It’s been a long time since I’ve had a camping fail. But we’d made a miscalculation with our bedding. Our bed kit had been rocking it all winter in J-Tree, but we failed to appreciate that this time we’d be sleeping in the tent instead of the car. Because this was the pup’s first camping trip, we felt we needed the extra space. So we ended up spending a very cold night under insufficient bedding and piles of sweaters. Interrupted sleep and just waiting it out while curling up aggressively. Finally it was morning, and we were able to warm up with coffee and the sun.
On the way into the park we had to make a stop to grab a second blanket for our bed, and then to drop Pearl at Joshua Tree Pet Resort. Which is super conveniently located right by the West Entrance. It was a slow meandering morning, but Jack and Ellen and Michelle finally joined us in the parking lot. We arrived at the climb with hardly a line, and soon I was starting up. This time I did the direct start, which was a bit slippery and slabby, but still true to the grade. I lowered off the anchor, leaving the rope running across the upper bulge for our top rope. It took some shenanigans to get the top rope working, but after Emma and I took some laps it was ready to go.
Michelle climbed really strong for coming off of the couch, but struggled getting into the crack. It’s definitely the hard part. Her feet were sliding out, but took Emma’s advice and actively cammed her foot jams to great result. Smooth sailing to the top from that point on.
Jack did almost as well as Michelle, but struggled to avoid the crack. He was sporting some pretty soft shoes and struggled with foot jams. He made some extra work for himself by staying out of the crack. After finishing he declared it just as difficult and scary as the first time. What’s funny is the more we climb it, the more we wonder if maybe it does warrant a 5.8 rating?
While Jack finished the upper crack, Emma and I ran up Sexy Grandma. It was unremarkable for me (0.5 down low, gold or blue up top), but Emma positively crushed it. Of course she negotiated the lower flared corner with ease, as she always does, but instead of struggling with the upper roof section she skipped the arete entirely and climbed directly up through the roof with a smirk on her face. Fast, continuous, delicate, and effortless. I was flabbergasted. She was a little surprised herself. A truly impressive solid, clean ascent.
After lunch we headed over to The Flake. But it wasn’t to be. We were both a little tired after our ‘shiver bivy’ the night before, and this led to some bad decisions on my part. Despite the initial chimney, I racked most of the gear toward my back, and I followed the internet recommend for chimney orientation. I quickly found that I needed to switch sides, skated all over my gear, slopped all over, and then couldn’t get the sizes I needed at the first piece. I got a green cam in the pod, but I wasn’t convinced the rock was solid. Emma watched the whole thing, critiqued my entire vibe, and then called it. I was willing to try again after a re-rack on the ground, but no go. The veto power by any member of the climbing party is an important thing to respect. It’s somewhat sacred and non negotiable in my book. So that was the end of our day.
We scooted down the hill and picked up Pearl. Who, of course, had a blast at daycare. That dog really likes everybody. Although Pearl really wanted to go to bed as soon as it was dark, she couldn’t resist a campfire session where she got to sit on people’s laps. Our new extra blanket was exactly what we needed to stay warm, and we finally got a night of good sleep.
The next morning we broke camp and headed into the park with Pearl. It was time for her first experience as a crag dog. We decided on Axe of Dog for a second time since it was within 100′ of the road and would top rope well. Plus the dog theme in the name.
I finally got the redpoint, although it required using my reach. The upper crack was sharper and harder than I remembered. Emma struggled but got the crux. On top rope I struggled and fell trying to do it without my reach. This is a significant and hard crux! Emma got it a second time. And on a subsequent lap I got the crux differently by going right. We played around with sections of the adjacent routes, but decided to call it and head home after completely shredding our fingers on all the tough slab moves. Pearl was very well behaved, but solidly unimpressed by climbing. All that she cared about was that she got to eat a lot of peanut butter.
Double Cross
5.7 – 95′
with Emma, Jack, and Michelle
Maybe this is 5.8?
For the top rope we needed a #4 in the upper gulley to keep it right.
Three laps for me for conditioning.
Sexy Grandma
5.9 – 80′
with Emma
Emma killed it. No heel hook, no arete, just up through the roof.
Three laps for me for conditioning.
Axe of Dog
5.10a – 50′
with Emma
#5 stopper below the crux, gold cam below that
Can go right at the crux and do like a lieback… just as hard
Hard to move through without a desperate reach
Leave a Reply