Thursday, May 22, 2008

5/14/2008 - Indian Creek - Day 4

We got up this morning to perfect weather. We decided to climb at the Technicolor Wall. Dave had never been to this wall though he's climbed extensively in Indian Creek. All the Indian Creek walls were new to me so this sounded like fun. We hiked up where no established trails were which was a bit challenging given the slope and loose rock. We started at the left end of the wall and walked the base stopping to climb anything that looked interesting. Almost nothing was in the guidebook so some climbs we just hopped on.

The first climb was one called Golden Eye (5.10+). It is a right-facing corner with the crack varying between 1" to 3" or so. The top required a lay-back (which I love). This was a really fun climb and much more my style. The rest of the climbs I would learn felt like a lot of work.



We next wandered down and found a climb called "unnamed". This was quite fun, though a bit wider and much harder for me. Still, we both had a good time.



Only a few feet away was another "unnamed" climb. This was an odd chimney thing. The guidebook said it is "more fun than it looks." Hmmm, I thought, this would perhaps be more elegant, more fun then. Dave loved it and felt is was fun. Holy moly - I thought it was pure work. A grovel-fest. I made a lot of noises I didn't even know I was capable of worming my way up this beast.



By this time, I was a puddle of goo and decided to stop for the day. I belayed Dave on two additional climbs: Moano and Matate. They looked fun to try, but I admit that the name "Matate" (kill you in Spanish) sort of got to me. Besides, there is ENDLESS climbing here and I thought I'd better save a little something for the next day.



At the end of the climbing, we were both pretty tired. It'd been a fun day, but we were looking forward to a nice happy hour and good dinner of tuna steaks and broccoli in the truck. While we enjoyed the evening, we were entertained by a family of Mountain Bluebirds - the young had just fledged. And I tattooed Dave with a ballpoint pen. Another beautiful evening in Indian Creek.







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