RRC Archives

chica bonita. every route there sucks, the only good thing about the place its that it takes some of the gumbies away from the warm ups at drive-by

Jordan - I think it's just that you suck at slab. Chica has some awesome slab routes and there are some pretty cool 5.10 vert sport routes too.

I am not a huge fan of Volunteer Wall and I've done nearly all the sport routes there. There are a couple good ones though.

I liked Tong Shing and that other really gritty 5.10 at Volunteer.

tong shing was really fun (had some unique holds up top), but i almost blew a clip down low (2 or 3) and proly would've decked. i realize this is due to my own weakness, but i, as a result, have bad memories of that route mixed in with the good.

also didn't like the routes to the left of that (the 11's with the black streak). no route has shut me down in such a not-fun, frustrating, why-am-i-even-doing-this kind of way (and i have loads of experience in being shut down!). also saw someone almost kill themselves on the 9+ -- he fell going to the finishing flake, swung out, swung back in towards the wall, managing to clip himself into a draw at the second or third bolt, which swung him closer towards the wall, and he very nearly hit his head (at that point he was kind of "sideways," almost upside-down). anyhow, all this adds up to me agreeing that volunteer wall would proly be my least favorite as well, especially considering that the gallery is right around the corner!

although i should say that i think someone could have a great time at volunteer -- my tales of frustration, failure, and near-death experiences aside.

You got me thinking about Tong Shing, I believe I climbed that on one of those 15 degree days that I somehow always wind up partaking in. I believe there were 3 that day. I recall there was a shelf at the start of the routes to the right. I had my cat heater and whoever was the 3rd would hole up in that shelf with the heater. Ha ha ha, stupidity at its finest. I probably sent the route because the friction was so insane that I couldn't let go even if I wanted.

BTW, you know what crag is terrible but worth one trip is the Unlode. Go there when you are warming up for the Lode to get the points. Make sure you can send all the routes in one trip. You do not want to go back there again. The breaky routes in the front and the sandy routes in the back. Rad.

Also, pretty low on list lately has been Military. Over crowding, gumbies, and polished routes contributing.

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nik wrote:also saw someone almost kill themselves on the 9+ -- he fell going to the finishing flake, swung out, swung back in towards the wall, managing to clip himself into a draw at the second or third bolt, which swung him closer towards the wall, and he very nearly hit his head (at that point he was kind of "sideways," almost upside-down).

This sounds like a TR story, but it's more impressive when I picture the guy taking a lead fall and clipping himself into the 2nd bolt to avoid decking.

bcombs: totally agreed on the Unlode. Had a really fun[ny] day there with Paul and VA years ago, and haven't ever been back.

I like The Motherlode a lot. And Midnjght Surf.