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bigfatrock
Apr 7, 2007, 4:37 PM
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I just got back from a short trip to the Wichita Mountains to do some climbing and photography. Unfortunately the trip was cut short and we didn't get as much climbing in due to the difficulty off accessing routes. The creek that is normally easily crossed had become a river due to recent high rain fall. This was also my first trad experience. I didn't lead but cleaned on a route. All the photos shot up high are of the classic 5.8 zig zagging crack Crazy Alice. It was a fun route on top rope but scared the hell out of the guy that lead it. Anyway here are the photos I took.
(This post was edited by bigfatrock on Apr 7, 2007, 4:40 PM)
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dr_feelgood
Apr 7, 2007, 8:40 PM
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Nice dude! Crazy Alice is a scary climb, nevermind leading it. If i make it back to the wichitas, it's on my list.... scary.
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bigfatrock
Apr 7, 2007, 8:48 PM
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Thanks. It was definitely a head trip for the leader. He is new to trad climbing and got to experience resting on his gear for the first time. He probably should have just lead The Dihedral next to it but I guess he wanted to do something different since me and our friend climbed it.
(This post was edited by bigfatrock on Apr 7, 2007, 8:51 PM)
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euroford
Apr 8, 2007, 1:13 PM
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nice man! god i miss that place! crazy alice is a good route, but the dihedral is one of my favorites. very classic for its grade. considering you are new leaders its a pitty you didn't get on that.
i am entirely convinced that if the wichita's were someplace else, they would be a destination. asside from the ceasless wind they are classic in all ways!
and NOT corwded either! haha!
(This post was edited by euroford on Apr 8, 2007, 1:15 PM)
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sungam
Apr 8, 2007, 1:49 PM
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2nd photo is the best, the climber's face says it all.
-Magnus
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bigfatrock
Apr 8, 2007, 1:58 PM
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Two of us did climb the Dihedral. i came up and cleaned. I definitely don't feel ready to place pro. I want to get better at sport first. The Dihedral was a very fun route too.
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saxfiend
Apr 9, 2007, 2:59 AM
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Those pictures are quite nice. How about some narrative about how the trip went to go along with them? The Wichitas is a place I want to go someday, and I'd love some detail.
JL
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bigfatrock
Apr 9, 2007, 1:41 PM
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saxfiend wrote: Those pictures are quite nice. How about some narrative about how the trip went to go along with them? The Wichitas is a place I want to go someday, and I'd love some detail. JL
Sure thing. Other than what I stated above we only climed these two routes. Both are considered classics. They are located along the Zoo Wall, both routes were about 70 feet and each had anchors at top to belay a second.
The approach to the wall sucked! I guess because the recent high amount of rainfal the creek had become a river. We had to cross it thee seperate times. I think par of the trail was under water. Our 15 minute hike turned into a couple hours. It cut into our climbing time and wore us out hiking all over the place with loaded packs. The tow climbs were well worth it though.
I high recomend both of them if you go to the Wichitas. The secenery is amazing too. It is hard to belive you are in oklahoma. It is pristine! I took off a day of work to go and didn't regreat it one bit.
It was also a bit cold and snowed on us just a bit. Nothing major though, just some flurries. It was a shock though being April.
I still don't think I am ready to lead trad, but it was a fun experience getting to clean and see how gear was paced. I learned things I never though about, like cams will walk and move around if you don't place them well. Well placed nuts are also a beating to remove.
Anyway, I hope those details shed some more light on how the trip went. If you end up going soon, wear gortex boots to cross the river, you might bring a pair of sandles too in case you need to forde the river. I'm not sure how long it takes for the waters to go back "creek level" were you can just easily walk across.
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hosh
Apr 9, 2007, 2:09 PM
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That's funny... I looked at the pictures before I read the post and the first thing I thought was, "Hey, I've done that climb!" Crazy Alice is the only climb I've done in the zoo wall area, and I recognized it instantly! It's a great climb, but the day I went, the guy I was with got food poision from breakfast and we had to leave because he was loosing his guts while belaying me... It was still fun though, at least for me.
I have a special place in my heart for Alice. Crazy Alice is the first outdoor climb I've ever done. Super fun route!
hosh.
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roc-dude
Apr 9, 2007, 2:35 PM
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I cutt my teeth at the Wichita's. Tons of great climbing there. Most of the year the water crossings are so low you should not get your feet wet. In fact I have seen the whole thing dry. If the water is high you can also rap from the top. If you plan on doing it this way, you only cross the first crossing then go up to atop the ridge, cut across the ridge along the cliff line and not back down to the creek. If you have not done it before you will have to look over the edge a bunch to determine where you are but you will find the chains sooner or later. There are always further than you think.
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ticklistjunkie
Apr 13, 2007, 9:45 AM
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I've climbed Crazy Alice several times. It is a ton of fun with prefect hand jams. If only it was a few hundred feet taller.
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