New Wave Direct 

This route took me a few tries before I could get it, but being the first route on the wall and Suzuki doing it with cams? nut? only is incredible, please correct me if I am wrong on that account, but the route is so technical and just so fun just as all the others on the wall, another classic along with Tsunami.

I belayed EWod on his redpoint yesterday and decided to give it a go since it has been 20 yrs since I redpointed it. Feel confident I could bag it again quite quickly. Seemed just faintly soft for 12c. Solid 3 stars, better than Tsunami in my book.

When they did the highway construction a few years back, they promised they'd be careful not to dump debris down and wreck the climbs here. ........BZZZZZITT !! They buried the first two moves of this route so it is a bit shorter and a vicious crip has been eliminated. And now the first bolt doesn't really protect anything. It used to be a ways up, but now it's a lazy and almost useless clip off the deck.

Mark, I am pretty sure there were some fixed pins as I clipped them when I tried it in the 80's.

Hey John, perhaps a little pry bar work is in order. Same thing has happened to Holey Moley. I can fix that without a pry bar when I have a couple of minutes and I am in the area.

E... I think the block in question is too big to pry. And the eliminated moves weren't much fun anyway. Might be better to move the first 2 bolts and eliminate the pin. I'll mention it to Ray some time. I'd be happy to do the work.

This route has seen a lot of action recently. I watched 6 folks hurl themselves at it on a recent sunday. I mentioned my infamous "waitress thumb-rest" to them and they looked at me like I was crazy. But I found it again when I was there with EWod. Full recovery just before the final hard moves... piece-a-cake !

Rest! Hah! I am in too big a hurry to send this thing to take a rest. Falling. "Damn, I need to get stronger"!

I watched too guys work Goliath for months. They each had dozens of runs before they got up it. They were stronger than me by a factor of two but would not stay at a rest longer than 60 seconds. Heel hooks, wrist hooks, knee bars, thumb catches all these techniques can make the difference. Oh yeah, and lose 5 pounds.

Why can't we just leave it as-is? I like the pin, it's (seemingly?) bomber and adds character to an already interesting route.

It sure doesn't matter to me.

But my practised eye discerns:

First bolt does not protect anything.
2nd bolt forces draw to lay over the clip hold.
If pin breaks or pops you will deck.

We talked in the gym jbak, I would agree the changes would make sense now. Although I would love to see the pin stay and just have a bolt nearby, as opposed to pulling it.

I guess what I would do (if tasked to do anything) would be... move the first 2 bolts higher (so the pin is not necessary), but leave the pin for its charm.

Or... chop the whole thing -- it goes on gear !

I remember thinking it would be a long way to the first good placement.

Right up your alley !