New Route “Direct Action” 5.7 A4 Ribbon Falls Amphitheater

Type:Trad, Aid, 1100 ft, 7 pitchesFA:Steve Bosque, Jens Christ, Kevin DeWeese Feb 2020 Description Mostly thin nailing. Shares part of the final pitch, an anchor, and rap anchors with Resist! and allows for "mix and match" climbing from the P3 anchors should one wish. Standout pitches are P2, P4, and P6. I consider this the best route of the three we've put up on that side of the amphitheater. Pitch 1: 180' - A2 Climb up broken ledges before moving left into a left facing system that takes thin nailing. Pitch 2: 100' - A3 Continue up obvious seam splitting the face. Becomes thinner as you get higher.  Pitch 3: 95' - A2 Penji right from anchors and climb dual cracks up and over a bulge to the anchors. Nailing and small cams.   Pitch 4: 175' - A4 Primarily hooks, small heads, microcams, and small beaks for this pitch. Start from…

0 Comments

Food prep for a solo push of a wall in summer heat.

So I made a plan to push solo (more of a shove really) of Lost World on El Cap a week or so back. (I bailed as it was too hot during the day and not being able to sleep in the week preceding the weekend meant that trying to climb through the night and sleep under a shade in the heat of the valley was not going to be something safe or even achievable) Here's what I felt would be more than enough food for the push and since some of you are like "show us your food prep!" here's a post for you guys. Considerations: Must be food that can bake in the sun and still be good. Must be high protein and low carbs (only because I hate carbs and don't really do well)Ideally should do double duty as regular food and pocket food. Sodium content is important to prevent the wall aches…

0 Comments

My response to a question regarding Portaledges on MP.com

MP User wrote:There's a lot out there, where do I beginFirst, is there any reason for a single portaledge?  Usually you bring a partner they need a spot to sleep right?  Can 2 single ledges join together? Or stack like bunks?  Or do u buy a single and expect that most big wallers have their own single too? Depends. If you're running two older A5 singles or to G7 Pod inflatable ledges then two of them are lighter or similar in weight compared to a Bdel or Metolius double (admittedly I'm fudging the numbers here because I'm never going to use one of those heavy beasts of a double and the D4 double and Runout Customs doubles are going to be lighter than two singles, but hey, I've got a single-ledge agenda to enforce here). I usually want to use two singles because you have more space to do your…

0 Comments

Fear

Fear is a strange thing in climbing. It comes with different levels: I'm going to get hurt, I'm going to die, I'm going to get hurt and not be able to get help and eventually die. I place those in order of fear amount. I have said many times that I don't fear death, but I definitely fear dying slowly and painfully. More and more I feel like I should take up gardening or knitting for an all-encompassing hobby. I don't recall ever reading reports of people getting hurt while posting their handmade beenies on etsy.com. For me, I've come to grips with much of my climbing fear; I divide fear into good and bad fear: good fear being what keeps you from doing things you're not prepared for or able to do, bad fear being the hysterical barking dogs in your head that yelp and whine about how anything…

0 Comments

New Route: Resist! V 5.7 A2+ Ribbon Falls Amphitheater

Resist! V 5.7 A2+ October 2019, Bosque, DeWeese, Poston Ribbon Falls Amphitheater, Yosemite NP Topo Photo Overlay of West Side off Ribbon Falls Amphitheater In June of 2019, Steve Bosque, Tyler Poston, and I hiked up to Ribbon Falls Amphitheater to begin a new route on the West side of the Amphitheater. Though the weather on the valley floor was warm and sunny, we found that the Falls (because of the high snow pack level the previous winter) were raging so heavily that the entire Amphitheater had been turned into our own private self-contained rain forest. Upon getting drenched from the rainfall contained within these crack-spewed walls after sussing out the route that we would follow, we retreated back to the valley floor to dry our clothing and gear and plan our next attempt for this new route. A little over a month later, we returned and began our route…

0 Comments