Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Climbing: Another Perfect Day at Pinnacles (And I’m Not Just Saying It)

This is Erik’s trip report on the forum:

Went to the Pins today.  Fantastic weather, warm in the sun with a cool but not cold breeze.  The breeze was not strong enough or cold enough for it to be chilly while in the shade.  Still a few wild flowers out.

Wet Kiss, Big Pucker TR combo for the warm up.

Cantaloupe Death in order to get on top and setup a TR on Rocket and Future Shock.
I got Rocket on the second try and did better on Future shock than I did last weekend.  I have figure out the moves but cannot link through the crux yet.  Mudworm did quite well.  Had a few hangs on Future Shock but looked strong.

Pulled the ropes and went over and lead the Direct in order to get the rope setup on Cataract.
I took two spins on Cataract and managed to get into the crux the second time before coming off.  A big improvement over last weekend.  Mudworm is doing very well up to the crux.

Fingers were shot so we headed out.

There were a fair number of people hiking around.  A large pack of Boy Scouts and many large family groups.  Again, it would have been difficult for the weather to have been better.  A beautiful day.

Here’s to sweat in your eye

When Erik first tried to belay me at the top of Cantaloupe Death, I could not commit to the first move and had to make him to come down. But he refused to grab me from behind because he knew I could make the move (I had done it before). I finally did it — somehow knowing that he was right behind me helped. The move for me basically was lean into the wall and grab a good hold in the right hand before letting my both feet go and my body pendulum a couple of times. Once my body stopped swinging back and forth, I could look for the foot hold to start climbing. I hated that move, so I did it twice.

I felt good on Future Shock and look forward to getting back on it to link all the moves together.

Cataract Corner felt harder than Future Shock. I stubbornly stuck to the left side at the crux and one move (or lack of) stopped me cold. Okay, next time, I might break down and try the right side (on the arete).