Thanks for the feedback.
As to a trip report: yeah, I guess I could provide a few more details! Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me... I was kicking myself about that, especially sitting on the enormous cliff wall boulder for the second pitch anchors. I'll try to remember to bring one next time for some before/after shots of the second pitch belay anchor.
At any rate... I hiked over to the west side with my wife Alacia. Balconies was in full sun, so we started with a few warm-ups at the Flumes: Bits n' Pieces, Rebecca's Sailing, and Nipples and Knobs. I'd done the first two before, but not the 10a. That was a pretty cool climb too, with solid holds and some fun sustained moves.
It was getting towards afternoon so we packed and hiked to Balconies, now all in the shade. We weren't sure what we were going to climb but gazing up the Conduit line, I convinced Alacia to let me go for it. I'd always wanted to climb the first two pitches but had never been on it before. (Yeah, I know I've been here a number of years...)
Well, suffice it to say I onsighted it and it was a hell of a lot of fun. There are certainly some holds that flex, but by and large the rock is amazingly solid and fun all the way through. There are some pretty huge knobs - more like small boulders - sticking out of the cliff face! Although some of the holds were a bit dirty near the bottom of the first pitch and the top of the second pitch, all in all the holds weren't too dirty. (Okay, right near the massive boulder of the second pitch anchor the exfoliating, peeling rock effect was definitely a bit more evident.)
It's funny, the 10d section wasn't as bad as I expected... The runout was kinda freaky and exposed, but I was preparing for far worse. (Maybe I've been spending too much time on Heat Seeking Moisture Missile!) I think the trickiest part on it was halfway through the crux, when the solid feet more or less disappear. There is a lefthand knob that initially looks nice but is downturned and feels really awkward... Once I figured a way to grab it, though, I was able to push through the rest. (Alacia pushed through the first pitch after some cursing and screaming, then let me finish off the second pitch.) We rapped off the wall and got to the base right around dusk. Good timing, and super fun!
