Whiskey a Go-Go 

Hands down one of the best routes I have ever done.

Don't remember seeing any ticks there at the beginning of October.

As for the route, one of the best ever! .12d at the lake ;)

12d at the Lake? If it was at the Lake, it would be vertical, painfully thin, and neglected (ala Phlogiston). Good thing it's not at the Lake.

I think Whiskey would rank as a classic at the grade at any area in the U.S. and is much better than routes of the same grade in places like Rifle, Wild Iris, etc.

I agree Jay, didn't mean to be overly flip about the grade. It truly is one of the best routes anywhere, especially at 13a and of course especially being in WI. There probably isn't a comparable route at the Wild Iris, that is for sure.

Phlogiston is a pretty apt comparison for the DL comparison to Whiskey...unleadable...contrived...

Too bad that no matter how you shoot pics of this route they just never come out looking very inspiring

Are you dissin my photos Travis?

Haha! noo nothing like that. The photos just dont do the route justice. Ive got a bunch of pics on it myself from years ago, and I was there yesterday taking some too. But no matter how you shoot, the light is always goofy, as is the angle...

Good. I know what you mean about the lighting. It's all of those pesky trees near there. Still, I'm sure we'd all love to see your photos Travis.

"Whiskey was originally led on dicey natural protection, but has since been retro-bolted for the benefit of all. "

Lame.

Will, it was retro fitted by the FA'ist, if i'm remembering correctly, because he wanted more people to get on it and thought it'd be a waste otherwise. Calm down.

You are welcome to skip the bolts if you want.

Classic case of non-resident passing judgement on a route they have never done. You really gotta understand the history, type of rock , etc before you can start making comments like this.

Will, this line was originally lead with two bolts and natural pro. As Steve said, it was retro bolted so more would get on it. Dave was a hard man and lead a lot of scary shit (props Dave), but I would never lead this thing without the bolts.

2005ish after falling from the last two crimps 4 times in a row... YES!

has anyone else led this in the style of mr. groth (2 bolts, the rest gear)? and which two bolts did he use? the upper bolts, i assume, correct? i want to redpoint it in that style this fall.

Just to get in the groove of being somewhat of a whistle pig,.. back in the early/mid 1990's I was up at Necedah with Barney Schaeffer and the late Josh Hanes. Barney was working on the redpoint,.. to get his psyche on,.. I ran 6 laps on lead that afternoon. Beautiful climb, well worth the arc of movement.

Is this thing dry? Anyone know if it is climbable now?

I was sixteen at the time, and had a proud year or so of climbing experience. Mostly self taught, I had survived many a mistake, before Dave Groth got a hold of me... It was a muggy day, and bugs were thick. Dave and I met Thomas Ramier at the crag early. The objective, maybe my first climbing "objective" ever, was to retro bolt Whiskey a Go-Go. Well, it was Dave's objective and he brought me along for the ride.

That day Whiskey went from having a pin and two bolts with a rating of 5.12c R, to the more modern incarnation we enjoy now. Looking back that was a very pivotal moment in my young life. For 20 years now I have been chasing one new route to the next and have cherished every adventure that the obsession has brought my way. Here's to a classic pitch as it moves into its third decade of kicking ass!

For the record I believe Pete Vinitov lead this on all gear before Burr and himself came to DL for the Climbing Mag photo shoot.

whiskey on gear. baller!

And to answer your question about the bolts Randy, there are two old SMC hangers among newer bolts, so I assume those are the originals. Bolts #3 and #5 of 6 total. But, I think the gear is pretty reasonable to protect all the way with a little "R" and since Peter upped the ante I think any bolts are now off-limits for a true gear ascent.