Blacksmiths

Although the Black Canyon has the reputation of being full of loose rock, poison ivy, and scary climbing, there are the occasional gems that avoids all three of those things; Blacksmiths on the Hooker Buttress is one of those routes.

Stoked on the warm sunlight.

I had given up on the idea of climbing at all in the Black in 2017.  Schedules and weather never lined up.  Luckily with the mild and dry fall we've been having the season was extended and we were able to squeak in a route.  I saw some photos of Noah on the route in the end of October and texted Matt immediately.  We hadn't done a Black route in mid November before and I for one was a little worried about the minimal light and cold nights.

Traversing

We started early, leaving the car with 30 degree temps.  Per usual however, half way down the SOB I was in a t-shirt and sweating.  With a plethora of beta we were able to get to the base of the first pitch at first light.  The route allows a few pitches to warm up on Dry Hard before veering off left over some big roofs. 2 1/2 pitches of traversing puts you at the base of the hard climbing.

Feeling the exposure.

Matt was up and onsighted through the hard climbing, and fell off due to rope drag on the wandering pitch right before the anchor.  I convinced Matt that we should lead in small two pitch blocks since he was rested from belaying and I was pumped from following the last pitch.  He lead up the next crux pitch and gave it a valiant effort but apparently he gets tired too.  Who knew?  I lead the next to pitches and Matt took the last, topping out at 3 with lots of light left for the half hour walk back to the car.

Matt on the first hard pitch.

Western Slope Climbing

Here is a short video of some climbing from the last few months.  Bouldering at Sailing Hawks, Sport climbing at Lemon and Trad climbing in the Black Canyon.

Cloak and Dagger

Matt had never been to the Black Canyon before so we decided to get on a route that wasn't heinous. Meaning a route with minimal loose rock, thorny bushes, and poison ivy.  I personally am not a fan of repeating routes.  There is just not enough time in life to screw around on a route you have already done. I'd rather stay home and watch a movie. A movie that I've never seen before obviously.  We settled on a route called 'Cloak and Dagger.'

Bill was in the area so he grabbed us a campsite and waited around to camp with us.  Between the road over Red Mountain pass being closed for most of the day, and me needing to do a bunch of errands we didn't get in till late.  

Hiking past minimal poison ivy got us to the base of the scrambling. We were able to solo the first pitch which was more like 'don't screw up' 4th class than the 5.6 listed on the topo.  After arriving at the base of pitch 2 I took off the pack and discovered that Bill had lovingly placed a fist sized rock in my pack. Luckily I found it before we started the real climbing.

The climbing was excellent. Just to the left of 'Cloak and Dagger' are two high quality classic routes.  'Cloak and Dagger' is on par.

We were in the shade until we toped out which was nice because it was pretty warm out.  I'm not sure if Matt is hooked on 'The Black' yet, but I know he wants to go back. 

All in all a great day out with a good guy!

Black In Action

Matt, Bill and I managed to find a couple days that we all had off to go to the Black  Canyon.  The plan was to do a smaller route day one, then on day two do a slightly larger route. Bill and Matt had made a deal that if Bill led the A3 pitch on day 2 than Bill could bic Matt's head. Unfortunately for Bill and luckily for Matt we ended up not doing the route we had planned on day 2.

We woke up early in Durango on day one and drove up to the black.  The gulley was one of the nastiest we had seen. We made it down to the route and enjoyed a few pitches of great climbing. Then hours of getting back to the rim along a complicated ridge.  We had considered doing another route down the same gulley that same day but after the nasty gulley and complicated ridge we decided a better option was to get some Corona and chill out at the river in Montrose. 

The route we had planned on for day two ended up being in the sun for most of the day, so that was nixed.  We had noticed a cool looking pillar/tower with continuous crack systems bottom to top so we decided to give it a go on day two. We couldn't find a trace of the route in the Black Canyon guidebook or online so it was likely a first ascent but you never know with the Black Canyon.  Some Gunnison local probably free soloed it years ago.  For not having anything other than a standard climbing rack things went well. We were back at the car at about 2pm. We stopped in Ridgeway on our way home for another dip in the river.

I have to say it doesn't sound like a bad way for Bill to spend his birthday! 

"We have everything?"

Nasty gullies!

Matt doing some trail work. 

Bill starting pitch 3. Note the mono.

Matt on a tyrolean traverse on the complicated ridge back to the rim.

Matt and Bill at the base of pitch 4 of 'Black In Action'.

Stoned Oven

Matt, Bill and I drove up to climb Stoned Oven, which is a route in the Black Canyon.  Below is my first attempt at using imovie.  I now have a new appreciation for editing!

Discovering the Tourist Route

The Black Canyon Guide book doesn't have much good to say about the 'Tourist Route'.  But with the allure of a long moderate with an easy approach(for Black Canyon standards) and short escape to the car, I thought it might turn out to be a good guiding route in the future.

The Tourist Route as seen from the overlook.

Mike and I headed down the gulley in early June which can be a hot time of year in the Black, but with Western exposure and an early start we were in the shade for the entire climb.  The climb went pretty well for no topo or much of a route description.  We topped out at noon just over 6 hours car to car.  We were off route for the first few pitches but once on route found it quite enjoyable.

Mike on Pitch 2

Mike mid way up.

Zoom in to see Mike on the crux pitch.

In the last weekend of June Bill and I were back with Chris Scharff to try it out as a guiding route.  I adusted the first few pitches which made them of a higher quality.  Up higher trying to avoid the crux pitch from early June I headed right and ended up climbing a harder variation.  Chris was a good sport and soon we were back on easier terrain.  All in all it was a great day of climbing in the Black Canyon.

Me leading pitch 2.

Chris with a little exposure!

On top!

Hallucinogen Wall – May 16-18, 2008

College was done for good, the summer painting job that I had lined up wouldn’t start for another week and a group of my friends were on a two-week trip to Yosemite. The perfect makings for a trip up the Hallucinogen Wall in the Black Canyon.  

I had called John in early April to assure that I would have a partner.  A month in advance he was excited. But as the climb grew closer his excitement waned.  After I sent John an article about heading, I got an email response saying only, “I’m Scared.” A week before the climb John informed me that he couldn’t get a day off of work and that the H-Wall would have to be done in two days.  Three days before the climb John told me that the ski conditions on a peak he had been eying were perfect and that he wanted to go.  Then it came out that really, he was just scared.  Luckily John bucked up said that he would meet me on Friday night.

On Friday at 1pm I started down the cruise gulley with our 10,000 cu.in. haul bag filled to the brim.  I kicked, dragged, and carried the bag 1,700’ down to the base of the route.  At 4pm I started back up the gulley.  I had brought some Lipton Noodles with me to make for dinner.  Some how they didn’t sound that appetizing after 3 hours of carrying a 90 pound pig down and hiking back up a scree filled, poison ivy infested gulley.  I drove to Crawford and ordered a burger.  John had left Steamboat right after work and joined me for dinner. The next morning we woke up a 4:30am and started down with the few things of John’s that I had not brought down.  

John on pitch 3.

John started the first pitch at 6am and we were on our way.  John climbed the first 3 pitches and encountered the toughest hauling on the route.  I took over on the wet 5.10 off-width, and shortly after leaving the belay was pulling on gear.  An incredible 5.9 hand crack and John was starting the first of the difficult aid pitches.  After too many hook moves John is preparing for the pendulum.  What appears to be small at first ends up being pretty damn big, but John is soon yelling off belay.  John tells me when I get to the anchor that he took the pitch because he didn’t want to follow the pendulums, which is fine with me because I didn't want to lead the pitch. Two more pitches and we are on top of pitch 8 and setting up the portaledge.  Thinking that it would be difficult to repack the haul bag the next morning we left the two sleeping pads in the pig.  I knew that this was a bad idea but it felt warm out and I was tired enough that I didn’t want to deal. 

My reward for being lazy was uncontrolled shivering while eating breakfast the next morning at 6am.  Pitches 9 and 10 went relatively smoothly.   

The cactus garden on top of pitch 11.

Pitch 11 was another matter; some initial easy aid lead to a fixed head and a hook traverse to the right.  Finally got a HB offset behind a loose block and high stepped on it.  I was standing in my topsteps with my hand on an edge for balance trying to figure out what to do next when the decision was made for me.  My piece popped.  I found myself holding on to the edge I had been using for balance.  I started free climbing and stopped with my left foot on a good edge.  Continuing to free climbing up wasn’t an option with all the aid gear on and while in hiking boots.  I spotted a dead head (left over copper from an old blown copper head) and found a spot that looked like it would hold an aluminum head.  I beat the crap out of that head.  Then I hit it some more.  Finally I stood up on it.  It held!  The first head I ever placed and it looks and seems bomber.  The cactus garden greets me up higher with a few needles in the knee and I’m at the anchor. 

Movin' on up.

Two more pitches of moving up and right on too many heads to count get us to a C2 pitch.  John informs me that while jugging he is expending just as much energy as I am while leading.  I remind him that I have been hauling.  I start off in the light thinking this pitch should be easy and then 2 more pitches and we are on top.  I end this pitch in the dark, with horrid rope drag, and having hammered a pin.  I haul the bag and inform John that I need a break and it is his pitch.  He doesn’t look happy but he puts on his climbing shoes and starts up the “5.9+ rotten chimney” above.  John climbs up and then down 3 times sending showers of rocks down each time. It’s sad but some how seeing John suffer a little makes me feel better.  He tells me that he is going to give it one more go and then it is my turn. He makes it up this time and soon I’m jugging while pushing and pulling the haul bag over roofs and out of the chimney.  I get to the anchor and am disappointed to see that John is not on top but is about 40’ below the rim on a ledge.  I find a way up that is way harder then the 5.7 that he topo suggests and top out at 2am. We have to climb over a chain link fence to get to the trail back to the car and I decide to wait for John to help me get the haul bag over the fence.  When I have my back turned he lifts the bag by himself and hucked it over.  His only response to my surprise is, "I do construction." 

 Rim to rim in 45 hours, having climbed for 20 hours straight on day two.  We are exhausted.  We both drive home that night. 

I get home at 5am with the help of, cold air, loud country music, slapping myself, biting my gums, and talking to myself.  I sleep until 2:30pm.  John took a shower and went straight to work.  Burly.