Seattle…I love Seattle.
The mountains. The food. The people.
The city. There is little I
dislike about Seattle. This is the city
I want to live in. After living here for
a week I realize I want to be back. The natural
beauty of Central Washington, for instance…
I arrived in Seattle to two smiling faces who I haven’t seen
in too long. My friends Carlo and Kelsey
picked me up from the airport and we dined/drank in West Seattle before meeting
my two charges for the next two weeks…
Sophie the brown dog is mischievous and clever. Henry the white dog is…a spaz. A little, white, malleable, furry spaz.
I’ve spent most of the last week climbing in
Washington. The climbing in Washington
is very different from anything I’ve set hands on. In West Virginia the cliffs are bullet-proof
sandstone that demands precise footwork and technique. In Washington the cliffs are smooth granite
where even the good holds feel smooth and slick, and the larger crags are
deceptively good despite seeming blank.
At the very least the rock in Washington is far more featured and
compelling than what I’ve seen out East…
On Tuesday I roped up with David Steele and Chris Koppl to
slay Godzilla and tame Sagittarius. Godzilla
went down without a fight, but Sagittarius proved to be a bit much to
handle. My crack climbing skills left
much to be desired and I had to muscle up most of the route before petering out
halfway up the cliff. On Wednesday I
roped up with Chris to check out Exit 38 in Washington. Exit 38 is a highly featured area full of
bolts, sucker holds, granite jugs, and beautiful formations. The one picture I took of the Nevermind wall was washed out and unfit to post. The area is blocky, heavily featured, but quite difficult unless you know exactly where to grip on the rock. Routes are, generally, tricky to read. http://www.mountainproject.com/v/105808094
Exit 38 proved to be a bit much for either of us to
handle. We finished all the routes we
set up on, but not without difficulty. I
roped up on an 11b (thankfully I was ignorant of the grade prior to finishing)
and fought my way up, sustaining a 13 foot fall in the process that almost
resulted in me kissing the rock face. Chris
had much more success on the routes, and we were able to explore the area
some.
On Saturday I rode out to Darrington, WA with some old XC
friends from college. This area has been
the coup de grace of Washington thus far.
Huge granite domes give way to blue skies and almost no clouds…plus some
amazing rock formations! Sadly, we were
not able to finish a 6-pitch climb due to nerves and painful footwear. I definitely picked the wrong shoes for Darrington,
but I am motivated to return!! We finished half the route that took us up the right side of The Great Arch, and would have brought us up and around the top of the arch. Eventually we rappeled off of the third pitch and called it a day...
Before jumping on the arch I led a route up to the arch, or the teeth as I like to think of them. The climbing at Darrington is slab climbing, meaning it is less than vertical climbing, but still steep enough that you can lose control and slide down the mountain. The potential for injury is high if you don't keep your cool. Prior to climbing the arch I led a 60 foot runout of slab climbing that had lots of nicely featured footholds but few handholds. By runout I mean there was no place to clip in to the route or place protection. But it was a good chance to test my mental climbing game, and it ended without mishap.
Rain has moved in to the Seattle area this week. I am hopeful that I can get in one or two more days of climbing outside before I leave for Columbus and my 36 hour drive back to Idaho.
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