|
|
Forums:
Climbing Information:
Regional Discussions:
Re: [saxfiend] Stone Mountain, NC - Rack? Guidebook?:
Edit Log
|
|
trenchdigger
Mar 12, 2007, 4:37 AM
Views: 12966
Registered: Mar 9, 2003
Posts: 1447
|
Thanks, John, and thanks to the others for the beta. The recommended rack was great... Singles of .75 thru #3 camalot, Green, Yellow, and Red Aliens, and a half set of nuts. Here's a quick follow-up...
I met up with a friend from DC on Thursday afternoon and made it to Stone late Thursday night. We bivied in the car and got an early start Friday morning. We figured we'd knock out some of the easier classics on Friday to avoid the crowds, then check out the harder/less popular stuff on Saturday.
-- Friday --
To warm up and start things off, I led up the "U-Slot". I thought the route led up through the obvious little "U" shaped slot in the overlap about 80' up, so I led up the standard groove start, then up and left on the slab to the notch in the overlap. A #3 camalot fit well under the overlap, and the move onto the overlap surprisingly felt easier than the slab below. A short scramble led to a tree belay. I guess this isn't the standard route, but it was fun and I recommend it as a variation.
Next up - "The Great Arch". Ian led P1 and P3, and I led P2. Fun, easy climbing up an incredible feature. I can see why this is crowded on a weekend. From there we rapped to the ground and met John (Saxfiend).
The three of us TR'd "Rice Krispies" and "Captain Crunch", then Ian led the bold "Crystal Lizard" and John and I followed. We bade farewell to John at that point and continued on.
"No Alternative" was next on the agenda. Ian led all pitches and I followed. Fun route...
With 10 pitches down for the day, we decided to call it a day and head back to camp.
-- Saturday --
Our goal is to knock out some of the harder routes from Tree Ledge, so I lead up "Dirty Crack" and Ian follows.
"Rainy Day Women" is next. The runout to the first bolt gets me thinking, but the friction is solid and the moves not very hard. P2 is a cake walk.
A few steps to the left and I find myself in a simiar run to the first bolt on "Storm In A Teacup" although this time I don't even give it a second thought. The long pitch gets my calves screaming for mercy by the time I hit the belay.
We rap back to the ledge and the move on over to "Bombay Groove". I lead up to the mantel below the first bolt and after a little thought, I pull the move. Not as hard as it seems. I clip the bolt with a 24" sling and move into the foot traverse. I make one false start and realize my sequence is off, so I make a move or two back and switch up my feet, then cruise through the moves. The arete feels so good when you reach it, but it's still another 30 or 40' up to the next bolt! Fortunately, the climbing is easy. Ian follows up and then I quickly lead up P2 with its easier, well protected crux. Without a guide book, we thought there might be a third pitch up the arete. Ian led up and right on easy ground with no pro to a tree anchor at the top. The climbing was uninspiring and had lots of crunch rock - not worth the effort.
With 7 pitches down by 2pm, Ian and I bailed for town in need of hot pizza and firewood.
-- Sunday --
We had to make the long drive back to DC (and me, from there back to Southern MD) so we wanted to be finished by around 1pm.
Back to the base of Stone Mtn, we went straight to "Electric Boobs" and I led up both pitches with Ian following. P1 had a distinct crux after the first bolt, and P2 seemd a good bit easier with a friction traverse crux. We rapped off and headed over toward "Fantastic" to go check that out.
"Fantastic" looked good, but the 9-bolt "Scimitar" to its right looked like even more fun. I racked up with 3 times the usual draws needed for a Stone route and started up. I blew off a foothold once at the start, restarted, then climbed quckly, but insecurely to the 5th bolt. Unfortunately, the 19 pitches of slab we'd climbed over the last 2 days were taking their toll and I blew off a foothold moving past the 5th bolt. I hung a bit there and rested before continuing up. From there, my calves were screaming so much, I had to hang and rest at the 6th, 7th, and 9th bolts. The climbing was hard and sustained for 80 or 90'. Awesome. I'll have to come back to this one fresh and try to get it clean.
9 hours later, I'm back in Pax River...
Thanks again for the beta. It was good climbing with you, John. Thanks for the topo.
~Adam~
(This post was edited by trenchdigger on Mar 12, 2007, 4:39 AM)
|
|
|
Edit Log:
|
|
Post edited by trenchdigger
() on Mar 12, 2007, 4:39 AM
|
|
|
|
|
|
