[TR] Snow Creek Wall - Hyperspace 9/11/2010

[eldiente]

Trip: Snow Creek Wall - Hyperspace

 

Date: 9/11/2010

 

Trip Report:

Hypersapce has been on my mind for a while, never seemed to work out as whenever I'm near 11-worth I'm thinking about alpine type stuff. Alpine climbing didn't really happen for me this year, the summer was two days long. As a consultation prize for our missed alpine objective, Jaime and I took a trip up Hyperspace on Saturday in fantastic Fall weather.

 

 

(Side note, I like to say I've been wanting to do Hyperspace for a while, but in fact I've been secretly intimidated by the Pressure Chamber pitch and was looking for someone to rope gun for me. Jaime had already done Hyperspace and promised me it was mellow, perfect I'm thinking, I'd chill out in the back seat all day and let him do the work)

 

Jaime hurt his shoulder the week before, he put on a good game face and was stoked to get me up there. It became apparent that he was hurting more than he let on when he asked me to grab things off his harness because he couldn't bend his arm that direction. Very kind of him to belay for me all day even though he was really hurting, I respect that.

 

 

I don't have many pictures to share, but here is a few thoughts on what we found. Blake's beta is good

 

P1.Normal start to Outer Space. I almost killed my injured partner on the first pitch traverse by forgetting to put in any gear to protect the second. The slabs were wet and Jaime was rightly cursing me as he slid around on the wet moss. Sorry man!

 

P2. The Psychopath pitch 5.11. Brilliant finger crack, the kind where your like oh please let me lead this pitch, oh please me first! Jaime was kind enough to let me give it a go. I hung at the middle crux, lowered off and pulled the rope, botched it again, pulled the rope, third try it went. I was upset to miss the onsite but I was climbing with tunnel vision and using bad internet beta that told me to layback the crux. Wrong! Here is the correct super beta *laughs*

 

Spoiler beta alert. Mellow straight-in jamming. The crack begins to thin, look left for small crimp/knob thing, this is key. Dead-hang this crimp and put in gear, no worries about plugging the crack up with gear as you won't be using the crack proper for the next few moves. Crux is here, keep left hand on crimp/knob while shuffling right hand up the edge of the crack working toward obvious wide spot/flake thingy. Keep both feet left of crack while shuffling with right hand, sort of barn-door feeling but once you latch the flake you can cut your feet and march them over to right side of crack while hanging off flake. Put in yellow Master cam here and punch it far right to Smith style jug bucket, chalk-up but don't bother trying to put in any more gear here as it is too thin. Move left on crimps and top-out left on sloppers. Very engaging sport climbing styled finish. Red C3s or Blue Master Cams are very useful on this pitch.

 

[img:center]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4988549411_c13f2c7caf_b.jpg[/img]

 

Pitch 2 below the crux.

 

P3. 5.9 hand cracks and just fun. Pulling the roof is much easier than it looks.

 

P4. More thin, looks burly from belay but not too bad a mid 5.10. In Blake's topo he links this pitch with the next. I elected to break these pitches in two as I was getting drag.

 

P5. Blake says you can go left via dirty 5.10C corner or right via over-hangging face. I did the overhanging face thing at 5.11. One of the best pitches of the climb, reminded me of jug hauling out at Ozone with gear. I love this style of climbing. Magically all of the jugs had good gear by them, wait until your on a jug to place gear. Red C3 or Blue Master cam is helpful for protecting the lower part. After the face climbing bit move back left into dirty crack to finish. This was sketchy for me, there is a lot of dirt/moss and not so much gear. A Green C3 saved the day here. Very excited to have gotten this pitch clean, one of the more enjoyable pitches I've done this summer.

[img:center]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4989178248_9ca7c430b7_b.jpg[/img]

 

Looking up the 5.11 face pitch.

 

P6. Brilliant as well, lay-backing and jamming with feet on knobs to get the pitch started, and exciting move left onto huge flakes. Flakes feel hallow, will they break off on some poor sap? Higher up there is many options, the flare chimney on the right seems like the best option. I was surprised, half way into it I'm full chimneying across an airy gap. Yeah! Left shoulder is in and there is a thin crack behind you the whole time that takes small cams. Keep eye open for a jug ledge climbers right in chimney, this jug allows some rest before some awkward moves left around chalk-stone.

 

P7.Pressure Chamber. No luck for me on getting Jaime to lead this one, he's been in pain all day and can't lead. Bummer. Actually the Pressure Chamber in general is a big bummer, the whole pitch is rad crack work right up until then. I was hiking along getting big in the head thinking the send was in the bag, only 10 feet of climbing separated me from a clean send. That 10 feet turns out to be a real whore, even after numerous falls and 100% effort I'm still unsure of the proper beta. I figured out how to get out of the chamber via wild behind the body stemming, but getting into the Chamber is confusing to me. I was using #1 sized jams and trying to campus through it, sort of worked but it was taxing as hell. Any ideas on this one? I did see some chalk far left on a finger crack, maybe work in from there?

 

P8. We belayed above the Chamber so the last pitch started out with some airy lay-backing to a left foot traverse. The traverse isn't hard but made me gulp, walking the plank comes to mind. The crack above is a bit dirty. Pulling the roof is hard, #1 sized hands with feet crushed up under you. (Being short would be an advantage on this) After doing the equivalent of 100 pull-ups inside the Pressure Chamber, I was spent and had to push hard to get over this bulge with feet dangling in the air. The run-out to the summit is easy 4th class but gave me awful drag, might be better to belay below the summit tree.

 

 

I'm a fan and very much loved this route. Has a nice adventure feel to it with lots of sustained pitches. Thanks to Jaime for letting me do this one, heal up soon man!

 

-Nate

 

More photos here

 

Gear Notes:

Doubles Green C3s to #2. One #3. I found triples in the finger size cams to be useful although nuts could be used instead. We brought the #4 along but didn't really need it. If you belay high and left of the Pressure Chamber, you would need a #4 for the belay but I found the belay right above the Chamber to be secure off medium gear. Lots of draws, there is a lot of ledges to go around and over.

 

Approach Notes:

Snow Creek.

Edited September 14, 2010 by eldiente

[denalidave]

Nice, we may have passed you at the base on our way down from Orbit that day. Nice fall weather in L Town, even though our hopes of the CNR on Stuart were shut down by wet & snowy conditions...

[kevbone]

Nice work guys. Get well soon Jaime!

[Alex]

great TR and great pics, just as I remembered it all. I had the hardest time on your p5 5.11 face pitch, it seemed pretty mid-11 to me and I just ran out of gas, and the pressure chamber proper I couldnt figure out at all on second and I ended up aiding it! Still great climb full value!

[ivan]

never will forget the thrill of it getting dark while belayign the pressure chamber pitch - go to follow it w/ pack on, immediately become hyper-claustrophobic - can't figure it out, and end up flying out of the chamber, dangling in space in total darkness on a tiny-ass sport rope, chattering like a wee girl....

 

...then after stumbling down from the top getting back to the party to find the fucking keg just kicked! bitches!

[Doug_Hutchinson]

Strong work Nate but you suck for hurting Jaime (he aint that young anymore) and, in the process, effing up our climbing plans for this weekend.

 

I thought Pyschopath was really stellar but felt kinda R-rated with the crux on the barn-doory nobs with the last piece in the crack well below you (says the seamstress...). I was way too chickenshit to do the Pressure Chamber so did the p5 variation out right trending towards Outer Space, intersecting the headwall crack below Library Ledge. Clmbing all those great pitches and then finishing on the best pitches of OS makes for an awesome linkup.

[eldiente]

Sorry Doug, but I don't think Jaime's bum arm was the only thing that messed up your climbing plans this past weekend, awful weather!

 

Yes doing the p5 variation that that moves right to Outer Space would be a nice way to go, fun cool down terrain. Whereas the proper finish on Hyperspace feels like a fist fight right up until you top out.

[Winter]

Doug's just bitter b/c he was hoping for a firmer massage.

[Doug_Hutchinson]

Doug's just bitter b/c he was hoping for a firmer massage.

 

Chris, funny you should mention massages - seems like a new passion of yours. Weren't you the same guy that I was getting snowed on a few weeks on Les Cornes and instead of savaging the trip with some cragging, decided to crash girl's night at the spa? Your skin has had a more youthful glow lately...

[j_b]

P5 the way ElDiente did it is a lot harder (spanked me the 1st time I tried it) and less well protected than the pressure chamber, but again I am kind of stubby so that may explain my perspective.