On The Sharp End - Climbing, Scrambling, Mountaineering

Last Minute Rainier Trip

One of the many perks about living in Seattle is the proximity to big mountains. Last year when I climbed Rainier it was months of training, planning and praying for a good weather window. Now it’s “oh the weather is nice so lets go climb Rainier” and so I am. Yesterday I took someone up on an invite to climb Disappointment Cleaver, today I’m packing and tomorrow I’ll be climbing. Crazy.

Oh, and I went to REI today to pick up some fuel and that place is a zoo with their Labor Day Sale going on. Besides picking up fuel I also picked up my new secret weapon, Hammer Gel. $20 for 26 servings is considerably cheaper than buying the individual packets.

Previous Rainier Trip Report

Training for Rainier & Training for Mountaineering in General

Training for mountaineering and training for Rainier in particular is an expectations game. If you don’t know what to expect you fret over every little detail and want to make sure that your training regime is the “right” one for mountaineering. If you do know what to expect especially on a climb like the standard Disappointment Cleaver on Rainier you know that you need to have a solid base conditioning level and a propensity to suffering. Acclimatization is often the weak link, not fitness, and unfortunately almost everyone, even locals, can’t do anything about it.

My girlfriend’s brother wants to climb Rainier over Labor Day weekend. I found this out about a month ago and even though the beer and pizza diet has caught up with me I am not too worried. My base level of conditioning when I found out was I could jog, albeit slowly, for about an hour. Not in good shape but I’ve certainly been in worse shape. To prepare and whip myself into condition, for the last few weeks I have bumped it up a notch and added hill work and heavy backpack slogging. I added these two types of training for very different reasons and I think they will each payoff.

Hill work is always good. If you’re trying to climb Disappointment Cleaver you’re essentially climbing a big snowy hill with crevasses. Undertaking a Rainier climb is not something to be taken lightly but on a nice day the standard route is fairly safe. I added hill work because I can push myself to exhaustion relatively easily, recover and then do it again. I have a very steep hill near my house, steep enough for my little Honda Civic to have a hissy fit going up it. I do a quick warm jog and then do three reps of this hill at 80% walking down between each. Very conveniently at the top of the hill is a dirt running trail that loops for 3/4 of a mile and has a few pleasant ups and downs. This is my recovery loop and it gives me a chance to get my lungs under control. All in all this set of 3x hills and then trail jog takes 20 minutes. I do three sets of these and then about a mile cool down. By the time I am done I have burned out my lungs, burned out my legs and am all around spent. If I didn’t have a trail run in between sets of hills I think my hill work would be considerably less effective. By jogging between sets I recover enough to push myself on the next set, I keep my heart rate up for much longer and I can really focus on recovering my breath while still moving. All of these things are important while climbing.

I have also added heavy backpack work to my training. I am lucky enough to have Mt Si close by which allows me to hike about 3500 vertical feet with a 50lb pack but when I lived on the east coast I did just fine on the stairs of a nearby parking garage. The key is to start light and go for as long as you can with an hour being the minimum. I like to be able to feel relatively ok with a 50lb pack on my back for a couple of hours but that is just me. Now that I have Mt Si to train on I do about 3500 vertical feet in two hours and then take a little over an hour to get down for a grand total of three-ish hours. While heavy backpack work is mind-numbingly boring it builds that run-you-like-a-rented-mule endurance that is crucial for mountaineering.

Will this training be enough for Rainier? I’m wagering yes because I know what to expect. On the hike to Camp Muir I am going to start early in the AM and take as much time as I need. There is no rush and the longer I am on the mountain the longer I have to acclimate. This is the only day that I will have a heavy pack and I can rest as much as I need. On summit day I’m going to leave early for safety reasons and my pack will be next to nothing. I’ll pace myself and take decent breaks where it is safe. I know I have the endurance and suffering capability to move through the objectively hazardous sections quickly and that is the only place where true speed matters.

I also have a few tricks up my sleeve this time. This time I am ditching my heavy Koflach Degre plastic boots and will be sporting a much lighter pair of La Sportiva Trango Alp GTX boots. They are similar to the La Sportiva Trango S Evo GTX but a little less technical. Another very similar pair of boots are the Scarpa Charmoz GTX. All said I should be rockin and rollin all the way to the top. I’ll let you know how leather boots on Rainier go.

Bolting in NC – Moore’s Wall

An unknown climber wrote this comment on an old post of mine. I think he or she has a really good point.

Climbed at Moores Wall, NC last week and there must have been 10 people waiting to rap down the sentinel anchor. There were two people on Zoo View, two on Air Show and at least 6 on the ledge.

There is a big discussion on rockclimbing.com about putting in more anchors around Moores Wall. This issue has been discussed for years and seems to never go anywhere.

So does anyone actually know if they are going to put in some bolted anchors above certain one pitch routes to make it easier to get down so we can do more routes in a day instead of waiting for 45 minutes to get down????

I would put them in myself since I have bolted a lot of routes an CO but everyone around NC states they will be cut.

I think the next step is to call the Hanging Rock State Park and explain that there are more and more inexperienced climbers coming to Moores and someone is going to hurt themselves if we don’t get safer anchors up.

I have been climbing for 12 years and I saw some very unsafe issues this weekend.

FYI

As rock climbing becomes more popular in North Carolina the standard exits are becoming overwhelmed which is creating a real danger. The ledge referenced above is fairly substantial, maybe a large pickup truck bed, but six people on it is getting a little too cozy. What are your thoughts? Should Moore’s Wall get new bolts?

Continue reading Bolting in NC – Moore’s Wall

Spare Tire as Climbing Gear

Word to the wise… When you’re going climbing miles upon miles from the nearest town it’s a good idea to make sure your spare tire is good to go.

Quick Link – Cross Loading a Carabiner When Slinging Trees

I am guilty of not paying attention to this detail that can dramatically reduce the force a biner can handle.

From the American Alpine Institute’s blog:

Surprisingly, there is one mistake that both beginners and advanced climbers alike tend to make. Many people will wrap a tree with a sling and then clip the sling. Often the sling is wrapped around the tree in such a way that it is loading the carabiner improperly. A carabiner that is loaded from three directions is often referred to as being triaxally or tri-directionally loaded. This is very very bad… (link to the article with pictures)

American Alpine Institute

Continue reading Quick Link – Cross Loading a Carabiner When Slinging Trees

New River Gorge, WV – Bridge Buttress

I recently headed up to New River Gorge to do some rock climbing. Considering I had never been there it seemed like something I should do before I move from the east coast to the PNW. Planning is not my M.O. but I was meeting a bunch of my brother’s friends at New River Gorge and this was the only weekend that fit everyone’s schedule. The downside to planning a weekend in advance and what I use as an excuse for not planning is that you are at the mercy of the weather. The gamble on this weekend did not payoff and we got rained on pretty steadily which sucked.

We went to the NRG to climb and climb we did, weather be damned. We originally planned to climb at Bubba City but as the heavens opened up that plan was quickly derailed. Hoping that the rain would pass we all huddled under overhangs in a rather futile attempt to stay dry. There was a brief break in the rain and Dave decided to put up a top rope on a damp 5.7 but other than that it was a bust.

As the weather continued to deteriorate the consensus was that we should head over to Bridge Buttress and climb under the shelter of a gigantic roof. When we got there I was pretty impressed by the size of the roof. It had to be at least 30 feet deep. The crazy thing about the roof was not its size but rather the fact that the roof was bolted. I can hardly imagine climbing a roof that deep and that steep.

Dave got on the rock a little before me and started putting up the first pitch of High Times at 5.10c. In good fashion he started hiking it but struggled at the top which involved some friction steps. The rock was sweaty and the crack was in his words “moist.” Last I checked friction moves don’t go along with wet rock but he assured me the rock was fine after he scrambled to the anchors.

I’ve been trying to suck it up lately and lead more, especially when I’m scared and conditions are less than ideal. There happened to be a very short 5.7 crack on the wall (Horton’s Tree) and I decided that I had to force my way up it. After racking up and making sure my chalk bag was full I started up it and by “started up it” I mean slid off the start about a dozen times. Despite the pit in my stomach I was resolved to get up it. 1/2 a chalk bag later, the crack went from wet to damp and the feet went from slick to sweaty. Despite my poor form, in the end I thrashed and dangled my way up it and to me that is what counts. Funny thing is, about an hour later I TRed it smooth like butta.

I don’t typically climb with a large group at popular crags so I rarely see bona fide strong climbers working hard routes. Prior to the New River Gorge trip I had never seen someone put up a 5.12 line. With a top rope already set up on High Times, Dave danced his way up Let the Wind Blow at 5.12a. I have to say that I am now inspired to climb “hard” and even though I probably will never be able to climb harder than say 5.11 on TR, I am determined to become a 5.10 trad climber. Maybe that is unrealistic but with some serious gym time and a bit of miracle gro to put hair on my chest it just might happen.

The rest of the day we climbed on other classics such as Zag (5.8), a generic 5.6 and Jaws (5.9+) which is an incredibly awkward corner crack and much like wrestling a bear. Despite the weather, it was a good day and a great introduction to New River Gorge rock climbing.

[View with PicLens]

Continue reading New River Gorge, WV – Bridge Buttress

Petzl Ice Screw Strength Tests

I’m moving to Seattle in a month and am finally going to be able to ice climb on a semi-regular basis. I’m stoked but also a little anxious because ice climbing is my weakest area as far as experience goes. Perusing the ‘net I found this nifty video of Petzl doing field tests of ice screw strength. My takeaways are that the threads of the ice screw are where the strength is at and ice screws fail not because they slide out but because they get torqued and the ice above them flakes off. Taking the next logical step, for the strongest ice screw placement I would want to minimize torquing by placing them at a slight downward angle (the direction of a fall) which would put as much force as possible on the threads of the ice screw.

Ice anchor Workshop
by Petzl-crew

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Continue reading Petzl Ice Screw Strength Tests

Climbing Knots – Bowline on a Bight

I never start the day saying “hey, wouldn’t it be gnarly to run out of slings half way up a climb” but sometimes it happens. Normally I climb with doubles so setting up a two piece anchor isn’t a problem because I just plug some gear and clove hitch each rope to a piece. Problem solved.

When I was climbing The Nose over at Looking Glass I didn’t get so lucky. That day I was climbing on a single and when I ran out of slings on pitch 3 I was kind of at a loss for setting up an anchor. I managed to rig something that was “safe” but was anything but textbook which kind of bothered me. After doing a little digging I realize that what I should have used was a bowline on a bight.

I learned this climbing knot from Rick over at Cremnomaniac. His blog is relatively new but I am really digging the wealth of knowledge he has shared in just a few posts. If you have some time I would highly advise reading his Trad Climbing Techniques, Tricks & Tips article. It is a damned good read. Continue reading Climbing Knots – Bowline on a Bight

Vedauwoo Climbing – I’m Down for Anything Once

I am down for anything once. Life is too short to pass up on experiences just because they are scary, unknown or taboo. This attitude has gotten me in a lot of trouble in the past but it has also exposed me to the “fringe” and that is where the action is at.

I mention this because I have been reading a lot about Vedauwoo lately. Alpinist issue 20 turned me on to the area but the blog ColoCalders.com hooked me and put Vedauwoo on my hit list. What sealed the deal was this little quote from Kate -

“Five short hours in Vedauwoo, and we were sliced open by razor-sharp rock, beaten up by overhanging crack climbs, drenched in icy water, hailed on, and fell down wet slabs. It was a good day – let the Vedauwoo season begin!” (link)

Vedauwoo sounds like an adventure but more importantly it sounds unique. Sure there are many places that can chew you up and spit you out but an area known for its fierce offwidth climbing has to have something magical otherwise why would anybody climb there? I mean how many people have a rack of #5 & #6 camalots? Those things are monstrous! I know some people are offwidth aficionados but I can’t imagine there are enough of those people to make an area renown.

As I make my way cross country next month as I move from the slabs of North Carolina to the volcanoes of Washington I might have to make a pit stop in Vedauwoo just to say I’ve been there. Maybe I’ll find a partner, maybe not but either way I have a feeling I’ll experience the magic.

Photo Courtesy Ryan Ludwig

Continue reading Vedauwoo Climbing – I’m Down for Anything Once

How To Belay – The Soft Skills

There are plenty of resources out there that can teach you the hard skills on how to belay. There are more forum posts on overhand vs underhand belaying technique than I care to mention and don’t get people started on gri-gri vs ATC style belay devices. While all those articles are well and good at teaching the hard skills I find that even a belayer with perfect technique can be a poor belayer because of terrible soft skills.

The reason I mention this is because I recently climbed with my buddy Mike who is a novice climber and even though he has good technique and I “knew” he wasn’t going to drop me, he was lacking the soft skills that make a belayer a good belayer.

The first rule of being a good belayer is to inspire confidence in the leader. This can range from the occasional “you got this” to “moving smooth like butta.” The key here is to reassure without breaking their concentration. There is nothing worse than a belayer constantly yapping but the occasional encouraging word lets the leader know you’re paying attention and are ready to catch them should they fall. Every comment should be inspiring which means that the last thing you want to say are things like “I think you need to put pro in” or “man you’re run out” because I assure you the leader is well aware of the situation.

Don’t short rope the leader and likewise don’t use a top rope to pull the climber up the route. There is no greater sin than a belayer causing a leader to fall because they short roped him. While lead climbing leave enough lack in the rope for the leader to make a couple of moves. On top rope make sure the slack is out of the system but you’re not providing upward tension.

Don’t spew beta just because it looks like the leader is struggling. If the leader needs some help he will ask!

When a climber is clipping make sure they have enough slack to smoothly grab the rope and clip in. If you don’t give enough slack you can throw the climber out of balance and cause him to dump at the point that they are furthest away from their last piece of pro.

When climbing on double ropes I find it helpful for the belayer to make sure I am not crossing ropes and mention whether I should clip the red or blue rope. Ultimately it is my decision which rope to clip but the belayer has the best view of the entire system. This also allows the belayer to protect themselves from a nasty pendelum fall in case you accidentally forget to pay attention to that.

Sometimes people will put in shoddy pro as mental pieces. It is not good practice but some people do it. If one of those pieces pops loose while they are climbing don’t mention it if it isn’t their last piece because it will destroy their confidence in the rest of the pro. If it is their last piece mention it in a non-panicky way like “that crack you’re at looks like it will eat up a cam.”

On loose routes and when ice climbing make sure you are not directly below the climber. This should be common sense but unfortunately I’ve seen it a lot.

On multipitch once the leader is off belay make sure you are getting ready to follow. Tie your shoes, down a power gel, put on your backpack, etc. This saves a lot of time and frustration for the leader.

These are just a few of the rules I can think of off the top of my head. Learning how to belay well is an experience thing but hopefully these belaying tips will give you a jump start. If I forgot any tips on how to belay please leave a comment for the next guy.

Continue reading How To Belay – The Soft Skills

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