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cireyelneh
Feb 9, 2002, 4:25 PM
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Everybody has one who has been climbing for awhile so let's hear it. What has been your best climb?...that could mean most enjoyable, hardest completed, hardest not completed , with friends, on sight, whatever the situation maybe let's share and get excited by sharing the experiences we have had while on or near the rock!
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elcapske
Feb 9, 2002, 6:27 PM
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Well, my best would be "voleur de spits" in Berdorf (Luxemburg) onsight (a 5.12b sport climb). It was my first 12b, and I onsighted it My hardest would be the N.A.Wall on El Capitan mainly because it was 7 days of HARD LABOUR!!!but topping out was UNFORGETTABLE
[ This Message was edited by: elcapske on 2002-03-26 08:19 ]
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elcapbuzz
Feb 9, 2002, 7:33 PM
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Nice name elcapske.
I would have to say "Full Steam Ahead" in Zion. I did this First Ascent on the West Temple in early 99.
It is a 2000' foot face with lots of tricky clean placements. It took me 14 nights and 15 days to complete this route. SOLO. I Actually didn't talk to anyone for 17 days.
The route hasnt' seen a second and I don't reckon it ever will. I got my teeth broke, black eyes, cuts on my face from multiple 60 and 70 foot whippers.
It was a great accomplishment for me, but I don't recomend it.
Cheers, Ammon
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atg200
Feb 10, 2002, 4:53 AM
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3 stand out.
Maverick on the Hindu near Moab. III 5.9 A2, so not the hardest thing i've ever done, but i climbed it with a guy who i had met that morning. we had been emailing for a year or so, and i first met him by waking him up on the floor of my apartment in denver before we drove to moab. got to know each other on the drive, and then i taught him to aid climb on a 4 pitch desert tower. very cool guy and good climber, and great experience.
Otto's Route in Colorado Nat'l Monument. III 5.8+/9- This was cool for me because I lead the crux pitches, which are basically at my lead limit(especially on sketchy rock and gear). My brother and I did it roundtrip from Denver in a day, which included 9 hours of driving because of a traffic jam on Vail pass. Cool route.
South Face of the Petit Grepon in Rocky Mountain National Park. Again, did it with a guy I just met that morning who I had been talking over email with. We got to know each other on the long hike in, and then climbed an 8 pitch 5.8 alpine route(one of the 50 classics). Great fun, and another good friend made on a classic route.
One of my favorite things about climbing is how nice, trustworthy, and interesting most everybody who does it is-even complete strangers. Wish more aspects of life were like that.
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phil_nev
Feb 10, 2002, 5:30 AM
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my favorite climb ever is salem at mt apapiles, victoria, australia. It's graded 18 and is the most beuatifull line i have ever attempted.
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crackwhore
Feb 10, 2002, 5:40 AM
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right on !!
really appreciate the heartfelt, proud responses...
atg200: petit grepon !!!
gotta stand with you on that. great climb !!
elcapbuzz: sounds like a great time for soul searching. also sounds like your head is right where it should be. awesome...
hard to pinpoint 1, so i'll go with a top 3 also...
1: Middle Cathedral , Ho Chi Minh Trail
( V 5.10+ )
my first grade 5. i really enjoyed this one because we had no beta and the route sees very little traffic so it almost felt like a first ascent. i think we only encountered 3 or 4 fixed pieces after leaving the DNB
2: The Folly (right side of the Good Book)
5 pitches 5.10+
the 3rd pitch corner and the 5th pitch handcrack are 2 of the best 5.10 pitches ive done. the super exposed 4th pitch adds ssooo much to the experience.
3: 9 Lives (Cat wall, Indian Creek) 5.12a
endurance thin hands, exposed traverse, overhanging wide hands to finish. positively one of the finest single pitches i've ever done.
my top 3 i havent done yet ??
1: Tricks are for Kids .13a - 7 tries, no success yet but this will be no.1 when i do it. if you've ever seen it you know why...
2: Rostrum N. Face, Alien roof .12b
sure looks good.
3: Six Star crack .13b the Wild Country poster is hanging over my bed...
namaste
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rockhippie
Feb 10, 2002, 5:46 AM
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Best climb was six feet from my swing stage to the roofs edge on a 37 storey office building. had to unclip to do it.12a at least.
[ This Message was edited by: rockhippie on 2002-02-09 21:47 ]
[ This Message was edited by: rockhippie on 2002-02-09 21:49 ]
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compclimber
Feb 10, 2002, 8:19 AM
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Ok I have to break from the norm here, and go with a boulder problem.
Helicopter V-5
It's a total classic, and definetly one of my favorite sends. Here's a quote of someone talking about it...
"A breeze for some, it was an anguishing personal endeavor. It took two years just to find the only fun (for me) start. Once I had that dialed. I spent the next three years working the rest of the problem. For some reason I couldn't do any of the knee bars-I seethed with disgust everytime Steve Cheng hung out in the middle of the problem from a double knee bar shaking out, chalking up, and bullshitting with the crowd of spotters. I'm not sure but one cool October day, the whole thing just fell into plcae. Easily, as though the state that all this time it wasn't the moves, just my weakness. I repeated the problem half a dozen times that fall but have not been able to touch it since. I suspect it is more of a mental thing rather than any sudden lack of fitness."
Number wise, it's not one of my hardest sends... but in actual climbing, and athleticism... it's definetly one of my hardest/henious sends
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rrrADAM
Feb 10, 2002, 3:21 PM
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Since I enjoy long multi-pitch Trad Routes the best, my favorite climb thus far is 3rd Pillar of Dana Mountain (5.10b). 7 pitches of pure Trad that ascends 1,000+ feet of the most beautiful granite, located just outside the East entrance of Yosemite. This climb is in the Tuolumne guide books.
There are many other Trad climbs including, Kor-Ingalls (Castleton Tower), Durrance & Walt Baily Direct (Devil's Tower), High Exposure & Modern Times (The Gunks), Reed's Pinnacle (Yosemite), Bastille Crack (Eldorado Canyon), but 3rd Pillar just stands out. It's a true Adventure Climb, in a wilderness setting overlooking Mono Lake. Well worth the 2 1/2 hour approach.
rrrADAM
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nikegirl
Feb 10, 2002, 6:24 PM
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I don't think I can pick just one.
The climbing I've done so far...are all so fresh.
I love them all!!
Favorite so far was at No Calculators Allowed at Joshua Tree. It was my first 5.10a. Hated it, and loved it all in one. Amazing!
T
[ This Message was edited by: nikegirl on 2002-02-10 10:26 ]
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stigonrock
Feb 10, 2002, 7:44 PM
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Thees so many routes I've done hard and easy that is difficult to choose the best. No way can I answer that one.
But..perhaps the most memorable climb I've done is when I was in Namibia about 3 years back. I was going out with this guy at the time and we were travelling. We went to this place called Fish River Canyon which had loads of rock, although it did look a bit chossy. I hadn't climbed for a couple of months but had all my gear with me so thought hey..lets climb.
Me and my boyfriend, we were so desperate to climb having not climbed for a while so we picked a line which we thought looked reasonable but after around 20 metres bits of rock started falling off. I wasn't so worried for myself but for my boyfriend belaying below as I didn't want to drop rocks on him.
2 pitches later we made it to the top unscathed...ah life is an adventure for sure. Now I know why I couldn't find any climbing info on the area...
Angela
[ This Message was edited by: stigonrock on 2002-02-10 11:50 ]
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tangboy
Feb 10, 2002, 7:58 PM
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I think my best send (bouldering) was the problem "Genesis" at Horse Pen 40 in Alabama. took me about 45 minutes? (about that long on an off timhinck?) and i ripped open two of my fingertips (leaving lovely puddles of blood in the pocket). i felt good after sending it because i worked on it even though it was a V3. but hey that made me feel good!
tang
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daggerx
Feb 11, 2002, 1:46 AM
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My fav. route is Welcome to Ole Kentuck in the RRG. It was super hard for me and it was my 1st 13, My fav. boulder problem that I have worked is Bulldog V8 its totally hard overhang and tones of fun. My fav. boulder problems that I have not completed is Ghetto methoids V10 its super hard I can get to the last move then I fall every time.
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crackaddict
Feb 11, 2002, 3:05 AM
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Best sport climb but not the hardest- Steves Arete 5.11 at Mt Lemmon. Cool exposure!
Best crack but not the hardest- Atman 5.10 Red Rocks. Cool looking rock!
Best solo but not the hardest- Snake Dike on Half Dome. Cool views!
Hardest sport- Smokin Guns 11.c/d. at Queen Creek. Cool overhang!
Hardest crack- Davidsons Dihedral 5.11+ Paridise Forks. Cool open book finger crack!
Hardest solo- Moe 5.10b Queen Qreek. Cool short overhnging sport climb!
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cory
Feb 11, 2002, 3:15 AM
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The best trad route I've done is Pear Buttress,5.9, Lumpy Ridge, Colorado. The 3rd pitch is this slammer handcrack that goes for a while. It's so cool.
The best boulder problem I've done is Toll Booth Willy, this problem I put up near Ft. Collins.
The coolest sport route I've ever tried is straight up, Necessary Evil. Up a black streak for 90 feet, hard climbing the whole way, and nothing bigger than a full-pad edge until the 6th bolt. Topped off by a runout slab to the anchors. Nice job finding that one, Boone.
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aulwes
Feb 11, 2002, 4:53 AM
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One stands out in my mind, Lochnesse Plunge. I first hear about the climb about six months before I actually climbed it. It is one of the only if not the only multi pitch route in Missouri! The first pitch is a traverse over the river out to a two bolt anchor (one good fall may get you wet in the river), the route goes up a nice 5.9 crack. the view of the river is great! the crack continues up to a 2 bolt anchor, then the final pitch is an easy traverse back to the rap anchors. It was a fun, but difficult route for me!!!
It really stands out for me because it was my first multi-pitch climb!
[ This Message was edited by: aulwes on 2002-02-10 20:59 ]
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iclimbtoo
Feb 11, 2002, 6:06 AM
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Well, hardest that I ever did was a small 90-100 ft. sport climb at Barn's Bluff in Red Wing, MN. It was about a 5.11d with some 5.12 in it, but it was not the best route ever. I would definitely say that the main crack of the Bastille in Eldorado Canyon was one of the best climbs I have ever done! 3 pitches of 5.8+ that were the most exposed I've ever been!! Hanging belays rule!! Also, the first time I climbed the First Flat Iron outside Boulder, we rapped down the west side right as the sun was setting. Wow, that was one of those moments that you wish you could just freeze in time!!!
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jer
Feb 11, 2002, 1:27 PM
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aulwes-
(italian accent)ahhhhh, you make-a-me so proud-ah. Loch-a-Ness-a ees a beautiful, no?
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lawnboy
Feb 11, 2002, 1:59 PM
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My favorite climbi did was little fingers at Putucaway in NH i redpointed it but it was and awesome climb!
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jer
Feb 11, 2002, 2:19 PM
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dang...this is hard...the BEST!!? how am I supposed to choose the BEST!!? What does that mean!? okay okay..I'll try my BEST...
okay...here's the BEST-est..my top 3-
1.Levitation 29 in Red Rocks, Nevada-because of it's location, it's difficulty, history, and variety. Rated 11c, and 9 pitches long, it requires solid trad skills, pumpy sport climbing(resting)skills, and a long approach to keep the crowds away. A great day with my BEST partner.
2.Touchstone Wall
in Zion Nat'l Park, Utah. My first Grade IV- this route has a lot of beautiful free climbing once you get past the first two pitches. We did it car to car in 12 hours. It was great day with my BEST partner.
3.Second Adam in Sams Throne , Arkansas. One of the few multi pitch routes at Sams, this thing is just as overhung as it is long. It is incredibly steep and requires leglocks, dynos and all sorts of nonsense to pull through massive roofs. Rated 11+, the first pitch is tricky and explosive. The second is exposed (11-) and technique intensive. A masterpiece of a climb on beautiful sandstone(which of course is the BEST kind of rock).
Jer
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agrauch
Feb 11, 2002, 4:14 PM
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The best route I climbed last year was the Direct South Buttress on Mt. Moran, IV 5.9 A1. We did the traditional "cragging" variation and bailed after the first 11 pitches. The exposure on this route and the quality of climbing are just extraordinary. You can't ask for a better day in the mountains.
If I were doomed to repeat one route over and over again it would have to be Mainliner, 5.9, at Lumpy Ridge. Come to think of it, I have done Mainliner a number of times.
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passthepitonspete
Feb 11, 2002, 6:28 PM
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It is gratifying to see that few sport climbs have made this list.
I believe this to be a good thing.
My best climb? A very difficult choice!
When it comes to free climbing, I could think of nothing finer than our first ascent of Iguanadon in 1982. This is a route which still strikes fear in the hearts of men. I know I'm up to snuff when I can climb Iguanadon.
As far as big walls are concerned, probably my most memorable was my first solo ascent of El Cap. Never was the adventure greater nor the outcome more uncertain! It was the hardest wall I had yet done, and my first solo of anything ever! It was a great exercise in ALL aspects of climbing.
My first solo of El Cap also taught me that I no longer need a partner. That being said,
"On a toujours la choix...."
But I think for just plain fun, my most recent solo of El Cap would have to have been it!
I had it all - the solar-powered shower, the coffee press and kitchenette, not to mention plenty of beer, gourmet food, and the loudest damn ghetto blaster on the Big Stone!
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cory
Feb 11, 2002, 6:42 PM
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I don't see what's so bad about sport routes. For some people, they might be the best routes. To each his own.
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climber1
Feb 11, 2002, 8:21 PM
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the hardest climb I've done is Grandpa Gander(10c) at Joshua Tree. themost famous climb I have done is Kor-Ingalls route on Castleton Tower.
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addiroids
Feb 12, 2002, 4:28 AM
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Overall: The Black Dagger in Red Rocks. Scary pitch 2, but pitch 3 rivals Open Book for aesthetics while being only 5.7ow (slide #5 cam for 80').
Short Trad Route: Sail Away in Josh. Just a beautiful 5.8 finger crack. Also, Walt Bailey Memorial at Devil's Tower. I have to agree with Adam on this one. Another beautiful line, but what isn't at the Tower.
Long Easy Trad Route: Royal Arches in Yosemite. 14 pitches of fun 5.7 with a great chimney start to warm you up in the morning.
Aid/Wall Route: West Face of Leaning Tower in Yosemite. But I'm sure The Nose will beat that out this summer.
Sport Climbing: I don't sport climb.
Route I want to do: Petit Gripon, The Diamond, Snake Dike, The Nose, Cathederal Peak.
TRADitionally yours,
Addiroids
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