Adventures during July 16th, 2008
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Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 |
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Our Cornell interns, Kerran and Zac, have climbed well in the gym. Kerran has a pretty solid climbing background and Zac, well Zac just gets lucky. Now it was time to see if their ivy tower prepared them for the ultimate challenge: a day at the Gunks with me. They got off to a good start by being ready to climb at the base of Frog's Head (5.6-) by 7:10am. It's been years since I've been able to get people moving that early. This was my 3rd time on Frog's Head so the leading went smoothly. Kerran and Zac followed at the same time on my doubles. Zac struggled at the P1 crux but they both did well on P2, which I would have figured to be more intimidating due to its exposure and steepness.
For someone who never rappelled before, Zac was as conformable as they come. Of course, I left out the unfortunate stories of someone decking off the P1 crux and another person rappelling off the end of their rope, until we got back on the ground.
I don't care that I've climbed Jackie (5.5) about a million times. Its first pitch is so good that I had to take Kerran and Zac up it. The lead was largely uneventful, although I found great protection for the middle roof; a medium-sized tricam placed passively in the vertical crack between the right facing corner and the face can be set quickly and is bomber. Even though I loved this placement, Kerran did not. He had a hell of a time getting it out. Being jammed under that roof is not a place you want to be for a long time.
Eventually, he did get it free and in return Zac made this video of Kerran pulling the final roof on P1:
After climbing P2, we did the uberfall downclimb. This is usually scary the first time someone does it but Kerran and Zac didn't seem to mind. I think I was more nervous then them, maybe because I was in sandals. Next, we climbed Belly Roll (5.4), not because it's that great of a climb but because it was close, can be done in a long single pitch, and is good for a laugh. I invite you to laugh at me as I get my cams stuck between me and the rock when I enter the crack:
P2 is easy but I was so tired by the top of it that I had to yell take on some crappy, thin, rusty pin. Well there was so much rope stretch, that taking didn't really work but close enough. The pin didn't snap, although I wouldn't ever want to test it again. By the time Kerran and Zac got to the top, we were all tired so we called it a day and went swimming.
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