[TR] Frenchman Coulee - Fastest Frenchman 11/1/2014

[Dinonuggetz]

Trip: Frenchman Coulee - Fastest Frenchman

 

Date: 11/1/2014

 

Trip Report:

At 5:30, Cam and I hustled into the car. We had one goal in mind on that chilly fall morning. Climb 50 pitches at the Coulee. We arrived at the lower parking lot at 6:15. We slapped on our packs and quickly scooted to the first objective of the day, Sunset Park. Just as we jumped on the rock the sun climbed over the ridge. We dispatched the first 5 pitches by 7:30. We took up our bags and ran to the next wall. We arrived at the West Alcove a split second later. We threw down our packs and I scampered up Magster from the Bus. I clipped the chains and Cam promptly dropped me to the deck. I pulled the rope and Cam took off. As he reached the top he rapidly clipped in and cleaned the anchor. Right when he reached the ground he took off and led the next pitch. We did this for the next 12 climbs in the West/East Alcove. It was 10:00 and we had finished our 18th climb. We each took a sip of water, gathered our gear and took off running to Clearview Crag. 5 pitches later we were done with the wall. Again, we charged to the next wall, Riverview Park. We cleaned up 12 pitches at the park. We were 35 climbs in and it was 13:20. At this point we were dogging it. We contemplated for a second that 35 was enough. But after we had a quick lunch and a gulp or two of water we decided we had to stick to our goal. We schlepped the gear over to Corn Wall. We hopped on what the book calls a 5.7. But after 35 pitches we were really feeling it. Our hands were raw, our muscles tense and doubt was building if we would have enough strength to get up the remaining climbs. We climbed the 2 open climbs on the wall and then ditched our gear and took off for Millennium Wall. There we ran into a bunch of our friends. However, we didn't have much time to talk. We had to stay focused in order to get our goal and most importantly stay safe. We both had tied a figure eight knot so many times today. But it only takes one bad knot, a bad anchor setup or anchor cleaning to ruin your day. We climbed 6 routes on the wall and hurried back to Corn Wall. We guzzled our remaining water and started up the rock. We reached the top of 3 other routes on the Corn Wall. We were now at 46 climbs. The end was so close! There was not better place to end this journey then at the crown jewel of the Coulee. The pillars that inspired it all. Many have dreamed of making the journey to the Frenchman to climb them. The Feathers ARE rock climbing. Features like these were the reason that man decided to stand on two legs and go after their dreams. All kidding aside, we ran back to the car and drove up to the parking lot. It was 16:45. The sun was tired and was dipping below the horizon. We too wouldn't mind a nap at this point. We climbed the remaining 4 climbs in just under an hour. Finishing on my personal favorite Don Coyote. 50 climbs, our dream had been realized. We high fived and rejoiced that it was over. The official time was 6:30 to 17:40. 50 pitches in 11hours and 10 minutes. For the last time we packed up our gear, and this time walked instead of ran. We drove home satisfied and relieved that we were able to achieve our goal. Definitely something we will both remember for a long time to come. Below are the 2 mediocre pictures we were able to take during our rush to complete the goal.

 

 

 

Now this brings me to what I truly posted this for. We want this to become a community thing out at the Frenchman. A friendly competition between friends. We want this to become a tool to improve or challenge one another. So I suppose we need some rules for this event. First off the time frame is limited to 24hrs. Secondly as long as you and your partner get to the top of each climb it counts as one pitch. Aiding, French freeing, or whatever it takes to haul your butt to the those shiny chains. That's about it. You get a thumbs up if you decide to tackle the taller walls. (Maybe you should get 2 pitches for a Sunshine Wall or Middle East pitch). We have concluded that's something for the community to decide. One last thing. Cam and I have decided to deem this gauntlet as the Fastest Frenchman. Cheers all, have fun, and most importantly stay safe out there!

[ivan]

sheeeeit, didn't know there were 50 pitches in the whole joint

[Lhansen]

Awesome Job Jake and Cameron !! This would be a fun challenge, clearly I will wait until summer or at least warmer mornings, and longer days, lol. Nice pics by the way!!

[stamati]

that is so rad. you and your partner must've had a mind meld going by the time you finished that feat. cheers!