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Location: AZ : West Clear Creek : Anti-Crag : Symmetry (5.10d)
By: Joel Hickok When: Oct 19, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Please consider indicating what type of gear you recommend. These sizes look like Black Diamond, but you never know.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Arches : Tonka Tower : Tonka Tower (5.8 A0)
By: Joel Hickok When: Oct 28, 2005 | view comment >> |
Comments: Finally got back to top out this route. Something that I missed before, or was added since: a drilled angle at the top of the pillar before the huge pin. I equalized a #1 camalot to this angle for the belay. Anyway, this tower was easier without snow! French free climbing the bolt ladder was fun and the mandatory free moves to the top after the second bolt are very fun! Free climbing the last two bolts on lead would be hard and scary for me, but I can see how on TR it might go at 10+.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : The Optimator : Soul Fire (5.11-)
By: Joel Hickok When: Oct 21, 2005 | view comment >> |
Comments: Extra advice: you might want a #2 friend or green camalot at the top... or both.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : 4X4 : 4 x 4 (5.10d)
By: Joel Hickok When: Jun 28, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: whatever the grade of this "really" is, if you do this climb it goes from 2" crack, to 3" crack, to 3.5" crack", to 4" crack and then 4" crack out the roof. if 4" cracks are rattly fists for you, 5.10+ might be a sandbag.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : Reservoir Wall : Excuse Station (5.11)
By: Joel Hickok When: Jun 6, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: One 60m rope barely got me to the ledge at the base of the route. It's very very close, but just makes it.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : The Bridger Jacks : Powders of Persuasion (5.11)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 24, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: Great route. Climbed it on 5/23/04. Lots of more moderate climbing. Sandy and a little loose 2nd pitch in the chimney. Loose top out pitch. Helmet would be good. Fixed pin partway up the enduro corner of the 3rd pitch. Could be broken up into 2 pitches. Watch the rope on 2nd rappel. My gear recommendation is simply my opinion. Conserve gear on the 3rd pitch or you might run out.
Recommended gear for this route:1 x Blue TCU -or- 1/2" piece2 x Yellow TCUs -or- 3/4" pieces1 x Orange TCU ... more >>
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Sand Flats : Elvis's Hammer : Hormones in Waiting (5.10)
By: Joel Hickok When: Mar 18, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: In regards to the previous comment: are you sure you're not referring to the route on the other side (south) of the tower? The route Hormones in Waiting (on the north side) really did seem like the difficulty was 5.10. Who cares anyway.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : Scarface : Desert Sunset (5.11)
By: Joel Hickok When: Mar 18, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: Of course grading at Indian Creek can sometimes be very silly. It might be nice if you could submit routes for Indian Creek without a rating. Then there would be no issues of how a climb is graded. It'll be amusing when the new guide book comes out and zillions of people complain that something is graded wrong. Hopefully folks will remember how not all of us have identical bodies.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Dunn Copeland (5.7 R)
By: Joel Hickok When: Aug 23, 2003 | view comment >> |
Comments: Great boulder problems are all over this flake. I can't believe it's even considered a route though. Cameron Burns falsely claims two first ascents on this pee-wee flake / boulder problem (in the Bjornstad book). This was soloed (probably by several people) before his "first ascent" in 1990.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Another Roadside Distractio... (5.10b)
By: Joel Hickok When: Aug 23, 2003 | view comment >> |
Comments: This description calls for a very liberal use of gear. The route can be led by a 5.10 climber with less than 1 set of cams. Look at the route yourself and make the call, but I'd hate to be weighed down by all the cams this description suggests. Isn't it much nicer to have simply a half dozen cams clipped to your harness? If you REALLY trust your gear, two solid placements in the finger crack should be quite sufficient. There is even a flare in the finger crack where you can get a hand size ... more >>
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : Donnelly Canyon : Binou's Crack (5.8)
By: Joel Hickok When: Sep 12, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: I can't figure out if that's a joke about the indians pecking "Binou's" or not.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : Battle of the Bulge Buttres... : Warm-up (5.8+)
By: Joel Hickok When: Sep 12, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Due to the widening nature of the crack, it is definitely a route to do if you're at Indian Creek and you only have one set of camming units. While waiting for friends (with friends) who were running late getting out of Moab, I managed this route with my meager set of units ... It's a VERY short route.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Indian Creek : Supercrack Buttress : Supercrack of the Desert (5.10)
By: Joel Hickok When: Sep 12, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: I think I felt like sneezing between the 26th and 27th move. I might be wrong.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Long Canyon : Maverick Buttress : Hot Toddy (5.10b)
By: Joel Hickok When: Sep 12, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: In his book, American Rock, the author Don Mellor brings up an important issue. Too many times these days a route might be described as "a 5.10" rather than "an excellent crack". Are you climbing to have fun, or to climb 5.HARD ? Today my girlfriend and I climbed two 5.8 routes... and that was fun ... even if I lead harder than that.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Arches : The Three Gossips : West Face (5.11)
By: Joel Hickok When: Sep 12, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: We made one rappel on double 60m ropes to get all the way back to our packs at ground level from the ledge between the Gossips' heads.
Excellent route! Hard to free the crux flared finger section. It wouldn't be so bad if you hadn't just completed the offwidth right before!
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Lucy in the Sky with Potash (5.10a)
By: Joel Hickok When: Aug 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Good route... fairly tricky crux. The crux can be done in a few different ways, but you'll find that out. Bring several TCUs, enough for the middle crux section, plus the crack stays thin after the crux. Definitely be nimble on the flake up higher.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : A Fistful of Potash (5.10-)
By: Joel Hickok When: Aug 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: This is a nice route, don't avoid this route if you're not a 5.10 leader. I've seen many beginner climbers lead this route fine. It feels more like 5.9.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Baby Blue (5.11a)
By: Joel Hickok When: Aug 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Excellent route. Fairly consistent climbing, but the route is pretty short. The rests are especially good in the middle section of the climb. There is one final rest at a small flared pod in the dihedral, then the crux is the last stretch to the anchors.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Steel Your Face (5.9+)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Some people like to say that a route might average out to 5.9+ if there are some easy moves and some harder moves. However, Kyle Copeland put SYF up, and he's no give away... he called the crux move 10a. So what if it is or isn't? It's pretty accurate if you want to say the whole route "averages" to 5.9.
What it true, is this is a damn good climb to improve your slab footwork or begin to lead.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Just Another Pretty Face (5.10a/b R)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Just Another Pretty Face is definitely a consistent slab climb. The 3 and 4th bolts are very delicate moves, but punch through as quickly as possible or you'll probably fall!
You're right, Steal Your Face is a much more moderate climb with more 5.8 and 5.9 than 5.10, but the Steal Your Face crux still could be safely called 5.10 ..... it's all a matter of opinion. With all the feet that slab has seen, some people claim it's getting harder each year as key hold and ledges get smoothed ... more >>
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Fisher Towers : Ancient Art : Stolen Chimney (5.10)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Here's an interesting piece of information:
Jimmy Dunn has done Ancient Art so many times, he now FREE SOLOS --and-- DOWNCLIMBS the route!
Keep that in mind next time you're rapping the route or aiding the bolt ladders.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : Flakes of Wrath (5.9+)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Classic route! Classic direct top rope! You can lead the direct line too, but better have your shit together. Of course the trucks are bothersome, but for instant cragging with quick access, it doesn't get much better than this. Try the Ice Cream Parlor for more peaceful moderate cragging, or the River Road Dihedrals.
Seems like you should only need one stopper (maybe two if you're nervous) at the thin section. The route protects very well. Only complaint... that damn poison ivy at th... more >>
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Potash Road : Wall Street : El Cracko Diablo (5.10a)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: The chimney desctiption above is the best and easiest way to climb the slot. Right shoulder in, right hand in the finger crack, back against wall, left foot bridged. It's a rest the whole way! Take a few minutes to boulder the slot and get the technique down.
For the upper section, it protects fairly well, but it is slightly awkward and powerful climbing. I always find myself bear hugging the pillar at some point because you lose the hand jams for your right hand.
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Long Canyon : Maverick Buttress : Hot Toddy (5.10b)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Why are people so hung up on grades? It's SO subjective. Who put up the first ascent? Were they tall? Short? Stocky? Thin? Did they have a big ego? Were they modest? All these things can affect what grade a climber slaps on her or his new route.
Also, the human body simply can have low energy or high energy days. Maybe this is based off what you ate/ drank (or didn't eat), or based off what you climbed in the last week.
Why bicker over this kind of thing. Why even take offens... more >>
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Location: UT : Moab Area : Fisher Towers : Ancient Art : Stolen Chimney (5.10)
By: Joel Hickok When: May 16, 2002 | view comment >> |
Comments: Here is my suggestion, but this may not work so well if you want to free the final bolt ladder:
Pitch 1 - Climb the easy 5th class and the bolt ladder. Pitch 2 - Climb the whole chimney AND climb past the anchors at the huge appealing belay ledge. Finish this pitch by climbing the crack and the 2nd bolt ladder. Pitch 3 - The corkscrew
This puts you at the sidewalk in 2 pitches. The rope drag on the pitch 2 could get bad, but I try not to use much gear in the chimney to eliminate the dra... more >>
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