Another cold day in Joshua Tree. This really is one of the coldest places I’ve ever climbed. But with clear skies, at least the sunny faces were doable. Unfortunately our list primarily featured shaded climbs, so we opted to redo a classic, Pope’s Crack. But this time we’d go for the glory and try the direct roof variation (10b).
Soon I was approaching the roof. I clipped a piton, then a bolt, and went for it. As I rounded the lip, it was desperate and sparse, as I expected. But as I slipped off the crux, my right pointer finger caught on a crystal. The fall was nice and clean, but it tore a giant gash into my finger pad and opened it right up. After cleaning up the blood and taping it up, I gave it another try. A bit higher this time, but another fall. I was making progress on the final moves over the roof, but started to doubt this course of action. This was our first climb of a two day trip, and I was already down a finger. If I injured it further with desperate reaches to the right, we’d really be out of luck. So I made the decision to down climb back to the dike and do the original finish. Save the finger for the rest of the trip.
Emma slipped off of one insecure move, but otherwise cruised her way up. Definitely one of our favorites. We rapped back down and headed back to the car. The temperatures were holding, so we opted for one more climb and headed over to the slab side of Echo.
I suggested waiting in line to grab Stichter since it was in the sun, but Emma had other plans. Since I was injured and my capabilities were still unclear, she decided to take the sharp end and attempt Penny Lane. It was in the shade, but it was just barely warm enough to climb in our warm layers. Emma tied in and set off on her first Joshua Tree lead! She made solid progress, moving from bolt to bolt, and easily moving through the crux. But at the last bolt she opted to lower, not feeling ready for the 25′ runout to the anchor. I followed on top rope, and then completed the runout. Which allowed Emma to finish the climb on follow, and gain more confidence for her next attempt. An incredible showing for only her second lead climb ever!
We headed down the hill to Black Rock in time for the full moon rising. We celebrated with cocktails and dinner and then burrowed into bed in our favorite campsite.
Pope’s Crack
5.9 – 70′
with Emma
Attempted 5.10b finish but got sliced up. Next time!
Penny Lane
5.8 – 100′
with Emma
Emma’s lead!
Crux was dicier than I remembered, so good job there.
Next time she should be ready for the runout, lol.
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