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Open Book
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More like ‘Open-Can-of-Whup-Ass’. I think we were both expecting this to be easier. This would be the third 5.9 route that Luke and I were to attempt at Tahquitz, and if it was anything like the first two (Whodunnit, Dave’s), it should be cruiser. At least that’s what we thought…
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The Bastille Crack
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Dragging your mom to the crag can definitely be a little awkward. Things can take longer than expected, and then she’s just hanging out waiting. But I suppose she’s used to it by now. I started climbing before I could drive, and as our ride, she’d often end up waiting…
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Rewritten
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In climbing it seems like we rarely deal in absolute superlatives. Just as 5.9+ is a wide, blurry, and subjective spectrum; climbs are not easily sorted without modifiers or groupings. The best 5.8 in J-Tree, the best splitter-crack, the Fifty Classics, maybe a top ten list, but never “The Best”.…
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The Line
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I’m grabbing at the weird looking dike when I suddenly remember it. Then I find the incut slot, and I remember switching to layback. There’s a jam, but my hand doesn’t quite fit, but I remember the sloper on the left as soon as my fingers touch it. It’s disorienting.…
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Dung Fu choo-choo
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You ever get to the crag to witness some spectacular insanity going up the rock? I once encountered a party of six that sent three leaders up each pitch (entwining all their ropes and gear) before bringing up their three respective followers. Luckily their system took so long that we…
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Breakfast of Champions
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This one had been burning a hole in my brain for a long time. It just looked cool. Mildly intimidating, scenic, and varied. But since it was on the north side and shady, it needed a warm day. With the perfect weather this weekend we were finally set up head…