Smith Rock by moonlight
Afternoon storm light on Smith Rock
Tom on the start of Wedding Day
Matthew gets ready for Heinous Cling
So far so good
Shake out
Long way to go though
Smith Rock, Asterix Pass, Chain Reaction, Heinous Cling, Matthew
The previous afternoon, after getting some huckleberry icecream, I wandered along the base of the Morning Glory/Dihedrals area looking for people to climb with. Had a short climb with two cute girls and their obnoxious gear owning guy friend on some easy stuff, then wandered along a bit further and bumped into Tom again. I'd met Tom on my first morning there, and then stood him up for climbing that afternoon by going off to Monkey Face with Bill and Sean.
Climbing Camp was over, but Tom and his son Matthew were sticking around to do some hard stuff. Matthew was working on Heinous Cling, a 12a. Nice looking line, steep arching wall, with the odd pockets. The afternoon light was superb on the rocks, a mini storm has blustered through, leaving no rain, but lovely light. Matthew couldn't work out the moves, but he was going to come back tomorrow morning for another go. In the meantime, I got to have a go on a good hard toprope. Surprised myself by climbing (with rests) up to Matthews highpoint, but from there it gets tough quick. (Where the 12a starts, and the low/mid 11 ends) Very satisfying nonetheless.
I'm invited along for the morning session, which should be fun. Tom leads Wedding Day, a 10b, first up. I'm not climbing with the normal mortals anymore :) A hard start, but then a very pleasant line up just on the edge of an arete. Good stances. Matthew doesn't like it much though. To each his own.
Matthew tries to sleep some more, but it's just going to make the rock hotter waiting. Tom is in coach role, which Matthew had asked for, so before too long, Matthew is tied in, the stick clip is deployed, and he's off for the redpoint attempt.
He climbs very well up to yesterdays highpoint, but it really does get hard quick. Looking good on some poor gastons, but it wasn't to be. I got some good pictures though. We move on to do some multipitch, which Matthew wants to learn more about.
From 12a to 5.7, but it is two pitches :) Tom leads pitch one, then Matthew leads off pitch 2. A very simple and clean anchor setup, Matthew has obviously been taught well, if this is his first multipitch anchor.
Tom and Matthew have a long drive to Bozeman, Montana ahead of them, but before they go, I give them a CD of pictures, and they in turn agree to show me some climbing around Bozeman. Score! I spend the afternoon at Cline Falls state park, just out of Redmond. It has no waterfalls at all, but it does have nice shady picnic tables.
Smith Rock by moonlight | Afternoon storm light on Smith Rock | Tom on the start of Wedding Day | Matthew gets ready for Heinous Cling |
So far so good | Shake out | Long way to go though | Smith Rock, Asterix Pass, Chain Reaction, Heinous Cling, Matthew |