denalidevo Posted October 23, 2012 Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Trip: Trout Creek - 3 days of off-fingers, off-hands and off-width Date: 10/19/2012 Trip Report: With the idea in mind that the only way to improve our climbing abilities in all things off-sized, JP and I took off to Trout for some concerted practice climbing on "everything we suck at" - rattly fingers, thin jams and OW's. Challenges were met, some improvements made and a few successes were had. Fri Oct 19: We warmed up on Plumbline (5.9), a nice double crack climb, then we TR'd the right (thin fingers, 5.10-) and left sides (7" OW) for practice. PLUMBLINE 5.9 - THE RIGHT SIDE IS DIRECTLY ABOVE THE ROPE IN THE PHOTO HEY JP, HOW WIDE IS PLUMBLINE, LEFT? After Plumbline, we took turns leading Lively Up Yourself (5.10-), a straight-in thin to wide hand crack. The first four cams were all .75 Camalots - just what the doctor ordered! I took a small fall on my second cam, then managed to work my way through the remaining insecure finger locks to the solid (yet pumpy) hand jams at the top. JP PRE-PLACING THE FIRST OF MANY GREEN CAMALOTS ON LIVELY UP YOURSELF RING LOCKS - THE START OF LIVELY UP YOURSELF JP then led Sleep Hallow (5.10-), a delightful twin crack/stem box combo. SLEEPY HALLOW FIRE & MOON AT CAMP Sat Oct 20: We warmed up on Gold Rush (5.10-), taking turns leading Trout Creek's signature hand crack. GOLD RUSH - SO YUMMY! Things were busier on the main wall Sat and it was colder. After Gold Rush we took a leisurely break, watching other climbers project routes until it warmed up some more. "BUSY" SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT TROUT Mr. Squiggles was next. One of Trout Creek's best 5.10s, it begins with a ring-lock to thin hand crux. It was a fight from the start, but a bit to my surprise I hung on to the thin locks, managed my increasing forearm pump through the upper hand jams and flashed it. Quite satisfying that! MR. SQUIGGLES From the Mr. Squiggles anchors we TR'd Suzuki, a strenuous 5.10+ double crack. SUZUKI CLIMBERS ON TROUT CREEK'S MAIN WALL CRACK CLIMBER'S PARADISE Sun Oct 21: Was a very cold morning. We woke up, built a fire, drank an extra cup of coffee and waited for it to warm up before setting out for the crag, looking to get just a little more climbing in before heading home. I led Electric Chair (5.9), another double crack with good stances, solid jamming and the ability to TR several neighboring climbs. We concluded our trip with TR laps on Gas Chamber (5.10), a sustained, classic 6-7" OW. JP climbed it quite beautifully, I hung once. JP READY FOR SOME OW! JP ON GAS CHAMBER After Gas Chamber we were thoroughly thrashed, so we bid a fond farewell to each other and the Trout. Good times! More photos: my Trout Creek October 2012 photo set on Flickr » Gear Notes: "Quadruple +" rack of cams from .4 - 3.5 inches. We TR'd all the OW's. Approach Notes: Ascending 800 vert. ft. everyday to the crag kinda' sucks, but it's worth it! (Stashing the rack at the base helps.) Edited October 24, 2012 by denalidevo Quote
wayne Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Wow, thanks great report. I love that place. Quote
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