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Looking for some beta on Epinephrine

Original Post
dave wave · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 25

Headin out this weekend or next to do Epi.

Lookin for a tiny bit of beta from someone who has climbed it recently:

Anyone know where i can get a printable topo?

My buddy heard there was a lot of bolts above the black tower, i was under the assumption the route is 99% trad???

Was planning on bringing 14 slings w/ a single biner so we can extend every piece of gear, and a couple draws for when we run into some bolts...on second thought i'm prob gonna bring 14 alpine draws(more versatile). Thoughts??

Appreciate any gear advice...Thanks,

Dave

Ming · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,955

Supertopo has some printable topo. supertopo.com/rock-climbing…

Have you checked out the Epinephrine page here? mountainproject.com/v/epine…

So it's not a lot of bolts. Don't think for a second you can just go from bolt to bolt with minimal gear placements.

As for gear advice, how comfy are you on RR 5.9 chimneys and 5.8 face climbing? I mean, Alex Honnold free solos this one for warm ups. If it's right at your level then double/triple up on everything :)

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235
Ming wrote:how comfy are you on RR 5.9 chimneys and 5.8 face climbing?
Translation = how comfy are you on 5.7 chimneys and 5.6 face climbing in the rest of the country? If you haven't climbed in RR before, the ratings are very soft.
smassey · · CO · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 200

Not sure about printable topo, but the one in Handren's book is good, and you can copy or take a photo of it. Alpine draws would be better, or a mix with regular draws. Placing an average amount of gear, 14-16 would be plenty, especially if you are linking pitches. There are a few places above the Elephant's trunk that you can back-clean draws pretty easily. There are a number of bolts, but mostly on face climbing - still a trad route, just has some bolts. Standard RR.

Probably noted in route description, but easy to link (guidebook pitches) 1&2 to huge ledge rather than bolted anchors, break the chimney into 2, rather than three, stopping at the "optional belay". Link the two off the black tower to the top of the elephant's trunk. link the two 9 pitches above. one awkward belay at the top of those, otherwise all good stances. All with 60m rope.

Hope that helps.

Jeff G · · Colorado · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,098

SOME of the routes in Red Rock are soft. Many others are right on at the grade or even a little sand bagged. Epi feels about right for the rating.

Mick S · · Utah · Joined Sep 2007 · Points: 61

I did the route with my wife awhile back in mid-june and we had a great time. John's last paragraph is right on. We had to wait on the ledge in the shade for awhile, and when the sun left we blasted off and got to the top with plenty of daylight left. Chimneys are definitely 5.9, awesome route.

Greg Z · · Sandy, UT · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 50

Supertopo and this site have all of the pitch and gear beta you require. All of the pitch/gear advise should be taken with a grain of salt, but the quantity should give you a good idea of what to expect. I took a set of larger nuts, a short set of TCU's, a tripple BD C4 rack up to a #3, and single #4 and #5. I think that I only placed the #5 once or twice and it was never necessary. You could definitely get by with a double set of cams if you are comfortable with running it out on sandstone. The 200' pitch marked on the topo is really 200'. I thought the route finding on the last pitch or two was a little funky and the final stations were harder to find as the hangers were missing, but you really are just following the burn mark of the hundreds of climbers before you. You might be better off just following your good sense and leaving the topo in your pack after you get onto the top of the black tower.

Don't bring an extra rope!! If you screw up, you will lose some of your gear and you will get over it. Cary a single small pack with your water and decent foot wear. Keep it small and light as your second will be trailing it thru the chimney's.

The start is straight forward to find, but it is not a bad idea to locate it the day before your big day. You don't want to spend an extra 15 min stumbing around in the early twilight trying to find your route.

Get started early, be on trail with a headlamp and ready to start climbing at first effective light (not sun-up!). This is not just good sense, it is a water issue. I hit the top of the black tower just as the shade gave me a foot to hide in on Labor Day weekend 2012 and then hit the top of the 4th class with about 1 hour of daylight left. We started as mentioned and did not quite need headlamps on the return to the car. We brought 2 liters/person and drank about a liter each before leaving the car. I have only been more thirsty a couple of times in my life, but we finished the technical climbing before it really set in. I would bring more water at this time of year.

We brought light sandles for the walk off and it took us about an hour and a half to get down. We could have cut this down to less than an hour with good trail shoes, but then we would have needed to carry them up the chimney's. Just realize that you are making a trade-off here. Anyone doing it in 45 min or less is running and jumpping the entire way. I figure the local's probably get by with this, but I am 46 and not from Vegas.

I would not rope for the 4th class on repeating the route, but 2 places are visually sketch the first time you see it. If you do rope it, consider using 1/2 the rope with a coil on the second and simul-climbing it.

rock-fencer · · Columbia, SC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 265

Did it with a single seventy and a standard rack. We brought a five I think for some reason and placed it but didnt need it. Easy route finding and mellow climbing. Linked it I to ten or 11 pitches I think

Eric and Lucie · · Boulder, CO · Joined Oct 2004 · Points: 140
Gary Clark's Page about Epinephrine from his "North American Classic Climbs" website has great PDF topos of the route and the descent
Healyje · · PDX · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 422

Early is the key and hydrate like mad before leaving to go climbing. We did it in mid-November with 1-liter hydration bladder each in Metolious 'Big Wall' gear slings (quite small actuall) with room for keys, wallet, and Cliff Bar and were fine on the water, but again it was mid-November and we really hydrated well the night before and continuously from the hotel to the parking lot.

James Dean Anderson · · Longmont, CO · Joined May 2013 · Points: 146

Climbed the route in April and we had the following gear:

1 Set BD Nuts 4-13
1 x #0 Metolius Master Cam
1 x #1 Metolius Master Cam
1 x #2 Metolius Master Cam
1 x #3 Metolius Master Cam
1 x #0.5 BD Camalot
1x #0.75 BD Camalot
1 x #1 BD Camalot (May want additional)
1 x #2 BD Camalot (May want additional)
1 x #3 BD Camalot (May want additional)
1 x #4 BD Camalot
8 x Alpine Draws
2 x Quick Draws
2 x Double Length Runners
1 x Cordelette

The bolts in the chimney sections are farther outside than you may imagine (not deep inside the chimney). Clipped these with alpine draws. All belays are two bolt anchors except the last which was missing a hanger. We hauled packs through the chimney pitches which made life much easier. The top of the climb is mainly face climbing and it goes by very quick.

Hope this helps!

W L · · NEVADASTAN · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 851

Climbed it the weekend of June 1. Started about 830am or so at the base of the route. First pitch was in the sun, but that was it for the day. We brought a lot of water and needed every drop of it, but hey, that's just us. The pitches above the Black Tower go into the shade at about 1pm.

The grades for the route felt right on for a short guy who has put in some time in the Ditch and Tahoe...except for the easy easy 5.9 roof.

The climbing above the Black Tower goes quite fast and is very enjoyable. Hell, the whole route is awesome, go do it, have fun, have an adventure.

Gear? Double rack to 4" - small gear is nice to have for upper face pitches, no RP's needed, placed my blue mastercam a bunch on upper face.

Routefinding is exceptionally easy, no idea how people blow it on this one, but I suppose folks find a way to blow it no matter what. Brought a photocopy of the Supertopo...topo with us and it worked wonderfully.

Descent from summit isn't that treacherous, just be intelligent, read up on the beta, and give it a quick glance from the parking lot.

Status of fixed anchors? After the easy "5.9" roof, there is only one bolt with a hanger - whoever ganked the hanger is a wanker - and if they are the same person who made the poor attempt at scratching something into the sandstone, they are a super wank. Not cool. A gear anchor can still be had with relative ease just around the corner. The final pitch before the ramp tops out to no hangers on two bolts. Gear anchor can be found with relative ease here as well, no neanderthal engravings at this one that I recall. Everything below those pitches has fixed anchors of exceptional quality. Thank you, ASCA!

For more beta and a recent TR, below is my TR I posted on SuperTopo. Enjoy the route, it lives up to the hype and is a great day in the hills!

My Trip Report - Supertopo

dave wave · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 25

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for all the info!!

Psyched about the climb, can't wait.

Hopfully it's a smooth day w/ good weather...if we get enough pics i'll throw a TR on supertopo.

Thanks again,

Dave

Ming · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,955

LOL (insert evil laugh here)

Notice none of us mentioned the descent. It's too bad that someone put the reflective tape which tame the hike out by alot (or so I read). When I did the route a few years ago it took us 10 1/2 hours to climb the route and 6 hours to hike out as we made every wrong turn you can make. Have fun! :)

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235
Ming wrote:LOL It's too bad that someone put the reflective tape which tame the hike out by alot (or so I read).
Really?! I did the same decent off of Lone Star a couple of months ago and there was no tape thank goodness. Of course, we got totally lost despite me having done the decent before, but I'll take getting lost over a decent marked by tape. Hopefully climbers continue to remove anything like that in the future.
Dean Hoffman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,125

Seems to me that for us getting off Epi was harder than getting up it. But then again it was dark, we ran out of food and water, and it was early March... That being said the climbing was awesome! Watching the sunrise from the summit was miserably awesome too. Turned out that in the light the descent was pretty mellow!

Geir www.ToofastTopos.com · · Tucson/DMR · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 2,751
Ming wrote:It's too bad that someone put the reflective tape which tame the hike out by alot (or so I read).
Please tell me you are kidding.
rock-fencer · · Columbia, SC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 265

If the descent is really marked with tape that needs to be remedied pronto by the locals.

Back in '09 when i did epi i was coming from illinois and hadnt done much backcountry stuff having mostly climbed in the new england area. My partner was even more of a n00b than i was. It took us just over two hours in pitch dark (maybe a sliver of a moon was out). We cliffed out two or three times but just back tracked and found the logical descent eventually meeting up with some trails which we randomly took back in the general direction of the car. The descent is marked pretty well with cairns in random locations.

At our leisurely pace. We enjoyed a few naps here and there it took us 17 hours car to car without any sort of trouble or getting lost. I took an hour nap i think after the chimney because i was just tired from climbing for five days straight

Edit: the same cannot be said for winding up on top of eagle buttress with three exhausted noobs with forty mile an hour gusts of wind. But thats a different story

Best general advice is be sensible and dont flip a shit if you hit a small cliff line, and absolutely do not rappel down anything even if you see some tat around a tree. Enjoy wandering around in the desert and you'll arrive at your car in no time.

LeeAB Brinckerhoff · · Austin, TX · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 10,288

As far as the descent goes, pay attention as you hike in to where the descent will need to go to not cliff out. I don't remember having any issue with it, though I'd done the Frogland descent earlier in the week which the Epi descent joins up with.

W L · · NEVADASTAN · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 851
John Wilder wrote: "onsighting" the epi descent in the dark would be very challenging. this time of year, i'd probably hunker down and enjoy a nice warm evening on the top of the ridge and walk down in the am.


The only people who would have THAT much difficult with the descent given the beta found in guidebooks and on the internets are gym climbers who don't belong on the route to begin with. We onsighted the descent in the dark with low IQ's, dehydrated bodies, and again not being the sharpest tools in the shed. A few hours of ridge-walking and we were back at the car enjoying some frosty PBR's. The view of the city at night was beautiful, and you are correct insofar that the temps were pleasant. Once we descended below the level of the Whiskey Peak summit I started pouring sweat. Not pleasant at that point.

Ming wrote:LOL (insert evil laugh here) Notice none of us mentioned the descent. It's too bad that someone put the reflective tape which tame the hike out by alot (or so I read). When I did the route a few years ago it took us 10 1/2 hours to climb the route and 6 hours to hike out as we made every wrong turn you can make. Have fun! :)
The reflective tape was there, and oddly enough wasn't on the areas that might confuse anyone with any mountain sense. The tape was after the ridge drops down to the saddle with Whiskey, where the only people who could get lost are those wondering "what are those strange rock piles everywhere for?" - fortunately the pieces are rather small and sparse. If I didn't have work the next morning and cold PBR's awaitin' I might have taken it down; maybe 5 or 6 small pieces, probably wouldn't be noticeable in daylight.

These are simply the musings of a low-IQ punter and thus YMMV
Dow Williams · · St. George, Utah; Canmore, AB · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 240

Your idea of "very experienced" is quite different than ours. But you are a hero for saving those folks lives. Good thing they called you from the summit for help. The descent is quick, no worries, dark or not. If for some reason you took that long this time of year, one could then assume you would be out of water. Laying down and spending the night would seem pretty ridiculous to me. You might want to take Mr. Wilder's phone number with you. He will rescue you in time of need.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Nevada
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