Seneca Rocks, West Virginia – May 1997
Climbs covered: Herpes, Streptococcus, Skoshi Go Ju, Isadora's Run, False Labor, Banana, Prune, Cast of Thousands Direct, Conn's East Direct, The Vision, Green Wall, Neck Press, Dirty Old Man, Rox Salt, Really Flaky, Lichen or Leave It, Seldom Seen, The Burn, Candy Corner, Dufty's Popoff, Le Gourmet Direct, Crispy Critter, Ecstasy, Bee Sting Corner, Humphrey's Head, Ye God's and Little Fishes, Easy Skankin', Old Ladies Route
The following is a rough account of my month of 4-day weekends at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. I am typing this from memory a few weeks after the fact, so details are a little blurry, and dates are ignored.
In March, when I accepted a job offer, I made sure that I wouldn't be starting until June. The current school term ended at the end of April, and I wanted a month off to relax and climb before plunging into the "real world". My friend Mark was due back from a co-op job at the beginning of May, and we were both eager to spend some serious time on the rocks. As Mark was new to multi-pitch trad, I would be doing the leading. The goal was to have Mark start leading by the end of the month.
The weekend before Mark returned, I ended up at Seneca after a few days on the road. I had agreed to meet my friend Phil there. The weather really wasn't on our side, and our climbing was limited to toproping and the like up on the North Peak East Face. Actually, our first climb was Herpes(7). Phil headed up it on lead, but soon decided that it was too early in the season for him to lead this pumpy route. So I roped up, slightly tentative because this was the same level as my previous hardest trad lead. However, I had spent the previous month or so bouldering around and working out, so I felt relatively strong.
The climb ended up being an arm-burner for me. The fact that I had a little trouble with the pro (first-lead-of-the-year-uncoordination) didn't help matters. Nonetheless, I made it up the vertical to slightly overhanging start to the large ledge below the roof. It was at this point that I chickened out. I decided, after climbing up and down from the roof, that a fall would result in me crashing into the ledge. I just traversed left, and went up the outside corner, perfectly happy to bypass the apparent crux in the interest of spending my free month on the rocks instead of in crutches. Phil cleaned the route easily, and then we set up Streptococcus(9) for a top-rope. I was first up, and cruised up it fairly easily. This climb is really nice. The crux for me is a sort of high step to the left with a left handed side pull to reach a big hold with my right hand up high. I think a shorter person would have to find an intermediate hold somewhere, but then again a short person would probably have smaller hands and be able to more fully utilize the thin diagonal crack the crux follows. Once again, Phil did the climb nicely. He was really pleased about this as the last time he tried it he had to hang from the rope to rest in a couple places.
I had set up the top rope with anchors over adjacent climbs. We draped one end of the rope down over Strepto, and the other end hung down over Skoshi Go Ju(10c). I tied in for Skoshi, and headed up. This climb is squeezed in between Strepto and Isadora's Run(3). It almost seems kind of contrived, like certain holds within reach are off route. I did my best to just go straight up, and I think I was successful. Either way, I made it up without a fall, and was very pleased. The crux for me was standing up on the small horizontal seam before the blank looking section. The blank section is dead vertical with a few small holds on it. A bigger hold up above is just rounded enough and colored right to be nearly invisible from below. I enjoyed it - I was pleased with my anchor setup that allowed us to do both climbs without re-rigging.
Phil passed on Skoshi, and instead decided to lead Isadora's Run(3). He led it nicely, and I cleaned it. I have always said that this is the toughest 5.3 I have ever been on. It is definitely a rough lead for a beginner, because of the difficulty and awkward moves coupled with the fact that there is a lot to crash into in the event of a fall.
I still had some energy, so I decided to do Strepto again, but this time I wanted to place gear as I climbed, just for practice. It went well, but for some reason I went to far left at the crux and popped off. I grabbed the rock, and went the correct way, and easily made it, albeit with pumped arms. I really concentrated on getting pro in reasonable intervals, and was pleased with the result. I took the pro out on the way down, and most of it was solid. I decided that I definitely wasn't ready to lead at that level yet, however. Once I got to the bottom, I decided to head up Skoshi one last time for good measure. I fell at the crux, after going a different way than before, but did it after I got back on the rock.
This all took place on a Thursday. I didn't climb again until Sunday, when I found myself back at the same spot with Phil. This time, my only climb was False Labor(10c), a climb similar to Skoshi, but to the left of Strepto. I made it fairly comfortably first try. This is another contrived one to top-rope - it can be made as easy as 5.7 and as hard as you would like.
I woke early Friday morning to the sound of rain, packed up, and picked Mark up at his apartment. We were on the road around 5:30, destination: Seneca. Mark had arranged his class schedule in such a way that he has class Tuesday through Thursday. A true visionary. The weather was crappy the whole way down. We got to the lot at the rocks, and sat around. There was a slight break in the fast moving clouds, so we headed up with the intention to stay on routes it would be easy to bail from. We ended up at Banana(6), a climb we had done together in 40-degree weather last November. I led up past the occasional loose block, anchored to the tree, and put Mark on belay. I then looked out over the mountains, and saw a large dark cloud coming in. Mark saw it, and decided to go for it. He was about half way up when the rain started. After spending some time at the reachy last move, he made it to my ledge, and we rapped down. We put our rain gear on, and on the walk out agreed that Banana really doesn't have a whole lot going for it, and even less in lousy weather.
Back in the lot, we sat around some more. It stopped raining, and dried up, so we decided to head on up again. We got on Prune(7), a climb with a rep. Someone is always getting hurt on this climb, for some reason. Not us this day. I led up the first pitch, a 5.5ish climb that a lot of people find hard to protect. Mark cleaned it, and then I headed up the second pitch. This was my first 5.7 lead a year ago, so I remembered it pretty clearly. The crux is a nice left leaning crack - I jammed through it much smoother than I had done previously. This is a great pitch simply because it starts a hundred feet off the ground, it is vertical, and the crux is a super clean hand crack right near the top. I anchored to the tree, and Mark cruised right up it - on these first few climbs I was spouting beta and reminding him to concentrate on his feet and to use his legs for upward progress. Directly in line with this pitch is a large flake that I assumed was the third pitch. I led up this, moved right, headed up another corner, and stopped at a tree. Mark followed - he had a little trouble because he didn't lie-back the flake at the bottom. Upon consulting the guidebook, we saw that this pitch was not mentioned in Tony Barnes' current book, but it is listed as a 5.7 variation in the previous Webster book. Why did Tony omit this? This pitch was directly in line with the previous two pitches, and it makes sense to me that it should be mentioned.
By this time it was super windy. We climbed over to Conn's West, and then I led up the gully. At the top of the huge chockstone I climbed the crack on the left wall for a little variety. Up at the top it was even windier, so we ruled out heading to the summit. I belayed Mark as he downclimbed to the Summit Ledge, and then I did the same - not too smart in retrospect - we were higher off the ledge than I thought. Looking back, we should have just rapped down the nasty gully towards the top of the Critter Wall...
We rapped from the Traffic Jam Chimney (no one else that day!), then down Front C (trying as usual to find the holds on Ronin(12d)), then down from the Le Gourmet tree. Once on the ground, I top roped back up to the rap anchor on Cast of Thousands Direct(9) - something I always wanted to do but never could because of the crowds. We then called it a day...
Saturday was all rain, so we just walked around. We met up with Phil who was down for trail work. We made plans meet that evening, and climb the next day.
Sunday dawned bright and clear. We met Phil, and headed up the rocks. By some stroke of luck, we ended up leading the charge to Broadway Ledge - and thus beat everyone there. I had my sights set on Conn's East Direct(8). It seemed to be a good climb to break into 5.8 leading with, because the guidebook said "the first few (crux) moves are quite committing." I deduced that the climb got easier higher up.
Upon reaching the climb, the description looked applicable, so that was it. We sorted gear, and I roped up. After placing a directional around a large boulder at the base, I started up. I soon realized that I was correct in my guess that the bottom 15 feet or so would be tough to protect. I spent a while hanging onto a small stance trying to get my pink tri-cam to stay put. It finally did, so I moved up a bit higher - basically though the crux, and got a much better piece to stay put. Now, with my feet 10 or 15 feet off the ground, I had essentially just free-soloed my first 5.8 leading. I climbed up to a two-bolt rap anchor, and clipped it. From here, I followed a steep corner (the second crux for me) until it ended after 15 feet or so. The rest of the pitch was just an exercise in controlling rope drag, which I did fairly well on. I anchored into the two-bolt rap anchor at the base of Alcoa Presents. This ledge totally rules. If you are ever at Seneca, you simply have to stop here. As far as belay ledges go, this one gets an A+.
Mark headed up, after getting beta from another climber at the bottom. He cleaned the bottom half, but back-clipped the top half to protect Phil on the traversing zigzag climbing. Phil had trouble at the crux due to his heavy pack that he was carrying. He ended up tying in with a figure eight on a bight, and tying his pack into the end of the rope. He then climbed through the crux, and hauled his bag up after him. From there, he smoothly did the rest of the pitch. When he got to our ledge, he was pretty spent, and told me the next lead was all mine.
I settled on The Vision(6). This rarely done pitch is to the right of Alcoa Presents. It is totally vertical, and thus tough to see exactly where it goes from below. However, I figured I would just follow the big holds, so I headed up. I followed a dirty crack with a lot of loose crap in it up to the right. From there, it went back left. About halfway along I went straight up another crack through a bulge - a variation listed in the book as a 5.7. I anchored in at the top of Alcoa, very pleased with the lead. After a rather cheap feeling 5.8 first pitch, I was pleased with this serious 5.6. Lots of loose rock, no chalk trail, route finding problems, exposure, decent pro. It had it all. If this route was more traveled, I think it would be in much better condition, and would be a flat out excellent pitch. Of course, it is also possible that the rock really is as crappy as it looks on the surface, and the whole thing is ready to fall. Anyway, Mark climbed up next cleaning everything but a couple directionals. He really enjoyed it. I dropped a loop of rope to Phil, and he tied his pack onto it, and we hauled it up to our belay. Phil was thus free to enjoy the climbing, which he did.
From there, Phil led/scrambled left to the summit. We took a break, enjoyed the view, munched, stretched out, and then headed down. After rapping Conn's West, we headed to Green Wall(7). Phil had already led every pitch, and I really wanted to lead the second pitch, so Phil headed up the first on lead. Mark was next, cleaning as he went. I found this pitch difficult - I felt uncomfortable on a top rope on a multi-pitch climb. I was so accustomed to leading at this point that it was really awkward to get used to climbing with the rope stretching off above me. Weird, but true.
Once I got up to the ledge and racked up, I was psyched for one of the more impressive looking pitches at Seneca. This huge corner ascends the middle of the West Face of the South Peak. I had seconded it 2.5 years ago on my second trip to Seneca, wearing Converse All Stars and with rain falling in the parking lot but not on the rocks. I had been looking forward to leading this pitch for a long time.
I think I had built it up too much in my mind, cause it wasn't all that great. Don't get me wrong, it is still an excellent pitch, but over the past couple years I had made it more than it was. The crack between the corner and the wall was wider than I remembered it. The exposure is great. The crux is an exciting bulge. I clipped into a fixed #11 Stopper that Phil was able to retrieve. Mark got that as a memento. The first time I did this climb, my leader gave me a #5 Stopper he was able to retrieve - I still have it - a keepsake from the day that I decided that I really liked climbing. The alcove where I set up the belay really sucks. It is just strewn with rubble, and nothing is comfortable to sit on or secure enough to anchor into. I was finally able to construct a decent anchor out of 2 Camalots and two tri-cams, but it was a real pain in the ass. Mark and Phil did the pitch no problem, and Phil led on to the summit, for the second time that day (a first for me.) I was the last to downclimb from the summit, thus getting the chance to stand on top alone, something which on a typical day two people get to do at Seneca.
As we were walking out in the approaching dark, Mark noticed some quick-draws hanging off to the side of Prune. We debated retrieving them - it would have been easy enough - but decided against it because we figured it would be too easy, and someone probably left them there on purpose. Phil had to head home that night, but Mark and I were going to stick around and climb Monday morning before heading home.
In the morning, we hiked up to the start of Neck Press(7), our goal for the morning. A quick check revealed that the gear was still hanging there over by Prune. We decided to give whoever it belonged to another chance to get it, so we roped up for our climb. This climb follows a dihedral/corner up a steep face. I found the going difficult, but I was very pleased with all of my pro as I placed it. After much thought at one point, I figured out the proper contortions to get me past the crux, and climbed on up to the two-bolt anchor. I was very pleased with this lead, as it was definitely difficult for me, and I protected it very well. I tend to find corners more difficult than faces, maybe because they require more technique. This one required everything I had. I was sure Mark was going to fall as I put him on belay and made sure I had a comfortable stance to hold his weight. He surprised me by cruising right on up it. He found it strenuous, but had no trouble with the stemming and jamming required. We talked a bit, and he decided that he finds that sort of climbing easier than face climbing, in that respect we are complete opposites.
I then led up the second pitch, which was more of the same stemming corner hand jamming as before, but this time it was a little more straightforward. The guidebook mentions a weird off-width section, which is a pretty accurate description. It protects fine with standard sized gear, but proved to be the crux of the pitch for me. From the top of this pitch we rapped down. I was able to retrieve a piece that Mark had to leave behind on the second pitch.
It was around noon by the time we touched ground, and we were certain that one of the groups we had heard go by must have gotten the gear off Prune. I put my Tevas on, and strolled over, surprised to see the draws still hanging there. I decided that if gear is still there 17 hours after first seeing it, it is fair game. I traversed in from the right along a ledge, removed to two stoppers and quickdraws, and was surprised to see two more quickdraws over to the left on Prune proper. I was even more shocked to see an ATC lying at my feet. So I picked it up and went back over to Mark, and explained that we were roping up for Prune. Booty fever had set in, and there was no stopping us.
Just to be sporting about it, I climbed up to the gear in my Tevas. The first quickdraw was clipped into the fixed pin visible from the ground. I clipped the rope through this, and climbed up to the next piece. Using my nut-tool, I was able to remove the Stopper and the connected quickdraw. I downclimbed to the piton, still on belay, and took that quickdraw. Since I had no other pieces in, I just untied the rope, and exited along the ledge to the right.
We found out later that there had been an accident. Some French speaking folks had been on the climb, off route, and the leader fell and required rescue. I deduced from the bright shiny brand new stoppers and well-worn 6" quickdraws that these were "lost sport-weenies." Rumor had it the guy wasn't hurt too bad, which was good to hear.
After three rest days, Mark and I headed back on down early Friday morning. Driving east from Elkins, we noticed that the top half of all the mountains looked rather white. When the road reached that level, it turned out that there was indeed an inch or two of snow on the ground. Our hopes for good climbing sank a bit, but we continued on. We reached the lot as the sun was poking through the clouds, and headed up the rocks. We walked up to Luncheon Ledge, and swung around the backside to Broadway Ledge. Our goal was Dirty Old Man(6). The first pitch of this climb is one of my favorite 5.6's at Seneca. It follows a large left facing flake to a ledge. The second pitch isn't as nice, but it puts you on the Summit Ledge, and is an easy way to the top.
This was the fourth time I had done this climb, and it went easily enough. It helps to have a couple bigger pieces for the flake after the arching lower section. Try to save a #3 Camalot and a #10 or #11 Hex for the top part. I have always placed two pieces in the top part, but other people might want to place more. Another note here - the Barnes' guidebook is totally wrong about the second pitch. At the top of the first pitch you have two options. The first is to belay at the tree. From here, climb up and right to a right facing corner for the second pitch. Or, you can belay farther to the right at a bolt anchor. It is kind of hidden until you get to it. From this point, you need to go up and left to the right facing corner. Tony got it all mixed up in the guidebook, and there are a couple other corners there that can cause confusion.
The second pitch was uneventful, and we decided to skip the summit and just rap down from there. Back on Broadway ledge, we headed north, and scrambled down the ledges to the ground. We headed up to the North Peak, with our eyes on Rox Salt(7). I had really enjoyed this climb and the second pitch of Really Flaky(7) when I did them with Phil a couple years ago. Rox Salt is a right leaning crack that ends at a bolt anchor. I climbed it without incident, and decided that it wasn't as great as I remembered. I anchored into the two bolts, and belayed Mark up with a Munter Hitch off of a direct belay. From here, Really Flaky heads straight up to an overhanging flake. The crux is an undercling out to the left (no footholds), and then reach up and left to good holds. It is exciting, but the rest of the pitch isn't that great. It obviously isn't that well traveled. In addition, setting up an anchor at the top was difficult. It took a while, but I finally got one I knew would work. Mark easily made it up to my high point. From here, we scrambled up the obvious chimney, passing a small snake along the way. We kept working north and were soon on the familiar North Peak summit. We walked on down the backside again, looking for another climb to do.
I settled on Lichen or Leave It(8). I was feeling pretty good after the previous climbs, and decided to go for my first "real" 5.8 lead. I roped up, and began climbing. The bottom part is rather run out 5.6ish climbing - I would grade the climb 5.8R. However, after angling left up to a tree, I set a good directional, and started up the right tending cracks. This is a great pitch. The rock is very clean white well-weathered (not sharp) rock. I really enjoyed it. I took my time and got a bomber piece in very six to eight feet or so. I had been a little nervous before heading up, but I just reminded myself to get a new piece in when the previous piece was around my ankles or feet, and not to move up unless it was bomber. The climbing was great. I was especially pleased with the crux move – a fun side-pull, weight shift, and reach. At the top I set up a gear anchor in the corner, and looked on down to Mark. I felt *so* good about this lead. The bottom was runout to the tree, but then my pro was in almost perfectly spaced intervals up the crack for 60 feet to the ledge. I got such a feeling of satisfaction from looking at my handiwork, I can't really explain it. If you place gear when you climb, maybe you have felt the same way after looking down a lead that was pushing your envelope.
When he reached our ledge, Mark and I rapped down. Our 165' rope was just a bit short, but we just downclimbed from the small ledge without incident.
The next day turned out to be rather dreary and rainy. We headed up to the cave on the South End with the idea that Mark could practice placing pro. Tony Barnes was there with a couple clients, and we all chatted a bit and placed pro. After a couple hours, we headed on down. We ended up hiking around. Then all of a sudden it got nice out, so we grabbed some gear and headed over to the Lower Slabs. We ended up setting up a top rope on Seldom Seen(7). Some guy had a girl with him on Scuttle, which I have always called the toughest 5.5 at Seneca. The girl was obviously a beginner, and she just flailed away, but finally made it up. In the time she was on the climb, Mark and I set up the top rope, climbed the 70' climb, and broke it down. Scuttle is only about 50' high. This is just to give you an idea of just how much of a beginner this girl was. These two turn up a little later...
From there, we made the mistake of bushwhacking, and eventually ended up at the bottom of Banana. From here we walked all the way back down to the lot, and picked up the lead gear (the weather had continued to improve.) We decided on The Burn(8), because the approach was the shortest of any climb except Ecstasy.
Since my previous 5.8 lead had gone so well, I was pretty confident about this climb. Since Jeff Burns did the first ascent, I guessed that is where the name of the climb came from. So I headed on up. The bottom half wasn't anything special. I ran it out for 20 feet or so through an easy corner, and then reached a small roof. I placed a couple pieces, and easily pulled through it. From here, the climb is dead vertical, with clean cracks running through it. I got pro in regularly, but at one pint I had a little trouble with the flaring crack. I had a lousy stance, and I could feel my feet slipping. On top of that, my left hand wasn't as securely jammed as I would have liked. As I fiddled with the pro, I started to grow more and more desperate. My calves were just *screaming* and I my left forearm was on fire. I finally got a piece to stay, and tried moving up. My feet were skating, and all style went out the window. I just scrapped my way up to a good stance, and recovered as I got another piece in. From here it was a short hop to the ledge. To put it simply, I found out the real reason for the name of the route. Mark, however, climbed right up after me without incident. We teamed up with another group and rapped back to the ground and called it a day.
Sunday dawned with a clear sky and warm temperatures. We got an early start to beat the crowds to one of the most popular beginner spots – Candy Corner(5). This is a great 5.5 pitch, and it was also my first "real" lead almost two years ago to the day. It has two cruxes, and is definitely a tough climb for the grade.
However, today it was merely an approach pitch for our true objective - Dufty's Popoff(7R). The guidebook says that the "R" results from the easy unprotected face over the crux roof. This climb starts about 80 feet off the deck, and heads right to a corner. There are a ton of nasty old pins here. I clipped one or two of the less rusted ones, mostly as directionals. From here, the climb heads straight up the corner, which narrows down to a large flake by the time it reaches the 4' roof. The roof is about 50' up the pitch. I easily made it there, and tried to get a rest stance while I placed some gear. I was a little too tall to be comfortable though, so I just decided to go for it. As I reached up to the right and found a huge bucket, I was aware of the incredible exposure. This crux is really out there! I reached up with my left hand and found another bucket. I was totally hanging out now, I shifted right a little bit. I danced my feet around. I chalked my right hand. I chalked my left hand. Heel hook pose. Quick drop knee. I glanced down to the road just barely visible through the trees below. Damn! No beautiful women gawking at my heroics. Damn! Damn! I pulled through the roof, placed a hex, and ran it out twenty feet, muttering to myself about how I should take up bolt clipping down at the New River Gorge, cause Seneca just doesn't have the chicks. I slung a rock horn, and ran it out another twenty feet to the top.
What a great climb! I loved it! Definitely be comfy at 5.7, cause it is a serious 5.7. I'm sure a better climber would be bored on it, but for a climber leading at the 5.7-5.8 level, this route absolutely kicks ass. Just don't let rope drag get you on the run out top part. I anchored to the big tree with a figure eight on a bight, and then clove hitched to a second smaller tree, and belayed Mark on up. He fell at the roof with a "Shit!" that echoed across Roy Gap and got the guys on the portaledge on the Southern Pillar to look. After swinging back onto the rock, he easily made it his second try. Flat out my favorite 5.7 at Seneca.
At this point, it was noon or so, so we still had a lot of climbing ahead of us. We headed to Le Gourmet Direct(6), and up I went. This climb involves a lot of stemming and the like, and the guidebook description is very fitting. I used to think Critter Crack was the toughest 5.6 at Seneca, but now I think Le Gourmet Direct is. I ran out of runners (I placed 16 total, including two shoulder slings) 3/4 of the way up, and ran it out over easy ground to the top. Mark really enjoyed this pitch, cause it suited his style well. We now had the summit in our sights, so we headed to Crispy Critter(7). This pitch proved unmemorable for me. Mark found an old stopper on the ledge at the top that he easily recovered.
From here we scrambled up to the summit, and teamed up with two guys for the descent. The descent was marred by a lengthy wait because the two people we saw on Scuttle the previous day were on West Pole(7+). This guy is obviously an idiot. He needed a belay slave, so he got this girl to go, set her up with a gri-gri, got her to hack her way up Scuttle, and then thought they should go do West Pole!?!? So, of course she was stuck at the roof (do in part to a locker that the dude locked while it was weighted, thus *really* locking it.) After about a half of an hour of coaching, the leader accepted the obvious solution. He lowered her back to the ledge, and rapped down and cleaned his own gear. Another group brought his fixed rope down. I guess he got his lead of West Pole, though. I rapped to the ground. Thankfully the girl didn't get hurt.
On Friday we headed back on down bright and early, hoping to get a jump on the Memorial Day Weekend crowds. We arrived, and decided on Ecstasy(7). Neither Mark nor I had ever done it, and we wanted to see what all the hoopla was about. There was no one on it when we got there, so we headed up. A scramble up through a chimney leads to a ledge at the base of a steep wall with nice cracks. At the top of this was a roof that I set up a belay at. Mark soon joined me. The second pitch traverses right and then up, tending right across the face. Route finding would be challenging, except for all the chalk. I set up a gear anchor at the group of fixed pins, and once again Mark arrived shortly. This climb had great exposure, especially at this point. From here, I climbed right again, and then up over bulges for an exciting but easy finish.
If I was writing the guidebook, my route description would be as follows: "Begin at the bottom of the prominent Ecstasy Buttress. Follow chalk to top." This route is a regular highway at Seneca, for several good reasons.
We had lunch on Luncheon Ledge, and then we headed down and around to the start of Skyline Traverse, the first pitch of which was to be an approach to our real objective. This pitch was easy and uneventful. From the top of this (the same spot as the start of Dufty's Popoff), we did the first pitch of Kauffman-Cardon. This dirty and generally worthless pitch put us at the base of our objective - Bee Sting Corner(7). This left facing corner overhangs slightly the whole way, and looked really intimidating. Up I went. I really had to work hard on this. A lot of stemming and liebacking and jamming. I placed pro at regular intervals, in large part cause I was scared not to, even though my arms were pumping out. I finally reached the top, and looked straight down to see Mark, despite the fact that I traversed right 15 feet or so at the start to gain the corner. I was very pleased with this lead – definitely a tough 5.7 for me. Mark, however, ran right up it, totally in his element.
After a rest, we hopped over to Luncheon Ledge again. Mark felt ready for his first lead, so he racked up at the base of Humphrey's Head, and went on up. He placed a series of bomber pieces as he worked his way up to the roof, then left around it. The climbing was 5.4ish, and I was pleased to reach the summit of this pinnacle, a spot I had not yet been to at Seneca. After rapping down, we called it a day, both of us feeling very pleased about the whole day.
The next day, we headed to Ye God's and Little Fishes(8), another popular climb that we managed to beat the traffic to. I had done this climb twice before. The first time was a year ago, when I seconded it. I found it impossible at that time, and had to pull on pro to get up it. Last fall I top-roped it, and cruised right up it. I felt ready to lead it, although I was a little intimidated. The first pitch ascends a bulgy crack filled steep corner for 80 feet. I wasn't very happy as I led it, and never got comfortable. It was just tough climbing for me. I wasn't doing the moves on lead the same as I did them on top rope, and I thus made it tougher on myself. Finally I reached the anchor, and put Mark on belay. Since it was a corner, he of course ran right up it, thus psychologically beating the crap out of me. The second pitch is a fun arching flake up a corner. This was much easier for me, and a lot of fun. Mark found it enjoyable too. I had my sights set on Easy Skankin'(9-), a 50' wall with five evenly spaced bolts in it on the left side of the Skyline Traverse gully, which was where Ye God's ends up.
I had also done this pitch before seconding, with one fall down low at the crux. This time around I was lot more confident, because it was a climb that suited my strengths (and also fit Mark's weaknesses well, I observed with petty satisfaction.) So I headed up, and soon found it tougher than I remembered. The entire climb is 8ish and very sustained. The face is perfectly vertical and well featured with many small bumps, the vast majority of which are no good as holds. A complete lack of a chalk trail makes things even more interesting. I worked the rest stances for everything I could, but by the time I reached the top, my arms were absolutely burning. I used a direct belay off the bolt anchor again, along with a Munter Hitch. After extensive testing by Mark as he seconded, I can personally attest to the fact that Munter Hitch does indeed work.
We were both pretty well worked over (big wuss factor) at this point. We ended up at Luncheon Ledge for lunch again, and then just sat around over by Triple S(8+), which had been my goal. I just wasn't feeling on, and we were feeling sort of lazy, so we just sat around. Presently we realized someone was rope soloing way above us on Black Mamba(12a). Since we couldn't see him, we just hung out. Suddenly we heard a "Shit!" and some clanking gear and realized he had fallen and was now hanging from his Soloist. After getting back on the rock, he was able to work his way over to a ledge and bolt anchor. A couple of raps later, he was at the base with us chatting. He asked us what we were doing and I said "Not climbing Triple S" and explained how I was a wuss and burned out, etc etc. He had some words of encouragement ("You have the strength of 10 mortal men, I can tell just by looking at you") and generally made fun of me before going off and rope soloing Breakneck Direct(10b).
Mark led the first pitch of Old Ladies(2). Mark's placements were very secure, and I'm afraid that soon he'll be outleading me. After that, we downclimbed, and headed for dinner.
Monday dawned very cloudy, and the downpour started as we got to the parking lot. We turned around, and drove back to Pittsburgh, through rain the whole way, thus ending my May at Seneca.