I wish I could say that I’ve climbed Electra at Crowder’s Mountain but alas that would be a lie and after filing my taxes I think I have lied enough lately.  Electra is a 5.10c sport route on David’s Castle Wall of Crowder’s Mountain and is definitely one of the more popular lines.  It’s near Caterpillar, a 5.7 chimney and Energy Czar, a 5.11a sport route which means that it’s both easy to find and there are always people down there if you need to catch a ride.

The reason I bring up Electra even though I didn’t climb it is that I wanted to get some pics of somebody leading it but I hate the stereotypical “butt shots” that are oh so typical.  My climbing partner Ben had just put up Electra as a warm up for Energy Czar and after twenty minutes of pointless thrash-n-dangling I did what any climber with no self-respect would do, I bailed.  But damn it, I was determined to take some pics so I grabbed my prusiks and began both a grueling and humiliating “climb” to the top.

Once I got up to the anchors I was pumped, gassed, wasted and every other word for exhausted but I was at the anchors and that was a small victory.  The effort was worth it in my opinion.  I got these shots including a nice little sequence of a (thankfully) tame whipper.  I hope you enjoy them because I literally but blood, sweat and tears into them.