Greg M - Summit's North Peak

Greg Summit's North Peak
Yep, Greg's first multipitch climb, first "official" summit at Seneca. We won't count Humphrey's Head on Sat. And his first official rappel off the mountain. Also, this was the first time I had ever climbed the North Peak so it was a great day all around. The sun was intense. Trust me, I was not complaining. I love the sun!
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North Peak - hiking summit

Hike up to North Peak
Okay, after some climbing and practice rappelling Greg, Michelle and I hiked up to the North Peak. I have never been up here and planned to climb up to this area with Greg the following day.
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Old Ladies and Marshall's Madness

Old Ladies and Marshall's Madness
I was afraid of loosing these photos - Michelle's Pentax is weird and is ruining her cards. Nevertheless, I was able to copy to my computer. This is one of many, but you will see Tina and Marty in the foreground preparing to do the 2nd pitch of "Old Ladies" and in the background, Liem and Jean on the 2nd pitch of Marshall's madness. This was Sat - great day!
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Michelle's First Outdoor Climb

Michelle Summits
I was not expecting Michelle to climb, but she decided to 2nd up Humphrey's Head and she made it to the summit! I was very impressed. Click the photo to get a better idea of where she is located. She was a bit nervous letting me let her down - it's just like in the gym, but the wall is not flat like in the gym. After some coaxing all was well.

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Seneca Memorial Weekend

Seneca Memorial Weekend 2006
Well, Jean, Liem and I missed Seneca last year, but we were out west climbing Devil's Tower and Super Crack. This year a group of 11 are heading for our annual climb-a-thon. The weather is going to be spectacular. I won't have the laptop with me will post photos in the Photo section of my website and on the trip section. Should be able to get some good video. I'm going to try to get Greg M to the summit on his first trip, just like Johnson did for me back in 2002. Oh yeah!!
Be safe everyone! And Go Michael Andretti at the Indy 500.
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Wednesday - Helping Hand

Helping Hand
Nothing like getting a helping hand from a fellow climber. :)
We didn't do that new route I mentioned earlier. I brought my 70m rope and Jean thought she had a 60, but her rope is barely 50m - if that. The rap beta didn't sound all that wonderful and since it was my first time to Smith the gang allowed me to do get some more routes in on Morning Glory and Dihedral. Alicia went and bought a new 60 so I think they'll hit the 5 pitcher on Friday with Genevieve. I agree with Matt's comment that this place is beautiful, but yeah, I do like the Gunks. Me, I fly home on Thursday. Oh joy - back to rainy Ohio.

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Tuesday - Morning Glory Wall

Morning Glory Wall
This was the last climb of the day. We have no idea what the route's name is, but we think it was a hard 8 or solid 9. I thought it was more like a 9. A little like the Red with the hueco's, but then turns into a slab type climb. Long and fun. Wednesday we're thinking of a new route called, Whereever I may roam, but we're not 100%. The rapping options do not sound particularly safe. Otherwise, the weather is going to be perfect. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday - Dihedral Wall

Tuesday - Dihedral Wall
We climbed a number of routes in this area on Tuesday. It was pretty fun just to do some short routes and get a few more of Smith's routes under my belt. We were close to a group of students so we didn't get to do a few more routes, but maybe Wednesday. It was great weather, too. Sun all day long.
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Tuesday - Liem leading Karate Crack 10a

Karate Crack
Liem did an awesome job leading this route. It is a kind of crooked Super Crack with a weird finish. You have to get to the top, traverse over - only hands and feet smearing and then get into a cave. The bolts are below you so you have to then climb down some. Jean and I TR'd it and it was fun and challenging.
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Monkey Rap

Monkey Rap
Nope, not a new dance/sound craze, but clearing something to catch you attention. Very airy! Kind of like the view when you jumared up the face.
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Jean Aiding Monkey Face

Jean aiding Monkey Face
I was able to get the photos to my laptop. Here' s Jean aiding up Monkey Face. She did well. She flew up that route too.
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In Monkey' Mouth

Monkey's Mouth - Monday
I just jumar'ed up the aid pitch. Man, talk about freaky. (Thank Johnson for lending me your tools!) Liem cleaned and so there was no longer any runners on the wall. After I tightened things up - I swung into the no man's land. Alicia said something to me and I said, "I'm kind of freakin' right now." But then I remembered my training (one of the trees in my back yard) and got up. It was tiring to say the least. I took good video of Alicia jumaring. She was fast. The final pitch of Monkey was wild on the first move. I thought it was harder than the faith move you have to do on High E. What do you think, Connie? Again, I plan to get photos of Jean on here and/or add to the Crackclimbing.com photo album. Liem and Jean did an AWESOME job today!
More to come!
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Smith Rock - Monday

Smith Rock - Monday May 8th
Monday - slightly overcast in the morning, but then mostly sunny. The first pitch of Monkey Face was in the shade and with the wind blowing it was cold. Jean and I took the 3rd and 4th position on the first pitch and by the time we were up we were in the sun. Liem lead all routes, but the Aid. Jean lead that and might I say, Very fast! I will get a picture of her climbing it later. Liem took the shot and I have it on my portable harddrive, but forgot the wire that hooks that to my computer so I can pull it off.
Tuesday and Wednesday is supposed to be warmer. You could see for miles today and see Mt. Jefferson, Hood and Mt. St. Helen and various other peaks.
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Smith Rock, OR - Monkey Face

Smith Rock - Monkey Face
Well, we're heading off to Smith Rock in the Redmond, OR area. One of the main routes we plan to climb is Monkey Face. As you can see in the small picture the rock appears to have a face. The larger photo is the backside. Not sure what we will climb first on Monday, but keep an eye on the blog for updates.
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