Dennis, John and Jon and I were discussing various Pinns routes, their relative danger and fun levels, and which ones we'd done and had yet to do. A couple times I used the phrase "not on my 25 scariest Pinns routes list." So Dennis called me on it, he asked which routes were on my 25 scariest Pinns routes list. So I wrote them down.
It was a fun exercise - I hadn't even thought about several of the routes on the list for years. I also conceded that there were routes that I knew of that seemed scary too, but I hadn't done them and wasn't sure. I gave three examples of "hadn't done them" routes that I thought looked pretty damn scary (the climbs "Hate," "Discontent," and "Terminal Buttress - Last Ever Variation," all put up by none other than Mr. Mud himself).
So here's my list:
TOP FOUR SCARIEST LEADS AT PINNACLES (that I have done; not in any intentional order):
- 520.5. Seldom Seen Pinnacle - West Face 5.8 X (Take a rope, it'll make you feel like you're not free soloing. Besides, with a rope, if the second pitch leader falls, he might take the belayer with him. Did this with David Harden.)
- 854. Herchel Berchel 5.11a R (I had to be rescued from the third pitch of this the first time I tried it - thanks again Dennis. Did that first try with Robert Behrens. Then did it with Dennis - he led the crux pitch though. So I went back and led that pitch with Jennifer Wang. I've led all three pitches.)
- 0.5 Flake Don't Break 5.9+ (Will any of your gear hold a fall? Will any of your holds stay on the rock? Did this with Gavin Emmons.)
- 413. Needful 5.8 R (We joke about "kitty litter." On this one it's true. Total crap rock and total crap gear. For most of a rope length. I estimate that, while leading this, I knocked off a cumulative total of at least 100 pounds of rock. Did this with Robert Behrens.)
THE NEXT FOUR SCARIEST LEADS AT PINNACLES (that I have done; not in any intentional order):
- 828. Desperado Chute Out - Denny Colliver Direct 5.9 R (Start on an easier route, at a one bolt belay 200 feet up. But that one bolt is backed up by gear scattered between knobs at your feet. And then it's only one rope length to the top; I used a 75 meter rope and still had to brace myself among lodestones for the belay. With no anchor. Oh, and bonus, there's a bolt protecting that 75 meters of climbing. And yes, that's meters, not feet. Did this with Jeff Lane.)
- 822. Icarus 5.9 R A3 (It's hard to define why this one is scary - and yet it scared me a lot. The possible 40 to 50 foot lob off the 5.9 would be all air, and that's safe. The belay at the top of the second pitch is interesting. And, for Kevin, the aid was intricate and hard. Did this with Kevin Deweese.)
- 816. Pigeon Crack 5.6 X (it's really 5.8 X) (It took me three leads of this before I figured out that the climb has never gone further. That's a lot of kitty litter packed into 55 feet. Did this with David Harden and then Jim McConachie and then Kevin Deweese.)
- 792. The Arch - Up the Center 5.8 A3 (In a way this one is odd to be scared on/of. A leader is never more than 40 feet off a usually-sandy/soft creek bed. And yet, with a horrible, pivoting slamming-into-the-vertical-wall potential, and with 10 pitons driven straight up into a Pinnacles roof crack - six of those being knifeblades - I was exhausted, bathed in sweat and completely, utterly spent physically and mentally after this one. I did it with John Cook.)
THE NEXT 17 SCARIEST LEADS AT PINNACLES (that I have done; not in any intentional order):
- 450. Wild Turkey 5.10b R
- 780. Flies on a Pile 5.9 R
- 713. Premeditated 5.5 A3
- 642. Elephant Rock - Never Forget 5.10a R
- 798. Daedalus 5.8 R A1
- 455. Crap Chute 5.9 R
- 411. Needle's Eye 5.8 R
- 375. Outcast - South Face 5.6 R
- 345. Fear and Perspiration 5.10a R
- 340. Atlas Shrugs 5.9 R
- 327. Back of The Hand 5.6 R
- 329. Salathe - Wilts Bolt Variation 5.6 R
- 103. Gutter 5.10b R
- 86. Here Comes the Judge 5.11a R
- 55. The Embarrassment of Rich's 5.9+
- 637. Lonesome Bolt 5.6 R (Really 5.8 X)
- 9. Rollerball 5.9 R
