Boving Route - Dragontail?

[dberdinka]

Whats up with this route? The only info I found online was Colin Haley recounting watching Eric Gratz (sp?) take a 70' whipper on the first pitch and nearly deck.

 

Beckey says "the first 5 pitches are 5.10 on excellent glacier-polished granite"

 

Anyone done it? Give me some beta!

 

D

[ivan]

totally blanking on their avatars, but erik and his buddy (wait! dirtyharry?) i know have done it as i spent a much alpine-adled afternoon bathing in the brillance of lake colchuck w/ them n' skye and they talked about it being thin and kinda run out, but fun to start - i heard it kinda fades into mungy crap though. what a day - smokes n' royal crown n' sun! a week later i developed a groovy case of campylobacter and spent the last week of the summer pissing out of my asshole, w/ a raging malarial fever!

[Off_White]

Seems I've heard it suggested, only half in jest, that there should be a rap route from the top of the good stuff. There's also a winter route in that area, Tim Wilson & John Wason did it I think.

[dberdinka]

Just found the following image in the gallery. Speak up Pete!~

 

[Peter_Puget]

Seems I've heard it suggested, only half in jest, that there should be a rap route from the top of the good stuff.

 

It's called Rock Climbing OW. All the cool guys rap after the crux. That area has the best rock on an otherwise less than glamorous mountain.

[lunger]

DB, here's some beta.

 

Bring lots of small gear. Might want pins too.

 

The climbing is on really good, somewhat compact granite (as you can gather). The first pitch (or somewhere down low) has the psych crux, you climb above your last little piece enough to warrant concern, as you must traverse left (not too high like Gratz) around a bulge/arete, making use of secure-to-some knobs. but usually the .10 cruxes are short, with lots of .9 climbing. this from my creaky memory, so caveat emptor--and you paid nothing.

 

5 pitches of awesome followed by rambly shite, I imagine like the upper reaches of serpentine (have not climbed), no fin finisher like backbone. still, a fun outing. get on the wall early (of course)--we heard some little bullets whizzing by as the temps rose, but the big overhang above seems to spit them well clear of you.

 

have fun, and report back!

 

by the way hello Ivan, that was a hell of party--didn't know you got sick later.

Edited May 9, 2009 by lunger

[Jens]

Some years it is only dry from mid August until mid Sept.

[Off_White]

Sometimes it seems like there's a lot of Eric(k)s around here...

[ivan]

Sometimes it seems like there's a lot of Eric(k)s around here...

that's why i'm ivan

 

lunger, you the one w/ the dad who was the spitting image of lloyd bridges?

 

no shit an awesome party - i was so fucking happy when i woke up that morning and skye was saying "dude, i'm feeling kinda tired - you wanna NOT climb colchuck today?"

 

i seem to recall thinking i was actually going to have a heartattack while swimming out to that little rock island in lake colhuck too - holy fuck its cold, even in august.

 

[Sol]

from what i've gathered the boving route is real deal 5.10, but not so bad if you're comfortable with the grade. obscure classic of d-tail, compact and runout, but pretty clean. if you get scared just remember its cruiser compared to the unrepeated dragonscar in the same zone.

 

it's on the list darin if you want to get after it...

[Pete_H]

Good times at Lac Colchuck that day, indeed!

 

re: D-Tail: The lower pitches (I think it went in 4 pitches)are fairly stiff 5.10, but not that bad. The technical crux protects well. Worth doing!