A Weekend at the Voo

Camping and Climbing at Vedauwoo

This season, like last, I spent most of my time trail running rather than rock climbing. And that's a real shame. I like climbing a lot and it used to be a big part of my life. But a lot of my friends are runners now, so things have tended to sway that way. That's why it's nice to have Eric living here who's recreational loyalties are definitely in the climbing side of things. Thus we headed up to Vedauwoo for one last blow-out climbing/camping extravaganza.

Saturday

Finally, Jeff and I tied in to try Foolishness (5.4) on the left side of the wall. I've never roped up with Jeff before and, in fact, he's been climbing for less than a year. Still, he's climbed with both Fabio and Andy, both trusted partners of mine and the transitive property holds with climbing partners. The first pitch looked reasonable but Jeff wanted to warm up before being on the sharp end. "No problem," says I, the Vedauwoo Veteran and guy who's been climbing for a dozen years now. "I'll handle the first pitch and you can take the second." But it wasn't quite that easy. I underclung a nice roof traverse, scrambled up onto a rib, and confronted the fist crack... only to be stopped dead in my tracks. It was a lot harder up close than it was from 20' below! Cracks are never my strong area, but still, it's a 5.4! I got in a good piece of gear and a good hand jam with my right hand, stepped up into the flaring crack... and couldn't go anywhere. So I slithered back out, thought about it and tried again. Still nothing. Dammit! I hate to give up too easily, but I would hate more to get in over my head here.

Amy reaches through the crux of Walt's Wall (5.4).

Jeff manages what I could not on P1 of Foolishness (5.4). Both photos by Eric L.

Much chagrined, I down climbed it and gave Jeff a shot. Perhaps he didn't know quite what he was in for or perhaps he's braver than me, but he grimly took the rack and tackled the problem. He got to the same point as I did, spent a while contemplating it, then jumped right in and started slithering upward. He made slow progress, but steadily moved upward with quite a lot of grunting and swearing. Finally we hear from above, "I'm going to set up a belay here!" No problem.

I got back up there and, unencumbered by lots of gear and with the psychological crutch of a toprope, managed to do the moves. As I suspected, after one or two stiff moves, it eased off and became a "nice" flaring fist crack. Pulling through a steep section, I found Jeff camped in an awkward looking spot below another left-leaning roof/dihedral. He looked a bit shaken from his lead, but who wouldn't after that? I took the gear and lead the dihedral to a ledge traverse, all pretty easy. Jeff came up and tackled the final bit of easy-but-run-out slab past a single antique bolt with a home-made hanger and reached the top. Up there, we admired the view for a few minutes before meeting up with Andy and Eric L. who had climbed Walt's Wall (Eric's first multipitch climb).

Back down at the base after a long and windy rappel, we packed up and headed over to the Fall Wall for some single-pitch routes. In many ways, the approach to the Fall Wall is the crux of the route and getting the dog up there was nontrivial. Once there, I announced, "Eric's going to lead E.O. Layback", a short, straight-forward but physical 5.5 route I lead my first time out here. Eric's been climbing for a long time but only started trad leading a few months ago. Counting his lead of P1 of Walt's Wall this morning, this would be his fourth trad lead ever. But he's either very trusting of my judgement or brave and didn't offer any argument. As everyone watched, he scampered up the route placing loads of nuts. He was pretty pumped by the time he got to the top, but looked good and quite pleased with himself. I seconded the climb and we rapped off, leaving the gear for Jeff to try a pink-point of the route.

Eric completes a bold lead of E. O. Layback (5.5) on the Fall Wall. Photo by Eric L.

Eric looks a little tired. I can't imagine why.

With sunlight fading, I wanted to redeam myself for my crappy performance earlier, so I tackled Cold Fingers, a well-bolted 5.7 slab route on the other side of the face. Half way up, I ended up on the wrong bolt line and found myself on some pretty stiff climbing for about a dozen feet (the top of Drop Zone, a 5.10). Still, it wasn't too bad and I set up a TR. Eric and then Jeff tried my route before the light was well and truly gone and we scrambled down.

Back at the TH, we bid adieu to Jeff, Andy and Eric L. before heading over to the campground. This was only the second time Eric had ever camped as well, but it was a nice night and we relaxed with a hearty dinner and a roaring campfire before retiring.

Sunday

The Valley Massif finally comes into view.

I wanted to try Bill Steal but didn't want to warm up on something so close to my lead limit quite yet. Still impressionable, Eric agreed to lead Powder Puff to start with. He slithered up an awkward ramp to the beginning of a nice hand crack and disappeared from view. The weather was deteriorating with clouds and a chilly wind. Up above we heard quite a lot of invective and puffing, more than seemed reasonable for something called "Powder Puff". Finally, Eric pulled in some rope and set an anchor. Since the route was exactly half a rope length (30 meters), Amy tied in at the mid-point and seconded the climb.

Eric performs a groin hook on the way up the Powder Puff (5.4) ramp.

...and finally reaches the nice hand crack.

With a few meters of rope still on the ground, I tied in last and got to play around on top rope. The initial ramp was delicate, but I managed to walk up it with my dignity and all glands intact. The hand crack was beautiful and I was reminded how elegant crack climbing can be... though scary on lead. The angle eased up a bit just as the crack went away and I was faced with a ledge and steep slab headwall to surmount (also, the largest chickenhead I've seen all year). Eric had traversed around this but I figured I'd try the slab. It was tough but short and I was soon sitting on the wide ledge with Eric and Amy, both looking very pleased. It was a commiting and technical route, especially for an inexperienced leader. We all agreed that the route name was misleading and it should be renamed Power Puff.

The walk-off was short and easy except for the bit where we had to thread a narrow chimney. 98 pound pre-pubescents might be able to shimmy right through there, but well-developed adult types like us had to execute some exciting chimney moves up higher before dropping back to our belay ledge.

I was still game to try the 5.6, but the weather was looking ominous and everyone was pretty tired. After a bit of lunch, we decided to call it a day and start the trip out. This turned out to be a good idea as the first of the snowflakes flew just as we got back to the car.

Amy jams her way over the horizon on Powder Puff.

A happy, tired crew on the summit of the Massif.

It was really nice to get in some serious climbing and I regret that it only happened so late in the season. Climbing with Eric and Jeff was a lot of fun. For new leaders, they both displayed real strength as climbers and considerable mental toughness on the sharp end of the rope. It's been a lot of fun watching Eric come into his own as a leader and I appreciate that he is willing to challenge himself perhaps more than I would have at that stage. While he lacks a bit of experience now, he's quickly catching up. I predict that he'll be leading some pretty hard routes by this time next year.

As for myself, I had forgotten how physical climbing can be. My forte is thin face climbing which is more a matter of balance and reach than strength and technique. I am reminded again how elegant crack climbing is and how much technique and strength is required. A lot of people are astonished at how hard a Vedauwoo route of a particular grade feels, but I suspect it's a matter of skill. If you have the skill, it's not as bad as it might otherwise seem. Time to get in shape for this kind of climbing and come back next season for another go at the Valley Massif!

The Wilderness Journal

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