Smith Rock

Date: April 2004
Sent to washingtonclimbers@yahoogroups.com.
By Kristian Andaker
Photos from this and many other trips to Smith Rock here.

As usual when spring rolls around, people start getting that peculiar urge to go down to Smith Rock and peel off their finger tips. This past Friday, Jerry, Ed, Vlad, Adam, Karen, Emily, Jason and I got into different crag wagons to start the journey south.

Ed was trying out his new crag-mobile for the first time. It proved to be a worthy companion to Jerry’s crag-optimized white steed, reportedly sleeping three dirty climbers comfortably. The only drawbacks seem to have been Vlad’s incessant questions along the lines of “who in their right mind buys a car without cruise control?!”, and Adam’s successful attempt at waking everybody in the grasslands campgroup up by setting off the car alarm at 2am.

The focus of the trip was Jerry’s long-standing (as in: “several years”) project “Dreamin” (12a). The rest of us were running around climbing this and that out of the well known repertoire (Barbeque the Pope, 9 gallon buckets, Light the path, etc.) as well as a few new favorites (Catherine finds an Edge, Terry Bear’s Picnic, First Kiss). Jerry and I spent Saturday morning experiencing the amazingly cool exposure of Teddy Bear’s Picnic (2 pitches, 10a/10b). Each pitch is 90feet and the view downwards as you reach the arête on the second pitch makes this my (and many other’s) favorite 10b in the park.

Jerry then got on Dreamin after a warmup on John Galt Line (11b). With an audience of at least 10 people following his complete ascent, he cruised up the 11c section to the first roof, took the rest, continued confidently over the run-out 11a slab; only to peel off at the 2^nd room to everybody’s dismay. He kept working the route a bit on Saturday as Ed, Adam and Vlad headed over to First Kiss (as usual doing at least something that would have the rest of us slightly worried that there might be a night-epic on the horizon) and Karen, Emily and I did a few tours on Barbeque the Pope (10b). A few of us got a lesson in precision climbing as we spent some time watching local hero Mike work on Scarface (14a).

Ed, Adam and Vlad headed over to some restaurant after their First Kiss adventure, while the rest of us feasted on hot dogs and breakfast burritos by the fire at the camp site.

On Sunday, we got a few climbs in on Red Rock wall and the dihedrals before the clock turned towards 2pm: the time when Dreamin goes out of the sun and the grease-factor is reduced enough for Jerry to get into the zone. Jerry had rounded up Greg (a guy we seem to meet every time we go to Smith Rock :-)), Jason and a few others by the foot of the climb as he was making the first Sunday attempt. Even from afar, doing other routes, the rest of us were looking down towards the Scarface arête wondering what was going on by Dreamin just around the corner.

As usual, Jerry started out rock solid, nailing the 11c crimpy portion and got up on the first roof for the rest. He moved on comfortably on the 11a slab, working towards the 1st, 2nd and then 3rd bolt. Then the mental game started. Closing in on the 3rd clip, he was hesitating. As he started making a few moves downwards, anticipating and trying to shorten the fall (my hands are sweating as I write this :-)), he got one of the usual commands from the belayer to “shape up”! After a mental reset, Jerry was cruising again. He closed in on the 3rd clip, got it and proceeded towards the dreaded 2nd roof. As his hand closed on the flake for his left hand and his left foot came up in preparation for the reach out to the blind hold over the roof, he changed his normal sequence on a whim. It wasn’t until he had reached the blind hold above the roof that he repositioned his right foot and pulled himself up over the rim. I can only imagine the restraint it must have taken to not yell victory and fall right then and there. He didn’t utter a sound as he came up on the last stretch of crimpers. Moving slowly and controlled towards the last bolt and then up towards the anchors. Clipping into the anchors, the last trick of Dreamin came out. Rope drag kept the rope 1 inch from going onto the quickdraws on the anchor. With a last effort of sheer will, the rope got pulled up again, clipped in, and D-r-e-a-m-i-n w-a-s b-a-g-g-e-d!

We have a 12 climber in our midst people! :-) And it isn’t just any kind of 12 climber. It’s the kind of guy crazy enough to make Dreamin (a dreaded climb, even among people doing 12s regularly) his first 12 red point. Congratulations to Jerry!

After Jerry s victory, everybody packed their dirty bodies into our crag wagons again and headed home in the Oregon evening. My condolences to everyone who stayed home, missing out on a beautiful climbing weekend,