The Seal - 5.10a popular

Felt harder than the other 5.10s at the north side. Great TR routes from the anchor.

Great route that protects well and is exciting and has a lot of different kinds of movement. On a highish humidity day it felt a little slick in spots but overall the crack is very friendly, offering finger slots, hand jams, all the way up to the crazy undercling crux move. No tape necessary. The thin part/first crux was no big deal to me (just a thin move committing to some polished edges for feet with bomber gear). The tricky part was that around every corner where I was working cracks the good holds vanished for a bit and I had to stay engaged when I kept expecting a jug. It really kept my heart rate up and started to get into my head. It made the onsight a bit more exciting and sustained mentally than any of the 10s I've been on previously. The undercling was definitely the hardest part for me and I made a major production out of stuffing a #4 C4 way up in there. Going without or taking a #5 would probably make things a lot easier and simpler. Thankfully, even as improbable as it seems once I committed the feet were a little better than expected. I protected the hell out of it and issued forth a lot of animal noises as I futzed my way up it. Your experience may be more relaxed - I suspect a subsequent ascent will be for me.

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A great area to crag on the NF

old school thuggery. Way harder than Invisible Airwaves' 1st pitch.