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climbingcowboy
Feb 23, 2004, 4:44 PM
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I'm going to attempt another wall this year in june, last year me and my partner bailed from the Prow, so I started debating on if I should go back to try and finish it or try WFLT. Comments? Opinons? What big diffrences are there from people who have done both?
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watchme
Feb 23, 2004, 5:11 PM
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I've climbed them both, and they are about the same difficulty. The WFLT might be a bit easier.
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diesel___smoke
Feb 23, 2004, 5:13 PM
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Why does most everyone end up bailing on The Prow?
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sierramike
Feb 23, 2004, 5:13 PM
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I've soloed both. The Prow is harder.
If you do WFLT, link pitches and do the route in 5 long pitches. Loads of fixed gear.
For the Prow, take offset nuts and Aliens. Makes life much more pleasant. If you want any more tips, pm me.
Good luck and have fun.
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gunked
Feb 23, 2004, 5:27 PM
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I agree that WFLT is defenitely easier. There are two difficult pitches on the Prow that give pause IMO. The first is P2. It's defenitely sketchy for a beginner with ledge-fall potential if you blow it. It's got a few difficult pieces in a row, or maybe they were just difficult for me. The hauling sucked for the last couple of pitches, bt that's aid!
On WFLT, the hauling is as easy as it gets on any wall, short of somebody else doing it for you. I remember having a little 'pause' on the traverse pitch after Awhanee Ledge, and maybe the last 5 or 10 feet getting to Awahnee Ledge (I did it 6 or 7 years ago - it has since been retro-bolted and may be easier for all I know) but outside of it being steep, it wasn't difficult. And, it was my first ascent of a wall.
I backed off twice from the Prow because of bad storms. We, twice, fixed to the 3rd pitch. A storm cam in on WFLT when we were half way up and it didn't even touch us 'cause the walls so damn steep!
Hope that helped,
-Jason :D
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spike
Feb 23, 2004, 5:38 PM
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I have done both and WFLT is much easier than the PROW. The PROW has many funky fixed old heads. I think the hike up to the base of WFLT is harder than the hike up to the base of the PROW.
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climbingcowboy
Feb 23, 2004, 6:09 PM
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This is why we bailed
http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34323
I led the 2nd pitch on the Prow and was a little sketched but it was mangable. How hard is the roof on WF? I hate hiking and the approch and desent on WF sounds like a b1tch, but it might be a better potion. Thanks guys
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lambone
Feb 23, 2004, 6:21 PM
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The Roof on LT is easy. All big cams and some bolts/fixed stuff. It can be a bitch to clean though...don't back clean on it!
I've done WFLT three times, and that damn friction up to Awahnee is the scariest part. It's like two moves and a lunge/belly flop to a jug, but with rope drag and wall boots it takes some convincing yourself to go for it.
Other than that I think the 5th,6th and 7th pitch are the hardest...but nothing to worry about.
The talus slog up to the base kinda sucks, but it's an hour or two...suck it up. The descent is mostly rapping down a loose gully, the worst part about it is pulling and flaking your ropes over and over agin.
If you can get past the first pitch, you won't want to bail on the Tower...which is a good thing.
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dsafanda
Feb 23, 2004, 6:21 PM
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The roof on the WFLT is super easy. It's 90% fixed. You just clip mank and hope it blows on the next guy instead of you. ;)
That said, I didn't think the second pitch of the Prow was really any harder but perhaps I just lucked out and had more bomber fixed gear than usual. A few of the heads and even some of the pins down low looked pretty new to me. It was pretty cruiser.
I think that the hardest pitch on either route totally depends on the condition of fixed gear at the time. Believe it or not I thought the hardest part was of the WFLT was a small roof on p1. I could'nt figure out how to make use of a shallow bat hook hole and ended up placing a new head where an old one had blown.
P.S. Watch of for bears at the base of the WFLT. Don't leave food or water laying around. We had bear get in to some cached water and I had to do the approach twice. Sucked big time!
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flamer
Feb 23, 2004, 9:12 PM
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In reply to: I think that the hardest pitch on either route totally depends on the condition of fixed gear at the time. Believe it or not I thought the hardest part was of the WFLT was a small roof on p1. I could'nt figure out how to make use of a shallow bat hook hole and ended up placing a new head where an old one had blown.
That sum's it up about perfect I think.
That small roof was a bitch for me as well- but with no heads(and no bathook) I hooked through...it was really fun!
Moral of the story- both are good routes and you will thank yourself for doing either one!!
josh
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asandh
Feb 23, 2004, 9:37 PM
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:)
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lambone
Feb 24, 2004, 12:13 AM
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agreed, go handle the Prow and worry about other walls once it's in the bag. It sucks to have unfinished routes hanging over your head.
I'm not sure why you had to bail on the Prow, it really doesn't matter...you can allways accept 1,000 reasons to go down. But there is only really one reason to UP, you gotta WANT IT, bad. So I'd stick with one route and build up your psyche first, so that it's unbreakable.
However, it's always good to have a plan B should the Prow be clogged with Gumbies, or the weather be questionable...in that case do the tower.
Cheers, have fun!
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bigwalling
Feb 24, 2004, 12:30 AM
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Dude, do the Prow! You will regret it forever if you don't. Shit, I still have I'm pissed about backing off on. And that was 2 years ago. The fixed gear can't be too bad, climbers are some of the biggest exagerators there are. It's never as bad as people say. Just drag your gear up there and try it, you'll never know unless you try.
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diesel___smoke
Feb 24, 2004, 3:08 AM
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Why don't you just go do both routes?
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flamer
Feb 24, 2004, 3:15 PM
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In reply to: Why don't you just go do both routes?
Folks we have a winner!!!
josh
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dingus
Feb 24, 2004, 3:39 PM
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The fear factor of bailing of WFLT is much greater. After the first couple of bolt ladders there is powerful motivation to keep going.
But from a pure climbing standpoint the Prow is the superior route.
And to top it all off, it's laughing at you right now. Can't you hear it?
You're not gonna let a hunk of inanimate granite LAUGH AT YOU, now are you???
DMT
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climbingcowboy
Feb 24, 2004, 4:10 PM
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Alright I'm going for the Prow I need to just shut the F up and take it down. Thats what I needed to hear that WFLT isnt that much easier so I should really just do the Prow. Hell I'll be there for 7-8 days maybe I 'll get up the balls to do like Diesel and Flamer said and knock out both. My partner is my brother who is newbie to walls to but we have a good chemistry where we keep pushing eash other to just keep going up. Thanks for the info guys, if you see a guy in the valley in shorts and a cowboy hat cruise over I'll buy a beer, and hopefully talk about my first wall. :wink:
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asandh
Feb 24, 2004, 5:05 PM
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:)
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crackboy
Feb 24, 2004, 6:46 PM
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I know a lot of people throw these around as first walls but they are probably the most crowded form what i read. what about skull queen? i am wanting to plan to do a wall this summer and was thinking of this since for the most part it seems straight foward
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timpanogos
Feb 24, 2004, 8:57 PM
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Climbing Cowboy, on the topo for the Prow where it notes "haulbag eating flake" (pitch 10) BELIEVE THIS ONE! I had to unstick this one - no fun.
On super topo, where it shows 5.8 or C1 traversal coming off the crack running down to the delay station 9 - have your lead clip the haul line to the top of the crack before the traversal over the pig eating flake.
The topo does not reflect how badly station 10 overshoots the right side of the flake. It is a guarenteed stick if you cut the pig loose from station 9 with no other redirection until station 10. When I unstuck the pig, it went wildly swinging about 30' farther to the right before coming to a rest plumb under station 10's anchor (wanting very badly to take me with it).
It is a very deep flake that will actually catch the haul line and hence suck the pig right in as it is pulled up
Have fun.
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dingus
Feb 24, 2004, 9:26 PM
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In reply to: I know a lot of people throw these around as first walls but they are probably the most crowded form what i read. what about skull queen? i am wanting to plan to do a wall this summer and was thinking of this since for the most part it seems straight foward
There are reasons people "throw these around as first walls." The reasons can usually be found in the alternatives.
For an interesting perspective of Skull Queen, please visit Google and do an advanced search of rec.climbing using keywords Skull Queen Brutus Eric. They climbed it in winter.
A mandatory off width would be the first characteristic that would tend to discourage noobs from making this their first wall. Bad or missing rivets might be another.
DMT
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iamthewallress
Feb 24, 2004, 9:31 PM
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In reply to: A mandatory off width would be the first characteristic that would tend to discourage noobs from making this their first wall. Bad or missing rivets might be another. DMT
Ah, but never fear...the mandatory off-width is now aidable and the bad or missing rivits are now 3/8" buttonheads, although only every 3rd one has a hanger. SQ wouldn't be a bad choice for a first wall.
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crackboy
Feb 24, 2004, 9:34 PM
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yea , i read that Tr from Brutus and Eric Coomer.
nothing wrong with a little offwidth now and again, though i suppose it would be different with a wall rack
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epic_ed
Feb 25, 2004, 1:52 AM
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Doooood! You know the sole reason you bailed from the Prow last year was because your partner sucked! We didn't get held back by anything because it was too technical. We bailed because we didn't have a good plan and because we sucked too bad; and because we took every trinket of gear possible...except our balls . A year later, a little more experience -- you've gotta go back and give it another run!
Just plan to climb until it's done. I'm sincerely hoping you send that beeotch this go-around. It'd be great to hear a success story from you.
Ed
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karlbaba
Feb 25, 2004, 8:40 AM
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The Prow is harder than the Tower for sure, although the Tower is harder to bail from.
I soloed the Prow in 1981 when there was tons of nailing, then did it again in 2001. Funny, though, I did it again last year and fell on pitch 2 and hit that stupid ledge. It was sick and hurt! My leg was so tweaked, I couldn't really walk so even walking down the trail was out of the question, but, for some reason, I could still stand in aiders so we just kept going! By the time I had to free climb, my leg was better.
Anyway, i fell because some Alien greased out of a scar after I'd been standing on it for awhile. If you really topstep on the fixed pin you can slot a bomber nut and you're good.
peace
karl
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