Unsettledness gives way to all good
Coming to you this morning, slightly drowsy, from the Mondo Cafe in Moab, UT.
After my last post in Durango, I tried to set out to Indian Creek but failed. It was getting late and I would have arrived after dark, which for some reason sounded sub optimal. So I found myself in Durango in the late afternoon, feeling lazy and unsettled. After an hour or so of rut wallowing, everything picked up again when I met Sequoia and Alison at the bar at the Carver Brewery (my favorite Durango haunt). They are both energetic local artists and they invited me to join them in visiting a series of local gallery openings. We spent the rest of the evening touring the galleries, drinking wine and exploring the prolific art world in Durango. Seems to be a theme of my trip thus far.
The next day, feeling much better, I headed out for Indian Creek. Stopping along the way for some roadside coffee in Cortez and a nap at the Dolores Canyon overlook (pictures start in my new smugmug gallery).
The drive to the Creek was beautiful, as everything seems to be around here. Arriving around 4pm, I drove around the valley to get my bearings and find a place to camp. Dan and Tom were the first people I actually talked to, asking about the local situ. Quite generously, they offered to climb with me and invited me back to their spacious campsite as well. I set up my tent next to theirs, broke out the ceremonial beer offering of friendship and sat with them by the campfire joking, telling stories and quoting Seinfeld until bedtime. All was good in good company.
The next morning, we woke shivering to find our water bottles frozen over and frost on the ground. It had been cold in the night. After finally warming up over breakfast, we headed out to the walls. Tom wanted to go check out Pistol-Whipped Wall, expecting the main Supercrack Buttress to be crowded, despite the early hour. Dan and I were both eager to have a go at Supercrack, and to our luck there was no one on it when we drove past. We quickly parked and I ran up ahead with my personal gear to secure the route while Tom and Dan racked up and joined me a few minutes later. No sooner did they arrive, a few other parties showed up on their heels. Klimbing karma was shining on us as we stood, first in line, under the ultra-classic climb that defines Indian Creek.
Tom racked up and lead above Dan's belay as I taped and psyched myself up. After Tom cruised the route, Dan announced it was my turn. I tied into the top rope that Tom had left and started up. The first section is the 5.10+ 20' pillar corner with small hands and a manky bit at the top before a big ledge. Being on toprope, I just laid back and cruised straight up in style. Had I been leading, it would have been tougher as the gear was fiddly and I probably wouldn't have laybacked-- then again, I may have just run it out and called it bouldering.
Above the pillar is a 20' section of perfect Scott-hands to a mini-roof/bulge. That section went really solid and easy. After the bulge, the crack widens to big hands and got much harder. Using cupped hands tired me quickly and I had to hang-dog several times to make it to the top. In retrospect, I could have done better if I relaxed more and used the bomber feet to rest before each move. Considering that I flail up the 25' 5.8 at the gym, I was pretty fucking happy to get to the top of Supercrack. After he lowered me down, it was my turn to belay Dan who charged up to the wide section and then very generously rested on the rope a few times to make me feel better.
After Supercrack, we moved down the road and found the lovely Chicks on Crack camped out beneath the other famous-classic Incredible Hand Crack (5.10c). Not wanting to pass up a chance to embarrass ourselves in front of the ladies, we decided to climb it. IHC follows a Scott-sized perfect hand crack for 95' along a left facing dihedral. The crux is a gentle 5' roof about half way up. Tom lead in sweet form and soon enough it was my turn to follow. This time, the hands were perfect all the way through and I took it a bit easier. By the end, I was thinking and moving more deliberately and I really felt the difference. I did hang once, after I flubbed the start of the roof, but I took a good breath and started over and went right up. The top section has some really cool face holds, too that added a fun dimension-- right hand and foot in the crack, left hand and foot on the face.
After I was done, I belayed Dan, and this time he went straight to the top with no trouble, making the roof look easy. With long drives home awaiting them, Dan and Tom decided to take off. We exchanged emails and talked about the possibility of doing some ice climbing when I come back through the area in January. I am uber-appreciative of those guys for taking me under their wing and giving me the quintessential Indian Creek Experience.
With one more climb in me, the Chicks on Crack were generous enough to let me use their rope and Victoria of Denver belayed me up Twin Cracks (5.9). It's a short route which can be climbed using either or both of the two cracks that lead 40' to the anchor. I tried both cracks, thanked Victoria for the belay and called it a day.
I hitched a ride with some friendly Colorado Springers back to my camp near Newspaper Rock, packed up and hit the road. I had been considering camping out in some of the desert canyons to the southwest of Indian Creek, but I was beat and not looking forward to another frozen night outside. Seeking a more social atmosphere, I drove an hour north to Moab, checked into the Lazy Lizard hostel (for a bargain $9 a night!) and headed to the brewery for some meat and beer.
Today is cloudy and chilly and chill. I'll probably spend a night or two more here before I set out to the Rockies to visit Greg.
After my last post in Durango, I tried to set out to Indian Creek but failed. It was getting late and I would have arrived after dark, which for some reason sounded sub optimal. So I found myself in Durango in the late afternoon, feeling lazy and unsettled. After an hour or so of rut wallowing, everything picked up again when I met Sequoia and Alison at the bar at the Carver Brewery (my favorite Durango haunt). They are both energetic local artists and they invited me to join them in visiting a series of local gallery openings. We spent the rest of the evening touring the galleries, drinking wine and exploring the prolific art world in Durango. Seems to be a theme of my trip thus far.
The next day, feeling much better, I headed out for Indian Creek. Stopping along the way for some roadside coffee in Cortez and a nap at the Dolores Canyon overlook (pictures start in my new smugmug gallery).
The drive to the Creek was beautiful, as everything seems to be around here. Arriving around 4pm, I drove around the valley to get my bearings and find a place to camp. Dan and Tom were the first people I actually talked to, asking about the local situ. Quite generously, they offered to climb with me and invited me back to their spacious campsite as well. I set up my tent next to theirs, broke out the ceremonial beer offering of friendship and sat with them by the campfire joking, telling stories and quoting Seinfeld until bedtime. All was good in good company.
The next morning, we woke shivering to find our water bottles frozen over and frost on the ground. It had been cold in the night. After finally warming up over breakfast, we headed out to the walls. Tom wanted to go check out Pistol-Whipped Wall, expecting the main Supercrack Buttress to be crowded, despite the early hour. Dan and I were both eager to have a go at Supercrack, and to our luck there was no one on it when we drove past. We quickly parked and I ran up ahead with my personal gear to secure the route while Tom and Dan racked up and joined me a few minutes later. No sooner did they arrive, a few other parties showed up on their heels. Klimbing karma was shining on us as we stood, first in line, under the ultra-classic climb that defines Indian Creek.
Tom racked up and lead above Dan's belay as I taped and psyched myself up. After Tom cruised the route, Dan announced it was my turn. I tied into the top rope that Tom had left and started up. The first section is the 5.10+ 20' pillar corner with small hands and a manky bit at the top before a big ledge. Being on toprope, I just laid back and cruised straight up in style. Had I been leading, it would have been tougher as the gear was fiddly and I probably wouldn't have laybacked-- then again, I may have just run it out and called it bouldering.
Above the pillar is a 20' section of perfect Scott-hands to a mini-roof/bulge. That section went really solid and easy. After the bulge, the crack widens to big hands and got much harder. Using cupped hands tired me quickly and I had to hang-dog several times to make it to the top. In retrospect, I could have done better if I relaxed more and used the bomber feet to rest before each move. Considering that I flail up the 25' 5.8 at the gym, I was pretty fucking happy to get to the top of Supercrack. After he lowered me down, it was my turn to belay Dan who charged up to the wide section and then very generously rested on the rope a few times to make me feel better.
After Supercrack, we moved down the road and found the lovely Chicks on Crack camped out beneath the other famous-classic Incredible Hand Crack (5.10c). Not wanting to pass up a chance to embarrass ourselves in front of the ladies, we decided to climb it. IHC follows a Scott-sized perfect hand crack for 95' along a left facing dihedral. The crux is a gentle 5' roof about half way up. Tom lead in sweet form and soon enough it was my turn to follow. This time, the hands were perfect all the way through and I took it a bit easier. By the end, I was thinking and moving more deliberately and I really felt the difference. I did hang once, after I flubbed the start of the roof, but I took a good breath and started over and went right up. The top section has some really cool face holds, too that added a fun dimension-- right hand and foot in the crack, left hand and foot on the face.
After I was done, I belayed Dan, and this time he went straight to the top with no trouble, making the roof look easy. With long drives home awaiting them, Dan and Tom decided to take off. We exchanged emails and talked about the possibility of doing some ice climbing when I come back through the area in January. I am uber-appreciative of those guys for taking me under their wing and giving me the quintessential Indian Creek Experience.
With one more climb in me, the Chicks on Crack were generous enough to let me use their rope and Victoria of Denver belayed me up Twin Cracks (5.9). It's a short route which can be climbed using either or both of the two cracks that lead 40' to the anchor. I tried both cracks, thanked Victoria for the belay and called it a day.
I hitched a ride with some friendly Colorado Springers back to my camp near Newspaper Rock, packed up and hit the road. I had been considering camping out in some of the desert canyons to the southwest of Indian Creek, but I was beat and not looking forward to another frozen night outside. Seeking a more social atmosphere, I drove an hour north to Moab, checked into the Lazy Lizard hostel (for a bargain $9 a night!) and headed to the brewery for some meat and beer.
Today is cloudy and chilly and chill. I'll probably spend a night or two more here before I set out to the Rockies to visit Greg.
posted by Scottley at 8:29 AM
1 Comments:
Hey, Scott. Glad you're having some climbing fun. Just wanted to let you know that me, TJ, Kim, and a few other folks biked to the coast and back yesterday. TJ broke 4 spokes on his rear wheel, and had to be picked up. It turned into "a bit of an epic."
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