Jackson Falls - Day Trip, Oct 18, 2008

Posted by Saucisson #3

Climbers: Soph (#1), Angie, Calvin

The weather's officially AMAZING (or as some would say, A-maZING!)! It's the time of year with cool, crisp conditions that making climbing so enjoyable. Slopers that feel like greased lightning in the summer now feel like gritty sandpaper. I love it.

We hiked down to Hidden Peaks, around Cheerio Bowl and Detox Mountain. Soph got us started on a 5.9 and 5.8, which served as great warm-ups. Next to us was a nice couple (Dave and Shaun) from St. Louis who climb outdoors, but not at the gym - that's why I didn't really recognize them.

From here Soph put up Groovy Marcia 5.9, a great water dugout groove that challenges the climber to really think and climb creatively. Angie loved it and led it in style!

Afterwards, we set our sights on Lasso the Vulture .11a, a slabby, pocketed route that ends in an exciting quasi-chimney. This route and given Soph trouble on a summer trip, and I had last tried it over 3 years ago. I recall thinking the route was stinking hard for .11a and I still do. But nevermind the ratings, it's a great route. All the holds are there, you just need to decipher the sequence. I put up the draws, and Soph sent it beautifully in one go. Way to go Soph!

We then moved on to Kill Bill .10a, a nicely deceptive slab route that forces some true smearing and slab technique. I let Soph and Angie work on it; instead, I opted for Cowboys and Crossdressers .12a, short, 4-bolt route that I'd struggled on 2 years ago. It's been a while since I've been down this area. Soph and Angie came close, but Kill Bill ended up being a bit hard after the previous climbing. I managed to send Cowboys second go after working out the beta. I'm glad I did, because the first beta run made me think it wasn't going to go at all.

What a great day. :)