A few days ago on a scouting trip to the Roadside area one problem in particular caught my eye. This problem looks to be one of the best 7a’s in the area unfortunately it has missed being included in any of the guides we have been able to find (though there is some speculation that it is called Schwupp, it’s no 7b). From the main Roadside area this problem is down the hill to the east just past Kudu. Standing at over 25 feet and overhung at more than 20 degrees this boulder is an impressive sight from any angle. Not wanting to sketch off due to being cold Sean and I decided to warm up on an easier problem around the corner before jumping on this behemoth.
Our warmup was also nameless in the guides and also gets the 7a rating but is decidedly shorter and is probably a bit soft for the grade. Of course being soft does not mean it’s no fun. Once again Rocklands dishes up amazing problems at all grades providing plenty of stellar climbing for any one willing to get on a plane. After pulling out of the sit start the climbing runs through a series of slopey dishes over a bulging face. The real trick is identifying what is a slopey dish and what is a badly sloping dish. Of course the standard chicken head topout applies here as with most problems at Rocklands. Following our one problem warm up we were ready to jump on the high ball.
At about shoulder high on some smallish holds and decent feet Sean quickly found him self at a slopey ledge with a hidden shallow edge on the left side. With Sean over ten feet off the ground and moving into the crux section, (which is mostly mental) I pulled the pads back and prepared for what I thought was going to be a low percentage move to another flat ledge. After repositioning his feet Sean grabbed a small crimp with his right hand and dead pointed to the next hold. After one additional move to a large left facing flake Sean was well over my head so I adjusted the pads one last time and backed out of the fall zone to watch the top out.
It seemed that our single warm up was working well and I was feeling reasonably confidant that I could send on my first attempt despite standing in the cold wind while Sean was busy climbing. Though my beta was slightly different I pulled over the top in short order without much of a thought about the ground. This problem is a great one for running laps on to get your head together for harder tall problems.
Now that we were reasonably warm it seemed like a good time to cruse over to Pendragon and see how it felt.
At six foot three I am taller than most people that I climb with by several inches. To most height is seen as an advantage (especially by those who are below the five foot ten mark). On some problems being tall may be an advantage on others it doesn’t matter. On Pendragon it is defiantly a mixed bag. After watching Sean pull the first and second moves relatively easily I decided to start on the second move and save my strength for working out the crux at the end. After making it through the middle sequence in one solid burn and putting together an exit sequence that worked for me I sat down to try the start. With my knees at my chin and my hands neer my ankles, I found it next to impossible to do more than hover more than a millimeter off the ground.
I hate it when the crux is the first move.
Spurred on by my apparent ability to do the rest of the problem and the knowledge that Cooper Roberts, an equally tall individual, had sent I tried in vain for close to a half an hour to lift complete the first move.
Frustrated and angry Sean dragged me to another problem that was more suited to anger, a 7b dyno problem on the west side of the Roadside. This problem and the left variation was just what I needed to blow off some steam. A few easy moves to a large throw. The onsight coupled with the height of the top out put me back in a decent mood after sitting still under Pendragon for so long.
At this point it was dark so we packed up and headed home. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain so looks like a rest day.
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