Ryebrye
07-18-2009, 09:31 PM
Just got back from Maple Canyon.
There are some very nice multi-pitch routes down there. One of them is a good warm-up route for multi-pitch rope management / etc called "Changing The Stripes" - a 5.6 route with 50, 90, and 100ft pitches - just did that one. Signed the summit log and we were only the 5th ascentionists (pretty cool) - The route was put up this May.
"Changing the stripes" is ridiculously well protected. (We're talking bolts after almost every move.) There is plenty of room on a wall to the left of the second pitch for some more slightly more difficult routes - I could see at least 3 or 4 more obvious routes that I would want to do. (Anyone have a battery-powered bolt gun?)
Bushwacking to the route sucks, but it's not that long.
The other one we started was Grecian Highway - a 5.9 2 pitch route. The first pitch says it's 60m but we had at least 4 meters left of rope (but safe to say it's more than 50m). When Chris got to the top of that first pitch, we started to hear some thunder.
I quickly followed him and cleaned the route with another 60m rope tied into the back of my harness. Rather than risk lightning strikes, we rapped off after the first pitch. That was a good decision - right as I got to the ground it started to rain fairly hard on us. Being stuck on top of a huge cliff with a lot of metal gear in the middle of a thunderstorm isn't probably the best idea.
(btw: it's 21 bolts to the chain... that's a lot of quickdraws - and it would benefit you greatly to use super long slings on almost all of the first half of it because of extreme rope drag when you get up to the top)
Maple canyon looks amazing from the top of one of those long routes. It almost looks like a mini Zion when you look down canyon. I've driven and hiked around Maple canyon many many times... but seeing it from the top of one of those routes puts the different climbing areas into perspective.
There are some very nice multi-pitch routes down there. One of them is a good warm-up route for multi-pitch rope management / etc called "Changing The Stripes" - a 5.6 route with 50, 90, and 100ft pitches - just did that one. Signed the summit log and we were only the 5th ascentionists (pretty cool) - The route was put up this May.
"Changing the stripes" is ridiculously well protected. (We're talking bolts after almost every move.) There is plenty of room on a wall to the left of the second pitch for some more slightly more difficult routes - I could see at least 3 or 4 more obvious routes that I would want to do. (Anyone have a battery-powered bolt gun?)
Bushwacking to the route sucks, but it's not that long.
The other one we started was Grecian Highway - a 5.9 2 pitch route. The first pitch says it's 60m but we had at least 4 meters left of rope (but safe to say it's more than 50m). When Chris got to the top of that first pitch, we started to hear some thunder.
I quickly followed him and cleaned the route with another 60m rope tied into the back of my harness. Rather than risk lightning strikes, we rapped off after the first pitch. That was a good decision - right as I got to the ground it started to rain fairly hard on us. Being stuck on top of a huge cliff with a lot of metal gear in the middle of a thunderstorm isn't probably the best idea.
(btw: it's 21 bolts to the chain... that's a lot of quickdraws - and it would benefit you greatly to use super long slings on almost all of the first half of it because of extreme rope drag when you get up to the top)
Maple canyon looks amazing from the top of one of those long routes. It almost looks like a mini Zion when you look down canyon. I've driven and hiked around Maple canyon many many times... but seeing it from the top of one of those routes puts the different climbing areas into perspective.