You never know who you’ll meet online. I’ve only met cool folks, but it’s always a bit of a crap shoot.
But Emma tweaked a pulley pretty bad, and despite her inclination otherwise, she was going to sit it out until it healed. It was the right call, but it was a sad situation to be in. We canceled a trip to Tahoe, and she changed her entire gym routine to only climb open-handed stemming routes. I was feeling bummed. But maybe this was an opportunity to get out and meet some other folks, and I’d been meaning to get up and see what Tahquitz is all about…
So I posted on “the proj” and Luke reached out. I wasn’t too particular about an objective, I mostly wanted to get familiar with the approach and descent and get a sense of the area. Luke had been once before, so that was exactly what I was looking for. Communicating with him was easy, and we quickly had a plan. Fingertrip (5.7) would be a perfect casual route to get acquainted on, he’d bring the rack, and I’d bring a rope. We met at the cool coffeeshop in town (Alpaca Coffee) and drove up the road. I was blown away at how the formation loomed over the entire area, popping out here and there for glimpses between the trees.
The hike was as steep and as rough as I expected, but the stoke to finally be here made it go by more quickly. As we finally approached the base, we talked experience. I mentioned my 30 years of climbing; Luke had only two. But his stories revealed a very busy and ambitious two years, so I had no concerns about him at all. I also learned he worked in aviation, which has a strong culture of safety and thoroughness that I trusted he was influenced by. Later I’d find out that my assumption was true: unlike many other newer climbers, Luke was very quick to learn about and start reading accident reports. I enjoy climbing with all sorts of people, but I really connect with those who dedicate themselves to safety analysis like that.
Before we set off he handed me a radio and asked if I was cool with using them (apparently some people think they’re stupid). I was thrilled. I’d heard about people using radios, and while I could appreciate that you need to know how to function without, radios seem like a great idea to me.
The climb went perfectly. We swung leads and meandered our way up. I definitely felt like if you blinked you’d miss the crux. Where was the 5.7? Still, it was a fun intro to Tahquitz, and I could definitely imagine taking a newb up this route. Just a metric ton of liebacking, so much. I played with a few slab variations when on top rope, but this is a pretty straightforward and easy route, and fairly low angle throughout. I enjoyed our pitch three a lot, winding through trees and bushes, lots of plants, and even a few flowers. Felt like a cool alpine garden zone.
The radios were kind of amazing. I realized about halfway up that we weren’t shouting, and as a result the day was entirely silent. As far as we could tell there was no one else on our side of the mountain. I could hear a dog down in the neighborhoods below barking, and that was the only sound. The utility could be really helpful too, for situations like our mishap on Funky Dung. I was completely convinced that they’re an incredible asset to climbing.
The friction descent went really smoothly. I followed my directions I had compiled and checked with Luke to make sure we didn’t get off route. Fairly easy to find. Only one or two spicy bits, with a lot of slab walking in between. I wore climbing shoes, but could probably do it comfortably in street shoes.
The hike back to our packs was a bit rough on me though. I was kinda off the couch and recovering from a cough, and my legs were really feeling it. We encountered a very large and noisy rattler on the trail, but he chilled out and retreated so we could pass. Grabbed our packs, and then hiked the rest of the way down. The hiking was hard, but the climbing was easy. My legs were sore for days afterwards. But an awesome introduction to the spot, and an inspiration to get up there and explore some more.
Fingertrip
5.7 – 400′ – Four pitches
with Luke
Good for a beginner.
Luke took 1 & 3, I got 2 & 4. Many tree anchors.
