The inspiration for building this crack machine came after seeing Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker’s crack cellar, which they used to train for Century Crack —a 5.14b offwidth (the hardest in the world).
I wanted to try and push myself with offwidth cracks, so I scoured the internet for plans to make my own training device. Ultimately, I combined multiple designs into one that suited my space and the crack sizes I wanted to train on.
Off-width bouldering is interesting. Climbing this ~3 meter crack, which is only off-width for like a third of it in the middle, really put stuff like Wide Boyz into perspective. Not that they don't make it clear just how much pain and physical suffering goes into it, but still. I have rarely been so beat up from a boulder, felt like coming out of a wrestling match. And it's still like two full grades below what I consider myself climbing.
Blisters are now healed, and looking forward to some hard training the next few weeks before Switzerland.
Climbing this weekend was probably a bad idea given my weak ankle and still-healing road rash, but who can say no to the classic Regular Route on Fairview Dome. Being a route listed on the North America 50 Classics, it is popular and so getting an early start is key.
The Golden Fairview Dome
DAFF Dome across the street
First party going up the Regular Route (5.9)
As expected there was only a team of two ahead of us, so we wasted no time with Matt leading the first crux pitch. The pitch was mostly dry but had a few polished section. Matt stretched a 70m rope (thanks Yvonne!) to reach a tree belay just as the sun was peeking through the trees. I followed as quickly as I could to save time but ended up exhausted and light-headed at the belay. It must be a combination of the altitude and lack of sleep that made the pitch more miserable than it should. To make things worst, my right leg had a slight brush with the granite and my old wound bleed all over my pants. I quickly chowed down a Nutella sandwich and was instantly re-energized to lead the next pitch.
Sun beams shining through the trees
The second pitch was technically easier but it was literally 70m of non-stop hand and finger lieback, and just for fun, there were two roofs to get around. It was tiring as there were no good rests, but it was also very satisfying to pull moves after move on the flawless dihedral. Thanks to our super awesome rack - quadruple Metolius orange (#3) and triple yellow (#2) - I made it to the belay ledge with no rope left and just the right pros for anchor. That was it for the harder climbing on this route. Matt then led the pitch up the Crescent Ledge and I took the following pitch with a 3 feet roof.
Matt coming up second pitch
Matt leading the third pitch
Ominous clouds where moving in from the North as we were cruising up the final few easy pitches. That's when a few parties finally showed up at the bottom. There was something serene about belaying hundreds of meters off the ground, with no one else around but myself, the anchor, and the little tree that could save my life. I was feeling way too comfortable and almost felt asleep several times, without Matt knowing off course. Fortunately no thunderbolts were unleashed and we topped out around 3pm to an amazing view of Catheral Peak in front, and high above DAFF Dome behind. We climbed the route in 7 pitches with a 70m rope.
Matt traversing on the fifth pitch
DAFF Dome is so tiny as seen from the top of Fairview
Slab descent with Cathedral in the backdrop
The south face of Fairview Dome
On our way back to the rangers' cabin, we ran into Matt's cousin Jesse who seemed to know everyone who walked by. We headed over to Machine World, a V2 traverse at Puppy Dome for an evening boulder session. It was my first real outdoor bouldering experience and starting at V2 seemed a bit stiff and intimidating, especially when real boulderers kept showing up and watching attentively like someone dropping a plate in a restaurant. To my surprise, bouldering was way more social than roped climbing, and people were in general very supportive. Everyone there was fascinated by my bloody duct taped pants... even the "locals" were better dressed. With some beta and stretched out tendons, I was able to get halfway until the feet disappeared and hands became slopers.
Bouldering at Machine World (V2)
The rest of the night was spent inside Matt's other cousin's cabin, where park rangers gathered and feasted on the amazing curry stew she made. Even after we called it a night and went back to our tents, we could still hear guitar and singing from a nearby cabin. Oh good times.
The weather was less certain on Sunday so we opted to go cragging instead. Fortunately the dark clouds did not not result in anything more than a few drops here and there. We stopped at Murphy's Creek first and climbed Frogger, Pacman and X Wing. Then we hopped over to Olmsted Canyon for Matt's favourite. Matt led Ivory Tower Right (5.10a) to set up a top rope anchor for Ivory Tower Left, which was a 5.8 off-width. Despite its "soft" grade and being on top rope, it was no easy struggle up. The crack started just a bit wider than a heel-toe, then slowly tapered to hand stack and wide fist. We did laps on the routes before calling it a day, and watched a large group of OW enthusiasts sending Enemy Within (5.10 OW). Among them was Ed Hartouni. It was just as exciting to watch then to actually climb the beast. One of the climbers (whom Matt believed to be Gary Carpenter on Supertopo forums) even armed himself with a Valley Giant and led the route. Well, time to start training on these enormous cracks, Traveler Buttress is calling.
After messing up an ankle at Whitney last week and having my body all banged up after off-width climbing at the gym, a weekend of rest was in order. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to keep me away from the granite, especially when we are staying in a plush Finnish cabin for the weekend. This would be my first tent-free climbing trip in California... wicked!
The Main Wall at Lover's Leap
This trip was organized by Tommi from BAMM, who is a member of a Finnish ski club that owns the cabin. Built back in the 1940s, it is a well decorated, rustic 3-story structure that houses over 40 beds (ironically missing a Finnish sauna). We met up there Friday night, cracked open some beers, and spent the night sharing stories from the high mountains - including Mark and Tommi's recent trip to climb Illampu in Bolivia.
Giant elk mount above the fireplace
Most luxurious climbing trip in California to date
Having a comfy mattress to sleep on meant no alpine start the next morning. We rolled out of bed after 7am and was on the road by 8am... to drive to Strawberry Lodge where we spent the next hour having a "fancy" breakfast. We parked down the road from the Lover's Leap Campground (due to a very full parking lot, as expected) and headed to the Lower Buttress for whatever route that was open. After passing over 15 people at the Surrealistic Pillar, we did not find a single soul at The Groove! The Groove was my first ever climb at the Leap and it has a tricky start. Leading it again a year later would be a test of whether my skills have improved - sadly, it didn't feel easier. The route required a lot of mantle and high-steps, so having cams on my gear sling caught below a dyke halfway through the move is extremely frustrating.
Next we hopped onto The Farce and did the direct start below the giant boulder. Both Tommi and Stefan led this pitch and the consensus was that the crux at the bottom felt harder than 5.6. I say it's even harder for the follower when you put a nut on a key hand hold at the crux!
Tommi leading The Farce at Lower Buttress
After topping out of the Lower Buttress, we hiked over to the base of Traveler Buttress to climb its first pitch before calling it a [short] day. While I was excited to lay hands on one of the 50 classics, I was warned that this 5.8 pitch is stout and sustained. I happily yielded my leading rights to Stefan, who only paused at the crux to put on this crack gloves - that's when you knew he meant serious business. I followed the pitch and found it harder than The Groove, even though they were graded the same. The crux for me was the first and last moves of the route, both of which required off-width techniques - something that only my friends Matt and Yvonne would appreciate.
First pitch of Traveler Buttress
Second pitch of Traveler Buttress, easily identified by the menacing off-width
We ended the first day with some BBQ skirt steak and fine oatmeal stout back at the cabin. We continued through the night with more beers, which eventually turned into a brag-fest to see who had the most miserable summit experience.
Having four bottles of beer the night before meant "lining up at the crag" the next day. Fortunately, we got to Corrugation Corner and only found one party starting on pitch 2 and another party going off-route on pitch 3 (who got stuck at an off-width section). Two more climbers arrived as I was waiting for Tommi and Mark to finish the first pitch. One of them was really humble and kept asking me for route beta, while the other one was simply pissed off that they had to wait. "Now we won't get home till late at night", "I am so screwed for work tomorrow", "This is going to take 4 hours"... Whether or not he was hinting that we were slow climbers, I could not wait to get off the ground before he spoiled my mood for this wonderful route.
Climbers on 3rd pitch of Traveler Buttress
I led pitch 2 while Stefan led the rest. The route was fun and exposed with lots of moderate dyke climbing. The second pitch was especially memorable because of the steepness and exposure, not to mention the "beached whale" move at the end. I had a great time climbing until the obnoxious climber got to the belay ledge and saw Stefan leaving for our final pitch. He shamelessly called out to his partner down below: "hey, this is going to take a while!" I kept my cool and told him to build a proper anchor instead of fixing himself to a single cam. I watched [and listened] as he bragged about leading 5.9's in the Valley while belaying his partner up [through his harness]. His might be a strong climber, but nothing he did suggest to me that he was as experienced as he sounded.
Tommi leading the final pitch of Corrugation Corner
Obnoxious climber coming up on 2nd pitch of Corrugation Corner
We stretched a 60m rope on the last pitch and topped out with plenty of daylight left. My previous experience on Corrugation Corner ended with an epic bushwacking descent in the dark. But this time I could see the trail clearly, and we got down in half an hour instead of hours. Though Stefan and Tommi was running down so fast that I could barely keep up.
View is spectacular, especially with people making out at the top
It was a bit early to call it a day so we climbed Pop Bottle on the East Wall. It was a fun and easy climb to end the weekend with. We got back to our cars and Tommi retrieved a few bottles of creek-chilled beer that he stashed in the morning. Meetup helped me once again to meet these great folks who share similar passions (Yvonne was the first), and hopefully we will cross path again while climbing some High Sierra classics. Now I must go home and ice my ankle.
The mighty East Wall (2nd pitch of Pop Bottle is visible on far left)
Placerville, where they used to hang people, hence the nickname Old Hangtown
