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jaybird2
Dec 12, 2005, 5:02 PM
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Registered: Jul 9, 2004
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Trip Report: Happy Pigsgiving
Rainbow Wall - Original Route (5.9 A2 1000’)
Red Rock National Conservation Area
Las Vegas, Nevada
November 23rd, 2005
http://static.flickr.com/...762_5290820d88_o.jpg
Rainbow Wall from the top of Crimson Chrysalis
Fake… real…. fake… oh, com’on… who is she trying to kid. Professional…. As I sat in McCarran International Airport waiting for my 90 pounds of gear that was surely being dragged across the tarmac like our homo-sapien ancestor’s knuckles, Vegas took no time to welcome me back with its iconic slot machines, cigarette smoke, and “remodeled” inordinately young housewives. Each time that I visit this place I can’t help but say to my friends, pawning off the phrase like a lion with his chest flaring, “The American Dream, in action. It’s the central nerve.” Alas, I am as socio-economically ignorant as I am a cinematic adept, often leading to the use of movie quotes to fool my peers. None-the-less, this city always confuses the hell out of me as to how it manages to lure people in to such a place, a shit-hole covered in fudge-lollipop icing, and rob them blind. Maybe I am not a gambler. Maybe I just don’t get it; something’s wrong with me. Although I thought twice about it when I told one of my friends that I am glad that I don’t have any vices. He just stared at me, a hypocrite expending Herculean efforts to tote around his 90 pounds of state-of-the-art climbing gear. I still don’t get it. Maybe it’s the buffets.
After nearly an hour, my bags showed up. The only thing less comfortable than waiting for my bags at this midnight human-zoo was the 2 hour and 15 minute ride in the oh-so-pocket-book-friendly-but-oh-so-spinally-incongruent, look how they make a 90 degree angle, the only way it could be warmer is if fire shot out of the little air-thingies, America West Airlines’ seats. I grabbed Lori and my other bag and headed for the shuttles. Lori is my haulbag. It is mandatory that they be named after the opposite sex. This will later be explained. My gear (not including the backpack I was wearing) totaled 85 pounds. Think about that and the fact that I weigh 150 and was attempting to make it out the doors, across the street and to the shuttle while looking… under control. It felt like 2 friggen miles.
To make a long story slightly shorter, I eventually stopped for water and some high-calorie fast food and made my way to the trailhead by 2am. Unbeknownst to me, the wrong trailhead… this will later be explained. The plan was to have been there by midnight, but plans are made to be broken. It used to be rules, but at 150 pounds, I fear – no, let me make this crystal clear: every hair on my body is petrified at the notion of a thought of spending time in a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison. And if you know me at all, you know that punctuality isn’t exactly my credo. Anyway, I was there and it was time to gear up.
Packing the pig was like a fighting a losing battle. You keep tossing stuff in, and the scales keep tipping. And I am not talking about the clown on a unicycle kinda wobble-action. For a three-day solo aid ascent of Rainbow Wall, done in style with a 21st century ghetto-blaster (aka Ipod) and all… we are talking ex-girlfriend kick to the junk topple over and cry wobble-action. This thing had to weigh like 75 pounds and I had to hike it about four miles and 2,000 vertical feet. The grand finale was that 1,500 vertical feet of it were gained over the last half of a mile. And this was just to get to the base of the climb. Yeah… swift kick to the junk, topple over and cry wobble-action.
It took until 3am to get Lori sufficiently ready. The fact that my economy class, e-brake me around each turn, Ford Neons’s dome light was burnt out didn’t speed this process up. No matter, at this point in time the wind felt to be blowing just a bit too hard and the cold seemed to nip just a little too much for this wayworn traveler to set out for a punishment of a hike, having not slept but 4 hours in the last 44. Making an executive decision, I thought that getting a couple hours of sleep would be worth postponing the departure.
At 5am it was time. I jumped outta seat, tossed Lori on my back and set out into the cool desert air. As the hike unfolded before me, things seemed in order. At the first fork in the trail, things didn’t seem in order. According to where I thought that I was and where I thought I was going, I took the path that I thought was the right one. It turned out to be the right path for the wrong reasons though. I had begun hiking from a trailhead that was about one mile away from the trailhead that I should have begun from. This in turn added about one mile of hiking over hilly terrain to the journey. In the end it just added a few notches to the old stick, but as it transpired it translated into an epic bout of cursing myself out around 5am as I realized that I was one mountain off.
With the mistake behind me, I was off. I was in the right canyon now and all I had to do was endure the 1,500 grueling vertical feet of shuttling Lori to the base of the climb. Let me tell you, this is not a trivial thing. To put it in perspective, imagine strapping one of those mini-fridges that reside in every fraternity house to your back. Oh, and it has two twelve packs worth of beer in it. Strap that to your back and walk to the top of the Sears Tower. That is basically the equivalent of my fiesta-del-belligerence. Only the Sears would have been a welcome site as it is composed of cute little steps, not odd, ankle-spraining, person-tripping, boulders that can be as large as houses.
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The 3.5 mile, 2,000 vertical foot approach from the wrong trailhead
It was an experience that I don't care to repeat, swore I never would while in the midst of it, but surely will again because climbers are stupid people with no recollection of “steadfast” statements and a penchant for forgetting episodes of suffering. I made it up to the base of the climb by 9:30am. I couldn’t believe my speed! Four and a half hours with a 75 pound pig! I felt like Superman… for a moment. As I unpacked the gear I realized that I needed a supernap. Hell, I was doing well on time and aiding in the dark ain’t no big deal, so I slept for 2 hours.
When I woke, I only did so halfway. The rest of the day I was on autopilot, watching myself climb the first four pitches, the last of which had to be done in the dark. Aiding in the dark isn’t so bad. I had actually been looking forward to it, so making the decision to sleep earlier was an easy one. I got the taste for it on my last climbing trip to Utah’s Zion National Park where I climbed the final pitch of Spaceshot in the dark. As well, I had earlier seen a self-portrait of a girl after she had just soloed that route. It was at night and she was covering her headlamp with her hand. When I saw that shot, my mind reeled at how amazing it would be to be in such a situation. So there I was, taking a photo identical to the one that had inspired me to solo a big wall.
http://static.flickr.com/...745_10f6ded045_b.jpg
Finishing with the fourth pitch, this was climbed entirely in the dark
When I rappelled back down to the base my mouth was dryer than a dryer, I had a full-on headache, and I felt like puking. I never feel like puking. After a few phone calls, I ate my two packages of oriental flavored ramen noodles and passed out. Before I fell asleep, all that ran through my head were doubts about finishing the climb. I felt like hammered shit and there was no way that I could mentally get through the climb, or start it for that matter, if I felt this bad physically. People get on hard, physically and mentally, routes because it seems like a good idea before you do it. You think that it is gonna be amazing. This mentality allows you to get yourself into the mess, and although it is difficult and you wish that you never started it, since the only way out is to finish, you get it done. I was afraid that tomorrow I would be too exhausted and “turned away” from the route to even begin and get myself into a mess that I had to get out of.
To my surprise I woke at 7am feeling fairly refreshed after a meal, 2 liters of water, and 12 hours of sleep. I had never hauled before, so now was the time to learn. I jugged the first four pitches, hauling Lori up behind and set out on the fifth pitch with physical and mental reserves in the green. Now I only needed to remember one thing, but forgot it every time: fix the haul line. You need to do this at the top of the pitch so that when you rappel back down the pitch, cleaning your gear, you can release the pig from the anchor, allowing it to just hang there. If you forget to fix the haul-line, then you can’t unclip the pig from the lower anchors. At this point, you have two options. Jug back up to the anchors, fix the haul-line, rappel back down and jug back up. This is a horrible waste of time and energy. Or the other option, if even applicable, is to rig up an accident waiting to happen. In my case I went with option two and hung the pig from a fi fi hook placed over (not hooked) a homemade anchor on a stardrive. If you don’t climb, this is not a confidence inspiring setup. If the fi fi hook was to slip off the anchor, the haulbag would fall a couple of hundred feet. The fuel for the stove would probably explode, along with the piggy. If the pig survived, I would have to go back down to get it, re-jug the pitches and re-haul the bag and relead the fifth pitch. I made the same mistake when hauling the sixth pitch, and again danced with the devil by hanging the fi fi over an anchor bolt.
http://static.flickr.com/...743_a168d8918e_b.jpg
Smirking after playing with fire on the Pitch 6 haul
Pitch 6 wound up having a set of intermediate anchors on it. This was great. I got there, gave the pitch a wink and said, “Allow me to slip into something more comfortable baby.” I put on the climbing shoes and took off. Going free after aiding a few hundred feet makes the free climbing feel all the free…er. I mean, you can’t have good without evil, right? Aid of course being evil… although on certain days we would call it the lesser of two. Anyway, the 60 foot pitch offered some savvy slab work at the start and soon turned into 5.easy up to Faith Ledges. Ha, Ye of little faith, want a cookie? I was gonna need that cookie and about 5000 more calories to get through the two pitches (7 & 8) of ledge systems that awaited me and Lori. By myself, this would have taken all of 30 minutes. With Lori, I think it took me 3 hours to climb, pig-shuttle, squirm, chimney, cuss, flail, and do just about whatever the situation dictated to get us up to Over the Rainbow Ledge.
Pitch 7 wasn’t too bad. I actually carried Lori up half of it and then soloed and hand-hauled the two 30 foot sections of easy 5th class. I eventually got to a point of pitch limbo. You know that place where nothing is discernable in regards to the topo and the section ahead looks like it could be that stint of 5.8 face… or maybe it is a A5 horror show. At this point the topo was pointless and I stood there shaking my head at a crappy bivy ledge. Over the Rainbow Ledge was supposed to be luxurious. This was not it. This was the third-world hell hole of bivy ledges. I just pictured myself, folded up like an origami masterpiece, cooking dinner on my chest. The cave that I saw a ways back looked good, if it weren’t for the yeti that I swear lives in the depths of that thing.
Pitch 8 proved to be the jerk of all pitches. I did it in the dark. It traverses greatly and I threw it all out on the line… the haul line. After the pitch was lead, I cleaned it and positioned the pig at the bottom of the 150 foot pitch/traverse. Lori was maybe 50 feet to the left of fall-line from the anchors. This isn’t what concerned me. What concerned me was the fact that I was completely ignorant to what the wall looked like over there. As I reclimbed on self-belay, easier than jugging the pitch, all I could think about was the haul. Was I gonna be able to swing the rope out so that I could haul the pig straight up the wall? What if that section of Rainbow Wall is home to the some infamous, unique, and rare geological occurrence where stalactites grew off the side of the wall? It probably has some catchy name like those found in National Parks, like the “Horns of the Stalactites”.
Anyway, I got back up to the ledge and began to haul. The anchors were decently high, but the rope was running over the edge waaaayyyy over on the other side of the ledge… the very large, curving edge, teeming with surface area. This makes for some friction. Not, “Ewwww, that was hot… it’s gonna blister.” Kinda hot. It’s more like the Wednesday morning session after Tuesday night 25-cent hot wings where you bet your buddy that you could scarf down 25 of the joint’s special recipe wings. You know. The ones, when you order, the waitress, condescendingly, asks you if you can “handle their heat”. Thank my lucky stars that the anchors were so high. As I was hauling, and my shot cuticles were now bleeding from hauling, I smiled a few times between the epic “dispensings of belligerences”, and remembered PassThePitonPete’s Better Way To Haul article. When I read about getting your feet about your head, I understood the concept, but couldn’t see it. I spent half of the haul upside down…
http://static.flickr.com/...742_e8572073ac_b.jpg
Over the Rainbow Ledge, one of the most beautiful and remote places I have ever been, even though Vegas was the scenery
Sweaty and exhausted, I entered a state of awe. Awe at how amazing this experience was. My first aid solo… first solo wall. Again, the rest of the night felt like auto-pilot. I was just there, watching myself setup camp 600 feet off the deck on the side of a wall, enjoying the experience. Being Thanksgiving, I ate in style; a healthy serving of stuffing and mashed potatoes, the Ipod in the background, and the glowing lights of Vegas to cast a warm light to dine by. Some people use candles, tonight I used Vegas. It was so incredibly beautiful being on that ledge that I cannot find the words to translate the moment I had up there.
Another wonderful night of 10+ hours of sleep. I awoke to the nautical twilight, which turned to alpenglow, which gave way to velvety chords of golden and maroon light that stretched across Vegas as I downed my blueberry oatmeal and hot cocoa. By 7am, I was off on Pitch 9, an 80-foot, dead horizontal traverse. This served up to be one of the logistical nightmares of the climb. It isn’t easy to get a 50 pound pig across this thing. I had ideas, just not good ones. I won’t even humor you with a few of the funny ones. The decision was whether to ride the pig from the Pitch 9 anchors or the Pitch 8 anchors. The former case would be an easy rappel since it was a clean, vertical face. The problem was getting Lori over there from Over the Rainbow Ledge. The latter case was easy since Lori was already there. But trying to get her back down the Faith Ledges would be a royal pain in the butt. Oh well, it was something that I would have to worry about on the descent.
Pitch 9 went smoothly, freeing it in climbing shoes. It was redundant to climb it in reverse to clean it and then back for a third time. The cold feet were screaming to get into the aid shoes. Ah, back to being a mechanic… back to work. Aid isn’t climbing… Ha! God no, it is work. I don’t say that in an attempt to emphasize that fact that it is hard technically. I say work, because it is synonymous to toil. The three aid pitches of the day (10 - 12) were wonderful. Not only am I 800 feet up a steep wall, but I am forced to piece-step (when you hook directly into the piece of gear) on marginal pieces and do a few hook moves in a row here and there. Some sections make me think, but for the most part, I am just jammin’ away, to Jack Johnson on the Ipod, popping Skittles™ every now and then to keep the saliva going, the carbs flowing, and well… because they taste good. They are like little rewards. I had put together a playlist for the trip composed of Nine Inch Nails and Massive Attack. I mean, you gotta rock hard when aiding, right? Wrong, Jack was just perfectly mellow and that is what aid is for me. Cam here, hook there… skittles time.
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Pitch 10, 800 feet up, between Skittles™ breaks
There didn’t seem to be any distinct crux in my mind. A few of the pitches had some marginal hook moves (since I didn’t have doubles of everything) and a few had some tenuous placements with small stuff, but it was all very doable. Far and away, the logistics of solo aiding were the crux. To do everything safely and efficiently is difficult; of course this means that efficiency if often sacrificed. The biggest mistake that I made was on the last pitch. I had finished with the aid section, and was wrapping up the easy 5th class in my aid shoes. As I am feeding out slack through the gri gri, I find that I can’t pull any more rope up. This concerns me. After it becomes obvious that I can’t win this battle, all the while afraid of peeling off this wall since I am free climbing, I decide that in order to continue up I will have to join my haul line (currently trailing it) to the lead line and continue up on it. Wouldn’t be my first choice, but it was my only choice since I had accidentally left both ends of the lead rope tied into the pitch 11 anchors. SHEESH!
http://static.flickr.com/...748_7a1175c066_b.jpg
Pitch 12 Aiding through the final roofs
The setup worked and I even have enough haul line (the other end is tied to the anchors at the top of pitch 11 still) to rappel down to the pitch 12 anchors, cleaning along the way. I didn’t spend much time at the summit. 5 minutes sufficed since all that was on my mind was water and being done. I wasn’t craving anything extravagant, just being done. The rappels to the pitch 9 anchors went fast. Now I had to decide what to do with the dilemma that I had left on the back burner. Quickly I decided that it would be simpler, but maybe more strenuous, to just traverse back to Over the Rainbow Ledge and rappel from there. So I free climbed pitch 9 in reverse, climbing it for the forth time that day, this time with all my aid gear a-raging.
http://static.flickr.com/...764_4688cc5c5d_b.jpg
Summit City
Rappelling Faith Ledges turned out to be not so bad. This was my first time, “Riding Lori”. For those of you that don’t aid climb, when you rappel with a heavy pig, it is best to clip the belay device to the pig and then yourself to the pig. You just straddle (this is why you name it after the opposite sex), sit, and rappel like usual. This system operated more smoothly than I thought it would and I made short time of the rappels through the ledge system. What squeezed time out of me was the joining knot in the ropes getting stuck on the ledge edges. This was only a problem on the pitch 8 rappel, and required me to reclimb the pitch. After some fancy craft, I made it down to the pitch 6 rappel anchors. I was home free with three full-length double-rope rappels left over steep rock. All in all, this went well. It was a bit tricky on the rappel to get onto anchors, pull the ropes, rethread them, and then get myself and the pig back on rappel at a hanging belay. Nothing a little brute force and a hernia couldn't fix though.
http://static.flickr.com/...749_1a314ad020_b.jpg
Riding Lori in style
My feet hadn’t touched ground for about 45 hours, but they knew that the comfort was only temporary. Lori was packed up by 5PM and I was off. Without water and food, Lori was reduced to an emaciated 55 pounds. Sweet! I made it down the slabs in 15 minutes; I was cooking. Now for the wash, the boulder strewn wash. I was Arnold. I was the running man. I was the terminator. I was a machine. I made it out of the wash and down the remainder of the 1,500 vertical feet in 45 minutes. Asta La vista Rainbow. I bounded from boulder to boulder like a ninja. Tree squirrels were tapping their buddies on the shoulder and motioning their head in my direction. Lori and I were one. It was a beautiful ballet, orchestrated - “OH SHIT!”.... BONK! As I was laboring over a boulder and scooting off edge, Lori caught the end of it, pushing her over my head. In my desperate and pathetic attempt to regain the control that I never had, I only fell harder. As my head bee lined for a rock, I covered my teeth with one hand (the word teeth went through my head, not mouth) and eyes/nose with the other hand. My forehead made contact. I don’t know if it was the impact, or my 55 pound counterweight, but I just laid there for a half a minute. As I pulled my head back, the rock was bloody. In my state of exhaustion, emotions elicited by worry and despair were absent, no… I was pissed. I didn’t care about bodily harm, I was pissed that I was gonna have to walk around with a bruise on my head for the next couple of days. It’s funny where your cares reside sometimes.
After I made it to the bottom of the wash, I had a decision to make. My plan was to make my way back to the Pine Creek Trailhead, off of the Scenic Loop. This was about 3 miles from my car. This is a bad idea because it adds a couple of miles in distance. It is a good idea for two reasons though. One, I would probably get a little lost if I tried to go directly back to my car since it was well after sunset. Two, being thanksgiving weekend, there were parties on Crimson Chrysalis and I could hopefully catch a ride with one of them to my car, which will greatly reduce the distance that I have to hike. Anyway, I knew how to get back to the Pine Creek Trailhead, but only had an idea about how to get back to my car. I would rather hike a few extra miles on paved road, knowing where I was.
When I finally made it back to the parking lot at 7PM, sure enough, there was a car waiting. I chatted with the Californians and they offered me a ride. After waiting for an hour and a half for their party to return from Crimson Chrysalis, it was time to get back to the car, shower with water in a bathroom instead of with wet-wipes, eat food cooked by someone else, and to sleep on something with padding. I can’t wait to do it again…
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kubi
Dec 12, 2005, 6:03 PM
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great TR. As a non aider I really enjoy the close-ups of your setup, and the descriptions of "riding the pig" amongst other things. Why no pictures of your forehead?
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jaybird2
Dec 12, 2005, 6:34 PM
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In reply to: Why no pictures of your forehead?
I was just racing back to the parking lot, hoping to catch a ride. I think that my face looked like: :twisted:
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berkly
Dec 12, 2005, 6:51 PM
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Registered: Dec 29, 2003
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Great report man, enjoyable read. Glad you enjoyed the jack
Hey what happened to your Flying J sticker? also did you censor something in that summit pic? could just be your cameras shadow i guess
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jwood
Dec 12, 2005, 7:09 PM
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Registered: Nov 30, 2005
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Great trip report! Good pictures, well written, engaging, and provided maybe twenty minutes of procrastination from studying. Thanks, I needed that.
Jordan
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cowpoke
Dec 12, 2005, 8:27 PM
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sounds like a really nice adventure! thanks for the report and pics!
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flamer
Dec 13, 2005, 2:51 PM
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Well that was interesting.....
For future reference.....when rappelling the route do not go back to Over the rainbow ledge. There is a bomber rap route straight down the wall, leading you past the worst of faith ledges.
josh
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mother_sheep
Dec 13, 2005, 3:19 PM
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NICE JAY! Glad to see that no wildlife got in your way this year. :)
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vegastradguy
Dec 13, 2005, 3:35 PM
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nice trip report- sounds like you had good fun.
dont feel too bad about parking in the wrong spot- about 99.9% of folks looking for the correct pullout miss it in the dark and about 90% of 'em miss it in the daylight. the only bummer is the added hiking with the pig, i suppose, but you made it through and have a story to tell!
congrats on your ascent!
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jaybird2
Dec 13, 2005, 4:02 PM
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In reply to: For future reference.....when rappelling the route do not go back to Over the rainbow ledge. There is a bomber rap route straight down the wall, leading you past the worst of faith ledges.
Yeah, that was really the logistical decision that I had to make for the climb. You have to realize that in order to rappel from the P9 anchors, you have to get the pig over there first. Getting the pig down actually was pretty easy, as I mentioned in the TR, I just got my joining knot stuck on a ledge. I thought that I had pulled it over as I began rappelling, but found that I was about 2 inches short when I climbed back up there. 10 minutes up and down... pretty simple. It probably took less time then bringing the pig back to the P9 anchors and saved the piggy from an unnecessary beating. I flew down the ledges on rappel (a la pig) with ease. Would have considered the straight rap if I had enough rope to lower out the pig across 80 feet of dead horizontal. Could have hung it with the haul line from the P9 anchors and just lowered it out with the lead line from the P8 anchors. There is a ton of stuff to snag the haul line there though (not to mention rocks that would rain down off the wall, look out below), so it probably would have been a pain and time eater. Also, I would have had to self-belay myself back on my static haul line. Sheesh, so much stuff to think about, eh? In the end it is probably 6 one way, half a dozen the other.
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flamer
Dec 13, 2005, 4:56 PM
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In reply to: You have to realize that in order to rappel from the P9 anchors, you have to get the pig over there first. In the end it is probably 6 one way, half a dozen the other.
You do not have to rappel from the pitch 9 anchors......there is an independent rap line straight down the wall that allows you to by pass these shenangins completely.
I have done the route...
josh
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crotch
Dec 13, 2005, 6:06 PM
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Fun. The Rainbow Wall show and tell thread.
I think that bolt is still there, but joined by a few more. Star Dryvin? I remember seeing one or two along the way.
Vegas Lights from OTR Ledge
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=66247
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ambler
Dec 13, 2005, 6:23 PM
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In reply to: Fun. The Rainbow Wall show and tell thread. I think that bolt is still there, but joined by a few more. Star Dryvin? I remember seeing one or two along the way.
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cracklover
Dec 13, 2005, 8:37 PM
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Sweet! From the first ascent, I assume? Kind of neat to think that that must have been the first time that ledge had a pair of human feet on them! What year was that?
From everyone's pics, it looks like someone cleaned all the dirt off the ledge since then.
GO
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flamer
Dec 14, 2005, 3:30 AM
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Ambler may have done a very early acent...but not the first...that would be the Red rock legend and pioneer Joe Herbst and the very prolific Larry Hamilton.....Definantly have to kick Ambler some respect though...the route was a different animal back then.....
josh
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crotch
Dec 14, 2005, 3:34 AM
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If only that Hamilton character posted here.... still, props to Ambler.
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cracklover
Dec 14, 2005, 4:00 AM
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In reply to: Ambler may have done a very early acent...but not the first...that would be the Red rock legend and pioneer Joe Herbst and the very prolific Larry Hamilton.....Definantly have to kick Ambler some respect though...the route was a different animal back then..... josh
Hahahahahahahaha ahhhh hahahahahaha!
Yup, you're right flamer, ambler did do a very early ascent. So, Ambler, tell us, when did you do the route? I heard you knew that very prolific Larry Hamilton guy. You and he were pretty damn close, huh?!
Hee hee!
G:D
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flamer
Dec 14, 2005, 7:58 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Ambler may have done a very early acent...but not the first...that would be the Red rock legend and pioneer Joe Herbst and the very prolific Larry Hamilton.....Definantly have to kick Ambler some respect though...the route was a different animal back then..... josh Hahahahahahahaha ahhhh hahahahahaha!
Yup, you're right flamer, ambler did do a very early ascent. So, Ambler, tell us, when did you do the route? I heard you knew that very prolific Larry Hamilton guy. You and he were pretty damn close, huh?!
Hee hee!
G:D
Ok now I'm laughing as well.......it 'twas an honest mistake.....he who doesn't put his name in his profile shall be forever misidentified!!! Of course that may be just how he likes it......
It's funny because Joe is a friend ( and the biggest "recluse") but I never knew Mr. Hamilton was around.....
josh
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cowpoke
Dec 14, 2005, 8:49 PM
Post #22 of 25
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Registered: Aug 3, 2005
Posts: 142
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Ambler may have done a very early acent...but not the first...that would be the Red rock legend and pioneer Joe Herbst and the very prolific Larry Hamilton.....Definantly have to kick Ambler some respect though...the route was a different animal back then..... josh Hahahahahahahaha ahhhh hahahahahaha!
Yup, you're right flamer, ambler did do a very early ascent. So, Ambler, tell us, when did you do the route? I heard you knew that very prolific Larry Hamilton guy. You and he were pretty damn close, huh?!
Hee hee!
G:DOk now I'm laughing as well.......it 'twas an honest mistake.....he who doesn't put his name in his profile shall be forever misidentified!!! Of course that may be just how he likes it...... It's funny because Joe is a friend ( and the biggest "recluse") but I never knew Mr. Hamilton was around..... josh
actually, it's Dr. Hamilton (in work, he has been even more prolific than in his climbing...and that's saying something)
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ambler
Dec 14, 2005, 8:50 PM
Post #23 of 25
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Registered: Jul 27, 2002
Posts: 1690
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In reply to: You and he were pretty damn close, huh?! |
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flamer
Dec 14, 2005, 9:44 PM
Post #24 of 25
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Registered: Oct 22, 2002
Posts: 2955
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AH!! excuse me once again.....for I know Little about Dr. Hamilton....other than he was/is a prolific climber, and now that he was/is prolific in his choosen field as well....
I do know that he and Joe made a hell of a team, and that they contributed some truly wonderful routes to the rest of us.....
thank you.
josh
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