I'll just puke out my thoughts. I'm training to be as efficient in roped solo climbing as possible. Last week, I did laps on Conveniently Sexy at Crystal Lake Crag. Real smooth and efficient. Today, I had to wander a lot and I had a lot of issues with ropedrag. Normally that's not an issue, but the rock can be very irregular so your free strand drags behind your backup knot and gets irritating. To deal with this, I haul the rope up to ledges to reduce friction.
I normally haul my rope in a ropebag, but for this weird terrain I just hauled the rope and let it sliver through the many flakes and cracks. Beats having to get a ropebag unstuck. Carefully coiled each time so that it feeds beautifully. Everything has to be done well in roped soloing/lead soloing, because you have to do everything yourself. This is part of the beauty of this form of soloing, especially on loose ground.
I used a hex for the first time in a few years. The pro was real good all throughout the route. Better cracks and less crap than Icehouse Canyon rock. Probably because the stuff in Icehouse is north facing, and has to deal with more moisture and less light.
There's a cool spur with what looks like a fun 5.6ish hands-to-fists crack which goes up for 60m or so through a couple crummy looking bands of stuff to a bigass slightly sloping ledge with a vertical drop on 3 sides. Super rad. I'd like to go back there with someone and watch the sunset. Quick rapp out into the gully, then scree ski down to the car.
There was a 5.8ish move or two down low, and some 5.9ish stuff further up with smearing on a pretty blank face and not very ideal hands. Feels like 5.9 when soloing. The rest was mostly low-5th class climbing. There were several sections I would have been real scared on if I didn't bring a rope.
A bunch of 4th class scrambling to the top from the end of the 2nd pitch. The last few hundred vertical feet (class 2-3) is absolutely choked with Buckthorn. My arms and legs are covered in bloody cuts. I got real mad and kept yelling at the plants, calling them bitches for not hurting me enough. If anyone was on the summit, they probably would've run.
The sun set and it got dark on the top. I spent maybe 2 minutes there. Quickly hiked down into Falling Rock Canyon. This section of trail gets easier to follow each year. Broke into a big Mexican orange Fanta when I hit Icehouse Canyon Trail. Bought it at a gas station. Real sugar. Anywho, that was tasty. Drove home. Nearly hit a possum.
If I had to give it a name, I'd call it the Irregular Route. Makes sense.
Neato rad pictures:
Approach Gully
Local scenery
Sugarloaf from... Sugarloaf.
The landing pad!
On the lower angled 1st pitch
This is always one of my favorites. I love getting sticks stuck in my rope.
Looking up pitch 1, which ends up and right out of the photo on a big long ledge.
Super rad. If you go there, make sure you keep it clean! Leave no dang trace.
One of many small ledges with cool views.
Looking down part of pitch 2. The starting moves are 5.7ish or whatever. Smearing on one side of a little dihedral and some okay holds on the left, with a really good finger/hand crack on the left that continues into a big loose rock that would suck to get hit by. A little touchy... then you reach the spot I took the pic from.
Run for the trees.
Many strands. :\
Cool shtuff
While rapping the line down after finishing the pitch, I will often do a sort of rebelay with a butterfly knot on a bomber piece that will take the majority of the weight. This helps when redirecting the rope through loose sections, and keeps it from going over edges.
One must climb the pitch, rappel it to clean it, and then reascend the rope (toprope solo in this case). I don't know which phase I took this pic during. Just one of those leg shots or whatever.
I'm a real big fan of when the rope grabs a loose rock and holds onto it while I'm trying to pull the rope. The rock would of course fall onto more rope down low. Big bargain dealz.
This looks mad tyte dawg
More of the landing pad. Obama launches his chemtrail drones here to steal your rights.
Beach Cliff brand Fish (Herring) Steaks in soybean oil. SUPER GOOD.
Uhoh, it's shiny time. Time to hurry up.
Wacky tree
Hiking on the class 3-4 section before the summit. I stayed as true to the ridge as possible and did rather well. Had a spot or two of bushwhacking, and then the horrendous hell that is the buckthorn around the summit.
The sunset, and a hurried summit shot.
Well ladies and gents, it's been real.
