[TR] Smith Rock - Air To Spare w/variation start 5.7 A3 X 1/21/2010

[Lovetoclimb]

Trip: Smith Rock - Air To Spare w/variation start 5.7 A3 X

 

Date: 1/21/2010

 

Trip Report:

A few weeks ago Tyler and I went out to Smith with the intention of aiding an absurd line of seams left of Scarface. The line overhangs about 30 feet in 100. To get into the seams Tyler started hooking right off the ground. He placed a bolt to keep his ass of the ground and then the nailing starts. The pitch took 27 #2 and #3 pecker placements and the occasional angle and LA. We placed just enough bolts to keep a gear ripping leader off the ground.

 

After we started the route I got really sick for two weeks so we left a line fixed which at Smith attracts the wrong type of attention. Some yahoos had swung on the rope so much that they cut the sheath of the rope and the core strands were all exposed which made for an exciting ascent yesterday morning. When I got to about 3 feet away from the core shot, the sheath started to slide down the rope. At that point I had to reach up past the core shot and put my ascender on the rope and keep going from there a few feet to the belay. A few minutes of excitement for sure. Add that to the list of things I don't want to have to experience again.

 

The second pitch was pretty exciting for me. It was straight forward nailing up a slabby seam to a ledge where you sink a good #3 camalot in a wierd groove. That is the last piece of the route. From there I was in free climbing land. I put on the shoes and started going for it. 5.7 climbing on halfway decent rock leads to an exciting exit downclimbing left into a chimney. I just kept expecting to find a bolt up there and I never did.

 

Those guys had some balls. Tom Blust and Jim Anglin put up a killer line.

tyler jugging, ryan at the belay (note: i think its kinda steep)

 

belay meeting tyler on the left ryan on the right

 

ryan starting to nail the second pitch where you join air to spare after 2 placements

 

ryan launching into the free climbing up to the ledge above him to a long traverse to the left and into the hobbit hole

 

Edited January 25, 2010 by Lovetoclimb

[alexbaker]

Cool. SA ?

[mountainmatt]

Sweet man! Scary stuff for sure! 27 #2 and #3 pecker placements in the tuff must have been pretty spicy! Not to mention the core shot rope.

 

I have always looked at that line wondering what the story was there. Nice work.

 

Did you guys take any pics?

 

 

[ivan]

wait...was that the rope that's been hanging on the picnic lunch wall the past year?

[Lovetoclimb]

No that is Tyler's other project...

 

I'm trying to get him out there to finish that one too. I think I get the next pitch. I know of one person that took a big whipper on it so I'm looking forward to it.

[powderhound]

wait...was that the rope that's been hanging on the picnic lunch wall the past year?

 

no that another one of tyler's projects.

 

nice work getting out and getting after smith...its a beautiful time of year to be there. I think the colors are more vibran in the winter. very jealous

Edited January 22, 2010 by powderhound

[pdk]

 

We placed just enough bolts to keep a gear ripping leader off the ground.

 

So where does the "X" in the rating come from?

[kevbone]

 

Those guys had some balls. Tom Blust and Jim Anglin put up a killer line.

 

Were you on an existing route?

[ivan]

where is this in the park then? i don't know where scarface is, probably cuz i'm just a po'boy who aint' bought even the old guide

[chrismael]

 

Those guys had some balls. Tom Blust and Jim Anglin put up a killer line.

 

Were you on an existing route?

 

 

Second that. ??

[mountainmatt]

Scarface back in the day...

 

[eldiente]

Not entirely sure, but I think this is an established aid line done by other parties in past years.

[billcoe]

I saw you folks up there banging away and wondered who it was. It had rained on Friday real hard and was starting to warm up Saturday @ 11 am or so. Dihedrals Ivan, to the right of shoes of the fisherman area.

[rbw1966]

Sounds like a spicy climb. I am curious though, it sounds like you retro-bolted an existing line. Did you get the blessing of the FA?

 

Not trying to start a bolt discussion--its Smith for crissakes where there are bolts everywhere.

[ivan]

Sounds like a spicy climb. I am curious though, it sounds like you retro-bolted an existing line. Did you get the blessing of the FA?

 

Not trying to start a bolt discussion--its Smith for crissakes where there are bolts everywhere.

sounds like bolts on the variation, no?

 

getting jim's blessing w/o a seance would be difficult too, but i know tyler's his progeny, so i'm sure he'd have blessed it

Edited January 22, 2010 by ivan

[Lovetoclimb]

Bolts we put in were on the variation start. Jim's original start was basically eliminated by a sport climb project 5.15? that was bolted back a number of years ago. The variation we did was about 30 feet left of the original line. The second pitch is where the route gets the x rating from. From the last piece of pro to the top is a 50+ foot runout on mediocre to loose rock.

[corvallisclimb]

a couple of pics to come... oh ya and some tomahawk placements those things from moses and b law are the shit.

[billcoe]

a couple of pics to come... oh ya and some tomahawk placements those things from moses and b law are the shit.

Yeah they are! Cue pics of various beaks: opps....

 

...here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[corvallisclimb]

Cool. SA ?

 

If memory serves Jim told me that Tom Blust repeated it but that wouldnt make much sense as he was on the FA. I wish I had written down everything he told me because there was a lot I lost with him. I'm 99 percent sure Jim told me it was repeated, I'll ask Watts and see if he might know.

Either way it was hard and Jim was a fucking bad ass. The first pitch being extremely steep (I'd say 40' instead of Ryan's 30') and sustaind was never too dangerous. The first 30' are 50 degrees overhanging, steep, thin and technica (and yes 27 beaks, 5 bolts, 3 hooks, 2 angles, 1 LA, 1 nut) but the seam slowly widens the higher you get. The second pitch (on Jim's route) started the same as the rest though 80 degree slab but after 50' of beaks you had to free climb... not that hard but rotten and run out. He did get another beak in above two cam placements but shit gnarly as all hell. Cleaning I got to the very last beak and was faced with a 50' traverse to easier ground. Fuck that shit I lowered off a crappy ass #2 beak, well Ryan placed one of my tomahawk's but no way in hell was I going to leave one of those! So I banged in some shit lowerd off and it was over... well as far as Smith descents go from the hobbit hole requires a bunch of shit a couple of raps exposed scrambles and just all around crap. Oh well thanks Ryan for getting back out, a lot more of this to come but nothign as steep. This IS the steepest route at Smith.

[corvallisclimb]

Yeah they are! Cue pics of various beaks: opps....

 

 

Bill, why the hell didn't I get an x-mas card!!!! :lmao:

[ivan]

seriously.

 

the chick on the right looks kinda like she gotta crap though.

[corvallisclimb]

seriously.

 

the chick on the right looks kinda like she gotta crap though.

 

what are you afraid of???

[ivan]

seriously.

 

the chick on the right looks kinda like she gotta crap though.

 

what are you afraid of???

poo is gross tyler

 

poo is gross

 

[111]

Tyler,

I was at smith over MLK and a number of people thought your rope was set up to be the rope swing somewhere near there. A lot of people swung around on that thing regardless of the coreshot. I know you are doing lots of cool shit at smith that doesnt get done much, but you have got to stop leaving ropes hanging off every blank face. They are an attractive nuisance and an eyesore. I could care less about ropes left up in obscure places, but leaving them on frontside smith walls is not good.

 

<3 Ian

[wayne]

Wow, impressive ascent!