Sheeps pass in January is a very cold morning, but we had all arrived at the same plan: head to Conan’s Corridor. The west wall and belay ledge would pick up some morning sun and the corridor would also offer some protection from the ever increasing wind. We parked near Jumbo and then a mellow stroll and some quick bushwhacking brought us to the corridor.
While Luke climbed Boulderado we started up Colorado Crack. A sloping easy ramp leads up to the steep crack above. A pretty straightforward climb, but I was a bit more focused on taking photos than climbing. After missing some obvious feet at one point I did pop off. There goes my 5.9 onsight streak! The final stretch had some tricky bits, but just required some technique and precision.
Colorado crack has some mixed reviews, but it was fine. We definitely didn’t find it strenuous or pumpy and would repeat for sure. Emma had difficulty on the follow, mostly with cleaning. Numb fingers make any climb extra difficult and unpleasant, and for her that meant sitting on the rope once or twice to clean.
After everyone got down from the bitterly cold and windy topout, Luke roped me into following Spiderman (10a). Jimmy had tweaked his left ankle in a fall the day before, and didn’t relish the thought of jamming a right facing corner for 100 feet. So somehow I agreed to do it. Luke absolutely crushed the lead, moving slowly but deliberately, and got his second redpoint for the day. What an accomplishment.
Me not so much. I rushed the first crux and came off early. The rest was reasonable, but the upper crux where the crack opens a bit was almost impossible for me. At this point my hands were completely numb and insensate, which made summoning the strength to jam difficult. I also couldn’t feel the contours of the crack to align my hands properly. For all I knew there could be bomber incut holds in the crack but I had no idea what my hands or fingers were touching in there. I tried so many different combinations of feet placements in an attempt to clear the move. Eventually I got it, but I couldn’t tell you what I did. Maybe I finally guessed at how to jam my hoof-hands in a way that actually worked.
The offwidth section at the top was a blessing compared to the struggle just below it. Once I got my feet angled correctly it was slow but steady progress towards the top. It’s hard to fall out of an offwidth. Once I topped out we wasted no time getting down. The wind was picking up, and the shade was filling the corridor so we packed gear and got ourselves out of there. The trip was marked by cold weather, some nasty wind, and struggling to find climbs in the sun, but it turned out to be a really fun time. Getting to climb with and get to know Jimmy more was an unexpected bonus.
Colorado Crack
5.9 – 100′
with Emma
Pretty straightforward
The foot-knob I missed is super obvious…
Spiderman
5.10a – 100′
with Luke
Hardest I’ve struggled in… I can’t remember…
Vertical pinch at first crux + improbable feet
Good luck on second crux.
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