Rainman Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 Trip: Darrington - Illusion Wall - Schizophrenic Date: 10/15/2011 Trip Report: Once again, another season, another quality route on the Illusion Wall. If I wasn't having so much fun it might be boring. But wait, that's never going to happen. Daryl Kralovic and I completed a new line just to the right of "Search For The Holy Grail" and named it "Schizophrenic". (There is a story behind the name, but I'll save that for another time) We finished it in mid September, but never brought the camera. So on October 15th we headed out to get pictures of the new climb. A most unusual day for Darrington ensued. We arrived at the trailhead to find not one, but two other parties heading for the Illusion Wall. Darin Burdinka & Gene Pires were going for "The Holy Grail" and Mark VonHagel & Einar Osterhaug went for "Excalibur". Three parties on three different routes all in the same day on a wall we've had mostly to ourselves. Unheard of! But what a day it was! Blue sky, warm sunshine, great views, beautiful rock, WOW! Daryl following pitch three Daryl leading pitch four Pitch five Leading pitch five with Darin on pitch five of The Holy Grail in the background. Looking down on pitch seven Looking over at Mark & Einar on Excalibur Taking a picture of Einar taking a picture. Einar, post your picture! Mark on "the flake" Darin leading out on pitch seven "The Holy Grail" Daryl leading the "crackling corner" pitch eight. Some real exposure on pitch nine. The Illusion Wall and all the known routes. Yellow - Engineers Route 5.9 Dingbat 5.10+ 2 pitch variation Red - The Page 5.10+ Blue - Excalibur 5.10+ Green - Search for The Holy Grail 5.10+ Variation to pitches 6 & 7 5.9 Orange - Schizophrenic 5.11- Quote
Tyson.g Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 Very cool! I love pictures of people taking pictures! Looks like another quality line indeed. Well done sir. Quote
crazedmaniac Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 hey chris... i have some 'all-most the same' pics, taken from the same places as some of yours.. esp. on 'your' pitch 5 with same cam placement (friends,hue banners,tho) in almost same place!!! and of course the top... used to take first timers up on the crack on (your#3) for their first layback ever. Some got hooked right there on that pitch. There used to be a really tough cedar growing in the crack between the climber, darel, and the photographer, where there is now just grass...in that pic. guess it wasnt that tough. We used to solo free climb up that in the dark, then tie the ropes off and rap back down to camp, called Zephyr ledge. Really cool story how it got that name. was late 80,s, and early 09,s tho... guess you saw a few of my 1/4" and 3/16 bolts there too. (mostly to the right) they are 'scattered' all around that area... just looking at your last 2 pics..my palms started to sweat..massively, cause i will never forget running that one out... I never climb w/chalk..thats aid to me.(and another long story) the 'crakling corner', as you called it... is right at the top,(i usually went to the right after that... you musta went left...?) i also climbed on the cool heads to the right of that 'crack' corner, and the corner itself. It had huge amounts of vegetation in those cracks then...?? A german climber (andy??) ran that one out and he said it was one of the funnest climbs pitches he had done.(and he had climbed all over the world!!) He could do 3 consecutive, 2 finger ONLY, one arm pull ups... i loved being these kinda guys belay slave.... I felt safe with them. I think you might have some of the pics reversed/out of order?? might want to double check that??? tried to post a 'report' here, on the learning curve.... dug out some pics too... now to get the scanner working... SWEEEEET!!! DO you have bolts at belays? (50m ropes?) AND below, and on, the long smooth rock sections with no real places for any pro?? (even bashiees) Last time i went back up there, i couldn't climb/lead out like i used too.. looking at a 100+ ft dangerous fall, (we had to bail, no one else could lead it either, and i used to do it with 30-40 lbs of gear on, and now we 1/2 that, and way older, and missing the European guys) and i cried, like a baby, and Ken said,"yea, i told you, you were super bold, had no fear, and stupid". THANKS Chris... i cant wait to get back up there!!! duh! Quote
crazedmaniac Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 so the "engineers" took responsibility for those routes in yellow??? did you run into them?? Quote
Rainman Posted December 17, 2011 Author Posted December 17, 2011 Ran into one of the engineers at a Marmot Mtn. Works slideshow a while back and he said he and another put up the route on the left. Hanna and I added the variation a year ago. I have to say Chris, your exploits years ago were quite bold! The cracks are real and take gear well but the run-outs in between are long and would be terrifying with no bolts. I've yet to see any of your bolts though. We may be still left of where you went. So I've been putting up modern routes with two bolt anchors at every belay and pro bolts as needed to keep it challenging but relatively safe. I hope that doesn't offend you if we may have strayed onto your old lines Quote
curtveld Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 Dayum, you guys are putting up new classics for my to-do list faster than I can check em off! Let us know how we can contribute some $ to the hardware fund. tried to post a 'report' here, on the learning curve.... dug out some pics too... now to get the scanner working... Now there's a TR I'd love to see...regardless of when it happened. Go for it Chris! Quote
bwwakaranai Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 Cant wait to try her out next year Chris. Looks like some fantastic exposure and beautiful stone. Quote
shapp Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 me too, look at the photo in his album, hot! Quote
mountainsloth Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 Dayum, you guys are putting up new classics for my to-do list faster than I can check em off! Let us know how we can contribute some $ to the hardware fund. agreed curt Quote
sobo Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 me too, look at the photo in his album, hot! Yahhhhhh! Free-soloing 5.7 hottie with a 70-pound pack and a Gilligan hat. Too bad she's already taken... Have to ask, Chris... why would you take the photo between the legs if you weren't belaying her? Am I missing something? Is this the new face of creative photography? A third person in the crew with the camera, positioned above "Legs"? Other?? Quote
crazedmaniac Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 well, you gota realize, all my climbs, on squire, are from the ground up. It is very intimidating to be drilling a bolt or placing 'marginal gear', standing on something very marginal, with your last bolt/piece, being 60 to 90+ ft below you, (wearing everything but the kitchen sink),cause of the angle, of the dangle..aka, serious cheese grater!!!! This part of Illusion wall is my favorite, because of the chicken heads, GOOD CRACKS, and, STRONG bushes and small trees! I figure i have climbed about 35+ different 'pitches' on Illusion wall. I lead all but about 8 or 10. About 1/2 of those was with the part mountain goat, Ken Strong. He could climb solo free with me. only a few europen climbers would do that with me, some new muscle heads, and rock jocks, who didn't know any better... cause they were new. After climbing back thru again, we would add more bolts, because of the PUCKER factor, and i then could climb much faster, knowing i was only going to fall 50 or 80 ft, instead of death, OR wishing i was dead, cause i would be majorly messed up.(and i did kinda hide a lot of my bolts, because of the rock fall/better protection for the bolt... and aesthetics, AND they are little button heads of 3/16 or a huge 1/4") which gets me to the pic ON DICK RIDGE. i lost my inner ear 'balance', when i broke my neck for the 2nd time, ( i have no balance now, ask anyone who has hiked with me in the dark) and i had a 4+ day pack on also. I was standing on a good little ledge,as you can see, but to turn around, and look down, thru the camera, would result in, being unstable, so i just shot between my legs, cause this is looking almost straight down. That is a very vertical wall just to her right, and she didnt want to look over the side anymore, cause it made her..real dizzy. I didn't like the fact she was un-roped, but she kept saying she was ok, and to STOP asking her. you know how girls can get!!! (I'm sure she thought if the old man could do it, she could to!) It IS the fact she has confidence in her ability's, being very good with moves on the vertical pole. (grip) Thats something that comes with time, like climbing on Squire Creek walls for over 350 days. Im SURE i have climbed on ALL the pitches on your new route, except for in the middle. (not so sure) The belays were a function of sturdy bushes, trees, and solid cracks. Ken and i placed a lot of k.b.'s on illusion for belays. Another long, and one of my top 10 storys, of escaping death. (both of us had this escape happen to us here, on this part of the wall. You can not offend me, cause i enjoy being offended, cause..it makes me think..why was i offended? Yup, I try to be on the learning curve. I am so EXCITED about climbing Skitzo, because of the above/FIRST reply,(the 15th) mentioned reasons... Was wondering if you call it that, because of all the options you have to choose from in this area... It draws you here, and there... you want to go over there, but your here, and realize you should have gone over there... when you got there. Well, when climbing UP... thru, ... for your FIRST time... not hanging from a rope and looking around, for your FIRST time, being in the..area. (im talking about anywhere like this) Will never forget TEASING Dave, when he was hiking thru our property (parked his car there, heading up on the north ridge, on the old Harry Engels, Frank Loso trail, east of buckeye basin) , and i saw he had, at LEAST 4, long ropes with him, and he didnt want to tell me any thing about what he was doing up there... about 6 yrs ago?.... THANKS AGAIN Chris for putting bolts in here!!! i am sooo looking forward to climbing here again, which will back so many good memory's, of my FIRST times, climbing here!!! Will be my FIRST climb next year!!!!! HEEEE HAW! Quote
crazedmaniac Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 AND..UH.. check out the shoes she has on... light weight hikers... Quote
sobo Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 AND..UH.. check out the shoes she has on... light weight hikers... I noticed that yesterday. Very stylin' climber woman there. Thanks for the backstory on that photo! It certainly looks like a real death drop-off to her right, but she sure as shit seems happy as hell to be there! But check out your shoes! What are those hi-tops, anyway? And crew socks pulled up to the shins...??? I catch shit all the time for my hi-tops and crew sox. Just sayin'... Quote
bigeo Posted December 19, 2011 Posted December 19, 2011 'twas a fine day out t' craggy, that. Thanks, Chris, for helping us get the approach dialed in and for all your work creating stellar routes on the Illusion Wall. A few pics... Quote
Rainman Posted December 20, 2011 Author Posted December 20, 2011 Einar, Thanks for posting your pictures. I especially liked the shot of everyone getting ready to go at the base. Gentleman, start your engines! Way cool. Quote
LaughingSquirrel Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Love the routes Chris and Darryl! Thanks a lot for the hard work! It is nice to have great routes in this area. I really enjoyed learning from you as a developer and am so thankful to take the knowledge to new route development in Liming and China. Darryl come back to China man! Liming now has 93 established routes! You rock man!!! Will post a TR soon. Peace be with you, Mike Dobie Quote
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