A couple of weeks ago, Stephen asked me to take him climbing. We decided on July 12th-14th to set out for Table Rock, NC in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area for some multi-pitch climbing. He had never climbed outdoors or had any experience as a second climber on a sport or trad route. Regardless, we climbed 3 pitches of Jim Dandy (5.5) on Tuesday afternoon followed by 2 pitches of Cave Route (5.4) before heading back to camp. The climbs went REALLY well. Both of them only finish halfway up the east face of Table Rock but, being multi-pitch climbs, were very exhilarating. They also got us extremely pumped for the possibility of reaching the top of Table Rock the next day. As a side note, after we climbed Jim Dandy on Tuesday afternoon, I played the old "see how close to the tip you can catch the rope" game as we pulled our rope down from the last belay station. Usually, a catch within 6 inches of the tip results in the catcher getting a 6 pack of beer from the climbing partner....silly climbers games. I caught it an inch from the tip, but Stephen wasn't aware of the game until I caught the rope....epic fail! no beer! and I doubt I could do that again!
Because of the extreme heat, we decided to start Wednesday off by waking up late and then going to Devil's Cellar for some rappelling. Stephen had never done a long rap like that so it was really fun. It's almost 150 ft from the top of the cliff to the bottom at Devil's Cellar and the last few feet are basically a ranger-styled rappel where you just drop free on the rope without your feet on the rock. 3 other student groups were at the cellar that day rappelling and having a blast too.
We hiked back to the parking lot around 12:30pm to regear for what was supposed to be a Cave Route/My Route combo to the top of Table Rock, NC. After finding a group of 4 at the first pitch belay station of Cave Route, we decided to go back and climb Jim Dandy to get up to Lunch Ledge (the halfway spot on Table Rock I mentioned earlier and the beginning of "My Route" 5.6). We were both tired on the start of Jim Dandy and I got a little psyched out about doing My Route. I felt like my climbing was off on pitch one of Jim Dandy on Wednesday...which should have been an easy pitch. Pitch 2 went really well though, and I was feeling so comfy on the rock that I ran out the entire 3rd pitch...stupid really...but fun as all get-out!
At Lunch Ledge, some storms started rolling in to the north. There was a great deal of lightning and we waited about 30-45 min through a short shower before deciding that the weather was favorable enough to make the push up My Route to the top.
Here's the breakdown of difficulty and length of each pitch of the big climb. Total length that we climbed was ~ 435 ft.
Jim Dandy 5.5 = P1 5.5 (90 ft), P2 5.4 (100 ft), P3 5.4 (90 ft)
My Route 5.6 = P1 5.5 (155 ft), P2 5.6 (40 ft), P3 5.5 (50 ft)
I finally got up the nerve and geared up for My Route. The first 40 ft or so is a scramble up sketchy terrain to the first bolt. Pitch one is 155 ft and very intense for the grade of 5.5 because of the great exposure. I feel that I climbed my personal best on this pitch. Stephen seconded like a champ and we took a break at the belay station on the top of pitch1 of My Route (technically the 4th pitch altogether of our push towards the summit). After getting myself pumped, I started out for the crux move on pitch 2. It was a bulge that you have to work out and over with a whole lot of air underneath you! :)
I can't believe it, but I nailed it! I had originally felt very shaky on this move in April when I climbed this route as a second climber with Scott leading. The rest of Pitch 2 of My Route was run out all the way to the belay station. The belay station for pitch 2 was a natural belay, meaning that I had to use my cams to create anchors in the rock. I used 2 #1 Camalots and 1 #3 Camalot to make the belay. An equalized cordellette finished the belay setup and Stephen started working the pitch 2 crux. He took one fall at the move, but found the holds and then crushed it. At the top of pitch 2, there was a blueberry bush in full production. It was VERY welcome after all the work getting there! Nom Nom Nom!
Pitch 3 was GREAT! It was balancy at first, then great hands and feet on a flake to the right. This was the most exposed section of the climb. Pulling out onto the flake to the right leaves you hanging over about 385 ft of air and slick rock. It was exhilarating to say the least!
After Stephen met me at the pitch 3 anchors, we were done! We looked around at a perfect summer day in NC as far as the eyes could see, but then we ultimately walked back to the car. We agreed after that the climb is what was meaningful...not the mountaintop itself.
"we are conquerors of the useless" - Yvonne Chouinard
until music or the great outdoors brings us together again....cheers.
- jeff
