Kalymnos 2010 - Trip Report 2 (Odyssey)

Thanks for joining us again on our next installment. When we last left you, we were enjoying our rest day. Although - don't you find that the first enforced rest day is the hardest one to take? You've only done two days of climbing and you know you should rest, but...ohhh, you're so excited and just want to do one more day...

Anyway, we played it smart and it was lucky, because coach Cujes (me) had some brutality in store at one of the premiere cliffs on the island, the varied Odyssey.

It started cold and we were snug in our down jackets, and then fingertips were frozen on the limestone of the warmups. Circe 6b, Femio 6a+ and Laertes 5c+ were all dispatched by the crew.

"What was that one like Glenn?" 

"Dunno - couldn't feel a thing!"

Next it was time for a crag tour to find the line which inspired. With about 50-60 classics of all grades to choose from, it wasn't hard. For Matt, the steep and thuggy Lucky Luca 7b beckoned. For Owen, it was the gently overhung, polished and pumpy Amorpha 7b. Glenn and Susy were seduced by the long and technical Dafni 7b. And me, well, I had an old project from the 2008 camp Marci Marc 7c+ - that super enduro mega line. One of the most coveted routes on Kalymnos.

Owen only had a couple of hangs on his first shot on Amorpha 7b (remember, this is the guy who is supposed to be climbing 6a/18 because of his wrist). Solid, solid effort up front. We spent a good while sussing the top crux and getting the sequence just right. On his second shot, he went right through cleanly to the rest 4m from the top, and even though he rested well, the forearms were out of juice for the deadpoint to the two finger pocket - one move shy of the top. Tragedy! Seriously though, don't you love a route that takes you right to the edge? What a perfect proj - he'll be back for it later in the camp.

Owen and his Amporpha 7b © S Cujes 2010

While Lucky Luca 7b may have "looked onsightable", it wasn't to be for Matt who discovered the start is mega bouldery on steep tufa snake pinches. Not surprising, he found some sweet kneebars and kneescums and came away with a smooth second shot send. Tidy work from the Coolum Kid.

Matt putting Lucky Luca 7b to bed © L Cujes 2010

Dafni 7b is a long and imposing, wandering line up a pure white sheet of limestone. Given Glenn's hardest route is 7a/23, the fact he got on this with no beta, placing the draws and working it out as he went was a bloody top effort. Susy then helped refine beta and they both had shots on it together. This is an ace way of figuring out a hard route, particularly if you both have different styles, as sometimes one person is better at unlocking the sequence and the other person benefits from that. Super fun. No sends, but good learnings and great progress. A potential goer for later in the trip.

Glenn on Dafni 7b  © L Cujes 2010

So that leaves me on Marci Marc 7c+. The route is a full 30m long and overhangs about 10m or so. In 2008, I tried it several times, always avoiding the potential kneebar at half height. You have to climb out to it, put it in, and then climb back onto the line and I always thought it probably didn't allow much of a rest anyway. It certainly didn't feel good when I tried it. But here we are in 2010 and I'm in possession of our newly developed Upskill Friction kneebar pads, I thought it'd be wrong not to suit up and get into them. So I tried the kneebar and yep - pretty dang good with these pads! Second shot I climbed solidly from the ground, through to the kneebar, recovered, and then blitzed the crux. What a relief! 10m victory whipper from the top (thanks Susy's rope and Matt's soft catch) and I'm down.

Me chilling in the kneebar on Marci Marc 7c+ © S Cujes 2010

After the big efforts on our projects, we hit the slabs for some no pressure fun. Sheree once again upped her tally of leading on routes such as Eumeo 4b, Argo 4c and Telemaco 5b, and we all played around on these fun slabs with cool features (big stones sticking out of the more weathered limestone).

Slab fun!! © L Cujes 2010

Join us next time as we steepen things up at the dripping tufa wall of Ghost Kitchen!

More Ten Sleep Climbing pics

This is turning into a photo blog. Oh well. You love it.

More pics from Ten Sleep for you. It's great having three people finally as we can spend time taking a few shots.

Gareth onsighting Number One Enemy 5.11a, a fingerlocky thing at Slavery Wall. Definitely one of the best sectors here. © L Cujes 2010

Me gathering beta. Sneaky! © S Cujes 2010

Another pic for the Molly Beard Appreciation Society © L Cujes 2010

Me onsighting a nice 5.11b, I Just Do Eyes. Techy long face. © G Llewellin 2010

Gareth on one of the best routes at Ten Sleep: Happiness Is Slavery 5.12b (or 7b or 25 :) © S Cujes 2010

Big G taking flight as the pump goes terminal 5m from the top © S Cujes 2010

Applying anti-pump techniques. Do you know this trick? © S Cujes 2010

Me on the start of the classic E.K.V 5.12c (7b+/26) which I flashed thanks to Molly & Carl's beta © S Cujes 2010

Me sending the classic long route Burden of Immortality 5.13a (7c+/28) © G Llewellin 2010

Well that's it for Ten Sleep. A nice couple of weeks was had by all.

Spray-A-Thon and Rifle wrap

Well, Rifle was terrific.

Check your ego at the door and prepare to be humbled. That's the approach that works best. If you send - woohoo. If you fail - good training! :)

Highlights of my two week trip are as follows (I've gone with the euro grades as, after all, this is sport climbing):

Spray-A-Thon 8a+ - 5th shot (super steep with one tough crux. My first grade 30 on foreign soil.)
The Anti-Phil 8a - 4th shot (gently overhanging with brutal campus-snatching around a low roof)
The Beast 7c+ - 4th shot (slipperiest rock on the planet?)
Pump-O-Rama 7c+ - 2nd shot (just like Mt Coolum in Australia. Technical kneebars not an issue :)
Beer Run 7c+ - 3rd shot (my fave in Rifle, varied and amazing)
The Blocky Horror Show 7c - 3rd shot (stepped roofs, then hugging headwall)
Hang Em High 7b+ - onsight ("proud onsight dude!" pumped off my dial)
Pretty Hate Machine 7b+ - 2nd shot (slippery steep route)
Easy Skankin 7b - onsight (best sport 12b in USA they reckon!)

And here's some pics of me doing Spray-A-Thon on my final day. Big pressure!


Getting set up for the dyno. Off the right hand undercling, you jump for that hole. Very cool move.


Clipping in the crack section.


Double kneebars (sort-of) before the first bulge. I figured out some great beta for this bulge that even the locals now use. Energy conservation is all about using momentum!



The crux move! Might not look much, but you're reaching left hand for a hold known as the "pencil". But I reckon a pencil would be a better edge.

So thanks Rifle, you were great. I love you.

All pics © Jason Huston 2010

Rifle USA - home of the kneebar?

Rifle Mountain Park, Colorado USA. Where the strong come to send (eventually) and the weak come to weep.

First impressions? Way more beautiful than I expected. Rifle is a long canyon with 60-80m high limestone walls on either side (which means there's always shade, even in summer) and a rushing alpine stream running through the middle. The stream is conveniently filled with brown trout so you'll share the campsite with fisherman and camping families. Bring your fishing gear or buy a complete setup for $16 at Wal-Mart like I did.

The camping in Rifle costs $7 a night, plus $5 per car, or buy an annual car pass for $40, which makes sense if you're staying for more than eight nights. Amenities include toilets and firepits. That's about it. The nearest showers and food are in at the town of Rifle which is about 20 minutes away by car, or (better) Glenwood Springs (45 minutes away).

Easy routes? Pfft! Good luck! There's maybe one or two sectors which have a handful of routes in the 5.8 - 5.10 range (17 - 19 or 5c - 6a+). If you're climbing under 7a / 23 / 5.11c I wouldn't bother. Just go elsewhere. But for this grade and upwards (especially the 7c / 27 / 5.12d grades) the place offers some serious quality. To me, the routes all seem hard for their grades. Who cares though when the quality is so good?

Walk-in's vary in length from zero minutes to about 1 minute. Great for lazy sport climbers.

I've found the climbing to be less steep than I'd imagined. With far fewer kneebars damn it. Maybe I'm just not finding them? There's lots of just gently overhanging sectors (which I love) and the routes demand a ton of endurance. There's a lot of polish, so you have to learn to trust those "buttery footholds".

Nearly all the routes have clip and lower anchors which is nice. And nearly all the classics have permadraws like these. These are also nice, although the wear on the biners means that your rope will turn black (from the aluminium oxide) and you should wear gloves when belaying.

So we're one week in and those are my initial ramblings. As for routes, I really enjoyed Beer Run 5.13a and Easy Skankin' 5.12b - both rated as the best of their grade in the wider Crankinverse. And I've fallen in love with The Anti-Phil 5.13b, so I'll see if I can get that sent before we leave.

Enjoy some pics...

Conditions Report - July 9, 2008

NORTHWEST:

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--The popular climbing area known to some as Deception Crags and to others as Exit 38 has at least one peregrine falcon nest. It is currently not clear exactly where this nest is. It is important for climbers to avoid such nests as disturbing them may lead to the closure of a crag.

--Though the weather wasn't perfect over the holiday weekend, a few parties still got out. A party climbed Bonanza Peak, a party attempted Mount Olympus, and a party attempted Rainier.

--Some skiers got out there too! The steep north face of Mount Maude was skied. Mount Hood was skied. And so was Mount Adams.

ALASKA RANGE:

--Forecast for Denali

--The Denali season is coming to a close. Most parties that are still climbing in the area are focused on more obscure objectives. We currently have a party in Little Switzerland on the Pika Glacier.

SIERRA:

--For up to date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, 

--AAI Guide Paul Ivaska indicates that the Mountaineers Route on Mount Whitney is now quite sun-cupped. Most parties are using the rocks to the side of the gully proper to avoid the worst of this.

ALPS:

--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

RED ROCK CANYON:

--A fire recently burned a small portion of the trail at the entrance to Oak Creek Canyon. Authorities believe that the fire was not natural and may have been the result of a poorly doused campfire. Crews were able to quickly suppress the 1.5 acre fire.

-- Temperatures continue to climb in Red Rock and the season has officially ended. Average highs throughout the summer range between 102 and 108. The campground is closed and will re-open at the beginning of September. Locals tend to climb at higher altitudes where the temperatures are cooler. Many visit Mount Charleston or Flagstaff throughout the summer season.

CLIMBING MAGAZINE WEATHER:

Climbing Magazine weather reports for Yosemite, Denali and Rainier may be found here.