Gettin' Pitches!

Just warming up...


Pulling in front of my mom’s house in Seattle is always followed by a welcome sigh of relief. Not only out of finally reaching my destination, but also to know my sanctuary is still here. Her backyard is an ordered chaos of vegetation. From vegetables, herbs, flowers, ferns, and fruit trees, to the soft moss that borders the slated walkway the solace offered here is unbeatable and I always look forward to visiting her.


My idea of a fireworks display.








growth.

After a good day of jogging with my dog and catching up with my mom I made the short drive(30 mins. to Little si and Mt. Washington=people who live in Seattle are fucking spoiled!!!) to the Mt. Washington pull out and met my friends Greg and Nick. We laughed and joked around the whole way up the trail stopping very briefly so that I could handle a route I should have sent years ago, Giant. Located at one of the coolest crags in this area, Giant traverses the lip of an Actual Cave on a bomber incut jug rail all the way to a small throw for a good flat jug. The stop was brief but well worth it.


One of the greatest.

After that we were on our way, Greg and Nick both setting a good pace with their spider-like legs and long gaits. The first stop was Chainsaw Wall.


Greg and Nick at the Chainsaw Wall.

A small crag well exposed to a great view and home to some of the best routes I’ve ever touched. My Evil Plan, and Stihl Fingers are probably the gems of the area. I had sent everything except Stihl Fingers and I came to collect. The sun fell farther and farther behind the wall and the shadow line soon encompassed our little party entirely. The rock was warm, and my first go back on Stihl Fingers was a disaster. It felt impossible, and the feet were like tiny dime edges that laughed at me every time I popped off of one. Needless to say it wasn’t the most confidence building re-visiting. Nick gave it a try as well, cruxing a bit in the middle but firing the rest. Greg attempted to onsight the .10c there but backed off after a few clips and hung out taking pictures and video of Nick and I growling at the tiny crimps in this wonderfully black streaked seam.


Nick on My Evil Plan(5.11c).


Me cruxing on Stihl Fingers(5.12a).


Nick displays his steel fingers on Stihl Fingers.


Yet another picture of Stihl Fingers.


My second go back on Stihl Fingers I almost fell off the third clip but fired the rest perfectly and skipped clipping the last draw in favor of making the last big move out to a jug. I was pretty psyched to have this in the bag, and want to reiterate that it is probably one of the best single pitch sport climbs I have ever done in my life. I know, it sounds like an over-exaggeration, and maybe the climb is still reverberating around in my mind enough to cause me to say something like that, but only time will tell. Nick got back on and after taking a fall and dirting him to try it again he sent with a great uprising of effort at the very end. He also cleaned up My Evil Plan second go, and Greg got back on the horse and was able to clip the chains of the .10c. We packed up and headed up to Bob’s area just above our heads. Dom was raving about Alpinia and I had checked out this small crag before and remember it looking great so that was our next destination.
Up some steep trails and winding through a small patch of trees we were spit out at the base of Alpinia, a small slabby looking wall with great features, rock, and a quality view and hang out spot.
After an embarrassing call to Dom, because I had forgotten to bring the guide book, he set us on track with the route beta and I managed an onsight of Green Buddha, a stellar .11b there that involves some nice stemming in a smooth corner.


Me on Green Buddha(5.11b).


Nick's got the long stem down! Green Buddha.

Nick stepped up to the onsight plate as well and went for Inverted Rain Ascending but this technical and beta-intensive masterpiece was not to be undone so easily. After ticking some crucial holds for me I went for the flash. I struggled through the crux, almost barn-doored off the arête, hung out on a bad rest for waaaaaaay too long, and finally grabbed some jugs at the top, threw a leg up and gave a gasp of exasperation and triumph. I had an awful pump I my forearms but was glad to be sitting on top. Afterwards, Nick speed flashed Green Buddha, and Greg took a bad fall sandwiching his leg between to sharp rocks. Yeouwch! Being the straight up soldier that he is, Greg laughed off the pain and we walked down the trail a bit to another short sport climb called Salterello Presto, a really cool bouldery .11a.


Greg on the crux move of Salterello Presto(5.11a).


Nick hung the draws, and Greg tried to get past the first hard couple of moves but will have to wait for next time. I really enjoyed this climb because of the really neat crimps on it, and the bouldery sequence and of course the rock quality. We headed a little further down the trail to the last bit of the crag where some sweet looking routes lay in wait for us. We only had time for one, so I ended the day on a long slabby 5.6 with a great view at my back.
All the crags along the Mt. Washington trail are awesome but Bob’s area and the crags in close proximity are really starting to grow on me. The views, the rock quality, the quality of the routes, and even the hike are all giving me that ‘hot and bothered’ feeling when I start to think about them and I look forward to returning soon.

The end.