best area at Rumney
|
so im heading up to Rumney this weekend with a friend who is new to leading and climbs up to 5.9 pretty solid. what would be the best area at rumney to take him to for leading anything areound 5.8 and under? what are some good climbs i should have him try? |
|
mountainproject.com/scripts…
The Meadows and the Parking Lot walls have a lot of sub 5.9 climbs. Being close to the cars and in the grade, they tend to be very crowded. Some (mostly on the left side of the Meadows aka Shreddows)are basically steep cheese grater slabs, that don't appeal to me so much, but plenty of people enjoy them. I like the ones more to the right further to the right and into the Parking Lot wall. Get there as early as possible and then move on as the crowds approach if they bother you. Shealyn's Way 5.7 and Chloe's Breakfast Special 5.8 are two good, long and and fairly steep heavily bolted routes right near each other at the Parking Lot Wall with a 5.9 between them. I like Curly for Presidentfor a 5.8+ there a lot too. If you head up to the Armed and Dangerous area (left side of the Main Cliff), there are some nice 5.7 and 8s with nearby harder routes if you are a mixed ability party. Move left towards Venus Wall and you will pass some more good moderates as easy as 5.4. From there it is easy to keep taking the trail west and up to the upper Darth Vader or Bonsai if things are going easily and they want to try a steep 9 or easy 10. Another tour could be the Jimmy Cliff and Triple Corners, passing below Waimea on the walk, to get some inspiration to work to climb harder later edit: to change Dead Sea Equestrian to Curly for Pres. |
|
the parking lot wall was where I first learned to lead: |
|
If you don't mind the hike, Jimmy Cliff has a really nice 5.8+, Junco. A friend of mine who is learning to lead hiked it the last time we were up there. If memory serves, there's an easy 5.7 climb nearby too. |
|
Junco is really nice, but maybe not the easiest 5.8 for a new leader. At the top, make sure to not allow the rope to get caught in the crack. You usually notice it after climbing above the bolt above the crack so can't flip it out without down climbing. It is a pain, but I couldn't figure how to bolt it so it wouldn't happen sometimes when I retroed it, withought having really close bolts or none there. If you pay attention and I think use a short draw it will keep it out. |
|
I agree that Junco is a) a great route and b) might not be best for a new leader. I found it to be interesting and not so straight forward, which is what made it fun and challenging. The 5.7 nearby is probably The Nut Hatch. It is just to the left of Junco in a chimney. Both are fun, but Junco is a much better route. |
|
IMHO, Hippos on Parade at The Meadows and Metamorphosis at A&D Wall (as long as he is comfortable with the runout to the 1st bolt) fit your bill. I also heard that Curly For President at The Parking Lot Wall is excellent but, sadly, I've never been on it. [Update 07/20: Did Curly for President this past weekend; good but not the best 8+ at Rumney to me.] |
|
Oops, I meant Curly for Pres too Soon, not Dead Sea. It is a nice long sport pitch and the steeper pocketed finish was a very pleasant surprise when I first did it. How did Shimmie find that before I did, and right by the road? |
|
M Sprague wrote:Oops, I meant Curly for Pres too Soon, not Dead Sea. It is a nice long sport pitch and the steeper pocketed finish was a very pleasant surprise when I first did it. How did Shimmie find that before I did, and right by the road? Obiwan actually has a spot when you have pulled out of the steep where if you blew your clip you might hit the deck. We were going to test it with a watermellon in a harness, but never got around to it.No need to test... I've seen the final result. |
|
Junco is totally worth doing and the consensus amongst circle of climbing buddies is that it's the best 5.8 at Rumney. For my money though Curly for President should take that prize. Also as has been mentioned before Parking Lot Wall and Meadows have a great concentration of 5.8 and under. |
|
Morgan Patterson wrote: No need to test... I've seen the final result.Thanks for sharing the results with all of us. Not! |