What is the longest, scariest runout you've had?

In descending order of memorable-ness:

Figures on a Landscape (P1/2), Joshua Tree.
Serenity Crack (P1), Yosemite Valley.
Solid Gold (P1/2), Joshua Tree.
Black Walk (P1), Eldorado Canyon.
New Toy, City of Rocks.

Black Walk was probably scariest, with Figures or Serenity close seconds.

I think I did about a 6 foot runout once on this super gnarly 5.8+ sport route. I was so scared.

jmeizis wrote:About 100 ft. out on a .75 on the N. Face of Nez Perce in the Tetons. There's more details here. Had nightmares for a few days afterwards.

I was on the edge of my seat reading your story! scary stuff, thanks for sharing

David Champion wrote:Serenity Crack (P1), Yosemite Valley..

At the time I climbed this I was pretty sketched out on P1 as well.

It was more of a "Holy crap I'm going to grease out of these pin scars (I'd never even seen a pin scar in person prior to this route) and deck in front of like, 20 people on what is supposedly the most classic easy trad climb anywhere" sort of thing, rather than a real runout.

Sliding Board on Whitehorse Ledge. I missed the one bolt on the 3rd pitch. It's only 5.5 but it was one long ass runout on slab. It was one of my first leads back in the early 90's. Scared the crap out of me and now I hate slabs!!!!!! But i still climb them. ha!

Not necessarily my scariest, and not even a great story, but most certainly the longest runout I've ever done was some route in Red Rock.

We had planned to go to Indian Creek but the weather was less than favorable. So we decided to go to Zion where it was supposedly dry. On the way into St George it was raining! so we manned up and kept on driving straight for Las Vegas. The visitor's center didn't have a guide book worth spending money on so we went on an adventure. I tried to find panty wall but failed miserably and so we started picking lines based on how they looked from the ground.

One such line appeared to be 5.4ish up to the first bolt which was around 40ft off the deck. It was very slabby in nature and I decided to get after it! So being very careful I SLOOOWLY made my way to the first bolt. Felt more like 5.6... then the climb went vertical on teeny edges (the flaky ones that you aren't sure if they will support your weight) at probably around 5.9. Honestly I don't remember how far the bolts were spaced out, other than bolts one and 2 felt far but doable.. I was in the zone and somehow managed to keep my cool. Between bolts 2 and 3 it was more X runout. A fall here would have put me near the bottom of the 5.6 ramp section at the bottom, most likely breaking my ankles. When all was said and done the route stretched my 70m rope to get me back to terra firma and I had only clipped 3 bolts! But somehow I was able to overcome the head game and focus on my moves, and it was quite a character building outing.

Hmmm. One more memory comes to mind. My first trip to Seneca, maybe 1992... I meant to get on 'Pleasant Overhangs' (5.7) I got on 'Direct Toe' by mistake (10b, R). I wasn't prepared or that. Sometimes its not about how hard it actually is, it's about that vs your expectation.

Chris Plesko wrote:Longest certainly hasn't been the scariest. I've been 100 ft out but was solid and on good rock and not scared. Climbing the crux pitch of Silk road on the first flatiron I was sure I would have ripped the first 3 spread out pieces over moves I couldn't reverse until I finally hammered home a thank god hex. Then I just had more scary moves over suspect gear until the last 2 good pieces at the top of the pitch. One of my partners fell following when the rock broke, gulp! Good thing I really wanted that lead. Of course that climb also featured a first pitch with one shitty piece of rock pro followed by a stubby screw with 2 screamers on it. Then another pitch with a slung bush unworthy of tieing your dog up to and a snowy mantle 130 ft out from a slung detached icicle. The slabby 5.4 in boots on the ridge never seemed so safe. Hah.

I'll second Silk Road, (I think we did it a day apart Chris). I remember leading a few pitches where I only found 1 or 2 pieces for the whole pitch, and the belay anchor plan consisted of me falling on one side of the pillar and my partner jumping off the other side. Runout slabs covered in snow, can't wait to go again this winter! Hopefully there will be more ice this time.

I once looked at Bachar-Yerian on MP.com. I still have nightmares.

David Appelhans wrote: I'll second Silk Road, (I think we did it a day apart Chris). I remember leading a few pitches where I only found 1 or 2 pieces for the whole pitch, and the belay anchor plan consisted of me falling on one side of the pillar and my partner jumping off the other side. Runout slabs covered in snow, can't wait to go again this winter! Hopefully there will be more ice this time.

What do u mean more ice?? Isn't 1/4" of detached ice skin with no pro fun?! :D I will say we generally had good anchors at least but maybe thats because I had failed before and knew where we could rap from, lol.

Tyler King wrote:Not necessarily my scariest, and not even a great story, but most certainly the longest runout I've ever done was some route in Red Rock. We had planned to go to Indian Creek but the weather was less than favorable. So we decided to go to Zion where it was supposedly dry. On the way into St George it was raining! so we manned up and kept on driving straight for Las Vegas. The visitor's center didn't have a guide book worth spending money on so we went on an adventure. I tried to find panty wall but failed miserably and so we started picking lines based on how they looked from the ground. One such line appeared to be 5.4ish up to the first bolt which was around 40ft off the deck. It was very slabby in nature and I decided to get after it! So being very careful I SLOOOWLY made my way to the first bolt. Felt more like 5.6... then the climb went vertical on teeny edges (the flaky ones that you aren't sure if they will support your weight) at probably around 5.9. Honestly I don't remember how far the bolts were spaced out, other than bolts one and 2 felt far but doable.. I was in the zone and somehow managed to keep my cool. Between bolts 2 and 3 it was more X runout. A fall here would have put me near the bottom of the 5.6 ramp section at the bottom, most likely breaking my ankles. When all was said and done the route stretched my 70m rope to get me back to terra firma and I had only clipped 3 bolts! But somehow I was able to overcome the head game and focus on my moves, and it was quite a character building outing.

Sounds like this route-

mountainproject.com/v/chips…

I got about 10' above that first bolt and then down climbed.

Mine was on a new route with Scary Larry. I was about 35' above a #3 nut in some sustained 5.10 terrain. The worst part was thinking how Larry was going to catch my 70 footer on a hip belay.

Black Walk...good one. I was handed two pieces of gear and a couple draws, told with confidence *exactly* where the two gear placements were. Never found 'em....then it started raining.

I never go looking for these things. Most of the tales here seem to be the same on intent...anyone out there go looking for these things?

Hollow Flake pitch on the Salathe. Penji around a buttress, then climb most of a rope length with nada for pro up an offwidth out of site from your belayer. It's not that hard, but it sure had my attention. One of those thank god I'm alive experiences as I plopped myself onto the ledge. I won't do it again without a Valley Giant.

John Wilder wrote: *shudder* yeah...i remember just ignoring that part of my brain when i climbed with larry.

I wish I could have done that. That's not even the best part. Larry likes to climb with a lot of strangers from the internet, which happens to be some Euro dude today. So we climb 3 or 4 pitches and decide to rap after the scary pitch. Usual Larry shenaningans, jambed knot rap station, slung desert hummock, etc. We get back down and I'm still alive.

They inform me they get some good shots. I get the pictures and start looking through them and see a shot of Euro dude standing there as I'm leading the scary pitch. I realize at that moment that Larry is snapping photos, giving me a hip belay while I'm about to take the ride of my life. I asked him, "why the hell didn't you give the Euro dude the damn camera". He says something along the lines of "I wanted to ensure your demise was properly documented".

Black Hills Needles:

rgold:
"The 5.8 rating of these moves does not convey the cumulative psychic distess I was laboring under as I advanced."

...and Tim McCabe:
"If you climb much in the Needles you do these kind of death defying run outs all of the time."

Some of the things these old boys put up are stupid scary. And Piana's book, with its "climb the obvious route (5.6)", then you take the "obvious route" and realize you might be on the wrong route (or Paul didn't climb it and the grade is completely wrong), not willing or having the balls to down climb, keep going up and hope & pray for at least one piece of even psychological pro, that's the Needles.

My buddy and I just finished our project of climbing all of the Cathedral Spires, and during this there have been so many times when I wondered what the F* I was doing, why am I here? And when you think about those who have come before, in their tennis shoes, w/o cams.... jesus. Why do we do this?

Cool, that's me on the Horror Flake. But I've really misrepresented the angle of that pitch. Look at the background and you can visually correct it to its much more benign position on the captain.

Not that this is a contest, but rgold wins. The South Dakota/North Carolina folks come in at a close second. Thank you for reposting that link, rgold. What a gem. I second anyone that said slab routes on Glacier Point or in Tuolumne. And I'll add that Air Sweden was the scariest attempt at runout climbing for me. Never came close to sending, but I did get a lot of air time trying.

Off route a bit on NE Buttress of Angels Landing:
built an anchor with three or four green yellow red aliens behind a block on a ledge...
lowered down and penji'd a gap to an off width, plugged a 4.5BD then another piece or two and started face climbing on varnish'd chickenheads for a long time.
my second, gave me an enthusiastic grin and a "wow man" I'll never forget.

I'd heard that this route had been retro-bolted by the FA party, so I risked an early spring ascent. I was at the secondary crux when I realized that there were, in fact, no bolts.

Mortifying.

Chris D wrote:I'd heard that this route had been retro-bolted by the FA party, so I risked an early spring ascent. I was at the secondary crux when I realized that there were, in fact, no bolts. Mortifying.

I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened.