The next morning was a hard call to make. We’d been super excited to climb High Strung for months, having scoped it out twice so far, but I was hesitant to climb a finger crack with my injury. But desire and excitement won out, and we headed into the Wonderland. Soon we were at the base, which was a cavernous walk-in-fridge of freezing cold. Not the best belay spot, that’s for sure.
The beginning was a bit thin and tenuous, but ultimately went smoothly. The first finger-pod was perfectly formed to omit my injured finger, and I only ended up cranking on it briefly on the next one. But all was well, my bandages held, and soon I was resting at the chimney section and marveling at the cool crystalline mica-looking intrusion.
The crack became hands at this point and meandered over and then up again, where it required some awkward negotiating to bypass another large flake that blocks easy movement. Getting through it is tricky, but once above it offers another perfect rest.
From here, more hands leads to the wide section. I placed a tipped out #4 and went for it, but oppositional pulls and some face features offered some relief along the way. Finally at the top in the sun, I put Emma on belay and brought her up. She fought and hated her way up, struggling against numb hands the whole way until she arrived at the top, drained and depleted.
But in a moment of brilliance, she asked about a top rope. I had nearly finished rigging a rappel, but the anchors made it easy to quickly switch strategies. And soon we were both at the bottom and she was starting up with freshly warmed fingers. This time she flew up from top to bottom linking every sequence. The bottom finger section is really fun.
We’d anticipated this climb for so long that we weren’t sure if expectations would live up to reality. It really delivered on every level, fun, varied, and an interesting feature. 10/10 would repeat. One of our favorite 5.9 climbs at J-Tree for sure.
High Strung
5.9 – 80′
with Emma
Would happily take a #5 (in addition to #4). Would also do without.
Plenty of pro down low as desired. Microcams and wires.
Lots of rests.
Really fun, and no excuses not to get it.
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