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whiskeybullets
Nov 21, 2006, 7:38 PM
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Registered: Jun 23, 2005
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Disclaimer: I recently attempted Glass Menagerie at Looking Glass and found my skills lacking. In this thread I am looking for very specific advice, so if you want the onsite or hate beta, I would advise not reading the post that follows. Having only ever aided a single pitch on lead (Korr roof on washington column) and only cleaned one pitch of aid, which was a plumb line, I found glass menagerie to be more of a challenge than i was able to handle. I'm asking for your experience with the route so that I can critique my own ability and decision making process. I attempted to aid lead the first pitch and bailed. My partner jugged the line and finished the pitch by free climbing several moves. I wanted to aid the entire pitch, so wanted to know these specifics: what do you place in the small pocket that is the first traversing move when you move out of the right facing corner and before you move high into the flake that takes a red camalot? I placed a 00 tcu, but it blew as i stood on it. a 0 tcu didn't fit much better. After the traverse moves (first right then back left), you come to a section with about a ten foot gap between fixed placements, from a bolt to a fixed pin. I couldn't see a placement for a clean piece for the life of me. This is where i rapped. My partner freed the moves, which seemed antithetical to the point of learning the details of aid climbing. For those of you who aid this section, what is your sequence of placements? The 4th pitch is an awkward crack in a narrow corner. At the top of the crack there is a fixed green old old style camalot. To reach the anchors for the fourth pitch, i stepped out of all of my aiders at the camalot and free climbed the last 2 slab moves. It looks as though the route originally followed the seam to a fixed pin about 10 feet to the left of the current anchors. However I again couldn't find clean gear to place. What was I missing? Third question. why am i not afraid of 1500 ft free routes in yosemite but am terrified of cleaning traversing pitches that are only 200 ft? any suggestions on improving my ability to lower out while cleaning lines that are out of plumb (traversing or overhanging?) do you mind describing the system you use to clean such pitches? Thanks in advance, Matt
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lambone
Nov 21, 2006, 10:10 PM
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Registered: May 1, 2003
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Matt, Your placement questions could likely all be answered by one of three items: Cam Hooks, Ball Nuts, Offset Aliens or HB Offset Stoppers. You were scared cleaning because jugging is scary. I've jugged probly 100 pitches on El Cap and it still scares the piss out of me. Make sure the rope is clean of sharp edges, and learn how to do lower-outs for traversing stuff. It just takes practice. Don't worry it is hard for everyone at first. Cheers! Have fun. Matt
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deschamps1000
Nov 21, 2006, 10:23 PM
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Registered: Apr 29, 2004
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Matt, I remember that first traverse move being a hook move. there are also hook moves up higher at the blank section you mentioned. Was there a crappy bolt at the top of the 1st pitch? The 1st or 2nd after the overhang? We pulled a big chunk of rock off behind a bolt, seriously compromising its integrity. Eric
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thegroundhurts
Nov 29, 2006, 6:04 PM
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Registered: Dec 13, 2005
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from the fixed pin on P1 its a far left reach, I remember that much. It ate one of my stoppers (is it still there?) So there is, with a lot of leaning left, a way to get a stopper in there. Before the pin, I really dont remember the details, but I think it took a green metolius on only two lobes. After that left traverse it was straightforward until the copperhead (I think thats technically part of another route, but it helps) and traverse right on the horozontal bolt ladder. I think I put an alien in to get onto the belay ledge, that is definitely a completely blind placement, reach far right from the last bolt around and onto the back of the ledge for a horozontal slot. I would disagree that free climbing is always an antithesis of learning aid, being able to step out of the aiders and grab onto and stand on the rock is sometimes the best way to go. Of course, if its really technical free climbing, not every aid climber can free that well. (I'm not sure how free your parter did it.) I can say for sure, all of glass menegere can be aided with no free at all. I hear rumours that it can be freed with no aid, but I'm definitely not that strong. Cleaning a traverse on ascenders is scary, and hard. An ascender that is being pulled sideways from the rope can pop very easily, unlike one that is being moved up a plum line. In that sense, use extra caution when cleaning traverses. You'll sometimes have to resort to resting directly on placements, backcleaning, swinging a little (or a lot) and lots of creative rope tricks to clean traverses.
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weatherm
Nov 30, 2006, 3:47 PM
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Registered: Dec 8, 2005
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The best thing I can say about traversing a route with ascenders is make sure you have a biner clipped to the ascender and the rope on the bottom end of the ascender. This helps keep the ascender more flush with the rope instead of it just pinching the ropeat a 90 degree bend. I totally agree with 'thegroundhurts' on swinging back and penduluming. Its alittle sucky but sometimes thats the only thing to do .. of course cussing and spitting works well also.
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fullmonty
Dec 11, 2007, 5:00 PM
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Registered: Feb 12, 2006
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Crash, I think the best way to do GM is to grab your huge NUTS and go for it. Learn to trust the system, or at least learn to swallow that "copper like fear taste" that wells up from the pit of your stomach. BY the way, Penjies just suck ass, just try not to drop anything or freak out and everything will be fine
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weatherm
Dec 11, 2007, 6:22 PM
Post #8 of 17
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Registered: Dec 8, 2005
Posts: 89
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climbing the glass is fantastic. im game to go again!!!! i got the gear
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boglins
Dec 17, 2007, 12:50 AM
Post #9 of 17
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Registered: Nov 18, 2003
Posts: 20
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I've climbed GM twice now and did the first pitch differently each time. The first time, I stepped out of my aiders and free climbed the blank section. It is 5.9 C2 by the way, meaning there is mandatory 5.9 climbing. But to be honest, the second time, I actually raised up a long stick from the ground from my partner and stick clipped the pin or bolt or whatever it was. For a rack, we carried double cams from 00 TCU to a number 4 camalot for the offwidth near the top. We also had a rack of nuts and a rack of Loweballs. We took no hooks and no camhooks, though off of one of the belays, one of us (me both times) had to fifi into a fixed pin and allow the other to stand on his head to clip the high, spinny bolt. That would be avoided with a hook.
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weatherm
Dec 17, 2007, 3:45 AM
Post #10 of 17
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Registered: Dec 8, 2005
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I had to use hook moves on the first two pitches... got the roof and had to back off b/c it was 10pm :P I did the A3+ roof though (old guidebook)... thats dicey... right in the middle is where you really don't want to be leading :P
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CinnamonJohnson
Dec 17, 2007, 4:11 AM
Post #11 of 17
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Registered: Jul 4, 2007
Posts: 88
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You could just free those pitches if you were elegant and hardcore enough.....
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euphoriagtrst
Dec 17, 2007, 2:19 PM
Post #12 of 17
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Registered: Apr 12, 2004
Posts: 62
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Hey Rhett, I thought that pitch was really cool A2-2+. I did it this summer and your stopper was still wedged in the crack but the cable was broken. It had this really cool blind hybrid alien placement 2nd stepping off the bathook hole. The only problem is that if you're looking to do the whole route it eats up a lot of time. I checked out the GM direct (straight off the ground to the 2nd pitch belay) rapping down. Now that looks scary- I wonder how often it's done. Quinn
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weatherm
Dec 17, 2007, 3:48 PM
Post #13 of 17
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Registered: Dec 8, 2005
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Hah, awesome. sick. Iet me know when you want to jump on that! --Rhett
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euphoriagtrst
Dec 17, 2007, 3:59 PM
Post #14 of 17
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Registered: Apr 12, 2004
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If you lead it!! It looks like some hooking above manky heads and questionable pro straight off the ground............I'll bring a crash pad. Quinn
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weatherm
Dec 17, 2007, 4:08 PM
Post #15 of 17
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Registered: Dec 8, 2005
Posts: 89
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Lets do Zombie Zoo! I'm game to get to the top of GM. I'll free the last two pitches
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climbeer
Jan 3, 2008, 9:51 PM
Post #16 of 17
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Registered: Jan 3, 2008
Posts: 13
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what is jugging? (sorry)
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austin.timm
Jan 8, 2008, 5:27 PM
Post #17 of 17
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Registered: May 17, 2007
Posts: 96
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http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1778429;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread
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