

Snake Dike in the valley.

 

See a pattern here?

---

Sorry, I don't see the pattern. Its not just a listing of runout trad routes, though Question of Balance and Snake Dike would fit that description. Red Rocks has a ton of sport routes, even up in the canyons. Peshastin? I recall many of those routes having perfectly adequate protection, but its not quite the place to be anyone's favorite. They're not the same kind of rock, they're not in the same state, they're not even all face climbs.

 

As for my choices...

 

Aerial at Snowshed Wall in Donner Summit because I like aretes.

 

Colossus at City of Rocks because my trad upbringing makes me enjoy it most when I flash something, and it was both interesting and easy enough.

 

Green Dragon on the Apron in the Valley because I just love that slab, and it was my first 5.11 lead.

 

The Manly Wham in Tenino because I know it so well that in the middle of the night when I wake up and can't sleep, I can climb the route in my mind and I always nod out before the top (though I've never fallen asleep on the climb)

[iain]

any of those smith nubbin routes where you start wondering what the hell is keeping you from falling. somehow you levitate up the route.

[plexus]

Meethinks that jhameker likes runouts. C'mon don't you think the one bolt-per-pitch on Snake Dike is a little bit too much...it's like a friggn' bolt ladder !!

 

Sport routes are kinda oxymoronic aren't they?

[Geek_the_Greek]

Wings of desire at Skaha was awww-sommme. That was probably the most pumped I've ever been. Stood at the no-hands rest for a good 10 minutes to recover before the little roof...

[Off_White]

quote:

---

Originally posted by plexus:

Meethinks that jhameker likes runouts. C'mon don't you think the one bolt-per-pitch on Snake Dike is a little bit too much...it's like a friggn' bolt ladder

!!

 

Sport routes are kinda oxymoronic aren't they?

---

Yes, thats the obvious guess, but if you throw in "anything at Red Rocks" and Peshastin, then runout slab climbing doesn't fit as a pattern.

I haven't done Snake Dike or anything on the upper apron, but I have done some one bolt pitches, and no matter the grade, I've never exactly sneered at the bolt when I found it.

 

As for oxymoronic, c'mon, climbing is a vast array of things. It runs from some V-dreadful boulder problem to Snake Dike to South Seas to Nemesis to DNB of Bear to the DC Route on Rainier: there's plenty of room in that spectrum for a little athletically challenging low risk rock gymnastics. Do the hard ice folks sneer at rock climbers because their medium will actually take protection that will hold a fall? As Lito Tejada-Flores termed it, its all the Games Climbers Play, and there are an abundance of games, and really, games is all they are. Thankfully we don't all embrace the same things, because that would be boring as all hell. Sneering at someone else's fun is just another game, and a very old one at that.

 

PS: Plexus, I don't mean to make it sound like I'm targeting you, your humorous query just made me look around for a soapbox.

[Jens]

WWI at little Si is awesome. The quality is way underated.

 

Dagobah system in Leavenworth is pretty cool but most sport climbers wouldn't want to deal with the couple of gear placements. Trigger Finger at Tieton's Cave has some thrilling moves.

 

Anybody check out Marcus or Horne lake?

-------------------------------------------------

 

Offwhitie... I notice you are from Tennino. Does Fossil get much traffic these days? I climbed out there a lot as a youngster. To bad that awesome crag "Ted's Wall" (Ted Otto namesake) had all the bolts removed by DNR. That was a sweet area.

[sexual_chocolate]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Geek the Greek:

Wings of desire at Skaha was awww-sommme. That was probably the most pumped I've ever been. Stood at the no-hands rest for a good 10 minutes to recover before the little roof...

---

Hey, just cuz they bolted it don't mean it's a sport-route!

 

But heck yeah, that's a good route!

 

[ 08-24-2002, 02:28 PM: Message edited by: sexual chocolate ]

[sexual_chocolate]

"Anybody check out Marcus or Horne lake?"

 

I've been to Horne Lake, and it's really good. Overhanging limestone! I've heard there are some access issues as of late, so I'd check first....

 

What's Marcus Lake about?

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

quote:

---

Originally posted by sexual chocolate:

For some reason, I've always liked Hydrophobia at Little Si.

 

Magic Light at Smith I always enjoy.

 

Californication at Little Si (Chronic sucks!).

 

Ooh...Five Easy Pieces at Smith. Oh why are you so fun, little one, little one?

 

Oh jeez, Kings of Rap.

 

And something called Missing Link at Lake Louise, Banff. Yo hard!

 

And what is our favorite proctologist's favorite route, por favor? I believe there are numerous points of curiousity quivering, perhaps bwain dwayne being one of them?

---

Hey, DFA ain't that sort of Doctor, buster!

 

Have you done or been on the whole 5 Easy Pieces? It looks to be quite a proud line and seems like it'd make a fun outing, despite rumors of it being a drill-fest (just imagine, a 5.13(?) at Smith with chipped holds ).

 

The Doctor has always thought Chain Reaction was one of the coolest routes ever. What great moves on such a crazy feature, and super fun as well. Too bad it's only like 40' long! But you get the funky start, the big pulls, the technical arete slapping and footwork, the crazy rockover move, and a big dyno in that 40 feet. Toxic is always fun, too; can't climb that thing too many times. Fear & Loathing at Red Rocks is a blast, too; like 5 Gallon Buckets at a 30 degree angle. Ah, the list could go on and on ...

[Matt_Anderson]

Pardon my butchering of French names and places, but . . .

 

The climbing area: The Calanques in southern France contains a number of peninsulas that jut out into the Mediterranean . The Calanques sit about 45 minutes east on the coast from Marseille).

 

The approach: The climb sits near the end of the Morjiou (I think) peninsula. The peninsula is maybe a mile long. As you walk from the start of the peninsula to its tip, you start about 40 feet above sea level, go up to about 500 feet elevation 1/3 of the way, and then end the trip at about 125 feet elevation at the tip. The peninsula is surrounded on all sides by overhanging and vertical cliffs between 100 and 300 feet tall. As you go you will notice arid plants eking out an existence. You will pass through some older-than-our-country battlements used to defend the peninsula from something or the other. Views up and down the coast are dominated by similar peninsulas and a few islands to the west.

 

The rock: is white limestone - quite solid, but it feels as if you are climbing pumice, so at the end of the day you almost feel like you've had a manicure. I am told that the sea air prevents the usual grey oxidization layer that generally makes limestone so sharp. No one type of hold predominates, rather each clif holds a variety of pockets, slopers, crimps, tufa’s, fins, pinches, you name it. The rock in this area explains all of the truly oddly shaped holds that hold manufacturers sell but that are never reflected in nature in the Pacific Northwest.

 

I would note that I took my trad rack to France because I take it everywhere, but almost never took it out. The French are sport climbers because the most compelling lines there are all face climbs. Unlike the states, where few things create a more compelling line than a single crack splitting a granite or sandstone face, the limestone cracks there are painful and awkward. In contrast, the aretes and faces call out to be climbed just as much as the split pillar on the grand wall. Climbing these routes is like eating ice-cream morning, noon and night - pure enjoyment.

 

The Cliff - The Triperie sits just shy of the end of the peninsula. It is a U-Shaped bay, with walls between 150 and 250 feet tall. 80% of the walls overhang. Check out this link for a photo of it: http://www.onsight.com.au/gallery/overseas/france/index.htm (click on the picture of the guy climbing out of a cave at sunset - the Calanque - and then go to the photo taken with a fish-eye lens. The two in the picture are very near the top of the climb I am describing).

 

The majority of routes at this cliff are grouped in an single 100 foot area. There are three tiers of climbs, making for ½ rope length pitches each. As I recall, the top tier contains about 8 climbs, the easiest is @.11c or .11d. The second tier contains perhaps 4 climbs, hard .10 to easy .12. The bottom tier contains two pitches, one is rated hard .10/easy.11, the other is harder. Each tier has a ledge at which you may belay. The bottom tier is low enough that you get splashed a bit if there are waves.

 

Access to each of these climbs is by rappelling in from the top. Because of the overhanging nature of the cliff, you must clip the rap line through quick draws as you rappel. In about 150 –200 feet of climbing, the routes overhang about 50 feet.

 

The Ambiance: My partner headed out after a leisurely breakfast in the relatively deserted (February is off-season for tourists) town of Cassis. As we approached, the Mistral was blowing (Think the French version of the Santa Anna winds). On that particular day we thought they were blowing about 40 mph. We hunched over in order to make headway, fully expecting to get skunked because the wind would make for very unenjoyable climbing. Once there, we took off our packs and discovered that they would blow away, even fully loaded, unless we anchored them.

 

The Triperie was on the leeward side of the island (opposite side that the wind was coming from), so we decided to rap down and see if it was climbable despite the wind. As we descended, in addition to the whitecaps, we saw gusts of wind impacting the water and creating explosions of splashing water not 40 feet from where we stopped. Despite the fury of the wind, the bay was so small that the wind changed to an enjoyable gusty breeze the moment that we got 10 feet below the cliff edge. With the overhanging nature of the climbs, we were totally sheltered by the time we reached the bottom.

 

While there were no boats out on the particular day that we climbed this route (to windy), other days that we climbed on the peninsula were broken up by small fishing boats heading out for their daily day of work. These were obviously commercial boats, but only manned by one or two fisherman. Seldom more than 22 feet long. Very picturesque.

 

In February, the area is off-season for tourists, but temperature range between 55 and 80, depending on the wind and clouds. Most often, we were the only people at the crag.

 

The Climb: Don’t remember the name, but it is the easiest line of ascent in the central grouping of climbs. The guidebook rated it the French equivalent of .10c/d, but it certainly felt .11b. It was the steepest climb there and had the biggest holds, predominated by fins and scoops. We climbed the in two pitches, linking the bottom and middle tier. As all of the climbs on the upper tier are .11c/d or harder, the rating I give only refers to the bottom two tiers.

 

If you go, also check out a short cliff a hundred yards away at the end of the peninsula. Easy .10 to hard .11, a better view, shorter climbs and more sun.

 

Even though I consider myself primarily a trad climber, and although the following statement compares apples to oranges, as far as pure enjoyment goes, this was the best cliff I have ever gone to. Better than the Grand Wall, El Cap, Half-Dome, the Diamond, the Cookie, WWI, Index and Mt. Baring. It was pure joy.

 

Cheers!

 

[ 08-24-2002, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Matt Anderson ]