Me leading Triple S in 1998

Triple S
Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

I wrote the following a week after I did the climb in 1998:

This was to be the day for Triple S... I wasn't as psyched for it as I was the day before, but it had to be done. As we set up at the bottom, I tried to remember everything I had heard about it... Stem it out. Jam the crack. Bomber pro. Total sandbag. No harder than 5.7. Sustained. Lots of rests. Thinking about it, the only thing clear about the climb was that it ate pro. I would have to find the rest out for myself. I started up. I slung the first chockstone as a directional and continued up. So far so good. After a short way I had to pull past a bulge in the corner. Supposedly one of the cruxes, but it felt easy. I got a great stance above it, and was able to get my heels down to fully rest my calves. I was really worried about my calves giving out if the stemming was too sustained, so I rested for a while. Finally I headed up again. I really concentrated on using all the features on the two walls. I picked out stances well in advance. The left wall consistently had good handholds, the right wall was considerably smoother. On several occasions I was able to get my heels down to rest my calves. Before I knew it, I was at the overhanging final section. Huge jugs appeared everywhere. I placed a couple pieces close together and headed up. Before I knew it, I was staring at the bolts a few feet above me. I realized that at least 15 feet of space was between me and my last piece - the climbing was so solid I hadn't bothered to place pro. I quickly placed my #3 Camalot at knee level, and hopped up to the bolts.


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