For the most
part this December’s weather seems to resemble April’s…cold, but not freezing,
and often wet rather than snowy. I have
a bad case of Winter Fever as I’m praying for the trails and slopes to be
covered with powder and the rock to crust with ice. In the meantime, I manage to get by during
these cold-to-cool weather days and already twice this month I’ve been able to
climb on Mount Minsi. I brought my tools
along one especially cold morning but found no ice formations. Despite an abundance of clean rock my eyes
were constantly shifting from the dry faces to the wet slimy gully’s as if my
stare would cause them to freeze over.
And on that
day in early December, with the temperatures holding at around 35 degrees and
the sun blocked by dense gray clouds, I climbed Teardrop Buttress (5.3) on lead
with Barry. Neither one of use had been
on this route so we divided it into two pitches deciding to use a ledge
conveniently found halfway up the route as our first belay. I cruised up pitch one with very little
run-out between gear. Barry took on the
blockier second pitch with sections of rotten rock and exposed dirt. Rapping to our left we descended along Tears
Are Falling (5.5, PG13) which is now on both of our tick lists. Pro seems scarce along this 100 foot slabby
route, so it’s likely we’ll do it on top-rope.
And just to the left of Tears Are Falling is the gully that forms the
Minsi Curtain (WI2+/WI3). Having
Teardrop Buttress dialed gives me access to both of these routes from the top
of the cliff.
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| Teardrop Buttress route on right |
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| Barry following |
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| Topped out on Teardrop Buttress |
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| Tears are Falling (Teardrop Buttress right edge) |
On to
Mid-December and I’m back at the Cold Air Cave pullout with John. The sun is bright but the wind is painfully
sharp. We slowly scramble up the talus
slope, passing a porcupine, wondering how much worse it will get once we’re on
the rock and exposed. But surprisingly
the wind dies once we summit the trail and the sun is shining bright, pushing
the temps into the low-to-mid 40s. I’m
on lead for the first climb, The Great Escape (5.4). The Great Escape is an obvious chimney
located on the appropriately named Grunge Wall.
The chimney itself is a bit mossy and wet (ice, please!) but the right
edge was dry with plenty of placements and stances. Just before the exiting the chimney through a
notch into the unknown, I placed a rather dubious size “0” C3 (the smallest cam on my rack) in
less than stellar crack. I wasn’t too
happy about the placement but sometimes you got to take what you can get. Luckily pulling through the opening was
effortless and I was on solid ground.
Only problem, I had 20 feet of unprotected 4th class
scrambling over loose dirt and waist-high blocks before I’d reach the safety of
a rappel tree. The thought of taking
short fall on my last placement was spooky enough. And now I couldn’t afford slipping along this
run out section since it could lead to a near or possible ground fall. Keeping a cool head I calmly and deliberately
moved over the blocks, often on my belly and knees, until reaching a rap
cord. The terrain wasn’t terrible or
particularly difficult, but without protection and being so far off the ground
it’s a little unnerving to move so I was abundantly cautious along every piece
of ground I covered.
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| Lower Section of The Great Escape |
The next
climb, Crackpot (5.4) is right in between where the Grunge Wall and Land of the
Giants Wall meet. Here the rock becomes
clean (clean for the Gap) and white and the ground below steeply slopes giving
incredible views of the Delaware River.
Crackpot has several bolts, so John opted to get on the sharp end and make
it his first lead – congratulations!
Before reaching a rappel tree, John clipped 3 or 4 bolts and placed two
cams. We were later told that just past
the rap tree there is a bolted anchor.
Crackpot’s bolts mostly follows an arête but while cleaning gear I moved
out right onto the face and found it to be a fantastic variation of the route
(I might have been climbing sections of Frigid Dare, 5.5). Crackpot was an excellent climb and that
particular section of rock is definitely worth visiting again as there are
several worthwhile listed routes within that small area.
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| Crackpot |
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| Face to the right of Crackpot |
