Payday at Little Si

Yesterday felt like a payday at Little Si. All my work on I have put in on Californicator this summer (and last) finally paid off with the send. In the end it didn't feel that hard, its funny how something can change from feeling absolutely desperate to not that bad at all.

Laura and I decided to head out to Little Si just the two of us, since we were up in Seattle for the weekend anyway. We warmed up in the woods area, where we ran into Andrew, his girlfriend, Eric and Jimmy, and Micah and his brother and cousin. It felt like half of Olympia was out at the crag. Laura's main objective of the day was to get on Violent Phlegms, an 11b that she had toproped a week ago, and felt pretty good on, potentially her first ever 11b lead? I put the rope up and she toproped it again, rehearsing the moves and the clips, she said it felt a lot harder than she had remembered, but it is 11b so it should feel pretty hard. When she was happy with her beta she pulled the rope and tied into the sharp end. She got off to a shaky start at the first crux, where she almost came off on a greasy hold, but she held on and kept climbing. This climb is fairly sustained, there are about 4 crux sections you have to battle through and its not over til you latch the jug at the end. It looked like she was off again after she almost barndoored at the last clip, but she got it clean. Way to go! It was her hardest ever lead, and it was a long time coming having already done 11 11a's in the last couple of years, a well deserved send.

After Laura's big send it was my turn to get on my project so we headed up to WWI and I hopped straight on Californicator. On my first go the moves flowed really well and I floated up it without overgripping or feeling too pumped, I got to the typewriter hold feeling good, crimped hard on the smiley face hold, crossed through to the sidepull, but my feet weren't set up right and I barndoored off. I really thought that was the go. I clipped the chains in one hang came down and rested for another attempt. On my next go I wasn't quite feeling as smooth, and had to try a bit harder to stay on, I got to the typewriter hold, made sure my feet were right, crossed into the sidepull, got my feet up, made a couple of crimpy moves and latched the jug rest. I knew I had it in the bag, just another 3 clips of 11b-ish climbing, I wanted to make sure though so shook out on the jug for a good 5-10 minutes, its such a good jug its hard not to hang out on it and recover. By the time I left the jug I was feeling totally recovered and the top part felt easier than it had ever felt before. I got to the chains, and it was kind of an anti-climax, I didn't even feel that pumped, so I shouted down to Laura "I'm going for the extension". The extension Californication (13a) is the top part of Technorigine, a climb I had done a couple years ago, but hadn't really got on it since, its basically another 4 clips of pumpy 12c climbing. I shook out on the jug at the Californicator chains for a couple of minutes then busted up into the 12c climbing. I was able to remember the moves pretty well and it wasn't as bad as I had expected, I made the first and second clips then kept on fighting through the steep terrain to the third, and fourth clip, I was getting pretty pumped by this point, but I could see the chains just ahead. I just had a few crimpy moves to get through, but I couldn't remember the sequence at all and the holds felt pretty bad, I tried to pull through, but I got spat off. Oh well, I can't really complain, I wasn't even planning on going for the extension so its really just a bonus to get that far. Now I have to decide whether its worth the effort to put in more work to finish off Californication or move on to Chronic, or give Little Si a break and check out other crags. My routes score on my scorecard is looking pretty good now, so I feel like I have more options for what I want to do next, its a good place to be.

The view of Californicator from below.

Back on Top

Yesterday I had a great day out at Ozone. It was hard to find partners to to go with, so it ended up just me, Jimmy and Eric, from the climbing team. It was Eric's first time doing routes outdoors, I kind of felt bad for him knowing that most of the day was going to be me and Jimmy projecting 5.12s. But he had a great time, he got on quite a few routes including his first lead, a 13 clip long 5.8 called No Nuts, and got a taste of some cracks on toprope.

My main objective of the day was to go for the onsight of Grace the 12b there. On my last trip there I had gone around the corner when Jimmy was working the 12d which shares some of the same moves so I wouldn't see any of the beta. I'm glad I did because I managed the onsight! It was a battle, the first part took a lot out of me then I figured out an opposing heelhook sequence to get through the main crux, and from there I was able to keep the pump at bay before I clipped the chains. It was a really good route, maybe the best I've done at Ozone so far.

I also tried the 12d, which isn't too bad, but has a very powerful crux that I couldn't do. And I went for the onsight of Angle of the Dangle, the 12c roof crack. I got up to the the crack and was feeling good, but at that point there is a fixed micro cam that you have to clip that protects the crux. I was very weary about falling on the cam since it looked pretty frayed and unsafe, I ended up just pulling on the gear to get past this part, and I got to the chains. Its a shame there isn't a bolt on the roof instead of the fixed cam, cause I felt I could have committed and really gone for the onsight. Jimmy decided to go for the flash since he saw me manage all the moves. He got up to the roof clipped the fixed cam, but couldn't commit either, he decided to just lower off the cam and clean the draws below. Just as he cleaned the last draw and was about ten feet off the deck the cam snapped! He landed on top of Eric who was belaying him, luckily they were both fine, but I'm glad I didn't commit to the crux and fall on that cam. I inspected the piece that broke and it was actually the wire stem that severed, I guess it was rubbing against the edge of the crack, it didn't look in good shape when I saw it up close on the route. The head of the cam is still stuck up in the crack, which blocks any other gear from going in there, I hope someone just sticks a bolt up in the roof, fixed gear on routes is whack.

Me on Angle of the Dangle

What was left of the cam after Jimmy decked on it

After that our motivation was pretty low, but I led a fun 5.9 trad finger crack, and Jimmy flashed Grace the 12b, and gave the 12d another burn. The 12b flash for Jimmy will help his score on 8a a bit, but my onsight of that route, and with the 12a onsight I got at Little Si on Sunday and the 12a I onsighted at Squamish last week has put me back at the #1 spot in Olympia in the route rankings on 8a.nu. We both still have some room for improvement, so we'll see what happens between now and the end of the year, no doubt it will be close!

Slipping on a Banana Peel

I started writing about my accident on the route Banana Peel (8 pitch 5.7) at Squamish on my last blog, but it took up most of the post, so I thought I write about it separately, so it doesn't overshadow the rest of a great trip. I was climbing the route with Sarah, and we were making good progress, Sarah was doing great considering her lack of experience on multi-pitch routes. We were about half way up the route and I was linking the 5th and 6th pitches together. I figured I could just about manage to link them with with a 60m rope, but I didn't quite make it. At the top of the 6th pitch after some 5.7 climbing I placed a bomber hex under a flake then ran it out up a blank slab. I was almost within reaching distance of the big tree on a ledge to belay from but I ran out of rope so I put a sling around a tree root and decided to belay from there until I could climb up a few feet higher to the more secure tree. Sarah took me off belay and started climbing up. When I had a few feet slack I pulled up on the tree root (which was about the same thickness as a steering wheel, so pretty chunky) that I was slinged into to get up to the tree. One second I was pulling on this seemingly solid root, the next I was flying backwards down the slab, the root had broken off in my hand! I wasn't clipped into anything now, and I wasn't on belay but I was still tied in. I didn't have much time to react, my instinct was just to reach my hands out and try to catch on to something, and luckily the angle of the slab wasn't too steep and I was able to create enough friction to stop myself on the slab, I fell about 20 feet total. If I hadn't been able to stop myself, I would have kept on falling past my last piece of gear, another 10ft below when the rope would go tight on Sarah, for a total fall of something like 60ft. I probably would have been fine, but it would have been very scary. As it happened when I came to a stop my right arm was scraped up and I had a nasty flapper on the tip of my thumb that was bleeding a lot, but other than that I was fine. I regained my composure, assessed my injuries and figured the best plan was to try to get back up to the tree ledge and continue up the route, there were just two 5.4 pitches left. I belayed Sarah up from the big tree, and when she got up to the ledge, she could see all the blood on my hand and my spooked expression. I didn't explain to her exactly what happened then, I figured it would be better to explain when we got off the route. I think she could tell that I just wanted to get up and off the climb at that point. The next two pitches were fine, I was able to climb them without really having to use my thumb. When we got to the top, Nick and Erica were up there, having just finished their adjacent route Diedre, so I filled them and Sarah in on what happened.

My thumb, the next day after I cleaned it up.

I learned a few things from this accident. 1) Don't be so complacent on easy routes, most accidents happen not from the difficulty of the climbing but from other factors. 2) Place lots of runners even on easy terrain. Luckily I was climbing with Sarah and I placed lots of runners to protect the second. When I did the same route the day before with Nick I placed a lot less gear, including the bomber hex I would have fallen on. If I had fallen all the way with the gear I had in the day previous it could have been a 100ft fall. 3) Don't trust tree roots so much, especially after a record breaking dry summer. 4) Don't try to link pitches to save time, when your not sure if your rope will make it.

I also think I made a few good decisions on this accident that are worth mentioning as well. When I fell I instinctively tried to reach out and grab anything to stop the fall, that was a good reaction that saved me taking a much bigger fall. After the fall I was able to maintain my composure and think through what to do next rationally, I think a common reaction after taking that fall would be to panic which wouldn't have helped in this situation. And my decision to continue up the route was the right choice, rappelling off from this high on a route with two other groups below and with another climber inexperienced in rappelling is just asking for another accident to happen.


In retrospect I'm almost glad I had this accident, I have climbed for a long time without any serious mishaps, it reminds me that I'm not invincible. I feel liked I learned a lot more from falling on this route, than I would have had I climbed it without incident. Here is an quote I heard recently that seems appropriate: 'Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment' - Fred Brooks.

1 pair of shorts, 2 t-shirts and 5 days in Squamish

Space was tight as Nick, Jimmy and I packed into Erica's car on Friday heading up to Squamish BC, so I kept my gear to a minimum. Somehow we managed to fit everything in the car, piled on top of peoples laps and under their feet. I got the best seat in the car as the driver so I didn't have to worry about being crushed under all our gear. We got pulled over at the border and questioned, but luckily they didn't search the car, that would have been a huge hassle to have to repack. Eventually we made it up to Squamish around midnight where we met Laura, Melody and Sarah who left a little before us. Saturday started out pretty mellow with a tour of the boulders in the forest, I was happy to show people around some of the classics and repeat some easier stuff. Then in the afternoon we cooled off in Murren Lake and did a few routes as well, the highlight was an intense technical 11c granite sport climb called James and the Giant Reach. Nick onsighted it and I was happy to use his beta on the flash, it was hard.

Sunday morning we headed out to the Smoke Bluffs, to do some easy trad, I led Burgers and Fries a classic 5.7 that shouldn't be underestimated given its run out slab finish. Then in the afternoon, we went back to Murren Park and did some trad routes up on the Sugarloaf, which is a nice but busy little crag. I managed to onsight a 10c trad route, but my gear placements were not the best, so I was a little disappointed. At that point it was getting late, and Laura and Melody had to drive back down to Olympia, I was glad that I still had a lot more time up here, I felt like I was just getting warmed up.

Monday morning Nick and I got up early to climb a route called the Ultimate Everything Link Up. Its the longest route on the Chief since it starts right at the bottom of the Apron and tops out at the Second Peak. We started out on a 3 pitch 5.9 route at the base of the Apron called The Bottom Line, then linked up into the 8 pitch Banana Peel which I had done before. We were making pretty good time despite Nick going off route a couple of times and were up on Broadway Ledge about 2 and a half hours in. We had strung a couple of pitches together and simul-climbed a little bit to cut down on time. From here we did Broomstick Crack a really cool 2 pitch 5.7 route to get to the base of the upper headwall. The pitches were not too difficult, they were nearly all trad, with a few bolts to protect the blank parts.

Nick and I on Broadway Ledge 11 pitches down 12 to go

Me starting up Broomstick Crack about half way up

The upper headwall was a lot of fun the climbing got a little steeper, but still relatively easy. We made it up to the very last pitch clean with no real problems and were feeling good. The book describes the last pitch as the crux pitch, going free at 11c, or it can be aided at 5.9 A0. It was Nick's turn to lead so he gave it a shot, he ditched the gear and just took a few draws since the guide showed it had a few bolts, but in retrospect he should have brought some cams to protect the runouts between the bolts, nevertheless he made it up to the crux, where the wall got steep and the holds got small, he worked his way up on tiny crimps, then his feet popped, he tried to hold on tight but he came off and fell on the bolt. He was obviously a little disappointed, but 11c is hard to onsight especially after 7 hours straight of climbing. He came down, we pulled the rope, and I tied into the sharp end. The plan was that I would try to free it, but if I couldn't I would just pull on the bolts and aid past the hard part. I made my way up the wall, placing gear between the bolts, I got up to where Nick was and felt the crimps Nick was grappling with, they weren't good, but about a foot to the right there was a decent crimpy layback, I pulled on that, got my feet up high on the crimps, rocked over on my foot, and reached up high left hoping there would be something there. There were a few slopey holds above that were just good enough then a good jug rail which I followed up to the summit and chain anchors. Nick followed up, able to toprope it clean using my beta, he said it was still pretty hard though. We highfived and untied, it felt good to bask in the sun at the summit, and the tourists who had hiked up there seemed very impressed when they saw us come up 'the hard way'. Our total time up the route was 7 hours 16 minutes, but I'm sure I could cut at least an hour off that if I were to do it again now that I know where I'm going.

Nick at a belay anchor only a couple of pitches from the top

The view at the summit of the Chief, from Second Peak looking towards the busy First Peak

We were feeling pretty worn out after that, but we got back to the campsite about 3.30 in the afternoon so had plenty of time to get out climbing again. We decided to check out The Sanctuary a small area described in the guide book as having Cheakamus-like sport climbing close to the Smoke Bluffs. When we got there I was pleasantly impressed, it was very similar rock to the exit 32/38 rock of North Bend, with about 15 routes between 10b and 12d. I did a couple of the 10b's to warm up again, then fired into the onsight of Morpheus a 12a. It was tough, and I had to work hard, but I managed to onsight it, my first 12a onsight in Squamish after trying 4 routes here of that grade. It was a great route, a little steep, fingery, technical and thin. I was pretty worn out after that route so we went back to the campsite for dinner then The Howe Sound Brew Pub for a pint, where we met Tony. I had arranged with Tony to meet up with him up here on Monday, so was glad to see him when he sauntered in to the Pub. I climbed a lot with Tony back in 2007, but since then we haven't gotten back climbing together again, so it was good to catch up with him in the pub where we all made plans to head up the Apron the next day.

Tony leading the last pitch of Banana Peel

Tuesday morning we got an earlyish start and Nick and Erica headed up Diedre, while me and Sarah paired up and Jimmy and Tony paired up to go up the 8 pitch 5.7 Banana Peel. Sarah had very little experience climbing multipitch so I was a little concerned for her, but I needn't have been, she did great. In fact it was me that I should have watched out for. I've written about the accident I had on this route as a different blog post, cause I have a lot to say about it and I didn't want it to detract from this post. Tony and Jimmy did great on this route, they shared leads on it and made it up the route soon after us. It was a big route for both of them, since neither of them had a ton of multipitch trad experience. After our experience on the Apron I think we all wanted to get on something a little less intimidating, so we headed up the road to do some single pitch sport climbing up at Cheakamus Canyon. I couldn't really pull hard with my injured thumb, but I still managed a hard 11a, and some easier stuff, and was a good cheerleader when Nick and Jimmy got on some hard stuff. Nick tried The Fleeing Heifer the classic 12c at Chek, he got to the chains with a lot of hangs, but managed to figure out the sequence. Jimmy was watching Nick on it and fancied a flash attempt since he was feeling pretty good. He hopped on and with me and Nick shouting beta to him he made it past the crux and continued up for the flash! It was a pleasure to watch Jimmy on this, he climbed it really well and it was great to see him climbing at his potential. It was by far his hardest flash to date, before this his hardest was just 12a. Once we were all done there we headed back to the campsite to finish off the last of our boxed wine.

Jimmy flashing The Fleeing Heifer 12c!

Wednesday was our last day in Squamish, and Tony and I wanted to make the most of it by doing some classic trad climbing at the Smoke Bluffs. We started out on Cat Crack a great 5.7 that Tony got an unfortunate bruise under his eye after pulling on a big nut to test it and it flying out and hitting him in the face. I managed to onsight a tough 10b crack climb called S-M's Delight, it was challenging for me cause it was a long sustained route that had all kinds of crack climbing from thin fingers to wide hand crack, it was a good confidence booster. We did a couple other nice routes after that, but it was soon time to go back to the camp to meet up with the rest of the guys to pack up. I felt that Tony and I could have just kept on climbing at the Smoke Bluffs all day. We managed to pack everything back into the two cars and headed on back down the road. Part of me wanted to get back home to shower, tend to my wounds, and recover from some food poisoning that was creeping up on me fast from eating some raw sausages. But there was another part of me that wanted to tell the rest of the crew to go on without me, I could fend for myself up here. I'm glad I home now and recovered, but I can't wait to get back up on the granite at Squamish.

Tony on the left leading Classic Crack 5.8 on our last day in Squamish