GroupWBench

We managed to get out to Looking Glass for a picture perfect day on the rocks last Saturday. We went with Tom and Jack, neither of whom had ever seen a granite eyebrow before. We split up and Ivy and I climbed Gemini while they climbed Second Coming. Tom did a good job leading that climb. It pretty much stays in your face all the way up.

When I was belaying Ivy up to the new bolted belay for Gemini I heard the distinctive clatter of gear rattling in free fall followed by a heavy thump and then a crash of gear hitting something. It turns out that the girl that had been looking for an easy 5.8 for them to get used to the climbing at Table Rock with decided that Zodiac, a thin 5.8+ crack/eyebrow slab, was the perfect place for her very first lead climb on trad gear. My best guess is that she’s a gym rat or sport climber and that is what got her in trouble. She got up about 15 feet and, according to witnesses, decided that even though she didn’t like the nut she put in the crack, she would lean back on it and take a break right there in the middle of the crux.

The nut blew and she sailed out and back, landing at the base of the tree on the Sentry Box Ledge. Fortunately, the sticker bushes broke her fall some. She bounced up pretty quick, saying that she was okay. They left shortly after that. I imagine that the adrenaline wore off pretty quick and the ouch moved in on her somewhere along the hike out to the parking area.

After we got down from the first climb, Tom and I ran up Rat’s Ass. A great little classic 5.8 climb. It got into Tom’s head a bit as he led the first pitch, but he bore down and stuck through the climb. I had a lot of trouble pulling his gear. He had one cam overcammed that was a real bear to work out. He had really set a couple of nuts in the crack hard as well. I had to hang on the rope and bang on them with both hands to loosen them enough to get them.  Better that than to have them falling out, though. Other than that, the climb was great. I’d love to go back and do Sundial down on the Nose end of the Glass. It has always been a favorite of mine.