Sandias, "Screwed" and Warpy Moople
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:25 am
What do you do for "leisure"? I generally love to climb in the Sandia Mountains but lately there has been some ambivalence, even moments of disdain.
Nevermind last weekend's unfruitful sally. Let's start with this Saturday. Micah and I judiciously chose a route called "Splinted and Screwed". You can even see pictures of one of a first ascensionist's father's x rays on Mountain Project. Anyhow, the approach is a short thrash to a rappel station at the top of the formation.
Micah on rappel.
This is considered a good fixed anchor in the Sandias. Just push the piton into the crack again, all good.
Micah leads the first pitch, a dang-near sport bolted 5.10d.
My hands were cold, fingers numb, I took a hang following it. Let's climb in the sun tomorrow.
Pitch 2 is the crux, 5.12a, and it looks like this from the belay.
Here's how it looks from the top.
The crux is near the bolt then there's a good sequence to make it to the ledge.
I took a couple of pretty good whippers. Sometimes that feels like lots of fun. This time it didn't. I was glad to pull through the dirty slopers onto the ledge on my third go. Micah mostly cruised above the bolt while following.
Pitch 3 is the special sauce. Some very thin dihedrals, all brassies and RPs (one uninspiring small cam in this photo).
After plenty of thin climbing and a strenuous mantle onto a ledge, there's a piton right there leading into strenuous overhanging moves (wouldn't protect you from the ledge, hopefully would protect you from very large fall). This pitch featured a nice sting in the tail to finish, too.
We had a late start, due to an errand I had to run in town and what not.
And the top of the cliff looked something like this....
That was more epic than I wanted for the whole weekend in the first place. How about something easy next? A classic, Warpy Moople, 5.9, 7 pitches, 800 ft -- that should be good.
There's a huge magic puffball mushroom bringing good tidings to the top of the cliff.
Pitch two is a fun 5.9 undercling to a roof.
Micah follows the runout part at the end of p2.
Micah is doing some leading now. Ooops, wrong way!
This is the right way.
Pitch 4 is very entertaining for 5.8.
Micah pulls through the roof at the top of p4.
Pitch 5 is the money pitch and it's a wild Sandias classic. 5.9 face climbing then significant runouts at a slightly easier level.
More
Due to delays, once again we were hiking to the car in the dark. Hmph.
Nevermind last weekend's unfruitful sally. Let's start with this Saturday. Micah and I judiciously chose a route called "Splinted and Screwed". You can even see pictures of one of a first ascensionist's father's x rays on Mountain Project. Anyhow, the approach is a short thrash to a rappel station at the top of the formation.
Micah on rappel.
This is considered a good fixed anchor in the Sandias. Just push the piton into the crack again, all good.
Micah leads the first pitch, a dang-near sport bolted 5.10d.
My hands were cold, fingers numb, I took a hang following it. Let's climb in the sun tomorrow.
Pitch 2 is the crux, 5.12a, and it looks like this from the belay.
Here's how it looks from the top.
The crux is near the bolt then there's a good sequence to make it to the ledge.
I took a couple of pretty good whippers. Sometimes that feels like lots of fun. This time it didn't. I was glad to pull through the dirty slopers onto the ledge on my third go. Micah mostly cruised above the bolt while following.
Pitch 3 is the special sauce. Some very thin dihedrals, all brassies and RPs (one uninspiring small cam in this photo).
After plenty of thin climbing and a strenuous mantle onto a ledge, there's a piton right there leading into strenuous overhanging moves (wouldn't protect you from the ledge, hopefully would protect you from very large fall). This pitch featured a nice sting in the tail to finish, too.
We had a late start, due to an errand I had to run in town and what not.
And the top of the cliff looked something like this....
That was more epic than I wanted for the whole weekend in the first place. How about something easy next? A classic, Warpy Moople, 5.9, 7 pitches, 800 ft -- that should be good.
There's a huge magic puffball mushroom bringing good tidings to the top of the cliff.
Pitch two is a fun 5.9 undercling to a roof.
Micah follows the runout part at the end of p2.
Micah is doing some leading now. Ooops, wrong way!
This is the right way.
Pitch 4 is very entertaining for 5.8.
Micah pulls through the roof at the top of p4.
Pitch 5 is the money pitch and it's a wild Sandias classic. 5.9 face climbing then significant runouts at a slightly easier level.
More
Due to delays, once again we were hiking to the car in the dark. Hmph.
