Squeeze My Lemon 

Great climbing that is unfortunately interspersed with a couple of vegetated spots: a small tree and a series of bushes. The bushes being the worst. Very fun jams, and the traverse left climbed great as a hand traverse. This could really use a set of anchors to avoid totally killing the small belay tree.

The anchor for squeeze my lemon has been replaced and moved about 15 ft higher to finish out the crack. 2 bolt anchor. The tree is just about dead and is growing on a death block at the top of a flake. The block should be moved in the next week. WITH THE NEW ANCHORS ONE 60 METER ROPE MADE IT TO THE GROUND AND THE NEXT TIME WE CLIMBED UP THERE, A DIFFERENT 60 METER ROPE LEFT THE ENDS HANGING ABOUT 10 FT OFF THE GROUND. I am going back again this week with yet another 60 to try to get a better read. A 70 for sure reaches as well as using 2 ropes to get off.
I have also cleaned up the crack so it no longer has any vegetation growing in it. This is a great 5.7 crack climb.

This makes a really good first 5.7 lead and is perfect for teaching people how to hand jam. Sews up with a standard rack using nuts and cams but an extra set of hand sizes takes some thought out of it. Bring a few long runners too. That block at the top looks fine but when you move the last cubic foot of the large spike behind that tree a seam appears showing how loose it is. The new anchor also makes it a lot easier and safer to TR Errant Edge with its nice red granite edge climbing.

Fun route with some pretty cool jamming. The only vegetation I saw on the entire route was the large tree growing in the crack 10 ft off the ground. A 60m rope from the new anchor reaches the ground just fine.

No stars in the Ruckman guide.....two now that its cleaned up.

I think the Ruckman guide says about this route "Could this be the new Bushwhack Crack?"

Now that it has cleaned up, it definitely seems like a good possibility. Thanks Sunny D for your work making this route nice.

Lead it today, our 60m rope just barely made it to the ground from the new anchors. So if your rope is a 'short' 60 meters, I'd recommend a two rope rappel or a 70.

Fun climb now that it's mostly defoliated. Worth checking out.

With so much cleaning going on up here, why not remove that bush in the first 10 feet? this would be a much better climb with out it.

thats a good idea! and while we're at it, why not chop down the remaining forest and pave a trail to the base.

grk10vk wrote; "Thats a good idea, and while we're at it, why not chop down the remaining forrest and pave the trail to the base"


Wow. Coming from a guy who cleaned LIVE scrub oak from Zesty that seems like a pretty snotty comment. Are you a hypocrite, or just a dick?

"grk10vk wrote; "Thats a good idea, and while we're at it, why not chop down the remaining forrest and pave the trail to the base"

Wow. Coming from a guy who cleaned 30+ feet of LIVE scrub oak from Zesty and (really did) chop down multiple trees that shrowded the base of Sqeeze My Lemon and Errant Edge...that seems like a pretty snotty comment. Are you a hypocrite, or just a dick?"

1. if you're going to quote me, please do it correctly. for starters i know how to spell the word forest.
2. if you did your homework you'd see i had nothing to do with the zesty but express my opinion of it's suggested grade.
3. for the record, i did not cut, lop, axe, or chop a single tree while i was up there. i'm a tree humper not a tree hater.

you know what they say when you assume, it makes an ass out of you and well...just you in this case.

and to answer your question; i am not a hypocrite, the latter however, is up for debate.

Are you not Dallen? If not, then I apologize for calling you both a dick and a hypocrite. I thought you were one in the same. Carry on with said tree humping and I'll take my F- for homework done.

edited to note: I don't think dallen to be either a dick or a hypocrite....never met the guy, I was only calling out what I thought (and made an ass of myself in doing so) was a blatent contradiction of ethics based on comments made and I'm going to STFU now.

No way the bush should go, any more than the bush on Bushwhack should go.

Edit: read: tree.

It is a tree (Mountain Mahogany), not a bush and should not be removed. It makes a nice jug, from the picture it looks healthy.

geez steve, you're taking a beating on this one.

naw...just opinions. i just figured with all the "housekeeping" going on up there a small bush wouldn't be missed. Guess i was wrong.

and yes, i'm a douche for mixin up sunny-d and grk

Ben, are you arguing that because its a tree, not a bush, then it shouldn't go? Or because it provides a great hold? Like those trees on the first and last pitches of Pentapitch?

And SGileadi, are you aware of how many "bushwhack crack-like" trees were removed from Zesty? A route you've climbed and liked?

I'm not tryin to stir the pot here...but can someone tell me the difference between route maintenance and raping mother nature?

I caution your community in farming out routes. If it’s a danger to climbers then by all means, but if not, why? I would encourage preservation to enhance the canyon for future generations. The tree looks tame to me.... Anderson

Yeah, I'm aware of how much stuff was removed from Zesty. I think that the difference is that the tree/bush on Squeeze adds to the character of the route, just like with Bushwhack. In fact, I kinda like it there.

I'm not opposed to gardening if it's done thoughtfully and kept under control, and I appreciate all the work Dallen's done up there . I think he's found a good balance with keeping the character of Squeeze etc. and still making the area a lot more fun to climb in.

It is a fine line though, and it's cool to discuss this rather than lose our heads about it.
best, Sam

not losing my head at all...thats why i dislike online conversations...too hard to read the other person's intentions. I was just wondering where that line is drawn. i too think some gardening is great and i like how that area has been developed in the last year or so. I was just suggesting something that is going to happen eventually, especially if that area gets the traffic that it should. this route is awesome, but i give that tree 5 years max.

Sir, I guess I hold more importance to trees than shrubs. Although that is just a personal opinion and there is no good reason for it. I haven't even done the route, was just looking at the picture and it looks like the tree is a nice, interesting feature of the climb. I was just kidding about the hold, although I usually do use trees if they are growing out of the crack. I don't mean to stir anything up either. I don't have any personal knowledge of the route. From the picture it looks like the tree doesn't get in the way.

No, no, Mr. Sir, didn't mean to imply that you were losing your head about things- quite the opposite, I'm glad that no one is losing their head is what I meant. Like you said about online conversations... I'm glad you brought up the topic.

Five years max for the tree though? Well, if it dies in five years or whenever then we could consider removing it then, right? I think it is plenty healthy for the moment, but that is just my opinion, which really isn't worth much anyway. I think I'm with Ben in that I think the tree is more worth saving than scrub oak is, and it does give the route a bit of character. Not sure if it is all that much in the way either?

Oh, and how could it be the "new Bushwhack crack" if there's no bush to bushwhack? ;)

point taken

cheers!

Wow. I haven't looked at this for a while.
I helped Dallen clean this line a little. I did cut off a little of the left side of the tree--strictly to make the climbing enjoyable. We decided not to take the tree out completely or to trim the right side as one would almost never want to climb the crack in that direction anyway. We agreed (as do others apparently) the tree added character to the route and should be left. And of course the less gardening the better--for all.
Just thought I'd confess to the holy ones (heh heh).